In this paper, first, we introduce a concept of mixed multivalued contraction mapping. Then, we present some best proximity point results for such mappings on 0-complete partial metric spaces. Hence, we extend and generalize some famous and nice results existing in the literature such as Abkar and Gabeleh, Gabeleh and Aydi et al. Also, we provide some nontrivial illustrative examples to support our results and to compare with the results mentioned before. Finally, the first time, we give some applications to homotopy theory via new best proximity point results. Hence, we obtain some best proximity point results for homotopic mappings

In this paper, we investigate the standing waves of fractional Laplacian Schrödinger equations. The monotonicity of standing waves of fractional Schrödinger equations was obtainded by using sliding method. In addition, non-existence result of standing waves is presented.

The dry phase of intermittent rivers promotes the emergence of diverse terrestrial and aquatic habitats where large amounts of leaf litter can accumulate. This environmental heterogeneity can cause diverse chemical alterations in leaf litter by the co-occurrence of multiple physical and biological degradation processes across these different habitats. After flow resumption, these chemically diversified leaves are mixed and continue decomposition downstream in fully aquatic conditions. Here, we (i) test experimentally the hypothesis that environmental heterogeneity during the dry phase can translate into a chemical diversification of leaf litter, and (ii) investigate how chemical diversity may affect leaf litter decomposition in re-established lotic conditions. Our laboratory treatments mimicking dry-phase habitats caused a strong chemical diversification of leaf litter, which accelerated its decomposition in a perennial river reach. These results suggest that intermittent river reaches may act as hotspots of organic matter diversification with potential implications on C processing at river-network scale.

Endozoochory is an essential plant-animal interaction in tropical forests, involving the swallowing and defecation of seeds. To better understand whether anatomical traits (i.e. body mass and skull dimensions) are good predictors of seed dispersal in mammals we studied the relationships between morphology, fruit and seed size and seed dispersal distance across three orders: Chiroptera, Primates, and Carnivora. Our results revealed that body mass is an important driver of the size of ingested seeds for all orders and of the seed dispersal distance produced by Primates. In addition, the distance between the molars, jaw length, and jaw gape are good predictors of the size of ingested seeds. These results show how body mass and cranial anatomy constrain ingested seed size and dispersal distance across mammals and reinforce the importance of maintaining functional diversity in seed dispersers to maintain tropical forest structure and regeneration.

Non-random mating among individuals can lead to spatial clustering of genetically similar individuals and population stratification. This deviation from panmixia is commonly observed in natural populations. Consequently, individuals can have parentage in single populations or involving hybridization between differentiated populations. Accounting for this mixture and structure is important when mapping the genetics of traits and learning about the formative evolutionary processes that shape genetic variation among individuals and populations. Stratified genetic relatedness among individuals is commonly quantified using estimates of ancestry that are derived from a statistical model. Development of these models for polyploid and mixed-ploidy individuals and populations has lagged behind those for diploids. Here, we extend and test a hierarchical Bayesian model, called entropy, which can utilize low-depth sequence data to estimate genotype and ancestry parameters in autopolyploid and mixed-ploidy individuals (including sex chromosomes and autosomes within individuals). Our analysis of simulated data illustrated the trade-off between sequencing depth and genome coverage and found lower error associated with low depth sequencing across a larger fraction of the genome than with high depth sequencing across a smaller fraction of the genome. The model has high accuracy and sensitivity as verified with simulated data and through analysis of admixture among populations of diploid and tetraploid Arabidopsis arenosa.

The clinical application of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) revolutionised the field of cancer therapy as it enabled the successful treatment of previously untreatable types of cancer. Different mechanisms play a role in the anti-tumour effect of mAbs and both target engagement with the Fab arm as well as Fc-mediated effector functions contribute to the efficacy of treatment. Because Ig isotypes differ in their ability to bind to FcRs on immune cells as well as in their ability to activate complement, they differ in the immune responses they activate. Therefore, the choice of antibody isotype for therapeutic mAbs is dictated by its intended mechanism of action. Considering that clinical efficacy of many mAbs is currently achieved only in subsets of patients, optimal isotype selection and Fc optimisation during antibody development may represent an important step towards improved patient outcome. Here, we discuss the current knowledge of the therapeutic effector functions of different isotypes and Fc-engineering strategies to improve mAbs application.

