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Objective: Aimed to investigate the effectiveness of body acupuncture on motor function of the upper limb in children with spastic hemiplegic cerebral palsy (CP) conjunction with rehabilitation program., Design: The study is a randomized controlled experimental trial. Children with CP were randomly divided into the acupuncture group (body acupuncture with rehabilitation) and the rehabilitation group. The muscle volume difference between the upper limbs, the fine motor scores of the Peabody developmental motor scale-2 (PDMS-FM) and the surface electromyography (SEMG) parameter-root mean square (RMS)-on upper limb muscles (biceps brachii, radial wrist extensors and pronator teres) of both groups were measured before and after a 12-week treatment., Results: 37 children completed the study. In the two groups, differences in muscle volume, PDMS-FM scores and RMS values (biceps brachii, radial wrist extensors and pronator teres) were significantly improved, except PDMS-FM score difference and difference of RMS values (biceps brachii, radial wrist extensors and pronator teres) between the upper limbs in the rehabilitation group. Comparison post-treatment/pre-treatment change for two groups showed significant difference in affected upper limb PDMS-FM total score, PDMS-FM score difference between the upper limbs, affected upper limb RMS values and RMS value difference between the upper limbs in favor of the acupuncture group., Conclusion: Our preliminary research indicates that body acupuncture therapy combined with rehabilitation may be more effective than rehabilitation alone, further improving muscle strength of affected upper limb and possibility of bimanual coordination in children with spastic hemiplegic CP., Competing Interests: Declaration of Conflicting InterestsThe authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Anxiety disorder is a major symptom of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) with a comorbidity rate of ~40%. However, the neural mechanisms of the emergence of anxiety in ASD remain unclear. In our study, we found that hyperactivity of basolateral amygdala (BLA) pyramidal neurons (PNs) in Shank3 InsG3680 knock-in (InsG3680 +/+ ) mice is involved in the development of anxiety. Electrophysiological results also showed increased excitatory input and decreased inhibitory input in BLA PNs. Chemogenetic inhibition of the excitability of PNs in the BLA rescued the anxiety phenotype of InsG3680 +/+ mice. Further study found that the diminished control of the BLA by medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and optogenetic activation of the mPFC-BLA pathway also had a rescue effect, which increased the feedforward inhibition of the BLA. Taken together, our results suggest that hyperactivity of the BLA and alteration of the mPFC-BLA circuitry are involved in anxiety in InsG3680 +/+ mice., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest: The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest., (© 2024. Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences.)

Background Context: Venous hypertension is a rare cause of myelopathy that can be misdiagnosed as myelitis and be worsened by glucocorticosteroids., Purpose: This study is aims to identify a fluid biomarker with diagnostic value in Venous Hypertensive Myelopathy (VHM)., Study Design: a retrospective diagnostic study PATIENT SAMPLE: The patients diagnosed as having myelopathy between December 2020 and June 2022 were divided into a VHM group (n=71) and an inflammatory myelopathy (IM) group (n=123). A noninflammatory neurological disorders (NIND) group (n=53) was also acquired as baseline control., Outcome Measures: The primary outcome was the diagnostic accuracy of the fluid biomarkers in the VHM and IM groups., Methods: The albumin, immunoglobulins, oligoclonal bands, neuron-specific enolase, myelin basic protein, and S100β were measured in their cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and paired serum samples. Potential diagnostic biomarkers were screened through univariate and collinearity analyses. The diagnostic performance of these biomarkers was assessed by plotting the receiver-operating characteristic curves. Additionally, the predictive value of clinical factors and biomarkers for diagnosis was evaluated using multivariable logistic regression analysis., Results: The quantitative and normalized CSF-S100β values were significantly lower in the VHM group (p<.05). Analysis of receiver-operating characteristic curves adjusted for age and sex showed that the normalized CSF-S100β discriminated between VHM and IM (area under the curve (AUC) 0.884, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.817-0.938). Particularly, it performed well in the AUC for normalized CSF-S100β (AUC 0.9400, 95% CI 0.8621-1.000) when oligoclonal bands and flow-void sign were negative., Conclusions: The normalized CSF-S100β can differentiate between VHM and IM., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To identify risk factors associated with postoperative shoulder joint dysfunction in patients who underwent surgical intervention for acromioclavicular (AC) joint dislocation, with the aim of enhancing preoperative counselling, surgical planning, and postoperative management to optimize functional outcomes., Methods: Patients who underwent surgery for AC joint dislocation between January 2018 and January 2023 at a hospital orthopaedic centre were enrolled into this retrospective study. Inclusion criteria were patients aged ≥18 years with a documented AC joint dislocation who underwent surgical treatment and had a minimum follow-up period >1 year. Patients with pre-existing shoulder conditions, prior shoulder surgeries, or incomplete medical records were excluded. Visual Analog Scale pain score ≥5 and Constant-Murley Score ≤70 was considered indicative of shoulder joint dysfunction. Statistical analyses included univariate and multivariate logistic regression to identify independent risk factors for postoperative shoulder joint dysfunction., Results: Among 208 included patients, 56 (27%) exhibited shoulder joint dysfunction at the final follow-up. High-energy injury mechanisms, combined coracoclavicular ligament injuries, and lack of coronal plane congruity were identified as significant predictors of postoperative dysfunction. Specifically, high-energy injuries (odds ratio [OR] 5.493, 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.068, 14.590), combined coracoclavicular ligament injuries (OR 0.118, 95% CI 0.032, 0.432), and lack of coronal plane congruity (OR 2.540, 95% CI 1.197, 5.387) were associated with an increased risk of poor shoulder function postoperatively. Other factors, such as age, injury mechanism, and postoperative exercise compliance also contributed to the outcomes. Level of evidence: iv., Conclusions: Injury mechanism, ligamentous injuries, and joint congruity are important in determining postoperative shoulder function. Accurate joint reduction and diligent postoperative rehabilitation are crucial for optimal recovery. These findings provide valuable insights for improving patient care and surgical outcomes in AC joint dislocation treatment. Further research is needed to validate these findings and explore additional factors that may influence postoperative shoulder function., Competing Interests: Declaration of conflicting interestThe authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest.

Astragalus , a group of legume plants, has a pronounced rhizosphere effect. Many species of Astragalus with limited resource reserves are distributed in the high-altitude area of northern Yunnan, China. Although some of these plants have high medicinal value, the recognition of them is still at a low level. The aim of this research is to explore the species diversity of cultivable rhizofungi derived from Astragalus acaulis , A. forrestii and A. ernestii growing in a special high-cold environment of northwest Yunnan and discover anti-infective components from these fungi. A total of 93 fungal strains belonging to 38 species in 18 genera were isolated and identified. Antibacterial and antimalarial screening yielded 10 target strains. Among them, the ethyl acetate crude extract of the fermented substrate of the rhizofungus Aspergillus calidoustus AA12 derived from the plant A. acaulis showed broad-spectrum antibacterial activity and the best antimalarial activity. Further chemical investigation led to the first discovery of seven compounds from the species A. calidoustus , including sesterterpine 6-epi-ophiobolin G; three sesquiterpenes, penicisochroman A, pergillin and 7-methyl-2-(1-methylethylethlidene)-furo [3,2-H]isoquinoline-3-one; and three polyketides, trypacidin, 1,2-seco-trypacidin and questin. Among them, the compound 6-epi-ophiobolin G exhibited moderate to strong antibacterial activity against six Gram-positive pathogens with the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) ranging from 25 to 6.25 μg/mL and a prominent inhibitory effect on the biofilm of Streptococcus agalactiae at an MIC value of 3.125 μg/mL. This compound also displayed potent antimalarial activity against Plasmodium falciparum strains 3D7 and chloroquine-resistant Dd2 at the half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC 50 ) values of 3.319 and 4.340 µmol/L at 72 h, respectively. This study contributed to our understanding of the cultivable rhizofungi from characteristic Astragalus plants in special high-cold environments and further increased the library of fungi available for natural anti-infectious product screening.

