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Background: A rapid screening test for urinary tract infections (UTIs) in children is needed to avoid unnecessary cultures and provide prompt reports to make appropriate clinical decisions. We have evaluated for the first time the performance of the Sysmex UF-5000 flow cytometer as a screening tool for UTIs in children. Methods: This study included 4445 pediatric patients, with urinary sediment and urine culture data collected from January 2020 to September 2023. The Sysmex UF-5000 analyzer was utilized to measure urine white blood cell (WBC) and bacteria (BACT), with the findings being compared to the culture results. Results: At ≥ 104 colony-forming unit (CFU)/mL, 513 samples were culture-positive (400 samples presented 104–105 CFU/mL, and 113 demonstrated ≥ 105 CFU/mL bacterial growth). Optimal indicators for positive cultures were BACT counts of 92.2/μL (AUC: 0.944) and WBC counts of 40.8/μL (AUC:0.863). False negative rate were 0.9% when using a 7.8 bacteria/μL cut-off and avoiding unnecessary cultures in 28.1%. The UF-5000 has a higher consistency rate for Gram-negative (GN) bacteria (90.3%) than Gram-positive (GP) bacteria (86.8%). For samples with 105 CFU/mL, UF-5000's Bacteria -Information flags showed superior concordance for samples with 104−105 CFU/mL bacteria. Conclusions: Screening pediatric urine cultures with the UF-5000 showed potential application value in identifying negative cultures and significant bacterial growth, although performance may vary depending on the study population. Furthermore, detecting Gram typing aids in guiding early clinical empirical medication, particularly for UTIs caused by GN bacteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Antimicrobial de-escalation refers to reducing the spectrum of antibiotics used in treating bacterial infections. This strategy is widely recommended in many antimicrobial stewardship programs and is believed to reduce patients' exposure to broad-spectrum antibiotics and prevent resistance. However, the ecological benefits of de-escalation have not been universally observed in clinical studies. This paper conducts computer simulations to assess the ecological effects of de-escalation on the resistance prevalence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa—a frequent pathogen causing nosocomial infections. Synthetic data produced by the models are then used to estimate the sample size and study period needed to observe the predicted effects in clinical trials. Our results show that de-escalation can reduce colonization and infections caused by bacterial strains resistant to the empiric antibiotic, limit the use of broad-spectrum antibiotics, and avoid inappropriate empiric therapies. Further, we show that de-escalation could reduce the overall super-infection incidence, and this benefit becomes more evident under good compliance with hand hygiene protocols among health care workers. Finally, we find that any clinical study aiming to observe the essential effects of de-escalation should involve at least ten arms and last for four years—a size never attained in prior studies. This study explains the controversial findings of de-escalation in previous clinical studies and illustrates how mathematical models can inform outcome expectations and guide the design of clinical studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Small antibacterial effectors, including lysozymes, lectins, and antimicrobial peptides, are key regulators of intestinal immunity. However, whether there is coordination among them during regulation is an interesting, but largely unknown, issue. In the present study, we revealed that small effectors synergistically regulate peptidoglycan-derived intestinal immunity in the kuruma shrimp, Marsupenaeus japonicus. A C-type lysozyme (LysC) was screened as a responsive factor for the intestine-bacteria interaction. LysC functions to restrict intestinal bacteria, mainly by cleaving Photobacterium damselae peptidoglycan to generate muropeptides which are powerful stimulators that induce anti-lipopolysaccharides factor B1 (AlfB1), an effective bactericidal peptide. The muropeptides also induce a C-type lectin (Ctl24), which recognizes peptidoglycan and coats bacteria. By counteracting LysC-mediated muropeptide release and AlfB1's bactericidal activity, Ctl24 prevents the continuous elimination of intestinal bacteria. Therefore, this study demonstrates a mechanism by which small immune effectors coordinate to achieve intestinal homeostasis, and provides new insights into peptidoglycan-derived intestinal immunity in invertebrates. Author summary: Intestinal homeostasis largely determines the healthy status of metazoan animals. Uncovering the mechanism for intestinal homeostasis would be helpful to develop new strategies for disease control. In this study, we demonstrated that small immune effectors, including lysozyme, lectin, and bactericidal peptide, collaborate to regulate shrimp intestinal homeostasis in shrimp. Intestinal bacterial peptidoglycan is digested by a lysozyme into muropeptides, which induce the expression of this lysozyme, a bactericidal peptide and a lectin. The former two effectors are able to restrict intestinal bacteria by generating muropeptides and killing bacteria, respectively, while the latter one counteracts their functions. By coating peptidoglycan, this lectin inhibits lysozyme-mediated muropeptides release, and bactericidal peptide-mediated killing of bacteria. Through controlling, but not eliminating intestinal bacteria, these small effectors together achieve a dynamic balance of intestinal bacteria in shrimp. Therefore, this study emphasized the significance of peptidoglycan as the driving force for intestinal homeostasis, and provides insights into generating a healthy intestinal microbiota by utilizing the synergy among small immune effectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Atherosclerosis(AS) is widely recognized as a risk factor for incident cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. Tetramethylpyrazine (TMP) is the active ingredient of Ligusticum wallichii that possesses a variety of biological activities against atherosclerosis. Objective: This systematic review and meta-analysis sought to study the impact of and mechanism of tetramethylpyrazine for atherosclerosis in animal models. Methods: A systematic search was conducted of PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Web of Science database, Chinese Biomedical (CBM) database, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), WanFang data, and Vip Journal Integration Platform, covering the period from the respective start date of each database to December 2021. We used SYRCLE's 10-item checklist and Rev-Man 5.3 software to analyze the data and the risk of bias. Results: Twelve studies, including 258 animals, met the inclusion criteria. Compared with the control group, TMP significantly reduced aortic atherosclerotic lesion area, and induced significant decreases in levels of TC (SMD = ‐2.67, 95% CI -3.68 to -1.67, P < 0.00001), TG (SMD = ‐2.43, 95% CI -3.39 to -1.47, P < 0.00001), and LDL-C (SMD = ‐2.87, 95% CI -4.16 to -1.58, P < 0.00001), as well as increasing HDL-C (SMD = 2.04, 95% CI 1.05 to 3.03, P = 0.001). TMP also significantly modulated plasma inflammatory responses and biological signals associated with atherosclerosis. In subgroup analysis, the groups of high-dose TMP (≥50 mg/kg) showed better results than those of the control group. No difference between various durations of treatment groups or various assessing location groups. Conclusion: TMP exerts anti-atherosclerosis functions in an animal model of AS mediated by anti-inflammatory action, antioxidant action, ameliorating lipid metabolism disorder, protection of endothelial function, antiplatelet activity, reducing the proliferation and migration of smooth muscle cells, inhibition of angiogenesis, antiplatelet aggregation. Due to the limitations of the quantity and quality of current studies, the above conclusions need to be verified by more high-quality studies. Trial registration number: PROSPERO registration no.CRD42021288874. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Streetlamps enforce night lighting on urban forest trees, but scarce information is available concerning the ecophysiological performance of street trees under these conditions. In this study, maple (Acer truncatum Bunge) and oak (Quercus mongolica Fisch. ex Ledeb.) seedlings were cultured with simulated exposure to streetlamp spectra in white (red/green/blue, 7.7:1.0:2.2) and red plus blue (RB; red/green/blue, 4.6:0.0:1.0) lights with photosynthetic photon flux rate of 80 μmol m-2 s-1 in a 18-h photoperiod. Nitrogen (N) was loaded through 15 weekly applications to an amount of 80 mg N plant-1 to mimic the mineral N deposition to landscape trees. Variables of biomass, carbohydrate accumulation, N and water contents were rarely found difference between the two LED-spectra treatments for both species. Compared to the un-lighted control, the RB spectrum lowered N concentration in oak seedlings and water content in maple seedlings. The white light spectrum resulted in an increase of starch concentration. Carbohydrate concentration had a positive relationship with biomass and N content across two species but a negative relationship with water content in maple seedlings. Overall, streetlamp-lights imposed effects on tree growth by a prolonged photoperiod instead of specific spectrum. Maple had a strong response of water uptake to streetlamp lighting at the cost of carbohydrate consumption, but oak had scarce demand of water-use for growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: In December 2019, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) emerged in Wuhan City and rapidly spread across the world. The clinical characteristics of affected patients in different regions and populations may differ. Thus, this study aimed to identify the characteristics of the disease to provide an insight about the prevention and treatment of COVID-19. Methods: Data on the demographic characteristics and clinical findings of the patients admitted at the First Hospital of Changsha from January 1, 2020 to February 10, 2020 were assessed. Results: In this study, there were 8 (3.8%) asymptomatic, 21 (10.0%) mild upper respiratory tract infection (URTI), and 180 (86.1%) pneumonia cases. In total, 47 (22.5%) patients resided in Wuhan, and 45 (21.5%) had recently traveled to Wuhan before disease onset. Moreover, 19 (9.1%) had contact with people from Wuhan, and 69 (33.0%) were family cluster cases. The