Skin microbiomes provide vital functions, yet knowledge about their species assemblages is limited - especially for non-model organisms. In this study, we conducted in situ manipulations and repeated sampling on wild-caught individuals of Rutilus rutilus. Treatments included translocation between fresh and brackish water habitats to investigate the role of environment; community rebooting by disinfection to infer host-microbe interactions; and housing in pairs to study the role of inter-host dispersal for the structure of microbiomes colonizing animals. Results revealed that fish skin microbiomes were biodiversity hotspots with highly dynamic composition that were distinct from bacterioplankton communities. External environmental conditions and individual-specific factors jointly determined the colonization-extinction dynamics, whereas inter-host dispersal had negligible effects. The dynamics of the microbiome composition was seemingly non-affected by reboot treatment, pointing to high resilience to disturbance in these microbial communities. Together, the manipulations demonstrate that host individual characteristics and environment interactively shapes the skin microbiome of fish. The results emphasize the role of inter-individual variability for the unexplained variation found in many host-microbiome systems, although the mechanistic underpinnings remain to be identified.

AIMS Doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity (DIC) is a significant cause of mortality in cancer care. This study was conducted to establish the frequency of DIC in Zimbabwean breast cancer patients on doxorubicin and to test the DIC predictive power of genetic biomarkers. METHODS A cohort of 50 Zimbabwean breast cancer patients treated with doxorubicin were followed up for 12 months with serial echocardiography and genotyped for UGTA1A6*4, SLC28A3 and RARG. 11% of the patients experienced DIC. RESULTS The frequency of SLC28A3 (rs7853758), UGT1A6*4 (rs17863783) and RARG (rs2229774) was 60.7%, 17.9% and 14.3% respectively. No association between DIC and the three variants was observed. CONCLUSIONS This is the first study on the prevalence of DIC and associated genetic biomarker predictive evaluation in Zimbabwean breast cancer patients. The genetic frequencies observed in our study was different to that reported in other populations. A larger sample size with a longer follow up time will be necessary in future studies.

Anthropic disturbances are driving unprecedented changes in forest ecosystem functions and biogeochemical processes, hindering the forests’ benefits to society. Litter decomposition is one of the most critical processes that regulates the carbon and nutrient cycling. However, it is unclear how degradation affects litter decomposition and carbon and nutrient dynamics. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of forest degradation on the production and decomposition of litter and C:N:P stoichiometry dynamics in a temperate forest in south-central Chile. Litter traps and litter bags were installed in three Long Term Research Forest Plots (LTER) representing different conservation states: mature, secondary, and degraded Nothofagus forests. The litter production, decomposition, and C, N, and P concentrations were evaluated monthly for one year. The total litter input varied between 3.5 to 1.1 Mg ha⁻¹ year⁻¹ in the mature and degraded forests, respectively. We found the highest lignin and nutrient levels in the degraded forest and the lowest in the mature forest. The remanent litter mass reached 56% in the mature forest, while it was only 93% in the degraded forest. Decomposing litter showed the lowest C:N and C:P ratios in the mature forest during most of the year. The balance between inputs and outputs yielded a greater accumulation of litter in the mature forests. Our results strongly suggest that anthropic degradation has altered litter quality, production, decomposition, and nutrient dynamics. Further research should be focused on assessing how changes in litter dynamics affect natural forest regeneration and soil biogeochemical functioning.

Toxin production in planktonic protists is widespread and comprises an effective mechanism to eliminate competitors or grazers. Toxins released into the water can mediate the immobilization of prey for subsequent consumption or can mediate the lysis and uptake of the released nutrients. For the worldwide-distributed ichthyotoxic and mixotrophic haptophyte Prymnesium parvum, the relationship between toxin production; impact on co-occurring species, and mixotrophy remains blurred. In the current study, we show that changes in salinities (5 vs 30), phosphorous (P) availabilities (P-replete vs P-deplete) and cell densities affect growth, toxicity and mixotrophy in P. parvum. Cell density positively affected cellular toxin content by a factor of up to 10. Low salinity resulted in a higher mortality of the cryptophyte prey Teleaulax acuta, with ~80% of cells being lysed after 2 h of incubation. However, phagotrophic rates were higher in P-deplete conditions, independent of the salinity. Transcriptomic analysis of the monocultures revealed the up-regulation of genes involved in endocytosis under either low salinity and phosphorous, suggesting that this process is evolutionarily conserved, triggered by environmental stressors and independent of prey presence. Polyketide synthase genes, potentially involved in toxin biosynthesis, exhibited distinct expression patterns, depending on the physiological status, toxicity and with generally higher expression under the high cell density conditions. Overall, our study contributes to a better understanding of the dynamics between the two critical processes of toxin production and mixotrophy, and has important implications for bloom formation and its maintenance in this ecologically important species.

