Slow-release synthesis of Cu single-atom catalysts with the optimized geometric structure and density of state distribution for Fenton-like catalysis.

Single-atom Fenton-like catalysis has attracted significant attention, yet the quest for controllable synthesis of single-atom catalysts (SACs) with modulation of electron configuration is driven by the current disadvantages of poor activity, low selectivity, narrow pH range, and ambiguous structure-performance relationship. Herein, we devised an innovative strategy, the slow-release synthesis, to fabricate superior Cu SACs by facilitating the dynamic equilibrium between metal precursor supply and anchoring site formation. In this strategy, the dynamics of anchoring site formation, metal precursor release, and their binding reaction kinetics were regulated. Bolstered by harmoniously aligned dynamics, the selective and specific monatomic binding reactions were ensured to refine controllable SACs synthesis with well-defined structure-reactivity relationship. A copious quantity of monatomic dispersed metal became deposited on the C3N4/montmorillonite (MMT) interface and surface with accessible exposure due to the convenient mass transfer within ordered MMT. The slow-release effect facilitated the generation of targeted high-quality sites by equilibrating the supply and demand of the metal precursor and anchoring site and improved the utilization ratio of metal precursors. An excellent Fenton-like reactivity for contaminant degradation was achieved by the Cu1/C3N4/MMT with diminished toxic Cu liberation. Also, the selective ·OH-mediated reaction mechanism was elucidated. Our findings provide a strategy for regulating the intractable anchoring events and optimizing the microenvironment of the monatomic metal center to synthesize superior SACs.

Distinct characteristics of the gut virome in patients with osteoarthritis and gouty arthritis.

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE(S): The gut microbiota and its metabolites play crucial roles in pathogenesis of arthritis, highlighting gut microbiota as a promising avenue for modulating autoimmunity. However, the characterization of the gut virome in arthritis patients, including osteoarthritis (OA) and gouty arthritis (GA), requires further investigation. METHODS: We employed virus-like particle (VLP)-based metagenomic sequencing to analyze gut viral community in 20 OA patients, 26 GA patients, and 31 healthy controls, encompassing a total of 77 fecal samples. RESULTS: Our analysis generated 6819 vOTUs, with a considerable proportion of viral genomes differing from existing catalogs. The gut virome in OA and GA patients differed significantly from healthy controls, showing variations in diversity and viral family abundances. We identified 157 OA-associated and 94 GA-associated vOTUs, achieving high accuracy in patient-control discrimination with random forest models. OA-associated viruses were predicted to infect pro-inflammatory bacteria or bacteria associated with immunoglobulin A production, while GA-associated viruses were linked to Bacteroidaceae or Lachnospiraceae phages. Furthermore, several viral functional orthologs displayed significant differences in frequency between OA-enriched and GA-enriched vOTUs, suggesting potential functional roles of these viruses. Additionally, we trained classification models based on gut viral signatures to effectively discriminate OA or GA patients from healthy controls, yielding AUC values up to 0.97, indicating the clinical utility of the gut virome in diagnosing OA or GA. CONCLUSION: Our study highlights distinctive alterations in viral diversity and taxonomy within gut virome of OA and GA patients, offering insights into arthritis etiology and potential treatment and prevention strategies.

Activation pattern of the coronary sinus facilitates the differentiation for ventricular outflow tract arrhythmias.

