Quantitative evaluation of myocardial perfusion in coronary heart disease by myocardial contrast and dobutamine stress echocardiography.

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to investigate how combining myocardial contrast echocardiography (MCE) with dobutamine stress echocardiography (DSE) could help evaluate myocardial perfusion in coronary heart disease patients and understand changes in microcirculation across different levels of coronary artery blockage. METHODS: We conducted MCE and DSE tests on 53 coronary heart disease patients, categorizing ischemic myocardium into four groups: A (<50%), B (50%-69%), C (70%-89%), and D (≥90%). Dynamic myocardial perfusion images were captured during rest and peak dobutamine stress from various angles, analyzing parameters like plateau value A, slope ß, and the product A × ß, reflecting different aspects of myocardial blood flow. RESULTS: Parametric values of myocardial perfusion (PVMPs) were significantly lower in group D at rest compared with other groups (p < 0.001). PVMPs increased notably at peak dobutamine stress in groups A, B, and C (p < 0.001). Groups A and B had higher PVMPs than groups C and D, with group D significantly lower (p < 0.001). ß reserve values decreased gradually from group A to D, with significantly lower values of A and A × ß in groups C and D compared with A and B (p < 0.001). Sensitivity and specificity for predicting >70% coronary artery blockage was 80%, 66%, and 74%, 80%, respectively, using specific thresholds. CONCLUSION: Combining MCE with DSE is highly sensitive and accurate in diagnosing obstructive coronary artery blockages. It also helps assess myocardial microcirculation perfusion and left ventricular reserve function, which decline with increasing severity of coronary artery blockage.

The relationship between homework time and academic performance among K-12: A systematic review.

Background: Homework is a common educational task given to students around the world. It demands mental exertion, but staying focused can be challenging, especially for K-12 students. Too much homework can increase their cognitive load and mental fatigue, leading to decreased motivation and performance. This can cause boredom with homework and learning. To lessen their load and make homework more effective, it is important to establish the connection between homework duration and academic achievement. Objectives: To evaluate the relationship between homework time and academic performance among K-12 students. Search Methods: On November 5, 2021, we retrieved articles from a variety sources. Firstly, we searched 10 electronic databases for related publications, including Academic Search Premier, APA PsycArticles, APA PsycInfo, Business Source Premier, Education Resources Information Center (ERIC), Journal Storage (JSTOR), Learning and Technology Library (LearnTechLib), OCLC FirstSearch, Social Sciences Citation Index (Web of Science), and Teacher Reference Center. We also searched two publisher platforms: ScienceDirect and Taylor & Francis Online Database. Secondly, we consulted five educational organization website such as, American Educational Research Association, Best Evidence Encyclopedia, Education Endowment Foundation, European Educational Research Association, What Works Clearinghouse, and the Open Grey database for unpublished studies. We then searched Open Dissertations and ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global databases to locate the relevant dissertations and theses. Additionally, we hand-searched seven educational journals to identify unpublished documents, reports, and potential studies not indexed in the databases. Lastly, we searched Campbell Library to identify relevant reviews and primary (and nearly eligible studies) in these reviews. We also searched Google Scholar for related studies and checked the citations of eligible studies as well as their bibliographies. Selection Criteria: Studies with the following criteria were included: - Population: K-12 school students with no disabilities or not attending special education schools;- Intervention: Homework assigned regularly by schoolteachers to students to complete during non-school hours;- Comparison: Different time spent on the homework;- Outcomes: Academic performance was the primary outcome. The secondary outcomes were academic motivation and the quality of homework;- Study design: Treatment-control group design or comparison group design studies. Data Collection and Analysis: We reviewed the titles, abstracts, and full texts of the retrieved records. Our team extracted and coded all relevant information from the studies that met our inclusion criteria. To evaluate the risk of bias, we used the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool for randomized controlled trials and ROBINS-I for non-randomized controlled trials. A random-effect meta-analysis was conducted to determine the effect of homework on academic achievement as compared to no homework. A funnel plot, trim-and-fill method and Egger's test were used to test for any publication bias. Due to the insufficient data on homework duration and academic achievement, we analyzed these data using qualitative synthesis. Main Results: Eleven publications were identified that examined the relationship between homework duration and academic outcomes using an experimental design. Based on their focus, we categorized them into two groups: comparisons of homework with no homework and comparison of homework with less homework. There were 10 articles with 14 independent reports that compared academic performance between students who did homework and those who did not. Overall, the meta-analysis revealed that the students who did homework had better academic performance than that those who did not (n = 14; g = 0.45, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.24-0.66; Q = 454.30, I 2 = 71.30%, τ 2 = 0.11), especially in arithmetic computation (n = 5; g = 0.46, 95% CI: 0.17-0.75; Q = 13.03, I 2 = 69.29%, τ 2 = 0.07) and arithmetic problems solving (n = 6; g = 0.17, 95% CI: 0.02-0.33; Q = 6.87, I 2 = 27.17%, τ 2 = 0.01), but not in arithmetic concepts (n = 3, g = -0.02, 95% CI: -0.22-0.18; Q = 1.46, I 2 = 0.00%, τ 2 = 0.00). Two experiments explored the effectiveness of homework moderated by homework time. In Koch (1965), the effects of long daily homework (20-30 min) and short daily homework (10-15 min) were compared. The authors found that achievement in arithmetic concepts was higher with long homework assignments every day. Recently, Dolean and Lervag (2021) confirmed the effect of homework on writing skills, and their findings were consistent with those of Koch (1965), who found that increasing time spent on homework was associated with greater writing achievement (average 20 min each time). Authors' Conclusions: Homework could be used as a supplement to enhance the academic performance of primary school students. However, the optimal amount of time they should dedicate each day to homework to achieve the best results remains uncertain. More high-quality experiments are needed to determine the ideal homework duration for these students. Furthermore, additional research is required to understand the impact of homework on secondary school students.

