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Background: We evaluated the influence of different partial carbon dioxide pressure (PaCO 2 ) levels on organ perfusion in patients with respiratory failure receiving pressure-support ventilation with veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (V-V ECMO)., Methods: In this twelve patients prospective study, ECMO gas-flow was decreased from baseline (PaCO 2  < 40 mmHg) until PaCO 2 increased by 5-10 mmHg (High-CO 2 phase). Resistance indices of gut, spleen, and snuffbox artery, the peripheral perfusion index (PPI), and heart rate variability were measured at baseline and High-CO 2 phase., Results: When PaCO 2 increased from 36 (36-37) mmHg at baseline to 42 (41-43) mmHg in the High-CO 2 phase (p < 0.001), PPI decreased significantly (p = 0.026). The snuffbox artery (p = 0.022), superior mesenteric artery (p = 0.042), and spleen (p = 0.012) resistance indices increased significantly. The root mean square of successive differences (RMSSD) decreased from 19.5(18.1-22.7) to 15.9(14.4-18.6) ms (p = 0.034), and the ratio of low-frequency to high-frequency components(LF/HF) increased from 0.47 ± 0.23 to 0.70 ± 0.38 (p = 0.013)., Conclusions: High PaCO 2 might cause decreased peripheral tissue and visceral organ perfusion through autonomic nervous system in patients with respiratory failure undergoing PSV with V-V ECMO., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Herein, we report an expedient synthesis of fused phosphorus-containing heterocycles via Rh-catalyzed cascade C-H activation, alkyne insertion, and lactonization reactions. The substrate scope and the group tolerance are good, as various substituted benzoic acids, N -methoxybenzamides, and 2-phenylindoles could go through the reactions smoothly to afford the corresponding products in moderate to high yields. Additionally, excellent regioselectivities are shown in the alkyne insertion with the assistance of an electron-withdrawing phosphonate group.

Yellowhorn (Xanthoceras sorbifolium) is an economically-important tree species in northern China, mainly distributed in arid and semi-arid areas where water resources are scarce. Drought affects its yield and the expansion of its suitable growth area. It was found that the wax content in yellowhorn leaves varied significantly among different germplasms, which had a strong correlation with the drought resistance of yellowhorn. In this study, XsMYB30 was isolated from 'Zhongshi 4' of yellowhorn, a new highly waxy variety. DAP-Seq technology revealed that the pathways associated with fatty acids were significantly enriched in the target genes of XsMYB30. Moreover, the results of the electrophoretic mobility shift assay, the yeast one hybrid assay and the dual-luciferase assay demonstrated that XsMYB30 could directly and $$bind with the promoters of genes involved in wax biosynthesis (XsFAR4, XsCER1, and XsKCS1), lipid transfer (XsLTPG1 and XsLTP1) and fatty acid synthesis (XsKASIII), thus enhancing their expression. In addition, the overexpression of XsMYB30 in poplar promoted the expression levels of these target genes, and increased the wax deposition on poplar leaves leading to a notable improvement in the plant's ability to withstand drought. These findings indicate that XsMYB30 is an important regulatory factor in cuticular wax biosynthesis and the drought resistance of yellowhorn., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permission@oup.com.)

Tree peony black spot (TPBS), mainly caused by Alternaria suffruticosae , is a common leaf disease on the ornamental peony, which poses a great threat to the flower buds in the current year and the flowering quality in the next year. However, there is only one fungicide registered for the control of this disease, difenoconazole. In order to avoid the severe problem of pathogen resistance caused by long-term use of difenoconazole, it is necessary to screen more chemical fungicides for the prevention and control of TPBS. In this study, the biological activities of flutolanil, phenamacril, pyraclostrobin, and boscalid on mycelial growth, conidial germination, germ tube elongation, and sporulation quantity of A . suffruticosae were determined, and the field control efficacy was tested to evaluate the preventive and therapeutic activities. Difenoconazole was used as a control simultaneously. The results showed that pyraclostrobin had the strongest inhibitory effects on the conidial germination, mycelium growth, germ tube elongation, and sporulation quantity, with the average EC 50 values of 0.0517, 0.5343, 0.0008, and 0.8068 μg/ml, respectively. The inhibitory activity of flutolanil on the four developmental stages of A . suffruticosae was weaker than that of the other three fungicides. Compared with flutolanil, boscalid, the other succinate dehydrogenase inhibitor, had more strong inhibitory effects on the mycelial growth and sporulation quantity, with the average EC 50 values of 3.8603 and 1.4760 μg/ml, respectively. Phenamacril had a moderate inhibitory level and had more inhibitory activity on conidial germination and germ tube elongation, with the average EC 50 values of 31.5349 and 5.2597 μg/ml, respectively. All of the four fungicides had no significant effects on the shape of spores and germ tubes. The control fungicide difenoconazole had the strongest inhibitory activity on mycelial growth, and the average EC 50 value was only 0.3297 μg/ml. However, its inhibitory activity on the other three growth stages was not high. In the field trials, pyraclostrobin had high control efficacy on TPBS even at low concentrations, reaching a minimum of 62.6293%, which was higher than that of difenoconazole. The other three fungicides had higher control efficacy at high concentrations but decreased significantly at low concentrations. Considering the dosage and control efficacy, pyraclostrobin was the first choice for the control of TPBS. Pyraclostrobin is the preferred alternative fungicide to difenoconazole for the prevention and control of TPBS in production., Competing Interests: The author(s) declare no conflict of interest.

Ovarian cancer is the leading cause of death from female gynecological cancers. Cisplatin (DDP) is a first-line drug for ovarian cancer treatment. Due to DDP resistance, there is an urgent need for novel therapeutic drugs with improved antitumor activity. AMPK-mediated metabolic regulatory pathways are related to tumor drug resistance. Our study aimed to determine the relationship between reversing DDP resistance with the anthraquinone derivative KA-4s and regulating AMPK energy metabolism in ovarian cancer. The results showed that KA-4s inhibited the proliferation of ovarian cancer cells. The combination of KA-4s with DDP effectively promoted drug-resistant ovarian cancer cell apoptosis and inhibited cell migration and invasion. Moreover, KA-4s decreased the intracellular ATP level and increased the calcium ion level, leading to AMPK phosphorylation. Further studies suggested that the AMPK signaling pathway may be involved in the mechanism through which KA-4s reduce drug resistance. KA-4s inhibited mitochondrial respiration and glycolysis; downregulated the glucose metabolism-related proteins GLUT1 and GLUT4; the lipid metabolism-related proteins SREBP1 and SCD1; and the drug resistance-related proteins P-gp, MRP1, and LRP. The inhibitory effect of KA-4s on GLUT1 was confirmed by the application of the GLUT1 inhibitor BAY-876. KA-4s combined with DDP significantly increased the expression of p-AMPK and reduced the expression of P-gp. In a xenograft model of ovarian cancer, treatment with KA-4s combined with DDP reduced energy metabolism and drug resistance, inducing tumor apoptosis. Consequently, KA-4s might be evaluated as a new agent for enhancing the chemotherapeutic efficacy of treatment for ovarian cancer., (© 2024 Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Previous research has extensively documented sex differences favoring boys in various domains of spatial cognition. However, relatively little research has examined sex differences in children's direction giving. The current study aimed to bridge this gap. A total of 143 children aged 3 to 10 years were asked to describe and recall routes from survey perspectives (via maps) and route perspectives (via videos). Significant sex effects (favoring boys) in direction-giving accuracy were found in describing route trials. However, boys and girls did not differ in the frequency of utterances encoding landmarks and direction of turns, suggesting that the quality rather than the quantity of words played a more important role in explaining sex differences. In addition, there was no sex difference in the route recall task. Although accuracy was overall higher in the map condition than in the video condition, it did not moderate sex differences. Overall, our study showed a robust sex difference in direction giving, which has important theoretical implications for understanding the development of human sex differences and critical clinical implications for designing training programs to improve children's spatial cognition., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The open circuit voltage (V OC ) losses at multiple interfaces within perovskite solar cells (PSCs) limit the improvements in power conversion efficiency (PCE). Herein, a tailored strategy is proposed to reduce the energy offset at both hetero-interfaces within PSCs to decrease the V OC losses. For the interface of perovskite and electron transport layer where exists a mass of defects, it uses the pyromellitic acid to serve as a molecular bridge, which reduces non-radiative recombination and energy level offset. For the interface of perovskite and hole transport layer, which includes a passivator of PEAI, the detrimental effect (negative shift of work function) of PEAI passivation and optimizing the interface energy level alignment are neutralized by incorporating (2-(4-(bis(4-methoxyphenyl)amino)phenyl)-1-cyanovinyl)phosphonic acid. Owing to synergistically reduced hetero-interface energy offset, the PSCs achieve a PCE of 25.13%, and the V OC is increased from 1.134 to 1.174 V. In addition, the resulting PSCs possess enhanced stability, the unencapsulated PSCs can maintain ≈96% and ≈97% of their initial PCE after 2000 h of aging under ambient conditions and 210 h under operation conditions., (© 2024 Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

