Objective To investigate the prevalence of Schistosoma japonicum infections in wild rodents in schistosomiasis-endemic areas of China, so as to provide insights into formulation of technical guidelines for monitoring of and the precise control strategy for S. japonicum infections in wild rodents during the elimination phase. Methods Two administrative villages where schistosomiasis was historically highly prevalent were selected each from Dongzhi County, Anhui Province, and Duchang County, Jiangxi Province as study villages. Wild rodents were captured from study villages with baited traps or cages at night in June and September, 2021. The number of rodents captured was recorded, and the rodent species was characterized based on morphologi-cal characteristics. Liver tissues were sampled from captured rodents for macroscopical observation of the presence of egg granu- lomas, and S. japonicum infection was detected simultaneously using liver tissue homogenate microscopy, examinations of mesenteric tissues for parasites, and modified Kato-Katz thick smear technique (Kato-Katz technique). A positive S. japonicum infection was defined as detection of S. japonicum eggs or adult worms by any of these methods. The rate of wild rodent capture and prevalence of S. japonicum infections in wild rodents were compared in different study villages and at different time periods, and the detection of S. japonicum infections in wild rodents was compared by different assays. Results The overall rate of wild ro- dent capture was 8.28% (237/2 861) in Dongzhi County, and the wild rodent capture rates were 9.24% (133/1 439) and 7.31% (104/1 422) in two study villages (χ² = 3.503, P = 0.061), and were 8.59% (121/1 409) and 7.99% (116/1 452) in June and September, 2021, respectively (χ² = 0.337, P = 0.561). The overall rate of wild rodent capture was 3.72% (77/2 072) in Duchang County, and the wild rodent capture rates were 6.91% (67/970) and 0.91% (10/1 102) in two study villages (χ² = 51.901, P < 0.001), and were 4.13% (39/945) and 3.37% (38/1 127) in June and September, 2021, respectively (χ² = 0.815, P = 0.365). Rattus norvegicus was the predominant rodent species captured in both counties, accounting for 70.04% (166/237) of all captured wild rodents in Dongzhi County and 88.31% (68/77) in Duchang County. No S. japonicum infection was detected in wild rodents captured in Duchang County. Nevertheless, the overall prevalence of S. japonicum infections was 51.05% (121/237) in wild rodents captured in Dongzhi County, with prevalence rates of 50.38% (67/133) and 51.92% (54/104) in two study villages (χ² = 0.098, P = 0.755), and 54.31% (63/116) and 47.93% (58/121) in September and June, 2021, respectively (χ² = 0.964, P = 0.326). Of 237 wild rodents captured in Dongzhi County, there were 140 (59.07%) rodents with visible hepatic egg granulomas, 117 (49.47%) tested positive for S. japonicum eggs by liver tissue homogenate microscopy, 34 (14.35%) tested positive for S. japonicum eggs with Kato-Katz technique; however, no adult S. japonicum worms were detected in mesenteric tissues. In addition, hepatic egg granulomas were found in all wild rodents tested positive for S. japonicum eggs with liver tissue homogenate microscopy. Conclusions The rate of wild rodent capture and prevalence of S. japonicum infection in wild rodents vary greatly in schistosomiasis-endemic areas of China, and the prevalence of S. japonicum infection is slightly higher in wild rodents captured in autumn than in summer. Liver tissue is recommended as the preferred sample for surveillance of S. japonicum infection in wild rodents, and a combination of macroscopical observation of hepatic egg granulomas and liver tissue homogenate microscopy may be a standard method for surveillance of S. japonicum infection in wild rodents.

Stroke is a cerebrovascular disease characterized by high rates of disability,recurrence and mortal-ity.It results primarily from cerebrovascular rupture or transient/permanent occlusion.Due to the complex pathological mechanism of stroke and the lack of early-stage biomarkers,effective treatment options remain limited.Circular RNAs(circRNAs)are stable and conserved endogenous long noncoding RNA that regulate the pathological process of stroke,in-cluding oxidative stress,inflammation,apoptosis and autophagy.In addition,the regulatory roles of circRNAs in stroke include ceRNA,DNA methylation and histone modification.This review provides a comprehensive overview of circRNA biogenesis,major functions and characteristics.Furthermore,it presents the latest research findings on circRNAs in the context of stroke pathology,with the aim of providing new insights and potential approaches for unraveling the underlying mechanism,diagnosis and treatment of such diseases.

