Associations Between Carotid Plaque Characteristics and Improvement of Cerebral Blood Perfusion in Patients With Moderate to Severe Carotid Stenosis Undergoing Carotid Endarterectomy.

Background: The relationship between plaque characteristics and their predictive value for perioperative cerebral blood flow (CBF) are unknown.

Purpose: To investigate the relationship between carotid plaque characteristics and perioperative CBF utilizing MRI.

Study Type: Prospective.

Cigarette smoke induced neural tube defects by down-regulating noggin expression.

Background: Maternal smoking or passive smoking during gestation increases the risk of congenital birth defects, including neural tube defects (NTDs). Cigarette smoke is a recognized teratogen that causes NTDs, although the mechanisms are not well understood.

Methods: An established model of passive smoking in pregnant golden hamsters was used to observe the effect of cigarette smoke on neural tube development using scanning electron microscopy.

Childhood co-exposure of cold stress and PM aggravates the susceptibility and severity of asthma in adulthood of mice.

Both cold stress and ambient fine particle particulate matter (PM ) has been reported to aggravate and induce respiratory problems like asthma, but the mechanism involved in that has not been fully understood. Therefore, the present study is to explore the mechanism involved in the increased susceptibility and severity of asthma caused by cold stress and PM exposure. Urban PM of Shanghai was concentrated to simulate a PM -polluted environment with an average concentration of 400 μg/m , where 1-month young C57BL/6J mice were exposed for 2 months under cold stress (2°C).

Effect of Genetic Polymorphisms on the Pharmacokinetics of Deferasirox in Healthy Chinese Subjects and an Artificial Neural Networks Model for Pharmacokinetic Prediction.

Background And Objective: Deferasirox is an oral iron chelator used to reduce iron levels in iron-overloaded patients with transfusion-dependent anemia or non-transfusion-dependent thalassemia. This study investigated the effects of genetic polymorphisms on the pharmacokinetics of deferasirox in healthy Chinese subjects and constructed a pharmacokinetic prediction model based on physiologic factors and genetic polymorphism data.

Methods: Twenty-eight subjects were enrolled in a randomized, open-label, two-period crossover study, and they received a single dose of one of two formulations of deferasirox (20 mg/kg) with a 7-day washout interval between the two periods.

Fine Particulate Matter (PM) upregulates expression of Inflammasome NLRP1 ROS/NF-κB signaling in HaCaT Cells.

Skin, as the major organ of a human body, is constantly exposed to PM stimulation, which may exert specific toxic influences on the physiology of skin. This study aims to investigate the effect of PM on the formation of inflammasomes in skin cells and to explore the potential mechanism linking PM and skin inflammation. Changes in mRNA and protein levels of inflammasome-related genes were detected by real-time PCR and western blot in human immortalized epidermal cells (HaCaT) treated with PM at multiple concentrations for 24 hours.

Synthesis of 7-Amido Indolines by Cp*Co(III)-Catalyzed C-H Bond Amidation.

An efficient Cp*Co(III)-catalyzed C-H bond amidation of indolines at the C7-position using dioxazolone as amidating reagents was first reported. -Methyl--(pyrimidin-2-yl)aniline was also found to be a competent coupling partner. This protocol exhibits several unique characteristics, including excellent isolated yields, good functional group tolerance, and operational convenience.

Black phosphorus nanosheets and docetaxel micelles co-incorporated thermoreversible hydrogel for combination chemo-photodynamic therapy.

The platform of the combination chemo-photodynamic therapy has received widespread attention for enhancing anticancer efficacy and inhibiting tumor growth, which supports thermosensitive and controlled drug release. Here, an injectable thermoreversible hydrogel (BPNSs/DTX-M-hydrogel) co-encapsulating black phosphorus nanosheets (BPNSs) and docetaxel (DTX) micelles was prepared to increase drug accumulation in tumor tissue and improve anticancer efficacy. BPNSs were prepared by liquid exfoliation method with a simple and rapid preparation, and DTX micelles were prepared by the thin film dispersion method.

Redox dual-stimuli responsive drug delivery systems for improving tumor-targeting ability and reducing adverse side effects.

Cancer is a big challenge that has plagued the human beings for ages and one of the most effective treatments is chemotherapy. However, the low tumor-targeting ability limits the wide clinical application of chemotherapy. The microenvironment plays a critical role in many aspects of tumor genesis.

Modulation of Wnt/β-catenin signaling in IL-17A-mediated macrophage polarization of RAW264.7 cells.

Macrophages play pivotal roles in host defense and immune homeostasis, which have two major functional polarization states, the classically activated M1 and the alternatively activated M2. Interleukin (IL)-17A is an immune modulator able to shape macrophage phenotypes. Wnt/β-catenin is a developmental signaling pathway that plays crucial roles in morphogenesis and tissue homeostasis, which has also been recently demonstrated playing roles in immune regulation.

