We established three simulated erosion severities with topsoil depths of 10, 20 and 30 cm in a Mollisol farmland under a maize-soybean rotation system with no-tillage. After three consecutive years of field experiment, the decrease in topsoil thickness from 30 to 10 cm resulted in 9−22% of decrease in maize yield but not soybean. Compared to the 30 and 20-cm topsoil thickness, the 10-cm topsoil significantly lowered root and shoot biomass of maize at the jointing (V7) and milk stages (R3) and of soybean at the mid-seed filling stage (R6). Compared to the 30-cm topsoil, the 10-cm topsoil decreased available nitrogen and phosphorus in soil by 42% and 36% under maize, and by 25% and 19% under soybean, respectively, while the shallow topsoil also decreased N, P and K uptake per unit root length with the decreases being less for maize than soybean. Compared to the 30-cm topsoil, the 10-cm and 20-cm topsoil significantly increased the activities of urease, phosphatase and invertase in maize-grown soil, but not in soybean-grown soil except for the activity of urease in 10-cm topsoil. Maize was more sensitive to soil erosion than soybean due to the greater decreases in soil nutrient availability and its capability of nutrient uptake. The greater stimulation of nutrient mineralization processes in soil did not alleviate the nutrient constraint to maize yield under severe erosion conditions.

Objective: To investigate whether vitamin A are associated with a lower fracture incidence in infants’ respiratory system diseases. Method: A systematic literature search of articles update to April 2020 was conducted via PubMed, Web of Science, and the Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Chinese biomedical literature database (CBM), and the references of the retrieved articles. Fixed- or random-effect models were used to summarize the estimates of OR with 95% CIs for the vitamin A are associated with a lower fracture incidence in infants’ respiratory system diseases. Result: This study includes 18 articles. Compared with control group, the experimental group’s infant babies are less likely to get poor health outcomes. Especially ，suffering from respiratory related disease, such as，neonatal respiratory distress syndrome (NRDS) (OR = 0.79), neonatal pneumonia (OR = 0.51), neonatal ALRI to acute lower respiratory infection (OR = 0.66), neonatal bronchial pulmonary hypoplasia bronchopulmonary dysplasia of premature infants （BPD）(OR = 0.49). All test of the difference had ensured statistical significance (P < 0.05). Conclusion: This meta-analysis indicated that Vitamin A intake was associated with a decreased risk of infants’ respiratory system related diseases. Further researches should be conducted to confirm the findings in our study and better clarify the potential biological mechanisms.

Abstract Introduction Acute kidney injury in pregnancy, while is now a rare entity in the developed countries, it is still a common issue in developing countries representing a major cause of maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality. Scarce data are published regarding PRAKI in Middle-east and African countries. Here, we present our experience in Mansoura University Hospital; an Egyptian tertiary care hospital. Methods This is a prospective observational study that included all patients with pregnancy related Acute Kidney Injury admitted to Mansoura Nephrology and Dialysis Unit over two years. All patients were prospectively followed for three months. All patients were evaluated regarding their maternal, fetal and renal outcomes. Results Preeclampsia and peri-partum hemorrhage constituted the most common causes of PRAKI. Maternal mortality occurred in 22.5% of patients. Regarding patients’ renal outcomes, the major portion of patients (62.5%) fully recovered while the remaining (37.5%) didn’t recover and became dialysis dependent. Fetal unfavorable events occurred in 31 pregnancies (77.5%), where 10 babies (25%) were delivered prematurely and 21 fetuses (52.5%) died intra-uterine. Fetal mortality was 45%, of those 70% occurred in patients with AKI on top of preeclampsia. Conclusion Pregnancy related acute kidney injury represents a continuous burden in low-income countries. A global strategy should be implemented to reduce its incidence and its related adverse consequences on both mother and fetus. The paucity of data in this field reflects the importance of implementing further research studies to deeply understand the precipitating and key pathophysiologic mechanisms involved in this disease.

Sarcomas are a rare but aggressive type of malignancy that are often diagnosed late. This case describes an atypical presentation of sarcoma manifesting as abdominal pain, which previously has not been found in literature. We highlight the importance of pursuing additional workup when clinical suspicion for malignancy arises.

