[Clinical effect of different immunosuppressive treatment regimens in children with ocular myasthenia gravis: a retrospective analysis]. / å„¿ç«¥çœ¼è‚Œåž‹é‡ç—‡è‚Œæ— åŠ›ä¸åŒå ç–«æŠ‘åˆ¶å‰‚æ²»ç–—æ–¹æ¡ˆçš„å›žé¡¾æ€§åˆ†æž.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the clinical effect of different immunosuppressive treatment regimens in children with ocular myasthenia gravis (OMG). METHODS: A retrospective analysis was conducted on 130 children with OMG who were treated in the Department of Neurology, Jiangxi Children's Hospital, from February 2018 to February 2023. According to the treatment regimen, they were divided into four groups: glucocorticoid (GC) group (n=29), mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) group (GC+MMF; n=33), methotrexate (MTX) group (GC+MTX; n=30), and tacrolimus (FK506) group (GC+FK506; n=38). Treatment outcomes and adverse reactions were compared among the groups. RESULTS: After 3 months of treatment, the FK506 group had significantly lower scores of Myasthenia Gravis Quantitative Scale and Myasthenia Gravis-Specific Activities of Daily Living than the other three groups (P<0.05). After 3 months of treatment, the FK506 group had a significantly lower dose of prednisone than the GC group, and after 6 and 9 months of treatment, the MMF, MTX, and FK506 groups had a significantly lower dose of prednisone than the GC group (P<0.05). After 12 months of treatment, the MMF, MTX, and FK506 groups had a significantly lower incidence rate of GC-related adverse reactions than the GC group (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: For children with OMG, the addition of various immunosuppressants can reduce the dosage of GC and adverse reactions. Among them, FK506 shows superior efficacy compared to other immunosuppressants in the early treatment of OMG.

[Remote sensing inversion of surface soil organic matter at jointing stage of winter wheat based on unmanned aerial vehicle multispectral]. / åŸºäºŽæ— äººæœºçš„å†¬å°éº¦æ‹”èŠ‚æœŸè¡¨å±‚åœŸå£¤æœ‰æœºè´¨å«é‡é¥æ„Ÿåæ¼”.

The rapid monitoring of soil organic matter (SOM) content in large-scale salinized wheat fields can provide data for promoting research in saline soils and carbon cycle. Based on field sampling and remote sensing images of unmanned aerial vehicle, we established remote sensing prediction models of regional SOM using three methods, i.e., multiple linear regression (MLR), partial least squares (PLSR), and support vector machine regression (SVR) for bare land and wheat field, respectively. The models were validated and compared to identify the optimal inversion model of SOM. Moreover, the SOM in the area was inverted using the optimal model, with the inversion results being compared with the data by interpolation. The results showed that the spectrum after the filtering of 5×5 median was best related to surface SOM. Among the three models, the SVR model had the highest prediction accuracy, followed by the PLSR, while the MLR lowest. The SVR model was the best one for estimating wheat field, with coefficient of determination (R2) and root mean square error (RMSE) of 0.89 and 0.20, respectively, and the validated R2 and RMSE were 0.82 and 0.24, respectively. The bare land SOM was also best fitted by the SVR model, with R2 and RMSE were 0.63, 0.26, respectively, and the verified R2 and RMSE were 0.61, 0.25, respectively, but without statistical significance. The inversion of the optimal model revealed that SOM content in this region ranged from 17.51 to 22.53 g·kg-1, with an average of 19.51 g·kg-1, which was generally consistent with the field measurement. Compared with the inversion results, the interpolation data were limited in accuracy. Overall, our study suggested that the unmanned aerial vehicle-based multi-spectral analysis could be applied to quick and accurate estimation of SOM content in saline soil at the jointing stage of winter wheat.

Viability and Stress Response of Putative Probiotic Lactobacillus plantarum Strains in Honey Environment.

