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Abstract Background Fritillaria ussuriensis is an endangered medicinal plant known for its notable therapeutic properties. Unfortunately, its population has drastically declined due to the destruction of forest habitats. Thus, effectively protecting F. ussuriensis from extinction poses a significant challenge. A profound understanding of its genetic foundation is crucial. To date, research on the complete mitochondrial genome of F. ussuriensis has not yet been reported. Results The complete mitochondrial genome of F. ussuriensis was sequenced and assembled by integrating PacBio and Illumina sequencing technologies, revealing 13 circular chromosomes totaling 737,569 bp with an average GC content of 45.41%. A total of 55 genes were annotated in this mitogenome, including 2 rRNA genes, 12 tRNA genes, and 41 PCGs. The mitochondrial genome of F. ussuriensis contained 192 SSRs and 4,027 dispersed repeats. In the PCGs of F. ussuriensis mitogenome, 90.00% of the RSCU values exceeding 1 exhibited a preference for A-ended or U-ended codons. In addition, 505 RNA editing sites were predicted across these PCGs. Selective pressure analysis suggested negative selection on most PCGs to preserve mitochondrial functionality, as the notable exception of the gene nad3 showed positive selection. Comparison between the mitochondrial and chloroplast genomes of F. ussuriensis revealed 20 homologous fragments totaling 8,954 bp. Nucleotide diversity analysis revealed the variation among genes, and gene atp9 was the most notable. Despite the conservation of GC content, mitogenome sizes varied significantly among six closely related species, and colinear analysis confirmed the lack of conservation in their genomic structures. Phylogenetic analysis indicated a close relationship between F. ussuriensis and Lilium tsingtauense. Conclusions In this study, we sequenced and annotated the mitogenome of F. ussuriensis and compared it with the mitogenomes of other closely related species. In addition to genomic features and evolutionary position, this study also provides valuable genomic resources to further understand and utilize this medicinal plant.

[Introduction] Compressed air energy storage (CAES) is a technology for storing electrical energy on a large scale, only second to pumped storage in terms of scale. The gas storage device is an important component of CAES. The gas storage facilities of compressed air energy storage power plants that have been put into commercial operation domestically and abroad are mostly natural geological structures such as salt caverns and abandoned mines. Large-scale, long-term compressed air energy storage requires more economical and widely applicable gas storage facilities. [Method] Artificial underground cavern gas storage facilities largely freed compressed air energy storage power plants from the reliance on specific geological conditions, becoming a strong support for the large-scale construction of long-term compressed air energy storage power plants. However, there were few research achievements in this field domestically and internationally. Understanding the research status at home and abroad, summarizing advanced experiences from other industries, and clarifying the challenges that need to be addressed urgently in this field had significant implications for the large-scale construction of compressed air energy storage power plants. [Result] There are significant differences in the operating characteristics between artificial underground caverns in compressed air energy storage power plants and conventional artificial caverns such as natural gas storage facilities and hydroelectric water conveyance tunnels, and there is a lack of mature design methods and regulations for this field, with many technological challenges still awaiting resolution. This paper reviews the characteristics and key research contents of underground artificial caverns in compressed air energy storage power plants. [Conclusion] Prioritizing safety, considering cost-effectiveness and fostering innovation provide a guarantee for the independent development of the underground hard rock gas storage facilities for compressed air energy storage power plants. This technology holds practical significance in enriching China's energy storage and power generation experiences, and improving new power systems. If this technology matures, it can provide strong support for the construction of a new power system in China.

Abstract Background We investigated the presence of Chlamydia psittaci in poultry and the environment in live poultry wholesale markets in Changsha during 2021–2022 and conducted a phylogenetic analysis to understand its distribution in this market. Methods In total, 483 samples were analyzed using real-time polymerase chain reaction and 17 C. psittaci-positive samples using high-throughput sequencing, BLAST similarity, and phylogenetic analysis. Results Twenty-two out of 483 poultry and environmental samples were positive for C. psittaci (overall positivity rate: 4.55%) with no difference in positivity rates over 12 months. Chlamydia psittaci was detected at 11 sampling points (overall positivity rate: 27.5%), including chicken, duck, and pigeon/chicken/duck/goose shops, with pigeon shops having the highest positivity rate (46.67%). The highest positivity rates were found in sewage (12.5%), poultry fecal (7.43%), cage swab (6.59%), avian pharyngeal/cloacal swab (3.33%), and air (2.29%) samples. The ompA sequences were identified in two strains of C. psittaci, which were determined to bear genotype B using phylogenetic analysis. Thus, during monitoring, C. psittaci genotype B was detected in the poultry and environmental samples from the poultry wholesale market in Changsha. Conclusions To address the potential zoonotic threat, C. psittaci monitoring programs in live poultry markets should be enhanced.

