Germination Requirement and Suitable Storage Method of Hydrocharis dubia Seeds.

Understanding of seed germination requirements and storage methods is very important to successfully conserve and restore aquatic vegetation. The main question addressed by the research was germination requirements and suitable seed storage methods of Hydrocharis dubia seeds. Furthermore, the water content and respiration rate of H. dubia seeds were studied under different storage conditions. The study found that light and high seed clustering density had a positive effect on germination, while burial had a negative effect. Germination percentages were 60.67 ± 6.11% and 28.40 ± 6.79% in light and dark conditions, respectively. Under clustering densities of 1 and 50, germination percentages were 6.00 ± 2.00% and 59.33 ± 0.67%, respectively. Germination percentages were 50.40 ± 5.00%, 3.20 ± 3.20%, and 0.80 ± 0.80% at depths of 0, 2, and 3 cm, respectively. Oxygen, water level, and substratum had no significant effect on seed germination. Storage method had a significant effect on seed germination, moisture content, and respiration rate. The germination percentages were 64.00 ± 1.67%, 85.20 ± 5.04%, and 92.80 ± 4.27% under the storage conditions of 4 °C-Dry, 4 °C-Wet, and Ambient water temperature-Wet for 2 years, respectively. The seeds had no germination under the storage conditions of Ambient air temperature-Wet and Ambient air temperature-Dry. Overall, the study indicates that seed germination of H. dubia is restricted by light, burial depth, and seed clustering density. Additionally, it was found that H. dubia seeds can be stored in wet environmental conditions at ambient water temperature, similar to seed banks. Specifically, the seeds can be stored in sand and submerged underwater at ambient water temperatures ranging from 4 °C to 25 °C. This study will help with the conservation and restoration of aquatic plants, such as H. dubia.

Long-chain acyl-CoA synthetase 4-mediated mitochondrial fatty acid metabolism and dendritic cell antigen presentation.

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to investigate the role of Acyl-CoA synthetase 4 (ACSL4) in mediating mitochondrial fatty acid metabolism and dendritic cell (DC) antigen presentation in the immune response associated with asthma. METHODS: RNA sequencing was employed to identify key genes associated with mitochondrial function and fatty acid metabolism in DCs. ELISA was employed to assess the levels of fatty acid metabolism in DCs. Mitochondrial morphology was evaluated using laser confocal microscopy, structured illumination microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. Flow cytometry and immunofluorescence were utilized to detect changes in mitochondrial superoxide generation in DCs, followed by immunofluorescence co-localization analysis of ACSL4 and the mitochondrial marker protein COXIV. Subsequently, pathological changes and immune responses in mouse lung tissue were observed. ELISA was conducted to measure the levels of fatty acid metabolism in lung tissue DCs. qRT-PCR and western blotting were employed to respectively assess the expression levels of mitochondrial-associated genes (ATP5F1A, VDAC1, COXIV, TFAM, iNOS) and proteins (ATP5F1A, VDAC1, COXIV, TOMM20, iNOS) in lung tissue DCs. Flow cytometry was utilized to analyze changes in the expression of surface antigens presented by DCs in lung tissue, specifically the MHCII molecule and the co-stimulatory molecules CD80/86. RESULTS: The sequencing results reveal that ACSL4 is a crucial gene regulating mitochondrial function and fatty acid metabolism in DCs. Inhibiting ACSL4 reduces the levels of fatty acid oxidases in DCs, increases arachidonic acid levels, and decreases A-CoA synthesis. Simultaneously, ACSL4 inhibition leads to an increase in mitochondrial superoxide production (MitoSOX) in DCs, causing mitochondrial rupture, vacuolization, and sparse mitochondrial cristae. In mice, ACSL4 inhibition exacerbates pulmonary pathological changes and immune responses, reducing the fatty acid metabolism levels within lung tissue DCs and the expression of mitochondria-associated genes and proteins. This inhibition induces an increase in the expression of MHCII antigen presentation molecules and co-stimulatory molecules CD80/86 in DCs. CONCLUSIONS: The research findings indicate that ACSL4-mediated mitochondrial fatty acid metabolism and dendritic cell antigen presentation play a crucial regulatory role in the immune response of asthma. This discovery holds promise for enhancing our understanding of the mechanisms underlying asthma pathogenesis and potentially identifying novel targets for its prevention and treatment.

