Chest CT features and risk factors for patients with Omicron variant pneumonia: a multicenter retrospective clinical study.

Introduction: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) Omicron variant infection has become widespread in China as a result of the alterations in epidemic control and prevention policies. We identified the clinical characteristics and lung computed tomography (CT) imaging characteristics of patients infected during the early stage of the Omicron BA.5 wave in Shanghai to provide a guide to the diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of infection.

Responses of growth and photosynthesis to alkaline stress in three willow species.

Investigating differences in resistance to alkaline stress among three willow species can provide a theoretical basis for planting willow in saline soils. Therefore we tested three willow species (Salix matsudana, Salix gordejevii and Salix linearistipularis), already known for their high stress tolerance, to alkaline stress environment at different pH values under hydroponics. Root and leaf dry weight, root water content, leaf water content, chlorophyll content, photosynthesis and chlorophyll fluorescence of three willow cuttings were monitored six times over 15 days under alkaline stress.

Understory fuel loads and the impact factors of natural secondary forest in Hebei Pro-vince, China.

We investigated understory fuel loads of natural secondary forests in Hebei Province, China. We analyzed the effects of stand factors, topographic factors, and ground cover factors on the quantity and composition of fuel, established the dynamic models of understory fuel loads, and proposed management measures. The results showed that the understory total fuel load in natural secondary forests was 11.

Study on the causes of growth differences in three conifers after the rainy season in the Xiong'an New Area.

Background: The implementation of the Millennium Forestry Plan was accompanied by growth discomfort exhibiting varying degrees of symptoms in some coniferous forests after the rainy season.

Hypothesis: High soil water content affects the underground root growth and distribution characteristics of conifers, and the above-ground parts show corresponding variability. To determine the factors contributing to the significant growth disparities among the three conifers in Xiong'an New Area after the rainy season, we conducted a study investigating the growth characteristics of conifers.

Geochemical fractionation, bioaccessibility and ecological risk of metallic elements in the weathering profiles of typical skarn-type copper tailings from Tongling, China.

Nonferrous metal tailings have long posed a significant threat to the surrounding environment and population. Previous studies have primarily focused on heavy metal pollution in the vicinity of sulfide tailings, while little attention was given to metal mobility and bioavailability within skarn-type tailings profile during weathering. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the fractionation, bioaccessibility, and ecological risk associated with metallic elements (MEs, including Pb, Cd, Cr, Zn, and Cu) in two representative weathering copper-tailings profiles of Tongling mine (China).

Qualitative and quantitative analysis for Cd removal mechanisms by biochar composites from co-pyrolysis of corn straw and fly ash.

Removal of heavy metals (e.g., Cd) from contaminated water using waste-converted adsorbents is promising, but the efficiency still needs to be improved.

Verification of sap flow characteristics and measurement errors of Carr. and L. based on the liquid level equilibrium method.

This study clarified the characteristics and influencing factors of sap flow in Carr. and L., and verified the applicability of Granier's original formula for measuring the sap flow of the two species, aimed to provide a basis for the accurate assessment of tree transpiration.

Ion absorption, distribution and salt tolerance threshold of three willow species under salt stress.

To investigate the response mechanism and salt tolerance threshold of three willow seedlings (), the absorption, transport and distribution of salt ions (Na, K, Ca) were studied under hydroponic conditions with different salt concentrations (CK, 171, 342, 513, and 684 mm) and treatment times (1, 3, 5, 8, 11, and 15 days). has the weakest ability to maintain its apparent shape, while has the strongest ability. The three plants have a certain Na interception ability, and the interception abilities of and are higher than that of .

Enhanced removal of Cd from water by AHP-pretreated biochar: Adsorption performance and mechanism.

The sesame straw-derived biochar was successfully prepared via alkaline hydrogen peroxide (AHP) pretreatment in this study. Systematic experimental characterizations, 15 relevant batch and column adsorption models, combined with density functional theory (DFT) calculation were used to investigate the performances and micro-mechanisms of Cd adsorption onto biochar. We found AHP-pretreatment could greatly improve the adsorption performance of biochar for Cd.

Study on the Relationship of Ions (Na, K, Ca) Absorption and Distribution to Photosynthetic Response of Koidz Under Salt Stress.

