Screening, genotyping and haematological analysis of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency in the blood donors of Wuxi City, China.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: To investigate the prevalence, genotype and haematological characteristics of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency in the blood donor population of Wuxi area (Jiangsu Province, China) and to assess the impact of their red blood cell (RBC) units on clinical transfusion. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We conducted genotyping and large-scale screening for G6PD enzyme activity in the blood donors of Wuxi City. In addition, we assessed the haematological parameters of G6PD-deficient and non-deficient blood donors, and investigated the adverse transfusion reactions in patients transfused with G6PD-deficient blood. RESULTS: We investigated 17,113 blood donors, among whom 44 (0.26%) were tested positive for G6PD deficiency. We identified 40 G6PD gene variants, among which c.1388G>A, c.1376G>T, c.1024C>T and c.95A>G were common. In addition, we identified two novel G6PD gene variants, c.1312G>A and c.1316G>A. The G6PD-deficient and non-deficient blood samples showed a significant difference in the RBC, mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular Hb (MCH), RBC distribution width, total bilirubin (TBIL), direct bilirubin (DBIL) and indirect bilirubin (IBIL) values. However, the two samples showed no significant difference in the haemolysis rate at the end of the storage period. Finally, transfusion with G6PD-deficient RBC units did not lead to any adverse transfusion reactions. CONCLUSION: The positive rate of G6PD deficiency in the blood donor population of Wuxi City is 0.26%, and the genetic variants identified in this population are consistent with the common genetic variants observed in the Chinese population. Blood centres can establish a database on G6PD-deficient blood donors and mark their RBC units to avoid their use for special clinical patients.

Linguistic feedback supports rapid adaptation to acoustically degraded speech.

Humans can quickly adapt to recognize acoustically degraded speech, and here we hypothesize that the quick adaptation is enabled by internal linguistic feedback - Listeners use partially recognized sentences to adapt the mapping between acoustic features and phonetic labels. We test this hypothesis by quantifying how quickly humans adapt to degraded speech and analyzing whether the adaptation process can be simulated by adapting an automatic speech recognition (ASR) system based on its own speech recognition results. We consider three types of acoustic degradation, i.e., noise vocoding, time compression, and local time-reversal. The human speech recognition rate can increase by >20% after exposure to just a few acoustically degraded sentences. Critically, the ASR system with internal linguistic feedback can adapt to degraded speech with human-level speed and accuracy. These results suggest that self-supervised learning based on linguistic feedback is a plausible strategy for human adaptation to acoustically degraded speech.

Life cycle assessment of biochar for sustainable agricultural application: A review.

Biochar application is an effective strategy to address Agro-climatic challenges. However, the agro-environmental impacts of different biochar technology models are lacking of systematic summaries and reviews. Therefore, this paper comprehensively reviews recent developments derived from published literature, delving into the economic implications and environmental benefits of three distinct process namely technologies-pyrolysis, gasification, and hydrothermal carbonization. This paper specifically focuses on the agricultural life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology, and the influence of biochar preparation technologies and products on energy consumption and agricultural carbon emissions. LCA analysis shows that process and feedstock pose a predominant role on the properties and production rate of biochar, while gasification technology exhibits excellent economic attributes compared to the other two technologies. Biochar applications in agricultural has the beneficial effect of sequestering carbon and reducing emissions, especially in the area of mitigating the carbon footprint of farmland. However, the complexity of the composition of the prepared feedstock and the mismatch between the biochar properties and the application scenarios are considered as potential sources of risks. Notably, mechanism of carbon sequestration and emission reduction by soil microorganisms and agro-environmental sequestration by biochar application remains unclear, calling for in-depth studies. We review novel aspects that have not been covered by previous reviews by comparing the technical, economic, and environmental benefits of pyrolysis, gasification, and hydrothermal carbonization systematically. Overall, this study will provide a valuable framework to environmental implications of biochar preparation, application, and life cycle assessments.

Decomposition of metal-organic complexes and metal recovery in wastewater: A systematic review and meta-synthesis.

Metals are rarely found as free ions in natural and anthropogenic environments, but they are often associated with organic matter and minerals. Under the context of circular economy, metals should be recycled, yet they are difficult to extract for their complex forms in real situations. Based on the protocols of review methodology and the analysis of VOS viewer, there are few reviews on the properties of metal-organic complexes, decomplexation methods, the effect of coexisting ions, the pH influence, and metal recovery methods for the increasingly complicated metal-organic complexes wastewater. Conventional treatment methods such as flocculation, adsorption, biological degradation, and ion exchange fail to decompose metal-organic complexes completely without causing secondary pollution in wastewater. To enhance comprehension of the behavior and morphology exhibited by metal-organic complexes within aqueous solutions, we presented the molecular structure and properties of metal-organic complexes, the decomplexation mechanisms that encompassed both radical and non-radical oxidizing species, including hydroxyl radical (OH), sulfate radical (SO˙4-), superoxide radical (O˙2-), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), ozone (O3), and singlet oxygen (1O2). More importantly, we reviewed novel aspects that have not been covered by previous reviews considering the impact of operational parameters and coexisting ions. Finally, the potential avenues and challenges were proposed for future research.

