Applying deep generative model in plan review of intensity modulated radiotherapy.

Background: Plan review is critical for safely delivering radiation dose to a patient under radiotherapy and mainly performed by medical physicist in routine clinical practice. Recently, the deep-learning models have been used to assist this manual process. As black-box models the reason for their predictions are unknown.

Fecal microbiota transplantation alleviates radiation enteritis by modulating gut microbiota and metabolite profiles.

This study investigates the safety and underlying mechanisms of fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) in treating radiation enteritis (RE). A rat model of RE was established with six groups: NC, RT, H-FMT, modified FMT (M-FMT), L-FMT, and BTAC. The therapeutic effects of FMT were assessed using the Disease Activity Index (DAI), histological analysis, and biochemical tests, including ink-propelling, xylitol exclusion, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).

Applying aperture-based intensity map in automated plan review of volumetric modulated arc therapy for lung cancer patients.

Background: Volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) is a popular radiotherapy technique in the clinic. As consisting of hundreds of control points in a VMAT plan it is more complex and time consuming than those conventional treatment modalities, such as intensity modulated radiation therapy. To improve the efficiency and accuracy of its quality assurance procedure, a novel automated anomaly detection method was proposed.

D30 Alleviates β2-Microglobulin-Facilitated Neurotoxic Microglial Responses in Isoflurane/Surgery-Induced Cognitive Dysfunction in Aged Mice.

Postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) is a common complication with no effective treatment in elderly patients. POCD, Alzheimer disease (AD), and many other cognitive diseases mostly involve neurotoxic microglia response, and recently, β2-microglobulin (B2M) has been suggested to play a pivotal role. A novel pyromeconic acid-styrene hybrid compound D30 was synthesized by our team and shown to be safe and effective in some neurodegenerative mouse models.

A mild and convenient protocol for the synthesis of quinoxalin-2(1)-ones and benzimidazoles.

We present a mild and simple method for the cyclization of -protected -phenylenediamines with carbonyl compounds in the presence of trifluoroacetic acid. This method reliably provides various substrates of benzimidazoles and quinoxalin-2(1)-ones, with all reactions conducted at room temperature, demonstrating excellent substrate adaptability and a broad substrate scope.

Identification of a circRNA-miRNA-mRNA network to explore the effects of circRNAs on Holstein bull testis after sexual maturity.

Spermatogenesis is an extremely sophisticated and complex process and is regulated not only by a large number of genes, but also by a large number of epigenetic factors. Although existing studies have demonstrated that circRNAs plays an important regulatory role in spermatogenesis, there is still insufficient information to properly understand the regulatory role and mechanism of circRNA action. We addressed this issue by examining the testes of two Holstein bull developmental stages; three 8-week-olds (young bull, YB) and three 80-week-olds (adult bull, AB), randomly selected from the same breeding stock.

Effects of exogenous 2,4-epibrassinolide on photosynthetic traits of 53 cowpea varieties under NaCl stress.

This study examined the effects of exogenous 2,4-epibrassinolide (EBR) on photosynthetic traits of 53 cowpea varieties under NaCl stress. The results of different analysis and correlation analysis showed that these 53 germplasm resources had rich genetic diversity, and significant correlations existed among various photosynthetic traits. Under NaCl stress, Pn was highly significantly positively correlated with Gs and Tr and extremely significantly negatively correlated with Ci.

Unsupervised machine learning model for detecting anomalous volumetric modulated arc therapy plans for lung cancer patients.

Purpose: Volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) is a new treatment modality in modern radiotherapy. To ensure the quality of the radiotherapy plan, a physics plan review is routinely conducted by senior clinicians; however, this process is less efficient and less accurate. In this study, a multi-task AutoEncoder (AE) is proposed to automate anomaly detection of VMAT plans for lung cancer patients.

Applying mixed-integer linear programming to the non-coplanar beam angle optimization of intensity-modulated radiotherapy for liver cancer.

Background: Currently, intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) is commonly used in radiotherapy clinics. However, designing a treatment plan with multiple beam angles depends on the experience of human planners, and is mostly achieved using a trial-and-error approach. It is preferrable but challenging to solve this issue automatically and mathematically using an optimization approach.

Melatonin alleviates palmitic acid-induced mitochondrial dysfunction by reducing oxidative stress and enhancing autophagy in bovine endometrial epithelial cells.

Background: Negative energy balance (NEB) typically occurs in dairy cows after delivery. Cows with a high yield are more likely to experience significant NEB. This type of metabolic imbalance could cause ketosis, which is often accompanied by a decline in reproductive performance.

Applying the six-sigma methodology to determine the limits of quality control (QC) tests for a specific linear accelerator.

Purpose: We aimed to show the framework of the six-sigma methodology (SSM) that can be used to determine the limits of QC tests for the linear accelerator (Linac). Limits for QC tests are individually determined using the SSM.

Methods And Materials: The SSM is based on the define-measure-analyze-improve-control (DMAIC) stages to improve the process.

New sagittal abdominal diameter and transverse abdominal diameter based equations to estimate visceral fat area in type 2 diabetes patients.

Objective: Computed Tomography (CT) or Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) are considered gold standards for measuring visceral fat area (VFA). However, their relatively high prices and potential radiation exposure limit their widespread use in clinical practice and everyday life. Therefore, our study aims to develop a VFA estimated equation based on sagittal abdominal diameter (SAD) and transverse abdominal diameter (TAD) using anthropometric indexes.

Serum SERCA2a levels in heart failure patients are associated with adverse events after discharge.

