Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii infection among patients of a tertiary hospital in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, PR China.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to explore the prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) among patients in Guangzhou city, South China, and to identify susceptible patient populations and analyze the causes of infection differences. METHODS: From May 2020 to May 2022, a total of 637 sera were collected from patients, and 205 sera were collected from health participants as health control. All sera were examined by colloidal gold kits to detect the positivity of antibodies against T. gondii. And the positivity of antibodies in sera was confirmed with ARCHITECT i2000SR system. RESULTS: The prevalence of T. gondii infection in patients was 7.06% (45/637), which was lower than the prevalence in health participants 4.88% (10/205). Among patients, 34 (5.34%) were positive only for IgG, 10 (1.57%) were only for IgM, and 1 (0.16%) was positive for both IgG and IgM. There was a significant difference in prevalence between male and female patients, but not among different age groups or diseases groups. The prevalence of T. gondii infection in diseases groups varied. The prevalence was relatively high in patients with the disorders of thyroid gland and the malignant neoplasms of digestive organs, which suggests that caution should be taken to avoid T. gondii infection in these patients. Surprisingly, the prevalence was quite low in diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma (DLBC) patients. This may be due to the overexpression of TNF-α in tumor tissues of DLBC patients and the higher protein level of TNF-α in sera of DLBC patients. CONCLUSION: This study provides a systematic exploration of the prevalence of T. gondii infection in patients in a tertiary hospital. Our data contributes to a better understanding of the epidemic investigation of T. gondii among patients in South China, which can help the prevention and treatment of the disease caused by T. gondii infection.

Manipulation of Skyrmion by Magnetic Field Gradients: A Stern-Gerlach-Like Experiment.

Magnetic skyrmions are real-space topological spin textures, which have attracted increasing attention from the nanospintronics community. Toward functional skyrmionics, the efficient manipulation of skyrmions is a prerequisite, which has been successfully demonstrated through electrical, thermal, optical, and other means. Here, through integrating an interfacially asymmetric Ta/CoFeB/MgO multilayer with an on-chip wire that induces Oersted fields and their gradients, we show experimentally the generation and topology-dependent motion of Néel type skyrmions at room temperature. In particular, an opposite longitudinal motion for skyrmions with opposite topological charges along the gradient direction is observed. Through comparing with the well-known Stern-Gerlach experiment, in which the splitting of atomic spins under magnetic field gradients was observed, our work identifies another interesting aspect of the topological character of skyrmions. The present study could also be implemented for designing novel on-chip skyrmionic devices in which the manipulation of skyrmions cannot be done by electrical means.

Nonlocal Detection of Interlayer Three-Magnon Coupling.

A leading nonlinear effect in magnonics is the interaction that splits a high-frequency magnon into two low-frequency magnons with conserved linear momentum. Here, we report experimental observation of nonlocal three-magnon scattering between spatially separated magnetic systems, viz. a CoFeB nanowire and a yttrium iron garnet (YIG) thin film. Above a certain threshold power of an applied microwave field, a CoFeB Kittel magnon splits into a pair of counterpropagating YIG magnons that induce voltage signals in Pt electrodes on each side, in excellent agreement with model calculations based on the interlayer dipolar interaction. The excited YIG magnon pairs reside mainly in the first excited (n=1) perpendicular standing spin-wave mode. With increasing power, the n=1 magnons successively scatter into nodeless (n=0) magnons through a four-magnon process. Our results demonstrate nonlocal detection of two separately propagating magnons emerging from one common source that may enable quantum entanglement between distant magnons for quantum information applications.

The Giant Spin-to-Charge Conversion of the Layered Rashba Material BiTeI.

Rashba spin-orbit coupling (SOC) could facilitate an efficient interconversion between spin and charge currents. Among various systems, BiTeI holds one of the largest Rashba-type spin splittings. Unlike other Rashba systems (e.g., Bi/Ag and Bi2Se3), an experimental investigation of the spin-to-charge interconversion in BiTeI remains to be explored. Through performing an angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) measurement, such a large Rashba-type spin splitting with a Rashba parameter αR = 3.68 eV Å is directly identified. By studying the spin pumping effect in the BiTeI/NiFe bilayer, we reveal a very large inverse Rashba-Edelstein length λIREE ≈ 1.92 nm of BiTeI at room temperature. Furthermore, the λIREE monotonously increases to 5.00 nm at 60 K, indicating an enhanced Rashba SOC at low temperature. These results suggest that BiTeI films with the giant Rashba SOC are promising for achieving efficient spin-to-charge interconversion, which could be implemented for building low-power-consumption spin-orbitronic devices.

Quantifying the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya Interaction Induced by the Bulk Magnetic Asymmetry.

A broken interfacial inversion symmetry in ultrathin ferromagnet/heavy metal (FM/HM) bilayers is generally believed to be a prerequisite for accommodating the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI) and for stabilizing chiral spin textures. In these bilayers, the strength of the DMI decays as the thickness of the FM layer increases and vanishes around a few nanometers. In the present study, through synthesizing relatively thick films of compositions CoPt or FePt, CoCu or FeCu, FeGd and FeNi, contributions to DMI from the composition gradient-induced bulk magnetic asymmetry (BMA) and spin-orbit coupling (SOC) are systematically examined. Using Brillouin light scattering spectroscopy, both the sign and amplitude of DMI in films with controllable direction and strength of BMA, in the presence and absence of SOC, are experimentally studied. In particular, we show that a sizable amplitude of DMI (±0.15 mJ/m^{2}) can be realized in CoPt or FePt films with BMA and strong SOC, whereas negligible DMI strengths are observed in other thick films with BMA but without significant SOC. The pivotal roles of BMA and SOC are further examined based on the three-site Fert-Lévy model and first-principles calculations. It is expected that our findings may help to further understand the origin of chiral magnetism and to design novel noncollinear spin textures.

Novel Evidence Showing the Possible Effect of Environmental Variables on COVID-19 Spread.

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) remains a serious issue, and the role played by meteorological indicators in the process of virus spread has been a topic of academic discussion. Previous studies reached different conclusions due to inconsistent methods, disparate meteorological indicators, and specific time periods or regions. This manuscript is based on seven daily meteorological indicators in the NCEP reanalysis data set and COVID-19 data repository of Johns Hopkins University from 22 January 2020 to 1 June 2021. Results showed that worldwide average temperature and precipitable water (PW) had the strongest correlation (ρ > 0.9, p < 0.001) with the confirmed COVID-19 cases per day from 22 January to 31 August 2020. From 22 January to 31 August 2020, positive correlations were observed between the temperature/PW and confirmed COVID-19 cases/deaths in the northern hemisphere, whereas negative correlations were recorded in the southern hemisphere. From 1 September to 31 December 2020, the opposite results were observed. Correlations were weak throughout the near full year, and weak negative correlations were detected worldwide (|ρ| < 0.4, p ≤ 0.05); the lag time had no obvious effect. As the latitude increased, the temperature and PW of the maximum confirmed COVID-19 cases/deaths per day generally showed a decreasing trend; the 2020-year fitting functions of the response latitude pattern were verified by the 2021 data. Meteorological indicators, although not a decisive factor, may influence the virus spread by affecting the virus survival rates and enthusiasm of human activities. The temperature or PW threshold suitable for the spread of COVID-19 may increase as the latitude decreases.

[Application of fibreoptic endoscope evaluating of oropharyngeal swallowing in post-irradiated patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma].

Objective:The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of fibreoptic endoscopic of sallowing （FEES） in the assessment of pharyngeal dysphagia in post-irradiated patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Method:Fifty-three NPC patients with post-irradiated underwent FEES and video fluoroscopy（VF）.The results were analyzed using the Bolus Residue Scale and Rosenbek's penetration aspiration scale. Result:The agreement in the detection of penetration and aspiration between FEES and VF of liquid（κ=0.56, 95%CI 0.38-0.73） and porridge（κ=0.64, 95%CI 0.43-0.81） was "fair". The detection rates of penetration on FEES with liquid and porridge were 60% and 51%, the detection rates of aspiration on VF with liquid and porridge were 70% and 53%. There were no statistical differences. The agreement in the detection of pharyngeal residue between FEES and VF of liquid （κ=0.38, 95%CI0.12-0.62） and porridge （κ=0.66, 95%CI 0.44-0.86） was "fair". The detection rates of pharyngeal residue on FEES and VF with porridge were 43% and 45%, the difference was not statistically significant. The detection rates of pharyngeal residue on FEES and VF with liquid were 44% and 24%, and the difference was statistically significant. Conclusion:FEES is an effective and valuable tool for evaluating pharyngeal dysphagia in post-irradiated patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

[Screening and Enzyme Production Characteristics of Thermophilic Cellulase-producing Strains].

A total of 6 thermophilic cellulase-producing strainswere isolated from organic garden waste mixed chicken composting at thermophilic period. These isolates were identified as Streptomyces thermoviolaceus, S. thermodiastaticus, S. thermocarboxydus, S. albidoflavus, S. thermovulgaris and Brevibacillus borstelensis through 16S rRNA gene sequence alignment and phylogenetic tree analysis. The cellulose-degrading microbial community has been investigated in few researches so far both at home and abroad. In this study, the mixed strains M-1 was made up of the 6 cellulose-decomposing microorganisms. The CMCase activity of the mixed strains M- 1 was stronger than any of the 6 single strains. Production of CMCase from mixed strains M-1 was studied by optimizing different physico-chemical parameters. The Maximum CMCase production (135.9 U · mL⁻¹) of strains M-1 was achieved at 45 °C in a liquid medium (pH 4) inoculated with 1% (volume fraction), containing a mixture of wheat bran and starch, corn flour and KNO3. After optimization of separation conditions, CMCase production capacity was improved by 1.8 times.

