Objective: Increased rates of pro-inflammatory and metabolic-related disorders, plus perinatal death and other pregnancy complications such as gestational diabetes (GDM), are consistently reported among women of Indian ethnicity. This study compares lipid profiles and early pregnancy biomarkers associated with metabolic dysfunction between healthy nulliparous pregnant women of Indian and European ethnicity. Design: a prospective cohort study. Setting: Australia, Ireland, New Zealand and the United Kingdom; 2004-2011. Population: 138 and 5,240 women of Indian and European ethnicity were included from the prospective Screening for Pregnancy Endpoints cohort study. Methods: Early pregnancy biomarkers were selected a priori on the basis of a potential association with the metabolic syndrome, diabetes/GDM or obesity, and compared between ethnic groups. Biomarkers that differed significantly between ethnic groups were adjusted for maternal age, body mass index, smoking, alcohol use and socioeconomic status. Main outcome measures: Mean values for 21 placental, metabolic, inflammatory and cardiovascular biomarkers, plus blood lipids, measured at 15±1 weeks gestation. Results: Ten biomarkers were significantly different by ethnicity, mostly consistent with a pro-inflammatory and less favourable metabolic profile in Indian women: PlGF (p=0.02), adiponectin (p<0.01), NGAL (p<0.01), TNFR1A (p<0.01), CXCL10 (p=0.01), ICAM-1 (p<0.01), ST2 (p<0.01), angiogenin (p<0.01), and proANP (p<0.01). We additionally found increased triglycerides (1.6±0.6 vs 1.5±0.6, p<0.01) and reduced HDL cholesterol (1.7±0.4 vs 1.9±04, p<0.01) in Indian mothers, compared with European. Conclusions: Low-risk mothers of Indian ethnicity have an overall less favourable metabolic health profile at early gestation compared with European women. Future research should investigate the association with pregnancy outcomes.

Lakes face threats from human activities like unsustainable development, population growth, and industrial technologies. These challenges impact the ecosystem services of lakes. Research has assessed the value of services from freshwater biomes annually. This article reviews these values, estimating lakes’ global ecosystem services to be within the region of USD 1.5 to 5.5 trillion annually. Their natural asset value is estimated at USD 100 - 337 trillion, comparable to value of global real estate, assuming a relatively high social discount rate to account for future increased standard of livings. Considering environmental degradation, future generations may experience a lower living standard. Using a 0.1% discount rate, recognizing potential harm and aligning with indigenous values, raises the lakes’ value to USD 1,500 - 5,500 trillion which is at least equal to the global value of wealth created. This valuation is shared by all, unlike the skewed distribution of created wealth.

Genome visualization tools are important for exploring genomic features and their interactions. Currently, visualization of the plant mitochondrial genomes (mitogenome) depends on those tools designed originally for animal mitogenomes and plant plastomes. These tools cannot faithfully present features unique to the plant mitogenomes, such as non-linear exon arrangement for genes, prevalence of functional non-coding features, and complex chromosomal architectures. To address these challenges, a software package plant mitochondrial genome map (PMGmap), was developed using Python programming language. PMGmap can draw genes at exon levels, draw cis- and trans-splicing gene maps, draw non-coding features, draw repetitive sequences, scale the genic regions using a scaling the genic regions on the genome (SGM) algorithm, and draw multiple chromosomes simultaneously. We compared PMGmap with other leading tools on 405 plant mitogenomes and found that PMGmap allowed the visualization of the above-mentioned features better than those tools. We believe PMGmap will become an invaluable tool for plant mitogenome research. The web and container versions and the source code of PMGmap can be accessed at http://www.1kmpg.cn/pmgmap.

Introduction:Gastrointestinal tuberculosis (TB) is a rare extrapulmonary manifestation of TB.1 Involvement of terminal ileum, cecum, and peritoneum are more commonly documented while esophageal involvement accounts for less than 0.2% of all TB patients.2-4 Despite the lower incidence of TB in Western countries, given the vague clinical manifestations of gastrointestinal TB, clinicians are required to keep TB on their differentials in work-up of various gastrointestinal symptoms, even if the patient has been previously vaccinated. We present a unique case of esophageal and duodenal TB in a patient who was vaccinated with BCG, with a prior negative Mantoux tuberculin skin test (TST).

