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Systematically monitoring the baseline sensitivity of troublesome weeds to herbicides is a crucial step in the early detection of their market lifespan. Florpyrauxifen-benzyl is one of the most important herbicides used in rice production throughout the world, and has been used for 5 yr in China. Barnyardgrass is one of the main targeted weed species of florpyrauxifen-benzyl. In total, 114 barnyardgrass populations were collected from rice fields in Jiangsu Province, China, and using whole-plant bioassays they were screened for susceptibility to florpyrauxifen-benzyl. The GR50 values (representing the dose that causes a 50% reduction in fresh weight of aboveground parts) of florpyrauxifen-benzyl for all populations ranged from 1.0 to 34.5 g ai ha−1, with an average of 6.8 g ai ha−1, a baseline sensitivity dose of 3.3 g ai ha−1, and a baseline sensitivity index of 34.5. Twenty-one days after treatment with florpyrauxifen-benzyl at the labeled dose (36 g ai ha−1), 90% of the barnyardgrass populations exhibited >95% reductions in fresh weight of aboveground parts. Compared with the baseline sensitivity dose, 63, 44, and 7 populations had, respectively, no resistance (55%), low resistance (39%), and moderate resistance (6%) to florpyrauxifen-benzyl. Furthermore, the GR50 distribution of barnyardgrass populations did not show a significant correlation with collection location, planting method (direct-seeding or transplanting), or rice species (Oryza sativa L. ssp. indica or ssp. japonica) at any of rice fields where seeds had been collected (P > 0.05). In conclusion, florpyrauxifen-benzyl remains effective for barnyardgrass control in rice fields despite serious resistance challenges.
Despite growing awareness of the mental health damage caused by air pollution, the epidemiologic evidence on impact of air pollutants on major mental disorders (MDs) remains limited. We aim to explore the impact of various air pollutants on the risk of major MD.
Methods
This prospective study analyzed data from 170 369 participants without depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia at baseline. The concentrations of particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter ≤ 2.5 μm (PM2.5), particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter > 2.5 μm, and ≤ 10 μm (PM2.5–10), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and nitric oxide (NO) were estimated using land-use regression models. The association between air pollutants and incident MD was investigated by Cox proportional hazard model.
Results
During a median follow-up of 10.6 years, 9 004 participants developed MD. Exposure to air pollution in the highest quartile significantly increased the risk of MD compared with the lowest quartile: PM2.5 (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.16, 95% CI: 1.09–1.23), NO2 (HR: 1.12, 95% CI: 1.05–1.19), and NO (HR: 1.10, 95% CI: 1.03–1.17). Subgroup analysis showed that participants with lower income were more likely to experience MD when exposed to air pollution. We also observed joint effects of socioeconomic status or genetic risk with air pollution on the MD risk. For instance, the HR of individuals with the highest genetic risk and highest quartiles of PM2.5 was 1.63 (95% CI: 1.46–1.81) compared to those with the lowest genetic risk and lowest quartiles of PM2.5.
Conclusions
Our findings highlight the importance of air pollution control in alleviating the burden of MD.
During the investigation of parasitic pathogens of Mytilus coruscus, infection of a Perkinsus-like protozoan parasite was detected by alternative Ray's Fluid Thioglycolate Medium (ARFTM). The diameter of hypnospores or prezoosporangia was 8–27 (15.6 ± 4.0, n = 111) μm. The prevalence of the Perkinsus-like species in M. coruscus was 25 and 12.5% using ARFTM and PCR, respectively. The ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 fragments amplified by PCR assay had 100% homology to that of P. beihaiensis, suggesting that the protozoan parasite was P. beihaisensis and M. coruscus was its new host in East China Sea (ECS). Histological analysis showed the presence of trophozoites of P. beihaiensis in gill, mantle and visceral mass, and the schizonts only found in visceral mass. Perkinsus beihaiensis infection led to inflammatory reaction of hemocyte and the destruction of digestive tubules in visceral mass, which had negative effect on health of the farmed M. coruscus and it deserves more attention.
