A computational account of conflict processing during mental imagery.

Previous studies examining conflict processing within the context of a color-word Stroop task have focused on both stimulus and response conflicts. However, it has been unclear whether conflict can emerge independently of stimulus conflict. In this study, a novel arrow-gaze mental-rotation Stroop task was introduced to explore the interplay between conflict processing and mental rotation. A modelling approach was utilized to provide a process-level account of the findings. The results of our Stroop task indicate that conflict can emerge from mental rotation in the absence of stimulus conflict. The strength of this imagery conflict effect decreases and even reverses as mental rotation angles increase. Additionally, it was observed that participants responded more quickly and with greater accuracy to small rather than large face orientations. A comparison of three conflict diffusion models-the diffusion model for conflict tasks (DMC), the dual-stage two-phase model (DSTP), and the shrinking spotlight model (SSP)-yielded consistent support for the DSTP over the DMC and SSP in the majority of instances. The DSTP account of the experimental results revealed an increased nondecision time with increasing mental rotation, a reduction in interference from incompatible stimuli, and an improved drift rate in response selection phase, which suggests enhanced cognitive control. The findings from the model-based analysis provide evidence for a novel interaction between cognitive control and mental rotation.

Associations between temporal eating patterns and body composition in young adults: a cross-sectional study.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to examine the associations between body composition and temporal eating patterns, including time of first eating occasion, time of last eating occasion, eating window, and eating jet lag (the variability in meal timing between weekdays and weekends). METHODS: A total of 131 participants were included in the study. Temporal eating pattern information was collected through consecutive 7-day eat timing questionnaires and photographic food records. Body composition was assessed by bioelectrical impedance analysis. Multiple linear regression models were used to evaluate the relationships of temporal eating patterns with body composition, and age was adjusted. Eating midpoint was additionally adjusted in the analysis of eating window. RESULTS: On weekdays, both later first eating occasion and last eating occasion were associated with lower lean mass, and longer eating window was associated with lower body fat percentage. On weekends, both later first eating occasion and last eating occasion were associated with lower lean mass, and longer eating window was associated with higher FFMI. Longer first eating occasion jet lag was associated with lower lean mass. CONCLUSION: Our study suggested that earlier and more regular eating patterns may have a benefit on body composition.

Treatment of three pediatric AML co-expressing NUP98-NSD1, FLT3-ITD, and WT1.

During the treatment of 89 pediatric patients with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) at the Hematology Department of Kunming Medical University's Children's Hospital from 2020 to 2023, three patients were identified to co-express the NUP98-NSD1, FLT3-ITD, and WT1 gene mutations. The bone marrow of these three patients was screened for high-risk genetic mutations using NGS and qPCR at the time of diagnosis. The treatment was administered following the China Children's Leukemia Group (CCLG)-AML-2019 protocol. All three patients exhibited a fusion of the NUP98 exon 12 with the NSD1 exon 6 and co-expressed the FLT3-ITD and WT1 mutations; two of the patients displayed normal karyotypes, while one presented chromosomal abnormalities. During the induction phase of the CCLG-AML-2019 treatment protocol, the DAH (Daunorubicin, Cytarabine, and Homoharringtonine) and IAH (Idarubicin, Cytarabine, and Homoharringtonine) regimens, in conjunction with targeted drug therapy, did not achieve remission. Subsequently, the patients were shifted to the relapsed/refractory chemotherapy regimen C + HAG (Cladribine, Homoharringtonine, Cytarabine, and G-CSF) for two cycles, which also failed to induce remission. One patient underwent Haploidentical Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation (Haplo-HSCT) and achieved complete molecular remission during a 12-month follow-up period. Regrettably, the other two patients, who did not receive transplantation, passed away. The therapeutic conclusion is that pediatric AML patients with the aforementioned co-expression do not respond to chemotherapy. Non-remission transplantation, supplemented with tailor-made pre- and post-transplant strategies, may enhance treatment outcomes.

