A retrospective study on the prevalence and risk factors of neurogenic lower urinary tract dysfunction for acute ischemic stroke in China: A case-control study.

PURPOSE: This study identified risk factors for neurogenic lower urinary tract dysfunction (NLUTD) in patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS) through multidimensional analysis of the medical records of patients, aiming to reduce the incidence of NLUTD, improve prognosis, and facilitate rehabilitation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this case-control study, patients with AIS were recruited from two tertiary general hospitals in Shenzhen, China, from March 2021 to October 2023. Patients were divided into NLUTD and non-NLUTD groups based on the presence and absence of NLUTD, respectively. Comparative analysis was performed using the Mann-Whitney U and chi-square tests, with significant variables being included in logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: Of the 652 participants enrolled in this study, 119 participants (18.3%) developed NLUTD. Bivariate analysis showed that 39 of 54 screened factors exhibited a significant correlation (p<0.05) with the incidence of NLUTD after AIS. Significant variables identified through logistic regression analysis included Glasgow coma scale (GCS) and National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) scores, anemia, aphasia, pneumonia, brainstem involvement, multiple lesions, urine clarity (CLA), random venous blood glucose (GLU) and hemoglobin (HGB) levels, and white blood cell (WBC) count. CONCLUSIONS: A total of 11 risk factors for NLUTD were identified in this study. This finding provides valuable guidance for reducing the incidence of NLUTD after AIS and improving the quality of life of patients.

Corrigendum: TAT-HSP27 peptide improves neurologic deficits via reducing apoptosis after experimental subarachnoid hemorrhage.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fncel.2022.878673.].

Relations between school climates and bullying behaviors in Chinese adolescents: The mediating role of prosocial tendency.

This research investigated the relationships between school climates and bullying behaviors in Chinese adolescents, and tested the mediating effect of prosocial tendency according to the seesaw effect. School climates were operationalized using three constructs: subjective diversity of student development goals, teacher support, and peer trust. Bullying behaviors included traditional (i.e., physical, nonphysical, and relational) and cyber bullying behaviors. We recruited 538 adolescents from three schools in Beijing, China (286 girls, 252 boys; average age = 12.47) and asked them to fill out the surveys measuring school climates and prosocial tendency at the outset and to report school bullying behaviors three months later. The results showed that subjective diversity of student development goals and peer trust were directly associated with less cyber bullying behavior. Moreover, teacher support and peer trust were indirectly associated with less traditional bullying behaviors via prosocial tendency. Our findings extend the existing literature on the relationships between school climates and bullying behaviors by incorporating different types of bullying behaviors, concentrating on Chinese adolescents from a cultural viewpoint, and tapping into the underlying mechanism via revealing prosocial tendency as a mediator. Theoretical and empirical contributions of this study, as well as practical implications are discussed.

Identification of mycoplasma pneumonia in children based on fusion of multi-modal clinical free-text description and structured test data.

Mycoplasma pneumonia may lead to hospitalizations and pose life-threatening risks in children. The automated identification of mycoplasma pneumonia from electronic medical records holds significant potential for improving the efficiency of hospital resource allocation. In this study, we proposed a novel method for identifying mycoplasma pneumonia by integrating multi-modal features derived from both free-text descriptions and structured test data in electronic medical records. Our approach begins with the extraction of free-text and structured data from clinical records through a systematic preprocessing pipeline. Subsequently, we employ a pre-trained transformer language model to extract features from the free-text, while multiple additive regression trees are used to transform features from the structured data. An attention-based fusion mechanism is then applied to integrate these multi-modal features for effective classification. We validated our method using clinic records of 7157 patients, retrospectively collected for training and testing purposes. The experimental results demonstrate that our proposed multi-modal fusion approach achieves significant improvements over other methods across four key performance metrics.

Porcine lung tissue slices: a culture model for PRCV infection and innate immune response investigations.

