Epidemiology and genotypic diversity of feline bocavirus identified from cats in Harbin, China.

Feline bocavirus (FBoV) is a globally distributed linear, single-stranded DNA virus infect cats, currently classified into three distinct genotypes. Although FBoV can lead to systemic infections, its complete pathogenic potential remains unclear. In this study, 289 blood samples were collected from healthy cats in Harbin, revealing an overall FBoV prevalence of 12.1%. Notably, genotypes 1 and 3 of FBoV were found co-circulating among the cat population in Harbin. Additionally, recombination events were detected, particularly in the newly discovered NG/104 and DL/102 strains. Furthermore, negative selection sites were predominantly observed across the protein coding genes of FBoV. These findings suggest a co-circulation of genetically diverse FBoV strains among cats in Harbin, indicate that purifying selection is the primary driving force shaping the genomic evolution of FBoV, and also underscore the importance of comprehensive surveillance efforts to enhance our understanding of the epidemiology and evolutionary characteristics of FBoV.

Research progress of Ganoderma lucidum polysaccharide in prevention and treatment of Atherosclerosis.

Atherosclerosis (AS) is a chronic inflammatory disease resulting from dysregulated lipid metabolism, constituting the pathophysiological foundation of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. AS has a high incidence rate and mortality rate worldwide. As such, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been widely used recently due to its stable therapeutic effect and high safety. Ganoderma lucidum polysaccharides (GLP) are the main active ingredients of Ganoderma lucidum, a Chinese herbal medicine. Research has also shown that GLP has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, regulates gut microbiota, improves blood glucose and lipid levels, and inhibits obesity. Most of the current research on GLP anti-AS is focused on animal models. Thus, its clinical application remains to be discovered. In this review, we combine relevant research results and start with the pathogenesis and risk factors of GLP on AS, proving that GLP can prevent and treat AS, providing a scientific basis and reference for the future prevention and treatment of AS with GLP.

Plant-based fascia tissues: Exploring materials and techniques for realistic simulation.

The growing demand for sustainable and ethical food options has led to significant advancements in plant-based meat substitutes (PBMS). PBMS have made considerable progress in simulating the taste, texture, and sensory properties of animal meat. Connective tissue is a fundamental component of animal meat that significantly influences tenderness, texture, and sensory properties. However, the imitation of realistic connective tissues has received relatively less attention in the PBMS industry. The current work focuses on exploring materials and techniques for the replication of plant-based connective tissues (PBCT). By understanding the structural and functional characteristics of animal connective tissues (ACT), it is possible to replicate these characteristics in PBCT. Hydrogels, with their ability to simulate certain properties of ACT, present a viable material for the creation of PBCT. To achieve the desired simulation, their mechanical and structural properties need to be enhanced by using several materials and several physical techniques.

Facile, green and scalable synthesis of single-layer manganese dioxide nanosheets and its application for GSH and cTnI colorimetric detection.

Manganese dioxide (MnO2) nanosheets possess unique physical and chemical properties, making them widely applicable in various fields, such as chemistry and biomedicine. Although MnO2 nanosheets are produced using bottom-up wet chemistry synthesis methods, their scale is below the gram level and requires a long processing time, restricting their effective scale-up from laboratory to market. We report a facile, green and scalable synthesis of MnO2 nanosheets by mixing Shiranui mandarin orange juice and KMnO4 for 30 minutes. We produced more than one gram (1.095) of MnO2 nanosheets with a 0.65 nm mean thickness and a 50 nm mean lateral size. Furthermore, we established a visual colorimetric biosensing strategy based on MnO2 nanosheets for the assay of glutathione (GSH) and cardiac troponin I (cTnI), offering high sensitivity and feasibility in clinical samples. For GSH, the limit of detection was 0.08 nM, and for cTnI, it was 0.70 pg mL-1. Meanwhile, the strategy can be used for real-time analysis by applying a smartphone-enabled biosensing strategy, which can provide point-of-care testing in remote areas.

Preparation of Perilla frutescens L. essential oil hydrogel beads and preservation application research in strawberry.

Perilla frutescens L. essential oil (PLEO) has antibacterial and antioxidant properties, which can effectively maintain the quality of fruits and extend their shelf life. In this study, sodium alginate and chitosan were used as wall materials, and PLEO microcapsule powder was used as the core materials to prepare PLEO hydrogel beads. The best results were obtained by using 2%w/v sodium alginate and 1.5%w/v chitosan as wall materials, with a core-to-wall ratio of 2:1 and homogenized for 15 min producing PLEO hydrogel beads with encapsulation efficiency of 82.61 %. For strawberries preservation, PLEO hydrogel beads preservation group had a better effect after 5 d of storage, showing a lower decay rate (15.71 %), better maintaining the hardness of 1.75 kg/cm2, and a weight loss of 3.29 %. Furthermore, organic acids and total phenols were retained more in this group, the number of microorganisms was significantly reduced, and sensory qualities were improved, especially taste and color. This study provides important insights into the application of natural preservatives in the food industry and promotes sustainable practices in food preservation.

Sorption of Iodine on Biochar Derived from the Processing of Urban Sludge and Garden Waste at Different Pyrolysis Temperatures.

The United Nations proposed the Sustainable Development Goals with the aim to make human settlements in cities resilient and sustainable. The excessive discharge of urban waste including sludge and garden waste can pollute groundwater and lead to the emission of greenhouse gases (e.g., CH4). The proper recycling of urban waste is essential for responsible consumption and production, reducing environmental pollution and addressing climate change issues. This study aimed to prepare biochar with high adsorption amounts of iodine using urban sludge and peach wood from garden waste. The study was conducted to examine the variations in the mass ratio between urban sludge and peach wood (2/1, 1/1, and 1/2) as well as pyrolysis temperatures (300 °C, 500 °C, and 700 °C) on the carbon yield and adsorption capacities of biochar. Scanning electron microscopy, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectrometry, powder X-ray diffraction, and elemental analysis were used to characterize the biochar produced at different pyrolysis temperatures and mass ratios. The results indicate that the carbon yield of biochar was found to be the highest (>60%) at a pyrolysis temperature of 300 °C across different pyrolysis temperatures. The absorbed amounts of iodine in the aqueous solution ranged from 86 to 223 mg g-1 at a mass ratio of 1:1 between urban sludge and peach wood, which were comparably higher than those observed in other mass ratios. This study advances water treatment by offering a cost-effective method by using biochar derived from the processing of urban sludge and garden waste.

A single-bridge interleaved three-level LLC resonant converter with current sharing capability for fuel cell system.

This paper propose a wide gain single-bridge interleaved three-level LLC resonant converter with current sharing capability. This novel converter offers numerous advantages, including low cost, low current ripple, reduced voltage and current stress, widely gain range, high efficiency, good current sharing capability and versatile application scalability. Utilizing the three-level inverter + full-wave rectifier LLC converter as a representative case, the paper conducts an in-depth analysis and research on the proposed method. Finality, a 600 W experimental prototype was constructed and tested. Experimental results reveal that the proposed converter exhibits lower current ripple and a broader gain range. Moreover, the converter shows good current sharing capability (with a resonant element tolerance of 10%, the current error between the two phases does not exceed 12%) and high efficiency (peaking at 95.8%).

Early detection of gray blight in tea leaves and rapid screening of resistance varieties by hyperspectral imaging technology.

BACKGROUND: Gray blight (GB) is a significant disease of tea leaves, posing a severe threat to both the yield and quality. In this study, the process of leaf infection by a pathogenic isolate of the GB disease (DDZ-6) was simulated. Hyperspectral images of normal leaves, infected leaves without symptoms, and infected leaves with mild and moderate symptoms were collected. Combining convolution neural network (CNN), long short-term memory (LSTM), and support vector machine (SVM) algorithms, the early detection model of GB disease, and the rapid screening model of resistant varieties were established. The generality of this method was verified by collecting datasets under field conditions. RESULTS: The visible red-light band demonstrated a pronounced responsiveness to GB disease, with three sensitive bands identified through rigorous screening processes utilizing uninformative variable elimination (UVE), competitive adaptive reweighted sampling (CARS), and the successive projections algorithm (SPA). The 693, 727, and 766 nm bands emerged as highly sensitive indicators of GB. Under ideal conditions, the CARS-LSTM model excelled in early detection of GB, achieving an accuracy of 92.6%. However, under field conditions, the combination of 693 and 727 nm bands integrated with a CNN provided the most effective early detection model, attaining an accuracy of 87.8%. For screening tea varieties resistant to GB, the SPA-LSTM model excelled, achieving an accuracy of 82.9%. CONCLUSION: This study provides a core algorithm for a GB disease instrument with detection capabilities, which is of great importance for the early prevention of GB disease in tea plantations. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry.

The relationship between physical activity and procrastination behavior among Chinese university students: a chain mediated effect of body self-esteem and overall self-esteem.

Objective: This study aimed to explore the relationship between physical activity and procrastination behavior among college students and the serial mediating roles of body self-esteem and overall self-esteem. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted involving 1,018 college students. The Physical Activity Rating Scale, the College Students' Physical Self-perception Profile, the Self-Esteem Scale, and the Chinese Procrastination Scale were utilized. Serial mediating effect analysis and Bootstrap analysis were applied to the data. Results: (1) Individuals engaging in high levels of physical activity demonstrated significantly lower levels of procrastination behavior compared to those with moderate or low levels of physical activity (Partial η2 = 0.01, F = 2.762, p < 0.01). (2) Physical activity was positively correlated with body self-esteem (r = 0.37, p < 0.01) and overall self-esteem (r = 0.29, p < 0.01), and negatively correlated with procrastination behavior (r = -0.14, p < 0.01). body self-esteem was positively correlated with overall self-esteem (r = 0.11, p < 0.01) and negatively correlated with procrastination behavior (r = -0.13, p < 0.01). Overall self-esteem also showed a significant negative correlation with procrastination behavior (r = -0.26, p < 0.01). (3) Mediation effect analysis indicated that body self-esteem and overall self-esteem played partial mediating roles in the relationship between physical activity and procrastination behavior among college students. The mediating effects were composed of three pathways: "Physical Activity → body self-esteem → Procrastination Behavior," "Physical Activity → Overall Self-Esteem → Procrastination Behavior," and "Physical Activity → body self-esteem → Overall Self-Esteem → Procrastination Behavior," with the effect sizes accounting for 27.70, 12.26, and 7.28% of the total effect, respectively. Conclusion: The findings of this study lead to several key conclusions regarding the relationship between physical activity, self-esteem, and procrastination behavior among college students. Firstly, engagement in moderate levels of physical activity is more effective in reducing procrastination behavior among college students. Secondly, participation in high volumes of physical activity is associated with increased levels of both body self-esteem and overall self-esteem. Lastly, physical activity not only directly impacts procrastination behavior but also indirectly influences it by enhancing body self-esteem and overall self-esteem, thereby further reducing the individual's level of procrastination. These conclusions suggest that physical activity plays a multifaceted role in mitigating procrastination behavior in college students. By promoting self-esteem, physical activity can foster a positive psychological state that is conducive to proactive behavior and academic success. The study's findings underscore the importance of integrating physical activity into college students' daily routines as a strategy to combat procrastination and enhance self-esteem.

Personalized starting age of gastric cancer screening based on individuals' risk profiles: a population-based prospective study.

BACKGROUND: The current recommended starting age for gastric cancer (GC) lacks unified guideline and individualized criteria. We aimed to determine risk-stratified starting age for GC screening in China based on individuals' risk profiles, and develop an online calculator for clinical application. METHODS: In this multi-center population-based prospective study, we divided participants enrolled during 2015-2017 (n = 59,771, aged 40-69) into screened and unscreened groups and observed them for primary endpoints-GC occurrence, all-cause and GC-specific deaths. The median follow-up was 6.07 years. To determine the reference starting age, the effectiveness of GC screening was assessed by age-groups after propensity-score-matching. Further, we categorized the calculated individual risk scores (using well-established risk factors) by quantiles. Subsequently, we used age-specific 10-year cumulative risk curves to estimate the risk-stratified starting age-when the individual's risk level matches reference starting age risk threshold. RESULTS: During follow-up, 475 GC cases, 182 GC deaths and 1,860 all-cause deaths occurred. All-cause and GC-specific mortality decreased among screened individuals aged ≥45 and 50-59 years, respectively. Thus, the average population (reference) starting age was set as 50 years. The 10-year cumulative risk of GC in average population aged 50 was 1.147%. We stratified the starting age using eight risk factors, and categorized participants as low-, medium-, and high-risk individuals, whose risk-stratified starting age was 58, 50, and 46, respectively. CONCLUSION: While high-risk individuals warrant 3-5 years earlier GC screening than average population (age 50), low-risk individuals can tolerate delayed screening. Our online, personalized starting-age calculator will help risk-adapted GC screening (https://web.consultech.com.cn/gastric/#/).

Concept-based Lesion Aware Transformer for Interpretable Retinal Disease Diagnosis.

Existing deep learning methods have achieved remarkable results in diagnosing retinal diseases, showcasing the potential of advanced AI in ophthalmology. However, the black-box nature of these methods obscures the decision-making process, compromising their trustworthiness and acceptability. Inspired by the concept-based approaches and recognizing the intrinsic correlation between retinal lesions and diseases, we regard retinal lesions as concepts and propose an inherently interpretable framework designed to enhance both the performance and explainability of diagnostic models. Leveraging the transformer architecture, known for its proficiency in capturing long-range dependencies, our model can effectively identify lesion features. By integrating with image-level annotations, it achieves the alignment of lesion concepts with human cognition under the guidance of a retinal foundation model. Furthermore, to attain interpretability without losing lesion-specific information, our method employs a classifier built on a cross-attention mechanism for disease diagnosis and explanation, where explanations are grounded in the contributions of human-understandable lesion concepts and their visual localization. Notably, due to the structure and inherent interpretability of our model, clinicians can implement concept-level interventions to correct the diagnostic errors by simply adjusting erroneous lesion predictions. Experiments conducted on four fundus image datasets demonstrate that our method achieves favorable performance against state-of-the-art methods while providing faithful explanations and enabling conceptlevel interventions. Our code is publicly available at https://github.com/Sorades/CLAT.

Investigation of piezoelectric printing devices for oil-free and on-demand picolitre monodisperse droplet generation.

Picolitre monodisperse droplet printing technology has important applications in biochemistry, such as accounting for quantitative analysis and single-cell analysis, and can be used for parallel high-throughput analysis of biomarkers and chemicals. However, commonly used droplet generation devices require complex control systems or customised microfluidic chips, making them costly and difficult for researchers to operate. Additionally, generating picolitre monodisperse droplets with microfluidic devices necessitates the introduction of an oil phase to block and separate the liquid. This requirement can reduce the throughput of the target droplets and cause cell contamination, hindering the adoption of this technology. By employing a common 1-mm-diameter capillary in the laboratory in combination with a piezoelectric transducer, we have achieved on-demand picolitre droplet printing of less than 100 pL in an oil-free environment. The device was found to be biocompatible with K562 cells. This approach is less costly, offers greater operational freedom, and is easier to integrate with other downstream assay modules or even handheld cell-printing devices. This study holds great potential for application in areas such as single-cell analysis, cell sampling, and pharmaceutical analysis.

Spatial accessibility and equity of community healthcare: unraveling the impact of varying time and transport mode.

Background: Achieving a higher level of accessibility and equity to community healthcare services has become a major concern for health service delivery from the perspectives of health planners and policy makers in China. Methods: In this study, we introduced a comprehensive door-to-door (D2D) model, integrating it with the open OD API results for precise computation of accessibility to community hospitals over different transport modes. For the D2D public transit mode, we computed the temporal variation and standard deviation of accessibility at different times of the day. Additionally, accessibility values for D2D riding mode, D2D driving mode, and simple driving mode were also computed for comparison. Moreover, we introduced Lorenz curve and Gini index to assess the differences in equity of community healthcare across different times and transport modes. Results: The D2D public transit mode exhibits noticeable fluctuations in accessibility and equity based on the time of day. Accessibility and equity were notably influenced by traffic flow between 8 AM and 11 AM, while during the period from 12 PM to 10 PM, the open hours of community hospitals became a more significant determinant in Nanjing. The moments with the most equitable and inequitable overall spatial layouts were 10 AM and 10 PM, respectively. Among the four transport modes, the traditional simple driving mode exhibited the smallest equity index, with a Gini value of only 0.243. In contrast, the D2D riding mode, while widely preferred for accessing community healthcare services, had the highest Gini value, reaching 0.472. Conclusion: The proposed method combined the D2D model with the open OD API results is effective for accessibility computation of real transport modes. Spatial accessibility and equity of community healthcare experience significant fluctuations influenced by time variations. The transportation mode is also a significant factor affecting accessibility and equity level. These results are helpful to both planners and scholars that aim to build comprehensive spatial accessibility and equity models and optimize the location of public service facilities from the perspective of different temporal scales and a multi-mode transport system.

FveDREB1B improves cold tolerance of woodland strawberry by positively regulating FveSCL23 and FveCHS.

Cold stress has seriously inhibited the growth and development of strawberry during production. CBF/DREB1 is a key central transcription factor regulating plant cold tolerance, but its regulatory mechanisms are varied in different plants. Especially in strawberry, the molecular mechanism of CBF/DREB1 regulating cold tolerance is still unclear. In this study, we found that FveDREB1B was most significantly induced by cold stress in CBF/DREB1 family of diploid woodland strawberry. FveDREB1B was localized to the nucleus, and DREB1B sequences were highly conserved in diploid and octoploid strawberry, and even similar in Rosaceae. And FveDREB1B overexpressed strawberry plants showed delayed flowering and increased cold tolerance, while FveDREB1B silenced plants showed early flowering and decreased cold tolerance. Under cold stress, FveDREB1B activated FveSCL23 expression by directly binding to its promoter. Meanwhile, FveDREB1B and FveSCL23 interacted with FveDELLA, respectively. In addition, we also found that FveDREB1B promoted anthocyanin accumulation in strawberry leaves by directly activating FveCHS expression after cold treatment and recovery to 25°C. DREB1B genes were also detected to be highly expressed in cold-tolerant strawberry resources 'Fragaria mandschurica' and 'Fragaria nipponica'. In conclusion, our study reveals the molecular mechanism of FveDREB1B-FveSCL23-FveDELLA module and FveDREB1B-FveCHS module to enhance the cold tolerance of woodland strawberry. It provides a new idea for improving the cold tolerance of cultivated strawberry and evaluating the cold tolerance of strawberry germplasm resources.

Salt ions improve soybean protein isolate/curdlan complex fat substitutes: Effect of molecular interactions on freeze-thaw stability.

Although emulsion gels show significant potential as fat substitutes, they are vulnerable to degreasing, delamination, and other undesirable processes during freezing, storage, and thawing, leading to commercial value loss in terms of juiciness, flavor, and texture. This study investigated the gel strength and freeze-thaw stability of soybean protein isolate (SPI)/curdlan (CL) composite emulsion gels after adding sodium chloride (NaCl). Analysis revealed that adding low salt ion concentrations promoted the hardness and water-holding capacity (WHC) of fat substitutes, while high levels displayed an inhibitory effect. With 40 mM NaCl as the optimum concentration, the hardness increased from 259.33 g (0 mM) to 418.67 g, the WHC increased from 90.59 % to 93.18 %, exhibiting good freeze-thaw stability. Confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) and particle size distribution were used to examine the impact of salt ion concentrations on protein particle aggregation and the damaging effect of freezing and thawing on the proteoglycan complex network structure. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and protein solubility evaluation indicated that the composite gel network structure consisted of covalent contacts between the proteoglycan molecules and hydrogen bonds, playing a predominant role in non-covalent interaction. This study showed that the salt ion concentration in the emulsion gel affected its molecular interactions.

Risk factors for the recurrence of left atrioventricular valvular regurgitation after surgical repair of partial and transitional atrioventricular septal defect.

Background: Left atrioventricular valvular regurgitation (LAVVR) recurrence after partial and transitional atrioventricular septal defect (AVSD) repair is the main risk factor associated with reoperation or mortality. The purpose of this study was to identify risk factors associated with the recurrence of LAVVR after surgical repair of transitional and partial AVSD at a single institution. Methods: A hundred and fifty-seven patients who underwent anatomical repair for partial and transitional AVSD from January 2013 to December 2021 were included in our institutional database. Demographic characteristics, operative information, comorbidities, complications, and outcomes were retrieved from electronic medical records. Echocardiographic evaluations included cardiac dimensions, the degree of LAVVR, and the anatomy of the atrioventricular valve. Results: After a median follow-up period of 5.8 years, 40 patients had recurrent moderate or even more severe LAVVR. Compared with patients without recurrent LAVVR, those experiencing LAVVR recurrence were more likely to have larger preoperative left atrial (LA) size and larger left ventricular (LV) size after standardization, larger left atrioventricular valve (LAVV) cleft width, higher proportions of preoperative moderate or even more severe LAVVR, and immediately postoperative mild to moderate or even more severe LAVVR. Univariate Cox regression analysis showed that age at first repair, height, LA size after standardization, LV size after standardization, the severity of preoperative LAVVR, immediately postoperative LAVVR, and the LAVV cleft width more than 1cm were risk factors for recurrent LAVVR (P<0.05 for all). Multivariable Cox regression analysis showed that mild to moderate or even more severe LAVVR postoperatively [hazard ratio (HR) 9.53, 95% confidence interval (CI): 3.78-24.01; P<0.001], the width of LAVV cleft more than 1 cm (HR: 3.90, 95% CI: 1.80-8.48; P<0.001) and age at first repair (HR: 0.45, 95% CI: 0.31-0.66; P<0.001) were independently associated with the recurrence of LAVVR. Conclusions: The width of LAVV cleft, mild to moderate or even more severe LAVVR immediately after surgery, and age at initial surgery are risk factors for recurrent LAVVR. The presence of recurrent LAVVR necessitates proactive surveillance to facilitate timely reintervention.

Black Ultrathin Single-Crystalline Flakes of CuVP2S6 and CuCrP2S6 for Near-Infrared-Driven Photocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution.

The development of new near-infrared-responsive photocatalysts is a fascinating and challenging approach to acquire high photocatalytic hydrogen evolution (PHE) performance. Herein, near-infrared-responsive black CuVP2S6 and CuCrP2S6 flakes, as well as CuInP2S6 flakes, are designed and constructed for PHE. Atom-resolved scanning transmission electron microscopy images and X-ray absorption fine structure evidence the formation of ultrathin single-crystalline sheet-like structure of CuVP2S6 and CuCrP2S6. The synthetic CuVP2S6 and CuCrP2S6, with a narrow bandgap of ≈1.0 eV, shows the high light-absorption edge exceeding 1100 nm. Moreover, through the femtosecond-resolved transient absorption spectroscopy, CuCrP2S6 displays the efficient charge transfer and long charge lifetime (18318.1 ps), which is nearly 3 and 29 times longer than that of CuVP2S6 and CuInP2S6, respectively. In addition, CuCrP2S6, with the appropriate d-band and p-band, is thermodynamically favorable for the H+ adsorption and H2 desorption by contrast with CuVP2S6 and CuInP2S6. As a result, CuCrP2S6 exhibits high PHE rates of 9.12 and 0.66 mmol h-1 g-1 under simulated sunlight and near-infrared light irradiation, respectively, far exceeding other layered metal phospho-sulfides. This work offers a distinctive perspective for the development of new near-infrared-responsive photocatalysts.

Species delimitation 4.0: integrative taxonomy meets artificial intelligence.

Although species are central units for biological research, recent findings in genomics are raising awareness that what we call species can be ill-founded entities due to solely morphology-based, regional species descriptions. This particularly applies to groups characterized by intricate evolutionary processes such as hybridization, polyploidy, or asexuality. Here, challenges of current integrative taxonomy (genetics/genomics + morphology + ecology, etc.) become apparent: different favored species concepts, lack of universal characters/markers, missing appropriate analytical tools for intricate evolutionary processes, and highly subjective ranking and fusion of datasets. Now, integrative taxonomy combined with artificial intelligence under a unified species concept can enable automated feature learning and data integration, and thus reduce subjectivity in species delimitation. This approach will likely accelerate revising and unraveling eukaryotic biodiversity.