A machine learning algorithm-based model for predicting the risk of non-suicidal self-injury among adolescents in western China: A multicentre cross-sectional study.

The prevalence of non-suicidal self-injurious (NSSI) in adolescents is high. However, few studies exist to predict NSSI in this population. This study employed a machine learning algorithm to develop a predictive model, aiming to more accurately assess the risk of NSSI in Chinese adolescents. Sociodemographic, psychological data were collected in 50 schools in western China. We constructed eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost) model and multivariate logistic regression model to predict the risk of NSSI and nomograms are plotted. Data from 13,304 adolescents were used for model development, with an average age of 13.00 ± 2.17 years; 617 individuals (4.6 %) reported non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) behaviors. The results of the XGBoost model showed that depression and anxiety were the top two predictors of NSSI in adolescents. The results of the multivariate logistic regression model showed that the risk factors for adolescent NSSI behaviors include: gender (being female), Age, Living with whom (father), History of psychiatric consultation, Stress, Depression, Anxiety, Tolerance, Emotion abreaction. The XGBoost prediction and multivariate logistic regression model showed good predictive ability. Nomograms can serve as clinical tools to assist in intervention measures, helping adolescents reduce NSSI behaviors and improve their mental and physical well-being.

Metabolite characterization of the peptide-drug conjugate LN005 in liver S9s by UHPLC-Orbitrap-HRMS.

1. LN005 is a peptide-drug conjugate (PDC) targeting glucose-regulated protein 78 (GRP78), to treat several types of cancer, such as breast, colon, and prostate cancer.2. As a new drug modality, understanding its metabolism and elimination pathways will help us to have a whole picture of it. Currently, there are no metabolic studies on LN005; therefore, this study aimed to investigate the metabolism of LN005, clarify its metabolic profile in the liver S9s of different species, and identify the major metabolic pathways and differences between species.3. The incubation samples were measured by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography combined with orbitrap tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-Orbitrap-HRMS).4. The results showed that LN005 was metabolized by liver S9s, and 4 metabolites were identified. The main metabolic pathway of LN005 in liver S9s was oxidative deamination to ketone or hydrolysis. Similar metabolic profiles were observed in mouse, rat, dog, monkey, and human liver S9s, indicating no differences between these four animal species and humans.5. This study provides information for the structural modification and optimization of LN005 and affords a reference for subsequent animal experiments and human metabolism of other PDCs.

Rayleigh backscattering-based simultaneous linewidth narrowing of a multi-wavelength DFB laser array with an arbitrary wavelength spacing.

Simultaneous linewidth narrowing of a multi-wavelength laser array with an arbitrary wavelength spacing based on Rayleigh backscattering is experimentally demonstrated. Rayleigh backscattering from a single 30 m high numerical aperture fiber (HNAF) is employed to simultaneously narrow the linewidths of a DFB laser array consisting of four distributed feedback (DFB) semiconductor lasers with different wavelengths. Experimental results show that the instantaneous linewidths of the four DFB lasers can be simultaneously narrowed from megahertz to kilohertz no matter whether the wavelength spacing between the lasers is equally spaced or not, verifying the self-adaptivity of Rayleigh backscattering on laser linewidth narrowing. The method demonstrated here is also applicable for on-chip waveguides without wavelength dependence, providing a more compact narrow linewidth laser array for the wavelength-multiplexing division system and other promising applications.

MAE-seq refines regulatory elements across the genome.

