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Background/Objectives: Static reference intervals (RIs) fail to capture the dynamic changes in bioanalytes. This study aimed to develop gender-based continuous age- and season-related RIs for neuron-specific enolase (NSE) using real-world data and to compare them with partitioned RIs. Methods: The NSE results from 4097 individuals were included after rigorous screening. Partitioned RIs were determined using the Hoffmann method. Generalized additive models for location, scale and shape (GAMLSS) were selected to develop continuous RIs. Results: The partitioned RIs are as follows: <16.4 µg/L for males aged ≥19 years; <14.47 µg/L for females aged 19–49 years; and <17.25 µg/L for females aged ≥50 years. For continuous RIs, NSE levels in males remain stable with age, while in females, NSE levels evidently increase around the age of 50. Although less impactful than age, seasonal changes still affect NSE levels. Dynamic changes and continuous RIs for NSE are visualized in this study. Conclusions: We developed gender-based continuous age- and season-integrated RIs for NSE in North China, highlighting the variation in NSE levels in females with age and season. Compared to static RIs, continuous RIs are more responsive to NSE, potentially enhancing the precision and individualization of health assessments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We retrospectively analyzed serum IgM antibodies (Abs) to influenza viruses from two tertiary hospitals in Beijing from December 2016 to February 2018. Samples from 36,792 patients, aged 0-98 years, were collected and tested. Among the patients, 923 children from two winter flu seasons were assayed with both antigens and IgM Abs to Flu A and Flu B and assigned as paired groups. Another 2,340 adults and 1,978 children with only antigen tested in the 2016 and 2017 winter flu seasons were named as unpaired groups. IgM Abs-positivity rates in children were 0.80% and 36.57% for Flu A and Flu B, respectively, peaking at 4-5 years of age. For adults, the Flu A and Flu B IgM Abs-positivity rates were 10.34% and 21.49%, respectively, peaking at 18-35 years of age. The trend of temporal distribution between the children and the adults was significantly correlated for IgM Abs to Flu B, but not for Flu A. Compared with unpaired groups, the detection rate of Flu A antigen was significantly higher than IgM Abs in children, whereas frequencies of IgM Abs were higher than antigen in adults. Incidence of Flu B antigen was sharply increased in 2017 winter than in the 2016 winter in both children and adults, but no concomitant increase was observed in IgM Abs to Flu B. For paired children groups, incidence of Flu B antigen in the 2017 flu season was significantly higher than that in the 2016 flu season; in contrast, positive rates of IgM Abs in the 2017 flu season were even lower than those in 2016. Considering antigen detection may reflect the Flu A/Flu B epidemic, our results indicate single-assayed IgM Abs were less effective in the diagnosis of acute influenza virus infection, and the use of this assay for epidemiology evaluations was not supported by these findings.

Jasmonic acid (JA) is a vital plant hormone that performs a variety of critical functions for plants. Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge (S. miltiorrhiza), also known as Danshen, is a renowned traditional Chinese medicinal herb. However, no thorough and systematic analysis of JA biosynthesis genes in S. miltiorrhiza exists. Through genome-wide prediction and molecular cloning, 23 candidate genes related to JA biosynthesis were identified in S. miltiorrhiza. These genes belong to four families that encode lipoxygenase (LOX), allene oxide synthase (AOS), allene oxide cyclase (AOC), and 12-OPDA reductase3 (OPR3). It was discovered that the candidate genes for JA synthesis of S. miltiorrhiza were distinct and conserved, in contrast to related genes in other plants, by evaluating their genetic structures, protein characteristics, and phylogenetic trees. These genes displayed tissue-specific expression patterns concerning to methyl jasmonate (MeJA) and wound tests. Overall, the results of this study provide valuable information for elucidating the JA biosynthesis pathway in S. miltiorrhiza by comprehensive and methodical examination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: As a pandemic, a most-common pattern resembled organizing pneumonia (OP) has been identified by CT findings in novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). We aimed to delineate the evolution of CT findings and outcome in OP of COVID-19. Materials and methods: 106 COVID-19 patients with OP based on CT findings were retrospectively included and categorized into non-severe (mild/common) and severe (severe/critical) groups. CT features including lobar distribution, presence of ground glass opacities (GGO), consolidation, linear opacities and total severity CT score were evaluated at three time intervals from symptom-onset to CT scan (day 0–7, day 8–14, day > 