Guest-Regulated Generation of Reactive Oxygen Species from Porphyrin-Based Multicomponent Metallacages for Selective Photocatalysis.

The development of novel materials for highly efficient and selective photocatalysis is crucial for their practical applications. Herein, we employ the host-guest chemistry of porphyrin-based metallacages to regulate the generation of reactive oxygen species and further use them for the selective photocatalytic oxidation of benzyl alcohols. Upon irradiation, the sole metallacage (6) can generate singlet oxygen (1O2) effectively via excited energy transfer, while its complex with C70 (6⊃C70) opens a pathway for electron transfer to promote the formation of superoxide anion (O2⋅-), producing both 1O2 and O2⋅-. The addition of 4,4'-bipyridine (BPY) to complex 6⊃C70 forms a more stable complex (6⊃BPY) via the coordination of the Zn-porphyrin faces of 6 and BPY, which drives fullerenes out of the cavities and restores the ability of 1O2 generation. Therefore, benzyl alcohols are oxidized into benzyl aldehydes upon irradiation in the presence of 6 or 6⊃BPY, while they are oxidized into benzoic acids when 6⊃C70 is employed as the photosensitizing agent. This study demonstrates a highly efficient strategy that utilizes the host-guest chemistry of metallacages to regulate the generation of reactive oxygen species for selective photooxidation reactions, which could promote the utilization of metallacages and their related host-guest complexes for photocatalytic applications.

A Chinese verb semantic feature dataset (CVFD).

Language is an advanced cognitive function of humans, and verbs play a crucial role in language. To understand how the human brain represents verbs, it is critical to analyze what knowledge humans have about verbs. Thus, several verb feature datasets have been developed in different languages such as English, Spanish, and German. However, there is still a lack of a dataset of Chinese verbs. In this study, we developed a semantic feature dataset of 1140 Chinese Mandarin verbs (CVFD) with 11 dimensions including verb familiarity, agentive subject, patient, action effector, perceptual modality, instrumentality, emotional valence, action imageability, action complexity, action intensity, and the usage scenario of action. We calculated the semantic features of each verb and the correlation between dimensions. We also compared the difference between action, mental, and other verbs and gave some examples about how to use CVFD to classify verbs according to different dimensions. Finally, we discussed the potential applications of CVFD in the fields of neuroscience, psycholinguistics, cultural differences, and artificial intelligence. All the data can be found at https://osf.io/pv29z/ .

Chiral Plasmonic Hybrid Nanostructures: A Gateway to Advanced Chiroptical Materials.

Chirality introduces a new dimension of functionality to materials, unlocking new possibilities across various fields. When integrated with plasmonic hybrid nanostructures, this attribute synergizes with plasmonic and other functionalities, resulting in unprecedented chiroptical materials that push the boundaries of the system's capabilities. Recent advancements have illuminated the remarkable chiral light-matter interactions within chiral plasmonic hybrid nanomaterials, allowing for the harnessing of their tunable optical activity and hybrid components. These advancements have led to applications in areas such as chiral sensing, catalysis, and spin optics. Despite these promising developments, there remains a need for a comprehensive synthesis of the current state-of-the-art knowledge, as well as a thorough understanding of the construction techniques and practical applications in this field. This review begins with an exploration of the origins of plasmonic chirality and an overview of the latest advancements in the synthesis of chiral plasmonic hybrid nanostructures. Furthermore, representative emerging categories of hybrid nanomaterials are classified and summarized, elucidating their versatile applications. Finally, the review engages with the fundamental challenges associated with chiral plasmonic hybrid nanostructures and offer insights into the future prospects of this advanced field.

Genetic Programming for Document Classification: A Transductive Transfer Learning System.

