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Polarization control is of paramount importance for various applications. Here, the authors enable extreme control over light polarization spanning the entire Poincaré sphere by combining coherent control of wave phenomena and the physics of bound states in the continuum.

Protozoan parasites are a well-known threat to human health, particularly for people working at or visiting zoos, and potentially cause zoonotic diseases in humans. Captive wildlife may be potential reservoirs for human infection with protozoan parasites. Therefore, focusing on zoonotic protozoan infections in zoo animals is critical. However, there is no report on this topic in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau region. In this study, a total of 167 and 103 fecal samples were collected from 12 animal species from Qinghai-Tibet Plateau Wildlife Park in winter and summer, respectively, to detection the prevalence of infections and subtype distribution with Entamoeba sp., Cryptosporidium sp., Giardia duodenalis, Enteromicrosporidia bieneusi sp., Blastocystis sp. by PCR assay. The results showed that a total of 21 fecal samples collected in winter, including from 2 white-lipped deer, 8 Sika deer, 6 blue sheep, 2 wolves and 3 bears, were positive for Entamoeba, with a 12.6% (21/167) positive rate. However, 4.9% (5/103) of animals in summer were positive for Entamoeba, including 1 snow leopard, 1 tiger, 1 Tibetan argali and 2 mouflon. Moreover, 1 white-lipped deer and 1 bear were found to be positive for Blastocystis sp., one zoonotic STs (ST10) was identified and found in white-lipped deer. We found no effect on season on Blastocystis sp. and Entamoeba sp. colonization. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first description of Blastocystis sp. and Entamoeba sp. infecting zoo animals in the plateau area. The findings provide the latest data on Entamoeba sp. and Blastocystis sp. in zoo animals in China.

Sleep inertia (SI) is a time period during the transition from sleep to wakefulness wherein individuals perceive low vigilance with cognitive impairments; SI is generally identified by longer reaction times (RTs) in attention tasks immediately after awakening followed by a gradual RT reduction along with waking time. The sluggish recovery of vigilance in SI involves a dynamic process of brain functions, as evidenced in recent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies in within-network and between-network connectivity. However, these fMRI findings were generally based on the presumption of unchanged neurovascular coupling (NVC) before and after sleep, which remains an uncertain factor to be investigated. Therefore, we recruited 12 young participants to perform a psychomotor vigilance task (PVT) and a breath-hold task of cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR) before sleep and thrice after awakening (A1, A2, and A3, with 20 min intervals in between) using simultaneous electroencephalography (EEG)-fMRI recordings. If the NVC were to hold in SI, we hypothesized that time-varying consistencies could be found between the fMRI response and EEG beta power, but not in neuron-irrelevant CVR. Results showed that the reduced accuracy and increased RT in the PVT upon awakening was consistent with the temporal patterns of the PVT-induced fMRI responses (thalamus, insula, and primary motor cortex) and the EEG beta power (Pz and CP1). The neuron-irrelevant CVR did not show the same time-varying pattern among the brain regions associated with PVT. Our findings imply that the temporal dynamics of fMRI indices upon awakening are dominated by neural activities. This is the first study to explore the temporal consistencies of neurovascular components on awakening, and the discovery provides a neurophysiological basis for further neuroimaging studies regarding SI.

The spread of antibiotic-resistance genes (ARGs) has posed a significant threat to human health over the past decades. Despite the fact that the phyllosphere represents a crucial pool of microorganisms, little is known about the profile and drivers of ARGs in less human interference natural habitats. In order to minimize the influence of environmental factors, here we collected leaf samples from the early-, middle- and late-successional stages across a primary vegetation successional sequence within 2 km, to investigate how the phyllosphere ARGs develop in natural habitats. Phyllosphere ARGs were determined using high-throughput quantitative PCR. Bacterial community and leaf nutrient content were also measured to assess their contribution to the phyllosphere ARGs. A total of 151 unique ARGs were identified, covering almost all recognized major antibiotic classes. We further found that there was some stochastic and a core set of the phyllosphere ARGs during the plant community succession process, due to the fluctuant phyllosphere habitat and specific selection effect of plant individuals. The ARG abundance significantly decreased due to the reduction of the phyllosphere bacterial diversity, community complexity, and leaf nutrient content during the plant community succession process. While the closer links between soil and fallen leaf resulted in a higher ARG abundance in leaf litter than in fresh leaf. In summary, our study reveals that the phyllosphere harbors a broad spectrum of ARGs in the natural environment. These phyllosphere ARGs are driven by various environmental factors, including the plant community composition, host leaf properties, and the phyllosphere microbiome.

