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Nuclear progesterone receptor (nPR) is a member of the nuclear receptor family known to play a critical role in gonad development, gametogenesis, and ovulation in vertebrates, and also important in pregnancy maintenance and parturition in mammals. However, its biological functions in ovoviviparity teleosts are less clear. This study aimed to determine the possible role of nPR in fish oogenesis, pregnancy and parturition using black rockfish as a model. The npr, which consists of 2076 bp and codes for a 691 amino acids protein, was cloned. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the nPR of black rockfish is more conserved in teleosts. Quantitative real-time PCR analyses in various tissues showed that npr was mainly detected in the pituitary followed by the ovary, testis and brain, while it was very low or undetectable in the spleen, head kidney, intestine and gill. During the gonadal development process, the npr level showed no variation in the ovary. In testis, the mRNA level of npr showed varied expression in different developmental stages with the highest level in the maturation stage. Detection of npr expression during fertilization and the perinatal period further showed that nPR may play important roles in the regulation of pregnancy and the parturition. In situ hybridization further revealed that npr mRNA was observed in the follicular cell layer during the perinatal period. The results from in vitro experiments showed that npr level was significantly downregulated when the primary cultured follicular cells during vitellogenesis (stage Ⅳ) were exposed to hCG. Studies using primary culture of black rockfish ovarian cells during the perinatal period, treated in vitro revealed that genes related to PGs synthesis (pla2g4a, cox2) and matrix metalloproteinases (mmp2, mmp9) were upregulated in response to 17,20β-P. However, treatment with 17,20β-P downregulated npr expression. In conclusion, these data suggest that nPR plays an essential role in fertilization, pregnancy maintenance and parturition in black rockfish.

Background: A super-enhancer (SE) is a huge cluster of multiple enhancers that control the key genes for cell identity and function. The rise of advanced chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing (ChIP-seq) technology such as Cleavage Under Targets and Tagmentation (CUT&Tag) allows more SEs to be discovered. However, SE studies in Luchuan and Duroc pigs are very rare in animal husbandry. Results: We used the CUT&Tag technique to identify 145 and 378 SEs from the adipose tissues of Luchuan and Duroc pigs, respectively. There were significant differences in the peak coverage ratio of SE peaks in the gene promoter region between the two breeds. Not only that, peak signals at the start and end point of the SE peak profile showed obvious spikes. The proximal target genes of SE were highly expressed compared with the background genes and the typical enhancer target genes. Subsequently, in conjoint analysis with high-throughput chromosome conformation capture sequencing (Hi-C seq) data, we predicted the remote regulatory genes of SE and found that their expression level was related to the distance of SE extended to the loop's anchor, but not the length of loops. According to our prediction model, SEs can maintain promoter accessibility of partial remote target genes through loop domains. Finally, a batch of SEs closely related to fat metabolism traits were obtained by performing a coalition analysis of quantitative trait loci and SE data. Conclusions: This work enabled us to obtain hundreds of SEs from Luchuan and Duroc pigs. Our model provides a new method for predicting the SE remote target genes based on loop domains, and to further explore the potential role of super-enhancer in the regulation of fat metabolism.

