Facial adult female acne in China: An analysis based on artificial intelligence over one million.

BACKGROUND: To further clarify the acne profile of Chinese adult women, we included 1,156,703 adult women. An artificial intelligence algorithm was used to analyze images taken by high-resolution mobile phones to further explore acne levels in Chinese adult women. METHOD: In this study, we assessed the severity of acne by evaluating patients' selfies through a smartphone application. Furthermore, we gathered basic user information through a questionnaire, including details such as age, gender, skin sensitivity, and dietary habits. RESULTS: This study showed a gradual decrease in acne severity from the age of 25 years. A trough was reached between the ages of 40 and 44, followed by a gradual increase in acne severity. In terms of skin problems and acne severity, we have found that oily skin, hypersensitive skin, frequent makeup application and unhealthy dietary habits can affect the severity of acne. For environment and acne severity, we observed that developed city levels, cold seasons and high altitude and strong radiation affect acne severity in adult women. For the results of the AI analyses, the severity of blackheads, pores, dark circles and skin roughness were positively associated with acne severity in adult women. CONCLUSIONS: AI analysis of high-res phone images in Chinese adult women reveals acne severity trends. Severity decreases after 25, hits a low at 40-44, then gradually rises. Skin type, sensitivity, makeup, diet, urbanization, seasons, altitude, and radiation impact acne. Blackheads, pores, dark circles, and skin roughness are linked to acne severity. These findings inform personalized skincare and public health strategies for adult women.

Alterations in gut microbiota contribute to cognitive deficits induced by chronic infection of Toxoplasma gondii.

Chronic infection with Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) emerges as a risk factor for neurodegenerative diseases in animals and humans. However, the underlying mechanisms are largely unknown. We aimed to investigate whether gut microbiota and its metabolites play a role in T. gondii-induced cognitive deficits. We found that T. gondii infection induced cognitive deficits in mice, which was characterized by synaptic ultrastructure impairment and neuroinflammation in the hippocampus. Moreover, the infection led to gut microbiota dysbiosis, barrier integrity impairment, and inflammation in the colon. Interestingly, broad-spectrum antibiotic ablation of gut microbiota attenuated the adverse effects of the parasitic infection on the cognitive function in mice; cognitive deficits and hippocampal pathological changes were transferred from the infected mice to control mice by fecal microbiota transplantation. In addition, the abundance of butyrate-producing bacteria and the production of serum butyrate were decreased in infected mice. Interestingly, dietary supplementation of butyrate ameliorated T. gondii-induced cognitive impairment in mice. Notably, compared to the healthy controls, decreased butyrate production was observed in the serum of human subjects with high levels of anti-T. gondii IgG. Overall, this study demonstrates that gut microbiota is a key regulator of T. gondii-induced cognitive impairment.

Simulating short-term light responses of photosynthesis and water use efficiency in sweet sorghum under varying temperature and CO2 conditions.

Climate change, characterized by rising atmospheric CO2 levels and temperatures, poses significant challenges to global crop production. Sweet sorghum, a prominent C4 cereal extensively grown in arid areas, emerges as a promising candidate for sustainable bioenergy production. This study investigated the responses of photosynthesis and leaf-scale water use efficiency (WUE) to varying light intensity (I) in sweet sorghum under different temperature and CO2 conditions. Comparative analyses were conducted between the A n-I, g s-I, T r-I, WUEi-I, and WUEinst-I models proposed by Ye et al. and the widely utilized the non-rectangular hyperbolic (NRH) model for fitting light response curves. The Ye's models effectively replicated the light response curves of sweet sorghum, accurately capturing the diminishing intrinsic WUE (WUEi) and instantaneous WUE (WUEinst) trends with increasing I. The fitted maximum values of A n, g s, T r, WUEi, and WUEinst and their saturation light intensities closely matched observations, unlike the NRH model. Despite the NRH model demonstrating high R 2 values for A n-I, g s-I, and T r-I modelling, it returned the maximum values significantly deviating from observed values and failed to generate saturation light intensities. It also inadequately represented WUE responses to I, overestimating WUE. Across different leaf temperatures, A n, g s, and T r of sweet sorghum displayed comparable light response patterns. Elevated temperatures increased maximum A n, g s, and T r but consistently declined maximum WUEi and WUEinst. However, WUEinst declined more sharply due to the disproportionate transpiration increase over carbon assimilation. Critically, sweet sorghum A n saturated at current atmospheric CO2 levels, with no significant gains under 550 µmol mol-1. Instead, stomatal closure enhanced WUE under elevated CO2 by coordinated g s and T r reductions rather than improved carbon assimilation. Nonetheless, this response diminished under simultaneously high temperature, suggesting intricate interplay between CO2 and temperature in modulating plant responses. These findings provide valuable insights into photosynthetic dynamics of sweet sorghum, aiding predictions of yield and optimization of cultivation practices. Moreover, our methodology serves as a valuable reference for evaluating leaf photosynthesis and WUE dynamics in diverse plant species.