An organoid culture system better recapitulates the cellular structure, function, and interaction between cells and the extracellular matrix (ECM) than a two-dimensional (2D) culture system. We here constructed a condylar cartilage organoid to explore the regulatory role of primary cilia. Similar to the natural condylar cartilage, the condylar cartilage organoid exhibited abundant ECM and comprised superficial, proliferative, and hypertrophic zones. Primary cilia in the condylar cartilage organoid were shorter on average than those in the 2D culture chondrocytes, but their average length was equivalent to those in the natural condylar cartilage. Notably, primary cilia in each zone of the condylar cartilage organoid had an average length similar to that of primary cilia in the natural condylar cartilage. According to transcriptomic and biochemical analyses, the expression of cilia-related genes and cilia-related Hedgehog (HH) signaling differed between the condylar cartilage organoid and 2D culture systems. IFT88 knockdown promoted the protein levels of COL-Ⅹ, TRPV4, and HH signaling molecules in the condylar cartilage organoid, but decreased them in the 2D culture system. Notably, the protein levels of COL-Ⅹ, TRPV4, and HH signaling molecules increased in the superficial zone of the si IFT88 condylar cartilage organoid compared with the condylar cartilage organoid. However, the protein levels of aforementioned molecules were not significantly different in proliferative and hypertrophic zones. Collectively, we successfully constructed the condylar cartilage organoid with a better tissue structure and abundant ECM. Moreover, the condylar cartilage organoid is more suitable for exploring primary cilia functions.

Objective: Brucellosis has a considerable impact on human health and the economy in developing countries. In China, the biggest developing country, brucellosis shifted spread of the epidemic from northern to southern regions. Understanding the transmission characteristic of brucellosis on Hunan province, located in central China, is of great significance for successful control. Methods: We developed a multi-population and multi-route dynamic model (MPMRDM), which is an animal-human-environment coupled model. The model is an extension of the SEIR model, taking into account direct transmission and indirect transmission. We used the model to explore the spread of brucellosis and evaluate the effectiveness of various intervention strategies. Results: The animal-to-animal transmission rate was the highest at 5.14 × 10−8, while the environment-to-person transmission rate was the lowest at 9.49 × 10−12. The mean R0 was 1.51. The most effective intervention was taking personal protection, followed by shortening the infection period. Shortening the infection period combined with personal protection is the most effective two-combined intervention strategy. After any comprehensive intervention strategy was implemented, TAR dropped by 90% or more. Conclusion: The results demonstrate that animal transmission route is essential for controlling human brucellosis. Strengthening personal protection, early detection, and early treatment can effectively control the trend of brucellosis. These results can provide an important reference for optimizing brucellosis intervention plans.

We aimed to evaluate the influence of sirtuin1 (sirt1) on the ESCC chemotherapeutic sensitivity to cisplatin. We used ESCC cell ablation sirt1 for establishing a xenograft mouse tumor model. The tumor volume was then detected. sirt1 was over-expressed significantly in ESCC patients and cells. Moreover, sirt1 knockdown raised ESCC sensitivity to cisplatin. Besides, glycolysis was associated with ESCC cell chemotherapy resistance to cisplatin. Furthermore, sirt1 increased ESCC cells’ cisplatin chemosensitivity through HK2. Sirt1 enhanced in vivo ESCC chemosensitivity to cisplatin. Overall, these findings suggested that sirt1 knockdown regulated the glycolysis pathway and raised the ESCC chemotherapeutic sensitivity.

ABSTRACTThis study aims to examine the development trend of COVID-19 in China and propose a model to assess the impacts of various prevention and control measures in combating the COVID-19 pandemic. Using COVID-19 cases reported by the National Health Commission of China from January 2, 2020, to January 2, 2022, we established a Susceptible-Exposed-Infected-Asymptomatic-Quarantined-Vaccinated-Hospitalized-Removed (SEIAQVHR) model to calculate the COVID-19 transmission rate and Rt effective reproduction number, and assess prevention and control measures. Additionally, we built a stochastic model to explore the development of the COVID-19 epidemic. We modeled the incidence trends in five outbreaks between 2020 and 2022. Some important features of the COVID-19 epidemic are mirrored in the estimates based on our SEIAQVHR model. Our model indicates that an infected index case entering the community has a 50%–60% chance to cause a COVID-19 outbreak. Wearing masks and getting vaccinated were the most effective measures among all the prevention and control measures. Specifically targeting asymptomatic individuals had no significant impact on the spread of COVID-19. By adjusting prevention and control parameters, we suggest that increasing the rates of effective vaccination and mask-wearing can significantly reduce COVID-19 cases in China. Our stochastic model analysis provides a useful tool for understanding the COVID-19 epidemic in China.

