Sporadic clusters of healthcare-associated coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) occurred despite intense rostered routine surveillance and a highly vaccinated healthcare worker (HCW) population, during a community surge of the severe acute respiratory coronavirus virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) B.1.617.2 δ (delta) variant. Genomic analysis facilitated timely cluster detection and uncovered additional linkages via HCWs moving between clinical areas and among HCWs sharing a common lunch area, enabling early intervention.

Hypertension represents one of the most common pre-existing conditions and comorbidities in Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients. To explore whether hypertension serves as a risk factor for disease severity, a multi-centre, retrospective study was conducted in COVID-19 patients. A total of 498 consecutively hospitalised patients with lab-confirmed COVID-19 in China were enrolled in this cohort. Using logistic regression, we assessed the association between hypertension and the likelihood of severe illness with adjustment for confounders. We observed that more than 16% of the enrolled patients exhibited pre-existing hypertension on admission. More severe COVID-19 cases occurred in individuals with hypertension than those without hypertension (21% vs. 10%, P = 0.007). Hypertension associated with the increased risk of severe illness, which was not modified by other demographic factors, such as age, sex, hospital geological location and blood pressure levels on admission. More attention and treatment should be offered to patients with underlying hypertension, who usually are older, have more comorbidities and more susceptible to cardiac complications.

In this paper, the generation of relativistic electron mirrors (REMs) and the reflection of an ultra-short laser off this mirrors are discussed, applying two-dimensional particle-in-cell (2D-PIC) simulations. REMs with ultra-high acceleration and expanding velocity can be produced from a solid nanofoil illuminated normally by an ultra-intense femtosecond laser pulse with a sharp rising edge. Chirped attosecond pulse can be produced through the reflection of a counter-propagating probe laser off the accelerating REM. In the electron moving frame, the plasma frequency of the REM keeps decreasing due to its rapidly expanding. The laser frequency, on the contrary, keeps increasing due to the acceleration of REM and the relativistic Doppler shift from the lab frame to the electron moving frame. Within an ultra-short time interval, the two frequencies will be equal in the electron moving frame, which leads the resonance between laser and REM. The reflected radiation near this interval and the corresponding spectra will be amplified due to the resonance. Through adjusting the arriving time of the probe laser, certain part of the reflected field could be selectively amplified or depressed, leading to the selectively adjusting of the corresponding spectra.

The FNDC5 gene encodes the fibronectin type III domain-containing protein 5 that is a membrane protein mainly expressed in skeletal muscle, and the FNDC5 rs3480 polymorphism may be associated with liver disease severity in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). We investigated the influence of the FNDC5 rs3480 polymorphism on the relationship between sarcopenia and the histological severity of NAFLD. A total of 370 adult individuals with biopsy-proven NAFLD were studied. The association between the key exposure sarcopenia and the outcome liver histological severity was investigated by binary logistic regression. Stratified analyses were undertaken to examine the impact of FNDC5 rs3480 polymorphism on the association between sarcopenia and the severity of NAFLD histology. Patients with sarcopenia had more severe histological grades of steatosis and a higher prevalence of significant fibrosis and definite non-alcoholic steatohepatitis than those without sarcopenia. There was a significant association between sarcopenia and significant fibrosis (adjusted OR 2·79, 95 % CI 1·31, 5·95, P = 0·008), independent of established risk factors and potential confounders. Among patients with sarcopenia, significant fibrosis occurred more frequently in the rs3480 AA genotype carriers than in those carrying the FNDC5 rs3480 G genotype (43·8 v. 17·2 %, P = 0·031). In the association between sarcopenia and liver fibrosis, there was a significant interaction between the FNDC5 genotype and sarcopenia status (P value for interaction = 0·006). Sarcopenia is independently associated with significant liver fibrosis, and the FNDC5 rs3480 G variant influences the association between sarcopenia and liver fibrosis in patients with biopsy-proven NAFLD.

