Prediction of superhard C1+xN1-x compounds with metal-free magnetism and narrow band gaps.

The scarcity of superhard materials with magnetism or a narrow band gap, despite their potential applications in various fields, makes it desirable to design such materials. Here, a series of C1+xN1-x compounds are theoretically designed by replacing different numbers of nitrogen atoms with carbon atoms in the synthesized C1N1 compound. The results indicate that the compounds C5N3 and C7N1 possess both superhardness and antiferromagnetic ordering due to the introduction of low-coordinated carbon atoms. The hardness of the two compounds is about 40.3 and 54.5 GPa, respectively. The magnetism in both compounds is attributed to the unpaired electrons in low-coordinated carbon atoms, and the magnetic moments are 0.42 and 0.39 µB, respectively. Interestingly, the magnetism in C5N3 remains unaffected by the external pressure used in this study, whereas C7N1 becomes nonmagnetic when the pressure exceeds ∼80 GPa. Electronic calculations reveal that both compounds behave as indirect band gap semiconductors, with narrow energy gaps of about 0.30 and 0.20 eV, respectively. Additionally, the other two compounds, C6N2-I and C6N2-III, exhibit nonmagnetic ordering and possess hardness values of 52.6 and 35.0 GPa, respectively. C6N2-I behaves as a semiconductor with an energy gap of 0.79 eV, and C6N2-III shows metallic behavior. Notably, the energy gaps of C5N3 and C6N2-I remain nearly constant under arbitrary pressure due to their porous and superhard structure. These compounds fill the gap in magnetic or narrow band gap superhard materials, and they can be used in the spintronic or optoelectronic fields where conventional superhard materials are not suitable.

Prevalence and associated factors of health anxiety in patients with temporomandibular disorders.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the prevalence and associated factors of health anxiety (HA) in patients with Temporomandibular Disorders (TMDs) using the 8-item Whiteley Index (WI-8) scale. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Three hundred and twenty-nine TMDs patients completed the Visual Analog Scale (VAS), WI-8, Jaw Functional Limitation Scale-8 (JFLS-8), Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), and Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) scales. Clinical examinations were conducted following the Diagnostic Criteria for TMDs Axis I. RESULTS: The prevalence of HA among TMDs patients was 18.54%. Patients with HA had higher scores of VAS-current (p = 0.026), VAS-maximum (p = 0.024), VAS-average (p = 0.030), JFLS-8 (p < 0.001), GAD-7 (p < 0.001) and PHQ-9 (p < 0.001), lower maximum mouth opening (p = 0.016), lower proportion of structure-related TMDs (p = 0.028), and higher proportion of pain-related TMDs (p < 0.001) compared to those without HA. The correlation coefficient was 0.61 (p < 0.001) between WI-8 and GAD-7 and 0.64 (p < 0.001) between WI-8 and PHQ-9. CONCLUSION: Approximately one-fifth of patients with TMDs experienced HA. HA was associated with pain perception, functional limitations, depressive, and anxiety symptoms in individuals with TMDs. HA may contribute to heightened subjective pain experiences rather than structural changes in the TMJ.

