Safety evaluation of ceftazidime/avibactam based on FAERS database.

OBJECTIVE: To explore adverse event (AE) signals of Ceftazidime/avibactam (CZA) based on the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) database. METHODS: AE reports primarily associated with CZA were retrieved from the FAERS database from the second quarter of 2015 to the second quarter of 2023. Signal detection was conducted using the reporting odds ratio (ROR), proportional reporting ratio (PRR), Bayesian Confidence Propagation Neural Network (BCPNN), and Multi-item Gamma Poisson Shrinker (MGPS) methods. RESULTS: A total of 750 AEs reports with CZA as the preferred suspected drug were obtained, identifying 66 preferred terms (PTs) involving 24 system organ classes (SOCs). Besides, the AEs already mentioned in the drug label, this study also revealed some new, clinically valuable potential AEsignals, such as Cholestasis (n = 14, ROR 29.39, PRR 29.15, IC 3.34, EBGM 29.11), Drug-induced liver injury (n = 8, ROR 9.05, PRR 9.01, IC 2.25, EBGM 9.01), Hepatocellular injury (n = 7, ROR 13.90, PRR 13.84, IC 2.41, EBGM 13.63), Haemolytic anaemia (n = 5, ROR 24.29, PRR 24.22, IC 2.42, EBGM 40.53), etc. Additionally, AE signals with higher intensity were identified, such as Hypernatraemia (n = 5, ROR 40.73, PRR 40.61, IC 2.31, EBGM 24.19), Toxic epidermal necrolysis (n = 4, ROR 11.58, PRR 11.55, IC 1.89, EBGM 11.54). Therefore, special vigilance for these potential AEs is warranted when using CZA clinically. CONCLUSION: This study highlights the potential AEs and risks associated with the clinical use of CZA, particularly the risks related to Cholestasis, Drug-induced liver injury, Haemolytic anaemia, Hypernatraemia, and Toxic epidermal necrolysis.

Effect of APOE ε4 genotype on amyloid-ß, glucose metabolism, and gray matter volume in cognitively normal individuals and amnestic mild cognitive impairment.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The presence of apolipoprotein E ε4 (APOE ε4) is associated with an increased risk of developing Alzheimer disease (AD). The aim of this study was to assess the effects of APOE ε4 on amyloid-ß (Aß) pathology, glucose metabolism, and gray matter (GM) volume and their longitudinal changes in healthy control (HC) and amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI). METHODS: We included 50 HCs and 109 aMCI patients from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative phase 2/GO based on availability of baseline T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging, 18 F-florbetapir positron emission tomography (PET), and 18 F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) PET. Of these, 35 HCs and 67 aMCI patients who underwent 24-month scans were included for follow-up study. RESULTS: Voxelwise analysis revealed that APOE ε4 carriers exhibited greater baseline Aß deposition than APOE ε4 noncarriers in both diagnostic groups. However, there was no significant difference between APOE ε4 noncarriers and APOE ε4 carriers in terms of 18 F-FDG PET standardized uptake value ratio and GM volume. Region of interest-based analysis showed statistically significant greater Aß deposition in APOE ε4 carriers than APOE ε4 noncarriers only in aMCI patients. Furthermore, APOE ε4 carriers generally exhibited a greater magnitude and spatial extent of longitudinal changes in Aß deposition than APOE ε4 noncarriers in both diagnostic groups. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest a differential effect of APOE ε4 on Aß pathology, glucose metabolism, and GM volume. Studying APOE ε4-related brain changes with neuroimaging biomarkers in preclinical AD offers an opportunity to further our understanding of the pathophysiology of AD at an early stage.

Coupling of brain activity and structural network in multiple sclerosis: A graph frequency analysis study.

The brain activities and the underlying wiring diagrams are vulnerable in multiple sclerosis (MS). Also, it remains unknown whether the complex coupling between these functional and structural brain properties would be affected. To address this issue, we adopted graph frequency analysis to quantify the high-order structural-functional interactions based on a combination of brain diffusion and functional MRI data. The structural-functional decoupling index was proposed to measure how much brain regional functional activity with different graph frequency was organized atop the underlying wiring diagram in MS. The identified patterns in MS included (1) disruption of inherent structural-functional coupling in the somatomotor network (ß = 0.05, p = 0.03), and (2) excessive decrease of decoupling in the subcortical (ß = -0.10, p = 0.02), visual (ß = -0.04, p = 0.01), and dorsal attention networks (ß = -0.12, p = 0.03). Besides, this structural-functional coupling signature in the somatomotor network was associated with cognitive worsening of MS patients (ß = -24.31, p = 0.006). Overall, our study unveiled a unique signature of brain structural-functional reorganization in MS.

