Specific convulsions and brain damage in children hospitalized for Omicron BA.5 infection: an observational study using two cohorts.

BACKGROUND: SARS-CoV-2 continues to mutate over time, and reports on children infected with Omicron BA.5 are limited. We aimed to analyze the specific symptoms of Omicron-infected children and to improve patient care. METHODS: We selected 315 consecutively hospitalized children with Omicron BA.5 and 16,744 non-Omicron-infected febrile children visiting the fever clinic at our hospital between December 8 and 30, 2022. Specific convulsions and body temperatures were compared between the two cohorts. We analyzed potential associations between convulsions and vaccination, and additionally evaluated the brain damage among severe Omicron-infected children. RESULTS: Convulsion rates (97.5% vs. 4.3%, P < 0.001) and frequencies (median: 2.0 vs. 1.6, P < 0.001) significantly differed between Omicron-infected and non-Omicron-infected febrile children. The body temperatures of Omicron-infected children were significantly higher during convulsions than when they were not convulsing and those of non-Omicron-infected febrile children during convulsions (median: 39.5 vs. 38.2 and 38.6 °C, both P < 0.001). In the three Omicron-subgroups, the temperature during convulsions was proportional to the percentage of patients and significantly differed ( P < 0.001), while not in the three non-Omicron-subgroups ( P = 0.244). The convulsion frequency was lower in the 55 vaccinated children compared to the 260 non-vaccinated children (average: 1.8 vs. 2.1, P < 0.001). The vaccination dose and convulsion frequency in Omicron-infected children were significantly correlated ( P < 0.001). Fifteen of the 112 severe Omicron cases had brain damage. CONCLUSIONS: Omicron-infected children experience higher body temperatures and frequencies during convulsions than those of non-Omicron-infected febrile children. We additionally found evidence of brain damage caused by infection with omicron BA.5. Vaccination and prompt fever reduction may relieve symptoms.

Proximal interruption of the pulmonary artery: A review of radiological findings.

Objectives: Proximal interruption of the pulmonary artery (PIPA) has various clinical manifestations. This review focused on and summarized the clinical and radiological features of PIPA, based on relevant literature studies. Methods: The study included a total of 25 PIPA cases in the Guangzhou Women and Children's Medical Center between January 2015 and December 2021. Conventional chest photographs and chest computed tomography angiography (CCTA) of patients with PIPA were analyzed and summarized. Results: The radiological results showed that 17 cases were right-sided and 8 cases were left-sided PIPA. Additionally, the percentage of pulmonary hypoplasia on the affected side was 44%, 36% for pulmonary hypertension, 28% for the mosaic sign, 20% for subpleural cystic lucency shadow, 20% for subpleural serrated shadow, 20% for collateral vessel thickening, 16% for subpleural band-like parenchyma, 12% for pneumonia, and 56% for patent ductus arteriosus. Conclusion: The clinical manifestations of PIPA are non-specific. Awareness of this anomaly, based on radiological manifestations, particularly those observed on CCTA images, is important for ruling out alternative diagnoses and implementing appropriate management.

Current Evidence and Future Directions of Berberine Intervention in Depression.

A major type of serious mood disorder, depression is currently a widespread and easily overlooked psychological illness. With the low side effects of natural products in the treatment of diseases becoming the pursuit of new antidepressants, natural Chinese medicine products have been paid more and more attention for their unique efficacy in improving depression. In a view from the current study, the positive antidepressant effects of berberine are encouraging. There is a lot of work that needs to be done to accurately elucidate the efficacy and mechanism of berberine in depression. In this review, the relevant literature reports on the treatment of depression and anxiety by berberine are updated, and the potential pharmacological mechanism of berberine in relieving depression has also been discussed.

Diffraction efficiency enhancement and optimization in full-color HOE using the inhibition characteristics of the photopolymer.

