Ni-CoSe2 heterojunction coated by N-doped carbon for modified separators of high-performance Li-sulfur batteries.

Functional separators modified by transition metal compounds have been proven to be effective in suppressing the shuttle effect of polysulfides and accelerating sluggish electrode dynamics in lithium-sulfur batteries (LSBs). However, the behaviors of heterojunctions composed of transition metals and their compounds in LSBs are still rarely studied. Herein, we report a novel Ni-CoSe2 heterostructure coated with nitrogen-doped carbon. Compared to homogeneous cobalt diselenide, it exhibits much stronger adsorption and catalytic conversion abilities towards polysulfides. With the modified separators, the lithium-sulfur batteries exhibit significantly improved capacity retention and reduced polarization during cycling.

Seroprevalence and transmission of severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus in a coastal endemic area in Southeastern China.

Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) is a newly emerged tick-borne viral zoonosis and widely prevalent in China, Japan and South Korea. Most reported SFTS cases have been identified in mountainous and hilly areas, with a few in island areas. In this study, we conducted a systematic investigation about natural infection of SFTS virus (SFTSV) among humans, animals and ticks in a coastal endemic prefecture, containing island, plains and mountain settings, in Zhejiang Province, Southeastern China. From July 2020 to June 2021, 1117 participants completed a survey with questionnaire interview and serum testing. Meanwhile, 862 serum samples of domestic animals, 275 spleen tissue samples of wild animals and 829 ticks representing five species (predominantly Haemaphysalis longicornis and Rhipicephalus sanguineus sensu lato) were collected. The seroprevalence of anti-SFTSV total antibody and IgM antibody among the participants was 4.8 % (54/1117) and 0.6 % (7/1117), respectively. Multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that living in the island area (OR=2.66; 95 %CI: 1.04-6.80; P = 0.041) was significantly associated with seropositivity of total antibody to SFTSV. Furthermore, a higher seroprevalence was observed in domestic animals (36.1 %), while the SFTSV-RNA infection rate was 0.4 % in wild animals and the minimum infection rate (MIR) was 0.8 % for all tick species combined. The only tick species infected with SFTSV was H. longicornis. The prevalence of SFTSV infection in the island area, manifested by anti-SFTSV total antibody (P = 0.012) and IgM antibody (P = 0.004) among humans, anti-SFTSV total antibody (P<0.001) among domestic animals, and SFTSV-RNA among ticks (P = 0.022), was significantly higher than that in the mountainous area and the plain area. Furthermore, phylogenetic analysis showed that SFTSV sequences obtained from ticks in the island area were clustered with reported strains in Japan and South Korea. These results suggest that islands in the study area might be an important natural focus of SFTSV.

YOLOv8-Peas: a lightweight drought tolerance method for peas based on seed germination vigor.

Introduction: Drought stress has become an important factor affecting global food production. Screening and breeding new varieties of peas (Pisum sativum L.) for drought-tolerant is of critical importance to ensure sustainable agricultural production and global food security. Germination rate and germination index are important indicators of seed germination vigor, and the level of germination vigor of pea seeds directly affects their yield and quality. The traditional manual germination detection can hardly meet the demand of full-time sequence nondestructive detection. We propose YOLOv8-Peas, an improved YOLOv8-n based method for the detection of pea germination vigor. Methods: We constructed a pea germination dataset and used multiple data augmentation methods to improve the robustness of the model in real-world scenarios. By introducing the C2f-Ghost structure and depth-separable convolution, the model computational complexity is reduced and the model size is compressed. In addition, the original detector head is replaced by the self-designed PDetect detector head, which significantly improves the computational efficiency of the model. The Coordinate Attention (CA) mechanism is added to the backbone network to enhance the model's ability to localize and extract features from critical regions. The neck used a lightweight Content-Aware ReAssembly of FEatures (CARAFE) upsampling operator to capture and retain detailed features at low levels. The Adam optimizer is used to improve the model's learning ability in complex parameter spaces, thus improving the model's detection performance. Results: The experimental results showed that the Params, FLOPs, and Weight Size of YOLOv8-Peas were 1.17M, 3.2G, and 2.7MB, respectively, which decreased by 61.2%, 61%, and 56.5% compared with the original YOLOv8-n. The mAP of YOLOv8-Peas was on par with that of YOLOv8-n, reaching 98.7%, and achieved a detection speed of 116.2FPS. We used PEG6000 to simulate different drought environments and YOLOv8-Peas to analyze and quantify the germination vigor of different genotypes of peas, and screened for the best drought-resistant pea varieties. Discussion: Our model effectively reduces deployment costs, improves detection efficiency, and provides a scientific theoretical basis for drought-resistant genotype screening in pea.

