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- ArticleHerrmann JR, Morgan RW, Berg RA.Resuscitation. 2024 09;202:110364.
- ArticleLambert SJ, Lunde B, Porsch L, Stoffels G, MacIsaac L, Dayananda I, Dragoman MV.Contraception. 2024 04;132:110364.OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to compare effectiveness and safety of cervical preparation with osmotic dilators plus same-day misoprostol or overnight mifepristone prior to dilation and evacuation (D&E).
STUDY DESIGN: We conducted a retrospective cohort analysis of 664 patients initiating abortion between 18 and 22 weeks at an ambulatory health center. We abstracted medical record data from two consecutive 12-month periods in 2017 to 2019. All patients received overnight dilators plus: 600 mcg buccal misoprostol 90 minutes before D&E (period 1); 200 mg oral mifepristone at time of dilators (period 2). Our primary outcome was procedure time. We report frequency of patients experiencing any acute complication, defined as unplanned procedure (i.e., reaspiration, cervical laceration repair, uterine balloon tamponade) or hospital transfer and bleeding complications.
RESULTS: We observed higher mean procedure time in the mifepristone group (9.7 ± 5.3 minutes vs 7.9 ± 4.4, p = 0.004). After adjusting for race, ethnicity, insurance, body mass index, parity, prior cesarean, prior uterine surgery, gestational age, provider, trainee participation, and long-acting reversible contraception initiation, the difference remained statistically significant (relative change 1.09, 95% CI 1.01, 1.17) but failed to reach our threshold for clinical significance. The use of additional misoprostol was more common in the mifepristone group, but the use of an additional set of dilators was not different between groups. Acute complications occurred at a frequency of 4.1% in misoprostol group and 4.3% in mifepristone group (p = 0.90).
CONCLUSIONS: We found procedure time to be longer with adjunctive mifepristone compared to misoprostol; however, this difference is unlikely to be clinically meaningful. Furthermore, the frequency of acute complications was similar between groups.
IMPLICATIONS: Overnight mifepristone at the time of cervical dilator placement is a safe and effective alternative to adjuvant same-day misoprostol for cervical preparation prior to D&E and may offer benefits for clinic flow and patient experience. - ArticleHuang M, García-Mateos G, Fernandez-Beltran R.Data Brief. 2024 Jun;54:110364.Shadow, a natural phenomenon resulting from the absence of direct lighting, finds diverse real-world applications beyond computer vision, such as studying its effect on photosynthesis in plants and on the reduction of solar energy harvesting through photovoltaic panels. This article presents a dataset comprising 50,000 pairs of photorealistic computer-rendered images along with their corresponding physics-based shadow masks, primarily focused on agricultural settings with human activity in the field. The images are generated by simulating a scene in 3D modeling software to produce a pair of top-down images, consisting of a regular image and an overexposed image achieved by adjusting lighting parameters. Specifically, the strength of the light source representing the sun is increased, and all indirect lighting, including global illumination and light bouncing, is disabled. The resulting overexposed image is later converted into a physically accurate shadow mask with minimal annotation errors through post-processing techniques. This dataset holds promise for future research, serving as a basis for transfer learning or as a benchmark for model evaluation in the realm of shadow-related applications such as shadow detection and removal.
- ArticleMeng Z, Wang K, Lan Q, Zhou T, Lin Y, Jiang Z, Chen J, Lin Y, Liu X, Lin H, Lin D.Int Immunopharmacol. 2023 Jul;120:110364.BACKGROUND: Flap necrosis is a common issue encountered in clinical flap transplantation surgery. Here, we assessed the effects of saxagliptin, a dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor, on flap survival and explored the underlying mechanisms.
METHODS: A dorsal McFarlane flap model was established in 36 rats, which were randomly divided into a high-dose saxagliptin (HS) group (saxagliptin, 30 mg/kg/day, n = 12), low-dose saxagliptin (LS) group (saxagliptin, 10 mg/kg/day, n = 12), and control group (n = 12). On day 7, flap survival was examined by eye in six rats from each group, along with determination of blood perfusion by laser Doppler flowmetry and angiogenesis by angiography. The remaining rats were sacrificed for harvesting of flap tissue. The status of the flap tissue was examined histopathologically by staining with hematoxylin and eosin (H&E). Oxidative stress was evaluated by determination of superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and malonaldehyde (MDA) content. Gasdermin D (GSDMD), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), NOD-like receptor pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3), interleukin (IL)-6, IL-18, Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), IL-1β, caspase-1, and nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) expression were detected by immunohistochemical analysis.