Malaria remains one of the most devastating diseases. Cerebral malaria (CM) is a severe complication of Plasmodium falciparum infection resulting in high mortality and morbidity worldwide. Analysis of precise mechanisms of CM in humans is difficult for ethical reasons and animal models of CM have been employed to study malaria pathogenesis. Here, we describe a new experimental cerebral malaria (ECM) model with Plasmodium berghei ANKA infection in KunMing (KM) mice. KM mice developed ECM after blood-stage or sporozoites infection, and the development of ECM in KM mice has a dose-dependent relationship with sporozoites inoculums. Histopathological findings revealed important features associated with ECM, including accumulation of mononuclear cells and red blood cells in brain microvascular, and brain parenchymal haemorrhages. Blood–brain barrier (BBB) examination showed that BBB disruption was present in infected KM mice when displaying clinical signs of CM. In vivo bioluminescent imaging experiment indicated that parasitized red blood cells accumulated in most vital organs including heart, lung, spleen, kidney, liver and brain. The levels of inflammatory cytokines interferon-gamma, tumour necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin (IL)-17, IL-12, IL-6 and IL-10 were all remarkably increased in KM mice infected with P. berghei ANKA. This study indicates that P. berghei ANKA infection in KM mice can be used as ECM model to extend further research on genetic, pharmacological and vaccine studies of CM.

Deposition of extracellular amyloid-β (Aβ) peptide is one of the pathological hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Accumulation of Aβ is thought to associate with cognition deficits, neuroinflammation and apoptosis observed in AD. However, effective neuroprotective approaches against Aβ neurotoxicity are unavailable. In the present study, we analysed the effects of pranlukast, a selective cysteinyl leukotriene receptor 1 (CysLT1R) antagonist, on the impairment of learning and memory formation induced by Aβ and the probable underlying electrophysiological and molecular mechanisms. We found that bilateral intrahippocampal injection of Aβ1–42 resulted in a significant decline of spatial learning and memory of mice in the Morris water maze (MWM) and Y-maze tests, together with a serious depression of in vivo hippocampal long-term potentiation (LTP) in the CA1 region of the mice. Importantly, this treatment caused significant increases in CysLT1R expression and subsequent NF-κB signaling, caspase-3 activation and Bcl-2 downregulation in the hippocampus or prefrontal cortex. Oral administration of pranlukast at 0.4 or 0.8 mg/kg for 4 wk significantly reversed Aβ1–42-induced impairments of cognitive function and hippocampal LTP in mice. Furthermore, pranlukast reversed Aβ1–42-induced CysLT1R upregulation, and markedly suppressed the Aβ1–42-triggered NF-κB pathway, caspase-3 activation and Bcl-2 downregulation in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex in mice. Liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) assay confirmed its presence in the brain after oral administration of pranlukast in mice. These data disclose novel findings about the therapeutic potential of pranlukast, revealing a previously unknown therapeutic possibility to treat memory deficits associated with AD.

To date, there has been little improvement in cryopreservation of bull sperm due to lack of understanding of the freezing mechanisms. Therefore, this study set out to investigate expression levels of fertility-associated proteins in bull sperm, and in particular the relationship between the 90 kDa heat-shock protein (HSP90) and the sperm characteristics after freezing–thawing. Semen was collected from eight Holstein bulls by artificial vagina. Characteristics of these fresh semen, including sperm motility, morphology, viability and concentration, were evaluated. Sperm quality was also assessed after freezing–thawing. Eight ejaculates were divided into two groups based on freezing resistance and sperm motility. Sperm proteins were extracted and sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) analysis and western blotting were performed. SDS-PAGE results showed that there was substantial diversity in 90 kDa proteins in the frozen–thawed sperm and HSP90 was confirmed as one of the 90 kDa proteins by western blot. This study indicated that HSP90 expression correlated positively with sperm quality. The amount of expressed 90 kDa proteins in the high freezing resistance (HFR) group was significantly higher than that in the low freezing resistance (LFR) group (P < 0.05). Thus, higher expression of HSP90 could probably lead to the higher motility and freezing resistance of sperm found after freezing–thawing. Therefore, we concluded that level of HSP90 expression could be used to predict reliably and simply the freezing resistance of bull sperm.