Macrophages exploit the mannose receptor and JAK-STAT1-MHC-II pathway to drive antigen presentation and the antimycobacterial immune response after BCG vaccination.

Tuberculosis (TB), caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis ( M. tb), remains one of the leading causes of fatal infectious diseases worldwide. The only licensed vaccine, Mycobacterium bovis Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG), has variable efficacy against TB in adults. Insufficiency of immune cell function diminishes the protective effects of the BCG vaccine. It is critical to clarify the mechanism underlying the antimycobacterial immune response during BCG vaccination. Macrophage mannose receptor (MR) is important for enhancing the uptake and processing of glycoconjugated antigens from pathogens for presentation to T cells, but the roles of macrophage MR in the BCG-induced immune response against M. tb are not yet clear. Here, we discover that macrophage MR deficiency impairs the antimycobacterial immune response in BCG-vaccinated mice. Mechanistically, macrophage MR triggers JAK-STAT1 signaling, which promotes antigen presentation via upregulated MHC-II and induces IL-12 production by macrophages, contributing to CD4 + T cell activation and IFN-γ production. MR deficiency in macrophages reduces the vaccine efficacy of BCG and increases susceptibility to M. tb H37Ra challenge in mice. Our results suggest that MR is critical for macrophage antigen presentation and the antimycobacterial immune response to BCG vaccination and offer valuable guidance for the preventive strategy of BCG immunization.

Phenotypic drug susceptibility characterization and clinical outcomes of tuberculosis strains with A-probe mutation by GeneXpert MTB/RIF.

BACKGROUND: GeneXpert MTB/RIF (Xpert) assay was applied widely to detect Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) and rifampicin resistance. METHODS: Retrospectively investigated the association among treatment histories, phenotypic drug susceptibility testing (pDST) results, and clinical outcomes of patients infected with probe A absent mutation isolate confirmed by Xpert. RESULTS: 63 patients with only probe A absent mutation and 40 with additional pDST results were analyzed. 24 (60.0%) patients had molecular-phenotypic discordant rifampicin (RIF) susceptibility testing results, including 12 (12/13, 92.3%) new tuberculosis (TB) patients and 12 (12/27, 44.4%) retreated ones. 28 (28/39, 71.8%) retreated patients received first-line treatment regime within two years with failed outcomes. New patients had better treatment outcomes than retreated ones (successful: 83.3% VS. 53.8%; P value = 0.02). The clinical results of RIF-susceptible TB confirmed by pDST were not better than RIF-resistant TB (successful: 62.5% VS. 50.0%; P value = 0.43). INH-resistant TB and INH-susceptible TB had similar treatment outcomes too (successful: 61.5% VS. 50.0%; P value = 0.48). 11 (11/12, 91.7%) new patients treated with the short treatment regimen (STR) had successful outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: More than half of mono probe A absent isolates had RIF molecular-phenotypic discordance results, especially in new patients. Probe A mutations were significantly associated with unsuccessful clinical outcomes, whether the pDST results were RIF susceptible or not. STR was the best choice for new patients. TRIAL REGISTRATION: retrospectively registered in Wuhan Jinyintan Hospital (No. 2021-KY-16).

Comparative Analysis of Transcriptome and Proteome Revealed the Common Metabolic Pathways Induced by Prevalent ESBL Plasmids in Escherichia coli.