Distinct Immune Homeostasis Remodeling Patterns after HLA-Matched and Haploidentical Transplantation.

Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) is a widely used treatment for a variety of hematopoietic disorders, and also provides a valuable platform for investigating the development of donor-derived immune cells in recipients post-HSCT. The immune system remodels from the donor to the recipient during allo-HSCT. However, little is known about the cell profile alterations as donor homeostasis rebalances to recipient homeostasis following HSCT. Here, multi-omics technology is applied at both the single cell and bulk sample levels, as well as spectrum flow cytometry and fluorescent transgenic mouse models, to dissect the dynamics of the rebalanced homeostatic immune system in recipients after allo-HSCT. The data reveal that all immune subpopulations observed in donors are successfully restored in recipients, though with varying levels of abundance. The remodeling of immune homeostasis exhibits different patterns in HLA-matched and haploidentical HSCT, highlighting distinct biases in T cell reconstitution from the central and peripheral pathways. Furthermore, ZNF683 is critical for maintaining the persistence and quiescence of CD8 T-cell in haploidentical HSCT. The research can serve as a foundation for developing novel strategies to induce immune tolerance.

Integrative analyses of long and short-read RNA sequencing reveal the spliced isoform regulatory network of seedling growth dynamics in upland cotton.

The polyploid genome of cotton has significantly increased the transcript complexity. Recent advances in full-length transcript sequencing are now widely used to characterize the complete landscape of transcriptional events. Such studies in cotton can help us to explore the genetic mechanisms of the cotton seedling growth. Through long-read single-molecule RNA sequencing, this study compared the transcriptomes of three yield contrasting genotypes of upland cotton. Our analysis identified different numbers of spliced isoforms from 31,166, 28,716, and 28,713 genes in SJ48, Z98, and DT8 cotton genotypes, respectively, most of which were novel compared to previous cotton reference transcriptomes, and showed significant differences in the number of exon structures and coding sequence length due to intron retention. Quantification of isoform expression revealed significant differences in expression in the root and leaf of each genotype. An array of key isoform target genes showed protein kinase or phosphorylation functions, and their protein interaction network contained most of the circadian oscillator proteins. Spliced isoforms from the GIGANTEA (GI) protien were differentially regulated in each genotype and might be expected to regulate translational activities, including the sequence and function of target proteins. In addition, these spliced isoforms generate diurnal expression profiles in cotton leaves, which may alter the transcriptional regulatory network of seedling growth. Silencing of the novel spliced GI isoform Gh_A02G0645_N17 significantly affected biomass traits, contributed to variable growth, and increased transcription of the early flowering pathway gene ELF in cotton. Our high-throughput hybrid sequencing results will be useful to dissect functional differences among spliced isoforms in the polyploid cotton genome.