Objective: Studies have shown a correlation between obesity and mitochondrial calcium homeostasis, yet it is unclear whether and how Mcu regulates adipocyte lipid deposition. This study aims to provide new potential target for the treatment of obesity and related metabolic diseases, and to explore the function of Mcu in adipose tissue. Methods: We firstly investigated the role of mitoxantrone, an Mcu inhibitor, in the regulation of glucose and lipid metabolism in mouse adipocytes (3T3-L1 cells). Secondly, C57BL/6J mice were used as a research model to investigate the effects of Mcu inhibitors on fat accumulation and glucose metabolism in mice on a high-fat diet (HFD), and by using CRISPR/Cas9 technology, adipose tissue-specific Mcu knockdown mice (Mcufl/+ AKO) and Mcu knockout of mice (Mcufl/fl AKO) were obtained, to further investigate the direct effects of Mcu on fat deposition, glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity in mice on a high-fat diet. Results: We found the Mcu inhibitor reduced adipocytes lipid accumulation and adipose tissues mass in mice fed an HFD. Both Mcufl/+ AKO mice and Mcufl/fl AKO mice were resistant to HFD-induced obesity, compared to control mice. Mice with Mcufl/fl AKO showed improved glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity as well as reduced hepatic lipid accumulation. Mechanistically, inhibition of Mcu promoted mitochondrial biogenesis and adipocyte browning, increase energy expenditure and alleviates diet-induced obesity. Conclusions: Our study demonstrates a link between adipocyte lipid accumulation and mCa2+ levels, suggesting that adipose-specific Mcu deficiency alleviates HFD-induced obesity and ameliorates metabolic disorders such as insulin resistance and hepatic steatosis. These effects may be achieved by increasing mitochondrial biosynthesis, promoting white fat browning and enhancing energy metabolism.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a potentially serious disease that affects 30 % of the global population and poses a significant risk to human health. However, to date, no safe, effective and appropriate treatment modalities are available. In recent years, ferroptosis has emerged as a significant mode of cell death and has been found to play a key regulatory role in the development of NAFLD. In this study, we found that arbutin (ARB), a natural antioxidant derived from Arctostaphylos uva-ursi (L.), inhibits the onset of ferroptosis and ameliorates high-fat diet-induced NAFLD in vivo and in vitro. Using reverse docking, we identified the demethylase fat mass and obesity-related protein (FTO) as a potential target of ARB. Subsequent mechanistic studies revealed that ARB plays a role in controlling methylation of the SLC7A11 gene through inhibition of FTO. In addition, we demonstrated that SLC7A11 could alleviate the development of NAFLD in vivo and in vitro. Our findings identify the FTO/SLC7A11 axis as a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of NAFLD. Specifically, we show that ARB alleviates NAFLD by acting on the FTO/SLC7A11 pathway to inhibit ferroptosis.

Abstract Background The high incidence of Gleason score upgrading (GSU) made urologists underestimate the disease, leading to the inaccurate therapeutic decision. The study aimed to explore relevant laboratory examination evidence associated with GSU. Methods Patients diagnosed with prostate carcinoma undergoing radical prostatectomy in our center between January 2015 and December 2019 were included in this retrospective study. Patients were divided into GSU and NGSU groups according to the occurrence of GSU. Medical records were reviewed and analyzed between groups. Results A total of 130 patients were enrolled, including 52 patients diagnosed with GS = 6 (20 NGSU and 32 GSU) and 78 patients with GS = 7 (36 NGSU and 42 GSU). No significant differences in demographic characteristics were found between groups. An increased neutrophil count (OR = 1.326, 95% CI = 1.005–1.748) and a decreased percentage of lymphocytes (OR = 0.951, 95% CI = 0.904–1) were associated with GSU in the GS = 6 group, whereas a high HDL level (OR = 7.735, 95% CI = 0.998–59.957) was associated with GSU in GS = 7 group. Preoperative high neutrophile count and low lymphocyte percentage were correlated with GSU in patients with low-grade prostate cancer. In contrast, high HDL level was associated with GSU in patients with high-grade prostate cancer. Conclusions These laboratory examination data could provide urologists with information before making a therapeutic protocol.

Abstract. Background:. Post-operative acute kidney injury (AKI) is one of the most common and serious complications after major surgery and is significantly associated with increased risks of morbidity and mortality. This meta-analysis was conducted to evaluate the effects of perioperative dexmedetomidine (Dex) administration on the occurrence of AKI and the outcomes of recovery after non-cardiac surgery. Methods:. The PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library databases were systematically searched for studies comparing the effects of Dex vs. placebo on kidney function after non-cardiac surgery, and a pooled fixed-effect meta-analysis of the included studies was performed. The primary outcome was the occurence of post-operative AKI. The secondary outcomes included the occurence of intra-operative hypotension and bradycardia, intensive care unit (ICU) admission, duration of ICU stay, and hospital length of stay (LOS). Results:. Six studies, including four randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and two observational studies, with a total of 2586 patients were selected. Compared with placebo, Dex administration could not reduce the odds of post-operative AKI (odds ratio [OR], 0.44; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.18–1.06; P = 0.07; I2 = 0.00%, P = 0.72) in RCTs, but it showed a significant renoprotective effect (OR, 0.67; 95% CI, 0.48–0.95; P = 0.02; I2 = 0.00%, P = 0.36) in observational studies. Besides, Dex administration significantly increased the odds of intra-operative bradycardia and shortened the duration of ICU stay. However, there was no significant difference in the odds of intra-operative hypotension, ICU admission, and hospital LOS. Conclusions:. This meta-analysis suggests that perioperative Dex administration does not reduce the risk of AKI after non-cardiac surgery. However, the quality of evidence for this result is low due to imprecision and inconsistent types of non-cardiac operations. Thus, large and high-quality RCTs are needed to verify the real effects of perioperative Dex administration on the occurrence of AKI and the outcomes of recovery after non-cardiac surgery.