To identify the key indicators for salt tolerance evaluation of Koidz, we explored the relationship of ion absorption and distribution with chlorophyll, fluorescence parameters (leaf performance index, maximum photochemical efficiency), and photosynthetic gas parameters (net photosynthetic rate, transpiration, stomatal conductance, intercellular carbon dioxide concentration) under salt stress. We established 4 treatment groups and one control group based on salinity levels of NaCl hydroponic solutions (171, 342, 513, and 684 mm). The Na/K, Na/Ca, chlorophyll fluorescence, and photosynthetic parameters of leaves were measured on the 1st, 3rd, 5th, 8th, 11th, and 15th days to analyze the correlations of chlorophyll, chlorophyll fluorescence and photosynthetic parameters to the ion distribution ratio.

Effects of salt stress on the photosynthetic physiology and mineral ion absorption and distribution in white willow (Salix alba L.).

Objective: The purpose of this study was to explore the adaptive mechanism underlying the photosynthetic characteristics and the ion absorption and distribution of white willow (Salix alba L.) in a salt stress environment in cutting seedlings. The results lay a foundation for further understanding the distribution of sodium chloride and its effect on the photosynthetic system.

Geochemical fractionation, bioavailability, and potential risk of heavy metals in sediments of the largest influent river into Chaohu Lake, China.

As the largest tributary flowing into Chaohu Lake, China, the Hangbu-Fengle River (HFR) has an important impact on the aquatic environment security of the lake. However, existing information on the potential risks of heavy metals (HMs) in HFR sediments was insufficient due to the lack of bioavailability data on HMs. Hence, geochemical fractionation, bioavailability, and potential risk of five HMs (Cr, Cu, Zn, Cd, and Pb) in HFR sediments were investigated by the combined use of the diffusive gradient in thin-films (DGT), sequential extraction (BCR), as well as the physiologically based extraction test (PBET).

Occurrence and bioaccumulation of sulfonamide antibiotics in different fish species from Hangbu-Fengle River, Southeast China.

As a class of synthetic sulfur drugs, sulfonamides (SAs) have been used to treat diseases and promote organism growth. Different concentrations of SAs have been detected in the water environment, which has threatened the ecological environment. In this study, the contamination of 9 SAs in water, sediments, and 8 fish species from the Hangbu-Fengle River, China, were analyzed using UPLC-MS/MS.

Bioaccumulation, Metabolism, and Biomarker Responses in Hyriopsis cumingii Exposed to 4-Mono-Chlorinated Dibenzothiophene.

Polychlorinated dibenzothiophenes (PCDTs) are sulfur analogues of polychlorinated dibenzofurans with prevalent occurrence in aquatic environments and potential ecological risks. However, data on the behavior and toxicity of PCDTs in aquatic organisms remain scarce. In the present study, the bioaccumulation, metabolism, and oxidative damage of 4-mono-chlorinated dibenzothiophene (4-mono-CDT) in freshwater mussel (Hyriopsis cumingii) were investigated after exposure to 4-mono-CDT in semistatic water.

Occurrence, distribution and partitioning of polychlorinated dibenzothiophenes (PCDTs) in Chaohu Lake, Southeast China.

Polychlorinated dibenzothiophenes (PCDTs) are a class of compounds structurally similar to dioxins that possess various toxicological impacts on living organisms. Unfortunately, information on the levels of PCDTs in freshwater lakes in China is still scarce. In this work, the occurrence of 14 congeners of PCDTs in different matrices (i.

[Responses of photosynthetic physiology and sap flow to the introduction of external dye in Populus ×euramericana cv. '74/76'].

The exogenous liquid introduction technology is an effective way to produce the value-added poplar wood with excellent pattern color. This technology was used to add the various concentrated active red dyeing solution (0.2%, 0.

Diversity of carotenoid composition, sequestering structures and gene transcription in mature fruits of four Prunus species.

The genus Prunus contains many fruits used in the human diet, which exhibit a variety of different flavors. However, publications on the diversity of carotenoid profiles and sequestering structures in Prunus fruits are limited. In this study, carotenoids and their associated sequestering structures in mature fruits of four Prunus species, including peach [Prunus persica (L.

Source apportionment of heavy metal and their health risks in soil-dustfall-plant system nearby a typical non-ferrous metal mining area of Tongling, Eastern China.

The agricultural land-atmospheric dustfall-plant system around the mining area is at high risks of heavy metal pollution caused by mining-smelting activities. In this study, 118 samples (including rhizospheric soils, background soils, soil-forming parent rocks, crops, vegetables, medicinal plants and atmospheric dustfall) were collected nearby Tongling Cu-Fe-Au mining area, Eastern China. We studied the concentrations, migration, sources, and health risks through consumption of two main crops (corn and rice), six kinds of vegetables, and medicinal plants (Fengdan, Paeonia ostii) for six metal elements (Cu, Zn, Cr, Cd, Pb and Hg).