The investigation into viable but non-culturable (VBNC) bacteria through the implementation of resuscitation promoting factors (Rpfs) has broadened the potential sources for isolating strains capable of degrading polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Nonetheless, there has been limited research on the efficacy of resuscitated strains and the potential improvement of their performance through co-cultivation. In this work, the PCB degradation potential of resuscitated strains, specifically Pseudomonas sp. HR1 and Achromobacter sp. HR2, as well as their co-cultures, was investigated. Of particular importance was the comparative analysis between the optimal co-culture and individual strains regarding their ability to degrade PCB homologs and mineralize intermediate metabolites. The results suggested that the resuscitated strains HR1 and HR2 demonstrated robust growth and effective degradation of Aroclor 1242. The co-culture CO13, with an optimal HR1 to HR2 ratio of 1:3, exhibited a remarkable improvement in PCB degradation and intermediate metabolite mineralization compared to individual strains. Analysis of functional genes and degradation metabolites revealed that both the individual strains and co-culture CO13 degraded PCBs via the HOPDA-benzoate pathway, then mineralized through protocatechuate meta- and ortho-cleavage pathways, as well as the catechol ortho-cleavage pathway. This study represents the first documentation of the improved PCB degradation through the co-cultivation of resuscitated strains, which highlights the great promise of these resuscitated strains and their co-cultures as effective bio-inoculants for enhanced bioremediation., 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 © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Anti-glomerular basement membrane (GBM) nephritis is a rare autoimmune disorder characterized by acute and rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis. In this report, we present the case of a 52-year-old woman with anti-GBM nephritis who was treated with Staphylococcus Protein A immunoadsorption in combination with glucocorticoids and cyclophosphamide. After 8 cycles of immunoadsorption, the patient's anti-GBM antibodies decreased from 363 AU/mL to less than 20 AU/mL, accompanied by a dropped immunoglobin G level, although renal impairment persisted. We reviewed the therapeutic options for anti-GBM nephritis and compared plasma exchange, double filtration plasmapheresis, and immunoadsorption with regard to plasma consumption, allergic events, and plasma components loss. Protein A immunoadsorption appears to be a promising treatment modality for anti-GBM nephritis., Competing Interests: The authors declared that there was no competing interest., (© 2024 The Authors.)

Background: Concerns have been raised about the increasing prevalence of both spontaneous and induced abortions worldwide, yet their effect on premature mortality remains poorly understood. We aimed to examine the associations between abortion and all-cause and cause-specific premature mortality, and the potential effect modification by maternal characteristics. Methods: Women aged 39 to 71 years at baseline (2006 to 2010) with prior pregnancies were derived from the UK Biobank and categorized as no abortion history, spontaneous abortion alone, induced abortion alone, and both spontaneous and induced abortions. All-cause and cause-specific mortality were ascertained through linkage to death certificate data, with premature death defined as occurring before the age of 70. Results: Of the 225,049 ever gravid women, 43,418 (19.3%) reported spontaneous abortion alone, 27,135 (12.1%) reported induced abortion alone, and 10,448 (4.6%) reported both spontaneous and induced abortions. During a median of 14.4 years of follow-up, 5,353 deaths were recorded, including 3,314 cancer-related and 1,444 cardiovascular deaths. Compared with no abortion history, spontaneous abortion alone was associated with an increased risk of all-cause premature mortality (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] 1.10, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.02 to 1.17), and induced abortion alone was associated with increased risks of all-cause (aHR 1.12, 95% CI 1.04 to 1.22) and cardiovascular mortality (aHR 1.27, 95% CI 1.09 to 1.48). The aHRs for all-cause and cardiovascular mortality were higher for recurrent abortions, whether spontaneous or induced ( P trend < 0.05). The increased risk of all-cause mortality associated with induced abortion was higher in women with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy than in those without (40% vs. 9%, P interaction = 0.045). Conclusions: Either spontaneous or induced abortion alone was associated with an increased risk of premature mortality, with induced abortion alone particularly linked to cardiovascular death. Future studies are encouraged to explore the underlying mechanisms., Competing Interests: Competing interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests., (Copyright © 2024 Shaohua Yin et al.)

Parent-adolescent emotion dynamics have attracted increasing attention in recent years because adolescence is a challenging period for both adolescents and parents. However, how emotions are coconstructed between parents and adolescents is less clear. This study examined whether mothers' and adolescents' emotion regulation strategy was linked with their own and each other's depression using the actor-partner interdependence model (APIM). The participants were 173 mother-adolescent pairs (Mother: M age  = 43.05 years old, SD = 3.78; Adolescent: M age  = 13.00 years old, SD = 0.90). The results showed that the more mothers used cognitive reappraisal, the lower their depression levels were; and the more mothers and adolescents used expressive suppression, the higher their levels of depression were. Additionally, maternal expressive suppression was associated with adolescent depressive symptoms. Moreover, the results revealed that for mothers with higher levels of expressive suppression, their adolescents' usage of expressive suppression was significantly positively related to adolescents' depression, while for those mothers with lower levels of expressive suppression, there was no significant correlation between adolescents' usage of expressive suppression and depression. The findings underscore the significance of recognising the interdependence and interconnected nature of emotions within parent-adolescent relationships for a comprehensive understanding of their emotional well-being., (© 2024 International Union of Psychological Science.)

Background: 10-year atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) risk scores were useful for predicting large vessel disease, but the relationships between them and cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD) were unclear. Our study aimed to evaluate associations of 10-year ASCVD risk scores with CSVD and its magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) markers., Methods: Community-dwelling residents from the PolyvasculaR Evaluation for Cognitive Impairment and vaScular Events study were included in this cross-sectional study. At baseline, we collected data related to the Framingham Risk Score (FRS), pooled cohort equation (PCE), prediction for ASCVD risk in China (China-PAR) and Systematic COronary Risk Evaluation model 2 (SCORE2), and classified participants into low, moderate and high groups. Participants underwent brain MRI scans. We evaluated white matter hyperintensity (WMH), lacunes, cerebral microbleeds (CMBs) and enlarged perivascular spaces in basal ganglia (BG-EPVS) according to criteria of Wardlaw and Rothwell, and calculated total CSVD score and modified total CSVD score., Results: A total of 3063 participants were included, and 53.5% of them were female. A higher FRS was associated with higher total CSVD score (moderate vs. low: cOR 1.89, 95% CI 1.53-2.34; high vs. low: cOR 3.23, 95%CI 2.62-3.97), and the PCE, China-PAR or SCORE2 score was positively related to total CSVD score (P < 0.05). Moreover, higher 10-year ASCVD scores were associated with higher odds of WMH (P < 0.05), lacunes (P < 0.05), CMBs (P < 0.05) and BG-EPVS (P < 0.05)., Conclusions: The 10-year ASCVD scores were positively associated with CSVD and its MRI markers. These scores provided a method of risk stratification in the population with CSVD., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Geriatrics Society. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Aminophenyl sulfone compounds (ASCs) are widely used in various fields, such as the pharmaceutical and textile industries. ASCs and their primary acetylation products are inevitably discharged into the environment. However, the high toxicity of ASCs could be released from the deacetylation of acetylation products. Still, the occurrence and ecological risks of ASCs and their acetylation products remain largely unknown. Here, we integrated all of the existing ASCs based on the core structure, together with their potential acetylation products, to establish a database covering 1105 compounds. By combining the database with R programming, 45 ASCs, sulfonamides, and their acetylation products were identified in the influent and effluent of 19 municipal wastewater treatment plants in 4 cities of China. 13 of them were detected for the first time in the aquatic environment, and 12 acetylation products were newly identified. The cumulative concentrations of 45 compounds in the influent and effluent were in the range of 231-9.96 × 10 3 and 26-2.70 × 10 3 ng/L, respectively. The proportion of the unrecognized compounds accounted for 60.6% of the influent and 62.8% of the effluent. Furthermore, nearly half of the ASCs (46.7%), other sulfonamides (49.9%), and their acetylation products (46.2%) were discharged from the effluent, posing a low-to-medium risk to aquatic organisms. The results provide a guideline for future monitoring programs, particularly for sulfadiazine and dronedarone, and emphasize that the ecological risk of ASCs, sulfonamides, and their acetylation products needs to be considered in the aquatic environment.