Understanding and predicting interface diffusion phenomena in materials is crucial for various industrial applications, including semiconductor manufacturing, battery technology, and catalysis. In this study, we propose a novel approach utilizing Graph Neural Networks (GNNs) to investigate and model material interface diffusion. We begin by collecting experimental and simulated data on diffusion coefficients, concentration gradients, and other relevant parameters from diverse material systems. The data are preprocessed, and key features influencing interface diffusion are extracted. Subsequently, we construct a GNN model tailored to the diffusion problem, with a graph representation capturing the atomic structure of materials. The model architecture includes multiple graph convolutional layers for feature aggregation and update, as well as optional graph attention layers to capture complex relationships between atoms. We train and validate the GNN model using the preprocessed data, achieving accurate predictions of diffusion coefficients, diffusion rates, concentration profiles, and potential diffusion pathways. Our approach offers insights into the underlying mechanisms of interface diffusion and provides a valuable tool for optimizing material design and engineering. Additionally, our method offers possible strategies to solve the longstanding problems related to materials interface diffusion.

Oxygen therapy cannot rescue local lung hypoxia in patients with severe respiratory failure. Here, an inhalable platform is reported for overcoming the aberrant hypoxia-induced immune changes and alveolar damage using camouflaged poly(lactic- co -glycolic) acid (PLGA) microparticles with macrophage apoptotic body membrane (cMAB). cMABs are preloaded with mitochondria-targeting superoxide dismutase/catalase nanocomplexes (NCs) and modified with pathology-responsive macrophage growth factor colony-stimulating factor (CSF) chains, which form a core-shell platform called C-cMAB/NC with efficient deposition in deeper alveoli and high affinity to alveolar epithelial cells (AECs) after CSF chains are cleaved by matrix metalloproteinase 9. Therefore, NCs can be effectively transported into mitochondria to inhibit inflammasome-mediated AECs damage in mouse models of hypoxic acute lung injury. Additionally, the at-site CSF release is sufficient to rescue circulating monocytes and macrophages and alter their phenotypes, maximizing synergetic effects of NCs on creating a pro-regenerative microenvironment that enables resolution of lung injury and inflammation. This inhalable platform may have applications to numerous inflammatory lung diseases.

Astragalus is a medicinal plant with obvious rhizosphere effects. At present, there are many Astragalus plants with high application value but low recognition and resource reserves in the northwestern area of Yunnan province, China. In this study, metagenomics was used to analyze the microbial diversity and community structure of rhizosphere soil of A. forrestii , A. acaulis , and A. ernestii plants grown in a special high-cold environment of northwestern Yunnan, China, at different altitudes ranging from 3225 to 4353 m. These microbes were taxonomically annotated to obtain 24 phyla and 501 genera for A. forrestii , 30 phyla and 504 genera for A. acaulis , as well as 39 phyla and 533 genera for A. ernestii . Overall, the dominant bacterial phyla included Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, and Acidobacteria, while the dominant fungal ones were Ascomycota and Basidiomycota. At the genus level, Bradyrhizobium , Afipia , and Paraburkholderia were the most prevalent bacteria, and Hyaloscypha , Pseudogymnoascus , and Russula were the dominant fungal genera. Some of them are considered biocontrol microbes that could sustain the growth and health of host Astragalus plants. Redundancy analysis revealed that pH, TN, and SOM had a significant impact on the microbial community structures ( p < 0.05). Finally, triterpene, flavonoid, polysaccharide, and amino acid metabolisms accounted for a high proportion of the enriched KEGG pathways, which possibly contributed to the synthesis of bioactive constituents in the Astragalus plants.

Purpose: Robot-assisted surgical systems for performing total knee arthroplasty (TKA) have gained significant attention. This study was designed to compare the surgical outcomes in primary TKA surgery between the recently developed "SkyWalker" robot system and the more commonly used MAKO robot., Methods: A total of 75 patients undergoing primary TKA surgery by the same surgical team were included in this study, with 30 patients in the "SkyWalker" group and 45 patients in the "MAKO" group. We documented the osteotomy plan for both robotic systems. The lower limb alignment angles were evaluated by postoperative radiographic assessment. The operation time, estimated blood loss, postoperative hospital stays, and changes in laboratory indexes were collected during hospitalization. In addition, a comparative evaluation of knee functional assessments and complications was conducted during six month and one year follow-ups., Results: There were no significant differences between the two groups in terms of the accuracy of restoring lower limb alignment, estimated blood loss, or operation time. The knee function assessments at six months and one year postoperatively were similar in both groups. Except for day three after surgery, the level of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and the change in IL-6 (∆IL-6) from preoperative baseline were higher in the "SkyWalker" group than in the MAKO group (median: 20.53 vs. 14.17, P=0.050 and median: 17.30 vs. 10.09, P=0.042, respectively). Additionally, one patient from the MAKO group underwent revision surgery at nine months postoperatively due to ongoing periprosthetic discomfort., Conclusions: The newly developed "SkyWalker" robot showed comparable efficacy to the MAKO robot in terms of lower limb alignment accuracy and postoperative six month and one year follow-up of clinically assessed resumption of knee function., (© 2023. The Author(s) under exclusive licence to SICOT aisbl.)

Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) is a potent pro-inflammatory agent involved in various autoimmune and inflammatory diseases including myasthenia gravis (MG). In this study, we enrolled 409 adult MG patients and 487 healthy individuals to investigate the association between TNF-α polymorphism and MG. We found the rs1800629 A allele frequency was significantly higher in the MG group than in the control group. Subgroup analysis revealed that the A allele frequencies were significantly higher in the early-onset subgroup, non-thymoma subgroup, ocular-onset subgroup, and mild severity subgroup than in the control group. To minimize the interactions between clinical features, we used a comprehensive classification and found that the rs1800629 A allele frequency was significantly higher in the non-thymoma AChR-Ab negative subgroup than in the control group. In the analysis of initial short-term glucocorticoids (GC) efficacy in the treatment-naive patients, the rs1800629 A allele frequency was significantly higher in the unresponsive subgroup than in the responsive group and the control group. Logistic regression demonstrated the rs1800629 genotypes in the dominant model and disease duration prior to GC treatment independently contributed to initial short-term GC efficacy. In conclusion, our study revealed that in Chinese adult MG patients, rs1800629 polymorphism in TNF-α was associated with the susceptibility of MG and might indicate the initial short-term GC efficacy., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Endothelial cells (ECs) present in the tumor microenvironment (TME) exhibit significant diversity that may impact the efficacy of anti-tumor treatments. Thus, our study sought to elucidate the various clusters of ECs present in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) and explore their possible interactions and influence on clinical outcomes. We obtained single-cell transcriptome data from 24 PDAC tumors and 11 normal pancreases, minimizing any batch effects between samples. Next, we compared the relative abundance of various ECs clusters across distinct sample types. Pseudo-time analysis was employed to investigate the differentiation origin of ECs. A variety of bioinformatics methods were used to investigate potential communication between ECs and malignant cells, as well as assess metabolic changes, pathway alterations, and immune-related markers expression within distinct EC clusters. Lastly, we investigated the impact of particular ECs clusters on patient prognosis in bulk transcriptome data. Our study identified seven distinct clusters of ECs, denoted as CA4 + ECs, MMP2 + ECs, SPP1 + ECs, MT1F + ECs, CCL5 + ECs, RGS5 + ECs, and TYROBP + ECs. Pseudo-time analysis suggested that the loss of CA4 + ECs and MT1F + ECs may promote malignant progression. Cell communication elucidated that MT1F + ECs exhibited the strongest outgoing interaction strength, whereas RGS5 + ECs displayed the strongest incoming interaction strength. Furthermore, TYROBP + ECs exhibited greater metabolic activity, and notably, CCL5 + ECs displayed increased expression of immune-related molecules. Lastly, across cohorts of bulk transcriptome levels, CA4 + ECs, MT1F + ECs, and RGS5 + ECs consistently demonstrated prognostic indicative effects. PDAC patients exhibit the presence of seven distinct EC clusters, each demonstrating significant metabolic and immunological heterogeneity. Targeted therapeutic approaches directed toward CA4 + ECs and MT1F + ECs may prove advantageous in addressing challenges associated with PDAC treatment. Additionally, variations in the relative abundance of CA4 + ECs, MT1F + ECs, and RGS5 + ECs were indicated as predictive of patient prognosis., (© 2023 Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Background: Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disease after Alzheimer's disease. Myasthenia gravis (MG) is a rare autoimmune disease caused by antibodies against the neuromuscular junction. PD and comorbid MG are rarely seen., Case Presentation: Here we report on a patient who was diagnosed with PD and MG. A 74-year-old man had a 4-year history of bradykinesia and was diagnosed with PD. He subsequently developed incomplete palpebral ptosis, apparent dropped head, and shuffling of gait. The results of neostigmine tests were positive. Repetitive nerve stimulation (RNS) showed significant decremental responses at 3 and 5 Hz in the orbicularis oculi. The patient's anti-acetylcholine receptor (anti-AchR) antibody serum level was also elevated. Meanwhile, 9-[ 18 F]fluoropropyl-(+)-dihydrotetrabenazine positron emission tomography-computed tomography ( 18 F-AV133 PET-CT) scan revealed a significant decrease in uptake in the bilateral putamen. After addition of cholinesterase inhibitors, his symptoms of palpebral ptosis and head drop improved greatly and he showed a good response to levodopa., Conclusion: Although PD with MG is rare, we still need to notice the possibility that a PD patient may have comorbid MG. The underlying mechanism of PD and comorbid MG remains unknown, but an imbalance between the neurotransmitters dopamine and acetylcholine and the immune system are likely to play significant roles in the pathogenesis. In this article, we present our case and a literature review on the co-occurrence of PD and MG, reviewing their clinical features, and discuss the underlying pathogenic mechanism of this comorbidity., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Zhang, Xu, Li, Chan, Zhao and Ma.)

