Non-Hermitian topological whispering gallery.

In 1878, Lord Rayleigh observed the highly celebrated phenomenon of sound waves that creep around the curved gallery of St Paul's Cathedral in London1,2. These whispering-gallery waves scatter efficiently with little diffraction around an enclosure and have since found applications in ultrasonic fatigue and crack testing, and in the optical sensing of nanoparticles or molecules using silica microscale toroids. Recently, intense research efforts have focused on exploring non-Hermitian systems with cleverly matched gain and loss, facilitating unidirectional invisibility and exotic characteristics of exceptional points3,4. Likewise, the surge in physics using topological insulators comprising non-trivial symmetry-protected phases has laid the groundwork in reshaping highly unconventional avenues for robust and reflection-free guiding and steering of both sound and light5,6. Here we construct a topological gallery insulator using sonic crystals made of thermoplastic rods that are decorated with carbon nanotube films, which act as a sonic gain medium by virtue of electro-thermoacoustic coupling. By engineering specific non-Hermiticity textures to the activated rods, we are able to break the chiral symmetry of the whispering-gallery modes, which enables the out-coupling of topological 'audio lasing' modes with the desired handedness. We foresee that these findings will stimulate progress in non-destructive testing and acoustic sensing.

Low concentrations of TNF-α in vitro transform the phenotype of vascular smooth muscle cells and enhance their survival in a three-dimensional culture system.

BACKGROUND: Vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) are commonly used as seed cells in tissue-engineered vascular constructions. However, their variable phenotypes and difficult to control functions pose challenges. This study aimed to overcome these obstacles using a three-dimensional culture system. METHODS: Calf VSMCs were administered tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) before culturing in two- and three-dimensional well plates and polyglycolic acid (PGA) scaffolds, respectively. The phenotypic markers of VSMCs were detected by immunofluorescence staining and western blotting, and the proliferation and migration abilities of VSMCs were detected by CCK-8, EDU, cell counting, scratch, and Transwell assays. RESULTS: TNF-α rapidly decreased the contractile phenotypic markers and elevated the synthetic phenotypic markers of VSMCs, as well as markedly increasing the proliferation and migration ability of VSMCs under two- and three-dimensional culture conditions. CONCLUSIONS: TNF-α can rapidly induce a phenotypic shift in VSMCs and change their viability on PGA scaffolds.

Insulin-transferrin-selenium promote formation of tissue-engineered vascular grafts in early stage of culture.

To create tissue-engineered vascular grafts (TEVGs) in vitro, vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) must function effectively and produce sufficient extracellular matrix (ECM) in a three-dimensional space. In this study, we investigated whether the addition of insulin-transferrin-selenium (ITS), a medium supplement, could enhance TEVG formation. PGA fabric was used as the scaffold, and 1% ITS was added to the medium. After two weeks, the tissues were examined using electron microscopy and staining. The ITS group exhibited a denser structure and increased collagen production. VSMCs were cultured in two dimensions with ITS and assessed for collagen production, cell growth, and glucose metabolism. The results showed that ITS supplementation increased collagen production, cell growth, glucose utilization, lactate production, and ATP levels. Furthermore, reducing the amount of fetal bovine serum (FBS) in the medium did not affect the TEVGs or VSMCs when ITS was present. In conclusion, ITS improves TEVG construction by promoting VSMCs growth and reducing the need for FBS.

Nickel-vanadium layered double hydroxide for a mid-infrared 2 µm Tm:YAG ceramic ultrafast laser.

In this study, a nickel-vanadium layered double hydroxide (NiV-LDH) nanosheet was prepared as a saturable absorber (SA) by liquid phase exfoliation and a drop-coating method. The microstructure and optical transmission properties of the obtained NiV-LDH nanosheet were then systematically studied. An "X"-type fold cavity was designed to evaluate the ultrafast laser modulation performance of the NiV-LDH nanosheet with a Tm:YAG ceramic gain medium. A stable passively Q-switched mode-locked (QML) pulse centered at 2011.6 nm has successfully been realized, with a repetition frequency of 145 MHz and a pulse duration of 320 ps. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that the LDH has been used as an SA in a mid-infrared range ultrafast laser.

