Phylogenomics and metabolic engineering reveal a conserved gene cluster in Solanaceae plants for withanolide biosynthesis.

Withanolides are steroidal lactones from nightshade (Solanaceae) plants with untapped drug potential due to limited availability of minor representatives caused by lack of biosynthetic pathway knowledge. Here, we combine phylogenomics with metabolic engineering to overcome this limitation. By sequencing the genome of the medicinal plant ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) and comparing it with nine Solanaceae species, we discover a conserved withanolide biosynthesis gene cluster, consisting of two sub gene clusters with differing expression patterns.

Carbon footprint and greenhouse gas emissions of different rice-based cropping systems using LCA.

There are many cropping systems on floodplain soils, but greenhouse gas (GHG) emission balances of these agricultural systems are rarely reported. Carbon (C) footprints of agricultural products were assessed using a co-designed life cycle assessment tool in major cropping systems in Bangladesh: rice-rice-rice (R-R-R/boro-aus-aman), rice-fallow-rice (R-F-R/boro-fallow-aman), maize-fallow-rice (M-F-R), wheat-mungbean-rice (W-Mu-R), and potato-rice-fallow (P-R-F) along with the field measurement of some of the systems. The rice system with dryland crops had higher nitrous oxide (NO) emissions (3.

Effects of time-of-day on the noradrenaline, adrenaline, cortisol and blood lipidome response to an ice bath.

While the effect of time-of-day (morning versus evening) on hormones, lipids and lipolysis has been studied in relation to meals and exercise, there are no studies that have investigated the effects of time-of-day on ice bath induced hormone and lipidome responses. In this crossover-designed study, a group of six women and six men, 26 ± 5 years old, 176 ± 7 cm tall, weighing 75 ± 10 kg, and a BMI of 23 ± 2 kg/mhad an ice bath (8-12 °C for 5 min) both in the morning and evening on separate days. Absence from intense physical exercise, nutrient intake and meal order was standardized in the 24 h prior the ice baths to account for confounders such as diet or exercise.

Prognostic Value of Machine Learning-based Time-to-Event Analysis Using Coronary CT Angiography in Patients with Suspected Coronary Artery Disease.

Purpose: To assess the long-term prognostic value of a machine learning (ML) approach in time-to-event analyses incorporating coronary CT angiography (CCTA)-derived and clinical parameters in patients with suspected coronary artery disease.

Materials And Methods: The retrospective analysis included patients with suspected coronary artery disease who underwent CCTA between October 2004 and December 2017. Major adverse cardiovascular events were defined as the composite of all-cause death, myocardial infarction, unstable angina, or late revascularization (>90 days after index scan).

Gender Differences in Epicardial Adipose Tissue and Plaque Composition by Coronary CT Angiography: Association with Cardiovascular Outcome.

To investigate gender differences in epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) and plaque composition by coronary CT angiography (CCTA) and the association with cardiovascular outcome. Data of 352 patients (64.2 ± 10.

A Ready-to-Use Grading Tool for Facial Palsy Examiners-Automated Grading System in Facial Palsy Patients Made Easy.

Background: The grading process in facial palsy (FP) patients is crucial for time- and cost-effective therapy decision-making. The House-Brackmann scale (HBS) represents the most commonly used classification system in FP diagnostics. This study investigated the benefits of linking machine learning (ML) techniques with the HBS.

Association of epicardial adipose tissue with coronary CT angiography plaque parameters on cardiovascular outcome in patients with and without diabetes mellitus.

Background And Aims: We aimed to evaluate the association of epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) with coronary CT angiography (CCTA) plaque parameters on cardiovascular outcome in patients with and without diabetes mellitus.

Methods: Data of 353 patients (62.9 ± 10.

Systematic Comparison of Genetic Algorithm and Basin Hopping Approaches to the Global Optimization of Si(111) Surface Reconstructions.

We present a systematic study of two widely used material structure prediction methods, the Genetic Algorithm and Basin Hopping approaches to global optimization, in a search for the 3 × 3, 5 × 5, and 7 × 7 reconstructions of the Si(111) surface. The Si(111) 7 × 7 reconstruction is the largest and most complex surface reconstruction known, and finding it is a very exacting test for global optimization methods. In this paper, we introduce a modification to previous Genetic Algorithm work on structure search for periodic systems, to allow the efficient search for surface reconstructions, and present a rigorous study of the effect of the different parameters of the algorithm.

