This study was aimed to develop a laboratory-scale gasoline food-grade magnetic hammer mill and to estimate the milling efficiency, milling yield, milling time, energy consumption and energy intensity of some selected food materials (soybean, rice and cassava flakes). The hopper, shaft, sieve and hammers of the gasoline food-grade magnetic hammer mill are made of stainless steel and the structural base is made of mild steel. The cost of developing the gasoline food-grade magnetic hammer mill was ₦ 149,000. Cassava flakes were observed to have the highest milling yield (940 g), lowest energy consumption (0.94 MJ), energy intensity (0.94 MJ/kg) and the highest milling efficiency (94 %) while soybean was observed to have the longest milling time (5.86 mins). The developed gasoline food-grade magnetic hammer mill could be adopted for milling different food material but its performance varies based on the food material.

H9N2 influenza virus has been clustered into multiple lineages because of antigenic drift. The continuous rapid evolution of H9N2 virus increases the difficulties of the prevention and control programs. As a major antigenic protein, hemagglutinin (HA) protein has always been of interest, especially amino acid mutations altering viral antigenicity. It has been well-documented that some amino acid mutations in HA of H9N2 avian influenza virus (H9N2 virus) alter the viral antigenicity, but little is reported about how these antibody escape mutations affect antigenic variation. Herein, we identified 15 HA mutations which were potentially relevant to viral antigenic drift, and found that a key amino acid mutation A198V at position 198 in HA, the only nonconservative site in the receptor binding sites, was directly responsible for viral antigenic variation. Furthermore, the rF/HA A198V virus showed poor cross-reactivity to immune sera from animals immunized with the viruses F/98 (A198), SD/SS/94 (A198), JS/Y618/12 (T198), and rF/HA A198V (V198) by microneutralization (MN) assay. The A198V substitution in parent virus caused significantly decreased cross-MN titers by enhancing the receptor binding activity, but did not prevent antibody (Ab) binding physically. Additionally, the strong receptor binding avidity increased the NA activity significantly, while prevented the viral release from cells. Moreover, A198V substitution promoted H9N2 virus escape from pAbs-neutralizing reaction in vitro, and slightly affected cross-protection in vivo. Our results suggested that the A198V mutation with strong receptor binding avidity contributed to viral antigenicity and immune escape, and played a key role in the process of adaptive evolution of H9N2 virus.

Percutaneous vertebroplasty (PVP) is an increasingly important procedure in orthopaedics. Bone cement leakage after PVP is a widely described complication, which is very rare and serious when it causes cardiac involvement. A 73-year-old man who underwent PVP for a lumbar fracture developed chest tightness and shortness of breath 8 months after surgery, and had a sudden syncope one year after surgery. Imaging examination suggested a strip of foreign body in the right atrium and the right ventricle. The patient underwent emergency open heart surgery. The surgery was successful and the 9cm bone cement foreign body was completely removed.

In the cold regions of China, much of the lignin-rich corn straw accumulated due to low temperature limiting. However, the lack of psychrotrophic lignin-degrading strain resources hinders the lignin decomposition. Here, the whole genome of the psychrotrophic lignin-degrading bacterium Arthrobacter sp. C2, isolated in author’s previous work, was sequenced. Comparative genomics revealed that C2 contained unique genes related to lignin degradation and low-temperature adaptability. DyP may participate in lignin degradation and may be a cold-adapted enzyme. Moreover, DyP was proven to catalyze lignin Cα-Cβ bond cleavage. DyP gene deletion and complementation verified its ability to catalyze the first-step reaction of lignin degradation. Comparative transcriptome analysis revealed that the transcriptional expression of DyP gene was induced upregulation, and the genetic compensation mechanism endowed C2ΔDyP viability on lignin. This study improved the understanding of metabolic mechanism of psychrotrophic lignin-degrading bacteria and provided potential application options for energy-saving production using cold-adapted lignin-degrading enzymes.