Large-Scale Synthesis of N,S Codoped Carbon-Modified Fe0.975S Composites as a Novel Anode for Lithium/Sodium Ion Batteries with Enhanced Performance.

To overcome obstacles hindering the commercialization of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) and sodium-ion batteries (SIBs), we introduce a cost-effective single-step sulfurization strategy for synthesizing iron sulfide (Fe0.975S) nanohybrids, augmented by N,S codoped carbon. The resulting N,S codoped carbon-coated Fe0.975S (Fe0.975S@NSC) electrode exhibits exceptional potential as a highly reversible anode material for both LIBs and SIBs. With impressive initial discharge and charge capacities (1658.2 and 1254.9 mAh g-1 for LIBs and 1450.9 and 1077.1 mAh g-1 for SIBs), the electrode maintains substantial capacity retention (900 mA h g-1 after 1000 cycles for LIBs and 492.5 mA h g-1 after 600 cycles for SIBs at 1.0 A g-1). The LiMn2O4//Fe0.975S@NSC and Na3V2(PO4)3//Fe0.975S@NSC full batteries can maintain excellent reversible capacity and robust cycling stability. Ex situ and in situ X-ray diffraction, density functional theory (DFT) calculations, and kinetics analysis confirm the promising energy storage potential of the Fe0.975S@NSC composite.

Microalgae-based biofertilizer improves fruit yield and controls greenhouse gas emissions in a hawthorn orchard.

Raising attentions have focused on how to alleviate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from orchard system while simultaneously increase fruit production. Microalgae-based biofertilizer represents a promising resource for improving soil fertility and higher productivity. However, the effects of microalgae application more especially live microalgae on GHG emissions are understudied. In this study, fruit yield and quality, GHG emissions, as well as soil organic carbon and nitrogen fractions were examined in a hawthorn orchard, under the effects of live microalgae-based biofertilizer applied at three doses and two modes. Compared with conventional fertilization, microalgae improved hawthorn yield by 15.7%-29.6% with a maximal increment at medium dose by root application, and significantly increased soluble and reducing sugars contents at high dose. While microalgae did not increase GHG emissions except for nitrous oxide at high dose by root application, instead it significantly increased methane uptake by 1.5-2.3 times in root application. In addition, microalgae showed an increasing trend in soil organic carbon content, and significantly increased the contents of soil dissolved organic carbon and microbial biomass carbon, as well as soil ammonium nitrogen and dissolved organic nitrogen at medium dose with root application. Overall, the results indicated that the live microalgae could be used as a green biofertilizer for improving fruit yield without increasing GHG emissions intensity and the comprehensive greenhouse effect, in particular at medium dose with root application. We presume that if lowering chemical fertilizer rates, application of the live microalgae-based biofertilizer may help to reduce nitrous oxide emissions without compromising fruit yield and quality.

Association of gut microbiota with lactose intolerance and coeliac disease: a two-sample Mendelian randomization study.

