Wolbachia are among the most prevalent and widespread endosymbiotic bacteria on earth. Wolbachia’s success in infecting an enormous number of arthropod species is attributed to two features: the range of phenotypes they induce in their hosts, and their ability to switch between host species. Whilst much progress has been made in elucidating their induced phenotypes, our understanding of Wolbachia host shifting is still very limited: we lack answers to even fundamental questions concerning Wolbachia’s routes of transfer and the importance of factors influencing host shifts. Here, we investigate the diversity and host-shift patterns of Wolbachia in scale insects, a group of arthropods with intimate associations with other insects that make them well-suited to studying host shifts. Using Illumina multi-target amplicon sequencing of Wolbachia-infected scale insects and their direct associates we determined the identity of all Wolbachia strains. We then fitted a Generalised Additive Mixed Model (GAMM) to our data to estimate the influence of host phylogeny and the geographic distribution on Wolbachia strain sharing among scale insect species. The model predicts no significant contribution of host geography but strong effects of host phylogeny, with high rates of Wolbachia sharing among closely related species and a sudden drop-off in sharing with increasing phylogenetic distance. We also detected the same Wolbachia strain in scale insects and several intimately associated species (ants, wasps, beetles, and flies). This indicates putative host shifts and potential routes of transfers via these associates and highlights the importance of ecological connectivity in Wolbachia host-shifting.

This paper firstly finishes off the exact solutions of Riemann-Liouville fractional differential time-delay oscillatory system of order ρ∈(1 ,2) by using two newly defined delayed perturbations of Mittag-Leffler matrix functions and constant variation method. In the light of the exact solutions, we explore the finite time stability of the nonhomogeneous fractional oscillatory differential equations with pure delay. Ultimately, an example is cited to verify the rationality of the results. Through our method, the public problems left by Mahmudov in 2022 were partially solved.

we reported a-24-year-old woman, who was a known case of Darier Disease (DD) since the age of 5 years old. She was presented with hemorrhagic macules, and vesicles on the dorsum aspects of her hands, fingers, and palmar area with no triggers like trauma, and with spontaneous recovery.

Background: Epistaxis management frequently includes the insertion of a non-absorbable nasal pack, and patients may often be admitted during this treatment. During the recent COVID-19 pandemic, UK guidance to discharge “suitable” patients, with pack in-situ, was published in order to minimise hospital admissions and viral nosocomial transmission. Evidence which defines patient suitability for discharge, however, is lacking. Method: The medical records of 100 patients admitted for idiopathic epistaxis in our trust, managed with non-absorbable packing, were analysed. We sought to determine whether risk factors for re-bleeding through packs, or for haemorrhage-related complications, for which inpatient admission would allow more timely treatment, could be identified. Patient factors and outcomes were correlated using binomial logistic regression. Results: 13 patients re-bled through nasal packing. Statistically significant (1 tailed, P<0.05) predictors of bleeding despite packing were male sex, hypertension diagnosis, and aspirin use, with younger patients being at a modestly increased risk. Warfarin or direct oral anticoagulant (DOAC) use was not associated with increased bleeding risk. Conclusion: This study provides initial evidence of factors that affect the risk of bleeding through packs, and which patients may require inpatient care when packed. We recommend a future multicentre study with larger recruitment numbers to expand upon this pilot study’s results.

Multi-chamber soft pneumatic actuators (m-SPAs) have been widely used in soft robotic systems to achieve versatile grasping and locomotion. However, existing m-SPAs have slow actuation speed and are either limited by a finite air supply or require energy-consuming hardware to continuously supply compressed air. Here, we address these shortcomings by introducing an internal exhaust air recirculation (IEAR) mechanism for high-speed and low-energy actuation of m-SPAs. This mechanism recirculates the exhaust compressed air and recovers the energy by harnessing the rhythmic actuation of multiple chambers. We develop a theoretical model to guide the analysis of the IEAR mechanism, which agrees well with the experimental results. Comparative experimental results of several sets of m-SPAs show that our IEAR mechanism significantly improves the actuation speed by more than 82.4% and reduces the energy consumption per cycle by more than 47.7% under typical conditions. We further demonstrate the promising applications of the IEAR mechanism in various pneumatic soft machines and robots such as a robotic fin, fabric-based finger, and quadruped robot. Corresponding author(s) Email:    guguoying@sjtu.edu.cn