Needle manipulation with the guidance of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) plays a key role in minimally invasive procedures such as biopsy and ablation. However, the confined bore and strong magnetic field of the MR environment pose great challenges in developing a robotic system that fulfills the needle manipulation function. This paper presents the design and analysis of a soft needle manipulator (SoNIM) that can achieve needle manipulation in the MR environment. This pneumatically actuated manipulator consists of two bending actuators and one elongation actuator that are completely made of non-magnetic materials. These soft pneumatic actuators can generate flexible movements while maintaining a compact design, ensuring that the SoNIM is accommodated within the MRI bore. The kinematic modeling and closed-loop control of the SoNIM are investigated to achieve the position control of the needle tip. Experiments showed that the SoNIM was capable of directing the needle tip to reach the targets with a satisfactory accuracy of 2.9 ± 0.98 mm. Furthermore, the functionality and MRI compatibility of the SoNIM were validated in the clinical setting, demonstrating the capability of the SoNIM to perform needle manipulation in the MRI bore with negligible degradation to the image quality. With excellent MRI compatibility, compact design, and flexible movements, the SoNIM provides a promising solution for manipulating surgical needles in MRI-guided minimally invasive surgeries.

Abstract Background To explore the risk factors involved in the induction of thoracolumbar fascia (TLF) injury by osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture (OVCF), and the association between the residual pain after percutaneous vertebroplasty (PVP) and fascial injury. Methods A total of 81 patients with single-segment OVCF, treated between January 2018 and January 2020 were included. The patients were grouped according to the existence of TLF injury. The patients’ general, clinical, and imaging data were accessed. Results There were 47 patients in the TLF group and 34 in the non-injury group (NTLF group). In the TLF group, BMI (Body mass index) was significantly lower, while the prevalence of hypertension and sarcopenia were significantly higher (P

Gene expression programming (GEP) is one of the most prominent algorithms in function mining. In order to obtain a more accurate function model in configuration parameters-execution efficiency (CP-EE) of map-reduce job in the high-speed railway catenary monitoring system, this paper proposes a novel algorithm, called GEP based on multi-strategy (MS-GEP). Compared to traditional GEP, the proposed algorithm can escape premature convergence and jump out of local optimum. First, an adaptive mutation rate is designed according to the evolutionary generations, population diversity, and individual fitness values. A manual intervention strategy is then proposed to determine whether the algorithm enters the dilemma of local optimum based on the generations of population evolutionary stagnation. Finally, the average quality of the population is changed by randomly replacing individuals, and the ancestral population is traced to change the evolutionary direction. The experimental results on the benchmarks of function mining show that the proposed MS-GEP has better solution quality and higher population diversity than other GEP algorithms. Furthermore, the proposed MS-GEP has higher accuracy on the function model of CP-EE of high-speed railway catenary monitoring system than other commonly used algorithms in the field of function mining.