A document by MOHAMAD SAFWAN A. Click on the document to view its contents.

Scleritis Following the booster shot of inactivated COVID-19 (Sinopharm) Vaccine in a 52-year-old WomanKimia Jazi1, Mahnaz Rahimi1, Fatemeh Hasani2, Maryam Shirmohammadi1, Maryam Masoumi3*1Student Research Committee, Faculty of Medicine, Medical University of Qom, Qom, Iran2 Golestan Research Center of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Golestan University of Medical Sciences, Gorgan, Iran3 Clinical Research of Development Center, Shahid Beheshti Hospital, Qom University of Medical Sciences, Qom, Iran

INTRODUCTIONEpilepsy is a common neurological disorder affecting more than 70 million people around the world. It is the most common neurological disorder in the pediatric population, affecting 1% to 3% of children, and is defined as any disorder in which spontaneous recurrence of unprovoked seizures is the main symptom. A seizure is usually defined as a sudden alteration of behavior due to a temporary change in the electrical functioning of the brain, that continuously generates tiny electrical impulses in an orderly pattern. The etiology of epilepsy can be different, including structural, genetic, infectious, metabolic, and immune causes, but most often the cause is unknown, that is when it refers to the so-called idiopathic epilepsy, which occurs in 40% of people with epilepsy. Despite the recent introduction of new antiepileptic drugs (AEDs), about one-third of epilepsy patients have drug-resistant (refractory) epilepsy, affecting about 30% of children with epilepsy.Refractory epilepsy, which is the most severe form of epilepsy, according to the International league against epilepsy (ILAE), is defined as failure to control seizures when using two or more appropriately chosen and tolerated antiepileptic drugs (as monotherapy or in combination) during an appropriate period. Severe and refractory epilepsies in children affect their cognitive function, leading to worsening of the prognosis, serious psychosocial consequences, difficulties in care and quality of life, anxiety in the family, as well as an increase in the risk of death, including unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP).The expansion of genetic research and technologies in recent years and the advances in next-generation sequencing (NGS) have shown that a large proportion of unexplained epilepsies, especially idiopathic ones, have a genetic basis. Numerous epilepsy genes helped the understanding of mechanisms underlying epileptogenesis and guided the development of treatments.ANKRD11 gene functions as a co-regulator in the developing brain. The role of the ANKRD11 gene in neurodevelopment was suggested by subsequent reports of individuals with intellectual disability, facial dysmorphism, and ASD. In 1975, Herrman et al., first described the KBG syndrome, a neurodevelopmental autosomal dominant disorder, caused by the haploinsufficiency of the ANKRD11 at 16q24.3 locus due to heterozygous pathogenic variants or chromosomal imbalances/rearrangement such as point mutations, duplications or microdeletions involving this gene.KBGS is characterized by global developmental delay (DD), intellectual disability (ID), learning difficulties, neurobehavioral problems, short stature, macrodontia, facial dysmorphism, skeletal anomalies, and multiple congenital anomalies, sometimes associated with seizures, delayed closing of fontanels and electroencephalographic (EEG) abnormalities. So far, there have been reported more than 200 cases of KBG syndrome.The diagnosis of KBG syndrome is established, by the most commonly used criteria of Skjei et al. and Low et al . A diagnosis of epilepsy, a major criterion, according to Skjei et al ., and a minor criterion according to Low et al . has been reported in approximately 30% of patients in a systematic review of 140 patients with KBG syndrome. The onset of epilepsy is predominantly between infancy and mid-teens and seizure remission occurred in the majority after adolescence with good response to AEDs. Heterogeneous seizure types have been reported, with tonic–clonic seizures, absences, myoclonic seizures, and unclassified sleep-related seizures with motor symptoms being most common, but no specific epilepsy syndrome has been identified.Detailed classification of the seizures, epilepsy type, or syndrome was only made in 26 patients from 12 studies. Only two patients had an epilepsy syndrome classification. No genotype–phenotype correlation studies have been performed for the presence and type of epilepsy in patients with KBG syndrome. Generalized epilepsy with febrile seizures plus (GEFS+) is reported in a de novo mutation of the ANKRD11gene, with a clinical phenotype compatible with KBG syndrome.A systemic review of epilepsy and EEG anomalies in subjects with KBG syndrome is deficient. Samanta first described in a patient an intermittent bisynchronous temporo-occipital rhythmic delta activity and episodes of staring spells with no EEG changes suggesting that these findings may be specific to KBG syndrome. Here, we report a patient with a severe neurological phenotype of KBG syndrome associated with a novel heterozygous frame-shift de novo variant in the ANKRD11 gene, to contribute to identifying a specific electroclinical pattern of KBG syndrome.

