Nanodelivery System Alters an Insect Growth Regulator's Action Mode: From Oral Feeding to Topical Application

Insect growth regulators (IGRs) guide animal development through injection, oral feeding, or topical application. Among them, lufenuron is a widely used insect cuticle inhibitor but only shows a gastric toxic effect. Lacking contact toxicity limits the effective utilization when spraying the lufenuron pesticide. To overcome this shortcoming, a nanocarrier (star polycation, SPc)-based transdermal delivery system was applied to improve the penetrability and contact toxicity of lufenuron. The fluoride groups in lufenuron could interact with the tertiary amines in the branch-chain of the SPc through electrostatic interaction to form a lufenuron/SPc complex. The above interaction reduced the particle size of lufenuron from 933 to 70 nm. Interestingly, the contact toxicity of SPc-loaded lufenuron was remarkably improved with effects of higher larval mortality and lower egg hatching rate of the devastating pest fall armyworm. The physiological and molecular toxic mechanism was revealed by RNA-Seq analysis. The SPc-loaded lufenuron apparently down-regulated cuticle-related genes and thus inhibited insect cuticle formation. Such contact toxicity was achieved by the transdermal nanodelivery of lufenuron, which up-regulated endocytosis-related genes for drug uptake. This study is the first successful application of a nanoparticle-mediated transdermal delivery system to explore the contact toxicity of an IGR, which alters the IRG's action mode from oral feeding to topical application.

Effects of Ce, Sm and Yb on cavitation erosion of NAB alloy in 3.5% NaCl solution

The influences of Ce, Sm and Yb on cavitation erosion of NAB alloy in 3.5% NaCl solution are evaluated using mass loss, SEM, 3D morphology and Tafel plot, respectively. The results show that the addition of Ce or Sm or Yb enhances the mechanical property of NAB alloy, and the sizes of κ_Ⅰ and κ_Ⅱ phases within NAB alloy decrease with adding Ce or Sm or Yb, resulting in the prevention of the propagation of the cracks caused by cavitation erosion initially originated at the phase boundaries between α and κ phases, and finally the cavitation erosion damage significantly decreases with adding Ce or Sm or Yb. The corrosion of NAB alloy in 3.5% NaCl solution can promote the cavitation erosion of NAB alloy, while the corrosion resistance of NAB alloy increases with the addition of Ce or Sm or Yb, and then the cavitation erosion resistance is accordingly improved with the addition of rare earth element.

AB0392 EFFICACY AND SAFETY OF UPADACITINIB IN A CHINESE SUBGROUP OF PATIENTS WITH RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS AND INADEQUATE RESPONSE TO CONVENTIONAL SYNTHETIC DISEASE-MODIFYING ANTI-RHEUMATIC DRUGS

Background

Upadacitinib (UPA) was effective in global Phase 3 trials in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients (pts) with inadequate response (IR) to conventional synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (csDMARDs).

Objectives

To assess the efficacy and safety of UPA in csDMARD-IR pts with RA in Chinese subgroup from a Phase 3, randomized, double-blind, placebo (PBO)-controlled study (NCT02955212) 1.

Methods

Pts were randomized to 12 weeks of blinded treatment with UPA 15 mg once daily (QD) or PBO, in combination with csDMARDs. Primary and secondary endpoints were analyzed in a Chinese subgroup, including American College of Rheumatology criteria (ACR) responses, remission and low disease activity measures. Safety was analyzed for pts who received ≥1 dose of study drug.