Proper cell fate determination relies on precise spatial and temporal genome-wide cooperation between regulatory elements (REs) and their targeted genes. However, the lengths of REs defined using different methods vary, which indicates that there is sequence redundancy and that the context of the genome may be unintelligible. We developed a method called MAE-seq (Massive Active Enhancers by Sequencing) to experimentally identify functional REs at a 25-bp scale. In this study, MAE-seq was used to identify 626879, 541617 and 554826 25-bp enhancers in mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs), C2C12 and HEK 293T, respectively. Using ∼1.6 trillion 25 bp DNA fragments and screening 12 billion cells, we identified 626879 as active enhancers in mESCs as an example. Comparative analysis revealed that most of the histone modification datasets were annotated by MAE-Seq loci. Furthermore, 33.85% (212195) of the identified enhancers were identified as de novo ones with no epigenetic modification. Intriguingly, distinct chromatin states dictate the requirement for dissimilar cofactors in governing novel and known enhancers. Validation results show that these 25-bp sequences could act as a functional unit, which shows identical or similar expression patterns as the previously defined larger elements, Enhanced resolution facilitated the identification of numerous cell-specific enhancers and their accurate annotation as super enhancers. Moreover, we characterized novel elements capable of augmenting gene activity. By integrating with high-resolution Hi-C data, over 55.64% of novel elements may have a distal association with different targeted genes. For example, we found that the Cdh1 gene interacts with one novel and two known REs in mESCs. The biological effects of these interactions were investigated using CRISPR-Cas9, revealing their role in coordinating Cdh1 gene expression and mESC proliferation. Our study presents an experimental approach to refine the REs at 25-bp resolution, advancing the precision of genome annotation and unveiling the underlying genome context. This novel approach not only advances our understanding of gene regulation but also opens avenues for comprehensive exploration of the genomic landscape.

Dynamic Gut Microbiota of Apolygus lucorum Across Different Life Stages Reveals Potential Pathogenic Bacteria for Facilitating the Pest Management.

Insect's gut microbiota has diverse effects on their fitness, and a comprehensive understanding of gut microbiota functions requires analyzing its diversity. Apolygus lucorum is a highly destructive pest that threatens many economically important crops in China. This study investigated the gut microbiota of A. lucorum across its life cycle using both culture-dependent and culture-independent methods. A total of 87 gut bacterial isolates were identified, belonging to 4 phyla, 27 families, and 45 genera, while Miseq sequencing detected 91 amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) assigned to 5 phyla, 28 families, and 39 genera. Proteobacteria and Firmicutes were the predominant phyla, with Staphylococcus and Serratia as the major genera. There were significant differences in the relative abundance of these genera between the nymph and adult stages. Staphylococcus was significantly more abundant in nymphs than it in adults, while Serratia was significantly more abundant in sexually mature adults than in other developmental stages. Notably, Serratia is a common opportunistic pathogen in many insects. Injecting the gut-dominant isolate Serratia marcescens verified its high pathogenicity. Additionally, immune indicators of the bug at different developmental stages supported the hypothesis that Serratia is a pathogen of A. lucorum. This study provides a foundation for understanding the role of gut bacteria in the life history of A. lucorum and developing new pest control strategies based on microbes.

Disturbance of Adaptive Immunity System Was Accompanied by a Decrease in Plasma Short-Chain Fatty Acid for Patients Hospitalized During SARS-CoV-2 Infection After COVID-19 Vaccination.

Introduction: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection can lead to disorders of immune function and a decrease in the diversity of intestinal flora. We aimed to explore the changes of circulating immune cell subsets and the plasma level of intestinal short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) in patients with Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), further understanding the pathogenesis of COVID-19. Methods: The study included 83 newly diagnosed COVID-19 patients and 39 non-COVID-19 controls. All have completed a full course of vaccination against SARS-CoV-2. The levels of peripheral lymphocyte subsets and plasma cytokines were detected by flow cytometry. Targeted metabolomics was used to explore the level of SCFAs in plasma. Results: Compared with the non-COVID-19 group, COVID-19 patients showed a decrease in CD19+B cells, CD4+T cells, CD8+T cells, NK cells, CD4+CD8+T cells and CD4-CD8-T cells (all p<0.001) and concomitantly an increase in sIL-2R, IL-6 and IL-10 (all p<0.005). These alterations were more pronounced in those critical patients. In addition, COVID-19 patients had lower levels of propanoic acid (PA), butyric acid (BA), isobutyric acid (IBA) and isohexanoic acid (ICA) (all p<0.01). Among them, the level of ICA is positively correlated with the absolute number of immune cells. Conclusion: Our study suggests the immune cell subsets in COVID-19 patients who had completed vaccination were still severely disturbed and concomitantly lower SCFAs, especially in severe patients with poor prognosis. Lower levels of plasma SCFAs may contribute to lymphopenia in COVID-19. The potential relationship between plasma SCFAs and immune cell reduction provides a new direction for the treatment of COVID-19.