A ten-year assessment of the epidemiological features and fatal risk factors of hospitalised severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome in Eastern China.

Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) virus has caused a large number of human infections since discovered in 2009. This study elucidated epidemiological features and fatal risk factors of SFTS cases accumulated up to ten years in Taizhou, a coastal prefecture of Zhejiang Province in Eastern China. A total of 188 hospitalised SFTS cases (including 40 deaths) reported to Taizhou Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) during 2011-2020 were enrolled in the study. In the past decade, the annual incidence of SFTS increased over the years (P < 0.001) along with an expanding epidemic area, and the case fatality of hospitalised cases has remained high (21.3%). Although most cases occurred in hilly areas, a coastal island had the highest incidence and case fatality. The majority of cases were over the age of 60 years (72.3%), and both incidence and case fatality of SFTS increased with age. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that age (OR 7.47, 95% CI 1.32-42.33; P = 0.023), and haemorrhagic manifestations including petechiae (OR 7.76, 95% CI 1.17-51.50; P = 0.034), gingival haemorrhage (OR 5.38, 95% CI 1.25-23.15; P = 0.024) and melena (OR 5.75, 95% CI 1.18-28.07; P = 0.031) were significantly associated with the death of SFTS cases. Five family clusters identified were farmers, among four of which the index patients were female with a history of hypertension. Based on the study, age is a critical risk factor for incidence and case fatality of SFTS. With an increased annual incidence over the last ten years, SFTS remains a public health threat that should not be ignored. Further study is needed to look at the natural foci in the coastal islands.

The genetic evolution and codon usage pattern of severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus.

Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) is a newly emerging zoonotic infectious disease caused by the SFTS virus (SFTSV), which has been continuously circulating in Eastern Asia in recent years. Although the evolution of SFTSV has been investigated, the evolutionary changes associated with codon usage have not been reported. Thus, a comprehensive genetic and codon usage bias analysis of SFTSV was conducted to elucidate the genetic diversity and evolutionary relationships in a novel perspective. The study amplified and sequenced fifteen SFTSV strains from a prefecture of Zhejiang Province, Eastern China in 2020, where SFTS cases have been continuously reported in the past decade. Phylogenetic analysis was conducted based on the complete coding sequences of SFTSV segments. It suggested that all SFTSV strains circulating in Zhejiang were clustered with Japanese and Korean strains, which belonged to two different genotypes. Meanwhile, thirty-nine genetic reassortants classified into nineteen different reassortment forms were identified, while 45 recombination events in 41 SFTSV strains were found. Codon usage patterns were further analyzed to understand the evolutionary changes in relation to genotype and host. And it revealed that codon usage bias was mainly driven by natural selection rather than mutation pressure. In addition, the codon adaptation index (CAI) analysis demonstrated the strong adaptability of SFTSV to Gallus gallus and Homo sapiens. Similarity index (SiD) analysis indicated that Haemaphysalis longicornis posed a strong selection pressure to SFTSV. In conclusion, this study revealed that the genetic diversity of SFTSV is gradually increasing. The codon usage analysis suggested that codon usage bias of SFTSV was mainly driven by natural selection, and SFTSV has evolved host-specific codon usage patterns. This contributes to the development of control measures against SFTSV.

RBMX suppresses tumorigenicity and progression of bladder cancer by interacting with the hnRNP A1 protein to regulate PKM alternative splicing.

The prognosis for patients with metastatic bladder cancer (BCa) is poor, and it is not improved by current treatments. RNA-binding motif protein X-linked (RBMX) are involved in the regulation of the malignant progression of various tumors. However, the role of RBMX in BCa tumorigenicity and progression remains unclear. In this study, we found that RBMX was significantly downregulated in BCa tissues, especially in muscle-invasive BCa tissues. RBMX expression was negatively correlated with tumor stage, histological grade and poor patient prognosis. Functional assays demonstrated that RBMX inhibited BCa cell proliferation, colony formation, migration, and invasion in vitro and suppressed tumor growth and metastasis in vivo. Mechanistic investigations revealed that hnRNP A1 was an RBMX-binding protein. RBMX competitively inhibited the combination of the RGG motif in hnRNP A1 and the sequences flanking PKM exon 9, leading to the formation of lower PKM2 and higher PKM1 levels, which attenuated the tumorigenicity and progression of BCa. Moreover, RBMX inhibited aerobic glycolysis through hnRNP A1-dependent PKM alternative splicing and counteracted the PKM2 overexpression-induced aggressive phenotype of the BCa cells. In conclusion, our findings indicate that RBMX suppresses BCa tumorigenicity and progression via an hnRNP A1-mediated PKM alternative splicing mechanism. RBMX may serve as a novel prognostic biomarker for clinical intervention in BCa.