Abdominal hernia mesh is a common product which is used for prevention of abdominal adhesion and repairing abdominal wall defect. Currently, designing and preparing a novel bio-mesh material with prevention of adhesion, promoting repair and good biocompatibility simultaneously remain a great bottleneck. In this study, a novel siloxane-modified bacterial cellulose (BC) was designed and fabricated by chemical vapor deposition silylation, then the effects of different alkyl chains length of siloxane on surface properties and cell behaviors were explored. The effect of preventing of abdominal adhesion and repairing abdominal wall defect in rats with the siloxane-modified BC was evaluated. As the grafted alkyl chains become longer, the surface of the siloxane-modified BC can be transformed from super hydrophilic to hydrophobic. In vivo results showed that BC-C16 had good long-term anti-adhesion effect, good tissue adaptability and histocompatibility, which is expected to be used as a new anti-adhesion hernia repair material in clinic., 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 © 2024. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Importance: Comparisons are limited for immediate-intensive and delayed-intensive statin for secondary stroke prevention and neuroprotection in patients with acute mild ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA) from atherosclerosis., Objective: To estimate whether immediate-intensive statin therapy is safe and can lower the risk of recurrent stroke compared with delayed-intensive statin in patients with acute mild ischemic stroke or high-risk TIA from atherosclerosis., Design, Setting, and Participants: The Intensive Statin and Antiplatelet Therapy for High-Risk Intracranial or Extracranial Atherosclerosis (INSPIRES) trial, a double-blind, placebo-controlled, 2 × 2 factorial, randomized clinical trial enrolled patients from September 2018 to October 2022. The trial was conducted at 222 hospitals in China. Patients aged 35 to 80 years with mild ischemic stroke or high-risk TIA of presumed atherosclerosis within 72 hours of symptom onset were assessed., Interventions: Patients were randomly assigned to receive immediate-intensive atorvastatin (80 mg daily on days 1-21; 40 mg daily on days 22-90) or 3-day delayed treatment (placebo for days 1-3, followed by placebo and atorvastatin, 40 mg daily on days 4-21, and then atorvastatin, 40 mg daily on days 22-90)., Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary efficacy outcome was new stroke within 90 days, and a secondary efficacy outcome was poor functional outcome. Moderate to severe bleeding was the primary safety outcome., Results: A total of 11 431 patients were assessed for eligibility, and 6100 patients (median [IQR] age, 65 [57-71] years; 3915 men [64.2%]) were enrolled, with 3050 assigned to each treatment group. Within 90 days, new stroke occurred in 245 patients (8.1%) in the immediate-intensive statin group and 256 patients (8.4%) in the delayed group (hazard ratio, 0.95; 95% CI, 0.80-1.13). Poor functional outcome occurred in 299 patients (9.8%) and 348 patients (11.4%) in the immediate-intensive and delayed-intensive statin groups, respectively (odds ratio, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.71-0.98). Moderate to severe bleeding occurred in 23 of 3050 patients (0.8%) and 17 of 3050 patients (0.6%), in the immediate-intensive and delayed-intensive statin groups, respectively., Conclusions and Relevance: Immediate-intensive statin initiated within 72 hours did not reduce the risk of stroke within 90 days and may be associated with improved functional outcomes without significant difference in moderate to severe bleeding, compared with 3-day delayed-intensive statin in Chinese patients with acute mild ischemic stroke or TIA from atherosclerosis., Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03635749.

Context: Forsythoside A (FSA) was extracted from Forsythia suspensa, a traditional Chinese medicine, which has been demonstrated to exert anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and other pharmacological effects. However, the anticancer effect of FSA in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) has not been documented., Objective: The present study aimed to elucidate the mechanism of FSA against ESCC., Materials and Methods: Network pharmacology and molecular docking were employed to predict the mechanism. FSA was utilized to treat ESCC cell lines KYSE450 and KYSE30, followed by CCK-8 assay, cell cloning formation assay, flow cytometry, Western blot, RNA-seq analysis, and subsequent in vivo experiments., Results: Network pharmacology and molecular docking predicted that the therapeutic effect of FSA in ESCC is mediated through proteins such as BCL2 and BAX, influencing KEGG pathways associated with apoptosis. In vitro experiments showed that FSA inhibited cell proliferation and plate clone formation, promoted cell apoptosis and impacted the cell cycle distribution of G2/M phase by regulating BCL2, BAX, and p21. Further RNA-seq in KYSE450 cells showed that FSA regulated the expression of 223 genes, specifically affecting the biological process of epidermal development. In vivo experiments showed that gastric administration of FSA resulted in notable reductions in both tumor volume and weight by regulating BCL2, BAX, and p21. 16S rRNA sequencing showed that FSA led to significant changes of beta diversity. Abundance of 11 specific bacterial taxa were considerably changed following administration of FSA., Conclusions: This study presents a novel candidate drug against ESCC and establishes a foundation for future clinical application.

The "reemergence of pertussis" has elicited international concerns, occurring paradoxically amidst the expansion of immunization programs. This study was aimed to evaluate quantitatively the economic burden and identify the determinants that influence the cost associated with treating pertussis in Chinese children. We evaluated the economic burden by Chinese children diagnosed with pertussis at the Children's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine in 2022. Direct medical expenses and the utilization of medical resources attributed to pertussis were calculated. A generalized linear regression model was applied to analyze the determinants that were associated with the direct medical expenses among patients. Among the 1110 pertussis patients included in the study, 1060 were outpatients and 50 were inpatients. The average direct medical cost was ¥1878.70(i.e. $279.33). Living in urban areas (OR:1.27, p  = .04), complications (OR:1.40, p  < .001), hospitalization (OR:10.04, p  < .001), and ≥ 3 medical visits (OR:3.71, p  < .001) were associated with increased direct medical expenses. Having received four doses of the pertussis vaccine was associated with reduced direct medical expenses (OR:0.81, p  = .04). This study underscores a substantial economic burden of pertussis in Hangzhou, with pronounced implications for patients residing in urban areas, experiencing complications, requiring hospitalization, having multiple medical consultations, or lacking comprehensive pertussis vaccination.

Background: Erectile dysfunction (ED) is a common issue among males, and the use of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy for treating ED has gained increasing attention, but there is still no conclusive evidence regarding its efficacy., Aim: To evaluate the efficacy of PRP therapy for ED., Methods: We systematically searched PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science databases up to November 2023 to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on PRP therapy for ED. We used Review Manager version 5.4 for data analysis and management., Result: After applying inclusion and exclusion criteria for screening, a total of 4 studies involving 413 patients were finally included in our meta-analysis. According to our analysis, the PRP group showed significant advantages over the placebo group in terms of MCID at the first month ( p  = 0.03) and sixth months ( p  = 0.008), while there was no significant difference between the two groups at the third month ( p  = 0.19). Additionally, in terms of IIEF, PRP showed significantly better efficacy than placebo at the first, third, and sixth months ( p  < 0.00001)., Conclusions: PRP shows more effectiveness in treating ED compared to placebo, offering hope as a potential alternative treatment for ED.

