Summary
Background
Tinea capitis is still common in developing countries, such as China. Its pathogen spectrum varies across regions and changes over time.
Objectives
This study aimed to clarify the ...current epidemiological characteristics and pathogen spectrum of tinea capitis in China.
Methods
A multicentre, prospective descriptive study involving 29 tertiary hospitals in China was conducted. From August 2019 to July 2020, 611 patients with tinea capitis were enrolled. Data concerning demography, risk factors and fungal tests were collected. When necessary, the pathogens were further identified by morphology or molecular sequencing in the central laboratory.
Results
Among all enrolled patients, 74·1% of the cases were in patients aged 2–8 years. The children with tinea capitis were mainly boys (56·2%) and were more likely than adults to have a history of animal contact (57·4% vs. 35·3%, P = 0·012) and zoophilic dermatophyte infection (73·5% vs. 47%). The adults were mainly female (83%) and were more likely than children to have anthropophilic agent infection (53% vs. 23·9%). The most common pathogen was zoophilic Microsporum canis (354, 65·2%), followed by anthropophilic Trichophyton violaceum (74, 13·6%). In contrast to the eastern, western and northeastern regions, where zoophilic M. canis predominated, anthropophilic T. violaceum predominated in central China (69%, P < 0·001), where the patients had the most tinea at other sites (20%) and dermatophytosis contact (26%) but the least animal contact (39%). Microsporum ferrugineum was the most common anthropophilic agent in the western area, especially in Xinjiang province.
Conclusions
Boys aged approximately 5 years were the most commonly affected group. Dermatologists are advised to pay more attention to the different transmission routes and pathogen spectra in different age groups from different regions.
What is already known about this topic?
Tinea capitis is an infection of the scalp and hair caused by dermatophytes and is still common in developing countries. Prepubertal children are mainly affected.
The pathogen spectrum of tinea capitis varies across different geographical areas and changes over time.
Nationwide prospective epidemiological surveys of tinea capitis in China are rare and out of date.
What does this study add?
This study provides data concerning the epidemiological characteristics and pathogen spectrum of tinea capitis in contemporary China.
Boys aged approximately 5 years were most commonly affected and were more likely than adults to have zoophilic dermatophyte infection.
The main pathogens of tinea capitis in China are zoophilic dermatophytes, mainly Microsporum canis. In contrast to the other regions, the predominant pathogens in central China are anthropophilic dermatophytes.
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Accurate determinations of atmospheric parameters (effective temperature Teff, surface gravity log g, and metallicity Fe/H) and distances for large complete samples are of vital importance for ...various Galactic studies. We have developed a photometric method to select red giant stars and estimate their atmospheric parameters from the photometric colors provided by SkyMapper Southern Survey (SMSS) data release (DR) 1.1, using stars in common with the LAMOST Galactic spectroscopic surveys as a training set. Distances are estimated with two different approaches: one based on the Gaia DR2 parallaxes for nearby (d ≤ 4.5 kpc) bright stars and another based on the absolute magnitudes predicted by intrinsic color (g − i)0 and photometric metallicity Fe/H for distant (d > 4.5 kpc) faint stars. Various tests show that our method is capable of delivering atmospheric parameters with a precision of ∼80 K for Teff, ∼ 0.18 dex for Fe/H, and ∼0.35 dex for log g but with a significant systematic error at log g ∼ 2.3. For distances delivered from (g − i)0 and photometric Fe/H, our test with the member stars of globular clusters show a median uncertainty of 16% with a negligible zero-point offset. Using this method, the atmospheric parameters and distances of nearly one million red giant stars are derived from SMSS DR1.1. Proper motion measurements from Gaia DR2 are available for almost all of the red giant stars, and radial velocity measurements from several large spectroscopic surveys are available for 44% of these. This sample will be accessible at https://yanghuang0.wixsite.com/yangh/research.
