Thyroid cancer and Its Associations with Dietary Quality in A 1:1 matched Case-Control Study.

Thyroid cancer (TC) incidence has increased greatly during the past decades with a few established risk factors, while no study is available that has assessed the association of the Chinese Health Dietary Index (CHDI) with TC. We conducted a 1:1 matched case-control study in two hospitals in Shanghai, China. Diet quality scores were calculated according to CHDI using a validated and reliable food-frequency questionnaire.

Iodine Maps from Dual-Energy CT to Predict Extrathyroidal Extension and Recurrence in Papillary Thyroid Cancer Based on a Radiomics Approach.

Background And Purpose: Accurate prediction of extrathyroidal extension and subsequent recurrence is crucial in papillary thyroid cancer clinical management. Our aim was to conduct iodine map-based radiomics to predict extrathyroidal extension and to explore its prognostic value for recurrence-free survival in papillary thyroid cancer.

Materials And Methods: A total of 452 patients with papillary thyroid cancer were retrospectively recruited between June 2017 and June 2020.

Tranexamic Acid in Patients Undergoing Noncardiac Surgery.

Background: Perioperative bleeding is common in patients undergoing noncardiac surgery. Tranexamic acid is an antifibrinolytic drug that may safely decrease such bleeding.

Methods: We conducted a trial involving patients undergoing noncardiac surgery.

Associations of Long-Term Visit-to-Visit Blood Pressure Variability With Subclinical Kidney Damage and Albuminuria in Adulthood: a 30-Year Prospective Cohort Study.

Background: Recent evidence indicates that long-term visit-to-visit blood pressure variability (BPV) may be associated with risk of cardiovascular disease. We, therefore, aimed to determine the potential associations of long-term BPV from childhood to middle age with subclinical kidney damage (SKD) and albuminuria in adulthood.

Methods: Using data from the ongoing cohort of Hanzhong Adolescent Hypertension study, which recruited children and adolescents aged 6 to 18 years at baseline, we assessed BPV by SD and average real variability (ARV) for 30 years (6 visits).

Broad neutralization of SARS-CoV-2 variants by an inhalable bispecific single-domain antibody.

The effectiveness of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines and therapeutic antibodies have been limited by the continuous emergence of viral variants and by the restricted diffusion of antibodies from circulation into the sites of respiratory virus infection. Here, we report the identification of two highly conserved regions on the Omicron variant receptor-binding domain recognized by broadly neutralizing antibodies. Furthermore, we generated a bispecific single-domain antibody that was able to simultaneously and synergistically bind these two regions on a single Omicron variant receptor-binding domain as revealed by cryo-EM structures.

Side-Chain Substituents on Benzotriazole-Based Polymer Acceptors Affecting the Performance of All-Polymer Solar Cells.

Recently, the strategy of polymerized small-molecule acceptors (PSMAs) has attracted extensive attention for applications in all-polymer solar cells (all-PSCs). Although side-chain engineering is considered as a simple and effective strategy for manipulating polymer properties, the corresponding effect on photovoltaic performance of PSMAs in all-PSCs has not been systemically investigated. Herein, a series of PSMAs based on the benzotriazole (BTz)-core fused SMAs with different N-alkyl chains including branched 2-butyloctyl, linear n-octyl, and methyl on the BTz unit, namely PZT-C12, PZT-C8, and PZT-C1, respectively, is presented.

Cost-Effectiveness of a Household Salt Substitution Intervention: Findings From 20 995 Participants of the Salt Substitute and Stroke Study.

Background: SSaSS (Salt Substitute and Stroke Study), a 5-year cluster randomized controlled trial, demonstrated that replacing regular salt with a reduced-sodium, added-potassium salt substitute reduced the risks of stroke, major adverse cardiovascular events, and premature death among individuals with previous stroke or uncontrolled high blood pressure living in rural China. This study assessed the cost-effectiveness profile of the intervention.

Methods: A within-trial economic evaluation of SSaSS was conducted from the perspective of the health care system and consumers.

biosynthesis of diverse plant-derived styrylpyrones in .

