Samples Of Different Ages Research Articles

Integrating bulk and single-cell transcriptomics to elucidate the role and potential mechanisms of autophagy in aging tissue.

Autophagy is frequently observed in tissues during the aging process, yet the tissues most strongly correlated with autophagy during aging and the underlying regulatory mechanisms remain inadequately understood. The purpose of this study is to identify the tissues with the highest correlation between autophagy and aging, and to explore the functions and mechanisms of autophagy in the aging tissue microenvironment. Integrated bulk RNA-seq from over 7000 normal tissue samples, single-cell sequencing data from blood samples of different ages, more than 2000 acute myeloid leukemia (AML) bulk RNA-seq, and multiple sets of AML single-cell data. The datasets were analysed using various bioinformatic approaches. Blood tissue exhibited the highest positive correlation between autophagy and aging among healthy tissues. Single-cell resolution analysis revealed that in aged blood, classical monocytes (C. monocytes) are most closely associated with elevated autophagy levels. Increased autophagy in these monocytes correlated with a higher proportion of C. monocytes, with hypoxia identified as a crucial contributing factor. In AML, a representative myeloid blood disease, enhanced autophagy was accompanied by an increased proportionof C. monocytes. High autophagy levels in monocytes are associated with pro-inflammatory gene upregulation and Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) accumulation, contributing to tissue aging. This study revealed that autophagy is most strongly correlated with aging in blood tissue. Enhanced autophagy levels in C. monocytes demonstrate a positive correlation with increased secretion of pro-inflammatory factors and elevated production of ROS, which may contribute to a more rapid aging process. This discovery underscores the critical role of autophagy in blood aging and suggests potential therapeutic targets to mitigate aging-related health issues.

Comparison of Normal Human Skin and Hypertrophic Scar Tissue Samples of Different Ages, Locations, and Stages of Maturity.

Scars disrupt the normal structure and function of the skin. The primary goal of plastic surgery is to prevent and reduce scarring. Therefore, we aimed to establish a comparison scheme between normal skin (NS) tissues of different ages and locations; hypertrophic scars (HTS) of different ages, locations, and maturities; and NS and HTS tissues to provide evidence on scar severity for improving treatment evaluation. Various methods including histology, immunohistochemistry, and immunofluorescence were employed to compare the general appearance, macrophage infiltration, fibroblast activity, degree of angiogenesis, and collagen fiber type and arrangement in human-sourced NS and HTS tissues of different ages, locations, and maturities in seven patients (three with NS and four with HTS) from the Department of Burn and Plastic Surgery of the Shandong Provincial Hospital from January 2019 to December 2020. The thicknesses of the epidermis and dermis of NS tissues varied with age and location. The epidermis of the upper arms, face, and upper eyelids of NS tissues sequentially thickened, whereas the dermis was sequentially thinner. Several glandular structures were identified in the upper eyelids but rarely in the face and upper arms. Histological changes in HTS tissue of different ages, locations, and maturity occur as scar formation time is prolonged, accompanied by increased CD86 levels and fibrosis. As the scar matured, connexin and VEGFR2 expression decreased, indicating reduced inflammation, fibroblast activity, and angiogenesis. The comparison between NS and HTS tissue also revealed significant differences; the positive expression of VEGFR2 and total collagen in HTS tissue was higher than that in NS tissue. We discovered significant differences among NS, HTS, and NS and HTS tissues of different ages, locations, and maturities. Further, this study may provide a basis for clarifying the treatment effect of different methods for HTS compared with those for NS, efficiently individualizing patients' treatment plans and ultimately shortening the scar treatment process.

LA-ICP-Q-MS/MS Re[sbnd]Os geochronology: A comparison of N2O and CH4 reaction gases

The ReOs isotope system can directly date sulphide formation, making it useful for ore deposit studies. Recent work has demonstrated that laser ablation inductively coupled tandem mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS/MS) can be used to effectively separate 187Re from 187Os during analysis by reacting Os with CH4 gas, allowing for in situ ReOs age determination of molybdenite. However, the age calculation often requires a significant interference correction of 187ReCH2+ on 187OsCH2+. Here, we demonstrate that N2O gas is a viable alternative reaction gas for in situ ReOs geochronology. In this new method, Os forms a tetra-oxide complex, while Re shows very low reactivity with the N2O reaction gas (∼0.15 %), reducing the isobaric interference correction requirement relative to the CH4 method. We compare results from both reaction gases across a range of molybdenite samples of different ages (spanning ca. 1700–300 Ma), demonstrating that the N2O method achieves greater precision and accuracy for young molybdenite samples (ca. 300 Ma) compared to CH4. In addition, we demonstrate that in situ ReOs is capable of dating high-Re pyrite (i.e., >10 ppm).

