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Abstract Objective Employing whole‐exome sequencing (WES) technology to investigate the etiology of infantile epileptic spasm syndrome (IESS), and determining whether different etiologies exhibit phenotypic variations, while elucidating the potential associated factors, might improve short‐term responses to first‐line treatment. Methods We retrospectively evaluated patients with IESS admitted for treatment between January 2018 and June 2023. Clinical phenotypic differences among etiological classifications and clinical manifestations were analyzed. Variable selection using the best subset method was performed, followed by logistic regression analysis to identify the factors influencing treatment response. Results A total of 577 patients were included; 412 completed trio‐WES. Magnetic resonance imaging abnormalities were detected in 387 patients (67.1%). Patients with etiology as structural abnormalities were likelier to have non‐spasms at the initial seizure onset. A total of 532 patients completed the first‐line treatment; 273 patients received it for the first time at our hospital (initial response rates: 30.1% and 42.1%, respectively). The response group had a lower proportion of early‐onset seizures (≤3 months) than the no‐response group (11.3% vs. 23.7%, p

Dark septate endophytes (DSE) are typical root endophytes with the ability to enhance plant growth and tolerance to heavy metals, but the underlying mechanisms are unclear. Here, the physiological and molecular mechanisms of a DSE strain, Exophiala pisciphila, in mitigating cadmium (Cd, 20 mg/kg) toxicity in maize were investigated. Our results showed, under Cd stress, E. pisciphila inoculation enhanced the biomass of maize and reduced both inorganic and soluble forms of Cd (high toxicity) by 52.6% in maize leaves, which may be potentially contributing to Cd toxicity mitigation. Besides, E. pisciphila inoculation significantly affected the expression of genes involved in the signal transduction and polar transport of phytohormone, and then affected abscisic acid (ABA) and indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) contents in maize roots, which was the main reason for promoting maize growth. In addition, E. pisciphila also made a 27% increase in lignin content by regulating the expression of genes involved in the synthesis of it, which was beneficial to hinder the transport of Cd. In addition, E. pisciphila inoculation also activated glutathione metabolism by the up-regulation of genes related to glutathione S-transferase. This study helps to elucidate the functions of E. pisciphila under Cd stress, sheds light on the mechanism of detoxifying Cd and provides new insights into the protection of crops from heavy metals.

Background: Several studies have investigated the role of off-label non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants (NOACs) in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). We aimed to compare the effectiveness and safety outcomes between off-label underdose or overdose vs. on-label dose of NOACs in AF patients.Methods: The PubMed database was systematically searched until August 2021. Observational cohorts were included if they compared the outcomes of off-label underdose or overdose with on-label dose of NOACs in AF patients. The risk ratios (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were pooled using a fixed-effects model (I2 ≤ 50%) or a random-effects model (I2 > 50%).Results: A total of 15 observational studies were included. Compared with on-label dose of NOACs, off-label underdose of NOACs was associated with increased risks of stroke or systemic embolism (RR = 1.09, 95% CI 1.02–1.16), and all-cause death (RR = 1.29, 95% CI 1.10–1.52) but not ischemic stroke (RR = 1.34, 95% CI 0.76–2.36), myocardial infarction (RR = 1.08, 95% CI 0.92–1.28), major bleeding (RR = 0.97, 95% CI 0.89–1.05), intracranial hemorrhage (RR = 1.12, 95% CI 0.90–1.40), and gastrointestinal bleeding (RR = 0.96, 95% CI 0.85–1.07), whereas off-label overdose of NOACs was associated with increased risks of SSE (RR = 1.20, 95% CI 1.05–1.36), all-cause death (RR = 1.22, 95% CI 1.06–1.39), and major bleeding (RR = 1.33, 95% CI 1.16–1.52) but not gastrointestinal bleeding (RR = 1.18, 95% CI 0.99–1.42) and myocardial infarction (RR = 0.98, 95% CI 0.75–1.30).Conclusion: Compared with on-label dose of NOACs, off-label underdose was associated with increased risks of stroke or systemic embolism and all-cause death, whereas off-label overdose of NOACs was associated with increased risks of stroke or systemic embolism, all-cause death, and major bleeding.

