MR Spectroscopy Assessment of Daily Variations of GABA Levels within the Parietal Lobe and Anterior Cingulate Gyrus Regions of Healthy Young Adults.

BACKGROUND: The changes that occur in the gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) levels within specific brain regions throughout the day are less clear. PURPOSE: To evaluate the daily fluctuations of GABA levels within the parietal lobe (PL) and anterior cingulate gyrus (ACC) regions and explore their association with melatonin (MT) levels, heart rate (HR), and blood pressure. STUDY TYPE: Prospective. SUBJECTS: 26 healthy young adults (15 males and 11 females aged 22-27 years). FIELD STRENGTH/SEQUENCE: 3.0T, T1-weighted imaging, Mescher-Garwood point resolved spectroscopy (MEGA-PRESS) sequence. ASSESSMENT: The acquired GABA signal contained the overlapping signals of macromolecules and homocarnosine, hence expressed as GABA+. The creatine (Cr) signal was applied as an endogenous reference. The GABA+, GABA+/Cr were measured at six different time points (1:00, 5:00, 9:00, 13:00, 17:00, and 21:00 hours) using MEGA-PRESS. The blood pressure, HR and sputum MT levels, were also acquired. STATISTICAL TESTS: The one-way repeated-measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to evaluate the GABA, blood pressure, HR, and MT levels throughout the day. A general linear model was used to find the correlation between GABA and blood pressure, HR, and MT. P < 0.05 was statistically significant. RESULTS: Significant variations in GABA+/Cr and GABA+ levels were observed throughout the day within the PL region. The lowest levels were recorded at 9:00 hour (GABA+/Cr: 0.100 ± 0.003，GABA+:1.877 ± 0.051 i.u) and the highest levels were recorded at 21:00 hour (GABA+/Cr: 0.115 ± 0.003, GABA+:2.122 ± 0.052 i.u). The MT levels were positively correlated with GABA+/Cr (r = 0.301) and GABA+ (r = 0.312) within the ACC region. DATA CONCLUSION: GABA+/Cr and GABA+ in ACC are positively correlated with MT. GABA levels in the PL have diurnal differences. These findings may indicate that the body's GABA level change in response to the light-dark cycle. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 1 TECHNICAL EFFICACY: Stage 2.

Final-year nursing students' perceptions of humanistic education in nursing: a cross-sectional descriptive study.

BACKGROUND: Humanistic education is an important part of nursing education. Final-year nursing students' perceptions of nursing humanistic education are under-investigated. This study aimed to examined final-year nursing students' perceptions of nursing humanistic education in both school and hospital. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional descriptive study conducted from May to June 2022 among 107 final-year nursing students with a self-designed questionnaire. RESULTS: Final-year nursing students recognized the importance of humanistic education, scoring above 4.0 on a 1-5 scale, while their initiative to enhance humanistic qualities was relatively low. Students' satisfaction with the number of humanities courses offered was only 3.7 ± 0.862. Moreover, 62.6% of students believed there was a need to enhance humanistic environmental development including corridor culture. The "monotonous teaching format" (63.6%) and "teaching methods" (64.5%) have emerged as focal points that students identified as needing attention and improvement. CONCLUSIONS: In the future, nursing humanistic education can be enhanced by increasing the proportion of humanities, improving teaching methods, stimulating students' learning motivation, and strengthening the construction of humanistic environment.

QSAR Study, Molecular Docking and Molecular Dynamic Simulation of Aurora Kinase Inhibitors Derived from Imidazo[4,5-b]pyridine Derivatives.

