Efficacy of adjunctive azithromycin versus single-dose cephalosporin prophylaxis for caesarean scar defect : Study protocol for a randomised controlled trial

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Observation of first-order quantum phase transitions and ferromagnetism in twisted double bilayer graphene

Twisted graphene multilayers are highly tunable flatband systems for developing new phases of matter. Thus far, while orbital ferromagnetism has been observed in valley polarized phases, the long-range orders of other correlated phases as well as the quantum phase transitions between different orders mostly remain unknown. Here, we report an observation of Coulomb interaction driven first-order quantum phase transitions and ferromagnetism in twisted double bilayer graphene (TDBG). At zero magnetic field, the transitions are revealed in a series of step-like abrupt resistance jumps with prominent hysteresis loop when either the displacement field (D) or the carrier density (n) is tuned across symmetry-breaking boundary near half filling, indicating a formation of ordered domains. It is worth noting that the good turnability and switching of these states gives a rise to a memory performance with a large on/off ratio. Moreover, when both spin and valley play the roles at finite magnetic field, we observe abundant first-order quantum phase transitions among normal metallic states from charge neutral point, orbital ferromagnetic states from quarter filling, and spin-polarized states from half filling. We interpret these first-order phase transitions in the picture of phase separations and spin domain percolations driven by multi-field tunable Coulomb interactions, in agreement with Lifshitz transition from Hartree-Fock calculations. The observed multi-filed tunable domain structure and its hysteresis resembles the characteristics of multiferroics, revealing intriguing magnetoelectric properties. Our result enriches the correlated phase diagram in TDBG for discovering novel exotic phases and quantum phase transitions, and it would benefit other twisted moir\'e systems as well

Detection Study of Bipolar Depression Through the Application of a Model-Based Algorithm in Terms of Clinical Feature and Peripheral Biomarkers

Objectives: The nature of the diagnostic classification of mood disorder is a typical dichotomous data problem and the method of combining different dimensions of evidences to make judgments might be more statistically reliable. In this paper, we aimed to explore whether peripheral neurotrophic factors could be helpful for early detection of bipolar depression.Methods: A screening method combining peripheral biomarkers and clinical characteristics was applied in 30 patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) and 23 patients with depressive episode of bipolar disorder. By a model-based algorithm, some information was extracted from the dataset and used as a “model” to approach penalized regression model for stably differential diagnosis for bipolar depression.Results: A simple and efficient model of approaching the diagnosis of individuals with depressive symptoms was established with a fitting degree (90.58%) and an acceptable cross-validation error rate. Neurotrophic factors of our interest were successfully screened out from the feature selection and optimized model performance as reliable predictive variables.Conclusion: It seems to be feasible to combine different types of clinical characteristics with biomarkers in order to detect bipolarity of all depressive episodes. Neurotrophic factors of our interest presented its stable discriminant potentiality in unipolar and bipolar depression, deserving validation analysis in larger samples

Correction: Surface Vulnerability of Cerebral Cortex to Major Depressive Disorder

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is accompanied by atypical brain structure. This study first presents the alterations in the cortical surface of patients with MDD using multidimensional structural patterns that reflect different neurodevelopment. Sixteen first-episode, untreated patients with MDD and 16 matched healthy controls underwent a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan. The cortical maps of thickness, surface area, and gyrification were examined using the surface-based morphometry (SBM) approach. Increase of cortical thickness was observed in the right posterior cingulate region and the parietal cortex involving the bilateral inferior, left superior parietal and right paracentral regions, while decreased thickness was noted in the parietal cortex including bilateral pars opercularis and left precentral region, as well as the left rostral-middle frontal regions in patients with MDD. Likewise, increased or decreased surface area was found in five sub-regions of the cingulate gyrus, parietal and frontal cortices (e.g., bilateral inferior parietal and superior frontal regions). In addition, MDD patients exhibited a significant hypergyrification in the right precentral and supramarginal region. This integrated structural assessment of cortical surface suggests that MDD patients have cortical alterations of the frontal, parietal and cingulate regions, indicating a vulnerability to MDD during earlier neurodevelopmental process

Altered brain network modules induce helplessness in major depressive disorder

The abnormal brain functional connectivity (FC) has been assumed to be a pathophysiological aspect of major depressive disorder (MDD). However, it is poorly understood, regarding the underlying patterns of global FC network and their relationships with the clinical characteristics of MDD

