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Research on endophytic fungi in desert plants, particularly the epiphytic or endophytic fungi of leaves, remains limited. In the extremely arid regions of northwest China, the ultra-xerophytic desert plant Haloxylon ammodendron harbors white fungi on its assimilating branches during autumn. The hyphae of these fungi intertwine, both internally and externally, comprising superficial, bridging, and endophytic types. The superficial hyphae attach to the surface of the assimilating branches and continuously grow and intersect, forming a thick layer of felt-like hyphae. This thick, felt-like layer of hyphae facilitates the adsorption of atmospheric water vapor on the surface of the hyphae or the assimilating branches, allowing H. ammodendron to capture atmospheric moisture, even under low humidity. Some superficial hyphae penetrate the cuticle into the epidermis, becoming bridging hyphae, which can rapidly transport water from the outside of the epidermis to the inside. The endophytic hyphae shuttle within the epidermis, achieving rapid water transfer within the epidermis of the assimilating branches. The presence of these three types of hyphae not only enables the assimilating branches of H. ammodendron to achieve rapid water absorption and transmission, but also facilitates the uptake of atmospheric water vapor under low humidity conditions. We discuss the mechanism by which the hyphae promote water absorption from the perspectives of hyphal composition, the formation of felt-like structures, and environmental conditions. We consider the presence of fungal hyphae on the surface of the H. ammodendron assimilating branches as an inevitable ecological process in arid environments. This study provides important theoretical insights into the mechanisms underlying the strong drought resistance of desert plants in extremely arid regions and offers strategies for desertification control.

The aim of this study was to observe the outcomes of newborn screening (NBS) in a certain population by using next-generation sequencing (NGS) as a first-tier screening test combined with tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS). We performed a multicenter study of 29,601 newborns from eight screening centers with NBS via NGS combined with MS/MS. A custom-designed panel targeting the coding region of the 142 genes of 128 inborn errors of metabolism (IEMs) was applied as a first-tier screening test, and expanded NBS using MS/MS was executed simultaneously. In total, 52 genes associated with the 38 IEMs screened by MS/MS were analyzed. The NBS performance of these two methods was analyzed and compared respectively. A total of 23 IEMs were diagnosed via NGS combined with MS/MS. The incidence of IEMs was approximately 1 in 1287. Within separate statistical analyses, the positive predictive value (PPV) for MS/MS was 5.29%, and the sensitivity was 91.3%. However, for genetic screening alone, the PPV for NGS was 70.83%, with 73.91% sensitivity. The three most common IEMs were methylmalonic academia (MMA), primary carnitine deficiency (PCD) and phenylketonuria (PKU). The five genes with the most common carrier frequencies were PAH (1:42), PRODH (1:51), MMACHC (1:52), SLC25A13 (1:55) and SLC22A5 (1:63). Our study showed that NBS combined with NGS and MS/MS improves the performance of screening methods, optimizes the process, and provides accurate diagnoses.

A family of titanium complexes (Ti1–Ti7) with the general formula LTiCl3, supported by tridentate phenoxyimine [O−NO] ligands (L1–L7) bearing bulky sidearms, were synthesized by treating the corresponding ligands with stoichiometric amount of TiCl4. All the ligands and complexes were well characterized by 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopies, in which ortho- methoxyl groups on N-aryl moieties shifted to downfield, corroborating the successful coordination reaction. Structural optimization by DFT calculations revealed that one of the phenyl groups on dibenzhydryl moiety could form π-π stacking interaction with the salicylaldimine plane, because of which the obtained titanium complexes revealed good thermal stabilities for high-temperature polymerization of ethylene. The thermal robustness of the complexes was closely related to the strength of π-π stacking interactions, which were mainly influenced by the substituents on the dibenzhydryl moieties; Ti1, Ti4 and Ti5 emerged as the three best-performing complexes at 110 °C. With the aid of such π-π stacking interactions, the complexes were also found to be active at >150 °C, although decreased activities were witnessed. Besides homopolymerizations, complexes Ti1–Ti7 were also found to be active for the high-temperature copolymerization of ethylene and 1-octene, but with medium incorporation percentage, demonstrating their medium copolymerization capabilities.

In this paper, we demonstrate the significant impact of the solution flow and electrical field on the homogeneity of large-scale ZnO nanorod electrodeposition from an aqueous solution containing zinc nitrate and ammonium nitrate, primarily based on the X-ray fluorescence results. The homogeneity can be enhanced by adjusting the counter electrode size and solution flow rate. We have successfully produced relatively uniform nanorod arrays on an 8 × 10 cm2 i-ZnO-coated fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) substrate using a compact counter electrode and a vertical stirring setup. The as-grown nanorods exhibit similar surface morphologies and dominant, intense, almost uniform near-band-edge emissions in different regions of the sample. Additionally, the surface reflectance is significantly reduced after depositing the ZnO nanorods, achieving a moth-eye effect through subwavelength structuring. This effect of the nanorod array structure indicates that it can improve the utilization efficiency of light reception or emission in various optoelectronic devices and products. The large-scale preparation of ZnO nanorods is more practical to apply and has an extremely broad application value. Based on the research results, it is feasible to prepare large-scale ZnO nanorods suitable for antireflective coatings and commercial applications by optimizing the electrodeposition conditions.

We report a case of extremity edema induced by adalimumab in a psoriatic patient. A 60-year-old man presented with erythema and scaling on the whole body for more than 10 years and edema on the extremities for over 2 weeks. The patient had been diagnosed with psoriasis and treated with adalimumab regularly. After the third injection of adalimumab, the skin lesions were improved, but the pitting edema was gradually developed on the extremities. After one week of diuretic treatment, the edema did not completely subside, but became worse after the fourth injection. Three weeks after discontinuation of adalimumab, edema subsided. No recurrence was observed during three-month follow-up.

IntroductionLeprosy remains a major public health concern worldwide and one of the leading causes of disability. New cases of leprosy with grade 2 disability (G2D) often reflect delayed detection due to the limited capacity of the health system to recognize leprosy early. This study aimed to describe the epidemiology and G2D of leprosy among migrant and resident patients with leprosy in Guangdong province, China.MethodsData on newly diagnosed cases of leprosy were collected from the leprosy management information system in China. Descriptive statistical analysis was used to describe the status of G2D. Joinpoint regression model and logistic regression were performed to analyze the temporal trends and influencing factors for G2D.ResultsThe G2D rate among migrant, resident, and total patients with leprosy was 17.5%, 18.7%, and 18.4%, respectively. The total G2D rate increased significantly from 18.0% in 2001 to 25.7% in 2021 (average annual per cent change: 2.5%). Multivariate analysis revealed that factors that negatively influence G2D between migrant and resident patients included delayed discovery time (migrants: OR = 2.57; residents: OR = 4.99) and nerve damage when diagnosed (migrants: OR = 9.40; residents: OR = 21.28).DiscussionOur findings indicate that the targeted intervention measures implemented by our health system are urgently needed to improve the current situation, such as programs to promote early detection, strengthen awareness and skills of healthcare workers, and rehabilitation for disabled patients to improve their quality of life.

