MRI Assessment of Intrinsic Neural Timescale and Gray Matter Volume in Parkinson's Disease.

BACKGROUND: Numerous studies have indicated altered temporal features of the brain function in Parkinson's disease (PD), and the autocorrelation magnitude of intrinsic neural signals, called intrinsic neural timescales, were often applied to estimate how long neural information stored in local brain areas. However, it is unclear whether PD patients at different disease stages exhibit abnormal timescales accompanied with abnormal gray matter volume (GMV). PURPOSE: To assess the intrinsic timescale and GMV in PD. STUDY TYPE: Prospective. POPULATION: 74 idiopathic PD patients (44 early stage (PD-ES) and 30 late stage (PD-LS), as determined by the Hoehn and Yahr (HY) severity classification scale), and 73 healthy controls (HC). FIELD STRENGTH/SEQUENCE: 3.0 T MRI scanner; magnetization prepared rapid acquisition gradient echo and echo planar imaging sequences. ASSESSMENT: The timescales were estimated by using the autocorrelation magnitude of neural signals. Voxel-based morphometry was performed to calculate GMV in the whole brain. Severity of motor symptoms and cognitive impairments were assessed using the unified PD rating scale, the HY scale, the Montreal cognitive assessment, and the mini-mental state examination. STATISTICAL TEST: Analysis of variance; two-sample t-test; Spearman rank correlation analysis; Mann-Whitney U test; Kruskal-Wallis' H test. A P value <0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: The PD group had significantly abnormal intrinsic timescales in the sensorimotor, visual, and cognitive-related areas, which correlated with the symptom severity (ρ = -0.265, P = 0.022) and GMV (ρ = 0.254, P = 0.029). Compared to the HC group, the PD-ES group had significantly longer timescales in anterior cortical regions, whereas the PD-LS group had significantly shorter timescales in posterior cortical regions. CONCLUSION: This study suggested that PD patients have abnormal timescales in multisystem and distinct patterns of timescales and GMV in cerebral cortex at different disease stages. This may provide new insights for the neural substrate of PD. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 2 TECHNICAL EFFICACY STAGE: 1.

Impacts of ABCG2 loss of function variant (p. Gln141Lys, c.421 C > A, rs2231142) on lipid levels and statin efficiency: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: The latest evidence indicates that ATP-binding cassette superfamily G member 2 (ABCG2) is critical in regulating lipid metabolism and mediating statin or cholesterol efflux. This study investigates whether the function variant loss within ABCG2 (rs2231142) impacts lipid levels and statin efficiency. METHODS: PubMed, Cochrane Library, Central, CINAHL, and ClinicalTrials.gov were searched until November 18, 2023. RESULTS: Fifteen studies (34,150 individuals) were included in the analysis. The A allele [Glu141Lys amino acid substitution was formed by a transversion from cytosine (C) to adenine (A)] of rs2231142 was linked to lower levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and higher levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and total cholesterol (TC). In addition, the A allele of rs2231142 substantially increased the lipid-lowering efficiency of rosuvastatin in Asian individuals with dyslipidemia. Subgroup analysis indicated that the impacts of rs2231142 on lipid levels and statin response were primarily in Asian individuals. CONCLUSIONS: The ABCG2 rs2231142 loss of function variant significantly impacts lipid levels and statin efficiency. Preventive use of rosuvastatin may prevent the onset of coronary artery disease (CAD) in Asian individuals with dyslipidemia.

