•A novel pipeline for 2D Ultrasound image to 3D CT/MR volume registration.•Use classification network to predict slice to volume orientation.•Employ segmentation network to solve registration ...problem.•A distance map based DICE loss function is proposed for the registration tasks.
Liver tumor ablation is often guided by ultrasound (US). Due to poor image quality, intraoperative US is fused with preoperative computed tomography or magnetic tomography (CT/MR) images to provide visual guidance. As of today, the underlying 2D US to 3D CT/MR registration problem remains a very challenging task.
We propose a novel pipeline to address this registration problem. Contrary to previous work, we do not formulate the problem as a regression task, which - for the given registration problem - achieves a low performance regarding accuracy and robustness due to the limited US soft-tissue contrast and the inter-patient variability on liver vessels. Instead, we first estimate the US probe angle roughly by using a classification network. Given this coarse initialization, we then improve the registration by formulation of the problem as a segmentation task, estimating the US plane in the 3D CT/MR through segmentation.
We benchmark our approach on 1035 clinical images from 52 patients, yielding average registration errors of 11.6° and 4.7 mm, which outperforms the state of the art SVR method1.
Our results show the efficiency of the proposed registration pipeline, which has potential to improve the robustness and accuracy of intraoperative patient registration.
Mitochondria are critical to cardiac injury during reperfusion as a result of damage sustained during ischemia, including the loss of bcl-2. We asked if bcl-2 depletion not only leads to selective ...permeation of the outer mitochondrial membrane (MOMP) favoring cytochrome c release and programmed cell death, but also favors opening of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore (MPTP). An increase in MPTP susceptibility would support a role for bcl-2 depletion mediated cell death in the calcium overload setting of early reperfusion via MPTP as well as later in reperfusion via MOMP as myocardial calcium content normalizes.
Calcium retention capacity (CRC) was used to reflect the sensitivity of the MPTP opening in isolated cardiac mitochondria. To study the relationship between bcl-2 inhibition and MPTP opening, mitochondria were incubated with a bcl-2 inhibitor (HA14-1) and CRC measured. The contribution of preserved bcl-2 content to MPTP opening following ischemia-reperfusion was explored using transgenic bcl-2 overexpressed mice.
CRC was decreased in mitochondria following reperfusion compared to ischemia alone, indicating that reperfusion further sensitizes to MPTP opening. Incubation of ischemia-damaged mitochondria with increasing HA14-1concentrations increased calcium-stimulated MPTP opening, supporting that functional inhibition of bcl-2 during simulated reperfusion favors MPTP opening. Moreover, HA14-1 sensitivity was increased by ischemia compared to non-ischemic controls. Overexpression of bcl-2 attenuated MPTP opening in following ischemia-reperfusion. HA14-1 inhibition also increased the permeability of the outer membrane in the absence of exogenous calcium, indicating that bcl-2 inhibition favors MOMP when calcium is low.
The depletion and functional inhibition of bcl-2 contributes to cardiac injury by increasing susceptibility to MPTP opening in high calcium environments and MOMP in the absence of calcium overload. Thus, ischemia-damaged mitochondria with decreased bcl-2 content are susceptible to MPTP opening in early reperfusion and MOMP later in reperfusion when cytosolic calcium has normalized.
Left atrial enlargement (LAE) is a common cardiac structural change in patients with hypertension, and obesity could further promote LAE. However, little is known about the effect of overweight on ...left atrial size, and if there is a gender difference of the effect. The aim of this study was to analyze the effects of different body mass index (BMI) grades (normal weight, overweight, and obesity) on left atrial size in both male and female patients with hypertension.
A total of 710 patients with hypertension were divided into 3 study groups: normal weight group (BMI < 24 g/m
2
, n = 302), overweight group (24 kg/m
2
≤ BMI < 28 kg
2
, n = 318), and obesity group (BMI ≥28 kg/m
2
, n = 90). The clinical data, echocardiographic indexes and left atrial size were obtained from all the subjects. Pearson correlation analysis was used to analyze the correlation between clinical variables and left atrial diameter (LAD)/left atrial diameter index (LADI), and stepwise regression evaluation was used to study the relevant factors affecting LAD/LADI among all patients, male and female patients for possible gender difference.
The significant difference in LADI was noted in the three study groups with obesity group of 23.96 ± 2.90 mm/m, overweight group of 22.50 ± 3.02 mm/m and normal weight group of 21.08 ± 2.80 mm/m, respectively (P < . 05). After adjusting for age and gender, there was still significant difference in LADI among the three groups (P < . 05). The correlation between BMI and LADI was higher than that between systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) (r = 0.348 vs 0.092 and −0.068, respectively, P < .05). After adjusting for other influencing factors, there was still a significant correlation between BMI and LADI (β = 0.326, P < .001), but no correlation was found between SBP and DBP (P > .05). For each additional unit of BMI, LAD increased by 0.034 mm and LADI increased by 0.305 mm/m. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that BMI, left ventricular mass index (LVMI), age and female gender were independently correlated with LADI (P < .05). And BMI was the most significant influencing factor of LADI in male patients (β = 0.350, P < .001), followed by LVMI (β = 0.343, P < .001). While in female patients, LVMI was the most significant (β = 0.353, P < .001), followed by BMI (β = 0.302, P < .001).