Results

228 Chinese pts (67.5% of overall trial population) were randomized and took at least one dose of study drug. Baseline characteristics were generally balanced between UPA and PBO. 46% and 35.1% used methotrexate (MTX) alone as concomitant csDMARD in UPA and PBO group, respectively. 38.9% in UPA and 43.0% in PBO group used concomitant csDMARDs other than MTX and 15.0% and 21.9% respectively used a combination. At week 12, more Chinese pts receiving UPA achieved the primary endpoint of ACR20 compared with PBO (71.9% vs 31.6%, nominal p<0.001). UPA also showed greater improvements in all secondary endpoints vs PBO at Week 12 (Table 1), including ACR50 and ACR70, mean change in Disease Activity Score in 28 joints using C-reactive protein (DAS28-CRP), Health Assessment Questionnaire-Disability Index (HAQ-DI), Short-Form 36-item Health Survey-Physical Component Summary (SF-36 PCS), as well as proportion of pts achieving low disease activity based on DAS28-CRP ≤3.2 and Clinical Disease Activity Index (CDAI) ≤10, and clinical remission based on DAS28-CRP <2.6. Onset of response was rapid with more pts receiving UPA achieving ACR20 by Week 1 versus PBO (25.4% vs 5.3%, nominal p<0.001). Through Week 12 treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) occurred in 57.9% of pts on UPA and 49.1% on PBO. The rate of pts with serious AEs (SAEs) was numerically higher with UPA than with PBO (6.1% vs 4.4%). TEAEs reported in ≥ 3% of subjects and with a higher rate on UPA vs. PBO were: upper respiratory tract infection, alanine aminotransferase increased, aspartate aminotransferase increased, hypertension, diarrhea, and leukopenia. Overall safety was consistent with the trial population1 and similar with the reported safety profile of the global clinical program2.

Table 1.

Summary of Efficacy Endpoint Results at Week 12 in Chinese Subgroup

Endpoint aUPA 15mg (N=114)PBO (N=114)Primary endpointACR20, %71.9***31.6Secondary endpointsΔ DAS28-CRP-2.42***-0.75Δ HAQ-DI-0.55***-0.11Δ SF-36 PCS7.63 b***2.94 cDAS28-CRP ≤3.2, %46.5***9.6DAS28-CRP <2.6, %28.1***1.8CDAI ≤10, %33.3***7.0ACR50, %39.5***7.0ACR70, %16.7***2.6ACR20 at Week 1, %25.4***5.3

***Nominal p<0.001 vs PBO

aNon-responder imputation for binary endpoints; ANCOVA with multiple imputation for DAS28(CRP) and HAQ-DI; mixed model repeated measures for other continuous endpoints. Δ: mean change from baseline

bN=106

cN=104

Conclusion

UPA demonstrated clinical and functional improvement in Chinese csDMARD-IR RA pts. The safety of UPA was comparable with the overall study population and with the safety seen in the global Phase 3 program.

References

[1]Zeng X, Zhao D, Radominski SC, et al. Int J Rheum Dis. 2021;24:1530–1539.

[2]Cohen SB, van Vollenhoven RF, Winthrop KL, et al. Ann Rheum Dis 2021;80:304–311.

Acknowledgements

AbbVie funded this study; contributed to its design; participated in data collection, analysis, and interpretation of the data; and in the writing, review, and approval of the abstract. No honoraria or payments were made for authorship.

Disclosure of Interests

Xiaofeng Zeng: None declared, Yi Liu: None declared, Jiankang Hu: None declared, Jingyang Li: None declared, Yongfu Wang: None declared, Dongbao Zhao: None declared, Lijun Wu: None declared, Zhengyu Xiao: None declared, ZHIJUN LI: None declared, Jian Xu: None declared, Sebastian Meerwein Shareholder of: may own AbbVie stock or options, Employee of: AbbVie employee, Yunxia Xie Shareholder of: may own AbbVie stock or options, Employee of: AbbVie employee, Peiwen Liang Employee of: AbbVie

Overexpression of PxαE14 Contributing to Detoxification of Multiple Insecticides in Plutella xylostella (L.)

The diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella (L.), has evolved with varying degrees of resistance to almost all major classes of insecticides and has become the most resistant pest worldwide. The multiresistance to different types of insecticides has been frequently reported in P. xylostella, but little is known about the mechanism. In this study, a carboxylesterase (CarE) gene, PxαE14, was found significantly overexpressed in a field-evolved multiresistant P. xylostella population and can be dramatically induced by eight of nine tested insecticides. Results of the real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) showed that PxαE14 was predominantly expressed in the midgut and malpighian tubule of larvae. Knockdown of PxαE14 dramatically increased the susceptibility of the larvae to β-cypermethrin, bifenthrin, chlorpyrifos, fenvalerate, malathion, and phoxim, while overexpression of PxαE14 in Drosophila melanogaster increased the tolerance of the fruit flies to these insecticides obviously. More importantly, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) assay showed that the recombinant PxαE14 expressed in Escherichia coli exhibited metabolic activity against the six insecticides. The homology modeling, molecular docking, and molecular dynamics simulation analyses showed that these six insecticides could stably bind to PxαE14. Taken together, these results demonstrate that constitutive and inductive overexpression of PxαE14 contributes to detoxification of multiple insecticides involved in multiresistance in P. xylostella. Our findings provide evidence for understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying the multiresistance in insect pests.

