The impact of family burden on the psychological distress of informal caregivers for older adults living with dementia: The role of internal and external coping resources.

OBJECTIVES: Numerous studies have demonstrated that informal caregivers of people living with dementia (PLWD) have serious adverse psychological problems, but little research has been done on the role of integrating caregivers' various coping resources in reducing psychological effects. Therefore, the current study aimed to investigate the impact of caregivers' internal (self-efficacy and positive coping) and external coping resources (family function and social support) on the family burden and psychological distress. METHODS: A cross-sectional study, and a self-designed questionnaire, Family Burden Scale of Disease, Kessler Psychological Distress Scale, General Self-Efficacy Scale, Simplified Coping Style Question, The Family Adaptation, Partnership, Growth, Affection, Resolve Scale and Social Support Rating Scale were completed by 193 pairs of PLWD and caregivers. Partial least squares-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to analyze the mediating effects of coping resources. RESULTS: Self-efficacy, positive coping, family function, and social support respectively mediated the relationship between family burden and psychological distress (ß = 0.402, ß = 0.059, ß = -0.111, ß = 0.053; P < 0.05). Besides, the serial mediation effects of self-efficacy and positive coping, family function and social support were also significant (ß = 0.104, ß = 0.045; P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: This study confirmed the mediating role of internal and external coping resources between family burden and psychological distress in caregivers of older PLWD, providing a theoretical basis for promoting the,mental health of caregivers.

Superhydrophobic microporous membrane based on modified microfibrillated cellulose framework for efficient oil-water separation.

The preparation of stable and efficient cellulose-based oil/water separation membranes is of great significance in solving the problem of industrial oily wastewater. Herein, rod-like hydroxyapatite (HAP) modified microfibrillated celluloses (MFCs) are used to form the fibrous framework to produce a microporous PDMS-MFC-HAP membrane. The membrane shows good superhydrophobicity with a water contact angle of 151.6°. It exhibits the oil-water separation performance for various water-in-oil emulsions. The separation flux of the membrane is up to 3665.3 L·m-2·h-1·bar-1 under 0.5 bar pressure with a separation efficiency of over 99.6 %. The PDMS-MFC-HAP membrane could maintain a high separation efficiency of 98.6 % after 20 cycles. This study provides a simple and effective method to fabricate cellulose-based superhydrophobic membranes, which have a greater potential to achieve oil-water separation for oily wastewater treatment with high efficiency.

Colorectal cancer-specific microbiome in peripheral circulation and cancer tissues.

Introduction: Accumulating evidence has supported that gut microbiota and metabolite profiles play indispensable roles in the pathogenesis of colorectal cancer (CRC), which ranks as the third most common cancer and the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. However, alterations in tumoral or circulating microbiomes in CRC remain incompletely understood. It has been well-documented that tissue or serum microbiomes with low microbial biomass could be screened by use of 2bRAD sequencing for microbiome (2bRAD-M) at the species resolution. Methods: In order to validate the microbial biomarkers distinguishing CRC and the variations in microorganisms present in serum and tumors, we performed 2bRAD-M to characterize the microbiomes in serum and cancer tissues of CRC patients with and without lymph node or liver metastasis. Results: The composition of dominated microbiota in serum was different from that of tissue samples, while the microbial community composition of tumors was similar to that of the tumor-adjacent tissues. The analysis of α-diversity and ß-diversity has revealed notable variations in serum microbiota diversities in CRC patients, particularly those with liver metastasis. Multiple CRC-specific microbial species, such as Moraxella A cinereus, Flavobacterium sp001800905, and Acinetobacter albensis, were identified in serum. Complicated functions and KEGG pathways were also confirmed in CRC according to the metastasis status. Discussion: This study has found significant alterations in the microbial compositions and diversities in CRC and CRC-specific microbial species in both circulation and cancer tissues, which may serve as promising biomarkers for the screening, diagnosis and prognosis prediction of CRC. In particular, CRC-specific bacterial taxa are promising markers, holding transformative potentials in establishing personalized screening and risk stratification, refining much earlier non-invasive diagnostic approaches, and enhancing diagnostic sensitivity.

Comprehensively prognostic and immunological analyses of GLP-1 signaling-related genes in pan-cancer and validation in colorectal cancer.

