The lower termite, Coptotermes curvignathus, is one of the most prominent plantation pests that feed upon, digest, and receive nourishment from exclusive lignocellulose diets. The objective of this ...study was to examine the utilization of sole carbon sources by isolated culturable aerobic bacteria among communities from the gut and foraging pathway of C. curvignathus. We study the bacteria occurrence from the gut of C. curvignathus and its surrounding feeding area by comparing the obtained phenotypic fingerprint with Biolog's extensive species library. A total of 24 bacteria have been identified mainly from the family Enterobacteriaceae from the identification of Biolog Gen III. Overall, the bacteria species in the termite gut differ from those of foraging pathway within a location, except Acintobacter baumannii, which was the only bacteria species found in both habitats. Although termites from a different study area do not have the same species of bacteria in the gut, they do have a bacterial community with similar role in degrading certain carbon sources. Sugars were preferential in termite gut isolates, while nitrogen carbon sources were preferential in foraging pathway isolates. The preferential use of specific carbon sources by these two bacterial communities reflects the role of bacteria for regulation of carbon metabolism in the termite gut and foraging pathway.
Purpose: We aim to explore expression profiles of genes in SCDH of CPPS model rat relevant to pain and inflammation by RNA-Seq and to investigate the mechanism of anti-inflammatory and analgesic of ...EA. Methods: Thirty-six SD male rats were randomly divided into three groups (n = 12): sham operation, model, and EA. The rat CPPS model was established by injecting CFA into the ventral lobes of the prostate. The rats in EA group were treated at Guanyuan (CV4), Zhongji (CV3), Sanyinjiao (SP6) and Huiyang (BL35) for a total of 20 times, with a frequency of 2/100Hz. Mechanical allodynia, H&E staining and ELISA were used to detect the changes of pain threshold and tissue inflammation; RNA-Seq technique was used for profiling gene changes in SCDH and qRT-PCR was used for further validation. Results: Persistent mechanical allodynia and severe tissue inflammatory reaction both occurred in CPPS rats. After EA therapy, the pain sensitivity and inflammatory response of CPPS rats decreased significantly. RNA-Seq identified that a total of 46 DEGs were significantly up-regulated and 65 DEGs down-regulated after EA. GO enrichment showed that EA was mainly reflected in the regulation of the immune system by participating in the regulation of leukocyte, neutrophil cellular processes and cytokine metabolism. KEGG enrichment demonstrated that signal transduction and immune system were the most significant pathways. We further identified that the expressions of Pik3r2, Akt1, and Casp9 were significantly up-regulated and Jak2 and Stat3 down-regulated in the PI3K-AKT/JAK-STAT signal pathway. Conclusion: Our study revealed that immune and inflammatory responses are the main biological events that induce chronic pelvic pain in rats, and EA can exert anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects by regulating the expression of related genes on PI3K-AKT/JAK-STAT signal pathway in SCDH. This study provided putative novel targets of EA, which may have anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects of CPPS. Keywords: electroacupuncture therapy, chronic pelvic pain, anti-inflammatory and analgesia, RNA-seq technique, cytokine, spinal cord dorsal horn
Recent studies have shown that breast arterial calcification (BAC) detected on screening mammography is linked to cardiovascular diseases via medial calcification. However, its effect on ...cardiovascular outcomes remains unclear. Therefore, we conducted a meta-analysis to determine the effect of BAC on cardiovascular outcomes in patients.
Three electronic databases (Pubmed, Embase, and Scopus) were searched on May 1, 2022, for studies examining the relationship between BAC and cardiovascular outcomes including cardiac death, acute myocardial infarction, ischemic heart disease, stroke, peripheral artery disease, and heart failure. A random-effects meta-analysis model was used to summarise the studies.
A total of 5 longitudinal studies were included with a combined cohort of 87,865 patients. Significantly, the pooled risk ratio (RR) of the association between BAC and cardiac death was 2.06 (P < 0.00001). BAC was associated with a significantly increased risk of developing other cardiovascular diseases, such as ischemic/hemorrhagic stroke (RR 1.51; P = 0.003), ischemic stroke (RR 1.82; P < 0.00001), peripheral vascular disease (RR 1.24; P = 0.003), and heart failure (RR 1.84; P < 0.00001). There was no significant relationship for developing myocardial infarction or for total cardiovascular diseases.
Our findings suggest that BAC was associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular mortality, and certain cardiovascular outcomes. There is thus a potential to use BAC as a sex-specific cardiovascular risk assessment tool. Furthermore, there is a need for more widespread reporting of BAC to better understand the pathophysiologic mechanisms behind its correlation with cardiovascular disease and to apply it in clinical practice.
To identify the characteristics including clinical features and pulmonary computed tomography (CT) features of heart failure and COVID-19.
This study was a retrospective study. A total of 7 patients ...with heart failure and 12 patients with COVID-19 in the Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University between December 1, 2019 and February 15, 2020 were enrolled. The baseline clinical and imaging features of the two groups were statistically analyzed.
