Insights into the origin and evolution of Peritrichia (Oligohymenophorea, Ciliophora) based on analyses of morphology and phylogenomics.

Peritrichia is a large and distinctive assemblage of ciliated protists that was first observed by Antonie van Leeuwenhoek over 340 years ago. In the last two decades the evolutionary relationships of this subclass have been increasingly debated as morphological and molecular analyses have generated contrasting conclusions. In this study, we provide genomic-scale data from 12 typical representatives. We combine taxon- and gene-rich phylogenomic analyses, with up to 151 genes (43,956 amino acid residues) from 18 freshwater, brackish and marine isolates in order to assess the systematics and evolutionary history of the Peritrichia. The main findings were: (1) the subclass Peritrichia originates from the end of the Proterozoic to the Cambrian; (2) the monophyletic Peritrichia is sister to the Peniculia (represented by Paramecium) within the class Oligohymenophorea; (3) spasmin plays a significant role in peritrich evolution: we detected the spasmin gene in target ciliates and traced the molecular evolution of spasmin, a key spasmoneme component, together with phylogenetic relationships and morphology of the peritrichs. These findings provide evidence that spasmin is an important molecule to illustrate the phylogenetic position of Peritrichia within the class Oligohymenophorea, the monophyly of Peritrichia, and the diverse and rapid evolution of sessilid peritrichs.

Risk Factors for Residual Back Pain After PVP Treatment for osteoporotic Thoracolumbar Compression Fractures: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

OBJECTIVES: To explore the risk factors of residual back pain after percutaneous vertebroplasty (PVP) in patients with osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture (OVCF). METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the records of 675 patients with OVCF treated with PVP from January 2015 to January 2020. Postoperative back pain intensity was assessed by the VAS score. Residual back pain was defined as the presence of postoperative moderate-severe pain (average VAS score≥4), and the variables included patient characteristics, baseline symptoms, imaging data and operation-related factors. Risk factors were identified with univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: Residual back pain occurred in 46 of the 675 patients included in the study, with an incidence rate of 6.8%. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that low Pre-BMD (OR = 3.576, P = 0.041), multiple vertebral fractures (OR = 2.795, P = 0.026), posterior fascia injury (OR = 4.083, P = 0.032), cement diffusion volume rate <0.2 (OR = 3.507, P = 0.013), facet joint violation (OR = 11.204, P < 0.001), and depression (OR = 3.562, P = 0.035) were positively correlated with residual back pain after PVP. CONCLUSIONS: Low pre-BMD (pre-bone mineral density), multiple vertebral fractures, posterior fascia injury, cement diffusion volume rate <0.2, facet joint violation and depression were the independent risk factors of residual back pain after PVP.

Simplified recovery of enzymes and nutrients in sweet potato wastewater and preparing health black tea and theaflavins with scrap tea.

The industry discards generous organic wastewater in sweet potato starch factory and scrap tea in tea production. A simplified procedure to recover all biochemicals from the wastewater of sweet potato starch factory and use them to make health black tea and theaflavins from scrap green tea was developed. The sweet potato wastewater was sequentially treated by isoelectric precipitation, ultrafiltration and nanofiltration to recover polyphenol oxidase (PPO), ß-amylase, and small molecular fractions, respectively. The PPO fraction can effectively transform green tea extracts into black tea with high content of theaflavins through the optimized fed-batch feeding fermentation. The PPO transformed black tea with sporamins can be used to make health black tea, or make theaflavins by fractionation with ethyl acetate. This work provides a resource- and environment-friendly approach for economically utilizing the sweet potato wastewater and the scrap tea, and making biochemical, nutrient and health products.

Lung ultrasound for the diagnosis of pneumonia in adults: A meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Pneumonia is a common and serious infectious disease that can cause high mortality. The role of lung ultrasound (LUS) in the diagnosis of pneumonia is becoming more and more important. METHODS: In the present study, we collected existing evidence regarding the use of LUS to diagnose pneumonia in adults and conducted a systematic review to summarize the technique's diagnostic accuracy. We specifically searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), PubMed, and Embase databases and retrieved outcome data to evaluate the efficacy of LUS for the diagnosis of pneumonia compared with chest radiography or chest computed tomography. The pooled sensitivity (SEN) and specificity (SPE) were determined using the Mantel-Haenszel method, and the pooled diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) was determined using the DerSimonian-Laird method. We also assessed heterogeneity of sensitivity, specificity, and diagnostic odds ratio using the Q and I statistics. RESULTS: Twelve studies containing 1515 subjects were included in our meta-analysis. The SEN and SPE were 0.88 (95% CI: 0.86-0.90) and 0.86 (95% CI: 0.83-0.88), respectively. The pooled negative likelihood ratio (LR) was 0.13 (95% CI: 0.08-0.23), the positive LR was 5.37 (95% CI: 2.76-10.43), and the DOR was 65.46 (95% CI: 29.24-146.56). The summary receiver operating characteristic curve indicated a relationship between sensitivity and specificity. The area under the curve for LUS was 0.95. CONCLUSION: LUS can help to diagnose adult pneumonia with high accuracy.