Background: Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) has crucial impact on glycemic control and weight loss physiologically. GLP-1 receptor agonists have been approved for treatment of diabetes and obesity. Emerging evidence suggests that GLP-1 receptor agonists exert anticancer effect in tumorigenesis and development. However, the role and mechanism of GLP-1 signaling-related genes in pan-cancer still need further study. Methods: We comprehensively investigated the aberrant expression and genetic alterations of GLP-1 signaling-related genes in 33 cancer types. Next, GLP-1 signaling score of each patient in The Cancer Genome Atlas were established by the single-sample gene set enrichment analysis. In addition, we explored the association of GLP-1 signaling score with prognostic significance and immune characteristics. Furthermore, qRT-PCR and immunohistochemistry staining were applied to verify the expression profiling of GLP-1 signaling-related genes in colorectal cancer (CRC) tissues. Wound-healing assays and migration assays were carried out to validate the role of GLP-1 receptor agonist in CRC cell lines. Results: The expression profiling of GLP-1 signaling-related genes is commonly altered in pan-cancer. The score was decreased in cancer tissues compared with normal tissues and the lower expression score was associated with worse survival in most of cancer types. Notably, GLP-1 signaling score was strongly correlated with immune cell infiltration, including T cells, neutrophils, dendritic cells and macrophages. In addition, GLP-1 signaling score exhibited close association with tumor mutation burden, microsatellite instability and immunotherapy response in patients with cancer. Moreover, we found that the expression of GLP-1 signaling-related genes ITPR1 and ADCY5 were significantly reduced in CRC tissues, and GLP-1 receptor agonist semaglutide impaired the migration capacity of CRC cells, indicating its protective role. Conclusion: This study provided a preliminary understanding of the GLP-1 signaling-related genes in pan-cancer, showing the prognosis significance and potential immunotherapeutic values in most cancer types, and verified the potential anticancer effect of GLP-1 receptor agonist in CRC.

An analytic method to investigate hemodynamics of the cardiovascular system: Biventricular system.

Previously, we found analytic solutions for single ventricular system based on the lumped parameter model (LPM). In this study, we generalized the method to biventricular system and derived its analytic solutions. LPM is just a set of differential equations, but it is difficult to solve due to time-varying ventricular elastance and high order. Mathematically, there exist no elementary solutions for time-varying equations. It turns out that instead of differential equations, according to volume conservation, a set of algebraic equations can be carried out. The solutions of the set of equations are just physiological states at end of systolic and diastolic phases such as end systolic/diastolic pressure/volume of left ventricle. As a preliminary application, the method is utilized to deduce the hemodynamic effects of VA ECMO. Left ventricular (LV) distension, a serious complication of VA ECMO, is usually attributed to factors such as increased afterload, inadequate LV unloading, reduced myocardial contractility or aortic valve regurgitation (AR), bronchial and Thebesian return in the absence of aortic valve (AoV) opening. Among these, reduced contractility and AR are strongly associated with LV distension. However, in the absence of reduced contractility or AR, it is less clear whether increased afterload or inadequate LV unloading alone can cause LV distension. This leads to the critical question: under what conditions does LV distension occur in the absence of reduced contractility or AR? The analytic formulas derived in this study give conditions for LV distension. Furthermore, the results show that the analytic hemodynamics are coincident with simulated results.

Utilizing weakly donor-acceptor ternary π-conjugated architecture to achieve single-component white luminescence and stimulus-responsive room-temperature phosphorescence.

Purely organic room-temperature phosphorescence (RTP) has garnered substantial attention for its delayed emission, environmental sensitivity, and potential diverse applications. However, the quest for high-performance RTP materials has always been a challenge. In this study, we introduce novel weakly donor-acceptor (D-A) ternary π-conjugated architecture to construct an efficient RTP system. The strategy utilizes synergistic effects of the analogous El-Sayed rule, halogen-free heavy-atom effect, reduction of the singlet-triplet energy gap, and manipulation of flexible molecular conformation. A remarkable enhancement in the phosphorescence-to-fluorescence ratio was achieved, elevating from 0.4 in carbazole to 35.2 in DBTDBTCZ. Furthermore, the RTP system demonstrates single-component white luminescence, yielding warm and cool white colors. Intriguingly, we unveil the novel position-dependent heavy-atom effects, discerningly promoting intersystem crossing or phosphorescence decay. Benefiting from efficient RTP, multifunctional applications of real-time humidity monitoring, oxygen sensing, anti-counterfeiting labeling, and white lighting are demonstrated.