Comparison of different obesity indices associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus among different sex and age groups in Nantong, China: a cross-section study.

BACKGROUND: Obesity is associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). However, the obesity index that is most closely related to type 2 diabetes remains controversial. Therefore, the aim of this study was to compare the associations of five anthropometric indices (body mass index [BMI], body adiposity index, waist circumference [WC], waist-to-hip ratio, and waist-to-height ratio [WHtR]) with T2DM among Chinese adults divided into four groups according to sex and age. METHODS: A total of 4007 adult participants (1669 men and 2338 women) were included in the study. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals were used with binary logistic regression models to estimate the risk of T2DM for each obesity index. Furthermore, we compared the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of each obesity index for the criterion of T2DM under the influence of risk factors. RESULTS: WC had the highest OR (3.211 and 1.452) and AUC (0.783 and 0.614) in both age groups of men. However, WHtR (OR = 2.366, AUC = 0.771) and BMI (OR = 1.596, AUC = 0.647) were the optimal criteria for predicting T2DM among females in the 18-59 and ≥ 60 years age groups, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that there is a positive association between obesity-related anthropometric indices and T2DM in different sex and age groups. WC appears to be the optimal anthropometric index for predicting T2DM in men. The optimal obesity indices related to T2DM were WHtR and BMI for women aged 18-59 and ≥ 60 years, respectively.

Multi-parametric MRI phenotype with trustworthy machine learning for differentiating CNS demyelinating diseases.

BACKGROUND: Misdiagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS) and neuromyelitis optica (NMO) may delay the treatment, resulting in poor prognosis. However, the precise identification of these two diseases is still challenging in clinical practice. We aimed to evaluate the value of quantitative radiomic features extracted from the brain white matter lesions for differential diagnosis of MS and NMO. METHODS: We recruited 116 CNS demyelinating patients including 78 MS, and 38 NMO. Three neuroradiologists performed visual differential diagnosis based on brain MRI for comparison purpose. A multi-level scheme was designed to harness the selection of discriminative and stable radiomics features extracted from brain while mater lesions in T1-MPRAGE, T2 sequences and clinical factors. Based on the imaging phenotype composed of the selected radiomic and clinical features, Multi-parametric Multivariate Random Forest (MM-RF) model was constructed and verified with both 10-fold cross-validation and independent testing. Result interpretation was provided to build trust in diagnostic decisions. RESULTS: Eighty-six patients were randomly selected to form the training set while the rest 30 patients for independent testing. On the training set, our MM-RF model achieved accuracy 0.849 and AUC 0.826 in 10-fold cross-validation, which were significantly higher than clinical visual analysis (0.709 and 0.683, p < 0.05). In the independent testing, the MM-RF model achieved AUC 0.902, accuracy 0.871, sensitivity 0.873, specificity 0.869, respectively. Furthermore, age, sex and EDSS were found mildly correlated with the radiomic features (p of all < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Multi-parametric radiomic features have potential as practical quantitative imaging biomarkers for differentiating MS from NMO.

Comparison of different obesity indices related with hypertension among different sex and age groups in China.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: To compare the relationships of five obesity-related routine anthropometric indicators (body mass index (BMI), body adiposity index (BAI), waist circumference (WC), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), waist-to-height ratio (WHtR)) for hypertension in both sexes and among different age groups of the Chinese population. METHODS AND RESULTS: A total of 12,064 adult participants (5638 males and 6426 females) were included. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals were used with binary logistic regression models to estimate the risk of hypertension for each obesity index. For the males, WHtR had the highest OR value in all age groups. The degrees of correlation between hypertension and the obesity indices for different age groups were different among the females. WC, BMI, and WHtR were the highest in the 18-44, 45-59, and ≥60 years age groups, respectively. Furthermore, we compared the area under the ROC curve (AUC) of each obesity index for the criterion of hypertension under the influence of risk factors. For the males, the AUC of WHtR was the largest (0.814, 0.710, and 0.662). WC (AUC = 0.820), BMI (AUC = 0.765), and WHtR (AUC = 0.668) tended to be the best criteria for hypertension among females in the 18-44, 45-59, and ≥60 years age groups respectively. In addition, BAI, as an obesity indicator proposed in recent years, has a positive association with hypertension except in 18-44 years women, which was not stronger than other obesity indicators. CONCLUSIONS: For males, WHtR appears to be the best obesity index related with hypertension. For young, middle-aged, and elderly women, the best obesity indices related with hypertension are WC, BMI, and WHtR, respectively.