Background and objectives: Lactose intolerance and coeliac disease are common clinical nutrient malabsorption disorders, with an unclear pathogenesis and limited therapeutic options. It is widely believed that the gut microbiota plays an important role in many digestive disorders, but its role in lactose intolerance and coeliac disease is not yet clear. This study aimed to investigate the correlation between gut microbiota and lactose intolerance and coeliac disease. Materials and methods: This study utilized the genome-wide association study database to investigate the association between gut microbiota and lactose intolerance and coeliac disease using Mendelian randomization (MR). The robustness of our findings was confirmed through subsequent analyses including Cochrane's Q statistic, MR-Egger Intercept Regression, MR-PRESSO Global Test and Leave-one-out methods. Results: By employing the inverse variance weighted method, we identified that family Veillonellaceae, genus Oxalobacter and Senegalimassilia were protective against lactose intolerance, whereas genus Anaerotruncus, Eubacterium rectale group and Ruminococcus2 were found to be risk factors for lactose intolerance. Regarding coeliac disease, class Bacilli and Gammaproteobacteria, family FamilyXIII and Veillonellaceae, genus Eisenbergiella, Lachnoclostridium, RuminococcaceaeUCG014 and Ruminococcus2 were identified as protective factors, while class Betaproteobacteria, genus Eubacterium xylanophilum group and Blautia were risk factors. Furthermore, reverse the MR analysis did not reveal any evidence of a causal relationship between lactose intolerance or coeliac disease and the bacteria identified in our study. Conclusion: This study provides novel insights into exploring the role of gut microbiota in lactose intolerance and coeliac disease; however, further experiments investigations are required to elucidate the specific underlying mechanisms.

Depressive symptom as a risk factor for cirrhosis in patients with primary biliary cholangitis: Analysis based on Lasso-logistic regression and decision tree models.

BACKGROUND: Depressive symptoms are frequently observed in patients with primary biliary cholangitis (PBC). The role of depressive symptoms on cirrhosis has not been fully noticed in PBC. We aimed to establish a risk model for cirrhosis that took depressive symptoms into account. METHODS: Depressive symptoms were assessed by the 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD-17). HAMD-17 score was analyzed in relation to clinical parameters. Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (Lasso)-logistic regression and decision tree models were used to explore the effect of depressive symptoms on cirrhosis. RESULTS: The rate of depressive symptom in patients with PBC (n = 162) was higher than in healthy controls (n = 180) (52.5% vs. 16.1%; p < .001). HAMD-17 score was negatively associated with C4 levels and positively associated with levels of alkaline phosphatase (ALP), γ-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT), total bilirubin (TB), Immunoglobulin (Ig) G, and IgM (r = -0.162, 0.197, 0.355, 0.203, 0.182, 0.314, p < .05). In Lasso-logistic regression analysis, HAMD-17 score, human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-DRB1*03:01 allele, age, ALP levels, and IgM levels (odds ratio [OR] = 1.087, 7.353, 1.075, 1.009, 1.005; p < 0.05) were independent risk factors for cirrhosis. Elevated HAMD-17 score was also a discriminating factor for high risk of cirrhosis in patients with PBC in decision tree model. CONCLUSIONS: Depressive symptoms were associated with disease severity. Elevated HAMD-17 score was a risk factor for cirrhosis in patients with PBC.

Associations between sleep disorders and clinical outcomes of patients with primary biliary cholangitis.

PURPOSE: Primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) is a chronic autoimmune liver disease characterized by a range of symptoms, including sleep disturbances. The present study aimed to investigate the prevalence of sleep disorders and the associations between sleep disorders and clinical outcomes in PBC. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We enrolled 177 patients with PBC and 165 healthy controls (age- and sex-matched). Sleep quality was assessed by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Demographic and clinical data were collected from comprehensive clinical records to investigate whether sleep disorder was correlated with disease severity, therapeutic response and liver cirrhosis. RESULTS: The prevalence of sleep disorders in patients with PBC (50.8 â€‹%) was significantly higher than healthy controls (18.2 â€‹%). Patients with sleep disorders presented with higher levels of laboratory parameters including globulin (GLO), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT), total bilirubin (TBIL), direct bilirubin (DBIL) and immunoglobulin M (IgM), as well as higher ratio of poor therapeutic response and liver cirrhosis (p â€‹< â€‹0.05). There was a positive correlation between global PSQI score and AST, ALP, GGT, TBIL, DBIL and IgM in patients with PBC. Patients with poor therapeutic response and liver cirrhosis in PBC had a higher proportion of sleep disorders and more chaotic sleep patterns, whereas a stronger correlation between sleep quality and laboratory parameters was found in patients with liver cirrhosis. CONCLUSIONS: Sleep disorders were prevalent and manifested as adverse effects in PBC. Assessment of sleep quality and intervention were essential to the overall clinical management of patients with PBC.