Impact of alcohol consumption on coronavirus disease 2019 severity: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Fear and misinformation lead to widespread myths in the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, such as "consuming high-strength alcohol kills the virus in the inhaled air." However, whether alcohol consumption can affect COVID-19 has not been clarified yet. This study aims to investigate the impact of alcohol consumption on COVID-19 severity. PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Central, CINAHL, ClinicalTrials.gov, and WHO-International Clinical Trials Registry Platform were searched until November 25, 2022. Forty studies (1,697,683 COVID-19 individuals) were analyzed. Brown (patients numbers: 1317, risk ratios [RR] = 1.58, 95% [confidence interval] CI = 1.31 to 1.90, I2 = 0.0%, p < 0.001), American (patients numbers: 3721, RR = 1.51, 95% CI = 1.30 to 1.75, I2 = 0.0%, p < 0.001), and European (patients numbers: 261,437, RR = 2.04, 95% CI = 1.96 to 2.13, I2 = 0.0%, p < 0.001) drinkers were at high risk of severe COVID-19, intensive care unit (ICU) admission, and invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV), respectively. Consistently, individuals with a drinking history were at high risk of severe COVID-19 (patients numbers: 5399, RR = 1.23, 95% CI = 1.02 to 1.48, I2 = 38.4%, p = 0.03) and ICU admission (patients numbers: 6995, RR = 1.32, 95% CI = 1.08 to 1.60, I2 = 46.6%, p = 0.01). In addition, current drinkers had an increased risk of symptomatic COVID-19. However, excessive drinkers were at high risk of COVID-19 hospitalization. Alcohol consumption intensifies COVID-19 severity and deteriorates its clinical outcomes. Here, we strongly propose that people do not drink alcohol during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Tunable Fluorescence and Morphology of Aggregates Built from a Mechanically Bonded Amphiphilic Bistable [2]Rotaxane.

Advanced Organic Chemical Materials Co-constructed Mechanically bonded amphiphiles (MBAs), also known as mechanically interlocked molecules (MIMs), have emerged as an important kind of functional building block for the construction of artificial molecular machines and soft materials. Herein, a novel MBA, i. e., bistable [2]rotaxane H2 was designed and synthesized. In the solution state, H2 demonstrated pH and metal ion-responsive emissions due to the presence of a distance-dependent photoinduced electron transfer (PET) process and the fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) process, respectively. Importantly, the amphiphilic feature of H2 has endowed it with unique self-assembly capability, and nanospheres were obtained in a mixed H2 O/CH3 CN solvent. Moreover, the morphology of H2 aggregates can be tuned from nanospheres to vesicles due to the pH-controlled shuttling motion-induced alternation of H2 amphiphilicity. Interestingly, larger spheres with novel pearl-chain-like structures from H2 were observed after adding stoichiometric Zn2+ . In particular, H2 shows pH-responsive emissions in its aggregation state, allowing the visualization of the shuttling movement by just naked eyes. It is assumed that the well-designed [2]rotaxane, and particularly the proposed concept of MBA shown here, will further enrich the families of MIMs, offering prospects for synthesizing more MIMs with novel assembly capabilities and bottom-up building dynamic smart materials with unprecedented functions.

Effects of ferrous addition to Vallisneria natans: An attempt to apply ferrous to submerged macrophyte restoration.

Restoration of submerged macrophytes is an efficient way for endogenous nutrient control and aquatic ecological restoration, but slow growth and limited reproduction of submerged macrophytes still exist. In this research, the effect of ferrous on the seed germination and growth of Vallisneria natans (V. natans) were studied through aquatic simulation experiments and its influence on the rhizosphere microbial community was also explored. The seed germination, growth, and physiological and ecological parameters of V. natans were significantly affected by the ferrous treatments. Ferrous concentration above 5.0 mg/L showed significant inhibition of seed germination of V. natans and the best concentration for germination was 0.5 mg/L. During the growth of V. natans, after ferrous was added, a brief period of stress occurred, which then promoted the growth lasting for about 19 days under one addition. The diversity and richness of the rhizospheric microbial were increased after the ferrous addition. However, the function of the rhizospheric microbial community showed no significant difference between different concentrations of ferrous adding in the overlying water. Ferrous addition affected the growth condition of plants (content of CAT, Chl a, Chl b, etc.), thus indirectly affecting the rhizospheric microbial community of V. natans. These impacts on V. natans and rhizosphere microorganisms could generalize to other submerged macrophytes in freshwater ecosystems, particularly which have similar habits. These findings would contribute to the ecological evaluation of ferrous addition or iron-containing water, and provide a reference for submerged macrophytes restoration and ecological restoration in freshwater ecosystems.

Efficient nitrogen removal pathways and corresponding microbial evidence in tidal flow constructed wetlands for saline water treatment.