median incubation period was approximately 6.3 (range: 1.0–20.0) days. Fever and cough were the most common initial symptoms: 99 (49.3%) patients presented with fever, without cough; 59 (29.4%) with cough, without fever; and 33 (16.4%) with both fever and cough. Conclusion: The symptoms of patients with COVID-19 were relatively mild outside Wuhan, and family cluster was a remarkable epidemic characteristic. Special attention should be paid to asymptomatic patients. Author summary: We reported the epidemiological, clinical characteristics and laboratory findings of case series of 209 patients with laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection in Changsha, Hunan province. In addition, we compared the characteristics of patients among asymptomatic, mild upper respiratory tract infection and viral pneumonia of SARS-CoV-2 infection in detail. The symptoms of patients with COVID-19 were relatively mild outside Wuhan, and family cluster was a remarkable epidemic characteristic. Special attention should be paid to asymptomatic patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The outbreak of a novel corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the city of Wuhan, China has resulted in more than 1.7 million laboratory confirmed cases all over the world. Recent studies showed that SARS-CoV-2 was likely originated from bats, but its intermediate hosts are still largely unknown. In this study, we assembled the complete genome of a coronavirus identified in 3 sick Malayan pangolins. The molecular and phylogenetic analyses showed that this pangolin coronavirus (pangolin-CoV-2020) is genetically related to the SARS-CoV-2 as well as a group of bat coronaviruses but do not support the SARS-CoV-2 emerged directly from the pangolin-CoV-2020. Our study suggests that pangolins are natural hosts of Betacoronaviruses. Large surveillance of coronaviruses in pangolins could improve our understanding of the spectrum of coronaviruses in pangolins. In addition to conservation of wildlife, minimizing the exposures of humans to wildlife will be important to reduce the spillover risks of coronaviruses from wild animals to humans. Author summary: Recently, a novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, caused a still ongoing pandemic. Epidemiological study suggested this virus was associated with a wet market in Wuhan, China. However, the exact source of this virus is still unknown. In this study, we attempted to assemble the complete genome of a coronavirus identified from two groups of sick Malayan pangolins, which were likely to be smuggled for black market trade. The molecular and evolutionary analyses showed that this pangolin coronavirus we assembled was genetically associated with the SARS-CoV-2 but was not likely its precursor. This study suggested that pangolins are natural hosts of coronaviruses. Determining the spectrum of coronaviruses in pangolins can help understand the natural history of coronaviruses in wildlife and at the animal-human interface, and facilitate the prevention and control of coronavirus-associated emerging diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Of note, both the I Nature i [[3]] and I PLOS Pathogens i [[1]] articles reported 90.3% whole genome sequence identity between pangolin coronavirus and SARS-CoV-2. Contig k141 8467 flag = 1 multi = 6.0000 len = 345 did not align to the pangolin SARS-CoV-2 genome obtained in this study [[1]], and so it was not used in the reported genome assembly. [Extracted from the article]

Sisal is a leaf fiber crop with a high integrated value and a wide range of uses in the application of soil remediation of heavy metal contamination. This study provides a preliminary understanding of how sisal responds to Cd stress and presents a theoretical basis for exploring the potential of sisal in the remediation of Cd-contaminated soils. In this work, the activities of the antioxidant enzymes (SOD, POD, and CAT) of sisal were measured by hydroponics with the addition of CdCl2·2.5H2O and different concentrations of Cd stress. Whole transcriptome sequencing (RNA-Seq) analysis was performed with lllumina sequencing technology, and qRT-PCR was conducted to verify the differential genes. The results obtained were as follows: (1) Short-term low concentration of Cd stress (20 mg/kg) had a transient promotion effect on the growth of sisal roots, but Cd showed a significant inhibitory effect on the growth of sisal roots over time. (2) Under different concentrations of Cd stress, the Cd content in sisal root was greater than that in sisal leaf, and Cd accumulated mainly in sisal roots. (3) With the increase of Cd stress concentration, the antioxidant enzyme catalase activity increased, peroxidase activity showed a decreasing trend, and superoxide dismutase showed a trend of increasing and then decreasing. (4) Transcriptome sequencing analysis detected 123 differentially expressed genes (DEGs), among which 85 genes were up-regulated and 38 genes were down-regulated. The DEGs were mainly concentrated in flavonoid biosynthesis and glutathione metabolism, and both processes had some regulatory effects on the Cd tolerance characteristics of sisal. This study elucidated the physiological, biochemical and transcriptomic responses of sisal under cadmium stress, and provided a theoretical basis for the ecological restoration function of sisal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae used to make beer, bread, and wine are genetically and phenotypically distinct from wild populations associated with trees. The origins of these domesticated populations are not always clear; human-associated migration and admixture with wild populations have had a strong impact on S. cerevisiae population structure. We examined the population genetic history of beer strains and found that ale strains and the S. cerevisiae portion of allotetraploid lager strains were derived from admixture between populations closely related to European grape wine strains and Asian rice wine strains. Similar to both lager and baking strains, ale strains are polyploid, providing them with a passive means of remaining isolated from other populations and providing us with a living relic of their ancestral hybridization. To reconstruct their polyploid origin, we phased the genomes of two ale strains and found ale haplotypes to both be recombinants between European and Asian alleles and to also contain novel alleles derived from extinct or as yet uncharacterized populations. We conclude that modern beer strains are the product of a historical melting pot of fermentation technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neuroimage registration is crucial for brain morphometric analysis and treatment efficacy evaluation. However, existing advanced registration algorithms such as FLIRT and ANTs are not efficient enough for clinical use. In this paper, a GPU implementation of FLIRT with the correlation ratio (CR) as the similarity metric and a GPU accelerated correlation coefficient (CC) calculation for the symmetric diffeomorphic registration of ANTs have been developed. The comparison with their corresponding original tools shows that our accelerated algorithms can greatly outperform the original algorithm in terms of computational efficiency. This paper demonstrates the great potential of applying these registration tools in clinical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The swimming crab Portunus trituberculatus is a commercially important crab species in East Asia countries. Gonadal development is a physiological process of great significance to the reproduction as well as commercial seed production for P. trituberculatus. However, little is currently known about the molecular mechanisms governing the developmental processes of gonads in this species. To open avenues of molecular research on P. trituberculatus gonadal development, Illumina paired-end sequencing technology was employed to develop deep-coverage transcriptome sequencing data for its gonads. Illumina sequencing generated 58,429,148 and 70,474,978 high-quality reads from the ovary and testis cDNA library, respectively. All these reads were assembled into 54,960 unigenes with an average sequence length of 879 bp, of which 12,340 unigenes (22.45% of the total) matched sequences in GenBank non-redundant database. Based on our transcriptome analysis as well as published literature, a number of candidate genes potentially involved in the regulation of gonadal development of P. trituberculatus were identified, such as FAOMeT, mPRγ, PGMRC1, PGDS, PGER4, 3β-HSD and 17β-HSDs. Differential expression analysis generated 5,919 differentially expressed genes between ovary and testis, among which many genes related to gametogenesis and several genes previously reported to be critical in differentiation and development of gonads were found, including Foxl2, Wnt4, Fst, Fem-1 and Sox9. Furthermore, 28,534 SSRs and 111,646 high-quality SNPs were identified in this transcriptome dataset. This work represents the first transcriptome analysis of P. trituberculatus gonads using the next generation sequencing technology and provides a valuable dataset for understanding molecular mechanisms controlling development of gonads and facilitating future investigation of reproductive biology in this species. The molecular markers obtained in this study will provide a fundamental basis for population genetics and functional genomics in P. trituberculatus and other closely related species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The swimming crab, Portunus trituberculatus, is an important farmed species in China, has been attracting extensive studies, which require more and more genome background knowledge. To date, the sequencing of its whole genome is unavailable and transcriptomic information is also scarce for this species. In the present study, we performed de novo transcriptome sequencing to produce a comprehensive transcript dataset for major tissues of Portunus trituberculatus by the Illumina paired-end sequencing technology. Results: Total RNA was isolated from eyestalk, gill, heart, hepatopancreas and muscle. Equal quantities of RNA from each tissue were pooled to construct a cDNA library. Using the Illumina paired-end sequencing technology, we generated a total of 120,137 transcripts with an average length of 1037 bp. Further assembly analysis showed that all contigs contributed to 87,100 unigenes, of these, 16,029 unigenes (18.40% of the total) can be matched in the GenBank non-redundant database. Potential genes and their functions were predicted by GO, KEGG pathway mapping and COG analysis. Based on our