The family Streblidae is a significant grouping of dipteran insects within the superfamily Hippoboscoidea, which parasitizes the body surface of bats. With the global spread of bat-related pathogens in recent years, Streblidae has gained increasing attention due to its potential for pathogen transmission. A sample of Brachytarsina amboinensis was sequenced on the B. amboinensis were obtained, compared with available Streblidae mitogenomes, and the phylogeny of Hippoboscoidea was reconstructed. The results indicate that the mitochondrial genome of B. amboinensis exhibits a relatively high degree of conservation, with an identical gene count, arrangement, and orientation as the ancestral insect's genome. Base composition analysis revealed a strong bias towards A and T in the base composition. Selection pressure analysis indicated strong purifying selection acting on cox1. Pairwise genetic distance analysis showed that cox1 evolved at a relatively slow rate. Regarding phylogenetic relationships, the constructed phylogenetic trees using Bayesian inference and Maximum Likelihood methods supported the monophyly of the Hippoboscoidea, Glossinidae, Hippoboscidae, and Nycteribiidae clades, with high nodal support values. Our research confirmed the paraphyly of the families Streblidae. In the familial relations between Nycteribiidae and Streblidae, New World Streblidae share a closer kinship with Nycteribiidae. This contrasts with prior findings which indicated that Old World Streblidae share a closer kinship with Nycteribiidae. This study not only enhances the molecular database for bat flies but also provides a valuable reference for the identification and phylogenetic analysis of Streblidae.

Despite global efforts to end tuberculosis (TB), the goal of preventing catastrophic health expenditure (CHE) due to TB remains unmet. This cross-sectional study was conducted in Guizhou Province, Southwest China. Data were collected from the Hospital Information System and a survey of TB patients who had completed standardized antituberculosis treatment between January and March 2021. Among the 2 283 participants, the average total expenditure and out-of-pocket expenditure were $1 506.6 (median = $760.5) and $683.6 (median = $437.8), respectively. Health insurance reimbursement reduced CHE by 16.8%, with a contribution rate of 24.9%, and the concentration index changed from -0.070 prereimbursement to -0.099 postreimbursement. However, the contribution of health insurance varied significantly across different economic strata, with contribution rates of 6.4% for the lowest economic group and 53.1% for the highest group. For patients from lower socioeconomic strata, health insurance contributed 10.7% to CHE in the prediagnostic phase and 23.5% during treatment. While social health insurance alleviated the financial burden for TB patients, it did not provide sufficient protection for those in lower economic strata or during the prediagnostic stage. This study underscores the need for more effective and equitable subsidy policies for TB patients .

In recent years, bat-associated pathogens, such as 2019 novel coronavirus, have been ravaging the world, and ectoparasites of bats have received increasing attention. Penicillidia jenynsii is a member of the family Nycteribiidae which is a group of specialized ectoparasites of bats. In this study, the complete mitochondrial genome of P. jenynsii was sequenced for the first time and a comprehensive phylogenetic analysis of the superfamily Hippoboscoidea was conducted. The complete mitochondrial genome of P. jenynsii is 16 165 base pairs (bp) in size, including 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 22 transfer RNA genes, 2 ribosomal RNA genes and 1 control region. The phylogenetic analysis based on 13 PCGs of the superfamily Hippoboscoidea known from the NCBI supported the monophyly of the family Nycteribiidae, and the family Nycteribiidae was a sister group with the family Streblidae. This study not only provided molecular data for the identification of P. jenynsii, but also provided a reference for the phylogenetic analysis of the superfamily Hippoboscoidea.

