Alteration of gut microbiota in Henoch-Schönlein purpura children with gastrointestinal involvement.

BACKGROUND: The compositional and structural changes of gut microbiota were closely related to the status of Henoch-Schönlein purpura (HSP). AIMS: To investigate if clinical indicators and gut microbiota differ between HSP patients with or without gastrointestinal (GI) involvement and to explore the alterations of fecal microbiota in HSP children with and without GI symptoms. METHODS: A total of 22 children with HSP were enrolled in the study. Fecal microbiota composition was analyzed by 16S rRNA sequencing. Clinical indicators, fecal microbial diversity, and compositions were compared between the two groups. RESULTS: Respectively, 9 patients with GI involvement (HSP-A) and 13 patients without GI involvement (HSP-N) were enrolled. Prealbumin (PA) and the ratio of immunoglobulin A (IgA) / complement (C)3 were significantly decreased in the HSP-A group and an elevated D-dimer was found in the HSP-N group. The relative abundances of Blautia, Lachnospira, and Haemophilus were significantly higher in the HSP-A group compared to HSP-N. Lower levels of unidentified Prevotellaceae, Parabacteroides, and Romboutsia were found in HSP-A patients. The linear discriminant analysis effect size (LEfSe) showed that the biomarkers for the HSP-A group included Blautia, Anaerostipes, Veillonella, Lachnospira, and Haemophilus. For the HSP-N group, unidentified Prevotellaceae, Intestinibacter, Romboutsia, and Akkermansia were the prominent biomarkers at the genus level. Additionally, the ratio of IgA/C3 exhibited a negative correlation with the genus Blautia. Meanwhile, PA showed negatively correlation with Veillonella. CONCLUSIONS: These results provide a broader understanding for future microbial-based therapies to decrease the development of GI involvement and improve the clinical outcome of HSP in children.

Impact of non-emergency surgical timing on postoperative recovery quality in mild or asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infected patients: a grouped cohort study.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the relationship between the timing of non-emergency surgery in mild or asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) infected individuals and the quality of postoperative recovery from the time of confirmed infection to the day of surgery. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 300 cases of mild or asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infected patients undergoing elective general anaesthesia surgery at Yijishan Hospital between January 9, 2023, and February 17, 2023. Based on the time from confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection to the day of surgery, patients were divided into four groups: ≤2 weeks (Group A), 2-4 weeks (Group B), 4-6 weeks (Group C), and 6-8 weeks (Group D). The primary outcome measures included the Quality of Recovery-15 (QoR-15) scale scores at 3 days, 3 months, and 6 months postoperatively. Secondary outcome measures included postoperative mortality, ICU admission, pulmonary complications, postoperative length of hospital stay, extubation time, and time to leave the PACU. RESULTS: Concerning the primary outcome measures, the QoR-15 scores at 3 days postoperatively in Group A were significantly lower compared to the other three groups (P < 0.05), while there were no statistically significant differences among the other three groups (P > 0.05). The QoR-15 scores at 3 and 6 months postoperatively showed no statistically significant differences among the four groups (P > 0.05). In terms of secondary outcome measures, Group A had a significantly prolonged hospital stay compared to the other three groups (P < 0.05), while other outcome measures showed no statistically significant differences (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: The timing of surgery in mild or asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infected patients does not affect long-term recovery quality but does impact short-term recovery quality, especially for elective general anaesthesia surgeries within 2 weeks of confirmed infection. Therefore, it is recommended to wait for a surgical timing of at least greater than 2 weeks to improve short-term recovery quality and enhance patient prognosis.

Comparative effectiveness of exercise on cardiorespiratory function or exercise efficiency after stroke: A network meta-analysis of randomized control trials.

