Deep learning-based automated scan plane positioning for brain magnetic resonance imaging.

Background: Manual planning of scans in clinical magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) exhibits poor accuracy, lacks consistency, and is time-consuming. Meanwhile, classical automated scan plane positioning methods that rely on certain assumptions are not accurate or stable enough, and are computationally inefficient for practical application scenarios. This study aims to develop and evaluate an effective, reliable, and accurate deep learning-based framework that incorporates prior physical knowledge for automatic head scan plane positioning in MRI. Methods: A deep learning-based end-to-end automated scan plane positioning framework has been developed for MRI head scans. Our model takes a three-dimensional (3D) pre-scan image input, utilizing a cascaded 3D convolutional neural network to detect anatomical landmarks from coarse to fine. And then, with the determined landmarks, accurate scan plane localization can be achieved. A multi-scale spatial information fusion module was employed to aggregate high- and low-resolution features, combined with physically meaningful point regression loss (PRL) function and direction regression loss (DRL) function. Meanwhile, we simulate complex clinical scenarios to design data augmentation strategies. Results: Our proposed approach shows good performance on a clinically wide range of 229 MRI head scans, with a point-to-point absolute error (PAE) of 0.872 mm, a point-to-point relative error (PRE) of 0.10%, and an average angular error (AAE) of 0.502°, 0.381°, and 0.675° for the sagittal, transverse, and coronal planes, respectively. Conclusions: The proposed deep learning-based automated scan plane positioning shows high efficiency, accuracy and robustness when evaluated on varied clinical head MRI scans with differences in positioning, contrast, noise levels and pathologies.

A combined nanotherapeutic approach targeting farnesoid X receptor, ferroptosis, and fibrosis for nonalcoholic steatohepatitis treatment.

Obeticholic acid (OCA), a farnesoid X receptor (FXR) agonist with favorable effects on fatty and glucose metabolism, has been considered the leading candidate drug for nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) treatment. However, its limited effectiveness in resolving liver fibrosis and lipotoxicity-induced cell death remains a major drawback. Ferroptosis, a newly recognized form of cell death characterized by uncontrolled lipid peroxidation, is involved in the progression of NASH. Nitric oxide (NO) is a versatile biological molecule that can degrade extracellular matrix. In this study, we developed a PEGylated thiolated hollow mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSN) loaded with OCA, as well as a ferroptosis inhibitor liproxsatin-1 and a NO donor S-nitrosothiol (ONL@MSN). Biochemical analyses, histology, multiplexed flow cytometry, bulk-tissue RNA sequencing, and fecal 16S ribosomal RNA sequencing were utilized to evaluate the effects of the combined nanoparticle (ONL@MSN) in a mouse NASH model. Compared with the OCA-loaded nanoparticles (O@MSN), ONL@MSN not only protected against hepatic steatosis but also greatly ameliorated fibrosis and ferroptosis. ONL@MSN also displayed enhanced therapeutic actions on the maintenance of intrahepatic macrophages/monocytes homeostasis, inhibition of immune response/lipid peroxidation, and correction of microbiota dysbiosis. These findings present a promising synergistic nanotherapeutic strategy for the treatment of NASH by simultaneously targeting FXR, ferroptosis, and fibrosis.

Uncovering Structural Evolution during the Dealloying Process in Pt-Based Oxygen-Reduction Catalyst.

The comprehensive understanding toward the dealloying process is crucial for designing alloy catalysts employed in the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). However, the specific leaching procedure and subsequent reconstruction of the dealloyed catalyst still remain unclear. Herein, we employ in situ X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy to monitor the dealloying process of a two-dimensional PtTe ordered alloy, known for its enhanced ORR activity. Our findings reveal the unsynchronous evolutions of Pt and Te sites, wherein the Pt component undergoes a structural transformation prior to the complete leaching of Te, leading to the formation of a defect-rich Pt catalyst. This dealloyed catalyst exhibits a significant enhancement in ORR activity, featuring a half-wave potential of 0.90 V versus the reversible hydrogen electrode and a mass activity of 0.62 A mgPt-1, outperforming the performance of commercial Pt/C counterpart. This in-depth understanding of the dealloying mechanism enriches our knowledge for the development of high-performance Pt-based alloy catalysts.

