Attack on optical cryptosystems by skip connection networks.

Optical encryption methods, due to their efficient operation speed and parallel processing capabilities, hold significant importance in securing multidimensional and large-volume data. Enhancing the security of optical cryptosystems from the perspective of cryptanalysis holds significant importance currently. Presently, attack methods against optical encryption are complex, and the effectiveness of these attacks is insufficient. Security analysis solutions face limitations in both breadth and depth. Therefore, this paper proposes an attack on optical cryptosystems based on a skip connection network, demonstrating the susceptibility of optical cryptosystems to attacks based on neural network algorithms. The network model is trained on plaintext-ciphertext pairs, fitting equivalent keys without various additional conditions. It approximates plaintext information in high-dimensional space, directly obtaining corresponding plaintext through ciphertext information, expanding the applicability and enhancing the effectiveness of the attack scheme. Finally, the feasibility and effectiveness of the attack scheme were verified through computer simulations. The experiments indicate that the method proposed in this paper has low computational complexity, wide applicability, produces high-quality decrypted images, and high decipherment accuracy. This provides a universal approach for analyzing the security of various optical cryptosystems from the perspective of chosen plaintext attacks.

Fungal communities are more sensitive to mildew than bacterial communities during tobacco storage processes.

Mildew poses a significant threat to tobacco production; however, there is limited information on the structure of the abundant and rare microbial subcommunities in moldy tobacco leaves. In this study, we employed high-throughput sequencing technology to discern the disparities in the composition, diversity, and co-occurrence patterns of abundant and rare fungal and bacterial subcommunities between moldy and normal tobacco leaves collected from Guizhou, Shanghai, and Jilin provinces, China. Furthermore, we explored the correlation between microorganisms and metabolites by integrating the metabolic profiles of moldy and normal tobacco leaves. The results showed that the fungi are more sensitive to mildew than bacteria, and that the fungal abundant taxa exhibit greater resistance and environmental adaptability than the rare taxa. The loss of rare taxa results in irreversible changes in the diversity, richness, and composition of the fungal community. Moreover, rare fungal taxa and abundant bacterial taxa played crucial roles in maintaining the stability and functionality of the tobacco microecosystem. In moldy tobacco, however, the disappearance of rare taxa as key nodes resulted in reduced connectivity and stability within the fungal network. In addition, metabolomic analysis showed that the contents of indoles, pyridines, polyketones, phenols, and peptides were significantly enriched in the moldy tobacco leaves, while the contents of amino acids, carbohydrates, lipids, and other compounds were significantly reduced in these leaves. Most metabolites showed negative correlations with Dothideomycetes, Alphaproteobacteria, and Gammaproteobacteria, but showed positive correlations with Eurotiales and Bacilli. This study has demonstrated that abundant fungal taxa are the predominant biological agents responsible for tobacco mildew, while bacteria may indirectly contribute to this process through the production and degradation of metabolites. KEY POINTS: • Fungi exhibited greater sensitivity to mildew of tobacco leaf compared to bacteria • Rare fungal taxa underwent significant damage during the mildew process • Mildew may damage the defense system of the tobacco leaf microecosystem.

Retraction: ET-1 promotes the growth and metastasis of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma via activating PI3K/Akt pathway.

[This retracts the article DOI: 10.21037/tcr.2020.04.26.].

On-Surface Synthesis and Characterization of a High-Spin Aza-[5]-Triangulene.

Triangulenes are a class of open-shell triangular graphene flakes with total spin increasing with their size. In the last years, on-surface-synthesis strategies have permitted fabricating and engineering triangulenes of various sizes and structures with atomic precision. However, direct proof of the increasing total spin with their size remains elusive. In this work, we report the combined in-solution and on-surface synthesis of a large nitrogen-doped triangulene (aza-[5]-triangulene) on a Au(111) surface, and the detection of its high-spin ground state. Bond-resolved scanning tunneling microscopy images uncovered radical states distributed along the zigzag edges, which were detected as weak zero-bias resonances in scanning tunneling spectra. These spectral features reveal the partial Kondo screening of a high-spin state. Through a combination of several simulation tools, we find that the observed distribution of radical states is explained by a quintet ground state (S=2), instead of the quartet state (S=3/2) expected for the neutral species. This confirms that electron transfer to the metal substrate raises the spin of the ground state. We further provide a qualitative description of the change of (anti)aromaticity introduced by N-substitution, and its role in the charge stabilization on a surface, resulting in an S=2 aza-triangulene on Au(111).

