Previous research has suggested a potential link between folic acid (FA) supplementary therapy and gastric ulcers (GU). To investigate this relationship further, we conducted a Mendelian randomisation (MR) analysis using data from the UK Biobank. Our analysis primarily employed inverse-variance weighted (IVW) methods, including both fixed-effect and random-effect models. To ensure the robustness of our findings, additional methods such as the simple median, the weighted median and the penalised weighted median were also applied. The MR analysis aimed to explore the causal effect of FA supplementary therapy on GU. Seven SNP at genetic loci associated with FA supplementary therapy were identified. Both the random-effect and fixed-effect IVW models indicated that genetically predicted FA supplementary therapy significantly reduced the risk of GU (OR, 0·870; 95 % CI 0·826, 0·917, P < 0·001). This result was consistent across other methods, with similar outcomes observed using the simple median (OR, 0·835; 95 % CI 0·773, 0·901, P < 0·001), the weighted median (OR, 0·854; 95 % CI 0·794, 0·919, P < 0·001) and the penalised weighted median (OR, 0·849; 95 % CI 0·789, 0·914, P < 0·001). Leave-one-out sensitivity analysis confirmed that no individual SNP significantly drove the association between FA supplementary therapy and GU. This MR study provides genetic evidence that FA supplementary therapy may decrease the risk of GU.

Species of epiphytic microbiota are closely associated with the fermentation performance of natural forage silage. This study aimed to evaluate the dynamic microbial communities, fermentation parameters, and aerobic stability of Napier grass silage from the same variety and growth period but harvested from three different regions (NGP1, NGP2, and NGP3). After 60 days of ensiling, triplicate silos were opened for sampling and testing aerobic stability. The epiphytic microbiota with higher relative abundances in fresh Napier grass (NGP1, NGP2, and NGP3) were Weissella, Enterobacter, and Lactococcus, respectively. After 60 days of ensiling, NGP3 exhibited higher fermentation quality, indicated by higher lactic acid (LA) concentration and lower pH than that of NGP1 and NGP2. The NH3–N content of all treatments was lower than 100 g/kg total nitrogen. Compared with NGP1 and NGP2 silage, NGP3 silage exhibited a sharp rise in pH and LA consumption during air exposure. After 7 days of air exposure, NGP3 had higher ethanol concentrations and pH. Ruminiclostridium_5, Pediococcus, and Lactobacillus predominated in NGP1, NGP2, and NGP3 silages, respectively, whereas Candida and Monascus predominated in air-exposed NGP3 silage. The bacterial co-occurrence networks from fresh samples to ensiling and air exposure became more complex; however, NGP3 had a higher negative correlation with co-occurrence after air exposure. Different regions had significant effects on the fermentation patterns, bacterial communities, and aerobic stability of Napier grass silage. This was mainly due to variable epiphytic microbiota. Higher fermentation quality of Napier grass silage may also result in accelerated spoilage due to air exposure. Candida and Monascus were primarily responsible for the lower dry matter recovery and higher ethanol contents and air exposure spoilage of Napier grass silage.

Many studies have investigated the positivity rate of hepatitis B surface antibody (HBsAb) after hepatitis B vaccine (HepB) immunization. However, the antibody level, assessed monthly or at more frequent intervals after each of the three doses, particularly within the first year after birth, has not been previously reported. To elucidate the level of antibody formation at various times after vaccination, the current study used the available detection data of HBsAb in hospitalized children to analyze the HBsAb level after immunization combined with their vaccination history. Both the positivity rate and geometric mean concentration (GMC) increased sequentially with immunization doses, reaching their peaks earlier after the third dose than after the first two doses, and the rate of HBsAb positivity was able to reach 100% between 11 and 90 days after completing the three doses of HepB. Within one year after receiving the three doses, the antibody positivity rate and GMC were maintained above 90% and 100 mIU/mL, respectively, and subsequently steadily declined, reaching the lowest value in the 9th and 10th years. The current findings reveal, in more detail, the level of antibody formation at different times following each dose of HepB in hospitalized children, particularly in the age group up to one year after vaccination. For the subjects of this study, we prefer to believe that the proportion of HBsAb non-response should be less than 5% after full immunization with HepB, provided that the appropriate time for blood collection is chosen.

