Serological Prevalence of Schistosoma japonicum in Mobile Populations in Previously Endemic but Now Non-Endemic Regions of China: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background: Schistosomiasis japonica has been resurging in certain areas of China where its transmission was previously well controlled or interrupted. Several factors may be contributing to this, including mobile populations, which if infected, may spread the disease. A wide range of estimates have been published for S. japonicum infections in mobile populations, and a synthesis of these data will elucidate the relative risk presented from these groups. Methods: A literature search for publications up to Oct 31, 2014 on S. japonicum infection in mobile populations in previously endemic but now non-endemic regions was conducted using four bibliographic databases: China National Knowledge Infrastructure, WanFang, VIP Chinese Journal Databases, and PubMed. A meta-analysis was conducted by pooling one arm binary data with MetaAnalyst Beta 3.13. The protocol is available on PROSPERO (No. CRD42013005967). Results: A total of 41 studies in Chinese met the inclusion criteria, covering seven provinces of China. The time of post-interruption surveillance ranged from the first year to the 31st year. After employing a random-effects model, from 1992 to 2013 the pooled seroprevalence ranged from 0.9% (95% CI: 0.5-1.6%) in 2003 to 2.3% (95% CI: 1.5-3.4) in 1995; from the first year after the disease had been interrupted to the 31st year, the pooled seroprevalence ranged from 0.6% (95% CI: 0.2-2.1%) in the 27th year to 4.0% (95%CI: 1.3-11.3%) in the second year. The pooled seroprevalence in mobile populations each year was significantly lower than among the residents of endemic regions, whilst four papers reported a lower level of infection in the mobile populations than in the local residents out of only 13 papers which included this data. Conclusions: The re-emergence of S. japonicum in areas which had previously interrupted transmission might be due to other factors, although risk from re-introduction from mobile populations could not be excluded

A review on the effects of light-emitting diode (LED) light on the nutrients of sprouts and microgreens

Background: Sprouts and microgreens, which are tender, flavourful, rich in nutrients, have a short growth cycle, and have been recognized as functional foods in the human diet. Culturing under artificial light sources could regulate the growth, the phytochemical compound content and antioxidant capacity of sprouts and microgreens. Scope and approach: In this review, the effects of light-emitting diode (LED) light on growth, phytochemical compound content and antioxidant capacity, as well as the post-harvest quality of sprouts and microgreens were overviewed, and the underlying mechanisms were discussed. The future applications and research, which aim to improve the growth and nutritional quality of sprouts and microgreens, were also investigated. Key findings and conclusions: LED light can promote the accumulation of different phytochemicals, such as phenolic compounds, vitamins, glucosinolates, chlorophyll and carotenoids. Meanwhile, the antioxidant capacity could also be significantly increased by growth under LED light, in particular UV-B light. The accumulation of mineral elements (Ca2+, Fe2+, K+) increased after light exposure. The effects of LED light on the growth was species dependent. Therefore, growth under LED light is an efficient and promising strategy for producing sprouts and microgreens with higher nutritional values

How consumers’ need for variety and social consumption influences festival patronage and spending

This paper investigates the influence of motivational goals such as variety seeking and social consumption on consumers’ patronage and spending at craft beer festivals. In doing so, we develop and test a number of hypotheses by examining information collected via means of a survey questionnaire proposed in 2017 to visitors of a large beer festival in the UK. Findings of our analysis unveil how cognitive engagement affects individuals’ behavior with regard to responding to and financially engage with beer festivals. Results also identify cognitive engagement as an important mediator of the effects related to variety-seeking and social consumption. From a managerial perspective, findings reveal important attributes affecting consumers’ drivers towards craft beers, contributing to understand which dimension of consumer engagement influence their behaviors. Overall, the study provides fresh empirical evidence in terms of identifying and recognizing consumers’ behaviors with regard to defining future trends in the craft beer secto

Mortality time of immature stages of susceptible and resistant strains of Sitophilus oryzae (L.) exposed to different phosphine concentrations

The mortality time on egg, larvae and pupae of four strains with resistance factor 1, 69, 160 and 295 to phosphine of Sitophilus oryzae (L.), which were expressed in R1, R69, R160 and R295 in this report, respectively, were investigated with stable concentrations of 100, 300, 500, 700 and 900 mL m-3 of phosphine in a well sealed fumigation chamber. The mortality time on all immature stages was about 10 d for strain R1, more than 15 d for all resistance strains exposed to 100 mL m-3 of phosphine. Mortality time on egg and larvae of R1 was 9 and 6 d at 300 and 700 mL m-3, respectively. But it was only 4 d and 2 d for pupae of R1 at 700 and 900 mL m-3, respectively. The mortality time on immature stages of R69 was 12 and 5 d with the 300 and 700 mL m-3, respectively. And that on immature stages of strain R160 and R295 was 15 and 10 d with phosphine of 300-700 mL m-3, respectively. With the fumigant of 900 mL m-3, the full death time were 5 d for larval of all strains, 5d for pupae and egg of R1 and more that 8 or 9 d for pupae and egg of three resistance strains. The egg and pupae of S. oryzae were the most tolerant stages to phosphine both for susceptible and resistance strains.Keywords: Sitophilius oryzae, Immature stage, Phosphine, Mortality tim

The cumulative effects of known susceptibility variants to predict primary biliary cirrhosis risk.

Multiple genetic variants influence the risk for development of primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC). To explore the cumulative effects of known susceptibility loci on risk, we utilized a weighted genetic risk score (wGRS) to evaluate whether genetic information can predict susceptibility. The wGRS was created using 26 known susceptibility loci and investigated in 1840 UK PBC and 5164 controls. Our data indicate that the wGRS was significantly different between PBC and controls (P=1.61E-142). Moreover, we assessed predictive performance of wGRS on disease status by calculating the area under the receiver operator characteristic curve. The area under curve for the purely genetic model was 0.72 and for gender plus genetic model was 0.82, with confidence limits substantially above random predictions. The risk of PBC using logistic regression was estimated after dividing individuals into quartiles. Individuals in the highest disclosed risk group demonstrated a substantially increased risk for PBC compared with the lowest risk group (odds ratio: 9.3, P=1.91E-084). Finally, we validated our findings in an analysis of an Italian PBC cohort. Our data suggested that the wGRS, utilizing genetic variants, was significantly associated with increased risk for PBC with consistent discriminant ability. Our study is a first step toward risk prediction for PBC

Axisymmetric slosh frequencies of a liquid mass in a circular cylinder

Spectral eigenvalue methods along with some lower-dimensional techniques are used to determine the natural frequencies of a liquid slug in a circular tube. The contact lines are either pinned or governed by a slip coefficient assumed small. Corresponding physical experiments are conducted for a borosilicate glass tube and a treated water slug. Gravitational and viscous effects are neglected for the analyses. The spectral results agree well with a simple spherical end cap approximation (zero dimensional) for large aspect ratio slugs and with a membrane approximation (one dimensional) for small aspect ratios. The experimental observations for different aspect ratios agree well with the predictions, although the gravity, viscosity and/or slip are neglected in the analyses. © 2003 American Institute of Physics.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/71120/2/PHFLE6-15-12-3659-1.pd