Analysis of sedimentary and geochemical characteristics of sedimentary clastic rock samples from Alpha-Mendeleev Rice (underwater sampling)

The paper presents new data from a comparative analysis of sedimentary rocks from the Mendeleev Rise (seamount Shamshura), presumably of Triassic age, with sandstones of Aptian age, obtained during underwater sampling of the Alpha-Mendeleev Rise during expeditions in 2012, 2014 and 2016. The geochemical characteristics of the rocks are very similar, and, as a rule, data from samples of different ages form common fields on different diagrams. The petrographic investigations have established that the sandstones of presumably Late Triassic age, as well as the sandstones of Chukotka and Wrangel Island, are dominated by fragments of shale and acid effusives. The Aptian samples are dominated by fragments of mafic rocks. Also, sharp differences are observed in the nature of the age spectra of detrital zircon populations, indicating fundamentally different feeding provinces for the Triassic and Cretaceous sandstones of the Alpha-Mendeleev Rise. Samples from the Shamshura seamount are characterized by populations similar to populations from Triassic rocks of Chukotka and Wrangel Island, indicating the presence of Triassic rocks in this part of the Mendeleev Rise.

Epidemiological and Molecular Characteristics of Piroplasmids and Anaplasma spp. in Tan Sheep, Ningxia, Northwest China

Piroplasmosis and anaplasmosis are important zoonotic diseases of animal origin, which can be transmitted by ticks to infect animals. However, there is limited information on the infection of piroplasmosis and anaplasmosis in Tan sheep in Ningxia, China. In order to understand the prevalence of piroplasmosis and anaplasmosis in Tan sheep in Ningxia, 150 blood samples of Tan sheep from farms in five urban areas of Ningxia were detected by PCR, and some positive samples were sequenced to establish a phylogenetic tree. PCR revealed that the prevalence of Anaplasma spp. in Tan sheep in Ningxia was 28.0%. The overall prevalence of Piroplasmids was 33.3%, of which Theileria spp. and Babesia spp. were 20.7% and 12.7%, respectively. Among the samples of different ages, the highest detection rates of Piroplasmids and Anaplasma spp. were found in Tan sheep aged 20–30 months, and the detection rate of Theileria spp., Babesia spp., and Anaplasma spp. were 25.4%, 23.6%, and 36.3%, respectively. In this study, one Theileria species was identified as Theileria uilenbergi, two Babesia species were identified as Babesia molasi and Babesia ovis, and two Anaplasma species were identified as Anaplasma ovis and Anaplasma phagocytophilum, and the dominant species were A. ovis and T. uilenbergi. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report detailing the infection rate and genotype of Piroplasmids and Anaplasma spp. in Tan sheep in Ningxia, China. The results of this study provide valuable data for understanding the epidemiology of tick-borne disease in Tan sheep in Ningxia, China, and lay a theoretical foundation for the prevention and control of piroplasmosis and anaplasmosis in Tan sheep in Ningxia, northwest China.

Key Aroma Differences in Volatile Compounds of Aged Feng-Flavored Baijiu Determined Using Sensory Descriptive Analysis and GC×GC-TOFMS.

Sensory descriptive analysis of aged feng-flavored Baijiu liquor indicated notable differences in samples of different ages. The samples of freshly distilled Baijiu and those with shorter storage times exhibit bran and fresh green flavors, whereas, with increasing storage time, honey, sweet, and floral fragrances are gradually enhanced. Samples of feng-flavored Baijiu were prepared using headspace solid-phase microextraction, followed by comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography time-of-flight mass spectrometry. A total of 496 compounds were identified in all samples, mainly categorized as 14 groups of substances, including esters and aldehydes. Interestingly, 42 of these substances were found in Feng-flavored Baijiu for the first time. Chemometrics was used to analyze the key differential compounds. First, 143 differential compounds closely related to aging were preliminarily screened, and principal component analysis revealed that these compounds were separated by baijiu age. Then, 65 differential compounds were selected by partial least squares discriminant analysis. Furthermore, 43 key differential compounds were selected by combined analysis with variable importance in projection and Pearson correlation coefficients. Partial least squares regression was used to study the correlation between the sensory properties and key differential compounds, and the results indicated that most compounds were closely related to the aging period of the Baijiu. The results of this study provide a theoretical basis and reference for flavor research on feng-flavored Baijiu.