Overweight and obesity were significantly associated with LAE in hypertensive patients, with obesity more significant than overweight. While BMI had the greatest correlation with LAE in male, LVMI was the most important determinant of LAE in female. Therefore, in addition to weight loss, more attention should be paid to early inhibition of left ventricular remodeling in female with hypertension.
ABT-737, which blocks the function of Bcl-2 and Bcl-X(L) but not Mcl-1, has shown single-agent activity in preclinical models of small cell lung cancer (SCLC). Elevated expression of Mcl-1 induces ...resistance to ABT-737 in SCLC. Based on the short half-life of Mcl-1 mRNA and protein, we hypothesized that the actinomycin D could reverse Mcl-1-induced resistance to ABT-737.
The dose-response of multiple SCLC cell lines to actinomycin D in the absence and presence of ABT-737 was followed by the assessment of Bcl-2 family expression and poly ADP ribose polymerase cleavage by Western blot, viability by tetrazolium dye reduction and clonogenic assay, and cell cycle kinetics by flow cytometry.
Actinomycin D decreased Mcl-1 expression and resulted in a cell line-dependent increase in Noxa expression. Clinically relevant concentrations of actinomycin D from 0.4 to 4 ng/mL showed single-agent activity across a panel of SCLC cell lines. When combined with low micromolar doses of ABT-737, near complete loss of viability was seen with synergistic combination indices of 0.5 to 0.7. Exposure to 4 ng/mL actinomycin was only required for the first 24 hours of the combined incubation, mimicking a clinically achievable area under the curve, but the presence of ABT-737 was required for an additional 48 hours to obtain maximal effect.
Clinically relevant concentrations of actinomycin D act synergistically with ABT-737 to induce SCLC apoptosis, which can be at least partially attributed to the actinomycin D-induced decrease in Mcl-1 and increase in Noxa expression. Taken together, these data suggest the feasibility of combining actinomycin D with BH3-mimetic drugs in the clinical setting.
Changes in volatile compounds of fermented minced pepper (FMP) during natural fermentation (NF) and inoculated fermentation (IF) process were analyzed by the headspace–gas chromatography–ion mobility ...spectrometry (HS‐GC‐IMS). A total of 53 volatile compounds were identified, including 12 esters, 17 aldehydes, 13 alcohols, four ketones, three furans, two acids, one pyrazine, and one ether. Generally, fermentation time played an important role in volatile compounds of FMP. It was found that most esters, aldehydes, and alcohols obviously decreased with the increase in fermentation time, including isoamyl hexanoate, methyl octanoate, gamma‐butyrolactone, phenylacetaldehyde, methional, and E‐2‐hexenol. Only a few volatile compounds increased, especially for 2‐methylbutanoic acid, 2‐methylpropionic acid, linalool, ethanol, and ethyl acetate. However, no significant difference in volatile compounds was found between NF and IF samples at the same fermentation time. In addition, the fermentation process in all samples was well discriminated as three stages (0 days; 6 day; and 12, 18, and 24 days), and all volatile compounds were divided into two categories (increase and decrease) based on principal component analysis and heat map.
Changes in volatile compounds of FMP during NF and IF process were analyzed by HS‐GC‐IMS. Fermentation time played an important role in volatile compounds of FMP. Most esters, aldehydes, and alcohols obviously decreased, and only a few volatile compounds increased during NF and IF, especially for acids. NF and IF posed little effect on volatile compounds of FMP.
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•Curdlan oligosaccharides (CDOS) was obtained by H2O2 degradation of curdlan.•Chlorogenic acid (CA) was conjugated to CDOS by a free radical-mediated method.•Grafting CA onto CDOS ...improved the antioxidant and probiotic activities of CDOS.•SCFAs and Prevotella were enriched by in vitro fermentation of CDOS-CA conjugates.
In this study, the effects of grafting chlorogenic acid (CA) on the antioxidant and probiotic activities of curdlan oligosaccharides (CDOS) were investigated. CDOS with degrees of polymerization of 3–6 was first obtained by degradation of curdlan with hydrogen peroxide and then grafted with CA using a free radical-mediated method under an ultrasonication-assisted Fenton system. The thermal stability and antioxidant ability of CDOS were enhanced after grafting with CA. In vitro fermentation, supplementation of CDOS-CA stimulated the proliferation of Prevotella and Faecalibacterium while inhibiting the growth of harmful microbiota. Notably, the concentration of total short-chain fatty acids and the relative abundance of beneficial bacteria markedly increased after fermentation of CDOS-CA, indicating that CA grafting could improve the probiotic activity of CDOS. Overall, the covalent binding of CDOS and CA could enhance the antioxidant and probiotic activities of CDOS, suggesting potential improvements in gastrointestinal and colonic health.