Background: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a highly lethal cancer with limited treatment options. The PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway is commonly activated in PDAC and plays a critical role in its progression., Methods and Results: In this study, the effect of taselisib (a selective PI3K inhibitor) on PDAC cell proliferation was investigated, and a significant decrease in viability was observed with increasing concentrations of taselisib. Differential analysis on samples from the Genotype-Tissue Expression and The Cancer Genome Atlas databases revealed 24 dysregulated PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway-related genes (PRGs). Unsupervised clustering-based analysis of transcriptome cohorts revealed two clusters with high consistency between RNA-seq and microarray cohorts. Cluster B had higher enrichment of immune cells, particularly CD8 + T cells, and lower levels of immunosuppressive Treg cells. Moreover, we investigated the relationship between drug sensitivity and different clusters and found that cluster A had a better response to PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway-related inhibitors and chemotherapy. Finally, cluster A exhibited significant activation of PI3K/AKT/mTOR and related oncogenic pathways, contributing to poor prognosis. The study also developed a risk score based on the expression profiles of PRGs and machine learning, which showed a significant increase in overall survival time among patients in the low-risk group. Importantly, the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway could be used to better predict individual risk scores, as evidenced by stratified survival analysis., Conclusions: These findings suggest that targeting the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway may have therapeutic potential in PDAC, and distinct pathway states, immune modulation and tumor microenvironments have prognostic value., (© 2023 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.)

The presented case report describes an incredibly rare instance of an intramedullary bronchial cyst located in the thoracic spinal canal on the dorsal side of the spinal cord, which was observed in a patient with chronic myelogenous leukemia. A 29-year-old man presented with back pain for half a month, along with numbness and pain below the chest and ribs for 1 week. Hypersensitivity was present in the inferior plane of the long xiphoid process in the nervous system. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed intramedullary cystic lesions in the vertebral body plane of the third to the fourth thoracic vertebra. There was no recurrence during the 6-month postoperative follow-up period. The histopathological findings were consistent with bronchogenic cysts. Cystic lesions were eliminated through the posterior median approach. After the cyst ruptured during surgery, gel liquid was seen, and the majority of the cyst walls were removed. One week after the surgery, the hypersensitivity fully subsided. Six months following surgery, an updated MRI revealed no recurrence. Intramedullary bronchogenic cysts on the dorsal side of the thoracic spine are extremely uncommon. Diagnosis requires histopathological evidence, and it is challenging to diagnose before surgery. Prompt surgical resection is recommended in case of positive diagnosis., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest: Authors state no conflict of interest., (© 2023 the author(s), published by De Gruyter.)

Chromium-based perovskites have gained significant interest for their magnetic and ferroelectric properties. Rare-earth orthochromates are versatile multiferroic materials in catalysts, thermistors, and non-volatile memory. We present a protocol for RECrO 3 crystal growth using a laser-diode floating-zone furnace. Steps include solid-phase calcination, sintering, and shaping. We provide detailed information on crystal growth parameters and Laue diffraction analysis. The successful growth of large orthochromate single crystals paves the way for exploring their intrinsic properties and potential applications. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Zhu et al. 1 and Zhu et al. 2 ., Competing Interests: Declaration of interests Y.Z. and H.-F.L. have a 2021 China Invention Patent (CN110904497B) through University of Macau based on the work: A method of centimeter-sized single-crystal growth of chromate compounds and related storage device., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Coherent perfect absorption (CPA) or reflection (CPR) are methods to realize the extreme manipulation on an optical field. We propose a scheme to operate a bistable switch with convertible CPA and/or CPR. Generally, CPA and CPR occur with different input-field phases. For example, CPA is realized when two input probe beams are in phase; instead, CPR is achieved when they are out of phase. In this scheme, a CPA state can be converted to a CPR state by an incoherent field although two input fields are in phase. When we use the incoherent field as a switching field, the CPA (CPR) state is treated as the closed (open) state. As a result, the switching efficiency can theoretically reach a maximum value, i.e., η = 1. In addition, the switch can be operated in the linear regime with a weak input field, and in the nonlinear or bistable regime with a strong input field. Moreover, the efficiency of the bistable switch is sensitively dependent on the input-field intensity. It provides a potential application of this work on sensitive optical detecting.

Epoxy resin (EP), as a kind of dielectric polymer, exhibits the advantages of low-curing shrinkage, high-insulating properties, and good thermal/chemical stability, which is widely used in electronic and electrical industry. However, the complicated preparation process of EP has limited their practical applications for energy storage. In this manuscript, bisphenol F epoxy resin (EPF) was successfully fabricated into polymer films with a thickness of 10~15 μm by a facile hot-pressing method. It was found that the curing degree of EPF was significantly affected by changing the ratio of EP monomer/curing agent, which led to the improvement in breakdown strength and energy storage performance. In particular, a high discharged energy density ( U d ) of 6.5 J·cm -3 and efficiency ( η ) of 86% under an electric field of 600 MV·m -1 were obtained for the EPF film with an EP monomer/curing agent ratio of 1:1.5 by hot pressing at 130 °C, which indicates that the hot-pressing method could be facilely employed to produce high-quality EP films with excellent energy storage performance for pulse power capacitors.

While demyelination is the most common etiology of longitudinally extensive myelopathy, other causes are important to recognize. In this study, we present the case of a longitudinal cervical lesion with a very rare cause. We discuss the approach to the differential diagnosis and workup for longitudinal myelopathy. This clinical reasoning case also illustrates the anatomical relationship between symptomatic spinal cord lesions and nonsymptomatic intracranial etiologies., (© 2023 American Academy of Neurology.)

A taxonomic identification using polyphasic approach was performed on strain TH16-21 T , which was isolated from the interfacial sediment of Taihu Lake, PR China. Strain TH16-21 T was Gram-stain-negative, aerobic, rod-shaped and catalase-positive. Phylogenetic analysis based on the 16S rRNA gene and genomic sequences indicated that strain TH16-21 T was classified within the genus of Flavobacterium . The 16S rRNA gene sequence of strain TH16-21 T showed the highest similarity to Flavobacterium cheniae NJ-26 T (98.9 %). The average nucleotide identity and digital DNA-DNA hybridization values between strain TH16-21 T and F. cheniae NJ-26 T were 91.2 and 45.9 %, respectively. The respiratory quinone was menaquinone 6. The major cellular fatty acids (>10 %) comprised iso-C 15 : 0 , iso-C 16 : 0 , iso-C 15 : 1 G and iso-C 16 : 0 3-OH. The genomic DNA G+C content was 32.2 mol%. Phosphatidylethanolamine, six amino lipids and three phospholipids were the main polar lipids. Based on the phenotypic features and phylogenetic position, a novel species with the name Flavobacterium lacisediminis sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is TH16-21 T (=MCCC 1K04592 T =KACC 22896 T ).

