Reliability of Patellar Height Measurement in Children and Adolescents on MRI.

Introduction: Imaging-based measurement indices of patellar height are essential for diagnosing patella alta in children and adolescents. The Patellotrochlear Index (PTI) measures the cartilaginous anatomy which is crucial for identifying pathologic changes at the patellofemoral joint, while the Insall-Salvati Index (ISI) and Caton-Deschamps Index (CDI) focus on the bony structures. We aimed to evaluate the reliability of PTI on MRI for measuring patellar height and its relationship with ISI and CDI in identifying patella alta in children and adolescents.

Predicting mortality risk in Alzheimer's disease using machine learning based on lifestyle and physical activity.

Alzheimer's disease (AD), a progressive neurodegenerative disorder, significantly impacts patient survival, prompting the need for accurate prognostic tools. Lifestyle factors and physical activity levels have been identified as critical modifiable risk factors influencing AD outcomes, but their precise impact on mortality prediction remains understudied. This study aimed to employ machine learning (ML) techniques to predict mortality risk in AD patients, leveraging data on lifestyle and physical activity to enhance personalized care strategies and inform public health policies.

Galectin-1: An important regulator in myeloid differentiation and acute myeloid leukemia as well as a promising prognostic indicator and therapeutic target.

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is an aggressive and heterogeneous hematological malignancy with a low survival probability and limited therapeutic options. Although galectin-1 (LGALS1) has been implicated in tumor cell survival and immune evasion in solid tumor, its role in AML is still unclear. In this study, we found that LGALS1 presents prominent upregulation in AML patients at both mRNA and protein levels compared with the control samples.

Preparation of two kinds of immunocastration vaccines and their immune effects on male goats.

Objective: Post-pubertal male goats exhibit undesirable behaviors (fighting, mounting) and reduced growth due to high testosterone, while traditional castration causes stress. Immunocastration offers a humane alternative. This study aimed to develop effective immunocastration vaccines.

Effect of systolic blood pressure status on coronary inflammation and high-risk plaque characteristics.

Background: Inadequately controlled hypertension often leads to an increased cardiovascular death rate in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). It remains unclear whether systolic blood pressure (SBP) status of hypertension is related to coronary inflammation and plaques in T2DM.

Aim: To evaluate whether SBP variability (SBPV) and levels of hypertension are related to coronary inflammation and plaques in T2DM patients using coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA).

Prodrug-based bispecific antibodies for cancer therapy: advances and future directions.

Bispecific antibodies represent an innovative paradigm in cancer therapy, offering broader therapeutic potential compared to conventional monoclonal antibodies. To increase tumor selectivity while mitigating off-target effects in normal tissues, the concept of prodrug-based bispecific antibodies has emerged. This review delineates the various mechanisms underlying the action of prodrug-based bispecific antibodies, including protease-mediated activation, steric hindrance release via proteolytic processing, activation by soluble factors, conditional assembly, and chain exchange-mediated activation.

Targeting HER2 in solid tumors: Unveiling the structure and novel epitopes.

Human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER2) is overexpressed in various solid tumor types, acting as an established therapeutic target. Over the last three decades, the fast-paced development of diverse HER2-targeted agents, notably marked by the introduction of the antibody-drug conjugate (ADC), yielding substantial improvements in survival rates. However, resistance to anti-HER2 treatments continues to pose formidable challenges.

Coronary inflammation based on pericoronary adipose tissue attenuation in type 2 diabetic mellitus: effect of diabetes management.

Background: Coronary inflammation plays crucial role in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) induced cardiovascular complications. Both glucose-lowering drug interventions (GLDIS) and glycemic control (GC) status potentially correlate coronary inflammation, as indicated by changes in pericoronary adipose tissue (PCAT) attenuation, and thus influence cardiovascular risk. This study evaluated the impact of GLDIS and GC status on PCAT attenuation in T2DM patients.

Analysis of fecal microbiome and metabolome changes in goats with pregnant toxemia.

Background: Pregnancy toxemia is a common disease, which occurs in older does that are pregnant with multiple lambs in the third trimester. Most of the sick goats die within a few days, which can seriously impact the economic benefits of goat breeding enterprises. The disease is believed to be caused by malnutrition, stress, and other factors, that lead to the disorder of lipid metabolism, resulting in increased ketone content, ketosis, ketonuria, and neurological symptoms.

Emodin suppresses adipogenesis of bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells from aplastic anemia via increasing TRIB3 expression.

Background: Increasing evidence indicate that enhanced adipogenic differentiation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs) could contribute to the adiposity alteration in marrow microenvironment of aplastic anemia (AA). Identifying small molecule drugs with role in inhibiting adipogenesis of BM-MSCs may represent a novel direction in AA therapy by improving BM-MSCs mediated marrow microenvironment.

Methods: For the purpose, we isolated AA BM-MSCs through whole bone marrow cell culture, evaluated a series of small molecule drugs using the in vitro adipogenic differentiation model of BM-MSCs, and finally focused on emodin, a natural anthraquinone derivative.

Circumferential degree of tibial artery calcification is associated with infrapopliteal endovascular revascularization outcomes in patients with chronic limb-threatening ischemia.

Background: Tibial artery calcification (TAC) is correlated with an increased risk of amputation and mortality in patients with chronic limb-threatening ischemia (CLTI). The association between calcification characteristics and adverse limb events of CLTI. However, it has not been assessed.

