Curcumin inhibits propofol-induced autophagy of MN9D cells via Akt/mTOR/p70S6K signaling pathway.

The rapid rise in propofol dependency and abuse has highlighted limited resources for addressing substance abuse-related cognitive impairment, prompting the development of novel therapies. Dysregulated autophagy flow accelerates neuronal cell death, and interventions countering this dysregulation offer an appealing strategy for neuronal protection. Curcumin, a potent natural polyphenol derived from turmeric rhizomes, is renowned for its robust antineurotoxic properties and enhanced cognitive function. Utilizing CCK-8 and Ki67 fluorescent staining, our study revealed that curcumin treatment increased cell viability and proliferative potential in MN9D cells exposed to propofol-induced neurotoxicity. Furthermore, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and western blot analysis demonstrated the partial restoration of dopamine synthesis, secretion levels, and TH expression in damaged MN9D cells treated with curcumin. Scanning electrode microscope images displayed reduced autolysosomes and phagosomes in curcumin-treated cells compared to the propofol group. Immunoblotting revealed that curcumin mitigated the degradation of LC3I to LC3II and p62 induced by propofol stimulation, with green fluorescence expression of LC3 postcurcumin treatment resembling that following autophagy inhibitor HCQ treatment, indicating that modulating autophagy flow can alleviate propofol's toxic effects. Moreover, curcumin treatment upregulated the Akt/mTOR/p70S6K signaling pathway, suggesting that curcumin potentially curtails autophagy dysregulation in nerve cells by activating Akt/mTOR/p70S6K. In conclusion, our findings suggest that curcumin can ameliorate propofol abuse-induced neurotoxicity, partially through autophagy regulation and Akt/mTOR/p70S6K signaling activation.

Spatiotemporal variations and its driving factors of NDVI in Northwest China during 2000-2021.

Northwest China (WTL) is an essential ecological barrier zone of China, an important node of the "Silk Road Economic Belt," and a crucial bearing area for China's execution of the "One Road and One Belt" and "Going Global" strategies. However, its ecology is exceedingly fragile and particularly vulnerable to climate change and human interference. This study explored the spatiotemporal evolution characteristics of vegetation in WTL using NDVI data and investigated its drive mechanisms by geodetector, partial correlation analysis, and residual trend analysis methods. As well as forecasting the trend for vegetation changes. The findings demonstrated that (1) the change in NDVI manifested an overall improvement trend and the distribution in space of NDVI rose from the center to the periphery. 57.07% of the area had a sparse cover of vegetation (NDVI between 0 and 0.2). In addition, about 49% of regions had deterioration tendencies, which were mainly aggregated in HX, QCXDB, QCXDN, and the eastern of QCXQN and QCXXB. (2) The NDVI's shifting trend was unsustainability, and the region of uncertain future accounted for 57.45% of the total, with apparent unsustainability features. (3) The key parameters influencing NDVI spatial distribution were Pre (precipitation), vegetation type, land use type, and soil type. The interaction between two factors enhanced the influence of any single element, which appeared as bivariate and nonlinear enhancements. (4) Both climate variations and human activities have been recognized as key variables affecting NDVI growth. NDVI variance in 73.02% of areas was influenced by the combined effects of climate variations and human activities. However, human activities were the most influential element in NDVI growth, with the relative contributions of 80.28% (19.72% of which was caused by climate variations). These results can be conducive to deepening insights into the local vegetation status, identifying the mechanisms driving vegetation change, and providing scientific recommendations for WTL's ecosystem restoration measures based on actual situations.

Identification of critical effect factors for prediction of spatial and intra-annual variability of shallow groundwater nitrate in agricultural areas.