INTRODUCTION: The accuracy of surface ECG algorithms for predicting the origin of outflow tract ventricular arrhythmias (OT-VAs) might be questioned. Intracardiac electrograms recorded at anatomic landmarks could provide new predictive insights. We aim to evaluate the efficacy of a novel criterion utilizing the activation pattern of the coronary sinus (CS) in localizing OT-VAs, including VAs originating from the right ventricular outflow tract (RVOT), endocardial left ventricular outflow tract (Endo-LVOT), and epicardial left ventricular outflow tract (Epi-LVOT). METHODS: We measured the ventricular activation time of the mitral annulus (MA) from the onset of the earliest QRS complex of VAs to the initial deflection over the isoelectric line at local signals, namely the QRS-MA interval. The activation at 3 and 12 o'clock of the MA was recorded as the QRS-MA3 and QRS-MA12 intervals, respectively. Their predictive values were compared to previous ECG algorithms. RESULTS: A total of 68 patients with OT-VAs were enrolled (51 for development and 17 for validation). From early to late, the ventricular activation sequences at MA12 were as follows: Epi-LVOT, Endo-LVOT, and RVOT. In LBBB morphology OT-VAs, the QRS-MA12 interval was significantly earlier for LVOT origins than RVOT origins. In the combined cohort of development and validation cohort, a cut-off value of ≤10 ms predicted the LVOT origin with a sensitivity of 100% and specificity of 78%. The QRS-MA12 interval ≤ -24 ms additionally predicted epicardial LVOT sites of origin. CONCLUSIONS: The QRS-MA interval could accurately differentiate the OT-VAs localization.

Genetic identification of familial hypercholesterolemia within whole genome sequences in 6820 newborns.

Familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) is defined as a monogenic disease, characterized by elevated low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels. FH remains underdiagnosed and undertreated in Chinese. We whole-genome sequenced 6820 newborns from Qingdao of China to investigate the FH-related gene (LDLR, APOB, PCSK9) mutation types, carrier ratio and genotype-phenotype correlation. In this study, the prevalence of FH in Qingdao of China was 0.47% (95% CI: 0.32%-0.66%). The plasma lipid levels of FH-related gene mutation carriers begin to increase as early as infant. T-CHO and LDL-C of FH infants was higher by 48.1% (p < 0.001) and 42.9% (p < 0.001) relative to non-FH infants. A total of 22 FH infants and their parent participate in further studies. The results indicated that FH infant parent noncarriers have the normal plasma lipid level, while T-CHO and LDL-C increased in FH infants and FH infant parent carriers, but no difference between the groups. This highlights the importance of genetic factors. In conclusion, the spectrum of FH-causing mutations in the newborns of Qingdao, China was described for the first time. These data can serve as a considerable dataset for next-generation sequencing analysis of the Chinese population with FH and potentially helping reform regional policies for early detection and prevention of FH.

Kerr nonlinearity assisted magnetically induced transparency in cavity magnon polaritons.

We investigate optical transmission in cavity magnon polaritons and discover a complex multi-window magnetically induced transparency and a bistability with magnetic and optical characteristics. With the regulation of Kerr nonlinear effects and driven fields, a complex multi-window resonant transmission with fast and slow light effects appears, which includes transparency and absorption windows. The magnetically induced transparency and absorption can be explained by the destructive and constructive interference between different excitation pathways. Moreover, we demonstrate the bistability of magnons and photons with a hysteresis loop, where magnetic and optical bistabilities can induce and control each other. Our results pave a new way, to the best of our knowledge, for implementing a room-temperature multiband quantum memory.

Actomonas aquatica gen. nov., sp. nov., a marine lineage in the phylum Verrucomicrobiota with genetic potential for carbon and nitrogen fixation.

A novel bacterial strain, designated WL0086T, was isolated from a marine sediment sample collected in Lianyungang city, Jiangsu province, PR China. This strain showed the highest 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity to Geminisphaera colitermitum TAV2T (92.7 %) of the family Opitutaceae, and all the unclassified cultured and uncultured isolates with similarities >95 % were from marine environments. Cells were Gram-stain-negative, aerobic, non-motile cocci with a size of 0.6-0.8 µm in diameter. Strain WL0086T was positive for both oxidase and catalase, and grew at 20-37 °C (optimum, 28 °C), with 1.5-11.0 % NaCl (w/v; optimum, 2.5-4.0 %) and at pH 5.0-9.0 (optimum, pH 7.0). The major polar lipid profile of strain WL0086T consisted of phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol, diphosphatidylglycerol, and phosphatidylcholine. The major isoprenoid quinone was menaquinone-7 and the predominant fatty acids were iso-C14 : 0, anteiso-C15 : 0, C16 : 0 and C16 : 1 ω9c. The complete genome consisted of a chromosome with 6 109 182 bp. The G+C content of genomic DNA was 64.0%. Results of phylogenomic analysis based on the 16S rRNA gene sequence and the whole genome suggested that strain WL0086T formed a distinct clade closely neighbouring the members of the family Opitutaceae. On the basis of phylogenetic, phenotypic, and chemotaxonomic evidences, strain WL0086T should represent a novel genus of the family Opitutaceae, for which the name Actomonas aquatica gen. nov., sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is WL0086T (=MCCC 1K05844T=JCM 34677T=GDMCC 1.2411T).

