Despite being almost 4000m above sea level, cereal crops have been grown in the Ngari Prefecture on the Tibetan Plateau for thousands of years. Where and when domestic crop species adapted to high-altitude growing conditions is a matter of ongoing debate. Here, the authors present a new radiocarbon date from the Gepa serul cemetery, providing the earliest evidence of naked six-rowed barley in Tibet (c. 3500 BP). Evaluating the available evidence for barley cultivation and interregional connections in central Asia at this time, two hypotheses are considered—a generational advance with farmers migrating up river valleys or rapid, long-distance trade through mountain corridors.

Rodents and shrews are major reservoirs of various pathogens that are related to zoonotic infectious diseases. The purpose of this study was to investigate co-infections of zoonotic pathogens in rodents and shrews trapped in four provinces of China. We sampled different rodent and shrew communities within and around human settlements in four provinces of China and characterised several important zoonotic viral, bacterial, and parasitic pathogens by PCR methods and phylogenetic analysis. A total of 864 rodents and shrews belonging to 24 and 13 species from RODENTIA and EULIPOTYPHLA orders were captured, respectively. For viral pathogens, two species of hantavirus (Hantaan orthohantavirus and Caobang orthohantavirus) were identified in 3.47% of rodents and shrews. The overall prevalence of Bartonella spp., Anaplasmataceae, Babesia spp., Leptospira spp., Spotted fever group Rickettsiae, Borrelia spp., and Coxiella burnetii were 31.25%, 8.91%, 4.17%, 3.94%, 3.59%, 3.47%, and 0.58%, respectively. Furthermore, the highest co-infection status of three pathogens was observed among Bartonella spp., Leptospira spp., and Anaplasmataceae with a co-infection rate of 0.46%. Our results suggested that species distribution and co-infections of zoonotic pathogens were prevalent in rodents and shrews, highlighting the necessity of active surveillance for zoonotic pathogens in wild mammals in wider regions.

Drillholes on shells provide a useful way to investigate prey and predator relationships. The current study documents predator–prey interactions exemplified by a faunal assemblage of the fossil gastropod Turritella cingulifera from the Pleistocene Szekou Formation in Hengchun Peninsula, Taiwan. All recognisable skeletal and shell fragments that are larger than 3 mm in size were collected and recorded. Processed bulk sediments (5.24 kg) contained 1462 molluscan shells, including 824 specimens of T. cingulifera, and 27 non-molluscan invertebrates. In the current study, approximately 41.6% (609/1462) of molluscs are drilled with at least one hole. Drilling intensities (DIs) regardless of shell completeness in all gastropods, bivalves and the turritelline gastropod T. cingulifera are 0.546, 0.060 and 0.413, respectively. DI on turritellids is significantly lower than that on other gastropods (χ2= 21.039, P < 0.001). Furthermore, the percentage of drillholes that occur in multiply drilled specimens is 34.7% (95/275) for turritelline gastropods based on complete to nearly complete specimens (n = 588). Our study shows no significant preference of drillhole position either on the suture or on the whorl (χ2= 0.055, P = 0.814). Most drillholes are located in whorls two to four proximal to the aperture. Drillhole diameters of the shells with one drillhole and ones with multiple drillholes are 1.0 and 0.5 mm on average, and the results of Mann–Whitney tests indicate that they are significantly different (P < 0.001). The first turritelline gastropod shell with an incomplete drillhole from Taiwan is documented here. The dominant drilling predators were naticids based on the drillhole morphology and the presence of naticids in the same assemblage. No apparent prey size selectivity is observed, so a ‘size refugium’ does not exist for the turritellids in the current study.

Objectives: Central-line–associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI) has been the leading cause of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) in the intensive care unit (ICU) setting. Previous studies have shown that a care bundle is effective in reducing CLABSI rates; however, the data on long-term sustainability and cost savings of bundled care are limited. Methods: From January 2011 to December 2020, a prospective surveillance was performed to monitor CLABSI at a university hospital in northern Taiwan. To reduce the CLABSI rate, a hospital-wide bundled care program for CLABSI prevention was implemented in 2013. We evaluated the long-term effect of the care bundle on CLABSI incidence and length of stay in the ICU. Results: During the study period, the overall CLABSI incidence decreased from 8.22 per 1,000 catheter days before the care bundle was implemented to 6.33 per 1,000 catheter days in 2020 (P for trend <.01). The most common pathogens causing CLABSI were gut organisms (1,420 of 2,363, 60.1%), followed by environmental organisms (734 of 2,363, 31.1%) and skin organisms (177 of 2,363, 7.5%). The decreasing trend was statistically significant in the incidence of CLABSI caused by skin organisms (P for trend < .01), but not in the incidence of CLABSI caused by environmental organisms (P for trend = .86) or gut organisms (P for trend = .06). In the multivariable analysis, implementation of this care bundle was independently associated with a decrease in the CLABSI rate (RR, 0.77; 95% CI, 0.66–0.88). Compared with patients without CLABSI, patients with CLABSI had a longer average ICU length of stay (27 vs 17 days). Conclusions: A sustainable reduction in the incidence of CLABSI caused by common commensals could be achieved through a cost-saving bundled care program.