Background: Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) has been suggested to be a prognostic marker for various diseases, but whether NLR dynamics (ΔNLR) is related to mortality and disease severity in patients with septic acute kidney injury (AKI) has not been determined., Methods: Between August 2013 and August 2021, septic AKI patients at our center were retrospectively enrolled. ΔNLR was defined as the difference between the NLR at septic AKI diagnosis and at hospital admission. The relationship between the ΔNLR and mortality was evaluated by Kaplan-Meier curves, Cox proportional hazards, and cubic spline analyses. The prediction values were compared by area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve (AUROC), net reclassification improvement (NRI), and integrated discrimination improvement (IDI) analyses., Results: Of the 413 participants, the mean age was 63 ± 17 years, and 134 were female (32.4%). According to the median value, patients in the high-ΔNLR group had significantly greater 90-d mortality (74.4% vs . 46.6%, p  <  0. 001). After adjustment for potential confounders, high ΔNLR remained an independent predictor of 90-d mortality (HR = 2.80; 95% CI = 1.74-4.49, p  < 0.001). Furthermore, ΔNLR had the highest AUROC for 90-d mortality (0.685) among the various biomarkers and exhibited an improved NRI (0.314) and IDI (0.027) when incorporated with PCT and CRP. For secondary outcomes, patients with high ΔNLR had increased risk of 30-d mortality ( p  = 0.004), need for renal replacement therapy ( p =  0.011), and developing stage-3 AKI (p =  0.040) according to the adjusted models., Conclusions: High ΔNLR is independently associated with increased risk of patient mortality and adverse outcomes. ΔNLR might be utilized to facilitate risk stratification and optimize septic AKI management.

Sanhan Huashi granules (SHG) demonstrated therapeutic effects against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in observational studies. In order to compare the effectiveness and safety of SHG and nirmatrelvir-ritonavir in treating adults with mild-to-moderate COVID-19, we conducted a randomized, active-controlled, open-label, multi-center trial conducted between February and July in 2023. The patients were randomized in a 1:1 ratio to the SHG group and the nirmatrelvir-ritonavir group. A total of 400 participants were randomized, among which 200 participants ultimately received SHG and 198 received nirmatrelvir-ritonavir. The primary outcome was time to sustained clinical recovery through day 28. SHG significantly shortened the median time to sustained clinical recovery compared to nirmatrelvir-ritonavir (6.0 (95% CI, 5.0 to 6.0) vs. 8.0 (95% CI, 6.0 to 9.0) d; P = 0.001), particularly for individual symptoms including fever, sore throat, cough and fatigue. No participants in either group died and incidence of severe COVID-19 showed no difference between two groups. Participants who received nirmatrelvir-ritonavir demonstrated a higher rate of virus clearance on day 5 compared to those received SHG (46.4% (95% CI, 39.1 to 53.7) vs. 65.6% (95% CI, 58.3 to 72.4); P < 0.001). Most adverse events were mild in both groups. In summary, SHG was superior to nirmatrelvir-ritonavir in shortening the time to sustained clinical recovery in participants with mild-to-moderate COVID-19, despite a lower virus clearance rate observed after 5 d of treatment (Chinese Clinical Trial Registry Identifier: ChiCTR2300067872)., (Copyright © 2024 Science China Press. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Objective: The study aimed to explore the causal effect of body mass index (BMI) on polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS)., Methods: Genome-wide association data for BMI and PCOS were sourced from the Mendelian randomization (MR) base platform. Significantly associated single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) for BMI served as instrumental variables in bidirectional two-sample MR analyses to investigate the causal relationship between BMI and PCOS. Analytical techniques utilized encompassed the inverse-variance weighted (IVW) method, weighted median estimator, and MR-Egger regression., Results: We identified 427 SNPs significantly associated with BMI (P < 5 × 10-8; linkage disequilibrium r2 < 0.001). Various methods consistently revealed a positive association between BMI and PCOS (IVW: odds ratio (OR) 2.027, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.599-2.596; weighted median estimator: OR 2.368, 95% CI 1.653-3.392; MR-Egger Method: OR 3.610, 95% CI 1.795-7.263), indicating that higher BMI correlates with an increased risk of PCOS. Additionally, we observed a causal effect of genetic predisposition to PCOS on BMI (IVW: OR 1.020, 95% CI (1.019-1.022); weighted median estimator: OR 1.017, 95% CI (1.015-1.019); MR-Egger Method: OR 1.000, 95% CI (0.995-1.005))., Conclusion: The MR analysis furnished compelling evidence suggesting a causal relationship between elevated BMI and the risk of PCOS, as well as indicating that the severity of PCOS may contribute to elevated BMI levels., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Endocrine Society. All rights reserved. For commercial re-use, please contact reprints@oup.com for reprints and translation rights for reprints. All other permissions can be obtained through our RightsLink service via the Permissions link on the article page on our site—for further information please contact journals.permissions@oup.com. See the journal About page for additional terms.)

Introduction: Peyronie's disease (PD) is a common penile disorder characterized by the formation of fibrous noncompliant hard nodules in the tunica albuginea of the penis. Collagenase Clostridium histolyticum (CCH) is an injectable drug that treats PD by enzymatically degrading plaque interstitial collagen. CCH has been used in patients with varying curvature, as well as in the acute and stable phases of the disease, through a variety of treatment regimens and combinations. We carried out a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the efficacy of CCH combination therapies for PD., Methods: We selected 4 observational comparative studies and 3 randomized controlled trials including 532 participants from the PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane databases (until December 2023) to evaluate the efficacy of CCH combination therapies for PD. The primary outcome was clinical efficacy as evaluated by improvement in penile curvature and penile length, as well as by scores on the Peyronie's Disease Questionnaire (PDQ) for symptom bother, penile pain, and psychological symptoms. Continuous data were represented by mean difference (MD) and 95% CI. All data were analyzed by Review Manager version 5.3., Results: For penile length (MD, 0.81 cm; 95% CI, 0.17-1.45; P = .01), PDQ symptom bother (MD, -1.02; 95% CI, -1.83 to -0.21; P = .01), and PDQ penile pain (MD, -0.93; 95% CI, -1.50 to -0.36; P = .001), CCH combination therapy showed significantly greater improvements vs CCH monotherapy. However, in the other indicators, penile curvature and PDQ psychological symptoms, there was no significant difference between the therapies., Conclusion: This meta-analysis supports that CCH combination therapies can partially increase penile length and ameliorate symptom bother and penile pain to some extent. However, CCH combination therapies still need to be evaluated through more high-quality research., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The International Society of Sexual Medicine.)