Document classification is a challenging task to the data being high-dimensional and sparse. Many transfer learning methods have been investigated for improving the classification performance by effectively transferring knowledge from a source domain to a target domain, which is similar to but different from the source domain. However, most of the existing methods cannot handle the case that the training data of the target domain does not have labels. In this study, we propose a transductive transfer learning system, utilizing solutions evolved by genetic programming (GP) on a source domain to automatically pseudolabel the training data in the target domain in order to train classifiers. Different from many other transfer learning techniques, the proposed system pseudolabels target-domain training data to retrains classifiers using all target-domain features. The proposed method is examined on nine transfer learning tasks, and the results show that the proposed transductive GP system has better prediction accuracy on the test data in the target domain than existing transfer learning approaches including subspace alignment-domain adaptation methods, feature-level-domain adaptation methods, and one latest pseudolabeling strategy-based method.

Chirality Engineering of Colloidal Copper Oxide Nanostructures for Tailored Spin-Polarized Catalysis.

The combination of the chiral concept and inorganic nanostructures holds great potential for significantly impacting catalytic processes and products. However, the synthesis of inorganic nanomaterials with engineered chiroptical activity and identical structure and size presents a substantial challenge, impeding exploration of the relationship between chirality (optical activity) and catalytic efficiency. Here, we present a facile wet-chemical synthesis for achieving intrinsic and tunable chiroptical activity within colloidal copper oxide nanostructures. These nanostructures exhibit strong spin-polarization selectivity compared with their achiral counterparts. More importantly, the ability to engineer chiroptical activity within the same type of chiral nanostructures allows for the manipulation of spin-dependent catalysis, facilitating a study of the connection between the chiroptical magnitude (asymmetric factor) and catalytic performance in inorganic nanostructures. Specifically, using these materials as model catalysts in a proof-of-concept catalytic reaction, we reveal a linear correlation between the asymmetric factor of chiral nanomaterials and the efficiency of the catalytic reaction. This work paves the way for the development of chiral inorganic nanosystems and their application in catalysis through chiroptical engineering.

Chiral Inorganic Nanomaterials for Photo(electro)catalytic Conversion.

Chiral inorganic nanomaterials due to their unique asymmetric nanostructures have gradually demonstrated intriguing chirality-dependent performance in photo(electro)catalytic conversion, such as water splitting. However, understanding the correlation between chiral inorganic characteristics and the photo(electro)catalytic process remains challenging. In this perspective, we first highlight the chirality source of inorganic nanomaterials and briefly introduce photo(electro)catalysis systems. Then, we delve into an in-depth discussion of chiral effects exerted by chiral nanostructures and their photo-electrochemistry properties, while emphasizing the emerging chiral inorganic nanomaterials for photo(electro)catalytic conversion. Finally, the challenges and opportunities of chiral inorganic nanomaterials for photo(electro)catalytic conversion are prospected. This perspective provides a comprehensive overview of chiral inorganic nanomaterials and their potential in photo(electro)catalytic conversion, which is beneficial for further research in this area.

Development and validation of a simple-to-use nomogram for predicting the delayed radiographic recovery in children with mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia complicated with atelectasis.

This study aimed to develop and validate a simple-to-use nomogram for predicting the delayed radiographic recovery in children with mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia (MPP) complicated with atelectasis. A retrospective study of 306 children with MPP complicated with atelectasis was performed at the Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University from February 2017 to March 2020.The patients were divided into recovery group and delayed recovery group based on chest CT scan 1 month after discharge. A least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression model was used to identify the optimal predictors, and the predictive nomogram was plotted by multivariable logistic regression. The nomogram was assessed by calibration, discrimination, and clinical utility. LASSO regression analysis identified that lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), duration of illness prior to bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL), systemic glucocorticoid use and extrapulmonary complications were the optimal predictors for delayed radiographic recovery. The nomogram was plotted by the four predictors. The area under the Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve of the nomogram was 0.840 (95% CI = 784 ∼ 0.896) in the training set and 0.833 (95% CI = 0.8737 ∼ 0.930) in the testing set. The calibration curve demonstrated that the nomogram was well-fitted, and decision curve analysis (DCA) showed that the nomogram was clinically beneficial. This study developed and validated a simple-to-use nomogram for predicting delayed radiographic recovery in children with MPP complicated with atelectasis. This might be generally applied in clinical practice.