The artificial tidal wetlands ecosystem was believed to be a useful device in treating saline water, and it played a significant part in global nitrogen cycles. However, limited information is available on nitrogen-cycling pathways and related contributions to nitrogen loss in tidal flow constructed wetlands (TF-CWs) for saline water treatment. This study operated seven experimental tidal flow constructed wetlands to remove nitrogen from saline water at salinities of 0-30‰. Stable and high NH4+-N removal efficiency (∼90.3%) was achieved, compared to 4.8-93.4% and 23.5-88.4% for nitrate and total nitrogen (TN), respectively. Microbial analyses revealed the simultaneous occurrence of anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox), dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium (DNRA), nitrification and denitrification, contributing to nitrogen (N) loss from the mesocosms. The absolute abundances were 5.54 × 103-8.35 × 107 (nitrogen functional genes) and 5.21 × 107-7.99 × 109 copies/g (16S rRNA), while the related genera abundances ranged from 1.81% to 10.47% (nitrate reduction) and from 0.29% to 0.97% (nitrification), respectively. Quantitative response relationships showed ammonium transformation were controlled by nxrA, hzsB and amoA, and nitrate removal by nxrA, nosZ and narG. Collectively, TN transformation were determined by narG, nosZ, qnorB, nirS and hzsB through denitrification and anammox pathways. The proportion of nitrogen assimilation by plants was 6.9-23.4%. In summary, these findings would advance our understanding of quantitative molecular mechanisms in TF-CW mesocosms for treating nitrogen pollution that caused algal blooms in estuarine/coastal ecosystems worldwide.

Serum fructose concentrations are positively correlated with dyslipidaemia in women with polycystic ovary syndrome.

RESEARCH QUESTION: Is there an association between fructose and dislipidaemia in polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)? DESIGN: Serum fructose levels were measured in 250 women with PCOS (113 with dislipidaemia, 137 with normolipidaemia) and 460 controls (70 with dislipidaemia, 390 with normolipidaemia). Logistic regression was used to model the relationship between serum fructose levels and dyslipidaemia. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was used to assess the ability of serum fructose levels to predict dislipidaemia in women with PCOS, and PCOS in women with dislipidaemia. RESULTS: Patients with PCOS and dislipidaemia had higher serum fructose levels. Triglycerides, total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol increased with increasing serum fructose quartiles in patients with PCOS, whereas high-density lipoprotein cholesterol decreased (all P < 0.001). Among the lipid metabolism-related indicators, triglycerides were most associated with fructose (R = 0.626, P < 0.001). Serum fructose at a cut-off value of 9.79 pmol/µl had a sensitivity of 83.2% and specificity of 66.4% for predicting dislipidaemia in women with PCOS. Lower serum fructose levels were strongly associated with a decreased risk of dislipidaemia in women with PCOS (P < 0.001; OR 0.067; 95% CI 0.027 to 0.170). Moreover, high fructose levels are predictive of PCOS in women with dislipidaemia, with a better diagnostic performance than the androgens typically used as markers. CONCLUSION: Serum fructose levels are significantly correlated with dislipidaemia in women with PCOS, highlighting the importance of investigating the role of fructose in lipid metabolism of PCOS.

Associations of PNPLA3 rs738409 Polymorphism with Plasma Lipid Levels: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Accumulating evidence has shown that the rs738409 polymorphism of patatin-like phospholipase domain-containing 3 (PNPLA3) is associated with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Since NAFLD has been reported to be associated with lipid metabolism, this study is conducted to explore whether the rs738409 polymorphism of PNPLA3 was associated with lipid levels. By searching PubMed and the Cochrane database from May 31, 2020, to June 30, 2021. Sixty-three studies (81 003 subjects) were included for the analysis. The consistent findings for the associations of rs738409 polymorphism with lipid levels were the significantly decreased triglycerides (TG) (SMD=-0.04, 95% CI=-0.07 to -0.01, p=0.02) and total cholesterol (TC) (SMD=-0.03, 95% CI=-0.05 to -0.01, p<0.01) levels. Subgroup analysis indicated that the associations of rs738409 polymorphism with TG and TC levels were stronger in Caucasians, obesity patients, and adult subjects than in Asians, T2DM patients, and children subjects. The rs738409 polymorphism of PNPLA3 was associated with lower TG and TC levels in Caucasians, obese and adult subjects, which may contribute to the reduced coronary artery disease (CAD) risk between PNPLA3 rs738409 polymorphism and CAD.

Association of Inpatient Use of Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors and Angiotensin II Receptor Blockers With Mortality Among Patients With Hypertension Hospitalized With COVID-19.

