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Abstract: Moyamoya disease (MMD) is a chronic steno-occlusion cerebrovascular disease, accompanied by the formation of abnormal vascular network at the base of brain. The etiology of MMD is not fully clarified. Lack of pathological specimens hinders the research progress. Induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) derived from patients with outstanding differentiation potential and infinite proliferation ability could conquer the problem of insufficient sample. The technology of iPSC holds the promise of clarifying the underlying molecular mechanism in the development of MMD. In this review, we summarized latest progresses and difficulties in the research of mechanism, and detailed the application of iPSC in MMD, aiming to provide an outlook of iPSC in molecular mechanism and novel therapies of MMD.

Background: Metabolic acidosis plays a key role in transient global cerebral ischemiareperfusion (I/R) induced delayed neuronal death (DND) of the hippocampal CA1 region of gerbils. Na+ coupled HCO3 - transporters (NBCs) mediated Na+/HCO3 - co-transportation can be activated by the pH gradient of intracellular and extracellular environments induced by acidosis. However, whether NBCs are activated and involved in I/R-induced neuronal injury is unknown. Objective: In this work, we studied neuronal apoptosis, astrocyte activation, and hippocampusdependent memory task using a well-established transient global cerebral I/R model of gerbils and investigated whether the specific NBCs inhibitor S0859 could reverse this injury. Methods: To explore the role of S0859 in I/R-induced DND, we established a transient global cerebral I/R model of Mongolian gerbils and studied neuronal apoptosis by using Nissl stain and TUNEL assay. The excitability and NBCs current were analyzed by whole-cell patch-clamp, while the cognitive function was evaluated by Barnes maze. Results: We found that I/R increased the NBCs current, inhibited the excitability of CA1 neurons, and led to apoptosis in CA1 neurons. Selective NBCs inhibitor S0859 protected CA1 neurons from I/R induced neuronal cell death, astrocyte accumulation, and spatial memory impairment. Conclusion: These findings indicate that NBCs mediate transient global cerebral I/R induced DND of CA1 neurons, and NBCs inhibitors could be a promising target to protect neuronal functions after I/R.

Background: Coexistence of intracranial atherosclerotic stenosis (ICAS) and unruptured intracranial aneurysms (UIAs) is increasingly encountered in clinical practice. This study aims to determine the prevalence of ICAS in patients with UIAs and procedural ischemic risk associated with ICAS when treating UIAs. Methods: Based on the CAIASA study (Coexistence of Atherosclerotic Intracranial Arterial Stenosis With Intracranial Aneurysms), we prospectively included patients undergoing treatment procedures for UIAs from October 2015 to December 2020 at Beijing Tiantan Hospital, China. We used computed tomography angiography or digital subtraction angiography to diagnose ICAS (stenosis≥50%). Multivariable logistic regression and propensity-score matching were performed to evaluate the risk of procedure-related ischemic stroke and unfavorable outcome associated with ICAS. The ICAS score was used to explore the association between different burden of ICAS and procedure-related ischemic risk. Results: Among 3949 patients who underwent endovascular or open surgical procedures for UIAs, 245 (6.2%) had ICAS. After exclusion, 15.7% (32/204) of patients with ICAS experienced procedure-related ischemic stroke compared with 5.0% (141/2825) of patients without ICAS. From the unmatched and matched cohort, ICAS was significantly associated with increased risk of procedure-related ischemic stroke (unmatched: adjusted odds ratio=3.11 [1.89–5.11]; and matched: adjusted odds ratio=2.99 [1.38–6.48]). This association became more evident among patients not receiving antiplatelet therapy ( P interaction =0.022). For patients undergoing different treatment modalities, similar increased risks were observed (clipping: adjusted odds ratio=3.43 [1.73–6.79]; and coiling: adjusted odds ratio=3.59 [1.94–6.65]). Higher ICAS score was correlated with higher procedural ischemic risk ( P trend Conclusions: The occurrence of ICAS is not infrequent in patients with UIAs. ICAS confers an ~2-fold increased procedural ischemic risk, irrespective of clipping or coiling. Previous antiplatelet therapy may decrease the risk. Registration: URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov ; Unique identifier: NCT02795078.

Objective: To investigate the effect nano-sustained CO-releasing molecules on cyclosporin-A (CsA)-induced nephrotoxicity by inhibiting the NLRP3 inflammasome-mediated TGF-β/Smad signaling pathway. Methods: 3×105 cell/mL human renal tubular epithelial cells (HK-2) and mouse primary cultured renal tubular epithelial cells (RTECs) were cultured under an inverted microscope and incubated with 10% DMEM and 0.25% β2M in NaCl solution for 3 h. HK-2 and RTECs were divided into 5 complex numbers. MTT assay was used to detect the relative proliferation level of one of the HK-2 cells and calculate the multiplication ratio. Results: The nano-sustained CO-releasing molecules CS-CO had a strong protective effect on the kidney. HK-2 and RTECs cells were treated with siRNA, inhibitors, and NLRP3 knockout mice, and the changes in cell activity and expression of intracellular inflammatory factors were studied. The expression of TGF-β1/Smad signaling pathway related proteins in HK-2 and RTECs was detected by ELISA, western blot, immunofluorescence, and other techniques. Conclusion: SMA/CORM2 alleviates CsA-induced renal fibrosis by inhibiting NLRP3 inflammasome-mediated TGF-β/Smad signaling pathway.

