Genome of the rams horn snail Biomphalaria straminea : an obligate intermediate host of schistosomiasis

This work was supported by the Hong Kong Research Grant Council Collaborative Research Fund (C4015-20EF), General Research Fund (14100919), NSFC/RGC Joint Research Scheme (N_CUHK401/21), and The Chinese University of Hong Kong Direct Grant (4053433, 4053489). Y.Y., W.L.S., C.F.W., S.T.S.L., and Y.L. were supported by the Ph.D. studentships of The Chinese University of Hong Kong. A.H. is supported by a Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) David Phillips Fellowship (BB/N020146/1). T.B. is supported by a studentship from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council-funded South West Biosciences Doctoral Training Partnership (BB/M009122/1). M.E.A.R. is supported by a Ph.D. studentship from the School of Biology and St Andrews University.Background: Schistosomiasis, or bilharzia, is a parasitic disease caused by trematode flatworms of the genus Schistosoma. Infection by Schistosoma mansoni in humans results when cercariae emerge into water from freshwater snails in the genus Biomphalaria and seek out and penetrate human skin. The snail Biomphalaria straminea is native to South America and is now also present in Central America and China, and represents a potential vector host for spreading schistosomiasis. To date, genomic information for the genus is restricted to the neotropical species Biomphalaria glabrata. This limits understanding of the biology and management of other schistosomiasis vectors, such as B. straminea. Findings: Using a combination of Illumina short‐read, 10X Genomics linked‐read, and Hi‐C sequencing data, our 1.005 Gb B. straminea genome assembly is of high contiguity, with a scaffold N50 of 25.3 Mb. Transcriptomes from adults were also obtained. Developmental homeobox genes, hormonal genes, and stress-response genes were identified, and repeat content was annotated (40.68% of genomic content). Comparisons with other mollusc genomes (including Gastropoda, Bivalvia, and Cephalopoda) revealed syntenic conservation, patterns of homeobox gene linkage indicative of evolutionary changes to gene clusters, expansion of heat shock protein genes, and the presence of sesquiterpenoid and cholesterol metabolic pathway genes in Gastropoda. In addition, hormone treatment together with RT-qPCR assay reveal a sesquiterpenoid hormone responsive system in B. straminea, illustrating that this renowned insect hormonal system is also present in the lophotrochozoan lineage. Conclusion: This study provides the first genome assembly for the snail B. straminea and offers an unprecedented opportunity to address a variety of phenomena related to snail vectors of schistosomiasis, as well as evolutionary and genomics questions related to molluscs more widely.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Reactivation of Epstein–Barr virus by a dual-responsive fluorescent EBNA1-targeting agent with Zn2+-chelating function

EBNA1 is the only Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) latent protein responsible for viral genome maintenance and is expressed in all EBV-infected cells. Zn2+ is essential for oligomerization of the functional EBNA1. We constructed an EBNA1 binding peptide with a Zn2+ chelator to create an EBNA1-specific inhibitor (ZRL5P4). ZRL5P4 by itself is sufficient to reactivate EBV from its latent infection. ZRL5P4 is able to emit unique responsive fluorescent signals once it binds with EBNA1 and a Zn2+ ion. ZRL5P4 can selectively disrupt the EBNA1 oligomerization and cause nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) tumor shrinkage, possibly due to EBV lytic induction. Dicer1 seems essential for this lytic reactivation. As can been seen, EBNA1 is likely to maintain NPC cell survival by suppressing viral reactivation

Biophysical and nutritional combination treatment for myosteatosis in patients with sarcopenia: a study protocol for single-blinded randomised controlled trial

