Molecular epidemiology and clinical impact of human rhinovirus (HRV) are not well documented in tropical regions. This study compared the clinical characteristics of HRV to other common viral ...infections and investigated the molecular epidemiology of HRV in hospitalized children with acute respiratory infections (ARIs) in Vietnam. From April 2010 to May 2011, 1082 nasopharyngeal swabs were screened for respiratory viruses by PCR. VP4/VP2 sequences of HRV were further characterized. HRV was the most commonly detected virus (30%), in which 70% were diagnosed as either pneumonia or bronchiolitis. Children with single HRV infections presented with significantly higher rate of hypoxia than those infected with respiratory syncytial virus or parainfluenza virus (PIV)-3 (12·4% vs. 3·8% and 0%, respectively, P < 0·05), higher rate of chest retraction than PIV-1 (57·3% vs. 34·5%, P = 0·028), higher rate of wheezing than influenza A (63·2% vs. 42·3%, P = 0·038). HRV-C did not differ to HRV-A clinically. The genetic diversity and changes of types over time were observed and may explain the year-round circulation of HRV. One novel HRV-A type was discovered which circulated locally for several years. In conclusion, HRV showed high genetic diversity and was associated with significant morbidity and severe ARIs in hospitalized children.
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Water security for food production in the deltas of international river basins has become the top concern of the basin countries. Numerous efforts were made to develop ...frameworks for the assessment of water security at different scales. However, no framework could be directly applied to the deltas of the transboundary basins because they have not fully addressed the characteristics of the deltas. This study aims to develop a comprehensive framework for the assessment of water security for the international river basin deltas and applied it to the Vietnamese Mekong Delta. METHODS: The water security assessment framework was developed on the basis of the concept of water security defined by the United Nations Water following the "Driving forces-Pressure-State-Impact-Response" approach. The developed framework is then used to evaluate the water security conditions for 22 subregions of the Mekong Delta. FINDINGS: The proposed water security assessment framework comprises the following six dimensions: water resources, domestic water supply, water for economic development, water-related disasters, ecological and environmental protection, and water governance, which contain 21 indicators and 5 sub-indicators. The results of applying this framework to the Mekong Delta showed that the overall water security conditions in most subregions in 2018 were only at the medium level. The degree of water security in flood season is higher than that in the dry season. The main reasons that lead to the medium-level water security of the region have been identified, including high dependence on external water resources (more than 90%) and transboundary water cooperation between the basin countries and rather low water productivity in economic sectors. The study suggests that improvement in transboundary water cooperation and water productivity would help enhance future water security in the Mekong Delta. CONCLUSION: Assessment of the water security for the deltas of the transboundary river basins requires a comprehensive assessment framework. The framework developed in this study was successfully applied to the case of the Vietnamese Mekong Delta. The proposed framework will help policymakers of the Mekong riparian countries to monitor the impact of the basin development plans and policies on water security conditions jointly and determine appropriate solutions to enhance water security for the basin.
The emergence of Edtech apps has contributed to the quality of education in general and English language teaching and learning in specific. With the help of Edtech Apps, learners can experience the ...real world easily and be motivated in learning. Nevertheless, the proliferation of Edtech Apps varies from one context to another. This mixed methods study aims at exploring the utilisation of Edtech apps in English language learning (ELL) from the learners’ perspectives. A group of 122 English as a foreign language (EFL) students from a high school in Vietnam partook in answering the closed-ended questionnaire and fifteen of them taking part in the semi-structured interview. Two types of data, namely quantitative and qualitative data, were generated. The former was processed using the SPSS software, while the latter was analysed thematically. The findings unravelled that EFL students had positive attitudes towards the deployment of Edtech Apps in ELL, and they believed that Edtech Apps in ELL were useful, easy for use, and motivating. The study also highlights some pedagogical implications to leverage the quality of English language teaching and learning.