Respiratory coronaviruses (RCoVs) significantly threaten human health, necessitating the development of an ex vivo respiratory culture system for investigating RCoVs infection. Here, we successfully generated a porcine precision-cut lung slices (PCLSs) culture system, containing all resident lung cell types in their natural arrangement. Next, this culture system was inoculated with a porcine respiratory coronavirus (PRCV), exhibiting clinical features akin to humans who were infected by SARS-CoV-2. The results demonstrated that PRCV efficiently infected and replicated within PCLSs, targeting ciliated cells in the bronchioles, terminal bronchioles, respiratory bronchioles, and pulmonary alveoli. Additionally, through RNA-Seq analysis of the innate immune response in PCLSs following PRCV infection, expression levels of interferons, inflammatory cytokines and IFN stimulated genes were significantly upregulated. This ex vivo model may not only offer new insights into PRCV infection in the porcine respiratory tract but also serve as a valuable tool for studying human respiratory CoVs infection.

Identification of a novel LFNG variant in a Chinese fetus with spondylocostal dysostosis and a systematic review.

Spondylocostal dysostosis (SCDO) encompasses a group of skeletal disorders characterized by multiple segmentation defects in the vertebrae and ribs. SCDO has a complex genetic etiology. This study aimed to analyze and identify pathogenic variants in a fetus with SCDO. Copy number variant sequencing and whole exome sequencing were performed on a Chinese fetus with SCDO, followed by bioinformatics analyses, in vitro functional assays and a systematic review on the reported SCDO cases with LFNG pathogenic variants. Ultrasound examinations in utero exhibited that the fetus had vertebral malformation, scoliosis and tethered cord, but rib malformation was not evident. We found a novel homozygous variant (c.1078 C > T, p.R360C) within the last exon of LFNG. The variant was predicted to cause loss of function of LFNG by in silico prediction tools, which was confirmed by an in vitro assay of LFNG enzyme activity. The systematic review listed a total of 20 variants of LFNG in SCDO. The mutational spectrum spans across all exons of LFNG except the last one. This study reported the first Chinese case of LFNG-related SCDO, revealing the prenatal phenotypes and expanding the mutational spectrum of the disorder.

l-thyroxine attenuates extracellular Hsp90α-induced vascular endothelial calcification in diabetes mellitus, as revealed by parallel metabolic profiles.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Diabetic atherosclerotic vascular disease is characterized by extensive vascular calcification. However, an elevated blood glucose level alone does not explain this pathogenesis. We investigated the metabolic markers underlying diabetic atherosclerosis and whether extracellular Hsp90α (eHsp90α) triggers vascular endothelial calcification in this particular metabolic environment. METHODS: A parallel human/animal model metabolomics approach was used. We analyzed 40 serum samples collected from 24 patients with atherosclerosis and from the STZ-induced ApoE-/- mouse model. A multivariate statistical analysis of the data was performed, and mouse aortic tissue was collected for the assessment of plaque formation. In vitro, the effects of eHsp90α on endothelial cell calcification were assessed by serum analysis, Western blotting and immunoelectron microscopy. RESULTS: Diabetic ApoE-/- mice showed more severe plaque lesions and calcification damage. Stearamide, oleamide, l-thyroxine, l-homocitrulline and l-citrulline are biomarkers of diabetic ASVD; l-thyroxine was downregulated in both groups, and the thyroid sensitivity index was correlated with serum Hsp90α concentration. In vitro studies showed that eHsp90α increased Runx2 expression in endothelial cells through the LRP1 receptor. l-thyroxine reduced the increase in Runx2 levels caused by eHsp90α and affected the distribution and expression of LRP1 through hydrogen bonding with glutamine at position 1054 in the extracellular segment of LRP1. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides a mechanistic link between characteristic serum metabolites and diabetic atherosclerosis and thus offers new insight into the role of extracellular Hsp90α in promoting vascular calcification.

Internet searching and stock price informativeness: Evidence from Google withdrawal in China.

We analyze whether and how internet searching impacts stock price informativeness. Using the 2010 Google withdrawal in China as a quasi-natural experiment, we establish a causal effect between internet searching and stock price informativeness using a difference-in-difference framework. We find that firms with higher Google search volume experience a 10% decrease in stock price informativeness after the Google withdrawal. The negative effect of the Google withdrawal on stock price informativeness is pronounced in firms with more retail investors, larger state-ownership, and poor analysts' earnings forecasts. Our results suggest that retail investors can benefit from internet searching to collect and process firm-specific information more efficiently.

