Analysis of risk factors associated with the high incidence of amblyopia in preterm infants at the corrected gestational age of 12 months.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the perinatal and in-hospital risk factors associated with the high incidence of amblyopia in preterm infants and to analyze the correlation between the amblyopia and neurodevelopment. METHODS: Children discharged from the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at 12 months of corrected gestational age were retrospectively included in this study. Ocular screening was performed in children. At the risk of amblyopia was determined according to the American Academy of Ophthalmology Guidelines for automated preschool vision screening factors. Differences in perinatal characteristics, complications during hospitalization, and treatment modalities between the two groups of children were analyzed, and multifactorial logistic regression analysis was used to identify the independent risk factors for amblyopia. The results of developmental assessment were collected retrospectively to analyze the correlation between amblyopia and various aspects of neurological development. RESULTS: A total of 128 preterm infants, 30 in the amblyopia risk group and 98 in the non-amblyopia risk group, were included in this study. Univariate analysis showed that the amblyopia risk group had lower birth weights, higher rates of asphyxia, preterm brain white matter injury, bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH), sepsis during hospitalization, and higher rates of treatment with pulmonary surfactant (PS), blood transfusion, invasive ventilator, and levothyroxine. Logistic regression analysis showed that BPD in the neonatal period (odds ratio [OR] 8.355, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.492, 46.786), brain white matter injury (OR 16.742, 95% CI 0.684, 409.804), treatment with levothyroxine (OR 2.859, 95% CI 0.946, 8.639), and use of an invasive ventilator (OR 2.983, 95% CI 0.942, 9.445) were independent risk factors for amblyopia at 12 months of corrected gestational age, while the administration of glucocorticoids (OR 0.055, 95% CI 0.004, 0.737) was a protective factor. Regarding neurodevelopmental assessment, the number of infants with lagging fine motor development was greater in the amblyopia risk group. CONCLUSION: The presence of BPD in the neonatal period, brain white matter damage in preterm infants, and use of levothyroxine and invasive ventilator were high risk factors for amblyopia. The use of glucocorticoids therapy was a protective factor. Children with risk of amblyopia had a higher rate of poor fine motor development.

Early development of social attention in toddlers at high familial risk for autism spectrum disorder.

The present study explored the early development of social attention of toddlers at high familial risk (HR) for autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Eighteen HR toddlers and twenty-two toddlers at low familial risk for ASD (LR) between 11 and 24 months were asked to watch paired social and non-social videos. We found that: (1) the initial social preference in HR group decreased with age, but not in LR group; (2) both groups showed significant social habituation across trials, but HR group habituated slightly slower as age increased. These findings suggest that atypical social attention could be an early characteristic of toddlers at high familial risk for ASD.

Corrigendum: Prevalence of Anemia and Its Associated Risk Factors Among 6-Months-Old Infants in Beijing.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fped.2019.00286.].

Prevalence of Anemia and Its Associated Risk Factors Among 6-Months-Old Infants in Beijing.

Objective: The worldwide prevalence of anemia is ~24.8%. Iron deficiency anemia is common in children and women and associated with sensory, motor, cognitive, language, and socioemotional deficits. Therefore, detection and early intervention strategies for anemia in infants are urgently needed. To prevent the occurrence of iron deficiency anemia, we aimed to identify risk factors associated with anemia in infants. Methods: This investigation involved a cross-sectional study of 6-months-old infants discharged between April 2014 and September 2017 from Peking University First Hospital. We assessed birth information, maternal age, and maternal educational level as well as data on feeding style, complementary foods and primary caregivers. The infants were assessed with the Denver Developmental Screening Test (DDST). Results: A total of 1,127 6-months-old infants were enrolled at the hospital. We found that the prevalence of anemia among infants in Beijing was ~11.8%. Premature infants had a higher rate of anemia than full-term infants (χ2 = 40.103, P < 0.001). Infants born in autumn or winter were at an elevated risk of developing anemia (χ2 = 22.949, P < 0.001). Birth weight had no effect on the rate of anemia in infants (χ2 = 0.023, P = 0.568). Infants who were exclusively breastfeeding had higher anemia rates than those who were fed formula (χ2 = 38.466, P < 0.001). Infants whose caregivers added no complementary foods had higher anemia rates (24.7%) than those whose caregivers added more than two kinds of complementary food (8.2%). The type of caregiver had no effect on the anemia rate in infants (χ2 = 0.031, P = 1.000). Conclusions: The following factors resulted in a higher prevalence of anemia in our study a gestational age at birth of <37 weeks, exclusive breastfeeding, a lack of supplementation with complementary foods and a spring birth date. No significant differences in DDST pass rates were evident between infants with and without anemia.

Controlled Homoepitaxial Growth of Hybrid Perovskites.

