Search

Molecular clocks are the basis for dating the divergence between lineages over macroevolutionary timescales (~105 to 108 years). However, classical DNA-based clocks tick too slowly to inform us about the recent past. Here, we demonstrate that stochastic DNA methylation changes at a subset of cytosines in plant genomes display a clocklike behavior. This "epimutation clock" is orders of magnitude faster than DNA-based clocks and enables phylogenetic explorations on a scale of years to centuries. We show experimentally that epimutation clocks recapitulate known topologies and branching times of intraspecies phylogenetic trees in the self-fertilizing plant Arabidopsis thaliana and the clonal seagrass Zostera marina, which represent two major modes of plant reproduction. This discovery will open new possibilities for high-resolution temporal studies of plant biodiversity.

Jiaji Hu,1,2,&ast; Binbin Xu,3,&ast; Nian Yao,1,2 Sha Peng,1,2 Ran Xu,1,2 Guiyuan Ma,1,2 Jinghui Zhang1,2,4 1Teaching and Research Section of Clinical Nursing, Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, 410008, People’s Republic of China; 2Xiangya School of Nursing, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan Province, 410000, People’s Republic of China; 3School of Nursing, Hunan University of Chinese Medicine, Changsha, Hunan Province, 410000, People’s Republic of China; 4National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Disorders, Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, 410008, People’s Republic of China&ast;These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Jinghui Zhang, Teaching and Research Section of Clinical Nursing, Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, No. 87 Xiangya Road, Kaifu District, Changsha, 410008, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86 158 7403 2339, Email 401212@csu.edu.cnBackground: Medical personnel contact with the patient closely, and their knowledge of vascular catheter-associated infections (VCAIs) is closely related to the prevention of VCAIs. Researchers mainly pay attention to the VCAIs knowledge of doctors and nurses but rarely pay attention to the nursing students in the hospital internship stage.Purpose: To investigate the current situation of knowledge of intern-nursing students in VCAIs, and analyze its influencing factors.Patients and Methods: 843 intern-nursing students were selected from 10 hospitals in five regions of eastern, western, southern, northern, and central China from June 26 to July 31, 2023, using a two-stage random sampling method. A self-designed questionnaire with good reliability and validity was used to investigate their knowledge of VCAIs, and t-test, multiple linear regression analysis, and Welch t-test were used to analyze the collected data by using SPSS Statistics 26.0 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY).Results: Intern nursing students’ mean score of VCAIs knowledge was 48.66 (SD=15.77), with a score below 60 (unqualified) accounting for 75.4%, a score of 60– 79 (qualified) accounting for 19.7%, a score of 80– 89 (good) accounting for 3.6%, and a score of above 90 accounting for 1.3%. Students who attended VCAIs training three or more times had higher scores than those who did not attend training (B: 4.706, p=0.001), knowledge scores of students with a bachelor’s degree or above were higher than those with junior college degree or below (B: 8.479, p< 0.001), students who interned in tertiary hospitals had higher scores than those practicing in secondary hospitals (B:12.381, p< 0.001) and scores of students in hospital training were significantly higher than study independently (B:4.116, p=0.007).Conclusion: Intern-nursing students have a relatively low level of knowledge about VCAIs. It is recommended to strengthen clinical systematic and standardized training, improve the knowledge mastery level of intern-nursing students, and enhance their ability to handle VCAIs.Keywords: catheter-related bloodstream infections, intern-nursing students, knowledge, vascular catheter-associated infections