In this paper, a capsule endoscopy system with a sensing function is proposed for medical devices. A single-arm spiral antenna is designed for data transmission and is combined with the voltage controlled oscillator to achieve sensing capabilities. The designed antenna operates at a 900 MHz industrial scientific medical band. By establishing a three-layer cylindrical model of the stomach, it was concluded that the antenna in the stomach has a high peak gain of −1.1 dBi. Additionally, the antenna achieved a −10 dB impedance bandwidth of 5%. The capsule endoscopy was experimentally measured in both actual stomach and simulated environments. The maximum working distance of the capsule endoscope was measured to be 6.8 m. Additionally, the proposed capsule endoscope was tested for its sensing function using solutions with different dielectric constants. Finally, it was confirmed through link analysis that it has good communication capabilities. The results and analysis confirm that the proposed capsule endoscope can be used for examining gastric diseases.
This study assesses the difference in professional attitudes among medical students, both before and after coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), and identifies the determinants closely associated with it, while providing precise and scientific evidence for implementing precision education on such professional attitudes.
Methods:
A pre-post-like study was conducted among medical students in 31 provinces in mainland China, from March 23, to April 19, 2021.
Results:
The proportion of medical students whose professional attitudes were disturbed after the COVID-19 pandemic, was significantly lower than before the COVID-19 pandemic (χ2 = 15.6216; P < 0.0001). Compared with the “undisturbed -undisturbed” group, the “undisturbed-disturbed” group showed that there was a 1.664-fold risk of professional attitudes disturbed as grade increased, 3.269-fold risk when others suggested they choose a medical career rather than their own desire, and 7.557-fold risk for students with COVID-19 in their family, relatives, or friends; while the “disturbed-undisturbed” group showed that students with internship experience for professional attitudes strengthened was 2.933-fold than those without internship experience.
Conclusions:
The professional attitudes of medical students have been strengthened during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results provide evidence of the importance of education on professional attitudes among medical students during public health emergencies.
The global transition towards diets high in calories has contributed to 2.1 billion people becoming overweight, or obese, which damages male reproduction and harms offspring. Recently, more and more studies have shown that paternal exposure to stress closely affects the health of offspring in an intergenerational and transgenerational way. SET Domain Containing 2 (SETD2), a key epigenetic gene, is highly conserved among species, is a crucial methyltransferase for converting histone 3 lysine 36 dimethylation (H3K36me2) into histone 3 lysine 36 trimethylation (H3K36me3), and plays an important regulator in the response to stress. In this study, we compared patterns of SETD2 expression and the H3K36me3 pattern in pre-implantation embryos derived from normal or obese mice induced by high diet. The results showed that SETD2 mRNA was significantly higher in the high-fat diet (HFD) group than the control diet (CD) group at the 2-cell, 4-cell, 8-cell, and 16-cell stages, and at the morula and blastocyst stages. The relative levels of H3K36me3 in the HFD group at the 2-cell, 4-cell, 8-cell, 16-cell, morula stage, and blastocyst stage were significantly higher than in the CD group. These results indicated that dietary changes in parental generation (F0) male mice fed a HFD were traceable in SETD2/H3K36me3 in embryos, and that a paternal high-fat diet brings about adverse effects for offspring that might be related to SETD2/H3K36me3, which throws new light on the effect of paternal obesity on offspring from an epigenetic perspective.
Four species of Porpidia are newly reported from China, including one species new to science (Porpidia crystallina) and three records (Porpidia umbonifera, P. seakensis and P. cf. contraponenda) new to China. Porpidia crystallina is characterized by a macrocarpa-type exciple containing crystals, a Cinereorufa-green epihymenium, large ascospores and a lack of secondary metabolites. Morpho-anatomical, chemical and phylogenetic analyses were carried out to elucidate the placement of the species and to support the delimitation of the new taxon. Detailed taxonomic descriptions, ecological and chemical characters, and illustrations are provided for each species. A key to all known Chinese Porpidia species is also provided.
