Prevalence, Predictors, and Clinical Presentation of a Calcified Nodule as Assessed by Optical Coherence Tomography.

Objectives: This study sought to determine the anatomic characteristics and clinical presentation associated with a calcified nodule (CN) as assessed by optical coherence tomography.

Background: CN is an unusual but demonstrable cause of acute coronary syndromes (ACS).

Methods: We studied 889 de novo culprit lesions in 889 patients (48% ACS) who underwent optical coherence tomography before intervention.

In Vivo Calcium Detection by Comparing Optical Coherence Tomography, Intravascular Ultrasound, and Angiography.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate optical coherence tomography (OCT) and intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) versus coronary angiography in the assessment of target lesion calcification and its effect on stent expansion.

Background: IVUS is more sensitive than angiography in the detection of coronary artery calcium, but the relationship among IVUS, OCT, and angiography has not been studied.

Methods: Overall, 440 lesions (440 patients with stable angina) underwent OCT- and IVUS-guided stent implantation.

Supercharging SpyCatcher toward an intrinsically disordered protein with stimuli-responsive chemical reactivity.

We report a supercharged, intrinsically disordered protein, SpyCatcher(-), possessing stimuli-responsive reactivity toward SpyTag with tunable yields ranging from 4% to 98% depending on pH, temperature, ionic strength, etc. The CD and NMR studies reveal that the reaction occurs through a folded intermediate formed probably via a different mechanism from that of SpyCatcher.

Mineralized growth of Janus membrane with asymmetric wetting property for fast separation of a trace of blood.

Separation of plasma from whole blood is requisite for the accurate measurement of glucose levels. From the wettability point of view, in this study, we report the fabrication of a mineralized Janus membrane with an asymmetric wetting property; this membrane can transport fast microliter-quantity blood and separate out the red blood cells. The membrane is composed of a hydroxyapatite (HAP)-mineralized polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membrane prepared via an interface diffusion-controlled chemical precipitation method.

Acute abrin poisoning treated with continuous renal replacement therapy and hemoperfusion successfully: A case report.

Rationale: Abrin is a highly toxic protein obtained from the seeds of Abrus precatorius, but poisoning due to ingestion of A precatorius is extremely rare in China.

Patient Concerns: A 16-year-old girl, perfectly healthy before, was admitted to the department of gastroenterology owing to intentional ingestion of 10 crushed A precatorius seeds, with multiple episodes of somnolent and anxious mental status, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea, hematochezia, and hematuria.

Diagnosis: Acute abrin poisoning.

Clk1-regulated aerobic glycolysis is involved in glioma chemoresistance.

Chemoresistance remains a major challenge for the treatment of glioma. In this study, we investigated the role of Clock 1 (Clk1), which encodes an enzyme that is necessary for ubiquinone biosynthesis in glioma chemoresistance in vitro. The results showed that Clk1 was highly expressed in GL261 mouse glioma cells which were most sensitive to 1,3Bis (2-chloroethyl) 1 nitrosourea (BCNU) while was low expressed in BCNU resistant cells such as glioma cancer stem cells, T98G, U87MG and U251 glioma cells.

Topology Engineering of Proteins Using Genetically Encoded, Mechanically Interlocking SpyX Modules for Enhanced Stability.

Recombinant proteins are traditionally limited to linear configuration. Herein, we report protein topology engineering using highly efficient, mechanically interlocking SpyX modules named AXB and BXA. SpyX modules are protein domains composed of p53dim (X), SpyTag (A), and SpyCatcher (B).

Cold Inducible RNA Binding Protein Is Involved in Chronic Hypoxia Induced Neuron Apoptosis by Down-Regulating HIF-1α Expression and Regulated By microRNA-23a.

Neuron apoptosis mediated by hypoxia inducible factor 1α (HIF-1α) in hippocampus is one of the most important factors accounting for the chronic hypobaric hypoxia induced cognitive impairment. As a neuroprotective molecule that is up-regulated in response to various environmental stress, CIRBP was reported to crosstalk with HIF-1α under cellular stress. However, its function under chronic hypobaric hypoxia remains unknown.