Enhancing phytoremediation of cadmium and arsenic in alkaline soil by Miscanthus sinensis: A study on the synergistic effect of endophytic fungi and biochar.

Endophytic fungi (Trichoderma harzianum (TH) and Paecilomyces lilacinus (PL)) showed potential in phytoremediation for soils contaminated with potentially toxic elements (PTEs (Cd and As)). However, their efficiency is limited, which can be enhanced with the assistance of biochar. This study sought to investigate the effects of TH at two application rates (T1: 4.5 g m-2; T2: 9 g m-2), PL at two application rates (P1: 4.5 g m-2; P2: 9 g m-2), in conjunction with biochar (BC) at 750 g m-2 on the phytoremediation of PTEs by Miscanthus sinensis (M. sinensis). The results showed that the integration of endophytic fungi with biochar notably enhanced the accumulation of Cd and As in M. sinensis by 59.60 %-114.38 % and 49.91 %-134.60 %, respectively. The treatments T2BC and P2BC emerged as the most effective. Specifically, the P2BC treatment significantly enhanced the soil quality index (SQI > 0.55) across all examined soil layers, markedly improving the overall soil condition. It was observed that T2BC treatment could elevate the SQI to 0.56 at the 0-15 cm depth. The combined amendment shifted the primary influences on plant PTEs accumulation from fungal diversity and soil nutrients to bacterial diversity and the availability of soil PTEs. Characteristic microorganisms identified under the combined treatments were RB41 and Pezizaceae, indicating an increase in both bacterial and fungal diversity. This combination altered the soil microbial community, influencing key metabolic pathways. The combined application of PL and biochar was superior to the TH and biochar combination for the phytoremediation of M. sinensis. This approach not only enhanced the phytoremediation potential but also positively impacted soil health and microbial community, suggesting that the synergistic use of endophytic fungi and biochar is an effective strategy for improving the condition of alkaline soils contaminated with PTEs.

Effects of micro-nano bubble water addition on maturation degree and microbial community during aerobic composting.

In order to explore the effects of micro-nano bubble water (MNBW) on compost maturation and the microbial community in cow manure and straw during aerobic composting, we conducted composting tests using tap water with 12 mg/L (O12), 15 mg/L (O15), 18 mg/L (O18), and 21 mg/L (O21) dissolved oxygen in MNBW, as well as tap water with 9 mg/L dissolved oxygen as a control (CK). The results showed that O21 increased the maximum compost temperature to 64 °C, which was higher than the other treatments. All treatments met the harmless standards for compost. The seed germination index (GI) was largest under O21 and 15.1% higher than that under CK, and the non-toxic compost degree was higher. Redundancy analysis showed that the temperature, C/N, pH, and GI were important factors that affected the microbial community composition. The temperature, C/N, and pH were significantly positively correlated with Firmicutes and Actinobacteria (p < 0.05). Firmicutes was the dominant phylum in the mesophilic stage (2-6 days) and it accounted for a large proportion under O21, where the strong thermophilic metabolism increased the production of heat and prolonged the high temperature period. The bacterial genus Ammoniibacillus in Firmicutes accounted for a large proportion under O21 and it accelerated the decomposition of substrates. Therefore, the addition of MNBW changed the microbial community to affect the maturation of the compost, and the quality of the compost was higher under O21.

Response of bacterial community structure to different phosphorus additions in a tobacco-growing soil.

