Microwave ablation for benign thyroid nodules with cosmetic problems and related factors for post-ablative complete relief: a two-center retrospective study.

Purpose: To investigate the efficacy of ultrasound (US)-guided percutaneous MWA for benign thyroid nodules with cosmetic problems and identify related factors contributing to post-ablative complete relief (CR).

Methods: This retrospective study reviewed the efficacy of MWA in treating thyroid nodules in patients with cosmetic problems who underwent MWA from January 2021 to May 2023. Patients were followed up at 1, 3, and 6 months after MWA.

Renal denervation ameliorates atrial remodeling in type 2 diabetic rats by regulating mitochondrial dynamics.

There is no effective treatment for diabetes-related atrial remodeling currently. This study aimed to investigate the effects of renal denervation (RDN) on diabetes-related atrial remodeling and explore the related mechanisms. A type 2 diabetes mellitus model was established by high-fat diet feeding and low-dose streptozotocin injection in Sprague‒Dawley rats.

ADH4-a potential prognostic marker for hepatocellular carcinoma with possible immune-related implications.

Objective: This study aims to explore ADH4 expression in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), its prognostic impact, and its immune correlation to provide novel insights into HCC prognostication and treatment.

Methods: HCC prognostic marker genes were rigorously selected using GEO database, Lasso regression, GEPIA, Kaplan-Meier and pROC analyses. The expression of interested markers (ADH4, DNASE1L3, RDH16, LCAT, HGFAC) in HCC and adjacent tissues was assessed by Immunohistochemistry (IHC).

A Prediction Model for Assessing the Efficacy of Thermal Ablation in Treating Benign Thyroid Nodules ≥ 2 cm: A Multi-Center Retrospective Study.

Objectives: To develop and validate a prediction model utilizing clinical and ultrasound (US) data for preoperative assessment of efficacy following US-guided thermal ablation (TA) in patients with benign thyroid nodules (BTNs) ≥ 2 cm.

Materials And Methods: We retrospectively assessed 962 patients with 1011 BTNs who underwent TA at four tertiary centers between May 2018 and July 2022. Ablation efficacy was categorized into therapeutic success (volume reduction rate [VRR] > 50%) and non-therapeutic success (VRR ≤ 50%).

Perturbations in gut microbiota composition in schizophrenia.

Schizophrenia is a severe, complex and long-term psychiatric disorder with unclear etiology. Gut microbes influence the central nervous system via the gut-brain axis. Consequently, investigations of the relationship between gut microbes and schizophrenia are warranted.

Monoterpene-chalcone conjugates and diarylheptanoids isolated from the seeds of Alpinia katsumadai Hayata with cytotoxic activity.

Five undescribed monoterpene-chalcone conjugates (1-5), one undescribed hypothetical precursor of diarylheptanoid (6), two undescribed diarylheptanoids (7-8), and fourteen known compounds (9-22) were isolated from the seeds of Alpinia katsumadai. Their structures were elucidated through the interpretation of HRESIMS, NMR, ECD, and X-ray diffraction data. MTT assays on human cancer cell lines (HepG2, A549, SGC7901, and SW480) revealed that compounds 3-8, 11, and 13 exhibited broad-spectrum antiproliferative activities with IC values ranging from 3.

Secondary metabolites from the fungus .

A new cladosporol derivative xylophilum A (), together with 10 known compounds (-), were isolated from the rice fermentation of the fungus . Their structures were established by extensive spectroscopic methods and comparison of their NMR data with literatures. The antimicrobial activity of compound against 11 kinds of pathogenic microbial was evaluated, but no significant activity was found (MIC >100 μg/ml).

Intrauterine chilled saline instillation reduces endometrial impairment on MRI after ultrasound-guided percutaneous microwave ablation of uterine adenomyosis.

Objective: To investigate whether intrauterine chilled saline can reduce endometrial impairment during US-guided percutaneous microwave ablation (PMWA) of adenomyosis.

Methods: An open-label, randomized trial was conducted with sixty symptomatic adenomyosis patients who were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive PMWA treatment assisted by intrauterine saline instillation (study group) or traditional PMWA treatment alone (control group). The primary endpoint was endometrial perfusion impairment grade on post-ablation contrast-enhanced MRI.

Mitochondrial calcium uniporter promotes kidney aging in mice through inducing mitochondrial calcium-mediated renal tubular cell senescence.

Renal tubular epithelial cell senescence plays a critical role in promoting and accelerating kidney aging and age-related renal fibrosis. Senescent cells not only lose their self-repair ability, but also can transform into senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) to trigger inflammation and fibrogenesis. Recent studies show that mitochondrial dysfunction is critical for renal tubular cell senescence and kidney aging, and calcium overload and abnormal calcium-dependent kinase activities are involved in mitochondrial dysfunction-associated senescence.

Subtype prediction of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma using dynamic contrast-enhanced ultrasound.

Objective: The study aimed to investigate the predictive value of dynamic contrast-enhanced ultrasound (DCE-US) in differentiating small-duct (SD) and large-duct (LD) types of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC).

Methods: This study retrospectively enrolled 110 patients with pathologically confirmed ICC lesions who were subject to preoperative contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) examinations between January 2022 and February 2023. Patients were further classified according to the subtype: SD-type and LD-type, and an optimal predictive model was established and validated using the above pilot cohort.