Due to problem of preservation of dairy products which serve as a matrix for probiotics, it is challenging to use these probiotics as food supplements in many developing countries. To determine the suitability of the Lactobacillus strains for exploitation as probiotics in honey, we investigated the effect of their storage on the viability, functionality, and the mechanism associated with their protective effect. Three isolates obtained from our laboratory collection were identified through amplification of the 16S rRNA gene. The viability of the strains in honey at different storage conditions was studied. Three genes (hdc, gtf, and clpL) responsible for the resistance of bacteria in acidic environments were screened. SDS-PAGE analysis of total protein was performed to observe protein profile changes of the strains after exposure to honey. All the three isolates, namely, GGU, GLA51, and GLP56, were identified as Lactobacillus plantarum strains. After 28 days of storage in honey at 4 °C, viable cell concentrations of the three strains were higher than 2.04 × 106 CFU/ml. During the same period at room temperature, only the Lactobacillus plantarum GLP56 strain remained viable with a cell concentration of 1.86 × 104 CFU/ml. The clpL gene coding for ATPase was detected in all the three strains. The protein of molecular weight ~ 50 kDa was absent in the protein profile of Lactobacillus plantarum GGU after 60 days of storage in honey at 4 °C. The Lactobacillus plantarum GLP56, Lactobacillus plantarum GLA51, and Lactobacillus plantarum GGU strains exposed to honey can withstand acidic environmental stress but their viability declines over time.

DNA fragments assembly based on nicking enzyme system.

A couple of DNA ligation-independent cloning (LIC) methods have been reported to meet various requirements in metabolic engineering and synthetic biology. The principle of LIC is the assembly of multiple overlapping DNA fragments by single-stranded (ss) DNA overlaps annealing. Here we present a method to generate single-stranded DNA overlaps based on Nicking Endonucleases (NEases) for LIC, the method was termed NE-LIC. Factors related to cloning efficiency were optimized in this study. This NE-LIC allows generating 3'-end or 5'-end ss DNA overlaps of various lengths for fragments assembly. We demonstrated that the 10 bp/15 bp overlaps had the highest DNA fragments assembling efficiency, while 5 bp/10 bp overlaps showed the highest efficiency when T4 DNA ligase was added. Its advantage over Sequence and Ligation Independent Cloning (SLIC) and Uracil-Specific Excision Reagent (USER) was obvious. The mechanism can be applied to many other LIC strategies. Finally, the NEases based LIC (NE-LIC) was successfully applied to assemble a pathway of six gene fragments responsible for synthesizing microbial poly-3-hydroxybutyrate (PHB).

[Mapping environmental vulnerability from ETM + data in the Yellow River Mouth Area].

The environmental vulnerability retrieval is important to support continuing data. The spatial distribution of regional environmental vulnerability was got through remote sensing retrieval. In view of soil and vegetation, the environmental vulnerability evaluation index system was built, and the environmental vulnerability of sampling points was calculated by the AHP-fuzzy method, then the correlation between the sampling points environmental vulnerability and ETM + spectral reflectance ratio including some kinds of conversion data was analyzed to determine the sensitive spectral parameters. Based on that, models of correlation analysis, traditional regression, BP neural network and support vector regression were taken to explain the quantitative relationship between the spectral reflectance and the environmental vulnerability. With this model, the environmental vulnerability distribution was retrieved in the Yellow River Mouth Area. The results showed that the correlation between the environmental vulnerability and the spring NDVI, the September NDVI and the spring brightness was better than others, so they were selected as the sensitive spectral parameters. The model precision result showed that in addition to the support vector model, the other model reached the significant level. While all the multi-variable regression was better than all one-variable regression, and the model accuracy of BP neural network was the best. This study will serve as a reliable theoretical reference for the large spatial scale environmental vulnerability estimation based on remote sensing data.

[Satellite remote sensing retrieval of canopy nitrogen nutritional status of apple trees at blossom stage].

Taking Qixia City of Shandong, China as the study area, and based on the Landsat-5 TM and ALOS AVNIR-2 images, the canopy retrieval reflectance of apple trees at blossom stage was acquired. In combining with the measured reflectance of sample trees, the nitrogen-sensitive spectral indices were constructed and selected. By using the sensitive spectral indices as the independent variables, the nitrogen retrieval models were established, and the model with the best accuracy was used for spatial retrieve. The correlations between the spectral indices and the nitrogen nutritional status were in the order of canopy > leaf > flower. The sensitive indices were mainly composed of green, red, and near infrared bands. The accuracy of the retrieval models was in the order of support vector regression > multi-variable stepwise regression > one-variable regression. The retrieval results based on different images were similar, and showed that the leaf nitrogen content was mainly of grades 3-4 (27-33 g x kg(-1)), and the canopy nitrogen nutrient indices were mainly of grades 2-4 (TM: 38-47 g x kg(-1); ALOS: 32-41 g x kg(-1)). The spatial distribution of the retrieval nitrogen nutritional status based on different images also showed the similar trend, i. e., the nitrogen nutritional status was higher in the north and south than that in the middle part of the study area, and the areas with the high grades of leaf nitrogen and canopy nitrogen were mainly located in Sujiadian Town and Songshan subdistrict in the northwest, Zangjiazhuang Town and Tingkou Town in the northeast, and Shewopo Town in the south, which were consistent with the distribution of the key towns for apple production in Qixia City. This study provided a feasible method for the acquisition of nitrogen nutritional status of apple trees on macroscopic scale, and also, provided reference for other similar remote sensing retrievals.