Lysobacter gilvus sp. nov., isolated from activated sludge.

Strain HX-5-24T was isolated from the sludge collected from the outlet of the biochemical treatment facility of an agricultural chemical plant in Maanshan city, Anhui province, PR China (118° 28' N, 31° 47' E). Cells were observed to be Gram-reaction-negative, rod-shaped, non-motile and aerobic. Strain HX-5-24T shared 99.1% 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity with Lysobacter dokdonensis DS-58T and less than 97% similarities with other type strains. The phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA indicated that strain HX-5-24T belonged to the genus Lysobacter and formed a subclade with L. dokdonensis DS-58T. The average nucleotide identity (ANI) and digital DNA-DNA hybridization (dDDH) values between strain HX-5-24T and L. dokdonensis DS-58T were 87.5% and 35.3%, respectively. The genomic DNA G + C content of the strain was 66.4%. The major fatty acids (> 5%) were iso-C15:0, anteiso-C15:0, iso-C16:0, C16:0 and summed feature 9 (iso-C17:1 ω9c and/or C16:0 10-methyl). The predominant quinone was ubiquinone Q-8. The polar lipid profile consisted of diphosphatidylglycerol (DPG), phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), phosphatidylglycerol (PG) and phospholipids (PL). On the basis of phenotypic and phylogenetic evidences, strain HX-5-24T is considered as a novel species in the genus Lysobacter, for which the name Lysobacter gilvus sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is HX-5-24T (= KCTC 72470T = CCTCC AB 2019228T).

Nickel-vanadium layered double hydroxide nanosheets as the saturable absorber for a passively Q-switched 2 µm solid-state laser.

Nickel-vanadium (NiV)-layered double hydroxide (LDH) was fabricated into a novel saturable absorber (SA) by the liquid phase exfoliation method and utilized as the laser modulator for the first time, to our best knowledge. We investigated a passive Q-switched Tm:YAG ceramic laser at 2 µm with the NiV-LDH SA. Under an absorbed pump power of 7.2 W, the shortest pulse width of 398 ns was obtained with an average output power of 263 mW and a pulse repetition frequency of 101.8 kHz, corresponding to a single pulse energy at 2.30 µJ. The results indicate that the NiV-LDH SA has great research potential in the field of laser modulation.

Niastella caeni sp. nov., isolated from activated sludge.

A Gram-stain-negative, aerobic, non-flagellated and filamentous-shaped bacterium, HX-16-21T, was isolated from activated sludge. Strain HX-16-21T was able to degrade gentisate, protocatechuic acid and p-hydroxybenzoic acid and herbicides quizalofop-p-ethyl and diclofop-methyl. The strain shared 97.2 % 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity to Niastella vici CCTCC AB 2015052T and less than 97 % similarities to other type strains. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated that strain HX-16-21T belonged to the genus Niastella and formed a subclade with N. vici CCTCC AB 2015052T. The major polar lipids were phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylcholine and six unidentified lipids. The major fatty acids were iso-C15:0, iso-C15:1 G and iso-C17:0 3-OH. The predominant respiratory quinone was menaquinone 7 (MK-7). The draft genome of strain HX-16-21T was 8.1 Mb, and the G+C content was 43.5 mol%. The average nucleotide identity and digital DNA-DNA hybridization values between strain HX-16-21T and N. vici CCTCC AB 2015052T were 80.6 and 26.8 %, respectively. Based on both phenotypic and phylogenetic evidence, strain HX-16-21T is considered to represent a novel species in the genus Niastella, for which the name Niastella caeni sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is HX-16-21T (=KCTC 72288T=ACCC 61580T).

Chitiniphilus eburneus sp. nov., a novel chitinolytic bacterium isolated from sludge.

