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Background: Hepatic fibrosis is a common pathological process in the process of various liver injury and repair. It can develop into advanced cirrhosis or even liver cancer under the stimulation of various factors. Early diagnosis and intervention can significantly improve liver function and even reverse the histopathological process. Accurate non-invasive identification and staging of early liver fibrosis has become the research goal of many scholars. Objective: This study aimed to propose a model training method and system for liver fibrosis lesion detection based on CNN-Former. Study design: We first collect the clinical patient data and introduce the setup and data preprocessing of the experimental data, then introduce the experimental process of the feature engineering , the ablation experiment conducted and the evaluation index . Finally, compared this method with traditional method . Results: By modeling the physiological and biochemical characteristics of patients with liver fibrosis, the pre-detection of liver fibrosis is carried out with high efficiency, high quality and high standard, providing a solution for existing research to rely on image information. In addition, on the basis of the existing CNN-form model, multi-CNN-form adds a multi-task mechanism to enable the model to predict liver fibrosis and related complications at the same time, providing a solution to the problem that traditional models focus on specific diseases and poor transplantation. Also, the accuracy, recall, AUC value, F1 value and other evaluation indexes of the model were calculated based on the test set and confusion matrix to compare the effects of various models in predicting liver fibrosis pre-detection. Finally, the effectiveness of this method compared with the traditional method is demonstrated from many angles. This makes it more suitable in practical application scenarios. Conclusions: This paper mainly introduces a liver fibrosis pre-detection method based on deep learning, that is, the liver fibrosis pre-detection method based on CNN-former, which provides a solution for the existing research to rely on imaging information. In addition, the pre-detection method of liver fibrosis based on multi-CNN-former provides a solution to the problem of focusing on specific diseases and poor transplantation of traditional models.

Hepatitis E virus (HEV), a fecal-orally transmitted foodborne viral pathogen, causes acute hepatitis in humans and is responsible for hepatitis E outbreaks worldwide. Since the identification of HEV as a zoonotic agent, this virus has been isolated from a variety of hosts with an ever-expanding host range. HEV-open reading frame (ORF) 3, the smallest ORF in HEV genomes, initially had been perceived as an unremarkable HEV accessory protein. However, as novel HEV-ORF3 function has been discovered that is related to the existence of a putative third virion structural form, referred to as "quasi-enveloped" HEV particles, HEV is challenging the conventional virion structure-based classification scheme, which assigns all viruses to two groups, "enveloped" or "non-enveloped". In this review, we systematically describe recent progress that has identified multiple pathogenic roles of HEV-ORF3, including roles in HEV virion release, biogenesis of quasi-enveloped virus, regulation of the host innate immune response, and interference with host signaling pathways. In addition, implications of HEV-ORF3-associated quasi-enveloped virions are discussed to guide future development of improved vaccines against zoonotic HEV infection.

This study examines the ~ 200-km-long northwestern Xianshuihe fault zone (NWXFZ), southwestern China, using more than three decades of geodetic observations from fault-crossing short-baseline and short-leveling surveys at seven sites. These data enable estimates of creep rates and depths, and examination of the long-term slip behavior. The surface motion of the NWXFZ is dominated by sinistral creep, although sinistral, transverse, and vertical slip components show spatio-temporal variations. Combining these slip variations with data of earthquake rupture, coseismic slip, seismicity, fault geometry, and far-fault movement velocity, and using the velocity-and-state friction theory, our analysis indicates that the surface slip behavior of the NWXFZ is segmented along strike. The 1973 rupture section of this fault zone exhibits spatio-temporally variable slip behavior, showing time-decaying post-1973 afterslip on the northwestern and southeastern parts of the rupture at depths above 5.8 − 7.0 km with average sinistral-creep rates of 1.3 and 3.5 mm/yr, respectively, but being relocked in the central part of the rupture. The 1923/1981 rupture section is generally in locking state, with postseismic and interseismic sinistral-creep at 1.1 mm/yr on its central part at depths above 2.0–2.8 km. The 1893 rupture section has been tightly locked without creep since at least the early 1980s. The thickness of the shallow velocity-strengthening (or creep) layer and the restraining bend geometry of the NWXFZ are the key factors that control spatio-temporal variations in surface creep rates. Two surface-observed locked fault portions are located within two different restraining bends in the NWXFZ, both of which act as compressive asperities and hence have enabled the long-term locking of these portions. Creep along the NWXFZ has also been affected to varying degrees by M6.5 − Mw9.2 earthquakes at distances of 50 − 3800 km from the fault zone. Most of these effects have been removed from our estimates of the long-term average creep rates.