A bibliometric analysis of primary Sjögren's syndrome-associated lymphoma from 1991 to 2022.

Background: Patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) take a higher risk of developing lymphoma, which is the most frequent cause of death in pSS. Based on this situation, the number of publications focusing on pSS-associated lymphoma has been growing. Nevertheless, the extent, range, and nature of available research in this field have not been systematically summarized. This study aimed to map the literature available on pSS-associated lymphoma and identify global hotspots and trends. Methods: Papers on pSS and lymphoma published from 1991 to 2022 were searched from the Web of Science Core Collection. Microsoft Excel, SPSS Statistics, VOSviewer, and CiteSpace software were used to analyze and visualize the quantity and citations of publications, and the global research hotspots and trends of pSS-associated lymphoma. Results: 629 publications from 50 countries/regions and 538 institutions were included in this study. From 1991 to 2022, the cumulative publications steadily increased. The USA ranked first in the number of publications (n = 118, 18.76 %), followed by Italy (n = 94, 14.94 %) and France (n = 73, 11.61 %). Udine University (n = 29) and Salvatore De Vita (n = 39) were the most prolific affiliation and author, respectively. Claudio Vitali was the most frequently cited author (n = 335). In total, the most frequently occurring keywords were clustered into four well-defined groups. The first group of keywords pointed to the clinical assessment and treatment of pSS-associated lymphoma. The second group highlighted the pathogenesis. The third group identified the predictors and prognosis of pSS-associated Lymphoma, while the fourth group focused on interstitial lung disease and pulmonary lymphoma in patients with pSS. Currently, the hot keywords include consensus, disease activity, and pathogenesis. Ultrasonography, mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma, and epidemiology are the emerging research trends in pSS-associated lymphoma. Conclusion: Research on pSS-associated lymphoma is burgeoning. Despite clinical assessment, treatment and pathogenesis, researchers also showed great interest in the predictors, prognosis, and pulmonary manifestations of pSS-associated lymphoma. Current research of pSS-associated lymphoma mainly focuses on consensus, disease activity, and pathogenesis, while the emerging research trends in pSS are pointing to ultrasonography, MALT lymphoma and epidemiology.

Does personality always matter for health? Examining the moderating effect of age on the personality-health link from life span developmental and aging perspectives.

Extensive evidence has been found for the associations between personality traits and health. However, it remains unknown whether the relationships between personality and health show differential patterns across different life stages. The current research examined how the associations between the levels of and changes in the Big Five personality traits and different types of health outcomes (self-rated, physical, and physiological health outcomes) differ across ages over the life span (Sample 1, age range: 15-100) and during the aging process (Sample 2, age range: 50-109) in particular. Using data from the two large longitudinal studies-the Household, Income, and Labor Dynamics in Australia Survey and the Health and Retirement Study, we observed three important patterns. First, levels of and changes in personality traits were significantly associated with health across different life phases, and these effects were observed even in very old ages. Second, overall, the prospective relations between personality traits/changes in personality traits and health outcomes increased in strength in middle adulthood and/or early stages of late adulthood; however, the strength of their connections diminished in very old ages. Finally, there were some trait-specific and health outcome-specific patterns in the age-differential associations between personality and health. Findings from the present study contribute to enhancing our understanding of the personality-health link from a developmental perspective and provide critical information for the design and implementation of screening and interventions targeting health promotion. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Seismic Behavior of Concrete Columns Reinforced with Weakly Bonded Ultra-High Strength Rebars and Confined by Steel Tubes.

