The impact of MAFLD on coronary plaque characteristics and physiologic status: a coronary CT angiography study.

Rationale And Objectives: Metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) is linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular events. Our study sought to determine the impact of MAFLD on both the anatomy and function of coronary plaques.

Materials And Methods: A total of 203 participants (including 728 plaques) with suspected coronary artery disease (CAD) who underwent coronary CT angiography (CCTA) and abdominal ultrasound were prospectively enrolled.

Single-Nucleus Transcriptomic Atlas of Human Pericoronary Epicardial Adipose Tissue in Normal and Pathological Conditions.

Background: Pericoronary epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) is a unique visceral fat depot that surrounds the adventitia of the coronary arteries without any anatomic barrier. Clinical studies have demonstrated the association between EAT volume and increased risks for coronary artery disease (CAD). However, the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying the association remain elusive.

Assessment of Right Atrial Function Measured with Cardiac MRI Feature Tracking for Predicting Outcomes in Patients with Dilated Cardiomyopathy.

Background Right atrial (RA) function strain is increasingly acknowledged as an important predictor of adverse events in patients with diverse cardiovascular conditions. However, the prognostic value of RA strain in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) remains uncertain. Purpose To evaluate the prognostic value of RA strain derived from cardiac MRI (CMR) feature tracking (FT) in patients with DCM.

USP28 Serves as a Key Suppressor of Mitochondrial Morphofunctional Defects and Cardiac Dysfunction in the Diabetic Heart.

Background: The majority of people with diabetes are susceptible to cardiac dysfunction and heart failure, and conventional drug therapy cannot correct diabetic cardiomyopathy progression. Herein, we assessed the potential role and therapeutic value of USP28 (ubiquitin-specific protease 28) on the metabolic vulnerability of diabetic cardiomyopathy.

Methods: The type 2 diabetes mouse model was established using db/db leptin receptor-deficient mice and high-fat diet/streptozotocin-induced mice.

Clinical trial links oncolytic immunoactivation to survival in glioblastoma.

Immunotherapy failures can result from the highly suppressive tumour microenvironment that characterizes aggressive forms of cancer such as recurrent glioblastoma (rGBM). Here we report the results of a first-in-human phase I trial in 41 patients with rGBM who were injected with CAN-3110-an oncolytic herpes virus (oHSV). In contrast to other clinical oHSVs, CAN-3110 retains the viral neurovirulence ICP34.

Effect of Influenza Vaccination on Rate of Influenza Virus Infection in Chinese Military Personnel, 2015-2016: A Cluster Randomized Trial.

Influenza is a major cause of morbidity and mortality. The protective effect of a trivalent influenza vaccine (TIV) is undetermined in military personnel. We conducted an open-label, cluster randomized trial on active-duty servicemen of Beijing, Tianjin, and Shijiazhuang, who were randomly assigned to receive either a single dose of TIV or no treatment, according to cluster randomized sampling.

A Probiotic Formula for Modulation of Colorectal Cancer Risk via Reducing CRC-Associated Bacteria.

Gut microbiota dysbiosis with increased pathogenic bacteria and decreased beneficial bacteria is associated with colorectal cancer (CRC) development. This study examined the effect of a newly developed probiotic formula in modulating CRC-related bacteria. We developed a probiotic formula containing three bifidobacteria (, , and ) based on the identification of bacterial species that showed significant correlations with CRC-related bacteria including (), , (), and ().

Tumor-targeted delivery of a STING agonist improvescancer immunotherapy.

The cGAS-STING pathway is essential for immune defense against microbial pathogens and malignant cells; as such, STING is an attractive target for cancer immunotherapy. However, systemic administration of STING agonists poses safety issues while intratumoral injection is limited by tumor accessibility. Here, we generated antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) by conjugating a STING agonist through a cleavable linker to antibodies targeting tumor cells.

What is the general Chinese public's awareness of and attitudes towards screening and associated health behaviours? A cross-sectional study.

Objective: To evaluate the general population's awareness of and attitudes toward (HP) screening and health behaviours.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Setting: Hengyang, Hunan Province, China.

A Novel Etomidate Analog EL-0052 Retains Potent Hypnotic Effect and Stable Hemodynamics without Suppressing Adrenocortical Function.

Etomidate is a potent and rapidly acting anesthetic with high therapeutic index (TI) and superior hemodynamic stability. However, side effect of suppressing adrenocortical function limits its clinical use. To overcome this side effect, we designed a novel etomidate analog, EL-0052, aiming to retain beneficial properties of etomidate and avoid its disadvantage of suppressing adrenocortical steroid synthesis.

B-Cell Compartmental Features and Molecular Basis for Therapy in Autoimmune Disease.

Background And Objectives: To assess the molecular landscape of B-cell subpopulations across different compartments in patients with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD).