Twisted bilayer zigzag-graphene nanoribbon junctions with tunable edge states.

Stacking two-dimensional layered materials such as graphene and transitional metal dichalcogenides with nonzero interlayer twist angles has recently become attractive because of the emergence of novel physical properties. Stacking of one-dimensional nanomaterials offers the lateral stacking offset as an additional parameter for modulating the resulting material properties. Here, we report that the edge states of twisted bilayer zigzag graphene nanoribbons (TBZGNRs) can be tuned with both the twist angle and the stacking offset. Strong edge state variations in the stacking region are first revealed by density functional theory (DFT) calculations. We construct and characterize twisted bilayer zigzag graphene nanoribbon (TBZGNR) systems on a Au(111) surface using scanning tunneling microscopy. A detailed analysis of three prototypical orthogonal TBZGNR junctions exhibiting different stacking offsets by means of scanning tunneling spectroscopy reveals emergent near-zero-energy states. From a comparison with DFT calculations, we conclude that the emergent edge states originate from the formation of flat bands whose energy and spin degeneracy are highly tunable with the stacking offset. Our work highlights fundamental differences between 2D and 1D twistronics and spurs further investigation of twisted one-dimensional systems.

Trends in incidence of malignant tumors in Xiaoshan District from 2015 to 2020 / 预防医学

Objective@#To investigate the trends in incidence of malignant tumors in Xiaoshan District, Hangzhou City from 2015 to 2020, so as to provide the evidence for improving the control strategy for malignant tumors. @*Methods@#Data on incidence of malignant tumors in Xiaoshan District from 2015 to 2020 were collected through Hangzhou Municipal Chronic Disease Monitoring Management System. The crude incidence, Chinese population-standardized incidence, world population-standardized incidence, cumulative incidence for 0 to 74 years, and truncated age-standardized incidence for 35 to 64 years of malignant tumors were calculated, and the trends in incidence of malignant tumors were analyzed using average annual percent change (AAPC). @*Results@#The crude incidence, Chinese population-standardized incidence, world population-standardized incidence, cumulative incidence for 0 to 74 years, and truncated age-standardized incidence for 35 to 64 years of malignant tumors were 476.95/105, 333.30/105, 257.01/105, 28.30% and 425.79/105 in Xiaoshan District from 2015 to 2020, which all appeared a tendency towards a rise (AAPC=4.36%, 3.82%, 3.99%, 3.79% and 5.20%, all P<0.05). The crude incidence, Chinese population-standardized incidence, world population-standardized incidence, cumulative incidence for 0 to 74 years, and truncated age-standardized incidence for 35 to 64 years of malignant tumors were 491.47/105, 313.31/105, 251.51/105, 28.78% and 338.82/105 among men, and both the crude incidence and truncated age-standardized incidence for 35 to 64 years appeared a tendency towards a rise (AAPC=3.00% and 1.73%, both P<0.05), while the crude incidence, Chinese population-standardized incidence, world population-standardized incidence, cumulative incidence for 0 to 74 years, and truncated age-standardized incidence for 35 to 64 years of malignant tumors were 462.98/105, 348.46/105, 262.13/105, 27.74% and 504.91/105 among women, which all appeared a tendency towards a rise (AAPC=5.77%, 5.72%, 5.79%, 5.65% and 7.48%, all P<0.05). The incidence of malignant tumors appeared a tendency towards a rise with age, and the crude incidence of malignant tumors showed a tendency towards a rise among people at ages of 15 to 44 years and 45 to 64 years (AAPC=9.85% and 4.88%, both P<0.05). Lung cancer, thyroid cancer, colorectal cancer, breast cancer and gastric cancer were the five most common cancers, accounting for 59.63% of all malignant tumors, and the incidence of lung cancer, thyroid cancer, colorectal cancer and breast cancer all showed a tendency towards a rise (AAPC=5.90%, 13.01%, 4.60% and 4.47%, all P<0.05). @*Conclusions @#The incidence of malignant tumors showed a tendency towards a rise in Xiaoshan District from 2015 to 2020. The rise in the incidence of malignant tumor was higher in females than in males, and malignant tumors tended to develop at a young age. Lung cancer, thyroid cancer, colorectal cancer, breast cancer and gastric cancer are major malignancies that threaten human health in Xiaoshan District.

