Tracking and Treating Fungal Contamination in Indoor-Growing Barley Sprouts.

The industrialised production of barley sprouts is a nutritional replenish for livestock, whereas it is being threatened by fungal contamination derived from the closed and humid environment. This study investigates the fungal communities in barley seeds and sprouts and explores the utilisation of ozone water as a mould control method. In barley seeds of 10 cultivars, Alternaria alternata, Phoma epicoccina and Fusarium cerealis were the most abundant fungal species and varied between barley cultivars.

The impact of high-frequency rTMS treatment on brain activity in PSCI patients: a TMS-EEG study.

Objectives: This study employed Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation combined with Electroencephalography (TMS-EEG) to examine the impacts of high-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) on brain activity and cognitive function in patients with post-stroke cognitive impairment (PSCI), focusing on changes in connectivity of the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) across different frequency bands.

Methods: Twenty subacute PSCI patients were recruited for a 20-day rTMS treatment, consisting of 10 days of sham stimulation followed by 10 days of actual stimulation. Clinical function scale data and TMS-EEG data were collected before treatment (Pre), after sham stimulation (Sham), and after rTMS treatment (TMS) to analyze transcranial magnetic stimulation evoked potentials (TEP), time-frequency, and functional connectivity.

Modular assembly and evaluation of a TROP2-targeting immunotoxin for cancer therapy.

Trophoblast cell surface antigen 2 (TROP2) is a transmembrane glycoprotein overexpressed in various cancers and associated with poor prognosis. Despite the success of TROP2-targeting antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), challenges such as high molecular weight, linker instability, and complex manufacturing limit their broader application. To address these limitations, we developed a novel immunotoxin, Fab-PE24, by conjugating the Fab fragment of a humanized anti-TROP2 monoclonal antibody with a truncated Pseudomonas aeruginosa exotoxin A (PE24KDEL) using SpyCatcher-SpyTag technology.

Exploring the Effects of Action Observation Therapy on Swallowing Disorders in Stroke: A Functional Connectivity-Based fMRI Study.

This study aims to investigate the impact of action observation therapy (AOT) on swallowing disorders following a stroke. Utilizing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) technology, the study will examine adjustments in brain activity and functional connectivity (FC), providing novel insights for the rehabilitation of swallowing function in stroke patients. In this study, 11 healthy controls (HCs) and 11 stroke patients were included.

Metabolic biomarkers of neonatal sepsis: identification using metabolomics combined with machine learning.

Background: Sepsis is a common disease associated with neonatal and infant mortality, and for diagnosis, blood culture is currently the gold standard method, but it has a low positivity rate and requires more than 2 days to develop. Meanwhile, unfortunately, the specific biomarkers for the early and timely diagnosis of sepsis in infants and for the determination of the severity of this disease are lacking in clinical practice.

Methods: Samples from 18 sepsis infants with comorbidities, 25 sepsis infants without comorbidities, and 25 infants with noninfectious diseases were evaluated using a serum metabolomics approach based on liquid chromatography‒mass spectrometry (LC‒MS) technology.

Optimal Light Intensity for Lettuce Growth, Quality, and Photosynthesis in Plant Factories.

In agriculture, one of the most crucial elements for sustained plant production is light. Artificial lighting can meet the specific light requirements of various plants. However, it is a challenge to find optimal lighting schemes that can facilitate a balance of plant growth and nutritional qualities.

Green control for inhibiting growth by stress factors in forage grass factory.

The forage grass factory could break through the restrictions of land resources, region and climate to achieve efficient production throughout the year by accurate and intelligent management. However, due to its closed environment, mold outbreaks in the forage grass factory were severe, significantly affecting barley production. In this study, 9 contaminated barley tissues were collected and 45 strains were isolated in forage grass factory.

Analysis of lettuce transcriptome reveals the mechanism of different light/dark cycle in promoting the growth and quality.

Light/dark (L/D) cycle plays a crucial role in controlling the production and quality of vegetables. However, the mechanism of L/D cycle on vegetable growth and quality is scarce studied. To investigate the impact of L/D cycle on lettuce growth and quality, we designed three diel scenarios, including 16 hours of light and 8 hours of darkness (L16/D8), 12 hours of light and 6 hours of darkness (L12/D6), and 8 hours of light and 4 hours of darkness (L8/D4).

Predictive modeling for early detection of biliary atresia in infants with cholestasis: Insights from a machine learning study.

