Notes

The Optogenetics-Inspired Flexible van der Waals Optoelectronic Synapse as well as Program with a Convolutional Sensory System.
We aimed to evaluate the efficacy of using airway ultrasonography to select the correct tracheal tube size and insertion depth in pediatric patients who underwent cleft repair surgery as a way to decrease airway complications and adverse events during perioperative periods. Fifty-one patients (age less then  28 months) were consecutively divided into conventional (n = 28) and ultrasound (n = 23) groups. Tracheal tube size and insertion depth were determined using the age-based formula and auscultation in the conventional group, whereas using ultrasonographic measurement of subglottic diameter with auscultation and lung ultrasonography in the ultrasound group. We evaluated the initially selected tube size, insertion depth, ventilatory indices, and the incidence of airway complications and adverse events. Tube insertion depth (median [interquartile range]) was significantly greater in the ultrasound group than in the conventional group (13.5 cm [12.5-14.0] vs 13.0 cm [11.8-13.0], P = 0.045). The number of complications and adverse events was significantly higher in the conventional group than in the ultrasound group (32.1% vs 4.3%, P = 0.013). Airway ultrasound application could reduce airway-related complications and adverse events by determining the appropriate tracheal tube size and insertion depth.Imaging the vascular structures of organ and tumor tissues is extremely important for assessing various pathological conditions. Herein we present the new vascular imaging probe BTQ-Rn (n = 8, 12, 16), a phosphorescent Ir(III) complex containing an oligoarginine peptide as a ligand. This microvasculature staining probe can be chemically synthesized, unlike the commonly used tomato lectins labeled with a fluorophore such as fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC). Intravenous administration of BTQ-R12 to mice and subsequent confocal luminescence microscope measurements enabled in vivo vascular imaging of tumors and various organs, including kidney, liver and pancreas. Dual color imaging of hepatic tissues of living mice fed a high-fat diet using BTQ-R12 and the lipid droplet-specific probe PC6S revealed small and large lipid droplets in the hepatocytes, causing distortion of the sinusoidal structure. BTQ-R12 selectively stains vascular endothelium and thus allows longer-term vascular network imaging compared to fluorescent dextran with a molecular weight of 70 kDa that circulate in the bloodstream. Furthermore, time-gated measurements using this phosphorescent vascular probe enabled imaging of blood vessel structures without interference from autofluorescence.The current decline of wild bees puts important ecosystem services such as pollination at risk. Both inventory and monitoring programs are needed to understand the causes of wild bee decline. Effective insect monitoring relies on both mass-trapping methods coupled with rapid and accurate identifications. Identifying wild bees using only morphology can be challenging, in particular, specimens from mass-trapped samples which are often in poor condition. We generated DNA barcodes for 2931 specimens representing 157 species (156 named and one unnamed species) and 28 genera. Automated cluster delineation reveals 172 BINs (Barcodes Index Numbers). A total of 36 species (22.93%) were found in highly urbanized areas. The majority of specimens, representing 96.17% of the species barcoded form reciprocally exclusive groups, allowing their unambiguous identification. This includes several closely related species notoriously difficult to identify. A total of 137 species (87.26%) show a "one-to-one" match between a named species and the BIN assignment. Fourteen species (8.92%) show deep conspecific lineages with no apparent morphological differentiation. Only two species pairs shared the same BIN making their identification with DNA barcodes alone uncertain. Therefore, our DNA barcoding reference library allows reliable identification by non-experts for the vast majority of wild bee species in the Loire Valley.The outbreak of the new severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a public health emergency. Asthma does not represent a risk factor for COVID-19 in several published cohorts. We hypothesized that the SARS-CoV-2 proteome contains T cell epitopes, which are potentially cross-reactive to allergen epitopes. We aimed at identifying homologous peptide sequences by means of two distinct complementary bioinformatics approaches. Pipeline 1 included prediction of MHC Class I and Class II epitopes contained in the SARS-CoV-2 proteome and allergens along with alignment and elaborate ranking approaches. Pipeline 2 involved alignment of SARS-CoV-2 overlapping peptides with known allergen-derived T cell epitopes. Our results indicate a large number of MHC Class I epitope pairs including known as well as de novo predicted allergen T cell epitopes with high probability for cross-reactivity. Allergen sources, such as Aspergillus fumigatus, Phleum pratense and Dermatophagoides species are of particular interest due to their association with multiple cross-reactive candidate peptides, independently of the applied bioinformatic approach. In contrast, peptides derived from food allergens, as well as MHC class II epitopes did not achieve high in silico ranking and were therefore not further investigated. Our findings warrant further experimental confirmation along with examination of the functional importance of such cross-reactive responses.Unique and flexible properties of non-Hermitian photonic systems attract ever-increasing attention via delivering a whole bunch of novel optical effects and allowing for efficient tuning light-matter interactions on nano- and microscales. Together with an increasing demand for the fast and spatially compact methods