sequence analysis and published literature, many putative genes with fundamental roles in growth and muscle development, including actin, myosin, tropomyosin, troponin and other potentially important candidate genes were identified for the first time in this specie. Furthermore, 22,673 SSRs and 66,191 high-confidence SNPs were identified in this EST dataset. Conclusion: The transcriptome provides an invaluable new data for a functional genomics resource and future biological research in Portunus trituberculatus. The data will also instruct future functional studies to manipulate or select for genes influencing growth that should find practical applications in aquaculture breeding programs. The molecular markers identified in this study will provide a material basis for future genetic linkage and quantitative trait loci analyses, and will be essential for accelerating aquaculture breeding programs with this species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The application of heterosis (hybrid vigor) has brought great success to plant breeding, particularly of hybrid rice, achieving significant yield increases. Attempts to explore the heterosis of inter-subspecific hybrids between indica and japonica rice, which result in even greater yield increases, have greatly increased in the past decades. However, because of the reduced seed setting rate in F1 hybrids as a result of increased reproductive isolation, the application of inter-subspecific hybrids in rice has slowed. Understanding the balance between heterosis and the reproductive isolation of inter-subspecific hybrids will facilitate the strategic design of inter-subspecific hybrid breeding. In this study, five indica and seven japonica rice varieties were chosen as the parental lines of a complete diallel mating design. Data from six group traits from all of the hybrids and inbred lines were collected. We found that the grain weight per plant, grain number per panicle, tiller per plant, thousand grain weight and plant height, which reflected increased heterosis, were associated with the genetic divergence index (GDI) of the parents. Meanwhile, owing to the reduced seed setting rate, which was also associated with the parents' GDI, the grain production of the hybrids was negatively affected. After analyzing the relationships between the GDI of indica-japonica parents and the grain weight per plant of the F1 hybrids, an ideal GDI value (0.37) for the two indica-japonica parents that could provide an optimal balance between the inter-subspecific heterosis and reproductive isolation was proposed. Our findings will help in the strategic design of an inter-subspecific hybrid rice breeding program by identifying the ideal indica and japonica parents for a hybrid combination to achieve hybrid rice with an optimal yield. This strategic design of an inter-subspecific hybrid rice breeding program will be time saving and cost effective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The trace element zinc is often used in the diet of weaned piglets, as high doses have resulted in positive effects on intestinal health. However, the majority of previous studies evaluated zinc supplementations for a short period only and focused on the small intestine. The hypothesis of the present study was that low, medium and high levels of dietary zinc (57, 164 and 2,425 mg Zn/kg from zinc oxide) would affect colonic morphology and innate host defense mechanisms across 4 weeks post-weaning. Histological examinations were conducted regarding the colonic morphology and neutral, acidic, sialylated and sulphated mucins. The mRNA expression levels of mucin (MUC) 1, 2, 13, 20, toll-like receptor (TLR) 2, 4, interleukin (IL)-1β, 8, 10, interferon-γ (IFN-γ) and transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) were also measured. The colonic crypt area increased in an age-depending manner, and the greatest area was found with medium concentration of dietary zinc. With the high concentration of dietary zinc, the number of goblet cells containing mixed neutral-acidic mucins and total mucins increased. Sialomucin containing goblet cells increased age-dependently. The expression of MUC2 increased with age and reached the highest level at 47 days of age. The expression levels of TLR2 and 4 decreased with age. The mRNA expression of TLR4 and the pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-8 were down-regulated with high dietary zinc treatment, while piglets fed with medium dietary zinc had the highest expression. It is concluded that dietary zinc level had a clear impact on colonic morphology, mucin profiles and immunological traits in piglets after weaning. Those changes might support local defense mechanisms and affect colonic physiology and contribute to the reported reduction of post-weaning diarrhea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fusobacterium nucleatum is one of the most abundant gram-negative bacilli colonizing the subgingival plaque and closely associated with periodontal disease. However it is unclear whether F. nucleatum is involved in gingival inflammation under orthodontic appliance. A novel adhesin, FadA, which is unique to oral Fusobacteria, is required for F. nucleatum binding and invasion to epithelial cells and thus may play an important role in colonization of Fusobacterium in the host. In this study, we evaluated the prevalence of F. nucleatum and its virulence factor FadA adhesion gene (fadA) in 169 subgingival biofilm samples from 55 cases of gingivitis patients with orthodontic appliances, 49 cases of gingivitis patients without orthodontic treatment, 35 cases of periodontitis patients and 30 cases of periodontally healthy people via PCR. The correlations between the F. nucleatum/fadA and gingivitis index(GI)was also analyzed. The detection rate of F. nucleatum/fadA in periodontitis group and non-orthodontic gingivitis group was higher than the other two groups (p<0.01) while it was higher in orthodontic gingivitis group than in health people (p<0.05). An obviously positive correlation was observed between the prevalence of F. nucleatum/fadA and GI. F. nucleatum carrying fadA may be more closely related to the development of gingivitis and periodontal disease compared with orthodontic gingivitis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: A number of observational studies have been conducted to investigate the association of the IL-10 gene polymorphisms with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) susceptibility. However, their results are conflicting. Method: We searched published case-control studies on the IL-10 polymorphisms and SLE in PubMed, EMBASE and Chinese Biomedical Literature Database. A meta-analysis was conducted using a fixed-effect or random-effect model based on between-study heterogeneity. Results: A total of 42 studies with 7948 cases and 11866 controls were included in this meta-analysis. Among Caucasians, the CA27 allele of the IL10.G microsatellites (OR 2.38, 95% CI 1.01–5.62), the G allele of the IL-10 -1082G/A polymorphism (G vs. A: OR 1.21, 95% CI 1.02–1.44; GG vs. AA: OR 1.45, 95% CI 1.16–1.82; GG+GA vs. AA: OR 1.16, 95% CI 1.03–1.29) and its associated haplotype -1082G/−819C/−592C (OR 1.25, 95% CI 1.10–1.42) were associated with increased SLE susceptibility without or with unimportant between-study heterogeneity. Removing studies deviating from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (HWE) hardly changed these results. Among Asians, the CA21 allele of the IL-10.G microsatellites (OR 1.28, 95% CI 1.02–1.60) and the -1082G/−819C/−592C haplotype (OR 1.24, 95% CI 1.00–1.53) were associated with increased SLE susceptibility, but with substantial between-study heterogeneity or sensitive to HWE status. Removing studies deviating from HWE also produced statistically significant associations of the IL-10 -1082G/A (GG vs. AA: OR 3.21, 95% CI 1.24–8.28; GG vs. AA+GA: OR 2.85, 95% CI 1.19–6.79) and -592C/A polymorphisms (CC+CA vs. AA: OR 0.69, 95% CI 0.51–0.94) with SLE among Asians. Conclusion: This meta-analysis showed that the IL10.G microsatellites, the IL-10 -1082G/A and -592C/A polymorphisms and the haplotype -1082G/−819C/−592C are associated with SLE susceptibility. Besides, this is the first time to report an association between the CA27 allele of the IL-10.G microsatellites and SLE among Caucasians. Further studies are needed to confirm these findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prodigiosins (PGs) are a family of natural red pigments with anticancer activity, and one member of the family has entered clinical phase II trials. However, the anticancer mechanisms of PGs remain largely unclear. This study was designed to investigate the molecular basis of anticancer activity of UP, a derivative of PGs, in P388 cells. By introducing pharmacological inhibitors and utilizing a variety of analytical approaches including western blotting, flow cytometry and confocal laser microscopy, we found that UP inhibited proliferation of P388 via arresting cells at G2/M phase and inducing cells apoptosis, which was related to the activation of P38, JNK rather than ERK1/2 signaling. ROS regeneration and acidification in cells appear not involved in UP induced apoptosis. Furthermore, utilizing mass spectrometry, sucrose density gradient fractionation and immunofluorescence staining, we discovered that UP was apparently located at ribosome. These results together indicate that ribosome may be the potential target of UP in cancer cells, which opened a new avenue in delineating the anticancer mechanism of PGs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We conducted a preliminary study to examine whether Chinese readers’ spontaneous word segmentation processing is consistent with the national standard rules of word segmentation based on the Contemporary Chinese language word segmentation specification for information processing (CCLWSSIP). Participants were asked to segment Chinese sentences into individual words according to their prior knowledge of words. The results showed that Chinese readers did not follow the segmentation rules of the CCLWSSIP, and their word segmentation processing was influenced by the syntactic categories of consecutive words. In many cases, the participants did not consider the auxiliary words, adverbs, adjectives, nouns, verbs, numerals and quantifiers as single word units. Generally, Chinese readers tended to combine function words with content words to form single word units, indicating they were inclined to chunk single words into large information units during word segmentation. Additionally, the “overextension of monosyllable