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Abstract Kidney injury from high-altitude polycythemia (HAPC) is common, yet few studies have explored effective treatments. This research assessed the renal benefits of therapeutic erythrocytapheresis (TE) in HAPC patients, analyzing the efficacy of single versus multiple treatments. From 2017 to 2023, 631 patients undergoing TE were included. Findings showed notable improvements in hemoglobin levels (median: 228.00 vs. 169.00 g/L, p

Abstract Background Due to the specific nature of interstitial pregnancy (IP), there are significant risks to both the mother and the foetus in women with a heterotopic interstitial pregnancy (HIP). IP alone has been analysed as a site-specific ectopic pregnancy (EP) in previous studies; however, according to the latest European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology criteria, IP is classified as a tubal pregnancy. If IP can be classified as a tubal pregnancy, then there is no difference in the effects of these two methods on intrauterine pregnancies (IUPs). Under the premise of timely surgery, disposing of IPs and tubal pregnancy (excluding IPs) should also have no differential effect on IUPs. Methods Patients with heterotopic fallopian tubal pregnancy (HP-tube) and HIP seen at our hospital from January 2005 to December 2020 were included. All included patients were diagnosed by transvaginal sonography (TVS), and EPs were confirmed by surgery and pathological analysis. The IUP outcomes after surgical treatment of the EPs were compared between the HP-tube group (n = 464) and the HIP group (n = 206). The outcomes of IUPs were evaluated in patients with HIP who underwent either laparoscopy (169 cases) or laparotomy (36 cases). Results There was no significant difference in postoperative miscarriage (6.90% vs. 6.80%, odds ratio (OR) = 1.859, 95% confidence interval (CI) (0.807–4.279), p = 0.145); early spontaneous miscarriage (19.61% vs. 18.93%, OR = 0.788, 95% CI (0.495–1.255), p = 0.316); or late miscarriage (0.43% vs. 0.49%, OR = 0.823, 95% CI (0.070–9.661), p = 0.877) between the HP-tube group and the HIP group. There was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of preterm birth (7.33% vs. 6.80%, OR = 1.044, 95% CI (0.509–2.139), p = 0.907), live birth rate (71.60% vs. 73.30%, OR = 1.010, 95% CI (0.670–1.530), p = 0.980), or perinatal mortality rate (2.00% vs. 0.65%, OR = 0.580, 95% CI (0.030–3.590), p = 0.620). Compared to laparotomy for HIPs, laparoscopic treatment was associated with similar rates of postoperative miscarriage (5.33% vs. 13.90%, p = 0.076), live birth rate (72.80% vs. 75.00%, p = 0.948), caesarean Sect. (83.90% vs. 77.80%, p = 0.414). Conclusions After early diagnosis and treatment of EPs, patients in the HP-tube and HIP groups achieved comparable outcomes. Laparotomy and laparoscopy for treating HIPs yielded similar pregnancy outcomes.

Introduction: Previous studies have shown that rituximab (RTX) and cyclic oral corticosteroid-cyclophosphamide (CTX) regimens have similar effects on Primary Membranous Nephropathy. However, no studies have compared RTX with an intravenous CTX regimen, which is more commonly used in China and requires fewer cumulative CTX doses. Methods: We prospectively assigned 141 PMN patients with baseline proteinuria ≥ 4 g/24 h, serum albumin < 30 g/L, and eGFR ≥ 30 mL/min × 1.73 m2 despite at least 3 months of treatment with ACEI and/or ARB to the RTX group (375 mg/m2 per injection per week × 4 injections) or to the CTX group (prednisone 0.8 mg/kg/d and intravenous CTX 500 mg/m2 per month until the total dose reached 6–8 g). The primary endpoint was defined as a combination of partial remission or complete remission at 12 months. Results: By the end of 12 months, 43 of 70 patients (61.43%) in the RTX group and 54 of 71 patients (76.06%) in the CTX group reached the primary endpoint(P=0.06). Significantly fewer patients in the RTX group achieved complete remission than the CTX group (14.29% vs. 33.80%, P=0.01). The adverse events rate was similar between the RTX group and the CTX group (28.57% vs. 40.85%, P=0.13). In subgroup analysis, we found that fewer patients from the RTX group achieved the primary endpoint than the CTX group (48.65% vs. 74.29%, P=0.03) among patients with massive proteinuria (urine protein ≥ 8 g/24 h). During the observational phase, 61 patients in the RTX group and 58 in the CTX group completed 24 months of follow-up, exhibiting similar remission rates (RTX vs. CTX: 75.41% vs. 68.97%, P=0.54). Conclusions: Our results show that the intravenous CTX regimen has similar safety and efficacy with higher rates of early complete remission than RTX in the treatment of PMN patients.

Abstract Background Adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is associated with the development of liver hepatocellular carcinoma (LIHC). AMPKα2, an α2 subunit of AMPK, is encoded by PRKAA2, and functions as the catalytic core of AMPK. However, the role of AMPKα2 in the LIHC tumor immune environment is unclear. Methods RNA-seq data were obtained from the Cancer Genome Atlas and Genotype-Tissue Expression databases. Using the single-cell RNA-sequencing dataset for LIHC obtained from the China National Genebank Database, the communication between malignant cells and T cells in response to different PRKAA2 expression patterns was evaluated. In addition, the association between PRKAA2 expression and T-cell evolution during tumor progression was explored using Pseudotime analysis, and the role of PRKAA2 in metabolic reprogramming was explored using the R “scMetabolis” package. Functional experiments were performed in LIHC HepG2 cells. Results AMPK subunits were expressed in tissue-specific and substrate-specific patterns. PRKAA2 was highly expressed in LIHC tissues and was associated with poor patient prognosis. Tumors with high PRKAA2 expression displayed an immune cold phenotype. High PRKAA2 expression significantly promoted LIHC immune escape. This result is supported by the following evidence: 1) the inhibition of major histocompatibility complex class I (MHC-I) expression through the regulation of interferon-gamma activity in malignant cells; 2) the promotion of CD8+ T-cell exhaustion and the formation of CD4+ Treg cells in T cells; 3) altered interactions between malignant cells and T cells in the tumor immune environment; and 4) induction of metabolic reprogramming in malignant cells. Conclusions Our study indicate that PRKAA2 may contribute to LIHC progression by promoting metabolic reprogramming and tumor immune escape through theoretical analysis, which offers a theoretical foundation for developing PRKAA2-based strategies for personalized LIHC treatment.

