Impact of Sacubitril/Valsartan on Cardiac Structure and Blood Levels of miRNA-328 and NT-proBNP in Patients with CHD and Chronic Heart Failure.

Objective: This study specifically investigates the impact of sacubitril/valsartan on cardiac structural remodeling and modulation of blood levels of miRNA-328 and NT-proBNP in patients with coronary heart disease (CHD) complicated by chronic heart failure (CHF). We aim to determine whether sacubitril/valsartan offers advantages over traditional therapies regarding cardiac morphology and molecular biomarkers, thus providing insights into its potential role in managing CHD and CHF. Methods: From January 2020 to January 2023, CHD patients with chronic heart failure were randomized into two groups for this study. Both groups received standard treatments: the control group received valsartan, while the study group received sacubitril/valsartan. Therapeutic outcomes were analyzed, including changes in cardiac structure, function, miRNA-328, and NT-proBNP levels in the blood, along with noting any adverse reactions. Results: The total effective rate in the study group was 86.67%, significantly higher than that in the control group (71.67%) (P < .05). After treatment, both groups exhibited reductions in left atrial anterior and posterior diameter, left ventricular end-diastolic diameter, and left ventricular end-systolic diameter compared to before treatment, with the study group showing lower values than the control group (P < .05). The left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) increased in both groups, with the study group showing a higher increase than the control group. Additionally, the end-diastolic volume and end-systolic volume decreased in both groups after treatment, with the study group showing greater decreases than the control group (P < .05). Moreover, both groups exhibited reductions in peripheral blood levels of miRNA-328 and NT-proBNP, with the study group showing greater reductions than the control group (P < .05). There was no significant difference in the incidence of adverse reactions between the study group and the control group during treatment (P > .05). Conclusion: Sacubitril/valsartan significantly improves cardiac function and structure in patients with CHD complicated by CHF, effectively reducing levels of miRNA-328 and NT-proBNP in the blood. It demonstrates safety and high value in clinical applications.

Identification of genetic determinants of tomato brown rugose fruit virus that enable infection of plants harbouring the Tm-22 resistance gene.

Tomato cultivars containing the Tm-22 resistance gene have been widely known to resist tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) and tomato mosaic virus. Tomato brown rugose fruit virus (ToBRFV), a new emerging tobamovirus, can infect tomato plants carrying the Tm-22 gene. However, the virulence determinant of ToBRFV that overcomes the resistance conferred by the Tm-22 gene remains unclear. In this study, we substituted the movement protein (MP) encoding sequences between ToBRFV and TMV infectious clones and conducted infectivity assays. The results showed that MP was the virulence determinant for ToBRFV to infect Tm-22 transgenic Nicotiana benthamiana plants and Tm-22 -carrying tomato plants. A TMV MP chimera with amino acid residues 60-186 of ToBRFV MP failed to induce hypersensitive cell death in the leaves of Tm-22 transgenic N. benthamiana plants. Chimeric TMV containing residues 60-186 of ToBRFV MP could, but chimeric ToBRFV containing 61-187 residues of TMV MP failed to infect Tm-22 transgenic N. benthamiana plants, indicating that 60-186 residues of MP were important for ToBRFV to overcome Tm-22 gene-mediated resistance. Further analysis showed that six amino acid residues, H67 , N125 , K129 , A134 , I147 , and I168 of ToBRFV MP, were critical in overcoming Tm-22 -mediated resistance in transgenic N. benthamiana plants and tomato plants. These results increase our understanding of the mechanism by which ToBRFV overcomes Tm-22 -mediated resistance.

Validation of Chinese Version of Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale-6 in Clinical Setting: A Preliminary Study.

Background: The Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale-6 (PANSS-6) is a brief measure to assess the core symptoms of schizophrenia. Psychometric characteristics of PANSS-6 in clinical settings are to be determined. We conducted this study among Chinese inpatients of schizophrenia in clinical settings, to determine psychometric characteristics of PANSS-6, and its' accuracy for identifying antipsychotic efficacy. Methods: Two hundred sixteen inpatients of schizophrenia were interviewed at baseline, week 4 and week 8 by experienced psychiatrists to collect information for rating PANSS-30 and PANSS-6. Internal consistency was estimated by the Cronbach's α; criterion validity was determined by Spearman's correlations between sum scores of PANSS-6 and PANSS-30; factorial validity was determined by confirmatory factor analysis (CFA); the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV); and negative predictive value (NPV) of PANSS-6 for identifying responders and remitters were calculated. Results: The Cronbach's α coefficients of PANSS-6 were 0.72 (95% CI: 0.66-0.78) at baseline. Sum scores of PANSS-6 were significantly correlated with that of PANSS-30. Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed this 2-factor model fit well: χ2/df = 1.331, P = .223; CFI = 0.994; TLI = 0.988, RMSEA = 0.037 (90% CI: 0.000-0.090); SRMR = 0.033. Standard factor loadings of each item ranged from 0.60 to 0.89. At week 8, 92 (48.42%) and 63 (33.16%) inpatients were classified as responders and remitters. The sensitivity of PANSS-6 for identifying responders and remitters was 0.77 and 1.0, specificities were 0.84 and 0.86. Conclusion: Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale-6 is a sound scale for measuring psychotic severity and monitoring treatment outcomes of schizophrenia in clinical settings.

