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Abstract Phenol, an important bioactive substance in jujube fruit, is one of the most important indexes of fruit quality. In order to clarify the phenolic substance composition, content and distribution characteristics of different varieties of jujube fruits, this study measured and compared the content of total phenols, total flavonoids and phenolic substance composition in different parts of fruits of six jujube varieties, and combined with the principal component analysis, the results showed that: Fourteen phenolic substances were identified in the fruits of different jujube varieties, and proanthocyanidins, epicatechin, catechin and rutin were the main components, accounting for 58.60%, 16.08%, 13.56% and 5.57% of the total phenolic substances, respectively. The total phenolic and total flavonoid contents of jujube fruits of each variety were between 18.11 and 21.45 mg GAE/g DW and 10.56–20.25 mg RE/g DW, respectively, and the differences in the contents between the varieties were significant, and the contents of ‘Junzao’ and ‘Jinlingyuanzao’ were higher than those of other varieties.The phenolic content of different parts of jujube fruits showed spatial distribution differences, manifested as the total phenols, total flavonoids and their fractions of the peel were significantly higher than that of the pulp, while the content of the pulp near the kernel was significantly higher than that of other parts of the pulp, This study provides a theoretical basis for analysing the differences in phenolic substances in jujube fruits.

Abstract Jujube is a crop highly resistant to drought and salinity, making it one of the main fruit trees in Xinjiang. The present study evaluated the changes in the physicochemical and antioxidant activities of jujube fruit of eight different cultivars from Xinjiang, China. The developmental stages were selected according to the days after full bloom and fruit peel colour during ripening; these stages included young (S1), fruit core-hardening (S2), green ripening (S3), half-red maturity (S4) and complete red. In present study, different cultivars of jujube fruit showed similar chemical profiles, but their amounts showed great variation. HZ had the highest content of sugars, and JY had the highest content of cAMP and cGMP, while relatively higher levels of ascorbic acid, catechin, epicatechin, rutin, proanthocyanidin and antioxidant activity were found in ‘FS’ than in other cultivars, indicating that ‘FS’ could be used as a potential natural antioxidant. Regarding the development stages of jujube fruit, the moisture, ascorbic acid, total polyphenol, catechin, epicatechin, proanthocyanidin and rutin contents decreased during the development of all jujube cultivars, while the fructose, glucose, sucrose, cAMP, and cGMP contents greatly increased. The antioxidant activity determined by DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging decreased as the fruits matured. Therefore, the results suggest that green jujube (S1) could be used for natural antioxidants (catechin, epicatechin, proanthocyanidin) and that the advanced ripening stage(S5) is the proper picking period for fresh fruit and commercial processing.

Abstract The broad clinical acceptance of intraoperative blood salvage and its applications in cancer surgery remain controversial. Until now, a method that can safely eliminate cancer cells while preserving erythrocytes does not exist. Here, we investigated whether X-ray generated from linear accelerator irradiation at a certain dose can kill hepatocarcinoma cells while preserving erythrocytes. HepG2, SK-Hep1 or Huh7 cells were mixed into the aliquots of erythrocytes obtained from healthy volunteers. After the mixed cells were exposed to 30 Gy and 50 Gy X-rays irradiation, the viability, clonogenicity, DNA synthesis and tumorigenicity of the tumor cells were determined by the MTT assay, plate colony formation, 5-ethynyl-2′-deoxyuridine incorporation, and subcutaneous xenograft implantation into immunocompromised mice. The ATP, 2,3-DPG, free Hb, osmotic fragility, blood gas variables in erythrocytes and morphology of erythrocytes at 0 h, 12 h, 24 h, 48 h, 72 h after irradiation were analyzed. X-ray irradiation at 30 Gy effectively inhibited the viability, proliferation, and tumorigenicity of HepG2, SK-Hep1 and Huh7 cells without noticeably damaging the ability of oxygen-carrying, membrane integrity and morphology of erythrocytes. Theses results suggest that X-ray at 30 Gy irradiation might be safe to eliminate hepatocarcinoma cells while preserving erythrocytes in salvaged blood.