Kashin-Beck disease (KBD) is a chronic endemic osteoarthropathy, which mainly occurs in West and Northeast China. Epidemiological studies suggest that Se deficiency is an important environmental factor for the incidence of KBD. Glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPx4) belongs to the glutathione peroxidase family, which is crucial for optimal antioxidant defences. Our purpose is to investigate the putative association between GPx4 polymorphisms and the risk of KBD. Restriction fragment length polymorphism-PCR was used to detect two SNP (rs713041, rs4807542) in 219 cases and 194 controls in Han Chinese subjects, and quantitative analysis for the GPx4 mRNA level was performed by the real-time PCR method. The results revealed that linkage disequilibrium existed in the two SNP. A significant difference was observed in the haplotype A-T (P = 0·0066) of GPx4, which was obviously lower in the KBD cases (0·006 v. 0·032 %). Correlation analysis based on a single locus showed no association between each SNP and KBD risk. Furthermore, the GPx4 mRNA level was dramatically lower in the blood of KBD patients. Overall, our finding indicated GPx4 polymorphisms and decreased mRNA level may be related to the development of KBD in the Chinese population, suggesting GPx4 as a possible candidate susceptibility gene for KBD.

Amyloid-β-induced neuroinflammation plays a central role in the extensive loss of cholinergic neurons and cognitive decline in Alzheimer's disease. The acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitors are the first class of drugs used to enhance surviving cholinergic activities. However, their limited effectiveness following long-term treatment raises a need for new multi-target therapies. We report herein a novel piperazine derivative compound PMS1339 possesses multifunctional properties including anti-platelet-activating factor, AChE inhibition, Aβ aggregation inhibition and cognitive improvement. PMS1339 could significantly inhibit both mice brain AChE (IC50=4.41±0.63 μm) and sera butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE, IC50=1.09±0.20 μm). PMS1339 was also found to inhibit neuronal AChE secreted by SH-SY5Y cell line (IC50=17.95±2.31 μm). Enzyme kinetics experiments performed on electric eel AChE indicated that PMS1339 acts as a mixed type competitive AChE inhibitor. Molecular docking studies using the X-ray crystal structure of AChE from Torpedo californica elucidated the interactions between PMS1339 and AChE: PMS1339 is well buried inside the active-site gorge of AChE interacting with Trp84 at the bottom, Tyr121 halfway down and Trp279 at the peripheral anionic site (PAS). Thioflavin T-based fluorimetric assay revealed the ability of PMS1339 to inhibit AChE-induced Aβ aggregation. In-vivo study indicated PMS1339 (1 mg/kg i.p.) reversed scopolamine-induced memory impairment in mice. Overall, these findings indicated that PMS1339 exhibits tri-functional properties in vitro and cognitive improvement in vivo, and revealed the emergence of a multi-target-directed ligand to tackle the determinants of Alzheimer's disease.

Cyanobacterial blooms cause extensive ecological damages in aquatic environments. Heterotrophic nanoflagellates (HNF) play an important role in controlling the populations of cyanobacteria in natural water bodies. In this study, we report a HNF, NF-WJ05, which grazes efficiently on the toxic cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa strain PCC 7806. The morphological characteristics of the nanoflagellate observed by optical microscope and confocal microscope showed that NF-WJ05 could be a Paraphysomonas. The sequences of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions of rDNA including the 5.8S rDNA region was determined and compared with sequences available in databases. The 5.8S rDNA sequence showed a high degree of similarity to those belonging to species of Chromophyta. However, sequences similar to that of its ITS were not found in the databases. Several environmental factors affecting the grazing efficiency of NF-WJ05 on cyanobacteria were evaluated. The more suitable conditions for grazing were 30°C and pH 5.0 with stirring. Ammonia inhibited the grazing, whereas low concentrations of phenol increased the grazing rate with an optimal concentration at 50 µg.L-1.