Abstract Background Typhoid fever and paratyphoid fever are one of the most criticial public health issues worldwide, especially in developing countries. The incidence of this disease may be closely related to socio-economic factors, but there is a lack of research on the spatial level of relevant determinants of typhoid fever and paratyphoid fever. Methods In this study, we took Hunan Province in central China as an example and collected the data on typhoid and paratyphoid incidence and socio-economic factors in 2015–2019. Firstly spatial mapping was made on the disease prevalence, and again using geographical probe model to explore the critical influencing factors of typhoid and paratyphoid, finally employing MGWR model to analysis the spatial heterogeneity of these factors. Results The results showed that the incidence of typhoid and paratyphoid fever was seasonal and periodic and frequently occurred in summer. In the case of total typhoid and paratyphoid fever, Yongzhou was the most popular, followed by Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Huaihua and Chenzhou generally focused on the south and west. And Yueyang, Changde and Loudi had a slight increase trend year by year from 2015 to 2019. Moreover, the significant effects on the incidence of typhoid and paratyphoid fever from strong to weak were as follows: gender ratio(q = 0.4589), students in ordinary institutions of higher learning(q = 0.2040), per capita disposable income of all residents(q = 0.1777), number of foreign tourists received(q = 0.1697), per capita GDP(q = 0.1589), and the P values for these factors were less than 0.001. According to the MGWR model, gender ratio, per capita disposable income of all residents and Number of foreign tourists received had a positive effect on the incidence of typhoid and paratyphoid fever. In contrast, students in ordinary institutions of higher learning had a negative impact, and per capita GDP shows a bipolar change. Conclusions The incidence of typhoid and paratyphoid fever in Hunan Province from 2015 to 2019 was a marked seasonality, concentrated in the south and west of Hunan Province. Attention should be paid to the prevention and control of critical periods and concentrated areas. Different socio-economic factors may show other directions and degrees of action in other prefecture-level cities. To summarize, health education, entry-exit epidemic prevention and control can be strengthened. This study may be beneficial to carry out targeted, hierarchical and focused prevention and control of typhoid fever and paratyphoid fever, and provide scientific reference for related theoretical research.

Summary: Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play widespread roles in various processes. However, there is still limited understanding of the precise mechanisms through which they regulate early stage cardiomyocyte differentiation. In this study, we identified a specific lncRNA called LHX1-DT, which is transcribed from a bidirectional promoter of LIM Homeobox 1 (LHX1) gene. Our findings demonstrated that LHX1-DT is nuclear-localized and transiently elevated expression along with LHX1 during early differentiation of cardiomyocytes. The phenotype was rescued by overexpression of LHX1 into the LHX1-DT−/− hESCs, indicating LHX1 is the downstream of LHX1-DT. Mechanistically, we discovered that LHX1-DT physically interacted with RNA/histone-binding protein PHF6 during mesoderm commitment and efficiently replaced conventional histone H2A with a histone variant H2A.Z at the promoter region of LHX1. In summary, our work uncovers a novel lncRNA, LHX1-DT, which plays a vital role in mediating the exchange of histone variants H2A.Z and H2A at the promoter region of LHX1.

Abstract Incomplete Multi‐View Clustering aims to enhance clustering performance by using data from multiple modalities. Despite the fact that several approaches for studying this issue have been proposed, the following drawbacks still persist: (1) It is difficult to learn latent representations that account for complementarity yet consistency without using label information; (2) and thus fails to take full advantage of the hidden information in incomplete data results in suboptimal clustering performance when complete data is scarce. In this study, Contrastive Incomplete Multi‐View Image Clustering with Generative Adversarial Networks (CIMIC‐GAN), which uses Generative Adversarial Network (GAN) to fill in incomplete data and uses double contrastive learning to learn consistency on complete and incomplete data is proposed. More specifically, considering diversity and complementary information among multiple modalities, we incorporate autoencoding representation of complete and incomplete data into double contrastive learning to achieve learning consistency. Integrating GANs into the autoencoding process can not only take full advantage of new features of incomplete data, but also better generalise the model in the presence of high data missing rates. Experiments conducted on four extensively used data sets show that CIMIC‐GAN outperforms state‐of‐the‐art incomplete multi‐View clustering methods.

Under global warming, many glaciers worldwide are receding. However, recent studies have suggested the extension of the Karakoram Anomaly, a region of anomalous glacier mass gain, into the western Kunlun and eastern Pamir mountains. However, the eastern limit of this anomaly in the Kunlun Mountains is unclear. This study, using changes in glacier area and surface elevation, estimates the eastern limit of the Kunlun-Pamir-Karakoram anomaly at ~85°E. Over the past 50 years, glaciers west of 85°E in the Kunlun Mountains decreased in area from 8401 to 7945 km2 at a rate of −0.12 ± 0.07% a−1, showed a reduction in the rate of retreat through time and have recently gained mass, with surface elevation changes of 0.15 ± 0.35 m a−1 over the period of 2000–2013. Glaciers east of 85°E have experienced greater rates of area change (−61 ± 12 km2 and −0.43 ± 0.13% a−1) over the past 50 years, accelerated area loss in recent years and elevation change rate of −0.51 ± 0.18 m a−1 between 2000 and 2013. These patterns of elevation and area change are consistent with regional increases in summer temperature in the eastern Kunlun Mountains and slight cooling in the western Kunlun Mountains.

Summary: The most devastating and catastrophic deterioration of myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury (MIRI) is cardiomyocyte death. Here we aimed to evaluate the role of lncRNA-ZFAS1 in MIRI and delineate its mechanism of action. The level of lncRNA-ZFAS1 was elevated in MIRI hearts, and artificial knockdown of lncRNA-ZFAS1 in mice improved cardiac function. Notch1 is a potential target of lncRNA-ZFAS1, and lncRNA-ZFAS1 could bind to the promoter region of Notch1 and recruit DNMT3b to induce Notch1 methylation. Nicotinamide mononucleotide could promote the expression of Notch1 by competitively inhibiting the expression of DNMT3b and improving the apoptosis of cardiomyocytes and cardiac function.

