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BackgroundAs a common disease causing human health impairment and disability, deafness has a leading morbidity among all the disabling diseases. Many factors could lead to deafness, among which genetic factors account for about 60%. Gene screening and pedigree analysis can be used to determine whether one has hereditary deafness, so as to provide corresponding genetic counseling services for hereditary deafness patients to stop the transmission of deafness from one generation to the next.ObjectiveTo investigate the hearing loss status and prevalence of mutations in genes associated with deafness in deafness patients from Shandong, to identify pathogenic causes of hearing impairment.MethodsOur study included a total of 5 664 hearing-impaired patients with a hearing disability certificate or a diagnosis of hearing loss, who participated in the genetic testing program for hereditary hearing loss in Shandong Province from 2016 to 2020. Hearing loss was tested by pure-tone audiometry. Genetic testing was carried out with DNA microarray to detect mutations at 15 loci in four common hereditary deafness-related genes.ResultsAmong the 5 664 cases, 3 891 had grade 1 (mild) hearing disability, 1 463 had grade 2 (moderate) hearing disability, 188 had grade 3 (severe) hearing disability, 73 had grade 4 (profound) hearing disability, and the remaining 49 consisting of 38 cases of microtia and 11 cases of external auditory canal closure. In terms of deafness-related gene mutations, 2 503 cases were detected with mutations, 1 227 of them (21.66%) carrying GJB2 gene mutations, 975 (17.21%) carrying SLC26A4 gene mutations, 97 (1.71%) carrying mitochondrial 12S rRNA gene mutations, 158 (2.79%) carrying GJB3 gene mutations, and 46 (0.81%) carrying double heterozygous mutations. Both GJB2 and SLC26A4 gene mutations were hotspot mutations in patients with grades 1-4 hearing disability. The prevalence of mutations in GJB2 and SLC26A4 genes was higher in those with grade 1 hearing disability than in those with grade 2 hearing disability (P

Aim: To analyse the risk factors and incidence of falls in geriatric outpatients in a university hospital ward in Hangzhou, China. Methods: From May 2020 to August 2022, 1712 geriatric outpatients in a university hospital ward in Hangzhou, China, were screened using a socio‐demographic questionnaire (e.g. gender, age, living arrangement, etc.) and assessment scales. The correlation between each factor and falls was preliminarily analysed by chi‐squared tests. Finally, binary logistic regression analysis was conducted to further analyse the risk factors of falls. The STROBE checklist was used in reporting this study. Results: Of the 1712 geriatric outpatients recruited, 1626 participants (60–79 and ≥ 80 years old) with complete questionnaire and assessment data were included. The occurrence of falls for those in the 60–79 age group was 8.4%, and for those in the ≥80 age group it was 13.4%. Age (p =.007), use of a walking assistance device (p <.001), the Stay Independent Brochure Questionnaire (SIB) (OR = 7.751, 95% CI = 5.089–11.806, p <.001), living arrangement (p =.004), timed up and go test (TUGT) (p =.007) and three diseases or above (OR = 2.496, 95% CI = 1.358–11.4.586, p =.003) reached statistical significance. Conclusions: Older people have a high incidence of falls. In this study, age, disease history, SIB scores (≥4 points), living arrangement, TUGT and walking assistance device increased the probability of falls in older Chinese adults. Personalised interventions should be carried out according to the specific situation of older people to effectively reduce their incidence of falls and improve their quality of life. Relevance to Clinical Practice: The basic characteristics and fall risk factors of the older can help nurses identify fall risk, and early intervention by caregivers can reduce fall‐related injuries, which has practical significance for promoting healthy aging. Patient or Public Contribution: The subjects of this study were older patients ≥60 years old, and the demographic characteristics and fall‐related information of patients were obtained by questionnaire. The team worked closely with a team of experts in the field of health care. Some researchers collect data and rewrite them, while other researchers analyse the information and write a paper. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The hot deformation behavior and mechanism of Ti65 alloy with a bimodal microstructure were investigated by isothermal compression experiments conducted on the Thermecmastor-Z simulator equipment at temperatures ranging from 950 to 1110 °C and strain rates ranging from 0.01 to 10.0 s−1. The Arrhenius constitutive model, based on strain compensation, and Grey Wolf optimization-neural network with back propagation model (GWO–BP), were both established. The differences between the experimental and predicted value of flow stress were compared and analyzed using the two models. The results show that the prediction accuracy of GWO–BP in the two-phase region is higher than that of Arrhenius model. In the single-phase region, both methods demonstrated high prediction accuracy. Compared to the single-phase region, the flow stress of Ti65 alloy shows a higher degree of softening in the two-phase region. During deformation in the two-phase region, the initial lamellar α phase transformed from a kinked and elongated morphology to a globularized topography as the strain rate decreased. Boundary-splitting was the primary mechanism leading to the spheroidization process. The degree of recrystallization increased with the increase in strain rate during the deformation in the single-phase region, while dynamic recovery and strain-induced grain boundary migration were the main deformation mechanisms at a lower strain rate. Discontinuous dynamic recrystallization may be the dominant recrystallization mechanism under a high strain rate of 10 s−1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Paeonia lactiflora Pall. is a perennial herb of the buttercup family with a long history of medicinal use in China. With population migration and geographical changes, it gradually differentiates into different species, namely Paeoniae Radix Alba (PRA) and Paeoniae Radix Rubra (PRR). This study established an integrated strategy to investigate the different species of Paeonia lactiflora Pall. through ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography/quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF/MS), chemometric