Safety of butylphthalide and edaravone in patients with ischemic stroke: a multicenter real-world study.

BACKGROUND: Butylphthalide (NBP) and edaravone (EDV) injection are common acute ischemic stroke medications in China, but there is a lack of large real-world safety studies on them. This study aimed to determine the incidence of adverse events, detect relevant safety signals, and assess the risk factors associated with these medications in real-world populations. METHODS: In this study, data of acute ischemic stroke patients were extracted from the electronic medical record database of six tertiary hospitals between January 2019 and August 2021. Baseline confounders were eliminated using propensity score matching. The drugs' safety was estimated by comparing the results of 24 laboratory tests standards on liver function, kidney function, lipid level, and coagulation function. The drugs' relative risk was estimated by logistic regression. A third group with patients who did not receive NBP or EDV was constructed as a reference. Prescription sequence symmetry analysis was used to evaluate the associations between adverse events and NBP and EDV, respectively. RESULTS: 81,292 patients were included in this study. After propensity score matching, the NBP, EDV, and third groups with 727 patients in each group. Among the 15 test items, the incidence of adverse events was lower in the NBP group than in the EDV group, and the differences were statistically significant. The multivariate logistic regression equation revealed that NBP injection was not a promoting factor for abnormal laboratory test results, whereas EDV had statistically significant effects on aspartate transaminase, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and total cholesterol. Prescription sequence symmetry analysis showed that NBP had a weak correlation with abnormal platelet count. EDV had a positive signal associated with abnormal results in gamma-glutamyl transferase, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, prothrombin time, and platelet count. CONCLUSIONS: In a large real-world population, NBP has a lower incidence of adverse events and a better safety profile than EDV or other usual medications.

Generation and characterization of frequency tunable sub-15-fs pulses in a gas-filled hollow-core fiber pumped by a Yb:KGW laser.

We investigate soliton self-compression and photoionization effects in an argon-filled antiresonant hollow-core photonic crystal fiber pumped with a commercial Yb:KGW laser. Before the onset of photoionization, we demonstrate self-compression of our 220 fs pump laser to 13 fs in a single and compact stage. By using the plasma driven soliton self-frequency blueshift, we also demonstrate a tunable source from 1030 to ∼700 nm. We fully characterize the compressed pulses using sum-frequency generation time-domain ptychography, experimentally revealing the full time-frequency plasma-soliton dynamics in hollow-core fiber for the first time.

Genetic and clinical features of patients with intrahepatic cholestasis caused by citrin deficiency.

OBJECTIVES: Citrin deficiency (CD) is an autosomal recessive disease caused by mutations of the SLC25A13 gene, plasma bile acid profiles detected by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) could be an efficient approach for early diagnosis of intrahepatic cholestasis. The aim of this study was to investigate the genetic testing and clinical characteristics of a series of patients with CD, and to analyse plasma bile acid profiles in CD patients. METHODS: We retrospectively analysed data from 14 patients (12 males and 2 females, age 1-18 months, mean 3.6 months) with CD between 2015 and 2021, including demographics, biochemical parameters, genetic test results, treatment, and clinical outcomes. In addition, 30 cases (15 males and 15 females, age 1-20 months, mean 3.8 months) with idiopathic cholestasis (IC) served as a control group. Plasma 15 bile acid profiles were compared between the CD and IC groups. RESULTS: Eight different mutations of the SLC25A13 gene were detected in the 14 patients diagnosed with CD, of which three novel variants of the SLC25A13 gene were investigated, the c.1043C>T (p.P348L) in exon11, the c.1216dupG (p.A406 Gfs*13) in exon12 and the c.135G>C (p.L45F) in exon3. More than half of the patients with CD had prolonged neonatal jaundice, which was associated with significantly higher alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) levels, hyperlactatemia and hypoglycemia. The majority of patients were ultimately self-limited. Only one patient developed liver failure and died at the age of 1 year due to abnormal coagulation function. In addition, the levels of glycochenodeoxycholic acid (GCDCA), taurocholate (TCA), and taurochenodeoxycholic acid (TCDCA) were significantly increased in the CD group compared with those in the IC group. CONCLUSIONS: Three novel variants of the SLC25A13 gene were identified for the first time, providing a reliable molecular reference and expanding the SLC25A13 gene spectrum in patients with CD. Plasma bile acid profiles could be a potential biomarker for non-invasive early diagnosis of patients with intrahepatic cholestasis caused by CD.