The effect of a directional electric-field on the bonding of the undoped and sulphur doped diarylethene (DTE) switch molecule is investigated using next generation QTAIM (NG-QTAIM). We introduce chemical bonding concepts in the form of the least and most preferred directions of charge density accumulation relative to the associated bond-path, namely the precessions K and Kʹ that are demonstrated to be much more responsive to the electric-field than the Laplacian ∇2ρ(rb). A concept of bond fatigue is presented in terms of the tendency for a bond-path to rupture that provides directional versions of familiar bonding QTAIM concepts. Examples are included where the applied directional electric-field reduces the tendency towards bond-path rupture and also the converse. A brief discussion is undertaken of applications of the precessions K and Kʹ including switches, ring opening reactions and molecular rotary motors in the presence of fields that cause a redistribution of ρ(r).

The accelerating development of gene therapy from research towards clinical trials and beyond has elevated the demand for practical viral vector manufacturing solutions. The use of disposable upstream technology is gaining traction in clinical manufacturing. The world's first disposable, fully integrated, high-cell density fixed-bed bioreactor was launched approximately one decade ago. By now, the iCELLis fixed-bed technology has obtained the broadest customer base. This system is available in small scale but also provides the largest GMP compliant commercial system. However, there are several alternative technologies, which have been widely used for the manufacturing of different viral vectors, allowing for complementation within the market. This article will review virus production using the latest disposable fixed-bed bioreactors, present highlights of an interview with the inventor of these bioreactors, and share some user experience. It is predicted that single-use fixed-bed bioreactors will receive even more attention in the field of viral vector manufacturing and commercialization, especially with high virus yields.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is characterized by excess accumulation of extracellular matrix, is involved in many chronic diseases or injuries and greatly threatens human health. However, clinical drugs have unexpected side effects. The development of novel, less toxic drugs to treat pulmonary fibrosis remains an urgent need. EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH YTH-60 was developed via computer-aided drug design, de novo synthesis and high-throughput screening. The biochemical, pharmacodynamic and toxicological profifiles of YTH-60 were investigated using kinase and cell viability assays, a bleomycin-induced mouse pulmonary fibrosis model and a TGF-β1 induced epithelial-mensenchymal transition in A549 cell . KEY RESULTS YTH-60 displayed marked antiproliferative activity in fibroblasts and A549 cells. YTH-60 suppressed the TGF-β1 induced protein expression of collagen type I and alpha smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) in vitro. Moreover, intraperitoneal administration of YTH-60 at a dose of 15 and 30 mg-1•kg-1•day•-1 for 2 weeks effectively alleviated the degree of fibrosis in a bleomycin-induced mouse pulmonary fibrosis model without obvious side effects. Importantly, YTH-60 demonstrated decent bioavailability (F=17.86%) and suitable eliminated half-life time (T1/2 =8.03h). CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS YTH-60, a novel multikinase inhibitor, shows therapeutic potential for treating pulmonary fibrosis, and warrants further investigation as a potential drug candidate.

Sleep-disordered breathing is an underrecognized comorbidity in the cystic fibrosis (CF) population across the lifespan. Nocturnal hypoxia, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), and nocturnal hypoventilation are respiratory abnormalities that occur commonly during sleep, and have deleterious consequences to quality of life in people with CF. Effective screening for these abnormalities is needed to allow for the timely initiation of treatment. Lack of treatment leads to worse pulmonary, cardiovascular, and metabolic outcomes in patients. In this review, we give an overview of sleep-disordered breathing for the CF clinician, including definitions, treatment, and suggestions for future research. We strongly encourage the CF community to incorporate evaluation for sleep-disordered breathing, so that outcomes for the subset of the patients with coexisting sleep-disordered breathing improve.

