Background: The molecular links between metabolism and inflammation that drive different inflammatory phenotypes in asthma are poorly understood. Objectives: To identify the metabolic signatures and underlying molecular pathways of different inflammatory asthma phenotypes. Method: In the discovery set (n=119), untargeted ultra-high performance liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS) were applied to characterize the induced sputum metabolic profiles from asthmatic patients classified by different inflammatory phenotypes using orthogonal partial least-squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) and pathway topology enrichment analysis. In the validation set (n = 114), differential metabolites were selected to perform targeted quantification. Correlations between targeted metabolites and clinical indexes in asthma patients were analyzed. Logistic and negative binomial regression models were established to assess the association between metabolites and severe asthma exacerbation. Results: 77 differential metabolites were identified in the discovery set. Pathway topology analysis uncovered that histidine metabolism, glycerophospholipid metabolism, nicotinate and nicotinamide metabolism, linoleic acid metabolism, phenylalanine, tyrosine and tryptophan biosynthesis were involved in the pathogenesis of different asthma phenotypes. In the validation set, 24 targeted quantification metabolites were significantly differentially expressed between asthma inflammatory phenotypes. Finally, adenosine 5’-monophosphate (RRadj = 1.000, 95%CI = [1.000, 1.000], P = 0.050), allantoin (RRadj = 1.000, 95%CI = [1.000, 1.000], P = 0.043) and nicotinamide (RRadj = 1.001, 95%CI = [1.000, 1.002], P = 0.021) were demonstrated to predict severe asthma exacerbation rate ratios. Conclusions: Different inflammatory asthma phenotypes have specific metabolic profiles in induced sputum. The potential metabolic signatures may serve as identification and therapeutic target in different inflammatory asthma phenotypes.

Home ranges play an important role in the ecology of small mammals in understanding the driving factors for variations between species, including; mating patterns, foraging behavior and habitat use. We investigated the abundance, relative home ranges and species-habitat association of small mammal species in the Nyerere National Park. Two habitats; closed woodland and seasonal riverine forest were selected and in each habitat two grids of 70m x 70m were established. The Capture Mark Recapture technique was deployed. From July 2018 to June 2020 a total of 732 small mammal individuals belonging to 19 species were captured. Of the 19 species captured, 12 were rodents, 2 insectivores, 4 carnivores; and 1 primate. Acomys ngurui abundance was not statistically significant different between habitats (W = 220, df = 1, p = 0.144) and across seasons (F(2, 45) = 1.41, p = 0.2547)). While, Mastomys natalensis and Lemniscomys rosalia were statistically significant different (W = 407, p = 0.01 and W=430.5, p=0.002 respectively) between habitats and across seasons (F(2,45) = 4.352, p = 0.019 and F(2,45) = 6.321, p = 0.0038 respectively). Acomys ngurui had the largest mean home range size (1,087.58 m2) than L. rosalia (831.55 m2) and M. natalensis (166 m2) with overlaps being recorded in habitats and across seasons. Most small mammals were associated with seasonal riverine forest. We conclude that, small mammal species abundance and home ranges vary with habitats and seasons for individual species in the Nyerere National Park. We recommend to the management of the park to consider small mammals in their general management plan.

Groundwater pumping influences the rate of River-Aquifer (R-A) exchanges and alters the water budget of the aquifer. Therefore, fulfilling the total water demand of the area, with an optimal pumping rate of wells and optimal R-A exchanges rate, is important for the sustainable management of water resources and aquatic ecosystems. Meanwhile, comparison of the output of different simulation-optimization techniques, which is used for the solution of water resource management problems, is a very challenging task where different Pareto fronts are compared to identify the best results. In the present work, mathematical models were developed to simulate the R-A exchanges for the lower part of the River Ain, France. The developed models were coupled with optimization models in MATLAB environment and were executed to solve the multi-objective optimization problem based on the maximization of pumping rates of wells and maximization of groundwater input into the river Ain through R-A exchanges. The Pareto front developed by different simulation-optimization models was compared and analyzed. The Pareto fronts were juxtaposed based on the convergence, total diversity, and uniformity with the help of different performance metrics like hypervolume, generational distance, inverted generational distance, etc. The impact of different groundwater models based on domain size and boundary conditions was also examined. Results show the dominance of MOPSO over other optimization algorithms and concluded that the maximization of pumping rates significantly changes after considering the R-A exchanges-based objective function. It is observed that the model domain also alters the output of simulation-optimization, therefore the model domain and corresponding boundary conditions should be selected carefully for the field application of management models. ANN models were also developed to deal with the computationally expensive simulation model by reducing the processing time and were found efficient. Keywords: Simulation-Optimization, Multi-Objective optimization, Artificial Neural Network, River-Aquifer exchanges.