A novel and effective simultaneous recording method, to the best of our knowledge, is proposed for improving the diffraction efficiency and uniformity of full-color holographic optical elements (HOE) using the Bayfol HX102 photopolymer. To improve the diffraction efficiency of a full-color HOE, it is important to find the optimal recording beam intensity taking into account the initial and late responses of the medium. The range of optimal beam intensity for recording full-color HOE can be found experimentally by analyzing the inhibition period and response characteristics of the recording medium for three wavelengths. Through this method, a full-color HOE with an average diffraction efficiency of about 56.81% and a standard deviation of about 1.7% was implemented in a single layer photopolymer.

Brain imaging features of children with Hoyeraal-Hreidarsson syndrome.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to summarize the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT) features of the central nervous system (CNS) in children with Hoyeraal-Hreidarsson syndrome. METHODS: The imaging and clinical data of four children diagnosed with Hoyeraal-Hreidarsson syndrome by clinical and laboratory tests in the Guangzhou Women and Children's Medical Center were gathered and analyzed retrospectively. The clinical manifestations and CNS imaging features of Hoyeraal-Hreidarsson syndrome were summarized based on our results and a literature review. RESULTS: Our results showed that delayed development, skin pigmentation, nail/toenail dystrophy, thrombocytopenia, and anemia are the most observed clinical presentations of Hoyeraal-Hreidarsson syndrome. Important findings on CNS imaging showed that all patients had cerebellar hypoplasia, delayed myelination, hydrocephalus, brain atrophy, and calcification. The gene mutations in all cases were consistent with those of dyskeratosis congenita, including TINF2 mutations in three cases and DKC1 mutations in one case. CONCLUSION: Hoyeraal-Hreidarsson syndrome is a severe variant of dyskeratosis congenita. Both DKC1 and TINF2 mutations can lead to the phenotypes of Hoyeraal-Hreidarsson syndrome. In our study, CNS imaging revealed that cerebellar hypoplasia has an important diagnostic value for Hoyeraal-Hreidarsson syndrome while delayed myelination, calcification of the parenchyma, brain atrophy, and hydrocephalus are also important findings on CNS imaging. Combining imaging features with clinical and laboratory indicators can assist the diagnosis of Hoyeraal-Hreidarsson syndrome.

Clinical significance of expression of fibrous sheath interacting protein 1 in colon cancer.

BACKGROUND: The occurrence and development of colon cancer are complex, involving a variety of genetic changes, such as mutation and activation of oncogenes, inactivation of tumour suppressor genes, and aberrant proliferation and apoptosis regulation mechanisms. Fibrous sheath interacting protein 1 (FSIP1) is a newly discovered oncogene that is frequently activated in a variety of tumours such as breast cancer and bladder cancer. However, the clinical significance of FSIP1 in colon cancer is unclear. In this study, we analysed the clinical significance of expression of FSIP1 in human colon cancer, aimed to clarify the biological role of FSIP1 in the development and progression of colon cancer. AIM: To investigate the clinical significance of expression of FSIP1 in colon cancer. METHODS: From March 2011 to March 2014, 302 specimens of tumour tissues and paracancerous tissues were obtained from patients pathologically diagnosed with colon cancer at Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University. Immunohistochemistry was used to detect FSIP1 expression in colon cancer tissues and adjacent normal tissues. Spearman correlation coefficient and Cox regression analyses were used to determine the relationship between FSIP1 expression and clinicopathological factors and prognosis, as well as the impact on survival. RESULTS: Compared with its expression in adjacent normal tissues, FSIP1 was expressed at higher levels in colon cancer tissues. Spearman correlation analysis showed that high expression of FSIP1 was positively correlated with clinicopathological stage, lymph node metastasis, and poor prognosis in colon cancer; it was negatively correlated with the degree of tumour differentiation. Cox regression analysis showed that high FSIP1 expression was an independent risk factor for the prognosis of colon cancer patients. CONCLUSION: High expression of FSIP1 may be one of the important factors affecting the clinical outcome of colon cancer patients and leading to poor prognosis.

