TMAO promotes vascular endothelial cell pyroptosis via the LPEAT-mitophagy pathway.

Trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) is a novel risk factor for atherosclerosis, and its underlying regulatory mechanisms are under intensive investigation. Inflammation-related vascular endothelial damage is the major driver in atherogenic process. Pyroptosis, a type of proinflammatory programmed cell death, has been proved to promote the initiation and progression of atherosclerosis. In our study, we found that TMAO triggered endothelial cells excessive mitophagy, thereby facilitating pyroptosis. This process is mediated by the upexpression of phosphatidylethanolamine acyltransferase (LPEAT). These findings provide insights into TMAO-induced vascular endothelial cell damage and suggest that LPEAT may be a valuable target for the prevention and treatment of atherosclerosis.

Corrigendum: Superiority of integrated cervicothoracic immobilization in the setup of lung cancer patients treated with supraclavicular station irradiation.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2023.1135879.].

Superiority of integrated cervicothoracic immobilization in the setup of lung cancer patients treated with supraclavicular station irradiation.

Objective: To investigate the superiority of the integrated cervicothoracic immobilization devices (ICTID) on the mobility of the supraclavicular station in lung cancer patients requiring both primary lung lesion and positive supraclavicular lymph nodes irradiation. Methods: One hundred patients with lung cancer were prospectively enrolled in the study. The following four different fixation methods are used for CT simulation positioning: thoracoabdominal flat immobilization device fixation with arms lifting (TAFID group), head-neck-shoulder immobilization device fixation with arms on the body sides (HNSID group), ICTID fixation with arms on the body sides (ICTID arms-down group), and n ICTID fixation with arms lifting (ICTID arms-up group). Cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) images are taken daily or weekly before treatment, to assess anatomical changes during the radiotherapy course. Results: The translation errors in X (left-right direction), Y (head-foot direction), and Z (abdomen-back direction) directions of the ICTID arms-up, TAFID, ICTID arms-down and HNSID groups were (0.15 ± 0.18) cm, (0.15 ± 0.16) cm, (0.16 ± 0.16) cm, and (0.15 ± 0.20) cm; (0.15 ± 0.15) cm, (0.21 ± 0.25) cm, (0.28 ± 0.23) cm, and (0.27 ± 0.21) cm; (0.13 ± 0.14) cm, (0.15 ± 0.14) cm, (0.17 ± 0.13) cm, and (0.16 ± 0.14) cm, respectively. Among them, the ICTID arms-up group had the minimal setup errors in X direction than those in ICTID arms-down (p=0.001) and HNSID groups (p=0.001), and in Y direction than those in TAFID (p<0.001), and in Z direction than those in ICTID arms-down (p<0.001) and TAFID groups (p=0.034). For the rotational errors of the four groups in the directions of sagittal plane, transverse plane, and coronal plane, the ICTID arms-up group had the smallest setup errors in the sagittal plane than that of TAFID groups and similar rotation setup errors with those of the other three groups. Conclusion: For patients requiring radiation of primary lung lesion and positive supraclavicular lymph nodes, an integrated frame fixation device is preferred the ICTID arms-up methods provide the smallest set up error and satisfied repeatability of body position, compared with TAFID and HNSID.

Mitophagy: Critical Role in Atherosclerosis Progression.

Autophagy maintains intracellular homeostasis in the cardiovascular system, including in cardiomyocytes, endothelial cells (ECs), and arterial smooth muscle cells. Mitophagy, a selective autophagy that specifically removes damaged and dysfunctional mitochondria, is particularly important for cardiovascular homeostasis. Dysfunctional mitophagy contributes to cardiovascular disease, particularly atherosclerosis (AS). This review focuses on the advances of regulator mechanisms of mitophagy and its potential roles in AS. The findings are beneficial to understanding the pathological processes of atherosclerotic lesions and provide new ideas for the prevention and clinical treatment of AS.

Ethiodized poppyseed oil-based contrast medium is superior to water-based contrast medium during hysterosalpingography regarding image quality improvement and fertility enhancement: A multicentric, randomized and controlled trial.