Abstract The larval stage of Echinococcus granulosus causes cystic echinococcosis (CE), a neglected tropical disease that leads to morbidity and mortality in humans and livestock worldwide. Here, we identified and characterized dihydrofolate reductase (Eg-DHFR) from E. granulosus, and evaluated its potential as a diagnostic antigen for sheep CE. Comparison between mammalian (host) DHFR and Eg-DHFR indicates that 45.7% of the 35 active site residues are different. Immunolocalisation analysis showed that native Eg-DHFR was widely distributed in all life-cycle stages of E. granulosus. Recombinant Eg-DHFR (rEg-DHFR) showed typical DHFR enzymatic parameters towards substrate, and was very sensitive to inhibition by methotrexate (IC50 = 27.75 ± 1.03 nM) and aminopterin (IC50 = 63.67 ± 6.76 nM). However, inhibition of DHFR exhibited little protoscolicidal effect in vitro. As there is no reliable method to monitor sheep CE, the immunogenicity of rEg-DHFR was detected, and we developed an indirect ELISA (iELISA) for CE serodiagnosis. The iELISA exhibited diagnostic specificity of 89.58%, diagnostic sensitivity of 95.83%, and the diagnostic accuracy was 91.67% compared with necropsy. Cross-reactivity assay showed analytical specificity of 85.7%. These suggest that rEg-DHFR is an effective antigen for the diagnosis of sheep CE.

Abstract Analysing non-stationarity in runoff and sediment load is crucial for effective water resource management in the Dongting Lake basin amid climate change and human impacts. Using the Mann-Kendall test, Generalized Additive Models for Location, Scale, and Shape framework, and Random Forest models, we evaluated non-stationarity and its drivers in the annual runoff and annual sediment load series at eight hydrological stations from 1961 to 2021. These stations include three inflow sites at the Jingjiang Three Outlets (Ouchi, Songzi, and Hudu Rivers), four inflow sites in the Four Rivers basin (Xiang, Zi, Yuan, and Li Rivers), and one outflow site at Chenglingji. Results revealed a significant decrease in annual runoff at the Three Outlets and Chenglingji, while the Four Rivers basin showed no significant trend. The non-stationary models with multiple physically-based covariates better captured non-stationarity compared to single covariate models. Annual rainfall was a key contributor to annual runoff in the Four Rivers basin, while reservoir storage capacity played a more dominant role in the Three Outlets. At Chenglingji station, both factors significantly influenced annual runoff. For annual sediment load, reservoir storage capacity emerged as the most critical factor across all regions. These findings provide a basis for improving runoff and sediment regulation in the Dongting Lake basin.

Abstract There is limited research on risk factors for chronic endometritis regarding reproductive history and clinical symptoms. Thus, this nested case–control study identified risk factors for chronic endometritis in women who have undergone hysteroscopy. Endometrial tissue sections were obtained from 502 women with intrauterine disorders who underwent hysteroscopy. Chronic endometritis was diagnosed via CD138 immunostaining. The women were divided into two groups: 271 women without chronic endometritis and 231 women with chronic endometritis. The prevalence of chronic endometritis was 46%. Univariate logistic regression revealed that prolonged menstruation and intermenstrual bleeding were associated with chronic endometritis, and subsequent multivariate logistic regression analyses showed that these were further independently associated. With univariable logistic regression, the gravidity and abortion history were correlated with chronic endometritis; however, no significant correlation was found with the adjusted odds ratio (OR) of 0.74 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.46–1.19) or 0.76 (95% CI 0.58–1.11), respectively. No significant correlation was found between caesarean section history and the rates of chronic endometritis. No significant difference was found in all other variables between the three groups with > 5, ≤ 5 plasma cells and in a unknown group. Prolonged menstruation and intermenstrual bleeding were risk factors associated with chronic endometritis. Chronic endometritis should be considered and CD138 immunohistochemical examination should be recommended in women with these symptoms.