There was no significant difference in age and sex between the two groups(both
>0.05), but the incidence of epidemiological contact history, fever or respiratory symptoms in the COVID-19 group was significantly higher than that in the heart failure group (12/12 vs. 0,
<0.001; 12/12 vs. 4/7,
=0.013). While the proportion of cardiovascular diseases and impaired cardiac function was significantly less than that of the heart failure group(2/12 vs.7/7,
<0.001；0 vs.7/7,
<0.001). For imaging features, both groups had ground-glass opacity and thickening of interlobul
This study presents the potential of harvesting wind energy in Sarawak, Malaysia based on the ground station and prediction models. A topographical feedforward neural network (T-FFNN) is proposed as ...an alternative to predict the wind speed in the areas where wind speed measurements are not done. The model has nine meteorological, geographical and topographical parameters as inputs while monthly winds speed as an output variable. The suitability of the model was assessed based on the mean absolute percentage error (MAPE). The most effective network design with lowest MAPE of 3.4% and correlation R between the predicted and the ground station wind speed of 0.91 was obtained. The study shows the characteristics of wind speed at 10–40 m heights. For the wind speed distribution, in addition to the widely applied Weibull and Rayleigh models, Gamma, Erlang and Lognormal are included. It was found that Gamma and Weibull outperform the others based on the three goodness-of-fit (GOF). An assessment of wind energy potential was performed using the measured and predicted wind speed data. The outcomes show that wind power density falls within class 1 (PD≤100 W/m2). Final results from micro-sitting investigating the performance of annual energy output (AEO) in the examined area are presented. The results indicate that the AEO differs with altitudes. In all the examined areas, the AEO values varied from about 5800–13,622 kWh/year. These results show the possibility of using wind energy for small-scale purpose.
•This study comes out with an improved machine learning method for the prediction of wind speed.•A new approach for the estimation of missing data using cubic spline function was formulated.•Improved models for computing wind power were used taking into account the study area is located in a hot and humid region.•The performances of small-scale wind turbines were demonstrated using manufacturers curves and formulated models.
Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus (SFTSV) has been prevalent for some time in China and it was first identified in 2010. However, the seroprevalence of SFTSV in the general population ...in southeastern China and risk factors associated with the infection are currently unclear. Blood samples were collected from seven counties across Zhejiang province and tested for the presence of SFTSV-specific IgG antibodies by ELISA. A total of 1380 blood samples were collected of which 5·51% were seropositive for SFTSV with seroprevalence varying significantly between sites. Seroprevalence of SFTSV in people who were family members of the patient, lived in the same village as the patient, or lived in a different village than the patient varied significantly. There was significant difference in seroprevalence between participants who bred domestic animals and participants who did not. Domestic animals are probably potential reservoir hosts and contact with domestic animals may be a transmission route of SFTSV.
In Malaysia, large amounts of organic materials, which lead to disposal problems, are generated from agricultural residues especially from palm oil industries. Increasing landfill costs and ...regulations, which limit many types of waste accepted at landfills, have increased the interest in composting as a component of waste management. The objectives of this study were to characterize compost feedstock properties of common organic waste materials available in Malaysia. Thus, a ratio modelling of matching ingredients for empty fruit bunches (EFBs) co-composting using different organic materials in Malaysia was done. Organic waste materials with a C/N ratio of<30 can be applied as a nitrogen source in EFB co-composting. The outcome of this study suggested that the percentage of EFB ranged between 50% and 60%, which is considered as the ideal mixing ratio in EFB co-composting. Conclusively, EFB can be utilized in composting if appropriate feedstock in term of physical and chemical characteristics is coordinated in the co-composting process.
•Residual mechanical behaviour of RAC and basalt fibre reinforced RAC subjected to high temperature was studied.•Incorporation of inner steel tube and BF improved compressive behaviour of RAC ...columns.•Temperature of exposure significantly influence residual fatigue behaviour of BSRC and CFRP confined specimens.•Inner steel tube and basalt fibre reinforcements effectively enhance the residual HTE and post-fatigue strength of RAC.
Experimental and numerical investigations were carried out to evaluate the effects of incorporating recycled coarse aggregates (RCA) on the mechanical behaviour of inner steel-tube reinforced concrete columns exposed to high temperature. The specimens were reinforced with basalt fibres (BF) and strengthened by carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) sheets, which were subjected to mechanical loading in monotonous and cyclic arrangements. Test results show that at room temperature (RT), incorporation of the chopped BF has reduced both the tensile strength and flexural strength of concrete specimens prepared with recycled aggregate concrete (RAC) but not their static elastic modulus. On the other hand, the BF has improved crack resistance of the steel tube reinforced RAC (STRC) column specimens. Also, the reduction in mass and dynamic elastic modulus of BF reinforced STRC specimens are lower than those of STRC at a given RCA replacement ratio and exposure temperature. Furthermore, improvements in mechanical performance under monotonous and fatigue loading was observed for STRC columns reinforced with BF and externally bonded CFRP sheets with high-temperature exposure (HTE). Therefore, it is possible that BF reinforced STRC columns could be used to reduce risk of brittle structural collapse when exposed to fire or elevated temperature.
Evaluation of semiserial sections of 14 normal hearts from human foetuses of gestational age 25–33 weeks showed that all of these hearts contained thin veins draining directly into the atria ...(maximum, 10 veins per heart). Of the 75 veins in these 14 hearts, 55 emptied into the right atrium and 20 into the left atrium. These veins were not accompanied by nerves, in contrast to tributaries of the great cardiac vein, and were negative for both smooth muscle actin (SMA) and CD34. However, the epithelium and venous wall of the anterior cardiac vein, the thickest of the direct draining veins, were strongly positive for SMA and CD34, respectively. In general, developing fibres in the vascular wall were positive for CD34, while the endothelium of the arteries and veins was strongly positive for the present DAKO antibody of SMA. The small cardiac vein, a thin but permanent tributary of the terminal portion of the great cardiac vein, was also positive for SMA and CD34. A few S100 protein-positive nerves were observed along both the anterior and small cardiac veins, but no nerves accompanied the direct dra- inage veins. These findings suggested that the latter did not develop from the early epicardiac vascular plexus but from a gulfing of the intratrabecular space or sinus of the atria. However, the immunoreactivity of the anterior cardiac vein suggests that it originated from the vascular plexus, similar to tributaries of the great cardiac vein.
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