Background: Current evidence regarding the application of direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) vs. vitamin K antagonists (VKAs) on the fracture risk is inconsistent. Therefore, we conducted a meta-analysis to evaluate the fracture risk of DOACs vs. VKAs in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF).Methods: The PubMed and Embase databases were systematically searched until June 2021 for all the studies that reported oral anticoagulants in AF patients. The random-effect model with an inverse variance method was selected to pool the risk ratios (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs).Results: A total of 10 studies were included in this meta-analysis. Among AF patients receiving anticoagulants, DOAC users showed a reduced risk of any fracture compared to those with VKAs (RR = 0.80; 95% CI: 0.70–0.91) regardless of gender [males (RR = 0.79; 95% CI: 0.67–0.92) and females (RR = 0.71; 95% CI: 0.57–0.89)]. Apixaban (RR = 0.75; 95% CI: 0.60–0.92) and rivaroxaban (RR = 0.73; 95% CI: 0.61–0.88), but not dabigatran and edoxaban, were associated with a decreased risk of any fracture compared with VKAs. DOAC users had decreased risks of osteoporotic fractures (RR = 0.63; 95% CI: 0.47–0.84) and hip/pelvic fractures (RR = 0.88; 95% CI: 0.79–0.97) compared to those treated with VKAs.Conclusions: Our meta-analysis suggested that the use of DOACs was associated with a reduced risk of any fracture compared with VKAs. Further studies should confirm our findings.

Aim: MEF2C haploinsufficiency syndrome (MCHS) is a severe neurodevelopmental disorder. We describe the clinical phenotypes and genotypes of seven patients with MCHS to enhance the understanding of clinical manifestations and genetic alterations associated with MCHS.Method: Seven patients (6 females and 1 male, aged between 2 years 5 months and 6 years) who had MEF2C mutations, and their parents underwent trio-based whole-exome sequencing; subsequently, their clinical features were assessed. A literature review of patients with MCHS was performed by searching the PubMed and Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man databases.Results: Seven mutations were identified, of which six were unreported in the past; of the reported cases, five patients had de novo mutations but two had an undefined inheritance pattern. All patients presented delays in developmental milestones, severe intellectual disabilities and lack of speech. Six patients exhibited infantile hypotonia, five patients experienced stereotypic movements and were unable to walk, four patients exhibited poor eye contact indicative of autism and two showed poor performance. While six patients experienced seizure, five among them became seizure free after receiving anti-seizure medicine. Three patients showed a regression in their development, whereas the mothers of two patients exhibited mosaicism but were healthy without any abovementioned symptoms.Interpretation: Regression was not a common phenomenon but occurred in MCHS. The prognosis of MCHS patients with epilepsy was good, but most patients can achieve a seizure-free status. Healthy people may have low-level mosaicism and carry a pathogenic MEF2C mutation.

Zeolite faujasite (FAU), Linde type A (LTA) and FAU/LTA composite have been synthesized using tetramethylammonium cation (TMA +) as template, by adjusting only the concentration of Na + ions in the initial solution (1.00 Al2 O3 4.36 SiO2 : 2.39 (TMA)2 O : β Na2 O : 249.00H2 O). Na + ions alter the phase composition of the product more than TMA+ or OH− ions. When Na2 O concentration [Na2 O] increases from 0.024 to 0.168, the product gradually changes from pure FAU to pure LTA via the formation of FAU/LTA composite with increasing LTA fraction. Interestingly, the induction periods of FAU and LTA in the FAU/LTA composite zeolite ([Na2 O] is 0.072) are both 13 h, quite different from the induction periods of their individual pure phases—45 h for FAU and 4 h for LTA. During the crystallization, the LTA/(FAU + LTA) fraction in the composite zeolite decreases in a nearly linear fashion. Scanning electron microscopy, thermogravimetry and differential thermal analysis indicate some difference between the properties of the FAU/LTA composite zeolite and of the mechanical mixture.