Background: In lung transplant recipients (LTRs), the primary causes of mortality are rejection and infection, which often present similar symptoms, making differentiation challenging. This study aimed to explore the diagnostic efficacy of plasma donor-derived cell-free DNA (dd-cfDNA) in conjunction with metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) for pathogen detection in differentiation between lung allograft rejection and infection in LTRs experiencing new-onset pulmonary complications. Methods: We conducted a retrospective study on 188 LTRs who underwent lung or heart-lung transplantation at our institution from 2015 to 2021. The LTRs were categorized into three groups: stable, rejection, and infection. We measured plasma dd-cfDNA levels and utilized both mNGS and culture methods to identify pathogens in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF). Results: The rejection group exhibited the highest levels of plasma dd-cfDNA (median 1.34 %, interquartile range [IQR] 1.06–2.19 %) compared to the infection group (median 0.72 %, IQR 0.62–1.07 %) and the stable group (median 0.69 %, IQR 0.58–0.78 %) (both p 0.05) or bacterial infection subgroups (p > 0.05), when compared to the stable group. Elevated dd-cfDNA levels, in combination with negative mNGS results, strongly indicated lung allograft rejection, with a positive predictive value and negative predictive value of 88.7 % and 99.2 %, respectively. Conclusions: Plasma dd-cfDNA in combination with BALF pathogen detection by mNGS shows satisfactory accuracy in differentiating lung allograft rejection from infectious complications.

IntroductionTraumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major health concern worldwide. D-dimer levels, commonly used in the diagnosis and treatment of neurological diseases, may be associated with adverse events in patients with TBI. However, the relationship between D-dimer levels, TBI-related in-hospital complications, and long-term mortality in patients with TBI has not been investigated. Here, examined whether elevated D-dimer levels facilitate the prediction of in-hospital complications and mortality in patients with TBI.MethodsOverall, 1,338 patients with TBI admitted to our institute between January 2016 and June 2022 were retrospectively examined. D-dimer levels were assessed within 24 h of admission, and propensity score matching was used to adjust for baseline characteristics.ResultsAmong the in-hospital complications, high D-dimer levels were associated with electrolyte metabolism disorders, pulmonary infections, and intensive care unit admission (p 20 mg/L (aHR 3.635, 95% CI 2.195–6.018; p

The original intention of the government was to provide financial subsidies to firms by implementing innovation support policies. In turn, this will encourage these firms to carry out technological innovation activities. However, there are still differing views in the academic community on whether government subsidies have a stimulating effect or a crowding-out effect on enterprise innovation. The theoretical and empirical research conclusions are uncertain. In this study, samples unlisted companies in the Shanghai and Shenzhen A-share markets in China from 2012 to 2020. The entrepreneurial spirit is the entry point to empirically testing the impact of government subsidies on enterprise innovation under financial constraints. The research results show how government subsidies have a significant stimulating impact on enterprise technological innovation activities. More subsidies don't necessarily mean better results because research shows an inverted U-shape. Entrepreneurial spirit plays a significant moderating role in transmitting and optimizing the driving effect of government subsidies. Further heterogeneity analysis shows that government subsidies and entrepreneurial spirit have different driving and moderating effects on the innovation of enterprises with differing natures and scales depending on the region. From a regional perspective, eastern enterprises are better suited in optimizing government subsidies to stimulate enterprise innovation. From the perspective of enterprise nature, private enterprises are more motivated and better able to optimize government subsidies than state-owned enterprises. Regarding enterprise scale, small and medium-sized enterprises can more efficiently optimize government subsidies to stimulate enterprise innovation than large enterprises. The contribution of this paper is to expand the understanding of the impact of government subsidies on enterprise innovation activities.

Objective To explore the effect of leptin on inflammation in psoriasis-like skin induced by imiquimod (IMQ). Methods Eight leptin gene knockout (ob/ob) obese mice and eight normal control (wt) mice were randomly divided into four groups (n=4 each), i.e. wt-IMQ, wt-vaseline, ob/ob-IMQ, ob/ob-vaseline. Mice were treated with either imiquimod (62.5 mg/back, 10 mg/ear) or Vaseline (same dose as imiquimod) for 6 consecutive days. The severity of skin lesions was evaluated with TSS score, and HE staining was used to assess inflammatory cells in the skin. Flow cytometry was used to detect the inflammatory cells in the dermis (dendritic cells, macrophages, neutrophils, etc.) and the epidermis (Langerhans cells, gdT cells), while the expression levels of IL-6, IL-17, TNF-α, IL-23 and other inflammatory factors were detected by qRT-PCR. Results ob/ob-IMQ mice displayed milder clinical symptoms, lesser increases in ear thickness, and lower TSS scores than wt-IMQ mice (all P0.05). Expression levels of inflammatory cytokines (IL-6 and IL-17) in ob/ ob-IMQ mice were lower than that in wt-IMQ mice. Conclusions Leptin may aggravate psoriasis in individuals accompanied with obesity. Leptin deficiency counteracts IMQ-induced psoriasis-like cutaneous inflammation.

Objective To analyze the epidemiological features of new leprosy cases in Guangdong province from 2012 to 2021 and explore comprehensive prevention and treatment measures. Methods A retrospective descriptive study was carried out to analyze the spatial and temporal distribution, and population distribution of the new leprosy cases in Guangdong province from 2012-2021. Results A total of 639 new cases of leprosy were reported over the 10 years, with an average annual rate of 0.06/100,000 and an average annual prevalence rate of 0.39/100,000. New cases were distributed in 21 cities. Cases in eastern and western Guangdong were mainly local residents(59.62%), while cases in the Pearl River Delta were primarily domestic migrants (40.38%). The proportion of children was 1.26% and males accounted for 64.79%. Over 40% of the new cases were farmers. Multibacillary leprosy and grade 2 deformity accounted for 89.04% and 22.07%, respectively. Conclusions In the past 10 years, the leprosy epidemic in Guangdong province is relatively stable with low prevalence. Cases of delayed diagnosis, domestic migrants and the grade 2 deformity are increasing year by year. Therefore, the prevention and control of leprosy should not be relaxed, and the early detection efforts should be strengthened to consolidate our achievements in the prevention and control of leprosy.

Abstract Background Patients with work-related lung disease (WRLD) are at increased risk of death caused by severe lung tissue damage and fibrosis. This study aimed to assess the clinical outcomes of lung transplantation (LTx) for WRLD and compare the results of LTx between WRLD and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). Methods This single-center retrospective cohort study reviewed the clinical data of patients who underwent LTx for WRLD or IPF at our hospital between January 2015 and December 2021. Cumulative survival rates after LTx were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method. Results The final analysis included 33 cases of WRLD and 91 cases of IPF. The 33 WRLD patients consisted of 19 (57.6%) cases of silicosis, 8 (24.2%) cases of coal workers’ pneumoconiosis, 3 (9.09%) cases of asbestosis, and 3 (9.09%) cases of other WRLD. Pneumothorax as an indication for LTx was significantly more common in the WRLD group than in the IPF group (51.5% vs. 2.2%, P

In this work, the homotopy analysis method (HAM) is proposed to obtain semi-analytical solutions of timefractional fourth-order partial differential equations (PDEs) with variable coefficients, by the Caputo fractional derivative in the time direction. Convergence of this method has been considered and some illustrative examples show the effect of changing homotopy auxiliary parameter h¯ on the convergence of the approximate solution. Comparison of obtained results with other techniques such as Adomian decomposition method and modified variational iteration method, in literature demonstrate that our utilized method is powerful and reliable technique. Moreover, the absolute errors of considered problems in the integer differential order cases, show that the reported results are very closed to the exact solutions.