Neutropenia related to ELANE gene mutations predisposes to infection and leukemia/ myelodysplasia, but little is known about the predisposition to cancer. Among a cohort of 149 patients, we identified four with malignant solid tumors (papillary thyroid cancer, anal squamous cell cancer, papillary renal cell carcinoma, and adrenocortical carcinoma), all after the age of 25 years. Three occurred in cyclic neutropenia while 1 occurred in severe chronic neutropenia (among 49 and 100 patients, respectively). A previous radiotherapy was identified as risk factor in one patient. Moreover, among 18 other patients that underwent hematopoietic stem-cell transplantations, none developed a cancer.

This paper describes a machine learning guided framework for screening the potential toxicity impact of amine chemistries used in the synthesis of hybrid organic-inorganic perovskites. Using a combination of a probabilistic molecular fingerprint technique that encodes bond connectivity (MinHash) coupled to non-linear data dimensionality reduction methods (UMAP), we develop an “Amine Atlas’. We show how the Amine Atlas can be used to rapidly screen the relative toxicity levels of amine molecules used in the synthesis of 2D and 3D perovskites and help identify safer alternatives. Our work also serves as a framework for rapidly identifying molecular similarity guided, structure-function relationships for safer materials chemistries that also incorporate sustainability/ toxicity concerns.

Introduction Some levothyroxine unresponsive individuals with hypothyroidism are prescribed a Natural Desiccated Thyroid (NDT) preparation such as Armour Thyroid® or ERFA Thyroid®. These contain a mixture of levothyroxine and liothyronine in a fixed ratio. We evaluated the response to NDT in individuals at a single endocrine centre in terms of how the change from levothyroxine to NDT impacted on their lives in relation to quality of life (QOL) and thyroid symptoms. Methods The ThyPRO39 (thyroid symptomatology) and EQ-5D-5L-related QoL)/EQ5D5L (generic QOL) questionnaires were administered to 31 consecutive patients who had been initiated on NDT, before initiating treatment/6 months later. Results There were 28women/3men. The dose range of NDT was 60mg-180mg daily. Age range was 26-77 years with length of time since diagnosis with hypothyroidism ranging from 2-40 years. One person discontinued the NDT because of lack of response; 2 because of cardiac symptoms. EQ-5D-5L utility increased from a mean (SD) of 0.214 (0.338) at baseline, to 0.606 (0.248) after 6 months; corresponding to a difference of 0.392 (95% CI 0.241-0.542), t=6.82, p<0.001. EQ-VAS scores increased from 33.4 (17.2) to 71.1 (17.5), a difference of 37.7 (95%CI 25.2-50.2), t=-4.9, p<0.001. ThyPRO scores showed consistent fall across all domains with the composite QoL-impact Score improving from 68.3 (95%CI 60.9-75.7) to 25.2 (95%CI 18.7-31.7), a difference of 43.1 (95%CI 33. -53.2) (t=5.6, p<0.001). Conclusion Significant symptomatic benefit and improvement in QOL was experienced by people with a history of levothyroxine unresponsive hypothyroidism, suggesting the need for further evaluation of NDT in this context.