Self-Assembly Intermetallic PtCu3 Core with High-Index Faceted Pt Shell for High-Efficiency Oxygen Reduction.

Rational design of well-defined active sites is crucial for promoting sluggish oxygen reduction reactions. Herein, leveraging the surfactant-oriented and solvent-ligand effects, we develop a facile self-assembly strategy to construct a core-shell catalyst comprising a high-index Pt shell encapsulating a PtCu3 intermetallic core with efficient oxygen-reduction performance. Without undergoing a high-temperature route, the ordered PtCu3 is directly fabricated through the accelerated reduction of Cu2+, followed by the deposition of the remaining Pt precursor onto its surface, forming high-index steps oriented by the steric hindrance of surfactant. This approach results in a high half-wave potential of 0.911 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode, with negligible deactivation even after 15000-cycle operation. Operando spectroscopies identify that this core-shell catalyst facilitates the conversion of oxygen-involving intermediates and ensures antidissolution ability. Theoretical investigations rationalize that this improvement is attributed to reinforced electronic interactions around high-index Pt, stabilizing the binding strength of rate-determining OHads species.

Preparation of Amphiphilic Janus-SiO2 Nanoparticles and Evaluation of the Oil Displacement Effect.

In order to meet the requirements of tertiary oil recovery technology in a low-permeability, dense, and high-salt reservoir, gaseous SiO2 nanoparticles were modified with trichloro(octyl)silane and aminopropyl triethoxysilane by interface protection modification, and amphiphilic Janus-SiO2 nanoparticles with hydrophobic carbon chain and hydrophilic amino group were prepared. The basic properties of amphiphilic nanoparticle dispersion were evaluated by surface interfacial tension and wettability tests, and the oil displacement effect of amphiphilic nanoparticle dispersion was investigated. The results show that the size distribution of Janus-SiO2 nanoparticles with n-octyl as the hydrophobic carbon chain and amino group as the hydrophilic headgroup is uniform, and they have good dispersion in mineralized water. The change of salinity has little effect on the interfacial activity. The interfacial tension between the amphiphilic nanoparticle dispersion and crude oil is always on the order of 10-2 mN/m, and the amphiphilic nanoparticle dispersion has good interfacial activity. Amphiphilic nanoparticles adsorbed on the rock surface can enhance the hydrophilicity of the rock surface. Amphiphilic nanoparticle dispersion liquid has a certain effect of improving oil recovery in the environment of high-salt and low-permeability reservoir. Under the condition of 65 °C and salinity of 8000 mg/L, injection of 0.5 PV 0.05% amphiphilic nanoparticle dispersion can enhance oil recovery by 14.6% on the basis of water flooding. The mechanism of amphiphilic nanoparticles to improve the recovery efficiency of low-permeability tight high-salt reservoir mainly includes reducing the oil-water interfacial tension, changing the rock wettability, and enhancing the shear viscosity of oil and water interface and the interfacial film strength, which has excellent potential application prospect in the development of low-permeability tight high-salt reservoir.

Ferroptosis: potential targets and emerging roles in pancreatic diseases.