BackgroundPerioperative immune-nutritional status is correlated with post-operative outcomes. This study aimed to evaluate whether pre-operative nutritional status could predict post-operative complications in patients with Crohn’s disease (CD) and whether pre-operative enteral nutrition (EN) can prevent post-operative complications.MethodsThis retrospective cohort study analyzed the electronic health records of 173 patients diagnosed with CD in Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai, China, between August 2015 and May 2021: 122 patients had pre-operative nutritional support while 51 patients underwent surgery without pre-operative nutritional support. The pre-operative nutritional status, disease activity index, disease-related data, frequency of multiple surgery, operative data, and post-operative characters in each group were compared to determine whether the nutritional support and status could significantly affect post-operative outcome. One-to-one propensity score matching (PSM) was performed to limit demographic inequalities between the two groups.ResultsAfter PSM, no statistically significant differences were found in pre-operative patient basic characteristics between the two groups of 47 patients (98 patients in all) included in this study. Overall, 21 patients developed 26 post-operative complications. In terms of pre-operative nutritional status, the level of serum albumin (ALB), pre-albumin (pre-ALB), and hemoglobin (Hb) in the nutrition group were statistically higher than that in the control group. We also observed a statistically significant decrease in post-operative complications, need for emergency surgery, and staged operations, while the rate of laparoscopic surgery was higher in the nutrition group compared to the non-nutritional group. Post-operative complications were related to pre-operative nutritional condition, which indicated that EN may improve the nutritional status and reduced the rate of post-operative complications.ConclusionPre-operative nutritional status is correlated with post-operative outcomes while EN plays a positive role in preventing the post-operative complications. EN is useful for improving the pre-operative nutritional status and reducing the post-operative adverse events for CD patients undergoing surgery.

To vaccinate the Chinese on a nationwide scale timely and effectively, it is necessary to assess the vaccination uptake intention of the public. University students are opinion leaders, who have an important impact on the vaccination uptake intention of others around them. As a group with strong population mobility, overseas university students have an extra influence on the spread of COVID-19 and the prevention and control of the pandemic. Thus, it is necessary to investigate the vaccination uptake intention of overseas and domestic university students to promote vaccination and control the pandemic globally. However, little is known about the COVID-19 vaccination uptake intention among overseas and domestic university students. This study aimed to explore the difference between overseas and domestic Chinese university students’ COVID-19 vaccination uptake intentions and influencing factors using the Health Belief Model. A cross-sectional survey using an online questionnaire was conducted among 370 overseas university students and 463 domestic university students between January and February 2021. More than half of the respondents (536, 64.3%) reported vaccination uptake intentions, with overseas and domestic university students reporting similar vaccination uptake intentions (64.1% vs 64.6%, p > .05). Perceived benefits, perceived barriers, and cues to action were important factors that influenced the vaccination intention among overseas and domestic university students. It is worth trying to communicate the benefits of the vaccine, enhance the role of cues to action, and eliminate the potential barriers among overseas and domestic university students through creative propagation to further promote the COVID-19 vaccination.

Secondary metabolites in microorganisms represent a resource for drug discovery and development. In particular, microbial-derived antitumor agents are in clinical use worldwide. Herein, we provide an overview of the development of classical antitumor drugs derived from microorganisms. Currently used drugs and drug candidates are comprehensively described in terms of pharmacological activities, mechanisms of action, microbial sources, and biosynthesis. We further discuss recent studies that have demonstrated the utility of gene-editing technologies and synthetic biology tools for the identification of new gene clusters, expansion of natural products, and elucidation of biosynthetic pathways. This review summarizes recent progress in the discovery and development of microbial-derived anticancer compounds with emphasis on biosynthesis.

As an effective measure to manage the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccine and understanding the influencing factors of vaccination intention is particularly important. This study aimed to describe the COVID-19 vaccination intention among three different occupational risk groups and identify influencing factors of vaccination intention since a COVID-19 vaccine is available in China. A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted from January 10 to February 5, 2021 in Hangzhou city of Zhejiang Province, an eastern coastal province in China. The intention to accept COVID-19 vaccination and health beliefs based on the Health Belief Model were collected. Of the participants, college students reported the lowest COVID-19 vaccination intention (64.6%), followed by public transportation workers (72.4%) and health care workers (79.9%). Perceived barriers were identified as negative factors of vaccination intention among all three occupational groups. For college students and public transportation workers, perceived benefits and cues to action were identified as protective factors, and cues to action had a positive effect on vaccination intention of health care workers. Tailored interventions are encouraged to reduce barriers of vaccination, improve health beliefs and promote COVID-19 vaccination intentions.

