The different effects of a sensorimotor grounding on AoA between bilingual concepts.

Introduction: Psycholinguistic studies have argued for the age of acquisition (AoA) of words as a marker of concept learning, showing that the semantic features of concepts themselves influence the age at which their labels are learned. However, empirical evidence suggests that semantic features such as imageability and linguistic phenomena such as frequency do not adequately predict AoA. The present study takes the developmental approach of embodied cognition and investigates the effects of sensorimotor experiences on the ease of acquisition of the concept acquired in bilinguals. Specifically, we investigated (1) whether the sensorimotor experience can explain AoA beyond frequency; (2) and whether these patterns are consistent across L1 Chinese and L2 English. Methods: We conducted sensorimotor rating measures in both Chinese and English on 207 items in which Chinese-English bilingual adults were requested to evaluate the extent to which they experienced concepts by employing six perceptual senses and five effectors for actions located in various regions of the body. Meanwhile, data on AoA and frequency were collected. Results: The present study showed the sensorimotor experience was closely linked with AoAs in both languages. However, the correlation analysis revealed a trend of higher correlations between AoAs for the same concepts and L1 Chinese, relative to L2 English for the present Chinese-English bilinguals. Importantly, the hierarchical regression analysis demonstrated that after controlling for frequency, sensorimotor experience explained additional variance in L1 AoA. However, L2 sensorimotor experience did not explain the variance in L2 AoA. Sensorimotor experience explained more share of variance in L1 AoA but frequency accounted for more variance in L2 AoA. Discussion: The findings suggest that concept acquisition should consider the grounding in appropriate sensorimotor experience beyond linguistic phenomena like frequency.

Integrated profiling identifies ferredoxin 1 as an immune-related biomarker of malignant phenotype in glioma.

Background: Glioma, a highly resistant and recurrent type of central nervous system tumor, poses a significant challenge in terms of effective drug treatments and its associated mortality rates. Despite the discovery of Ferredoxin 1 (FDX1) as a crucial participant in cuproptosis, an innovative mechanism of cellular demise, its precise implications for glioma prognosis and tumor immune infiltration remain inadequately elucidated. Methods: To analyze pan-cancer data, we employed multiple public databases. Gene expression evaluation was performed using tissue microarray (TMA) and single-cell sequencing data. Furthermore, four different approaches were employed to assess the prognostic importance of FDX1 in glioma. We conducted the analysis of differential expression genes (DEGs) and Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) to identify immune-related predictive signaling pathways. Somatic mutations were assessed using Tumor Mutation Burden (TMB) and waterfall plots. Immune cell infiltration was evaluated with five different algorithms. Furthermore, we performed in vitro investigations to evaluate the biological roles of FDX1 in glioma. Results: Glioma samples exhibited upregulation of FDX1, which in turn predicted poor prognosis and was positively associated with unfavorable clinicopathological characteristics. Notably, the top four enriched signaling pathways were immune-related, and the discovery revealed a connection between the expression of FDX1 and the frequency of mutations or the TMB. The FDX1_high group exhibited heightened infiltration of immune cells, and there existed a direct association between the expression of FDX1 and the regulation of immune checkpoint. In vitro experiments demonstrated that FDX1 knockdown reduced proliferation, migration, invasion and transition from G2 to M phase in glioma cells. Conclusion: In glioma, FDX1 demonstrated a positive association with the advancement of malignancy and changes in the infiltration of immune cells.

Suppression of wavelength-dependent polarization fading using hybrid-polarization scheme in OFDR.

What we believe to be a new hybrid-polarization diversity scheme which can eliminate the polarization state variation caused by wavelength tuning of laser in optical frequency domain reflectometry is proposed in the paper. In the scheme, a 45° polarizer is used to maintain the polarization of signals. It decreases the polarization angle fluctuation to 2.81° and realizes a -145 dB test sensitivity with a 32 dB Rayleigh scattering signal-to-noise ratio in a 10 m fiber single test. The polarization fading suppression is achieved for tests with a large wavelength tuning range from 1480 nm to 1640 nm. Meanwhile, a 6 µm spatial resolution is also achieved. The proposed scheme can be applied to the structure measurement of high-precision optical fiber devices with high spatial resolution and sensitivity.

