Epidemiological and clinical characteristics of hospitalized pediatric patients with Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia before and after the COVID-19 pandemic in China: a retrospective multicenter study.

Background: In China many respiratory pathogens stayed low activities amid the COVID-19 pandemic due to strict measures and controls. We here aimed to study the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of pediatric inpatients with Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia (MPP) after the mandatory COVID-19 restrictions were lifted, in comparison to those before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: We here included 4,296 pediatric patients with MPP, hospitalized by two medical centers in Jiangsu Province, China, from January 2015 to March 2024.

Phytohormones involved in vascular cambium activity in woods: current progress and future challenges.

Vascular cambium is the continuation of meristem activity at the top of plants, which promotes lateral growth of plants. The vascular cambium evolved as an adaptation for secondary growth, initially in early seed plants, and became more refined in the evolution of gymnosperms and angiosperms. In angiosperms, it is crucial for plant growth and wood formation.

Advances of NAT10 in diseases: insights from dual properties as protein and RNA acetyltransferase.

N-acetyltransferase 10 (NAT10) is a member of the Gcn5-related N-acetyltransferase (GNAT) family and it plays a crucial role in various cellular processes, such as regulation of cell mitosis, post-DNA damage response, autophagy and apoptosis regulation, ribosome biogenesis, RNA modification, and other related pathways through its intrinsic protein acetyltransferase and RNA acetyltransferase activities. Moreover, NAT10 is closely associated with the pathogenesis of tumors, Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome (HGPS), systemic lupus erythematosus, pulmonary fibrosis, depression and host-pathogen interactions. In recent years, mRNA acetylation has emerged as a prominent focus of research due to its pivotal role in regulating RNA stability and translation.

Fully Automated and AI-Assisted Optical Fiber Sensing System for Multiplexed and Continuous Brain Monitoring.

Continuous and comprehensive brain monitoring is crucial for timely identification of changes or deterioration in brain function, enabling prompt intervention and personalized treatments. However, existing brain monitoring systems struggle to offer continuous and accurate monitoring of multiple brain biomarkers simultaneously. This study introduces a multiplexed optical fiber sensing system for continuous and simultaneous monitoring of six cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers using tip-functionalized optical fibers and computational algorithms.

Research note: Genetically diverse avian hepatitis E virus identified in chickens with hepatitis-splenomegaly syndrome in Guangdong Province, China.

Avian hepatitis E virus (HEV) is recognized as the primary causative agent of big liver and spleen disease, hepatitis-splenomegaly syndrome, and hepatic rupture hemorrhage syndrome, resulting in substantial economic losses within the global poultry industry. Since its discovery in 1991, diverse strains of avian HEV have been extensively identified worldwide. Epidemiological investigations have demonstrated the wide distribution and genetic diversity of avian HEV strains in China.

An improved deep convolutional generative adversarial network for quantification of catechins in fermented black tea.

The rapid and non-destructive quantification of catechins in fermented black tea is crucial for evaluating the quality of black tea. The combination of hyperspectral imaging and chemometrics has been applied for quantitative detection, but its performance is usually constrained by the limited dataset size. Targeted at the challenge of insufficient samples in regression analysis of catechins, this study proposes an improved deep convolutional generative adversarial network with labeling module, named as DCGAN-L for hyperspectral data augmentation.

Efficacy of manual lymphatic drainage combined with repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation in post-stroke complex regional pain syndrome: a pilot study.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of manual lymphatic drainage (MLD) combined with repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) on the recovery of upper limb in patients with post-stroke complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS).

Methods: This pilot study was conducted with 54 patients with post-stroke CRPS. Patients were randomized into three groups: the MLD combined with rTMS group (MLD + rTMS group), the rTMS group and the sham-rTMS group.

Automatic 3D pelvimetry framework in CT images and its validation.

In the field of spinal pathology, sagittal balance of the spine is usually judged by the spatial structure and morphology of pelvis, which can be represented by pelvic parameters. Pelvic parameters, including pelvic incidence, pelvic tilt and sacral slope, are therefore essential for the diagnosis and treatment of spinal disorders, however, it is a time-consuming and laborious procedure to measure these parameters by traditional methods. In this paper, an automatic measurement framework for pelvic CT images was proposed to calculate three-dimensional (3D) pelvic parameters with the support of deep learning technology.

Enhanced Two-Step LAMP-CRISPR Assay with an Engineered Polymerase for Contamination-Free and Ultrasensitive DNA Detection.

Current loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP)-coupled clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (LAMP-CRISPR) biosensing in two-step or one-step formats has been applied to next-generation accurate molecular diagnosis. However, two-step LAMP-CRISPR assays intrinsically confront aerosol contamination, while one-step assays possess a compromised detection performance. To this end, we propose an enhanced two-step LAMP-CRISPR assay (ETL-CRISPR) with an engineered polymerase to mediate ultrasensitive DNA detection and thoroughly eliminate aerosol contamination.

