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The incidence of infections by pathogenic microorganisms, coupled with the experimental manifestation of infections, refers to a regular phenomenon in aquaculture species. A number of environmental changes generally give rise to traumatic scenarios, and activating the transient provocative reactions in the gut normally constitutes a factor to the anatomical and efficient intestinal diseases. These infections have frequently given birth to the momentous economic chaos in aquaculture sector. Putting efforts into resolving this issue, the inclusion of antibiotics in the diets of aquaculture species has been introduced either as growth promoters or the stimulation of the immune system against diseases. Nevertheless, both the fears and discussions of consumers and scientists over the antibiotic-resistant microbes and drug remains in meat have resulted into contentious views concerning the uses of antibiotics. This has resulted into forbidding the use of human antibiotics as growth promotants in the diet of animal since the year 2006 by the European Union; also, subsequent to that, in the year 2013, the United States also initiated a plan for the removal of human antibiotics in the diet as growth promotants. Making use of the prebiotics, synbiotics and probiotics as an alternative has proven as improving not just the growth but also the immunity and maintenance of intestine health of cultured species. They are administered in the feeds of culture species for the purpose of stimulating the good health, safeguarding the intestine against pathogenic microorganisms and reducing the inflammation. In the current investigation, we throw discussion on the present uses, together with the limitations and future directions, the immunomodulatory exploit of probiotics, synbiotics and prebiotics, which triggering directly or enhancing the non-specific immune structure of aquaculture species.

Many factors contribute to the underdevelopment of oceanic aquaculture. The most significant factor of the development of hybrid grouper culture is the supply of satisfactory quantities of fast growing juveniles to stock grow-out systems at a minimized cost. In order to evaluate the growth hormone status of hybrid grouper (Epinephelus fuscoguttatus â™€× Epinephelus polyphekadion ♂), cDNA encoding growth hormone from the liver of juvenile fish was cloned and characterized. qPCR method was used to determine the expression of the growth hormone in the tissues. Relative expression of growth hormone in the brain was found to be highest (290.91 folds) and lowest in the stomach (1.35 folds). Bioinformatics tools were used to analyze the growth hormone proteins and prediction of its physicochemical properties, and amino acid compositions, as well as Gene Ontology, GO term predictions. The cloned hybrid grouper growth hormone gene sequence was found to be clustered monophyletically with solid bootstrap backing. It was found to be close to the Cromileptes altivelis growth hormone gene sequence and is positioned in the identical clade and consequential from the identical family. The expression pattern is comparable to that comprehended in other fishes and provides extra data for molecular biological studies on hybrid grouper fish. Key words: Growth hormone, bioinformatics analysis, tissue expression, gene ontology, hybrid grouper

BackgroundThere have been reports of increasing azole resistance in Candida tropicalis, especially in the Asia-Pacific region. Here we report on the epidemiology and antifungal susceptibility of C. tropicalis causing invasive candidiasis in China, from a 9-year surveillance study.MethodsFrom August 2009 to July 2018, C. tropicalis isolates (n = 3702) were collected from 87 hospitals across China. Species identification was carried out by mass spectrometry or rDNA sequencing. Antifungal susceptibility was determined by Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute disk diffusion (CHIF-NET10–14, n = 1510) or Sensititre YeastOne (CHIF-NET15–18, n = 2192) methods.ResultsOverall, 22.2% (823/3702) of the isolates were resistant to fluconazole, with 90.4% (744/823) being cross-resistant to voriconazole. In addition, 16.9 (370/2192) and 71.7% (1572/2192) of the isolates were of non-wild-type phenotype to itraconazole and posaconazole, respectively. Over the 9 years of surveillance, the fluconazole resistance rate continued to increase, rising from 5.7 (7/122) to 31.8% (236/741), while that for voriconazole was almost the same, rising from 5.7 (7/122) to 29.1% (216/741), with no significant statistical differences across the geographic regions. However, significant difference in fluconazole resistance rate was noted between isolates cultured from blood (27.2%, 489/1799) and those from non-blood (17.6%, 334/1903) specimens (P-value < 0.05), and amongst isolates collected from medical wards (28.1%, 312/1110) versus intensive care units (19.6%, 214/1092) and surgical wards (17.9%, 194/1086) (Bonferroni adjusted P-value < 0.05). Although echinocandin resistance remained low (0.8%, 18/2192) during the surveillance period, it was observed in most administrative regions, and one-third (6/18) of these isolates were simultaneously resistant to fluconazole.ConclusionThe continual decrease in the rate of azole susceptibility among C. tropicalis strains has become a nationwide challenge in China, and the emergence of multi-drug resistance could pose further threats. These phenomena call for effective efforts in future interventions.