Construction and experimental validation of a signature for predicting prognosis and immune infiltration analysis of glioma based on disulfidptosis-related lncRNAs.

Backgrounds: Disulfidptosis, a newly discovered mechanism of programmed cell death, is believed to have a unique role in elucidating cancer progression and guiding cancer therapy strategies. However, no studies have yet explored this mechanism in glioma. Methods: We downloaded data on glioma patients from online databases to address this gap. Subsequently, we identified disulfidptosis-related genes from published literature and verified the associated lncRNAs. Results: Through univariate, multivariate, and least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression algorithms analyses, we identified 10 lncRNAs. These were then utilized to construct prognostic prediction models, culminating in a risk-scoring signature. Reliability and validity tests demonstrated that the model effectively discerns glioma patients' prognosis outcomes. We also analyzed the relationship between the risk score and immune characteristics, and identified several drugs that may be effective for high-risk patients. In vitro experiments revealed that LINC02525 could enhances glioma cells' migration and invasion capacities. Additionally, knocking down LINC02525 was observed to promote glioma cell disulfidptosis. Conclusion: This study delves into disulfidptosis-related lncRNAs in glioma, offering novel insights into glioma therapeutic strategies.

Pocket-Size Wireless Nanoelectrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry for Metabolic Analysis of Salty Biofluids and Single Cells.

Analysis of volume-limited biological samples such as single cells and biofluids not only benefits clinical purposes but also promotes fundamental research in life sciences. Detection of these samples, however, imposes strict requirements on measurement performance because of the minimal volume and concentrated salts of the samples. Herein, we developed a self-cleaning nanoelectrospray ionization device powered by a pocket-size "MasSpec Pointer" (MSP-nanoESI) for metabolic analysis of salty biological samples with limited volume. The self-cleaning effect induced by Maxwell-Wagner electric stress helps with keeping the borosilicate glass capillary tip free from clogging and thus increasing salt tolerance. This device possesses a high sample economy (about 0.1 µL per test) due to its pulsed high voltage supply, sampling method (dipping the nanoESI tip into analyte solution), and contact-free electrospray ionization (ESI) (the electrode does not touch the analyte solution during ESI). High repeatable results could be acquired by the device with a relative standard deviation (RSD) of 1.02% for voltage output and 12.94% for MS signals of caffeine standard. Single MCF-7 cells were metabolically analyzed directly from phosphate buffered saline, and two types of untreated cerebrospinal fluid from hydrocephalus patients were distinguished with 84% accuracy. MSP-nanoESI gets rid of the bulky apparatus and could be held in hand or put into one's pocket for transportation, and it could operate for more than 4 h without recharge. We believe this device will boost scientific research and clinical usage of volume-limited biological samples with high-concentration salts in a low-cost, convenient, and rapid manner.

Integrated analysis of inflammatory response subtype-related signature to predict clinical outcomes, immune status and drug targets in lower-grade glioma.

Background: The inflammatory response in the tumor immune microenvironment has implications for the progression and prognosis in glioma. However, few inflammatory response-related biomarkers for lower-grade glioma (LGG) prognosis and immune infiltration have been identified. We aimed to construct and identify the prognostic value of an inflammatory response-related signature, immune infiltration, and drug targets for LGG. Methods: The transcriptomic and clinical data of LGG samples and 200 inflammatory response genes were obtained from public databases. The LGG samples were separated into two inflammatory response-related subtypes based on differentially expressed inflammatory response genes between LGG and normal brain tissue. Next, inflammatory response-related genes (IRRGs) were determined through a difference analysis between the aforementioned two subtypes. An inflammatory response-related prognostic model was constructed using IRRGs by using univariate Cox regression and Lasso regression analyses and validated in an external database (CGGA database). ssGSEA and ESTIMATE algorithms were conducted to evaluate immune infiltration. Additionally, we performed integrated analyses to investigate the correlation between the prognostic signature and N 6-methyladenosine mRNA status, stemness index, and drug sensitivity. We finally selected MSR1 from the prognostic signature for further experimental validation. Results: A total of nine IRRGs were identified to construct the prognostic signature for LGG. LGG patients in the high-risk group presented significantly reduced overall survival than those in the low-risk group. An ROC analysis confirmed the predictive power of the prognostic model. Multivariate analyses identified the risk score as an independent predictor for the overall survival. ssGSEA revealed that the immune status was definitely disparate between two risk subgroups, and immune checkpoints such as PD-1, PD-L1, and CTLA4 were significantly expressed higher in the high-risk group. The risk score was strongly correlated with tumor stemness and m6A. The expression levels of the genes in the signature were significantly associated with the sensitivity of tumor cells to anti-tumor drugs. Finally, the knockdown of MSR1 suppressed LGG cell migration, invasion, epithelial-mesenchymal transition, and proliferation. Conclusion: The study constructed a novel signature composed of nine IRRGs to predict the prognosis, potential drug targets, and impact immune infiltration status in LGG, which hold promise for screening prognostic biomarkers and guiding immunotherapy for LGG.