Cholestasis, characterized by the obstruction of bile flow, poses a significant concern in neonates and infants. It can result in jaundice, inadequate weight gain, and liver dysfunction. However, distinguishing between biliary atresia (BA) and non-biliary atresia in these young patients presenting with cholestasis poses a formidable challenge, given the similarity in their clinical manifestations.

A hyperspectral deep learning attention model for predicting lettuce chlorophyll content.

Background: The phenotypic traits of leaves are the direct reflection of the agronomic traits in the growth process of leafy vegetables, which plays a vital role in the selection of high-quality leafy vegetable varieties. The current image-based phenotypic traits extraction research mainly focuses on the morphological and structural traits of plants or leaves, and there are few studies on the phenotypes of physiological traits of leaves. The current research has developed a deep learning model aimed at predicting the total chlorophyll of greenhouse lettuce directly from the full spectrum of hyperspectral images.

Estimation of rice seedling growth traits with an end-to-end multi-objective deep learning framework.

In recent years, rice seedling raising factories have gradually been promoted in China. The seedlings bred in the factory need to be selected manually and then transplanted to the field. Growth-related traits such as height and biomass are important indicators for quantifying the growth of rice seedlings.

The Effect of Swallowing Action Observation Therapy on Resting fMRI in Stroke Patients with Dysphagia.

Objective: Many stroke victims have severe swallowing problems. Previous neuroimaging studies have found that several brain regions scattered in the frontal, temporal, and parietal lobes, such as Brodmann's areas (BA) 6, 21, and 40, are associated with swallowing function. This study sought to investigate changes in swallowing function and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) in stroke patients with dysphagia following action observation treatment.

MRI characteristics of brain edema in preeclampsia/eclampsia patients with posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome.

Background: The neuroimaging manifestations of eclampsia and preeclampsia often overlap, mainly presenting as posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES). The purpose of this retrospective study was to compare the extent and nature of brain edema in eclampsia and preeclampsia patients with PRES based on MRI characteristics.

Methods: One hundred fifty women diagnosed with preeclampsia-eclampsia and undergoing cranial MRI were enrolled; 24 of these were diagnosed as having eclampsia.

Serum Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Levels before and after Intravitreous Ranibizumab Injection for Retinopathy of Prematurity.

Background: Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is one of the common complications of prematurity. Intravitreal injection of ranibizumab (IVR), an antivascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) drug, showed significant benefit for ROP. However, there are concerns about systemic complications of anti-VEGF therapy in preterm infants.

Role of SOCS3 in enhanced acute-phase protein genes by neonatal macrophages in response to IL-6.

Background: Interleukin 6 (IL-6) induce the inflammatory response directly related with the morbidity and mortality of neonatal. Here we aimed to explore the mechanism of IL-6 in neonatal inflammatory response by studying the IL-6/STAT3 signaling pathway.

Methods: Cord blood samples from health term neonatal and peripheral venous blood from health volunteers were collected.

N-Terminal Pro-B-Type Natriuretic Peptide as a Biomarker of Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia or Death in Preterm Infants: A Retrospective Cohort Analysis.

To investigate the association between serum N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) level on the first day of life and a composite outcome of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) or death in a cohort of infants born before 32 weeks of gestation. We retrospectively identified infants born before 32 weeks of gestation who had serum NT-proBNP levels measured when they were admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit shortly after birth. The outcome of BPD or death was assessed at 36 weeks of postmenstrual age.

Immunoregulatory effect of human β-defensin 1 on neonatal cord blood monocyte-derived dendritic cells and T cells.

The relationship between breastfeeding and infant health has been well elucidated in past decades. Our previous study has shown that human β-defensin 1 (hBD-1) in human breast milk plays a protective role in reducing the incidence of upper respiratory infection in infants younger than 6 months. In the present study, we aim to reveal the mechanism underlying the protective role of hBD-1 by focusing on its immunoregulatory function in neonates.

Role of Zc3h12a in enhanced IL-6 production by newborn mononuclear cells in response to lipopolysaccharide.

Background: The uncontrolled inflammatory response following infection is closely related to the morbidity and mortality of neonates. Interleukin 6 (IL-6) plays an important role in the pathogenesis and prognosis of this process. To better elucidate the secretion of IL-6 following infection in neonates, we investigated the IL-6 level and mechanism of IL-6/TLR4 signaling pathways.