Shallow groundwater nitrate nitrogen (NO3--N) concentrations in agricultural areas usually show high spatial and intra-annual variability. It is hard to predict such concentrations due to the complexity of influencing factors (e.g., different forms of N in soil, vadose zone characteristics, and groundwater physiochemical conditions). Here, a large number of groundwater and soil samples were collected monthly over two years at 14 sites to analyze the soil and groundwater physiochemical properties and the stable isotopes of δ15N and δ18O of groundwater NO3--N in agricultural areas. Based on field observations, a random forest (RF) model was used to predict the groundwater NO3--N concentrations and reveal the importance of effect factors. The results show that there are large spatiotemporal variations in NO3--N, δ15N-NO3-, and δ18O-NO3- in groundwater. NO3--N is the major dominant specie of inorganic N in groundwater, and the groundwater NO3--N concentration in 24 % of the samples failed to meet the drinking water standard of the WHO (10 mg L-1). The RF model satisfactorily predicted groundwater NO3--N concentrations with R2 of 0.90-0.94, RMSE of 4.54-5.07, and MAE of 2.17-3.38. Groundwater nitrite and ammonium are the most important factors related to NO3--N consumption and production, respectively, in groundwater. Denitrification and nitrification were further identified by the relationships among δ15N-NO3-, δ18O-NO3-, and NO3--N, and by the ranges of δ15N-NO3-, δ18O-NO3-, temperature, pH, DO, and ORP in groundwater. Soil-soluble organic nitrogen (S-SON) and the depth of groundwater table were identified as vital factors related to N sourcing and leaching. Overall, as a first approach to adopting a RF model for high spatiotemporal-resolution prediction of groundwater NO3--N variations, the findings of this study enable a better understanding of groundwater N pollution in agricultural areas. Optimizing management of irrigation and N inputs is anticipated to reduce S-SON accumulation and mitigate the threat to groundwater quality in agricultural areas.

Neuroendocrine pathogenesis of perimenopausal depression.

With the development of social economics and the increase of working pressure, more and more women are suffering from long-term serious stress and showing symptoms of perimenopausal depression (PMD). The incidence rate of PMD is increasing, and the physical and mental health are seriously affected. However, due to the lack of accurate knowledge of pathophysiology, its diagnosis and treatment cannot be accurately executed. By consulting the relevant literature in recent years, this paper elaborates the neuroendocrine mechanism of perimenopausal depression from the aspects of epigenetic changes, monoamine neurotransmitter and receptor hypothesis, glial cell-induced neuroinflammation, estrogen receptor, interaction between HPA axis and HPG axis, and micro-organism-brain gut axis. The purpose is to probe into new ways of treatment of PMD by providing new knowledge about the neuroendocrine mechanism and treatment of PMD.

Impact assessment of urbanization on vegetation net primary productivity: A case study of the core development area in central plains urban agglomeration, China.

Rapid urbanization process has a negative or positive impact on vegetation growth. Net primary productivity (NPP) is an effective indicator to characterize vegetation growth status. Taking the core development area of the Central Plains urban agglomeration as the study area, we estimated the NPP and its change trend in the past four decades using the Carnegie-Ames-Stanford Approach (CASA) model and statistical analysis based on meteorological and multi-source remote sensing data. Meanwhile, combined with the urbanization impact framework, we further analyzed urbanization's direct and indirect impact on NPP. The results showed that the urban area increased by 2688 km2 during a high-speed urbanization process from 1983 to 2019. As a result of the intense urbanization process, a continuous NPP decrease (direct impact) can be seen, which aggravated along with the acceleration of the urban expansion, and the mean value of direct impact was 130.84 g C·m-2·a-1. Meanwhile, urbanization also had a positive impact on NPP (indirect impact). The indirect impact showed an increasing trend during urbanization with a mean value of 10.91 g C·m-2·a-1. The indirect impact was mainly related to temperature in climatic factors. The indirect impact has a seasonal heterogeneity, and high-temperature environments of urban areas are more effective in promoting vegetation growth in autumn and winter than in summer. Among different cities, high-speed development cities have higher indirect impact values than medium's and low's because of better ecological construction. This study is of great significance for understanding the impact of urbanization on vegetation growth in the Central Plains urban agglomeration area, supporting urban greening plans, and building sustainable and resilient urban agglomerations.

Spatiotemporal variation of irrigation water requirements for grain crops under climate change in Northwest China.