The reduced Sombor index $SO_{red}(G)$ and the exponential reduced Sombor index of a graph $G$ $e^{SO_{red}}(G)$ are defined respectively as $$SO_{red}(G)=\sum_{uv\in E(G)}\sqrt{(d(u)-1)^2+(d(v)-1)^2},$$ $$e^{SO_{red}}(G)=\sum_{uv\in E(G)}e^{\sqrt{(d(u)-1)^2+(d(v)-1)^2}},$$ where $d(u)$ denotes the degree of the vertex $u$ in $G$. In this paper, we obtain the maximum value of the reduced Sombor index among all molecular trees of order $n$ with perfect matching and characterize the corresponding extremal trees. This sloves a problem of the reduced Sombor index posed by Deng, Tang and Wu (Molecular trees with extremal values of Sombor indices, International Journal of Quantum Chemistry, 121 (2021) e26622). We also show that the maximum molecular trees of exponential reduced Sombor index and reduced Sombor index are the same, which was conjectured by Liu, You, Tang and Liu (On the reduced Sombor index and its applications, MATCH Commun. Math. Comput. Chem. 86 (2021) 729-753).

Farmland shelterbelt plays a crucial role in protecting arable land but also exhibits high water consumption in arid areas. The coexistence of shelterbelt and farmlands always lead to the competition for water. However, the wide application of drip irrigation in recent years make shelterbelt difficult to get water, leading to a more complex relationships between shelterbelt and farmland in water use. Therefore, the evapotranspiration (ET) of poplar shelterbelt and cotton field under the drip irrigation were quantitatively analyzed, to explore the relationship between shelterbelt and cotton under drip irrigation in water use and determine the area and intensity of potential competition. The results showed that due to the larger planting area and higher density of cotton, the ET of cotton field was 56% - 66% higher than that of poplar shelterbelt, especially in the seedling stage and flowering and bolling stage. In the boll-opening stage of cotton, the ET of poplar shelterbelt exceeded that of cotton field by 24.15%, and the ET of cotton per unit area was significantly lower than that of poplar shelterbelt. Besides, in the area with a distance of 0.1 - 0.5 times tree height (H) from the shelterbelt (0.1H - 0.5H), shelterbelt had an obvious competitive advantage because the root length density and biomass were significantly higher than those of cotton in the 20-40 cm soil layer, and the competition for water between them was the most intense in this area. In >1H area, there was no poplar root and no competition. Therefore, the introduction of a poplar shelterbelt did not increase water consumption in the local area and aggravate the water shortage in oases. However, the amount of irrigation to cotton field close to the shelterbelt should be appropriately increased, to reduce the loss of water caused by the consumption of poplar trees.

Human land-use is changing Earth’s surface, causing a decline in biodiversity and altering ecosystem functioning. However, most of the empirical evidence of land-use impacts in the Neotropics comes from studies investigating isolated land-use types, and the pathways by which intensified land-uses affect ecosystem functioning are largely unknown. Using a database from 61 streams spanning two hyperdiverse Neotropical regions, we demonstrate that intensive human land-uses (agriculture, urbanization, pasture, and afforestation) strongly affect stream biodiversity and functioning. We showed negative associations of agriculture, pasture and urbanization with taxonomic richness, functional diversity, and diversity of trait categories (recruitment and life-history, resource and habitat-use, and body size) of fish, arthropod, and macrophyte. The impacts of intensive land-uses on standing biomass were negative and driven by direct and indirect effects mediated by declines in taxonomic and functional diversities. Our findings highlight that human land use can reshape stream biodiversity, with multiple negative consequences on ecosystem functioning.

Objectives: Thyroid cancers with low T-stage and nodal burden are common incidental findings at autopsy; however, less is known about the frequency of non-thyroid head and neck cancers diagnosed at autopsy. It is important to identify the prevalence of various head and neck cancers found at autopsy and their association with morality as cancers differ in risk factors and severity. Design: Head and neck cancers excluding cutaneous malignancy were identified in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database. Case-related data was reviewed to characterize the demographic factors associated with the head and neck cancers found at autopsy. Fisher’s Exact Test was used to identify correlations between cancer-related mortality and cancer type. Results: We reviewed 678 cases of head and neck cancers diagnosed at autopsy from 2000 to 2017. The most common causes of death found at autopsy in non-thyroid carcinoma were cancer-related mortality (51.40%), heart disease (14.95%), and accidents (5.61%). Thyroid carcinoma was the cause of death in 17 (3.01%) patients. The top three causes of death in this group were heart disease (26.19%), accident (9.20%), and infection (6.19%). Patients with non-thyroid cancer were 17.1 (95% CI: 9.55 - 30.6, p < 0.001) times more likely to have cancer-related death than those with thyroid carcinoma. Conclusion: The high rate of cancer-related deaths in postmortem diagnosis of non-thyroid head and neck cancers reveals the need for physicians to increase detection vigilance and emphasizes the need to improve screening in those who may be high risk for disease development or progression.