Tuberculosis (TB) and its emerged drug resistance exert huge threats on the global health, therefore development of novel anti-TB antibiotics is very essential. Ilamycin-E1/E2 is a pair of cycloheptapeptide enantiomers obtained from a marine-derived Streptomyces atratus SCSIO ZH16-ΔilaR mutant, and become promising anti-TB lead compounds due to their significant anti-TB activities, but their low titer hampered the further clinical development. In this work, the statistical Plackett-Burman design (PBD) model was applied to screen out bacterial peptone as the only significant but negative factor affecting the ilamycin-E1/E2 production. Subsequent single factor optimization revealed that replacement of bacterial peptone with malt extract eliminated the accumulation of porphyrin-type competitive byproduct, and the titer of ilamycin-E1/E2 in shaking flasks was improved from original 13.6±0.8 to 142.7±5.7 mg/L for about 10.5 folds. Furthermore, a pH coordinated feeding strategy was first adopted in scaled-up production of ilamycin-E1/E2. The obtained titer of ilamycin-E1/E2 in 30L was 169.8±2.5 mg/L, while in 300L fermentor was only 131.5±7.5 mg/L due to the unsynchronization of feeding response and pH change. Therefore, the continuous pulse feeding strategy was further applied in 300L fermentor and finally achieved 415.7±29.2 mg/L ilamycin-E1/E2, which represented about 30.5 folds improvement at last. Our work provided the solid basis to achieve sufficient ilamycin-E1/E2 lead compounds and support their potential anti-TB drug development.

Background: Transrectal ultrasound biopsy is the preferred method for diagnosing prostate cancer, but it can cause infectious complications as a result of fluoroquinolone resistance. We aimed to explore the potential protective effect of a second rectal enema before biopsy. Methods: Between January 2015 and December 2020, 419 patients were assessed retrospectively. Patients with a history of anticoagulant use, uncontrolled diabetes, urological surgery, prostate biopsy, or recent hospitalization or overseas travel, as well as those with previous prostatitis, were excluded from the study. The patients were subsequently divided into two groups: Group 1 (n=223) had received one enema, on the morning of the biopsy, and Group 2 (n=196) had received two, with the additional enema administered half an hour before the procedure. Results: There was no significant difference between the groups in terms of age, BMI, diabetes, prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level, and prostate size (p=0.076, p=0.489, p=0.265, p=0.193, and p=0.661, respectively) or in relation to cancer detection (p=0.428). The median hospitalization date was significantly higher in Group 1 (p=0.003) as was UTI development (p=0.004). However, there was no significant difference in terms of fever and sepsis (p=0.524 and p=0.548, respectively). Additionally, subgroup analysis demonstrated that UTI was significantly lower in patients with diabetes mellitus who had received a second enema (p=0.004), though there was no significant difference in UTI between the groups in those without diabetes mellitus (p=0.215). Multivariable analysis showed that age and diabetes were significant risk factors for the development of UTI (p=0.002andp=0.003, respectively). Furthermore, the second enema was a significant protective factor for preventing UTI (p<0.001). Conclusion: Older age and the presence of diabetes mellitus are independent risk factors for UTI after prostate biopsy. A second enema procedure before biopsy may protect patients from related infectious complications and could therefore be used as an alternative preventative method.

Introduction: We assessed the effects of preoperative bladder compliance on the long-term functional outcomes, especially focused on postoperative storage symptom changes, after laser prostatectomy. Materials and Methods: From January 2008 to March 2014, 1608 men who underwent laser prostatectomy, including holmium laser enucleation or photo-vaporization of the prostate, were included in the analysis. We divided patients into 3 groups according to bladder compliance on a baseline urodynamic study: < 12.5; 12.5–25.0; ≥25 mL/cm H2O. A multivariable analysis was performed to determine the impact of bladder compliance on long-term functional outcomes after laser prostatectomy. Results: Bladder compliance was less than 12.5 ml/cm H2O in 50 (3.1%), 12.5-25 ml/cm H2O in 232 (14.4%) patients. As bladder compliance decreased, the baseline International Prostate Symptom (I-PSS) total score and storage sub-score were increased; the voiding sub-score remain unchanged. At postoperative 36 months, improvements in the I-PSS total score and storage sub-score were significantly higher in < 12.5 mL/cm H2O group compared to other groups, although those were equivalent at postoperative 1 and 12 months. On the multivariable analysis, decreased bladder compliance < 12.5 mL/cm H2O was significantly associated with superior improvement in storage sub-score at postoperative 36 months, although it was not associated with voiding sub-score. Conclusion: In patients with preoperative bladder compliance < 12.5 mL/cm H2O, storage symptoms could be further improved at 36 months after laser prostatectomy compared to others. Thus, laser prostatectomy could be a considerable treatment option for patients with severely decreased bladder compliance

