Cognitive impairment (CI), spanning mild memory issues to severe dementia, impacts over 55 million people worldwide and have a significant effect that strains health, economy, and caregiving. Surprisingly, it occurs at any age. The glial cell ecosystem, particularly astrocyte-microglia crosstalk, is pivotal for brain homeostasis and cognitive function across the lifespan. Intriguingly, in recent discoveries, dysregulation of ecosystem contributes to neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs), adult cognitive decline, and neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s disease (AD), and astrocyte-derived interleukin-3 (IL-3), acting via the IL-3/CD123-related signals, may act as a key regulatory mediator of microglial function. Over the past few decades, extensive researches have been devoted to investigating aging-related regulatory factors with the aim of deciphering the “code” underlying cognitive developmental abnormalities, premature cognitive decline, and neurodegeneration. Astrocyte-microglia crosstalk governs age-dependent glial turnover via senescence-sensitive IL-3. Under pathological conditions, perturbed turnover’s association with age-stratified CI and its regulators is poorly understood. This review integrates current evidence on glial crosstalk, cellular senescence, and repopulation to elucidate age-specific CI driven by dysregulated glial turnover, while identifying key biomarkers that can predict aging processes. Looking ahead, therapeutic strategies targeting the IL-3/CD123-related signals regulating glial crosstalk hold promise for advancing interventions in immune-mediated CI across the lifespan.
Hypertrophied adenoids in children can impair breathing and lead to obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), often accompanied by abnormal growth and weakened stamina and immunity. However, the cause of the pathological transformation in these originally immune-enhancing lymphoid tissues remains unclear. Our study provides the first single cell transcriptomic and immune repertoire atlas of adenoids from normal snoring to mild, moderate, and severe OSA, and identified markedly asynchronous functional modules, transcriptional regulatory networks and intercellular communications during the progression of OSA. Children with severe OSA exhibited exhibit active Hippo, Notch, and Wnt signaling, alongside significant downregulation of energy synthesis. Analysis revealed compromised T-cell and B-cell immunity, as well as reduced antigen processing by innate immune cells, coupled with diminished cell-cell communication in severe OSA group. T-cell receptor and B-cell receptor sequencing results also support more infection imprints and abnormal germinal centers and antibody class switching. Mechanistically, HIF1A-mediated hypoxic signaling likely drives the downregulation of key immune components (including HLA and interferon molecules), positioning it as a promising therapeutic target for OSA.
Recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) treatment for idiopathic short stature (ISS) in China faces challenges including delayed initiation, poor persistence, limited adoption of advanced therapies, and conservative dosing. This study characterized real-world temporal and geographical patterns of rhGH therapy and identified associated socioeconomic factors. Data from two nationwide registries comprising 24,384 children with ISS initiating rhGH were analyzed. Predictors of treatment effectiveness were identified via linear regression. Provincial variations and temporal trends were assessed via descriptive analysis and seasonal-trend decomposition. Spearman correlation was used to examine associations between treatment patterns and socioeconomic indicators. The median rhGH initiation age was 8.45 years. Most patients (81.3
Covalent adaptable networks (CANs) hold considerable promise for combining the advantages of thermosets and thermoplastics. However, their use in high-speed melt spinning is restricted by insufficient dynamic bond reactivity at processing temperatures and the mismatch between network rearrangement kinetics and industrial requirements. Here, we establish a spatiotemporally regulated platform based on internally catalyzed oxime-urethane chemistry within a four-arm cross-linking topology. Neighboring urea groups provide internal catalysis that greatly accelerates oxime-urethane dissociation at 110°C, improving melt fluidity. During extrusion, the slight temperature drop rapidly drives bond recombination within the four-arm topology, while hydrogen bonds deliver immediate reinforcement to retain melt strength. This synergistic design enables continuous melt spinning at 100 meters per minute over a short 10-centimeter distance. The resulting fibers combine high mechanical performance (tensile strength: 261.7 megapascals; toughness: 630.1 megajoules per cubic meter) with excellent stretchability, self-healing, and recyclability. This molecular engineering approach overcomes the processing-performance tradeoff in CANs, offering a scalable pathway toward high-performance, sustainable polymers for industrial manufacturing.
Background/Objective Although the internet has broadened access to medical resources, concerns persist regarding the quality and accuracy of available content. ChatGPT, a general-purpose large language model, may help bridge this gap. This study evaluates its safety and user perception in addressing pediatric healthcare queries.Methods Nine experts independently evaluated 41 questions, with three experts assigned to each of the following topics: vitamin D (15 questions), food allergies (16 questions), and sleep problems (10 questions). Each question was answered separately by ChatGPT3.5 and ChatGPT4. Ratings were determined by expert consensus or, in cases of disagreement, the lowest rating. Additionally, 27 parents evaluated ChatGPT's responses.Results Experts rated 73.2% of responses from ChatGPT3.5 as "completely correct" or "correct but not comprehensive," while 26.8% were rated as "partially incorrect" or "completely incorrect." For ChatGPT4, these figures were 68.3% and 31.7%, respectively. The difference in accuracy ratings between the two versions was not statistically significant (chi-square test, p = .819). Over 80% of parents rated the responses as "completely clear with no further doubts" or "very clear with few doubts," with no significant difference found between versions (generalized mixed-effects model, p = .617). A total of 73.1% of parents expressed trust in ChatGPT's medical information, and 88.0% indicated a likelihood of continued use. Rating trends between parents and clinicians were consistent for both ChatGPT3.5 and ChatGPT4 responses (McNemar's test, ChatGPT3.5: p = .481; ChatGPT4: p = .143).Conclusion As over a quarter of responses contained expert-identified inaccuracies, the current performance of ChatGPT is insufficient for safe and reliable use in clinical decision-making. Nevertheless, it has potential to expand health information access for parents. However, these findings should be interpreted with caution given the small sample size and potential selection bias regarding parents' educational backgrounds. Future improvements should enhance accuracy, clarity, and integration between parents and healthcare professionals.