Variation in patterns of recombination in plant genomes provides information about species evolution, genetic diversity and crop improvement. We investigated meiotic crossovers generated in biparental segregating and reciprocal backcross populations of the allopolyploid genome of rapeseed (Brassica napus) (AACC, 2n = 38). A structured set of 1445 intercrossed lines was derived from two homozygous de novo genome-assembled parents that represented the major genetic clusters of semi-winter Chinese and winter European rapeseeds, and was used to increase QTL resolution and achieve genomic reciprocal introgression. A high-density genetic map constructed with 6161 genetic bins and anchored centromere regions was used to establish the pattern of recombination variation in each chromosome. Around 93% of the genome contained crossovers at a mean rate of 3.8 cM Mb−1, with the remaining 7% attributed to centromeres or low marker density. Recombination hotspots predominated in the A genome, including two-thirds of those associated with breeding introgression from B. rapa. Genetic background might affect recombination variation. Introgression of genetic diversity from European winter to Chinese semi-winter rapeseed showed an increase in crossover rate under the semi-winter environment. Evidence for an elevated recombination rate having historically contributed to selective trait improvement includes accumulation of favorable alleles for seed oil content on hotspots of chromosome A10. Conversely, strong artificial selection may affect recombination rate variation, as appears to be the case with a coldspot resulting from strong selection for glucosinolate alleles on A09. But the cold region would be promptly reactivated by crossing design indicated by the pedigree analysis. Knowledge of recombination hotspots and coldspots associated with QTL for 22 traits can guide selection strategies for introgression breeding between the two gene pools. These results and rich genomic resources broaden our understanding of recombination behavior in allopolyploids and may advance rapeseed genetic improvement.

Pear is one of the most economically important fruit crops widely distributed around the world. To enrich the pear germplasm resources for obtaining the polyploid plants, the seeds from pear cultivar of 'Dangshansuli' (Pyrus bretschneideri) were treated with colchicine solution under concentration gradients of 0.1%, 0.5% and 1.0% for 12-, 24- and 48-h, respectively. Our results showed that colchicine could inhibit seed germination, and the inhibitory effect was positive with the treated concentration of colchicine. We detected that the 0.1% colchicine solution for 12 h was the most effective treatment for inducing pear polyploidy. Furthermore, compared with the wild diploid pear plants, a significant morphological variation, such as shorter plants, smaller and oval leaves were observed in the induced tetraploid pear plants. Significant changes in leaf anatomy, including larger and sparse stomata and the epidermal cells with irregularly or polygonal-shape were also detected in tetraploid pear plants. In addition, the contents of 10 cuticular wax compounds from the leaves of diploid and tetraploid pear plants were also detected with significant difference. Taken together, this study lays the foundation for polyploid breeding of pear for contributing diverse characteristics.

Abstract Background ACEs hurt subsequent physical and mental health outcomes. However, still little has been known about the rate of ACEs among rural Chinese emerging adults and the different buffering effects of the three types of social support on different kinds of ACEs. This study described the rate of ACEs among Chinese rural emerging adults, examined the relationship between ACEs and deviant behaviors, and tested the moderating effect of three different sources of perceived social support on this relationship. We hope these results will be helpful in further interventions. Methods We used the second wave of a longitudinal survey that included ACEs variables in 2018. A total of 1031 emerging adults aged 18 to 25 participated in the current study. Results we found that (1) the rate of abuse, neglect, and household dysfunction was 10.0, 30.0, and 24.9%, respectively among Chinese rural emerging adults; (2) abuse and household dysfunction experience were significantly and positively associated with deviant behaviors; (3) friend support moderated the relationship between three types of ACEs and deviant behaviors. Other support moderated the relationship between abuse/household dysfunction and deviant behaviors. Conclusions ACEs could increase the risk of deviant behaviors. Perceived friend support could reduce the negative effect of three types of ACEs. Other support could reduce the negative impact of abuse and household dysfunction. These results suggest that reducing ACEs to make children’s family environments safer and enhancing social support for emerging adults from rural areas are beneficial, which could prevent or reduce their deviant behaviors.

Abstract Acute kidney injury (AKI) is one of the most common severe complications among hospitalized patients. In the absence of specific drugs to treat AKI, hemodialysis remains the primary clinical treatment for AKI patients. AKI treatment has received significant attention recently due to the excellent drug delivery capabilities of low-dimensional nanomaterials (LDNs) and their unique therapeutic effects. Diverse LDNs have been proposed to treat AKI, with promising results and the potential for future clinical application. This article aims to provide an overview of the pathogenesis of AKI and the recent advances in the treatment of AKI using different types of LDNs. In addition, it is intended to provide theoretical support for the design of LDNs and implications for AKI treatment. Graphical Abstract

Abstract Background Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality after transplantation. This study aimed to investigate CMV seroprevalence, infection, and disease in Chinese thoracic organ transplant recipients. Methods The clinical data of the patients who underwent lung and/or heart transplantation between January 2015 and October 2020 were retrospectively collected from four transplantation centers in China. Results A total of 308 patients were analyzed. The CMV serostatus was donor positive (D+) recipient negative (R−) in 19 (6.17%) patients, D+/R+ in 233 (75.65%), D−/R+ in 36 (11.69%), and D−/R− in 20 (6.50%). CMV DNAemia was detected in 52.3% of the patients and tissue-invasive CMV disease was diagnosed in 16.2% of the patients. Only 31.8% of the patients adhered to the postdischarge valganciclovir therapy. The D+/R− serostatus (odds ratio [OR]: 18.32; 95% confidence interval [CI]:1.80-188.68), no valganciclovir prophylaxis (OR: 2.64; 95% CI: 1.05–6.64), and higher doses of rabbit anti-human thymocyte globulin (> 2 mg/kg) (OR: 4.25; 95% CI: 1.92–9.42) were risk factors of CMV disease. Conclusion CMV seroprevalence was high in Chinese thoracic organ transplant donors and recipients. The low adherence rate to the postdischarge CMV prophylaxis therapy in Chinese patients is still an unresolved issue.

Objective To evaluate the benefits of the management of psoriatic patients treated with biological therapy using APP follow-up. Methods From June to September 2020, we enrolled 201 psoriatic patients who were treated with biological agents at the psoriasis center of dermatology hospital, Southern Medical University. Patients were randomly assigned APP follow-up (101 cases) and conventional follow-up (100 cases) groups. After one-year follow-up, a questionnaire was used to evaluate the patients' satisfaction rates, improvement in PASI scores and follow-up compliance. Results Compared to patients in conventional follow-up group, patients in the APP follow-up group had higher satisfaction rates with outpatient care, including registration, check-in, and outpatient clinic (all P

Objective To explore the role and value of applied muscle tension (AMT) in preventing vasovagal nerve reaction (VVR) in blood donors. Methods A total of 2 992 people, susceptible to suffer VVR from May 2020 to may 2022, were randomly divided into control group (1406 cases) and observation group (1 586 cases). The control group was not given AMT intervention, while the observation group received AMT intervention at different periods during blood donation. The changes of systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, heart rate and psychological state of anxiety (self-rating anxiety scale, SAS) of blood donors were monitored in the two groups at each period to compare the occurrence of VVR. Results There were no statistically significant differences in blood pressure and heart rate between the two groups before blood donation (P>0.05). The parameters were relatively stable in observation group during and after donation, but significantly different from that of the controls(P>0.05). SAS score was similar in two groups before blood donation(P>0.05), while decreased in observation group during and after donation in comparison with the controls(P