Background: The efficacy of ethiodized poppyseed oil in hysterosalpingography (HSG) image quality and fertility enhancement has been revealed, but whether this HSG modality has similar effects in the Chinese population is still unclear. Methods: Between July 18, 2017, and December 29, 2019, this multicentric, randomized, two-arm, clinical trial was performed involving 15 medical centers. Infertile women meeting HSG indications were randomly assigned to an oil group and a water group. The coprimary outcome included HSG image quality during HSG and fertility-enhancing effects of HSG. This study was registered on ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT03370575). Findings: A total of 1026 subjects were randomly assigned to an oil group (N = 508) and a water group (N = 518). HSG image quality revealed that the oil group had outstanding visualization (all P < 0.001); total image quality scores for uterus opacification or uterine outline (2.9 ± 0.4 vs. 2.7 ± 0.5), fallopian tube outline (2.3 ± 0.8 vs. 1.7 ± 0.7), fimbrial rugae (1.7 ± 1.0 vs. 1.3 ± 0.8), fallopian tube spillage (2.1 ± 0.9 vs. 1.6 ± 0.8), peritoneal distribution (2.6 ± 0.9 vs. 2.1 ± 1.0) and diagnostic quality (11.6 ± 3.4 vs. 9.5 ± 3.1) (all P < 0.001) were higher in the oil group than in the water group. Regarding fertility-enhancing evaluation, the oil group showed an increased cumulative on-going pregnancy rate, on-going pregnancy within 6 months (29.1% vs. 20.1%), clinical pregnancy (39.5% vs. 29.1%) and live birth ≥ 24 weeks of gestation (36.1% vs. 27.7%) but a shorter time to pregnancy than the water group (all P < 0.01). Concerning adverse events, the oil group showed a lower occurrence rate of abdominal pain and vaginal bleeding after HSG (both P < 0.01). Interpretation: Ethiodized poppyseed oil-based contrast is superior to water-based contrast during HSG in terms of image quality improvement and fertility enhancement. This study indicates the priority of the application of ethiodized poppyseed oil-based contrast during the HSG procedure in infertile patients. Funding: No funding was received.

Spatial quantification method of grassland utilization intensity on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau: A case study on the Selinco basin.

Existing methods for spatial quantification of grassland utilization intensity cannot meet the demand for accurate detection of the spatial distribution of grassland utilization intensity in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau with high spatial resolution. In this paper, a method based on remote-sensing observations and simulations of grassland growth dynamics is proposed. The grassland enhanced vegetation index (EVI) time-series curve during the growing season characterizes the growth of grassland in the corresponding pixel; The deviation between the observed and potential EVI curves indicates the disturbance on grassland growth imposed by human activities, and it can characterize the grassland utilization intensity during the growing season. Based on the main idea described above, absolute and relative disturbances are calculated and used as quantitative indicators of grassland utilization intensity defined from different perspectives. Livestock amount at the pixel scale is obtained by pixel-by-pixel calculations based on the function relationship at the township scale between absolute disturbance and livestock density, which is specific quantitative indicator that considers the mode of grassland utilization. In simulating the potential EVI of grassland, the lag and accumulation effects of meteorological factors are investigated at the daily scale using a multi-objective genetic algorithm. Further, the nonlinear functions between multiple environmental factors (e.g., grassland type, topography, soil, meteorology) and the grassland EVI are established using an error back-propagation feedforward artificial neural network (ANN-BP) with parameter optimization. Finally, the potential EVIs of all grassland pixels are simulated on the basis of this model. The method is applied to the Selinco basin on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and validated by examining the spatial consistency of the results with township-scale livestock density and grazing pressure. The final results indicate that the proposed method can accurately detect the spatial distribution of grassland utilization intensity which is appliable in the similar regions.

[Determination of thiodiglycolic acid in urine with gas chromatography-mass spectrometer].

OBJECTIVE: To establish a rapid determination method with gas chromatography-mass spectrometer (GC-MS) for thiodiglycolic acid (TDGA), a vinyl chloride (VCM) biomarker. METHODS: A high- sensitivity determination method was established using a moderate methyl esterification instead of methyl esterification of highly toxic diazo reaction. RESULTS: The standard curve regression linear equation of the method was: y=8460.5x-4758.2, the linear coefficient was 0.999 7, the minimum quantity concentration was 2.0 µg/L, the range of precision value was 0.81%-2.38%, and the average recovery of standard addition was 99.0%-102.9%. CONCLUSION: This method reduces the risk of traditional methyl esterification, improves the determination sensitivity compared with the GC-FPD method, and meets the determination requirement of TDGA.

[Analysis on the disease burden and its impact factors of coal worker's pneumoconiosis inpatients].