Comment on Shao et al.’s “risk factors associated with COVID‐19 pneumonia in Chinese patients with pre‐existing interstitial lung disease during the SARS‐CoV‐2 pandemic”Hsiu-Ming Lee 1, Po-Cheng Shih 2,3, James Cheng-Chung Wei, MD, PhD 2,4,51 School of Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan2 Institute of Medicine, Chung Shan Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan3 Department of Allergy, Immunology & Rheumatology, Changhua Christian Hospital, Changhua, Taiwan4 Department of Allergy, Immunology & Rheumatology, Chung Shan Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan5 Graduate Institute of Integrated Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung, TaiwanHsiu-Ming Lee and Po-Cheng Shih contribute equally.Correspondence： James Cheng-Chung Wei, MD, PhD.Address : No. 110, Sec. 1, Jianguo N. Rd., South District, Taichung City 40201, Taiwan.TEL : ＋886 4 24739595 #34718. (FAX) +886 4 24637389E-mail : [email protected] 0000-0002-1235-0679Word counts: 498Table counts: 0Figure counts: 0Funding Sources : noneConflicts of Interest : The authors declare no conflicts of interest.Dear Editor,We read the article with great interest by Shao et al, where a retrospective study analyzed the risk factors for pneumonia related to the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in patients with various types of interstitial lung disease (ILD) caused by SARS-CoV-2 infection. According to Cox’s multivariate analysis, only male gender and the use of corticosteroids emerged as risk factors for developing new coronavirus pneumonia following illness. On the other hand, receiving two to three doses of vaccination proved protective for individuals with preexisting ILD who contracted COVID-19 pneumonia.[1] As a result, it is recommended that patients with preexisting ILD, especially those who are male and using corticosteroids, receive more than two doses of the vaccine for enhanced protection. Since 2019, WHO has reported 770 million confirmed COVID-19 cases and 6.9 million deaths globally.[2] Studies have linked interstitial lung disease to worse COVID-19 outcomes, showing a four-fold mortality increase.[3] Interstitial lung disease includes inflammatory and fibrotic conditions, with incidence rates of 7 to 1,650 per 100,000.[4, 5] In contrast, COVID-19 can also trigger interstitial lung disease.[6] As COVID-19 spreads, global lung disease rates will increase. Identifying risk factors for interstitial lung disease after a COVID-19 diagnosis is crucial for early prevention, resource allocation, and effective management. However, some details in the article still need to be further clarified.First, this paper analyzed several variables in developing pneumonia during COVID-19 infection, including age, sex, vaccination history, common immunosuppressants, antifibrotic agents, and corticosteroids. However, it should be noted that certain risk factors, such as smoking, diabetes mellitus, autoimmune diseases, and recurrent COVID-19 infections, still exhibit a high association with pneumonia and were not included in the analysis.[7-9] Therefore, we recommend that the authors consider incorporating these factors into future similar studies. The paper analyzed corticosteroid use as a potential risk factor but without mentioning the timing of administration. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends steroids for COVID-19 cases beyond a sure severity threshold. Failing to differentiate when they were given may overestimate the proportion of pneumonia cases using steroids, affecting p-values. Some ILD patients use multiple immunosuppressants, impacting immune function and COVID-19 pneumonia risk. While the article lists common medications, it doesn’t analyze the number of patients receiving combined therapy. Therefore, we recommend that future studies assess the risk associated with concurrently using immunosuppressants to understand the implications of combination therapy better.Second, this paper reveals an intriguing shift, as sarcoidosis appears to become a protective factor against pneumonia following a COVID-19 diagnosis. It could be a groundbreaking revelation since the articles consistently state that sarcoidosis is an excessively high-risk factor for severe COVID-19 pneumonia.[10] No literature has delved into this phenomenon, its mechanisms, or potential implications. Given the substantial representation of sarcoidosis patients in this study, we recommended that authors separately analyze its subgroup, examining their disease site, activity, severity, and medication use differences. Furthermore, future research should focus on investigating the interaction mechanisms and conducting comprehensive comparative studies to unlock the full potential of this discovery.References:1. Shao, C., et al., Risk factors associated with COVID-19 pneumonia in Chinese patients with pre-existing interstitial lung disease during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. J Med Virol, 2023.95 (9): p. e29098.2. WHO Coronavirus (COVID-19) Dashboard . 2023 [cited 2023 Oct 10, 2023]; Available from:https://covid19.who.int/.3. Valenzuela, C., G. Waterer, and G. Raghu, Interstitial lung disease before and after COVID-19: a double threat? Eur Respir J, 2021.58 (6).4. Shah Gupta, R., et al., Incidence and prevalence of interstitial lung diseases worldwide: a systematic literature review.BMJ Open Respir Res, 2023. 10 (1).5. Lee, C.Y., Interstitial lung disease-From pulmonary perspective to pathogenesis, multidisciplinary approach and treatment. Int J Rheum Dis, 2023. 26 (5): p. 823-824.6. Myall, K.J., et al., Persistent Post-COVID-19 Interstitial Lung Disease. An Observational Study of Corticosteroid Treatment. Ann Am Thorac Soc, 2021. 18 (5): p. 799-806.7. Strzelak, A., et al., Tobacco Smoke Induces and Alters Immune Responses in the Lung Triggering Inflammation, Allergy, Asthma and Other Lung Diseases: A Mechanistic Review. Int J Environ Res Public Health, 2018. 15 (5).8. Wang, W., et al., Clinical characteristics of moderate or severe COVID-19 infection in patients with rheumatic diseases and analysis of risk factors leading to severe disease. Int J Rheum Dis, 2023. 26 (10): p. 1951-1959.9. Batu, E.D. and A. Erden, The outcome of COVID-19 in patients with autoimmune rheumatic diseases: Comparable to the general population or worse? Int J Rheum Dis, 2023. 26 (8): p. 1435-1439.10. Tana, C., et al., Sarcoidosis and COVID-19: At the Cross-Road between Immunopathology and Clinical Manifestation. Biomedicines, 2022.10 (10).