Phthalate Biomarkers Composition in Relation to Fatty Liver: Evidence from Epidemiologic and in vivo studies.

Phthalates, classified as environmental endocrine disruptors, pose potential toxicity risks to human health. Metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease is one of the most widespread liver diseases globally. Compared to studies focusing on metabolic disorders in relation to pollutants exposure, the impact of individual factors such as fatty liver on the in vivo metabolism of pollutants is always overlooked. Therefore, this study measured concentrations and composition of phthalate monoesters (mPAEs) in human urine samples, particularly those from fatty liver patients. Furthermore, we induced fatty liver in male Wistar rats by formulating a high-fat diet for twelve weeks. After administering a single dose of DEHP at 500 mg/kg bw through gavage, we compared the levels of di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP), its metabolites (mDEHPs) and three hepatic metabolic enzymes, namely cytochrome P450 enzymes (CYP450), UDP glucuronosyltransferase 1 (UGT1), and carboxylesterase 1 (CarE1), between the normal and fatty liver rat groups. Compared to healthy individuals (n = 75), fatty liver patients (n = 104) exhibited significantly lower urinary concentrations of ∑mPAEs (median: 106 vs. 166 ng/mL), but with a higher proportion of mono-2-ethylhexyl phthalate in ∑mDEHPs (25.7 % vs. 9.9 %) (p < 0.05). In the animal experiment, we found that fatty liver in rats prolonged the elimination half-life of DEHP (24.61 h vs. 18.89 h) and increased the contents of CYP450, CarE1, and UGT1, implying the common but differentiated metabolism of DEHP as excess lipid accumulation in liver cells. This study provides valuable information on how to distinguish populations in biomonitoring studies across a diverse population and in assigning exposure classifications of phthalates or similar chemicals in epidemiologic studies.

Effects of operational parameters on bacterial communities in Hong Kong and global wastewater treatment plants.

Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are indispensable biotechnology facilities for modern cities and play an essential role in modern urban infrastructure by employing microorganisms to remove pollutants in wastewater, thus protecting public health and the environment. This study conducted a 13-month bacterial community survey of six full-scale WWTPs in Hong Kong with samples of influent, activated sludge (AS), and effluent to explore their synchronism and asynchronism of bacterial community. Besides, we compared AS results of six Hong Kong WWTPs with data from 1,186 AS amplicon data in 269 global WWTPs and a 9-year metagenomic sequencing survey of a Hong Kong WWTP. Our results showed the compositions of bacterial communities varied and the bacterial community structure of AS had obvious differences across Hong Kong WWTPs. The co-occurrence analysis identified 40 pairs of relationships that existed among Hong Kong WWTPs to show solid associations between two species and stochastic processes took large proportions for the bacterial community assembly of six WWTPs. The abundance and distribution of the functional bacteria in worldwide and Hong Kong WWTPs were examined and compared, and we found that ammonia-oxidizing bacteria had more diversity than nitrite-oxidizing bacteria. Besides, Hong Kong WWTPs could make great contributions to the genome mining of microbial dark matter in the global "wanted list." Operational parameters had important effects on OTUs' abundance, such as the temperature to the genera of Tetrasphaera, Gordonia and Nitrospira. All these results obtained from this study can deepen our understanding of the microbial ecology in WWTPs and provide foundations for further studies. IMPORTANCE: Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are an indispensable component of modern cities, as they can remove pollutants in wastewater to prevent anthropogenic activities. Activated sludge (AS) is a fundamental wastewater treatment process and it harbors a highly complex microbial community that forms the main components and contains functional groups. Unveiling "who is there" is a long-term goal of the research on AS microbiology. High-throughput sequencing provides insights into the inventory diversity of microbial communities to an unprecedented level of detail. At present, the analysis of communities in WWTPs usually comes from a specific WWTP and lacks comparisons and verification among different WWTPs. The wide-scale and long-term sampling project and research in this study could help us evaluate the AS community more accurately to find the similarities and different results for different WWTPs in Hong Kong and other regions of the world.

