This research communication aims to characterize the prevalence, molecular characterization and antimicrobial resistance profiling of Streptococcus agalactiae isolated from clinical mastitis in China. A total of 140 Strep. agalactiae isolates were identified from 12 out of 201 farms in 6 provinces, overall herd prevalence was 18.6% and the MLST analysis showed clonal complexes (CC) 103 and CC 67 were present in these herds with CC 103 predominant, accounting for 97.9%. Isolates were mostly sensitive to the tested antimicrobials: penicillin, ceftiofur, amoxi/clav, cefquinome, and vancomycin (100%), followed by cefalexin (97.9%), oxacillin (96.4%), enrofloxacin (95.7%), erythromycin (89.3%), and clindamycin (88.6%). Only 19.3 and 0.7% of isolates were sensitive to tetracycline and daptomycin, respectively, and sequence type (ST) 103 was most resistant to antimicrobials. In conclusion, CC 103 was the predominant subgroup of bovine mastitis Strep. agalactiae in China, and most antimicrobials apart from tetracycline and daptomycin were effective.

What are the major factors contributing to ship accidents, and how do these factors evolve in the long term? This study addresses these two questions by leveraging an unsupervised machine learning method named structural topic modelling to identify the causes of ship accidents. The study analysed 2,341 task errors manually collected from 441 reports issued by four government agencies covering a 45-year time span. The results show that the structure of causes of ship accidents remained essentially the same during this period. This highlights the social-material aspect of navigation technology, indicating that the use of advanced technology may not necessarily lead to safer navigation practices, and the interaction between the technology and human agency must be focused on in the bridge management context. Additionally, the computer-assisted textual data analysis highlights pilot-related factors, which might be rooted in the unsupervised and difficult-to-verify handover procedures between pilots and captains, thereby underlining the importance of appropriate piloting regulations.

Hexangulaconulariids (Cambrian stages 1–2) are an extinct group of medusozoan polyps having a biradially symmetrical, fan-shaped periderm that is distinct from those of medusozoan polyps showing three-, four-, five-, or six-fold radial symmetry. Hexangulaconulariids exhibit substantial variation in gross morphology, including variation in the number of faces on each of the two major sides of the periderm. An intermediate taxon of hexangulaconulariids with ten faces (five on each major side) was expected. Here we describe a new hexangulaconulariid, Decimoconularia isofacialis new genus new species from Bed 5 of the Yanjiahe Formation (Cambrian Stage 2) in the Three Gorges area of Hubei Province, China. The new taxon differs from other hexangulaconulariids (Arthrochites, Hexaconularia, and Septuconularia) mainly in possessing a total of ten faces. The two lateral margins are each marked by a ridge in about the apertural half of the periderm and by a collinear furrow in about the apical half, while the five faces on each major side are bounded by a furrow in about the apertural half and by a collinear ridge in about the apical half. Among hexangulaconulariids, Decimoconularia and Septuconularia may be more closely related to each other than either genus is to Arthrochites or Hexaconularia.

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This Research Reflection short review presents an overview of the effects of heat stress on dairy cattle udder health and discusses existing heat stress mitigation strategies for a better understanding and identification of appropriate abatement plans for future stress management. Due to high ambient temperatures with high relative humidity in summer, dairy cows respond by changes of physical, biochemical and biological pathways to neutralize heat stress resulting in decreased production performance and poorer immunity resulting in an increased incidence of intramammary infections (IMI) and a higher somatic cell count (SCC). In vitro studies on bovine polymorphonuclear cells (PMN) suggested that heat stress reduces the phagocytosis capacity and oxidative burst of PMN and alters the expression of apoptotic genes and miRNA which, together with having a negative effect on the immune system, may explain the increased susceptibility to IMI. Although there are limited data regarding the incidence rate of clinical mastitis in many countries or regions, knowledge of SCC at the cow or bulk tank level helps encourage farmers to improve herd health and to develop strategies for infection prevention and cure. Therefore, more research into bulk tank SCC and clinical mastitis rates is needed to explain the effect of heat stress on dairy cow udder health and functions that could be influenced by abatement plans.