14). Discharge or adverse outcome (admission to ICU or death), and pulmonary sequelae (complete absorption or lesion residuals) on CT after discharge were analyzed based on the CT features at different time interval. Results: 79 (74.5%) patients were non-severe and 103 (97.2%) were discharged at median day 25 (range, day 8–50) after symptom-onset. Of 67 patients with revisit CT at 2–4 weeks after discharge, 20 (29.9%) had complete absorption of lesions at median day 38 (range, day 30–53) after symptom-onset. Significant differences between complete absorption and residuals groups were found in percentages of consolidation (1.5% vs. 13.8%, P = 0.010), number of involved lobe > 3 (40.0% vs. 72.5%, P = 0.030), CT score > 4 (20.0% vs. 65.0%, P = 0.010) at day 8–14. Conclusion: Most OP cases had good prognosis. Approximately one-third of cases had complete absorption of lesions during 1–2 months after symptom-onset while those with increased frequency of consolidation, number of involved lobe > 3, and CT score > 4 at week 2 after symptom-onset may indicate lesion residuals on CT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The complex rock fracture and road pavement cracks are more difficult to extract than the other linear objects in an image. In rock engineering, the rock fracture is an important factor that might cause tunnel and bridge collapse, or rock slope or dam damage. In road construction, the crack is one of the main pavement diseases. To avoid the difficultly of extracting fractures/cracks in an image, a new algorithm for tracking the central lines of fractures or cracks is studied to alleviate the problem for image segmentation. It includes four aspects: (1) a new fractional differential template is established to enhance the blurring and weak fractures/cracks in an image, compared with the traditional fractional differential template Tiansi, the new template has no zero coefficient and can enhance the micro-fractures/cracks; (2) in order to decrease the difficulty level of fracture/crack extraction, an algorithm for extracting the feature points of the fracture/crack central line is proposed based on the idea of Steger algorithm; (3) after linking short gaps based on distance, the long gap linking is made according to the principle of hydrodynamics, it first makes judgment if the two neighboring feature points are in one crack or not, in which, the feature points are regarded as two spring resources, then in light on the idea of water gushed out of the spring, when the two water flows meet together, the two points are recognized in one crack, otherwise they are not in one crack and cannot be connected together and (4) if the two neighboring feature points are in one crack, then the distance and the curvature between the two line segments are calculated, if they are less than the given thresholds, the linking path is searched and the gap is filled. Compared with the four traditional algorithms by testing hundred images, the new algorithm can accurately and quickly extract the central lines in complex rock fracture and rough road pavement cracks, which can increase the accuracy of crack/fracture image segmentation compared to the other algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tungsten trioxide and graphitic carbon nitride composite materials (designed as WO3/g-C3N4) were constructed via a facile hydrothermal process. The excellent "catalytic memory" activity of WO3/g-C3N4 was discovered and applied in organic pollutants degradation for the first time. With 3 h pre-illumination, nearly 42.33% Rhodamine B (RhB) was removed in the dark by WO3/g-C3N4 via its nearly 8 h "memory" photocatalytic activity. In addition, the photocatalytic degradation efficiency of RhB was 97.46% with WO3/g-C3N4 under the visible light. Meanwhile, the "memory" photocatalytic activity enhanced photocatalysis and effectively promoted the WO3/g-C3N4 mediated organism degradation.Graphical Abstract: [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Liquid hot water (LHW) and high-boiling point alcohol/water (HBAW) pretreatments were compared to improve enzymatic saccharification of cellulose in moso bamboo. When pretreatments were conducted at 200 °C for 40 min, HBAW (20% (v/v) 1,4- butanediol (BDO)) induced substrate enzymatic digestibilities (SEDs) at low (5 FPU g −1 glucan) and high (20 FPU g −1 glucan) cellulase dosages were 47.1% and 82.3%, which were higher than that of LHW by about 46% and 14%, respectively. The analyses of solid substrates and hydrolysates demonstrated that deposited lignin played a dominating role over other factors including total pore volume, cellulose crystallinity and molecular weight in affecting SED during LHW pretreatment. After optimizing the ratio of BDO to water to be 10% (v/v), a SED and glucose yield of 91.6% and 81.5%, respectively, were obtained by HBAW pretreatment conducted at 200 °C for 40 min while cellulase dosage was charged at 20 FPU g −1 glucan. Under the same conditions but without BDO addition, LHW only resulted in a SED and glucose yield of 72.2% and 