Estimating cardiovascular effects of influenza vaccination in older adults: a target trial emulation using proximal causal inference.

Background: The substantial burden of cardiovascular diseases highlights the urgent need for cost-effective interventions to mitigate their impact. While existing evidence on the cardioprotective effect of the influenza vaccine comes primarily from populations with cardiovascular comorbidities, these studies remain susceptible to several sources of bias, including immortal time bias and unmeasured confounding. To attenuate these limitations, our study aimed to assess the effect of influenza vaccination on cardiovascular events in an older population in China, utilizing a target trial emulation framework in conjunction with a proximal causal inference (PCI) approach.

A fungal effector promotes infection via stabilizing a negative regulatory factor of chloroplast immunity.

Chloroplasts are crucial players in immunity and photosynthesis. However, how chloroplasts arrange the transition between photosynthesis and immunity and how pathogens manipulate this transition remains elusive. Here we report an effector SsCm1 from Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, one of devastating phytopathogenic fungi, inhibits chloroplast immunity and resistance to pathogens, and alleviates photoinhibition in immune state.

Robust In Situ Growth of Epitaxially Oriented Titanium Dioxide Microplates on Titanium Fiber for Selective and Efficient Solid-Phase Microextraction of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons From Water Samples Prior to HPLC-UV.

Well-defined TiO microplates (TiOMPs) were directly achieved on a titanium fiber by the hydrothermal treatment in alkaline solution. The hydrothermal in situ growth of TiOMPs greatly depended on the alkali concentration and hydrothermal temperature. The results proved the formation of epitaxially oriented TiOMPs with rutile structure.

Functional analysis and molecular characterization of UGT95A2, a specialized glycosyltransferase for flavonoid 3'-O-glycosylation in Carthamus tinctorius L.

Safflower, a traditional Chinese medicine, is renowned for its efficacy in promoting blood circulation and alleviating blood stasis. Its principal bioactive components are flavonoids, which predominantly exist as flavonoid glycosides. Glycosyltransferases, as downstream post-modification enzymes in the biosynthesis of these active glycosides, are of considerable research interest.

RDCRNet: RGB-T Object Detection Network Based on Cross-Modal Representation Model.

RGB-thermal object detection harnesses complementary information from visible and thermal modalities to enhance detection robustness in challenging environments, particularly under low-light conditions. However, existing approaches suffer from limitations due to their heavy dependence on precisely registered data and insufficient handling of cross-modal distribution disparities. This paper presents RDCRNet, a novel framework incorporating a Cross-Modal Representation Model to effectively address these challenges.

Development and validation of identification algorithms for five autoimmune diseases using electronic health records: a retrospective cohort study in China.

Objective: This study aims to assess the identification algorithms for five autoimmune diseases-Hashimoto's thyroiditis, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), primary immune thrombocytopenia (ITP), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and type 1 diabetes (T1D)-using the Yinzhou Regional Health Information Platform (YRHIP) in China.

Methods: Diagnostic data was extracted from YRHIP's population registry (2010-2021), combining ICD-10 codes and Chinese medical terminology from outpatient, inpatient, and discharge records. Algorithms were validated through chart reviews, adhering to global clinical guidelines.

Application of methodological strategies to address unmeasured confounding in real-world vaccine safety and effectiveness study: a systematic review.

Objectives: Uses of real-world data to evaluate vaccine safety and effectiveness are often challenged by unmeasured confounding. The study aimed to review the application of methods to address unmeasured confounding in observational vaccine safety and effectiveness research.

Study Design And Setting: We conducted a systematic review (PROSPERO: CRD42024519882), and searched PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and Scopus for epidemiological studies investigating influenza and COVID-19 vaccines as exposures, and respiratory and cardiovascular diseases as outcomes, published between January 1, 2017, and December 31, 2023.

Jointly modeling responses and omitted items by a competing risk model: A survival analysis approach.

Item response theory models are commonly adopted in educational assessment and psychological measurement. Such models need to be modified to accommodate practical situations when statistical sampling assumptions are violated. Omission is a common phenomenon in educational testing.

Inference of Correlations Among Testlet Effects: A Latent Variable Selection Method.

In psychological and educational measurement, a testlet-based test is a common and popular format, especially in some large-scale assessments. In modeling testlet effects, a standard bifactor model, as a common strategy, assumes different testlet effects and the main effect to be fully independently distributed. However, it is difficult to establish perfectly independent clusters as this assumption.

A Virulence Factor from Targets the Host Chloroplast Proteins to Promote Infection.

Chloroplasts are not only places for photosynthesis, but also participate in plant immunity and are important targets of pathogens. Pathogens secrete chloroplast-targeted proteins (CTPs) that disrupt host immunity and promote infection. (Lib.

