Objectives: Improper reprocessing of endoscopes may result in healthcare-associated infections. Regular microbiological surveillance is an important means of evaluating the quality of endoscope reprocessing. We evaluated the effectiveness of reprocessing endoscopes (including the protocols on steps to be taken in the event of any positive microbiological results) in a sterile supply unit (SSU) and an endoscopy unit in a Singapore tertiary-care academic hospital. Methods: Singapore General Hospital (SGH) is a 1,750-bed, tertiary-care, academic medical center in Singapore with 2 main SSUs: 1 inpatient endoscopy unit and 1 outpatient endoscopy unit. We reviewed microbiological surveillance results from endoscopes following reprocessing from January 2018 to December 2021. In total, 160 endoscopes (27 bronchoscopes, 58 gastroscopes, 52 colonoscopes, 6 duodenoscopes, 5 echoscopes, 5 cystoscopes, 5 rhinolaryngoscopes, and 5 enteroscopes) and 15 automated endoscope reprocessors (AERs) were evaluated for the presence of microorganisms. Samples were obtained by swabbing the tip of the scope and the biopsy channel. Fluid was flushed from the biopsy channel after reprocessing, and this water from the AERs was sampled after waterline disinfection. Results: Of the 15,783 samples collected, 15,667 (99.3%) yielded no growth; 36 (0.2%) were positive for gut and environmental flora; and 80 (0.5%) were positive for low-concern organisms such as skin flora. Conclusions: Microbiological surveillance yielded a high percentage of negative results confirming the effectiveness of endoscope reprocessing. This quality-assurance process is necessary and beneficial in achieving patient safety.

Circulating n-3 PUFA, which integrate endogenous and exogenous n-3 PUFA, can be better used to investigate the relationship between n-3 PUFA and disease. However, studies examining the associations between circulating n-3 PUFA and colorectal cancer (CRC) risk were limited, and the results remained inconclusive. This case–control study aimed to examine the association between serum n-3 PUFA and CRC risk in Chinese population. A total of 680 CRC cases and 680 sex- and age-matched (5-year interval) controls were included. Fatty acids were assayed by GC. OR and 95 % CI were calculated using multivariable logistic regression after adjustment for potential confounders. Higher level of serum α-linolenic acid (ALA), docosapentaenoic acid (DPA), DHA, long-chain n-3 PUFA and total n-3 PUFA were associated with lower odds of CRC. The adjusted OR and 95 % CI were 0·34 (0·24, 0·49, P for trend < 0·001) for ALA, 0·57 (0·40, 0·80, P for trend < 0·001) for DPA, 0·48 (0·34, 0·68, P for trend < 0·001) for DHA, 0·39 (0·27, 0·56, P for trend < 0·001) for long-chain n-3 PUFA and 0·31 (0·22, 0·45, P for trend < 0·001) for total n-3 PUFA comparing the highest with the lowest quartile. However, there was no statistically significant association between EPA and odds of CRC. Analysis stratified by sex showed that ALA, DHA, long-chain n-3 PUFA and total n-3 PUFA were inversely associated with odds of CRC in both sexes. This study indicated that serum ALA, DPA, DHA, long-chain n-3 PUFA and total n-3 PUFA were inversely associated with odds of having CRC in Chinese population.

High-performance electrodes with outstanding catalysts play a vital role in the commercial application of direct ethanol fuel cells. In the present study, a supported catalyst with controllable Pd loading, prepared using a facile impregnation method with sepiolite as a carrier, was synthesized and tested for electrocatalytic oxidation of ethanol. Physical characterization revealed the pore structure and large specific surface area of the sepiolite, which provided excellent conditions for the loading of nanometal clusters. The Pd-sepiolite had greater electrocatalytic ethanol activity and anti-intermediate product poisoning performance than a metallic Pd disc electrode under alkaline conditions. Under these experimental conditions, the electrochemical activity in terms of ethanol oxidation increased significantly with increasing Pd loading. Considering both the activity and stability of the electrodes, 23 wt.% Pd loading on sepiolite was selected with a coating amount of 140 μg cm–2 on glassy carbon. Factors such as ethanol/potassium hydroxide concentration, scanning rate and temperature had direct impacts on peak current densities as well as on reaction kinetics as depicted by Tafel plots. The electrochemical impedance test showed that Pd intercalation could improve significantly the conductivity of sepiolite and reduce the electron-transfer resistance in the electrocatalytic process. Thus, Pd-loaded sepiolite is a simple and effective catalyst for direct ethanol fuel cells.