Background: New-onset atrial fibrillation (NOAF) in COVID-19 raises significant clinical and public health issues. This systematic review and meta-analysis aims to compile and analyze the current literature on NOAF in COVID-19 and give a more comprehensive understanding of the prevalence and outcomes of NOAF in COVID-19. Methods: A comprehensive literature search was carried out using several databases. The random effect model using inverse variance method and DerSimonian and Laird estimator of Tua2 was used to calculate the pooled prevalence and associated 95% confidence interval (CI). Results for outcome analysis were presented as odds ratios (ORs) with 95% CI and pooled using the Mantel-Haenszel random-effects model. Results: The pooled prevalence of NOAF in COVID-19 was 7.8% (95% CI, 6.54% to 9.32%), pooled estimate from 30 articles (81,929 COVID-19 patients). Furthermore, our analysis reported that COVID-19 patients with NOAF had a higher risk of developing severe disease compared with COVID–19 patients without a history of atrial fibrillation (OR= 4.78, 95% CI 3.75 to 6.09) and COVID-19 patients with a history of pre-existing atrial fibrillation (OR= 2.75, 95% CI 2.10 to 3.59) . Similarly, our analysis also indicated that COVID–19 patients with NOAF had a higher risk of all-cause mortality compared with, COVID–19 patients without a history of atrial fibrillation (OOR= 3.83, 95% CI 2.99 to 4.92) and COVID-19 patients with a history of pre-existing atrial fibrillation (OR= 2.32, 95% CI 1.35 to 3.96). The meta-analysis did not reveal any significant publication bias. Conclusion: The results of the current meta-analysis a high prevalence rate of NOAF among COVID-19 patients. Further the study reported higher disease severity with NOAF compared with COVID-19 patients without a history of atrial fibrillation and with a history of atrial fibrillation.

