Microplastics (MPs) pollution poses some serious problems in sweet potato farms. In this study, pot experiment, liquid adsorption experiment and fluorescence observation experiment were conducted to explore the effects of normal and aging MPs on physicochemical properties in soil, growth and phosphorus (P), potassium (K) absorption in sweet potato; P and K adsorption in liquid environment; and the distribution of normal MPs in sweet potato tissues respectively. The results showed that 5 μm normal polyethylene (PE) MPs significantly reduced pH and increased EC of soil compared to aging PE MPs. In addition, normal PE MPs can also significantly improved the biomass growth rates of sweet potato by adsorping more Olsen-P and Olsen-K in soil, and increasing K concentration in stems compared with aging PE MPs. Although there was no significant difference between normal and aging PE MPs on the degree of membrane lipid peroxidation in sweet potato leaves, the normal PE MPs made sweet potato exhibit the stronger oxidative stress. Fluorescent PE MPs spheres just appeared in the cortical tissues of roots and stems. Our study finds that the sweet potato will not be harmed by a single PE MPs contamination in a short period of time.

Background We investigate the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of respiratory infections with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) among the entire population in Beijing, China. Methods All-age patients with respiratory infection between 2015-2019 were enrolled from 35 sentinel hospitals in Beijing. Their respiratory specimens were obtained for testing of 11 respiratory pathogens, including RSV. Their demographic data and medical record were collected in standardized forms. Results The RSV epidemic season approximately occurred between October to March with a peak in December or January and covered 90% of RSV infections with RSV-A dominated in each year. Children aged 5 years were at the highest risk of RSV infection (52.2%), followed by the elderly adults aged ≥60 years (25.2%). While the elderly patients with RSV were prone to develop dyspnea and lymphocytopenia than other population segments. Moreover, they had an elevated rate of hospitalization, an increased rate of ICU admission, an extended length of hospital stay, and elevated mortality compared to the <5 years children with RSV infection. Conclusions The young children was the population with the highest risk for RSV infection followed by the elderly adults. While the later easily developed a severe infection and need full consideration when making policy.

Background: Lymphatic plastic bronchitis (PB) most commonly occurs in children with congenital heart disease as a result of secondary pulmonary lymphatic flow disorder (PLFD). However, PB caused by primary PLFD is rare. We made a retrospective analysis of two children diagnosed with PB due to primary PLFD, in order to contribute to further understanding of these disorders. Results: Patient 1, an eight-year-old boy, presented with chronic productive cough and expectorated milky-white mucous plugs accompanied by intermitted wheezing for one year. Patient 2, a nine-month-old girl, presented with episodes of acute respiratory distress with expectoration of milky-white bronchial casts for four months. There was no obvious evidence of infection in either child. Bronchoscopy showed massive milky-white casts blocking the airway in patient 2; no casts were observed in patient 1. Bilateral thickening of bronchovascular bundles and interlobular septal, as well as multiple patchy ground-glass opacities were seen on chest computed tomography (CT) in both patients. Lymphangioscintigraphy demonstrated pulmonary lymph reflux in both patients and slowed lymphatic drainage of the lower limbs in patient 1. Primary PLFD was considered for both patients, and a diagnosis of yellow nail syndrome was made in patient 1. Both patients received lymphatic interventional treatment, but all experienced recurrence following the procedure. Conclusions: Primary PLFD is a rare but significant cause of PB in children. Chest CT findings have highly suggestive significance for the diagnosis. The lymphatic interventional procedure may be effective for short-term resolution of symptoms, but prone to recurrence.

AIM To set or assess conservation and management efforts based on the knowledge of the total biodiversity is unrealistic. For such a reason, the identification of priority areas based on biodiversity hotspots determined through indicator groups has become a common approach. This requires a crystal-clear knowledge of the taxonomy and distribution of such indicator groups, which in the Tropics can be troublesome, especially for rare or secretive taxa. Thus, we assessed the potential distribution of 21 species and 21 subspecies of Brazilian Strigidae through Species Distribution Modelling (SDM) based on a Maximum Entropy approach. LOCATION Brazil. METHODS We (1) gathered and filtered occurrences data for Brazilian Strigidae, (2) generated SDMs for each species and subspecies, (3) evaluated the niche similarity among subspecies, (4) built up species’ richness maps, and (5) contrasted such information to the strict protection areas in Brazil. RESULTS With 81% of the Brazilian species recorded, both the Atlantic Forest and the Cerrado have the highest richness, followed by the Amazonia (67%), Pampa (62%), Caatinga (57%) and Pantanal (48%). However, the comparison of the recorded and predicted richness suggests overall incomplete inventories, especially in the Caatinga and Pantanal. On the other hand, subspecies showed marked niches divergencies, suggesting that the recognized Strigidae species richness is underestimated in Brazil. Cerrado and Atlantic forest are the most threatened biomes, with preservation areas relatively small and sparse. MAIN CONCLUSIONS We demonstrated that the situation of Brazilian Strigidae involves an underestimated species richness, within an inadequate framework of protected areas, in a megadiverse Country characterized by high rates of habitat transformations. Thus, our study is a hurrying call to explore owl lineage diversification in Brazil to improve biodiversity-related conservation efforts.

