Background Plant mediated induced systemic resistance against the plant-parasitic nematode, M. incognita infecting tomato cv Pusa Ruby was evaluated on application of four nematicidal rhizobacterial isolates (Bacillus subtilis, B. pumilus, B. megaterium and B. cereus) as elicitors and compared with the application of a chemical nematicide, Velum Prime. Methods The bioefficacy trial was conducted in pots preinoculated with the above isolates followed by M. incognita inoculation tomato to observe the reduction in nematode infection at 60 days and effect on photosynthetic and transpiration rates. The mechanism of induced resistance was assessed using qRT-PCR for quantification of three key defense genes(PR-1b, JERF3 and CAT) at 0,2,4,8 and 16 days after inoculation (DAI). The defense enzymes viz., super oxide dismutase(SOD), polyphenol oxidase(PPO), peroxidase (PO), and phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL) were quantified. Results Significant reduction in per cent root galling viz. 84.21 in B. pumilus, 83.70 in B. megaterium, 91.95 in B. subtilis, 81.8 in B. cereus, was observed compared to control. The reproduction factor was the lowest (15.83) in B. subtilis, followed by B. pumilus (21.00), compared to 48.16 in control, with enhanced photosynthetic and transpiration rate. The defense genes, PR-1b, JERF3 and CAT were expressed at 2.5 to 7.5 folds in rhizobacterial treated plants, but not in Velum Prime treatment. The increase in enzyme levels (μmol/min/mg) for SOD was from 1.5 to 17.5, PPO from 2.1 to 7.8, PO from 1.8 to 10.2, and PAL from 1.8 to 8.7 during 0 to 16 DAI.

Temperament is one of the factors that explain individual differences in child cognition, and it is usually measured through parental reports. Few studies showed that temperament reports varied depending on whether the reporter is a parent or a teacher, but a quite unexplored question is how each report predicts child cognition. This study analyzes how temperament reports from parents and teachers, predict the performance in a fluid intelligence task in 87 Argentinean children aged 4-5 years from medium-to-low socioeconomic status. Children were administered the Matrix subtest of KABC-II, and their temperament was evaluated with the CBQ Very Short Form, administered to parents and also to teachers. We will run one multilevel mixed-effects linear regression for CBQ dimensions, including teacher report of child temperament as the first level of nesting, and parental report of child temperament as the second level; the Matrix subtest’s total score will be the dependent variable.

Aggregation-induced emission luminogens (AIEgens) have been regarded as one of the significant prospects for organic light-emitting diodes, sensors, biological therapies, etc. owing to their intense emission in aggregated states. The expanded π-conjugated molecule conformations supposedly acquire the emission with a lower energy, however the optical performance of AIEgens in aggregated states defies this empirical assumption. The unexpected photophysical characteristics of AIEgens make it more challenging to design molecular conformations. Herein, to unveil the crucial factors dominating the optical performance of AIEgens, a series of diphenyldibenzofulvene (DPDBF) derivatives in crystals are utilized. We revealed that the emission energy of DPDBF derivatives in crystals is attributed to the tight connection with the conformation of the planar π-conjugated segment, but not the conformation torsion of phenyl blades or the intermolecular coupling, after systematically analyzing the impact factors, including molecular conformation parameters and intermolecular coupling, and further proved with the calculation results. Although the energy gap between the HOMO and LUMO is somewhat reduced by the expanded π-conjugated molecular conformation of the aforementioned DPDBF derivatives, the Stokes shift effect, which is primarily influenced by the conformation of the planar π-conjugated moiety, can realize to adjust the emission energy in a much more effective manner.

A document by Yiting Jiang. Click on the document to view its contents.

People may never be able to find a neural mechanism that measures the number of action potentials at the neuron scale. For the entire cerebral cortex, a neuron is merely a geometric point, devoid of spatiotemporal features. Neurons cannot tolerate electrical activity that is consistently higher than the action potential. At a certain point in time, numerous neurons collectively generate an “unbearable neural behavior” that forms a “neural sensation.” This “neural sensation” merges to create “neural information,” which in turn produces a “conscious response” within the entire cerebral cortex. The sensations caused by granule cells in the cerebral cortex are specific, while those caused by projection cells in the cerebral cortex are structural. This is because the distribution of granule cells in the cerebral cortex is highly specialized, while projection cells are homogenized. In a brain, neurons with the same properties possess the same neural sensations.

Optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) has successfully demonstrated its viability for clinical applications in dermatology. Due to the high optical scattering property of skin, extracting high-quality OCTA images from skin tissues requires at least six-repeated scans. While the motion artifacts from the patient and the free hand-held probe can lead to a low-quality OCTA image. Our deep-learning-based scan pipeline enables fast and high-quality OCTA imaging with 0.3-second data acquisition. We utilize a fast scanning protocol with a 60 µm/pixel spatial interval rate and introduce Angiography-Reconstruction-Transformer (ART) for 4× super-resolution of low transverse resolution OCTA images. The ART outperforms state-of-the-art networks in OCTA image super-resolution and provides a lighter network size. ART can restore microvessels while reducing the processing time by 85%, and maintaining improvements in structural similarity and peak-signal-to-noise ratio. This study represents that ART can achieve fast and flexible skin OCTA imaging while maintaining image quality.

The Optical Kerr Effect was investigated for the first time in biological tissues. This nonlinear optical effect was explored in both human brain and avian breast tissues using a time-resolved femtosecond pump-probe Optical Kerr Gate. The Optical Kerr Effect describes the nonlinear change in a material’s refractive index in response to an electric field. It is fundamental to spectral effects that are commonly used in biological science. The tested tissues produced a unique ultrafast (700-800 fs) doubled peaked Kerr signal, which is indicative of temporal interplay between the different components (electronic plasma, and molecular) that make up the Kerr index. Temporal properties varied between samples suggesting that this method could be used as a new diagnostic. Understanding this Kerr behavior can help improve current spectral diagnostic techniques, such as SRS, and potentially create a new Kerr based biopsy method for the detection of diseased tissues, such as cancer and Alzheimer’s.

Haemorrhagic stroke (HS) is a devastating form of stroke with a high fatality rate. The lack of rapid lesion detection limits early diagnosis of HS. Several susceptibility genes of HS found in genome-wide association studies (GWAS) warrant transcriptional-level biomarkers for useful utility. 13 GWAS level loci with minor allele frequency ≥ 0.05 were selected out of 95 loci related to HS. After validation, the mRNA expression in peripheral leukocytes of 11 genes (PMF1, SLC25A44, CASZ1, NINJ2, WNK1, DYRK1A, LRCH1, LDLR, SMARCA4, AQP9, and LIPC) were measured in the HS case-control study (64 HS cases vs. 128 controls), and then verified in an ischemic stroke (IS) case-control study (67 IS cases vs. 61 controls). LIPC (P=0.002) and CASZ1 (P=0.040) were downregulated in HS patients, while SLC25A44 was upregulated (P=0.009). In the IS case-control study, the differential expression of LIPC (P=0.034) and SLC25A44 (P<0.001) was observed. Although CASZ1 expression was not different between IS cases and controls (P=0.419) with fold change (FC) of 1.205, the direction of expression was opposite to that in HS case-control study (FC=0.747). The ROCtrfgs of traditional risk factors and gene score which was estimated by combining LIPC, CASZ1, and SLC25A44 expression weights, improved the utility for HS identification by 14.1% compared with ROCtrf (P=0.001). Expression of LIPC, CASZ1, and SLC25A44 could serve as potential biomarkers for identifying HS. CASZ1 might be a cause-specific indicator for differentiating HS from IS. Transcriptional score of these three genes could improve performance of the traditional risk model for HS identification.

