We present the first videos depicting the consumption of bats by rusty-spotted genets (Genetta maculata) inside a cave in the Republic of Congo. Following the implementation of a camera-trap monitoring protocol of interactions between cave bats and wildlife, we identified important genet activity in one of the caves in our study. Between 2022 and 2023, we recorded four events of bat or rodent consumption (including two with certainty on bats), one hunting attempt on bats and three feeding behaviors on insects. We detail the various behaviors and discuss the potential implications of genets consuming bats, rodents and insects, and in particular scavenging on dead bats. Finally, we address the potential implications of zoonotic pathogen transmission from bats to humans via genets through the bushmeat trade.

In this paper, BSA surface-imprinted magnetic Fe-Ni bimetallic oxide shell nanorods (m-FeNi@MIPs@PCBMA) were prepared with the assistance of poly(3-[[2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl]dimethylammonium] propionate (PCBMA) in connection with the surface-imprinting technique. The Fe-Ni bimetallic oxide shell layer nanorods (m-FeNi) with magnetic responsiveness simplified the separation and recovery process of adsorbed materials. The controlled introduction of PCBMA facilitated the reduction of protein non-specific adsorption. At the optimal encapsulation ratio of 1:0.75 (Wm-FeNi@MIPs: WCBMA), m-FeNi@MIPs@PCBMA could adsorb 122.98 ± 5 mg/g of BSA within 80 min, and the value of the imprinting factor (IF) was also increased from 1.68 (m-FeNi@MIPs) to 3.95. In the mixed protein adsorption and real sample separation experiments, m-FeNi@MIPs@PCBMA could selectively separate BSA. Meanwhile, after seven adsorption-desorption experiments, the loss of BSA adsorption by the imprinted nanorods was only 15.9%, which had good reusability. Therefore, m-FeNi@MIPs@PCBMA has a broader application prospect in the field of protein separation and purification.

Real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) remains the most prevalent molecular detection technology for sewage analysis but is plagued with numerous disadvantages, such as time consumption, stringent equipment requirements, and susceptibility to false negatives. In this study, we construct an automated robot-driven photoelectrochemical biosensing platform that utilizes the CRISPR/Cas12a system, to achieve fast, ultrasensitive, high specificity detection of biological loads in sewage. The Shennong-1 robot integrates several functional modules, involving sewage sampling and pretreatment to streamline the sewage monitoring. A screen-printed electrode is employed with a vertical graphene-based working electrode and enhanced with surface-deposited Au nanoparticles (NPs). CdTe/ZnS quantum dots (QDs) are further fabricated through the double-stranded DNA anchored on Au nanoparticles. Using cDNA template of Omicron BA.5 spike gene as a model, the photoelectrochemical biosensor demonstrates excellent analytical performance, with a lower detection limit of 2.93×102 zM and an outstanding selectivity at the level of single-base mutation recognition. Furthermore, the rapid, accurate detection of BA.5 in sewage demonstrates the feasibility of the photoelectrochemical platform for sewage monitoring. In conclusion, this platform allows early detection and tracking of infectious disease outbreaks, providing timely data support for public health institutions to take appropriate prevention and control measures.

Background: Ubiquitin and ubiquitin-like (UUL) modifications play pleiotropic functions and are subject to fine regulatory mechanisms frequently altered in cancer. However, the comprehensive impact of UUL modification on breast cancer remains unclear. Methods: Transcriptomic and clinical data of breast cancer were downloaded from TCGA and GEO databases. Molecular subtyping of breast cancer was conducted using the NMF and CIBERSORT algorithms. Prognostic genes were identified via univariate, lasso and multivariate Cox regression analyses. Clinical pathological features, immune cell infiltration, immune therapeutic response and chemotherapy drug sensitivity were compared between groups using the Wilcoxon test. Survival analysis was performed using the Kaplan-Meier method and log-rank test. Results: In breast cancer, 63 UUL modification-related genes were differentially expressed, with 29 up-regulated and 34 down-regulated genes. These genes were used to generate two UUL modification patterns that exhibited significant differences in prognostic features and immune cell infiltration. The UUL modification patterns were associated with 2038 differentially expressed genes that were significantly enriched in nuclear division, chromosome segregation, neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction, cell cycle, and other biological processes. Of these genes, 425 were associated with breast cancer prognosis, which enabled the classification of breast cancer into two clusters with significantly distinct prognoses. We developed a prognostic model, UULscore, which comprised nine genes and showed a significant correlation with partial immune cell infiltration. Furthermore, UULscore demonstrated potential predictive value in breast cancer overall survival prediction, immune therapeutic response, and chemotherapy drug sensitivity. UULscore, stage, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy were identified as independent prognostic factors for breast cancer. Based on these factors, a nomogram model was constructed, which demonstrated exceptional prognostic predictive performance. Conclusion: In conclusion, we identified two UUL modification-derived molecular subtypes in breast cancer, and have successfully constructed a risk scoring model that holds potential value in prognosis, immune infiltration, immune therapeutic response, and chemotherapy sensitivity.