The usage of weakly bonded ultra-high strength (WBUHS) rebars has emerged as a promising approach to enhance the resilience of concrete components due to their remarkable mechanical properties. To promote the application of WBUHS rebars, this paper presented an investigation on the seismic behavior of circular concrete columns reinforced with squarely arranged WBUHS rebars and externally confined by bolted steel tubes. Eight columns, including two reinforced with normal strength (NS) rebars and six reinforced with WBUHS rebars, were fabricated and tested under reversed cyclic lateral loading. Experimental results showed that the columns reinforced with WBUHS rebars exhibited remarkable drift-hardening capacity up to the drift of at least 5% as well as significantly reduced residual deformation even when subjected to relatively high axial compression with an axial load ratio of 0.33 in comparison to the traditional ductile columns reinforced with NS rebars. Notably, the precast columns reinforced with WBUHS rebars, with an embedment length of 20 times their diameter, behaved nearly identically in terms of resilience as cast-in-place columns. Additionally, a numerical analysis was performed to assess the hysteretic performance, and the analytical results, with consideration for the slippage of WBUHS rebars, were capable of capturing the hysteretic performance of test columns.

[Efficacy of intramuscular injection of Xiyanping injection for the treatment of acute bronchitis in children: a multicenter, randomized, parallel-controlled clinical study]. / å–œç‚Žå¹³æ³¨å°„æ¶²è‚Œå† æ³¨å°„æ²»ç–—å°å„¿æ€¥æ€§æ”¯æ°”ç®¡ç‚Žçš„ç–—æ•ˆï¼šä¸€é¡¹å¤šä¸­å¿ƒã€éšæœºã€å¹³è¡Œå¯¹ç §ä¸´åºŠç ”ç©¶.

OBJECTIVES: To study the efficacy and safety of Xiyanping injection through intramuscular injection for the treatment of acute bronchitis in children. METHODS: A prospective study was conducted from December 2021 to October 2022, including 78 children with acute bronchitis from three hospitals using a multicenter, randomized, parallel-controlled design. The participants were divided into a test group (conventional treatment plus Xiyanping injection; n=36) and a control group (conventional treatment alone; n=37) in a 1:1 ratio. Xiyanping injection was administered at a dose of 0.3 mL/(kg·d) (total daily dose ≤8 mL), twice daily via intramuscular injection, with a treatment duration of ≤4 days and a follow-up period of 7 days. The treatment efficacy and safety were compared between the two groups. RESULTS: The total effective rate on the 3rd day after treatment in the test group was significantly higher than that in the control group (P<0.05), while there was no significant difference in the total effective rate on the 5th day between the two groups (P>0.05). The rates of fever relief, cough relief, and lung rale relief in the test group on the 3rd day after treatment were higher than those in the control group (P<0.05). The cough relief rate on the 5th day after treatment in the test group was higher than that in the control group (P<0.05), while there was no significant difference in the fever relief rate and lung rale relief rate between the two groups (P>0.05). The cough relief time, daily cough relief time, and nocturnal cough relief time in the test group were significantly shorter than those in the control group (P<0.05), while there were no significant differences in the fever duration and lung rale relief time between the two groups (P>0.05). There was no significant difference in the incidence of adverse events between the two groups (P>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The overall efficacy of combined routine treatment with intramuscular injection of Xiyanping injection in the treatment of acute bronchitis in children is superior to that of routine treatment alone, without an increase in the incidence of adverse reactions.

Predicting lncRNA-disease associations based on heterogeneous graph convolutional generative adversarial network.

