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Background: As a first-echelon nodal drainage site of breast cancer, the status of axillary lymph nodes (ALN) and internal mammary lymph nodes (IMLN) is both valuable for regional staging and treatment choice. The internal mammary sentinel lymph node biopsy (IM-SLNB) may provide minimally invasive staging, and guide individual IMLN radiation. Modified technique (periareolar intraparenchymal, high volume and ultrasound guidance) got a high internal mammary sentinel lymph nodes (IM-SLN) visualization rate of 71.1% in single center, and the prospective multicenter study was designed to verify its repeatability (CBCSG026, NCT03541278). High visualization rate and low false negative rate are prerequisites for the widespread of IM-SLNB. The question arises as to whether IM-SLN detected with the modified technique should be considered as “true” IM-SLN. The prospective, multicenter, clinical validation study of IM-SLNB followed by internal mammary lymph node dissection (IM-LND) was designed to verify the accuracy of IM-SLNB in patients with ALN positive breast cancer (CBCSG027, NCT03024463). Methods: While CBCSG026 trial enrolled patients with both axillary negative and positive breast cancer, CBCSG027 trial only enrolled axillary positive patients receiving mastectomy (either biopsy proving cN+ disease or cN0 with positive axillary SLN). The 1st to 3rd intercostal IM-LND was performed immediately after IM-SLNB to verify its accuracy in the CBCSG027 trial. Result: From May 2018 to June 2022, 600 and 264 patients were enrolled in the CBCSG026 and CBCSG027 trial from seven centers in China, respectively. Among the 600 recruited patients in the CBCSG026, the IM-SLN visualization rate was 65.0% (390/600), which was significantly related to patient’s age, body mass index, radiotracer intensity and interval time between injection and IM-SLN identification (all P< 0.05). The IM-SLNB successful rate was 97.4% (380/390), and the complication was 6.9%. The median number of IM-SLN was 1. The overall IM-SLN metastases rate was 18.9% (72/380), with 33.0% (65/195) and 3.8% (7/185) in ALN positive and negative patients, respectively. Multivariate analysis showed that the tumor size (P=0.028), the tumor location (P< 0.001) and the number of positive ALNs (P< 0.001) were independent predictors of IM-SLN metastasis. Those variables were included in a novel nomogram (Table 1), which was significantly better than the probability based on the number of metastatic ALNs alone according to the current guidelines (area under the curve: 0.860 vs. 0.804, P< 0.001). Of the 264 patients enrolled in the CBCSG027 trial, 185 patients (70.1%) had IM-SLN visualization (included 107 with cN+ disease and 78 with positive axillary SLN). The median number of IM-SLN and IM-nSLN was 2 (1~4) and 3 (1~9), respectively. The positive rate of IMLN and IM-SLN was 37.8% (70/185) and 36.8% (68/185), respectively, yielding the false negative rate of IM-SLNB 2.9% (2/70), the accuracy of 98.9% (183/185) and the sensitivity of 97.1% (68/70). The false negative rate of patients with cN+ disease and patients with positive axillary SLN was 4.8% (2/42) and 0, respectively. The positive IM-SLNs were the only positive IMLNs identified in 51.4% (36/70) patients. IM-SLNB can change the pN stages of 37.2% (68/183) patients. IMLN irradiation could be avoided in 72.7% (80/110) patients with axillary pN1 and 46.7% (35/75) with pN2/N3 disease in the study. Conclusions: The modified technique of radiotracer injection (periareolar intraparenchymal, high volume, and ultrasound guidance) can significantly improve the detection rate of IM-SLN with very low false-negative rate with the prospective, multicenter validation results, providing minimally invasive staging and guiding individual IMLN radiation. When there is no IM-SLN visualization, the nomogram can predict the risk of IMLN metastasis and guide IMLN radiation. The nomogram which can predict the risk of IMLN metastasis The nomogram which can predict the risk of IMLN metastasis Citation Format: Yong-Sheng Wang, Qing Lu, Shi-Guang Zhu, Wen-He Zhao, Guang-Lun Yang, Yuan-Xi Huang, Hong Zhong, Xiao Sun, Pengfei Qiu. Prospective, multicenter, clinical validation study of the repeatability and accuracy of internal mammary sentinel lymph node biopsy with modified injection technique (CBCSG026/CBCSG027) [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2022 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2022 Dec 6-10; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2023;83(5 Suppl):Abstract nr P2-14-06.

