Multimodal imaging of congenital pyriform fossa fistula in children

ObjectiveOur aim was to explore the clinical value of multimodal imaging examinations in the diagnosis of congenital pyriform fossa fistula in children, so as to provide clues for the early diagnosis and treatment of congenital pyriform fossa fistula.MethodsThe clinical and imaging data of 55 children with pyriform fossa fistula diagnosed surgically in our hospital from 2015 to 2018 were analyzed retrospectively. All 55 patients underwent a CT scan. Of those patients, contrast enhancement CT was performed in 47 cases, MRI was performed in 2 cases, and barium esophagography was performed in 41 cases.ResultsAmong the 55 cases, there were 24 male patients and 31 female patients. The age ranged from 11 months to 13 years old, and the median age was 3.8 years old. The lesions of 49 cases (89.1%) were located on the left side, and the imaging of CT showed soft tissue mass in the anterior cervical region blurred boundary. There was ipsilateral thyroid involvement in 50 cases (90.9%), trachea and/or carotid sheath extension in 43 cases (78.2%), abscess formation in 39 cases (70.9%), and pneumatosis in 25 cases (45.5%). The CT examination of 22 children after treatment showed a linear or tubular low-density shadow in the thyroid gland, gas accumulation in the anterior cervical region or thyroid, and residual contrast medium, partly. A total of 24 cases underwent barium esophagography during the acute phase, and 15 cases (62.5%) showed sinus formation from the pyriform fossa downward or punctate high-density shadow in the anterior cervical region. The 2 cases where MRI was performed showed abscess formation in one side of the neck and thyroid involvement.ConclusionPyriform fossa fistula is most common in the left anterior cervical region, and it is closely related to the thyroid gland. The plain and enhanced-contrast CT scan can be used as the first choice during the infection stage. It helps to understand the location, extent, and structure of the surrounding tissue. The preliminary diagnosis of pyriform sinus fistula was according to the imaging features. It provided an important basis for clinical diagnosis and reduced the pain caused by repeated infection or surgical incision and drainage

The next widespread bamboo flowering poses a massive risk to the giant panda

The IUCN Red List has downgraded several species from “endangered” to “vulnerable” that still have largely unknown extinction risks. We consider one of those downgraded species, the giant panda, a bamboo specialist. Massive bamboo flowering could be a natural disaster for giant pandas. Using scenario analysis, we explored possible impacts of the next bamboo flowering in the Qinling and Minshan Mountains that are home to most giant pandas. Our results showed that the Qinling Mountains could experience large-scale bamboo flowering leading to a high risk of widespread food shortages for the giant pandas by 2020. The Minshan Mountains could similarly experience a large-scale bamboo flowering with a high risk for giant pandas between 2020 and 2030 without suitable alternative habitat in the surrounding areas. These scenarios highlight thus-far unforeseen dangers of conserving giant pandas in a fragmented habitat. We recommend advance measures to protect giant panda from severe population crashes when flowering happens. This study also suggests the need to anticipate and manage long-term risks to other downgraded species

A Pilot Study of Relating MYCN-Gene Amplification with Neuroblastoma-Patient CT Scans

Neuroblastoma is one of the most common cancers in infants, and the initial diagnosis of this disease is difficult. At present, the MYCN gene amplification (MNA) status is detected by invasive pathological examination of tumor samples. This is time-consuming and may have a hidden impact on children. To handle this problem, we adopt multiple machine learning (ML) algorithms to predict the presence or absence of MYCN gene amplification. The dataset is composed of retrospective CT images of 23 neuroblastoma patients. Different from previous work, we develop the algorithm without manually-segmented primary tumors which is time-consuming and not practical. Instead, we only need the coordinate of the center point and the number of tumor slices given by a subspecialty-trained pediatric radiologist. Specifically, CNN-based method uses pre-trained convolutional neural network, and radiomics-based method extracts radiomics features. Our results show that CNN-based method outperforms the radiomics-based method

Analysis on Characteristics of Vegetation and Soil Bacterial Community under 20 Years’ Restoration of Different Tree Species: A Case Study of the Qinling Mountains