There is a growing body of evidence indicating the crucial roles that long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play in the development and progression of various diseases, including cancers, cardiovascular diseases, and neurological disorders. However, accurately predicting potential lncRNA-disease associations remains a challenge, as existing methods have limitations in extracting heterogeneous association information and handling sparse and unbalanced data. To address these issues, we propose a novel computational method, called HGC-GAN, which combines heterogeneous graph convolutional neural networks (GCN) and generative adversarial networks (GAN) to predict potential lncRNA-disease associations. Specifically, we construct a lncRNA-miRNA-disease heterogeneous network by integrating multiple association data and sequence information. The GCN-based generator is then employed to aggregate neighbor information of nodes and obtain node embeddings, which are used to predict lncRNA-disease associations. Meanwhile, the GAN-based discriminator is trained to distinguish between real and fake lncRNA-disease associations generated by the generator, enabling the generator to improve its ability to generate accurate lncRNA-disease associations gradually. Our experimental results demonstrate that HGC-GAN performs better in predicting potential lncRNA-disease associations, with AUC and AUPR values of 0.9591 and 0.9606, respectively, under 10-fold cross-validation. Moreover, our case study further confirms the effectiveness of HGC-GAN in predicting potential lncRNA-disease associations, even for novel lncRNAs without any known lncRNA-disease associations. Overall, our proposed method HGC-GAN provides a promising approach to predict potential lncRNA-disease associations and may have important implications for disease diagnosis, treatment, and drug development.

Manganese Dioxide/Gold-based Active Tumor Targeting Nanoprobes for Enhancing Photodynamic and Low-Temperature-Photothermal Combination Therapy in Lung Cancer.

Tumor drug resistance caused by the tumor microenvironment is an extremely difficult problem for researchers to solve. Nanoplatforms that integrate diagnosis and treatment have great advantages in tumor treatment, but the design and synthesis of simple and efficient nanoplatforms still face tremendous challenges. In this study, a novel Mn/Au@ir820/GA-CD133 nanoprobe was developed. The manganese dioxide/gold particles were prepared by coprecipitation/assembly, chemically coupled with CD133 antibody, and finally loaded with the photosensitive drug IR820 and the heat shock protein inhibitor Ganetespib. The nanoprobe demonstrated good tumor-targeting ability, increased the level of singlet oxygen produced from laser irradiation by effectively alleviating tumor hypoxia, and decreased the threshold of heat tolerance by downregulating the expression of HSP90 in tumor tissues. This nanoprobe successfully inhibited the growth and progression of tumor tissues in a tumor-bearing mouse model by improving the effectiveness of photodynamic and low-temperature photothermal combination therapy.

Deep learning-based fundus image analysis for cardiovascular disease: a review.

It is well established that the retina provides insights beyond the eye. Through observation of retinal microvascular changes, studies have shown that the retina contains information related to cardiovascular disease. Despite the tremendous efforts toward reducing the effects of cardiovascular diseases, they remain a global challenge and a significant public health concern. Conventionally, predicting the risk of cardiovascular disease involves the assessment of preclinical features, risk factors, or biomarkers. However, they are associated with cost implications, and tests to acquire predictive parameters are invasive. Artificial intelligence systems, particularly deep learning (DL) methods applied to fundus images have been generating significant interest as an adjunct assessment tool with the potential of enhancing efforts to prevent cardiovascular disease mortality. Risk factors such as age, gender, smoking status, hypertension, and diabetes can be predicted from fundus images using DL applications with comparable performance to human beings. A clinical change to incorporate DL systems for the analysis of fundus images as an equally good test over more expensive and invasive procedures may require conducting prospective clinical trials to mitigate all the possible ethical challenges and medicolegal implications. This review presents current evidence regarding the use of DL applications on fundus images to predict cardiovascular disease.

Experimental study on influence of particle shape on shockwave from collapse of cavitation bubble.

