Progress in biological and medical research in the deep underground: an update

As the growing population of individuals residing or working in deep underground spaces for prolonged periods, it has become imperative to understand the influence of factors in the deep underground environment (DUGE) on living systems. Heping Xie has conceptualized the concept of deep underground medicine to identify factors in the DUGE that can have either detrimental or beneficial effects on human health. Over the past few years, an increasing number of studies have explored the molecular mechanisms that underlie the biological impacts of factors in the DUGE on model organisms and humans. Here, we present a summary of the present landscape of biological and medical research conducted in deep underground laboratories and propose promising avenues for future investigations in this field. Most research demonstrates that low background radiation can trigger a stress response and affect the growth, organelles, oxidative stress, defense capacity, and metabolism of cells. Studies show that residing and/or working in the DUGE has detrimental effects on human health. Employees working in deep mines suffer from intense discomfort caused by high temperature and humidity, which increase with depth, and experience fatigue and sleep disturbance. The negative impacts of the DUGE on human health may be induced by changes in the metabolism of specific amino acids; however, the cellular pathways remain to be elucidated. Biological and medical research must continue in deep underground laboratories and mines to guarantee the safe probing of uncharted depths as humans utilize the deep underground space

Design and Dynamic Analysis of the Wire-Line Coring Robot for Deep Lunar Rocks

Deep lunar rocks carry geological information about the primitive Moon and are of great scientific value. In this paper, a coring robot for deep lunar rocks was proposed for the lunar environment based on the wire-line sampling device. This robot consists of the coring executor on the ground to assist in coring tube replacement and sample storage and the wireline self-excavating coring (WSC) robot for active drilling underground, which can provide autonomous deep coring on the moon. Subsequently, based on Prandtl’s failure mechanism and the prediction equations of the mechanical properties of the lunar soil, the mathematical relationship between the ultimate support force and the depth of the support point of the WSC robot was constructed. Additionally, the drilling scheme of the WSC robot at different depths was also determined. The constraint model of the impact module was established, and the structural parameters were optimized through non-linear programming to achieve the maximum impact energy. Simulations of the impact process were then carried out in explicit dynamics. The simulation results show that the optimized impact module can effectively drill through the lunar rocks. This result validates, to some extent, the drilling capability of the WSC robot in lunar rocks. The research work can provide technical reference and theoretical support for deep coring lunar rocks

First record of Amolops truongi Pham, Pham, Ngo, Sung, Ziegler & Le, 2023 (Anura, Ranidae) from China

We report the first record of Amolops truongi Pham, Pham, Ngo, Sung, Ziegler & Le, 2023 from China, based on four specimens collected in Yunnan Huanglianshan National Nature Reserve. This species was previously known only from the type locality in north-western Vietnam. Morphologically, the specimens from China correspond to the original description of A. truongi with a few variations and, phylogenetically, they are clustered with the type specimens of A. truongi from Vietnam with strong support. In this study, we also provide an updated diagnosis of this species combining the original description and new data

Selection and thermal physical characteristics analysis of in-situ condition preserved coring lunar rock simulant in extreme environment

With the increasing scarcity of Earth’s resources and the development of space science and technology, the exploration, development, and utilization of deep space-specific material resources (minerals, water ice, volatile compounds, etc.) are not only important to supplement the resources and reserves on Earth but also provide a material foundation for establishing extraterrestrial research bases. To achieve large depth in-situ condition-preserved coring (ICP-Coring) in the extreme lunar environment, first, lunar rock simulant was selected (SZU-1), which has a material composition, element distribution, and physical and mechanical properties that are approximately equivalent to those of lunar mare basalt. Second, the influence of the lunar-based in-situ environment on the phase, microstructure, and thermal physical properties (specific heat capacity, thermal conductivity, thermal diffusivity, and thermal expansion coefficient) of SZU-1 was explored and compared with the measured lunar rock data. It was found that in an air atmosphere, low temperature has a more pronounced effect on the relative content of olivine than other temperatures, while in a vacuum atmosphere, the relative contents of olivine and anorthite are significantly affected only at temperatures of approximately −20 and 200 °C. When the vacuum level is less than 100 Pa, the contribution of air conduction can be almost neglected, whereas it becomes dominant above this threshold. Additionally, as the testing temperature increases, the surface of SZU-1 exhibits increased microcracking, fracture opening, and unevenness, while the specific heat capacity, thermal conductivity, and thermal expansion coefficient show nonlinear increases. Conversely, the thermal diffusivity exhibits a nonlinear decreasing trend. The relationship between thermal conductivity, thermal diffusivity, and temperature can be effectively described by an exponential function (R2>0.98). The research results are consistent with previous studies on real lunar rocks. These research findings are expected to be applied in the development of the test and analysis systems of ICP-Coring in a lunar environment and the exploration of the mechanism of machine-rock interaction in the in-situ drilling and coring process