Afforestation with different tree species formed different vegetation patterns, and altered soil properties and the composition and diversity of the soil bacterial community. In order to analyze the difference characteristics of vegetation, soil and bacterial community after 20 years’ restoration of different tree species, we investigated changes in vegetation (tree, shrubs, and herbs), soil properties and the soil bacterial community composition in the topsoil (0–10 cm) following afforestation of P. asperata Mast. and L. kaempferi (Lamb.) Carr.on the southern slope of the Qinling mountains. The results showed that, within a 20-year recovery period, the restorative effect of L. kaempferi was better than that of P. asperata, for alpha diversity and biomass of vegetation, composition and diversity of soil bacterial community were all preferable under nearly same environmental conditions if just taking these indices into consideration. Additionally, biodiversity of L. kaempfer was much richer than that of P. asperata. Our observations suggest that soil physicochemical properties, soil bacterial community composition and diversity following afforestation were mainly affected by tree species. The results could explain our hypothesis to some extent that a planted forest with quick growth speed and sparse canopy has higher biomass productivity and alpha diversity of ecosystem

‘Fertile island’ effects on the soil microbial community beneath the canopy of Tetraena mongolica, an endangered and dominant shrub in the West Ordos Desert, North China

Abstract Background The fertile islands formed by shrubs are major drivers of the structure and function of desert ecosystems, affecting seedling establishment, plant–plant interactions, the diversity and productivity of plant communities, and microbial activity/diversity. Although an increasing number of studies have shown the critical importance of soil microbes in fertile island formation, how soil microbial community structure and function are affected by the different fertile island effect intensities is still unknown. As an endangered and dominant shrub species in the West Ordos Desert, Tetraena mongolica was selected for further exploration of its fertile island effect on the soil microbial community in the present study to test the following two hypotheses: (1) T. mongolica shrubs with different canopy sizes exert fertile island effects of different strengths; (2) the soil microbial community structure and function beneath the T. mongolica canopy are affected by the fertile island, and the strength of these effects varies depending on the shrub canopy size. Results The contents of soil total nitrogen (TN) and available phosphorus (AVP) were significantly greater beneath T. mongolica shrub canopy than outside the shrub canopy. With increasing shrub canopy size, the enrichment of soil TN and AVP increased, indicating a stronger fertile island effect. The structure and function of soil microbial communities, including fungal, archaeal and bacterial communities, are affected by the fertile island effect. An increase in canopy size increased the relative abundance of Ascomycota (Fungi) and Thaumarchaeota (Archaea). For the soil microbial functional groups, the relative abundance of endophytes in the fungal functional groups; steroid hormone biosynthesis, sphingolipid metabolism, and steroid biosynthesis genes in the bacterial functional groups; and nonhomologous end-joining and bisphenol degradation functional genes in the archaeal functional groups increased significantly with increasing T. mongolica canopy size. Conclusions These results revealed that T. mongolica had a fertile island effect, which affected the soil microbial community structure and functions, and that the fertile island effect might increase with increasing shrub canopy size. The fertile island effect may strengthen the interaction between T. mongolica shrubs and microbes, which may be beneficial to the growth and maintenance of T. mongolica

Potential Biochemical Pesticide—Synthesis of Neofuranocoumarin and Inhibition the Proliferation of Spodoptera frugiperda Cells through Activating the Mitochondrial Pathway

Furanocoumarins, the secondary metabolites of plants, are considered to be natural insecticides and fungicides because they prevent the invasion of plant pathogenic microorganisms and the predation of herbivorous insects. In this study, novel 2-arylfuranocoumarin derivatives were designed to synthesize by condensation, esterification, bromination, and Wittig reaction. The results showed an excellent photosensitive activity of 2-thiophenylfuranocoumarin (I34). Cell Counting Kit-8 detected that I34 could inhibit the proliferation of Spodoptera frugiperda (Sf9) cells in a time- and concentration-dependent manner under ultraviolet A (UV-A) light for 3 min. The inverted microscope revealed that cells treated with I34 swelled, the membrane was ruptured, and apoptotic bodies appeared. The flow cytometry detected that I34 could induce apoptosis of Sf9 cells, increase the level of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS), decrease the mitochondrial membrane potential, and block cell cycle arrest in the G2/M phase. Transmission electron microscopy detected cell mitochondrial cristae damage, matrix degradation, and mitochondrial vacuolation. Further enzyme activity detection revealed that the enzyme activities of apoptosis-related proteins caspase-3 and caspase-9 increased significantly (p < 0.05). Finally, Western blotting analysis detected that the phosphorylation level of Akt and Bad and the expression of the apoptosis inhibitor protein Bcl-XL were inhibited, cleaved-PARP and P53 were increased, and cytochrome C was released from the mitochondria into the cytoplasm. Moreover, under UV-A irradiation, I34 promoted the increase in ROS in Sf9 cells, activated the mitochondrial apoptotic signal transduction pathway, and finally, inhibited cell proliferation. Thus, novel furanocoumarins exhibit a potential application prospect as a biochemical pesticide