Hormone-sensitive lipase (HSL) is one of the rate-determining enzymes in the hydrolysis of TAG, playing a crucial role in lipid metabolism. However, the role of HSL-mediated lipolysis in systemic nutrient homoeostasis has not been intensively understood. Therefore, we used CRISPR/Cas9 technique and Hsl inhibitor (HSL-IN-1) to establish hsla-deficient (hsla -/-) and Hsl-inhibited zebrafish models, respectively. As a result, the hsla -/- zebrafish showed retarded growth and reduced oxygen consumption rate, accompanied with higher mRNA expression of the genes related to inflammation and apoptosis in liver and muscle. Furthermore, hsla -/- and HSL-IN-1-treated zebrafish both exhibited severe fat deposition, whereas their expressions of the genes related to lipolysis and fatty acid oxidation were markedly reduced. The TLC results also showed that the dysfunction of Hsl changed the whole-body lipid profile, including increasing the content of TG and decreasing the proportion of phospholipids. In addition, the systemic metabolic pattern was remodelled in hsla -/- and HSL-IN-1-treated zebrafish. The dysfunction of Hsl lowered the glycogen content in liver and muscle and enhanced the utilisation of glucose plus the expressions of glucose transporter and glycolysis genes. Besides, the whole-body protein content had significantly decreased in the hsla -/- and HSL-IN-1-treated zebrafish, accompanied with the lower activation of the mTOR pathway and enhanced protein and amino acid catabolism. Taken together, Hsl plays an essential role in energy homoeostasis, and its dysfunction would cause the disturbance of lipid catabolism but enhanced breakdown of glycogen and protein for energy compensation.

Our research question was to evaluate the chromosome concordance of trophectoderm (TE) biopsy with noninvasive chromosome screening (NICS) using embryo culture medium renewed twice on Day 3 (D3) and Day 4 (D4). In this study, we evaluated 64 cycles with 223 biopsied blastocysts. These were categorized into two groups based on replacing embryo culture medium on D3 (control group) or on D3 and D4 (experimental group). The fundamental characteristics and main outcomes were compared. The concordance rates of NICS results with TE biopsy were determined according to next generation sequencing results. In total, 103 experimental and 120 control embryo cultures were collected, and the euploid status was analyzed using NICS technology. The overall concordance rates with TE biopsy of the experimental and control groups were 0.86 and 0.75, respectively. Statistically significant difference was found between the two groups. An additional medium renewal of the D4 embryo culture can improve the concordance of NICS with TE biopsy.

The wheat aphid Sitobion miscanthi (CWA) is an important harmful pest in wheat fields. Insecticide application is the main method to effectively control wheat aphids. However, CWA has developed resistance to some insecticides due to its extensive application, and understanding resistance mechanisms is crucial for the management of CWA. In our study, a new P450 gene, CYP4CJ6, was identified from CWA and showed a positive response to imidacloprid and thiamethoxam. Transcription of CYP4CJ6 was significantly induced by both imidacloprid and thiamethoxam, and overexpression of CYP4CJ6 in the imidacloprid-resistant strain was also observed. The sensitivity of CWA to these two insecticides was increased after the knockdown of CYP4CJ6. These results indicated that CYP4CJ6 could be associated with CWA resistance to imidacloprid and thiamethoxam. Subsequently, the posttranscriptional regulatory mechanism was assessed, and miR-316 was confirmed to participate in the posttranscriptional regulation of CYP4CJ6. These results are crucial for clarifying the roles of P450 in the resistance of CWA to insecticides.

Cytochrome P450 monooxygenases play a key role in pest resistance to insecticides by detoxification. Four new P450 genes, CYP6AS160, CYP6AS161, CYP4AB73 and CYP4G232 were identified from Solenopsis invicta. CYP6AS160 was highly expressed in the abdomen and its expression could be induced significantly with exposure to fipronil, whereas CYP4AB73 was not highly expressed in the abdomen and its expression could not be significantly induced following exposure to fipronil. Expression levels of CYP6AS160 and CYP4AB73 in workers were significantly higher than that in queens. RNA interference-mediated gene silencing by feeding on double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) found that the levels of this transcript decreased (by maximum to 64.6%) when they fed on CYP6AS160-specific dsRNA. Workers fed dsCYP6AS160 had significantly higher mortality after 24 h of exposure to fipronil compared to controls. Workers fed dsCYP6AS160 had reduced total P450 activity of microsomal preparations toward model substrates p-nitroanisole. However, the knockdown of a non-overexpressed P450 gene, CYP4AB73 did not lead to an increase of mortality or a decrease of total P450 activity. The knockdown effects of CYP6AS160 on worker susceptibility to fipronil, combined with our other findings, indicate that CYP6AS160 is responsible for detoxification of fipronil. Feeding insects dsRNA may be a general strategy to trigger RNA interference and may find applications in entomological research and in the control of insect pests in the field.

