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Background: Accurate classification of coronary artery abnormalities (CAAs) is essential for clinical decision‐making and long‐term management in Kawasaki disease (KD) patients. To date, there are several echocardiographic criteria of CAA assessment. Materials and methods: The Japanese Ministry of Health (JMH) criteria and the Z‐score criteria from 2004 American Heart Association guidelines were adopted and their detective efficacies for CAAs were compared in 251 Chinese patients with KD Z scores were calculated by 6 published methods. Results: According to the JMH criteria, 19 (7.57%) KD patients were classified as CAAs during the acute KD episode. However, the detective number of CAAs was highest and had a 0.68‐fold increase by the Dallaire et al method with a Z‐score cut point of ≥2.5 as compared with the JMH criteria; in contrast, more than 78.95% of patients with CAAs identified by the JMH criteria had a coronary artery Z score ≥2.5. All 6 different Z‐score methods had satisfactory accuracies with a range from 93.23% to 97.61% in screening CAAs. For the 19 patients with CAAs identified by the JMH criteria, their Z scores presented the widest variation calculated by the McCrindle et al method. Conclusions: The JMH criteria underestimate the prevalence of CAAs as compared with the Z‐score criteria. Quantitative assessment of coronary artery luminal dimensions, normalized as Z scores adjusted for body surface, should be recommended. The larger coronary artery luminal dimensions vary, the more heterogeneous Z scores calculated by different methods have. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) is a common infectious disease among children, caused primarily by human enterovirus-A71 (EV-A71) and coxsackievirus-A16 (CV-A16). To date, only two case reports mention that renal involvement can be secondary to or coexisting with CV-A16-associated HFMD. In the present report, we describe a 10-year-old girl who was infected with EV-A71 and subsequently developed a definite acute kidney injury (AKI), mainly based on the characteristic rash, virus isolation, eyelid edema, hypertension, decreased urine output, mild proteinuria and impaired renal function. She was treated with intravenous ribavirin, immunoglobulin, oral administration of nifedipine and ramipril. After 7 days of intensive observations, she recovered fully. Hypertension is a common feature in both HFMD and AKI. On one hand, hypertension serves as a risk factor for severe HFMD; on the other hand, hypertension induces AKI onset and is also deteriorated by AKI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Henoch-Schönlein purpura (HSP) is a common autoimmune vasculitis in childhood. The detailed pathogenesis of HSP is still unclear, whereas several types of predisposing factors have been proved to be the initial step. The objectives of present study were to analyze the distribution of predisposing factors, association of the predisposing factors with clinical manifestations and HSP relapse/recurrence. 1200 children with HSP were recruited between January 2015 and December 2017. We reviewed their laboratory tests and medical histories associated with HSP onset. The annual incidence of HSP was 8.13-9.17 per 100 000 in Anhui province. HSP occurred more commonly in spring and winter than in summer with an obvious west-to-east gradient. Cutaneous purpura was the most prevalent manifestation (100%), followed by arthritis/arthralgias (43.67%), abdominal pain (40.17%) and renal involvement (18.17%). On admission, series of potential infections were identified in 611 patients (50.92%). The histories of allergy, injury, surgery, vaccination and tick bite were declared by 231 patients (19.25%), 15 patients (1.25%), 12 patients (1.00%), 4 patients (0.33%) and 3 patients (0.25%), respectively. However, predisposing factors could not be identified in 521 children with HSP (43.42%) yet. 123 cases (10.25%) relapsed or recurred more than one time; the mean number was 2.92, and the mean interval was 11.4 weeks. The infection is the most frequent predisposing factor regardless of clinical phenotypes and relapse/recurrence, whereas the clinical manifestations exhibit an obvious heterogenicity according to different predisposing factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

