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Background The COVID-19 pandemic has generated widespread uncertainty, leading to an overabundance of information and fuelling public fear and confusion. Concerns regarding the transmissibility and long-term effects of the virus on survivors have exacerbated societal stigma towards those who have recovered from COVID-19. This study analyses Chinese media coverage to explore the ways in which COVID-19 survivors are portrayed and how these portrayals may contribute to the broader narrative of stigmatisation. Methods This study employs content analysis of 440 news articles from four major Chinese media outlets, spanning the period from January 2020 to March 2023. The sample includes two state-sponsored outlets, People’s Daily and Global Times , and two market-oriented outlets, Caixin Weekly and Sanlian Lifeweek . By comparing media coverage across these outlets, the research investigates how representations of COVID-19 survivors varied across different media outlets. Results Disparities in media portrayals of COVID-19 survivors were found. State-sponsored media, such as People’s Daily and Global Times , generally depicted COVID-19 as less severe, downplaying fear and emphasising positive developments. In contrast, both Caixin Weekly and Sanlian Lifeweek frequently reported on cases of recovered individuals testing positive again, with Caixin Weekly offering more in-depth discussions on the potential for survivors to remain contagious. While the negative impacts of COVID-19 on survivors’ labour and social capacities were not a major focus in most outlets, these impacts were still present, particularly in People’s Daily and Sanlian Lifeweek , which reported more significant negative effects on survivors’ social functions. Across both state-sponsored and market-oriented outlets, mixed messages emerged regarding the social acceptance of survivors, with articles simultaneously advocating for social distancing while promoting reintegration. These findings underscore the complexity of media portrayals, revealing a diverse reporting landscape characterised by mixed messages. Conclusion This study reveals the presence of conflicting media narratives, which have potentially contributed to the societal stigma surrounding COVID-19 survivors. The mixed messages—simultaneously promoting both fear and acceptance—have exacerbated public confusion and misconceptions. The findings underscore the critical need for clear, consistent, and evidence-based reporting during public health crises to mitigate stigma and enhance the public’s understanding of health-related information.

In framework of heavy-diquark–light-quark endowed with heavy-pair binding, we explore excited baryons Q Q ′ q containing two heavy quarks ( Q Q ′ = c c , b b , b c ) by combining the method of Regge trajectory with the perturbative correction due to the heavy-pair interaction in baryons. Two Regge relations, one linear and the other nonlinear, are constructed semi-classically in the QCD string picture, and a mass scaling relation based on the heavy diquark–heavy antiquark symmetry are employed between the doubly heavy baryons and heavy mesons. We employ the ground-state mass estimates compatible with the observed doubly charmed baryon Ξ cc and spectra of the heavy quarkonia to determine the trajectory parameters and the binding energies of the heavy pair, and thereby compute the low-lying masses of the excited baryons Ξ Q Q ′ and Ω Q Q ′ up to 2S and 1P excitations of the light quark and heavy diquark. The level spacings of heavy diquark excitations are found to be smaller generally than that of the light-quark excitations, in according with the nature of adiabatic expansion between the heavy and light-quark dynamics.

We analyze several factors that affect the linear output range of CMOS image sensors, including charge transfer time, reset transistor supply voltage, the capacitance of integration capacitor, the n-well doping of the pinned photodiode (PPD) and the output buffer. The test chips are fabricated with 0.18 μm CMOS image sensor (CIS) process and comprise six channels. Channels B1 and B2 are 10 μm pixels and channels B3–B6 are 20 μm pixels, with corresponding pixel arrays of 1 × 2560 and 1 × 1280 respectively. The floating diffusion (FD) capacitance varies from 10 fF to 23.3 fF, and two different designs were employed for the n-well doping in PPD. The experimental results indicate that optimizing the FD capacitance and PPD design can enhance the linear output range by 37% and 32%, respectively. For larger pixel sizes, extending the transfer gate (TG) sampling time leads to an increase of over 60% in the linear output range. Furthermore, optimizing the design of the output buffer can alleviate restrictions on the linear output range. The lower reset voltage for noise reduction does not exhibit a significant impact on the linear output range. Furthermore, these methods can enhance the linear output range without significantly amplifying the readout noise. These findings indicate that the linear output range of pixels is not only influenced by pixel design but also by operational conditions. Finally, we conducted a detailed analysis of the impact of PPD n-well doping concentration and TG sampling time on the linear output range. This provides designers with a clear understanding of how nonlinearity is introduced into pixels, offering valuable insight in the design of highly linear pixels.