To explore whether embryo culture with melatonin (MT) can improve the embryonic development and clinical outcome of patients with repeated cycles after in vitro fertilization/intracytoplasmic sperm injection (IVF/ICSI) failure, immature oocytes from controlled ovarian superovulation cycles were collected for in vitro maturation (IVM) and ICSI. The obtained embryos were cultured in 0, 10–11, 10–9, 10–7 and 10–5 M MT medium respectively, and 10–9 M was screened out as the optimal concentration. Subsequently, 140 patients who underwent failed IVF/ICSI cycles received 140 cycles of embryo culture in vitro with a medium containing 10–9 M MT, these 140 MT culture cycles were designated as the experimental group (10–9 M group), and the control group was the previous failed cycles of patients (0 M group). The results showed that the fertilization, cleavage, high-quality embryo, blastocyst, and high-quality blastocyst rates of the 10–9 M group were significantly higher than those of the 0 M group (P < 0.01; P < 0.01; P < 0.0001; P < 0.0001; P < 0.0001). To date, in total, 50 vitrified-warmed cycle transfers have been performed in the 10–9 M group and the implantation rate, biochemical pregnancy rate and clinical pregnancy rate were significantly higher than those in the 0 M group (all P < 0.0001). Two healthy infants were delivered successfully and the other 18 women who achieved clinical pregnancy also had good examination indexes. Therefore the application of 10–9 M MT to embryo cultures in vitro improved embryonic development in patients with repeated cycles after failed IVF/ICSI cycles and had good clinical outcomes.

Trial registration: ChiCTR2100045552.

To explore whether different polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) concentrations affect the results of intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), a prospective study was conducted for 194 couples undergoing 210 ICSI therapy cycles. These cycles were divided into three groups (10, 7 and 5% groups) using the corresponding concentration of PVP for sperm immobilization. The main outcome measures were analyzed. Results indicated that, with a decrease in PVP concentrations, all of the main outcome measures increased. In particular, the high-quality cleavage embryo rate in the 7% group was significantly lower than in the 5% group (P < 0.01), and the cleavage, high-quality cleavage embryo, and high-quality blastocyst rates in the 5% group were significantly higher than those in the 10% group (all P < 0.001). For high-/intermediate-quality semen, all of the main outcome measures were significantly increased with 5% PVP. For the poor-quality semen, only the high-quality cleavage embryo and high-quality blastocyst rates were significantly higher in the 5% group. Therefore, lowering PVP concentrations greatly promoted the development of embryos in ICSI cycles, with an optimal concentration of 5% for ICSI.

To determine the 237Np concentration originating from global fallout in the environment, samples were collected from Guangxi, south of China, and measured by accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) at CIRCE. Serials standard samples and environment samples were prepared and measured using 242Pu as a tracer. The result indicates that the detection limit of 237Np as low as 10–15 g can be obtained. The concentration of 237Np in the environmental samples is less than 49.09 pg/kg (i.e. 1.280 mBq/kg), and the most probable value of 237Np is approximately 20 pg/kg (i.e. 0.53 mBq/kg).

Annexin A2 (ANXA2) is reported to be associated with cancer development. To investigate the roles ANXA2 plays during the development of cancer, the RNAi method was used to inhibit the ANXA2 expression in caco2 (human colorectal cancer cell line) and SMMC7721 (human hepatocarcinoma cell line) cells. The results showed that when the expression of ANXA2 was efficiently inhibited, the growth and motility of both cell lines were significantly decreased, and the development of the motility relevant microstructures, such as pseudopodia, filopodia, and the polymerization of microfilaments and microtubules were obviously inhibited. The cancer cell apoptosis was enhanced without obvious significance. The possible regulating pathway in the process was also predicted and discussed. Our results suggested that ANXA2 plays important roles in maintaining the malignancy of colorectal and hepatic cancer by enhancing the cell proliferation, motility, and development of the motility associated microstructures of cancer cells based on a possible complicated signal pathway.

Mosses have adapted to the Antarctic environment and are an ideal medium for studying plant resistance to abiotic stress. Chalcone synthase is the first committed enzyme in the flavonoid metabolic pathway, which plays an indispensable role in plant resistance to adversity. In this study, six genes (Pn021, PnCHS088, Pn270, PnCHS444, PnCHS768 and Pn847) were identified in the Antarctic moss Pohlia nutans Lindberg transcriptome by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE). Sequence alignment and three-dimensional structure analysis revealed the conserved amino acid residues of the enzymes of the chalcone synthase family, including three catalytic residues (Cys164, His303 and Asn336) and two substrate recognition residues (Phe215 and Phe265). Phylogenetic analysis indicated that PnCHS088, PnCHS444 and PnCHS768 might be chalcone synthase but that Pn021 is more like stilbenecarboxylate synthase. These genes were located at the transition between fungi and advanced plants in the phylogenetic tree. In addition, real-time PCR analysis revealed that the expression profiles of the six P. nutans genes were influenced by diverse abiotic stresses as well as by abscisic acid and methyl jasmonate. The results presented here contribute to the study of the CHS gene family in polar mosses and further reveal the mechanisms underlying the adaptation of mosses to extreme environments.

