Evaluation of Exercise Tolerance in Non-obstructive Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy With Myocardial Work and Peak Strain Dispersion by Speckle-Tracking Echocardiography

BackgroundThe aim of this study was to evaluate exercise tolerance in non-obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) by investigating the value of myocardial work (MW) combined with strain peak dispersion.MethodsA total of 65 patients with non-obstructive HCM and normal left ventricular ejection fraction were enrolled and 60 healthy subjects were selected as controls. The automated function imaging (AFI)-two-dimensional ultrasonic speckle-tracking technology was used to obtain the values for peak global longitudinal strain (GLS), longitudinal strain peak time dispersion (PSD), 18-segment systolic longitudinal peak strain (LPS), 18-segment longitudinal strain peak time (TTPLS), global waste work (GWW), global constructive work (GCW), global work index (GWI), global work efficiency (GWE), and exercise metabolic equivalents (METS).Results(1) Values for LV-GLS (−17.77 ± 0.20 vs. −21.66 ± 0.42%) were lower and PSD (95.10 ± 8.15 vs. 28.97 ± 1.50 ms) was prolonged in patients with HCM (p < 0.01). (2) An increasing trend was shown in the basal segment < intermediate segment < apical segment for both patients with HCM and controls, although each segment had lower values in the HCM group. (3) TTPLS was prolonged in the HCM group (p < 0.01). (4) GWE, GWI, and GCW were all lower (p < 0.01) and GWW was higher in patients with HCM (p < 0.01). (5) Values of GWE were less than 92.5%, GWI less than 1,200 mmHg, GCW less than 1,399 mmHg, these abnormal values are helpful for the diagnosis of impaired exercise tolerance and poor prognosis (6) The METS and LV-GLS of HCM in the asymmetric group were significantly lower than that in AHCM group, but the PSD was significantly greater than that in the AHCM group. Values of LPS-BL (−13.13% ± 2.51% vs −10.17% ± 2.20%) in the apical HCM group were better than in the asymmetric HCM group (p < 0.05).ConclusionGCW, GWI, and GWE can be safely measured by resting echocardiography to evaluate exercise tolerance in patients with HCM who cannot perform an exercise-based examination. Such measurements provide a basis for clinical decisions regarding exercise and drug prescription

A Novel Blind Separation Method in Magnetic Resonance Images

A novel global search algorithm based method is proposed to separate MR images blindly in this paper. The key point of the method is the formulation of the new matrix which forms a generalized permutation of the original mixing matrix. Since the lowest entropy is closely associated with the smooth degree of source images, blind image separation can be formulated to an entropy minimization problem by using the property that most of neighbor pixels are smooth. A new dataset can be obtained by multiplying the mixed matrix by the inverse of the new matrix. Thus, the search technique is used to searching for the lowest entropy values of the new data. Accordingly, the separation weight vector associated with the lowest entropy values can be obtained. Compared with the conventional independent component analysis (ICA), the original signals in the proposed algorithm are not required to be independent. Simulation results on MR images are employed to further show the advantages of the proposed method

Optimized sample preparation for two-dimensional gel electrophoresis of soluble proteins from chicken bursa of Fabricius

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE) is a powerful method to study protein expression and function in living organisms and diseases. This technique, however, has not been applied to avian bursa of Fabricius (BF), a central immune organ. Here, optimized 2-DE sample preparation methodologies were constructed for the chicken BF tissue. Using the optimized protocol, we performed further 2-DE analysis on a soluble protein extract from the BF of chickens infected with virulent avibirnavirus. To demonstrate the quality of the extracted proteins, several differentially expressed protein spots selected were cut from 2-DE gels and identified by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>An extraction buffer containing 7 M urea, 2 M thiourea, 2% (w/v) 3-[(3-cholamidopropyl)-dimethylammonio]-1-propanesulfonate (CHAPS), 50 mM dithiothreitol (DTT), 0.2% Bio-Lyte 3/10, 1 mM phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride (PMSF), 20 U/ml Deoxyribonuclease I (DNase I), and 0.25 mg/ml Ribonuclease A (RNase A), combined with sonication and vortex, yielded the best 2-DE data. Relative to non-frozen immobilized pH gradient (IPG) strips, frozen IPG strips did not result in significant changes in the 2-DE patterns after isoelectric focusing (IEF). When the optimized protocol was used to analyze the spleen and thymus, as well as avibirnavirus-infected bursa, high quality 2-DE protein expression profiles were obtained. 2-DE maps of BF of chickens infected with virulent avibirnavirus were visibly different and many differentially expressed proteins were found.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These results showed that method C, in concert extraction buffer IV, was the most favorable for preparing samples for IEF and subsequent protein separation and yielded the best quality 2-DE patterns. The optimized protocol is a useful sample preparation method for comparative proteomics analysis of chicken BF tissues.</p

Assessment of left ventricular function in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus by non-invasive myocardial work

