Comparative outcomes of surgical and conservative management in carotid artery dissection.

Objectives: Carotid artery dissection (CAD) is a significant cause of strokes in young individuals, leading to severe complications and socioeconomic burdens. Despite antithrombotic therapy being the primary management strategy, optimal treatment for patients with recurrent or worsening symptoms remains undefined. This study aims to describe the characteristics and evaluate the outcomes of conservative versus surgical management in CAD patients.

Metal-Ligand Bonds Based Reprogrammable and Re-Processable Supramolecular Liquid Crystal Elastomer Network.

Dynamic covalent bonds endow liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs) with network rearrangeability, facilitating the fixation of mesogen alignment induced by external forces and enabling reversible actuation. In comparison, the bond exchange of supramolecular interactions is typically too significant to stably maintain the programmed alignment, particularly under intensified external stimuli. Nevertheless, remaking and recycling of supramolecular interaction-based polymer networks are more accessible than those based on dynamic covalent bonds, as the latter are difficult to completely dissociate.

Ultrathin Boundary-Less SnO Films with Surface-Activated Two-Dimensional Nanograins Enable Fast and Sensitive Hydrogen Gas Sensing.

Fast and reliable semiconductor hydrogen sensors are crucially important for the large-scale utilization of hydrogen energy. One major challenge that hinders their practical application is the elevated temperature required, arising from undesirable surface passivation and grain-boundary-dominated electron transportation in the conventional nanocrystalline sensing layers. To address this long-standing issue, in the present work, we report a class of highly reactive and boundary-less ultrathin SnO films, which are fabricated by the topochemical transformation of 2D SnO transferred from liquid Sn-Bi droplets.

A novel combined therapeutic strategy of Nano-EN-IR@Lip mediated photothermal therapy and stem cell inhibition for gastric cancer.

Recurrence and metastasis of gastric cancer is a major therapeutic challenge for treatment. The presence of cancer stem cells (CSCs) is a major obstacle to the success of current cancer therapy, often leading to treatment resistance and tumor recurrence and metastasis. Therefore, it is important to develop effective strategies to eradicate CSCs.

Reprogramming Photoresponsive Liquid Crystalline Elastomer via Force-Directed Evaporation.

Incorporating photothermal agents into thermoresponsive liquid crystalline elastomers (LCEs) offers remote and spatio-temporal control in actuation. Typically, both the light responsiveness and actuation behaviors are fixed since the agent doping and mesogen alignment are conducted before network formation. Here, we report an approach that enables programming photoresponsive LCEs after synthesis via force-directed evaporation.

Ten-year experiences and outcomes of bypass surgery and endovascular therapy in the management of infrarenal aortic occlusion: a single-center retrospective cohort study.

Background: Infrarenal aortic occlusion (IAO) is a life-threatening condition that often causes lower limb ischemia. Although open surgery is the current recommendation for first-line treatment, recent technological innovations have made endovascular treatment (EVT) a promising alternative. This study aims to compare the clinical outcomes of bypass surgery and EVT in the treatment of IAO.

Network Topology Optimization for Alignment Programming of a Dynamic Liquid Crystalline Organo-Gel.

Liquid crystalline elastomers (LCEs) exhibit muscle-like actuation upon an external stimulus. To control this, various alignment programming strategies have been developed over the past decades. Among them, force-directed solvent evaporation, namely, that the alignment depends on the applied external force during solvent evaporation, is appreciated for its universality in material design and versatility in attainable actuations.

A contrast-enhanced CT-based radiomic nomogram for the differential diagnosis of intravenous leiomyomatosis and uterine leiomyoma.

Objective: Uterine intravenous leiomyomatosis (IVL) is a rare and unique leiomyoma that is difficult to surgery due to its ability to extend into intra- and extra-uterine vasculature. And it is difficult to differentiate from uterine leiomyoma (LM) by conventional CT scanning, which results in a large number of missed diagnoses. This study aimed to evaluate the utility of a contrast-enhanced CT-based radiomic nomogram for preoperative differentiation of IVL and LM.

Imbalance of helper T cell subtypes and adipokine secretion in perivascular adipose tissue as a trigger of atherosclerosis in chronic Porphyromonas gingivalis W83 infection.

Periodontal disease, a prevalent oral disease, is an independent risk factor for atherosclerosis. Porphyromonas gingivalis (P.g), a keystone pathogen of periodontal disease, contributes to the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis.

Engineered Biomimetic Copper Sulfide Nanozyme Mediates "Don't Eat Me" Signaling for Photothermal and Chemodynamic Precision Therapies of Breast Cancer.

The rapid development of nanomedicine has brought hope and confidence to the precise treatment of tumors. However, the efficacy of nanoparticle-mediated therapy is severely limited due to phagocytosis and clearance by macrophages. CD47 is a well-documented ″don't eat me″ signaling molecule that binds to the SIRPα receptor on the macrophage surface, inhibiting the phagocytic behavior of the macrophages.

Midterm Results of a Surgeon-Modified Device to Preserve the Flow of the Internal Iliac Artery During Endovascular Repair of Aneurysm: Single-Center Experiences.

Background: During endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR), commercial iliac branch devices (IBDs) have become an inescapable alternative for preserving antegrade internal iliac artery (IIA) blood flow. Due to the different morphological features of aneurysms, commercial IBDs may not be suitable for all patients. Reported experience with the implantation of the new surgeon-modified IBD (sm IBD) is limited.

Transcriptomic and weighted gene co-expression network analysis of tropic and temperate maize inbred lines recovering from heat stress.