OBJECTIVE: The network meta-analysis (NMA) was to compare and rank the effectiveness of different exercises on cardiorespiratory function or exercise efficiency in post-stroke patients. DESIGN: A NMA of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) was conducted. PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science were searched. The impact of exercises including individual and combination of aerobic exercise (AE), resistance exercise (RE), task-oriented training (TOT), gait training (GT), breathing exercise (BE), and regular rehabilitation training (RRT) on 6-min walk test (6MWT), peak oxygen consumption (VO2peak), maximum oxygen consumption (VO2max), resting heart rate (HRrest), resting systolic blood pressure (SBPrest), and resting diastolic blood pressure (DBPrest) were assessed. RESULTS: In total, 36 studies were included in the meta-analysis. AEGT (AE + GT) (63.06%) had the highest likelihood of improving 6MWT performance in post-stroke patients. RRTRE (RRT + RE) was the most favourable exercise in terms of 6MWT performance assessing by minimum clinically significant difference (MCID). AERE (AE + RE) had the highest likelihood of improving VO2peak and reducing HRrest in post-stroke patients. CONCLUSION: Different types of exercise demonstrated the benefits of improving cardiorespiratory function in stroke patients. Further research is needed to determine the best exercise regimen to maximize the benefits of rehabilitation interventions for post-stroke patients.

Getting the right tail right: Modeling tails of health expenditure distributions.

Health expenditure data almost always include extreme values, implying that the underlying distribution has heavy tails. This may result in infinite variances as well as higher-order moments and bias the commonly used least squares methods. To accommodate extreme values, we propose an estimation method that recovers the right tail of health expenditure distributions. It extends the popular two-part model to develop a novel three-part model. We apply the proposed method to claims data from one of the biggest German private health insurers. Our findings show that the estimated age gradient in health care spending differs substantially from the standard least squares method.

Modulating secondary growth of perovskite grains through residual solvent evaporation.

Over the past decade, perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have attracted enormous attention due to their high performance. One key to fabricating high-quality perovskite films lies in controlling the volatilization rate of residual solvents during the annealing process. This study systematically investigates how different protective substrates affect the volatilization rate of residual solvent in perovskite films. By adjusting the direction and rate of evaporation, the supersaturation time of the solution was precisely controlled, leading to effective recrystallization of the grains. Concurrently, the annealing time was optimized to enhance film quality further. This optimization aimed to increase crystallinity, reduce defects, and thereby minimize non-radiative recombination centers. Implementing these methodologies, particularly the use of filter paper as a protective substrate during a 2-minute annealing process, significantly improved the fill factor (FF) and open-circuit voltage (VOC) of the PSCs. This led to a remarkable 5.26% improvement in power conversion efficiency (PCE) compared to control devices. The strategies employed in this work demonstrate significant potential in improving PSC film quality. This approach not only advances our understanding of film formation dynamics but also provides a practical guideline for future PSC fabrication.

Hybrid diffractive-refractive lens for chromatic confocal measurement system.

A novel chromatic confocal measurement (CCM) method using a hybrid diffractive- refractive lens is presented. This hybrid diffractive- refractive lens is designed to optimize the linearity of chromatic dispersion and minimize the size of the optical system. The hybrid diffractive- refractive lens is fabricated by etching a diffractive surface onto a quartz aspheric lens through lithography, which combines the high numerical aperture (NA) of a refractive lens with the unique dispersion properties of the diffractive optical elements (DOE). The lens is incorporated as a dispersive objective lens in a CCM experimental system. The system has a measurement range of 514.8 µm, calibrated using a laser displacement interferometer. The experimental results show that the wavelength-to-axial position coding of the CCM system achieves high linearity (R2= 0.9999) in the working wavelength range (500-700 nm). The system has an axial resolution of 0.08 µm and a displacement measurement nonlinear error of less than 2.05 µm.

A remote sensing analysis method for soil heavy metal pollution sources at site scale considering source-sink relationships.