Multiparametric imaging hippocampal neurodegeneration and functional connectivity with simultaneous PET/MRI in Alzheimer's disease.

PURPOSE: The objective of this study is to investigate the hippocampal neurodegeneration and its associated aberrant functions in mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients using simultaneous PET/MRI. METHODS: Forty-two cognitively normal controls (NC), 38 MCI, and 22 AD patients were enrolled in this study. All subjects underwent 18F-FDG PET/functional MRI (fMRI) and high-resolution T1-weighted MRI scans on a hybrid GE Signa PET/MRI scanner. Neurodegeneration in hippocampus and its subregions was quantified by regional gray matter volume and 18F-FDG standardized uptake value ratio (SUVR) relative to cerebellum. An iterative reblurred Van Cittert iteration method was used for voxelwise partial volume correction on 18F-FDG PET images. Regional gray matter volume was estimated from voxel-based morphometric analysis with MRI. fMRI data were analyzed after slice time correction and head motion correction using statistical parametric mapping (SPM12) with DPARSF toolbox. The regions of interest including hippocampus, cornu ammonis (CA1), CA2/3/dentate gyrus (DG), and subiculum were defined in the standard MNI space. RESULTS: Patient groups had reduced SUVR, gray matter volume, and functional connectivity compared to NC in CA1, CA2/3/DG, and subiculum (AD < MCI < NC). There was a linear correlation between the left CA2/3DG gray matter volume and 18F-FDG SUVR in AD patients (P < 0.001, r = 0.737). Significant correlation was also found between left CA2/3/DG-superior medial frontal gyrus functional connectivity and left CA2/3/DG hypometabolism in patients with AD. The functional connectivity of right CA1-precuneus in patients with MCI and right subiculum-superior frontal gyrus in patients with AD was positively correlated with mini mental status examination scores (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Our findings demonstrate that the associations existed at subregional hippocampal level between the functional connectivity measured by fMRI and neurodegeneration measured by structural MRI and 18F-FDG PET. Our results may provide a basis for precision neuroimaging of hippocampus in AD.

Simultaneous FET-PET and contrast-enhanced MRI based on hybrid PET/MR improves delineation of tumor spatial biodistribution in gliomas: a biopsy validation study.

PURPOSE: Glioma treatment planning requires precise tumor delineation, which is typically performed with contrast-enhanced (CE) MRI. However, CE MRI fails to reflect the entire extent of glioma. O-(2-18F-fluoroethyl)-L-tyrosine (18F-FET) PET may detect tumor volumes missed by CE MRI. We investigated the clinical value of simultaneous FET-PET and CE MRI in delineating tumor extent before treatment planning. Guided stereotactic biopsy was used to validate the findings. METHODS: Conventional MRI and 18F-FET PET were performed simultaneously on a hybrid PET/MR in 33 patients with histopathologically confirmed glioma. Tumor volumes were quantified using a tumor-to-brain ratio ≥ 1.6 (VPET) and a visual threshold (VCE). We visually assessed abnormal areas on FLAIR images and calculated Dice's coefficient (DSC), overlap volume (OV), discrepancy-PET, and discrepancy-CE. Additionally, several stereotactic biopsy samples were taken from "matched" or "mismatched" FET-PET and CE MRI regions. RESULTS: Among 31 patients (93.94%), FET-PET delineated significantly larger tumor volumes than CE MRI (77.84 ± 51.74 cm3 vs. 34.59 ± 27.07 cm3, P < 0.05). Of the 21 biopsy samples obtained from regions with increased FET uptake, all were histopathologically confirmed as glioma tissue or tumor infiltration, whereas only 13 showed enhancement on CE MRI. Among all patients, the spatial similarity between VPET and VCE was low (average DSC 0.56 ± 0.22), while the overlap was high (average OV 0.95 ± 0.08). The discrepancy-CE and discrepancy-PET were lower than 10% in 28 and 0 patients, respectively. Eleven patients showed VPET partially beyond abnormal signal areas on FLAIR images. CONCLUSION: The metabolically active biodistribution of gliomas delineated with FET-PET significantly exceeds tumor volume on CE MRI, and histopathology confirms these findings. Our preliminary results indicate that combining the anatomic and molecular information obtained from conventional MRI and FET-PET would reveal a more accurate glioma extent, which is critical for individualized treatment planning.

