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The coronary plaque burden represents an essential tool for evaluating coronary blood flow and cardiovascular outcomes. However, the concept of “coronary plaque burden” does not accurately reflect the complex pathological progression of coronary artery disease. In this review, various aspects of the total coronary atherosclerosis burden are present, including its mechanics, geometrical characteristics, plaque morphology, coronary artery calcium deposition, and coronary inflammation, to provide a complete view. Different tools used to evaluate the coronary atherosclerosis burden are also assessed according to the most recent studies. Compelling evidence is provided by our findings to advocate for a comprehensive use of the term “coronary atherosclerosis burden”.

Abstract Background Post-anesthetic emergence agitation is common after general anesthesia and may cause adverse consequences, such as injury as well as respiratory and circulatory complications. Emergence agitation after general anesthesia occurs more frequently in nasal surgery than in other surgical procedures. This study aimed to assess the occurrence of emergence agitation in patients undergoing nasal surgery who were extubated under deep anesthesia or when fully awake. Methods A total of 202 patients (18–60 years, American Society of Anesthesiologists classification: I–II) undergoing nasal surgery under general anesthesia were randomized 1:1 into two groups: a deep extubation group (group D) and an awake extubation group (group A). The primary outcome was the incidence of emergence agitation. The secondary outcomes included number of emergence agitations, sedation score, vital signs, and incidence of adverse events. Results The incidence of emergence agitation was lower in group D than in group A (34.7% vs. 72.8%; p

Abstract. Background:. Hyperglycemia frequently induces apoptosis in endothelial cells and ultimately contributes to microvascular dysfunction in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM). Previous research reported that the expression of integrins as well as their ligands was elevated in the diseased vessels of DM patients. However, the association between integrins and hyperglycemia-induced cell death is still unclear. This research was designed to investigate the role played by integrin subunit β5 (ITGB5) in hyperglycemia-induced endothelial cell apoptosis. Methods:. We used leptin receptor knockout (Lepr-KO) (db/db) mice as spontaneous diabetes animal model. Selective deletion of ITGB5 in endothelial cell was achieved by injecting vascular targeted adeno-associated virus via tail vein. Besides, we also applied small interfering RNA in vitro to study the mechanism of ITGB5 in regulating high glucose-induced cell apoptosis. Results:. ITGB5 and its ligand, fibronectin, were both upregulated after exposure to high glucose in vivo and in vitro. ITGB5 knockdown alleviated hyperglycemia-induced vascular endothelial cell apoptosis and microvascular rarefaction in vivo. In vitro analysis revealed that knockdown of either ITGB5 or fibronectin ameliorated high glucose-induced apoptosis in human umbilical vascular endothelial cells (HUVECs). In addition, knockdown of ITGB5 inhibited fibronectin-induced HUVEC apoptosis, which indicated that the fibronectin-ITGB5 interaction participated in high glucose-induced endothelial cell apoptosis. By using RNA-sequencing technology and bioinformatic analysis, we identified Forkhead Box Protein O1 (FoxO1) as an important downstream target regulated by ITGB5. Moreover, we demonstrated that the excessive macroautophagy induced by high glucose can contribute to HUVEC apoptosis, which was regulated by the ITGB5–FoxO1 axis. Conclusion:. The study revealed that high glucose-induced endothelial cell apoptosis was positively regulated by ITGB5, which suggested that ITGB5 could potentially be used to predict and treat DM-related vascular complications.

Abstract Many scientific phenomena are linked to wave problems. This paper presents an effective and suitable technique for generating approximation solutions to multi-dimensional problems associated with wave propagation. We adopt a new iterative strategy to reduce the numerical work with minimum time efficiency compared to existing techniques such as the variational iteration method (VIM) and homotopy analysis method (HAM) have some limitations and constraints within the development of recurrence relation. To overcome this drawback, we present a Sawi integral transform ( $$\mathbb {S}$$ S T) for constructing a suitable recurrence relation. This recurrence relation is solved to determine the coefficients of the homotopy perturbation strategy (HPS) that leads to the convergence series of the precise solution. This strategy derives the results in algebraic form that are independent of any discretization. To demonstrate the performance of this scheme, several mathematical frameworks and visual depictions are shown.

Abstract Background An increasing body of observational studies have indicated an association between gut microbiota and endometriosis. However, the causal relationship between them is not yet clear. In this study, we employed Mendelian randomization method to investigate the causal relationship between 211 gut microbiota taxa and endometriosis. Methods Independent genetic loci significantly associated with the relative abundance of 211 gut microbiota taxa, based on predefined thresholds, were extracted as instrumental variables. The primary analytical approach employed was the IVW method. Effect estimates were assessed primarily using the odds ratio and 95% confidence intervals. Supplementary analyses were conducted using MR-Egger regression, the weighted median method, the simple mode and the weighted mode method to complement the IVW results. In addition, we conducted tests for heterogeneity, horizontal pleiotropy, sensitivity analysis, and MR Steiger to assess the robustness of the results and the strength of the causal relationships. Results Based on the IVW method, we found that the family Prevotellaceae, genus Anaerotruncus, genus Olsenella, genus Oscillospira, and order Bacillales were identified as risk factors for endometriosis, while class Melainabacteria and genus Eubacterium ruminantium group were protective factors. Additionally, no causal relationship was observed between endometriosis and gut microbiota. Heterogeneity tests, pleiotropy tests, and leave-one-out sensitivity analyses did not detect any significant heterogeneity or pleiotropic effects. Conclusions Our MR study has provided evidence supporting a potential causal relationship between gut microbiota and endometriosis, and it suggests the absence of bidirectional causal effects. These findings could potentially offer new insights for the development of novel strategies for the prevention and treatment of endometriosis.

Abstract In this paper, we aim to present a powerful approach for the approximate results of multi-dimensional diffusion problems with time-fractional derivatives. The fractional order is considered in the view of the Caputo fractional derivative. In this analysis, we develop the idea of the Yang homotopy perturbation transform method (YHPTM), which is the combination of the Yang transform (YT) and the homotopy perturbation method (HPM). This robust scheme generates the solution in a series form that converges to the exact results after a few iterations. We show the graphical visuals in two-dimensional and three-dimensional to provide the accuracy of our developed scheme. Furthermore, we compute the graphical error to demonstrate the close-form analytical solution in the comparison of the exact solution. The obtained findings are promising and suitable for the solution of multi-dimensional diffusion problems with time-fractional derivatives. The main advantage is that our developed scheme does not require assumptions or restrictions on variables that ruin the actual problem. This scheme plays a significant role in finding the solution and overcoming the restriction of variables that may cause difficulty in modeling the problem.

