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Phenotyping asthma and/or COPD using 129Xe MRI and comprehensive physiologic testing
Get PDFRationale: Asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) significantly overlap by conventional diagnostic criteria, yet important treatment differences remain, and people with both asthma and COPD ('asthma+COPD') have worse clinical outcomes than people with a single diagnosis. Hyperpolarized xenon-129 magnetic resonance imaging (129Xe MRI) and pulmonary function tests (PFTs) are sensitive to lung function and structure.
Objective: To determine whether 129Xe MRI alongside PFTs can aid phenotyping of real-world patients with asthma and/or COPD.
Methods: Patients ≥16 years with physician-assigned asthma and/or COPD were recruited from primary care. 129Xe and proton MRI, multiple-breath nitrogen washout, airwave oscillometry, transfer factor of the lung for carbon monoxide (TLco), body plethysmography, and spirometry were assessed post-bronchodilator. Differences between diagnostic groups were assessed.
Results: The study assessed 165 patients. 129Xe MRI and PFT metrics differed significantly between diagnostic groups. On 129Xe MRI, patients with COPD had significantly reduced and more heterogeneous ventilation, greater acinar dimensions and lower gas transfer, in addition to lower spirometry, greater airways resistance and reactance, and more air trapping than patients with asthma. Similarly, 129Xe MRI metrics demonstrated greater abnormalities in COPD than asthma when comparing only those with normal forced expiratory volume in 1 second or TLco. Lung function and structure were worse in asthma+COPD than asthma and better than COPD.
Conclusions: 129Xe MRI alongside PFTs provide phenotypically distinct airway disease signatures to aid diagnosis of asthma and/or COPD. 129Xe MRI is highly sensitive to minimal lung disease and identifies functional/structural phenotypes that may help to guide treatment decisions
Nudging urban travellers towards greener travel modes: A virtual reality experiment
Get PDFCities worldwide face increasing pressure to reduce carbon emissions from transportation systems, yet implementing new transport policies often involves high costs and uncertainties. This study introduces an immersive virtual reality (VR) tool as a flexible, low-cost approach for evaluating travel demand management (TDM) strategies before real-world deployment. In a repeated discrete choice experiment (1,260 observations), participants chose between a taxi (high carbon) and a bus (low carbon) across multiple scenarios, each featuring variations in cost, travel time, and carbon attribute levels. Three nudge interventions were designed to highlight environmental impacts at three different decision points. The findings demonstrate that strategically timed nudges offer policymakers a scalable tool to promote sustainable urban mobility by integrating salient environmental feedback into decision-making contexts. These results underscore VR’s potential to simulate realistic policy interventions and generate inputs to quantify the impact of different types of interventions alongside travel attributes
Corrigendum to “Integrated in-situ imaging and diffraction flow cell technology (NX-DRT) for advanced corrosion studies” [Corrosion Science, Volume 258 (2025) 1–12]
No full textThe authors regret: The declaration of competing interest was incorrect in the original paper. With this corrigendum we want to clarify that the authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper
Oxidation kinetic of soot generated from ammonia-acetylene laminar diffusion flame
Get PDFCo-combustion of ammonia with hydrocarbon fuels and its effect on soot emission characteristics have garnered interest. In this study, the oxidation kinetics of soot generated in a laminar co-flow acetylene diffusion flame were investigated under 30 –800 °C temperature-programmed oxidation and isothermal oxidation at 500°C, 600°C, and 700°C using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The evolution of functional groups on soot surfaces and gaseous products were monitored by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and thermogravimetric analysis coupled with infrared spectroscopy (TG-IR), respectively. Results indicate that the activation energy for soot oxidation increases with higher NH3 substitution ratios (XNH₃) and elevated temperatures. Isothermal oxidation tests also show that the oxidation rate constant increases with increasing XNH₃. FTIR results show that increasing XNH₃ reduces aliphatic C–H groups and increases oxygenated groups on soot surfaces. The detected C–N bonds are attributed to dehydrogenation of aliphatic carbon atoms on polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) surfaces. TG-IR analysis revealed the C–N bonds in urethanes on soot surfaces may release as the gaseous C–N species during low-temperature (500 °C) oxidation of soot particles. Nevertheless, the higher-temperature facilitated the cleavage of C–N bonds, and then the generated NH₂ radicals react with oxygen radicals, leading to the formation of HNO on the soot surface
