HCV genotype 6 prevalence, spontaneous clearance and diversity amongst elderly members of the Li ethnic minority in Baisha County, China

The epidemiology of hepatitis C virus varies widely across geographical regions and ethnic groups. Our previous study showed that 6 strains isolated from Baisha County, Hainan Island, China, were all new genotype 6 (gt6) subtypes which differed significantly from subtypes of other regions. In the current study, we conducted a comprehensive epidemiological survey of HCV in the Li ethnic group, native to Baisha County. Anti‐HCV antibodies were detected by 2 independent ELISAs in all participants, and positive results confirmed by the recombinant immunoblot assay (RIBA) and HCV RNA viral loads were measured. Univariate chi‐square test and multivariable logistic regression analyses were used to determine the risk factors for HCV infection and spontaneous clearance rates. Indeterminate RIBA results were excluded or included in analyses; consequently, findings were expressed as a range. Direct sequencing of partial regions within NS5B and E1 was employed for genotyping. Among 1682 participants, 117 to 153 were anti‐HCV positive (7.0%‐9.1%), with 42.7%‐52.6% confirmed to have cleared infection. Anti‐HCV positivity was associated with older age (≥60 years) (OR = 0.02, 95% CI 0.01‐0.05, P < 0.01) and surgery (OR = 2.75, 95% CI 1.36‐5.57, P < 0.01), with no significant difference found between the HCV infection group and the HCV spontaneous clearance group. The gt6 subtype distribution characteristics of Baisha County were unique, complex and diverse. The sequences did not cluster with known gt6 subtypes but formed 4 Baisha community‐specific groups. HCV infection in members of the Li minority ethnic group is characterized by high prevalence rates in the elderly, high spontaneous clearance rates and broad gt6 diversity

Polychromatic supplemental lighting from underneath canopy is more effective to enhance tomato plant development by improving leaf photosynthesis and stomatal regulation

Light insufficient stress caused by canopy interception and mutual shading is a major factor limiting plant growth and development in intensive crop cultivation. Supplemental lighting can be used to give light to the lower canopy leaves and is considered to be an effective method to cope with low irradiation stress. Leaf photosynthesis, stomatal regulation and plant growth and development of young tomato plants were examined to estimate the effects of supplemental lighting with various composite spectra and different light orientations. Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) of polychromatic light quality, red + blue (R/B), white + red + blue (W/R/B), white + red + far-red (W/R/FR), and white + blue (W/B) were assembled from the underneath canopy or from the inner canopy as supplemental lighting resources. The results showed that the use of supplemental lighting significantly increased the photosynthetic efficiency, and reduced stomatal closure while promoting plant growth. Among all supplemental lighting treatments, the W/R/B and W/B from the underneath canopy had best performance. The different photosynthetic performances among the supplemental lighting treatments are resulted from variations in CO2 utilization. The enhanced blue light fraction in the W/R/B and W/B could better stimulate stomatal opening and promote photosynthetic electron transport activity, thus better improving photosynthetic rate. Compared with the inner canopy treatment, the supplemental lighting from the underneath canopy could better enhance the carbon dioxide assimilation efficiency and excessive energy dissipation, leading to an improved photosynthetic performance. Stomatal morphology was highly correlated to leaf photosynthesis and plant development, and should thus be an important determinant for the photosynthesis and the growth of greenhouse tomatoes

Altruistic and self-serving goals modulate behavioral and neural responses in deception

People tell lies not only for their own self-interests but sometimes also to help others. Little is known about the ways in which different types of goals modulate behaviors and neural responses in deception. The present study investigated the neural processes associated with spontaneous deception that occurs with altruistic reasons (i.e. the money would be donated to charity), self-serving reasons (i.e. the participant receives all of the money) and mixed goals (i.e. the money would be equally split between the participant and the charity). Altruistic motivation for deception reduced the intensity of moral conflict and the subsequent mental cost of resolving this conflict, reflected by a smaller N2-P3 effect in the purely altruistic condition. When making decisions about whether to lie, self-interest was a stronger motivator than others&#39; interests, and the participants tended to lie more for themselves than for others. When the lie could be mutually beneficial for both of the self and others, the participants tended to lie even when they knew that they could be easily caught, but they actually lied for their own self-interest rather than for altruistic reasons. These findings shed light on the neural basis of &#39;good lies&#39; and decision-making in mutually beneficial situations.</p