RATIONALE: Use of ACEIs (angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors) and ARBs (angiotensin II receptor blockers) is a major concern for clinicians treating coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in patients with hypertension. OBJECTIVE: To determine the association between in-hospital use of ACEI/ARB and all-cause mortality in patients with hypertension and hospitalized due to COVID-19. METHODS AND RESULTS: This retrospective, multi-center study included 1128 adult patients with hypertension diagnosed with COVID-19, including 188 taking ACEI/ARB (ACEI/ARB group; median age 64 [interquartile range, 55-68] years; 53.2% men) and 940 without using ACEI/ARB (non-ACEI/ARB group; median age 64 [interquartile range 57-69]; 53.5% men), who were admitted to 9 hospitals in Hubei Province, China from December 31, 2019 to February 20, 2020. In mixed-effect Cox model treating site as a random effect, after adjusting for age, gender, comorbidities, and in-hospital medications, the detected risk for all-cause mortality was lower in the ACEI/ARB group versus the non-ACEI/ARB group (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.42 [95% CI, 0.19-0.92]; P=0.03). In a propensity score-matched analysis followed by adjusting imbalanced variables in mixed-effect Cox model, the results consistently demonstrated lower risk of COVID-19 mortality in patients who received ACEI/ARB versus those who did not receive ACEI/ARB (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.37 [95% CI, 0.15-0.89]; P=0.03). Further subgroup propensity score-matched analysis indicated that, compared with use of other antihypertensive drugs, ACEI/ARB was also associated with decreased mortality (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.30 [95% CI, 0.12-0.70]; P=0.01) in patients with COVID-19 and coexisting hypertension. CONCLUSIONS: Among hospitalized patients with COVID-19 and coexisting hypertension, inpatient use of ACEI/ARB was associated with lower risk of all-cause mortality compared with ACEI/ARB nonusers. While study interpretation needs to consider the potential for residual confounders, it is unlikely that in-hospital use of ACEI/ARB was associated with an increased mortality risk.

Molecular analysis of microbial nitrogen transformation and removal potential in the plant rhizosphere of artificial tidal wetlands across salinity gradients.

This study explored the microbial nitrogen transformation and removal potential in the plant rhizosphere of seven artificial tidal wetlands under different salinity gradients (0-30‰). Molecular biological and stable isotopic analyses revealed the existence of simultaneous anammox (anaerobic ammonium oxidation), nitrification, DNRA (dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium) and denitrification processes, contributing to nitrogen loss in rhizosphere soil. The microbial abundances were 2.87 × 103-9.12 × 108 (nitrogen functional genes) and 1.24 × 108-8.43 × 109 copies/g (16S rRNA gene), and the relative abundances of dissimilatory nitrate reduction and nitrification genera ranged from 6.75% to 24.41% and from 0.77% to 1.81%, respectively. The bacterial 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing indicated that Bacillus, Zobellella and Paracoccus had obvious effects on nitrogen removal by heterotrophic nitrifying/aerobic denitrifying process (HN-AD), and autotrophic nitrification (Nitrosomonas, Nitrospira and Nitrospina), conventional denitrification (Bradyrhizobium, Burkholderia and Flavobacterium), anammox (Candidatus Brocadia and Candidatus Scalindua) and DNRA (Clostridium, Desulfovibrio and Photobacterium) organisms co-existed with HN-AD bacteria. The potential activities of DNRA, nitrification, anammox and denitrification were 1.23-9.23, 400.03-755.91, 3.12-35.24 and 30.51-300.04 nmolN2·g-1·d-1, respectively. The denitrification process contributed to 73.59-88.65% of NOx- reduction, compared to 0.71-13.20% and 8.20-15.42% via DNRA and anammox, as 83.83-90.74% of N2 production was conducted by denitrification, with the rest through anammox. Meanwhile, the nitrification pathway accounted for 95.28-99.23% of NH4+ oxidation, with the rest completed by anammox bacteria. Collectively, these findings improved our understanding on global nitrogen cycles, and provided a new idea for the removal of contaminants in saline water treatment.

Patients' experiences across the trajectory of atrial fibrillation: A qualitative systematic review.