Objective To introduce a new robotic navigation system that assists pedicle screw implantation and verify the accuracy and stability of the system. Methods Pedicle screw placements were performed on the thoracic vertebrae (T)9–Lumbar vertebrae (L)5 thoracolumbar vertebrae of cadavers using robotic guidance. The operative duration, puncture success, correction, and correction time were assessed. Additionally, a total of 30 thoracolumbar fractures from September 2017 until June 2019 were included in a clinical study. Two groups were evaluated: the robotic guidance group and freehand group. Both sexes were evaluated. Mean ages were 47.0 and 49.1 years, respectively, in the robotic and freehand groups. Inclusion criteria was age >18 years and a thoracolumbar fracture. Intervention was the operative treatment of thoracolumbar fractures. Outcome parameters were the operation time, intraoperative bleeding, and fluoroscopic data. The accuracy of the pedicle screw placement and screw penetration rate of the two groups were compared using intraoperative fluoroscopic axial images. Results The success rate for 108 one‐time nail placements in cadavers was 88% and two‐time nail placement was 100%. Vertebral punctures at L5 took the longest to perform and achieve correction. Clinically, there were no significant differences in patients' sex, body mass index, age distribution, or intraoperative bleeding between the groups. The average X‐ray exposure time for patients and operators were 37.69 ± 9.24 s and 0 s in the robotic group (significantly lower than in the freehand group: 81.24 ± 6.97 s vs 56.29 ± 7.93 s, respectively). Success rates for one‐time screw placements were 98.64 and 88.46% in the robotic and freehand groups, respectively, which is significant. Screw penetration rates (1.36% vs 11.54%, robotic vs freehand), were significantly different. Conclusions The robotic system improved the accuracy and safety of pedicle screw internal fixation and reduced patients' and operators' intraoperative radiation exposure.

The mechanical strength of dispersed particle gels (DPGs), which can be directly characterized by Young’s modulus, is an important parameter affecting reservoir regulation performance. However, the effect of reservoir conditions on the mechanical strength of DPGs, as well as the desired range of mechanical strength for optimum reservoir regulation performance, have not been systematically studied. In this paper, DPG particles with different Young’s moduli were prepared and their corresponding migration performances, profile control capacities and enhanced oil recovery abilities were studied by simulated core experiments. The results showed that with increase in Young’s modulus, the DPG particles exhibited improved performance in profile control as well as enhanced oil recovery. However, only the DPG particles with a modulus range of 0.19–0.762 kPa could achieve both adequate blockage in large pore throats and migration to deep reservoirs through deformation. Considering the material costs, applying DPG particles with moduli within the range of 0.19–0.297 kPa (polymer concentration: 0.25–0.4%; cross-linker concentration: 0.7–0.9%) would ensure optimum reservoir control performance. Direct evidence for the temperature and salt resistance of DPG particles was also obtained. When aged in reservoir conditions below 100 °C and at a salinity of 10 × 104 mg·L−1, the Young’s modulus values of the DPG particle systems increased moderately with temperature or salinity, indicating a favorable impact of reservoir conditions on the reservoir regulation abilities of DPG particles. The studies in this paper indicated that the practical reservoir regulation performances of DPGs can be improved by adjusting the mechanical strength, providing basic theoretical guidance for the application of DPGs in efficient oilfield development.

Bioluminescence-based probes have long been used to quantify and visualize biological processes in vitro and in vivo. Over the past years, we have witnessed the trend of bioluminescence-driven optogenetic systems. Typically, bioluminescence emitted from coelenterazine-type luciferin–luciferase reactions activate light-sensitive proteins, which induce downstream events. The development of coelenterazine-type bioluminescence-induced photosensory domain-based probes has been applied in the imaging, sensing, and control of cellular activities, signaling pathways, and synthetic genetic circuits in vitro and in vivo. This strategy can not only shed light on the mechanisms of diseases, but also promote interrelated therapy development. Here, this review provides an overview of these optical probes for sensing and controlling biological processes, highlights their applications and optimizations, and discusses the possible future directions.

