Predictive Value of Left Atrial Strain for Thrombotic Events in Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy without Atrial Fibrillation.

Purpose To assess the predictive value of left atrial (LA) fast long-axis strain derived from cardiac MRI for thrombotic events (TEs) in individuals with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). Materials and Methods This secondary analysis of an ongoing prospective trial (Chinese Clinical Trial Registry: ChiCTR1900024094) included consecutive participants with HCM without atrial fibrillation (AF) who underwent cardiac MRI from January 2012 to December 2020. The LA fast long-axis strain was obtained by semiautomatically tracking the distance between the atrioventricular junction and the midposterior LA wall.

Safety and Efficacy of Remote Ischemic Conditioning in Patients With Intravenous Thrombolysis: The SERIC-IVT Trial.

Background: Approximately half of the patients with acute ischemic stroke who receive intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) do not achieve an excellent outcome. Remote ischemic conditioning (RIC) as a promising neuroprotective treatment may improve clinical outcomes in this population. This study aimed to assess the efficacy and safety of RIC in patients with IVT.

The Influence of Extra-Ribosomal Functions of Eukaryotic Ribosomal Proteins on Viral Infection.

The eukaryotic ribosome is a large ribonucleoprotein complex consisting of four types of ribosomal RNA (rRNA) and approximately 80 ribosomal proteins (RPs), forming the 40S and 60S subunits. In all living cells, its primary function is to produce proteins by converting messenger RNA (mRNA) into polypeptides. In addition to their canonical role in protein synthesis, RPs are crucial in controlling vital cellular processes such as cell cycle progression, cellular proliferation, differentiation, DNA damage repair, genome structure maintenance, and the cellular stress response.

Multiscale topology classifies cells in subcellular spatial transcriptomics.

Spatial transcriptomics measures in situ gene expression at millions of locations within a tissue, hitherto with some trade-off between transcriptome depth, spatial resolution and sample size. Although integration of image-based segmentation has enabled impactful work in this context, it is limited by imaging quality and tissue heterogeneity. By contrast, recent array-based technologies offer the ability to measure the entire transcriptome at subcellular resolution across large samples.

Ready-to-Eat Food Environments and Risk of Incident Heart Failure: A Prospective Cohort Study.

Background: Food environments have been linked to cardiovascular diseases; however, few studies have assessed the relationship between food environments and the risk of heart failure (HF). We aimed to evaluate the association between ready-to-eat food environments and incident HF at an individual level in a large prospective cohort.

Methods: Exposure to ready-to-eat food environments, comprising pubs or bars, restaurants or cafeterias, and fast-food outlets, were individually measured as both proximity and density metrics.

S-Nitrosylation of Septin2 Exacerbates Aortic Aneurysm and Dissection by Coupling the TIAM1-RAC1 Axis in Macrophages.

Background: S-Nitrosylation (SNO), a prototypic redox-based posttranslational modification, is involved in cardiovascular disease. Aortic aneurysm and dissection are high-risk cardiovascular diseases without an effective cure. The aim of this study was to determine the role of SNO of Septin2 in macrophages in aortic aneurysm and dissection.

Deficiency of Transcription Factor Sp1 Contributes to Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy.

Background: Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is the most prevalent monogenic heart disorder. However, the pathogenesis of HCM, especially its nongenetic mechanisms, remains largely unclear. Transcription factors are known to be involved in various biological processes including cell growth.

Identification and Functional Assessment of Eight Allelic Variants Detected in the Chinese Han Population.

Cytochrome P450 3A4 (CYP3A4), a key enzyme, is pivotal in metabolizing approximately half of the drugs used clinically. The genetic polymorphism of the gene significantly influences individual variations in drug metabolism, potentially leading to severe adverse drug reactions (ADRs). In this study, we conducted a genetic analysis on gene in 1163 Chinese Han individuals to identify the genetic variations that might affect their drug metabolism capabilities.