There is a growing need for nematode-resistant Pinaceae species seedlings to cope with the degradation of global coniferous forests due to the prevalence of pine wilt disease. One of obstacle of Pinaceae species plantlets commercialization is the regeneration plantlets from a controlled, sterile environment to the field while maintaining a high survival rate. The low survival rate of plantlets transferred from a lab to soil is mainly because of the quality of plantlet which makes commercialization challenging. For this paper, we investigated the factors that influence the growth of post-germination somatic regeneration plants (SRPs) to promote the application of nematode-resistant of Pinus thunbergii. The results indicated that, for rooted plantlet, a suitable liquid medium (1/2 WPM), transplantation stroma (perlite and vermiculite =1:1), and carbohydrate (20 g/L sucrose) were effective for promoting the growth of SRPs. While, for unrooted plantlets, 1 ug/L of brassinolide enhanced plantlets growth and rooting. In the laboratory domestication stage, under light spectrum treatments, blue light (B) significantly promoted the longitudinal growth of shoots, while red light (R) was of benefit for the improvement of root growth. The optimal combination of R/B was the 8:2. After this domestication culture, SRPs of Pinus thunbergii could be directly transplanted to the field with a higher survival rate (85.2%). This is the first report on domestication of conifer regeneration plants, that will increase the possibility of afforestation of Pinaceae or other woody plants. In addition, it contributes to breeding project of pine resistance to pine wilt disease.

Silver–Russell syndrome (SRS) is one of the rare conditions characterized by both prenatal and postnatal growth retardation. Neurological involvement arevery rare in patients with SRS. Here, we report a case of SRS in conjunction with type-I Chiari malformation.

The existing prefabricated wireline construction technology is difficult to accurately measure the real-time length of the deployed wires, resulting in too large construction errors and cannot be popularized and applied. To this end, a length measuring device that can accurately measure the length of the wire during the construction of the prefabricated wire is developed. In terms of the hardware of the length measuring equipment, based on the construction characteristics of the prefabricated wiring and the characteristics of the wire, the photoelectric encoder and the STC8G series single chip microcomputer are used to complete the collection and processing of the wire length data, and the mature and stable LoRa technology is used to complete the wireless transmission of the data. In terms of software program of length measurement equipment, the measurement of wire length data, transmission and interaction of control command signals are realized by optimizing length measurement scheme, interface development of terminal equipment and information interaction program design. Finally, according to the actual working conditions of the prefabricated wiring construction, the mechanical structure of the length measuring equipment is designed, and the assembly is completed. The developed length measuring equipment has been successfully applied to practical projects. According to the wire length measuring equipment, the deviation between the observation sag and the design sag after the wire length is measured by the wire length measuring equipment is 2.0%, which meets the design requirement of ±2.5%.

Objective Tracheostomy is performed for various indications ranging from prolonged ventilation to airway obstruction. Many factors may play a role in the incidence of complications in the immediate post-operative period including patient-related factors. The relationship between obstructive pulmonary diseases and acute post-tracheostomy complications has been incompletely studied. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), and asthma are some of the most common pulmonary pathologies in the United States and given the clinical utility of tracheostomies among these patients, it is important to characterize the risk of acute post-operative complications. Design A retrospective chart review identified tracheostomy patients from January 2017 through December 2018 at an academic cancer center. Medical records were reviewed for the technique used, complications, and contributing patient factors. Post-operative complications were defined as any tracheostomy-related adverse event occurring within 14 days. Patient factors examined included demographics, comorbidities, and body mass index (BMI). Results The most common indication for tracheostomy among the 321 patients that met inclusion criteria was airway obstruction or a head and neck cancer surgical procedure. Obstructive pulmonary pathology (COPD, OSA, asthma) was moderately associated with acute complications in bivariate analysis (13.4% complications, p = 0.039). Among the secondary outcomes measured, radiation was associated with early complications occurring in post-operative days 0-6 (1.1%, p = 0.029). Conclusion Obstructive pulmonary patients may have a higher risk of acute post-tracheostomy complications which is clinically significant when considering the utility of ventilation and tracheostomy in the management of acute respiratory failure secondary to these conditions.