Women and patients with incomplete revascularization (IR) have a worse prognosis after ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). However, the extent to which IR affects outcomes for women with ...STEMI compared with men is not well characterized. Thus, we examined late outcomes of 589 consecutive STEMI patients who received percutaneous coronary intervention and assessed SYNTAX scores (SS), both at baseline and after all procedures (residual SS). A residual SS >8 defined IR. The primary end point was cardiac death or myocardial infarction (MI), with median follow-up of 3.6 years interquartile range IQR 2.6 to 4.7. Women (n = 123) had lower baseline SSs 15.0 IQR 9 to 20, than men (n = 466), 16.0 IQR 9 to 20; p = 0.02. After all planned procedures, the residual SS was 5.0 IQR 0 to 9 in women and 5.0 (IQR 1 to 11 in men, p = 0.37. Cardiac death or MI occurred in (97/589) patients (16%), 24% (30/123) in women and 14% (67/466) in men (hazard ratio HR 1.75; 95% confidence intervals CI 1.14 to 2.69; p = 0.01). In patients with residual SYNTAX score (rSS) >8 cardiac death or MI occurred in 43% (15/35) of women and 23% 36/158 men (HR 2.14; 95% CI 1.17 to 3.91; p = 0.01). In patients with rSS = 0 to 8 cardiac death or MI occurred in 17% (15/88) of women and 10% of men (31/308) (HR 1.68; 95% CI 0.91 to 3.12; p = 0.10; interaction p value 0.58). Multivariate analysis found women were 1.77 times more likely than men to experience cardiac death or MI (95% CI 1.13 to 2.77; p = 0.01). In conclusion, we found despite a lower burden of disease at presentation and no difference in rates of IR between men and women, outcome differences were substantial. Women with rSS >8 were twice as likely as men with the same rSS to experience cardiac death or MI post-STEMI. Differences remained significant postrisk adjustment.
Abstract
A crucial step in functional genomics is identifying actively translated ORFs and linking them to biological functions. The challenge lies in identifying short ORFs, as their identification ...is greatly influenced by data quality and depth. Here, we improved the coverage of super-resolution Ribo-seq in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana), revealing uncharacterized translation events for nuclear, chloroplastic, and mitochondrial genes. Assisted by a transcriptome assembly, we identified 7,751 unconventional translation events, comprising 6,996 upstream ORFs (uORFs) and 209 downstream ORFs on annotated protein-coding genes, as well as 546 ORFs in presumed noncoding RNAs. Proteomic data confirmed the production of stable proteins from some of these unannotated translation events. We present evidence of active translation from primary transcripts of trans-acting small interfering RNAs (TAS1–4) and microRNAs (pri-MIR163 and pri-MIR169) and periodic ribosome stalling supporting cotranslational decay. Additionally, we developed a method for identifying extremely short uORFs, including 370 minimum uORFs (AUG-stop), and 2,921 tiny uORFs (2 to 10 amino acids) and 681 uORFs that overlap with each other. Remarkably, these short uORFs exhibit strong translational repression as do longer uORFs. We also systematically discovered 594 uORFs regulated by alternative splicing, suggesting widespread isoform-specific translational control. Finally, these prevalent uORFs are associated with numerous important pathways. In summary, our improved Arabidopsis translational landscape provides valuable resources to study gene expression regulation.
Improved coverage of super-resolution Ribo-seq in Arabidopsis reveals uncharacterized translation events for nuclear, chloroplastic, and mitochondrial genes.
An aerobic coupling of 2-aminopyrimidines or 2-aminopyridines with
-chalcones to afford aroylimidazo1,2-
pyrimidines and aroylimidazo1,2-
pyridines is reported. Reactions proceed in the presence of ...CuFe
O
superparamagnetic nanoparticle catalyst, two equivalents of iodine, oxygen oxidant, and 1,4-dioxane solvent. The catalyst is superior to many common copper or iron complexes. Copper ferrite could be easily separated by magnetic decantation and reused up to 5 times without a major loss of activity. The method described here marks a rare example of using a simple, heterogeneous catalyst for synthesis of fused heterocycles. To our best knowledge, aroylimidazo1,2-
pyrimidines and aroylimidazo1,2-
pyridines were not previously synthesized using this protocol.
A Gram-stain-negative and rod-shaped bacterial strain (WSW3-B6
T
) was isolated from red alga collected from the West Sea, Republic of Korea. Cells of strain WSW3-B6
T
were non-motile, aerobic and ...produced slightly yellow and mucoid colonies on marine agar. The strain grew optimally at 23–30 °C, with 0.5–4 % NaCl (w/v) and at pH 6.5–8.5. A phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rRNA gene revealed that strain WSW3-B6
T
belongs to the genus
Flavobacterium
within the family
Flavobacteriaceae
, having the highest sequence similarity to
Flavobacterium arcticum
SM1502
T
(96.7%), followed by
Flavobacterium salilacus
subsp.
altitudinum
LaA7.5
T
(96.2%) and
Flavobacterium salilacus
subsp.