Electrocatalytic Water Oxidation: An Overview With an Example of Translation From Lab to Market

Water oxidation has become very popular due to its prime role in water splitting and metal–air batteries. Thus, the development of efficient, abundant, and economical catalysts, as well as electrode design, is very demanding today. In this review, we have discussed the principles of electrocatalytic water oxidation reaction (WOR), the electrocatalyst and electrode design strategies for the most efficient results, and recent advancement in the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalyst design. Finally, we have discussed the use of OER in the Oxygen Maker (OM) design with the example of OM REDOX by Solaire Initiative Private Ltd. The review clearly summarizes the future directions and applications for sustainable energy utilization with the help of water splitting and the way forward to develop better cell designs with electrodes and catalysts for practical applications. We hope this review will offer a basic understanding of the OER process and WOR in general along with the standard parameters to evaluate the performance and encourage more WOR-based profound innovations to make their way from the lab to the market following the example of OM REDOX.

The influence of Bt cotton cultivation on the structure and functions of the soil bacterial community by soil metagenomics

Bt cotton successfully controlled major devastating pests in cotton，such as Helicoverpa armigera and Spodoptera exigua, and led to a drastic decrease in insecticide use in cotton fields, and it has been grown commercially worldwide. However, Bt cotton cultivation left Bt toxin residues in the soil, resulting in a response by its microbiome that caused potential environmental risks. In this research, the metagenomics analysis was performed to investigate the structure and functions of the soil bacterial community in the Bt cotton field from the Binzhou, Shandong province of China, where the Bt cotton has been cultivated for over fifteen years. Analysis of the function genes proved that the receptors of Bt toxins were absent in the soil bacteria and Bt toxins failed to target the soil bacteria. The microbiome structure and function were highly influenced by Bt cotton cultivation, however, no significant change in the total abundance of the bacteria was observed. Proteobacteria was the largest taxonomic group in the soil bacterial (42-52%) and its abundance was significantly increased after Bt cotton cultivation. The increase of Proteobacteria abundance resulted in an increase in ABC transporters gene abundance, indicating the improved ability of detoxification metabolism over Bt cotton cultivation. Xanthomonadales could be a biomarker of the Bt cotton group, whose abundance was significantly increased to contribute to the increase of the genes abundance in ABC transporters. The abundance of apoptosis genes was significantly decreased, and it might be related to the increase of Proteobacteria abundance by Bt cotton cultivation. In addition, Myxococcales was responsible for carotenoid biosynthesis, whoes genes abundance was significantly decreased due to the decrease of Myxococcales abundance by Bt cotton cultivation. These changes in soil bacterial community structure and functions indicate the influence by Bt cotton cultivation, leading to an understanding of the bacteria colonization patterns due to successive years of Bt cotton cultivation. These research results should be significant for the rational risk assessment of Bt cotton cultivation.

Influence of seasonal migration on evolution of insecticide resistance in Plutella xylostella

The diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella (L.), is one of the most destructive migratory pest species of cruciferous vegetables worldwide and has developed resistance to most of the insecticides used for its control. The migration regularity, migratory behavior, and relationship between flight and reproduction of P. xylostella have been widely reported. However, the effect of migration on insecticide resistance in this pest is still unclear. In this study, the effect of migration on P. xylostella resistance to seven insecticides was investigated using populations across the Bohai Sea that were collected in the early and late seasons during 2017-2019. The bioassay results showed that the early season populations of P. xylostella from south China possessed much higher resistance to insecticides because of intensive insecticide application; alternatively, the late season populations migrated from northeast China, where the insecticides were only used occasionally, showed much lower insecticide resistance. The genome re-sequencing results revealed that, among the eight mutations involved in insecticide resistance, the frequencies of two acetylcholinesterase mutations (A298S and G324A) responsible for organophosphorus insecticide resistance were significantly decreased in the late season populations. The results indicated that P. xylostella migration between tropical and temperate regions significantly delayed the development of insecticide resistance. These findings illustrated the effect of regional migration on the evolution of insecticide resistance in P. xylostella, and provided foundational information for further research on the relationship between migration and insecticide resistance development in other insects.

