Effect of contact precautions on preventing meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus transmission in intensive care units: a review and modelling study of field trials

BACKGROUND

Contact precautions (CPs) have been widely implemented in hospitals, particularly in intensive care units (ICUs), as the standard approach for managing meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). However, the effectiveness of CPs in preventing MRSA transmission remains a subject of debate.

AIM

To assess the effectiveness of CPs in reducing MRSA transmission within ICUs.

METHODS

A comprehensive analysis was conducted using data from 16 sets of parameters collected from 13 field studies investigating the effectiveness of CPs in ICUs, and an epidemiologic model was developed to simulate the dynamics of MRSA incidence in the hospital setting.

FINDINGS

The analysis demonstrated a mean reduction of 20.52% (95% confidence interval -30.52 to 71.60%) in the MRSA transmission rate associated with the implementation of CPs. Furthermore, reducing the time-delay of screening tests and increasing the percentage of patients identified with MRSA through screening at admission were found to contribute to the effectiveness of CPs.

CONCLUSION

Proper implementation of CPs, with a particular emphasis on early identification of MRSA-colonized/infected patients, demonstrated a strong association with reduced MRSA transmission within the hospital setting. However, further research is necessary to investigate the effectiveness and safety of decolonization and other interventions used in conjunction with CPs to mitigate the risk of infection among colonized patients.

Energy flow analysis of grass carp pond system based on Ecopath model

Grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idellus) is the most productive freshwater fish in China, but its traditional aquaculture model still has problems, such as poor water quality and frequent diseases. We have taken monoculture and 80:20 polyculture grass carp ponds as the research object and used EwE software to build the Ecopath model of two ponds. We analyzed and compared the characteristics of ecological structure and energy flow in two ponds. The result showed the highest effective trophic level in the polyculture pond that was higher than that in the monoculture pond, and fish in polyculture had higher EE values which showed the production of fish in polyculture contributed more to the energy conversion efficiency of the ecosystem. Flows into detritus were the largest component of TST both in the two ponds, which accounted for 49.34% and 50.37%. And the average transfer efficiency in monoculture was 13.07%, while that in polyculture was 15.6%. The ascendency/total development capacity (A/TDC) and overhead/total development capacity (O/TDC) were 0.35 and 0.65 both in the two ponds, respectively, which indicated that both systems had a strong anti-perturbation ability, but the stability could be improved. Finn's cycling index (FCI) in polyculture was higher and showed that the polyculture pond was more mature and stable. Unused energy of functional groups will flow to detritus, and that in the monoculture pond was higher, the energy of C. idellus that flowed to detritus in monoculture was 48.17% higher than that in polyculture; unused energy of bacteria and phytoplankton were also high. The result showed that polyculture could improve energy utilization, increase transfer efficiency, and raise the stability of the ecosystem. Grass carp ponds still need to be improved in the aspects of mixed species and energy consumption. It is necessary to improve the ecological and economic benefits of grass carp ponds by optimizing the aquaculture structure and adjusting the aquaculture proportion.

Polymicrobial Infection Induces Adipose Tissue Dysfunction via Gingival Extracellular Vesicles

Recent studies have indicated that periodontitis promotes metabolic dysregulation and insulin resistance by affecting the function of white adipose tissue (WAT). However, the mechanisms linking periodontitis to adipose tissue dysfunction still need to be explored. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) deliver messages to distal sites and regulate their function. Also, recent studies have shown that periodontitis changes the composition of EVs in body fluids and that EVs might be one of the mechanisms underlying the relationship between periodontitis and insulin resistance. Herein, we explored the impact of polymicrobial oral infection with periodontal pathogens on the function of WAT and the role of gingival EVs (gEVs) in the process. Mice were subjected to oral inoculation with 109 Porphyromonas gingivalis and 108 Fusobacterium nucleatum every other day for 14 wk. This prolonged bacterial infection induced WAT dysfunction, characterized by reduced levels of AKT phosphorylation, adiponectin, leptin, and genes associated with adipogenesis and lipogenesis. We successfully isolated gEVs with satisfactory yield and purity. The RNA sequencing results showed that the differentially expressed microRNAs in the gEVs of mice with polymicrobial oral infection were involved in insulin signaling and adipose tissue function. Notably, our in vitro experiments and RNA sequencing results revealed the functional similarities between gEVs and plasma-derived EVs. Furthermore, intraperitoneal injection with gEVs derived from mice with oral infection induced the dysfunction of WAT in healthy mice. Overall, our findings provide evidence for the influence of polymicrobial oral infection on WAT function and propose gEVs as a novel pathway through which periodontal infection may exert its effects on WAT.