Over the past 90 years, anthropogenic degradation of soil caused by alkaline, magnesium-rich dust deposit has presented a serious problem near magnesite processing factories in Jelšava and in Lubeník (Slovakia). Since 1984, adopted measures have improved the emissions situation; however, this has resulted in insufficient attention being paid to soil properties. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate the chemical and biological soil properties in 14 sampling sites at different distances from factories, and based on the results, to propose further use of affected land. Results revealed the highest excess of magnesium in the sampling sites near both factories. Total and available Mg significantly affected soil pH, carbonate content, and conductivity, while the content of monitored heavy metals was not related to Mg. In localities with higher excess of available Mg, lower stock of newly formed organic matter prevailed with consequently weaker enzymatic activity. Therefore, enrichment by organic matter provides a measure to support the biological activity of soil. Because alkaline emissions have decreased by 99.8% since 1970, the application of classical measures (mechanical removal of the Mg-rich crust, incorporation of gypsum and manure to the soil), or newer methods (growing of Mg hyper-accumulating plants) can offer more lasting positive effects than those of 50 years ago. This study concluded that Mg-rich, alkaline dust deposition causes long-lasting soil degradation.

Medical male circumcisions have been scaled-up for HIV prevention. Three 16-year-old clients were diagnosed with Haemophilia post-VMMC services. Greater emphasis on advocacy, training and placement of qualified health care workers for peri-operative screening and a high index of suspicion for pre-operative diagnosis and appropriate referral for bleeding disorders is essential.

Biodiversity affects ecosystem functioning through complementarity effects, driven by many species, and selection effects, driven by few. Selection effects occur through interspecific abundance shifts (dominance) and intraspecific shifts in functioning. Complementarity and selection are often calculated for biomass, but we know little about how diversity affects other ecosystem functions. We calculated diversity effects for aboveground biomass, insect herbivory, pathogen infection and two leaf traits as nutrient cycling proxies, in a grassland experiment (PaNDiv) manipulating species richness, functional composition, nitrogen enrichment and fungicide treatment. Complementarity effects were always positive, showing that multiple species contribute to diversity effects. Intraspecific selection effects were always negative because species converged in their functioning in polyculture. Despite these overall consistencies, diversity effects for the five functions were not correlated, suggesting different species drive the different functions. These results show that different underlying mechanisms can result in similar overall diversity effects across functions.

Hereditary factor VII (FVII) deficiency is a rare autosomal recessive disorder, characterized by decreasing the coagulation activity of FVII in plasma and heterogeneous with bleeding in different degrees. Hereditary factor VII deficiency is usually caused by missense mutations in the F7 gene, which may affect the structure and function of FVII. Here we present a case of hereditary factor VII deficiency in an infant who was found to have a prolonged prothrombin time（PT）and 2.0% of FVII activity. Molecular studies revealed a novel compound heterozygous mutation of the F7 gene, which confirmed the diagnosis of hereditary factor VII deficiency.

Converting degraded ecosystems into perennial vegetation in water-limited regions creates potentially conflicting demands for soil water maintenance and carbon sequestration. Current understanding of these competing demands remains still limited. In this study, to quantify the trade-off between them resulting from land-use conversion (converting cropland into forest, shrub and grassland usually) in the Loess Plateau, 2775 observations for soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks (to a depth of 100 cm) and 2654 observations for soil water storage (SWS) (to a depth of 500 cm) from peer-reviewed papers and measured data were synthesized. Results showed that (1) Land-use conversion influenced the trade-off greatly, and in general, converting cropland into natural grassland and evergreen trees performed relatively better in carbon sequestration and soil water maintenance; (2) In rainfall zone less than 550 mm, natural grassland exhibited higher capability in increasing SOC stock but maintaining a lower SWS depletion while forest was a better choice in rainfall greater than 550 mm; (3) With restoration age increasing, SOC stock and SWS depletion both increased significantly, and nevertheless natural grassland appeared to be sustainable and stable to achieve a win-win result. Moreover, with ages increasing, an accumulation of 0.7 Mg ha-1 SOC stock in the upper 100 cm was associated with an approximately 5.14 mm SWS decrease in the 0-500 cm soil layers. Overall, this study provides practical insights for land and water managers on how to achieve the win-win results between soil- and water- related ecosystem services during ecological restoration in water-limited regions.