Automatic differentiation of ruptured and unruptured intracranial aneurysms on computed tomography angiography based on deep learning and radiomics.

OBJECTIVES: Rupture of intracranial aneurysm is very dangerous, often leading to death and disability. In this study, deep learning and radiomics techniques were used to automatically detect and differentiate ruptured and unruptured intracranial aneurysms. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 363 ruptured aneurysms and 535 unruptured aneurysms from Hospital 1 were included in the training set. 63 ruptured aneurysms and 190 unruptured aneurysms from Hospital 2 were used for independent external testing. Aneurysm detection, segmentation and morphological features extraction were automatically performed with a 3-dimensional convolutional neural network (CNN). Radiomic features were additionally computed via pyradiomics package. After dimensionality reduction, three classification models including support vector machines (SVM), random forests (RF), and multi-layer perceptron (MLP) were established and evaluated via area under the curve (AUC) of receiver operating characteristics. Delong tests were used for the comparison of different models. RESULTS: The 3-dimensional CNN automatically detected, segmented aneurysms and calculated 21 morphological features for each aneurysm. The pyradiomics provided 14 radiomics features. After dimensionality reduction, 13 features were found associated with aneurysm rupture. The AUCs of SVM, RF and MLP on the training dataset and external testing dataset were 0.86, 0.85, 0.90 and 0.85, 0.88, 0.86, respectively, for the discrimination of ruptured and unruptured intracranial aneurysms. Delong tests showed that there was no significant difference among the three models. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, three classification models were established to distinguish ruptured and unruptured aneurysms accurately. The aneurysms segmentation and morphological measurements were performed automatically, which greatly improved the clinical efficiency. CLINICAL RELEVANCE STATEMENT: Our fully automatic models could rapidly process the CTA data and evaluate the status of aneurysms in one minute.

Enhanced adipose derived stem cells with IGF1 modified mRNA promote wound healing following corneal injury.

The cornea serves as an important barrier structure to the eyeball and is vulnerable to injuries, which may lead to scarring and blindness if not treated promptly. In order to explore an effective treatment that could achieve multi-dimensional repair of the injured cornea, the study herein innovatively combined modified mRNA (modRNA) technologies with adipose derived mesenchymal stem cells (ADSCs) therapy, and applied IGF-1 modRNA (modIGF1) engineered ADSCs (ADSCmodIGF1) to alkali-burned corneas in mice. The therapeutic results showed that ADSCmodIGF1 treatment could achieve the most extensive recovery of corneal morphology and function when compared not only to simple ADSCs, but also IGF1 protein eyedrops, which was reflected by the healing of corneal epithelium and limbus, the inhibition of corneal stromal fibrosis, angiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis, and also the repair of corneal nerves. In vitro experiments further proved that ADSCmodIGF1 could more significantly promote the activity of trigeminal ganglion cells and maintain the stemness of limbal stem cells than simple ADSCs, which were also essential for reconstructing corneal homeostasis. Through a combinatorial treatment regimen of cell-based therapy with mRNA technology, this study highlighted comprehensive repair in the damaged cornea and showed the outstanding application prospect in the treatment of corneal injury.

Highly Sensitive and Selective Detection of Pharmaceuticals on Au/MIL-101(Cr) by SERS.