Polydatin is an active polyphenol displaying multifaceted benefits. Recently, growing studies have noticed its potential therapeutic effects on bone and joint disorders (BJDs). Therefore, this article reviews recent in vivo and in vitro progress on the protective role of polydatin against BJDs. An insight into the underlying mechanisms is also presented. It was found that polydatin could promote osteogenesis in vitro, and symptom improvements have been disclosed with animal models of osteoporosis, osteosarcoma, osteoarthritis and rheumatic arthritis. These beneficial effects obtained in laboratory could be mainly attributed to the bone metabolism-regulating, anti-inflammatory, antioxidative, apoptosis-regulating and autophagy-regulating functions of polydatin. However, studies on human subjects with BJDs that can lead to early identification of the clinical efficacy and adverse effects of polydatin have not been reported yet. Accordingly, this review serves as a starting point for pursuing clinical trials. Additionally, future emphasis should also be devoted to the low bioavailability and prompt metabolism nature of polydatin. In summary, well-designed clinical trials of polydatin in patients with BJD are in demand, and its pharmacokinetic nature must be taken into account.
The oscillatory Kelvin–Helmholtz (K–H) instability of a planar liquid sheet was experimentally investigated in the presence of an axial oscillating gas flow. An experimental system was initiated to study the oscillatory K–H instability. The surface wave growth rates were measured and compared with theoretical results obtained using the authors’ early linear method. Furthermore, in a larger parameter range experimentally studied, it is interesting that there are four different unstable modes: first disordered mode (FDM), second disordered mode (SDM), K–H harmonic unstable mode (KHH) and K–H subharmonic unstable mode (KHS). These unstable modes are determined by the oscillating amplitude, oscillating frequency and liquid inertia force. The frequencies of KHH are equal to the oscillating frequency; the frequency of KHS equals half the oscillating frequency, while the frequencies of FDM and SDM are irregular. By considering the mechanism of instability, the instability regime maps on the relative Weber number versus liquid Weber number (Werel–Wel) and the Weber number ratio versus the oscillating frequency (Werel/Wel–$\varOmega$s2) were plotted. Among these four modes, KHS is the most unexpected: the frequency of this mode is not equal to the oscillating frequency, but the surface wave can also couple with the oscillating gas flow. Linear instability theory was applied to divide the parameter range between the different unstable modes. According to linear instability theory, K–H and parametric unstable regions both exist. However, note that all four modes (KHH, KHS, FDM and SDM) corresponded primarily to the K–H unstable region obtained from the theoretical analysis. Nevertheless, the parametric unstable mode was also observed when the oscillating frequency and amplitude were relatively low, and the liquid inertia force was relatively high. The surface wave amplitude was small but regular, and the evolution of this wave was similar to that of Faraday waves. The wave oscillating frequency was half that of the surface wave.
It has been suggested that added sugar intake is associated with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). However, previous studies only focused on sugar-sweetened beverages; the evidence for associations with total added sugars and their sources is scarce. This study aimed to examine the associations of total added sugars, their physical forms (liquid v. solid) and food sources with risk of NAFLD among adults in Tianjin, China. We used data from 15 538 participants, free of NAFLD, other liver diseases, CVD, cancer or diabetes at baseline (2013–2018 years). Added sugar intake was estimated from a validated 100-item FFQ. NAFLD was diagnosed by ultrasonography after exclusion of other causes of liver diseases. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards models were fitted to calculate hazard ratios (HR) and corresponding 95 % CI for NAFLD risk with added sugar intake. During a median follow-up of 4·2 years, 3476 incident NAFLD cases were documented. After adjusting for age, sex, BMI and its change from baseline to follow-up, lifestyle factors, personal and family medical history and overall diet quality, the multivariable HR of NAFLD risk were 1·18 (95 % CI 1·06, 1·32) for total added sugars, 1·20 (95 % CI 1·08, 1·33) for liquid added sugars and 0·96 (95 % CI 0·86, 1·07) for solid added sugars when comparing the highest quartiles of intake with the lowest quartiles of intake. In this prospective cohort of Chinese adults, higher intakes of total added sugars and liquid added sugars, but not solid added sugars, were associated with a higher risk of NAFLD.