Effect of geomembrane liner on landfill stability under long-term loading: interfacial shear test and numerical simulation.

Clay liners have been widely used in landfill engineering. However, large-scale clay excavation causes secondary environmental damage. This study investigates the feasibility of replacing clay liners with high-density polyethylene (HDPE) geomembranes with different specifications and parameters. Laboratory interface shear tests between municipal solid waste (MSW) samples of different ages and geomembranes were conducted to study the influence of landfill age on interface shear strength. Finite element method was adopted to compare the long-term stability of landfills with HDPE geomembrane versus clay as intermediate liner. The interfacial shear test results show that the cohesion of MSW increases in a short term and then decreases with landfill age. The internal friction angle exhibits an increasing trend with advancing age, however, the rate of its increment declines withage.The rough accuracy of the film surface can increase the interfacial shear strength between MSW. The simulation results show that, unlike clay-lined landfills, the sliding surface of geomembrane-lined landfills is discontinuous at the lining interface, which can delay the penetration of slip surfaces and block the formation of slip zone in the landfill. In addition, the maximum displacement of landfills with geomembrane is 10% lower than that with clay, and the absolute displacement of slope toe decreases with the increase of roughness at the interface of geomembrane. Compared with clay-lined landfills, the overall stability safety factor increased by 18.5-30%. This study provides references for landfill design and on-site stability evaluation, contributing to enhanced long-term stability.

Short communication: Synchrotron-based elemental mapping of single grains to investigate variable infrared-radiofluorescence emissions for luminescence dating

Abstract. During ionizing irradiation, potassium (K)-rich feldspar grains emit infrared (IR) light, which is used for infrared radiofluorescence (IR-RF) dating. The late-saturating IR-RF emission centred at ∼880 nm represents a promising tool to date Quaternary sediments. In the present work, we report the presence of individual grains in the K-feldspar density fraction displaying an aberrant IR-RF signal shape, whose combined intensity contaminates the sum signal of an aliquot composed of dozens of grains. Our experiments were carried out at the National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS-II) at the submicron-resolution X-ray spectroscopy (SRX) beamline. We analysed coarse (>90 µm) K-feldspar-bearing grains of five samples of different ages and origin in order to characterize the composition of grains yielding the desired or contaminated IR-RF emission. Using micro-X-ray fluorescence (μ-XRF), we successfully acquired element distribution maps of up to 15 elements (<1 µm resolution) of sections of full grains previously used for IR-RF dating. In keeping with current theories of IR-RF signal production, we observed a trend between the relative proportions of Pb and Fe and the shape of the IR-RF signal, namely that most grains with the desired IR-RF signal shape had high Pb and low Fe contents. Interestingly, these grains were also defined by high Ba and low Ca contents. Our study also represents a proof of concept for mapping the oxidation states of Fe using micro-X-ray absorption near-edge structure spectroscopy (μ-XANES) on individual grains. The high spatial resolution enabled by synchrotron X-ray spectroscopy makes it a powerful tool for future experiments to elucidate long-standing issues concerning the nature and type of defect(s) associated with the main dosimetric trap in feldspar.

