Economic driving characteristics of agricultural non-point source pollution and prevention suggestions: a case study from Shandong province in China

Agricultural non-point source pollution (ANSP) constraints on the development of the agricultural economy, grasp the interaction between the two, and develop targeted prevention and control policies in accordance with the evolution of different stages of the characteristic is essential. This study examines the economic characteristics of ANSP in Shandong Province to propose targeted countermeasures. Selected the time series data of Shandong Province from 2000 to 2020 to test the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) characteristics between ANSP and agricultural economic growth (AEG), and the Vector Error Correction model (VECM) is used further to explore the dynamic relationship and mechanism. We validate the existence of an Inverted U-shaped EKC in Shandong Province, and the inflection points of pesticides, fertilizers, and agricultural films were reached in 2007 and 2008. The changes in pesticide loss and fertilizer loss have a positive impact on the dynamics of AEG in the short term, but there is an incremental inhibition in the long term. The dynamic effect of the impulse response diagram between the amount of agricultural film residues and AEG all shows a positive impact. The average explanatory contribution of pesticide loss, fertilizer loss, and agricultural film residue to AEG decreases by 12.14%, 7.7%, and 3%, respectively. Therefore, policy suggestions are proposed to realize the coordinated development of ANSP and economic development

Muon Flux Measurement at China Jinping Underground Laboratory

China Jinping Underground Laboratory (CJPL) is ideal for studying solar-, geo-, and supernova neutrinos. A precise measurement of the cosmic-ray background would play an essential role in proceeding with the R\&D research for these MeV-scale neutrino experiments. Using a 1-ton prototype detector for the Jinping Neutrino Experiment (JNE), we detected 264 high-energy muon events from a 645.2-day dataset at the first phase of CJPL (CJPL-I), reconstructed their directions, and measured the cosmic-ray muon flux to be $(3.53\pm0.22_{\text{stat.}}\pm0.07_{\text{sys.}})\times10^{-10}$ cm$^{-2}$s$^{-1}$. The observed angular distributions indicate the leakage of cosmic-ray muon background and agree with the simulation accounting for Jinping mountain's terrain. A survey of muon fluxes at different laboratory locations situated under mountains and below mine shaft indicated that the former is generally a factor of $(4\pm2)$ larger than the latter with the same vertical overburden. This study provides a convenient back-of-the-envelope estimation for muon flux of an underground experiment

Performance of the 1-ton Prototype Neutrino Detector at CJPL-I

China Jinping Underground Laboratory (CJPL) provides an ideal site for solar, geo-, and supernova neutrino studies. With a prototype neutrino detector running since 2017, containing 1-ton liquid scintillator (LS), we tested its experimental hardware, performed the physics calibration, and measured its radioactive backgrounds, as an early stage of the Jinping Neutrino Experiment (JNE). We investigated the radon background and implemented the nitrogen sealing technology to control it. This paper presents the details of these studies and will serve as a key reference for the construction and optimization of the future large detector at JNE

The E2 glycoprotein is necessary but not sufficient for the adaptation of classical swine fever virus lapinized vaccine C-strain to the rabbit

Classical swine fever virus (CSFV) C-strain was developed through hundreds of passages of a highly virulent CSFV in rabbits. To investigate the molecular basis for the adaptation of C-strain to the rabbit (ACR), a panel of chimeric viruses with the exchange of glycoproteins Erns, E1, and/or E2 between C-strain and the highly virulent Shimen strain and a number of mutant viruses with different amino acid substitutions in E2 protein were generated and evaluated in rabbits. Our results demonstrate that Shimen-based chimeras expressing Erns-E1-E2, Erns-E2 or E1-E2 but not Erns-E1, Erns, E1, or E2 of C-strain can replicate in rabbits, indicating that E2 in combination with either Erns or E1 confers the ACR. Notably, E2 and the amino acids P108 and T109 in Domain I of E2 are critical in ACR. Collectively, our data indicate that E2 is crucial in mediating the ACR, which requires synergistic contribution of Erns or E1

Genetic analysis of ORF5 of recent Korean porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome viruses (PRRSVs) in viremic sera collected from MLV-vaccinating or non-vaccinating farms

The 23 open reading frame (ORF) 5 sequences of Korean type II porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) were collected from viremic sera from the (modified live vaccine) MLV-vaccinating and non-vaccinating farms from 2007 to 2008. The samples were phylogenetically analyzed with previous ORF5 sequences, including type I Korean PRRSV, and previously reported or collected sequences from 1997 to 2008. A MN184-like subgroup of type II Korean PRRSV was newly identified in the viremic sera collected from 2007 to 2008. And of the type I PRRSVs, one subgroup had 87.2~88.9% similarity with the Lelystad virus, showing a close relationship with the 27~2003 strain of Spain. The maximum parsimony tree of type II PRRSV from 1997 to 2008 showed that they had evolved to four lineages, subgroups 1, 2, 3 and 4. Most of the recently collected type II PRRSVs belonged to subgroup 4 (48%). The region of three B-cell epitopes and two T-cell epitopes of ORF5 amino acids sequences was considerably different from the MLV in subgroups 3 and 4. In conclusion, the existence of type I PRRSV, which was genetically different from Lelystad virus (Prototype of type I PRRSV), and heterologous type II PRRSVs of viremic pigs detected even in the MLV-vaccinating farms indicated the need for new vaccine approaches for the control of PRRSV in Korea