Enhancement and improvement of selenium in soil to the resistance of rape stem against Sclerotinia sclerotiorum and the inhibition of dissolved organic matter derived from rape straw on mycelium.

Sclerotinia stem rot (SSR), caused by Sclerotinia sclerotiorum (S. sclerotiorum), one of the most destructive diseases in many crops including Brassica napus L. The extensive use of fungicides to control S.

Application of a Backpropagation Artificial Neural Network in Predicting Plasma Concentration and Pharmacokinetic Parameters of Oral Single-Dose Rosuvastatin in Healthy Subjects.

A backpropagation artificial neural network (BPANN) model was established for the prediction of the plasma concentration and pharmacokinetic parameters of rosuvastatin (RVST) in healthy subjects. The data (demographic characteristics and results of clinical laboratory tests) were collected from 4 bioequivalence studies using reference 10-mg RVST calcium tablets. After the data were cleaned using extreme gradient boosting, 13 important factors were extracted to construct the BPANN model.

Pharmacokinetics and Bioequivalence Evaluation of Erlotinib Hydrochloride Tablets: Randomized, Open-Label, 2-Period Crossover Study in Healthy Chinese Subjects.

A randomized, open-label, 2-period crossover study was performed to evaluate the pharmacokinetic properties and bioequivalence of 2 erlotinib hydrochloride tablets (a test formulation and a reference formulation) in healthy Chinese subjects. Subjects were randomized to receive a single oral dose of the erlotinib hydrochloride test or reference formulation (150 mg) under fasting conditions. The washout period was 12 days.

Comparison of carotid atherosclerotic plaques between subjects in Northern and Southern China: a Chinese atherosclerosis risk evaluation study.

Background And Purpose: To investigate differences in the characteristics of carotid atherosclerotic plaques of symptomatic subjects in northern and southern China using MRI.

Methods: Sixty-three subjects in northern China (mean age: 59.1±8.

Directed Cobalt-Catalyzed -Markovnikov Hydroalkylation of Unactivated Alkenes Enabled by "Co-H" Catalysis.

The earth-abundant cobalt-catalyzed -Markovnikov hydroalkylation of unactivated alkenes with oxime esters was achieved by introducing an 8-aminoquinoline directing group on the alkenes. The catalytic system, consisting of commercially available Co(acac) and PhMeSiH, enables the construction of unfunctionalized C(sp)-C(sp) bonds and features exclusive -Markovnikov selectivity, good functional group tolerance, and the avoidance of an extra ligand, oxidant, or base. Mechanistic insight into this new catalytic system indicates the involvement of both alkyl radical and cobalt hydride intermediates.

Association of atherosclerotic plaque features with collateral circulation status in elderly patients with chronic carotid stenosis.

Objective: To determine the association of carotid plaque features with collateral circulation status in elderly patients with moderate to severe carotid stenosis.

Methods: Elderly patients (> 60 years) with moderate to severe carotid stenosis were recruited and categorized into good and poor collateral circulation groups, and underwent magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography imaging. The carotid plaque features including lipid-rich necrotic core, intraplaque hemorrhage, calcification, and fibrous cap rupture (FCR) were evaluated, and maximum wall thickness, normalized wall index (NWI), and luminal stenosis were measured.

Bond-Scission-Induced Structural Transformation from Cumulene to Diyne Moiety and Formation of Semiconducting Organometallic Polyyne.

The structural transformation from symmetric cumulene to broken-symmetry polyyne within a one-dimensional (1-D) atomic carbon chain is a signature of Peierls distortion. Direct observation of such a structural transformation with single-bond resolution is, however, still challenging. Herein, we design a molecule with a cumulene moiety (BrC═C═C═CBr) and employ STM tip manipulation to achieve the molecular skeleton rearrangement from a cumulene to a diyne moiety (Br-C≡C-C≡C-Br).

Plaque enhancement in multi-cerebrovascular beds associates with acute cerebral infarction.

Background: It is valuable to explore the relationship between plaque characteristics and stroke by using three-dimensional (3D) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the vessel wall.

Purpose: To investigate the association between plaque enhancement score (PES) of co-existing intracranial and extracranial carotid plaques and ischemic stroke using 3D MRI.

Material And Methods: Symptomatic patients were recruited and underwent cerebrovascular 3D MRI of the vessel wall.

[Clinical efficacy of acupuncture combined with modified Xiangfu Decoction in treatment of menopausal insomnia cause by liver Qi stagnation].

To evaluate the efficacy and safety of acupuncture combined with modified Xiangfu Decoction in the treatment of menopausal insomnia case by liver Qi stagnation. Totally 120 cases were randomly divided into the control group(60 cases) and the treatment group(60 cases). Estazolam and acupuncture combined with modified Xiangfu Decoction were given for 16 weeks.

