The Use of Cardiac Magnetic Resonance in Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Over the Past 10 Years [2013-2023]: a Citespace-Based Bibliometric analysis

BACKGROUND: Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a common genetic cardiac disorder characterized by the hypertrophy of a segment of the myocardium. Cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) has been widely used in the assessment of HCM. However, no bibliometric assessment has been conducted on the progress of research in this field. This study thus aimed to examine the current state of research into the application of CMR in HCM and the hotspots and trends that have emerged in this field over the past decade. METHODS: A systematic search was conducted on the Web of Science regarding CMR in the assessment of HCM. The databases were searched from 2013 to June 2023. CiteSpace is an application that can be used to characterize the underlying knowledge of the scientific literature in a given field. We used it to analyze the relationship between publication year and country, institution, journal, author, bibliography, and keywords in the field of CMR for the assessment of HCM. RESULTS: A total of 1,427 articles were included in the analysis. In the assessment of HCM, the findings from the past decade have consistently demonstrated a progressive rise in the quantity of articles pertaining to CMR. The country with the largest number of publications was the United States [310], and the institution with the greatest number of publications was the University College London [45]. The analysis of keywords revealed the diagnosis and management of HCM with CMR to be the current research focus and emerging trend within this academic field. CONCLUSIONS: This study used a novel approach to visually analyze the use of CMR in HCM assessment. The current research trajectory in CMR consists of the diagnosis and management of patients with HCM. Although most studies confirmed the indispensability of CMR in the assessment of HCM, larger-scale cohorts are still needed to more comprehensively evaluate the role of CMR in the differential diagnosis, pre- and post-treatment assessment, and long-term management of patients with HCM

Interfacial coupling effects on the thermal conductivity of few-layer graphene

The thermal conductivities of both suspended and supported few-layer graphene (FLG) were investigated via molecular dynamics simulations. The results indicate that the thermal conductivity of a suspended FLG sample decreases by 3.9% from 511.2 W m ^−1 K ^−1 upon an increase in the number of layers from 1 to 20 layers, whereas it increases by 5.5% to 486.8 W m ^−1 K ^−1 in the case of supported FLG specimens on a smooth crystalline silicon surface. Both trends converge when the number of layers is higher than five. The effects of the substrate roughness on the supported FLG samples were also investigated. The results show that their thermal conductivity on a rough silicon surface is lower than that on a smooth silicon surface. In order to demonstrate the importance of interfacial coupling on the phonon transport properties, the coupling strength parameter was enhanced by a factor of 3 or 10 to see the influence on the thermal conductivity. The simulations show that the thermal conductivity decreases with an increasing coupling strength. Lastly, the phonon dispersion of a two-layer graphene specimen was calculated by varying the interlayer coupling strength. The calculations show that the coupling strength is mainly influenced by the out-of-plane phonon dispersion relation. The frequency of flexural acoustic (ZA’) phonons around the center of the first Brillouin zone increases significantly from 2.14 to 6.78 THz when the interlayer coupling strength is enhanced by a factor of 10. This may decrease the phonon group velocity and provide more scattering channels, and thus reduce the thermal conductivity

Sequence-Specific Detection of DNA Strands Using a Solid-State Nanopore Assisted by Microbeads

Simple, rapid, and low-cost detection of DNA with specific sequence is crucial for molecular diagnosis and therapy applications. In this research, the target DNA molecules are bonded to the streptavidin-coated microbeads, after hybridizing with biotinylated probes. A nanopore with a diameter significantly smaller than the microbeads is used to detect DNA molecules through the ionic pulse signals. Because the DNA molecules attached on the microbead should dissociate from the beads before completely passing through the pore, the signal duration time for the target DNA is two orders of magnitude longer than free DNA. Moreover, the high local concentration of target DNA molecules on the surface of microbeads leads to multiple DNA molecules translocating through the pore simultaneously, which generates pulse signals with amplitude much larger than single free DNA translocation events. Therefore, the DNA molecules with specific sequence can be easily identified by a nanopore sensor assisted by microbeads according to the ionic pulse signals

Restoration of pure copper motor commutator for aviation by laser powder deposition

The deep grooves often appeared in the commutator of aircraft photoelectric radar motors due to the brush's wear, which resulted in decreased of electrical performance and commutation accuracy, affecting combat performance. Here, we present that the blue laser cladding could be used to repair the faulty part of the pure copper motor commutator. The microstructure, microhardness, wear resistance, and electrical conductivity results show that the surface of the coating was smooth and there were no pores, cracks, and other defects in the bonding interface. There was an apparent transition zone between the matrix and the cladding layer, and a good metallurgical bonding with the matrix was formed. Compared with the matrix, the average microhardness and wear resistance of the cladding layer were increased by 2.22 times and 2.37 times, better than the copper substrate, while the electrical conductivity of the repaired layer was still about 97.7% of that of the pure copper substrate. Our study demonstrates the potential of applying the optimum technological parameters of laser cladding repair to provide the theoretical and experimental basis for mass repair