Persicaria perfoliata (L.) H. Gross is an herbal medicine with a long history of common use in China. In this study, we sequenced and assembled the complete chloroplast genome sequence of P. perfoliata and investigated its phylogenetic relationship in the family Polygonaceae. The total genome size is 160,585 bp in length with 37.96% GC content, consisting of a small single-copy (SSC) of 12,876 bp, a large single-copy (LSC) of 85,439 bp, and two inverted repeats (IRs) of 31,135 bp. The cp genome contains 128 genes, including 35 tRNA genes, eight rRNA genes, and 85 protein-coding genes. The phylogenetic tree showed that P. perfoliata was closely related to P. maackiana, and Persicaria exhibited a closer relationship with Bistorta in the family Polygonaceae. This work provides a molecular basis for investigating the evolutionary status, phylogenetic relationships, and population genetics of this species.

Based on the analysis of geological characteristics of ultra-deep fault-controlled fracture-cavity carbonate reservoirs and division of reservoir units, two physical models were made, and physical simulations of oil displacement by water injection were carried out to find out water flooding mechanism in the fault-controlled fracture-cavity carbonate reservoir under complex flow state. On this basis, a mathematical model of fault-controlled carbonate reservoir with coexisting seepage and free flow has been established. Pilot water injection tests have been carried out to evaluate the effects of enhancing oil recovery by water injection. The results show that: fault-controlled fracture-cavity carbonate reservoir units can be divided into three types: the strong natural energy connected type, the weak natural energy connected type and the weak natural energy isolated type; the fault-fracture activity index of the fault-controlled fractured-cavity body can effectively characterize the connectivity of the reservoir and predict the effective direction of water injection; the mathematical model of fault-controlled carbonate reservoir with coexisting seepage and free flows can quantitatively describe the fluid flow law in the fracture-cavity body; the water injected into the fault-controlled fracture-cavity body is weakly affected by the capillary force of the lithologic body, and the oil-water movement is mainly dominated by gravity. The development modes of single well water injection, unit water injection, and single well high pressure water injection proposed based on the connection structure of fracture- cavity space and well storage space configuration are confirmed effective by pilot tests, with obvious water injection gravity flooding effect.

Rapeseed straw, bagasse, and walnut peel have a large amount of resource reserves, but there are few technologies for high value-added utilization. In the research of biochar, walnut green husk is rarely used as raw material. In addition, the three main components of biomass (lignin, cellulose, and hemicellulose) are present in similar proportions, and the differences between the physical and chemical properties of biochar prepared with similar amounts of biomass raw materials are not clear. Using three kinds of biomass of the same quality as raw materials, biochar was prepared via pyrolysis at 400 °C, and activated carbon was prepared via CO2 activation at 800 °C. The results showed that the pore numbers of the three kinds of biochar increased after activation, resulting in the increase of the specific surface area. The resulting numbers were 352.99 m2/g for sugarcane bagasse biochar (SBB)-CO2, 215.04 m2/g for rapeseed straw biochar (RSB)-CO2, and 15.53 m2/g for walnut green husk biochar (WGB)-CO2. Ash increased the amount of carbon formation, but a large amount of ash caused biochar to form a perforated structure and decreased the specific surface area (e.g., WGB), which affected adsorption ability. When the three main components were present in similar proportions, a high content of cellulose and lignin was beneficial to the preparation of biochar. The adsorption value of MB by biochar decreased with the increase of biomass ash content. After activation, the maximum adsorption value of MB for bagasse biochar was 178.17 mg/g, rapeseed straw biochar was 119.25 mg/g, and walnut peel biochar was 85.92 mg/g when the concentration of methene blue solution was 300 mg/L and the biochar input was 0.1 g/100 mL at room temperature. The adsorption of MB by biochar in solution occurs simultaneously with physical adsorption and chemical adsorption, with chemical adsorption being dominant. The optimal MB adsorption by SBB-CO2 was dominated by multimolecular-layer adsorption. This experiment provides a theoretical basis for the preparation of biochar and research on its applications in the future.

Abstract Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are a group of malignant hematological disorders characterized by the abnormal development of hematopoietic stem cells and increased risk of acute myelogenous leukemia. Although the pathogenesis of MDS has not been fully understood, various alterations of microRNAs (miRNAs) have been reported in MDS. This study aimed to explore the molecular mechanisms of MDS by integrative bioinformatics analysis of miRNAs expression profile. The GSE81372 expression profile dataset was downloaded from Gene Expression Omnibus database. The differentially expressed miRNAs (DEMs) between MDS and normal controls were identified and targets of miRNAs were predicted. Subsequently, gene ontology (GO) functional and pathway enrichment analyses of target genes were performed. Finally, pathway relation network and miRNA–GO regulatory network were constructed and analyzed. A total of six upregulated and 35 downregulated DEMs were identified. The results showed that target genes of DEMs mainly participated in the process of signal transduction, blood coagulation, apoptotic process, cell proliferation, transmembrane transport, and angiogenesis. The significantly enriched pathways included MAPK signaling pathway, PI3K‐Akt signaling pathway, TGF‐beta signaling pathway, Hippo signaling pathway, and P53 signaling pathway. Moreover, miR‐195‐5p, miR‐4505, miR‐22‐3p, and miR‐148a‐3p were selected as hub miRNAs in miRNA–GO regulatory network and their aberrant expression might be closely associated with MDS pathogenesis. Our discovery provides a registry of miRNAs and pathways that are disrupted in MDS, which has the potential to be used in clinic for diagnosis and target therapy of MDS in future.

