A pandemic of Salmonella enterica serotype Enteritidis emerged in the 1980s due to contaminated poultry products. How Salmonella Enteritidis rapidly swept through continents remains a historical ...puzzle as the pathogen continues to cause outbreaks and poultry supply becomes globalized. We hypothesize that international trade of infected breeding stocks causes global spread of the pathogen. By integrating over 30,000 Salmonella Enteritidis genomes from 98 countries during 1949-2020 and international trade of live poultry from the 1980s to the late 2010s, we present multifaceted evidence that converges on a high likelihood, global scale, and extended protraction of Salmonella Enteritidis dissemination via centralized sourcing and international trade of breeding stocks. We discovered recent, genetically near-identical isolates from domestically raised poultry in North and South America. We obtained phylodynamic characteristics of global Salmonella Enteritidis populations that lend spatiotemporal support for its dispersal from centralized origins during the pandemic. We identified concordant patterns of international trade of breeding stocks and quantitatively established a driving role of the trade in the geographic dispersal of Salmonella Enteritidis, suggesting that the centralized origins were infected breeding stocks. Here we demonstrate the value of integrative and hypothesis-driven data mining in unravelling otherwise difficult-to-probe pathogen dissemination from hidden origins.
Rating data are a kind of ordinal categorical data routinely collected in survey sampling. The response value in such applications is confined to a finite number of ordered categories. Due to ...population heterogeneity, the respondents may have several different rating styles. A finite mixture model is thus most suitable to fit datasets of this nature. In this paper, we propose a two-component mixture of shifted binomial distributions for rating data. We show that this model is identifiable and propose a numerically stable penalized likelihood approach for parameter estimation. We adapt an expectation-maximization algorithm for the penalized maximum likelihood estimation. Our simulation results show that the penalized maximum likelihood estimator is consistent and effective. We fit the proposed model and other models in the literature to some real-world datasets and find the proposed model can have much better fits.
The rapid economic development and climate change have accelerated the changes in China’s food production and have a potential impact on food security. In this paper, the grain sown area from 2001 to ...2019 was selected to analyze the spatio-temporal evolution and driving factors of China’s grain production through spatial autocorrelation analysis and geographically weighted regression. Our findings were as follows: (1) From the perspective of time characteristics, China’s grain production from 2001 to 2019 experienced four stages, rapid decline, rapid growth, steady growth, and slow decline, although with an overall upward trend. (2) From the perspective of spatial characteristics, the overall spatial pattern had a significant positive correlation. The high values were mainly concentrated in Shandong, Anhui, and Jilin and moved to the northeast China as time went on. (3) In terms of influencing factors, the positive impact of agricultural labor force on the grain production gradually decreased, showing a decreasing trend from southwest to northeast. The promotion of agricultural mechanization on the grain production increased year by year, with the spatial distribution characteristics of high in the northeast and low in the southwest. Besides, the coefficient of water resources endowment was negative, showing a spatial distribution pattern of high north and low south.
Cantharidin (CTD) is a highly toxic substance which can be used to treat a variety of cancers. However, the clinical application of CTD is restricted due to the serious side effects. In recent years, ...screening its analogues, exploring the mechanism of action and using combinatory therapy with certain substances are considered to be feasible methods which can reduce side effects and improve the therapeutic activity of CTD. This review aims to describe SAR (structure-activity relationship) of CTD analogues, CTD induction mechanisms, and combinatory therapy exploration.
We searched for research about CTD by entering the database. Important information was screened and extracted purposefully, including SAR, mechanisms, methods, etc. Finally, these contents were unified into a framework to form a review.