Parasitoid wasps are invaluable agents in pest biological control. Early detection and identification of parasitoid immatures are vital in characterizing parasitoid–host interactions and for evaluating parasitism rates accurately in the field. Trichogramma is the most widely used parasitoid wasp, and several studies have been performed for its molecular identification. However, those studies were mainly focused on Trichogramma adults and rarely on immatures. Here, we report a method to detect and identify Trichogramma larvae in their host eggs. We designed a pair of Trichogramma-specific primers that amplified Trichogramma mtCOI sequences from Corcyra cephalonica (Stainton) eggs parasitized by any of eight Trichogramma species tested but not from nonparasitized eggs of four lepidopteran hosts. This PCR method reliably detected Trichogramma immatures in parasitized eggs as early as 1 h after parasitism. We further developed an RFLP (restriction fragment length polymorphism) assay using restriction enzymes SspI and VspI to differentiate eight Trichogramma species at their immature stage. Overall, we developed a sensitive and reliable PCR–RFLP method to detect and identify immature-stage Trichogramma in their lepidopteran hosts. This method shows promise for conveniently identifying Trichogramma in insectaries and accurately evaluating parasitism rates in the field.

The economy and zoonoses have recently been significantly threatened by aquatic diseases. Yet, our knowledge of the diversity and abundance of fish viruses is still limited.

The invention of axenic media for culturing Coxiella burnetii has greatly promoted studies on this fastidious bacterium. In this study, we report a methylcellulose-supplemented ACCM-2 medium that allows the enumeration of C. burnetii colonies after growing for up to 15 days. Colony forming units (CFUs) of C. burnetii from both axenic and cell cultures were measured in this methylcellulose medium at various time points (8, 12, and 15 days post-plating). Increasing CFU numbers were observed for both cultures at these time points. The ratios of genome equivalents to CFUs at 15 days post-plating and the ratios of CFUs at 15 days to 8 days post-plating were employed to evaluate the viability and vitality of C. burnetii, respectively. We discovered that C. burnetii from cell and axenic cultures exhibit similar viability (7.72 vs 7.11), but that cell culture-derived C. burnetii demonstrates greater vitality than axenic cultures (1.63 vs 5.2). This work sheds light on the normal viability but low vitality of ACCM-2-derived C. burnetii.

Aspirin and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are associated with a reduced risk of gastrointestinal malignancies, which is thought to be mediated mainly through the inhibition of cyclooxygenases-2 (COX-2). Due to the severe side effects of aspirin/NSAIDs, selective COX-2 inhibitors may be a more ideal choice. The objective is to evaluate the association of selective COX-2 inhibitors with gastrointestinal (GI) malignancies and premalignant lesions. We searched for published manuscripts evaluating the association between COX-2 inhibitors and GI malignancies or precancerous lesion. Two investigators independently abstracted the data; then, we conducted the analysis by Review Manager V.5.0; evaluation of effectiveness was performed by an intention to treat (ITT) method. Selective COX-2 inhibitors had no beneficial effects on the progression or regression of esophageal and gastric dysplasia (OR = 1.06, 95% CI 0.63–1.78, P = 0.83 for regression of esophageal dysplasia; OR = 1.06, 95% CI 0.58–1.91, P = 0.86 for progression of esophageal dysplasia; OR = 1.95, 95%CI 0.92–4.17, P = 0.08 for regression of gastric dysplasia; and OR = 0.99, 95%CI 0.68–1.43, P = 0.94 for progression of gastric dysplasia). There is no protective effect on colorectal cancer (OR = 0.89, 95% CI 0.77–1.03, P = 0.11), and the use could not improve the effect of chemoradiation (OR = 1.20, 95% CI 0.46–3.19, P = 0.71). This pooled analysis indicates no meaningful association between selective COX-2 inhibitors and GI malignancies.

AimsWood decomposition plays an important role in ecosystem soil fertility and nutrient cycling, but how different forms of nitrogen (N) affect these biogeochemical processes is still unclear. The effects of N deposition on wood decomposition have been widely studied, but the decomposition process and biotic driver response to different forms of N have rarely been studied.MethodsIn this study, we conducted a two-year field factorial fertilization experiment with different N forms in a subtropical Chinese forest. Glycine and urea were selected as organic N (ON), and ammonium nitrate was selected as inorganic N (IN). Six different ratios (control, 0:10, 3:7, 5:5, 7:3, 10:0) of IN:ON with equal N amounts were uniformly added to the studied wood.ResultsWe found that both forms of N deposition, i.e., ON and IN, accelerated the wood decomposition rates across the four studied species, and the magnitude of the increase was species specific. Mixed fertilizer with ON and IN resulted in the highest responses in the wood decomposition rate, which was 1.73- and 1.48-fold higher than that in the control and in response to IN addition alone across species. The ON + IN treatment resulted in the highest faunal and microbial community abundance of the decomposing wood.ConclusionIn summary, our results indicate that different forms of anthropogenic N enrichment can promote wood decomposition through the modification of microbial and faunal communities in the wood decomposition process. Our results show that future studies need to consider N forms and components when estimating exogenous N deposition effects on the woody material nutrient cycle and terrestrial ecosystem carbon cycles.