AIM: This study aimed to synthesize qualitative evidence on experiences of patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) during the course of diagnosis and treatment. We addressed three main questions: (a) What were the experiences of patients with AF during the course of diagnosis and treatment? (b) How did they respond to and cope with the disease? (c) What were the requirements during disease management? DESIGN: In this study, qualitative evidence synthesis was performed using the Thomas and Harden method. DATA SOURCES: Electronic databases, including PubMed, the Cochrane Library, Embase, Web of Science, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, the China Biomedical Database, the WanFang Database, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure and VIP, were searched. The databases were searched from inception to August 2021. REVIEW METHODS: Two researchers independently selected studies using qualitative assessment and review instruments for quality evaluation and thematic synthesis for the data analysis. RESULTS: A total of 2627 studies were identified in the initial search and 15 studies were included. Five analytical themes were generated: 'Diagnosing AF'; 'The impact of AF on the patients'; 'Self-reorientation in the therapeutic process'; 'Living with AF and QoL'; and 'External support to facilitate coping strategies.' CONCLUSIONS: Our findings point out unique experiences of patients across the trajectory of AF related to delayed diagnosis, feelings of nonsupport, disappointment of repeated treatment failure and multiple distress associated with unpredictable symptoms. Future research and clinical practice are expected to improve the quality of medical diagnosis and treatment, optimize administrative strategy and provide diverse health support for patients with AF. IMPACT: Understanding the experiences and needs of patients with AF in the entire disease process will inform future clinical practice in AF integrated management, which would be helpful in improving the professionalism and confidence of healthcare providers. In addition, our findings have implications for improving the effectiveness of AF diagnostic and treatment services. PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: This paper presents a review of previous studies and did not involve patients or the public.

Simultaneous denitrification and iron-phosphorus precipitation driven by plant biomass coupled with iron scraps in subsurface flow constructed wetlands.

This study investigated the interaction between plant biomass and iron scraps and their influence on nitrogen (including nitrate and ammonia) and phosphorus removal in the subsurface flow constructed wetland. The results showed that with the addition of 0.5 g L-1 of plant biomass and 5.0 g L-1 of iron scraps, the nitrate, total nitrogen and total phosphorus removal were simultaneously improved. During 35 days of continuous operation, the plant biomass played main effect on the enhanced denitrification, accounting for about 57%, while iron scraps enhanced the other 43% of nitrogen removal and most phosphorus removal through precipitation inside the wetlands. Iron scraps could benefit the degradation of cellulose into low molecular carbohydrates by 10%, and the biomass could promote the oxidation of iron and increase the total phosphorus removal by 15%. Plant biomass coupled with iron scraps also improved simultaneously the richness, diversity and evenness of microbial community and promoted the abundance of Nitrospira (17.37%) and Thiobacillus (8.46%) in wetlands. In practice, putting iron scraps as matrix and placing plant biomass in the influent region would be a better choice. This research would provide a new method for effective utilization of plant biomass and iron scraps and further treatment of low-polluted wastewater in the wetlands.

The suitable biomass carbon source for improving nitrogen removal in surface flow constructed wetland system: Fresh vs. withered.

Plant biomass can be used as a carbon source to enhance the nitrogen removal effect. Related researches mainly focused on withered biomass, while little on fresh biomass. In this study, batch experiments revealed that the carbon release rate (60.5 mg TOC g-1) of fresh biomass was significantly higher than that of withered biomass (44.9 mg TOC g-1), while the nitrogen release rate showed the opposite trend. Compared with withered biomass, fresh biomass could release more sugar and less refractory humic acid, which means higher bioavailability. After adding fresh biomass, TN removal rate increased from 18.65% to 51.59%. The TN removal in the wetland adding withered biomass increased from 13.59% to 42.25%. The biomass addition had a slight impact on the effluent sensory quality in the first two days. After adding fresh biomass and withered biomass, the relative abundance of denitrifying bacteria like Flavobacterium and Pseudomonas in the system significantly increased. In general, fresh biomass was more suitable as a denitrification carbon source for surface flow constructed wetlands.

Real-time Prediction of the Daily Incidence of COVID-19 in 215 Countries and Territories Using Machine Learning: Model Development and Validation.