Depression is a debilitating mental disorder that often coexists with anxiety. The genetic mechanisms of depression and anxiety have considerable overlap, and studying depression in non-anxiety samples could help to discover novel gene. We assess the genetic variation of depression in non-anxiety samples, using genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and linkage disequilibrium score regression (LDSC).
Methods
The GWAS of depression score and self-reported depression were conducted using the UK Biobank samples, comprising 99,178 non-anxiety participants with anxiety score <5 and 86,503 non-anxiety participants without self-reported anxiety, respectively. Replication analysis was then performed using two large-scale GWAS summary data of depression from Psychiatric Genomics Consortium (PGC). LDSC was finally used to evaluate genetic correlations with 855 health-related traits based on the primary GWAS.
Results
Two genome-wide significant loci for non-anxiety depression were identified: rs139702470 (p = 1.54 × 10−8, OR = 0.29) locate in PIEZO2, and rs6046722 (p = 2.52 × 10−8, OR = 1.09) locate in CFAP61. These associated genes were replicated in two GWAS of depression from PGC, such as rs1040582 (preplication GWAS1 = 0.02, preplication GWAS2 = 2.71 × 10−3) in CFAP61, and rs11661122 (preplication GWAS1 = 8.16 × 10−3, preplication GWAS2 = 8.08 × 10−3) in PIEZO2. LDSC identified 19 traits genetically associated with non-anxiety depression (p < 0.001), such as marital separation/divorce (rg = 0.45, SE = 0.15).
Conclusions
Our findings provide novel clues for understanding of the complex genetic architecture of depression.
Thyroid cancer (TC) incidence has increased greatly during the past decades with a few established risk factors, while no study is available that has assessed the association of the Chinese Health Dietary Index (CHDI) with TC. We conducted a 1:1 matched case–control study in two hospitals in Shanghai, China. Diet-quality scores were calculated according to CHDI using a validated and reliable FFQ. Conditional logistic regression analysis and restricted cubic spline analysis were used to reveal potential associations between CHDI score and TC risk. A total of 414 pairs of historically confirmed TC patients and healthy controls were recruited from November 2012 to December 2015. The total score of cases and controls were 67·5 and 72·8, respectively (P < 0·001). The median score of total vegetables, fruit, diary products, dark green and orange vegetables, fish, shellfish and mollusk, soyabean, whole grains, dry bean and tuber in cases was significantly lower than those in controls. Compared with the reference group (≤60 points), the average (60–80 points) and high (≥80 points) levels of the CHDI score were associated with a reduced risk of TC (OR: 0·40, 95 % CI 0·26, 0·63 for 60–80 points; OR: 0·22, 95 % CI 0·12, 0·38 for ≥80 points). In age-stratified analyses, the favourable association remained significant among participants who are younger than 50 years old. Our data suggested that high diet quality as determined by CHDI was associated with lower risk of TC.
Gut microbiome and dietary patterns have been suggested to be associated with depression/anxiety. However, limited effort has been made to explore the effects of possible interactions between diet and microbiome on the risks of depression and anxiety.
Methods
Using the latest genome-wide association studies findings in gut microbiome and dietary habits, polygenic risk scores (PRSs) analysis of gut microbiome and dietary habits was conducted in the UK Biobank cohort. Logistic/linear regression models were applied for evaluating the associations for gut microbiome-PRS, dietary habits-PRS, and their interactions with depression/anxiety status and Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9)/Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) score by R software.
Results
We observed 51 common diet–gut microbiome interactions shared by both PHQ score and depression status, such as overall beef intake × genus Sporobacter [hurdle binary (HB)] (PPHQ = 7.88 × 10−4, Pdepression status = 5.86 × 10−4); carbohydrate × genus Lactococcus (HB) (PPHQ = 0.0295, Pdepression status = 0.0150). We detected 41 common diet–gut microbiome interactions shared by GAD score and anxiety status, such as sugar × genus Parasutterella (rank normal transformed) (PGAD = 5.15 × 10−3, Panxiety status = 0.0347); tablespoons of raw vegetables per day × family Coriobacteriaceae (HB) (PGAD = 6.02 × 10−4, Panxiety status = 0.0345). Some common significant interactions shared by depression and anxiety were identified, such as overall beef intake × genus Sporobacter (HB).