In this study, the effect of triacylglycerol structure on the performance of γ-oryzanol was evaluated. For this purpose, the kinetic parameters of pure triacylglycerols and fatty acid methyl esters of olive, sesame, corn, sunflower, and soybean oils were calculated in the presence γ-oryzanol at 60, 70, and 80 °C. The obtained results showed that γ-oryzanol was more effective in improving the induction period and the level of hydroperoxides production in fatty acid methyl ester systems in comparison to the triacylglycerol ones. An increase in the temperature led to higher participation of γ-oryzanol in undesirable side reactions. The participation rate in these reactions was higher in the higher γ-oryzanol efficiency systems. In the inhibited oxidation reactions, eliminating the triacylglycerols structure of oils caused a considerable increase in all Arrhenius and Eyring model parameters. These findings revealed that the antioxidant activity of γ-oryzanol was increased by the destruction of the triacylglycerol structure.

Equine herpesvirus 1 (EHV-1) is prevalent in China, and this has had negative consequences for horse breeding. However, this is no date about the genome sequence and genetic characterization of the strains from China. This study aimed to determine the character of the strain that was isolated in China and to serve as a key reference for the development of specific assays for diagnosis and epidemiological research. EHV-1 YM2019 was isolated from the lung tissue of an aborted horse foetus in Xinjiang, China, and the YM2019 genome was sequenced and analysed. The amino acid sequences of 76 EHV-1, EHV-3, EHV-4, EHV-8 and EHV-9 proteins were compared and analysed, and the amino acid sequences of the ORF30 and ORF42 proteins were analysed through bioinformatics. The genome sequence (GenBank accession number: MT063054) is 150, 267 bp in length. It shared the highest similarity with Ab4 strain (92.26% nucleotide identity), which was isolated in the United Kingdom and belonged to the same monophyletic group. Amino acid analysis showed that the YM2019 strain is of the ORF30 A2254/N752 genotype. Multiple sequence alignments of the 76 proteins indicated that the ORF42 protein had the highest sequence identity and the ORF68 protein had the lowest identity. This could facilitate the tracking of EHV-1 in the outbreak situation and allow for the differentiation of the outbreak virus from the other EHV strains. In conclusions, this study provides the genome sequence for EHV-1 YM2019 in China and the strain shared high nucleotide homology with Ab4 strain. In addition, Analysis suggests that EHV-8 and EHV-9 are more closely related to EHV-1 than to EHV-3 and EHV-4, the prevalence of EHV-8 and EHV-9 in China and the potential threat to horse breeding deserve further investigation.

A document by Birgit Arabin, written on Authorea.

We study the response of various linear and nonlinear differential equations to different kinds of forced oscillations, specially the periodic and almost periodic oscillations. A special attention is given to differential equations with time-almost periodic type and state-dependent delays. To the best of our knowledge, there are no results in literature that address this problem.

The main ambition proposed in this article is to provide new fixed point results for triangular $\alpha-$orbital admissible contractions via some auxiliary and simulation functions in the frame of extended $b-$metric-like spaces. As an application, we prove the existence of a unique solution for a nonlinear fractional differential equation with exponential weighted integral boundary conditions via the generalized proportional fractional derivative of Caputo type with order $\beta\in (n-1, n]$. Further, we demonstrate the usability of our results through several examples.

Efficient root colonization of the plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria is critical for their plant-beneficial functions. However, their strategy to overcome plant immunity in root colonization is not well understood. In particular, how Bacillus strains overcome the plant-derived ROS, which functions as the first barrier of plant defense, is not clear. In the present study, we found that the homologue of flg22 in B. velezensis SQR9 (flg22SQR9) has 78.95% identity to the typical flg22 (flg22P.s.) and could induce significant oxidative burst in cucumber and Arabidopsis. In contrast to pathogenic or beneficial Pseudomonas, living B. velezensis SQR9 induced an oxidative burst in plant. We further found that B. velezensis SQR9 could tolerate higher H2O2 than Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato (Pst) DC3000, the pathogen that harbored the typical flg22, and possesses the ability to suppress the flg22-induced oxidative burst, indicating that B. velezensis SQR9 may exploit a more efficient ROS tolerance system than DC3000. Further experimentation with mutagenesis of bacteria and Arabidopsis showed that the two-component regulatory system sensor ResE in B. velezensis SQR9 was involved in tolerance of plant-derived oxidative stress, thus contributing to root colonization. This study supports the further investigation of interaction between beneficial rhizobacteria and plant immunity.

