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Prolonged disorder of consciousness (DoC) is a rising challenge. Pediatric data on diagnosis and prognosis of prolonged DoC were too limited and heterogeneous, making it difficult to define the natural course and evaluate the prognosis. The present study explored the emergence from the Minimally Conscious State (eMCS) incidence at different months postinjury drawing the natural course, and detected the predictors of the incidence in children with prolonged DoC. A hospital-based prospective cohort study was conducted. Kaplan-Meier curves, as well as univariate and multivariate COX regression analysis, were performed. The study enrolled 383 pediatric DoC individuals, including 220 males (57.4%), with an average age of 3.9 (1.9-7.3) years. The median duration between onset and rehabilitation is 30.0 (21.0-46.0) days. At enrollment, the ratio of vegetative state/unresponsive wakefulness syndrome (VS/WUS) to MCS is 78.9%-21.1%. Traumatic brain injury and infection are the major etiologies (36.8% and 37.1%, respectively), followed by hypoxia cerebral injury (12.3%). For children with prolonged DoC, the cumulative incidence of eMCS at months 3, 6, 12, and 24 was 0.510, 0.652, 0.731, 0.784 VS 0.290, 0.418, 0.539, 0.603 in the traumatic VS non-traumatic subgroup, respectively. For children in a persistent vegetative state (PVS), the cumulative incidence of emergence at months in 3, 6, 12, 24, 36 and 48 was testified as 0.439, 0.591, 0.683, 0.724, 0.743 and 0.743 in the traumatic subgroup, and 0.204, 0.349, 0.469, 0.534, 0.589 and 0.620 in the non-traumatic subgroup. Participants who exhibit any of the following four demographical and/or clinical characteristics-namely, older than 4 years at onset, accepted rehabilitation within 28 days of onset, remained MCS at enrollment, or with etiology of traumatic brain injuries-had a significantly positive outcome of consciousness recovery (eMCS). Moreover, both prolongation of the central somatosensory conductive time (CCT) (level 2) and absence of N20 (level 3) independently predict a negative outcome. In children with prolonged DoC, we found that 12 months postinjury was critical to eMCS, and a preferred timepoint to define chronic vegetative state (VS). The characteristics including age, etiology, time before rehabilitation, consciousness state, and SEP results were useful predictors of conscious recovery.Trial registration Registered 06/11/2018, the registration number is chiCTR1800019330 (chictr.org.cn). Registered prospectively., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

This study aimed to construct a non-invasive diagnostic nomogram based on high-frequency ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging results for early liver cirrhosis patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) which cannot be detected by conventional non-invasive examination methods but can only be diagnosed through invasive liver puncture for pathological examination. 72 patients with CHB were enrolled in this prospective study, and divided into S4 stage of liver cirrhosis and S0-S3 stage of non-liver cirrhosis according to pathological findings. Binary logistic regression analysis was performed to identify independent predictors, and a diagnostic nomogram was constructed for CHB-related early cirrhosis. It was validated and calibrated by bootstrap self-extraction. Binary logistic regression analysis showed that age (OR 1.14, 95% CI (1.04-1.27)), right hepatic vein diameter (OR 0.43, 95% CI 0.23-0.82), presence or absence of nodules (OR 31.98, 95% CI 3.84-266.08), and hepatic parenchymal echogenicity grading (OR 12.82, 95% CI 2.12-77.51) were identified as independent predictive indicators. The nomogram based on the 4 factors above showed good performance, with a sensitivity and specificity of 90.70% and 89.66%, respectively. The area under the curve (AUC) of the prediction model was 0.96, and the predictive model showed better predictive performance than APRI score (AUC 0.57), FIB-4 score (AUC 0.64), INPR score (AUC 0.63), and LSM score (AUC 0.67). The calibration curve of the prediction model fit well with the ideal curve, and the decision curve analysis showed that the net benefit of the model was significant. The nomogram in this study can detect liver cirrhosis in most CHB patients without liver biopsy, providing a direct, fast, and accurate practical diagnostic tool for clinical doctors., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: Meckel diverticulum (MD) is an important cause of gastrointestinal bleeding in children. Small bowel capsule endoscopy (SBCE) is a first-line examination method applied to patients with obscure gastrointestinal bleeding, but there are few studies on its application in children with MD. This article aims to provide evidence in favor of the auxiliary diagnosis of MD in children by analyzing its characteristics using SBCE., Methods: We retrospectively collected the clinical data of patients with suspected MD., Results: A total of 58 children were included in this study. All 58 children presented overt gastrointestinal bleeding (bloody stool or melena). Capsule endoscopy identified protruding lesions in 2 cases, double-lumen changes in 30 cases (all considered as MD), vascular lesions in 7 cases, intestinal mucosal inflammatory lesions in 3 cases, ulcers or erosion in 3 cases, and no obvious abnormalities in SBCE in 12 cases. Both SBCE and technetium-99 scans were performed for 24 cases, 22 of which were diagnosed MD by their combined results, giving a diagnostic coincidence rate of 91.7%. Eight cases were highly suspected as MD but were negative for the technetium-99 scan and positive for SBCE., Conclusion: SBCE has high accuracy in the diagnosis of MD in children, especially when performed in combination with a technetium-99 scan, which can greatly improve the diagnostic rate of MD in children., (Copyright © 2024 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Sedentary behaviour has been associated with an increased risk of falls among older adults. Although gait initiation (GI) is a promising tool used to assess fall risk, it has yet to be quantitatively evaluated for dynamic stability in sedentary populations. Tai Chi exercise is believed to be effective in preventing falls in older adults, but its effect on GI stability has not been quantified. This study aims to compare the stability of GI in sedentary older individuals versus those who are long-term Tai Chi exercisers by using a quantitative approach. Methods: This study included 17 sedentary older women without exercise habits (age: 65.59 ± 3.66 years, average daily sitting time: 8.735 ± 1.847 h/day) and 19 older women who regularly engage in Tai Chi exercise (age: 65.58 ± 3.63 years, years of exercise: 9.84 ± 3.48 years). Every participant underwent five trials of self-paced GI walking tests. Eight cameras and four force plates were used to obtain kinematic and kinetic parameters. The trajectory of the centre of mass (CoM) and the position of the foot placement were recorded. The anterior-posterior (A-P) and medio-lateral (M-L) dynamic stability at the onset and end moments of the single-legged support was calculated using CoM and gait spatiotemporal parameters. The stepping dynamic stability and foot placement positions of both groups were compared. Results: The Tai Chi group had greater stability in the M-L directions at the swing leg's toe-off moment and in the M-L and A-P directions at the heel-strike moment, as well as significantly larger step length, step width and step speed during locomotion than sedentary older women. However, the stability in the A-P directions at the swing leg's toe-off moment and the foot inclination angle was not statistically different between the two groups. Conclusion: Long-term regular Tai Chi exercise can enhance the dynamic stability of GI in older women, and effectively improve their foot placement strategy during GI. The findings further confirm the negative effect of sedentary on the stability control of older women and the positive role of Tai Chi in enhancing their gait stability and reducing the risk of falls., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Chen, Jin, Tang, Yu, Wang, Chen, Miao, Zhang and Wang.)

Background: The correlation of clinical characteristics of cerebral palsy (CP) and the magnetic resonance imaging classification system (MRICS) for (CP) is inconsistent. Specifically, the variance in rehabilitation potential across MRICS remains underexplored., Aims: To investigate the clinical characteristics and potential for rehabilitation in children with CP based on MRICS., Materials and Methods: Children with CP admitted to the Department of Rehabilitation, Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University between 2017 and 2021 were included in the study. Qualified cases underwent a follow-up period of at least one year. The clinical characteristics of CP among different MRICS were analyzed, then the rehabilitation potential was explored by a retrospective cohort study., Results: Among the 384 initially enrolled children, the male-to-female ratio was 2.3:1, and the median age of diagnosis was 6.5 months (interquartile range: 4-12). The most prevalent MRICS categorization was predominant white matter injury (40.6%), followed by miscellaneous (29.2%) and predominant gray matter injury (15.6%). For the predominant white matter injury and miscellaneous categories, spastic diplegia emerged as the leading subtype of CP, with incidences of 59.6% and 36.6%, respectively, while mixed CP (36.7%) was the most common type in children with predominant gray matter. Notably, 76.4% of children with predominant white matter injury were classified as levels I-III on the gross motor function classification system (GMFCS), indicating significantly less severity than other groups ( χ 2   = 12.438, p  = 0.013). No significant difference across MRICS categories was observed for the manual ability classification system (MACS) ( H  = 8.176, p =  0.085). Rehabilitation potential regarding fine motor function and adaptability based on Gesell assessment was dependent on MRICS over the follow-up period. Children with normal MRI scans exhibited superior rehabilitation outcomes. Commencing rehabilitation at an earlier stage produced consistent and beneficial results in terms of fine motor function and adaptability across all MRICS categories. Moreover, participants below 2 years of age demonstrated enhanced rehabilitation potential regarding fine motor outcomes and adaptability within the MRICS framework., Conclusion: MRICS displayed a significant association with clinical characteristics and rehabilitation efficacy in children with CP., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (© 2024 Yang, Chen, Chen, Zheng, Chen, Li, Jia and Li.)

