Diagnostic Performance of High-Resolution Vessel Wall MR Imaging Combined with TOF-MRA in the Follow-up of Intracranial Vertebrobasilar Dissecting Aneurysms after Reconstructive Endovascular Treatment

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Few studies have reported the utility of high-resolution vessel wall MR imaging in the follow-up of endovascularly treated vertebrobasilar dissecting aneurysms. This study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic performance of high-resolution vessel wall MR imaging combined with TOF-MRA in the follow-up of intracranial vertebrobasilar dissecting aneurysms after reconstructive endovascular treatment.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Patients with intracranial vertebrobasilar dissecting aneurysms with reconstructive endovascular treatment and followed up with TOF-MRA, high-resolution vessel wall MR imaging, and DSA were included. With DSA as the criterion standard, the diagnostic performance of TOF-MRA, high-resolution vessel wall MR imaging, and high-resolution vessel wall MR imaging combined with TOF-MRA in the evaluation of aneurysm occlusion status and parent artery patency was assessed. Visualization of the stented artery on TOF-MRA and high-resolution vessel wall MR imaging was rated on a 5-point scale.

RESULTS

Twenty-seven patients with 29 aneurysms were included. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of TOF-MRA, high-resolution vessel wall MR imaging, and high-resolution vessel wall MR imaging combined with TOF-MRA for diagnosing aneurysm remnants were 80.0%, 100.0%, 100.0%, and 82.4%; 53.3%, 100.0%, 100.0%, and 66.7%; and 93.3%, 100.0%, 100.0%, and 93.3%, respectively. For the visualization of the stented artery, the mean score of high-resolution vessel wall MR imaging was significantly higher than that of TOF-MRA (4.88 [SD, 0.32] versus 2.53 [SD, 1.25], P < .001). In the evaluation of parent artery patency (normal or pathologic), whereas TOF-MRA had a sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of 100.0%, 8.0%, 14.8%, and 100.0%, respectively, high-resolution vessel wall MR imaging was completely consistent with the DSA.

CONCLUSIONS

High-resolution vessel wall MR imaging combined with TOF-MRA at 3T showed good diagnostic performance in the follow-up of intracranial vertebrobasilar dissecting aneurysms after reconstructive endovascular treatment.

Metabolic Profiling and Gene Expression Analysis Unveil Differences in Flavonoid and Lipid Metabolisms Between 'Huapi' Kumquat (Fortunella crassifolia Swingle) and Its Wild Type

To elucidate the mechanism underlying special characteristic differences between a spontaneous seedling mutant 'Huapi' kumquat (HP) and its wild-type 'Rongan' kumquat (RA), the fruit quality, metabolic profiles, and gene expressions of the peel and flesh were comprehensively analyzed. Compared with RA, HP fruit has distinctive phenotypes such as glossy peel, light color, and few amounts of oil glands. Interestingly, HP also accumulated higher flavonoid (approximately 4.1-fold changes) than RA. Based on metabolomics analysis, we identified 201 differential compounds, including 65 flavonoids and 37 lipids. Most of the differential flavonoids were glycosylated by hexoside and accumulated higher contents in the peel but lower in the flesh of HP than those of RA fruit. For differential lipids, most of them belonged to lysophosphatidycholines (LysoPCs) and lysophosphatidylethanolamines (LysoPEs) and exhibited low abundance in both peel and flesh of HP fruit. In addition, structural genes associated with the flavonoid and lipid pathways were differentially regulated between the two kumquat varieties. Gene expression analysis also revealed the significant roles of UDP-glycosyltransferase (UGT) and phospholipase genes in flavonoid and glycerophospholipid metabolisms, respectively. These findings provide valuable information for interpreting the mutation mechanism of HP kumquat.

Drivers of a habitat shift by critically endangered Siberian cranes: Evidence from long-term data

Many waterbird populations have become increasingly dependent on agricultural habitats for feeding. While habitat destruction has been proposed as a key reason forcing waterbirds to move from natural habitats to agricultural habitats, few have used long-term data to test this hypothesis. The Siberian crane (Leucogeranus leucogeranus) is an IUCN Critically Endangered species. About 98% of its global population winters at Poyang Lake, China. Recently, many cranes shifted from feeding in natural wetlands to agricultural habitats. Here, we integrate bird surveys, Vallisneria tuber (the traditional food of cranes in natural wetlands) surveys, water level data, and remotely sensed images from 1999 to 2016 to explore the drivers of this habitat shift. Changes in Siberian crane numbers in natural wetlands and agricultural fields indicated that the habitat shift occurred in the winters of 2015-2016. Analyses using generalized linear mixed models suggested that crane numbers in natural wetlands were positively related to tuber density and the interaction between dry season (October-March) water level and tuber density. The changes in tuber density and dry season water level in 2015-2016 indicated that tuber disappearance may have been the primary driver of the habitat shift, with a smaller effect of high water level. Submerged plants at Poyang Lake have degraded seriously in the past two decades. The plant degradation at Shahu Lake, a sublake of Poyang Lake, may have been caused by high spring water, high winter temperature, and low summer temperature. However, the drivers of tuber disappearance at Poyang Lake may not be restricted to these variables. Because Poyang Lake is an important refuge for many waterbirds in the Yangtze River floodplain, it is urgent to take effective measures to restore its submerged plants and ecosystem health. Agricultural fields can be important refuges for Siberian cranes, mitigating the negative impacts of wetland deterioration.