Neurologic complications following cardiac surgery are most likely cerebrovascular accidents due to embolism resulting in hemiparesis or hemiplegia. Paraplegia following cardiac surgery occurs due to spinal infarcts or spinal ischemia especially in the setting of aortic dissections or Thoraco abdominal aortic surgery. Quadriparesis following cardiac surgery is a rare entity. That too, Guillian-Barre Syndrome (GBS) as a cause of quadriparesis is very rare. The exact pathophysiology of GBS is not known. Immune-mediated process has been postulated to be the cause of GBS. Here we report a 49 year old male who presented with acute aortic dissection and underwent Bentall procedure following which he developed quadriparesis, diagnosed to be a case of GBS and was successfully treated with intravenous Immunoglobulin (IVIG).

A novel series of biobased branched nonionic surfactants (ethoxylated dihydroxy stearic acid methyl ester, DMOEn) was synthesized and characterized. DMOEn was based on a hydroxyoctadecanoic acid methyl ester, which was obtained from renewable oleic acid in waste cooking oil. These new polyoxyethylene surfactants contained double hydrophilic and hydrophobic chains, which shows the surface properties of the branched surfactant. The synthesis rules and reaction kinetic were studied in detail. The physicochemical properties and surface properties of the DMOEn with different degrees of ethoxylation at various concentrations were investigated. The surface tension results indicate that DMOEn reduced the surface tension reduction and increased the diffusion rate in aqueous solution. The dynamic contact angle, foaming ability and emulsifying capacity tests showed that the DMOEn exhibited good wetting performance, low foaming, rapid defoaming and an excellent emulsifying ability, which shows that the surfactant has potential application in industrial cleaning.

A well-defined catalyst with platinum (Pt) and gold (Au) encapsulated in micropore and mesopore of micro-mesoporous zeolite (TMSN), respectively, was designed to investigate the original active sites and kinetics of semi-hydrogenation. Specifically, hydrogen molecules are dissociated on Pt nanoclusters (NCs) to form hydrogen atoms that migrate to the surfaces of TMSN zeolite and Au nanoparticles (NPs). Meanwhile, the Au NPs with inferior H2 dissociation capability in the mesopore can be served as the detector and controller of hydrogen spillover. The Pt NCs in micropore act as H2 dissociation sites while both the Au NPs and zeolite surface are identified as the semi-hydrogenation sites. Noteworthy, the Pt-Au/TMSN catalyst with double active sites exhibits higher selectivity and rate constant ratio for semi-hydrogenation than Pt/TMSN, as well as higher turnover frequency (TOF) than Au/MSN. This work creates an effective regulation strategy of hydrogen spillover for improving active sites and kinetics of semi-hydrogenation.

A case of COVID-19 in a pregnancy complicated by fetal pleural effusionŁukasz Witek1, Natalia Filochowska1, Tomasz Janikowski2, Helena Sławska3, Anita Olejek11Department of Gynecology, Obstetrics and Oncological Gynecology, Medical University of Silesia, Bytom, Poland2Silesian College of Medicine, Katowice, Poland3Department of Neonatology in Bytom, Medical University of Silesia, Katowice, Poland.