BACKGROUND: Advanced prediction of the daily incidence of COVID-19 can aid policy making on the prevention of disease spread, which can profoundly affect people's livelihood. In previous studies, predictions were investigated for single or several countries and territories. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to develop models that can be applied for real-time prediction of COVID-19 activity in all individual countries and territories worldwide. METHODS: Data of the previous daily incidence and infoveillance data (search volume data via Google Trends) from 215 individual countries and territories were collected. A random forest regression algorithm was used to train models to predict the daily new confirmed cases 7 days ahead. Several methods were used to optimize the models, including clustering the countries and territories, selecting features according to the importance scores, performing multiple-step forecasting, and upgrading the models at regular intervals. The performance of the models was assessed using the mean absolute error (MAE), root mean square error (RMSE), Pearson correlation coefficient, and Spearman correlation coefficient. RESULTS: Our models can accurately predict the daily new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in most countries and territories. Of the 215 countries and territories under study, 198 (92.1%) had MAEs <10 and 187 (87.0%) had Pearson correlation coefficients >0.8. For the 215 countries and territories, the mean MAE was 5.42 (range 0.26-15.32), the mean RMSE was 9.27 (range 1.81-24.40), the mean Pearson correlation coefficient was 0.89 (range 0.08-0.99), and the mean Spearman correlation coefficient was 0.84 (range 0.2-1.00). CONCLUSIONS: By integrating previous incidence and Google Trends data, our machine learning algorithm was able to predict the incidence of COVID-19 in most individual countries and territories accurately 7 days ahead.

[Significance and case analysis of FMR1 mutation screening during early and middle pregnancy].

OBJECTIVE: To screen for mutations of fragile X mental retardation 1 (FMR1) gene during early and middle pregnancy and provide prenatal diagnosis for those carrying high-risk CGG trinucleotide expansions. METHODS: Peripheral blood samples of 2316 pregnant women at 12 to 21(+6) gestational weeks were collected for the extraction of genomic DNA. CGG repeats of the FMR1 gene were detected by fluorescence PCR and capillary electrophoresis. Genetic counseling and prenatal diagnosis were provided for 3 women carrying the premutations. RESULTS: The carrier rate of CGG repeats of the FMR1 gene was 1 in 178 for the intermediate type and 1 in 772 for the premutation types. The highest frequency allele of CGG was 29 repeats, which accounted for 49.29%, followed by 30 repeats (28.56%) and 36 repeats (8.83%). In case 1, the fetus had a karyotype of 45,X, in addition with premutation type of CGG expansion of the FMR1 gene. Following genetic counseling, the couple chose to terminate the pregnancy through induced labor. The numbers of CGG repeats were respectively 70/- and 29/30 for the husband and wife. In case 2, amniocentesis was performed at 20 weeks of gestation. The number of CGG repeats of the FMR1 gene was 29/-. No abnormality was found in the fetal karyotype and chromosomal copy number variations. The couple chose to continue with the pregnancy. Case 3 refused prenatal diagnosis after genetic counseling and gave birth to a girl at full term, who had a birth weight of 2440 g and no obvious abnormality found during follow-up. CONCLUSION: Pregnant women should be screened for FMR1 gene mutations during early and middle pregnancy, and those with high-risk CGG expansions should undergo prenatal diagnosis, genetic counseling and family study.

Detection of chloramphenicol with an aptamer-based colorimetric assay: critical evaluation of specific and unspecific binding of analyte molecules.

A chloramphenicol (CAP)-binding aptamer of 80 nucleotides (nt) was reported in 2011. In 2014, it was truncated to 40 nt and has since been used by most researchers, although a careful binding study is still lacking. In this work, binding assays using isothermal titration calorimetry and various DNA-staining dyes were performed. By comparing the truncated aptamer with three control sequences, no specific binding of CAP was observed in each case. The secondary structures of the original and truncated aptamers were analyzed, and it was shown that the likelihood of the truncated aptamer to retain the same binding mechanism as the original sequence is low. We further examined gold nanoparticle (AuNP)-based label-free colorimetric assays. By quantifying the extinction ratio at 620 nm over that at 520 nm, a similar color response was observed regardless of the sequence of DNA, suggesting the color change mainly reflected other events such as the adsorption of CAP by the AuNPs, instead of aptamer binding to CAP. Salt-induced aggregation experiments suggested direct adsorption of CAP on AuNPs. CAP only weakly inhibited DNA adsorption by AuNPs but did not displace pre-adsorbed DNA. Therefore, CAP adsorption by AuNPs needs to be considered when designing related sensors, for example, by using non-aptamer sequences as controls. This work calls for careful confirmation of aptamer binding and control experiments for designing aptamer and AuNP-based biosensors.