Background COVID-19 continuously threated public health heavily. Present study aimed to investigate the lymphocyte subset alterations with disease severity, imaging manifestation, and delayed hospitalization in COVID-19 patients. Methods Lymphocyte subsets was classified using flow cytometry with peripheral blood collected from 106 patients. Results Multivariate logistic regression showed that chest tightness, lymphocyte count, and γ-glutamyl transpeptidase were the independent predictors for severe COVID-19. The T cell, CD4+ T cell and B cell counts in severe patients were significantly lower than that in mild patients (p = 0.004, 0.003 and 0.046, respectively). Only the T cell count was gradually decreased with the increase of infiltrated quadrants of lesions in computed tomography (CT) (p = 0.043). The T cell, CD4+ T cell, and CD8+ T cell counts were gradually decreased with the increase of infiltrated area of the maximum lesion in CT (p = 0.002, 0.003, 0.028; respectively). For severe patients, the counts of T cell, CD4+ T cell, CD8+ T cell gradually decreased with the increased delayed hospitalization (p = 0.001, 0.03, and + T cell gradually decreased with the increased delayed hospitalization (both p p = 0.007, and 0.002, respectively). For mild patients, only the NK cell count was gradually decreased with the increased delayed hospitalization (p = 0.012). Conclusion T lymphocyte and its subset negatively correlated with disease severity, CT manifestation and delayed hospitalization. The counts of lymphocyte subset were changed more profound than their proportions.

Hypoxia is one of the most frequently arising stressors in aquaculture. Hypoxia causes huge financial losses and degradation of resources. However, the response of cobia (Rachycentron canadum) to hypoxia stress is not completely understood. In this study, the effects of hypoxia on the intestinal microflora of juvenile cobia were investigated. The diversity and structure of microflora after 4 weeks of hypoxia stress were analyzed using high-throughput sequencing technology. A total of 210 fish were divided into two treatment groups, namely, hypoxic stress and normoxic control groups, with 3 replicates per group and 35 fish per replicate. The results showed that the richness and diversity of intestinal microflora increased significantly first and subsequently decreased significantly after invitation of the hypoxia stress (P

With improvements in endoscopy and laser technology, flexible ureteroscopy (FURS) has been a viable treatment option for large renal stones. Here, we share our experience of the FURS treatment for renal stones 2 cm or greater.We evaluated 251 consecutive patients who underwent FURS and holmium laser lithotripsy for renal stones 2 cm or greater between January 2015 and April 2019. Stone size was defined as the longest axis on non-contrast computed tomography. Data were retrospectively collected from electronic medical records. Patient demographics, stone clearance rates and perioperative complications were evaluated.There were 165 male patients and 86 female patients with an average age of 46.9 years (range 22-80 years). Mean stone size was 2.7 cm and the average number of procedures was 1.4 (range 1-5). The stone-free rate at the end of the first, second and third procedure was 61.9%, 82.9%, and 89.5%, respectively. The final stone-free rate decreased as stone size grows, and it was only 58.3% for kidney stones larger than 4 cm after an average of 2.3 procedures. The lowest clearance rates were observed in lower calyx calculi (87.2%) and multiple calyx calculi (83.5%). The overall complication rate was 15.1%, and the most common complication was postoperative fever (9.6%). One patient required blood transfusion, owing to postoperative coagulation disorders induced by urosepsis.Single or staged FURS is a practical treatment option for the renal stones sized 2 to 4 cm with acceptable efficacy and safety. Stone clearance rate of FURS treatment is mainly affected by stone size and location.