Using a sample of nearly 140,000 primary red-clump stars selected from the LAMOST and Gaia surveys, we have identified a large sample of "young" /Fe-enhanced stars with stellar ages younger than 6.0 ...Gyr and /Fe ratios greater than 0.15 dex. The stellar ages and /Fe ratios are measured from LAMOST spectra, using a machine-learning method trained with common stars in the LAMOST-APOGEE fields (for /Fe) and in the LAMOST-Kepler fields (for stellar age). The existence of these "young" /Fe-enhanced stars is not expected from the classical Galactic chemical evolution models. To explore their possible origins, we have analyzed the spatial distribution, and the chemical and kinematic properties of those stars and compared the results with those of the chemically thin and thick disk populations. We find that those "young" /Fe-enhanced stars have distributions in number density, metallicity, C/N abundance ratio, velocity dispersion, and orbital eccentricity that are essentially the same as those of the chemically thick disk population. Our results clearly show those so-called "young" /Fe-enhanced stars are not really young but genuinely old. Although other alternative explanations can not be fully ruled out, our results suggest that the most possible origin of these old stars is the result of stellar mergers or mass transfer.
Resveratrol, a phytochemical found in various plants and Chinese herbs, is associated with multiple tumor-suppressing activities, has been tested in clinical trials. However, the molecular mechanisms ...involved in resveratrol-mediated tumor suppressing activities are not yet completely defined. Here, we showed that treatment with resveratrol inhibited cell mobility through induction of the mesenchymal-epithelial transition (MET) in lung cancer cells. We also found that downregulation of FOXC2 (forkhead box C2) is critical for resveratrol-mediated suppression of tumor metastasis in an in vitro and in vivo models. We also identified a signal cascade, namely, resveratrol-∣miRNA-520h-∣PP2A/C-∣Akt → NF-κB → FOXC2, in which resveratrol inhibited the expression of FOXC2 through regulation of miRNA-520h-mediated signal cascade. This study identified a new miRNA-520h-related signal cascade involved in resveratrol-mediated tumor suppression activity and provide the clinical significances of miR-520h, PP2A/C and FOXC2 in lung cancer patients. Our results indicated a functional link between resveratrol-mediated miRNA-520h regulation and tumor suppressing ability, and provide a new insight into the role of resveratrol-induced molecular and epigenetic regulations in tumor suppression.
We investigate two issues in this article. First, this study employs almost stochastic dominance and the power spectrum to investigate the maturity effect, a hypothesis proposed by Samuelson (1965. ...Proof that properly anticipated prices fluctuate randomly. Industrial Management Review, 1965, 6(2), 41-49; 1976. Is real-world price a tale told by the idiot of chance? The Review of Economics and Statistics, 1976, 58(1), 120-123) in the stochastic variance framework. Second, we also reevaluate the argument in Bessembinder et al. (1996. Is there a term structure of futures volatilities? Reevaluating the Samuelson hypothesis. Journal of Derivatives, 1996, 4(2), 45-58) that spot price seasonality plays a role in explaining this hypothesis. We include five types of energy futures for empirical examination. The outcomes provide evidence ranging from supporting, to being contrary to the hypothesis. For empirical analysis, we also highlight that the periodic pattern of the futures return series explains the difference in outcomes. Those in the spot price, futures price, or spot return series do not contribute to these outcomes.
Abstract
We report experimental observation of large anomalous Hall effect exhibited in non-collinear triangular antiferromagnet D0
19
-type Mn
3
Ga with coplanar spin structure at temperatures ...higher than 100 K. The value of anomalous Hall resistivity increases with increasing temperature, which reaches 1.25 μΩ · cm at a low field of ~300 Oe at room temperature. The corresponding room-temperature anomalous Hall conductivity is about 17 (Ω · cm)
−1
. Most interestingly, as temperature falls below 100 K, a temperature-independent topological-like Hall effect was observed. The maximum peak value of topological Hall resistivity is about 0.255 μΩ · cm. The appearance of the topological Hall effect is attributed to the change of spin texture as a result of weak structural distortion from hexagonal to orthorhombic symmetry in Mn
3
Ga. Present study suggests that Mn
3
Ga shows promising possibility to be antiferromagnetic spintronics or topological Hall effect-based data storage devices.