This paper describes the contours of a research program on peacekeeping and peacebuilding, representing the interests of Non-Western countries (the world’s majority). The article is based on both individual developments of its expert authors in the theory and practice of peacekeeping, international law and development cooperation, as well as on generalized conclusions of eight international workshops on Non-Western peacekeeping, held by the Department of Theory and History of International Relations of the RUDN University in 2020-2021 with the participation of leading Russian and international experts. Particular attention is paid to the current moment in international peacekeeping associated with the “power transit” (from the United States to China, and more broadly, from the West to the Non-West) and the power vacuum observed in a number of regions. Conclusions are drawn about the crisis of humanitarian intervention and the system of liberal peacekeeping in general. At the same time, the remaining instruments of Western structural power in the field of peacekeeping are examined in detail, covering both personnel representation in the UN and the practice of ‘penholding,’ as well as the discursive hegemony of the “Collective West.” The main directions in the development of Non-Western academic discourse in the field of peacemaking and peacebuilding are explored in the context of building a multipolar world. Special attention is paid to the problems of regional human rights systems in the context of the protection of civilians and post-conflict peacebuilding. The study concludes that Non-Western countries have a significant influence on the formation of international norms in the field of peacekeeping (rule-changers), but so far do not act as norm-setting actors in world politics (rule-makers).

Shan He,1,&ast; Huangding Wen,1,&ast; Nannan Yao,2 Lu Wang,3 Junqun Huang,4 Zhiqing Li1 1Department of Burns, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510515, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Neurology, Cangzhou Central Hospital, Cangzhou, 061000, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Neurology, Hebei General Hospital, Shijiazhuang, 050000, People’s Republic of China; 4Department of Anaesthesia, The Seventh Affiliated Hospital, Southern Medical University, Foshan, 528000, People’s Republic of China&ast;These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Zhiqing Li, Department of Burns, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510515, People’s Republic of China, Email lizq@smu.edu.cnIntroduction: Drug-resistant bacterial infections and biofilm formation play important roles in the pathogenesis of diabetic refractory wounds. Tea tree oil (TTO) exhibits antimicrobial, antimycotic, and antiviral activities, especially against common clinically resistant strains, such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), making it a potential natural antimicrobial for the treatment of acute and chronic wounds. However, TTO is insoluble in water, volatile, light-sensitive, and cytotoxic. While previous macroscopic studies have focused on sterilization with TTO, none have sought to alter its structure or combine it with other materials to achieve sustained release.Methods: Electrospun TTO nanoliposomes (TTO-NLs), arranged linearly via high-pressure homogenization, could stabilize the structure and performance of TTO to achieve slow drug release. Herein, we established a composite nano-sustained release system, TTO-NL/polyvinyl alcohol/chitosan (TTO-NL@PCS), using high-voltage electrospinning.Results: Compared with the control, TTO-NL@PCS exhibits higher concentrations of the active TTO drug components, terpinen-4-ol and 1,8-cineole. Owing to its increased stability and slow release, early exposure to TTO-NL@PCS increases the abundance of reactive oxygen species in vitro, ultimately causing the biofilm to disperse and completely killing MRSA without inducing cytotoxic effects to the host. Moreover, in BKS-Leprem2Cd479/Gpt mice with a whole-layer skin infection, untargeted metabolomics analysis of wound exudates reveals upregulated PGF2α/FP receptor signaling and interleukin (IL)-1β and IL-6 expression following application of the composite system. The composite also ameliorates the chemotaxis disorder in early treatment and attenuates the wound inflammatory response during the repair stage of diabetic inflammatory wounds, and upregulates VEGF expression in the wound bed.Conclusion: TTO-NL@PCS demonstrates the remarkable potential for accelerating diabetic and MRSA-infected wound healing.Keywords: electrospinning, MRSA biofilm, antibacterial material, diabetic ulcer, wound healing