Antibiotic resistance has emerged as one of the most significant threats to global public health. Plasmids, which are highly efficient self-replicating genetic vehicles, play a critical role in the dissemination of drug-resistant genes. Previous studies have mainly focused on drug-resistant genes only, often neglecting the complete functional role of multidrug-resistant (MDR) plasmids in bacteria. In this study, we conducted a comprehensive investigation of the transcriptomes and proteomes of Escherichia coli J53 transconjugants harboring six major MDR plasmids of different incompatibility (Inc) groups, which were clinically isolated from patients. The RNA-seq analysis revealed that MDR plasmids influenced the gene expression in the bacterial host, in particular, the genes related to metabolic pathways. A proteomic analysis demonstrated the plasmid-induced regulation of several metabolic pathways including anaerobic respiration and the utilization of various carbon sources such as serine, threonine, sialic acid, and galactarate. These findings suggested that MDR plasmids confer a growth advantage to bacterial hosts in the gut, leading to the expansion of plasmid-carrying bacteria over competitors without plasmids. Moreover, this study provided insights into the versatility of prevalent MDR plasmids in moderating the cellular gene network of bacteria, which could potentially be utilized in therapeutics development for bacteria carrying MDR plasmids.

Joint Detection of Community and Structural Hole Spanner of Networks in Hyperbolic Space.

Community detection and structural hole spanner (the node bridging different communities) identification, revealing the mesoscopic and microscopic structural properties of complex networks, have drawn much attention in recent years. As the determinant of mesoscopic structure, communities and structural hole spanners discover the clustering and hierarchy of networks, which has a key impact on transmission phenomena such as epidemic transmission, information diffusion, etc. However, most existing studies address the two tasks independently, which ignores the structural correlation between mesoscale and microscale and suffers from high computational costs. In this article, we propose an algorithm for simultaneously detecting communities and structural hole spanners via hyperbolic embedding (SDHE). Specifically, we first embed networks into a hyperbolic plane, in which, the angular distribution of the nodes reveals community structures of the embedded network. Then, we analyze the critical gap to detect communities and the angular region where structural hole spanners may exist. Finally, we identify structural hole spanners via two-step connectivity. Experimental results on synthetic networks and real networks demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed algorithm compared with several state-of-the-art methods.

Phytochemical identification of Lithocarpus polystachyus extracts by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight-MS and their protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B and α-glucosidase activities.

Lithocarpus polystachyus leaves exhibit antidiabetic activity and is consumed as a herbal tea in China. In this study, phytochemical profiles of L. polystachyus leaves were identified and characterized by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight-MS in both positive and negative ion modes. A total of 17 compounds were tentatively characterized and identified by accurate mass and characteristic fragment ions. The total phenolic contents in the leaf extracts ranged from 9.0 to 13.4 g gallic acid equivalents/100 g of dry weight (DW). In addition, the effect of these extracts on inhibiting the activities of α-glucosidase and protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B) were evaluated. L. polystachyus extracts demonstrated significant inhibition of α-glucosidase (more than 88.1% at a concentration of 1.25 mg/mL) and acarbose (93.6% at a concentration of 5 mg/mL) while the PTP1B inhibition rate was over 84.3%. The antioxidant capacities of the leaf extracts were determined using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl, ABTS, and ferric reducing ability of plasma methods and ranged from 50.5 to 72.5 g trolox, from 43.2 to 77.7 g trolox, and from 5.0 to 10.6 g butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT; equaling trolox or BHT per 100 g of DW), respectively. Based on these results, L. polystachyus can be considered as a functional food owing to its antidiabetic and antioxidative activities, which are attributed to its rich phenolic and dihydrochalcone contents.

Tuning the Solid-State White Light Emission of Postsynthetic Lanthanide-Encapsulated Double-Layer MOFs for Three-Color Luminescent Thermometry Applications.

Postsynthetic modification represents an efficient strategy for the fabrication of tunable metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) and derived high-performance functional materials. Herein, we report the synthesis of a mixed-linker zinc(II)-based double-layered MOF (dlMOF) with dual-emissive luminescence, which was further applied as a host matrix to fabricate highly tunable Ln@dlMOF materials (Ln = Eu, Tb, Eu/Tb). The emission characteristics of these materials can be readily modulated over a wide spectrum, including white light emission, by simply tuning the Eu3+/Tb3+ molar ratio in EuTb@dlMOF. Furthermore, by virtue of the difference in thermal sensitivity between triple-emissive sources, the Eu3+/Tb3+-codoped thermometer EuTb@dlMOF exhibits real-time successive chromogenic switches from red (room temperature) to white (intermediate temperature) to blue/green (cryogenic temperature) emission in a wide temperature region. The versatile performance and the facile assembly from easily available linkers suggest that postsynthetic lanthanide encapsulation represents an efficient strategy for the future engineering of advanced photoluminescent materials with stimuli-responsive and thermochromic properties.