Cancer is a serious threat to human life and social development and the use of scientific methods for cancer prevention and control is necessary. In this study, HQSAR, CoMFA, CoMSIA and TopomerCoMFA methods are used to establish models of 65 imidazo[4,5-b]pyridine derivatives to explore the quantitative structure-activity relationship between their anticancer activities and molecular conformations. The results show that the cross-validation coefficients q2 of HQSAR, CoMFA, CoMSIA and TopomerCoMFA are 0.892, 0.866, 0.877 and 0.905, respectively. The non-cross-validation coefficients r2 are 0.948, 0.983, 0.995 and 0.971, respectively. The externally validated complex correlation coefficients r2pred of external validation are 0.814, 0.829, 0.758 and 0.855, respectively. The PLS analysis verifies that the QSAR models have the highest prediction ability and stability. Based on these statistics, virtual screening based on R group is performed using the ZINC database by the Topomer search technology. Finally, 10 new compounds with higher activity are designed with the screened new fragments. In order to explore the binding modes and targets between ligands and protein receptors, these newly designed compounds are conjugated with macromolecular protein (PDB ID: 1MQ4) by molecular docking technology. Furthermore, to study the nature of the newly designed compound in dynamic states and the stability of the protein-ligand complex, molecular dynamics simulation is carried out for N3, N4, N5 and N7 docked with 1MQ4 protease structure for 50 ns. A free energy landscape is computed to search for the most stable conformation. These results prove the efficient and stability of the newly designed compounds. Finally, ADMET is used to predict the pharmacology and toxicity of the 10 designed drug molecules.

The Use of Diffusion Tensor Imaging in the Identification of Acute Rejection and Chronic Allograft Nephropathy After Renal Transplantation.

BACKGROUND: Identifying the cause of renal allograft dysfunction is important for the clinical management of kidney transplant recipients. PURPOSE: To evaluate the diagnostic efficiency of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) for identifying allografts with acute rejection (AR) and chronic allograft nephropathy (CAN). STUDY TYPE: Prospective. SUBJECTS: Seventy-seven renal transplant patients (aged 42.5 ± 9.5 years), including 29 patients with well-functioning stable allografts (Control group), 25 patients diagnosed with acute rejection (AR group), and 23 patients diagnosed with chronic allograft nephropathy (CAN group). FIELD STRENGTH/SEQUENCE: 1.5 T/T2-weighted imaging and DTI. ASSESSMENT: The serum creatinine, proteinuria, pathologic results, and fractional anisotropy (FA) values were obtained and compared among the three groups. STATISTICAL TEST: One-way analysis of variance; correlation analysis; independent-sample t-test; intraclass correlation coefficients and receiver operating characteristic curves. Statistical significance was set to a P-value <0.05. RESULTS: The AR and CAN groups presented with significantly elevated serum creatinine as compared with the Control group (191.8 ± 181.0 and 163.1 ± 115.8 µmol/L vs. 82.3 ± 20.9 µmol/L). FA decreased in AR group (cortical/medullary: 0.13 ± 0.02/0.31 ± 0.07) and CAN group (cortical/medullary: 0.11 ± 0.02/0.27 ± 0.06), compared with the Control group (cortical/medullary: 0.15 ± 0.02/0.35 ± 0.05). Cortical FA in the AR group was higher than in the CAN group. The area under the curve (AUC) for identifying AR from normal allografts was 0.756 and 0.744 by cortical FA and medullary FA, respectively. The AUC of cortical FA and medullary FA for differentiating CAN from normal allografts was 0.907 and 0.830, respectively. The AUC of cortical FA and medullary FA for distinguishing AR and CAN from normal allografts was 0.828 and 0.785, respectively. Cortical FA was able to distinguish between AR and CAN with an AUC of 0.728. DATA CONCLUSION: DTI was able to detect patients with dysfunctional allografts. Cortical FA can further distinguish between AR and CAN. EVIDENCE LEVEL: 2 TECHNICAL EFFICACY: Stage 2.

A Survey on the Current Status of Adult External Ventricular Drainage Care: Exploring Content Framework and the Need for Group Standards.