Machine learning-based medical imaging diagnosis in patients with temporomandibular disorders: a diagnostic test accuracy systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVES: Temporomandibular disorders (TMDs) are the second most common musculoskeletal condition which are challenging tasks for most clinicians. Recent research used machine learning (ML) algorithms to diagnose TMDs intelligently. This study aimed to systematically evaluate the quality of these studies and assess the diagnostic accuracy of existing models. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twelve databases (Europe PMC, Embase, etc.) and two registers were searched for published and unpublished studies using ML algorithms on medical images. Two reviewers extracted the characteristics of studies and assessed the methodological quality using the QUADAS-2 tool independently. RESULTS: A total of 28 studies (29 reports) were included: one was at unclear risk of bias and the others were at high risk. Thus the certainty of evidence was quite low. These studies used many types of algorithms including 8 machine learning models (logistic regression, support vector machine, random forest, etc.) and 15 deep learning models (Resnet152, Yolo v5, Inception V3, etc.). The diagnostic accuracy of a few models was relatively satisfactory. The pooled sensitivity and specificity were 0.745 (0.660-0.814) and 0.770 (0.700-0.828) in random forest, 0.765 (0.686-0.829) and 0.766 (0.688-0.830) in XGBoost, and 0.781 (0.704-0.843) and 0.781 (0.704-0.843) in LightGBM. CONCLUSIONS: Most studies had high risks of bias in Patient Selection and Index Test. Some algorithms are relatively satisfactory and might be promising in intelligent diagnosis. Overall, more high-quality studies and more types of algorithms should be conducted in the future. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: We evaluated the diagnostic accuracy of the existing models and provided clinicians with much advice about the selection of algorithms. This study stated the promising orientation of future research, and we believe it will promote the intelligent diagnosis of TMDs.

Pain symptoms are associated with two-point discrimination threshold in patients with temporomandibular disorders.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to explore the associations of orofacial two-point discrimination (2-PD) test result with pain symptoms and psychological factors in patients with Temporomandibular Disorders (TMDs). METHODS: 193 patients with TMDs were included in this study. Patients' demographics, pain intensity, and psychological status were recorded. The 2-PDs in the bilateral temporal, zygomatic, mandibular, and temporomandibular joint (TMJ) regions of the patients were measured. Statistical analyses were conducted to observe the associations between variables. RESULTS: For Pain-related TMDs (PT) patients, Monthly Visual Analogue Scale (VAS-M) and Current Analogue Scale (VAS-C) were correlated with TMJ, zygomatic and temporal 2-PDs. Patients with PT tended to have higher TMJ 2-PDs[Right: ß = 1.827 mm, 95%CI(0.107, 3.548), P = 0.038], zygomatic 2-PDs[Right: ß = 1.696 mm, 95%CI(0.344, 3.048), P = 0.014], temporal 2-PDs[Left: ß = 2.138 mm, 95%CI(0.127, 4.149), P = 0.037; Right: ß = 1.893 mm, 95%CI(0.011, 3.775), P = 0.049]. Associations were also observed between VAS-C and TMJ 2-PDs[Left: ß = 0.780, 95%CI(0.190, 1.370), P = 0.01; Right: ß = 0.885, 95%CI(0.406, 1.364), P = 0.001], Zygomatic 2-PDs[Right: ß = 0.555, 95%CI(0.172, 0.938), P = 0.005]; VAS-M and TMJ 2-PDs[Left: ß = 0.812, 95%CI(0.313, 1.311), P = 0.002; Right: ß = 0.567, 95%CI(0.152, 0.983), P = 0.008], zygomatic 2-PDs[Left: ß = 0.405, 95%CI(0.075, 0.735), P = 0.016; Right: ß = 0.545, 95%CI(0.221, 0.870), P = 0.001], and temporal 2-PDs [Left: ß = 0.741, 95%CI(0.258, 1.224), P = 0.003; Right: ß = 0.519, 95%CI(0.063, 0.975), P = 0.026]. CONCLUSION: TMJ, zygomatic, and temporal 2-PDs were significantly associated with PT and pain intensity. Age, gender and psychological factors were not associated with orofacial 2-PDs. PT patients exhibited weaker tactile acuity compared to Non-PT patients. Further discussion on the underlying mechanism is needed. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Orofacial tactile acuity of TMDs patients was associated with their pain symptoms, which researchers should take account into when performing 2-PD tests for TMDs patients. The 2-PD test can be considered as a potential tool along with the current procedures for the differentiations of PT and Non-PT.

Confined Growth of Highly Ordered Metal Atomic Arrays for Seawater Oxidation.