Background and Objective: Neuroimmune disease is a group of autoimmune diseases that are directed against antigens of the nervous system. Autoantibody testing is of great significance in early diagnosis, clinical severity assessment, prognosis, and efficacy evaluation. With the discovery of new antibodies and the development of antibody detection techniques, multiple antibodies have been found to coexist in patients with neuroimmune diseases. In this narrative review, we aim to define the culprit antibody and discuss the correlation between culprit antibodies and the clinical phenotype of neuroimmune diseases., Methods: We searched Medline, Embase, Web of Science, and CNKI from inception to February 2021 to acquire references on the relationship between neuroimmune diseases and antibodies. Eligible articles were reviewed regarding the relationship between antibodies and phenotypes., Key Content and Findings: By reviewing relevant references and discussion, we propose the concept of "culprit antibody", namely, the pathogenic antibody which has a corresponding causal relationship with one or more phenotypes during the course of a patient's neuroimmune disease. The proposal, significance, and relevant clinical research of culprit antibodies related to neuroimmune diseases are elaborated as the proposal of concept and determination points of casual relationship, association with clinical phenotypes and core phenotypes, the role in antibody overlapping syndrome in the same patient, and different stages., Conclusions: In the era of precision medicine, proposing the concept of culprit antibodies and clarifying relevant evidence chains are helpful for precise and effective immune intervention., Competing Interests: Conflicts of Interest: Both authors have completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure form (available at https://atm.amegroups.com/article/view/10.21037/atm-21-1627/coif). The series “Laboratory Investigations in Neuroimmunological Diseases and Their Clinical Significance” was commissioned by the editorial office without any funding or sponsorship. XC and HFL served as the unpaid Guest Editors of the series. The authors have no other conflicts of interest to declare., (2023 Annals of Translational Medicine. All rights reserved.)

Background and Objective: In neuroimmune diseases, autoantibodies are not only used for diagnosis, but also as markers for assessing disease severity and treatment efficacy, and as variables in predicting the prognosis and in subgroup classification. Accuracy of an assay is a prerequisite for using antibodies in the diagnosis and management. The antibody positive subgroup is important in constellating phenotypes, while the antibody negative subgroup provides an opportunity for discovery of new antibodies. This review is to discuss the validation studies of diagnostic accuracy in antibody assays and reasonable definitions of antibody positive/negative subgroups in neuroimmune diseases., Methods: The literature discussing validation studies of diagnostic accuracy in antibody assays and reasonable definition of antibody positive/negative subgroups in autoimmune diseases was broadly searched and discussed., Key Content and Findings: The designs of a validation study, principles in defining the disease spectrum and biases, interpretation of the testing result and specific considerations for validation studies in neuroimmune diseases (such as phenotypes and inclusion criteria, control group selection, dynamic changes of antibody composition and sampling time, relationship between duration and severity of disease and antibody status, and pre-test factor), and improvement of antibody test techniques, as well as definitions and algorithms in defining antibody positive/negative subgroups in clinical practice and researches, are discussed., Conclusions: The successful implementation of validation studies of autoantibody assays in neuroimmune diseases depends on reasonable design, phenotypic profiles of included patients and potential inclusion bias, test result interpretation and the influence from inclusion criteria, control group selection, patient characteristics on specimen sampling and pre-test factors. Reasonable definitions on antibody positive/negative groups may be different in clinical practice and researches, and rigorous definitions are conducive to constellation of disease phenotype and the exploration of new antibodies within a disease entity., Competing Interests: Conflicts of Interest: The author has completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure form (available at https://atm.amegroups.com/article/view/10.21037/atm-21-2384/coif). The series “Laboratory Investigations in Neuroimmunological Diseases and Their Clinical Significance” was commissioned by the editorial office without any funding or sponsorship. HFL served as the unpaid Guest Editor of the series. HFL reports that this work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 81771362 and 82171397 to HFL). The author has no other conflicts of interest to declare., (2023 Annals of Translational Medicine. All rights reserved.)

Background: This study analyzed the motor development and suspected developmental coordination disorder of very and moderately preterm (< 34 +0 gestational age), late preterm (34 +0 -36 +6 gestational week), and early-term (37 +0 -38 +6 gestational week) children compared to their full-term peers with a national population-based sample in China., Methods: A total of 1673 children (799 girls, 874 boys) aged 3-10 years old were individually assessed with the Movement Assessment Battery for Children-second edition (MABC-2). The association between gestational age and motor performance of children was analyzed using a multilevel regression model., Results: The global motor performance [β =  - 5.111, 95% confidence interval (CI) =  - 9.200 to - 1.022; P = 0.015] and balance (β =  - 5.182, 95% CI =  - 5.055 to - 1.158; P = 0.003) for very and moderately preterm children aged 3-6 years old were significantly lower than their full-term peers when adjusting for confounders. Late preterm and early-term children showed no difference. Moreover, very and moderately preterm children aged 3-6 years had a higher risk of suspected developmental coordination disorder (DCD) (≤ 5 percentile of MABC-2 score) when adjusting for potential confounders [odds ratio (OR) = 2.931, 95% CI = 1.067-8.054; P = 0.038]. Late preterm and early-term children showed no difference in motor performance from their full-term peers (each P > 0.05)., Conclusions: Our findings have important implications for understanding motor impairment in children born at different gestational ages. Very and moderately preterm preschoolers have an increased risk of DCD, and long-term follow-up should be provided for early detection and intervention., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Objective: Early identification and intervention for children with global developmental delay (GDD) can significantly improve their prognosis and reduce the possibility of developing intellectual disability in the future. This study aimed to explore the clinical effectiveness of a parent-implemented early intervention program (PIEIP) for GDD, providing a research basis for the extended application of this intervention strategy in the future., Methods: During the period between September 2019 and August 2020, children aged 3 to 6 months diagnosed with GDD were selected from each research center as the experimental group and the control group. For the experimental group, the PIEIP intervention was conducted for the parent-child pair. Mid-term and end-stage assessments were performed, respectively, at 12 and 24 months of age, and parenting stress surveys were completed., Results: The average age of the enrolled children was 4.56 ± 1.08 months for the experimental group ( n  = 153) and 4.50 ± 1.04 months for the control group ( n  = 153). The comparative analysis of the variation in the progress between the two groups by independent t -test showed that, after the experimental intervention, the developmental quotient (DQ) of locomotor, personal-social, and language, as well as the general quotient (GQ) of the Griffiths Mental Development Scale-Chinese (GDS-C), the children in the experimental group demonstrated higher progress than those in the control group ( P  < 0.05). Furthermore, there was a significant decrease in the mean standard score of dysfunctional interaction, difficult children and the total level of parental stress in the term test for the experimental groups ( P  < 0.001 for all)., Conclusions: PIEIP intervention can significantly improve the developmental outcome and prognosis of children with GDD, especially in the areas of locomotor, personal-social, and language., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (© 2023 Dong, Xu, Zhang, Li, Zhou, Hu, Liu, Tang, Fu, Zhang, Li, Jia, Tong, Wang, Li and Xu.)