RESULTS: The experimental group exhibited a larger area of flap survival, with more blood perfusion and neovascularization and better histopathological status than the control group. The degree of oxidative stress and the levels of NF-κB, TLR4, proinflammatory cytokines, and pyroptosis-associated protein were decreased in the experimental group, while the VEGF level was increased in a saxagliptin dose-dependent manner.
CONCLUSION: Saxagliptin promotes random skin flap survival. - ArticleJansen C, Paraiso KD, Zhou JJ, Blitz IL, Fish MB, Charney RM, Cho JS, Yasuoka Y, Sudou N, Bright AR, Wlizla M, Veenstra GJC, Taira M, Zorn AM, Mortazavi A, Cho KWY.Cell Rep. 2022 02 15;38(7):110364.Mesendodermal specification is one of the earliest events in embryogenesis, where cells first acquire distinct identities. Cell differentiation is a highly regulated process that involves the function of numerous transcription factors (TFs) and signaling molecules, which can be described with gene regulatory networks (GRNs). Cell differentiation GRNs are difficult to build because existing mechanistic methods are low throughput, and high-throughput methods tend to be non-mechanistic. Additionally, integrating highly dimensional data composed of more than two data types is challenging. Here, we use linked self-organizing maps to combine chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing (ChIP-seq)/ATAC-seq with temporal, spatial, and perturbation RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) data from Xenopus tropicalis mesendoderm development to build a high-resolution genome scale mechanistic GRN. We recover both known and previously unsuspected TF-DNA/TF-TF interactions validated through reporter assays. Our analysis provides insights into transcriptional regulation of early cell fate decisions and provides a general approach to building GRNs using highly dimensional multi-omic datasets.
- ArticleEpro G, König M, James D, Lambrianides Y, Werth J, Hunter S, Karamanidis K.J Biomech. 2021 05 07;120:110364.Differences in the adaptation processes between muscle and tendon in response to mechanical loading can lead to non-uniform mechanical properties within the muscle-tendon unit (MTU), potentially increasing injury risk. The current study analysed the mechanical properties of the triceps surae (TS) MTU in 10 young (YS; 22 ± 3 yrs) and 10 older (OS; age 65 ± 8 yrs; i.e. master) (inter)national level sprinters and 11 young recreationally active adults (YC; 23 ± 3 yrs) to detect possible non-uniformities in muscle and tendon adaptation due to habitual mechanical loading and ageing. Triceps surae muscle strength, tendon stiffness and maximal tendon strain were assessed in both legs during maximal voluntary isometric plantarflexion contractions via dynamometry and ultrasonography. Irrespective of the leg, OS and YC in comparison to YS demonstrated significantly (P < 0.05) lower TS muscle strength and tendon stiffness, with no differences between OS and YC. Furthermore, no group differences were detected in the maximal tendon strain (average of both legs: OS 3.7 ± 0.8%, YC 4.4 ± 0.8% and YS 4.3 ± 0.9%) as well as in the inter-limb symmetry indexes in muscle strength, tendon stiffness and maximal tendon strain (range across groups: -5.8 to 4.9%; negative value reflects higher value for the non-preferred leg). Thus, the findings provide no clear evidence for a disruption in the TS MTU uniformity in master sprinters, demonstrating that ageing tendons can maintain their integrity to meet the increased functional demand due to elite sports.
- ArticleWang J, Zhang Z, Wang J, Shi L, Wang S, Niu B, Tian X, Lv Q, Wei L, Li M, Liu Y.Vet Microbiol. 2025 Feb;301:110364.Probiotics effectively alleviate host diarrhoea, but the specific mechanism is not clear. Therefore, we explored the protective mechanism of Bacillus coagulans (BC) on intestinal barrier injury induced by Klebsiella pneumoniae (K. pneumoniae) in rabbits by HE, immunofluorescence and 16S rRNA. The results showed that BC pretreatment alleviated the changes in average daily gain, average daily feed intake and FCR caused by K. pneumoniae in rabbits. Moreover, BC alleviated the inflammatory cell infiltration, intestinal villus reduction, crypt deepening and goblet cell reduction caused by K. pneumoniae in rabbits. Further research revealed that BC improved the intestinal barrier by improving the mechanical barrier, chemical barrier, immune barrier and microbial barrier. Specifically, BC improved the intestinal mechanical barrier by improving the intestinal structure, increasing the protein expression of PCNA, increasing the number of goblet cells, and altering the expression of occludin, claudin-1 and ZO-1. BC improved the intestinal chemical barrier by regulating the expression of MUC1 and MUC2 and inhibited the TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB signalling pathway by altering the expression levels of the inflammatory factors IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α, thus optimizing the intestinal immune barrier. In addition, adding BC to the diet improved the intestinal microbial barrier of rabbits by reducing the abundance of harmful bacteria and increasing the abundance of beneficial bacteria. In summary, BC protects against K. pneumoniae-induced intestinal barrier damage by improving intestinal morphology, mitigating the inflammatory response and regulating the microbial composition. Among the pretreatments, the pretreatment effect of 1 × 106 CFU/g was the best. This study provides a theoretical basis for the use of BC to prevent and treat diarrhoea caused by K. pneumoniae in rabbits.