Detecting perfusion deficit in Alzheimer's disease and mild cognitive impairment patients by resting-state fMRI.

BACKGROUND: Vascular factors contributing to cerebral hypoperfusion are implicated in the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease (AD). PURPOSE: To investigate the time-shift mapping created time-shift value of the brain by resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI), and to determine the differences in time-shift value among AD, mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and normal control (NC) groups to better understand the disease. STUDY TYPE: Prospective. SUBJECTS: Twenty-four AD, 24 MCI, and 24 age-matched NC participants. FIELD STRENGTH/SEQUENCE: T2 *-weighted single-shot echo-planar imaging sequence was performed at 3T. In addition, a T1 -weighted fast spoiled gradient-echo sequence was acquired for coregistration. ASSESSMENT: The brain time-shift value was determined from rs-fMRI-based blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) signal in the three groups by time-shift mapping. The perfusion patterns were also investigated in the NC group. STATISTICAL TESTS: One-way analysis of variance and chi-squared tests were used to compare demographic information. The normalized time-shift maps were analyzed in a second-level test using SPM8. All analyses were evaluated with a significance level of P < 0.05 after false discovery rate (FDR) correction. RESULTS: The time-shift maps obtained from rs-fMRI are consistent with the cerebral blood supply atlas. Compared with NC, both MCI and AD groups had less early perfusion arrival areas among the whole brain. In the delayed time-shift value for the AD group, the areas were located in the bilateral precuneus, the sensory-motor cortex in the left hemisphere, and the bilateral calcarine sulcus, which were different from the MCI group (both P < 0.05, FDR corrected). DATA CONCLUSION: The time-shift mapping method could detect perfusion deficits in AD and MCI noninvasively. The perfusion deficits detected by rs-fMRI may provide new insight for understanding the mechanism of neurodegeneration. Level of Evidence 2 Technical Efficacy Stage 3 J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2019;49:1099-1104.

Brain White Matter Impairment in Patients with Spinal Cord Injury.

It remains unknown whether spinal cord injury (SCI) could indirectly impair or reshape the white matter (WM) of human brain and whether these changes are correlated with injury severity, duration, or clinical performance. We choose tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) to investigate the possible changes in whole-brain white matter integrity and their associations with clinical variables in fifteen patients with SCI. Compared with the healthy controls, the patients exhibited significant decreases in WM fractional anisotropy (FA) in the left angular gyrus (AG), right cerebellum (CB), left precentral gyrus (PreCG), left lateral occipital region (LOC), left superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF), left supramarginal gyrus (SMG), and left postcentral gyrus (PostCG) (p < 0.01, TFCE corrected). No significant differences were found in all diffusion indices between the complete and incomplete SCI. However, significantly negative correlation was shown between the increased radial diffusivity (RD) of left AG and total motor scores (uncorrected p < 0.05). Our findings provide evidence that SCI can cause not only direct degeneration but also transneuronal degeneration of brain WM, and these changes may be irrespective of the injury severity. The affection of left AG on rehabilitation therapies need to be further researched in the future.

Identification of cranial nerves around trigeminal schwannomas using diffusion tensor tractography: a technical note and report of 3 cases.

BACKGROUND: There are no large series studies identifying the locations of cranial nerves (CNs) around trigeminal schwannomas (TSs); however, surgically induced cranial neuropathies are commonly observed after surgeries to remove TSs. In this study, we preoperatively identified the location of CNs near TSs using diffusion tensor tractography (DTT). METHODS: An observational study of the DTT results and intraoperative findings was performed. We preoperatively completed tractography from images of patients with TSs who received surgical therapy. The result was later validated during tumorectomy. RESULTS: A total of three consecutive patients were involved in this study. The locations of CNs V-VIII in relation to the tumor was clearly revealed in all cases, except for CN VI in case 3.The predicted fiber tracts were in agreement with intraoperative observations. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, preoperative DTT accurately predicted the location of the majority of the nerves of interest. This technique can be applied by surgeons to preoperatively visualize nerve arrangements.