C-type natriuretic peptide (CNP) is regarded as a local, paracrine hormone to regulate vascular tone and cell proliferation. Although several in vivo studies have documented that CNP exerts the inhibitory effects on mesangial cells (MCs) proliferation and collagen production, a limited number of studies exist about the resistance of CNP to MCs proliferation in vitro. Besides, whether its receptor signaling and neutral endopeptidase (NEP) are involved remains unclear. In the present study, human MCs were incubated in serum-containing medium in the absence or presence of CNP (0, 10 and 100 pM) for 24, 48 and 72 hours, respectively. CNP administration significantly suppresses MCs proliferation and collagen-IV (Col-IV) expression in a time-dependent and dose-dependent manner. As a down-stream signal molecule of CNP activation, the expressions of natriuretic peptide receptor (NPR)-B, cyclic guanosine monophosphate-dependent protein kinases II and NPR-C were obviously augmented, whereas NEP expression was significantly decreased after CNP treatment. In conclusion, receptor signaling and NEP are involved in the resistance of CNP to human mesangial proliferation and Col-IV expression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) have documented roles in the inflammatory injury cascade of neurovascular units following ischemic brain injury. However, their dynamic changes and predictive values after acute ischemic stroke (AIS) have not been well elucidated. Objective: To investigate the temporal profiles of serum MMP-9 and BDNF concentrations and their relationship with the prognosis in patients with AIS. Methods: MMP-9 and BDNF levels were measured in 42 AIS patients in prospectively collected blood samples, which were taken on the first day (Day 1), the second day (Day 2), and the fifth day (Day 5) after admission. Healthy subjects (n = 40) were used as controls. The AIS patients were divided into groups of good functional prognosis (n = 24) and poor prognosis (n = 18) according to their modified Rankin Scale score at 3 months. Longitudinal analysis of MMP-9 and BDNF and their association with neurological prognosis was performed using repeated measurement ANOVA. Results: At baseline (Day 1), the levels of serum MMP-9 and BDNF were significantly higher in the AIS group than in the normal control group (P < 0.01). Repeated measurement ANOVA showed a significant main effect and interaction of MMP-9 between good prognosis and the poor group (P < 0.05). Further simple-effect analysis showed that the MMP-9 level was significantly increased in the poor prognosis group compared with the good prognosis group at T5 (P < 0.05). There were no significant time-dependent or the interaction effect (all P > 0.05), but a main effect (P < 0.05) for BDNF. Compared with the poor prognosis group, the simple-effect results indicated that the BDNF level of the good prognosis group was lower at Day 1, while the same was reversed for expression at Day 5 (P < 0.05). Conclusion: MMP-9 and BDNF are closely related to the prognosis of patients with AIS in a time-dependent manner. The dynamic changes of the two biomarkers are superior to baseline levels in predicting the prognosis of AIS patients. A sustained decrease in MMP-9 and an increase in BDNF levels in AIS patients after several days of treatment implied a favourable prognosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By employing the two-color visible (VIS)-ultraviolet (UV) laser photoexcitation scheme and the pulsed field ionization-photoelectron (PFI-PE) detection, we have obtained rovibronically selected and resolved photoelectron spectra for niobium carbide cation (NbC+). The fully rotationally resolved state-to-state VIS-UV-PFI-PE spectra thus obtained allow the unambiguous assignments of rotational photoionization transitions, indicating that the electronic configuration and term symmetry of NbC+(X ) ground state are . . . 10σ2 5π4 11σ2 (X1∑+). Furthermore, the rotational analysis of these spectra yields the ionization energy of NbC [IE(NbC)] to be 56 369.2 ± 0.8 cm-1 (6.9889 ± 0.0001 eV) and the rotation constant B0 + = 0.5681 ± 0.0007 cm-1. The latter value allows the determination of the bond distance r0+ = 1.671 ± 0.001 Å for NbC+(X1∑ +). Based on conservation of energy, the IE(NbC) determined in the present study along with the known IE(Nb) gives the difference of 0 K bond dissociation energies (D+'s) for NbC+ and NbC, D0(NbC+) - D0(NbC)=-1855.4 ± 0.9 cm-1 (-0.2300 ± 0.0001 eV). The energetic values and the B0 + constant determined in this work are valuable for benchmarking state-of-the-art ab initio quantum calculations of 4d transition metal-containing molecules. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Age-related changes in visual function and retina structure are very common in aged animals, but the underlying mechanisms of these changes remain unclear. Here we report that the expression of interferon regulatory factor 3 (IRF3), a critical immune regulatory factor, is dramatically down-regulated in mouse retinas during aging. To address the role of IRF3 in the retina, we examined the structure and function of retinas in young (3–4 months) and old (22–24 months) Irf3 -/- mice in comparison to age-matched wildtype (WT) mice. We found that IRF3 deletion resulted in impaired electroretinogram (ERG) responses and decreased retinal thickness in both young and old mice. In addition, numerous synapses of the outer plexiform layer (OPL) were found obviously extending into outer nuclear layer (ONL) in Irf3 -/- mice, along with a reduction of the average synapse density in the OPL. These changes suggest that IRF3 deletion may accelerate retinal senescence. In support of this hypothesis, a number of classic senescence-associated markers were found in remarkably elevated level in Irf3 -/- retina, including p53, p16INK4a, inositol-requiring enzyme 1α (IREα), p-H2A.X and promyelocytic leukemia protein (PML). Overall, our results indicate that maintenance normal IRF3 levels is necessary for retinal structure and function and suggest that IRF3 is an important regulator of retinal senescence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using two-colour visible (Vis)–ultraviolet (UV) photoionisation and pulsed field ionisation–photoelectron (PFI–PE) methods, we have obtained cleanly rotationally resolved photoelectron spectra for ZrO+(X2Δ3/2,5/2; v+= 0, 1, and 2). The rotation assignment of these state-to-state Vis–UV–PFI–PE spectra has allowed the unambiguous determination of the ground state term symmetry for ZrO+(X) to be2Δ3/2, and the adiabatic ionisation energy of90Zr16O, IE(90Zr16O) = 54,948.3(8) cm−1[6.81272(10) eV]. The symmetry of the ionic ZrO+(X2Δ3/2) ground state determined here disagrees with that reported in previous experiments. The rotational and vibrational constants determined in this experiment for the ionic90Zr16O+(X2Δ3/2) ground state are:Be+= 0.4343(8) cm−1and αe+= 0.0019(5) cm−1, and ωe+= 991.2(8) cm−1and ωe+xe+= 3.5(8) cm−1; and those for the ionic90Zr16O+(X2Δ5/2) excited spin-orbit state are:Be+= 0.4357(6) cm−1and αe+= 0.0022(4) cm−1, and ωe+= 991.9(8) cm−1and ωe+xe+= 3.6(8) cm−1, respectively. Based on the latterBe+value, the equilibrium bond distances are determined to bere+= 1.691(2) Å for90Zr16O+(X2Δ3/2) andre+= 1.688(1) Å for90Zr16O+(X2Δ5/2). The IE(ZrO) along with the spectroscopic constants obtained here are valuable for benchmarking theab initioquantum chemical calculations for energetic and structural predictions of ZrO/ZrO+. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Steganography is an art of covert communication. There are many steganographic techniques which help in secret communication. Moreover, images are found as a better cover for hiding secret information. Since the redundancy in the JPEG images are high and because of the complexity in nature, data hiding in JPEG images create newer challenges in the field of image steganography. In this article, I have proposed a newer steganographic algorithm which uses a reversible technique and a histogram shifting technique together. Initially, various pixels throughout the image were chosen at random as well as in edges of the image. Then another image which is very closely related to this image in terms of statistical properties has been chosen. At the end, using the histogram shifting method, the secret data has been embedded in reversible manner. During extraction, the same pixels have been considered for extraction, the secret data has been extracted successfully with the original cover image. From the experimental results, it is evident that the proposed algorithm works better in JPEG images in terms of better imperceptibility, good embedding rate, and good reversibility. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]