Capsaicin is a capsaicinoid in hot chili peppers, with excellent antibacterial and antimicrobial activities and a good safety profile, but its poor solubility and instability restrict its effectiveness. This limitation may be mitigated by encapsulation. Herein, capsaicin microcapsules (CCMs) were prepared through layer-by-layer self-assembly, using chitosan and carboxymethyl chitosan as shell materials. The chemical and microstructure structural characterization was evaluated by the methods of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The SEM indicated the microcapsules were irregular in shape with an average size of about 100 μm. The encapsulation had a high loading efficiency of 64.31%. FTIR and XRD revealed the absence of the interaction between the core and shell materials and the amorphous nature of the CCMs. The analysis results of the microcapsules' release behavior showed the burst release of capsaicin in 7 days and a slow progression afterward in three solutions, with the highest release properties in a basic solution, followed by acidic and neutral salt solutions. The entomotoxicity of CCMs was conducted against Tribolium castaneum (Herbst), and its efficacy was compared with pure capsaicin. The CCMs were found to be highly effective against this pest. The LC 50 value for capsaicin and its microcapsules was 31.37 and 29.75 mg/kg on adults, respectively. According to these values, T. castaneum 's development and reproduction were significantly inhibited compared with the control group. The excellent physicochemical characteristics and insecticidal performance show a high application value for integrated pest control.

The myelin regulatory factor ( MYRF ; MIM# 608329) gene was first identified as a critical transcription factor involved in oligodendrocyte differentiation and central nervous system myelination. With the recent development of exome sequencing, pathogenic variants of MYRF had been considered as the cause of cardiac-urogenital syndrome (CUGS), 46,XY and 46,XX disorders/differences of sex development (DSDs), and nanophthalmos. Herein, we described a 4-year-7-month-old "girl" with ventricular septal defect, atrial septal defect, patent ductus arteriosus, severe pulmonary hypertension, moderate-to-severe tricuspid regurgitation, enlarged coronary sinus, left superior vena cava, and right lung hypoplasia at birth. Later, the patient developed short stature and amblyopia. Further examination revealed a karyotype 46,XY and visible uterus, whereas the presence of gonads were not explored. Laparoscopy revealed dysplasia of testicular gonad. Whole-exome sequencing (WES) was performed and a de novo heterozygous mutation in MYRF was identified, known as c.2817G > A/p. W939* (NM&#95;001127392.3). Therefore, this case report presented multiple clinical manifestations with syndromic symptoms of CUGS, 46,XY DSD, and ocular symptoms. These new data expanded the phenotype of the MYRF variant and may benefit to characterize the phenotypes caused by the variants of this gene., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (© 2022 Wang, Wu, Wu, Tian, Li, Jiang and Zou.)

RAV transcription factors (TFs) are unique to higher plants and contain both B3 and APETALA2 (AP2) DNA binding domains. Although sets of RAV genes have been identified from several species, little is known about this family in wheat. In this study, 26 RAV genes were identified in the wheat genome. These wheat RAV TFs were phylogenetically clustered into three classes based on their amino acid sequences. A TaRAV gene located on chromosome 1D was cloned and named TaRAV1 . TaRAV1 was expressed in roots, stems, leaves, and inflorescences, and its expression was up-regulated by heat while down-regulated by salt, ABA, and GA. Subcellular localization analysis revealed that the TaRAV1 protein was localized in the nucleus. The TaRAV1 protein showed DNA binding activity in the EMSA assay and transcriptional activation activity in yeast cells. Overexpressing TaRAV1 enhanced the salt tolerance of Arabidopsis and upregulated the expression of SOS genes and other stress response genes. Collectively, our data suggest that TaRAV1 functions as a transcription factor and is involved in the salt stress response by regulating gene expression in the SOS pathway.

Background: Vaccination remains the most effective measure to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection and worse outcomes. However, many myasthenia gravis (MG) patients are hesitant to receive vaccine due to fear of worsening., Methods: MG patients were consecutively enrolled in two MG centers in North China. The "worsening" after vaccination was self-reported by MG patients, and severity was measured with a single simple question. The general characteristics and disease status immediately prior to the first dose were compared between the worsening and non-worsening groups. Independent factors associated with worsening were explored with multivariate regression analysis., Results: One hundred and seven patients were included. Eleven patients (10.3%) reported worsening after vaccination, including eight patients with mild or moderate worsening and three patients with severe worsening. Only one of them (0.9%) needed an escalation of immunosuppressive treatments. There were significant differences between the worsening and non-worsening groups in terms of Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America classes immediately before the first dose and intervals since the last aggravation. Precipitating factors might contribute to the worsening in some patients. Logistic regression revealed that only interval since the last aggravation ≤6 months was associated with worsening after SARS-CoV-2 vaccination ( P = 0.01, OR = 8.62, 95% CI: 1.93-38.46)., Conclusion: SARS-CoV-2 vaccines (an overwhelming majority were inactivated vaccines) were found safe in milder Chinese MG patients who finished two doses. Worsening after vaccination was more frequently seen in patients who were presumed as potentially unstable (intervals since last aggravation ≤6 months). However, mild worsening did occur in patients who were presumed to be stable. Precipitating factors should still be sought and treated for better outcome., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Li, Shao, Song, Hu, Yue and Li.)

Objective: This study aims to establish an optimization procedure to define the cut-offs of quantitative assays for acetylcholine receptor antibody (AChRAb), evaluate their diagnostic performance in myasthenia gravis (MG), and explore the association with clinical features., Methods: Samples from a representative cohort of 77 MG patients, 80 healthy controls (HC) and 80 other autoimmune diseases (OAD) patients were tested using competitive inhibition ELISA and RIA. Raw values (OD and cpm) and processed values (inhibition rate, binding rate and concentration) were used to define the cut-offs with statistical methods, a rough method, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Optimal cut-offs were selected by comparing false positive rates in HC and OAD individuals. The diagnostic performance was evaluated in whole MG cohort and subgroups. Agreement between ELISA and RIA for AChRAb positivity were examined with Kappa test and McNemar test. Clinical association with AChRAb was explored by comparison among subgroups and with Spearman rank correlation., Results: The optimal cut-offs for AChRAb positivity were determined as OD ≤ 1.79 for ELISA and cpm ≥ 1234.12 for RIA, which derived from statistical method and performed better than those derived from ROC curves. The sensitivity and specificity were 74.03%, 100% for ELISA, and 74.03%, 99.37% for RIA. There was good agreement between ELISA and RIA for AChRAb positivity in whole cohort and subgroups (weighted к ≥ 0.71, p < 0.01; McNemar test, p > 0.05). Levels of AChRAb were different in MG subgroups (p < 0.01). Correlation between Quantitative Myasthenia Gravis scores and AChRAb levels was moderate for ELISA and RIA (r s  = -0.60 and 0.57, p < 0.01)., Conclusion: The raw testing values of ELISA and RIA were found as optimal quantitative measures of AChRAb levels. There are good agreements on diagnostic performance between two assays. Quantitative values are more informative than positivity in association with clinical features., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Currently, no consensus exists regarding Sotos syndrome in the Chinese population. Here, we present a case of neonatal Sotos syndrome, followed by a retrospective analysis of five cases of neonatal Sotos syndrome, reported in China. The study subject was a twin premature infant, heavier than gestational age, with characteristic facial features, limb shaking, and hypertonia. Transient hypoglycemia, abnormal cranial magnetic resonance imaging, multiple nodules in polycystic kidneys and liver, abnormal hearing, patent ductus arteriosus, and an atrial septal defect were also noted. The subject showed overgrowth and developmental retardation at 3 months of age. Sequencing revealed a novel missense mutation, c.5000C>A, in the nuclear receptor binding the SET domain protein 1 gene, resulting in an alanine-to-glutamate substitution. The bioinformatics analysis suggested high pathogenicity at this site. This study provides insights into diagnosis of neonatal Sotos syndrome based on specific phenotypes. Subsequent treatment and follow-up should focus on developmental retardation, epilepsy, and scoliosis.