Conventional methods for identifying soil heavy metal (HM) pollution sources are limited to area scale, failing to accurately pinpoint sources at specific sites due to the spatial heterogeneity of HMs in mining areas. Furthermore, these methods primarily focus on existing solid waste polluted dumps, defined as "direct pollution sources", while neglecting existing HM pollution hotspots generated by historical anthropogenic activities (e.g., mineral development, industrial discharges), defined as "potential pollution sources". Addressing this gap, a novel remote sensing analysis method is proposed to identify both direct and potential pollution sources at site scale, considering source-sink relationships. Direct pollution sources are extracted using a supervised classification algorithm on high-resolution multispectral imagery. Potential pollution sources depend on the spatial distribution of HM pollution, mapped using a machine learning model with hyperspectral imagery. Additionally, a source identification algorithm is developed for gridded pollution source analysis. Validated through a case study in a cadmium (Cd)-polluted mine area, the proposed method successfully extracted 21 solid waste polluted dumps with an overall accuracy approaching 90 % and a Kappa coefficient of 0.80. Simultaneously, 4167 HM pollution hotspots were identified, achieving optimal inversion accuracy for Cd (Rv2 = 0.91, RMSEv = 4.27, and RPDv = 3.02). Notably, the spatial distribution patterns of these identified sources exhibited a high degree of similarity. Further analysis employing the identification algorithm indicated that 3 polluted dumps and 258 pollution hotspots were pollution sources for a selected high-value point of Cd content. This innovative method provides a valuable methodological reference for precise prevention and control of soil HM pollution.

Novel transcription and replication-competent virus-like particles system modelling the Nipah virus life cycle.

Nipah virus (NiV), a highly pathogenic Henipavirus in humans, has been responsible for annual outbreaks in recent years. Experiments involving live NiV are highly restricted to biosafety level 4 (BSL-4) laboratories, which impedes NiV research. In this study, we developed transcription and replication-competent NiV-like particles (trVLP-NiV) lacking N, P, and L genes. This trVLP-NiV exhibited the ability to infect and continuously passage in cells ectopically expressing N, P, and L proteins while maintaining stable genetic characteristics. Moreover, the trVLP-NiV displayed a favourable safety profile in hamsters. Using the system, we found the NiV nucleoprotein residues interacting with viral RNA backbone affected viral replication in opposite patterns. This engineered system was sensitive to well-established antiviral drugs, innate host antiviral factors, and neutralizing antibodies. We then established a high-throughput screening platform utilizing the trVLP-NiV, leading to the identification of tunicamycin as a potential anti-NiV compound. Evidence showed that tunicamycin inhibited NiV replication by decreasing the infectivity of progeny virions. In conclusion, this trVLP-NiV system provided a convenient and versatile molecular tool for investigating NiV molecular biology and conducting antiviral drug screening under BSL-2 conditions. Its application will contribute to the development of medical countermeasures against NiV infections.

Quantitative determination of prothioconazole in wheat grain, soybean, and pond water based on a polyclonal antibody.

Prothioconazole and its metabolite are considered a potential threat to human health and environmental safety. Thus, the development of a sensitive and rapid detection method for prothioconazole is crucial to ensure the safety of agricultural products. In this study, a new hapten of prothioconazole was designed and synthesized, and a selective polyclonal antibody with high affinity against prothioconazole was produced, which was obtained from immunized New Zealand white rabbits. Based on the polyclonal antibody, an indirect competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ic-ELISA) and indirect competitive chemiluminescence enzyme immunoassay (ic-CLEIA) were developed for detecting prothioconazole pesticides. Under optimized experimental conditions, the limit of quantification (LOQ) values for ic-CLEIA and ic-ELISA were 1.8 and 10.7 ng mL-1, respectively. The results demonstrated that the sensitivity (LOQ) achieved by ic-CLEIA was more than five times higher compared to that obtained with ic-ELISA. In addition, the recoveries obtained by adding standard prothioconazole to wheat grain, soybean, and pond water samples were in the range of 81.9 to 104.7% for ic-ELISA and 89.0 to 118.0% for ic-CLEIA.