A linear actuator controlled by the reversed-phase connection of two piezoelectric bimorphs is proposed in this study to solve the problem of drawback in the existing piezoelectric linear actuators. The actuator is driven by one excitation signal, the two piezoelectric bimorphs will always bend in opposite directions by the reversed-phase connection, so the directions of the force output by the two piezoelectric bimorphs are opposite. Because of the length difference of the clamping blocks, the two forces outputted by each bending is different in magnitude, and always have a resultant force in the same direction to make the actuator move forward two steps in one cycle without drawback. A series of experiments were conducted to evaluate the performance of the actuator provided. The starting voltage is 40 $\text{V}_{\mathrm {p-p}}$ , resolution can reach $1.16~\mu \text{m}$ without load. The load capacity of the actuator is 450 g with a 100 $\text{V}_{\mathrm {p-p}}$ voltage, a 2-Hz frequency, and the average step displacement in this case is $0.725~\mu \text{m}$ . The prototype has high linearity and good repeatability. Experiments have proved that the actuator controlled by reversed-phase connection can eliminate drawback in principle, and can move forward two steps in one cycle. The resolution of the prototype by the reversed-phase connection is much higher than the in-phase connection, and it is a new method to improve the driving performance of piezoelectric actuators.

This paper reviews the recent development of starch-based materials, including both fundamental and application researches. In order to overcome the weakness of pure starch-based materials, such as lower mechanical properties found in natural polymers and moisture sensitivity, various blends and composites have been developed in the last two decades. In practical, incorporation of any additives is sensitive in developing fully biodegradable starch-based materials. Furthermore, safety issues will be considered as priority regarding any additives for food packaging applications. Based on these concerns, various natural filler and edible reinforce agents, such as natural fibers, starch or cellulous crystals, and laver, have been used in starch-based materials. So-called self-reinforced techniques, reinforcing starch matrix by modified starch particles, have also been used in developing starch-based composites. During developing starch-based foams the unique function of water, acts as both plasticizer and blow agent for starch-based foam, has been systematically studied. So far, various conventional processing techniques such as extrusion, injection, compression molding, casting and foaming, as well as some new techniques such as reactive extrusion, have been adapted for processing starch-based polymeric materials. Various starch-based products have been developed and commercialized. Keywords: Starch, Biodegradable, Edible, Processing, Phase transitions, Foam

The particle size of pellets is an important parameter in steel big data, and the high density and high overlap rate of pellets bring a great challenge to particle size detection. To address this problem, a particle size intelligent detection algorithm with an improved watershed and a Gaussian mixture model (GMM) is proposed. First, the initial segmentation of the pellets and background is achieved by using adaptive binary segmentation, and then the secondary fine segmentation of the pellets and background is achieved by combining morphological operations such as skeleton extraction and marked watershed segmentation; then, the contour of the connected domain of pellets is calculated, and the non-overlapping pellets in the foreground and the overlapping pellets are filtered according to the roundness of their contours. Finally, the number of overlapping pellets is predicted by Gaussian reconstruction of the grayscale image of the overlapping pellets, and the number and granularity of the overlapping pellets are predicted by the Gaussian reconstruction of the overlapping pellets. The experimental results showed that the algorithm achieved a 91.98% segmentation accuracy in the experimental images. Compared with other algorithms, the algorithm can also effectively suppress the over-segmentation and under-segmentation problems, and it can effectively realize the pellet size detection of dense, overlapping pellets such as those on a pelletizing disk, which provides an effective technical means for the metallurgical performance analysis of pellet ore and intelligent pellet-making driven by big data.

Resonance energy transfer technologies have achieved great success in the field of analysis. Particularly, fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) and bioluminescence resonance energy transfer (BRET) provide strategies to design tools for sensing molecules and monitoring biological processes, which promote the development of biosensors. Here, we provide an overview of recent progress on FRET- and BRET-based biosensors and their roles in biomedicine, environmental applications, and synthetic biology. This review highlights FRET- and BRET-based biosensors and gives examples of their applications with their design strategies. The limitations of their applications and the future directions of their development are also discussed.