Dermacentor nuttalli has been a focus of study because tick-borne pathogens have been widely identified in this tick from northern and southwestern China. The aim of this study was to characterize the life cycle of D. nuttalli under laboratory conditions and to detect spotted fever group (SFG) Rickettsia in the midgut and salivary glands of both field-collected and first laboratory generation adults. D. nuttalli ticks were collected in the field on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau from March to April 2021 and their life cycle was studied under laboratory conditions. Tick identify was molecularly confirmed, and SFG Rickettsia were detected in the midgut and salivary glands of males and females by PCR targeting different rickettsial genes. The results showed that the life cycle of D. nuttalli under laboratory conditions was completed in an average of 86.1 days. High positivity of Rickettsia spp. was detected in the midgut and salivary glands of both males (92.0%) and females (93.0%) of field-collected D. nuttalli ticks. However, a relatively lower positivity (4.0–6.0%) was detected in first laboratory generation adults. Furthermore, sequencing analysis showed that the Rickettsia sequences obtained in this study shared 98.6 to 100% nucleotide identity with Rickettsia slovaca and Rickettsia raoultii isolated from Dermacentor spp. in China. Phylogenetic analysis of Rickettsia spp. based on the gltA, ompA, ompB and sca4 genes revealed that the Rickettsia sequences obtained could be classified as belonging to R. slovaca and R. raoultii clades. This study described for the first time the life cycle of D. nuttalli from the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau under laboratory conditions. Two species of SFG Rickettsia were detected in the midgut and salivary glands of males and females in both field-collected and first laboratory-generation adults of D. nuttalli. Our study provides new insights into pathogen detection in ticks in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and the relationships among hosts, ticks, and pathogens.

Background and purpose: Several clinical trials have indicated that the use of canagliflozin increases the risk of lower extremity amputation. Although the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has withdrawn its black box warning about amputation risk for canagliflozin, the risk still exists. We sought to estimate the association between hypoglycemic medications, especially sodium-glucose co-transporter-2 inhibitors (SGLT2is), and adverse events (AEs) before the irreversible outcome of amputation as a promising early warning, based on the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) data.Methods: Publicly available FAERS data were analyzed using a reporting odds ratio (ROR) method and validated by a Bayesian confidence propagation neural network (BCPNN) method. The developing trend of the ROR was investigated by a series of calculations based on the accumulation of data in the FAERS database quarter by quarter.Results: Ketoacidosis, infection, peripheral ischemia, renal impairment, and inflammation including osteomyelitis might be more likely to occur among users of SGLT2is, especially canagliflozin. Osteomyelitis and cellulitis are AEs unique to canagliflozin. Among 2,888 osteomyelitis-related reports referring to hypoglycemic medications, 2,333 cases were associated with SGLT2is, with canagliflozin accounting for 2,283 of these cases and generating an ROR value of 360.89 and a lower limit of information component (IC025) of 7.79. No BCPNN-positive signal could be generated for drugs other than insulin and canagliflozin. Reports suggesting that insulin could generate BCPNN-positive signals span from 2004 to 2021, whereas reports with BCPNN-positive signals emerged only since the second quarter (Q2) of 2017, 4 years since the approval of SGLT2is in Q2 of 2013, for canagliflozin and drug groups containing canagliflozin.Conclusion: This data-mining investigation revealed a strong association between canagliflozin treatment and developing osteomyelitis that might be a crucial forewarning to lower extremity amputation. Further studies with updated data are needed to better characterize the risk of osteomyelitis associated with SGLT2is.