Introduction: Phosphorus (P), which plays a vital role in plant growth, is continually added to soil to maximize biomass production, leading to excessive P accumulation and water eutrophication. Results: In this study, a pot experiment using a subtropical tobacco-growing soil fertilized with four P levels-no P, low P, medium P, and high P-was conducted and rhizosphere and bulk soils were analyzed. Results: P addition significantly increased tobacco biomass production (except under low P input) and total soil P and available P content (P<0.05), whereas total nitrogen content decreased in the rhizosphere soils, although this was only significant with medium P application. P fertilization also significantly altered the bacterial communities of rhizosphere soils (P<0.05), but those of bulk soils were unchanged (P>0.05). Moreover, a significant difference was found between rhizosphere soils with low (LR) and high (HR) P inputs (P<0.05). Additionally, compared with rhizosphere soils with no P (CKR), Shannon diversity showed a declining trend, which was significant with LR and HR (P<0.05), whereas an increasing tendency was observed for Chao1 diversity except in LR (P>0.05). Functional prediction revealed that P application significantly decreased the total P and N metabolism of microorganisms in rhizosphere soils (P<0.05). Discussion: Collectively, our results indicate that maintaining sustainable agricultural ecosystems under surplus P conditions requires more attention to be directed toward motivating the potential of soil functional microbes in P cycling, rather than just through continual P input.

Spatiotemporal patterns and evolutionary trends of eco-environmental quality in arid regions of Northwest China.

The arid regions of northwest China suffer from water shortages, low land quality, and a fragile ecological environment, while social and economic development has increased the ecological and environmental load. The spatiotemporal pattern and evolutionary trend of ecological environmental quality were investigated by constructing a remote sensing-based ecological environmental index (EQI) evaluation model incorporating four indicators: drought index (DI), soil erosion index (SEI), greenness index (GI), and carbon exchange index (CEI). The study found that between 2001 and 2020, the DI, the SEI, and the CEI in the northwest arid region exhibited a downward trend with reduction rates of - 3e-05, -0.0006, and -0.0018, respectively. However, the GI demonstrated an upward trend, with a growth rate of 0.002. The average EQI in 2020 was 0.315, indicating a fair grade, with only 11.56% falling above the medium level. A general increasing trend was observed throughout the study period in EQI, with an incremental rate of 0.0002. Areas with future improvements in EQI accounted for 57.547% and were principally located in the eastern part of Inner Mongolia, Qinghai, and the northern and southern portions of Xinjiang. Notably, land use was significantly correlated with EQI (p < 0.01), with a hierarchy of effects that ran: forest land (0.678) > cultivated land (0.422) > grassland (0.382) > wasteland (0.138). The highly robust findings presented here offer innovative methods for ecological and environmental monitoring in the arid region of the northwest, with potential implications at an international scale.

Peritumoral Radiomics for Identification of Telomerase Reverse Transcriptase Promoter Mutation in Patients With Glioblastoma Based on Preoperative MRI.

Purpose: To evaluate the value of intra- and peritumoral deep learning (DL) features based on multi-parametric magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for identifying telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) promoter mutation in glioblastoma (GBM). Methods: In this study, we included 229 patients with GBM who underwent preoperative MRI in two hospitals between November 2016 and September 2022. We used four 2D Convolutional Neural Networks (GoogLeNet, DenseNet121, VGG16, and MobileNetV3-Large) to extract intra- and peritumoral DL features. The Mann-Whitney U test, Pearson correlation analysis, least absolute shrinkage and selection operator, and logistic regression analysis were used for feature selection and construction of DL radiomics (DLR) signatures in different regions. These multi-parametric and multi-region signatures were combined to identify TERT promoter mutation. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) was used to evaluate the effects of the signatures. Results: The signatures based on the DL features from the peritumoral regions with expansion distances of 2 mm, 8 mm, and 10 mm using the GoogLeNet architecture correlated with the optimal AUC values (test set: .823, .753, and .768) in the T2-weighted, T1-weighted contrast-enhanced, and T1-weighted images. Using the stacking fusion method, DLR with multi-parameter and multi-region fusion achieved the best discrimination with AUC values of .948 and .902 in the training and test sets, respectively. Conclusions: The radiomics model based on the fusion of multi-parameter MRI intra- and peritumoral DLR signatures may help to identify TERT promoter mutation in patients with GBM.

