Setting Up a Bio-AFM to Study Protein Misfolding in Neurodegenerative Diseases.

The clinical pathology of neurodegenerative diseases suggests that earlier onset and progression are related to the accumulation of protein aggregates due to misfolding. A prominent way to extract useful information regarding single-molecule studies of protein misfolding at the nanoscale is by capturing the unbinding molecular forces through forced mechanical tension generated and monitored by an atomic force microscopy-based single-molecule force spectroscopy (AFM-SMFS). This AFM-driven process results in an amount of data in the form of force versus molecular extension plots (force-distance curves), the statistical analysis of which can provide insights into the underlying energy landscape and assess a number of characteristic elastic and kinetic molecular parameters of the investigated sample.

Relationship of Endothelial Shear Stress with Plaque Features with Coronary CT Angiography and Vasodilating Capability with PET.

Background Advances in three-dimensional reconstruction techniques and computational fluid dynamics of coronary CT angiography (CCTA) data sets make feasible evaluation of endothelial shear stress (ESS) in the vessel wall. Purpose To investigate the relationship between CCTA-derived computational fluid dynamics metrics, anatomic and morphologic characteristics of coronary lesions, and their comparative performance in predicting impaired coronary vasodilating capability assessed by using PET myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI). Materials and Methods In this retrospective study, conducted between October 2019 and September 2020, coronary vessels in patients with stable chest pain and with intermediate probability of coronary artery disease who underwent both CCTA and PET MPI with oxygen 15-labeled water or nitrogen 13 ammonia and quantification of myocardial blood flow were analyzed.

Quantitative micro-CT based coronary artery profiling using interactive local thresholding and cylindrical coordinates.

Background: Micro-CT is an established imaging technique for high-resolution non-destructive assessment of vascular samples, which is gaining growing interest for investigations of atherosclerotic arteries both in humans and in animal models. However, there is still a lack in the definition of micro-CT image metrics suitable for comprehensive evaluation and quantification of features of interest in the field of experimental atherosclerosis (ATS).

Objective: A novel approach to micro-CT image processing for profiling of coronary ATS is described, providing comprehensive visualization and quantification of contrast agent-free 3D high-resolution reconstruction of full-length artery walls.

Patient-specific computational modeling of subendothelial LDL accumulation in a stenosed right coronary artery: effect of hemodynamic and biological factors.

Atherosclerosis is a systemic disease with local manifestations. Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) accumulation in the subendothelial layer is one of the hallmarks of atherosclerosis onset and ignites plaque development and progression. Blood flow-induced endothelial shear stress (ESS) is causally related to the heterogenic distribution of atherosclerotic lesions and critically affects LDL deposition in the vessel wall.