SEAD reference panel with 22,134 haplotypes boosts rare variant imputation and genome-wide association analysis in Asian populations.

Limited whole genome sequencing (WGS) studies in Asian populations result in a lack of representative reference panels, thus hindering the discovery of ancestry-specific variants. Here, we present the South and East Asian reference Database (SEAD) panel ( https://imputationserver.westlake.

A feasibility study of using virtual noncontrast images synthesized from dual-energy computed tomography for radiotherapy treatment planning.

Background: In the traditional computed tomography (CT) simulation process, patients need to undergo CT scans before and after injection of iodine-based contrast agent, resulting in a cumbersome workflow and additional imaging dose. Contrast-enhanced spectral CT can synthesize true contrast-enhanced (TCE) images and virtual noncontrast (VNC) images in a single scan without geometric misalignment. To improve work efficiency and reduce patients' imaging dose, we studied the feasibility of using VNC images for radiotherapy treatment planning, with true noncontrast (TNC) images as references and explored its dosimetric advantages compared to using TCE images.

Growth Prediction of Ground-Glass Nodules Based on Pulmonary Vascular Morphology Nomogram.

Rationale And Objectives: To construct a nomogram combining conventional CT features (CCTFs), morphologically abnormal tumor-related vessels (MATRVs), and clinical features to predict the two-year growth of lung ground-glass nodule (GGN).

Methods: High-resolution CT targeted scan images of 158 patients including 167 GGNs from January 2016 to September 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. The CCTF and MATRV of each GGN were recorded.

Natriuretic Peptides to Classify Risk of Atrial Fibrillation Detection After Stroke: Analysis of the BIOSIGNAL and PRECISE Cohort Studies.

Background And Objectives: Prolonged cardiac monitoring (PCM) increases atrial fibrillation (AF) detection after ischemic stroke, but access is limited, and it is burdensome for patients. Our objective was to assess whether midregional proatrial natriuretic peptide (MR-proANP) and N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) could classify people who are unlikely to have AF after ischemic stroke and allow better targeting of PCM.

Methods: We analyzed people from the Biomarker Signature of Stroke Aetiology (BIOSIGNAL) study with ischemic stroke, no known AF, and ≥3 days cardiac monitoring.

Efficacy of Polyethylene Glycol Electrolyte Powder Combined With Linaclotide for Colon Cleansing in Patients With Chronic Constipation Undergoing Colonoscopy: A Multicenter, Single-Blinded, Randomized Controlled Trial.

Introduction: Constipation is an independent risk factor for poor bowel preparation. This study aimed to evaluate the bowel cleansing efficacy and safety of polyethylene glycol (PEG) combined with linaclotide (lin) for colonoscopy in patients with chronic constipation (CC).

Methods: This single-blinded, randomized, controlled, and multicenter study was conducted from July 2021 to December 2022 at 7 hospitals.

Microwave Ablation versus Surgical Resection for US-detected Multifocal T1N0M0 Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma: A 10-Center Study.

Background Microwave ablation (MWA) is currently under preliminary investigation for the treatment of multifocal papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) and has shown promising treatment efficacy. Compared with surgical resection (SR), MWA is minimally invasive and could preserve thyroid function. However, a comparative analysis between MWA and SR is warranted to draw definitive conclusions.

A comparison of pregnancy outcomes and congenital malformations in offspring between patients undergoing intracytoplasmic sperm injection and conventional in vitro fertilization: a retrospective cohort study.

Objective: To explore whether intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) would increase the malformation risk in fetuses and live births compared with conventional in vitro fertilization (IVF).

Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Patient(s): Data were collected from couples who underwent conventional IVF or ICSI from January 2009 to December 2019 at the Center for Reproductive Medicine of Peking University Third Hospital in the People's Republic of China.

Protein MRI Contrast Agents as an Effective Approach for Precision Molecular Imaging.

Cancer and other acute and chronic diseases are results of perturbations of common molecular determinants in key biological and signaling processes. Imaging is critical for characterizing dynamic changes in tumors and metastases, the tumor microenvironment, tumor-stroma interactions, and drug targets, at multiscale levels. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has emerged to be a primary imaging modality for both clinical and preclinical applications due to its advantages over other modalities, including sensitivity to soft tissues, nondepth limitations, and the use of nonionizing radiation.

Habitat Radiomics Based on MRI for Predicting Platinum Resistance in Patients with High-Grade Serous Ovarian Carcinoma: A Multicenter Study.

Rationale And Objectives: This study aims to explore the feasibility of MRI-based habitat radiomics for predicting response of platinum-based chemotherapy in patients with high-grade serous ovarian carcinoma (HGSOC), and compared to conventional radiomics and deep learning models.

