Removal and assessment of cadmium contamination based on the toxic responds of a soil ciliate Colpoda sp.

Bioremediation of cadmium (Cd) pollution, a recognized low-carbon green environmental protection technology, is significantly enhanced by the discovery of Cd-tolerant microorganisms and their underlying tolerance mechanisms. This study presents Colpoda sp., a soil ciliate with widespread distribution, as a novel bioindicator and bioremediator for Cd contamination. With a 24 h-LC50 of 5.39 mg l-1 and an IC50 of 24.85 µg l-1 in Cd-contaminated water, Colpoda sp. achieves a maximum bioaccumulation factor (BAF) of 3.58 and a Cd removal rate of 32.98 ± 0.74 % within 96 h. The toxic responses of Colpoda sp. to Cd stress were assessed through cytological observation with transmission electron microscopy (TEM), oxidative stress kinase activity, and analysis of Cd-metallothionein (Cd-MTs) and the cd-mt gene via qRT-PCR. The integrated biomarker response index version 2 (IBRv2) and structural equation models (SEM) were utilized to analyze key factors and mechanisms, revealing that the up-regulation of Cd-MTs and cd-mt expression, rather than the oxidative stress system, is the primary determinant of Cd accumulation and tolerance in Colpoda sp. The ciliate's ability to maintain growth under 24.85 µg l-1 Cd stress and its capacity to absorb and accumulate Cd particles from water into cells are pivotal for bioremediation. A new mathematical formula and regression equations based on Colpoda sp.'s response parameters have been established to evaluate environmental Cd removal levels and design remediation schemes for contaminated sites. These findings provide a novel bioremediation and monitoring pathway for Cd remobilization and accumulation in soil and water, potentially revolutionizing the governance of Cd pollution.

Epidemiology of acute hepatitis C and hepatitis C virus-related cirrhosis in reproductive-age women, 1990-2019: An analysis of the Global Burden of Disease study.

Background: The current study uniquely focuses on the global incidence and temporal trends of acute hepatitis C (AHC) and hepatitis C virus (HCV)-related cirrhosis among women of reproductive age (15-49 years) from 1990-2019. The risk of vertical transmission and adverse perinatal outcomes associated with HCV infection underscores the importance of prioritising these women in HCV prevention efforts. Methods: Leveraging the Global Burden of Disease 2019 data, we calculated age-standardised incidence rates (ASIR) and assessed temporal trends via the average annual percent change from joinpoint regression. The age-period-cohort model was employed to understand further the effects of age, period, and birth cohort. Results: Over the 30 years, global incidences of AHC and HCV-related cirrhosis in reproductive-age women increased by 46.45 and 72.74%, respectively. The ASIR of AHC was highest in low sociodemographic index regions but showed a declining trend. Conversely, the ASIR of HCV-related cirrhosis displayed unfavourable trends in low, low-middle, and high sociodemographic index regions. Special attention is necessary for sub-Saharan Africa, high-income North America, Eastern Europe, and Central Asia due to their high incidence rates or increasing trends of AHC and HCV-related cirrhosis. Notably, the age-period-cohort model suggests a recent resurgence in AHC and HCV-related cirrhosis risk. Conclusions: The current study is the first to thoroughly evaluate the trends of AHC and HCV-related cirrhosis among reproductive-age women, shedding light on previously unexplored aspects of HCV epidemiology. Our findings identify critical areas where health care systems must adapt to the changing dynamics of HCV infection. The detailed stratification by region and nation further enables the development of localised prevention and treatment strategies.

Development of Automatic Assessment Framework for Spine Deformity Using Freehand 3-D Ultrasound Imaging System.

A 3-D ultrasound (US) imaging technique has been studied to facilitate the diagnosis of spinal deformity without radiation. The objective of this article is to propose an assessment framework to automatically estimate spinal deformity in US spine images. The proposed framework comprises four major components, a US spine image generator, a novel transformer-based lightweight spine detector network, an angle evaluator, and a 3-D modeler. The principal component analysis (PCA) and discriminative scale space tracking (DSST) method are first adopted to generate the US spine images. The proposed detector is equipped with a redundancy queries removal (RQR) module and a regularization item to realize accurate and unique detection of spine images. Two clinical datasets, a total of 273 images from adolescents with idiopathic scoliosis, are used for the investigation of the proposed framework. The curvature is estimated by the angle evaluator, and the 3-D mesh model is established by the parametric modeling technique. The accuracy rate (AR) of the proposed detector can be achieved at 99.5%, with a minimal redundancy rate (RR) of 1.5%. The correlations between automatic curve measurements on US spine images from two datasets and manual measurements on radiographs are 0.91 and 0.88, respectively. The mean absolute difference (MAD) and standard deviation (SD) are 2.72° ± 2.14° and 2.91° ± 2.36° , respectively. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed framework to advance the application of the 3-D US imaging technique in clinical practice for scoliosis mass screening and monitoring.

Correction: Deng et al. Assessment of the Macrophage Scavenger Receptor CD163 in Mediating Glaesserella parasuis Infection of Host Cells. Vet. Sci. 2023, 10, 235.

In the original publication [...].

Assessment of the Macrophage Scavenger Receptor CD163 in Mediating Glaesserella parasuis Infection of Host Cells.