The Cycas genome and the early evolution of seed plants

Cycads represent one of the most ancient lineages of living seed plants. Identifying genomic features uniquely shared by cycads and other extant seed plants, but not non-seed-producing plants, may shed light on the origin of key innovations, as well as the early diversification of seed plants. Here, we report the 10.5-Gb reference genome of Cycas panzhihuaensis, complemented by the transcriptomes of 339 cycad species. Nuclear and plastid phylogenomic analyses strongly suggest that cycads and Ginkgo form a clade sister to all other living gymnosperms, in contrast to mitochondrial data, which place cycads alone in this position. We found evidence for an ancient whole-genome duplication in the common ancestor of extant gymnosperms. The Cycas genome contains four homologues of the fitD gene family that were likely acquired via horizontal gene transfer from fungi, and these genes confer herbivore resistance in cycads. The male-specific region of the Y chromosome of C. panzhihuaensis contains a MADS-box transcription factor expressed exclusively in male cones that is similar to a system reported in Ginkgo, suggesting that a sex determination mechanism controlled by MADS-box genes may have originated in the common ancestor of cycads and Ginkgo. The C. panzhihuaensis genome provides an important new resource of broad utility for biologists.

Prevalence of sparganum infection in wild frogs in Hainan province of China involves a risk for sparganosis

BACKGROUND

Sparganosis is a serious parasitic zoonosis triggered by intake of and wound contact with frog flesh or the water infected or contaminated by sparganum.

METHODS

The prevalence of Sparganum infection in wild frogs was assessed. A questionnaire survey was also conducted among the residents in Hainan Province to evaluate people's awareness of the medical and epidemiological relevance of sparganosis.

RESULTS

A total of 1556 wild frogs were collected to examine Sparganum infection in different organs. A total of 201 (12.92%) were found to be infected with spargana of the genus Spirometra. There were 612 spargana found in those frogs, and the average infection rate was 3.04 per frog. The infection rate in the central region of Hainan Island is higher than that in other regions. Most spargana were found in the hind legs of frog, and the infection rate was not related to the weight of frogs. About 37.05% of the residents on Hainan Island have the knowledge of sparganosis and sparganum infection, and the internet was a major way to learn about sparganosis. The results of logistic regression analysis showed that occupation was identified as a determinant of sparganosis knowledge, and gender, age and residence were the most important risk factors for sparganosis. These results indicated that sparganum infection in wild frogs is common and is a potential threat to the residents on Hainan Island, and unhealthy lifestyle and eating habits may trigger sparganum infections.

CONCLUSION

Wild frogs are commonly infected by Sparganum, which is a potential threat to people. To prevent sparganosis in humans, it is necessary to raise public awareness of sparganum infection in frogs and its association with sparganosis, as well as advocate healthy diet concepts and habits, and abandon the capture, sale and purchase of wild frogs to prevent and decrease the incidence of sparganosis.

Optimum synthesis of cactus-inspired SERS substrate with high roughness for paraquat detection

Paraquat is a highly effective herbicide and widely used in agricultural production. However, paraquat residue is harmful for human health and can cause irreversible hazard. Thus, it is crucial for monitoring of paraquat residues. In this paper, an efficient SERS platform based on cactus-inspired nanoparticles is proposed for sensitive detection of paraquat. The cactus-liked nanoparticles obtained from one-pot stepwise reduction method possess multiple spiny structures and can produce abundant hot spots, resulting in remarkable SERS performance. SEM, TEM, UV-vis and Raman tests were conducted to characterize and optimize the morphology of cactus-liked nanoparticles under different preparation conditions. The synthesis mechanism and corresponding parameters influence mechanism of cactus-liked nanoparticles were explored in detail. Optimized substrate exhibited a high sensitivity with the detectable concentration of crystal violet (CV) down to 10^-9 M and an excellent reproducibility proved by SERS mapping. Furthermore, it behaved good linear relationship with a correlation coefficient (R²) of 96.89% between Raman intensities and concentrations of paraquat, which indicates the SERS substrate prepared with cactus-liked nanoparticles could offer a great potential for identification of paraquat.