Currently, immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have changed the treatment paradigm for many malignant tumors. As the most common digestive tract malignancy, colorectal cancer (CRC) shows a good response to ICIs only in a small subset of patients with MSI-H/dMMR CRC. In contrast, patients with MSS/pMMR CRC show minimal response to ICIs. The results of the REGONIVO study suggest that targeting the tumor microenvironment (TME) to improve immunotherapy outcomes in MSS/pMMR CRC patients is a feasible strategy. Therefore, this article focuses on exploring the feasibility of targeting the TME to enhance immunotherapy outcomes in CRC, collecting recent basic research on targeting the TME to enhance immunotherapy outcomes in CRC and analyzing ongoing clinical trials to provide a theoretical basis and future research directions for improving immunotherapy outcomes in MSS/pMMR CRC.

Corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) mediates various physiological/pathological roles such as stress and reproduction in vertebrates by specifically activating its receptors (CRHRs), and the regulation is intricately intertwined with the CRH binding protein (CRHBP). Although numerous research on mammalian CRHRs and CRHBP has been conducted, reports regarding the teleost CRHRs and CRHBP are limited. Herein, using Nile tilapia (ti-) as a model, we conducted the characterization, functional analysis, and examination of tissue distribution of tiCRHRs and tiCRHBPs. Our study showed that: (1) tiCRHR1a, tiCRHR1b and tiCRHR2 encoded proteins of 432, 436 and 414 amino acids (-aa), while tiCRHBP1 and tiCRHBP2 were predicated to generate a 323- and 322-aa precursor respectively; (2) All tiCRHRs could be activated by tiCRH and subsequently coupled to cAMP/PKA signaling pathways, while only tiCRHR1a and tiCRHR1b could trigger MAPK/ERK signaling cascade; (3) tiCRHBP1 and tiCRHBP2 could does-dependently suppress tiCRH-upregulated luciferase activity in HEK293 cells expressing tiCRHRs; (4) All tiCRHRs mRNA were considerably detected in the central nervous system (CNS), but they exhibited distinct expression pattern in examined peripheral tissues; (5) tiCRHBP1 exhibited an exclusive expression pattern in the pituitary, whereas tiCRHBP2 mRNA was abundantly expressed in the telencephalon. Collectively, our data will help to facilitate a better understanding of the members and functions of CRHRs and CRHBP in teleost.

Hemorrhagic transformation (HT) and restrictive therapeutic time window are significant limitations of delayed t-PA (tissue-type plasminogen activator) thrombolytic therapy in ischemic stroke patients. Plant Momordica charantia-derived exosome-like nanovesicles (MC-ELNs) can protect the blood–brain barrier (BBB) and inhibit neuronal apoptosis in stroke rats by inhibiting matrix metalloproteinase 9(MMP-9) expression. This study explored the therapeutic function and underlying mechanisms of MC-ELNs in treating HT. In delayed t-PA-treated ischemia-reperfusion rats, MC-ELNs significantly reduced mortality, HT, and cell apoptosis; MC-ELNs improved neurological function and BBB's integrity. MC-ELNs reduced ONOO− and MMP-9 expression and inhibited the release of HMGB1 from intracellular to extracellular in vivo and in vitro. ONOO− donor SIN-1 directly induced extracellular secretion of HMGB1, MC-ELNs and FeTmPyP (ONOO− decomposition catalyst, PDC) significantly reduced the expression of HMGB1 and inhibited MMP-9 activation in vitro. These findings indicate that MC-ELNs could protect BBB integrity and improve t-PA-induced HT by inhibiting the ONOO−/HMGB1/MMP-9 pathway.

Abstract Aims To explore the function of phosphorylation of KAP1 (p-KAP1) at the serine-824 site (S824) in the proliferation and apoptosis of endogenous neural stem cells (NSCs) after cerebral ischemic/reperfusion (I/R). Methods The apoptosis and proliferation of C17.2 cells transfected with the p-KAP1-expression plasmids and the expression of proliferation cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) and p-KAP1 were detected by immunofluorescence and Western blotting after the Oxygen Glucose deprivation/reperfusion model (OGD/R). The interaction of p-KAP1 and CUL4A with PCNA was analyzed by immunoprecipitation. In the rats MCAO model, we performed the adeno-associated virus (AAV) 2/9 gene delivery of p-KAP1 mutants to verify the proliferation of endogenous NSCs and the colocalization of PCNA and CUL4A by immunofluorescence. Results The level of p-KAP1 was significantly down-regulated in the stroke model in vivo and in vitro. Simulated p-KAP1(S824) significantly increased the proliferation of C17.2 cells and the expression of PCNA after OGD/R. Simulated p-KAP1(S824) enhanced the binding of p-KAP1 and PCNA and decreased the interaction between PCNA and CUL4A in C17.2 cells subjected to OGD/R. The AAV2/9-mediated p-KAP1(S824) increased endogenous NSCs proliferation, PCNA expression, p-KAP1 binding to PCNA, and improved neurological function in the rat MCAO model. Conclusions Our findings confirmed that simulated p-KAP1(S824) improved the survival and proliferation of endogenous NSCs. The underlying mechanism is that highly expressed p-KAP1(S824) promotes binding to PCNA, and inhibits the binding of CUL4A to PCNA. This reduced CUL4A-mediated ubiquitination degradation to increase the stability of PCNA and promote the survival and proliferation of NSCs.