Plant styrylpyrones exerting well-established neuroprotective properties have attracted increasing attention in recent years. The ability to synthesize each individual styrylpyrone in engineered microorganisms is important to understanding the biological activity of medicinal plants and the complex mixtures they produce. Microbial biomanufacturing of diverse plant-derived styrylpyrones also provides a sustainable and efficient approach for the production of valuable plant styrylpyrones as daily supplements or potential drugs complementary to the prevalent agriculture-based approach.

Mechanistic convergence of the TIGIT and PD-1 inhibitory pathways necessitates co-blockade to optimize anti-tumor CD8 T cell responses.

Dual blockade of the PD-1 and TIGIT coinhibitory receptors on T cells shows promising early results in cancer patients. Here, we studied the mechanisms whereby PD-1 and/or TIGIT blockade modulate anti-tumor CD8 T cells. Although PD-1 and TIGIT are thought to regulate different costimulatory receptors (CD28 and CD226), effectiveness of PD-1 or TIGIT inhibition in preclinical tumor models was reduced in the absence of CD226.

Development of a hybrid alphavirus-SARS-CoV-2 pseudovirion for rapid quantification of neutralization antibodies and antiviral drugs.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) spike protein (S)-pseudotyped viruses are commonly used for quantifying antiviral drugs and neutralizing antibodies. Here, we describe the development of a hybrid alphavirus-SARS-CoV-2 (Ha-CoV-2) pseudovirion, which is a non-replicating SARS-CoV-2 virus-like particle composed of viral structural proteins (S, M, N, and E) and an RNA genome derived from a fast-expressing alphaviral vector. We validated Ha-CoV-2 for rapid quantification of neutralization antibodies, antiviral drugs, and viral variants.

CircOGDH Is a Penumbra Biomarker and Therapeutic Target in Acute Ischemic Stroke.

Background: Acute ischemic stroke (AIS) is a leading cause of disability and mortality worldwide. Prediction of penumbra existence after AIS is crucial for making decision on reperfusion therapy. Yet a fast, inexpensive, simple, and noninvasive predictive biomarker for the poststroke penumbra with clinical translational potential is still lacking.

Automated 3D Fetal Brain Segmentation Using an Optimized Deep Learning Approach.

Background And Purpose: MR imaging provides critical information about fetal brain growth and development. Currently, morphologic analysis primarily relies on manual segmentation, which is time-intensive and has limited repeatability. This work aimed to develop a deep learning-based automatic fetal brain segmentation method that provides improved accuracy and robustness compared with atlas-based methods.

SPARC, a Novel Regulator of Vascular Cell Function in Pulmonary Hypertension.

Background: Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a life-threatening disease, characterized by excessive pulmonary vascular remodeling, leading to elevated pulmonary arterial pressure and right heart hypertrophy. PH can be caused by chronic hypoxia, leading to hyper-proliferation of pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cells (PASMCs) and apoptosis-resistant pulmonary microvascular endothelial cells (PMVECs). On reexposure to normoxia, chronic hypoxia-induced PH in mice is reversible.

Clinical and biomarker analyses of sintilimab versus chemotherapy as second-line therapy for advanced or metastatic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma: a randomized, open-label phase 2 study (ORIENT-2).

This randomized, open-label, multi-center phase 2 study (NCT03116152) assessed sintilimab, a PD-1 inhibitor, versus chemotherapy in patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma after first-line chemotherapy. The primary endpoint was overall survival (OS), while exploratory endpoint was the association of biomarkers with efficacy. The median OS in the sintilimab group was significantly improved compared with the chemotherapy group (median OS 7.

Reduced Severity of Tissue Injury Within the Infarct May Partially Mediate the Benefit of Reperfusion in Ischemic Stroke.

Background: Emerging data suggest tissue within the infarct lesion is not homogenously damaged following ischemic stroke but has a gradient of injury. Using blood-brain-barrier (BBB) disruption as a marker of tissue injury, we tested whether therapeutic reperfusion improves clinical outcome by reducing the severity of tissue injury within the infarct in patients with ischemic stroke.