Occurrence of microplastic pollution in rivers globally: Driving factors of distribution and ecological risk assessment

Microplastics, as global emerging pollutants, have received significant attention worldwide due to their ubiquitous presence in the rivers. However, there is still a lack of clarity on the occurrence, driving factors, and ecological risks of microplastics in rivers worldwide. In this study, a global microplastic dataset based on 862 water samples and 445 sediment samples obtained from 63 articles was constructed, which revealed the temporal and spatial distribution of abundance and morphological characteristics of microplastics in rivers across the globe. In global rivers, the abundance of MPs in both water and sediment spans across 10 and 4 orders of magnitude, respectively. The MP comprehensive diversity index based on the physical morphological characteristics of MPs indicated a significant positive correlation between the pollution sources of MPs in different environmental media. Based on the data was aligned to the full-scale MPs, a novel framework was provided to evaluate the ecological risk of MPs and the interaction effects between the influencing factors driving the distribution characteristics of MPs in rivers around the world. The results obtained demonstrated a wide variation in the key driving factors affecting the distribution of microplastics in different environmental media (water and sediment) in rivers globally. The diversity indices of the morphological characteristics of MPs in densely populated areas of lower-middle income countries in Asia were significantly higher, implying that the sources of microplastics in these regions are more complex and extensive. More than half of the rivers are exposed to potential ecological risks of MPs; however, microplastics may pose only immediate risks to aquatic species in Burigang River, Bangladesh. This can provide valuable insights for formulating more effective scientific strategies for the management of MP pollution in rivers.

Dose Painting Radiotherapy Guided by Diffusion-Weighted Magnetic Resonance vs. 18F-FDG-PET/CT in Locoregionally Advanced Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma: A Randomized, Controlled Clinical Trial

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE(S)

This phase II randomized controlled trial aimed at comparing the efficacy and toxicity of diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DWI)-guided dose painting radiotherapy (DP-RT), FDG-PET/CT-guided DP-RT, and conventional MRI-based radiotherapy (RT) in locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC).

MATERIALS/METHODS

A total of 330 patients with stage III-IVa NPC disease were randomly assigned in a 1:1:1 ratio to receive induction chemotherapy followed by concurrent chemoradiotherapy by DWI-guided DP-RT (group A, n = 110), FDG-PET/CT-guided DP-RT (group B, n = 110), or conventional MRI-based RT (group C, n = 110). All patients received volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT). In group A, subvolume GTVnx-DWI (gross tumor volume of nasopharynx in DWI) was defined as the areas within the GTVnx (gross tumor volume of nasopharynx) with an apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) below the mean ADC (ADC < mean). In group B, subvolume GTVnx-PET (gross tumor volume of nasopharynx in PET images) was defined within GTVnx as the SUV50%max isocontour. The doses to GTVnx-DWI in group A and GTVnx-PET in group B were escalated to 75.2 Gy/32 fx in patients with T1-2 disease and to 77.55 Gy/33 fx in those with T3-4 disease in 2.35 Gy per fraction. In group C, planning gross tumor volume of nasopharynx (PGTVnx) was irradiated at 70.4 to 72.6 Gy/32 to 33 fx in 2.2 Gy per fraction. This trial is registered with chictr.org.cn (ChiCTR2200057476).

RESULTS

Group A and B showed significant higher complete response (CR) rates than group C (100%, 100%, and 96.4% for group A, B and C, respectively, p = 0.036). In groups A, B and C, the 1-year local recurrence-free survival (LRFS) rates were 100%, 100%, and 94.5%, respectively (p = 0.002). The 1-year disease-free survival (DFS) rates were 100%, 99.1%, and 92.7%, respectively (p = 0.001). The 1-year distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS) rates were 100%, 99.1%, and 93.6%, respectively (p = 0.004). The 1-year overall survival (OS) rates were 100%, 100%, and 95.4%, respectively (p = 0.006). Group A and B had significantly higher 1-year LRFS, DFS, DMFS, and OS than those in group C. No significant differences were observed in LRFS, DFS, DMFS and OS between group A and B. Group B (PET/CT group) had a higher incidence of grade 3-4 acute ototoxicity (3.6%) than group A (0%) and group C (0%, p = 0.036). No significant differences in other grade 3-4 acute adverse events and late toxic effects were observed among the three groups, and no patient had grade 5 toxicities. Multivariate analysis showed that dose painting (DWI-guided DP-RT and PET/CT-guided DP-RT vs conventional MRI-based RT) was associated with improved LRFS, DFS, DMFS and OS.

CONCLUSION

Both DWI-guided DP-RT and PET/CT-guided DP-RT plus chemotherapy are associated with improved LRFS, DFS, DMFS and OS compared with conventional MRI-based RT among patients with locoregionally advanced NPC. DWI-guided DP-RT does not increase toxicities, but PET/CT-guided DP-RT has higher incidence of acute ototoxicity.

Efficacy and Toxicity of Different Target Volume Delineations of Radiotherapy Based on the Updated RTOG/NRG and EORTC Guidelines in Patients with High Grade Glioma: A Randomized, Controlled Clinical Trial

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE(S)

Postoperative radiotherapy with concomitant and adjuvant temozolomide (TMZ) is the standard of care for newly diagnosed high grade glioma, but the optimal method for target volume delineations for intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) is still unclear. We hypothesized that compared with the EORTC guidelines, IMRT based on the updated RTOG/NRG guidelines was equally effective, without increasing toxicities for patients with high-grade glioma. The purpose of this randomized phase 2 study was to compare the efficacy and toxicity of IMRT based on different target volume delineations (updated RTOG/NRG versus EORTC guidelines) with concomitant and adjuvant TMZ for patients with high grade glioma.