ABSTRACT: Stress can suppress reproduction capacity in either wild or domestic animals, but the exact mechanism behind it, especially in terms of steroidogenesis, remains under-investigated so far. Considering the important roles of progesterone in avian breeding, we investigated the modulation of corticosterone on progesterone production in cultured granulosa cells of chicken follicles at different developmental stages. Using enzyme immunoassays, our study showed that corticosterone could only inhibit progesterone synthesis in granulosa cells from F5-6, F4, and F3 follicles, but not F2 and F1 follicles. Coincidentally, both quantitative real-time PCR and western blotting revealed that corticosterone could downregulate steroidogenic acute regulatory protein (StAR) expression, suggesting the importance of StAR in corticosterone-related actions. Using the dual-luciferase reporter system, we found that corticosterone can potentially enhance, rather than inhibit, the activity of StAR promoter. Of note, combining high-throughput transcriptomic analysis and quantitative real-time PCR, phosphodiesterase 10A (PDE10A), protein kinase cAMP-dependent type II regulatory subunit alpha (PRKAR2A) and cAMP responsive element modulator (CREM) were identified to exhibit the differential expression patterns consistent with cAMP blocking in granulosa cells from F5-6, F4, and F3, but not F2 and F1 follicles. Afterward, the expression profiles of these genes in granulosa cells of distinct developmental-stage follicles were examined by quantitative real-time PCR, in which all of them expressed correspondingly with progesterone levels of granulosa cells during development. Collectively, these findings indicate that corticosterone can stage-dependently inhibit progesterone production in granulosa cells of chicken preovulatory follicles, through impeding cAMP-induced StAR activity presumptively.

Spexin (SPX) is a conservative tetradecapeptide which has been proven to participate in multiple physiological processes, including anxiety, feed intake, and energy metabolism in fish and mammals. However, whether SPX exists and functions in birds remain largely unknown. Using chicken (c-) as a model, the full-length cDNA encoding cSPX precursor was cloned, and it was predicted to generate a mature peptide with 14 amino acids conserved across vertebrates. The pGL4-SRE-luciferase reporter system-based functional analysis demonstrated that cSPX was effective in activating chicken galanin type Ⅱ receptor (cGALR2), cGALR2-like receptor (cGALR2L) and galanin type Ⅲ receptor (cGALR3), thus to stimulate intracellular MAPK/ERK signaling pathway. Quantitative real-time PCR revealed that SPX was widely expressed in chicken tissues, especially abundant in the central nervous system, pituitary, testes, and pancreas. Interestingly, it was noted that chicken hypothalamic SPX mRNA could be up-regulated by 24-h and 36-h fasting, heralding its latent capacity in appetite regulation. In accordance with this speculation, peripheral injection of cSPX was proved to be functional in reducing feed intake of 3-wk-old chicks. Furthermore, we found that cSPX could reduce the expression of AgRP and MCH, with a concurrent rise in CART1 mRNA level in the hypothalamic of chicks. Collectively, our findings not only provide the evidences that SPX can act as a satiety factor by orchestrating the expression of key feeding regulators in the chicken hypothalamus but also help to facilitate a better understanding of its functional evolution across vertebrates.