The present study evaluated whether fat mass assessment using the triceps skinfold (TSF) thickness provides additional prognostic value to the Global Leadership Initiative on Malnutrition (GLIM) framework in patients with lung cancer (LC). We performed an observational cohort study including 2672 LC patients in China. Comprehensive demographic, disease and nutritional characteristics were collected. Malnutrition was retrospectively defined using the GLIM criteria, and optimal stratification was used to determine the best thresholds for the TSF. The associations of malnutrition and TSF categories with survival were estimated independently and jointly by calculating multivariable-adjusted hazard ratios (HR). Malnutrition was identified in 808 (30·2 %) patients, and the best TSF thresholds were 9·5 mm in men and 12 mm in women. Accordingly, 496 (18·6 %) patients were identified as having a low TSF. Patients with concurrent malnutrition and a low TSF had a 54 % (HR = 1·54, 95 % CI = 1·25, 1·88) greater death hazard compared with well-nourished individuals, which was also greater compared with malnourished patients with a normal TSF (HR = 1·23, 95 % CI = 1·06, 1·43) or malnourished patients without TSF assessment (HR = 1·31, 95 % CI = 1·14, 1·50). These associations were concentrated among those patients with adequate muscle mass (as indicated by the calf circumference). Additional fat mass assessment using the TSF enhances the prognostic value of the GLIM criteria. Using the population-derived thresholds for the TSF may provide significant prognostic value when used in combination with the GLIM criteria to guide strategies to optimise the long-term outcomes in patients with LC.

The prevention, treatment and control of Haemonchus contortus have been increasingly problematic due to its widespread occurrence and anthelmintic resistance. There are very few descriptions of recombinant antigens being protective for H. contortus, despite the success of various native antigen preparations, including Barbervax. We recently identified an H. contortus excretory–secretory antigen, H. contortus adhesion-regulating molecule 1 (HcADRM1), that served as an immunomodulator to impair host T-cell functions. Given the prophylactic potential of HcADRM1 protein as a vaccine candidate, we hereby assessed the efficacies of HcADRM1 preparations against H. contortus infection. Parasitological and immunological parameters were evaluated throughout all time points of the trials, including fecal egg counts (FEC), abomasal worm burdens, complete blood counts, cytokine production profiles and antibody responses. Active vaccination with recombinant HcADRM1 (rHcADRM1) protein induced protective immunity in inoculated goats, resulting in reductions of 48.9 and 58.6% in cumulative FEC and worm burdens. Simultaneously, passive administration of anti-HcADRM1 antibodies generated encouraging levels of protection with 46.7 and 56.2% reductions in cumulative FEC and worm burdens in challenged goats. In addition, HcADRM1 preparations-immunized goats showed significant differences in mucosal and serum antigen-specific immunoglobulin G (IgG) levels, total mucosal IgA levels, haemoglobin values and circulating interferon-γ, interleukin (IL)-4 and IL-17A production compared to control goats in both trials. The preliminary data of these laboratory trials validated the immunoprophylactic effects of rHcADRM1 protein. It can be pursued as a potential vaccine antigen to develop an effective recombinant subunit vaccine against H. contortus under field conditions.