MATERIALS/METHODS

A total of 302 patients with newly diagnosed high-grade glioma (WHO grade 3-4) were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive postoperative IMRT based on either updated RTOG/NRG guidelines (RTOG/NRG group, n = 151) or EORTC guideline (EORTC group, n = 151), with concomitant and adjuvant TMZ. In the RTOG/NRG group, an initial volume consisting of enhancement, postoperative cavity, plus surrounding edema (or fluid-attenuated inversion recovery [FLAIR] abnormality defined by magnetic resonance imaging [MRI]) and a 2-cm margin received 46 Gy in 23 fractions followed by a boost of 14 Gy in 7 fractions to the area of enhancement plus the cavity and a 2-cm margin. In the EORTC group, a single planning volume was used to deliver 60 Gy in 30 fractions to the area of enhancement and the cavity with a 2-cm margin. The primary end point was overall survival (OS). Secondary end points included progression-free survival (PFS) and toxicities associated with each treatment.

RESULTS

No statistically significant differences were observed between groups for 1-year OS (71.8% for RTOG/NRG group and 69.9% for EORTC group, respectively; P = 0.759) or 1-year PFS (46.7% for RTOG/NRG group and 43.6% for EORTC group, respectively; P = 0.674). Efficacy did not differ by MGMT methylation status. There were no differences in grade 3-4 toxicities (leukopenia, lymphopenia, neutropenia, thrombocytopenia, fatigue, nausea and vomiting) between the two groups. No grade 5 toxicities were observed in both groups. Multivariate analyses showed that tumor MGMT status (methylated vs unmethylated) and WHO grade (grade 3 vs grade 4) were associated with OS and PFS. However, radiation type (RTOG/NRG group vs EORTC), sex, age, and Karnofsky scale did not significantly influence OS or PFS.

CONCLUSION

Compared with EORTC guidelines for postoperative radiotherapy, IMRT based on RTOG/NRG guidelines was equally effective, without increasing toxicities for patients with high-grade glioma. This trial is registered with chictr.org.cn, number ChiCTR2100046667.

Association of pectoralis muscle area on computed tomography with airflow limitation severity and respiratory outcomes in COPD: A population-based prospective cohort study

BACKGROUND

Previous studies have shown that patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) of severe or very severe airflow limitation have a reduced pectoralis muscle area (PMA), which is associated with mortality. However, whether patients with COPD of mild or moderate airflow limitation also have a reduced PMA remains unclear. Additionally, limited evidence is available regarding the associations between PMA and respiratory symptoms, lung function, computed tomography (CT) imaging, lung function decline, and exacerbations. Therefore, we conducted this study to evaluate the presence of PMA reduction in COPD and to clarify its associations with the referred variables.

METHODS

This study was based on the subjects enrolled from July 2019 to December 2020 in the Early Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (ECOPD) study. Data including questionnaire, lung function, and CT imaging were collected. The PMA was quantified on full-inspiratory CT at the aortic arch level using predefined -50 and 90 Hounsfield unit attenuation ranges. Multivariate linear regression analyses were performed to assess the association between the PMA and airflow limitation severity, respiratory symptoms, lung function, emphysema, air trapping, and the annual decline in lung function. Cox proportional hazards analysis and Poisson regression analysis were used to evaluate the PMA and exacerbations after adjustment.

RESULTS

We included 1352 subjects at baseline (667 with normal spirometry, 685 with spirometry-defined COPD). The PMA was monotonically lower with progressive airflow limitation severity of COPD after adjusting for confounders (vs. normal spirometry; Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease [GOLD] 1: β=-1.27, P=0.028; GOLD 2: β=-2.29, P<0.001; GOLD 3: β=-4.88, P<0.001; GOLD 4: β=-6.47, P=0.014). The PMA was negatively associated with the modified British Medical Research Council dyspnea scale (β=-0.005, P=0.026), COPD Assessment Test score (β=-0.06, P=0.001), emphysema (β=-0.07, P<0.001), and air trapping (β=-0.24, P<0.001) after adjustment. The PMA was positively associated with lung function (all P<0.05). Similar associations were discovered for the pectoralis major muscle area and pectoralis minor muscle area. After the 1-year follow-up, the PMA was associated with the annual decline in the post-bronchodilator forced expiratory volume in 1 s percent of predicted value (β=0.022, P=0.002) but not with the annual rate of exacerbations or the time to first exacerbation.

CONCLUSION

Patients with mild or moderate airflow limitation exhibit a reduced PMA. The PMA is associated with airflow limitation severity, respiratory symptoms, lung function, emphysema, and air trapping, suggesting that PMA measurement can assist with COPD assessment.