DPSCs-Exos promote OPCs differentiation and white matter repair via Myl9-mediated PRMT5 nucleation after ischemic stroke
Get PDFIschemic stroke often leads to white matter damage due to impaired oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs) differentiation, hindering post-stroke recovery. While dental pulp stem cells-derived exosomes (DPSCs-Exos) have shown promise in stroke recovery, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Toward this aim, we investigated the therapeutic potential of DPSCs-Exos for promoting OPCs differentiation and white matter repair after ischemic stroke using in vivo (middle cerebral artery occlusion, MCAO) and in vitro (oxygen-glucose deprivation/reoxygenation, OGD/R) models. Intracerebroventricular DPSCs-Exos were administered on days 1, 3, and 5 post-MCAO, with functional (sensory-motor and cognitive), morphological, and biochemical assessments performed at 7, 14, and 28 days. Our results demonstrated that DPSC-Exos treatment significantly improved functional outcomes, promoted OPCs proliferation and differentiation, and facilitated white matter repair. Mechanistically, DPSC-Exos-mediated OPCs differentiation involves protein arginine methyltransferase 5 (PRMT5) and inhibitor of differentiation 2 (ID2). Specifically, exosomal myosin regulatory light polypeptide 9 (Myl9) interacts with PRMT5 in OPCs, driving PRMT5 nucleation, subsequent CpG island methylation, and ID2 downregulation, ultimately leading to OPCs differentiation into oligodendrocytes (OLs). These findings identify a novel mechanism by which DPSC-Exos promote white matter repair and suggest their potential as a therapeutic strategy for ischemic stroke
Relative telomere length and senescence-associated inflammatory cytokines as blood-based prognostic markers in patients with advanced or resectable gastro-oesophageal adenocarcinoma
Get PDFBackground
Combination chemotherapy provides significant survival advantage in patients with advanced gastro-oesophageal adenocarcinoma compared with best supportive care. Peri-operative chemotherapy is standard of care for patients with operable disease. We hypothesised that biomarkers of genomic instability and inflammation may have clinical utility in these patients.
Methods
We initiated open-label, non-randomised biomarker studies in patients with advanced disease due to receive Epirubicin, Cisplatin and Capecitabine (ECX)/Epirubicin, Cisplatin and Fluorouracil (ECF) or Epirubicin, Oxaliplatin and Capecitabine (EOX)/Epirubicin, Oxaliplatin and Fluorouracil (EOF) regimens (advanced study, n = 375), and in patients planned to receive perioperative chemotherapy with the same regimen (peri-operative study, n = 306). Relative telomere length (RTL) in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and plasma levels of 10 inflammatory cytokines were analysed to determine association with progression-free and overall survival, and response. Blood samples were collected prior to treatment and on each treatment cycle. Both studies comprised biomarker discovery and validation cohorts. Here we report analysis of the discovery cohorts.
Results
In advanced disease, high pre-treatment levels of IL8 and IL10 associated with poor Progression Free Survival (PFS) and Overall Survival (OS) in univariate analysis, and IL6 with poor OS. In multivariate analysis, IL6 and IL8 remained associated with OS, and IL8 with PFS. In the perioperative study, cytokine levels were significantly lower and no relationships were observed. There was no association between RTL and any endpoint in either study.
Conclusions
Pre-treatment RTL was not prognostic, although IL6/IL8 were negative prognostic factors in advanced disease. Levels of these were lower in patients with localised disease, suggesting an association with disease progression. Further analysis of systemic inflammatory status in gastro-oesophageal adenocarcinoma may be promising for development of future predictive biomarker signatures
Outpatient hospital attendances in people with rheumatoid arthritis during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond: a cohort study in three nations of the UK
Get PDFObjectives
We aimed to estimate how rheumatology outpatient hospital attendances have changed since the COVID-19 pandemic and determine demographic characteristics associated with observed changes.
