Precision Assessment of Anti-NMDA Receptor Encephalitis: A Case Report on Integrating Clinical Course, Immunophenotyping, and Comprehensive Symptomatology in a Pediatric Patient With Adjunctive Hydrogen Therapy.

Background/aim: Anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) encephalitis, though rare, is the most common form of autoimmune encephalitis, predominantly affecting young individuals, particularly females. Standard treatments include corticosteroids, intravenous immunoglobulins (IVIG), and plasmapheresis, with rituximab recommended for those unresponsive to first-line therapies. However, reliable biomarkers for clinical assessment remain elusive.

Sex-determining region Y gene promotes liver fibrosis and accounts for sexual dimorphism in its pathophysiology.

Background & Aims: Men are more prone to develop and die from liver fibrosis than women. In this study, we aim to investigate how sex-determining region Y gene (SRY) in hepatocytes promotes liver fibrosis.

Methods: Hepatocyte-specific Sry knock-in (KI), Sry knockout (KO), and Sry KI with platelet-derived growth factor receptor α (Pdgfrα) KO mice were generated.

Supramolecular Structure and Photo-Thermo-Electric Property of Hydrogen-Bonded Liquid Crystalline Polymer Containing Poly(4-vinylpridine) and Cyanostilbene Side Chains.

A series of side-chain liquid crystalline polymers P4VP(CN-DBE) , where x is the molar ratio of cyanostilbene (CN-DBE) to poly(4-vinylpyridine) (P4VP) repeating unit, was synthesized based on the intermolecular hydrogen bonding between P4VP and CN-DBE. Their luminescent property, liquid crystalline structure and photo-thermo-electric property were elucidated using photoluminescence spectra, X-ray diffraction, thermal imaging and thermoelectric experiments. With the increase of x, the supramolecular system can be changed from lamellar structure to hexagonal columnar structure.

[A fixation frame for acupuncture and moxibustion of Shu-Mu acupoint combination in rats].

Shu-Mu acupoint combination is commonly employed in acupuncture and moxibustion treatment. In animal experiments, it is difficult to implement such combination because of the uncontrollable features of animals. Therefore, there is an urgent need to design an experimental device to facilitate the operation of acupuncture and moxibustion at Shu-Mu acupoints in rats.

Assessing the Effect of Simultaneous Combining of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation and Transcutaneous Auricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation on the Improvement of Working Memory Performance in Healthy Individuals.

A previous study found that combining transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) and transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) could evoke significantly larger activation on a range of cortical and subcortical brain regions than the numerical summation of tDCS and taVNS effects. In this study, two within-subject experiments were employed to investigate its effects on working memory (WM). In experiment 1, the WM modulatory effects of tDCS over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), taVNS, and simultaneous joint simulation of tDCS over the left DLPFC and taVNS (SJS-L) were compared among 60 healthy subjects.

Relationship between carotid artery stiffness and total serum homocysteine in coronary slow flow phenomenon: a high-resolution echo-tracking study.

Background: Coronary slow flow phenomenon (CSFP) is not uncommon in conventional coronary angiography. A disorder of serum homocysteine (tHcy) metabolism may play a role in the pathogenesis of slow coronary flow. Moreover, elevated tHcy concentration is closely associated with atherosclerosis.

[Rule mining of acupoint and medication selection of acupoint application therapy for functional constipation].

Objective: To analyze the rules of acupoint and medication selection of acupoint application therapy for functional constipation (FC) by data mining technology.

Methods: The clinical research literature regarding acupoint application therapy for FC from published to February 26, 2020 was searched in CNKI, VIP, Wanfang, SinoMed and PubMed. The prescriptions were extracted, and by using SPSS24.

Pheromone antagonism in Plu tella xylostella (Linnaeus) by sex pheromones of two sympatric noctuid moths.

Background: Responses to sex pheromones are commonly antagonized by pheromone components of closely related species. Pheromone antagonism has not been widely explored for phylogenetically distant species that have completely different pheromone components. Yet, pheromone components of sympatrically occurring species may also interfere with each other even if these species are distantly related.

Field-effect pump: liquid dielectrophoresis along a virtual microchannel with source-gate-drain electric fields.

We investigate liquid dielectrophoresis (LDEP) to implement field-effect pumps (FEPs) that drive liquids from source, via gate, toward drain electric fields between parallel plates without external pumps or the problem of dead volume. The appropriate gate electric field establishes a wall-less virtual microchannel to transfer the liquid from source to drain with an adjustable flow rate (Q) controlled by the difference of the square of the electric field strength (ΔE2DS). Analogous to field-effect transistors (FETs), the FEPs can operate in a "linear", "transition" or "saturation" region depending on ΔE2GD and ΔE2DS.

Implementation of CsLIS/NES in linalool biosynthesis involves transcript splicing regulation in Camellia sinensis.