Portable biosensors mainly focus on detecting biomarkers in biofluids but neglect the abundant skin biomarkers on the stratum corneum, which are associated with the functionality and integrity of the skin barrier. Here, we propose a sensing patch designed for direct sampling and in situ quantification of epidermal serine, an important biomarker for skin healthcare. The patch consists of a porous hydrogel for serine diffusion and ion conduction, and a molecular imprinted polymer-based electrochemical serine sensor. By integrating with a customized handheld serine tester, the serine sensing system enables in situ measurement of epidermal serine levels. We demonstrate the application of this serine sensing system in assessing the moisturizing effect of a skincare product and tracking the recovery progress of skin barrier function in a patient with atopic dermatitis. Our work opens up a potential application scenario for portable biosensors in personalized skin healthcare. Serine is an important biomarker for skin healthcare. Here, the authors introduce a portable epidermal sensing system capable of direct sampling and in situ quantification of serine on the skin for personalized skin healthcare.

Eggplant ( Solanum melongena ), an important crop for food supply, can suffer from severe gray mold rot caused by Botrytis cinerea , resulting in huge postharvest damage every year. Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascades, important to the signal transduction pathway, were identified in many species and proved to be involved in plant growth, development, and immune response, although our knowledge of this cascade in eggplant is scarce. In this work, based on the state-of-art genome sequencing data, the MAPK cascades of eggplant were identified. The result showed that there were 117 MAP3Ks , 5 MAP2Ks , and 16 MAPKs in the eggplant genome. All the proteins possessed traditional MAPK domains. Phylogenetic and collinear analysis showed that eggplant MAPKs was homologous with Arabidopsis and tomato. Cis -acting element analysis indicated that eggplant MAPKs may participate in defense and stress responsiveness. Meanwhile, transcriptomic analysis of postharvest eggplant after Botrytis cinerea infection showed that most of the MAPK genes had altered expression; further functional assays indicate that SmMAP3K38 likely operates as a negative regulator of eggplant immunity against Botrytis cinerea infection, which provides us new insights into the molecular basis of this important crop in disease resistance to Botrytis cinerea and gives us new potential targets for the prevention and control of gray mold.

Plant synthetic biology has emerged as a powerful and promising approach to enhance the production of value-added metabolites in plants. Flavonoids, a class of plant secondary metabolites, offer numerous health benefits and have attracted attention for their potential use in plant-based products. However, achieving high yields of specific flavonoids remains challenging due to the complex and diverse metabolic pathways involved in their biosynthesis. In recent years, synthetic biology approaches leveraging transcription factors and enzyme diversity have demonstrated promise in enhancing flavonoid yields and expanding their production repertoire. This review delves into the latest research progress in flavonoid metabolic engineering, encompassing the identification and manipulation of transcription factors and enzymes involved in flavonoid biosynthesis, as well as the deployment of synthetic biology tools for designing metabolic pathways. This review underscores the importance of employing carefully-selected transcription factors to boost plant flavonoid production and harnessing enzyme promiscuity to broaden flavonoid diversity or streamline the biosynthetic steps required for effective metabolic engineering. By harnessing the power of synthetic biology and a deeper understanding of flavonoid biosynthesis, future researchers can potentially transform the landscape of plant-based product development across the food and beverage, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic industries, ultimately benefiting consumers worldwide.

Cell survival or death is one of the key scientific issues of inflammatory response. To regulate cell death during the occurrence and development of periodontitis, various forms of programmed cell death, such as pyroptosis, ferroptosis, necroptosis, and apoptosis, have been proposed. It has been found that ferroptosis characterized by iron-dependent lipid peroxidation is involved in cancer, degenerative brain diseases and inflammatory diseases. Furthermore, NCOA4 is considered one of ferroptosis-related genes (FRGs) contributing to butyrate-induced cell death in the periodontitis. This research aims to analyze the expression of FRGs in periodontitis tissues and to explore the relationship between ferroptosis and periodontitis. Genes associated with periodontitis were retrieved from two Gene Expression Omnibus datasets. Then, we normalized microarray data and removed the batch effect using the R software. We used R to convert the mRNA expression data and collected the expression of FRGs. Gene Ontology (GO), Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG), transcription factor (TF) and protein-protein interaction (PPI) network analyses were used. In addition, we constructed a receiver operating characteristic curve and obtained relative mRNA expression verified by quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Eight and 10 FRGs related to periodontitis were upregulated and downregulated, respectively. GO analysis showed that FRGs were enriched in the regulation of glutathione biosynthetic, glutamate homeostasis, and endoplasmic reticulum-nucleus signaling pathway. The top TFs included CEBPB, JUND, ATF2. Based on the PPI network analysis, FRGs were mainly linked to the negative regulation of IRE1-mediated unfolded protein response, regulation of type IIa hypersensitivity, and regulation of apoptotic cell clearance. The expression levels of NCOA4, SLC1A5 and HSPB1 using PCR were significantly different between normal gingival samples and periodontitis samples. Furthermore, the diagnostic value of FRGs for periodontitis were \"Good\". We found significant associations between FRGs and periodontitis. The present study not only provides a new possible pathomechanism for the occurrence of periodontitis but also offers a new direction for the diagnosis and treatment of periodontitis.