Relationship between the magnitude of haemoglobin changes and long-term mortality in patients with sepsis: a retrospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Sepsis is a common and severe disease with a high mortality rate in intensive care unit (ICU). The hemoglobin (HGB) level is a key parameter for oxygen supply in sepsis. Although HGB is associated with the progression of inflammation in sepsis patients, its role as a marker following sepsis treatment remains unclear. Here, we studied the correlation between early temporal changes in HGB levels and long-term mortality rates in septic patients. METHOD: In this retrospective study of data on patients with sepsis from the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care (MIMIC) IV database, the outcome was long-term mortality. Patients were divided based on the cut-off of the HGB percentage for receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve calculation. Kaplan-Meier (KM) survival curves and Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to analyse the associations between groups and outcomes. Propensity score matching (PSM) was used to verify the results. RESULTS: In this study, 2042 patients with sepsis and changes in HGB levels at day 4 after admission compared to day 1 were enrolled and divided into two groups: group 1 (n = 1147) for those with reduction of HGB < 7% and group 2 (n = 895) for those with dropping ≥ 7%. The long-term survival chances of sepsis with less than a 7% reduction in the proportion of HGB at day four were significantly higher than those of patients in the group with a reduction of 7% or more. After adjusting for covariates in the Cox model, the hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for long-term all-cause mortality in the group with a reduction of 7% or more were as follows: 180 days [HR = 1.41, 95% CI (1.22 to 1.63), P < 0.001]; 360 days [HR = 1.37, 95% CI (1.21 to 1.56), P < 0.001]; 540 days [HR = 1.35, 95% CI (1.20 to 1.53), P < 0.001]; 720 days [HR = 1.45, 95% CI (1.29 to 1.64), P < 0.001]. Additionally, the long-term survival rates, using Kaplan-Meier analysis, for the group with a reduction of 7% or more were lower compared to the group with less than 7% reduction at 180 days (54.3% vs. 65.3%, P < 0.001), 360 days (42.3% vs. 50.9%, P < 0.001), 540 days (40.2% vs. 48.6%, P < 0.001), and 720 days (35.5% vs. 46.1%, P < 0.001). The same trend was obtained after using PSM. CONCLUSION: A ≥ 7% decrease in HGB levels on Day 4 after admission was associated with worse long-term prognosis in sepsis patients admitted to the ICU.

[Source Apportionment and Health Risk Assessment of Heavy Metals in Dust Around Bus Stops in Kaifeng City Based on APCS-MLR Model].

In order to reveal the influence of urban transportation systems on the quality of urban ecological environment, this study selected surface dust from bus stops, which is strongly disturbed by transportation, as the research object. The contents of eight heavy metals (V, Cr, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd, and Pb) in the dust were determined through inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-ASE). The spatial distribution characteristics and pollution levels of the eight heavy metals in the dust were analyzed using the geo-accumulation index method. A combined qualitative (correlation analysis and principal component analysis) and quantitative (absolute principal component scores-multiple linear regression model (APCS-MLR)) method was used to explore the sources of heavy metals in surface dust near bus stops. The spatial distribution characteristics of heavy metals from different sources were elucidated using the Kriging interpolation method. The health risk assessment model proposed by the United States Environmental Protection Agency was used to evaluate the human health risks. The results showed that the average values of ω(V), ω(Cr), ω(Co), ω(Ni), ω(Cu), ω(Zn), ω(Cd), ω(Pb), and ω(As) in the bus stop surface dust were 68.36, 59.73, 5.81, 19.34, 40.10, 208.32, 1.01, and 49.46 mg·kg-1, respectively. The concentrations of heavy metals (Cd, Zn, Pb, Cu, and Cr) in the dust were all higher than the background values in the surrounding dust, exceeding them by 3.37, 2.70, 2.01, 1.95, and 1.28 times, respectively. The order of the geo-accumulation index for the eight heavy metals was Cd > Zn > Pb > Cu > Cr > V > Ni > Co, with Cd, Zn, Cu, and Pb in the dust indicating mild pollution levels and the others showing no pollution. The source analysis results showed that Cr, Co, and Ni were natural sources, whereas Cu, Zn, Pb, and Cd were traffic sources, and V was derived from a combination of industrial and natural sources. The APCS-MLR results indicated that the average contribution rates of the four sources were as follows:natural source (34.17 %), traffic source (29.84 %), industrial-natural mixed source (14.64 %), and unknown source (21.35 %). The spatial distribution map of the contribution rate of the traffic source was consistent with the trends of traffic volume and bus route density distribution. According to the health risk assessment, the cancer risk and non-cancer risk for children were both higher than those for adults. Cr was the main non-cancer factor, and Cd was the main cancer-causing factor. Natural and traffic sources contributed the most to non-cancer risk and cancer risk, respectively.