In present research, three plant growth-promoting (PGP) non-pathogenic bacterial strains Proteus mirabilis BUFF12, Pseudomonas aeruginosa BUFF14 and Enterobacter xiangfangensis BUFF38 inhabiting buffalo dung identified and studied for antifungal activity. Among three, P. mirabilis showed broad spectrum antifungal activity against Fusarium oxysporum (62.7%) and Rhizoctonia solani (71.7%). FTIR spectral analysis of crude ethyl acetate extract of P. mirabilis showed the presence of O-H, N-H, O=C=O, C=O, C=N, CH2, C-O, C-H, PO2-, and C-C functional groups. GCMS spectral analysis displayed the presence of eleven bioactive metabolites and the major compounds were 2-cyclopenten1-one, 3-(acetyloxy) (23.87%) followed by Glutarimide, N-(4-ethylphenyl)- (19.34%); 4-methyl-2-oxopentanenitrile (14.49%); 2,3-Cyclododecenopyridine (13.40%). The purified compounds also established multifarious PGP activity in test crop plants during pot study for disease management. 2-cyclopenten-1-one,3-(acetyloxy) recorded significant inhibitory activity against F. oxysporum (62.7%), followed by R. solani (71.7%). Pot trial studies with this strain significantly reduced disease severity in fennel plants challenged with F. oxysporum and R. solani infection. Our findings provide new insights into the antifungal activity of P. mirabilis, and suggest this species may a promising candidate as a biocontrol agent to confer resistance to gummosis and foot rot and other phytopathogens in fennel crop.

The immune deregulation and disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) make patients with autoimmune rheumatic diseases (ARD) more susceptible to infection. We aimed to investigate the prevalence and clinical outcome of COVID-19 in ARD patients with different treatments. PubMed, Embase, Medline, Cochrane Library, Web of Science were searched to identify the relevant evidence up to March 20, 2023. The overall prevalence of COVID-19 in ARD patients was 0.061. The ARD patients with glucocorticoids (GC) treatment had the highest prevalence[0.088(95%CI:0.065-0.110)] compared to biological (b) DMARDs[0.041(95%CI:0.031-0.051)], conventional synthetic (cs) DMARDs[0.055(95%CI:0.043-0.067)], and anti-TNF therapy[0.029(95%CI:0.003-0.056)]. In contrast, those receiving anti-TNF therapy had the lowest prevalence. The overall hospitalization rate, ICU admission rate, and mortality of ARD patients due to COVID-19 were 0.402(95%CI:0.330-0.476), 0.077(95%CI:0.051-0.107), and 0.073(95%CI:0.046-0.104). Using bDMARDs had lower hospitalization rates[0.216(95%CI:0.147-0.286)], ICU admission rates[0.010(95%CI:0.000-0.037)], and mortality[0.039(95%CI:0.007-0.087)]. Regression analysis showed a significant negative relationship between bDMARDs monotherapy and ICU admission rates(regression coefficient:-0.156, 95%CI:-0.260 - -0.051, P=0.006). Patients using csDMARDs had higher hospitalization rates[0.607(95%CI:0.450-0.755)], ICU admission rates[0.055(95%CI:0.037-0.075)], and mortality[0.074(95%CI:0.041-0.114)]. Patients using GC had a higher hospitalization rate[0.703(95%CI:0.449-0.910)], higher ICU admission rate[0.094(95%CI:0.046-0.152)], and lower mortality[0.070(95%CI:0.033-0.114)]. Regression analysis showed a significant positive correlation between GC monotherapy and hospitalization(regression coefficient:0.484, 95%CI:0.146-0.822, P=0.006). For ARD patients, csDMARDs were associated with disease severity in COVID-19, bDMARDs were associated with a reduced risk of severe disease, and GC was effective in patients with severe COVID-19-related respiratory failure.

