What happens inside a pour-flush pit? Insights from comprehensive characterization

The pour-flush toilet is extensively used in many countries, but the biodegradation within pour-flush leach pits has not been fully characterised. We present a comprehensive physical, chemical, and microbiological analysis of pour-flush active and standing leach pits in South Africa. Four household toilet sites were sampled four times over 11 months. The pour-flush pit filling rate was estimated to be 0.11m3/y, which is lower than those of other sanitation technologies. Faecal sludge in active leach pits had similar ash, VS, CODT and TKN as other onsite technologies, but higher moisture content. The CODT in pour-flush sludge decreased 85% in 27 days in a short-term laboratory test. Microbial DNA sequencing showed that both aerobic and anaerobic degradation occurred in active and standing pits. Specific microorganisms were identified and differences in microbial communities in active, standing, and single pits were described, providing important insights into processes occurring within pour-flush pits

Cerium Improves Growth of Maize Seedlings via Alleviating Morphological Structure and Oxidative Damages of Leaf under Different Stresses

It had been indicated that cerium (Ce) could promote maize growth involving photosynthetic improvement under potassium (K) deficiency, salt stress, and combined stress of K⁺ deficiency and salt stress. However, whether the improved growth is related to leaf morphological structure, oxidative stress in maize leaves is not well understood. The present study showed that K⁺ deficiency, salt stress, and their combined stress inhibited growth of maize seedlings, affecting the formation of appendages of leaf epidermal cells, and stomatal opening, which may be due to increases in H₂O₂ and malondialdehyde levels, and reductions in Ca²⁺ content, ratios of glutathione/oxidized glutathione, ascorbic acid/dehydroascorbic acid, and the activities of superoxide dismutase, catalase, ascorbic acid peroxidase, guaiacol peroxidase, and glutathione reductase in leaves under different stresses. The adverse effects caused by combined stress were higher than those of single stress. Furthermore, our findings demonstrated that adding Ce³⁺ could significantly promote seedling growth, and alleviate morphological and structural damage of leaf, decrease oxidative stress and increase antioxidative capacity in maize leaves caused by different stresses

PRISMA 2020 for abstracts checklist.

ObjectiveThis study aims to evaluate systematically the efficacy of Kinesio taping (KT) on the knee function of individuals who undergo anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR).MethodsThis study was registered in PROSPERO (registration number CRD42023399885) on February 26, 2023. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) about the effects on the knee function of KT among individuals after ACLR were electronically searched from PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, The Cochrane Library, and EBSCO from inception to July 02, 2023. The outcome measures included six continuous variables: quadriceps strength, hamstring strength, knee swelling, knee flexion angle, Lysholm knee function score, and Visual Analog Scale (VAS) pain scores. The Cochrane Risk Bias Assessment Tool was used to evaluate the quality of the included literature.ResultsSeven RCTs including 278 patients who underwent ACLR were included in the systematic review. One of three (33%) studies found a remarkable increase in quadricep strength associated with the use of KT compared with the control group. Two of two (100%) studies found substantial increases in hamstring strength associated with KT. Two of four (50%) studies reported KT reduced knee swelling. Two of five (40%) studies reported considerable improvements in knee flexion angle in the groups that used KT. All three (100%) studies found KT did not improve Lysholm knee function scores. Three of four (75%) studies noted a significant reduction in VAS pain scores associated with KT.ConclusionKT may help improve hamstring strength and reduce knee swelling and pain in patients after ACLR. Further studies are needed to determine the effects of KT on quadricep strength and knee flexion angle.</div

Results of the bias assessment of the included studies.

Results of the bias assessment of the included studies.</p

PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses).

PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses).</p

PRISMA 2020 checklist.

