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\"This book explores the role of literary fantasy in contemporary women's diasporic narratives to unsettle hegemonic notions of home and to construct their identity. Fantasy in their works plays a subversive function of bringing the unseen culture and unheard voices of the marginalized people\"-- Provided by publisher.

IgG4 is a subclass of IgG antibody with a unique molecular feature of (Fragment antigen- binding) Fab-arm exchange, allowing bi specific antigen binding in a mono -valent manner. With low binding affinity to C1q and Fcγreceptors, IgG4 is incapable of forming immune complexes and activating the complement pathway, exhibiting a non-inflammatory feature. IgG4 is produced similarly to IgE and is considered a modified reaction to IgE class-switching response under certain conditions. It could also counteract IgE-activated inflammation. However, the clinical significance of IgG4 in allergic diseases is complex and controversial. Three viewpoints have been suggested to describe the role of IgG4. IgG4 can act as a tolerance–inducer to play a protective role under repeated and rapid incremental dosing of allergen exposure in allergen immunotherapy (AIT), supported by allergies in cat raisers and venom desensitization in beekeepers. Another viewpoint accepted by mainstream specialists and guidelines of Food Allergy and Management in different countries points out that food-specific IgG4 is a bystander in food allergy and should not be used as a diagnostic tool in clinical work. However, eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) investigation revealed a direct clinical relevance between physiopathology and serum IgG4 in cow milk and wheat. These factors indicate that allergen-specific IgG4 plays a multifaceted role in allergic diseases that is protective or pathogenic depending on different allergens or exposure conditions.

\"Atlas of Woody Plants in China Distribution and Climate documents the spatially-explicit county-level distribution of all 11,405 woody plants in China, together with life form information for most species. It also provides climate information for each species, with the county-level average and range of 12 climatic indices and of vegetation net primary productivity\"--Back cover.

Background Chlamydia penumoniae  (CP) pneumonia (CPP) in children often receives less clinical attention due to its relatively mild presentation. This study comparatively analyzed CPP and Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia (MPP), and investigated risk factors for severe CPP. Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on 176 CPP patients and 176 concurrently hospitalized MPP patients during the same period to compare clinical features. CPP cases were further stratified into severe and mild subgroup to identify risk factors. Results The number of hospitalized children with CPP increased in 2024 compared to 2023, with a significant surge observed from December 2024 to February 2025. CPP patients were significantly older than MPP patients (mean age: 10.53 ± 2.89 vs. 6.68 ± 2.88, p  < 0.05) and exhibited longer durations of cough and higher rates of chest pain ( p  < 0.05). Laboratory findings revealed significantly elevated white blood cell (WBC) and eosinophil (EOS) counts in CPP versus MPP ( p  < 0.05). Severe CPP accounted for 6.8% of cases, and binary logistic regression identified eosinophil count as a potential biomarker for severe CPP ( p  < 0.05). Conclusions The number of hospitalized children with CPP increased in 2024 compared to 2023. CPP manifested more prominent cough and chest pain symptoms compared to MPP patients. EOS count levels may serve as a potential biomarker of severe CPP.

In this paper, a binary fuzzy cluster analysis algorithm is used for an in-depth study and analysis of high-performance computational early warning in the agricultural economy. The definition of interval type-two fuzzy set and its operation are summarized. Considering the uncertain information that will be encountered in the evaluation process, this paper constructs the evaluation model of rural informatization construction performance based on interval type-two fuzzy numbers, which improves the accuracy of the evaluation results. The fuzzy clustering centres are modified according to the nature of the fuzzy clustering centre matrix, and the optimal fuzzy clustering centres and optimal fuzzy clustering division matrix with consistent order are solved. Using the level eigenvalues to find out in the abundant water period, there are 4 monitoring sections of water quality evaluation results for still clean and 5 monitoring sections of water quality evaluation results for slight pollution. In the flat-water period, there are 2 monitoring sections of the water quality evaluation results that are still clean and 7 monitoring sections of the water quality evaluation results are slightly polluted. In the dry water period, the water quality evaluation results of the 9 monitoring sections are slightly polluted. The results and the use of integrated pollutant index evaluation method results are consistent, indicating that the use of fuzzy clustering model for water quality evaluation is practical and effective. Its functional structure includes management business, innovation business, service business, production business, and operation business functions, in addition to the design of the collection and storage scheme based on Hadoop data warehouse, to achieve accurate matching of information of science and technology agricultural services in the whole agricultural industry chain. Finally, the implementation and maintenance of the cloud-based science and technology agricultural service information system are deployed, and the operational effects of its information system-related functions are demonstrated using prototype design. This paper constructs a comprehensive information system for science and technology agricultural services based on cloud technology that integrates management, innovation, service, production, and operation, which meets not only the needs of traditional science and technology agricultural service information systems, such as expert consultation and training demonstration, but also other needs spawned by the development of agricultural modernization.