A Dynamic Heterometal-Organic Rhomboid Exhibiting Thermochromic and Piezochromic Luminescence.

Heterometallic grids or rhomboids, in which two or more different metal ions are periodically segregated throughout a lattice, can give rise to emergent synergistic multifunctionalities but are typically static in nature because of strong metal-ligand binding. Here, a heterobimetallic C2-symmetric rhomboid, [Zn2Dy2] (1), was self-assembled from a naphthol-containing asymmetric ligand and 3d/4f mixed-metal ions. We show that a heavy structural twist of bridge ligands around the heterometallic centers can induce a translation ("stretch-elastic phase" behavior) related to the shape of the metallorhomboid and facilitates a luminescence response to external stimuli, such as temperature, mechanical pressure, etc.

Probing the Cognitive Mechanism of Mental Representational Change During Chunk Decomposition: A Parametric fMRI Study.

Chunk decomposition plays an important role in cognitive flexibility in particular with regards to representational change, which is critical for insight problem solving and creative thinking. In this study, we investigated the cognitive mechanism of decomposing Chinese character chunks through a parametric fMRI design. Our results from this parametric manipulation revealed widely distributed activations in frontal, parietal, and occipital cortex and negative activations in parietal and visual areas in response to chunk tightness during decomposition. To mentally manipulate the element of a given old chunk, superior parietal lobe appears to support element restructuring in a goal-directed way, whereas the negatively activated inferior parietal lobe may support preventing irrelevant objects from being attended. Moreover, determining alternative ways of restructuring requires a constellation of frontal areas in the cognitive control network, such as the right lateral prefrontal cortex in inhibiting the predominant chunk representations, the presupplementary motor area in initiating a transition of mental task set, and the inferior frontal junction in establishing task sets. In conclusion, this suggests that chunk decomposition reflects mental transformation of problem representation from an inappropriate state to a new one alongside with an evaluation of novel and insightful solutions by the caudate in the dorsal striatum.

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation for avian influenza A (H7N9) patient with acute respiratory distress syndrome: a case report and short literature review.

BACKGROUND: Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is performed as an acceptable life-saving bridging procedure in patients with severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).To patients with avian influenza A (H7N9)-associated ARDS, ECMO could be adopted as a feasible therapeutic solution. We present our successful experience with ECMO utilized in a respiratory failure patient with H7N9 infection. CASE PRESENTATION: A 44 years-old female with H7N9-induced ARDS was admitted to intensive care unit (ICU) and was treated with veno-venous ECMO for six days, antiviral therapy, prolonged corticosteroid infusion and other therapies. She suffered significant hemorrhage requiring transfusion of platelets and multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter Baumannii infection during ECMO support. Bleeding and infection almost killed the patient's life. Fortunately, she was alive at last and completly recovered after 38 days of ICU stay. CONCLUSIONS: ECMO was effective in this H7N9 patient with a fatal respiratory failure. Mechanical circulatory support was the only chance for our patient with H7N9-associated ARDS to survive until respiratory function recovery. Early detection and rapid response are essential to these serious ECMO-associated complications such as hemorrhage, thrombosis and infection.

[Effect of oxidative damage on expression of myocardin and NF-E2-related factor 2 in myocardial cells].