The purpose of this study was to analyse the clinical characteristics of patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-COV-2) PCR re-positivity after recovering from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Patients (n = 1391) from Guangzhou, China, who had recovered from COVID-19 were recruited between 7 September 2021 and 11 March 2022. Data on epidemiology, symptoms, laboratory test results and treatment were analysed. In this study, 42.7% of recovered patients had re-positive result. Most re-positive patients were asymptomatic, did not have severe comorbidities, and were not contagious. The re-positivity rate was 39%, 46%, 11% and 25% in patients who had received inactivated, mRNA, adenovirus vector and recombinant subunit vaccines, respectively. Seven independent risk factors for testing re-positive were identified, and a predictive model was constructed using these variables. The predictors of re-positivity were COVID-19 vaccination status, previous SARs-CoV-12 infection prior to the most recent episode, renal function, SARS-CoV-2 IgG and IgM antibody levels and white blood cell count. The predictive model could benefit the control of the spread of COVID-19.

Microplastics (MPs) pollution has been a hot research topic in recent years. MPs are ubiquitous throughout the ecological environment and are eventually accumulated in organisms through inhalation or ingestion. However, given that MPs are inert pollutants, their effects on organisms are not clear. In previous study, we have investigated the effects of polyethylene terephthalate MPs on physiology of Drosophila. What is the effect of polypropylene microplastics (PP-MPs)? The results of our experiments show that being exposed to high concentration of PP-MPs have significant effect on Drosophila. PP-MPs exposure can significantly increase locomotor activity and shorten the time of group sleep in Drosophila. In the presence of high concentrations of PP-MPs, the triglyceride content was reduced in females and their ability of egg production was affected. However, there was no significant effect on the level of protein and carbohydrate, or on the food intake. Our experimental results can provide some preliminary data for assessing the potential hazard of PP-MPs to other organisms.

The random fiber laser (RFL) has been an excellent platform for exploring novel optical dynamics and developing new functional optoelectronic devices. However, it is challenging for RFLs to regulate their emission into regular narrow pulses due to their intrinsic randomness. Here, through engineering the laser configuration (cavity Q value, gain distribution and nonlinearity), we demonstrate that narrow (~2.5 ns) pulses with record peak power as high as 64.3  kW are achieved from a self-Q-switched random ytterbium fiber laser. Based on high intracavity intensity and efficient interplay of multiple nonlinear processes (stimulated Brillouin scattering, stimulated Raman scattering and four-wave mixing), an over-one-octave visible-near-infrared (NIR) Raman-frequency comb is generated from single-mode silica fibers for the first time. After spectrally filtering the Raman peaks, wavelength-tunable pulses with durations of several hundreds of picoseconds are obtained. Such a high-peak-power random Q-switched fiber laser and wide frequency comb in the visible-NIR region can find applications in diverse areas, such as spectroscopy, biomedical imaging and quantum information.

The dependence of fishbone cycle on energetic particle intensity has been investigated in EAST low-magnetic-shear plasmas. It is observed that the fishbone mode growth rate, saturation amplitude as well as fishbone cycle frequency clearly increase with increasing neutral beam injection (NBI) power. Moreover, enhanced electron density and temperature perturbations as well as energetic particle loss were observed with greater injected NBI power. Simulation results using M3D-K code show that as the NBI power increases, the resonant frequency and the energy of the resonant particles become higher, and the saturation amplitude of the mode also changes, due to the non-perturbative energetic particle contribution. The relationship between the calculated energetic particle pressure ratio and fishbone cycle frequency is obtained as ${f_{\textrm{FC}}} = 2.2{(1000{\beta _{\textrm{ep,calc}}} - 0.1)^{5.9 \pm 0.5}}$. Results consistent with the experimental observations have been achieved based on a predator–prey model.