Background: Previous studies have reported that abnormal interlimb coordination is a typical characteristic of motor developmental delay (MDD) during human movement, which can be visually manifested as abnormal motor postures. Clinically, the scale assessments are usually used to evaluate interlimb coordination, but they rely heavily on the subjective judgements of therapists and lack quantitative analysis. In addition, although abnormal interlimb coordination of MDD have been studied, it is still unclear how this abnormality is manifested in physiology-related kinematic features., Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate how abnormal interlimb coordination of MDD during infant crawling was manifested in the stability of joints and limbs, activation levels of synergies and intrasubject consistency from the kinematic synergies of tangential velocities of joints perspective., Methods: Tangential velocities of bilateral shoulder, elbow, wrist, hip, knee and ankle over time were computed from recorded three-dimensional joint trajectories in 40 infants with MDD [16 infants at risk of developmental delay, 11 infants at high risk of developmental delay, 13 infants with confirmed developmental delay (CDD group)] and 20 typically developing infants during hands-and-knees crawling. Kinematic synergies and corresponding activation coefficients were derived from those joint velocities using the non-negative matrix factorization algorithm. The variability accounted for yielded by those synergies and activation coefficients, and the synergy weightings in those synergies were used to measure the stability of joints and limbs. To quantify the activation levels of those synergies, the full width at half maximum and center of activity of activation coefficients were calculated. In addition, the intrasubject consistency was measured by the cosine similarity of those synergies and activation coefficients., Results: Interlimb coordination patterns during infant crawling were the combinations of four types of single-limb movements, which represent the dominance of each of the four limbs. MDD mainly reduced the stability of joints and limbs, and induced the abnormal activation levels of those synergies. Meanwhile, MDD generally reduced the intrasubject consistency, especially in CDD group., Conclusions: These features have the potential for quantitatively evaluating abnormal interlimb coordination in assisting the clinical diagnosis and motor rehabilitation of MDD., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: Changes in cognitive control are considered potential factors affecting voluntary motor movements during gait initiation (GI). Simulating environments with higher cognitive resource demands have an effect on the stability of GI task performance, which is of significant importance for assessing fall risk in the older adults and devising fall risk management measures in multiple environments. This study aims to reveal the influence of complex cognitive competitive environment with increased cognitive demands on the dynamic stability during GI in the older women., Methods: Twenty-three older females and twenty-three younger females performed walking tests under three conditions: voluntary initiation (SI), visual light reaction time task (LRT), and cognitive interference + visual light reaction time task (C + LRT). Eight cameras (Qualisys, Sweden, model: Oqus 600) and three force plates (Kistler, Switzerland, model: 9287C) are used to obtain kinematic and kinetic data. To recorde the trajectory of center of pressure (CoP) and the position of the foot placement, and compute the anterior-posterior (A-P) and medio-lateral (M-L) dynamic stability at the onset and end moments of the single-leg support by means of center of mass (CoM) and gait spatiotemporal parameters., Results: Older women responded to the effect of complex environments involving cognitive competition on body stability by prolonging the lateral displacement time of the CoP during the anticipatory postural adjustments (APAs) phase, reducing step length and velocity, and increasing step width and foot inclination angle., Conclusion: Complex initiation environments lead to competition for cognitive resources in the brain, resulting in decreased stability of GI motor control in older adults. The higher the complexity of the cognitive resource demands environment, the lower the stability of GI in older adults, and the greater the effect on their M-L stability at the onset of stepping., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Chen, Tang, Wang, Jin, Wang, Miao and Wang.)

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the accuracy and test-retest reliability of a wearable inertial measurement unit (IMU) system for gait analysis in healthy female compared to a gold-standard optoelectronic motion capture (OMC) system., Methods: In our study, we collected data from 5 healthy young females. Participants were attached with markers from both the OMC system and the IMU system simultaneously. Data was collected when participants walked on a 7 m walking path. Each participant performed 50 repetitions of walking on the path. To ensure the collection of complete gait cycle data, a gait cycle was considered valid only if the participant passed through the center of the walking path at the same time that the OMC system detected a valid marker signal. As a result, 5 gait cycles that met the standards of the OMC system were included in the final analysis. The stride length, cadence, velocity, stance phase and swing phase of the spatio-temporal parameters were included in the analysis. A generalized linear mixture model was used to assess the repeatability of the two systems. The Wilcoxon rank-sum test for continuous variables was used to compare the mean differences between the two systems. For evaluating the reliability of the IMU system, we calculated the Intra-class Correlation Coefficient (ICC). Additionally, Bland-Altman plots were used to compare the levels of agreement between the two systems., Results: The measurements of Spatio-temporal parameters, including the stance phase (P = 0.78, 0.13, L-R), swing phase (P = 0.78, 0.13, L-R), velocity (P = 0.14, 0.13, L-R), cadence (P = 0.53, 0.22, L-R), stride length (P = 0.05, 0.19, L-R), by the IMU system and OMC system were similar. Which suggested that IMU and OMC systems could be used interchangeably for gait measurements. The intra-rater reliability showed an excellent correlation for the stance phase, swing phase, velocity and cadence (Intraclass Correlation Coefficient, ICC > 0.9) for both systems. However, the correlation of stride length was poor (ICC = 0.36, P = 0.34, L) to medium (ICC = 0.56, P = 0.22, R). Additionally, the measurements of IMU systems were repeatable., Conclusions: The results of IMU system and OMC system shown good repeatability. Wearable IMU system could analyze gait data accurately. In particular, the measurement of stance phase, swing phase, velocity and cadence showed excellent reliability. IMU system provided an alternative measurement to OMC for gait analysis. However, the measurement of stride length by IMU needs further consideration., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of high temperature on internal egg yolk quality parameters and their possible mechanisms in Huaixiang chickens. This study consisted of two treatments, and each treatment had six replicates with six birds per cage. A total of seventy-two 26-week-old female Huaixiang chickens were randomly divided into a normal-temperature group (NT) and a high-temperature group (HT) for 6 weeks. And these hens were exposed to 25 ± 2 °C and 32 ± 2 °C, respectively. Their relative humidity was maintained at 55-65%. The results showed that the HT group significantly reduced yolk weight, yolk color, and egg weight compared to the NT group ( p < 0.05). Heat stress caused vacuolar degeneration of the liver and reduced the absolute liver weight ( p < 0.05). Both yolk triglyceride (TG) and liver TG in the HT group were significantly higher than in the NT group ( p < 0.05). However, the liver total cholesterol (TC) level in the HT group was remarkably lower than that in the NT group ( p < 0.05). Additionally, heat stress remarkably enhanced SREBP-1c, ACACA, and FASN lipid metabolism-related gene mRNA expression levels in Huaixiang chicken liver after 6 weeks of heat exposure ( p < 0.05). Furthermore, the HT group had remarkably reduced total amino acid, Cys, and Tyr levels in the yolk when compared with the NT group in our experiment ( p < 0.05). In conclusion, heat stress causes egg yolk quality reduction and abnormal lipid metabolism in Huaixiang chickens. These findings provided novel insights into the role of high temperature on egg yolk parameters and the underlying mechanisms in Chinese indigenous laying hens.

Background: Neurodevelopmental disorder with absent language and variable seizures (NEDALVS, # 618707) are characterized by delayed speech and motor development, ocular abnormalities, and seizures. NEDAVLS is an autosomal dominant disorder caused by de novo mutations in the wasp protein family member 1 (WASF1) gene., Case Presentation: We identified a de novo nonsense variant c.1516 C > T (p.Arg506*) of WASF1 gene (NM&#95;003931.3) in two pediatric female patients with delayed motor and language development., Conclusion: This case demonstrates the effective role of WES in the diagnosis of NEDALVS. To the best of our knowledge, this variant has not been reported in the Chinese population. This contributes to our further understanding of the disease and to research related to the genetic and clinical heterogeneity, the treatment and prognosis of the disease., (© 2023. BioMed Central Ltd., part of Springer Nature.)