Clarifying the spatiotemporal variation of crop irrigation water requirement (IWR) under the background of climate change is an essential basis for water resource management, determining the irrigation quota and adjusting the planting structure. Using 61 years of climate data from 205 stations in Northwest China, this study investigated the spatiotemporal variations of climatic factors and IWR during the growth period of five main grain crops (spring wheat, winter wheat, spring maize, summer maize, and rice) and explored the dominant climatic driving factors of IWR variation. Results showed that (1) the IWR of grain crops showed distinct differences. Rice was the highest water consumption crop (mean of 753.78 mm), and summer maize was the lowest (mean of 452.90 mm). (2) The variation trends and average values of IWR of different grain crops have spatial heterogeneity across Northwest China. For most crops, high values and increasing trends of IWR were mainly located in eastern Xinjiang, western Gansu, and western Inner Mongolia. (3) Tmax (maximum temperature), Tmin (minimum temperature), and Peff (effective precipitation) showed an increasing trend during the growth period of each grain crop, while U10 (wind speed at 10 m height), SD (solar radiation), and RH (relative humidity) presented decreasing trends. (4) SD, Tmax, and U10 promoted the increase of grain crops' IWR, while Peff and RH inhibited it. The impacts of climatic factors on the grain crop IWR differed among different regions. Peff was the most influential factor to the IWR of all grain crops in most areas. Therefore, under the premise of a significant increase in T and uncertain precipitation mode in the future, it is urgent to take effective water-saving measures according to the irrigation needs of the region. To cope with the adverse impact of climate change on the sustainable development of agriculture in the northwest dry area, to ensure regional and national food security.

Value of dynamic metabolic curves and artificial neural network prediction models based on 18F-FDG PET/CT multiphase imaging in differentiating nonspecific solitary pulmonary lesions: a pilot study.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the value of dynamic metabolic curves and artificial neural network prediction models based on 18F-FDG PET multiphase imaging in differentiating nonspecific solitary pulmonary lesions. METHODS: This study enrolled 71 patients with solitary pulmonary lesions (48 malignant and 23 benign lesions) who underwent multiphase 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG)-PET/CT imaging. We recorded information on age, sex and uniformity of FDG uptake, measured standardized uptake value, metabolic tumor volume and total lesion glycolysis at various time points, and calculated individual standardized uptake values, retention index (RI) and slope of metabolic curve. Variables with high diagnostic efficiency were selected to fit dynamic metabolic curves for various lesions and establish different artificial neural network prediction models. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in the retention index, metabolic tumor volume, total lesion glycolysis or sex between benign and malignant lesions; standardized uptake values, the slopes of five metabolic curves, uniformity of FDG uptake, and age showed significant differences. Dynamic metabolic curves for various solitary pulmonary lesions exhibited characteristic findings. Model-1 was established using metabolic parameters with high diagnostic efficacy (area under the curve, 83.3%). Model-2 was constructed as Model-1 + age (area under the curve, 86.7%), whereas Model-3 was established by optimizing Model-2 (area under the curve, 86.0%). CONCLUSIONS: Dynamic metabolic curves showed varying characteristics for different lesions. Referring to these findings in clinical work may facilitate the differential diagnosis of nonspecific solitary pulmonary lesions. Establishing an artificial neural network prediction model would further improve diagnostic efficiency.

Research on Evaluation Method for Urban Water Circulation Health and Related Applications: A Case Study of Zhengzhou City, Henan Province.

The acceleration of urbanization and climate change has increasingly impacted the health level of urban dual water cycles. In order to accurately evaluate the health status of urban water cycles, the evaluation system covers four standard layers of water ecology, water abundance, water quality and water use, including 19 basic indicators such as water storage change and annual average precipitation. Three-scale AHP and EFAST algorithms are adopted to set the criterion and index layer weights. Water-cycle health assessment models are based on the improved TOPSIS model. The model evaluated Zhengzhou's water cycle health from 2011 to 2021. We compared the TOPSIS model and FCE method to ensure the scientific objectivity of the evaluation results. The evaluation results indicated that the water cycle in Zhengzhou City improved annually, and the relative progress in 2020 was 0.567 in a sub-health state. The eco-environmental water demand, green coverage rate of the built district, water resources amount, and industry's water consumption per unit of value added (CNY 10,000) were the major obstacles. These four factors have preponderantly influenced Zhengzhou City's water cycle health. Our research results provide scientific reference for Zhengzhou to achieve a healthy urban water cycle and regional sustainable development.

Correction to Dulaglutide Alleviates LPS-Induced Injury in Cardiomyocytes.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.0c06326.].

Impact of the Grain for Green Project on water resources and ecological water stress in the Yanhe River Basin.