Purpose: 1) to explore the test-retest reliability of a new device for measuring ankle inversion proprioception during walking, i.e., the Ankle Inversion Discrimination Apparatus—Walking (AIDAW) in individuals with or without Chronic Ankle instability (CAI); 2) to assess its discriminant validity in differentiating individuals with or without CAI; 3) to investigate its convergent validity by examining its association with Cumberland Ankle Instability Tool (CAIT) and the Y Balance Test (YBT).Methods: For test-retest reliability, 15 participants with CAI and 15 non-CAI healthy controls were recruited. Participants completed the AIDAW test twice with a 7-day interval. The area under the receiver operating curve (AUC) was obtained as the AIDAW score. The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and MDC90 were calculated. For the validity study, another 20 individuals with CAI and 20 non-CAI healthy controls were involved. The AIDAW scores were analyzed by an independent samples t-test, and the optimal cutoff value of AIDAW scores to best distinguish individuals with CAI was calculated by Youden’s index. Spearman or Pearson correlation analysis was used to analyze the correlation between AIDAW proprioceptive scores and the CAIT and final YBT scores.Results: For test-retest reliability, the ICC values for the CAI, non-CAI, and the whole group were 0.755, 0.757, and 0.761 respectively. The MDC90 of the CAI and non-CAI group was 0.04 and 0.05. Regarding discriminant validity, the AIDAW proprioceptive discrimination scores in the CAI group were significantly lower than those in the non-CAI group (p = 0.003); and the cutoff score for distinguishing CAI from the non-CAI participants was 0.759. For convergent validity, the AIDAW scores were significantly correlated with the functional balance YBT final scores (p = 0.001) and the CAIT scores (p = 0.009).Conclusion: The AIDAW is a reliable and valid device for evaluating ankle inversion proprioception during walking in individuals with and without CAI. AIDAW can be used as a clinical assessment tool to discriminate CAI from non-CAI individuals and to monitor effects of rehabilitation. The AIDAW proprioceptive discrimination scores were significantly and positively correlated with YBT and CAIT scores.

Fagaceae are diverse family including trees of ecological and economic importance. This phylogenomic analysis of nuclear and plastid genomes reconstructs evolutionary history and finds evidence of multiple adaptive introgression events in this important plant family.

Diazoacetate polymerizations using inexpensive catalysts has been a long-standing challenge to achieve. Here the authors report a Ni(II) catalyst that can promote living polymerization of various diazoacetates, yielding well-defined carbon–carbon main chain polymers, polycarbenes.

The original specimens of both Prunus zappeyana and P. zappeyana var. subsimplex were found to belong to more than one taxon. In addition, P. zappeyana var. subsimplex was found to be invalid because, when the name was published, two separate descriptions were given to two cited collections, but not to the taxon, making the name unaccompanied with a description or diagnosis of this taxon (Art. 38.1 (a)). Therefore, a lectotype of P. zappeyana was designated under Art. 9.11 of ICN, by which P. zappeyana was placed in the synonymy of P. veitchii.

This study focuses on the computational characterization of electrochemical C-C bond formation through the CO and CHO coupling process utilizing a dioxo-coordinated Cu single atom site ([CuO2]*) supported on a Pd(111) surface. The stable intermediate, [CuO2]*(CO)2, was identified as a tetradentate-and-tetrahedral species formed upon exposure to CO gaseous molecules. Electrochemically, the hydrogenation of the carbonyl group to CHO was found to be 0.87 eV, conceivably lower than the corresponding step for conventional Cu surfaces. This study observed a considerable charge transfer effect from the top layer of Pd atoms to the adsorbate moiety, especially at the TS structure. This phenomenon resulted in an accessible C-C bond formation barrier at 0.67 eV. Furthermore, the reaction energy of C-C bond formation was found to be exothermic at −0.21 eV, indicating a favorable chemical equilibrium condition. Considering the temperature effect and pressure of the gaseous molecules (CO, CO2, O2), the [CuO2]*(CO)2 intermediate was substantially populated at room temperature and was found to be chemically resilient under dry ambient conditions, as suggested by the kinetic modeling results.