62.3%, respectively. Due to no mineral acid addition and low loadings of BDO, HBAW pretreatment has the potential to overcome the drawbacks of LHW pretreatment and become a green, non-expensive and high-efficient pretreatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Boron nitride nanotubes were functionalized with microperoxidase-11 in aqueous media, showing improved catalytic performance due to a strong electron coupling between the active centre of microperoxidase-11 and boron nitride nanotubes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High aspect ratio (HAR) ultrafine tapered holes (diameter ≤5 μm; AR ≥5) are the most important elements for some high-tech perforated metallic products, but they are very difficult to manufacture. Therefore, this paper proposes a nontraditional over-growth electroforming process. The formation mechanism of the HAR ultrafine tapered holes is investigated, and the factors controlling the geometric shape evolution are analyzed numerically. It was found that the geometric shape and dimensions of the holes are highly dependent on the diameter and thickness of the photoresist film patterns, but are hardly affected by the spacing between two neighboring patterns; the achievable diameter for a given hole depth becomes small with the increasing pattern diameter, but it becomes big with the increasing pattern thickness. These correlations can be well interpreted by the established two empirical equations that characterize the relationship between the minimum orifice of the tapered hole and the structural parameters of the photoresist film patterns previously formed on the substrate. Application of the fabricated 1500 tapered holes with 3-μm diameter and 17-AR as the nozzles of the medical precision nebulizer is also examined. The studies show that the over-growth electroforming process is highly applicable in fabricating the perforated metallic plate with HAR ultrafine tapered holes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The NBS cut-off value for DMD screening was established by detecting CK-MM level in DBS based on a large cohort of Henan population. • The estimated incidence of male neonatal duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) was 1/4,370 in Henan province, China. • The experience from this study provided a model that will allow further expansion in Henan hospital systems. Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) is a rare disorder caused by mutations in the dystrophin gene. Recent availability in treatment for DMD raised the need of early screening in our center, but newborn screening (NBS) for DMD has not been carried out in Henan Province. To determine an optimal cutoff value through the quantitative determination of the creatine kinase isoform MM (CK-MM) concentration dried blood spot (DBS) to identify male DMD, and to evaluate assess the detection rate and mutation spectrum of DMD in Henan, China. The CK-MM level in DBS was measured using with a GSP® neonatal creatine kinase -MM kit from 13,110 male newborns to establish the cut-off value for CK-MM. Multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA) were carried out for infants with elevated CK levels to detect DMD gene deletions/ duplications, NGS and sanger sequencing were then applied to exclude MLPA-negative samples to single‐nucleotide variants. Phenotype-genotype correlations were analyzed using REVEL For novel missense mutations. Statistical analysis of CK-MM value of the 13,110 neonates suggested that the cut-off value may be set as 472 ng/mL. 3 cases of DMD were screened among 13,110 newborns, all of whom had CK-MM levels >600 ng/mL. We detected 4 rare variants in DMD gene, including 2 exon deletions (deletion of exon 52 and deletion from exon 3 to exon 7) and 2 point variants (c.9568C>T and c.4030C>T). Two cases were all exon deletions, one case was compound heterozygous variants. The estimated incidence of male neonatal DMD was 1:4,370 in Henan province. NBS is of great value to the early intervention and treatment of the disease, and is fundamental to support public health decision-making. The experience from this study provided a model that will allow further expansion and facilitate establishment a universal public health screening in Henan hospital systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Respiratory viral infection (RVI) is of very concern after the outbreak of COVID-19, especially in pediatric departments. Learning pathogen spectrum of RVI in children previous the epidemic of COVID-19 could provide another perspective for understanding RVI under current situation and help to prepare for the post COVID-19 infection control., Methods: A nucleic acid sequence-based amplification (NASBA) assay, with 19 pairs of primers targeting various respiratory viruses, was used for multi-pathogen screening of viral infections in children presenting influenza-like illness (ILI) symptoms. Children with ILI at the outpatient department of Beijing Tsinghua Changgung Hospital during the influenza epidemic from 12/2018 to 01/2019 were included. Throat swabs were