Mitochondrial dysfunction in heart failure and its therapeutic implications.

The ATP consumption in heart is very intensive to support muscle contraction and relaxation. Mitochondrion is the power plant of the cell. Mitochondrial dysfunction has long been believed as the primary mechanism responsible for the inability of energy generation and utilization in heart failure. In addition, emerging evidence has demonstrated that mitochondrial dysfunction also contributes to calcium dysregulation, oxidative stress, proteotoxic insults and cardiomyocyte death. These elements interact with each other to form a vicious circle in failing heart. The role of mitochondrial dysfunction in the pathogenesis of heart failure has attracted increasing attention. The complex signaling of mitochondrial quality control provides multiple targets for maintaining mitochondrial function. Design of therapeutic strategies targeting mitochondrial dysfunction holds promise for the prevention and treatment of heart failure.

Correlation of Magnetism and Disordered Shiba Bands in Fe Monolayer Islands on Nb(110).

Two-dimensional (2D) magnet-superconductor hybrid systems are intensively studied due to their potential for the realization of 2D topological superconductors with Majorana edge modes. It is theoretically predicted that this quantum state is ubiquitous in spin-orbit-coupled ferromagnetic or skyrmionic 2D spin-lattices in proximity to an s-wave superconductor. However, recent examples suggest that the requirements for topological superconductivity are complicated by the multiorbital nature of the magnetic components and disorder effects. Here, we investigate Fe monolayer islands grown on a surface of the s-wave superconductor with the largest gap of all elemental superconductors, Nb, with respect to magnetism and superconductivity using spin-resolved scanning tunneling spectroscopy. We find three types of islands which differ by their reconstruction inducing disorder, the magnetism and the subgap electronic states. All three types are ferromagnetic with different coercive fields, indicating diverse exchange and anisotropy energies. On all three islands, there is finite spectral weight throughout the substrate's energy gap at the expense of the coherence peak intensity, indicating the formation of Shiba bands overlapping with the Fermi energy. A strong lateral variation of the spectral weight of the Shiba bands signifies substantial disorder on the order of the substrate's pairing energy with a length scale of the period of the three different reconstructions. There are neither signs of topological gaps within these bands nor of any kind of edge modes. Our work illustrates that a reconstructed growth mode of magnetic layers on superconducting surfaces is detrimental for the formation of 2D topological superconductivity.

Extending the Spin Excitation Lifetime of a Magnetic Molecule on a Proximitized Superconductor.

Molecular spins on surfaces potentially used in quantum information processing and data storage require long spin excitation lifetimes. Normally, coupling of the molecular spin with the conduction electrons of metallic surfaces causes fast relaxation of spin excitations. However, the presence of superconducting pairing effects in the substrate can protect the excited spin from decaying. In this work, we show that a proximity-induced superconducting gold film can sustain spin excitations of a FeTPP-Cl molecule for more than 80 ns. This long value was determined by studying inelastic spin excitations of the S = 5/2 multiplet of FeTPP-Cl on Au films over V(100) using scanning tunneling spectroscopy. The spin lifetime decreases with increasing film thickness, along with the decrease of the effective superconducting gap. Our results elucidate the use of proximitized gold electrodes for addressing quantum spins on surfaces, envisioning new routes for tuning the value of their spin lifetime.