Effects of organochlorine exposure on male reproductive disorders in an electronic waste area of South China.

Several studies suggest that organochlorine exposure can affect male reproductive functions, causing poor semen quality, endocrine disruption, or dysregulation of thyroid hormones. This study uses multiple linear regression (MLR) models to analyze the correlation between male reproductive functions and polychlorinated biphenyl (PCBs) congeners or p,p'-DDE levels in serum, semen, and indoor dust samples. Multiple comparisons were all adjusted using the false discovery rate (FDR). The results revealed that the PCB congener levels in seminal plasma were significantly associated with the quality parameters of human semen (i.e., sperm count, morphology, and motility) and thyroid hormones after adjusting for covariates, e.g., associations of the sperm concentration with levels of CB105 (ß = -0.323, 95% CI: -0.561, -0.085, p = 0.009), CB44 (ß = 0.585, 95% CI: 0.290, 0.880, p < 0.001), and CB66 (ß = -0.435, 95% CI: -0.728, -0.143, p = 0.004) in the seminal plasma were observed. Correlations between serum pollutants levels and the semen quality, reproductive hormones, or thyroid hormones were also observed. Moreover, our results demonstrate that the quantification of PCBs in seminal plasma can better describe male reproductive disorders than that in serum or dust. Organochlorine exposure measured in serum or dust, especially in seminal plasma, was associated with semen quality, as well as reproductive and thyroid hormones, thus suggesting that the impacts of persistent pollutants on male reproductive health require further investigation.

Levels and congener profiles of halogenated persistent organic pollutants in human serum and semen at an e-waste area in South China.

Typical halogenated persistent organic pollutants (Hal-POPs), including polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), are a group of ubiquitous organic pollutants with an endocrine disrupting effect. This study evaluated the accumulation and congener profiles of Hal-POPs in the bodies of men who live/work in areas of South China where electronic wastes are collected and managed, especially in their semen samples. The results show that the detection frequency and serum concentrations of Hal-POP congeners within the high-exposure group (HEG) were higher than those of the low-exposure group (LEG). Furthermore, an identical trend was observed for the seminal plasma concentrations of Hal-POPs. The distribution characteristics, such as their mean, median, and discrete values, of PBDE congeners in serum and semen samples from the same subjects were consistent with each other. However, the distribution characteristics of PCB congeners in serum samples were different from those in semen samples. BDE153 was one of the most abundant congeners found in the serum and semen samples; hence, it can be identified as an indicator PBDE congener. Further research is needed to explore the mechanism of Hal-POPs distribution in human semen and serum samples.

[Expression of DKKL1 in spermatozoa of men with asthenospermia].

OBJECTIVE: To compare the expression of DKKL1 in ejaculated spermatozoa of normal fertile men and men with asthenospermia and investigate the role of DKKL1 in the pathogenesis of asthenospermia. METHODS: The characteristics of semen samples collected from normal fertile men and men with asthenospermia were analyzed using computer-assisted sperm analysis according to WHO criteria. The ejaculated sperms were isolated by Percoll discontinuous density gradients to detect the expression of DKKL1 mRNA and protein using real-time PCR and Western blotting. RESULTS: The expression of DKKL1 mRNA was significantly down-regulated by 11.1 times in asthenospermic men as compared with that in normal fertile men (P<0.01). Western blotting showed that the expression of DKKL1 protein was down-regulated by 2.4 times in asthenospermic men compared to normal fertile men. CONCLUSION: The expression of DKKL1, which may play an important role in sperm motility,is significantly decreased in ejaculated spermatozoa of men with asthenospermia.

[Effects of raloxifene at two different doses for ovulation induction on endometrial pinopodes in mice during the implantation window].