Understanding the genetic changes underlying phenotypic variation in sheep (Ovis aries) may facilitate our efforts towards further improvement. Here, we report the deep resequencing of 248 sheep including the wild ancestor (O. orientalis), landraces, and improved breeds. We explored the sheep variome and selection signatures. We detected genomic regions harboring genes associated with distinct morphological and agronomic traits, which may be past and potential future targets of domestication, breeding, and selection. Furthermore, we found non-synonymous mutations in a set of plausible candidate genes and significant differences in their allele frequency distributions across breeds. We identified PDGFD as a likely causal gene for fat deposition in the tails of sheep through transcriptome, RT-PCR, qPCR, and Western blot analyses. Our results provide insights into the demographic history of sheep and a valuable genomic resource for future genetic studies and improved genome-assisted breeding of sheep and other domestic animals., Genetic resources for livestock are valuable for understanding their demography and past selection, and may inform future breeding programs and agricultural improvement. Here, the authors present deep resequencing of 248 wild and domestic sheep, with associated data and analysis.

The aim of this research was to investigate the changes in reproductive hormone receptor expressions of the ovary and hormone concentrations between oestrous cycle pattern of two different sheep breeds in China. Ovarian tissues were collected from Chinese Merino (Junken type) and Hu sheep with different reproductive states in spring and autumn. Serum samples were assayed for oestrogen (E2), progesterone (P), luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) concentrations by radioimmunoassay during spring. The ovarian expression of hormone receptors (ERα, ERβ, PR, LHR and FSHR) was analysed using real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). In Chinese Merino, there was no corpora lutea and ovulation point on the surfaces of ovaries in spring and low basal levels of both LH and P in serum. ERα, ERβ and FSHR were expressed significantly higher in Merino ovaries during anoestrus compared with oestrous or luteal phases of Hu sheep (p < 0.05 or p < 0.01). However, both varieties of sheep exhibited a similar tendency to secrete E2 and FSH. Compared with Hu sheep, FSH levels were slightly higher in Merino serum. In Hu sheep, ERα, ERβ, FSHR, LHR and PR expressed in luteal phase ovaries during spring were significantly lower (p < 0.05, p < 0.01 or p < 0.001) than autumn. Interestingly, LHR and PR expressed in anoestrous ovaries were similar to that in oestrous phase of both sheep breeds. The above results suggest that seasonal reproductive sheep increased the expression of E2 and FSH receptors in ovary during spring may enhance the effects of E2 and FSH on follicular development. It is likely that this enhancement prevents the ovary from progressing to the luteal phase.

The aim has been to set up a rapid and accurate microarray assay using sandwich mode for sex determination of bovine preimplantation embryos. Twelve sequence-specific oligonucleotide capture probes used to discriminate 12 samples were spotted onto the aldehyde-modified glass slides by Arrayer. The 2 recognition probes used to identify coding regions of the sex-determining region of the Y chromosome gene (SRY) and β-casein (CSN2) reference gene were coupled with biotin. The assay was optimized by using genomic DNA extracted from blood samples of known sex individuals. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to amplify the fragments in the HMG box region of SRY gene and CSN2 gene with sequence-specific primers. The sex of samples was identified by detecting both the SRY and CSN2 genes simultaneously in 2 reaction cells of microarrays, with the male having SRY and CSN2 signals and the female only CSN2. The sex of 20 bovine preimplantation embryos was determined by oligonucleotide microarray. The protocol was run with a blind test that showed a 100% (82/82) specificity and accuracy in sexing of leukocytes. The bovine embryos were transferred into 20 bovine recipients, with a pregnant rate of 40% (8/20). Three calves were born at term, and 5 fetuses were miscarried. Their sexes were fully in accordance with the embryonic sex predetermination predicted by oligonucleotide microarray. This suggests that the oligonucleotide microarray method of SRY gene analysis can be used in early sex prediction of bovine embryos in breeding programs.