Objective: Few studies have examined whether number of births is associated with women’s aging. This study aims to evaluate the association of number of births with women’s biological aging, premature mortality and life expectancy. Methods: A total of 272,494 participants from UK biobank who completed the questionnaire on number of live births were enrolled at baseline. The number of births was categorized into 6 groups, and participants with one live birth was the reference group. General linear regression model and cox proportional hazards model were performed to evaluate the association of number of births with women’s biological aging and premature mortality. Restricted cubic spline (RCS) was used to visualize dose-response relationship. Moreover, the latest Office for National Statistics life tables rom was used to calculate the life expectancy. Results: During a median follow-up of 11.9 years, a total of 10,992 cases of all-cause premature death were documented. After adjustment for potential confounders, compared to women had one birth, childless women had greater premature death (hazard ratio, HR=1.17, 95%CI: 1.09-1.25), whereas women with two or three children had lower risk of premature death (HR=0.87, 95%CI:0.82-0.93, HR=0.90, 95%CI: 0.82-0.99), which showed a U-shaped relationship visualized by RCS (P<0.05 for non-linearity). Further, at age 40, childless women had 1.41 years lower life expectancy, and women with two children was related to 1.10 years higher life expectancy. Moreover, compared to women had one birth, the women with two or three children had lower corrected estimated values of FI, ΔKDM-biological age and HD, and the women with five or more children had higher corrected estimated values of FI, ΔKDM-biological age, and HD (all the P<0.05). Conclusions: The association of number of live births with women’s biological aging, premature mortality and life expectancy had a U-shape relation. The childless or five more child women were more likely to be aging with increased risk of premature death and decreased life expectancy years. The double-child women decreased aging process with lower risk of premature death and high life expectancy.

Raman spectroscopy, as a label-free sensor, is commonly used for real-time monitoring of key parameters in the cultivation of recombinant protein. However, ensuring accurate parameter values necessitates a large quantity of offline measurement data, which is time-consuming and labor-intensive. In order to address the limitations of conventional complex data preprocessing, this study considers a genetic algorithm-based semi-supervised convolutional neural network (GA-SCNN). The GA-SCNN facilitates feature extraction and unsupervised sequence labeling, and has been applied to the model system of E. coli expressing recombinant ProA5M protein. By applying model prediction and sequence interpolation techniques, the GA-SCNN significantly expanded the database for glucose, lactate, ammonium ions, and OD600 from 52 to 1302 samples. A comparative analysis using standard regression algorithms has demonstrated the superior predictive performance of the GA-SCNN framework when dealing with a large volume of spectral data without the requirement for preprocessing. Model cross-validation has confirmed high accuracy and robustness in determining coefficients. In addition, a transfer learning strategy has been employed using the OD600 data and limited recombinant protein expression data to develop a prediction model for the target protein. Validation experiments demonstrate good agreement between model predictions and offline results.

