Associations of Serum Antimicrobial Peptide LL-37 with Longitudinal Cognitive Decline and Neurodegeneration Among Older Adults with Memory Complaints.

Background: A potential role of the antimicrobial peptide LL-37, which is upregulated after infection, in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) was identified. However, the clinical relevance of LL-37 in AD is not clear yet.

Objective: This study aims to investigate the association of circulating LL-37 with longitudinal cognitive decline and neurodegeneration among older adults with memory complaints.

Leukoencephalopathy in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia after chemotherapy: a retrospective monocenter study.

Background: To investigate the clinical and neuroimaging characteristics of leukoencephalopathy among children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), especially after chemotherapy.

Methods: Clinical data for 17 pediatric patients with leukoencephalopathy and 17 matched controls were retrospectively analyzed. All participants were children with ALL admitted to the Children's Hospital of Soochow University from May 2011 to April 2021.

Safety and clinical efficacy of linezolid in children: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: We aimed to evaluate the tolerability and efficacy of linezolid in children for treating suspected and diagnosed Gram-positive bacterial infections.

Methods: A systematic literature search was conducted up to April 23, 2021, using linezolid and its synonyms as search terms. Two reviewers independently identified and extracted relevant randomized controlled trials and prospective cohort studies.

Acute Hepatitis of Unknown Origin in Children: Early Observations from the 2022 Outbreak.

Recent reports of acute hepatitis of unknown origin in previously healthy children have been increasing worldwide. The main characteristics of the affected children were jaundice and gastrointestinal symptoms. Their serum aminotransaminase levels were above 500 IU/L, with negative tests for hepatitis viruses A-E.

MiR-27a promotes EMT in ovarian cancer through active Wnt/𝜷-catenin signalling by targeting FOXO1.

Background: Ovarian cancer (OC) is the fifth most common type of cancer in women worldwide. MiR-27a plays an important role in the development of ovarian cancer. However, the exact function and molecular mechanism of miR-27a in epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) has not been thoroughly elucidated to date.

Effects of an EPSPS-transgenic soybean line ZUTS31 on root-associated bacterial communities during field growth.

The increased worldwide commercial cultivation of transgenic crops during the past 20 years is accompanied with potential effects on the soil microbial communities, because many rhizosphere and endosphere bacteria play important roles in promoting plant health and growth. Previous studies reported that transgenic plants exert differential effects on soil microbial communities, especially rhizobacteria. Thus, this study compared the soybean root-associated bacterial communities between a 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase -transgenic soybean line (ZUTS31 or simply Z31) and its recipient cultivar (Huachun3 or simply HC3) at the vegetative, flowering, and seed-filling stages.

[Risk factors for 5-year recurrence of spontaneous symptomatic epileptic seizures in infants and young children].

Objective: To investigate the recurrence rate and risk factors of spontaneous symptomatic epileptic seizures after the first episode in infants and young children.

Methods: The clinical data of infants and young children who experienced the first episode of spontaneous symptomatic epileptic seizures between April 2009 and April 2011 in Suzhou Children's Hospital were collected. Follow-up visits were performed once every 1-3 months, and the follow-up time was 1-60 months.

Study of Posterior Reversible Encephalopathy Syndrome in Children With Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia After Induction Chemotherapy.

Increasing occurrence of posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome has been reported in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. However, the etiology of posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome is not clear. To study the possible pathogenetic mechanisms and treatment of this complication, we reported 11 cases of pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia who developed posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome after induction chemotherapy.

[Diagnostic values of neopterin and S100b for central nervous system infections in children].

Objective: To study the diagnostic values of cerebrospinal concentrations of neopterin (NPT) and S100b for central nervous system infections in children.

Methods: Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to determinate the cerebrospinal concentrations of NPT and S100b in children with central nervous system infections and control children. The two groups of children were compared in terms of the two indicators, and the diagnostic values of the two indicators were evaluated by ROC curve analysis.

[Sperm DNA damage and sperm-nucleoprotein transition correlate to acrosin activity and seminal parameters].

Objective: To investigate the correlation of sperm DNA damage and sperm-nucleoprotein transition with acrosin activity and seminal parameters.

Methods: We collected 535 semen samples, assessed sperm DNA damage by sperm chromatin dispersion test, and analyzed the correlation of sperm DNA damage and sperm-nucleoprotein transition with acrosin activity and seminal parameters according to the WHO criteria.

Results: Statistically significant differences were observed in sperm DNA damage among sperm-nucleoprotein transition, acrosin activity, sperm concentration and the percentage of grade a + b sperm (P < 0.

Bradyrhizobium arachidis sp. nov., isolated from effective nodules of Arachis hypogaea grown in China.