Abstract Background Anaplasma, Babesia and Theileria are tick-borne pathogens (TBPs) that affect livestock worldwide. However, information on these pathogens in yaks (Bos grunniens) and Tibetan sheep (Ovis aries) on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP), China, is limited. In this study, Anaplasma spp., Babesia spp. and Theileria spp. infections were assessed in yaks and Tibetan sheep from Qinghai Province. Methods A total of 734 blood samples were collected from 425 yaks and 309 Tibetan sheep at nine sampling sites. Standard or nested polymerase chain reaction was employed to screen all the blood samples using species- or genus-specific primers. Results The results showed that 14.1% (60/425) of yaks and 79.9% (247/309) of Tibetan sheep were infected with at least one pathogen. Anaplasma ovis, Anaplasma bovis, Anaplasma capra, Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Babesia bovis and Theileria spp. were detected in this study, with total infection rates for all the assessed animals of 22.1% (162/734), 16.3% (120/734), 23.6% (173/734), 8.2% (60/734), 2.7% (20/734) and 19.3% (142/734), respectively. For yaks, the infection rate of A. bovis was 6.4% (27/425), that of B. bovis was 4.7% (20/425) and that of Theileria spp. was 3.3% (14/425). Moreover, 52.4% (162/309) of the Tibetan sheep samples were infected with A. ovis, 30.1% (93/309) with A. bovis, 56.0% (173/309) with A. capra, 19.4% (60/309) with A. phagocytophilum and 41.4% (128/309) with Theileria spp. Conclusions This study revealed the prevalence of Anaplasma spp., Babesia spp. and Theileria spp. in yaks and Tibetan sheep in Qinghai Province, China, and provides new data for a better understanding of the epidemiology of TBPs in these animals in this area of the QTP, China. Graphical Abstract

According to the "White Paper on China's Intelligent Internet of Things (AIoT) 2020",with the prompt development of China's 5G network,the rapid popularization of large-capacity with low-price IoT sensor devices and the explosive growth of data,image processing is widely used in various fields of Internet of Things,such as smart city,smart transportation,smart healthcare,and other industry,etc.In these research areas,researchers usually ignore the actual problems in the data collection process,for instance,data degradation caused by time changes:seasonal shifting,diurnal variation,weather changes,and noise problems caused by spatial changes:object superposition,blur,and partial occlusion.Among those problems,the weather pro-blems represented by rainy days are the most challenging and common.Therefore,this paper systematically investigates the actual problems in the data collection process above,classifies and summarizes the image rain-removal algorithms under complex weather conditions.At the same time,regarding the compute-intensive execution of such algorithms,we utilize the Amazon EC2 cloud instance G4 and P3 series to quantitatively evaluate the processing time and effect of various reviewed rain removal algorithms.Finally,we illustrate the characteristics of various rain removal algorithms and the latest trends in Cloud-IoT applications.

AIM: To investigate the dynamic changes of corneal hysteresis(CH)and corneal resistance factor(CRF)before and after orthokeratology(OK)in children with different degrees of myopia.METHODS: Totally 40 cases(80 eyes)of myopic children treated in our hospital from January 2019 to January 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. The subjects were divided into low-grade group and medium-grade group according to the spherical equivalent(SE)level. They were all treated with night wearing OK glasses. The LogMAR naked eye vision of the children was detected and recorded before and 1wk, 1, 6mo and 1a after wearing glasses. The levels of central corneal thickness(CCT)and axial length(AL)were monitored by ocular a-ultrasound, the SE level was measured by comprehensive optometry, the corneal curvature(K)was measured by corneal topography, the corneal compensated intraocular pressure(IOPcc)level was measured by ORA analyzer, and the values of CH and CRF were calculated at the same time.RESULTS:The naked visual acuity of LogMAR at 1wk, 1, 6mo and 1a after wearing glasses was significantly lower than that before wearing glasses(all P

