L-ornithine is a basic amino acid, which shows significant value in food and medicine industries. There is a huge space for L-ornithine production with strains available for metabolic engineering, and it is urgent to develop a high-efficiency engineering strain for industrialization. Here, xylose isomerase and xylulose kinase were introduced into Corynebacterium glutamicum S9114 to establish xylose metabolism pathway, and then xylose became a substitute carbon source of glucose. In addition, the optimization and overexpression of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase and pentose transporter have been conducted to promote the synthesis of L-ornithine for the first time. Furthermore, though optimizing the concentration ratio of glucose and xylose (7:3), adding biotin and thiamine hydrochloride, we arrived at the highest L-ornithine yield 41.5g/L in shaking flask fermentation so far. Our results demonstrate that the combination of metabolic engineering and the optimization of fermentation process can make great potential for L-ornithine production by lignocellulose hydrolysate.

Leymus chinensis (Trin.) Tzvel. (Poaceae) is the dominant plant species in the Songnen grassland of China. Nitrogen addition is an important measure to prevent degradation of grassland due to soil salinization. To clarify the effects of long-term nitrogen addition on the quality of L. chinensis and soil properties, a field experiment was continuous conducted for 10 years in moderately saline-sodic grassland from 2009 to 2018, and the annual nitrogen addition rate was 0，30，60，90，120，150，180 and 210 kg N ha-1, respectively. The results showed that with nitrogen addition rates increasing, the contents of protein and fat in shoot increased 20.5% to 80.9% and 6.9% to 69.3% compared with those of the control without nitrogen addition, respectively. When nitrogen addition rates reached 90 kg ha-1 to 210 kg ha-1, The ratio of K+/Na+ and Ca2+/Na+ in L. chinensis shoot increased 1.26 to 3.37 times and 1.56 to 2.98 times compared with those of the control, respectively. Nitrogen addition decreased significantly soil pH, electrical conductivity and exchange sodium percentage, and increased significantly the contents of soil organic matter, total nitrogen, available nitrogen, the activities of sucrase and urease and ecosystem multifunctionality(P＜0.05). The redundancy analysis showed that there was a significant positive correlation between the improvement of L. chinensis quality and soil desalination and soil fertility increasing. Therefore, the suitable nitrogen addition rate of 90-120 kg N ha-1 was an effective and necessary measure to maintain the healthy growth of L. chinensis and inhibit land degradation in moderately saline-sodic grassland of Northern China.

Abstract: Natural hybridization is a common key evolutionary process and a long-standing topic in the plant taxon. Hybrid zones, where two closely related species interact, can provide an avenue to insight the process, illuminating the maintenance of the taxon diversity. Incomplete isolation barriers between Ligularia species generally form hybrid zones. In this study, we used the double digest restriction-site associated DNA sequencing technology (ddRAD-seq) to examine genetic structure and estimate introgression in four newly discovered hybrid zones between L. tongolensis and L. cymbulifera. Our results showed high differentiation between parental species, whereas pairwise FST between parents and their hybrids was low, further corroborating sympatric site form hybrid zones. Moreover, most F1 hybrid individuals were observed within the four hybrid zones implying the presence of substantial barriers to interbreeding. An analysis of genomic clines indicated that a large fraction of loci deviated from a model of neutral introgression in the four hybrid zones, of which most loci exhibited selection favouring L. cymbulifera genotypes. Our analysis demonstrated bidirectional but asymmetric introgression appearing in the four hybrid zones. The different habitats among four hybrid zones may affect isolation barriers between both species. Natural hybridization with post-zygotic isolation barriers may significantly contribute to the diversification of Ligularia in the HMR.

The Taklimakan Desert is the largest desert in China and the second-largest mobile desert in the world. It is characterized by an increasing altitude gradient from north to south. In this study, a total of 48 sand samples were collected in the Taklimakan Desert, and variations in physicochemical parameters and bacterial communities in the samples and the correlation between them were explored. The bacterial community was characterized using 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The obtained taxonomic data revealed significant differences in the relative abundance of bacterial communities and populations among the samples. The predominant phyla were Actinobacteria, Firmicutes, Proteobacteria, and Bacteroidetes. The abundance of Actinobacteria increased gradually while that of Firmicutes decreased gradually with the increase in altitude. At the genus level, the abundance of Bacillus showed a gradual decrease while that of unclassified Micrococcaceae showed a gradual increase. Altitude and pH were the primary factors that shaped the bacterial communities in the desert. Besides, Ca2+ and P were also significantly correlated with the abundance of bacterial communities. The indicator taxa were significant differences in the surface and the subsurface samples.