- ArticleSinghal A.Clin Imaging. 2025 Jan;117:110364.
- ArticleArcher SN, Möller-Levet C, Bonmatí-Carrión MÁ, Laing EE, Dijk DJ.iScience. 2024 Jul 19;27(7):110364.[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2024.109331.].
- ArticlePareja-Carrera J, Martinez-Haro M, Mateo R, Rodríguez-Estival J.Environ Res. 2021 05;196:110364.The chronic exposure of livestock to lead (Pb) pollution in historical mining areas may represent significant and unnecessary costs for farmers and primary producers, in addition to important food safety risks. Here, we evaluate the effect of mineral supplements, in the form of a commercial mineral block (MB), to reduce Pb bioavailability and toxicity in sheep through an experimental approach under real farming conditions in an abandoned mining area. Blood, fecal Pb levels, and soil ingestion, along with different blood and plasma biomarkers were studied. Experiment 1 was carried out with 3-months-old female lambs, n = 54, fenced in two contiguous MB and non-MB-supplemented plots. After 20 days of treatment, blood Pb level was lower in MB-supplemented sheep than in those that were non-MB-supplemented. Experiment 2 was carried out with 2-months-old female lambs, n = 34, fenced in a single plot and MB-supplemented during the first 20 days of experiment. After MB supplementation, blood Pb level in sheep was also reduced by almost half, falling below the threshold of subclinical intoxication, and then increased again after 20 days without MB. Experiment 3 was carried out with adult rams, n = 10, fenced in a single MB-supplemented plot during the first 20 days of experiment. In this case, blood Pb level decreased by day 40. Soil ingestion was not reduced by MB supplementation in any of the experiments. MB supplementation favored antioxidant status by increasing SOD activity and reducing GPX activity and MDA levels. In conclusion, the MB supplementation seemed to reduce Pb bioavailability by increasing its fecal excretion, but renal excretion and bone deposition may also have favored the reduction of blood Pb concentration. Mineral supplements may be a new easy-to-apply and cost-effective way to reduce livestock exposure in Pb polluted sites.
- ArticleMuñoz-Morales M, Sáez C, Cañizares P, Rodrigo MA.J Environ Manage. 2020 May 15;262:110364.In this work, a three-step process (adsorption-desorption-electrolysis) is evaluated as an interesting approach for the removal of organochlorinated compounds (clopyralid, lindane and perchloroethylene) with different physical properties (solubility and vapor pressure) from low concentrated wastewater. First steps are based on the adsorptive capacity of granular active carbon (GAC) particles to retain organics and on the solvent capacity of methanol to extract them to concentrated solution and regenerate GAC. In the last step of electrolysis with conductive diamond electrodes, the degradation of pesticide is projected, as well as the recovery of methanol. Results show that clopyralid, lindane and PCE are efficiently retained in GAC, although adsorption efficiency depend on pollutant/GAC ratio and physicochemical properties of pollutant. Pretreatment allows the concentration of clopyralid and PCE solutions up to 8 times, but worse results are obtained in case of lindane solutions. Electrolysis of concentrated methanol solution seems to be more efficient than electrolysis of diluted aqueous wastes, mainly in the case of clopyralid. In all cases, electrochemical degradation fits a first order kinetics confirming mixed oxidation mechanisms with diffusion control of the direct processes and mediated oxidation. Results obtained in terms of current efficiency and energy consumption of electrolysis step point out the lower operation cost of concentrated liquid wastes and encourage further works on the development of cost-effective combined processes for the treatment of diluted solutions polluted with polar compounds (such as clopyralid).
