Implications of C1q/TNF-related protein superfamily in patients with coronary artery disease.

The C1q complement/TNF-related protein superfamily (CTRPs) displays differential effects on the regulation of metabolic homeostasis, governing cardiovascular function. However, whether and how they may serve as predictor/pro-diagnosis factors for assessing the risks of coronary artery disease (CAD) remains controversial. Therefore, we performed a clinical study to elaborate on the implication of CTRPs (CTRP1, CTRP5, CTRP7, and CTRP15) in CAD. CTRP1 were significantly increased, whereas CTRP7 and CTRP15 levels were decreased in CAD patients compared to the non-CAD group. Significant differences in CTRP1 levels were discovered between the single- and triple-vascular-vessel lesion groups. ROC analysis revealed that CTRP7 and CTRP15 may serve as CAD markers, while CTRP1 may serve as a marker for the single-vessel lesion of CAD. CTRP1 and CTRP5 can serve as markers for the triple-vessel lesion. CTRP1 may serve as an independent risk predictor for triple-vessel lesion, whereas CTRP15 alteration may serve for a single-vessel lesion of CAD. CTRP1 may serve as a novel superior biomarker for diagnosis of severity of vessel-lesion of CAD patients. CTRP7, CTRP15 may serve as more suitable biomarker for the diagnosis of CAD patients, whereas CTRP5 may serve as an independent predictor for CAD. These findings suggest CTRPs may be the superior predictive factors for the vascular lesion of CAD and represent novel therapeutic targets against CAD

Validity and applicability of the global leadership initiative on malnutrition criteria in non-dialysis patients with chronic kidney disease

IntroductionThere are no standardized assessment criteria for selecting nutritional risk screening tools or indicators to assess reduced muscle mass (RMM) in the Global Leadership Initiative on Malnutrition (GLIM) criteria. We aimed to compare the consistency of different GLIM criteria with Subjective Global Assessment (SGA) and protein-energy wasting (PEW).MethodsIn this study, nutritional risk screening 2002 first four questions (NRS-2002-4Q), Nutritional Risk Screening 2002 (NRS-2002), Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool (MUST), and Mini-Nutritional Assessment Short-Form (MNA-SF) tools were used as the first step of nutritional risk screening for the GLIM. The RMM is expressed using different metrics. The SGA and PEW were used to diagnose patients and classify them as malnourished and non-malnourished. Kappa (κ) tests were used to compare the concordance between the SGA, PEW, and GLIM of each combination of screening tools.ResultsA total of 157 patients were included. Patients with Chronic kidney disease (CKD) stage 1–3 accounted for a large proportion (79.0%). The prevalence rates of malnutrition diagnosed using the SGA and PEW were 18.5% and 19.7%, respectively. The prevalence of GLIM-diagnosed malnutrition ranges from 5.1% to 37.6%, depending on the different screening methods for nutritional risk and the different indicators denoting RMM. The SGA was moderately consistent with the PEW (κ = 0.423, p < 0.001). The consistency among the GLIM, SGA, and PEW was generally low. Using the NRS-2002-4Q to screen for nutritional risk, GLIM had the best agreement with SGA and PEW when skeletal muscle index (SMI), fat-free mass index (FFMI), and hand grip strength (HGS) indicated a reduction in muscle mass (SGA: κ = 0.464, 95% CI 0.28–0.65; PEW: κ = 0.306, 95% CI 0.12–0.49).ConclusionThe concordance between the GLIM criteria and the SGA and PEW depended on the screening tool used in the GLIM process. The inclusion of RMM in the GLIM framework is important. The addition of HGS could further improve the performance of the GLIM standard compared to the use of body composition measurements

Chaotic color multi-image compression-encryption/ LSB data type steganography scheme for NFT transaction security

With the rapid development of blockchain technology, the security of non-fungible tokens (NFT) in the transaction process has attracted much attention. In the transaction process, the commoditized NFT images will inevitably involve display and leakage problems, which is likely to lead to economic losses drink copyright disputes between the trading parties. To protect transaction security, a chaotic color multi-image compression encryption/LSB data-type steganography scheme is proposed in the paper. A series of chaotic sequences are obtained by iterating the chaotic map, while compression sensing (CS) is introduced to compress multiple secret images and fuse the compressed secret images into one large secret image. Then this image is encrypted, and the encrypted large secret image is hidden on multiple cover images by steganography. This encryption can hide the change in the statistical properties caused by steganography. Finally, the cover image is combined with the 3D object model by using it as a texture for the 3D object model to realize the type steganography of the image data. The simulation and performance test results of the scheme illustrate that the scheme has a large enough key space and steganography capacity, as well as good resistance to differential attacks, statistical attacks, compression reconstruction quality, and robustness. This scheme can well protect the transaction security of NFT images, and at the same time open a channel connecting 2D images and 3D obj textured models, which provides a new idea for steganography

Withaferin a Attenuates Retinal Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury via Akt-Dependent Inhibition of Oxidative Stress