[Fibroblasts overpressing WNT2b cause impairment of intestinal mucosal barrier]

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the mechanism by which fibroblasts with high WNT2b expression causes intestinal mucosa barrier disruption and promote the progression of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

METHODS

Caco-2 cells were treated with 20% fibroblast conditioned medium or co-cultured with fibroblasts highly expressing WNT2b, with the cells without treatment with the conditioned medium and cells co-cultured with wild-type fibroblasts as the control groups. The changes in barrier permeability of Caco-2 cells were assessed by measuring transmembrane resistance and Lucifer Yellow permeability. In Caco-2 cells co-cultured with WNT2b-overexpressing or control intestinal fibroblasts, nuclear entry of β-catenin was detected with immunofluorescence assay, and the expressions of tight junction proteins ZO-1 and E-cadherin were detected with Western blotting. In a C57 mouse model of dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced IBD-like enteritis, the therapeutic effect of intraperitoneal injection of salinomycin (5 mg/kg, an inhibitor of WNT/β-catenin signaling pathway) was evaluated by observing the changes in intestinal inflammation and detecting the expressions of tight junction proteins.

RESULTS

In the coculture system, WNT2b overexpression in the fibroblasts significantly promoted nuclear entry of β-catenin (P < 0.01) and decreased the expressions of tight junction proteins in Caco-2 cells; knockdown of FZD4 expression in Caco-2 cells obviously reversed this effect. In DSS-treated mice, salinomycin treatment significantly reduced intestinal inflammation and increased the expressions of tight junction proteins in the intestinal mucosa.

CONCLUSION

Intestinal fibroblasts overexpressing WNT2b causes impairment of intestinal mucosal barrier function and can be a potential target for treatment of IBD.

A mechanism-based fate model of pesticide solutions on the plant surface under aerial application

Pesticide residues on plant surfaces are a primary source of pesticide bioaccumulation in crops. In this context, we propose a mechanism-based model for understanding the pesticide fate on the plant surface following aerial application, taking into account fate modelling of the pesticide spray solution on the plant surface. Using chlorothalonil as an example, the simulation results revealed that the spray solution dissipated rapidly after aerial application, resulting in the formation of a saturated pesticide solution, which facilitated the diffusion process of the pesticide residue from the plant surface into the peel tissue. The proposed model generated higher simulated residue concentrations in the peel or pulp than the current model, owing to the proposed model's assumption of rapid dissipation of the spray solution. This indicated that the proposed model specified the influence of the spray solution on the plant's exposure to residues via the surface deposition pathway, whereas the current modelling approach presented a generic estimate of the residue dissipation on the plant surface that linked to the residue's fate in the soil.

Evaluation of Trophic Structure and Energy Flow in a Pelteobagrus fulvidraco Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture System

An integrated multi-trophic aquaculture system (IMTA) combined muti-trophic organism cultivation with ecological engineering facilities effectively improves energy utilization efficiency and reduces pollution emission, which promotes the development of the aquaculture industry. In this study, an Ecopath model was used to analyze the Pelteobagrus fulvidraco-integrated multi-trophic aquaculture system (FMRP). The results showed that the effective trophic level range of FMRP was low (1~2.566), and the energy throughput was mainly concentrated in trophic level I (65.39%). The utilization rate of commercial fish feed was high. Due to the lack of predators for detritus and primary producers (Oryza sativa L. and hydrophyte), the energy throughput of detritus and the primary production were not fully utilized. The ascendency/total development capacity (A/TDC) and overhead/total development capacity (O/TDC) were 0.29 and 0.59, respectively, which indicated that the aquaculture system had high elasticity and strong anti-perturbation ability, but the stability could be substantially improved. The results of the carrying capacity assessment showed that the maximal single increments of Pelteobagrus fulvidraco fry and juvenile were 0.12 g/m² and 0.42 g/m², respectively, and the maximal common increments of Pelteobagrus fulvidraco fry and juvenile were 0.10 g/m² and 0.10 g/m², respectively, which indicated that there was insufficient space for increment. The study showed that the FMRP still needed to be improved in the aspects of polyculture species, energy consumption and stability. It would be necessary for the FMRP to perform further optimization and enhancement on the energy utilization efficiency, system stability and comprehensive benefits.

A synopsis of global frontiers in fertility preservation

Since 2007, the Oncofertility Consortium Annual Conference has brought together a diverse network of individuals from a wide range of backgrounds and professional levels to disseminate emerging basic and clinical research findings in fertility preservation. This network also developed enduring educational materials to accelerate the pace and quality of field-wide scientific communication. Between 2007 and 2019, the Oncofertility Consortium Annual Conference was held as an in-person event in Chicago, IL. The conference attracted approximately 250 attendees each year representing 20 countries around the world. In 2020, however, the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted this paradigm and precluded an in-person meeting. Nevertheless, there remained an undeniable demand for the oncofertility community to convene. To maintain the momentum of the field, the Oncofertility Consortium hosted a day-long virtual meeting on March 5, 2021, with the theme of "Oncofertility Around the Globe" to highlight the diversity of clinical care and translational research that is ongoing around the world in this discipline. This virtual meeting was hosted using the vFairs ® conference platform and allowed over 700 people to participate, many of whom were first-time conference attendees. The agenda featured concurrent sessions from presenters in six continents which provided attendees a complete overview of the field and furthered our mission to create a global community of oncofertility practice. This paper provides a synopsis of talks delivered at this event and highlights the new advances and frontiers in the fields of oncofertility and fertility preservation around the globe from clinical practice and patient-centered efforts to translational research.