Pulmonary vein isolation using cryoablation technology is routinely performed for rhythm control of atrial fibrillation. Cryoballoon breaches are rare with only 5 double-wall breaches known worldwide. Balloons are designed with a double-layer and a vacuum is maintained between them which is constantly monitored for compromise by the control console. In this report we describe our experience of a single-wall breach, what it enabled us to learn and consider in terms of patient safety during and after an event like this.

Aim: To evaluate the prognostic utility of C-reactive protein-albumin ratio (CAR) and urine protein-creatinine ratio (UACR) in patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). Patients & methods: This study is a retrospective analysis. Patients diagnosed with HFpEF at the Jiangmen Central Hospital from January 2017 to January 2020 were included. HFpEF patients were stratified into two groups based on the occurrence of major adverse cardiac events (MACE). Receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curves were then constructed and Cox regression models were employed to gauge the prognostic relevance of CAR and UACR for HFpEF patients. Kaplan-Meier analysis evaluated the survival and MACE-free rate in patients with different level of CAR and UACR. Results: A total of 312 patients with HFpEF were enrolled in this study and followed up for 25.18±7.54 months. Among them, 109 MACE (34.94%), 59 all-cause mortality (18.91%). The age, level of C reactive protein (CRP), albumin (ALB), creatinine (Cr) , B-type pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-ProBNP) , CAR and UACR were statistically different between the MACE group and Non-MACE group ( P<0.05). Multivariate analysis showed that CAR and UACR were independent predictors of all-cause mortality and MACE in HFpEF patients. ROC showed that the AUC of the combination predicting the occurrence of all-cause mortality and MACE are 0.837 and 0.929 respectively. Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that the survival rate of group 1 (CAR≦0.16 and UACR≦29.15mg/g) was significantly higher than that of group 2 (CAR>0.16 or UACR>29.15mg/g) and group 3 (CAR>0.16 and UACR>29.15mg/g) (98.57% vs. 74.77 vs. 53.85%, P=0.000) and MACE-free survival rate of group 1 (CAR≦0.16 and UACR≦31.05mg/g) was significantly higher than that of group 2 ( CAR>0.16 or UACR>31.05mg/g) and group 3 (CAR>0.16 and UACR>31.05mg/g) (94.37% vs. 48.35 vs. 13.11%, P=0.000). Conclusion: We determined that increased CAR and UACR was independently associated with poor outcomes in HFpEF patients. Combined evaluation of CAR and UACR yielded a more accurate predictive model of HFpEF patient outcomes relative to the use of either of these metrics in isolation. Our research can provide a theoretical basis in the occurrence of MACE for the high-risk HFpEF patients and intervene them properly and timely.

Purpose. Providing dental treatment for intellectually disabled patients is usually performed under general anesthesia. This randomized double-blinded parallel clinical trial study aims to evaluate the effect of dexmedetomidine on the blood pressure and recovery conditions of these patients. Methods. Fifty intellectually disabled patients without systemic problems or physical disability were recruited. The anesthetic regimen included 5 mg/kg of sodium thiopental, 0.8 mg/kg of atracurium, and 1-2 mcg/kg of fentanyl; and 100 mcg/kg/min propofol for maintenance. The intervention group received additional 2 mcg/kg/h dexmedetomidine by infusion. The control group received equal amount of 0.9% saline. Patients’ blood pressure, duration of anesthesia and recovery, types of dental treatments and agitation levels in recovery were recorded. Results. Systolic blood pressure fluctuated in control group (P = 0.032 between 15 and 30 minutes and P = 0.009 between 45 and 60 minutes), while it did not significantly alter in the intervention group (P = 0.942). The diastolic blood pressure did not significantly change neither in dexmedetomidine (P = 0.094) nor in the control group (P = 0.277). Patients’ agitation levels were significantly lower in dexmedetomidine group at 15 (P = 0.015) and 30 (P = 0.003) minutes post-operatively. The use of dexmedetomidine did not significantly elongate the stay in recovery (P = 0.194). Conclusion. Dexmedetomidine can be used to improve intra-operative blood pressure stability and to decrease post-operative agitation without lengthening recovery time.

