Generation of INS-jGCaMP7f knock-in Ca reporter human embryonic stem cell line, GZLe001-C, using CRISPR/Cas9-based gene targeting.

As a member of the single-fluorophore genetically encoded calcium indicators (GECIs), jGCaMP7f is widely applied to investigate intracellular Ca concentrations. Here, we established an INS-jGCaMP7f knock-in H1 human embryonic stem cell (hESC) line by integrating jGCaMP7f gene into insulin locus via CRISPR/Cas9 system. The reporter cell line not only effectively labelled the insulin-producing cells induced from hESC, but also reflected the cytosolic change of Ca level in response to different stimuli.

A patient-specific auto-planning method for MRI-guided adaptive radiotherapy in prostate cancer.

Background And Purpose: Fast and automated generation of treatment plans is desirable for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-guided adaptive radiotherapy (MRIgART). This study proposed a novel patient-specific auto-planning method and validated its feasibility in improving the existing online planning workflow.

Materials And Methods: Data from 40 patients with prostate cancer were collected retrospectively.

Clinical implementation and evaluation of deep learning-assisted automatic radiotherapy treatment planning for lung cancer.

Purpose: The purpose of the study is to investigate the clinical application of deep learning (DL)-assisted automatic radiotherapy planning for lung cancer.

Methods: A DL model was developed for predicting patient-specific doses, trained and validated on a dataset of 235 patients with diverse target volumes and prescriptions. The model was integrated into clinical workflow with DL-predicted objective functions.

Noncoplanar Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy for Hepatocellular Carcinoma Based on a Cage-Like Radiotherapy System: A Simulation Study.

Background: The incorporation of noncoplanar beam arrangements has been proposed in liver radiotherapy modalities, which can reduce the dose in normal tissues compared to coplanar techniques. Noncoplanar radiotherapy techniques for hepatocellular carcinoma treatment based on the Linac design have a limited effective arc angle to avoid collisions.

Purpose: To propose a novel noncoplanar volumetric modulated arc therapy technique based on a cage-like radiotherapy system and investigate its performance in hepatocellular carcinoma patients.

Yishen Huashi granule modulated lipid metabolism in diabetic nephropathy via PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathways.

Aim: Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is the primary cause of end-stage renal disease worldwide. Although etiology for DN is complex and still needs to be fully understood, lipid metabolism disorder is found to play a role in it. Previously, we found Yishen Huashi (YSHS) granule could inhibit diabetic damage and reduce level of microalbuminuria (mALB) in DN animals.

Combining distance and anatomical information for deep-learning based dose distribution predictions for nasopharyngeal cancer radiotherapy planning.

Purpose: Deep-learning effectively predicts dose distributions in knowledge-based radiotherapy planning. Using anatomical information that includes a structure map and computed tomography (CT) data as input has been proven to work well. The minimum distance from each voxel in normal structures to planning target volume (DPTV) closely affects each voxel's dose.

The Protective Effect of Bajijiasu on the Treatment of Hypertensive Nephropathy in Rats.

Backgrounds: Hypertensive nephropathy (HN) is a kind of renal disease caused by essential hypertension that eventually worsens into end-stage renal disease (ESRD). HN could damage the renal tubules, induce kidney damage and renal failure, and increase the risk of stroke, heart disease or death, but there are few ideal drugs for HN treatment.

Methods: In this study, we explored the therapeutic effect of bajijiasu (a compound from Morinda officinalis how and a common traditional Chinese medicine for tonifying the kidney) on the HN rat model.

Yishen Huashi Granules Ameliorated the Development of Diabetic Nephropathy by Reducing the Damage of Glomerular Filtration Barrier.

Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is one of the most common complications of diabetes and the primary cause of end-stage renal disease. At present, renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) blockers have been applied as first-class drugs to restrain development of DN; however, its long-term effect is limited. Recent evidence has shown definite effects of Chinese medicine on DN.

A deep-learning method for generating synthetic kV-CT and improving tumor segmentation for helical tomotherapy of nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Megavoltage computed tomography (MV-CT) is used for setup verification and adaptive radiotherapy in tomotherapy. However, its low contrast and high noise lead to poor image quality. This study aimed to develop a deep-learning-based method to generate synthetic kilovoltage CT (skV-CT) and then evaluate its ability to improve image quality and tumor segmentation.

Treatment planning of volumetric modulated arc therapy and positioning optimization for hippocampal-avoidance prophylactic cranial irradiation.

Background: Hippocampal-avoidance prophylactic cranial irradiation (HA-PCI) offers potential neurocognitive benefits but raises technical challenges to treatment planning. This study aims to improve the conventional planning method using volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) technique and investigate a better patient's head positioning to achieve a high quality of HA-PCI treatment plans.