Ultrasound-assisted rapid growth of chemically bonded bifunctional mesoporous covalent organic framework submicrospheres on a nickel-chromium alloy support for efficient solid-phase microextraction of bisphenols from water and milk samples.

A layer-by-layer chemical bonding strategy was developed for fast in situ growth of bifunctional mesoporous covalent organic framework submicrospheres (COF SMSs) on the nickel-chromium alloy (Ni-Cr) fiber substrate via the ultrasound-assisted Schiff-base reaction for the first time. COF SMSs showed well-defined morphology, extraordinary high surface area (1211 m·g) and narrow mesopore (2.50 nm) as well as excellent stability.

Clinical Characteristics, Treatment, and Prognosis of Osteoarticular Brucellosis: A Retrospective Real-World Study in Shenyang, China, 2014-2019.

This study aimed to assess the clinical characteristics, treatment, and prognosis of osteoarticular brucellosis. We conducted a retrospective study enrolling brucellosis patients from the Sixth People's Hospital of Shenyang between September 2014 and June 2019. A total of 1917 participants were admitted during this period.

A novel top-down strategy for in situ construction of vertically oriented hexagonal NiCr LDHs nanosheet arrays with intercalated sulfate ions on Nichrome fiber for selective solid-phase microextraction of phenolic compounds in water samples.

Background: Phenolic compounds (PCs) are a class of polar aromatic pollutants with high toxicity in environmental water. Generally the efficient sample preparation is essential for the quantification of ultra-trace target PCs in real water sample before appropriative instrumental analysis. SPME is a convenient, solvent-free and time-saving miniaturized technique and has been recognized as a green alternative to conventional extraction techniques.

Terrestrial dissolved organic matter inputs accompanied by dissolved oxygen depletion and declining pH exacerbate CO emissions from a major Chinese reservoir.

Terrestrial inputs and subsequent degradation of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in lake ecosystems can result in rapid depletion of dissolved oxygen (DO). Inputs of terrestrial DOM including organic acids can also lead to decreases in pH. However, to date, few studies have investigated the linkages between terrestrial DOM inputs, DO and pH levels in the water column, and carbon dioxide (CO) emissions from lake ecosystems.

Biclustering of Log Data: Insights from a Computer-Based Complex Problem Solving Assessment.

Computer-based assessments provide the opportunity to collect a new source of behavioral data related to the problem-solving process, known as log file data. To understand the behavioral patterns that can be uncovered from these process data, many studies have employed clustering methods. In contrast to one-mode clustering algorithms, this study utilized biclustering methods, enabling simultaneous classification of test takers and features extracted from log files.

Sweat Sensor Based on Wearable Janus Textiles for Sweat Collection and Microstructured Optical Fiber for Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering Analysis.

Wearable sweat sensors provide real-time monitoring of biomarkers, enabling individuals to gain real-time insight into their health status. Current sensors primarily rely on electrochemical mechanisms, limiting their capacity for the concurrent detection of multiple analytes. Surface-enhanced Raman scattering spectroscopy offers an alternative approach by providing molecular fingerprint information to facilitate the identification of intricate analytes.

Cost and health-related quality of life for children hospitalized with respiratory syncytial virus in Central China.

Background: The economic burden of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection and its impact on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) are not well-understood in China. This study assessed total cost and HRQoL for children hospitalized with RSV in Central China.

Methods: Based on a prospective case series study in Henan Province in 2020-2021, inpatients aged 0-59 months with RSV-related acute respiratory infections (ARIs) were included into analysis.

Contour Information-Guided Multi-Scale Feature Detection Method for Visible-Infrared Pedestrian Detection.

Infrared pedestrian target detection is affected by factors such as the low resolution and contrast of infrared pedestrian images, as well as the complexity of the background and the presence of multiple targets occluding each other, resulting in indistinct target features. To address these issues, this paper proposes a method to enhance the accuracy of pedestrian target detection by employing contour information to guide multi-scale feature detection. This involves analyzing the shapes and edges of the targets in infrared images at different scales to more accurately identify and differentiate them from the background and other targets.

Construction of Bio-TiO/Algae Complex and Synergetic Mechanism of the Acceleration of Phenol Biodegradation.

Microalgae have been widely employed in water pollution treatment since they are eco-friendly and economical. However, the relatively slow treatment rate and low toxic tolerance have seriously limited their utilization in numerous conditions. In light of the problems above, a novel biosynthetic titanium dioxide (bio-TiO NPs)-microalgae synergetic system (Bio-TiO/Algae complex) has been established and adopted for phenol degradation in the study.