The Grain for Green project (GGP), initialized by the Chinese government in 1999, has achieved substantial achievements accompanied by a decrease in surface runoff on the Loess Plateau, but the impacts of large-scale afforestation on regional water resources are uncertain. Hence, the objective of this study was to explore the impact of land use change on generalized water resources and ecological water stress using the blue and green water concepts, taking the Yanhe River Basin as the case study. The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) was applied to quantify the green water and blue water, which are defined as generalized water resources. The ecological water requirement of vegetation (forest and grass), agricultural water footprint and virtual water flow are considered regional water requirements. The land use types of 1980 (Scenario I) and 2017 (Scenario II) were entered into the SWAT model while keeping the other parameters constant to isolate the influence of land use changes. The results show that the average annual differences in blue, green and generalized water resources were -72.08 million m3, 24.34 million m3, and -47.74 million m3, respectively, when the simulation results of Scenario II were subtracted from those of Scenario I, which shows that land use change caused by the GGP led to a decrease in blue and generalized water resources and an increase in green water resources. Surface runoff in Scenario I was more than that in Scenario II in all of the years of the study period from 1980-2017, and green water storage in Scenario I was more than that in Scenario II in all of the years of the study period except in 1998; although lateral flow in Scenario I was less than that in Scenario II except in 2000 and 2015, as was groundwater runoff in 1992, 2000 and 2015, and green water flow in 1998. Blue water flow, green water storage and green water flow in Scenario II were less than those in Scenario I in the whole basin, 12.89 percent of the basin and 99.21 percent of the basin, respectively. The total water footprint increased from 1995 to 2010 because the forest water footprint increased significantly in this period, although the agricultural water footprint and grass water footprint decreased. The ecological water stress index values had no obvious temporal change trends in either land use scenario, but the ecological water stress index in Scenario II was greater than that in Scenario I, which illustrates that the GGP led to an increase in ecological water stress from the perspective of generalized water resources.

Primary lung invasive adenocarcinoma misdiagnosed as infectious pneumonia in 18F-FDG PET/CT:A case report.

A 64-year-old woman presented to our hospital with cough and a large amount of white foam sputum, F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (F-FDG PET/CT) showed diffuse ground-glass opacities in both lungs, which was considered as infectious pneumonia. However, after ineffective anti-infection, the primary invasive mucinous adenocarcinoma was finally diagnosed. Pulmonary invasive mucinous adenocarcinoma is rare and special subtype of lung adenocarcinoma, it has a variety of imaging manifestations. When intense tracer uptake, air bronchial sign, honeycomb sign present in diffuse ground-glass opacities in F-FDG PET/CT, lung invasive mucinous adenocarcinoma should be highly suspected.

Comparação entre Dois Escores de Risco quanto à Predição de Obstrução Microvascular Coronariana durante a Intervenção Percutânea Primária / The Comparison between Two Risk Scores as for the Prediction of Coronary Microvascular Obstruction during Primary Percutaneous Intervention

Resumo Fundamento: Para pacientes com infarto do miocárdio com elevação do segmento ST (IAMCST) que sofrem de obstrução coronariana microvascular funcional e estrutural (OCM) subsequente, nenhuma abordagem terapêutica específica e definitiva de atenuação foi comprovada como válida em testes de larga escala atuais, o que destaca a necessidade de abordar seu reconhecimento precoce. Objetivos: Este estudo teve como objetivo comparar o desempenho de dois escores de risco clínico com uma medida objetiva de OCM durante intervenção coronária percutânea (ICP) em casos de IAMCST Métodos: A medição do índice de resistência microcirculatória (IRM) foi realizada e os parâmetros clínicos e angiográficos basais também foram registrados. Os pacientes foram divididos em entre os grupos OM (obstrução microvascular) e NOM (não-obstrução microvascular), de acordo com o valor de IRM pós-procedimento. O risco de OCM foi avaliado para todos os participantes pelos escores preditivos SAK e ATI, respectivamente. Cada sistema foi calculado somando-se as pontuações de todas as variáveis. As curvas de características do operador receptor (ROC) e a área sob a curva (AUC) de dois modelos de risco foram utilizadas para avaliar o desempenho discriminatório. Um ecocardiograma foi realizado sete dias após o procedimento para avaliar a fração de ejeção do ventrículo esquerdo (FEVE). Um valor P bicaudal de <0,05 foi considerado estatisticamente significativo. Resultados: Entre os 65 pacientes elegíveis com IAMCST, 48 foram alocados no grupo NOM e 17 no grupo OM, com uma incidência de OCM de 26,15%. Não houve diferença significativa na AUC entre os dois escores. A FEVE avaliada para o grupo NOM foi maior do que para o grupo OM. Conclusão: Os escores SAK e ATI tiveram bom desempenho para estimar o risco de OCM após ICP primário para pacientes com IAMCST.