The commercialization of perovskite solar cells is badly limited by stability, an issue determined mainly by perovskite. Herein, inspired by a natural creeper that can cover the walls through suckers, we adopt polyhexamethyleneguanidine hydrochloride as a molecular creeper on perovskite to inhibit its decomposition starting from the annealing process. The molecule possesses a long-line molecular structure where the guanidinium groups can serve as suckers that strongly anchor cations through multiple hydrogen bonds. These features make the molecular creeper can cover perovskite grains and inhibit perovskite decomposition by suppressing cations' escape. The resulting planar perovskite solar cells achieve an efficiency of 25.42% (certificated 25.36%). Moreover, the perovskite film and device exhibit enhanced stability even under harsh damp-heat conditions. The devices can maintain >96% of their initial efficiency after 1300 hours of operation under 1-sun illumination and 1000 hours of storage under 85% RH, respectively., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

SUMMARYLincosamides constitute an important class of antibiotics used against a wide range of pathogens, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus . However, due to the misuse of lincosamide and co-selection pressure, the resistance to lincosamide has become a serious concern. It is urgently needed to carefully understand the phenomenon and mechanism of lincosamide resistance to effectively prevent and control lincosamide resistance. To date, six mobile lincosamide resistance classes, including lnu , cfr , erm , vga , lsa , and sal, have been identified. These lincosamide resistance genes are frequently found on mobile genetic elements (MGEs), such as plasmids, transposons, integrative and conjugative elements, genomic islands, and prophages. Additionally, MGEs harbor the genes that confer resistance not only to antimicrobial agents of other classes but also to metals and biocides. The ultimate purpose of discovering and summarizing bacterial resistance is to prevent, control, and combat resistance effectively. This review highlights four promising strategies, including chemical modification of antibiotics, the development of antimicrobial peptides, the initiation of bacterial self-destruct program, and antimicrobial stewardship, to fight against resistance and safeguard global health., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Diamond is considered the most promising next-generation semiconductor material due to its excellent physical characteristics. It has been more than three decades since the discovery of a special structure named n-diamond. However, despite extensive efforts, its crystallographic structure and properties are still unclear. Here, we show that subdisordered structures in diamond provide an explanation for the structural feature of n-diamond. Monocrystalline diamond with subdisordered structures is synthesized via the chemical vapor deposition method. Atomic-resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy characterizations combined with the picometer-precision peak finder technology and diffraction simulations reveal that picometer-scale shifts of atoms within cells of diamond govern the subdisordered structures. First-principles calculations indicate that the bandgap of diamond decreases rapidly with increasing shifting distance, in accordance with experimental results. These findings clarify the crystallographic structure and electronic properties of n-diamond and provide new insights into the bandgap adjustment in diamond.

This research aimed to distinguish person minimization from emotion minimization in Chinese families with adolescent children. In Study 1, a scale was developed to assess two types of minimization through expert evaluations ( M age = 35.05 years, 89.47% females) and factor analyses of mothers' reported minimization ( n = 417, M age = 42.73 years). Study 2 showed that person minimization related to adolescents' ( n = 412, M age = 13.91 years, 44.11% females) and mothers' socioemotional dysfunction and mothers' ( n = 412, M age = 41.17 years) nonsupportive responses; emotion minimization correlated with adolescents' and mothers' cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression, and mothers' supportive responses. In Study 3, an experimental design was used, dividing adolescents into two groups: one group ( n = 137, M age = 12.64 years, 55.33% females) evaluating emotion minimization and the other group ( n = 123, M age = 12.74 years, 52.26% females) evaluating person minimization. The results showed that adolescents rated emotion minimization more positively than person minimization. Study 4 ( n = 200, M age = 13.85, 34.50% females) showed reciprocal relations between problematic communication patterns of adolescents' emotional distress and person minimization over time. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Myasthenia gravis (MG) is an antibody-mediated autoimmune disease with a prevalence of 150-250 cases per million individuals. Autoantibodies include long-lived antibodies against the acetylcholine receptor (AChR), mainly of the IgG1 subclass, and IgG4, produced almost exclusively by short-lived plasmablasts, which are prevalent in muscle-specific tyrosine kinase (MuSK) myasthenia gravis. Numerous investigations have demonstrated that MG patients receiving conventional medication today still do not possess satisfactory symptom control, indicating a substantial disease burden. Subsequently, based on the type of the autoantibody and the pathogenesis, we synthesized the published material to date and reached a conclusion regarding the literature related to personalized targeted therapy for MG. Novel agents for AChR MG have shown their efficacy in clinical research, such as complement inhibitors, FcRn receptor antagonists, and B-cell activating factor (BAFF) inhibitors. Rituximab, a representative drug of anti-CD20 therapy, has demonstrated benefits in treatment of MuSK MG patients. Due to the existence of low-affinity antibodies or unidentified antibodies that are inaccessible by existing methods, the treatment for seronegative MG remains complicated; thus, special testing and therapy considerations are necessary. It may be advantageous to initiate the application of novel biologicals at an early stage of the disease. Currently, therapies can also be combined and individualized according to different types of antibodies. With such a wide range of drugs, how to tailor treatment strategies to patients with various conditions and find the most suitable solution for each MG profile are our necessary and urgent aims., 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 Ma, Liu, Wang, Yang and Zhu.)

6-BA, a small molecule compound of cytokinins, has been proven to delay leaf senescence in different species, including Chinese flowering cabbage; however, its specific mechanism remains relatively unknown. In this study, the application of external 6-BA delayed leaf senescence in Chinese flowering cabbage, showing that 6-BA effectively prevented the decrease in the maximum quantum yield (Fv/Fm) and overall chlorophyll content and suppressed the expression of the senescence-associated gene BrSAG12 over a 7-day period of storage. Moreover, treatment with 6-BA decreased the respiratory rate, NAD(H) content, the activities of hexose phosphate isomerase (PHI), succinate dehydrogenase (SDH), cytochrome c oxidase (CCO), and ascorbic acid oxidase (AAO) using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and the transcriptional abundance of related genes by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Furthermore, 6-BA also increased the activity and expression levels of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PDH) and 6-phosphate gluconate dehydrogenase (6-PGDH). The group treated with 6-BA retained elevated levels of NADP (H), ATP, total ATPase, and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide kinase (NADK) activity, as well as the expression of respiratory enzymes. Molecular docking indicated that 6-BA hinders the glycolysis pathway (EMP), tricarboxylic acid cycle (TCA), and cytochrome pathway (CCP), and sustains elevated levels of the pentose phosphate pathway (PPP) through interactions with the PHI, SDH, 6-PGDH, G6PDH, CCO, and AAO proteins, consequently delaying postharvest leaf senescence in Chinese flowering cabbage.

The doped organic hole transport layer (HTL) is crucial for achieving high-efficiency perovskite solar cells (PSCs). However, the traditional doping strategy undergoes a time-consuming and environment-dependent oxidation process, which hinders the technology upgrades and commercialization of PSCs. Here, we reported a new strategy by introducing a cascade reaction in traditional doped Spiro-OMeTAD, which can simultaneously achieve rapid oxidation and overcome the erosion of perovskite by 4-tert-butylpyridine (tBP) in organic HTL. The ideal dopant iodobenzene diacetate was utilized as the initiator that can react with Spiro to generate Spiro⋅ + radicals quickly and efficiently without the participation of ambient air, with the byproduct of iodobenzene (DB). Then, the DB can coordinate with tBP through a halogen bond to form a tBP-DB complex, minimizing the sustained erosion from tBP to perovskite. Based on the above cascade reaction, the resulting Spiro-based PSCs have a champion PCE of 25.76 % (certificated of 25.38 %). This new oxidation process of HTL is less environment-dependent and produces PSCs with higher reproducibility. Moreover, the PTAA-based PSCs obtain a PCE of 23.76 %, demonstrating the excellent applicability of this doping strategy on organic HTL., (© 2024 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

This article presents a high-precision obstacle detection algorithm using 3D mechanical LiDAR to meet railway safety requirements. To address the potential errors in the point cloud, we propose a calibration method based on projection and a novel rail extraction algorithm that effectively handles terrain variations and preserves the point cloud characteristics of the track area. We address the limitations of the traditional process involving fixed Euclidean thresholds by proposing a modulation function based on directional density variations to adjust the threshold dynamically. Finally, using PCA and local-ICP, we conduct feature analysis and classification of the clustered data to obtain the obstacle clusters. We conducted continuous experiments on the testing site, and the results showed that our system and algorithm achieved an STDR (stable detection rate) of over 95% for obstacles with a size of 15 cm × 15 cm × 15 cm in the range of ±25 m; at the same time, for obstacles of 10 cm × 10 cm × 10 cm, an STDR of over 80% was achieved within a range of ±20 m. This research provides a possible solution and approach for railway security via obstacle detection.