obtained for both the influenza rapid diagnostic test (IRDT) based on the colloidal gold immunochromatographic assay and the NASBA assay, targeting various respiratory viruses with an integrated chip technology., Results and Discussion: Of 519 patients, 430 (82.9%) were positive in the NASBA assay. The predominant viral pathogens were influenza A H1N1 pdm1/2009 (pH1N1) (48.4%) and influenza A (H3N2) (18.1%), followed by human metapneumovirus (hMPV) (8.8%) and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) (6.1%). Of the 320 cases identified with influenza A by NASBA, only 128 (40.0%) were positive in the IRDT. The IRDT missed pH1N1 significantly more frequently than A (H3N2) (P<0.01). Influenza A pH1N1 and A (H3N2) were the major pathogens in <6 years and 6-15 years old individuals respectively (P<0.05). In summary, influenza viruses were the major pathogens in children with ILI during the 2018-2019 winter influenza epidemic, while hMPV and RSV were non-negligible. The coexistence of multiple pathogen leading to respiratory infections is the normalcy in winter ILI cases., 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 Chao, Wang, Wu, Li, Dong, Ji, Li, Li, Yin, Zhao and Liang.)

Background: Air pollution may impair male fertility, but it remains controversial whether air pollution affects semen quality until now., Objectives: We undertake a meta-analysis to explore potential impacts of six pollutants exposure during the entire window (0-90 days prior to ejaculation) and critical windows (0-9, 10-14, and 70-90 days prior to ejaculation) on semen quality., Methods: Seven databases were retrieved for original studies on the effects of six pollutants exposure for 90 days prior to ejaculation on semen quality. The search process does not limit the language and search date. We only included original studies that reported regression coefficients ( β ) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). The β and 95% CIs were pooled using the DerSimonian-Laird random effect models., Results: PM 2.5 exposure was related with decreased total sperm number (10-14 lag days) and total motility (10-14, 70-90, and 0-90 lag days). PM 10 exposure was related with reduced total sperm number (70-90 and 0-90 lag days) and total motility (0-90 lag days). NO 2 exposure was related with reduced total sperm number (70-90 and 0-90 lag days). SO 2 exposure was related with declined total motility (0-9, 10-14, 0-90 lag days) and total sperm number (0-90 lag days)., Conclusion: Air pollution affects semen quality making it necessary to limit exposure to air pollution for Chinese men. When implementing protective measures, it is necessary to consider the key period of sperm development., 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 © 2023 Liu, Dai, Li, Yuan, Wang and Wang.)

Background: As global healthcare system is overwhelmed by novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), early identification of risks of adverse outcomes becomes the key to optimize management and improve survival. This study aimed to provide a CT-based pattern categorization to predict outcome of COVID-19 pneumonia. Methods: One hundred and sixty-five patients with COVID-19 (91 men, 4-89 years) underwent chest CT were retrospectively enrolled. CT findings were categorized as Pattern 0 (negative), Pattern 1 (bronchopneumonia pattern), Pattern 2 (organizing pneumonia pattern), Pattern 3 (progressive organizing pneumonia pattern), and Pattern 4 (diffuse alveolar damage pattern). Clinical findings were compared across different categories. Time-dependent progression of CT patterns and correlations with clinical outcomes, i.e." discharge or adverse outcome (admission to ICU, requiring mechanical ventilation, or death), with pulmonary sequelae (complete absorption or residuals) on CT after discharge were analyzed. Results: Of 94 patients with outcome, 81 (86.2%) were discharged, 3 (3.2%) were admitted to ICU, 4 (4.3%) required mechanical ventilation, 6 (6.4%) died. 31 (38.3%) had complete absorption at median day 37 after symptom onset. Significant differences between pattern-categories were found in age, disease severity, comorbidity and laboratory results (all P < 0.05). Remarkable evolution was observed in Pattern 0-2 and Pattern 3-4 within 3 and 2 weeks after symptom-onset, respectively; most of patterns remained thereafter. After controlling for age, CT pattern significantly correlated with adverse outcomes [Pattern 4 vs. Pattern 0-3 [reference]; hazard-ratio [95% CI], 18.90 [1.91-186.60], P = 0.012]. CT pattern [Pattern 3-4 vs. Pattern 0-2 [reference]; 0.26 [0.08-0.88], P = 0.030] and C-reactive protein [>10 vs. ≤ 10 mg/L [reference]; 0.31 [0.13-0.72], P = 0.006] were risk factors associated with pulmonary residuals. Conclusion: CT pattern categorization allied with clinical characteristics within 2 weeks after symptom onset would facilitate early prognostic stratification in COVID-19 pneumonia., (Copyright © 2020 Jin, Tian, Wang, Wu, Zhao, Liang, Liu, Jian, Li, Wang, Li, Zhou, Cai, Liu, Li, Li, Liang, Zhou, Wang, Ren and Yang.)