Background: Gait is a complex, whole-body movement that requires the coordinated action of multiple joints and muscles of our musculoskeletal system. In the context of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), a disease characterized by progressive muscle weakness and joint contractures, previous studies have generally assumed symmetrical behavior of the lower limbs during gait. However, such a symmetric gait pattern of DMD was controversial. One aspect of this is criticized, because most of these studies have primarily focused on univariate variables, rather than on the coordination of multiple body segments and even less investigate gait symmetry under a motor synergy of view., Methods: We investigated the gait pattern of 20 patients with DMD, compared to 18 typical developing children (TD) through 3D Gait Analysis. Kinematic and muscle synergies were extracted with principal component analysis (PCA) and non-negative matrix factorization (NNMF), respectively. The synergies extracted from the left and right sides were compared with each other to obtain a symmetry value. In addition, bilateral spatiotemporal variables of gait, such as stride length, percentage of stance and swing phase, step length, and percentage of double support phase, were used for calculating the symmetry index (SI) to evaluate gait symmetry as well., Results: Compared with the TD group, the DMD group walked with decreased gait velocity (both p < 0.01), stride length (both p < 0.01), and step length (both p < 0.001). No significant difference was found between groups in SI of all spatiotemporal parameters extracted between the left and right lower limbs. In addition, the DMD group exhibited lower kinematic synergy symmetry values compared to the TD group (p < 0.001), while no such significant group difference was observed in symmetry values of muscle synergy., Conclusions: The findings of this study suggest that DMD influences, to some extent, the symmetry of synergistic movement of multiple segments of lower limbs, and thus kinematic synergy appears capable of discriminating gait asymmetry in children with DMD when conventional spatiotemporal parameters are unchanged., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Antioxidants and tyrosinase inhibitory components were successfully screened and separated from Rosa rugosa cv. 'Plena' by high-performance liquid chromatography microfractionation bioactive screening combined with several separation and purification methods. Ethyl acetate extract of Rosa rugosa cv. 'Plena' showed high antioxidant activity and tyrosinase inhibitory activity. High-speed countercurrent chromatography, silica gel column chromatography, and semi-preparative high-performance liquid chromatography were used for the preparative separation of four bioactive components from ethyl acetate extract. Two tyrosinase-inhibiting active substances, flavogallonic acid, and N 1 -N 5 -N 10 -tri-4-p-coumaroylspermidine, were isolated from Rosa rugosa cv. 'Plena', and they showed great monophenolase inhibition activity (half-maximal inhibitory concentration: 664.60 and 23.77 μg/ml, respectively) and excellent diphenolase inhibition activity (half-maximal inhibitory concentration: 23 614.61 and 16.80 μg/ml, respectively). Meanwhile, gallic acid, flavogallonic acid, and ellagic acid were shown to have excellent 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl antioxidant activity (half maximal inhibitory concentration: 6.66, 20.17, and 13.45 μg/ml), and 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) antioxidant activity (half maximal inhibitory concentration: 3.53, 3.83, and 2.78 μg/ml). Molecular docking revealed that flavogallonic acid and N 1 -N 5 -N 10 -tri-4-p-coumaroylspermidine had a strong binding affinity (-9.3 and -10 kcal/mol, respectively) to tyrosinase through hydrogen bonding and hydrophobic interactions., (© 2023 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Simultaneous and high-performance detection of pesticides is still a considerable challenge and urgent need. Herein, a dual-emission carbon dots (CDs)-based nonenzymatic fluorescent sensing platform has been developed, which shows excellent sensitivity and selectivity in simultaneously detecting parathion-methyl (MP) and glyphosate. CDs with emissions at 440 nm (bCDs) and 660 nm (rCDs) were prepared by hydrothermal treatment of mulberry leaves and sodium hydroxide. bCDs response to hydrolyzed MP via inner filter effect, while rCDs sense glyphosate with the aid of Cu 2+ by static quenching effect. Excellent linear correlations were found for MP (0.3-65.0 μM) and glyphosate (1.0-110.0 μM) with limits of detection at 0.14 and 0.60 μM. Notably, the presented dual-channel strategy was successfully applied in simultaneously detecting MP and glyphosate in food/herbal samples with acceptable recoveries, good precision, and high selectivity. Moreover, an ORlogicgatewas achieved for estimating food, herbal, or environmental safety., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest 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., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Mattresses' pressure relief performance and comfort largely affect sleep quality. Mattress filling materials have been proven to affect the interface pressure distribution and comfort, but the effect of mattress structure is unclear. In this paper, the interface pressure distribution and subjective comfort of 10 subjects were assessed in the different bedding layer structures of mattresses, after mattress support performance was tested. The results show that the mattresses with bedding material hardness gradually increasing from the top layer to the bottom layer (BMH-ITTB) structure have a softer surface layer, a better support core layer, and higher fitness. This enables the mattress to achieve a better decompression effect. The low-pressure area (PAI ≤0.67kPa ) increased, while the high-pressure area (PAI ≥2.67kPa and PAI ≥4.00kPa ), maximum pressure (P 95 ), average pressure (P 50 ), and pressure index (PI) decreased. This also enables the mattress to achieve higher subjective comfort scores., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest 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., (Copyright © 2023 Tissue Viability Society / Society of Tissue Viability. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Supramolecular vesicles (SMVs) self-assembled from the supra-amphiphiles, consisting of two scaffolds linked together through noncovalent interactions, can realize stimuli-responsive controlled release of encapsulated drugs for enhanced therapeutic efficacy and minimized side effect of drugs. Pillararenes (PAs), an emerging kind of macrocyclic hosts in 2008, are easy to modify with a variety of functionalities. SMVs from PAs and specific guests mainly based on the host-guest interactions have attracted increasing attention because of their drug delivery and controlled drug release. A great progress in the construction and stimuli-responsive drug delivery of the PA-based SMVs has been made since the first work was reported in 2012. This review summarizes the major achievements of the PA-based SMVs for stimuli-responsive drug delivery over the past 5 years, including the microstructures of SMVs, multiple stimuli-responsive SMVs, prodrug SMVs from prodrug PAs and guests, bola-type SMVs, multifunctional SMVs, glucose-responsive SMVs for insulin delivery, novel SMVs from responsive PAs, thermo-responsive SMVs, and ternary SMVs, for chemotherapy, photothermal therapy, photodynamic therapy, and other biological applications. The future challenges and research directions of PA-based SMVs are also outlined from the points of views of the fundamental research, biological applications, and clinical applications of PA-based SMVs., (© 2022 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Background: Childhood asthma has substantial effects on children's health. It is important to identify factors in early life that influence childhood asthma. Accumulating evidence indicates that Helicobacter pylori may protect against allergic diseases. This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between H. pylori infection and pediatric asthma in Chongqing, China., Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study included healthy children aged 4-18 years who underwent a 13C urea breath test during medical checkups in 2021. All medical information was extracted from electronic medical records and a big data system. Logistic regression was used to evaluate the association between H. pylori infection and pediatric asthma, and multivariate regression models were adjusted for covariates., Results: In our study, 2241 participants, including 1240 boys (55.33%) and 1001 girls (44.67%), underwent urea breath testing (average age: 8.67 ± 2.70 years). Among them, 292 (13.03%) were positive for H. pylori and 152 (6.78%) had asthma. The rates of asthma diagnosis in H. pylori-negative and -positive children were 7.23% and 3.77%, respectively (odds ratio = 1.995; 95% confidence interval: 1.003-3.968; P < .05). Furthermore, family history of asthma and the percentage of eosinophils in routine blood examination were associated with childhood asthma; however, the body mass index, platelet count, and serum vitamin D level were not., Conclusions: We demonstrated a significant inverse association between H. pylori infection and pediatric asthma in Chongqing, China. Further studies are required to determine the causal association and underlying mechanisms to prevent and control childhood asthma., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Xylooligosaccharide (XOS) has tremendous prebiotic potentials for gut health, but the relevant mechanisms are unclear. Herein, we confirmed the positive effects of dietary XOS enhancing gut barrier in a pig model via suppressing the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-6 and IL-8). Meanwhile, XOS increased beneficial microbes Lactobacillus and decreased potential pathogenic bacteria. Moreover, XOS augmented microbiota-derived metabolites (mainly butyrate, propionate, and secondary bile acid) to strengthen the gut barrier and regulate gut immunity through activating host G-protein coupled receptors 109a or inhibiting histone deacetylases. Furthermore, XOS attenuated IgA-production and antigen cross-presentation processes. In addition, XOS supplementation led to the alteration of cell proliferation, remodeling of the energy metabolism, activation processes of serial genes or proteins, increased molecular chaperones, and the enhanced ubiquitin-proteasome pathway in cecal cells. Collectively, these results suggest that XOS enhances gut barrier and modulates gut immunity by optimizing gut microbiota and their metabolites, which is associated with alterations of biological processes., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Microscale covalent organic polymers with a unique 3D hollow wool ball-like morphology have been woven from 1D nanorods by a cascade emulsion strategy with a large surface area (284 m 2 g -1 ), which showed great potential for simultaneous removal ( Q max , 358.15 mg g -1 ) and fluorescent detection (detection limit, 8.0 μg L -1 ) of bisphenol A.