Abstract Emerging evidence shows that FAT atypical cadherin 1 (FAT1) mutations occur in lymphoma and are associated with poorer overall survival. Considering that diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is the category of lymphoma with the highest incidence rate, this study aims to explore the role of FAT1 in DLBCL. The findings demonstrate that FAT1 inhibits the proliferation of DLBCL cell lines by downregulating the expression of YAP1 rather than by altering its cellular localization. Mechanistic analysis via meRIP-qPCR/luciferase reporter assays showed that FAT1 increases the m6A modification of YAP1 mRNA 3′UTR and the subsequent binding of heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein D (HNRNPD) to the m6A modified YAP1 mRNA, thus decreasing the stability of YAP1 mRNA. Furthermore, FAT1 increases YAP1 mRNA 3′UTR m6A modification by decreasing the activity of the TGFβ-Smad2/3 pathway and the subsequent expression of ALKBH5, which is regulated at the transcriptional level by Smad2/3. Collectively, these results reveal that FAT1 inhibits the proliferation of DLBCL cells by increasing the m6A modification of the YAP1 mRNA 3’UTR via the TGFβ-Smad2/3-ALKBH5 pathway. The findings of this study therefore indicate that FAT1 exerts anti-tumor effects in DLBCL and may represent a novel target in the treatment of this form of lymphoma.

Abstract Glycogen storage disease type Ib (GSD-Ib) is a rare inborn error of glycogen metabolism caused by mutations in SLC37A4. Patients with GSD-Ib are at high risk of developing inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). We evaluated the efficacy of empagliflozin, a renal sodium‒glucose cotransporter protein 2 (SGLT2) inhibitor, on colonic mucosal healing in patients with GSD-associated IBD. A prospective, single-arm, open-label clinical trial enrolled eight patients with GSD-associated IBD from Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital in China from July 1, 2022 through December 31, 2023. Eight patients were enrolled with a mean age of 10.34 ± 2.61 years. Four male and four female. The endoscopic features included deep and large circular ulcers, inflammatory hyperplasia, obstruction and stenosis. The SES-CD score significantly decreased at week 48 compared with before empagliflozin. Six patients completed 48 weeks of empagliflozin therapy and endoscopy showed significant improvement or healing of mucosal ulcers, inflammatory hyperplasia, stenosis, and obstruction. One patient had severe sweating that required rehydration and developed a urinary tract infection. No serious or life-threatening adverse events. This study suggested that empagliflozin may promote colonic mucosal healing and reduce hyperplasia, stenosis, and obstruction in children with GSD-associated IBD.

Abstract The distribution of saline soil is wide and the area is large in China. The saline soil in different regions shows their own characteristics. The saline soil of single salt is configured by adding different contents of NaCl to the loess in Xi'an. The effects of chlorine content and water content on soil strength and volume change in a large water content range was studied, and the change mechanism was analyzed by scanning electron microscopy. The results show that the strength of chloride saline soil increases with the decrease of water content. The moisture content of 12% is the critical point of strength change of chloride saline soil. When the moisture content is greater than 12%, the strength of soil decreases with the increase of salt content. When the water content is less than 12%, the strength of saline soil is 3% NaCl content > 1% NaCl content > 5% NaCl content > 0% NaCl content. The volume change of the sample consists of three parts: elastic deformation during sample pressing, volume shrinkage during water loss and salt expansion. In the absence of NaCl and 1% NaCl content, the sample was in the state of shrinkage during the loading process, in which with the decrease of moisture content shrinkage rate slowed down. The volume change rate of 3% and 5% NaCl showed an inflection point from negative to positive when the water content was 15%. When the water content is less than 12%, the saline soil with 3% NaCl content has the characteristics of high strength and unobvious salt expansion. The method of adding 3% NaCl to loess in Xi 'an area can be used to simulate the cement between soil particles, which provides a reference for artificially preparing structural soil. According to the microstructure analysis, the higher the salt content of saline soil, the smaller the soil pores, and the contact form of soil particles gradually develops from the point contact between soil particles to the salt-wrapped structure.

Abstract Gastric cancer (GC) is one of the most prevalent malignant tumors of the gastrointestinal system in the globe. The effect of PIEZO2 on the immune function and pathological features of gastric cancer remains to be explored. The Online database of cancer genes and GSE54129 have been used to analyze the clinical characteristics of PIEZO2 expression. We looked at the relationship between PIEZO2 and the immune systems of GC patients. The TIDE algorithm was used to explore the value of PIEZO2 in immunotherapy. Investigated the enrichment of PIEZO2 gene ontology and associated signal pathways using Online gene databases. The results show that overexpression of PIEZO2 was identified as an independent risk factor for patients with GC who had poor overall survival. Individuals may have a better prognosis if they had poorly differentiated GC and increased PIEZO2 expression (P