Prognostic Utility of Coronary Computed Tomography Angiography-derived Plaque Information on Long-term Outcome in Patients With and Without Diabetes Mellitus.

Purpose: To investigate the long-term prognostic value of coronary computed tomography angiography (cCTA)-derived plaque information on major adverse cardiac events (MACE) in patients with and without diabetes mellitus.

Materials And Methods: In all, 64 patients with diabetes (63.3±10.

Divergent synthesis and biological evaluation of 2-(trifluoromethyl)pyridines as virulence-attenuating inverse agonists targeting PqsR.

A short and divergent route towards new derivatives of 2-(trifluoromethyl)pyridines as potent inverse agonists of the bacterial target PqsR against Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA) infections is described. This Gram-negative pathogen causes severe nosocomial infections and common antibiotic treatment options are rendered ineffective due to resistance issues. Based on an earlier identified optimized hit, we conducted derivatization and rigidification attempts employing two central building blocks.

Quantitative analysis of dynamic computed tomography angiography for the detection of endoleaks after abdominal aorta aneurysm endovascular repair: A feasibility study.

Objectives: To assess the feasibility of quantitative analysis of dynamic computed tomography angiography (dCTA) for the detection of endoleaks in patients who underwent endovascular repair of abdominal aortic aneurysms (EVAR).

Material And Methods: Twenty patients scheduled for contrast-enhanced CT angiography (CTA) of the abdominal aorta post-EVAR were prospectively enrolled. All patients received a standard triphasic CTA protocol, followed by an additional dCTA.

Improved long-term prognostic value of coronary CT angiography-derived plaque measures and clinical parameters on adverse cardiac outcome using machine learning.

Objectives: To evaluate the long-term prognostic value of coronary CT angiography (cCTA)-derived plaque measures and clinical parameters on major adverse cardiac events (MACE) using machine learning (ML).

Methods: Datasets of 361 patients (61.9 ± 10.

Development and biomechanical evaluation of a new biodegradable intramedullary implant for osteosynthesis of midshaft fractures of small hollow bones.

Background: Up to date there is no intramedullary, biodegradable osteosynthesis commercially available to treat non-comminuted midshaft fractures of small hollow bones applying not only a stable osteosynthesis but an additional axial compression to the fracture site.

Objective And Methods: Therefore we (1) designed different implant profiles and simulated the inner tension/volume using CAD. (2) Thereafter we manufactured a prototype with the best volume/tension-ratio using 70:30 poly-(L-lactide-co-D, L-lactide) (PLLA/PDLLA) and poly-ε-caprolactone (PCL) by injection moulding.

Accuracy of an Artificial Intelligence Deep Learning Algorithm Implementing a Recurrent Neural Network With Long Short-term Memory for the Automated Detection of Calcified Plaques From Coronary Computed Tomography Angiography.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of a novel fully automated deep learning (DL) algorithm implementing a recurrent neural network (RNN) with long short-term memory (LSTM) for the detection of coronary artery calcium (CAC) from coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) data.

Materials And Methods: Under an IRB waiver and in HIPAA compliance, a total of 194 patients who had undergone CCTA were retrospectively included. Two observers independently evaluated the image quality and recorded the presence of CAC in the right (RCA), the combination of left main and left anterior descending (LM-LAD), and left circumflex (LCx) coronary arteries.

Coronary Computed Tomography Angiography-Derived Fractional Flow Reserve in Patients with Anomalous Origin of the Right Coronary Artery from the Left Coronary Sinus.

Objective: To examine the fractional flow reserve derived from computed tomographic angiography (CT-FFR) in patients with anomalous origin of the right coronary artery from the left coronary sinus (R-ACAOS) with an interarterial course, assess the relationship of CT-FFR with the anatomical features of interarterial R-ACAOS on coronary computed tomographic angiography (CCTA), and determine its clinical relevance.

Materials And Methods: Ninety-four patients with interarterial R-ACAOS undergoing CCTA were retrospectively included. Anatomic features (proximal vessel morphology [oval or slit-like], take-off angle, take-off level [below or above the pulmonary valve], take-off type, intramural course, % proximal narrowing area, length of narrowing, minimum luminal area [MLA] at systole and diastole, and vessel compression index) on CCTA associated with CT-FFR ≤ 0.