Calcium homeostasis imbalance is one of the important pathological mechanisms in heart failure. Sarco/endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase (SERCA2a), a calcium ATPase on the sarcoplasmic reticulum in cardiac myocytes, is a myocardial systolic-diastolic Ca2 + homeostasis regulating enzyme that is not only involved in cardiac diastole but also indirectly affects cardiac myocyte contraction. SERCA2a expression was found to be decreased in myocardial tissue in heart failure, however, there are few reports on serum SERCA2a expression in patients with heart failure, and this study was designed to investigate whether serum SERCA2a levels are associated with the occurrence of adverse events after discharge in patients hospitalized with heart failure.

Credit risk assessment of small and micro enterprise based on machine learning.

Small and micro enterprises are pivotal in national economic and social development. To foster their growth, managing their credit risks scientifically is crucial. This study starts by examining the credit information of these enterprises.

Insight into roles of carbon anodes for removal of refractory organic contaminants in electro-peroxone system: Mechanism, performance and stability.

Electro-peroxone (EP) is a novel technique for the removal of refractory organic contaminants (ROCs), while the role of anode in this system is neglected. In this work, the EP system with graphite felt anode (EP-GF) and activated carbon fiber anode (EP-ACF) was developed to enhance ibuprofen (IBP) removal. The results showed that 91.

Predicting voxel-level dose distributions of single-isocenter volumetric modulated arc therapy treatment plan for multiple brain metastases.

Purpose: Brain metastasis is a common, life-threatening neurological problem for patients with cancer. Single-isocenter volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) has been popularly used due to its highly conformal dose and short treatment time. Accurate prediction of its dose distribution can provide a general standard for evaluating the quality of treatment plan.

A highly accurate and semi-automated method for quantifying spherical microplastics based on digital slide scanners and image processing.

Microplastics (MPs), the emerging pollutants appeared in water environment, have grabbed significant attention from researchers. The quantitative method of spherical MPs is the premise and key for the study of MPs in laboratory researches. However, the manual counting is time-consuming, and the existing semi-automated analysis lacked of robustness.

Preliminary study of cine-MRI compression in MR-guided radiotherapy.

Background: Cine-magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is currently used in real-time tumor tracking during magnetic resonance (MR)-guided radiotherapy. As a type of MRI specified for motion tracking, a few minutes' acquisition results in thousands of 2-dimensional (2D) images. For MR-guided radiotherapy consisting of multiple treatment fractions, the large number of cine-MRI images would be disproportionate to the tight clinical data storage available.

Quality assurance in a phase III, multicenter, randomized trial of POstmastectomy radioThErapy in Node posiTive breast cancer with or without Internal mAmmary nodaL irradiation (POTENTIAL): a planning benchmark case.

Purpose: To report the planning benchmark case results of the POTENTIAL trial-a multicenter, randomized, phase 3 trial-to evaluate the value of internal mammary nodal (IMN) irradiation for patients with high-risk breast cancer.

Methods: All participating institutions were provided the outlines of one benchmark case, and they generated radiation therapy plans per protocol. The plans were evaluated by a quality assurance team, after which the institutions resubmitted their revised plans.

Glycyrrhizin regulates antioxidation through Nrf2 signaling pathway in rat temporomandibular joint osteoarthritis.

Background: Regulation of redox homeostasis could reduce osteoarthritis severity and limit disease progression, while glycyrrhizin (GL) shows great antioxidant and anti-inflammatory capacity.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the role of GL on oxidative stress and the potential regulatory mechanism in rat temporomandibular joint (TMJ) chondrocytes under oxidative stress, and investigate the effect of GL in the rat temporomandibular joint osteoarthritis (TMJOA) model.

Methods: Rat TMJ chondrocytes were cultured in oxidative stress with different doses of GL.

Association between the triglyceride-glucose index and calcified aortic stenosis in elderly patients: a cross-sectional study.

Insulin resistance (IR) is associated with a variety of cardiovascular diseases, but there are few studies on the correlation between IR and calcified aortic stenosis (CAS). In this study, the triglyceride-glucose (TyG) index, which reflects IR, was used to investigate the correlation between IR and CAS. The study included 183 elderly patients who were diagnosed with CAS by transthoracic echocardiography.

Pyroptosis of chondrocytes activated by synovial inflammation accelerates TMJ osteoarthritis cartilage degeneration via ROS/NLRP3 signaling.

Objectives: Synovial inflammation and chondrocyte death have been widely acknowledged as key contributors to the pathological progression of temporomandibular joint osteoarthritis (TMJ-OA), a degenerative joint disease currently lacking definitive treatments. This study aims to understand the regulatory role of chondrocyte pyroptosis in condylar cartilage degradation during TMJ-OA.

Methods: The levels of cytokines, cartilage degeneration markers, and pyroptotic biomarkers in the synovium and synovial fluid of temporomandibular disorders (TMD) patients were examined.

Improving accelerated 3D imaging in MRI-guided radiotherapy for prostate cancer using a deep learning method.

Purpose: This study was to improve image quality for high-speed MR imaging using a deep learning method for online adaptive radiotherapy in prostate cancer. We then evaluated its benefits on image registration.

Methods: Sixty pairs of 1.

Combining autoencoder with clustering analysis for anomaly detection in radiotherapy plans.

Background: To develop an unsupervised anomaly detection method to identify suspicious error-prone treatment plans in radiotherapy.

Methods: A total of 577 treatment plans of breast cancer patients were used in this study. They were labeled as either normal or abnormal plans by experienced clinicians.