BackgroundKinesin is a molecular motor for transporting “goods” within cells and plays a key role in many types of tumors. The multi-angle study of kinesin at the pan-cancer level is conducive to understanding its role in tumorigenesis and development and clinical treatment potential.MethodsWe evaluated the expression of KIF genes, performed differential analysis by using the R package limma, and explored the pan-cancer prognosis of KIF genes by univariate Cox regression analysis. To evaluate the pan-cancer role of KIF genes as a whole, we defined the KIFscore with the help of gene set variation analysis (GSVA) and explored the KIFscores across normal tissues, tumor cell lines, and 33 tumor types in TCGA. Next, we used spearman correlation analysis to extensively study the correlation between the KIFscore and tumor prognosis and be-tween the KIFscore and clinical indicators. We also identified the relationship between the KIFscore and genomic variation and immune molecular signatures by multiplatform analysis. Finally, we identified the key genes in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) through machine learning algorithms and verified the candidate genes by CCK8, wound healing assay, Transwell assay, and flow cytometry.ResultsIn most cancers, KIFscores are high and they act as a risk factor for cancer. The KIFscore was significantly associated with copy number variation (CNV), tumor mutation burden (TMB), immune subtypes, DNA repair deficiency, and tumor stemness indexes. Moreover, in almost all cancer species, the KIFscore was positively correlated with T cell CD4+ TH2, the common lymphoid pro-genitor, and the T cell follicular helper. In addition, it was negatively correlated with CXCL16, CCL14, TNFSF13, and TNFRSF14 and positively correlated with ULBP1, MICB, and CD276. Machine learning helped us to identify four hub-genes in ccRCC. The suitable gene, KIF14, is highly expressed in ccRCC and promotes tumor cell proliferation, migration, and invasion.ConclusionOur study shows that the KIF genes play an important pan-cancer role and may become a potential new target for a variety of tumor treatments in the future. Furthermore, KIF14, a key molecule in the KIF genes, can provide a new idea for the ccRCC treatment.

To promote consumers to buy green housing, the paper tries to find the effect of information on consumers’ green housing purchasing behavior. It classifies the contents and providers of information and explores their different influences. The results show that: 1) Consumers’ age and environmental protection attitude have a significant impact on their purchasing behavior, while consumers’ gender and monthly income have no significant impact; 2) Consumers are more affected by information relating to the economy and indoor air quality. The detailed order of influence is as follows: information on loan at concessionary rates > cost saving in usage phase > indoor air quality > waste classification > investment benefit > carbon emission reduction > thermal comfort > acoustic environment > greening rate > luminous environment; 3) Consumers with higher environmental awareness care more about the information on living environment and carbon emission. Whereas, those with low awareness of environmental protection are more affected by information on economic benefits. 4) Regarding different information providers, the consumers are mostly impacted by the government, while the information from developers could induce limited effects. It could guide the government and developers to provide appropriate information to promote GH purchasing behavior.

Abstract Background Ellis–van Creveld (EvC) syndrome, caused by variants in EVC, is a rare genetic skeletal dysplasia. Its clinical phenotype is highly diverse. EvC syndrome is rarely reported in prenatal stages because its presentation overlaps with other diseases. Methods A Chinese pedigree diagnosed with EvC syndrome was enrolled in this study. Whole‐exome sequencing (WES) was applied in the proband to screen potential genetic variant(s), and then Sanger sequencing was used to identify the variant in family members. Minigene experiments were applied. Results WES identified a homozygous variant (NM_153717.3:c.153_174 + 42del) in EVC which was inherited from the heterozygous parents and confirmed by Sanger sequencing. Further experiments demonstrated that this variant disrupts the canonical splicing site and produces a new splicing site at NM_153717.3: c.‐164_174del, which ultimately leads to a 337 bp deletion at the 3′ end of exon 1 and loss of the start codon. Conclusion This is the first reported case of EvC syndrome based on a splicing variant and detailed delineation of the aberrant splicing effect in the fetus. Our study demonstrates the pathogenesis of this new variant, expands the spectrum of EVC mutations, and demonstrates that WES is a powerful tool in the clinical diagnosis of diseases with genetic heterogeneity.

Wheat is one of the major food crops in the world. However, stripe rust fungus significantly decreases wheat yield and quality. In the present study, transcriptomic and metabolite analyses were conducted in R88 (resistant line) and CY12 (susceptible cultivar) during Pst-CYR34 infection due to the limited availability of information regarding the underlying mechanisms governing wheat–pathogen interactions. The results revealed that Pst infection promoted the genes and metabolites involved in phenylpropanoid biosynthesis. The key enzyme gene TaPAL to regulate lignin and phenolic synthesis has a positive resistance contribution to Pst in wheat, which was verified by the virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) technique. The distinctive resistance of R88 is regulated by the selective expression of genes involved in the fine-tuning of wheat–Pst interactions. Furthermore, metabolome analysis suggested that lignin biosynthesis-related metabolite accumulation was significantly affected by Pst. These results help to elucidate the regulatory networks of wheat–Pst interactions and pave the way for durable resistance breeding in wheat, which may ease environmental and food crises around the world.

To address the most significant environmental challenges, the quest for high-performance gas sensing materials is crucial. Among numerous two-dimensional materials, this study investigates the gas-sensitive capabilities of monolayer As, Sb, and Bi materials. To compare the gas detection abilities of these three materials, we employ first-principles calculations to comprehensively study the adsorption behavior of NO and NO2 gas molecules on the material surfaces. The results indicate that monolayer Bi material exhibits reasonable adsorption distances, substantial adsorption energies, and significant charge transfer for both NO and NO2 gases. Therefore, among the materials studied, it demonstrates the best gas detection capability. Furthermore, monolayer As and Sb materials exhibit remarkably high capacities for adsorbing NO and NO2 gas molecules, firmly interacting with the gas molecules. Gas adsorption induces changes in the material’s work function, suggesting the potential application of these two materials as catalysts.

Identifying the classes and locations of prohibited items is the target of security inspection. However, X-ray security inspection images with insufficient feature extraction, imbalance between easy and hard samples, and occlusion lead to poor detection accuracy. To address the above problems, an object-detection method based on YOLOv8 is proposed. Firstly, an ASFF (adaptive spatial feature fusion) and a weighted feature concatenation algorithm are introduced to fully extract the scale features from input images. In this way, the model can learn further details in training. Secondly, CoordAtt (coordinate attention module), which belongs to the hybrid attention mechanism, is embedded to enhance the learning of features of interest. Then, the slide loss function is introduced to balance the simple samples and the difficult samples. Finally, Soft-NMS (non-maximum suppression) is introduced to resist the conditions containing occlusion. The experimental result shows that mAP (mean average precision) achieves 90.2%, 90.5%, 79.1%, and 91.4% on the Easy, Hard, and Hidden sets of the PIDray and SIXray public test set, respectively. Contrasted with original model, the mAP of our proposed YOLOv8n model increased by 2.7%, 3.1%, 9.3%, and 2.4%, respectively. Furthermore, the parameter count of the modified YOLOv8n model is roughly only 3 million.

Mycobacterium is a gram-positive bacterium that causes chronic infectious diseases. Fibroblasts are widely present in various tissues and organs of the human body. They participate in the immune response to mycobacterial infections via multiple mechanisms such as interaction with macrophages, cellular immunity and secretion of active substances, and are associated with the formation and development of mycobacterial granuloma. In this paper, the role of fibroblasts in mycobacterial infections is reviewed to provide evidence for the prevention and treatment of mycobacterial infections.