Abstract Dysregulation of R-loop homeostasis is closely related to various human diseases, including cancer. However, the causality of aberrant R-loops in tumor progression remains unclear. In this study, using single-cell RNA-sequencing datasets from lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD), we constructed an R-loop scoring model to characterize the R-loop state according to the identified R-loop regulators related to EGFR mutations, tissue origins, and TNM stage. We then evaluated the relationships of the R-loop score with the tumor microenvironment (TME) and treatment response. Furthermore, the potential roles of FANCI-mediated R-loops in LUAD were explored using a series of in vitro experiments. Results showed that malignant cells with low R-loop scores displayed glycolysis and epithelial–mesenchymal transition pathway activation and immune escape promotion, thereby hampering the antitumor therapeutic effects. Cell communication analysis suggested that low R-loop scores contributed to T cell exhaustion. We subsequently validated the prognostic value of R-loop scores by using bulk transcriptome datasets across 33 tumor types. The R-loop scoring model well predicted patients’ therapeutic response to targeted therapy, chemotherapy, or immunotherapy in 32 independent cohorts. Remarkably, changes in R-loop distribution mediated by FANCI deficiency blocked the activity of Ras signaling pathway, suppressing tumor-cell proliferation and dissemination. In conclusion, this study reveals the underlying molecular mechanism of metabolic reprogramming and T cell exhaustion under R-loop score patterns, and the changes in R-loops mediated by R-loop regulators resulting in tumor progression. Therefore, incorporating anticancer methods based on R-loop or R-loop regulators into the treatment schemes of precision medicine may be beneficial.

Traditional object detectors based on deep learning rely on plenty of labeled samples, which are expensive to obtain. Few-shot object detection (FSOD) attempts to solve this problem, learning detection objects from a few labeled samples, but the performance is often unsatisfactory due to the scarcity of samples. We believe that the main reasons that restrict the performance of few-shot detectors are: (1) the positive samples is scarce, and (2) the quality of positive samples is low. Therefore, we put forward a novel few-shot object detector based on YOLOv4, starting from both improving the quantity and quality of positive samples. First, we design a hybrid multivariate positive sample augmentation (HMPSA) module to amplify the quantity of positive samples and increase positive sample diversity while suppressing negative samples. Then, we design a selective non-local fusion attention (SNFA) module to help the detector better learn the target features and improve the feature quality of positive samples. Finally, we optimize the loss function to make it more suitable for the task of FSOD. Experimental results on PASCAL VOC and MS COCO demonstrate that our designed few-shot object detector has competitive performance with other state-of-the-art detectors.

Abstract A retrospective study was conducted to investigate a convenient simple scoring system for the prediction of early pregnancy loss (EPL) based on simple demographics. A total of 13,977 women undergoing transvaginal ultrasound scans on Days 27–29 after in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer (IVF-ET) from June 2016 and December 2017 were included. The first trimester pregnancy outcome was recorded at 12 weeks of gestation. The areas under the curve of this scoring system were 0.884 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.870–0.899) and 0.890 (95% CI 0.878–0.903) in the training set and test set, respectively. The score totals ranged from -8 to 14 points. A score of 5 points, which offered the highest predictive accuracy (94.01%) and corresponded to a 30% miscarriage risk, was chosen as the cutoff value, with a sensitivity of 62.84%, specificity of 98.79%, positive predictive value (PPV) of 88.87% and negative predictive value (NPV) of 94.54% for the prediction of EPL in the training set. In the test set, a score of 5 points had a sensitivity of 64.69%, specificity of 98.78%, PPV of 89.87% and NPV of 93.62%, and 93.91% of the cases were correctly predicted. Therefore, the simple scoring system using conventionally collected data can be conveniently used to predict EPL after ET. However, considering the limitations, its predictive value needs to be further verified in future clinical practice.

IntroductionUltrasound has become a routine method for endometrial receptivity (ER) evaluation. However, there is controversy over the independent evaluation values of various ultrasound indicators. Some researchers have designed multi-indicator prediction systems, but their prediction values are uneven. To further our understanding of ER, we conducted this prospective cohort study to estimate ER noninvasively and effectively.MethodsWomen who underwent the first frozen–thawed embryo transfer (FET) cycle from April 2019 to July 2021 were included in the study. On the day of transfer, transvaginal three-dimensional ultrasound examination was performed to evaluate ER, including endometrial thickness, morphology, volume, movement, blood flow and flow index. The clinical pregnancy rate was the primary outcome. Based on whether clinical pregnancy was achieved, enrolled patients were divided into pregnant and nonpregnant groups.ResultsThis study analyzed 197 FET patients (139 pregnancies in total, 70.5%). The protective factors for clinical pregnancy included primary infertility [adjusted odds ratio (aOR), 1.98; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.01–3.882; p = 0.047] and more frequent endometrial peristalsis (aOR, 1.33; 95% CI, 1.028–1.722; p = 0.03). Scores of 1–2 were assigned according to the relationship between different ultrasound indicators and the clinical pregnancy rate (CPR). The ER score of the patient was the sum of the scores of the 6 items. The ER score of the pregnant group was significantly higher than that of the nonpregnant group (7.40 ± 1.73 vs. 6.33 ± 1.99, p = 0.001). The CPR increased with an increasing ER score. The CPR in the ER 6 group (45.5% vs. 75.6%, p = 0.001).ConclusionA noninvasive ultrasound scoring system for ER was proposed. This system may provide a non-invasive guidance perspective, in conjunction with invasive assessments currently used in clinical practice, to achieve more effective embryo transfer.

Since it was first reported in 2013, the NADC30-like PRRSV has been epidemic in China. Hubei Province is known as China’s key hog-exporting region. To understand the prevalence and genetic variation of PRRSV, herein, we detected and analyzed 317 lung tissue samples from pigs with respiratory disease in Hubei Province, and demonstrated that the NADC30-like strain was the second-most predominant strain during 2017–2018, following the highly pathogenic PRRSV (HP-PRRSV). Additionally, we isolated a new NADC30-like PRRSV strain, named CHN-HB-2018, which could be stably passaged in Marc-145 cells. Genetic characterization analysis showed that compared with the NADC30 strain, the CHN-HB-2018 strain had several amino acid variations in glycoprotein (GP) 3, GP5, and nonstructural protein 2 (NSP2). Moreover, the CHN-HB-2018 strain showed a unique 5-amino acid (aa) deletion in NSP2, which has not previously been reported. Gene recombination analysis identified the CHN-HB-2018 strain as a potentially recombinant PRRSV of the NADC30-like strain and HP-PRRSV. Animal experiments indicated that the CHN-HB-2018 strain has a mild pathogenicity, with no mortality and only mild fever observed in piglets. This study contributes to defining the evolutionary characteristics of PRRSV and its molecular epidemiology in Hubei Province, and provides a potential candidate strain for PRRSV vaccine development.

BackgroundCarbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (CRKP) is epidemically transmitted globally, but few studies focused on the prevalence in district-level hospitals. In this study, we investigated CRKP strains collected from nine district hospitals from September 2019 to September 2020, aiming to determine the resistance mechanisms, virulence profiles, and molecular epidemiological characteristics of CRKP in district hospitals in Southwest China.MethodsA total of 51 CRKP strains were collected from 9 district-level hospitals. Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight mass spectrometer was used for strain identification review, and the micro-broth dilution method was used for antibiotic sensitivity detection. Molecular epidemiological investigation of strains was performed by multilocus sequence typing (MLST) and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) methods. PCR and efflux pump inhibition tests were used to detect CRKP resistance mechanisms. PCR and serum killing tests were used to detect capsular serotype, virulence-related genes, and virulence validation.ResultsThe CRKP strains in district hospitals presented high levels of MIC50 and MIC90 in carbapenem antibiotics especially ertapenem and meropenem. A total of 90.2% (46/51) CRKP strains were detected as carbapenemase producers, and the proportion of strains co-expressing carbapenemases was 11.8% (6/51). All CRKP strains were grouped into eight MLST types, and ST11 was the most prevalent genotype. A total of 11.8% (6/51) CRKP isolates were positive for the string test, and three strains of hypervirulent and carbapenem-resistant K. pneumoniae (HV-CRKP) were positive in serum killing test. The molecular typing of all the CRKP isolates was grouped into 29 different PFGE patterns, and 40 ST11 isolates belonged to 20 different PFGE clusters.ConclusionCRKP strains showed high-level antibiotic resistance and virulence phenotype in district hospitals in Southwest China, which suggested that we should immediately pay attention to the rapid dissemination of the CRKP in regional hospitals. Our study will provide new insights into the epidemiology of CRKP in regional hospitals, which will help regional hospitals develop nosocomial infection prevention and control policies tailored to local conditions.

Pedestrian detection is the use of computer vision technology to identify and accurately locate pedestrians in image or video data, which has a strong use value. This technology can be used as the research basis for visual tasks such as person re-identification, human pose estimation and behavior analysis, and can also be applied to industrial fields such as intelligent security, automatic driving and human-computer interaction. However, the problems of low image resolution, blurred appearance, large scale difference of pedestrians, occluded pedestrians and complex background still bring great challenges to the detection performance. To solve these problems, this paper proposes a high-performance pedestrian detection network dedicated to difficult conditions: DCPDN. Firstly, we design an optimized super-resolution reconstruction network to preprocess the image to alleviate the performance damage caused by low-resolution and blurred images. Then, to solve the multi-scale problem in pedestrian detection, we propose a weighted cross-scale feature fusion module, which adopts a hierarchical detection strategy to deal with pedestrian objects of different scales while fully fusing feature maps of different levels. Finally, to solve the occlusion problem that has plagued pedestrian detection for a long time, we design an occlusion processing module based on graph convolutional network, which can effectively use the correlation information between different parts of the human body and promote the feature expression of occluded objects. On the CityPersons dataset, the ${MR}^{-2}$ of the detector is reduced by 6.9%, 19.2%, 8.9%, 1.9%, 3.6% and 14.2%, respectively, corresponding to different partition subsets of R, HO, A, L, M and S. On the Caltech dataset, corresponding to different divisions of R, HO, A, L and S, the ${MR}^{-2}$ of the detector is reduced by 9.9%, 15.8%, 16.3%, 6.8% and 25.8%, respectively. The experimental results show that the performance improvement of the detector is significant on both severe occlusion (HO) and small scale (S) subsets. After testing, the algorithm has strong robustness to occluded pedestrians, and can be easily embedded in other detection frameworks. Our DCPDN is able to compete with the state of the art methods and is especially effective when dealing with the pedestrian detection problem under difficult conditions.

ObjectiveTo obtain quantitative and comprehensive results of the changes in comprehensive ER indicators from ovulation day to transplantation day by ultrasonography during the natural frozen-thawed embryo transfer cycle (FET).MethodsThis is a prospective analysis of 230 infertile women undergoing their first FET cycles from April 2019 to July 2021. To evaluate ER, ultrasound scans were performed on the days of ovulation and embryo transfer for all included patients. All included patients were divided into a pregnancy group and a nonpregnancy group according to whether clinical pregnancy was achieved. The ER changes from ovulation day to transplantation day in the overall study population (n=230), pregnancy group (n=158) and nonpregnancy group (n=72) were analyzed.ResultsIn the overall population, type C was predominant on ovulation day, but type B was the most common on transplantation day (P

Military vehicle object detection technology in complex environments is the basis for the implementation of reconnaissance and tracking tasks for weapons and equipment, and is of great significance for information and intelligent combat. In response to the poor performance of traditional detection algorithms in military vehicle detection, we propose a military vehicle detection method based on hierarchical feature representation and reinforcement learning refinement localization, referred to as MVODM. First, for the military vehicle detection task, we construct a reliable dataset MVD. Second, we design two strategies, hierarchical feature representation and reinforcement learning-based refinement localization, to improve the detector. The hierarchical feature representation strategy can help the detector select the feature representation layer suitable for the object scale, and the reinforcement learning-based refinement localization strategy can improve the accuracy of the object localization boxes. The combination of these two strategies can effectively improve the performance of the detector. Finally, the experimental results on the homemade dataset show that our proposed MVODM has excellent detection performance and can better accomplish the detection task of military vehicles.

Accuracy is the most critical factor that affects the effect of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) airdrop. The method to improve the accuracy of UAV airdrop based on traditional modeling has some limitations such as complex modeling, multiple model parameters and difficulty in considering all kinds of factors comprehensively when facing complex realistic environment. In order to solve the problem of UAV precision airdrop more conveniently, this paper introduces the deep reinforcement learning method and proposes an Adaptive Priority Experience Replay Deep Double Q-Network (APER-DDQN) algorithm based on Deep Double Q-Network (DDQN). This method introduces the priority experience replay mechanism based on DDQN, and adopts adaptive discount rate and learning rate to improve the decision-making performance and stability of the algorithm. Furthermore, this paper designs and builds a simulation experimental platform for algorithm training and testing. The experimental results show that our APER-DDQN has good performance and can more effectively solve the problem of UAV accurate airdrop while avoiding the complex modeling process. Firstly, in the training stage, compared with DDQN and Deep Q Network (DQN), APER-DDQN has faster convergence speed, higher reward and more stable performance. Then, in the test phase, compared with relying on human experience, our method shows higher average reward (average 3.01) and success rate (average 41%), and our method also has more advantages in performance compared with DDQN and DQN. Finally, extended experiments verify the generalization ability of APER-DDQN to different environments.

