Using the syntactic priming paradigm, this study investigated abstract syntactic knowledge of Chinese transitive structures (i.e., subject-verb-object [SVO], BA, and BEI) in deaf children with cochlear implants (CIs). Specifically, we focused on the differences in the development of various syntactic structures (within CI children and compared with their typically hearing children) and the possible individual differences during this process. Results showed that both CI and hearing children exhibited structural priming for all syntactic structures (i.e., SVO, SbaOV structure [agent-patient ordering], and ObeiSV structure [patient-agent ordering]) after comprehending and repeating the prime sentence regardless of verb repetition. However, verb repetition induced an intense abstract priming effect in CI children but not hearing children, with the lexical boost effect more significant for SVO and BA structures. In addition, CI children’s working memory capability modulated the production of the BA structure but not SVO and BEI structures.

We demonstrated a method to improve the output performance of a Ti:sapphire laser in the long-wavelength low-gain region with an efficient stimulated Raman scattering process. By shifting the wavelength of the high-gain-band Ti:sapphire laser to the long-wavelength low-gain region, high-performance Stokes operation was achieved in the original long-wavelength low-gain region of the Ti:sapphire laser. With the fundamental wavelength tuning from 870 to 930 nm, first-order Stokes output exceeding 2.5 W was obtained at 930–1000 nm, which was significantly higher than that directly generated by the Ti:sapphire laser, accompanied by better beam quality, shorter pulse duration and narrower linewidth. Under the pump power of 42.1 W, a maximum first-order Stokes power of 3.24 W was obtained at 960 nm, with a conversion efficiency of 7.7%. Furthermore, self-mode-locked modulations of first- and second-order Stokes generation were observed in Ti:sapphire intracavity solid Raman lasers for the first time.

Predicting epidemic trends of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) remains a key public health concern globally today. However, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) reinfection rate in previous studies of the transmission dynamics model was mostly a fixed value. Therefore, we proposed a meta-Susceptible-Exposed-Infectious-Recovered-Susceptible (SEIRS) model by adding a time-varying SARS-CoV-2 reinfection rate to the transmission dynamics model to more accurately characterize the changes in the number of infected persons. The time-varying reinfection rate was estimated using random-effect multivariate meta-regression based on published literature reports of SARS-CoV-2 reinfection rates. The meta-SEIRS model was constructed to predict the epidemic trend of COVID-19 from February to December 2023 in Sichuan province. Finally, according to the online questionnaire survey, the SARS-CoV-2 infection rate at the end of December 2022 in Sichuan province was 82.45%. The time-varying effective reproduction number in Sichuan province had two peaks from July to December 2022, with a maximum peak value of about 15. The prediction results based on the meta-SEIRS model showed that the highest peak of the second wave of COVID-19 in Sichuan province would be in late May 2023. The number of new infections per day at the peak would be up to 2.6 million. We constructed a meta-SEIRS model to predict the epidemic trend of COVID-19 in Sichuan province, which was consistent with the trend of SARS-CoV-2 positivity in China. Therefore, a meta-SEIRS model parameterized based on evidence-based data can be more relevant to the actual situation and thus more accurately predict future trends in the number of infections.

In China, both governments and civil institutions play important roles in non-profit regulation. However, with various regulatory instruments available, it remains unclear which has the strongest public support and most effectively promotes civic engagement. This study compared the impact of different non-profit regulatory instruments addressing information disclosure on two aspects of civic engagement intention: willingness to donate and willingness to volunteer. A survey experiment was conducted to analyse the perspectives of 939 Chinese participants on four types of regulation: no regulation, civil regulation, accommodative government regulation and deterrent government regulation. Results showed that regulation was preferred to no regulation and deterrent government regulation was preferred to accommodative government regulation, which was preferred to civil regulation. Additionally, public trust in non-profits significantly mediated the relationship between regulation and civic engagement intention. These findings suggest that government regulation, particularly the deterrent approach, garners strong public support and may be prioritized within the Chinese context.

