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\"Underwater robots play a significant role in ocean exploration. This book provides full coverage of the theoretical and practical aspects of bionic gliding underwater robots, including system design, modeling control and motion planning. To overcome the inherent shortcomings of traditional underwater robots that can simultaneously lack maneuverability and endurance, a new type of robot, the bionic gliding underwater robot, has attracted much attention from scientists and engineers. On the one hand, by imitating the appearance and swimming mechanisms of natural creatures, bionic gliding underwater robots achieve high maneuverability, swimming efficiency, and strong concealment. On the other hand, borrowing from the buoyancy adjustment systems of underwater gliders, bionic gliding underwater robots can obtain strong endurance, which is significant in practical applications. Taking gliding robotic dolphin and fish as examples, the designed prototypes and proposed methods are discussed, offering valuable insights into the development of next-generation underwater robots that are well-suited for various oceanic applications. This book will be of great interest to students and professionals alike in the field of robotics or intelligent control. It will also be a great reference for engineers or technicians who deal with the development of underwater robots\"-- Provided by publisher.

Background The fresh leaves of Eucalyptus globulus Labill. ( Lan An ) have been used in Chinese medicine for many years to treat dermatomycosis. Macrocarpal C was isolated from this herb and identified as its major antifungal component by bioassay-guided purification. This study aims to investigate the antifungal activity of macrocarpal C against Trichophyton mentagrophytes , which can cause tinea pedis. Methods Fresh leaves of E. globulus were extracted with 95 % ethanol, and the resulting ethanolic extracts were dried before being partitioned with n -hexane. The n -hexane layer was then subjected to chromatographic purification to give macrocarpal C. The antifungal minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of macrocarpal C was determined using the standard M38-A2 method described by the Clinical Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI). The mode of action of macrocarpal C was elucidated using three in vitro assays, including (1) a fungal membrane permeability test using SYTOX ® Green; (2) a reactive oxygen species (ROS) production test using 5-(and-6)-carboxy-2′,7′-dihydrodichlorofluorescein diacetate as a cell-permeable fluorogenic probe; and (3) a DNA fragmentation test based on terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL) detection. Terbinafine hydrochloride and nystatin were used as positive controls. Results The suppression in the growth of T. mentagrophytes following its treatment with macrocarpal C was associated with an increase in the permeability of the fungal membrane ( P  = 0.0043 when compared to control); an increase in the production of intracellular ROS ( P  = 0.0063); and the induction of apoptosis as a consequence of DNA fragmentation ( P  = 0.0007). Conclusion This study demonstrated that the antifungal action of macrocarpal C was associated with increases of membrane permeability, intracellular ROS and DNA fragmentation.

Pediatric population was generally less affected clinically by SARS-CoV-2 infection. Few pediatric cases of COVID-19 have been reported compared to those reported in infected adults. However, a rapid increase in the hospitalization rate of SARS-CoV-2 infected pediatric patients was observed during Omicron variant dominated COVID-19 outbreak. In this study, we analyzed the B.1.1.529 (Omicron) genome sequences collected from pediatric patients by whole viral genome amplicon sequencing using Illumina next generation sequencing platform, followed by phylogenetic analysis. The demographic, epidemiologic and clinical data of these pediatric patients are also reported in this study. Fever, cough, running nose, sore throat and vomiting were the more commonly reported symptoms in children infected by Omicron variant. A novel frameshift mutation was found in the ORF1b region (NSP12) of the genome of Omicron variant. Seven mutations were identified in the target regions of the WHO listed SARS-CoV-2 primers and probes. On protein level, eighty-three amino acid substitutions and fifteen amino acid deletions were identified. Our results indicate that asymptomatic infection and transmission among children infected by Omicron subvariants BA.2.2 and BA.2.10.1 are not common. Omicron may have different pathogenesis in pediatric population.