[Quantitative remote sensing retrieval of apple tree canopy reflectance at blossom stage in hilly area].

By using the TM and ALOS images with different resolutions at the prosperous blossom stage of apple trees in Qixia City of Shandong Province, and taking the slope aspect coefficient and the ratio of canopy flower to leaf into account, the ground surface reflectance was retrieved through radiometric correction. The canopy reflectance of the apple trees was further retrieved by pixel unmixing method, and the retrieval effect and accuracy were assessed by the comparison of the retrieved reflectance with the measured canopy reflectance and apparent reflectance of 30 sample apple orchards. The results showed that radiometric correction effectively weakened the effects of atmosphere and topography, recovered the ground objects in the shadows, and obviously enhanced the analytical ability of ground surface retrieval reflectance images. Either TM or ALOS images, both the absolute and relative errors between retrieval reflectance and measured reflectance of apple tree canopy were the smallest. The relative errors of all bands were consistent, and its variation trend among the 30 sample apple orchards was also consistent with the measured reflectance, which showed the necessary of pixel unmixing. Moreover, the changes of the reflectance among the sample apple orchards showed similar characteristics when the retrieval method was used for different resolution images. The images with high resolution were more superior, but, because of band limitation, it would be better to integrate the high resolution images with moderate resolution images.

Enhanced co-production of hydrogen and poly-(R)-3-hydroxybutyrate by recombinant PHB producing E. coli over-expressing hydrogenase 3 and acetyl-CoA synthetase.

Recombinant Escherichia coli was constructed for co-production of hydrogen and polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) due to its rapid growth and convenience of genetic manipulation. In particular, anaerobic metabolic pathways dedicated to co-production of hydrogen and PHB were established due to the advantages of directing fluxes away from toxic compounds such as formate and acetate to useful products. Here, recombinant E. coli expressing hydrogenase 3 and/or acetyl-CoA synthetase showed improved PHB and hydrogen production when grown with or without acetate as a carbon source. When hydrogenase 3 was over-expressed, hydrogen yield was increased from 14 to 153 mmol H(2)/mol glucose in a mineral salt (MS) medium with glucose as carbon source, accompanied by an increased PHB yield from 0.55 to 5.34 mg PHB/g glucose in MS medium with glucose and acetate as carbon source.

Cloning large gene clusters from E. coli using in vitro single-strand overlapping annealing.

Despite recent advances in genomic sequencing and DNA chemical synthesis, construction of large gene clusters containing DNA fragments is still a difficult and expensive task. To tackle this problem, we developed a gene cluster extraction method based on in vitro single-strand overlapping annealing (SSOA). It starts with digesting the target gene cluster in an existing genome, followed by recovering digested chromosome fragments. Subsequently, the single-strand DNA overhangs formed from the digestion process would be specifically annealed and covalently joined together with a circular and a linear vector, respectively. The SSOA method was successfully applied to clone a 18 kb DNA fragment encoding NADH:ubiquinone oxidoreductase. Genomic DNA fragments of different sizes including 11.86, 18.33, 28.67, 34.56, and 55.99 kb were used to test the cloning efficiency. Combined with genetic information from KEGG and the KEIO strain collection, this method will be useful to clone any specific region of an E. coli genome at sizes less than ~28 kb. The method provides a cost-effective way for genome assembly, alternative to chemically synthesized gene clusters.

Topical application of aloperine improves 2,4-dinitrofluorobenzene-induced atopic dermatitis-like skin lesions in NC/Nga mice.

Aloperine has been shown to inhibit 2,4-dinitrofluorobenzene (DNFB) induced allergic contact dermatitis in BALB/c mice. In the present study, we further investigated the effect of aloperine on DNFB-induced atopic dermatitis-like skin lesions in NC/Nga mice. NC/Nga mice elicited atopic dermatitis-like skin lesions after the topical application of DNFB. Aloperine treatment significantly inhibited dermatitis index and ear thickness in DNFB-treated NC/Nga mice in a dose-dependent manner. Eosinophils, mast cells infiltration into the ears and plasma level of immunoglobulin (Ig) E were also suppressed by aloperine treatment. Finally, cytokine (interleukin (IL)-1ß, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, IL-13, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and interferon (IFN)-γ) productions in ear biopsies homogenates were significantly elevated after DNFB challenge. Topical application of aloperine increased the immunosuppressive cytokine IL-10 level, while it reduced other cytokines production in a dose-dependent manner. Taken together, these data suggest that aloperine may be one of the effective therapeutic agents for the treatment of atopic dermatitis.