Abstract Background Stroke is the leading cause of long-term motor disability and cognitive impairment. Recently, neurogenesis has become an attractive strategy for the chronic recovery of stroke. It is important to understand the molecular mechanism that promotes neural stem cell (NSC) neurogenesis for future NSC-based therapies. Our previous study showed that Momordica charantia polysaccharides (MCPs) exerted neuroprotective effects on stroke via their anti-oxidant and anti-inflammation activities. However, it remains unknown whether MCPs promote NSC neurogenesis after cerebral ischemic/reperfusion injury (IRI). Methods We investigated MCPs’ function in differentiation of neural stem cells (NSCs) in vivo and in vitro experiments. Based on a middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) rat model, the effect of MCPs on neuronal differentiation after MCAO was analyzed. Primary NSCs and neural stem cell line C17.2 were cultured and subjected to glutamate stimulation to establish the cell model of IRI. We evaluated the effect of MCPs on NSC differentiation in IRI cell model by Western blot and immunofluorescence staining. The SIRT1 activity of NSCs post glutamate stimulation was also evaluated by CELL SIRT1 COLORIMETRY ASSAY KIT. In addition, molecular mechanism was clarified by employing the activator and inhibitor of SIRT1. Results MCPs had no effects on the differentiation of neural stem cells under physiological conditions while shifted NSC differentiation potential from the gliogenic to neurogenic lineage under pathological conditions. Activation of SIRT1 with MCPs was responsible for the neuronal differentiation of C17.2-NSCs. The neuronal differentiation effect of MCPs was attributed to upregulation SIRT1-mediated deacetylation of β-catenin. MCP-induced deacetylation via SIRT1 promoted nuclear accumulation of β-catenin in NSCs. Conclusion Our findings indicate that the deacetylation of β-catenin by SIRT1 represents a critical mechanism of action of MCPs in promoting NSC neuronal differentiation. It provides an improved understanding of molecular mechanism underlying neuroprotective effects of MCPs in IRI, indicating its potential role on treating ischemic stroke especially chronic recovery.

The cloud-free monthly composite of global nighttime light (NTL) data of the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership with the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (NPP-VIIRS) day/night band (DNB) provides indispensable indications of human activities and settlements. However, the coarse spatial resolution (15 arc sec) of NTL imagery greatly restricts its application potential. This study proposes a feasible framework to downscale NPP-VIIRS NTL using muti-source spatial variables and geographically weighted regression (GWR) method. High-resolution auxiliary variables were acquired from the Landsat 8 OLI/ TIRS and social media platforms. GWR-based downscaling procedures were consequently implemented to obtain NTL at a 100-m resolution. The downscaled NTL data were validated against Loujia1-01 imagery based on the coefficient of determination (R2) and root-mean-square error (RMSE). The results suggest that the data quality was suitably improved after downscaling, yielding higher R2 (0.604 vs. 0.568) and lower RMSE (8.828 vs. 9.870 nW/cm2/sr) values than those of the original NTL data. Finally, the NTL was extendedly applied to detect impervious surfaces, and the downscaled NTL had higher accuracy than the original NTL. Therefore, this study facilitates data quality improvement of NPP-VIIRS NTL imagery by downscaling, thus enabling more accurate applications.

The present study aimed to investigate the role of nitric oxide (NO) against perinatal hypoxic-ischemic brain damage (HIBD) in rats by electroacupuncture (EA) and to examine its potential neuroprotective mechanism. NO content, the number of positive cells, neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) and nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) in rat cortex cells were determined. The results demonstrated that treatment with EA significantly downregulated the NO content in the cortex cells (*P<0.05, **P<0.01, compared with the control groups) and alleviated cell damage in the cortex of rats with HIBD. The activator, S-adenosyl-L-methionine and the inhibitor, hydroxylamine of cystathionine-β-synthase (CBS), aggravated and remitted the hypoxic damage in the cortex cells, respectively. In addition, treatment with EA significantly downregulated the expression of nNOS and NF-κB in the rat cortex cells (*P<0.05, **P<0.01, compared with the control groups). The results also indicated that treatment with EA downregulated the NO content of cortical cells against HIBD via the NF-κB/nNOS pathway and further implied that the hydrogen sulfide/CBS system may be involved in the process. The present study provided a significant reference for the prevention and treatment of HIBD using the EA technique and also described a novel protective mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Growth hormone (GH) participates in many physiological processes through the activation of its membrane-anchored receptor (GHR) in vertebrates. Because of its pivotal role in regulating growth and development, a large number of studies examining GH-GHR have been conducted in mammals, birds and fish. However, whether a functional GH-GHR pair exists in the Chinese soft-shelled turtle (st-) has not been previously studied. Here, the full-length cDNA encoding GH was cloned from Chinese soft-shelled turtle (Trionyx sinensis) pituitary. The results revealed that it consisted of 784 bp and encoded a precursor of 217 amino acids. Furthermore, recombinant stGH was prepared and purified from Escherichia coli (E. coli) strain BL21. Using the 5×STAT5-Luciferase reporter system, we found that stGHR expressed in human hepatocellular carcinoma cells could be activated in a dose-dependent manner by recombinant stGH, thereby triggering the intracellular JAK2-STAT5 signaling pathway, suggesting stGH is a functional ligand for stGHR. Quantitative real-time PCR revealed that GH mRNA was predominantly and abundantly expressed in pituitary, while GHR exhibited ubiquitous expression in all tissues examined, including pituitary and liver. Collectively, our data indicate a conserved GH-GHR pair might function in reptiles including Chinese soft-shelled turtle, as that in mammals, birds and fishes.