The detection of pharmaceuticals has been a matter of concern among scientists and health researchers in the past few decades. However, it is still difficult to realize the sensitivity and selectivity detection of pharmaceuticals with similar structures. Herein, the pharmaceutical molecules of 2-mercaptobenzimidazole (MBI) and 2-mercaptobenzothiazole (MBT) with so similar structures can be selectively detected by surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) taking advantage of the fingerprint identification on Au/MIL-101(Cr), with sensitive detection limits of 0.5 ng·mL-1 for MBI and 1 ng·mL-1 for MBT. MBI is selectively enriched by Au/MIL-101(Cr) from the mixture solution and detected by SERS below 30 ng·mL-1. MBI can also be selectively detected in the serum samples with a detection limit of 10 ng·mL-1. Density functional theory calculations combined with the SERS experiments explained that the high sensitivity and selectivity are caused by the intrinsic differences in Raman intensity and different adsorption energies from the pharmaceutical molecules adsorbed on Au/MIL-101(Cr), respectively. This study provides an effective way to enrich and detect pharmaceutical molecules with similar structures.

Measurement of resonant bend loss in anti-resonant hollow core optical fiber: erratum.

An error on the part of the authors in drafting resulted in Eq. (3) being incorrect in the published paper [Opt. Express25, 20612 (2017)10.1364/OE.25.020612]. We present a corrected version of the equation. It should be noted that this does not affect the presented results or conclusions of the paper.

Engineering the Staple Oil Crop Brassica napus Enriched with α-Linolenic Acid Using the Perilla FAD2-FAD3 Fusion Gene.

Modern people generally suffer from α-linolenic acid (ALA) deficiency, since most staple food oils are low in ALA content. Thus, the enhancement of ALA in staple oil crops is of importance. In this study, the FAD2 and FAD3 coding regions from the ALA-king species Perilla frutescens were fused using a newly designed double linker LP4-2A, driven by a seed-specific promoter PNAP, and engineered into a rapeseed elite cultivar ZS10 with canola quality background. The mean ALA content in the seed oil of PNAP:PfFAD2-PfFAD3 (N23) T5 lines was 3.34-fold that of the control (32.08 vs 9.59%), with the best line being up to 37.47%. There are no significant side effects of the engineered constructs on the background traits including oil content. In fatty acid biosynthesis pathways, the expression levels of structural genes as well as regulatory genes were significantly upregulated in N23 lines. On the other hand, the expression levels of genes encoding the positive regulators of flavonoid-proanthocyanidin biosynthesis but negative regulators of oil accumulation were significantly downregulated. Surprisingly, the ALA level in PfFAD2-PfFAD3 transgenic rapeseed lines driven by the constitutive promoter PD35S was not increased or even showed a slight decrease due to the lower level of foreign gene expression and downregulation of the endogenous orthologous genes BnFAD2 and BnFAD3.

177Lu-DOTATATE Therapy: Effects of Water Intake and Drinking Duration on Patient Peripheral Dose Equivalent Rates.

ABSTRACT: This study investigated the amount and duration of water consumption in neuroendocrine tumor patients after receiving 177Lu-DOTATATE radionuclide therapy. We recruited 39 patients with neuroendocrine tumors, all of whom were treated with 177Lu-DOTATATE radionuclide while in the nuclear medicine ward of a tertiary hospital in Nanjing from January 2021 to April 2022. We conducted a cross-sectional survey to investigate their drinking times, water consumption, and urine volumes at 0 min, 30 min, 60 min, 2 h, 24 h, and 48 h after radionuclide treatment. At each timepoint, their radiation dose equivalent rates were monitored at 0 m, 1 m, and 2 m from the middle abdomen. f at 24 h were significantly lower than those at 0 min, 30 min, 60 min, and 2 h (all p < 0.05). The dose equivalent rates at 48 h were significantly lower than those at 24 h (all p < 0.05). At 1 m or 2 m from the patient, the dose equivalent rate gradually decreased at all six timepoints and was significantly different between groups (P < 0.05). To achieve lower radiation doses, there was a correlation with 24 h water consumption (P < 0.05) but no correlation with 48 h water consumption (P > 0.05); there were lower peripheral dose equivalents for patients when 24 h water consumption was no less than 2,750 mL. Patients with neuroendocrine tumors should drink at least 2,750 mL of water 24 h after treatment with 177Lu-DOTATATE radionuclides. Drinking water in the first 24 h after treatment is more critical to reduce the peripheral dose equivalent, which can accelerate the reduction of peripheral radiation dose equivalent in early patients.