Ruegeria marisflavi sp. nov. and Ruegeria aquimaris sp. nov., isolated from seawater of the Yellow Sea.

Two novel Gram-stain-negative, aerobic, non-motile and rod-shaped bacteria, designated as WL0004T and XHP0148T, were isolated from seawater samples collected from the coastal areas of Nantong and Lianyungang, PR China, respectively. Both strains were found to grow at 10-42 °C (optimum, 37 °C) and with 2.0-5.0 % (w/v) NaCl (optimum, 3.0 %). Strain WL0004T grew at pH 6.0-9.0 (optimum, pH 7.0-8.0), while XHP0148T grew at pH 6.0-10.0 (optimum, pH 7.0-8.0). The major cellular fatty acids (>10 %) of both strains included summed feature 8 (C18 : 1 ω6c and/or C18 : 1 ω7c). In addition, strain WL0004T contained 11-methyl C18 : 1 ω7c and strain XHP0148T contained C12 : 0 3-OH. The respiratory quinone of both strains was ubiquinone-10. The G+C content of genomic DNA of strains WL0004T and XHP0148T were 62.5 and 63.0 mol%, respectively. Strains WL0004T and XHP0148T showed the highest 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity to Ruegeria pomeroyi DSS-3T (99.4 and 99.0 %, respectively), and the 16S rRNA gene-based phylogenetic analysis indicated that the two strains were closely related to members of the genus Ruegeria. The average nucleotide identity and digital DNA-DNA hybridization values among the two strains and type strains of the genus Ruegeria were all below 95 and 70 %, respectively, and the phylogenetic tree reconstructed from the bac120 gene set indicated that the two strains are distinct from each other and the members of the genus Ruegeria. Based on this phenotypic and genotypic characterization, strains WL0004T (=MCCC 1K07523T=JCM 35565T=GDMCC 1.3083T) and XHP0148T (=MCCC 1K07543T=JCM 35569T=GDMCC 1.3089T) should be recognized as representing two novel species of the genus Ruegeria and the names Ruegeria marisflavi sp. nov. and Ruegeria aquimaris sp. nov. are proposed, respectively.

tRF3-IleAAT reduced extracellular matrix synthesis in diabetic kidney disease mice by targeting ZNF281 and inhibiting ferroptosis.

