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Objectives: The prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) among patients with ischemic stroke is relatively high. The visceral fat area (VFA) is a predictor of MetS. This study aimed to estimate sex-specific optimal cut-off values of VFA and MetS risk factors among patients with ischemic stroke., Methods: A cross-sectional study including 851 patients with ischemic stroke was conducted between March 2019 and January 2020 in a tertiary hospital in the northeast of China. VFA was measured using the dual bioelectrical impedance method. Binary logistic regression analysis was used to investigate MetS risk factors, and the VFA cut-off value was assessed using receiver operating characteristic curve analysis., Results: The overall prevalence of MetS was 43.4%. After adjusting for potential confounders, female sex (odds ratio [OR] = 2.86, p < 0.001), the presence of visceral obesity according to VFA (OR = 7.45, p < 0.001), being overweight (OR = 2.75, p < 0.001) or obesity (OR = 6.00, p < 0.001) were associated with an increased risk of MetS. The correlation between VFA and MetS in patients with ischemic stroke was strongest with cut-off values of 104.3 cm 2 (sensitivity 73.0%, specificity 83.1%) for men, and 94.1 cm 2 (sensitivity 70.9%, specificity 72.9%) for women., Conclusion: MetS affected approximately a half of patients with ischemic stroke. Female sex, visceral obesity, and body mass index were independent risk factors for the development of MetS. Sex-specific reference values for VFA are proposed for the prediction of incident MetS in patients with ischemic stroke., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Lu, Wang, Sun, Liu, Yan and Liu.)

Objective: Our study analyzed the main manifestations of tuberculous pleurisy (TBP) in children under medical thoracoscopy (MT). This article aimed to explore the clinical application value of MT in the diagnosis and treatment of TBP in children., Methods: In our study, we selected 23 TBP patients diagnosed in our hospital. We analyzed the clinical data and thoracoscopic morphology of these patients. At the same time, we also observed the pathological manifestations, acid-fast staining, and treatment effects of the patient's diseased tissue under MT., Results: The MT clinical findings of TBP patients include pleural hyperemia and edema, miliary nodules, scattered or more white nodules, simple pleural adhesion, wrapped pleural effusion, massive cellulose exudation, yellow-white caseous necrosis, pleural hyperplasia and hyperplasia, and mixed pleural necrosis. The positive rate of pleural biopsy was 73.91% and that of acid-fast staining was 34.78%. The main pathologic types of these patients were tuberculous granulomatous lesions (16 cases), caseous necrosis (5 cases), and fibrinous exudative, multinucleated giant cell and other inflammatory cell infiltration lesions (13 cases). The average time of diagnosis of the 23 patients was 8.32 days (5.0-16.0 days), and they were transferred to specialized hospitals for treatment after diagnosis. The mean time of chest drainage was 3.0-5.0 days after treatment. The average time for their body temperature to return to normal was 3.31 days (2.0-5.0 days)., Conclusion: Thoracoscopic lesions of TBP in children are varied. The use of MT is not only helpful for the early diagnosis and treatment of TBP. It also protects and improves lung function. Therefore, the use of MT has high clinical value., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts of interest., (Copyright: © 2024 Annals of Thoracic Medicine.)

A direct hydride transfer mechanism with three cascade cycles for the conversion of carbon dioxide and dihydrogen to methanol (CO 2 + 3H 2 → CH 3 OH + H 2 O) catalyzed by a half-sandwich cobalt complex [Cp*Co(bpy-Me)OH 2 ] 2+ (1) is proposed based on density functional theory calculations. The formation of methanediol via hydride transfer from Co to formic acid (4 → TS 8,11 ) is the rate-determining step with a total barrier of 26.0 kcal/mol in free energy. Furthermore, 15 analogues of 1 are constructed by replacing the hydrogen atoms at the two meta and para positions of the bipyridine ligand with different functional groups (1b-1l), the carbon atoms in the bipyridine ligand with nitrogen atoms (1m-1o), and one pyridine ligand with N-heterocyclic carbene (1p). Among all newly proposed complexes, [Cp*Co(2,2'-bipyrazine)OH 2 ] 2+ (1n) is the most active one with a total barrier of 19.6 kcal/mol in free energy. Such a low barrier indicates 1n is a promising catalyst for efficient conversion of CO 2 and H 2 to methanol at room temperature.