Panonychus citri (McGregor) is the most common pest in citrus-producing regions. Special low-toxicity acaricides, such as spirocyclic tetronic acids and mite growth inhibitors, have been used for a long time in China. However, pesticide resistance in mites is a growing problem due to the lack of new acaricide development. Wide-spectrum insecticides, such as amitraz have gained acceptance among fruit growers. An amitraz-resistant strain of P. citri was obtained by indoor screening to examine field resistance monitoring of mites to acaricides and to explore the resistant mechanism of mites against amitraz. The amitraz-resistant strain of P. citri had an LC50 value of 2361.45 mg l−1. The resistance ratio was 81.35 times higher in the resistant strain of P. citri compared with the sensitive strain. Crossing experiments between the sensitive and resistant strains of P. citri were conducted, resulting in a D value of 0.11 for F1 SS♀×RS♂ and 0.06 for F1 RS♀×SS♂. Reciprocal cross experiments showed that the dose–mortality curves for the F1 generations coincided, indicating that the resistance trait was not affected by cytoplasmic inheritance. The dose–expected response relationship was evaluated in the backcross generation and a significant difference was observed compared with the actual value. The above results indicate that the inheritance of resistance trait was incompletely dominant, governed by polygenes on the chromosome. Synergism studies demonstrated that cytochrome P450s and esterase may play important roles in the detoxification of amitraz. Based on differential gene analysis, 23 metabolism-related genes of P. citri were identified, consistent with the results of synergism studies. Real-time PCR verification implied that P450s, ABC transporters, and acetylcholinesterase might influence the detoxification of amitraz by P. citri. These results provide the genetic and molecular foundation for the management of pest mite resistance.

Much effort has been devoted to improving the efficiency of animal cloning. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of BRG1 contained in Xenopus egg extracts on the development of cloned mouse embryos. The results showed that mouse NIH/3T3 cells were able to express pluripotent genes after treatment with egg extracts, indicating that the egg extracts contained reprogramming factors. After co-injection of Xenopus egg extracts and single mouse cumulus cells into enucleated mouse oocytes, statistically higher pronucleus formation and development rates were observed in the egg Extract− co-injected group compared with those in the no egg extract-injected (NT) group (38–66% vs 18–34%, P<0.001). Removal of BRG1 protein from Xenopus egg extracts was conducted, and the BRG1-depleted extracts were co-injected with single donor cells into recipient oocytes. The results showed that the percentages of pronucleus formation were significantly higher in both BRG1-depleted and BRG1-intact groups than that in the nuclear transfer (NT) group (94, 64% vs 50%, P<0.05). Furthermore, percentages in the BRG1-depleted group were even higher than in the BRG1-intact group (94% vs 64%). More confined expression of Oct4 in the inner cell mass (ICM) was observed in the blastocyst derived from the egg extract-injected groups. However, Nanog expression was more contracted in the ICM of cloned blastocysts in the BRG1-depleted group than in the BGR1-intact group. Based on the present study, BRG1 might not play an essential role in reprogramming, but the factors enhancing pronucleus formation and development of cloned mouse embryos are contained in Xenopus egg extracts.

This article mainly focuses on stabilization treatments that influence stress corrosion resistance of an AA5383-H15 alloy after undergoing sensitization treatment at 100 °C/168 h. The results show that without stabilization of the sensitized AA5383-H15 alloy, the β precipitates are distributed continuously like a mesh at grain boundary, and this is the main cause of intergranular corrosion failure. However, applying 3 different stabilization treatments (220 °C/3 h, 250 °C/3 h, and 280 °C/3 h) to the AA5383-H15 alloy shows a dramatic decrease in the β phase precipitation routes along the grain boundaries after the sensitization treatment, and thus an effective improvement in the corrosion resistance performance of AA5383-H15 alloys. Of all the stabilization treatments, the application of 250 °C/3 h stabilization treatment is found to be most effective. Applying 250 °C/3 h stabilization treatment facilitated partial recrystallization of the matrix, leading to suppress the continuous precipitation of the β phase along the grain boundaries during sensitization but instead precipitate in discontinuous mesh-like distribution, which can decrease its sensitivity to stress corrosion.

The present study was undertaken to investigate the antiparasitic activity of extracellular products of Streptomyces albus. Bioactivity-guided isolation of chloroform extracts affording a compound showing potent activity. The structure of the compound was elucidated as salinomycin (SAL) by EI-MS, 1H NMR and 13C NMR. In vitro test showed that SAL has potent anti-parasitic efficacy against theronts of Ichthyophthirius multifiliis with 10 min, 1, 2, 3 and 4 h (effective concentration) EC50 (95% confidence intervals) of 2.12 (2.22–2.02), 1.93 (1.98–1.88), 1.42 (1.47–1.37), 1.35 (1.41–1.31) and 1.11 (1.21–1.01) mg L−1. In vitro antiparasitic assays revealed that SAL could be 100% effective against I. multifiliis encysted tomonts at a concentration of 8.0 mg L−1. In vivo test demonstrated that the number of I. multifiliis trophonts on Erythroculter ilishaeformis treated with SAL was markedly lower than that of control group at 10 days after exposed to theronts (P < 0.05). In the control group, 80% mortality was observed owing to heavy I. multifiliis infection at 10 days. On the other hand, only 30.0% mortality was recorded in the group treated with 8.0 mg L−1 SAL. The median lethal dose (LD50) of SAL for E. ilishaeformis was 32.9 mg L−1.