Background: Despite the majority of studies have identified smoking as a risk factor for coronary artery calcification (CAC), some studies have not identified this relationship. Differences on results reached by studies on the association of alcohol consumption with CAC exist. Moreover, studies have almost exclusively investigated the association between smoking and alcohol consumption independently. Whether an interaction effect of alcohol on the association of smoking and CAC exists has hardly been investigated. Methods: The data of 2431 adult patients who visited Fuwai Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences from September, 2001 to December, 2023 and had Agaston coronary artery calcification score (CACS) reported were utilized. Patients who (1) underwent percutaneous coronary intervention, coronary bypass graft and heart transplantation, or (2) were complicated by acute medical conditions, chronic kidney disease or malignant neoplasms were excluded. Data from 1528 patients were eventually analyzed. Logistic regression was employed to investigate the association of smoking and alcohol consumption with presence of CAC and severe CAC. Interaction effects of alcohol consumption history on the association of current smoking and both presence of and severe CAC were examined. Results: Smoking history was significantly associated with presence of CAC and severe CAC. Current alcohol consumption was also significantly associated with presence of CAC and severe CAC. After adjusting for confounders, alcohol consumption history demonstrated an interaction effect on the association of current smoking with both presence of and severe CAC. Using non-alcohol consumers not smoking at the time of the study as reference, current smokers with an alcohol consumption history suffered from an increased risk of presence of CAC and severe CAC. Conclusions: Both smoking history and current alcohol consumption were associated with presence of and severe CAC. Alcohol consumption history demonstrated an interaction effect on the association of current smoking with both presence of and severe CAC.

Particulate nitrate, a key component of fine particles, forms through the intricate gas-to-particle conversion process. This process is regulated by the gas-to-particle conversion coefficient of nitrate (ε(NO3−)). The mechanism between ε(NO3−) and its drivers is highly complex and nonlinear, and can be characterized by machine learning methods. However, conventional machine learning often yields results that lack clear physical meaning and may even contradict established physical/chemical mechanisms due to the influence of ambient factors. It urgently needs an alternative approach that possesses transparent physical interpretations and provides deeper insights into the impact of ε(NO3−). Here we introduce a supervised machine learning approach—the multilevel nested random forest guided by theory approaches. Our approach robustly identifies NH4+, SO42−, and temperature as pivotal drivers for ε(NO3−). Notably, substantial disparities exist between the outcomes of traditional random forest analysis and the anticipated actual results. Furthermore, our approach underscores the significance of NH4+ during both daytime (30%) and nighttime (40%) periods, while appropriately downplaying the influence of some less relevant drivers in comparison to conventional random forest analysis. This research underscores the transformative potential of integrating domain knowledge with machine learning in atmospheric studies.

Background: While observational studies have demonstrated connections between cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption, and arterial stiffness, establishing a causal relationship has proven challenging because of potential confounding factors. To address this problem, we employed a two-sample Mendelian randomization approach. Methods: We selected genetic instruments for these risk factors from genome-wide association studies encompassing 3,383,199 individuals at the genome-wide significance level (p < 5 × 10-9). Arterial stiffness data were acquired from the UK Biobank, which included 127,121 participants. Our primary analysis utilized the inverse variance-weighted method to explore causality. To confirm our results’ robustness, we conducted sensitivity analyses using Egger regression, the weighted median method, and Mendelian Randomization Pleiotropy RESidual Sum and Outlier (MR-PRESSO). Results: Our analysis revealed a significant association between genetic inclination to smoking initiation and an increase in the arterial stiffness index (β = 0.11; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.06 to 0.16; p = 1.95 × 10-5). Additionally, there was a suggestive connection between genetically predicted number of cigarettes per day and the arterial stiffness index (β = 0.05; 95% CI, 5.25 × 10-4 to 0.10; p = 4.75 × 10-2). No causal relationships were observed between the genetically predicted age of smoking initiation, smoking cessation, or alcohol consumption and the risk of arterial stiffness index. Conclusions: This Mendelian randomization study indicates that smoking initiation is likely a causative risk factor for arterial stiffness. However, further research is needed to determine if the quantity of daily cigarettes directly contributes to arterial stiffness development. Regarding alcohol consumption, age of smoking initiation, and smoking cessation, there was insufficient evidence to establish causality.

Accumulating scientific evidence highlights the pivotal role of miRNA–disease association research in elucidating disease pathogenesis and developing innovative diagnostics. Consequently, accurately identifying disease-associated miRNAs has emerged as a prominent research topic in bioinformatics. Advances in graph neural networks (GNNs) have catalyzed methodological breakthroughs in this field. However, existing methods are often plagued by data noise and struggle to effectively integrate local and global information, which hinders their predictive performance. To address this, we introduce HGTMDA, an innovative hypergraph learning framework that incorporates random walk with restart-based association masking and an enhanced GCN-Transformer model to infer miRNA–disease associations. HGTMDA starts by constructing multiple homogeneous similarity networks. A novel enhancement of our approach is the introduction of a restart-based random walk association masking strategy. By stochastically masking a subset of association data and integrating it with a GCN enhanced by an attention mechanism, this strategy enables better capture of key information, leading to improved information utilization and reduced impact of noisy data. Next, we build an miRNA–disease heterogeneous hypergraph and adopt an improved GCN-Transformer encoder to effectively solve the effective extraction of local and global information. Lastly, we utilize a combined Dice cross-entropy (DCE) loss function to guide the model training and optimize its performance. To evaluate the performance of HGTMDA, comprehensive comparisons were conducted with state-of-the-art methods. Additionally, in-depth case studies on lung cancer and colorectal cancer were performed. The results demonstrate HGTMDA’s outstanding performance across various metrics and its exceptional effectiveness in real-world application scenarios, highlighting the advantages and value of this method.

Abstract Ground-level ozone affects Earth’s climate and human health. The formation of ozone is a complex process, depending on both atmospheric chemical processes and meteorological factors. In this study, machine learning coupled with a structure mining analysis was applied to investigate the ozone formation mechanism in Tianjin, China. The results showed isoprene has the greatest individual impact on local ozone generation, which suggests the biogenic emission of vegetation contribute significantly to native ozone pollution. The interaction between isoprene and nitrogen oxides is the strongest among precursors, with an obvious antagonistic effect between them. Reducing active volatile organic compounds is more effective for mitigating ozone pollution. Visualized network diagram also clearly illustrated the impacts of multiple drivers on ozone formation: isoprene, temperature and nitrogen oxides were the key drivers among all the influencing factors, other drivers (such as relative humidity) could assist the key drivers to collaboratively enhance or suppress ozone formation.

BackgroundObservational studies have revealed associations between birth weight, childhood obesity, age at menarche, and ovarian dysfunction. However, these studies are susceptible to unavoidable confounding factors, leading to ongoing debates regarding their conclusions and making causal relationships challenging to infer. In light of these challenges, Mendelian randomization was employed in this study to investigate the causal relationships between birth weight, childhood obesity, age at menarche, and ovarian dysfunction.MethodsThis study employed a two-sample Mendelian randomization approach using genetic variation as instrumental variables to investigate causal relationships. Genetic variation data were sourced from summary data of genome-wide association studies in European populations. Instrumental variables were selected based on the principles of Mendel's three assumptions. The study utilized the inverse variance weighted method to assess the relationships between birth weight, childhood obesity, age at menarche, and ovarian dysfunction. Supplementary analyses were conducted using MR-Egger regression, the weighted median method, and the weighted median mode to complement the IVW results. Furthermore, the study conducted heterogeneity, horizontal pleiotropy, and sensitivity analyses to evaluate the robustness of the results.ResultsBased on the inverse variance weighted method, it was found that there exists a causal relationship between childhood obesity (OR = 1.378, 95% CI: 1.113∼1.705, p = 0.003), age at menarche (OR = 0.639, 95% CI: 0.468∼0.871, p = 0.005), and ovarian dysfunction, while no causal relationship was observed between birth weight and ovarian dysfunction. Heterogeneity tests, multiplicity tests, and leave-one-out sensitivity analyses did not detect any heterogeneity or multiplicity effects in the estimated impact of these three exposure factors on the risk of ovarian dysfunction.ConclusionsThis study represents the first evidence suggesting a potential causal relationship between childhood obesity, age at menarche, and ovarian dysfunction. Childhood obesity was found to increase the risk of ovarian dysfunction, while a later age at menarche was associated with a reduced risk of ovarian dysfunction.