Fabrication of microfibrillated cellulose from biomass by use of carbon nitride with high nitrogen/carbon ratio.

Microfibrillated cellulose (MFC) as an attractive green bio-based material has attracted widespread attention in recent years due to its non-toxicity, degradability, excellent performance, and high aspect ratio. In this study, the g-C3N5 with a high nitrogen/carbon ratio was prepared as a catalyst through the self-polymerization of a nitrogen-rich precursor. The triazole groups at the edges of g-C3N5 were proven to exhibit strong adsorption to biomass and strong alkalinity. In a low-acidic aqueous system with g-C3N5, MFC with diameters of 100-200 nm and lengths up to 100 µm was fabricated from various biomasses within 5 min under microwave radiation. The ultimate yield of the MFC produced from viscose reached 90 %. Young's modulus of the MFC reaches 3.7 GPa. This work provides a particular method with high efficiency to prepare MFC with excellent properties from biomass by chemical method.

Realization of Long-Life Proton Battery by Layer Intercalatable Electrolyte.

Proton batteries have attracted increasing interests because of their potential for grid-scale energy storage with high safety and great low-temperature performances. However, their development is significantly retarded by electrolyte design due to free water corrosion. Herein, we report a layer intercalatable electrolyte (LIE) by introducing trimethyl phosphate (TMP) into traditional acidic electrolyte. Different from conventional role in batteries, the presence of TMP intriguingly achieves co-intercalation of solvent molecules into the interlayer of anode materials, enabling a new working mechanism for proton reactions. The electrode corrosion was also strongly retarded with expanded electrochemical stability window. The half-cell therefore showed an outstanding long-term cycling stability with 91.0 % capacity retention at 5 A g-1 after 5000 cycles. Furthermore, the assembled full batteries can even deliver an ultra-long lifetime with a capacity retention of 74.9 % for 2 months running at -20 °C. This work provides new opportunities for electrolyte design of aqueous batteries.

PPARγ/NF-κB axis contributes to cold-induced resolution of experimental colitis and preservation of intestinal barrier.

BACKGROUND: Environmental stress is a significant contributor to the development of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The involvement of temperature stimulation in the development of IBD remains uncertain. Our preliminary statistical data suggest that the prevalence of IBD is slightly lower in colder regions compared to non-cold regions. The observation indicates that temperature changes may play a key role in the occurrence and progression of IBD. Here, we hypothesized that cold stress has a protective effect on IBD. METHODS: The cold exposure model for mice was placed in a constant temperature and humidity chamber, maintained at a temperature of 4 °C. Colitis models were induced in the mice using TNBS or DSS. To promote the detection methods more clinically, fluorescence confocal endoscopy was used to observe the mucosal microcirculation status of the colon in the live model. Changes in the colonic wall of the mice were detected using 9.4 T Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) imaging and in vivo fluorescence imaging. Hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) and Immunofluorescence (IF) staining confirmed the pathological alterations in the colons of sacrificed mice. Molecular changes at the protein level were assessed through Western blotting and Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) assays. RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) and metabolomics (n = 18) were jointly analyzed to investigate the biological changes in the colon of mice treated by cold exposure. RESULTS: Cold exposure decreased the pathologic and disease activity index scores in a mouse model. Endomicroscopy revealed that cold exposure preserved colonic mucosal microcirculation, and 9.4 T MRI imaging revealed alleviation of intestinal wall thickness. In addition, the expression of the TLR4 and PP65 proteins was downregulated and epithelial cell junctions were strengthened after cold exposure. Intriguingly, we found that cold exposure reversed the decrease in ZO-1 and occludin protein levels in dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)- and trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid-induced colitis mouse models. Multi-omics analysis revealed the biological landscape of DSS-induced colitis under cold exposure and identified that the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) signaling pathway mediates the effects of cold on colitis. Subsequent administration of rosiglitazone (PPAR agonist) enhanced the protective effect of cold exposure on colitis, whereas GW9662 (PPAR antagonist) administration mitigated these protective effects. Overall, cold exposure ameliorated the progression of mouse colitis through the PPARγ/NF-κB signaling axis and preserved the intestinal mucosal barrier. CONCLUSION: Our study provides a mechanistic link between intestinal inflammation and cold exposure, providing a theoretical framework for understanding the differences in the prevalence of IBD between the colder regions and non-cold regions, and offering new insights into IBD therapy.