Some CTD analogues with imidazolium salt or double bonds at C-5 and C-6 positions demonstrate good anticancer activity. Through introducing methyl and acetoxy groups at the C-1 or C-4 position, the inhibitory effect of PP was weakened or even inactivated. Removing the two methyl groups of C-2 and C-3 can reduce side effects and improve efficacy. Replacing methyl with fluorine can also improve the activity and reduce toxicity. Water solubility and bioavailability could be improved by opening the five fivemembered anhydride ring to form carboxylic acid, salt, amide, and ester derivatives. The anticancer mechanism can be divided into the following aspects, including inhibiting cell invasion and metastasis, inducing apoptosis, regulating cell cycle and enhancing immunity. The proper formulation of CTD and its analogues (liposomes, nanoparticles and micelles) can improve the targeting of liver cancer and reduce toxic and side effects. CTD combined with anti-angiogenic therapeutics (Ginsenoside Rg3, Bevacizumab, Apatinib and Endostar) showed additive anti-pancreatic cancer effects.
It was found that the potential mechanism was closely related to multi-channel and multi-target interactions, which provided a guiding direction for the later exploration of new clinical therapeutic applications. However, some detailed mechanisms are still unclear, and more evidence is required to verify. In addition, the new methods to improve the therapeutic potential of CTD and its analogues still need more clinical trials to be tested in the future. This prospect is very broad and worthy of further study.
With increasing population and changing demographics, food consumption has experienced a significant transition in quantity and quality. However, a dearth of knowledge remains regarding its ...environmental impacts and how it responds to demographic dynamics, particularly in emerging economies like China. Using the two-stage Quadratic Almost Demand System (QUAIDS) model, this study empirically examines the impact of demographic dynamics on food consumption and its environmental outcomes based on the provincial data from 2000 to 2020 in China. Under various scenarios, according to changes in demographics, we extend our analysis to project the long-term trend of food consumption and its environmental impacts, including greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, water footprint (WF), and land appropriation (LA). The results reveal that an increase in the proportion of senior people significantly decreases the consumption of grain and livestock meat and increases the consumption of poultry, egg, and aquatic products, particularly for urban residents. Moreover, an increase in the proportion of males in the population leads to higher consumption of poultry and aquatic products. Correspondingly, in the current scenario of an increased aging population and sex ratio, it is anticipated that GHG emissions, WF, and LA are likely to decrease by 1.37, 2.52, and 3.56%, respectively. More importantly, in the scenario adhering to the standards of nutritional intake according to the Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents in 2022, GHG emissions, WF, and LA in urban areas would increase by 12.78, 20.94, and 18.32%, respectively. Our findings suggest that changing demographics should be considered when designing policies to mitigate the diet-environment-health trilemma and achieve sustainable food consumption.
Radiation resistance poses a major clinical challenge in breast cancer (BC) treatment, but little is known about how long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) may regulate this phenomenon. Here, we reported that ...DUXAP8 was highly expressed in radioresistant BC tissues, and high expression of DUXAP8 was associated with poor prognosis. We found that the overexpression of DUXAP8 promoted radioresistance, while the knockdown of DUXAP8 expression increased radiosensitivity. Further studies revealed that DUXAP8 enhanced the radioresistance of BC cells by activating the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway and by repressing the expression of E-cadherin and RHOB through interaction with EZH2. Together, our work demonstrates that the overexpression of DUXAP8 promotes the resistance of BC cells toward radiation through modulating PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway and EZH2-E-cadherin/RHOB axis. Targeting DUXAP8 may serve as a potential strategy to overcome radioresistance in BC treatment.
Salmonella
is one of the most common causes of food-borne diseases worldwide. While
Salmonella
molecular subtyping by Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) is increasingly used for outbreak and source ...tracking investigations, serotyping remains as a first-line characterization of
Salmonella
isolates. The traditional phenotypic method for serotyping is logistically challenging, as it requires the use of more than 150 specific antisera and well trained personnel to interpret the results. Consequently, it is not a routine method for the majority of laboratories. Several rapid molecular methods targeting O and H loci or surrogate genomic markers have been developed as alternative solutions. With the expansion of WGS,
in silico Salmonella
serotype prediction using WGS data is available. Here, we compared a microarray method using molecular markers, the Check and Trace
Salmonella
assay (CTS) and a WGS-based serotype prediction tool that targets molecular determinants of serotype (SeqSero) to the traditional phenotypic method using 100 strains representing 45 common and uncommon serotypes. Compared to the traditional method, the CTS assay correctly serotyped 97% of the strains, four strains gave a double serotype prediction. Among the inconclusive data, one strain was not predicted and two strains were incorrectly identified. SeqSero was evaluated with two versions (SeqSero 1 and the alpha test version of SeqSero 2). The correct antigenic formula was predicted by SeqSero 1 for 96 and 95% of strains using raw reads and assembly, respectively. However, 34 and 33% of these predictions included multiple serotypes by raw reads and assembly. With raw reads, one strain was not identified and three strains were discordant with phenotypic serotyping result. With assembly, three strains were not predicted and two strains were incorrectly predicted. While still under development, SeqSero 2 maintained the accuracy of antigenic formula prediction at 98% and reduced multiple serotype prediction rate to 13%. One strain had no prediction and one strain was incorrectly predicted. Our study indicates that the CTS assay is a good alternative for routine laboratories as it is an easy to use method with a short turn-around-time. SeqSero is a reliable replacement for phenotypic serotyping if WGS is routinely implemented.