Fishnet-Like, Nitrogen-Doped Carbon Films Directly Anchored on Carbon Cloths as Binder-Free Electrodes for High-Performance Supercapacitor

The low specific capacitance and energy density of carbon electrode has extremely limited the wide application of supercapacitors. For developing a high-performance carbon electrode using a simple and effective method, a fishnet-like, N-doped porous carbon (FNPC) film is prepared by calcining the KOH-activated polyindole precoated on carbon cloths. The FNPC film is tightly anchored on carbon cloths without any binder. The FNPC film with 3.8 at% N content exhibits a fairly high specific capacitance of 416 F g^-1 at 1.0 A g^-1. Moreover, the assembled button-type cell with two FNPC film electrodes shows a high energy density of 16.4 Wh kg^-1, a high power density of 67.4 kW kg^-1, and long-term cyclic stability of 92% of the initial capacitance after 10 000 cycles at 10 A g^-1. The high performances mainly came from the integration of pseudocapacitance and electrical double-layer capacitance behavior, wettability, fishnet-like nanostructure, as well as the low interfacial resistivity. This strategy provides a practical, uncomplicated, and low-cost design of binder-free flexible carbon materials electrode for high-performance supercapacitors.

Mutations in MIR396e and MIR396f increase grain size and modulate shoot architecture in rice

Grain size and plant architecture are critical factors determining crop productivity. Here, we performed gene editing of the MIR396 gene family in rice and found that MIR396e and MIR396f are two important regulators of grain size and plant architecture. mir396ef mutations can increase grain yield by increasing grain size. In addition, mir396ef mutations resulted in an altered plant architecture, with lengthened leaves but shortened internodes, especially the uppermost internode. Our research suggests that mir396ef mutations promote leaf elongation by increasing the level of a gibberellin (GA) precursor, mevalonic acid, which subsequently promotes GA biosynthesis. However, internode elongation in mir396ef mutants appears to be suppressed via reduced CYP96B4 expression but not via the GA pathway. This research provides candidate gene-editing targets to breed elite rice varieties.

HOTAIR-EZH2 inhibitor AC1Q3QWB upregulates CWF19L1 and enhances cell cycle inhibition of CDK4/6 inhibitor palbociclib in glioma

BACKGROUND

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common primary tumor in the brain, and the median survival time for GBM patients is only about 14 months; therefore, there is an urgent need for new and more effective strategies. Since cell cycle disorder is a key factor in tumor progression and immortalization, there is great potential for controlling cell cycle disorders in tumor cells in GBM patients. We began to study a novel combination of AQB and palbociclib to evaluate its potential as a new therapeutic target.

METHODS

Protein mass spectrometry was used to identify the tumor suppressor genes up-regulated by AQB.The effects of HOTAIR - EZH2 inhibitor AQB and CDK4/6 inhibitor Palbociclib on glioma cells lines were examined in vitro and in vivo experiments.

RESULTS

The combination of AQB and palbociclib inhibitors has a more pronounced suppression effect on the cell cycle, especially gliomas with high expression of HOTAIR and EZH2 and low expression of CWF19L1. We performed protein mass spectrometry to identify AQB upregulated tumor suppressor genes and confirmed that CWF19L1 is regulated by H3K27ac through chromatin immunoprecipitation-quantitative PCR results. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analysis and database analysis were performed to suggest CWF19L1 is a good prognostic factor. Our experimental results suggested that CWF19L1 can be significantly upregulated by AQB and lead to degradation of CDK4/6, resulting in G1 arrest. The combination of AQB and CDK4/6 inhibitor palbociclib is more effective in inhibiting the growth of glioma than in the single drug, both in vivo and in vitro. Similarly, we found that both AQB and palbociclib can inhibit Wnt/β-catenin signaling, and the combined use of the two inhibitors has a stronger inhibitory effect on tumor metastasis.

CONCLUSIONS

The combination of AQB and CDK4/6 inhibitor palbociclib has been found to have significant antitumor effects, which is likely to become a new strategy for glioma treatment.

Efficiency above 12% for 1 cm2 Flexible Organic Solar Cells with Ag/Cu Grid Transparent Conducting Electrode

With the rapid progress of organic solar cells (OSCs), improvement in the efficiency of large-area flexible OSCs (>1 cm2) is crucial for real applications. However, the development of the large-area flexible OSCs severely lags behind the growth of the small-area OSCs, with the electrical loss due to the large sheet resistance of the electrode being a main reason. Herein, a high conductive and high transparent Ag/Cu composite grid with sheet resistance <1 Ω sq-1 and an average visible light transparency of 84% is produced as the transparent conducting electrode of flexible OSCs. Based on this Ag/Cu composite grid electrode, a high efficiency of 12.26% for 1 cm2 flexible OSCs is achieved. The performances of large-area flexible OSCs also reach 7.79% (4 cm2) and 7.35% (9 cm2), respectively, which are much higher than those of the control devices with conventional flexible indium tin oxide electrodes. Surface planarization using highly conductive PEDOT:PSS and modification of the ZnO buffer layer by zirconium acetylacetonate (ZrAcac) are two necessary steps to achieve high performance. The flexible OSCs employing Ag/Cu grid have excellent mechanical bending resistance, maintaining high performance after bending at a radius of 2 mm.