Abstract Sulphur hexafluoride (SF6) is widely used in gas insulation, and its decomposition products can be used to diagnose potential insulation failures. Quick and accurate detection of decomposition products can help to understand equipment‐operating conditions in time. In this study, the decomposition products of SF6/air gas mixtures under different pulsed discharge voltages were studied. It was found that the main products were SOF2, SO2F2, SO2, CF4 and SOF4, and the yields of SOF2, SO2F2, SO2 and SOF4 increased with the number of discharge pulse. The productive rate of SOF2, SO2 and SOF4 were positively correlated with the discharge voltage, and when the discharge voltage increased from 5 to 15 kV, their yields after 50,000 discharges increased by 49%, 120% and 1100%, respectively. The productive rate of SOF2 and SO2 were positively correlated with the proportion of air in the gas mixtures while that of SOF4 was opposite. When the proportion of air increases from 0% to 90%, their yields after 50,000 discharges became 270%, 3169% and 10% of the originals, respectively. In addition, the productive rate of SO2F2 was not affected by discharge voltage and the proportion of air in the gas mixtures. SO2F2, SOF2, SOF4 and SO2 can be used as the basis for judging the discharge failures and the discharge degree of power equipment.

Abstract The aim was to analyze the clinical characteristics of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) induced by Osimertinib and their effects on the prognosis, so as to further provide reference for clinical medication. This was a retrospective study, and 66 nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients who had ADR in the 2nd‐line treatment with Osimertinib from January 2017 to December 2018 were included. Clinical characteristics and survival in subgroups of Osimertinib‐related ADRs were analyzed. The majority of patients who developed ADRs after the 2nd‐line treatment of Osimertinib were mainly middle‐aged and elderly women. Osimertinib‐related ADRs were mainly found in the skin, respiratory and digestive systems. The most common ADRs were rash (69.70%), diarrhea (66.67%), stomatitis (54.55%), and fatigue (51.52%). The degree of Osimertinib‐related ADRs was tolerable. Only seven patients experienced grade 3 ADRs, all of which involved the skin system. Exactly 92.42% of patients had more than two adverse reactions. The median PFS was influenced by the type, quantity, and severity of Osimertinib‐related ADRs. Osimertinib‐related ADRs are closely related to the prognosis of patients so that more attention should be paid to monitoring the occurrence of ADRs in clinical use of Osimertinib, especially ADRs in the skin, respiratory system and digestive system.

IntroductionThe weight-adjusted waist index (WWI) serves as an innovative obesity measure, seemingly surpassing body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC) in evaluating lean and fat mass. This study aimed to explore the relationship between WWI and total bone mineral density (BMD) in US adolescents.MethodsThis population-based study investigated adolescents aged 8–19 years with comprehensive WWI and total BMD data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2011–2018. WWI was computed by dividing WC by the square root of body weight. Weighted multivariate linear regression and smoothed curve fitting were employed to examine linear and non-linear associations. Threshold effects were determined using a two-part linear regression model. Additionally, subgroup analyses and interaction tests were conducted.ResultsMultivariate linear regression analysis revealed a significant negative association between WWI and total BMD in 6,923 US adolescents aged 8–19 years [β = -0.03, 95% CI: (-0.03, -0.03)]. This negative correlation remained consistent across all subcategories, with the exception of age, encompassing gender,ethnicity, and diabetes status subgroups. Furthermore, a non-linear relationship and saturation effect between WWI and total BMD were identified, with an inflection point at 9.88 cm/√kg.ConclusionsOur research demonstrated a notable negative relationship and saturation effect between WWI and total BMD among US adolescents.

Summary: Immune rejection can be reduced using immunosuppressants which are not viable for premature infants. However, desensitization can induce immune tolerance for premature infants because of underdeveloped immune system. The fetuses of Wistar rats at 15–17 days gestation were injected via hOPCs-1 into brain, muscles, and abdomen ex utero and then returned while the fetuses of control without injection. After 6 weeks of desensitization, the brain and muscles were transplanted with hOPCs-1, hNSCs-1, and hOPCs-2. After 10 and 34 weeks of desensitization, hOPCs-1 and hNSCs-1 in desensitized groups was higher than that in the control group while hOPCs-2 were rejected. Treg, CD4CD28, CD8CD28, and CD45RC between the desensitization and the control group differed significantly. Inflammatory cells in group with hOPCs-1 and hNSCs-1 was lower than that in the control group. hOPCs-1 can differentiate into myelin in desensitized groups. Wistar rats with desensitization developed immune tolerance to desensitized and transplanted cells.

Maternal erythrocyte alloimmunization is one of the most important causes of fetal anemia. The standard treatment for anemic fetuses is intrauterine blood transfusion (IUT). However, IUT may have adverse effects, particularly before 20 weeks of gestation. In this report, two women who had previously had severely affected alloimmunized pregnancy developed high titers of anti-D antibodies before 20 weeks of gestation. Ultrasound Doppler showed severe fetal anemia, and intrauterine transfusion was expected to be unavoidable. To prolong pregnancy to a gestation in which intravascular IUT was possible, we used repeated double filtration plasmapheresis (DFPP) as a rescue therapy. The titers of IgG-D, IgG-A, and IgG-B decreased after DFPP treatment. One woman successfully prolonged pregnancy until 20 weeks of gestation. Subsequently, she underwent four cycles of IUTs and delivered at 30 weeks of gestation by emergency cesarean section due to fetal bradycardia during the fifth intrauterine transfusion. The other woman successfully delayed intrauterine transfusion until 26 weeks of gestation. The favorable results of the two patients indicate that DFPP may be an effective and safe treatment modality for RhD immunity in pregnant women. Moreover, DFPP is potentially helpful for reducing the occurrence of ABO hemolytic disease in neonates due to the clearance of IgG-A and IgG-B antibodies (e.g., O pregnant women harbored A/B/AB neonates). However, more clinical trials are needed to verify the results.

IntroductionDiabetic kidney disease (DKD) is a long-term complication of diabetes and causes renal microvascular disease. It is also one of the main causes of end-stage renal disease (ESRD), which has a complex pathophysiological process. Timely prevention and treatment are of great significance for delaying DKD. This study aimed to use bioinformatics analysis to find key diagnostic markers that could be possible therapeutic targets for DKD.MethodsWe downloaded DKD datasets from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. Overexpression enrichment analysis (ORA) was used to explore the underlying biological processes in DKD. Algorithms such as WGCNA, LASSO, RF, and SVM_RFE were used to screen DKD diagnostic markers. The reliability and practicability of the the diagnostic model were evaluated by the calibration curve, ROC curve, and DCA curve. GSEA analysis and correlation analysis were used to explore the biological processes and significance of candidate markers. Finally, we constructed a mouse model of DKD and diabetes mellitus (DM), and we further verified the reliability of the markers through experiments such as PCR, immunohistochemistry, renal pathological staining, and ELISA.ResultsBiological processes, such as immune activation, T-cell activation, and cell adhesion were found to be enriched in DKD. Based on differentially expressed oxidative stress and inflammatory response-related genes (DEOIGs), we divided DKD patients into C1 and C2 subtypes. Four potential diagnostic markers for DKD, including tenascin C, peroxidasin, tissue inhibitor metalloproteinases 1, and tropomyosin (TNC, PXDN, TIMP1, and TPM1, respectively) were identified using multiple bioinformatics analyses. Further enrichment analysis found that four diagnostic markers were closely related to various immune cells and played an important role in the immune microenvironment of DKD. In addition, the results of the mouse experiment were consistent with the bioinformatics analysis, further confirming the reliability of the four markers.ConclusionIn conclusion, we identified four reliable and potential diagnostic markers through a comprehensive and systematic bioinformatics analysis and experimental validation, which could serve as potential therapeutic targets for DKD. We performed a preliminary examination of the biological processes involved in DKD pathogenesis and provide a novel idea for DKD diagnosis and treatment.