Background: External ventricular drainage (EVD), a widely used clinical procedure, faces slow translation of knowledge into practice due to practical barriers. The scarcity of high-quality data in the past EVD management and neurocritical care research compounds the challenge. Objective: This study aims to investigate the current status of adult external ventricular drainage care among neurosurgical nurses, delineate nursing priorities and challenges, and explore the necessity for establishing standardized guidelines for external ventricular drainage care. Methods: We conducted a systematic literature search to identify existing clinical guidelines, systematic reviews, evidence summaries, and expert consensus on adult external ventricular drainage care. We developed an electronic questionnaire titled "Survey on the Current Status of Adult External Ventricular Drainage Care" based on our search results. We distributed it to certified registered neurosurgical nurses working in the top 20 neurosurgery hospitals, per the 2022 Fudan Hospital Ranking published by the Institute of Hospital Management at Fudan University. Results: Effective control of drainage speed and total volume is a crucial aspect of nursing care. Existing guidelines primarily emphasize infection prevention in the context of complication care. However, it was observed that nursing staff exhibited limited knowledge concerning the total volume (58.7%) and rate of cerebrospinal fluid drainage (50.8%), as well as the management of complications (56.7%). Factors influencing the extent of nursing knowledge related to external ventricular drainage care include levels of education (P = .022), professional titles (P = .004), department assignments (P < .001), and the completion of relevant training (P = .01). Conclusions: Establishing standardized guidelines for external ventricular drainage care is imperative to bridge the gap between existing evidence and clinical practice.

A2aR inhibits fibrosis and the EMT process in silicosis by regulating Wnt/ß-catenin pathway.

Silicosis, a disease characterized by diffuse fibrosis of the lung tissue, is caused by long-term inhalation of free silica (SiO2) dust in the occupational environment and is currently the most serious occupational diseases of pneumoconiosis. Several studies have suggested that alveolar type Ⅱ epithelial cells (AEC Ⅱ) undergo epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) as one of the crucial components of silicosis in lung fibroblasts. A2aR can play a critical regulatory role in fibrosis-related diseases by modulating the Wnt/ß-catenin pathway, but its function in the EMT process of silicosis has not been explained. In this study, an EMT model of A549 cells was established. The results revealed that A2aR expression is reduced in the EMT model. Furthermore, activation of A2aR or suppression of the Wnt/ß-catenin pathway reversed the EMT process, while the opposite result was obtained by inhibiting A2aR. In addition, activation of A2aR in a mouse silicosis model inhibited the Wnt/ß-catenin pathway and ameliorated the extent of silica-induced lung fibrosis in mice. To sum up, we uncovered that A2aR inhibits fibrosis and the EMT process in silicosis by regulating the Wnt/ß-catenin pathway. Our study can provide an experimental basis for elucidating the role of A2aR in the development of silicosis and offer new ideas for further exploration of interventions for silicosis.

MALAT1-miR-30c-5p-CTGF/ATG5 axis regulates silica-induced experimental silicosis by mediating EMT in alveolar epithelial cells.

Epithelial-mesenchymal transdifferentiation of alveolar type Ⅱ epithelial cells is a vital source of pulmonary myofibroblasts, and myofibroblasts formation is recognized as an important phase in the pathological process of silicosis. miR-30c-5p has been determined to be relevant in the activation of the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in numerous disease processes. However, elucidating the role played by miR-30c-5p in the silicosis-associated EMT process remains a great challenge. In this work, based on the establishment of mouse silicosis and A549 cells EMT models, miR-30c-5p was interfered with in vivo and in vitro models to reveal its effects on EMT and autophagy. Moreover, metastasis-associated lung adenocarcinoma transcript 1 (MALAT1), connective tissue growth factor (CTGF), autophagy-related gene 5 (ATG5), and autophagy were further interfered with in the A549 cells models to uncover the possible molecular mechanism through which miR-30c-5p inhibits silicosis associated EMT. The results demonstrated the targeted binding of miR-30c-5p to CTGF, ATG5, and MALAT1, and showed that miR-30c-5p could prevent EMT in lung epithelial cells by acting on CTGF and ATG5-associated autophagy, thereby inhibiting the silicosis fibrosis process. Furthermore, we also found that lncRNA MALAT1 might competitively absorb miR-30c-5p and affect the EMT of lung epithelial cells. In a word, interfering with miR-30c-5p and its related molecules (MALAT1, CTGF, and ATG5-associated autophagy) may provide a reference point for the application of silicosis intervention-related targets.