Currently, no clinically relevant non-invasive biomarkers are available for screening of multiple cancer types. In this study, we developed a serum diagnostic signature based on 5-methylcytosine (m5C)-related miRNAs (m5C-miRNAs) for multiple-cancer detection. Serum miRNA expression data and the corresponding clinical information of patients were collected from the Gene Expression Omnibus database. Serum samples were then randomly assigned to the training or validation cohort at a 1:1 ratio. Using the identified m5C-miRNAs, an m5C-miRNA signature for cancer detection was established using a support vector machine algorithm. The constructed m5C-miRNA signature displayed excellent accuracy, and its areas under the curve were 0.977, 0.934, and 0.965 in the training cohort, validation cohort, and combined training and validation cohort, respectively. Moreover, the diagnostic capability of the m5C-miRNA signature was unaffected by patient age or sex or the presence of noncancerous disease. The m5C-miRNA signature also displayed satisfactory performance for distinguishing tumor types. Importantly, in the detection of early-stage cancers, the diagnostic performance of the m5C-miRNA signature was obviously superior to that of conventional tumor biomarkers. In summary, this work revealed the value of serum m5C-miRNAs in cancer detection and provided a new strategy for developing non-invasive and cost effective tools for large-scale cancer screening.

The composition of urban forests (UFs) exhibits homogenization among cities compared with rural forests (RFs) among different climate zones. However, the degree of homogenization in subtropical UFs and its difference from RFs remain unclear. In this study, we examined tree species composition and diversity in UFs in 19 cities in China’s subtropical zone with precipitation ranging from 458 to 1852 mm and compared them with RFs. We found that (1) the species composition similarity, Jaccard index (J~0.27), between UFs was significantly higher than that (J~0.15) of RFs, indicating biotic homogenization; (2) tree species richness, Simpson, Shannon–Wiener, and Pielou index of UFs converged along the precipitation gradient; (3) the similarity of tree composition between UFs increased as precipitation of the cities were more similar; (4) the UFs in the 19 cities contained a total of 932 tree species, among which the nonnative species were more prevalent than the native species, and the top 37 species with high frequency appeared in 80% of the cities; and (5) Salix babylonica, Ginkgo biloba, Platycladus orientalis, Juniperus chinensis, and other tree species were suitable for planting in UFs in subtropical zones, regardless of humidity. The findings contribute to the understanding of urban forest development and provide insights for implementing greening policies aimed at providing additional ecosystem services.

Messenger RNA vaccines are considered to be a promising strategy in cancer immunotherapy, while their application on mesothelioma is still largely uncharacterized. This study aimed to identify potential antigens in mesothelioma for anti-mesothelioma mRNA vaccine development, and further determine the immune subtypes of mesothelioma for selection of suitable candidates from an extremely heterogeneous population. Gene expression data and corresponding clinicopathological information were obtained from the TCGA and gene expression omnibus, respectively. Then, the genetic alterations were compared and visualized using cBioPortal, and differentially expressed genes and their prognostic signatures were identified by GEPIA. The relationship between tumor-infiltrating immune cells and the expression of tumor antigens was systematically evaluated by TIMER online. Finally, the immune subtypes and immune landscape of mesothelioma were separately analyzed using consensus cluster and graph learning-based dimensional reduction. A total of five potential tumor antigens correlated with prognosis and infiltration of antigen-presenting cells, including AUNIP, FANCI, LASP1, PSMD8, and XPO5 were identified. Based on the expression of immune-related genes, patients with mesothelioma were divided into two immune subtypes (IS1 and IS2). Each subtype exhibited differential molecular, cellular and clinical properties. Patients with the IS1 subtype were characterized by an immune “cold” phenotype, displaying superior survival outcomes, whereas those with the IS2 subtype were characterized by an immune “hot” and immunosuppressive phenotype. Furthermore, immune checkpoints and immunogenic cell death modulators were differentially expressed between the IS1 and IS2 immune subtype tumors. The immunogenomic landscape of mesothelioma revealed a complex tumor immune microenvironment between individual patients. AUNIP, FANCI, LASP1, PSMD8, and XPO5 are putative antigens for the development of anti-mesothelioma mRNA vaccine and patients with the IS1 subtype may be considered for vaccination.

Abstract Alternative splicing (AS) events associated with oncogenic processes present anomalous perturbations in many cancers, including ovarian carcinoma. There are no reliable features to predict survival outcomes for ovarian cancer patients. In this study, comprehensive profiling of AS events was conducted by integrating AS data and clinical information of ovarian serous cystadenocarcinoma (OV). Survival-related AS events were identified by Univariate Cox regression analysis. Then, least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) and multivariate Cox regression analysis were used to construct the prognostic signatures within each AS type. Furthermore, we established a splicing-related network to reveal the potential regulatory mechanisms between splicing factors and candidate AS events. A total of 730 AS events were identified as survival-associated splicing events, and the final prognostic signature based on all seven types of AS events could serve as an independent prognostic indicator and had powerful efficiency in distinguishing patient outcomes. In addition, survival-related AS events might be involved in tumor-related pathways including base excision repair and pyrimidine metabolism pathways, and some splicing factors might be correlated with prognosis-related AS events, including SPEN, SF3B5, RNPC3, LUC7L3, SRSF11 and PRPF38B. Our study constructs an independent prognostic signature for predicting ovarian cancer patients’ survival outcome and contributes to elucidating the underlying mechanism of AS in tumor development.

Glaesserella parasuis (Gps), Gram-negative bacteria, are a universal respiratory-disease-causing pathogen in swine that colonize the upper respiratory tract. Highly Pathogenic Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus (HP-PRRSV2HP-PRRSV2) and Gps coinfections are epidemics in China, but little is known about the influence of concurrent coinfection on disease severity and inflammatory responses. Herein, we studied the effects of secondary HP-PRRS infection on clinical symptoms, pathological changes, pathogen load, and inflammatory response of Gps coinfection in the upper respiratory tract of piglets. All coinfected piglets (HP-PRRSV2 + Gps) displayed fever and severe lesions in the lungs, while fever was present in only a few animals with a single infection (HP-PRRSV2 or Gps). Additionally, HP-PRRSV2 and Gps loading in nasal swabs and blood and lung tissue samples was significantly increased in the coinfected group. Necropsy data showed that coinfected piglets suffered from severe lung damage and had significantly higher antibody titers of HP-PRRSV2 or Gps than single-infected piglets. Moreover, the serum and lung concentrations of inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, and IL-8) were also significantly higher in coinfected piglets than in those infected with HP-PRRSV2 or Gps alone. In conclusion, our results show that HP-PRRSV2 promotes the shedding and replication of Gps, and their coinfection in the upper respiratory tract aggravates the clinical symptoms and inflammatory responses, causing lung damage. Therefore, in the unavoidable situation of Gps infection in piglets, necessary measures must be made to prevent and control secondary infection with HP-PRRSV2, which can save huge economic losses to the pork industry.