OBJECTIVE: To obtain the baseline data and decision of quantitative analysis for the allocation of scarce health care resources,and for the health policymaking about easing the disease burden, to provide estimation of the economic costs and the disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) loss of the coal worker's pneumoconiosis (CWP) and to explore the influencing factors of the disease burden. METHODS: The CWP inpatients from the Institute of Occupational Diseases Prevention and Control of a Coal Mining Group for 2011 were recruited in the study. Multiple dimensions of the disease burden were measured in the inception cohort of the 194 CWP inpatients: the direct economic burden, the indirect economic burden and the DALYs loss. The direct economic burden of the inpatients included hospitalization expenses and food allowances and nutritional supplements. The indirect economic burden was estimated using the DALYs and human capital approach,and the influencing factors of hospitalization expenses were analyzed in this study. RESULTS: The estimated direct economic burden for the 194 CWP inpatients for 2011 was approximately 4.68 million yuan and direct burden per capita was 24 108.05 yuan, and their indirect burden about 6.98 million yuan and indirect burden per capita 35 977.36 yuan. The study discovered that 1 681.53 health years were lost for the CWP inpaitents and per capita health years loss (8.67±3.65) years. CONCLUSION: The medical cost, the indirect cost and the DALYs loss of CWP are all sizable. Age and length of stay in the hospital are the major influencing factors for high hospitalization expenses. The hospitalization expenses of the CWP inpatients increase with their age and length of stay in the hospital. Taking effective measures to reduce the morbility is the key point to reduce the CWP burden.

[Determination of four biogenic amine metabolites in urine by high-performance liquid chromatography].

OBJECTIVE: To establish a method for simultaneously determining vanilmandelic acid (VMA), 5-hydroxyindoleacetic (5-HIAA), 3, 4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC), and homovanillic acid (HVA) in urine by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). METHODS: After being filtered with a 0.45 µm membrane syringe filter, the urinary samples were injected directly into the HPLC system using a C18 chromatographic column and a fluorescence detector. The excitation and emission wavelengths were chose as 280 nm and 315 nm, respectively, and the urinary samples were carried with a mobile phase of methanol-0.1 mol/L phosphate buffered solution (V/V = 20:80) at a flow rate of 1.0 ml/min and an injection volume of 20 µl. RESULTS: Using the method reported here, the correlation coefficients of VMA, 5-HIAA, DOPAC, and HVA were 0.9999, 0.9998, 0.9997, 0.9999, respectively, over linear ranges of 0-2.5, 0-2.0, 0-2.0, and 0-2.5 µg/ml, the minimum detectable concentrations were 0.006, 0.008, 0.012, and 0.0082 µg/ml, the average precisions were 4.2%, 3.7%, 4.9%, and 3.6%, and the recovery rates were 91%∼102%, 93%∼101%, 94%∼101%, and 89%∼ 102%. CONCLUSION: This determination method is simple, efficient, accurate, and sensitive for the simultaneous detection of VMA, 5-HIAA, DOPAC, and HVA in urine.

[The improvement of determination method of carbon disulfide in workplace air with gas chromatography].

OBJECTIVE: Establishment of determination method of carbon disulfide in charcoal tube with low toxicity solvents desorption-gas chromatography. METHODS: Four types of solvent with low toxicity are applied respectively as substitution of benzene to desorb the carbon disulfide in samples of charcoal tube. The signal strength and desorption efficiency of the detector are compared by using different solvents. RESULTS: Chloroform has been considered as the best alternative solvent of benzene. Carbon disulfide has a good linearity (R = 0.9997) over the concentration of 0 ∼ 54.7 µg/ml, detection limit can reach 0.2 µg/ml. When the sampling volume is 3.0 L, the minimum detectable concentration is 0.07 mg/m(3). CONCLUSION: With the use of chloroform, the health hazard to laboratory personnel and environment pollution as well as the costs of experiments are reduced.

[The optimization of 2-thiothiazolidine-4-carboxylic acid back extraction in urine and determination by HPLC].

OBJECTIVE: Establishment of determination method of 2-thiothiazolidine-4-carboxylic acid (TTCA) in urine with HPLC. METHODS: A volume of 0.5 ml hydrochloric acid (2 mol/L) and 0.5 ml pure water was added into 1 ml urine, and then extracted by 4 ml of diethyl ether by shaking for 2 min. Remove the water phase in a tube with plug and extract again, mix the two extraction diethyl ether together, take 4 ml by adding 2 ml borax-monopotassium phosphate buffer and shaking for 2 min to extract, then take the water phase to detect. A C(18) column and UV detector were used for separating and detecting. The wavelength was 273 nm, the flow rate was 1.0 ml/min, and the injection volume was 20 µl. RESULTS: TTCA has a good linearity (r = 0.9995) over the concentration of1 1 ∼ 10 µg and the minimum detectable concentration of TTCA in urine was 0.1 µg/ml. The within-day precision (RSD) were 8.4%, 3.0% and 1.7%, the between-day precision (RSD) were 11%, 3.8%, 1.9%, respectively. The extraction recovery were between 80% ∼ 102%. CONCLUSION: The method was accurate and sensitive to detect TTCA in urine.