In recent years, people have been paying more and more attention to air quality because it directly affects people's health and daily life. Effective air quality prediction has become one of the hot research issues. However, this paper is suffering many challenges, such as the instability of data sources and the variation of pollutant concentration along time series. Aiming at this problem, we propose an improved air quality prediction method based on the LightGBM model to predict the PM2.5 concentration at the 35 air quality monitoring stations in Beijing over the next 24 h. In this paper, we resolve the issue of processing the high-dimensional large-scale data by employing the LightGBM model and innovatively take the forecasting data as one of the data sources for predicting the air quality. With exploring the forecasting data feature, we could improve the prediction accuracy with making full use of the available spatial data. Given the lack of data, we employ the sliding window mechanism to deeply mine the high-dimensional temporal features for increasing the training dimensions to millions. We compare the predicted data with the actual data collected at the 35 air quality monitoring stations in Beijing. The experimental results show that the proposed method is superior to other schemes and prove the advantage of integrating the forecasting data and building up the high-dimensional statistical analysis.

The enterotoxins TcdA and TcdB induce cytotoxicity of epithelial cells during Clostridium difficile infection. Here the authors show that bacterial induced epithelial cell death occurs via activation of caspases 3 and 7, resulting in apoptotic cell death.

The effectiveness of ClO2 bleaching as a replacement for conventional Cl2 bleaching, which is intensively practiced in developing countries, to reduce polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs) in non-wood pulp and paper mills has not been field tested. The first field study was performed to investigate PCDD/F variations when ClO2 bleaching was used as a substitute for conventional Cl2 bleaching in a non-wood pulp and paper mill. It was found that the PCDD/F toxic equivalents (TEQs) in solid and effluent samples were approximately 1.3–14.9 times lower when ClO2 bleaching was used instead of the conventional Cl2 bleaching. 2,3,7,8-Substituted tetrachlorinated dibenzofurans (2,3,7,8-TCDF) were the dominant contributors to total PCDD/F TEQs in samples from the investigated mill when using conventional Cl2 bleaching. The formation amounts of 2,3,7,8-TCDF were reduced from 1.56–2.76 pg TEQ/g to 0.02–0.32 pg TEQ/g in solid samples when ClO2 bleaching was used instead of the conventional Cl2 bleaching. The replacement of Cl2 with ClO2 might decrease the chlorination reactions of dibenzofuran as potential precursors, and thus reduce the formation amounts of 2,3,7,8-TCDF. The results could provide important knowledge for suggesting the best available technique for PCDD/F reduction for non-wood pulp and paper mills in developing countries. Keywords: PCDD/Fs, Pulp and paper mill, ClO2 bleaching, Cl2 bleaching, Persistent organic pollutants