The clinical characteristics of patients with COVID-19 were analysed to determine the factors influencing the prognosis and virus shedding time to facilitate early detection of disease progression. Logistic regression analysis was used to explore the relationships among prognosis, clinical characteristics and laboratory indexes. The predictive value of this model was assessed with receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, calibration and internal validation. The viral shedding duration was calculated using the Kaplan–Meier method, and the prognostic factors were analysed by univariate log-rank analysis and the Cox proportional hazards model. A retrospective study was carried out with patients with COVID-19 in Tianjin, China. A total of 185 patients were included, 27 (14.59%) of whom were severely ill at the time of discharge and three (1.6%) of whom died. Our findings demonstrate that patients with an advanced age, diabetes, a low PaO2/FiO2 value and delayed treatment should be carefully monitored for disease progression to reduce the incidence of severe disease. Hypoproteinaemia and the fever duration warrant special attention. Timely interventions in symptomatic patients and a time from symptom onset to treatment <4 days can shorten the duration of viral shedding.

The rhoptry kinase 18 of Toxoplasma gondii (TgROP18) has been identified as a key virulence factor that allows the parasite to escape from host immune defences and promotes its proliferation in host cells. Although much research is focused on the interaction between host cells and TgROP18, the development of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against TgROP18 has not been reported till date. To produce mAbs targeting TgROP18, two hybridomas secreting mAbs against TgROP18, designated as A1 and T2, were generated using cell fusion technology. The subtypes of the A1 and T2 mAbs were identified as IgG3 λ and IgM κ, and peptide scanning revealed that the core sequences of the antigenic epitopes were 180LRAQRRRSELVFE192 and 351NYFLLMMRAEADM363, respectively. The T2 mAb specifically reacted with both T. gondii type I and Chinese I, but not with T. gondii type II, Plasmodium falciparum or Schistosoma japonicum. Finally, the sequences of heavy chain and light chain complementarity-determining regions of T2 were amplified, cloned and characterized, making the modification of the mAb feasible in the future. The development of mAbs against TgROP18 would aid the investigation of the molecular mechanisms underlying the modulation of host cellular functions by TgROP18, and in the development of strategies to diagnose and treat Toxoplasmosis.

Octapyrgites elongatus n. gen. n. sp., a relatively rare, tetraradial olivooid (Cnidaria, Medusozoa), is described from Bed 5 of the Yanjiahe Formation (Cambrian Stage 2) near Yichang, China. Although similar to Olivooides and Quadrapyrgites from the Fortunian Stage in consisting of a partially corrugated (longitudinal) periderm with a quadrate (transverse) apical portion and V-shaped apertural lobes, O. elongatus is substantially larger than other olivooids. The elongate apical region of O. elongatus is similar to four-sided Anaconularia anomala (Barrande, 1867), though with a flat tip that may have been an adaption for a sessile mode of life. As in other olivooids, embryonic development in O. elongatus may have been direct. Last, the paucity of olivooids and the absence of pentaradial cnidarians and carinachitids in Cambrian Stage 2 indicate a marked decline in the disparity of cnidarians near the Fortunian–Cambrian Age 2 boundary, when by contrast bilaterians underwent rapid diversification.

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In the three-phase (pure donor, pure acceptor, and mixed phases) morphologies of organic solar cells, the mixed phases produce an energy cascade that promotes the generation of free carriers. However, how to optimize the content of the mixed phases is a challenging problem. The authors proposed to control different content of mixed phases in DRTB-T and IDIC blends by additive and solvent vapor annealing (SVA). The authors first formed the largest extent amount of mixed phases by the additive cinene (2%) to inhibit the crystallization of DRTB-T and IDIC. And then, different amounts of mixed phases were achieved by further SVA for different times (from 0 to 50 s) to increase the content of pure DRTB-T and IDIC phases. The energetic offsets (ΔE) of pure and mixed phases gradually decrease from 0.529 to 0.477 eV for different content of mixed phases. When ΔE was 0.498 eV, the highest photocurrent density (Jsc) was obtained. The power conversion efficiency was increased from 3.23% (without any treatment) to 8.54%. Therefore, the authors demonstrated that the optimized content of the mixed phases is critical to device performance.