Paradoxical combination of saturable absorption and reverse-saturable absorption in plasmon semiconductor nanocrystals.

In heavily doped semiconductor nanocrystal systems, high-order nonlinearities including third-order nonlinearity and fifth-order nonlinearity can be tailored to manipulate light on the nanoscale due to the semiconductor intrinsic absorption and localized surface plasmon resonances. Here, by exploiting the nonlinear optical properties of broadly infrared plasmons in solution-processed aluminum-doped ZnO nanocrystals (AZO NCs) with a wide band-gap, we demonstrate that the competition between plasma ground-state bleaching (third-order nonlinearity) and three-photon absorption (fifth-order nonlinearity) is responsible for the transition between saturable absorption and reverse saturable absorption. Upon increasing the pump intensity, the third-order nonlinear coefficient decreases from -5.

Downregulation of CLDN6 inhibits cell proliferation, migration, and invasion via regulating EGFR/AKT/mTOR signalling pathway in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Accumulating evidence showed that the claudin-6 (CLDN6) expression was abnormal in many cancers, while its expression and biological functions in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is still unclear. The present study demonstrated that CLDN6 was upregulated in HCC tissues compared with tumour-adjacent tissues. CLDN6 silencing was significantly inhibited proliferation, migration, and invasion of HepG2 cells.

Development of a Traceless Directing Group: Cp*-Free Cobalt-Catalyzed C-H Activation/Annulations to Access Isoquinolinones.

A new traceless directing group, 2-(hydroxymethyl)pyridine, has been reported for the Cp*-free cobalt-catalyzed C-H activation/annulation reaction to synthesize isoquinolinones. The reaction exhibits good functional group tolerance, affording products in good to excellent isolated yields under mild conditions. Notably, the directing group can be removed directly in situ along the catalytic process.

Synthesizing Crystalline Chalcogenidoarsenates in Thiol-Amine Solvent Mixtures.

Thiol-amine solvent mixtures have been widely applied in the solution processing of binary chalcogenide thin films due to their excellent ability to dissolve various bulk binary chalcogenides. However, application of this solvent system in preparing new crystalline chalcogenidometalates has not been explored. In this work, by using a thiol-amine solvent mixture of -butylamine (BA) and 1,2-ethanedithiol (EDT) as the reaction medium and protonated piperazine (pip) cation as the template, we synthesized a series of new chalcogenidoarsenates with structures ranging from discrete clusters to two-dimensional layers, namely, [pipH][pipH][AsS] (), [pipH][pipH][As(SeS)] (), [pipH][pipH][InAsAsS(S)] (), [pipH][pipH][InAsAsSSe(Se)] (), [pipH][AsS(S)] (), [pipH][AsS] (), [pipH][AgAsS] (), [pipH][GaAsAsS] (), and Cs[pipH][InAsS]Cl ().

Using Bronchoalveolar Lavage to Evaluate Changes in Pulmonary Diseases.

Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) is a procedure that can be used to collect samples from human and animal lungs to efficiently evaluate the immune response and the potentially pathological changes by examining both the compositions of cells and fluid from lavage. There are observable changes including inflammatory response in human and animal lungs exposed to environmental exposures such as toxic chemicals and microorganisms, or under pathophysiological conditions in respiratory system. The profile of inflammatory cells in BAL provides a qualitative description of inflammatory response, and the secretion in BAL fluid contains secreted proteins of inflammatory mediators and albumin as a quantitative measurement of inflammation and tissue injury in the lungs.

Facile Clamp-Assisted Ligation Strategy for Direct Discrimination and Background-Free Quantification of Site-Specific 5-Formylcytosine.

Quantification of site-specific 5-formylcytosine (5fC) in DNA is highly significant to better understand its biological functions. However, it is still a big challenge to precisely discriminate 5fC from cytosine (C), 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC), 5-methylcytosine (5mC), and 5-carboxycytosine (5caC) owing to their similar structures that will interfere the quantification of 5fC. To solve this issue, a novel peptide nucleic acid (PNA) clamp-assisted ligation amplification strategy coupled with a 5fC-selective chemical conversion route is employed, through which 5fC can be precisely quantified with other interfering signals completely suppressed.

Irregularity of Carotid Plaque Surface Predicts Subsequent Vascular Event: A MRI Study.

Background: The relationship between plaque compositions and irregular plaque surface and its predictive value for vascular events (VEs) are unknown.

Purpose: To investigate the relationship between irregular carotid plaque surface and plaque compositional features and its predictive values for future VEs utilizing magnetic resonance (MR) vessel wall imaging.

Study Type: Prospective study.