The quality of life in nasopharyngeal carcinoma radiotherapy: A longitudinal study

Objective: This article aims to longitudinally compare nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients' quality of life (QoL) during radiotherapy (RT) and identify QoL correlates. Methods: This study included 98 patients, with 85 completing full follow-up. Data were collected at baseline (T1), midpoint of RT (T2), and RT completion (T3), between October 2021 and November 2022. QoL was assessed using the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire-Core 30 (EORTC QLQ-C30). RIOM severity was evaluated by the toxicity criteria of Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG). The nutritional status was evaluated using the Nutritional Risk Screening 2002 (NRS 2002), body mass index (BMI), and the Patient-Generated Subjective Global Assessment (PG-SGA). The generalized estimating equation described the QoL evolution and correlated it with RIOM, nutritional status, and other influential factors. Results: Significant deterioration was observed in various subscales of EORTC QLQ-C30 during RT, including global health status (GHS), physical function, role function, emotional function, fatigue, nausea/vomiting, pain, insomnia, appetite loss, and constipation (all P ​< ​0.05). Substantial deterioration was also observed in RIOM, nutritional status, and part of hematological indexes (all P ​< ​0.05). The decline of QoL was associated with gender, age, education level, chemotherapy regimen, Karnofsky performance status (KPS) score, RIOM severity, NRS 2002 score, PG-SGA score, and lymphocyte level (all P ​< ​0.05). Conclusions: QoL declined during RT and were associated with certain factors. Healthcare professionals should focus on alleviating treatment-related complications and identifying individuals at high risk of malnutrition early to improve outcomes for patients with NPC

Boronate Complex Formation with Dopa Containing Mussel Adhesive Protein Retards pH-Induced Oxidation and Enables Adhesion to Mica

<div><p>The biochemistry of mussel adhesion has inspired the design of surface primers, adhesives, coatings and gels for technological applications. These mussel-inspired systems often focus on incorporating the amino acid 3,4-dihydroxyphenyl-L-alanine (Dopa) or a catecholic analog into a polymer. Unfortunately, effective use of Dopa is compromised by its susceptibility to auto-oxidation at neutral pH. Oxidation can lead to loss of adhesive function and undesired covalent cross-linking. Mussel foot protein 5 (Mfp-5), which contains ∼30 mole % Dopa, is a superb adhesive under reducing conditions but becomes nonadhesive after pH-induced oxidation. Here we report that the bidentate complexation of borate by Dopa to form a catecholato-boronate can be exploited to retard oxidation. Although exposure of Mfp-5 to neutral pH typically oxidizes Dopa, resulting in a>95% decrease in adhesion, inclusion of borate retards oxidation at the same pH. Remarkably, this Dopa-boronate complex dissociates upon contact with mica to allow for a reversible Dopa-mediated adhesion. The borate protection strategy allows for Dopa redox stability and maintained adhesive function in an otherwise oxidizing environment.</p></div

Adhesion of Mfp-5 to mica at pH 3 and pH 7.5 with and without borate.

<p>(A) Adhesion of Mfp-5 to mica at pH 3 (0.1 M HAc, 0.25 M KNO₃) (run 1) in which buffer was increased to pH 7.5 (0.1 M Phosphate, 0.25 M KNO₃) without borate (run 2–4). (B) Adhesion of Mfp-5 to mica at pH 3 was increased to pH 7.5 with borate (0.1 M). Boronate-complexed Mfp-5 retains nearly full adhesion. Note, overview of how to read SFA data is shown in <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0108869#pone.0108869.s005" target="_blank">Fig. S5</a>. Open symbols represent the in-run.</p

Adhesion at pH 3 after exposure to pH 7.5/borate.

<p>First, Mfp-5 adhesion at pH 3 was measured. Second, the buffer was exchanged for pH to 7.5 with borate. Third the buffer was exchanged again and returned to pH 3 with no borate.</p

Effect of phenylboronic acid (PBA) on Mfp-5 adhesion at pH 7.5.

<p>Mfp-5 adhesion to mica was measured at pH 3 with borate free buffer. Then the buffer was exchanged to pH 7.5 with 0.1 M PBA. Surfaces are left in contact for varying times before separation.</p