Room-temperature correlated states in twisted bilayer MoS2_2

Moir\'e superlattices have emerged as an exciting condensed-matter quantum simulator for exploring the exotic physics of strong electronic correlations. Notable progress has been witnessed, but such correlated states are achievable usually at low temperatures. Here, we report the transport evidences of room-temperature correlated electronic states and layer-hybridized SU(4) Hubbard model simulator in AB-stacked MoS$_2$ homo-bilayer moir\'e superlattices. Correlated insulating states at moir\'e band filling factors v = 1, 2, 3 are unambiguously established in twisted bilayer MoS$_2$. Remarkably, the correlated electronic states can persist up to a record-high critical temperature of over 285 K. The realization of room-temperature correlated states in twisted bilayer MoS$_2$ can be understood as the cooperation effects of the stacking-specific atomic reconstruction and the resonantly enhanced interlayer hybridization, which largely amplify the moir\'e superlattice effects on electronic correlations. Furthermore, extreme large non-linear Hall responses up to room-temperature are uncovered near correlated insulating states, demonstrating the quantum geometry of moir\'e flat conduction band.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figure

Pediatric myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody-associated disease in southern China: analysis of 93 cases

ObjectiveTo study the clinical features of children diagnosed with myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody-associated disease (MOGAD) in southern China.MethodsClinical data of children diagnosed with MOGAD from April 2014 to September 2021 were analyzed.ResultsA total of 93 children (M/F=45/48; median onset age=6.0 y) with MOGAD were involved. Seizures or limb paralysis was the most common onset or course symptom, respectively. The most common lesion locations in brain MRI, orbital MRI, and spinal cord MRI were basal ganglia and subcortical white matter, the orbital segment of the optic nerve, and the cervical segment, respectively. ADEM (58.10%) was the most common clinical phenotype. The relapse rate was 24.7%. Compared with the patients without relapse, relapsed patients had a longer interval from onset to diagnosis (median: 19 days VS 20 days) and higher MOG antibody titer at onset (median: 1:32 VS 1:100) with longer positively persistent (median: 3 months VS 24 months). All patients received IVMP plus IVIG at the acute phase, and 96.8% of patients achieved remission after one to three courses of treatment. MMF, monthly IVIG, and maintaining a low dose of oral prednisone were used alone or in combination as maintenance immunotherapy for relapsed patients and effectively reduced relapse. It transpired 41.9% of patients had neurological sequelae, with movement disorder being the most common. Compared with patients without sequelae, patients with sequelae had higher MOG antibody titer at onset (median: 1:32 VS 1:100) with longer persistence (median: 3 months VS 6 months) and higher disease relapse rate (14.8% VS 38.5%).ConclusionsResults showed the following about pediatric MOGAD in southern China: the median onset age was 6.0 years, with no obvious sex distribution difference; seizure or limb paralysis, respectively, are the most common onset or course symptom; the lesions of basal ganglia, subcortical white matter, the orbital segment of the optic nerve, and cervical segment were commonly involved in the CNS MRI; ADEM was the most common clinical phenotype; most had a good response to immunotherapy; although the relapse rate was relatively high, MMF, monthly IVIG and a low dose of oral prednisone might effectively reduce relapse; neurological sequelae were common, and possibly associated with MOG antibody status and disease relapse

Characterization of volatile aroma compounds after in-vial cooking of foxtail millet porridge with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

Foxtail millet has become popular over recent years for its nutritional value and ecological functions. The aroma of foxtail millet is not well characterized, which is critical for its eating quality and understanding the biochemistry and genetics of aroma is important for molecular breeding of millets rich in aroma. In this study, the volatile aroma compounds of the elite millet variety Jingu 21 were investigated at different cooking times, pH, processing methods, and compared with 3 other varieties. An in-vial cooking method was developed which combined solid phase micro-extraction and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry for the detection and identification of volatile compounds. The main findings were: a) Twelve aroma compounds were identified during cooking, which were hexanal, heptanal, octanal, (E)-2-heptenal, nonanal, trans-2-octenal, trans-2-nonenal, 2,4-nonadienal, (E,E)-2,4-decadienal, 1-octen-3-ol, 2-pentylfuran and 6-methyl-5- hepten-2-one. b) Longer cooking times produced higher concentrations of aroma compounds. c) Variations in cooking pH (from 6 to 8) had no obvious impact on the aroma of the millet porridge. d) More volatile compounds were released from millet flour compared to millet grain. e) There were significant differences among varieties and Jingu 21 millet showed the highest abundance of most aroma compounds, explaining partly why it is strongly favored by consumers for decades