OBJECTIVE: To compare the expression of pinopodes, the marker of endometrial receptivity, during the implantation window in Kunming mice stimulated with two different doses of raloxifene (RAL). METHODS: Forty-eight 8-week-old female Kunming mice were randomly divided into 4 groups (n=12), namely saline group, clomiphene citrate (CC, 18 mg/kg) group, RAL (33 mg/kg) group and RAL (44 mg/kg group). In each group, the mice received intragastric administration of 1 mL of normal saline containing CC or RAL at the specified doses or saline only as indicated for ovulation induction, once daily for 2 days. The mice received then injection with 5 IU human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) and mated and on day 4.5 of gestation, the pregnant mice were sacrificed for examination of the uterus with scanning electron microscopy. RESULTS: Abundant and well developed pinopodes were observed in the endometrium of the mice in the 2 RAL groups and in the saline control group. The mice in CC group showed obviously reduced endometrial pinopodes with poor development. CONCLUSIONS: RAL at two different doses does not obviously affect the expression of pinopodes in the uterine epithelium of mice, suggesting the safety of RAL at these two doses for ovulation induction without causing adverse effects on endometrial receptivity.

Expression profile of SPACA5/Spaca5 in spermatogenesis and transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder.

The majority of bladder cancer-associated mortalities are due to transitional cell carcinoma (TCC), which is the most prevalent and chemoresistant malignancy of the bladder. Sperm acrosome associated 5 (SPACA5)/Spaca5 is a sperm acrosome-associated, c-type lysozyme-like protein that has been recently identified, and has been designated as an attractive candidate antigen for cancer testis. In the present study, the expression profile of SPACA5/Spaca5 was analyzed in spermatogenesis and TCC of the bladder using diverse molecular and cellular biology methods. Using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) to analyze the multi-tissue distribution and temporal expression of SPACA5/Spaca5, the SPACA5/Spaca5 gene was determined to be generally not expressed in normal tissue, with the exception of the testis, and it could be detected at a low level on day 20 after birth in mouse testes and at a higher level on day 28. Immunohistochemistry staining revealed that the SPACA5/Spaca5 protein was exclusively observed in the elongated spermatid of the normal testes, and was ectopically expressed in the cytoplasm of TCC, while it was not expressed in normal bladder tissues. The frequency of SPACA5 messenger RNA was detected in 45% of TCC (9/20) by RT-quantitative PCR. Furthermore, SPACA5 protein was more frequently detected in high-grade than in low-grade tumors (61.54 vs. 30.00%, P=0.035). Accordingly, high SPACA5 staining scores were observed to be significantly associated with high-grade tumors (n=65, R=0.279, P=0.027). Collectively, our findings indicated that SPACA5/Spaca5 may be important in male spermatogenesis and may be used as a potential target for specific immunotherapy in patients suffering from TCC.

Endometrial Receptivity Markers in Mice Stimulated With Raloxifene Versus Clomiphene Citrate and Natural Cycles.

Ovulation induction therapy with clomiphene citrate can suppress endometrial receptivity. Raloxifene may be an alternative therapeutic for women with ovulatory disorders. This study aimed to compare the expression of endometrial receptivity markers, including homeobox gene 10 (HOXA10), integrin ß3, and leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF), as well as pinopode production during the implantation window in mice stimulated with raloxifene and clomiphene citrate and natural cycles. Thirty-six 8-week-old female Kunming mice were randomly divided into 3 groups (n = 12) and administered daily raloxifene (22 mg/kg), clomiphene citrate (18 mg/kg), and normal saline (1 mL), respectively, by gavage. Two days later, mice were injected with 5 IU human chorionic gonadotropin and mated. Successfully mated female animals were identified with vaginal plugs designated gestation day 1. At day 4.5, pregnant donor mice were euthanized, and uterus samples were collected for immunohistochemistry, quantitative polymerase chain reaction, Western blot, and scanning electron microscopy analyses. Homeobox gene 10, integrin ß3, and LIF messenger RNA (mRNA) and protein levels were significantly higher in the raloxifene-treated animals compared with the clomiphene citrate group (all P < .05) but not significantly different from saline group values, except for LIF and integrin ß3 mRNA levels (P < .05). Pinopodes were abundant and well developed in the raloxifene and saline groups; however, in the clomiphene citrate-treated mice, fewer and poorly developed pinopodes were obtained. In mice, raloxifene had no effect on HOXA10, integrin ß3, and LIF expression as well as pinopode production, suggesting it has no adverse effects on endometrial receptivity. Raloxifene may provide a viable alternative oral ovulation induction agent to clomiphene citrate.