Efficacy of acupuncture therapy for spastic paralysis in post-stroke patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Despite the potentially good efficacy of acupuncture therapy in the management of post-stroke spastic paralysis demonstrated in previous studies, further verification through meta-analysis can be conducive to eliminating the inconclusive of treatment outcomes in prior findings. This systematic review and meta-analysis were thus performed to comprehensively investigate the effects of acupuncture on the daily living abilities, upper and lower limb motor function, and related functional indices of post-stroke patients with spastic paralysis. METHODS: We conducted a computer search to collect data from PubMed, PEDro, Clinical SportDiscus, and Scopus. The inclusion criteria followed the Population-Intervention-Comparison-Outcome (PICO) principle. Literature screening, data extraction, and quality assessment of the research articles were performed by two independent investigators. Standard mean difference and 95% confidence intervals of the data were analyzed using either a random-effects model or a fixed-effects model. RESULTS: Acupuncture therapy appeared to be effective in mitigating the limb pain of post-stroke patients with spastic paralysis (RR = -0.04, 95% CI: -0.26, 0.17), ameliorating their daily life ability (RR = 4.66, 95% CI: -0.74, 10.05), and improving their hand function (RR = 0.65, 95% CI: 0.40, 0.90) and lower limb function (RR = 0.35, 95% CI: 0.09, 0.62). CONCLUSION: Acupuncture therapy provides more pronounced improvement in the daily life ability and limb motor function of post-stroke patients with spastic paralysis than conventional treatment regimens. Thus, acupuncture therapy can be a viable treatment option for the management of spastic paralysis following stroke.

LncRNA UCA1 regulates silicosis-related lung epithelial cell-to-mesenchymal transition through competitive adsorption of miR-204-5p.

The main clinical manifestations are pulmonary fibrosis, silicosis, is one of the most common types of pneumoconiosis, and its pathogenesis is still unclear. The proliferation and transdifferentiation of fibroblasts are considered to be the key link leading to pulmonary fibrosis. Type II alveolar epithelial cells can be transformed into lung fibroblasts through epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) to promote lung fibrosis. Involved in the EMT process of a variety of cancers, lncRNA UCA1 (UCA1) has been shown to competitively adsorb miR-204-5p, and play an effect on the downstream target gene E-box binding zinc finger protein 1 (ZEB1), thereby promoting EMT to facilitate the invasion and migration of cancer cells. This is an important potential intervention target that affects the process of EMT, but it has not been reported in the study of EMT related to silicosis. Therefore, this study established a SiO2 dust-treated mouse silicosis model and an in vitro EMT model of A549 cells to observe the changes and effects of UCA1 and miR-204-5p, and intervene on the two respectively. The results showed that the EMT process existed in the aforementioned models, while UCA1 was upregulated in the in vitro model. Double luciferase reporter assay demonstrated the targeted binding of UCA1 and miR-204-5p. Silencing UCA1 can up-regulate the expression of miR-204-5p and reduce the level of ZEB1, thus inhibiting EMT process, while intervention of miR-204-5p can change the level of ZEB1 and regulate EMT. Therefore, UCA1 may release its target gene ZEB1 through competitive adsorption of miR-204-5p to regulate EMT process.

Research progress on the mechanism of ferroptosis and its clinical application.

Ferroptosis is a mode of cell death dependent on iron ions, which is mainly induced by the decrease of the biological activity of glutathione peroxidase or the accumulation of lipid peroxidation and reactive oxygen species (ROS). It is significantly different from autophagy and other forms of cell death in terms of cell morphology and biochemistry. The exact mechanisms of ferroptosis are not clear. More and more studies have shown that various tumor diseases and nervous system diseases are closely related to ferroptosis. The occurrence and development of related diseases can be tolerated by stimulating or inhibiting the occurrence of ferroptosis. Therefore, ferroptosis has occupied a very important position in recent years. This article reviews the discovery process, characteristics, mechanisms, inducers, inhibitors of ferroptosis and its related clinical applications to lay a foundation for follow-up researchers to study ferroptosis and provide some reference value.

A Robust Faster R-CNN Model with Feature Enhancement for Rust Detection of Transmission Line Fitting.