Molecular cloning, prokaryotic expression and its application potential evaluation of interferon (IFN)-ω of forest musk deer.

Forest musk deer (Moschus berezovskii) are currently a threatened species under conservation, and the development of captive populations is restricted by health problems. To evaluate the application potential of interferon (IFN)-ω in the prevention and control of forest musk deer disease, 5 forest musk deer IFN-ω (fmdIFNω) gene sequences were successfully obtained by homologous cloning method for the first time. FmdIFNω5 was selected and recombinant fmdIFNω protein (rIFNω) was successfully expressed by pGEX-6P-1 plasmid and E. coli expression system. The obtained protein was used to stimulate forest musk deer lung fibroblasts cells FMD-C1 to determine its regulatory effect on interferon-stimulated genes (ISGs). In addition, an indirect ELISA method based on anti-rIFNω serum was established to detect endogenous IFN-ω levels in 8 forest musk deer. The results showed that there were 18 amino acid differences among the 5 fmdIFNω subtypes, all of which had the basic structure to exert the activity of type I IFN and were close to Cervus elaphus IFN-ω in the phylogenetic tree. The protein expressed was 48 kDa, and the transcription levels of all ISGs were increased in FMD-C1 cells stimulated by rIFNω, and the amount of transcription accumulation was time-dependent. Meanwhile, Anti-rIFNω serum of mice could react with both rIFNω and forest musk deer serum, and the OD450nm value of forest musk deer serum with the most obvious symptoms was the highest, suggesting that the level of natural IFN-ω in different forest musk deer could be monitored by the rIFNω-based ELISA method. These results indicate that fmdIFNω has the potential as an antiviral drug and an early indication of innate immunity, which is of great significance for the prevention and control of forest musk deer diseases.

Multicolor Circularly Polarized Luminescence from Inorganic Crystalline Nanostructures Induced by Atomic Chirality.

Circularly polarized luminescence (CPL) is well-studied in molecular systems but has been rarely reported in pure inorganic nanoscale crystals. Herein, we develop a family of pure inorganic rare-earth nanowires with robust and color-tunable CPL emissions. The chiral rare earth nanowires possess intrinsic atomic chirality with controlled handedness that is guided by the enantiomers with molecular chirality in the synthesis. By varying luminescent ions incorporated in the crystal lattice, color-tunable CPL can be achieved and is thermally robust, preserving emission over 300 °C, distinct from existing CPL-active materials. Moreover, as a proof of concept, we demonstrate that the synthesized nanostructures can be easily dispersed in a polymer matrix to enable transparent and flexible CPL films. This study opens up a promising avenue to design robust and tunable CPL materials helpful to the understanding of inorganic chiral information and capable of further applications in novel optoelectronic devices.

Direct Arylation of Silicon Nanocrystals with Hexadehydro-Diels-Alder-Derived Benzynes.

Colloidal silicon nanocrystals (SiNCs) have garnered significant interest in optoelectronics and biomedical applications. Direct arylation provides pathways to enhance the solution processability of particles and manipulate the photophysical and electronic properties of SiNCs. Unfortunately, existing methods employed to prepare aryl-functionalized SiNCs are based on organometallic coupling or transition-metal-catalyzed strategies, which require metal-based reagents for preactivation or the precursors and complicated post-treatment processes for product purification. Herein, we demonstrate a metal-free method that directly functionalizes SiNCs with aryl-based ligands. We design a series of benzyne derivatives formed from the thermal cyclization of predesigned alkynes, allowing efficient arylation on hydride-terminated silicon surfaces under mild conditions. These aryl-functionalized SiNCs exhibit strong blue emissions with nanosecond-scaled decay, suggesting the formation of a new radiative recombination channel on SiNC surfaces.

In Situ Interfacial Super-Assembly of Nanobiohybrids through Plant for Food-Grade Oral Medicine.