We introduce the new resonance of $V\rightarrow K^{+}K^{-}$ $(V=ϕ, ρ, ω)$, which produces some new strong phase associated with vector meson resonance and thus can cause relatively large CP asymmetry at the range of interferences. There are the resonances of $ϕ\rightarrow K^{+}K^{-}$, $ρ\rightarrow K^{+}K^{-}$ and $ω\rightarrow K^{+}K^{-}$ due to the mixing of vector mesons $ϕ$, $ρ$, $ω$. We calculate the CP asymmetry from the decay modes of $B \rightarrow KKπ(K)$. Meanwhile, the localised CP asymmetries are presented and some detailed analysis can be found. The CP asymmetry from the decay mode of ${B}^{-}\rightarrow ϕπ^{-}\rightarrow K^{+}K^{-}π^{-}$ is also presented in our framework which is well consisted with LHC experiment. The introduced CP asymmetry can provide a favorable theoretical support for the experimental exploration in the future.

Additional file 1: Additional figures and tables. Figure S1. Maximum Likelihood phylogenetic analysis of the Acanthocephala mitogenomic dataset based on nucleotide sequences of all 12 mitogenomic protein-coding genes. Numbers at nodes indicate SH-aLRT support, H. pseudobagri is highlighted using colour shading, and family, order and class-level identities are shown to the right in that order (left to right). Figure S2. Bayesian Inference phylogenetic analysis of the Acanthocephala mitogenomic dataset based on nucleotide sequences of all 12 mitogenomic protein-coding genes.Numbers at nodes indicate posterior probability support, H. pseudobagri is highlighted using colour shading, and family, order and class-level identities are shown to the right in that order (left to right). Figure S3. Maximum Likelihood phylogenetic analysis of the Acanthocephala mitogenomic dataset based on 1st and 2nd codon positions of nucleotide sequences of all 12 mitogenomic protein-coding genes.Numbers at nodes indicate SH-aLRT support, H. pseudobagri is highlighted using colour shading, and family, order and class-level identities are shown to the right in that order (left to right). Figure S4. The architecture of the mitogenome of H. pseudobagri. Figure S5. Gene orders of H. pseudobagri and the remaining available Acanthocephala mitogenomes.Species names are given with corresponding GenBank accession numbers. Family, order, and class-level taxonomic identities are shown to the right. NCR indicates an intergenic region >100 bp. Figure S6. The mitogenome of H. pseudobagri assembled using the transcriptome data. Figure S7. Acanthocephalan trnQ alignment. Figure S8. Acanthocephalan trnG (tRNA-Gly) alignment. Figure S9. Acanthocephalan trnY alignment. Figure S10. Acanthocephalan trnL1 alignment. Figure S11. Acanthocephalan trnD alignment. Figure S12. Acanthocephalan trnW alignment. Figure S13. The alternative folding of Heterosentis pseudobagri trnW inferred by ARWEN (trnS). Figure S14. Acanthocephalan trnV alignment. Figure S15. Acanthocephalan trnK alignment. Figure S16. Acanthocephalan trnE alignment. Figure S17. Acanthocephalan trnT alignment. FigureS18. Acanthocephalan trnS2 alignment. Figure S19. Acanthocephalan trnH alignment. Figure S20. Acanthocephalan trnL2 alignment. Figure S21. Acanthocephalan trnP alignment. Figure S22. Acanthocephalan trnI alignment. Figure S23. Acanthocephalan trnM alignment. Figure S24. Acanthocephalan trnF alignment. Figure S25. Acanthocephalan trnC alignment. Figure S26. Acanthocephalan trnA alignment. Figure S27. Acanthocephalan trnR alignment. Figure S28. Acanthocephalan trnN alignment. Figure S29. Acanthocephalan trnS1 alignment. Table S1. Primers used for the amplification and sequencing of the mitogenome of H. pseudobagri.