Extant medusozoans (phylum Cnidaria) are dominated by forms showing tetraradial symmetry, but stem-group medusozoans of early Cambrian age collectively exhibit tetra-, bi-, penta-, and hexaradial symmetry. Moreover, the developmental and evolutionary relationships between four-fold and other types of radial symmetry in medusozoans remain poorly understood. Here we describe a new hexangulaconulariid, Septuconularia yanjiaheensis new genus new species, from Bed 5 of the Yanjiahe Formation (Cambrian Stage 2) in the Three Gorges area of Hupei Province, China. The laterally compressed, biradially symmetrical periderm of this species possesses 14 gently tapered faces, the most of any hexangulaconulariid described thus far. The faces are bordered by longitudinal ridges and crossed by short, irregularly spaced transverse ribs. Longitudinally, the periderm consists of three regions that probably correspond, respectively, to an embryonic stage, a transient juvenile stage, and a long adult stage. Septuconularia yanjiaheensis may have been derived from six-faced Hexaconularia (Fortunian Stage), which is morphologically intermediate between Septuconularia yanjiaheensis and Arthrochites. Furthermore, conulariids sensu stricto, carinachitids, and hexangulaconulariids may constitute a monophyletic group united by possession of an organic or organophosphatic periderm exhibiting longitudinal (corner) sulci, a facial midline, and offset of transverse ribs along the facial midline.

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This study examined Echinococcus spp. genotypes and genetic variants isolated from humans as well as domestic and wild animals from the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau Area using the cox1 gene. All samples except the pika isolates were identified as the Echinococcus granulosus sensu stricto. Sixteen different haplotypes with considerable intraspecific variation were detected and characterized in mitochondrial cox1 sequences. The parsimonious network of cox1 haplotypes showed star-like features, and the neutrality indexes computed via Tajima's D and Fu's Fs tests showed high negative values in E. granulosus s. s., indicating deviations from neutrality; the Fst values were low among the populations, implying that the populations were not genetically differentiated. The pika isolates were identified as E. multilocularis and E. shiquicus. Only one haplotype was recognized in the pika isolates. E. granulosus s. s. was the predominant species found in animals and humans, followed by E. multilocularis and E. shiquicus, with high genetic diversity circulating among the animals and humans in this area. Further studies are needed to cover many sample collection sites and larger numbers of pathogen isolates, which may reveal abundant strains and/or other haplotypes in the hydatid cysts infecting human and animal populations of the QTPA, China.

Tensile properties of different directions of X70 pipeline steel plate were tested, and microstructural evolutions of different zones along the transverse direction (TD) were also investigated using electron backscatter diffraction. The highest strength values (yield strength and ultimate strength) appear at TD, and the diagonal direction shows the largest uniform elongation. The elongations of the polygonal ferrite and quasi polygonal ferrite grains increase with the decrease in the distance to the fracture zone. The ratio between high-angle grain boundaries and low-angle grain boundaries in the as-received steel is about 7/3 and starts to decrease from the fillet zone to the fracture zone. The refinement of grains occurs adjacent to the fracture section with the formation of subgrains. With the increase in tensile strain, the intensities of cube and γ-fiber textures increase sharply, and the reinforcement of the (111)$\left[ {\bar{1}\bar{1}2} \right]$ component was obviously larger than the (111)$\left[ {1\bar{2}1} \right]$ component in the γ-fiber texture during tensile deformation.