Reproductive system diseases pose prominent threats to human physical and mental well-being. Besides being influenced by genetic material regulation and changes in lifestyle, the occurrence of these diseases is closely connected to exposure to harmful substances in the environment. Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs), characterized by hormone-like effects, have a wide range of influences on the reproductive system. EDCs are ubiquitous in the natural environment and are present in a wide range of industrial and everyday products. Currently, thousands of chemicals have been reported to exhibit endocrine effects, and this number is likely to increase as the testing for potential EDCs has not been consistently required, and obtaining data has been limited, partly due to the long latency of many diseases. The ability to avoid exposure to EDCs, especially those of artificially synthesized origin, is increasingly challenging. While EDCs can be divided into persistent and non-persistent depending on their degree of degradation, due to the recent uptick in research studies in this area, we have chosen to focus on the research pertaining to the detrimental effects on reproductive health of exposure to several EDCs that are widely encountered in daily life over the past six years, specifically bisphenol A (BPA), phthalates (PAEs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), parabens, pesticides, heavy metals, and so on. By focusing on the impact of EDCs on the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis, which leads to the occurrence and development of reproductive system diseases, this review aims to provide new insights into the molecular mechanisms of EDCs’ damage to human health and to encourage further in-depth research to clarify the potentially harmful effects of EDC exposure through various other mechanisms. Ultimately, it offers a scientific basis to enhance EDCs risk management, an endeavor of significant scientific and societal importance for safeguarding reproductive health.

Trastuzumab (Tmab) targeted therapy or its combination with chemotherapy is normally insufficient to elicit a comprehensive therapeutic response owing to the inherent or acquired drug resistance and systemic toxicity observed in highly invasive HER2-positive breast cancer. In this study, we propose a novel approach that integrates photothermal therapy (PTT) with targeted therapy and chemotherapy, thereby achieving additive or synergistic therapeutic outcomes. We utilize PEGylated two-dimensional black phosphorus (2D BP) as a nanoplatform and photothermal agent to load chemotherapeutic drug mitoxantrone (MTO) and conjugate with Tmab (BP-PEG-MTO-Tmab). The in vitro and in vivo experiments demonstrated that the HER2-targeting BP-PEG-MTO-Tmab complexes exhibited desirable biocompatibility, safety and enhanced cancer cell uptake efficiency, resulting in increased accumulation and prolonged retention of BP and MTO within tumors. Consequently, the complex improved photothermal and chemotherapy treatment efficacy in HER2-positive cells in vitro and a subcutaneous tumor model in vivo, while minimized harm to normal cells and showed desirable organ compatibility. Collectively, our study provides compelling evidence for the remarkable efficacy of targeted and synergistic chemo-photothermal therapy utilizing all-in-one nanoparticles as a delivery system for BP and chemotherapeutic drug in HER2-positive breast cancer.

Metal cutting is one of the most important and commonly used manufacturing processes in industry and has been studied for years; however, accurate simulation of cutoff operation is still a big challenge because of the complexity of the material removal process. The main challenge for the classical simulation method is computational difficulties during the material removal process, and furthermore, the material deletion criterion has to be somehow empirical. To conquer these problems, a more robust and efficient simulation technique for the cutoff process is proposed herein, in which the material removal is achieved through continuously adjusting mesh nodes on contact surfaces based on ALE adaptive meshing technique, instead of deleting elements. Finally, this new simulation technique is used to predict the heat partition and temperature field evolution during the cutoff operation of the steel plate. It is found that the obtained simulation results agree well with those by the analytical approach, demonstrating its effectiveness.

Abstract Background This study provides a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials, which examined the effect of the selenium supplementation on polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Methods Confirmed studies related to selenium supplementation and PCOS were searched from the databases of EMBASE, PubMed and Web of Science. Data were reported as weighted mean difference (WMD) or standard mean difference (SMD) and associated 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Analysis was performed with Stata version 12.0. Results A total of 389 cases (selenium group n = 195, control group n = 194) were included in this studies. This meta-analysis showed that selenium supplementation has a positive effect on TAC, and supplementation of selenium does not significantly improve the level of BMI, Weight, LDL, HDL, Triglycerides, Total Testosterone, HOMA-IR, NO, GSH, MDA and FPG. Conclusion Although selenium can improve TAC in PCOS patients, it has no significant effect on BMI, Total Testosterone, et al. In terms of the results of this meta-analysis, it is not recommended for patients with PCOS to use selenium as a regular trace element supplement. Based on the improving effect of selenium on TAC, supplementation of selenium may have a positive effect on improving follicle quality for some PCOS patients who have poor follicle quality caused by oxidative stress or who want to undergo IVF.

Abstract In the analysis of single-cell RNA-sequencing (scRNA-seq) data, how to effectively and accurately identify cell clusters from a large number of cell mixtures is still a challenge. Low-rank representation (LRR) method has achieved excellent results in subspace clustering. But in previous studies, most LRR-based methods usually choose the original data matrix as the dictionary. In addition, the methods based on LRR usually use spectral clustering algorithm to complete cell clustering. Therefore, there is a matching problem between the spectral clustering method and the affinity matrix, which is difficult to ensure the optimal effect of clustering. Considering the above two points, we propose the DLNLRR method to better identify the cell type. First, DLNLRR can update the dictionary during the optimization process instead of using the predefined fixed dictionary, so it can realize dictionary learning and LRR learning at the same time. Second, DLNLRR can realize subspace clustering without relying on spectral clustering algorithm, that is, we can perform clustering directly based on the low-rank matrix. Finally, we carry out a large number of experiments on real single-cell datasets and experimental results show that DLNLRR is superior to other scRNA-seq data analysis algorithms in cell type identification.

Abstract Background In reports of adverse reactions following vaccination with the coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19) vaccines, there have been fewer reports of concern for menstrual disorders in female. Objective Our study employed Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) to investigate and analyze the relationship between COVID-19 Vaccines and menstrual disorders in female. Methods We collected reports of menstrual disorders in VAERS from July 2, 1990 to November 12, 2021, and performed a stratified analysis. The potential relationship between COVID-19 vaccine and reports of menstrual disorders was evaluated using the Reporting Odds Ratio (ROR) method. Results A total of 14,431 reports of menstrual disorders were included in the study, and 13,118 were associated with COVID-19 vaccine. The ROR was 7.83 (95% confidence interval [95%CI]: 7.39–8.28). The most commonly reported event was Menstruation irregular (4998 reports), and a higher percentage of female aged 30–49 years reported menstrual disorders (42.55%) after exposure to COVID-19 Vaccines. Both for all reports of menstrual disorders (ROR = 5.82; 95%CI: 4.93–6.95) and excluding reports of unknown age (ROR = 13.02; 95%CI: 10.89–15.56),suggest that female age may be associated with menstrual disorders after vaccination with the COVID-19 Vaccines. Conclusion There is a potential safety signal when the COVID-19 vaccine is administered to young adult female (30–49 years old), resulting in menstrual disorders in. However, due to the well-known limitations of spontaneous reporting data, it is challenging to explicity classify menstrual disorders as an adverse event of the COVID-19 Vaccines, and reports of adverse reactions to COVID-19 Vaccines in this age group should continue to be tracked.

