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Regulatory B (Breg) cells represent a population of suppressor B cells that participate in immunomodulatory processes and inhibition of excessive inflammation. The regulatory function of Breg cells have been demonstrated in mice and human with inflammatory diseases, cancer, after transplantation, and particularly in autoinflammatory disorders. In order to suppress inflammation, Breg cells produce anti-inflammatory mediators, induce death ligand-mediated apoptosis, and regulate many kinds of immune cells such as suppressing the proliferation and differentiation of effector T cell and increasing the number of regulatory T cells. Central nervous system Inflammatory demyelinating diseases (CNS IDDs) are a heterogeneous group of disorders, which occur against the background of an acute or chronic inflammatory process. With the advent of monoclonal antibodies directed against B cells, breakthroughs have been made in the treatment of CNS IDDs. Therefore, the number and function of B cells in IDDs have attracted attention. Meanwhile, increasing number of studies have confirmed that Breg cells play a role in alleviating autoimmune diseases, and treatment with Breg cells has also been proposed as a new therapeutic direction. In this review, we focus on the understanding of the development and function of Breg cells and on the diversification of Breg cells in CNS IDDs.

Background: Fetal brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)‐based gestational age prediction has been widely used to characterize normal fetal brain development and diagnose congenital brain malformations. Purpose: The uncertainty of fetal position and external interference leads to variable localization and direction of the fetal brain. In addition, pregnant women typically concentrate on receiving MRI scans during the fetal anomaly scanning week, leading to an imbalanced distribution of fetal brain MRI data. The above‐mentioned problems pose great challenges for deep learning‐based fetal brain MRI gestational age prediction. Methods: In this study, a pyramid squeeze attention (PSA)‐guided dynamic feature fusion CNN (PDFF‐CNN) is proposed to robustly predict gestational ages from fetal brain MRI images on an imbalanced dataset. PDFF‐CNN contains four components: transformation module, feature extraction module, dynamic feature fusion module, and balanced mean square error (MSE) loss. The transformation and feature extraction modules are employed by using the PSA to learn multiscale and multi‐orientation feature representations in a parallel weight‐sharing Siamese network. The dynamic feature fusion module automatically learns the weights of feature vectors generated in the feature extraction module to dynamically fuse multiscale and multi‐orientation brain sulci and gyri features. Considering the fact of the imbalanced dataset, the balanced MSE loss is used to mitigate the negative impact of imbalanced data distribution on gestational age prediction performance. Results: Evaluated on an imbalanced fetal brain MRI dataset of 1327 routine clinical T2‐weighted MRI images from 157 subjects, PDFF‐CNN achieved promising gestational age prediction performance with an overall mean absolute error of 0.848 weeks and an R2$R^2$ of 0.904. Furthermore, the attention activation maps of PDFF‐CNN were derived, which revealed regional features that contributed to gestational age prediction at each gestational stage. Conclusions: These results suggest that the proposed PDFF‐CNN might have broad clinical applicability in guiding treatment interventions and delivery planning, which has the potential to be helpful with prenatal diagnosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on social capital theory, this paper aims to investigate the impact of member enterprises of alien merchant chambers on enterprise innovation, within A‐share listed companies on the Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges of China from 2010 to 2020. Additionally, the study seeks to explore the role played by social capital resulting from participation in these alien merchant chambers. Furthermore, we delve into the moderating effects of the number of alien merchant chambers and the degree of marketization in the enterprise's location. Moreover, we analyze the influence of heterogeneity in firm ownership and firm type. Our findings reveal that member enterprises of alien merchant chambers can increase their social capital and consequently promoting innovation; both the quantity of alien merchant chambers and the level of marketization in an enterprise's location positively influence this enhancement. Furthermore, the impact of state‐owned enterprises and non‐high‐tech enterprises on enterprise innovation, following their engagement with alien merchant chambers, surpasses that of non‐state‐owned enterprises and high‐tech enterprises. This research bridges the gap in understanding the corporate governance implications of alien merchant chambers, provides empirical evidence concerning Chinese alien merchant chambers, and addresses inquiries regarding the influence of merchant chambers' social capital. Additionally, it proposes a novel approach for listed companies to overcome resource constraints and to collaboratively pursue development, especially in light of the challenges posed by the COVID‐19 pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a sample of A-share listed companies from the Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges from 2010 to 2020, this study examines the impact of membership in nonlocal chambers of commerce (NLCCs) on corporate innovation, considering the dual attributes of business culture and social networks associated with these chambers. The research finds that joining a NLCC significantly promotes corporate innovation. Agency costs play a partial mediating role between membership in NLCCs and corporate innovation, with a chain mediation path of "NLCC-social capital-agency costs-corporate innovation." Further analysis reveals that the more NLCCs there are in a company's location, the greater the positive impact of joining one on corporate innovation. The promotion effect of joining a NLCC on corporate innovation is stronger for state-owned enterprises (SOEs) compared to non-state-owned enterprises (non-SOEs). In addition, membership in NLCCs fosters both invention and non-invention innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