The resistance of multidrug-resistant bacteria to existing antibiotics forces the continued development of new antibiotics and antibacterial agents, but the high costs and long timeframe involved in the development of new agents renders the hope that existing antibiotics may again play a part. The "antibiotic adjuvant" is an indirect antibacterial strategy, but its vague concept has, in the past, limited the development speed of related drugs. In this review article, we put forward an accurate concept of a "non-self-antimicrobial sensitisers (NSAS)", to distinguish it from an "antibiotic adjuvant", and then discuss several scientific methods to restore bacterial sensitivity to antibiotics, and the sources and action mechanism of existing NSAS, in order to guide the development and further research of NSAS., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest All authors have none conflicts to declare., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are widespread in marine ecosystems, despite the limits placed on several congeners, and pose a threat to marine organisms. Many coexisting factors, especially dissolved organic matter (DOM), affect the environmental behavior and ecological risk of PBDEs. Since blooms frequently occur in coastal waters, we used algogenic DOM (A-DOM) from the diatom Skeletonem costatum and examined the interaction of A-DOM with 2,2',4,4'-tetrabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-47). Moreover, their combined effect on the rotifer Brachionus plicatilis was analyzed. During the stationary period, A-DOM had more proteins than polysaccharides, and 7 extracellular proteins were identified. A-DOM fluorescence was statically quenched by BDE-47, and amide, carbonyl, and hydroxyl groups in A-DOM were involved. Molecular docking analysis showed that all 5 selected proteins of A-DOM could spontaneously bind with BDE-47 and that hydrophobic interactions, van der Waals forces and pi-bond interactions existed. The reproductive damage, oxidative stress and inhibition of mitochondrial activity induced by BDE-47 in rotifers were relieved by A-DOM addition. Transcriptomic analysis further showed that A-DOM could activate energy metabolic pathways in rotifers and upregulate genes encoding metabolic detoxification proteins and DNA repair. Moreover, A-DOM alleviated the interference effect of BDE-47 on lysosomes, the extracellular matrix pathway and the calcium signaling system. Alcian blue staining and scanning electron microscopy showed that A-DOM aggregates were mainly stuck to the corona and cuticular surface of the rotifers; this mechanism, rather than a real increase in uptake, was the reason for enhanced bioconcentration. This study reveals the complex role of marine A-DOM in PBDEs bioavailability and enhances the knowledge related to risk assessments of PBDE-like contaminants in marine environments., 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 © 2024. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Background: Mitochondrial dysfunction is one of the distinctive features of neurons in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD). Intraneuronal autophagosomes selectively phagocytose and degrade the damaged mitochondria, mitigating neuronal damage in AD. Panax notoginseng saponins (PNS) can effectively reduce oxidative stress and mitochondrial damage in the brain of animals with AD, but their exact mechanism of action is unknown., Methods: Senescence-accelerated mouse prone 8 (SAMP8) mice with age-related AD were treated with PNS for 8 weeks. The effects of PNS on learning and memory abilities, cerebral oxidative stress status, and hippocampus ultrastructure of mice were observed. Moreover, changes of the PTEN-induced putative kinase 1 (PINK1)-Parkin, which regulates ubiquitin-dependent mitophagy, and the recruit of downstream autophagy receptors were investigated., Results: PNS attenuated cognitive dysfunction in SAMP8 mice in the Morris water maze test. PNS also enhanced glutathione peroxidase and superoxide dismutase activities, and increased glutathione levels by 25.92% and 45.55% while inhibiting 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine by 27.74% and the malondialdehyde production by 34.02% in the brains of SAMP8 mice. Our observation revealed the promotion of mitophagy, which was accompanied by an increase in microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3 (LC3) mRNA and 70.00% increase of LC3-II/I protein ratio in the brain tissues of PNS-treated mice. PNS treatment increased Parkin mRNA and protein expression by 62.80% and 43.80%, while increasing the mRNA transcription and protein expression of mitophagic receptors such as optineurin, and nuclear dot protein 52., Conclusion: PNS enhanced the PINK1/Parkin pathway and facilitated mitophagy in the hippocampus, thereby preventing cerebral oxidative stress in SAMP8 mice. This may be a mechanism contributing to the cognition-improvement effect of PNS., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Buried interface optimization matters the efficiency improvement of planar perovskite solar cells (PSCs), and the molecular bridge is reported to be an effective approach. Herein, a molecular bridge is constructed at buried interface using 4-chloro-3-sulfamoylbenzoic acid (CSBA), and its preferred arrangement is systematically investigated. It is elucidated that the CSBA molecular is prone to be orientationally absorbed on TiO 2 surface through COOH-Ti, and then connect with perovskite through S═O-Pb, resulting in a feasible oriented molecular bridge. Contributing to the passivated interfacial defects, optimized interfacial energy level, and released perovskite tensile stress, resulting from the oriented CSBA molecular bridge, the PSCs with an active area of 0.08 cm 2 achieve a certified power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 25.32%, the highest among the TiO 2 -based planar PSCs. Encouragingly, the PSCs with an active area of 1 cm 2 achieve a champion PCE of 24.20%, significantly promoting the efficiency progress of large-area PSCs. In addition, the PSCs with oriented CSBA molecular bridge possess enhanced stability, the unencapsulated PSCs can maintain ≈91% and ≈85% of their initial PCE after 3000 h aging under ambient condition and 1200 h aging under exposure to UV irradiation., (© 2024 Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

Introduction: Fluid resuscitation of patients with sepsis is crucial. This study explored the role of fluid balance in the early resuscitation of sepsis patients in the intensive care unit (ICU)., Material and Methods: A retrospective study of patients with sepsis using the Peking Union Medical College Hospital Intensive Care Medical Information System and Database from January 2014 to June 2020 was performed. Based on the survival status on day 28, the training cohort was divided into an alive group ( n = 1,803) and a deceased group ( n = 429). Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to identify risk factors, and the integrated learning XGBoost algorithm was used to construct a model for predicting outcomes. ROC and Kaplan-Meier survival curves were used to evaluate the effectiveness of the model. A verification cohort ( n = 433) was used to verify the model., Results: Univariate analysis showed that fluid balance is an important covariate. Based on the scatterplot distribution, a significant difference in mortality was determined between groups stratified with a balance of 1000 ml. There were associations in the multivariate analysis between poor outcomes and sex, PO 2 /FiO 2 , serum creatinine, FiO 2 , platelets, respiratory rate, SPO 2 , temperature, and total fluid volume (1000 ml). Among these variables, total fluid balance (1000 ml) had an OR of 1.98 (CI: 1.41-2.77, p < 0.001). Therefore, the model was built with these nine factors using XGBoost. Cross validation was used to verify generalizability. This model performed better than the SOFA and APACHE II models. The result was well verified in the verification cohort. A causal forest model suggested that patients with hypoxemia may suffer from positive fluid balance., Conclusions: Sepsis fluid resuscitation in the ICU should be a targeted and goal-oriented treatment. A new prognostic prediction model was constructed and indicated that a 6-hour positive fluid balance after ICU initial admission is a risk factor for poor outcomes in sepsis patients. A 6-hour fluid balance above 1000 ml should be performed with caution., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (Copyright: © 2024 Termedia & Banach.)

Pure-quartic solitons (PQSs) have recently received increasing attention due to their energy-width scaling over the traditional soliton, which has expanded our understanding of soliton dynamics with high-order dispersion in nonlinear systems. Here, we numerically reveal the asynchronization and synchronization processes of the sub-pulse within the vector PQS molecule in a mode-locked fiber laser by solving the coupled Ginzburg-Landau equations. During the establishment of a vector PQS molecule, the repulsion, attraction, and finally stabilization processes have been observed. Specifically, sub-pulse disappearance, regeneration, and finally synchronization with the other pulses are also investigated. Our analysis of the pulse energy, time interval, and relative phase evolution dynamics with the round trip indicates that the asynchronization and synchronization within the vector PQS molecule associate tightly with the gain competition and the cross-phase modulation. Our findings provide insights into the internal mutual dynamics within the vector soliton molecule and offer guidance for the applications of PQS.