Additional file 1: Figure S1. mRNA expression of CD200 in different brain regions after exposure to CSDS. A Analysis of CD200 mRNA expression in the mPFC region of mice after CSDS. B Analysis of CD200 mRNA expression in the Hip region of mice after CSDS. C Analysis of CD200 mRNA expression in the DG region of mice after CSDS. D Analysis of CD200 mRNA expression in the CA1 region of mice after CSDS. E Analysis of CD200 mRNA expression in the CA3 region of mice after CSDS. Data are expressed as mean ± SEM. *P < 0.05; ***P < 0.001. Figure S2. Injection of CD200Fc into the lateral ventricle alleviates CSDS-induced depressive-like behavior. A Experimental timelines for CSDS procedure, CD200Fc administration and behavioral testing. B The social interaction ratio in the SIT of control and CSDS mice with exogenous CD200Fc injection. C, D The immobility time in the TSTand FSTof control and CSDS mice with exogenous CD200Fc injection. E The total distance in the OFT of control and CSDS mice with exogenous CD200Fc injection. Data are expressed as mean ± SEM. *P < 0.05; **P < 0.01; ***P < 0.001. Figure S3. Overexpression of CD200 in DG facilitates the expression of anti-inflammatory factors after CSDS. A Experimental timelines for CSDS procedure, AAV–CD200 stereotaxical injection and behavioral testing. B Analysis of mRNA levels of Arg-1, YM-1, IL-4, TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-1β after injection of AAV–CD200 virus to the DG region in susceptible mice. Data are expressed as mean ± SEM. *P < 0.05; **P < 0.01. Figure S4. CD200 increases the expression of BDNF in the DG brain region of susceptible mice. A Experimental timelines for CSDS procedure, CD200Fc administration and behavioral testing. B Representative immunostaining for BDNFin the DG of control and CSDS group after CD200Fc administration. Scale bars: 80 μm. C The fluorescence intensity of BDNF in the DG of control and CSDS group after CD200Fc administration. Data are expressed as mean ± SEM. *P < 0.05; ***P < 0.001. Figure S5. CD200Fc ameliorates adult hippocampal neurogenesis impairment in susceptible mice. A Experimental timelines for CSDS procedure, CD200Fc administration and behavioral testing. B Representative immunostaining for BrdU/DCX in the DG of control and CSDS group after CD200Fc administration. Scale bars: 40 μm. C, D Statistical graph for the number of BrdU+ and BrdU+ DCX+ cells in the DG of control and CSDS group after CD200Fc administration. Data are expressed as mean ± SEM. *P < 0.05; **P < 0.01; ***P < 0.001. Figure S6. Raw blot data for Fig. 1G, 3C and 4D. Table S1. Sequences of primers for qPCR. Table S2. Statistical analysis for each figure.

To provide theoretical guidelines for threshold value selection on the performance characteristics of an extension field, the flow characteristics in a vacuum-blowing cleaning system was simulated using the average velocity and pressure at the front inlet surface and the average velocity of the outlet surface as indices to evaluate the effects of the extension field’s structural parameters. We found that the extension field parameters have implications for the simulation calculations, and that each parameter has a corresponding threshold. If the structural parameter is greater than the corresponding threshold, the calculation result is not affected and the threshold values are analyzed using computational fluid dynamics. The dimensions of the front, back, left, and right extension fields were as follows: lf = lb = ll = lr = 210 mm, and θf = θb = θl = θr = 55°. The flow field distribution characteristics are not distinctly different, with or without the extension field corner. The extension field with a corner can be used if high accuracy is required; however, to reduce the need for grid computation and shorten the calculation time, the corner extension field model is not recommended. Finally, the simulation results were verified experimentally, and can be used to improve the accuracy of the calculations and reduce the required computational resources.

Pancreatic cancer (PC) is an aggressive human cancer. Appropriate methods for the diagnosis and treatment of PC have not been found at the genetic level, thus making epigenetics a promising research path in studies of PC. Histone methylation is one of the most complicated types of epigenetic modifications and has proved crucial in the development of PC. Histone methylation is a reversible process regulated by readers, writers, and erasers. Some writers and erasers can be recognized as potential biomarkers and candidate therapeutic targets in PC because of their unusual expression in PC cells compared with normal pancreatic cells. Based on the impact that writers have on the development of PC, some inhibitors of writers have been developed. However, few inhibitors of erasers have been developed and put to clinical use. Meanwhile, there is not enough research on the reader domains. Therefore, the study of erasers and readers is still a promising area. This review focuses on the regulatory mechanism of histone methylation, and the diagnosis and chemotherapy of PC based on it. The future of epigenetic modification in PC research is also discussed.

