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The quality and safety of dairy products are highly valued by consumers and dairy manufacturers, which is mainly ensured by thorough cleaning of dairy production equipment. Milk fouling can cause pipes to clog and reduce transmission. Incomplete cleaning can cause microbial breeding, which will affect the quality and safety of dairy products. To achieve efficient and rapid cleaning of dairy processing equipment, cleaning agents have always been a necessary choice for dairy and food enterprises. This paper describes the production mechanism of milk fouling, the cleaning mechanism by cleaning agents, and the cleaning process. Development of cleaning agents are introduced in detail, include compound alkaline/acid/neutral cleaning agents, enzyme cleaning agents and cleaning additives. The factors affecting cleaning efficiency are also viewed, which include type and dosage of cleaning agents, cleaning process (cleaning time, cleaning liquid temperature, cleaning fluid flow rate), and other influencing factors (cleaning fluid pressure, Reynolds number and shear stress, surface types). Four aspects are reviewed in this manuscript, include cleaning objects (milk fouling), cleaning substances (cleaning agents), how to clean (cleaning mechanism) and how to clean efficiently (cleaning influencing factors), which provides a valuable reference for the improvement of the dairy cleaning process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of herbal medicine and acupuncture combination for pediatric epilepsy treatment. Methods: Databases were searched from their interception until October 2023 to identify randomized controlled trials focusing on the therapeutic efficacy of herbal medicine-acupuncture combination (intervention group) for pediatric epilepsy. The primary outcome was the risk of treatment failure, whereas the secondary outcomes included the risk of post-treatment electroencephalogram (EEG) abnormalities and adverse events. Subgroup analyses were conducted based on the type of herbal compound formulas. Meta-regression analysis was conducted to examine the influence of patient demographics and clinical history on the therapeutic efficacy of herbal medicine-acupuncture combination for pediatric epilepsy. To assess the cumulative evidence, trial sequential analysis (TSA) was performed. Results: The analysis included 10 trials involving a total of 882 pediatric patients. Meta-analysis revealed that the intervention group had a lower risk of treatment failure than the control group (risk ratio [RR] = 0.3, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.19–0.47, P<0.00001, I2 = 0%, 10 trials). Subgroup analyses showed that therapeutic efficacy was consistent among the different herbal compound formulas. Meta-regression analysis revealed that the efficacy of the treatments did not significantly vary with patient age, male sex, and duration of seizure history. TSA suggested that herbal medicine-acupuncture combination exerted a robust and conclusive effect on seizure treatment. Although the combined used of herbal medicine and acupuncture was not associated with a lower risk of post-treatment EEG abnormalities (RR = 0.82, 95%CI:0.6–1.11, P = 0.2, 3 trials), the risk of adverse events was reduced (RR = 0.27, 95%CI:0.18–0.41, P<0.00001, 4 trials). Conclusion: The meta-analysis suggested that combined use of herbal medicine and acupuncture is a promising and safe clinical approach for pediatric epilepsy treatment. Further large-scale studies are necessary to conclusively determine the efficacy and safety of herbal medicine and acupuncture in pediatric epilepsy treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractInterconnected cracks are prefabricated on plexiglass plates (polymethyl methacrylate, PMMA) to study the effect of crack length on the initiation and propagation of interconnected cracks under impact loads. A new dynamic caustics test system was constructed to analyze the specimen’s initiation process; the fractal method was used to quantify crack propagation; and the numerical simulation was used to monitor the specimen’s full-field stress change. The results show that, with the direction of the impact loads as the axis of symmetry, interconnected cracks with different lengths and symmetrical angles, only the longer cracks initiate under the action of impact loads. With the increase in the length of one side of the interconnected crack, the crack initiation time is delayed, the trajectory of crack propagation becomes more irregular, and the peak propagation velocity of the crack increases first and then decreases. After the analysis, it was concluded that there is a certain competitive relationship in the crack tip propagation law between interconnected cracks with different lengths. In the energy storage stage, the tip of the longer crack is more likely to accumulate energy than that of the shorter crack, and it also has a suppressive effect on the energy storage of the latter. In the initiation and propagation stages, the energy at the tip of the uninitiated shorter crack will transfer to the tip of the longer crack, promoting its propagation. The research provides a basis for analyzing the initiation and propagation laws of interconnected cracks in practical engineering applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Microneedling with topical tranexamic acid (TXA) is a novel treatment option for melasma; however, the efficacy and safety of this combined administration therapy is in controversial. This study is conducted to address this issue of this technique in melasma. Methods: An extensive literature review was performed to identify relevant trials, including randomized split‐face studies, randomized controlled trials and prospective non‐randomized split‐face studies, comparing microneedling plus topical TXA to routine treatments or placebo. The primary outcomes were changes of the Melasma Area Severity Index (MASI)/modified MASI (mMASI)/hemi MASI between before and after treatment, as well as the changes between a particular treatment and microneedling plus TXA. The mean differences (MDs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated for the reduction of melasma severity scores from baseline to each time point. In contrast, the standard mean differences (SMDs) and 95% CIs were calculated for the differences in reduction in melasma severity scores between the experimental and control groups at each time point. Results: A total of 16 trials were included in the systematic review and data synthesis. The pooled analysis demonstrated that MASI, mMASI, and hemiMASI scores decreased significantly at 4 weeks (MD = 1.85; 95% CI = 1.15–2.54), 8 weeks (MD = 3.28; 95% CI = 2.31–4.24), 12 weeks (MD = 4.73; 95% CI = 2.79–6.50), 16 weeks (MD = 3.18; 95% CI = 1.50–4.85), and 20 weeks (MD = 3.20; 95% CI = 1.95–4.46) after treatment when compared with baseline. The reduction in melasma severity scores of microneedling with TXA group at 4 weeks was more significant than the routine treatment group (SMD = 0.97; 95% CI = 0.09–1.86), while insignificant at 8 weeks (SMD = 1.21; 95% CI = −0.17 to 2.59), 12 weeks (SMD = 0.63; 95% CI = −0.03 to 1.29), 16 weeks (SMD = 0.61; 95% CI = −2.85 to 4.07), or 20 weeks (SMD = 1.04; 95% CI = −1.28 to 3.36). Conclusion: Despite the high heterogeneity across these studies, the current findings indicated that microneedling with topical TXA is an alternative treatment option for melasma treatment; and more well‐designed studies are needed to confirm it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Iron oxides have emerged as a very promising and cost‐effective alternative to precious metal catalysts for hydrogen production. However, the inert basal plane of iron oxides needs to be activated to enhance their catalytic efficiency. In this study, we employed heterostructure engineering and doped nickel to cooperatively activate the basal planes of iron oxide (Ni−Fe2O3/CeO2 HSs) to achieve high hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) activity. The Ni−Fe2O3/CeO2 HSs electrocatalyst demonstrates excellent basic HER activity and stability, such as an extremely low overpotential of 43 mV at 10 mA cm−2 current density and corresponding Tafel slope of 58.6 mV dec−1. The increase in electrocatalyst activity and acceleration of hydrogen precipitation kinetics arises from the dual modulation of Ni doping and heterostructure, which not only modulates the electrocatalyst's electronic structure, but also increases the number and exposure of active sites. Remarkably, the generation of heterogeneous structure makes the catalyst se. The Ni‐doped catalyst has not only increased HER activity but also low‐temperature resistance. These results suggest that the synergistic activation of inert iron oxide basal planes through heterostructure formation and doping is a feasible strategy. Furthermore, for efficient electrocatalytic water splitting, this technique can be extended to other non‐noble metal oxides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: To investigate whether the cingulate island sign (CIS) ratio (i.e., the ratio of regional uptake in the posterior cingulate cortex relative to the precuneus and cuneus on cerebral perfusion scans) is associated with early dementia conversion in Parkinson's disease (PD). Methods: We enrolled 226 patients with newly diagnosed PD and 48 healthy controls who underwent dual‐phase 18F‐FP‐CIT PET scans. Patients with PD were classified into three groups according to the CIS ratio on early‐phase 18F‐FP‐CIT PET images: a PD group with CIS or high CIS ratios (PD‐CIS; n = 96), a PD group with inverse CIS or low CIS ratios (PD‐iCIS; n = 40), and a PD group consisting of the remaining patients with normal CIS ratios (PD‐nCIS; n = 90). We compared the risk of dementia conversion within a 5‐year time point between the groups. Results: There were no significant differences in age, sex, education, or baseline cognitive function between the PD groups. The PD‐CIS group had higher Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) motor scores and more severely decreased dopamine transporter availability in the putamen. The PD‐iCIS group had a smaller hippocampal volume compared with the other groups. The risk of dementia conversion in the PD‐CIS group did not differ from that in the PD‐iCIS and PD‐nCIS groups. Meanwhile, the PD‐iCIS group had a higher risk of dementia conversion than the PD‐nCIS group. Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that inverse CIS, rather than CIS, is relevant to early dementia conversion in patients with PD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Veratrum spp. have traditionally been used in folk medicine to treat various pathologies. In this study, nine compounds, comprising one simple phenolic compound (1), three stilbenoids (2-4), and five flavonoids (5-9), were isolated from the aerial parts of Veratrum versicolor f. viride Nakai. The structures of these compounds were elucidated by spectroscopic analyses and comparison with reported data. Together, all reported compounds were isolated from V. versicolor f. viride for the first time in the study. Among them, two flavone aglycone tricetins (7 and 9) have never been isolated from the genus Veratrum or the family Melanthiaceae. The ethanol extract and isolated compounds were assessed for their inhibitory effects on elastase, tyrosinase, and melanin synthesis. Compounds 5 and 7 inhibited elastase (IC50: 292.25 ± 14.39 and 800.41 ± 5.86 µM, respectively), whereas compounds 2-5 inhibited tyrosinase with IC50 values in the range of 6.42 ~ 51.19 µM, respectively. In addition, compounds 3-6 and 8 exhibited dose-dependent inhibition (70.4% ~ 91.0%) of melanogenesis at a concentration of 100 µM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) exhibit widespread brain perfusion changes. Objective: This study investigated whether cerebral regions with hypoperfusion and hyperperfusion have differential effects on motor and cognitive symptoms in PD using early‐phase 18F‐N‐(3‐fluoropropyl)‐2β‐carboxymethoxy‐3β‐(4‐iodophenyl) nortropane (18F‐FP‐CIT) positron emission tomography (PET) scans. Methods: We enrolled 394 patients with newly diagnosed PD who underwent dual‐phase 18F‐FP‐CIT PET scans. Indices reflecting associated changes in regional cerebral hypoperfusion and hyperperfusion on early‐phase 18F‐FP‐CIT PET scans were calculated as PD[hypo] and PD[hyper], respectively. The associations of PD[hypo] and PD[hyper] on motor and cognitive symptoms at baseline were assessed using multivariate linear regression. Also, Cox regression and linear mixed models were performed to investigate the effects of baseline PD[hypo] and PD[hyper] on longitudinal outcomes. Results: There was a weak correlation between PD[hypo] and PD[hyper] (γ = −0.19, P < 0.001). PD[hypo] was associated with baseline Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale Part III scores (β = −1.02, P = 0.045), rapid increases in dopaminergic medications (β = −18.02, P < 0.001), and a higher risk for developing freezing of gait (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.67, P = 0.019), whereas PD[hyper] was not associated. Regarding cognitive function, PD[hypo] was more relevant to the baseline cognitive performance levels of visuospatial, memory, and frontal/executive function than PD[hyper]. However, greater PD[hyper] was associated with future dementia conversion (HR = 1.43, P = 0.004), whereas PD[hypo] was not associated. Conclusions: These findings suggest that PD[hypo] and PD[hyper] may differentially affect motor and cognitive functions in patients with PD. © 2023 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Central sensitization is one of the important mechanisms underlying neuropathic and radicular pain due to cervical spondylotic radiculopathy (CSR). Recent studies have shown that the calmodulin‐dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII)/cAMP‐response element binding protein (CREB)/brain‐derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) signaling pathway mediates central sensitization through its involvement in spinal cord synaptic plasticity. Our group has previously found that electroacupuncture (EA) has a good analgesic effect on CSR. However, the central analgesic mechanism of EA for CSR is not yet clear. Methods: The rats were randomly divided into Blank group, Sham‐operated group, CSR group, and EA group. We prepared the CSR rat model using the fish wire extrusion method. The behavioral and mechanical pain thresholds of the rats in each group were measured 5 days after successful modeling and 7 days after the intervention. The first intervention was started 5 days after successful modeling, and the EA group was treated by acupuncture at the bilateral LI4 and LR3 points on the same side as one group, connected to a G6805‐I electroacupuncture apparatus with continuous waves at 1.5 Hz. The remaining groups were not subjected to EA intervention. The treatment was administered once a day for 7 consecutive days and then executed. We used WB, immunofluorescence, and qRT‐PCR to detect the expression of CaMKII/CREB/BDNF signaling pathway‐related factors in the synaptic of rat spinal cord in each group. Results: EA improved pain threshold and motor function in CSR rats, inhibited the expression of BDNF, P‐TrkB, CAMKII, and P‐CREB in spinal cord synapses, reduced the expression of pain factor c‐fos and postsynaptic membrane protein molecule neuroligin2, exerted a modulating effect on spinal cord synaptic plasticity in CSR rats, and suppressed the overactive synaptic efficacy. Conclusion: EA mediates central sensitization and exerts analgesic effects on CSR by modulating spinal synaptic plasticity, which may be related to the inhibition of CaMKII/CREB/BDNF signaling pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to investigate the effect of insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) combined with osteopontin (OPN) on the protein expression levels and growth of neuronal axons and its possible mechanism. In this study, IGF-1 combined with OPN promoted neuronal axon growth through the IGF-1R/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway in lipid rafts, and the effect was better than that of either agent alone. This effect was suppressed when given the mTOR inhibitor rapamycin or the lipid raft cholesterol extraction agent methyl-β-cyclodextrin (M-β-CD). Rapamycin could inhibit the expression of phosphorylated ribosomal S6 protein (p-S6) and phosphorylated protein kinase B (p-Akt) and limit axon growth. In addition to the above effects, M-β-CD significantly downregulated the expression of phosphorylated insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor (p-IR). To further investigate the changes in lipid rafts when stimulated by different recombinant proteins, membrane lipid rafts were isolated to observe the changes by western blot. The expression levels of insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor (IR) and P-IR in the IGF-1 combined with OPN group were the highest. When M-β-CD was administered to the lipid rafts of neurons, the enrichment of IR by IGF-1 combined with OPN was weakened, and the p-IR was decreased. Our study found that IGF-1 combined with OPN could promote axon growth by activating the IGF-1R/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway in neuronal lipid rafts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Propofol and remifentanil are frequently combined for the induction and maintenance of general anaesthesia. Both propofol and remifentanil cause vasodilation and potentially reduce arterial BP. We aimed to develop a mechanism-based model that characterises the haemodynamic interactions between remifentanil and propofol. Data from two clinical trials in healthy volunteers were analysed using remifentanil-alone, propofol-alone, and combination groups. We evaluated remifentanil effects on haemodynamics using a previously developed mechanism-based haemodynamic model of propofol. The interaction between propofol and remifentanil was explored using the principles of the general pharmacodynamic interaction (GPDI) model. Remifentanil alone increased the dissipation rate of total peripheral resistance by 50% at 3.0 ng ml−1. Additionally, the dissipation rates of HR and stroke volume were attenuated by 4.8% and 4.9% per 1 ng ml−1 increase in remifentanil concentration, respectively. The maximal effect of propofol alone in decreasing the production rate of total peripheral resistance was 78%, which decreased to 32% when combined with remifentanil 4 ng ml−1. The effects of remifentanil on HR and stroke volume were attenuated by propofol with maximum decreases of 11.9% and 21.2%, respectively. Goodness-of-fit plots and prediction-corrected visual predictive check plots showed good predictive performance of the models. The structure of the previous mechanism-based haemodynamic model for propofol was able to describe the effects of remifentanil alone on haemodynamic variables. The GPDI model provided a good framework for characterising the pharmacodynamic interaction between remifentanil and propofol on haemodynamic properties. NCT02043938; NCT03143972. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Large-eddy simulations (LESs) of inversion-capped neutral atmospheric boundary layers (ABLs) are augmented to earlier small-domain LESs of a sparse forest and field observation to evaluate the budgets of all non-negligible resolved-scale Reynolds stress components. The focus is on the atmospheric surface layer comprised of the roughness sublayer (RSL) in and above horizontally homogeneous forests and the inertial sublayer (ISL) above the RSL over flat terrain. The greater LES domain and ABL depths result in greater depths of both the RSL and the ISL. A key result is that in the upper portions of the canopy and above, pressure redistribution is a major sink of normal stress in the horizontal direction with mean shear production as a major source, whereas in the horizontal direction absent of mean shear production and in the vertical direction, pressure redistributions are major sources of normal stresses. In the lower portions of the canopy where mean shear production and turbulent transport are much reduced, pressure redistributions are major sources of horizontal velocity variances but a major sink of vertical velocity variance. Pressure transport is a greater source of vertical velocity variance than turbulent transport from the ground level to just under the treetops where it transitions to a major sink up to about 1.5 times the canopy height. This greater significance of pressure transport over turbulent transport increases with increased vegetation area index (VAI). The impact of increased value of geostrophic wind speed is negligible compared to that of increased value of VAI on enhancing normalized budget terms in the vicinity of treetops. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Subjective cognitive decline (SCD) is common in older adults and may also be an early marker for future cognitive impairment. Depression is an important influencing factor for subjective cognitive decline in old age. However, the mediating effects of general self-efficacy in depression and subjective cognition are yet to be explored. This study included 308 participants who were ≥60 years. Participants were asked to complete the self-report measures of the Geriatric Depression Scale-15 (GDS-15), Subjective Cognitive Decline-Questionnaire (SCD-Q), and General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES). We used correlations, regressions, and structural equation models for the analyses. The bootstrapping method was performed to confirm the mediation effect. The subjective cognitive decline was found to be significantly and positively correlated to depression. Bootstrapping mediation analyses indicated that depression could affect SCD not only directly but also indirectly through general self-efficacy. General self-efficacy partly played a mediating role between depression and SCD. Hence, community workers and clinicians should actively help the elderly experiencing low levels of general self-efficacy to reduce their SCD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we propose an optically controlling broadband terahertz modulator of a layer-dependent PtSe2 nanofilm based on a high-resistance silicon substrate. Through optical pump and terahertz probe system, the results show that compared with 6-, 10-, and 20-layer films, a 3-layer PtSe2 nanofilm has better surface photoconductivity in the terahertz band and has a higher plasma frequency ωp of 0.23 THz and a lower scattering time τs of 70 fs by Drude–Smith fitting. By the terahertz time-domain spectroscopy system, the broadband amplitude modulation of a 3-layer PtSe2 film in the range of 0.1–1.6 THz was obtained, and the modulation depth reached 50.9% at a pump density of 2.5 W/cm2. This work proves that PtSe2 nanofilm devices are suitable for terahertz modulators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a representative sulfur-containing volatile organic compounds (S-VOCs), CH3SH has attracted widespread attention due to its adverse environmental and health risks. The performance of Mn-based catalysts and the effect of their crystal structure on the CH3SH catalytic reaction have yet to be systematically investigated. In this paper, two different crystalline phases of tunneled MnO2 (α-MnO2 and β-MnO2) with the similar nanorod morphology were used to remove CH3SH, and their physicochemical properties were comprehensively studied using high-resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM) and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), H2-TPR, O2-TPD, Raman, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis. For the first time, we report that the specific reaction rate for α-MnO2 (0.029 mol g−1 h−1) was approximately 4.1 times higher than that of β-MnO2 (0.007 mol g−1 h−1). The as-synthesized α-MnO2 exhibited higher CH3SH catalytic activity towards CH3SH than that of β-MnO2, which can be ascribed to the additional oxygen vacancies, stronger surface oxygen migration ability, and better redox properties from α-MnO2. The oxygen vacancies on the catalyst surface provided the main active sites for the chemisorption of CH3SH, and the subsequent electron transfer led to the decomposition of CH3SH. The lattice oxygen on catalysts could be released during the reaction and thus participated in the further oxidation of sulfur-containing species. CH3SSCH3, S0, SO32−, and SO42− were identified as the main products of CH3SH conversion. This work offers a new understanding of the interface interaction mechanism between Mn-based catalysts and S-VOCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Motivation It is fundamental to cut multi-domain proteins into individual domains, for precise domain-based structural and functional studies. In the past, sequence-based and structure-based domain parsing was carried out independently with different methodologies. The recent progress in deep learning-based protein structure prediction provides the opportunity to unify sequence-based and structure-based domain parsing. Results Based on the inter-residue distance matrix, which can be either derived from the input structure or predicted by trRosettaX, we can decode the domain boundaries under a unified framework. We name the proposed method UniDoc. The principle of UniDoc is based on the well-accepted physical concept of maximizing intra-domain interaction while minimizing inter-domain interaction. Comprehensive tests on five benchmark datasets indicate that UniDoc outperforms other state-of-the-art methods in terms of both accuracy and speed, for both sequence-based and structure-based domain parsing. The major contribution of UniDoc is providing a unified framework for structure-based and sequence-based domain parsing. We hope that UniDoc would be a convenient tool for protein domain analysis. Availability and implementation https://yanglab.nankai.edu.cn/UniDoc/. Supplementary information Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Skin structures arranged in an advantageous structure for skin stretching to facilitate movement of the human body, and have structural functions to help the movement of the joints by changing the position of the skin, such as the stretch that occurs incidentally. Proper movement of the skin is required to be efficient owing to the nature of the skin that covers the entire human body with a single connected tissue layer. Aims: The purpose of this study was to quantify the skin mobility that occurs during joint motion and to identify the correlation and influence with hydrica composition. Materials & Methods: The subjects of this study were healthy people in their 20s–50s (20 male, 20 female), The movement of the skin marker attached to the skin was measured using X‐ray, and the hydrica composition was measured using Inbody S10. Results: Experiments showed that the skin on the side at which the joint bends and wrinkles form moved away from the moving joint, while the skin on the side where the wrinkles spread out moved toward the moving joint. As the range of joint motion increases, the skin became more mobile (OR: 18.95 ± 5.91 mm, MR: 34.09 ± 7.87 mm, IR: 51.14 ± 8.73 mm, FF: 78.76 ± 12.24) (p < 0.05). As a result of regression analysis between the total amount of skin mobility and the factors of hydrica composition, it was found that the ABW (arm body water) affected skin mobility as B = 7.430 (p < 0.05, adjusted R2 = 0.119). Conclusion: Based on the results of this study, it was revealed that directional movement of the skin appeared according to joint movement, and it was affected by body water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the effect of virtual reality (VR) technology in children after surgery for concomitant