Effectively removing gaseous polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) by willow catkins: Do you still dislike the catkins floating?

The floating catkins generated by willow and poplar trees have been criticized for spreading germ and causing fire for decades. It has been found that catkins are with a hollow tubular structure, which made us wonder if the floating catkins can adsorb atmospheric pollutions. Thus, we conducted a project in Harbin, China to investigate whether and how willow catkins could adsorb atmospheric polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The results suggest that both the catkins floating in the air and on the ground preferred to adsorb gaseous PAHs rather than particulate PAHs. Moreover, 3- and 4-ring PAHs were the dominating compositions adsorbed by catkins, which significantly increased with exposure time. The gas/catkins partition (KCG) was defined, which explained why 3-ring PAHs are more easily adsorbed by catkins than by airborne particles when their subcooled liquid vapor pressure is high (log PL > -1.73). The removal loading of atmospheric PAHs by catkins were estimated as 1.03 kg/year in the center city of Harbin, which may well explain the phenomenon that levels of gaseous and total (particle + gas) PAHs are relatively low in the months with catkins floating reported in peer-reviewed papers.

Prevalence and risk factors for subjective cognitive decline and the correlation with objective cognition among community-dwelling older adults in China: Results from the Hubei memory and aging cohort study.

INTRODUCTION: The prevalence and risk factors for subjective cognitive decline (SCD) and its correlation with objective cognition decline (OCD) among community-dwelling older adults is inconsistent. METHODS: Older adults underwent neuropsychological and clinical evaluations to reach a consensus on diagnoses. RESULTS: This study included 7486 adults without mild cognitive impairment and dementia (mean age: 71.35 years [standard deviation = 5.40]). The sex-, age-, and residence-adjusted SCD prevalence was 58.33% overall (95% confidence interval: 58.29% to 58.37%), with higher rates of 61.25% and 59.87% in rural and female subgroups, respectively. SCD global and OCD language, SCD memory and OCD global, SCD and OCD memory, and SCD and OCD language were negatively correlated in fully adjusted models. Seven health and lifestyle factors were associated with an increased risk for SCD. DISCUSSION: SCD affected 58.33% of older adults and may indicate concurrent OCD, which should prompt the initiation of preventative intervention for dementia. HIGHLIGHTS: SCD affects 58.33% of older adults in China. SCD may indicate concurrent objective cognitive decline. Difficulty finding words and memory impairments may indicate a risk for AD. The presence of SCD may prompt preventative treatment initiation of MCI or dementia. Social network factors may be initial targets for the early prevention of SCD.

Corrigendum to 'Teriparatide ameliorates articular cartilage degradation and aberrant subchondral bone remodeling in DMM mice' [J. Orthop. Transl.] 38 (2023) 241-255].

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1016/j.jot.2022.10.015.].

The value of vestibular graviceptive pathway evaluation in the diagnosis of unilateral peripheral vestibular dysfunction.