Objective: To explore the positivity of EBV DNA from different disease departments and different sample types in Beijing, China and to help clinicians to choose the appropriate specimens for detection. Methods: A retrospective study was performed on EBV DNA detection by quantitative real time PCR (qPCR) between 2015 and 2021. Data from total 5494 samples were collected. According to the results of EBV DNA detection, the positivity was analyzed by the age, gender, the types of specimens and different clinical departments respectively. Results: Of 5494 samples, the positivity detection rate of EBV DNA was 13.65%. The positivity of EBV DNA in male patient was higher than that of female patient samples (14.87% vs 12.07%, p=0.003). The positivity of EBV DNA in adult samples was higher than that of pediatric samples (14.58% vs 11.71%, p=0.004). Pediatrics at 3-6 years had the highest EBV DNA positivity rate (17.77%) among all pediatric samples. Adults aged 40-50 years has the highest EBV DNA positivity rate (17.50%) among all adult samples. Pediatrics samples from department of Pediatric Hematology had the highest EBV DNA positivity rate (36.36%), followed by that of Pediatric Infection Department (23.23%). Among adult group, the EBV DNA positivity was detected highest in department of Hematology (26.27%), followed by department of Dermatology (21.05%). Of all samples, EBV DNA was detected positively mostly in lymphocyte (48.04%) and respiratory tract specimens (36.00%), which were much higher than those of serum samples (5.58%) ( p<0.05). Conclusions: EBV DNA test should pay more attention in 3-6 years children and 40-50 years adults, especially patients with hematological diseases. Besides, in order to improve the detection rate of EBV DNA, specimens such as lymphocyte and respiratory tract specimens may be collected as a priority selection according to disease.

Introduction Zanubrutinib is a second generation Bruton’s tyrosine kinase inhibitor (BTKi) often used to treat B cell malignancies such as marginal zone lymphoma. BTKis belong to a protein tyrosine kinase family that plays an essential role in the proliferation, differentiation, and survival of B cells. The side effects of BTKis include infection, diarrhea, skin rash, and atrial fibrillation. Invasive fungal infections have been previously described with Ibrutinib (a first generation BTKi) but seldom with second generation BTKis such as zanubrutinib.

Leaves of Alstonias cholaris (L.) R. Br. are sensitive to particulate matter pollution. Thus these leaves show morphological and anatomical changes to counter the effect of particulate matter pollution. To evaluate this, samples of the said leaves were collected from three site of Orange Line Train Route (polluted). Peeling and cross sections were used to study morphological and anatomical features of the leaves of the said tree. The samples were preserved using FAA (Formaline, Acetic acid and Alcohol solution). Sections of the leaves were cut using free hand sectioning techniques and stained using toluidine blue. Then their anatomy was compared to the leaves obtained from Botanical garden of Forman Christian College (unpolluted). Studied carried out on these leaves showed that no significant changes are there in the epidermal cells of both types. But size and number of stomata and size of mesophyll cells showed marked differences. It is necessary to understand the molecular mechanism behind defense mechanism employed by the plant to mitigate the negative effects of particulate matter pollution.

IntroductionMegameatus intact prepuce (MIP) is a unique entity of the hypospadias occurring at the rate of ~1/10.000 and accounting for the 1-3% of the hypospadias incidences [1, 2]. The true incidence is unknown because a number of patients with MIP may not have been identified or because the urethral anomaly is considered clinically insignificant. The etiology of MIP has not been clearly understood yet, but environmental, genetic, and endocrine factors may be implicated [2, 3]. Currently MIP reporting is increasing due to frequent health checkups.

Tongue Necrosis as a Manifestation of Immune Dysfunction: A Complex Case of Lupus, Histoplasmosis, and Macrophage Activation SyndromeMadalyn Walsh, MD1, Alick Feng, MD2, Petar Lenart, MD PhD2, Bharat Kumar, MD MME21Department of Internal Medicine, University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics2Division of Immunology, University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics

As we speak, corollary discharge mechanisms suppress the auditory conscious perception of the self-generated voice in healthy subjects. This suppression has been associated with the attenuation of the auditory N1 component. To analyze this corollary discharge phenomenon (agency and ownership), we registered the Event-Related Potentials of forty-two healthy subjects. The N1 and P2 components were elicited by spoken vowels (talk condition; agency), by played-back vowels recorded with their own voice (listen-self condition; ownership), and by played-back vowels recorded with an external voice (listen-other condition). The N1 amplitude elicited by the talk condition was smaller compared to the listen-self and listen-other conditions. There were no amplitude differences in N1 between listen-self and listen-other conditions. The P2 component did not show differences between conditions. Additionally, a peak latency analysis of N1 and P2 components between the three conditions showed no differences. These findings corroborate previous results showing that the corollary discharge mechanisms dampen sensory responses to self-generated speech (agency experience), and provide new neurophysiological evidence about the similarities in the processing of played-back vowels with our own voice (ownership experience) and with an external voice.

