A statistical approach was carried out to identify the prevalent virulence factors responsible for post-weaning diarrhoea (PWD). Healthy piglets’ faecal samples and diarrhoeic piglets’ rectal swab ...specimens were secured. Twenty-six (26) and 100 independent enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) strains were subsequently isolated. These strains were assessed utilising polymerase chain reaction to identify the encoding genes of six virulence factors: heat-labile enterotoxin (LT; encoded by eltAB), heat-stable enterotoxin A (STa; encoded by estA), heat-stable enterotoxin B (STb; encoded by estB), enteroaggregative E. coli heat-stable enterotoxin 1 (EAST1; encoded by astA), Shiga toxin 2e (Stx2e; encoded by stx2e), and F18 fimbriae (encoded by fedA). The LT and ST secretions were investigated using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. From direct observation, no stx2e was evident in the 126 strains. Among the 26 strains retrieved from the healthy piglets, none harboured fedA or secreted LT; 23% (6/26) secreted ST, and 50% (13/26) carried astA. A statistical regression was applied on the 100 E. coli strains retrieved from the diarrhoeic piglets, where fedA was set as the dependent variable and the enterotoxin secretions were set as the independent variables. The results exhibit that the LT secretion was the only significant factor (P < 0.000 1) correlated to fedA in the diarrhoeic piglets; thus, it is concluded that the prevalent virulence factors for PWD were the ECET strain with F18 fimbriae adhesion and LT secretion, but not astA or stx2e.
Vital pulp therapy (VPT) has been one of the standard treatments for immature teeth and young permanent teeth affected by caries or trauma, aiming to preserve the apical tissue's growth potential and ...ensure the teeth's long-term retention and functionality. Nowadays, its application in mature teeth has garnered attention from professionals due to promising outcomes in numerous cases. Biomaterials play a crucial role in VPT success, as they facilitate an optimal environment for stem cell growth and promote the formation of thicker dentinal walls. Despite significant advancements in biomaterials, such as the introduction of calcium silicate-based cements (CSCs) in recent decades, knowledge regarding the immunological reactions these materials provoke, both locally and systemically, remains limited, calling for more research. This review intends to provide a summary of biomaterials currently used in VPT, focusing on the immune responses they trigger. This retrospective and informative examination aims to deepen the understanding of the interactions between these materials and the organism, offering insights that could redefine VPT's clinical application scope in the future. It may also aid in developing potential diagnostic biomarkers for assessing pulp vitality and guide the ongoing development of new VPT materials.
The efficiency of transparent envelopes must be improved in purpose of saving energy. The EnergyPlus software was used to examine the inside glass surface temperature and annual energy performance ...(AEP) of five different types of external windows, including built-in louvre ventilation windows (BLVW), built-in louvre hollow windows (BLHW), interior side louvre ventilation windows (ILVW), ventilation windows (VW), and regular hollow windows (HW), using office buildings in Chongqing as the target. The results demonstrate that the design of ventilation and louvres can reduce energy consumption of buildings, lower the room's radiant asymmetry, and raise occupant thermal comfort. During the cooling season, built-in louvre ventilation windows and hollow windows for rooms facing south are the best window operation options. During the heating season, ventilation windows are the best option. In four orientations of north, east, south, and west, respectively, the overall building energy efficiency rate of the optimal operation mode compared to typical hollow windows is 5.87%, 5.70%, 2.80%, and 5.74%. This will serve as a guide for the building design of energy-efficient windows and the mode of the windows' year-round functioning in Chongqing.
In the non-contact detection of thread profile boundary correction, it remains challenging to ensure that the thread axis intersects the CCD camera axis perpendicularly. Here, we addressed this issue ...using modified algorithms. We established the Cartesian coordinate system according to the spatial geometric relationship of the thread. We used the center of the bottom of the thread as the origin, and the image of the extreme position image was replaced by the image of the approximate extreme position. In addition, we analyzed the relationship between the boundary of the theoretical thread image and the theoretical profile. We calculated the coordinate transformation of the point on the theoretical tooth profile and the coordinate function of the point on the boundary of the theoretical image. At the same time, the extreme value of the function was obtained, and the boundary equation of the theoretical thread image was deduced. The difference equation between the two functions was used to correct the boundary point of the actual thread image, and the fitting results were used to detect the key parameters of the external thread of the cylinder. Further experiment proves that the above algorithm effectively improves the detection accuracy of thread quality, and the detection error of main geometric parameters is reduced by more than 50 %.