Candida central nervous system infection after neurosurgery: a single-institution case series and literature review.

BACKGROUND: Candida central nervous system (CNS) infection is a rare complication following neurosurgery. This disease often occurs during the treatment of bacterial CNS infection, and common bacterial culture results have a high false negative rate, which delays diagnosis and treatment, and seriously affect the prognosis of patients. The purpose of this study was to discuss the diagnosis, treatment process, and results of this disease through a small series of cases, so as to provide data support and a theoretical basis for the timely diagnosis and treatment of Candida CNS infection after neurosurgery. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was conducted on eight patients with confirmed Candida CNS infection following neurosurgery in our department between June 2011 and June 2019. Their clinical symptoms, treatment schemes, outcomes, risk factors, and complications were analyzed. RESULTS: Four patients received intravenous administration of fluconazole and were cured. Three patients received intravenous administration of amphotericin B. Two of them were cured, and the other died. One patient was cured after intravenous administration of voriconazole throughout the treatment. The overall cure rate was 87.5% (7/8), and the death rate was 12.5% (1/8). Among the three patients treated by amphotericin B, one patient suffered vomiting and renal function impairment. After drug discontinuation, this patient gradually improved. Another patient had acute renal failure, and the conditions were not improved after drug discontinuation. The remaining patient suffered from anemia and vomiting, which were relieved after drug discontinuation. One patient had hematuria during voriconazole treatment, and the symptoms were improved after the therapy was changed to fluconazole. Four patients treated with fluconazole did not have apparent adverse reactions. None of the cured patients relapsed during the 3-12 months follow-up after discharge. CONCLUSIONS: Candida CNS infection following neurosurgery is a rare condition; however, it may result in disastrous consequences. Early diagnosis and timely use of antifungal agents are considered the primary treatment principles. Blood culture of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is useful for early diagnosis. Fluconazole is the preferred choice for the clinical treatment of Candida CNS infection as it has both good efficacy and safety.

Comparative study of lumboperitoneal shunt and ventriculoperitoneal shunt in the treatment of idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to compare lumboperitoneal shunt (LPS) and ventriculoperitoneal shunt (VPS) in the treatment of idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH). METHODS: From September 2016 to November 2019, 76 iNPH patients who underwent shunt operation were recruited and assigned to a lumboperitoneal shunt group (LPS group, n=40) and a ventriculoperitoneal shunt (VPS group, n=36) according to different treatment methods. The right first time (RFT) and improvement in triad of the two groups were observed. Keifer's hydrocephalus score (KHS) was used to evaluate the improvement of clinical symptoms, Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) were used to evaluate the improvement of cognitive function, and the Functional Independence Measure (FIM) to evaluate the postoperative living status of patients. The two groups of patients were followed up for 6 months to observe the postoperative curative effect and incidence of complications. RESULTS: The RFT of LPS group was markedly higher than that of VPS group. There was no remarkable difference in the improvement of triad, KHS score, MMSE score, NIHSS score, and FIM score between the two groups after treatment, as well as overall response rate (ORR) after six months. The total incidence of complications in LPS group was considerably lower than that in VPS group. CONCLUSION: LPS and VPS have similar curative effect in the treatment of iNPH, but LPS can avoid intraparenchymal hemorrhage (IPH) caused by ventricular puncture, and it increases the RFT.

METTL7B is a novel prognostic biomarker of lower-grade glioma based on pan-cancer analysis.