Effects and mechanisms of aloperine on 2, 4-dinitrofluorobenzene-induced allergic contact dermatitis in BALB/c mice.

Allergic contact dermatitis is a prototypic T-cell-mediated cutaneous inflammatory response. Multiple cell types, inflammatory mediators and cytokines are involved in the regulation of immunologic and inflammatory processes in allergic contact dermatitis. Aloperine is an isolated alkaloid found in the plant of Sophora alopecuroides L. It has been clinically proved effective in China for a long time for skin inflammatory diseases such as allergic contact dermatitis. However, the mechanism of aloperine on allergic contact dermatitis is largely unknown. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the effect of aloperine on 2, 4-dinitrofluorobenzene (DNFB)-induced allergic contact dermatitis in BALB/c mice and the possible underlying mechanisms. The results showed that topical application of DNFB on the ear provoked typical allergic contact dermatitis with ear swelling and ear erythema in BALB/c mice. Treatments with 1% aloperine suppressed DNFB-induced increase in ear thickness and ear erythema. Moreover, 1% aloperine treatment significantly decreased the up-regulated mRNA and protein levels of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) induced by DNFB in ear biopsy homogenates. Our findings suggest that aloperine greatly improves the DNFB-induced allergic contact dermatitis in mice. The therapeutic mechanism might be related to the reduction of TNF-alpha, IL-1beta and IL-6 production induced by DNFB.

[Spatiotemporal variation of eco-environmental frangibility based on remote sensing and catastrophe theory: a case study of Kenli County in Yellow River Delta, China].

Based on remote sensing and the nonlinear theories of entropy and catastrophe, the spatiotemporal variation of eco-environmental frangibility in Kenli County of Yellow River Delta was analyzed through the installation of sampling plots. The methods of analyzing and estimating eco-environmental frangibility were also established. The results indicated that in 1987-2005, the environment of Kenli County tended to deteriorating, and two catastrophes of environmental frangibility occurred, one in 1997, and the other in 2004. The former catastrophe was mainly caused by storm tide and the water shortage from Yellow River, with the main appearance characteristics being habitat change and dominant species substitution, while the latter one was mainly from the water shortage from Yellow River, increase of evaporation-precipitation ratio, a great deal construction of reservoir, and increases of traffic road and population density, with the main appearances of the changes in vegetation type and coverage ratio. The analysis on the spatial variations of the environmental frangibility along the directions of different distances to the Yellow River and to the ocean testified the spatial gradual change pattern of the frangibility. This research was a new attempt, and provided an effective way for the quantitative measurement of environmental frangibility.

[Study on index of osteoporosis with height-shortening value for self-examination in middle-aged and elderly population].

OBJECTIVE: To probe into the application value of the height shortening value as the self-examination index of the middle-aged and aged group's osteoporosis or reduced bone mineral density in communities. METHODS: Four communities were selected by cluster sampling at random in Changsha city to be the objects of study, among which women were 45 years old or older and men were 60 years old. Difference and the percentage proportion of the height shortening between the height of the research objects which was measured at their youth and the height measured at this study, were calculated. Mineral density of the anteroposterior lumber spine L2-L4, the left femur neck of each object of study with the DPX-IQ dual energy X-ray (DEXA) were both examined. Results examined by DEXA were recognized as "Golden Standards" and different absolute and relative height shortening values were taken as positive cutoff points. Sensitivity, specificity and Youden's index were calculated to draw the receiver operator characteristic curve in order to get the positive cutoff which was most suitable to both sensitivity and specificity, and to calculate the predicative values of that self-examination method among different groups. RESULTS: 3 cm of height shortened seemed to be the positive cutoff of the self-examination of osteoporosis, and its sensitivity, specificity and Youden's index were 75.4%, 76.7% and 0.521 respectively. 2 cm of height shortened was suggested as the positive cutoff of the self-examination method of reduced bone mineral density, while its sensitivity, specificity and Youden's index were 81.7%, 75.6% and 0.573 respectively. In this self-examination method, positive predicative value was the highest (76.4%; 88.7%) among the women group aged over 65. CONCLUSION: Certain height-shortening value could be used as the rough index of screening osteoporosis of reduced bone mineral density, which set a simple and easy way of self-examination for the middle-aged and elderly population.