When Λ is the cosmological constant concerning (g µν) 2 [3, 10], we use the constructed new action to get the new cosmological constant and deduce a new form of f(R) using the coupled effects of gravity and quantum fields.

Pyrazole derivatives have noteworthy attention in optoelectronic field since they demonstrate distinctive properties in semiconducting devices such as organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs), nonlinear optical (NLO) and solar cells. organic field effect transistors (OFETs). Therefore, to establish the relationship between the structure and property of the molecules, we explored influence of nitro groups on the 3D molecular structures, reorganization energy, absorption spectra, frontier orbitals, ionization potential (IP), electronic affinity (EA), intra-molecular charge transfer (ICT) and charge transport behaviour of the two π-conjugated pyrazole compunds through single crystal x-ray crystallographic and quantum chemical calculations by considering Marcus Electron Transfer Theory and Density Functional Theory. Our experimental and theoretical results predicted that incorporation of the nitro groups to the molecule skeleton increased the rigidity of the conjugated system and improve the efficient charge injection in electronic devices by lowering the hole (λ_h) and electron (λ_e) reorganization energy from 0.48eV to 0.34 eV, 0.44 eV to 0.26 eV, respectively which can be effective way to design molecules with desired electronic properties via smart chemical structural modification. In addition, both molecules aggregate with the close preferred π⋯π stacking interactions (J and antiparallel H type) and multiple intermolecular interactions in their solid phases. Accordingly, both molecules are suggested to be quite suitable for p-type semiconducting materials with small reorganization energy and preferred stacking modes in solid phase. In addition, this study paves the way for the design and synthesis of new conjugated pyrazole molecules for high device performance.

Background and Purpose: The aromatase enzyme plays a fundamental role in addressing the development of estrogen receptors and giving attention to the therapy of reproductive disorders and cancer diseases. In clinical use, the objectionable effects found in these target inhibitors are indispensable in finding novel aromatase inhibitors with more selective, less toxic, and more effective drug potency. Experimental Approach: The research framework of this study is to identify a potent inhibitor for the aromatase target by profiling molecular descriptors of the ligand and finding a functional pocket of the target by docking and MD simulations. For assessing cellular metabolic activities as an indicator of cell viability and cytotoxicity, in-vitro studies were performed by using colorimetric MTT assay. Cell morphology was assessed by phase-contrast light microscope. Cell cycle distribution and apoptosis were determined by flowcytometry and Annexin V-FITC/PI staining assay. Key Results: This study reported herein the most promising compound CHEMBL598797 (Ziprasidone) showed excellent activity potential to inhibit aromatase in search of finding the novel compound based on better drug design methods and experimental studies and could be effective as the high potential drug candidate against aromatase enzyme. Conclusion and Implications: We concluded that the compound ziprasidone effectively blocks the cell cycle at the G1-S phase and induces cancer cell death. Further in-vivo studies can be evaluated for developing this compound as an anticancer agent. Overall, our outcomes based on the in-silico and the high-quality experimental results may pave the way for identifying effective drug candidates for better therapeutic interest for breast cancer.

In Sub-Saharan Africa, Professionals visually analyse the plants by looking for disease markers on the leaves to diagnose cassava infections, however, this method is extremely subjective. Automating the identification and classification of crop diseases may improve the accuracy of professional disease diagnosis and enable farmers in remote areas to monitor their crops without the assistance of experts. Algorithms for machine learning have been used in the early detection and classification of crop diseases. Motivated by the current developments in the field of Gaussian Processes, this study proposes to integrate the transfer learning approach with a deep Gaussian convolutional neural network model (DGCNN) for the detection and classification of cassava diseases. During this study, we used MobileNet V2 and VGG16 pre-trained transfer learning models and a hybrid kernel. Experiments with MobileNet V2 and a hybrid kernel revealed an accuracy of 90.11%. Also, experiments with VGG16 and a hybrid kernel revealed an accuracy of 88.63%. The major limitation of this study was computing resources since we used an ordinary computer in all our experiments. In our future work, we will experiment with the three kernel functions used in this study with kernel algorithms such as support vector machines and compare the results with those obtained during this study.

