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Kawasaki Disease (KD) is an acute inflammatory illness that mostly occurs in children below 5 years of age, with intractable fever, mucocutaneous lesions, lymphadenopathy, and lesions of the coronary artery (CAL). KD is sharing clinical symptoms with systemic inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) which is related to COVID-19. Certain genes are identified to be associated with KD, but the findings usually differ between countries and races. Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) allele types and toll-like receptor (TLR) expression are also correlated to KD. The acute hyperinflammation in KD is mediated by an imbalance between augmented T helper 17 (Th17)/Th1 responses with high levels of interleukin (IL)-6, IL-10, IL-17A, IFN-γ, and IP-10, in contrast to reduced Th2/Treg responses with lower IL-4, IL-5, FoxP3, and TGF-β expression. KD has varying phenotypic variations regarding age, gender, intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) resistance, macrophage activation and shock syndrome. The signs of macrophage activation syndrome (MAS) can be interpreted as hyperferritinemia and thrombocytopenia contradictory to thrombocytosis in typical KD; the signs of KD with shock syndrome (KDSS) can be interpreted as overproduction of nitric oxide (NO) and coagulopathy. For over five decades, IVIG and aspirin are the standard treatment for KD. However, some KD patients are refractory to IVIG required additional medications against inflammation. Further studies are proposed to delineate the immunopathogenesis of IVIG-resistance and KDSS, to identify high risk patients with genetic susceptibility, and to develop an ideal treatment regimen, such as by providing idiotypic immunoglobulins to curb cytokine storms, NO overproduction, and the epigenetic induction of Treg function.

The efficient removal of 2-Methylisoborneol (2-MIB), a typical odour component, in water treatment plants (WTPs), poses a great challenge to conventional water treatment technology due to its chemical stability. In this study, the combination of ultraviolet light-emitting diode (UV-LED) and chlorine (UV-LED/chlorine) was exploited for 2-MIB removal, and the role of ultraviolet (UV) wavelength was investigated systematically. The results showed that UV or chlorination alone did not degrade 2-MIB effectively, and the UV/chlorine process could degrade 2-MIB efficiently, following the pseudo-first-order kinetic model. The 275 nm UV exhibited higher 2-MIB degradation efficiency in this UV-LED/chlorine system than 254 nm UV, 265 nm UV and 285 nm UV due to the highest mole adsorption coefficient and quantum yield of chlorine in 275 nm UV. ·OH and ·Cl produced in the 275 nm UV/chlorine system played major roles in 2-MIB degradation. HCO3− and Natural organic matter (NOM), prevalent in water, consumed ·OH and ·Cl, thus inhibiting the 2-MIB degradation by UV-LED/chlorine. In addition, NOM and 2-MIB could form a photonic competition effect. The degradation of 2-MIB by UV-LED/chlorine was done mainly through dehydration and demethylation, and odorous intermediates, such as camphor, were produced. 2-MIB was degraded through the α bond fracture and six-membered ring opening to form saturated or unsaturated hydrocarbons and aldehydes. Four DBPs, chloroform (CF), trichloroacetaldehyde (TCE), trichloroacetone (TCP) and dichloroacetone (DCP), were mainly generated, and CF was the most significant by-product. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There were various problems with chromogenic agent-based UV-Vis spectroscopic detection, such as a large selection range and an insufficient molar absorption coefficient. This study highlighted the research application of UV-Vis spectroscopy technology in industrial heavy metal detection as well as the detection mechanism. Chromogenic agent-based detection techniques were often utilized in product assessment, wastewater monitoring, and industrial production process control. Due to the limitations of UV-Vis spectroscopy, the combination of the UV-Vis spectrum and other stoichiometry technologies will expand its applications to the detection of industrial heavy metals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of different dietary crude protein levels on growth performance, serum biochemical indexes and reproductive performance of postpartum Angus cows. A total of 24 healthy and similar postpartum Angus cows with an average body weight of (480±20) kg were selected and randomly divided into three groups, with eight replicates in each group and one cow in each replicate. The cows were fed with the diets with crude protein levels of 11.78% (group I), 