Identifying popular, rejected and neglected children in Chinese preschool: An exploratory study on the educational application of spatial positioning data.

Amidst the rapid advancement of Internet of Things (IoT) technology and the burgeoning field of Multimodal Learning Analytics (MMLA), this study employs spatial positioning technology as a case study to investigate the potential of multimodal data in assessing children's social development. This study combines the spatial positioning data of preschool children collected during free play sessions in natural educational settings and the spatial metrics constructed based on observational studies to establish and validate a sociometric status Decision Tree classification model. The findings suggest that the model can overall accurately identify children with three distinct sociometric statuses, albeit with some variability in efficacy across different sociometric groups and age groups. Notably, the model demonstrates a high hitting rate in identifying the potentially neglected children, providing valuable support for educators in understanding and fostering children's developmental needs. This study also highlights the advantages of emerging technology and multimodal data application in child development assessment.

Emerging Advances around Nanofluidic Transport and Mass Separation under Confinement in Atomically Thin Nanoporous Graphene.

Membrane separation stands as an environmentally friendly, high permeance and selectivity, low energy demand process that deserves scientific investigation and industrialization. To address intensive demand, seeking appropriate membrane materials to surpass trade-off between permeability and selectivity and improve stability is on the schedule. 2D materials offer transformational opportunities and a revolutionary platform for researching membrane separation process. Especially, the atomically thin graphene with controllable porosity and structure, as well as unique properties, is widely considered as a candidate for membrane materials aiming to provide extreme stability, exponentially large selectivity combined with high permeability. Currently, it has shown promising opportunities to develop separation membranes to tackle bottlenecks of traditional membranes, and it has been of great interest for tremendously versatile applications such as separation, energy harvesting, and sensing. In this review, starting from transport mechanisms of separation, the material selection bank is narrowed down to nanoporous graphene. The study presents an enlightening overview of very recent developments in the preparation of atomically thin nanoporous graphene and correlates surface properties of such 2D nanoporous materials to their performance in critical separation applications. Finally, challenges related to modulation and manufacturing as well as potential avenues for performance improvements are also pointed out.

Integrated Cyano Groups into the Skeleton of Conjugated Polymers to Activate Molecular Oxygen for Boosting Photocatalytic H2O2 Efficiency.

Conjugated polymers (CPs) have shown promising potential in the field of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) photosynthesis. However, a deeper understanding of the interactions between building units and specific functional groups within the molecular skeleton is necessary to elucidate the mechanisms driving H2O2 generation. Herein, a series of typical donor-acceptor (D-A) conjugated polymers (B-B, B-CN, B-DCN) were synthesized by introducing different amounts of cyano groups (-CN) into the molecular skeleton. The strong electron withdrawing properties of cyano can greatly promote the effective separation and transfer of photogenerated charges between building units, resulting in an impressive efficiency of H2O2 generation (2128.5 µmol g-1 h-1) for B-DCN, representing a 96-fold enhancement compared to B-B. More importantly, experimental results and theoretical calculations further revealed that the introduction of -CN can markedly reduce the adsorption energy (Ead) of O2, while serving as an active site to induce the conversion of crucial intermediate superoxide anions (.O2-) into singlet oxygen (1O2), achieving dual-channel H2O2 generation (O2→.O2-→H2O2, O2→.O2-→1O2→H2O2). This work provides valuable insights into the design of efficient H2O2 photosynthesis materials.