It is well established that the synthesis of extracellular matrix (ECM) in mesangial cells is a major determinant of diabetic kidney disease (DKD). Elucidating the major players in ECM synthesis may be helpful to provide promising candidates for protecting against DKD progression. tRF3-IleAAT is a tRNA-derived fragment (tRF) produced by nucleases at tRNA-specific sites, which is differentially expressed in the sera of patients with diabetes mellitus and DKD. In this study we investigated the potential roles of tRFs in DKD. Db/db mice at 12 weeks were adapted as a DKD model. The mice displayed marked renal dysfunction accompanied by significantly reduced expression of tRF3-IleAAT and increased ferroptosis and ECM synthesis in the kidney tissues. The reduced expression of tRF3-IleAAT was also observed in high glucose-treated mouse glomerular mesangial cells. We administered ferrostatin-1 (1 mg/kg, once every two days, i.p.) to the mice from the age of 12 weeks for 8 weeks, and found that inhibition of the onset of ferroptosis significantly improved renal function, attenuated renal fibrosis and reduced collagen deposition. Overexpression of tRF3-IleAAT by a single injection of AAV carrying tRF3-IleAAT via caudal vein significantly inhibited ferroptosis and ECM synthesis in DKD model mice. Furthermore, we found that the expression of zinc finger protein 281 (ZNF281), a downstream target gene of tRF3-IleAAT, was significantly elevated in DKD models but negatively regulated by tRF3-IleAAT. In high glucose-treated mesangial cells, knockdown of ZNF281 exerted an inhibitory effect on ferroptosis and ECM synthesis. We demonstrated the targeted binding of tRF3-IleAAT to the 3'UTR of ZNF281. In conclusion, tRF3-IleAAT inhibits ferroptosis by targeting ZNF281, resulting in the mitigation of ECM synthesis in DKD models, suggesting that tRF3-IleAAT may be an attractive therapeutic target for DKD.

Tubular TMEM16A promotes tubulointerstitial fibrosis by suppressing PGC-1α-mediated mitochondrial homeostasis in diabetic kidney disease.

Tubulointerstitial fibrosis (TIF) plays a crucial role in the progression of diabetic kidney disease (DKD). However, the underlying molecular mechanisms remain obscure. The present study aimed to examine whether transmembrane member 16A (TMEM16A), a Ca2+-activated chloride channel, contributes to the development of TIF in DKD. Interestingly, we found that TMEM16A expression was significantly up-regulated in tubule of murine model of DKD, which was associated with development of TIF. In vivo inhibition of TMEM16A channel activity with specific inhibitors Ani9 effectively protects against TIF. Then, we found that TMEM16A activation induces tubular mitochondrial dysfunction in in vivo and in vitro models, with the evidence of the TMEM16A inhibition with specific inhibitor. Mechanically, TMEM16A mediated tubular mitochondrial dysfunction through inhibiting PGC-1α, whereas overexpression of PGC-1α could rescue the changes. In addition, TMEM16A-induced fibrogenesis was dependent on increased intracellular Cl-, and reducing intracellular Cl- significantly blunted high glucose-induced PGC-1α and profibrotic factors expression. Taken together, our studies demonstrated that tubular TMEM16A promotes TIF by suppressing PGC-1α-mediated mitochondrial homeostasis in DKD. Blockade of TMEM16A may serve as a novel therapeutic approach to ameliorate TIF.

Efficacy of acellular fish skin graft in the management of chronic ulcer: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: The wounds failing to heal through a timely and orderly standard of care (SOC) treatment are considered as chronic wounds, which add significant burden to healthcare systems around the world. SOC treatment has been commonly applied for management of chronic wounds, but SOC alone may not be adequate to heal all ulcers effectively. Fish skin graft (FSG) is a xenogenic skin substitute which could be used for accelerating skin healing. The current study was performed with the view of evaluating the effectiveness of FSG as an adjuvant treatment of SOC for chronic ulcer treatment. METHODS: Two authors independently searched the following electronic databases: PubMed, Embase, and CENTRAL, using keywords including "diabetic foot ulcer," "fish skin graft," and "wound healing." Clinical studies that evaluated the clinical outcomes of FSG in treatment of chronic ulcers were included in this meta-analysis. Random- or fixed-effect modeled meta-analyses were performed according to the heterogeneity test result (i.e., I2), to analyze the clinical outcome of FSG. RESULTS: A total of 8 studies were included in qualitative synthesis and meta-analysis, with 145 patients treated by SOC and 245 patients treated by SOC plus FSG. There was no significant difference between two groups for time to healing (MD = 1.99, 95% CI: -3.70~7.67, p = 0.493). The complete healing rate was significantly higher in FSG group compared with SOC alone (OR = 3.44, 95% CI: 2.03~5.82, p < 0.001***). Mean percentage area reduction (PAR) was reported in six studies, with a range of 71.6~97.3%. However, many of these studies did not report the value of standard deviation (SD), so we could not pool the data. No significantly different ulcer recurrence rate (RR = 0.60, 95% CI: 0.07~5.27, p = 0.645) and severe adverse events (SAEs) risk (RR = 1.67, 95% CI: 0.42~6.61, p = 0.467) were found between two groups. CONCLUSIONS: The application of FSG treatment for patients with chronic ulcers that do not respond well to SOC management could significantly increase the complete healing rate compared with SOC alone, without increased recurrence rate and SAEs risk.

