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Background: Asthma is the most common chronic disease among children and poses a significant threat to their health. This study aims to assess the relationship between various plasma proteins and childhood asthma, thereby identifying potential therapeutic targets. Methods: Based on publicly available genome‐wide association study summary statistics, we employed a two‐sample Mendelian randomization (MR) approach to elucidate the causal relationship between plasma proteins and asthma. Mediation analysis was then conducted to evaluate the indirect influence of plasma proteins on childhood asthma mediated through risk factors. Comprehensive analysis was also conducted to explore the association between plasma proteins and various phenotypes using the UK Biobank dataset. Results: MR analysis uncovered a causal relationship between 10 plasma proteins and childhood asthma. Elevated levels of seven proteins (TLR4, UBP25, CBR1, Rac GTPase‐activating protein 1 [RGAP1], IL‐21, MICB, and PDE4D) and decreased levels of three proteins (GSTO1, LIRB4 and PIGF) were associated with an increased risk of childhood asthma. Our findings further validated the connections between reported risk factors (body mass index, mood swings, hay fever or allergic rhinitis, and eczema or dermatitis) and childhood asthma. Mediation analysis revealed the influence of proteins on childhood asthma outcomes through risk factors. Furthermore, the MR analysis identified 73 plasma proteins that exhibited causal associations with at least one risk factor for childhood asthma. Among them, RGAP1 mediates a significant proportion (25.10%) of the risk of childhood asthma through eczema or dermatitis. Finally, a phenotype‐wide association study based on these 10 proteins and 1403 diseases provided novel associations between these biomarkers and multiple phenotypes. Conclusion: Our study comprehensively investigated the causal relationship between plasma proteins and childhood asthma, providing novel insights into potential therapeutic targets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate the clinical features of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) in hospitalized patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and to analyze the impact of CDI on IBD. Methods: A prospective study on patients newly diagnosed with IBD was conducted at the IBD center at Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital from March 2015 to May 2016. Stool samples for anaerobic culture and polymerase chain reaction were used to test CDI and to detect the different toxins in the groups. The patients were followed up for 2 years. Results: Altogether 230 patients with IBD were enrolled, including 77 with ulcerative colitis (UC) and 153 with Crohn's disease (CD). The incidence rate of CDI was 13.9% (32/230). Patients with UC were more susceptible to CDI than those with CD (24.7% vs 8.5%, P < 0.01). Among UC patients, a long disease course, prior hospitalization, proton pump inhibitor use, and disease severity were associated with an increased risk of CDI (all P < 0.05). CDI prolonged hospital stay and increased the rate of long‐term surgery rate in UC (both P < 0.05). Among patients with CD, CDI increased both short‐ and long‐term surgery rates during the 2‐year follow‐up (P < 0.05) and increased repeated hospitalization in the follow‐up study (odds ratio 2.41, P = 0.02). Conclusions: A high incidence rate of CDI in patients hospitalized with IBD was related with longer hospital stay and higher surgery rates in our center. Patients with UC are more vulnerable to CDI than those with CD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim To determine whether spleen diffusion-weighted imaging ( DWI) parameters might classify liver fibrosis stage. Methods Sixteen miniature pigs were prospectively used to model liver fibrosis, and underwent spleen DWI by using b = 300, 500 and 800 s/mm2 on 0, 5th, 9th, 16th and 21st weekend after the beginning of modeling. Signal intensity ratio of spleen to paraspinous muscles ( S/ M), spleen exponential apparent diffusion coefficient (e ADC) and apparent diffusion coefficient ( ADC) for each b-value were statistically analyzed. Results With increasing stages of fibrosis, S/ M for all b-values showed a downward trend; and spleen e ADC and ADC for b = 300 s/mm2 showed downward and upward trends, respectively (all P < 0.05). The area under the receiver-operator curve ( AUC) of spleen DWI parameters