- ArticleMittal N, Mittal R.Med Hypotheses. 2021 Jan;146:110364.In an effort to curb the global pandemic due to coronavirus, the scientific community is exploring various treatment strategies with a special emphasis on drug repurposing. Ivermectin, an anti-helminthic drug is also being proposed for treatment and prevention of COVID-19. Ivermectin has demonstrated broad spectrum antiviral activity against both DNA and RNA viruses. Due to its potential to interfere with transport of SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein to nucleus, it is being proposed to have antiviral activity against this virus as well which has been confirmed in an in-vitro study. However, in-vitro to in-vivo extrapolation studies indicate an inability to achieve the desired IC50 levels of ivermectin after oral administration of doses up to 10 times higher than the approved anti-helminthic dose. In a modelling simulation study, drug accumulation in the lungs was noticed at levels having potential antiviral activity. It is hypothesised that inhaled formulation of ivermectin may be effective against SARS-CoV-2. Therefore, ivermectin administered via inhalational route needs to be explored for potential beneficial role in COVID-19 in preclinical and clinical studies. We also hypothesise the possibility of drug having anti-inflammatory action in coronavirus associated severe respiratory illness based on few in-vitro and in-vivo reports which however needs to be confirmed clinically.
- ArticleHuang M, Zhang L, Zhou L, Yung WS, Wang Z, Xiao Z, Wang Q, Wang X, Li MW, Lam HM.Genomics. 2022 05;114(3):110364.Accessible chromatin regions (ACRs) are tightly associated with gene expressions in the genome. Conserved non-coding cis-regulatory elements, such as transcription factor binding motifs, are usually found in ACRs, indicating an essential regulatory role of ACRs in the plant genome architecture. However, there have been few studies on soybean ACRs, especially those focusing on specific tissues. Hence, in this study, with the convenient ATAC-seq, we identified the ACRs in six soybean tissues, including root, leaf bud, flower, flower bud, developing seed, and pod. In total, the ACRs occupied about 3.3% of the entire soybean genome. By integrating the results from RNA-seq and transcription factor (TF) ChIP-seq, ACRs were found to be tightly associated with gene expressions and TF binding capacities in soybean. Together, these data provide a comprehensive understanding of the genomic features of ACRs in soybean. As a collection of essential genomic resources, these processed data are made available at datahub.wildsoydb.org.
- ArticleSyal R, Kumar R, Chhabra S, Kamal M.J Clin Anesth. 2021 11;74:110364.
- ArticlePinto D, Cádiz-Gurrea ML, Vallverdú-Queralt A, Delerue-Matos C, Rodrigues F.Food Res Int. 2021 06;144:110364.Castanea sativa is an outstanding species that represents a valuable natural resource for rural populations. C. sativa shells (CSS), an abundant agro-industrial by-product generated during chestnut peeling process, is commonly discarded or used as fuel. Nevertheless, CSS produced are not depleted by this application and huge amounts are still available, being particularly rich in bioactive compounds (polyphenols, vitamin E, lignin and oligosaccharides) with health benefits. Phytochemical studies reported not only antioxidant and antimicrobial activities, but also anti-inflammatory, anticancer, hypolipidemic, hypoglycemic and neuroprotective activities. The application of a suitable extraction technique is required for the isolation of bioactive compounds, being green extraction technologies outstanding for the industrial recovery of chestnut shells' bioactive compounds. CSS were highlighted as remarkable sources of functional ingredients with promising applications in food and nutraceutical fields, mainly as natural antioxidants and effective prebiotics. This review aims to summarize the phytochemical composition and pro-healthy properties of CSS, emphasizing the sustainable extraction techniques employed in the recovery of bioactive compounds and their potential applications in food and nutraceutical industries.
- ArticleBrigo F, Broggi S, Strigaro G, Olivo S, Tommasini V, Massar M, Turcato G, Zaboli A.Epilepsy Behav. 2025 Mar 12;166:110364.AIMS: Artificial intelligence (AI) tools like ChatGPT hold promise for enhancing diagnostic accuracy and efficiency in clinical practice. This exploratory study evaluates ChatGPT's performance in diagnosing and classifying epileptic seizures, epilepsy, and underlying etiologies in adult patients compared to epileptologists and neurologists.