Zero Voltage-Degradation of Li2MnO3 with Ultrathin Amorphous Li─Mn─O Coating.

Manganese-based lithium-rich layered oxides (Mn-LLOs) are promising candidate cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries, however, the severe voltage decay during cycling is the most concern for their practical applications. Herein, an Mn-based composite nanostructure constructed Li2MnO3 (LMO@Li2MnO3) is developed via an ultrathin amorphous functional oxide LixMnOy coating at the grain surface. Due to the thin and universal LMO amorphous surface layer etched from the lithiation process by the high-concentration alkaline solution, the structural and interfacial stability of Li2MnO3 are enhanced apparently, showing the significantly improved voltage maintenance, cycle stability, and energy density. In particular, the LMO@Li2MnO3 cathode exhibits zero voltage decay over 200 cycles. Combining with ex situ spectroscopic and microscopic techniques, the Mn2+/4+ coexisted behavior of the amorphous LMO is revealed, which enables the stable electrochemistry of Li2MnO3. This work provides new possible routes for suppressing the voltage decay of Mn-LLOs by modifying with the composite functional unit construction.

Synchronous papillary and follicular thyroid carcinomas: the first retrospective cohort study and literature review.

Background: Papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) and follicular thyroid carcinoma (FTC) contribute to more than 95% of thyroid malignancies. However, synchronous PTC and FTC are less common; it is most commonly discovered incidentally as synchronous malignancies during operation, which adds difficulties to intraoperative decision-making and postoperative treatment. Therefore, we analyzed the clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis of patients with PTC and FTC in our center. Methods: We conducted a search of single PTC, single FTC, and synchronous PTC/FTC patients who received initial surgery treatment at Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center from 2006 to 2018 and collected paraffin-embedded samples of synchronous patients. Clinicopathological characteristics were collected from the electronic medical record system. Follow-up was performed through telephone contact or medical records. Exome sequencing was performed by ThyroLead panel. Results: Total of 42 synchronous PTC/FTC patients, 244 single FTC patients, and 2,959 single PTC patients were included. It showed a similarity between the clinicopathological features of synchronous thyroid cancer patients and single PTC patients, with a greater proportion of females, higher probabilities of lymph node metastasis, and higher rate of concurrence of Hashimoto's disease. The disease-free survival (DFS) curve indicated a worse prognosis of the synchronous group and single PTC group compared to the single FTC group, who had a propensity for neck lymph node recurrence; however, logistic multivariate regression analysis did not find any factor related to recurrence in the synchronous group. After re-checking pathology, DNA extraction, and quality control, genetic alteration information of 62 samples including primary tumors and metastatic lymph nodes from 35 synchronous cancer patients was displayed. In total, 81 mutations and 1 fusion gene were identified, including mutations related to outcomes and targeted therapy. Besides, some rare mutations in thyroid cancer were found in these patients. Conclusions: To conclude, synchronous PTC/FTC tend to be incidentally discovered during or after operation, behaving more like single PTC. The prognosis of synchronous patients is worse than that of single FTC patients and supplemental cervical lymph node dissection, total thyroidectomy, and postoperative radioiodine therapy should be taken into consideration after diagnosis. The next-generation sequencing (NGS) showed a unique molecular feature of synchronous patients with some rare mutations.