Developing a next-generation oral drug delivery system with enhanced efficacy and limited side effects is highly desired for refractory diseases treatment such as colitis. The bioinspired assembly of drugs within food-grade plants highlights its potential value of this unique hybrid material. Herein, we report the preparation of drug-encapsulated vegetable nanobiohybrid superassembled frameworks as an oral food-grade drug delivery system (SAF-FGDD). The in situ superassembly of SAF-FGDD driven by natural transpiration from living plants is carried out through a sustainable and low-carbon manner, allowing for the assembly of distinct precursors inside edible living plants. As an example, mesalazine, an anti-inflammatory drug, is encapsulated in the frameworks for colitis treatment. The cell activity and feeding experiments of zebrafish and mice demonstrate the excellent efficacy of this SAF-FGDD. Compared with those of the control groups, the disease activity index scores and histological scores of the SAF-FGDD group were significantly decreased by 80% and 98%, respectively. The improved performance is attributed to the biocompatibility and protective effect of SAF-FGDD, allowing for abundant mesalazine to be released and act at the site of the intestine during the process of food digestion. In combination with mature soilless cultivation technology, plant-based organisms with natural structure-forming abilities possess broad commercial prospects in large-scale production of various food-grade functional materials.

MicroRNA let-7f-5p regulates PI3K/AKT/COX2 signaling pathway in bacteria-induced pulmonary fibrosis via targeting of PIK3CA in forest musk deer.

Background: Recent studies have characterized that microRNA (miRNA) is a suitable candidate for the study of bleomycin/LPS-induced pulmonary fibrosis, but the knowledge on miRNA in bacteria-induced pulmonary fibrosis (BIPF) is limited. Forest musk deer (Moschus berezovskii, FMD) is an important endangered species that has been seriously affected by BIPF. We sought to determine whether miRNA exist that modulates the pathogenesis of BIPF in FMD. Methods: High-throughput sequencing and RT-qPCR were used to determine the differentially expressed miRNAs (DEmiRNAs) in the blood of BIPF FMD. The DEmiRNAs were further detected in the blood and lung of BIPF model rat by RT-qPCR, and the targeting relationship between candidate miRNA and its potential target gene was verified by dual-luciferase reporter activity assay. Furthermore, the function of the candidate miRNA was verified in the FMD lung fibroblast cells (FMD-C1). Results: Here we found that five dead FMD were suffered from BIPF, and six circulating miRNAs (miR-30g, let-7f-5p, miR-27-3p, miR-25-3p, miR-9-5p and miR-652) were differentially expressed in the blood of the BIPF FMD. Of these, let-7f-5p showed reproducibly lower level in the blood and lung of the BIPF model rat, and the expression levels of PI3K/AKT/COX2 signaling pathway genes (PIK3CA, PDK1, Akt1, IKBKA, NF-κB1 and COX2) were increased in the lung of BIPF model rats, suggesting that there is a potential correlation between BIPF and the PI3K/AKT/COX2 signaling pathway. Notably, using bioinformatic prediction and experimental verification, we demonstrated that let-7f-5p is conserved across mammals, and the seed sequence of let-7f-5p displays perfect complementarity with the 3' UTR of PIK3CA gene and the expression of the PIK3CA gene was regulated by let-7f-5p. In order to determine the regulatory relationship between let-7f-5p and the PI3K/AKT/COX2 signaling pathway in FMD, we successfully cultured FMD-C1, and found that let-7f-5p could act as a negative regulator for the PI3K/Akt/COX2 signaling pathway in FMD-C1. Collectively, this study not only provided a study strategy for non-invasive research in pulmonary disease in rare animals, but also laid a foundation for further research in BIPF.

Clinical and genetic features of primary ciliary dyskinesia in a cohort of consecutive clinically suspect children in western China.