Objective To explore the effect of transcranial direct current stimulation(tDCS)regulating the motor cortex on the performance of endurance exercise with incremental loading.Methods A randomized,double-blind,parallel control design was adopted.Forty healthy adults were randomly divided into real stimulation(lasting 20 min)or sham stimulation groups(30 s slow-rise and 30 s slow-fall stimulation provided within the 1st 1 min only).The multifocal tDCS was used,with seven small electrodes(3.14 cm2 round electrodes)placed in the primary,premotor,and supplementary motor areas to modulate motor cortex excitability.The injection current of a single electrode did not exceed 1.552 mA,and the total currents did not exceed 3.998 mA.Baseline tests on incrementally loading exercises were performed before and after the intervention,with an interval of 48 hours between the two tests.Two-way ANOVA was used to analyze the effects of this tDCS protocol on duration of cycling,power output,and revolution speed.Results All subjects completed the experiment without unexpected adverse effects.The overall accuracy rate of subjective guess was 37.5%.There was no significant difference in duration of cycling or power output between the two groups(P>0.05),and within-group statistics showed an increase in revolution speed after the real stimulation(P=0.012).Conclusions tDCS that targets and modulates the motor cortex can improve the revolution speed during cycling exercise with incremental loading in healthy adults,suggesting that this stimulation protocol may be a potential means of improving exercise efficiency in endurance sports.

Objective To explore the effect of transcranial direct current stimulation(tDCS)regulating the motor cortex on the performance of endurance exercise with incremental loading.Methods A randomized,double-blind,parallel control design was adopted.Forty healthy adults were randomly divided into real stimulation(lasting 20 min)or sham stimulation groups(30 s slow-rise and 30 s slow-fall stimulation provided within the 1st 1 min only).The multifocal tDCS was used,with seven small electrodes(3.14 cm2 round electrodes)placed in the primary,premotor,and supplementary motor areas to modulate motor cortex excitability.The injection current of a single electrode did not exceed 1.552 mA,and the total currents did not exceed 3.998 mA.Baseline tests on incrementally loading exercises were performed before and after the intervention,with an interval of 48 hours between the two tests.Two-way ANOVA was used to analyze the effects of this tDCS protocol on duration of cycling,power output,and revolution speed.Results All subjects completed the experiment without unexpected adverse effects.The overall accuracy rate of subjective guess was 37.5%.There was no significant difference in duration of cycling or power output between the two groups(P>0.05),and within-group statistics showed an increase in revolution speed after the real stimulation(P=0.012).Conclusions tDCS that targets and modulates the motor cortex can improve the revolution speed during cycling exercise with incremental loading in healthy adults,suggesting that this stimulation protocol may be a potential means of improving exercise efficiency in endurance sports.

Nitrate is the main form of inorganic nitrogen that crop absorbs, and nitrate transporter 2 (NRT2) is a high affinity transporter using nitrate as a specific substrate. When the available nitrate is limited, the high affinity transport systems are activated and play an important role in the process of nitrate absorption and transport. Most NRT2 cannot transport nitrates alone and require the assistance of a helper protein belonging to nitrate assimilation related family (NAR2) to complete the absorption or transport of nitrates. Crop nitrogen utilization efficiency is affected by environmental conditions, and there are differences between varieties, so it is of great significance to develop varieties with high nitrogen utilization efficiency. Sorghum bicolor has high stress tolerance and is more efficient in soil nitrogen uptake and utilization. The S. bicolor genome database was scanned to systematically analyze the gene structure, chromosomal localization, physicochemical properties, secondary structure and transmembrane domain, signal peptide and subcellular localization, promoter region cis-acting elements, phylogenetic evolution, single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) recognition and annotation, and selection pressure of the gene family members. Through bioinformatics analysis, 5 NRT2 gene members (designated as SbNRT2-1a, SbNRT2-1b, SbNRT2-2, SbNRT2-3, and SbNRT2-4) and 2 NAR2 gene members (designated as SbNRT3-1 and SbNRT3-2) were identified, the number of which was less than that of foxtail millet. SbNRT2/3 were distributed on 3 chromosomes, and could be divided into four subfamilies. The genetic structure of the same subfamilies was highly similar. The average value of SbNRT2/3 hydrophilicity was positive, indicating that they were all hydrophobic proteins, whereas α-helix and random coil accounted for more than 70% of the total secondary structure. Subcellular localization occurred on plasma membrane, where SbNRT2 proteins did not contain signal peptides, but SbNRT3 proteins contained signal peptides. Further analysis revealed that the number of transmembrane domains of the SbNRT2s family members was greater than 10, while that of the SbNRT3s were 2. There was a close collinearity between NRT2/3s of S. bicolor and Zea mays. Protein domains analysis showed the presence of MFS_1 and NAR2 protein domains, which supported executing high affinity nitrate transport. Phylogenetic tree analysis showed that SbNRT2/3 were more closely related to those of Z. mays and Setaria italic. Analysis of gene promoter cis-acting elements indicated that the promoter region of SbNRT2/3 had several plant hormones and stress response elements, which might respond to growth and environmental cues. Gene expression heat map showed that SbNRT2-3 and SbNRT3-1 were induced by nitrate in the root and stem, respectively, and SbNRT2-4 and SbNRT2-3 were induced by low nitrogen in the root and stem. Non-synonymous SNP variants were found in SbNRT2-4 and SbNRT2-1a. Selection pressure analysis showed that the SbNRT2/3 were subject to purification and selection during evolution. The expression of SbNRT2/3 gene and the effect of aphid infection were consistent with the expression analysis results of genes in different tissues, and SbNRT2-1b and SbNRT3-1 were significantly expressed in the roots of aphid lines 5-27sug, and the expression levels of SbNRT2-3, SbNRT2-4 and SbNRT3-2 were significantly reduced in sorghum aphid infested leaves. Overall, genome-wide identification, expression and DNA variation analysis of NRT2/3 gene family of Sorghum bicolor provided a basis for elucidating the high efficiency of sorghum in nitrogen utilization.
Nitrate Transporters ; Nitrates/metabolism* ; Sorghum/metabolism* ; Anion Transport Proteins/metabolism* ; Phylogeny ; Protein Sorting Signals/genetics* ; Nitrogen/metabolism* ; DNA ; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant ; Plant Proteins/metabolism*