The dosage effects of dexamethasone on osteogenic activity andbiocompatibility of poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid)/hydroxyapatite nanofibers.

Poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) based biomaterials have many advantages and potential applications in bone tissue engineering. Whereas, a significant problem which could not be ignored was that the acidic by-products generated during its degradation induced severe inflammatory reactions and negatively regulated bone regeneration. In this research, feasibility of using dexamethasone (Dex) to improve the biocompatibility of PLGA is investigated in detail. Hereby, various contents of PLGA/hydroxyapatite (PH) nanofibers loaded with Dex were synthesized by electrospinning technique. It was shown that 0.5% (wt) Dex in PH scaffolds was the minimum content which was required for anti-inflammatory effect. Admittedly, Dex to some extent had cytotoxic effect on osteoblasts and an inhibitory effect on ALP activity in this study; nevertheless, the relatively low Dex (<2% [wt]) had no inhibitory effects on osteoblasts maturation and mineralization. By this token, Dex is a good candidate for improving biocompatibility of PLGA based biomaterials. Moreover, the cytotoxic effects of Dex should be concerned. This study will provide a rationale for optimizing biocompatibility of PLGA based biomaterials by using Dex.

Reduced corticostriatal functional connectivity in temporomandibular disorders.

Although temporomandibular disorders (TMD) have been associated with abnormal gray matter volumes in cortical areas and in the striatum, the corticostriatal functional connectivity (FC) of patients with TMD has not been studied. Here, we studied 30 patients with TMD and 20 healthy controls that underwent clinical evaluations, including Helkimo indices, pain assessments, and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging scans. The FCs of the striatal regions with the other brain areas were examined with a seed-based approach. As seeds, we used the dorsal caudate, ventral caudate/nucleus accumbens, dorsal caudal putamen, and ventral rostral putamen regions. Voxel-wise comparisons with controls revealed that the patients with TMD exhibited reduced FCs in the ventral corticostriatal circuitry, between the ventral striatum and ventral frontal cortices, including the anterior cingulate cortex and anterior insula; in the dorsal corticostriatal circuitry, between the dorsal striatum and the dorsal cortices, including the precentral gyrus and supramarginal gyrus; and also within the striatum. Additionally, we explored correlations between the reduced corticostriatal FCs and clinical measurements. These results directly supported the hypothesis that TMD is associated with reduced FCs in brain corticostriatal networks and that these reduced FCs may underlie the deficits in motor control, pain processing, and cognition in TMD. Our findings may contribute to the understanding of the etiologies and pathologies of TMD.

Stereoselective synthesis of caffeic acid amides via enzyme-catalyzed asymmetric aminolysis reaction.

In this study, a new method was developed to prepare enantiopure caffeic acid amides by enzyme-catalyzed asymmetric aminolysis reaction. Methoxymethyl chloride (MOMCl) was first introduced as a protective and esterified reagent to obtain the MOM-protected caffeic acid MOM ester 1d. Aminolysis reaction occurred between 1d and (R, S)-α-phenylethylamine in the presence of an immobilized lipase (Novozym 435) from Candida antarctica. Compared with the methyl-protected caffeic acid methyl ester 1c, 1d as substrate improved the lipase-catalyzed reaction rate by 5.5-fold. After Novozym 435-catalyzed aminolysis reaction was established, we evaluated the effects of synthesis parameters on the catalytic activity and enantioselectivity of Novozym 435. A reaction conversion rate of 25.5% and an E value of >100 were achieved under the following optimum conditions: reaction solvent, anhydrous isooctane; reaction temperature, 70°C; reaction time, 24h; ester-to-amine substrate molar ratio, 1:40; and enzyme additive amount, 40 mg. Kinetic and thermodynamic analyses were conducted to determine the main factors affecting enantiomeric discrimination. Novozym 435 still showed 80% of its initial activity after recycling five times. Highly optically pure caffeic acid amides with an enantiomeric excess of 98.5% were finally obtained by HCl deprotection. The established enzyme-catalyzed asymmetric aminolysis method in this study might be used to prepare other caffeic acid amides.