[The rervising of biological exposure index for carbon disulfide exposuring].

OBJECTIVE: To study the biological exposure index of carbon disulfide in China. METHODS: High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was used to detect the levels of 2-thiothiazolidine-4-carboxylic acid (TTCA) in the urine of the workers after working shift end, Gas chromatography was used to detect the concentrations of the carbon disulfide in the workplace air. The relationship between the urine TTCA levels and the concentrations of the carbon disulfide was analyzed, the biological exposure index and judgement result from PC-TWA were compared. RESULTS: The levels of TTCA in urine of workers occupationally exposed to carbon disulfide were closely and positively related with the concentrations of the carbon disulfide in the workplace air. The regression equation was Y = 0.265X - 0.165, The biological exposure index of carbon disulfide were calculated by regression equation according to occupational exposure limits of carbon disulfide in China. CONCLUSION: The biological exposure index of CS(2) in China might be revised for 1.2 mg/g Cr.

[Determination of dimethyl ether in workplace air with gas chromatography].

OBJECTIVE: To develop determination of dimethyl ether in workplace air by GC. METHODS: Dimethyl ether were sampled with solvent desorption active carbon tube. The sampled carbon tube were desorbed by carbon tetrachloride, Elite-WAX column was used with temperature programmed from 40 to 90 degrees C, and the carrier gas programmed from 1.4 - 2.5 ml/min. RESULTS: There was a good linearity (r = 0.9999) over the concentration of 0-63.91 microg/L, detection limit can reach 0.75 microg/ml. CONCLUSION: This method proved to be accurate and sensitive, to meet the determination of the dimethyl ether in workplace air.

[Determination of hydrogen selenide in workplace air with atomic fluorescence].

OBJECTIVE: To determined hydrogen selenide in workplace air with atomic fluorescence. METHOD: Hydrogen selenide were sampled with 0.1 mol/L sodium hydroxide solution in multi-hole absorbing tubes. The sampled absorbing solution were digested with (9+1) nitric acid/perchloric acid. The selenide in sample were reduced by potassium borohydride in 5.0% hydrochloride solution and determined with atomic fluorescence. RESULTS: There was a good linearity (r=0.9999) over the concentration of 0-150 microg/L, The precision of low, middle and high concentration were 3.1%, 7.4% and 6.7%, respectively. The sample collection rate can reach 99%. CONCLUSION: The method was accurate and sensitive to detect hydrogen selenide in workplace air.

[The surface biomarkers of sputum cells in coal mine workers and patients with pneumoconiosis].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the significance of intercellular adhesion molecule -1 (CD54 or ICAM-1), epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and platelet-derived factor (PDGF) in sputum cells of workers exposed to dust and patients with pneumoconiosis for the early diagnosis of pneumoconiosis. METHODS: The subjects included 62 workers exposed to dusts, 51 workers not exposed to dusts, 22 patients with pneumoconiosis and 10 healthy controls. The respiratory sputum technique was used to collect the sputum samples and the biomarkers (ICAM-1, EGFR and PDGF) of the sputum samples were detected with the sputum samples. RESULTS: When the exposure group was compared with non-exposure group, there were no significant differences of surface biomarkers (ICAM-1, EGFR and PDGF) in sputum cells (neutrophil leucocytes, macrophages, lymphocytes and acidophilic/basophil leucocytes). As compared with other workers exposed to dusts, the surface CD54 and EGFR expression levels increased significantly and the surface PDGF expression level decreased significantly in workers exposed to dusts for 10 years (P<0.05). As compared with controls, the CD54 and EGFR expression levels of sputum cells increased significantly and the PDGF expression level of sputum cells decreased significantly in patients with pneumoconiosis at the stages of I and II + mI (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: The expression levels of the surface CD54, EGFR and PDGF of sputum cells in workers exposed to dusts and patients with pneumoconiosis changed, which may be useful for early detecting pneumoconiosis.and patients is changed, which may be meaningful for early detection of pneumoconiosis.