According to understanding of the pathogenesis of acne, scholars have established animal models of acne inflammation, animal models of grafting human skin acne, and natural acne animal models. The acne inflammation model is mainly induced by bacterial infection, chemical drug application, and foreign matter injection. Natural acne animal models include animals that some are sensitivity to hormones and some have clinical symptoms of acne. It is necessary to select appropriate model animals and replicate model methods for the development of acne intervention products with different degrees and mechanisms. At present, there are only human evaluation standards of acne health functions in China, but no animal evaluation standards, which has affected the in-depth study of the pathogenesis of acne as well as the research and development progress of acne products. This article summarizes the conditions for the occurrence of acne, the characteristics of human skin, the bidirectional effect of Cutibacterium acnes on human skin, acne animal models, and commonly used observation and evaluation indicators, providing the reference for studying the pathogenesis of acne, promoting acne treatment and health care, and developing treatment products.

Objective To extract key parameters from a series of biomechanical parameters of rowing technique, so as to provide useful information for coach training. Methods Based on rowing performance of 16 rowers in national team, the factor analysis was used to extract reducing dimension of biomechanical parameters of rowing technique of 80 oxygen utilisation 2 （UT2） training pieces. Results The biomechanical parameters of rowing techniques were classified as technical characteristic factors (angle of 70% peak force, work portion of per 25% stroke length, drive start time, finish slip, position of peak force and angle of peak force), power factor (rower power, average of boat power, port swivel power and stroke swivel power), stroke length factor (catch angle and finish angle) and oar’s motion factor (recovery time, stroke rate and distance of per stroke). Conclusions Monitoring and analyzing these biomechanical factors would contribute coaches and scientific researchers to accurately judge the technical characteristics and shortcomings of rowers.

CpG island methylator phenotype (CIMP) refers to a set of multiple gene promoter CpG island methylation phenotype which exists in tumor at the same time.Many studies show that CIMP is ubiquitous in gastric cancer,which is related to the pathogenesis,diagnosis,patient's condition,prognosis and curative effect of gastric cancer.

The studies have shown that the genesis and development process of breast cancer is closely related with microRNAs (miRNAs).Multiple miRNAs are involved in the progress of the incidence of breast cancer,and can be used to assess the prognosis,clinical treatment of breast cancer,and to explore the resistance mechanisms.

Objective To study the prevalence,risk factors of overactive bladder (OAB) in middle-aged and senior residents in Zhengzhou China.Methods A randomized,community-based,crosssectional study was performed on 10 160 residents aged 40 or older in urban area of Zhengzhou by using a stratified system sampling approach.A questionnaire including the subjects' basic information,previous history,present history,the Chinese overactive bladder symptom score (OABSS) was filled on site.The diagnostic criteria for OAB was 'an urgency score for Question 3 of 2 or more,and an OABSS of 3 or more'.Chisquare test was used to determine the differences of prevalence between genders,age groups,BMI and people with and without diabetes mellitus (DM).A pairwise comparison was conducted between different age,BMI group by using Bonferroni method.Results A total of 10 160 residents were investigated and finally 9805 (96.5％) were qualified for final statistical analysis.The mean age was (57.9 ± 9.7) years.The overall prevalence of OAB was 2.1％ (209/9805),of which,with OABdry 1.0％,and OABwet 1.1％.Male subjects were more likely suffered from OAB than female,with 2.7％ (84/3129) versus 1.9％ (125/6676).The prevalence of OAB in both male and female increased with age.There was no significant difference in the prevalence of male and female before the age of 60 years (1.2％ versus 1.4％,P ＞ 0.05) and more common in men than in women after the age of 60 years (4.6％ versus 2.6％,P ＜ 0.05).The prevalence of the subjects with DM was significantly higher than those without DM (P ＜ 0.05).The subjects with BMIs of 30 or more were nore likely to have OAB (3.2％ versus 1.8％,P ＜ 0.05).Conclusions The prevalence of OAB increases with advancing age.The prevalence of male is higher than female after the age of 60 years.The diabetics and obese people are more likely to have OAB.