Objective: To develop and externally validate a prediction model to calculate the likelihood of prolonged induction of labor (induction start to delivery time >36 hours). Design: A retrospective cohort study Setting: Academic centers in the United States Population: Nulliparous women with singleton pregnancies and vertex presentation at term who underwent induction of labor and had a vaginal delivery at a single academic center. Methods: Analyses were limited to women with an unfavorable cervix. A backward stepwise logistic regression analysis was used to identify the factors associated with prolonged induction of labor. The final model was validated using an external dataset of the Consortium on Safe Labor after applying the same inclusion and exclusion criteria. We developed a receiver observer characteristic curve with area under the curve (AUC). Main outcomes of measures: Prolonged induction of labor Results: Of 2,118 women, 364 (17%) had prolonged induction of labor. Factors associated with prolonged induction of labor included body mass index, hypertension, fetal conditions, and epidural. Factors including younger maternal age, prelabor rupture of membranes, and a more favorable simplified Bishop score were associated with a decreased likelihood of prolonged induction of labor. In the external validation cohort, 4,418 women were analyzed, of whom 188 (4%) had prolonged induction of labor. The AUC of the final model was 0.76 (95%CI 0.73-0.80) for the external validation cohort. The online calculator was created and is available at https://medstarapps.org/obstetricriskcalculator. Conclusion: Our externally validated model was efficient in predicting prolonged induction of labor with an unfavorable cervix.

Abstract Background：Recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (RRP) is recurring benign papillomatous lesions which still relies on repeated surgical treatment. However, there is no guidelines of surgical technique nowadays. Objectives: This retrospective cohort study aims to obtain a better understanding of RRP, and select the best surgical modality for RRP among microdebrider, CO2 laser and KTP laser. Study design: Retrospective cohort study. Methods: Medical records of 112 RRP patients treated at EYE&ENT Hospital of Fudan University from 2018 to 2021 were reviewed, with at least 6-month follow-up. Three treatment subgroups(microdebrider, CO2 laser and KTP laser) were analyzed within AO-RRP and JO-RRP populations respectively. Results: 112 patients (39 JO-RRP and 72 AO-RRP) and a total of 353 surgical procedures were included. Jo-RRP group had higher Derkay anatomical score(p<0.05), lower percentage of dysplasia and an earlier trend in recurrence(p<0.05) than Ao-RRP group. There were no significant differences among three surgical modalities on median treatment intervals(MTI) or survival curves(p>0.05), with the Jo-RRP MTI of the microdebrider(92.5[47.3~200]), CO2 laser(140[70~255]), KTP laser(90[62.3~221.3]), and Ao-RRP microdebrider(267.50[152.5,449.5]), CO2 laser(247.5[145.5,474.7]), KTP laser(107.5[68.3,330.5]). Conclusion and Significance: The Jo-RRP patients have more concomitant invasiveness, but less dysplasia than AO-RRP patients. Three surgical modalities appeare to be equally effective in management of Jo-RRP or AO-RRP. Key Words: Papillomatosis, surgery, treatment, recurrence, efficacy.

An ultra-low profile and high-performance UHF RFID reader antenna is proposed in this letter, which can be switched between far-field (FF) and near-field (NF) operative mode. This antenna is composed of four dipoles and a reconfigurable feed network. The four dipoles form a square, and the feed network is located in the center. The feed network is a four-way power divider, and the phase of the output signal can be controlled by switching diodes. As a balanced structure, double-sided parallel-strip lines (DSPSLs) are used to feed four dipoles. Compared to the balun structure, the application of DSPSLs can reduce the area of the feed network, thereby reducing the influence of the feed network on the central magnetic field. Experimental results show that the proposed antenna can provide a NF reading area of 180×180 mm2, and the identification rate can reach 100% within 30-60 mm height. The FF gain of the antenna is 4.7 dBic, and the overlapping range of 3 dB AR bandwidth and -10 dB impedance bandwidth is 800-960 MHz. The good FF and NF performance of this antenna is conducive to its application in RFID systems.