Recent magnetoencephalography (MEG) studies have reported that functional connectivity (FC) and power spectra can be used as neural fingerprints in differentiating individuals. Such studies have mainly used correlations between measurement sessions to distinguish individuals from each other. However, it has remained unclear whether such correlations might reflect a more generalisable principle of individually distinctive brain patterns. Here, we evaluated a machine-learning based approach, termed latent-noise Bayesian reduced rank regression (BRRR) as a means of modelling individual differences in the resting-state MEG data of the Human Connectome Project (HCP), using FC and power spectra as neural features. First, we verified that BRRR could model and reproduce the differences between metrics that correlation-based fingerprinting yields. We trained BRRR models to distinguish individuals based on data from one measurements and used the models to identify subsequent measurement sessions of those same individuals. The best performing BRRR models, using only 20 spatiospectral components, were able to identify subjects across measurement sessions with over 90% accuracy, approaching the highest correlation-based accuracies. Using cross-validation, we then determined whether that BRRR could generalize to unseen subjects, successfully classifying the measurement sessions of novel individuals with over 80% accuracy. The results demonstrate that individual neurofunctional differences can be reliably extracted from MEG data with a low-dimensional predictive model.

Background: Valsartan is commonly used for cardiac conditions. In 2018, the Food and Drug Administration recalled generic valsartan due to the detection of impurities. Our objective was to determine if heart failure patients receiving valsartan at the recall date had a greater likelihood of unfavorable outcomes than patients using comparable antihypertensives. Methods: We conducted a cohort study of Optum’s de-identified Clinformatics® Datamart (July 2017-January 2019). Heart failure patients with commercial or Medicare Advantage insurance who received valsartan were compared to persons who received non-recalled angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) and angiotensin converting enzyme-inhibitors (ACE-Is) for 1 year prior and including the recall date. Outcomes included a composite for all-cause hospitalization, emergency department (ED), and urgent care (UC) use and a measure of cardiac events which included hospitalizations for acute myocardial infarction and hospitalizations/ED/UC visits for stroke/transient ischemic attack, heart failure or hypertension at 6-months post-recall. Cox proportional hazard models with propensity score weighting compared the risk of outcomes between groups. Results: Of the 87,130 patients, 15% were valsartan users and 85% were users of non-recalled ARBs/ACE-Is. Valsartan use was not associated with an increased risk of all-cause hospitalization/ED/UC use six-months post-recall (HR 1.00; 95%CI 0.96–1.03), compared with individuals taking non-recalled ARBs/ACE-Is. Similarly, cardiac events 6-months post-recall did not differ between individuals on valsartan and non-recalled ARBs/ACE-Is (HR 1.04; 95%CI 0.97–1.12). Conclusions: The valsartan recall did not affect short-term outcomes of heart failure patients. However, the recall potentially disrupted the medication regimens of patients, possibly straining the healthcare system.

Background: The conjunctiva of the eye is a mucosal surface that is colonized by various bacteria. Following surgeries, trauma, or other underlying conditions the normal flora of these bacteria may cause some eye infections such as conjunctival, corneal infections, or endophthalmitis. Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the bacterial population and antibiotic resistance of the conjunctiva in healthy horses. Study design: Random sampling of ocular samples from 20 horse during the winter (2019). Methods: Swab samples were collected from the eyes of 20 healthy horses of different breeds, ages, and sexes in Tehran province, Iran. The swabs were cultured on blood agar and MacConkey agar and incubated at 37°C for 24-48 hours. The isolated bacteria were characterized using cellular morphology, gram-staining, and biochemical tests. Sensitivity and resistance to 10 different antibiotics were measured using an antibiogram test. Results: Results showed that the bacterial population consisted of various species, with Bacillus cereus being the most frequent. There were no significant differences in the frequency of isolated bacteria between sexes and age groups. There were no significant differences in the sensitivity of bacterial flora of the eyes to Colistin, ceftiofur, florfenicol, amoxicillin, and ampicillin between neither different age groups nor different sexes of the horses (P>0.05). However, sensitivity to enrofloxacin and ciprofloxacin was significantly correlated with the age groups of the horses (P>0.05). Significant difference in sensitivity to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole between various sexes of horses was observed. Main limitations: The non-uniformity of the follow-up examination reliance owners or caregiver of the horse for follow-up information and Lack of adequate financial resources to study more horses. Conclusions: The study suggests that the frequency of bacterial flora in horses’ eyes is influenced by housing and management conditions rather than age and sex. Keywords: Microbial flora, Conjunctiva, Eyes, Horse, Mucosal surface.