Background: Numerous pharmacologically beneficial compounds have been isolated from natural products derived from plants; these compounds are often characterized as phytochemicals and are used in flavors, spices, fragrances, and colors. In the current study, we aimed to obtain novel immunomodulators from aroma compounds. Methods: We selected a candidate that inhibits antigen-presenting cell-mediated activation of T cells from an aroma library. The molecular mechanisms by which the candidate compound modulates immunoresponses were analyzed with in vitro studies, and the biological significance of the candidate was evaluated by using a mouse model. Results: b-Damascone, a major ingredient of rose fragrance, was selected from an aroma library as a candidate compound that suppresses antigen-dependent T cell activation, through 2-step screening using OT-II splenocytes. Investigations using flow cytometry, ELISA, and qPCR revealed that b-damascone inhibited dendritic cell (DC)-related responses, including DC-induced Th1 development, TLR ligand-induced transactivation and production of inflammatory cytokines in DCs, and LPS-induced upregulation of MHC class II and CD86 on DCs. Regarding intracellular events, we found that b-damascone treatment increased the levels of NRF2 protein and Hmox1 mRNA in DCs. Nrf2 -/- DCs, in which b-damascone-induced Hmox1 transcription was not observed, possessed Th1-induction activity and higher IL-12p40 production activity even in the presence of b-damascone in comparison with Nrf2 +/- DCs. Finally, we evaluated the effect of orally administered b-damascone on the pathology of contact hypersensitivity model mice and found that b-damascone intake suppressed ear swelling. Conclusions: The rose aroma compound b-damascone, which suppresses DC-mediated immunoresponses by activating the NRF2 pathway, could be useful to ameliorate immunorelated diseases.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has necessitated the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) among the frontline health care workers (HCWs). Although PPE offers a great deal of help in preventing infection, it poses significant physical and psychological impacts at varying levels. Correspondingly, multiple independent studies have brought out the PPE associated problems. However, there exists a lacuna on comprehensive information of global prevalence related to the same. Aims: To estimate the prevalence and risk factors of PPE among HCWs during COVID-19 across the globe. Design: Systematic review and Meta-analysis. Method: The review was undertaken as per the protocol registered in PROSPERO xxxxxx following PRISMA guidelines. Two independent reviewers have undertaken the search strategy, study selection and methodological quality assessment. Discrepancies were addressed by the third reviewer. Heterogeneity was addressed through I2 statistics and forest plots generated by open meta-software. Results: A total of 16 articles conducted across 6 different countries among 10,182 HCWs were included in the review. The pooled prevalence of skin lesions, headache, sweating, breathing difficulty, vision difficulty, thirst/dry mouth, fatigue and communication difficulty, anxiety, fear were 57(47-66%),51(37-64%),75(56-90%),44(23-68%),61(21-94%),54%(30-77%),67(58-76%),74%(47-94%),28(24-33%),14(10-17%) respectively. Moreover, the various risk factors included; the use of PPE greater than 6 Hrs. and young females. In addition, the medical management of new-onset problems created an additional burden on the frontline HCWs. Conclusion: The front-line HCWs encountered physical and psychological problems at varying levels as a result of wearing PPE which needs to be addressed to prevent the inadequate use of PPE leading to infections. Relevance to clinical practice: The review sheds light on the need to address the physical and psychological morbidity due to PPE use for ensuring the working morale and optimum health status of frontline HCWs to combat ongoing and future pandemics.