Background: It has long been known that nasal inoculation with influenza A virus produces asymptomatic to febrile infections. Uncertainty persists about whether these infections are sufficiently similar to natural infections for studying human-to-human transmission. Methods: We compared influenza A viral aerosol shedding from volunteers nasally inoculated with A/Wisconsin/2005 (H3N2) and college community adults naturally infected with influenza A/H3N2 (2012-2013), selected for influenza-like illness with objectively measured fever or a positive Quidel QuickVue A&B test. Propensity scores were used to control for differences in symptom presentation observed between experimentally and naturally infected groups. Results: Eleven (28%) experimental and 71 (86%) natural cases shed into fine particle aerosols (p<0.001). The geometric mean (geometric standard deviation) for viral positive fine aerosol samples from experimental and natural cases was 5.1E+3 (4.72) and 3.9E+4 (15.12) RNA copies/half hour, respectively. The 95th percentile shedding rate was 2.4 log10 greater for naturally infected cases (1.4E+07 versus 7.4E+04). Certain influenza-like illness related symptoms were associated with viral aerosol shedding. The almost complete lack of symptom severity distributional overlap between groups did not support propensity score adjusted shedding comparisons. Conclusions: Due to selection bias, the natural and experimental infections had limited symptom severity distributional overlap precluding valid, propensity score adjusted comparison. Relative to the symptomatic naturally infected cases, where high aerosol shedders were found, experimental cases did not produce high aerosol shedders. Studying the frequency of aerosol shedding at the highest observed levels in natural infections without selection on symptoms or fever would support helpful comparisons.

The Central areas of Morocco are susceptible to soil erosion due to their complex terrain form and heavy rainfall events. The objective of this study is to quantify soil erosion in the Ben Ahmed watershed, Settat Province, a representative watershed of Central Morocco, using the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) and Geographic Information System (GIS). The soil erosion parameters were mapped using different data sources then overlaid using raster calculation. The R factor map was developed from the rainfall data with a return period of 20 years, the K factor map was obtained from the soil map, the factor C map was generated based on a very high spatial resolution satellite image provided by ESRI servers, a digital terrain model (ASTER) with a spatial resolution of 30 m was used to develop the LS factor map. P factor map was assumed as 1 for the watershed because conservation practices are absent. The results showed an average annual soil loss of 1.1 t ha-1 yr-1 with a standard deviation of 3.7. The spatial distribution of the erosion risk classes indicates 74.5% of low rates, largely located on agricultural land, while higher rates are local and range from 5 to 88 t.ha-1.year-1. Analysis of the erosion risk map, in comparison with different thematic maps of the various factors of the equation, shows a clear and significant influence of the vegetation cover on the erosion behavior of soils, followed by the topographic factor, particularly the slope steepness.

Background: Even though hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) can be distinguished from the athlete’s heart with a difference in echocardiographic measurements, difficulties may be encountered in clinical practice from time to time. The aim of this study was to evaluate the use of presystolic A wave (PSAW) assessed by the Doppler echocardiography for differentiating between HCM and athlete’s heart. Methods: A total of 52 subjects were included in the present study, of which, 27 had HCM and 25 were athletes. The pulsed Doppler assessment of the left ventricular outflow tract was performed on the ventricular face from the immediate proximal of the aortic valve on the apical five-chamber view. Allpatients were assessed for the presence of PSAW,and the velocity of this wave was recordedin PSAW positive subjects. Results: The frequency of PSAW was found to be higher in patients with HCM [n = 12 (44%)] than in athletes [n = 4 (16%)] (p = 0.026). PSAW velocity measurements were observed to be higher in the HCM group; however, there was no statistical significance [53 ms (36–84)], [68 ms (35–193)], (p = 0.362). Conclusion: While there is a need for scaling-up similar studies, the current findings suggest that PSAW can be used as a distinguishing parameter for differentiating HCM and athlete’s heart.

Natural predators of arthropods provide an important ecosystem service by preying on crop-damaging species. However, measuring the positive impact of natural pest predators is still challenging. We present a framework to estimate the pest-consumption pressure by natural predators across space and project it onto geographical maps. We use DNA metabarcoding and species distribution modelling to integrate predator density estimations with their energetic requirements and direct pest predation, which yields a comprehensive measure of pest-consumption pressure per time-frame and area. We showcase it on a European bat assemblage, and show that bats consume a variety of pests whose predation pressure varies throughout space. We also report that the impact of different predators depends on spatial scale, and that pest predation pressure is negatively correlated with agricultural intensity. Our framework can be used to estimate broad-scale effects of natural predators on pest arthropods as well as to design research and management strategies.