Abstract Background: For patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) that are suffering from subsequent coronary microvascular functional and structural obstruction (CMVO), no specific and definitive therapeutic approaches of attenuation have been proven valid in up-to-date large-scale tests, which highlights the urge to address its early recognition. Objectives: This study aimed to compare the performance of two clinical risk scores with an objective measurement of CMVO during percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with STEMI. Methods: The Index of Microcirculatory Resistance (IMR) measurement was conducted and the baseline clinical and angiographic parameters were also recorded. The patients were divided into MO (Microvascular obstruction) or NMO (Non-microvascular obstruction) groups according to the post-procedure IMR value. The CMVO risk was evaluated for all participants by SAK and ATI predictive scores, respectively. Each system was calculated by summing the scores of all variables. The receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curves and the area under the curve (AUC) of two risk models were used to evaluate the discriminatory performance. An echocardiography was performed seven days after the procedure to evaluate left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF). A two-sided P-value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Among the 65 eligible STEMI patients, 48 patients were allocated in the NMO group and 17 in the MO group, with a CMVO incidence of 26.15%. There was no significant difference in the AUC between both scores. The LVEF evaluated for the NMO group was higher than that of MO group. Conclusion: Both SAK and ATI scores performed well in estimating CMVO risk after primary PCI for STEMI patients.

The water supply association analysis method in Shenzhen based on kmeans clustering discretization and apriori algorithm.

Since water supply association analysis plays an important role in attribution analysis of water supply fluctuation, how to carry out effective association analysis has become a critical problem. However, the current techniques and methods used for association analysis are not very effective because they are based on continuous data. In general, there is different degrees of monotone relationship between continuous data, which makes the analysis results easily affected by monotone relationship. The multicollinearity between continuous data distorts these analytical methods and may generate incorrect results. Meanwhile, we cannot know the association rules and value interval between features and water supply. Therefore, the lack of an effective analysis method hinders the water supply association analysis. Association rules and value interval of features obtained from association analysis are helpful to grasp cause of water supply fluctuation and know the fluctuation interval of water supply, so as to provide better support for water supply dispatching. But the association rules and value interval between features and water supply are not fully understood. In this study, a data mining method coupling kmeans clustering discretization and apriori algorithm was proposed. The kmeans was used for data discretization to obtain the one-hot encoding that can be recognized by apriori, and the discretization can also avoid the influence of monotone relationship and multicollinearity on analysis results. All the rules eventually need to be validated in order to filter out spurious rules. The results show that the method in this study is an effective association analysis method. The method can not only obtain the valid strong association rules between features and water supply, but also understand whether the association relationship between features and water supply is direct or indirect. Meanwhile, the method can also obtain value interval of features, the association degree between features and confidence probability of rules.

Transcriptomic analysis of ovarian signaling at the emergence of the embryo from obligate diapause in the American mink (Neovison vison).

Mink embryonic diapause occurs when embryos, at the blastocyst stage, enter a state of a reversible arrest in development and metabolism. Some ovarian factors are required because ovariectomy leads to prevention of implantation in mink. Mechanisms regulating this process, however, remain largely unknown. To explore ovarian modifications associated with emergence of embryonic diapause in mink, there was comparison of transcriptomes after embryonic activation to when there was embryonic diapause using RNA-sequencing. A library of 655 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) of all assembled 33,656 genes was generated. Among these, 558 genes were annotated with 106 genes being expressed to a greater extent in ovaries during embryonic diapause, whereas 452 genes were more abundantly expressed in ovaries after embryonic activation. The major categories of genes with differential transcript abundances include metabolic pathways, metabolism of tryptophan, tyrosine and vitamin B6, oxidoreductase activity, calcium signaling pathway, steroid biosynthesis and lysosome. The APOE and APOA1 hub genes identified through the protein-protein interaction (PPI) analysis have important functions in cholesterol transport and steroidogenesis. Transcript abundances associated with 39 genes were investigated using RT-qPCR procedures to confirm RNA-sequencing data. Of 29 mRNA transcripts, 26 were validated using RNA-sequencing, whereas three of ten indistinguishable genes determined using RNA-sequencing were confirmed. Most of these verified DEGs are involved in the prolactin signaling pathway, formation of functional corpora lutea, and steroid synthesis, suggesting these biological processes are implicated in embryonic reactivation. Overall, results provide new insights into ovarian signaling at the time of emergence of the blastocyst from diapause in mink.