Overexpression of microRNA-202-3p protects against myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury through activation of TGF-ß1/Smads signaling pathway by targeting TRPM6.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been found to act as key regulators in the pathogenesis of myocardial ischemic-reperfusion (I/R) injury. In this study, we explore the role and mechanism of microRNA-202-3p (miR-202-3p) in regulating cardiomyocyte apoptosis, in respective of the TGF-ß1/Smads signaling pathway by targeting the transient receptor potential cation channel, subfamily M, member 6 (TRPM6). The targeting relationship between miR-202-3p and TRPM6 was verified by a dual-luciferase reporter gene assay. Sprague-Dawley rat models of myocardial I/R injury were initially established and treated with different mimics, inhibitors and siRNAs to test the effects of miR-202-3p and TRPM6 on myocardial I/R injury. The levels of inflammatory factors; IL-1ß, IL-6, TNF-α as well as the degree of myocardial fibrosis and cardiomyocyte apoptosis were determined in rats transfected with different plasmids. TRPM6 was found to be the target of miR-202-3p. Up-regulated miR-202-3p or knockdown of TRPM-6 alleviated oxidative stress and inflammatory response, reduced ventricular mass, altered cardiac hemodynamics, suppressed myocardial infarction, attenuated cell apoptosis, and inhibited myocardial fibrosis. MiR-202-3p overexpression activates the TGF-ß1/Smads signaling pathway by negatively regulating TRPM6 expression. Taken together, these findings suggest that miR-202-3p offers protection against ventricular remodeling after myocardial I/R injury via activation of the TGF-ß1/Smads signaling pathway.

Effects of microrna-93 on mouse cardiac microvascular endothelial cells injury and inflammatory response by mediating SPP1 through the NF-ΚB pathway.

BACKGROUND: This study aims to investigate the regulative role of microRNA-93 (miR-93) in mouse cardiac microvascular endothelial cells (CMECs) injury and inflammatory response by negatively targeting SPP1 gene via the NF-κB signaling pathway. METHODS: Healthy Balb/c mice were recruited to establish a mouse model with myocarditis using the CVB3 virus. Mice were grouped into normal, blank, negative control (NC), miR-93 inhibitor, miR-93 mimic, SPP1 short hairpin RNA (shRNA), and miR-93 mimic+SPP1 shRNA groups. Reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction and Western blot analysis were applied to determine the expressions of miR-93, SPP1, VEGFA, p50, p65, Bax, and Bcl-2. MTT assay was conducted to evaluate cell viability, annexin V-fluorescein isothiocyanate/propidium iodide double staining was conducted to examine cell apoptosis, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was conducted to measure secretion of inflammatory factors, and chemical colorimetry was conducted to determine NO secretion. RESULTS: SPP1 was a target gene of miR-93. Compared with the normal group, other six groups showed increased expressions of SPP1, p50, p65, VEGFA, and Bax, as well as cell apoptosis rate and secretion of cell inflammatory factors, and decreased expression of Bcl-2, cell viability, and NO secretion. Compared with the blank group, the miR-93 inhibitor group showed elevated expressions of SPP1, p50, p65, VEGFA, and Bax, as well as cell apoptosis rate and secretion of cell inflammatory factors, and reduced Bcl-2, cell viability, and NO secretion. While the miR-93 mimic and SPP1 shRNA groups displayed opposite results. CONCLUSION: Taking our results together, we conclude that upregulation of miR-93 reduces CMECs injury and inflammatory response by negatively targeting SPP1 via inactivating the NF-κB signaling pathway.

Imaging features of spinal atypical teratoid rhabdoid tumors in children.