An individualised 3D computational flow and particle model to predict the deposition of inhaled medicines - A case study using a nebuliser.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Drug inhalation is generally accepted as the preferred administration method for treating respiratory diseases. To achieve effective inhaled drug delivery for an individual, it is necessary to use an interdisciplinary approach that can cope with inter-individual differences. The paper aims to present an individualised pulmonary drug deposition model based on Computational Fluid and Particle Dynamics simulations within a time frame acceptable for clinical use. METHODS: We propose a model that can analyse the inhaled drug delivery efficiency based on the patient's airway geometry as well as breathing pattern, which has the potential to also serve as a tool for a sub-regional diagnosis of respiratory diseases. The particle properties and size distribution are taken for the case of drug inhalation by using nebulisers, as they are independent of the patient's breathing pattern. Finally, the inhaled drug doses that reach the deep airways of different lobe regions of the patient are studied. RESULTS: The numerical accuracy of the proposed model is verified by comparison with experimental results. The difference in total drug deposition fractions between the simulation and experimental results is smaller than 4.44% and 1.43% for flow rates of 60 l/min and 15 l/min, respectively. A case study involving a COVID-19 patient is conducted to illustrate the potential clinical use of the model. The study analyses the drug deposition fractions in relation to the breathing pattern, aerosol size distribution, and different lobe regions. CONCLUSIONS: The entire process of the proposed model can be completed within 48 h, allowing an evaluation of the deposition of the inhaled drug in an individual patient's lung within a time frame acceptable for clinical use. Achieving a 48-hour time window for a single evaluation of patient-specific drug delivery enables the physician to monitor the patient's changing conditions and potentially adjust the drug administration accordingly. Furthermore, we show that the proposed methodology also offers a possibility to be extended to a detection approach for some respiratory diseases.

Evaluation of activities of daily living using an electronic version of the Longshi Scale in patients with stroke: reliability, consistency, and preference.

BACKGROUND: The Longshi Scale is a pictorial assessment tool for evaluating activities of daily living (ADL) in patients with stroke. The paper-based version presents challenges; thus, the WeChat version was created to enhance accessibility. Herein, we aimed to validate the inter-rater and test-retest reliabilities of the WeChat version of the Longshi Scale and explore its potential clinical applications. METHODS: We recruited 115 patients with stroke in the study. The ADL results of each patient were assessed using both the WeChat and paper-based version of the Longshi Scale; each evaluation was conducted by 28 health professionals and 115 caregivers separately. To explore the test-retest reliability of the WeChat version, 22 patients were randomly selected and re-evaluated by health professionals using the WeChat version. All evaluation criteria were recorded, and all evaluators were surveyed to indicate their preference between the two versions. RESULTS: Consistency between WeChat and the paper-based Longshi Scale was high for ADL scores by health professionals (ICC2,1 = 0.803-0.988) and caregivers (ICC2,1 = 0.845-0.983), as well as for degrees of disability (κw = 0.870 by professionals; κw = 0.800 by caregivers). Bland-Altman analysis showed no significant discrepancies. The WeChat version exhibited good test-retest reliability (κw = 0.880). The WeChat version showed similar inter-rater reliability in terms of the ADL score evaluated using the paper-based version (ICC2,1 = 0.781-0.941). The time to complete assessments did not differ significantly, although the WeChat version had a shorter information entry time (P < 0.001, 95% confidence interval: -43.463 to -15.488). Health professionals favored the WeChat version (53.6%), whereas caregivers had no significant preference. CONCLUSIONS: The WeChat version of the Longshi Scale is reliable and serves as a suitable alternative for health professionals and caregivers to assess ADL levels in patients with stroke. The WeChat version of the Longshi Scale is considered user-friendly by health professionals, although it is not preferred by caregivers. TRIAL REGISTRATION: This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Second People's Hospital of Shenzhen (approval number: 20210812003-FS01) and registered on the Clinical Trial Register Center website: clinicaltrials.gov on January 31, 2022 (registration no.: NCT05214638).

Multimodal transformer graph convolution attention isomorphism network (MTCGAIN): a novel deep network for detection of insomnia disorder.

