Tidal inundation and plant growth/decay impact redox-sensitive metal geochemistry and fluxes in salt marsh porewater.

In dynamic coastal ecosystems, environmental factors can play important roles in the biogeochemical cycle of redox-sensitive metals. This work is focused on the impact of tidal inundation, plant growth and decay on the biogeochemical cycle of redox-sensitive metals (e.g., Fe, Mn, Mo, V and U) in salt marsh wetlands. Samples were collected from the salt marsh wetlands of the Yellow River Estuary under different tidal states and growth stages of plants (Phragmites australis). Compared to the concentration of redox-sensitive metals in the river water and seawater near the study area, Fe, Mn and U were enriched in salt marsh wetland, which might become a potential source of Fe, Mn and U in the coastal sea. Tidal inundation, plant growth and decay can affect redox-sensitive metals through changes in redox conditions; the plant can also affect them directly via root absorption or plant residue decomposition, especially for Mo. Calculations of diffusion flux between sediment porewater and tidal water show that these processes can increase diffusion by at least 16.7 % or decrease it by at least 65.7 %, even reversing the direction of diffusion, which can affect the accumulation of redox-sensitive metals in salt marsh wetlands. The results showed that tidal inundation and the decay of plant residue were not conducive to the accumulation of Fe and Mn but were beneficial to the accumulation of V and U in salt marsh wetlands. The plant growth showed the opposite pattern. The accumulation of Mo in salt marsh wetlands largely depends on ingestion by plants and the decay of plant residue. This research provides a scientific basis for the budget calculation of redox-sensitive metals in salt marsh wetlands.

The Assessment of the Socioemotional Disorder in Neurodegenerative Diseases with the Revised Self-Monitoring Scale (RSMS).

BACKGROUND: Social cognition helps people to understand their own and others' behavior and to modulate the way of thinking and acting in different social situations. Rapid and accurate diagnoses of neurodegenerative diseases are essential, as social cognition is affected by these diseases. The Revised Self-Monitoring Scale (RSMS) is a scale that detects social-emotional cognition deficits. AIM: The aim of the current study is to examine how socioemotional parameters are affected by neurodegenerative diseases and whether the RSMS can discern these disorders based on the socioemotional parameters in the Greek population. METHODS/DESIGN: A total of 331 dementia subjects were included. Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination (Revised, ACE-R) measurements were used in order to assess the cognitive deficits. The Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) was used for the evaluation of the neuropsychiatric symptoms. The RSMS and its two subscales was used in order to detect the socioemotional deficits. RESULTS: The RSMS and its two subscales (RSMS_EX and RSMS_SP) can effectively detect neurodegenerative diseases. The RSMS can detect bvFTD in Alzheimer's Disease (AD), AD in a healthy cohort, behavioral variant Frontotemporal Dementia (bvFTD) in a healthy cohort, bvFTD in Parkinson's Disease (PD) and Frontotemporal Semantic Dementia (FTD/SD) in a healthy cohort. It is a useful tool in order to detect frontotemporal dementias. RSMS correlated negatively with the NPI questionnaire total and the subcategories of apathy, disinhibition and eating disorders. The RSMS results are associated with the ACE-R score (specifically verbal fluency). CONCLUSIONS: The RSMS is a helpful tool in order to identify socioemotional deficits in neurodegenerative dementias. It is also a useful scale that can discern bvFTD and svPPA in AD patients. A worse RSMS score correlates with a worse ACE-R and NPI. It seems to be a useful scale that can reliably measure social behavior in non-reversible neurodegenerative disorders, such as AD, FTD (bvFTD, svPPA), PDD and PD. The results also apply to the Greek population.

Comparison of the efficacy and safety of sacral root magnetic stimulation with transcutaneous posterior tibial nerve stimulation in the treatment of neurogenic detrusor overactivity: an exploratory randomized controlled trial.