Realization of a crosstalk-avoided quantum network node using dual-type qubits of the same ion species.

Generating ion-photon entanglement is a crucial step for scalable trapped-ion quantum networks. To avoid the crosstalk on memory qubits carrying quantum information, it is common to use a different ion species for ion-photon entanglement generation such that the scattered photons are far off-resonant for the memory qubits. However, such a dual-species scheme can be subject to inefficient sympathetic cooling due to the mass mismatch of the ions.

Broad protective RBD heterotrimer vaccines neutralize SARS-CoV-2 including Omicron sub-variants XBB/BQ.1.1/BF.7.

SARS-CoV-2 variants with severe immune evasion are a major challenge for COVID-19 prevention, especially the circulating Omicron XBB/BQ.1.1/BF.

Cerebral Hemodynamic and Metabolic Abnormalities in Neonatal Hypocalcemia: Findings from Advanced MRI.

Background And Purpose: Neonatal hypocalcemia is the most common metabolic disorder, and whether asymptomatic disease should be treated with calcium supplements remains controversial. We aimed to quantify neonatal hypocalcemia's global CBF and cerebral metabolic rate of oxygen (CMRO) using physiologic MR imaging and elucidate the pathophysiologic vulnerabilities of neonatal hypocalcemia.

Materials And Methods: A total of 37 consecutive patients with neonatal hypocalcemia were enrolled.

DNA Methylation of Birthweight-Blood Pressure Genes and Changes of Blood Pressure in Response to Weight-Loss Diets in the POUNDS Lost Trial.

Background: DNA methylation (DNAm) may play a critical role in bridging prenatal adverse events and cardiometabolic disorders including hypertension in later life.

Methods: We included 672 adult participants with overweight or obesity, who participated in a 2-year randomized weight-loss dietary intervention study. We defined the regional DNAm levels as the average methylation level of 5'-cytosine-phosphate-guanine-3' within 500 bp of (cg01820192), (cg00508575), and (cg12593793), respectively.

Cardiovascular Health and Life Expectancy Among Adults in the United States.

Background: Cardiovascular disease may be the main reason for stagnant growth in life expectancy in the United States since 2010. The American Heart Association recently released an updated algorithm for evaluating cardiovascular health (CVH)-Life's Essential 8 (LE8) score. We aimed to quantify the associations of CVH levels, estimated by the LE8 score, with life expectancy in a nationally representative sample of US adults.

Diagnosis of Clinically Significant Portal Hypertension Using CT- and MRI-based Vascular Model.

Background Currently, the hepatic venous pressure gradient (HVPG) remains the reference standard for diagnosis of clinically significant portal hypertension (CSPH) but is limited by its invasiveness and availability. Purpose To investigate a vascular geometric model for noninvasive diagnosis of CSPH (HVPG ≥10 mm Hg) in patients with liver cirrhosis for both contrast-enhanced CT and MRI. Materials and Methods In this retrospective study, consecutive patients with liver cirrhosis who underwent HVPG measurement from August 2016 to April 2019 were included.

A Novel SAVE Score to Stratify Decompensation Risk in Compensated Advanced Chronic Liver Disease (CHESS2102): An International Multicenter Cohort Study.

Introduction: In patients with compensated advanced chronic liver disease (cACLD), the invasive measurement of hepatic venous pressure gradient is the best predictor of hepatic decompensation. This study aimed at developing an alternative risk prediction model to provide a decompensation risk assessment in cACLD.

Methods: Patients with cACLD were retrospectively included from 9 international centers within the Portal Hypertension Alliance in China (CHESS) network.

Single-cell transcriptome analysis of regenerating RGCs reveals potent glaucoma neural repair genes.