Species distribution patterns are essential for the conservation of biodiversity. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of multiple ecological hypotheses on the spatial patterns of rodent species richness in China. First, we divided the geographic region of China into 80 × 80 km2 grid cells and mapped the distribution ranges of the 237 rodent species. Rodent taxa were separated into three response variables based on their distribution: (a) all species, (b) non-endemic species, and (c) endemic species. The predictors were divided into four factor sets: (a) energy-water, (b) climatic seasonality, (c) habitat heterogeneity, and (d) human factors, which were used to represent four different ecological hypotheses. We then performed multiple regression analysis (OLS), spatial autoregressive models (SAR), and variation partitioning analyses to determine the effects of predictors on the spatial patterns of rodent species. The Hengduan Mountains and surrounding mountains in southwest China showed the highest species richness and endemism. Habitat heterogeneity is the most important factor explaining the species richness distribution patterns across all species and non-endemic species. Endemic species richness patterns are most susceptible to seasonal changes in climate and least affected by human factors. The effects of energy and water on the three response variables showed consistent levels of importance.

The eastern tree hyrax is thought to be a solitarily living arboreal species of the forests of East Africa. However, in the coast of Kenya, indigenous forests have been almost entirely cleared, and some of the last tree hyrax populations live in limestone rocky formations and caves. Interestingly, they seem to be living in social groups. Here, we describe and document photographically these unique tree hyrax populations. We also describe their acoustical communication and their calling activity in three different habitats. Based on these animals' physical appearance and acoustic analyses of their calls, they represent the species eastern tree hyrax, Dendrohyrax validus. Due to immence pressure from humans, the future of these small and isolated, cave-living tree hyrax populations does not seem bright.

Superior mesenteric artery syndrome-induced pancreatitis is rarely reported .We report a case which can be explained by an occlusive post-papillary syndrome, which produces retrograde reflux of bile into the pancreatic duct, activating inflammation responsible for pancreatitis.

Here, we present the first case of hypersensitivity pneumonitis to Yeasts (Trichosporon asahii and Candida parapsilosis) and associated with humidifier fever linked to exposure to gram negative bacteria and endotoxins. The association of HP and humidifier fever is rarely reported.

Pitfall trapping is one of the widely used methods in ecological studies to assess epigean arthropods' diversity and density. Our work is the first study to evaluate the capture efficiency of different pitfall traps for collecting scorpions. We examined the impact of trap diameter, trap cover, and use of funnels, and designed eight different trap types by combining these factors. A total of 64 traps were tested in an arid plain in Khuzestan Province, southwest Iran, during winter and spring over a 24-day period, and a total of 772 scorpions were trapped. The results indicate that pitfall traps are most productive for capturing burrowing scorpions. In addition, most scorpions were captured with covered traps, which can be explained by the cryptic lifestyle of scorpions, which tend to use spaces under rocks and other objects for shelter or to search for their prey. It is also noted that larger traps catch more scorpions, and the use of funnels does not significantly affect the number of scorpions caught. However, using funnels is recommended because it can reduce the number of unwanted bycatch samples. Based on our results, an optimized trap design for collecting scorpions is proposed, namely a funnel trap with an opening diameter of ca. 15 cm equipped with a plastic cover.

Objectives Otitis media with effusion (OME) is a common pathology in children. Effusions contain Metalloproteinases (MMPs), which can lead to atrophy of the tympanic membrane (TM) due to destructive effect on the lamina propria. Not all cases of OME are complicated with atrophy, maybe explained by an inter-individual variation of MMP concentration in effusions. The purpose of this study was to determine the correlation between concentration of MMPs and existence of TM atrophy in children. Participants - Main outcome measures The effusion from thirty middle ears were collected during insertion of VT in children aged 15 months to 10 years, including 11 eardrums with tympanic atrophy and 19 without tympanic atrophy. ELISA tests were used to measure concentrations of MMP-2, MMP-7, MMP-9 and TIMP-2 in the effusions. Correlations between MMP levels and atrophy of eardrum was investigated, as well as correlation with age, gender, number of previous ventilation tube insertion, and viscosity of the glue. Results The mean concentration of MMP-2 was higher in the atrophic group than in effusions without TM atrophy (0.6 ng/mg versus 0.5 ng/mg total protein respectively), while the TIMP-2 concentration was lower in this group. The level of MMP-2 decreased with the age. Finally, a significantly higher concentration of MMP-9 and TIMP-2 was found in high-viscosity effusions. Conclusion This study suggests that MMP-2 activity could play an important role in destruction of the eardrum during OME in infancy. MMP-2 level assessment could be interesting for determining children with risk of lamina propria destruction.