Methods
Using three primary and secondary care electronic health record datasets in England (with the approval of NHS England), Scotland and Wales, we identified people with a diagnosis of RA before 1 April 2019. We determined the proportion of people with rheumatology hospital outpatient appointments each month [April 2019 to December 2022 (Wales and Scotland), November 2023 (England)] and quantified changes using interrupted time-series analysis. We used logistic regression to determine characteristics associated with having fewer appointments compared with 2019.
Results
We identified 145 065, 3813 and 13 637 people coded with RA in England, Scotland and Wales, respectively. At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic the number of rheumatology outpatient appointments dropped sharply across all nations. In England and Scotland, the percentage of monthly appointments has continued to decline. In Wales, while there was a gradual recovery, rheumatology services have not returned to pre-pandemic levels. In contrast, the number of appointments for other specialties has recovered in all nations. People with no rheumatology outpatient appointments were more often aged over 80, male and living in rural areas. Ethnic minorities, those living in more deprived and urban areas had fewer appointments after the start of the pandemic compared with 2019.
Conclusion
For the first time, we compared healthcare use across three UK nations and found rheumatology outpatient appointments had not recovered to pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels, particularly in Scotland and England
Urban polycentric spatial structure and residents’ subjective well-being: The mediating role of commuting, housing and public service delivery
Get PDFThis study examines the relationship between urban polycentric spatial structure and residents’ subjective well-being using the China Family Panel Studies data. The dataset comprises 27,996 samples, covering 113 cities from survey made between 2014 to 2020. The findings show that urban polycentricity significantly improves residents’ subjective well-being. The level of improvement varies across different city tiers, population densities, and differs among residents with varying household registration types and personal income levels. Mechanism analysis reveals that the positive impact of urban polycentricity on subjective well-being could be through three important channels: commuting time, housing affordability and public service delivery. The above findings provide useful insights into how urban polycentricity promotes residents’ subjective well-being
The index in d-exact categories
Get PDFStarting from its original definition in module categories with respect to projective modules, the index has played an important role in various aspects of homological algebra, categorification of cluster algebras and K-theory. In the last few years, the notion of index has been generalised to several different contexts in (higher) homological algebra, typically with respect to a (higher) cluster-tilting subcategory X of the relevant ambient category C. The recent tools of extriangulated and higher-exangulated categories have permitted some conditions on the subcategory X to be relaxed. In this paper, we introduce the index with respect to a generating, contravariantly finite subcategory of a d-exact category that has d-kernels. We show that our index has the important property of being additive on d-exact sequences up to an error term
High-level hazard analysis for pink hydrogen production
Get PDFPink hydrogen produced using nuclear-powered electrolysis emerges as a promising zero-emission solution. However, integrating high-temperature processes and nuclear-derived electricity for pink hydrogen production poses inherent safety risks. Hydrogen presents specific challenges due to its unique properties, including high flammability, wide explosion limits, and rapid diffusion. When coupled with nuclear power systems, these challenges are amplified, as the interaction between two inherently high-risk systems introduces new hazards and complexities. Furthermore, pink hydrogen is relatively new to industry and requires comprehensive safety protocols for its safe operation and production. This research conducts a detailed high-level hazard analysis to identify, assess, and control potential risks related to pink hydrogen production. Data and information were gathered through extensive research and team discussions. Various scenarios and consequences were assessed to ensure safe operation and plant performance. Initially, 26 high-risk scenarios were identified. Following implementation of mitigation measures, the number of high-risk scenarios was reduced to 2, demonstrating the effectiveness of the proposed controls. Implementing these recommendations and design modifications will help manage overall plant risk to a tolerable level. By addressing safety concerns proactively, this analysis contributes to the safe development and advancement of pink hydrogen technology for a sustainable future
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