Harnessing the power of telemedicine to accomplish international pediatric outcome research during the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic occurred during planned neurodevelopmental follow-up of Colombian children with antenatal Zika-virus exposure. The objective of the study was to leverage the institution's telemedicine infrastructure to support international clinical child outcome research. In a prospective cohort study of child neurodevelopment (NCT04398901), we used synchronous telemedicine to remotely train a research team and perform live observational assessments of children in Sabanalarga, Colombia. An observational motor and conceptional standardized tool kit was mailed to Colombia; other materials were translated and emailed; team training was done virtually. Children were recruited by team on the ground. Synchronous activities were video-recorded directly to two laptops, each with a telehealth Zoom link to allow simultaneous evaluation of “table” and “standing” activities, and backup recordings were captured directly on the device in Colombia. The U.S. team attended live over Zoom from four states and five distinct locations, made observational notes, and provided real-time feedback. Fifty-seven, 3–4-year-old children with Zika-virus exposure and 70 non-exposed controls were studied during 10 daytrips. Direct laptop recording ensured complete record of child activities due to internet outages. Telemedicine can be used to successfully perform international neurodevelopmental outcome research in children during the COVID-19 pandemic. Telemedicine can benefit global health studies.

Evaluation and Analysis of Animation Multimedia 3D Lip Synchronization considering the Comprehensive Weighted Algorithm

The 3D lip synchronization is one of the hot topics and difficulties in the field of computer graphics. How to carry out 3D lip synchronization effectively and accurately is an important research direction in the field of multimedia. On this basis, a comprehensive weighted algorithm is introduced in this paper to sort out the related laws and the time of lip pronunciation in animation multimedia, carry out the vector weight analysis on the texts in the animation multimedia, and synthesize a matching evaluation model for 3D lip synchronization. At the same time, the goal of simultaneous evaluation can be achieved by synthesizing the transitional mouth pattern sequence between consecutive mouth patterns. The results of the simulation experiment indicate that the comprehensive weighted algorithm is effective and can support the evaluation and analysis of animation multimedia 3D lip synchronization.

Daidzein Alleviates Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis Hyperactivity, Ameliorates Depression-Like Behavior, and Partly Rectifies Circulating Cytokine Imbalance in Two Rodent Models of Depression

Depression is one very common mental health disorder which can cause morbidity and mortality if not addressed. Recent studies have provided strong evidence that depression may be accompanied by immune activation, secondary inflammatory reaction, and hyperactivity of the Hypothalamic Pituitary Adrenal (HPA) axis. It is well-known that it takes at least 2 weeks for conventional antidepressants, especially SSRIs (Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) to produce effects. To better understand the mechanism of antidepressant effects on depression and subsequently further elucidate the pathogenesis of depression, we selected phytestrogen daidzein (DD) to observe its effects on the depression-like and anxiety-like behavior in two different rodent models of depression which were induced by learned helplessness and chronic mild stress (CMS) and then simultaneous evaluation of the depression-like behavior, the activity of HPA axis, and circulatory cytokines. Our results showed that daidzein attenuated depression-like behaviors through alleviating HPA axis hyperactivity, decreasing the levels of stress-related hormones, and partly rectifying some inflammatory cytokines imbalance in both the rodent models of depression.

Comprehensive analysis of mRNA poly(A) tail reveals complex and conserved regulation

Non-templated poly(A) tails are added to the 3′-end of most mRNAs, which have important roles in post-transcriptional regulation. Recent studies have revealed that poly(A) tails are not composed purely of A residues, but also contain U, C and G residues internally and at their 3′-ends, revealing new levels of complexity. However, no method is able to analyze these internal and terminal non-A residues simultaneously. Here, we developed a new method called PAIso-seq2 which captures RNA 3′-ends by direct 3′ adaptor ligation and rRNA removal by CRISPR/Cas9. This method allows simultaneous evaluation of the poly(A) tail length and 5′-end, internal, and 3′-end non-A residues together with the full-length cDNA for a transcript. Applying this method, we achieved the first complete transcriptome-wide 3′ tail map of mRNA within the nuclear and cytoplasmic compartments of mammalian cells, uncovering differences in poly(A) tail length and non-A residues between these two mRNA populations. A survey of diverse eukaryotic species revealed the conservation of a subset of poly(A) tails containing consecutive U residues in the internal positions, whereas those with consecutive C or G residues were of much lower abundance. Together, we established the first method to be able to comprehensively analyze poly(A) tail 5′-end, internal and 3′-end non-A residues in addition to the length simultaneously, and reveal the first complete mRNA 3′ tail map, providing rich insights into the regulatory roles of poly(A) tails.