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In this study, we explored the mechanism underlying Aspergillus flavus conidia germination inhibited by decreased water activity. The impact of low water activity was analyzed at 4 h, 8 h and 12 h. Additionally, we demonstrated that low water activity affected cell shape and decreased cell sizes. Transcriptomics found numerous differentially expressed genes (DEGs) during the first 12 h of germination, with 654 DEGs observed among 4 h, 8 h and 12 h. Especially, more DEGs were detected at 8 h of germinating. Therefore, proteomics was performed at 8 h, and 209 differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) were speculated, with 94 up-regulated and 115 down-regulated. Combined analysis of KEGG of transcriptomics and proteomics demonstrated that the dominant pathways were nutrient metabolism and translation. We also found several DEGs and DEPs in Mitogen Activated Protein Kinase (MAPK) pathway. Therefore, we concluded that low water activity inhibited conidia germination, caused unregular morphology. Also, low water activity influenced expression of creA, TreB in carbohydrate metabolism, Clr4, RmtA in amino acid metabolism and RPL37, RPL3 in translation in Aspergillus flavus.

A simple polymer derivation method was applied in this paper to prepare a series of SiCN (MWCNTs) composite ceramics by adjusting the mass ratio of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). The percolation threshold of the corresponding MWCNTs addition amount when SiCN(MWCNTs) composite ceramics exhibit the optimal electromagnetic wave (EWM) absorption performance was studied, the effect of different addition amounts of MWCNTs on reflection loss (RL), effective absorption bandwidth (EAB), electromagnetic parameters, impedance matching parameters (Z) and attenuation coefficient (α) of composite ceramics was analyzed, and the EMW absorption mechanism of the corresponding composite ceramics when MWCNTs addition amount fix at percolation threshold was discussed. The results showed that composite ceramics exhibited the best EMW absorption performance when the addition amount of MWCNTs reached the percolation threshold (10wt%): the minimum reflection loss (RLmin) was -37.9 dB, and the EAB was 2.8 GHz at a thickness of 2.4 mm; its RLmin was -21.7 dB, and the EAB reached 4.7 GHz at a thickness of 1.7 mm. By changing the sample thickness from 1.0 mm to 5.0 mm, the EAB containing the C, X and Ku bands can be acquired. Therefore, it is expected to be a promising candidate for the new generation of EMW absorbers due to its light weight, high efficiency and broad band.

Yaks are of great importance on the plateau; however, an emerging endemic diarrheal disease during the last few years is posing a great threat to the health of these animals. Yaks have special gut microbiotal community and short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) which are not only the principle nutrient substrates of intestinal epithelial cells but can also regulate the epithelial barrier. Until now, metagenomics sequencing has not been reported in diarrheal yaks. A scarce information is available regarding the levels of fecal SCFAs and diarrhea in yaks. The purpose of our study was to identify the potential pathogens that cause the emerging diarrhea and also to explore the potential relationship of short-chain fatty acids in this issue. We estimated diarrhea rate in yaks after collecting the equal number of fecal samples from affected animals. Metagenomics sequencing and quantitative analysis of SCFAs were performed which revealed 15-25% and 5-10% prevalence in diarrheal yak’s calves and adults yaks respectively. Significant difference was observed in GC contents (44.69%~46.08% vs 46.12%~46.38%) under two reference groups (ppppppppppppStaphylococcus aureus, Babesia ovata, Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Bacteroides fluxus, viruses, Klebsiella pneumonia, and inflammation-related bacteria; the decreased of SCFAs caused by the imbalance of intestinal microbiota may potentially leads to emergence of diarrhea in yaks.