This study investigates the molecular intricacies of the transmembrane protein TSP11 gene in Echinococcus strains isolated from livestock and patients in Yunnan Province afflicted with Echinococcus granulosus (E. granulosus) between 2016 and 2020. Gene typing analysis of the ND1 gene revealed the presence of the G1 type, G5 type and untyped strains, constituting 52.4, 38.1 and 9.5%, respectively. The analysis of 42 DNA sequences has revealed 24 novel single nucleotide polymorphic sites, delineating 11 haplotypes, all of which were of the mutant type. Importantly, there were no variations observed in mutation sites or haplotypes in any of the hosts. The total length of the TSP11 gene's 4 exons is 762 bp, encoding 254 amino acids. Our analysis posits the existence of 6 potential B-cell antigenic epitopes within TSP11, specifically at positions 49-KSN-51, 139-GKRG-142, 162-DNG-164, 169-NGS-171, 185-DS-186 and 231-PPRFTN-236. Notably, these epitopes exhibit consistent presence among various intermediate hosts and haplotypes. However, further validation is imperative to ascertain their viability as diagnostic antigens for E. granulosus in the Yunnan Province.

Background: Healthcare-associated central line associated bloodstream infection (HA-CLABSI) surveillance is important for monitoring healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) and evaluating effectiveness of infection prevention (IP) measures. However, implementing it is a laborious and time-consuming approach. Exclusive focus on central lines neglects HAI risk due to peripheral vascular catheters. This study aimed to assess whether HA-CLABSI incidence could be inferred from HA-bloodstream infection (BSI) trends and explore shift to HA-BSI surveillance. Methods: The study was performed in a Singaporean tertiary care hospital. Electronic medical records review was performed to determine whether positive blood cultures met Centers for Disease Control/National Health Safety Network (CDC/NHSN) definitions for HA-CLABSI and HA-BSI. Incident episodes of HA-BSI were included (excluding positive cultures repeated within 14 days). Incident organisms were explored to identify common causative pathogens (excluding same organisms isolated from cultures repeated within 14 days). CLABSI and BSI occurring ≥72hrs after admission were considered healthcare-associated. Patients under oncology or hematology service were considered immunocompromised. Incidence rates (IR) per 10,000 patient-days, patient characteristics and causative pathogens were compared between both indicators. Results: From January 2022 to October 2023, mean IR for HA-CLABSI was 0.63 (n=68) and for HA-BSI was 10.06 (n=1094). Median age of patients with HA-CLABSI was 66 years and HA-BSI was 68 years. HA-CLABSI and HA-BSI were more common in males (60.86% & 58.68%). Median duration between admission to HA-CLABSI was 20 days and to HA-BSI was 12 days. Median duration between central line insertion to HA-CLABSI was 16 days. Of 1094, 631 (57.7%) patients had vascular catheter(s) (i.e., IV cannula, port-a-cath, peripherally-inserted central catheter or central line) inserted at time of HA-BSI diagnosis, of whom 46 (7.3%) patients had CLABSI ±2days from positive blood culture. There was no significant correlation between monthly aggregate data from these indicators (Spearman’s correlation coefficient= 0.36, p-value=0.1). Predominant organisms causing HA-CLABSI and HA-BSI were gram negative bacteria (GNB, 40% & 57.21%), gram positive bacteria (24.71% & 22.23%), and fungi. Common GNB in CLABSI patients were Pseudomonas spp. and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia (8.24%), followed by Serratia marcescens and Klebsiella pneumoniae (5.88%). The frequent GNB in HA-BSI patients were Escherichia coli (15.4%), Klebsiella pneumonia (12.68%), and Pseudomonas spp. (6.69%). Common multi-drug resistant organisms were vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (10.59% & 3.69%) and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (10.59% & 3.07%). Conclusion: HA-BSI did not correlate with HA-CLABSI. HA-BSI reflects heterogenous population outcomes. For utilization as surveillance indicator, further assessment on exclusion criteria is required to improve specificity.