Introduction Sarcopenia is characterised by age-related loss of skeletal muscle and function and is associated with risks of adverse outcomes. The prevalence of sarcopenia increases due to ageing population and effective interventions is in need. Previous studies showed that β-hydroxy β-methylbutyrate (HMB) supplement and vibration treatment (VT) enhanced muscle quality, while the coapplication of the two interventions had further improved muscle mass and function in sarcopenic mice model. This study aims to investigate the efficacy of this combination treatment in combating sarcopenia in older people. The findings of this study will demonstrate the effect of combination treatment as an alternative for managing sarcopenia. Methods and analysis In this single-blinded randomised controlled trial, subjects will be screened based on the Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia (AWGS) 2019 definition. 200 subjects who are aged 65 or above and identified sarcopenic according to the AWGS algorithm will be recruited. They will be randomised to one of the following four groups: (1) Control+ONS; (2) HMB+ONS; (3) VT+ONS and (4) HMB+VT + ONS, where ONS stands for oral nutritional supplement. ONS will be taken in the form of protein formular once/day; HMB supplements will be 3 g/day; VT (35 Hz, 0.3 g, where g=gravitational acceleration) will be received for 20 mins/day and at least 3 days/week. The primary outcome assessments are muscle strength and function. Subjects will be assessed at baseline, 3-month and 6-month post treatment. Ethics and dissemination This study was approved by Joint CUHK-NTEC (The Chinese University of Hong Kong and New Territories East Cluster) Clinical Research Management Office (Ref: CRE-2022.223-T) and conformed to the Declaration of Helsinki. Trial results will be published in peer-reviewed journals and disseminated at academic conferences

Managing Psychosocial Contributors in Low Back Pain Patients—A Randomised Controlled Trial

Introduction: The efficacy of integrated physiotherapy work rehabilitation program to occupational non-specific low back pain (NSLBP) patients triaged by Orebro Musculoskeletal Pain Questionnaire (OMPQ) for psychosocial risks was investigated. Methods: 47 subjects were recruited and randomly allocated to either the integrated physiotherapy group or the conventional group. Red flags signs were screened out. The range of the age of the patients was between 18 and 55. They either had history injuries at work or were on sick leave upon recruitment with moderate psychosocial risk. Results: Statistics was performed on an intention-to-treat analysis. At discharge, the patients of integrated physiotherapy group displayed significant improvement of work recovery expectation, pain self-efficacy, overall subjective progress and satisfaction in comparison with the conventional group (p < 0.05). Both groups demonstrated significant improvement of all outcome measures except the recovery expectation showed no difference in the conventional group. Conclusion: The work related treatment components of integrated physiotherapy group adopted a cognitive behavioral approach may contribute to better improvement

Recent developments and challenges of lower extremity exoskeletons

The number of people with a mobility disorder caused by stroke, spinal cord injury, or other related diseases is increasing rapidly. To improve the quality of life of these people, devices that can assist them to regain the ability to walk are of great demand. Robotic devices that can release the burden of therapists and provide effective and repetitive gait training have been widely studied recently. By contrast, devices that can augment the physical abilities of able-bodied humans to enhance their performances in industrial and military work are needed as well. In the past decade, robotic assistive devices such as exoskeletons have undergone enormous progress, and some products have recently been commercialized. Exoskeletons are wearable robotic systems that integrate human intelligence and robot power. This paper first introduces the general concept of exoskeletons and reviews several typical lower extremity exoskeletons (LEEs) in three main applications (i.e. gait rehabilitation, human locomotion assistance, and human strength augmentation), and provides a systemic review on the acquisition of a wearer's motion intention and control strategies for LEEs. The limitations of the currently developed LEEs and future research and development directions of LEEs for wider applications are discussed

Revealing the millipede and other soil-macrofaunal biodiversity in Hong Kong using a citizen science approach

Soil biodiversity plays important roles in nutrient recycling in both the environment and agriculture. However, they are generally understudied worldwide. To reveal the diversity of soil macrofauna in Hong Kong, here we initiated a citizen science project involving university, non-governmental organisations and secondary school students and teachers. It is envisioned that the citizen science approach used in this study could be used as a demonstration to future biodiversity sampling and monitoring studies.Throughout a year of monitoring and species sampling across different localities in Hong Kong, 150 soil macrofaunal morphospecies were collected. Eighty five of them were further identified by morphology and DNA barcoding was assigned to each identified morphospecies, yielding a total of 646 DNA barcodes, with new millipede sequences deposited to the GenBank. The soil macrofauna morphospecies in Hong Kong found in this study are mainly dominated by millipedes (23 out of 150) and oligochaetes (15 out of 150). Amongst the twenty three identified millipedes, two polyxenid millipedes, Monographis queenslandica Huynh & Veenstra, 2013 and Alloproctoides remyi Marquet and Condé, 1950 are first recorded in Hong Kong. Information has been curated on an online platform and database (http://biodiversity.sls.cuhk.edu.hk/millipedes). A postcard summarising the findings of millipedes in Hong Kong has also been made as a souvenir and distributed to citizen participants. The identified macrofauna morphospecies and their 646 DNA barcodes in this study established a solid foundation for further research in soil biodiversity