As urbanization and industrialization continue to advance rapidly in China, the issue of farmland abandonment is becoming more prevalent. Nevertheless, this phenomenon is crucial in protecting plant diversity in agricultural landscapes. This study sought to investigate the seasonal variation patterns of plant diversity in abandoned farmland habitats within the Huang-Huai Plain region. The plant community characteristics during spring, summer, and autumn were examined, and the variations in plant species diversity and phylogenetic diversity were analyzed across the different seasons. Spearman correlation analysis was used to explore the interrelationships among various diversity indices, and redundancy analysis and linear regression were employed to examine the connection between plant diversity indices and key soil environmental factors. The results showed that significant seasonal changes occurred in the plant community characteristics of abandoned farmland in the Huang-Huai Plain, with the number of families, genera, and species being highest in spring, followed by summer and autumn. Similarly, plant species diversity, richness index, and phylogenetic diversity were also higher in spring than in summer and autumn. The phylogenetic structure of plant communities tended to diverge in spring, be random in summer, and be clustered in autumn. The phylogenetic diversity and species diversity indexes were strongly associated, and soil organic matter and ammonium nitrogen were significantly positively correlated with plant species diversity and phylogenetic diversity. This study highlights the importance of considering seasonal and temporal scales when studying plant diversity and provides a theoretical basis for biodiversity conservation and agricultural production in the Huang-Huai Plain of China.

Background: Several medicinal treatments for avoiding post-operative ileus (POI) after abdominal surgery have been evaluated in randomised controlled trials. This network meta-analysis aimed to explore the relative effectiveness of these different treatments on ileus outcome measures. Methods: A systematic literature review was performed to identify randomised controlled trials (RCTs) comparing treatments for post-operative ileus following abdominal surgery. A Bayesian network meta-analysis was performed. Direct and indirect comparisons of all regimens were simultaneously compared using random-effects network meta-analysis. Results: A total of 38 randomised controlled trials were included in this network meta-analysis reporting on 6371 patients. Our network meta-analysis shows that prokinetics significantly reduce the duration of first gas (Mean difference (MD) (hours) – 16; credible interval - 30, - 3.1; surface under the cumulative ranking curve (SUCRA) 0.418), duration of first bowel movements (Mean difference (MD) (hours) -25; credible interval - 39, - 11; SUCRA 0.25) and duration of post-operative hospitalisation (Mean difference (MD) (hours) – 1.9; credible interval – 3.8, - 0.040; SUCRA 0.34). Opioid antagonists are the only treatment that significantly improve the duration of food recovery (Mean difference (MD) (hours) - 19; credible interval - 26, - 14; SUCRA 0.163). Conclusion: Based on our meta-analysis, the two most consistent pharmacological treatments able to effectively reduce POI after abdominal surgery are prokinetics and opioid antagonists. The absence of clear superiority of one treatment over another highlights the limits of the pharmacological principles available.

Aim: The aim of the research is to establish a population pharmacokinetic (PPK) model of Clindamycin hydrochloride capsules in Chinese health subjects and investigate the factors affecting the pharmacokinetic parameters to provide guidance for the individualized treatment of Clindamycin. Methods: Clindamycin concentrations were measured in 48 selective health subjects (30 males and 18 females aged 18-45 years). The subjects were assigned to two groups randomly. 150mg Clindamycin oral administration were given at fasting or postprandial, respectively. Blood samples were collected at specified time. A total of 1344 blood drug concentration data were analyzed using NONMEM. The Non-linear mixed effect model was conducted to establish the population pharmacokinetic model of Clindamycin in Chinese healthy patients. The model was verified and evaluated by Visual Prediction Test (VPC) and Bootstrap method. Results: This study established a one-compartment pharmacokinetic model of Clindamycin hydrochloride capsules in Chinese healthy subjects. The final population pharmacokinetic parameters were oral absorption coefficient (Ka=2.69 h-1), apparent volume of distribution (V/F=76.74 L) and apparent clearance (CL/F= 30.10 L·h-1). And the food was the only significant covariate in the model. The final model was stable and predictable, verified by VPC and Bootstrap. Conclusion: A robust and predictable population pharmacokinetic model of Clindamycin in Chinese healthy subjects was constructed successfully. The dietary state had a significant effect on the pharmacokinetics of Clindamycin which gave an important steer for dose adjustment or changing medication in clinical practice. Moreover, the model had great potential to guide the individualized medication of Clindamycin.