Hypoxia in the tumour microenvironment is a major limiting factor in photodynamic therapy. The present study employed a novel O 2 -economised photosensitizer, ACSN, to effectively curtail oxygen consumption by impeding the aerobic respiration of tumour cells, thereby increasing the reactive oxygen species (ROS) production in photodynamic therapy. To enhance the efficacy of photodynamic therapy, the active targeting peptide iRGD was employed to facilitate drug accumulation in the tumour tissue. Therefore, we constructed a targeted drug platform, ACSN/Fe 3 O 4 @MSNs-iRGD, that integrates diagnosis and treatment. The drug exhibited excellent active targeting ability towards gastric cancer MGC-803 cells and can efficiently penetrate the mitochondria upon cellular internalisation. The photosensitizer ACSN, released from the drug, effectively suppressed mitochondrial aerobic respiration to conserve oxygen and exhibited robust ROS production upon laser excitation. The core-shell structure comprises Fe 3 O 4 , which offers excellent T2 dark contrast for real-time tumour monitoring through MRI imaging. By incorporating excellent photodynamic therapy and MRI imaging capabilities, this drug can serve as an effective platform for the integration of tumour diagnosis and treatment, thus addressing the limitations associated with conventional tumour therapies. It is anticipated that this approach will soon be clinically translated., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

Background: Live attenuated vaccines may be used to prevent nontargeted diseases such as lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs) due to their nonspecific effects (NSEs)., Objective: We aimed to analyze the NSEs of the Japanese encephalitis vaccine on pediatric LRTIs in children aged 25 months to 35 months., Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted by using a population-based electronic health record database in Zhejiang, China. Enrolled participants were children born from January 1, 2017, to December 31, 2017, and who were inoculated with the live-attenuated Japanese encephalitis vaccine (JE-L) or inactivated Japanese encephalitis vaccine (JE-I) as the most recent vaccine at 24 months of age. The study was carried out between January 1, 2019, and December 31, 2019. All inpatient and outpatient hospital visits for LRTIs among children aged 25 months to 35 months were recorded. The Andersen-Gill model was used to assess the NSEs of JE-L against LRTIs in children and compared with those of JE-I as the most recent vaccine., Results: A total of 810 children born in 2017 were enrolled, of whom 585 received JE-L (JE-L cohort) and 225 received JE-I (JE-I cohort) as their last vaccine. The JE-L cohort showed a reduced risk of LRTIs (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] 0.537, 95% CI 0.416-0.693), including pneumonia (aHR 0.501, 95% CI 0.393-0.638) and acute bronchitis (aHR 0.525, 95% CI 0.396-0.698) at 25 months to 35 months of age. The NSEs provided by JE-L were especially pronounced in female children (aHR 0.305, 95% CI 0.198-0.469) and children without chronic diseases (aHR 0.553, 95% CI 0.420-0.729), without siblings (aHR 0.361, 95% CI 0.255-0.511), with more than 30 inpatient and outpatient hospital visits prior to 24 months of age (aHR 0.163, 95% CI 0.091-0.290), or with 5 to 10 inpatient and outpatient hospital visits due to infectious diseases prior to 24 months old (aHR 0.058, 95% CI 0.017-0.202)., Conclusions: Compared with JE-I, receiving JE-L as the most recent vaccine was associated with lower risk of inpatient and outpatient hospital visits for LRTIs among children aged 25 months to 35 months. The nature of NSEs induced by JE-L should be considered for policymakers and physicians when recommending JE vaccines to those at high risk of infection from the Japanese encephalitis virus., (©Siyi Zhan, Hongbo Lin, Yingying Yang, Tao Chen, Sheng Mao, Chuanxi Fu. Originally published in JMIR Public Health and Surveillance (https://publichealth.jmir.org), 18.03.2024.)

Objectives: We conducted a comprehensive meta-analysis to compare the effectiveness and safety of fluoroscopy-guided air enema reduction (FGAR) and ultrasound-guided hydrostatic enema reduction (UGHR) for the treatment of intussusception in pediatric patients., Methods: A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted on retrospective studies obtained from various databases, including PUBMED, MEDLINE, Cochrane, Google Scholar, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), WanFang, and VIP Database. The search included publications from January 1, 2003, to March 31, 2023, with the last search done on Jan 15, 2023., Results: We included 49 randomized controlled studies and retrospective cohort studies involving a total of 9,391 patients, with 4,841 in the UGHR and 4,550 in the FGAR. Specifically, UGHR exhibited a significantly shorter time to reduction (WMD = -4.183, 95% CI = (-5.402, -2.964), P < 0.001), a higher rate of successful reduction (RR = 1.128, 95% CI = (1.099, 1.157), P < 0.001), and a reduced length of hospital stay (WMD = -1.215, 95% CI = (-1.58, -0.85), P < 0.001). Furthermore, UGHR repositioning was associated with a diminished overall complication rate (RR = 0.296, 95% CI = (0.225, 0.389), P < 0.001) and a lowered incidence of perforation (RR = 0.405, 95% CI = (0.244, 0.670), P < 0.001)., Conclusion: UGHR offers the benefits of being non-radioactive, achieving a shorter reduction time, demonstrating a higher success rate in repositioning in particular, resulting in a reduced length of postoperative hospital stay, and yielding a lower overall incidence of postoperative complications, including a reduced risk of associated perforations., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Liu et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Guavas are typical tropical fruit with high nutritional and commercial value. Because of their thin skin and high metabolic rate, guavas are highly susceptible to water loss, physical damage, and spoilage, severely limiting their shelf-life. Guavas can typically only be stored for approximately one week at room temperature, making transportation, storage, and handling difficult, resulting in low profit margins in the industry. This review focuses on the physiological and biochemical changes and their molecular mechanisms which occur in postharvest guavas, and summarizes the various management strategies for extending the shelf-life of these sensitive fruits by means of physical and chemical preservation and their combinations. This review also suggests future directions and reference ideas for the development of safe and efficient shelf-life extension techniques.

Background: Insulin resistance as a significant vascular risk factor has been studied in relation to cerebral small vessel disease (SVD). Evidence suggests that insulin resistance might trigger high blood pressure (BP). Therefore, we aimed to investigate whether insulin resistance impacts SVD with a mediating effect of BP in nondiabetic subjects., Methods and Results: PRECISE (Polyvascular Evaluation for Cognitive Impairment and Vascular Events) study participants underwent brain and vascular imaging techniques and metabolomic risk factors measurements. Insulin resistance was evaluated by the insulin sensitivity index and the Homeostatic Model Assessment for Insulin Resistance based on the standard oral glucose tolerance test. On average, 2752 nondiabetic subjects (47.1% men) aged 60.9 years were included. The multivariable logistic regression model and linear regression model tested the association of insulin resistance with BP components (including systolic BP [SBP], diastolic BP (DBP), and pulse pressure [PP]) and SVD, and of BP components with SVD. In the mediation analysis, SBP, DBP, and PP were found to partially mediate the detrimental effect of insulin resistance (assessed by the insulin sensitivity index) on lacunes (mediation percentage: SBP, 31.15%; DBP, 34.21%; PP, 10.43%), white matter hyperintensity (mediation percentage: SBP, 37.34%; DBP, 44.15%; PP, 9.80%), and SVD total burden (mediation percentage: SBP, 42.07%; DBP, 49.29%; PP, 11.71%) (all P <0.05). The mediation analysis results were not significant when using the Homeostatic Model Assessment for Insulin Resistance to assess insulin resistance., Conclusions: Higher insulin resistance was associated with SVD in this community-dwelling population. The association of insulin resistance with lacunes, white matter hyperintensity, and SVD total burden was explained in part by BP., Registration: URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov; Unique identifier: NCT03178448.