Modeling apparent Pb loss in zircon U–Pb geochronology

Abstract. The loss of radiogenic Pb from zircon is known to be a major factor that can cause inaccuracy in the U–Pb geochronological system; hence, there is a need to better characterize the distribution of Pb loss in natural samples. Treatment of zircon by chemical abrasion (CA) has become standard practice in isotope dilution–thermal ionization mass spectrometry (ID-TIMS), but CA is much less commonly employed prior to in situ analysis via laser ablation–inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) or secondary ionization mass spectrometry (SIMS). Differentiating the effects of low levels of Pb loss in Phanerozoic zircon with relatively low-precision in situ U–Pb dates, where the degree of Pb loss is insufficient to cause discernible discordance, is challenging. We show that U–Pb isotopic ratios that have been perturbed by Pb loss may be modeled by convolving a Gaussian distribution that represents random variations from the true isotopic value stemming from analytical uncertainty with a distribution that characterizes Pb loss. We apply this mathematical framework to model the distribution of apparent Pb loss in 10 igneous samples that have both non-CA LA-ICP-MS or SIMS U–Pb dates and an estimate of the crystallization age, either through CA U–Pb or 40Ar/39Ar geochronology. All but one sample showed negative age offsets that were unlikely to have been drawn from an unperturbed U–Pb date distribution. Modeling apparent Pb loss using the logit–normal distribution produced good fits with all 10 samples and showed two contrasting patterns in apparent Pb loss; samples where most zircon U–Pb dates undergo a bulk shift and samples where most zircon U–Pb dates exhibited a low age offset but fewer dates had more significant offset. Our modeling framework allows comparison of relative degrees of apparent Pb loss between samples of different age, with the first and second Wasserstein distances providing useful estimates of the total magnitude of apparent Pb loss. Given that the large majority of in situ U–Pb dates are acquired without the CA treatment, this study highlights a pressing need for improved characterization of apparent Pb-loss distributions in natural samples to aid in interpreting non-CA in situ U–Pb data and to guide future data collection strategies.

Characterization of degradation effects on wood ultrastructure by non-linear imaging

The characterization of deterioration processes in wooden artifacts is crucial for assessing their state of conservation and ensuring their preservation. Advanced imaging techniques are currently being explored to study the effect of chemical changes on the structural and mechanical properties of wood. Combined second harmonic generation and two-photon excited fluorescence (SHG/TPEF) imaging is a recently introduced non-destructive method for the analysis of cellulose-based samples. The study of age-related wood degradation based on nonlinear signal variation is a promising avenue. This work involves nonlinear multimodal analysis of naturally aged and dendrochronologically dated spruce samples. SHG/TPEF imaging and fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM) were used to demonstrate the influence of molecular deterioration and rearrangement of biopolymers on the fluorescence emitted by lignin and the second harmonic signal generated by cellulose. Imaging based on spectral filter detection and time-resolved analysis of the nonlinear fluorescence signal was used to delineate and potentially quantify ageing-induced morpho-chemical changes in the ultrastructure of wood cells. The analysis of cell structures by optical sectioning revealed variations between wood samples of different ages and different cell structures.

Early life factors and individual differences in the brain through the human lifespan – association of intercept or change?

AbstractBackgroundHuman fetal development has been associated with brain health at later stages. In this presentation, I review results of analyses by the center for Lifespan Changes in Brain and cognition (LCBC), on whether and how consistently factors present in utero, including genetics (APOE4; polygenic risk for Alzheimer´s Disease; AD), prenatal drug exposure and, especially, growth in utero, as indexed by birth weight (BW), relates to lifespan brain characteristics and changes.MethodWe investigated associations between BW and cortical surface area, thickness and volume as derived from MRIs, across and within developmental, aging and lifespan longitudinal samples (N = 5794, 4‐82 years of age, w/ 386 monozygotic (MZ) twins, followed for up to 8.3 years w/12,088 brain MRIs).ResultsAssociations of BW and structural brain characteristics appear to be identifiable through the lifespan, with largely topographically consistent effects across samples of varying age. In developmental (ABCD), older adult and aging (UKB) and lifespan (LCBC) longitudinal samples, positive associations between BW and cortical surface area and volume were remarkably stable within and across samples of different age and origin, with spatial correlations in the range r = .51‐.79. In contrast, there was modest and no consistent effect of BW on brain changes. Effects of BW discordance in the twin subsample indicated the effects were partly environmental. This stable effect of an early life factor (BW), is similar to effects through the lifespan of genetic risk for AD, and persistent effects of prenatal opioid and ‐polydrug exposure in childhood and young adulthood.ConclusionThe influence of these early life factors, as here shown for BW, on brain topography, appear in part stable through the lifespan, being reliably seen in development, adulthood, and aging, as an intercept effect. These findings support early life influence on the brain through the lifespan according to a threshold model of brain reserve, rather than a maintenance model. To test experimentally whether early life factors may still influence slopes of brain and cognitive change, a navigation training neuroimaging study of twins with known extent of discordance in BW has been conducted, preliminary data from which is also presented.