Fruit Quality Response to Different Abaxial Leafy Supplemental Lighting of Greenhouse-Produced Cherry Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum var. Cerasiforme)

Insufficient light supply for canopies is a constant issue during greenhouse production in most areas of Northern China. Applying supplemental lighting to plant canopies is an efficient method of solving this problem. Several studies were conducted to identify the optimal, economically efficient abaxial leafy supplemental lighting mode to produce high-quality greenhouse tomatoes. In this experiment, no supplemental treatment was used as a blank control (CK), while three supplemental lighting modes were used as treatments: T1, continuous supplemental lighting from 8:00&ndash;9:00 (at GMT+8, which is 6:00&ndash;7:00 local time, before the thermal insulation covers, abbreviated as TIC below, opening), and 20:00&ndash;22:00 (after TIC closing) with photosynthetic photon fluxion density (PPFD) of 200 &mu;mol&middot;m&minus;2&middot;s&minus;1; T2, dynamic altered supplemental lighting with PPFD rising from 100 &mu;mol&middot;m&minus;2&middot;s&minus;1 to 200 &mu;mol&middot;m&minus;2&middot;s&minus;1 before TIC opening and falling from 200 &mu;mol&middot;m&minus;2&middot;s&minus;1 to 100 &mu;mol&middot;m&minus;2&middot;s&minus;1 after TIC closing; and T3, intermittent supplemental lighting which was automatically conducted with PPFD of 100 &mu;mol&middot;m&minus;2&middot;s&minus;1 when indoor PPFD below 150 &mu;mol&middot;m&minus;2&middot;s&minus;1 from 8:00&ndash;22:00. The results demonstrated that abaxial leafy supplemental lighting treatment could improve both fruit yield and quality. The total yield in the T1 and T2 treatments was higher than in other treatments, though there was no significant difference. Differences in leaf carbon exportation showed the possibility of determining fruit yield from the 3rd leaf under the fruit. The overall appearance, flavor quality, nutrient indicators, and aroma of cherry tomato fruits under T1 and T2 treatments were generally higher than in other treatments. Correlation analysis of fruit yield and quality parameters suggested that they produce relatively high yield and fruit quality. Combined with a cost-performance analysis, dynamic altered supplemental lighting (T2) is more suitable for high-valued greenhouse cherry tomato production

Fruit Quality Response to Different Abaxial Leafy Supplemental Lighting of Greenhouse-Produced Cherry Tomato (<i>Solanum lycopersicum</i> var. <i>Cerasiforme</i>)

Insufficient light supply for canopies is a constant issue during greenhouse production in most areas of Northern China. Applying supplemental lighting to plant canopies is an efficient method of solving this problem. Several studies were conducted to identify the optimal, economically efficient abaxial leafy supplemental lighting mode to produce high-quality greenhouse tomatoes. In this experiment, no supplemental treatment was used as a blank control (CK), while three supplemental lighting modes were used as treatments: T1, continuous supplemental lighting from 8:00–9:00 (at GMT+8, which is 6:00–7:00 local time, before the thermal insulation covers, abbreviated as TIC below, opening), and 20:00–22:00 (after TIC closing) with photosynthetic photon fluxion density (PPFD) of 200 μmol·m−2·s−1; T2, dynamic altered supplemental lighting with PPFD rising from 100 μmol·m−2·s−1 to 200 μmol·m−2·s−1 before TIC opening and falling from 200 μmol·m−2·s−1 to 100 μmol·m−2·s−1 after TIC closing; and T3, intermittent supplemental lighting which was automatically conducted with PPFD of 100 μmol·m−2·s−1 when indoor PPFD below 150 μmol·m−2·s−1 from 8:00–22:00. The results demonstrated that abaxial leafy supplemental lighting treatment could improve both fruit yield and quality. The total yield in the T1 and T2 treatments was higher than in other treatments, though there was no significant difference. Differences in leaf carbon exportation showed the possibility of determining fruit yield from the 3rd leaf under the fruit. The overall appearance, flavor quality, nutrient indicators, and aroma of cherry tomato fruits under T1 and T2 treatments were generally higher than in other treatments. Correlation analysis of fruit yield and quality parameters suggested that they produce relatively high yield and fruit quality. Combined with a cost-performance analysis, dynamic altered supplemental lighting (T2) is more suitable for high-valued greenhouse cherry tomato production