Osthole improves glucose and lipid metabolism via modulation of PPARα/γ-mediated target gene expression in liver, adipose tissue, and skeletal muscle in fatty liver rats.

CONTEXT: Osthole may be a dual agonist of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPAR) α/γ and ameliorate the insulin resistance (IR), but its mechanisms are not yet understood completely. OBJECTIVE: We investigated the effects of osthole on PPARα/γ-mediated target genes involved in glucose and lipid metabolism in liver, adipose tissue, and skeletal muscle in fatty liver and IR rats. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The rat model was established by orally feeding high-fat and high-sucrose emulsion for 9 weeks. The experimental rats were treated with osthole 5-10 mg/kg by gavage after feeding the emulsion for 6 weeks, and were sacrificed 4 weeks after administration. RESULTS: After treatment with osthole 5-10 mg/kg for 4 weeks, the lipid levels in serum and liver were decreased by 37.9-67.2% and 31.4-38.5% for triglyceride, 33.1-47.5% and 28.5-31.2% for free fatty acid, respectively, the fasting blood glucose, fasting serum insulin, and homeostasis model assessment of IR were also decreased by 17.2-22.7%, 25.9-26.7%, and 37.5-42.8%, respectively. Osthole treatment might simultaneously decrease the sterol regulatory element binding protein-1c, diacylglycerol acyltransferase, and fatty acid synthase mRNA expressions in liver and adipose tissue, and increase the carnitine palmitoyltransferase-1A mRNA expression in liver and glucose transporter-4 mRNA expression in skeletal muscle, especially in the osthole 10 mg/kg group (p < 0.01). DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Osthole can improve glucose and lipid metabolism in fatty liver and IR rats, and its mechanisms may be associated with synergic modulation of PPARα/γ-mediated target genes involved in glucose and lipid metabolism in liver, adipose tissue, and skeletal muscle.

PPARα/γ agonists and antagonists differently affect hepatic lipid metabolism, oxidative stress and inflammatory cytokine production in steatohepatitic rats.

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) α/γ may control lipid metabolism and inflammatory response by regulating the downstream target genes, and play a crucial role in the process of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) formation, but the difference and interaction between PPARα and PPARγ are poorly understood. The rat model with NASH was established by orally feeding high-fat and high-sucrose emulsion for 6weeks. The results shown that after the model rats were simultaneously treated with PPARα/γ agonists, the total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG) and inflammatory cytokine levels in serum and hepatic tissue, the hepatic steatosis and inflammatory cellular infiltration were decreased, and were consistent with the results of hepatic lipogenic gene and nuclear factor (NF)-κB protein expressions. Conversely, these indexes were increased by PPARα/γ antagonist treatment. Compared with the model group, the serum free fatty acid (FFA) level was increased in the PPARα agonist-treated group, decreased in the PPARγ agonist-treated group, and unchanged in the PPARα/γ agonists-treated group. The hepatic FFA level was low in the PPARα/γ agonists-treated groups, but no significant variation in the PPARα/γ antagonists-treated groups. The increments of hepatic reduced glutathione (GSH) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) contents in the PPARα/γ agonists-treated groups were accompanied by decreased hepatic malondialdehyde (MDA) content. These findings demonstrated that PPARα/γ activation might decrease the hepatic lipid accumulation, oxidative stress and inflammatory cytokine production, and PPARγ could counterbalance the adverse effect of PPARα on circulating FFA. It was concluded that the integrative application of PPARα and PPARγ agonists might exert a synergic inhibitory effect on NASH formation through the modulation of PPARα/γ-mediated lipogenic and inflammatory gene expressions.

Dietary intake of iron, zinc, copper, and risk of Parkinson's disease: a meta-analysis.