Abstract Endometriosis is a common gynecological disease, and its underlying mechanisms remain elusive. Patients are at a higher risk of recurrence after surgery or drug withdrawal. In this study, to identify a potentially effective and safe therapy for endometriosis, we screened potential target genes of kaempferol on endometriosis using network pharmacology and further validation. Network pharmacology showed kaempferol may suppress migratory and invasive properties by modulating the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) pathway and its downstream target matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)9. Furthermore, in vitro experiments showed that kaempferol repressed the migration and invasion of endometrial cells, and this effect may be involved in mediating the PI3K-related genes, phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) and MMP9. Network pharmacology and in vitro experiments showed that kaempferol, repressed the implantation of endometrial cells and formation of ectopic lesions by inhibiting migration and invasion and regulating PTEN and MMP9, which may be associated with the PI3K pathway.

Biological research has demonstrated the significance of identifying miRNA–disease associations in the context of disease prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. However, the utilization of experimental approaches involving biological subjects to infer these associations is both costly and inefficient. Consequently, there is a pressing need to devise novel approaches that offer enhanced accuracy and effectiveness. Presently, the predominant methods employed for predicting disease associations rely on Graph Convolutional Network (GCN) techniques. However, the Graph Convolutional Network algorithm, which is locally aggregated, solely incorporates information from the immediate neighboring nodes of a given node at each layer. Consequently, GCN cannot simultaneously aggregate information from multiple nodes. This constraint significantly impacts the predictive efficacy of the model. To tackle this problem, we propose a novel approach, based on HyperGCN and Sørensen-Dice loss (HGSMDA), for predicting associations between miRNAs and diseases. In the initial phase, we developed multiple networks to represent the similarity between miRNAs and diseases and employed GCNs to extract information from diverse perspectives. Subsequently, we draw into HyperGCN to construct a miRNA–disease heteromorphic hypergraph using hypernodes and train GCN on the graph to aggregate information. Finally, we utilized the Sørensen-Dice loss function to evaluate the degree of similarity between the predicted outcomes and the ground truth values, thereby enabling the prediction of associations between miRNAs and diseases. In order to assess the soundness of our methodology, an extensive series of experiments was conducted employing the Human MicroRNA Disease Database (HMDD v3.2) as the dataset. The experimental outcomes unequivocally indicate that HGSMDA exhibits remarkable efficacy when compared to alternative methodologies. Furthermore, the predictive capacity of HGSMDA was corroborated through a case study focused on colon cancer. These findings strongly imply that HGSMDA represents a dependable and valid framework, thereby offering a novel avenue for investigating the intricate association between miRNAs and diseases.

In this paper, we suggest a modification for the residual power series method that is used to solve fractional-order Helmholtz equations, which is called the Shehu-transform residual power series method (ST-RPSM). This scheme uses a combination of the Shehu transform (ST) and the residual power series method (RPSM). The fractional derivatives are taken with respect to Caputo order. The novelty of this approach is that it does not restrict the fractional order and reduces the need for heavy computational work. The results were obtained using an iterative series that led to an exact solution. The 3D graphical plots for different values of fractional orders are shown to compare ST-RPSM results with exact solutions.

Abstract To better understand the molecular mechanisms of intracranial aneurysm (IA) pathogenesis, we used gene coexpression networks to identify hub genes and functional pathways associated with IA onset. Two Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) datasets encompassing intracranial aneurysm tissue samples and cerebral artery control samples were included. To discover functional pathways and potential biomarkers, weighted gene coexpression network analysis was employed. Next, single-gene gene set enrichment analysis was employed to investigate the putative biological roles of the chosen genes. We also used receiver operating characteristic analysis to confirm the diagnostic results. Finally, we used a rat model to confirm the hub genes in the module of interest. The module of interest, which was designated the green module and included 115 hub genes, was the key module that was most strongly and negatively associated with IA formation. According to gene set variation analysis results, 15 immune-related pathways were significantly activated in the IA group, whereas 7 metabolic pathways were suppressed. In two GEO datasets, SLC2A12 could distinguish IAs from control samples. Twenty-nine hub genes in the green module might be biomarkers for the occurrence of cerebral aneurysms. SLC2A12 expression was significantly downregulated in both human and rat IA tissue. In the present study, we identified 115 hub genes related to the pathogenesis of IA onset and deduced their potential roles in various molecular pathways; this new information may contribute to the diagnosis and treatment of IAs. By external validation, the SLC2A12 gene may play an important role. The molecular function of SLC2A12 in the process of IA occurrence can be further studied in a rat model.

Abstract Aims This study intends to explore whether, or to what extent, the estimated remnant-like particle cholesterol was associated with coronary collateralization in patients with chronic total occlusion lesions. Methods 792 patients with at least one coronary chronic total occlusion lesion were enrolled. Serum level of lipid profiles were determined and the estimated remnant-like particle cholesterol was calculated. The development of coronary collateralization was graded as low (Rentrop score 0–1) or high (Rentrop score 2–3) collateralization according to the Rentrop classification system and then the association between the estimated remnant-like particle cholesterol and collateralization was assessed. Results 222 participants were classified into low collateralization group. The estimated remnant-like particle cholesterol level was significantly higher in low collateralization (P

From the previous work, when solving the LQ optimal control problem with random coefficients (SLQ, for short), it is remarkably shown that the solution of the backward stochastic Riccati equations is not regular enough to guarantee the robustness of the feedback control. As a generalization of SLQ, interesting questions are, “how about the situation in the differential game?”, “will the same phenomenon appear in SLQ?”. This paper will provide the answers. In this paper, we consider a closed-loop two-person zero-sum LQ stochastic differential game with random coefficients (SDG, for short) and generalize the results of Lü–Wang–Zhang into the stochastic differential game case. Under some regularity assumptions, we establish the equivalence between the existence of the robust optimal feedback control strategy operators and the solvability of the corresponding backward stochastic Riccati equations, which leads to the existence of the closed-loop saddle points. On the other hand, the problem is not closed-loop solvable if the solution of the corresponding backward stochastic Riccati equations does not have the needed regularity.

Wave problem arises in various phenomena of science and engineering. This study proposes an efficient and appropriate scheme to produce the approximate solutions of multidimensional problems arising in wave propagation. We use a new iterative strategy (NIS) to minimize the computational cost and less time than other approaches studied in the literature. Since the variational iteration method (VIM) has some assumptions and restrictions of variables during the construction of the recurrence relation, we present a Sawi integral transform for the construction of the recurrence to overcome this difficulty. The series solution for this recurrence relation is determined using the homotopy perturbation strategy (HPS) in the form of convergence that provides the precise solution after a few iterations. This NIS does not require any discretization in the findings of results and derives the algebraic equations. Some numerical models and graphical representations are illustrated to verify the performance of this scheme.

