Search

The Vela pulsar is a young neutron star with spin period of P = 89 ms and a measured low braking index (˜1.4) that is much less than the standard value of 3 predicted by the magnetic dipole radiation (MDR) model; however, its spin period evolution has been a mystery. In this article, we assume that the spin‐down of the Vela pulsar is attributed to both MDR and wind flow (hereafter MDRW), and find that the ratio of wind flow to the magnetic dipole radiation is about 80%, which is higher than that of the Crab pulsar (25%). In other words, the spin‐down torque of the Vela pulsar is dominated by the wind flow. The spin period (P) evolution of the Vela pulsar depends on its real age, where its supernova remnant age is assumed to be an indicator of its true age, estimated from 10 to 20 kyr, and then we obtain their initial spin periods of ˜53.89 and ˜20.90 ms, respectively, which are consistent with the observed initial spin period ranges of young pulsars. Furthermore, we find that the Vela‐like pulsar by MDRW can evolve to the long spin period of a thousand of seconds in less than million years, which can conveniently help the astronomers understand the recently observed ultra‐long period radio pulsars like GPM J1839‐10 (P = 21 min), GLEAM‐X J1627 (P = 18 min), as well as PSR J0901+4046 (P = 76 s). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To investigate the potential factors influencing myocardial fibrosis (MF) in non-ischemic heart failure(HF) patients with an emphasis on the role of right heart catheter (RHC) parameters. Methods This retrospective research collected clinical data from 33 non-ischemic heart failure patients admitted to China-Japan Friendship Hospital who received endomyocardial biopsy (EMB) and right heart catheter (RHC) examination. All the patients were divided into two groups: mild MF (n=17) and severe MF (n=16), by means of K-means cluster analysis. MF was quantitatively evaluated by Masson staining. Potential factors influencing MF were analyzed. Results Compared with that in mild MF group, patients in severe MF group had aggravated cardiac function (cardiac index, 2.15±0.76 vs. 2.94±1.10,P＜0.05), accompanied by higher systolic right ventricle pressure (RVP), systolic pulmonary arterial pressure (PAP), pulmonary arterial wedge pressure (PAWP) and total pulmonary resistance (TPR) (P＜0.05). Hypertension and TPR were independently correlated with the degree of MF in multiple linear regression analysis (Adjusted R2=0.454, P＜0.001). Conclusions Hypertension and TPR, reflecting afterload of left and right ventricle, are found to be independently correlated with degree of MF in non-isch- emic heart failure patients. Cardiologists should pay more attention to high-risk patients in order to retard MF progression through timely intervention.

Liver fibrosis scores have been demonstrated to be associated with poor prognosis after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). However, no studies have compared the prognostic value of these scores in acute myocardial infarction (AMI) patients with and without diabetes. We retrospectively enrolled 1576 AMI patients who underwent PCI. There were 177 all-cause deaths and 111 cardiac deaths during follow-up (median 3.8 years). The non-alcoholic fatty liver disease fibrosis score (NFS) showed a better prognostic value than the fibrosis-8 (FIB-8) score (Harrell's C-index: 0.703 vs 0.671, P =.014) and the fibrosis-4 (FIB-4) score (Harrell's C-index: 0.703 vs 0.648, P <.001) in the overall population. In the time-dependent receiver operating characteristic analysis, the NFS also had the highest area under the curve across all time points. Consistent results were observed in diabetic and non-diabetic populations. Adding the NFS to traditional cardiovascular risk factors significantly improved the prediction both for all-cause mortality (Harrell's C-index: 0.806 vs 0.771, P <.001) and cardiac death (Harrell's C-index: 0.800 vs 0.771, P =.014). The NFS showed a better prognostic value than the FIB-8 score and the FIB-4 score in patients with AMI undergoing PCI, which might be preferable for estimating the risk of mortality regardless of the presence or absence of diabetes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article has been retracted: please see Elsevier Policy on Article Withdrawal (https://www.elsevier.com/about/our-business/policies/article-withdrawal).This article has been retracted at the request of the Authors.The article is a duplicate of a paper that has already been published as ''Development and Effects of a Community Capacity Builded Exercise Maintenance Program for Frail Elderly Women at High Risk'' (Year: 2016, Department of public health, Graduate school, Kyungpook National University). http://www.riss.kr/search/detail/DetailView.do?p_mat_type=be54d9b8bc7cdb09&control_no=ba62bd6f85b4c3a6ffe0bdc3ef48d419#redirectOne of the conditions of submission of a paper for publication is that authors declare explicitly that the paper is not under consideration for publication elsewhere. As such this article represents a severe abuse of the scientific publishing system. The scientific community takes a very strong view on this matter and apologies are offered to readers of the journal that this was not detected during the submission process.