Acute pericarditis and pericardial effusion are rare extrapulmonary presentations of COVID-19. They can occur without concomitant pulmonary disease or myocardial injury. A high index of suspicion is necessary to assure early diagnosis and treatment.

Here, we describe a successful catheter-based closure of a recurrent post-infarction VSR using a new custom-made device in a 50-year-old man who had previously undergone emergency surgical repair for acute PIVSR with bovine pericardial patch, coronary artery bypass grafting and mitral valve replacement with mechanical prosthesis.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Chicken colibacillosis, caused by avian Escherichia coli (APEC), results in huge economic losses to the poultry industry. Baicalin exerts protective effects during the development of colibacillosis. In this study, we mainly explored the mechanism of this protective effects with regard to gut microbiota. EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH The chicken colibacillosis model was established by intratracheal instillation of APEC. The gut microbiota-depleted chicken model was established with broad-spectrum antibiotics. Viscera index measurement and Haematoxylin and eosin stain were applied to assess histological changes of tissues. ELISA were used to measure the cytokines and Quantitative-PCR were used to evaluate the gene expression. The gut microbiota and its metabolite were detected by 16srDNA and ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography (LC-MS). KEY RESULTS Depletion of gut microbiota exacerbated the tissue damage and weakened the protective effects of baicalin during APEC-induced chicken colibacillosis while pretreatment of baicalin reduced these changes and inflammatory response induced by APEC. Moreover, APEC infection led to dysbiosis of gut microbiota and its metabolites. However, the pretreatment of baicalin remodeled the gut microbiota featured with increased abundance of Intestinimonas and its associated with beneficial metabolites. CONCLUSIONS Gut microbiota played a protective role in the prevention of chicken colibacillosis and the pharmacological action of baicalin. The altered specific gut bacterial and/or metabolites may be served as indicators to predict the occurrence and prognosis of chicken colibacillosis. Our findings may provide a paradigm for the mechanistic studies of compounds and aid the exploration of the mechanisms and pathways underlying the function of herbal medicines.

Aim: To determine the efficacy of neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR) as a marker of the severity of COVID-19 pneumonia in the South-Asian population. Methods: This was a prospective, cross-sectional, analytic study conducted at HDU/ICU of District Headquarter Hospital, Faisalabad, Pakistan, from May through July 2020. Sixty-three eligible patients, admitted to the HDU/ICU, were prospectively enrolled in the study. Their NLR, C-reactive protein, serum albumin, and serum fibrinogen were measured. Patients’ demographic characteristics, comorbidities, clinical manifestations of COVID-19 infection, medication use, and history of lung malignancy were retrieved from their medical history. Patients were categorized into either a general group (with mild COVID-19) or a heavy group (with moderate to severe COVID-19). Results: There were significant differences between the two groups in diabetes prevalence, NLR, C-reactive protein, and serum albumin. NLR and C-reactive protein were positively correlated (P < 0.001, P = 0.04 respectively) whereas serum albumin was negatively correlated (P = 0.009) with severe COVID-19. NLR was found to be an independent risk factor for severe COVID-19 pneumonia in the heavy group (OR = 1.264, 95% CI: 1.046~1.526, P = 0.015). The calculated AUC using ROC for NLR was 0.831, with an optimal limit of 4.795, sensitivity of 0.83 and specificity of 0.75, which is highly suggestive of NLR being a marker for early detection of deteriorating severe COVID-19 infection. Conclusion: NLR can be used as an early warning signal for deteriorating severe COVID-19 infection and can provide an objective basis for early identification and management of severe COVID-19 pneumonia.

White-tailed bumblebee species, Bombus cryptarum, B. lucorum, B. magnus and B. terrestris are known to be very similar in their morphological characters across the majority of their ranges. This hampers assessment of their status and trends because reliable identification is difficult. In this study, we use a combination of characters and methods to assess how ecologists and citizen scientists can reliably and quickly separate these four species occurring in the Netherlands. Bumblebees (queens, workers and males) were sampled from 10 locations across the Netherlands and specimens were identified based on COI sequence data. Next, the same specimens where scored for morphological traits. We show that a combination of easy to recognise characteristics can separate some specimens of the species depending on caste and sex. Bombus magnus males and queens and B. lucorum males were most reliably separated from the other species using morphological characters. Workers of all four species cannot be separated completely using morphological characters alone. This is the first time standard morphological characters and ecological data has been used to study the differences between the white-tailed bumblebees in the Netherlands. Based on our findings we need to conclude that the status of these bumblebee species in the Netherlands is uncertain due to possible misidentifications in the past and present. People who wish to work with these species should be careful in species identification based on morphology.

