An explainable deep learning model to predict partial anomalous pulmonary venous connection for patients with atrial septal defect.

Background: Patients with partial anomalous pulmonary venous connection (PAPVC) usually present asymptomatic and accompanied by intricate anatomical types, which results in missed diagnosis from atrial septal defect (ASD). The present study aimed to explore the predictive variables of PAPVC from patients with ASD and constructed an explainable prediction model based on deep learning.

Methods: The retrospective study included 834 inpatients with ASD in Women and Children's Hospital, Qingdao University from January 2018 to January 2023.

Epigenetic Regulation in Insect-Microbe Interactions.

Insects have evolved diverse interactions with a variety of microbes, such as pathogenic fungi, bacteria, and viruses. The immune responses of insect hosts, along with the dynamic infection process of microbes in response to the changing host environment and defenses, require rapid and fine-tuned regulation of gene expression programs. Epigenetic mechanisms, including DNA methylation, histone modifications, and noncoding RNA regulation, play important roles in regulating the expression of genes involved in insect immunity and microbial pathogenicity.

Identification of a longevity gene through evolutionary rate covariation of insect mito-nuclear genomes.

Oxidative phosphorylation, essential for energy metabolism and linked to the regulation of longevity, involves mitochondrial and nuclear genes. The functions of these genes and their evolutionary rate covariation (ERC) have been extensively studied, but little is known about whether other nuclear genes not targeted to mitochondria evolutionarily and functionally interact with mitochondrial genes. Here we systematically examined the ERC of mitochondrial and nuclear benchmarking universal single-copy ortholog (BUSCO) genes from 472 insects, identifying 75 non-mitochondria-targeted nuclear genes.

CHD-CXR: a de-identified publicly available dataset of chest x-ray for congenital heart disease.

Congenital heart disease is a prevalent birth defect, accounting for approximately one-third of major birth defects. The challenge lies in early detection, especially in underdeveloped medical regions where a shortage of specialized physicians often leads to oversight. While standardized chest x-rays can assist in diagnosis and treatment, their effectiveness is limited by subtle cardiac manifestations.

Explanatory deep learning to predict elevated pulmonary artery pressure in children with ventricular septal defects using standard chest x-rays: a novel approach.

Objective: Early risk assessment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) in patients with congenital heart disease (CHD) is crucial to ensure timely treatment. We hypothesize that applying artificial intelligence (AI) to chest x-rays (CXRs) could identify the future risk of PAH in patients with ventricular septal defect (VSD).

Methods: A total of 831 VSD patients (161 PAH-VSD, 670 nonPAH-VSD) was retrospectively included.

Quorum sensing-activated phenylalanine metabolism drives OMV biogenesis to enhance mosquito commensal colonization resistance to Plasmodium.

Gut microbiota and its symbiotic relationship with the host are crucial for preventing pathogen infection. However, little is known about the mechanisms that drive commensal colonization. Serratia bacteria, commonly found in Anopheles mosquitoes, potentially mediate mosquito resistance to Plasmodium.

Outer membrane vesicles from a mosquito commensal mediate targeted killing of Plasmodium parasites via the phosphatidylcholine scavenging pathway.

The gut microbiota is a crucial modulator of Plasmodium infection in mosquitoes, including the production of anti-Plasmodium effector proteins. But how the commensal-derived effectors are translocated into Plasmodium parasites remains obscure. Here we show that a natural Plasmodium blocking symbiotic bacterium Serratia ureilytica Su_YN1 delivers the effector lipase AmLip to Plasmodium parasites via outer membrane vesicles (OMVs).

The Next Generation of Population-Based DFNB16 Carrier Screening and Diagnosis: STRC Copy-Number Variant Analysis from Genome Sequencing Data.

Background: Deafness, autosomal recessive 16 (DFNB16) is caused by compound heterozygous or homozygous variants in STRC and is the second most common form of genetic hearing loss. Due to the nearly identical sequences of STRC and the pseudogene STRCP1, analysis of this region is challenging in clinical testing.

Methods: We developed a method that accurately identifies the copy number of STRC and STRCP1 using standard short-read genome sequencing.