Given the substantial environmental pollution from industrial expansion, environmental protection has become particularly important. Nowadays, anion exchange membranes (AEMs) are widely used in wastewater treatment. With the use of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), ethylene-vinyl alcohol (EVOH) copolymer, and methyl iminodiacetic acid (MIDA), a series of cross-linked AEMs were successfully prepared using the solvent casting technique, and the network structure was formed in the membranes due to the cross-linking reaction between PVA/EVOH and MIDA. Fourier transform infrared spectrometer, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy were used to analyze the prepared membranes. At the same time, its comprehensive properties which include water uptake, linear expansion rate, ion exchange capacity, thermal stability, chemical stability, and mechanical stability were thoroughly researched. In addition, diffusion dialysis performance in practical applications was also studied in detail. The acid dialysis coefficient (UH+) ranged from 10.2 to 35.6 × 10−3 m/h. Separation factor (S) value ranged from 25 to 38, which were all larger than that of the commercial membrane DF-120 (UH+: 8.5 × 10−3 m/h, S: 18.5). The prepared membranes had potential application value in acid recovery.

Antimicrobial resistance remains a significant global threat, driving up mortality rates worldwide. Ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptides have emerged as a promising source of novel peptide antibiotics due to their diverse chemical structures. Here, we report the discovery of new aminovinyl-(methyl)cysteine (Avi(Me)Cys)-containing peptide antibiotics through a synergistic approach combining biosynthetic rule-based omics mining and heterologous expression. We first bioinformatically identify 1172 RiPP biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) responsible for Avi(Me)Cys-containing peptides formation from a vast pool of over 50,000 bacterial genomes. Subsequently, we successfully establish the connection between three identified BGCs and the biosynthesis of five peptide antibiotics via biosynthetic rule-guided metabolic analysis. Notably, we discover a class V lanthipeptide, massatide A, which displays excellent activity against gram-positive pathogens, including drug-resistant clinical isolates like linezolid-resistant S. aureus and methicillin-resistant S. aureus , with a minimum inhibitory concentration of 0.25 μg/mL. The remarkable performance of massatide A in an animal infection model, coupled with a relatively low risk of resistance and favorable safety profile, positions it as a promising candidate for antibiotic development. Our study highlights the potential of Avi(Me)Cys-containing peptides in expanding the arsenal of antibiotics against multi-drug-resistant bacteria, offering promising drug leads in the ongoing battle against infectious diseases. This study reports the genomics- and metabolomics-guided discovery of aminovinyl-(methyl-)cysteine-containing peptides (ACyP). One of these peptides, massatide A, demonstrates excellent activity against drug-resistant gram-positive pathogens.

Background The Hepatic Steatosis Index (HSI) serves as a non-invasive indicator for assessing liver fat accumulation. Its potential association with hypertension has garnered increasing attention, as metabolic dysfunctions, including hepatic steatosis, may contribute to elevated blood pressure via mechanisms such as insulin resistance and chronic inflammation. Methods Utilizing data from the NHANES database (2011–2018), the HSI was calculated on the basis of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and BMI.The association between HSI and hypertension was assessed by univariate analysis, weighted multivariate Logistic regression, and restricted cubic spline (RCS) models. Subgroup analyses were performed to increase the reliability of the data. Results This cross-sectional study analysed data from 17,501 adults (NHANES 2011–2018) to assess the association between HSI and hypertension. Of these, 9,890 (56.51%) were diagnosed with hypertension.In the unadjusted model, HSI demonstrated a statistically significant correlation with hypertension, showing an odds ratio (OR) of 1.05 (95% confidence interval: 1.04–1.06).After adjustment for potential confounders, a higher prevalence of hypertension was observed in participants in the upper HSI quartiles (Q3 and Q4), with corresponding ORs of 2.29 (95% CI: 2.29–2.63) and 4.03 (95% CI: 3.42–4.74), respectively. RCS analysis revealed a U-shaped non-linear relationship between HSI and hypertension ( P  < 0.001), indicating that while hypertension risk primarily escalated with increasing HSI, a modest risk elevation was also detected at lower HSI levels. This suggests that both excessive liver fat accumulation (indicated by a high HSI) and underlying metabolic disorders (such as malnutrition or sarcopenia) may contribute to hypertension risk in individuals with unexpectedly low HSI. Subgroup analyses identified significant interactions in relation to education, cancer, and diabetes mellitus (p for interaction < 0.05), whereas no significant interactions were observed in other stratifications. Conclusion This study found a U-shaped relationship between the hepatic steatosis index (HSI) and the risk of hypertension. Although the HSI shows potential as a practical screening tool in primary care, further longitudinal studies are needed to establish causality and explore the complex bidirectional pathways involved. Clinical trial number Not applicable.