Rust of transmission line fittings is a major hidden risk to transmission safety. Since the fittings located at high altitude are inconvenient to detect and maintain, machine vision techniques have been introduced to realize the intelligent rust detection with the help of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV). Due to the small size of fittings and disturbance of complex environmental background, however, there are often cases of missing detection and false detection. To improve the detection reliability and robustness, this paper proposes a new robust Faster R-CNN model with feature enhancement mechanism for the rust detection of transmission line fitting. Different from current methods that improve feature representation in front end, this paper adopts an idea of back-end feature enhancement. First, the residual network ResNet-101 is introduced as the backbone network to extract rich discriminative information from the UAV images. Second, a new feature enhancement mechanism is added after the region of interest (ROI) pooling layer. Through calculating the similarity between each region proposal and the others, the feature weights of the region proposals containing target object can be enhanced via the overlaying of the object's representation. The weight of the disturbance terms can then be relatively reduced. Empirical evaluation is conducted on some real-world UAV monitoring images. The comparative results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed model in terms of detection precision and recall rate, with the average precision of rust detection 97.07%, indicating that the proposed method can provide an reliable and robust solution for the rust detection.

A Method of Calibration for the Distortion of LiDAR Integrating IMU and Odometer.

To improve the motion distortion caused by LiDAR data at low and medium frame rates when moving, this paper proposes an improved algorithm for scanning matching of estimated velocity that combines an IMU and odometer. First, the information of the IMU and the odometer is fused, and the pose of the LiDAR is obtained using the linear interpolation method. The ICP method is used to scan and match the LiDAR data. The data fused by the IMU and the odometer provide the optimal initial value for the ICP. The estimated speed of the LiDAR is introduced as the termination condition of the ICP method iteration to realize the compensation of the LiDAR data. The experimental comparative analysis shows that the algorithm is better than the ICP algorithm and the VICP algorithm in matching accuracy.

Dynamic switching of coaxial focus based on terahertz meta-lens.

We propose an active meta-lens that can dynamically switch the coaxial focus on three statuses with the external optical pump. The meta-lens composes of two concentric sets of complementary split-ring resonator (CSRR) arrays, which function at different focal lengths, atop the silicon on sapphire substrate. With specifically structured phase distribution, the meta-lens can form completely separated double foci simultaneously. Through illuminating the internal or external CSRR arrays individually with patterned optical pump, the meta-lens switches to single focus at different points. The proposed design provides a new avenue for developing terahertz multifunctional devices applied in microscope imaging and tomography.

WDR5a functions in cadmium-inhibited root meristem growth by regulating nitric oxide accumulation in Arabidopsis.

MAIN CONCLUSION: Cadmium stress induces WDR5a expression to promote NO accumulation to repress root meristem growth via suppressing auxin transport and synthesis in Arabidopsis. Nitric oxide (NO) synthase (NOS)-like activity plays a vital role in toxic cadmium (Cd)-induced NO production and inhibition of root meristem growth, while factor(s) regulating NOS-like activity and root meristem growth in plant response to Cd has not been identified yet. Here, we report that WD40 repeat 5a (WDR5a) functions in Cd-induced NOS-like activity, NO accumulation and root meristem growth suppression. We found that wdr5a-1 mutant root has increased root meristem growth with lower NOS-like activity and NO accumulation than wild type upon Cd exposure, and exogenous NO donors sodium nitroprusside or nitrosoglutathione can restore its reduced Cd sensitivity. In addition, Cd activates WDR5a expression in roots, and overexpressing WDR5a results in increased NO accumulation and suppressed root meristem growth similar to Cd-stressed wild-type roots, while scavenging NO or inhibiting NOS-like activity significantly reverts these effects of Cd. Furthermore, WDR5a acts in Cd-repressed auxin accumulation through reducing the levels of auxin efflux carriers PIN1/3/7 and biosynthetic enzyme TAA1, and reduced sensitivity of wdr5a-1 root meristem to Cd can be partially reverted by inhibiting TAA1 activity pharmaceutically or mutating TAA1 genetically. This study identified WDR5a as a key factor modulating NO accumulation and root meristem growth in plant response to Cd.