While the number and types of indoor air pollutants is rising, much is suspected but little is known about the impact of their potentially synergistic interactions, upon human health. Gases, particulate matter, organic compounds, but also allergens and viruses, fall within the ‘pollutant’ definition. Distinct populations, such as children and allergy and asthma sufferers are highly susceptible, while a low socioeconomic background is a further susceptibility factor; however, no specific guidance is available. We spend most of our time indoors; for children, the school environment is of paramount importance and potentially amenable to intervention. The interactions between some pollutant classes have been studied; for example, respiratory viral infection induces hyperresponsiveness to allergens, as well as irritants. However, a lot is missing in respect to understanding interactions between specific pollutants of different classes in terms of concentrations, timing, and sequence, to improve targeting and upgrade standards. SynAir-G is a European Commission-funded project aiming to reveal and quantify synergistic interactions between different pollutants affecting health, from mechanisms to real-life, focusing on the school setting. It will develop a comprehensive and responsive multipollutant monitoring system, advance environmentally friendly interventions, and disseminate the generated knowledge to relevant stakeholders in accessible and actionable formats.

INTRODUCTION:Human beings are often infected with species of filariasis which are naturally found in animals. Among these the commonly reported is due to dirofilaria species - D repens and D imitis. It is transmitted by mosquito bite. The review of literature revealed around 800 cases reported worldwide. Most of the pediatric cases reported in India are ocular dirofilariasis. Subcutaneous dirofilariasis cases are mostly reported in adult population. Here we present a series of four cases of subcutaneous dirofilariasis in children presenting as subcutaneous nodules.

Photopolymerization as an energy-saving and environment-friendly technology has been applied in many fields and developed continuously since the middle of the 20th century. Today, photopolymerization technology is ubiquitous in every aspect of our lives. This review starts from the principle of photopolymerization reaction, introduces the process of photopolymerization, initiation mechanism of photoinitiators and three kinds of polymerization methods according to the wavelength of irradiation source. Subsequently, review focuses on the application of photopolymerization technology in thiol-based click reaction, 3D printing, photoresist, hydrogels and other fields, so as to demonstrate its irreplaceable role in the present.

The use of JWH-018, which is among the abused bonsai in the world and in our country due to its psychostimulant effect, is increasing day by day. Here, we evaluated the pharmacologic, cardiologic, biochemical, and histopathological effects of acute and subacute administration of low and high doses of JWH-018 in rats. The concentrations of JWH-018 and its metabolites in the heart were analyzed by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. JWH-018 administration caused many cardiac pathologies including dysregulation of the heart rate, and low blood pressure, also induced cardiac arrhythmia, branch blocks, and ischemic ECG changes depending on the drug dosage and the duration of treatment. Echocardiography did not show any significant structural or functional changes among the groups. The level of serum pro-brain natriuretic peptide which is an indication of impaired cardiac capabilities become observed to be elevated in a long-time excessive dose JWH-018 used group. Histopathologic findings consistent with acute myocardial ischemia were detected in the hearts of all groups. Loss of cross-talk of myocardial fibrils, and prominent eosinophilic contraction bands were early signs of acute myocardial infarction (4th and 12th hours), which were more common in subacute groups and associated with ischemia. Desmin staining was observed as increased in subacute groups and there were marked contraction band dyneins. There is growing pharmacological and pathological evidence of impairment, cardiac effects, and tissue injury attributable to this emerging class of drugs.

A document by Ezgi Çay. Click on the document to view its contents.