This research communication screened and identified differentiated expressed genes in bovine mammary epithelial cells (BMECs) upon prolactin (PRL) stimulation. PRL of 5 μg/ml increased β-casein synthesis in BMECs with milk protein synthesis capacity. RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) was used to screen differentially expressed genes (DEGs). A total of 375 DEGs (165 up-regulated and 210 down-regulated) were identified between PRL-stimulated group and the control group. Gene ontology enrichment analysis showed that the up-regulated genes were primarily associated with cell functions, metabolic processes, and biological regulatory processes. Pathway enrichment analysis showed that the up-regulated genes were mainly enriched in JAK-STAT, Rap1, Ras and Notch signaling pathways, which are widely involved in cell proliferation, differentiation and milk component synthesis. This study provides an initial understanding of the changes in gene expression in BMECs with PRL-stimulation, as determined by RNA-seq transcriptomic analysis, thereby enhancing our knowledge of the molecular regulation of lactation metabolism.

Infection mechanism plays a significant role in epidemic models. To investigate the influence of saturation effect, a nonlocal (convolution) dispersal susceptible-infected-susceptible epidemic model with saturated incidence is considered. We first study the impact of dispersal rates and total population size on the basic reproduction number. Yang, Li and Ruan (J. Differ. Equ. 267 (2019) 2011–2051) obtained the limit of basic reproduction number as the dispersal rate tends to zero or infinity under the condition that a corresponding weighted eigenvalue problem has a unique positive principal eigenvalue. We remove this additional condition by a different method, which enables us to reduce the problem on the limiting profile of the basic reproduction number into that of the spectral bound of the corresponding operator. Then we establish the existence and uniqueness of endemic steady states by a equivalent equation and finally investigate the asymptotic profiles of the endemic steady states for small and large diffusion rates to provide reference for disease prevention and control, in which the lack of regularity of the endemic steady state and Harnack inequality makes the limit function of the sequence of the endemic steady state hard to get. Finally, we find whether lowing the movements of susceptible individuals can eradicate the disease or not depends on not only the sign of the difference between the transmission rate and the recovery rate but also the total population size, which is different from that of the model with standard or bilinear incidence.

As an important component of prehistoric subsistence, an understanding of bone-working is essential for interpreting the evolution of early complex societies, yet worked bones are rarely systematically collected in China. Here, the authors apply multiple analytical methods to worked bones from the Longshan site of Pingliangtai, in central China, showing that Neolithic bone-working in this area, with cervid as the main raw material, was mature but localised, household-based and self-sufficient. The introduction of cattle in the Late Neolithic precipitated a shift in bone-working traditions but it was only later, in the Bronze Age, that cattle bones were utilised in a specialised fashion and dedicated bone-working industries emerged in urban centres.

Noncrystalline aluminosilicates termed allophane and imogolite are common constituents of spodosols, soils derived from volcanic ash, and many inceptisols. The surface charge characteristics of their synthetic analogues may be used to better understand their ion retention properties. In this study, we determined the point of zero salt effect (PZSE) by potentiometric titration of allophanes with Al/Si ratios of 1.12, 1.52, and 2.04 and of imogolite with an Al/Si ratio of 2.02. We also used microelectrophoresis to determine the point of zero charge (PZC) at the particle shear plane for the same materials in CI solutions of Li, Na, Cs, and tetramethyl ammonium. The PZSE decreased with decreasing Al/Si ratio for the allophanes, but the imogolite PZSE was much lower than that of the allophane with 2.04 Al/Si. The PZC was always higher than the PZSE of the same material, especially for imogolite. The results are best explained if cations reside within the hollow tubes of imogolite. This conclusion is supported by a fluorescence study that showed that only quenchers smaller than the inner diameter of the imogolite tube could fully quench Ce-imogolite.