Tiller Angle Control 1 Is Essential for the Dynamic Changes in Plant Architecture in Rice.

Plant architecture is dynamic as plants develop. Although many genes associated with specific plant architecture components have been identified in rice, genes related to underlying dynamic changes in plant architecture remain largely unknown. Here, we identified two highly similar recombinant inbred lines (RILs) with different plant architecture: RIL-Dynamic (D) and RIL-Compact (C). The dynamic plant architecture of RIL-D is characterized by 'loosetiller angle (tillering stage)-compact (heading stage)-loosecurved stem (maturing stage)' under natural long-day (NLD) conditions, and 'loosetiller angle (tillering and heading stages)-loosetiller angle and curved stem (maturing stage)' under natural short-day (NSD) conditions, while RIL-C exhibits a compact plant architecture both under NLD and NSD conditions throughout growth. The candidate locus was mapped to the chromosome 9 tail via the rice 8K chip assay and map-based cloning. Sequencing, complementary tests, and gene knockout tests demonstrated that Tiller Angle Control 1 (TAC1) is responsible for dynamic plant architecture in RIL-D. Moreover, TAC1 positively regulates loose plant architecture, and high TAC1 expression cannot influence the expression of tested tiller-angle-related genes. Our results reveal that TAC1 is necessary for the dynamic changes in plant architecture, which can guide improvements in plant architecture during the modern super rice breeding.

Circular RNA hsa_circ_0077837 is upregulated in non-small cell lung cancer to downregulate phosphatase and tensin homolog through methylation.

Circular RNA (circRNA) hsa_circ_0077837 inhibits colorectal cancer. Our research studied the participation of hsa_circ_0077837 in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Hsa_circ_0077837 and phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) expression in cancer and paired non-cancer tissues from a total of 64 NSCLC patients were studied with RT-qPCR. To evaluate the prognostic value of hsa_circ_0077837 for NSCLC, these 64 patients were monitored for 5 years. Expression of PTEN in NSCLC cells with hsa_circ_0077837 overexpression was determined by RT-qPCR and Western blot. The methylation of PTEN gene in cells transfected with hsa_circ_0077837 expression vector was analyzed by methylation specific PCR (MSP). The roles of hsa_circ_0077837 and PTEN in NSCLC cell proliferation were evaluated using cell apoptosis assay. Our data showed that hsa_circ_0077837 was upregulated in NSCLC and predicted poor survival. Besides, hsa_circ_0077837 expression level was higher in 36 advanced cases (stage III and IV) than in 28 early-stage cases (stage I and II). Hsa_circ_0077837 was inversely correlated with PTEN across cancer tissues. In NSCLC cells, hsa_circ_0077837 overexpression decreased PTEN expression, increased PTEN gene methylation, and reduced HCC827 cell apoptosis via PTEN. Overall, hsa_circ_0077837 is upregulated in NSCLC and downregulates PTEN by increasing its gene methylation to suppress cell apoptosis.List of abbreviations:Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC); circRNAs (circular RNAs); methylation-specific PCR (MSP).

Prevalence and associated factors of diabetes mellitus among individuals aged 18 years and above in Xiaoshan District, China, 2018: a community-based cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVE: With the rapid development of the Chinese economy, Xiaoshan District, Zhejiang Province has experienced urbanisation, population ageing and significant lifestyle changes, so diabetes mellitus (DM) has attracted more attention. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of DM and its risk factors among individuals aged 18 years and above in the district. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: A community-based cross-sectional study was carried out in Xiaoshan, China from 1 March to 31 August 2018. A multistage sampling method was used. Sociodemographic and behavioural characteristics were collected using a combination of centralised surveys and household surveys. Anthropometric parameters were measured with standardised techniques and calibrated equipment. Venous blood samples were obtained after at least 8 hours of fasting to determine the level of fasting blood glucose (FBG) and blood lipids. A standard 2-hour 75 g oral glucose tolerance test was also given if 6.1 mmol/L≤FBG<7.0 mmol/L. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to assess the associated factors of DM. RESULTS: The overall prevalence of DM was 12.47%, and the proportion of previously undiagnosed DM (UDM) was 48.66%. The prevalence of pre-diabetes was 10.92%. Age, family history of DM (FHDM), obesity, abdominal obesity, systolic blood pressure (SBP), triglycerides (TG) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) were significantly associated with DM. CONCLUSIONS: This study found a high prevalence of DM and pre-diabetes, especially a high prevalence of UDM among adults. The associated risk factors identified for DM were age, FHDM, obesity, abdominal obesity, SBP, TG and HDL-C.