Integrin linked kinase (ILK) is a scaffold protein, which plays important roles in hair follicle development. The cDNA sequence of novel ILK gene in sheep was cloned by PCR method and analyzed by bioinformatics. Tissue expression profiling in eight tissues and temporal profiling at different wool follicle anagen stages in skin was analyzed. The results showed that the whole open reading frame (ORF) of ILK gene was 1 359 bp in length, which encoded 452 amino acids. Bioinformatic analysis indicated that the secondary structure of ILK gene was mainly made up of three ankyrin repeats and a kinase domain, and there were multiple phosphorylation and Protein Kinase C sites in this gene. The RT-PCR result confirmed that ILK mRNA was expressed in heart, liver, spleen, lung, skeletal muscle, skin, and small intestine, and the expression level was much higher in skin, spleen, and liver than others. The q-PCR analysis demonstrated that the ex-pression level of ILK was significantly increased from March to May (early follicle anagen initiation) in both sheep breeds, Chinese Merino and Kazakh sheep, and there were certain differences from June to October between the two breeds. The above results indicated that ILK gene may play key roles in regulating secondary follicle growth.

The effect of melamine content in melamine modified urea formaldehyde (MUF) resin on durable properties of plywood was investigated using ammonium chloride (NH4Cl) with different melamine/urea (M/U) ratios. The plywood specimens were exposed to laboratory accelerated aging and/or cyclic soak-dry (SD). The experiment results indicated that the melamine contents in MUF resin showed an unobservable effect on the durable properties of MUF resin bonded plywood. The mechanical properties of plywood decreased more severely after accelerated aging test in acidic condition. However, the influence of different curing catalyst contents on mechanical properties and formaldehyde emission of UF resin can be minimized by adding melamine to the resin.

To investigate the protective effects of natakalim against rat aortic vascular endothelial cells (RAVECs) injuries induced by hypoxia and its mechanisms.Selecting RAVECs as a cell model injured by hypoxia, these RAVECs were divided into 5 groups: i.e. control group, hypoxia group, natakalim low, medium and high group. The cell survival rate was determined by MTT assay, con was measured using Griess Assay, RT-PCR was used to examine t he expression of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), endothelin-1 (ET-1) mRNA in RAVEC.Natakalim could reverse hypoxia-induced changes in endothelial cell function, including increased endothelial cell survival rate and level of NO concentration, significantly inhibited the hypoxia-induced endothelial ICAM-1, ET-1, VEGF mRNA expression levels increased.Natakalim have protective effects on hypoxia-induced changes in endothelial cell function, increasing of permeation, excess expression of cell adhesion molecules.

A novel strain of thermophilic bacteria with a highly efficient sludge dissolution performance was isolated from garden soil at 65 degrees C in this study. The colony morphology, physiological and biochemical characteristics of the strain were investigated. The results showed that the strain was Gram-positive, small rod-shaped, sporulating and secreted extracellular enzymes (protease and amylase). The 16S rDNA analysis demonstrated that this strain had not been previously reported. Therefore, it was labelled Bacillus thermophilic bacteria AT07-1 (registration number: FJ231108). To evaluate its capability for excess sludge solubilization, a pure culture of the strain was used in sludge solubilization tests; an enhanced solubilization process was subsequently obtained. After 36 h digestion, the protease activity in the inoculated system reached 0.37 U/ml, an increase of 0.16 U/ml compared with the non-inoculated system (0.21 U/ml). The solubilization rate for volatile suspended solids reached 46.45% in 48 h after inoculation with Bacillus thermophilic bacteria AT07-1, which was 10.24% higher than the non-inoculated system, and which could meet the standard of sludge stability suggested by the US Environmental Protection Agency.