Here, we report the generation of MeV alpha-particles from H-11B fusion initiated by laser-accelerated boron ions. Boron ions with maximum energy of 6 MeV and fluence of 109/MeV/sr@5 MeV were generated from 60 nm-thick self-supporting boron nanofoils irradiated by 1 J femtosecond pulses at an intensity of 1019 W/cm2. By bombarding secondary hydrogenous targets with the boron ions, 3 × 105/sr alpha-particles from H-11B fusion were registered, which is consistent with the theoretical yield calculated from the measured boron energy spectra. Our results demonstrated an alternative way toward ultrashort MeV alpha-particle sources employing compact femtosecond lasers. The ion acceleration and product measurement scheme are referential for the studies on the ion stopping power and cross section of the H-11B reaction in solid or plasma.

Schistosomiasis, a parasite infectious disease caused by Schistosoma japonicum, often leads to egg granuloma and fibrosis due to the inflammatory reaction triggered by egg antigens released in the host liver. This study focuses on the role of the egg antigens CP1412 protein of S. japonicum (SjCP1412) with RNase activity in promoting liver fibrosis. In this study, the recombinant egg ribonuclease SjCP1412, which had RNase activity, was successfully prepared. By analysing the serum of the population, it has been proven that the anti-SjCP1412 IgG in the serum of patients with advanced schistosomiasis was moderately correlated with liver fibrosis, and SjCP1412 may be an important antigen associated with liver fibrosis in schistosomiasis. In vitro, the rSjCP1412 protein induced the human liver cancer cell line Hep G2 and liver sinusoidal endothelial cells apoptosis and necrosis and the release of proinflammatory damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs). In mice infected with schistosomes, rSjCP1412 immunization or antibody neutralization of SjCP1412 activity significantly reduced cell apoptosis and necroptosis in liver tissue, thereby reducing inflammation and liver fibrosis. In summary, the SjCP1412 protein plays a crucial role in promoting liver fibrosis during schistosomiasis through mediating the liver cells apoptosis and necroptosis to release DAMPs inducing an inflammatory reaction. Blocking SjCP1412 activity could inhibit its proapoptotic and necrotic effects and alleviate hepatic fibrosis. These findings suggest that SjCP1412 may be served as a promising drug target for managing liver fibrosis in schistosomiasis japonica.

OBJECTIVES/GOALS: Current clinical practice recommends occlusive dressings (e.g., film and hydrocolloid) for wounds with variable regenerative capacities. However, clinical evidence suggests that occlusion may hinder regeneration. Our objective was to test the impact of occlusion on regeneration using animal models. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: The murine wound-induced hair neogenesis (WIHN) is a well-established model of regeneration characterized by de novo hair follicle (HF) formation in the center of large full-thickness wounds. The quantity of neogenic HFs depends on the robustness of Wnt signaling. Optimal tissue mechanics is also required for WIHN. Utilizing the murine WIHN model, we tested the hypothesis that wound occlusion impedes regeneration. We determined how (i) the timing and duration of wound occlusion impacts WIHN, (ii) Wnt signaling influences the occlusion-induced effects on regeneration and (iii) occlusion alters the tissue mechanics of the wound, which establishes the morphogenetic field needed for WIHN. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: Occlusion completely eliminated WIHN. Only a brief period of occlusion between post-wound days 0-3 or 4-7 was sufficient to abrogate WIHN. Microarray and qPCR of open and occluded wounds demonstrated that occlusion promotes fibrosis by upregulating TGF-β2 and mechanotransduction, a mechanosensitive profibrotic pathway. Recruitment of these potent profibrotic pathways generated a symmetrically rigid wound incapable of de novo HF regeneration. Using transgenic animal models with enhanced Wnt signaling, we determined that the ligand-dependent Wnt signaling protected against the occlusion-induced inhibition of WIHN, as well as the occlusion-induced upregulation of both profibrotic pathways. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE: In animal models, occlusion promoted fibrosis at the expense of regeneration during acute wound healing. Augmented Wnt signaling protected against this effect. Occluding wounds may reduce regeneration. Further studies are warranted to validate these findings.