A short-circuited coplanar waveguide to measure the permeability of magnetic thin films: Comparison with short-circuited microstrip line.

A short-circuited coplanar waveguide jig was proposed due to its simple structure and potential applications, which was successfully used to measure the permeability spectra of magnetic thin film. The result obtained from the coplanar waveguide (CPW) jig exhibits typical ferromagnetic resonance spectra, which can be well fitted by a trade-off equation because the measured permeability spectra have a bit of asymmetry because of the special intensity distribution of the microwave magnetic field in the CPW. In order to confirm the availability of the shorted CPW jig, a previous short-circuited microstrip line jig was used to measure the permeability spectra of the same sample. The dynamic permeability results obtained by using different jigs are commendably consistent, and the accurate and valid results are also confirmed by using the vector network analyzer ferromagnetic resonance method.

[Effect of arbuscular mycorrhizae on growth, heavy metal uptake and accumulation of Zenia insignis Chun seedlings].

To solve the trace metal pollution of a Pd/Zn mine in Hunan province, a greenhouse pot experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of two arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, Glomus mosseae (Gm) and Glomus intraradices (Gi), on the growth, heavy metal uptake and accumulation of Zenia insignis Chun, the pioneer plant there. The results showed that symbiotic associations were successfully established between the two isolates and Z. insignis in heavy metal contaminated soil. AM fungi improved P absorption, biomass and changed heavy metal uptake and distribution of Z. insignis. AM fungi-inoculated plants had significantly lower Fe, Cu, Zn, Pd concentrations and higher Fe, Cu, Zn, Pd accumulation than non-inoculated plants. However, Gm and Gi showed different mycorrhizal effects on the distribution of heavy metal in hosts, depending on the species of heavy metal. Gi-inoculated Z. insignis showed significantly lower TF values of Fe, Zn, Pd than Gm and non-inoculated plants, while both strains had no effect on TF value of Cu, which indicated that Gi enhanced trace metal accumulation in root system, playing a filtering/sequestering role in the presence of trace metals. The overall results demonstrated that AM fungi had positive effect on Z. insignis in enhancing the ability to adapt the heavy metal contaminated soil and played potential role in the revegetation of heavy metal contaminated soil. But in practical application, the combination of AM, hosts and heavy metal should be considered.

[Isolation and characterization of two bacteria with heavy metal resistance and phosphate solubilizing capability].

Two phosphate solubilizing bacteria (T PSB1 and T PSB 2) with high heavy metal resistance were isolated from soil of a lead-zinc mine in Huayuan of Hunan Province, China. These two bacteria were identified as Stenotrophomonas maltophilia and Burkholderia gladioli by 16S rRNA sequencing analysis, respectively. In the media containing insoluble inorganic calcium phosphate, the soluble phosphate amounts reached respectively 402.9 mg x L(-1) and 589.9 mg x L(-1) with the bacteria T PSB1 and T PSB2 after two weeks' growth. Moreover, the two bacteria developed solubilizing halos on the plates supplemented with the organic phosphate compounds, and the resulting soluble phosphate amounts in the broth media were respectively 2.97 mg x L(-1) and 4.69 mg x L(-1). In addition, these two bacteria showed the resistance to up to 2000 mg x L(-1) Zn2+, and their phosphate solubilizing amounts reached respectively 114.8 mg x L(-1) and 125.1 mg x L(-1). Similarly, their heavy metal resistance and phosphate solubilizing ability were also found in the Cr and Pb broth media with the concentration of 1000 mg x L(-1). In the Pb media, the soluble phosphate amounts reached respectively 57.9 mg x L(-1) and 71.7 mg x L(-1), and the soluble P amounts in the Cr media were 60.1 mg x L(-1) and 98.4 mg x L(-1) at the concentration of 1000 mg x L(-1).

Coherent control of high-order harmonic generation by phase jump pulses.

We theoretically investigate the high-order harmonic generation driven by laser pulses with a π-phase jump. The cutoff of high-order harmonic spectrum extends dramatically due to the phase jump which enlarges the asymmetry of the laser field. We find that the intensity and the coherence of the continuum can be controlled by the jump time. By selecting proper frequency of the continuum spectrum, a sub-100-attosecond pulse can be generated without any phase compensation.