The macrophage CD163 surface glycoprotein is a member of the SRCR family class B, which has been identified as the key trigger in host-pathogen interactions, but its specific roles in sensing Glaesserella parasuis (G. parasuis) infection are largely unknown. Here, we investigated porcine CD163 in mediating the adhesion and immune response of G. parasuis using in vitro host-bacteria interaction models. CD163-overexpressing Chinese hamster ovary K1 cells (CHO-K1) showed obvious subcellular localization in the cytoplasm, especially in the cytomembrane. Although detection using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) confirmed the bacterial adhesion, there was no significant difference in the adhesion of G. parasuis to CHO-K1 cells between the presence and absence of CD163. In addition, similar results were observed in 3D4/21 cells. Meanwhile, bindings of G. parasuis to nine synthetic peptides, the bacterial binding motifs within SRCR domains of CD163, were weak based on a solid-phase adhesion assay and agglutination assay. Moreover, CD163 had no effect on the expression of G. parasuis-induced inflammatory cytokines (IL-6, INF-γ, IL-10, IL-4 and TGF-ß) in CHO-K1 cells. In conclusion, these findings indicate that porcine CD163 plays a minor role in sensing G. parasuis infection.

Clinical Application of Multi-Index Combined Risk Assessment in Early Pregnancy for Screening of Preeclampsia.

Objective: To explore the predictive value of single-index screening or multi-index combined screening for preeclampsia. Methods: From January 1, 2019, to December 31, 2021, pregnant women with a singleton pregnancy who had been regularly checked in each center since the first trimester (between 11 and 14 weeks of gestation) were retrieved from multiple participating centers. The risk calculation software LifeCycle 7.0 was used to calculate the risk values before 32 weeks, 34 weeks, and 37 weeks of gestation, and through a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis, the predictive values of pregnancy-associated protein A (PAPP-A), the placental growth factor (PLGF), the mean arterial pressure (MAP), the uterine artery pulsatility index (UTPI), or a combined multi-index were calculated for preeclampsia. Results: Finally, 22 pregnant women developed preeclampsia, and the area under the ROC curve of the PAPP-A + PLGF + MAP + UTPI combined screening program was greater than that of other screening programs before 37 weeks of gestation (AUC = 0.975, 0.946, or 0.840 for <32 weeks, <34 weeks, or <37 weeks, respectively). At 32 weeks, the Youden index was at its maximum. Conclusion: PAPP-A + PLGF + MAP + UTPI combined screening is the optimal screening mode for preeclampsia screening before 37 weeks of gestation, and the combined prediction using multiple indicators in early pregnancy is more suitable for predicting the risk of early-onset preeclampsia.

Assessment of Hematologic and Biochemical Parameters for Healthy Commercial Pigs in China.

Hematologic and biochemical data are useful for indicating disease diagnosis and growth performance in swine. However, the assessment of these parameters in healthy commercial pigs is rare in China. Thus, blood samples were collected from 107 nursery pigs and 87 sows and were analyzed for 25 hematologic and 14 biochemical variables. After the rejection of the outliers and the detection of the data distribution, the correlations between the blood parameters were analyzed and the hematologic/biochemical RIs were preliminarily established using the 95% percentile RI. Correlation analysis showed that albumin was the hub parameter among the blood parameters investigated, and genes overlapping with key correlated variables were discovered. Most of the hematologic and biochemical parameters were significantly different between nursery pigs and sows. The 95% RIs of white blood cells and red blood cells were 7.18-24.52 × 109/L and 5.62-7.84 × 1012/L, respectively, for nursery pigs, but 9.34-23.84 × 109/L and 4.98-8.29 × 1012/L for sows. The 95% RIs of total protein and albumin were 43.16-61.23 g/dL and 19.35-37.86 g/dL, respectively, for nursery pigs, but 64.96-88.68 g/dL and 31.91-43.28 g/dL for sows. In conclusion, our study highlights the variability in blood parameters between nursery pigs and sows and provides fundamental data for the health monitoring of commercial pigs in China.

Efficacy of Entrepreneurs' Psychological Capital on the Performance of New Ventures in the Development of Regional Economy in the Greater Bay Area.

The study aims to analyze the relationship between the psychological capital and enterprise performance of the entrepreneurs and provide direction for the optimization of regional economic development and talent introduction mechanism. First, the theoretical basis is established from regional economic development, innovative talent introduction, and individual psychological capital theory, according to which the questionnaire survey is designed, and four dimensions of self-efficacy (C), wish (W), toughness (T), and optimism (O) are selected to set the questions on psychological capital and innovation performance. Then, following statistical analysis, the characteristics of the new ventures are revealed. Finally, based on the empirical research model, the hypotheses are put forward based on psychological capital and its four subdimensions, and the relationship between the efficacy of the psychological capital and the performance of new ventures of the entrepreneurs is revealed through regression analysis. The results show that the proportion of the computer and education industry in the new ventures reaches 67.7%, and the proportion of enterprises with 1-5 entrepreneurial years reaches 78%. Meanwhile, the proportion of first-time entrepreneurship is 60.5%, and the proportion of entrepreneurs motivated by their ideal reaches 35.8%. The new entrepreneurs have a good grasp of the market situation, and the overall operation condition is stable. Most of them originate from micro and small enterprises (MSE). Psychological capital has a great influence on individual entrepreneurship. The empirical results show that the psychological capital of entrepreneurs has a positive effect on the performance of new ventures. Except for the subdimension of O, the other three subdimensions (C, T, and W) of psychological capital have a positive effect on the performance of new ventures, and psychological capital as a whole has the greatest impact. The results provide a reference for the relationship between the performance improvement of new ventures and regional economic development.