The bubble dynamics under the influence of particles is an unavoidable issue in many cavitation applications, with a fundamental aspect being the shockwave affected by particles during bubble collapse. In our experiments, the method of spark-induced bubbles was used, while a high-speed camera and a piezoresistive pressure sensor were utilized to investigate how particle shape affects the evolution of shockwaves. Through the high-speed photography, we found that the presence of the particle altered the consistency of the liquid medium around the bubble, which result in the emitting of water hammer shockwave and implosion shockwave respectively during the collapse of the bubble. This stratification effect was closely related to the bubble-particle relative distance φ and particle shape δ. Specifically, when the bubble-particle relative distance φ < 1.34 e-0.10δ, particles disrupted the medium consistency around the bubbles and led to a nonspherical collapse and the consequent stratification of the shockwave. By measuring the stratified shockwave intensity affected by different particle shapes, we found that the stratified shockwave intensity experienced varying degrees of attenuation. Furthermore, as the particle shape δ increased, the attenuation of the particle on shockwave intensity gradually reduced. These new findings hold significant theoretical implications for elucidating cavitation erosion mechanisms in liquid-solid two-phase flows and applications and prevention strategies in liquid-solid two-phase cavitation fields.

Design principles for sodium superionic conductors.

Motivated by the high-performance solid-state lithium batteries enabled by lithium superionic conductors, sodium superionic conductor materials have great potential to empower sodium batteries with high energy, low cost, and sustainability. A critical challenge lies in designing and discovering sodium superionic conductors with high ionic conductivities to enable the development of solid-state sodium batteries. Here, by studying the structures and diffusion mechanisms of Li-ion versus Na-ion conducting solids, we reveal the structural feature of face-sharing high-coordination sites for fast sodium-ion conductors. By applying this feature as a design principle, we discover a number of Na-ion conductors in oxides, sulfides, and halides. Notably, we discover a chloride-based family of Na-ion conductors NaxMyCl6 (M = La-Sm) with UCl3-type structure and experimentally validate with the highest reported ionic conductivity. Our findings not only pave the way for the future development of sodium-ion conductors for sodium batteries, but also consolidate design principles of fast ion-conducting materials for a variety of energy applications.

Analysis of renewable energy consumption and economy considering the joint optimal allocation of "renewable energy + energy storage + synchronous condenser".

As renewable energy becomes increasingly dominant in the energy mix, the power system is evolving towards high proportions of renewable energy installations and power electronics-based equipment. This transition introduces significant challenges to the grid's safe and stable operation. On the one hand, renewable energy generation equipment inherently provides weak voltage support, necessitating improvements in the voltage support capacity at renewable energy grid points. This situation leads to frequent curtailments and power limitations. On the other hand, the output of renewable energy is characterized by its volatility and randomness, resulting in substantial power curtailment. The joint intelligent control and optimization technology of "renewable energy + energy storage + synchronous condenser" can effectively enhance the deliverable capacity limits of renewable energy, boost its utilization rates, and meet the demands for renewable energy transmission and consumption. Initially, the paper discusses the mechanism by which distributed synchronous condensers improve the short-circuit ratio based on the MRSCR (Multiple Renewable Energy Station Short-Circuits Ratio) index. Subsequently, with the minimum total cost of system operation as the optimization objective, a time-series production simulation optimization model is established. A corresponding optimization method, considering the joint configuration of "renewable energy + energy storage + synchronous condenser," is proposed. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed method is verified through common calculations using BPA, SCCP, and the production simulation model, considering a real-world example involving large-scale renewable and thermal energy transmission through an AC/DC system. The study reveals that the joint intelligent control and optimization technology can enhance both the sending and absorbing capacities of renewable energy while yielding favorable economic benefits.

Effects of ginseng on short-chain fatty acids and intestinal microbiota in rats with spleen-qi deficiency based on gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and 16s rRNA technology.