Saetaspongia so far cannot be confidently assigned to any class-level crown group. Clarifying its phylogenetic position requires new information provided by more detailed studies of previously described and/or new material. Some sponge fossils with the typical skeletal architecture of Saetaspongia have recently been recognized in the Cambrian (Stage 4) Balang Biota of Guizhou, China, including S. jianhensis new species and S. cf. S. densa. The new taxon is characterized by the following features: spicules are fine monaxons and are inclined to be loosely to densely arranged into plumose arrays; skeleton is composed primarily of one major plumose bundle, with an uncertain number (perhaps two) of small plumose arrays; and primary skeleton is occasionally interspersed with some irregularly oriented individual spicules. An additional specimen consisting of large monaxons, with plumose structures and overlying irregular coarse monaxons, closely fits the description and illustrations of previously described S. cf. S. densa. By combining information from previous studies and the present research, fossil evidence indicates that the plumose architecture is a critical feature diagnostic of Saetaspongia and that there are no hexactine-based spicules in this genus. The new material from the Balang Biota further supports the notion that Saetaspongia has a protomonaxonid rather than a hexactinellid affinity. Fossil evidence suggests that Saetaspongia had a wide biogeographic distribution during the early Cambrian and the stratigraphic distribution of this genus extends up to Stage 4.

UUID: http://zoobank.org/e9ca5e4a-134c-4daa-9266-19085e32614f.

N6-Methyladenosine (m6A) regulates oocyte-to-embryo transition and the reprogramming of somatic cells into induced pluripotent stem cells. However, the role of m6A methylation in porcine early embryonic development and its reprogramming characteristics in somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) embryos are yet to be known. Here, we showed that m6A methylation was essential for normal early embryonic development and its aberrant reprogramming in SCNT embryos. We identified a persistent occurrence of m6A methylation in embryos between 1-cell to blastocyst stages and m6A levels abruptly increased during the morula-to-blastocyst transition. Cycloleucine (methylation inhibitor, 20 mM) treatment efficiently reduced m6A levels, significantly decreased the rates of 4-cell embryos and blastocysts, and disrupted normal lineage allocation. Moreover, cycloleucine treatment also led to higher levels in both apoptosis and autophagy in blastocysts. Furthermore, m6A levels in SCNT embryos at the 4-cell and 8-cell stages were significantly lower than that in parthenogenetic activation (PA) embryos, suggesting an abnormal reprogramming of m6A methylation in SCNT embryos. Correspondingly, expression levels of m6A writers (METTL3 and METTL14) and eraser (FTO) were apparently higher in SCNT 8-cell embryos compared with their PA counterparts. Taken together, these results indicated that aberrant nuclear transfer-mediated reprogramming of m6A methylation was involved in regulating porcine early embryonic development.

As an attractive collector medium for hypervelocity particles, combined with outstanding physical properties and suitable compositional characteristics, SiO2 aerogel has been deployed on outer space missions and laser shock-loaded collection experiments. In this paper, impact experiments were conducted to understand the penetration process of irregular grains, irregular Al2O3 grains with two different sizes and speeds (~110 μm@7 km/s, ~251 μm@2.3 km/s) at various density silica aerogels. By classifying the shapes of projectile residues and tracks, the morphology of tracks was analyzed. It was observed that there were several kinds of typical tracks in the penetration of irregular grains, accompanied by residues with the shapes of near-sphere, polyhedron, streamlined body wedge, and rotator. The rotational behavior was demonstrated by the final status of one flake projectile as direct evidence. In addition, there was no obvious relationship between the track length and experimental parameters, which may be caused by the uncertain interaction between aerogels and irregular particles. In addition, it confirmed the existence of fragmentation, melting situation by observing the shape of the impact entrance hole. At the same time, optical coherence tomography was used to observe the detail of tracks clearly, which provided a method to characterize the tracks nondestructively.

Poor utilisation efficiency of carbohydrate always leads to metabolic phenotypes in fish. The intestinal microbiota plays an important role in carbohydrate degradation. Whether the intestinal bacteria could alleviate high-carbohydrate diet (HCD)-induced metabolic phenotypes in fish remains unknown. Here, a strain affiliated to Bacillus amyloliquefaciens was isolated from the intestine of Nile tilapia. A basal diet (CON), HCD or HCD supplemented with B. amy SS1 (HCB) was used to feed fish for 10 weeks. The beneficial effects of B. amy SS1 on weight gain and protein accumulation were observed. Fasting glucose and lipid deposition were decreased in the HCB group compared with the HCD group. High-throughput sequencing showed that the abundance of acetate-producing bacteria was increased in the HCB group relative to the HCD group. Gas chromatographic analysis indicated that the concentration of intestinal acetate was increased dramatically in the HCB group compared with that in the HCD group. Glucagon-like peptide-1 was also increased in the intestine and serum of the HCB group. Thus, fish were fed with HCD, HCD supplemented with sodium acetate at 900 mg/kg (HLA), 1800 mg/kg (HMA) or 3600 mg/kg (HHA) diet for 8 weeks, and the HMA and HHA groups mirrored the effects of B. amy SS1. This study revealed that B. amy SS1 could alleviate the metabolic phenotypes caused by HCD by enriching acetate-producing bacteria in fish intestines. Regulating the intestinal microbiota and their metabolites might represent a powerful strategy for fish nutrition modulation and health maintenance in future.