Background: Inflammation plays a vital role in the occurrence and progression of atrial fibrillation (AF). The association between pericoronary adipose tissue attenuation (PCATA) and AF recurrence following ablation has not been fully clarified. Hypothesis: We aimed to evaluate the association between PCATA and AF recurrence after radiofrequency catheter ablation (RFCA). Methods: Patients who underwent the first RFCA for AF and performed coronary computed tomography angiography before ablation between 2018 and 2021 were enrolled. The predictive values of PCATA for AF recurrence after ablation were investigated. The area under curve (AUC), relative integrated discrimination improvement (IDI), and categorical free net reclassification improvement (NRI) were used to assess the discrimination ability of different models for AF recurrence. Results: During 1‐year follow‐up, 34.1% patients experienced AF recurrence. The multivariable analysis model revealed that PCATA of the right coronary artery (RCA) was an independent risk factor for AF recurrence. Patients with a high level of RCA‐PCATA had a high risk of recurrence, after adjusting for other risk factors by restricted cubic splines. The performance in predicting AF recurrence was significantly improved by adding the marker of RCA‐PCATA to the clinical model (AUC: 0.724 vs. 0.686, p =.024), with a relative IDI of 0.043 (p =.006) and continuous NRI of 0.521 (p <.001). Conclusions: PCATA of RCA was independently associated with AF recurrence after ablation. PCATA may be helpful for risk classification for AF ablation patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Molting hormone (ecdysteroid) is one of the most important hormones in insects. The synthesis and inactivation of the ecdysteroid regulate the developmental process of insects. A major pathway of ecdysone inactivation is that ecdysone is converted to 3-dehydroecdysone, and then further to 3-epiecdysone in insects. Two enzymes (ecdysone oxidase: EO and 3DE-3α-reductase) participate in this pathway. In this study, based on the previously characterized cDNAs in Spodoptera littoralis, we cloned and characterized EO and 3DE-3α-reductase genes in the silkworm, Bombyx mori. The heterologously expressed proteins of the two genes in yeast showed the ecdysone oxidase and 3DE-3α-reductase activities, respectively. Expression of BmEO was only detected in the midgut at transcriptional and translational levels. We also localized EO within the midgut goblet cell cavities. For Bm3DE-3α-reductase gene, RT-PCR and western blot showed that it was expressed in the midgut and the Malpighian tubules. Moreover, we localized 3DE-3α-reductase within the midgut goblet cell cavities and the cytosol of principal cells of the Malpighian tubules. These two genes have similar expression profiles during different developmental stages. Both genes were highly expressed at the beginning of the 5th instar, and remained a relative low level during the feeding stage, and then were highly expressed at the wandering stage. All these results showed that the profiles of the two genes were well correlated with the ecdysteroid titer. The functional characterization of the enzymes participating in ecdysone inactivation in the silkworm provides hints for the artificial regulation of the silkworm development and biological control of pests.