Jie Wang,1,2 Zhen Wei,1,2 Nan Yao,1,2 Caifeng Li,1,2 Long Sun1,2 1Centre for Health Management and Policy Research, School of Public Health, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, People’s Republic of China; 2NHC Key Laboratory of Health Economics and Policy Research, Shandong University, Jinan, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Long Sun, Centre for Health Management and Policy Research, School of Public Health, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, 44 Wenhuaxi Road, Jinan, Shandong, 250012, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86 531-88382678, Email sunlong@sdu.edu.cnPurpose: In recent years, mental health problems have become the most serious social problems worldwide. Past studies have proposed that some links exist between sunlight and mental health; however, relevant studies examining low-dose sunlight exposure populations are lacking. We conducted a study among a group of operating room nurses (ORNs) who work long hours in operating rooms and have limited sunlight exposure. We aim to add to and refine previous researches on the association between mental health and sunlight exposure in community population.Patients and Methods: A total of 787 ORNs were interviewed and analyzed. Mental health, sunlight exposure duration, sociodemographic and work-related variables, and chronic diseases were evaluated. The Kessler 10 scale (K10) was used to assess participants’ mental health status, and their sunlight exposure duration was assessed using their self-reports. Multiple linear regression analysis was adopted to examine the association between sunlight exposure and mental health.Results: The average K10 score of ORNs was 25.41. ORNs exhibit poorer mental health than other populations. Poor mental health was negatively associated with greater sunlight exposure hours per day (β=− 0.378) and sleep regularity (β=− 3.341). Poor mental health was positively associated with chronic disease (β=3.514).Conclusion: This study indicated that the positive association between sunlight exposure and mental health existed. Appropriate enhancement of sunlight exposure will be beneficial to mental health. Hospitals, related organizations and individuals should pay greater attention to ORNs’ mental health and sunlight exposure conditions. More policy recommendations as well as building structure recommendations should be proposed.Keywords: sunlight exposure, mental health, operating room nurses, China

Despite decades of research, the pathophysiology of bipolar disorder (BD) is still not well understood. Structural brain differences have been associated with BD, but results from neuroimaging studies have been inconsistent. To address this, we performed the largest study to date of cortical gray matter thickness and surface area measures from brain magnetic resonance imaging scans of 6503 individuals including 1837 unrelated adults with BD and 2582 unrelated healthy controls for group differences while also examining the effects of commonly prescribed medications, age of illness onset, history of psychosis, mood state, age and sex differences on cortical regions. In BD, cortical gray matter was thinner in frontal, temporal and parietal regions of both brain hemispheres. BD had the strongest effects on left pars opercularis (Cohen's d=-0.293; P=1.71 × 10-21), left fusiform gyrus (d=-0.288; P=8.25 × 10-21) and left rostral middle frontal cortex (d=-0.276; P=2.99 × 10-19). Longer duration of illness (after accounting for age at the time of scanning) was associated with reduced cortical thickness in frontal, medial parietal and occipital regions. We found that several commonly prescribed medications, including lithium, antiepileptic and antipsychotic treatment showed significant associations with cortical thickness and surface area, even after accounting for patients who received multiple medications. We found evidence of reduced cortical surface area associated with a history of psychosis but no associations with mood state at the time of scanning. Our analysis revealed previously undetected associations and provides an extensive analysis of potential confounding variables in neuroimaging studies of BD.

Changcong Wang,1 Yangming Qu,1 Huikun Niu,1 Yingan Pan,1 Yinghua He,2 Jianwei Liu,2 Nan Yao,1 Han Wang,1 Yinpei Guo,1 Yang Pan,2,3 Bo Li1 1Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin, 130021, People’s Republic of China; 2Jilin Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Changchun, Jilin, 130062, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Jilin University, Changchun, 130021, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Bo LiDepartment of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Jilin University School of Public Health, 1163 Xinmin Street, Changchun, Jilin, 130021, People’s Republic of ChinaTel/Fax +86 43185619451Email li_bo@jlu.edu.cnYang PanJilin Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Changchun, Jilin, 130062, People’s Republic of ChinaTel +86 18844504063Email 18844504063@163.comPurpose: Respiratory disease is a major and increasingly global epidemic that has a great impact on humans, especially children. The purpose of this study was to identify environmental risk factors for respiratory diseases and pulmonary function in children.Patients and Methods: A population-based, cross-sectional survey of respiratory diseases and environmental risk factors was conducted in Jilin Province, China. Complete questionnaire information was available for 2419 children, while adequate pulmonary function data were available for a subgroup of 627 children.Results: Our study found that environmental risk factors for respiratory health in children were mainly concentrated indoors. After adjusting for demographic factors, insecticide exposure and passive smoking were risk factors for respiratory disease and industrial pollutant sources, insecticide exposure and the use of a fume exhauster may be independent risk factors for recurrent respiratory infections. The main fuel for cooking in the winter and passive smoking were the main influencing factors of pulmonary function indicators.Conclusion: The primary risk factors differ in different respiratory diseases. Passive smoking remains a critical adverse factor for respiratory illness and pulmonary function in children, and it is important to reduce children’s exposure to passive smoking to increase pulmonary health. Insecticide exposure may be a neglected environmental risk factor, and further investigations are still needed to explore the relationship and mechanisms between insecticide exposure and children’s respiratory health.Keywords: respiratory diseases, lung function, environmental risk factors