salilacus
SaA2.12
T
(96.2%). The complete sequence of a circular chromosome of strain WSW3-B6
T
determined by combination of Oxford Nanopore and Illumina platforms comprised a total 2 725 095 bp with G+C content of 37.1 mol%. A comparative analysis based on the whole genome also showed the distinctiveness of strain WSW3-B6
T
. The average nucleotide identity (ANI) values between strain WSW3-B6
T
and the closest strains
F. arcticum
SM1502
T
,
F. salilacus
subsp.
altitudinum
LaA7.5
T
and
F. salilacus
subsp.
salilacus
SaA2.12
T
were 78.3, 77.8 and 77.7 %, respectively, while the digital DNA–DNA hybridization (dDDH) values between strain WSW3-B6
T
and the above closely related strains were 21.0, 20.4 and 20.3 %, respectively. Both the ANI and dDDH values supported the creation of a new species in the genus
Flavobacterium
. The major fatty acids (>10 %) were iso-C
15 : 0
(19.3 %), C
16 : 0
(14.0 %), iso-C
17 : 0
3-OH (13.1 %) and C
18 : 0
(10.7 %). The polar lipids of strain WSW3-B6
T
included phosphatidylethanolamine, three unidentified aminolipids and three unidentified lipids. Moreover, MK-6 was the only respiratory quinone. A comparison of the phylogenetic distinctiveness and the unique phenotypic and chemotaxonomic characteristics among strain WSW3-B6
T
and closely related type strains supported that strain WSW3-B6
T
(=KCTC 82708
T
=GDMCC 1.2627
T
) represents a novel species of the genus
Flavobacterium
, for which the name
Flavobacterium litorale
sp. nov. is proposed.
Fracture due to mechanical loads is one of the main distresses of asphalt concrete (AC) pavement. Characterisation of fracture properties of AC is thus vital. The semi-circular bending (SCB) test is ...recognised as a simple but robust test to evaluate the fracture resistance of AC. Current SCB test standards adopt a fixed sample geometry of 150 mm diameter, while the 100 mm diameter sample has not standardised yet. However, in specifications for AC design and quality control purposes, such as indirect tensile test and resilient modulus, cylindrical samples with either 100 or 150 mm diameter obtained from existing pavements or fabricated in laboratories are used in parallel. This raises the question of whether the 100 mm diameter SCB sample is applicable. The literature review shows the limited investigation into the applicability of SCB test on 100 mm diameter. It also shows no clear justification for why standardised geometry is preferred compared to 100 mm one. For these reasons, this study attempts to investigate the applicability of the SCB test with a non-standardised 100 mm diameter samples using a combined experimental and numerical approach. The numerical approach is based on the discrete element method combining with an enriched cohesive damage-plasticity contact model suitable for AC. The predictive capability of the numerical model is first assessed against the experimental data. Subsequently, the validated numerical model is applied to investigate the effects of notch length and sample thickness on the fracture properties of AC. The study demonstrated that the proposed non-standardised sample geometry of SCB test can provide reliable results with high repeatability. Furthermore, with an appropriate notch length and sample thickness, the non-standardised test can produce a similar value of fracture toughness as the standardised test. These results suggest that the non-standardised test can be used to characterise the fracture properties of AC mixes.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
BFBNIB, DOBA, GIS, IJS, IZUM, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Summary
Atopic dermatitis (AD) is chronic, pruritic, inflammatory skin disease that affects a significant portion of the population in industrialized nations. For nonresponders to conventional ...therapies, AD can significantly reduce sleep quality and quality of life. AD pathogenesis is multifactorial and involves multiple immune pathways, with recent evidence of T helper (Th)2, Th17 and Th22 axis attenuation in various AD endotypes and racial subtypes. Inhibition of the conserved Janus kinase (JAK) signalling pathway represents a promising therapeutic avenue to reduce the activation of multiple proinflammatory mediators involved in AD pathogenesis. JAK inhibitors exist in both oral and topical forms with variable specificity for the receptor tyrosine kinases JAK1, JAK2, JAK3 and tyrosine kinase 2. Oral formulations include abrocitinib, upadacitinib, baricitinib and gusacitinib, and are most appropriate for patients with moderate to severe AD. Emerging topical formulation in development include ruxolitinib and deglocitinib, which may be used in patients with localized AD and also adjunctively with systemic therapy in patients with more severe disease. With observed rapidity in itch relief and accompanying dramatic reduction in inflammatory lesion count, JAK inhibitors represent a promising new treatment to revolutionize the management of AD.
Click here for the corresponding questions to this CME article.
PDF