Maximizing Polysaccharides and Phycoerythrin in Porphyridium purpureum via the Addition of Exogenous Compounds: A Response-Surface-Methodology Approach.

Phycoerythrin and polysaccharides have significant commercial value in medicine, cosmetics, and food industries due to their excellent bioactive functions. To maximize the production of biomass, phycoerythrin, and polysaccharides in Porphyridium purpureum, culture media were supplemented with calcium gluconate (CG), magnesium gluconate (MG) and polypeptides (BT), and their optimal amounts were determined using the response surface methodology (RSM) based on three single-factor experiments. The optimal concentrations of CG, MG, and BT were determined to be 4, 12, and 2 g L-1, respectively. The RSM-based models indicated that biomass and phycoerythrin production were significantly affected only by MG and BT, respectively. However, polysaccharide production was significantly affected by the interactions between CG and BT and those between MG and BT, with no significant effect from BT alone. Using the optimized culture conditions, the maximum biomass (5.97 g L-1), phycoerythrin (102.95 mg L-1), and polysaccharide (1.42 g L-1) concentrations met and even surpassed the model-predicted maximums. After optimization, biomass, phycoerythrin, and polysaccharides concentrations increased by 132.3%, 27.97%, and 136.67%, respectively, compared to the control. Overall, this study establishes a strong foundation for the highly efficient production of phycoerythrin and polysaccharides using P. purpureum.

Clinical internship environment and caring behaviours among nursing students: A moderated mediation model.

BACKGROUND: Caring behaviour is critical for nursing quality, and the clinical internship environment is a crucial setting for preparing nursing students for caring behaviours. Evidence about how to develop nursing students' caring behaviour in the clinical environment is still emerging. However, the mechanism between the clinical internship environment and caring behaviour remains unclear, especially the mediating role of moral sensitivity and the moderating effect of self-efficacy. RESEARCH OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to examine the mediating effect of moral sensitivity and the moderating function of self-efficacy on the association between the clinical internship environment and caring behaviours. RESEARCH DESIGN: A cross-sectional design used acceptable validity scales. The hypothesised moderated mediation model was tested in the SPSS PROCESS macro. PARTICIPANTS AND RESEARCH CONTEXT: This survey collected data from 504 nursing students in an internship at a teaching hospital in Changsha, China. ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS: This study was pre-approved by the ethics committee of the medical school (No. E2022210). Informed consent was obtained from all students. RESULTS: The clinical internship environment (B = 0.450, 95% CI = [0.371, 0.530]) and moral sensitivity (B = 1.352, 95% CI = [1.090, 1.615]) had positive direct effects on nursing students' caring behaviours. Clinical internship environment also indirectly influenced students' caring behaviours via moral sensitivity (B = 0.161, 95% CI = [0.115, 0.206]). In addition, self-efficacy played a moderating role between the clinical internship environment and caring behaviours (B = 0.019, 95% CI = [0.007, 0.031]), as well as the relationship between the clinical internship environment and moral sensitivity (B = 0.006, 95% CI = [0.003, 0.010]). CONCLUSION: Moral sensitivity mediates the effect of the clinical internship environment on caring behaviour, and self-efficacy strengthens both direct and indirect effects. This study emphasises the importance of self-efficacy in developing moral sensitivity and caring behaviours in nursing students.

