Assessment of whole-body and regional body fat using abdominal quantitative computed tomography in Chinese women and men.

Background: Being overweight or obese has become a serious public health concern, and accurate assessment of body composition is particularly important. More precise indicators of body fat composition include visceral adipose tissue (VAT) mass and total body fat percentage (TBF%). Study objectives included examining the relationships between abdominal fat mass, measured by quantitative computed tomography (QCT), and the whole-body and regional fat masses, measured by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), as well as to derive equations for the prediction of TBF% using data obtained from multiple QCT slices.

The value of the first postoperative diagnostic I-131 scan in patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma.

Objective: To explore the feasibility of the postoperative diagnostic I whole-body planar scans (Dx-WBS) in papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) patients, and to clarify its value for accurate staging, risk stratification, and postoperative radioactive iodine (RAI) treatment management.

Design: Retrospective study from 2015 to 2021.

Setting: A total of 1294 PTC patients in the tertiary referral hospital.

Transitional Electrodes in Electrowetting-Based Droplet Dispensing.

Digital microfluidic systems based on electrowetting-on-dielectric technology, particularly valuable in producing and manipulating microdroplets steadily and consistently, have experienced notable advancements in recent years. In this paper, experimental characterizations reveal that simply adding one transitional electrode between the reservoir and the splitting electrode improves the volumetric consistency and reproducibility for droplet dispensing. The volumetric coefficient variation of the consecutively dispensed droplets from a non-refilling reservoir decreases by 1% after the addition of one transitional electrode, with no extra external apparatus.

The effects of inspiratory muscle training on swimming performance: A study on the cohort of swimming specialization students.

Purpose: Current evidence posits a strong correlation between respiratory muscle function and swimming performance. Despite this, few studies have explored the integration of inspiratory muscle training (IMT) into standard swimming training regimens, which remains an unexplored avenue for improving performance in swimmers. This study aims to evaluate the potential advantages of IMT for enhancing respiratory function and swimming performance and determine whether such training could induce beneficial physiological adaptations.

Precision of quantitative parameters of F-FDG PET/CT in a rabbit VX2 tumor model.

Background: The precision reflecting repeated measurement error of quantitative parameters of flourine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (F-FDG PET/CT) for evaluating the therapeutic effect of solid tumor can help observe whether a real biologic change in glucose metabolism occurred, or if the change was caused by errors before and after the treatment.

Methods: A total of 18 VX2 tumor-bearing male New Zealand rabbits confirmed by pathology were used, three of which were used for determining the best scanning time point after injection and 15 for a precision experiment by repeating PET/CT scans for three consecutive days. The PET volume computer-assisted reading (PET VCAR) software (GE Healthcare) was used to analyze the standardized uptake value (SUV) and total lesion glycolysis (TLG) parameters.

Proper use of light environments for mitigating the effects of COVID-19 and other prospective public health emergency lockdowns on sleep quality and fatigue in adolescents.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) remains a public health emergency of international concern, and some countries still implement strict regional lockdowns. Further, the upcoming 2023 Asian Games and World University Games will implement a closed-loop management system. Quarantine can harm mental and physical health, to which adolescents are more vulnerable compared with adults.

Age-related changes in lumbar bone mineral density measured using quantitative computed tomography in healthy female cynomolgus monkeys.

Background: Cynomolgus monkeys are widely used in studies related to osteoporosis, and there is no evidence of age-related changes in volumetric bone mineral density (vBMD) measured using quantitative computed tomography (QCT) in nonhuman primates. This study aimed to describe changes in the characteristics of lumbar vBMD with age, to analyze the relationship between lumbar vBMD and body composition, and to investigate the precision of QCT measurements in healthy female cynomolgus monkeys.

Methods: Age-related changes in lumbar vBMD were described using cubic regression models, and the accumulated bone loss rates (ABLR) of the lumbar spine were calculated.

Analysis of serum bone turnover markers in female cynomolgus monkeys of different ages.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine bone turnover markers, estradiol, parathyroid hormone, and 25 hydroxyvitamin D, in cynomolgus monkeys at different ages to improve our understanding of the changes in bone turnover markers throughout the life cycle of cynomolgus monkeys and to provide a basis for the establishment of a non-human primate model of osteoporosis.

Methods: Total Body Bone Mineral Density and Total Body Bone Mineral Content were measured using Dual-Energy X-Ray Absorptiometry in cynomolgus monkeys at different ages. Serum bone turnover marker' levels were measured using enzyme immunoassays at each age group, and the relationship between bone turnover markers and age was assessed by Spearman rank correlation analysis to investigate the relationship between bone turnover markers and age in female cynomolgus monkeys.

Discovery of a highly specific F-labeled PET ligand for phosphodiesterase 10A enabled by novel spirocyclic iodonium ylide radiofluorination.

As a member of cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase (PDE) enzyme family, PDE10A is in charge of the degradation of cyclic adenosine (cAMP) and guanosine monophosphates (cGMP). While PDE10A is primarily expressed in the medium spiny neurons of the striatum, it has been implicated in a variety of neurological disorders. Indeed, inhibition of PDE10A has proven to be of potential use for the treatment of central nervous system (CNS) pathologies caused by dysfunction of the basal ganglia-of which the striatum constitutes the largest component.

Synthesis and preliminary evaluation of a novel positron emission tomography (PET) ligand for imaging fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH).

Fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) exerts its main function in the catabolism of the endogenous chemical messenger anandamide (AEA), thus modulating the endocannabinoid (eCB) pathway. Inhibition of FAAH may serve as an effective strategy to relieve anxiety and possibly other central nervous system (CNS)-related disorders. Positron emission tomography (PET) would facilitate us to better understand the relationship between FAAH in certain disease conditions, and accelerate clinical translation of FAAH inhibitors by providing in vivo quantitative information.

[Seasonal variation and driving factors of forest fire in Zhejiang Province, China, based on MODIS satellite hot spots].

Understanding the changes and driving factors of forest fire can provide scientific basis for prevention and management of forest fire. In this study, we analyzed the changes and driving factors of forest fire in Zhejiang Province during 2001-2016 based on trend analysis and Logistic regression model with the MODIS satellite fire point data combined with meteorological (daily ave-rage wind speed, daily average temperature, daily relative humidity, daily temperature difference, daily cumulative precipitation), human activities (distance from road, distance from railway, distance from resident, population, per capita GDP), topographic and vegetation factors (elevation, slope, vegetation coverage). The results showed that the number of forest fires in spring and summer had significantly increased, while the forest fires in the autumn and winter increased first and then decreased.