Background: The association between serum erythrocyte immune function indexes and blue light treatment effect and severity in child patients with pathological jaundice was testified., Methods: One hundred and seven children with pathological jaundice and 69 children with physiological jaundice were enrolled to analyze the association between erythrocyte immune function indexes and blue light treatment or disease progression., Results: The area under the ROC curve (AUC) of red blood cell immune complex rosettes (RBC-ICR) and red blood cell C3b receptor rosette (RBC-C3bR) in diagnosing pathological jaundice and assessing the efficacy of blue light therapy overweighed 0.8. Meanwhile, the RBC-ICR values of the child patients were positively correlated with the severity of the disease, and the RBC-C3bR and red blood cell immune affinity receptor (FEER) values were negatively correlated with them (p < 0.05)., Conclusions: The erythrocyte immune function indexes of child patients with pathological jaundice were relevant to the disease severity, and was provided with diagnostic value for pathological jaundice or assessed value for the efficacy of blue light therapy.

This study aimed to explore the mechanism of Yangxin Tongmai decoction (YXTMD) in the treatment of coronary heart disease (CHD) with blood stasis syndrome (BSS) using network pharmacology and molecular docking, and to verify these results through clinical trials. The active compounds of YXTMD were identified using the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology database, and the targets of the active compounds were predicted using the SwissTarget Prediction database. The targets of CHD and BSS were predicted using the GeneCards, OMIM, PharmGKB, TTD, and DrugBank databases. The common targets of "herb-disease-phenotype" were obtained using a Venn diagram, then used Cytoscape software 3.8.2 and its plug-in CytoNCA and STRING database to construct the "herb active compounds-common target" and protein-protein interaction networks. R language software and bioconductor plug-in were used for Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analyses. AutoDock was used for the molecular docking analysis. Finally, clinical trials were conducted to confirm the results of network pharmacology. Eighty-three active components were obtained, and the core active components were 5,7,4'-trimethoxyflavone, tetramethoxyluteolin, isosinensetin, sinensetin, and 5,7-dihydroxy-2-(3-hydroxy-4-methoxyphenyl)chroman-4-one. A total of 140 common targets were identified, and the core targets were EGFR, VEGFA, AKT1, STAT3, TP53, ERBB2, and PIK3CA. Biological processes identified by the GO analysis primarily involved wound healing, regulation of body fluid levels, and vascular process in circulatory system. The cellular components were primarily located in the membrane raft, membrane microdomain, and plasma membrane raft. The primary molecular functions were activity of transmembrane receptor protein kinase, transmembrane receptor protein tyrosine kinase, and protein tyrosine kinase. KEGG analysis showed that the PI3K-Akt signaling pathway was closely related to the treatment of CHD with BSS by YXTMD. Molecular docking results showed that the core active components had a good binding activity with the core targets. The clinical trial results showed that YXTMD improved the BSS scores and decreased the serum levels of total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol. Moreover, the levels of PI3k and AKt mRNA were upregulated and the levels of GSK-3β mRNA were downregulated. YXTMD has multicomponent, multitarget, and multipathway effects in the treatment of CHD with BSS, and its mechanism of action may involve activation of the PI3K-AKt signaling pathway, downregulation of GSK-3 β , and mediation of in vivo lipid metabolism-based metabolic processes., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Mengxue Zhang et al.)

The horizontal transfer of genomic islands is essential for the adaptation and evolution of Enterococcus faecalis. In this study, three porcine E. faecalis strains, each harboring a large lsa (E)-carrying genomic island, were identified. When using the E. faecalis OG1RF as the recipient, the horizontal transfer of the lsa (E)-carrying genomic island occurred only from E. faecalis E512, which also harbored a pheromone-responsive conjugative plasmid, but not from the other two E. faecalis strains, E533 and E509, which lacked such a plasmid. Subsequently, through plasmid curing of E. faecalis E512 and plasmid introduction into E. faecalis E533, the pheromone-responsive conjugative plasmid was identified to be indispensable for the horizontal transfer of the lsa (E)-carrying genomic island and a subsequent homologous recombination between the chromosomal DNA of the donor and the recipient. In addition, the presence of a chromosomally-located conjugative transposon, Tn 916 , in E. faecalis E509 could not mediate the horizontal transfer of the lsa (E)-carrying genomic island, although Tn 916 itself could transfer by conjugation. Thus, these data highlight the role of the pheromone-responsive conjugative plasmid in the transfer of the lsa (E)-carrying genomic island in E. faecalis, thereby establishing the dual role of pheromone-responsive conjugative plasmids in contributing to the dissemination of both plasmid-borne resistance genes and chromosomally-located genomic islands. IMPORTANCE In this study, it was shown that a pheromone-responsive conjugative plasmid played an indispensable role in the horizontal transfer of a lsa (E)-carrying genomic island. This finding indicates a dual role of the pheromone-responsive conjugative plasmid in disseminating both plasmid-borne resistance genes and chromosomally-located genomic islands. The role of the pheromone-responsive conjugative plasmid in disseminating chromosomal genomic islands is suggested to be essential in the genomic evolution of E. faecalis, which has become one of the leading nosocomial pathogens worldwide.

Introduction: The focus of this survey was to understand the current status of implementation of early rehabilitation for critically ill children in China. We also reviewed the available literature on this topic for further insights to inform its future development., Materials and Methods: We used a cross-sectional study design to survey tertiary hospitals nationwide. Questionnaires were distributed via the social media platform "WeChat Questionnaire Star" within the framework of the Rehabilitation Group of the Pediatrics Branch of the Chinese Medical Association. A narrative literature review on the implementation of the early rehabilitation for critically ill pediatric and/or adult patients was carried out., Results: A total of 202 valid questionnaires were received. About half ( n = 105, 52.0%) of respondent hospitals reported that they implement early rehabilitation for critically ill children. Among these 105 hospitals, 28 implemented a continuous chain of early rehabilitation. A total of 24 hospitals had set up permanent specialized centralized early rehabilitation units for critically ill children., Implications and Future Directions: Early rehabilitation for critically ill children is not widely available in China and only a minority of hospitals implement a continuous chain of early rehabilitation. To improve this undesirable situation, we suggest creating a two-level integrated system comprising centralized early rehabilitation units and surrounding early rehabilitation networks within a region., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Zhang, Duan, Feng, Jiang, Hou, Liu, Huang, Tang, Lin, Zhang, Tao, Liu, Chen and Xiao.)

Objective: This study aimed to explore the clinical features and outcomes of children with spinal cord injury (SCI) without fracture or dislocation., Methods: The clinical data of children with SCI without fracture or dislocation in this retrospective study were collected in Chongqing, China (January 2010 to December 2021). We collected patient demographics at admission including age, gender, cause, level, and severity of the injury in admission and complications. Reports from radiologic imaging were reviewed to identify spina bifida occulta (SBO). Neurological function was evaluated using the American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) Impairment Scale (AIS) for an SCI., Results: A total of 74 children with SCI (male, 27%; female, 73%; male-to-female ratio, 1:2.7; average age, 5.7 years) were included. The main cause of injury was backbend during the dance (34 patients, 45.9%, including 2 patients who hugged back falling backward), followed by traffic accidents (17 patients, 23%). Children with backbend-related SCI were older than other children (6.9 vs. 4.9 years old, P < 0.001). When reviewing all radiological images, it was found that 20 (27%) patients with SCI had SBO. The proportion of SCI with SBO caused by backbend was considerably higher than those caused by non-backbend (41.2 vs. 15%, P = 0.012). The AIS were 22 (29.7%), 4 (5.4%), 8 (10.8%), 31 (41.9%), and 9 (12.2%) in A, B, C, D, and E, respectively. The prognosis was poorer in the backbend during dancing than other causes of injury ( p = 0.003)., Conclusion: This study showed that backbend during the dance was the main cause of children's SCI without fracture or dislocation in Chongqing, China. The prognosis was poorer in those children than in other causes of injury. Meanwhile, we have established an association between SBO and SCI for children performing a backbend during the dance., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Liu, Jiang, Tang, Tan, Zhang, Tao, Xiao and Chen.)

Inherited kidney diseases are the fifth most common cause of end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Mitochondrial dysfunction plays a vital role in the progression of inherited kidney diseases, while mitochondrial-transfer RNA (mt-tRNA) variants and their pathogenic contributions to kidney disease remain largely unclear. In this study, we identified the pathogenic mt-tRNAPhe 616T>C mutation in 3 families and documented that m.616T>C showed a high pathogenic threshold, with both heteroplasmy and homoplasmy leading to isolated chronic kidney disease and hyperuricemia without hematuria, proteinuria, or renal cyst formation. Moreover, 1 proband with homoplamic m.616T>C presented ESRD as a child. No symptoms of nervous system evolvement were observed in these families. Lymphoblast cells bearing m.616T>C exhibited swollen mitochondria, underwent active mitophagy, and showed respiratory deficiency, leading to reduced mitochondrial ATP production, diminished membrane potential, and overproduction of mitochondrial ROS. Pathogenic m.616T>C abolished a highly conserved base pair (A31-U39) in the anticodon stem-loop which altered the structure of mt-tRNAPhe, as confirmed by a decreased melting temperature and slower electrophoretic mobility of the mutant tRNA. Furthermore, the unstable structure of mt-tRNAPhe contributed to a shortage of steady-state mt-tRNAPhe and enhanced aminoacylation efficiency, which resulted in impaired mitochondrial RNA translation and a significant decrease in mtDNA-encoded polypeptides. Collectively, these findings provide potentially new insights into the pathogenesis underlying inherited kidney disease caused by mitochondrial variants.