Effects of cluster nursing interventions on the prevention of pressure ulcers in intensive care units patients: A meta-analysis.

A meta-analysis was conducted to comprehensively evaluate the impact of cluster nursing interventions on the prevention of pressure ulcers (PUs) in intensive care unit (ICU) patients. Computer searches were performed in databases including Embase, Google Scholar, Cochrane Library, PubMed, Wanfang and China National Knowledge Infrastructure for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) implementing cluster nursing interventions for PUs prevention in ICU patients, with the search period covering the database inception to November 2023. Two researchers independently screened the literature, extracted data and conducted quality assessments. Stata 17.0 software was employed for data analysis. Overall, 17 RCTs involving 1463 ICU patients were included. The analysis showed that compared with conventional nursing, cluster nursing interventions significantly reduced the incidence of PUs (odds ratio: 0.24, 95% confidence intervals [CI]: 0.17-0.34, p < 0.001) and also significantly improved the levels of anxiety (standardized mean difference [SMD]: -1.39, 95% CI: -1.57 to 1.22, p < 0.001) and depression (SMD: -1.64, 95% CI: -2.02 to 1.26, p < 0.001) in ICU patients. This study indicates that the application of cluster nursing interventions in ICU patients can effectively reduce the incidence of PUs, as well as improve patients' anxiety and depression levels, thereby enhancing their quality of life, which is worth clinical promotion and application.

Programming Peptide Liquid Crystal Media to Acquire Independent Sets of Residual Dipolar Couplings and Enantiodiscrimination in Multiple Solvent Systems.

Multiple independent sets of residual dipolar couplings (RDCs) acquired by relying on different alignment media show the great potential for de novo structure determination of organic compounds. However, this methodology is severely compromised by the limited availability of multialignment media. In this work, an engineering strategy was developed to program the oligopeptide amphiphiles (OPAs) to create different peptide liquid crystal (LC) media for the acquisition of independent sets of RDCs. With no need for de novo design on peptide sequences, the molecular alignment can be simply modulated by varying the length of the hydrophobic tails within OPAs. Relying on these programmed peptide LC media, five independent sets of RDCs were extracted in a highly efficient and accurate manner. Because of the similar bulk composition of OPAs, this approach offers the significant advantage in circumventing the possible incompatibilities of analytes with one or several different alignment media, therefore avoiding the analysis complication. Notably, these peptide LC media show enantiodifferentiating properties, and the enantiodiscriminating capabilities could also be optimized through the programmed strategy. Furthermore, we show that these media are compatible with different polar solvents, allowing the possible de novo structure elucidation of organic compounds with varied polarities and solubilities.

Imaging Investigation of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Progress via Monitoring γ-Glutamyltranspeptidase Level with a Near-Infrared Fluorescence/Photoacoustic Bimodal Probe.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the main principal causes of cancer death, and the late definite diagnosis limits therapeutic approaches in time. The early diagnosis of HCC is essential, and the previous investigations on the biomarkers inferred that the γ-glutamyltranspeptidase (GGT) level could indicate the HCC process. Herein, a near-infrared fluorescence/photoacoustic (NIRF/PA) bimodal probe, CySO3-GGT, was developed for monitoring the GGT level and thus to image the HCC process. After the in-solution tests, the bimodal response was convinced. The various HCC processes were imaged by CySO3-GGT at the cellular level. Then, the CCl4-induced HCC (both induction and treatment) and the subcutaneous and orthotopic xenograft mice models were selected. All throughout the tests, CySO3-GGT achieved NIRF and PA bimodal imaging of the HCC process. In particular, CySO3-GGT could effectively realize 3D imaging of the HCC nodule by visualizing the boundary between the tumor and the normal tissue. The information here might offer significant guidance for the dynamic monitoring of HCC in the near future.

The salivary and nasopharyngeal microbiomes are associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection and disease severity.