In the current analysis, we developed a significant approach for deriving the approximate solution of the Newell-Whitehead-Segel model with Caputo derivatives. This scheme is developed based on Sumudu transform and the residual power series method (RPSM) that generates the solution in the form of a series. First, we apply the Sumudu transform to decompose the fractional order and obtain a recurrence relation. Secondly, we utilize the RPSM to the recalescence relation and then we can derive the series solution with successive iterations using the initial conditions. We observe that this approach demonstrates a high accuracy and validity to the proposed fractional model. In our developed scheme, we do not face any huge calculation and restriction of elements that diverse the significance of the results. In addition, we display 2D and 3D graphical visuals to show the physical nature of the fractional model.

Abstract Background Recent studies have substantiated the role of the triglyceride glucose (TyG) index in predicting the prognosis of coronary artery disease (CAD) patients, while no relevant studies have revealed the association between the TyG index and coronary collateralization in the event of coronary chronic total occlusion (CTO). The current study intends to explore whether, or to what extent, the TyG index is associated with impaired collateralization in CAD patients with CTO lesions. Methods The study enrolled 1093 CAD patients undergoing cardiac catheterization for at least one CTO lesion. Data were collected from the Beijing Anzhen Hospital record system. The degree of collaterals was determined according to the Rentrop classification system. The correlation between the TyG index and coronary collateralization was assessed. Results Overall, 318 patients were included in a less developed collateralization (Rentrop classification 0-1) group. The TyG index was significantly higher in patients with impaired collateralization (9.3±0.65 vs. 8.8±0.53, P

Based on the symbiotic organisms search (SOS) optimization algorithm, a robust strain gradient (SG) continuum model has been proposed to accurately capture the broadband dispersion relations of one-dimensional acoustic metamaterials. Under the continuous assumption, an unavoidable key step is the Taylor expansion of displacements, which directly influences the accuracy of the corresponding continuum theory. When the wavelength becomes comparable to the periodic characteristic size, the coefficients of Taylor expansions need necessary adjustments due to the discreteness of the microstructure. Thus, the continuum theories still face critical challenges in predicting the broadband dispersion feature. This remains widely open so far. In this study, we attempt to adopt the SOS optimization to determine the optimal Taylor expansion coefficients to guarantee the dispersion diagrams causing the minimal error throughout the first Brillouin zone. The robustness of the SOS-based SG continuum model is demonstrated with three benchmark examples, i.e., the monoatomic, diatomic, and mass-in-mass lattices. Such an attempt of constructing continuum models with the help of optimization tools may shed some new light on continuum mechanics of structure media.

PurposeAs depression in patients with pelvic inflammatory diseases (PID) has received increasing attention in recent years, this study aims to investigate the relationship between depression severity and risk factors for pelvic inflammatory disease, and to provide new perspectives in the treatment of PID.Patients and methodsMultivariate regression was used to evaluate the association between pelvic inflammatory disease and the severity of depression. Females who participated in the United States National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 2013 to 2018 were included. In addition, risk factors for PID and depression were also included in the analysis as adjustment factors.ResultsThe risk of developing PID was associated with depressive status (odds ratio, OR 1.10, 95% confidence interval, CI 1.08–1.12), especially in people with severe depression (odds ratio, OR 6.34, 95% confidence interval, CI 3.72–10.79). Subgroup analysis showed differences in the risk of PID among people with different characteristics.ConclusionThis study showed that there may be a potential positive association between depressive status and the prevalence of PID in the United States adult female population. Depression should be actively looked for in all patients with PID and treated appropriately

Giant pandas are the flagship species in world conservation. Due to bamboo being the primary food source for giant pandas, dental wear is common owing to the extreme toughness of the bamboo fiber. Even though research on tooth enamel wear in humans and domestic animals is well-established, research on tooth enamel wear in giant pandas is scarce. The purpose of this study is to evaluate tooth enamel wear resistance in giant pandas to provide a basis for a better understanding of their evolutionary process. From microscopic and macroscopic perspectives, the abrasion resistance of dental enamel in giant pandas is compared with that of herbivorous cattle and carnivorous dogs in this study. This involves the use of micro-scratch and frictional wear tests. The results show that the boundary between the enamel prism and the enamel prism stroma is well-defined in panda and canine teeth, while bovine tooth enamel appears denser. Under constant load, the tribological properties of giant panda enamel are similar to those of canines and significantly different from those of bovines. Test results show that the depth of micro scratches in giant panda and canine enamel was greater than in cattle, with greater elastic recovery occurring in dogs. Scratch morphology indicates that the enamel substantive damage critical value is greater in pandas than in both dogs and cattle. The analysis suggests that giant panda enamel consists of a neatly arranged special structure that may disperse extrusion stress and absorb impact energy through a series of inelastic deformation mechanisms to cope with the wear caused by eating bamboo. In this study, the excellent wear resistance of giant panda's tooth enamel is verified by wear tests. A possible theoretical explanation of how the special structure of giant panda tooth enamel may improve its wear resistance is provided. This provides a direction for subsequent theoretical and experimental studies on giant panda tooth enamel and its biomaterials.

Low air temperature and frosting have been reported as the critical factors that greatly attenuate the efficiency and performance of the ASHP in cold regions. In order to ensure the potential prevalence of the ASHP in cold regions of China, a new ultra-low temperature ASHP unit was developed, and the field measurement was carried out in an office building where these ASHP units were installed in Shanxi Province. Results showed that a coefficient of performance (COP) of 1.83 was obtained at the ultra-low environmental temperature of −25 °C. Meanwhile, measured results indicated significant frosting suppression and improved heating performance under three typical frosting conditions. In addition, long-term measurement results revealed that the mean COP and COPsys reached up to 3.34 and 2.63, respectively, indicating a higher performance in the cold regions of China. Consequently, the corresponding CO2 emission reached 11.3 kg per year and per square meter, and the annual total cost on the unit reduced by 15.8% compared with the conventional ASHP, which meant that the total investment could be covered in the second year. The reduced CO2 emission and the annual cost implied that the ASHP unit could produce better environmental and economic benefits. Findings of this study revealed that this ultra-low temperature ASHP unit had a better performance under cold environment, which offered a possibility for the prevailing of the ASHP in cold or extremely cold regions, as well as could contribute to the carbon peaking and neutralization.

BackgroundSacubitril-valsartan was recommended for heart failure (HF) and proven cost-effective in HF. Recently, sacubitril-valsartan has been recommended to treat hypertension by the Chinese expert consensus. The cost utility of sacubitril-valsartan for hypertension remains uninvestigated.MethodsA meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) was performed to investigate the real efficacy of sacubitril-valsartan on blood pressure, compared with angiotensin receptor blockers or placebo. A lifetime Markov model was developed to compare the cost utility of sacubitril-valsartan vs. valsartan. The primary outcome was the incremental cost-utility ratio (ICUR), representing the ratio of incremental costs to the incremental utility. The willingness-to-pay (WTP) threshold was three times of per capita gross domestic product (GDP) in China in 2021. Sacubitril-valsartan was considered cost-effective if the ICUR obtained was lower than the WTP threshold, otherwise, sacubitril-valsartanis was not cost-effective.ResultsA total of 10 RCTs of 5,781 patients were included in the meta-analysis. For comparison of sacubitril-valsartan 400 mg/day vs. valsartan 320 mg/day, a reduction in blood pressure (BP) of −5.97 (−6.38, −5.56) (p < 0.01) was observed. Cost-utility analysis showed that for a 60-year-old patient with hypertension, if sacubitril-valsartan was prescribed as the antihypertensive agent, he had a life expectancy of 11.91 quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) with costs of 65,066 CNY, and if valsartan was prescribed as the antihypertensive agent, the life expectancy would be 11.82 QALY with costs of 54,769 CNY; thus, an ICUR of 108,622 CNY/QALY was obtained, lower than the WTP threshold.ConclusionCompared with valsartan, sacubitril-valsartan is more effective in reducing blood pressure and may result in more quality-adjusted life-year, although with higher costs. Sacubitril-valsartan is cost-effective for hypertension in the current China setting under the willingness-to-pay threshold of 3 times of per capita GDP.