Conclusions
Our study results expanded our understanding of how to comprehensively consider the relationships for dietary habits–gut microbiome interactions with depression and anxiety.
Previous studies have demonstrated structural and functional changes of the hippocampus in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD). However, no studies have analyzed the dynamic functional connectivity (dFC) of hippocampal subregions in melancholic MDD. We aimed to reveal the patterns for dFC variability in hippocampus subregions – including the bilateral rostral and caudal areas and its associations with cognitive impairment in melancholic MDD.
Methods
Forty-two treatment-naive MDD patients with melancholic features and 55 demographically matched healthy controls were included. The sliding-window analysis was used to evaluate whole-brain dFC for each hippocampal subregions seed. We assessed between-group differences in the dFC variability values of each hippocampal subregion in the whole brain and cognitive performance on the MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery (MCCB). Finally, association analysis was conducted to investigate their relationships.
Results
Patients with melancholic MDD showed decreased dFC variability between the left rostral hippocampus and left anterior lobe of cerebellum compared with healthy controls (voxel p < 0.005, cluster p < 0.0125, GRF corrected), and poorer cognitive scores in working memory, verbal learning, visual learning, and social cognition (all p < 0.05). Association analysis showed that working memory was positively correlated with the dFC variability values of the left rostral hippocampus-left anterior lobe of the cerebellum (r = 0.338, p = 0.029) in melancholic MDD.
Conclusions
These findings confirmed the distinct dynamic functional pathway of hippocampal subregions in patients with melancholic MDD, and suggested that the dysfunction of hippocampus-cerebellum connectivity may be underlying the neural substrate of working memory impairment in melancholic MDD.
The article aims to estimate and forecast the transmissibility of shigellosis and explore the association of meteorological factors with shigellosis. The mathematical model named Susceptible–Exposed–Symptomatic/Asymptomatic–Recovered–Water/Food (SEIARW) was used to explore the feature of shigellosis transmission based on the data of Wuhan City, China, from 2005 to 2017. The study applied effective reproduction number (Reff) to estimate the transmissibility. Daily meteorological data from 2008 to 2017 were used to determine Spearman's correlation with reported new cases and Reff. The SEIARW model fit the data well (χ2 = 0.00046, p > 0.999). The simulation results showed that the reservoir-to-person transmission of the shigellosis route has been interrupted. The Reff would be reduced to a transmission threshold of 1.00 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.82–1.19) in 2035. Reducing the infectious period to 11.25 days would also decrease the value of Reff to 0.99. There was a significant correlation between new cases of shigellosis and atmospheric pressure, temperature, wind speed and sun hours per day. The correlation coefficients, although statistically significant, were very low (<0.3). In Wuhan, China, the main transmission pattern of shigellosis is person-to-person. Meteorological factors, especially daily atmospheric pressure and temperature, may influence the epidemic of shigellosis.
High dietary fibre intake has been associated with a lower risk of diabetes, but the association of dietary fibre with prediabetes is only speculative, especially in China, where the supportive data from prospective studies are lacking. This study aimed to examine the association between dietary fibre intake and risk of incident prediabetes among Chinese adults. We performed a prospective analysis in 18 085 participants of the Tianjin Chronic Low-grade Systemic Inflammation and Health cohort study who were free of diabetes, prediabetes, cancer and CVD at baseline. Dietary data were collected using a validated 100-item FFQ. Prediabetes was defined based on the American Diabetes Association diagnostic criteria. Cox proportional hazard models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HR) and 95 % CI. During 63 175 person-years of follow-up, 4139 cases of incident prediabetes occurred. The multivariable HR of prediabetes for the highest v. lowest quartiles were 0·85 (95 % CI 0·75, 0·98) (P for trend = 0·02) for total dietary fibre, 0·84 (95 % CI 0·74, 0·95) (P for trend < 0·01) for soluble fibre and 1·05 (95 % CI 0·93, 1·19) (P for trend = 0·38) for insoluble fibre. Fibre from fruits but not from cereals, beans and vegetables was inversely associated with prediabetes. Our results indicate that intakes of total dietary fibre, soluble fibre and fibre derived from fruit sources were associated with a lower risk of prediabetes.