A 70-year-old male patient presented to the Emergency Department with a history of dyspnea, anorexia, and fever. While waiting for observation, the patient had a syncope with loss of sphincter control. He was hypotensive, and tachycardic, had signs of poor peripheral perfusion and abdominal distension. Laboratory findings showed elevated inflammatory parameters, acute kidney injury, and metabolic acidemia.The patient underwent an abdominal and pelvic computed tomography (CT) study (Figure 1), which revealed exuberant gastric distention and wall thickening of the pylorusA nasogastric tube was placed, draining 1 liter of gastric content. On endoscopy the stomach was found to remain filled with abundant content and the scope could not be passed through the pylorus due to non-distensibility of its wall.A thorough review of the CT study revealed the existence of pneumobilia, which raised the suspicion of a colecystoenteric fistula. A subtle dense image was seen inside the pylorus.The CT study was repeated with oral contrast material (Figure 2), which confirmed the presence of a gallstone lodged in the pylorus surrounded by oral contrast material.The patient showed a good clinical evolution after conservative treatment and was discharged with a referral to a gastroenterologist appointment for follow-up.Gastric outlet obstruction caused by gallstone impaction in the distal stomach or proximal duodenum is designated Bouveret syndrome. It occurs most frequently in elderly women. Probably due to the patient’s advanced age and comorbidities, mortality is still high. Clinical presentation and laboratory findings are nonspecific. Symptoms may include nausea, vomits, and epigastric pain. 1The presence of the Rigler triad (bowel obstruction, pneumobilia, and an ectopic gallstone) on the abdominal radiography can be the clue to the diagnosis. Ultrasound may also suggest the diagnosis, although findings can be difficult to interpret. CT can demonstrate the Rigler triad and also the fistula, if it is filled with oral contrast material or air. The identification of the gallstone may be challenging if it is radiolucent. As in our case, oral contrast material can be very helpful because a gallstone surrounded by oral contrast material will be more easily visualized. In patients unable to take oral contrast material, Magnetic Resonance cholangiopancreatography may be very helpful for the detection of radiolucent gallstones. 2The preferred therapy approach is endoscopy because patients are commonly poor surgical candidates. If endoscopic treatment fails, surgery is needed.1Fast removal of an obstructing stone is important because this condition causes significant morbidity and mortality. For that reason, prompt diagnosis is crucial.2References[1]Nickel F, Müller-Eschner MM, Chu J, von Tengg-Kobligk H, Müller-Stich BP. Bouveret’s syndrome: presentation of two cases with review of the literature and development of a surgical treatment strategy. BMC Surg. 2013;13:33. Published 2013 Sep 4. doi:10.1186/1471-2482-13-33[2]Brennan GB, Rosenberg RD, Arora S. Bouveret syndrome. Radiographics. 2004;24(4):1171-1175. doi:10.1148/rg.244035222

Flickering visual stimulation targeting the entire visual field can evoke steady-state visual evoked potentials (SSVEPs), and these SSVEPs can potentially influence ongoing brain activity. Here, we aimed at extending previous findings to evoke high-frequency SSVEPs. We hypothesized that the sequential targeting of neighboring retinal areas allows evoking a high-frequency series of visual evoked potentials which sum to a high-frequency SSVEP across the visual cortex. By selectively and sequentially targeting neighboring retinal areas with high-frequency flickering light, each area was only stimulated every 10ms, but neighboring areas were stimulated at a lag of 8.33ms, 6.06ms, 5.55ms, and 5.26ms (i.e., 120, 165, 180 and 190Hz), for 60 trials of 2s, while we recorded 64-channel EEG from 10 participants. In line with our hypothesis, we measured SSVEPs for 120Hz and 180Hz stimulation with an occipital topography. For the first time, we show that it is possible to evoke high-frequency SSVEPs as high as 180Hz across the visual cortex by using a spatially organized noninvasive visual brain stimulation. This critically extends previous findings on SSVEPs following full-field visual stimulation. Spatially organized noninvasive visual stimulation could potentially be used as a tool to influence high-frequency oscillations, which opens the possibility of targeted therapeutic interventions.