The consequences of urbanisation for Earth's biogeochemical cycles are largely unexplored. Copper (Cu) in urban soils is being accumulated mainly due to anthropogenic activities under rapid urbanisation. The increasing Cu concentrations may contribute to altering soil nitrogen (N) cycling in urban ecosystems through modulating denitrification processes. This research aims to identify how Cu impacts urban soil denitrification functions and denitrifier abundance. An urban park soil with a background total Cu concentration of 7.9μgg–1 was incubated anaerobically with different Cu amendments (10, 20, 40, 80 and 160μg Cu g–1 soil), similar to prevalent Cu contents in urban soils. We evaluated the soil denitrification functions using the acetylene (C2H2) inhibition method and assessed the denitrifier abundance by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) analyses of denitrifying marker genes (nirK, nirS and nosZ). At the function level, we observed that both the potential soil denitrification activity and the N2O emission rate due to denitrification were significantly (P<0.05) inhibited by Cu; even the lowest Cu addition (10μg Cu g–1 soil) drastically affected the denitrification function. Moreover, Cu significantly (P<0.05) decreased the abundance of nirK and nirS genes at the additions of 160μg Cu g–1 soil and 40μg Cu g–1 soil, respectively, whereas it had no clear impact on nosZ gene copies. Further correlation analyses revealed that the potential denitrification activity was positively correlated to the copy numbers of nirK and nirS genes, but it was not correlated to nosZ gene abundance. These findings indicate that Cu additions inhibited soil denitrification function and decreased denitrifier abundance in the investigated urban park soil. Our results suggest that Cu accumulation in urban soils, resulting from urbanisation, may generally influence denitrification in urban ecosystems.

We study a nonpreemptive scheduling on two parallel identical machines with a dedicated loading server and a dedicated unloading server. Each job has to be loaded by the loading server before being processed on one of the machines and unloaded immediately by the unloading server after its processing. The loading and unloading times are both equal to one unit of time. The goal is to minimize the makespan. Since the problem is NP-hard, we apply the classical list scheduling and largest processing time heuristics, and show that they have worst-case ratios, $8/5$ and $6/5$, respectively.

Dietary fat intake is correlated with increased insulin resistance (IR). However, it is unknown whether gene–diet interaction modulates the association. This study estimated heritability of IR measures and the related genetic correlations with fat intake, and tested whether dietary fat intake modifies the genetic influence on type 2 diabetes (T2D)-related traits in Chinese child twins. We included 622 twins aged 7–15 years (n 311 pairs, 162 monozygotic (MZ), 149 dizygotic (DZ)) from south-eastern China. Dietary factors were measured using FFQ. Structural equation models were fit using Mx statistical package. The intra-class correlation coefficients for all traits related to T2D were higher for MZ twins than for DZ twins. Dietary fat and fasting serum insulin (additive genetic correlation (rA) 0·20; 95 % CI 0·08, 0·43), glucose (rA 0·12; 95 % CI 0·01, 0·40), homoeostasis model of assessment-insulin resistance (Homa-IR) (rA 0·22; 95 % CI 0·10, 0·50) and the quantitative insulin sensitivity check index (Quicki) (rA −0·22; 95 % CI −0·40, 0·04) showed strong genetic correlations. Heritabilities of dietary fat intake, fasting glucose and insulin were estimated to be 52, 70 and 70 %, respectively. More than 70 % of the phenotypic correlations between dietary fat and insulin, glucose, Homa-IR and the Quicki index appeared to be mediated by shared genetic influence. Dietary fat significantly modified additive genetic effects on these quantitative traits associated with T2D. Analysis of Chinese twins yielded high estimates of heritability of dietary fat intake and IR. Genetic factors appear to contribute to a high proportion of the variance for both insulin sensitivity and IR. Dietary fat intake modifies the genetic influence on blood levels of insulin and glucose, Homa-IR and the Quicki index.

