Scale-based screening and assessment of age-related frailty.

As the population ages, the prevalence of age-related frailty increases sharply, which increases the risk of poor health status of older adults, such as disability, falls, hospitalization, and death. Across the globe, frailty is moving toward the forefront of health and medical research. Currently, frailty is believed to be preventable and reversible, so the early identification of frailty is critical.

Congruent Glass Composite Scintillator for Efficient High-Energy Ray Detection.

The scintillator is the most crucial component in the high-energy ray detection system. The available scintillators suffer from the insurmountable drawbacks including poor shaping ability for single crystal and ceramic and low efficiency for glass. Here, a glass composite scintillator is proposed from a congruent crystallization system which possesses both excellent processability and high scintillating yield.

Transparent composites for efficient neutron detection.

Transparent, inorganic composite materials are of broad interest, from structural components in astronomical telescopes and mirror supports to solid-state lasers, smart window devices, and gravitational wave detectors. Despite great progress in material synthesis, it remains a standing challenge to fabricate such transparent glass composites with high crystallinity (HC-TGC). Here, we demonstrate the co-solidification of a mixture of melts with a stark contrast in crystallization habit as an approach for preparing HC-TGC materials.

Supramolecular salicylic acid combined with niacinamide in chloasma: a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Chloasma is a common skin hyperpigmentation condition, with treatment options ranging from topical agents to advanced interventions such as chemical peels and laser therapy. Salicylic acid, including its supramolecular form (SSA), has shown promise in managing chloasma. However, to date, no multicentre randomized controlled trial of SSA for chloasma is available.

Gut microbiota influence frailty syndrome in older adults: mechanisms and therapeutic strategies.

Frailty syndrome denotes a decreased capacity of the body to maintain the homeostasis and stress of the internal environment, which simultaneously increases the risk of adverse health outcomes in older adults, including disability, hospitalization, falls, and death. To promote healthy aging, we should find strategies to cope with frailty. However, the pathogenesis of frailty syndrome is not yet clear.

A new perspective in the prevention and treatment of antitumor therapy-related cardiotoxicity: Intestinal microecology.

The continuous development of antitumor therapy has significantly reduced the mortality of patients with malignancies. However, the antitumor-related cardiotoxicity has become the leading cause of long-term mortality in patients with malignancies. Besides, the pathogenesis of antitumor-related cardiotoxicity is still unclear, and practical means of prevention and treatment are lacking in clinical practice.

Shenmai injection ameliorates doxorubicin-induced myocardial injury by suppressing autophagy-apoptosis via miR-30a.

Context: Autophagy-apoptosis is the core mechanism of doxorubicin-induced myocardial injury. miR-30a is a pivotal factor in the regulation of autophagy and apoptosis. It remains unclear whether SMI exerts cardioprotective effect by regulating autophagy and apoptosis via miR-30a.

Driving force of deteriorated cellular environment in heart failure: Metabolic remodeling.

Heart Failure (HF) has been one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Though its latent mechanism and therapeutic manipulation are updated and developed ceaselessly, there remain great gaps in the cognition of heart failure. High morbidity and readmission rates among HF patients are waiting to be addressed.

Efficacy and safety of supramolecular active zinc in the treatment of scalp psoriasis: a multicentre, randomized, observed-blind, parallel-group, placebo- and active-controlled noninferiority trial.

Background: Controlling the relapses of scalp psoriasis is a clinical issue.

Objectives: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of a supramolecular active zinc antidandruff hair conditioner in managing scalp psoriasis (SP).

Methods: This multicentre randomized, observed-blind, parallel-group, placebo- and active-controlled noninferiority trial enrolled 211 patients with SP between October 2018 and June 2019.

Comparison of a One- versus Two-Week Treatment with Famciclovir Upon Reductions in Pain and Occurrence of Postherpetic Neuralgia in Herpes Zoster: A Randomized Open-Label Trial.

Background: Herpes zoster (HZ) is an acute herpetic skin disease resulting from the varicella-zoster virus. Typically, this condition is treated with a one-week administration of antiviral drugs, including famciclovir, which can effectively control the symptoms during the acute phase and prevent the occurrence of postherpetic neuralgia (PHN).

Objective: To investigate whether a longer, two-week, regimen would enhance the capacity for famciclovir to reduce pain and prevent the occurrence of postherpetic neuralgia.

The chemical components, action mechanisms, and clinical evidences of YiQiFuMai injection in the treatment of heart failure.

YiQiFuMai injection (YQFM), derived from Shengmai Powder, is wildly applied in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases, such as coronary heart disease and chronic cardiac insufficiency. YiQiFuMai injection is mainly composed of Radix of C.A.

QishenYiqi dripping pill protects against myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury via suppressing excessive autophagy and NLRP3 inflammasome based on network pharmacology and experimental pharmacology.

Myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury is associated with multiple serious clinical manifestations. Autophagy is upregulated in a short period of ischemia and further enhanced during reperfusion phase, which was considered as a "double-edged sword" in the pathological process of myocardial I/R injury. In addition, NLRP3 inflammasome triggers myocardial inflammatory response, which leads to cardiomyocyte death via pyroptosis and promotes subsequent myocardial remodelling.

Preparation and Evaluation of Animal Models of Cardiotoxicity in Antineoplastic Therapy.

The continuous development of antineoplastic therapy has significantly reduced the mortality of patients with malignant tumors, but its induced cardiotoxicity has become the primary cause of long-term death in patients with malignant tumors. However, the pathogenesis of cardiotoxicity of antineoplastic therapy is currently unknown, and practical means of prevention and treatment are lacking in clinical practice. Therefore, how to effectively prevent and treat cardiotoxicity while treating tumors is a major challenge.