Methods: We performed B-cell transcriptomic profiles via single-cell RNA sequencing across CSF, blood, and bone marrow in patients with NMOSD.

Results: Across the tissue types tested, 4 major subpopulations of B cells with distinct signatures were identified: naive B cells, memory B cells, age-associated B cells, and antibody-secreting cells (ASCs).

Mesenchymal and Phosphatase of Regenerating Liver-3 Status in Circulating Tumor Cells May Serve as a Crucial Prognostic Marker for Assessing Relapse or Metastasis in Postoperative Patients With Colorectal Cancer.

Introduction: Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and phosphatase of regenerating liver-3 (PRL-3) have been considered to be significant prognostic indicators in metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC). This study discusses the prognostic significance of mesenchymal CTCs with PRL-3 (M+ PRL-3+ CTCs) in postoperative patients with CRC.

Methods: We detected CTC subtypes (including epithelial CTCs, biphenotypic epithelial/mesenchymal CTCs, and mesenchymal CTCs) and PRL-3 in CTCs from the peripheral blood samples of 156 patients.

Independent and Opposing Associations of Habitual Exercise and Chronic PM Exposures on Hypertension Incidence.

Background: We investigated the joint associations of habitual physical activity (PA) and long-term exposure to fine particulate matter (PM) with the development of hypertension in a longitudinal cohort in Taiwan.

Methods: We selected 140 072 adults (≥18 years of age) without hypertension who joined a standard medical screening program with 360 905 medical examinations between 2001 and 2016. PM exposure was estimated at each participant's address using a satellite data-based spatiotemporal model with 1 km resolution.

Newly diagnosed diabetes is associated with a higher risk of mortality than known diabetes in hospitalized patients with COVID-19.

Aim: To evaluate the association between different degrees of hyperglycaemia and the risk of all-cause mortality among hospitalized patients with COVID-19.

Materials And Methods: In a retrospective study conducted from 22 January to 17 March 2020, 453 patients were admitted to Union Hospital in Wuhan, China, with laboratory-confirmed severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection. Patients were classified into four categories: normal glucose, hyperglycaemia (fasting glucose 5.

Species Differences of Bile Acid Redox Metabolism: Tertiary Oxidation of Deoxycholate is Conserved in Preclinical Animals.

It was recently disclosed that CYP3A is responsible for the tertiary stereoselective oxidations of deoxycholic acid (DCA), which becomes a continuum mechanism of the host-gut microbial cometabolism of bile acids (BAs) in humans. This work aims to investigate the species differences of BA redox metabolism and clarify whether the tertiary metabolism of DCA is a conserved pathway in preclinical animals. With quantitative determination of the total unconjugated BAs in urine and fecal samples of humans, dogs, rats, and mice, it was confirmed that the tertiary oxidized metabolites of DCA were found in all tested animals, whereas DCA and its oxidized metabolites disappeared in germ-free mice.

Long Noncoding RNA Protects Against Cardiac Hypertrophy Through SUZ12 (Suppressor of Zeste 12 Protein Homolog)-Mediated Downregulation of MEF2A (Myocyte Enhancer Factor 2A).

Background: Long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) can regulate various physiological and pathological processes through multiple molecular mechanisms in cis and in trans. However, the role of lncRNAs in cardiac hypertrophy is yet to be fully elucidated.

Methods: A mouse lncRNA microarray was used to identify differentially expressed lncRNAs in the mouse hearts following transverse aortic constriction-induced pressure overload comparing to the sham-operated samples.

Predictive role of heterozygous p.R4810K of in the phenotype of Chinese moyamoya disease.

Objective: Precise genetic analyses were conducted with ring finger protein 213 () in relation to a particular clinical phenotype in Chinese patients with moyamoya disease (MMD) to determine whether heterozygosity is responsible for the early-onset and severe form of this disease.

Methods: A case-control study for p.R4810K involving 1,385 Chinese patients with MMD and 2,903 normal control participants was performed.

Lower serum retinoic acid level for prediction of higher risk of mortality in ischemic stroke.

Objective: To explore the association between serum retinoic acid (RA) level in patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS) and mortality risk in the 6 months after admission.

Methods: From January 2015 through December 2016, patients admitted to 3 stroke centers in China for first-ever AIS were screened. The primary endpoint was all-cause mortality or cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality in the 6 months after admission.

Screen for modulators of atonal homolog 1 gene expression using notch pathway-relevant gene transcription based cellular assays.

Atonal homolog 1 (Atoh1) is a basic helix-loop-helix 9 (bHLH) transcription factor acting downstream of Notch and is required for the differentiation of sensory hair cells in the inner ear and the specification of secretory cells during the intestinal crypt cell regeneration. Motivated by the observations that the upregulation of Atoh1 gene expression, through genetic manipulation or pharmacological inhibition of Notch signaling (e.g.