Sputtered SnO2:NiO thin films on self-assembled Au nanoparticle arrays for MEMS compatible NO2 gas sensors

Here, heterostructured Au/SnO2:NiO thin films are fabricated by sputtering SnO2:NiO target onto the self-assembled Au nanoparticle (NPs, diameter similar to 9.5 nm) arrays and then activated by H-2 annealing. Compared with the SnO2 and SnO2:NiO thin film counterparts, the 20 nm thick Au/SnO2:NiO film shows the highest NO2 sensing performance after activated at optimized temperature of 500 degrees C, with high response of similar to 185 to 5 ppm NO2, low detection limit of similar to 50 ppb, high selectivity, good stability and also low sensor-to-sensor variation of &lt; 15%. The gas sensing property enhancement could not only be attributed to catalytic role of the AuNPs, but also to the effective Schottky barrier and p-n junction formation between Au, SnO2 and NiO, which is verified by the relatively higher Fermi level of similar to 4.56 eV compared with those of 4.1-4.3 eV as measured by the ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy. Furthermore, this method is of generality to effectively enhance the electron transfer in other sensing materials like pure SnO2 and WO3, showing the promising potency of this MicroElectrical-Mechanical System (MEMS) compatible heterostucture fabrication method in wafer-scale gas sensor production with high sensitivity, selectivity and good consistency towards low concentration gas detection such as ppb-level NO2

Study of Dynamic Viscoelasticity of a Mineral Oil-Based Magnetic Fluid

Magnetic fluid is a field-responsive intelligent fluid, which has the flow characteristics of liquid and the elastic properties of solid. Because of its unique properties, it has a strong application prospect in the fields of magnetic soft robot, intelligent sensor, and so on. Dynamic viscoelasticity is a significant index to investigate the performance of magnetic fluid in the application process. In this paper, the dynamic viscoelasticity of a homemade mineral oil-based magnetic fluid was investigated under oscillatory shear experimental conditions using an MCR302 rheometer, and the effects of different temperatures and magnetic fields on the dynamic viscoelasticity were examined. Amplitude sweeps tests showed that the value of the storage modulus remained constant within the linear viscoelastic region (LVE) and the stable structure was not destroyed. As the magnetic field strength increased or the temperature increased, the range of the linear viscoelastic zone decreased. At large amplitude, the loss modulus will first appear as a peak and then decrease. The frequency sweep experiment showed that the storage modulus and loss modulus increased with the increase in angular frequency, and the greater the magnetic field intensity, the longer the internal structure relaxation time. When the magnetic field was constant, the higher the temperature, the smaller the storage modulus and loss modulus of the magnetic fluid. At high temperature, the loss coefficient of mesmeric fluid was large, and the magnetic fluid was more viscous. The lower the temperature is, the smaller the loss coefficient of the magnetic fluid is, and the magnetic fluid is more pliant. The study of dynamic viscoelasticity of magnetic fluids lays the foundation for establishing the complete structure intrinsic relationship of magnetic fluids and provides guidance for the application of magnetic fluids in magnetic 3D printing, droplet robot, and smart wear

Atomic-scale identification of defects in alite

Crystallographic defects play a crucial role in cement hydration, with initial dissolution being dominated by the formation of etch pits that rely on the intersection of defects on surfaces. However, the defects present in cement particles have remained a mystery due to the lack of detailed direct observation at the atomic scale. In this study, we used scanning transmission electron microscopy to unravel the defects in alite particles at the single-atom level. Our observations identified different types of defects, including vacancies, doping, dislocations, rough surfaces, and grain boundaries. Atomic ordering in the alite crystal was further examined based on our single-atom recognition method. Our findings indicate that defects in cement particles may serve as reactive sites during the early hydration stage, facilitating the initial dissolution and providing nucleation sites for hydration products. This work provides insights into cement defect formation at the single-atom level and offers new opportunities in tuning the hydration process through defect engineering of cement particles