Heat stress (HS) causes imbalance of cellular homeostasis, growth impairment and extensively yield loss in crop production. In the present study, the tropic maize inbred CIMBL55 showed more thermotolerance than the maize temperate inbred B73, with less leaf damage rate and ROS accumulation. Transcriptome profiling of CIMBL55 and B73 upon (exposing at 45 ℃ for 0, 1, and 6 h) and post (recovering at 28 ℃ for 1 and 6 h) HS were further assessed and a total of 20204 DEGs were identified.

ROS-responsive liposomes as an inhaled drug delivery nanoplatform for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis treatment via Nrf2 signaling.

Background: Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a progressive fibrotic disease with pathophysiological characteristics of transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β), and reactive oxygen species (ROS)-induced excessive fibroblast-to-myofibroblast transition and extracellular matrix deposition. Macrophages are closely involved in the development of fibrosis. Nuclear factor erythroid 2 related factor 2 (Nrf2) is a key molecule regulating ROS and TGF-β expression.

Irisin Suppresses Nicotine-Mediated Atherosclerosis by Attenuating Endothelial Cell Migration, Proliferation, Cell Cycle Arrest, and Cell Senescence.

Atherosclerotic disease has become the major cause of death worldwide. Smoking, as a widespread independent risk factor, further strengthens the health burden of atherosclerosis. Irisin is a cytokine that increases after physical activity and shows an atheroprotective effect, while its specific mechanism in the process of atherosclerosis is little known.

Carbon Dots as an Indicator of Acid-Base Titration and a Fluorescent Probe for Endoplasm Reticulum Imaging.

In this study, carbon dots (CDs) with red color are successfully prepared via hydrothermal treatment of -phenylenediamine and urea. The as-prepared red CDs exhibit an acidichromism feature, making them turn purple at pH 4.4 and become blue at pH 3.

Effectiveness of adjunctive corticosteroid therapy in patients with severe COVID-19: A retrospective cohort study.

Background: The effectiveness of adjunctive corticosteroid use in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) remains inconclusive.

Aim: To investigate the effectiveness of adjunctive corticosteroid therapy in patients with severe COVID-19.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of the difference in several outcomes between patients with severe COVID-19 who received corticosteroid therapy (the corticosteroid group) and patients with severe COVID-19 who did not receive corticosteroid therapy (the non-corticosteroid group).

Early Improvement of Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome in Patients With COVID-19 in the Intensive Care Unit: Retrospective Analysis.

Background: Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been over 2 million deaths globally. Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) may be the main cause of death.

Objective: This study aimed to describe the clinical features, outcomes, and ARDS characteristics of patients with COVID-19 admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) in Chongqing, China.

Urine α-fetoprotein and orosomucoid 1 as biomarkers of hepatitis B virus-associated hepatocellular carcinoma.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the sixth common malignant tumor worldwide, but current efficient and convenient screening methods remain lacking. This study aimed to discover a diagnostic or a screening biomarker from the urine of hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related HCC patients. We used iTRAQ coupled with mass spectrometry to identify candidate urinary proteins in a discovery cohort ( = 40).

Identification of key genes, pathways and potential therapeutic agents for liver fibrosis using an integrated bioinformatics analysis.

Background: Liver fibrosis is often a consequence of chronic liver injury, and has the potential to progress to cirrhosis and liver cancer. Despite being an important human disease, there are currently no approved anti-fibrotic drugs. In this study, we aim to identify the key genes and pathways governing the pathophysiological processes of liver fibrosis, and to screen therapeutic anti-fibrotic agents.

Comparative Genomics, Whole-Genome Re-sequencing and Expression Profile Analysis of Nucleobase:Cation Symporter 2 () Genes in Maize.

Nucleobase:cation symporter 2 (NCS2) proteins are important for the transport of free nucleobases, participating in diverse plant growth and developmental processes, as well as response to abiotic stress. To date, a comprehensive analysis of the gene family has not been performed in maize. In this study, we conducted a comparative genomics analysis of genes in 28 plant species, ranging from aquatic algae to land plants, concentrating mainly on maize.

[Nitrogen application technology in dwarfed apple trees.].

N trace technique was used to explore the characteristics of N-urea absorption, utilization, loss and fruit quality of eight-year-old 'Yanfu3'/M26/Malus hupehensis Rehd. seedlings. There were three different nitrogen fertilization treatments: one-time nitrogen application in spring (1), two times nitrogen application (2), the intensive technique of nitrogen application with several times application and reduction in amount (3).

[Effects of nitrogen-supply levels on leaf senescence and characteristics of distribution and utilization of C and N in Fuji 3 apple grafted on different stocks].

Two-year-old potted Fuji 3 apple trees on different rootstocks [Fuji 3/M. micromalus Makin (joe), Fuji 3/M7 (semi-dwarf) and Fuji 3/M26/M. micromalus Makin (dwarf)] were used to study leaf morphology and photosynthesis and the characteristics of distribution and utilization of C and N at different nitrogen supply levels (0N, 25%N and 100%N, the N content in 100% N treatment was the same as that in Hoagland complete nutrient solution) under sand culture condition.

Curc-mPEG454, a PEGylated Curcumin Derivative, Improves Anti-inflammatory and Antioxidant Activities: a Comparative Study.

We previously demonstrated that a PEGylated curcumin (Curc-mPEG454) significantly inhibited cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2) expression and improved the progression of liver fibrosis. The current study systematically evaluates its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities in vitro in a comparative study with curcumin, aspirin, NS-398, and vitamin C. RAW264.