Objective To investigate the potential mechanism of transient receptor potential vanilloid type 1 (TRPV1) and ATP-sensitive potassium channel (KATP) in severe preeclampsia. Design Basic research. Setting The pathogenesis of severe preeclampsia. Samples Human placental arterioles and HUVECs. Methods (1) Tissue level: The samples were divided into the normotensive pregnancy (NP) group and severe preeclampsia (SP) group. Hematoxylin-eosin staining, quantitative PCR, Western blotting and immunohistochemistry were performed. (2) Cellular level: The samples were divided into the control group, TRPV1 agonist group (capsaicin), and TRPV1 inhibitor group (capsazepine), quantitative PCR and Western blotting were performed. Main Outcome Measures The relative expression of TRPV1, KATP subtype Kir6.1/SUR2B, nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) in placental arterioles ; the relative expression of TRPV1, Kir6.1/SUR2B, and eNOS in the cell groups. Results (1) The endothelial cell layer in the SP group was obviously damaged. The relative gene and protein expression of TRPV1, Kir6.1, SUR2B and eNOS was significantly lower than that in the NP group (P<0.01). (2) The relative gene and protein expression of TRPV1, Kir6.1, SUR2B and eNOS in the control group were significantly lower than those in the capsaicin group (P<0.01) and were significantly higher than those in the capsazepine group (P<0.01). Conclusion TRPV1 plus the downregulation of KATP downregulates the expression of eNOS, reducing vasodilation, which may be critical in the pathogenesis of severe preeclampsia. Funding Luzhou Science and Technology Bureau ( 2020-SYF-27). Key words: Transient receptor potential vanilloid type 1; ATP-sensitive potassium channel; Endothelial nitric oxide synthase; Nitric oxide; Severe preeclampsia

This study is to explore the clinical value of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the diagnose and the treatment of abdominal wall endometriosis (AWE) with US-guided high-intensity focused ultrasound (USg-HIFU). MRI was performed before and after the USg-HIFU treatment. The information about the clinical characteristics of patients, the characteristics of lesions revealed by MRI, and the outcomes of treatments were collected. We compared results from MRI and color Doppler ultrasound before surgery, as well as the volume and the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values of the lesions before and after USg-HIFU treatment. Thirty lesions in 29 patients were examined. The locations of the 30 AWE lesions were identified by MRI. Their sizes appeared larger in MRI results than that of ultrasound, which had a significant difference (P < 0.05). A total of 27 lesions were evaluated by MRI after USg-HIFU treatment, from which 92.6% (25/27) lesions were of high or slightly high signal on T1-weighted images. They showed annular enhancement and no contrast agent perfusion in the middle of the lesion on post-contrast images, which obviously differ from that in pre-operation. The other two lesions showed iso-intense signal on T1WI with significant enhancement. The mean ADC value of AWE lesions were (1.46±0.30) x10-3 mm2/s and (1.87±0.37) x10-3 mm2/s for pre- and post-HIFU treatment (P < 0.05). MRI is a useful tool for demonstrating the location, size, and concurrent changes of AWE before and after USg-HIFU treatment, which is beneficial for follow-up monitoring or treatments.

Background When developed countries are considered; in the treatment of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), the survival rate has reached 90% in recent years. We aimed to examine the survival rate and the factors that may affect this rate, especially in our patients treated with the ST Jude Total Therapy XV protocol. Procedures Pediatric patients aged 1-18 years, who were treated at our hospital and completed their treatment between January 2011 and December 2018, and only pre-B and T-cell leukemias treated with the St Jude Total Therapy XV protocol were included in the study. Results The 5-year event-free survival (EFS) and overall survival (OS) were 78.3% and 80%. We observed that some factors that affect survival, such as gender, blastic type, risk group, and number of WBCs, did not affect survival in our study. Even though it is known that the female gender has better EFS, in our study, the survival of girls was found to be lower than boys. Tragically, we observed that the most common cause of death (20/23, 87%) was infection and infection-related causes. Conclusions The primary purpose of the St Jude Total XV treatment protocol is to monitor minimal residual disease (MRD) and to guide treatment according to MRD results. It is also the removal of radiotherapy from treatment protocols by adding additional intra-thecal treatments (ITT). However, unfortunately, if we cannot protect our patients from infection and other related factors, the factors that make a difference in treatment become meaningless.

In this article, stochastic SIRS model is formulated with saturated incidence rate. Stochastic effects of special transfer from infectious to susceptible and the spread of infectious disease are confabulated. The fringe dynamic is analyzed in case of imaginably limited noise. The loud noise would spectacle the elimination of disease, which would restraint transmission of the disease. We also analyzed the stability of the endemic equilibrium with delay and observed that under some condition on delay, it is stable. Deterministic and stochastic SIRS both models are discussed in this study. The Legendre polynomials are used to convert the stochastic delayed SIRS model to a nonlinear algebraic system, which is solvable using Legendre spectral collocation method. Finally, we have proposed a test sample of stochastic delayed SIRS model to establish our mathematical conclusions.