Background This study sought to investigate incidence and risk factors for acute kidney injury (AKI) in hospitalized COVID-19. Methods In this retrospective study, we enrolled 823 COVID-19 patients with at least two evaluations of renal function during hospitalization from four hospitals in Wuhan, China between February 2020 and April 2020. Clinical and laboratory parameters at the time of admission and follow-up data were recorded. Systemic renal tubular dysfunction was evaluated via 24-h urine collections in a subgroup of 55 patients. Results In total, 823 patients were enrolled (50.5% male) with a mean age of 60.9 ± 14.9 years. AKI occurred in 38 (40.9%) ICU cases but only 6 (0.8%) non-ICU cases. Using forward stepwise Cox regression analysis, we found eight independent risk factors for AKI including decreased platelet level, lower albumin level, lower phosphorus level, higher level of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), procalcitonin, C-reactive protein (CRP), urea, and prothrombin time (PT) on admission. For every 0.1 mmol/L decreases in serum phosphorus level, patients had a 1.34-fold (95% CI 1.14–1.58) increased risk of AKI. Patients with hypophosphatemia were likely to be older and with lower lymphocyte count, lower serum albumin level, lower uric acid, higher LDH, and higher CRP. Furthermore, serum phosphorus level was positively correlated with phosphate tubular maximum per volume of filtrate (TmP/GFR) (Pearson r = 0.66, p

Introduction Acute kidney injury (AKI) in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients is associated with poor prognosis. Early prediction and intervention of AKI are vital for improving clinical outcome of COVID-19 patients. As lack of tools for early AKI detection in COVID-19 patients, this study aimed to validate the USCD-Mayo risk score in predicting hospital-acquired AKI in an extended multi-center COVID-19 cohort. Methods Five hundred seventy-two COVID-19 patients from Wuhan Tongji Hospital Guanggu Branch, Wuhan Leishenshan Hospital, and Wuhan No. Ninth Hospital was enrolled for this study. Patients who developed AKI or reached an outcome of recovery or death during the study period were included. Predictors were evaluated according to data extracted from medical records. Results Of all patients, a total of 44 (8%) developed AKI. The UCSD-Mayo risk score achieved excellent discrimination in predicting AKI with the C-statistic of 0.88 (95%CI: 0.84–0.91). Next, we determined the UCSD-Mayo risk score had good overall performance (Nagelkerke R2 = 0.32) and calibration in our cohort. Further analysis showed that the UCSD-Mayo risk score performed well in subgroups defined by gender, age, and several chronic comorbidities. However, the discrimination of the UCSD-Mayo risk score in ICU patients and patients with mechanical ventilation was not good which might be resulted from different risk factors of these patients. Conclusions We validated the performance of UCSD-Mayo risk score in predicting hospital-acquired AKI in COVID-19 patients was excellent except for patients from ICU or patients with mechanical ventilation.

Abstract Background Accurately determining the normal range of early pregnancy markers can help to predict adverse pregnancy outcomes. The variance in ovulation days leads to uncertain accuracy of reference intervals for natural pregnancies. While the gestational age (GA) is accurate estimation during in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer (IVF-ET). Thus, the objective of this research is to construct reference intervals for gestational sac diameter (GSD), yolk sac diameter (YSD), embryonic length (or crown–rump length, CRL) and embryonic heart rate (HR) at 6–10 gestational weeks (GW) after IVF-ET. Methods From January 2010 to December 2016, 30,416 eligible singleton pregnancies were retrospectively recruited. All included participants had full records of early ultrasound measurements and phenotypically normal live neonates after 37 GW, with birth weights > the 5th percentile for gestational age. The curve-fitting method was used to screen the optimal models to predict GSD, CRL, YSD and HR based on gestational days (GD) and GW. Additionally, the percentile method was used to calculate the 5th, 50th, and 95th percentiles. Results There were significant associations among GSD, CRL, YSD, HR and GD and GW, the models were GSD = − 29.180 + 1.070 GD (coefficient of determination [R2] = 0.796), CRL = − 11.960 - 0.147 GD + 0.011 GD2 (R2 = 0.976), YSD = − 2.304 + 0.184 GD - 0.011 GD2 (R2 = 0.500), HR = − 350.410 + 15.398 GD - 0.112 GD2 (R2 = 0.911); and GSD = − 29.180 + 7.492 GW (R2 = 0.796), CRL = − 11.960 - 1.028 GW + 0.535 GW2 (R2 = 0.976), YSD = − 2.304 + 1.288 GW - 0.054 GW2 (R2 = 0.500), HR = − 350.410 + 107.788 GW - 5.488 GW2 (R2 = 0.911), (p

Abstract Background Trichorionic triplet pregnancy reduction to twin pregnancy is associated with a lower risk of preterm delivery but not with a lower risk of miscarriage. However, data on dichorionic triamniotic (DCTA) triplet pregnancy outcomes are lacking. This study aimed to compare the pregnancy outcomes of DCTA triplets conceived via in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer (IVF-ET) managed expectantly or reduced to a monochorionic (MC) singleton or monochorionic diamniotic (MCDA) twins at 11–13+ 6 gestational weeks. Methods Two hundred ninety-eight patients with DCTA triplets conceived via IVF-ET between 2012 and 2016 were retrospectively analysed. DCTA triplets with three live foetuses were reduced to a MC singleton (group A) or MCDA twins (group B) or underwent expectant management (group C). Each multifoetal pregnancy reduction (MFPR) was performed at 11–13+ 6 gestational weeks. Pregnancy outcomes in the 3 groups were compared. Results Eighty-four DCTA pregnancies were reduced to MC singleton pregnancies, 149 were reduced to MCDA pregnancies, and 65 were managed expectantly. There were no significant differences among groups A, B, and C in miscarriage rate (8.3 vs. 7.4 vs. 10.8%, respectively) and live birth rate (90.5 vs. 85.2 vs. 83.1%, respectively) (P > 0.05). Group A had significantly lower rates of preterm birth (8.3 vs. 84.6%; odds ratio (OR) 0.017, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.006–0.046) and low birth weight (LBW; 9.2 vs. 93.2%; OR 0.007, 95% CI 0.003–0.020) than group C (P

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the leading cause of severe respiratory infection in young children. Nearly all individuals become infected in their early childhood, and reinfections with RSV are common throughout life. Primary infection with RSV is usually involved in the symptom of bronchiolitis and pneumonia in the lower respiratory tract, which accounts for over 3 million hospitalizations and approximately 66,000 deaths annually worldwide. Despite the widespread prevalence and high morbidity and lethality rates of diseases caused by RSV infection, there is currently no licensed RSV vaccine. During RSV infection, innate immunity plays the first line of defense to suppress RSV infection and replication. However, RSV has evolved multiple mechanisms to evade the host’s innate immune responses to gain a window of opportunity for efficient viral replication. This review discusses the comprehensive interaction between RSV infection and the host antiviral innate immunity and updates recent findings on how RSV modulates the host innate immune response for survival, which may provide novel insights to find potent drug targets and vaccines against RSV.

BackgroundChronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a universal respiratory disease resulting from the complex interactions between genes and environmental conditions. The process of COPD is deteriorated by repeated episodes of exacerbations, which are the primary reason for COPD-related morbidity and mortality. Bacterial pathogens are commonly identified in patients’ respiratory tracts both in the stable state and during acute exacerbations, with significant changes in the prevalence of airway bacteria occurring during acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD). Therefore, the changes in microbial composition and host inflammatory responses will be necessary to investigate the mechanistic link between the airway microbiome and chronic pulmonary inflammation in COPD patients.MethodsWe performed metatranscriptomic and metagenomic sequencing on sputum samples for twelve AECOPD patients before treatment and for four of them stable COPD (stabilization of AECOPD patients after treatment). Sequencing reads were classified by Kraken2, and the host gene expression was analyzed by Hisat2 and HTseq. The correlation between genes was obtained by the Spearman correlation coefficient. Mann–Whitney U-test was applied to identify microbes that exhibit significantly different distribution in two groups.ResultsAt the phyla level, the top 5 dominant phyla were Firmicutes, Actinobacteria, Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, and Fusobacteria. The proportion of dominant gates in metagenomic data was similar in metatranscriptomic data. There were significant differences in the abundance of specific microorganisms at the class level between the two methods. No significant difference between AECOPD and stable COPD was found. However, the different expression levels of 5 host genes were significantly increased in stable COPD and were involved in immune response and inflammatory pathways, which were associated with macrophages.ConclusionOur study may provide a clue to investigate the mechanism of COPD and potential biomarkers in clinical diagnosis and treatment.

The “writers” of four types of adenosine (A)-related RNA modifications (N6-methyladenosine, N1-methyladenosine, alternative polyadenylation, as well as A-to-inosine RNA editing) are closely related to the tumorigenesis and progression of many cancer types, including skin cutaneous melanoma (SKCM). However, the potential roles of the crosstalk between these RNA modification “writers” in the tumor microenvironment (TME) remain unclear. The RNA modification patterns were identified using an unsupervised clustering method. Subsequently, based on differentially expressed genes responsible for the aforementioned RNA modification patterns, an RNA modification “writer” scoring model (W_Score) was constructed to quantify the RNA modification-associated subtypes in individual patients. Moreover, a correlation analysis for W_Score and the TME characteristics, clinical features, molecular subtypes, drug sensitivities, immune responses, and prognosis was performed. We identified three RNA modification patterns, corresponding to distinct tumor immune microenvironment characteristics and survival outcomes. Based on the W_Score score, which was extracted from the RNA modification-related signature genes, patients with SKCM were divided into high- and low-W_Score groups. The low-W_Score group was characterized by better survival outcomes and strengthened immunocyte infiltration. Further analysis showed that the low-W_Score group was positively associated with higher tumor mutation burden and PD-L1 expression. Of note, two immunotherapy cohorts demonstrated that patients with low W_Score exhibited long-term clinical benefits and an enhanced immune response. This study is the first to systematically analyze four types of A-related RNA modifications in SKCM, revealing that these “writers” essentially contribute to TME complexity and diversity. We quantitatively evaluated the RNA modification patterns in individual tumors, which could aid in developing personalized immunotherapy strategies for patients.

The administration of mRNA-based tumour vaccines is considered a promising strategy in tumour immunotherapy, although its application against kidney renal clear cell carcinoma (KIRC) is still at its infancy stage. The purpose of this study was to identify potential antigens and to further select suitable patients for vaccination. Gene expression data and clinical information were retrieved from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) databases. GEPIA2 was used to evaluate the prognostic value of selected antigens. The relationship of antigens presenting cell infiltration with antigen expression was evaluated by TIMER, and immune subtypes were determined using unsupervised cluster analysis. Tumour antigens LRP2 and DOCK8, which are associated with prognosis and tumour-infiltrating antigen-presenting cells, were identified in KIRC. A total of six immune subtypes were identified, and patients with immune subtype 1–4 (IS1–4) tumours had an immune ‘cold’ phenotype, a higher tumour mutation burden, and poor survival. Moreover, these immune subtypes showed significant differences in the expression of immune checkpoint and immunogenic cell death modulators. Finally, the immune landscape of KIRC revealed the immune-related cell components in individual patients. This study suggests that LRP2 and DOCK8 are potential KIRC antigens in the development of mRNA vaccines, and patients with immune subtypes IS1–4 are suitable for vaccination.

We aimed to validate three IgAN risk models proposed by an international collaborative study and another CKD risk model generated by an extended CKD cohort with our multicenter Chinese IgAN cohort. Biopsy-proven IgAN patients with an eGFR ≥15 ml/min/1.73 m2 at baseline and a minimum follow-up of 6 months were enrolled. The primary outcomes were a composite outcome (50% decline in eGFR or ESRD) and ESRD. The performance of those models was assessed using discrimination, calibration, and reclassification. A total of 2,300 eligible cases were enrolled. Of them, 288 (12.5%) patients reached composite outcome and 214 (9.3%) patients reached ESRD during a median follow-up period of 30 months. Using the composite outcome for analysis, the Clinical, Limited, Full, and CKD models had relatively good performance with similar C statistics (0.81, 0.81, 0.82, and 0.82, respectively). While using ESRD as the end point, the four prediction models had better performance (all C statistics > 0.9). Furthermore, subgroup analysis showed that the models containing clinical and pathological variables (Full model and Limited model) had better discriminatory abilities than the models including only clinical indicators (Clinical model and CKD model) in low-risk patients characterized by higher baseline eGFR (≥60 ml/min/1.73 m2). In conclusion, we validated recently reported IgAN and CKD risk models in our Chinese IgAN cohort. Compared to pure clinical models, adding pathological variables will increase performance in predicting ESRD in low-risk IgAN patients with baseline eGFR ≥60 ml/min/1.73 m2.