Background: Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) is one of the leading causes of neonatal death and permanent neurological disability. Here, we designed to quest therapeutic effects of diazoxide (DZ) on HIE and its mechanism., Methods: The cell model of HIE was established. CCK8 and flow cytometry were applied to test cell viability and apoptosis. RT-qPCR and western blotting was evaluated to the expression of miR-21, PDCD4, PI3K, and p-AKT/AKT. Commercial kits were employed to detect SOD, MDA, LDH. DCFH-DA was used to measure intracellular ROS. ELISA was performed to estimate IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α. Dual-luciferase reporter gene and RIP assay were applied to confirm the binding relationships between miR-21 and PDCD4., Results: In H19-7 cells and PC12 cells stimulated by OGD, with low cell viability, high apoptosis, miR-21 high expression and PDCD4 low expression. However, the functions were all reversed by DZ administration. Furthermore, miR-21 inhibitor could abolish the beneficial effects of DZ on OGD-induced cells. Besides, miR-21 could interact with PDCD4. In addition, PDCD4 involved with the regulation of DZ to OGD-induced cells via PI3K/AKT pathway., Conclusion: DZ enhanced miR-21 level and inhibited PDCD4 level via PI3K/AKT pathway to resisted HIE.

Objective: The association between Helicobacter pylori ( H. pylori ) and childhood asthma is unclear. Thus, the aim of this study was to explore the association between H. pylori and childhood asthma. Methods: A literature search, study selection, and data extraction were performed independently and in duplicate. Data were analyzed using STATA software. Results: Eighteen studies enrolling 17,196 children were analyzed. All studies were of moderate-to-high quality. Four studies subcategorized H. pylori infection according to CagA status. Overall, there was a significant negative association between H. pylori and risk for childhood asthma (OR = 0.68; 95% CI, 0.54-0.87; P  = 0.002), with no/marginal publication bias identified by the Egger's test and the Begg's test ( P  = 0.162 and P  = 0.198, respectively). The observed inverse association persisted for CagA(+) strains of H. pylori (OR = 0.58; 95% CI, 0.35-0.96; P  = 0.034) but not for CagA(-) strains (OR = 0.52; 95% CI, 0.12-2.28; P  = 0.387). There was no significant difference between studies with respect to study design, participant age, geographical region, and method of measuring H. pylori . Conclusion: The evidence suggests that H. pylori infection, particularly CagA(+) H. pylori infection, is inversely associated with the risk of childhood asthma. Supplemental data for this article can be accessed at publisher's website.

Exploration of the application prospects of cattail fibers (CFs) in natural composites, and other fields is important for the sustainable development of new, green, light-weight, functional biomass materials. In this study, the physical and chemical properties, micro/nano structure, and mechanical characteristics of CFs were investigated. The CFs have a low density (618.0 kg m -3 ). The results of transmission electron microscopy and tensile testing data indicated that the cattail trunk fiber (CTF) bundle is composed of parenchyma cells and solid stone cells, demonstrating high specific modulus (10.1 MPa∙m 3 ·kg -1 ) and high elongation at break (3.9%). In turn, the cattail branch fiber (CBF) bundle is composed of parenchyma cells with specific "half-honeycomb" shape. The inner diaphragms divide these cells into the open cavities. This structural feature endows the CTF bundles with stable structure, good oil absorption and storage capacities. The chemical component and the Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analyses show that the CFs have higher lignin content (20.6%) and wax content (11.5%), which are conducive to the improvement of corrosion resistance, thermal stability and lipophilic-hydrophobic property of CF. Finally, the thermogravimetric analysis indicates that its final degradation temperature is 404.5 °C, which is beneficial to the increase in processability of CFs-reinforced composites., (Copyright © 2021. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Caffeic acid (CA) is one of the major phenolic acids of coffee with multiple biological activities. Our previous study found that 500 mg/kg of chlorogenic acid (CGA) had the potential capacity of alleviating colonic inflammation. Moreover, CGA can be degraded into caffeic acid (CA) by the gut microbiota in the colon. Therefore, we hypothesize that CA can exert protective effects on colonic inflammation. To test the hypothesis, 251 mg/kg CA was supplemented to DSS-induced colitis mice. The results showed that CA treatment recovered DSS-induced disease activity index (DAI), colon length, and histopathology scores of colon tissue. Additionally, CA treatment significantly decreased pro-inflammatory cytokines and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels and increased the level of IL-10, total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), and catalase (CAT) in serum. qPCR results indicated that CA treatment dramatically downregulated mRNA expression of IL-1β , IL-6 , and TNF-α as well as upregulated SOD1 , GPX1 , GPX2 , CAT , and IL-10 . In addition, CA supplementation significantly increased mRNA expression of Nrf-2 , HO-1 , and NQO1 , which showed its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory capacities potentially by activating the Nrf-2/HO-1 pathway. Moreover, CA supplementation prevented gut barrier damage by enhancing Occludin gene expression. Furthermore, CA supplementation altered the gut microbiome composition by decreasing the relative abundance of Bacteroides and Turicibacter , and enhancing the relative abundance of Alistipes and Dubosiella . Meanwhile, CA supplementation increases the abundance of Dubosiella and Akkermansia . In conclusion, CA supplementation could effectively alleviate DSS-induced colitis by improving the defense against oxidative stress and inflammatory response., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Wan, Zhong, Wang, Zhou, Chen, Yi, Hou, Liu, Zhao, Chen and Zhang.)

Long-term accumulation of adenosine (Ado) in tumor tissues helps to establish the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment and to promote tumor development. Regulation of Ado metabolism is particularly pivotal for blocking Ado-mediated immunosuppression. The activity of adenosine kinase (ADK) for catalyzing the phosphorylation of Ado plays an essential role in regulating Ado metabolism. Specifically, accumulated Ado in the tumor microenvironment occupies the active site of ADK, inhibiting the phosphorylation of Ado. Phosphate can protect ADK from inactivation and restore the activity of ADK. Herein, calcium phosphate-reinforced iron-based metal-organic frameworks (CaP@Fe-MOFs) are designed to reduce Ado accumulation and to inhibit Ado-mediated immunosuppressive response in the tumor microenvironment. CaP@Fe-MOFs are found to regulate the Ado metabolism by promoting ADK-mediated phosphorylation and relieving the hypoxic tumor microenvironment. Moreover, CaP@Fe-MOFs can enhance the antitumor immune response via Ado regulation, including the increase of T lymphocytes and dendritic cells and the decrease of regulatory T lymphocytes. Finally, CaP@Fe-MOFs are used for cancer treatment in mice, alleviating the Ado-mediated immunosuppressive response and achieving tumor suppression. This study may offer a general strategy for blocking the Ado-mediated immunosuppression in the tumor microenvironment and further for enhancing the immunotherapy efficacy in vivo., (© 2021 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Targeted delivery of pesticides towards pests and pathogens can significantly improve the bioavailability and efficacy of pesticides and minimize the impact on the environment. Cyclodextrin polymer (CDP)-valved, benzimidazole functionalized, MoS 2 -embedded mesoporous silica (MoS 2 @MSN@CDP) nanopesticides were constructed toward hierarchical biological targets of pests, pathogens, and foliage. The splash and bounce of the aqueous droplets containing MoS 2 @MSN@CDP nanoparticles in the presence of Aersosol OT on superhydrophobic surfaces were well inhibited available for excellent wetting to prevent pesticides from losing to the environment. The multivalent supramolecular nanovalves between CDP and the functionalized benzimidazole moieties could be activated for the controlled release of pesticides in the cases of low pH and α-amylase. It is the first time to report the foliage-triggered controlled release of pesticides, owing to the competitive binding of epicuticular wax components to CDP. Furthermore, thermogenic MoS 2 cores triggered the controlled release of pesticides under irradiation of near infrared light. The fungicidal efficacies of the stimuli-responsive nanopesticides against pathogenic fungi Rhizoctonia solani and Fusarium graminearum were demonstrated. It is clear that the smart nanopesticides could realize the controlled release of pesticides toward hierarchical biological targets for enhanced pesticide bioavailability and efficacy via the multidimensional stimuli of pH, α-amylase, epicuticular waxes, and sunlight., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Xylo-oligosaccharides (XOS) are considered as functional oligosaccharides and have great prebiotic potential. XOS are the degraded products of xylan prepared via chemical, physical or enzymatic degradation. They are mainly composed of xylose units linked by β-1, 4 bonds. XOS not only exhibit some specific physicochemical properties such as excellent water solubility and high temperature resistance, but also have a variety of functional biological activities including anti-inflammation, antioxidative, antitumor, antimicrobial properties and so on. Numerous studies have revealed in the recent decades that XOS can be applied to many food and feed products and exert their nutritional benefits. XOS have also been demonstrated to reduce the occurrence of human health-related diseases, improve the growth and resistance to diseases of animals. These effects open a new perspective on XOS potential applications for human consumption and animal production. Herein, this review aims to provide a general overview of preparation methods for XOS, and will also discuss the current application of XOS to human and animal health field., Competing Interests: TL is employed by Hunan United Bio-technology Co. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Chen, Xie, Ajuwon, Zhong, Li, Chen, Zhang, Beckers and Everaert.)