Особенности связи антисоциальной креативности и понимания собственных эмоций

<p style="text-align: justify;">As part of the reduction of psychological violence and destruction in interpersonal relationships, the study of the manifestation of malevolent creativity (MC) in behavior becomes an urgent problem for the internal affairs bodies (ATS) of the Russian Federation. The article provides an analysis of the results obtained in several studies on samples of different ages: convicts, cadets, cadets and active police officers (N=281, of which 45% are women). The questionnaires of aggression BRAQ-24, emotional intelligence (EmIn), an abbreviated version of the questionnaire “NEO PI-R”, “Behavioral features of malevolent creativity” were used. Hypotheses were tested: 1. The realization of malevolent creativity in interpersonal interaction is mediated by a low understanding of one’s own emotions (PSE), low agreeableness and high hostility, with hostility playing a predominant role; 2. the combination of high values of cooperation and PSE mediates a decrease in MC; 3. there are gender differences in the components of MC and its relationship with cooperation and PSE. The results showed that hostility is a complete mediator in the negative relationship of PSE and MC. At the same time, the contribution of self-esteem to understanding one’s own emotions is not modest in the implementation of MC in behavior that harms other people. It has been shown that in highly hostile people with a developed trait of cooperation, high PSE can regulate MC. The combination of high hostility and high PSE mediates MC and can contribute to its implementation in deviant behavior in the case of low values of the Cooperation trait. Gender features were identified: in women, the decrease in the realization of MC in harming is mediated by a combination of highly developed PSE and the traits of the big five Cooperation. The conclusion is made about the important contribution of self-assessment of understanding one’s own emotions as a component of emotional intelligence to malevolent creativity and deviant behavior in interpersonal interaction.</p>

Metabolomics approach to growth-age discrimination in mountain-cultivated ginseng (Panax ginseng C. A. Meyer) using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry.

Mountain-cultivated ginseng is typically harvested after 10 years, while ginseng aged over 15 years is considered wild ginseng. This study aims to differentiate mountain-cultivated ginseng by age, as the fraudulent practice of selling low-aged cultivated ginseng disguised as high-aged one is damaging the market. In this study, LC-MS analyzed 98 ginseng samples, and multivariate statistical analysis identified patterns between samples to select influential components. Machine learning models were developed to identify ginseng samples of different ages. The untargeted metabolomic analysis clearly divided samples aged 4-20 years into three age groups. Twenty-two potential age-dependent biomarkers were discovered to differentiate the three sample groups. Three machine learning models were used to predict new samples, and the optimal model was selected. Some biomarkers could determine age phases according to the differentiation of mountain-cultivated ginseng samples. These biomarkers were thoroughly analyzed for variation trends. The machine learning models established using the screened biomarkers successfully predicted the age group of new samples.

Tumor microenvironment phenotypes and prognostic evaluation tools for osteosarcoma characterized by different prognostic outcomes and immunotherapy responses.

The physiological and immunological characteristics of the tumor microenvironment (TME) have a profound impact on the effectiveness of immunotherapy. The present study aimed to define the TME subtype of osteosarcoma according to the signatures representing the global TME of the tumor, as well as create a new prognostic assessment tool to monitor the prognosis, TME activity and immunotherapy response of patients with osteosarcoma. The enrichment scores of 29 functional gene expression signatures in osteosarcoma samples were calculated by single sample gene set enrichment analysis (ssGSEA). TME classification of osteosarcoma was performed and a prognostic assessment tool was created based on 29 ssGSEA scores to comprehensively correlate them with TME components, immunotherapy efficacy and prognosis of osteosarcoma. Three TME subtypes were generated that differed in survival, TME activity and immunotherapeutic response. Four differentially expressed genes between TME subtypes were involved in the development of prognostic assessment tools. The established prognosis assessment tool had strong performance in both training and verification cohorts, could be effectively applied to the survival prediction of samples of different ages, genders and transfer states, and could well distinguish the TME status of different samples. The present study describes three different TME phenotypes in osteosarcoma, provides a risk stratification tool for osteosarcoma prognosis and TME status assessment, and provides additional information for clinical decision-making of immunotherapy.