Metal atom catalysts have been among the most important research objects due to their specific physical and chemical properties. However, precise control of the anchoring of metal atoms is still challenging to achieve. Cobalt and iridium atomic arrays formed sequentially ordered stable arrays in graphdiyne (GDY) triangular cavities depending on their intrinsic chemical properties and interactions. The success of this method was attributed to multifunctional integration of GDY, enabling selective growth from one to several atoms and various atomic densities. The bimetallic atom arrays show several advantages resulting from reducibility of acetylene bonds, space limiting effect, incomplete charge transfer between GDY and metal atoms, and sp-C hybridized triple bond skeleton. This well-designed system exhibits unprecedented oxygen evolution reaction (OER) performance with a mass activity of 2.6 A mgcat.-1 at a low overpotential of 300 mV, which is 216.6 times higher than the state-of-the-art IrO2 catalyst, and long-term stability.

Control of odor emissions from livestock farms: A review.

Odor emission seriously affects human and animal health, and the ecological environment. Nevertheless, a systematic summary regarding the control technology for odor emissions in livestock breeding is currently lacking. This paper summarizes odor control technology, highlighting its applicability, advantages, and limitations, which can be used to evaluate and identify the most appropriate methods in livestock production management. Odor control technologies are divided into four categories: dietary manipulation (low-crude protein diet and enzyme additives in feed), in-housing management (separation of urine from feces, adsorbents used as litter additive, and indoor environment/manure surface spraying agent), manure management (semi-permeable membrane-covered, reactor composting, slurry cover, and slurry acidification), and end-of-pipe measures for air treatment (wet scrubbing of the exhaust air from animal houses and biofiltration of the exhaust air from animal houses or composting). Findings of this paper provide a theoretical basis for the application of odor control technology in livestock farms.

Seasonal variation in antibiotic resistance genes and bacterial phenotypes in swine wastewater during three-chamber anaerobic pond treatment.

Antibiotic resistance is a global public health concern. Antibiotic usage in pigs makes swine wastewater (SW) a reservoir for antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). SW is usually stored and treated in a three-chamber anaerobic pond (3-CAP) in medium and small pig farms in northern China. However, the yet unexplored presence of ARGs in SW during 3-CAP treatment may result in ARGs spreading into the environment if farmers apply SW to farmland as a liquid organic fertilizer. This study investigated the profiles of and changes in ARGs in SW during its treatment in 3-CAP over four seasons and analyzed the correlation between ARGs and bacterial phenotypes, along with the physicochemical parameters of the water. The results revealed that ARG abundance decreased considerably after 3-CAP treatment in April (47%), October (47%), and December (62%) but increased in May (43%) and August (73%). The ARG copies in the influent and other SW samples increased significantly from 107 copies/mL in April to 109 copies/mL in October and were maintained in December. The increase in ARG abundance was not as rapid as the growth of the bacterial population, resulting in lower relative abundance in October and December. Bacterial communities possessed more sul1 and tetM genes, which were also positively correlated with mobile genetic elements. After the 3-CAP treatment, 16% of antibiotics and 60% of heavy metals were removed, and both had a weak correlation with ARGs. Predicted phenotypes showed that gram-positive (G+) and gram-negative (G-) bacteria have different capacities for carrying ARGs. G+ bacteria carry more ARGs than G- bacteria. This study revealed the persistence of ARGs in SW after 3-CAP treatment over different seasons. Applying SW in the proper month will mitigate ARG dissemination to the environment.

Abscisic acid (ABA) alleviates cadmium toxicity by enhancing the adsorption of cadmium to root cell walls and inducing antioxidant defense system of Cosmos bipinnatus.