analysis combined with network pharmacology. Firstly, a total of 36 compounds were identified using UPLC-Q-TOF/MS, mainly including monoterpene glycosides, polyphenols, and phenolic acids. Hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) and principal component analysis (PCA) indicated that the studied samples were classified into PRA and PRR based on their species, while PRA or PRR could be classified as corresponding to geographical origins and morphological characteristics. Moreover, the orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) and counter propagation artificial neural networks (CP-ANN) were applied to confirm classification results and obtain the chemical markers on different samples. Network pharmacology and molecular docking techniques demonstrated that active molecules have a higher affinity for ACTB and AKT1. The results of the content of representative components demonstrated differences between the two species. In conclusion, the methodology and results of this study provided a reliable basis for the identification and rational utilization of PRA and PRR, which were important for the appropriate clinical use and quality assurance of pharmaceutical materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SUMMARY: This study examines whether the presence of high-quality auditors (Big 4 or industry specialist auditors [ISAs]) in an industry facilitates accounting information transfer among industry peers and enhances investment decisions of firms not audited by high-quality auditors (non-Big 4-ISA client firms). Consistent with the prediction of informational influence theories, we find that non-Big 4-ISA client firms that belong to an industry with a greater presence of high-quality auditors are associated with lower investment inefficiency. The effect is more pronounced for firms with less precise private information. Path analysis shows that the association between high-quality auditor presence and learning firms' investment inefficiency is explained via a direct path of source credibility and an indirect path mediated by peer firms' accounting information quality. Finally, we find that firms in industries with larger reductions in Big 4 presence following the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 incur more investment inefficiency. Data Availability: Data are available from the public sources cited in the text. JEL Classifications: M40; M41; M42. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bacillus velezensis is well known as a plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) and biocontrol agent. Nevertheless, there are very few reports on the study of B. velezensis on tomato early blight, especially the biocontrol effects among different inoculation concentrations. In this study, an IAA-producing strain, Bacillus velezensis YXDHD1-7 was isolated from the tomato rhizosphere soil, which had the strongest inhibitory effect against Alternaria solani. Inoculation with bacterial suspensions of this strain promoted the growth of tomato seedlings effectively. Furthermore, inoculations at 106, 107, and 108 cfu/mL resulted in control efficacies of 100%, 83.15%, and 69.90%, respectively. Genome sequencing showed that it possesses 22 gene clusters associated with the synthesis of antimicrobial metabolites and genes that are involved in the production of IAA. Furthermore, it may be able to produce spermidine and volatile compounds that also enhance plant growth and defense responses. Our results suggest that strain YXDHD1-7 prevents early blight disease by promoting growth and enhancing the defense enzyme activities in tomato plants. This strain is a promising candidate for an excellent microbial inoculant that can be used to enhance tomato production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Transient receptor potential ankyrin-1 [transient receptor potential cation channel subfamily A member 1 (TRPA1)] and vanilloid-1 [transient receptor potential cation channel subfamily V member 1 (TRPV1)] detect inhaled irritants, including air pollutants and have roles in the development and exacerbation of asthma. OBJECTIVES: This study tested the hypothesis that increased expression of TRPA1, stemming from expression of the loss-of-function TRPV1 (I585V; rs8065080) polymorphic variant by airway epithelial cells may explain prior observations of worse asthma symptom control among children with the TRPV1 I585I/V genotype, by virtue of sensitizing epithelial cells to particulate materials and other TRPA1 agonists. METHODS: TRP agonists, antagonists, small interfering RNA (siRNA), a nuclear factor kappa light chain enhancer of activated B cells (NF-[kappa]B) pathway inhibitor, and kinase activators and inhibitors were used to modulate TRPA1 and TRPV1 expression and function. Treatment of genotyped airway epithelial cells with particulate materials and analysis of asthma control data were used to assess consequences of TRPV1 genotype and variable TRPA1 expression on cellular responses in vitro and asthma symptom control among children as a function of voluntarily reported tobacco smoke exposure. RESULTS: A relationship between higher TRPA1 expression and function and lower TRPV1 expression and function was revealed. Findings of this study pointed to a mechanism whereby NF-[kappa]B promoted TRPA1 expression, whereas NF-[kappa]B-regulated nucleotide- binding oligomerization domain, leucine rich repeat and pyrin domain containing 2 (NLRP2) limited expression. Roles for protein kinase C and p38 mitogen activated protein kinase were also demonstrated. Finally, the TRPV1 I585I/V genotype was associated with increased TRPA1 expression by primary airway epithelial cells and amplified responses to selected air pollution particles in vitro. However, the TRPV1 I585I/V genotype was not associated with worse asthma symptom control among children exposed to tobacco smoke, whereas other TRPA1 and TRPV1 variants were. DISCUSSION: This study provides insights on how airway epithelial cells regulate TRPA1 expression, how TRPV1 genetics can affect TRPA1 expression, and that TRPA1 and TRPV1 polymorphisms differentially affect asthma symptom control. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP11076, Introduction Transient receptor potential ankyrin-1 [transient receptor potential cation channel subfamily A member 1 (TRPA1)] and vanilloid-1 [transient receptor potential cation channel subfamily V member 1 (TRPV1)] are cation-permeable (primarily [...]