Metastasis is the major cause of death in patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), and circulating tumor cells (CTCs) play an important role in the development of metastasis. However, few studies have uncovered the metastasis mechanism of PDAC based on CTCs. In this study, the existing bulk RNA-sequencing (bulk RNA-seq) and single-cell sequencing (scRNA-seq) data for CTCs in pancreatic cancer were obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. Analysis of tumor-infiltrating immune cells (TIICs) by CIBERSORT showed that the CTCs enriched from the peripheral blood of metastatic PDAC were found to contain a high proportion of T cell regulators (Tregs) and macrophages, while the proportion of dendritic cells (DCs) was lower than that enriched from localized PDAC. Through weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) and the result of scRNA-seq, we identified the hub module (265 genes) and 87 marker genes, respectively, which were highly associated with metastasis. The results of functional enrichment analysis indicated that the two gene sets mentioned above are mainly involved in cell adhesion and cytoskeleton and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Finally, we found that HMGB3 was the hub gene according to the Venn diagram. The expression of HMGB3 in PDAC was significantly higher than that in normal tissues (protein and mRNA levels). HMGB3 expression was significantly positively correlated with both EMT-related molecules and CTC cluster-related markers. Furthermore, it was also found that HMGB3 mutations were favorably related to tumor-associated immune cells through the TIMER2.0 online tool. We further demonstrated that PDAC patients with higher HMGB3 expression had significantly worse overall survival (OS) in multiple datasets. In summary, our study suggests that HMGB3 is a hub gene associated with EMT in CTCs, the formation of CTC clusters, and infiltration patterns of immune cells favorable for tumor progression and metastasis to distant organs., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Tang, Wang, Xie, Tan, Li, Shen, Zhang, Lei and Zhou.)

Background: The absolute change in the severity score between the baseline and pre-specified time frame (absolute criterion) was recommended as a criterion for myasthenia gravis (MG) treatment response. But heterogeneity of disease severity might dilute major changes in individual patients. The rationality of relative criterion (improvement percentage) had not been evaluated in treatment response in patients with MG., Objectives: To investigate the consistency between an absolute criterion and a relative criterion in the evaluation of treatment response in patients with MG., Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the treatment response to a 3-month standardized treatment protocol with only glucocorticoid in 257 MG patients native to immunological treatments. With the commonly used absolute criterion, cut-offs of relative criteria were generated with the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve in the whole cohort and in patients with different degrees of baseline severity stratified by pre-treatment quantitative myasthenia gravis score (QMGS). The consistency between absolute and relative criteria was examined with Cohen's Kappa test and Venn diagrams., Results: The absolute and relative criteria had an overall substantial consistency (Kappa value, 0.639, p < 0.001) in the cohort. The Kappa values were substantial to almost perfect in mild and moderate groups and moderate in severe groups between the absolute and relative criteria (all p ≤ 0.001). More patients were classified as responsive with an absolute criterion while as unresponsive with a relative criterion in the moderate and severe groups., Conclusions: The overall consistency between absolute and relative criteria was substantial in the whole cohort. The inconsistency between the two criteria was mainly from the moderate or severe patients at the baseline., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Li, Jiang, Xie, Liang, Li, Zhao, Yue and Li.)

Introduction: We investigated the safety and explore potential efficacy of batoclimab administered subcutaneously in Chinese patients with generalized myasthenia gravis (gMG)., Methods: A randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled, parallel phase II study was conducted. First, in the double-blinded treatment period, eligible patients received batoclimab (680 mg), batoclimab (340 mg), or placebo on days 1, 8, 15, 22, 29, and 36. In the open-label treatment period, patients received batoclimab (340 mg) on days 50, 64, and 78. In the follow-up period, patients were examined on days 92, 106, and 120. The primary endpoint was Myasthenia Gravis Activities of Daily Living (MG-ADL) score change on day 43 from baseline., Results: In total, 30 eligible patients were enrolled, with 11, 10, and 9 patients in the batoclimab 680 mg, batoclimab 340 mg, and placebo groups, respectively. MG-ADL score changes from baseline to day 43 were -2.2 ± 0.9, -4.7 ± 0.6, and -4.4 ± 1.0 in the placebo, batoclimab 340 mg, and 680 mg groups, respectively. Similar changes were observed in Quantitative Myasthenia Gravis, Myasthenia Gravis Composite, and 15-item Myasthenia Gravis Quality of Life scores in the placebo, batoclimab 340 mg, and 680 mg groups, respectively. The proportion of patients with clinically significant improvement on day 43 was higher in the batoclimab groups. On day 120, all four scales in the placebo group had more significant improvement compared with the batoclimab groups, with total serum IgG levels reaching a plateau. No death or treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) led to study discontinuation., Conclusion: Batoclimab is effective and safe in Chinese patients with gMG., Trial Registration: This study was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT04346888) on 15 April 2020, with the first patient enrolled on 23 July 2020., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Introduction: Minimal manifestation (MM) or better was recommended as the treatment goal for myasthenia gravis (MG). The sustainability of this status has not been described quantitatively in patients who had attained or are close to it., Methods: Patients who were with no or slight impact on daily living were recruited and followed at baseline and 3, 6, and 12 months. The included patients were classified into 3 post-intervention status (PIS) categories: remission (R), MM, and slight impact (SI). The proportion of patients belonging to real-time (not considering the intervals between assessments) and sustained (considering the intervals between assessments) PIS categories was compared at each follow-up. A sensitivity analysis (SA) cohort was established by including patients with PIS categories in all four follow-ups. The QMGS, MG-ADL, and MG-QOL15 scores in patients belonging to each PIS category at each follow-up were compared. The sustainability of the R/MM status was examined and correlated with real-time R/MM status at follow-ups., Results: At baseline, 376 patients could be classified, including 55 as R (14.2%), 209 as MM (54.0%), and 112 as SI (28.9%). In the whole cohort, 68.8-89.7%, 71-76.7% and 19.8-77.1% of the patients classified into real-time R, MM, and SI categories remained unchanged in each follow-up compared with the previous follow-up. The proportion of patients belonging to each real-time or sustained R/MM status at the three follow-ups was 89.7-92.1 or 60.8-67. In the SA cohort, at least 86.4% of the baseline R/MM patients remained in R/MM status till 12 months. There were no differences in keeping real-time R/MM status at 6 or 12 months between patients with and without sustained R/MM status at 3 and 6 months. There were differences in the QMGS, MG-ADL, and MG-QOL15 scores among patients belonging to each real-time category at baseline and follow-ups, ranking as R < MM < SI. The same trend was observed in patients belonging to each sustained PIS category with smaller scores than the same items of real-time categories., Conclusion: The sustainability of the R/MM status was confirmed. The R/MM status indicated a stable state of MG. The QMGS, MG-ADL, and MG-QOL15 scores may provide a quantitative reference for these PIS., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Jiang, Li, Li, Zhang, Yue, Wang, Zi, Liu, Li, Jiao and Li.)

We report a combined experimental and theoretical study on intriguing magnetic properties of quasiferroelectric orthochromates. Large single crystals of the family of RECrO 3 (RE = Y, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb, and Lu) compounds were successfully grown. Neutron Laue study indicates a good quality of the obtained single crystals. Applied magnetic field and temperature dependent magnetization measurements reveal their intrinsic magnetic properties, especially the antiferromagnetic (AFM) transition temperatures. Density functional theory studies of the electronic structures were carried out using the Perdew-Burke-Ernzerhof functional plus Hubbard U method. Crystallographic information and magnetism were theoretically optimized systematically. When RE 3+ cations vary from Y 3+ and Eu 3+ to Lu 3+ ions, the calculated t - e orbital hybridization degree and Néel temperature behave similarly to the experimentally determined AFM transition temperature with variation in cationic radius. We found that the t - e hybridization is anisotropic, causing a magnetic anisotropy of Cr 3+ sublattices. This was evaluated with the nearest-neighbor J 1 - J 2 model. Our research provides a picture of the electronic structures during the t - e hybridization process while changing RE ions and sheds light on the nature of the weak ferromagnetism coexisting with predominated antiferromagnetism. The available large RECrO 3 single crystals build a platform for further studies of orthochromates., Competing Interests: The authors declare the following competing financial interest(s): Y. H. Zhu, S. Wu, and H.-F. Li have a 2021 China Invention Patent (CN110904497B) through University of Macau based on this work: A method of centimeter-sized single crystal growth of chromate compounds and related storage device., (© 2022 The Author(s).)