O-167 Microfluidics to mimic female reproductive tract

The female reproductive tract (FRT) consists of major organs of the ovary, the female gonad, and downstream fallopian tube, uterus, and cervix. There are intimate relationships between cells in each reproductive organ as well as between each organ to sustain women’s menstrual cycle and fertility. So far, there are few effective in vitro or ex vivo models that both faithfully recapitulate the hallmarks of female reproduction and possess scalability. In this presentation, I will first introduce how we used an alginate hydrogel-based 3D encapsulated in vitro follicle growth (eIVFG) system to engineer a mini-ovary, which can recapitulate key ovarian functions as occurring in vivo, including gonadotropin-dependent folliculogenesis, oocyte maturation, ovarian steroidogenesis, ovulation, and luteinization. Next, I will introduce how we used the emerging microfluidic technology to engineer an FRT-on-a-chip. The FRT-on-a-chip allows organ-organ integration of hormonal signaling, which simulates women’s 28-day menstrual cycle and also the pregnancy-like endocrine loops. In summary, the engineered mini-ovary and FRT-on-a-chip are new powerful tools for studying female reproductive biology, disease, contraception, drug development, and toxicology.

Radiofrequency coblation assisted transoral excision of lingual thyroglossal duct cyst

Radiofrequency coblation (RFC) is a relatively new device that has been used in several transoral procedures. Currently, clinical data on its use for excising lingual thyroglossal duct cyst (LTGDC) are lacking. Herein, we conducted this retrospective case series to explore the feasibility and efficacy of RFC-assisted transoral surgery (RFC-TOS) in excising LTGDC. A total of 12 LTGDC patients between 2013 and 2020 were retrospectively studied. The cysts of these patients were all fully removed along the boundary to the depth of the hyoid using RFC wands. All surgeries were completed within 30 minutes. Only one patient had an intraoperative blood loss of more than 10 ml. All patients started oral feeding on the day of operation. The mean postoperative hospital stay was only 3.3 days (range 1-8 days). No surgical-related short-term and long-term complications were observed. One patient was lost to follow up, and no recurrences occurred during a mean follow-up period of 52.7 months among the other 11 patients. Therefore, we believe that RFC is a reliable tool in transoral operation for treating LTGDC. LTGDC patients who underwent RFC-TOS showed quick recovery, low risks of complications, and excellent clinical and functional outcomes.

Highly efficient selective hydrogenation of levulinic acid to γ-valerolactone over Cu–Re/TiO2 bimetallic catalysts

Highly active and thermally stable Cu–Re bimetallic catalysts supported on TiO₂ with 2.0 wt% loading of Cu were prepared via an incipient wetness impregnation method and were applied for liquid phase selective hydrogenation of levulinic acid (LA) to γ-valerolactone (GVL) in H₂. The effect of the molar ratios of Cu : Re on the physico-chemical properties and the catalytic performance of the Cu–Re/TiO₂ catalysts was investigated. Moreover, the influence of various reaction parameters on the hydrogenation of LA to GVL was studied. The results showed that the Cu–Re/TiO₂ catalyst with a 1 : 1 molar ratio of Cu to Re (Cu–Re(1 : 1)/TiO₂) exhibited the highest performance for the reaction. Complete conversion of LA with a 100% yield of GVL was achieved in 1,4-dioxane solvent under the reaction conditions of 180 °C, 4.0 MPa H₂ for 4 h, and the catalyst could be reused at least 6 times with only a slight loss of activity. Combined with the characterization results, the high performance of the catalyst was mainly attributed to the well-dispersed Cu–Re nanoparticles with a very fine average size (ca. 0.69 nm) and the co-presence of Cu–Re bimetal and ReO_x on the catalyst surface.

Herein, we report a highly efficient and recyclable Cu–Re(1 : 1)/TiO₂ bimetallic catalyst for liquid phase hydrogenation of levulinic acid to γ-valerolactone.

A review about industrialization of Chinese materia medica decoction pieces

Chinese materia medica decoction pieces (CMMDPs), one of the three pillars of the Chinese materia medica industry, are a key link in the Chinese materia medica industrial chain. Industrialization is the only way for the modernization of CMMDPs. This review mainly summarizes the characteristics, history, current situation and prospect of CMMDPs industry, providing a new reference for promoting the flourishing development of the industrialization of CMMDPs and for serving massive health industry. The literature was collected from databases including Web of Science, PubMed, Elsevier and CNKI (Chinese). CMMDPs industry has the characteristics of regionalism, resource dependency, customer diversity and low industrial concentration. Deeply processed products include traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) formula granules, small-packed decoction pieces, ultrafine decoction pieces, puffed decoction pieces, compressed decoction pieces and instant decoction pieces. Integration of treatment and processing at the place of origin is emerging. However, there is still room for improvement, for example, the manufacturing technologies of CMMDPs industry need to be continually improved. The management of CMMDPs' normalized production also needs to be strengthened. The quality of CMMDPs should be strengthened supervision and it should establish the objective and feasible quality evaluation system for CMMDPs. At present, China has attached unprecedented importance to the development of TCM, and issued a number of supporting policies, sparing no effort to support its development.