C22H27NO4, triclinic, P 1 ‾ (no. 2), a = 9.3356(8) Å, b = 10.2842(11) Å, c = 11.5902(12) Å, α = 103.266(4)°, β = 106.189(3)°, γ = 97.779(4)°, V = 1016.20(18) Å3, Z = 2, Rgt(F) = 0.0413, wRref(F2) = 0.0928, T = 293 K. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Clinical guidelines recommend a preoperative forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) of > 2 L as an indication for left or right pneumonectomy. This study compares the safety and long-term prognosis of pneumonectomy for destroyed lung (DL) patients with FEV1 ≤ 2 L or > 2 L. Methods: A total of 123 DL patients who underwent pneumonectomy between November 2002 and February 2023 at the Department of Thoracic Surgery, Beijing Chest Hospital were included. Patients were sorted into two groups: the FEV1 > 2 L group (n = 30) or the FEV1 ≤ 2 L group (n = 96). Clinical characteristics and rates of mortality, complications within 30 days after surgery, long-term mortality, occurrence of residual lung infection/tuberculosis (TB), bronchopleural fistula/empyema, readmission by last follow-up visit, and modified Medical Research Council (mMRC) dyspnea scores were compared between groups. Results: A total of 96.7% (119/123) of patients were successfully discharged, with 75.6% (93/123) in the FEV1 ≤ 2 L group. As compared to the FEV1 > 2 L group, the FEV1 ≤ 2 L group exhibited significantly lower proportions of males, patients with smoking histories, patients with lung cavities as revealed by chest imaging findings, and patients with lower forced vital capacity as a percentage of predicted values (FVC%pred) (P values of 0.001, 0.027, and 0.023, 0.003, respectively). No significant intergroup differences were observed in rates of mortality within 30 days after surgery, incidence of postoperative complications, long-term mortality, occurrence of residual lung infection/TB, bronchopleural fistula/empyema, mMRC ≥ 1 at the last follow-up visit, and postoperative readmission (P > 0.05). Conclusions: As most DL patients planning to undergo left/right pneumonectomy have a preoperative FEV1 ≤ 2 L, the procedure is generally safe with favourable short- and long-term prognoses for these patients. Consequently, the results of this study suggest that DL patient preoperative FEV1 > 2 L should not be utilised as an exclusion criterion for pneumonectomy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Optical genome mapping (OGM) has been known as an all-in-one technology for chromosomal aberration detection. However, there are also aberrations beyond the detection range of OGM. This study aimed to report the aberrations missed by OGM and analyze the contributing factors. OGM was performed by taking both GRCh37 and GRCh38 as reference genomes. The OGM results were analyzed in blinded fashion and compared to standard assays. Quality control (QC) metrics, sample types, reference genome, effective coverage and classes and locations of aberrations were then analyzed. In total, 154 clinically reported variations from 123 samples were investigated. OGM failed to detect 10 (6.5%, 10/154) aberrations with GRCh37 assembly, including five copy number variations (CNVs), two submicroscopic balanced translocations, two pericentric inversion and one isochromosome (mosaicism). All the samples passed pre-analytical and analytical QC. With GRCh38 assembly, the false-negative rate of OGM fell to 4.5% (7/154). The breakpoints of the CNVs, balanced translocations and inversions undetected by OGM were located in segmental duplication (SD) regions or regions with no DLE-1 label. In conclusion, besides variations with centromeric breakpoints, structural variations (SVs) with breakpoints located in large repetitive sequences may also be missed by OGM. GRCh38 is recommended as the reference genome when OGM is performed. Our results highlight the necessity of fully understanding the detection range and limitation of OGM in clinical practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hong Kong, often hailed as "Asia's World City," has long been a vibrant cultural crossroad between Eastern and Western influences. This article delves into the unique international character and individuality inherent in Hong Kong's musical landscape, with a specific focus on the compositions of Chan Wing-Wah--a prominent pioneer in the development of contemporary "art" music in the city. Our investigation navigates the aesthetic concept of "dialectical fusionism" within Chan's musical creations, offering close readings of three symphonies: "Three Kingdoms" (1995), "The Great Wall" (2005), and "This Boundless Land" (2006). By charting the contextual evolution of Hong Kong's musical style, this research provides references for contemporary Hong Kong music and its scholarly exploration, shedding light on the city's distinctive artistic identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chromosomal microarray analysis (CMA) has been widely applied to genetic diagnosis in miscarriages in clinical practice. However, the prognostic value of CMA testing of products of conception (POCs) after the first clinical miscarriage remains unknown. The aim of this study was to evaluate the reproductive outcomes after embryonic genetic testing by CMA in SM couples. In this retrospective study, a total of 1142 SM couples referred for embryonic genetic testing by CMA, and 1022 couples were successfully followed up after CMA. Among 1130 cases without significant maternal cell contamination, pathogenic chromosomal abnormalities were detected in 680 cases (60.2%). The subsequent live birth rate did not differ significantly between couples with chromosomally abnormal and normal miscarriage (88.6% vs. 91.1%, p =.240), as well as the cumulative live birth rate (94.5% vs. 96.7%, p =.131). Couples with partial aneuploid miscarriage had a higher likelihood of spontaneous abortion both in the subsequent pregnancy (19.0% vs. 6.5%, p =.037) and cumulative pregnancies (19.0% vs. 6.8%, p =.044) when compared with couples with chromosomally normal miscarriage. SM couples with chromosomally abnormal miscarriage manifested with a similar reproductive prognosis to couples with chromosomally normal miscarriage. CMA testing of POCs could provide an accurate genetic diagnosis for couples with SM. The live birth rate of couples with partial aneuploid miscarriage was as high as couples with chromosomally normal miscarriage, despite a higher risk of adverse pregnancy event. Among couples with the most common single aneuploid miscarriage, the cumulative live birth rates of couples with trisomy 16, sex chromosomal abnormalities and trisomy 22 were 94.1%, 95.8% and 84.0%, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]