Objective: To study the relationship of Nε-(carboxymethyl)-lysine level (CML) with microstructure changes of white matter (WM), and cognitive impairment in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and to discuss the potential mechanism underlying T2DM-associated cognitive impairment. Methods: The study was performed in T2DM patients (n=22) with disease course ≥5 years and age ranging from 65 to 75 years old. A control group consisted of 25 sex- and age-matched healthy volunteers. Fractional anisotropy (FA) of several WM regions was analyzed by diffusion tensor imaging scan. Plasma CML levels were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and cognitive function was assessed by Mini-Mental State Examination and Montreal cognitive assessment (MoCA). Results: The total Mini-Mental State Examination score in the patient group (25.72±3.13) was significantly lower than the control group (28.16±2.45) (p<0.05). In addition, the total MoCA score in the patient group (22.15±3.56) was significantly lower than the control group 25.63±4.12) (p<0.01). In the patient group, FA values were significantly decreased in the corpus callosum, cingulate fasciculus, inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus, parietal WM, hippocampus, and temporal lobes relative to corresponding regions of healthy controls (p<0.05). Plasma CML level was negatively correlated with average FA values in the global brain (r=−0.58, p<0.01) and MoCA scores (r=−0.47, p<0.05). Conclusions: In T2DM, WM microstructure changes occur in older patients, and elevations in CML may play a role in the development of cognitive impairment.

Many studies have suggested that folate-related one-carbon metabolism-related nutrients may play a role in certain cancer risks, but few studies have assessed their associations with the risk for nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). In this study, we investigated the association between four folate-related one-carbon metabolism-related nutrients (folate, vitamin B6, vitamin B12 and methionine) and NPC risk in Chinese adults. A total of 600 patients newly diagnosed (within 3 months) with NPC were individually matched with 600 hospital-based controls by age, sex and household type (urban v. rural). Folate, vitamin B6, vitamin B12 and methionine intakes were measured using a validated seventy-eight-item FFQ. A higher dietary folate or vitamin B6 intake was associated with a lower NPC risk after adjusting for potential confounders. The adjusted OR of NPC for quartiles 2–4 (v. 1) were 0·66 (95 % CI 0·48, 0·91), 0·52 (95 % CI 0·37, 0·74) and 0·34 (95 % CI 0·23, 0·50) (Ptrend<0·001) for folate and 0·72 (95 % CI 0·52, 1·00), 0·55 (95 % CI 0·39, 0·78) and 0·44 (95 % CI 0·30, 0·63) (Ptrend<0·001) for vitamin B6. No significant association with NPC risk was observed for dietary vitamin B12 or methionine intake. The risk for NPC with dietary folate intake was more evident in the participants who were not exposed to toxic substances than in those who were exposed (Pinteraction=0·014). This study suggests that dietary folate and vitamin B6 may be protective for NPC in a high-risk population.

This study aims to investigate barriers to the adoption of information and communication technology (ICT) for teachers of Chinese as a foreign language (CFL) in US universities. Although the development of ICT for teaching is growing, few published studies address ICT specifically regarding CFL teaching. Therefore, this study has reviewed the existing ICT literature's treatment of important ICT-related matters, including barrier factors, and has examined them in the context of CFL teaching. The current study features a mixed method, consisting of a survey and semi-structured interviews. Of the 47 CFL teachers who participated in the study, five volunteered for in-depth interviews. According to our findings, the most critical barriers to these CFL teachers’ adoption of ICT were insufficient support and insufficient time for developing technology-driven pedagogy and activities. These issues are reflected in CFL teachers’ unique subject expertise and workloads in existing universities’ curricula and approaches to instruction. In addition, age influences CFL teachers’ confidence in their use of ICT for the preparation of subject material and for teaching, whereas gender influences their willingness to spend time working on ICT.

A radio-frequency magnetron sputtering technique and subsequent rapid thermal annealing (RTA) at 600, 700, 800, and 900 °C were implemented to grow high-quality Ga-doped MgxZn1-xO (GMZO) epi-layers. The GMZO films were deposited using a radio-frequency magnetron sputtering system and a 4 inch ZnO/MgO/Ga2O3 (75/20/5 wt %) target. The Hall results, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and transmittance were determined and are reported in this paper. The Hall results indicated that the increase in mobility was likely caused by the improved crystallization in the GMZO films after thermal annealing. The XRD results revealed that MgxZn1-xO (111) and MgO2 (200) peaks were obtained in the GMZO films. The absorption edges of the as-grown and annealed GMZO films shifted toward the short wavelength of 373 nm at a transmittance of 90%. According to these results, GMZO films are feasible for forming transparent contact layers for near-ultraviolet light-emitting diodes.