This study aims to analyze and summarize the imaging features of spinal atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumors (AT/RT) in children.Imaging features in 8 children with spinal AT/RT confirmed by surgical pathology were retrospectively analyzed. All patients had underwent total spine 3.0 T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and 64-slice spiral computed tomography (CT). Among these 8 patients, head MR non-enhanced and spinal enhanced scanning was applied to 5 patients, while CT examination was applied to 3 patients.All 8 patients were characterized by cauda equina syndrome. The lesions of 7 patients were in the thoracolumbar spinal junction, while the lesion of the remaining patient was in the lumbar spine. Furthermore, among these patients, the lesions of 5 patients were limited to the intraspinal canal (1 lesion in the epidural space, and 4 lesions in the subdural space), while the lesions of 3 patients invaded the paravertebra (2 lesions in the epidural space and 1 lesion in the subdural space). Three or more spinal segments were invaded by tumors in 7 patients, while sacral canal was affected in 5 patients. All 8 patients experienced bleeding in the tumors. Enhanced MRI revealed meningeal enhancement in 6 patients, and bilateral nerve root enhancement in 4 patients. The masses in 3 patients brought damages to the intervertebral foramen or sacral pore. The lesion of 1 patient was featured by skip growth. One patient had total spinal metastasis and 3 had hydrocephalus. The masses in 2 patients had a slightly low density when detected by CT, and enhanced scanning revealed a mild to moderate enhancement.Spinal AR/TR had the following characteristics: children were characterized by cauda equina syndrome; the mass that invaded the thoracolumbar spinal junction and the extramedullary space of multiple segments grew along the spinal longitudinal axis; bleeding mass was revealed in MRI imaging; meninges, nerve root, and sacral canal metastases occurred. The gold standard for the definite diagnosis of AT/RT is biopsy combined with immunohistochemistry.

Multi-depth three-dimensional image encryption based on the phase retrieval algorithm in the Fresnel and fractional Fourier transform domains.

We propose a multi-depth three-dimensional (3D) image cryptosystem by employing the phase retrieval algorithm in the Fresnel and fractional Fourier (Fr-FrF) domains. Encryption was realized by applying the phase retrieval algorithm based on the double-random-phase-encoding architecture in which two encryption keys will be incessantly updated in each iteration loop. The phase-only functions (POFs) are generated in two cascaded Fr-FrF transforms (Fr-FrFT), serving as decryption keys to efficiently reduce the speckle noise and crosstalk between encrypted 3D image depths. The use of Fr-FrFT position parameters and fractional order as decryption keys further extended the key space, enhancing the cryptosystem's security level. Numerical simulations demonstrated the feasibility and robustness of our proposed scheme.

Investigation of microorganisms involved in kefir biofilm formation.

Kefir is a natural fermentation agent composed of various microorganisms. To address the mechanism of kefir grain formation, we investigated the microbial role in forming kefir biofilms. The results showed that a biofilm could be formed in kefir-fermented milk and the biofilm forming ability reached the maximum at 13 days. The strains Kluyveromyces marxianus, Lactococcus lactis, Leuconostoc mesenteroides, Lactobacillus kefiri, Lactobacillus sunkii and Acetobacter orientalis were isolated from kefir biofilms by the streak-plate method. These microorganisms were analysed with respect to biofilm forming properties, including their surface characterisation (hydrophobicity and zeta potentials) and the microbial aggregation. The results indicated that Klu. marxianus possessed the strongest biofilm forming properties with the strongest hydrophobicity, lowest zeta potential and greatest auto-aggregation ability. When Klu. marxianus and Ac. orientalis were co-cultured with kefir LAB strains respectively, it was found that mixing Klu. marxianus with Lb. sunkii produced the highest co-aggregation ability. These results elucidated the mechanism of kefir biofilm formation and the microorganisms involved.

Telmisartan attenuates hydrogen peroxide-induced apoptosis in differentiated PC12 cells.