Objective Osteochondral decellularization can promote local vascular regeneration, but the exact mechanism is unknown. The aim of this study is to study osteogenic microvascular regeneration in single cells. Methods The scRNA-seq dataset of human periosteal-derived cells (hPDCs) were analyzed by pySCENIC. To examine the role of TBX3 in osteogenesis and vascularization, cell transfection, qRT-PCR, western blot, and CCK-8 cell proliferation assays were performed. Results TCF7L2, TBX3, FLI1, NFKB2, and EZH2 were found to be transcription factors (TFs) most closely associated with corresponding cells. The regulatory network of these TFs was then visualized. Our study knocked down the expression of TBX3 in human osteoblast cell lines. In the TBX3 knockdown group, we observed decreased expression of VEGFA, VEGFB, and VEGFC. Moreover, Western blot analysis showed that downregulating TBX3 resulted in a reduction of VEGFA expression. And TBX3 stimulated osteoblast proliferation in CCK-8 assays. Conclusion TBX3 regulates VEGFA expression and promotes osteoblast proliferation in skeletal microvasculature formation. The findings provide a theoretical basis for investigating the role of TBX3 in promoting local vascular regeneration.

Planar lattice metamaterials, such as periodic beam networks, are often considered as the micropolar continuum, where each material point has two translational degrees of freedom and one rotational degree of freedom. The joints through which bars are linked to one another are generally approximated as rigid. This study focuses on lattices with complex-structured deformable joints. The deformation field in each joint is obtained by conducting structural analyses. Once the “stiffness matrix” of the joint-centered unit cell is obtained by the finite element method, it can be used as the input for the standard procedure of calculating micropolar elastic moduli that are based on the equivalence of strain energy. As a result, effective moduli can be expressed in a semi-analytical form, meaning that only the cell structural stiffness is given numerically. The present model is validated by comparison to the FEM simulations. Particularly, the auxetic and anisotropic properties are discussed for various lattice metamaterials with deformable joints. We then take the obtained effective moduli as inputs to the in-house micropolar FEM code and obtain results agreeing well with the FEM structural simulations.

Abstract Background To date, CRISPR/Cas9 RNP editing tools have not been applied to the genetic modification of banana. Here, the establishment of a PEG-mediated banana protoplast transformation system makes it possible to build an efficient DNA-free method for a site-directed mutagenesis system. Results Protoplasts constitute a versatile platform for transient expression in plant science. In this study, we established a PEG-mediated banana protoplast transformation system. This system was further optimized for successfully delivering CRISPR/Cas9 and CRISPR/Cas12a plasmids and CRISPR/Cas9 ribonucleoproteins (RNPs) for targeted delivery of the PDS gene into banana protoplasts. Specific bands were observed in PCR-Restriction Enzyme Digestion (PCR-RE) assays, and Sanger sequencing of single clones further confirmed the occurrence of indels at target sites. Deep amplicon sequencing results showed that the editing efficiency of the CRISPR/Cas9 system was higher than that of the other two systems. Conclusions The PEG-mediated banana protoplast transformation system can serve as a rapid and effective tool for transient expression assays and sgRNA validation in banana. The application of the CRISPR/Cas9 RNP system enables the generation of banana plants engineered by DNA-free gene editing.

Abstract Background Previous studies have investigated the relationship of the triglyceride glucose (TyG) index with the incidence of cardiovascular events. However, to date, there have been no studies comparing the predictive values of fasting plasma glucose (FPG), glycosylated hemoglobin A (HbA1C) and the TyG index for the risk of cardiovascular events. This study aimed to use discordance analysis to evaluate and compare the effectiveness of FPG, HbA1C and the TyG index to predict the risk of cardiovascular events. Methods Patients diagnosed with acute coronary disease (ACS) undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) were enrolled in this study. The TyG index was computed using the following formula: ln [fasting triglycerides (mg/dL) × FPG (mg/dL)/2]. We categorized patients into 4 concordance/discordance groups. Discordance was defined as a TyG index equal to or greater than the median and an FPG or HbA1C less than the median, or vice versa. The primary outcome was the composite of death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, nonfatal stroke and unplanned repeat revascularization. A Cox proportional hazards regression model was performed to estimate the risk of cardiovascular events according to the concordance/discordance groups. Sensitivity analysis was performed on each patient group divided into high or low categories for HbA1C or FPG and were repeated according to diabetes status. Results In total, 9285 patients were included in the final statistical analysis (male: 75.3%, age: 59.9 ± 10.05 years, BMI: 26.2 ± 9.21 kg/m2, diabetes: 43.9% and dyslipidemia: 76.8%). The medians defining concordance/discordance were 6.19 mmol/L for FPG, 6.1% for HbA1C and 8.92 for the TyG index. The TyG index was strongly related to triglycerides and HDL-C (r = 0.881 and -0.323, respectively; both P

In this paper, we investigate the numerical solution of the coupled fractional massive Thirring equation with the aid of He’s fractional complex transform (FCT). This study plays a significant aspect in the field of quantum physics, weakly nonlinear thrilling waves, and nonlinear optics. The main advantage of FCT is that it converts the fractional differential equation into its traditional parts and is also capable to handle the fractional order, whereas the homotopy perturbation method (HPM) is employed to tackle the nonlinear terms in the coupled fractional massive Thirring equation. An example is illustrated to present the efficiency and validity of the two-scale theory. The solutions are obtained in the form of series with simple and easy computations which confirm that the present approach is good in agreement and is easy to implement for such type of complex systems in science and engineering.

Backgrounds: Omentin-1 is a novel cytokine that is primarily released by the epicardial adipose tissue. Molecular structure analysis revealed that it contained a fibrinogen-like domain. Clinical studies have demonstrated that the expression of omentin-1 is tightly associated with the development of cardiovascular diseases, but the receptor by which omentin-1 modulates macrophage function has not been identified yet.Objective: This study sought to investigate the effect of omentin-1 on already-established atherosclerosis (AS) lesions in both ApoE−/− and Ldlr−/− mice and further, study its underlying mechanisms.Methods and Results: We investigated the effect of omentin-1 on the plaque phenotype by implanting a minipump in ApoE−/− and Ldlr−/− mice. In vivo studies showed that the infusion of omentin-1 increased the collagen content and mitigated the formation of the necrotic core in both animal models. Immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence analysis revealed that omentin-1 suppressed inflammatory cytokines expression, macrophage infiltration, and apoptosis within the plaque. An immunoprecipitation experiment and confocal microscopy analysis confirmed the binding of omentin-1 to the integrin receptors αvβ3 and αvβ5. The cell studies demonstrated that omentin-1 suppressed the apoptosis and inflammatory cytokines expression induced by the oxidized low-density lipoprotein in the macrophage. In addition, omentin-1 promoted the phosphorylation of the integrin-relevant signaling pathway as well as the Akt and AMPK in the macrophage. The addition of the inhibitor of the integrin receptor or interfering with the expression of the integrin subunit αv (ITGAV) both significantly abrogated the bioeffects induced by omentin-1. A flow cytometry analysis indicated that the antibodies against αvβ3 and αvβ5 had a competitive effect on the omentin-1 binding to the cell membrane.Conclusions: The administration of adipokine omentin-1 can inhibit the necrotic cores formation and pro-inflammatory cytokines expression within the AS lesion. The mechanisms may include the suppression of apoptosis and pro-inflammatory cytokines expression in the macrophage by binding to the integrin receptors αvβ3 and αvβ5.

