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Research evaluating predictors of mathematics ability in preschoolers with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is scarce and inconclusive. The present study first compared the mathematics ability and cognitive abilities of preschoolers with ASD and age-matched typically developing (TD) peers. Then, we examined the relative contributions of cognitive abilities to the mathematics ability of preschoolers with ASD and TD. The results show that compared to those of their age-matched TD peers, the mathematics and cognitive abilities of preschoolers with ASD were impaired. The predictors of mathematics ability were found to differ among preschoolers with ASD and their age-matched TD peers. For TD preschoolers, the domain-specific approximate number system (ANS) was the key predictor of mathematics ability. For preschoolers with ASD, domain-general working memory (WM) was most important.

Medical devices and human implant materials carry a risk of bacterial infection. Biocompatible and adhesive antibacterial materials that prevent biofilm formation are commonly used to reduce the risk. Herein, a crosslinked chitosan/ gelatin (CG) hybrid hydrogel with antibacterial and adhesive properties was developed by introducing berberine hydrochloride (BBR) and adhesive prepolymerized gallic acid (PGA) to the hydrogel. BBR self-assembles into nanoparticles and imparts AIE function to hydrogels by intermolecular electrostatic interactions and [pi]-[pi] stacking. The hydrogel was used as a stable carrier for BBR. The antibiofilm performance against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus after light exposure increased from 20% and 30% (CG hydrogel) to 74% and 85% (CGBBRPGA hydrogel), respectively. When used as a photodynamic agent, the hybrid hydrogel exhibited enhanced antibacterial and antibiofilm capabilities against both Gram-negative (E. coli) and Gram-positive (S. aureus) bacteria. The CGBBRPGA hydrogel showed strong adhesion to the surfaces of pig skin (9.2 kPa), glass (7.6 kPa), steel sheet (5.8 kPa), and PEEK sheet (5.5 kPa). Furthermore, it exhibits cell adhesion and shows negligible cytotoxicity, which indicates its cytocompatibility. Consequently, the fabricated hybrid hydrogel offers potential applications in biomedicine, particularly in wound dressing and surface modification of medical implants. KEYWORDS aggregation-induced emission, antibacteria, hydrogel, tissue adhesion, 1 | INTRODUCTION Medical polymers have long been used as an important material for dental implants; however, the short service life of such implants is a common challenge in clinical [...]

Research evaluating predictors of mathematics ability in preschoolers with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is scarce and inconclusive. The present study first compared the mathematics ability and cognitive abilities of preschoolers with ASD and age-matched typically developing (TD) peers. Then, we examined the relative contributions of cognitive abilities to the mathematics ability of preschoolers with ASD and TD. The results show that compared to those of their age-matched TD peers, the mathematics and cognitive abilities of preschoolers with ASD were impaired. The predictors of mathematics ability were found to differ among preschoolers with ASD and their age-matched TD peers. For TD preschoolers, the domain-specific approximate number system (ANS) was the key predictor of mathematics ability. For preschoolers with ASD, domain-general working memory (WM) was most important., Author(s): Lijuan Wang [sup.1] , Xiao Liang [sup.1] , Bo Jiang [sup.1] , Qiutong Wu [sup.1] , Luyao Jiang [sup.1] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.27446.33, 0000 0004 1789 9163, School of [...]

Whether higher-level visual processing of visual objects can occur without awareness remains controversial. Here, the sandwich masking procedure and event-related potential (ERP) were applied to investigate the unconscious processing of visual objects. The behavioral results indicated that sandwich masking successfully eliminated visual awareness of the masked images. The ERP results revealed that early visual processing, which was reflected by the N/P100 effect, was preserved in the absence of visual awareness. However, higher-level visual processing was eliminated by sandwich masking. The present study suggests that the unconscious processing of visual objects is limited to early visual processing., Author(s): Bingbing Li [sup.1] , Luyao Jiang [sup.1] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.411857.e, 0000 0000 9698 6425, School of Education Science, Jiangsu Normal University, , NO. 101 Shanghai Road, 221116, Xuzhou, [...]