Ferroptosis is a newly discovered form of regulatory cell death characterized by excessive iron-dependent lipid peroxidation. In the past decade, significant breakthroughs have been made in comprehending the features and regulatory mechanisms of ferroptosis, and it has been confirmed that ferroptosis plays a pivotal role in the pathophysiological processes of various diseases, including tumors, inflammation, neurodegenerative diseases, and infectious diseases. The pancreas, which is the second largest digestive gland in the human body and has both endocrine and exocrine functions, is a vital organ for controlling digestion and metabolism. In recent years, numerous studies have confirmed that ferroptosis is closely related to pancreatic diseases, which is attributed to abnormal iron accumulation, as an essential biochemical feature of ferroptosis, is often present in the pathological processes of various pancreatic exocrine and endocrine diseases and the vulnerability of the pancreas to oxidative stress stimulation and damage. Therefore, comprehending the regulatory mechanism of ferroptosis in pancreatic diseases may provide valuable new insights into treatment strategies. In this review, we first summarize the hallmark features of ferroptosis and then analyze the exact mechanisms by which ferroptosis is precisely regulated at multiple levels and links, including iron metabolism, lipid metabolism, the GPX4-mediated ferroptosis defense system, the GPX4-independent ferroptosis defense system, and the regulation of autophagy on ferroptosis. Finally, we discuss the role of ferroptosis in the occurrence and development of pancreatic diseases and summarize the feasibility and limitations of ferroptosis as a therapeutic target for pancreatic diseases.

Neuronal-type-specific epigenome editing to decrease SNCA expression: Implications for precision medicine in synucleinopathies.

Overexpression of SNCA has been implicated in the pathogenesis of synucleinopathies, particularly Parkinson's disease (PD) and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). While PD and DLB share some clinical and pathological similarities, each disease presents distinct characteristics, including the primary affected brain region and neuronal type. We aimed to develop neuronal-type-specific SNCA-targeted epigenome therapies for synucleinopathies. The system is based on an all-in-one lentiviral vector comprised of CRISPR-dSaCas9 and guide RNA (gRNA) targeted at SNCA intron 1 fused with a synthetic repressor molecule of Krüppel-associated box (KRAB)/ methyl CpG binding protein 2 (MeCp2) transcription repression domain (TRD). To achieve neuronal-type specificity for dopaminergic and cholinergic neurons, the system was driven by tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) and choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) promoters, respectively. Delivering the system into human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC)-derived dopaminergic and cholinergic neurons from a patient with the SNCA triplication resulted in efficient and neuronal-type-specific downregulation of SNCA-mRNA and protein. Furthermore, the reduction in SNCA levels by the gRNA-dSaCas9-repressor system rescued disease-related cellular phenotypes including Ser129-phophorylated α-synuclein, neuronal viability, and mitochondrial dysfunction. We established a novel neuronal-type-specific SNCA-targeted epigenome therapy and provided in vitro proof of concept using human-based disease models. Our results support the therapeutic potential of our system for PD and DLB and provide the foundation for further preclinical studies in animal models toward investigational new drug (IND) enablement and clinical trials.

Knockdown of BACE1 by a multistage brain-targeting polyion complex improved memory and learning behaviors in APP/PS1 transgenic mouse model.

Cleavage of Amyloid precursor protein (APP) by the ß-site amyloid precursor protein cleaving enzyme 1 (BACE1) is the rate-limiting step in the production of amyloid-ß (Aß) synaptotoxins. The siRNA-mediated silencing to attenuate the expression of BACE1 to ameliorate cognitive dysfunction in mice had been investigated. To improve therapeutic gene delivery to the central nervous system, cationic copolymer poly(ethylene glycol)-b-poly[N-(N'-{N''-[N'''-(2-aminoethyl)-2-aminoethyl]-2-aminoethyl}-2-aminoethyl)aspartamide]-cholesterol was synthesized, then RVG29 and Tet1 peptides were exploited as ligands to construct a dual-targeting brain gene delivery polyion complex (Tet1/RVG29-PIC). The cell uptake of a coculture cell model showed that the Tet1/RVG29-PIC exhibited notable transport characteristics and possessed affinity towards nerve cells. In vivo transfection, Tet1/RVG29-PIC possessed the highest expression of luciferase in brain compared with that of RVG29-PIC or Tet1-PIC, which were 1.25 and 1.22 times respectively. Silence BACE1 expression using siRNA-expressing plasmid loaded Tet1/RVG29-PIC that improved behavioral deficits in the APP/PS1 mouse model, demonstrating the favorable brain delivery properties of Tet1/RVG29-PIC by synergistical engagement of GT1B and nicotinic acetylcholine receptors. Our results suggested that the nanoformulation has the potential to be exploited as a multistage-targeting gene vector for the CNS disease therapy.