So far, how to achieve the optimal regenerative repair of large load-bearing bone defects using artificial bone grafts is a huge challenge in clinic. In this study, a strategy of combining osteoinductive biphasic calcium phosphate (BCP) bioceramic scaffolds with intramedullary nail fixation for creating stable osteogenic microenvironment was applied to repair large segmental bone defects (3.0 cm in length) in goat femur model. The material characterization results showed that the BCP scaffold had the initial compressive strength of over 2.0 MPa, and total porosity of 84%. The cell culture experiments demonstrated that the scaffold had the excellent ability to promote the proliferation and osteogenic differentiation of rat bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs). The in vivo results showed that the intramedullary nail fixation maintained the initial stability and structural integrity of the implants at early stage, promoting the osteogenic process both guided and induced by the BCP scaffolds. At 9 months postoperatively, good integration between the implants and host bone was observed, and a large amount of newborn bones formed, accompanying with the degradation of the material. At 18 months postoperatively, almost the complete new bone substitution in the defect area was achieved. The maximum bending strength of the repaired bone defects reached to the 100% of normal femur at 18 months post-surgery. Our results demonstrated the good potential of osteoinductive BCP bioceramics in the regenerative repair of large load-bearing bone defects. The current study could provide an effective method to treat the clinical large segmental bone defects.

Abstract Background Peanut is the most essential oil and food crop globally due to its high oil and protein content. Root-knot nematode infects peanut roots, causing poor development and severely limiting peanut yields worldwide. The discovery of peanut genome identified a considerable number of genetic loci controlling the peanut root-knot nematode; however, the molecular mechanism of root-knot nematode remains unknown. Results The heterogeneous response to root-knot nematode stress in peanut roots was identified using whole-transcriptome RNA-seq. A total of 430 mRNAs, 111 miRNAs, 4453 lncRNAs, and 123 circRNAs were found to have differential expression between infected and non-infected peanuts. The expression profiles of the lncRNA/circRNA-miRNA-mRNA network were developed to understand the potential pathways that lead to root-knot nematodes in peanut roots. During root-knot nematodes stress, a total of 10 lncRNAs, 4 circRNAs, 5 miRNAs, and 13 mRNAs can create competing endogenous RNA and participate in the oxidation–reduction process as well as other biological metabolism processes in peanuts. The findings will highlight the role of peanut ceRNAs in response to root-knot nematodes. Conclusion The GO classification and KEGG pathway enrichment study of core regulatory networks revealed that ceRNAs are involved in oxidation–reduction, peroxidase activity, lignin synthesis in the xylem, and flavonoid synthesis. Overall, these findings may help researchers better understand the role of non-coding RNAs in response to root-knot nematodes.

On 17 July 2019, an unusually intense rainfall occurred in the central-eastern part of Jiangsu Province in China, resulting in a record-breaking daily precipitation of 286.4 mm at the Rugao station, not seen since 1961. A comprehensive analysis was conducted on various multiscale characteristics of the initial rain event, such as the large-scale surroundings, moisture transport, triggering and maintenance mechanisms, and microphysical characteristics. Multi-sources of data were utilized, such as reanalysis data, automatic weather stations, wind-profiling radar, laser-optical Particle Size Velocity instruments, soundings, S-band dual-polarization radar, and a Lagrangian model. The findings suggest that the intense precipitation in Rugao resulted from the convergence of the warm and moist airflow from Typhoon Danas and the cold air moving southward from the north, along with the ample moisture and energy provided by the circulation of Typhoon Danas. Convection, which showed good consistency with the intense precipitation process, was initiated by mesoscale temperature gradients and wind field convergence. This was associated with the intrusion of a near-surface cold pool and the maintenance of a ground convergence line in the Rugao area. This convection exemplified a standard system of warm clouds with high precipitation efficacy. It had a high concentration of raindrops, especially large ones, resulting in record-breaking precipitation in a short amount of time.

The 6D pose estimation using RGBD images plays a pivotal role in robotics applications. At present, after obtaining the RGB and depth modality information, most methods directly concatenate them without considering information interactions. This leads to the low accuracy of 6D pose estimation in occlusion and illumination changes. To solve this problem, we propose a new method to fuse RGB and depth modality features. Our method effectively uses individual information contained within each RGBD image modality and fully integrates cross-modality interactive information. Specifically, we transform depth images into point clouds, applying the PointNet++ network to extract point cloud features; RGB image features are extracted by CNNs and attention mechanisms are added to obtain context information within the single modality; then, we propose a cross-modality feature fusion module (CFFM) to obtain the cross-modality information, and introduce a feature contribution weight training module (CWTM) to allocate the different contributions of the two modalities to the target task. Finally, the result of 6D object pose estimation is obtained by the final cross-modality fusion feature. By enabling information interactions within and between modalities, the integration of the two modalities is maximized. Furthermore, considering the contribution of each modality enhances the overall robustness of the model. Our experiments indicate that the accuracy rate of our method on the LineMOD dataset can reach 96.9%, on average, using the ADD (-S) metric, while on the YCB-Video dataset, it can reach 94.7% using the ADD-S AUC metric and 96.5% using the ADD-S score (

It is generally accepted that psoriasis is associated with hyperuricemia. But the exact underlying mechanisms are unclear. Studies demonstrate that the genetic factor is one of the common causes and that the involvement of monosodium urate crystals (MSU) in the inflammatory response is linked to the pathogenesis of psoriasis. Moreover, the activities of purine-related enzymes can promote the development of hyperuricemia in psoriatic patients. Therapies that reduce uric acid can effectively attenuate the risk of cardiovascular and metabolic disorders and prevent the progression and exacerbation of psoriasis in psoriatic patients with hyperuricemia. Understanding the impact of hyperuricemia on psoriasis will benefit the treatment of psoriasis. This review expounds the association of hyperuricemia with psoriasis in the aspects of pathophysiology and the treatment.

To promote the balanced and sustainable development of resources exploitation and environmental protection in international seabed area, improve the discourse power and execution of China in relevant field, this paper systematic analyzed the development characteristics of international seabed area environmental protection system and its existing problems. The paper also summarized China′s practice and expectation of environment protection in international seabed area, and put forward countermeasures and suggestions. The research results showed that the environmental protection system of international seabed area had experienced 4 stages: germination, formation, development and enrichment, and development features of which mainly included the renewal of the concept, the perfection of principles, and the definition of obligations and responsibilities. However, there were still some problems in the current environmental protection clauses in Exploitation of Mineral Resources in the Area, the environmental protection rights and responsibilities of non-contracting states to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, and the balance of interests. China actively practiced environmental protection of international seabed area by participating in the formulation of relevant systems and exploring domestic laws. In the future, formulating environmental protection standards, exploring policy environment and balancing the interest of all parties can improve the environmental protection system of international seabed area. China should continue to participate in the formulation of relevant international legislation system and improve domestic marine environmental protection system.

