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To evaluate a novel 2D simultaneous multi-slice (SMS) myocardial perfusion acquisition and compare directly to a published quantitative 3D stack-of-stars (SoS) acquisition.A hybrid saturation recovery radial 2D SMS sequence following a single saturation was created for the quantification of myocardial blood flow (MBF). This sequence acquired three slices simultaneously and generated an arterial input function (AIF) using the first 24 rays. Validation was done in a novel way by alternating heartbeats between the hybrid 2D SMS and the 3D SoS acquisitions. Initial studies were done to study the effects of using only every other beat for the 2D SMS in two subjects, and for the 3D SoS in four subjects. The proposed alternating acquisitions were then performed in ten dog studies at rest, four dog studies at adenosine stress, and two human resting studies. Quantitative MBF analysis was performed for 2D SMS and 3D SoS separately, using a compartment model.Acquiring every-other-beat data resulted in 6 ± 5% ("ideal") and 11 ± 8% ("practical") perfusion changes for both 2D SMS and 3D SoS methods. For alternating acquisitions, 2D SMS and 3D SoS quantitative perfusion values were comparable for both the twelve rest studies (2D SMS: 0.69 ± 0.16 vs 3D: 0.69 ± 0.15 ml/g/min, p = 0.55) and the four stress studies (2D SMS: 1.28 ± 0.22 vs 3D: 1.30 ± 0.24 ml/g/min, p = 0.61).Every-other-beat acquisition changed estimated perfusion values relatively little for both sequences. The quantitative hybrid radial 2D SMS myocardial first-pass perfusion imaging sequence gave results similar to 3D perfusion when compared directly with an alternating beat acquisition.

Myocardial infarction (MI) is lethal to patients because of acute ischemia and hypoxia leading to cardiac tissue apoptosis. Autophagy played a key role in MI through affecting the survival of cardiomyocytes. LncRNA-MHRT (myosin heavy-chain-associated RNA transcripts) was specific to the heart and cardiomyocytes, and inhibition of lncRNA-MHRT transcription under pathological stimuli could cause cardiac hypertrophy and even heart failure (HF). Sonodynamic therapy (SDT) is a new and developing medical technique that utilizes low-intensity ultrasound to locally activate a preloaded sonosensitizer. Our group previously reported that SDT could regulate autophagy. In this study, we investigated whether SDT could reduce MI-induced cardiomyocyte apoptosis via activating autophagy pathway. SDT improved cardiac function and suppresses MI-induced cardiomyocyte apoptosis. SDT alleviated MI-induced cardiomyocyte apoptosis by improving autophagy. MHRT mediated the inhibiting effect of SDT on cardiomyocyte apoptosis via activating autophagy pathway. Our data reveal a novel effect that SDT protects against MI and confirm that SDT reduces MI-induced cardiomyocyte apoptosis via activating MHRT-mediated-autophagy. Thus, our findings also indicate that SDT may be used as a potential method for treatment of post-myocardial infarction heart failure.

Over the past decade, the emission standards and fuel standards in Beijing have been upgraded twice, and the vehicle structure has been improved by accelerating the elimination of 2.95 million old vehicles. Through the formulation and implementation of these policies, the emissions of carbon monoxide (CO), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), nitrogen oxides (NO

The relationship between Roussouly type and Modic changes (MC) is unknown. The aim of our study was to investigate the influence of Roussouly type on the characteristics of MC in patients with lumbar degenerative disc disease.This cross-sectional observational study from Huashan Hospital included 270 patients with lumbar degenerative disc disease. Subjects were divided into 4 groups according to the Roussouly classification. Prevalence, subtype, and distribution characteristics of MC from L1-L2 upper end plate to L5-S1 lower end plate were compared between 4 Roussouly types.Of 270 patients, 65 (24.1%) were Roussouly type I, 115 (42.6%) were Roussouly type II, 55 (20.4%) were Roussouly type III, and 35 (13.0%) were Roussouly type IV. MC were present in 45.9% (n = 270) of patients, 12.7% (n = 2700) of end plates, and 11.8% (n = 1350) of intervertebral discs. The prevalence rate of MC by subtype and intervertebral disc among the 4 Roussouly types was statistically different (P0.05), and the prevalence rate of MC by intervertebral disc in Roussouly type I was statistically higher than the other 3 Roussouly types. In Roussouly types I and IV, the prevalence rate of MC at L4-L5 level showed no significant differences compared with those at upper lumbar levels, while in Roussouly types II and III, the prevalence rate of MC at L4-L5 level was significantly higher than those at upper lumbar levels.Roussouly types can influence prevalence, subtype, and distribution characteristics of MC in patients with lumbar degenerative disc disease.