The static aeroelastic behaviours of a flat-plate forward-swept wing model in the vicinity of static divergence are investigated by numerical simulations and wind tunnel tests. A medium fidelity model based on the vortex lattice method (VLM) and nonlinear structural analysis is proposed to calculate the displacements of the wing structure with large deformation. Follower forces effect and geometric nonlinearity are considered to calculate the deformation of the wing by finite element method (FEM). In the wind tunnel tests, the divergence dynamic pressure is predicted by the Southwell method, and the static aeroelastic displacement is measured by a photogrammetric method. The results obtained by the medium fidelity model calculations show reasonable agreement with wind tunnel test results. A high fidelity model based on coupled computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and computational structural dynamics (CSD) predicts better results of the wing tip displacement when the freestream dynamic pressure is approaching the divergence dynamic pressure.

Summary: Due to the lack of effective early diagnostic measures and treatment methods, bladder cancer has become a malignant tumor that seriously threatens people's lives and health. Here, we reported that LINC00162, a super-enhancer long noncoding RNA, was highly expressed in bladder cancer cells and tissues. And LINC00162 was negatively correlated with neighboring PTTG1IP expression. Knocking down LINC00162 expression can inhibit the proliferative activity of bladder cancer cells and the growth of transplanted tumors in vivo, while knocking down the expression of PTTG1IP could restore the proliferative activity of bladder cancer cells. In addition, both LINC00162 and PTTG1IP were found to be able to bind to THRAP3, a transcription-related protein. And THRAP3 can regulate PTTG1IP expression. Finally, we demonstrated a mechanism that LINC00162 could regulate PTTG1IP expression through binding THRAP3. This study provided a potential target molecule for clinical treatment of bladder cancer.

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is the eighth leading cancer by incidence worldwide, with approximately 700,000 new cases in 2018 (accounting for 11% of all cancers). The occurrence and development of tumors are closely related to the immunological function of the body and sensitivity to treatment schemes as well as prognosis. It is urgent for clinicians to systematically study patients’ immune gene maps to help select a treatment plan and analyze the potential to cure HNSCC. Here, the transcriptomic data of HNSCC samples were downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), and 4,793 genes differentially expressed in normal and cancer tissues of HNSCC were identified, including 1,182 downregulated and 3,611 upregulated genes. From these genes, 400 differentially expressed immune-related genes (IRGs) were extracted, including 95 downregulated genes and 305 upregulated genes. The prognostic values of IRGs were evaluated by univariate Cox analysis, and 236 genes that were significantly related to the overall survival (OS) of patients were identified. The signaling pathways that play roles in the prognosis of IRGs were investigated by Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analyses, and the expression profiles of IRGs and OS in 499 HNSCC patients based on TCGA dataset were integrated. Potential molecular mechanisms and characteristics of these HNSCC-specific IRGs were further explored with the help of a new prognostic index based on IRGs developed by least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) Cox analysis. A total of 64 hub genes (IRGs associated with prognosis) were markedly associated with the clinical outcome of HNSCC patients. KEGG functional enrichment analysis revealed that these genes were actively involved in several pathways, e.g., cytokine–cytokine receptor interaction, T-cell receptor signaling, and natural killer cell-mediated cytotoxicity. IRG-based prognostic signatures performed moderately in prognostic predictions. Interestingly, the prognostic index based on IRGs reflected infiltration by several types of immune cells. These data screened several IRGs of clinical significance and revealed drivers of the immune repertoire, demonstrating the importance of a personalized IRG-based immune signature in the recognition, surveillance, and prognosis of HNSCC.

Abstract Background A working group on the Oxford classification of IgA nephropathy (IgAN) recently reported that crescents detected in kidney tissue predicted a worse renal outcome. However, this finding must be validated in independent cohorts before it can be widely applied to clinical practice. Methods Biopsy-proven IgAN patients were continuously recruited from two large renal centers in China from 1989 to 2014. All patients were followed for more than 1 year unless end stage renal disease (ESRD) occurred within 12 months. Crescents were defined as focal cellular or fibrocellular crescent formations. IgAN patients without detectable crescents were recruited to the C0 group. Patients with crescents in less than or more than 1/4 of all glomeruli were recruited to the C1 or C2 group, respectively. Primary outcome was defined as the time to ESRD, and the secondary outcome was defined as the time to an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) decline equal to or greater than 50% or to ESRD. Results In total, 1152 IgAN patients were recruited in this study. Among all patients, 53.7% were in the C0 group, 38.8% were in the C1 group, and 7.5% were in the C2 group. Compared to patients in the C0 group, patients in the C1 or C2 group were younger, had more urinary protein excretion and lower eGFR, and presented with more severe mesangial hypercellularity, endocapillary proliferation or tubular atrophy/interstitial fibrosis. After 45 months of follow-up, ESRD had occurred in 80 (12.9%), 46 (10.3%) and 18 (20.9%) of patients in the C0, C1 and C2 groups, respectively. By multivariable Cox regression analysis, inclusion in the C1 (HR = 1.07, 95% CI 0.71–1.63), C2 (HR = 0.84, 95% CI 0.41–1.73), or C1 or C2 group (HR = 1.02, 95% CI 0.68–1.52) was not associated with a higher rate of ESRD than inclusion in the C0 group after adjusting for age, gender, eGFR, mean arterial pressure (MAP), MEST scores, and immunosuppressive treatment. However, in patients with nephrotic-range proteinuria, patients in either the C1 or C2 group had a higher rate of the primary outcome, ESRD (HR = 2.54, 95% CI 1.14–5.66) after adjusting for age, gender, eGFR, MAP, MEST scores, and immunosuppressive treatment. Similar results were found when we evaluated the association between crescents and the secondary outcome. Conclusions IgAN patients with crescents had more severe clinical and pathological manifestations than those without crescents. However, we failed to replicate the association between crescents and renal function progression in Chinese IgAN patients followed for more than 1 year.

Abstract Hierarchical Sb2S3 hollow microspheres assembled by nanowires have been successfully synthesized by a simple and practical hydrothermal reaction. The possible formation process of this architecture was investigated by X-ray diffraction, focused-ion beam-scanning electron microscopy dual-beam system, and transmission electron microscopy. When used as the anode material for lithium-ion batteries, Sb2S3 hollow microspheres manifest excellent rate property and enhanced lithium-storage capability and can deliver a discharge capacity of 674 mAh g−1 at a current density of 200 mA g−1 after 50 cycles. Even at a high current density of 5000 mA g−1, a discharge capacity of 541 mAh g−1 is achieved. Sb2S3 hollow microspheres also display a prominent sodium-storage capacity and maintain a reversible discharge capacity of 384 mAh g−1 at a current density of 200 mA g−1 after 50 cycles. The remarkable lithium/sodium-storage property may be attributed to the synergetic effect of its nanometer size and three-dimensional hierarchical architecture, and the outstanding stability property is attributed to the sufficient interior void space, which can buffer the volume expansion.

