Artificial intelligence-powered solutions for automated aortic diameter measurement in computed tomography: a narrative review.

Background And Objective: Patients with thoracic aortic aneurysm and dissection (TAAD) are often asymptomatic but present acutely with life threatening complications that necessitate emergency intervention. Aortic diameter measurement using computed tomography (CT) is considered the gold standard for diagnosis, surgical planning, and monitoring. However, manual measurement can create challenges in clinical workflows due to its time-consuming, labour-intensive nature and susceptibility to human error.

ATF5-Mediated Mitochondrial Unfolded Protein Response (UPR) Protects Neurons Against Oxygen-Glucose Deprivation and Cerebral Ischemia.

Background: The mitochondrial unfolded protein response (UPR) is an evolutionarily conserved mitochondrial response that is critical for maintaining mitochondrial and energetic homeostasis under cellular stress after tissue injury and disease. Here, we ask whether UPR may be a potential therapeutic target for ischemic stroke.

Methods: We performed the middle cerebral artery occlusion and oxygen-glucose deprivation models to mimic ischemic stroke in vivo and in vitro, respectively.

SLC22A17 as a Cell Death-Linked Regulator of Tight Junctions in Cerebral Ischemia.

Background: Beyond neuronal injury, cell death pathways may also contribute to vascular injury after stroke. We examined protein networks linked to major cell death pathways and identified SLC22A17 (solute carrier family 22 member 17) as a novel mediator that regulates endothelial tight junctions after ischemia and inflammatory stress.

Methods: Protein-protein interactions and brain enrichment analyses were performed using STRING, Cytoscape, and a human tissue-specific expression RNA-seq database.

3SAT on an all-to-all-connected CMOS Ising solver chip.

This work solves 3SAT, a classical NP-complete problem, on a CMOS-based Ising hardware chip with all-to-all connectivity. The paper addresses practical issues in going from algorithms to hardware. It considers several degrees of freedom in mapping the 3SAT problem to the chip-using multiple Ising formulations for 3SAT; exploring multiple strategies for decomposing large problems into subproblems that can be accommodated on the Ising chip; and executing a sequence of these subproblems on CMOS hardware to obtain the solution to the larger problem.

Deep learning-assisted smartphone-based quantitative microscopy for label-free peripheral blood smear analysis.

Hematologists evaluate alterations in blood cell enumeration and morphology to confirm peripheral blood smear findings through manual microscopic examination. However, routine peripheral blood smear analysis is both time-consuming and labor-intensive. Here, we propose using smartphone-based autofluorescence microscopy (Smart-AM) for imaging label-free blood smears at subcellular resolution with automatic hematological analysis.

Peptide-based allosteric inhibitor targets TNFR1 conformationally active region and disables receptor-ligand signaling complex.

Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) receptor 1 (TNFR1) plays a pivotal role in mediating TNF induced downstream signaling and regulating inflammatory response. Recent studies have suggested that TNFR1 activation involves conformational rearrangements of preligand assembled receptor dimers and targeting receptor conformational dynamics is a viable strategy to modulate TNFR1 signaling. Here, we used a combination of biophysical, biochemical, and cellular assays, as well as molecular dynamics simulation to show that an anti-inflammatory peptide (FKCRRWQWRMKK), which we termed FKC, inhibits TNFR1 activation allosterically by altering the conformational states of the receptor dimer without blocking receptor-ligand interaction or disrupting receptor dimerization.

Circadian Biology and the Neurovascular Unit.

Mammalian physiology and cellular function are subject to significant oscillations over the course of every 24-hour day. It is likely that these daily rhythms will affect function as well as mechanisms of disease in the central nervous system. In this review, we attempt to survey and synthesize emerging studies that investigate how circadian biology may influence the neurovascular unit.

Clinical Evaluation of a 2-Minute Ultrafast Brain MR Protocol for Evaluation of Acute Pathology in the Emergency and Inpatient Settings.

Background And Purpose: The use of MR imaging in emergency settings has been limited by availability, long scan times, and sensitivity to motion. This study assessed the diagnostic performance of an ultrafast brain MR imaging protocol for evaluation of acute intracranial pathology in the emergency department and inpatient settings.

Materials And Methods: Sixty-six adult patients who underwent brain MR imaging in the emergency department and inpatient settings were included in the study.

Location-Specific Hematoma Volume Cutoff and Clinical Outcomes in Intracerebral Hemorrhage.

Background: Major intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) trials have largely been unable to demonstrate therapeutic benefit in improving functional outcomes. This may be partly due to the heterogeneity of ICH outcomes based on their location, where a small strategic ICH could be debilitating, thus confounding therapeutic effects. We aimed to determine the ideal hematoma volume cutoff for different ICH locations in predicting ICH outcomes.

Self-Acupressure for Symptom Management in Cancer Patients: A Systematic Review.

Context: Acupressure is a popular nonpharmacological intervention that is increasingly proven to effectively alleviate symptoms in patients with cancer. However, the effects of self-acupressure on cancer symptom management are less clear.

Objectives: This systematic review is the first to summarize the current experimental evidence on self-acupressure for symptom management in cancer patients.

Pathogenic variants among females with breast cancer and a non-breast cancer reveal opportunities for cancer interception.