Eutrophication model driven by light and nutrients condition change in sluice-controlled river reaches.

River eutrophication has become a challenging environmental problem worldwide because of the strong interference of anthropogenic activities and hydraulic structures. The driving mechanism of algae growth in sluice-controlled river reaches (SCRRs) is more complicated than that of natural rivers, because the operation mode of the sluices is an important influencing factor which changes the light and nutrient conditions of the water body. The main purpose of this study was to assess algal growth in SCRRs under external conditions and sluice regulation. In this study, a eutrophication model for SCRRs was developed based on the mechanism of river hydrodynamics and algae growth kinetics, considering the variation in underwater light intensity and nutrient condition. By choosing the light intensity, phosphorus concentration and sluice gate opening size as the influencing factors, 16 different combination conditions were proposed by orthogonal experimental design, and eutrophication of water bodies in the SCRRs was simulated using a eutrophication model. In the scenario design, four gate opening sizes were set, and the light intensity and nutrients were enlarged or reduced based on the original monitoring data. The results showed that both light intensity and nutrient concentration can promote the algal growth within a suitable range, and increasing the gate opening size can inhibit algal growth.

The Comparison between Two Risk Scores as for the Prediction of Coronary Microvascular Obstruction during Primary Percutaneous Intervention. / Comparação entre Dois Escores de Risco quanto à Predição de Obstrução Microvascular Coronariana durante a Intervenção Percutânea Primária.

BACKGROUND: For patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) that are suffering from subsequent coronary microvascular functional and structural obstruction (CMVO), no specific and definitive therapeutic approaches of attenuation have been proven valid in up-to-date large-scale tests, which highlights the urge to address its early recognition. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to compare the performance of two clinical risk scores with an objective measurement of CMVO during percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with STEMI. METHODS: The Index of Microcirculatory Resistance (IMR) measurement was conducted and the baseline clinical and angiographic parameters were also recorded. The patients were divided into MO (Microvascular obstruction) or NMO (Non-microvascular obstruction) groups according to the post-procedure IMR value. The CMVO risk was evaluated for all participants by SAK and ATI predictive scores, respectively. Each system was calculated by summing the scores of all variables. The receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curves and the area under the curve (AUC) of two risk models were used to evaluate the discriminatory performance. An echocardiography was performed seven days after the procedure to evaluate left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF). A two-sided P-value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: Among the 65 eligible STEMI patients, 48 patients were allocated in the NMO group and 17 in the MO group, with a CMVO incidence of 26.15%. There was no significant difference in the AUC between both scores. The LVEF evaluated for the NMO group was higher than that of MO group. CONCLUSION: Both SAK and ATI scores performed well in estimating CMVO risk after primary PCI for STEMI patients.

FUNDAMENTO: Para pacientes com infarto do miocárdio com elevação do segmento ST (IAMCST) que sofrem de obstrução coronariana microvascular funcional e estrutural (OCM) subsequente, nenhuma abordagem terapêutica específica e definitiva de atenuação foi comprovada como válida em testes de larga escala atuais, o que destaca a necessidade de abordar seu reconhecimento precoce. OBJETIVOS: Este estudo teve como objetivo comparar o desempenho de dois escores de risco clínico com uma medida objetiva de OCM durante intervenção coronária percutânea (ICP) em casos de IAMCST. MÉTODOS: A medição do índice de resistência microcirculatória (IRM) foi realizada e os parâmetros clínicos e angiográficos basais também foram registrados. Os pacientes foram divididos em entre os grupos OM (obstrução microvascular) e NOM (não-obstrução microvascular), de acordo com o valor de IRM pós-procedimento. O risco de OCM foi avaliado para todos os participantes pelos escores preditivos SAK e ATI, respectivamente. Cada sistema foi calculado somando-se as pontuações de todas as variáveis. As curvas de características do operador receptor (ROC) e a área sob a curva (AUC) de dois modelos de risco foram utilizadas para avaliar o desempenho discriminatório. Um ecocardiograma foi realizado sete dias após o procedimento para avaliar a fração de ejeção do ventrículo esquerdo (FEVE). Um valor P bicaudal de <0,05 foi considerado estatisticamente significativo. RESULTADOS: Entre os 65 pacientes elegíveis com IAMCST, 48 foram alocados no grupo NOM e 17 no grupo OM, com uma incidência de OCM de 26,15%. Não houve diferença significativa na AUC entre os dois escores. A FEVE avaliada para o grupo NOM foi maior do que para o grupo OM. CONCLUSÃO: Os escores SAK e ATI tiveram bom desempenho para estimar o risco de OCM após ICP primário para pacientes com IAMCST.