A novel Gram-stain-negative, curved rod-shaped, motile and non-endospore-forming strain, designated HX-2-15T, was isolated from activated sludge of agricultural chemical plant in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, PR China (32° 03' N, 118° 46' E) . Growth was observed at 15-37 °C (optimum between 25 and 30 °C), at pH 6.0-8.0 (optimum at pH 7.0) and with 0-3.0 % (w/v) NaCl (optimum at 0.5 %). Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that the strain showed closest affiliation to Chitiniphilus shinanonensis SAY3T, with a sequence similarity of 99.0 %. The predominant cellular fatty acids were C16:0, C17:0 cyclo and summed feature 3 (C16:1 ω7c and/or C16:1 ω6c). The major quinone was ubiquinone Q-8 . The polar lipid profile was composed of phosphatidylethanolamine, diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, three unidentified phospholipids, one unidentified lipid and one unidentified aminophosphoglycolipid . The genomic DNA G+C content of the strain was 63.6 mol%. The ANI and dDDH values obtained between the genomes of HX-2-15T and C. shinanonensis SAY3T were 85.3 and 29.3 % respectively. On the basis of data from phenotypic, chemotaxonomic and genotypic analysis, strain HX-2-15T represents a novel species of the genus Chitiniphilus, for which the name Chitiniphilus eburneus sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is HX-2-15T (=KCTC 72286T=CCTCC AB 2019178T).

Pedobacter puniceum sp. nov. Isolated from Sludge.

Strain HX-22-1T was isolated from the sludge collected from the outlet of the biochemical treatment facility of an agricultural chemical factory in Nanjing city, Jiangsu province, PR China. Strain HX-22-1T is Gram-staining-negative, rod-shaped, non-spore-forming and non-flagellated. The 16S rRNA gene-based phylogenetic analysis indicates that the strain HX-22-1T belongs to the genus Pedobacter, closely related to Pedobacter glucosidilyticus KCTC 22438T (98.63% similarity). The genomic DNA G+C content of the strain was 34.4 mol%. Strain HX-22-1T was able to grow at 16-37 °C (optimum at 30 °C), at pH 6.0-8.0 (optimum at pH 7.0), and with 0-1% (w/v) NaCl (optimum at 0). Predominant fatty acid constituents were iso-C15:0 and summed feature 3 (iso-C16:1ω7c and/or C16:1ω6c). The predominant respiratory ubiquinone was MK-7. The polar lipid profile is composed of phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), aminophospholipid (APL), aminolipid (AL), and phospholipids (PL). The ANI and dDDH values obtained between the genomes of HX-22-1T and P. glucosidilyticus KCTC 22438T were 89.6 and 38.8%, respectively. On the basis of data from phenotypic, chemotaxonomic, and genotypic analysis, strain HX-22-1T represents a novel species of the genus Pedobacter, for which the name Pedobacter puniceum sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is HX-22-1T (= KCTC 72655T = CCTCC AB 2019348T).

Crenobacter caeni sp. nov. Isolated from Sludge.

Strain HX-7-9T was isolated from the activated sludge collected from the outlet of the biochemical treatment facility of agricultural chemical plant in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, PR China. Strain HX-7-9T is Gram staining-negative, rod-shaped, non-spore-forming and flagellated. The 16S rRNA gene-based phylogenetic analysis indicate that strain HX-7-9T belongs to the genus Crenobacter, moderately related to Crenobacter luteus YIM-78141T (94.8% similarity). The genomic DNA G+C content of the strain was 67.5 mol%. Strain HX-7-9T was able to grow at 16-45 °C (optimum at 37 °C), at pH 6.0-8.0 (optimum at pH 7.0) and with 0-1% (w/v) NaCl (optimum at 0). Predominant fatty acid constituents were C16:0 and summed feature 3 (C16:1ω7c and/or C16:1ω6c). The respiratory ubiquinone was Q-8. The polar lipid profile is composed of diphosphatidylglycerol (DPG), phosphatidylmonomethylethanolamine (PME), phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), phospholipids (PL), glycolipid (GL) and aminophospholipid (APL). The ANI and dDDH values obtained between the genomes of HX-7-9T and C. luteus YIM-78141T were 79.8 and 19.1%, respectively. On the basis of data from phenotypic, chemotaxonomic and genotypic analysis, strain HX-7-9T represents a novel species of the genus Crenobacter, for which the name Crenobacter caeni sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is HX-7-9T (= KCTC 72654T = CCTCC AB 2019349T).

Caenimonas sedimenti sp. nov., Isolated from Sediment of the Wastewater Outlet of an Agricultural Chemical Plant.