This work considers a non-linear viscoelastic wave equation with non-linear damping and source terms. We analyse the partial differential equation from the point of view of Lie symmetries. Firstly, we apply Lie's method to obtain new symmetries. Hence, we transform the partial differential equation into an ordinary differential equation, by using the symmetries. Moreover, new solutions are derived from the ordinary differential equations. Finally, by using the direct method of multipliers, we construct low-order conservation laws depending on the form of the damping and source terms

Abstract Objective To study the impacts of obstetric complications and anxiety among pregnant women in non-epizootic area which are caused by COVID-19. Design Retrospective cohort. Setting China. Population or sample the women who delivered in the third trimester of pregnancy in Qingdao Municipal hospital for the year the months March and April, 2019 and 2020. Method This paper is based on the clinical data from This paper makes a detailed analysis of the problems that can arise because of special circumstances related with delivery history, personal physical symptoms, anxiety index, adverse complications as well as neonatal birth weight. Result Comparing with the same period between 2019 and 2020, maternal age(32.12±5.32vs31.01±4.21, P<0.05) and the ratio of macrosomia(12.10%vs2.53%)are increasing steadily. Meanwhile, times of prenatal visits (10.49±2.15vs10.89±1.81, P<0.05) and score of PHQ-9（1.46±2.09vs4.96±1.38, P<0.05）are to fall significantly。 Conclusion It is helpful to relieve the negative emotion of fear and anxiousness for the pregnant women if they can be encouraged and soothed by social support. The leading cause why regular checkups are decreasing is due to the fear of the epidemic and the transport restrictions, which, in return, may result in a lack of effective management in fetal weight. The COVID-19 had no giant effect on the third trimester of pregnant women. Government as well as obstetric practitioners should strengthen the education of fetal weight management during the pregnancy. Keywords Pregnancy; COVID-19; obstetric complications; anxiety Tweetable abstract The COVID-19 had no giant effect on the third trimester of pregnant women in the non-epizootic area China.

Peste des petits ruminants (PPR) is a highly infectious transboundary disease of small ruminants caused by peste-des-petits-ruminants virus. It is one of the most destructive diseases in sheep industry in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. In Pamir Plateau, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan and other countries bordering Tibet and Xinjiang of China are all PPR epidemic areas. Within this region, there are many big population size wild small ruminants, moving freely across the border. The time-honored transboundary nomadic lifestyle results in transboundary migration of livestock too. China has experienced two national epidemics, which can be sourced back to Tibet and Xinjiang. In order to reach the China National Plan for the Eradication of Peste des Petits Ruminants and construct a national wide free zone without immunization in 2020, effective control of transboundary spreading and imported cases is an unavoidable choice. For the countries in the pan Pamir Plateau, the spatial risk distribution of PPR were predicted by a variety of eco-geographical, anthropoid and meteorological variants first time; by the resistance surface analysis, maximum available transboundary paths for PPR spreading by small ruminants were calculated. Finally, 5 paths were obtained, respectively from Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Pakistan and Kashmir to enter Xinjiang and Tibet of China through different channels. This study not only confirmed the fact of transboundary communication of small ruminants for the first time, but also provided specific objectives for PPR prevention. This research can also provide new methods for the prevention and control of other transboundary infectious diseases.

CMS lines are highly sensitive to temperature change for the sterility status. Determination of critical temperature for sterility breakdown in wild abortive cytoplasmic male sterile (WA-CMS) lines under field condition is essential for efficient seed production planning. CMS lines IR58025A and IR68897A were grown at different dates of sowing to give exposure to a series of temperature regime and day length at natural field condition. At panicle initiation stages temperatures below 28.5°C, the CMS lines were sterile and at temperatures below 30°C, the lines became partially sterile. Above 30°C, the CMS line reverted to fertile. The highest pollen sterility was recorded (98.3%) during the long day condition while the lowest was recorded (43.5%) during the short day condition indicating the effect of both temperature and day-length on break down of sterility. Differential expression of floral characters like panicle exertion and stigma was found with variation in temperature. This simple field-driven technique can be successfully employed to work out the functional temperature for fertility reversibility which is of utmost importance for planning seed production and maintenance of genetic purity of the hybrids. The techniques will aid in designing seed production planning for hybrid rice in any rice-growing area in the world