Although some studies have reported the associations between specific metal element intake and risk of Parkinson's disease (PD), the associations between specific metal element intake such as iron intake and PD are still conflicted. We aimed to determine whether intake of iron, zinc, and copper increases/decreases the risk of PD. PubMed, Embase, Web of Knowledge, and Google Scholar were searched. We pooled the multivariate-adjusted relative risks (RRs) or odds ratios using random effects. Study quality was evaluated by the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. Five studies including 126,507 individuals remained for inclusion, pooled RRs of Parkinson's disease for moderate dietary iron intake was 1.08 (95 % CI 0.61-1.93, P = 0.787), and for high dietary iron intake was (1.03, 95 % CI 0.83-1.30, P = 0.766), respectively. The pooled RRs of Parkinson's disease for the highest compared with the lowest dietary iron intake were 1.47 (95 % CI 1.17-1.85, P = 0.001) in western population and in males (RR = 1.43, 95 % CI 1.01-2.01, P = 0.041). The pooled RRs of Parkinson's disease for moderate or high intake of zinc, and copper were not statistically different (P > 0.05). PD increased by 18 % (RR 1.18, 95 % CI 1.02-1.37) for western population by every 10-mg/day increment in iron intake. Higher iron intake appears to be not associated with overall PD risk, but may be associated with risk of PD in western population. Sex may be a factor influencing PD risk for higher iron intake. However, further studies are still needed to confirm the sex-selective effects.

Identification of cranial nerves near large vestibular schwannomas using superselective diffusion tensor tractography: experience with 23 cases.

BACKGROUND: The preservation of the facial nerve (FN) and acoustic function in large vestibular schwannoma (VS) surgery is challenging because of nerve course uncertainties and morphological deviations. Preoperative diffusion tensor tractography (DTT) has been proposed to predict the FN location. This study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of this technique for identifying the FN, cochlear nerve (CN) and trigeminal nerve (TN) in large VSs. METHODS: The study included 23 consecutive patients with VS of Hannover classification T3b to T4b from November 2013 through May 2014. Diffusion tensor images and anatomical images were acquired. The DTT images of the cranial nerves were extracted before surgery for each patient to determine the relationships of these nerves with the tumor. The results were then validated during the tumorectomy. RESULTS: In 21 (91.30%) patients, the location of the FN on the DTT images agreed with the intraoperative findings, including in 2 patients in whom the FN passed through the interface between the parenchyma and the cystic changes and in 3 patients with a membranoid FN. The CN or fibers of unclear function were observed on DTT images in four patients with functional hearing. One penetrating fiber of unknown function was effectively constructed. The TN was accurately detected on the DTT images for all patients. CONCLUSIONS: DTT effectively revealed the location of the FN, including cases in which the FN was membranoid or passed through the interface between an area exhibiting cystic changes and the tumor nodule. Fibers aside from the FN and the TN were revealed by DTT in patients who retained functional hearing. Penetrating fibers were also found using DTT. This technique can be useful during VS resection.

Recent Advances in and Challenges with Fe-Based Metallic Glasses for Catalytic Efficiency: Environment and Energy Fields.

Metallic glass is being gradually recognized for its unique disordered atomic configuration and excellent catalytic activity, so is of great significance in the field of catalysis. Recent reports have demonstrated that Fe-based metallic glass, as a competitive new catalyst, has good catalytic activity for the fields of environment and energy, including high catalytic efficiency and stability. This review introduces the latest developments in metallic glasses with various atomic components and their excellent catalytic properties as catalysts. In this article, the influence of Fe-based metallic glass catalysts on the catalytic activity of dye wastewater treatment and water-splitting is discussed. The catalytic performance in different atomic composition systems and different water environment systems, and the preparation parameters to improve the surface activity of catalysts, are reviewed. This review also describes several prospects in the future development and practical application of Fe-based metallic glass catalysts and provides a new reference for the synthesis of novel catalysts.

Multiparametric hippocampal signatures for early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease using 18F-FDG PET/MRI Radiomics.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to explore the utility of hippocampal radiomics using multiparametric simultaneous positron emission tomography (PET)/magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). METHODS: A total of 53 healthy control (HC) participants, 55 patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI), and 51 patients with AD were included in this study. All participants accepted simultaneous PET/MRI scans, including 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) PET, 3D arterial spin labeling (ASL), and high-resolution T1-weighted imaging (3D T1WI). Radiomics features were extracted from the hippocampus region on those three modal images. Logistic regression models were trained to classify AD and HC, AD and aMCI, aMCI and HC respectively. The diagnostic performance and radiomics score (Rad-Score) of logistic regression models were evaluated from 5-fold cross-validation. RESULTS: The hippocampal radiomics features demonstrated favorable diagnostic performance, with the multimodal classifier outperforming the single-modal classifier in the binary classification of HC, aMCI, and AD. Using the multimodal classifier, we achieved an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of 0.98 and accuracy of 96.7% for classifying AD from HC, and an AUC of 0.86 and accuracy of 80.6% for classifying aMCI from HC. The value of Rad-Score differed significantly between the AD and HC (p < 0.001), aMCI and HC (p < 0.001) groups. Decision curve analysis showed superior clinical benefits of multimodal classifiers compared to neuropsychological tests. CONCLUSION: Multiparametric hippocampal radiomics using PET/MRI aids in the identification of early AD, and may provide a potential biomarker for clinical applications.