Background: In clinic, the subjectivity of diagnosing insomnia disorder (ID) often leads to misdiagnosis or missed diagnosis, as ID may have the same symptoms as those of other health problems. Methods: A novel deep network, the multimodal transformer graph convolution attention isomorphism network (MTGCAIN) is proposed in this study. In this network, graph convolution attention (GCA) is first employed to extract the graph features of brain connectivity and achieve good spatial interpretability. Second, the MTGCAIN comprehensively utilizes multiple brain network atlases and a multimodal transformer (MT) to facilitate coded information exchange between the atlases. In this way, MTGCAIN can be used to more effectively identify biomarkers and arrive at accurate diagnoses. Results: The experimental results demonstrated that more accurate and objective diagnosis of ID can be achieved using the MTGCAIN. According to fivefold cross-validation, the accuracy reached 81.29% and the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) reached 0.8760. A total of nine brain regions were detected as abnormal, namely right supplementary motor area (SMA.R), right temporal pole: superior temporal gyrus (TPOsup.R), left temporal pole: superior temporal gyrus (TPOsup.L), right superior frontal gyrus, dorsolateral (SFGdor.R), right middle temporal gyrus (MTG.R), left middle temporal gyrus (MTG.L), right inferior temporal gyrus (ITG.R), right median cingulate and paracingulate gyri (DCG.R), left median cingulate and paracingulate gyri (DCG.L). Conclusions: The brain regions in the default mode network (DMN) of patients with ID show significant impairment (occupies four-ninths). In addition, the functional connectivity (FC) between the right middle occipital gyrus and inferior temporal gyrus (ITG) has an obvious correlation with comorbid anxiety (P=0.008) and depression (P=0.005) among patients with ID.

Fluorescent and Colorimetric Dual-Readout Immunochromatographic Assay for the Detection of Phenamacril Residues in Agricultural Products.

The fungicide phenamacril has been employed to manage Fusarium and mycotoxins in crops, leading to persistent residues in the environment and plants. Detecting phenamacril is pivotal for ensuring environmental and food safety. In this study, haptens and artificial antigens were synthesized to produce antiphenamacril monoclonal antibodies (mAbs). Additionally, gold nanoparticles coated with a polydopamine shell were synthesized and conjugated with mAbs, inducing fluorescence quenching in quantum dots. Moreover, a dual-readout immunochromatographic assay that combines the positive signal from fluorescence with the negative signal from colorimetry was developed to enable sensitive and precise detection of phenamacril within 10 min, achieving detection limits of 5 ng/mL. The method's reliability was affirmed by using spiked wheat flour samples, achieving a limit of quantitation of 0.05 mg/kg. This analytical platform demonstrates high sensitivity, outstanding accuracy, and robust tolerance to matrix effects, making it suitable for the rapid, onsite, quantitative screening of phenamacril residues.

Superior Superconducting Properties Realized in Quaternary La-Y-Ce Hydrides at Moderate Pressures.

The recent revolution in the superconductivity field stems from hydride superconductors. Multicomponent hydrides provide a crucial platform for tracking high-temperature superconductors. Besides high superconducting transition temperature (Tc), achieving both giant upper critical magnetic field [µ0Hc2(0)] and high critical current density [Jc(0)] is also key to the latent potential of the application for hydride superconductors. In this work, we have successfully synthesized quaternary La-Y-Ce hydrides with excellent properties under moderate pressure by using the concept of "entropy engineering." The obtained temperature dependence of the resistance provides evidence for the superconductivity of Fm3m-(La,Y,Ce)H10, with the maximum Tc ∼ 190 K (at 112 GPa). Notably, Fm3m-(La,Y,Ce)H10 boasts exceptional properties: µ0Hc2(0) reaching 292 T and Jc(0) surpassing 4.61 × 107 A/cm2. Compared with the binary LaH10/YH10, we find that the Fm3m structure in (La,Y,Ce)H10 can be stable at relatively low pressures (112 GPa). These results indicate that multicomponent hydrides can significantly enhance the superconducting properties and regulate stabilizing pressure through the application of "entropy engineering." This work stimulates the experimental exploration of multihydride superconductors and also provides a reference for the search of room-temperature superconductors in more diversified hydride materials in the future.