Abstract Background Exposure to toluene diisocyanate (TDI) is a significant pathogenic factor for asthma. We previously reported that the receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE) plays a key role in TDI-induced asthma. Histone deacetylase (HDAC) has been reported to be important in asthmatic pathogenesis. However, its effect on TDI-induced asthma is not known. The aim of this study was to determine the role of RAGE and HDAC in regulating airway inflammation using a TDI-induced murine asthma model. Methods BALB/c mice were sensitized and challenged with TDI to establish an asthma model. FPS-ZM1 (RAGE inhibitor), JNJ-26482585 and romidepsin (HDAC inhibitors) were administered intraperitoneally before each challenge. In vitro, the human bronchial epithelial cell line 16HBE was stimulated with TDI-human serum albumin (TDI-HSA). RAGE knockdown cells were constructed and evaluated, and MK2006 (AKT inhibitor) was also used in the experiments. Results In TDI-induced asthmatic mice, the expression of RAGE, HDAC1, and p-AKT/t-AKT was upregulated, and these expressions were attenuated by FPS-ZM1. Airway reactivity, Th2 cytokine levels in lymph supernatant, IgE, airway inflammation, and goblet cell metaplasia were significantly increased in the TDI-induced asthmatic mice. These increases were suppressed by JNJ-26482585 and romidepsin. In addition, JNJ-26482585 and romidepsin ameliorated the redistribution of E-cadherin and β-catenin in TDI-induced asthma. In TDI-HSA-stimulated 16HBE cells, knockdown of RAGE attenuated the upregulation of HDAC1 and phospho-AKT (p-AKT). Treatment with the AKT inhibitor MK2006 suppressed TDI-induced HDAC1 expression. Conclusions These findings indicate that RAGE modulates HDAC1 expression via the PI3K/AKT pathway, and that inhibition of HDAC prevents TDI-induced airway inflammation.

Abstract Background The prognosis difference based on the depth of tumor muscularis propria invasion in gastric cancer (GC) was still debated, and therapy strategy for stage IB GC patient required further investigation. Methods A total of 380 patients with pT2 GC after radical surgery were retrospectively analyzed, including 185 in superficial muscularis propria (sMP) group and 195 in deep muscularis propria (dMP) group. Results The overall survival (OS) was significantly better for patients in sMP group than for patients in dMP group (P = 0.007). In multivariate analysis, depth of tumor invasion, pN stage, age, primary location, positive expression of p53, elevated maximal LDH, elevated initial CA19-9 and AFP level were independent prognostic factors for OS. The sMP group had a significantly better OS than dMP group (P = 0.014) in pN0 stage. After further stratification, the survival outcomes were not significantly different between deep muscularis propria tumor invasion without lymph node metastasis (dMPN0) group (stage IB) and superficial muscularis propria tumor invasion with stage 1–2 lymph node metastasis (sMPN1–2) group (stage II) (P = 0.100). Patients with adjuvant chemotherapy had a statistically better survival than those without in dMPN0 group (P = 0.045) and dMPN0 patients with adjuvant chemotherapy had better OS than sMPN1–2 patients (P = 0.015). In addition, greater postoperative survival could be observed in sMPN0 patients than dMPN0 patients in p53-positive group (P = 0.002), and similar OS could be seen between dMPN0 patients with p53-positive and T2N1–2 patients (P = 0.872). Conclusion As a unique subclassification of stage IB GC, appropriate adjuvant chemotherapy should be considered for patients with dMPN0 stage. In addition, positive expression of p53, elevated LDH could be potential factors in identifying the different prognoses for stage IB GC patients.

The purpose is to establish Mass Customization (MC)-oriented Customer Demand Response (CDR) service platform based on Cloud Computing (CC) and the Internet of Things (IoT). Firstly, the MC-oriented Demand Response (DR) process and the characteristics of CC are analyzed. Secondly, an MC-oriented CDR service platform system based on CC and IoT is proposed. Finally, the edge-cloud collaborative computing method is used to maintain the efficiency and stability of the CC platform, and the proposed method is compared with other state-of-art algorithms to further prove its effectiveness. The results show that the parameters $\varphi $ and V have a significant impact on the queue size and operation cost. Compared with other methods, the operation cost of the proposed edge-cloud collaborative computing method is relatively low. Thus, the proposed edge-cloud collaborative computing method is more applicable in high-speed and low-speed data; it can also improve the resource utilization of the Data Center (DC) and reduce the operation cost. The research results provide a basis for the establishment of the MC-oriented CDR service platform.

BackgroundElderly patients exhibit a higher incidence of chronic heart failure (CHF). Patients with CHF can develop acute kidney injury (AKI) during follow-up, which can result in poor prognosis. This relationship between kidney dysfunction and levels of N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptides (NT-proBNP), with regard to prognosis, is complicated and has rarely been analyzed in elderly patients with CHF.MethodWe conducted a retrospective cohort study involving patients with a CHF history aged ≥ 65 years, who experienced an episode of AKI. Kaplan–Meier curves and Cox or logistic proportional hazards regression models were used to evaluate the association between serum NT-proBNP concentrations and mortality or renal recovery by day 90.ResultsA total of 1,160 eligible patients with AKI were available for the study. Of this sample, 41.5% of patients died within 90 days of the onset of AKI. Patients with a decreased change in NT-proBNP accompanying the episode of AKI had a lower risk (adjusted OR = 0.56, 95% CI = 0.34−0.91) of more severe AKI (stage 2 and 3 vs. stage 1). The more severe AKI were associated with higher mortality and non-recovery of renal function in elderly patients with CHF, independent of NT-proBNP levels. Elevated levels of baseline lnNT-proBNP (adjusted HR = 1.27, 95% CI = 1.17−1.38) predicted mortality in elderly patients with CHF within 90 days of AKI onset. Patients with a decrease in NT-proBNP accompanying AKI had a lower risk of mortality (adjusted HR = 0.62, 95% CI = 0.48−0.79). However, a decrease in NT-proBNP is a risk factor (adjusted OR = 1.59, 95% CI = 1.02−2.48) for the non-recovery of renal function following AKI–especially in elderly survivors with low baseline NT-proBNP levels.ConclusionA decreased change in NT-proBNP maybe protective for elderly patients with CHF by improving survival outcomes and preventing severe AKI. However, an excessive decrease in NT-proBNP is a risk factor for the non-recovery of renal function following AKI. Avoiding excessive changes in NT-proBNP may be protective for survival and renal injury prognosis.

Early biomarkers are needed to identify patients at risk of developing postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD). Our objective was to determine neuronal injury-related biomarkers with predictive values for this condition. Six biomarkers (S100β, neuron-specific enolase [NSE], amyloid beta [Aβ], tau, neurofilament light chain, and glial fibrillary acidic protein) were evaluated. According to the first postoperative sampling time, observational studies showed that S100β was significantly higher in patients with POCD than in those without POCD (standardized mean difference [SMD]: 6.92, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 4.44−9.41). The randomized controlled trial (RCT) showed that S100β (SMD: 37.31, 95% CI: 30.97−43.64) and NSE (SMD: 3.50, 95% CI: 2.71−4.28) in the POCD group were significantly higher than in the non-POCD group. The pooled data of observational studies by postoperative sampling time showed significantly higher levels of the following biomarkers in the POCD groups than in the control groups: S100β levels at 1 hour (SMD: 1.35, 95% CI: 0.07−2.64), 2 days (SMD: 27.97, 95% CI: 25.01−30.94), and 9 days (SMD: 6.41, 95% CI: 5.64−7.19); NSE levels at 1 hour (SMD: 0.92, 95% CI: 0.25−1.60), 6 hours (SMD: 0.79, 95% CI: 0.12−1.45), and 24 hours (SMD: 0.84, 95% CI: 0.38−1.29); and Aβ levels at 24 hours (SMD: 2.30, 95% CI: 1.54−3.06), 2 days (SMD: 2.30, 95% CI: 1.83−2.78), and 9 days (SMD: 2.76, 95% CI: 2.25−3.26). The pooled data of the RCT showed that the following biomarkers were significantly higher in POCD patients than in non-POCD patients: S100β levels at 2 days (SMD: 37.31, 95% CI: 30.97−43.64) and 9 days (SMD: 126.37, 95% CI: 104.97−147.76) and NSE levels at 2 days (SMD: 3.50, 95% CI: 2.71−4.28) and 9 days (SMD: 8.53, 95% CI: 7.00−10.06). High postoperative levels of S100β, NSE, and Aβ may predict POCD. The relationship between these biomarkers and POCD may be affected by sampling time.