Let $\Omega$ be a bounded domain in $\mathbb{R}^N$ with $N\geqslant 2$, which boundary $\partial\Omega$ is assumed to be a $\mathcal{C}^4$-hypersurface. In this paper we consider the initial-boundary value problem associated with the following thermoelastic plate system \[ \begin{cases} \partial_t^2u +\Delta^2 u+\Delta\theta=f(u),\ & x\in\Omega,\ t>0, \\ \partial_t\theta-\Delta \theta-\Delta \partial_tu=0,\ & x\in\Omega,\ t>0, \end{cases} \] subject to boundary conditions \[ \begin{cases} u=\Delta u=0,\ & x\in\partial\Omega,\ t>0,\\ \theta=0,\ & x\in\partial\Omega,\ t>0, \end{cases} \] and initial conditions \[ u(x,0)=u_0(x),\ \partial_tu(x,0)=v_0(x)\ \mbox{and}\ \theta(x,0)=\theta_0(x),\ x\in\Omega. \] We calculate explicit the fractional powers of the thermoelastic plate operator associated with this system via Balakrishnan integral formula and we present a fractional approximated system. We obtain a result of local well-posedness of the thermoelastic plate system and of its fractional approximations via geometric theory of semilinear parabolic systems.

Background: Although FoxP3 + regulatory T (Treg) cells constitute a highly heterogeneous population, with different regulatory potential depending on the disease context, distinct subsets or phenotypes remain poorly defined. This hampers the development of immunotherapy for allergic and autoimmune disorders. Objective: This study aimed at characterizing distinct FoxP3 + Treg subpopulations involved in the suppression of Th2-mediated allergic inflammation in the lung. Methods: We used an established mouse model of allergic airway disease based on ovalbumin sensitization and challenge to analyze FoxP3 + Tregs during the induction and resolution of inflammation, and identify markers that distinguish their most suppressive phenotypes. We also developed a new knock-in mouse model ( Foxp3creCd103dtr) enabling the specific ablation of CD103 +FoxP3 + Tregs for functional studies. Results: We found that during resolution of allergic airway inflammation in mice >50% of FoxP3 + Treg cells expressed the integrin CD103 which marks FoxP3 + Treg cells of high IL-10 production, increased expression of immunoregulatory molecules such as KLRG1, ICOS and CD127, and enhanced suppressive capacity for Th2-mediated inflammatory responses. CD103 +FoxP3 + Tregs were essential for keeping allergic inflammation under control as their specific depletion in Foxp3creCd103dtr mice lead to severe alveocapillary damage, eosinophilic pneumonia, and markedly reduced lifespan of the animals. Conversely, adoptive transfer of CD103 +FoxP3 + Tregs effectively treated disease, attenuating Th2 responses and allergic inflammation in an IL-10-dependent manner. Conclusion: Our study identifies a novel regulatory T cell population, defined by CD103 expression, programmed to prevent exuberant type 2 inflammation and keep homeostasis in the respiratory tract under control. This has important therapeutic implications.

The evolution of mimicry in similarly defended prey is well described by Müllerian mimicry theory, which predicts the convergence of warning patterns in order to gain the most protection from predators. However, despite this prediction, we can find great diversity of color patterns amongst Müllerian mimics such as Heliconius butterflies in the neotropics. Furthermore, some species have evolved the ability to maintain multiple distinct warning patterns in single populations, a phenomenon known as polymorphic mimicry. The adaptive benefit of these polymorphisms is questionable since variation from the most common warning patterns is expected to be disadvantageous as novel signals are punished by predators naive to them. In this study, we use artificial butterfly models throughout Central and South America to characterize the selective pressures maintaining polymorphic mimicry in Heliconius doris. Our results highlight the complexity of positive frequency-dependent selection, the principal selective pressure driving convergence amongst Müllerian mimics, and its impacts on interspecific variation of mimetic warning colouration. We further show how this selection regime can both limit and facilitate the diversification of mimetic traits.

We deal with the incompressible 3D Hall-magnetohydrodynamics with partial dissipation, a new blow-up criterion is obtained, based on which we also prove a new global solutions with small data.