Environmental hypoxia exposure causes fertility problems in human and animals. Compelling evidence suggests that chronic hypoxia impairs spermatogenesis and reduces sperm motility. However, it is unclear whether paternal hypoxic exposure affects fertilization and early embryo development. In the present study, we exposed male mice to high altitude (3200 m above sea level) for 7 or 60 days to evaluate the effects of hypoxia on sperm quality, zygotic DNA methylation and blastocyst formation. Compared with age-matched controls, hypoxia-treated males exhibited reduced fertility after mating with normoxic females as a result of defects in sperm motility and function. Results of in vitro fertilization (IVF) experiments revealed that 60 days’ exposure significantly reduced cleavage and blastocyst rates by 30% and 70%, respectively. Immunohistochemical staining of pronuclear formation indicated that the pronuclear formation process was disturbed and expression of imprinted genes was reduced in early embryos after paternal hypoxia. Overall, the findings of this study suggested that exposing male mice to hypoxia impaired sperm function and affected key events during early embryo development in mammals.
Inflammation might play a role in bipolar disorder (BD), but it remains unclear the relationship between inflammation and brain structural and functional abnormalities in patients with BD. In this study, we focused on the alterations of functional connectivity (FC), peripheral pro-inflammatory cytokines and their correlations to investigate the role of inflammation in FC in BD depression.
Methods
In this study, 42 unmedicated patients with BD II depression and 62 healthy controls (HCs) were enrolled. Resting-state-functional magnetic resonance imaging was performed in all participants and independent component analysis was used. Serum levels of Interleukin-6 (IL-6) and Interleukin-8 (IL-8) were measured in all participants. Correlation between FC values and IL-6 and IL-8 levels in BD was calculated.
Results
Compared with the HCs, BD II patients showed decreased FC in the left orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) implicating the limbic network and the right precentral gyrus implicating the somatomotor network. BD II showed increased IL-6 (p = 0.039), IL-8 (p = 0.002) levels. Moreover, abnormal FC in the right precentral gyrus were inversely correlated with the IL-8 (r = −0.458, p = 0.004) levels in BD II. No significant correlation was found between FC in the left OFC and cytokines levels.
Conclusions
Our findings that serum IL-8 levels are associated with impaired FC in the right precentral gyrus in BD II patients suggest that inflammation might play a crucial role in brain functional abnormalities in BD.
We sought to examine the prospective associations of specific fruit consumption, in particular flavonoid-rich fruit (FRF) consumption, with the risk of stroke and subtypes of stroke in a Japanese population. A study followed a total of 39 843 men and 47 334 women aged 44–76 years, and free of CVD, diabetes and cancer at baseline since 1995 and 1998 to the end of 2009 and 2012, respectively. Data on total and specific FRF consumption for each participant were obtained using a self-administrated FFQ. The hazard ratios (HR) of stroke in relation to total and specific FRF consumption were estimated through Cox proportional hazards regression models. During a median follow-up of 13·1 years, 4091 incident stroke cases (2557 cerebral infarctions and 1516 haemorrhagic strokes) were documented. After adjustment for age, BMI, study area, lifestyles, dietary factors and other risk factors, it was found that total FRF consumption was associated with a significantly lower risk of stroke in women (HR = 0·70; 95 % CI 0·58, 0·84), while the association in men was not significant (HR = 0·93; 95 % CI 0·79, 1·09). As for specific FRF, consumptions of citrus fruits, strawberries and grapes were found associated with a lower stroke risk in women. Higher consumptions of FRF, in particular citrus fruits, strawberries and grapes, were associated with a lower risk of developing stroke in Japanese women.