Toxoplasmosis is a zoonotic disease caused by the obligate intracellular protozoan parasite T. gondii which is widely prevalent in humans and animals worldwide. The diagnosis of toxoplasmosis and distinguishing acute or chronic T. gondii infections have utmost importance for humans and animals. The TgSAG1, TgGRA7, and TgBAG1 proteins were used in the present study to develop the serological rSAG1-ELISA, rGRA7-ELISA and rBAG1-ELISA methods for the testing of T. gondii specific IgG and IgM antibodies and differentiating acute or chronic toxoplasmosis in 3733 animals, including Tibetan sheep, yaks, pigs, cows, cattle, horses, chickens, camels and donkeys from the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. The ELISA tests showed that the overall positivity of IgG antibody was 21.1% (786/3733), 15.3% (570/3733) and 18.2% (680/3733) for rSAG1-, rGRA7- and rBAG1-ELISA, respectively, and the positivity of IgM antibody was 11.8% (439/3733), 13.0% (486/3733) and 11.8% (442/3733) for rSAG1-, rGRA7- and rBAG1-ELISA, respectively. A total of 241 animals (6.5%) positive for all rSAG1-, rGRA7- and rBAG1-IgG were found in this study, and the 141 animals (3.8%) tested were anti-T. gondii IgM positive in all three ELISAs. Moreover, the 338, 284 and 377 animals were IgG positive in rSAG1 + rGRA7-, rBAG1 + rGRA7- and rSAG1 + rBAG1- ELISAs respectively, and the 346, 178 and 166 animals in rSAG1 + rGRA7-, rBAG1 + rGRA7- and rSAG1 + rBAG1-ELISAs were IgM positive respectively. The results confirmed that the application of SAG1, GRA7, and BAG1 recombinant antigens could successfully be used in the detection of specific IgG and IgM antibodies for distinguishing between acute or chronic T. gondii infections. It is inferred that the forms in which current animal species in the plateau area were infected with T. gondii, and the period of infection or the clinical manifestations of the current infections may be different. The present study provides substantial clinical evidence for the differential diagnosis of toxoplasmosis, and the classification of acute and chronic T. gondii infections.

Background and purpose: Serious adverse events following immunization (AEFI) associated with the COVID-19 vaccines, including BNT162b2 (Pfizer-BioNTech), Ad26.COV2.S (Janssen), and mRNA-1273 (Moderna), have not yet been fully investigated. This study was designed to evaluate the serious AEFI associated with these three vaccines.Methods: A disproportionality study was performed to analyze data acquired from the Vaccine Adverse Event-Reporting System (VAERS) between 1 January 2010 and 30 April 2021. The reporting odds ratio (ROR) method was used to identify the association between the COVID-19 vaccines BNT162b2, Ad26.COV2.S, and mRNA-1273 and each adverse event reported. Moreover, the ratio of the ROR value to the 95% CI span was applied to improve the credibility of the ROR. The median values of time from vaccination to onset (TTO) for the three vaccines were analyzed.Results: Compared with BNT162b2 and mRNA-1273, Ad26.COV2.S vaccination was associated with a lower death frequency (p < 0.05). Ad26.COV2.S vaccination was associated with a lower birth defect and emergency room visit frequency than BNT162b2 (p < 0.05). There were 6,605, 830, and 2,292 vaccine recipients who suffered from COVID-19-related symptoms after vaccination with BNT162b2, Ad26.COV2.S, and mRNA-1273, respectively, including people who were infected by COVID-19, demonstrated a positive SARS-CoV-2 test, and were asymptomatic. Serious AEFI, including thromboembolism, hemorrhage, thrombocytopenia, cardiac arrhythmia, hypertension, and hepatotoxicity, were associated with all three vaccines. Cardiac failure and acute renal impairment events were associated with BNT162b2 and mRNA-1273, while seizure events were associated with BNT162b2 and Ad26.COV2.S. The median values of TTO associated with the three vaccinations were similar.Conclusion: These findings may be useful for health workers and the general public prior to inoculation, especially for patients with underlying diseases; however, the risk/benefit profile of these vaccines remains unchanged. The exact mechanism of SARS-CoV-2 vaccine-induced AEFI remains unknown, and further studies are required to explore these phenomena.