Productivity improvements that occur as technologies become widely used are not well documented. This study measured secular trends over 1998-2010 in productivity of hip and knee procedures gauged in terms of changes in physical function and pain after versus before surgery. We used data from the Health and Retirement Study. Health outcomes from surgery were measured by 6 physical functioning scales and 2 pain indicators. We used propensity score matching to obtain nonsurgery control groups. Not only were there substantial improvements in physical functioning and pain reduction after receipt of these procedures in all years, but also we documented improvements in health outcomes over time. Largest improvements were for reductions in numbers of Activity and Instrumental Activity of Daily Living limitations for knee procedures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is the first study to investigate vertical transmission of Chlamydia trachomatis in Chongqing China. For this study, 300 cervical swab samples from pregnant women and 305 nasopharygeal swab samples from their babies (605 specimens) were collected for nest polymerase chain reaction (nPCR) of the ompl gene , which encodes the major outer membrane protein (MOMP) and typed C. trachomatis using Cleavase fragment-length polymorphism (CFLP) labeled with digoxin. From these samples, 11% (33/300) of pregnant women samples were successfully amplified. The vertical transmission rate of C. trachomatis from mother to baby was 24% (8/33). The vertical transmission rates were 66.7% (6/9) for mothers with vaginal delivery and 8.3% (2/24) for those with cesarean section. The incidence of premature membrane rupture among C. trachomatis-positive pregnant women was 30.3% (10/33), which was greater than among those who were C. trachomatis-negative (13.5%, 36/267; χ2 = 4.2; p < 0.05). Four genotypes including type E (3 pairs), type F (2 pairs), type H (2 pairs), and type D (1 pair) were observed by CFLP assay labeled with digoxin and confirmed by DNA sequencing in the 16 C. trachomatis-positive samples from eight pregnant women and their eight infants. Each pair of matched maternal–infantile samples showed identical CFLP. This study showed the incidence of C. trachomatis infection in pregnant women, the vertical transmission rate for C. trachomatis, and the genotypes of C. trachomatis in Chongqing, China. The CFLP assay labeled at the 5′ end of the forward primer with digoxin was first used successfully to genotype of C. trachomatis. As a promising method for C. trachomatis genotyping, CFLP had good sensitivity, reproducibility, and simplicity and no radioactive contamination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water matrix certified reference material (MCRM) of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) is used to provide quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC) during the analysis of VOCs in water. In this research, a water MCRM of 28 VOCs was developed using a “reconstitution” approach by adding VOCs spiking, methanol solution into pure water immediately prior to analysis. The VOCs spiking solution was prepared gravimetrically by dividing 28 VOCs into seven groups, then based on ISO Guide 35, using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) to investigate the homogeneity and long-term stability. The studies of homogeneity and long-term stability indicated that the batch of VOCs spiking solution was homogeneous and stable at room temperature for at least 15 months. Moreover, the water MCRM of 28 VOCs was certified by a network of nine competent laboratories, and the certified values and expanded uncertainties of 28 VOCs ranged from 6.2 to 17 μg/L and 0.5 to 5.3 μg/L, respectively.

The complete mitochondrial genome of Petaurista alborufus is 16,057 bp in length and contains 13 protein-coding genes, 22 transfer RNA genes, two ribosomal RNA genes, and one control region. In the control region, it is speculated that the CSB2 have been lost in the evolution. The molecular phylogenetic analysis of 32 Rodentia species is performed using sequences from 12 concatenated heavy-strand encoded protein coding genes. The results have provided more evidence to support previous morphological and chromosomal studies on Rodentia.

Although studies have demonstrated health benefits, there is limited evidence on utilization and cost changes associated with cardiac pacemaker implantation from national community samples. The aim of this study was to quantify changes in emergency room (ER) and hospital inpatient use and in Medicare payments per beneficiary/year after pacemaker implantation. Outcomes for pacemaker recipients after and before implantation and between pacemaker recipients and controls were compared using propensity score matching. Data came from Health and Retirement Study interviews merged with Medicare claims. Sample subjects were aged ≥68 years with diagnosed conduction disorders or cardiac dysrhythmias in the previous 3 years. Outcome measures were (1) ER visits, inpatient admissions and days, and Medicare payments for ER and inpatient care in the after period for the pacemaker versus control groups, defined per beneficiary/year, (2) difference in differences in the same 5 outcome variables, and (3) binary variables for whether or not utilization or payments were lower in the after versus before periods for the pacemaker versus control groups. In conclusion, most pacemaker recipients improved, as measured by reductions in use and payments in the after versus before period, and there were reductions in ER visits and hospital admissions for conditions commonly leading to pacemaker implantation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]