Background: Retinal ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury often results in intractable visual impairments. The survival of retinal capillary endothelial cells is crucial for the treatment of retinal I/R injury. How to protect retinal endothelia from damage is a challenging work. Withaferin A, a small molecule derived from plants, has antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effects and has been used for about millennia in traditional medicine. The present study aimed to investigate the potential protective effect of withaferin A on retinal I/R injury. Methods: The drug-likeness of withaferin A was evaluated by the SwissADME web tool. The potential protective effect of withaferin A on the I/R-induced injury of human retinal microvascular endothelial cells (HRMECs) was investigated using multiple approaches. RNA sequencing was performed and associated mechanistic signaling pathways were analyzed based on the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes data. The analytical results of RNA sequencing data were further validated by in vitro and in vivo experiments. Results: Withaferin A reduced the I/R injury-induced apoptotic death of HRMECs in vitro with a good drug-like property. RNA sequencing and experimental validation results indicated that withaferin A increased the production of the crucial antioxidant molecules heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1) and peroxiredoxin 1 (Prdx-1) during I/R. In addition, withaferin A activated the Akt signaling pathway and increased the expression of HO-1 and Prdx-1, thereby exerting an antioxidant effect, attenuated the retinal I/R injury, and decreased the apoptosis of HRMECs. The blockade of Akt completely abolished the effects of withaferin A. Conclusions: The study identified for the first time that withaferin A can protect against the I/R-induced apoptosis of human microvascular retinal endothelial cells via increasing the production of the antioxidants Prdx-1 and HO-1. Results suggest that withaferin A is a promising drug candidate for the treatment of retinal I/R injury

Towards Real-Time Detection of Gait Events on Different Terrains Using Time-Frequency Analysis and Peak Heuristics Algorithm

Real-time detection of gait events can be applied as a reliable input to control drop foot correction devices and lower-limb prostheses. Among the different sensors used to acquire the signals associated with walking for gait event detection, the accelerometer is considered as a preferable sensor due to its convenience of use, small size, low cost, reliability, and low power consumption. Based on the acceleration signals, different algorithms have been proposed to detect toe off (TO) and heel strike (HS) gait events in previous studies. While these algorithms could achieve a relatively reasonable performance in gait event detection, they suffer from limitations such as poor real-time performance and are less reliable in the cases of up stair and down stair terrains. In this study, a new algorithm is proposed to detect the gait events on three walking terrains in real-time based on the analysis of acceleration jerk signals with a time-frequency method to obtain gait parameters, and then the determination of the peaks of jerk signals using peak heuristics. The performance of the newly proposed algorithm was evaluated with eight healthy subjects when they were walking on level ground, up stairs, and down stairs. Our experimental results showed that the mean F1 scores of the proposed algorithm were above 0.98 for HS event detection and 0.95 for TO event detection on the three terrains. This indicates that the current algorithm would be robust and accurate for gait event detection on different terrains. Findings from the current study suggest that the proposed method may be a preferable option in some applications such as drop foot correction devices and leg prostheses

CTRP3 is a novel biomarker for diabetic retinopathy and inhibits HGHL-induced VCAM-1 expression in an AMPK-dependent manner.

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a severe complication of chronic diabetes. The C1q/TNF-related protein family (CTRPs) has been demonstrated to exert protective effects against obesity and atherosclerosis in animal studies. Heretofore, the association between circulating CTRPs and DR patients has been unexplored. In the current study, we attempt to define this association, as well as the effect of CTRPs upon DR pathophysiology.The present investigation is a case control study that enrolled control subjects and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients diagnosed with DR. Serum CTRPs and sVACM-1 were determined by ELISA.Serum CTRP3 and CTRP5 levels were markedly decreased in patients with T2DM compared to controls (p<0.05) and inversely associated with T2DM. Furthermore, mutivariate regression and ROC analysis revealed CTRP3 deficiency, not CTRP5, was associated with proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR). Spearman's rank correlation assay demonstrated an inverse association between CTRP3 and sVCAM-1. Finally, exogenous CTRP3 administration attenuated high glucose high lipid (HGHL)-induced VCAM-1 production in an AMPK-dependent manner in cultured human retinal microvascular endothelial cells (HRMECs).CTRP3 may serve as a novel biomarker for DR severity. CTRP3 may represent a future novel therapeutic against DR, a common ocular complication of diabetes

CTRP3 inhibits high glucose/high lipids (HGHL)-induced expression of VCAM-1 in a time- and dose-dependent manner.

<p>(A) HRMECs were subjected to high glucose/high lipid endothelial growth medium for 48 hours, incubated with CTRP3 (0.3, 1, 3μg/mL) for 60 minutes. VCAM-1 was inhibited in a concentration-dependent manner. (B) HRMECs were subjected to various periods of CTRP3 treatment (30, 60, and 120 minutes). VCAM-1 significantly decreased after 15 minutes, with decreasing trend for 120 total minutes. (C) HRMECs were placed in transwell migration chambers containing filters coated with matrigel. To stimulate migration, different concentrations of CTRP3 (0, 0.3, 1, 3μg/ml) were added to the lower chamber. Transwell chambers were stained with crystal violet and imaged after 8 hours. (D) The average number of migrated cells was quantified compared to vehicle control. Results are expressed as means±SD from 5–6 independent experiments. Each experiment was repeated 3 times. ^*, P<0.05; ^##, P<0.01 vs respective control.</p

General characteristics of study subjects.

<p>General characteristics of study subjects.</p