Improved visualization of the inferior tympanic and mastoid canaliculi with photon counting detector CT.

Purpose: To compare the performance of the photon-counting detector (PCD)-CT versus a state-of-the-art energy-integrating detector (EID)-CT to identify segments of the inferior tympanic canaliculus (Jacobsons nerve) and the mastoid canaliculus (Arnolds nerve).

Materials & Methods: Patients were prospectively recruited to undergo temporal bone CT on both EID-CT (Siemens Somatom Force) and PCD-CT (Siemens NAEOTOM Alpha) scanners under an IRB-approved protocol. Three neuroradiologists reviewed cases by consensus comparing the ability to identify the proximal, mid, and distal segments of the inferior tympanic canaliculus/Jacobsons nerve and mastoid canaliculus/Arnolds nerve on each scanner using 5-point Likert scales (with 1 indicating EID is far superior to PCD, 3 indicating they are equivalent, and 5 indicating PCD is far superior to EID).

Association of cardiorespiratory fitness with the incidence and progression trajectory of cardiometabolic multimorbidity.

Objectives: This study examined the relationship of cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) in the transition from healthy status to first cardiometabolic disease, subsequent cardiometabolic multimorbidity and further to death.

Methods: We used data from the UK Biobank of 47 484 participants without cardiometabolic diseases at baseline. CRF was assessed via a 6 min incremental ramp cycle ergometer test and expressed in metabolic equivalent of tasks (METs, 1 MET=3.

[Study on the association between different obesity metabolic phenotypes and carotid plaque].

To investigate the relationship between different obesity metabolic phenotypes and the incidence of new carotid artery plaque. The present study is a retrospective cohort study, collecting individuals from the Health Management Center of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University who had two or more cervical vascular color ultrasound examinations and met the inclusion criteria from 2014 to 2022, and collected their baseline clinical data. According to whether the subjects were obese and had metabolic syndrome, they were divided into metabolically healthy non-obese group, metabolically unhealthy non-obese group, metabolically healthy obese group, and metabolically unhealthy obese group.

Validation of a Prediction Model From Quantitative Coronary Angiography to Detect Ischaemic Lesions as Evaluated by Invasive Fractional Flow Reserve.

Aim: Physician visual assessment (PVA) in invasive coronary angiography (ICA) is clinically used to determine stenosis severity and guide coronary intervention. However, PVA provides limited information regarding the haemodynamic significance of stenosis. This prospective study aimed to develop a model combining visual diameter stenosis (DS) and quantitative coronary angiography (QCA)-derived parameters to diagnose ischaemic lesions using invasive fractional flow reserve (FFR) with pharmacologically induced maximal hyperaemia as the gold standard.

Long-Term Outcomes of Laparoscopic Anatomical versus Non-Anatomical Liver Resection for Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the long-term outcomes between laparoscopic anatomical liver resection (LAR) and laparoscopic non-anatomical liver resection (LNAR) in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Methods: In this single-center retrospective cohort study, 1773 patients, from January 2009 to December 2017, were assessed for inclusion. After exclusions, 661 patients were included: 304 patients received LAR and 357 patients received LNAR.

SGK1-Mediated Vascular Smooth Muscle Cell Phenotypic Transformation Promotes Thoracic Aortic Dissection Progression.

Background: The occurrence of thoracic aortic dissection (TAD) is closely related to the transformation of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) from a contractile to a synthetic phenotype. The role of SGK1 (serum- and glucocorticoid-regulated kinase 1) in VSMC phenotypic transformation and TAD occurrence is unclear.

Methods: Four-week-old male Sgk1 ( floxed) and Sgk1;Tagln (smooth muscle cell-specific knockout) mice were administered β-aminopropionitrile monofumarate for 4 weeks to model TAD.

Elevated plasma CXCL12 leads to pain chronicity via positive feedback upregulation of CXCL12/CXCR4 axis in pain synapses.

Background: Chronic pain poses a clinical challenge due to its associated costly disability and treatment needs. Determining how pain transitions from acute to chronic is crucial for effective management. Upregulation of the chemokine C-X-C motif ligand 12 (CXCL12) in nociceptive pathway is associated with chronic pain.

Cohort profile: AI-driven national Platform for CCTA for clinicaL and industriaL applicatiOns (APOLLO).

Purpose: Coronary CT angiography (CCTA) is well established for the diagnostic evaluation and prognostication of coronary artery disease (CAD). The growing burden of CAD in Asia and the emergence of novel CT-based risk markers highlight the need for an automated platform that integrates patient data with CCTA findings to provide tailored, accurate cardiovascular risk assessments. This study aims to develop an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven platform for CAD assessment using CCTA in Singapore's multiethnic population.

Randomized, Phase III Trial of Mixed Formulation of Fosrolapitant and Palonosetron (HR20013) in Preventing Cisplatin-Based Highly Emetogenic Chemotherapy-Induced Nausea and Vomiting: PROFIT.

Purpose: Mixed formulation of fosrolapitant and palonosetron (PALO), HR20013, is a novel fixed-dose intravenous antiemetic combination that could simultaneously antagonize neurokinin-1 and 5-hydroxytryptamine-3 receptors. This study was designed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of HR20013 plus dexamethasone (DEX) versus fosaprepitant (FAPR) plus PALO + DEX for preventing chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) in patients receiving highly emetogenic chemotherapy (HEC).

Methods: This is a noninferiority study.

Dietary Pattern, Sputum DNA Methylation, and Lung Health: An Epidemiological Study in People Who Ever Smoked.

Background: We previously identified a panel of sputum DNA methylation that predicts lung aging and risk for lung cancer.