Bacteria growing inside biofilms are more resistant to hostile environments, conventional antibiotics, and mechanical stresses than their planktonic counterparts. It is estimated that more than 80% of microbial infections in human patients are biofilm-based, and biofouling induced by the biofilms of some bacteria causes serious ecological and economic problems throughout the world. Therefore, exploring highly effective anti-biofilm compounds has become an urgent demand for the medical and marine industries. Marine microorganisms, a well-documented and prolific source of natural products, provide an array of structurally distinct secondary metabolites with diverse biological activities. However, up to date, only a handful of anti-biofilm natural products derived from marine microorganisms have been reported. Meanwhile, it is worth noting that some promising antifouling (AF) compounds from marine microbes, particularly those that inhibit settlement of fouling invertebrate larvae and algal spores, can be considered as potential anti-biofilm agents owing to the well-known knowledge of the correlations between biofilm formation and the biofouling process of fouling organisms. In this review, a total of 112 anti-biofilm, anti-larval, and anti-algal natural products from marine microbes and 26 of their synthetic analogues are highlighted from 2000 to 2021. These compounds are introduced based on their microbial origins, and then categorized into the following different structural groups: fatty acids, butenolides, terpenoids, steroids, phenols, phenyl ethers, polyketides, alkaloids, flavonoids, amines, nucleosides, and peptides. The preliminary structure-activity relationships (SAR) of some important compounds are also briefly discussed. Finally, current challenges and future research perspectives are proposed based on opinions from many previous reviews.

Background: Complex tibial plateau fractures can seriously affect quality of life and physical and mental health of patients. The anatomical relationship between the proximal tibial bone and soft tissue is complex, resulting in different types of tibial plateau fractures. Violent trauma can lead to displaced fracture, serious soft tissue injury, and potentially, dislocation of the knee joint. Therefore, tibial plateau fractures are extremely unstable., Aim: To assess the use of locking compression plate (LCP) + T-type steel plate for postoperative weight bearing and functional recovery of complex tibial plateau fractures., Methods: Ninety-seven patients with complex tibial plateau fractures who underwent surgery at our hospital were selected for retrospective study. Forty-nine patients had been treated with LCP + T-type steel plate limited internal fixation (study group), and 48 patients with bilateral ordinary steel plate support (control group). The operation process index, postoperative rehabilitation related index, Rasmussen score of the knee joint, tibial plateau varus angle (TPA), tibial plateau retroversion angle (PA), and surgical complications of the two groups were compared., Results: The operation time and intraoperative bone graft volume in the study group were lower than those in the control group ( P < 0.05). There were no significant differences in surgical bleeding, anterior external incision length, postoperative drainage, hospital stay duration, and fracture healing time between the groups ( P > 0.05). There was no significant difference in the TPA and PA angle between the groups immediately and 18 mo after surgery ( P > 0.05). At 12 mo after surgery, the Rasmussen scale score was higher in the study group than in the control group ( P < 0.05). There was no significant difference in the Rasmussen scale score at 18 mo after surgery, and the radiology score at 12 and 18 mo after surgery, between the two groups ( P > 0.05). The postoperative complication rate in the study group (3.77%) was lower than that in the control group (15.09%; P < 0.05)., Conclusion: LCP + T-type steel plate internal fixation has advantages in terms of minimizing trauma and enabling early postoperative functional exercise, promoting functional recovery and lower limb weight-bearing, and reducing postoperative complications., Competing Interests: Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest., (©The Author(s) 2022. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.)

The variation of water level is the main environmental factor controlling the growth of aquatic vegetation. It is of significance to understand its influences on aquatic vegetation coverage in sub-lakes under different hydrolo-gical control modes. Taking the free connected sub-lake Bang Lake and locally controlled sub-lake Dahuchi Lake of Poyang Lake as a case and based on remote sensing cloud computing platform of the Google Earth Engine (GEE), we used the pixel binary model to estimate aquatic vegetation coverage from 2000 to 2019, and analyzed the temporal and spatial differentiation characteristics, and the variation trend was simulated by combining the method of Sen+M-K. We analyzed the water level change characteristics during the study period and the relationship between the hydrological parameters and the aquatic vegetation coverage area of sub-lakes with different hydrological connectivity was explored by setting up the water level fluctuation parameters. The results showed that the aquatic vegetation coverage of Bang Lake was more susceptible to water level changes, while Dahuchi Lake was more stable. The aquatic vegetation was patchily and sporadically distributed in the years with low vegetation coverage. In the years with high vegetation coverage, it was distributed in a ring-like pattern, spreading from the center of the lake to the shore. The aquatic vegetation coverage of Bang Lake was more likely influenced by water level fluctuation rate, while the aquatic vegetation coverage of Dahuchi Lake was more likely influenced by the flooding duration of 17 m characteristic water level. The flooding duration of 19 m characteristic water level had a strong negative correlation with the aquatic vegetation coverage of Bang Lake and Dahuchi Lake. The trend of aquatic vegetation in Bang Lake was dominated by stabilization and slight improvement, while that in Dahuchi Lake was dominated by stabilization and significant degradation. Our results could help to further understand the dynamics of water hydrological ecosystem with different hydrological connectivity and provide a reference for lake management and conservation.

In this study, liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry(LC-MS) and high performance liquid chromatography(HPLC) were employed for qualitative and quantitative analysis of the steroidal saponins in rhizomes of Paris polyphylla var. yunnanensis from three different habitats cultured in vitro, in an attempt to explore whether the rhizomes of the medicinal herb cultured in vitro can synthesize the steroidal saponins, including polyphyllinsⅠ, Ⅱ, and Ⅶ, the quality markers specified in Chinese Pharmacopoeia(2020 edition). A total of 20 steroidal saponins were identified in the rhizomes from Changxin, Yunlong(S1), Fengyi, Dali(S2), and Niujie, Eryuan(S3): parisyunnanoside A and parisyunnanoside D or E, proto-polyphyllin Ⅱ, polyphyllins G and H, polyphyllinsⅠ, Ⅱ, Ⅴ, Ⅵ, and Ⅶ, dioscin, gracillin, prosapogenin A, Tg, isomer of Th, saponin Th, reclinatoside, proto-pairs D, pseudoproto-dioscin, and 23-O-glc-(23S,25R)-spirost-5-en-3β,23α,27-triol-3-O-rha-(1→2)-[ara(1→4)]-glc or 27-O-glc-(23S,25R)-spirost-5-en-3β,27α-diol-3-O-rha-(1→2)-[ara(1→4)]-glc. Among them, polyphyllinsⅠ, Ⅱ, and Ⅶ were detected in the rhizomes from S1, with the mass fraction of 0.109 1%, 0.165 2%, and 0.051 03%, respectively(total 0.325 3%). Polyphyllins Ⅱ and Ⅶ were identified in the rhizomes from S2 with the respective mass fraction of 0.192 2% and 0.074 23% and total content of 0.266 5%. Moreover, polyphyllins Ⅱ and Ⅶ were also found in the rhizomes from S3, which had the mass fraction of 0.207 7% and 0.186 9%, separately, with the total content of 0.394 6%. Thus, steroidal saponins, including the quality makers polyphyllins Ⅰ, Ⅱ, and Ⅶ recorded in Chinese Pharmacopoeia(2020 edition) can be synthesized in rhizomes of Paris polyphylla var. yunnanensis cultured in vitro, but their total content fails to meet the standard(0.60% in Chinese Pharmacopoeia). Therefore, in vitro culture of the Paris polyphylla var. yunnanensis is feasible, but the culture conditions need to be further improved.

Background: Malignant urachal tumor is a rare subtype of genitourinary cancer. Our aim was to explore the optimal chemotherapy regimens for relapsed or metastatic urachal carcinoma., Materials and Methods: We retrospectively enrolled 24 adult patients with relapsed or metastatic urachal carcinoma from January 2014 to September 2020 at Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center. We summarized the chemotherapy regimens and classified them as fluorouracil based, platinum based, and paclitaxel based. Nine patients received XELOX (capecitabine and oxaliplatin) regimens, seven patients received TX (paclitaxel and capecitabine) regimens, and eight of them received chemotherapy including GP (gemcitabine and cisplatin), TP (paclitaxel and cisplatin), TN (paclitaxel and nedaplatin), and tislelizumab., Results: The disease control rate was 75%. Among all patients, one patient treated with XELOX achieved partial remission (PR), while 17 patients showed stable disease. The median progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) in all treated patients was 7.43 and 29.7 months, respectively. The patients receiving first-line platinum-based chemotherapy presented better PFS than those without platinum (median PFS 8.23 vs . 3.80 months, p = 0.032), but not significant for OS between two groups. There is no significant difference in PFS and OS for fluorouracil-based and paclitaxel-based groups as first-line regimen. Next-generation gene sequencing revealed TP53 mutation and low tumor mutational burden in five out of seven cases., Conclusion: The platinum-based chemotherapy regimen is effective for relapsed or metastatic urachal carcinoma., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Chen, Xue, Huang, Ni, Li, Li, Yang, Hu, Zheng, An and Shi.)