Nel presente studio viene analizzata la tecnica del soil flushing per la bonifica dei siti contaminati. Dopo aver redatto un approfondimento di carattere tecnologico, sono mostrati i fattori da cui tale trattamento dipende e le sue criticità. La letteratura scientifica di settore evidenzia sia le buone prestazioni del soil flushing su scala di laboratorio, sia i fattori che impediscono l'applicazione su scala reale. Al fine di valutare l'applicabilità del trattamento, viene preso in analisi un test pilota realizzato in una discarica contaminata da fasi liquide dense non acquose. I risultati riscontrati sul campo mostrano le concentrazioni nel tempo della soluzione iniettata e degli inquinanti presenti, ed offrono un’analisi sulla dispersione radiale del fluido di lavaggio, considerata ad oggi una delle criticità più importanti di questo trattamento.

Avian leukemia caused by avian leukosis virus (ALV) is one of the most severe diseases endangering poultry health. When the eradication measures performed in commercial broilers and layers have achieved excellent results, ALV in some local chickens has gradually attracted extentive attention. Since late 2018, following the re-outbreak of ALV-J in white feather broilers in China, AL-like symptoms also suddenly broke out in some local flocks, leading to great economic losses. In this study, a systematic epidemiological survey was carried out in eight local chicken flocks in Jiangxi Province, China, and 71 strains were finally isolated from 560 samples, while the env sequences of them were successfully sequenced. All of those new isolates belong to subgroup J but they have totally different molecular features and were very different from the strains that emerged in white feature broilers recently, with some strains being highly consistent with those previously isolated from commercial broilers, layers and other flocks or even isolated from USA and Russian, suggesting these local chickens have been acted as reservoirs to accumulate various ALV strains for a long time. More seriously, phylogenetic analysis shows that there were also many novel strains emerging and in a separate evolutionary branch, indicating several new mutated ALVs are being bred in local chickens. Besides, ALV strains isolated in this study can be further divided into ten groups, while there were more or less groups in different chickens, revealing that ALV may cross propagate in those flocks. The above analysis explains the complex background and future evolution trend of ALV in Chinese local chickens, providing theoretical support for the establishment of corresponding prevention and control measures.

The land Surface Soil Moisture (SSM) products derived from microwave remote sensing have a coarse spatial resolution, therefore downscaling is required to obtain accurate SSM at high spatial resolution. An effective way to handle the stratified heterogeneity is to model for various stratifications, however the number of samples is often limited under each stratification, influencing the downscaling accuracy. In this study, a machine learning-based geostatistical model, which combines various ancillary information at fine spatial scale, is developed for spatial downscaling. The proposed support vector area-to-area regression kriging (SVATARK) model incorporates support vector regression and area-to-area kriging by considering the nonlinear relationships among variables for various stratifications. SVATARK also considers the change of support problem in the downscaling interpolation process as well as for solving the small sample size in trend prediction. The SVATARK method is evaluated in the Naqu region on the Tibetan Plateau, China to downscale the European Space Agency’s (ESA) 25-km-resolution SSM product. The 1-km-resolution SSM predictions have been produced every 8 days over a six-year period (2010-2015). Compared with other two methods, the downscaled predictions from the SVATARK method performs the best with in-situ observations, resulting in a 23.6 percent reduction in root mean square error and a 10.7 percent increase in correlation coefficient, on average. Additionally, anomalously low SSM values, an indicator of drought, had a record low anomaly in mid-July for 2015, as noted by previous studies, indicating that SVATARK could be utilized for drought monitoring.

Rupture of pulmonary artery pseudoaneurysm (PAP) can result in life-threatening hemoptysis. A 65-year-old male was diagnosed with PAP based on chest contrasted computer tomography (CT). He coughed up massive amounts of blood and could not be resuscitated. In the autopsy, macroscopic and microscopic findings supported the clinical course.