The eco-friendly polyelectrolyte bilayer films were prepared by layer-by-layer (LBL) casting method using chitosan (CS) and four types of edible citrus pectin as film substrates. The results showed ...that the polyelectrolyte bilayer films exhibited excellent comprehensive properties. Furthermore, the interaction between CS and pectin was closely related to the degree of methyl-esterification (DM), molecular weight (Mw), and zeta potential of pectin. The low DM, Mw, and high zeta potential of the low methyl-esterified pectin (LM) resulted in a denser internal structure of the bilayer film, stronger UV shielding performance, and stronger gas barrier ability. The high DM and Mw of the high methyl-esterified pectin (HM) endow the bilayer film with stronger mechanical properties, thermal stability, and antifogging property. The microstructural and spectroscopic analysis showed that there are hydrogen bonds and electrostatic interactions between the layers. Overall, the developed CS-pectin polyelectrolyte bilayer films provided potential applications for food bioactive packaging.
The effects of hydrothermal (HT)-calcium chloride (CaCl
2
) treatment on water loss, chlorophylls, L-ascorbic acid, total phenol, antioxidant capacity, malondialdehyde (MDA), peroxidase (POD), ...polyphenol oxidase (PPO), catalase (CAT), and phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL) of peppers were assessed for 32 days of storage at 8°C. The results showed two water populations corresponding to strongly immobilized water and weakly bound water were observed in all the peppers. Comparing with other treatments, HT-CaCl
2
treatment restricted water mobility and maintained higher immobilized water content during storage. HT-CaCl
2
treated peppers showed lower MDA content whereas presented higher chlorophylls, L-ascorbic acid, total phenol content, and stronger antioxidant capacities than those subjected to other treatments. These characteristics indicated HT-CaCl
2
treatment improved storage quality of postharvest peppers. In addition, HT-CaCl
2
treatment retained lower POD, PPO, and PAL activities and higher CAT activity in the peppers during storage than other treatments, respectively. Based on above results, the combination of HT and CaCl
2
treatment showed positive and continuous effects on the quality attributes and related enzyme activities of peppers during storage.
In this study, starch extracted from lily bulbs were modified using an ultra‐high pressure (UHP) treatment at six different pressure levels (100, 200, 300, 400, 500, and 600 MPa). The effects of UHP ...treatment on the physicochemical and morphological properties of lily starch were investigated. The morphological observation revealed that UHP treatment led to particle expansion and aggregation. Compared with the native and lily starch treated at 100–500 MPa, the lily starch treated at 600 MPa exhibited almost completely disrupted morphology and a larger particle size, indicating nearly complete gelatinization of the starch. The relative crystallinity of the UHP‐treated starch remarkably reduced. Gelatinization temperatures via differential scanning calorimetry decreased with increasing pressure. The rapid viscoanalyzer results revealed that the lily starch treated with UHP at 600 MPa showed low values of peak viscosity, trough viscosity, breakdown, final viscosity, and setback. These results indicated that UHP was an effective physical modification method for lily starch, UHP treatment (600 MPa, 30 min) caused nearly complete gelatinization of lily starch, and lily starch modified using UHP might expand the application of lily in the food field.
In this study, starch extracted from lily bulbs were modified using an ultra‐high pressure (UHP) treatment at six different pressure levels (100, 200, 300, 400, 500, and 600 MPa). The results indicated that UHP was an effective physical modification method for lily starch, UHP treatment (600 MPa, 30 min) caused complete gelatinisation of lily starch, and lily starch modified using UHP might expand the application of lily in the food field.
The application of traditional electrode materials for high‐performance capacitive deionization (CDI) has been persistently limited by their low charge‐storage capacities, excessive co‐ion expulsion ...and slow salt removal rates. Here we report a bottom‐up approach to the preparation of a two‐dimensional (2D) Ti3C2Tx MXene‐polydopamine heterostructure having ordered in‐plane mesochannels (denoted as mPDA/MXene). Interfacial self‐assembly of mesoporous polydopamine (mPDA) monolayers on MXene nanosheets leads to the mPDA/MXene heterostructure, which exhibits several unique features: (1) MXene undergoes reversible ion intercalation/deintercalation and possesses high conductivity; (2) mPDA layers establish redox capacitive characteristics and Na+ selectivity, and also help to prevent self‐stacking and oxidation of MXene; (3) in‐plane mesochannels enable the smooth transport of ions at the internal spaces of this stacked 2D material. When applied as an electrode material for CDI, mPDA/MXene nanosheets exhibit top‐level CDI performance and cycling stability compared to those of the so far reported 2D materials. Our study opens an avenue for the rational construction of MXene‐organic hybrid heterostructures, and further motivates the development of high‐performance CDI electrode materials.
This communication reports a bottom‐up approach to a two‐dimensional (2D) Ti3C2Tx MXene‐polydopamine heterostructure with ordered in‐plane cylindrical mesochannels. The resultant 2D heterostructure shows top‐level CDI performance in its application as electrode material for capacitive deionization.
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