Recurrence of scalp angiosarcoma after multiple surgeries: A case report and literature review.

Scalp angiosarcoma (SA) is rare, accounting for <1% of soft tissue sarcomas, with a high degree of malignancy, a high recurrence rate and a poor prognosis. The best treatment strategy is uncertain. Therefore, it is essential to continuously refine treatment strategies and improve the prognosis of patients. Curative-intent surgery increases overall survival in patients with primary cutaneous angiosarcoma of the scalp and face, and radiation therapy combined with chemotherapy is now recommended for the curative treatment of patients who both can or cannot undergo surgery. The present case report is of an 87-year-old man hospitalised for the fifth time with SA. He had experienced four recurrences and previously underwent curative-intent surgery four times. However, the patient did not undergo radiotherapy or chemotherapy after any of the surgeries. A detailed report of the management of this case is presented along with a review of the relevant literature. It is hypothesised that patients with SA should receive a combination of radiotherapy and chemotherapy after surgery whenever possible, which may improve patient prognosis.

Association of metabolic syndrome and its components with the risk of urologic cancers: a prospective cohort study.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the association between metabolic syndrome (MetS) and its components and the risk of developing urologic cancers. METHODS: This study included 101,510 observation subjects from May 2006 to December 2007. The subjects received questionnaires and were subjected to clinical and laboratory examinations to collect data on baseline population characteristics, waist circumference (WC), blood pressure (BP), blood glucose, blood lipids, lifestyle, and past disease history. Finally, follow-up was conducted from the date of recruitment to December 31, 2019. Cox proportional hazards modelling was applied to analyze the association between MetS and its components and the risk of developing urologic cancers. RESULTS: A total of 97,975 observation subjects met the inclusion criteria. The cumulative follow-up period included 1,209,178.65 person-years, and the median follow-up time was 13.03 years. During the follow-up period, 485 cases of urologic cancers (165 cases of kidney cancer, 134 cases of prostate cancer, 158 cases of bladder cancer, and 28 cases of other urologic cancers) were diagnosed. The log-rank test results for the cumulative incidences of urologic cancer, kidney cancer, and prostate cancer indicated significant (P < 0.01) differences between the MetS and non-MetS groups (0.70% vs. 0.48%, 0.27% vs. 0.15%, and 0.22% vs. 0.13%, respectively). Compared to the non-MetS group, the risk of developing urologic [HR (95% CI) = 1.29 (1.08-1.55)], kidney [HR (95% CI) = 1.74 (1.28-2.37)], and prostate [HR (95% CI) = 1.47 (1.04-2.07)] cancers was significantly higher in the MetS group. In the MetS group, elevated BP increased the risk of developing of urologic cancer [HRs (95% CI) = 1.35 (1.10-1.66)] and kidney cancer [HR (95% CI) = 1.74 (1.21-2.51)], while central obesity increased the risk of developing prostate cancer [HR (95% CI) = 1.68 (1.18-2.40)]. CONCLUSIONS: MetS increased the risk of developing urologic, kidney, and prostate cancers but had no association with the development of bladder cancer.

Validation of the commercial coronary computed tomographic angiography artificial intelligence for coronary artery stenosis: a cross-sectional study.