Developing a dual-function skin-stretching device is beneficial for skin mechanotransduction analysis and wound healing applications. In this study, a dual-function skin-stretching device was designed based on three-dimensional (3D) printing, which can be fixed on rat skin for skin stretching and tension-relieving tests. During the skin stretching assay, a piece of skin was pulled outward by applying a mechanical load, the magnitude of which could be studied by force analysis. In the tension-relieving assay, skin wound edges could be pulled to the opposite side to accelerate wound closure. The skin-stretching device could exert forces of varying magnitudes (0.0042–0.0113 N) on the skin, leading to variations in the histological features of the skin epithelium. Western blot indicated that the protein levels of the mechanosensitive molecule yes-associated protein (YAP) were positively associated with the mechanical strength exerted on the skin. The tension-relieving assay demonstrated that the scores and cross-sectional size of skin scars decreased by fixing the skin-stretching device to the skin. Collectively, we developed a skin-stretching device that could potentially exert a dual force on rat skin, providing a potential method to analyze the molecular mechanism of mechanotransduction during stretch-induced skin growth and promote skin wound healing with a minor scar.

Based on the first-principles calculations, the electronic structure and transport properties of BiMChO (M=Cu and Ag, Ch=S, Se, and Te) superlattices have been studied. They are all semiconductors with indirect band gaps. The increased band gap and decreased band dispersion near the valence band maximum (VBM) lead to the lowest electrical conductivity and the lowest power factor for p-type BiAgSeO/BiCuSeO. The band gap value of BiCuTeO/BiCuSeO decreases because of the up-shifted Fermi level of BiCuTeO compared with BiCuSeO, which would lead to relatively high electrical conductivity. The converged bands near VBM can produce a large effective mass of density of states (DOS) without explicitly reducing the mobility µ for p-type BiCuTeO/BiCuSeO, which means a relatively large Seebeck coefficient. Therefore, the power factor increases by 15% compared with BiCuSeO. The up-shifted Fermi level leading to the band structure near VBM is dominated by BiCuTeO for the BiCuTeO/BiCuSeO superlattice. The similar crystal structures bring out the converged bands near VBM along the high symmetry points Γ-X and Z-R. Further studies show that BiCuTeO/BiCuSeO possesses the lowest lattice thermal conductivity among all the superlattices. These result in the ZT value of p-type BiCuTeO/BiCuSeO increasing by over 2 times compared with BiCuSeO at 700 K.

Paeoniae radix alba extract (PRA extract) has the functions of regulating immunity, resisting inflammation, and has antioxidant properties. However, current recommendations of dietary PRA extract levels for raccoon dogs were inadequate. The purpose of this experimental study was to gain information allowing for better estimating the effects of PRA extract on raccoon dogs, and their PRA requirements. Fifty healthy male raccoon dogs of (120 ± 5) days old were randomly divided into 5 groups (group PRA0, PRA1, PRA2, PRA4, PRA8) with 10 animals in each group and 1 in each replicate. Five kinds of experimental diets were prepared with five levels of Paeoniae radix alba extract (0, 1, 2, 4, 8 g/kg) in the basic diet. The prefeeding period was 7 days and the experimental period was 40 days. The results showed that the average daily feed intake in group PRA1 and PRA2 was significantly higher than that in other groups (P < 0.01). The dry matter excretion in group PRA8 was significantly higher than that in other groups (P < 0.01), while the dry matter digestibility and protein digestibility in group PRA8 were significantly lower than those in other groups (P < 0.01). Nitrogen retention in group PRA1 and PRA2 was significantly higher than that in group PRA8 (P < 0.05). With the increase of the content of Paeoniae radix alba extract in diet, the activity of alkaline phosphatase in group PRA2 was significantly higher than that in group PRA0 (P < 0.05); The activity of serum SOD in group PRA4 was significantly higher than that in other groups (P < 0.01). The content of serum IgA in group PRA2 was significantly higher than that in other groups (P < 0.05). The content of TNF-α in intestinal mucosa in group PRA1 and group PRA2 was significantly lower than that in group PRA0 (P < 0.05). In conclusion, we found that dietary Paeoniae radix alba extract intake significantly improved the feed intake and nitrogen deposition of Ussuri raccoon dog, increased the content of serum IgA and reduced the content of TNF-α in the small intestinal mucosa. We suggest that an estimated dietary Paeoniae radix alba extract level of 1 to 2 g/kg could be used as a guide to achieve the optimal performance of raccoon dogs.