Role of Th2, Th17 and Treg Cells and relevant cytokines in pathogenesis of allergic rhinitis.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the role of different cells and molecules in the pathogenesis of allergic rhinitis (AR) with positive Artemisia allergen by detecting their expression levels. METHODS: From January 2021 to December 2022,200 AR patients diagnosed in the Otolaryngology Clinic of Ordos Central Hospital were selected as the AR group, and 50 healthy people who underwent physical examination in the hospital during the same period were randomly selected as the healthy control (HC) group. The levels of GATA-3mRNA, RORγtmRNA and FoxP3mRNA in peripheral blood mononuclear cells were detected by real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR (qRT-PCR). The proportions of Th2, Th17 and Treg cells were detected by flow cytometry. The concentrations of IL-4, IL-5, IL-17 and IL-10 in serum were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The differences of transcription gene level, immune cell ratio and cytokine concentration between the two groups were analyzed. RESULTS: There was no difference in age and gender between the two groups. The levels of GATA-3mRNA and RORγtmRNA transcription genes in peripheral blood mononuclear cells, the percentage of Th2, Th17 and Treg immune cells, the levels of eosinophils and basophils in peripheral blood, the concentrations of IL-4, IL-5, IL-17, IL-10 cytokines and IgE in serum of AR patients were significantly higher than those in HC group (P < 0.05). IL-4 and IL-17 were positively correlated with total IgE level. CONCLUSION: The secretion of immune cells and cytokines in peripheral blood of AR patients is abnormal. Th2, Th17, Treg specific transcription factors and related cells and cytokines are involved in the occurrence and development of allergic rhinitis.

Inflammation and coronary microvascular disease: relationship, mechanism and treatment.

Coronary microvascular disease (CMVD) is common in patients with cardiovascular risk factors and is linked to an elevated risk of adverse cardiovascular events. Although modern medicine has made significant strides in researching CMVD, we still lack a comprehensive understanding of its pathophysiological mechanisms due to its complex and somewhat cryptic etiology. This greatly impedes the clinical diagnosis and treatment of CMVD. The primary pathological mechanisms of CMVD are structural abnormalities and/or dysfunction of coronary microvascular endothelial cells. The development of CMVD may also involve a variety of inflammatory factors through the endothelial cell injury pathway. This paper first reviews the correlation between the inflammatory response and CMVD, then summarizes the possible mechanisms of inflammatory response in CMVD, and finally categorizes the drugs used to treat CMVD based on their effect on the inflammatory response. We hope that this paper draws attention to CMVD and provides novel ideas for potential therapeutic strategies based on the inflammatory response.

Roles of the APETALA3-3 ortholog in the petal identity specification and morphological differentiation in Delphinium anthriscifolium flowers.

The genus Delphinium (Ranunculaceae) with its unique and highly complex floral structure is an ideal system to address some key questions in terms of morphological and evolutionary studies in flowers. In D. anthriscifolium, for example, the original eight petal primordia differentiate into three types at maturity (i.e., two dorsal spurred, two lateral flat, and four ventral reduced petals). The mechanisms underlying their identity determination and morphological differentiation remain unclear. Here, through a comprehensive approach combining digital gene expression (DGE) profiles, in situ hybridization, and virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS), we explore the role of the APETALLATA3-3 (AP3-3) ortholog in D. anthriscifolium. Our findings reveal that the DeanAP3-3 not only functions as a traditionally known petal identity gene but also plays a critical role in petal morphological differentiation. The DeanAP3-3 gene is expressed in all the petal primordia before their morphological differentiation at earlier stages, but shows a gradient expression level difference along the dorsventral floral axis, with higher expression level in the dorsal spurred petals, intermediate level in the lateral flat petals and lower level in the ventral reduced petals. VIGS experiments revealed that flowers with strong phenotypic changes showed a complete transformation of all the three types of petals into non-spurred sepals. However, in the flowers with moderate phenotypic changes, the transformation of spurred petals into flat petals is associated with moderate silencing of the DeanAP3-3 gene, suggesting a significant impact of expression level on petal morphological differentiation. This research also shed some insights into the role of changes in gene expression levels on morphological differentiation in plants.

Repeated Omicron infection dampens immune imprinting from previous vaccination and induces broad neutralizing antibodies against Omicron sub-variants.