Neurological complications are frequent occurrences in children and adolescents with sickle cell disease. We analyzed the risk of stroke and the prevalence of neuropsychological impairment in 17 patients. There were no alterations in cerebral hemodynamics for over 70% of the patients, but most of them showed deficits in cognitive domains. We did not find a statistically significant correlation between the presence of neurovascular damage and worse performance on cognitive tests, but a trend towards a correlation between the Transcranial Doppler ultrasound results and the indices of Intelligence Quotient (p = 0.069) and Processing Speed Index (p = 0.082) was found.

The transition to terrestrial plants was accompanied by a progressive loss of microtubule minus end-directed dynein motors. Instead, the minus-end directed class-XIV kinesins expanded considerably, probably related to novel functions. One of these motors, OsDLK (Dual Localisation Kinesin from rice) decorates cortical microtubules but moves into the nucleus in response to cold stress. This analysis of loss-of-function mutants in rice indicates that OsDLK participates in cell elongation during development. Since OsDLK harbours both, a nuclear localisation signal, and a putative leucin zipper, we asked, whether the cold-induced import of OsDLK into the nucleus might correlate with a specific DNA binding. Conducting a DPI-ELISA screen with recombinant OsDLKT (lacking the motor domain), we identified the Opaque2 motif as most promising candidate. This motif is present in the promoter of NtAvr9/Cf9, the tobacco homologue of Cold Box Factor 4, a transcription factor involved in cold adaptation. A comparative study revealed that the cold-induced accumulation of NtAvr9/Cfp9 was specifically quelled in transgenic BY-2 cells overexpressing OsDLK-GFP. These findings are discussed as a working model, where, in response to cold stress, OsDLK partitions from cortical microtubules at the plasma membrane into the nucleus and specifically modulates the expression of genes involved in cold adaptation.

The co-effect of solvent swelling and metal loading on coal pyrolysis was investigated through statistical analysis and machine learning. The distributions and properties of pyrolysis products, and the pyrolysis parameters were all considered. 22 targets were screened out by analysis of variance (ANOVA). Both liner and non-linear regression models were constructed in which the swelling ratio and atomic descriptors collected from handbooks were taken as inputs while the target values were as outputs. The symbolic transformation (ST) algorithm was involved to assemble a new feature and the model built on the advanced feature set displays higher prediction accuracy for all targets. The result of leave-one-out cross validation shown acceptable performance(R2>0.8) for most responses(19 of 22), and good performance(R2>0.9) for half of them(12 of 22). The importance of ST feature was verified, and the contribution of each single feature was clearly reflected in the formula of ST.

The Unitary Cayley graph Xn is a graph with vertex set Zn = {0; 1; :::; n - 1} and the edge set {ab/a; b in Zn; gcd(a - b, n) = 1}. In this paper we obtain the eigen values of Laplacian, Signless Laplacian matrix and Laplacian, Signless Laplacian energy of Uni- tary Cayley Graph Xn.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has been a hot research topic in recent years and the algorithm is its technical core. Many new algorithms have been proposed to solve complex non-linear optimization problems, and each of them has its own advantages and disadvantages. This study improves the selection operator of Genetic Algorithm (GA) by combining artificial selection with probabilistic selection to improve the convergence speed and the success rate when searching for the global optimal solution using GA. At the same time, considering that Gradient Descent (GD) method has high convergence rate, and GA has strong global search ability, we propose the algorithm of Gradient Descent method for group particles (GDFGP) based on GD and improved GA. Two experiments are carried out to verify the effectiveness of the new algorithm on convergence rate and global search ability. The results show that the improved GA had better convergence rate than the traditional GA. The success rate for obtaining the global optimal solution of GDFGP is higher than that of traditional and improved GA, especially when solving the more complex nonlinear optimization problems.

Survivors of SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) infections have a unique immune response that allows them to either delay reinfection or outsmarts the virus’s whims. The emergence of new SARS-CoV-2 variants and immunization have furthered this immune response by producing high-affinity anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. There is limited data on the extent to which this immune response confers protective immunity against recurrent infections, as well as the duration of this protection. Here we present the first-ever quantum mechanical model to provide an answer to this question. The model is well applicable because of the 20 nm -500 nm size range of coronavirus. We call this model the ‘Quantum Perturbation Model’. The model relates the strength of the COVID-19 attack to a wave function containing information about the system (person infected by the SARS-CoV-2) and quantized energy states, which shows the chances of reoccurrence of the disease. By applying the energy corrections provided by the Quantum Perturbation Theory to the SARS-CoV-2 attack under reinfections and various pre-existing conditions we have provided possible interpretations. When pre-existing problems exist at the time of SARS-COV-2 infection, the model illustrates how the influence of COVID-19 accumulates up. The model also formulates the deficit in the intensity of the COVID-19 effect in recurrence or in the presence of other variables strengthening the body’s antibody affinity and immunity to resist the virus variants.