Cadmium (Cd) pollution is a global problem affecting soil ecology and plant growth. Abscisic acid (ABA) acts as a growth and stress hormone, regulates cell wall synthesis, and plays an important role in plant responses to stress. There are few studies on the mechanisms behind abscisic acid alleviation of cadmium stress in Cosmos bipinnatus, especially in regards to regulation of the root cell wall. This study examined the effects of different concentrations of abscisic acid at different concentrations of cadmium stress. Through adding 5 µmol/L and 30 µmol/L cadmium, followed by spraying 10 µmol/L and 40 µmol/L ABA in a hydroponic experiment, it was found that under two concentrations of cadmium stress, low concentration of ABA improved root cell wall polysaccharide, Cd, and uronic acid content. Especially in pectin, after the application of low concentration ABA, the cadmium concentration was significantly increased by 1.5 times and 1.2 times compared with the Cd concentration under Cd5 and Cd30 treatment alone, respectively. Fourier-Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) demonstrated that cell wall functional groups such as -OH and -COOH were increased with exposure to ABA. Additionally, the exogenous ABA also increased expression of three kinds of antioxidant enzymes and plant antioxidants. The results of this study suggest that ABA could reduce Cd stress by increasing Cd accumulation, promoting Cd adsorption on the root cell wall, and activating protective mechanisms. This result could help promote application of C. bipinnatus for phytostabilization of cadmium-contaminated soil.

Low income is associated with impaired jaw function via anxiety and depression in patients with temporomandibular disorders.

OBJECTIVE: The association between jaw function and income in patients with temporomandibular disorders (TMDs) remain unclear. The aim of this study was to explore this association and its relationship with anxiety and depression. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A total of 451 TMD patients, including 361 males and 90 females, participated in this study. The sociodemographic information of patients and their questionnaires including the Generalised Anxiety Disorder 7-item (GAD-7), Patient Health Questionnaire 9-item (PHQ-9), and Jaw Functional Limitation Scale-8 (JFLS-8) were collected. Patients were divided into the high-income and low-income groups based on a household per capita income of 6000 RMB per month. Multiple regression and mediation analysis were used to explore the association between variables. The bootstrap method was applied to estimate confidence intervals (CIs). RESULTS: Higher JFLS-8 scores were significantly correlated with higher GAD-7 scores (r = 0.361, p < .001), PHQ-9 scores (r = 0.339, p < .001). Females and patients with low income had statistically higher JFLS-8 scores (p < .01, p < .001). Mediation analysis with 10 000 bootstrap simulations revealed a significant direct association between JFLS-8 scores and income (-2.920, 95% CI [-4.757, -1.044], p = .002). A significant indirect association of JFLS-8 scores with income via GAD-7 scores and PHQ-9 scores was also observed (-0.889, 95% CI [-1.728, -0.164], p = .025), accounting for 23.3% of the total association. CONCLUSIONS: Low income is associated with impaired jaw function via anxiety and depression in patients with TMD. Clinicians may need to pay more attention to the psychological status of low-income TMD patients in clinical practice.

Gene-Regulated Release of Distinctive Volatile Organic Compounds from Stressed Living Cells.

Breath-borne volatile organic compounds (VOCs) have been increasingly studied as non-invasive biomarkers in both medical diagnosis and environmental health research. Recently, changes in breath-borne VOC fingerprints were demonstrated in rats and humans following pollutant exposures. In this study, the eukaryotic model Saccharomyces cerevisiae was used to study the release of cellular VOCs resulting from toxicant exposures (i.e., O3, H2O2, and CO2) and its underlying biological mechanism. Our results showed that different toxicant exposures caused the release of distinctive VOC profiles of yeast cells. The levels of ethyl acetate and ethyl n-propionate were altered in response to all the toxicants used in this study and could thus be targeted for future environmental toxicity monitoring. The RNA-seq results revealed significant changes in the metabolic or signaling pathways related to the ribosome, carbohydrate, and amino acid metabolisms after exposures. Notably, the shift from glycolysis to the pentose phosphate pathway of carbohydrate metabolism and the inhabitation of the aspartate pathway in the lysine synthesis was essential to the cellular antioxidation by providing reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH). The reprogrammed metabolisms could have resulted in the observed changes of VOCs released, e.g., the production of ethyl acetate for detoxification from yeast cells. This study provides further evidence that VOCs released from living organisms could be used to monitor and guard against toxic exposures while providing better mechanistic insights of the changes in breath-borne VOCs previously observed in rats and humans exposed to air toxicants.

