[Thumbtack needle at front- points for abnormal behavior in children with autism spectrum disorders].

Objective: To compare the clinical effect of thumbtack needle at front- points combined with conventional rehabilitation training and simple conventional rehabilitation training in the treatment of autism spectrum disorders (ASD).

Methods: A total of 40 children with ASD were randomly divided into a combination group (20 cases, 3 cases dropped out) and a conventional rehabilitation group (20 cases, 3 cases dropped out). Conventional rehabilitation training i.

Enhanced Brain Clearance of Tau and Amyloid-β in Alzheimer's Disease Patients by Transcranial Radiofrequency Wave Treatment: A Central Role of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF).

Background: While drainage/removal of fluid and toxins from the brain by cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) directly into venous blood is well-known, a second drainage route has recently been (re)discovered-meningeal lymphatic vessels (mLVs)-which are responsible for up to half of total brain fluid/toxin drainage. The cytokine vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) increases mLV diameter and numbers to increase mLV drainage, resulting in increased mLV drainage. Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by low plasma and CSF levels of VEGF.

Investigating the spatiotemporal expression of genes lead to the discovery of tobacco root as a cembranoid-producing organ.

Tobacco cembranoids, known for their anti-insect and antifungal properties, were shown to be mainly present on the surface of leaves and flowers, being biosynthesized by their trichomes. It remains unclear whether they could be biosynthesized in other organs without trichomes. Cembratrien-ol synthases (CBTSs) catalyze the conversion of GGPP to CBT-ols and thus play an important role in cembranoid biosynthesis.

Correction: Cell Therapy: A Safe and Efficacious Therapeutic Treatment for Alzheimer's Disease in APP+PS1 Mice.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.

Soil amendments alter cadmium distribution and bacterial community structure in paddy soils.

Soil amendments play a pivotal role in ensuring the safety of food production by inhibiting the transfer of heavy metal ions from soils to crops. Nevertheless, their impact on soil characteristics and the microbial community and their role in reducing cadmium (Cd) accumulation in rice remain unclear. In this study, pot experiments were conducted to investigate the effects of three soil amendments (mineral, organic, and microbial) on the distribution of Cd speciation, organic components, iron oxides, and microbial community structure.

Meta-analysis on the impact of immune senescence: Unravelling the interplay in cutaneous wound healing and lung cancer progression.

The primary objective of this meta-analysis was to provide the comprehensive understanding of the intricate correlation that existed between immune senescence and its effects on the advancement of lung cancer as well as recovery of cutaneous wounds. By conducting this systematic review of six rigorous studies utilizing databases such as PubMed and Web of Science, this research examined the multitude of facets pertaining to immune aging and consequences it bear on the health outcomes. The incorporated studies encompassed wide range of geographical and methodological viewpoints, with the specific emphasis on non-small-cell lung cancer and diverse scenarios related to wound recovery.

Analysis of influencing factors and interaction of body weight and disease outcome in patients with prediabetes.

Background: The trend of prediabetes progressing to type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is prominent, and effective intervention can lead to a return to prediabetes. Exploring the factors influencing the outcome of prediabetes is helpful to guide clinical intervention. The weight change in patients with prediabetes has not attracted much attention.

Soil conditioners promote the formation of Fe-bound organic carbon and its stability.

The close association of soil organic carbon (SOC) with Fe oxides is an important stabilization mechanism for soil organic matter (SOM) against biodegradation. Soil conditioners are of great importance in improving soil quality and soil health. Yet it remains unclear how different conditioners would affect the fractionation of SOC, particularly the Fe-bound organic carbon (Fe-OC).

Research progress of nano-scale secondary ion mass spectrometry (NanoSIMS) in soil science: Evolution, applications, and challenges.

Nano-scale secondary ion mass spectrometry (NanoSIMS) has emerged as a powerful analytical tool for investigating various aspects of soils. In recent decades, the widespread adoption of advanced instrumentation and methods has contributed significantly to our understanding of organic-mineral assemblages. However, few literature reviews have comprehensively summarized NanoSIMS and its evolution, applications, limitations, and integration with other analytical techniques.

Ultralow Power and Shifting-Discretized Magnetic Racetrack Memory Device Driven by Chirality Switching and Spin Current.

Magnetic racetrack memory has significantly evolved and developed since its first experimental verification and is considered one of the most promising candidates for future high-density on-chip solid-state memory. However, both the lack of a fast and precise magnetic domain wall (DW) shifting mechanism and the required extremely high DW motion (DWM) driving current make the racetrack difficult to commercialize. Here, we propose a method for coherent DWM that is free from the above issues, which is driven by chirality switching (CS) and an ultralow spin-orbit-torque (SOT) current.

Multi-Targeting Intranasal Nanoformulation as a Therapeutic for Alzheimer's Disease.

Melatonin, insulin, and Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) have been shown to reverse cognitive deficits and attenuate neuropathologies in transgenic mouse models of Alzheimer's disease (AD) when used individually. Here, we evaluated the therapeutic properties of long-term intranasal treatment with a novel nanoformulation containing melatonin, insulin, and THC in aged APPswe/PS1ΔE9 (APP/PS1) mice, a transgenic model of AD. Transgenic mice at the age of 12 months were intranasally administered with a new nanoformulation containing melatonin, insulin, and THC at doses of 0.

Performance of constructed wetlands with different water level for treating graphene oxide wastewater: Characteristics of plants and microorganisms.