Multiparametric MRI-based fusion radiomics for predicting telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) promoter mutations and progression-free survival in glioblastoma: a multicentre study.

PURPOSE: This study evaluated the performance of multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based fusion radiomics models (MMFRs) to predict telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) promoter mutation status and progression-free survival (PFS) in glioblastoma patients. METHODS: We retrospectively analysed 208 glioblastoma patients from two hospitals. Quantitative imaging features were extracted from each patient's T1-weighted, T1-weighted contrast-enhanced, and T2-weighted preoperative images. Using a coarse-to-fine feature selection strategy, four radiomics signature models were constructed based on the three MRI sequences and their combination for TERT promoter mutation status and PFS; model performance was subsequently evaluated. Subgroup analyses were performed by the radiomics signature of TERT promoter mutation status and PFS to distinguish patients who could benefit from prolonged temozolomide chemotherapy cycles. RESULTS: TERT promoter mutation status was best predicted by MMFR, with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.816 and 0.812 for the training and internal validation sets, respectively. The external test set also achieved stable and optimal prediction results (AUC, 0.823). MMFR better predicted patient PFS compared with the single-sequence radiomics signature in the test set (C-index, 0.643 vs 0.561 vs 0.620 vs 0.628). Subgroup analyses showed that more than six cycles of postoperative temozolomide chemotherapy were associated with improved PFS for patients in class 2 (high TERT promoter mutation and high survival rates; HR, 0.222; 95% CI, 0.054 - 0.923; p = 0.025). CONCLUSION: MMFR is an effective method to predict TERT promoter mutations and PFS in patients with glioblastoma. Moreover, subgroup analysis could differentiate patients who may benefit from prolonged TMZ chemotherapy cycles.

Clinical application of blood purification in polymyositis/dermatomyositis.

INTRODUCTION: We investigated the clinical efficacy and safety of blood purification technology in patients with polymyositis/dermatomyositis. METHODS: In a study of 22 patients, 10 cases received blood purification treatment (5 cases received plasma exchange, 5 cases received plasma HA280 immunoadsorption), and 12 cases served as the control group. A 3-month follow-up was conducted to compare the clinical manifestations and laboratory examination. RESULTS: Symptoms and signs of patients in treatment group were significantly improved, and the hormone usage was lower than the control group. For patients with normal creatine kinase level and ferritin level below three times the upper limit of normal, there was a positive correlation between their N/L values and MDAAT scores. CONCLUSION: The results of this study suggest that blood purification therapy, including plasma HA280 immunoadsorption and plasma exchange, is an effective and safe treatment for patients with polymyositis/dermatomyositis, offering assistance in reducing hormone usage in the long-term.

Evaluation of gadolinium deposition in cortical bone using three-dimensional ultrashort echo time quantitative susceptibility mapping: A preliminary study.

The aim of the current study was to investigate the feasibility of three-dimensional ultrashort echo time quantitative susceptibility mapping (3D UTE-QSM) for the assessment of gadolinium (Gd) deposition in cortical bone. To this end, 40 tibial bovine cortical bone specimens were divided into five groups then soaked in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) solutions with five different Gd concentrations of 0, 0.4, 0.8, 1.2, and 1.6 mmol/L for 48 h. Additionally, eight rabbits were randomly allocated into three groups, consisting of a normal-dose macrocyclic gadolinium-based contrast agent (GBCA) group (n = 3), a high-dose macrocyclic GBCA group (n = 3), and a control group (n = 2). All bovine and rabbit tibial bone samples underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) on a 3-T clinical MR system. A 3D UTE-Cones sequence was utilized to acquire images with five different echo times (i.e., 0.032, 0.2, 0.4, 0.8, and 1.2 ms). The UTE images were subsequently processed with the morphology-enabled dipole inversion algorithm to yield a susceptibility map. The average susceptibility was calculated in three regions of interest in the middle of each specimen, and the Pearson's correlation between the estimated susceptibility and Gd concentration was calculated. The bone samples soaked in PBS with higher Gd concentrations exhibited elevated susceptibility values. A mean susceptibility value of -2.47 ± 0.23 ppm was observed for bovine bone soaked in regular PBS, while the mean QSM value increased to -1.75 ± 0.24 ppm for bone soaked in PBS with the highest Gd concentration of 1.6 mmol/L. A strong positive correlation was observed between Gd concentrations and QSM values. The mean susceptibility values of rabbit tibial specimens in the control group, normal-dose GBCA group, and high-dose GBCA group were -4.11 ± 1.52, -3.85 ± 1.33, and -3.39 ± 1.35 ppm, respectively. In conclusion, a significant linear correlation between Gd in cortical bone and QSM values was observed. The preliminary results suggest that 3D UTE-QSM may provide sensitive noninvasive assessment of Gd deposition in cortical bone.