Improving cultivated land use eco-efficiency (CLUE) can effectively promote agricultural sustainability, particularly in developing countries where CLUE is generally low. This study used ...provincial-level data from China to evaluate the spatiotemporal evolution of CLUE from 2000 to 2020 and identified the influencing factors of CLUE by using a panel Tobit model. In addition, given the undesirable outputs of agricultural production, we incorporated carbon emissions and nonpoint source pollution into the global benchmark-undesirable output-super efficiency-slacks-based measure (GB-US-SBM) model, which combines global benchmark technology, undesirable output, super efficiency, and slacks-based measure. The results indicated that there was an upward trend in CLUE in China from 2000 to 2020, with an increase rate of 2.62%. The temporal evolution of CLUE in China could be classified into three distinct stages: a period of fluctuating decrease (2000–2007), a phase of gradual increase (2008–2014), and a period of rapid growth (2015–2020). The major grain-producing areas (MPAs) had a lower CLUE than their counterparts, namely, non-major grain-production areas (non-MPAs). The spatial agglomeration effect followed a northeast-southwest strip distribution; and the movement path of barycentre revealed a “P” shape, with Luoyang City, Henan Province, as the centre. In terms of influencing factors of CLUE, investment in science and technology played the most vital role in improving CLUE, while irrigation index had the most negative effect. It should be noted that these two influencing factors had different impacts on MPAs and non-MPAs. Therefore, relevant departments should formulate policies to enhance the level of science and technology, improve irrigation condition, and promote sustainable utilization of cultivated land.
Increasingly, routine surveillance and monitoring of foodborne pathogens using whole-genome sequencing is creating opportunities to study foodborne illness epidemiology beyond routine outbreak ...investigations and case-control studies. Using a global phylogeny of Salmonella enterica serotype Typhimurium, we found that major livestock sources of the pathogen in the United States can be predicted through whole-genome sequencing data. Relatively steady rates of sequence divergence in livestock lineages enabled the inference of their recent origins. Elevated accumulation of lineage-specific pseudogenes after divergence from generalist populations and possible metabolic acclimation in a representative swine isolate indicates possible emergence of host adaptation. We developed and retrospectively applied a machine learning Random Forest classifier for genomic source prediction of Salmonella Typhimurium that correctly attributed 7 of 8 major zoonotic outbreaks in the United States during 1998-2013. We further identified 50 key genetic features that were sufficient for robust livestock source prediction.
Quercetin has a wide range of biological properties. The gut microflora can often modulate its biological activity and their potential health effects. There still is a lack of information about gut ...bacteria involving in this process. The strains of gut microbes from human feces that can transform quercetin were isolated and identified by in vitro fermentation. The results showed that Escherichia coli, Stretococcus lutetiensis, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Weissella confusa, Enterococcus gilvus, Clostridium perfringens and Bacteroides fragilis have the various ability of degrading quercetin. Among them, C. perfringens and B. fragilis were discovered to have the strongest ability of degrading quercetin. Additionally, quercetin can't inhibit the growth of C. perfringens. In conclusion, many species of gut microbiota can degrade quercetin, but their ability are different.
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