Insights into the Profile of the Human Expiratory Microbiota and Its Associations with Indoor Microbiotas.

Microorganisms residing in the human respiratory tract can be exhaled, and they constitute a part of environmental microbiotas. However, the expiratory microbiota community and its associations with environmental microbiotas remain poorly understood. Here, expiratory bacteria and fungi and the corresponding microbiotas from the living environments were characterized by DNA amplicon sequencing of residents' exhaled breath condensate (EBC) and environmental samples collected from 14 residences in Nanjing, China. The microbiotas of EBC samples, with a substantial heterogeneity, were found to be as diverse as those of skin, floor dust, and airborne microbiotas. Model fitting results demonstrated the role of stochastic processes in the assembly of the expiratory microbiota. Using a fast expectation-maximization algorithm, microbial community analysis revealed that expiratory microbiotas were differentially associated with other types of microbiotas in a type-dependent and residence-specific manner. Importantly, the expiratory bacteria showed a composition similarity with airborne bacteria in the bathroom and kitchen environments with an average of 12.60%, while the expiratory fungi showed a 53.99% composition similarity with the floor dust fungi. These differential patterns indicate different relationships between expiratory microbiotas and the airborne microbiotas and floor dust microbiotas. The results here illustrated for the first time the associations between expiratory microbiotas and indoor microbiotas, showing a potential microbial exchange between the respiratory tract and indoor environment. Thus, improved hygiene and ventilation practices can be implemented to optimize the indoor microbial exposome, especially in indoor bathrooms and kitchens.

Association between Stigma and Pain in Patients with Temporomandibular Disorders.

Objective: This study aims to explore the association between stigma and pain in patients with temporomandibular disorders (TMDs). Methods: Two hundred and twenty-five patients with TMDs were recruited, and they completed the questionnaires including the Visual Analogue Scale of Pain (VAS), Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-Item (GAD-7), the Patient Health Questionnaire 9-item (PHQ-9), Jaw Functional Limitation Scale 8-item (JFLS-8), the Stigma Scale for Chronic Illness 8-item (SSCI-8), and other demographic and disease-related information. The total score of SSCI-8 indicated overall stigma, which could be classified into 2 subdomains, felt stigma and enacted stigma, according to their representative items, respectively. Then, the patients were divided into 2 groups in each subdomain of stigma according to their scores: stigma group (score ≥ 1) and no stigma group (score = 0). Results: Patients with overall stigma and enacted stigma presented significantly higher scores in VAS, GAD-7, PHQ-9, and JFLS-8 than those without overall stigma and those without enacted stigma, respectively. Significant differences between patients with and without felt stigma were only observed in GAD-7, PHQ-9, and JFLS-8. Patients with overall stigma and enacted stigma mainly suffered from pain-related TMDs (PTs) and combined TMDs (CTs). Overall stigma and enacted stigma rather than felt stigma were significantly associated with both PTs and CTs. Stigma, including overall stigma, enacted stigma, and felt stigma, was more associated with anxiety and depression and less related to jaw functional limitation of the patients with TMDs. Conclusion: Stigma, specifically enacted stigma, was correlated to pain in patients with TMDs. Stigma was more related to psychological problems than jaw functional limitation.

Entropy Production Analysis of a Vertical Mixed-Flow Pump Device with Different Guide Vane Meridians.