RATIONALE: Spleen-qi deficiency syndrome, a common weakness syndrome in traditional Chinese medicine, results from insufficient spleen-qi levels. For centuries, ginseng has been relied upon as a traditional Chinese medicine to treat spleen-qi deficiency syndrome. Until now, the mechanism feature of ginseng in treating temper deficiency through intestinal bacteria and short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) metabolites has not been fully elucidated. METHODS: This study established a rat model of spleen-qi deficiency via multi-factor compound modeling that involved fatigue injury and a controlled diet. The content of SCFAs between different treatment groups was determined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. And the 16s rRNA sequencing technology was applied to reveal the effects of ginseng on the intestinal microecological environment of the rats. RESULTS: It was found that the ginseng treatment group exhibited the most remarkable regulatory effect on propionic acid, surpassing all other administration groups. Ginseng increased the relative abundance of beneficial bacteria and decreased that of harmful bacteria at the genus level in rats with spleen-qi deficiency syndrome. And propionic acid is significantly positively correlated with Lactobacillus level and significantly negatively correlated with uncultured_bacterium_f_Muribaculaceae (p < 0.05). n-Butyric acid is negatively correlated with the Faecalibaculum level (p < 0.01). n-Valeric acid is significantly negatively correlated with the Romboutsia level (p < 0.01). CONCLUSION: The mechanism of ginseng treatment for spleen-qi deficiency is elucidated from the perspective of gut microbiota and its metabolite SCFAs. It provides a new way for further development and utilization of ginseng and a theoretical basis.

Shape Oscillation-Induced Early Detachment of Bubble from a Submerged Microcapillary Nozzle.

Bubble growth and detachment are basic phenomena in boiling and water splitting processes and are essential for their heat transfer performance and hydrogen production efficiency. In this study, we investigate the formation and detachment of bubbles from a submerged capillary nozzle. Here, we report a new bubbling regime and term it unstable bubbling, where early and normal bubble detachments coexist. The early detachment leads to the generation of many finer bubbles, ranging from one-fifth to one-half of the volume of the permanently detached bubbles driven by buoyancy. The occurrence conditions for unstable bubbling are identified by developing a regime map. The visualization of bubble-induced liquid flow and energy analysis suggest that the oscillating detached bubble provides excess surface and kinetic energies to the growing bubble, supporting early bubble detachment. Two dimensionless numbers are derived considering the effect of these energies, which can be applied to successfully predict the occurrence of early detachment. The present results not only provide physical insight into bubble interactions but also offer potential techniques for generating fine bubbles.

Safety and neutralization antibody levels of inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine in adult patients with Myasthenia Gravis: a prospective observational cohort study.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Myasthenia gravis (MG) is an autoimmune disease affecting the neuromuscular junction. No cohort study has investigated the efficacy of inactivated vaccines in patients with MG. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This prospective observational cohort study included healthy controls (HCs) and patients with MG with or without immunosuppressive treatment. Vaccination occurred between May and December 2021. Patients with MG were subjected to a clinical scale assessment for disease severity. The neutralization antibodies (Nabs) levels were measured in all participants using the pseudovirus neutralization assay. RESULTS: Twenty-one patients (Female/Male:10/11); age median [interquartile range (IQR)]: 43 [30, 56]) were included in this study. Two patients (2/21) were lost during follow-up after enrollment. No sustained vaccine-related adverse effects occurred in any visit of patients with MG. No exacerbation of MG was observed. Acetylcholine receptor antibody (AChR-Ab) levels showed no statistically significant changes between the first and second visit (median [IQR]: 2.22 [0.99, 2.63] nmol/L vs. 1.54 [1.07, 2.40] nmol/L, p = 0.424). However, levels of AChR-Ab decreased at the third visit (median [IQR]: 2.22 [0.96, 2.70] nmol/L vs. 1.69 [0.70, 1.85] nmol/L, p = 0.011). No statistically significant difference in Nabs levels was found between HCs and patients with MG (median [IQR]: 102.89 [33.13, 293.86] vs. 79.29 [37.50, 141.93], p = 0.147). DISCUSSION: The safety of the SARS-CoV-2 inactivated vaccine was reconfirmed in this study. No significant difference in Nabs level was found between patients with MG and HCs. Nabs levels correlated with AChR-Ab levels before vaccination and ΔAChR-Ab levels.