Materials And Methods: A retrospective study was conducted on HGSOC patients from three hospitals. K-means algorithm was used to perform clustering on T2-weighted images (T2WI), contrast-enhanced T1-weighted images (CE-T1WI), and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) maps.

Radiomics Analysis of Diffusion Kurtosis Imaging: Distinguishing Between Glioblastoma and Single Brain Metastasis.

Rationale And Objectives: This study aimed to assess the value of diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI)-based radiomics models in differentiating glioblastoma (GB) from single brain metastasis (SBM) and compare their diagnostic performance with that of routine magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) models.

Materials And Methods: A total of 110 patients who underwent DKI and were pathologically diagnosed with GB (n = 58) or SBM (n = 52) were enrolled in this study. Radiomics features were extracted from the manually delineated region of interest of the lesion.

Detecting Emergent Continuous Symmetries at Quantum Criticality.

New or enlarged symmetries can emerge at the low-energy spectrum of a Hamiltonian that does not possess the symmetries, if the symmetry breaking terms in the Hamiltonian are irrelevant under the renormalization group flow. We propose a tensor network based algorithm to numerically extract lattice operator approximation of the emergent conserved currents from the ground state of any quantum spin chains, without the necessity to have prior knowledge about its low-energy effective field theory. Our results for the spin-1/2 J-Q Heisenberg chain and a one-dimensional version of the deconfined quantum critical points demonstrate the power of our method to obtain the emergent lattice Kac-Moody generators.

Regio-controllable [2+2] benzannulation with two adjacent C(sp)-H bonds.

Regiocontrol in traditional cycloaddition reactions between unsaturated carbon compounds is often challenging. The increasing focus in modern medicinal chemistry on benzocyclobutene (BCB) scaffolds indicates the need for alternative, more selective routes to diverse rigid carbocycles rich in C(sp) character. Here, we report a palladium-catalyzed double C-H activation of two adjacent methylene units in carboxylic acids, enabled by bidentate amide-pyridone ligands, to achieve a regio-controllable synthesis of BCBs through a formal [2+2] cycloaddition involving σ bonds only (two C-H bonds and two aryl-halogen bonds).

Reduced Adenoma Miss Rate With 9-Minute vs 6-Minute Withdrawal Times for Screening Colonoscopy: A Multicenter Randomized Tandem Trial.

Introduction: Although the 9-minute mean withdrawal time (m-WT) is often reported to be associated with the optimal adenoma detection rate (ADR), no randomized trials of screening colonoscopy have confirmed the impact of a 9-minute m-WT on adenoma miss rate (AMR) and ADR.

Methods: A multicenter tandem trial was conducted in 11 centers. Seven hundred thirty-three asymptomatic participants were randomized to receive segmental tandem screening colonoscopy with a 9-minute withdrawal, followed by a 6-minute withdrawal (9-minute-first group, 9MF, n = 366) or vice versa (6-minute-first group, 6MF, n = 367).

Stroke genetics informs drug discovery and risk prediction across ancestries.

Previous genome-wide association studies (GWASs) of stroke - the second leading cause of death worldwide - were conducted predominantly in populations of European ancestry. Here, in cross-ancestry GWAS meta-analyses of 110,182 patients who have had a stroke (five ancestries, 33% non-European) and 1,503,898 control individuals, we identify association signals for stroke and its subtypes at 89 (61 new) independent loci: 60 in primary inverse-variance-weighted analyses and 29 in secondary meta-regression and multitrait analyses. On the basis of internal cross-ancestry validation and an independent follow-up in 89,084 additional cases of stroke (30% non-European) and 1,013,843 control individuals, 87% of the primary stroke risk loci and 60% of the secondary stroke risk loci were replicated (P < 0.

Ang II (Angiotensin II)-Induced FGFR1 (Fibroblast Growth Factor Receptor 1) Activation in Tubular Epithelial Cells Promotes Hypertensive Kidney Fibrosis and Injury.

Background: Elevated Ang II (angiotensin II) level leads to a range of conditions, including hypertensive kidney disease. Recent evidences indicate that FGFR1 (fibroblast growth factor receptor 1) signaling may be involved in kidney injuries. In this study, we determined whether Ang II alters FGFR1 signaling to mediate renal dysfunction.

A Single Vaccine Protects against SARS-CoV-2 and Influenza Virus in Mice.

The ongoing SARS-CoV-2 pandemic poses a severe global threat to public health, as do influenza viruses and other coronaviruses. Here, we present chimpanzee adenovirus 68 (AdC68)-based vaccines designed to universally target coronaviruses and influenza. Our design is centered on an immunogen generated by fusing the SARS-CoV-2 receptor-binding domain (RBD) to the conserved stalk of H7N9 hemagglutinin (HA).