Monosized spherical Cu–20% Sn (wt%) alloy particles with diameter ranging from 70.6 to 334.0 μm were prepared by the pulsated orifice ejection method (termed “POEM”). Fully dense without pores and bulk inclusions, the cross-sectional micrographs of the spherical alloy particles indicate an even distribution of Cu and Sn. These spherical Cu–Sn alloy particles exhibit a good spherical shape and a narrow size distribution, suggesting that the liquid Cu–Sn alloy can completely break the balance between the surface tension and the liquid static pressure in the crucible micropores and accurately control the volume of the droplets. Furthermore, the cooling rate of spherical Cu–20% Sn alloy particles is estimated by a Newton’s cooling model. The cooling rate of the Cu–20% Sn alloy particle decreases gradually with the particle diameter increasing. Smaller particles have higher cooling rates and when the particle diameter is less than 70 μm, the cooling rate of particles can reach more than 3.3 × 104 K/s. The secondary dendrite arm spacing has strong dependence on particle diameter which increases gradually with the increase of particle diameter. The results demonstrate that POEM is an effective route for fabrication of high-quality monosized Cu–20% Sn alloy particles.

Malongitubus kuangshanensis Hu, 2005 from the early Cambrian Chengjiang Lagerstätte of China is redescribed as a pterobranch and provides the best evidence to demonstrate that hemichordates were present as early as Cambrian Stage 3. Interpretation of this taxon as a hemichordate is based on the morphology of the branched colony and the presence of resistant inner threads consistent with the remains of an internal stolon system. The presence of fusellar rings in the colonial tubes cannot be unambiguously proven for Malongitubus, probably due to early decay and later diagenetic replacement of the thin organic material of the tubarium, although weak annulations are still discernible in parts of the tubes. The description of M. kuangshanensis is revised according to new observations of previously reported specimens and recently collected additional new material. Malongitubus appears similar in most features to Dalyia racemata Walcott, 1919 from the Cambrian Stage 5 Burgess Shale, but can be distinguished by the existence of disc-like thickenings at the bases of tubarium branching points in the latter species. Both species occur in rare mass-occurrence layers with preserved fragmentary individuals of different decay stages, with stolon remains preserved as the most durable structures. Benthic pterobranchs may have occurred in some early Cambrian shallow marine communities in dense accumulations and provided firm substrates and shelter for other benthic metazoans as secondary tierers.

Effects of Zn content on microstructures and mechanical properties of as-cast Mg–4Y–xZn alloys (x = 1, 2, 3, 4) have been studied in the article. The results indicate that the X phase is formed firstly, and the X phase, X + W phases, and W phase precipitated in order when the Zn contents increased from 1 to 4 wt%. The secondary dendritic arm spacing of the tested alloys first decrease as the Zn content increases within the range of 1–2% and then it increases. The ultimate tensile strength (UTS) and elongation of the four experimental alloys increase until the addition of Zn reaches to 3%, with the maximum values of 213.6 MPa and 11.82%, respectively. Besides, the fracture behaviors of Mg–4Y–1Zn, Mg–4Y–2Zn, and Mg–4Y–3Zn were a quasi-cleavage fracture, while Mg–4Y–4Zn belonged to cleavage.

The early Cambrian Carinachitidae, a family in the subclass Conulata, are intriguing and important small shelly fossils. Their gently tapering, tube-shaped skeletons consist of convex faces separated from each other by broad, deep corner sulci, and they exhibit triradial, pentaradial, or predominantly tetraradial symmetry. However, the morphology of the aperture and the modes of growth of carinachitid skeletons as well as the anatomy of their soft parts are unknown. Examination of a single new, exceptionally well-preserved specimen of tetramerous Carinachites spinatus Qian, 1977, collected from the lower Cambrian Kuanchuanpu Formation in South China, reveals: (1) that its aperture is connected to a small mass of relic soft tissue and (2) that the apertural end of each of the four faces is developed into a subtriangular lappet or oral lobe that is smoothly folded toward the long axis of the tube, partially closing the tube aperture. Similarities between thorn-like spines on the faces and the oral lobes indicate that the transverse ribs were periodically displaced from the perradial portion of the aperture during formation of new ribs. In addition, the tube walls may have undergone secondary thickening during growth. The growth pattern of the tube and the spatial relationships between the tube aperture and soft parts are analogous to those of co-occurring olivooids. These findings further strengthen the previously proposed hypothesis that coeval carinachitids, olivooids, hexangulaconulariids, and Paleozoic conulariids are closely related taxa within the subphylum Medusozoa. Finally, carinachitids most likely represent an evolutionary intermediate between olivooids and hexangulaconulariids.