Objectives To describe the situation of COVID-19-related stigma towards patients with COVID-19 and people from the city of Wuhan in China and to assess the associations between COVID-19-related stigma, health literacy and sociodemographic characteristics during March 2020, the early stage of the pandemic.Design A cross-sectional online survey.Setting The study surveyed 31 provinces in China.Participants This study surveyed 5039 respondents in China.Outcome measures Public stigma towards both patients with COVID-19 and Wuhan residents was measured. Binary logistic regression was used to identify the factors associated with public COVID-19-related stigma.Results Among the participants, 122 (2.4%) reported themselves and 254 (5.0%) reported the communities they lived in as holding a stigmatising attitude towards patients with COVID-19, respectively. Additionally, 114 (2.5%) and 475 (10.3%) reported that themselves and the communities they lived in, respectively, held a stigma against people from Wuhan, which was the most severely affected area in China. People aged over 40, lived in areas with severe epidemics (adjusted OR (aOR)=2.03, 95% CI (1.05 to 3.92)) and who felt it difficult to find and understand information about COVID-19 (aOR=1.91, 95% CI (1.08 to 3.37); aOR=1.88, 95% CI (1.08 to 3.29)) were more likely to stigmatise patients with COVID-19. People who were male, aged 41–50 and had difficulty understanding information (aOR=2.08, 95% CI (1.17 to 3.69)) were more likely to stigmatise people from Wuhan.Conclusions Patients with COVID-19 and Wuhan residents suffered stigma at both the individual and the community levels. Those who had low health literacy, who lived in areas with a large number of COVID-19 cases and who were of ethnic minorities were more likely to stigmatise others. Tailored interventions are encouraged to improve health literacy and consequently to reduce public COVID-19-related stigma.

Polyamide 12 is one of the most extensively used semi-crystalline polymer materials to date in selective laser sintering (SLS) additive manufacturing, or SLS 3D printing. In this powder-based direct digital manufacturing process, a substantial amount of expensive materials remains un-sintered, recyclable, and reusable. Recently, understanding the mechanisms of degradation and the reusability of reclaimed polyamide 12 powders has attracted increasing industrial and research interests. However, using reclaimed polyamide 12 powder in SLS results in problems with part surface quality such as undesirable part surface finish with poor textures and numerous un-sintered particles. Limited research is available on the improvement of part surface quality. In particular, results barely exist on improving or modifying the surface quality of parts using extremely aged powders – powders that are held close to the heat-affected zones (HAZs) and suffer from severe degradations during the sintering process. To improve the surface quality and to build interrelations between process parameters and surface quality, we propose a novel approach for SLS with (extremely) aged polyamide 12 powders. By combining material preparation, powder and part characterizations, and SLS with customized post-heating, we obtain parts with improved surface quality (e.g., reduced roughness and porosities, and eliminated un-sintered particles). Particularly, parts 3D-printed using the 30%-30%–40% new-aged-extremely-aged powder mixtures exhibit the smoothest and flattest surface with no unmolten particles and nearly zero porosity.

Ca2+-regulated photoproteins responsible for bioluminescence of a variety of marine organisms are single-chain globular proteins within the inner cavity of which the oxygenated coelenterazine, 2-hydroperoxycoelenterazine, is tightly bound. Alongside with native coelenterazine, photoproteins can also use its synthetic analogues as substrates to produce flash-type bioluminescence. However, information on the effect of modifications of various groups of coelenterazine and amino acid environment of the protein active site on the bioluminescent properties of the corresponding semi-synthetic photoproteins is fragmentary and often controversial. In this paper, we investigated the specific bioluminescence activity, light emission spectra, stopped-flow kinetics and sensitivity to calcium of the semi-synthetic aequorins and obelins activated by novel coelenterazine analogues and the recently reported coelenterazine derivatives. Several semi-synthetic photoproteins activated by the studied coelenterazine analogues displayed sufficient bioluminescence activities accompanied by various changes in the spectral and kinetic properties as well as in calcium sensitivity. The poor activity of certain semi-synthetic photoproteins might be attributed to instability of some coelenterazine analogues in solution and low efficiency of 2-hydroperoxy adduct formation. In most cases, semi-synthetic obelins and aequorins displayed different properties upon being activated by the same coelenterazine analogue. The results indicated that the OH-group at the C-6 phenyl ring of coelenterazine is important for the photoprotein bioluminescence and that the hydrogen-bond network around the substituent in position 6 of the imidazopyrazinone core could be the reason of different bioluminescence activities of aequorin and obelin with certain coelenterazine analogues.