[Value of serum beta-human chorionic gonadotropin on day 9 and 11 after embryo transfer in predicting pregnancy outcomes].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the value of serum beta-human chorionic gonadotropin (ß-HCG) on days 9 (d9) and 11 (d11) after fresh embryo transfer (ET) and frozen-thawed embryo transfer (FET) in predicting the pregnancy outcomes. METHODS: A total of 227 fresh ET and FET cycles performed at the Center of Reproductive Medicine, Qingyuan People's Hospital between Dec, 2012 and Feb, 2014 were analyzed. The data of serum ß-HCG levels on d9 and d11 after fresh ET and FET cycles and the pregnancy outcomes were reviewed, and the ROC curve was constructed to determine the optimal cut-off level of serum ß-HCG level for predicting pregnancy outcomes. RESULTS: According to pregnancy outcomes, the cycles were divided into non-pregnancy group (group A), biochemical pregnancy group (group B), and clinical pregnancy group (group C). Significant differences were found between the mean serum ß-HCG levels measured on d9 and d11 in all the 3 groups (P<0.01). The cycles in group C were further divided into 5 subgroups with single pregnancy (C1), twin pregnancy (C2), early abortion (C3), ectopic pregnancy (C4), or intrauterine pregnancy complicated with ectopic pregnancy group (C5), and all the 5 subgroups showed significant differences in ß-HCG measurements between d9 and d11 (P<0.01). On d9 after ET and FET, the optimal cut-off level of serum ß-HCG was 49.05 IU/L for predicting for clinical pregnancy, and was 105.15 IU/L for predicting twin pregnancy; the two corresponding cut-off levels of serum ß-HCG on d11 was 51.2 IU/L and 241.75 IU/L, respectively. CONCLUSION: The absolute serum ß-HCG level on d9 and d11 after fresh ET and FET allows an accurate diagnosis of pregnancy and helps in the prediction of the pregnancy outcomes.

Developmental expression and function of DKKL1/Dkkl1 in humans and mice.

BACKGROUND: Experiments were designed to identify the developmental expression and function of the Dickkopf-Like1 (DKKL1/Dkkl1) gene in humans and mice. METHODS: Mouse testes cDNA samples were collected at multiple postnatal times (days 4, 9, 18, 35, and 54, as well as at 6 months) and hybridized to Affymetrix mouse whole genome Genechips. To further characterize the homologous gene DKKL1 in human beings, the expression profiles between human adult testis and foetal testis were compared using Affymetrix human Genechips. The characteristics of DKKL1/Dkkl1 were analysed using various cellular and molecular biotechnologies. RESULTS: The expression of Dkkl1 was not detected in mouse testes on days 4 or 9, but was present on days 18, 35, and 54, as well as at 6 months, which was confirmed by RT-PCR and Western blot results. Examination of the tissue distribution of Dkkl1 demonstrated that while Dkkl1 mRNA was abundantly expressed in testes, little to no expression of Dkkl1 was observed in the epididymis or other tissues. In an in vitro fertilization assay, a Dkkl1 antibody was found to significantly reduce fertilization. Human Genechips results showed that the hybridization signal intensity of DKKL1 was 405.56-fold higher in adult testis than in foetal testis. RT-PCR analysis of multiple human tissues indicated that DKKL1 mRNA was exclusively expressed in the testis. Western blot analysis also demonstrated that DKKL1 was mainly expressed in human testis with a molecular weight of approximately 34 kDa. Additionally, immunohistochemical staining showed that the DKKL1 protein was predominantly located in spermatocytes and round spermatids in human testes. An examination of the expression levels of DKKL1 in infertile male patients revealed that while no DKKL1 appeared in the testes of patients with Sertoli cell only syndrome (SCOS) or cryptorchidism, DKKL1 was observed with variable expression in patients with spermatogenic arrest. CONCLUSIONS: These results, together with previous studies, suggest that DKKL1/Dkkl1 may play an important role in testicular development and spermatogenesis and may be an important factor in male infertility.

[Analysis of human papilloma virus infection of women in early pregnancy and postpartum].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the clinical value of examination of cervical HPV infection in women in early pregnancy and postpartum. METHODS: Using flow-through hybridization and gene chip techniques, we examined 3 806 cervical specimens of pregnant and postpartum women of different ages with different cervical diseases. The women were grouped into different age groups by every 5 years for HPV DNA genotyping of the specimens, with another 4080 women without pregnancy serving as the control. RESULTS: Of the total of 7886 specimens, high-risk HPV infection was detected a the rate of 12.5%. In pregnancy, postpartum and nonpregnancy, the infection rate was 14.3%,, 10.5%, and 11.7%, respectively. In the 4 age groups, the infection rate was 16.9%, 12.1%, 13.8%, and 22.1%, respectively. CONCLUSION: The high-risk HPV infection rate in pregnancy differs significantly from that in nonpregnancy and postpartum. The infection rate also differs with age during pregnancy and postpartum. Examination of HPV infection during pregnancy is safe and feasible.