The adaptability of proteins to their work environments is fundamental for cellular life. Here, we describe how the hemopexin-like domain of the multifunctional blood glycoprotein vitronectin binds Ca

Rezvilutamide, a novel androgen-receptor inhibitor with low blood-brain barrier penetration, has shown potent antitumour activity against metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of rezvilutamide versus bicalutamide in combination with androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT) for high-volume, metastatic, hormone-sensitive prostate cancer.CHART is a randomised, open-label, phase 3 study done at 72 hospitals in China, Poland, Czech Republic, and Bulgaria. Eligible patients were aged 18 years or older, had an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status of 0 or 1, and had high-volume metastatic, hormone-sensitive prostate cancer. Previous chemotherapy or other localised treatment for prostate cancer were not allowed. Patients were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive ADT plus either rezvilutamide (240 mg) or bicalutamide (50 mg) orally once daily. Randomisation was done via an interactive response technology system (block size of four) and stratified according to ECOG performance status and presence of visceral metastasis (excluding lymph nodes). Herein, we present the results of the preplanned interim analyses for the two co-primary endpoints of radiographic progression-free survival assessed by a blinded independent review committee and overall survival in the intention-to-treat population. Safety was assessed in all patients who received at least one dose of study medication. This study is ongoing, but is closed to recruitment. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03520478.Between June 28, 2018, and Aug 6, 2020, 792 patients were screened and 654 patients were randomly assigned to receive rezvilutamide plus ADT (n=326) or bicalutamide plus ADT (n=328). At the preplanned interim analysis for radiographic progression-free survival (data cutoff May 16, 2021), the median follow-up duration was 21·2 months (IQR 16·6-25·8). Rezvilutamide significantly improved radiographic progression-free survival compared with bicalutamide (median radiographic progression-free survival not reached [95% CI not reached-not reached] vs 25·1 months [95% CI 15·7-not reached]; hazard ratio [HR] 0·44 [95% CI 0·33-0·58]; plt;0·0001). At the preplanned interim analysis for overall survival (data cutoff Feb 28, 2022), the median follow-up duration was 29·3 months (IQR 21·0-33·3). Rezvilutamide significantly improved overall survival compared with bicalutamide (HR 0·58 [95% CI 0·44-0·77]; p=0·0001; median overall survival was not reached [95% CI not reached-not reached] vs not reached [36·2-not reached]). The most common grade 3 or worse adverse events of any cause in the safety population were hypertension (26 [8%] of 323 patients in the rezvilutamide group vs 24 [7%] of 324 patients in the bicalutamide group), hypertriglyceridaemia (24 [7%] vs seven [2%]), increased weight (20 [6%] vs 12 [4%]), anaemia (12 [4%] vs 16 [5%]), and hypokalaemia (11 [3%] vs four [1%]). Serious adverse events were reported in 90 (28%) of 323 patients in the rezvilutamide group and 69 (21%) of 324 patients in the bicalutamide group. No treatment-related deaths occurred in patients in the rezvilutamide group; one treatment-related death of unknown specific cause (lt;1%) occurred in the bicalutamide group.In the two interim analyses, rezvilutamide plus ADT significantly improved radiographic progression-free survival and overall survival compared with bicalutamide plus ADT in patients with high-volume, metastatic, hormone-sensitive prostate cancer, with a tolerable safety profile.Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals.

This paper investigates the problem of fixed-time attitude coordinated control for multi-spacecraft systems with unknown external disturbance. Firstly, a distributed fixed-time observer is introduced to estimate the states of the virtual leader. The observer can track the leader completely in a fixed time without dependence on the initial conditions of the leader and observer. Then, we propose a novel nonsingular fixed-time sliding mode tracking controller to address the fixed-time attitude tracking problem. It is noteworthy that the requirement on initial conditions of spacecraft is removed in the proposed nonsingular sliding mode controller. Due to the robustness of sliding mode control, the influence of external disturbance can be eliminated, such that each spacecraft can track desired attitude trajectories precisely in a fixed time. Hence, the fixed-time attitude coordination for multiple spacecraft can be achieved. Finally, numerical simulation results and comparisons reveal the effectiveness of the proposed algorithms.