The effects of reclaimed water irrigation on the soil characteristics and microbial populations of plant rhizosphere

In this paper, the effects of irrigation with different water qualities on the soil characteristics of 8 kinds of garden plants were analyzed. The results showed that soil pH (ranging at 7.76-8.73) had no significant difference in different soils compared with the contrast treatment. Under the reclaimed water irrigation, the content of soil total salinity, chloride ions, and water soluble sodium in soil of most plants was averagely 160.3%, 83.3%, and 67.5% higher than that of tap water, respectively. The influences of reclaimed water irrigation on soil nutrients were changed with the types of plants. The content of soil organic matter and the available potassium showed no significant differences in most plants. Compared with the tap water irrigation, the content of alkaline nitrogen in 5 plants increased (averagely 25.8%) after 5-year irrigation with reclaimed water. In terms of soil microorganism, the increase of soil microbial population, including bacteria, fungus and actinomycetes, has been promoted by different levels of reclaimed water irrigation, which is closely related with soil nutrients.

Measurement of trace bisphenol A in drinking water with combination of immunochromatographic detection technology and SERS method

Sensitive and selective detection of target analyte is very important in many fields such as commodity inspection and quality monitoring. In this work, based on the principle of competitive immunoassay, surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) was used to establish a rapid and highly sensitive method for the detection of trace amounts of bisphenol A in water. Here, Raman molecule 5,5-dithiobis-2-nitrobenzoic acid and anti-BPA antibody were conjugated with Au (core)@Ag (shell) nanoparticle to serve as SERS nanoprobe. After the SERS nanoprobe is combined with the substance to be tested, it uses the siphon effect to pass through the test line and the charging line on the test strip. And the Raman test was performed on the T line with a Raman spectrometer. The detection limitation was 0.1 pg/mL. Compared with the reported gas chromatography, liquid chromatography, fluorescence analysis, and other detection methods, SERS ICA does not demand complicated sample preparation procedures, and has the advantages of simple detection methods, quick results, High sensitivity, good specificity, and low technical demands for laboratory environment and testers. In addition, Raman spectrometers have gradually developed to be portable, making it easier to meet the needs of on-site rapid and highly sensitive detection, and will show broad prospects for applications in the fields of biomedical diagnosis and food safety monitoring.

Resistance and fitness costs in diamondback moths after selection using broflanilide, a novel meta-diamide insecticide

The diamondback moth (DBM) Plutella xylostella (L.) (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae) is an insect pest found around the world that feeds on cruciferous crops. The DBM has become resistant to most insecticides in current use in the field. Broflanilide is a novel meta-diamide insecticide that binds to a new site on the γ-aminobutyric acid receptor and very efficiently protects against most pests in the order Lepidoptera, including DBM. In this study, the resistance of a laboratory-bred susceptible strain of DBM to broflanilide and the fitness costs posed by broflanilide to the DBM were evaluated. The DBM had no obvious resistance to broflanilide after 10 generations of selection. The realized heritability h² was 0.033, suggesting a low risk of resistance developing in this strain. The F10 generation had no cross-resistance to the insecticides abamectin and endosulfan (which target the γ-aminobutyric acid receptor) and chlorantraniliprole (which targets a non-γ-aminobutyric acid receptor). The specific activities of important detoxification enzymes (cytochrome P450 monooxygenase, esterase, and glutathione S-transferase) were not obviously altered. However, the larval stage was prolonged and the adult stage was shortened significantly in F11 generation than the F0 generation. The total preoviposition period TPOP significantly prolonged 1.90 d in F11 generation. The fitness value R_f (0.93) was lower for the F11 generation than the F0 generation. The results indicated that long-term exposure to broflanilide exerts clear fitness costs in the DBM. This information will be useful in identifying reasonable broflanilide application guidelines for managing broflanilide resistance in the DBM.

Stability Optimization Strategies of Cathode Materials for Aqueous Zinc Ion Batteries: A Mini Review

Among the new energy storage devices, aqueous zinc ion batteries (AZIBs) have become the current research hot spot with significant advantages of low cost, high safety, and environmental protection. However, the cycle stability of cathode materials is unsatisfactory, which leads to great obstacles in the practical application of AZIBs. In recent years, a large number of studies have been carried out systematically and deeply around the optimization strategy of cathode material stability of AZIBs. In this review, the factors of cyclic stability attenuation of cathode materials and the strategies of optimizing the stability of cathode materials for AZIBs by vacancy, doping, object modification, and combination engineering were summarized. In addition, the mechanism and applicable material system of relevant optimization strategies were put forward, and finally, the future research direction was proposed in this article.