Association rule algorithm has always been a research hotspot in the field of data mining, in the context of today’s big data era, in order to efficiently obtain association rules and effectively update them, based on the original fast update pruning (FUP) algorithm, an association rule incremental update algorithm (FBSCM) based on sorting compression matrix is proposed to solve the shortcomings of frequent scanning of transaction datasets. Firstly, The algorithm maps the transaction dataset as a Boolean matrix, and changes the storage mode of the matrix(that is, adding two columns and a row vector); Secondly, the matrix is compressed many times during the generation of frequent k-itemset; After that, the items in the matrix are sorted incrementally according to the support degree of the itemset; Finally, the original string comparison operation is replaced by the vector product of each column of the matrix. Experimental results and analysis show that the FBSCM algorithm has higher temporal performance than the traditional FUP algorithm in different incremental dataset sizes, different minimum support thresholds and different feature datasets, especially when the incremental transaction volume is large or the minimum support degree is small.

Intravenous infusion often uses bag infusion devices for clinic treatment, and the liquid bag assembly is an essential component of the bag infusion device. This paper adopts a machine vision system to inspect the assembly quality of the pipeline and dosing interface of liquid bag assembly. We conduct in-depth research on the lighting method, image pre-processing, and defect detection algorithm of a vision system for two defects of pipeline missing and dosing interface missing. Moreover, we do a lighting experiment to detect transparent liquid bag assembly defects. Proposes an adaptive gamma correction library based on power function derivative calculation, and combines the cumulative histogram for adaptive gamma correction, which amplifies the image edge information, combined with the binarization of the OTSU, solves the image segmentation problem in this. Proposes an adaptive ROI region selection method and virtual linear scanning method to achieve the detection of two kinds of defects. The results show that the recognition rate of missing defects of the pipeline on the liquid bag assembly in the machine vision system reaches 100%.

Background. The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic has impacted healthcare services and outcomes. We aimed to investigate healthcare resource utilization and early health outcomes of infants born to mothers with perinatal SARS-CoV-2 infection. Methods. The study included all infants born alive between February 1, 2020, and April 30, 2021, in British Columbia. We used linked provincial population-based databases including data on COVID-19 testing, birth, and health information for up to one year from birth. Perinatal COVID-19 exposure for infants was defined being born to mothers with a positive test for SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy or at delivery. Cases of COVID-19-exposed infants were matched with up to four non‐exposed infants by birth month, sex, birthplace, and gestational age in weeks. Outcomes included hospitalizations, emergency department visits, and in-/outpatient diagnoses. Outcomes were compared between groups using conditional logistic regression and linear mixed effects models including effect modification by maternal residence. Results. Among 52,711 live births, 484 infants had perinatal exposure to SARS-CoV-2, an incidence rate of 9.18 per 1000 live births. Exposed infants (54.6% male) had a mean gestational age of 38.5 weeks, and 99% were born in hospital. Proportions of infants requiring at least one hospitalization (8.1% vs. 5.1%) and at least one emergency department visit (16.9% vs. 12.9%) were higher among the exposed vs. unexposed infants, respectively. Among infants from the urban area, those with exposure were more likely to have respiratory infectious diseases (odds ratio: 1.74; 95% confidence intervals: 1.07, 2.84), compared with those without exposure. Interpretation. In our cohort, infants born to mothers with SARS-CoV-2 infection have increased healthcare demands in their early infancy, which warrants further investigation.

We evaluated an alternative small stem assay (AltSSA) for blight resistance in backcross hybrid chestnut trees (Castanea dentata/mollissima). Whereas standard small stem assays (SSAs) are done by inoculating small incisions in stems, in our AltSSA, 4- to 5-mm stems are cut off, and the exposed (living) stem tips are inoculated with discs of Cryphonectria parasitica inoculum and temporarily covered with plastic sleeves. Intended primarily for forward selection, this method was designed to be easy to implement, to consistently induce cankering, and to better enable seedling recovery via the development of lateral shoots from the lower stem. After 90+ days, cankers are evaluated and removed, and seedlings are prepared for out-planting. Previous results showed that AltSSAs performed at least as well as a common SSA method in distinguishing resistant and susceptible types. In this follow-up analysis of 35 lines of backcross seedlings studied in 2020 and 2021, we showed that mean orange zone canker length (OZCL) and a multifactor principal components analysis-based blight resistance index gave results consistent with predictions derived from two methods of blight resistance phenotyping and percentage of American chestnut ancestry of the parents of each line. As expected, based upon the apparent polygenic inheritance of blight resistance in backcross chestnut trees, mean OZCL of backcross families ranged from intermediate (F1 hybrid-level) to low (wild-type American chestnut-level). Consistent with prior results, canker production was near 100%, survivorship after out-planting was very high, and postinoculation stem dieback was not apparently related to the stem tip inoculations. Altogether, these results suggest that the AltSSA is a viable method for early detection of relative blight resistance in seedlings and may enable a reduction in the numbers of trees out-planted and placed under care for long-term evaluation and breeding. Thus, the AltSSA can prevent time, resources, and orchard space from being used on susceptible trees.