Potential of plant DNA information in determining the provenance and identify of unknown victims

Determination of the personal identity of victims is particularly important for the settlement of criminal cases. Unfortunately, useful information for identification is not always available. We here propose that the particles (pollens) of some plants with specific geographical distributions extracted from human lung tissues contribute to further determining the provenance or long-term residence of unknown victims, thereby considerably narrowing the search scope of the victims. We collected lung tissues from 155 victims with diverse causes of death, extracted DNA from lung tissues, sequenced the DNA fragments of plants on the Illumina Hiseq platform, and barcoded the plant species using phylogenetic methods. Finally, 108 unique plant sequences were detected in 55 samples and identified to belong to 36 species in 32 genera of 29 families. These plants were predominantly insect-pollinated crops and ornamental plants. No significant difference was observed between male and female samples, between urban and rural samples, or among samples of different ages and different sample sizes. There were 16 samples with 21 wild plant species. The original sources of 15 samples were overlapped with the distribution regions of detected plants; 2 samples narrowed the original sources to 2 provinces, which were quite coincident with their source places; 1 sample had no overlapping with its victim source region. Although plant information was only found in one-third of the samples, we further demonstrated the great potential of plant eDNA in identifying the source of unnamed corpses in a real-world case. We used plant eDNA from lung tissues to explore the provenance of an unknown female corpse found in Beijing. The source place of this victim was narrowed to Guangdong and Guangxi provinces, and finally, we confirmed her true identity in the list of missing persons in Guangxi Province. In the presence of a well-covered local reference library, the plant species detected in the lungs can be accurately identified. In difficult criminal cases where physical evidence is relatively weak, plant DNA information may provide new clues. In conclusion, the plant particles trapped in the lungs are promising to help forensic experts narrow the search scope for the identity of unknown victims.

The Chinese version of the Functionality Appreciation Scale: Psychometric properties and measurement invariance across gender and age

BackgroundFunctionality appreciation, as an important aspect of positive image, is associated with fewer body image disturbances, fewer disordered eating behaviors, and improved psychological well-being. However, it has been under-researched in Asian countries. The current work aimed to examine the psychometric properties of the Functionality Appreciation Scale (FAS) among four Chinese samples of different ages, and further examine measurement invariance and differences of the FAS across gender and age groups.MethodsExploratory and confirmatory factor analyses (EFA and CFA) were conducted to examine the factorial structure of the FAS among four Chinese samples of different ages, including middle school adolescents (n = 894, Mage = 12.17 years), high school adolescents (n = 1347, Mage = 15.07 years), young adults (n = 473, Mage = 21.95 years), and older adults (n = 313, Mage = 67.90 years). The measurement invariance of the FAS across gender and age was examined. Internal consistency reliability and construct validity were evaluated.ResultsThe FAS had a unidimensional structure and was invariant across gender and age groups. The FAS presented sound psychometric properties in all age groups by gender, with good internal consistency reliability [e.g., high Cronbach’s α values (.91 ~ .97)] and good construct validity (e.g., significant associations with body appreciation, body dissatisfaction, and disordered eating). Moreover, group comparisons showed minimal gender differences in functionality appreciation. However, significant age differences were found in functionality appreciation, with older ages generally associated with higher functionality appreciation.ConclusionOverall, findings suggest that the FAS is a sound instrument to be used in the Chinese context. Furthermore, functionality appreciation was found to be higher in older adults than adolescents or young adults, suggesting the potential important role of aging in functionality appreciation.

Production and performance of CO2 modified foam concrete

CO2 capture and utilization is an important environmental protection measure to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In order to realize the carbon fixation of cement and optimize the performance of foam concrete, ordinary Portland cement (OPC), fly ash (FA), CO2 gas and animal protein foaming agent were used as the main raw materials to prepare CO2 foam concrete (CFC). The diffusion principle of CO2 gas in the bubble was analyzed and the performance of CFC was investigated by testing the mechanical, thermal, water absorption and drying shrinkage properties, and microscopic characterization. The results showed that the compressive strength of CFC with 20% CO2 volume could reach 3.32 MPa, which was 24.8% higher than that of the control group (2.66 MPa), and the 70d drying shrinkage rate of CFC was 2.56 mm/m, which was 23.1% lower than that of the control group (3.33 mm/m). The thermal conductivity and water absorption of CFC were also reduced. XRD analysis revealed that intensity of CaCO3 was enhanced with the increase of CO2 gas content in the bubble. SEM analysis also corroborated the XRD results and a large number of CaCO3 crystals were observed in the samples of different ages with the increase in CO2 concentration, which enhanced the density of C-S-H gel pores and refined the microstructure.