BACKGROUND: Evaluation of vestibular graviceptive pathway (VGP) in patients with unilateral peripheral vestibular dysfunction (UPVD) has received increasing attention from researchers. The study aimed to investigate the value of VGP evaluation in the diagnosis of UPVD. METHODS: Ninety-five UPVD patients were divided into attack and remission phase groups. VGP evaluation-related indicators, including subjective visual vertical (SVV), subjective visual horizontal (SVH), head tilt, ocular torsion (OT), and skew deviation (SD), were measured, and their correlations with cochleovestibular function test results were analyzed. The possible etiologies of contralesional VGP (c-VGP) were analyzed. RESULTS: Positive rates of SVV, SVH, OT, and SD were significantly higher, and the degrees of SVV, SVH, and OT were significantly greater in the attack phase group than the remission phase group. The sides with abnormal VGP evaluation results were correlated with the sides with hearing loss, abnormal caloric, and video head impulse test (vHIT) results. A total of 14 patients showed c-VGP, and possible etiologies included contralateral benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (n = 4), bilateral hearing loss (n = 8), bilateral vHIT gain reduction (n = 1), autoimmune diseases (n = 6), vascular risk factors (n = 6), lacunar infarction (n = 3), and endolymphatic hydrops (n = 3). CONCLUSIONS: Alterations in SVV, SVH, OT, and SD were noted in UPVD patients in different phases, which are presumed to be related to dynamic vestibular compensation; correlations between VGP evaluation results and cochleovestibular function test results indicate that VGP evaluation may be helpful for the diagnosis of the side affected in UPVD; the presence of c-VGP may be related to bilateral labyrinth lesions or endolymphatic hydrops on the affected side; and the involvement of autoimmune mechanisms also deserves attention.

[Source Analysis and Ecological Risk Assessment of Heavy Metals in the Arable Soil at the Geological High Background, Based on the Township Scale].

Due to the extensive development of carbonate rocks in southwest China, heavy metals are naturally occurring elements that have high natural background levels in the environment. Therefore, it is important to conduct ecological risk assessments and identify potential sources of heavy metals in the geological high background area. Based on the township scale, a total of 307 surface soil samples were collected in Qinglong Town, Fengjie County, Chongqing. The concentrations of As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb, and Zn and pH were analyzed and determined. The spatial distribution and source of soil heavy metals were discussed using the geostatistical analysis and an absolute principal component score-multiple linear regression (APCS-MLR) model in the studied area. The results showed that the average values of seven heavy metals (As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, and Zn) in the arable soil exceeded the background values of Chongqing, and the cumulative effect of Cd and As was obvious. The concentrations of Cd significantly exceededthe screening values in The Risk Control Standard for Soil Environmental Quality and Soil Pollution in Agricultural Land (GB 15618-2018), with the over-standard rates of 52.12%. The spatial characteristics of soil heavy metal contents exhibited a pattern of high in the south and low in the north. PCA and APCS-MLR modeling revealed that the contributions of natural sources to Cr, Cu, Ni, and Zn were 86.62%, 64.34%, 76.44%, and 85.46%, respectively. As, Pb, and Hg mainly derived from industrial activities, which accounted for 74.63%, 61.90%, and 73.49%, respectively, and Cd was affected by both natural sources and industrial activities (accounting for 47.74% and 39.56% of the total Cd content, respectively). The evaluation of the soil by the Nemerow comprehensive index (P) showed that Cd pollution was relatively serious, accounting for 27.04% of soil pollution. The potential ecological hazard index showed that Cd and Hg were the main ecological hazard elements, and the distribution range of RI was 51.77 to 2228, indicating mainly mild and moderate risks, and the moderate and above risk areas in the study area were mainly located around the southern industrial source area. Altogether, our results revealed that in the study area, the heavy metal pollution was mainly caused by industrial activities, and the heavy metal pollution caused by geological background was mainly light to moderate. In conclusion, the medium and above risk areas in the study area were mainly caused by mineral and industrial activities, whereas the heavy metal pollution caused by geological background was mainly light to moderate pollution.

[Quantitative Analysis of Spatio-temporal Evolution Characteristics of Seasonal Average Maximum Temperature and Its Influence by Atmospheric Circulation in China from 1950 to 2019].