Generation of frequency 32-tupling millimeter-wave based on a dual-parallel polarization modulator.

A scheme to generate a frequency 32-tupling millimeter wave (mm-wave) is proposed, enabled by two dual-parallel polarization modulators (DP-PolMs) in cascade. By properly controlling the amplitude and the phase shift of the radio-frequency (RF) driving signal applied to two DP-PolMs, the main optical components at the output of the DP-PolM are ±16th order optical sidebands and the central carrier. After the central carrier is canceled by the polarization multiplexing structure, the ±16th order optical sidebands are beaten in the photodetector; then the frequency 32-tupling mm-wave can be achieved. The optical sideband suppression ratio (OSSR) and the radio-frequency spurious suppression ratio (RFSSR) of the generated signal are 52 and 47 dB in simulation, which are consistent with the theoretical analysis values 53.7 and 47.7 dB. The influence on the OSSR and RFSSR of the generated signal by the key parameters of devices deviating from the theoretical analysis value i are investigated.

Phosphoproteomic Analysis Reveals Downstream PKA Effectors of AKAP Cypher/ZASP in the Pathogenesis of Dilated Cardiomyopathy.

Background: Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a major cause of heart failure worldwide. The Z-line protein Cypher/Z-band alternatively spliced PDZ-motif protein (ZASP) is closely associated with DCM, both clinically and in animal models. Our earlier work revealed Cypher/ZASP as a PKA-anchoring protein (AKAP) that tethers PKA to phosphorylate target substrates. However, the downstream PKA effectors regulated by AKAP Cypher/ZASP and their relevance to DCM remain largely unknown. Methods and Results: For the identification of candidate PKA substrates, global quantitative phosphoproteomics was performed on cardiac tissue from wild-type and Cypher-knockout mice with PKA activation. A total of 216 phosphopeptides were differentially expressed in the Cypher-knockout mice; 31 phosphorylation sites were selected as candidates using the PKA consensus motifs. Bioinformatic analysis indicated that differentially expressed proteins were enriched mostly in cell adhesion and mRNA processing. Furthermore, the phosphorylation of ß-catenin Ser675 was verified to be facilitated by Cypher. This phosphorylation promoted the transcriptional activity of ß-catenin, and also the proliferative capacity of cardiomyocytes. Immunofluorescence staining demonstrated that Cypher colocalised with ß-catenin in the intercalated discs (ICD) and altered the cytoplasmic distribution of ß-catenin. Moreover, the phosphorylation of two other PKA substrates, vimentin Ser72 and troponin I Ser23/24, was suppressed by Cypher deletion. Conclusions: Cypher/ZASP plays an essential role in ß-catenin activation via Ser675 phosphorylation, which modulates cardiomyocyte proliferation. Additionally, Cypher/ZASP regulates other PKA effectors, such as vimentin Ser72 and troponin I Ser23/24. These findings establish the AKAP Cypher/ZASP as a signalling hub in the progression of DCM.

DCET1 Controls Male Sterility Through Callose Regulation, Exine Formation, and Tapetal Programmed Cell Death in Rice.