The resuscitated strains achieved through the addition of resuscitation promoting factor (Rpf) hold significant promise as bio-inoculants for enhancing the bioremediation of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Nevertheless, the potential of these resuscitated strains to transition into a viable but non-culturable (VBNC) state, along with the specific stressors that initiate this transformation, remains to be comprehensively elucidated. In this study, a resuscitated strain HR2, obtained through Rpf amendment, was employed to investigate its survival strategies under combined stress involving low temperature (LT), and PCBs, in the absence and presence of heavy metals (HMs). Whole-genome analysis demonstrated that HR2, affiliated with Achromobacter, possessed 107 genes associated with the degradation of polycyclic aromatic compounds. Remarkably, HR2 exhibited effective degradation of Aroclor 1242 and robust resistance to stress induced by LT and PCBs, while maintaining its culturability. However, when exposed to the combined stress of LT, PCBs, and HMs, HR2 entered the VBNC state. This state was characterized by significant decreases in enzyme activities and notable morphological, physiological, and molecular alterations compared to normal cells. These findings uncovered the survival status of resuscitated strains under stressful conditions, thereby offering valuable insights for the development of effective bioremediation strategies., 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 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The exploration of resuscitated strains, facilitated by the resuscitation promoting factor (Rpf), has substantially expanded the pool of cultivated degraders, enhancing the screening of bio-inoculants for bioremediation applications. However, it remains unknown whether these resuscitated strains can re-enter the viable but non-culturable (VBNC) state and the specific stress conditions that trigger such a transition. In this work, the whole genome, and polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB)-degrading capabilities of a resuscitated strain HR1, were investigated. Notably, the focus of this exploration was on elucidating whether HR1 would undergo a transition into the VBNC state when exposed to low temperature and PCBs, with and without the presence of heavy metals (HMs). The results suggested that the resuscitated strain Pseudomonas sp. HR1 harbored various functional genes related to xenobiotic biodegradation, demonstrating remarkable efficiency in Aroclor 1242 degradation and strong resistance against stress induced by low temperature and PCBs. Nevertheless, when exposed to the combined stress of low temperature, PCBs, and HMs, HR1 underwent a transition into the VBNC state. This transition was characterized by significant decreases in enzyme activities and notable changes in both morphological and physiological traits when compared to normal cells. Gene expression analysis revealed molecular shifts underlying the VBNC state, with down-regulated genes showed differential expression across multiple pathways and functions, including oxidative phosphorylation, glycolysis, tricarboxylic acid cycle, amino acid metabolism, translation and cytoplasm, while up-regulated genes predominantly associated with transcription regulation, membrane function, quorum sensing, and transporter activity. These findings highlighted the great potential of resuscitated strains as bio-inoculants in bioaugmentation and shed light on the survival mechanisms of functional strains under stressful conditions, which should be carefully considered during bioremediation processes., 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 © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) have been widely suggested as contributors to the aquatic insect biomass decline, and their bioavailability is affected by engineered particles. However, the toxicity effects of emerging ionizable POPs mediated by differentially charged engineered nanoparticles on aquatic insects are unknown. In this study, 6:2 chlorinated polyfluoroalkyl ether sulfonate (F-53B, an emerging perfluoroalkyl acid alternative) was selected as a model emerging ionizable POP; the effect of differentially charged nanoplastics (NPs, 50 nm, 0.5 g/kg) on F-53B bioaccumulation and gut toxicity to Chironomus kiinensis were investigated through histopathology, biochemical index, and gut microbiota analysis. The results showed that when the dissolved concentration of F-53B remained constant, the presence of NPs enhanced the adverse effects on larval growth, emergence, gut oxidative stress and inflammation induced by F-53B, and the enhancement caused by positively charged NP-associated F-53B was stronger than that caused by the negatively charged one. This was mainly because positively charged NPs, due to their greater adsorption capacity and higher bioavailable fraction of associated F-53B, increased the bioaccumulation of F-53B in larvae more significantly than negatively charged NPs. In addition, positively charged NPs interact more easily with gut biomembranes and microbes with a negative charge, further increasing the probability of F-53B interacting with gut biomembranes and microbiota and thereby aggravating gut damage and key microbial dysbacteriosis related to gut health. These findings demonstrate that the surface charge of NPs can regulate the bioaccumulation and toxicity of ionizable POPs to aquatic insects.

Background: Previous studies on physical activity (PA) and pelvic organ prolapse (POP) were largely limited to self-reported PA in athletes, soldiers, and women in postpartum. We aimed to investigate the association of accelerometer-measured PA and sedentary behavior with the risk of POP in middle-aged and elderly women., Methods: In this prospective cohort derived from the UK Biobank, the intensity and duration of PA and sedentary behavior were measured with wrist-worn accelerometers over a 7-day period in 2013-2015 for 47,674 participants (aged 42.8-77.9 years) without pre-existing POP. Participants were followed up until the end of 2022, during which incident POP was ascertained mainly by the electronic health records. Multivariable-adjusted Cox proportional hazards models and restricted cubic splines were used to assess the associations of interest. Isotemporal substitution models were applied to test the effects of substituting a type of activity with equivalent duration of others., Results: During a median follow-up of 8.0 years, 779 cases of POP were recorded. The duration of light-intensity PA (LPA) was positively whereas sedentary time was negatively associated with the risk of POP. Every additional 1 h/day of LPA elevated the risk of POP by 18% (95% confidence interval [CI], 10%-26%). In contrast, the risk decreased by 5% (95% CI, 0-8%) per 1 h/day increment in sedentary behavior. No associations were found between moderate-intensity PA (MPA) or vigorous-intensity PA (VPA) and POP, except that women who had a history of hysterectomy were more likely to develop POP when performing more VPA (53% higher risk for every additional 15 min/day). Substituting 1 h/day of LPA with equivalent sedentary time was associated with a 18% (95% CI, 11%-24%) lower risk of POP. The risk can also be reduced by 17% (95% CI, 7%-25%) through substituting 30 min/day of LPA with MPA., Conclusions: More time spent in LPA or less sedentary time was linked to an elevated risk of POP in middle-aged and elderly women, while MPA or VPA was not. Substituting LPA with equivalent duration of sedentary behavior or MPA may lower the risk of POP., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Aim: A novel CD19xCD3xCD28 trispecific antibody with a tandem single-chain variable fragments (scFv) structure was developed for the treatment of B-cell malignancies. Methods: The trispecific antibody in inducing tumor-directed T-cell activation and cytotoxicity was evaluated in vitro and in vivo and compared with its bispecific counterpart BiTE-CD19xCD3 lacking a CD28-targeting domain. Results: The trispecific antibody with a co-stimulatory domain exhibited augmented T-cell activation and memory T-cell differentiation capability and it induced faster tumor cell lysis than the bispecific antibody. RNAseq analysis revealed that the trispecific antibody modulates CD3/TCR complex-derived signal and upregulates antiapoptotic factors to influence the survival of T cells. Conclusion: By CD3/CD28 co-engagement, the trispecific antibody demonstrated its advantages in T-cell immunity and potential use as a more powerful and long-lasting T-cell engager.

Exposure to pesticides can pose a series of advance effects on human health. However, the exposure levels and health implications of the current use pesticides and their metabolites in both men and pregnant women remain unclear. In this study, an analytical method was developed to quantify fungicides, neonicotinoid insecticides, triazine herbicides, and their metabolites in the human serum. Fifty of the 73 target pesticides and metabolites were detected in the human serum of men and pregnant women from Wuxi, China, which included 11 triazine herbicides and metabolites, 17 neonicotinoid insecticides and metabolites, and 22 fungicides. Fungicides had the highest cumulative concentration (49.5 ng/mL), followed by neonicotinoid insecticides and metabolites (6.38 ng/mL), and triazine herbicides and metabolites (5.10 ng/mL). Moreover, the estimated daily intake (EDI) of fungicides was 10.4 and 12.7 times higher than that of triazine herbicides (included their metabolites) and neonicotinoid insecticides (included their metabolites), respectively. Of the three categories of pesticides, exposure to fungicides contributed to the highest exposure risk within the hazard quotient in the range of 5.1 × 10 -3 -0.17. Correlation analysis revealed that the pesticide exposure levels in human serum were correlated with their maximum residue levels in vegetables and fruits. Pesticide exposure has also been correlated with the weight and Body Mass Index (BMI) of humans based on structural equation modeling. This study provides new insights into the exposure of men and pregnant women to a cocktail of fungicides, neonicotinoid insecticides, triazine herbicides and their metabolites., 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 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)