A novel bacterial strain, designated HX-9-20T, was isolated from the sediment collected from the wastewater outlet of an agricultural chemical plant in Maanshan city, Anhui province, PR China. Cells of strain HX-9-20T were Gram-staining-negative, rod-shaped, translucent, non-motile, and strictly aerobic. Growth was observed between 15 and 35 °C (optimum 30 °C), at pH 6.0-8.0 (optimum pH 7.0), and in the presence of 0-0.4% (w/v) NaCl (optimum 0.2%). The predominant cellular fatty acids were summed feature 3 (C16:1 ω7c and/or C16:1 ω6c), C16:0 and summed feature 8 (C18:1 ω6c and/or C18:1 ω7c). The major quinone was ubiquinone Q-8. The major polar lipids were phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, and an aminophospholipid. Strain HX-9-20T contains 2-hydroxyputrescine and putrescine as the major polyamine. A phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that strain HX-9-20T was affiliated with the genus Caenimonas, exhibiting the highest sequence similarities with Caenimonas koreensis EMB320T (97.3% similarity) and Ramlibacter humi 18×22-1T (97.0%), and less than 97.0% similarity with other type strains. The average nucleotide identity (ANI) and digital DNA-DNA hybridization values (dDDH) between HX-9-20T and C. koreensis EMB320T were 76.9% and 23.5% respectively. The ANI and dDDH between HX-9-20T and R. humi 18×22-1T were 80.3% and 23.6%, respectively. The G + C content of the genomic DNA was 67.5 mol%. On the basis of the polyphasic taxonomic data, strain HX-9-20T represents a novel species of the genus Caenimonas, for which the name Caenimonas sedimenti sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is HX-9-20T (=KCTC 72473T=CCTCC AB 2019266T).

Validation of drug prescription records for senior patients in Alberta's Tomorrow Project: Assessing agreement between two population-level administrative pharmaceutical databases in Alberta, Canada.

PURPOSE: To assess agreement between the Pharmaceutical Information Network (PIN), a newly implemented medication data repository in Alberta, Canada, and the Alberta Blue Cross (ABC) database, a long established database with medication records of all senior patients in Alberta. METHODS: PIN data (2008-2015) were cross-validated with ABC medication records for senior participants (older than 65 years old) in Alberta's Tomorrow Project (ATP), a longitudinal cohort study in Alberta. The completeness and accuracy of PIN were respectively calculated as the percentage of ABC records coexisting (concordant) in PIN and the percentage of concordant records having mutually agreeable information on drug quantity. Generalized linear models were used to examine potential association of PIN completeness and accuracy with sociodemographic factors. RESULTS: A total of 1 218 191 drug prescription records from 13 143 ATP participants were captured by PIN and ABC in 2008-2015, among which 91.6% were from PIN, 82.5% from ABC, and 74.2% coexisted in PIN and ABC. The overall completeness of PIN in capturing ABC medication records was 89.9%, with small variations (less than ±5%) across types of drugs. The completeness of PIN was improved on average by 1.3% annually over time (P < .001). PIN had 100% accuracy as defined by drug quantity data agreeable with ABC records. No significant associations were observed with age, sex, ethnicity, rural/urban areas, and socioeconomic status of the participants. CONCLUSIONS: Cross-validated with the ABC dataset, our study showed that irrespective of drug type, PIN has a fairly good completeness (approximately 90%) and accuracy (100%) in capturing the ABC claimed medications for senior patients in Alberta.

Impact of adherence to cancer-specific prevention recommendations on subsequent risk of cancer in participants in Alberta's Tomorrow Project.