Global warming and intensified human activities have led to regional climate instability with increasing frequency and the persistence of high-temperature climate events. Eco-environmental protection and socio-economic development have been faced with rigorous threats. Taking the monthly maximum temperatures from 1950 to 2019 as the basic data source, the spatial-temporal evolution characteristics of seasonal average maximum temperature (AMT) were discerned using the Mann-Kendall test and unary linear regression method in China from 1950 to 2019. Combined with linear correlation, partial linear correlation, and wavelet analysis, the correlation between seasonal AMT characteristics and atmospheric circulations was analyzed quantitatively. The results showed that:① the AMT in all seasons had a significant upward trend, with an increase of 1.21, 0.08, 1.81, and 0.25℃ in spring, summer, autumn, and winter, respectively. The abrupt change times of the AMT were concentrated in the 1990s to the early 21st century. ② In terms of spatial distribution, except for in summer, the average trend rates of AMT in other seasons increased gradually from south to north, although the increasing degrees were different. Among them, the AMT change rate in spring-winter was the fastest in northeast and northwest China. ③ There were complex correlations between the AMT of every season and atmospheric circulation factors, and the distribution of the interrelation energy varied significantly in different frequency domains. Specifically, the Pacific Decadal Oscillation had a significant negative correlation with AMT in summer. The North Atlantic Oscillation had an active effect on AMT changes in summer, autumn, and winter. The Arctic Oscillation had a significant positive driving effect on AMT in all seasons, and there were significant positive or negative influences on the short-or long-term changes of AMT in spring and summer due to the different EI Niño-Southern Oscillation years. These results could provide a theoretical basis and technical reference for China to formulate scientific and effective response plans of climate change.

Effect of bacillus subtilis strain Z15 secondary metabolites on immune function in mice.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have shown that secondary metabolites of Bacillus subtilis strain Z15 (BS-Z15) are effective in treating fungal infections in mice. To evaluate whether it also modulates immune function in mice to exert antifungal effects, we investigated the effect of BS-Z15 secondary metabolites on both the innate and adaptive immune functions of mice, and explored its molecular mechanism through blood transcriptome analysis. RESULTS: The study showed that BS-Z15 secondary metabolites increased the number of monocytes and platelets in the blood, improved natural killer (NK) cell activity and phagocytosis of monocytes-macrophages, increased the conversion rate of lymphocytes in the spleen, the number of T lymphocytes and the antibody production capacity of mice, and increased the levels of Interferon gamma (IFN-γ), Interleukin-6 (IL-6), Immunoglobulin G (IgG) and Immunoglobulin M (IgM) in plasma. The blood transcriptome analysis revealed 608 differentially expressed genes following treatment with BS-Z15 secondary metabolites, all of which were significantly enriched in the Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) terms for immune-related entries and pathways such as Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF) and Toll-like receptor (TLR) signaling pathways, and upregulated expression levels of immune-related genes such as Complement 1q B chain (C1qb), Complement 4B (C4b), Tetracyclin Resistant (TCR) and Regulatory Factor X, 5 (RFX5). CONCLUSIONS: BS-Z15 secondary metabolites were shown to enhance innate and adaptive immune function in mice, laying a theoretical foundation for its development and application in the field of immunity.

Social Vulnerability, Prevalence of Glaucoma, and Incidence of Glaucoma Surgery in the California Medicare Population.