The aim of this study was to compare the outcomes of SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR-positive and RT-PCR negative Patients in Iran. This cohort study performed on 81393 patients with COVID-19 in six provinces of Iran during 2020. The studied variables include demographic and clinical. To examine the associations between RT-PCR test and death or ICU admission as dependent variable the multiple Bayesian logistic regression model was used by R software. 81393 individual (44.9 % female) with a mean age of 52.98 ± 20.8 years were included to the analysis. At all, 25434 tests (31.2 %) were positive RT-PCR, including 10772 men (44.9%) and 14662 women (55.1%). The multiple Bayesian logistic regression model showed a significant positive association between RT-PCR test results and COVID-19 mortality rate (OR: 1.46; 95% Crl: 1.29- 1.64). Also, males, older age, individual with chronic disease have higher risk of COVID-19 death, however, negative association observed between history of contact and COVID-19 death. We observed a significant inverse association between RT-PCR test results and ICU admission, while, the risk of ICU admission increased significantly by 1.2 times (95% Crl for odds ratio: 1.09, 1.34) among patients with negative RT-PCR test compared to positive RT-PCR test. People with positive RT-PCR test, male gender, older age, having a history of underlying disease have a higher risk of death and hospitalization in the ICU. Therefore, paying attention to these factors will be effective in reducing the risk of death and hospitalization in ICU.

Estimating effective population size (Ne) is essential for theoretical and practical applications in evolutionary biology and conservation. Nevertheless, estimates of Ne in organisms with complex life-history traits remain scarce because of the challenges associated with estimation methods. Partially clonal plants capable of vegetative (clonal) growth and sexual reproduction are a common group of organisms in which the discrepancy between the apparent number of individuals (ramets) and the number of genetic individuals (genets) may be striking, and it is unclear how this discrepancy relates to Ne. In this study, we analysed two populations of the orchid Cypripedium calceolus to understand how the rate of clonal vs. sexual reproduction impacted Ne. We sampled and genotyped >1000 ramets at microsatellites and SNPs loci, and estimated contemporary Ne with the linkage disequilibrium method, starting from the theoretical expectation that variance in reproductive success among individuals caused by clonal reproduction and by constraints on sexual reproduction would lower Ne. We considered factors potentially affecting our estimates, including using different molecular markers and sampling strategies, and pseudoreplication in genomic datasets. The magnitude of Ne/Nramets and Ne/Ngenets ratios we provide may be used as reference points for other species with similar life-history traits. Our findings demonstrate that Ne in partially clonal plants cannot be predicted based on the number of genets generated by sexual reproduction because demographic changes over time strongly influence Ne. This is especially relevant in species of conservation concern, in which population declines may not be detected by only ascertaining the number of genets.

Objectives: Midface reconstruction poses a complex set of challenges for reconstructive surgeons. The optimal midface reconstruction must possess a durable underlying bone construct capable of integrating dental implants. Facial contour is restored by the overlying microvascular soft tissue reconstruction with reestablishment of the oral cavity. A plethora of microvascular flaps used in clinical practice have been described including those harvested from the iliac crest, scapula, fibula, forearm and back (latissimus dorsi). The objective was to share our experiences with each of these treatment options that have continued to evolve over time for the benefit of patients. Design: Our institution has over three decades of experience in reconstructing complex midface defects and this article summarizes midface reconstruction from an evolutionary perspective (for type II, III and IV defect; Browns classification, Supplementary table 1). We broadly divide this into (i) flaps supplied by the subscapular system (ii) autologous reconstruction with titanium mesh and (iii) fibula microvascular flaps using 3D planning. The advantages and disadvantages for each approach are discussed (Supplementary Table 2). Conclusion: In the future, it is expected that 3D planning coupled with rapid prototyping, intraoperative navigation and CT imaging will become standard procedural practice. Our institution has over three decades of experience in reconstructing complex midface defects and this article summarizes midface reconstruction from an evolutionary perspective (for type II, III and IV defect; Browns classification, Supplementary table 1). We broadly divide this into (i) flaps supplied by the subscapular system (ii) autologous reconstruction with titanium mesh and (iii) fibula microvascular flaps using 3D planning. The advantages and disadvantages for each approach are discussed (Supplementary Table 2). In the future, it is expected that 3D planning coupled with rapid prototyping, intraoperative navigation and CT imaging will become standard procedural practice.