Axon regeneration holds great promise for neural repair of CNS axonopathies, including glaucoma. Pten deletion in retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) promotes potent optic nerve regeneration, but only a small population of Pten-null RGCs are actually regenerating RGCs (regRGCs); most surviving RGCs (surRGCs) remain non-regenerative. Here, we developed a strategy to specifically label and purify regRGCs and surRGCs, respectively, from the same Pten-deletion mice after optic nerve crush, in which they differ only in their regeneration capability.

Treatment of Chinese Patients with Hypertriglyceridemia with a Pharmaceutical-Grade Preparation of Highly Purified Omega-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid Ethyl Esters: Main Results of a Randomized, Double-Blind, Controlled Trial.

Introduction: The lipid-modifying potential of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in Chinese patients is under-researched. We conducted a multicenter, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, parallel-group study of twice-daily treatment with OMACOR (OM3EE), a prescription-only formulation of highly purified ethyl esters of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in Chinese adult patients (≥18 years) who had elevated baseline fasting serum triglycerides (TG).

Methods: Patients were stratified according to the severity of their hypertriglyceridemia (severe HTG, with baseline TG ≥500 and <1000 mg/dL or moderate HTG, with baseline TG >200 and <500 mg/dL) or use of statins.

Three-dimensional MR Elastography Depicts Liver Inflammation, Fibrosis, and Portal Hypertension in Chronic Hepatitis B or C.

Background The value of measuring mechanical properties to categorize various pathophysiologic states of the liver is as yet undetermined in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) or C (CHC). Purpose To evaluate multiparametric three-dimensional (3D) MR elastography as a means of detecting early necroinflammation, distinguishing necroinflammation from fibrosis, and gauging the severity of portal hypertension (PH) in CHB or CHC. Materials and Methods From January 2015 to September 2019, participants with CHB or CHC were prospectively enrolled from a single institution and were divided into two groups: those with liver biopsy and no evidence of PH (group 1) and those with PH and a hepatic venous pressure gradient (HVPG) measurement (group 2).

Efficacy and Safety of Thermal Ablation for Treatment of Solitary T1N0M0 Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma: A Multicenter Retrospective Study.

Background Microwave ablation (MWA) and radiofrequency ablation (RFA) have recently attracted interest as minimally invasive treatment modalities for papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). However, the ablation outcomes of T1N0M0 PTC are not well characterized. Purpose To evaluate the efficacy and safety of thermal ablation (MWA or RFA) of solitary T1N0M0 PTC in patients who were ineligible for (due to presence of comorbid cardiovascular disease, renal failure, other malignancy, etc) or who refused surgery.

Extension of Coronavirus Disease 2019 on Chest CT and Implications for Chest Radiographic Interpretation.

Purpose: To study the extent of pulmonary involvement in coronavirus 19 (COVID-19) with quantitative CT and to assess the impact of disease burden on opacity visibility on chest radiographs.

Materials And Methods: This retrospective study included 20 pairs of CT scans and same-day chest radiographs from 17 patients with COVID-19, along with 20 chest radiographs of controls. All pulmonary opacities were semiautomatically segmented on CT images, producing an anteroposterior projection image to match the corresponding frontal chest radiograph.

Nonatrial Fibrillation Patients With Complete P Wave Disappearance: An Overlooked Population With High Stroke Risk.

Background And Purpose: Complete P wave disappearance (CPWD) in patients without atrial fibrillation is an uncommon clinical phenomenon. We aimed to study the relationship between CPWD and thromboembolism.

Methods: Between July 2007 and December 2018, consecutive patients with CPWD on surface ECG and 24-hour Holter recording were recruited into the study from 4 centers in China.

Sludge characteristics, system performance and microbial kinetics of ultra-short-SRT activated sludge processes.

Activated sludge processes with an ultra-short sludge retention time (ultra-short-SRT) are considered to have potential for energy and resource recovery from wastewater. The present study focused on the sludge characteristics, system performance and microbial kinetics in ultra-short-SRT activated sludge (USSAS) processes using typical domestic wastewater (SRT = 0.5, 1, 2, 3 and 4 d).