National trends and ecological factors of physical activity engagement among U.S youth before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: A cohort study from 2019 to 2021.

BACKGROUND: This study aims to investigate the trends and ecological determinants of physical activity among U.S. children and adolescents during the 2019-2021 period, encompassing the COVID-19 pandemic's onset and subsequent years. METHODS: Utilizing data from the National Survey of Children's Health over three years, this cohort study analyzed physical activity levels and ecological determinants among 82,068 participants aged 6-17. The sample included 36,133 children (44%) and 45,935 adolescents (56%), with variables assessed by caregiver reports. RESULTS: The analysis revealed a significant decline in physical activity among children from 2019 to 2020, followed by a recovery in 2021, whereas adolescents showed a continued decrease without recovery. Over the study period, children were consistently more active than adolescents. Better health status, normal weight, less screen time, stronger peer relationships, higher parental involvement, better family resilience and greater school participation were consistently correlated with increased physical activity in both age groups. Sleep duration was a predictor of activity only in children, while mental health status was solely a predictor in adolescents. Neighborhood environment consistently predicted children's activity levels but was a significant factor for adolescents only in 2020. CONCLUSIONS: These findings highlight the differing impacts of the pandemic on physical activity between children and adolescents, emphasizing the need for targeted public health interventions, particularly for adolescents whose activity levels have not recovered from the pandemic period. Age-specific physical activity interventions should consider sleep duration and neighborhood environmental factors when targeting children and mental health factors when focused on adolescents.

Cystatin C and sarcopenia index are associated with cardiovascular and all-cause death among adults in the United States.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to investigate the association of cystatin C, serum creatinine and sarcopenia index with cardiovascular and all-cause death in general population. METHODS: Data of participants from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES) from 1999 to 2004 were used and all participants were followed up regularly until December 31, 2019. Multivariable Cox analysis was used to investigate the association of cystatin C, serum creatinine and sarcopenia index with cardiovascular and all-cause death. Restricted cubic spline was conducted to evaluate the nonlinear association. RESULTS: A total of 9894 participants with a mean age of 45.64 years were enrolled and followed up for a mean duration of 15.62 ± 4.68 years. Approximately 50.3% were male and there were a total of 2681 all-cause deaths and 691 cardiovascular deaths recorded during the follow-up period. In final adjusted model, compared with the first quartile of cystatin C (< 0.659 mg/L), the risk of cardiovascular and all-cause death increased 2.36-fold and 1.71-fold for participants in the fourth quartile (≥ 0.877 mg/L) (HR: 3.36, 95% CI: 2.06-5.46, P < 0.001; HR: 2.71, 95% CI: 2.17-3.38, P < 0.001; respectively). Furthermore, a higher sarcopenia index (< 88.41 vs. ≥125.52) was associated with the reduced risk of cardiovascular death (HR: 0.41, 95% CI: 0.31-0.53, P < 0.001) as well as all-cause death (HR: 0.41, 95% CI: 0.35-0.49, P < 0.001). Additionally, restricted cubic splines showed that there was a nonlinear relationship between sarcopenia index levels and all-cause death while there was a linear relationship between sarcopenia index levels and cardiovascular death. CONCLUSIONS: Higher sarcopenia index was associated with the decreased risk of cardiovascular and all-cause death in general population in the United States. Elevated cystatin C was positively associated with cardiovascular and all-cause death.

Research of the dynamic regulatory mechanism of Compound Danshen Dripping Pills on myocardial infarction based on metabolic trajectory analysis.