In angiosperms, anther development comprises of various complex and interrelated biological processes, critically needed for pollen viability. The transitory callose layer serves to separate the meiocytes. It helps in primexine formation, while the timely degradation of tapetal cells is essential for the timely callose wall dissolution and pollen wall formation by providing nutrients for pollen growth. In rice, many genes have been reported and functionally characterized that are involved in callose regulation and pollen wall patterning, including timely programmed cell death (PCD) of the tapetum, but the mechanism of pollen development largely remains ambiguous. We identified and functionally characterized a rice mutant dcet1, having a complete male-sterile phenotype caused by defects in anther callose wall, exine patterning, and tapetal PCD. DCET1 belongs to the RNA recognition motif (RRM)-containing family also called as the ribonucleoprotein (RNP) domain or RNA-binding domain (RBD) protein, having single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) substitution from G (threonine-192) to A (isoleucine-192) located at the fifth exon of LOC_Os08g02330, was responsible for the male sterile phenotype in mutant dcet1. Our cytological analysis suggested that DCET1 regulates callose biosynthesis and degradation, pollen exine formation by affecting exine wall patterning, including abnormal nexine, collapsed bacula, and irregular tectum, and timely PCD by delaying the tapetal cell degeneration. As a result, the microspore of dcet1 was swollen and abnormally bursted and even collapsed within the anther locule characterizing complete male sterility. GUS and qRT-PCR analysis indicated that DCET1 is specifically expressed in the anther till the developmental stage 9, consistent with the observed phenotype. The characterization of DCET1 in callose regulation, pollen wall patterning, and tapetal cell PCD strengthens our knowledge for knowing the regulatory pathways involved in rice male reproductive development and has future prospects in hybrid rice breeding.

Reduction of OsMPK6 activity by a R89K mutation induces cell death and bacterial blight resistance in rice.

KEY MESSAGE: The R89 is essential for the kinase activity of OsMPK6 which negatively regulates cell death and defense response in rice. Mitogen-activated protein kinase cascade plays critical roles in various vital activities, including the plant immune response, but the mechanisms remain elusive. Here, we identified and characterized a rice lesion mimic mutant osmpk6 which displayed hypersensitive response-like lesions in company with cell death and hydrogen peroxide hyperaccumulation. Map-based cloning and complementation demonstrated that a G702A single-base substitution in the second exon of OsMPK6 led to the lesion mimic phenotype of the osmpk6 mutant. OsMPK6 encodes a cytoplasm and nucleus-targeted mitogen-activated protein kinase and is expressed in the various organs. Compared with wild type, the osmpk6 mutant exhibited high resistance to the bacterial pathogen Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo), likely due to the increased ROS production induced by flg22 and chitin and up-regulated expression of genes involved in pathogenesis, as well as activation of SA and JA signaling pathways after inoculation. By contrast, the OsMPK6-overexpression line (OE-1) was found to be susceptible to the bacterial pathogens, indicating that OsMPK6 negatively regulated Xoo resistance. Furthermore, the G702A single-base substitution caused a R89K mutation at both polypeptide substrate-binding site and active site of OsMPK6, and kinase activity assay revealed that the R89K mutation led to reduction of OsMPK6 activity, suggesting that the R89 is essential for the function of OsMPK6. Our findings provide insight into a vital role of the R89 of OsMPK6 in regulating cell death and defense response in rice.

Spin-Polarized Yu-Shiba-Rusinov States in an Iron-Based Superconductor.

Yu-Shiba-Rusinov (YSR) bound states appear when a magnetic atom interacts with a superconductor. Here, we report on spin-resolved spectroscopic studies of YSR states related with Fe atoms deposited on the surface of the topological superconductor FeTe_{0.55}Se_{0.45} using a spin-polarized scanning tunneling microscope. We clearly identify the spin signature of pairs of YSR bound states at finite energies within the superconducting gap having opposite spin polarization as theoretically predicted. In addition, we also observe zero-energy bound states for some of the adsorbed Fe atoms. In this case, a spin signature is found to be absent indicating the absence of Majorana bound states associated with Fe adatoms on FeTe_{0.55}Se_{0.45}.

A microfluidic robot for rare cell sorting based on machine vision identification and multi-step sorting strategy.