Endocrine disrupting effects have become a major issue in the field of environmental toxicology. Due to the testicular toxicity reported for acrylamide and confirmed in our study, and the double jeopardy with its well-documented carcinogenicity following leaching out from overcooked starchy foods, the current study was extended to address the possible protective effects of two nutraceuticals. The present study was designed to assess the possible reproductive toxicity of acrylamide in adult male Swiss albino rats. Also, the work was extended to investigate the potential protective effects of two nutraceuticals namely; thymoquinone (TQ) and capsaicin against acrylamide-induced reproductive toxicity. Sixty male albino rats were allotted into six groups. Group 1: Rats received free tap water and served as control group. Group 2: Rats received acrylamide in a daily dose and served as the model. Group 3: Rats were administered TQ twice weekly. Group 4: Rats were administered capsaicin once daily. Group 5: Rats challenged with acrylamide were administered TQ twice weekly. Group 6: Rats challenged with acrylamide were administered capsaicin once daily. A murine model of acrylamide testicular toxicity was reproduced and was characterized biochemically, morphologically and histologically. Acrylamide increased oxidative stress, expression of testicular NF-κB/p65, in addition down regulated the expression of occludin that may further account for its testicular toxicity. Both nutraceuticals; TQ and capsaicin have proven more or less efficacy in ameliorating all the toxic insults exerted by acrylamide in the current reproductive toxicity model. Key words: Testicular failure; Thymoquinone; Capsaicin; Acrylamide; NF-ΚB/P65; Occludin

Key Points: • Tranexamic acid is an antifibrinolytic agent that has been used in variety of operations to reduce blood loss. • Post thyroidectomy haematoma can be life threatening, therefore multiple methods are used to reduce the risk of bleeding. • Tranexamic acid was given intra-operatively to 106 patients undergoing thyroid surgery. • Patients who received tranexamic acid had no return to theatre for post-operative haematoma (p=0.041). • There were no adverse events reported related to the administration of tranexamic acid.

Superalkalis have lower ionization energy than that of alkali atoms and superhalogens have higher electron affinity than that of halogen atoms. This property can be exploited to improve the efficacy of redox reactions that are routinely used in the scientific and industrial laboratories. Some of these reactions are theoretically studied and their thermodynamic parameters are analyzed. Alternatives to these reactions with the use of superalkalis and superhalogens are suggested by assuming similar behavior to that of their alkali metal or halogen analogues. Consequently, these reactions are analyzed, and their properties are compared to the existing reactions. Particularly, the change in reaction enthalpy, Gibbs free energy and their electrochemical potential are compared. Quantification of the reducing property of the superalkalis is also studied in the present situation by using an ionic equation. In all the cases, the results are promising and consequently, some of their applications are contemplated.

All the countries and regions have already been infected with novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). This super small guest has paralyzed the economy of the entire world, from the extreme fall of the oil prices to the bankruptcy of the great companies or even the small retail shops. The people’s lifestyle is undergoing significant changes, by which it is leaving a negative impact on their psychological and physical health. The atmosphere is filled with dual accusations from each one of the governments and their citizens. Recognizing cognitive biases that have potentially affected decision-making during the COVID-19 pandemic would help in considering some behavioral changes for curbing this global viral infection.

Purpose: Bayesian inference has become very popular science. It offers some pragmatic approaches to account for uncertainty in inference-decision making. Various estimation methods have been introduced to implement Bayesian methods but although these algorithms are powerful they are not always easy to grasp. This paper aims to provide an intuitive framework of four key Bayesian computational methods for researchers in clinical studies. We will not cover daunting mathematical discussion of these approaches, but rather offer a non-quantitative description of these algorithms and provide some illuminating examples. Materials and methods: Bayesian computational methods namely, i) Importance sampling, ii) Rejection sampling, iii) Markov-chain Monte Carlo, iv) Data augmentation were introduced. Results and conclusions: A load of literature published on Bayesian inference has proved its popularity among researches while its concept is not straightforward for amateur learners. We showed that alternative approaches which are intuitively appealing and easy-to-understand work well in case of low-dimensional problems and appropriate Prior information such as weighted prior, otherwise MCMC is a Trouble-free tool.