Reversal of ciprofloxacin-induced testosterone reduction by probiotic microbes in mouse testes.

CPFX is a highly effective antibiotic, but it has been reported to significantly impair both testicular function and structure in rats. In this study, we assessed reversal of CPFX-induced variation in mice testicular structure and testosterone synthesis by probiotic microbes in the infected model and normal model. We detected testicular weight, testicular structure and Leydig cell variables in numbers. We detected the levels of serum testosterone and steroidogenic enzymes, as well as DBC1, Sirt1, NF-κB, and related redox state and inflammatory response in the testes. The results showed that probiotic microbes had significantly elevated serum testosterone levels and steroidogenic enzymes, higher Sirt1, anti-oxidative enzymes and anti-inflammatory cytokine expression, and lower NF-κB, DBC1, oxidative damage, pro-inflammatory cytokine expression. The results suggest that the testis-protective, antiinflammatory and antioxidation effects of probiotics largely resulted from its ability to decrease oxidative stress and preserve antioxidant activity by stabilizing antioxidant defense systems, reducing oxidative damage and inflammatory response.

Age-dependent PPARα activation induces hepatic sulfatide accumulation in transgenic mice carrying the hepatitis C virus core gene.

Sulfatides, a type of glycosphingolipid, are associated with carcinogenesis. Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (PPARα) is involved in the regulation of sulfatide metabolism as well as in cancer development. We previously reported that transgenic (Tg) mice expressing hepatitis C virus core protein (HCVcp) exhibited age-dependent PPARα activation and carcinogenesis in liver. However, the metabolism of sulfatides in hepatocellular carcinoma is unknown. To examine the relationship between sulfatide metabolism, carcinogenesis, HCVcp, and PPARα, age-dependent changes of these factors were examined in HCVcpTg, PPARα inhibitor-treated HCVcpTg, and non-Tg mice. The sulfatide content in liver, the hepatic expression of two key enzymes catalyzing the initial and last reactions in sulfatide synthesis, the hepatic expression of known sulfatide-transferring protein, oxidative stress, and hepatic PPARα expression and its activation were age-dependently increased in HCVcpTg mice. The increased synthesis and accumulation of sulfatides and PPARα activation were significantly enhanced in liver cancer lesions. These changes were attenuated by PPARα inhibitor treatment and not observed in non-Tg mice. These results suggest that HCVcp-induced age-dependent PPARα activation increases synthesis of sulfatides and the resulting sulfatide accumulation affects HCV-related liver cancer. The monitoring of hepatic sulfatide content and the modulation of sulfatide generation by intervention using a PPARα inhibitor might be useful for the prediction and prevention of HCV-related hepatocarcinogenesis, respectively.

Arterial spin labeling combined with T1 mapping for assessment of kidney function and histopathology in patients with long-term renal transplant survival after kidney transplantation.

Background: The long-term survival of kidney transplants is often influenced by various factors, among which renal allograft rejection is the most notable factor. A noninvasive and reliable imaging biomarker correlating with kidney function and histopathology would facilitate longitudinal long-term follow-up of renal allografts. The aim of the study is to investigate the value of arterial spin labeling (ASL) combined with T1 mapping for assessing kidney function in patients with long-term renal transplant survival, and to establish radiological and histopathologic correlations between the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) measurements and kidney allograft biopsy findings. Methods: Kidney transplant recipients who were admitted to the Department of Urology in First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University between January and December 2022 were prospectively consecutively recruited [group A, estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) ≥60 mL/min/1.73 m2; group B, 30≤ eGFR <60 mL/min/1.73 m2; group C, eGFR <30 mL/min/1.73 m2], and part of them underwent biopsies. All patients underwent ASL and T1 mapping. MRI parameters were calculated and analyzed. Results: A total of 63 patients (Group A, 30 cases; Group B, 20 cases; and Group C, 13 cases) were included in this cross-sectional study. Cortical T1 increased, whereas renal blood flow (RBF) and ΔT1 [100% × (cortical T1 - medullary T1)/cortical T1] decreased with the decrease of eGFR. The RBF, cortical T1, and ΔT1 values were moderately correlated with eGFR (r=0.569, -0.573, and 0.672, respectively). The MRI parameters were moderately correlated with Banff scores, which determined renal allograft rejection and chronicity. The area under the curve (AUC) for the discrimination of groups A versus B and groups A versus C were 0.740 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.597-0.854, P=0.004] and 0.923 (95% CI: 0.800-0.982, P<0.001), respectively, using ASL; 0.873 (95% CI: 0.749-0.950, P<0.001) and 0.926 (95% CI: 0.803-0.983, P<0.001), respectively, using T1 mapping; and 0.892 (95% CI: 0.771-0.962, P<0.001) and 0.956 (95% CI: 0.846-0.995, P<0.001), respectively, using multi-parameter MRI. The AUC for discrimination between groups B and C was 0.729 (95% CI: 0.546-0.868, P=0.02) using ASL. Conclusions: The RBF, cortical T1, and ΔT1 can serve as new imaging biomarkers of kidney function and histopathological microstructure.