OBJECTIVE: Similar with influenza virus, antigenic drift is highly relevant to SARS-CoV-2 evolution, and immune imprinting has been found to limit the performance of updated vaccines based on the emerging variants of SARS-CoV-2. We aimed to investigate whether repeated exposure to Omicron variant could reduce the immune imprinting from previous vaccination. METHODS: A total of 194 participants with different status of vaccination (unvaccinated, regular vaccination and booster vaccination) confirmed for first infection and re-infection with BA.5, BF.7 and XBB variants were enrolled, and the neutralizing profiles against wild type (WT) SARS-CoV-2 and Omicron sub-variants were analyzed. RESULTS: Neutralizing potency against the corresponding infected variant is significantly hampered along with the doses of vaccination during first infection. However, for the participants with first infection of BA.5/BF.7 variants and re-infection of XBB variant, immune imprinting was obviously alleviated, indicated as significantly increased ratio of the corresponding infected variant/WT ID50 titers and higher percentage of samples with high neutralizing activities (ID50 > 500) against BA.5, BF.7 and XBB variants. Moreover, repeated Omicron infection could induce strong neutralizing potency with broad neutralizing profiles against a series of other Omicron sub-variants, both in the vaccine naive and vaccine experienced individuals. CONCLUSIONS: Our results demonstrate that repeated Omicron infection dampens immune imprinting from vaccination with WT SARS-CoV-2 and induces broad neutralizing profiles against Omicron sub-variants.

Physicochemical characterization of wheat starch and variation of fatty acid composition in deep-fried dough sticks with different treatments.

The present study investigated the effects of different deep-frying times and temperatures on the amylose content, crystal structure, thermodynamics, and other properties of deep-fried dough sticks. Results showed that the change of amylose content in deep-fried dough sticks during the deep-frying process was positively correlated with time and temperature. Moreover, the deep-frying process of deep-fried dough sticks was accompanied by the formation of starch-lipid complexes that led to the destruction of starch structure. The degreased sample and the oil sample had the same absorption peaks at 2854 and 1746 cm-1, respectively. The melting enthalpy (ΔH) of the starch-lipid complex decreased significantly. In addition, the viscosity of starch reduced as the deep-frying time and temperature increased. Furthermore, it was found that the effect of increasing deep-frying temperature was greater than that of time. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: As a popular deep-fried food, the main component of deep-fried dough sticks is starch. Starch gelatinization, protein denaturation, and interaction among components occurred during deep-frying. At present, there are few studies focusing on the properties of starch in deep-fried dough sticks in the real deep-frying system. Therefore, this study provided a theoretical basis for subsequent research by measuring the effects of different deep-frying conditions on the properties of starch in deep-fried dough sticks.

Longitudinal viral shedding and antibody response characteristics of men with acute infection of monkeypox virus: a prospective cohort study.

Understanding of infection dynamics is important for public health measures against monkeypox virus (MPXV) infection. Herein, samples from multiple body sites and environmental fomites of 77 acute MPXV infections (HIV co-infection: N = 42) were collected every two to three days and used for detection of MPXV DNA, surface protein specific antibodies and neutralizing titers. Skin lesions show 100% positivity rate of MPXV DNA, followed by rectum (88.16%), saliva (83.78%) and oropharynx (78.95%). Positivity rate of oropharynx decreases rapidly after 7 days post symptom onset (d.p.o), while the rectum and saliva maintain a positivity rate similar to skin lesions. Viral dynamics are similar among skin lesions, saliva and oropharynx, with a peak at about 6 d.p.o. In contrast, viral levels in the rectum peak at the beginning of symptom onset and decrease rapidly thereafter. 52.66% of environmental fomite swabs are positive for MPXV DNA, with highest positivity rate (69.89%) from air-conditioning air outlets. High seropositivity against A29L (100%) and H3L (94.74%) are detected, while a correlation between IgG endpoint titers and neutralizing titers is only found for A29L. Most indexes are similar between HIV and Non-HIV participants, while HIV and rectitis are associated with higher viral loads in rectum.