The ASH1-PEX16 regulatory pathway controls peroxisome biogenesis for appressorium-mediated insect infection by a fungal pathogen.

Entomopathogenic fungi infect insects by penetrating through the cuticle into the host body. To breach the host cuticle, some fungal pathogens produce specialized infection cells called appressoria, which develop enormous turgor pressure to allow cuticle penetration. However, regulatory mechanisms underlying appressorium turgor generation are poorly understood.

Expression of mosquito miRNAs in entomopathogenic fungus induces pathogen-mediated host RNA interference and increases fungal efficacy.

The growing threat of insecticide resistance prompts the urgent need to develop additional tools for mosquito control. Entomopathogenic fungi provide an eco-friendly alternative to chemical insecticides. One limitation to the use of mycoinsecticides is their relatively low virulence.

Regulatory Roles of Histone Modifications in Filamentous Fungal Pathogens.

Filamentous fungal pathogens have evolved diverse strategies to infect a variety of hosts including plants and insects. The dynamic infection process requires rapid and fine-tuning regulation of fungal gene expression programs in response to the changing host environment and defenses. Therefore, transcriptional reprogramming of fungal pathogens is critical for fungal development and pathogenicity.

A natural symbiotic bacterium drives mosquito refractoriness to Plasmodium infection via secretion of an antimalarial lipase.

The stalling global progress in the fight against malaria prompts the urgent need to develop new intervention strategies. Whilst engineered symbiotic bacteria have been shown to confer mosquito resistance to parasite infection, a major challenge for field implementation is to address regulatory concerns. Here, we report the identification of a Plasmodium-blocking symbiotic bacterium, Serratia ureilytica Su_YN1, isolated from the midgut of wild Anopheles sinensis in China that inhibits malaria parasites via secretion of an antimalarial lipase.

Clock genes and environmental cues coordinate pheromone synthesis, swarming, and mating.

mating is initiated by the swarming of males at dusk followed by females flying into the swarm. Here, we show that mosquito swarming and mating are coordinately guided by clock genes, light, and temperature. Transcriptome analysis shows up-regulation of the clock genes () and () in the head of field-caught swarming males.

[Clinical features of children with recurrent Kawasaki disease: a Meta analysis].

Objective: To study the clinical features of children with recurrent Kawasaki disease (KD).

Methods: PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, CNKI, Wanfang Med Online, and Weipu Data were searched for case-control studies on the clinical features of initial and recurrent KD. The articles were screened according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria.

Self-limiting paratransgenesis.

Presently, the principal tools to combat malaria are restricted to killing the parasite in infected people and killing the mosquito vector to thwart transmission. While successful, these approaches are losing effectiveness in view of parasite resistance to drugs and mosquito resistance to insecticides. Clearly, new approaches to fight this deadly disease need to be developed.

Coordinated regulation of infection-related morphogenesis by the KMT2-Cre1-Hyd4 regulatory pathway to facilitate fungal infection.

Entomopathogenic fungi can overcome insecticide resistance and represent promising tools for the control of mosquitoes. Better understanding of fungus-mosquito interactions is critical for improvement of fungal efficacy. Upon insect cuticle induction, pathogenic fungi undergo marked infection-related morphological differentiation.

Use of Microbiota to Fight Mosquito-Borne Disease.

Mosquito-borne diseases cause more than 700 million people infected and one million people die (Caraballo and King, 2014). With the limitations of progress toward elimination imposed by insecticide- and drug-resistance, combined with the lack of vaccines, innovative strategies to fight mosquito-borne disease are urgently needed. In recent years, the use of mosquito microbiota has shown great potential for cutting down transmission of mosquito-borne pathogens.

Mosquito Microbiota and Implications for Disease Control.

Mosquito-transmitted diseases account for about 500 000 deaths every year. Blocking these pathogens in the mosquito vector before they are transmitted to humans is an effective strategy to prevent mosquito-borne diseases. Like most higher organisms, mosquitoes harbor a highly diverse and dynamic microbial flora that can be explored for prevention of pathogen transmission.