Five succinct key points: -Otolaryngologists are at high risk for ergonomic injury, particularly in the neck and cervical spine region. - There is a need to use validated ergonomic assessment tools to quantify the amount of risk in specific otolaryngology procedures and identify alternative methods to decrease that risk. -The physical positioning of the senior author was studied using the RULA score during two different operative approaches to tonsillectomy: one using an endoscope and one using direct visualization without the aid of an endoscope. - The RULA score for the traditional, non-endoscopic approach was 5, with a Neck, Trunk, and Leg Score of 6 and a Wrist/Arm score of 1, demonstrating a high risk and suggesting a need for further investigation and change. The RULA score for the endoscopic-assisted approach was 3, with a Neck, Trunk, and Leg score of 4 and a Wrist/Arm score of 1. -An endoscopic-assisted approach to tonsillectomy allowed for a lower RULA score than traditional tonsillectomy. This study suggests that an endoscopic approach may decrease the potential for musculoskeletal strain and reduce occupational-related pain and injury seen in practicing otolaryngologists.

Background: Catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation (AF) is a common therapeutic strategy for patients with either paroxysmal or persistent AF, but long-term ablation success rates are imperfect. Maintenance of sinus rhythm immediately prior to ablation with anti-arrhythmic drug (AAD) therapy has been associated with improved outcomes in patients undergoing ablation. Amiodarone has superior efficacy relative to other AADs. Whether failure of amiodarone to maintain sinus rhythm prior to ablation for either paroxysmal or persistent AF is associated with poor outcomes is unknown. Methods: A total of 307 patients who received amiodarone in a one-year window before undergoing catheter ablation for AF were included. Patients were divided into amiodarone success (n=183) and amiodarone failure (n=124) groups based on the response to pre-ablation amiodarone treatment. Analysis of procedural outcomes as a function of response to amiodarone therapy was performed. Patients were followed for at least 12 months post-ablation to assess outcomes (adverse events and arrhythmia recurrence). Procedural success was defined by the absence of documented arrhythmia (>30s) without any anti-arrhythmic agents beyond a 90d blanking period. Results: Following ablation for either paroxysmal or persistent AF, freedom from any recurrent atrial arrhythmia at 1y was 57.7% for the entire cohort. One-year freedom from recurrent arrhythmia in the amiodarone success group was comparable to that in the amiodarone failure group (55.7% vs 60.5%; p=0.54). Success rates following ablation did not vary by the response to amiodarone when analyzed for paroxysmal or persistent AF subgroups. Conclusion: Failure to restore and maintain sinus rhythm with amiodarone prior to ablation for either paroxysmal or persistent AF is not a predictor of ablation procedural failure. Amiodarone failure alone should not deter practitioners from considering ablation therapy for patients with AF.

Aims A multipolar pulsed-field ablation (PFA) catheter was recently introduced for pulmonary vein isolation and shows great promise with respect to procedural efficacy and safety. We describe our initial experience using this multipolar PFA catheter for the treatment of left atrial (LA) reentry tachycardia. Methods We included all patients with LA reentry tachycardia treated with PFA at our institution between September 2021 and March 2022. The tachycardia mechanism was identified using 3D electro-anatomical mapping (3D-EAM). Subsequently, a roof line, anterior line, or mitral isthmus line was ablated as appropriate. Roof line ablation was always combined with LA posterior wall (LAPW) isolation. Supplementary ablation of a roof- or anterior line was added in patients with extensive low-voltage areas to avoid future arrhythmias. Positioning of the PFA catheter was guided by a 3D-EAM system, and by fluoroscopy. Bidirectional block across lines was verified using standard criteria. Additional focal radiofrequency ablation (RFA) was used to achieve bidirectional block as necessary. Results Among 22 patients (median age 70 (59-75) years; 9 females), we identified 27 LA reentry tachycardia: Seven roof dependent macro-reentries, one micro-reentry located on the posterior wall, twelve peri-mitral macro-reentries, and seven micro-reentries located on the anterior wall. We ablated a total of 20 roof lines, 13 anterior lines and 6 mitral isthmus lines. Additional RFA was necessary for two anterior lines (15%) and three mitral isthmus lines (50%). Bidirectional block was achieved across all roof lines, 92% of anterior lines and 83% of mitral isthmus lines. We observed no acute procedural complications. Conclusion Ablation of a roof line and LAPW isolation is feasible, effective and safe using this multipolar PFA catheter. However, the catheter is less suited for ablation of the mitral isthmus and the anterior line. A focal pulsed-field ablation catheter may be more effective for ablation of these lines.