Xiumin Liu,1 Yinpei Guo,2 Jing Wu,1 Nan Yao,2 Han Wang,2 Bo Li2 1Department of Clinical Laboratory, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Jilin University, Changchun, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Bo LiDepartment of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Jilin University, No. 1163 Xinmin Street, Chaoyang District, Changchun City, Jilin Province, People’s Republic of ChinaTel/Fax +8643185619451Email li_bo@jlu.edu.cnPurpose: Clinically there are not many clinical indicators to differentiate diabetic kidney disease (DKD) and chronic kidney disease (CKD). Data from laboratory inspections on admission of clinical patients were used to complete the relationship and discrimination analysis of the two diseases.Patients and Methods: All subjects were taken from the Department of Nephrology of the Second Hospital of Jilin University from January 2019 to September 2020 with clinical diagnosis of CKD or diabetic nephropathy and no other diseases. After querying the hospital’s medical record system, the basic demographic information was obtained, and data on cardiovascular, metabolism, renal function, blood function, and other relevant indicators were extracted as well. IBM SPSS 24.0 software was used for data collation and analysis.Results: A total of 1726 inpatients (986 males and 740 females) over 18 years old were included, 1407 were CKD patients, 319 were DKD patients. Female accounted for 55.4% in CKD patients, 64.6% in DKD patients. Compared to men, women may be more susceptible to DKD (OR=2.234). DKD patients were more likely to be have higher DP, GLU, eGFR, TCHO, and abnormal TVU (OR=1.746, 3.404, 1.107, 3.004, 14.03) while VB12 was the relative risk factor for CKD; thus, low VB12 level is more likely to happen in CKD patients (OR=0.054, OR95%CI: 0.005– 0.552, P=0.014) compared with DKD patients. The stepwise discriminant analysis was completed, only 11 of the 34 variables had discriminative significance. The discriminant score (DS) was set to explore its test efficiency of DKD prediction by drawing ROC curve. Discriminant formula used for CKD and DN identification was given in the study.Conclusion: Female, higher DP, fasting blood GLU and TCHO level seemed to be more indicative for DKD, while lower eGFR level and VB12 deficiency were more likely to point to CKD. Doctors can refer to the discriminant formula to assist in the differential diagnosis of the two diseases after completing the detection of DP, fasting blood GLU, Cys-C, eGFR, TVU, TCHO, FA, VB12, CK, and CK–Mb.Keywords: chronic kidney disease, diabetic kidney disease, multivariate logistic regression, ROC curve, discriminant analysis