Abstract Amorphophallus konjac, belonging to the genus Amorphophallus of the Araceae family, is an economically important crop widely used in health products and biomaterials. In the present work, we performed the whole-genome assembly of A. konjac based on the NovaSeq platform sequence data. The final genome assembly was 4.58 Gb with a scaffold N50 of 3212 bp. The genome includes 39,421 protein-coding genes, and 71.75% of the assemblies were repetitive sequences. Comparative genomic analysis showed 1647 gene families have expanded and 2685 contracted in the A. konjac genome. Likewise, genome evolution analysis indicated that A. konjac underwent whole-genome duplication, possibly contributing to the expansion of certain gene families. Furthermore, we identified many candidate genes involved in the tuber formation and development, cellulose and lignification synthesis. The genome of A. konjac obtained in this work provides a valuable resource for the further study of the genetics, genomics, and breeding of this economically important crop, as well as for evolutionary studies of Araceae family.

Abstract The use of titanium implants as fixed supports following fractures in patients with OP can often result in sterile loosening and poor osseointegration. Oxidative stress has been shown to play a particularly important role in this process. While TSA has been reported to facilitate in vivo osteogenesis, the underlying mechanisms remain to be clarified. It also remains unclear whether TSA can improve the osseointegration of titanium implants. This study investigated whether TSA could enhance the osseointegration of titanium rods by activating AKT/Nrf2 pathway signaling, thereby suppressing oxidative stress. MC3T3-E1 cells treated with CCCP to induce oxidative stress served as an in vitro model, while an OVX-induced OP rat model was employed for in vivo analysis of titanium rod implantation. In vitro, TSA treatment of CCCP-treated MC3T3-E1 cells resulted in the upregulation of osteogenic proteins together with increased AKT, total Nrf2, nuclear Nrf2, HO-1, and NQO1 expression, enhanced mitochondrial functionality, and decreased oxidative damage. Notably, the PI3K/AKT inhibitor LY294002 reversed these effects. In vivo, TSA effectively enhanced the microstructural characteristics of distal femur trabecular bone, increased BMSCs mineralization capacity, promoted bone formation, and improved the binding of titanium implants to the surrounding tissue. Finally, our results showed that TSA could reverse oxidative stress-induced cell damage while promoting bone healing and improving titanium rods' osseointegration through AKT/Nrf2 pathway activation.

Abstract Septic patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) often develop sepsis-associated delirium (SAD), which is strongly associated with poor prognosis. The aim of this study is to develop a machine learning-based model for the early prediction of SAD. Patient data were extracted from the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care IV (MIMIC-IV) database and the eICU Collaborative Research Database (eICU-CRD). The MIMIC-IV data were divided into a training set and an internal validation set, while the eICU-CRD data served as an external validation set. Feature variables were selected using least absolute shrinkage and selection operator regression, and prediction models were built using logistic regression, support vector machines, decision trees, random forests, extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost), k-nearest neighbors and naive Bayes methods. The performance of the models was evaluated in the validation set. The model was also applied to a group of patients who were not assessed or could not be assessed for delirium. The MIMIC-IV and eICU-CRD databases included 14,620 and 1723 patients, respectively, with a median time to diagnosis of SAD of 24 and 30 h. Compared with Non-SAD patients, SAD patients had higher 28-days ICU mortality rates and longer ICU stays. Among the models compared, the XGBoost model had the best performance and was selected as the final model (internal validation area under the receiver operating characteristic curves (AUROC) = 0.793, external validation AUROC = 0.701). The XGBoost model outperformed other models in predicting SAD. The establishment of this predictive model allows for earlier prediction of SAD compared to traditional delirium assessments and is applicable to patients who are difficult to assess with traditional methods.