Emerging evidence suggests the oral and upper respiratory microbiota may play important roles in modulating host immune responses to viral infection. As the host microbiome may be involved in the pathophysiology of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), we investigated associations between the oral and nasopharyngeal microbiome and COVID-19 severity. We collected saliva (n = 78) and nasopharyngeal swab (n = 66) samples from a COVID-19 cohort and characterized the microbiomes using 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequencing. We also examined associations between the salivary and nasopharyngeal microbiome and age, COVID-19 symptoms, and blood cytokines. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection status, but not COVID-19 severity, was associated with community-level differences in the oral and nasopharyngeal microbiomes. Salivary and nasopharyngeal microbiome alpha diversity negatively correlated with age and were associated with fever and diarrhea. Oral Bifidobacterium, Lactobacillus, and Solobacterium were depleted in patients with severe COVID-19. Nasopharyngeal Paracoccus was depleted while nasopharyngeal Proteus, Cupravidus, and Lactobacillus were increased in patients with severe COVID-19. Further analysis revealed that the abundance of oral Bifidobacterium was negatively associated with plasma concentrations of known COVID-19 biomarkers interleukin 17F and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1. Our results suggest COVID-19 disease severity is associated with the relative abundance of certain bacterial taxa.

Recent developments in the immunopathology of COVID-19.

There has been an important change in the clinical characteristics and immune profile of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients during the pandemic thanks to the extensive vaccination programs. Here, we highlight recent studies on COVID-19, from the clinical and immunological characteristics to the protective and risk factors for severity and mortality of COVID-19. The efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccines and potential allergic reactions after administration are also discussed. The occurrence of new variants of concerns such as Omicron BA.2, BA.4, and BA.5 and the global administration of COVID-19 vaccines have changed the clinical scenario of COVID-19. Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) may cause severe and heterogeneous disease but with a lower mortality rate. Perturbations in immunity of T cells, B cells, and mast cells, as well as autoantibodies and metabolic reprogramming may contribute to the long-term symptoms of COVID-19. There is conflicting evidence about whether atopic diseases, such as allergic asthma and rhinitis, are associated with a lower susceptibility and better outcomes of COVID-19. At the beginning of pandemic, the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI) developed guidelines that provided timely information for the management of allergic diseases and preventive measures to reduce transmission in the allergic clinics. The global distribution of COVID-19 vaccines and emerging severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants with reduced pathogenic potential dramatically decreased the morbidity, severity, and mortality of COVID-19. Nevertheless, breakthrough infection remains a challenge for disease control. Hypersensitivity reactions (HSR) to COVID-19 vaccines are low compared to other vaccines, and these were addressed in EAACI statements that provided indications for the management of allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis to COVID-19 vaccines. We have gained a depth knowledge and experience in the over 2 years since the start of the pandemic, and yet a full eradication of SARS-CoV-2 is not on the horizon. Novel strategies are warranted to prevent severe disease in high-risk groups, the development of MIS-C and long COVID-19.

Identification of Species by Combining Molecular and Morphological Data Using Convolutional Neural Networks.

Integrative taxonomy is central to modern taxonomy and systematic biology, including behavior, niche preference, distribution, morphological analysis, and DNA barcoding. However, decades of use demonstrate that these methods can face challenges when used in isolation, for instance, potential misidentifications due to phenotypic plasticity for morphological methods, and incorrect identifications because of introgression, incomplete lineage sorting, and horizontal gene transfer for DNA barcoding. Although researchers have advocated the use of integrative taxonomy, few detailed algorithms have been proposed. Here, we develop a convolutional neural network method (morphology-molecule network [MMNet]) that integrates morphological and molecular data for species identification. The newly proposed method (MMNet) worked better than four currently available alternative methods when tested with 10 independent data sets representing varying genetic diversity from different taxa. High accuracies were achieved for all groups, including beetles (98.1% of 123 species), butterflies (98.8% of 24 species), fishes (96.3% of 214 species), and moths (96.4% of 150 total species). Further, MMNet demonstrated a high degree of accuracy ($>$98%) in four data sets including closely related species from the same genus. The average accuracy of two modest subgenomic (single nucleotide polymorphism) data sets, comprising eight putative subspecies respectively, is 90%. Additional tests show that the success rate of species identification under this method most strongly depends on the amount of training data, and is robust to sequence length and image size. Analyses on the contribution of different data types (image vs. gene) indicate that both morphological and genetic data are important to the model, and that genetic data contribute slightly more. The approaches developed here serve as a foundation for the future integration of multimodal information for integrative taxonomy, such as image, audio, video, 3D scanning, and biosensor data, to characterize organisms more comprehensively as a basis for improved investigation, monitoring, and conservation of biodiversity. [Convolutional neural network; deep learning; integrative taxonomy; single nucleotide polymorphism; species identification.].