Though the karst regions in south and southwest China are plant diversity hotspots, our understanding of the phylogeography and evolutionary history of the plants there remains limited. The genus Heteroplexis (Asteraceae) is one of the typical representative plants isolated by karst habitat islands, and is also an endangered and endemic plant to China. In this study, species-level phylogeographic analysis of the genus Heteroplexis was conducted using restriction site-associated DNA sequencing (RADseq). The genetic structure showed a clear phylogeographic structure consistent with the current species boundaries in the H. microcephala, H. incana, H. vernonioides, H. sericophylla, and H. impressinervia. The significant global (R = 0.37, P < 0.01) and regional (R = 0.650.95, P < 0.05) isolation by distance (IBD) signals among species indicate strong geographic isolation in the karst mountains, which may result in chronically restricted gene flow and increased genetic drift and differentiation. Furthermore, the phylogeographic structure of Heteroplexis suggested a southward migration since the last glacial period. Demographic analysis revealed the karst mountains as a refuge for Heteroplexis species. Finally, both Treemix and ABBA-BABA statistic detected significant historical gene flow between species. Significant historical gene flow and long-term stability of effective population size (Ne) together explain the high genome-wide genetic diversity among species (π = 0.05370.0838). However, the recent collapse of Ne, widespread inbreeding within populations, and restricted contemporary gene flow suggest that Heteroplexis species are probably facing a high risk of genetic diversity loss. Our results help to understand the evolutionary history of karst plants and guide conservation.

The dysfunction of islet β-cells is one of the causes of diabetes, and lncRNA Gm10451 is also a participant in the occurrence and the development of various diseases. This study was carried out to reveal the correlation within β-cells and Gm10451. Our study was started with the cellular cultivation of MIN6 cells in vitro, where this islet β-cell line was randomly divided into the groups of control, hyperglycemia, Gm10451 siRNA tansfection, and Gm10451 tansfection. Of all these treatments, cells in the groups of Gm10451 siRNA tansfection and Gm10451 tansfection were given with lentiviral transfection under hyperglycemia condition. Further explorations were established using PCR assay and MTT method to evaluate Gm10451 expression and estimate cellular proliferation. It ended up with the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to assess Caspase 3 activity, superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, and reactive oxygen species (ROS) content and the secretion of IL-10 and IL-1. It was found that Gm10451 expression in MIN6 cells under hyperglycemia cultivation was notably higher than the control group; likewise, a transfection with the lentivirus of Gm10451 also resulted in the upregulation of Gm10451 expression, succeeded with inhibiting cellular proliferation, enhancing Caspase 3 activity, and decreasing SOD activity. In the lentivirus transfection groups, transfection of Gm10451 elevated the ROS content and promoted IL-1 expression, and it also decreased both IL-10 expression and insulin secretion, leading to a consequence of statistically significant difference in contrast to the high-glucose group; on the contrary, transfection of Gm10451 siRNA in a high-glucose environment downregulated the expression of Gm10451 and inversed those change before, whose results were statistically significant when compared with the high-glucose group. Hyperglycemia promotes the expression of Gm10451. Targeting inhibition toward Gm10451 alleviates cellular apoptosis and the oxidative stress of islet cells, promoting proliferation and insulin secretion of islet cells.