Background: Open reduction and internal fixation (ORIF) is the traditional surgical treatment for patellar fractures, and unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA), especially Oxford UKA, has been increasingly used in patients with medial knee osteoarthritis (OA). However, the process of choosing treatment for patients with both patellar fractures and anteromedial knee OA remains unclear. We present the case of a patient with a patellar fracture and anteromedial OA., Case Summary: We present the case of a 72-year-old woman with a history of bilateral medial compartment OA of the knees and a right Oxford UKA. She also experienced a recent left patellar fracture. ORIF and Oxford UKA were performed in a single stage. The patient showed excellent postoperative clinical results., Conclusion: ORIF and Oxford UKA can be performed simultaneously for patients with patellar fracture and anteromedial OA on the same knee., Competing Interests: Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors have no conflict of interest to declare., (©The Author(s) 2021. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.)

Complement component 3 (C3) had been proved to be involved in the pathogenesis and exacerbation of both myasthenia gravis (MG) patients and experimental autoimmune myasthenia gravis (EAMG) models. We evaluated the underlying association between five SNPs (rs344555, rs7951, rs3745568, rs366510 and rs163913) in C3 gene and Chinese adult MG patients. Our study consisted of 409 adult MG patients and 487 healthy controls. Subgroups were classified by gender, onset age, thymoma, anti-AChR antibody, onset muscle involvement (ocular/generalized) and severity (Oosterhuis score at the maximal severity during the initial two years after the onset of MG). We found significant differences in allele frequencies between MG and the control group, between various MG subgroups and the control group in rs344555 and rs3745568. There were significant differences in genotype frequencies between MG group and the control group, between MG subgroups and the control group under the codominant and additive inheritance models in rs344555 and rs3745568. No association was found between the frequencies of these SNPs and the severity of MG. We also used a comprehensive classification which was close to the clinical scenario to minimize the interaction among clinical features. In rs344555, the T allele frequency in thymoma (-) AChR-Ab (+) subgroup was significantly higher than that in the control group. Our results indicated that rs344555 was associated with the susceptibility of Chinese adult MG patients; rs3745568 was probably associated with the susceptibility of Chinese adult MG patients. No association was found between the frequencies of these SNPs and the severity of MG., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: The composition of intestinal flora in Chinese and Japanese has been reported in many studies but that in infants aged 0-6 years old has not been studied yet., Methods: The distribution characteristics of the fecal flora of infants in Beijing (n=84) and Japan (n=53) were analyzed using 16S rRNA gene sequencing analysis., Results: This study showed the higher relative abundance of Erysipelotrichaceae&#95; UCG-003 and Anaerostipes in male group that of Ruminiclostridium , Eubacterium , Senegalimassilia and Senegalimassilia in female group, especially Senegalimassilia , which was not detected in male group. Defecation trait groups indicated significantly higher relative abundance of Bifidobacterium in abnormal bowel trait group than that in the normal group (P<0.05). The feeding groups' analysis showed significantly higher relative abundance of Bifidobacterium and Enterococcus and lower abundance of Bacteroides and Lacetospirillaceae in the breast-feeding group than that in the formula feeding and mixed-feeding groups. The relative abundance of Parasutterella and Ruminococcaceae&#95;UCG-003 in the halitosis group was significantly higher than that in the normal group. The comparison of cold and fever group and normal group indicated significantly higher relative abundance of Erysipelatoclostridium and lower relative abundance of Lachnospiraceae &#95;UCG-001 in the fever and cold group than that in the normal group (P<0.05). The regional comparison of intestinal flora of Beijing and Japan showed significant increase in the relative abundance of Bacillus , Lactobacillus , Prevotella , megamonas and Veillonella in the intestinal flora of 0-6 years old infants in Beijing., Conclusions: These findings improve the understanding of intestinal bacterial and viral communities of infants from the two Asian countries., Competing Interests: Conflicts of Interest: All authors have completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure form (available at http://dx.doi.org/10.21037/tp-20-376). The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare., (2021 Translational Pediatrics. All rights reserved.)

Prior studies have examined the influence of MTHFR C677T on autism susceptibility, however, there are no consensus conclusions and specific analyses of a Chinese population. This meta-analysis included a false-positive report probability (FPRP) test to comprehensively evaluate the association of MTHFR C677T polymorphism with autism susceptibility among a Chinese Han population. A large-scale literature retrieval was conducted using various databases including PubMed, Embase, Wan Fang, and the Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) up to July 31, 2020, with a total of 2,258 cases and 2,073 controls included. The strength of correlation was assessed by odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs). MTHFR C677T showed a significant correlation with increased ASD susceptibility under all genetic models (T vs. C, OR = 1.89, 95% CI 1.28 to 2.79; TT vs. CC: OR = 2.44, 95% CI 1.43 to 4.15; CT vs. CC, OR = 1.73; 95% CI 1.19 to 2.51; CT + TT vs. CC: OR = 2.03, 95% CI 1.31 to 3.15; TT vs. CT + CC, OR = 1.95, 95% CI 1.21 to 3.13). Stratification analysis by region also revealed a consistent association in the Northern Han subgroup, but not in the Southern Han subgroup. Pooled minor allele frequency (MAF) of 30 studies were 45% in Northern Han and 39% in Southern Han. To avoid a possible "false positive report," we further investigated the significant associations observed in the present meta-analysis using the FPRP test, which consolidated the results. In conclusion, MTHFR C677T polymorphism is associated with the increased risk of autism in China, especially in Northern Han. For those mothers and children who are generally susceptible to autism, prenatal folate and vitamin B12 may reduce the risk that children suffer from autism, especially in Northern Han populations. In the future, more well-designed studies with a larger sample size are expected., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Li, Liu, Che, Ou, Ruan, Yu and Li.)

Myasthenia gravis (MG) is an autoimmune disease in which antibodies bind to acetylcholine receptors (AChR) or other functional molecules in the postsynaptic membrane at the neuromuscular junction. Vitamin D (VD) has a number of pluripotent effects, which include immune-regulation and bone metabolism. The immunomodulatory actions of 1,25(OH)2D3 are mediated by its binding to a vitamin D receptor (VDR). In the study, we undertook a case-control study to explore the association between VDR gene polymorphism and the susceptibility and severity of MG patients. Four hundred and eighty MG patients and 487 healthy controls were included and gene polymorphisms of VDR were determined with improved multiplex ligation detection reaction technique and SNPscan TM technique. MG patients were classified into subgroups by essential clinical features and by a comprehensive classification. The frequencies of alleles and genotypes were compared between the MG group and the control group, between each MG subgroup and the control group, and between each pair of MG subgroups. There were no significant differences in frequencies of alleles and genotypes between MG patients and healthy controls, between MG subgroups and healthy controls, or between each pair of MG subgroups in the analysis of subgroups classified by essential clinical features (onset age, gender, thymoma, AChRAb positivity, onset involvement) and the maximal severity (modified Oosterhuis score). In the analysis of subgroups with a comprehensive classification, the frequencies of alleles and genotypes in rs731236 showed significant differences between adult non-thymoma AChRAb negative MG subgroup and the control group, as well as the adult non-thymoma AChRAb positive MG group. In the Chinese Han population, rs731236 was found to be possibly associated with adult non-thymoma AChRAb negative MG patients, although this needs further confirmation., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Han, Yue, Gao, Xie, Hao, Li, Yu, Li, Duan and Li.)