Volatile terpenoids produced in tea plants (Camellia sinensis) are airborne signals interacting against other ecosystem members, but also pleasant odorants of tea products. Transcription regulation (including transcript processing) is pivotal for plant volatile terpenoid production. In this study, a terpene synthase gene CsLIS/NES was recovered from tea plants (C.

Sex difference determined the role of sex hormone-binding globulin in obese children during short-term weight reduction program.

The relationship between hyperinsulinemia and decreased sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) levels has been observed in obese adults and children. Weight reduction not only increased insulin sensitivity but also elevated serum SHBG levels in obese adults and children. However, the correlation between the changes in insulin resistance indices and serum SHBG concentration during weight reduction program (WRP) is not fully understood, particularly in obese children.

A high-density microelectrode-tissue-microelectrode sandwich platform for application of retinal circuit study.

Background: Microelectrode array (MEA) devices are frequently used in neural circuit studies, especially in retinal prosthesis. For a high throughput stimulation and recording paradigm, it is desirable to obtain the responses of multiple surface RGCs initiated from the electrical signals delivered to multiple photoreceptor cells. This can be achieved by an high density MEA-tissue-MEA (MTM) sandwich configuration.

A social diffusion model with an application on election simulation.

Issues about opinion diffusion have been studied for decades. It has so far no empirical approach to model the interflow and formation of crowd's opinion in elections due to two reasons. First, unlike the spread of information or flu, individuals have their intrinsic attitudes to election candidates in advance.

Multiphase optofluidics on an electro-microfluidic platform powered by electrowetting and dielectrophoresis.

For diverse material phases used on an electro-microfluidic (EMF) platform, exploiting the electro-optical properties of matter in varied phases is essential to reap the benefits of the optofluidic capabilities of that platform. Materials in the four fundamental phases--solid-phase dielectric layer, liquid-phase droplet, gas-phase bubble, and plasma-phase bubble microplasma--have been investigated to offer electrically tunable optical characteristics for the manipulation of fluids on an EMF platform. Here we present an overview of the basic driving mechanisms for electrowetting and dielectrophoresis on the EMF platform.

Effect of larvae treated with mixed biopesticide Bacillus thuringiensis-abamectin on sex pheromone communication system in cotton bollworm, Helicoverpa armigera.

Third instar larvae of the cotton bollworm (Helicoverpa armigera) were reared with artificial diet containing a Bacillus thuringiensis-abamectin (BtA) biopesticide mixture that resulted in 20% mortality (LD20). The adult male survivors from larvae treated with BtA exhibited a higher percentage of "orientation" than control males but lower percentages of "approaching" and "landing" in wind tunnel bioassays. Adult female survivors from larvae treated with BtA produced higher sex pheromone titers and displayed a lower calling percentage than control females.

[Research on extraction method of water body with DS spectral enhancement based on HJ-1 images].

Natural disaster is one of the major global issues, and it is an important premise for disaster prevention and reduction to monitor it. In the present paper, multi-temporal HJ-1 images pre- and posto-typhoon Morakot were used. First, radiometric calibration and registration were done, then, decorrelation stretch (DS) was applied, and finally, maximum likelihood classification (MLC) was adopted to extract water body and monitor change of water body caused by typhoon Morakot.

Thermally induced morphology evolution of pit-patterned Si substrate and its effect on nucleation properties of Ge dots.

We demonstrate the effect of the pre-growth heat treatment process on the nucleation properties of Ge dots grown on pit-patterned Si(001) substrates. The prefabricated 200 nm diameter pits inherently evolve into truncated inverted pyramids (TIPs) with (110) base edges and a 7°-9° sidewall slope during heat treatment; this morphology transformation is robust against variations in shape and orientation of the pit patterns. Uniform Ge dots with an areal density of 4 × 10(9) cm(-2) were obtained on the Si substrates having TIPs.

[Normalized difference ratio pigment index for estimating chlorophyll and cartenoid contents of in leaves of rice].

The objective of the present study was (1) to construct new pigment indices based on making full use of all the spectral bands in the 350-2,500 nm region and (2) to compare the performance of these new pigment indices with that of the published normalized difference ratio pigment indices in estimating pigment content of rice. The 252 leaves of rice were sampled at different development stages, representing a wide range of pigment contents. The hyperspectral reflectance of leaves of rice and the corresponding chlorophyll contents and carotenoid contents were measured.

Optimal waveband identification for estimation of leaf area index of paddy rice.

The objectives of the study were to select suitable wavebands for rice leaf area index (LAI) estimation using the data acquired over a whole growing season, and to test the efficiency of the selected wavebands by comparing them with feature positions of rice canopy spectra. In this study, the field experiment in 2002 growing season was conducted at the experimental farm of Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China. Measurements of hyperspectral reflectance (350 approximately 2500 nm) and corresponding LAI were made for a paddy rice canopy throughout the growing season.