BACKGROUND: Myocardial infarction (MI) is a serious cardiovascular disease, which presents different pathophysiological changes with the prolongation of the disease. Compound danshen dripping pills (CDDP) has obvious advantages in MI treatment and widely used in the clinic. However, the current studies were mostly focused on the endpoint of CDDP intervention, lacking the dynamic attention to the disease process. It is of great value to establish a dynamic research strategy focused on the changes in pharmacodynamic substances for guiding clinical medication more precisely. PURPOSE: It is aimed to explore the dynamic regulating pattern of CDDP on MI based on metabolic trajectory analysis, and then clarify the variation characteristic biomarkers and pharmacodynamic substances in the intervention process. METHODS: The MI model was successfully prepared by coronary artery left anterior descending branch ligation, and then CDDP intervention was given for 28 days. Endogenous metabolites and the components of CDDP in serum were measured by LC/MS technique simultaneously to identify dynamic the metabolic trajectory and screen the characteristic pharmacodynamic substances at different points. Finally, network pharmacology and molecular docking techniques were used to simulate the core pharmacodynamic substances and core target binding, then validated at the genetic and protein level by Q-PCR and western blotting technology. RESULTS: CDDP performed typical dynamic regulation features on metabolite distribution, biological processes, and pharmacodynamic substances. During 1-7 days, it mainly regulated lipid metabolism and inflammation, the Phosphatidylcholine (PC(18:1(9Z/18:1(9Z)) and Sphingomyelin (SM(d18:1/23:1(9Z)), SM(d18:1/24:1(15Z)), SM(d18:0/16:1(9Z))) were the main characteristic biomarkers. Lipid metabolism was the mainly regulation pathway during 14-21 days, and the characteristic biomarkers were the Lysophosphatidylethanolamine (LysoPE(0:0/20:0), PE-NMe2(22:1(13Z)/15:0)) and Sphingomyelin (SM(d18:1/23:1(9Z))). At 28 days, in addition to inflammatory response and lipid metabolism, fatty acid metabolism also played the most important role. Correspondingly, Lysophosphatidylcholine (LysoPC(20:0/0:0)), Lysophosphatidylserine (LPS(18:0/0:0)) and Fatty acids (Linoelaidic acid) were the characteristic biomarkers. Based on the results of metabolite distribution and biological process, the characteristic pharmacodynamic substances during the intervention were further identified. The results showed that various kinds of Saponins and Tanshinones as the important active ingredients performed a long-range regulating effect on MI. And the other components, such as Tanshinol and Salvianolic acid B affected Phosphatidylcholine and Sphingomyelin through Relaxin Signaling pathway during the early intervention. Protocatechualdehyde and Rosmarinic acid affected Lysophosphatidylethanolamine and Sphingomyelin through EGFR Tyrosine kinase inhibitor resistance during the late intervention. Tanshinone IIB and Isocryptotanshinone via PPAR signaling pathway affected Lysophosphatidylcholine, Lysophosphatidylserine, and Fatty acids. CONCLUSION: The dynamic regulating pattern was taken as the entry point and constructs the dynamic network based on metabolic trajectory analysis, establishes the dynamic correlation between the drug-derived components and the endogenous metabolites, and elucidates the characteristic biomarkers affecting the changes of the pharmacodynamic indexes, systematically and deeply elucidate the pharmacodynamic substance and mechanism of CDDP on MI. It also enriched the understanding of CDDP and provided a methodological reference for the dynamic analysis of complex systems of TCM.

High-Throughput Microelectrode Arrays for Precise Functional Localization of the Globus Pallidus Internus.

The globus pallidus internus (GPi) was considered a common target for stimulation in Parkinson's disease (PD). Located deep in the brain and of small size, pinpointing it during surgery is challenging. Multi-channel microelectrode arrays (MEAs) can provide micrometer-level precision functional localization, which can maximize the surgical outcome. In this paper, a 64-channel MEA modified by platinum nanoparticles with a detection site impedance of 61.1 kΩ was designed and prepared, and multiple channels could be synchronized to cover the target brain region and its neighboring regions so that the GPi could be identified quickly and accurately. The results of the implant trajectory indicate that, compared to the control side, there is a reduction in local field potential (LFP) power in multiple subregions of the upper central thalamus on the PD-induced side, while the remaining brain regions exhibit an increasing trend. When the MEA tip was positioned at 8,700 µm deep in the brain, the various characterizations of the spike signals, combined with the electrophysiological characteristics of the ß-segmental oscillations in PD, enabled MEAs to localize the GPi at the single-cell level. More precise localization could be achieved by utilizing the distinct characteristics of the internal capsule (ic), the thalamic reticular nucleus (Rt), and the peduncular part of the lateral hypothalamus (PLH) brain regions, as well as the relative positions of these brain structures. The MEAs designed in this study provide a new detection method and tool for functional localization of PD targets and PD pathogenesis at the cellular level.