Abstract The disintegration property of loess is the wetting and subsequent disintegration of loess in water, which is generally an important index for resistance to erosion and disintegration of wet loess slopes and foundations. In this study, a disintegration instrument is developed in this laboratory and used to study the disintegration properties of fly ash-modified loess in foundations and Roadyes-modified loess in subgrades. Disintegration tests are used to compare samples of loess modified with different amounts of fly ash and Roadyes, different water contents and different dry densities; the influence of fly ash and Roadyes content on the disintegration of modified loess is analyzed. The differences in disintegration properties between the pure loess and modified loess are compared to explore the evolution of disintegration properties of modified loess and the optimal incorporation levels of fly ash and Roadyes. The experimental results show that the incorporation of fly ash reduces the disintegration of loess, while the incorporation of Roadyes likewise decreases the disintegration of loess. The disintegration of the loess modified with the two curing agents is better than that of the pure loess and loess mixed with a single curing agent; the optimal incorporation levels are 15% fly ash and 0.5‰ Roadyes. Comparing the evolution of the disintegration curves of samples of loess with different modifications shows is a linear relationship between time and amount of disintegration for pure loess and Roadyes-modified loess. Thus, a linear disintegration model is established in which the parameter P is the disintegration rate. According to the exponential relationship between time and amount of disintegration of fly ash-modified loess and loess modified with both fly ash and Roadyes, an exponential disintegration model is established in which the water stability parameter Q affects the strong and weak disintegration of the modified loess. The relationship between the water stability of the loess (modified with added fly ash and Roadyes) in water and the initial water content and dry density is analyzed. The water stability of the loess first increases and then decreases with increasing initial water content and gradually increases with increasing dry density. When the sample density is the maximum dry density, the sample has the best water stability. These research results provide a basis for the application of loess modified with added fly ash and Roadyes.

Abstract Severe acute mountain sickness (sAMS) can be life-threatening, but little is known about its genetic basis. The study was aimed to explore the genetic susceptibility of sAMS for the purpose of prediction, using microarray data from 112 peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) samples of 21 subjects, who were exposed to very high altitude (5260 m), low barometric pressure (406 mmHg), and hypobaric hypoxia (VLH) at various timepoints. We found that exposure to VLH activated gene expression in leukocytes, resulting in an inverted CD4/CD8 ratio that interacted with other phenotypic risk factors at the genetic level. A total of 2286 underlying risk genes were input into the support vector machine recursive feature elimination (SVM-RFE) system for machine learning, and a model with satisfactory predictive accuracy and clinical applicability was established for sAMS screening using ten featured genes with significant predictive power. Five featured genes (EPHB3, DIP2B, RHEBL1, GALNT13, and SLC8A2) were identified upstream of hypoxia- and/or inflammation-related pathways mediated by microRNAs as potential biomarkers for sAMS. The established prediction model of sAMS holds promise for clinical application as a genetic screening tool for sAMS.

Abstract Rhizospheric microorganisms can profoundly influence the nutritional status of soil and the growth of plant. To reveal the change on the bacterial diversity in the rhizosphere of Fritillaria taipaiensis under long-term single planting, the bacterial community structure in the rhizospheric soils of F. taipaiensis with different cultivation years from 1 to 5 were analyzed. The result showed the Chao1 and the ACE indices of the bacterial community had no significant difference among samples while the Shannon and Simpson indices declined with the cutivation year; the intra group beta diversity of the rhizospheric bacteria increased after a initial decline with the cultivation year; in the sample with 1 year of cultivation, the dominant bacterial genera were mainly the species that can improve the soil nutrient status and promote plant growth while with the increase of cultivation year, the dominant genera in samples then gradually reflected the pathogen accumulation and soil nutrient status deterioration; pH was the most significant factor affected by the bacterial community composition. These results indicated long term continuous cropping changed the bacterial community structure and soil nutritional status in the F. taipaiensis rhizospheric soils, which could badly affect its growth.

Abstract Root-knot nematode disease is a catastrophic soil-borne disease in tobacco production. The regulation of natural microbial communities is considered a good disease management approach to suppress the incidence of soilborne diseases. In this study, the effects of tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.)-marigold (Tagetes erecta L.) rotation on the diversity and structure of soil microbial communities in continuously cropped tobacco fields were analyzed to manage this devastating pathogen. The results showed that the soil bacterial OTUs increased after marigold rotation and that the bacterial Shannon, ACE, Chao1 index, and fungal Shannon index were higher in the tobacco-marigold rotation fields than in the continuously cropped tobacco fields by 3.98%, 10.37%, 5.46%, and 3.43%, respectively. After marigold rotation, the relative abundances of Actinobacteria, Acidobacteria, and Ascomycota increased by 28.62%, 107.50%, and 57.44%, respectively, and the proportion of beneficial bacterial genera such as Nocardioides, Gemmatimonas, and Bradyrhizobium increased. In addition, our results also showed that rotation of marigold could effectively reduce the incidence of root-knot nematodes in the next crop of tobacco. These results indicate that marigold rotation had a positive effect on the soil microecological environment of continuously cropped tobacco fields, reducing the obstacles to continuous cropping of tobacco.