Background: Previous retrospective studies have shown that laparoscopic spleen-preserving D2 total gastrectomy (LSTG) for advanced upper third gastric cancer (AUTGC) is safe. However, all previous studies were underpowered. We therefore conducted a prospective, multicenter study to evaluate the technical safety and feasibility of LSTG for patients with AUTGC.Methods: Patients diagnosed with AUTGC (cT2-4a, N-/+, M0) underwent LSTG at 19 institutions between September 2016 and October 2017 were included. The number of No. 10 lymph node (LN) dissections, metastasis rates, intraoperative and postoperative complications were investigated.Results: A total of 251 patients were enrolled in the study, and 242 patients were eligible for the per protocol analysis. The average numbers of No. 10 LN dissections and metastases were 2.4 and 0.1, respectively. Eighteen patients (7.4%) had No. 10 LN metastases, and among patients with advanced gastric cancer, the rate of No. 10 LN metastasis was 8.1% (18/223). pN3 status was an independent risk factor for No. 10 LN metastasis. Intraoperative complications occurred in 7 patients, but no patients required conversion to open surgery or splenectomy. The overall postoperative complication rate was 13.6% (33/242). The major complication and mortality rates were 3.3% (8/242) and 0.4% (1/242), respectively. The number of retrieved No. 10 LNs, No. 10 LN metastasis and TNM stage had no significant influence on postoperative complication rates.Conclusion: LSTG for AUTGC was safe and effective when performed by very experienced surgeons, this technique could be used in patients who needed splenic hilar lymph node dissection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To analyze the value of applying random urine potassium-to-creatinine ratio (rUK/Ucr) in diagnosing renal potassium loss., Methods: patients diagnosed with hypokalemia, including 373 cases of renal potassium loss, 83 cases of non-renal potassium loss , and 358 cases of normal serum potassium, between 2017 and 2021 were enrolled. The clinical data of the patients were collected and the correlation between rUK/Ucr and 24-hour urine potassium (24 hUK) in the three groups was analyzed. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to analyze the value of applying rUK/Ucr in diagnosing renal potassium loss., Results: Serum potassium decreased in the normal serum potassium group, the renal potassium loss group, and the non-renal renal potassium loss group ( P <0.01). The 24 hUK and the rUK/Ucr of the renal potassium loss group were higher than those of the non-renal potassium loss group and normal serum potassium group ( P <0.01). rUK/Ucr showed low to moderate correlation with 24 hUK. The AUC of 24 hUK and rUK/Ucr for determining renal potassium loss were 0.73 and 0.71, respectively. When the optimal cutoff point of rUK/Ucr for determining renal potassium loss was 3.4, the sensitivity was 67.6% and the specificity was 67.5%., Conclusion: rUK/Ucr shows a moderate correlation with 24 hUK and its accuracy in determining renal potassium loss is comparable to that of 24 hUK. When 24-hour urine samples cannot be obtained, it is recommended that rUK/Ucr be used instead of 24 hUK to determine whether renal potassium loss exists, with the optimal cutoff point for diagnosis being 3.4., (Copyright© by Editorial Board of Journal of Sichuan University (Medical Sciences).)

Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumors are usually treated by surgical resection. We herein report two cases of intra-abdominal inflammatory myofibroblastic tumors that were unresectable and underwent spontaneous regression without any treatment. Our case report and literature review show that regression is more common in the middle-aged and older male populations. Abdominal discomfort and fever were the most common symptoms, but the majority of patients had no obvious physical signs. There was no specific indicator for diagnosis. The majority of the lesions regressed within 3 mo and nearly all of the masses completely resolved within 1 year. We conclude that the clinical characteristics of inflammatory myofibroblastic tumors are variable and, accordingly, the disease needs to be subdivided and treated on an individual basis. Surgery is always the first-line treatment; however, for those masses assessed as unresectable, conservative therapy with intense follow-up should be considered.

Acute acalculous cholecystitis (AAC) is a rare complication of gastric surgery. The most commonly accepted concepts regarding its pathogenesis are bile stasis, sepsis and ischemia, but it has not been well described how to identify and manage this disease in the early stage. We report three cases of AAC in elderly patients immediately after gastric surgery, which were treated with three different strategies. One patient died 42 d after emergency cholecystectomy, and the other two finally recovered through timely cholecystostomy and percutaneous transhepatic gallbladder drainage, respectively. These cases informed us of the value of early diagnosis and proper treatment for perioperative AAC after gastric surgery. We further reviewed reported cases of AAC immediately after gastric operation, which may expand our knowledge of this disease.