腹主动脉瘤计算机仿真研究进展

腹主动脉瘤(abdominal aortic aneurysm,AAA)是腹主动脉较常见的疾病,破裂之后致死率极高,因此,及时发现和评估AAA破裂的风险就具有重要意义。近年来随着医学影像、计算机及血流动力学等理论和技术的快速发展,利用计算机模拟技术对AAA进行仿真研究已成为研究的热点,其模拟的结果趋于人体真实的动脉瘤,并在揭示AAA的发生及演变的机制方面发挥了重要作用。本文介绍了AAA仿真研究的原理及模型分类,详细地阐述了瘤体形态、瘤壁的结构及属性、血液及血流的属性、腔内血栓等相关因素在仿真研究中的作用,并对其目前的进展及局限性予以综述。     

数字病理扫描在颈动脉粥样硬化斑块组织学研究中的应用

目的颈动脉粥样硬化斑块的形成是脑血管病变的独立危险因素之一。对颈动脉内膜剥脱术(carotid endarterectomy,CEA)斑块进行充分的组织学判读和研究,将有助于全面把握CEA斑块的组织学表现,进而推进临床辅助诊断。方法本文我们将运用数字病理扫描仪对CEA斑块的切片经H&E染色后进行扫描,介绍数字病理扫描在CEA斑块组织学研究中的应用。结果经数字病理扫描所得的图片,有助于全面掌握和保存CEA斑块组织切片的全层面信息;在软件的帮助下有助于非常方便地测量斑块内各成分的大小;有助于精确评估斑块的狭窄程度。结论综上,数字病理成像应用于CEA斑块,结合MRI,有助于高效且准确地判读斑块组成和预测斑块稳定性,亦有助于人工智能的训练。     

Adoptive transfer of IFN-γ-induced M-MDSCs promotes immune tolerance to allografts through iNOS pathway

Inflammation Research - Efficient production of monocytic myeloid-derived suppressor cells (M-MDSCs) with stable immunosuppressive function is crucial for immunomodulatory cell therapy for many...     

Involvement of thromboxane A2 in interleukin-31-induced itch-associated response in mice

Background

Atopic dermatitis is a chronic and severe pruritic skin disease. Interlukin-31 (IL-31) has been recently demonstrated to be one of the key pruritogens in atopic dermatitis. However, the mechanisms underlying IL-31-induced itching remains unclear. In our previous study, we have shown that thromboxane (TX) A₂ is involved in itch-associated responses in mice with atopy-like skin diseases.

Regulation of cytochrome P450 gene expression by ketamine: a review

Introduction: Although used as an anesthetic drug for decades, ketamine appears to have garnered renewed interest due to its potential therapeutic uses in pain therapy, neurology, and psychiatry. Ketamine undergoes extensive oxidative metabolism by cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes. Considerable efforts have been expended to elucidate the ketamine-induced regulation of CYP gene expression. The safety profile of chronic ketamine administration is still unclear. Understanding how ketamine regulates CYP gene expression is clinically meaningful.

Areas covered: In this article, the authors provide a brief review of clinical applications of ketamine and its metabolism by CYP enzymes. We discuss the effects of ketamine on the regulation of CYP gene expression, exploring aspects of cytoskeletal remodeling, mitochondrial functions, and calcium homeostasis.

Expert opinion: Ketamine may inhibit CYP gene expression through inhibiting calcium signaling, decreasing ATP levels, producing excessive reactive oxygen species, and subsequently perturbing cytoskeletal dynamics. Further research is still needed to avoid possible ketamine–drug interactions during long-term use in the clinic.     

Modeling Clinical Outcomes in Prostate Cancer: Application and Validation of the Discrete Event Simulation Approach

Objectives

Treatment landscape in prostate cancer has changed dramatically with the emergence of new medicines in the past few years. The traditional survival partition model (SPM) cannot accurately predict long-term clinical outcomes because it is limited by its ability to capture the key consequences associated with this changing treatment paradigm. The objective of this study was to introduce and validate a discrete-event simulation (DES) model for prostate cancer.

Peripheral blood leukocyte telomere length is associated with age but not renal function: A cross-sectional follow-up study

Objectives

We aimed to evaluate the relationship between baseline renal function and changes in telomere length in Han Chinese.

Methods

The telomere restriction fragment (TRF) length of leukocytes in the peripheral blood was measured in healthy volunteers recruited in 2014. The estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) was calculated based on serum creatinine (Scr) and serum cystatin C (CysC)-eGFRcys and eGFRScr-cys through the Cockcroft-Gault formula (eGFRC-G) or the Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration (CKD-EPI / eGFRCKD-EPI) equation. The correlation between telomere length changes over time and renal function was analyzed.

Results

Leukocyte TRF lengths were negatively correlated to age (r = -0.393, p < 0.001) and serum CysC (r = -0.180, p < 0.01), while positively associated with eGFRCKD-EPI, eGFRC-G, eGFRcys, and eGFRScr-cys (r = 0.182, 0.122, 0.290, and 0.254 respectively, p < 0.01). The 3-year change of telomere length was 46 bp/years. When adjusted for age, the associations between telomere length changes and baseline, subsequent TRF lengths, and serum CysC were no longer present. No association was observed between TRF length changes and renal function.

Conclusion

The rate of telomere length changes was affected by age and baseline telomere length. The telomere length changes might be important markers for aging.

     

Assessment of the Remediation Effect of Nano-hydroxyapatite in Exogenous Pb-contaminated Soil Using Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure and Soil Enzyme Activities

This study assessed the level of Pb in soil and five wild plant species (Calotropis procera, Datura alba, Parthenium hysterophorus, Cenchrus ciliaris and Ricinus communis) during all the four seasons. Two busy roads varying in age and traffic volume were selected i.e., Faisalabad–Sargodha road (FSR) and Pindi Bhattian to Lillah (M-2) in the Punjab, Pakistan. Results showed raised levels of Pb in both plants and soil samples along both roads. The range of Pb concentration in plants was 0.08–3.98 and 1.95–4.74 mg kg^??1 for soil. Higher Pb contamination was recorded along FSR road as compared to M-2. Among seasons, the higher Pb concentration was found during summer, probably due to very high temperature. Among all the plants studied, Calotropis procera accumulated the highest level (3.98 mg kg^??1 dry wt.) of Pb; Thus, it can be used as good biomonitor/phytoremediator at Pb contaminated areas.