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Amyloidosis cardiomyopathy is a rare and underdiagnosed disease characterized by amyloid fibril deposition in the myocardium. The diagnosis of cardiac amyloidosis is often delayed due to a lack of awareness and the necessity of biopsy to confirm the diagnosis. Recent advances in cardiovascular imaging modalities have enhanced earlier recognition of this disease. A 66-year-old man experiences progressive shortness of breath for two weeks. Laboratory testing was significant for an elevation of cardiac biomarkers (creatine kinase: 522 U/L, troponin I: 0.10 ng/mL) and NT-pro-BNP (5074 pg/mL). He was diagnosed with acute coronary syndrome and received stent deployment. Nonetheless, progressive shortness of breath recurred in 2 months. Transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) demonstrated an increased left ventricular (LV) wall thickness with apical sparing. Cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging demonstrated high native T1 value, increased extracellular volume fraction as well as diffused subendocardial late gadolinium enhancement. Technetium-99m pyrophosphate (99mTc-PYP) scintigraphy, endomyocardial biopsy (EMB), and the genetic study confirmed the diagnosis of wild-type transthyretin amyloidosis (ATTRwt). The nonspecific clinical manifestations, lack of diagnostic biomarkers, and the rarity of systemic amyloidosis usually lead to delayed diagnosis and treatment. Our objective is to emphasize the role of multimodalities imaging in reducing delays to the diagnosis of cardiac amyloidosis.

Engagement, as a multidimensional construct, fluctuates due to various factors. Previous research that examined engagement as a subjective experience was mainly concerned with the qualitative structure of engagement in different contexts (e.g., task difficulty, aesthetics). Few studies have examined the user’s subjective engagement as a given task progresses over time. This paper reports findings from an online study that aimed to assess the usefulness of subjective measures in capturing momentary feelings related to task engagement, under varying task duration and difficulty conditions. The Short Stress State Questionnaire (SSSQ) and the User Engagement Scale (UES) were used to capture self-reported engagement during a Tetris game. The sensitivity of scales to task conditions and relationships among subscales were examined. Results showed that changes in SSSQ were sensitive to difficulty levels, and Engagement obtained from the SSSQ was highly correlated with UES subscales. SSSQ may be a particularly useful tool to capture participants’ momentary feelings during a task via its Engagement, Distress, and Worry subscales.

There will be circumstances where partial or conditionally automated vehicles fail to drive safely and require human interventions. Within the human factors community, the taxonomies surrounding control transitions have primarily focused on characterizing the stages and sequences of the transition between the automated driving system (ADS) and the human driver. Recognizing the variance in operational design domains (ODDs) across vehicles equipped with ADS and how variable the takeover situations may be, we describe a simple taxonomy of takeover situations to aid the identification and discussions of takeover scenarios in future takeover studies. By considering the ODD structure and the human information processing stages, we constructed a fault tree analysis (FTA) aimed to identify potential failure sources that would prevent successful control transitions. The FTA was applied in analyzing two real-world accidents involving ADS failures, illustrating how this approach can help identify areas for improvements in the system, interface, or training design to support drivers in level 2 and level 3 automated driving.

A visible-light-promoted regioselective denitrogenative cross-coupling between benzotriazinones and selenosulfonates is reported. This protocol has been further applied to a one-pot two-step synthesis of a series of ebselen and its analogs.

A Ni(ii)/TPMPP-catalyzed reductive cross-coupling reaction of benzyl oxalates and tetrasulfides to synthesize unsymmetric disulfides is reported.

The association between drinking and Helicobacter pylori infection was not clear in the literature. Owing to mixed and inconclusive results, a meta-analysis was conducted to summarize and clarify this association systematically.Based on a comprehensive search of PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science databases, studies investigating the association between drinking and H. pylori infection were retrieved. We evaluated the strength of this relationship using odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals. Sensitivity analysis was also conducted.A total of 24 individual studies were included in this meta-analysis. The risk of H. pylori infection was significantly lower in alcohol drinkers than nondrinkers (OR=0.83). People who drink wine (OR=0.90) or mixed types of alcoholic beverages (OR=0.78) had a lower risk of infection compared with those who drink beer. Among people aged 40 years or older, alcohol drinkers had a lower risk of H. pylori infection than nondrinkers (OR=0.68). Among people less than 40 years of age, alcohol drinking was not associated with H. pylori infection risk. Data showed that women were at a lower risk of H. pylori infection than men (OR=0.86).This meta-analysis suggests that the risk of H. pylori infection among alcohol drinkers is lower than that of nondrinkers. Drinking wine and mixed types of alcohol are better at reducing H. pylori infection than drinking beer. Nonetheless, we discourage reducing H. pylori infection through drinking, which increases the risk of other diseases.

A Cu-catalyzed cascade reaction of four-membered silacyclobutanes (SCBs) and thiosulfonates to construct S (Se)-containing organosilicon compounds was developed. The protocol shows a wide range of substrate scope, high functional group compatibility and mild reaction conditions. New C-S (Se) and Si-O bonds were constructed in one step.

Background: Conflicting data exist regarding the influence of thiopurines exposure on adverse pregnancy outcomes in female patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Objective: The aim of this study was to provide an up-to-date and comprehensive assessment of the safety of thiopurines in pregnant IBD women. Methods: All relevant articles reporting pregnancy outcomes in women with IBD received thiopurines during pregnancy were identified from the databases (PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and ClinicalTrials.gov) with the publication data up to April 2020. Data of included studies were extracted to calculate the relative risk (RR) of multiple pregnancy outcomes: congenital malformations, low birth weight (LBW), preterm birth, small for gestational age (SGA), and spontaneous abortion. The meta-analysis was performed using the random-effects model. Results: Eight studies matched with the inclusion criteria and a total of 1201 pregnant IBD women who used thiopurines and 4189 controls comprised of women with IBD received drugs other than thiopurines during pregnancy were included. Statistical analysis results demonstrated that the risk of preterm birth was significantly increased in the thiopurine-exposed group when compared to IBD controls (RR, 1.34; 95% CI, 1.00-1.79; p=0.049; I2 =41%), while no statistically significant difference was observed in the incidence of other adverse pregnancy outcomes. Conclusion: Thiopurines used in women with IBD during pregnancy is not associated with congenital malformations, LBW, SGA, or spontaneous abortion, but appears to have an association with an increased risk of preterm birth.