Background Although jaundice have been associated with mortality in critically ill patients, yet no data from large studies demonstrates its effect in sepsis. The aim of the study is to investigate the impact of jaundice on outcomes in septic patients.Methods Propensity-matched analysis of cohort database from Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care III (MIMIC-III), a large database of septic patients at a tertiary care hospital in Boston, Massachusetts (June 2001 to October 2012). Individuals with preexisting jaundice or liver diseases at the time of admission were excluded from analysis. Jaundice was diagnosed in septic patients with total bilirubin levels >2mg/dL at any time during hospitalization. The multivariate Cox was employed to adjust for baseline and confounding parameters.Results A total of 2784 septic patients were enrolled in the study, including 456 patients in jaundice group, and 2328 in non-jaundice group. Before propensity score matching, multivariate Cox hazard analysis showed age [HR 1.029; 95% CI (1.009-1.049); P=0.005], malignancy [HR 3.244; 95% CI (1.729h-6.085); P

Background: Hemoglobin change plays a critical role in progress of sepsis. However, the contribution of hemoglobin change to outcomes of patients with sepsis is still unknown. The aim of our study is to investigate the effect of early hemoglobin level within 48h after admission to Intensive Care Unit (ICU) on long term prognosis for sepsis. Methods: In this single centered, cohort study, we included patients from different ICU departments of Xiangya hospital from 2016 to 2018. Out of 1800 ICU patients, 199 patients with sepsis matched inclusion criteria. All 199 patients were divided into three groups according to 70, 80, and 90 g/L hemoglobin statuses, respectively. Results: Our study showed seventy-nine patients (39.7%) with ≤90g/L hemoglobin, forty-seven patients (23.6%) with hemoglobin ≤80g/L, and twenty-five (12.6%) with hemoglobin ≤70g/L at 48h after admission. Compared to survival group, there were higher rates of patients with hemoglobin ≤80g/L (33.7% vs. 15.1%, P=0.003), hemoglobin ≤70g/L (18.5% vs. 7.5%, P=0.031) in non-survival group, but similar rate of hemoglobin ≤90g/L patients (46.7% vs. 34.0%, P=0.081). Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that significant difference occurred among all three groups with total one-year survival rates. Furthermore, multivariate cox proportional hazards regression analysis showed that serum hemoglobin concentration ≤ 80g/L at 48h admission (Hazard Ratio HR 1.736, 95% CI 1.131-2.665, P=0.012), the occurrence of ARDS (HR 1.814, 95% CI 1.184-2.778, P=0.006), the use of CRRT (HR 1.569, 95% CI 1.030-2.390, P=0.036), and septic shock (HR 1.776, 95% CI 1.124-2.804, P=0.014) were independent risk predictors for one-year mortality in septic patients. Whereas the infection site from abdomen (HR 0.281, 95% CI 0.113-0.697, P=0.006) was the only independent protective factor for mortality in septic patients. Conclusion: ≤80 g/L hemoglobin within 48h after admission to ICU was the independent risk factor for mortality for patients with sepsis. Attention should be raised up to target early hemoglobin level in course of sepsis to achieve better outcomes of sepsis. Future larger researches and randomized controlled trials are needed to validate our results.

Backgrounds: Sepsis induced organ failure is main cause of mortality in intensive care units (ICU), however, the impact of early liver injury on clinical ending of sepsis is not clear and has not been discussed in context of clinical research on sepsis before. Our study aimed at the investigation of the clinical effect of early liver injury within 48h at ICU admission on sepsis outcomes. Methods: A single-centered, retrospective cohort of 198 adult critical patients diagnosed with sepsis were included in different ICU departments of Xiangya hospital from 2016 to 2018. Patients were divided into two groups, early liver injury and non-early liver injury within 48h at ICU admission. Baseline characteristics, clinical outcomes and risk factors of these two groups were studied. Logistic regression analysis, Cox hazard analysis, Kaplan-Meier and log-rank test were used. Results: In total, 198 patients with sepsis were included, with 106 (53.5%) with early liver injury and overall in-hospital mortality was 45.9% (n=91). Compared to non-early liver injury group, patients with early liver injury had significant higher SOFA (7.44±3.83 vs. 5.55±2.61, P