Purpose: Herein, we report the frequency and distribution of germline pathogenic variants (PVs) among females with breast cancer (BC) and at least one other non-BC who underwent multi-gene panel testing (MGPT). Among females with PVs diagnosed first with BC or ovarian cancer (OC), we sought to enumerate the frequency of subsequent PV-associated cancers.

Methods: Females with BC and cancer of ≥ 1 other site (multiple primary cancers, MPC) who underwent MGPT through Ambry Genetics from March 2012 to December 2016 were included if they had testing of at least 21 genes of interest (ATM, BARD1, BRCA1, BRCA2, BRIP1, CDH1, CHEK2, EPCAM, MLH1, MSH2, MSH6, MUTYH, NBN, NF1, PALB2, PMS2, PTEN, RAD51C, RAD51D, STK11, and TP53).

Abnormal Conduction Zone Detected by Isochronal Late Activation Mapping Accurately Identifies the Potential Atrial Substrate and Predicts the Atrial Fibrillation Ablation Outcome After Pulmonary Vein Isolation.

Background: The presence of abnormal substrate of left atrium is a predictor of atrial fibrillation (AF) recurrence after pulmonary vein isolation. We aimed to investigate the isochronal late activation mapping to access the abnormal conduction velocity for predicting AF ablation outcome.

Methods: Forty-five paroxysmal AF patients (30 males, 57.

Low-latency label-free image-activated cell sorting using fast deep learning and AI inferencing.

Classification and sorting of cells using image-activated cell sorting (IACS) systems can bring significant insight to biomedical sciences. Incorporating deep learning algorithms into IACS enables cell classification and isolation based on complex and human-vision uninterpretable morphological features within a heterogeneous cell population. However, the limited capabilities and complicated implementation of deep learning-assisted IACS systems reported to date hinder the adoption of the systems for a wide range of biomedical research.

Diurnal Differences in Immune Response in Brain, Blood and Spleen After Focal Cerebral Ischemia in Mice.

Background: The immune response to acute cerebral ischemia is a major factor in stroke pathobiology. Circadian biology modulates some aspects of immune response. The goal of this study is to compare key parameters of immune response during the active/awake phase versus inactive/sleep phase in a mouse model of transient focal cerebral ischemia.

Fingolimod Does Not Reduce Infarction After Focal Cerebral Ischemia in Mice During Active or Inactive Circadian Phases.

Background: It has been reported that the S1P (sphingosine 1-phosphate) receptor modulator fingolimod reduces infarction in rodent models of stroke. Recent studies have suggested that circadian rhythms affect stroke and neuroprotection. Therefore, this study revisited the use of fingolimod in mouse focal cerebral ischemia to test the hypothesis that efficacy might depend on whether experiments were performed during the inactive sleep or active wake phases of the circadian cycle.

A high-throughput technique to map cell images to cell positions using a 3D imaging flow cytometer.

We develop a high-throughput technique to relate positions of individual cells to their three-dimensional (3D) imaging features with single-cell resolution. The technique is particularly suitable for nonadherent cells where existing spatial biology methodologies relating cell properties to their positions in a solid tissue do not apply. Our design consists of two parts, as follows: recording 3D cell images at high throughput (500 to 1,000 cells/s) using a custom 3D imaging flow cytometer (3D-IFC) and dispensing cells in a first-in-first-out (FIFO) manner using a robotic cell placement platform (CPP).

Improvements in Endovascular Treatment for Acute Ischemic Stroke: A Longitudinal Study in the MR CLEAN Registry.

Background: We evaluated data from all patients in the Netherlands who underwent endovascular treatment for acute ischemic stroke in the past 3.5 years, to identify nationwide trends in time to treatment and procedural success, and assess their effect on clinical outcomes.

Methods: We included patients with proximal occlusions of the anterior circulation from the second and first cohorts of the MR CLEAN (Multicenter Randomized Clinical trial of Endovascular Treatment for Acute Ischemic Stroke in the Netherlands) Registry (March 2014 to June 2016; June 2016 to November 2017, respectively).

Dimethyl Fumarate Reduces Inflammation in Chronic Active Multiple Sclerosis Lesions.

Background And Objectives: To determine the effects of dimethyl fumarate (DMF) and glatiramer acetate on iron content in chronic active lesions in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and in human microglia in vitro.

Methods: This was a retrospective observational study of 34 patients with relapsing-remitting MS and clinically isolated syndrome treated with DMF or glatiramer acetate. Patients had lesions with hyperintense rims on quantitative susceptibility mapping, were treated with DMF or glatiramer acetate (GA), and had a minimum of 2 on-treatment scans.

Hericium erinaceus mycelium ameliorate anxiety induced by continuous sleep disturbance in vivo.

Background: Sleep disruption is a major public health issue and may increase the risk of mortality by ten-folds if an individual is sleeping less than 6 h per night. Sleep has changed dramatically during to the COVID-19 pandemic because COVID symptoms can lead to psychological distress including anxiety. Hericium erinaceus mycelium has been widely investigated in both the in vivo studies and clinical trials for its neuroprotective functions because the mycelium contains hericenones and erinacines, which synthesize the nerve growth factor and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF).