A novel entomopathogenic nematode (EPN) species, Steinernema tarimense n. sp., was isolated from soil samples collected in a Populus euphratica forest located in Yuli County within the Tarim Basin of Xinjiang, China. Integrated morphological and molecular analyses consistently place S. tarimense n. sp. within the ‘kushidai-clade’. The infective juvenile (IJ) of new species is characterized by a body length of 674–1010 μm, excretory pore located 53–80 μm from anterior end, nerve ring positioned 85–131 μm from anterior end, pharynx base situated 111–162 μm from anterior end, a tail length of 41–56 μm, and the ratios D% = 42.0–66.6, E% = 116.2–184.4, and H% = 25.5–45.1. The first-generation male of the new species is characterized by a curved spicule length of 61–89 μm, gubernaculum length of 41–58 μm, and ratios D% = 36.8–66.2, SW% = 117.0–206.1, and GS% = 54.8–82.0. Additionally, the tail of first-generation female is conoid with a minute mucron. Phylogenetic analyses of ITS, 28S, and mt12S sequences demonstrated that the three isolates of S. tarimense n. sp. are conspecific and form a sister clade to members of the ‘kushidai-clade’ including S. akhursti, S. anantnagense, S. kushidai, and S. populi. Notably, the IJs of the new species exhibited faster development at 25°C compared to other Steinernema species. This represents the first described of an indigenous EPN species from Xinjiang, suggesting its potential as a novel biocontrol agent against local pests.

The relationship between erythrocyte membrane n-3 PUFA and breast cancer risk is controversial. We aimed to examine the associations of erythrocyte membrane n-3 PUFA with odds of breast cancer among Chinese women by using a relatively large sample size. A case–control study was conducted including 853 newly diagnosed, histologically confirmed breast cancer cases and 892 frequency-matched controls (5-year interval). Erythrocyte membrane n-3 PUFA were measured by GC. Logistic regression and restricted cubic spline were used to quantify the association between erythrocyte membrane n-3 PUFA and odds of breast cancer. Erythrocyte membrane α-linolenic acid (ALA), docosapentaenoic acid (DPA) and total n-3 PUFA were inversely and non-linearly associated with odds of breast cancer. The OR values (95 % CI), comparing the highest with the lowest quartile (Q), were 0·57 (0·43, 0·76), 0·43 (0·32, 0·58) and 0·36 (0·27, 0·49) for ALA, DPA and total n-3 PUFA, respectively. Erythrocyte membrane EPA and DHA were linearly and inversely associated with odds of breast cancer ((EPA: ORQ4 v. Q1 (95 % CI) = 0·59 (0·45, 0·79); DHA: ORQ4 v. Q1 (95 % CI) = 0·50 (0·37, 0·67)). The inverse associations were observed between ALA and odds of breast cancer in postmenopausal women, and between DHA and oestrogen receptor+ breast cancer. This study showed that erythrocyte membrane total and individual n-3 PUFA were inversely associated with odds of breast cancer. Other factors, such as menopause and hormone receptor status, may warrant further investigation when examining the association between n-3 PUFA and odds of breast cancer.

Rapid infant growth increases the risk for adult obesity. The gut microbiome is associated with early weight status; however, no study has examined how interactions between microbial and host ribonucleic acid (RNA) expression influence infant growth. We hypothesized that dynamics in infant stool micro-ribonucleic acids (miRNAs) would be associated with both microbial activity and infant growth via putative metabolic targets. Stool was collected twice from 30 full-term infants, at 1 month and again between 6 and 12 months. Stool RNA were measured with high-throughput sequencing and aligned to human and microbial databases. Infant growth was measured by weight-for-length z-score at birth and 12 months. Increased RNA transcriptional activity of Clostridia (R = 0.55; Adj p = 3.7E-2) and Burkholderia (R = −0.820, Adj p = 2.62E-3) were associated with infant growth. Of the 25 human RNAs associated with growth, 16 were miRNAs. The miRNAs demonstrated significant target enrichment (Adj p < 0.05) for four metabolic pathways. There were four associations between growth-related miRNAs and growth-related phyla. We have shown that longitudinal trends in gut microbiota activity and human miRNA levels are associated with infant growth and the metabolic targets of miRNAs suggest these molecules may regulate the biosynthetic landscape of the gut and influence microbial activity.