Organic-inorganic hybrid perovskites have demonstrated tremendous potential for the next-generation electronic and optoelectronic devices due to their remarkable carrier dynamics. Current studies are focusing on polycrystals, since controlled growth of device compatible single crystals is extremely challenging. Here, the first chemical epitaxial growth of single crystal CH3 NH3 PbBr3 with controlled locations, morphologies, and orientations, using combined strategies of advanced microfabrication, homoepitaxy, and low temperature solution method is reported. The growth is found to follow a layer-by-layer model. A light emitting diode array, with each CH3 NH3 PbBr3 crystal as a single pixel, with enhanced quantum efficiencies than its polycrystalline counterparts is demonstrated.

Disruption of hex1 in Trichoderma atroviride leads to loss of Woronin body and decreased tolerance to dichlorvos.

The tolerance of Trichoderma species to organophosphorus pesticides is necessary for their application in the bioremediation of pesticide-polluted environments. In some cases, such a requirement is also key to the synergistic use of these fungi with chemical pesticides, aiming to broaden the scope of control targets to include both plant pathogens and insect pests. However, the mechanism of Trichoderma tolerance of organophosphorus pesticides remains unclear. To address this, we have analyzed the function of the putative dichlorvos-tolerance gene hex1 by knocking it out. The hex1-deleted mutant showed loss of Woronin bodies and decreased tolerance to the organophosphate, dichlorvos. Moreover, HEX1 localizes at the septal plugs in mycelium which may be involved in controlling intracellular movement of dichlorvos. hex1 thus is involved the tolerance to dichlorvos and the formation of Woronin bodies in Trichoderma atroviride.

Effects of plant species coexistence on soil enzyme activities and soil microbial community structure under Cd and Pb combined pollution.

The relationship between plant species coexistence and soil microbial communities under heavy metal pollution has attracted much attention in ecology. However, whether plant species coexistence could offset the impacts of heavy metal combined pollution on soil microbial community structure and soil enzymes activities is not well studied. The modified ecological dose model and PCR-RAPD method were used to assess the effects of two plant species coexistence on soil microbial community and enzymes activities subjected to Cd and Pb combined stress. The results indicated that monoculture and mixed culture would increased microbe populations under Cd and Pb combined stress, and the order of sensitivity of microbial community responding to heavy metal stress was: actinomycetes > bacteria > fungi. The respirations were significantly higher in planted soil than that in unplanted soil. The plant species coexistence could enhance soil enzyme activities under Cd and Pb combined. Furthermore, planted soil would be helpful to enhance soil genetic polymorphisms, but Cd and Pb pollution would cause a decrease on soil genetic polymorphisms. Mixed culture would increase the ecological dose 50% (EDs50) values, and the ED50 values for soil enzyme activities decreased with increasing culture time. The dehydrogenase was most sensitive to metal addition and easily loses activity under low dose of heavy metal. However, it was difficult to fully inhibit the phoshpatase activity, and urease responded similarly with phosphatase.

Improvement of phytoextraction and antioxidative defense in Solanum nigrum L. under cadmium stress by application of cadmium-resistant strain and citric acid.

Remediation of plant-microorganism-chelates synergy has been proposed as an effective remediation method for enhancing the removal efficiency of heavy metal. Manipulation of the antioxidative system increases plant tolerance, thereby potentially enhancing the uptake capacity to heavy metal. In this study, we investigated the possibility of improving the phytoextraction of Cd and the antioxidative defense of Solanum nigrum L. by application of a new isolated strain (Paecilomyces lilacinus NH1) (PLNH1) and citric acid (CA). The results showed that application of CA or PLNH1 significantly promoted S. nigrum's growth under Cd stress, but the synergistic effect of CA and PLNH1 on S. nigrum's growth was more obvious. The coexistence of CA and PLNH1 could enhance about 30% of Cd accumulation in different organs of S. nigrum compared to the treatment without the addition of CA and PLNH1, whereas single CA or PLNH1 added treatment only enhanced about 10-15% of Cd accumulation in different organs of S. nigrum. The antioxidative defense in S. nigrum under Cd stress was significantly improved as result of application of CA and PLNH1. The responses of antioxidative enzymes to Cd stress significantly decreased following application of CA and PLNH1, and the oxidative stress experienced by the plant due to Cd in the soil was significantly alleviated.

Spatial characteristics of soil enzyme activities and microbial community structure under different land uses in Chongming Island, China: geostatistical modelling and PCR-RAPD method.

Information about soil enzyme activity and soil DNA as indicators of how land use affects soil quality remains unknown for alluvial island. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of land use on enzyme activities and soil gene diversity in the Chongming Island, Shanghai, China, with the aim of providing further knowledge about the problems related to soil quality and its evolving spatial characteristic on the Chongming Island. The results indicate that land use causes an important change of organic matter, with either causing a small decrease or an increase in the absolute enzyme activity. With increased management intensity, there is an increase in the number of soils with high organic matter content and a decrease in the soils with low organic matter content. The effect on enzyme activity varies depending on the type of land use or management and the type of enzyme. The orders of the number of gene polymorphic bands under different land uses were as follows: agriculture soil>commercial soil>industrial soil>wetland. The complexities of the behaviors of the soil enzymes indicate that genetic analysis and biomarkers in conjunction with geostatistics method will be a powerful and accurate indicator to evaluate soil quality under land use.