Accurate prediction and genome-wide association analysis of digital intramuscular fat content in longissimus muscle of pigs

Intramuscular fat (IMF) content is a critical indicator of pork quality that affects directly the purchasing desire of consumers. However, to measure IMF content is both laborious and costly, preventing our understanding of its genetic determinants and improvement. In the present study, we constructed an accurate and fast image acquisition and analysis system, to extract and calculate the digital IMF content, the proportion of fat areas in the image (PFAI) of the longissimus muscle of 1709 animals from multiple pig populations. PFAI was highly significantly correlated with marbling scores (MS; 0.95, r²  = 0.90), and also with IMF contents chemically defined for 80 samples (0.79, r²  = 0.63; more accurate than direct analysis between IMF contents and MS). The processing time for one image is only 2.31 s. Genome-wide association analysis on PFAI for all 1709 animals identified 14 suggestive significant SNPs and 1 genome-wide significant SNP. On MS, we identified nine suggestive significant SNPs, and seven of them were also identified in PFAI. Furthermore, the significance (-log P) values of the seven common SNPs are higher in PFAI than in MS. Novel candidate genes of biological importance for IMF content were also discovered. Our imaging systems developed for prediction of digital IMF content is closer to IMF measured by Soxhlet extraction and slightly more accurate than MS. It can achieve fast and high-throughput IMF phenotype, which can be used in improvement of pork quality.

Controlled generation of luminescent centers in hexagonal boron nitride by irradiation engineering

Luminescent centers in the two-dimensional material hexagonal boron nitride have the potential to enable quantum applications at room temperature. To be used for applications, it is crucial to generate these centers in a controlled manner and to identify their microscopic nature. Here, we present a method inspired by irradiation engineering with oxygen atoms. We systematically explore the influence of the kinetic energy and the irradiation fluence on the generation of luminescent centers. We find modifications of their density for both parameters, while a fivefold enhancement is observed with increasing fluence. Molecular dynamics simulations clarify the generation mechanism of these centers and their microscopic nature. We infer that V_NC_B and [Formula: see text] are the most likely centers formed. Ab initio calculations of their optical properties show excellent agreement with our experiments. Our methodology generates quantum emitters in a controlled manner and provides insights into their microscopic nature.

Gene cloning, analysis and effect of a new lipocalin homologue from Haemaphysalis longicornis as a protective antigen for an anti-tick vaccine

Haemaphysalis longicornis is distributed worldwide and transmits a variety of pathogens, causing human and animal disease. Use of chemical acaricides, as a primary tick control method, has several disadvantages, including acaricide resistance, environmental damage and residue accumulation in livestock. Development of a livestock vaccination aimed at a tick protective antigen could be an effective, labor-saving and environmentally-friendly method of reducing tick infestation and transmission of tick-borne pathogens. Lipocalins are low molecular weight proteins that play important roles in blood feeding, immune response and reproduction in ticks. In our study, the open reading frame (ORF) of a lipocalin homologue from H. longicornis (HlLIP) was successfully cloned, which consisted of 387 bp encoding a protein of 128 amino acids. The HlLIP protein sequence showed a close sequence homology with Ixodes persulcatus lipocalin. The HlLIP gene was constitutively detected in all developmental stages and in all tissues of the unfed female tick. The ORF of the HlLIP gene was sub-cloned into pET-32a (+) to obtain the recombinant protein (rHlLIP) and its immunogenicity was comfirmed by western blot. A vaccination trial on rabbits against H. longicornis infestation demonstrated that the rHlLIP protein could significantly prolong the period of tick blood feeding, and reduce tick engorged weight, oviposition and egg hatching rate. The vaccination efficacy of the rHlLIP protein was 60.17 % based on engorged weight, oviposition and egg hatching rate of ticks. The results obtained in this study demonstrate that rHlLIP protein is a promising antigen that could potentially be developed as a vaccine against H. longicornis infestation.

[The role of time-series propagation map and activity path of confirmed cases in the analysis and determination of COVID-19 epidemic]

Objective: The time sequence transmission map and the cases travel track were used to explain the chain of transmission, describe the characteristics of transmission and analyze the mode of epidemic of novel coronavirus pneumonia, so as to provide evidence for the relevant government departments to carry out epidemic prevention and control. Methods: The time sequence transmission map and the cases travel track table were drawn, according to the time of incidence, age, sex, number of close contacts and their interrelations. Results: At the end of February 10, 2020, 63 COVID-19 cases were reported in the research area. Among them, 57 cases were confirmed (1 deaths) and 6 cases were asymptomatic, 57 cases were imported cases (90.48%), 36 cases were reported by cluster epidemic (57.14%) among friends and relatives. Cases have been spread to the fourth generation. Conclusion: The time sequence transmission map and the cases travel track showed that, in the research area, the epidemic situation of COVID-19 was mainly caused by imported case, and the clustering transmission was the major spread model. The time sequence transmission map and the cases travel track are worth popularizing in the prevention and control of major infectious diseases.