Inhalation of panaxadiol alleviates lung inflammation via inhibiting TNFA/TNFAR and IL7/IL7R signaling between macrophages and epithelial cells.

Background: Lung inflammation occurs in many lung diseases, but has limited effective therapeutics. Ginseng and its derivatives have anti-inflammatory effects, but their unstable physicochemical and metabolic properties hinder their application in the treatment. Panaxadiol (PD) is a stable saponin among ginsenosides. Inhalation administration may solve these issues, and the specific mechanism of action needs to be studied. Methods: A mouse model of lung inflammation induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS), an in vitro macrophage inflammation model, and a coculture model of epithelial cells and macrophages were used to study the effects and mechanisms of inhalation delivery of PD. Pathology and molecular assessments were used to evaluate efficacy. Transcriptome sequencing was used to screen the mechanism and target. Finally, the efficacy and mechanism were verified in a human BALF cell model. Results: Inhaled PD reduced LPS-induced lung inflammation in mice in a dose-dependent manner, including inflammatory cell infiltration, lung tissue pathology, and inflammatory factor expression. Meanwhile, the dose of inhalation was much lower than that of intragastric administration under the same therapeutic effect, which may be related to its higher bioavailability and superior pharmacokinetic parameters. Using transcriptome analysis and verification by a coculture model of macrophage and epithelial cells, we found that PD may act by inhibiting TNFA/TNFAR and IL7/IL7R signaling to reduce macrophage inflammatory factor-induced epithelial apoptosis and promote proliferation. Conclusion: PD inhalation alleviates lung inflammation and pathology by inhibiting TNFA/TNFAR and IL7/IL7R signaling between macrophages and epithelial cells. PD may be a novel drug for the clinical treatment of lung inflammation.

A novel glycine-rich peptide from Zophobas atratus, coleoptericin B, targets bacterial membrane and protects against Klebsiella pneumoniae-induced mastitis in mice.

OBJECTIVES: The growing occurrence of bacterial resistance has spawned the development of novel antimicrobial agents. Antimicrobial peptides, a class of small molecules with antimicrobial activity, have been regarded as the ideal alternatives to antibiotics. METHODS: In this study, we amplified a new type of Zophobas atratus coleoptericin (denoted coleoptericin B) through rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) PCR and expressed recombinant Z. atratus coleoptericin B (rZA-col B) by prokaryotic expression. Subsequently, we evaluated the antimicrobial effect and biocompatibility of rZA-col B in vivo, investigated its antimicrobial mechanism, and assessed its therapeutic effect in a murine model of mastitis caused by MDR Klebsiella pneumoniae. RESULTS: The in vivo studies demonstrated that rZA-col B possesses broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. It exhibited less than 1.5% haemolysis and 10% cytotoxicity, even at a concentration of 128 µM. Additionally, rZA-col B had a minimal risk of inducing drug resistance. Furthermore, rZA-col B could disrupt the integrity of bacterial membranes, induce membrane permeabilization and ultimately lead to bacterial death. Importantly, rZA-col B also alleviated mastitis caused by MDR K. pneumoniae in a murine model by enhancing bacterial clearance, reducing neutrophil infiltration, decreasing TNF-α and IL-1ß expression, and protecting the mammary barrier. CONCLUSIONS: rZA-col B may be a promising antibacterial agent to combat MDR bacterial infection.

A sensitive lateral flow immunoassay relying on time-resolved fluorescent microspheres immune probe for determination of ceftiofur and its metabolite.