Raman spectrum classification based on transfer learning by a convolutional neural network: Application to pesticide detection

Pesticide detection is of tremendous importance in agriculture, and Raman spectroscopy/Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) has proven extremely effective as a stand-alone method to detect pesticide residues. Machine learning may be able to automate such detection, but conventional algorithms require a complete database of Raman spectra, which is not feasible. To bypass this problem, the present study describes a transfer learning method that improves the algorithm's accuracy and speed to extract features and classify Raman spectra. The transfer learning model described here was developed through the following steps: (1) the classification model was pre-trained using an open-source Raman spectroscopy database; (2) the feature extraction layer was saved after training; and (3) the training model for the Raman spectroscopy database was re-established while using self-tested pesticides and keeping the feature extraction layer unchanged. Three models were evaluated with or without transfer learning: CNN-1D, Resnet-1D, and Inception-1D, and they have improved the accuracy of spectrum classification by 6%, 2%, and 3%, with reduced training time and increased curve smoothness. These results suggest that transfer learning can improve the feature extraction capability and therefore accuracy of Raman spectroscopy models, expanding the range of Raman-based applications where transfer learning model can be used to identify the spectra of different substances.

Raman spectral classification algorithm of cephalosporin based on VGGNeXt

The classification algorithm VGGNeXt of cephalosporin Raman spectrum is proposed. The low resolution spectrum of portable Raman spectrometer is predicted by using the high resolution spectrum training of benchtop Raman spectrometer.

Sublethal and transgenerational effects of afidopyropen on biological traits of the green peach aphid Myzus persicae (Sluzer)

The green peach aphid, Myzus persicae (Sulzer), is a cosmopolitan agricultural pest and causes great damages each year. Afidopyropen is a novel insecticide with high efficacy against even the insecticides resistant M. persicae. However, the sublethal and transgenerational effects of afidopyropen on M. persicae is not clear. In the present paper, sublethal and transgenerational effects of afidopyropen on biological traits of M. persicae were determined based on the age-stage, two-sex life table theory. The afidopyropen was more toxic against M. persicae than other widely used insecticides, with LC₅₀ of 0.086 mg/L. The treatment with LC₅, LC₁₅ and LC₂₅ concentrations of afidopyropen remarkably reduced the longevity and fecundity of F₀M. persicae by 15.9-64.4% and 24.3-76.7%, respectively, compared with those of the control. The life history traits of F₁ generation including the pre-adult development time, mean total longevity, pre-adult survival rate, total pre-oviposition period and fecundity were significantly affected after treatment of the F₀ with afidopyropen, and the population parameters, including the net reproductive rate (R₀), intrinsic rate of increase (r) and finite rate of increase (λ) were also remarkably decreased, while the mean generation time (T) was extended by 6.94%. Among four development and reproduction related genes investigated, JHEH was downregulated by 31.8-38.0% in the afidopyropen treated F₀ generation, while the EcR and JHAMT were overexpressed and the Vg was significantly downregulated in F₁ generation compared to the control group. All these data indicated that the afidopyropen had significant sublethal and transgenerational effects on M. persicae. These results provide insights into comprehensively understanding of the insecticidal effects of afidopyropen on M. persicae as well as the management of resistant M. persicae.

Establishment of a quantitative RT-PCR detection of SARS-CoV-2 virus

Background

The outbreak of novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has become a public health emergency of international concern. Quantitative testing of SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) virus is demanded in evaluating the efficacy of antiviral drugs and vaccines and RT-PCR can be widely deployed in the clinical assay of viral loads. Here, we developed a quantitative RT-PCR method for SARS-CoV-2 virus detection in this study.

Methods

RT-PCR kits targeting E (envelope) gene, N (nucleocapsid) gene and RdRP (RNA-dependent RNA polymerase) gene of SARS-CoV-2 from Roche Diagnostics were evaluated and E gene kit was employed for quantitative detection of COVID-19 virus using Cobas Z480. Viral load was calculated according to the standard curve established by series dilution of an E-gene RNA standard provided by Tib-Molbiol (a division of Roche Diagnostics). Assay performance was evaluated.