Utilizing GO/PEDOT:PSS/PtNPs-enhanced high-stability microelectrode arrays for investigating epilepsy-induced striatal electrophysiology alterations.

The striatum plays a crucial role in studying epilepsy, as it is involved in seizure generation and modulation of brain activity. To explore the complex interplay between the striatum and epilepsy, we engineered advanced microelectrode arrays (MEAs) specifically designed for precise monitoring of striatal electrophysiological activities in rats. These observations were made during and following seizure induction, particularly three and 7 days post-initial modeling. The modification of graphene oxide (GO)/poly (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS)/platinu-m nanoparticles (PtNPs) demonstrated a marked reduction in impedance (10.5 ± 1.1 kΩ), and maintained exceptional stability, with impedance levels remaining consistently low (23 kΩ) even 14 days post-implantation. As seizure intensity escalated, we observed a corresponding increase in neuronal firing rates and local field potential power, with a notable shift towards higher frequency peaks and augmented inter-channel correlation. Significantly, during the grand mal seizures, theta and alpha bands became the dominant frequencies in the local field potential. Compared to the normal group, the spike firing rates on day 3 and 7 post-modeling were significantly higher, accompanied by a decreased firing interval. Power in both delta and theta bands exhibited an increasing trend, correlating with the duration of epilepsy. These findings offer valuable insights into the dynamic processes of striatal neural activity during the initial and latent phases of temporal lobe epilepsy and contribute to our understanding of the neural mechanisms underpinning epilepsy.

Real-Time Precise Targeting of the Subthalamic Nucleus via Transfer Learning in a Rat Model of Parkinson's Disease Based on Microelectrode Arrays.

In neurodegenerative disorders, neuronal firing patterns and oscillatory activity are remarkably altered in specific brain regions, which can serve as valuable biomarkers for the identification of deep brain regions. The subthalamic nucleus (STN) has been the primary target for DBS in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). In this study, changes in the spike firing patterns and spectral power of local field potentials (LFPs) in the pre-STN (zona incerta, ZI) and post-STN (cerebral peduncle, cp) regions were investigated in PD rats, providing crucial evidence for the functional localization of the STN. Sixteen-channel microelectrode arrays (MEAs) with sites distributed at different depths and widths were utilized to record neuronal activities. The spikes in the STN exhibited higher firing rates than those in the ZI and cp. Furthermore, the LFP power in the delta band in the STN was the greatest, followed by that in the ZI, and was greater than that in the cp. Additionally, increased LFP power was observed in the beta bands in the STN. To identify the best performing classification model, we applied various convolutional neural networks (CNNs) based on transfer learning to analyze the recorded raw data, which were processed using the Gram matrix of the spikes and the fast Fourier transform of the LFPs. The best transfer learning model achieved an accuracy of 95.16%. After fusing the spike and LFP classification results, the time precision for processing the raw data reached 500 ms. The pretrained model, utilizing raw data, demonstrated the feasibility of employing transfer learning for training models on neural activity. This approach highlights the potential for functional localization within deep brain regions.

Development of a hospital coding intensity measure based on sepsis diagnoses.

Significant variation in coding intensity among hospitals has been observed and can lead to reimbursement inequities and inadequate risk adjustment for quality measures. Reliable tools to quantify hospital coding intensity are needed. We hypothesized that coded sepsis rates among patients hospitalized with common infections may serve as a useful surrogate for coding intensity and derived a hospital-level sepsis coding intensity measure using prevalence of "sepsis" primary diagnoses among patients hospitalized with urinary tract infection, cellulitis, and pneumonia. This novel measure was well correlated with the hospital mean number of discharge diagnoses, which has historically been used to quantify hospital-level coding intensity. However, it has the advantage of inferring hospital coding intensity without the strong association with comorbidity that the mean number of discharge diagnoses has. Our measure may serve as a useful tool to compare coding intensity across institutions.

Response of mineral particles in inland lakes to water optical properties and its influence on chlorophyll-a estimation.