Dulaglutide Alleviates LPS-Induced Injury in Cardiomyocytes.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Sepsis is a severe infection-induced disease with multiple organ failure, and sepsis-induced cardiomyopathy is a fatal condition. Inflammatory response and oxidative stress are reported to be involved in the development of sepsis-induced cardiomyopathy. Dulaglutide is a novel antidiabetic agent that is currently reported to exert an anti-inflammatory effect. The present study aims to explore the potential protective property of dulaglutide on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced injury on cardiomyocytes. METHODS: LPS was used to induce an in vitro injury model on cardiomyocytes. The mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS) level was detected using MitoSOX red, and reduced glutathione (GSH) was measured to evaluate the status of oxidative stress in H9c2 myocardial cells. The expressions of NADPH oxidase-1 (NOX-1) and inducible nitric oxidesynthase (iNOS) were determined using real-time PCR and western blot analysis. Real-time PCR and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) were both used to detect the expressions and concentrations of tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-1ß, interleukin-17, matrix metalloproteinase-2, and matrix metalloproteinase-9 in H9c2 myocardial cells, respectively. The production of nitric oxide (NO) was measured using the Griess reagent. The levels of creatine kinase isoenzyme-MB (CK-MB) and cardiac troponin I (cTnI) were detected using ELISA. Western blot was utilized to determine the expressions of toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), myeloid differentiation factor 88 (MyD88), and p-NF-κB p65 in H9c2 myocardial cells in the nucleus. RESULTS: First, dulaglutide ameliorated LPS-induced oxidative stress by suppressing the production of mitochondrial ROS and elevating the level of reduced GSH, as well as downregulating NOX-1. Second, the LPS-induced cardiomyocyte injury was alleviated by dulaglutide through downregulating CK-MB and cTnI, accompanied by inhibiting iNOS expression and NO production. Lastly, the production of inflammatory factors and upregulation of MMPs induced by LPS were both significantly reversed by dulaglutide through suppressing the TLR4/Myd88/NF-κB signaling pathway. CONCLUSIONS: Dulaglutide alleviated LPS-induced injury in cardiomyocytes by inhibiting inflammation and oxidative stress.

Use of the Inferior Whorl for Detecting Age-Related Changes in Human Corneal Subbasal Nerve Plexus with Laser Scanning Confocal Microscopy.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of aging on the corneal subbasal nerve plexus (SNP) by employing a wide-field mapping technique of composite images, scanned at the location of a distinctive spiraled subbasal nerve pattern located 1-2 mm inferior to the corneal apex (the inferior whorl) for SNP structural quantification. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Central corneal tactile sensitivity (CCTS) and inferior whorl length (IWL) were compared among individuals in 3 age-groups (20-39 years, 40-59 years, and 60-79 years). Statistical analyses constituted the Kruskal-Wallis test, one-way analysis of variance (with the post hoc least significant difference test), Spearman correlation coefficient, and linear regression analysis. RESULTS: CCTS remained stable until the age of 50 years, when it began to decrease; the mean CCTS was 58.15 ± 2.46 mm in the group aged 20-39 years, 55.74 ± 3.85 mm in the group aged 40-59 years, and 50.23 ± 3.27 mm in the group aged 60-79 years. IWL decreased with increasing age, with a corresponding linear decline of 0.2088 mm/mm2 per year, and the mean IWL was 25.43 ± 4.50 mm/mm2 in the group aged 20-39 years, 22.71 ± 6.19 mm/mm2 in the group aged 40-59 years, and 18.60 ± 4.21 mm/mm2 in the group aged 60-79 years. CONCLUSION: Our work provided a more accurate and repeatable method for corneal nerve analysis using laser scanning confocal microscopy. By using this technique, we confirmed that aging is associated with progressive reduction in subbasal nerve length.