The aim of this study was to investigate the association between lectin pathway-related genetic variations and progression in IgA nephropathy. Biopsy-proven IgAN patients with eGFR ≥15 ml/min/1.73 m2 at baseline and a minimum follow-up of 12-months were enrolled. A total of 1,007 patients and 121 healthy controls were enrolled from two Chinese renal centers. The discovery cohort consisted of 606 patients, and the validation cohort consisted of 401 patients. First, promoters, all exons and their boundary regions of MBL2 and FCN2 were sequenced in 50 patients, and then 37 variations were identified. Of these variations, 7 expression-associated variations were selected and genotyped in the whole discovery cohort. We found that rs1800450 in MBL2 and rs7851696 in FCN2 were associated with an increased risk for ESRD as well as serum MBL or L-ficolin levels. However, only rs1800450 was successively validated for its association with ESRD (HR, 15.91; 3.27–77.34; P = 0.001) in the fully adjusted model in the validation cohort. In addition, 2.7% of patients, and 2.5% of healthy controls carried rs1800450-AA. IgAN patients with rs1800450-AA lacked expression of MBL in both serum and renal tissue and had more severe tubulointerstitial damage. Furthermore, a combined effect of rs1800450-AA with a previously reported clinical risk score was observed in which patients with both a high clinical risk score (≥1%) and rs1800450-AA had a strikingly increased 10-years ESRD risk by 37.1-fold (7.17 to 192.13-fold). In summary, IgAN patients carrying MBL2 rs1800450-AA have a high risk for renal function deterioration, probably due to inactivation of the complement MBL pathway.

Studies on the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and renal progression in IgA Nephropathy (IgAN) were limited, especially for underweight patients with IgAN. To elucidate the clinical features and effect of underweight on renal function deterioration in this disease, we recruited IgAN patients with diagnostic age ≥18 years old and a baseline estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) ≥15 ml/min/1.73m2 from our center between 1985 and 2014. Patients secondary to systemic diseases or follow-up less than 6 months were excluded. All patients' clinical data at renal biopsy and during follow-up were recorded. Renal outcome was defined as end-stage kidney disease (ESRD). Baseline body mass index (BMI) was calculated by weight (kg) over squared height (m2). According to WHO Asian guideline, BMI was categorized as follows:

Numerous α-galactosidase A (α-gal A) gene (GLA) mutations have been identified in Fabry disease (FD), but studies on genotype-phenotype correlation are limited. This study evaluated the features of GLA gene mutations and genotype-phenotype relationship in Chinese FD patients. Gene sequencing results, demographic information, clinical history, and laboratory findings were collected from 73 Chinese FD patients. Totally 47 mutations were identified, including 23 novel mutations which might be pathogenic. For male patients, those with frameshift and nonsense mutations presented the classical FD, whereas those with missense mutations presented both of classical and atypical phenotypes. Interestingly, two male patients with missense mutation p.R356G from two unrelated families, and two with p.R301Q from one family presented different phenotypes. A statistically significant association was found between the levels of α-gal A enzyme activity and ocular changes in males, though no significant association was found between residual enzyme activity level and genotype or clinical phenotypes. For female patients, six out of seven with frameshift mutations and one out of nine with missense mutation presented the classical FD, and α-gal A activity in those patients was found to be significantly lower than that of patients with atypical phenotypes (13.73 vs. 46.32 nmol/ml/h/mg). Our findings suggest that the α-gal A activity might be associated with the clinical severity in female patients with FD. But no obvious associations between activity level of α-gal A and genotype or clinical phenotypes were found for male patients.

A series of Ru-RE/γ- Al2O3 (RE = Ce, Pr, La, Sm, Tb or Gd) and Ru/γ- Al2O3 catalysts were prepared by impregnation method. The influence of rare earths on the catalytic performance of Ru/γ- Al2O3 catalyst for the water gas shift reaction was studied. The catalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), temperature programmed reduction (TPR), temperature programmed desorption (TPD), and CO chemisorption. The results show that the addition of rare earths increases the catalytic activity of Ru based catalyst. Among these cerium is the most remarkably. The addition of cerium increases the active surface area, improves the dispersion of ruthenium, and weakens the interaction between ruthenium and the support. Cerium also affects the adsorption and reduction properties of Ru/γ-Al2O3 catalyst.

The coastal wetland ecosystems are important in the global carbon and nitrogen cycle and global climate change. For higher fragility of coastal wetlands induced by human activities, the roles of coastal wetland ecosystems in CH4 and N2O emissions are becoming more important. This study used a DNDC model to simulate current and future CH4 and N2O emissions of coastal wetlands in four sites along the latitude in China. The simulation results showed that different vegetation zones, including bare beach, Spartina beach, and Phragmites beach, produced different emissions of CH4 and N2O in the same latitude region. Correlation analysis indicated that vegetation types, water level, temperature, and soil organic carbon content are the main factors affecting emissions of CH4 and N2O in coastal wetlands.

In the three-dimensional tetrachlorophthalate-bridged title complex [Er(C8Cl4O4)(H2O)7](C8HCl4O4)·C8H2Cl4O4·H2O, the ErIII ion is coordinated in form of a distorted square antiprism by an O atom of a tetrachlorophthalate ligand and by seven water O atoms. Extensive hydrogen bonds establish a layered network structure extending parallel to (001).

The exotic species Spartina anglica, introduced from Europe in 1963, has been experiencing a decline in the past decade in coastal China, but the reasons for the decline are still not clear. It is hypothesized that competition with the native species Scirpus triqueter may have played an important role in the decline due to niche overlap in the field. We measured biomass, leaf number and area, asexual reproduction and relative neighborhood effect (RNE) of the two species in both monoculture and mixture under three nitrogen levels (control, low and high). S. anglica showed significantly lower biomass accumulation, leaf number and asexual reproduction in mixture than in monoculture. The inter- and intra-specific RNE of S. anglica were all positive, and the inter-specific RNE was significantly higher than the intra-specific RNE in the control. For S. triqueter, inter- and intra-specific RNE were negative at the high nitrogen level but positive in the control and at the low nitrogen level. This indicates that S. triqueter exerted an asymmetric competitive advantage over S. anglica in the control and low nitrogen conditions; however, S. anglica facilitated growth of S. triqueter in high nitrogen conditions. Nitrogen level changed the interactions between the two species because S. triqueter better tolerated low nitrogen. Since S. anglica is increasingly confined to upper, more nitrogen-limited marsh areas in coastal China, increased competition from S. triqueter may help explain its decline.