•Atomic-structures of hardening precipitates in an Al-Mg-Si-Sc alloy are revealed.•Disordered β" consisting of sub-β" and disordered regions form at peak-aging.•Disordered β" evolve to β"/β'/B′/U2 ...composite precipitates at over-aging.•The composite precipitates are responsible for enhanced alloy thermal stability.
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The Al-Mg-Si alloys added with trace Sc demonstrates an improved thermal stability, as compared with that without Sc-addition. But the microstructural origin of the enhanced property is unclear. In the present study, the precipitates formed in an Al-Mg-Si-Sc alloy were studied in detail by atomic-resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy. It is shown that the dominant precipitates formed at the peak-aging condition are the disordered β" precipitates consisting of Sc-free β" sub-units and Sc-containing disordered regions, rather than the well-ordered β". Upon further aging, these disordered β" precipitates will evolve to β"/β'/B′/U2 composite precipitates. The formation of the composite precipitates is probably associated with the strong binding between Sc and Si atoms, and with the non-preference for Sc atoms to occupy the atomic sites of the β"-structure. Our study reveals the following: It is the formation of stabilized β"-related composite precipitates that enhances the thermal stability of the Sc-added Al-Mg-Si alloy.
A new FDA-approved Xpert Xpress Flu/RSV assay has been released for rapid influenza virus detection. We collected 134 nasopharyngeal specimens to compare the diagnostic performance of the Xpert assay ...and the Alere i Influenza A & B assay for influenza A and B virus detection. The Xpert assay demonstrated 100% and 96.3% sensitivity to influenza A and influenza B virus respectively. Its specificity was 100% for both viruses. The Alere i assay demonstrated slightly lower sensitivity but similar specificity to the Xpert Xpress assay. Although the Xpert assay (30 min) required longer processing time than the Alere assay (15 min), the handling procedure of the Alere assay was more complicated than the Xpert assay. As the GenXpert system has higher throughput than the Alere system, it is more suitable for hospital clinical laboratories. Overall, the new Xpert Xpress Flu/RSV assay is a reliable and useful tool for rapid influenza detection.
We conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) with replication in 36,180 Chinese individuals and performed further transancestry meta-analyses with data from the Psychiatry Genomics Consortium ...(PGC2). Approximately 95% of the genome-wide significant (GWS) index alleles (or their proxies) from the PGC2 study were overrepresented in Chinese schizophrenia cases, including ∼50% that achieved nominal significance and ∼75% that continued to be GWS in the transancestry analysis. The Chinese-only analysis identified seven GWS loci; three of these also were GWS in the transancestry analyses, which identified 109 GWS loci, thus yielding a total of 113 GWS loci (30 novel) in at least one of these analyses. We observed improvements in the fine-mapping resolution at many susceptibility loci. Our results provide several lines of evidence supporting candidate genes at many loci and highlight some pathways for further research. Together, our findings provide novel insight into the genetic architecture and biological etiology of schizophrenia.
•Using ceramic hollow spheres of 4–5 mm prepare the light porous magnesium alloy composite material by powder sintering.•The light porous magnesium alloy composite material has typical compression ...characteristics of porous materials.•The interface between magnesium alloy matrix and self-made ceramic hollow spheres with Si form an alloy phase containing Mg2Si and MgO.•The formed alloy phases can improve the compression strength and the energy absorption performance of porous composite materials.
Using two different ceramic hollow spheres (the commercial alumina hollow sphere and the self-made silicon-containing ceramic hollow sphere) as reinforcements, two kinds of lightweight porous magnesium alloy composite materials were successfully fabricated by sintering at 600 °C for 3 h 20 min. The microstructure of samples with the self-made silicon-containing ceramic hollow sphere reveals that an alloy phase containing MgO and Mg2Si was formed by an interfacial reaction at the interface between the magnesium alloy and the self-made ceramic hollow sphere. The formation of the alloy phase is beneficial to improve the mechanical properties of the sample. The influence of different types of ceramic hollow spheres on the apparent density, compressive strength, specific strength, energy absorption, and energy absorption efficiency was studied for these porous products. The results show that the apparent density of these two porous samples is markedly lower than that of the magnesium alloy. The Compression curves of both samples have the elastic stage, the yield platform, and the densification stage, which are the typical compression characteristics of porous materials. The compressive strength and specific strength of the samples made by self-made silicon-containing ceramic hollow spheres are both significantly higher than those made by commercial alumina hollow spheres. Moreover, the energy absorption performance of the sample made by self-made silicon-containing ceramic hollow spheres is better than that of the sample made by alumina hollow spheres. The higher energy absorption capacity and the wider strain range of maintaining the maximum energy absorption efficiency mean the sample made by self-made silicon-containing ceramic hollow spheres can absorb more energy.
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