OBJECTIVE: The World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) and the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) publish recommendations for cancer prevention. The present study aimed to estimate the association between adherence to these cancer-specific prevention recommendations and subsequent development of cancer in a prospective cohort. DESIGN: A composite adherence score was constructed based on questionnaire data to reflect overall adherence to WCRF/AICR lifestyle-related recommendations on body fatness, physical activity, diet and alcoholic drinks. Multivariable Cox proportional hazard regression models were used to assess the association (hazard ratio; 95 % CI) between the adherence score and risk of developing cancer. SETTING: Alberta's Tomorrow Project, a prospective cohort study.ParticipantsMen and women (n 25 100, mean age at enrolment 50·5 years) recruited between 2001 and 2009 with no previous cancer diagnosis were included in analyses. RESULTS: Cancer cases (n 2066) were identified during a mean follow-up of 11·7 years. Participants who were most adherent to the selected WCRF/AICR recommendations (composite score: 4-6) were 13 % (0·87; 0·78, 0·98) less likely to develop cancer compared with those who were least adherent (composite score: 0-2). Each additional recommendation met corresponded to a 5 % (0·95; 0·91, 0·99) reduction in risk of developing cancer. When stratified by sex, the associations remained significant for women, but not for men. CONCLUSIONS: Adherence to lifestyle-related cancer prevention recommendations was associated with reduced risk of developing cancer over the follow-up term in this Canadian cohort.

Systemic use of antibiotics and risk of diabetes in adults: A nested case-control study of Alberta's Tomorrow Project.

AIMS: Previous observational studies using administrative health records have suggested an increased risk of diabetes with use of antibiotics. However, unmeasured confounding factors may explain these results. This study characterized the association between systemic use of antibiotics and risk of diabetes in a cohort of adults in Canada, accounting for both clinical and self-reported disease risk factors. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this nested case-control study, we used data from Alberta's Tomorrow Project (ATP), a longitudinal cohort study in Canada, and the linked administrative health records (2000-2015). Incident cases of diabetes were matched with up to 8 age and sex-matched controls per case. Conditional logistic regression was used to examine the association between antibiotic exposures and incident diabetes after sequentially adjusting for important clinical and lifestyle factors. RESULTS: This study included 1676 cases of diabetes and 13 401 controls. Although 17.9% of cases received more than 5 courses of antibiotics, compared to 13.8% of controls (P < .0001), the association between antibiotic use and risk of diabetes was progressively reduced as important clinical and lifestyle factors were accounted for. In fully adjusted models, compared to participants with 0 to 1 courses of antibiotics, participants receiving more antibiotics had no increased risk of diabetes [Odds Ratio, 0.97 (0.83-1.13) for 2 to 4 courses and 0.98 (0.82-1.18) for ≥5 courses]. CONCLUSIONS: After adjustment for clinical and difficult-to-capture lifestyle data, we found no association between systemic use of antibiotics and risk of diabetes. Our results suggest that those positive associations observed in previous studies using only administrative records might have been confounded.

Changes in body mass index and incidence of diabetes: A longitudinal study of Alberta's Tomorrow Project Cohort.

Although obesity is a known risk factor for diabetes, the impact of body mass index (BMI) changes over time, especially BMI reduction, on diabetes development is less than clear. The objective of this study is to characterize the association between BMI changes over time and incidence of diabetes in a cohort of adults in Alberta. From 2000 to 2008, Alberta's Tomorrow Project (ATP) enrolled participants aged 35-69 to a population-based prospective cohort study. BMI was calculated from self-reported height and weight; change in BMI (∆BMI) was calculated as the difference between baseline and follow-up measurements. Diabetes cases were identified using the Canadian National Diabetes Surveillance System algorithm applied to linked administrative data (2000-2015). Multivariable Cox regression was used to examine the association between ∆BMI and incidence of diabetes. In a subset of the ATP cohort (n=19,164), 1168 incident cases of diabetes were identified during 198,853person-years of follow-up. Overall, BMI increase was associated with increased risk and BMI reduction was associated with reduced risk of diabetes. Particularly, compared to minimal BMI change (±5%), moderate (5%-10%) reduction in BMI was associated with 34% (95% CI: 12%-51%) reduction in risk of diabetes in participants with obesity; whereas 10% or greater increase in BMI was associated with an increased risk of diabetes of 64% or more in participants with overweight and obesity; in participants with normal and underweight, BMI changes was not apparently associated with risk of diabetes. Public health programs promoting weight loss, even at a moderate extent, would reduce risk of diabetes.

Patterns and predictors of adherence to colorectal cancer screening recommendations in Alberta's Tomorrow Project participants stratified by risk.