Objective: To explore the genetic cause for two children with omphalocele., Methods: The patients were examined, and the medical history of their families was collected. Methylation-specific multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MS-MLPA) was performed to detect potential mutation in the patients., Results: Loss of methylation of imprinting center 2 (IC2) at the 11p15.5 region of the maternal chromosome was detected in both children., Conclusion: The two patients were diagnosed with Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome by MS-MLPA. The loss of methylation of IC2 probably underlies the disease in both patients.

It remains challenging to locate occult lesions in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) has been demonstrated to have the potential to identify occult changes in MS lesions. The present study used 3.0T magnetic resonance DTI to investigate the characteristics of different stages of MS lesions. DTI parameters, fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusivity (MD), λ// and λ┴ values of lesions were compared at the different stages of 10 patients with MS with 10 normal controls. The results demonstrated that FA and λ// values of MS silent and subacute lesions are decreased and MD and λ┴ values are increased, as compared with those of normal appearing white matter (NAWM) and normal controls. NAWM FA values were lower, and MD, λ//, and λ┴ values were higher than those of normal controls. It was also indicated that MS lesions had reduced color signals compared with the controls, and the lesion area appeared larger using DTI as compared with diffusion-weighted imaging. Furthermore, fiber abnormalities were detected in MS lesions using DTT, with fewer fibers connected to the lesion side, as compared with the contralateral side. FA, MD, λ// and λ┴ values in the thalamus were increased, as compared with those of normal controls (P<0.05); whereas MD, λ// and λ┴ values were significantly increased and FA values significantly decreased in the caudate nucleus and deep brain gray matter (DBGM) of patients with MS, as compared with the controls (P<0.05). λ// and λ┴ values were also significantly increased in the DBGM of patients with MS as compared with normal controls (P<0.05). The present findings demonstrate that DTI may be useful in the characterization of MS lesions.

Objective: To find out the vitamin A intake in middle-aged and aged females, and to investigate the relationship between retinol intake and bone mineral density (BMD)., Methods: Two hundred and fifty women aged 45 to 66 were enrolled and received physical examination and BMD scanning, and their fasting blood samples and dietary records were collected. Serum retinol and beta-carotene were analyzed by HPLC. Assays for bone turnover markers (such as bone specific alkaline phosphatase, osteocalcin and 25-(OH) D3) in serum were performed by using commercially available kits. Subjects were divided into normal BMD group and low BMD group, and the dietary RE intakes and serum retinol were compared., Results: The average RE intake was 455.8 microg (n = 169), which reached 65.1% of RNI. Serum retinol and beta-carotene in normal BMD group were a little bit higher than the low BMD group, but there was no statistic difference. Vitamin A intake of normal BMD group was 53.0 microg, which was lower than the low BMD group, and carotene intake of normal BMD group was 107.6 microg, which was higher than the low BMD group. The ratio of plant sourced retinol in normal BMD group was higher than the low BMD group. Bivariate correlation analysis on BMD and dietary RE intake showed no statistic correlation, but with a slight negative trend (P = 0.203, r = -0.140). There was a significantly difference in age, bone mineral contents, BMI and BSAP between low BMD group and normal BMD group (P < 0.001 or P < 0.01), and bivariate correlation analysis showed that the age (P < 0.001, r = -0.380), BMI (P < 0.001, r = 0.394) menopausal age (P < 0.05, r = 0.244) and body weight (P < 0.001, r = 0.434) were significantly correlated with BMD. The result of stepwise linear regression analysis showed that the age, menopausal years and BSAP were entered into the regression equation (R2 = 0.552, F = 24.661, P < 0.001), which indicated a strong connection with BMD., Conclusion: (a) RE intake did not reach RNI, and the use of supplements was not common (32.5%). (b) The intake of milk and milk products and beans and bean products was low, and the calcium intake did not reach 50% of AI. (c) Higher serum retinol in normal range might maintain BMD. (d) Too much RE intake might associate with decreased BMD, especially the BMD in femoral bone.