Abstract Background: Co-trimoxazole is a broad-spectrum antibiotic associated with hyperkalemia, particularly in those with additional risk factors. Objectives: To determine the incidence of hyperkalemia and its risk factors in patients receiving co-trimoxazole. Methods: A retrospective observational study involving all patients who received co-trimoxazole between 1 January 2012 and 1 January 2013. Subjects were identified through a list generated from a computerized pharmacy system. The patients’ demographic and clinical characteristics were retrieved from electronic medical records. Data were analyzed using univariate and multivariate logistic regression. Results: One hundred sixty-one patients fulfilled the eligibility criteria. Of these, 46 (28.6%) experienced hyperkalemia. Around 35 (76.1%) of the patients who experienced hyperkalemia received co-administered medications that might induce hyperkalemia. The co-administration of co-trimoxazole with other medications that may induce hyperkalemia was found to be associated with higher incidence of hyperkalemia when compared to co-trimoxazole administration alone [adjusted OR 3.2, 95% CI (1.4-7.3), p=0.005]. Additionally, age > 60 years was associated with an increased risk of hyperkalemia when compared to younger age group 18-39 years [adjusted OR 6.5, 95% CI (2.1-19.7); p=0.001]. Conclusion: Caution should be exercised in older patients and those receiving co-trimoxazole in combination with other medications, such as immunosuppressants and β-blockers that might contribute to hyperkalemia development. Keywords: Co-trimoxazole, co-administration, hyperkalemia, risk factors, adverse drug reaction

The weakened connectivity of wetland systems is the key factor leading to the destruction, degradation, and disappearance of wetlands. The study of the change of wetland system connectivity enables understanding the hydrological process in wetland system and providing significant support for the study of ecological water demand. However, research on the connectivity of wetland systems has primarily focused on the intuitive connectivity in terms of hydrology and geomorphology in recent years, while the impact of wetland systems on habitat has been ignored. In this study, an innovative method was applied to evaluate and regulate the stereoscopic spatial connectivity (SSC) of the wetland system in the Heilongjiang River Basin in China (HRBC). In this method, the water requirements of typical organisms in the region were considered, and the hydrological trend in the wetland system as well as the health conditions of the SSC were analyzed using remote sensing image. A regulation mode for improving the stereoscopic spatial connectivity index (SSCI) was proposed. The results revealed that over the past 35 years, the wetland system in the study area shrank significantly, with the SSCI decreasing from 41.30% in 1980 to 35.08% in 2015. By comparing the correlation among temperature, precipitation, agricultural land, construction land, and the wetland system during the same period, it was proven that human activity is the major driving force behind the observed wetland system shrinkage. Subsequently, the key protected areas required to maintain the SSC of the wetland system were clarified, and the key recovery areas were determined according to the three scenarios of ‘high–medium–low’ feasibility, which greatly improved the SSCI and generalization route (GR) after regulation. In general, the proposed SSC evaluation methods can fully reflect the ecohydrological process of wetland systems. The methods also scientifically quantify the significant effects of the regulation mode, which has certain relevance for the evaluation and regulation of wetland systems in other regions.

This article summarizes the effects of sivelestat on ALI/ARDS or ARDS with coagulopathy, both of which are frequently seen in patients with COVID-19. The emergence of the novel 2019-nCoV infection has been a global pandemic. The following databases were searched to identify relevant literature concerning empirical evidence: The Cochrane library, Pubmed, Medline, EMBASE from 1980 through March 2020. COVID-19 patients are more susceptible to thromboembolic diseases including DIC. In this connection, various studies have emphasized on the role of neutrophil elastase (NE) in the development of DIC in patients with ARDS and sepsis. It has been shown that NE inhibition by sivelestat mitigates ALI through amelioration of alveolar epithelium and vascular endothelium injuries as well as reversing the activated neutrophil-mediated increased vascular permeability. Sivelestat is a selective NE inhibitor has not been evaluated for its possible therapeutic effects against SARS-CoV-2 infection and/or COVID-19. Nevertheless, based on its promising beneficial effects in underlying complications of COVID-19, sivelestat could be considered as a promising treatment for the management of ALI/ARDS or coagulopathy in patients with COVID-19.