Autoimmune nodopathy with anti-contactin 1 antibody characterized by cerebellar dysarthria: a case report and literature review.

Background: Autoimmune nodopathy (AN) has emerged as a novel diagnostic category that is pathologically different from classic chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy. Clinical manifestations of AN include sensory or motor neuropathies, sensory ataxia, tremor, and cranial nerve involvement. AN with a serum-positive contactin-1 (CNTN1) antibody usually results in peripheral nerve demyelination. In this study, we reported a rare case of AN with CNTN1 antibodies characterized by the presence of CNTN1 antibodies in both serum and cerebrospinal fluid, which is associated with cerebellar dysarthria. Methods: A 25-year-old man was admitted to our hospital due to progressive dysarthria with limb tremors. The patient was initially diagnosed with peripheral neuropathy at a local hospital. Three years after onset, he was admitted to our hospital due to dysarthria, apparent limb tremor, and limb weakness. At that time, he was diagnosed with spinocerebellar ataxia. Eight years post-onset, during his second admission, his condition had notably deteriorated. His dysarthria had evolved to typical distinctive cerebellar characteristics, such as tremor, loud voice, stress, and interrupted articulation. Additionally, he experienced further progression in limb weakness and developed muscle atrophy in the distal limbs. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), nerve conduction studies (NCS), and autoimmune antibody tests were performed. Results: The results of the NCS suggested severe demyelination and even axonal damage to the peripheral nerves. MRI scans revealed diffuse thickening of bilateral cervical nerve roots, lumbosacral nerve roots, cauda equina nerve, and multiple intercostal nerve root sheath cysts. Furthermore, anti-CNTN1 antibody titers were 1:10 in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and 1:100 in the serum. After one round of rituximab treatment, the patient showed significant improvement in limb weakness and dysarthria, and the CSF antibodies turned negative. Conclusion: Apart from peripheral neuropathies, cerebellar dysarthria (central nervous system involvement) should not be ignored in AN patients with CNTN1 antibodies.

An empirical study on cultivating college students' cross-cultural communicative competence based on the artificial-intelligence English-teaching mode.

Artificial intelligence education will be an important part of information technology education in the future. It will enter the classroom and the learning life of students in various forms. The modern teaching media used in artificial intelligence courses at universities include some conventional teaching courseware, multimedia videos, and tool software. Some teaching media are unique to artificial intelligence, such as smart software, smart devices, and smart websites. The existing cross-cultural competence dimensions and evaluation scales were theoretically explained with factor analysis by comparing and selecting comprehensive evaluation methods in the work. Its main advantages were as follows: simple mathematical models and easy operation. The construction of a comprehensive evaluation model for college students' cross-cultural competence included the principles and ideas of model construction, the methods and steps of model construction, and model calculations. The survey results showed that the four-level scores of all samples had a significant positive correlation with foreign cultural knowledge, attitudes, and cross-cultural communication skills at 0.01 level (bilateral) and 0.05 (bilateral), respectively.

Ultrasound-assisted extraction of flaxseed oil using immobilized enzymes.

An aqueous enzymatic process assisted by ultrasound extraction (AEP-UE) was applied to the extraction of oil from flaxseed (Linum usitatissimum L.). The highest oil recovery of 68.1% was obtained when ground flaxseed was incubated with 130 U/g of cellulase, pectinase, and hemicellulase for 12h, at 45°C and pH 5.0. The IC(50) values of oil obtained by AEP-UE and organic solvent extraction (OSE), as measured by DPPH scavenging activity essay, were 2.27 mg/mL and 3.31 mg/mL. The AEP-UE-derived oil had a 1.5% higher content of unsaturated fatty acids than the OSE-derived oil. AEP-UE is therefore a promising environmentally friendly method for large-scale preparation of flaxseed oil.