BackgroundDiabetes mellitus (DM) is a chronic disease that poses a serious risk of cardiovascular diseases. Therefore, early detection of impaired cardiac function with non-invasive myocardial imaging is critical for improving the prognosis of patients with DM.PurposeThis study aimed to assess the left ventricular (LV) function in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) by non-invasive myocardial work technique.Materials and methodsIn all, 67 patients with T2DM and 28 healthy controls were included and divided into a DM group and a control group. Two-dimensional dynamic images of apical three-chamber view, apical two-chamber view, and apical four-chamber view were collected from all subjects, consisting of at least three cardiac cycles. LV myocardial strain parameters, including global longitudinal strain (GLS) and peak strain dispersion (PSD), as well as myocardial work parameters, including global constructive work (GCW), global wasted work (GWW), global work index (GWI), and global work efficiency (GWE), were obtained and analyzed.ResultsA total of 15 subjects were randomly selected to assess intra-observer and inter-observer consistency of myocardial work parameters and strain parameters, which showed excellent results (intra-class correlation coefficients: 0.856 - 0.983, P&lt;0.001). Compared with the control group, the DM group showed significantly higher PSD (37.59 ± 17.18 ms vs. 27.72 ± 13.52 ms, P&lt;0.05) and GWW (63.98 ± 43.63 mmHg% vs. 39.28 ± 25.67 mmHg%, P&lt;0.05), and lower GWE (96.38 ± 2.02% vs. 97.72 ± 0.98%, P&lt;0.001). Furthermore, the PSD was positively correlated with GWW (r = 0.565, P&lt;0.001) and negatively correlated with GWE (r = -0.569, P&lt;0.001).ConclusionUncoordinated LV myocardial strain, higher GWW, and lower GWE in patients with T2DM may serve as indicators for the early assessment of cardiac impairment in T2DM

Influencing of serum inflammatory factors on IVF/ICSI outcomes among PCOS patients with different BMI

IntroductionOverweight and obese are important factors leading to the occurrence of long-term complications in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). There has been controversy over whether dissatisfaction with pregnancy outcomes in PCOS patients is influenced by chronic inflammatory status or obesity. This retrospective study analyzed the levels of inflammatory factors in PCOS patients with different body mass index (BMI) groups and effective predictors of in vitro fertilization/intracytoplasmic sperm injection (IVF/ICSI) pregnancy outcomes.MethodsThere were 273 women with PCOS diagnosed who completed serum inflammatory factors test between January 2017 and June 2022 were selected. The data of 7,649 infertility PCOS patients who received their first IVF/ICSI treatment in the Reproductive Center of Peking University Third Hospital during the period of the study were collected. Finally, 92 PCOS patients were included in the high BMI group, while 97 patients were included in the normal BMI group. Baseline characteristics were collected and the pregnancy outcomes were compared among the two groups. Then, serum inflammatory factors’ effect on IVF/ICSI pregnancy outcomes were analyzed with age, anti-Mullerian Hormone (AMH) and BMI adjusted.ResultsPCOS patients in the high BMI group significantly had a lower number of oocytes retrieved and good quality embryos. The high BMI group PCOS patients had higher levels of IL-6 and lower cumulative clinical pregnancy and live birth rates. The level of GM-CSF was higher in the first cycle transfer and cumulative miscarriage group. High TNF-α was negatively correlated with the first transfer cycle and cumulative clinical pregnancy rates after age, AMH and high BMI adjusted. In addition, the cumulative live birth rate was negatively correlated with high IL-6, but the first cycle transfer and cumulative live birth rates were positively correlated with high IL-1β.DiscussionFor PCOS patients, in addition to BMI, attention should also be paid to inflammatory indicators. High levels of TNF-α and IL-6 were negatively correlated with pregnancy outcomes, but high IL-1β was positively correlated with live birth rates among PCOS patients. The level of GM-CSF was higher in miscarriage PCOS patients

Acidosis Decreases c-Myc Oncogene Expression in Human Lymphoma Cells: A Role for the Proton-Sensing G Protein-Coupled Receptor TDAG8

Acidosis is a biochemical hallmark of the tumor microenvironment. Here, we report that acute acidosis decreases c-Myc oncogene expression in U937 human lymphoma cells. The level of c-Myc transcripts, but not mRNA or protein stability, contributes to c-Myc protein reduction under acidosis. The pH-sensing receptor TDAG8 (GPR65) is involved in acidosis-induced c-Myc downregulation. TDAG8 is expressed in U937 lymphoma cells, and the overexpression or knockdown of TDAG8 further decreases or partially rescues c-Myc expression, respectively. Acidic pH alone is insufficient to reduce c-Myc expression, as it does not decrease c-Myc in H1299 lung cancer cells expressing very low levels of pH-sensing G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). Instead, c-Myc is slightly increased by acidosis in H1299 cells, but this increase is completely inhibited by ectopic overexpression of TDAG8. Interestingly, TDAG8 expression is decreased by more than 50% in human lymphoma samples in comparison to non-tumorous lymph nodes and spleens, suggesting a potential tumor suppressor function of TDAG8 in lymphoma. Collectively, our results identify a novel mechanism of c-Myc regulation by acidosis in the tumor microenvironment and indicate that modulation of TDAG8 and related pH-sensing receptor pathways may be exploited as a new approach to inhibit Myc expression