In the task of image instance segmentation, semi-supervised instance segmentation algorithms have received constant research attention over recent years. Among these algorithms, algorithms based on transfer learning are better than algorithms based on pseudo-label generation in terms of segmentation performance, but they can not make full use of the relevant characteristics of source tasks. To improve the accuracy of these algorithms, this work proposes a semi-supervised instance segmentation model AFT-Mask (attention-based feature transfer Mask R-CNN) based on category attention. The AFT-Mask model takes the result of object-classification prediction as “attention” to improve the performance of the feature-transfer module. In detail, we designed a migration-optimization module for connecting feature migration and classification prediction to enhance segmentation-prediction accuracy. To verify the validity of the AFT-Mask model, experiments were conducted on two types of datasets. Experimental results show that the AFT-Mask model can achieve effective knowledge transfer and improve the performance of the benchmark model on semi-supervised instance segmentation.

Backgrounds: Our previous work revealed that AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) activation inhibits vascular smooth muscle cell migration in vitro by phosphorylating PDZ and LIM domain 5 (Pdlim5). As metformin is an AMPK activator, we used a mouse vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) line and a Myh11-cre-EGFP mice to investigate whether metformin could inhibit the migration of VSMCs in vitro and in a wire-injury model in vivo. It is recognized that VSMCs contribute to the major composition of atherosclerotic plaques. In order to investigate whether the AMPK–Pdlim5 pathway is involved in the protective function of metformin against atherosclerosis, we utilized ApoE−/− male mice to investigate whether metformin could suppress diabetes-accelerated atherosclerosis by inhibition of VSMC migration via the AMPK–Pdlim5 pathway.Methods: The mouse VSMC cell line was exogenously transfected wild type, phosphomimetic, or unphosphorylatable Pdlim5 mutant before metformin exposure. Myh11-cre-EGFP mice were treated with saline solution or metformin after these were subjected to wire injury in the carotid artery to study whether metformin could inhibit the migration of medial VSMCs into the neo-intima. In order to investigate whether the AMPK–Pdlim5 pathway is involved in the protective function of metformin against atherosclerosis, ApoE−/− male mice were divided randomly into control, streptozocin (STZ), and high-fat diet (HFD)-induced diabetes mellitus; STZ+HFD together with metformin or Pdlim5 mutant carried the adenovirus treatment groups.Results: It was found that metformin could induce the phosphorylation of Pdlim5 and inhibit cell migration as a result. The exogenous expression of phosphomimetic S177D-Pdlim5 inhibits lamellipodia formation and migration in VSMCs. It was also demonstrated that VSMCs contribute to the major composition of injury-induced neointimal lesions, while metformin could alleviate the occlusion of the carotid artery. The data of ApoE−/− mice showed that increased plasma lipids and aggravated vascular smooth muscle cell infiltration into the atherosclerotic lesion in diabetic mice were observed Metformin alleviated diabetes-induced metabolic disorders and atherosclerosis and also reduced VSMC infiltration in atherosclerotic plaques, while the Pdlim5 phospho-abolished mutant that carried adenovirus S177A-Pdlim5 undermines the protective function of metformin.Conclusions: The activation of the AMPK–Pdlim5 pathway by metformin could interrupt the migratory machine of VSMCs and inhibit cell migration in vitro and in vivo. The maintenance of AMPK activity by metformin is beneficial for suppressing diabetes-accelerated atherosclerosis.

Plankton is one of the most basic components in the marine ecosystem. The community structure and population change of plankton are the important ecological information to reflect the environmental situation. As the fundamental parameter of the plankton community structure, size spectrum is very useful for the evaluation of the marine ecosystem. In this paper, we propose a real-time and adaptive algorithm to calculate the size spectrum of underwater plankton video, which is captured by the high-resolution and high-speed optical camera. First, this algorithm screens the high-resolution plankton images to ensure that every plankton is counted once with the clearest frame. Second, edge detection and morphological methods are performed to get plankton areas. Furthermore, we perform several simplifications that each particle is handled as ellipses shape to calculate the volume to obtain the size spectrum. Moreover, in order to facilitate the biologists to research plankton deeply, we record a region of the clear area containing each plankton to build a plankton database.

Monitoring the variations in terrestrial water storage (TWS) is crucial for understanding the regional hydrological processes, which helps to allocate and manage basin-scale water resources efficiently. In this study, the impacts of climate change, glacier mass loss, and human activities on the variations in TWS of the Qaidam Basin over the period of 2002−2020 were investigated by using Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) and GRACE Follow-On (GRACE-FO) data, and other hydrological and meteorological data. The results indicate that TWS anomalies (TWSA) derived from five GRACE solutions experienced significant increasing trends over the study period, with the change rates ranging from 4.85 to 6.90 mm/year (1.37 to 1.95 km3/year). The GRACE TWSA averaged from different GRACE solutions exhibited an increase at a rate of 5.83 ± 0.12 mm/year (1.65 ± 0.03 km3/year). Trends in individual components of TWS indicate that the increase in soil moisture (7.65 mm/year) contributed the most to the variations in TWS. Through comprehensive analysis, it was found that the temporal variations in TWS of the Qaidam Basin were dominated by the variations in precipitation, and the spatial variations in TWS of the Qaidam Basin were mostly driven by the increase in glacier meltwater due to climate warming, particularly in the Narin Gol Basin. In addition, the water consumption associated with human activities had relatively fewer impacts.