Nanopesticides are selected as one of ten chemical innovations that will change our world. Carboxylated porous carbon nanoparticles (PCNs) were used to encapsulate water-insoluble pesticides and subsequently capped with chitosan (CS) to prepare the CS-gated PCN (PCN@CS) nanopesticides for the controlled release of pesticides in response to acidic pH and elevated temperature with good fungicidal efficacy. To resolve the issue of gastrointestinal absorption of PQ upon ingestion of PQ formulation, it is an innovative strategy to select the carboxylated PCNs as the paraquat (PQ) nanocarriers to inhibit PQ release in the gastrointestinal tract from the origin. The PQ-loaded PCN@CS nanoherbicides showed very low cytotoxicity to human normal cells and high survival rate in mice because the strong π-π interactions between the electron-deficient PQ and the electron-rich PCNs almost inhibited the release of PQ at both acidic and alkaline pH values. The controlled release of PQ from the nanoherbicides was realized at elevated temperatures owing to the weakening of the strong π-π interactions, aiming to eliminate weeds via the photothermal effect of PCNs under natural sunlight. The user-safe PCN-based PQ formulation can inhibit PQ release in the gastrointestinal tract and keep the PQ herbicidal efficacy in the practical application., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest 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., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of xylo-oligosaccharides (XOSs) supplementation on growth performance, serum parameters, small intestinal morphology, intestinal mucosal integrity, and immune function in weaned piglets. A total of 240 weaned piglets with an average body weight (BW) of 8.82 ± 0.05 kg (28 d of age) were assigned randomly to four dietary treatments in a 28-d trial, including a control (CON) diet and three diets with XOS supplementation at the concentration of 100 (XOS100), 500 (XOS500), and 1,000 (XOS1000) mg/kg. There were four replicates per treatment with 15 pigs per pen. From day 1 to 14, there were no differences (P > 0.05) in average daily gain (ADG), average daily feed intake, and gain to feed ratio (G:F) during the different treatments. The different doses of XOSs showed a quadratic effect on BW on day 28, ADG, and G:F on day 1 to 28 of piglets (P < 0.05). From day 15 to 28, ADG of pigs fed the XOS500 diet was higher (P < 0.05) than pigs fed the CON diet. During the overall period (day 1 to 28), pigs fed the XOS500 diet had a higher BW, ADG, and G:F than pigs fed the CON diet (P < 0.05). In addition, compared with the CON group, the XOS500 group had significantly higher serum total antioxidant capacity, total superoxide dismutase and catalase levels, and lower malondialdehyde levels on days 14 and 28 (P < 0.05). The serum immunoglobulin G (IgG) concentration in the XOS500 group was also significantly higher compared with the CON group on days 14 and 28 (P < 0.05). However, serum immunoglobulin A and immunoglobulin M were not affected by the dietary treatments. Supplementation of XOS500 to the feed significantly increased the villus height (VH) and VH to crypt depth ratio in the jejunum and ileum in comparison with the CON and XOS1000 groups. Moreover, the XOS500 group significantly elevated the expression levels of occludin and zonula occludens protein-1 in the ileum compared with the CON group. The ileal interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-8, and interferon (IFN)-γ mRNA expression levels in the XOS100 and XOS500 groups were markedly lower than in the CON group. In contrast, the ileal IL-10 mRNA expression levels were remarkably higher in the XOS500 than in the CON group. In conclusion, XOSs have a beneficial effect on growth performance by improving serum antioxidant defense system, serum IgG, small intestinal structure, and intestinal barrier function in weaned piglets., (© The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Society of Animal Science. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Background: Depression is a burdensome psychiatric disorder presenting with disordered inflammation and neural plasticity. We conducted this study with an aim to explore the effect of stanniocalcin-1 (STC1) on inflammation and neuron injury in rats with depression-like behaviors. Methods: A model of depression-like behaviors was established in Wistar rats by stress stimulation. Adeno-associated virus (AAV)-packaged STC1 overexpression sequence or siRNA against STC1 was introduced into rats to enhance or silence the STC1 expression. Moreover, we measured pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory proteins, superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), malondialdehyde (MDA) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production. An in vitro model was induced in hippocampal neurons by CORT to explore the effect of STC1 on the neuron viability, toxicity and apoptosis. RT-qPCR and Western blot assay were employed to determine the expression of STC1 and nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) signaling pathway-related genes. Results: STC1 was under-expressed in the hippocampus of rats with depression-like behaviors, while its overexpression could reduce the depression-like behaviors in the stress-stimulated rats. Furthermore, overexpression of STC1 resulted in enhanced neural plasticity, reduced release of pro-inflammatory proteins, elevated SOD and CAT and diminished MDA level in the hippocampus of rats with depression-like behaviors. Overexpressed STC1 blocked the ROS/NF-κB signaling pathway, thereby enhancing the viability of CORT-treated neurons while repressing their toxicity and apoptosis. Conclusion: Collectively, overexpression of STC1 inhibits inflammation and protects neuron injury in rats with depression-like behaviors by inactivating the ROS/NF-κB signaling pathway., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Chao, Zhang, Pan, Zhang, Chen, Xu and Huang.)

The exploration of modified luffa sponge (LS) cellulose fiber in the field of polymer composite can contribute to the development of high-performance and lightweight composites. In this study, two chemical treatments (10%NaOH-20%CH 3 COOH (Method 1) and 10%NaOH-5%Na 2 SO 3 (Method 2)) and two drying methods (air drying and freeze-drying) were used to treat LS. The microscopic characteristics and physical properties showed that Methods 1 and 2 caused shrinkage of the LS fibers and increased their fiber density by 30.6% and 15.0%. Meanwhile, freeze-drying kept the cells of modified LS fibers full and decreased their fiber density by 5.0% and 21.0%, respectively. The tensile properties test analyses indicated that freeze-drying further increased the elongation at break values of modified LS fibers by 25.3% and 17.7%, respectively. The moisture absorption analyses showed that freeze-drying could further decrease the moisture absorption ratios of modified LS fibers by 25.8% and 35.8%, respectively, which was useful for improving the dimensional stability of composite materials. Moreover, the thermogravimetric analysis reveals that freeze-drying increased onset degradation temperatures of the modified fibers by 24.0 °C and 6.7 °C, which was beneficial to improve the thermal stability of the composite material., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest Authors declare no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Introduction: The ubiquitously expressed nonhistone nuclear protein high-mobility group box protein 1 (HMGB1) has different functions related to posttranslational modifications and cellular localization. In the nucleus, HMGB1 modulates gene transcription, replication and DNA repair as well as determines chromosomal architecture. When the post-transcriptional modified HMGB1 is released into the extracellular space, it triggers several physiological and pathological responses and initiates innate immunity through interacting with its reciprocal receptors (i.e., TLR4/2 and RAGE). The effect of HMGB1-mediated inflammatory activation on different systems has received increasing attention. HMGB1 is now considered to be an alarmin and participates in multiple inflammation-related diseases. In addition, HMGB1 also affects the occurrence and progression of tumors. However, most studies involving HMGB1 have been focused on adults or mature animals. Due to differences in disease characteristics between children and adults, it is necessary to clarify the role of HMGB1 in pediatric diseases., Methods and Results: Through systematic database retrieval, this review aimed to first elaborate the characteristics of HMGB1 under physiological and pathological conditions and then discuss the clinical significance of HMGB1 in the pediatric diseases according to different systems., Conclusions: HMGB1 plays an important role in a variety of pediatric diseases and may be used as a diagnostic biomarker and therapeutic target for new strategies for the prevention and treatment of pediatric diseases., (© 2020 The Authors. Immunity, Inflammation and Disease published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Xylo-oligosaccharides (XOS) is a well-known kind of oligosaccharide and extensively applied as a prebiotic. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of XOS supplementation substituting chlortetracycline (CTC) on growth, gut morphology, gut microbiota, and hindgut short chain fatty acid (SCFA) contents of weaning piglets. A total of 180 weaned piglets were randomly allocated to three treatments for 28 days, as follows: control group (basal diet, CON), basal diet with 500 mg/kg (XOS500) XOS, and positive control (basal diet with 100 mg/kg CTC). Compared with the CON group, the piglets in the XOS500 group improved body weight (BW) on days 28, average daily gain (ADG) and reduced feed: gain ratio during days 1-28 ( P < 0.05). The XOS500 supplementation increased Villus height and Villus height: Crypt depth ratio in the ileum ( P < 0.05). Villus Height: Crypt Depth of the ileum was also increased in the CTC treatment group ( P < 0.05). Meanwhile, the XOS500 supplementation increased significantly the numbers of goblet cells in the crypt of the cecum. High-throughput 16S rRNA gene sequencing revealed distinct differences in microbial compositions between the ileum and cecum. XOS500 supplementation significantly increased the bacterial diversity. However, CTC treatment markedly reduced the microbial diversity ( P < 0.05). Meanwhile, XOS500 supplementation in the diet significantly increased the abundance of Lactobacillus genus compared to the CON and CTC group in the ileum and cecum ( P < 0.01), whereas the level of Clostridium&#95;sensu&#95;stricto&#95;1 , Escherichia-Shigella , and Terrisporobacter genus in the XOS500 group were markedly lower than the CON and CTC group ( P < 0.05). In addition, dietary supplementation with XOS500 significantly increased the total short-chain fatty acids, propionate and butyrate concentrations and decreased the acetate concentration compared to the CON group in the cecum ( P < 0.05). In summary, dietary supplemented with XOS500 could enhance specific beneficial microbiota abundance and decrease harmful microbiota abundance to maintain the structure of the intestinal morphology and improve growth performance of weaned piglets. Thus, XOS may potentially function as an alternative to in-feed antibiotics in weaned piglets in modern husbandry., Competing Interests: LX was employed by the company Shandong Longlive Bio-Technology Co., Ltd. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Chen, Xie, Zhong, Liu, Lin, Xiao, Chen, Zhang, Beckers and Everaert.)