A digital microfluidic device integrated with electrochemical sensor and 3D matrix for detecting soluble PD-L1.

PD1/PD-L1 checkpoint inhibitors are at the forefront of cancer immunotherapies. However, the overall response rate remains only 10-30%. Even among initial responders, drug resistance often occurs, which can lead to prolonged use of a futile therapy in the race with the fatal disease.

MicroRNA257 promotes secondary growth in hybrid poplar.

Populus, a significant fast-growing tree species with global afforestation and energy potential, holds considerable economic value. The abundant production of secondary xylem by trees, which serves as a vital resource for industrial purposes and human sustenance, necessitates the orchestration of various regulatory mechanisms, encompassing transcriptional regulators and microRNAs (miRNAs). Nevertheless, the investigation of microRNA-mediated regulation of poplar secondary growth remains limited.

Matrine exhibits antiviral activities against PEDV by directly targeting Spike protein of the virus and inducing apoptosis via the MAPK signaling pathway.

Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus (PEDV) is a highly contagious virus that causes Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea (PED). This enteric disease results in high mortality rates in piglets, leading to significant financial losses in the pig industry. However, vaccines cannot provide sufficient protection against epidemic strains.

Comprehensive evaluation of digital village development in the context of rural revitalization: A case study from Jiangxi Province of China.

Digital rural construction is a key strategic direction to promote China's rural revitalization and alleviate global climate problems. In order to put forward feasible suggestions for the subsequent development and ensure the smooth development of digital village construction, how to reflect the development level of the digital village through scientific and reasonable comprehensive evaluation has become an urgent problem to be solved. This paper establishes a comprehensive evaluation index system through the Delphi method and principal component analysis method, then assigns weights to the evaluation indicators based on the improved CRITIC-G1 method, and then grades the development level of digital villages according to the extension matter element method.

Soldering Pressure Effect on Lifetime of Thermoelectric Modules under Thermal Cycling.

For practical industrial applications, enhancing the longevity and the reliability of thermoelectric modules (TEMs) is equally as crucial as improving their conversion efficiency. This study proposes a strategy for extending the lifespan and introduces the quality evaluation criteria for the most extensively used commercial bismuth telluride TEM. By varying the soldering pressure during module assembly, its impact on the quality of the module's internal interfacial connections was investigated, via analyzing its contact resistivity, shear modulus, and antifatigue ability through thermal cycling tests.

The Response of Growth and Transcriptome Profiles of Tea Grey Blight Disease Pathogen to the Variation of Exogenous L-Theanine.

Tea grey blight disease is one of the most destructive diseases that infects tea and is caused by the pathogen (Sawada) Steyaert. L-theanine is a unique non-protein amino acid of the tea plant. Different concentrations of L-theanine exhibit significant inhibitory effects on the growth and sporulation ability of the pathogen causing tea grey blight disease.

Nanobubble water promotes anaerobic digestion of high-solids cattle manure under mesophilic and thermophilic conditions.

The gradual increase in cattle farming has led to a huge production of cattle manure (CM), but the conventional treatment methods are less efficient. In this study, the treatment method of anaerobic digestion (AD) of high-solids CM by combining nanobubble water (NBW) with different gases was proposed to present a new idea for the reduction, harmlessness, and resourcefulness of CM. It was found that the performance of the digester with added NBW was better than the control.

Contralaterally Controlled Functional Electrical Stimulation for Improving Motor Function After Acquired Brain Injury: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Objective: To systematically evaluate the effect of contralaterally controlled functional electrical stimulation (CCFES) on motor function after acquired brain injury (ABI).

Data Sources: We searched the PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro), Web of Science, SinoMed, CNKI, VIP Database for Chinese Technical Periodicals and Wanfang Database, from inception to December 2023.

Study Selection: Studies were included if they were randomized controlled trials assessing the effect of CCFES on motor function compared with routine rehabilitation or routine electrical stimulation after ABI.

The association between closed-eye unipedal standing and the risk of cognitive impairment in the elderly: a 7-year community-based cohort study in Wuhan, China.

Objectives: The prevention of cognitive impairment in the elderly is one of the public health priority areas. However, the relationship between closed-eye unipedal standing and cognitive impairment remains unclear.

Methods: This study was conducted on a group of elderly individuals from a community, using a prospective cohort study design.

Readthrough events in plants reveal plasticity of stop codons.

Stop codon readthrough (SCR) has important biological implications but remains largely uncharacterized. Here, we identify 1,009 SCR events in plants using a proteogenomic strategy. Plant SCR candidates tend to have shorter transcript lengths and fewer exons and splice variants than non-SCR transcripts.