Many chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) remote sensing estimation algorithms have been developed for inland water, and they are proposed always based on some ideal assumptions, which are difficult to meet in complex inland waters. Based on MIE scattering theory, this study calculated the optical properties of mineral particles under different size distribution and refractive index conditions, and the Hydrolight software was employed to simulate remote sensing reflectance in the presence of different mineral particles. The findings indicated that the reflectance is significantly influenced by the slope (j) of particle size distribution function and the imaginary part (n') of the refractive index, with the real part (n) having a comparatively minor impact. Through both a simulated dataset containing 18,000 entries and an in situ measured dataset encompassing 2183 data from hundreds of lakes worldwide, the sensitivities of band ratio (BR), fluorescence baseline height (FLH), and three-band algorithms (TBA) to mineral particles were explored. It can be found that BR showed the best tolerance to mineral particles, followed by TBA. However, when the ISM concentration is less than 30 g m-3, the influence of CDOM cannot be ignored. Additionally, a dataset of over 400 entries is necessary for developing the BR algorithm to mitigate the incidental errors arising from differences in data magnitude. And if the amount of developing datasets is less than 400 but greater than 200, the TBA algorithm is more likely to obtain more stable accuracy.

STING guides the STX17-SNAP29-VAMP8 complex assembly to control autophagy.

The stimulator of interferon genes (STING) plays a pivotal role in orchestrating innate immunity, and dysregulated activity of STING has been implicated in the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases. Recent findings suggest that bacterial infection activates STING, relieving ER stress, and triggers non-canonical autophagy by spatially regulating STX17. Despite these insights, the precise mechanism governing the dynamics of autophagosome fusion elicited by STING remains unclear. In this study, we demonstrate that dynamic STING activation guides the autophagy flux, mirroring the trajectory of canonical autophagy adaptors. STING engages in a physical interaction with STX17, and agonist-induced phosphorylation or degradation alleviates STING's inhibitory effects on the assembly of the STX17-SNAP29-VAMP8 complex. Consistent with these findings, degradation-deficient mutants hinder autophagy flux by impeding STX17-mediated autophagosome-lysosome fusion. Moreover, STING mutants associated with lupus disrupt the assembly of the STX17-SNAP29-VAMP8 complex and autophagy process, which lead to persistent STING activation and elevated IFN-ß production. Our results highlight that the intracellular trajectory of STING, coupled with autophagy flux, guides the assembly and membrane fusion of the STX17-SNAP29-VAMP8 complex, ensuring the accurate regulation of innate immunity.

Corrigendum: Association between nutritional status, physical fitness and executive functions in preadolescents: a person-centered approach.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fped.2022.966510.].

Quantifying Induced Nystagmus Using a Smartphone Eye Tracking Application (EyePhone).

BACKGROUND: There are ≈5 million annual dizziness visits to US emergency departments, of which vestibular strokes account for over 250 000. The head impulse, nystagmus, and test of skew eye examination can accurately distinguish vestibular strokes from peripheral dizziness. However, the eye-movement signs are subtle, and lack of familiarity and difficulty with recognition of abnormal eye movements are significant barriers to widespread emergency department use. To break this barrier, we sought to assess the accuracy of EyePhone, our smartphone eye-tracking application, for quantifying nystagmus. METHODS AND RESULTS: We prospectively enrolled healthy volunteers and recorded the velocity of induced nystagmus using a smartphone eye-tracking application (EyePhone) and then compared the results with video oculography (VOG). Following a calibration protocol, the participants viewed optokinetic stimuli with incremental velocities (2-12 degrees/s) in 4 directions. We extracted slow phase velocities from EyePhone data in each direction and compared them with the corresponding slow phase velocities obtained by the VOG. Furthermore, we calculated the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for nystagmus detection by EyePhone. We enrolled 10 volunteers (90% men) with an average age of 30.2±6 years. EyePhone-recorded slow phase velocities highly correlated with the VOG recordings (r=0.98 for horizontal and r=0.94 for vertical). The calibration significantly increased the slope of linear regression for horizontal and vertical slow phase velocities. Evaluating the EyePhone's performance using VOG data with a 2 degrees/s threshold showed an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.87 for horizontal and vertical nystagmus detection. CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrated that EyePhone could accurately detect and quantify optokinetic nystagmus, similar to the VOG goggles.