Background: Despite evidence for some genetic control of dietary intake in adults, there is little evidence of how genetic factors influence children's dietary patterns. Objective: To estimate heritability of dietary intake in twin children from China and test if genetic effects on dietary intakes vary by the children's socio-economic status (SES). Methods: A sample of 622 twins (162 monozygotic and 149 dizygotic pairs; 298 boys and 324 girls aged 7–15 years) was recruited in South China. Dietary intakes were assessed using a validated 145-item semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire. Pooled and sex-specific dietary patterns were identified using factor analysis. Heritability was estimated using structural equation models. Results: Heritable components differed by gender and for nutrients and food groups; and estimated heritability of dietary patterns was generally greater in girls than boys. In boys, estimated heritabilities ranged from 18.8% (zinc) to 58.4% (fat) for nutrients; and for food group, 1.1% (Western fast foods) to 65.8% (soft drinks). In girls, these estimates ranged from 5.1% (total energy) to 38.7% (percentage of energy from fat) for nutrients, and 12.6% (eggs) to 94.6% (Western fast foods) for food groups. Factor analysis identified five food patterns: vegetables and fruits, fried and fast foods, beverages, snacks and meats. Maternal education and family income were positively associated with higher heritabilities for intake of meat, fried, and fast food. Conclusions: Genetic influence on dietary intakes differed by gender, nutrients, food groups, and dietary patterns among Chinese twins. Parental SES characteristics modified the estimated genetic influence.

Several canoes were excavated from coastal rivers in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, southwest China. In order to confirm the age of the canoes, 6 samples were selected for radiocarbon dating from 3 canoes. The mean value of canoe NLJ was 365 ± 35 BP, and 2 samples from canoes MLJ and DFJ were 520 ± 21 and 499 ± 33 BP, respectively. The calendar ages cover a period from AD 1328 to 1641 at the 95% confidence level. These results disagree with previous studies that suggested canoes were only used over 1000 yr ago in China. We discuss the possible reasons for the results being younger than expected.

Near-infrared quantum cutting involving the conversion of one visible photon into two near-infrared photons was demonstrated in Ca0.99−xYbxWO4: Tb0.01 phosphors. From the analysis of the refinement of x-ray diffraction patterns, the suitable concentration range of Yb3+ in Ca0.99WO4: 0.01Tb3+ was determined to be 0–20%. By investigating their luminescent spectra and decay lifetimes, second-order downconversion from Tb3+ to Yb3+ were proved and the possible quantum cutting mechanism was proposed. Quantum efficiency related to Yb3+ concentration was calculated and the maximum efficiency was reached at 140.4%. Because the energy of Yb3 + 2F7/2 → 2F5/2 transition matches well with the band gap of the crystalline Si, the Ca0.99−xYbxWO4: Tb0.01 phosphors could be potentially applied in silicon-based solar cells.

An ancient pottery workshop belonging to the Han Dynasty was excavated in Caoxie village, Hepu County. Caoxie village is an important archaeological site in Hepu County, Beihai City, in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. It is believed that Hepu County was the oldest departure point on the ancient maritime trading route during the Han Dynasty (206 BC to AD 220) due to the ideal natural geographical conditions and the existence of a large number of Han tombs. Radiocarbon measurements on wood and charcoal samples from the Caoxie village site were performed at the Peking University AMS facility (PKU-AMS), Beijing, and the Centre for Isotopic Research for Cultural and Environmental Heritage (CIRCE) at Naples Second University, Italy. Calibrated ages were obtained with code CALIB 5 (Stuiver and Reimer 1993). The results of these measurements are presented and the related chronology is discussed.

Suturing and tying knots assisted by surgical robot systems are complicated and time-consuming tasks in minimally invasive surgery (MIS). It is almost impossible to perform these operations in laryngeal MIS because motions of the end-effectors are greatly confined by a narrow and long laryngoscope tube. This paper presents the robot-assisted operations of suturing and knot-tying in a laryngeal surgery under a self-retaining laryngoscope, which has a greatly confined workspace. In order to use robot assistance to perform the suturing and knot-tying tasks in such a workspace, an appropriate suturing path is planned. The suturing path planning is completed based on a knot-tying algorithm called the bending-twisting knot-tying (BTKT). A robot system for laryngeal MIS called MicroHand III is designed. The kinematical model of the system is developed in the paper. The simulation and experimental results have shown that suturing and knot-tying assisted by MicroHand III system are successful.