Adriamycin (ADR) is an efficient and common broad-spectrum anticancer drug. However, the cumulative and dose-dependent toxicity induced by ADR severely limits its application in the clinic. Previous studies found that psoralidin (PSO) exhibits remarkable therapeutic effects against multiple cancers.The aim of this study was to determine if PSO has beneficial effects on ADR-induced cardiotoxicity and to investigate the underlying mechanisms.ADR-induced cardiotoxicity models were established in BALB/c mice and HL-1 cardiomyocytes. A series of experimental methods were used to evaluate the effects of PSO on cardiac function indicators, blood biochemical parameters, histopathology, oxidative stress, apoptosis, mitochondrial function, fibrosis, and SIRT1/PPARγ signaling.PSO significantly improved cardiac function indicators, blood biochemical parameters, and mitochondrial function and reduced the degree of myocardial fibrosis, oxidative stress, and apoptosis in ADR-injured mice. PSO significantly increased cell viability, inhibited the release of LDH, reduced oxidative stress and apoptosis, and improved mitochondrial function in ADR-injured HL-1 cells. Moreover, we also demonstrated there was cross-talk between SIRT1 and PPARγ, as shown by SIRT1 siRNA significantly decreasing the expression of PPARγ and GW9662 (a PPARγ antagonist), which remarkably reduced the expression of SIRT1.In summary, this study proved for the first time the beneficial effect of PSO on ADR-induced cardiotoxicity through activation of the SIRT1/PPARγ signaling pathway. Therefore, these findings may favor PSO as a potential cardioprotective drug candidate to alleviate ADR-induced cardiotoxicity in the clinic and improve the application of ADR in oncotherapy.

In December 2019, the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) due to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection broke. With the gradual deepening understanding of SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19, researchers and clinicians noticed that this disease is closely related to the nervous system and has complex effects on the central nervous system (CNS) and peripheral nervous system (PNS). In this review, we summarize the effects and mechanisms of SARS-CoV-2 on the nervous system, including the pathways of invasion, direct and indirect effects, and associated neuropsychiatric diseases, to deepen our knowledge and understanding of the relationship between COVID-19 and the nervous system.

Sodium layered oxides generally suffer from deep-desodiation instability in P2 structure and sluggish kinetics in O3 structure. It will be great to design P2/O3 biphasic materials that bring the complementary merits of both structures. However, such exploration is hindered by the ambiguous mechanism of material formation. Herein, supported by theoretical simulations and various spectroscopies, we prove that P2/O3 biphasic structures essentially originate from the internal heterogeneity of cationic potential, which can be realized by constraining the temperature-driven ion diffusion during solid-state reactions. Consequently, P2/O3 biphasic Na

Novel magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs), Fe3O4@SiO2 and Fe3O4@SiO2@PEG-(COOH)2, were prepared by loading different amounts of SiO2 or/and PEG-(COOH)2 onto Fe3O4 nanoparticles, and their feasibility to be used as forward osmosis (FO) draw solutes was investigated. The characterization of the materials showed that, compared to normal Fe3O4 nanoparticles, the modified MNPs exhibited enhanced dispersity and high osmotic pressure in aqueous solution. The FO experiment indicated that the synthesized draw solutes could obtain a water flux as high as 10 L∙m–2·h–1 with an aquaporin FO membrane. The optimal concentration of the added tetraethyl orthosilicate was 30% during the synthesis. The novel MNPs could be easily recovered from draw solutions by magnetic field, and the recovery rate of Fe3O4@SiO2 and Fe3O4@SiO2@PEG-(COOH)2 was 83.95% and 63.37%, respectively. Moreover, after 5 recycles of reuse, the water flux of Fe3O4@SiO2 and Fe3O4@SiO2@PEG-(COOH)2 as draw solutes still remained 64.36% and 85.26%, respectively. The experimental results demonstrated that the synthesized core–shell magnetic nanoparticles are promising draw solutes, and the Fe3O4@SiO2@PEG-(COOH)2 was more suitable to be used as draw solute in FO process.

Smile analysis in horizontally angled views is indispensable for esthetic assessment and could reveal teeth-to-lip disharmony, which might escape discovery in the frontal and profile views. However, evidence is lacking on where the anterior teeth should be positioned for esthetics in angled smiles.Based on 3-dimensional facial image processing and geometric analysis, the lip edges were projected to the horizontal plane, and the horizontal teeth-to-lip relation was simplified and represented by the distances from dental landmarks to lower bow-shaped curves (LBSC), with the distance from facial-axis (FA) point of the canine to LBSC (FA-tangent line [TL] distance) identified as the key parameter. Using photographic modification and esthetic assessment, the effect of FA-TL distances on the attractiveness of 45° angled smiles was tested, with esthetic ranges identified. A simplified method was developed to obtain the estimative LBSC and FA-TL distances using 2-dimensional photographs and geometric analysis to facilitate clinical application.The FA-TL distance remarkably affected the esthetics of 45° angled smiles. Smiles were attractive when the FA-TL distance ranged from -1.0 to 1.5 mm perceived by orthodontists and from -1.5 to 1.5 mm perceived by laypersons. The 2-dimensional photograph-derived estimative FA-TL distance was not significantly different from that obtained in a 3-dimensional image, validating the simplified method.The LBSC could serve as a reference frame to determine the lateral limit of the maxillary anterior arch for the esthetics of 45° angled smiles. The FA-TL distance, which represented the spatial relation of the maxillary canine with the lower lip, was an esthetically essential parameter. For females aged 20-30 years, the FA point of the maxillary canines should be positioned no more than 1.5 mm labial or lingual to the LBSC.