Noninvasive Detection of Salt Stress in Cotton Seedlings by Combining Multicolor Fluorescence-Multispectral Reflectance Imaging with EfficientNet-OB2.

Salt stress is considered one of the primary threats to cotton production. Although cotton is found to have reasonable salt tolerance, it is sensitive to salt stress during the seedling stage. This research aimed to propose an effective method for rapidly detecting salt stress of cotton seedlings using multicolor fluorescence-multispectral reflectance imaging coupled with deep learning. A prototyping platform that can obtain multicolor fluorescence and multispectral reflectance images synchronously was developed to get different characteristics of each cotton seedling. The experiments revealed that salt stress harmed cotton seedlings with an increase in malondialdehyde and a decrease in chlorophyll content, superoxide dismutase, and catalase after 17 days of salt stress. The Relief algorithm and principal component analysis were introduced to reduce data dimension with the first 9 principal component images (PC1 to PC9) accounting for 95.2% of the original variations. An optimized EfficientNet-B2 (EfficientNet-OB2), purposely used for a fixed resource budget, was established to detect salt stress by optimizing a proportional number of convolution kernels assigned to the first convolution according to the corresponding contributions of PC1 to PC9 images. EfficientNet-OB2 achieved an accuracy of 84.80%, 91.18%, and 95.10% for 5, 10, and 17 days of salt stress, respectively, which outperformed EfficientNet-B2 and EfficientNet-OB4 with higher training speed and fewer parameters. The results demonstrate the potential of combining multicolor fluorescence-multispectral reflectance imaging with the deep learning model EfficientNet-OB2 for salt stress detection of cotton at the seedling stage, which can be further deployed in mobile platforms for high-throughput screening in the field.

Estradiol-mediated small GTP-binding protein GDP dissociation stimulator induction contributes to sex differences in resilience to ferroptosis in takotsubo syndrome.

BACKGROUND: Declining beneficial cardiovascular actions of estradiol (E2) have been associated with disproportionate susceptibility to takotsubo syndrome (TTS) in postmenopausal women. However, the underlying mechanisms between E2 and this marked disproportion remain unclear. SmgGDS (small GTP-binding protein GDP dissociation stimulator), as a key modulator of cardiovascular disease, plays protective roles in reducing oxidative stress and exerts pleiotropic effects of statins. Whether SmgGDS levels are influenced by E2 status and the effect of SmgGDS on sex differences in TTS are poorly understood. METHODS: Clinical data were reviewed from TTS inpatients. Echocardiography, immunofluorescence, and immunohistochemistry were performed together with expression analysis to uncover phenotypic and mechanism changes in sex differences in TTS-like wild-type (WT) and SmgGDS± mice. HL-1 cardiomyocytes were used to further examine and validate molecular mechanisms. RESULTS: In 14 TTS inpatients, TTS had a higher incidence in postmenopausal women as compared to premenopausal women and men. In murine TTS, female WT mice exhibited higher cardiac SmgGDS levels than male WT mice. Ovariectomy reduced SmgGDS expression in female WT mice similar to that observed in male mice, whereas E2 replacement in these ovariectomized (OVX) female mice reversed this effect. The physiological importance of this sex-specific E2-mediated SmgGDS response is underscored by the disparity in cardiac adaptation to isoproterenol (ISO) stimulation between both sexes of WT mice. E2-mediated SmgGDS induction conferred female protection against TTS-like acute cardiac injury involving ferritinophagy-mediated ferroptosis. No such cardioprotection was observed in male WT mice and OVX female. A causal role for SmgGDS in this sex-specific cardioprotective adaptation was indicated, inasmuch as SmgGDS deficiency abolished E2-modulated cardioprotection against ferritinophagy and aggravates TTS progression in both sexes. Consistently, knockdown of SmgGDS in HL-1 cardiomyocytes exacerbated ferroptosis in a ferritinophagy-dependent manner and abrogated the protective role of E2 against ferritinophagy. Mechanistically, our findings revealed that SmgGDS regulated E2-dependent cardioprotective effects via AMPK/mTOR signaling pathway. SmgGDS deficiency abolished E2-conferred protection against ferritinophagy through activating AMPK/mTOR pathway, while treatment with recombinant SmgGDS in HL-1 cells significantly mitigated this pathway-associated ferritinophagy activity. CONCLUSIONS: These results demonstrate that SmgGDS is a central mediator of E2-conferred female cardioprotection against ferritinophagy-mediated ferroptosis in TTS.