Background: The commercial coronary computed tomographic angiography artificial intelligence (CCTA-AI) platform has made great progress in clinical application. However, research is needed to elucidate the current stage of commercial AI platforms and the role of radiologists. This study compared the diagnostic performance of the commercial CCTA-AI platform with that of a reader based on a multicenter and multidevice sample. Methods: A total of 318 patients with suspected coronary artery disease (CAD) who underwent both CCTA and invasive coronary angiography (ICA) were included in a multicenter and multidevice validation cohort between 2017 and 2021. The commercial CCTA-AI platform was used to automatically assess coronary artery stenosis by using ICA findings as the gold standard. The CCTA reader was completed by radiologists. The diagnostic performance of the commercial CCTA-AI platform and CCTA reader was evaluated at the patient and segment levels. The cutoff values of models 1 and 2 were 50% and 70% stenosis, respectively. Results: It took 20.4 seconds to accomplish post-processing per patient when using the CCTA-AI platform, which was significantly shorter than the time taken to complete this task with the CCTA reader (1,112.1 s). In the patient-based analysis, the area under the curve (AUC) was 0.85 using the CCTA-AI platform and 0.61 using the CCTA reader in model 1 (stenosis ratio: 50%). In contrast, the AUC was 0.78 using the CCTA-AI platform and 0.64 using the CCTA reader in model 2 (stenosis ratio: 70%). In the segment-based analysis, the AUCs of CCTA-AI were slightly better than those of the readers. The negative predictive value (NPV) increased from model 1 to model 2. Furthermore, the diagnostic performance was better for larger-diameter arteries. Conclusions: The commercial CCTA-AI platform may provide a feasible solution for the diagnosis of coronary artery stenosis, and it has a diagnostic performance that is slightly better than that of a radiologist with a moderate level of experience (5-10 years of experience).

Association of education level with the risk of female breast cancer: a prospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Breast cancer is a serious threat to female health, and its incidence varies with education level (EL). In the present study, the association between EL and the risk of developing female breast cancer was investigated. METHODS: From May 2006 to December 2007, 20,400 observation subjects in Kailuan Cohort received questionnaires and were subjected to clinical examinations for data collection on baseline population characteristics, height, weight, lifestyle and past disease history. Then, these participants were followed up with from the date of recruitment to December 31, 2019. Cox proportional risk regression models were used to analyse the association between EL and the risk of developing female breast cancer. RESULTS: The cumulative follow-up period of 20,129 observation subjects that meet the inclusion criteria of this study was 254,386.72 person-years, and the median follow-up time was 12.96 years. During the follow-up period, 279 cases of breast cancer were diagnosed. In comparison with the low EL group, the risk of developing breast cancer was significantly higher in the medium (hazard ratio [HR] (95% confidence interval [CI]) = 2.23 (1.12-4.64)] and high [HRs (95% CI) = 2.52 (1.12-5.70)] EL group. CONCLUSION: An increased risk of breast cancer was associated with a higher EL, and some certain factors, such as alcohol use and hormone therapy, may play a mediating role.

Topological super-modes engineering with acoustic graphene plasmons.

Acoustic graphene plasmons (AGPs) in a graphene-dielectric-metal structure possess extreme field localization and low loss, which have promising applications in strong photon-matter interaction and integrated photonic devices. Here, we propose two kinds of one-dimensional crystals supporting propagating AGPs with different topological properties, which is confirmed by the Zak phase calculations and the electric field symmetry analysis. Moreover, by combining these two plasmonic crystals to form a superlattice system, the super-modes exist because of the coupling between isolated topological interface states. A flat-like dispersion of super-modes is observed by designing the superlattice. These results should find applications in optical sensing and integrating photonic devices with plasmonic crystals.

Understanding Synergistic Catalysis on Cu-Se Dual Atom Sites via Operando X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy in Oxygen Reduction Reaction.