Objective: Optically active (R)-ethyl 4-chloro-3-hydroxybutyrate ((R)-CHBE) is a useful chiral building block for the synthesis of pharmaceuticals. Recently, there has been great interest in the synthesis of (R)-CHBE via the highly stereoselective bioreduction of ethyl 4-chloro-3-oxobutanoate (COBE) under mild conditions. Methods: A highly efficient bioreduction process for transforming COBE into (R)-CHBE was developed in a biocompatible organic solvent–deep eutectic solvent–water reaction medium. Results: Recombinant Escherichia coli containing carbonyl reductase (CgCR) and glucose dehydrogenase (GDH) was successfully constructed and characterized. In addition, the feasibility of the asymmetric bioreduction of COBE to (R)-CHBE was verified in an organic solvent–deep eutectic solvent–water (ethyl acetate-betaine/lactic acid-water) system. At pH 7.0 and 30 °C, the kinetic constants Km and kcat of COBE were 20.9 mM and 56.1 s−1, respectively. A high (R)-CHBE yield (≥90%) was achieved by catalyzing COBE (1000 mM) in 12 h with E. coli CgCR cells in the presence of Ni2+ (7 mM) and glucose (3.5 mM glucose/mM COBE) in an ethyl acetate-betaine/lactic acid-H2O (50/7/43, v/v/v) system. The effects of organic solvents and DESs on whole-cell permeability were analyzed. Conclusions: An efficient bioreduction system was constructed for biologically transforming COBE to (R)-CHBE via whole-cell biocatalysis, and the established bioprocess has potential application in future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mineralization can help improve the mechanical properties and degradation rates of collagen scaffolds while ensuring good biocompatibility, thereby providing a suitable microenvironment for osteogenic differentiation. Intrafibrillar/extrafibrillar mineralization of collagen is promoted by polymer‐induced liquid precursors (PILP). In this study, polyacrylamide (PAM) was introduced to PILP which synergistically mineralized collagen scaffold intrafibrillarly and extrafibrillarly. PAM and polyacrylic acid (PAA) can stabilize the amorphous calcium phosphate (ACP), to form a PILP of PAM and PAA/ACP. As a control, another scaffold material was formed using the conventional mineralization method, that is, soaking collagen in a simulated body fluid. Collagen mineralization was characterized using SEM and TEM. After 7 days of mineralization with PILP, intrafibrillar crystallization of collagen was significantly higher than that in the control group, and the stiffness and modulus of this scaffold material significantly increased. Cellular experiment results indicated that the PILP‐mineralized collagen scaffold was biocompatible and promoted the osteogenic differentiation of MC3T3‐E1 pre‐osteoblasts. Biomimetic mineralization by PILP will assist the fabrication of mineralized collagen scaffold for bone repair applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pseudorabies virus (PRV) is an important pathogen harming the global pig industry. Vaccines available for swine cannot protect against PRV completely. Furthermore, no antiviral drugs are available to treat PRV infections. Rehmmannia glutinosa polysaccharide (RGP) possesses several medicinal properties. However, its antiviral activity is not reported. In the present study, we found that RGP can inhibit PRV/XJ5 infection by western blotting, immunofluorescent assay (IFA), and TCID 50 assay quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). We revealed RGP can inhibit virus adsorption and invasion into PK-15 cells in a dose-dependent manner via western blotting, IFA, TCID 50 assay, and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR), and suppressed PRV/XJ5 replication through western blotting, and qPCR. Additionally, it also reduced PRV/XJ5-induced ROS, lipid oxidation, and improved SOD levels in PK-15 cells, which was observed by using corresponding test kits. To conclude, our findings suggest that RGP might be a novel therapeutic agent for preventing and controlling PRV infection and antioxidant agent., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Danggui Jixueteng decoction (DJD) has been used to treat anemia for many years and has been shown to be effective. However, the mechanism of action and effective components are yet unknown. We want to search for pharmacodynamic components in DJD with therapeutic effects on myelosuppression after chemotherapy (MAC), utilizing a spectrum-effect connection study based on gray relational analysis and partial least-squares regression analysis. Transcriptome sequencing (RNA-Seq) was used to investigate the mechanism by which DJD treats MAC. In this study, fingerprints of different batches of DJD (S1-S10) were established by ultraperformance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS), after which the resulting shared peaks were screened and identified. A total of 21 common peaks were screened through the fingerprints of different batches of DJD, and the similarity of each profile was greater than 0.92. The 21 shared peaks were identified by comparison with the standard sample and searching on a MassLynx 4.1 workstation. The rat model of MAC was established by intraperitoneal injection of cyclophosphamide, and DJD treatment was carried out in parallel with the establishment of the model. White blood cell count, red blood cell count, platelet count, interleukin-3, hemoglobin concentration, granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor, and nucleated cell count were used as efficacy indicators. Pharmacodynamic results indicated that DJD could effectively improve the pharmacodynamic indices of MAC rats. The results of gray relational analysis demonstrated eight peaks with high correlation with efficacy, which were 2, 7, 10, 14, 15, 16, 18, and 21, and the partial least-squares regression analysis showed four peaks with variable importance in projection values greater than 1, which were 10, 12, 13, and 19. RNA-Seq was used to identify DEGs in rat bone marrow cells, Gene Ontology functional enrichment and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway enrichment analyses of DEGs were performed. The genes related to the effects of DJD on MAC were mainly involved in the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/serine-threonine kinase (PI3K-Akt) signaling pathway, the mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling pathway, actin cytoskeleton regulation, focal adhesion, and Rap1 signaling pathways. The results of the RNA-Seq study were confirmed by a qPCR experiment. The effective compounds of DJD against MAC include albiflorin, paeoniflorin, gallopaeoniflorin, salvianolic acid H/I, albiflorin R1, salvianolic acid B, salvianolic acid E, benzoylpaeoniflorin, and C 12 H 18 N 5 O 4 . The mechanism by which DJD prevents and treats MAC might involve the control of the PI3K-Akt signaling pathway., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing financial interest., (© 2024 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society.)

Variant pseudorabies viruses (vPRV) have constantly emerged in China since late 2011. In the present study, a 1 × 10 6.0 TCID 50 per-animal dosage of a commercially available Bartha-K61 vaccine and an rPRV/XJ5-gI - /gE - /TK - prototype vaccine freshly extracted from the vPRV/XJ-5 at the same dose were administered to evaluate the immune effectiveness thereof on growing pigs to prevent lethal strikes caused by vPRV/XJ-5. The results suggest that the Bartha-K61 vaccine at a dose of 1 × 10 6.0 TCID 50 per animal and the same dosage of the rPRV/XJ5-gI - /gE - /TK - prototype vaccine protected growing pigs against the lethal challenge of vPRV/XJ-5 strain with 100% survive rate. Furthermore, the outcome of the clinical score, virus shedding, weight gain, and viral loads in different pig tissues in these two groups demonstrates that either the Bartha-K61 vaccine or the rPRV/XJ5-gI - /gE - /TK - prototype vaccine at the same dose exhibited parallel efficacy in pigs against the lethal challenge with the XJ-5 strain of vPRV., 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 Ren, Li, Pan, Wang, Gao, Huan, Wang, Zhang, Jiang, Gao, Kai and Chen.)