Effects of Lipopolysaccharide and Deoxynivalenol on the Survival, Antioxidant and Immune Response, and Histopathology of Crayfish (<i>Procambarus clarkii</i>)

Bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in the aquatic environment has been reported to cause diseases in red swamp crayfish (Procambarus clarkii). In addition, deoxynivalenol (DON) is one of the primary mycotoxins found in aquaculture. However, the potential synergistic toxic effects of LPS and DON on crayfish are yet to be fully elucidated. In this study, crayfish were exposed to LPS (1 mg kg−1), DON (3 mg kg−1), and their combination (1 mg kg−1 LPS + 3 mg kg−1 DON, L+D) for a duration of six days. Co-exposure to LPS and DON exhibited the lowest survival rate compared to the control or individual treatments with LPS or DON alone. In the initial stage of the experiment, the combined treatment of LPS and DON showed a more pronounced up-regulation of antioxidant and immune-related enzymes in the sera compared to the other treatment groups, with a fold change ranging from 1.3 to 15. In addition, the (L+D) treatment group showed a down-regulation of immune-related genes, as well as Toll pathway-related genes in the hepatopancreas compared to LPS or DON. Moreover, the (L+D) treatment group demonstrated a 100% incidence of histopathological changes in the hepatopancreas, which were significantly more severe compared to the other three groups. In conclusion, our study provides physiological and histopathological evidence that the co-exposure to LPS and DON exerted synergistic toxic effects on crayfish. The observed effects could potentially hinder the development of the crayfish aquaculture industry in China

Distinct gut microbiota and health outcomes in asymptomatic infection, viral nucleic acid test re‐positive, and convalescent COVID‐19 cases

Abstract Gut microbiota composition is suggested to associate with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) severity, but the impact of gut microbiota on health outcomes is largely unclear. We recruited 81 individuals from Wuhan, China, including 13 asymptomatic infection cases (Group A), 24 COVID‐19 convalescents with adverse outcomes (Group C), 31 severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) re‐positive cases (Group D), and 13 non‐COVID‐19 healthy controls (Group H). The microbial features of Groups A and D were similar and exhibited higher gut microbial diversity and more abundant short‐chain fatty acid (SCFA)‐producing species than Group C. Group C was enriched with opportunistic pathogens and virulence factors related to adhesion and toxin production. The abundance of SCFA‐producing species was negatively correlated, while Escherichia coli was positively correlated with adverse outcomes. All three groups (A, C, and D) were enriched with the mucus‐degrading species Akkermansia muciniphila, but decreased with Bacteroides‐encoded carbohydrate‐active enzymes. The pathways of vitamin B6 metabolic and folate biosynthesis were decreased, while selenocompound metabolism was increased in the three groups. Specifically, the secondary bile acid (BA) metabolic pathway was enriched in Group A. Antibiotic resistance genes were common among the three groups. Conclusively, the gut microbiota was related to the health outcomes of COVID‐19. Dietary supplementations (SCFAs, BA, selenium, folate, vitamin B6) may be beneficial to COVID‐19 patients

Current-controlled propagation of spin waves in antiparallel, coupled domains

Spin waves may constitute key components of low-power spintronic devices. Antiferromagnetic-type spin waves are innately high-speed, stable and dual-polarized. So far, it has remained challenging to excite and manipulate antiferromagnetic-type propagating spin waves. Here, we investigate spin waves in periodic 100-nm-wide stripe domains with alternating upward and downward magnetization in La 0.67 Sr 0.33 MnO 3 thin films. In addition to ordinary low-frequency modes, a high-frequency mode around 10 GHz is observed and propagates along the stripe domains with a spin-wave dispersion different from the low-frequency mode. Based on a theoretical model that considers two oppositely oriented coupled domains, this high-frequency mode is accounted for as an effective antiferromagnetic spin-wave mode. The spin waves exhibit group velocities of 2.6 km s −1 and propagate even at zero magnetic bias field. An electric current pulse with a density of only 10 5 A cm −2 can controllably modify the orientation of the stripe domains, which opens up perspectives for reconfigurable magnonic devices