Human microbial alterations are associated with environmental stress, nutritional, genetic and triggering de-novo variations. Nevertheless, human gut microbiome at extreme altitude (>5800 m) remains unexplored. We aimed to demonstrate the microbial predominance in individuals with same ethnicity and dietary pattern at extreme altitude with unique challenges like cold, hypoxia, radiation etc. Different analysis pipelines were used for fecal whole genome sequencing at 210m, 3500m, 4420m and 5805m, and 16s rRNA V3-V4 regions amplification sequencing of 19 individuals belonging to the same ethnicity and dietary pattern, for presence of taxonomy & functional potential and confirming the prediction upto the strain level within the same cohort. Principal component analysis, revealed distinct microbiome changes at different altitudes, with varied and higher Bacteroides and Prevotella ratio. There was predominance of genus Prevotella at altitudes 4420m & 5805m than at 210m & 3500m. Appearance of species Prevotella copri strain 61740 was increasing significantly at extreme altitudes, whereas co-occurrence of other bacterial strains had different pattern than Prevotella. The extensive strain level analysis indicated alteration in the metabolic pathways. This study under stressful and hypoxic environment of extreme altitudes, associated microbial variation with altered metabolic pathways, reveals influence of extreme environment on human gut microbiota with predominance of Prevotella.

Superaustenitic steel Sanicro 25 has been subjected to in-phase and out-of-phase thermomechanical fatigue cycles in the temperature range from 250°C to 700°C. Both constant strain rate cycling and cycling with 10 minutes dwell at peak temperature were applied. The effect of the dwells on the cyclic response, internal structure and damage mechanism was studied. Cyclic hardening/softening curves, cyclic stress-strain curves and fatigue life curves were evaluated. The transmission electron microscopy was used to find modifications of the internal structure and precipitation of the nanoparticles. 10 min dwell at maximum temperature modified substantially the dislocation arrangement. Various nanoparticles representing the obstacles for dislocation motion were analysed and identified by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy in scanning transmission electron microscope. The damage mechanism operating under specific loading conditions was investigated on the surface as well as in the interior of the cycled specimens. Scanning electron microscopy combined with focused ion beam and electron backscatter diffraction was adopted to reveal the respective mechanisms responsible for crack nucleation and propagation. Effect of dwells on fatigue behaviour, modification of internal structure and damage mechanisms are analysed and discussed.

We report the differential diagnostic procedure and pharmacological treatment process of a case with Sluggish Cognitive Tempo (SCT) and subthreshold ADHD. The case had much more benefit from atomoxetine in terms of SCT symptoms compared to methylphenidate.

Background This meta-analysis aims to evaluate the utility of speckle tracking echocardiography (STE) as a tool to evaluate for cardiac sarcoidosis (CS) early in its course. Electrocardiography and echocardiography have limited sensitivity in this role, while advanced imaging modalities such as cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) and 18F-Fluorodeoxyglucose–Positron Emission Tomography (FDG-PET) are limited by cost and availability. Methods We compiled English language articles that reported left ventricular global longitudinal strain (LVGLS) or global circumferential strain (GCS) in patients with confirmed extra-cardiac sarcoidosis versus healthy controls. Studies that exclusively included patients with probable or definite CS were excluded. Continuous data were pooled as a standard mean difference (SMD) between the sarcoidosis group and controls. A random effect model was adopted in all analyses. Heterogeneity was assessed using Q and I2 statistics. Results Nine studies with 967 patients were included in our analysis. LVGLS was significantly lower in the extra-cardiac sarcoidosis group as compared to controls, SMD -3.98, 95% confidence interval (CI): -5.32, -2.64, p< 0.001, also was significantly lower in patients who suffered Major Cardiac Events(MCE), -3.89, 95% CI -6.14, -1.64, p< 0.001 . GCS was significantly lower in the extra-cardiac sarcoidosis group as compared to controls, SMD: -3.33, 95% CI -4.71, -1.95, p< 0.001 Conclusion LVGLS and GCS were significantly lower in extra-cardiac sarcoidosis patients despite not exhibiting any cardiac symptoms. LVGLS correlates with MCEs in CS. Further studies are required to investigate the role of STE in the early screening of CS.

Trichoderma is a fungal genus comprising species used as biocontrol agents in crop plant protection and with high value for industry. The beneficial effects of these species are supported by the secondary metabolites they produced. Terpenoid compounds are key players in the interaction of Trichoderma spp. with the environment and with their fungal and plant hosts, however most of the terpene synthase (TS) genes involved in their biosynthesis have yet not been characterized. Here, we combined comparative genomics of TSs of 21 strains belonging to 17 Trichoderma spp., and gene expression studies on TSs using T. gamsii T6085 as a model. An overview of the diversity within the TS-gene family and the regulation of TS genes is provided. We identified 15 groups of TSs, and the presence of clade-specific enzymes revealed a variety of terpenoid chemotypes evolved to cover different ecological demands. We propose that functional differentiation of gene family members is the driver for the high number of TS genes found in the genomes of Trichoderma. Expression studies provide a picture in which different TS genes are regulated in many ways, a strong indication of different biological functions.