Integrin linked kinase (ILK) is a scaffold protein, which plays important roles in hair follicle development. The cDNA sequence of novel ILK gene in sheep was cloned by PCR method and analyzed by bioinformatics. Tissue expression profiling in eight tissues and temporal profiling at different wool follicle anagen stages in skin was analyzed. The results showed that the whole open reading frame (ORF) of ILK gene was 1 359 bp in length, which encoded 452 amino acids. Bioinformatic analysis indicated that the secondary structure of ILK gene was mainly made up of three ankyrin repeats and a kinase domain, and there were multiple phosphorylation and Protein Kinase C sites in this gene. The RT-PCR result confirmed that ILK mRNA was expressed in heart, liver, spleen, lung, skeletal muscle, skin, and small intestine, and the expression level was much higher in skin, spleen, and liver than others. The q-PCR analysis demonstrated that the ex-pression level of ILK was significantly increased from March to May (early follicle anagen initiation) in both sheep breeds, Chinese Merino and Kazakh sheep, and there were certain differences from June to October between the two breeds. The above results indicated that ILK gene may play key roles in regulating secondary follicle growth.

To study the magnitude and correlation of humoral and cellular immune responses to hepatitis surface antigen(HBsAg), preS1+S2 antigen, and core antigen(HBcAg) in the blood donors.Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was employed to scan the humoral immune responses to HBsAg, preS1+S2 antigen, and HBcAg. Enzyme linked immunospot assay (ELISPOT) was used to check the antigen specific IFN-γ secreting cells stimulated by HBsAg, preS1+S2 antigen or HBcAg in peripheral blood mononuclear cell from blood donors.The prevalence of humoral immune response to preS1+S2 antigen was as high as 85.7% (48/56), compared with the lower response to HBcAg (30.4%, 17/56). In the cellular immune response, there was no difference between preS1+S2 antigen and HBcAg, both of which were stronger than the response stimulated by HBsAg. PreS1+S2 antigen or HBsAg specific humoral immune and cellular immune responses were highly correlated, which could not be observed in the HBcAg specific humoral immune and cellular immune responses(P0.05).Either humoral or cellular immune responses to HBsAg, preS1+S2 antigen and HBcAg could be detected in the blood donors. PreS1+S2 antigen immune responses, however, were most powerful, which may suggest that PreS1+S2 antigen may be a candidate for the further HBV vaccine.

To expand HBV special interferon-γ secreting human T lymphocytes in vitro and sustain the ability to recognize special T cell epitodes of HBcAg.After stimulated by peptide 22 hours, feeded with autologous peripheral blood mononuclear cells ( PBMCs) deproliferated by mitomycin C and low concentration of IL-2 to expand in vitro for other 4 weeks. Then cells were collected and tested by flow cells assay every week. The ability of these cells to recognize special epitodes was tested by enzyme linked immunospot assay in which autologous lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCLs) produced from PBMC was transfected by epstein-barr virus pulsed with peptides and used as target cell.HBV special interferon-secreting human T lymphocytes were selected and expanded more than 1000 times in vitro. The ability of the T cells to recognize special epitodes is as same as unexpanded cells and the proportion of CD4 and CD8 positive cells likely remained native state.HBV special interferon-γ secreting T lymphocytes are effectively expanded in vitro and keep the ability to recognize stringently special T cell epotides.

A single-chamber and membrane-less microbial fuel cells were successfully started up using anaerobic sludge as inoculums without any chemical substance for 20 d. The electricity generation of the microbial fuel cell using surplus sludge as fuel and the change of substrate were investigated. The results showed that the obtained maximum voltage and power density were 495 mV and 44 mW x m(-2) (fixed 1,000 Omega), and the internal resistance was about 300 Omega during steady state. In a cycle, the removal efficiency of SS and VSS were 27.3% and 28.7%, pH was 6.5-8.0. In addition, the COD increased from 617 mg x L(-1) to 1,150 mg x L(-1) and decreased afterwards with time. The change of glucose was similar to that of COD, glucose increased from 47 mg x L(-1) to 60 mg x L(-1) and decreased afterwards with time. Consequently, the microbial fuel cell can transform chemical energy of surplus sludge into the cleanest electrical energy, and it provides a new way of sludge recycling.