strabismus. Methods: A total of 200 children with concomitant exotropia or concomitant esotropia were randomly divided into a training group and a control group according to the single even number random method (100 cases in each group). Patients in the training group received VR intervention training within 1 week after surgery. Patients in the control group did not receive any training. Results: Six months after the surgery, the orthophoria (the far or near strabismus degree was ≤8Δ) rate was significantly higher in the training group than in the control group (P = 0.001), while the eye position regression rate (compared to the strabismus degree within 1 week after the surgery, the amount of regression >10Δ) was significantly lower in the training group than in the control group (P = 0.001). Six months after the surgery, the number of children with simultaneous vision and remote stereovision was significantly higher in the training group than in the control group (P = 0.017 and 0.002, respectively). The differences in the number of patients with peripheral stereopsis, macular stereopsis, and stereopsis in macular fovea centralis at 1, 3, and 6 months after the surgery between the training and the control groups were not statistically significant (P = 0.916, 0.274, and 0.302, respectively). Conclusion: The intervention of VR technology after strabismus correction effectively improved children's visual function and maintained their eye position. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Paediatric AML patients with hyperleukocytosis have a poor prognosis and higher early mortality. Therefore, more studies are needed to explore relevant prognostic indicators and develop effective prevention strategies for this type of childhood AML. Methods: All original data were obtained from the TARGET database. First, we explored meaningful differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between the hyperleukocytosis group and the non‐hyperleukocytosis group. Next, we screened and identified valuable target genes using univariate Cox regression, Cytoscape software, and Kaplan–Meier survival curves. Finally, the coexpressed genes, functional networks, and immune‐related activities associated with the target gene were deeply analysed by the GeneMANIA, LinkedOmics, GEPIA2021, TISIDB, and GSCA databases. Results: We selected 1229 DEGs between the hyperleukocytosis group and the non‐hyperleukocytosis group in paediatric AML patients. Among them, 495 DEGs were significantly linked with the overall survival of paediatric AML patients. Further, we discovered that CX3CR1 was a promising target gene. Meanwhile, we identified CX3CR1 as an independent prognostic predictor. Besides, we showed that CX3CR1 had strong physical interactions with CX3CL1. Additionally, functional network analysis suggested that CX3CR1 and its coexpressed genes modulated immune response pathways. Subsequent analysis found that immune cells with a high median value of CX3CR1 were monocytes, resting NK cells and CD8 T cells. Finally, we observed that CX3CR1 expression correlated with infiltrating levels of immune cells and immune signatures. Conclusion: Elevated CX3CR1 expression may be an adverse prognostic indicator in paediatric AML patients undergoing hyperleukocytosis. Moreover, CX3CR1 may serve as an immunotherapeutic target for AML with hyperleukocytosis in children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the feasibility of percutaneous intrauterine instillation of chilled saline to protect the endometrium during microwave ablation (MWA) treating types 1–3 uterine fibroids. Twenty-six patients with types 1–3 uterine fibroids were prospectively enrolled in an intrauterine saline instillation group (study group). The same number of patients with types 1–3 uterine fibroids who previously received MWA without endometrial protection were retrospectively included in a control group. Endometrial impairment was evaluated by hysteroscopy and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). In the study group, hysteroscopy revealed an intact endometrium in 17 patients, congestion and reddening of the endometrium due to heat in 8 patients, and a burnt necrosis with a size < 1 cm on the functional layer of the endometrium in 1 patient. On MRI, in the study group, there were 17 (65.4%), 6 (23.1%), and 3 (11.5%) patients with grades 0, 1, and 2 endometrial impairment, respectively, but no grade 3 endometrial impairment. In the control group, there were 8 (30.8%), 8 (30.8%), 7 (26.9%), and 3 (11.5%) patients with grades 0, 1, 2, and 3 endometrial impairment, respectively. Endometrial impairment in the study group was significantly better than that in the control group (p = 0.006). One patient had puncture tunnel bleeding and no other complications occurred in the study group. Intraoperative percutaneous intrauterine instillation of chilled saline may be effective and safe in reducing the thermal damage to the endometrium caused by MWA for treating types 1–3 uterine fibroids. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of efficient non-precious metal electrocatalysts through more economical and safe methods is consistent with the goals of sustainable development and accelerating the achievement of "carbon neutrality" in the 21st century but remains potentially challenging. Mott–Schottky heterojunction interfaces generated from metal/semiconductor have been a hot topic of recent research because of the unique built-in electric field effect which allows the preparation of more superior catalysts for water electrolysis. Herein, a glutinous rice potpourri-like Mott–Schottky two-dimensional (2D) nanosheet (abbreviated as Ni/CeO2 HJ-NSs) electrocatalyst composed of metal nickel (Ni) and cerium oxide (CeO2) hetero-nanoparticles was synthesized by a simple and scalable self-assembly and thermal reduction strategy. The experimental results and mechanistic analysis show that the Mott–Schottky heterojunction interface composed of metallic Ni and n-type semiconductor CeO2 with built-in electric field induces the electron redistribution at the interface to accelerate the dissociation of water and the binding of reaction intermediates, thus achieving lower water dissociation energy and more thermoneutral ΔGH* value to expedite the kinetics of the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Thus, the prepared Ni/CeO2 HJ-NSs exhibit excellent HER catalytic performance in 1 M KOH electrolyte with an overpotential of only 72 mV at 10 mA cm−2, as well as a moderate Tafel slope of 65 mV dec−1 and an extraordinary long-term stability over 50 h, laying a solid foundation for further in-depth investigation. The synthesis of splendid electrocatalysts by exploiting the metal/semiconductor interface effect provides an innovative way for the future generation of Mott–Schottky-based heterostructures with three or more heterocompositions with two or more heterojunction interfaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human pluripotent stem cell (hPSC)-derived motor neurons (MNs) act as models for motor neuron diseases (MNDs), such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) or spinal muscular atrophy. However, the MN differentiation efficiency and viability following cryopreservation require further development for application in large-scale studies and drug screening. Here, we developed a robust protocol to convert hPSCs into MN cryopreservation stocks (hPSCs were converted into >92% motor neural progenitors and >91% MNs). Near-mature MNs were cryopreserved at a high thawing survival rate and 89% MN marker expression on day 32. Moreover, these MNs exhibited classical electrophysiological properties and neuromuscular junction (NMJ) formation ability within only 4–6 days after thawing. To apply this platform as an MND model, MN stocks were generated from SOD1G85R, SOD1G85G isogenic control, and sporadic ALS hPSC lines. The thawed ALS MNs expressed ALS-specific cytopathies, including SOD1 protein aggregation and TDP-43 redistribution. Thus, a stable and robust protocol was developed to generate ready-to-use cryopreserved MNs without further neuronal maturation processes for application in MND mechanistic studies, NMJ model establishment, and large-scale drug screening. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given a communication system using quantum key distribution (QKD), the receiver can be seen as one who tries to guess the sender’s information just as potential eavesdroppers do. The receiver-eavesdropper similarity thus implies a simple relation in terms of guessing probability and correctness of sifted keys, related with the distance-based, information-theoretic security. The tolerable regions of error rates determined by such a guessing-probability-based relation are shown to be close to those determined by security criteria. Thus, an alternative perspective on applying guessing probability in analyzing QKD issues is here provided. Examples of two specific protocols are illustrated. Our results contribute to evaluating an important element in communication study, and may provide useful reference for the security analysis of QKD protocols. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explored the relationship between social support and subjective well-being of the rural Chinese older adults and investigated whether self-worth could mediate this association. A total number of 356 older adults from rural areas of China were investigated using three scales. The results were as follows: there were significant correlations between social support, self-worth, and subjective well-being (where P < 0.01 in all of them). Bootstrapping mediation analyses indicated that self-worth partly mediated the association between social support and subjective well-being. Accordingly, social support and self-worth are important targets for improving the subjective well-being level of the rural older adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pitongshu (PTS) is a clinically effective empirical formula for the treatment of FD. The efficacy and safety of PTS have been demonstrated in randomized, controlled, double-blind trials, but there is a lack of understanding of the systematic evaluation of the efficacy of PTS and its material basis. To investigate the efficacy of PTS in Functional dyspepsia (FD) mice and possible Q-markers. In this study, we used "irregular feeding + chronic unpredictable chronic stimulation" to establish a mice model of FD with hepatogastric disharmony. The efficacy of PTS was assessed from hair condition, behavioral, pain, gastrointestinal function, and serum 5-HT, GAS, MTL levels in mice by instillation of different doses of PTS. In addition, the composition of drugs in blood was analyzed by LC-QTOF-MS and potential Q-markers were selected by combining network pharmacology, molecular docking and actual content. Our study showed that different doses of PTS increased pain threshold and writhing latency, decreased the number of writhings, increased gastric emptying rate and small intestinal propulsion rate, decreased total acidity of gastric contents and gastric acid secretion, and increased serum levels of 5-HT, GAS, and MTL in mice to different degrees. Enrichment analysis showed that PTS may be anti-FD through multiple pathways such as Serotonergic synapse, thyroid hormone signaling pathway, cholinergic synapse, and dopaminergic synapse. In addition, potential active ingredient substances were explored by LC-QTOF-MS combined with bioinformatics. Combined with the actual contentselected six constituents, hesperidin, neohesperidin, naringin, paeoniflorin, magnolol and honokiol, possible as Q-markers. PTS may exert its anti-FD effects through multi-component, multi-target and multi-pathway". Constituents, hesperidin, neohesperidin, naringin, paeoniflorin, magnolol and honokiol may be the Q-markers of its anti-FD effects. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Short tailed mice can be produced by gene editing of the T gene c.G334T. • Mutation in the T gene lead to the generation of short tail phenotype in mice, which is related to the Wnt signaling pathway. • Successfully produced T gene mutant mice using CRISPR /Cas9 technology. With the change in diet structure, individuals prefer to consume mutton with less fat. However, sheep tail has a lot of fat. We identified a breed of low-fat short-tailed sheep (i.e., Hulunbuir short-tailed sheep). It is necessary to develop an animal model that can promote research on the potential mechanisms of the short-tail phenotype in sheep, which results from the TBXT gene c.G334T mutation. To create animal models, we selected mice as experimental animals. Mouse embryos lacking the TBXT protein, which crucially regulates mouse embryonic development, cannot develop normally. We utilized CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing technology to generate site-specific mutation (c.G334T) in the TBXT gene of mice, and found that the mouse TBXT mutation (c.G334T) leads to a short-tail phenotype. Furthermore, we investigated the interaction between TBXT and Wnt signaling pathways. The expressions of TBXT, Axin2, Dkk1, Wnt3, Wnt3a, and Wnt5a were discovered to be significantly different between mutant embryos and wild embryos by obtaining mouse embryos at various developmental stages and examining the expression relationship between the TBXT and Wnt signaling pathway-related components in all of these embryos. Therefore, as a transcription factor, TBXT regulates the expression of the aforementioned Wnt signaling pathway components by forming a regulatory network for the normal development of mouse embryos. This study enriches the research on the functional role of the TBXT in the development of mouse embryos and the mechanism by which the short-tailed phenotype in sheep develops. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Glioma is a prevalent primary brain cancer with high invasiveness and typical local diffuse infiltration. Alternative splicing (AS), as a pervasive transcriptional regulatory mechanism, amplifies the coding capacity of the genome and promotes the progression of malignancies. This study was aimed at identifying AS events and novel biomarkers associated with survival for glioma.Methods: RNA splicing patterns were collected from The Cancer Genome Atlas SpliceSeq database, followed by calculating the percentage of splicing index. Expression profiles and related clinical information of glioma were integrated based on the UCSC Xena database. The AS events in glioma were further analyzed, and glioma prognosis-related splicing factors were identified with the use of bioinformatics analysis and laboratory techniques. Further immune infiltration analysis was performed.Results: Altogether, 9028 AS events were discovered. Upon univariate Cox analysis, 425 AS events were found to be related to the survival of patients with glioma, and 42 AS events were further screened to construct the final prognostic model (area under the curve = 0.974). Additionally, decreased expression of the splicing factors including Neuro-Oncological Ventral Antigen 1 (NOVA1), heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein C (HNRNPC), heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein L-like protein (HNRNPLL), and RNA-Binding Motif Protein 4 (RBM4) contributed to the poor survival in glioma. The immune infiltration analysis demonstrated that AS events were related to the proportion of immune cells infiltrating in glioma.Conclusions: It is of great value for comprehensive consideration of AS events, splicing networks, and related molecular subtype clusters in revealing the underlying mechanism and immune microenvironment remodeling for glioma, which provides clues for the further verification of related therapeutic targets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In cross-chain scenarios, there are different blockchains that need cooperation. The cooperation between different blockchains is completed through smart contracts, which jointly complete cross-chain tasks. When numerous cooperative smart contracts are involved, smart contracts form a complex interactive network, which makes it difficult to evaluate the cooperation. A general model is needed to quantitatively analyze the cross-chain cooperation of associated smart contracts. In this paper, we model the cooperation among smart contracts as conditions and their corresponding actions, the quantitative condition-trigger model. Then, a method of calculating trigger probability by using graph weight is proposed. As the edge weight lacks the information of interaction probability, we introduce the dimension of the edge weight to calculate the interaction probability. The results show that the proposed method can effectively analyze the cross-chain cooperation between smart contracts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Metazoan guts are in permanent contact with microbial communities. However, the host mechanisms that have developed to manage the dynamic changes of these microorganisms and maintain homeostasis remain largely unknown. Results: Serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine [5-HT]) was found to modulate gut microbiome homeostasis via regulation of a dual oxidase (Duox) gene expression in both Bactrocera dorsalis and Aedes aegypti. The knockdown of the peripheral 5-HT biosynthetic gene phenylalanine hydroxylase (TPH) increased the expression of Duox and the activity of reactive oxygen species, leading to a decrease in the gut microbiome load. Moreover, the TPH knockdown reduced the relative abundance of the bacterial genera Serratia and Providencia, including the opportunistic pathogens, S. marcescens and P. alcalifaciens in B. dorsalis. Treatment with 5-hydroxytryptophan, a precursor of 5-HT synthesis, fully rescued the TPH knockdown-induced phenotype. Conclusions: The findings reveal the important contribution of 5-HT in regulating gut homeostasis, providing new insights into gut–microbe interactions in metazoans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The adverse haemodynamic effects of the intravenous anaesthetic propofol are well known, yet few empirical models have explored the dose-response relationship. Evidence suggests that hypotension during general anaesthesia is associated with postoperative mortality. We developed a mechanism-based model that quantitatively characterises the magnitude of propofol-induced haemodynamic effects during general anaesthesia.Methods: Mean arterial pressure (MAP), heart rate (HR) and pulse pressure (PP) measurements were available from 36 healthy volunteers who received propofol in a step-up and step-down fashion by target-controlled infusion using the Schnider pharmacokinetic model. A mechanistic pharmacodynamic model was explored based on the Snelder model. To benchmark the performance of this model, we developed empirical models for MAP, HR, and PP.Results: The mechanistic model consisted of three turnover equations representing total peripheral resistance (TPR), stroke volume (SV), and HR. Propofol-induced changes were implemented by Emax models on the zero-order production rates of the turnover equations for TPR and SV. The estimated 50% effective concentrations for propofol-induced changes in TPR and SV were 2.96 and 0.34 μg ml-1, respectively. The goodness-of-fit for the mechanism-based model was indistinguishable from the empirical models. Simulations showed that predictions from the mechanism-based model were similar to previously published MAP and HR observations.Conclusions: We developed a mechanism-based pharmacodynamic model for propofol-induced changes in MAP, TPR, SV, and HR as a potential approach for predicting haemodynamic alterations.Clinical Trial Registration: NCT02043938. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Paclitaxel‐coated balloons have demonstrated improved efficacy compared with uncoated percutaneous transluminal angioplasty for femoropopliteal artery disease. While applying a long balloon, twisting of the balloon can be occurred. We reported two cases with twisting of the Ranger drug‐coated balloon for treating superficial femoral artery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: To establish the digital diagnostic templates by cluster analysis based on a set of cephalometric films and evaluate the outcome of the different treatment methods in the patients affiliated to the same cephalometric morphology template (CMT). These templates could be used for the automatic diagnosis of dentofacial deformities and prediction of treatment outcomes in the future. Methods: In this study, we assessed the coordinates of 60 different landmarks on the cephalograms of 2249 patients (14.35 ± 4.99 years, range from 7 to 62) with dentofacial deformities. The cephalometric data were subjected to dentist for clustering without a priori pattern definitions to generate biologically informative CMTs. Three templates were selected to evaluate the treatment outcome of patients affiliated to the same CMT. Results: The cluster analysis yielded 21 distinct groups. The total discriminant accuracy was 89.1%, while the cross-validation accuracy was 85.0%, showing that the clusters were robust. All CMTs were automatically created and drawn using a computer, based on the average coordinates of each cluster. Individuals affiliated to the same CMT showed similar dentofacial features. We also evaluated differences in the outcomes of patients affiliated to the same CMT. Conclusions: Our results demonstrated the utility of clustering methods for grouping dentofacial deformities with similar dentofacial features. Clustering methods can be used to evaluate the differences in the outcomes of patients affiliated to the same CMT, which has good clinical application value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cross-chain exchange is an important way to promote cooperation and exchange between different blockchains. However, current cross-chain approaches mainly rely on smart contracts with essential pre-deployment steps, several of which need to be synchronized, resulting in low performance. In this paper, we propose an asynchronous cross-chain exchange model based on a transaction that embeds a control condition to determine whether to transfer assets. The condition is used to specify the paired transaction. In order to find which cross-chain transaction meets the condition, the fields of cross-chain transactions are compared mutually, including sender, receiver, value, blockchain identifier, etc. Meanwhile, the balance process in the blockchain consensus needs to be changed: subtracting the balance of the sender first, increasing the balance of the receiver when the conditions match, or returning the assets to the sender if the time expires. By embedding conditions in transactions, the step of pre-deploying smart contracts is eliminated, and transactions can be sent in parallel. The simulation results show that compared with smart contract-based method, the exchange waiting time is reduced by up to 73.4%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Cow mastitis is the most common and important economic problem among ruminant cows in the world, with bacterial infection constituting one of the main causes of the disease. Lipopolysaccharides (LPS) are one prototype Pathogen-Associated Molecular Pattern (PAMP) of Gram-negative bacteria and an important risk factor of cow mastitis caused by Gram-negative bacteria. Interleukin-17A (IL-17A), which is a signature cytokine of auxiliary T-cell 17, can be secreted by immune and non-immune cells. It has been proved that IL-17A plays a key role in the resistance of host animals against various bacterial infections. However, its role in the resistance of host animals against mastitis is not clear. The aim of this study is to explore the mechanism of IL-17A infection in the development of bacterial mastitis in dairy cows. In this study, RT-qPCR and ELISA were used to measure the promoting effect of IL-17A on the generation of pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6) and chemokine (IL-8). In addition, Western blot (WB) was applied to measure the influences of IL-17A on the inflammation-related ERK and p38 proteins in the MAPK pathways. The results show that under the stimulation of LPS on cow mammary epithelial cells (CMECs), cytokines IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, TNF-α, and IL-17A will exhibit significantly increased expression levels (p < 0.05). With inhibited endogenous expression of IL-17A, cytokines IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, and TNF-α will present reduced genetic expression (p < 0.01), with reduced phosphorylation levels of ERK and p38 proteins in the MAPK signaling pathways (p < 0.001). Upon the exogenous addition of the IL-17A cytokine, the genetic expression of cytokines IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, and TNF-α will increase (p < 0.05), with increased phosphorylation levels of the ERK and p38 proteins in the MAPK signaling pathways (p < 0.001). These results indicate that under the stimulation of CMECs with LPS, IL-17A can be expressed together with relevant inflammatory cytokines. Meanwhile, the inflammatory responses of mammary epithelial cells are directly proportional to the expression levels of IL-17A inhibited alone or exogenously added. In summary, this study shows that IL-17A could be used as an important indicator for assessing the bacterial infections of mammary glands, indicating that IL-17A could be regarded as one potential therapeutic target for mastitis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to investigate whether regional cerebral perfusion patterns on early-phase 18F-FP-CIT PET scans, which is typically coupled to cerebral metabolism, predict the long-term prognosis of Parkinson's disease (PD). We enrolled 397 drug-naïve patients with early-stage PD who underwent dual-phase 18F-FP-CIT PET scans. After quantifying the early-phase 18F-FP-CIT PET images, cluster analysis was performed to delineate the PD subtypes according to the patterns of regional cerebral perfusion. We compared the risk of developing levodopa-induced dyskinesia (LID), wearing-off, freezing of gait (FOG), and dementia between the PD subtypes. Cluster analysis classified patients into three subtypes: cluster 1 (relatively preserved cortical uptake; n = 175), cluster 2 (decreased uptake in the frontal, parietal, and temporal regions; n = 151), and cluster 3 (decreased uptake in more extensive regions, additionally involving the lateral occipital regions; n = 71). Cluster 1 was characterized by a younger age-of-onset, less severe motor deficits, less severely decreased 18F-FP-CIT binding in the caudate, and better cognitive performance. Cluster 3 was characterized by an older age-of-onset, more severe motor deficits, and poorer cognitive performance. Cluster 2 was intermediate between clusters 1 and 3. Cox regression analyses demonstrated that clusters 2 and 3 had a higher risk for dementia conversion than cluster 1, whereas the risk for developing LID, wearing-off, and FOG did not differ among the clusters. The patterns of regional cerebral perfusion can provide information on long-term prognosis with regards to cognitive, but not motor aspects of patients with early-stage PD. • Early-phase 18F-FP-CIT PET can provide information on regional cerebral perfusion. • Cluster analysis delineated three PD subtypes using early-phase 18F-FP-CIT PET. • Clusters with decreased cerebral perfusion had a higher risk for dementia conversion. • Regional cerebral perfusion patterns have prognostic implications in PD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • We synthesized a highly soluble MR emitter for solution-processable OLEDs. • Multi-layered OLED device was fabricated using eco-friendly aliphatic solvents. • This device exhibited a high EQE of 14.0 % and a narrow