Abstract Automatic detection and recognition of pavement distresses is the key to timely repair of pavement. Repairing the pavement distresses in time can prevent the destruction of road structure and the occurrence of traffic accidents. However, some other factors, such as a single object category, shading and occlusion, make detection of pavement distresses very challenging. In order to solve these problems, we use the improved YOLOv5 model to detect various pavement distresses. We optimize the YOLOv5 model and introduce attention mechanism to enhance the robustness of the model. The improved model is more suitable for deployment in embedded devices. The optimized model is transplanted to the self-built intelligent mobile platform. Experimental results show that the improved network model proposed in this paper can effectively identify pavement distresses on the self-built intelligent mobile platform and datasets. The precision, recall and mAP are 95.5%, 94.3% and 95%. Compared with YOLOv5s and YOLOv4 models, the mAP of the improved YOLOv5s model is increased by 4.3% and 25.8%. This method can provide technical reference for pavement distresses detection robot.

Abstract The surrounding rock is in the initial stress state before the tunnel excavation, and it undergoes the stress redistribution to reach the secondary stress state after the tunnel excavation. The surrounding rock is not only the main load source but also is an important part of the load bearing structure. Once the stress of some zone in the surrounding rock exceeds the strength of the rock mass, the part surrounding rock will enter into a state of plasticity or failure. Analytical solution is the most powerful mean to analyze this kind of underground cavern engineering problems. However, the existing solutions can not directly or simultaneously obtain the secondary stress field and excavation disturbance displacement field that we are concerned about. The implicit approximate solution cannot be degenerated to an accurate axisymmetric expression for the most existing non-axisymmetric elastic–plastic solutions. Therefore, this paper derives the elastic solution of a circular tunnel under the condition of the non-axisymmetric external load with the radial and shear inner loads. On this basis, the new elastic–plastic solution and the plastic zone radius equation of the circular tunnel under the conditions of the non-axisymmetric external load with radial inner load are derived. It can directly obtain the secondary stress field and excavation disturbance displacement field, and can degenerate to an accurate axisymmetric expression. The distribution characteristics of the analytical solution are in good agreement with the numerical test results, indicating that the new solution can provide a relatively accurate theoretical basis for the analysis and research of tunnel engineering.

Abstract Both the genetic and environmental factors may affect aggression susceptibility. However, the conclusions of these associations remain discrepant. In addition, studies that explored the association between CREB1 and aggression were meager. The aim of our present study was to assess whether CREB1 polymorphisms were related to aggression and also to explore the interactive effects of CREB1 variants and childhood maltreatment on aggression. A total of 488 individuals with aggressive behavior and 488 controls were recruited. Aggression and childhood maltreatment were surveyed by standardized self-administered questionnaires. Buccal cells were also obtained and genotyping was conducted using SNPscan. Logistic regressions were applied to investigate both individual effects of CREB1 polymorphisms and the interactive influences with childhood maltreatment on aggression. We found that adolescents who carried the rs4675690 T allele in CREB1 showed a higher level of aggression compared with those who carried wildtype genotypes (CC) under the dominant model (OR = 1.67, 95% CI, 1.16–2.40) after controlling for age and childhood maltreatment. Moreover, we also found that rs4675690 T allele had a synergic additive interaction with childhood sexual abuse and emotional neglect on aggression. The significant interactive effects of CREB1 polymorphisms and childhood maltreatment on aggression were reported for the first time.

Abstract Human brucellosis is caused by Brucella species and remains a major burden in both human and domesticated animal populations, especially in Inner Mongolia, China. The aims of this study were to analyze the spatiotemporal trends in human brucellosis in Inner Mongolia during 2010 to 2015, to explore the factors affecting the incidence of brucellosis. The results showed that the annual incidence was 29.68–77.67 per 100,000, and peaked from March to June. The majority of human brucellosis was male farmers and herdsmen, aged 40–59 years. The high-risk areas were mainly Xilin Gol League and Hulunbeier City. The incidence of human brucellosis in Inner Mongolia decreased during 2010 to 2015, although the middle and eastern regions were still high-risk areas. The regions with larger number of sheep and cattle, lower GDP per capita, less number of hospital beds, higher wind speed, lower mean temperature more likely to become high-risk areas of human brucellosis.