Insects, whose body temperature depends on ambient temperature, often take refuge under the soil surface to survive unfavorable winter conditions. Considering the strategies used to cope with cold winter temperatures insects are classified into several groups. Here we propose a new group of insects with a previously unreported overwintering strategy taking as a model the mealybug insect family. Using specifically designed sampling methods we found that these sap-sucking insects, which spend half of the year feeding and reproducing on the plant canopy, move to the rhizosphere during the winter to feed on tree roots and reproduce. Our results show that the preferred area to overwinter for the main female mealybug species is within 1 meter around a fruit tree trunk, where more than 25000 mealybug males per square meter can emerge every spring. This unique adaptive strategy allows these aboveground herbivores to turn into belowground root feeders during the winter.

Spatial isolation is a key driver of population-level variability in traits and genotypes worldwide. While geographical distance between populations can determine isolation, organisms may face additional barriers when dispersing between suitable habitat patches. Despite the predicted universal nature of factors underlying isolation, global comparisons of isolation effects across taxa and geographic systems are few. We assessed the strength of isolation due to geographic and macroclimatic distance across island and mainland systems, comparing published measurements of phenotypic traits and neutral genetic diversity for 1832 populations of plants and animals worldwide. As expected, phenotypic differentiation was higher between islands than mainland populations. However, geographic and macroclimatic distances had weak effects on phenotypic variability and neutral genetic diversity in both systems. Our results show that macroecological models of population variability should consider the spatial structure of populations in addition to the commonly employed predictors of environmental conditions or geographic distances between populations.

Sporotrichosis is a fungal infection caused by various sporothrix species. Given the systemic side-effects that underly the use of antifungals for prolonged duration, treatment should be sought towards isolated physical modality only which are devoid of systemic side effects. we report two cases treated cryotherapy with complete cure.

A document by Ryuhei Jinushi, written on Authorea.

Paracoccidiomycosis is a systemic fungal infection present in certain regions of South America; although it predominantly affects the lungs, it may cause oral disease. This case was characterized by upper lip swelling and ulceration, in which the correct diagnosis was initially delayed due to lack of awareness of this disease.

Strongyloides stercoralis is a soil-transmitted nematode that is estimated to infect millions of people yearly worldwide. However, cases are less commonly seen in the United States. This report highlights the importance of when to include Strongyloides stercoralis in the differential diagnosis of patients presenting eosinophilia within the United States.

Congenital adrenal hyperplasia associated to 11-beta-hydroxylase deficiency is a rare cause of secondary hypertension, usually discovered during childhood; however, a late diagnosis in adults has also been reported. Despite low cortisol levels, accumulated adrenal steroid precursors can activate the glucocorticoid receptor, and thus protect the patient against adrenal crisis.

Leukocytoclastic vasculitis (LCV) is a small-vessel vasculitis characterized by immune complex deposition in the walls of dermal capillaries and venules. With the COVID-19 pandemic, more adults are receiving the MMR vaccine. We report a case of MMR vaccine-related LCV occurring only on the upper extremities with associated conjunctivitis.

Climate change is bringing unforeseen alterations to disturbance regimes, exposing many ecosystems to multiple novel disturbances simultaneously. Despite this, how biodiversity responds to simultaneous disturbances remains unclear, with conflicting empirical results on their interactive effects. Here, we experimentally test how one disturbance (an invasive species) affects the diversity of a community over multiple levels of another disturbance regime (pulse mortality). Specifically, we invade stably coexisting bacterial communities under four different pulse frequencies, and compare their final resident diversity to uninvaded communities under the same pulse mortality regimes. We find that the disturbances synergistically interact such that the invader significantly reduces resident diversity at high pulse frequency, but not at low. This work therefore highlights the need to study simultaneous disturbance effects over multiple disturbance regimes as well as to carefully document unmanipulated disturbances, and may help explain the conflicting results seen in previous multiple-disturbance work.