Cognitive and neuroimaging changes in healthy immigrants upon relocation to a high altitude: A panel study.

Background: Cognitive and neuroimaging changes under chronic high-altitude exposure have never been followed up and dynamically assessed.

Objectives: To investigate the cognitive and brain structural/functional alterations associated with chronic high-altitude exposure.

Methods: Sixty-nine college freshmen that were immigrating to Tibet were enrolled and followed up for two years.

Energy-Resolved Ultrashort Delays of Photoelectron Emission Clocked by Orthogonal Two-Color Laser Fields.

A phase-controlled orthogonal two-color (OTC) femtosecond laser pulse is employed to probe the time delay of photoelectron emission in the strong-field ionization of atoms. The OTC field spatiotemporally steers the emission dynamics of the photoelectrons and meanwhile allows us to unambiguously distinguish the main and sideband peaks of the above-threshold ionization spectrum. The relative phase shift between the main and sideband peaks, retrieved from the phase-of-phase of the photoelectron spectrum as a function of the laser phase, gradually decreases with increasing electron energy, and becomes zero for the fast electron which is mainly produced by the rescattering process.

Resting State fMRI Reveals Increased Subthalamic Nucleus and Sensorimotor Cortex Connectivity in Patients with Parkinson's Disease under Medication.

Functional connectivity (FC) between the subthalamic nucleus (STN) and the sensorimotor cortex is increased in off-medication patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). However, the status of FC between STN and sensorimotor cortex in on-medication PD patients remains unclear. In this study, resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging was employed on 31 patients with PD under medication and 31 healthy controls.

Coronary Plaque Characteristics in Hemodialysis-Dependent Patients as Assessed by Optical Coherence Tomography.

Coronary arteries in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) have been shown to exhibit more extensive atherosclerosis and calcium. We aimed to assess characteristics of coronary plaque in hemodialysis (HD)-dependent patients using optical coherence tomography (OCT). This was a multicenter, retrospective study of 124 patients with stable angina who underwent OCT imaging.

The correlation between the high-intensity zone on a T2-weighted MRI and positive outcomes of discography: a meta-analysis.

Background: This meta-analysis aimed to assess the correlation between the high-intensity zone (HIZ) of a lumbar MRI and discography.

Methods: We conducted an electronic search of the PubMed, MEDLINE, Embase, and ScienceDirect databases from their respective inceptions to October 2016 using the following search terms: "low back pain," "discogenic low back pain," "HIZ or high-intensity zone," and "discography". Relevant journals and conference proceedings were manually searched.

Dual-modality optical biopsy of glioblastomas multiforme with diffuse reflectance and fluorescence: ex vivo retrieval of optical properties.

Glioma itself accounts for 80% of all malignant primary brain tumors, and glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) accounts for 55% of such tumors. Diffuse reflectance and fluorescence spectroscopy have the potential to discriminate healthy tissues from abnormal tissues and therefore are promising noninvasive methods for improving the accuracy of brain tissue resection. Optical properties were retrieved using an experimentally evaluated inverse solution.

Protective effects of resveratrol on autologous nucleus pulposus model of radiculopathy.

Nucleus pulposus (NP) has been suggested to trigger an autoimmune response if exposed to the immune system, which plays a key role in neuropathic pain. Therefore, appropriate suppression of inflammation is a key factor for treating the radiculopathy caused by intervertebral disk (IVD) degeneration. Resveratrol, a key component of red wine, has been suggested to exhibit anti-inflammatory properties and .

Overproduction of α-Lipoic Acid by Gene Manipulated Escherichia coli.

Alpha-lipoic acid (LA) is an important enzyme cofactor widely used by organisms and is also a natural antioxidant for the treatment of pathologies driven by low levels of endogenous antioxidants. In order to establish a safer and more efficient process for LA production, we developed a new biological method for LA synthesis based on the emerging knowledge of lipoic acid biosynthesis. We first cloned the lipD gene, which encodes the lipoyl domain of the E2 subunit of pyruvate dehydrogenase, allowing high levels of LipD production.