Background Classical swine fever (CSF), African swine fever (ASF), and atypical porcine pestivirus (APPV) are acute, virulent, and contagious viral diseases currently hampering the pig industry in China, which result in mummification or stillbirths in piglets and mortality in pigs. Diagnostic assays for the differentiation of infection and vaccination of CSFV, in addition to the detection of ASFV and APPV, are urgently required for better prevention, control, and elimination of these viral diseases in China. Methods A quadruple PCR-based gene microarray assay was developed in this study to simultaneously detect wild-type and vaccine CSFV strains, ASFV and APPV according to their conserved regions. Forty-two laboratory-confirmed samples, including positive samples of 10 other swine viral diseases, were tested using this assay to confirm its high specificity. Results This assay's limit of detections (LODs) for the wild-type and vaccine CSFV were 6.98 and 6.92 copies/µL. LODs for ASFV and APPV were 2.56 × 10 and 1.80 × 10 copies/µL, respectively. When compared with standard RT-PCR or qPCR for CSFV (GB/T 26875–2018), ASFV (MARR issue No.172), or APPV (CN108611442A) using 219 clinical samples, the coincidence was 100%. The results showed that this assay with high sensitivity could specifically distinguish ASFV, APPV, and CSFV, including CSFV infection and immunization. Conclusion This assay provides a practical, simple, economic, and reliable test for the rapid detection and accurate diagnosis of the three viruses and may have good prospects for application in an epidemiological investigation, prevention, and control and elimination of these three diseases.

To improve the prediction accuracy of heating demand, an appropriate base temperature should be estimated before using the heating degree-days (HDD) approach. This study collected the measured data for gas consumption at half-hourly resolution and the building physical characteristics from 89 educational buildings over four years. To determine the base temperature, in addition to the ambient temperature, more detailed independent variables, i.e. solar insolation, relative humidity, wind speed, and one-day ahead residual temperature, were incorporated into a three-parameter change-point multi-variable regression (3PH-MVR) for heating. The mean base temperature using the 3PH-MVR approach was about 0.4°C lower than the results from the 3PH method only. The relationships between base temperature and annual HDD (based on 15.5°C), building location, and mean daily solar insolation were evaluated. It is found that the annual HDD and the daily insolation had clear impacts on base temperature, while there was a plausible relationship between base temperature and building location. Compared with traditional approach, the proposed 3PH-MVR method considers multiple weather parameters and determines a more robust base temperature, thus improving the prediction accuracy of HDD with higher average R2 value at 0.86 than that of univariate regression (0.82).

Despite its substantial costs, sexual reproduction dominates in animals. One popular explanation for the paradox of sex is that asexual reproduction is more likely to accumulate deleterious mutations than sexual reproduction. To test this hypothesis, we compared the mitogenomes of two asexual wasp strains

In this study, an intelligent drug delivery system (DDS) based on implanted triboelectric nanogenerator (iTENG) and red blood cell (RBC) is established for

Ligustri Lucidi Fructus, the sun-dried mature fruit of Ligustrum lucidum, is cool, plain, sweet, and bitter, which can be used as both food and medicine, with the effects of improving vision, blacking hair, and tonifying liver and kidney. It takes effect slowly. However, little is known about the genetic information of the medicinal plant and it is still a challenge to distinguish Ligustrum species. In this study, the complete chloroplast genome of L. lucidum was obtained by genome skimming and then compared with that of five other Ligustrum species, which had been reported. This study aims to evaluate the interspecific variation of chloroplast genome within the genus and develop molecular markers for species identification of the genus. The result showed that the chloroplast genome of L. lucidum was 162 162 bp with a circular quadripartite structure of two single-copy regions separated by a pair of inverted repeats. The Ligustrum chloroplast genomes were conserved with small interspecific difference. Comparative analysis of six Ligustrum chloroplast genomes revealed three variable regions(rbcL-accD, ycf1a, and ycf1b), and ycf1a and ycf1b can be used as the species-specific DNA barcode for Ligustrum. Phylogeny analysis provided the best resolution of Ligustrum and supported that L. lucidum was sister to L. gracile. This study clarified the genetic diversity of L. lucidum from provenance, which can serve as a reference for further analysis of pharmacological differences and breeding of excellent varieties with stable drug effects.