NLRP3 Inflammasome: a Novel Insight into Heart Failure.

Among numerous cardiovascular diseases, heart failure is a final and fatal stage, and its morbidity, mortality, and rehospitalization rate remain high, which reduces the exercise tolerance of patients and brings great medical burden and economic pressure to the society. Inflammation takes on a major influence in the occurrence, development, and prognosis of heart failure (HF). The NLRP3 inflammasome is a key node in a chronic inflammatory response, which can accelerate the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-1β and IL-18, leading to the inflammatory response.

QiShenYiQi pill for myocardial collagen metabolism and apoptosis in rats of autoimmune cardiomyopathy.

Context: QiShenYiQi pill (QSYQ) is a traditional Chinese medicine with a myocardial protective effect.

Objective: To explore the effect of QSYQ on myocardial collagen metabolism in rats with autoimmune cardiomyopathy and explore the underlying mechanism from the aspect of apoptosis.

Materials And Methods: We established an autoimmune cardiomyopathy model using Lewis rats.

Shengmai San for Treatment of Cardiotoxicity from Anthracyclines: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Objective: To systematically evaluate the efficacy of Shengmai San in patients with cardiotoxicity of anthracyclines.

Methods: Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were identified by searching China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang Database, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database (CBM), PubMed, Cochrane Library, and Embase Databases from the inceptions until December 2020. The Cochrane Handbook was used to evaluate the risk of bias in the included studies.

Structured Scintillators for Efficient Radiation Detection.

Scintillators, which can convert high-energy ionizing radiation into visible light, have been serving as the core component in radiation detectors for more than a century of history. To address the increasing application demands along with the concern on nuclear security, various strategies have been proposed to develop a next-generation scintillator with a high performance in past decades, among which the novel approach via structure control has received great interest recently due to its high feasibility and efficiency. Herein, the concept of "structure engineering" is proposed for the exploration of this type of scintillators.

Trimethylamine oxide: a potential target for heart failure therapy.

Heart failure (HF) is a clinical syndrome in the late stage of cardiovascular disease and is associated with high prevalence, mortality and rehospitalisation rate. The pathophysiological mechanisms of HF have experienced the initial 'water-sodium retention' mode to 'abnormal hemodynamics' mode, and subsequent to 'abnormal activation of neuroendocrine' mode, which has extensively promoted the reform of HF treatment and updated the treatment concept. Since the Human Microbiome Project commencement, the study on intestinal microecology has swiftly developed, providing a new direction to reveal the occurrence of diseases and the mechanisms behind drug effects.

QiShenYiQi Pill Improves Myocardial Hypertrophy Caused by Pressure Overload in Rats.

Pressure-overloaded myocardial hypertrophy is an independent risk factor for various cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), such as heart failure (HF), arrhythmia, and even sudden death. It is reported that QiShenYiQi pill (QSYQ) is widely used in the treatment of CVDs and can prevent pathological hypertrophy of myocardium, but its specific mechanism is still unclear. In this study, a rat model of myocardial hypertrophy was established through the pressure overload caused by abdominal aortic constriction in Wistar rats.

Shenmai injection improves doxorubicin cardiotoxicity via miR-30a/Beclin 1.

Background: Shenmai Injection (SMI) has been widely used in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases and can reduce side effects when combined with chemotherapy drugs. However, the potential protective mechanism of SMI on the cardiotoxicity caused by anthracyclines has not been clear.

Methods: We used network pharmacology methods to collect the compound components in SMI and myocardial injury targets, constructed a 'drug-disease' target interaction network relationship diagram, and screened the core targets to predict the potential mechanism of SMI in treating cardiotoxicity of anthracyclines.

The emerging role of circular RNAs in cardiovascular diseases.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is one of the vital causes of morbidity and mortality, and the number of deaths from CVD has increased worldwide. Circular RNAs (circRNAs) is a novel type of endogenous noncoding RNA, which can form covalent closed continuous rings and are highly expressed in the eukaryotic transcriptome. In recent years, research on circRNAs have been increasing and the researchers have also become cumulatively aware of the association between circRNAs and CVD.

TMA/TMAO in Hypertension: Novel Horizons and Potential Therapies.

Hypertension is the most prevalent chronic disease and a risk factor for various diseases. Although its mechanisms and therapies are constantly being updated and developed, they are still not fully clarified. In recent years, novel gut microbiota and its metabolites have attracted widespread attention.

QiShenYiQi pill activates autophagy to attenuate reactive myocardial fibrosis via the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway.

QiShenYiQi pill (QSYQ), a traditional Chinese medicine, is used to treat cardiovascular diseases. However, the dose-effect relationship of its intervention in the reactive myocardial fibrosis is elusive. In this work, rat models of reactive myocardial fibrosis induced by partial abdominal aortic coarctation were constructed and randomly classified into the model group, 3-methyladenine group, rapamycin group, QSYQ low-dose group, QSYQ medium-dose group, QSYQ high-dose group, and sham-operated rats (control group).

Roles of Biomarkers in Myocardial Fibrosis.

Myocardial fibrosis is observed in various cardiovascular diseases and plays a key role in the impairment of cardiac function. Endomyocardial biopsy, as the gold standard for the diagnosis of myocardial fibrosis, has limitations in terms of clinical application. Therefore, biomarkers have been recommended for noninvasive assessment of myocardial fibrosis.