Quantifying genetic structure and levels of genetic variation are fundamentally important to predicting the ability of populations to persist in human-altered landscapes and adapt to future environmental changes. Genetic structure reflects the dispersal of individuals over generations, which can be mediated by species-level traits or environmental factors. Dispersal distances are commonly positively associated with body size and negatively associated with the amount of degraded habitat between sites, motivating investigation of these potential drivers of dispersal concomitantly. We quantified genetic structure and genetic variability within populations of ten bee species in the tribe Euglossini across fragmented landscapes. We genotyped bees at thousands of SNP loci and tested the following predictions: (1) larger species disperse farther; (2) species with greater resource specialization disperse farther; (3) deforested areas restrict dispersal; and (4) sites surrounded by more intact habitat have higher genetic diversity. Body size was a strong predictor of genetic structure, but, surprisingly, larger species showed higher genetic structure than smaller species. The way that deforestation affected dispersal varied with body size, such that larger species dispersed less far in areas with more forest. There was no effect of geographic distance on dispersal, and sites with more intact habitat had higher genetic diversity. These results challenge the dominant paradigm that individuals of larger species disperse farther, motivating further work into ecological drivers of dispersal for bees.

Introduction Oral sotalol initiation requires a multiple-day, inpatient admission to monitor for QT prolongation during loading. A one-day intravenous (IV) sotalol loading protocol was approved by the FDA in March 2020, but limited data on clinical use and administration currently exists. This study describes implementation of an IV sotalol protocol within an integrated health system, provides initial efficacy and safety outcomes, and examines length of stay compared to oral sotalol initiation. Methods IV sotalol was administered according to a pre-specified initiation protocol to adult patients with refractory atrial or ventricular arrhythmias. Baseline characteristics, safety and feasibility outcomes, and length of stay (LOS) were compared to patients receiving oral sotalol over a similar time period. Results From January 2021 to June 2022, a total of 29 patients (average age 66.0 ± 8.6 years, 27.6% women) underwent IV sotalol load and 20 patients (average age 60.4 ± 13.9 years, 65.0% women) underwent PO sotalol load. The load was successfully completed in 22/29 (75.9%) patients receiving IV sotalol and 20/20 (100%) of patients receiving oral sotalol, although 7/20 of the oral sotalol patients (35.0%) required dose reduction. Adverse events interrupting IV sotalol infusion included bradycardia (7 patients, 24.1%) and QT prolongation (3 patients, 10.3%). No patients receiving IV or oral sotalol developed sustained ventricular arrhythmias prior to discharge. LOS for patients completing IV load was 2.6 days shorter (mean 1.0 vs 3.6, p < 0.001) compared to LOS with oral load. Conclusion Intravenous sotalol loading has a safety profile that is similar to oral sotalol. It significantly shortens hospital LOS, potentially leading to large cost savings.

End stage renal disease (ESRD), characterized by cessation in kidney function, has been linked to severe metabolic disturbances, caused by buildup of toxic solutes in blood. To remove these solutes, ESRD patients undergo dialysis. As a proof of concept, we tested whether ESRD-related metabolic signatures can be detected in perspiration samples using a combined methodology. Our rapid methodology involves swabbing a glass slide across the patient’s forehead, detecting the metabolites in the imprint using desorption electrospray ionization mass spectrometry, and identifying the key differences using machine learning methods. Based on collecting 42 healthy and 27 ESRD samples, we find saturated fatty acids are consistently suppressed in ESRD patients, with little change after dialysis. Also, our method enables the detection of uremic solutes, where we find elevated levels of uric acid (6.7 fold higher on average) that sharply decrease after dialysis. Beyond the study of individual metabolites, we find that a lasso model, which selects for 8 m/z fragments from 24,602 detected analytes, achieves area under the curve performance of 0.85 and 0.87 on training (n=52) and validation sets (n=17) respectively. Together, these results suggest that this methodology is promising for detecting signatures relevant for Precision Health.