Methods: The improved planning method set a wide expansion of hippocampus as a special region for dose decline.

A Special Report on 2019 International Planning Competition and a Comprehensive Analysis of Its Results.

Purpose: The aim of this work is to introduce the 2019 International Planning Competition and to analyze its results.

Methods And Materials: A locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer (LA-NSCLC) case using the simultaneous integrated boost approach was selected. The plan quality was evaluated by using a ranking system in accordance with practice guidelines.

A novel metformin derivative showed improvement of lipid metabolism in obese rats with type 2 diabetes.

In this study, we investigated the lipid metabolism regulatory activity of a novel metformin derivative (MD568) and its potential mechanism of action in obese rats with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T DM). Previous gene chip analysis of 3T3-L1 cells have shown that MD568 regulates the transcription of genes involved in the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) signalling pathway, fatty acid metabolism, and glycerolipid metabolism. In this study, obese T DM rats were treated with MD568 (200 mg/kg) for 8 weeks.

Lipidomics Analysis of Timosaponin BII in INS-1 Cells Induced by Glycolipid Toxicity and Its Relationship with Inflammation.

Anemarrhena asphodeloides Bunge is a traditional Chinese medicine. The timosaponin BII is one of the most abundant and widely studied active ingredients in Anemarrhena asphodeloides Bunge. Related studies have shown that timosaponin BII has potential value for development and further utilization.

Evaluating and Diagnosing Road Intersection Operation Performance Using Floating Car Data.

Urban road intersections play an important role in deciding the total travel time and the overall travel efficiency. In this paper, an innovative traffic grid model has been proposed, which evaluates and diagnoses the traffic status and the time delay at intersections across whole urban road networks. This method is grounded on a massive amount of floating car data sampled at a rate of 3 s, and it is composed of three major parts.

MRI relaxivity enhancement of gadolinium oxide nanoshells with a controllable shell thickness.

Gadolinium oxide-based core-shelled nanoparticles have recently emerged as novel magnetic resonance imaging contrast agents for high relaxivity and tumor targeting. However, their relaxivity enhancement mechanism has not yet been clearly understood. We prepared highly dispersible and uniform core-shell structured nanoparticles by encapsulating silica spheres (90 nm in diameter) with gadolinium oxide shells of different thicknesses (from 1.

Tumor-targeted nanoprobes for enhanced multimodal imaging and synergistic photothermal therapy: core-shell and dumbbell Gd-tailored gold nanorods.

Multifunctional nanoprobes, due to their unique nanocomposite structures, have prominent advantages that combine multimodal imaging of a tumor with photothermal therapy. However, they remain a challenge for constructing nanostructures via conventional approaches due to the peculiar environmental sensitivity of each component. Here, we report the design and synthesis of Gd-based nanoparticle-tailored gold nanorods with distinctive core-shell and dumbbell nanoarchitectures (NAs) by a specific synthesis technology.

Structure and dysprosium dopant engineering of gadolinium oxide nanoparticles for enhanced dual-modal magnetic resonance and fluorescence imaging.

We report a class of multi-functional core-shell nanoarchitectures, consisting of silica nanospheres as the core and GdO:Dy nanocrystals as the ultra-thin shell, that enable unique multi-color living cell imaging and remarkable in vivo magnetic resonance imaging. These types of targeted cell imaging nanoarchitectures can be used as a variety of fluorescence nanoprobes due to the multi-color emissions of the GdO:Dy nanophosphor. We also proposed a strategy of modulating core-shell structure design to achieve an enhanced magnetic resonance contrast ability of GdO nanoagents, and the classical Solomon-Bloembergen-Morgan theory was applied to explicate the mechanism underlying the enhancement.

Numerical simulation and field test study of desulfurization wastewater evaporation treatment through flue gas.

Aimed at cost saving and pollution reduction, a novel desulfurization wastewater evaporation treatment system (DWETS) for handling wet flue gas desulfurization (WFGD) wastewater of a coal-fired power plant was studied. The system's advantages include simple process, and less investment and space. The feasibility of this system has been proven and the appropriate position and number of nozzles, the spray droplet size and flue gas temperature limitation have been obtained by computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation.

High-throughput virtual screening for drug discovery in parallel.

With the influx of targets generated by genomics and proteomics initiatives, a new drug discovery paradigm is emerging. Many companies are setting up target family platforms that tackle multiple targets and therapeutic areas simultaneously. Virtual screening (VS) techniques are a fundamental component of such platforms for in silico filtering of compound collections and prioritization of chemistry and screening efforts.