Ceftiofur (CEF) is an antimicrobial agent with high efficiency and low toxicity, desfuroylceftiofur is its main metabolite, but they are also have potential harm to human health. In this study, ceftiofur was combined with carrier proteins to get artificial antigens. A specific antibody (pAb) against CEF and desfuroylceftiofur was prepared. A sensitive and rapid paper-based sensor relying on time-resolved fluorescent microspheres (TRFMs) immune probes was developed, which were time-resolved fluorescent immunochromatographic strips (TRFMs-LFIA). The concentrations of T line and C line, activated pH, antibody volume and probe volume were optimized. Quantitative limits of detection (qLODs) of TRFMs-LFIA for CEF and desfuroylceftiofur were 0.97 ng/mL and 0.41 ng/mL, respectively. And 50 % inhibiting concentrations (IC50) were 12.92 ng/mL and 12.58 ng/mL, respectively. Pretreatment procedures of real samples were simple and rapid. Detection time of TRFMs-LFIA strip was 15 min. Qualitative analysis of CEF and desfuroylceftiofur was achieved under a UV light, quantitative analysis was implemented with a fluorescent immunoassay analyzer. The average recovery rates ranged from 91.4 % to 107.7 % and corresponding coefficients of variation (CV) was 1.5%-9.7 %. Concentration levels of artificially-spiked samples were measured by TRFMs-LFIA and compared with detection results of High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), which showed a good accordance. These results indicated that the proposed assay can provide an effective strategy for on-site detection of CEF and desfuroylceftiofur simultaneously.

Gestational exposure to 1-NP induces ferroptosis in placental trophoblasts via CYP1B1/ERK signaling pathway leading to fetal growth restriction.

Fetal growth restriction (FGR) is a prevalent complication in obstetrics, yet its exact aetiology remains unknown. Numerous studies suggest that the degradation of the living environment is a significant risk factor for FGR. 1-Nitropyrene (1-NP) is a widespread environmental pollutant as a representative substance of nitro-polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. In this study, we revealed that 1-NP induced FGR in fetal mice by constructing 1-NP exposed pregnant mice models. Intriguingly, we found that placental trophoblasts of 1-NP exposed mice exhibited significant ferroptosis, which was similarly detected in placental trophoblasts from human FGR patients. In this regard, we established a 1-NP exposed cell model in vitro using two human trophoblast cell lines, HTR8/SVneo and JEG-3. We found that 1-NP not only impaired the proliferation, migration, invasion and angiogenesis of trophoblasts, but also induced severe cellular ferroptosis. Meanwhile, the ferroptosis inhibitor ferrostatin-1 (Fer-1) effectively rescued 1-NP-induced trophoblast biological function impairment. Mechanistically, we revealed that 1-NP regulated ferroptosis by activating the ERK signaling pathway. Moreover, we innovatively revealed that CYP1B1 was essential for the activation of ERK signaling pathway induced by 1-NP. Overall, our study innovatively identified ferroptosis as a significant contributor to 1-NP induced trophoblastic functional impairment leading to FGR and clarified the specific mechanism by which 1-NP induced ferroptosis via the CYP1B1/ERK signaling pathway. Our study provided novel insights into the aetiology of FGR and revealed new mechanisms of reproductive toxicity of environmental pollutants.

Effect of economic inequality on generosity: A social norm perspective.

Economic inequality has been found to reduce individuals' generosity in western contexts. However, whether this effect is cross-culturally consistent and its internal mechanism remain unclear, as well as how to mitigate this impact. Hence, we explored whether and why economic inequality may erode generosity in a sample of Chinese adults from the social norm perspective and introduced the equal allocation norm to mitigate this effect. Four online studies were conducted: two were correlational (Study 1: n = 300; Study 2: n = 568) and two were experimental (Study 3: n = 289; Study 4: n = 500). Results showed that economic inequality predicted less generosity in the dictator game, and perceived unequal allocation norm accounted for this effect. Moreover, introducing the equal allocation norm could buffer this negative effect. Findings suggest economic inequality impairs generosity, and making the equal allocation norm more salient may guide people to act more generously.

A missed foreign body aspiration masquerading as congenital pulmonary airway malformation in a nine-year-old boy: A case report and literature review.