The construction and understanding of synergy in well-defined dual-atom active sites is an available avenue to promote multistep tandem catalytic reactions. Herein, we construct a dual-hetero-atom catalyst that comprises adjacent Cu-N4 and Se-C3 active sites for efficient oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) activity. Operando X-ray absorption spectroscopy coupled with theoretical calculations provide in-depth insights into this dual-atom synergy mechanism for ORR under realistic device operation conditions. The heteroatom Se modulator can efficiently polarize the charge distribution around symmetrical Cu-N4 moieties, and serve as synergistic site to facilitate the second oxygen reduction step simultaneously, in which the key OOH*-(Cu1 -N4 ) transforms to O*-(Se1 -C2 ) intermediate on the dual-atom sites. Therefore, this designed catalyst achieves satisfied alkaline ORR activity with a half-wave potential of 0.905 V vs. RHE and a maximum power density of 206.5 mW cm-2 in Zn-air battery.

Efficacy Evaluation of 64-Slice Spiral Computed Tomography Images in Laparoscopic-Assisted Distal Gastrectomy for Gastric Cancer under the Reconstruction Algorithm.

This study was aimed to analyze the application value of the filtered back-projection (FBP) reconstruction algorithm of computed tomography (CT) images in laparoscopic-assisted distal gastrectomy. In this study, 56 patients with gastric cancer were selected as research subjects and randomly divided into the control group (CT-guided laparoscopic radical gastrectomy) and the observation group (CT-guided laparoscopic radical gastrectomy with the FBP reconstruction algorithm), with 28 patients in each group. Fourier transform and iterative reconstruction were introduced for comparison, and finally, the postoperative curative effect and adverse events were compared between the two groups. The results showed that the CT image quality score processed by the FBP reconstruction algorithm (4.31 ± 0.31) was significantly higher than that of the iterative reconstruction method (3.5 ± 0.29) and the Fourier transform method (3.97 ± 0.38) (P < 0.05). The incidences of postoperative wound infection and gastric motility disorder (5.88% and 8.16%, respectively) in the observation group were significantly lower than those in the control group (8.21% and 10.82%, respectively) (P < 0.05). The levels of serum interleukin-6 (IL-6) (280.35 ± 15.08 ng/L) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) (144.32 ± 10.32 ng/L) in the observation group after the treatment were significantly lower than those in the control group, which were 399.71 ± 14.19 ng/L and 165.33 ± 10.08 ng/L, respectively (P < 0.05). In conclusion, the FBP reconstruction algorithm was better than other algorithms in the processing of gastric cancer CT images. The FBP reconstruction algorithm showed a good reconstruction effect on CT images of gastric cancer; CT images based on this algorithm helped to formulate targeted surgical treatment plans for gastric cancer, showing a high clinical application value.

Patient-derived micro-organospheres enable clinical precision oncology.

Patient-derived xenografts (PDXs) and patient-derived organoids (PDOs) have been shown to model clinical response to cancer therapy. However, it remains challenging to use these models to guide timely clinical decisions for cancer patients. Here, we used droplet emulsion microfluidics with temperature control and dead-volume minimization to rapidly generate thousands of micro-organospheres (MOSs) from low-volume patient tissues, which serve as an ideal patient-derived model for clinical precision oncology. A clinical study of recently diagnosed metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC) patients using an MOS-based precision oncology pipeline reliably assessed tumor drug response within 14 days, a timeline suitable for guiding treatment decisions in the clinic. Furthermore, MOSs capture original stromal cells and allow T cell penetration, providing a clinical assay for testing immuno-oncology (IO) therapies such as PD-1 blockade, bispecific antibodies, and T cell therapies on patient tumors.

A Smart Multi-Rate Data Fusion Method for Displacement Reconstruction of Beam Structures.

Dynamic displacement plays an essential role in structural health monitoring. To overcome the shortcomings of displacement measured directly, such as installation difficulty of monitoring devices, this paper proposes a smart reconstruction method, which can realize real-time intelligent online reconstruction of structural displacement. Unlike the existing approaches, the proposed algorithm combines the improved mode superposition methods that is suitable for complex beam structures with the Kalman filtering approach using acceleration and strain data. The effectiveness of the proposed multi-rate data fusion method for dynamic displacement reconstruction is demonstrated by both numerical simulation and model vibration experiment. Parametric analysis shows that the reconstruction error is only 5% when the noise signal to noise ratio is 5 dB, illustrating that the proposed algorithm has excellent anti-noise performance. The results also indicate that both the high-frequency and low-frequency components of the dynamic displacements can be accurately reconstructed through the proposed method, which has good robustness.