In Situ Construction of a Two-Dimensional Heterojunction by Stacking Bismuth Trioxide Nanoplates with Reduced Graphene Oxide for Enhanced Water Oxidation Performance.

In this study, a two-dimensional heterojunction consisting of bismuth trioxide nanoplates and layered reduced graphene oxide was synthesized using a facile In Situ growth route. A series of characterization tests indicated that the reduction of graphene oxide played a key role as an electron collector for enhancing photoinduced charge carrier separation efficiency. Thus, the as-prepared reduced graphene oxide/bismuth trioxide composite exhibited enhanced photocatalytic water oxidation, which was higher than that of pristine bismuth trioxide under simulated solar light irradiation. Furthermore, the photoelectrochemical properties of the prepared hybrid system were investigated to understand the transfer of photoinduced electrons and holes between layered reduced graphene oxide and bismuth trioxide nanoplates. Thus, this strategy provided an efficient approach for the fabrication of graphene composites containing hierarchical ternary oxides for photocatalysis.

[Identification of a novel CRYGC mutation in a pedigree affected with congenital cataracts].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the genetic basis for a Chinese pedigree affected with congenital cataracts. METHODS: Clinical data and peripheral blood samples were collected for the pedigree. Following extraction of genomic DNA, whole exome sequencing was carried out to detect genetic variants. Candidate variants were verified by familial co-segregation analysis and Sanger sequencing. Bioinformatics analysis was carried out to predict the function of mutant genes. RESULTS: By comparing variants identified among affected and unaffected individuals, a heterozygous variant, c.110 G>C (p.R37P), was identified in exon 2 of the CRYGC gene among all patients, which also matched the criteria for potential disease-causing mutations. The result was confirmed by Sanger sequencing. CONCLUSION: The c.110G>C variant of the CRYGC gene probably underlay the congenital cataracts in this pedigree.

Review of Chinese Journal of Traumatology in the year 2018.

Trauma is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. It is an urgent task to strengthen the trauma care and prevent the complications. In 2018, Chinese Journal of Traumatology reported a series of trauma-related articles of which the contents include pre-hospital care, in-hospital care and complication prevention, et al, aiming to improve the treatment levels, decrease the trauma incidence, and reduce the trauma mortality and disability.

Vitexin reduces epilepsy after hypoxic ischemia in the neonatal brain via inhibition of NKCC1.

BACKGROUND: Neonatal hypoxic-ischemic brain damage, characterized by tissue loss and neurologic dysfunction, is a leading cause of mortality and a devastating disease of the central nervous system. We have previously shown that vitexin has been attributed various medicinal properties and has been demonstrated to have neuroprotective roles in neonatal brain injury models. In the present study, we continued to reinforce and validate the basic understanding of vitexin (45 mg/kg) as a potential treatment for epilepsy and explored its possible underlying mechanisms. METHODS: P7 Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats that underwent right common carotid artery ligation and rat brain microvascular endothelial cells (RBMECs) were used for the assessment of Na+-K+-Cl- co-transporter1 (NKCC1) expression, BBB permeability, cytokine expression, and neutrophil infiltration by western blot, q-PCR, flow cytometry (FCM), and immunofluorescence respectively. Furthermore, brain electrical activity in freely moving rats was recorded by electroencephalography (EEG). RESULTS: Our data showed that NKCC1 expression was attenuated in vitexin-treated rats compared to the expression in the HI group in vivo. Oxygen glucose deprivation/reoxygenation (OGD) was performed on RBMECs to explore the role of NKCC1 and F-actin in cytoskeleton formation with confocal microscopy, N-(ethoxycarbonylmethyl)-6-methoxyquinolinium bromide, and FCM. Concomitantly, treatment with vitexin effectively alleviated OGD-induced NKCC1 expression, which downregulated F-actin expression in RBMECs. In addition, vitexin significantly ameliorated BBB leakage and rescued the expression of tight junction-related protein ZO-1. Furthermore, inflammatory cytokine and neutrophil infiltration were concurrently and progressively downregulated with decreasing BBB permeability in rats. Vitexin also significantly suppressed brain electrical activity in neonatal rats. CONCLUSIONS: Taken together, these results confirmed that vitexin effectively alleviates epilepsy susceptibility through inhibition of inflammation along with improved BBB integrity. Our study provides a strong rationale for the further development of vitexin as a promising therapeutic candidate treatment for epilepsy in the immature brain.