Electroencephalography (EEG) records the electrical activity of the brain, which is an important tool for the automatic detection of epileptic seizures. It is certainly a very heavy burden to only recognize EEG epilepsy manually, so the method of computer-assisted treatment is of great importance. This paper presents a seizure detection algorithm based on variational modal decomposition (VMD) and a deep forest (DF) model. Variational modal decomposition is performed on EEG recordings, and the first three variational modal functions (VMFs) are selected to construct the time–frequency distribution of the EEG signals. Then, the log−Euclidean covariance matrix (LECM) is computed to represent the EEG properties and form EEG features. The deep forest model is applied to complete the EEG signal classification, which is a non-neural network deep model with a cascade structure that performs feature learning through the forest. In addition, to improve the classification accuracy, postprocessing techniques are performed to generate the discriminant results by moving average filtering and adaptive collar expansion. The algorithm was evaluated on the Bonn EEG dataset and the Freiburg long−term EEG dataset, and the former achieved a sensitivity and specificity of 99.32% and 99.31%, respectively. The mean sensitivity and specificity of this method for the 21 patients in the Freiburg dataset were 95.2% and 98.56%, respectively, with a false detection rate of 0.36/h. These results demonstrate the superior performance advantage of our algorithm and indicate its great research potential in epilepsy detection.

Background: Accumulating evidence demonstrates that perivascular adipose tissue (PVAT) plays an important role in maintaining vascular homeostasis. The formation of macrophage foam cells is a central feature of atherosclerosis. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of PVAT-derived exosomes (EXOs) on the lipid accumulation of macrophages and verify the anti-atherogenic characteristics of PVAT.Methods and Results: We extracted EXOs from the PVAT and subcutaneous adipose tissue (SCAT) of wild-type C57BL/6J mice. After coincubation, the EXOs were taken up by RAW264.7 cells. Oil Red O staining revealed that macrophage foam cell formation and intracellular lipid accumulation were ameliorated by PVAT-EXOs. Flow cytometry showed that PVAT-EXOs significantly reduced macrophage uptake of fluorescence-labelled oxidised low-density lipoprotein (ox-LDL). In addition, high-density lipoprotein-induced cholesterol efflux was promoted by PVAT-EXOs. Western blot analysis showed the downregulation of macrophage scavenger receptor A and the upregulation of ATP-binding cassette transporter A1 and ATP-binding cassette transporter G1, which could be mediated by the overexpression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ and was independent of liver X receptor α.Conclusion: Our findings suggest that PVAT-EXOs reduce macrophage foam cell formation by regulating the expression of cholesterol transport proteins, which provides a novel mechanism by which PVAT protects the vasculature from atherosclerosis.

Abstract Background King Vision and McGrath MAC video laryngoscopes (VLs) are increasingly used. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the performance of nasotracheal intubation in patients with predicted difficult intubations using non-channeled King Vision VL, McGrath MAC VL or Macintosh laryngoscope by experienced intubators. Methods Ninety nine ASA I or II adult patients, scheduled for oral maxillofacial surgeries with El-Ganzouri risk index 1–7 were enrolled. Patients were randomly allocated to intubate with one of three laryngoscopes (non-channeled King Vision, McGrath MAC and Macintosh). The intubators were experienced with more than 100 successful nasotracheal intubations using each device. The primary outcome was intubation time. The secondary outcomes included first success rate, time required for viewing the glottis, Cormack-Lehane grade of glottis view, the number of assist maneuvers, hemodynamic responses, the subjective evaluating of sensations of performances and associated complications. Results The intubation time of King Vision and McGrath group was comparable (37.6 ± 7.3 s vs. 35.4 ± 8.8 s) and both were shorter than Macintosh group (46.8 ± 10.4 s, p

Abstract Background Recent studies have indicated that monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) plays an important role in the initiation and progression of ischaemic heart disease. However, no previous research has investigated the correlation between serum MCP-1 levels and early changes in myocardial function in patients with ST-segmental elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) after primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Methods A total of 87 STEMI patients who had undergone a successful primary PCI were consecutively recruited. All the patients included in this study were grouped into two subgroups according to the median value of MCP-1 upon admission. An early change in left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) was defined as (LVEF at 3 months post-STEMI)-(LVEF at 2 days post-STEMI). Results Serum MCP-1 levels increased gradually over time during the first 72 h after the onset of STEMI. The concentration of hypersensitive cardiac troponin I (hs-cTnI) upon admission as well as at 24 h and 72 h after primary PCI, especially the peak hs-cTnI concentration, declined significantly in the low admission MCP-1 group. As continuous variable, admission MCP-1 also correlated positively with admission hs-cTnI, hs-cTnI at 24 h after primary PCI, and peak hs-cTnI. Additionally, the absolute early change in LVEF improved markedly in the low admission MCP-1 group (3.77% ± 6.05% vs − 0.18% ± 7.69%, p = 0.009) compared to that in the high admission MCP-1 group. Most importantly, the global LVEF in the low admission MCP-1 group also improved significantly at 3 months compared to baseline LVEF (55.79% ± 7.05% vs 59.60% ± 6.51%, p = 0.011), while an improvement in global LVEF was not observed in the high admission MCP-1 group. Furthermore, as a continuous variable, the MCP-1 level up admission also correlated negatively with early changes in LVEF (r = − 0.391, p = 0.001). After assessment by multiple linear regression analysis, the MCP-1 level upon admission remained correlated with early changes in LVEF [beta = − 0.089, 95% CI (− 0.163 to − 0.015), p = 0.020]. Conclusion MCP-1 upon admission not only correlated positively with hs-cTnI at different time points and peak hs-cTnI, but also associated inversely with early improvements in myocardial function in patients with first STEMI. So we speculated that suppression the expression of MCP-1 via various ways may be a promising therapeutic target in myocardial I/R injury in the future.

This study develops a numerical strategy for finding the approximate solution of the nonlinear foam drainage (NFD) equation with a time-fractional derivative. In this paper, we formulate the idea of the Laplace homotopy perturbation transform method (LHPTM) using Laplace transform and the homotopy perturbation method. This approach is free from the heavy calculation of integration and the convolution theorem for the recurrence relation and obtains the solution in the form of a series. Two-dimensional and three-dimensional graphical models are described at various fractional orders. This paper puts forward a practical application to indicate the performance of the proposed method and reveals that all the outputs are in excellent agreement with the exact solutions.