ObjectiveThis study aims to evaluate systematically the efficacy of Kinesio taping (KT) on the knee function of individuals who undergo anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR).MethodsThis study was registered in PROSPERO (registration number CRD42023399885) on February 26, 2023. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) about the effects on the knee function of KT among individuals after ACLR were electronically searched from PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, The Cochrane Library, and EBSCO from inception to July 02, 2023. The outcome measures included six continuous variables: quadriceps strength, hamstring strength, knee swelling, knee flexion angle, Lysholm knee function score, and Visual Analog Scale (VAS) pain scores. The Cochrane Risk Bias Assessment Tool was used to evaluate the quality of the included literature.ResultsSeven RCTs including 278 patients who underwent ACLR were included in the systematic review. One of three (33%) studies found a remarkable increase in quadricep strength associated with the use of KT compared with the control group. Two of two (100%) studies found substantial increases in hamstring strength associated with KT. Two of four (50%) studies reported KT reduced knee swelling. Two of five (40%) studies reported considerable improvements in knee flexion angle in the groups that used KT. All three (100%) studies found KT did not improve Lysholm knee function scores. Three of four (75%) studies noted a significant reduction in VAS pain scores associated with KT.ConclusionKT may help improve hamstring strength and reduce knee swelling and pain in patients after ACLR. Further studies are needed to determine the effects of KT on quadricep strength and knee flexion angle.</div

Identification and Analysis of Multi-Protein Complexes in Placenta

<div><p>Placental malfunction induces pregnancy disorders which contribute to life-threatening complications for both the mother and the fetus. Identification and characterization of placental multi-protein complexes is an important step to integratedly understand the protein-protein interaction networks in placenta which determine placental function. In this study, blue native/sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (BN/SDS-PAGE) and Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) were used to screen the multi-protein complexes in placenta. 733 unique proteins and 34 known and novel heterooligomeric multi-protein complexes including mitochondrial respiratory chain complexes, integrin complexes, proteasome complexes, histone complex, and heat shock protein complexes were identified. A novel protein complex, which involves clathrin and small conductance calcium-activated potassium (SK) channel protein 2, was identified and validated by antibody based gel shift assay, co-immunoprecipitation and immunofluorescence staining. These results suggest that BN/SDS-PAGE, when integrated with LC-MS/MS, is a very powerful and versatile tool for the investigation of placental protein complexes. This work paves the way for deeper functional characterization of the placental protein complexes associated with pregnancy disorders.</p></div

Basic characteristics of the included literature.

ObjectiveThis study aims to evaluate systematically the efficacy of Kinesio taping (KT) on the knee function of individuals who undergo anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR).MethodsThis study was registered in PROSPERO (registration number CRD42023399885) on February 26, 2023. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) about the effects on the knee function of KT among individuals after ACLR were electronically searched from PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, The Cochrane Library, and EBSCO from inception to July 02, 2023. The outcome measures included six continuous variables: quadriceps strength, hamstring strength, knee swelling, knee flexion angle, Lysholm knee function score, and Visual Analog Scale (VAS) pain scores. The Cochrane Risk Bias Assessment Tool was used to evaluate the quality of the included literature.ResultsSeven RCTs including 278 patients who underwent ACLR were included in the systematic review. One of three (33%) studies found a remarkable increase in quadricep strength associated with the use of KT compared with the control group. Two of two (100%) studies found substantial increases in hamstring strength associated with KT. Two of four (50%) studies reported KT reduced knee swelling. Two of five (40%) studies reported considerable improvements in knee flexion angle in the groups that used KT. All three (100%) studies found KT did not improve Lysholm knee function scores. Three of four (75%) studies noted a significant reduction in VAS pain scores associated with KT.ConclusionKT may help improve hamstring strength and reduce knee swelling and pain in patients after ACLR. Further studies are needed to determine the effects of KT on quadricep strength and knee flexion angle.</div

Basic characteristics of interventions included in the literature.

Basic characteristics of interventions included in the literature.</p

Additional file 4: Figure S1. of A New Recessive Gene Conferring Resistance Against Rice Blast

Presence/absence analysis of nine candidate genes. The upper panel shows the schematic gene structure used for primer design, and the lower two panels show the amplicons. 93: cv. 93–11, Ni: cv. Nipponbare, AS: cv. AS20-1, Ai: cv. Aichi Asahi, M1: size marker DL15,000; M2: size marker DL2,000. (PPTX 680 kb