words” hypothesis was tested and it might need to be corrected to some degree, implying that word length have an implicit influence on Chinese readers’ segmentation processing. Implications of these results for models of word recognition and eye movement control are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of herbal medicine and acupuncture combination for pediatric epilepsy treatment. Methods: Databases were searched from their interception until October 2023 to identify randomized controlled trials focusing on the therapeutic efficacy of herbal medicine-acupuncture combination (intervention group) for pediatric epilepsy. The primary outcome was the risk of treatment failure, whereas the secondary outcomes included the risk of post-treatment electroencephalogram (EEG) abnormalities and adverse events. Subgroup analyses were conducted based on the type of herbal compound formulas. Meta-regression analysis was conducted to examine the influence of patient demographics and clinical history on the therapeutic efficacy of herbal medicine-acupuncture combination for pediatric epilepsy. To assess the cumulative evidence, trial sequential analysis (TSA) was performed. Results: The analysis included 10 trials involving a total of 882 pediatric patients. Meta-analysis revealed that the intervention group had a lower risk of treatment failure than the control group (risk ratio [RR] = 0.3, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.19–0.47, P<0.00001, I2 = 0%, 10 trials). Subgroup analyses showed that therapeutic efficacy was consistent among the different herbal compound formulas. Meta-regression analysis revealed that the efficacy of the treatments did not significantly vary with patient age, male sex, and duration of seizure history. TSA suggested that herbal medicine-acupuncture combination exerted a robust and conclusive effect on seizure treatment. Although the combined used of herbal medicine and acupuncture was not associated with a lower risk of post-treatment EEG abnormalities (RR = 0.82, 95%CI:0.6–1.11, P = 0.2, 3 trials), the risk of adverse events was reduced (RR = 0.27, 95%CI:0.18–0.41, P<0.00001, 4 trials). Conclusion: The meta-analysis suggested that combined use of herbal medicine and acupuncture is a promising and safe clinical approach for pediatric epilepsy treatment. Further large-scale studies are necessary to conclusively determine the efficacy and safety of herbal medicine and acupuncture in pediatric epilepsy treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Competitive fitness assays in liquid culture have been a mainstay for characterizing experimental evolution of microbial populations. Growth of microbial strains has also been extensively characterized by colony size and could serve as a useful alternative if translated to per generation measurements of relative fitness. To examine fitness based on colony size, we established a relationship between cell number and colony size for strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae robotically pinned onto solid agar plates in a high-density format. This was used to measure growth rates and estimate relative fitness differences between evolved strains and their ancestors. After controlling for edge effects through both normalization and agar-trimming, we found that colony size is a sensitive measure of fitness, capable of detecting 1% differences. While fitnesses determined from liquid and solid mediums were not equivalent, our results demonstrate that colony size provides a sensitive means of measuring fitness that is particularly well suited to measurements across many environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since its initial discovery in the Hunan province of China, genomic DNA of porcine circovirus 4 (PCV4) has been detected in pigs across multiple provinces in China, as well as in South Korea. However, the prevalence of porcine circovirus type 4 in Gansu Province, China, remains unknown. To address this gap, we undertook an extensive study where we gathered 121 clinical samples displaying diverse clinical manifestations from pig farms in Gansu Province between 2022 and 2023. Employing a real-time fluorescence quantification method, we identified the presence of PCV4 genome. Out of the 121 clinical samples analyzed, 13 samples tested positive for PCV4, resulting in a positive rate of 10.74% (13/121). This finding confirms the presence of PCV4 in pig farms within Gansu Province, China. Furthermore, we successfully sequenced and analyzed the complete genomes of two distinct PCV4 strains, comparing them with 60 reference sequences archived in the GenBank database. The results revealed a high nucleotide homology (98.2–98.8%) between the strains obtained in this study and the PCV4 reference strains, indicating a relatively low evolutionary rate of the PCV4 genome. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that two strains in this study belong to PCV4a and PCV4c. As far as we know, this study marks the inaugural report on the molecular identification and genomic attributes of PCV4 in Gansu Province, China, offering valuable insights for devising preventive and control strategies against this emerging virus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we propose a method for predicting the supporting pressure required for shallow tunnels in layered soils, based on a curved roof collapse mechanism with multi-failure surfaces. In this method, the effect of the number and thickness of soil layers, pore water pressure, arbitrary roof profile, and ground additional load is considered simultaneously. A nonlinear power-law failure criterion is employed to describe the failure characteristics of the roof soils. The internal energy dissipation rate and the work rates produced by external forces are obtained based on the associated flow rule and plasticity potential theory. The analytical expressions of the required supporting pressure and roof collapse surfaces are obtained with the upper bound method. Furtherly, a shallow rectangular tunnel in two soil layers is selected for parametric investigation. The change laws of the required supporting pressure and collapse curves under varying parameters are obtained. Furthermore, the corresponding engineering recommendations are given, which may potentially provide references for the support design and construction of shallow tunnels in layered strata. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Elucidating the cold tolerance mechanism of Paeonia lactiflora, which is one of the most valuable ornamental and medicinal plants in Asia, fundamentally impacts its breeding and production. The glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase (GPAT) gene plays a pivotal role in cold resistance in a variety of plant species. Here, we cloned the P. lactiflora GPAT gene, determined its expression pattern, and tested its role in cold resistance. We obtained the full-length P. lactiflora GPAT gene using tissue-cultured seedlings and real-time polymerase chain reaction and rapid amplification of cDNA ends analyses. We named this gene PlGPAT in P. lactiflora. Phylogenetic analysis indicates that the PlGPAT gene is closely related with the GPAT genes in core eudicots. The phylogenetic tree containing 31 angiosperm species based on GPAT protein sequences is largely consistent with the known phylogeny in flowering plants. We conducted a time-course PlGPAT expression analysis and demonstrated that PlGPAT expression is correlated with low-temperature stress. Our results suggest that the PlGPAT gene plays an important role in regulating cold resistance in P. lactiflora. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tourist impact management in ecotourism destinations requires an accurate description of tourists' spatiotemporal behavior patterns and recreation preferences to minimize the ecological environmental impact and maximize the recreation experience. This study classified tourist behaviors into five typical behavior patterns based on the digital footprints of tourists visiting Ziwuyu of the Qinling Mountains, including 348 traveling tracks and 750 corresponding geotagged photographs: short-distance, traversing, reentrant, large loop, and small loop. Furthermore, each behavior pattern's recreation preference was identified using photograph analysis. Tourists with large-loop and reentrant behavior patterns have 89.8% and 30% chances of visiting Jianshanding, respectively. Key protected areas are faced with the risk of ecological environmental damage. Based on the behavior pattern differentiation and preference of tourists, this paper provides a decision-making basis for the classified management and guidance of tourists in ecotourism destinations. It has reference value for the management of similar ecotourism destinations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organoids have immense potential as ex vivo disease models for drug discovery and personalized drug screening. Dynamic changes in individual organoid morphology, number, and size can indicate important drug responses. However, these metrics are difficult and labor-intensive to obtain for high-throughput image datasets. Here, we present OrganoID, a robust image analysis platform that automatically recognizes, labels, and tracks single organoids, pixel-by-pixel, in brightfield and phase-contrast microscopy experiments. The platform was trained on images of pancreatic cancer organoids and validated on separate images of pancreatic, lung, colon, and adenoid cystic carcinoma organoids, which showed excellent agreement with manual measurements of organoid count (95%) and size (97%) without any parameter adjustments. Single-organoid tracking accuracy remained above 89% over a four-day time-lapse microscopy study. Automated single-organoid morphology analysis of a chemotherapy dose-response experiment identified strong dose effect sizes on organoid circularity, solidity, and eccentricity. OrganoID enables straightforward, detailed, and accurate image analysis to accelerate the use of organoids in high-throughput, data-intensive biomedical applications. Author summary: A recent advance in biomedical research is the use of connective tissue gels to grow cells into microscopic structures, called organoids, that preserve and exhibit the physical and molecular traits of a particular organ. Organoids have enabled researchers to study complex phenomena, such as the beating of the heart or the folds of the intestines, and the effects of drugs on these properties. Changes in the size and shape of organoids are important indicators of drug response, but these are tedious to measure in large