Abstract Camellia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Theaceae, and several species in this genus have economic importance. Although a great deal of molecular makers has been developed for molecular assisted breeding in genus Camellia in the past decade, the number of simple sequence repeats (SSRs) publicly available for plants in this genus is insufficient. In this study, a total of 28,854 potential SSRs were identified with a frequency of 4.63 kb. A total of 172 primer pairs were synthesized and preliminarily screened in 10 C. japonica accessions, and of these primer pairs, 111 were found to be polymorphic. Fifty-one polymorphic SSR markers were randomly selected to perform further analysis of the genetic relationships of 89 accessions across the genus Camellia. Cluster analysis revealed major clusters corresponding to those based on taxonomic classification and geographic origin. Furthermore, all the genotypes of C. japonica separated and consistently grouped well in the genetic structure analysis. The results of the present study provide high-quality SSR resources for molecular genetic breeding studies in camellia plants.

Abstract (Pro)renin receptor (PRR) and Yes-associated protein (YAP) play an important role in cardiovascular diseases. However, the role of PRR–YAP pathway in the pathogenesis of DCM is also not clear. We hypothesized that PRR–YAP pathway may promote pathological injuries in DCM by triggering redox. Wistar rats and neonatal rat cardiac fibroblasts were respectively used in vivo and in vitro studies. In order to observe the effects of PRR mediated YAP pathway on the pathogenesis of DCM, animal experiments were divided into 3 parts, including the evaluation the effects of PRR overexpression, PRR RNAi silencing and YAP RNAi silencing. Recombinant-adenoviruses-carried-PRR-gene (Ad-PRR), Ad-PRR-shRNA and lentivirus-carried-YAP-shRNA were constructed and the effects of PRR mediated YAP on the pathogenesis of DCM were evaluated. YAP specific inhibitor Verteporfin was also administrated in cardiac fibroblasts to explore the impact of PRR–YAP pathway on oxidative stress and myocardial fibrosis. The results displayed that PRR overexpression could enhance YAP expression but PRR RNAi silencing down-regulated its expression. Moreover, PRR overexpression could exacerbate oxidative stress and myocardial fibrosis in DCM, and these pathological changes could be rescued by YAP blockade. We concluded that PRR–YAP pathway plays a key role in the pathogenesis of DCM.

A non-complicated, controllable method of metallic nanoparticle fabrication at low operating light power is proposed. The method is based on laser-induced forward transfer, using a metamaterial absorber as the donor to significantly enhance the photothermal effect and reduce the operating light fluence to 35 mJ/cm2, which is much lower than that in previous works. A large number of metallic nanoparticles can be transferred by one shot of focused nanosecond laser pulses. Transferred nanoparticles exhibit good size uniformity and the sizes are controllable. The optical properties of transferred particles are characterized by dark-field spectroscopy and the experimental results agree with the simulation results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Interleukin-6 acts as both a pro-inflammatory cytokine and an anti-inflammatory myokine. IL-6/IL-6R signaling pathway, in particular, has been proposed to be a pivotal cytokine promoting ovarian cancer progression. This study aimed to elucidate potential clinical and biological function of IL-6R mRNA expression in ovarian cancer. We used the keywords “ovarian cancer” and searched through GEO database and finally a total of 7 studies together with TCGA database were incorporated in this analysis. We used Cutoff Finder to determine a cutoff point and stratified patients into two groups and found that high-expression of IL-6R mRNA in tumor tissues was a positive prognostic factor for overall survival. Simultaneously, high expression level of IL-6R mRNA correlates with better survival of patients who had additional chemotherapy treatment. These analyses suggested a possible role of tumoral expression of IL-6R in ovarian cancer. In conclusion, our results showed that mRNA levels of IL-6R in ovarian cancer was positively associated with better prognosis and sensitivity to chemotherapy and can potentially be used as a prognostic marker for this cancer.