A novel multi-conductor electromagnetic coupling model for the sensitive-wire subject to driven wire in a high-precision machining workbench is proposed in this paper. The general coupling model for an N-wire system is derived and is used to evaluate the wire coupling effect. Furthermore, 4-wire and 3-wire models are demonstrated to verify the accuracy through full-wave electromagnetic simulation below 10 MHz. The results show that the error between the proposed method and the full-wave electromagnetic simulation is less than 10%, demonstrating the high efficiency and accuracy of the proposed method. When the parameters of the driven power wire and the most sensitive wire are fixed and the parameters of neighboring wires are swept, the maximum fluctuation of the induced current on the most sensitive wire is 6.1 dB. The efficient calculation method proposed in this work helps reduce the risk of electromagnetic interference in complex electronic systems and improves the design efficiency of wires. It is promising to become a high-performance method with high efficiency and precision.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) ranks among the top three most prevalent and lethal cancers for men and women. The overall annual CRC incidence rate has decreased Since 1985. However, despite continued overall declines, CRC is rapidly shifting to diagnosis at a younger age. Studies suggest that there were significant differences of early-onset CRC in epidemiology, etiology, molecular features, it is a heterogeneous disease. So further characterization of early-onset CRC is required to reveal the difference in clinical and pathological characteristics as well as prognosis between the 2 groups. It may help improve the treatment strategy in the future.

Xylem conduits have lignified walls to resist crushing pressures. The thicker the double-wall ( T) relative to its maximum diameter ( D), the greater the collapse/implosion resistance. Having xylem that is more resistant than necessary incurs high costs and reduced flow, while having xylem not resistant enough may lead to catastrophic collapse under drought. Despite the importance of xylem implosion safety in determining plant drought resistance, it is still unclear how leaves scale Tx D to trade-off among implosion safety, flow efficiency, mechanical support, and construction cost. We measured T and D in over 7,000 leaf xylem conduits of 122 ferns and angiosperms species to investigate how the Tx D scaling varies across species, clades, habitats, growth forms, and vein orders. Overall, leaf xylem conduits grow wider than thicker, potentially resulting in high flow efficiency and lower cost, but at the expense of high vulnerability to implosion. Conduits seem particularly vulnerable to implosion in monocots, aquatic species and in species from hydric habitats, as well as in major veins. The absence of strong trade-offs within the leaf functional traits examined suggests that implosion safety at the whole-leaf level cannot be easily predicted by the sum of the individual conduits’ resistance to collapse.

This study explores enhancing salinity gradient power using 2D materials due to their surface-governed charge. However, achieving high-performing membranes with superior ion selectivity and low ionic resistances remains challenging. To address this issue, Al(OH)4- anions were incorporated into graphene oxide membranes to increase their spontaneous negative surface charge. The anions were successfully formed and encapsulated through a reaction with the alumina support under alkaline conditions during the membrane formation. The membranes’ physicochemical properties were analyzed by means of selected characterization techniques. The incorporation of Al(OH)4- anions significantly improved permselectivity and ionic resistance, reaching approximately 95% and 2 Ω cm2, respectively. A modeling of the system was carried out to further understand the anchoring of these ions within the membrane matrix and their role in boosting the charge of the membrane and, therefore, their electrochemical properties. The study delved into the utilization of GO membranes as monovalent-selective membranes, an approach to boost reverse electrodialysis power densities. The membranes demonstrated impressive selectivity, overcoming 70 folds for divalent cations over K+.

Childhood interstitial lung disease associated with connective tissue disease and immune mediated is the second most common chILD diagnostic category. As knowledge of the molecular and genetic underpinnings of these rare disorders advances, the recognized clinical spectrum of pulmonary manifestations that can be associated with them continues to broaden. This review will focus on chILD and other pulmonary complications associated with primary immune disorders, namely monogenic inborn errors of immunity as well as acquired systemic autoimmune and autoinflammatory diseases. Pulmonary complications, including ILD in these diseases can confer increased risk for morbidity and mortality and can be complex to manage due to the multiple organ systems that can be impacted in these systemic disorders. Thankfully, pulmonologists do not have to work alone. These diseases often have stereotypical patterns of extra-pulmonary features which aid in their recognition. In collaboration with a multidisciplinary team of subspecialists, the pulmonary and other systemic manifestations can be managed effectively together. The goal of this review is to familiarize the reader with the distinct patterns of ILD and associated systemic/immunologic features that are characteristic of monogenic inborn errors of immunity and systemic autoimmune and autoinflammatory diseases. In addition, this review will highlight current, emergent and innovative therapeutic strategies and will underscore the important role of multidisciplinary management to improving outcomes for these patients.