Fluorometric determination of ciprofloxacin using molecularly imprinted polymer and polystyrene microparticles doped with europium(III)(DBM)phen.

The authors describe a microparticle-based system for the detection of the fluoroquinolone antibiotic ciprofloxacin. The method is using the tris(dibenzoylmethane)(1,10-phenanthroline)europium(III) luminophore in polystyrene microparticles along with a molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) for ciprofloxacin. If ciprofloxacin is captured by the MIP, it quenches the fluorescence of the luminophores.

Biogas production and metal passivation analysis during anaerobic digestion of pig manure: effects of a magnetic FeO/FA composite supplement.

Anaerobic digestion has been widely used to produce biogas renewable energy and stabilize fecal manure. In this work, magnetic fly ash composites (FeO/FA) were synthesized and mixed with pig manure in different ratios to study their effects on biogas production and metal passivation during anaerobic digestion. The results showed that the use of 0.

Metal concentrations and risk assessment in water, sediment and economic fish species with various habitat preferences and trophic guilds from Lake Caizi, Southeast China.

Despite the potential emissions of heavy metal pollution in Lake Caizi due to extensive agriculture, urban growth and fishing activities, the risk posed by metal concentrations to aquatic environments and human populations has not yet been studied. In this study we compared the concentrations of Hg, As, Pb, Cd, Cr, Cu and Zn in water, sediment, and economic fish species with different habitat preferences and trophic guilds across important fishery areas in Lake Caizi, located on the northern shore of the Yangtze River, Southeast China. The concentrations of Cr in water were found approximately 6 times higher than the safety thresholds established by international legislation.

iCar-PseCp: identify carbonylation sites in proteins by Monte Carlo sampling and incorporating sequence coupled effects into general PseAAC.

Carbonylation is a posttranslational modification (PTM or PTLM), where a carbonyl group is added to lysine (K), proline (P), arginine (R), and threonine (T) residue of a protein molecule. Carbonylation plays an important role in orchestrating various biological processes but it is also associated with many diseases such as diabetes, chronic lung disease, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, chronic renal failure, and sepsis. Therefore, from the angles of both basic research and drug development, we are facing a challenging problem: for an uncharacterized protein sequence containing many residues of K, P, R, or T, which ones can be carbonylated, and which ones cannot? To address this problem, we have developed a predictor called iCar-PseCp by incorporating the sequence-coupled information into the general pseudo amino acid composition, and balancing out skewed training dataset by Monte Carlo sampling to expand positive subset.

pSuc-Lys: Predict lysine succinylation sites in proteins with PseAAC and ensemble random forest approach.

Being one type of post-translational modifications (PTMs), protein lysine succinylation is important in regulating varieties of biological processes. It is also involved with some diseases, however. Consequently, from the angles of both basic research and drug development, we are facing a challenging problem: for an uncharacterized protein sequence having many Lys residues therein, which ones can be succinylated, and which ones cannot? To address this problem, we have developed a predictor called pSuc-Lys through (1) incorporating the sequence-coupled information into the general pseudo amino acid composition, (2) balancing out skewed training dataset by random sampling, and (3) constructing an ensemble predictor by fusing a series of individual random forest classifiers.

iPPBS-Opt: A Sequence-Based Ensemble Classifier for Identifying Protein-Protein Binding Sites by Optimizing Imbalanced Training Datasets.

Knowledge of protein-protein interactions and their binding sites is indispensable for in-depth understanding of the networks in living cells. With the avalanche of protein sequences generated in the postgenomic age, it is critical to develop computational methods for identifying in a timely fashion the protein-protein binding sites (PPBSs) based on the sequence information alone because the information obtained by this way can be used for both biomedical research and drug development. To address such a challenge, we have proposed a new predictor, called iPPBS-Opt, in which we have used: (1) the K-Nearest Neighbors Cleaning (KNNC) and Inserting Hypothetical Training Samples (IHTS) treatments to optimize the training dataset; (2) the ensemble voting approach to select the most relevant features; and (3) the stationary wavelet transform to formulate the statistical samples.

iSuc-PseOpt: Identifying lysine succinylation sites in proteins by incorporating sequence-coupling effects into pseudo components and optimizing imbalanced training dataset.

Succinylation is a posttranslational modification (PTM) where a succinyl group is added to a Lys (K) residue of a protein molecule. Lysine succinylation plays an important role in orchestrating various biological processes, but it is also associated with some diseases. Therefore, we are challenged by the following problem from both basic research and drug development: given an uncharacterized protein sequence containing many Lys residues, which one of them can be succinylated, and which one cannot? With the avalanche of protein sequences generated in the postgenomic age, the answer to the problem has become even more urgent.