Accurate and efficient genotyping of microsatellite loci is essential for their application in population genetics and various demographic analysis. Protocols for next generation sequencing of microsatellite loci generate high-throughput and cross-compatible allele scoring characteristics: common issues associated with size separation on conventional capillary-based protocols. As a result, we have developed a novel, ultra-fast, all-in-one software Seq2Sat in C++ to support accurate automated microsatellite genotyping. It directly takes raw reads of microsatellite amplicons and subsequently performs read quality control before inferring genotypes based on depth of read, sequence composition and length. It does not produce any intermediate files, making I/O very efficient. Additionally, we developed a module in Seq2Sat for sex identification based on sex locus amplicons. We further developed a user-friendly website-based platform SatAnalyzer to conduct reads-to-report analyses by calling Seq2Sat to generate genotype tables and interactive genotype graphs for manual editing. SatAnalyzer also allows visualization of read quality and distribution across loci and samples to troubleshoot multiplex optimization and high-quality library preparation. To evaluate its performance, we benchmarked SatAnalyzer against conventional capillary gel electrophoresis and an existing microsatellite genotyping software MEGASAT. Results show that SatAnalyzer can achieve > 0.993 genotyping accuracy and Seq2Sat is ~ 5 times faster than MEGASAT despite many more informative tables and figures generated. Seq2Sat and SatAnalyzer are freely available at github (https://github.com/ecogenomicscanada/Seq2Sat) and dockerhub (https://hub.docker.com/r/rocpengliu/satanalyzer).

A document by Bryony Lucas. Click on the document to view its contents.

Aim: Isoniazid (INH) has been used as a first-line drug to treat tuberculosis (TB) for more than 50 years. However, large inter-individual variability was found in its pharmacokinetics, and how to handle a delayed or missed dose of INH remains unclear. This study aimed to develop a population pharmacokinetics (PPK) model of INH in Chinese patients with TB to provide model-informed precision dosing and explore appropriate remedial dosing regimens for non-adherent patients. Methods: A nonlinear mixed-effects modeling was used to analyze the PPK of INH. Using Monte Carlo simulations to determine optimal dosage regimens and design remedial dosing regimens. A two-compartment model well described the PPK of INH. Results: N-acetyltransferase 2 (NAT2) genotype and body weight were identified as significant factors on INH PK. Monte Carlo simulations determined optimal dosage regimens for patients with different NAT2 genotype and body weight. For remedial dosing regimens, the missed dose should be taken as soon as possible when the delay does not exceed 12 h, and an additional dose is not needed. On delaying a INH dose exceed 12 h, only need to take the next single dose normally. Conclusion: PPK modeling and simulation provide valid evidence on the precision dosing and remedial dosing regimen of INH.

5-Aminolevulinic (5-ALA) acid photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a treatment for actinic keratosis and has been studied as a treatment for non-invasive cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC). PDT induces apoptosis and necrosis in actinic keratosis and cSCC. 5-ALA blue light PDT may modulate gene expression and pathways in surviving cells. In this study, differential gene expression and pathway analysis of cSCC and human dermal fibroblasts were compared before and after 5-ALA blue light PDT using RNA-Sequencing. No genes were differentially expressed after correcting for multiple testing (FDR <0.05). As a result, transcription factor, gene enrichment, and pathway analysis were performed with genes identified before multiple testing (p<0.05). Pathways associated with proliferation and carcinogenesis were downregulated. These findings using 5-ALA blue light PDT are similar to previously published studies using methyl-aminolevulinic and red light protocols, indicating that surviving residual cells may undergo changes consistent with a less aggressive cancerous phenotype.

This paper develops a technical framework for the next-generation power grid transformer (NGPGT) for grid renewables. This framework is structured to overcome the environmen-tal challenges produced due to the explosive use of non-renewable base energy generation sources. The use of these sources cannot meet the required electricity for the world’s growing community due to their availability, cost, and lack of flexibility. However, modern energy systems focus on the use of renewable energy sources where the grid transformer’s interaction acts the essential role in their generation, transmission, and distribution. The lack of central-ization, local monitoring, interoperability, authenticity, and precise bi-directional flow may limit the application of current framework power grid transformers in grid renewables. In this paper, a new technical framework, called NGPGT, is developed by introducing some ex-tended features for addressing the challenges shown in the current-generation transformers. This is structured by enabling some advanced technical features with the existing frame-work which includes automatic condition monitoring, intelligent inverters, edge computing, automatic controlling, and intelligent management. This paper also illustrates the benefits and scopes of the NGPGT compared to the existing transformer by assembling essential re-quirements and obligatory components. Additionally, this paper highlights a few difficulties of implementing NGPGT in terms of operational, communication, energy management, and economic point of view which may enable further research scopes for the researchers.