Enhanced expression of the Erns protein of classical swine fever virus in yeast and its application in an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for antibody differentiation of infected from vaccinated animals

tClassical swine fever (CSF), caused by classical swine fever virus (CSFV), is a devastating disease of swineworldwide. Although a mandatory vaccination with the modified live vaccine C-strain has been imple-mented in China for decades, CSF remains a serious threat to the swine industry. To facilitate the controland eradication of CSF in China, the E2-based marker vaccine rAdV-SFV-E2, an adenovirus-delivered,alphavirus replicon-vectored vaccine, has been developed. Accordingly, an accompanying discriminatorytest that allows differentiating infected from vaccinated animals (DIVA) is required. Here, the enhancedexpression of Ernsprotein of CSFV was achieved in the methyltropic yeast Pichia pastoris by codon-optimization of the Ernsgene, and an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (iELISA) based on theyeast-expressed Erns(yErns) was developed and evaluated. The optimized iELISA was able to detect CSFV-specific antibodies in the serum samples from the CSFV-infected pigs as early as 6 days post-infection,and discriminate the CSFV-infected pigs from those vaccinated with rAdV-SFV-E2. The iELISA was evalu-ated using a panel of swine sera, and showed comparable sensitivity (94.6%) and specificity (97.1%), andthe consistence rates with the virus neutralization test were 96.8% for CSFV-infected swine sera, 83.3%for C-strain-vaccinated swine sera, and 95.0% for field swine sera. In addition, the iELISA showed highersensitivity (90.4%) compared with PrioCHECK CSFV Erns(59.6%). Taken together, the yErns-based iELISA isspecific and sensitive, representing a promising DIVA test for E2-based marker vaccines against CSF.Development of Livestock Genetic Engineering Vaccin

MiR-875-5p suppresses cervical cancer cell proliferation and metastasis via negative regulation of EGFR

Purpose: To explore miRNA-875-5p and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) activities in tissues or cells from cervical cancer, and their underlying molecular mechanisms. Methods: Tissues were obtained from cervical cancer patients and their miR-875-5p expression was determined by quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Caski or HeLa cells were transfected with miR-875-5p mimics or miR-875-5p inhibitor to assess the effect of miR-875- 5p expression on cell viability, cell cycle, migration, and invasion using Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8), flow cytometry, wound healing, and Transwell assays. Potential target genes of miR-875-5p were predicted and verified using a dual luciferase reporter assay. In addition, EGFR expression was evaluated by western blot. Results: MicroRNA-875-5p was expressed at low levels in cervical cancer tissues and was related to FIGO stage, lymph node metastasis, pathological grade, vascular involvement, and deep stromal invasion in patients with cervical cancer. MicroRNA-875-5p overexpression inhibited cell viability, migration, and invasion, and caused G0/G1 phase block of Caski and HeLa cells. Moreover, EGFR was the target gene of miR-875-5p and was negatively regulated by miR-875-5p. Reductions in cell viability, migration, invasion, and the number of G0/G1-phase cells were inhibited by EGFR overexpression. Conclusion: MiR-875-5p suppresses cervical cancer cell growth and metastasis by negatively regulating EGFR. Therefore, miR-875-5p can potentially be exploited for the management of cervical cancer

The genetic variation landscape of African swine fever virus reveals frequent positive selection and adaptive flexibility

African swine fever virus (ASFV) is a lethal disease agent that causes high mortality in swine population and devastating loss in swine industries. The development of efficacious vaccines has been hindered by the gap in knowledge concerning genetic variation of ASFV and the genetic factors involved in host adaptation and virus–host interactions. In this study, we performed a meta-genetic study of ASFV aiming to profile the variation landscape and identify genetic factors with signatures of positive selection and relevance to host adaptation. Our data reveal a high level of genetic variability of ASFV shaped by both diversifying selection and selective sweep. The selection signatures are widely distributed across the genome with the diversifying selection falling within 29 genes and selection sweep within 25 genes, highlighting strong signals of adaptive evolution of ASFV. Further examination of the sequence properties reveals the link of the selection signatures with virus–host interactions and adaptive flexibility. Specifically, we discovered a site at 157th of the key antigen protein EP402R under diversifying selection, which is located in the cytotoxic T-cell epitope related to the low level of cross-reaction in T-cell response. Importantly, two multigene families MGF360 and MGF505, the host range factors of ASFV, exhibit divergent selection among the paralogous members, conferring sequence pools for genetic diversification and adaptive capability. By integrating the genes with selection signatures into a unified framework of interactions between ASFV and hosts, we showed that the genes are involved in multiple processes of host immune interaction and virus life cycles, and may play crucial roles in circumventing host defence systems and enhancing adaptive fitness. Our findings will allow enhanced understanding of genetic basis of rapid spreading and adaptation of ASFV among the hosts.info:eu-repo/semantics/submittedVersio

Combined glucocorticoids and cyclophosphamide in the treatment of Graves’ ophthalmopathy: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract Purpose To evaluate the efficacy and safety of combined glucocorticoids (GCs) and cyclophosphamide (CYC) treatment in Graves’ ophthalmopathy (GO). Methods We searched PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and four Chinese databases (Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), China Science and Technology Journal Database (VIP), WanFang, and SinoMed) for any published randomized controlled trials (RCTs) produced from inception to December 1, 2023. Articles obtained using appropriate keywords were selected independently by two reviewers according to the established inclusion and exclusion criteria. Findings We retrieved 1120 records which were eventually reduced to 13 RCTs which were then included in this evaluation. Pooled results indicated that the experimental group (CYC/GCs) showed a higher response rate than control group (GCs or negative control) (RR 1.27; 95% confidence interval 1.19 to 1.37). The subgroup analysis showed that the difference in response rates among treatment protocols (CYC/P, CYC/MPS, CYC/DEX) was not statistically significant (p = 0.23). Implications The combination of GCs and CYC could be recommended as a therapeutic option for GO, especially in patients who experience recurrence after a withdrawal GCs, have a poor response to GCs, or cannot obtain monoclonal antibody agents for various reasons