Common Reservoirs for Penicillium marneffei Infection in Humans and Rodents, China

Human penicilliosis marneffei is an emerging infectious disease caused by the fungus Penicillium marneffei. High prevalence of infection among bamboo rats of the genera Rhizomys and Cannomys suggest that these rodents are a key facet of the P. marneffei life cycle. We trapped bamboo rats during June 2004–July 2005 across Guangxi Province, China, and demonstrated 100% prevalence of infection. Multilocus genotypes show that P. marneffei isolates from humans are similar to those infecting rats and are in some cases identical. Comparison of our dataset with genotypes recovered from sites across Southeast Asia shows that the overriding component of genetic structure in P. marneffei is spatial, with humans containing a greater diversity of genotypes than rodents. Humans and bamboo rats are sampling an as-yet undiscovered common reservoir of infection, or bamboo rats are a vector for human infections by acting as amplifiers of infectious dispersal stages

Evaluating the role of serotonin in hot flashes after breast cancer using acute tryptophan depletion.

OBJECTIVE: Among women with breast cancer, hot flashes are frequent, severe, and bothersome symptoms that can negatively impact quality of life and compromise compliance with life-saving medications (eg, tamoxifen and aromatase inhibitors). Clinicians' abilities to treat hot flashes are limited due to inadequate understanding of physiological mechanisms involved in hot flashes. Using an acute tryptophan depletion paradigm, we tested whether alterations in central serotonin levels were involved in the induction of hot flashes in women with breast cancer. METHODS: This was a within-participant, double-blind, controlled, balanced, crossover study. Twenty-seven women completed two 9-hour test days. On one test day, women ingested a concentrated amino acid drink and encapsulated amino acids (no tryptophan) according to published procedures that have been shown to have specific effects on serotonin within 4.5 to 7 hours. On the other test day, women ingested a control drink. Serial venous blood sampling and objective hot flash monitoring were used to evaluate response to each condition. RESULTS: Response to acute tryptophan depletion was variable and unexplained by use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, antiestrogens, breast cancer disease and treatment variables, or genetic polymorphisms in serotonin receptor and transporter genes. Contrary to our hypothesis, hot flashes were not worsened with acute tryptophan depletion. CONCLUSIONS: Physiologically documented and self-reported hot flashes were not exacerbated by tryptophan depletion. Additional mechanistic research is needed to better understand the etiology of hot flashes

The expression of Gli3, regulated by HOXD13, may play a role in idiopathic congenital talipes equinovarus

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Idiopathic congenital talipes equinovarus (ICTEV) is a congenital limb deformity. Based on extended transmission disequilibrium testing, <it>Gli-Kruppel family member 3 </it>(<it>Gli3</it>) has been identified as a candidate gene for ICTEV. Here, we verify the role of <it>Gli3 </it>in ICTEV development.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Using the rat ICTEV model, we analyzed the differences in <it>Gli3 </it>expression levels between model rats and normal control rats. We used luciferase reporter gene assays and ChIP/EMSA assays to analyze the regulatory elements of <it>Gli3</it>.</p> <p>Results</p> <p><it>Gli3 </it>showed higher expression levels in ICTEV model rats compared to controls (P < 0.05). We identified repressor and activator regions in the rat <it>Gli3 </it>promoter. The <it>Gli3 </it>promoter also contains two putative Hoxd13 binding sites. Using EMSA, the Hoxd13 binding site 2 was found to directly interact with Hoxd13 <it>in vitro</it>. ChIP assays of the Hoxd13-<it>Gli3 </it>promoter complex from a developing limb confirmed that endogenous Hoxd13 interacts with this region <it>in vivo</it>.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our findings suggest that <it>HoxD13 </it>directly interacts with the promoter of <it>Gli3</it>. The increase of <it>Gli3 </it>expression in ICTEV model animal might result from the low expression of <it>HoxD13</it>.</p

Transcriptome Analysis of the Breast Muscle of Xichuan Black-Bone Chickens Under Tyrosine Supplementation Revealed the Mechanism of Tyrosine-Induced Melanin Deposition

The Xichuan black-bone chicken, which is a rare local chicken species in China, is an important genetic resource of black-bone chickens. Tyrosine can affect melanin production, but the molecular mechanism underlying tyrosine-induced melanin deposition in Xichuan black-bone chickens is poorly understood. Here, the blackness degree and melanin content of the breast muscle of Xichuan black-bone chickens fed a basic diet with five levels of added tyrosine (i.e., 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, and 1.0%; these groups were denoted test groups I-V, respectively) were assessed, and the results showed that 0.8% tyrosine was the optimal level of added tyrosine. Moreover, the effects of tyrosine supplementation on the proliferation and tyrosinase content of melanocytes in Xichuan black-bone chickens were evaluated. The results revealed a dose-dependent relationship between tyrosine supplementation and melanocyte proliferation. In addition, 417 differentially expressed genes (DEGs), including 160 upregulated genes and 257 downregulated genes, were identified in a comparative analysis of the transcriptome profiles constructed using the pooled total RNA from breast muscle tissues of the control group and test group IV, respectively (fold change ≥2.0, P &lt; 0.05). These DEGs were mainly involved in melanogenesis, the calcium signaling pathway, the Wnt signaling pathway, the mTOR signaling pathway, and vascular smooth muscle contraction. The pathway analysis of the DEGs identified some key genes associated with pigmentation, such as DCT and EDNRB2. In summary, the melanin content of breast muscle could be markedly enhanced by adding an appropriate amount of tyrosine to the diet of Xichuan black-bone chickens, and the EDNRB2-mediated molecular regulatory network could play a key role in the biological process of tyrosine-induced melanin deposition. These results have deepened the understanding of the molecular regulatory mechanism of melanin deposition in black-bone chickens and provide a basis for the regulation of nutrition and genetic breeding associated with melanin deposition in Xichuan black-bone chickens