Objectives: To test the prevalence and evolution of acute olfactory and gustatory functional impairment and of their morphologic correlates in COVID-19 patients who require hospitalization due to COVID-19-related respiratory conditions. Key-words: COVID-19, taste, olfaction, electrogustometry, contact endoscopy Design: Electrogustometric (EGM) - thresholds at the tongue area supplied by the chorda tympani, at the soft palate and at the vallate papillae area were recorded bilaterally. Olfaction was examined by Sniffin’ sticks. The patients’ nasal and oral mucosa (fungiform papillae, fpap) were examined by contact endoscopy. Setting: Tertiary referral medical centre. Patients: 53 consecutive hospitalized patients (23 males, 30 females, age 42,54 ± 10, 95 yrs) with RT-PCR-confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis were included. Patients have been examined twice: just after hospital discharge and 4-6 weeks later. Main outcome measures: EGM-thresholds and taste strips, Schniffin-Sticks, Contact-Endoscopyesults: EGM-thresholds in patients were significantly higher at both instances than those of healthy subjects. EGM-thresholds at the second measurement were significantly lower than those at the first measurement. Accordingly, patient-reported gustatory outcomes were improved at the second measurement. The same pattern has been found using Sniffin’ sticks. Significant alterations in form and vascularization of fPap have been detected in patients, especially at the first instance. Conclusions: COVID-19 affects both gustatory and olfactory functions. It also affects in parallel the structure and vascularization of both nasal and oral mucosa, although the nasal mucosa to a much less, non-significant, extent. Our findings suggest that COVID-19 may cause a mild to profound neuropathy of multiple cranial nerves.

Objective: We report this case of a 2.5 months old infant diagnosed with HLH with an autosomal recessive ZNFX1 related immune-hematological abnormalities in order to provide more information regarding the genetic and clinical manifestations concerning this disorder. Method: Medical file of the patient was reviewed including; patient profile, lab results, and management. Results: we present a unique case of a 2.5 months HLH patient that presented with a unique genetic variant with a mutated ZNFX1 gene. Conclusion: we report a homozygous ZNFX1 variant as the base of HLH in this patient. HLH proposes a diagnostic challenge as its signs and symptoms are concurrent with other differentials.

The aim of this research was to compare different sterylitic solution stain removal performances. This used metrics such as depth sterylitic, after effects, further wiping of surfaces. The results showed sterylitic solution with oxidizing agent left residue compared to deoxidizing solution. It can be concluded the latter had a more improved sterylitic performance and stain removal.

Charybdis japonica predominantly inhabits the intertidal zones and has high desiccation tolerance. We present the first chromosome-level C. japonica genome, which contains 51 chromosomes, and the revised genome is 1431.02 Mb in length and has a contig N50 size of 29.67 Mb. Among the contigs, 91.42% were anchored to 51 chromosomes. Additionally, 824.02 Mb repeat elements, 30,900 coding genes, 474 miRNAs, 15,570 tRNAs, 309 rRNAs, and 157 miRNAs were identified in the C. japonica genome. The whole-genome resequencing data can contribute to the identification of sex-related single-nucleotide polymorphisms and insertion–deletion mutations. The 0-10,120,000 bp of chromosome 37 is the sex-determining region of C. japonica. Comparative genome analysis identified 1,138 C. japonica-specific gene families. Phylogenetic analysis showed that C. japonica has a close relationship with Portunus trituberculatus, which also belonged to family Portunidae, and differentiated 42.1-135.5 million years ago. Demographic history analysis suggested that the maximum effective population size of C. japonica was maintained until 0.5×105 years ago. Relative evolution rate showed that C. japonica evolved slower than Daphnia magna, Penaeus vannamei, and P. trituberculatus. Compared with other species, metabolism rate, oxygen supply, oxidative stress, and various transporter-related genes were expanded or underwent positive selection in C. japonica, which might contribute to C. japonica’s ability to overcome diverse stresses in drought environment. Decoding the present genome provides valuable information for revealing the desiccation-adaptive and sex-determining mechanisms of C. japonica and also enriches the genetic information to explore the evolutionary history and environmental adaptation strategies of other Portunidae crabs.