With the aim of investigating the influence of guide vane meridians on the external characteristics and internal flow field of the mixed-flow pump device, this research constructed seven guide vane meridians and applied computational fluid dynamic (CFD) and entropy production theory to investigate the spread of hydraulic loss in a mixed-flow pump. As observed, when the guide vane outlet diameter Dgvo decreased from 350 mm to 275 mm, the head and efficiency increased by 2.78% and 3.05% at 0.7 Qdes, respectively. At 1.3 Qdes, when Dgvo increased from 350 mm to 425 mm, the head and efficiency increased by 4.49% and 3.71%, respectively. At 0.7 Qdes and 1.0 Qdes, the entropy production of the guide vane increased with the increase of Dgvo due to flow separation. When Dgvo < 350 mm, at 1.0 Qdes and 1.3 Qdes, entropy production of the outlet channel increased as Dgvo decreased owing to the excessive flow rate, but at 0.7 Qdes, entropy production did not change much. When Dgvo > 350 mm, at 0.7 Qdes and 1.0 Qdes, due to the expansion of the channel section, the flow separation intensified, which resulted in an increase of the entropy production, but the entropy production decreased slightly at 1.3 Qdes. These results provide guidance for improving the efficiency of pumping stations.

Ambient PM Toxicity Is Correlated with Expression Levels of Specific MicroRNAs.

Uncertainties regarding optimized air pollution control remain as the underlying mechanisms of city-specific ambient particulate matter (PM)-induced health effects are unknown. Here, water-soluble extracts of PMs collected from four global cities via automobile air-conditioning filters were consecutively injected three times by an amount of 1, 2, and 2 mg into the blood circulation of Wistar rats after filtration by a 0.45 µm pore size membrane. Acute health effects, such as immune and inflammatory responses and hemorrhage in alveoli, were observed right after the PM extraction injection. Significant differences between cities in biomarker tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) levels were detected following the second and third PM injections. Rats' inflammatory responses varied substantially with the injections of city-specific PMs. Repeated PM extract exposure rendered the rats more vulnerable to subsequent challenges, and downregulation of certain microRNAs was observed in rats. Among the studied miRNAs, miR-125b, and miR-21 were most sensitive to the PM exposure, exhibiting a negative dose-response-type relationship with a source-specific PM (oxidative potential) toxicity (r2 = 0.63 and 0.57; p-values < 0.05). The results indicated that city-specific PMs could induce different health effects by selectively regulating different miRNAs, and that certain microRNAs, e.g., miR-125b and miR-21, may be externally mediated to neutralize PM-related health damages.

Size-Resolved Endotoxin and Oxidative Potential of Ambient Particles in Beijing and Zürich.

PM2.5 pollution has become a global health concern, however its size-resolved health impact remains to be poorly elucidated. Here, ambient particulate matter (PM) were collected into 13 different size ranges (10 nm to 18 µm) and the mass, metal, endotoxin distributions, and related oxidative potential were investigated in two regions (Zürich, Switzerland and Beijing, China). Results showed that the two regions had remarkably different PM distribution patterns. Swiss urban samples had a mode around 40 nm with 23.3% of total PM mass, while Chinese samples featured two modes around 0.75 and 4.23 µm with 13.8-18.6% and 13.7-20.4% of total PM mass, respectively. Two peaks for endotoxin at 40-100 nm and 1-4 µm were observed in different regions. For PM-borne metals, Chinese samples had 67.6-100% of total Cd, As, and Pb in the size range of 0.1-1 µm, and Swiss samples had similar distributions of Cd and Pb but much lower total metals than Chinese samples. The PM oxidative potential varied greatly with sizes for different regions. Accordingly, the current practice, i.e., sole use of the mass concentration, could lead to inadequate health protection for one region, but unnecessary economic costs for another without achieving significant extra health benefits.

Bacterial pathogens were detected from human exhaled breath using a novel protocol.