Background: Both repetitive sacral root magnetic stimulation (rSMS) and transcutaneous posterior tibial nerve stimulation (TTNS) have demonstrated clinical benefits for lower urinary tract dysfunction. However it still remains unclear that which method is more effective and safer to treat neurogenic detrusor overactivity (NDO). Methods: From December 2020 to December 2021, 50 patients (31 men and 19 women, aged 47.9±12.4 years) with NDO secondary to suprasacral spinal cord injury (SCI) were enrolled and randomly allocated to the rSMS or TTNS group based on a computer-generated random numbers table. The stimulation was applied continuously 5 times per week for 20 sessions. Urodynamic test was conducted at baseline and the day after the final 20th treatment session. The primary outcome was the individual change (Δ) in maximum cystometric capacity (MCC) from baseline to post-treatment. Secondary outcomes included changes (Δ) for the following parameters: volume at 1st involuntary detrusor contraction (1st IDCV), maximal detrusor pressure (Pdetmax), bladder compliance (BC), postvoid residual (PVR) volume, and bladder voiding efficiency (BVE). Additionally, adverse reactions including pain and skin irritation during stimulation were observed and recorded as safety outcomes. Results: Finally 47 patients completed the study (23 in rSMS and 24 in TTNS group). A per-protocol (PP) analysis was performed, and Mann-Whitney U test and unpaired t-test were used for statistical analysis. Compared with the efficacy of TTNS, rSMS showed statistically greater ΔMCC [median +43 mL (IQR, 22-62 mL) vs. +20 mL (IQR, 15-25 mL), P=0.001, with a between-group difference of +22 mL (95% CI: +7 to +35 mL)] and ΔBVE [median +10.0% (IQR, 3.8-15.7%) vs. +3.5% (IQR, 0.0-7.8%), P=0.003, with a between-group difference of +5.9% (95% CI: +1.2% to +9.7%)]. No significant differences were found in Δ1st IDCV (P=0.40), ΔPdetmax (P=0.67), ΔBC (P=0.79) and ΔPVR (P=0.92) between the two groups. Meanwhile, patients exhibited high tolerance to both protocols, and no adverse reactions were observed. Conclusions: RSMS may be more effective to improve urodynamics in the treatment for NDO than TTNS, cause it led to a statistical improvement in bladder capacity and voiding efficiency, without any side effects. RSMS is thus worthy of further clinical promotion. Trial Registration: Chinese Clinical Trial Registry ChiCTR2100050663.

Isolation and characterization of a recombinant class C acid phosphatase from Sphingobium sp. RSMS strain.

Tributyl phosphate (TBP) is extensively used in nuclear industry and is a major environmental pollutant. The mechanism for TBP degradation is not identified in any TBP-degrading bacteria. Here, we report identification of an acid phosphatase from Sphingobium sp. RSMS (Aps) that exhibits high specific activity towards monobutyl phosphate (MBP) and could be a terminal component of the TBP degradation process. A genomic DNA library of the bacteria was screened using a histochemical method which yielded 35 phosphatase clones. Among these, the clone that showed the highest MBP degradation was studied further. DNA sequence analysis showed that the genomic insert encodes a protein (Aps) which belongs to class C acid phosphatase. The recombinant Aps was found to be a dimer and hydrolysed MBP with a Kcat 68.1 ± 5.46 s- 1 and Km 2.5 mM ± 0.50. The protein was found to be nonspecific for phosphatase activity and hydrolyzed disparate organophosphates.

The Revised Self-Monitoring Scale detects early impairment of social cognition in genetic frontotemporal dementia within the GENFI cohort.

BACKGROUND: Although social cognitive dysfunction is a major feature of frontotemporal dementia (FTD), it has been poorly studied in familial forms. A key goal of studies is to detect early cognitive impairment using validated measures in large patient cohorts. METHODS: We used the Revised Self-Monitoring Scale (RSMS) as a measure of socioemotional sensitivity in 730 participants from the genetic FTD initiative (GENFI) observational study: 269 mutation-negative healthy controls, 193 C9orf72 expansion carriers, 193 GRN mutation carriers and 75 MAPT mutation carriers. All participants underwent the standardised GENFI clinical assessment including the 'CDR® plus NACC FTLD' scale and RSMS. The RSMS total score and its two subscores, socioemotional expressiveness (EX score) and modification of self-presentation (SP score) were measured. Volumetric T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging was available from 377 mutation carriers for voxel-based morphometry (VBM) analysis. RESULTS: The RSMS was decreased in symptomatic mutation carriers in all genetic groups but at a prodromal stage only in the C9orf72 (for the total score and both subscores) and GRN (for the modification of self-presentation subscore) groups. RSMS score correlated with disease severity in all groups. The VBM analysis implicated an overlapping network of regions including the orbitofrontal cortex, insula, temporal pole, medial temporal lobe and striatum. CONCLUSIONS: The RSMS indexes socioemotional impairment at an early stage of genetic FTD and may be a suitable outcome measure in forthcoming trials.