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BackgroundStudies on the association of homocysteine level with poststroke depression (PSD) have yielded conflicting results. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the elevated homocysteine level at the acute stage of ischemic stroke in predicting PSD.MethodsTwo authors systematically searched articles indexed in PubMed and Embase databases up to 31 January 2022. Studies evaluating the association of homocysteine level with the development of PSD in patients with acute ischemic stroke were selected.ResultsA total of 10 studies involving 2,907 patients were identified. The pooled adjusted odds ratio (OR) of PSD was 3.72 [95% confidence intervals (CI) 2.03–6.81] for the top vs. bottom homocysteine level. The value of elevated homocysteine level in predicting PSD was stronger in ≥6-month follow-up (OR 4.81; 95% CI 3.12–7.43) than those in ≤ 3-month follow-up subgroup (OR 3.20; 95% CI 1.29–7.91). Moreover, a per unit increase in homocysteine level conferred a 7% higher risk of PSD.ConclusionElevated homocysteine level in the acute stage of ischemic stroke may be an independent predictor of PSD.

This article presents a broadband circularly polarized composite right/left-hand (CRLH) antenna. A compact microstrip line inductor and an interdigital capacitor are used to form a left-handed parallel inductor and a left-handed series capacitor. The metamaterial parameters of the series inductor and the parallel inductor are optimized. The asymmetric perturbation is introduced to excite the circularly polarized (CP) electromagnetic wave. The influence of interdigital capacitance on the electrical performance of the antenna is analyzed theoretically and experimentally. The value of CL is changed to reduce the electrical size of the antenna, and the resonant frequency of the antenna is reduced accordingly. The physical dimensions of this CPW-Fed monopole antenna are 25 mm∗24 mm∗1 mm. The measured 10 dB wide impedance bandwidth is 79.5%, and the measured 3 dB axial ratio (AR) bandwidth is 56.2%.

A broadband and planar multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna with pattern diversity is presented in this letter. The four-port MIMO antenna is designed by using a novel metamaterial structure with small dimensions of 60 × 60 × 1.6 mm3. Each radiating element of the MIMO antenna is comprised of composite right/left-hand (CRLH) transmission lines (TLs). Between its four elements, there are four open L-shaped slot loading on the ground plane of the patch antenna system. The antenna obtains the wide frequency range of 2.31–4.99 GHz. In addition, The proposed antenna has an isolation greater than 20 dB between its four elements. The MIMO antenna has excellent bandwidth performance and good diversity properties between elements.

Background: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized with progressive memory loss and severe cognitive impairments, which affect everyday life and human health in the elderly. It is required that an effective and safe protective reagent against AD should be developed. It has been reported that humanin (HN) exerts neuroprotective effects against AD. In this study, we investigated the effect of a novel and more effective HN derivative, Colivelin (CLN) on AD. Methods: PDAPPV717I transgenic AD model mice (derived from parental C57/BL6 mice) were used in our study as AD model. Morris water maze test was used to test the memory impairment of AD mice and the levels of Aβ40 and Aβ42 were determined by an Elisa assay. We used an Immunohistochemistry and Immunofluorescence staining method to check the GFAP and MAP2 positive cells, and TUNEL to assess the apoptotic cells. Western blot assay was used to check the expression and phosphorylation level of p38. Results: We found that CLN improved the memory impairment induced by AD and reduced the deposit of Aβ40 and Aβ42. CLN also inhibited cell apoptosis and activation of caspase 3 in brain tissues of AD mice. Inflammation in AD mice was alleviated by CLN treatment, including the accumulation of GFAP positive cells and the inflammatory cytokines. With both structure of AGA-HNG and ANDF, CLN exhibited significantly stronger effects than synchronously administration of AGA-HNG and ADNF, suggesting CLN as a novel potential effective therapeutic reagent for AD patients. Finally, we found that CLN inhibited phosphorylation of p38 in AD mice and p38 inhibitor, SB203580 weakened the therapeutic effect of CLN. Conclusion: CLN effectively improved the memory dysfunction in PDAPP mice, and our data suggests CLN as a novel and effective reagent which may have great potentials in AD therapy.

Background and purpose An analysis of the ASTER 2 trial revealed similar final recanalisation levels and clinical outcomes in acute large vessel occlusion (LVO) stroke between stent retrieval (SR) alone as a first-line mechanical thrombectomy (MT) technique (SR alone first-line) and concomitant use of contact aspiration (CA) plus SR as a first-line MT technique (SR+CA first-line). The purpose of the present study was to compare the safety and efficacy of SR+CA first-line with those of SR alone first-line for patients with LVO in China.Methods We conducted the present study by using the data from the ANGEL-ACT registry. We divided the selected patients into SR+CA first-line and SR alone first-line groups. We performed logistic regression and generalised linear models with adjustments to compare the angiographic and clinical outcomes, including successful/complete recanalisation after the first technique alone and all procedures, first-pass successful/complete recanalisation, number of passes, 90-day modified Rankin Scale, procedure duration, rescue treatment and intracranial haemorrhage within 24 hours.Results Of the 1233 enrolled patients, 1069 (86.7%) received SR alone first-line, and 164 (13.3%) received SR+CA first-line. SR+CA first-line was associated with more thrombectomy passes (3 (2–4) vs 2 (1–2); β=1.77, 95% CI=1.55 to 1.99, p0.05) between the two groups.Conclusions Patients undergoing SR+CA first-line had more thrombectomy passes and longer procedure duration than patients undergoing SR alone first-line. Additionally, we suggested that SR+CA first-line was not superior to SR alone first-line in final recanalisation level, first-pass recanalisation level and 90-day clinical outcomes in the Chinese population.

Background The outcome of deploying balloon-mounted stents for symptomatic intracranial atherosclerotic stenosis (ICAS) has not been fully investigated. In this study we evaluate the safety and long- term outcome of using balloon- mounted stents to treat symptomatic ICAS in comparison with the WEAVE/WOVEN study. Methods In a multicenter registry study of stenting for symptomatic intracranial artery stenosis in China, 159 patients treated with an intracranial balloon-mounted stent approved by the China Food and Drug Administration were evaluated. The morphological features of the lesions were categorized by Mori classification. The endpoints, including periprocedural and long- term clinical and radiological outcomes, were the same as those in the WEAVE/WOVEN study. Results In the present study the mean percent stenosis before and after stenting was 84.0% and 6.1%, respectively. The proportions of Mori A, Mori B, and Mori C lesions were 33.3%, 52.2%, and 14.5%, respectively. The 72- hour rates of stroke and mortality after the procedure were 0%. The 1- year rates of any stroke, ischemic stroke, hemorrhagic stroke, and death were 6.3% (10/159), 5.7% (9/159), 0.6% (1/159), and 0.6% (1/159), respectively. The 1- year rate of in- stent restenosis (ISR) was 23.4% (15/64). The rate of ISR in Mori C lesions (53.8%, 7/13) was significantly higher than that in Mori A (15.8%, 3/19) or Mori B lesions (15.6%, 5/32) (p=0.024). Conclusions The short- term and long- term outcomes of using a balloon- mounted stent for symptomatic ICAS with focal and non- angular lesions (Mori A and B type) and smooth arterial access were comparable to the results of the WEAVE/WOVEN trial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]