drug screening experiments, where thousands of microscopy images must be analyzed. We developed a software tool named OrganoID that automatically traces the exact shape of individual organoids in an image, even when multiple organoids are clumped together, and measures organoid changes over time. To show our tool in action, we used OrganoID to analyze pancreatic cancer organoids and their response to chemotherapy. We also showed that our tool can handle images of many different types of organoids, even those derived from mouse cells. With this software, researchers will be able to easily analyze immense quantities of organoid images in large-scale experiments to discover new drug treatments for a range of diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background:The swimming crab, Portunus trituberculatus, which is naturally distributed in the coastal waters of Asia-Pacific countries, is an important farmed species in China. Salinity is one of the most important abiotic factors that influence not only the distribution and abundance of crustaceans, it is also an important factor for artificial propagation of the crab. To better understand the interaction between salinity stress and osmoregulation, we performed a transcriptome analysis in the gills of Portunus trituberculatus challenged with salinity stress, using the Illumina Deep Sequencing technology. Results:We obtained 27,696,835, 28,268,353 and 33,901,271 qualified Illumina read pairs from low salinity challenged (LC), non-challenged (NC), and high salinity challenged (HC) Portunus trituberculatus cDNA libraries, respectively. The overall de novo assembly of cDNA sequence data generated 94,511 unigenes, with an average length of 644 bp. Comparative genomic analysis revealed that 1,705 genes differentially expressed in salinity stress compared to the controls, including 615 and 1,516 unigenes in NC vs LC and NC vs HC respectively. GO functional enrichment analysis results showed some differentially expressed genes were involved in crucial processes related to osmoregulation, such as ion transport processes, amino acid metabolism and synthesis processes, proteolysis process and chitin metabolic process. Conclusion:This work represents the first report of the utilization of the next generation sequencing techniques for transcriptome analysis in Portunus trituberculatus and provides valuable information on salinity adaptation mechanism. Results reveal a substantial number of genes modified by salinity stress and a few important salinity acclimation pathways, which will serve as an invaluable resource for revealing the molecular basis of osmoregulation in Portunus trituberculatus. In addition, the most comprehensive sequences of transcripts reported in this study provide a rich source for identification of novel genes in the crab. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

C. elegans body-wall muscle cells are electrically coupled through gap junctions. Previous studies suggest that UNC-9 is an important, but not the only, innexin mediating the electrical coupling. Here we analyzed junctional current (Ij) for mutants of additional innexins to identify the remaining innexin(s) important to the coupling. The results suggest that a total of six innexins contribute to the coupling, including UNC-9, INX-1, INX-10, INX-11, INX-16, and INX-18. The Ij deficiency in each mutant was rescued completely by expressing the corresponding wild-type innexin specifically in muscle, suggesting that the innexins function cell-autonomously. Comparisons of Ij between various single, double, and triple mutants suggest that the six innexins probably form two distinct populations of gap junctions with one population consisting of UNC-9 and INX-18 and the other consisting of the remaining four innexins. Consistent with their roles in muscle electrical coupling, five of the six innexins showed punctate localization at muscle intercellular junctions when expressed as GFP- or epitope-tagged proteins, and muscle expression was detected for four of them when assessed by expressing GFP under the control of innexin promoters. The results may serve as a solid foundation for further explorations of structural and functional properties of gap junctions in C. elegans body-wall muscle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background:Evidence about the efficacy and safety of statin treatment in high-risk patients with hypercholesterolemia is available for some populations, but not for ethnic Chinese. To test the hypothesis that treatment with pitavastatin (2 mg/day) is not inferior to treatment with atorvastatin (10 mg/day) for reducing low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), a 12-week multicenter collaborative randomized parallel-group comparative study of high-risk ethnic Chinese patients with hypercholesterolemia was conducted in Taiwan. In addition, the effects on other lipid parameters, inflammatory markers, insulin-resistance-associated biomarkers and safety were evaluated. Methods and Results:Between July 2011 and April 2012, 251 patients were screened, 225 (mean age: 58.7 ± 8.6; women 38.2% [86/225]) were randomized and treated with pitavastatin (n = 112) or atorvastatin (n = 113) for 12 weeks. Baseline characteristics in both groups were similar, but after 12 weeks of treatment, LDL-C levels were significantly lower: pitavastatin group = −35.0 ± 14.1% and atorvastatin group = −38.4 ± 12.8% (both: p < 0.001). For the subgroup with diabetes mellitus (DM) (n = 125), LDL-C levels (−37.1 ± 12.9% vs. −38.0 ± 13.1%, p = 0.62) were similarly lowered after either pitavastatin (n = 63) or atorvastatin (n = 62) treatment. Triglycerides, non-high density lipoprotein cholesterol, and apoprotein B were similarly and significantly lower in both treatment groups. In non-lipid profiles, HOMA-IR and insulin levels were higher to a similar degree in both statin groups. Hemoglobin A1C was significantly (p = 0.001) higher in the atorvastatin group but not in the pitavastatin group. Both statins were well tolerated, and both groups had a similar low incidence of treatment-emergent adverse events. Conclusion:Both pitavastatin (2 mg/day) and atorvastatin (10 mg/day) were well tolerated, lowered LDL-C, and improved the lipid profile to a comparable degree in high-risk Taiwanese patients with hypercholesterolemia. Trial Registration:ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01386853 http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01386853?term=NCT01386853&rank=1 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Molting is an essential biological process throughout the life history of crustaceans, which is regulated by many neuropeptide hormones expressed in the eyestalk. To better understand the molting mechanism in Portunus trituberculatus, we used digital gene expression (DGE) to analyze single eyestalk samples during the molting cycle by high-throughput sequencing. Results: We obtained 14,387,942, 12,631,508 and 13,060,062 clean sequence reads from inter-molt (InM), pre-molt (PrM) and post-molt (PoM) cDNA libraries, respectively. A total of 1,394 molt-related differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified. GO and KEGG enrichment analysis identified some important processes and pathways with key roles in molting regulation, such as chitin metabolism, peptidase inhibitor activity, and the ribosome. We first observed a pattern associated with the neuromodulator-related pathways during the molting cycle, which were up-regulated in PrM and down-regulated in PoM. Four categories of important molting-related transcripts were clustered and most of them had similar expression patterns, which suggests that there is a connection between these genes throughout the molt cycle. Conclusion: Our work is the first molt-related investigation of P. trituberculatus focusing on the eyestalk at the whole transcriptome level. Together, our results, including DEGs, identification of molting-related biological processes and pathways, and observed expression patterns of important genes, provide a novel insight into the function of the eyestalk in molting regulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Right ventricular (RV) function has been found to be a major factor of exercise capacity in patients with heart failure. However, the role of RV function in exercise capacity in healthy subjects has not been well studied. This study aims to validate the role of RV strain derived from speckle tracking echocardiography for exercise capacity for health check-up subjects. Methods: This study prospectively recruited subjects from a routine health examination. All of them were symptom free. RV function represented by RV strain was derived from speckle tracking echocardiography in addition to traditional echocardiography parameters. Functional capacity was determined by a symptom limited treadmill exercise test with the Bruce protocol. Results: Among 164 recruited subjects (age 52.2 ±9.2 years, 66.4% male), 32 subjects represented impaired functional capacity (MET<8), which was significantly correlated with age, left ventricular mass index, left ventricular filling pressure (E/e’), global longitudinal strain of the left ventricle (LVGLS) (-16.0±2.5% vs. -18.9±3.8%, p < 0.001) and RV free wall strain (RVLS_FW) (-17.0±4.9% vs. -21.9±3.2%, p <0.001). After multivariate logistic regression, RVS_FW was an independent predictor for impaired functional capacity (OR 1.62, CI 1.32–1.98; p <0.001). Conclusions: In conclusion, RV strain is independently associated with exercise capacity for health check-up subjects. RV function is an important factor for functional capacity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Candida tropicalis is an important pathogen. Here we developed and evaluated a polymorphic multilocus microsatellite scheme employing novel genetic markers for genotyping of C. tropicalis. Using 10 isolates from 10 unique (separate) patients to screen over 4000 tandem repeats from the C. tropicalis genome (strain MYA-3404), six new candidate microsatellite loci (ctm1, ctm3, ctm8, ctm18, ctm24 and ctm26) were selected according to amplification success, observed polymorphisms and stability of flanking regions by preliminary testing. Two known microsatellite loci CT14 and URA3 were also studied. The 6-locus scheme was then tested against a set of 82 different isolates from 32 patients. Microsatellite genotypes of isolates from the same patient (two to five isolates per patient) were identical. The six loci produced eight to 17 allele types and identified 11 to 24 genotypes amongst 32 patients’ isolates, achieving a discriminatory power (DP) of 