This study aimed to identify clinical features for prognosing mortality risk using machine-learning methods in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). A retrospective study of the inpatients with COVID-19 admitted from 15 January to 15 March 2020 in Wuhan is reported. The data of symptoms, comorbidity, demographic, vital sign, CT scans results and laboratory test results on admission were collected. Machine-learning methods (Random Forest and XGboost) were used to rank clinical features for mortality risk. Multivariate logistic regression models were applied to identify clinical features with statistical significance. The predictors of mortality were lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), C-reactive protein (CRP) and age based on 500 bootstrapped samples. A multivariate logistic regression model was formed to predict mortality 292 in-sample patients with area under the receiver operating characteristics (AUROC) of 0.9521, which was better than CURB-65 (AUROC of 0.8501) and the machine-learning-based model (AUROC of 0.4530). An out-sample data set of 13 patients was further tested to show our model (AUROC of 0.6061) was also better than CURB-65 (AUROC of 0.4608) and the machine-learning-based model (AUROC of 0.2292). LDH, CRP and age can be used to identify severe patients with COVID-19 on hospital admission.

This paper presents a soft robot which can imitate the crawling locomotion of an earthworm. Locomotion of the robot can be achieved by expanding and contracting the body that is made of flexible material. A link of the earthworm-like robot is combined with three modules, and a multi-cavity earthworm-like soft robot is combined with multiple links. The multiple links of the earthworm-like soft robot are fabricated by silicone in the three-dimensional printed customized molds. Experiments on a single module, two-links, and three-links show that the soft robot can move and bend on condition of modules extension and contraction in a specified gait. The development of the earthworm-like soft robot shows a great prospect in many complicated environments such as pipeline detection.

Infant colic is a condition of unknown cause which can result in carer distress and attachment difficulties. Recent studies have implicated the gut microbiota in infant colic, and certain probiotics have demonstrated possible efficacy. We aim to investigate whether the intestinal microbiota composition in infants with colic is associated with cry/fuss time at baseline, persistence of cry/fuss at 4-week follow-up, or child behavior at 2 years of age. Fecal samples from infants with colic (n = 118, 53% male) were analyzed using 16S rRNA sequencing. After examining the alpha and beta diversity of the clinical samples, we performed a differential abundance analysis of the 16S data to look for taxa that associate with baseline and future behavior, while adjusting for potential confounding variables. In addition, we used random forest classifiers to evaluate how well baseline gut microbiota can predict future crying time. Alpha diversity of the fecal microbiota was strongly influenced by birth mode, feed type, and child gender, but did not significantly associate with crying or behavioral outcomes. Several taxa within the microbiota (including Bifidobacterium, Clostridium, Lactobacillus, and Klebsiella) associate with colic severity, and the baseline microbiota composition can predict further crying at 4 weeks with up to 65% accuracy. The combination of machine learning findings with associative relationships demonstrates the potential prognostic utility of the infant fecal microbiota in predicting subsequent infant crying problems.

The polymerization of 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene (EDOT) onto nanosilica (SiO2) was synthesized in this study by using supercritical carbon dioxide (SCCO2). With the addition of dopants of p-toluenesulfonic acid (p-TSA) or decylbenzene sulfonic acid (DBSA), the PEDOT/SiO2 composite became conductive. The product was characterized by FTIR spectroscopy and the core-shell structure was confirmed through the TEM images. The electrical properties were analyzed by UV-vis absorbance and four-point probe measurement. DBSA is shown as the better dopants with the molar ratio (DBSA/EDOT) of 0.2 at the reaction time of 48 hours. The maximum coating percentage is 63 wt% under the optimal operation conditions at 40oC and 280 bar. The conductivity is tuned up to 6.6×10-2 S/cm after the coating process.