A 65-year-old female known to have type 2 diabetes mellitus, with no significant past medical history, had presented to another hospital with progressive dyspnea, orthopnea, lower limb edema in the two weeks preceding the reporting of this case. Her echocardiography revealed large pericardial effusion with echocardiographic signs of increased intrapericardial pressure. An emergency pericardiocentesis was performed. One week afterwards, she was admitted to the authors’ hospital because of re-accumulation of her large pericardial effusion, which mandated another pericardiocentesis. A CT of the chest revealed enlarged mediastinal lymph nodes (LNs). Video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) was done to obtain a pericardial window and a biopsy from the mediastinal LN, which revealed non-caseating granuloma, highly suggestive of sarcoidosis. A few days after surgery she experienced a neurogenic bladder, acute renal shutdown, and metabolic acidosis, during which she developed stress-induced cardiomyopathy that improved a few days later. The patient’s symptoms improved after receiving corticosteroids.

Revegetation projects seeking to restore degraded ecosystems face a major challenge in sourcing appropriate plant material, as identifying plants adapted to future climates requires knowledge of plant performance under novel conditions. In order to support climate-resilient provenancing efforts, we develop a quantitative trait model that integrates genetic and microenvironmental variation. We train our model with multiple natural plantings of Arabidopsis thaliana and predict days-to-bolting and fecundity across the species' European range. Model prediction accuracy was high for days-to-bolting and moderate for fecundity, with the majority of trait variation being explained by temperature variation. Concerningly, fecundity was predicted to decline under future conditions, although this response was heterogeneous across regions, and could be offset through the introduction of specific genotypes. Our study highlights the value of predictive models to aid seed provenancing and improve the success of revegetation projects.

B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) is a heterogeneous disease wherein cytogenetics comprises an independent prognostic factor. Cytogenetic subgroups like B-ALL with t(9;22), MLL rearrangement, hypodiploidy, and Ph-like ALL are stratified as high-risk and are treated on the high-risk regimen. However, a subset that does not fall into a specific cytogenetic risk groups, is classified as cytogenetics NOS (Not Otherwise Specified) and might receive suboptimal chemotherapy. Identifying genetic abnormalities that are susceptible to targeted therapy can help improve outcomes. Therefore, with the intent to report cytogenetic data potentially useful for targeted therapy, we report a novel JAK2 amplification in a cytogenetically complex pediatric B-ALL case with early relapse.

Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) protein, is a member of the epidermal growth factor receptors (EGFR or ErbB) family and is a transmembrane tyrosine kinase receptor and, also is high regulated in the ovarian, lung, gastric, oral, and breast cancers. The low specificity and the lack of sensitivity are important restriction in the traditional diagnosis method and other disadvantages such as complex, expensive in FISH, immunohistochemistry and PCR methods led to needing more studies for alternative methods. Biosensor technology has highly effected on the quality of human life through its capacity in sensitivity, specificity, and rapid diagnosis and monitoring of different patient diseases. In this review article, we discuss these biosensors, considering that they have been categorized based on transducer including piezoelectric biosensors, optical sensors such as Fluorescence, Colorimetric and Surface Plasmon resonance, and electrochemical types to the diagnosis of HER-2 and the effectiveness of some drugs against that.

As an uncommon cause, prolonged aPTT caused by lupus anticoagulant (LA) after infection is easily overlooked. Here, we describe two cases like this. A 3-year-old boy received many tests until dilute Russell’s viper venom time screening, mixing tests, and confirmatory tests were programed. Time and cost consuming, mental stress of the child and his parents were seen. After that, a 4-year-old girl was identified isolated prolonged aPTT at screening before adenotonsillectomy. Fortunately, she was quickly diagnosed. The two cases reveal the construction of the relationship among infection, LA and isolated prolonged aPTT plays a vital role in the clinic practice.

Neonates have never been reported to be symptomatic when affected with a low affinity β-globin variants. We describe here an isolated cyanosis in a full-term neonate who inherited Hb Saint Mandé variant from his father. He exhibited a low oxygen saturation with no sign of pulmonary disease since birth. The risk for the hemoglobinopathy was known but the medical staff initially supposed that there was no reason for clinical impact because of high proportion of HbF. Pediatricians may be aware of the possibility of such conditions to avoid unnecessary investigations and treatment, even in the first days of life.