The present study investigated the protective actions of telmisartan, an angiotensin II type 1 receptor blocker (ARBs), against the cell apoptosis induced by exposure to hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) in differentiated PC12 cells. Preincubation of PC12 cells with telmisartan prevented H2O2-induced cytotoxicity as indicated by increased MTT (3,(4,5-dimethylthiazole-2-yl)2,5-diphenyl-tetrazolium bromide) reduction, decreased lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release, and improved morphological changes. Hoechst 33,258 staining showed that telmisartan markedly reduced shrunken nuclei of the cells, and Western blot analysis indicated that telmisartan significantly attenuated caspase-3 activity, as indicated by decreased ratio of cleaved Caspase-3 to its precursor and increased ratio of Bcl-2/Bax. The present findings showed that telmisartan protected against cellular oxidative damages by inhibiting apoptotic response.

Effects of Low-Impact Dance on Blood Biochemistry, Bone Mineral Density, the Joint Range of Motion of Lower Extremities, Knee Extension Torque, and Fall in Females.

The effect of low-impact dance on blood metabolites, the joint range of motion (ROM) of the lower extremities, knee extension torque, bone mass density (BMD), the number of falls, and the confidence to perform daily activities (Modified Falls Efficacy Scale [MFES]) was examined in older sedentary women (age: 59 ± 4 years) before and after a 16-week intervention. Results showed that the average score for the MFES, some parameters of blood chemistry, and joint ROM were significantly improved after low-impact intervention. In addition to improvements in blood lipids and body fat percentages, the increases shown in the parameters regarding the lower extremities may contribute to confidence in performing common daily activities in older women, although the number of falls did not significantly differ between the two groups during the 16-week period.

The effects of low-impact dance on knee torque and lower extremity mobility in middle-aged and older women.

BACKGROUND: Although low-impact dance is one of the most prevalent exercises in older persons, little is known about its effects on knee torque and range of motion (ROM) in lower extremity joints. PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to examine the effects of low-impact dance on knee torque and lower extremity joint ROM in older women. METHODS: Twenty-six low-impact dancers and 12 physically inactive individuals comprised the dance group (DG) and the control group (CG), respectively. The knee extension torque, knee and ankle ROMs, and bone mineral density in calcanei were measured for all participants. RESULTS: Several ROMs of the lower extremity joints in the dominant leg, ankle inversion, plantarflexion, and dorsiflexion were significantly higher in the DG than in the CG (p < .05). In addition, the ankle inversion of the nondominant leg in the DG was also significantly higher than that in the CG. The knee extension torque of the nondominant leg in the DG was significantly higher than that in the CG (p < .05). CONCLUSION: Although this study did not focus on the efficacy of a particular intervention type, the results showed that low-impact dance can help achieve higher lower extremity ROM and knee torque values than attained by inactive individuals. It is hoped that this exposition of positive benefits will encourage further studies related to the effect of low-impact dance intervention on reducing fall risk.

Firing responses of bursting neurons with delayed feedback.

Thalamic neurons, which play important roles in the genesis of rhythmic activities of the brain, show various bursting behaviors, particularly modulated by complex thalamocortical feedback via cortical neurons. As a first step to explore this complex neural system and focus on the effects of the feedback on the bursting behavior, a simple loop structure delayed in time and scaled by a coupling strength is added to a recent mean-field model of bursting neurons. Depending on the coupling strength and delay time, the modeled neurons show two distinct response patterns: one entrained to the unperturbed bursting frequency of the neurons and one entrained to the resonant frequency of the loop structure. Transitions between these two patterns are explored in the model's parameter space via extensive numerical simulations. It is found that at a fixed loop delay, there is a critical coupling strength at which the dominant response frequency switches from the unperturbed bursting frequency to the loop-induced one. Furthermore, alternating occurrence of these two response frequencies is observed when the delay varies at fixed coupling strength. The results demonstrate that bursting is coupled with feedback to yield new dynamics, which will provide insights into such effects in more complex neural systems.