With the oxidative damage model established in rat myocardial cells by hydrogen peroxide (H 2O 2), the expression of myocardin and nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) during oxidative damage and effect of myocardin on Nrf2 were preliminarily explored. The expression of the target gene was increased or decreased by transfection of plasmid DNA or shRNA, respectively. Cell proliferation was detected by sulforhodamine B (SRB) assay. The expression of myocardin mRNA and Nrf2 mRNA was detected by Real-time PCR, and their protein levels were detected by Western blot. The results showed that oxidative damage was induced by H 2O 2 with an optimized incubation condition of 200 µmol/L H 2O 2 for 24 hours. H 2O 2 inhibited expression of myocardin in mRNA and protein levels, and increased expression of Nrf2 in mRNA and protein levels. The overexpression of myocardin or the knockdown of Nrf2 significantly decreased cell viability compared with the control group, while the knockdown of myocardin or the overexpression of Nrf2 significantly increased cell viability. The overexpression of myocardin significantly down-regulated the expression of Nrf2 in mRNA and protein levels, while the knockdown of myocardin dramatically up-regulated the expression of Nrf2. Thus, it is deduced that myocardin may inhibit cell proliferation and Nrf2 may promote cell proliferation. Oxidative damage induced by H 2O 2 in rat myocardial cell might activate Nrf2-related signaling pathway through down-regulation of myocardin.

[Preparation and evaluation of Shedan in situ forming gel based on ocular characteristics].

To develop an ophthalmic preparation of Shedan, an in situ forming gel was prepared with the formulation containing 18% of poloxamer 407 and 5% of poloxamer 188 by response surface designs plus central composite designs. The rheology results showed that LVE range gamma should limited within 0.5%, Shedan high-frequency region, and the thixotropy recovery time is less than 5 seconds. The phase transition temperature was 33.25 °C according to curve of storage modulus and loss modulus determined by temperature scanning. Surface tension and osmometer of it determined by surface tension meter and dew point osmometer were 36.43 mN · m(-1), and 320.6 mOsm · kg(-1), respectively. Fluorescein sodium was selected as the marker to monitor the corneal residence time, and the results showed that Shedan gel could prolong drug residence for 180 min. In line with zero-order kinetics, releases of muscone and salvianolic acid B in vitro depends on gels erosion. The results of rabbit ocular irritation experiments suggested that Shedan in situ forming gel was biocompatible and nonirritant. In conclusion, a novel Shedan in situ forming gel was developed and characterized for potential drug treatment of retinal vein occlusion.

Highly efficient and sensitive detection of tetracycline in environmental water: Insights into the synergistic mechanism of biomass-derived carbon dots and N-methyl pyrrolidone solvent.

The tetracycline (TC) residue in water environment has caused serious public safety issue. Thus, efficient sensing of TC is highly desirable for environmental protection. Herein, biomass-derived nitrogen-doped carbon dots (N-CDs) synthesized from natural Ophiopogon japonicus f. nanus (O. japonicus) were used for TC detection. The unique solvent synergism efficiently enhanced detection sensitivity, and the detailed sensing mechanism was deeply investigated. The blue fluorescence of N-CDs was quenched by TC via static quenching and inner filter effect. Moreover, the enhancement of green fluorescence from deprotonated TC was firstly proposed and sufficiently verified. The solvent effect of N-methyl pyrrolidone (NMP) and the fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) with N-CDs achieved an instantaneous enhancement of the green emission by 64-fold. Accordingly, a ratiometric fluorescence method was constructed for rapid and sensitive sensing of TC with a low detection limit of 6.3 nM within 60 s. The synergistic effect of N-CDs and solvent assistance significantly improved the sensitivity by 7-fold compared to that in water. Remarkably, the biomass-derived N-CDs displayed low cost, good solubility, and desired stability. The deep insights into the synergism with solvent can provide prospects for the utilization of biomass-based materials and broaden the development of advanced sensors with promising applications.

The differential impact of face distractors on visual working memory across encoding and delay stages.

