Histologic and Clinical Factors Associated with Kidney Outcomes in IgA Vasculitis Nephritis.

Background: Nephritis is a common manifestation of IgA vasculitis and is morphologically indistinguishable from IgA nephropathy. While MEST-C scores are predictive of kidney outcomes in IgA nephropathy, their value in IgA vasculitis nephritis has not been investigated in large multiethnic cohorts.

Methods: Biopsies from 262 children and 99 adults with IgA vasculitis nephritis ( N =361) from 23 centers in North America, Europe, and Asia were independently scored by three pathologists.

Hypoxia-Preconditioned Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cells Improved Cerebral Collateral Circulation and Stroke Outcome in Mice.

Background: Adequate collateral circulation can remarkably improve patient prognoses for patients experiencing ischemic stroke. Hypoxic preconditioning enhances the regenerative properties of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs). Rabep2 (RAB GTPase binding effector protein 2) is a key protein in collateral remodeling.

Anisotropic Melting Path of Charge-Ordering Insulator in LSMO/STO Superlattice.

Multiple phases coexist in manganite with simultaneously active couplings, and the transition among them depends on the relative intensities of different interactions. However, the melting path with variable intensities is unclear. The concentration and the ordering of oxygen vacancy in previous work are found to induce ferromagnetic charge-ordering insulator phase in [(La Sr MnO ) /(SrTiO ) ] superlattice, which translates into metallic phase with magnetic field H and temperature T.

Potent Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Efficacy of COVID-19 Hyperimmune Globulin from Vaccine-Immunized Plasma.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) remains a global public health threat. Hence, more effective and specific antivirals are urgently needed. Here, COVID-19 hyperimmune globulin (COVID-HIG), a passive immunotherapy, is prepared from the plasma of healthy donors vaccinated with BBIBP-CorV (Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine).

Causal Associations Between Blood Lipids and COVID-19 Risk: A Two-Sample Mendelian Randomization Study.

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Interlayer Coupling Dependent Discrete H → T' Phase Transition in Lithium Intercalated Bilayer Molybdenum Disulfide.

In this work, the interlayer coupling dependent lithium intercalation induced phase transition in bilayer MoS (BL-MoS) was investigated using an atomic-resolution annual dark-field scanning transmission electron microscope (ADF-STEM). It was revealed that the lithiation induced H → T' phase transition in BL-MoS strongly depended on the interlayer twist angle; i.e.

Safety, Tolerability and Pharmacokinetics of the Serotonin 5-HT6 Receptor Antagonist, HEC30654, in Healthy Chinese Subjects.

HEC30654 is a selective 5-HT6 receptor antagonist that was safe and well-tolerated in preclinical models of Alzheimer's disease. The objective of this double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial was to evaluate the safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetic profile of HEC30654 after single ascending doses in healthy Chinese subjects. Healthy volunteers received a single oral dose of HEC30654 (5, 10, 15, 30, 60 mg).

Volumetric Accuracy Analysis of Virtual Safety Barriers for Cooperative-Control Robotic Mastoidectomy.

Hypothesis: Virtual fixtures can be enforced in cooperative-control robotic mastoidectomies with submillimeter accuracy.

Background: Otologic procedures are well-suited for robotic assistance due to consistent osseous landmarks. We have previously demonstrated the feasibility of cooperative-control robots (CCRs) for mastoidectomy.

One in seven pathogenic variants can be challenging to detect by NGS: an analysis of 450,000 patients with implications for clinical sensitivity and genetic test implementation.

Purpose: To evaluate the impact of technically challenging variants on the implementation, validation, and diagnostic yield of commonly used clinical genetic tests. Such variants include large indels, small copy-number variants (CNVs), complex alterations, and variants in low-complexity or segmentally duplicated regions.

Methods: An interlaboratory pilot study used synthetic specimens to assess detection of challenging variant types by various next-generation sequencing (NGS)-based workflows.

The complete chloroplast genome sequence of (Hamamelidaceae).

H.T.Chang is a critically endangered tree species endemic to southern China.

An Herbal Formulation of Jiawei Xiaoyao for the Treatment of Functional Dyspepsia: A Multicenter, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled, Clinical Trial.

Introduction: To investigate the efficacy and safety of an herbal formulation of Jiawei Xiaoyao (JX) on gastrointestinal symptoms in patients with functional dyspepsia (FD) who had previously rejected standard therapies of proton pump inhibitors, H2 blockers, or Helicobacter pylori eradication.

Methods: A total of 144 adult men and women with FD according to the Rome III criteria were recruited at 9 sites in China from August 2017 to April 2019. Participants were randomized to receive either a JX pill or placebo (12 g/d, 6 g twice a day) for 4 weeks.

A novel LC-MS/MS method for the quantification of ulipristal acetate in human plasma: Application to a pharmacokinetic study in healthy Chinese female subjects.

Objectives: A LC-MS/MS method for the detection of ulipristal acetate in humans which was not only simple and rapid in sample pretreatment process and chromatographic condition, but also highly selective and sensitive in MS condition was developed, and the fully validated method was applied for investigating the pharmacokinetic properties of ulipristal acetate following single oral administration of Esmya in healthy Chinese subjects for the first time.

Materials And Methods: After single-step protein precipitation with methanol, ulipristal acetate and ulipristal acetate-d3 (IS) were chromatographed on an ACE Excel 3 C-PFP column with gradient elution procedure, and detected by positive electrospray ionization with multiple reaction monitoring mode using the respective precursor-product ion transitions of m/z 476.2→134.

Scavenging of reactive dicarbonyls with 2-hydroxybenzylamine reduces atherosclerosis in hypercholesterolemic Ldlr mice.