Accurate navigation is required in many Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) applications. In recent years, GNSS Precise Point Positioning (PPP) has been recognised as an efficient approach for providing precise positioning services. In contrast to the widely used Real-Time Kinematic (RTK), PPP is independent of reference stations, which greatly broadens its scope of application. However, the accuracy and reliability of PPP can be significantly decreased by poor GNSS satellite geometry and outage. In response, a real-time four-constellation GNSS PPP is applied to improve the geometry in this work, and PPP is tightly coupled with an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) to smooth the position and velocity output, thus improving the robustness of the navigation solution. Experimental flight tests are carried out using a UAV in an open-sky area, and GNSS-challenged environments are simulated. The results show that the four-constellation GNSS PPP/IMU integration reduces the Root-Mean-Square (RMS) Three-Dimensional (3D) positioning and velocity error by 76.4% and 67.1%, respectively, in open sky with respect to the one-GNSS PPP. Under scenarios where GNSS measurements are insufficient, the coupled system can still provide continuous solutions. Moreover, the coupled PPP/IMU system can also maintain the convergence of PPP during GNSS-challenged periods and can greatly shorten the re-convergence period of PPP when the UAV returns to the open sky.

The Wisconsin Twin Project comprises multiple longitudinal studies that span infancy to early adulthood. We summarize recent papers that show how twin designs with deep phenotyping, including biological measures, can inform questions about phenotypic structure, etiology, comorbidity, heterogeneity, and gene–environment interplay of temperamental constructs and mental and physical health conditions of children and adolescents. The general framework for investigations begins with rich characterization of early temperament and follows with study of experiences and exposures across childhood and adolescence. Many studies incorporate neuroimaging and hormone assays.

In vivo and in vitro trials were conducted to assess the effects of tributyrin (TB) supplementation on short-chain fatty acid (SFCA) concentrations, fibrolytic enzyme activity, nutrient digestibility and methanogenesis in adult sheep. Nine 12-month-old ruminally cannulated Small Tail ewes (initial body weight 55 ± 5.0 kg) without pregnancy were used for the in vitro trial. In vitro substrate made to offer TB at 0, 2, 4, 6 and 8 g/kg on a dry matter (DM) basis was incubated by ruminal microbes for 72 h at 39°C. Forty-five adult Small Tail ewes used for the in vivo trial were randomly assigned to five treatments with nine animals each for an 18-d period according to body weight (55 ± 5.0 kg). Total mixed ration fed to ewes was also used to offer TB at 0, 2, 4, 6 and 8 g/kg on a DM basis. The in vitro trial showed that TB supplementation linearly increased apparent digestibility of DM, crude protein, neutral detergent fibre and acid detergent fibre, and enhanced gas production and methane emissions. The in vivo trial showed that TB supplementation decreased DM intake, but enhanced ruminal fermentation efficiency. Both in vitro and in vivo trials showed that TB supplementation enhanced total SFCA concentrations and carboxymethyl cellulase activity. The results indicate that TB supplementation might exert advantage effects on rumen microbial metabolism, despite having an enhancing effect on methanogenesis.

Introduction: High-quality cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is essential for patient survival. Typically, CPR quality is only measured during the first 10 minutes of resuscitation. There is limited research examining the quality of CPR over the entire duration of resuscitation.Objective: To examine the quality of CPR over the entire duration of resuscitation and correlate the quality of CPR to patient survival. Methods: This was a retrospective observational study using data from the Toronto RescuNET Epistry-Cardiac Arrest database. We included consecutive, adult (>18) OHCA treated by EMS between January 1, 2014 and September 30, 2015. High-quality CPR was defined, in accordance with 2015 AHA Guidelines, as a chest compression rate of 100-120/min, depth of 5.0-6.0 cm and chest compression fraction (ccf) of >0.80. We further categorized high-quality resuscitation as meeting benchmarks >80% of the time, moderate-quality between 50-80% and low-quality meeting benchmarks <50% of the resuscitation. We used multivariable logistic regression to determine association between variables of interest, including CPR quality metrics, and survival to hospital discharge. Results: A total of 5,208 OHCA met our inclusion criteria with a survival rate of 8%. The median (IQR) duration of resuscitation was 23.0 min (15.0,32.7). Overall CPR quality was considered high-quality for ccf in 81% of resuscitation episodes, 41% for rate, and 7% for depth. The percentage of resuscitations meeting the quality benchmarks differed between survivors and non-survivors for both depth (15% vs 6%) and ccf (61% vs 83%) (P value <0.001). After controlling for Utstein variables maintaining a chest compression depth within recommendations for >80% showed a trend towards improved survival (OR 1.68, 95% CI 0.96, 2.92). Other variables associated with survival were public location, initial CPR by EMS providers or bystanders, witnessed cardiac arrest (EMS or bystander), and initial shockable rhythm. Increasing age and longer duration of resuscitation were associated with decreased survival. Conclusion: Overall, EMS providers were not able to maintain rate or depth within guideline recommendations for the majority of the duration of resuscitation. Maintaining chest compression depth for greater than 80% of the resuscitation showed a trend towards increased survival from OHCA.