Effects of androgen suppression therapy on the incidence and prognosis of bladder cancer: An updated systematic review and meta-analysis.

INTRODUCTION: The influence of androgen suppression therapy (AST) on bladder cancer (BCa) remains controversial, as recent studies have not reached a consensus regarding the relationship between AST and the incidence or prognosis of BCa. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We perform an updated systematic review and meta-analysis utilizing the most recent evidence to investigate the potential influence of AST on the incidence and prognosis of BCa. A comprehensive literature search was performed on the PubMed, Medline, Embase, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library databases to include potentially eligible studies. Hazard ratios (HR) and odds ratios (OR) were used to calculate the incidence and prognosis of BCa. RESULTS: This meta-analysis included 22 studies with 700,755 participants which investigated the impact of AST on the risk and prognosis of BCa. The pooled results revealed no significant relation between AST and a decreased incidence of BCa (OR: 0.92, 95%CI: 0.77-1.09, P = 0.342). Subgroup analysis reported that patients receiving 5-alpha reductase inhibitors (5-ARIs) exhibited a significantly lower risk of BCa (OR: 0.83, 95%CI: 0.75-0.91, P < 0.001), while androgen deprivation therapy did not show a significant reduction (OR: 1.00, 95%CI: 0.46-2.16, P = 0.995). AST may also significantly improve the recurrence-free survival of patients with BCa (HR: 0.69, 95%CI: 0.50-0.95, P = 0.023). We also detected a significant improvement in OS among BCa patients who received 5-ARIs compared to those without 5-ARIs (HR: 0.82, 95%CI: 0.68-0.99, P = 0.037). CONCLUSION: No significant correlation was found between AST and a decreased BCa incidence, while 5-ARIs have demonstrated efficacy in reducing BCa occurrence. Moreover, patients who received AST demonstrated improved prognosis.

Applying improved ddPCR to reliable quantification of MPXV in clinical settings.

Monkeypox virus (MPXV) poses a global health threat. Droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) holds potential as an accurate diagnostic tool for clinical microbiology. However, there is limited literature on the applicability of ddPCR in clinical settings. In this study, the clinical features of patients with MPXV during the initial outbreak in China in June 2023 were reviewed, and an optimized ddPCR method with dilution and/or inhibitor removal was developed to enhance MPXV detection efficiency. Eighty-two MPXV samples were tested from nine different clinical specimen types, including feces, urine, pharyngeal swabs, anal swabs, saliva, herpes fluid, crust, and semen, and the viral load of each specimen was quantified. A comparative analysis was performed with qPCR to assess sensitivity and specificity and to investigate the characteristics of MPXV infection by analyzing viral loads in different clinical specimens. Consequently, common pharyngeal and gastrointestinal symptoms were observed in patients with MPXV. The optimized ddPCR method demonstrated relatively high sensitivity for MPXV quantification in the clinical materials, with a limit of detection of 0.1 copies/µL. This was particularly evident in low-concentration samples like whole blood, semen, and urine. The optimized ddPCR demonstrated greater detection accuracy compared with normal ddPCR and qPCR, with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.939. Except for crust samples, viral loads in the specimens gradually decreased as the disease progressed. Virus levels in feces and anal swabs kept a high detection rate at each stage of post-symptom onset, and feces and anal swabs samples may be suitable for clinical diagnosis and continuous monitoring of MPXV. IMPORTANCE: The ddPCR technique proved to be a sensitive and valuable tool for accurately quantifying MPXV viral loads in various clinical specimen types. The findings provided valuable insights into the necessary pre-treatment protocols for MPXV diagnosis in ddPCR detection and the potentially suitable sample types for collection. Therefore, such results can aid in comprehending the potential characteristics of MPXV infection and the usage of ddPCR in clinical settings.