The purpose of this study is to investigate the natural Luffa vine (LV) fiber to be effectively used as cellulose fiber reinforcing material for lightweight and decay-resistance composite materials. The physical, chemical, thermal, and morphological properties of the LV fibers, together with their microstructure are investigated. The test results conclude that the LV density, microscopic characteristics, and mechanical properties show that this crop is a lightweight (200-550 kg/m 3 ) natural fiber with a porous structure and a high specific modulus (1.18-2.04 MPa∙ m 3 /kg). The chemical, X-ray diffraction and the Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analyses indicate that the LV has a high lignin content (25.18%) and a relatively high relative crystallinity (37.18%) of cellulose, and it contains saponins, which increase its erosion resistance and hardness. The thermogravimetric analysis reveals that the fibers can stand up to 315.4 °C. Moreover, due to their kinetic activation energy of 63.9 kJ/mol, they can be used as reinforcement materials in thermoplastic green composites with a working temperature below 300°., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest We confirm that this manuscript has not been published elsewhere in whole or in part and is not under consideration by another journal. Approvals of all of the Authors' institutions have been granted to publish this work. All authors have approved the manuscript and agree to submit it to International Journal of Biological Macromolecules. We declare that we do not have any commercial or associative interest that represents a conflict of interest in connection with the work submitted., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a particularly aggressive subtype known for its extremely high drug resistance, progression, poor prognosis, and lack of clear therapeutic targets. Researchers are aiming to advance TNBC treatment worldwide. In the past 2-3 years, more positive results have emerged in the clinical research on TNBC treatment. Based on the results, several impressive drugs have been approved to benefit patients with TNBC, including the PARP inhibitors olaparib and talazoparib for germline BRCA mutation-associated breast cancer (gBRCAm-BC) and immunotherapy using the checkpoint inhibitor atezolizumab in combination with nab-paclitaxel for programmed cell death-ligand 1-positive (PD-L1+) advanced TNBC. Although neoadjuvant therapy has focused on combinations of systemic agents to optimize pathologically complete response, metastatic TNBC still has a poor prognosis. Innovative multidrug combination systemic therapies based on neoadjuvants and adjuvants have led to significant improvements in outcomes, particularly over the past decade., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest: The authors declare that they have no competing interests., (© 2020 Meiying Shen et al., published by De Gruyter.)

To promote the application of polyamide 6 (PA6) in wood-plastic composites, the negative effects associated with the thermal degradation of plant fibers must be overcome. In this study, waste bamboo fibers were subjected to pyrolysis and ball milling to afford nano bamboo-based biochar (BC), which was subsequently used as reinforcement to prepare PA6/BC nano composites by injection molding. In addition, the processing fluidity, water absorption, mechanical properties, and interface compatibility of PA6/BC composites were discussed. Results revealed that a BC content of less than 30 wt% is beneficial to improve the processing fluidity of the composites. With the increase in the BC content, the density of the PA6/BC composites gradually increased, while the water absorption of the PA6/BC composites gradually decreased, and the maximum decrease was 46%. Compared to that of pure PA6, the mechanical strength of PA6/BC composites was improved by the addition of BC, and the maximum tensile/flexural strength and modulus of PA6/BC composites increased by 41%/72% and 195%/244%, respectively. However, the impact strength decreased by 27%. After immersion treatment, the dimensional stability and mechanical strength of the composites decreased, while toughness improved. At a BC content of less than 40 wt%, BC particles exhibited good dispersibility and wettability in the PA6 matrix, and the rough surface and rich pore structure of BC rendered strong mechanical interlocking effects and good interface compatibility, thereby enhancing the mechanical properties of the composites.

Background: In today's economy, workers spend increasingly more time in seated positions, leading to a growing scientific interest in chair design. In this study we used body pressure distribution tests to compare a novel bamboo chair with unique structural features to other commonly-used chairs. We studied the bamboo sheet chair's physical characteristics and comfort to provide a scientific theoretical basis for common use seat design., Methods: A total of 25 (14 male and 11 female) subjects participated in the study. Subjects were divided into six groups according to their body characteristics parameters included stature, weight, shoulder breadth, hip breadth, waist width, popliteal height, buttocks-popliteal length, and buttock-abdomen depth, with three groups for males and three groups for females. Each subject was required to complete specified body pressure tests for three different experimental chairs for three minutes and subjective comfort evaluations were also administered. The pressure indexes were measured from the seat pan and backrest and calculated with MATLAB 2015b, which mainly included maximum pressure ( Pm ), average pressure ( Pa ), pressure exponent ( Pe ) and contact area index ( P AI ). Three pressure threshold limits of 0.67 kPa, 4.00 kPa and 9.33 kPa and four contact surface indexes were used in the experiment to reflect the contact area between human and chair., Results: The contact areas in the backrest (52.96 ± 32.94 cm 2 ) and seat pan (307.75 ± 90.31 cm 2 ) in the middle-to-high threshold pressure range, and the contact areas of the backrest (4.34 ± 5.95 cm 2 ) in the high threshold pressure range of bamboo sheet chair were smaller than the corresponding indexes of the common office chair (81.430 ± 45.04 cm 2 , p  = 0.00; 394.39 ± 98.99 cm 2 , p  = 0.02; 13.54 ± 12.00 cm 2 , p  = 0.00, respectively). The pressure index (2.68 ± 0.88 kPa), maximum pressure (6.66 ± 2.05 kPa), and average pressure (2.42 ± 0.59 kPa) values of the bamboo sheet chair backrest were also found to be lower than those of the office chair (4.32 ± 1.62 kPa, p  = 0.00; 10.50 ± 3.88 kPa, p  = 0.00; 3.43 ± 0.97 kPa, p  = 0.00, respectively). The average pressure on the seat pan was greater than 4 kPa for all subjects, while the average pressure on the seat pan was greater than 9.33 kPa for male subjects with a body mass index (BMI) of 27.48., Discussion: The bamboo sheet chair's contact areas within the middle-to-high and high-pressure threshold ranges of the backrest and seat pan were smaller than those of the office chair, indicating that the bamboo sheet chair is effective at relieving pressure. Human body characteristics must be considered in the design of seat functional size. Buttocks-popliteal length, weight, body mass index, body shape and weight distribution, all have important effects on the distribution of body pressure at the human-chair interface., Competing Interests: The authors declare there are no competing interests., (©2020 Yuan et al.)

Objective: The epidemiological studies of Chinese developmental dyslexia (DD) in China are still limited. The current study aimed to investigate the prevalence rate, risk factors, and psychiatric comorbidities of Chinese DD in Guangzhou, a city in South China., Method: A total of 1661 students from second to fifth grades were recruited. The dyslexic students were identified by evaluating learning disability through the Pupil Rating Scale-Revised Screening for Learning Disability (PRS) scale by the head teachers and word recognition through the standard test. Students with a PRS score of <65 received the Raven's test, and those with intelligence quotient scores below 80 in the Raven's test were excluded. Psychiatric comorbidities were assessed by the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire completed by parents., Results: The prevalence rate of Chinese DD was 4.9% in Guangzhou city. There were significant differences in gender, the paternal educational level, and reading experience before the age of 6 years between the DD group and the non-DD group. Male gender (odds ratio [OR] = 4.17), low paternal educational level (p = 0.045), and lack of reading experience before the age of 6 years (OR = 1.99) were the risk factors for DD. The DD cases had a higher risk of hyperactivity and inattention (OR = 3.21)., Conclusion: This study showed that the prevalence rate of DD was 4.9% in Guangzhou city. Male gender, low paternal educational level, and lack of reading experience before the age of 6 years were the risk factors for Chinese DD. The high comorbidity rate of hyperactivity and inattention in the Chinese DD population needs further evaluation.