Artificial intelligence analysis of over a million Chinese men and women reveals level of dark circle in the facial skin aging process.

BACKGROUND: To better compare the progression of dark circles and the aging process in Chinese skin. A total of 100 589 Chinese males and 1 838 997 Chinese females aged 18 to 85, without facial skin conditions, and who had access to a smartphone with a high-resolution camera all took selfies. METHOD: Using a smartphone application with a built-in artificial intelligence algorithm, facial skin diagnostic evaluated the selfies and score the severity of the dark circles with four other facial indicators (including skin type, Pores, Acne vulgaris, and Blackheads). Basic information was collected with online questionnaire, including their age, gender, skin sensitivity, and dietary habits. RESULTS: In users between the age of 18 and 59, the prevalence of comprehensive, pigmented, and structural type of dark circles all rose with age. However, between the age of 60 and 85, the intensity of all types of dark circles diminished. Besides, vascular dark circles progressively worsen from the age of 18 to their peak at 39, and then gradually decline with age. Females typically have more pronounced black circles under their eyes than males in China. Bad eating habits, urbanization, regular cosmetics use, and sensitive skin positively correlate with severe dark circles. Vascular, comprehensive dark circles were worse in spring. Both pigmented and structural dark circles were worse in the summer. The results indicated that the intensity of dark circles was influenced by oily skin, wide pores, severe blackheads, and severe acne. CONCLUSIONS: Chinese men and women differed noticeably in the prevalence of each face aging indicator and the appearance of aging dark circles. Selfies could be automatically graded and examined by artificial intelligence, which is a quick and private method for quantifying signs of facial aging and identifying major problems for different populations. Artificial intelligence would assist in the development of individualized preventive and therapeutic interventions.

An Optimization Method of Deep Transfer Learning for Vegetation Segmentation under Rainy and Dry Season Differences in a Dry Thermal Valley.

Deep learning networks might require re-training for different datasets, consuming significant manual labeling and training time. Transfer learning uses little new data and training time to enable pre-trained network segmentation in relevant scenarios (e.g., different vegetation images in rainy and dry seasons); however, existing transfer learning methods lack systematicity and controllability. So, an MTPI method (Maximum Transfer Potential Index method) was proposed to find the optimal conditions in data and feature quantity for transfer learning (MTPI conditions) in this study. The four pre-trained deep networks (Seg-Net (Semantic Segmentation Networks), FCN (Fully Convolutional Networks), Mobile net v2, and Res-Net 50 (Residual Network)) using the rainy season dataset showed that Res-Net 50 had the best accuracy with 93.58% and an WIoU (weight Intersection over Union) of 88.14%, most worthy to transfer training in vegetation segmentation. By obtaining each layer's TPI performance (Transfer Potential Index) of the pre-trained Res-Net 50, the MTPI method results show that the 1000-TDS and 37-TP were estimated as the best training speed with the smallest dataset and a small error risk. The MTPI transfer learning results show 91.56% accuracy and 84.86% WIoU with 90% new dataset reduction and 90% iteration reduction, which is informative for deep networks in segmentation tasks between complex vegetation scenes.