We present a scheme of electron beam radiography to dynamically diagnose the high energy density (HED) matter in three orthogonal directions simultaneously based on electron Linear Accelerator. The dynamic target information such as, its profile and density could be obtained through imaging the scattered electron beam passing through the target. Using an electron bunch train with flexible time structure, a very high temporal evolution could be achieved. In this proposed scheme, it is possible to obtain 1010 frames/second in one experimental event, and the temporal resolution can go up to 1 ps, spatial resolution to 1 µm. Successful demonstration of this concept will have a major impact for both future inertial confinement fusion science and HED physics research.

Leptospirosis is a zoonosis caused by bacteria of the genus Leptospira. The disease is globally distributed and a major public health concern. The Norway rat (Rattus norvegicus) is the main reservoir of the pathogen in urban slums of developing and developed countries. The potential routes of intra-specific leptospire transmission in rats are largely unknown. Herein, we identified pathogenic Leptospira spp. in breast tissue and milk of naturally infected rats. We examined kidney, breast tissue and milk from 24 lactating rats for the presence of leptospires using immunofluorescence, immunohistochemistry, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and scanning electronic microscopy. All 24 rats had evidence for Leptospira in the kidneys, indicating chronic carriage. The majority of kidney-positive rats had detectable leptospires in milk (18, 75%) and breast tissue (16, 67%), as evidenced by immunofluorescence assay and immunohistochemistry. Four (17%) milk samples and two (8%) breast tissue samples were positive by quantitative real-time PCR. Scanning electron microscopy confirmed the presence of leptospires in breast tissue. No major pathological changes in breast tissue were found. This study, for the first time, identified leptospires in the milk and breast tissue of wild Norway rats, suggesting the possibility of milk-borne transmission of leptospirosis to neonates.

Shot peening was conducted on [100]- and [111]-oriented monocrystalline nickel-based superalloy samples to study the effect of crystal orientation on the distributions of the residual stress and evolution of microstructures in the deformation layers on the sample surfaces as a function of the coverage up to 400%. The XRD results show that the orientation randomizations and the values of compressive residual stress in the [111]-oriented samples are relatively higher than those in the [001]-oriented samples. Moreover, the residual-stress distribution in each sample is anisotropic, and the residual stress is maximum along the 〈110〉 direction. This phenomenon can be explained by the anisotropic properties of a single-crystal alloy and mechanism of the dislocation slip in the plastic deformation layers. Line profile analysis was also used to obtain microstructural information of the samples.

To examine the pathogenesis of USA300 MRSA infection in long-term care residents, we performed a retrospective cohort study of 1691 adult residents of two extended-care facilities from 2003 to 2007 to assess whether the risk of subsequent MRSA infection is higher in USA300 MRSA-colonized residents compared to non-colonized residents or non-USA300 MRSA colonized residents. Six per cent of residents were colonized with USA300 MRSA; 12% of residents were colonized with non-USA300 MRSA; and 101 residents developed MRSA infection. The risk of infection was twofold higher in residents colonized with USA300 MRSA compared to residents not colonized with MRSA [adjusted hazard ratio 2·3, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1·1–4·5]. The risk of infection in USA300 MRSA-colonized residents was similar to USA300 MRSA non-colonized residents (relative risk 1·1, 95% CI 0·5–2·3). Our findings show that colonization with USA300 MRSA increases the risk of MRSA infection suggesting a similar pathogenesis.

The microstructure of Ag-doped La2/3Sr1/3MnO3 (LSMO) thin films deposited on (001) LaAlO3 single-crystal substrates was systematically investigated in cross section and plan view by high-resolution electron microscopy and analytical electron microscopy. The results showed that the films deposited at 750 °C were perfectly epitaxial with or without Ag-doping. No Ag in the doped film was detected. On the other hand, the LSMO films deposited at 400 °C were less perfect. With increasing Ag-doping level, the shape of LSMO grains became irregular, and the grain size increased gradually. Large polycrystalline clusters consisting of LSMO, AgO, and Ag grains formed in the doped films, and the amount and size of them increased with increasing Ag-doping level. Ag existed at the LSMO grain boundaries in its elemental state. A growth process for the LSMO-Ag system is discussed based on the experimental results. The enhancement of the magnetic spin disorders at the grain boundaries and interfaces caused by doping Ag could result in an improvement of low-field magnetoresistance.

We investigated the crystal structure of Ti3SiC2 by means of high-resolution electron microscopy (HREM). Two polymorphs, α– and β–Ti3SiC2, were identified. The amount of the α phase was larger than the β phase, indicating that the former has lower energy than the latter. We also found that the bright spots in HREM images of Ti3SiC2 do not necessarily correspond to the atomic columns; thus an intuitive interpretation of the image contrast in terms of the stacking sequences of the close-packed layers should be made cautiously