Unveiling the mechanism of photothermal therapy in acne man-agement: targeting sebaceous gland ferroptosis via umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cell membrane-encapsulated Au-Ag-PDA.

Background: Branched gold and silver nanoparticles coated with polydopamine (Au-Ag-PDA) demonstrate high photothermal conversion efficiency. Utilizing umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cell membranes (MSCM) as an effective drug delivery system, our preliminary studies investigated the suppression of sebum secretion in sebaceous glands using MSCM-coated Au-Ag-PDA nano-particles (Au-Ag-PDA@MSCM) combined with 808 nm laser irradiation, showing potential for dermatological applications in acne treatment. Methods: This study employs proteomic analysis, complemented by subsequent techniques such as Western blotting (WB), small interfering RNA (siRNA), and transmission electron microscopy, to further investigate the differential mechanisms by which Au-Ag-PDA and Au-Ag-PDA@MSCM-mediated photothermal therapy (PTT) suppress sebum secretion. Results: Our proteomic analysis indicated mitochondrial respiratory chain damage in sebaceous gland tissues post-PTT, with further validation revealing ferroptosis in sebaceous cells and tissues. Acyl-CoA Synthetase Long-Chain Family Member 4 (Acsl4) has been identified as a critical target, with Au-Ag-PDA@MSCM demonstrating enhanced ferroptotic effects. Conclusion: These findings significantly advance our understanding of how PTT mediated by Au-Ag-PDA@MSCM nanoparticles reduces sebum secretion and underscore the pivotal role of MSCM in inducing ferroptosis in sebaceous glands, thus providing a robust theoretical foundation for employing PTT via specific molecular pathways in acne treatment.

Preliminary outcomes of endovascular treatment of moyamoya disease.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness and safety of endovascular revascularisation of intracranial artery occlusion and stenosis in moyamoya disease using stent angioplasty. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We recruited 12 patients (8 women and 4 men) with occlusion and stenosis of intracranial arteries in the context of moyamoya disease who underwent endovascular stent angioplasty. Clinical data, baseline conditions, lesion location, treatment outcomes, periprocedural complications, and follow-up outcomes were analysed. RESULTS: The occlusion was located at the M1 segment of the middle cerebral artery in 8 patients, at both the M1 and A2 segments in one patient, and at the C7 segment of the internal carotid artery in 3. Thirteen stents were deployed at the occlusion site, including the low-profile visualized intraluminal support (LVIS) device in 8 patients, an LVIS device and a Solitaire AB stent in one, and a Leo stent in 3, with a success rate of 100% and no intraprocedural complications. Plain CT imaging after stenting revealed leakage of contrast agent, which disappeared on the second day, resulting in no clinical symptoms or neurological sequelae. Follow-up angiography studies were performed in all patients for 6-12 months (mean, 8.8). Slight asymptomatic in-stent stenosis was observed in 2 patients (16.7%), and no neurological deficits were observed in the other patients. All preoperative ischaemic symptoms completely disappeared at follow-up. CONCLUSION: Stent angioplasty is a safe and effective treatment for occlusion and stenosis of intracranial arteries in moyamoya disease.