Methyltransferase-like 7B (METTL7B) is a member of the methyltransferase-like protein family that plays an important role in the development and progression of tumors. However, its prognostic value and the correlation of METTL7B expression and tumor immunity in some cancers remain unclear. By analyzing online data, we found that METTL7B is abnormally overexpressed in multiple human tumors and plays an important role in the overall survival (OS) of patients with 8 cancer types and disease-free survival (DFS) of patients with 5 cancer types. Remarkably, METTL7B expression was positively correlated with the OS and DFS of patients with lower-grade glioma (LGG). In addition, a positive correlation between METTL7B expression and immune cell infiltration in LGG was observed. Moreover, we identified a strong correlation between METTL7B expression and immune checkpoint gene expression in kidney chromophobe (KICH), LGG and pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma (PCPG). Furthermore, METTL7B was involved in the extracellular matrix (ECM) and immune-related pathways in LGGs. Finally, in vitro experiments showed that knockdown of METTL7B inhibited the growth, migration, invasion and the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of LGG cells. METTL7B expression potentially represents a novel prognostic biomarker due to its significant association with immune cell infiltration in LGG.

Multi-Omics Analysis Based on Genomic Instability for Prognostic Prediction in Lower-Grade Glioma.

Background: Lower-grade gliomas (LGGs) are a heterogeneous set of gliomas. One of the primary sources of glioma heterogeneity is genomic instability, a novel characteristic of cancer. It has been reported that long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) play an essential role in regulating genomic stability. However, the potential relationship between genomic instability and lncRNA in LGGs and its prognostic value is unclear. Methods: In this study, the LGG samples from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) were divided into two clusters by integrating the lncRNA expression profile and somatic mutation data using hierarchical clustering. Then, with the differentially expressed lncRNAs between these two clusters, we identified genomic instability-related lncRNAs (GInLncRNAs) in the LGG samples and analyzed their potential function and pathway by co-expression network. Cox and least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression analyses were conducted to establish a GInLncRNA prognostic signature (GInLncSig), which was assessed by internal and external verification, correlation analysis with somatic mutation, independent prognostic analysis, clinical stratification analysis, and model comparisons. We also established a nomogram to predict the prognosis more accurately. Finally, we performed multi-omics-based analyses to explore the relationship between risk scores and multi-omics data, including immune characteristics, N 6-methyladenosine (m6A), stemness index, drug sensitivity, and gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA). Results: We identified 52 GInLncRNAs and screened five from them to construct the GInLncSig model (CRNDE, AC025171.5, AL390755.1, AL049749.1, and TGFB2-AS1), which could independently and accurately predict the outcome of patients with LGG. The GInLncSig model was significantly associated with somatic mutation and outperformed other published signatures. GSEA revealed that metabolic pathways, immune pathways, and cancer pathways were enriched in the high-risk group. Multi-omics-based analyses revealed that T-cell functions, m6A statuses, and stemness characteristics were significantly disparate between two risk subgroups, and immune checkpoints such as PD-L1, PDCD1LG2, and HAVCR2 were significantly highly expressed in the high-risk group. The expression of GInLncSig prognostic genes dramatically correlated with the sensitivity of tumor cells to chemotherapy drugs. Conclusion: A novel signature composed of five GInLncRNAs can be utilized to predict prognosis and impact the immune status, m6A status, and stemness characteristics in LGG. Furthermore, these lncRNAs may be potential and alternative therapeutic targets.

A Clinical Study on the Use of Intraventricular Polymyxin B Supplemented by Continuous External Ventricular Drainage in the Treatment of Drug-Resistant Gram-Negative Bacilli Intracranial Infection.