Aim: To assess effect of high-dose vitamin C on cardiac injury in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Methods: The study was designed based on the severe and critically ill COVID-19 with cardiac injury. Demographics and baseline clinical characteristics were collected and analyzed in addition to laboratory examinations including inflammatory markers on admission and at 14 days after treatment from the electronic medical records. Participants were followed-up for 14 days after treatment with high-dose vitamin C in addition to conventional therapy. Result: The patients (n = 113) were categorized into the improved cardiac injury (ICI) group (n = 70) and the non-improved cardiac injury (NICI) group (n = 43). Overall, 51 (45.1%) patients were administrated with high-dose vitamin C, the percentages of patients treated with high-dose vitamin C were higher in the ICI group than that in the NICI group (52.8% vs 32.5%, P = 0.035). Further analysis showed that concentrations of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin-2 receptor (IL-2R), IL-6 and IL-8 significantly decreased at 14 days after treatment in patients treated with high-dose vitamin C compared with those in patients administrated without high-dose vitamin C. Meanwhile, similar results were also observed regarding changes in inflammatory markers from baseline to 14 days after treatment in patients receiving high-dose vitamin C. Conclusion: High-dose vitamin C can improve cardiac injury through preventing hyper-inflammatory response in severe and critically ill COVID-19.

Background Pediatric patients represent approximately 2% of overall confirmed cases of COVID-19. Illness severity and symptoms differ from adults. Most cases in children are mild but various studies have reported severe and critical cases as well as fatal outcomes. Methods A systematic review and meta-analysis of the available literature was performed. Frequencies were used for reporting categorical variables. Meta-analyses were performed using the binary random effects model for symptoms frequencies in children and illness severity. Results We found 44 studies (n=6026), 38 were used for quantitative synthesis to estimate the frequency of symptoms in the pediatric population with Covid-19 and illness severity, 44 were used for qualitative synthesis. The most common symptoms were fever 64% (CI 95% 54-72%), cough 42% (CI 95% 37-48%) and gastrointestinal symptoms like vomit 31% (CI 95% 17-47%) and diarrhea 28% (CI 95% 17-40%). For illness severity 2% (CI 95%0-5%) were severe and 3% (CI 95% 1-6%) were critical. Children <1-year-old had the higher odds of severe/critical cases with an OR of 2.07 (IC95% 1.40-3.05). All patients were hospitalized, and a total of 10.34% children admitted to PICU. The mortality rate was 0.16% (8/487). A total of 141 patients developed PIMS-TS and only one died. Conclusions: Most cases in children were non-severe, nevertheless children less than 1 year had the higher risk of severe/critical cases. Symptoms frequencies encountered from major to minor were fever, cough and gastrointestinal symptoms. More testing in children should be done in order to understand transmission characteristics in the pediatric population.

Portunus trituberculatus (Crustacea: Decapoda: Brachyura), commonly known as the swimming crab, is of major ecological importance, as well as being important to the fisheries industry. P. trituberculatus is also an important farmed species in China due to its rapid growth rate and high economic value. Here, we report the genome sequence of the swimming crab, which was assembled at the chromosome scale, covering ~1.2 Gb, with 79.99% of the scaffold sequences assembled into 53 chromosomes. The contig and scaffold N50 values were 108.7 kb and 15.6 Mb, respectively, with 19,981 protein-coding genes and a high proportion of simple sequence repeats (49.43%). Based on comparative genomic analyses of crabs and shrimps, the C2H2 zinc finger protein family was found to be the only gene family expanded in crab genomes, and its members were mainly expressed in early embryonic development and during the flea-like larval stage, suggested it was closely related to the evolution of crabs. Combined with transcriptome and Bulked Segregant Analysis (BSA) providing insights into the genetic basis of salinity adaptation in P. trituberculatus, strong immunity and rapid growth of the species were also observed. In addition, the specific region of the Y chromosome was located for the first time in the genome of P. trituberculatus, and Dmrt1 was identified as a key sex determination gene in this region. Decoding the swimming crab genome not only provides a valuable genomic resource for further biological and evolutionary studies, but is also useful for molecular breeding of swimming crabs.