Objectives: Lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] has been thought as an independent risk factor for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). The Global Registry of Acute Coronary Events (GRACE) score is used to predict the risk of death or death/non-fatal myocardial infarction in patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS). It suggests that there may be a synergism between Lp(a) and the GRACE risk score on predicting cardiovascular events. Accordingly, this study aimed to test the hypothesis that Lp(a)-related cardiovascular risk could be significantly modulated by the GRACE risk score in patients with ACS undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).Methods: Patients hospitalized with ACS undergoing PCI were enrolled and followed up for 18 months. The primary outcome was the composite of death, non-fatal myocardial infarction, non-fatal stroke, and unplanned repeat revascularization. A Cox proportional hazard regression model was used to determine the relationship between Lp(a) and cardiovascular events.Results: A total of 6,309 patients were included (age: 60.1 ± 10.06 years, male: 75.2%, BMI: 26.2 ± 10.57 kg/m2). A total of 310 (4.9%) cardiovascular events occurred. When the overall population was stratified by a GRACE score of 91 or less vs. more than 91 and by tertiles of Lp(a), higher Lp(a) was significantly associated with cardiovascular events only when the GRACE score was

Perivascular adipose tissue (PVAT) has been identified to have significant endocrine and paracrine functions, such as releasing bioactive adipokines, cytokines, and chemokines, rather than a non-physiological structural tissue. Considering the contiguity with the vascular wall, PVAT could play a crucial role in the pathogenic microenvironment of atherosclerosis. Growing clinical evidence has shown an association between PVAT and atherosclerosis. Moreover, based on computed tomography, the fat attenuation index of PVAT was verified as an indication of vulnerable atherosclerotic plaques. Under pathological conditions, such as obesity and diabetes, PVAT shows a proatherogenic phenotype by increasing the release of factors that induce endothelial dysfunction and inflammatory cell infiltration, thus contributing to atherosclerosis. Growing animal and human studies have investigated the mechanism of the above process, which has yet to be fully elucidated. Furthermore, traditional treatments for atherosclerosis have been proven to act on PVAT, and we found several studies focused on novel drugs that target PVAT for the prevention of atherosclerosis. Emerging as an indication, contributor to, and therapeutic target for atherosclerosis, PVAT warrants further investigation.

Background and Aims: Epicardial adipose tissue, exosomes, and miRNAs have important activities in atherosclerosis. The purpose of this study was to establish miRNA expression profiles of epicardial adipose tissue-derived exosomes in patients with coronary atherosclerosis. Methods: Biopsies of epicardial adipose tissue were obtained from patients with and without coronary artery disease (CAD, n = 12 and NCAD, n = 12) during elective open-heart surgeries. Tissue was incubated with DMEM-F12 for 24 hours. Exosomes were isolated, then nanoparticle tracking analysis, transmission electron microscopy, and immunoblotting were performed to confirm the existence of exosomes. Total RNA in exosomes was subjected to high-throughput sequencing to identify differentially expressed miRNAs. MicroRNA target gene prediction was performed, and target genes were analyzed by Gene Ontology (GO), the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG), and mirPath to identify function. Reverse transcription quantitative PCR was performed to confirm the differentially expressed miRNAs. Results: Fifty-three unique miRNAs were identified (adjusted p < 0.05, fold of change >2), among which 32 miRNAs were upregulated and 21 miRNAs were downregulated in coronary artery disease patients. Reverse transcription quantitative PCR validated the results for seven miRNAs including miR-141-3p, miR-183-5p, miR-200a-5p, miR-205-5p, miR-429, miR-382-5p and miR-485-3p, with the last two downregulated. GO and KEGG analysis by mirPath indicated that these differentially expressed miRNAs were enriched in cell survival, apoptosis, proliferation, and differentiation. Conclusions: Coronary artery disease patients showed differential epicardial adipose tissue exosomal miRNA expression compared with patients without coronary artery disease. The results provide clues for further studies of mechanisms of atherosclerosis.

We have investigated the influences of high-frequency vibration (HFV) superimposed onto the monotonic uniaxial tension in single-crystal aluminum (Al) specimens by molecular dynamics simulations. It was found that HFV induces softening, i.e., reduction in peak stress. Similar to previous experimental results, the softening increases with the increasing HFV amplitude. Dependences on lattice orientation, tensile strain rate, and a preset notch are considered. Lattice orientation plays an important role in peak stress and plasticity. The evolution of the atomic structure reveals that dislocations have enough time to annihilate under a lower tensile strain rate, resulting in strong ups and downs in the strain–stress curves. Under a higher strain rate, newly appearing dislocations interact with previous ones before the latter annihilate, densifying the dislocation network. As a result, further dislocation motions and annihilations are considerably impeded, leading to a relatively smooth flow stage. Furthermore, by modifying the propagation direction of shear bands, a preset notch can strengthen the peak tensile stress under low-level amplitude HFVs.

The algebras of the symmetry operators for the Klein–Gordon equation are important for a charged test particle, moving in an external electromagnetic field in a space time manifold on the isotropic hydrosulphate. In this paper, we develop an analytical and numerical approach for providing the solution to a class of linear and nonlinear fractional Klein–Gordon equations arising in classical relativistic and quantum mechanics. We study the Yang homotopy perturbation transform method (YHPTM), which is associated with the Yang transform (YT) and the homotopy perturbation method (HPM), where the fractional derivative is taken in a Caputo–Fabrizio (CF) sense. This technique provides the solution very accurately and efficiently in the form of a series with easily computable coefficients. The behavior of the approximate series solution for different fractional-order ℘ values has been shown graphically. Our numerical investigations indicate that YHPTM is a simple and powerful mathematical tool to deal with the complexity of such problems.

Abstract Background Noninvasive prenatal testing (NIPT) is commonly used to screen for fetal genetic abnormalities. However, the ability of NIPT to detect copy number variations (CNVs) has not been reported. Accordingly, in this study, we analyzed the efficiency of NIPT for the detection of fetal autosomal CNVs. Methods Patients who were positive for autosomal CNVs by NIPT and underwent diagnostic studies by karyotype analysis and chromosomal microarray (CMA) were evaluated. Samples were divided into groups according to age, in vitro fertilization, fetal‐free DNA concentration, uniquely mapped reads number, CNV size, and CNV type. Results Chromosomal microarray showed that the positive predictive value (PPV) of autosomal CNVs detected by NIPT was 14.89%. Increasing fetal DNA concentrations and uniquely mapped read numbers did not affect the PPV of CNVs detected by NIPT. There were no differences between microduplication and microdeletion PPVs detected by NIPT. The PPV of CNVs less than 10 Mb was significantly higher than that of CNVs greater than 10 Mb detected by NIPT. Conclusion The accuracy of NIPT for autosomal CNVs needs to be improved.

As an important approach to cancer classification, cancer sample clustering is of particular importance for cancer research. For high dimensional gene expression data, examining approaches to selecting characteristic genes with high identification for cancer sample clustering is an important research area in the bioinformatics field. In this paper, we propose a novel integrated framework for cancer clustering known as the non-negative symmetric low-rank representation with graph regularization based on score function (NSLRG-S). First, a lowest rank matrix is obtained after NSLRG decomposition. The lowest rank matrix preserves the local data manifold information and the global data structure information of the gene expression data. Second, we construct the Score function based on the lowest rank matrix to weight all of the features of the gene expression data and calculate the score of each feature. Third, we rank the features according to their scores and select the feature genes for cancer sample clustering. Finally, based on selected feature genes, we use the K-means method to cluster the cancer samples. The experiments are conducted on The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) data. Comparative experiments demonstrate that the NSLRG-S framework can significantly improve the clustering performance.