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is a malignancy with high mortality and morbidity. Early diagnosis and treatment of OSCC and other potentially malignant lesions of the oral mucosa is the clinician’s best weapon to improve prognosis, since it greatly worsens as the disease becomes more advanced.

We report a case of coronary microvascular spasm assessed by ATP stress MCE (myocardial contrast electrocardiography). The patient had chest pain, but the coronary angiography was normal. There was apical ventricular septal perfusion delay before ATP stress, and the perfusion was significantly improved at peak stress, which was similar to the radionuclide myocardial perfusion characteristics of coronary microvascular spasm, In the recovery period, the flow spectrum resistance of the distal coronary artery of the left anterior descending artery increased compared with that before stress, which further confirmed that local coronary microvascular spasm was induced after vasodilation.

Reclamation has been widely accepted to restore abandoned lands. Most studies focused on the improvement of land reclamation in soil nutrients and microbial activities. However, the effects of reclamation time on bacterial communities of abandoned salt pans are still unclear. The object of this study is to: i) assess the successional change of soil physicochemical properties and bacterial communities in reclaimed abandoned salt pans with different reclamation histories, and ii) figure out the main limit factors on the improvement of soil quality in reclaimed abandoned salt pans. The soils in a farmland (RTBL) and six abandoned salt pans with 1 year (RT1), 2 years (RT2), 3 years (RT3), 4 years (RT4), 8 years (RT8), and 9 years (RT9) of reclamation were sampled to investigate the temporal variation of soil properties, heavy metal content, bacterial community composition, and diversity. Results showed that the soil bulk density (BD), total dissolved salt (SS), median particle size (MMAD) decreased with the increase of reclamation time, while soil nutrient (soil organic matter, total nitrogen, available phosphorus, available potassium) showed an opposite trend. The bacterial α-diversity increased first, then decrease. Land reclamation enhanced the relative abundances of Acidobacteria, Chloroflexi, and Actinobacteria but reduced the relative abundances of Proteobacteria, Gemmatimonadetes, and Bacteroidetes. Compared with RTBL, the soil nutrients and bacterial community structure in RT1, RT2, RT3, and RT4 showed a significant difference.Therefore, reclamation time is a vital driving force for restoring soil physicochemical properties and bacterial communities in abandoned

Throughout the last century, climate change has altered the geographic distributions of many species. Insects, in particular, vary in their ability to track changing climates, and it is likely that phenology is an important determinant of how well expands can either expand or shift their geographic distributions in response to climate change. Grasshoppers are an ideal group to test this hypothesis, given that co-occurring confamilial, and even congeneric, species can differ in phenology. Here, I tested the hypothesis that early- and late-season species should possess different range expansion potentials, as estimated by habitat suitability from ecological niche models. I used nine different modeling techniques to estimate habitat suitability of six grasshopper species of varying phenology under two climate scenarios for the year 2050. My results support the hypothesis that phenology is an important determinant of range expansion potential. Early-season species might shift northward during the spring, while the modeled geographic distributions of late-season species were generally constant under climate change, likely because they were pre-adapted to hot and dry conditions. Phenology might therefore be a good predictor of how insect distributions might change in the future, and conservation efforts might focus most heavily on early-season species that are most impacted by climate change.

Intense fishing pressure and climate change are major threats to coastal fisheries. Larimichthys crocea (large yellow croaker) is a long-lived fish, which performs seasonal migrations from its spawning and nursery grounds along the coast of the East China Sea (ECS) to overwintering grounds offshore. This study used length-based analysis and habitat suitability index (HSI) model to evaluate current life-history parameters and overwintering habitat suitability of L. crocea, respectively. We compared both life-history parameters and overwintering HSI between recent (2019) and historical (between 1971 to 1982) to analyze the fishing pressure and climate change effects on the overall population and overwintering phase of L. crocea. In the context of overfishing, the length-based analysis indicated serious overfishing of L. crocea, characterized by reduced catch yield, size truncation, constrained distribution, and advanced maturation in the ECS, namely recruitment bottleneck. In the context of climate change, the overwintering HSI modeling results indicated that climate change has led to decreased sea surface temperature during L. crocea overwintering phase over the last half-century, which in turn led to area decrease and an offshore-oriented shifting of optimal overwintering habitat. The fishing-caused size truncation may constrain the migratory ability and distribution of L. crocea, subsequently led to the mismatch of the optimal overwintering habitat against climate change background, namely habitat bottleneck. Hence, while heavily fishing was the major cause of L. crocea fishery collapse, climate-induced overwintering habitat suitability may have intensified the fishery collapse of L. crocea population. It is important for management to take both overfishing and climate change issues into consideration when developing stock enhancement activities and policy regulations, particularly for migratory long-lived fish that share a similar life history to L. crocea. Combined with China’s current restocking and stock enhancement initiatives, we propose recommendations for future restocking of L. crocea in China.