Sorbent with a great quantity of highly dispersed active components is of importance to achieve excellent desulfurization performance. Thus, Zn@MnOx/porous carbon nanofibers (PCNFs) sorbents have been constructed via electrospinning, carbonization, activation and hydrothermal techniques in this study. The as-prepared sorbent realizes a sulfur capacity of 9.63 g S 100 g-1 sorbent and a utilization rate 117% of ZnO, which could be attributed to the synergetic effects of the enlarged surface area of PCNFs and uniformly distributed active components. The specific surface area of modified PCNFs is nearly five times higher than that of the pristine CNFs, providing larger loading area and more attachment sites for metal oxides. Activation with KMnO4 not only generates active MnOx components but also presets ‘seed’ for ZnO crystals growth, which is beneficial for the high dispersion of nano-sized active components. The presented method is beneficial to producing sorbents with better structure and promoted desulfurization performance.

In this work, we proposed a two-stage stochastic programming model for a four-echelon supply chain problem considering possible disruptions at the nodes (supplier and facilities) as well as the connecting transportation modes and operational uncertainties in form of uncertain demands. The first stage decisions are supplier choice, capacity levels for manufacturing sites and warehouses, inventory levels, transportation modes selection, and shipment decisions for the certain periods, and the second stage anticipates the cost of meeting future demands subject to the first stage decision. Comparing the solution obtained for the two-stage stochastic model with a multi-period deterministic model shows that the stochastic model makes a better first stage decision to hedge against the future demand. This study demonstrates the managerial viability of the proposed model in decision making for supply chain network in which both disruption and operational uncertainties are accounted for.

BaZnCuO3 (BZC) was synthesized using the sol-gel method. The BZC was incorporated in reduced graphene oxide (rGO) to produce BZC/rGO composite. The synthesized catalysts were characterized using Raman, powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) analysis. The comparative effect of BZC and BZC:rGO composite was studied on the thermal decomposition of and 3-nitro-3H-1,2,4-triazol-5-one (NTO) and Ammonium Perchlorate (AP) using simultaneous Thermo-gravimetric technique (TG-DTA). BZC was a better catalyst for decreasing the thermal decomposition temperature and the thermo-kinetic parameters of both AP and NTO compared to BZC/rGO composite. BZC can reduce the thermal decomposition of AP and NTO by 121 oC, and 46 oC, respectively. The findings support BZC as a possible catalyst in the thermolysis of both NTO and AP.

Within complex chemical engineering applications, subsystems or technologies have to be pre-selected and evaluated, without being an expert in each technology. In such cases, a surrogate model can help, if it can be set up with easily available reliable tools and data from publications. Here, a pressure swing adsorption (PSA) surrogate model for hydrogen separation was developed. Therefore, 90 published data sets were chosen for training and five different machine learning algorithms were tested. For these data sets a random forest regression yielded the best results when 80 % of the data was used for training and 20 % for testing. The predicted hydrogen recovery deviated from the true value by 6.6 %. The procedure of the surrogate development and analysis is described in this work as a transferable methodology to other scientific questions, not limited to PSA applications.

Legislative change to cannabis use has generated significant interest into the therapeutic utility of cannabis-derived medical products, particularly in the field of oncology. However, much of this research has focused on adults, leaving physicians and caregivers uncertain as to the safety and efficacy of cannabinoids amongst the pediatric demographic. To this end, the aim of this review is to examine the scope of pharmaceutical cannabis in treatment of pediatric cancer, evaluating its utility as an anti-cancer therapeutic as well as symptom relief agent. This systematic review was conducted following the PRISMA guidelines. 30 included articles comprised of 16 clinical and 14 preclinical studies. There is reasonable evidence to support the use of cannabis in CINV, with plausible utility for other facets of symptomatic relief. Preclinical pediatric cancer models, investigating anti-cancer cannabinoid effect, have provided evidence that may warrant first phase clinical trials.

COVID-19 can lead to pneumonia or acute respiratory distress syndrome. Non-respiratory manifestations of COVID-19 include venous and arterial thrombosis. The disease can affect kidneys and lead to renal vein thrombosis leading to symptoms such as flank pain, hematuria, or acute kidney damage.

This paper presents information about Crambe Abyssinica Hochst and discusses various aspects of oil planting, extraction and treatment, chemical composition, and the physical and chemical properties of the oil. In addition, it discusses the possibility of its use as a raw material for biofuels. Crambe Abyssinica Hochst is an oilseed from the Mediterranean that has a good oil content in its seed (~ 38%). Other advantages are presented as the short growth period and can be grown in environments considered unsuitable, which are desirable requirements for use in the production of biofuels. Crambe oil has erucic acid as its main fatty acid, which is not edible, so it is an oil that does not compete with the food industry. This crop is already used in the industry in various parts of the world for the production of various products, including biodiesel with oxidative stability considered promising.