BACKGROUND: Primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) is a rare, inherited disorder of the motile cilia that exhibits genetic and clinical heterogeneity among different populations. PCD diagnosis remains challenging owing to the heterogeneity of associated clinical features and lack of a gold standard diagnostic test. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to analyze the clinical and genetic characteristics of a group of children with clinically suspected PCD in one region of China, with the goal of providing a more robust knowledge base regarding the genetic stratification underlying this disease in Chinese populations. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed the data from 38 patients with clinically suspected PCD who had undergone next-generation sequencing (NGS) between November 2016 and March 2021 in the respiratory department of a tertiary Children's hospital in Western China. The genetic features of the confirmed cases were summarized by reviewing data associated with other cohorts of Chinese children. RESULTS: Overall, 16 patients were ultimately diagnosed with PCD with a median age of 8.5 years. All patients presented with a chronic wet cough, 93.75% exhibited chronic or recurrent sinusitis/rhinitis, 43.75% experienced recurrent wheezing, 56.25% reported respiratory symptoms present since infancy, 31.25% had a history of neonatal respiratory distress (NRD), and 25% exhibited otitis media. Only 18.75% of these patients exhibited laterality defects. High frequencies of DNAH11 mutations were detected by integrating data from PCD patient cohorts in China. CONCLUSION: The high frequency of DNAH11 mutations may limit the utility of transmission electron microscopy (TEM) as a first-line approach to diagnosing PCD in China in the absence of other indicators.

Clinical Analysis of Primary Tracheobronchial Tumors in Children and Evaluation of the Predicting Models for Mucoepidermoid Carcinoma.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the clinical characteristics and prognosis of primary tracheobronchial tumors (PTTs) in children, and to explore the most common tumor identification methods. METHODS: The medical records of children with PTTs who were hospitalized at the Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University from January 1995 to January 2020 were reviewed retrospectively. The clinical features, imaging, treatments, and outcomes of these patients were statistically analyzed. Machine learning techniques such as Gaussian naïve Bayes, support vector machine (SVM) and decision tree models were used to identify mucoepidermoid carcinoma (ME). RESULTS: A total of 16 children were hospitalized with PTTs during the study period. This included 5 (31.3%) children with ME, 3 (18.8%) children with inflammatory myofibroblastic tumors (IMT), 2 children (12.5%) with sarcomas, 2 (12.5%) children with papillomatosis and 1 child (6.3%) each with carcinoid carcinoma, adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC), hemangioma, and schwannoma, respectively. ME was the most common tumor type and amongst the 3 ME recognition methods, the SVM model showed the best performance. The main clinical symptoms of PPTs were cough (81.3%), breathlessness (50%), wheezing (43.8%), progressive dyspnea (37.5%), hemoptysis (37.5%), and fever (25%). Of the 16 patients, 7 were treated with surgery, 8 underwent bronchoscopic tumor resection, and 1 child died. Of the 11 other children, 3 experienced recurrence, and the last 8 remained disease-free. No deaths were observed during the follow-up period. CONCLUSION: PTT are very rare in children and the highest percentage of cases is due to ME. The SVM model was highly accurate in identifying ME. Chest CT and bronchoscopy can effectively diagnose PTTs. Surgery and bronchoscopic intervention can both achieve good clinical results and the prognosis of the 11 children that were followed up was good.

Feeding Alginate-Coated Liquid Metal Nanodroplets to Silkworms for Highly Stretchable Silk Fibers.

In this study, we fed the larval of Bombyx mori silkworms with nanodroplets of liquid metal (LM) coated with microgels of marine polysaccharides to obtain stretchable silk. Alginate-coated liquid metal nanodroplets (LM@NaAlg) were prepared with significant chemical stability and biocompatibility. This study demonstrates how the fed LM@NaAlg acts on the as-spun silk fiber. We also conducted a series of characterizations and steered molecular dynamics simulations, which showed that the LM@NaAlg additions impede the conformation transition of silk fibroins from the random coil and α-helix to the ß-sheet by the formation of hydrogen bonds between LM@NaAlg and the silk fibroins, thus enhancing the elongation at the breakpoints in addition to the tensile properties. The intrinsically highly stretchable silk showed outstanding mechanical properties compared with regular silk due to its 814 MPa breaking strength and a breaking elongation of up to 70%-the highest reported performance so far. We expect that the proposed method can expand the fabrication of multi-functional silks.

Reassessing the role of tracheobronchomalacia in persistent wheezing.