Combination of Biochar and Trichoderma harzianum Can Improve the Phytoremediation Efficiency of Brassica juncea and the Rhizosphere Micro-Ecology in Cadmium and Arsenic Contaminated Soil.

Phytoremediation is an environment-friendly method for toxic elements remediation. The aim of this study was to improve the phytoremediation efficiency of Brassica juncea and the rhizosphere soil micro-ecology in cadmium (Cd) and arsenic (As) contaminated soil. A field experiment was conducted with six treatments, including a control treatment (CK), two treatments with two contents of Trichoderma harzianum (T1: 4.5 g m-2; T2: 9 g m-2), one biochar treatment (B: 750 g m-2), and two combined treatments of T1B and T2B. The results showed Trichoderma harzianum promoted the total chlorophyll and translocation factor of Brassica juncea, while biochar promoted plant biomass compared to CK. T2B treatment showed the best results, which significantly increased Cd accumulation by 187.49-308.92%, and As accumulation by 125.74-221.43%. As a result, the soil's total Cd content was reduced by 19.04% to 49.64% and total As contents by 38.76% to 53.77%. The combined amendment increased the contents of soil available potassium, phosphorus, nitrogen, and organic matter. Meanwhile, both the activity of glutathione and peroxidase enzymes in plants, together with urease and sucrase enzymes in soil, were increased. Firmicutes (dominant bacterial phylum) and Ascomycota (dominant fungal phylum) showed positive and close correlation with soil nutrients and plant potentially toxic elements contents. This study demonstrated that phytoremediation assisted by biochar and Trichoderma harzianum is an effective method of soil remediation and provides a new strategy for enhancing plant remediation efficiency.

Phage resistance formation and fitness costs of hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae mediated by K2 capsule-specific phage and the corresponding mechanisms.

Introduction: Phage is promising for the treatment of hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae (hvKP) infections. Although phage resistance seems inevitable, we found that there still was optimization space in phage therapy for hvKP infection. Methods: The clinical isolate K. pneumoniae FK1979 was used to recover the lysis phage ΦFK1979 from hospital sewage. Phage-resistant bacteria were obtained on LB agar and used to isolate phages from sewage. The plaque assay, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), multiplicity of infection test, one-step growth curve assay, and genome analysis were performed to characterize the phages. Colony morphology, precipitation test and scanning electron microscope were used to characterize the bacteria. The absorption test, spot test and efficiency of plating (EOP) assay were used to identify the sensitivity of bacteria to phages. Whole genome sequencing (WGS) was used to identify gene mutations of phage-resistant bacteria. The gene expression levels were detected by RT-qPCR. Genes knockout and complementation of the mutant genes were performed. The change of capsules was detected by capsule quantification and TEM. The growth kinetics, serum resistance, biofilm formation, adhesion and invasion to A549 and RAW 264.7 cells, as well as G. mellonella and mice infection models, were used to evaluate the fitness and virulence of bacteria. Results and discussion: Here, we demonstrated that K2 capsule type sequence type 86 hvKP FK1979, one of the main pandemic lineages of hvKP with thick capsule, rapidly developed resistance to a K2-specific lysis phage ΦFK1979 which was well-studied in this work to possess polysaccharide depolymerase. The phage-resistant mutants showed a marked decrease in capsule expression. WGS revealed single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in genes encoding RfaH, galU, sugar glycosyltransferase, and polysaccharide deacetylase family protein in the mutants. RfaH and galU were further identified as being required for capsule production and phage sensitivity. Expressions of genes involved in the biosynthesis or regulation of capsule and/or lipopolysaccharide significantly decreased in the mutants. Despite the rapid and frequent development of phage resistance being a disadvantage, the attenuation of virulence and fitness in vitro and in vivo indicated that phage-resistant mutants of hvKP were more susceptible to the immunity system. Interestingly, the newly isolated phages targeting mutants changed significantly in their plaque and virus particle morphology. Their genomes were much larger than and significantly different from that of ΦFK1979. They possessed much more functional proteins and strikingly broader host spectrums than ΦFK1979. Our study suggests that K2-specific phage has the potential to function as an antivirulence agent, or a part of phage cocktails combined with phages targeting phage-resistant bacteria, against hvKP-relevant infections.