Objective: This study aims to investigate perinatal depression in women who gave birth during the COVID-19 pandemic in Wuhan, and to evaluate the effect of the pandemic on perinatal depression prevalence.Methods: A cross-sectional investigation was conducted into women hospitalized for delivery in Hubei Maternity and Child Healthcare Hospital from December 31, 2019 to March 22, 2020, a period which encompasses the entire time frame of the COVID-19 pandemic in Wuhan. The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) was adopted to evaluate perinatal depression status. A Chi-square test and logistic regression model were utilized for data analysis.Results: A total of 2,883 participants were included, 33.71% of whom were found to suffer from depressive symptoms. In detail, 27.02%, 5.24%, and 1.46% were designated as having mild, moderate, and severe depressive symptoms, respectively. The perinatal depression prevalence increased as the COVID-19 pandemic worsened. Compared to the period from December 31, 2019 to January 12, 2020, perinatal depression risk significantly decreased within the 3 weeks of March 2–22, 2020 (1st week: OR = 0.39, 95% CI: 0.20, 0.78; 2nd week: OR = 0.35, 95% CI: 0.17, 0.73; and 3rd week: OR = 0.48, 95% CI: 0.25, 0.94); and the postnatal depression risk significantly rose within the four weeks of January 27-February 23, 2020 (1st week: OR = 1.78, 95% CI: 1.18, 2.68; 2nd week: OR = 2.03, 95% CI: 1.35, 3.04; 3rd week: OR = 1.48, 95% CI: 1.02, 2.14; and 4th week: OR = 1.73, 95% CI: 1.20, 2.48).Conclusion: The dynamic change of perinatal depression was associated with the progression of the COVID-19 pandemic among new mothers who were exposed to the pandemic. An elevated risk of postnatal depression was also observed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lake Issyk-Kul is the largest alpine lake in arid Central Asia. In recent years, the lake has become a subject of special concern due to the dramatic fluctuations in its water level. In this study, the long-term continuous changes in the water level of Lake Issyk-Kul were derived from hydro-meteorological stations, CryoSat-2, and ICESat-2 satellites. Changes in area were analyzed by the Joint Research Centre (JRC) Global Surface Water (GSW) dataset based on the Google Earth Engine and the variations in water volume were estimated by an empirical formula. The results indicate that the water level of Lake Issyk-Kul fluctuated between 1606.06 m and 1608.32 m during 1958–2020, showing a slight decrease of 0.02 m/year on average. The water level first experienced a significant decreasing trend of 0.05 m/year from 1958 to 1998, and then began to rise rapidly by 0.10 m/year during 1998–2006, followed by a fluctuating decline after 2006. The area of Lake Issyk-Kul exhibited a downward trend before 1998, then a rapid expansion during 1998–2006, and short-term fluctuations in decline thereafter. Meanwhile, changes in water volume of Lake Issyk-Kul followed a similar pattern of variations in water level and area. According to comprehensive analyses, the continuous downward trend of the water level before 1998 was primarily affected by substantial anthropogenic water consumption in the basin. However, since the 21st century, the increases in precipitation and glacier meltwater and the reduced water consumption have collectively facilitated the short-term recovery of Lake Issyk-Kul in water level, area, and water volume.

Assessing the impacts of human activities on the variations in terrestrial water storage (TWS) is essential for water resource management, particularly in regions like the Aral Sea Basin which suffers from severe water scarcity. In this study, the variations in TWS anomalies (TWSA) of the Aral Sea Basin during the period of April 2002 to June 2017 were analyzed using Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) data and the Global Land Data Assimilation System (GLDAS) Noah model outputs. The impacts of human activities on TWS variations were further quantified through the variations in TWS components and the comparison of TWS obtained from GRACE and GLDAS. The results indicate that TWSA of the entire Aral Sea Basin derived from GRACE experienced a significant decreasing trend of 4.12 ± 1.79 mm/year (7.07 ± 3.07 km3/year) from 2002 to 2017. Trends in individual TWS components indicate that the reduction in TWS of the Aral Sea Basin was primarily attributed to surface water loss, followed by groundwater depletion, which account for ~53.16% and 11.65 ± 45.39 to 42.48 ± 54.61% of the total loss of TWS, respectively. Precipitation (P) and evapotranspiration (ET) both exhibited increasing trends, indicating that ET played a dominant role in TWS depletion from the perspective of water balance. The variations in ET and TWS induced by human activities contributed ~45.54% and ~75.24% to those in total ET and TWS of the Aral Sea Basin, respectively.