0.76 to 0.97 (versus 0.78 for both CT14 and URA3 loci, respectively). Testing of a combination of only three loci, ctm1, ctm3 and ctm24, also achieved maximum typing efficiency (DP = 0.99, 29 genotypes). The microsatellite typing scheme had good correlation compared with pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, although was slightly less discriminatory. The new six-locus microsatellite typing scheme is a potentially valuable tool for genotyping and investigating microevolution of C. tropicalis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To study the therapeutic effects of uterine artery embolization (UAE) on adenomyosis and to investigate the association between uterine blood supply and artery embolization treatment outcomes. Methods: Using digital subtraction angiography (DSA) imaging data, we retrospectively evaluated the vascular features of 252 adenomyosis patients treated with UAE. The cases were classified based on the equality of uterine blood supply (equal and unequal subgroups) and the degree of vascularity at the adenomyosis lesion site (hypervascular, isovascular and hypovascular subgroups). Patients were followed-up for 5 years after UAE. Improvements in dysmenorrhea and menorrhagia were evaluated based on the relief of the patients’ symptoms. The improvement rates among the different subgroups were analyzed and compared. Results: The improvement rates of dysmenorrhea and menorrhagia were 74.0% and 70.9%, respectively, at the short-term (12-month) follow-up and 70.4% and 68.8%, respectively, at the long-term (5-year) follow-up. No statistically significant differences were observed in the improvement rates for dysmenorrhea or menorrhagia between the equal and unequal blood supply subgroups at either the short- or long-term follow-up. The improvement rates for dysmenorrhea among the hypervascular, isovascular and hypovascular subgroups were 86.5%, 71.8% and 58.8%, respectively, at the short-term follow-up (p = 0.002) and 83.6%, 67.3% and 52.8%, respectively, at the long-term follow-up (p = 0.005). The improvement rates for menorrhagia in the hypervascular, isovascular and hypovascular subgroups were 81.0%, 68.3% and 60.7%, respectively, at the short-term follow-up (p = 0.024) and 79.4%, 61.4% and 62.2%, respectively, at the long-term follow-up (p = 0.052). Conclusion: UAE is effective in treating patients with adenomyosis in both the short and long term. The outcomes of patients with adenomyosis were significantly correlated with lesion vascularity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Scrub typhus has become a serious public health concern in the Asia-Pacific region including China. There were new natural foci continuously recognized and dramatically increased reported cases in mainland China. However, the epidemiological characteristics and spatiotemporal patterns of scrub typhus in Fujian province have yet to be investigated. Objective: This study proposes to explore demographic characteristics and spatiotemporal dynamics of scrub typhus cases in Fujian province, and to detect high-risk regions between January 2012 and December 2020 at county/district scale and thereby help in devising public health strategies to improve scrub typhus prevention and control measures. Method: Monthly cases of scrub typhus reported at the county level in Fujian province during 2012–2020 were collected from the National Notifiable Disease Surveillance System. Time-series analyses, spatial autocorrelation analyses and space-time scan statistics were applied to identify and visualize the spatiotemporal patterns of scrub typhus cases in Fujian province. The demographic differences of scrub typhus cases from high-risk and low-risk counties in Fujian province were also compared. Results: A total of 11,859 scrub typhus cases reported in 87 counties from Fujian province were analyzed and the incidence showed an increasing trend from 2012 (2.31 per 100,000) to 2020 (3.20 per 100,000) with a peak in 2018 (4.59 per 100,000). There existed two seasonal peaks in June-July and September-October every year in Fujian province. A significant positive spatial autocorrelation of scrub typhus incidence in Fujian province was observed with Moran's I values ranging from 0.258 to 0.471 (P<0.001). Several distinct spatiotemporal clusters mainly concentrated in north and southern parts of Fujian province. Compared to low-risk regions, a greater proportion of cases were female, farmer, and older residents in high-risk counties. Conclusions: These results demonstrate a clear spatiotemporal heterogeneity of scrub typhus cases in Fujian province, and provide the evidence in directing future researches on risk factors and effectively assist local health authorities in the refinement of public health interventions against scrub typhus transmission in the high risk regions. Author summary: Scrub typhus is a vector-borne zoonotic disease caused by Orientia tsutsugamushi and is popular in the Asia-Pacific area. Nowadays scrub typhus has been recognized as a considerable burden on public health in Fujian province. We explored the epidemiological characteristics, spatiotemporal patterns and diffusion characteristics of scrub typhus, and detected high-risk regions at the county level in Fujian province between January 2012 and December 2020. Our results indicated that the majority of cases were reported in June-July and September-October and that that middle aged and elderly people were more prone to infection every year in Fujian province. The spatial autocorrelation analysis revealed clustering in geographic distribution of cases and several distinct spatiotemporal clusters were identified in north and southern parts of Fujian province. Compared with cases from low-risk areas, a higher proportion of cases were female, farmer, and older residents in high-risk counties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The study was designed to explore the risk factors for sitting-induced tachycardia syndrome (STS) in children and adolescents. Methods and results: In this case-control study, 46 children with STS and 184 healthy children and adolescents were recruited. Demographic characteristics, lifestyle habits, allergy history, and family history were investigated using a questionnaire. The changes in heart rate and blood pressure from supine to sitting were monitored using a sitting test. The possible differences between STS patients and healthy children were analyzed using univariate analysis. Logistic regression analysis was used to explore the independent risk factors for STS. Univariate analysis showed that the daily sleeping time of the STS children were significantly shorter than that of the control group [(8.8 ± 1.2) hours/day vs. (9.3 ± 1.0) hours/day, P = 0.009], and the proportion of positive family history of syncope in the STS patients was higher than the controls (4/42 vs. 3/181, P = 0.044). Multivariate logistic regression studies showed that reduced daily sleeping time was an independent risk factor of STS in children (P = 0.006). Furthermore, when daily sleeping time was prolonged by 1 h, the risk of STS was decreased by 37.3%. Conclusion: Reduced daily sleeping was an independent risk factor for STS in children and adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, several invasive mealybugs (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) have rapidly spread to Asia and have become a serious threat to the production of cotton including transgenic cotton. Thus far, studies have mainly focused on the effects of mealybugs on non-transgenic cotton, without fully considering their effects on transgenic cotton and trophic interactions. Therefore, investigating the potential effects of mealybugs on transgenic cotton and their key natural enemies is vitally important. A first study on the effects of transgenic cotton on a non-target mealybug, Ferrisia virgata (Cockerell) (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) was performed by comparing its development, survival and body weight on transgenic cotton leaves expressing Cry1Ac (Bt toxin) + CpTI (Cowpea Trypsin Inhibitor) with those on its near-isogenic non-transgenic line. Furthermore, the development, survival, body weight, fecundity, adult longevity and feeding preference of the mealybug predator Cryptolaemus montrouzieri Mulsant (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) was assessed when fed F. virgata maintained on transgenic cotton. In order to investigate potential transfer of Cry1Ac and CpTI proteins via the food chain, protein levels in cotton leaves, mealybugs and ladybirds were quantified. Experimental results showed that F. virgata could infest this bivalent transgenic cotton. No significant differences were observed in the physiological parameters of the predator C. montrouzieri offered F. virgata reared on transgenic cotton or its near-isogenic line. Cry1Ac and CpTI proteins were detected in transgenic cotton leaves, but no detectable levels of both proteins were present in the mealybug or its predator when reared on transgenic cotton leaves. Our bioassays indicated that transgenic cotton poses a negligible risk to the predatory coccinellid C. montrouzieri via its prey, the mealybug F. virgata. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microsatellite markers from a transcriptome sequence library were initially isolated, and their genetic variation was characterized in a wild population of the mud crab (Scylla paramamosain). We then tested the association between these microsatellite markers and the growth performance of S. paramamosain. A total of 129 polymorphic microsatellite markers were identified, with an observed heterozygosity ranging from 0.19 to 1.00 per locus, an expected heterozygosity ranging from 0.23 to 0.96 per locus, and a polymorphism information content (PIC) ranging from 0.21 to 0.95 per locus. Of these microsatellite markers, 30 showed polymorphism in 96 full-sib individuals of a first generation family. Statistical analysis indicated that three microsatellite markers were significantly associated with 12 growth traits of S. paramamosain. Of these three markers, locus Scpa36 was significantly associated with eight growth traits, namely, carapace length, abdomen width (AW), body height (BH), fixed finger length of the claw, fixed finger width of the claw, fixed finger height of the claw, meropodite length of pereiopod 2, and meropodite length of pereiopod 3 (MLP3) (P<0.05). Locus Scpa75 was significantly associated with five growth traits, namely, internal carapace width, AW, carapace width at spine 8, distance between lateral spine 2 (DLS2), and MLP3 (P<0.05). Locus Spm30 was significantly associated with BH, DLS2, and body weight (P<0.05). Further analysis suggested a set of genotypes (BC at Scpa36, BC and BD at Scpa75, and AC at Spm30) that have great potential in the selection of S. paramamosain for growth traits. These findings will facilitate the development of population conservation genetics and molecular marker-assisted selective breeding of S. paramamosain and other closely related species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Meiosis is a complex process involving the expression and interaction of numerous genes in a series of highly orchestrated molecular events. Fam9b localized in Xp22.3 has been found to be expressed in testes. However, FAM9B expression, localization, and its role in meiosis have not been previously reported. In this study, FAM9B expression was evaluated in the human testes and ovaries by RT-PCR, qPCR, and western blotting. FAM9B was found in the nuclei of primary spermatocytes in testes and specifically localized in the synaptonemal complex (SC) region of spermatocytes. FAM9B was also evident in the follicle cell nuclei and diffusely dispersed in the granular cell cytoplasm. FAM9B was partly co-localized with SYCP3, which is essential for both formation and maintenance of lateral SC elements. In addition, FAM9B had a similar distribution pattern and co-localization as γH2AX, which is a novel biomarker for DNA double-strand breaks during meiosis. All results indicate that FAM9B is a novel meiosis-associated protein that is co-localized with SYCP3 and γH2AX and may play an important role in SC formation and DNA recombination during meiosis. These findings offer a new perspective for understanding the molecular mechanisms involved in meiosis of human gametogenesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cardiac KATP channels link metabolism with electrical activity. They are implicated in arrhythmias, secretion of atrial natriuretic peptide and protection of the heart from hypertrophy and failure. These processes may involve mechanosensitivity. KATP channels can be activated by mechanical stimulation and disrupting the cortical actin increases the activity. We propose that KATP channels are modulated by local bilayer tension and this tension is affected by cortical F-actin. Here we measured KATP background activity and stretch sensitivity with inside-out patches of rat ventricular myocytes before and after disrupting F-actin. Disrupting F-actin potentiated background activity but did not influence the slope sensitivity in the semilog relationship of NPo vs. suction that is a measure of the change in dimensions between closed and open states. Thus actin alters prestress on the channel probably by parallel elastic sharing of mean cortical tension with the bilayer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An outcome of building sustainable urban forests is that people's well-being is improved when they are exposed to trees. Facial expressions directly represents one's inner emotions, and can be used to assess real-time perception. The emergence and change in the facial expressions of forest visitors are an implicit process. As such, the reserved character of Asians requires an instrument rating to accurately recognize expressions. In this study, a dataset was established with 2,886 randomly photographed faces from visitors at a constructed urban forest park and at a promenade during summertime in Shenyang City, Northeast China. Six experts were invited to choose 160 photos in total with 20 images representing one of eight typical expressions: angry, contempt, disgusted, happy, neutral, sad, scared, and surprised. The FireFACE ver. 3.0 software was used to test hit-ratio validation as an accuracy measurement (ac.) to match machine-recognized photos with those identified by experts. According to the Kruskal-Wallis test on the difference from averaged scores in 20 recently published papers, contempt (ac. = 0.40%, P = 0.0038) and scared (ac. = 25.23%, P = 0.0018) expressions do not pass the validation test. Both happy and sad expression scores were higher in forests than in promenades, but there were no difference in net positive response (happy minus sad) between locations. Men had a higher happy score but lower disgusted score in forests than in promenades. Men also had a higher angry score in forests. We conclude that FireFACE can be used for analyzing facial expressions in Asian people within urban forests. Women are encouraged to visit urban forests rather than promenades to elicit more positive emotions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α/δ (PPAR α/δ), regulating glucolipid metabolism and immune inflammation, has been identified as an effective therapeutic target in non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Dual PPAR α/δ agonist, such as GFT505 (also known as elafibranor), demonstrated potential therapeutic effect for NASH in clinical trials. To profile the regulatory network of PPAR α/δ agonist in NASH, the choline-deficient, L-amino acid-defined, high-fat diet (CDAHFD) induced NASH model was used to test the pharmacodynamics and transcriptome regulation of GFT505 in this study. The results showed that GFT505 ameliorated hepatic steatosis, inflammation and fibrosis in CDAHFD mice model. RNA-sequencing yielded 3995 up-regulated and 3576 down-regulated genes with GFT505 treatment. And the most significant differentialy expressed genes involved in glucolipid metabolism (Pparα, Acox1, Cpt1b, Fabp4, Ehhadh, Fabp3), inflammation (Ccl6, Ccl9, Cxcl14) and fibrosis (Timp1, Lamc3, Timp2, Col3a1, Col1a2, Col1a1, Hapln4, Timp3, Pik3r5, Pdgfα, Pdgfβ, Tgfβ1, Tgfβ2) were confirmed by RT-qPCR. The down-regulated genes were enriched in cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction pathway and ECM-receptor interaction pathway, while the up-regulated genes were enriched in PPAR signaling pathway and fatty acid degradation pathway. This study provides clues and basis for further understanding on the mechanism of PPAR α/δ agonist on NASH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: China has a substantial tuberculosis (TB) disease burden and an aging population. Seniors have a higher risk of developing TB disease compared to younger age groups. Active case finding (ACF) could help identify seniors with TB disease. Methods: From March to June 2017, we included ACF during annual physical check-ups for persons aged ≥ 65 years in Bayi, Sichuan Province. Seniors with clinical TB symptoms (i.e., cough lasting ≥ 2 weeks and/or hemoptysis) or one or more risk factors (e.g., previous TB disease, diabetes, and heavy alcohol consumption) were offered chest x-rays. We used acid-Fast Bacilli smear and solid culture laboratory testing for TB confirmation. We calculated the yield (i.e., cases identified among seniors screened) and cost per new each TB case detected. Focus group-interviews were conducted with health care workers and seniors to evaluate project acceptability. Participation rates and acceptability were used to assess feasibility. Results: Of the 2,393 seniors residing in Bayi, 2,049 (85.6%) were enrolled in the pilot project. Of these seniors, 794 (38.7%) presented with at least one TB risk factor and 74 (3.6%) had symptoms consistent with active TB disease. Three seniors (0.2%)–each presenting with at least one risk factor—were diagnosed with active TB. The project yielded 146 TB cases per 100,000 seniors screened; the cost per case detected was $4,897. Most workers supported ACF if additional resources and staff could be provided. Seniors appreciated the convenience of this integrated health service approach. Conclusions: Although the yield was lower than expected, ACF appeared feasible in Bayi. Targeting seniors with at least one known TB risk factor could help detect previously unidentified TB cases. However, similar projects in communities with a higher TB prevalence are needed to further evaluate the yield and required resources prior to implementation on a larger scale. Findings from our pilot project should be combined with data from these future ACF projects to improve TB screening criteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Brucellosis is one of the most common zoonoses worldwide, causing direct losses to the livestock industry and threatening human health. Little is known about the status and factors affecting farmers’ private investment in the prevention and control of sheep brucellosis in China. Methodology/Principal findings: From April to October 2017, a cross-sectional, house-based study was conducted in 7 Chinese provinces. A total of 1037 households included in the study were analyzed. The average amount of private investment in the prevention and control of brucellosis was $0.73±0.54 per sheep. Multivariable analysis showed that factors facilitating private investment included older age of householder (OR = 1.07, 95%CI: 1.03–1.11), herd size >100 (OR = 2.49, 95%CI: 1.38–4.51), a higher percentage of income from sheep farming comparing to the total household income (OR = 1.14, 95%CI: 1.11–1.16), higher score of brucellosis knowledge (OR = 3.85, 95%CI: 1.40–10.51), actively learning related knowledge (OR = 2.98, 95%CI: 1.55–5.74), actively participating in related training courses (OR = 3.07, 95%CI: 1.52–6.18), care about other people’s attitudes (OR = 1.75, 95%CI: 1.35–2.28), concern about the health of neighbors’ livestock (OR = 1.75, 95%CI: 1.23–2.51). The analysis found a discouraging factor for private investment, supporting culling policy (OR = 0.67, 95%CI: 0.49–0.91). Conclusions/Significance: In addition to providing interventions related to farmers’ knowledge, attitudes and practices, guidance must be offered to help farmers understanding the importance of private investment in the prevention and control of brucellosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Many patients with coronary artery heart disease are unable to access traditional psychosocial rehabilitation conducted face to face due to excessive travel distance. Therefore, this study developed and assessed the feasibility and acceptability of an 8-week Internet-based cognitive-behavior group therapy program, described the patterns of use and measured change in risk factors. Methods: This study adopted an online video conference system, JointNet, to maintain group interaction functions similar to face to face groups online, and also built an self-learning platform to deliver psychoeducation content and cognitive-behavior therapy related materials and homework. Forty-three out-patients were recruited in the pilot study, who then chose to participate in either the Internet-based cognitive-behavior group therapy or face to face group based on their preference. Fourteen patients were assigned to the waiting-list control. Results: Seventeen participants (17/43 = 39.5%) chose the Internet-based cognitive-behavior group therapy program. Among them, thirteen participants (13/17 = 76.5%) finished the program and were more male (92.3% vs. 50%), employed (53.8% vs. 35.3%), and had longer education duration (13.9 vs. 12.5 years) than the counterparts of the face to face group. Furthermore, they were highly motivated with average number of log-ins (66.5 time), website surfing time (950.94 min), reading frequency (78.15 time) and reading time (355.90 min) for the self-learning platform during eight weeks; and also highly satisfied (97%) with visiting the self-learning platform and video conferences. The treatment effectiveness of Internet-based cognitive-behavior group therapy was comparable with face to face one in reducing anxiety, hostility, respiration rate, and in improving vasodilation but not depression compared with the waiting-list control. Conclusion: These results indicated that the Internet-based group therapy program using video conference is feasible and acceptable for the psychosocial rehabilitation of patients with coronary artery heart disease, and provides an alternative for patients who are unable to obtain conventional psychosocial rehabilitation conducted face to face. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The aim of this study is to find the potential miRNA expression signature capable of predicting survival time for cervical squamous cell carcinoma (CSCC) patients. Methods: The expression of 332 miRNAs was measured in 131 (Training cohort) and 130 (Validation cohort) patients with CSCC in the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) data portal. The miRNA expression signature was identified by Cox Proportion Hazard regression model to the Training data set, and subsequently validated in an independent Validation set. Kaplan-Meier curves and the receiver operating characteristic analyses of 5 years were used to access the overall survival of miRNA signature. MiRNA signature-gene target analysis was performed, followed by the construction of the regulatory network. Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway analysis were used to explore the function of target genes of miRNA signature. Results: A 2-miRNA expression signature of hsa-mir-642a and hsa-mir-378c associated with survivability was identified in CSCC. Both of them had a significant diagnostic and prognostic value of patients with CSCC. A total of 345 miRNA signature-target pairs were obtained in the miRNA signature-gene target regulatory network, in which 316 genes were targets of has-mir-378c and has-mir-642a. Functional analysis of target genes showed that MAPK signaling pathway, VEGF signaling pathway and endocytosis were the significantly enriched signal pathways that covered most genes. Conclusions: The 2-miRNA signature adds to the prognostic value of CSCC. In-depth interrogation of the 2-miRNAs will provide important biological insights that finding and developing novel molecularly prediction to improve prognosis for CSCC patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: To investigate mechanisms and altered pathways of gypenoside against carbon tetrachloride (CCl4)-induced liver fibrosis based on integrative analysis of proteomics and metabolomics data. Methods: CCl4-induced liver fibrosis rats were administrated gypenoside. The anti-fibrosis effects were evaluated by histomorphology and liver hydroxyproline (Hyp) content. Protein profiling and metabolite profiling of rats liver tissues were examined by isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantitation (iTRAQ) approach and gas chromatography-mass spectrometer (GC-MS) technology. Altered pathways and pivotal proteins and metabolites were searched by integrative analysis of proteomics and metabolomics data. The levels of some key proteins in altered pathways were determined by western blot. Results: Histopathological changes and Hyp content in gypenoside group had significant improvements (P<0.05). Compared to liver fibrosis model group, we found 301 up-regulated and 296 down-regulated proteins, and 9 up-regulated and 8 down-regulated metabolites in gypenoside group. According to integrative analysis, some important pathways were found, including glycolysis or gluconeogenesis, fructose and mannose metabolism, glycine, serine and threonine metabolism, lysine degradation, arginine and proline metabolism, glutathione metabolism, and sulfur metabolism. Furthermore, the levels of ALDH1B1, ALDH2 and ALDH7A1 were found increased and restored to normal levels after gypenoside treated (P<0.05). Conclusions: Gypenoside inhibited CCl4-induced liver fibrosis, which may be involved in the alteration of glycolysis metabolism and the protection against the damage of aldehydes and lipid peroxidation by up-regulating ALDH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hypertensive disorder can cause cardiac deformities. Elastic characteristic parameters, like Young’s modulus of elasticity (E) derived from a traditional cylindrical model, increase significantly with aging. However, the geometric and component changes of aging hearts because of chronic hypertension remain unknown. To better describe the effects, we propose an elliptical elastic and mathematical model to evaluate myocardial stiffness. Ninety-six hypertensive patients (HTNPos) (men: 59.3%; age ≥ 65 years: 20.8%) were enrolled and compared with normotensive controls (HTNNeg) (n = 47, 48.9%). HTNPos patients had a thicker interventricular septum in diastole (IVSd) (HTNPos: 0.96 ± 0.21 cm vs. HTNNeg: 0.77 ± 0.15; p = 0.005) and higher intracardiac pressure (e/e′: 9.06 ± 4.85 cm vs. 7.76 ± 3.41; p = 0.01), especially the elderly (> 65 years) (IVSd: 1.03 ± 0.19 cm, e/e′: 11.39 ± 1.99; p = 0.006 and 0.01, respectively). Nevertheless, the internal dimension decreased more significantly in the HTNPos rather than in the HTNNeg elderly (5.23 ± 0.46 vs. 4.74 ± 0.69 cm; p = 0.02). We found different directions of cardiac remodeling with normotensive and hypertensive loads. Different from the longitudinal and circumferential strain, E and Poisson’s ratio (υ) are values that directly present the rigidity of myocardium. E was significantly higher in the elderly (8011.92 ± 2431.85 vs. 6052.43 ± 3121.50; p = 0.02), whereas υ was significantly higher in all HTNPos patients (0.73 ± 0.12 vs. 0.61 ± 0.07; p < 0.001). Because E and υ reflected the material changes of myocardium in the HTNPos elderly, the proposed elliptical mathematical heart model better describes the geometric deformity induced by aging and hypertension. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The study was designed to examine if baroreflex sensitivity (BRS) could predict the short-term outcome of postural tachycardia syndrome (POTS) in children. Methods: Seventy-seven children subjects were included in the study. Among them, 45 children were in the POTS group and another 32 healthy children were in the control group. A ninety-day clinical follow-up was conducted and the symptom score before and after the follow-up was calculated for POTS patients by using POTS score system. Hemodynamics and continuous BRS monitoring were recorded by Finapres Medical System-FMS (FinometerPRO, FMS Company, Netherlands). According to the symptom score change during follow-up period, POTS patients were further divided into subgroup A (n = 24) with symptom score decreased by at least two points and subgroup B (n = 21) with symptom score decreased by less than two points. The predictive value of BRS in the short-term outcome of POTS in children was analyzed using receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Results: BRS of POTS children was significantly higher than that of the healthy children (18.76±9.96 ms/mmHg vs 10±5.42 ms/mmHg, P<0.01). It was higher in subgroup B than that of subgroup A (24.7±9.9 ms/mmHg vs 13.5±6.6 ms/mmHg, P <0.01). BRS was positively correlated with HR change in POTS Group (r = 0.304, P <0.05). Area under curve (AUC) was 0.855 (95% of confidence interval 0.735–0.975), and BRS of 17.01 ms/mmHg as a cut-off value yielded the predictive sensitivity of 85.7% and specificity of 87.5%. Conclusions: BRS is a useful index to predict the short-term outcome of POTS in children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies in Chinese hamster ovary cells showed that truncational mutations of β3 at sites of F754 and Y759 mimicking calpain cleavage regulate integrin signaling. The roles of the sequence from F754 to C-terminus and the conservative N756ITY759 motif in platelet function have yet to be elaborated. Mice expressing β3 with F754 and Y759 truncations, or NITY deletion (β3-ΔTNITYRGT, β3-ΔRGT, or β3-ΔNITY) were established through transplanting the homozygous β3-deficient mouse bone marrow cells infected by the GFP tagged MSCV MigR1 retroviral vector encoding different β3 mutants into lethally radiated wild-type mice. The platelets were harvested for soluble fibrinogen binding and platelet spreading on immobilized fibrinogen. Platelet adhesion on fibrinogen- and collagen-coated surface under flow was also tested to assess the ability of the platelets to resist hydrodynamic drag forces. Data showed a drastic inhibition of the β3-ΔTNITYRGT platelets to bind soluble fibrinogen and spread on immobilized fibrinogen in contrast to a partially impaired fibrinogen binding and an almost unaffected spreading exhibited in the β3-ΔNITY platelets. Behaviors of the β3-ΔRGT platelets were consistent with the previous observations in the β3-ΔRGT knock-in platelets. The adhesion impairment of platelets with the β3 mutants under flow was in different orders of magnitude shown as: β3-ΔTNITYRGT>β3-ΔRGT>β3-ΔNITY to fibrinogen-coated surface, and β3-ΔTNITYRGT>β3-ΔNITY>β3-ΔRGT to collagen-coated surface. To evaluate the interaction of the β3 mutants with signaling molecules, GST pull-down and immunofluorescent assays were performed. Results showed that β3-ΔRGT interacted with kindlin but not c-Src, β3-ΔNITY interacted with c-Src but not kindlin, while β3-ΔTNITYRGT did not interact with both proteins. This study provided evidence in platelets at both static and flow conditions that the calpain cleavage-related sequences of integrin β3, i.e. T755NITYRGT762, R760GT762, and N756ITY759 participate in bidirectional, outside-in, and inside-out signaling, respectively and the association of c-Src or kindlin with β3 integrin may regulate these processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]