Data from: Impacts of environmental heterogeneity on moss diversity and distribution of Didymodon (Pottiaceae) in Tibet, China

Tibet makes up the majority of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, often referred to as the roof of the world. Its complex landforms, physiognomy, and climate create a special heterogeneous environment for mosses. Each moss species inhabits its own habitat and ecological niche. This, in combination with its sensitivity to environmental change, makes moss species distribution a useful indicator of vegetation alteration and climate change. This study aimed to characterize the diversity and distribution of Didymodon (Pottiaceae) in Tibet, and model the potential distribution of its species. A total of 221 sample plots, each with a size of 10 × 10 m and located at different altitudes, were investigated across all vegetation types. Of these, the 181 plots in which Didymodon species were found were used to conduct analyses and modeling. Three noteworthy results were obtained. First, a total of 22 species of Didymodon were identified. Among these, Didymodon rigidulus var. subulatus had not previously been recorded in China, and Didymodon constrictus var. constrictus was the dominant species. Second, analysis of the relationships between species distributions and environmental factors using canonical correspondence analysis revealed that vegetation cover and altitude were the main factors affecting the distribution of Didymodon in Tibet. Third, based on the environmental factors of bioclimate, topography and vegetation, the distribution of Didymodon was predicted throughout Tibet at a spatial resolution of 1 km, using the presence-only MaxEnt model. Climatic variables were the key factors in the model. We conclude that the environment plays a significant role in moss diversity and distribution. Based on our research findings, we recommend that future studies should focus on the impacts of climate change on the distribution and conservation of Didymodon

Impacts of Environmental Heterogeneity on Moss Diversity and Distribution of Didymodon (Pottiaceae) in Tibet, China.

Tibet makes up the majority of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, often referred to as the roof of the world. Its complex landforms, physiognomy, and climate create a special heterogeneous environment for mosses. Each moss species inhabits its own habitat and ecological niche. This, in combination with its sensitivity to environmental change, makes moss species distribution a useful indicator of vegetation alteration and climate change. This study aimed to characterize the diversity and distribution of Didymodon (Pottiaceae) in Tibet, and model the potential distribution of its species. A total of 221 sample plots, each with a size of 10 × 10 m and located at different altitudes, were investigated across all vegetation types. Of these, the 181 plots in which Didymodon species were found were used to conduct analyses and modeling. Three noteworthy results were obtained. First, a total of 22 species of Didymodon were identified. Among these, Didymodon rigidulus var. subulatus had not previously been recorded in China, and Didymodon constrictus var. constrictus was the dominant species. Second, analysis of the relationships between species distributions and environmental factors using canonical correspondence analysis revealed that vegetation cover and altitude were the main factors affecting the distribution of Didymodon in Tibet. Third, based on the environmental factors of bioclimate, topography and vegetation, the distribution of Didymodon was predicted throughout Tibet at a spatial resolution of 1 km, using the presence-only MaxEnt model. Climatic variables were the key factors in the model. We conclude that the environment plays a significant role in moss diversity and distribution. Based on our research findings, we recommend that future studies should focus on the impacts of climate change on the distribution and conservation of Didymodon

Data for PONE-D-15-15932

Didymodon ( including species data, sampling plots, and habitat characteristics collected in the field work ) and environmental variables (bioclimatic,topographic,and vegetation data) which were projected as GIS raster layers in GCS_WGS_1984 coordinate system, and converted to ASCII format for modeling the distribution of Didymodon in Tibet

<i>Didymodon</i> species identified in Tibet, and their relative frequency, coverage, and importance value.

<p><i>Didymodon</i> species identified in Tibet, and their relative frequency, coverage, and importance value.</p