•HPAI H5N1 viruses undergo antigenic changes.•These antigenic changes may lead to loss of protection against poultry vaccines.•The needs to monitor the H5N1 viruses’ susceptibility to vaccine induced immunity.•A lack of serologic HI reactivity may not always mean lack of vaccine protection.•There is a need for challenge studies in vaccinated poultry. Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 virus continues to circulate in poultry in Asia and Africa posing a threat to both public and animal health. Vaccination, used as an adjunct to improved bio-security and stamping-out policies, contributed to protecting poultry in Hong Kong from HPAI H5N1 infection in 2004–2008 although the virus was repeatedly detected in dead wild birds. The detection of clade 2.3.4 H5N1 viruses in poultry markets and a farm in Hong Kong in 2008 raised the question whether this virus has changed to evade protection from the H5 vaccines in use. We tested the efficacy of three commercial vaccines (Nobilis, Poulvac and Harbin Re-5 vaccine) in specific pathogen free white leghorn chickens against a challenge with A/chicken/Hong Kong/8825-2/2008 (clade 2.3.4) isolated from vaccinated poultry in Hong Kong and A/chicken/Hong Kong/782/2009 (clade 2.3.2). Harbin Re5 vaccine provided the best, albeit not complete protection against challenge with the clade 2.3.4 virus. All three vaccines provided good protection from death and significantly reduced virus shedding following challenge with the clade 2.3.2 virus. Only Harbin Re-5 was able to completely protect chickens from virus shedding as well as mortality. Sera from vaccinated chickens had lower geometric hemagglutination inhibition titers against A/chicken/Hong Kong/8825-2/08, as compared to two other clade 2.3.4 and one clade 0 virus. Alignment of amino-acid sequences of the haemagglutinin of A/chicken/Hong Kong/8825-2/08 and the other H5 viruses revealed several mutations in positions including 69, 71, 83, 95, 133,140, 162, 183, 189, 194 and 270 (H5 numbering) which may correlate with loss of vaccine protection. Our results indicated that the tested HPAI H5N1 (2.3.4) virus has undergone antigenic changes that allow it to evade immunity from poultry vaccines. This highlights the need for continued surveillance and monitoring of vaccine induced immunity, with experimental vaccine challenge studies being done where indicated.

Testis specific protein, Y-encoded-like 2 (TSPYL2) regulates the expression of genes encoding glutamate receptors. Glutamate pathology is implicated in neurodevelopmental conditions such as autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and schizophrenia. In line with this, a microduplication incorporating the TSPYL2 locus has been reported in people with ADHD. However, the role of Tspyl2 remains unclear. Therefore here we used a Tspyl2 loss-of-function mouse model to directly examine how this gene impacts upon behavior and brain anatomy. We hypothesized that Tspyl2 knockout (KO) would precipitate a phenotype relevant to neurodevelopmental conditions. In line with this prediction, we found that Tspyl2 KO mice were marginally more active, had significantly impaired prepulse inhibition, and were significantly more ‘sensitive’ to the dopamine agonist amphetamine. In addition, the lateral ventricles were significantly smaller in KO mice. These findings suggest that disrupting Tspyl2 gene expression leads to behavioral and brain morphological alterations that mirror a number of neurodevelopmental psychiatric traits.

There is a lack of information concerning human health risks due to exposure to mercury contained in shark fins, through dietary intake. Health risk assessment of shark fins, collected from 5 cities in China: Hong Kong (HK), Beijing, Shanghai (SH), Haikou (HN) and Wenzhou (WZ), was conducted, based on total mercury and methylmercury, and analyzed by a cold vapor atomic fluorescence spectrometry equipped with high-performance liquid chromatography, respectively. The results showed that 16.8 % samples from HK, 8.3 % from SH, 33.3 % from HN, and 16.8 % from WZ were regarded as unsafe for human consumption. Extremely high consumption rates of shark fins for an adult and a child (0.150 and 0.0807 kg/day, respectively), at 95th centile, samples from WZ demonstrated high non-cancer risks (adverse health effects) (Hazard Quotient = 16.0) on adults (aged 25–65), and samples from SH, HN and WZ also showed high non-cancer risks (Hazard Quotient = 12.9, 21.0, and 34.4, respectively) on children (aged 1–7). Consumption of shark fins may be detrimental to human health.