DUF506 proteins are omnipresent in higher plants. Phosphorus (P) stress-inducible AtRXR1/REPRESSOR OF EXCESSIVE ROOT HAIR ELONGATION 1 gene, as the first functionally characterized DUF506 gene, is proved to inhibit root hair elongation through interaction of RXR2/RabD2c GTPase. However, the knowledge of other P-responsive DUF506 genes is still limited. Here, we identify four additional P-inducible DUF506 genes and select two of candidates for functional investigation. Expression analysis results reveal that both of candidates are induced by auxin. At3g07350, the duplicated pair of RXR1, expresses ubiquitously in seedlings under P-stress, whereas At1g62420 is mainly induced in roots. Overexpression and knockout mutants of At1g62420, which is called RXR3, exhibit shorter or longer root hair length, respectively. Cellular imaging results demonstrate RXR3 localizes in root epidermal cells. ChIP, synthetic peptide treatment and qRT-PCR assay results indicate RXR3 is transcriptionally activated by RSL4 or RALF1. BiFC and CaM-binding assay suggest that RXR3 interacts with various CaMs in presence of Ca2+. Moreover, the frequencies of [Ca2+]cyt in rxr3 mutants are approximately 20% higher compared to that of wild type. Taken together, our results illustrate a divergent mechanism by which RSL4-directed RXR3 interacts with calmodulin and functions in parallel of RXR1, to prevent root hair excessive growth.

Simple sequence repeats (SSRs) are widely used genetic markers in ecology, evolution and conservation even in the genomics era, while a general limitation to their application is the difficulty of developing polymorphic SSR markers. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) offers the opportunity for the rapid development of SSRs; however, previous studies developing SSRs using genomic data from only one individual need redundant experiments to test the polymorphisms of SSRs. In this study, we designed a pipeline for the rapid development of polymorphic SSR markers from multi-sample genomic data. We used bioinformatic software to genotype multiple individuals using resequencing data, detected highly polymorphic SSRs prior to experimental validation, significantly improved the efficiency and reduced the experimental effort. The pipeline was successfully applied to a globally threatened species, the brown-eared pheasant (Crossoptilon mantchuricum), which showed very low genomic diversity. The 20 newly developed SSR markers were highly polymorphic, the average number of alleles was much higher than the genomic average. We also evaluated the effect of the number of individuals and sequencing depth on the SSR mining results, and we found that ten individuals and ~10X sequencing data were enough to obtain a sufficient number of polymorphic SSRs, even for species with low genetic diversity. Furthermore, the genome assembly of NGS data from the optimal number of individuals and sequencing depth can be used as an alternative reference genome if a high-quality genome is not available. Our pipeline provided a paradigm for the application of NGS technology to mining and developing molecular markers for ecological and evolutionary studies.