Neutrino Physics with JUNO

The Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory (JUNO), a 20 kton multi-purposeunderground liquid scintillator detector, was proposed with the determinationof the neutrino mass hierarchy as a primary physics goal. It is also capable ofobserving neutrinos from terrestrial and extra-terrestrial sources, includingsupernova burst neutrinos, diffuse supernova neutrino background, geoneutrinos,atmospheric neutrinos, solar neutrinos, as well as exotic searches such asnucleon decays, dark matter, sterile neutrinos, etc. We present the physicsmotivations and the anticipated performance of the JUNO detector for variousproposed measurements. By detecting reactor antineutrinos from two power plantsat 53-km distance, JUNO will determine the neutrino mass hierarchy at a 3-4sigma significance with six years of running. The measurement of antineutrinospectrum will also lead to the precise determination of three out of the sixoscillation parameters to an accuracy of better than 1\%. Neutrino burst from atypical core-collapse supernova at 10 kpc would lead to ~5000inverse-beta-decay events and ~2000 all-flavor neutrino-proton elasticscattering events in JUNO. Detection of DSNB would provide valuable informationon the cosmic star-formation rate and the average core-collapsed neutrinoenergy spectrum. Geo-neutrinos can be detected in JUNO with a rate of ~400events per year, significantly improving the statistics of existing geoneutrinosamples. The JUNO detector is sensitive to several exotic searches, e.g. protondecay via the $p\to K^++\bar\nu$ decay channel. The JUNO detector will providea unique facility to address many outstanding crucial questions in particle andastrophysics. It holds the great potential for further advancing our quest tounderstanding the fundamental properties of neutrinos, one of the buildingblocks of our Universe

Potential of Core-Collapse Supernova Neutrino Detection at JUNO

JUNO is an underground neutrino observatory under construction in Jiangmen, China. It uses 20kton liquid scintillator as target, which enables it to detect supernova burst neutrinos of a large statistics for the next galactic core-collapse supernova (CCSN) and also pre-supernova neutrinos from the nearby CCSN progenitors. All flavors of supernova burst neutrinos can be detected by JUNO via several interaction channels, including inverse beta decay, elastic scattering on electron and proton, interactions on C12 nuclei, etc. This retains the possibility for JUNO to reconstruct the energy spectra of supernova burst neutrinos of all flavors. The real time monitoring systems based on FPGA and DAQ are under development in JUNO, which allow prompt alert and trigger-less data acquisition of CCSN events. The alert performances of both monitoring systems have been thoroughly studied using simulations. Moreover, once a CCSN is tagged, the system can give fast characterizations, such as directionality and light curve

Detection of the Diffuse Supernova Neutrino Background with JUNO

As an underground multi-purpose neutrino detector with 20 kton liquid scintillator, Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory (JUNO) is competitive with and complementary to the water-Cherenkov detectors on the search for the diffuse supernova neutrino background (DSNB). Typical supernova models predict 2-4 events per year within the optimal observation window in the JUNO detector. The dominant background is from the neutral-current (NC) interaction of atmospheric neutrinos with 12C nuclei, which surpasses the DSNB by more than one order of magnitude. We evaluated the systematic uncertainty of NC background from the spread of a variety of data-driven models and further developed a method to determine NC background within 15\% with {\it{in}} {\it{situ}} measurements after ten years of running. Besides, the NC-like backgrounds can be effectively suppressed by the intrinsic pulse-shape discrimination (PSD) capabilities of liquid scintillators. In this talk, I will present in detail the improvements on NC background uncertainty evaluation, PSD discriminator development, and finally, the potential of DSNB sensitivity in JUNO

Exploring the Evolution of the Accessibility of Educational Facilities and Its Influencing Factors in Mountainous Areas: A Case Study of the Rocky Desertification Area in Yunnan, Guangxi, and Guizhou

The optimal allocation of educational resources has been a hot issue, and exploring the accessibility of educational facilities in poor mountainous areas helps to reasonably plan the layout of educational facilities and promote the balanced development of education. Taking the rocky desertification area in Yunnan, Guangxi, and Guizhou (YGGRD) as the study area, based on the POI data of educational facilities in the YGGRD in 2000, 2010 and 2019, this study explored the evolution of the accessibility of educational facilities in the YGGRD through raster accessibility. And the influencing factors were analyzed by the ordinary least square method (OLS) and geographically weighted regression model (GWR), and evaluated the model through cross validation. The results show that the overall accessibility of educational facilities improved significantly from 2000 to 2019. Educational facilities mainly have good accessibility and average accessibility. Poor accessibility areas are concentrated in the interprovincial border regions, and the boundary effect is significant. County accessibility, population density and rural per capita disposable income have a great impact on the accessibility of educational facilities in the YGGRD. It is suggested to strengthen the construction of educational facilities in the interprovincial border regions, relocate and integrate villages, and improve the education quality of township schools to improve the supply of rural educational resources

Vibration of a Circular Plate

Radial vibration of the circular plate is presented using wave propagation approach and classical method containing Bessel solution and Hankel solution for calculating the natural frequency theoretically. In cylindrical coordinate system, in order to obtain natural frequency, propagation and reflection matrices are deduced at the boundaries of free-free, fixed-fixed, and fixed-free using wave propagation approach. Furthermore, radial phononic crystal is constructed by connecting two materials periodically for the analysis of band phenomenon. Also, Finite Element Simulation (FEM) is adopted to verify the theoretical results. Finally, the radial and piezoelectric effects on the band are also discussed