The identification, sorting and analysis of rare target single cells in human blood has always been a clinically meaningful medical challenge. Here, we developed a microfluidic robot platform for sorting specific rare cells from complex clinical blood samples based on machine vision-based image identification, liquid handling robot and droplet-based microfluidic techniques. The robot integrated a cell capture and droplet generation module, a laser-induced fluorescence imaging module, a target cell identification and data analysis module, and a system control module, which could automatically achieve the scanning imaging of cell array, cell identification, capturing, and droplet generation of rare target cells from blood samples containing large numbers of normal cells. Based on the robot platform, a novel "gold panning" multi-step sorting strategy was proposed to achieve the sorting of rare target cells in large-scale cell samples with high operation efficiency and high sorting purity (>90%). The robot platform and the multi-step sorting strategy were applied in the sorting of circulating endothelial progenitor cells (CEPCs) in human blood to demonstrate their feasibility and application potential in the sorting and analysis of rare specific cells. Approximately 1,000 CEPCs were automatically identified from 3,000,000 blood cells at a scanning speed of ca. 4,000 cells/s, and 20 25-nL droplets containing single CEPCs were generated.

Multiple Non-coding ANRIL Transcripts Are Associated with Risk of Coronary Artery Disease: a Promising Circulating Biomarker.

Multiple ANRIL transcriptional isoforms, such as lncANRIL and circANRIL have been identified. We sought to explore their diagnostic value in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). First, we selected six target ANRIL isoforms and measured their expression in CAD patients and controls in the peripheral blood. Their diagnostic values were evaluated. circANRIL(exon14-4) was identified as the best potential biomarker. Afterwards, we validated its diagnostic value and evaluated its prognostic value in a larger clinical cohort. Among six tested ANRILs, lncANRIL(exon1) and lncANRIL(exon4-6) in the CAD patients were significantly increased, while circANRIL(exon14-4) was downregulated. circANRIL(exon14-4) had the highest diagnostic value among the three isoforms. The combination of circANRIL(exon14-4) and other factors resulted in a more accurate differentiation of CAD patients. Moreover, lower expression of circANRIL(exon14-4) was associated with higher incidence of MACE. circANRIL(exon14-4) is closely associated with CAD risk and severity, which provides a promising circulating biomarker for CAD diagnosis and prognosis.

MAGGIC Risk Model Predicts Adverse Events and Left Ventricular Remodeling in Non-Ischemic Dilated Cardiomyopathy.

PURPOSE: We aimed to study the Meta-analysis Global Group in Chronic Heart Failure (MAGGIC) risk model's prognostic value and relationship with left ventricular remodeling in dilated cardiomyopathy. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Dilated cardiomyopathy patients were prospectively recruited and underwent clinical assessments. MAGGIC risk score was calculated. Patients were followed up for adverse events and echocardiography. Primary endpoints were all-cause mortality and first rehospitalization due to heart failure. Secondary endpoint was left ventricular remodeling defined as a decline in left ventricular ejection fraction >10% or an increase in left ventricular end-diastolic diameter >10%. Survival status was examined using Cox regression analysis. The model's ability to discriminate adverse events and left ventricular remodeling was calculated using a receiver operating characteristics curve. RESULTS: In total, 114 patients were included (median follow-up time = 31 months). The risk score was independently related to adverse events (2-year all-cause mortality: hazard ratio [HR] = 1.122; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.043-1.208; 1-year first rehospitalization due to heart failure: HR = 1.094; 95% CI, 1.032-1.158; 2-year first rehospitalization due to heart failure: HR = 1.088; 95% CI, 1.033-1.147, all P < 0.05). One-year change in left ventricular end-diastolic diameter was correlated with the risk score (r = 0.305, P = 0.002). The model demonstrated modest ability in discriminating adverse events and left ventricular remodeling (all areas under the curve were 0.6-0.7). CONCLUSION: The MAGGIC risk score was related to adverse events and left ventricular remodeling in dilated cardiomyopathy.