Expression and clinical relevance of epithelial and mesenchymal markers in circulating tumor cells from colorectal cancer.

Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) with phenotypic hallmarks of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) reportedly contribute to tumor metastasis in different cancer types. We therefore evaluated the expression of EMT markers in CTCs obtained from a large cohort of Chinese patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) and investigated their clinical relevance. The CanPatrolTM CTC enrichment technique was used to isolate and classify CTCs.

Primary Germinoma Originating from the Insular Lobe: A Case Report and Review of the Literature.

Background: Primary intracranial germinomas occurring in the cerebral hemisphere are extremely rare, with only a few reported cases in the literature. We describe an unusual case of a primary germinoma that developed in the insular lobe, with little involvement in the basal frontal lobe.

Case Description: A 19-year-old man presented with headache and vomiting.

Application of preoperative registration and automatic tracking technique for image-guided maxillofacial surgery.

Objective: To investigate the practicality of preoperative registration technique in navigational surgery of facial skeleton.

Methods: Five cases were underwent navigational surgery with the preoperative registration technique. The accuracy of registration process was determined, and the deviation between planning model and postoperative computed tomography (CT) model was detected.

High occurrence of length heteroplasmy in domestic Bactrian camel (Camelus bactrianus).

Heteroplasmy is the presence of more than one mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) variant within a cell, tissue, or individual. In this study, sequence variation was investigated in the control region (CR) of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) from 135 individuals belonging to five primary domestic Bactrian camel breeds in China and Mongolia. Due to variation of the repeat unit G(T/C)(AC)n, length heteroplasmy was detected within each camel by direct sequencing and fragment analysis.

Geometry induced sequence of nanoscale Frank-Kasper and quasicrystal mesophases in giant surfactants.

Frank-Kasper (F-K) and quasicrystal phases were originally identified in metal alloys and only sporadically reported in soft materials. These unconventional sphere-packing schemes open up possibilities to design materials with different properties. The challenge in soft materials is how to correlate complex phases built from spheres with the tunable parameters of chemical composition and molecular architecture.

A Cooperative Downloading Method for VANET Using Distributed Fountain Code.

Cooperative downloading is one of the effective methods to improve the amount of downloaded data in vehicular ad hoc networking (VANET). However, the poor channel quality and short encounter time bring about a high packet loss rate, which decreases transmission efficiency and fails to satisfy the requirement of high quality of service (QoS) for some applications. Digital fountain code (DFC) can be utilized in the field of wireless communication to increase transmission efficiency.

Photon Energy Deposition in Strong-Field Single Ionization of Multielectron Molecules.

Molecules exposed to strong laser fields may coherently absorb multiple photons and deposit the energy into electrons and nuclei, triggering the succeeding dynamics as the primary stage of the light-molecule interaction. We experimentally explore the electron-nuclear sharing of the absorbed photon energy in above-threshold multiphoton single ionization of multielectron molecules. Using CO as a prototype, vibrational and orbital resolved electron-nuclear sharing of the photon energy is observed.

Comparison of the PEEK cage and an autologous cage made from the lumbar spinous process and laminae in posterior lumbar interbody fusion.

Background: A prospective cohort study was performed to evaluate the clinical and radiological outcomes following posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF) in patients treated with a PEEK cage compared to those treated with an autologous cage using the lumbar spinous process and laminae (ACSP).

Methods: Sixty-nine consecutive patients with lumbar degenerative disc disease were randomly assigned to either a PEEK cage (group A, n = 34) or an ACSP (group B, n = 35). Monosegmental PLIF was performed in all patients.

The Impact of Rosuvastatin on the Density Score of Coronary Artery Calcification in Coronary Artery Disease Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: Rationale and Design of RosCal Study.

Introduction: More and more evidence suggests that the density of calcification plays an important role in the plaque stability. However, few studies have investigated the statin treatment on the density of plaque calcification in patients with both coronary artery disease (CAD) and type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Methods: One hundred and twenty-two CAD patients with type 2 diabetes with confirmed coronary artery calcification (CAC) will be recruited consecutively in a 12-month period.