BACKGROUND: Colorectal cancer (CRC) screening is an important modifiable behaviour for cancer control. Regular screening, following recommendations for the type, timing and frequency based on personal CRC risk, contributes to earlier detection and increases likelihood of successful treatment. METHODS: To determine adherence to screening recommendations in a large provincial cohort of adults, participants in Alberta's Tomorrow Project (n = 9641) were stratified based on increasing level of CRC risk: age (Age-only), family history of CRC (FamilyHx), personal history of bowel conditions (PersonalHx), or both (Family/PersonalHx) using self-reported information from questionnaires. Provincial and national guidelines for timing and frequency of screening tests were used to determine if participants were up-to-date based on their CRC risk. Screening status was compared between enrollment (2000-2006) and follow-up (2008) to determine screening pattern over time. RESULTS: The majority of participants (77%) fell into the average risk Age-only strata. Only a third of this strata were up-to-date for screening at baseline, but the proportion increased across the higher risk strata, with > 90% of the highest risk Family/PersonalHx strata up-to-date at baseline. There was also a lower proportion (< 25%) of the Age-only group who were regular screeners over time compared to the higher risk strata, though age, higher income and uptake of other screening tests (e.g. mammography) were associated with a greater likelihood of regular screening in multinomial logistic regression. CONCLUSIONS: The low (< 50%) adherence to regular CRC screening in average and moderate risk strata highlights the need to further explore barriers to uptake of screening across different risk profiles.

Diet quality is associated with reduced incidence of cancer and self-reported chronic disease: Observations from Alberta's Tomorrow Project.

The objective of this study was to assess diet quality using the Healthy Eating Index-2005 Canada (HEI-2005-Canada) and its association with risk of cancer and chronic disease in a sample of Alberta's Tomorrow Project (ATP) participants. Food frequency questionnaires completed by 25,169 participants (38% men; mean age 50.3 (9.2)) enrolled between 2000 and 2008 were used to calculate HEI-2005-Canada scores. Data from a subset of participants (n=10,735) who reported no chronic disease at enrollment were used to investigate the association between HEI-2005-Canada score and development of self-reported chronic disease at follow-up (2008). Participants were divided into HEI-2005-Canada score quartiles. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for cancer and chronic disease incidence. In this cohort, mean HEI-2005-Canada scores for men and women were 50.9 and 55.5 (maximum range 0-100), respectively. In men, higher HEI-2005-Canada score (Q4 vs. Q1) was associated with lower cancer risk (HR (95% CI) 0.63 (0.49-0.83)) over the course of follow-up (mean (SD)=10.4 (2.3) years); the same was not observed in women. In contrast, higher overall HEI-2005-Canada score (Q4 vs. Q1) was associated with lower risk of self-reported chronic disease (0.85 (0.75-0.97)) in both men and women over follow-up (4.2 (2.3) years). In conclusion, in this cohort better diet quality was associated with a lower risk of cancer in men and lower risk of chronic disease in both sexes. Future studies with longer follow-up and repeated measures of diet may be helpful to elucidate sex-specific associations between dietary quality and disease outcomes.

Alberta's Tomorrow Project: adherence to cancer prevention recommendations pertaining to diet, physical activity and body size.

OBJECTIVE: To explore cross-sectional adherence to cancer prevention recommendations by adults enrolled in a prospective cohort in Alberta, Canada. DESIGN: Questionnaire data were used to construct a composite cancer prevention adherence score for each participant, based on selected personal recommendations published by the World Cancer Research Fund/American Institute for Cancer Research (2007). Data were self-reported on health and lifestyle, past-year physical activity and past-year FFQ. The scores accounted for physical activity, dietary supplement use, body size, and intakes of alcohol, fruit, vegetables and red meat. Tobacco exposure was also included. Scores ranged from 0 (least adherent) to 7 (most adherent). SETTING: Alberta's Tomorrow Project; a research platform based on a prospective cohort. SUBJECTS: Adult men and women (n 24 988) aged 35-69 years recruited by random digit dialling and enrolled in Alberta's Tomorrow Project between 2001 and 2009. RESULTS: Of the cohort, 14 % achieved adherence scores ≥5 and 60 % had scores ≤3. Overall adherence scores were higher in women (mean (sd): 3·4 (1·1)) than in men (3·0 (1·2)). The extent of overall adherence was also associated with level of education, employment status, annual household income, personal history of chronic disease, family history of chronic disease and age. CONCLUSIONS: Reported adherence to selected personal recommendations for cancer prevention was low in this cohort of adults. In the short to medium term, these results suggest that more work is required to identify behaviours to target with cancer prevention strategies at a population level. Future work will explore the associations between adherence scores and cancer risk in this cohort.