13.51% (group II) and 15.43% (group III), respectively. The pre-trial period was 10 d, and the formal trial period was 60 d. The results showed that there was no significant difference in initial weight and final weight among the three groups (P>0.05), the average daily gain in group II was significantly higher than that in group I and group III (P<0.05), and the feed to gain ratio significantly higher than that in group I and group III (P<0.05). The content of TP and BUN in serum in group II and group III were significantly higher than those in group I (P<0.05). The IgG content in group III was significantly higher than that in group I and group II (P<0.05). The content of IGF-1 and GH in group II were extremely higher than those in group I (P<0.01). The survival rate of calves in group II was the highest. The experiment indicates that the 13.51% crude protein level in diet can improve the growth performance, some serum biochemical indexes and reproductive performance of postpartum Angus cows under the conditions of the experiment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the 1960s, sperm cryopreservation was developed as a method to preserve fertility. Currently, techniques for the cryopreservation of human spermatozoa have been widely used in assisted reproduction. However, although sperm cryobiology has made notable achievements, the optimal method for the recovery of viable spermatozoa after cryopreservation remains elusive. Postthawing sperm quality can be affected by cryoprotectants, ice formation, storage conditions, and osmotic stress during the freezing process. This review discusses recent advances in different cryopreservation techniques, cryoprotectants, and freezing and thawing methods during cryopreservation and new indications for the use of cryopreserved spermatozoa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acrylamide is a neurotoxic and genotoxic compound. It is abundant in drinking water because of the usage of polyacrylamide. Its high polarity and small molecular weight characteristics make it difficult to be extracted and analysed. In this study, a novel method was optimized for the determination of trace acrylamide in drinking water. The optimized method, uses bromine derivatization, can avoid false analysis of co-extractives and precursors effectively by transferring acrylamide to 2-bromopropenamide. The 2-bromopropenamide was extracted from water samples using DI-SPME and further analysed by GC-MS. This optimized method uses CAR/PDMS coating SPME fibre to extract at 55°C for 45 min after the addition of 12 g Na2SO4, and then desorbs the extractions in GC injector at 260°C for 3 min. The detection limit was 0.05 μg/L with linearity ranging from 0.5 to 500 μg/L. The repeatability and reproducibility relative standard deviation were 7.30% and 8.50%, respectively. The spiking recovery of tap water samples ranged from 100% to 106%. These results confirmed that this novel method was more precise and accurate than the previously reported SPME methods that used to analyse trace acrylamide in drinking water. The concentrations of acrylamide in the collected samples from clarification and filtration units were 0.80 and 0.71 g/L respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Anxiety is a common disorder with high social burden worldwide. Dysfunction of serotonin‐1A receptor (5‐HT1A receptor) in the dentate gyrus (DG) of the hippocampus has been predominantly implicated in the anxiety behavior. However, the molecular mechanism underlying the deficiency of postsynaptic 5‐HT1A receptor in regulating anxiety behavior remains unclear. Methods: Using pharmacological and genetic methods, we investigated the role of detate nNOS in 5‐HT1A receptor decline and anxiety behavior induced by chronic mild stress (CMS) in mice. Results: Here we showed that local elevation of glucocorticoids in the DG accounted for chronic stress‐induced anxiety behavior. Neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) mediated chronic stress‐induced downregulation of 5‐HT1A receptor in the DG through peroxynitrite anion (ONOO•) pathway but not cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) pathway. By using pharmacological tool drugs and nNOS knockout mice, we found that nNOS in the DG played a key role in chronic stress‐induced anxiety behavior. Conclusions: These findings uncovered an important role of nNOS‐5‐HT1A receptor pathway in the DG of the hippocampus in chronic stress‐induced anxiety. Accordingly, we developed a "dentate nNOS‐5‐HT1A receptor closed‐loop" theory (stress‐glucocorticoids‐nNOS‐Nitric oxide‐ONOO•‐5‐HT1A receptor ‐nNOS) of stress‐related anxiety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]