It is generally believed that influenza outbreak is associated with breath-borne transmission of viruses, however relevant evidence is little for that of respiratory bacterial infections. On another front, point-of-care infection diagnostic methods at the bedside are significantly lacking. Here, we used a newly developed protocol of integrating an exhaled breath condensate (EBC) collection device (PKU BioScreen) and Loop Mediated Isothermal Amplification (LAMP) to investigate what bacterial pathogens can be directly exhaled out from humans. Exhaled breath condensates were collected from human subjects with respiratory infection symptoms at Peking University 3rd hospital using the BioScreen. The screened bacterial pathogens included Streptococcus pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus, Methicillin-resistant Stphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Acinetobacter baumannii, Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, Haemophilus influenzae, Legionella pneumophila, Mycoplasma Pneumonia, Chlamydia pneumonia, and Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The results were further compared and validated using throat swabs from the same patients by a PCR method. Here, human bacterial pathogens such as H. influenzae, P. aeruginosa, E. coli, S. aureus and MRSA were detected in exhaled breath using the developed protocol that integrates the EBC collection and LAMP. For the patients recruited from the hospital, seven types of pathogens were detected from 36.5% of them, and for the remaining subjects none of those screened bacterial pathogens was detected. Importantly, some super resistant bacteria such as MRSA were detected from the exhaled breath, suggesting that breathing might be also an important bacterial transmission route. Results from throat swabs showed that 36.2% of the subjects were found to be infected with H. influenzae, P. aeruginosa, E. coli, S. maltophilia, S. aureus and MRSA. For the EBC samples, 33.3% were found to be infected with MRSA, E. coli and P. aeruginosa. Depending on the initial pathogen load in the sample, the entire protocol (EBC-LAMP) only takes 20-60 min to complete for a respiratory infection diagnosis. For different detection methods and pathogens, the agreements between the EBC and throat swabs from the same patients were found to range from 35% to 65%. Here, we have detected several bacterial pathogens including MRSA from exhaled breath, and the developed protocol could be very useful for the bedside pathogen screening particularly in remote areas where resources are significantly limited or prohibited.

Effect of wheat crops on the persistence and attenuation of antibiotic resistance genes in soil after swine wastewater application.

Swine wastewater (SW) application introduces antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) into farmland soils. However, ARG attenuation in SW-fertigated soils, especially those influenced by staple crops and soil type, remains unclear. This study investigated twelve soil ARGs and one mobile genetic element (MGE) in sandy loam, loam, and silt loam soils before and after SW application in wheat-planted and unplanted soils. The results revealed an immediate increase in the abundance of ARGs in soil by two orders of magnitude above background levels following SW application. After SW application, the soil total ARG abundance was attenuated, reaching background levels at 54 days; However, more individual ARGs were detected above the detection limit than pre-application. Among the 13 genes, acc(6')-lb, tetM, and tetO tended to persist in the soil during wheat harvest. ARG half-lives were up to four times longer in wheat-planted soils than in bare soils. Wheat planting decreased the persistence of acc(6')-lb, ermB, ermF, and intI2 but increased the persistence of others such as sul1 and sul2. Soil type had no significant impact on ARG and MGE fates. Our findings emphasize the need for strategic SW application and the consideration of crop cultivation effects to mitigate ARG accumulation in farmland soils.

Carbon footprints: Uncovering multilevel spatiotemporal changes of ship emissions during 2019-2021 in the U.S.

Quantifying and understanding changes in carbon emissions is essential for the U.S. shipping industry to reduce carbon emissions, especially after its return to the Paris Agreement. We estimated carbon emissions from 48,321 ships in the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) using the power-based method based on 3.6 billion Automatic Identification System (AIS) reports. We explored the characterization of carbon emissions from the national, regional, and port levels during 2019-2021 by allocating emissions on a 1 km*1 km grid through an activity-weighted method. The results show: (1) Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, emissions within the EEZ show a temporal trend of decreased and then rebound, specifically from 32.628 Tg in 2019 to 30.741 Tg in 2020 and then bounced to 31.786 Tg in 2021. The spatial differences in emissions show significant heterogeneity; (2) There are significant differences in emissions by vessel type, flag, and operational mode for the four regions of the U.S. (Great Lakes, Gulf Coast, Pacific Coast, and Atlantic Coast). Thus, emissions in these regions show different variability patterns over three years. Notably, "port congestion" led to record high emissions on the Pacific Coast; (3) Containerized cargo contributes the most to port core area emissions, so most ports with higher throughputs have higher emissions, with Long Beach and Los Angeles having the highest. Emissions from coastal ports are high and volatile, while inland ports are low and stable. This study provides the U.S. with a high spatiotemporal resolution inventory of carbon emissions from ships, and the findings are expected to provide some reference for controlling ship emissions.