Hypertensive patients account for about 16% to 37% of the global population, and about 9.4 million people die each year from hypertension and its complications. Blood pressure is an important indicator for diagnosing hypertension. Currently, blood pressure measurement methods are mainly based on mercury sphygmomanometers in hospitals or electronic sphygmomanometers at home. However, people’s blood pressure changes with time, and using only the blood pressure value at the current moment to judge hypertension may cause misdiagnosis. Continuous blood pressure measurement can monitor sudden increases in blood pressure, and can also provide physicians with long-term continuous blood pressure changes as a diagnostic reference. In this article, we design an artificial intelligence-enhanced blood pressure monitoring wristband. The wristband’s sensors are based on piezoelectric nanogenerators, with a high signal-to-noise ratio of 29.7 dB. Through the transformer deep learning model, the wristband can predict blood pressure readings, and the loss value is lower than 4 mmHg. By wearing this blood pressure monitoring wristband, we realized three days of continuous blood pressure monitoring of the subjects. The blood pressure monitoring wristband is lightweight, has profound significance for the prevention and treatment of hypertension, and has wide application prospects in medical, military, aerospace and other fields.

Virtual reality is a brand-new technology that can be applied extensively. To realize virtual reality, certain types of human-computer interaction equipment are necessary. Existing virtual reality technologies often rely on cameras, data gloves, game pads, and other equipment. These equipment are either bulky, inconvenient to carry and use, or expensive to popularize. Therefore, the development of a convenient and low-cost high-precision human-computer interaction device can contribute positively to the development of virtual reality technology. In this study, a gesture recognition wristband that can realize a full keyboard and multicommand input is developed. The wristband is convenient to wear, low in cost, and does not affect other daily operations of the hand. This wristband is based on physiological anatomy as well as aided by active sensor and machine learning technology; it can achieve a maximum accuracy of 92.6% in recognizing 26 letters. This wristband offers broad application prospects in the fields of gesture command recognition, assistive devices for the disabled, and wearable electronics.

The objective of this experiment was to evaluate the effects of Triton X-100 (1000 mg kg−1) and nano-SiO2 (500 mg kg−1) on Erigeron annuus (L.) Pers. grown in phenanthrene spiked soil (150 mg kg−1) for 60 days. Results show that untreated groups, groups treated with both Triton X-100 and nano-SiO2, exhibited better phenanthrene degradation rates and improved root biomasses, chlorophyll contents, and soil enzyme activities. This study demonstrates that Triton X-100 combined with nano-SiO2 protects plants, alleviating the stress of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and can provide a means for improving phytoremediation of PAH contaminated soils.

Anxiety is often mentioned in people’s daily life, especially in the field of medicine and psychology. For nursing, a clear understanding of anxiety is conducive to clinical nursing practice and research. Under the guidance of the Walker and Avant method, this article conducts a concept analysis of anxiety that provides a comprehensive and rounded analysis of anxiety and helps nurses gain a better understanding of anxiety.

The gut virome is a reservoir of diverse symbiotic and pathogenic viruses coevolving with their hosts, and yet limited research has explored the gut viromes of highland-dwelling rare species. Using viral metagenomic analysis, the viral communities of the Phrynocephalus lizards living in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau were investigated. Phage-encoded functional genes and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) were analyzed. The viral communities of different lizard species were all predominated by bacteriophages, especially the

The Phrynocephalus lizards inhabiting the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP) are considered to be the highest-altitude lizard species in the world, and they have been added to the IUCN list of threatened species. Living in the QTP with hypoxic, arid, natural conditions, the lizards presented a unique pattern of gut virome, which could provide both positive and negative effects, such as the enrichment of functional genes and the dissemination of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs).

Purpose This study aims to examine the key components to facilitate flexible work arrangement (FWA) and the issues and challenges arisen in preparing the workplace for FWA during Covid-19, and to recommend better approach of FWA implementation in workplace. Design/methodology/approach This study adopted extensive literature review and case studies approach using interviews and observations to determine the key components to facilitate FWA and the issues and challenges arisen in preparing the workplace for FWA during Covid-19, and to recommend better approach of FWA implementation in workplace. Three offices that owning FWA experience during Covid-19 and featuring flexible workspace concepts, elements and layouts in Klang Valley, Malaysia were chosen as case studies. Findings Findings have suggested that there are four components required to form flexible workspace for FWA adoption, such as open plan workspace design, task-oriented space, hot desking policy and IT infrastructure. Interestingly, the interview findings do not support the idea that the flexible furniture can facilitate FWA; instead, they believe that versatile, acoustical and aesthetical furniture may be installed when necessary. Among the issues and challenges faced were rearranging and designing open office plan layout, hot desk relocation and reconfiguration of spaces where people may congregate. Lastly, this research recommends that innovative planning software and tools, smart technology and apps, modern IT technology and infrastructure, and digital apps can be introduced to the workplace to help FM manage and monitor the facilities operations, workplace situations and occupancy rates. Originality/value Since the outbreak of Covid-19, FWA such as “Work From Home” and remote working have become the mainstream in the workplace, affecting how the workplace looks and feels as flexible working is fundamentally related to the flexible workspace. From Facilities Management (FM) perspective, FWA is the biggest consequence of Covid-19, but it also presents opportunities and certain challenges to incorporate a new office environment and employees’ needs in terms of FWA into the corporate culture.