Previous studies have investigated the association between cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen-4 (CTLA-4) polymorphisms and breast cancer susceptibility, but the results remained inconsistent. Therefore, we evaluated the relationship between four common CTLA-4 polymorphisms and breast cancer risk by a meta-analysis, aiming to derive a comprehensive and precise conclusion. We searched EMBASE, Pubmed, Web of Science, CNKI, and Wanfang databases until July 18th, 2016. Finally, ten eligible studies involving 4,544 breast cancer patients and 4,515 cancer-free controls were included; all these studies were from Asia. Odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were used to evaluate the breast cancer risk in five genetic models. The results indicated that the CTLA-4 +49A>G (rs231775) polymorphism had a significant association with decreased breast cancer risk in allelic, homozygous, dominant and recessive models. Also, the +6230G>A (rs3087243) polymorphism reduced breast cancer risk especially in the Chinese population under homozygous and recessive models. In contrast, the −1661A>G (rs4553808) polymorphism increased breast cancer risk in allelic, heterozygous and dominant models, whereas −1722 T>C (rs733618) did not relate to breast cancer risk. In conclusion, CTLA-4 polymorphisms significantly associate with breast cancer susceptibility in Asian populations, and different gene loci may have different effects on breast cancer development. Further large-scale studies including multi-racial populations are required to confirm our findings.

Glaciers in the Qilian Mountains are important sources of fresh-water for sustainable development in the Hexi Corridor in the arid northwest China. Over the last few decades, glaciers have generally shrunk across the globe due to climate warming. In order to understand the current state of glaciers in the Qilian Mountains, we compiled a new inventory of glaciers in the region using Landsat Operational Land Imager (OLI) images acquired in 2015, and identified 2748 glaciers that covered an area of 1539.30 ± 49.50 km2 with an ice volume of 81.69 ± 7.40 km3, among which the Shule River basin occupied the largest portion of glaciers (24.8% in number, 32.3% in area, and 35.6% in ice volume). In comparison to previous inventories, glacier area was found to shrink by 396.89 km2 (20.5%) in total, and 109 glaciers with an area of 8.94 km2 disappeared over the period from the 1960s to 2015. This situation was primarily caused by the increase in air temperature, and also related with the size of glacier and some local topographic parameters. In addition, the change of glaciers in the Qilian Mountains showed a distinct spatial pattern, i.e., their shrinking rate was large in the east and small in the west.

Brevundimonas diminuta are ubiquitous in the environment, but are infrequently isolated from clinical samples. Here we report a case of B. diminuta bacteremia in a man with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) at a teaching hospital in China and review the previously reported cases. The organism was confirmed by culture and 16s rRNA sequence analysis with highly sensitivity to broad-spectrum antibiotics. Our report and other cases demonstrated that the optimal therapeutic duration for B. diminuta infections in various situations remains to be established.

BACKGROUND: The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene plays a key role in tumor survival, invasion, angiogenesis, and metastatic spread. Recent studies showed that gastric cancer (GC) was associated with polymorphisms of the EGFR gene and environmental influences, such as lifestyle factors. In this study, seven known SNPs in EGFR exons were investigated in a high-risk Chinese population in Jiangsu province to test whether genetic variants of EGFR exons and lifestyle are associated with an increased risk of GC. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: A hospital-based case-control study was performed in Jiangsu province. The results showed that smoking, drinking and preference for salty food were significantly associated with the risk of GC. The differences of lifestyle between males and females might be as the reason of higher incidence rates in males than those in females. Seven exon SNPs were genotyped rs2227983,rs2072454,rs17337023,rs1050171,rs1140475, rs2293347, and rs28384375. It was noted that the variant rs2072454 T allele and TT genotype were significantly associated with an increased risk of GC. Interestingly, our result suggested the ACAGCA haplotype might be associated with decreased risk of GC. However, no significant association was examined between the other six SNPs and the risk of GC both in the total population and the age-matching population even with gender differences. CONCLUSIONS: Smoking, drinking and preference for salty food were significantly associated with the risk of GC in Jiangsu province with gender differences. Although only one SNP (rs2072454) was significantly associated with an increased risk of GC, combined the six EGFR exon SNPs together may be useful for predicting the risk of GC.

A key enzyme in the shikimate pathway, 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase (EPSPS) is the primary target of the broad-spectrum herbicide glyphosate. Identification of new aroA genes coding for EPSPS with a high level of glyphosate tolerance is essential for the development of glyphosate-tolerant crops. In the present study, the glyphosate tolerance of five bacterial aroA genes was evaluated in the E. coli aroA-defective strain ER2799 and in transgenic tobacco plants. All five aroA genes could complement the aroA-defective strain ER2799, and AM79 aroA showed the highest glyphosate tolerance. Although glyphosate treatment inhibited the growth of both WT and transgenic tobacco plants, transgenic plants expressing AM79 aroA tolerated higher concentration of glyphosate and had a higher fresh weight and survival rate than plants expressing other aroA genes. When treated with high concentration of glyphosate, lower shikimate content was detected in the leaves of transgenic plants expressing AM79 aroA than transgenic plants expressing other aroA genes. These results suggest that AM79 aroA could be a good candidate for the development of transgenic glyphosate-tolerant crops.