Gender- and season-related variability in the content of proteins, amino acids, and carbohydrates in Taxus baccata needles of different age

The present study aimed to determine if the needles of male and female European yew (Taxus baccata L.) trees differ in their content of basic compounds (proteins, amino acids, and carbohydrates), and whether the observed differences result only from the gender factor or if they are also associated with the needles' age and season. The study was conducted on male and female European yew specimens, collected from the Botanical Garden of the Jagiellonian University in Krakow during three seasons. Male specimens had significantly higher content of insoluble carbohydrates compared to the females ones. In the first year of the needles life, the dry mass and content of soluble carbohydrates increased significantly. In the third year of the needles' life, the content of amino acids increased significantly and the content of soluble proteins decreased. The highest differences between the genders in the individual months were observed in the soluble carbohydrates and amino acids amounts and the least in the soluble proteins. The growth of the new needles seems to be at least partly sustained by carbohydrates remobilization from the older needles. In conclusion, male and female yews differ in their metabolism. These gender differences may vary with the needles' age. For this reason, the needle samples of different age should not be mixed, and the sampling time should be chosen carefully. For one-year-old needles, a potentially interesting gender marker may be an increased content of free amino acids in June and July, and high content of soluble carbohydrates in January, while for two-year-old needles, an increased content of free amino acids in male individuals from September. March seems to be an interesting month, as it shows significant differences between the genders in terms of all biochemical features studied in this research.

The impact of gastrointestinal tract infection on acquiring dengue fever virus infection and haemorrhagic fever in Jeddah City, Saudi Arabia

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between gastrointestinal tract infection and dengue hemorrhagic fever. Dengue hemorrhagic fever is a syndrome caused by the dengue virus and primarily affects children below ten years of age and is spread by the Aedes aegypti mosquito. Gastrointestinal tract infection is a bacterial and parasitic infection that leads to gastrointestinal tract inflammation which involves the small intestine and the stomach. The relationship between the two can be manifested by gastrointestinal bleeding, acute pancreatitis, and fulminant liver failure. In this research work, 600 blood and feces samples of different ages and sex (7-8 worms) were collected from Jeddah city. From the blood samples, serum was made and stored at -20°C until use. The frozen sera samples were investigated for sero-detection of DENV-NS1 antigen as a rapid, sensitive, and cost-effective test to detect asymptomatic acute DENV-infected donors and anti-DENV IgM and IgG antibodies. Feces samples were processed for the detection of parasites. The data acquired from these samples of all the 600 participants were analyzed and interpreted, followed by statistical analysis using GraphPad Prism 5.0 software. All the values were considered significant, which showeda value of less than 0.05. Results were expressed aswith the range. This article documents that gastrointestinal tract manifestations frequently occur among patients with dengue hemorrhagic fever. There are close relationships between gastrointestinal tract infection and dengue hemorrhagic fever. In current work, it was established that dengue fever leads to gastrointestinal tract bleeding in the presence of intestinal parasites. Therefore, failure to identify the patients with this infection early enough can lead to an increased morbidity and mortality rate.

A mitochondria-specific mutational signature of aging: increased rate of A>G substitutions on theheavy strand.

The mutational spectrum of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) does not resemble any of the known mutational signatures of the nuclear genome and variation in mtDNA mutational spectra between different organisms is still incomprehensible. Since mitochondria are responsible for aerobic respiration, it is expected that mtDNA mutational spectrum is affected by oxidative damage. Assuming that oxidative damage increases with age, we analyse mtDNA mutagenesis of different species in regards to their generation length. Analysing, (i) dozens of thousands of somatic mtDNA mutations in samples of different ages (ii) 70053 polymorphic synonymous mtDNA substitutions reconstructed in 424 mammalian species with different generation lengths and (iii) synonymous nucleotide content of 650 complete mitochondrial genomes of mammalian species we observed that the frequency of AH > GH substitutions (H: heavy strand notation) is twice bigger in species with high versus low generation length making their mtDNA more AH poor and GH rich. Considering that AH > GH substitutions are also sensitive to the time spent single-stranded (TSSS) during asynchronous mtDNA replication we demonstrated that AH > GH substitution rate is a function of both species-specific generation length and position-specific TSSS. We propose that AH > GH is a mitochondria-specific signature of oxidative damage associated with both aging and TSSS.