Aerodynamics plays an important role in aviation industry and aircraft design. Detecting and minimizing the phenomenon of flow separation from scattered pressure data on airfoil is critical for ensuring stable and efficient aviation. However, since it is challenging to understand the mechanics of flow field separation, the aerodynamic parameters are emphasized for the identification and control of flow separation. It has been investigated extensively using traditional algorithms and machine learning methods such as the support vector machine (SVM) models. Recently, a growing interest in quantum computing and its applications among wide research communities sheds light upon the use of quantum techniques to solve aerodynamic problems. In this paper, we apply qSVM, a quantum SVM algorithm based on the quantum annealing model, to identify whether there is flow separation, with their performance in comparison to the widely-used classical SVM. We show that our approach outperforms the classical SVM with an 11.1% increase of the accuracy, from 0.818 to 0.909, for this binary classification task. We further develop multi-class qSVMs based on one-against-all algorithm. We apply it to classify multiple types of the attack angles to the wings, where the advantage over the classical multi-class counterpart is maintained with an accuracy increased from 0.67 to 0.79, by 17.9%. Our work demonstrates a useful quantum technique for classifying flow separation scenarios, and may promote rich investigations for quantum computing applications in fluid dynamics., Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures, 3 supplementary figures

Additional file 1: Table S1. Primers used for the amplification and sequencing of the mitogenome of M. dakusuiensis. Table S2. The architecture of the mitogenome of M. dakusuiensis. Text S1. Evolutionary models and partitions. Figure S1. The NUC—ML phylogeny of Palaeacanthocephala. Figure S2. The AAs—ML phylogeny of Palaeacanthocephala. Text S2. BI and CAT-GTR analyses run parameters.

Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) is an acute life-threatening disease usually treated with therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE), but some patients are refractory to TPE. The study aimed to compare lymphoplasmapheresis (LPE), an innovative treatment for TTP based on plasma exchange, with TPE in TTP treatment. This retrospective study included patients with TTP treated at Xiang-Ya Hospital in China during 2009-2018. All patients with microangiopathic hemolysis and thrombocytopenia who received either LPE or TPE were included. The treatment outcomes were the number of sessions, volume of plasma, time in hospital, hospital costs, and rates of remission and relapse. All patients attended the hospital for follow-up. Forty-five patients were included in the study; 18 received TPE and 27 LPE. There were no significant differences in sex, etiology of TTP, initial platelet count, schistocyte, LDH, and bilirubin between the two groups. At the time of discharge, patients treated with TPE required more treatment sessions (4.5 vs. 2, P=0.04) and higher plasma volume (7300 vs. 3100 ml, P=0.01) than patients treated with LPE. The proportions of remission (P=0.197) and relapse (P=0.257) were not significantly different between the two groups. The time to remission from admission (P=0.75) and the time to remission from first therapy (P=0.53) were also not significantly different between the two groups. Compared with TPE, LPE reduced the number of treatment sessions and plasma volume needed to treat TTP. Therefore, we propose that LPE might be a suitable treatment for TTP.

Wireless wearable sweat analysis devices can monitor biomarkers at the molecular level continuously and in situ, which is highly desired for personalized health care. The miniaturization, integration, and wireless operation of sweat sensors improve the comfort and convenience while also bringing forward new challenges for power supply technology. Herein, a wireless self-powered wearable sweat analysis system (SWSAS) is designed that effectively converts the mechanical energy of human motion into electricity through hybrid nanogenerator modules (HNGMs). The HNGM shows stable output characteristics at low frequency with a current of 15 mA and a voltage of 60 V. Through real-time on-body sweat analysis powered by HNGM, the SWSAS is demonstrated to selectively monitor biomarkers (Na

Eight pentacyclic triterpenoids including two new ones (1, 2) were isolated from the fruits of Xanthium strumarium. Their structures were elucidated by extensive spectroscopic analysis. All isolates were evaluated for in vitro cytotoxic activity on HepG2, A549, HCT116 and SW480 cancer cells. Among them, the new compound 2 was found to exhibit significant cytotoxic activity on A549, HCT116 and SW480 cancer cells with IC

With the popularization of intelligent mobile terminals, the emerging high-speed data exchange services make MIMO become an important development direction, which poses new challenges to the planning and optimization of communication networks. In order to support the design and optimization of future MIMO communication system suitable for complex indoor environment, the deterministic channel model based on ray tracing method is used to calculate the impulse response of the receiving antenna of MIMO system, which provides a reliable support for the channel capacity estimation in this scenario. The simulation results show that the channel capacity of the MIMO system increases with the increase of the antenna density, the antenna array aperture and the SNR, or decreases with the decrease of the spatial correlation between multipaths.