METHODS: A prospective simulation study assessed 37 clinical vignettes based on real adult patient cases. ChatGPT was 'trained' using official ILAE documents on epilepsy diagnosis and classification. Diagnoses and classifications by ChatGPT, two epileptologists, and two neurologists were compared against a reference standard set by a senior epileptologist. Diagnostic accuracy was evaluated using sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV). Cohen's kappa (κ) was calculated to assess agreement.
RESULTS: ChatGPT demonstrated high sensitivity (≥96.9 %) in identifying epileptic seizures and diagnosing epilepsy, ensuring no cases were missed. However, its specificity was lower, particularly for distinguishing acute symptomatic from unprovoked seizures (33.3 %) and diagnosing epilepsy (26.7 %), leading to frequent false positives. ChatGPT excelled in diagnosing epileptic syndromes (κ = 1.00) and structural etiologies (accuracy = 90.0 %) but struggled with ambiguous cases such as unknown seizure onset (accuracy = 12.5 %) and rare etiologies. Human experts consistently outperformed ChatGPT with near-perfect accuracy and higher κ values.
CONCLUSION: ChatGPT shows potential as a supplementary diagnostic tool but requires human oversight due to reduced specificity and limitations in nuanced clinical judgment. Further development with diverse datasets and targeted training is necessary to improve AI performance. Integrating AI with expert clinicians can optimize diagnostic workflows in epilepsy care. - ArticleKöhne A, Helgers SOA, Kewitz B, Haupt RM, Oppermann V, Meinert F, Sánchez-Porras R, Said M, Woitzik J, Dömer P.J Neurosci Methods. 2025 Mar;415:110364.BACKGROUND: Spreading depolarization (SD) is an electrophysiological phenomenon of massive neuronal depolarization that occurs in a multitude of brain injuries. Clinical studies and experimental data have linked the occurrence of SDs with secondary brain damage. However, there is a translational gap because of methodological limitations between clinical and experimental approaches focusing on short-term effects. Moreover, usage of highly invasive SD triggers has put into question to what extent SDs themselves or the induction method had caused emergence of tissue damage.
NEW METHOD: To overcome this gap, we here show the successful realization of an experimental approach for long-term SD induction in a wireless setup of minimal invasive optogenetic stimulation in freely behaving mice.
RESULTS: The proposed method allows for reliable SD induction over the course of three weeks. SD characteristics induced with the wireless setup were comparable to SDs elicited by KCl or cable-bound optogenetic systems. Immunohistological analysis of c-Fos expression revealed neuronal depolarization across the stimulated hemisphere, whereas TUNEL staining revealed no stimulation related apoptosis.
COMPARISON WITH EXISTING METHODS: Optogenetic SD induction so far relied on cable- or fiber-bound systems which restrict experimental possibilities. The proposed model relies on wireless stimulation that allows SD induction in the home cage. In contrast to existing systems, the wireless setup also allows cage enrichment and group housing, therefore allowing behavioral analyses.
CONCLUSION: This experimental setup has excellent potential to investigate the question of possible long-term SD effects in mouse models of different acute pathologies like traumatic brain injury or migraine. - ArticleBalázs Z, Balermpas P, Ivanković I, Willmann J, Gitchev T, Bryant A, Guckenberger M, Krauthammer M, Andratschke N.Radiother Oncol. 2024 08;197:110364.BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Current radiotherapy guidelines rely heavily on imaging-based monitoring. Liquid biopsy monitoring promises to complement imaging by providing frequent systemic information about the tumor. In particular, cell-free DNA (cfDNA) sequencing offers a tumor-agnostic approach, which lends itself to monitoring heterogeneous cohorts of cancer patients.
METHODS: We collected plasma cfDNA from oligometastatic patients (OMD) and head-and-neck cancer patients (SCCHN) at six time points before, during, and after radiotherapy, and compared them to the plasma samples of healthy and polymetastatic volunteers. We performed low-pass (on average 7x) whole-genome sequencing on 93 plasma cfDNA samples and correlated copy number alterations and fragment length distributions to clinical and imaging findings.
RESULTS: We observed copy number alterations in 4/7 polymetastatic cancer patients, 1/7 OMD and 1/7 SCCHN patients, these patients' imaging showed progression following radiotherapy. Using unsupervised learning, we identified cancer-specific fragment length features that showed a strong correlation with copy number-based tumor fraction estimates. In 4/4 HPV-positive SCCHN patient samples, we detected viral DNA that enabled the monitoring of very low tumor fraction samples.
CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate that an elevated tumor fraction is associated with tumor aggressiveness and systemic tumor spread. This information may be used to adapt treatment strategies. Further, we show that by detecting specific sequences such as viral DNA, the sensitivity of detecting cancer from cell-free DNA sequencing data can be greatly increased. - ArticleAldila D.Chaos Solitons Fractals. 2020 Dec;141:110364.Without any vaccine or medical intervention to cure the infected individual from COVID-19, the non-pharmaceutical intervention become the most reasonable intervention against the spread of COVID-19. In this paper, we proposed a deterministic model governed by a system of nonlinear differential equations which consider the intervention of media campaign to increase human awareness, and rapid testing to track the undetected cases in the field. Analysis of the autonomous model shows the existence of transcritical bifurcation at a basic reproduction number equal to one. We estimate our parameter using the incidence data from East Java, Indonesia. Using these parameters, we analyze the sensitivity of the parameters in determining the size of the basic reproduction number. An optimal control problem which transforms media campaign and rapid testing as a time-dependent control was conducted also in this article. Cost-effectiveness analysis using the Infection averted ratio (IAR) and the Average cost-effectiveness ratio (ACER) conducted to analyze the best strategies to eradicate COVID-19 spread. We observe that the combination of the media campaign and rapid testing as time-dependent interventions reduces the number of an infected individual significantly and also minimizes the economic burden due to these strategies in East Java.
- ArticleAssociations between pericarotid fat density and image-based risk characteristics of carotid plaque.Yu M, Meng Y, Zhang H, Wang W, Qiu S, Wang B, Bao Y, Du B, Zhu S, Ge Y, Zhu L, Xu K.Eur J Radiol. 2022 Aug;153:110364.OBJECTIVES: In this study, we aimed to evaluate the associations between pericarotid fat density (PFD) and various risk characteristics of carotid plaque.
METHODS: We retrospectively evaluated consecutive patients who were subjected to both high-resolution MRI and carotid artery CT angiography CTA at our institution between January 2016 and April 2021. The section of the carotid artery with the most severe lumen stenosis was selected from each patient for analysis. Two separated regions of interest (ROI) (each with an area of 2.5 mm2 and located at least 1 mm from the outer margin of the carotid artery wall) were defined in the perivascular fat tissue. The mean value of PFD (mean HU) was measured on the plaque side and the same axial non-plaque side. Then, the bilateral difference (D-value HU) was calculated (plaque side mean HU minus non-plaque side mean HU). According to carotid plaque risk characteristics (American Heart Association VI type [AHA VI], intraplaque hemorrhage [IPH], thinning and/or rupture of the fibrous cap [TRFC], lipid-rich necrotic core [LRNC], and calcification [CA]), the associations between PFD and five different risk characteristic subgroups were analyzed. The Student's t-test, Mann-Whitney U test, and Chi-square test were used to compare differences between different risk subgroups. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to evaluate the predictive efficacy of PFD for carotid plaque risk characteristics. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.
RESULTS: A total of 71 eligible patients (mean age 61.25 ± 10.35 years, 57 male) were examined in this study. For the plaque side and the non-plaque side, the mean PFD values were -36.25 ± 20.65 HU and -66.87 ± 15.00 HU, respectively. In the non-AHA VI and AHA VI subgroups, the values for the mean HU of the plaque side were -49.50 ± 20.53 and -33.55 ± 19.78, respectively (P = 0.014). The D-value HU was higher for the AHA VI group compared to the non-AHA VI group (33.61 ± 16.72 vs. 15.91 ± 14.52, respectively; P = 0.001). Compared to the non-IPH subgroup, the IPH subgroup had a higher mean HU value for the plaque side (-47.68 ± 18.26 vs. -29.63 ± 19.16, respectively; P < 0.001) and a higher D-value HU (17.80 ± 13.27 vs. 38.03 ± 15.46, respectively; P < 0.001). Compared to the low risk non-TRFC subgroup, the TRFC subgroup had a higher D-value HU (24.51 ± 16.16 vs. 33.55 ± 17.65, respectively; P = 0.042). The D-value of PFD was found to be a significant predictor of both AHA VI classification (AUC: 0.79; SE: 64.41%; SP: 83.33%; P = 0.0001) and IPH (AUC: 0.83; SE: 88.89%; SP: 65.38%; P < 0.0001).
CONCLUSION: Our study found that PFD was significantly associated with high risk AHA VI plaque characterization, IPH, and TRFC. Therefore, PFD has the potential to be used as an indirect clinical marker of plaque instability.