Comparison of 18F-FDG PET and arterial spin labeling MRI in evaluating Alzheimer's disease and amnestic mild cognitive impairment using integrated PET/MR.

BACKGROUND: Developing biomarkers for early stage AD patients is crucial. Glucose metabolism measured by 18F-FDG PET is the most common biomarker for evaluating cellular energy metabolism to diagnose AD. Arterial spin labeling (ASL) MRI can potentially provide comparable diagnostic information to 18F-FDG PET in patients with neurodegenerative disorders. However, the conclusions about the diagnostic performance of AD are still controversial between 18F-FDG PET and ASL. This study aims to compare quantitative cerebral blood flow (CBF) and glucose metabolism measured by 18F-FDG PET diagnostic values in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) using integrated PET/MR. RESULTS: Analyses revealed overlapping between decreased regional rCBF and 18F-FDG PET SUVR in patients with AD compared with NC participants in the bilateral parietotemporal regions, frontal cortex, and cingulate cortex. Compared with NC participants, patients with aMCI exclusively demonstrated lower 18F-FDG PET SUVR in the bilateral temporal cortex, insula cortex, and inferior frontal cortex. Comparison of the rCBF in patients with aMCI and NC participants revealed no significant difference (P > 0.05). The ROC analysis of rCBF in the meta-ROI could diagnose patients with AD (AUC, 0.87) but not aMCI (AUC, 0.61). The specificity of diagnosing aMCI has been improved to 75.56% when combining rCBF and 18F-FDG PET SUVR. CONCLUSION: ASL could detect similar aberrant patterns of abnormalities compared to 18F-FDG PET in patients with AD compared with NC participants but not in aMCI. The diagnostic efficiency of 18F-FDG-PET for AD and aMCI patients remained higher to ASL. Our findings support that applying 18F-FDG PET may be preferable for diagnosing AD and aMCI.

Highly sensitive and selective fluorescent chemosensor for Ni(2+) based on a new poly(arylene ether) with terpyridine substituent groups.

A new poly(arylene ether) (PAET) with terpyridine substituent groups has been synthesized which shows a turn-off fluorescent response in the presence of Ni(2+) over other cations and allows discrimination of these cations from each other on the basis of the extent of quenching.

Imaging features of vertebrobasilar dolichoectasia combined with posterior circulation ischemic stroke: A vessel wall magnetic resonance imaging study.

PURPOSE: To elucidate the vessel wall changes of vertebrobasilar dolichoectasia (VBD) with ischemic stroke, using vessel wall magnetic resonance imaging (VW-MRI). METHOD: Thirty-four patients with VBD (22 with stroke and 12 without stroke) who underwent VW-MRI were recruited. Forty-one patients without VBD who underwent VW-MRI were also recruited if they had a recent stroke due to atherosclerosis in the basilar artery or the intracranial vertebral artery. The vessel wall features of VBD were compared between stroke and non-stroke groups. The plaque characteristics were compared between VBD and non-VBD stroke patients. RESULTS: The frequency of plaques was higher (54.5% vs. 8.3%, P = 0.011) in VBD patients with stroke than that in non-stroke patients, while the frequencies of aneurysm, dissection, intraluminal thrombus, and diffuse/concentric wall enhancement did not differ. When the plaque features were compared between plaque-positive stroke patients with and without VBD, the degree of stenosis (31.0% ± 26.8% vs. 71.5% ± 19.0%, P < 0.001), normalized wall index (NWI) (0.7 ± 0.1 vs. 0.9 ± 0.1, P < 0.001), and remodeling index (RI) (1.0 ± 0.4 vs. 1.3 ± 0.4, P = 0.023) were lower in the VBD group, while intraplaque hemorrhage, and enhancement ratio showed no difference. CONCLUSIONS: This preliminary study suggests that atherosclerosis may be an important cause of stroke in VBD patients. Symptomatic plaques in VBD patients have a lower degree of stenosis, NWI, and RI than that in non-VBD patients. VW-MRI may help to assess stroke mechanisms and identify VBD patients at high risk.