In this study, PCR-SSCP analysis was used to identify genetic variation in IGFBP-3 gene in Chinese Merino and Kazakh sheep. A PCR product of 178 bp corresponding to partial intron1 illustrated three unique binding patterns by SSCP analysis. Frequencies of the genotype AA, AB, BB and allele A, B in Chinese Merino sheep were 0.70, 0.24, 0.06, and 0.82, 0.18 respectively , and they were 0.87, 0.13, 0.00, and 0.93, 0.07 respectively in Kazaka sheep. Sequence analysis revealed a G/T transversion at position 122 of the fragment. This polymorphic locus of IGFBP-3 gene was at Hardy-Weinberg dis-equilibrium (P0.01) in the two breeds. Different genotypes slightly affected several wool traits of Chinese Merino sheep. The individuals of genotype AA, AB, and BB had no significant difference in post-shearing weight and clean wool rate. Sta-ple length (SL) was decreased with the genotype of AA, AB, and BB, and the difference between AA and AB was significant (P0.01). Greasy fleece weight (GFW) and follicle density in individuals of genotype AA was significantly lower than that in individuals of genotype AB (P0.01) and BB (P0.05); Average fiber diameter (AFD) in individuals of genotype AA was significantly higher than that in individuals of genotype AB (P0.01) and BB (P0.05).

Batch tests of anaerobic fermentative hydrogen production by Pseudomonas sp. GL1 were investigated using sterilization, microwave and ultrasonication pretreated sludge as substrate. The profiles of soluble COD, protein, carbohydrate and pH value during the fermentation process were monitored. The results showed that only hydrogen and carbon dioxide were produced and methane was not observed during the process. A maximal hydrogen yield (30.07 mL x g(-1)) and bio-hydrogen content (81.45%) were obtained from the sterilization pretreated sludge run. The shortest lag time for hydrogen production was in ultrasonication pretreated sludge run (3 h), while the longest one was in sterilization pretreated sludge run (15 h), and the medial one was in microwave pretreated sludge run (12 h). It was found that the changes of sludge substrates (soluble COD, protein, carbohydrate and pH value) were various with different pretreated sludge during the fermentation process, especially in the sterilization sludge run, which implied that the pretreatment method could affect substrate utilization by Pseudomonas sp. GL1.

Domestic sheep and their wild relatives harbor substantial genetic variants that can form the backbone of molecular breeding, but their genome landscapes remain understudied. Here, we present a comprehensive genome resource for wild ovine species, landraces and improved breeds of domestic sheep, comprising high-coverage (∼16.10×) whole genomes of 810 samples from 7 wild species and 158 diverse domestic populations. We detected, in total, ∼121.2 million single nucleotide polymorphisms, ∼61 million of which are novel. Some display significant (P < 0.001) differences in frequency between wild and domestic species, or are private to continent-wide or individual sheep populations. Retained or introgressed wild gene variants in domestic populations have contributed to local adaptation, such as the variation in the HBB associated with plateau adaptation. We identified novel and previously reported targets of selection on morphological and agronomic traits such as stature, horn, tail configuration, and wool fineness. We explored the genetic basis of wool fineness and unveiled a novel mutation (chr25: T7,068,586C) in the 3′-UTR of IRF2BP2 as plausible causal variant for fleece fiber diameter. We reconstructed prehistorical migrations from the Near Eastern domestication center to South-and-Southeast Asia and found two main waves of migrations across the Eurasian Steppe and the Iranian Plateau in the Early and Late Bronze Ages. Our findings refine our understanding of genome variation as shaped by continental migrations, introgression, adaptation, and selection of sheep., This study was financially supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 32061133010, 31825024, 31661143014, and 31972527), the National Key Research and Development Program-Key Projects of International Innovation Cooperation between Governments (2017YFE0117900), the External Cooperation Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences (152111KYSB20150010), and the Second Tibetan Plateau Scientific Expedition and Research Program (STEP) (No. 2019QZKK0501), and the Special Funds of the State Key Laboratory of Sheep Genetic Improvement and Healthy Production (Nos. 2018CA001, and 2019CA009, 2020CA001).