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The effect of cold plasma on the composition and diversity of apple surface fungi and endophytes in cold storage was analyzed by high-throughput sequencing. Microbial co-occurrence networks were constructed. The results showed that cold plasma significantly inhibited the elevation of the α diversity of apple surface fungal communities and affected their composition during cold storage, but there were no significant effects of cold plasma on apple endophytic communities. The predominant fungi on the apple surface were unidentified (52.76%), Penicillium (14.70%), Aspergillus (13.80%) and Acremonium (8.33%). Cold plasma reduced the relative abundance of potentially harmful postharvest fungi on the surface of apples such as Penicillium, Aspergillus and Acremonium. The dominant endophytic bacteria of apples were unidentified (80.78%), Staphylococcus (4.23%) and Bacillus (3.13%). Cold plasma decreased the relative abundance of endophytic Staphylococcus, Bacillus and Corynebacterium. The dominant endophytic fungi of apples were unidentified (30.69%), Rhizopus (18.15%), Lysurus (6.56%), Aspergillus (4.38%) and Cutaneotrichosporon (3.26%). Cold plasma caused a significant decrease in the relative abundance of Zygosaccharomyces, Mortierella and Penicillium. The symbiotic networks of surface fungi and endophytic bacteria of ‘Golden Delicious’ apples were more complex, with more key nodes and complex correlations between nodes. Cold plasma could affect the co-occurrence networks of surface fungi and endophytic bacteria, simplifying their structures. But the co-occurrence network of endophytic fungi was simple in structure with less connectivity between nodes.

ObjectiveThe burden of both general and drug-resistant tuberculosis in rural areas is higher than that in urban areas in China. To characterize the genetic structure and transmission risk of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in rural China, we used whole genome sequencing to analyze clinical strains collected from patients in two counties of Yichang for three consecutive years.MethodsFrom 2018 to 2020, sputum samples were collected for cultures from patients with suspected tuberculosis in Yidu and Zigui county, and DNA was extracted from the positive strains for genome sequencing. The online SAM-TB platform was used to identify the genotypes and drug resistance-related mutations of each strain, establish a phylogenetic tree, and calculated the genetic distances between pairwise strains. Twelve single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were used as thresholds to identify transmission clusters. The risk of related factors was estimated by univariable and multivariable logistic regression.ResultsA total of 161 out of the collected 231 positive strains were enrolled for analysis, excluding non-tuberculous mycobacterium and duplicate strains from the same patient. These strains belonged to Lineage 2 (92, 57.1%) and Lineage 4 (69, 42.9%), respectively. A total of 49 (30.4%) strains were detected with known drug resistance-related mutations, including 6 (3.7%) multidrug-resistant-TB (MDR-TB) strains and 11 (6.8%) RIF-resistant INH-susceptible TB (Rr-TB) strains. Six of the MDR/Rr-TB (35.3%) were also resistant to fluoroquinolones, which made them pre-extensively drug-resistant TB (pre-XDR-TB). There were another seven strains with mono-resistance to fluoroquinolones and one strain with resistance to both INH and fluoroquinolones, making the overall rate of fluoroquinolones resistance 8.7% (14/161). A total of 50 strains (31.1%) were identified as transmission clusters. Patients under 45 years old (adjusted odds ratio 3.46 [95% confidential intervals 1.28–9.35]), treatment-naive patients (6.14 [1.39–27.07]) and patients infected by lineage 4 strains (2.22 [1.00–4.91]) had a higher risk of transmission.ConclusionThe drug resistance of tuberculosis in rural China, especially to the second-line drug fluoroquinolones, is relatively serious. The standardized treatment for patients and the clinical use of fluoroquinolones warrant attention. At the same time, the recent transmission risk of tuberculosis is high, and rapid diagnosis and treatment management at the primary care needs to be strengthened.

Objective: To investigate the fertility quality of life (Ferti QoL) of female patients undergoing in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer (IVF-ET), and to explore the related influenced factors. Methods: The random sampling has been conducted to enroll subjects, and questionnaires (General Information, Fertility Quality of Life, Perceived Social Support Scale, Self-Rating Anxiety Scale and Self-rating Depression Scale) were performed in patients undergoing IVF-ET at Reproductive Medicine Center of Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine during December 2018 to June 2019. Results: A total of 236 IVF-ET patients were recruited in the study, and the total score of Ferti QoL was (64.6±13.12). Multiple linear regression analysis indicated that longer years of infertility(β=-4.8769, P

Objective: To analyze the diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of breast cancer patients in Ruijin Hospital for further clinical management and study. Methods Non-metastatic breast cancer patients with surgical treatment in our hospital were included from January 2009 to December 2018. Clinicopathological features of enrolled patients and chan-ging trend of different surgery including breast conserving surgery and sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) in the period of this study were analyzed. Kaplan-Meier curve analysis was used to compare 5-year and 10-year disease free survival (DFS) and overall survival(OS) of patients with different treatments. Results This study had 8 210 patients. There were 959 (11.7%) patients with in situ disease and 5 379(71.3%) patients with negative lymph node in 7 549 patients without neoadjuvant therapy. There were 949(12.6%) cases and 2964 (39.3%) cases with breast cancer at stage 0 and stage I, respectively. A total of 2377(29.0%) patients underwent breast conserving surgery with increase from 16.5% in 2009 to 34.8% in 2013. The patients with SLNB were 4149 cases (52.5%) from 0.6% in 2009 to 69.3% in 2018. All patients from 2009 to 2018 achieved complete follow-up with a median follow-up of 46 months: 5-year and 10-year DFS were 87.6% and 80.5%; 5-year and 10-year OS were 94.2% and 90.7%, respectively. There were 3800 patients with surgery followed from year 2009 to 2014 with a median-follow-up of 79 months: 5-year DFS rate and OS rate were 86.9% and 93.1%; 10-year DFS rate and OS rate were 79.1% and 88.4%, respectively. Conclusions Both rates of breast conserving surgery and SLNB in Ruijin Hospital increased in last 10 years. Patients had more than 93% of 5-year OS with modern treatment modality of breast cancer, which could indicate clinical management and research in future.

Brasenia schreberi is a widely consumed aquatic plant, yet the knowledge regarding its bioactive components, particularly polysaccharides, remains limited. Therefore, this study aimed to optimize the extraction process of polysaccharides from B. schreberi using the response surface method (RSM). Additionally, we characterized the polysaccharides using various methods and assessed their antioxidant capabilities both in vitro and in vivo, employing cell cultures and Caenorhabditis elegans. Furthermore, these polysaccharides were incorporated into a unique yogurt formulation. Our findings demonstrated that hot water extraction was the most suitable method for extracting polysaccharides from B. schreberi, yielding samples with high sugar content, significant antioxidant capacity, and a well-defined spatial structure. Moreover, pectinase was employed for polysaccharide digestion, achieving an enzymolysis rate of 10.02% under optimized conditions using RSM. Notably, the results indicated that these polysaccharides could protect cells from oxidative stress by reducing apoptosis. Surprisingly, at a concentration of 250 μg/mL, the polysaccharides significantly increased the survival rate of C. elegans from 31.05% to 82.3%. Further qPCR results revealed that the polysaccharides protected C. elegans by up-regulating the daf-16 gene and down-regulating mTOR and insulin pathways, demonstrating remarkable antioxidant abilities. Upon addition to the yogurt, the polysaccharides significantly enhanced the water retention, viscosity, and viability of lactic acid bacteria. These outcomes underscore the potential of polysaccharides from B. schreberi as a valuable addition to novel yogurt formulations, thereby providing additional theoretical support for the utilization of B. schreberi. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]