Lower limb arterial calcification and its clinical relevance with peripheral arterial disease.

Lower limb arterial calcification (LLAC) is associated with an increased risk of mortality and it predicts poor outcomes after endovascular interventions in patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD). Detailed histological analysis of human lower artery specimens pinpointed the presence of LLAC in two distinct layers: the intima and the media. Intimal calcification has been assumed to be an atherosclerotic pathology and it is associated with smoking and obesity.

Apicidin confers promising therapeutic effect on acute myeloid leukemia cells via increasing QPCT expression.

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a heterogeneous hematologic malignancy characterized by abnormal cell proliferation, apoptosis repression and myeloid differentiation blockade of hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells. Developing and identifying novel therapeutic agents to reverse the pathological processes of AML are of great significance. Here in this study, we found that a fungus-derived histone deacetylase inhibitor, Apicidin, presents promising therapeutic effect on AML by inhibiting cell proliferation, facilitating apoptosis and inducing myeloid differentiation of AML cells.

Chidamide suppresses adipogenic differentiation of bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells via increasing REEP2 expression.

Increased propensity of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs) toward adipogenic differentiation at the expense of osteogenesis has been implicated in obesity, diabetes, and age-related osteoporosis as well as various hematopoietic disorders. Defining small molecules with role in rectifying the adipo-osteogenic differentiation imbalance is of great significance. Here, we unexpectedly found that Chidamide, a selective histone deacetylases inhibitor, exhibited remarkably suppressive effect on the induced adipogenic differentiation of BM-MSCs.

Hypertension Exacerbates Severity and Outcomes of COVID-19 in Elderly Patients: A Retrospective Observational Study.

Objective: To evaluate the impact of hypertension on the clinical outcome of COVID-19 patients aged 60 years old and older.

Methods: This single-center retrospective cohort study enrolled consecutive COVID-19 patients aged 60 years old and older, who were admitted to Liyuan Hospital from January 1, 2020 to April 25, 2020. All included patients were divided into two groups: hypertension and nonhypertension group.

Performance evaluation of the emerging rural sewage treatment facilities in China.

Urban water pollution has been well controlled by strict management in the past few decades in China. Thus, the central government started to place emphasis on rural water pollution, and increasing number of sewage treatment facilities have been constructed, and currently, they are operating in China. Therefore, thoroughly assessing the operating conditions and the performance of these facilities is important.

Corilagin induces apoptosis and inhibits autophagy of HL‑60 cells by regulating miR‑451/HMGB1 axis.

Corilagin is the primary active component of the plant and has significant anti‑cancer properties. However, the biological effects and mechanisms of corilagin on acute myeloid leukemia (AML) have not been clarified. The Cell Counting Kit‑8 and Carboxyfluorescein Diacetate Succinimidyl Ester assay results showed that corilagin significantly inhibited proliferation of the AML cell line HL‑60 in a time‑ and dose‑dependent manner.

Aberrant Functional Connectivity of the Posterior Cingulate Cortex in Type 2 Diabetes Without Cognitive Impairment and Microvascular Complications.

Objective: We aimed to investigate the alterations of brain functional connectivity (FC) in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients without clinical evidence of cognitive impairment and microvascular complications (woCIMC-T2DM) using resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI) and to determine whether its value was correlated with clinical indicators.

Methods: A total of 27 T2DM and 26 healthy controls (HCs) were prospectively examined. Cognitive impairment was excluded using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) scales, and microvascular complications were excluded by fundus photography, microalbuminuria, and other indicators.

How are typical urban sewage treatment technologies going in China: from the perspective of life cycle environmental and economic coupled assessment.

Sewage treatment is an important public service, but it consumes a lot of energy and chemicals in the process of removing wastewater pollutants, which may cause the risk of pollution transfer. To find the corresponding hot issues, this paper took the lead in integrating life cycle assessment (LCA) with life cycle costing (LCC) to evaluate four most typical sewage treatment technologies with more than 85% share in China. It is found that anaerobic/anoxic/oxic (AAO) was the optimal treatment scheme with relatively small potential environmental impact and economic load.

Corilagin induces human glioblastoma U251 cell apoptosis by impeding activity of (immuno)proteasome.

Glioma is a type of common primary intracranial tumor, which is difficult to treat. It has been confirmed by research that corilagin (the primary active constituent of the matsumura leafflower herb) has significant antitumor effect. In particular, our previous research demonstrated that corilagin effectively promotes apoptosis of glioma U251 cells and has a synergistic effect when used with temozolomide.

HMGB1: an important regulator of myeloid differentiation and acute myeloid leukemia as well as a promising therapeutic target.

High mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) is a non-histone nuclear protein which has been intensively studied in various physiological and pathological processes including leukemia. Here in this study, we further demonstrated that HMGB1 presents higher expression in the bone marrow mononuclear cells of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients compared with the normal controls and contributes to the AML pathogenesis and progression by inhibiting apoptosis, facilitating proliferation, and inducing myeloid differentiation blockade of AML cells. Mechanistic investigation revealed that transforming growth factor beta-induced (TGFBI) acts as a potential downstream target of HMGB1 and lentivirus-mediated knockdown of TGFBI expression impaired phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate (PMA) and all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA)-induced myeloid differentiation of AML cell lines.