PURPOSE: To examine associations of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) scores with prevalence of glaucoma and incidence of glaucoma surgery in 2019 California Medicare beneficiaries. DESIGN: Retrospective cross-sectional study. PARTICIPANTS: 2019 California Medicare beneficiaries ≥65 years old with Part A and Part B coverage. METHODS: The exposure of interest was SVI score, which was assessed overall and by themes. Outcomes included prevalence of glaucoma in the study population and incidence of glaucoma surgery in beneficiaries with glaucoma. Logistic regression modeling was performed to assess associations between quartile of each type of SVI score, prevalence of glaucoma, and incidence of glaucoma surgery, controlling for age, sex, race/ethnicity, Charlson Comorbidity Index score, pseudophakia, and age-related macular degeneration. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Prevalence of any glaucoma, primary open angle glaucoma (POAG), secondary open angle glaucoma (SOAG), and angle closure glaucoma (ACG) in all beneficiaries. Incidence of any glaucoma surgery, trabeculectomy, tube shunt, minimally invasive glaucoma surgery (MIGS), and cyclophotocoagulation (CPC) in beneficiaries with glaucoma. RESULTS: Of 5,725,245 beneficiaries in the total study population, there were 215,814 (3.8%) with any glaucoma, and of those with glaucoma, 10,135/215,814 (4.7%) underwent glaucoma surgery. In adjusted analyses for overall SVI score, where higher levels of SVI refer to higher levels of social vulnerability, there were decreased odds of any glaucoma (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]=0.83, 95% confidence interval [CI]=0.82, 0.84 for Q4 vs. Q1), POAG (aOR=0.85, 95% CI=0.84, 0.87 for Q4 vs. Q1), and SOAG (aOR=0.59, 95% CI=0.55, 0.63 for Q4 vs. Q1) in higher (Q4) versus lower (Q1) SVI quartile. There were increased odds of any glaucoma surgery (aOR=1.19, 95% CI=1.12, 1.26 for Q4 vs. Q1), MIGS (aOR=1.24, 95% CI=1.15, 1.33 for Q4 vs. Q1), and CPC (aOR=1.49, 95% CI=1.29, 1.76 for Q4 vs. Q1) for higher (Q4) versus lower (Q1) SVI quartile. CONCLUSIONS: In the 2019 California Medicare population, there were variable associations between SVI score, prevalence of glaucoma, and incidence of glaucoma surgery. Further investigation is needed to understand the role of social, economic, and demographic factors in glaucoma care on the individual and structural levels.

Biomimetic Porous Magnesium Alloy Scaffolds Promote the Repair of Osteoporotic Bone Defects in Rats through Activating the Wnt/ß-Catenin Signaling Pathway.

In this study, biomimetic porous magnesium alloy scaffolds were prepared to repair femoral bone defects in ovariectomized osteoporotic rats. The purpose of the study was to investigate the effect of biomimetic porous magnesium alloy scaffolds on repairing osteoporotic bone defects and possible mechanisms. The animal model of osteoporosis was established in female SD rats. Three months later, a bone defect of 3 mm in diameter and 3 mm in depth was created in the lateral condyle of the right femur. The rats were then randomly divided into two groups: an experimental group and a control group. Four weeks after surgery, gross specimens were observed and micro-CT scans were performed. The repair of osteoporotic femoral defects in rats was studied histologically using HE staining, Masson staining, and Goldner staining. The expression of Wnt5a, ß-catenin, and BMP-2 was measured between groups by immunohistochemical staining. The bone defect was repaired better after the application of biomimetic porous magnesium alloy scaffolds. Immunohistochemical results showed significantly higher expression of Wnt5a, ß-catenin, and BMP-2. To conclude, the biomimetic porous magnesium alloy scaffolds proposed in this paper might promote the repair of osteoporotic femoral bone defects in rats possibly through activating the Wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathway.

Genetic Predisposition to Periodontitis and Risk of Migraine: A Two-Sample Mendelian Randomization Study.

INTRODUCTION: Previous observational studies have associated periodontitis (PD) with migraine; however, the results are inconclusive and the causality of the association between PD and migraine remains unclear. This two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) study was performed to explore the bi-directional causal relationship between PD and migraine. METHODS: To investigate the relationship between PD (17,353 cases; 28,210 controls) and migraine (1072 cases; 360,122 controls), we used genetic tools from the largest available genome-wide association study of European descent. Inverse variance-weighted (IVW) and a series of sensitivity analyses were used to explore the association between migraine and PD. We performed an MR study using seven SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphisms) as instrumental variables for PD to investigate the causal relationship between migraine and PD. RESULTS: We found no significant causal relationship between PD and migraine (odds ratio, OR = 1.000; 95% confidence interval, CI = 0.99-1.00; p = 0.65). Similarly, no evidence supported a causal relationship between migraine and PD (OR = 0.07; CI = 2.04 × 10-9-2.65 × 106; p = 0.77). A sensitivity analysis revealed that no potential polymorphic effect (p = 0.356) and heterogeneity (p = 0.652) exists for the variants used in constructing the genetic instrument. CONCLUSIONS: Based on the results of our MR study, there is no causal relationship between PD and migraines or migraines and PD.