Dual-triggered biomimetic vehicles enable treatment of glioblastoma through a cancer stem cell therapeutic strategy.

Glioma stem cells (GSCs) and their complex microenvironment play a crucial role in the high invasion of cancer and therapeutic resistance and are considered to be the most likely cause of cancer relapse. We constructed a biomimetic vehicle (LDL-SAL-Ang) based on a low density lipoprotein triggered by Angiopep-2 peptide and ApoB protein, to improve the transport of an anti-GSC therapeutic agent into the brain. The LDL-SAL-Ang showed significant inhabitation for GSC microsphere formation and induced the highest apoptotic rate in two types of GSCs. LDL-SAL-Ang reduced the number of GSC-derived endothelial tubules at a lower drug concentration and inhibited endothelial cell migration and angiogenesis. The pharmacokinetic analysis showed that the brain tissue uptake rate (% ID g-1) for LDL-SAL-Ang was significantly enhanced at 0.45. For anti-glioblastoma activity in vivo, the median survival time of LDL-SAL-Ang plus temozolomide group was 47 days, which were significantly increased compared with the control or temozolomide only groups. The endogenous biomimetic nanomedicine that we designed provides a potential approach to improve treatments for intracranial tumors and reduced neurotoxicity of nanomedicine.

Expression changes of IL-17 in zoledronic acid combined with PVP technology in the treatment of postmenopausal osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture and its predictive value of relapse.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the expression of interleukin-17 (IL-17) in zoledronic acid combined with PVP technology for patients with postmenopausal osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture (OVCF) and its predictive value for relapse. METHODS: 101 OVCF patients treated in our hospital from April 2013 to January 2015 were collected as a research group and treated by zoledronic acid combined with PVP technology. 80 healthy people with physical examination were assigned to the control group. ELISA was used to detect the expression of IL-17 in serum of the two groups. Patients were followed up for 2 years. The expression of IL-17 before treatment was compared between patients with relapse and patients without relapse. The predictive value of IL-17 in relapse was drawn according to ROC curve. RESULTS: Before treatment, the expression of IL-17 in the research group increased significantly (p<0.05). After treatment, the expression of IL-17 in the research group decreased significantly (p<0.05). The level of IL-17 in patients with relapse was significantly higher than that in patients without relapse (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: IL-17 is highly expressed in postmenopausal patients with osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture and is expected to be a potential predictor of relapse in postmenopausal patients with OVCF.

Reactivity Improvement of Ca-Based CO2 Absorbent Modified with Sodium Humate in Cyclic Calcination/Carbonation.

The Ca-based sorbent cyclic calcination/carbonation reaction (CCCR) is a high-efficiency technique for capturing CO2 from combustion processes. The CO2 capture ability of CaO modified with sodium humate (HA-Na) (HA-Na/CaO) in long-term calcination/carbonation cycles was investigated. The enhancement mechanism of HA-Na on CCCR was proposed and demonstrated. The effects of carbonation temperature, reaction duration, and the addition amount of HA-Na on the carbonation rate of the CaO adsorbent were also studied. HA-Na/CaO is allowed to react 20 min at the optimum conditions for calcination (920 °C, 100% N2) and for carbonation (700 °C, 15% CO2, 85% N2), respectively. HA-Na plays a key role in the CCCR process, and the carbonation conversion rate is lifted obviously. The maximum conversion rate of HA-Na/CaO is 23% higher than that of CaO in the first cycle. After 20 cycles, the conversion rate of HA-Na/CaO is still 0.28, while that of CaO is only 0.15. The carbonation conversion rate for HA-Na/CaO is improved by 86% compared to CaO. In addition, the characteristics of calcined sorbents are analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) methods.