Although airway foreign body aspiration (FBA) is a common occurrence in any age group, unrecognized and retained foreign bodies in lungs may result in severe complications, such as lung abscess or bronchiectasis. In rare cases, FBA may present with similar clinical features as many other diseases (e.g. asthma, tumor, pulmonary eosinophilia). Here, we report a rare case of missed FBA in a nine-year-old boy, whose chest CT scan was suggestive of a cavitary lesion in the left lower lobe mimicking congenital pulmonary airway malformation (CPAM). However, surprisingly, flexible bronchoscopy revealed a peanut lodged in the lateral basal segment of left lower lobe, which was subsequently retrieved by a forceps and avoided unnecessary surgical lobectomy. Therefore, FBA can mimic other disorders (e.g. CPAM), and a high index of suspicion and additional diagnostic techniques (e.g. flexible bronchoscopy) may be required to distinguish them. Additionally, FBA should be considered in the differential diagnosis of respiratory disorders in children even lack of aspiration history.

Limited protection of pneumococcal vaccines against emergent Streptococcus pneumoniae serotype 14/ST876 strains.

PURPOSE: Streptococcus pneumoniae (Spn) is a major cause of child death. We investigated the epidemiology of S. pneumoniae in a pediatric fever clinic and explored the genomics basis of the limited vaccine response of serotype 14 strains worldwide. METHODS: Febrile disease and pneumonia were diagnosed following criteria from the WHO at the end of 2019 at a tertiary children's hospital. Spn was isolated by culture from nasopharyngeal (NP) swabs. The density was determined by lytA-base qPCR. Isolates were serotyped by Quellung and underwent antimicrobial susceptibility testing. Whole-genome sequencing was employed for molecular serotyping, MLST, antibiotic gene determination, SNP calling, recombination prediction, and phylogenetic analysis. RESULTS: The presence of pneumococcus in the nasopharynx (87.5%, 7/8, p = 0.0227) and a high carriage (100%, 7/7, p = 0.0123) were significantly associated with pneumonia development. Living with siblings (73.7%, 14/19, p = 0.0125) and non-vaccination (56.0%, 28/50, p = 0.0377) contributed significantly to the Spn carriage. Serotype 14 was the most prevalent strain (16.67%, 5/30). The genome analysis of 1497 serotype 14 strains indicated S14/ST876 strains were only prevalent in China, presented limited vaccine responses with higher recombination activities within its cps locus, and unique variation patterns in the genes wzg and lrp. CONCLUSION: With the lifting of the one-child policy, it will be crucial for families with multiple children to get PCV vaccinations in China. Due to the highly variant cps locus and distinctive variation patterns in capsule shedding and binding proteins genes, the prevalent S14/ST876 strains have shown poor response to current vaccines. It is necessary to continue monitoring the molecular epidemiology of this vaccine escape clone.

Evaluating the Response of Glycine soja Accessions to Fungal Pathogen Macrophomina phaseolina during Seedling Growth.

Charcoal rot caused by the fungal pathogen Macrophomina phaseolina (Tassi) Goid is one of various devastating soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) diseases, which can severely reduce crop yield. The investigation into the genetic potential for charcoal rot resistance of wild soybean (Glycine soja) accessions will enrich our understanding of the impact of soybean domestication on disease resistance; moreover, the identified charcoal rot-resistant lines can be used to improve soybean resistance to charcoal rot. The objective of this study was to evaluate the resistance of wild soybean accessions to M. phaseolina at the seedling stage and thereby select the disease-resistant lines. The results show that the fungal pathogen infection reduced the growth of the root and hypocotyl in most G. soja accessions. The accession PI 507794 displayed the highest level of resistance response to M. phaseolina infection among the tested wild soybean accessions, while PI 487431 and PI 483660B were susceptible to charcoal rot in terms of the reduction in root and hypocotyl growth. The mean values of the root and hypocotyl parameters in PI 507794 were significantly higher (p < 0.05) than those of PI 487431 and PI 483460B. A analysis of the resistance of wild soybean accessions to M. phaseolina using the root and hypocotyl as the assessment parameters at the early seedling stage provides an alternative way to rapidly identify potential resistant genotypes and facilitate breeding for soybean resistance to charcoal rot.