of light governing, this peculiar approach paves a broad avenue to novel optical applications. Here, unifying the approaches of disordered metamaterials and non-Hermitian photonics, we propose a conceptually new and simple architecture driven by disordered loss-gain multilayers and, therefore, providing a powerful tool to control both the passage time and the wave-front shape of incident light with different switching times. For the first time we show the possibility to switch on and off kink formation by changing the level of disorder in the case of adiabatically raising wave fronts. At the same time, we deliver flexible tuning of the output intensity by using the nonlinear effect of loss and gain saturation. Since the disorder strength in our system can be conveniently controlled with the power of the external pump, our approach can be considered as a basis for different active photonic devices.The COVID-19 epidemic of 2019-20 is due to the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. Following first case description in December, 2019 this virus has infected over 10 million individuals and resulted in at least 500,000 deaths world-wide. The virus is undergoing rapid mutation, with two major clades of sequence variants emerging. This study sought to determine whether SARS-CoV-2 sequence variants are associated with differing outcomes among COVID-19 patients in a single medical system. Whole genome SARS-CoV-2 RNA sequence was obtained from isolates collected from patients registered in the University of Washington Medicine health system between March 1 and April 15, 2020. Demographic and baseline clinical characteristics of patients and their outcome data including their hospitalization and death were collected. Statistical and machine learning models were applied to determine if viral genetic variants were associated with specific outcomes of hospitalization or death. Full length SARS-CoV-2 sequence was obtained 19tors for hospitalization and death for either major clade of virus include patient age and comorbid conditions.High biomasses of the marine dinoflagellate Lepidodinium chlorophorum cause green seawater discolorations along Southern Brittany (NE Atlantic, France). The viscosity associated to these phenomena has been related to problems in oyster cultivation. The harmful effect of L. chlorophorum might originate from the secretion of Extracellular Polymeric Substances (EPS). To understand whether the EPS are produced by L. chlorophorum or its associated bacteria, or if they are a product of their interaction, batch cultures were performed under non-axenic and pseudo-axenic conditions for three strains. Maximum dinoflagellate cell abundances were observed in pseudo-axenic cultures. The non-sinking fraction of polymers (Soluble Extracellular Polymers, SEP), mainly composed of proteins and the exopolysaccharide sulphated galactan, slightly increased in pseudo-axenic cultures. The amount of Transparent Exopolymer Particles (TEP) per cell increased under non-axenic conditions. Despite the high concentrations of Particulate Organic Carbon (POC) measured, viscosity did not vary. These results suggest that the L. chlorophorum-bacteria interaction could have a detrimental consequence on the dinoflagellate, translating in a negative effect on L. chlorophorum growth, as well as EPS overproduction by the dinoflagellate, at concentrations that should not affect seawater viscosity.Free faecal liquid (FFL) is a condition in horses which manifests as differential defecation of solid and liquid phases of faeces. The etiology of FFL is currently unknown, but deviances in the hindgut microbiota has been suggested to be of importance. The present study aimed to compare the faecal bacterial composition of farm-matched horses with (case, n = 50) and without (control, n = 50) FFL. Samples were collected at three different occasions. The V3 and V4 regions of the 16S rRNA gene were amplified and sequenced using Illumina sequencing. Also, samples were cultivated for detection of Clostridioides difficile and Clostridium perfringens. Analysis revealed similar faecal bacterial composition between case and control horses, but an effect of sampling period (p = 0.0001). Within sampling periods, 14 genera were present in higher or lower proportions in case compared to control horses in at least one sampling period. Compared to controls, case horses had higher relative abundance of Alloprevotella (adjusted p  less then  0.04) and lower relative abundance of Bacillus spp. H-151 molecular weight (adjusted p  less then  0.03) in at least two sampling periods. All horses tested negative for C. difficile and C. perfringens by culture of faeces. Further studies are required to establish the clinical relevance of specific bacterial taxa in FFL.Pseudaminic acids present on the surface of pathogenic bacteria, including gut pathogens Campylobacter jejuni and Helicobacter pylori, are postulated to play influential roles in the etiology of associated infectious diseases through modulating flagella assembly and recognition of bacteria by the human immune system. Yet they are underexplored compared to other areas of glycoscience, in particular enzymes responsible for the glycosyltransfer of these sugars in bacteria are still to be unambiguously characterised. This can be largely attributed to a lack of access to nucleotide-activated pseudaminic acid glycosyl donors, such as CMP-Pse5Ac7Ac. Herein we reconstitute the biosynthesis of Pse5Ac7Ac in vitro using enzymes from C. jejuni (PseBCHGI) in the process optimising coupled turnover with PseBC using deuterium wash in experiments, and establishing a method for co-factor regeneration in PseH tunover. Furthermore we establish conditions for purification of a soluble CMP-Pse5Ac7Ac synthetase enzyme PseF from Aeromonas caviae and utilise it in combination with the C.
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