Here, a protein farnesyltransferase (PFTase)-driven plasma membrane (PM)-targeted chimeric peptide, PpIX-C 6 -PEG 8 -KKKKKKSKTKC-OMe (PCPK), was designed for PM-targeted photodynamic therapy (PM-PDT) and enhanced immunotherapy via tumor cell PM damage and fast release of damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs). The PM targeting ability of PCPK originates from the cellular K-Ras signaling, which occurs exclusively to drive the corresponding proteins to PM by PFTase. With the conjugation of the photosensitizer protoporphyrin IX (PpIX), PCPK could generate cytotoxic reactive oxygen species to deactivate membrane-associated proteins, initiate lipid peroxidation, and destroy PM with an extremely low concentration (1 μM) under light irradiation. The specific PM damage further induced the fast release of DAMPs (high-mobility group box 1 and ATP), resulting in antitumor immune responses stronger than those of conventional cytoplasm-localized PDT. This immune-stimulating PM-PDT strategy also exhibited the inhibition effect for distant metastatic tumors when combined with programmed cell death receptor 1 blockade therapy.

Hypoxia, a ubiquitously aberrant phenomenon implicated in tumor growth, causes severe tumor resistance to therapeutic interventions. Instead of the currently prevalent solution through intratumoral oxygen supply, we put forward an "O 2 -economizer" concept by inhibiting the O 2 consumption of cell respiration to spare endogenous O 2 and overcome the hypoxia barrier. A nitric oxide (NO) donor responsible for respiration inhibition and a photosensitizer for photodynamic therapy (PDT) are co-loaded into poly(d,l-lactide- co-glycolide) nanovesicles to provide a PDT-specific O 2 economizer. Once accumulating in tumors and subsequently responding to the locally reductive environment, the carried NO donor undergoes breakdown to produce NO for inhibiting cellular respiration, allowing more O 2 in tumor cells to support the profound enhancement of PDT. Depending on the biochemical reallocation of cellular oxygen resource, this O 2 -economizer concept offers a way to address the important issue of hypoxia-induced tumor resistance to therapeutic interventions, including but not limited to PDT.

Layered WS2 nanosheet is a kind of two-dimensional (2D) covalent-network solid material with remarkable structural and electronic properties that has attracted increasing interest in recent years. In this work, we propose a one-step sonication-assisted exfoliation method to prepare water-soluble WS2 nanosheet and demonstrate its application as a biosensing platform. The synthesis route is simple and straightforward. We reveal that single-strand DNA (ssDNA) chains can readily be adsorbed on the nanosheet, leading to complete and fast quenching of a fluorescent dye tagged to the DNA chain. The adsorbed ssDNA is detachable from the nanosheet upon the interaction with other biomolecules, resulting in the restoration of the fluorescence. The 2D WS2 nanosheet thus acts as an efficient platform for assembling of bioprobes. Because of the extraordinarily high quenching efficiency, which is the synergic result of both excited-state energy transfer and static quenching, the WS2 platform affords minimal background and high sensitivity. Our attempt will extend the application of this material to biosensing and probing areas.