Results

The performance of the assay is acceptable with limit of detection (LOD) below 10E1 copies/μL and lower limit of quantification (LLOQ) as 10E2 copies/μL.

Conclusion

A quantitative detection of the COVID-19 virus based on RT-PCR was established.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s40001-021-00608-5.

Managing consistency and consensus measures and adjustment strategies in group decision making with probabilistic linguistic preference relations

The use of probabilistic linguistic preference relations (PLPRs) in pairwise comparisons enhances the flexibility of quantitative decision making. To promote the application of probabilistic linguistic term sets (PLTSs) and PLPRs, this paper introduces the consistency and consensus measures and adjustment strategies to guarantee the rationality of preference information utilized in the group decision making process. First of all, a novel entropy-based similarity measure is developed with PLTSs. Hereafter an improved consistency measure is defined on the basis of the proposed similarity measure, and a convergent algorithm is constructed to deal with the consistency improving process. Furthermore, a similarity-based consensus measure is developed in a given PLPR, and the consensus reaching process is presented to deal with the unacceptable consensus degree. The proposed consistency improving and consensus reaching processes follow a principle of minimum information loss, called a local adjustment strategy. In particular, the presented methods not only overcome the deficiencies in existing studies but also enhance the interpretation and reduce the complexity of the group decision making process. Finally, the proposed consistency measure and improving process, as well as consensus measure and reaching process are verified through a numerical example for the medical plan selection issue. The result and in-depth comparison analysis validate the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed methods.

Sports Augmented Cognitive Benefits: An fMRI Study of Executive Function with Go/NoGo Task

Exercise is believed to have significant cognitive benefits. Although an array of experimental paradigms have been employed to test the cognitive effects on exercising individuals, the mechanism as to how exercise induces cognitive benefits in the brain remains unclear. This study explores the effect of dynamic neural network processing with the classic Go/NoGo task with regular exercisers. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging to analyze the brain activation of areas involved in executive function, especially inhibitory control. Nineteen regular joggers and twenty-one subjects as a control group performed the task, and their brain imaging data were analyzed. The results showed that at the attentive visual period, the frontal and parietal areas, including the prefrontal cortex, putamen, thalamus, lingual, fusiform, and caudate, were significantly enhanced in positive activities than the control group. On the other hand, in the following inhibitory control processing period, almost the same areas of the brains of the exercise group have shown stronger negative activation in comparison to the control group. Such dynamic temporal response patterns indicate that sports augment cognitive benefits; i.e., regular jogging increases the brain's visual attention and inhibitory control capacities.

Amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) alterations in adults with subthreshold depression after physical exercise: A resting-state fMRI study

BACKGROUND

Physical exercise has been proved to reduce the risk of major depression in Subthreshold depression (StD) individuals effectively, yet little is known about the spontaneous brain activity changes associated with physical exercise.

METHODS

A total of 70 adult subjects, including 38 StD and 32 healthy control (HC) subjects, underwent a resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) before and after eight-week aerobic exercise respectively. Then, the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) alterations between the two groups were quantitatively analyzed.

RESULTS

Before exercise intervention, the rs-fMRI data showed increased ALFF of the right putamen in the StD group compared with HC group. After exercise intervention, there was no significant ALFF change observed between the StD and HC groups. The longitudinal ALFF differences from pre- to post- exercise intervention showed significantly decreased ALFF in the right middle and inferior occipital gyrus, right middle and inferior temporal gyrus, right fusiform gyrus (FG), while increased ALFF in the right middle cingulate, right superior parietal louble, right inferior parietal lobule (IPL) (inferior parietal gyrus and supramarginal gyrus), and bilateral precuneus in the StD group. As for HC group, the results showed that decreased ALFF in the right FG and right parahippocampus, while increased ALFF in the right precuneus, right middle cingulate, right supplementary motor area, right superior parietal lobule and right paracentral lobule in the HC group. No significant correlation between changes of ALFF and clinical scale scores in the StD group.

LIMITATIONS

The definitions of StD are varied in terms of different studies, the final sample size was relatively small, and the age range of the subjects in this study was narrow. Meanwhile, the exercise intervention trial was short-term.

CONCLUSIONS

These results further support the standpoint that physical exercise has the potential to reshape the abnormal patterns of spontaneous brain activity in adults with StD.