Lipid peroxidation generates reactive dicarbonyls including isolevuglandins (IsoLGs) and malondialdehyde (MDA) that covalently modify proteins. Humans with familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) have increased lipoprotein dicarbonyl adducts and dysfunctional HDL. We investigate the impact of the dicarbonyl scavenger, 2-hydroxybenzylamine (2-HOBA) on HDL function and atherosclerosis in Ldlr mice, a model of FH.

Taxonomic studies on Roxburgh s.l. (Zingiberaceae) in Myanmar II: one new species and five new records for the flora of Myanmar.

In the course of a study of s.l. (Zingiberaceae) in Myanmar, Y.

Intrinsic ferromagnetism and valley polarization in hydrogenated group V transition-metal dinitride (MNH, M = V/Nb/Ta) nanosheets: insights from first-principles.

Due to the extraordinary electronic and magnetic properties, transition-metal dinitrides (TMDNs) and their derivatives are gaining importance in low-dimensional layered materials. In this work, through first-principles calculations, we have comprehensively investigated the structural and electronic properties of hydrogenated group V TMDN nanosheets. We find that surface hydrogenation can well stabilize the H-, T- and M-phase structures of group V TMDNs, for which the formed MN2H2 nanosheets have robust energetic, dynamical and thermal stabilities.

Phenotypic Screen with the Human Secretome Identifies FGF16 as Inducing Proliferation of iPSC-Derived Cardiac Progenitor Cells.

Paracrine factors can induce cardiac regeneration and repair post myocardial infarction by stimulating proliferation of cardiac cells and inducing the anti-fibrotic, antiapoptotic, and immunomodulatory effects of angiogenesis. Here, we screened a human secretome library, consisting of 923 growth factors, cytokines, and proteins with unknown function, in a phenotypic screen with human cardiac progenitor cells. The primary readout in the screen was proliferation measured by nuclear count.

Intraventricular Thrombus Formation and Embolism in Takotsubo Syndrome: Insights From the International Takotsubo Registry.

Objective: Takotsubo syndrome (TTS) is characterized by acute left ventricular dysfunction, which can contribute to intraventricular thrombus and embolism. Still, prevalence and clinical impact of thrombus formation and embolic events on outcome of TTS patients remain unclear. This study aimed to investigate clinical features and outcomes of patients with and without intraventricular thrombus or embolism.

Spliced X-box Binding Protein 1 Stimulates Adaptive Growth Through Activation of mTOR.

Background: The unfolded protein response plays versatile roles in physiology and pathophysiology. Its connection to cell growth, however, remains elusive. Here, we sought to define the role of unfolded protein response in the regulation of cardiomyocyte growth in the heart.

Multi-platform discovery of haplotype-resolved structural variation in human genomes.

The incomplete identification of structural variants (SVs) from whole-genome sequencing data limits studies of human genetic diversity and disease association. Here, we apply a suite of long-read, short-read, strand-specific sequencing technologies, optical mapping, and variant discovery algorithms to comprehensively analyze three trios to define the full spectrum of human genetic variation in a haplotype-resolved manner. We identify 818,054 indel variants (<50 bp) and 27,622 SVs (≥50 bp) per genome.

Machine learning-powered antibiotics phenotypic drug discovery.

Identification of novel antibiotics remains a major challenge for drug discovery. The present study explores use of phenotypic readouts beyond classical antibacterial growth inhibition adopting a combined multiparametric high content screening and genomic approach. Deployment of the semi-automated bacterial phenotypic fingerprint (BPF) profiling platform in conjunction with a machine learning-powered dataset analysis, effectively allowed us to narrow down, compare and predict compound mode of action (MoA).

Molecular variation and population structure in endangered Limonium bicolor: genetic diversity of microsatellite markers and amplified fragment length polymorphism analysis.

Knowledge and analysis of the genetic structure of an endangered species is important for its conservation and evolutionary process. Simple sequence repeats (SSRs) and amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLPs) were used in evaluation of the genetic diversity and population differentiation in (Plumbaginaceae), an endangered herb with high medicinal and horticulture value. A total of 117 alleles were detected with an average 5.

A Deep Learning Model to Predict a Diagnosis of Alzheimer Disease by Using F-FDG PET of the Brain.

Purpose To develop and validate a deep learning algorithm that predicts the final diagnosis of Alzheimer disease (AD), mild cognitive impairment, or neither at fluorine 18 (F) fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) PET of the brain and compare its performance to that of radiologic readers. Materials and Methods Prospective F-FDG PET brain images from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) (2109 imaging studies from 2005 to 2017, 1002 patients) and retrospective independent test set (40 imaging studies from 2006 to 2016, 40 patients) were collected. Final clinical diagnosis at follow-up was recorded.

Screening of candidate gene responses to cadmium stress by RNA sequencing in oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.).

Cadmium (Cd) stress is one of the most serious threats to agriculture in the world. Oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.) is an important oil crop; however, Cd can easily accumulate in rapeseed and thus harm human health through the food chain.

Pharmacokinetic Studies of Factor VIII in Chinese Boys with Severe Hemophilia A: A Single-Center Study.

Background: Although much attention has been paid to the pharmacokinetics (PKs) of different factor VIII (FVIII) concentrates in persons with hemophilia A (HA), limited information is available in young boys with severe HA. In this study, we aimed to assess the PK parameters of FVIII products in boys with severe HA in China.

Methods: A total of 36 boys (plasma-derived [pd]-FVIII, n = 15; recombinant [r] FVIII, n = 21) were enrolled between January 2015 and May 2016 in Beijing Children's Hospital.