Background Recent evidence has demonstrated that abnormal expression and regulation of circular RNA (circRNAs) are involved in the occurrence and development of a variety of tumors. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of circ_PPAPDC1A in Osimertinib resistance in NSCLC. Methods Human circRNAs microarray analysis was conducted to identify differentially expressed (DE) circRNAs in Osimertinib-acquired resistance tissues of NSCLC. The effect of circ_PPAPDC1A on cell proliferation, invasion, migration, and apoptosis was assessed in both in vitro and in vivo. Dual-luciferase reporter assay, RT-qPCR, Western-blot, and rescue assay were employed to confirm the interaction between circ_PPAPDC1A/miR-30a-3p/IGF1R axis. Results The results revealed that circ_PPAPDC1A was significantly upregulated in Osimertinib acquired resistance tissues of NSCLC. circ_PPAPDC1A reduced the sensitivity of PC9 and HCC827 cells to Osimertinib and promoted cell proliferation, invasion, migration, while inhibiting apoptosis in Osimertinib-resistant PC9/OR and HCC829/OR cells, both in vitro and in vivo. Silencing circ_PPAPDC1A partially reversed Osimertinib resistance. Additionally, circ_PPAPDC1A acted as a competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) by targeting miR-30a-3p, and Insulin-like Growth Factor 1 Receptor (IGF1R) was identified as a functional gene for miR-30a-3p in NSCLC. Furthermore, the results confirmed that circ_PPAPDC1A/miR-30a-3p/IGF1R axis plays a role in activating the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway in NSCLC with Osimertinib resistance. Conclusions Therefore, for the first time we identified that circ_PPAPDC1A was significantly upregulated and exerts an oncogenic role in NSCLC with Osimertinib resistance by sponging miR-30a-3p to active IGF1R/PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway. circ_PPAPDC1A may serve as a novel diagnostic biomarker and therapeutic target for NSCLC patients with Osimertinib resistance. Graphical Abstract

Clinical studies showed that prolonged infusion of methotrexate (MTX) leads to more severe adverse reactions than short infusion of MTX at the same dose. We hypothesized that it is the saturation of folate polyglutamate synthetase (FPGS) at high MTX concentration that limits the intracellular synthesis rate of methotrexate polyglutamate (MTX-PG). Due to a similar accumulation rate, a longer infusion duration may increase the concentration of MTX-PG and, result in more serious adverse reactions. In this study, we validated this hypothesis. A549, BEL-7402 and MHCC97H cell lines were treated with MTX at gradient concentrations. Liquid chromatograph-mass spectrometer (UPLC-MS/MS) was used to quantify the intracellular concentration of MTX-PG and the abundance of FPGS and γ-glutamyl hydrolase (GGH). High quality data were used to fit the cell pharmacokinetic model. Both cell growth inhibition rate and intracellular MTX-PG concentration showed a nonlinear relationship with MTX concentration. The parameter Vmax in the model, which represents the synthesis rate of MTX-PG, showed a strong correlation with the abundance of intracellular FPGS. According to the model fitting results, it was confirmed that the abundance of FPGS is a decisive factor limiting the synthesis rate of MTX-PG. The proposed hypothesis was verified in this study. In addition, based on the intracellular metabolism, a reasonable explanation was provided for the correlation between the severity of adverse reactions of MTX and infusion time. This study provides a new strategy for the individualized treatment and prediction of efficacy/side effects of MTX.