A robust soft sensor based on artificial neural network for monitoring microbial lipid fermentation processes using Yarrowia lipolytica.

Microbial oils produced by Yarrowia lipolytica offer an environmentally friendly and sustainable alternative to petroleum as well as traditional lipids from animals and plants. The accurate measurement of fermentation parameters, including the substrate concentration, dry cell weight, and lipid accumulation, is the foundation of process control, which is indispensable for industrial lipid production. However, it remains a great challenge to measure the complex parameters online during the lipid fermentation process, which is nonlinear, multivariate, and characterized by strong coupling. As a type of AI technology, the artificial neural network model is a powerful tool for handling extremely complex problems, and it can be employed to develop a soft sensor to monitor the microbial lipid fermentation process of Y. lipolytica. In this study, we first analyzed and emphasized the volume of sodium hydroxide and dissolved oxygen concentration as central parameters of the fermentation process. Then, a soft sensor based on a four-input artificial neural network model was developed, in which the input variables were fermentation time, dissolved oxygen concentration, initial glucose concentration, and additional volume of sodium hydroxide. This provides the possibility of online monitoring of dry cell weight, glucose concentration, and lipid production with high accuracy, which can be extended to similar fermentation processes characterized by the addition of bases or acids, as well as changes of the dissolved oxygen concentration.

Paracoccus marinaquae sp. nov., isolated from coastal water of the Yellow Sea.

A Gram-stain-negative, non-motile and coccoid bacterial strain, designated XHP0099T, was isolated from the coastal water of the Yellow Sea, China. Growth occurred at 20-37 â„ƒ (optimum, 28 â„ƒ), pH 5.0-9.0 (optimum, pH 7.0-8.0), and with 0-7.0% NaCl (optimum, 2.0-3.0%). Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that strain XHP0099T was related to members of the genus Paracoccus and shared the highest sequence similarity with "P. siganidrum" M26 (98.2%), followed by P. alkanivorans 4-2 T (97.6%) and P. alkenifer DSM 11593 T (97.4%). The average nucleotide identity, amino acid identity, and digital DNA-DNA hybridization values of strain XHP0099T against related members in the genus Paracoccus were below the cut-off points proposed for the delineation of a novel species. The major cellular fatty acids (> 10%) were summed feature 8 (C18:1 ω7c/C18:1 ω6c), and C18:0. The major isoprenoid quinone was Q-10 and the polar lipids contained diphosphatidylglycerol (DPG), phosphatidylglycerol (PG), phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), phosphatidylcholine (PC), aminolipid (AL) and unidentified polar lipids (L). The G + C content of the genomic DNA of strain XHP0099T was 66.0%. Genomic analysis suggested that strain XHP0099T harbored gene clusters for formaldehyde and the XoxF-type methanol oxidation and type 1 Calvin cycle, which could confer the methylotrophy pathway. Based on the phenotypic, phylogenetic, biochemical and chemotaxonomic analysis, strain XHP0099T represents a novel species of the genus Paracoccus, for which the name Paracoccus marinaquae sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is XHP0099T (= JCM 34661 T = GDMCC 1.2414 T = MCCC 1K05846T).