Reducing the risk of suicidal behaviors in medical graduate students: exploration of student-supervisor relationship and subjective family socioeconomic status.

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the association between the risk of suicidal behaviors and student-supervisor relationships and subjective family socioeconomic status (SFSS) in medical graduate students, and to propose preventive strategies to reduce the suicidal risk among medical graduate students. Materials and methods: A total of 1,310 validated questionnaires were collected from medical graduate students, which included demographic information, study programs, the Suicidal Behaviors Questionnaire-Revised (SBQ-R) questionnaire, the Leader-Member Exchange 7 (LMX-7) questionnaire, and SFSS by MacArthur Scale. Multiple regression analysis was employed to examine the associations between variables and adjust for confounders. A moderation analysis, containing simple slope analysis and Johnson-Neyman interval plots were used to analyze the moderating effect of the SFSS in the association of SBQ-R and LMX-7 scores. Results: A total of 88 participants (6.7%) were at risk of suicidal behaviors. In the high-quality student-supervisor relationship group (LMX-7 score ≥ 25), SFSS was significantly higher than in the low- and moderate-quality relationship group (p=0.002). The median SBQ-R score and proportion of suicide risk was significantly lower (p<0.001) in the high-quality student-supervisor relationship group. Multiple regression analysis indicated LMX-7 scores (ß=-0.098, 95% CI [-0.118, -0.077], p<0.001) and SFSS (ß=-0.073, 95% CI [-0.127, -0.019], p=0.008) were significantly negatively associated with SBQ-R, whereas the interaction term of SFSS with LMX-7 (ß=0.018, 95% CI [0.007, 0.029], p=0.001) showed a significant positive association with SBQ-R. The Johnson-Neyman interval showed a significant association between LMX-7 and SBQ-R scores only when SFSS was less than 7.82 (p<0.05). Conclusion: The risk of suicidal behaviors was associated with student-supervisor relationships and SFSS among medical graduate students. Poor relationships with supervisor were associated with an elevated risk of suicidality, and SFSS moderated this association. Educators should pay increased attention to the suicidal risk of medical graduate students with poor supervisor relationships, especially those from families with low SFSS, and provide timely preventive strategies.

Anxiety mediates association between sex and jaw function limitation in temporomandibular disorder patients from China.

Aim: The objective of this study is to explore the relationship between sex and jaw function and to test whether anxiety mediates the causal relationship between sex and jaw function in temporomandibular disorders (TMDs) patients. Methods: A total of 488 participants with TMD were included in the analysis. Demographic data were collected. Generalized anxiety symptoms and anxiety severity were initially assessed using the GAD-7 questionnaire. And jaw function limitation was measured using the JFLS-8 scale. A directed acyclic graph (DAG) was used in this study to evaluate the hypotheses. Mediation analysis was conducted to explore causality and to calculate the total effect, natural direct effect (NDE) and natural indirect effect (NIE). Results: In TMD patients, there was a significant association between female and jaw function (r = 0.17, p < 0.001), female and anxiety (r = 0.15, p = 0.002), anxiety and jaw function (r = 0.35, p < 0.001). In addition, sex can directly lead to differences in impaired jaw function (NDE: 3.719, 95% CI: 1.619-5.828, p < 0.001), and can also be causally related to jaw function through anxiety (NIE: 1.146, 95% CI: 0.267-2.024, p = 0.011). And the total effect was 4.865 (95% CI, 2.709-7.029, p < 0.001). Conclusion: A causal mechanism was found that anxiety acts as a mediator of sex effects on jaw function. Therefore, psychological factors need to be taken into account in the treatment of female TMD patients. Further clinical trials are needed to explore whether psychotherapy is more beneficial to improve jaw function in female TMD patients.