Tomato SlWRKY3 Negatively Regulates Botrytis cinerea Resistance via TPK1b.

Botrytis cinerea is considered the second most important fungal plant pathogen, and can cause serious disease, especially on tomato. The TPK1b gene encodes a receptor-like kinase that can positively regulate plant resistance to B. cinerea. Here, we identified a tomato WRKY transcription factor SlWRKY3 that binds to the W-box on the TPK1b promoter. It can negatively regulate TPK1b transcription, then regulate downstream signaling pathways, and ultimately negatively regulate tomato resistance to B. cinerea. SlWRKY3 interference can enhance resistance to B. cinerea, and SlWRKY3 overexpression leads to susceptibility to B. cinerea. Additionally, we found that B. cinerea can significantly, and rapidly, induce the upregulation of SlWRKY3 expression. In SlWRKY3 transgenic plants, the TPK1b expression level was negatively correlated with SlWRKY3 expression. Compared with the control, the expression of the SA pathway marker gene PR1 was downregulated in W3-OE plants and upregulated in W3-Ri plants when inoculated with B. cinerea for 48 h. Moreover, SlWRKY3 positively regulated ROS production. Overall, SlWRKY3 can inhibit TPK1b transcription in tomato, and negatively regulate resistance to B. cinerea by modulating the downstream SA and ROS pathways.

Metabolomics reveals the lipid metabolism disorder in Pelophylax nigromaculatus exposed to environmentally relevant levels of microcystin-LR.

Cyanobacterial blooms have emerged as a significant environmental issue worldwide in recent decades. However, the toxic effects of microcystin-LR (MC-LR) on aquatic organisms, such as frogs, have remained poorly understood. In this study, frogs (Pelophylax nigromaculatus) were exposed to environmentally relevant concentrations of MC-LR (0, 1, and 10 µg/L) for 21 days. Subsequently, we assessed the impact of MC-LR on the histomorphology of the frogs' livers and conducted a global MS-based nontarget metabolomics analysis, followed by the determination of substances involved in lipid metabolism. Results showed that MC-LR significantly induced histological alterations in the frogs' hepatopancreas. Over 200 differentially expressed metabolites were identified, primarily enriched in lipid metabolism. Biochemical analysis further confirmed that MC-LR exposure led to a disorder in lipid metabolism in the frogs. This study laid the groundwork for a mechanistic understanding of MC-LR toxicity in frogs and potentially other aquatic organisms.

Paternal exposures to endocrine-disrupting chemicals induce intergenerational epigenetic influences on offspring: A review.

Endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are ubiquitous in ecological environments and have become a great issue of public health concern since the 1990 s. There is a deep scientific understanding of the toxicity of EDCs. However, recent studies have found that the abnormal physiological functions of the parents caused by EDCs could be transmitted to their unexposed offspring, leading to intergenerational toxicity. We questioned whether sustained epigenetic changes occur through the male germline. In this review, we (1) systematically searched the available research on the intergenerational impacts of EDCs in aquatic and mammal organisms, including 42 articles, (2) summarized the intergenerational genetic effects, such as decreased offspring survival, abnormal reproductive dysfunction, metabolic disorders, and behavioral abnormalities, (3) summarized the mechanisms of intergenerational toxicity through paternal interactions, and (4) propose suggestions on future research directions to develop a deeper understanding of the ecological risk of EDCs.

Experimental and Meshless Numerical Simulations on the Crack Propagation of Semi-Circular Bending Specimens Containing X-Shaped Fissures Under Three-Point Bending.

Cracks in rock and concrete have a great adverse effect on the stability of engineering structures; however, there are few studies on X-shaped fissures which widely exist in rock and concrete structures. Based on this background, three-point bending fracture tests of SCB specimens containing X-shaped fissures are carried out. The momentum equations in the SPH method are improved, and the crack propagations of SCB specimens under three-point bending are simulated. The results show that cracks grow simply along the vertical direction in the sample with no X-shaped fissures, and the existence of an X-shaped fissure changes the crack growth path and final failure modes of the SCB samples. The crack propagation simulation results are consistent with the experimental results, which verifies the rationality of the improved SPH method. The load-displacement curves mainly present three typical stages: the initial compaction stage, linear elastic deformation stage, and failure stage. The peak load decreases first then increases with an increase in eccentricity. With an increase in X-shaped fissure length and decrease in X-shaped fissure angle, the peak load decreases. The damage counts remain at 0 at the initial loading stage, corresponding to the initial compaction stage and the linear elastic deformation stage, and increase sharply at the later loading stage, corresponding to the failure stage, which is consistent with the experimental results. The influence mechanisms of X-shaped fissures on the crack propagation paths are discussed; the existence of different X-shaped fissure morphologies aggravate the tensile stress concentration at specific positions, leading to different crack propagation modes in the experiments. The research results can provide a certain reference for understanding the failure mechanisms of engineering structures containing X-shaped fissures and promote the applications of the SPH method into the simulations of cross-fissure crack propagations.