The development of high-performance organic solar cells (OSCs) with high operational stability is essential to accelerate their commercialization. Unfortunately, there is currently a lack of detailed understanding of the origin of instabilities in state-of-the-art OSCs based on bulk heterojunction (BHJ) featuring non-fullerene acceptors (NFAs). Herein, we developed NFA-based OSCs using different charge extraction interlayer materials and studied their storage, thermal, and operational stabilities. Despite the high power conversion efficiency (PCE) of the OSCs (17.54%), we found that cells featuring self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) as hole-extraction interlayers exhibited poor stability. The time required for these OSCs to reach 80% of their initial performance (T80) was only 6 h under continuous thermal stress at 85 °C in a nitrogen atmosphere and 1 h under maximum power point tracking (MPPT) in a vacuum. Inserting MoOx between ITO and SAM enhanced the T80 to 50 h and ~15 h after the thermal and operational stability tests, respectively, while maintaining a PCE of 16.9%. Replacing the organic PDINN electron transport layer with ZnO NPs further enhances the cells’ thermal and operational stability, boosting the T80 to 1000 and 170 h, respectively. Our work reveals the synergistic role of charge interlayers and device architecture in developing efficient and stable OSCs.

Title: SLE-induced Pancreatitis vs. Pancreatitis induced by the steroid treatment for SLE

This paper develops a neuro-adaptive observer for state and nonlinear function estimation in systems with partially modeled process dynamics. The developed adaptive observer is shown to provide exponentially stable estimation errors in which both states and neural parameters converge to their true values. When the neural approximator has an approximation error with respect to the true nonlinear function, the observer can be used to provide an H ∞ bound on the estimation error. The paper does not require assumptions on the process dynamics or output equation being linear functions of neural network weights and instead assumes a reasonable affine parameter dependence in the process dynamics. A convex problem is formulated and an equivalent polytopic observer design method is developed. Finally, a hybrid estimation system that switches between a neuro-adaptive observer for system identification and a regular nonlinear observer for state estimation is proposed. The switched operation enables parameter estimation updates whenever adequate measurements are available. The performance of the developed adaptive observer is shown through simulations for a Van der Pol oscillator and a single link robot. In the application, no manual tuning of adaptation gains is needed and estimates of both the states and the nonlinear functions converge successfully.

This study aims to investigate the potential of a modified Cognitive-Behavioral Group Therapy (CBGT) intervention in promoting social adjustment and reducing parental stress among children exhibiting symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The research also highlights the mechanisms and advantages of employing modified CBGT counseling to address negative symptoms associated with ADHD in children. The study was conducted at Fuzhou Children’s Hospital of Fujian Province, involving two CBGT counseling sessions held in 2021 and 2022, with a total of 20 pairs of parents and children with ADHD participating. The assessment utilized measures such as SNAP, Barratt Impulsivity, and Conners to evaluate changes in the children’s social adjustment abilities and core/associated ADHD symptoms before and after CBGT intervention. Additionally, the Parental Stress Index was employed to gauge the level of stress experienced by the parents. The results demonstrated that modified CBGT interventions effectively alleviate ADHD symptoms, enhance parent-child relationships, and reduce parental stress levels. Consequently, CBGT interventions have shown substantial improvements in children’s social adjustment abilities and have proven to be a significant source of relief for parents. The study also addresses the limitations associated with existing ADHD treatments and CBGT interventions.

1.IntroductionEccrine spiradenoma is a rare adnexal neoplasm originating from sweat glands. It typically presents as a small solitary nodule covered by a normal or bluish skin [1] . It can appear in nearly any part of the body, with 1/5 of cases occurring in extremities[2] . The tumor is most frequent in young adults, with no sexual or racial predilection [3,4] . Although it is considered benign, malignant cases have been reported [5] . Early diagnosis is essential to prevent chances of recurrence and malignant transformation [6] .

Here, we describe a Raspberry Pi-based camera system that is portable, robust, and weatherproof, with a close-up focus (2.5 cm). We show that this camera system can be used in remote locations with high rainfall and humidity. The camera has an Infrared LED light to film in dark places and can continuously record for 21 days. We also describe how to make concrete artificial shelters to mount the camera in. One of the great strengths of this shelter/camera setup is that the animals choose to take up residence and can then be filmed for extended periods with no disturbance. Furthermore, we give examples of how shelters and cameras could be used to film a range of behaviours in many small cryptic amphibian species, but also other small vertebrates and invertebrates globally.