Myocardial extracellular volume fraction to differentiate healthy from cardiomyopathic myocardium using dual-source dual-energy CT.

Objective: To evaluate the feasibility of dual-energy CT (DECT)-based iodine quantification to estimate myocardial extracellular volume (ECV) fraction in patients with and without cardiomyopathy (CM), as well as to assess its ability to distinguish healthy myocardial tissue from cardiomyopathic, with the goal of defining a threshold ECV value for disease detection.

Methods: Ten subjects free of heart disease and 60 patients with CM (mean age 66.4 ± 9.

Impact of Coronary Computerized Tomography Angiography-Derived Plaque Quantification and Machine-Learning Computerized Tomography Fractional Flow Reserve on Adverse Cardiac Outcome.

This study investigated the impact of coronary CT angiography (cCTA)-derived plaque markers and machine-learning-based CT-derived fractional flow reserve (CT-FFR) to identify adverse cardiac outcome. Data of 82 patients (60 ± 11 years, 62% men) who underwent cCTA and invasive coronary angiography (ICA) were analyzed in this single-center retrospective, institutional review board-approved, HIPAA-compliant study. Follow-up was performed to record major adverse cardiac events (MACE).

Coronary CT angiography-derived plaque quantification with artificial intelligence CT fractional flow reserve for the identification of lesion-specific ischemia.

Objectives: We sought to investigate the diagnostic performance of coronary CT angiography (cCTA)-derived plaque markers combined with deep machine learning-based fractional flow reserve (CT-FFR) to identify lesion-specific ischemia using invasive FFR as the reference standard.

Methods: Eighty-four patients (61 ± 10 years, 65% male) who had undergone cCTA followed by invasive FFR were included in this single-center retrospective, IRB-approved, HIPAA-compliant study. Various plaque markers were derived from cCTA using a semi-automatic software prototype and deep machine learning-based CT-FFR.

Fractional flow reserve derived from CCTA may have a prognostic role in myocardial bridging.

Purpose: To evaluate the feasibility of fractional flow reserve (cFFR) derivation from coronary CT angiography (CCTA) in patients with myocardial bridging (MB), its relationship with MB anatomical features, and clinical relevance.

Methods: This retrospective study included 120 patients with MB of the left anterior descending artery (LAD) and 41 controls. MB location, length, depth, muscle index, instance, and stenosis rate were measured.

Feasibility of extracellular volume quantification using dual-energy CT.

ObjectiveTo assess the feasibility of dual energy CT (DECT) to derive myocardial extracellular volume (ECV) and detect myocardial ECV differences without a non-contrast acquisition, compared to single energy CT (SECT). MethodsSubjects (n = 35) with focal fibrosis (n = 17), diffuse fibrosis (n = 10), and controls (n = 9) underwent non-contrast and delayed acquisitions to calculate SECT-ECV. DECT-ECV was calculated using the delayed acquisition and the derived virtual non-contrast images.

High-pitch low-voltage CT coronary artery calcium scoring with tin filtration: accuracy and radiation dose reduction.

Objectives: To investigate diagnostic accuracy and radiation dose of high-pitch CT coronary artery calcium scoring (CACS) with tin filtration (Sn100kVp) versus standard 120kVp high-pitch acquisition.

Methods: 78 patients (58% male, 61.5±9.

IGF-1-based screening reveals a low prevalence of acromegaly in patients with obstructive sleep apnea.

Purpose: Recent epidemiologic studies suggest a high prevalence of acromegaly. The prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) in acromegaly patients ranges from 47 to 70%. A recent study identified 2 patients with acromegaly among 567 OSAS patients.

Real sequence effects on the search dynamics of transcription factors on DNA.

Recent experiments show that transcription factors (TFs) indeed use the facilitated diffusion mechanism to locate their target sequences on DNA in living bacteria cells: TFs alternate between sliding motion along DNA and relocation events through the cytoplasm. From simulations and theoretical analysis we study the TF-sliding motion for a large section of the DNA-sequence of a common E. coli strain, based on the two-state TF-model with a fast-sliding search state and a recognition state enabling target detection.