Previous mass screening studies have shown that IgA antibodies against Epstein–Barr Virus (EBV) can facilitate early detection of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), but the impact of EBV-antibody ...screening for NPC-specific mortality remains unknown.
A prospective, cluster randomized, controlled trial for NPC screening (PRO-NPC-001) was conducted in 3 selected towns of Zhongshan City and 13 selected towns of Sihui City in southern China beginning in 2008. Serum samples of the screening group were tested for two previously selected anti-EBV antibodies. Subjects with serological medium risk were subsequently retested annually for 3 years, and those with serological high risk were referred to otorhinolaryngologists for diagnostic check-up. An interim analysis was carried out to evaluate the primary end points of the NPC-specific mortality and the early diagnostic rate, and the secondary end point of the NPC incidence, through linkage with the database of Zhongshan City.
Among 70 296 total subjects, 29 413 screened participants (41.8% of the total subjects) in the screening group and 50 636 in the control group, 153 (43.3 per 100 000 person-year), 62 (55.3 per 100 000 person-year) and 99 (33.1 per 100 000 person-year) NPC cases were identified. The early diagnostic rates of NPC were significantly higher in the participants (79.0%, P < 0.0001) and the screening group (45.9%, P < 0.0001) compared with the control group (20.6%). Although no differences were found between NPC-specific mortality of the screening group and the control group relative risk (RR)= 0.82, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.37–1.79, lower NPC-specific mortality was noticed among participants from the screening group versus the control group (RR = 0.22, 95% CI 0.09–0.49).
IgA antibodies against EBV can identify high-risk population and was effective in screening for early asymptomatic NPC. Although the mortality reduction was not significant in the primary end point, we noted encouraging evidence of a mortality reduction in screening participants in this interim analysis.
NCT00941538.
Aims Two field microcosm experiments and ¹⁵N labeling techniques were used to investigate the effects of biochar addition on rice N nutrition and GHG emissions in an Inceptisol and an Ultisol. ...Methods Biochar N bioavailability and effect of biochar on fertilizer nitrogen-use efficiency (NUE) were studied by ¹⁵N-enriched wheat biochar (7.8803 atom% ¹⁵N) and fertilizer urea (5.0026 atom% ¹⁵N) (Experiment I). Corn biochar and corn stalks were applied at 12 Mgha⁻¹ to study their effects on GHG emissions (Experiment II). Results Biochar had no significant impact on rice production and less than 2 % of the biochar N was available to plants in the first season. Biochar addition increased soil C and N contents and decreased urea NUE. Seasonal cumulative CH₄ emissions with biochar were similar to the controls, but significantly lower than the local practice of straw amendment. N₂O emissions with biochar were similar to the control in the acidic Ultisol, but significantly higher in the slightly alkaline Inceptisol. Carbon-balance calculations found no major losses of biochar-C. Conclusion Low bio-availability of biochar N did not make a significantly impact on rice production or N nutrition during the first year. Replacement of straw amendments with biochar could decrease CH₄ emissions and increase SOC stocks.
The "magnetoelectric effect" arises from the coupling between magnetic and electric properties in materials. The Z_{2} invariant of topological insulators (TIs) leads to a quantized version of this ...phenomenon, known as the topological magnetoelectric (TME) effect. This effect can be realized in a new topological phase called an "axion insulator" whose surface states are all gapped but the interior still obeys time reversal symmetry. We demonstrate such a phase using electrical transport measurements in a quantum anomalous Hall (QAH) sandwich heterostructure, in which two compositionally different magnetic TI layers are separated by an undoped TI layer. Magnetic force microscopy images of the same sample reveal sequential magnetization reversals of the top and bottom layers at different coercive fields, a consequence of the weak interlayer exchange coupling due to the spacer. When the magnetization is antiparallel, both the Hall resistance and Hall conductance show zero plateaus, accompanied by a large longitudinal resistance and vanishing longitudinal conductance, indicating the realization of an axion insulator state. Our findings thus show evidence for a phase of matter distinct from the established QAH state and provide a promising platform for the realization of the TME effect.
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