Objective. To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of Chinese patent medicine for mild-to-moderate active ulcerative colitis (UC) using network meta-analysis (NMA). Methods. We systematically searched PubMed, Cochrane library, Embase, Sino-Med, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang, and Chinese Scientific Journal Database (VIP) databases to October, 2020. We included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on Chinese patent medicine for mild-to-moderate active UC. The main analysis was complemented by network subanalyses and standard pairwise comparisons. Statistical heterogeneity, inconsistencies, and ranking probability were also evaluated. Results. The databases search identified 3222 citations, of which 33 RCTs involving 2971 patients met the inclusion criteria. A total of 15 Chinese patent medicines were analyzed. The overall quality of the included studies was low. Pairwise meta-analysis showed that Chinese patent medicine was superior to Mesalazine in improving disappearances of clinical symptoms, recurrence rate, and Mayo score. Based on decreases in adverse events, results from NMA showed that Xilei powder plus Mesalazine was more effective than other drugs. Other NMA results indicated that Danshen freeze-dried powder plus Mesalazine (RR: 0.13; 95% CI, 0.02–0.78) and Kangfuxin lotion plus Mesalazine (RR: 0.24; 95% CI, 0.07–0.57) were superior to Mesalazine in decreasing recurrence rate. Another NMA result indicated that Kangfuxin lotion plus Mesalazine (RR: 0.00; 95% CI, 0.00–0.02) and Zhi Kang capsule plus Mesalazine (RR: 0.00; 95% CI, 0.00–0.02) were superior to Mesalazine in increasing the disappearance of tenesmus. Conclusion. In the probability sorting, Xilei powder combined with Mesalazine ranked first for having the fewest adverse events, Maintaining Intestines Antidiarrheal Pills combined with Mesalazine ranked first for having the lowest recurrence rate, Xilei powder combined with Mesalazine ranked first for improving disappearance rate of mucopurulent bloody stool/abdominal pain, and Kangfuxin lotion combined with Mesalazine ranked first for improving the disappearance rate of diarrhea/tenesmus. However, there is a lack of direct comparisons among Chinese patent medicines for UC. More multiarm RCTs are needed in the future to provide direct comparative evidence.

A novel six-step synthesis of 7,8-difluoro-6,11-dihydrodibenzo[b,e]thiepin-11-ol (1) is described. Starting with 3,4-difloro-2-methylbenzoic acid and using diphenyl disulfide as an ideal sulfur sou...

Context Static bug detection techniques are commonly used to automatically detect software bugs. The biggest obstacle to the wider adoption of static bug detection tools is false positives, i.e., reported bugs that developers do not have to act on. Objective The objective of this study is to reduce false positives resulting from static bug detection tools and to detect new bugs by exploring the effectiveness of a feedback-based bug detection rule design. Method We explored a large number of software projects and applied an iterative feedback-based process to design bug detection rules. The outcome of the process is a set of ten bug detection rules, which we used to build a feedback-based bug finder, FeeFin . Specifically, we manually examined 1622 patches to identify bugs and fix patterns, and implement bug detection rules. Then, we refined the rules by repeatedly using feedback from a large number of software projects. Results We applied FeeFin to the latest versions of the 1880 projects on GitHub to detect previously unknown bugs. FeeFin detected 98 new bugs, 63 of which have been reviewed by developers: 57 were confirmed as true bugs, and 9 were confirmed as false positives. In addition, we investigated the benefits of our FeeFin process in terms of new and improved bug patterns. We verified our bug patterns with four existing tools, namely PMD, FindBugs, Facebook Infer, and Google Error Prone, and found that our FeeFin process has the potential to identify new bug patterns and also to improve existing bug patterns. Conclusion Based on the results, we suggest that static bug detection tool designers identify new bug patterns by mining real-world patches from a large number of software projects. In addition, the FeeFin process is helpful in mitigating false positives generated from existing tools by refining their bug detection rules.