Methods: In a pooled analysis of patients treated for anterior circulation large vessel occlusion in the EXTEND-IA TNK (Tenecteplase Versus Alteplase Before Endovascular Therapy for Ischemic Stroke) and EXTEND-IA part-2 (Determining the Optimal Dose of Tenecteplase Before Endovascular Therapy for Ischaemic Stroke) trials, post-treatment BBB permeability at 24 hours was calculated based on the extent of T1-brightening by extravascular gadolinium on T2* perfusion-weighted imaging and measured within the diffusion-weighted-imaging lesion.

Artificial Intelligence for Detecting and Delineating Margins of Early ESCC Under WLI Endoscopy.

Introduction: Conventional white light imaging (WLI) endoscopy is the most common screening technique used for detecting early esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). Nevertheless, it is difficult to detect and delineate margins of early ESCC using WLI endoscopy. This study aimed to develop an artificial intelligence (AI) model to detect and delineate margins of early ESCC under WLI endoscopy.

Cognitive Reserve and Mild Cognitive Impairment: Predictors and Rates of Reversion to Intact Cognition vs Progression to Dementia.

Background And Objectives: Little is known about the effect of education or other indicators of cognitive reserve on the rate of reversion from mild cognitive impairment (MCI) to normal cognition (NC) or the relative rate (RR) of reversion from MCI to NC vs progression from MCI to dementia. Our objectives were to (1) estimate transition rates from MCI to NC and dementia and (2) determine the effect of age, , and indicators of cognitive reserve on the RR of reversion vs progression using multistate Markov modeling.

Methods: We estimated instantaneous transition rates between NC, MCI, and dementia after accounting for transition to death across up to 12 assessments in the Nun Study, a cohort study of religious sisters aged 75+ years.

Vision Prognosis and Associated Factors of Optic Neuritis in Dependence of Glial Autoimmune Antibodies.

Purpose: To assess the visual prognosis of optic neuritis (ON) in dependence of the glial autoimmune antibody status and associated factors.

Design: Longitudinal observational cohort study.

Methods: Patients with ON and measurements of serum concentrations of glial autoantibodies were consecutively and longitudinally examined with a minimal follow-up of 3 months.

Micronutrients and Diabetic Retinopathy: Evidence From The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and a Meta-analysis.

Purpose: To investigate the associations between circulating micronutrients (vitamins A, C, D, E, and carotenoids) and risk of diabetic retinopathy (DR).

Design: Cross-sectional study and meta-analysis.

Methods: The cross-sectional study included 517 diabetic participants aged ≥40 years in the 2005-2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

Safety and Efficacy of Tenecteplase in Older Patients With Large Vessel Occlusion: A Pooled Analysis of the EXTEND-IA TNK Trials.

Background And Objectives: Detailed study of tenecteplase (TNK) in patients older than 80 years is limited. The objective of our study was to assess the safety and efficacy of TNK at 0.25 and 0.

Accuracy of mutational signature software on correlated signatures.

Mutational signatures are characteristic patterns of mutations generated by exogenous mutagens or by endogenous mutational processes. Mutational signatures are important for research into DNA damage and repair, aging, cancer biology, genetic toxicology, and epidemiology. Unsupervised learning can infer mutational signatures from the somatic mutations in large numbers of tumors, and separating correlated signatures is a notable challenge for this task.

Association of Fecal and Plasma Levels of Short-Chain Fatty Acids With Gut Microbiota and Clinical Severity in Patients With Parkinson Disease.

Background And Objectives: Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) are gut microbial metabolites that promote the disease process in a rodent model of Parkinson disease (PD), but fecal levels of SCFAs in patients with PD are reduced. Simultaneous assessments of fecal and plasma SCFA levels, and their interrelationships with the PD disease process, are scarce. We aimed to compare fecal and plasma levels of different SCFA subtypes in patients with PD and healthy controls to delineate their interrelations and link to gut microbiota changes and clinical severity of PD.

Caspase-4/11-Mediated Pulmonary Artery Endothelial Cell Pyroptosis Contributes to Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension.

Background: Endothelial dysfunction enhances vascular inflammation, which initiates pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) pathogenesis, further induces vascular remodeling and right ventricular failure. Activation of inflammatory caspases is an important initial event at the onset of pyroptosis. Studies have shown that caspase-1-mediated pyroptosis has played a crucial role in the pathogenesis of PAH.