Total body fat mass (TBFM) and total body lean mass (TBLM) are the major components of the human body. Although these highly correlated phenotypic traits are frequently used to characterize obesity, the specific shared genetic factors that influence both traits remain largely unknown. Our study was aimed at identifying common quantitative trait loci (QTLs) contributing to both TBFM and TBLM. We performed a whole genome-linkage scan study in a large sample of 3255 subjects from 420 Caucasian pedigrees. Bivariate linkage analysis was carried out in both the entire sample and gender-specific subsamples. Several potentially important genomic regions that may harbour QTLs important for TBFM and TBLM were identified. For example, 20p12-11 achieved a LOD score of 2·04 in the entire sample and, in the male subsample, two genomic regions, 20p12 (LOD=2·08) and 3p26-25 (LOD=1·92), showed suggestive linkage. In addition, two-point linkage analyses for chromosome X showed suggestive linkages on Xp22 in the entire sample (LOD=2·14) and significant linkage on Xp22 in the female subsample (LOD=3·05). Complete pleiotropy was suggested for 20p12 and 3p26-25 in males. Our results suggest that QTLs on chromosomes 20p12, 3p26-25 and Xp22 may jointly influence TBFM and TBLM. Further fine mapping and gene identification studies for these pleiotropic effects are needed.

Lentiviruses as gene transfer vectors have been used successfully to transfect mammal embryonic stem cells and germline stem cells, but this has not been attempted in avian primordial germ cells (PGCs). PGCs were isolated from the gonads of Isa-brown chicken embryos at stage 28 and co-cultured with gonadal stroma cells. A lentiviral vector pLenti-CMV-EGFP was constructed and the virus harvested by cotransfecting 293FT cells with the vector and packaging plasmids. Concentrated lentiviruses were used to transfect chicken PGCs, the transfection efficiency was up to 24.19%.

Template-directed co-condensation was used to synthesize phenyl-modified MSU-1 and bi-functionalized MSU-1 silica containing binary moieties of covalently linked phenyl along with methyl or ureidopropyl [H2NCONH(CH2)3]. The texture properties of these materials from x-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared, nuclear magnetic resonance, scanning electron microscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, N2 adsorption, thermogravimetric analysis data, varied with the type of alkoxylsilane precursor and the amount of organosiloxane in the mixture. Small-angle x-ray scattering results, for the as-synthesized and surfactant-extracted organo-modified MSU-X, showed that the templates remaining in the mesostructures gave positive deviation from Porod's law while the incorporated organic groups led to a negative deviation, which formed an interfacial layer between the pore and silica matrix.

The magnetic properties and the domain structure of anisotropic melt-spun SmCo6.5Zr0.5 alloys with C addition was investigated by means of x-ray diffraction (XRD), magnetic measurement, and magnetic force microscopy. The XRD analyses showed that the addition of a few percent of C led to a significant increase in the coercivity and simultaneously affected the characterization of crystalline texture of the ribbons. The easy magnetization c axis changed from parallel to the ribbon plane for SmCo6.5Zr0.5 ribbons to normal to the ribbon plane for SmCo6.5Zr0.5C0.25−0.75 ribbons. An optimal coercivity of 0.92 T was obtained for the SmCo6.5Zr0.5C0.5 ribbon spun at 5 m/s. The corresponding remanence measured normal or parallel to the ribbon plane was 7.1 kGs or 3.1 kGs, respectively. The domain structure was studied by magnetic force microscopey. A strip-shaped domain was observed on the surface of the SmCo6.5Zr0.5 ribbons and the walls lay straight and parallel. For C-doped ribbons, the domain walls formed a maze domain pattern of grains with c axis normal to the ribbon plane. Scanning electron micrographs showed that a dendrite structure was present in the SmCoZr ribbon surface, and C addition caused the above-mentioned dendrite to diminish.