Rubik’s Cube+: A self-supervised feature learning framework for 3D medical image analysis

Due to the development of deep learning, an increasing number of research works have been proposed to establish automated analysis systems for 3D volumetric medical data to improve the quality of patient care. However, it is challenging to obtain a large number of annotated 3D medical data needed to train a neural network well, as such manual annotation by physicians is time consuming and laborious. Self-supervised learning is one of the potential solutions to mitigate the strong requirement of data annotation by deeply exploiting raw data information. In this paper, we propose a novel self-supervised learning framework for volumetric medical data. Specifically, we propose a pretext task, i.e., Rubik’s cube+, to pre-train 3D neural networks. The pretext task involves three operations, namely cube ordering, cube rotating and cube masking, forcing networks to learn translation and rotation invariant features from the original 3D medical data, and tolerate the noise of the data at the same time. Compared to the strategy of training from scratch, fine-tuning from the Rubik’s cube+ pre-trained weights can remarkablely boost the accuracy of 3D neural networks on various tasks, such as cerebral hemorrhage classification and brain tumor segmentation, without the use of extra data.     

支气管扩张症合并感染患者血清人分泌型磷脂酶A2-X表达情况及其与炎性指标的相关性研究

背景　支气管扩张症是呼吸系统常见病、多发病，感染是引起支气管扩张症的最常见原因。人分泌型磷脂酶A2-X（sPLA2-X）在炎性反应中发挥重要作用，并可促进炎性反应的发生、发展，而支气管扩张症合并感染患者血清sPLA2-X表达情况及其与重要炎性指标如降钙素原（PCT）、C反应蛋白（CRP）、诱导型一氧化氮合酶（iNOS）、白介素（IL）-6、IL-17、IL-33是否存在相关性尚未见相关报道。目的　研究支气管扩张症合并感染患者血清sPLA2-X表达情况及其与炎性指标--PCT、CRP、iNOS、IL-6、IL-17、IL-33的相关性，并进一步研究血清sPLA2-X对支气管扩张症合并感染的影响。方法　选取2017年2月-2019年1月在贵州省人民医院呼吸与危重症医学科住院治疗的支气管扩张症合并感染患者47例为病例组，选取同期在贵州省人民医院健康体检中心体检的健康志愿者21例为健康对照组。收集研究对象一般资料，分别检测健康对照组体检当天、观察组治疗前（入院当天）与治疗后（出院前1天）血清sPLA2-X、白细胞计数、PCT、CRP、iNOS、IL-6、IL-17、IL-33。比较两组治疗前后观察指标，分析病例组治疗前血清sPLA2-X与PCT、CRP、iNOS、IL-6、IL-17、IL-33的相关性。结果　病例组治疗前血清sPLA2-X、白细胞计数、PCT、CRP、iNOS、IL-6、IL-17、IL-33均高于健康对照组（P<0.05）；病例组治疗后血清sPLA2-X、PCT、CRP、iNOS、IL-17均高于健康对照组（P<0.05）；两组治疗后白细胞计数、IL-6、IL-33比较，差异无统计学意义（P>0.05）。病例组治疗后血清sPLA2-X、白细胞计数、PCT、CRP、iNOS、IL-6、IL-17、IL-33均低于本组治疗前（P<0.05）。病例组治疗前血清sPLA2-X与PCT、CRP、iNOS、IL-6、IL-17、IL-33均呈正相关（r=0.526 2、 0.640 1、0.550 7、0.516 8、0.609 9、0.357 4，P值均<0.01）。结论　支气管扩张症合并感染患者血清sPLA2-X升高，且其与PCT、CRP、iNOS、IL-6、IL-7、IL-33呈正相关，表明血清sPLA2-X与支气管扩张症合并感染有重要的关联，血清sPLA2-X可作为评估支气管扩张症合并感染的参考指标。     

Allostatic load and women’s brain health: A systematic review

Allostatic load represents the ‘wear and tear’ of chronic stress on the brain and body that may differ between men and women. A small but growing number of studies are assessing allostatic load in relation to mental health. The objective of this systematic review was to (1) assess sex differences in allostatic load and (2) identify allostatic load associations that are specific to women. We systematically searched for allostatic load studies that included psychosocial causes and/or psychiatric consequences. Our search focused on allostatic load studies that disaggregated by sex and that include women. Sixty-two studies were included in this systematic review. First, men appear to have higher allostatic load than women. Second, women show gender-specific variation for numerous factors such as age, race/ethnicity, adversities, social support, and health behaviors that influence associations between allostatic load and mental health. Recommendations are made to guide researchers advance sex and gender approaches.     

FNDC5 attenuates adipose tissue inflammation and insulin resistance via AMPK-mediated macrophage polarization in obesity

BackgroundObesity-induced chronic inflammation is critical in the pathogenesis of insulin resistance, and the recruitment and proinflammatory activation of adipose tissue macrophages (ATMs) is important for the development of this process. Here, we examined the effects of fibronectin type III domain-containing 5 (FNDC5) on inflammation and insulin resistance in high-fat diet-induced obese mice.Materials and MethodsMale wild-type (WT) and FNDC5^−/− mice were fed with standard chow (Ctrl) or high fat diet (HFD) for 20 weeks to induce obesity and insulin resistance. Firstly, effects of FNDC5 gene deletion on obesity, insulin resistance, macrophage accumulation and polarization and adipose tissue inflammation were determined in mice. Secondly, the macrophage polarity shift was further examined with flow cytometry in isolated stromal vascular fraction (SVF). Thirdly, the effects of exogenous FNDC5 on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced macrophage polarization, inflammation and the underlying signaling mechanism were investigated in RAW264.7 macrophages and primary mouse peritoneal cavity macrophages (PMs). Finally, the therapeutic effects of FNDC5 overexpression were examined in HFD-induced obese WT and FNDC5^−/− mice.ResultsFNDC5 gene deletion aggravated obesity, insulin resistance, fat accumulation and inflammation accompanied with enhanced AMPK inhibition, macrophages recruitment and M1 polarization in mice fed with HFD. Exogenous FNDC5 inhibited LPS-induced M1 macrophage polarization and inflammatory cytokine production via AMPK phosphorylation in both RAW264.7 macrophages and PMs. FNDC5 overexpression attenuated insulin resistance, AMPK inhibition, M1 macrophage polarization and inflammatory cytokine production in adipose tissue of obese WT and FNDC5^−/− mice.ConclusionsFNDC5 attenuates adipose tissue inflammation and insulin resistance via AMPK-mediated macrophage polarization in HFD-induced obesity. FNDC5 plays several beneficial roles in obesity and may be used as a therapeutic regimen for preventing inflammation and insulin resistance in obesity and diabetes.     

Metabolic pathway analyses identify proline biosynthesis pathway as a promoter of liver tumorigenesis

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