was 0.777 or more by S/ M for classifying each fibrosis stage, and 0.65 or more by e ADC and 0.648 or more by ADC for classifying stage ≥3 or cirrhosis. Among the spleen DWI parameters, S/ M for b = 300 s/mm2 was the best parameter in classifying stage 1 or more, 2 or more and 3 or more with AUC of 0.875, 0.851 and 0.843, respectively; and spleen eADC for b = 300 s/mm2 was best in classifying stage 4 with an AUC of 0.988. Conclusion Spleen DWI may be used to stage liver fibrosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two novel d10 metal coordination polymers [Cd2(Hmna)4] n ( 1), [Zn2(ddca)2 (dpe)] n ·nH2O ( 2) (H2mna = 6-mercaptonicotinic acid, H2ddca = 6, 6'-dithiodinicotinic acid, dpe = 1, 2-bis(4-pyridyl)ethylene), were hydrothermally synthesized and characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Compound 1 is a cyclic double chain structure containing 16-number and 32-number circles with (Hmna)- ligands as bridges, in which the starting H2ddca reagent was unprecedentedly converted into H2mna ligands via in situ cleavage of S-S bonds during the course of hydrothermal treatment. In compound 2, two five-coordinate zinc centers are connected with carboxylate groups of H2ddca ligands to give a binuclear [Zn2(CO2)4] unit, which are linked by dpe ligands to form a 2D network structure. It is worth noting that compound 2 displays a twofold 2D+2D parallel interpenetration framework containing a polyrotaxane-like motif. In addition, the thermal stablities and photoluminescence properties of compounds 1 and 2 were also studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Atrial esophageal fistula (AEF) is a lethal complication that can occur post atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation. Esophageal injury (EI) is likely to be the initial lesion leading to AEF. Endoscopic examination is the gold standard for a diagnosis of EI but extensive endoscopic screening is invasive and costly. This study was conducted to determine whether fecal calprotectin (Fcal), a marker of inflammation throughout the intestinal tract, may be associated with the existence of esophageal injury. Methods: This diagnostic study was conducted in a cohort of 166 patients with symptomatic AF undergoing radiofrequency catheter ablation from May 2020 to June 2021. Fcal tests were performed 1–7 days after ablation. All patients underwent endoscopic ultrasonography 1 or 2 days after ablation. Results: The levels of Fcal were significantly different between the EI and non‐EI groups (404.9 µg/g (IQR 129.6–723.6) vs. 40.4 µg/g (IQR 15.0–246.2), p <.001). Analysis of ROC curves revealed that a Fcal level of 125 µg/g might be the optimal cut‐off value for a diagnosis of EI, giving a 78.8% sensitivity and a 65.4% specificity. The negative predictive value of Fcal was 100% for ulcerated EI. Conclusions: The level of Fcal is associated with EI post AF catheter ablation. 125 µg/g might be the optimal cut‐off value for a diagnosis of EI. Negative Fcal could predict the absence of ulcerated EI, which could be considered a precursor to AEF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND Plastic-covered ridge-furrow farming systems for rainfall concentration ( RC) improve the water availability for crops and increase the water use efficiency ( WUE), thereby stabilizing high yields. In this study, we optimized the mulching patterns for RC planting to mitigate the risks of drought during crop production in semiarid agricultural areas. We conducted a 4-year field study to determine the RC effects on corn production of mulching in furrows with 8% biodegradable films ( RCSB), liquid film ( RCSL), bare furrow ( RCSN) and conventional flat ( CF) farming. RESULTS We found that RC significantly ( P > 0.05) increased the soil moisture in the top 0-100 cm layer and the topsoil temperature (0-20 cm) during the corn-growing period. Mulching with different materials in planting furrows further improved the rain-harvesting, moisture-retaining and yield-increasing effects of RC planting. Compared with CF, the 4-year average total dry matter amount per plant for RCSB, RCSL and RCSN treatments increased by 42.1%, 30.8% and 17.2%, respectively. The grain yield increased by 59.7%, 53.4% and 32.6%, respectively. CONCLUSION Plastic-covered ridge and furrow mulched with biodegradable film and liquid film is recommended for use in the semiarid Loess Plateau of China to alleviate the effects of drought on crop production. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The employment of the new Schiff base ligand 2‐[(4‐chloro‐2‐hydroxybenzylideneamino)methyl]phenol (H2L) bearing O2N donors for the preparation of a novel Co6 cluster is reported. The hexanuclear cobalt complex, namely, di‐μ2‐acetatotetrakis{μ2‐2‐[(4‐chloro‐2‐oxidobenzylideneamino)methyl]phenolato}tetra‐μ3‐methanolato‐tetracobalt(II)dicobalt(III), [CoII4CoIII2(C14H10ClNO2)4(CH3COO)2(CH3O)4], was obtained using Co(CH3COO)2·4H2O and H2L as starting materials in MeOH under solvothermal conditions. The six metal ions are linked together by the μ3‐O atoms of four deprotonated MeOH molecules, two CH3COO− units and six phenolate O atoms of four L2− ligands to form a defect disk‐shaped topology. DC magnetic susceptibility investigations revealed the existence of antiferromagnetic interactions in the Co6 cluster. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To compare the performance of gastroenterologists major in western medicine in diagnosing traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) syndrome types of functional dyspepsia (FD), postprandial distress (PDS) and epigastric pain syndromes (EPS) based on the main symptoms, with that of traditional TCM practitioners in outpatient services. Methods: Patients with PDS or EPS were enrolled in the study from six tertiary referral centers between January 2016 and December 2017. Their symptoms were first diagnosed by medical doctors, and then by the TCM practitioners. The diagnostic agreement between the gastroenterologists and the TCM practitioners was calculated. The patients' data and their types of FD syndrome were collected and analyzed. Results: In total 160 patients, including 81 with PDS and 79 with EPS were enrolled. The total diagnostic consistency rate between the gastroenterologists and TCM practitioners was 86.3%, while that of PDS and EPS was 85.2% and 87.3%, respectively. The most common type of PDS diagnosed by TCM practitioners was liver‐stomach disharmony syndrome (33.3%), spleen deficiency and qi‐stagnation syndrome (33.3%), while that for EPS was liver‐stomach disharmony syndrome (36.7%). Conclusions: Gastroenterologists had a high diagnostic agreement about the types of FD syndromes based on differential diagnosis of the main symptoms, compared with TCM practitioners. This may aid gastroenterologists in selecting Chinese medicine for FD‐based on syndrome differentiation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of Ln-sulfoterephthalate coordiantion polymers, namely, [Ln(2-stp)(4,4'-bbpi) (H2O)2]⋅H2O [Ln = Eu (1), Tb (2), Dy (3)] (2-H3stp = 2-sulfoterephthalate; 4,4'-bbpi = 4,4'-bisbiphenylimidazole), were prepared by hydrothermal method and characterizatied by EA, IR, TGA, and PXRD technologies. Single crystal X-ray diffraction analyses show that the three complexes are isostructral twodimensional network featuring helical chain structures. The fluorescence studies show that the emissions of the coordination polymers exhibit the characteristic peaks of lanthanide ions, which means they could be potential fluorescence materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims Flax Lignan ( FLL), a chemical widespread within the plant and animal kingdoms, has antioxidant, antiinfectious, and antitumor activities. However, little is known about the effects of FLL on the central nervous system ( CNS). Methods The neuroprotective actions of FLL against N-methyl-d-aspartate ( NMDA) are investigated in primary cultured cortical neurons by MTT assay. The expression levels of proteins related to apoptosis and GluN2-containing receptor were detected by Western blot analysis. Intracellular Ca2+ was measured under a confocal laser scanning microscope. Results After challenged with 100 μM NMDA for 30 min, loss of cell viability and excessive apoptotic cell death were observed in cultured cortical neurons. FLL protected the neurons against the NMDA-induced cell loss in a concentration-dependent manner. FLL also significantly inhibited the neuronal apoptosis induced by NMDA exposure through reversing intracellular concentration of Ca2+ overload and balancing of Bcl-2 and Bax expression. Furthermore, FLL significantly reversed the upregulation of GluN2B-containing NMDA receptors by exposure to NMDA, but did not affect the expression of GluN2A-containing NMDA receptor. Conclusions These findings suggest that FLL protects cortical neurons by inhibiting the expression of GluN2B-containing NMDA receptor and regulating the Bcl-2 family. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]