Modified right heart contrast echocardiography versus traditional method in diagnosis of right-to-left shunt : a comparative study

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the reliability, effectiveness, and safety of modified right heart contrast transthoracic echocardiography (cTTE) in comparison with the traditional method. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We performed a modified right heart cTTE using saline mixed with a small sample of patient's own blood. Samples were agitated with varying intensity. This study protocol involved microscopic analysis and patient evaluation. 1. Microscopic analysis: After two contrast samples had been agitated 10 or 20 times, they underwent a comparison of bubble size, bubble number, and red blood cell morphology. 2. Patient analysis: 40 patients with suspected RLS (right- to-left shunt) were enrolled. All patients underwent right heart contrast echocardiography. Oxygen saturation, transit time and duration, presence of RLS, change in indirect bilirubin and urobilinogen concentrations were compared afterward. RESULTS: Modified method generated more bubbles (P0.05). Twenty-four patients were diagnosed with RLS (60%) using the modified method compared to 16 patients (40%) with the traditional method. The transit time of ASb20 group was the shortest (P<0.05). However, the duration time in this group was much longer (P<0.05). Also, in semi-quantitative analysis mean rank of RLS was higher after injecting the modified contrast agent agitated 20 times (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Modified right heart contrast echocardiography is a reliable, effective and safe method of detecting cardiovascular RLS

Case report: Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) modified RNA vaccination-induced Adult-Onset Still's Disease with fulminant myocarditis as initial presentation

Myocarditis is a rare complication of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination. We report a case of an elderly female who presented initially with acute myocarditis, fulminant heart failure, and atrial fibrillation after receiving a modified ribonucleic acid (mRNA) vaccine (BNT162b2). Unlike other patients with vaccine-induced myocarditis, she developed persistent fever, sore throat, polyarthralgia, diffuse macular rash, and lymphadenopathy. After extensive investigation, she was diagnosed with post-vaccination Adult-Onset Still's Disease. The systemic inflammation gradually subsided after the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and systemic steroids. She was discharged from hospital with stable hemodynamics. Methotrexate was subsequently given to maintain long-term remission

Hemodynamic changes in left anterior descending coronary artery and anterior interventricular vein during right ventricular apical pacing: a doppler ultrasound study in open chest beagles.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to quantify the effects of right ventricular apical pacing (RVAP) on hemodynamics in left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD) and anterior interventricular vein (AIV) contrast to baseline condition in open chest beagles using Doppler ultrasound imaging. METHODS: In 6 anesthetized open chest beagles, the spectral Doppler waveforms of the middle segmental LAD and the AIV were acquired with a 5 MHz linear array transducer at baseline condition and during RVAP. The aortic pressure-time curves were recorded synchronously. The Doppler hemodynamic parameters of the LAD and AIV at both states were derived and compared. RESULTS: The spectral Doppler waveforms of the LAD had a principal diastolic positive wave (Dp), which heelled by a momentary negative wave and a positive wave during early systole at baseline condition. During RVAP, an additional negative wave appeared in the LAD at late systole. The duration of the Dp shortened (227.83±12.16 ms vs 188.50±8.97 ms, P<0.001), and the acceleration of the Dp decreased (11.85±2.22 m/s(2) vs 3.54±0.42 m/s(2), P<0.001). The spectral Doppler waveforms of the AIV only had a principal positive wave (Sp) at baseline condition, but an additional diastolic negative wave appeared during RVAP. The duration of the Sp shortened (242.99±7.98 ms vs 215.38±15.44 ms, P<0.001), and the acceleration of the Sp decreased (9.61±1.93 m/s(2) vs 1.01±0.11 m/s(2), P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Obvious hemodynamic changes in the LAD and AIV during RVAP were observed, and these abnormal flow patterns in epicardial coronary arteries and vena coronaria may be sensitive and important hints of the disturbed cardiac electrical and mechanical activity sequences

Analysis on differential gene expression data for prediction of new biological features in permanent atrial fibrillation

Permanent Atrial fibrillation (pmAF) has largely remained incurable since the existing information for explaining precise mechanisms underlying pmAF is not sufficient. Microarray analysis offers a broader and unbiased approach to identify and predict new biological features of pmAF. By considering the unbalanced sample numbers in most microarray data of case - control, we designed an asymmetric principal component analysis algorithm and applied it to re - analyze differential gene expression data of pmAF patients and control samples for predicting new biological features. Finally, we identified 51 differentially expressed genes using the proposed method, in which 42 differentially expressed genes are new findings compared with two related works on the same data and the existing studies. The enrichment analysis illustrated the reliability of identified differentially expressed genes. Moreover, we predicted three new pmAF – related signaling pathways using the identified differentially expressed genes via the KO-Based Annotation System. Our analysis and the existing studies supported that the predicted signaling pathways may promote the pmAF progression. The results above are worthy to do further experimental studies. This work provides some new insights into molecular features of pmAF. It has also the potentially important implications for improved understanding of the molecular mechanisms of pmAF.Published versio