BACKGROUND: Tracheobronchomalacia (TBM) is often manifested as wheezing. Reassessing the role of TBM in persistent wheezing in children is essential. METHODS: We selected children who were diagnosed with TBM by bronchoscopy and who underwent bronchoscopic reexamination for persistent wheezing or chronic cough between January 2009 and July 2019. The clinical and bronchoscopy data were collected and retrospectively reviewed. For statistical analysis, we used the Kaplan-Meier method, Kruskal-Wallis test, and Fisher exact test. RESULTS: A total of 79 patients (57 males and 22 females) were included. The median age of the first TBM diagnosis was 7 (interquartile [IQR] 4-11) months. The median age of the first wheezing episode was 4 (IQR 3-7) months. During the time interval between the two bronchoscopies, malacia lesions resolved in 50 patients (63.3%), improvement was seen in 14 patients (17.7%), no change was observed in 11 patients (13.9%), and the condition was aggravated in 4 patients (5.1%). The malacia lesions in 37 patients resolved before 2 years of age. Among the 50 resolved patients, 22 patients (44.0%) reported wheezing three times or more between bronchoscopy evaluations, and 13 of these 22 patients (59.1%) with atopy or family history of allergic diseases were ultimately diagnosed with bronchial asthma. CONCLUSIONS: In children with persistent wheezing, the role of TBM should be reassessed, especially in those with atopy or family history of allergic diseases, and bronchial asthma should be considered early.

Interfacially Super-Assembled Benzimidazole Derivative-Based Mesoporous Silica Nanoprobe for Sensitive Copper (II) Detection and Biosensing in Living Cells.

Mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) functionalized with benzimidazole-derived fluorescent molecules (DHBM) are fabricated via a feasible interfacial superassembly strategy for the highly sensitive and selective detection of Cu2+ . DHBM-MSN exhibits an obvious quenching effect on Cu2+ in aqueous solutions, and the detection limit can be as low as 7.69×10-8  M. The DHBM-MSN solid-state sensor has good recyclability, and the silica framework can simultaneously improve the photostability of DHBM. Two mesoporous silica nanoparticles with different morphologies were specially designed to verify that nanocarriers with different morphologies do not affect the specific detectionability. The detection mechanism of the fluorescent probe was systematically elucidated by combining experimental results and density function theory calculations. Moreover, the detection system was successfully applied to detect Cu2+ in bovine serum, juice, and live cells. These results indicate that the DHBM-MSN fluorescent sensor holds great potential in practical and biomedical applications.

Consistency between nasopharyngeal aspirates and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid in pathogen detection in children with pneumonia: an analysis of 533 cases. / 533ä¾‹è‚ºç‚Žå„¿ç«¥é¼»å’½æŠ½å¸ç‰©å’Œæ”¯æ°”ç®¡è‚ºæ³¡çŒæ´—æ¶²çš„ç— åŽŸæ£€å‡ºä¸€è‡´æ€§åˆ†æž.

OBJECTIVES: To study the consistency between nasopharyngeal aspirates (NPA) and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) in pathogen detection in children with pneumonia. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was performed on the data of pathogens detected in 533 children with pneumonia from February 2017 to March 2020. The paired McNemar's test was used to compare the difference in pathogen detection between NPA and BALF groups. The Kappa coefficient was used to analyze the consistency in pathogen detection between the two groups. RESULTS: NPA had a sensitivity of 28%, a specificity of 74%, a positive predictive value of 14%, and a negative predictive value of 91% in detecting bacteria, and a Kappa coefficient of 0.013 suggested poor consistency between NPA and BALF. NPA had a sensitivity of 52%, a specificity of 81%, a positive predictive value of 24%, and a negative predictive value of 94% in detecting viruses, and a Kappa coefficient of 0.213 suggested poor consistency between NPA and BALF. NPA had a sensitivity of 78%, a specificity of 71%, a positive predictive value of 49%, and a negative predictive value of 90% in detecting Mycoplasma pneumoniae, and a Kappa coefficient of 0.407 suggested moderate consistency between NPA and BALF. CONCLUSIONS: There is poor consistency between NPA and BALF in the detection of bacteria and viruses, and clinicians should be cautious in diagnosing lower respiratory tract infection based on bacteria or viruses detected in NPA. There is moderate consistency between NPA and BALF in the detection of Mycoplasma pneumoniae, suggesting that it may be reliable to diagnose lower respiratory tract infection based on Mycoplasma pneumoniae detected in NPA, while comprehensive judgment in combination with clinical conditions is needed.