An analytical model for simulating the rainfall-interception-infiltration-runoff process with non-uniform rainfall.

The rainfall runoff process is a critical factor in determining the transport of surface materials. Simulating the surface runoff process is fundamental to accurately characterize soil erosion and soil nutrient loss. This research aims to develop a comprehensive simulation model for rainfall-interception-infiltration-runoff under vegetation cover conditions. The model integrates three key components: a vegetation interception model, Philip's infiltration model, and a kinematic wave model. By combining these models, an analytical solution is derived to simulate slope runoff considering vegetation interception and infiltration during non-constant rainfall events. To validate the reliability of the analytical solution, a numerical solution was obtained using the Pressimann Box scheme method and compared with the analytical results. The comparison confirms the accuracy and robustness of the analytical solution (R2 = 0.984, RMSE = 0.0049 cm/min, NS = 0.969). Moreover, this study investigates the influence of two significant parameters, Intm and k, on the production flow process. The analysis reveals that both parameters exert a significant impact on the timing of production initiation and the magnitude of runoff. Specifically, Intm exhibits a positive correlation with runoff intensity, while k displays a negative correlation. This research introduces a novel simulation method that enhances our understanding and modeling of rainfall production and convergence under complex slope conditions. The proposed model provides valuable insights into rainfall-runoff dynamics, particularly in scenarios characterized by varying rainfall patterns and vegetation cover. Overall, this study contributes to advancing the field of hydrological modeling and offers a practical approach for quantifying soil erosion and nutrient loss under different environmental conditions.

Molecular detection and species identification of Plasmodium spp. infection among imported cases in Eastern China, 2012-2018.

Due to the increasing number of returnees from malaria endemic areas, imported malaria has become a public health challenge in China. To better understand the characteristics of imported Plasmodium species and adjust appropriate strategies for malaria prevention and control in Eastern China, we conducted molecular detection and species identification on 1282 imported malaria cases in Shandong Province between 2012 and 2018. The findings showed that P. falciparum was predominant, particularly in cases imported from Africa. P. vivax was the dominant species imported from Asian countries. Additionally, imported P. ovale and P. malariae emerged in the province. Further surveillance and control of imported malaria among returnees from Africa and Southeast Asia is needed to be strengthened in Eastern China.

Mechanism for combined application of biochar and Bacillus cereus to reduce antibiotic resistance genes in copper contaminated soil and lettuce.

The remediation of agricultural soil contaminated by antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) is of great significance for protecting food safety and human health. Reducing the availability of copper in soil may control coresistance to ARGs. However, the feasibility of applying nano-biochar and Bacillus cereus to mitigate the spread of ARGs in Cu contaminated soil remains unclear. Therefore, this study investigated the use of biochar with different particle sizes (2 % apple branch biochar and 0.5 % nano-biochar) and 3 g m-2B. cereus in a 60-day pot experiment with growing lettuce. The effects of single and combined application on the abundances of ARGs in Cu-contaminated soil (Cu = 200 mg kg-1) were compared, and the related mechanisms were explored. Studies have shown that the addition of biochar alone is detrimental to mitigating ARGs in soil-lettuce systems. The combined application of 3 g m-2B. cereus and 0.5 % nano-biochar effectively inhibited the proliferation of ARGs in Cu-contaminated soil, and 3 g m-2B. cereus effectively inhibited the proliferation of ARGs in lettuce. Partial least squares-path modeling and network analysis showed that bacterial communities and mobile genetic elements were the key factors that affected the abundances of ARGs in rhizosphere soil, and Cu resistance genes and bioavailable copper (acid extractable state Cu (F1) + reducing state Cu (F2)) had less direct impacts. The bacterial community was the key factor that affected the abundances of ARGs in lettuce. Rhodobacter (Proteobacteria), Corynebacterium (Actinobacteria), and Methylobacterium (Proteobacteria) may have been hosts of ARGs in lettuce plants. B. cereus and nano-biochar affected the abundances of ARGs by improving the soil properties and reducing the soil bioavailability of Cu, as well as directly or indirectly changing the bacterial community composition in soil and lettuce, thereby impeding the transport of ARGs to aboveground plant parts.