Elevated CO2 concentrations (eCO2) affect plant water relations and carbon (C) sequestration, which may mitigate drought stress. We performed a meta-analysis on the interactive effects of eCO2 and drought on plant ecophysiology. We found a higher leaf relative water content and a less negative midday leaf water potential, resulting from reduced stomatal conductance (gs). However, no soil water-savings were detected due to the counteracting effect of the eCO2-induced increase in leaf area. eCO2 enhanced leaf-level water-use efficiency (WUE) proportionally regardless of soil water regimes. The magnitude of eCO2 enhancement in WUE decreased from leaf to individual scales. There was a stronger A response to eCO2 under drought. eCO2 enhanced biomass production regardless of soil water regimes; especially it enhanced belowground biomass and root to shoot ratio to greater extents under drought. These findings suggest that eCO2 can alleviate the adverse impacts of drought on plant water relations and C sequestration.

More widespread species tend to be more locally abundant, both for the population dynamics of a single species across a network of habitat patches (intraspecific) and for many species sampled at a single point in time (interspecific). These abundance-occupancy relationships are fairly well-supported in observational studies, but the underlying factors driving them are less clear. For instance, variation in demographic rates, dispersal, and spatial habitat network structure could all influence resulting abundance-occupancy relationships. We propose a simple simulation model to explore intraspecific and interspecific relationships. We create spatial habitat networks of variable size and dispersal connectivity, and simulate population dynamics across spatial networks by starting from entirely neutral communities, then systematically incorporating complexity in the form of (co)variation in species demographic rates and dispersal processes. We find that intraspecific abundance-occupancy relationships are quite weak and unaffected by the incorporation of demographic or dispersal rate variation or network structure. However, interspecific abundance-occupancy relationships were quite strong and sensitive to the spatial network structure and (co)variation in demographic and dispersal rates. This identifies a clear difference between the two forms of the relationship, as intraspecific abundance-occupancy relationships rely on temporal variation in environmental conditions independent of species trait variation, while interspecific abundance-occupancy relationships require species trait differences. Together, we provide a clear, spatially-explicit framework to explore the potential drivers of abundance-occupancy relationships, with potential extensions to many other macroecological relationships.

Cytoplasmic male sterile (CMS) system has extensively been used for exploiting hybrid vigor in plant breeding programs. However, poor understanding of molecular mechanism of fertility restoration in CMS is still a major constraint for its application in many crops. Using advanced analytical approaches, we elucidated the molecular pathways regulating CMS induction and fertility restoration in cotton. Reproductive structures of a novel CMS (LD6A) and its maintainer (LD6B) line were analyzed physiological and proteomic responses. Significant differential expression of proteins, such as Abrin, malate dehydrogenase, malic enzyme, isocitrate dehydrogenase, histone acetyltransferase was observed in novel CMS and its maintainer line. Transmission electron micrographs of mitochondrial structure in anther tapetum showed that the inner ridge of mitochondria in CMS line was relatively indistinct than that of LD6B with narrower membranous space at the tetrad stage. Further, relatively higher reactive oxygen species were accumulated in the anther of CMS than its maintainer line at pollen mother cell and tetrad stage. We suggest that abnormal sequence of mitochondrial ribosome gene rps4 and rpl10 and high expression of ribosome-inactivating protein gene Abrin in CMS line damaged mitochondrial membrane and consequently induced pollen sterility. These data provide new insight into CMS mechanism in cotton crops and a tool to develop new CMS germplasm resources.

Most arrhythmias associated with Metronidazole overdose are related to the co-ingested drugs as Metronidazole affects the metabolism of these drugs. In this case, ventricular fibrillation occurred in a young patient who overdosed on Metronidazole without preexisting medical conditions or any other known drug ingestion, which was never reported before