bandwidth of 30 nm. In general, fabricating multilayer structures in solution-processed organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) presents challenges owing to the potential degradation of the initial film during subsequent processing steps. Furthermore, these devices typically require aromatic and halogenated solvents recognized for their adverse effects on human health and their harmful environmental impact. In this study, we successfully synthesized a solution-processable multi-resonance thermally activated delayed fluorescence (MR-TADF) emitter by introducing tert -butyl carbazolyl dendron, which exhibits excellent solubility. In our approach, we fabricated a multilayer OLED for solution processing utilizing eco-friendly, non-halogenated aliphatic solvents, with each layer in the devices developed utilizing water, cyclohexanone, and ethyl acetate for the hole injection layer, hole transport layer, and emitting layer, respectively. The resulting eco-friendly solution-processed OLED achieved a maximum external quantum efficiency (EQE max) of 14.0 % and a narrow bandwidth of 30 nm. Furthermore, utilizing an additional TADF sensitizer led to a remarkable EQE max enhancement of over 15 % and a substantial improvement in efficiency roll-off. Thus, the eco-friendly device fabrication strategy employed here opens novel avenues for diverse research in organic semiconductor devices that must be fabricated with solution processes in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The accuracy of de novo protein structure prediction has been improved considerably in recent years, mostly due to the introduction of deep learning techniques. In this work, trRosettaX, an improved version of trRosetta for protein structure prediction is presented. The major improvement over trRosetta consists of two folds. The first is the application of a new multi‐scale network, i.e., Res2Net, for improved prediction of inter‐residue geometries, including distance and orientations. The second is an attention‐based module to exploit multiple homologous templates to increase the accuracy further. Compared with trRosetta, trRosettaX improves the contact precision by 6% and 8% on the free modeling targets of CASP13 and CASP14, respectively. A preliminary version of trRosettaX is ranked as one of the top server groups in CASP14's blind test. Additional benchmark test on 161 targets from CAMEO (between Jun and Sep 2020) shows that trRosettaX achieves an average TM‐score ≈0.8, outperforming the top groups in CAMEO. These data suggest the effectiveness of using the multi‐scale network and the benefit of incorporating homologous templates into the network. The trRosettaX algorithm is incorporated into the trRosetta server since Nov 2020. The web server, the training and inference codes are available at: https://yanglab.nankai.edu.cn/trRosetta/. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What is known and objective: Tranexamic acid (TXA) is a novel treatment option for melasma; however, no consensus exists on its use. This study evaluates the efficacy and safety of TXA for melasma. Methods: A comprehensive literature review was conducted to search for randomized controlled trials comparing TXA alone, TXA as adjuvant to routine treatment and placebo. Changes in the Melasma Area Severity Index (MASI)/modified MASI (mMASI) between pre‐ and post‐treatment and between a certain melasma treatment and TXA were the primary outcomes. Twenty‐four trials comparing oral, topical or intradermal TXA with routine treatment were included in the meta‐analysis. Results and discussion: The change in MASI/mMASI scores at 4 (MD, 3.58; 95% confidence interval (CI), 2.15–5.01), 8 (MD, 5.08; 95% CI, 3.34–6.81), 12 (MD, 4.89; 95% CI, 3.80–5.97) and 16 (MD, 6.55; 95% CI, 2.62–10.48) weeks after treatment was all less than the baseline scores, regardless of the delivery route. The reduction in the MASI/mMASI scores between TXA adjuvant and routine treatment at 4 (MD, −0.43; 95% CI, −0.79 to −0.08), 8 (MD, −0.81; 95% CI, −1.09 to −0.54), 12 (MD, −1.10; 95% CI, −1.78 to −0.43) and 16 (MD, −1.12; 95% CI, −1.51 to −0.74) weeks was significant. However, the superiority of TXA was not detected when the topical or intradermal route was adopted. No serious adverse events occurred with the use of TXA. What is new and conclusion: These results suggest that oral TXA is an available, effective and safe alternative treatment for melasma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On the basis of ordinary sinusoidal groove structures, an auxiliary sinusoidal distribution with a smaller etching period is superimposed, and a negative-taper is added, on the inner and outer conductor walls to form a coaxial Bragg structure with tapered-double-sinusoidal grooves. Through the FORTRAN software programming simulation experiments, we can see that compared with the ordinary sinusoidal grooves, the bandwidth of the working mode and competition mode gets narrower, the quality factor Q gets greater, the residual side-lobes are also suppressed, and the selectivity of frequency is enhanced when the coaxial Bragg structure adopts the tapered-double-sinusoidal grooves. At the same time, the center resonance frequency point of the competition mode is far away from the working mode, and the bandgap overlap is further separated. However, the reflectivity of the working mode decreases and the reflectivity of the competing mode increases with the increase in the gradient angle. These peculiarities of the negative-tapered-double-sinusoidal groove structure are favorable to construct a cavity with a narrower bandwidth and high quality factor and also are favorable to the mode selectivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whether osteoarthritis (OA) is a systemic metabolic disorder remains controversial. The aim of this study was to investigate the metabolic characteristics between plasma and knee joint fluid (JF) of patients with advanced OA using a differential correlation metabolic (DCM) networks approach. Plasma and JF were collected during the joint replacement surgery of patients with knee OA. The biological samples were pretreated with standard procedures for metabolite analysis. The metabolic profiling was conducted by means of liquid mass spectrometry coupled with a AbsoluteIDQ kit. A DCM network approach was adopted for analyzing the metabolomics data between the plasma and JF. The variation in the correlation of the pairwise metabolites was quantified across the plasma and JF samples, and networks analysis was used to characterize the difference in the correlations of the metabolites from the two sample types. Core metabolites that played an important role in the DCM networks were identified via topological analysis. One hundred advanced OA patients (50 men and 50 women) were included in this study, with an average age of 65.0 ± 7.6 years (65.6 ± 7.1 years for females and 64.4 ± 8.1 years for males) and a mean BMI of 32.6 ± 5.8 kg/m2 (33.4 ± 6.3 kg/m2 for females and 31.7 ± 5.3 kg/m2 for males). Age and BMI matched between the male and female groups. One hundred and forty-five nodes, 567 edges, and 131 nodes, 407 edges were found in the DCM networks (p < 0.05) of the female and male groups, respectively. Six metabolites in the female group and 5 metabolites in the male group were identified as key nodes in the network. There was a significant difference in the differential correlation metabolism networks of plasma and JF that may be related to local joint metabolism. Focusing on these key metabolites may help uncover the pathogenesis of knee OA. In addition, the differential metabolic correlation between plasma and JF mostly overlapped, indicating that these common correlations of pairwise metabolites may be a reflection of systemic characteristics of JF and that most significant correlation variations were just a result of "housekeeping" biological reactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: As a result of similar appearances between edible and poisonous plants, 42 patients have ingested poisonous plants from 2013 to 2017 in Korea. We have developed species‐specific primer sets of three of edible and poisonous plants sets (Ligularia fischeri & Caltha palustris, Artemisia annua & Ambrosia artemisiifolia and Hemerocallis fulva & Veratrum maackii) for distinguishing both plants using a real‐time polymerase chain reaction assay. RESULTS: The efficiencies of the developed primer sets ranged from 87.8% to 102.0%. The developed primer sets have significant correlation coefficient values between the Ct values and the log DNA concentration for their target species (r2 > 0.99). The cut‐off lines as the crossing point values of the limit of quantitation of the target species were determined, and all non‐target species were amplified later than the cut‐off cycles. Then, the effectiveness of the developed primer sets was evaluated using commercial food products and digested samples with simulated gastric juice. CONCLUSION: All of the developed species‐specific primer sets were able to detect target DNA successfully in commercial food products and the digested samples. Therefore, the developed species‐specific primer sets in the present study would be useful tools for distinguishing between poisonous plants and edible plants. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: We investigated whether hippocampal perfusion changes are associated with cognitive decline, motor deficits, and the risk of dementia conversion in patients with Parkinson disease (PD). Methods: We recruited patients with newly diagnosed and nonmedicated PD and healthy participants who underwent dual phase 18F‐N‐(3‐fluoropropyl)‐2β‐carboxymethoxy‐3β‐(4‐iodophenyl) nortropane positron emission tomography scans. Patients were classified into 3 groups according to hippocampal perfusion measured by standard uptake value ratios (SUVRs): (1) PD hippocampal hypoperfusion group (1 standard deviation [SD] below the mean hippocampal SUVR of healthy controls; PD‐hippo‐hypo), (2) PD hippocampal hyperperfusion group (1 SD above the mean; PD‐hippo‐hyper), and (3) the remaining patients (PD‐hippo‐normal). We compared the baseline cognitive performance, severity of motor deficits, hippocampal volume, striatal dopamine transporter (DAT) availability, and risk of dementia conversion among the groups. Results: We included 235 patients (PD‐hippo‐hypo, n = 21; PD‐hippo‐normal, n = 157; PD‐hippo‐hyper, n = 57) and 48 healthy participants. Patients in the PD‐hippo‐hypo group were older and had smaller hippocampal volumes than those in the other PD groups. The PD‐hippo‐hypo group showed less severely decreased DAT availability in the putamen than the other groups despite similar severities of motor deficit. The PD‐hippo‐hypo group had a higher risk of dementia conversion compared to the PD‐hippo‐normal (hazard ratio = 2.59, p = 0.013) and PD‐hippo‐hyper (hazard ratio = 3.73, p = 0.006) groups, despite similar cognitive performance at initial assessment between groups. Interpretation: Hippocampal hypoperfusion may indicate a reduced capacity to cope with neurodegenerative processes in terms of the development of motor deficits and cognitive decline in patients with PD. ANN NEUROL 2024;95:388–399 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Motivation RNA molecules become attractive small molecule drug targets to treat disease in recent years. Computer-aided drug design can be facilitated by detecting the RNA sites that bind small molecules. However, very limited progress has been reported for the prediction of small molecule–RNA binding sites. Results We developed a novel method RNAsite to predict small molecule–RNA binding sites using sequence profile- and structure-based descriptors. RNAsite was shown to be competitive with the state-of-the-art methods on the experimental structures of two independent test sets. When predicted structure models were used, RNAsite outperforms other methods by a large margin. The possibility of improving RNAsite by geometry-based binding pocket detection was investigated. The influence of RNA structure's flexibility and the conformational changes caused by ligand binding on RNAsite were also discussed. RNAsite is anticipated to be a useful tool for the design of RNA-targeting small molecule drugs. Availability and implementation http://yanglab.nankai.edu.cn/RNAsite. Supplementary information Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The six xylenol (XYL) isomers can be separated by selective enclathration with the host 4,4-isopropylidene bisphenol, H1. Crystal structures were elucidated for the following single and mixed guest inclusion compounds with H1: H1·34XYL (I), H1·35XYL (II), H1·23XYL·26XYL (III), H1·23XYL·35XYL (IV), where the xylenol isomers are abbreviated as, for example 34XYL for 3,4-xylenol. The crystal structures of selected H1·xylenols showed that there is extensive host⋯host and host⋯guest hydrogen bonding. Competition experiments with equimolar mixtures of pairs of xylenols (XYL) showed that the preference for inclusion was in the sequence 34XYL > 35XYL > 26XYL > 23XYL > 25XYL > 24XYL. By analogy to the Dutch resolution method (in which families of resolving agents are used to achieve chiral separations), two host compounds similar to H1 were used in pairs with H1 to improve the selectivity of the xylenols. 4,4′-(9-Fluorenylidene)bisphenol, H2, and 4,4′(cyclohexylidene)bisphenol, H3, were used in pairs with H1 and were shown to enhance the selectivity of a given xylenol which had been poorly separated by H1 alone. The crystal structure was elucidated for an unusual mixed host–mixed guest inclusion compound, H1·H2·26XYL/35XYL (V). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prostate cancer (PC) progressed to castration resistance (CRPC) is a fatal disease. CRPC tumors develop resistance to new-generation antiandrogen enzalutamide through lineage plasticity, characterized by epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and a basal-like phenotype. FOXA1 is a transcription factor essential for epithelial lineage differentiation. Here, we demonstrate that FOXA1 loss leads to remarkable upregulation of transforming growth factor beta 3 (TGFB3), which encodes a ligand of the TGF-β pathway. Mechanistically, this is due to genomic occupancy of FOXA1 on an upstream enhancer of the TGFB3 gene to directly inhibit its transcription. Functionally, FOXA1 downregulation induces TGF-β signaling, EMT, and cell motility, which is effectively blocked by the TGF-β receptor I inhibitor galunisertib (LY2157299). Tissue microarray analysis confirmed reduced levels of FOXA1 protein and a concordant increase in TGF-β signaling, indicated by SMAD2 phosphorylation, in CRPC as compared with primary tumors. Importantly, combinatorial LY2157299 treatment sensitized PC cells to enzalutamide, leading to synergistic effects in inhibiting cell invasion in vitro and xenograft CRPC tumor growth and metastasis in vivo. Therefore, our study establishes FOXA1 as an important regulator of lineage plasticity mediated in part by TGF-β signaling, and supports a novel therapeutic strategy to control lineage switching and potentially extend clinical response to antiandrogen therapies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Owing to the break‐out of the COVID‐19 pandemic, students have to take more online learning than offline, and large‐scale education assessment programs have to be suspended or postponed. How could education assessment adapt to large‐scale online learning? How could the effect and safety of online assessment be improved? What role should formative assessment play in student admissions? How could different assessment results be linked? Reflections on and trends of the Chinese experiences are presented in this article. Based on cross‐cultural comparison research, measures to be recommended are as follows: reviewing previous theories, improving existing methods continuously, and developing assessment techniques innovatively according to new application scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Uric acid is the end product of purine metabolism in humans, and its excessive accumulation leads to hyperuricemia and urate crystal deposition in tissues including joints and kidneys. Hyperuricemia is considered an independent risk factor for cardiovascular and renal diseases. Although the symptoms of hyperuricemia-induced renal injury have long been known, the pathophysiological molecular mechanisms are not completely understood. In this review, we focus on the research advances in the mechanisms of hyperuricemia-caused renal injury, primarily on oxidative stress, endothelial dysfunction, renal fibrosis, and inflammation. Furthermore, we discuss the progress in hyperuricemia management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A simple proof of security of the BB84 protocol is presented in this paper. The proof is achieved in an information-theoretic way without referring to the formalism of quantum error-correction codes. Two examples are presented and discussed, showing that some previous results are special cases of the framework in this paper. It is suggested that the proof here sheds new light on security analysis of quantum key distribution, and that its technique may also improve the studies of other quantum information tasks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on a phosphine oxide ligand, HMPA (hexamethylphosphoric triamide), two mononuclear HoIII-pentagonal bipyramidal complexes were synthesized with the formulas [Ho(HMPA)2(H2O)5]2Cl6·2HMPA·2H2O (1) and [Ho(HMPA)2(H2O)5]Br3·2HMPA (2). Single-crystal X-ray diffraction results show that all HoIII ions in both the two complexes are hepta-coordinated and are located in pentagonal bipyramidal {HoO7} coordination polyhedrons constructed by two axial HMPA ligands and five equatorial water molecules. However, due to the employment of different halide ions as counterions, the second coordination sphere surrounding each [Ho(HMPA)2(H2O)5]3+ moiety is different in the two complexes: in 1, three Cl− ions, one water molecule and one HMPA ligand; in 2, three Br− ions and two HMPA ligands. Ac magnetic susceptibilities under zero dc field show that both the two complexes are single-ion magnets with effective energy barriers of 290 K and 320 K for 1 and 2, respectively. Compared with 1, the enhancement in the energy barrier of 2 is believed to be induced mainly by the change in the second coordination sphere rather than the minor differences in the {HoO7} polyhedrons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]