Expression of the melittin gene of Apis cerana cerana in Escherichia coli.

A cDNA encoding melittin in Apis cerana cerana was obtained by PCR from the recombinant plasmid and cloned into the GST fusion expression vector pGEX-4T-2 for expression of the protein. The expressed protein of about 29 kDa was detected by Western blot and triple antibody sandwich ELISA, indicating that the recombinant protein is the fusion protein of GST-AccM. The expression conditions of GST-AccM fusion protein for Escherichia coli BL21 transformant were optimized. Thin layer scanning on the SDS-PAGE profiles of GST-AccM showed that the expressed protein accumulated up to about 15.2% of total protein of bacterial cells under the optimized expression condition. Purified and recovered recombinant melittin of A. cerana cerana showed bioactivity in activating rabbit platelets to aggregate.

Cloning and characterization analysis of the genes encoding precursor of mast cell degranulating peptide from 2 honeybee and 3 wasp species.

The precursors of mast cell degranulating peptide (MCDP) genes were amplified by RT-PCR from the total RNA of venom gland of two honeybee species, Apis mellifera ligustica, Apis cerana cerana, and three wasp species, Vespa magnifica, Vespa velutina nigrothorax and Polistes hebraeus, respectively. Their PCR products were ligated into pGEM T-easy vector and the nucleotide sequences were analyzed. The length of five fragments was the same, it was 341 bp containing an ORF of 153 bp coding the precursor of MCDP and 188 bp 3' noncoding region. They have more than 90% homologues with each other in nucleotide sequences. The precursors of MCDP of A. cerana cerana, V. magnifica, V. velutina nigrothorax and P. hebraeus shared 96%, 100%, 94% and 98% homology with A. mellifera ligustica, respectively. The two species of wasps, V. magnifica and V. velutina nigrothorax, contained the same MCDP as A. mellifera ligustica, though they belong to different families with quite different biological properties, while A. cerana cerana contained the different MCDP in their venom as A. mellifera ligustica though they belong to the same genus. The fifth amino acid residue of MCDP in A. cerana cerana and P. hebraeus is arginine, replacing the cysteine, an important disulfide bridges element, in the position as in A. mellifera ligustica.

[Cloning and comparative analysis of the venom prepromelittin genes from four wasp species].

The total RNAs were isolated from the venom glands of female Polistes hebraeus, Vespula maculifrons, Vespa velutina nigrithorax and Vespa magnifica, respectively. Using the ReverAid First Strand cDNA Synthesis Kit, the first cDNAs were synthesized from the total RNA templates. PCR was carried out for 30 cycles (40s at 94 degrees C, 40s at 52 degrees C and 1 min at 72 degrees C), with a final extension of 10 min at 72 degrees C. RT-PCR products were examined by electrophoresis in 1.5% agarose gels with ethidium bromide staining. After purification using QIAquick PCR Purification Kit, the PCR products were ligated into pGEM*-T easy vector. Positive clones were identified by double digestion of Xho I and Hind III and PCR amplification and then were sequenced. The sequencing results showed that the amplified cDNAs containing the open reading frames of prepromelittin, and their lengths were all 213 bp. The ORFs were potential to encode polypeptides of 70 amino acid residues with predicted molecular weight of 7.7 kDa, including a signal peptide of 21 residues and a promelittin of 49 residues. Comparative analysis showed that the prepromelittins from different wasp species shared more than 93% identities in nucleotide sequences and more than 95% identities in amino acid sequences with each other, respectively. The sequences of prepromelittins of Polistes hebraeus, Vespula maculifrons, Vespa velutina nigrithorax and Vespa magnifica share 94%, 100%, 94%, 93% homologies in nucleotide sequences, and 95.8%, 100%, 97.2% and 97.2% identities in amino acid sequences with those of the European honey bee, Apis mellifera, respectively. There are 67 common amino acid residues among the prepromelittins of the four wasps and two honey bee species, Apis mellifera and Apis cerana. Phylogenetic relationships based on the prepromelitin nucleotide sequences were also examined using the software DNAStar5.01. The result showed that a closer relationship lied in between Polistes hebraeus, Vespa velutina nigrithorax and Vespa magnifica, while Vespula maculifrons had a closer relationship with the honey bees, Apis mellifera and Apis cerana. In conclusion, the prepromelittins were very conserved in the primary structure and the wasp insects also contain the melittins in their venoms, which are very similar to that of honey bee, although they belong to different superfamilies.