Background Cardiac remodeling is one of the major risk factors for heart failure. In patients with type 2 diabetes, sodium–glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors reduce the risk of the first hospitalization for heart failure, possibly through glucose-independent mechanisms in part, but the underlying mechanisms remain largely unknown. This study aimed to shed light on the efficacy of dapagliflozin in reducing cardiac remodeling and potential mechanisms. Methods Sprague–Dawley (SD) rats, induced by chronic infusion of Angiotensin II (Ang II) at a dose of 520 ng/kg per minute for 4 weeks with ALZET® mini-osmotic pumps, were treated with either SGLT2 inhibitor dapagliflozin (DAPA) or vehicle alone. Echocardiography was performed to determine cardiac structure and function. Cardiac fibroblasts (CFs) were treated with Ang II (1 μM) with or without the indicated concentration (0.5, 1, 10 μM) of DAPA. The protein levels of collagen and TGF-β1/Smad signaling were measured along with body weight, and blood biochemical indexes. Results DAPA pretreatment resulted in the amelioration of left ventricular dysfunction in Ang II-infused SD rats without affecting blood glucose and blood pressure. Myocardial hypertrophy, fibrosis and increased collagen synthesis caused by Ang II infusion were significantly inhibited by DAPA pretreatment. In vitro, DAPA inhibit the Ang II-induced collagen production of CFs. Immunoblot with heart tissue homogenates from chronic Ang II-infused rats revealed that DAPA inhibited the activation of TGF-β1/Smads signaling. Conclusion DAPA ameliorates Ang II-induced cardiac remodeling by regulating the TGF-β1/Smad signaling in a non-glucose-lowering dependent manner.

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Objective To develop an A.I‐based automatic descriptor that detects and grades, from selfie pictures, 23 facial signs, hairs included, as a help to making‐up procedures. Material and Methods The selfie images taken in very different conditions by 3326 women and men were used to create (90% of dataset) and validate (10% of dataset) a new algorithm architecture to appraise and grade 23 different facial signs such as lips, nose, eye color, eyebrows, eyelashes, and hair color as defined by makeup artists. Each selfie image was annotated by 12 experts and defined references to train Artificial Intelligence (A.I)‐based algorithm. Results As some the 23 signs present a continuous or discontinuous feature, these were analyzed by two different statistical approaches. The results provided by the automatic descriptor system were not only in good agreement with the expert's assessments but were even found of a better precision and reproducibility. This automatic descriptor system has proven a good and robust accuracy despite the very variable conditions in the acquisition of selfie pictures. Conclusion Such automatic descriptor system seems providing a valuable help in making‐up procedures and may extend to other activities such as Skincare or Haircare. As such it should allow large investigations to better evaluate the consumers’ needs of esthetical improvements.

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In order to regulate turbulence strength and determine airflow characteristics in a new dual-feed rotor spinning unit, the internal flow field is investigated. A computational fluid dynamics technique is employed to numerically study the three-dimensional model of the internal airflow in the new design. The effects of air velocity variation on turbulence strength, negative pressure, Re, and wall pressure distribution are investigated based on simulation data and previous studies. The results show that the turbulence strength and Re increased with increase in inlet air velocity. Pressure profiles inside the rotor varied significantly with positive pressure observed at the channel exits. Minimal inlet velocity maintains the flow field in the rotor interior below 100 m/s, which gives the ideal turbulence required to minimize yarn quality deterioration. The dual-feed rotor spinning unit showed more orderly streamline patterns with fewer vortices compared to the conventional one. The numerical simulation can provide insights on airflow studies and some guidelines for future prototyping and experiments to further improve the new design.