Analysis of risk factors associated with the high incidence of amblyopia in preterm infants at the corrected gestational age of 12 months.

Objective: To investigate the perinatal and in-hospital risk factors associated with the high incidence of amblyopia in preterm infants and to analyze the correlation between the amblyopia and neurodevelopment.

Methods: Children discharged from the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at 12 months of corrected gestational age were retrospectively included in this study. Ocular screening was performed in children.

Early development of social attention in toddlers at high familial risk for autism spectrum disorder.

The present study explored the early development of social attention of toddlers at high familial risk (HR) for autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Eighteen HR toddlers and twenty-two toddlers at low familial risk for ASD (LR) between 11 and 24 months were asked to watch paired social and non-social videos. We found that: (1) the initial social preference in HR group decreased with age, but not in LR group; (2) both groups showed significant social habituation across trials, but HR group habituated slightly slower as age increased.

Corrigendum: Prevalence of Anemia and Its Associated Risk Factors Among 6-Months-Old Infants in Beijing.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fped.2019.

Prevalence of Anemia and Its Associated Risk Factors Among 6-Months-Old Infants in Beijing.

The worldwide prevalence of anemia is ~24.8%. Iron deficiency anemia is common in children and women and associated with sensory, motor, cognitive, language, and socioemotional deficits.

Controlled Homoepitaxial Growth of Hybrid Perovskites.

Organic-inorganic hybrid perovskites have demonstrated tremendous potential for the next-generation electronic and optoelectronic devices due to their remarkable carrier dynamics. Current studies are focusing on polycrystals, since controlled growth of device compatible single crystals is extremely challenging. Here, the first chemical epitaxial growth of single crystal CH NH PbBr with controlled locations, morphologies, and orientations, using combined strategies of advanced microfabrication, homoepitaxy, and low temperature solution method is reported.

Disruption of hex1 in Trichoderma atroviride leads to loss of Woronin body and decreased tolerance to dichlorvos.

The tolerance of Trichoderma species to organophosphorus pesticides is necessary for their application in the bioremediation of pesticide-polluted environments. In some cases, such a requirement is also key to the synergistic use of these fungi with chemical pesticides, aiming to broaden the scope of control targets to include both plant pathogens and insect pests. However, the mechanism of Trichoderma tolerance of organophosphorus pesticides remains unclear.

Effects of plant species coexistence on soil enzyme activities and soil microbial community structure under Cd and Pb combined pollution.

The relationship between plant species coexistence and soil microbial communities under heavy metal pollution has attracted much attention in ecology. However, whether plant species coexistence could offset the impacts of heavy metal combined pollution on soil microbial community structure and soil enzymes activities is not well studied. The modified ecological dose model and PCR-RAPD method were used to assess the effects of two plant species coexistence on soil microbial community and enzymes activities subjected to Cd and Pb combined stress.

Improvement of phytoextraction and antioxidative defense in Solanum nigrum L. under cadmium stress by application of cadmium-resistant strain and citric acid.

Remediation of plant-microorganism-chelates synergy has been proposed as an effective remediation method for enhancing the removal efficiency of heavy metal. Manipulation of the antioxidative system increases plant tolerance, thereby potentially enhancing the uptake capacity to heavy metal. In this study, we investigated the possibility of improving the phytoextraction of Cd and the antioxidative defense of Solanum nigrum L.

Spatial characteristics of soil enzyme activities and microbial community structure under different land uses in Chongming Island, China: geostatistical modelling and PCR-RAPD method.

Information about soil enzyme activity and soil DNA as indicators of how land use affects soil quality remains unknown for alluvial island. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of land use on enzyme activities and soil gene diversity in the Chongming Island, Shanghai, China, with the aim of providing further knowledge about the problems related to soil quality and its evolving spatial characteristic on the Chongming Island. The results indicate that land use causes an important change of organic matter, with either causing a small decrease or an increase in the absolute enzyme activity.

Expression of the melittin gene of Apis cerana cerana in Escherichia coli.

A cDNA encoding melittin in Apis cerana cerana was obtained by PCR from the recombinant plasmid and cloned into the GST fusion expression vector pGEX-4T-2 for expression of the protein. The expressed protein of about 29 kDa was detected by Western blot and triple antibody sandwich ELISA, indicating that the recombinant protein is the fusion protein of GST-AccM. The expression conditions of GST-AccM fusion protein for Escherichia coli BL21 transformant were optimized.

Cloning and characterization analysis of the genes encoding precursor of mast cell degranulating peptide from 2 honeybee and 3 wasp species.

The precursors of mast cell degranulating peptide (MCDP) genes were amplified by RT-PCR from the total RNA of venom gland of two honeybee species, Apis mellifera ligustica, Apis cerana cerana, and three wasp species, Vespa magnifica, Vespa velutina nigrothorax and Polistes hebraeus, respectively. Their PCR products were ligated into pGEM T-easy vector and the nucleotide sequences were analyzed. The length of five fragments was the same, it was 341 bp containing an ORF of 153 bp coding the precursor of MCDP and 188 bp 3' noncoding region.

[Cloning and comparative analysis of the venom prepromelittin genes from four wasp species].

The total RNAs were isolated from the venom glands of female Polistes hebraeus, Vespula maculifrons, Vespa velutina nigrithorax and Vespa magnifica, respectively. Using the ReverAid First Strand cDNA Synthesis Kit, the first cDNAs were synthesized from the total RNA templates. PCR was carried out for 30 cycles (40s at 94 degrees C, 40s at 52 degrees C and 1 min at 72 degrees C), with a final extension of 10 min at 72 degrees C.