External distractions often occur when information must be retained in visual working memory (VWM)-a crucial element in cognitive processing and everyday activities. However, the distraction effects can differ if they occur during the encoding rather than the delay stages. Previous research on these effects used simple stimuli (e.g., color and orientation) rather than considering distractions caused by real-world stimuli on VWM. In the present study, participants performed a facial VWM task under different distraction conditions across the encoding and delay stages to elucidate the mechanisms of distraction resistance in the context of complex real-world stimuli. VWM performance was significantly impaired by delay-stage but not encoding-stage distractors (Experiment 1). In addition, the delay distraction effect arose primarily due to the absence of distractor process at the encoding stage rather than the presence of a distractor during the delay stage (Experiment 2). Finally, the impairment in the delay-distraction condition was not due to the abrupt appearance of distractors (Experiment 3). Taken together, these findings indicate that the processing mechanisms previously established for resisting distractions in VWM using simple stimuli can be extended to more complex real-world stimuli, such as faces.

Effects of time-restricted eating on intrahepatic fat and metabolic health among patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

OBJECTIVE: The study's objective was to explore whether early time-restricted eating (eTRE) and late time-restricted eating (lTRE) have different impacts on intrahepatic fat and metabolic health among patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). METHODS: This is an 8-week, randomized, parallel-arm, open-label trial. Forty eligible patients were randomly assigned to eTRE (eating between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.) or lTRE (eating between 12:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.). The primary outcome was the change of intrahepatic fat measured by magnetic resonance image-derived proton density fat fraction. Secondary outcomes included changes in weight, body composition, liver function, and cardiometabolic factors. RESULTS: Forty participants who underwent randomization completed the trial (mean age: 38.25 years). The eTRE group had a -3.24% absolute reduction of intrahepatic fat (95% CI: -4.55% to -1.92%) and there was a -3.51% absolute reduction for the lTRE group (95% CI: -5.10% to -1.92%). Changes in intrahepatic fat were not statistically different between the two groups. Both the eTRE and lTRE groups had similar and significant reductions in weight, visceral fat, subcutaneous fat, liver enzymes, and glucose regulatory indicators. CONCLUSIONS: Among patients with NAFLD, both eTRE and lTRE induced significant reductions in intrahepatic fat and improvements in body composition, liver function, and metabolic health with similar magnitude. These findings suggest that eTRE and lTRE are comparable and feasible strategies for NAFLD management.

Bis(2,2',2''-nitrilo-triacetamide-κ(3)O,N,O')nickel(II) dinitrate tetra-hydrate.

In the title compound, [Ni(C(6)H(12)N(4)O(3))(2)](NO(3))(2)·4H(2)O, the Ni(II) cation is located on an inversion center and is N,O,O'-chelated by two nitrilo-tris-(acetamide) mol-ecules in a distorted octa-hedral geometry. The complex cations, nitrate anions and lattice water mol-ecules are connected by O-H⋯O and N-H⋯O hydrogen bonds, forming a three-dimensional supra-molecular structure.

Association between Serum Selenium Levels and Lipids among People with and without Diabetes.

The current study aimed to examine the association between serum selenium levels and lipids and explore whether the association was modified by diabetic status. A total of 4132 adults from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2011-2016) were included in this study. Multiple linear regression models were used to estimate the association between serum selenium and lipids. Higher serum selenium levels were significantly associated with increased total cholesterol (TC) (p < 0.001), triglyceride (TG) (p = 0.003), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) (p = 0.003) in the overall population. Diabetic status interacted with serum selenium for TC and LDL-C (p for interaction = 0.007 and <0.001). Comparing the highest with the lowest tertiles of serum selenium, the multivariate-adjusted ß coefficients (95% CIs) were 17.88 (10.89, 24.87) for TC, 13.43 (7.68, 19.18) for LDL-C among subjects without diabetes, but nonsignificant among those with diabetes. In US adults, the serum selenium was positively associated with lipids and the association was modified by diabetic status. Higher serum selenium levels were significantly associated with increased TC and LDL-C among participants without diabetes, but not among participants with diabetes.