Arachnids are the most abundant land predators. Despite the importance of their functional roles as predators and the of necessity to understand their diet for conservation and nutrient fluxes, the trophic ecology of many arachnid species is not fully understood. In the case of the wandering spider, Phoneutria boliviensis F. O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1897, only selected field and laboratory observational studies about their diet exist. By using a DNA metabarcoding approach, we compared the prey found in the gut content of males and females from three distant Colombian populations of P. boliviensis. By DNA metabarcoding of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI), we detected and identified 234 prey records belonging to 96 operational taxonomic units (OTUs), as prey for this wandering predator. Our results broaden the known diet of P. boliviensis with at least 75 prey taxa not previously registered in fieldwork or laboratory experimental trials. These results suggest that P. boliviensis feeds predominantly on invertebrates (Diptera, Lepidoptera, Coleoptera and Orthoptera) and opportunistically on small squamates. Intersex and interpopulation differences are observed. Assuming that prey preference does not vary between populations, these differences are likely associated with a higher local prey availability. Finally, we suggest that DNA metabarcoding can be used for evaluating subtle differences in the diet of distinct populations of P. boliviensis, particularly when predation records in the field cannot be established or quantified using direct observation

In the subcritical energy case, local well-posedness is established in the radial energy space for a class of fractional inhomogeneous Choquard equations. The best constant of a Gagliardo-Nirenberg type inequality is obtained. Moreover, a sharp threshold of global existence versus blow-up dichotomy is obtained for mass super-critical and energy subcritical solutions.

In the present report, the structural stability order and electronic properties of the transition metal M@Ge12 (M = Co, Pd, Tc, and Zr) doped germanium cage has been carried out at B3LYP/LANL2DZ ECP level by using spin polarized density functional theory. Initially, we selected five lowest energy structure of neutral TM doped Ge12 cluster with high symmetry point like D6h-symmetric hexagonal prism (HP), the D6d-symmetric hexagonal anti-prism (HAP), D2d-symmetric bi-capped pentagonal prism (BPP), perfect icosahedrons (Ih) and Fullerene type structures. Further, we discussed the electronic origin of stability as well as electronic properties by calculating binding energy, HOMO-LUMO gap, charge transfer mechanism and density of states. We indentified that the Pd, Tc, and Zr encapsulated Ge12 cage with hexagonal prism [HP] structures are minimum energy structures while Co@Ge12 cage prefer HAP structure. The magnitudes of binding energy of the clusters indicate that the doping of 4d transition metal gives most stable structure rather than 3d transition metal Co atom. The large HOMO-LUMO gap and natural bond orbital analysis explain the stability of these clusters using closed shell electronic configuration and the contribution of π and σ bond. Charge transfer mechanism shows that the Tc, Pd and Zr atoms play role as an electron donor in the system whereas Co inclined to accept the electrons. The importances of “d” orbital in localized electrons near the Fermi level are also explained through partial density of states.

Background: How to shorten the anesthesia time is an important problem to ERAS. The authors formulated a series of optimization measures and verified that these measures could shorten the anesthesia time and improve the operating room utilization efficiency by multidisciplinary diagnosis and treatment pattern. Methods: 90 patients were random selected to analyses the time of every preparing procedure and between 2 adjacent procedures, the multidisciplinary team established the optimization measures accordingly. Then 95 patients for gastrointestinal surgery received collaborative optimization measures that were established after discussion among anesthesiologists, surgeons and operating room nurses (optimization group), while 226 cases received the conventional approaches (control group). The data obtained from operating room monitoring recording of the two groups of patients were analyzed. Results: The preparation times from the initial of induction of anesthesia to start of surgery in optimization group were all significantly shorter than those in control group (all P<0.0001). In supine position surgery, the times from initial of induction of anesthesia to start of urinary catheterization, from urinary catheterization finish to start of disinfection, and from completion of draping to start of surgery in patients receiving optimization measures were all significantly superior to those receiving conventional approaches (all P<0.0001); in lithotomy position surgery, the times from the initial of induction of anesthesia to positioning, from positioning finish to start of disinfection, and from completion of draping to start of surgery in patients receiving optimization measures were all significantly superior to those receiving conventional approaches (all P<0.0001). Conclusions: The established optimization measures based on multidisciplinary team collaboration could significantly shorten the anesthesia time. The optimized measures in this study are feasible and effective to shorten the anesthesia time.