The relationship between exposure to famine in early life and the risk of ascending aorta dilatation (AAD) in adulthood is still unclear; therefore, we aimed to examine the association in the Chinese population. We investigated the data of 2598 adults who were born between 1952 and 1964 in Guangdong, China. All enrolled subjects were categorised into five groups: not exposed to famine, exposed during fetal period, and exposed during early, mid or late childhood. AAD was assessed by cardiac ultrasound. Multivariate logistic regression and interaction tests were performed to estimate the OR and CI on the association between famine exposure and AAD. There were 2598 (943 male, mean age 58·3 ± 3·68 years) participants were enrolled, and 270 (10·4 %) subjects with AAD. We found that famine exposure (OR = 2·266, 95 % CI 1·477, 3·477, P = 0·013) was associated with elevated AAD after adjusting for multiple confounders. In addition, compared with the non-exposed group, the adjusted OR for famine exposure during fetal period, early, mid or late childhood were 1·374 (95 % CI 0·794, 2·364, P = 0·251), 1·976 (95 % CI 1·243, 3·181, P = 0·004), 1·929 (95 % CI 1·237, 3·058, P = 0·004) and 2·227 (95 % CI 1·433, 3·524, P < 0·001), respectively. Subgroup analysis showed that the effect of famine exposure on the association with AAD was more pronounced in female, current smokers, people with BMI ≥ 24 kg/m2 and hypertensive patients. We observed that exposure to famine during early life was linked to AAD in adulthood.

Salicylic acid (SA), a phytohormone, has been considered to be a key regulator mediating plant defence against pathogens. It is still vague how SA activates plant defence against herbivores such as chewing and sucking pests. Here, we used an aphid-susceptible wheat variety to investigate Sitobion avenae response to SA-induced wheat plants, and the effects of exogenous SA on some defence enzymes and phenolics in the plant immune system. In SA-treated wheat seedlings, intrinsic rate of natural increase (rm), fecundity and apterous rate of S. avenae were 0.25, 31.4 nymphs/female and 64.4%, respectively, and significantly lower than that in the controls (P < 0.05). Moreover, the increased activities of phenylalanine-ammonia-lyase, polyphenol oxidase (PPO) and peroxidase in the SA-induced seedlings obviously depended on the sampling time, whereas activities of catalase and 4-coumarate:CoA ligase were suppressed significantly at 24, 48 and 72 h in comparison with the control. Dynamic levels of p-coumaric acid at 96 h, caffeic acid at 24 and 72 h and chlorogenic acid at 24, 48 and 96 h in wheat plants were significantly upregulated by exogenous SA application. Nevertheless, only caffeic acid content was positively correlated with PPO activity in SA-treated wheat seedlings (P = 0.031). These findings indicate that exogenous SA significantly enhanced the defence of aphid-susceptible wheat variety against aphids by regulating the plant immune system, and may prove a potential application of SA in aphid control.

In this article, the electron trapping and acceleration in the wake field driven by an ultrarelativistic hollow electron beam is studied. When the hollow driver injects into plasma, there is a doughnut-shaped electron bubble formed because of the existence of a special ‘backflow’ beam in the centre of the electron bubble. At the same time, there is a transverse convergence of the hollow driver, which leads to the weakening of the backflow beam. This results in a local electron density transition at the rear of the bubble. During this process, there is an expansion of the longitudinal electron bubble size, and a bunch of background electrons is trapped by the wake field at the rear of the bubble. The tracks for the trapped electrons show that there are two sources: one is from the bubble sheath and the other is from the unique backflow beam. In the particle-in-cell simulation where the driving beam has initial energy of $1.0$ GeV per particle, the trapped beam can be accelerated to energy of more than $1.5$ GeV per particle and the corresponding transformer ratio is $1.5$. With the increase of driving beam energy up to $40.0$ GeV, a transformer ratio of $1.4$ still can be achieved. By adjusting the hollow beam density, it is possible to control the trapped beam charge value and beam quality, such as its energy spread and transverse emittance.