Recent evidence has demonstrated that abnormal expression and regulation of circular RNA (circRNAs) are implicated in the development and progression of various tumors. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of circ_SMA4 in Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors (GISTs) malignant progression. Human circRNAs microarray analysis was conducted to identify differentially expressed (DE) circRNAs in GISTs. The effect of circ_SMA4 on cell proliferation, invasion, migration, and apoptosis was assessed in both in vitro and in vivo settings. Dual-luciferase reporter assay, RT-qPCR, Western-blot, and rescue assay were employed to confirm the interaction between circ_SMA4/miR-494-3p/ KIT axis. The results revealed that circ_SMA4 was significantly upregulated in GISTs, and exhibited high diagnostic efficiency with an AUC of 0.9824 (P < 0.01). circ_SMA4 promoted cell proliferation, invasion, migration, while inhibiting apoptosis in GISTs cells, both in vitro and in vivo. Silencing circ_SMA4 partially inhibited GISTs malignant progression. Additionally, circ_SMA4 acted as a competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) by targeting miR-494-3p, and KIT was identified as a functional gene for miR-494-3p in GISTs. Furthermore, the results confirmed that circ_SMA4/miR-494-3p/ KIT axis plays a role in activating the JAK/STAT signaling pathway in GISTs. Therefore, for the first time, we have identified and emphasized that circ_SMA4 is significantly upregulated and plays an oncogenic role in GISTs by sponging miR-494-3p to activate the KIT/JAK/STAT pathway. These findings underscore circ_SMA4 may serve as a novel diagnostic biomarker and therapeutic target for GISTs.

Children in urban and eastern regions tend to be taller and have higher body mass index (BMI) compared to those in rural and central-western regions, partially due to better family resources. We examined urban‒rural areas, regional differences in growth trajectories, focusing on family influences. Longitudinal data on 8542 children from the China Health and Nutrition Survey (1991–2015) were used. Random effects models assessed the mean height/BMI growth trajectories across different regions, urban–rural areas, and sexes within cohorts born in 1980–1989, 1990–1999, and 2000–2009. In the 1980–1989 cohort, before adjusting for family dietary structure, children from eastern regions were on average 3.3 cm taller than those from central-western regions at age 6. After adjustment, the height difference decreased to 2.44 cm. In the 2000–2009 cohort, the urban–rural BMI difference at age 6 was initially 0.53 kg/m 2 , which narrowed to 0.40 kg/m 2 after adjusting for family socioeconomic factors. After adjusting for family environmental sanitation, the regional difference in the 2000–2009 cohort was attenuated by half before adjustment and was 0.44 kg/m 2 after adjustment. Family factors significantly account for the regional and urban–rural disparities in height and BMI. These disparities were driven by the family resource environment, like dietary structure and sanitation. However, with China’s socioeconomic changes, broader socioeconomic factors, including household income and parental education, have become more influential.

Alternative splicing (AS) occurs widely in plants and can provide the main source of transcriptome and proteome diversity in an organism. AS functions in a range of physiological processes, including plant disease resistance, but its biological roles and functional mechanisms remain poorly understood. Many plant disease resistance (R) genes undergo AS, and several R genes require alternatively spliced transcripts to produce R proteins that can specifically recognize pathogen invasion. In the finely-tuned process of R protein activation, the truncated isoforms generated by AS may participate in plant disease resistance either by suppressing the negative regulation of initiation of immunity, or by directly engaging in effector-triggered signaling. Although emerging research has shown the functional significance of AS in plant biotic stress responses, many aspects of this topic remain to be understood. Several interesting issues surrounding the AS of R genes, especially regarding its functional roles and regulation, will require innovative techniques and additional research to unravel.