Research Question: Can the sputum methylation panel be used as a readout to derive a dietary pattern beneficial for lung health? Is this dietary pattern associated with various subjective and objective lung health phenotypes? Does this relationship vary among people who currently smoke (current smokers) vs previously smoked (former smokers)?

Study Design And Methods: Using the Lovelace Smoker Cohort (LSC), we employed the LASSO (least absolute shrinkage and selection operator) regularized Poisson regression to define a dietary pattern for sputum. Associations of the dietary pattern with objective and subjective lung health measurements were examined using generalized linear and Cox models in the LSC and the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian (PLCO) Cancer Screening trial.

A self-reactivated PdCu catalyst for aldehyde electro-oxidation with anodic hydrogen production.

The low-potential aldehyde oxidation reaction can occur at low potential (~0 V) and release H at the anode, enabling hydrogen production with less than one-tenth of the energy consumption required for water splitting. Nevertheless, the activity and stability of Cu catalysts remain inadequate due to the oxidative deactivation of Cu-based materials. Herein, we elucidate the deactivation and reactivation cycle of Cu electrocatalyst and develop a self-reactivating PdCu catalyst that exhibits significantly enhanced stability.

Ultra-High-Resolution Photon-Counting-Detector CT with a Dedicated Denoising Convolutional Neural Network for Enhanced Temporal Bone Imaging.

Background And Purpose: Ultra-high-resolution (UHR) photon-counting-detector (PCD) CT improves image resolution but increases noise, necessitating use of smoother reconstruction kernels that reduce resolution below the system's 0.110 mm maximum spatial resolution. To address this, a denoising convolutional neural network (CNN) was developed to reduce noise in images reconstructed with the available sharpest reconstruction kernel while preserving resolution for enhanced temporal bone visualization.

Characterizing Nonculprit Lesions and Perivascular Adipose Tissue of Patients Following Acute Myocardial Infarction Using Coronary Computed Tomography Angiography: A Comparative Study.

Background: The comparison of coronary computed tomography angiography plaques and perivascular adipose tissue (PVAT) between patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) posttreatment and patients with stable coronary artery disease is poorly understood. Our objective was to evaluate the differences in coronary computed tomography angiography-quantified plaque and PVAT characteristics in patients post-AMI and identify signs of residual inflammation.

Methods And Results: We analyzed 205 patients (age, 59.

Safety of Simultaneous Vaccination With Adjuvanted Zoster Vaccine and Adjuvanted Influenza Vaccine: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Quadrivalent adjuvanted inactivated influenza vaccine (aIIV4) and adjuvanted recombinant zoster vaccine (RZV) contain novel adjuvants. Data are limited on the comparative safety, reactogenicity, and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) effects of the simultaneous administration of these vaccines.

Objective: To compare the safety and reactogenicity after simultaneous doses of RZV and aIIV4 administration (opposite arms) with simultaneous doses of RZV with quadrivalent high-dose inactivated influenza vaccine [HD-IIV4]).

Association of the Number of Concurrent Metabolic Syndrome Risk Factors with Textbook Outcomes Following Liver Resection for Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Multicenter Study.

Background: There is little information regarding the impact of the number of concurrent metabolic syndrome (MetS) risk factors on the textbook outcomes (TO) in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) following liver resection.

Patients And Methods: Data from patients who underwent liver resection between 2015 and 2023 in a multicenter database were retrospectively reviewed (N = 3156). According to the guidelines, MetS risk factors include obesity, hypertension, diabetes, and dyslipidemia.

Chitosan/dextran-based organohydrogel delivers EZH2 inhibitor to epigenetically reprogram chemo/immuno-resistance in unresectable metastatic melanoma.

Melanoma either intrinsically possesses resistance or rapidly acquires resistance to anti-tumor therapy, which often leads to local recurrence or distant metastasis after resection. In this study, we found histone 3 lysine 27 (H3K27) demethylated by an inhibitor of histone methyltransferase EZH2 could epigenetically reverse the resistance to chemo-drug paclitaxel (PTX), or enhance the efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitor anti-TIGIT via downregulating TIGIT ligand CD155. Next, to address the complexity in the combination of multiple bioactive molecules with distinct therapeutic properties, we developed a polysaccharides-based organohydrogel (OHG) configured with a heterogenous network.

Breadth and polyfunctionality of T cell responses to human cytomegalovirus in men who have sex with men: relationship with HIV infection and frailty.

Unlabelled: Cytomegalovirus (CMV)-seropositive adults have large T cell responses to a wide range of CMV proteins; these responses have been associated with chronic inflammation and frailty in people with or without HIV infection. We analyzed the relationships between chronic HIV infection, frailty, and the breadth and polyfunctionality of CD4 and CD8 T cell responses to CMV. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells from 42 men (20 without HIV and 22 with virologically suppressed HIV) in the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study (MACS) were stimulated with peptide pools spanning 19 CMV open reading frames (ORFs).

Peripheral liver metastases are more frequently missed than central metastases in contrast-enhanced CT: insights from a 25-reader performance study.

Purpose: Subtle liver metastases may be missed in contrast enhanced CT imaging. We determined the impact of lesion location and conspicuity on metastasis detection using data from a prior reader study.

Methods: In the prior reader study, 25 radiologists examined 40 CT exams each and circumscribed all suspected hepatic metastases.

Reinforcement learning-based pinning control for synchronization suppression in complex networks.

Synchronization in complex networks is a ubiquitous and important phenomenon with implications in various fields. Excessive synchronization may lead to undesired consequences, making desynchronization techniques essential. Exploiting the Proximal Policy Optimization algorithm, this work studies reinforcement learning-based pinning control strategies for synchronization suppression in global coupling networks and two types of irregular coupling networks: the Watts-Strogatz small-world networks and the Barabási-Albert scale-free networks.