The Effects of Gold Nanoparticles on Leydig Cells and Male Reproductive Function in Mice

Background

Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) have shown great promise in various biomedical applications, but their effects on male reproductive function remain to be ascertained. The aim of this study was to investigate the uptake, cytotoxicity and testosterone production inhibition of AuNPs in mouse Leydig cells, as well as their accumulation in the testes of male mice and their effects on male reproductive function.

Results

AuNPs (5 nm) were able to be internalized into the endosomes/lysosomes of TM3 Leydig cells, induce the formation of autophagosomes, increase the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), and disrupt the cell cycle in S phase, resulting in concentration-dependent cytotoxicity and DNA damage. Interestingly, AuNPs significantly reduced testosterone production in TM3 cells by inhibiting the expression of 17α-hydroxylase, an important enzyme in androgen synthesis. After repeated intravenous injection, AuNPs gradually accumulated and retained in the testes of male BALB/c mice in a dose-dependent manner. One week after withdrawal, the level of plasma testosterone in the 0.5 mg/kg AuNPs group was significantly reduced compared to that in the PBS control group, accompanied by the decreased expression of 17α-hydroxylase in the testes. In addition, AuNPs treatment significantly increased the rate of epididymal sperm malformation, but without affecting fertility.

Conclusion

Our results suggest that AuNPs can accumulate in the testes and reduce testosterone production in Leydig cells by down-regulating the expression of 17α-hydroxylase, thus affecting the quality of epididymal sperm.

Clinical features and survival impact of EBV-positive diffuse large B-Cell lymphoma with different age cutoffs

OBJECTIVE

In 2016 WHO classification, EBV +DLBCL of the elderly was replaced by EBV+ DLBCL NOS. This is due to the fact that many young patients of EBV+ DLBCL were found in recent years.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

In this study, we retrospectively analyzed clinical features and survival outcomes of EBV positive DLBCL patients in different age groups. All the patients treated at a single center.

RESULTS

When we use different ages (40, 50 and 60 years old) as cutoffs, the prevalence of EBV positive DLBCL was 12.0%, 12.3% and 13.0% in younger patients and 19.0%, 15.4% and 13.8% in elder patients respectively. Whatever the age cutoff was, EBV positive associated with unfavorable clinical prognosis in elder groups. When we use 40 and 50 years old as age cutoffs, poor impacts of EBV positive on overall survival and progression-free survival were observed only in elder patients, but not in younger patients. It should be noted that when we use 60 years old as age cutoff, the results were the opposite.

CONCLUSIONS

EBV+ DLBCL patients with age of 40 to 60 years old showed poorer prognostic features than EBV- DLBCL patients; however, patients in other age groups did not show evident differences in prognosis between EBV+ DLBCL patients and EBV- DLBCL patients. This finding was not reported before.

miR-18a expression in basal cell carcinoma and regulatory mechanism on autophagy through mTOR pathway

BACKGROUND

Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is the most common form of skin carcinoma.

AIM

To investigate the function of key micro(mi)RNAs and to explore the potential molecular mechanisms involved in BCC.

METHODS

The microarray dataset GSE34535, which comprises seven BCC samples and seven control samples, was downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus database. Differentially expressed miRNAs (DE-miRNAs) were identified. We collected tissue samples from 20 patients with BCC and 20 healthy controls (HCs), to compare the miR-18a expression in their tissue samples. Expression of miR-18a in A431 and HaCaT cells was also assayed. Following this, we upregulated and downregulated miR-18a expression in A431 cells to examine the effects on cell proliferation, migration and apoptosis. To further investigate the relative mechanism, the proteins LC3, Beclin 1, Akt and mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) were examined by quantitative real-time PCR and Western blotting. For further verification, we examined the expression of LC3 in the 20 BCC and 20 HC tissue samples.

RESULTS

In total, 19 DE-miRNAs (13 upregulated and 6 downregulated) that were common to the BCC and HC groups were identified. Levels of miR-18a were about three-fold higher in BCC tissues and A431 cells compared with their respective control groups. In vitro, downregulation of miR-18a was shown to inhibit cell proliferation and activate autophagy via the Akt/mTOR signalling pathway, while upregulation of miR-18a promoted proliferation of these cells. LC3 was decreased in BCC compared with HC tissue samples.

CONCLUSIONS

Our data support an oncogenic role of miR-18a through a novel Akt/mTOR/Beclin 1/LC3 axis, and suggest that the antitumour effects of miR-18a inhibitor may make it suitable for BCC therapy.

Metallic elements and Pb isotopes in PM2.5 in three Chinese typical megacities: spatial distribution and source apportionment

Heavy metal pollution in fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) is a serious environmental and health concern in China, particularly during winter. Here, we detected 40 elements in 24 h integrated daily PM_2.5 samples collected in January 2014 from three typical Chinese metropolises (Beijing, Changchun, and Chengdu) to reflect elemental spatial variations, local sources, and regional transport. The measured elemental concentrations in Changchun were 11.1% and 48.4% higher than those in Beijing and Chengdu, respectively. Thus, PM_2.5 from Changchun exhibited high levels and diversity in the elemental profile (characterized by high concentrations of industrial emission elemental markers). The results of elemental ratios and Pb isotopes proved that, except for a coal combustion source, vehicular emissions contributed more to PM_2.5 heavy metals in Beijing than in the other two cities; Changchun PM_2.5 elements received large contributions from industrial sources, including iron and steel manufacturing, and automobile industry. Moreover, crustal dust from long-range transport of regional air masses from the northwest regions of China played a crucial role in determining elemental levels in Beijing and Changchun, accounting for more than 50% of source intensity. However, a specific dominant source was not determined in Chengdu; the contribution of anthropogenic dust, mainly from construction activities, needs to be paid attention in Chengdu eastern area. This study contributed to enhancing our understanding of elemental spatial distribution characteristics and sources and to setting more judicious standards and strategies for PM_2.5 bound heavy metals in China.

Query-biased Self-attentive Network for Query-focused Video Summarization

This paper addresses the task of query-focused video summarization, which takes user queries and long videos as inputs and generates query-focused video summaries. Compared to video summarization, which mainly concentrates on finding the most diverse and representative visual contents as a summary, the task of query-focused video summarization considers the user's intent and the semantic meaning of generated summary. In this paper, we propose a method, named query-biased self-attentive network (QSAN) to tackle this challenge. Our key idea is to utilize the semantic information from video descriptions to generate a generic summary and then to combine the information from the query to generate a query-focused summary. Specifically, we first propose a hierarchical self-attentive network to model the relative relationship at three levels, which are different frames from a segment, different segments of the same video, textual information of video description and its related visual contents. We train the model on video caption dataset and employ a reinforced caption generator to generate a video description, which can help us locate important frames or shots. Then we build a query-aware scoring module to compute the query-relevant score for each shot and generate the query-focused summary. Extensive experiments on the benchmark dataset demonstrate the competitive performance of our approach compared to some methods.

Logistic regression analysis of risk factors for upper gastrointestinal bleeding induced by PCI in combination with double antiplatelet therapy for STEMI patients

OBJECTIVE

To analyze the risk factors for upper gastrointestinal bleeding (UGIB) in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) during double antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).

METHODS

A total of 388 patients treated from January 2015 to September 2017 due to STEMI were selected. Thirty-two cases of UGIB occurring during DAPT after PCI were included as a UGIB group, and another 356 cases without UGIB were set as a control group. Age, gender, body mass index, smoking, drinking, history of previous diseases (hypertension, diabetes and digestive tract diseases), infection of Helicobacter pylori (Hp), combined use of other drugs (statins, NSAIDs, β receptor blockers, PPI, H2RA and dabigatran etexilate), as well as serum levels of creatinine (Cr), alanine transaminase (ALT) and C-reactive protein (CRP) were compared. The risk factors for UGIB were subjected to univariate and logistic regression analyses.

RESULTS

Compared with the control group, the UGIB group had significantly longer hospital stay, and higher proportion of discontinuation of antithrombotic drugs and mortality rate (P<0.05). Logistic regression analysis showed that age (P=0.002), smoking (P=0.000), Hp infection (P=0.020), history of digestive tract diseases (P=0.030) and renal insufficiency (P=0.041) were independent risk factors for UGIB, and use of PPI (P=0.028) was a protective factor for UGIB.

CONCLUSIONS

Old age, smoking, Hp infection, history of digestive tract diseases and renal insufficiency are risk factors for UGIB caused by PCI combined with DAPT in patients with STEMI. Proper use of PPI thereafter can reduce the incidence rate of UGIB.

Open-Ended Video Question Answering via Multi-Modal Conditional Adversarial Networks

As a challenging task in visual information retrieval, open-ended long-form video question answering automatically generates the natural language answer from the referenced video content according to the given question. However, the existing video question answering works mainly focus on the short-form video, which may be ineffectively applied for long-form video question answering directly, due to the insufficiency of modeling the semantic representation of long-form video content. In this paper, we study the problem of open-ended long-form video question answering from the viewpoint of hierarchical multimodal conditional adversarial network learning. We propose the hierarchical attentional encoder network to learn the joint representation of long-form video content and given question with adaptive video segmentation. We then devise the reinforced decoder network to generate the natural language answer for openended video question answering with multi-modal conditional adversarial network learning. We construct three large-scale open-ended video question answering datasets. The extensive experiments validate the effectiveness of our method.

Long-Form Video Question Answering via Dynamic Hierarchical Reinforced Networks

Open-ended long-form video question answering is a challenging task in visual information retrieval, which automatically generates a natural language answer from the referenced long-form video contents according to a given question. However, the existing works mainly focus on short-form video question answering, due to the lack of modeling semantic representations from long-form video contents. In this paper, we introduce a dynamic hierarchical reinforced network for open-ended long-form video question answering, which employs an encoder-decoder architecture with a dynamic hierarchical encoder and a reinforced decoder. Concretely, we first propose a frame-level dynamic long-short term memory (LSTM) network with binary segmentation gate to learn frame-level semantic representations according to the given question. We then develop a segment-level highway LSTM network with a question-aware highway gate for segment-level semantic modeling. Furthermore, we devise the reinforced decoder with a hierarchical attention mechanism to generate natural language answers. We construct a large-scale long-form video question answering dataset. The extensive experiments on the long-form dataset and another public short-form dataset show the effectiveness of our method.