Constructed wetlands (CWs) have been expected advantages in emerging pollutant removal, but with less known on their characteristic when treating wastewater containing graphene oxide (GO). In present study, we investigated characteristics of Iris pseudacorus, microorganisms, and pollutant removal in CWs with 60 cm and 37 cm water level (termed HCW and LCW). Plants in LCW had higher chlorophyll content and lower activities of antioxidant enzyme (superoxide dismutase, catalase, peroxidase) as well as malondialdehyde content.

Large tunneling magnetoresistance in van der Waals magnetic tunnel junctions based on FeCl films with interlayer antiferromagnetic couplings.

Antiferromagnets (AFMs) are some of the most promising candidates for next-generation magnetic memory technology owing to their advantages over conventional ferromagnets (FMs), such as zero stray field and THz-range magnetic resonance frequency. Motivated by the recent synthesis of FeCl films with interlayer AFM and intralayer FM couplings, we investigated the magnetic properties of few-layer FeCl and the spin-dependent transmissions of graphite/bilayer FeCl/graphite and Au/-layer FeCl/Au magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) using first-principles calculations combined with the nonequilibrium Green's function. The interlayer AFM coupling of FeCl is certified to be stable and independent of the stacking orders and relative displacement between layers.

Transcranial Electromagnetic Treatment Stops Alzheimer's Disease Cognitive Decline over a 2½-Year Period: A Pilot Study.

There is currently no therapeutic that can stop or reverse the progressive memory impairment of Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, we recently published that 2 months of daily, in-home transcranial electromagnetic treatment (TEMT) reversed the cognitive impairment in eight mild/moderate AD subjects. These cognitive enhancements were accompanied by predicted changes in AD markers within both the blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF).

Iris pseudacorus as precursor affecting ecological transformation of graphene oxide and performance of constructed wetland.

The role of plants is largely unknown in constructed wetlands (CWs) exposed to phytotoxic nanomaterials. Present study investigated transformation of graphene oxide (GO) and performance of CWs with Iris pseudacorus as precursor. GO was trapped by CWs without dependence on plants.

Transcranial Electromagnetic Treatment "Rebalances" Blood and Brain Cytokine Levels in Alzheimer's Patients: A New Mechanism for Reversal of Their Cognitive Impairment.

Background: The immune system plays a critical role in the development and progression of Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, there is disagreement as to whether development/progression of AD involves an over-activation or an under-activation of the immune system. In either scenario, the immune system's cytokine levels are abnormal in AD and in need of rebalancing.

The Memory Benefit to Aged APP/PS1 Mice from Long-Term Intranasal Treatment of Low-Dose THC.

THC has been used as a promising treatment approach for neurological disorders, but the highly psychoactive effects have largely warned off many scientists from pursuing it further. We conducted an intranasal treatment using low-dose THC on 12-month-old APP/PS1 mice daily for 3 months to overcome any potential psychoactive response induced by the systemic delivery. Our results demonstrate that the THC nasal treatment at 0.

The efficacy and safety of combined traditional Chinese and western medicine in the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease complicated with respiratory failure: a systematic review and meta-analysis study.

Background: The conventional drugs to treat chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) complicated with respiratory failure (RF) (COPD + RF) in western medicine include antibiotics, etc., but the patients have serious adverse reactions and are prone to drug resistance. This study aims to analyze the curative effect of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) combined with Western medicine (WM) in treating COPD + RF.

Developing an Effective Peptide-Based Vaccine for COVID-19: Preliminary Studies in Mice Models.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has caused massive health and economic disasters worldwide. Although several vaccines have effectively slowed the spread of the virus, their long-term protection and effectiveness against viral variants are still uncertain. To address these potential shortcomings, this study proposes a peptide-based vaccine to prevent COVID-19.

Comprehensive characterization of the bacterial community structure and metabolite composition of food waste fermentation products via microbiome and metabolome analyses.

Few studies have characterized the microbial community and metabolite profile of solid food waste fermented products from centralized treatment facilities, which could potentially be processed into safe animal feeds. In this study, 16S rRNA gene sequencing and liquid/gas chromatography-mass spectrometry were conducted to investigate the bacterial community structure and metabolite profile of food waste samples inoculated with or without 0.18% of a commercial bacterial agent consisting of multiple unknown strains and 2% of a laboratory-made bacterial agent consisting of Enterococcus faecalis, Bacillus subtilis and Candida utilis.

Low-Dose Delta-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol as Beneficial Treatment for Aged APP/PS1 Mice.

Studies on the effective and safe therapeutic dosage of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD) have been sparse due to the concern about THC's psychotropic activity. The present study focused on demonstrating the beneficial effect of low-dose THC treatment in preclinical AD models. The effect of THC on amyloid-β (Aβ) production was examined in N2a/AβPPswe cells.

Molecular evolution and functional characterization of chitinase gene family in Populus trichocarpa.

Chitinases, the chitin-degrading enzymes, have been shown to play important role in defense against the chitin-containing fungal pathogens. In this study, we identified 48 chitinase-coding genes from the woody model plant Populus trichocarpa. Based on phylogenetic analysis, the Populus chitinases were classified into seven groups.

Ectopic expression of Populus MYB10 promotes secondary cell wall thickening and inhibits anthocyanin accumulation.

Secondary cell wall (SCW) formation is regulated by a multilevel transcriptional regulatory network, in which MYB transcription factors (TFs) play key roles. In woody plants, hundreds of MYB TFs have been identified, most of which have unknown functions in wood SCW biosynthesis. Here, we characterized the function of a Populus MYB gene, PtoMYB10.