Radiant cooling ceiling systems have already been proven to potentially provide an improved thermal comfort environment. This work conducted a full-scale experiment in an office, and a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation study for a radiant cooling ceiling system integrated with air dehumidification equipment installed in this test space. The obtained results from the experiment were compared with the values from the CFD simulation to validate the accuracy of the model. Predicted mean vote (PMV) index was used to assess the original indoor thermal condition and improved conditions according to the simulation results. Experimental variables included supply air temperature from the diffuser, surface temperature, and the area of the cooling panels. In addition, diffuser position in the mechanical ventilation system was analyzed that provided suggestions on improving the design of radiant cooling ceiling panels. This study proposed solutions alongside limitations on improving indoor thermal comfort and energy efficiency using a radiant cooling ceiling system in the subtropical regions of Taiwan.

This study investigates the emission characteristics of CO(2), SO(2) and NOx in the flue gas of coal combustion by varying the compositions and concentrations of feed gas (O(2)/CO(2)/N(2)) and the ratios of recycled flue gas. The differences between O(2)/recycled flue gas (O(2)/RFG) combustion and general air combustion are also discussed. Experimental results indicate that the maximum concentration of CO(2) in O(2)/CO(2) combustion system is 95% as the feed gas is 30% O(2)/70% CO(2). The average concentration of CO(2) in the flue gas of O(2)/CO(2) coal combustion system is higher than 90% and much higher than that of O(2)/N(2) coal combustion system. This high concentration of CO(2) is beneficial for the separation of CO(2) from the flue gas by adsorption or absorption technologies. The maximum concentration of CO(2) in O(2)/N(2) combustion system is only 34% at the feed gas 50% O(2)/50% N(2), the concentration of CO(2) is increased with the concentration of O(2) in feed gas. By O(2)/CO(2) combustion technology, higher concentration of SO(2) is produced as the feed gas is 30% O(2)/70% CO(2) or 40% O(2)/60% CO(2), while higher concentration of NOx is produced as the feed gas is 20% O(2)/80% CO(2) or 50% O(2)/50% CO(2). The mass flow rates of CO(2), SO(2) and NOx in the flue gas are all increased with the ratio of recycled flue gas except for the feed gas 20% O(2)/80% CO(2). The enhanced mass flow rates of air pollutants in such O(2)/RFG combustion system are also beneficial for improving the control efficiencies of air pollution control devices. By O(2)/N(2) combustion technology, higher concentrations of SO(2) and NOx are produced as the feed gas is 21% O(2)/79% N(2). The results also indicate that the formation of NOx in general air combustion system is higher than that in O(2)/RFG or O(2)/CO(2) combustion system.

The Schottky diode behaviors of the TiWNx and the WNx Schottky contacts to n-GaN were investigated at different annealing temperatures. Both TiWNx and WNx films were deposited by the reactive DC sputtering method. The WNx/n-GaN contact exhibited excellent electrical characteristics even after rapid-thermal annealing up to 850°C for 10 s. The ideality factor and barrier height remained 1.09 and 0.80 eV, respectively, after 850°C annealing. However, the TiWNx/n-GaN contact was thermally stable only up to 650°C annealing; the values of the ideality factor and the barrier height were 1.14 and 0.76 eV, respectively, after 650°C annealing and started to degrade when annealed at higher temperatures. The deterioration of the TiWNx/n-GaN contact at higher temperatures was due to the inter-diffusion of the TiWN film and the GaN material.