PURPOSE: To investigate the clinical effect of ventricular polymyxin B supplemented by continuous external ventricular drainage in the treatment of intracranial infection with multidrug-resistant (MDR) or extensively drug-resistant (XDR) Gram-negative (G-) bacilli following neurosurgery. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A retrospective analysis was performed on 28 patients who had G-bacilli intracranial infection following neurosurgery in our department between January 2017 and December 2019. The patients were treated with intraventricular polymyxin B supplemented by continuous external ventricular drainage. The clinical characteristics, treatment process, cerebrospinal-fluid-related indicators, results and prognosis were analysed. RESULTS: All of 28 patients developed an infection subsequent to neurosurgery, and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) cultures demonstrated MDR/XDR G- bacilli, including Acinetobacter baumannii in 14 cases, Klebsiella pneumoniae in 9 cases, Pseudomonas aeruginosa in 3 cases, and Enterobacter cloacae in 2 cases. The ventricular drainage tube remained unobstructed in all patients during treatment, and intraventricular polymyxin B combined with intravenous antibiotics were administered each day. The duration of treatment with intraventricular polymyxin B was 14.96±4.28 days, and the time required to obtain a negative CSF culture was 8.23±4.02 days. The bacterial clearance rate from cerebrospinal fluid was 92.9% (26/28), and the clinical cure rate was 82.1% (23/28). Among them, 18 patients underwent ventriculoperitoneal shunt insertion for hydrocephalus 82.5 (59.5,114.75) days after the infection was cured, and the mortality rate was 17.6% (5/28). There was no significant change in patient blood creatinine levels before and after treatment. Cured patients were followed up for 4 months to 3 years, and no recurrences were observed. CONCLUSION: Treatment of intracranial infection with MDR/XDR G- bacilli using early intraventricular polymyxin B supplemented by continuous external ventricular drainage treatment may be a safe and effective treatment strategy.

Protective Effects of Transforming Growth Factor-ß1 Knockdown in Human Umbilical Cord Mesenchymal Stem Cells against Subarachnoid Hemorrhage in a Rat Model.

BACKGROUND: Emerging evidence indicates a beneficial effect of mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) transplantation in subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). Chronic hydrocephalus is a common complication after SAH, which is associated with subarachnoid fibrosis promoted by transforming growth factor-ß1 (TGF-ß1). This study investigated the effect of human umbilical cord derived MSCs (hUC-MSCs) with TGF-ß1 knockdown on chronic hydrocephalus after SAH. METHODS: About 0.5 mL autologous blood was injected into the cerebellomedullaris cistern of 6-week SD rats to establish SAH model. hUC-MSCs or hUC-MSCs carrying TGF-ß1 knockdown (1 × 105 cells) were intraventricularly transplanted at 1 day before surgery and at P10. Neurological behavior score and water maze test were performed to assess neurological functions. Hydrocephalus was evaluated by Nissl staining. Concentrations of proinflammatory cytokines were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The levels of TGF-ß1, p-Smad2/3, and Smad2/3 were measured using western blotting. RESULTS: Intraventricular hUC-MSCs transplantation significantly attenuated SAH-induced chronic hydrocephalus, upregulation of inflammatory cytokines, and behavioral impairment. Knockdown of TGF-ß1 in hUC-MSCs enhanced these effects. hUC-MSCs also reduced the upregulation of TGF-ß1 levels and Smad2/3 phosphorylation after SAH, and this effect was also enhanced by TGF-ß1 knockdown. CONCLUSION: Transplantation of hUC-MSCs exerts beneficial effect after SAH, possibly be through inhibiting TGF-ß1/Smad2/3 signaling pathway. Knockdown of TGF-ß1 in hUC-MSCs enhanced these effects.

A microfluidic platform with cell-scale precise temperature control for simultaneous investigation of the osmotic responses of multiple oocytes.

The temperature-dependent oocyte membrane permeability plays a significant role in oocyte cryopreservation, such as optimizing the addition/removal of cryoprotective agents and the rate of cooling/rewarming. However, the systems for studying the temperature dependence of oocyte membrane permeability are either too complicated or unable to achieve wide-range precise temperature control. In addition, these systems cannot achieve the simultaneous observation of multiple oocytes. Here, we report a novel microfluidic platform that combines a precise local temperature heater/detector and a simple global water bath to achieve wide-range accurate temperature control without increasing the difficulty of fabrication, and it also realizes non-interfering, position-controllable and non-missing capture of multiple oocytes for parallel experiments to increase throughput. The permeability coefficients (Lp, Ps) of the mouse oocyte membrane exposed to cryoprotective agents (1.5 M EG and 1.5 M PG) at four temperatures (4, 15, 25 and 37 °C) are consistent with those reported in previous works, which proves the feasibility and practicality of the microfluidic platform in this study.