Mob/oriT, a mobilizable site-specific recombination system for unmarked genetic manipulation in Bacillus thuringiensis and Bacillus cereus.

BACKGROUND: Bacillus thuringiensis and Bacillus cereus are two important species in B. cereus group. The intensive study of these strains at the molecular level and construction of genetically modified bacteria requires the development of efficient genetic tools. To insert genes into or delete genes from bacterial chromosomes, marker-less manipulation methods were employed. RESULTS: We present a novel genetic manipulation method for B. thuringiensis and B. cereus strains that does not leave selection markers. Our approach takes advantage of the relaxase Mob02281 encoded by plasmid pBMB0228 from Bacillus thuringiensis. In addition to its mobilization function, this Mob protein can mediate recombination between oriT sites. The Mob02281 mobilization module was associated with a spectinomycin-resistance gene to form a Mob-Spc cassette, which was flanked by the core 24-bp oriT sequences from pBMB0228. A strain in which the wild-type chromosome was replaced with the modified copy containing the Mob-Spc cassette at the target locus was obtained via homologous recombination. Thus, the spectinomycin-resistance gene can be used to screen for Mob-Spc cassette integration mutants. Recombination between the two oriT sequences mediated by Mob02281, encoded by the Mob-Spc cassette, resulted in the excision of the Mob-Spc cassette, producing the desired chromosomal alteration without introducing unwanted selection markers. We used this system to generate an in-frame deletion of a target gene in B. thuringiensis as well as a gene located in an operon of B. cereus. Moreover, we demonstrated that this system can be used to introduce a single gene or an expression cassette of interest in B. thuringiensis. CONCLUSION: The Mob/oriT recombination system provides an efficient method for unmarked genetic manipulation and for constructing genetically modified bacteria of B. thuringiensis and B. cereus. Our method extends the available genetic tools for B. thuringiensis and B. cereus strains.

Carrageenan maintains the contractile phenotype of vascular smooth muscle cells by increasing macromolecular crowding in vitro.

BACKGROUND: The contractile phenotype of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) results in good diastolic and contractile capacities, and its altered function is the main pathophysiological basis for diseases such as hypertension. VSMCs exist as a synthetic phenotype in vitro, making it challenging to maintain a contractile phenotype for research. It is widely recognized that the common medium in vitro is significantly less crowded than in the in vivo environment. Additionally, VSMCs have a heightened sense for detecting changes in medium crowding. However, it is unclear whether macromolecular crowding (MMC) helps maintain the VSMCs contractile phenotype. PURPOSE: This study aimed to explore the phenotypic, behavioral and gene expression changes of VSMCs after increasing the crowding degree by adding carrageenan (CR). METHODS: The degree of medium crowding was examined by a dynamic light scattering assay; VSMCs survival and activity were examined by calcein/PI cell activity and toxicity and CCK-8 assays; VSMCs phenotypes and migration were examined by WB and wound healing assays; and gene expression was examined by transcriptomic analysis and RT-qPCR. RESULTS: Notably, 225 µg/mL CR significantly increased the crowding degree of the medium and did not affect cell survival. Simultaneously, CR significantly promoted the contraction phenotypic marker expression in VSMCs, shortened cell length, decreased cell proliferation, and inhibited cell migration. CR significantly altered gene expression in VSMCs. Specifically, 856 genes were upregulated and 1207 genes were downregulated. These alterations primarily affect the cellular ion channel transport, microtubule movement, respiratory metabolism, amino acid transport, and extracellular matrix synthesis. The upregulated genes were primarily involved in the cytoskeleton and contraction processes of VSMCs, whereas the downregulated genes were mainly involved in extracellular matrix synthesis. CONCLUSIONS: The in vitro study showed that VSMCs can maintain the contractile phenotype by sensing changes in the crowding of the culture environment, which can be maintained by adding CR.