Estrogen receptor alpha (ERα) is a ligand-activated transcription factor that regulates cellular responses to estrogens and transcription processes of target genes. In this study, changes in DNA methylation and histone modifications in the promoter region and Exon 1 of the ERα gene were analyzed to ascertain epigenetic changes associated with increased ERα mRNA abundance during reproductive maturation from 90 (egg production not yet initiated) to 160 (after egg production was initiated) d of age (d post-hatching) in chicken ovaries. The results indicate there was no difference in CpG methylation at the promoter and Exon 1 except at the region analyzed with primer pairs F2 and R2, where percentage of methylated CpG of Sites 2 and 8 after reproductive maturation was greater compared with before reproductive maturation. By using the chromatin immunuoprecipitation (ChIP) assay combined with SYBR green quantitative PCR, effects of histone modifications were evaluated, including histone H3K4 di + tri methylation, H3K9 phosphorylation and trimethylation, H3K36 methylation and H3K27 acetylation on chicken ERα mRNA transcript abundance. The results indicated that there was a greater histone H3K27 acetylation and lesser H3K36 trimethylation associated with increased abundance of ERα mRNA transcript in chicken ovaries after reproductive maturation (90 compared with 160 d of age). In consistent with this finding, the relative abundance of transcriptional coactivator p300 mRNA transcript and protein in the ovaries was markedly greater in reproductively mature than immature chickens. Findings provide insights into the epigenetic regulations of the chicken ERα gene expression that is required for chicken ovarian development., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be constructed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

This study was carried out to evaluate the effect of the addition of the non-starch polysaccharide enzymes cocktail (NSPEC) on growth performance, nutrient digestibility and gas emissions in a corn-miscellaneous meal-based diet for finishing pigs. The NSPEC is a combination of cellulase, xylanase, β-glucanase, β-mannanase, α-galactosidase and pectinase optimized by assessing the in vitro dry matter digestibility (IVDMD) of corn-miscellaneous meal diet using an in vitro method of simulating digestion in the stomach and intestine of growing pigs. Growth performance and apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of nutrients and energy were measured. The gas concentration of ammonia, carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and methane in the environmental assessment chambers were determined. The gas detecting period was divided into three frequencies of manure removal of every 1d, 2d and 3d. The addition of NSPEC into the corn-miscellaneous meal diet decreased feed conversation rate (FCR) and increased the ATTD of dry matter, crude protein, gross energy, neutral detergent fiber and acid detergent fiber of pigs ( p < 0.05). The digestible energy was also improved ( p < 0.05) significantly by NSPEC supplementation in the diet. Furthermore, the supplementation of the NSPEC reduced ( p < 0.05) carbon dioxide concentration in the chambers. The ammonia emissions were significantly increased according to average 1d, 2d and 3d manure removal procedures ( p < 0.01). These results indicated that the inclusion of optimal NSPEC in a corn-miscellaneous meal diet improved growth performance, nutrient digestibility and reduced carbon dioxide emissions on finishing pigs. The accumulated manure could increase the release of ammonia in a pig house.

In this study, composites of poly (hydroxybutyrate-co-valerate) (PHBV) with untreated luffa fibers (ULF) and NaOH-H 2 O 2 treated luffa fibers (TLF) were prepared by hot press forming. The properties of luffa fibers (LFs) and composites were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and other analysis methods. Results showed that pre-treatment effectively removed pectin, hemicellulose, and lignin, thus reducing the moisture absorptivity of LFs. The flexural strength of TLF/PHBV was higher than that of ULF/PHBV. With 60% LF content, the flexural strengths of ULF/PHBV and TLF/PHBV reached 75.23 MPa and 90.73 MPa, respectively, 219.7% and 285.6% more than that of pure PHBV. Water absorptivities of composites increased with increase in LF content. Water absorptivity of TLF/PHBV was lower than that of ULF/PHBV. The flexural strengths of composites decreased after immersion in water at room temperature. Meanwhile, flexural strength of TLF/PHBV was lower than that of ULF/PHBV. Pretreatment of LFs effectively improved the bonding between fibers and PHBV, resulting in enhanced and thus improved the moisture resistance of composites.

Luffa is a lightweight porous material with excellent biocompatibility and abundant resources. In this paper, three kinds of softening treatment methods, alkali-hydrogen peroxide (Method 1), alkali-acetic acid (Method 2), and alkali-urea (Method 3), were used to soften high-density (HD) cylindrical luffa (CL) mattress-filling materials (MFM). Microscopic observation, mechanical performance testing and other analyses were performed to evaluate the effects of the three kinds of softening methods on the wettability, compression resilience and support performance of CL MFM. The results showed that: (1) After the treatment by Method 1, Method 2 and Method 3, the peak stress of CL decreased by 73%, 10% and 27%, respectively. In addition, after three kinds of softening treatments, the uniformity of CL increased. (2) When the CL MFM of high density rank treated by Method 1 was compressed by 40%, the firmness values of the surface, core and bottom reduced by 53.49% 40.72%, and 46.17%, respectively, compared to that of untreated CL. In addition, for the CL MFM of high density rank treated by Method 3 and then compressed to 60%, the firmness of the surface layer, core layer and bottom layer reduced by 41.2%, 33.7%, and 36.9%, respectively. (3) The contact angle of luffa treated by Method 3 was the smallest, next came Method 1 and Method 2, and untreated was the largest. (4) After the treatment by Method 3, the fiber bundle of luffa was intact, and the compression resilience of the CL was obviously increased. Therefore, this method can effectively reduce the firmness of MFM and also improve the uniformity and wettability of CL.

In hens, follicle selection is an important process affecting egg laying traits. This study investigated the role of parathyroid hormone-like hormone (PTHLH) in chicken follicle selection, its transcriptional regulation and genetic effects on egg laying traits. PTHLH and its receptor PTH1R were mainly expressed in follicles of 6-8 mm in diameter, exhibits differential expression pattern in the theca and granulosa cells of pre- and hierarchal follicles. PTHLH stimulates the proliferation of follicular granulosa and theca cells, the expression of StAR and CYP11A1 mRNA and the production of progesterone (P4) in pre-hierarchal follicles. Treatment with FSH increased PTHLH mRNA expression in pre-hierarchal follicular theca cells and hierarchal follicular granulosa cells. Two critical regions regulating chicken PTHLH transcription were revealed, each of which harbored a SNP: C>T (chr1: 72530014) for AP-1 and a SNP: A>G (chr1: 72531676). Hens with diplotype AC/GT were younger at first laying and laid more eggs at 32 weeks. The haplotype (G -1827 T -165 ) with double mutations had the greatest promoter activity of chicken PTHLH transcription. Collectively, PTHLH plays an important role in chicken follicle selection by stimulating cell proliferation and steroidogenesis. Polymorphisms in chicken PTHLH promoter region are associated with egg laying traits by affecting the binding of transcription factor AP-1.

The crack initiation point can be regarded as a sign of composite failure and plays a vital role in the evaluation of fracture toughness. Wood-plastic composites (WPCs) are viscoelastic materials and the evaluation of fracture mechanism and toughness has a great significance in their applications. Therefore, we used the acoustic emission (AE) technique to measure the crack initiation point of the WPCs and evaluate their fracture toughness. The results show that the novel AE-based methods were more effective than the conventional standard methods for characterization of the crack initiation point. Using the relationship of cumulative AE events with time and load, the critical failure load was quickly determined, and then the critical stress intensity factor and fracture toughness were calculated. The fracture toughness of the WPCs increased with an increase in the wood fiber content.

The thermal performance of wood⁻plastic composites (WPCs) with different fiber, different fiber contents, and different lubricants were investigated in this paper. The results show that the thermal degradation temperature, melting temperature, crystallization temperature, crystallinity, and viscosity of WPCs with wood fiber were slightly higher than those of WPCs with floor sanding powder and rice husk. As the wood fiber content increased, the melting temperature and crystallinity of WPCs decreased while the crystallization temperature, viscosity, and pseudoplasticity increased. When the wood fiber content was increased to 60%, the dimensional stability of WPCs tended to be constant, and a higher wood fiber content was not conducive for processing of WPCs. WPCs had a small coefficient of linear thermal expansion at low temperature and demonstrated a good dimensional stability. The presence of lubricant reduced the viscosity and increased the pseudoplasticity of the WPCs, which is advantageous for the dimensional stability of WPCs at low temperature while making it worse for high temperatures.