Terpenoids from and their acetylcholinesterase inhibitory activity.

A new labdane diterpene (), two new norsesquiterpenoids (-), as well as eight known terpenoids (-) were isolated from the seeds of (Zingiberaceae). Their structures and absolute configurations were elucidated by 1D, 2D NMR, MS, and comparison of their experimental and calculated electronic circular dichroism (ECD). The acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitory activities of all the isolated compounds (-) were evaluated and the result showed that compounds and had inhibitory activity against AChE, with IC values at 295.

A new illudane sesquiterpene from the edible fungus .

Fungi have different genetic expression abilities and biosynthetic pathways under different cultivation conditions, which can produce various secondary metabolites. The "one strain many compounds" strategy is used to activate silent biosynthetic genes of fungi to produce various compounds, which is an effective method. In order to discover various new compounds in the edible fungus , a fermentation strategy involving precursor feeding and enzyme inhibitor addition has been employed.

Identification of Hedyotis diffusa Willd-specific mRNA-miRNA-lncRNA network in rheumatoid arthritis based on network pharmacology, bioinformatics analysis, and experimental verification.

Hedyotis diffusa Willd (HDW) possesses heat-clearing, detoxification, anti-cancer, and anti-inflammatory properties. However, its effects on rheumatoid arthritis (RA) remain under-researched. In this study, we identified potential targets of HDW and collected differentially expressed genes of RA from the GEO dataset GSE77298, leading to the construction of a drug-component-target-disease regulatory network.

Preoperative neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio predicts symptomatic anastomotic leakage in elderly colon cancer patients: Multicenter propensity score-matched analysis.

Background: The neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), a composite inflammatory biomarker, is associated with the prognosis in patients with colorectal tumors. However, whether the NLR can be used as a predictor of symptomatic postoperative anastomotic leakage (AL) in elderly patients with colon cancer is unclear.

Aim: To assess the role of the NLR in predicting the occurrence of symptomatic AL after surgery in elderly patients with colon cancer.

A multi-parameter intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma scoring system based on modified contrast-enhanced ultrasound LI-RADS M criteria for differentiating intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma from hepatocellular carcinoma.

Purpose: To develop a multi-parameter intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) scoring system and compare its diagnostic performance with contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) liver imaging reporting and data system M (LR-M) criteria for differentiating ICC from hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Methods: This retrospective study enrolled 62 high-risk patients with ICCs and 62 high-risk patients with matched HCCs between January 2022 and December 2022 from two institutions. The CEUS LR-M criteria was modified by adjusting the early wash-out onset (within 45 s) and the marked wash-out (within 3 min).

Value of contrast-enhanced ultrasonography in microwave ablation treatment of symptomatic focal uterine adenomyosis.

Purpose: This study evaluated the value of contrast-enhanced ultrasonography (CEUS) in the ultrasound-guided microwave ablation (MWA) treatment of symptomatic focal uterine adenomyosis.

Methods: This retrospective study was conducted between March 2020 and January 2023, enrolling 52 patients with symptomatic focal uterine adenomyosis who had undergone MWA. All patients were examined with CEUS before and after MWA.

Determinants of acute and subacute case-fatality in elderly patients with hypertensive intracerebral hemorrhage.

Background: Given that limited reports have described the survival and risk factors for elderly patients with hypertensive intracerebral hemorrhage (HICH), we aimed to develop a valid but simple prediction nomogram for the survival of HICH patients.

Methods: All elderly patients ≥65 years old who were diagnosed with HICH between January 2011 and December 2019 were identified. We performed the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (Lasso) on the Cox regression model with the R package glmnet.

Serum granulosa cell-derived TNF-α promotes inflammation and apoptosis of renal tubular cells and PCOS-related kidney injury through NF-κB signaling.

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a disorder with endocrinal and metabolic problems in reproductive aged women. Evidence shows that PCOS is in a high prone trend to develop kidney diseases. In this study, we investigated the mediators responsible for PCOS-related kidney injury.

Risk stratification of gallbladder masses by machine learning-based ultrasound radiomics models: a prospective and multi-institutional study.

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic performance of machine learning (ML)-based ultrasound (US) radiomics models for risk stratification of gallbladder (GB) masses.

Methods: We prospectively examined 640 pathologically confirmed GB masses obtained from 640 patients between August 2019 and October 2022 at four institutions. Radiomics features were extracted from grayscale US images and germane features were selected.

Immunogenicity consistency and safety with different production scales of recombinant adenovirus type-5 vectored COVID-19 vaccine in healthy adults: a randomized, double-blinded, immunobridging trial.

Background: The certification of immunogenicity consistency at different production scales is indispensable for the quality control of vaccines.

Research Design And Methods: A randomized, double-blind immunobridging trial in healthy adults aged 18-59 was divided into Scale A (50 L and 800 L) and Scale B (50 L and 500 L) based on vaccine manufacturing scales. Eligible participants in Scale A were randomly assigned to receive the single-dose recombinant adenovirus type-5 vectored COVID-19 vaccine (Ad5-nCoV) of different scales at a 1:1 ratio, as was Scale B.