Twenty-three bacterial strains isolated from root nodules of Arachis hypogaea and Lablab purpureus grown in five provinces of China were classified as a novel group within the genus Bradyrhizobium by analyses of PCR-based RFLP of the 16S rRNA gene and 16S-23S IGS. To determine their taxonomic position, four representative strains were further characterized. The comparative sequence analyses of 16S rRNA and six housekeeping genes clustered the four strains into a distinctive group closely related to the defined species Bradyrhizobium liaoningense, Bradyrhizobium yuanmingense, Bradyrhizobium huanghuaihaiense, Bradyrhizobium japonicum and Bradyrhizobium daqingense.

[Antitumor effect of natural killer cells in vitro by blocking transforming growth factor-β signaling].

Objective: To investigate the antitumor effect of natural killer (NK) cells on human colorectal cancer cells HT-29 in vitro by blocking transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) signaling in NK cells transfected with vector containing dominant negative TGF-β type 2 receptor (DNTβR2).

Methods: TGF-β1 was added at the final concentration of 10 ng/ml for HT-29 cells. Primary NK cells were transfected with recombinant plasmid pIRES2-AcGFP-DNTβR2 and control plasmid pIRES2-AcGFP using Amaxa Nucleofector technology respectively.

(E)-2-Hydr-oxy-3-methoxy-benzaldehyde thio-semicarbazone.

In the title compound, C(9)H(11)N(3)O(2)S, intra-molecular O-H⋯O and N-H⋯N hydrogen bonds contribute to the planarity of the mol-ecular skeleton. Inter-molecular N-H⋯O hydrogen bonds link the mol-ecules into zigzag chains along the b axis; these mol-ecules are futher paired by π-π inter-actions [centroid-centroid distance 4.495 (5) Å].

[Study on the pathogens correlated to sexually transmitted diseases in 285 pre-pubertal girls with vulvovaginitis in Beijing].

Objective: To study the relationship between vulvovaginitis in pre-pubertal girls and pathogens as Chlamydia trachomatis (Ct), N. gonorrhoeae (Ng), Mycoplasma, Ureaplasma urealyticum (Uu), Mycoplasma hominis (Mh), M. genitalium (Mg), M.

[Meiotic segregation results of male reciprocal chromosome translocations].

Objective: To analyze the meiotic segregation results of male reciprocal chromosome translocation by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH).

Methods: Multi-color FISH using 3 combined probes located in any 3 chromosome segments on both sides of two breakpoints was performed on the de-condensed sperm head to analyze the sperm chromosomal contents and segregation patterns.

Results: Four male reciprocal translocation carriers were included in the study, with the karyotypes of 46, XY, t(2;18) (p16; q23); 46, XY, t(4;6) (q34;q21); 46, XY, t(8;13) (q23;q21) and 46, XY, t(4;5) (4q31;5q13), respectively.

[Cloning, purification, and antigenic characterization of three recombinant fragments derived from SARS-CoV S1 domain].

Objective: The present study aimed to clone and express three fragments of genomic RNA derived from SARS associated coronavirus (SARS-CoV) S1 domain and to study its immunogenicity.

Methods: The S1 domain gene was amplified by PCR with specific primers and was inserted into the prokaryotic expression vector pQE-30. Three fragments (40-751, 746-1344 and 746-2001 bp) derived from S1 domain produced after the recombinant plasmid (pQE-30/S1) was digested by restriction endonucleases.

Sensitive and specific monoclonal antibody-based capture enzyme immunoassay for detection of nucleocapsid antigen in sera from patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome.

A rapid antigen test for the diagnosis of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is essential for control of this disease at the point of management. The nucleocapsid (N) protein of SARS-associated coronavirus (SARS-CoV) is abundantly expressed in infected-cell culture filtrate as demonstrable by Western blotting using convalescent-phase sera from patients with SARS. We used monoclonal antibodies specifically directed against N protein to establish a sensitive antigen capture sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the detection of SARS-CoV.

Rapid and efficient preparation of monoclonal antibodies against SARS-associated coronavirus nucleocapsid protein by immunizing mice.

Objective: To develop a rapid and efficient method for preparing monoclonal antibodies (mAb) against SARS-associated coronavirus (SARS-Cov) nucleocapsid (N) protein.

Methods: BALB/c mice were injected with the recombinant N protein of SARS-Cov into the foot-pads for the immunization, and the popliteal lymph nodes were isolated 15 d later for mAb-producing hybridomas, from which the mAbs against the N protein of SARS-Cov were screened. The identification of the mAb against the N protein of SARS-Cov was performed using indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), indirect fluorescent-antibody assay (IFA), and Western immunoblotting.