Bingqin Guo,1 Lan Yu,1 Yanhong Sun,2 Nan Yao,1 Li Ma1 1Department of Pathology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Bengbu Medical College, Bengbu 233030, Anhui, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Huangshan People’s Hospital of Anhui Province, Huangshan, Anhui 245000, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Lan YuDepartment of Pathology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Bengbu Medical College, 287 Changhuai Road, Bengbu 233030, Anhui, People’s Republic of ChinaTel +86 552-3086021Fax +86 552-3086384Email lang446684@163.comBackground: Ovarian cancer is one of the malignant tumors attacking the female reproductive system. Currently, increasing studies have clearly determined the importance of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in various human cancers including ovarian cancer. However, the role and in-depth mechanism of ubiquitin specific peptidase 2 antisense RNA 1 (USP2-AS1) in ovarian cancer have been not reported yet.Purpose: We were absorbed into exploring the character of USP2-AS1 in ovarian cancer.Methods: RT-qPCR analysis reflected gene expression. The GEPIA database provided further evidences, and bioinformatics tools analyzed the potential molecules downstream USP2-AS1 in ovarian cancer. The changes on ovarian cancer cellular functions were assessed via EdU, TUNEL, JC-1 and transwell assays. RNA pull down, RIP and luciferase reporter assays estimated molecule interactions.Results: USP2-AS1 was obviously up-regulated in ovarian cancer tissues and cell lines. Inhibiting USP2-AS1 had anti-proliferation, pro-apoptosis, and anti-migration effects on ovarian cancer cells. Furthermore, we confirmed that USP2-AS1 sequestered miR-520d-3p to enhance KIAA1522. In addition, miR-520d-3p silence reversed the effect of depleted USP2-AS1 on ovarian cancer cellular behaviors, while such reversion was then abolished by KIAA1522 knockdown.Conclusion: USP2-AS1 facilitated ovarian cancer progression via miR-520d-3p/KIAA1522 axis, implying USP2-AS1 as a new perspective for the treatment of ovarian cancer.Keywords: USP2-AS1, miR-520d-3p, KIAA1522, ovarian cancer

Quantum scrambling is the dispersal of local information into many-body quantum entanglements and correlations distributed throughout an entire system. This concept accompanies the dynamics of thermalization in closed quantum systems, and has recently emerged as a powerful tool for characterizing chaos in black holes.sup.1-4. However, the direct experimental measurement of quantum scrambling is difficult, owing to the exponential complexity of ergodic many-body entangled states. One way to characterize quantum scrambling is to measure an out-of-time-ordered correlation function (OTOC); however, because scrambling leads to their decay, OTOCs do not generally discriminate between quantum scrambling and ordinary decoherence. Here we implement a quantum circuit that provides a positive test for the scrambling features of a given unitary process.sup.5,6. This approach conditionally teleports a quantum state through the circuit, providing an unambiguous test for whether scrambling has occurred, while simultaneously measuring an OTOC. We engineer quantum scrambling processes through a tunable three-qubit unitary operation as part of a seven-qubit circuit on an ion trap quantum computer. Measured teleportation fidelities are typically about 80 per cent, and enable us to experimentally bound the scrambling-induced decay of the corresponding OTOC measurement. A quantum circuit in an ion-trap quantum computer provides a positive test for the scrambling features of a given unitary process., Author(s): K. A. Landsman [sup.1] , C. Figgatt [sup.1] , T. Schuster [sup.2] , N. M. Linke [sup.1] , B. Yoshida [sup.3] , N. Y. Yao [sup.2] [sup.4] , C. [...]

Background: Adaptability and forage productivity of Panicum phragmitoïdes in the humid region of Côte d'Ivoire were evaluated compared to Panicum maximum cv C1 from October 2018 to April 2019. Methods: Three accessions of P. phragmitoïdes and P. maximum cv C1 were transplanted by cuttings with three replicates in a randomized complete blocks design to evaluate adaptability parameters and forage yield. Result: The average number of tallies per tuft of P. phragmitoïdes ranged from 15.83±2.24 to 19.17±7.39 versus 33.67±5.10 tallies for P. maximum cv C1. Accessions of P. phragmitoïdes ranged in height from 146.33±9.49 to 151.42±15.88 cm and were higher than P. maximum cv C1 which was 119.50±20.67 cm. The forage productivity of P. phragmitoïdes and P. maximum cv C1. were identical and ranged from 4.84±1.07 to 8.20±3.72 t DM/ha/year. P. phragmitoïdes seems to adapt well in the humid region of Côte d'Ivoire. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]