The combination of technology and finance has a great potential impact on regional social and economic development, and strategic emerging industries are the convergence of technological innovation and financial support, the development of which have great significance for industrial structure adjustment and industrial quality improvement. The geographical distribution of emerging strategic industries in China is uneven. We selected 18 provinces with relatively concentrated emerging industries. 206 STI board enterprises in 2020 were collected. A three-stage DEA model was used to measure the input–output efficiency of the integrated development of science and technology finance. Also, we used a regression model to examine the path of integrated development of science and technology innovation and financial support. The research finds that the development of strategic emerging industries has a large demand for financial support and obvious regional differences, and the government plays a strong guiding role in their development as well. At the end of the research, countermeasures and suggestions for the development of strategic emerging industries are given.

Two-component system (TCS), which comprises histidine kinases (HKs), histidine phosphotransfer proteins (HPs), and response regulators (RRs), plays essential roles in regulating plant growth, development, and response to various environmental stimuli. TCS genes have been comprehensively identified in various plants, while studies on the genome-wide identification and analysis of TCS in sweet potato were still not reported. Therefore, in this study, a total of 90 TCS members consisting of 20 HK(L)s, 11 HPs, and 59 RRs were identified in the genome of Ipomoea batatas. Furthermore, their gene structures, conserved domains, and phylogenetic relationships were analyzed in detail. Additionally, the gene expression profiles in various organs were analyzed, and response patterns to adverse environmental stresses were investigated. The results showed that these 90 TCS genes were mapped on 15 chromosomes with a notably uneven distribution, and the expansion of TCS genes in sweet potato was attributed to both segmental and tandem duplications. The majority of the TCS genes showed distinct organ-specific expression profiles, especially in three types of roots (stem roots, fibrous roots, tuberous roots). Moreover, most of the TCS genes were either induced or suppressed upon treatment with abiotic stresses (drought, salinity, cold, heat) and exogenous phytohormone abscisic acid (ABA). In addition, the yeast-two hybrid system was used to reveal the HK-HP-RR protein-protein interactions. IbHP1, IbHP2, IbHP4, and IbHP5 could interact with three HKs (IbHK1a, IbHK1b, and IbHK5), and also interact with majority of the type-B RRs (IbRR20–IbRR28), while no interaction affinity was detected for IbHP3. Our systematic analyses could provide insights into the characterization of the TCS genes, and further the development of functional studies in sweet potato.

Background: Duzhong [DZ (Eucommia ulmoides Oliv.)] is regarded as a traditional Chinese medicine with a history dating back more than 2000 years. This herb is considered a nourishing herb in China and is commonly used as a tonic to strengthen muscles and bones, nourish the kidneys and liver, and soothe miscarriages. Moreover, there is evidence that DZ is capable of regulating blood pressure (BP), and several compounds isolated from DZ have been shown to have a BP-lowering effect. Quanduzhong capsules contain an extract of DZ [Eucommia ulmoides Oliv. (Eucommiaceae; Eucommiae cortex)] that is effective in treating hypertension. This multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial sought to evaluate the clinical efficacy of Quanduzhong capsules in the treatment of low-to-moderate risk grade 1 hypertension patients.Materials and methods: A total of 60 patients from 3 centers with documented low-to-moderate risk grade 1 hypertension were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to the test group or the control group. After a 1 week lead-in period using sham Quanduzhong capsules, all patients who met the entry criteria (29 cases in the test group and 29 cases in the control group) entered the 4 week test period. The test group took Quanduzhong capsules, and the control group continued to take sham Quanduzhong capsules. The primary endpoints [24-h mean systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) determined via 24-h ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM); office SBP and DBP] and secondary endpoints [mean arterial pressure; mean pulse; daytime mean SBP and DBP; nocturnal mean SBP and DBP; SBP and DBP load; area under the blood pressure (BP) curve; morning peak BP; early morning SBP and DBP; smoothness index of SBP and DBP; 24 h BP mean coefficient of variation (CV); percentage of patients with circadian restoration in ABPM; home BP; quality of life evaluated by WHO Quality of Life-BREF questionnaire; grading and quantitative evaluation of hypertension symptoms; values of plasmatic renin activity, angiotensin II, aldosterone, β-2 microglobulin and homocysteine] were assessed following the treatment. Drug-related adverse events and adverse drug reactions were also compared.Results: After a 4 week test period, a significant difference in the DBP CV between the two groups was observed (−2.49 ± 4.32 vs. 0.76 ± 4.3; p < .05). Moreover, the mean office SBP change was −7.62 ± 9.32 mmHg, and the mean DBP change was −4.66 ± 6.03 (p < .05). Among the three subjects with abnormal homocysteine levels in the test group, homocysteine levels decreased by 6.23 ± 9.15 μmol/L after treatment. No differences were observed between the two groups in any other indicators. After 4 weeks of treatment, there were no significant differences between the groups in terms of safety indicators (p > .05). No abnormal vital signs (except BP) or severe liver or renal function impairment were observed during the treatment periods; in addition, adverse events and drug reactions were mild.Conclusion: Treatment with Quanduzhong capsules reduced office SBP and DBP as well as DBP CV determined by 24-h ambulatory BP monitoring in patients with grade 1 hypertension at low-to-moderate risk.Clinical Trial Registration:https://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.aspx?proj=32531, identifier ChiCTR1900021699.

ObjectiveThree-dimensionally (3D) printed patient-specific instrumentation (PSI) might help in this regard with individual design and more accurate osteotomy, but whether the utility of such instrumentations minimizes the variability of patellar height in total knee arthroplasty (TKA) and the reasons for this effect are unknown. Our aim is to compare and analyze the variability of patellar height with PSI and conventional instrumentation (CI) in TKA.MethodsBetween March 2018 and November 2021, 215 patients with severe knee osteoarthritis who were treated with primary unilateral TKA were identified for this observational study. The patients were divided into the CI-TKA group and PSI-TKA group according to the osteotomy tools used in TKA. Preoperative and postoperative radiographic parameters including hip–knee–ankle angle (HKA), posterior tibial slope (PTS), Insall–Salvati ratio, modified Caton–Deschamps (mCD) ratio, anterior condylar offset (ACO), and posterior condylar offset (PCO) were evaluated.ResultsThe groups were similar in patients' demographic data, clinical scores, and radiographic parameters preoperatively. Overall, according to the results of the Insall–Salvati ratio, postoperative patellar height reduction was noted in 140 patients (65.1%). Interestingly, the variability of patellar height was smaller in the PSI-TKA group. Radiographic evaluation revealed that the Insall–Salvati ratio after TKA had a minor change in the PSI-TKA group (p = 0.005). Similarly, the mCD ratio after TKA also had a minor change in the PSI-TKA group (p