Background: Although women are encouraged to achieve good diet quality in preconception and pregnancy, the benefits on perinatal outcomes have not been established. Objective: To systematically review and quantify the association between diet quality and adverse perinatal outcomes. Search strategy: Medline, Embase, Food Science and Technology Abstracts and CINAHL were searched up to 5th March 2020. Selection criteria: Two authors independently screened, selected and coded relevant prospective cohort studies. Data collection and analysis: Thirty-three studies (315,431 participants) were included in the meta-analysis. Odds ratios and mean differences from individual studies were pooled using random-effects models. Main Results: The pooled results for the association between diet quality and excessive (OR: 0.91; 95 CI: 0.76, 1.10) or inadequate (OR: 0.90; 95 CI: 0.70, 1.17) gestational weight gain were not statistically significant. Women in the top tertile of diet quality scores during prepregnancy or pregnancy had a lower risk of gestational diabetes (OR: 0.77; 95 CI: 0.65, 0.90), hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (OR: 0.87; 95 CI: 0.83, 0.92), preterm birth (OR: 0.77; 95 CI: 0.66, 0.89), small for gestational age (OR: 0.88; 95 CI: 0.79, 0.99) and low birth weight (OR: 0.60; 95 CI: 0.37, 0.99) compared to those in the bottom tertile. No studies were found for delivery mode. Conclusions: Data from prospective cohort studies support the potential of improving maternal diet quality in the effort to prevent adverse perinatal outcomes. Funding: Canadian Institutes of Health Research HLT 151517, National Natural Sciences Foundation of China No. 81661128010 Keywords: Diet quality, perinatal outcomes.

While species interactions are fundamental for linking biodiversity to ecosystem functioning and for conservation, large-scale empirical data are lacking for most species and ecosystems. Accumulating evidence suggests that trophic interactions are predictable from available functional trait information, but we have yet to understand how well we can predict interactions across large spatial scales and food webs. Here, we built a model predicting predator-prey interactions based on functional traits for European vertebrates. We found that even models calibrated with very few known interactions (100 out of 71k) estimated the entire food web reasonably well. However, predators were easier to predict than prey, with prey in some clades being particularly difficult to predict (e.g., fowls and storks). Local food web connectance was also consistently over-estimated. Our results demonstrate the potential for filling gaps in sparse food webs, an important step towards a better description of biodiversity with strong implications for conservation planning.

Background: Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) accounts for 90 % of oral cancers. If a necessary intervention before tumorigenesis could be conducted, the current 60% 5-year survival rate would be expected to be majorly improved. This fact motivates the search for developing a highly sensitive and specific in vitro diagnostic method to conduct rapid OSCC screening. Method: Serum samples from 819 volunteers, consisted of 241 healthy contrast (HC) and 578 OSCC patients, were collected, and their metabolic profiles were acquired using conductive polymer spray ionization mass spectrometry (CPSI-MS). Univariate analysis was used to select significantly changed metabolite ions in the OSCC group compared to the HC group. Identities of these metabolite ions were determined by MS/MS experiments and reconfirmed at the tissue level by desorption electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (DESI-MS). The supporting vector machine (SVM) algorithm was employed as the machine learning model to implement the automatic prediction of OSCC. Results: Through statistical analysis, 65 metabolites were selected as potential characteristic marker candidates for serum OSCC screening. In situ validation by DESI-MSI revealed that 8 out of top 10 metabolites showed the same trends of change in tissue and serum. With the aid of machine learning, OSCC can be distinguished from HC with an accuracy of 98.0 % by cross-validation in the discovery cohort and 89.2% accuracy in the validation cohort. Furthermore, orthogonal partial least square-discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) also showed the potential for recognizing OSCC stages. Conclusion: Using CPSI-MS combined with SVM, it is possible to distinguish OSCC from HC in a few minutes with high specificity and sensitivity, making this rapid diagnostic procedure a promising approach for high-risk population screening.

Fatigue behavior of Al-Al and Al-steel refill friction stir spot welding joints Haokun Yang1a*, Detao Cai2,3a, Jiaxin Li1, Chin Yung Kwok1, Yunqiang Zhao3, Yu Li4, Haisheng Liu4, Waiwah Lai11 Smart Manufacturing Division (SMD), Hong Kong Productivity Council (HKPC), Hong Kong 999077, People’s Republic of China2 State Key Laboratory of Advanced Design and Manufacturing for Vehicle Body, Hunan University, Changsha, Hunan 410082, People’s Republic of China3 China-Ukraine Belt and Road Joint Laboratory on Materials Joining and Advanced Manufacturing, China-Ukraine Institute of Welding Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510650, People’s Republic of China4 Center for Industrial Analysis and Testing, Guangdong Academy of Science, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510650, People’s Republic of Chinaa These authors contribute equallyCorresponding author: Haokun Yang, +852 27885679,hkyang@hkpc.orgKeywords: Refill friction stir spot welding, Fatigue fracture, Aluminum, Steel