Plasmodium vivax is the most widespread human malaria parasite. Due to the presence of extravascular reservoirs and relapsing infections from dormant liver stages, P. vivax is particularly difficult to control and eliminate. Experimental research is hampered by the inability to maintain P. vivax cultures in vitro, due to its tropism for immature red blood cells (RBCs). Here, we describe a new humanized mice model that can support efficient human erythropoiesis and maintain long-lasting multiplication of inoculated cryopreserved P. vivax parasites and their sexual differentiation, including in bone marrow. Mature gametocytes were transmitted to Anopheles mosquitoes, which led to the formation of salivary gland sporozoites. Importantly, blood-stage P. vivax parasites were maintained after the secondary transfer of fresh or frozen infected bone marrow cells to naïve chimeras. This model provides a unique tool for investigating, in vivo, the biology of intraerythrocytic P. vivax.Natural ovicidal and repellent agents against Periplaneta americana L. are urgently needed, and plant essential oils (EOs) can assume this role quite readily. In this study, ovicidal and repellent activities against Periplaneta americana of EOs from Cymbopogon citratus (Stapf.), Cinnamomum verum (J. Presl.), Eucalyptus globulus (Labill.), Illicium verum (Hook.f.), and Zanthoxylum limonella (Alston) in soybean oil and in ethyl alcohol were determined by topical and dual-choice assays, as well as 10% cypermethrin and a combined formulation of 5% C. verum EO + 5% I. verum EO. Cypermethrin at 10% provided the highest toxicity (100% inhibition rate) against the eggs, but only slightly higher than that (99.3%) provided by the combined EO formulation, while the highest repellent activity against the adults was provided by the combined formulation (89.5% repelled cockroaches at 48 h after treatment). In addition, all EO formulations in soybean oil provided higher ovicidal and repellent activities than those in ethyl alcohol. To conclude, the combined EO formulation in soybean oil can replace cypermethrin because their efficacy was nearly equivalent, but the combination should be much safer to use.Cardiac involvement has been noted in COVID-19 infection. However, the relationship between post-recovery COVID-19 and development of de novo heart failure has not been investigated in a large, nationally representative population. We examined post-recovery outcomes of 587,330 patients hospitalized in the United States (257,075 with COVID-19 and 330,255 without), using data from the National COVID Cohort Collaborative study. Patients hospitalized with COVID-19 were older (51 vs. 46 years), more often male (49% vs. 42%), and less often White (61% vs. 69%). Over a median follow up of 367 days, 10,979 incident heart failure events occurred. After adjustments, COVID-19 hospitalization was associated with a 45% higher hazard of incident heart failure (hazard ratio = 1.45; 95% confidence interval 1.39-1.51), with more pronounced associations among patients who were younger (P-interaction = 0.003), White (P-interaction = 0.005), or who had established cardiovascular disease (P-interaction = 0.005). In conclusion, COVID-19 hospitalization is associated with increased risk of incident heart failure.Increasing or restoring Bone Morphogenetic Protein receptor signaling is an effective therapy for conditions such as bone fracture and pulmonary arterial hypertension. However, direct use of recombinant BMPs has encountered significant obstacles. Moreover, synthetic, full agonists of BMP receptor signaling have yet to be identified. Here, we report the discovery of a novel class of indolyl-benzimidazoles, synthesized using a one-pot synthetic methodology, which appear to mimic the biochemical and functional activity of BMPs. The first-in-series compounds, SY-LB-35 and SY-LB-57, stimulated significant increases in cell number and cell viability in the C2C12 myoblast cell line. Cell cycle analysis revealed that these compounds induced a shift toward proliferative phases. SY-LB-35 and SY-LB-57 stimulated canonical Smad and non-canonical PI3K/Akt, ERK, p38 and JNK intracellular signaling pathways, similar to BMP2-stimulated responses. Importantly, increases in Smad phosphorylation and cell viability were dependent on type I BMP receptor activity. Thus, these compounds robustly activate intracellular signaling in a BMP receptor-dependent manner and may signify the first known, full agonists of BMP receptor signaling. Moreover, discovery of small molecule activators of BMP pathways, which can be efficiently formulated and targeted to diseased or damaged areas, could potentially substitute recombinant BMPs for treatment of BMP-related pathologies.As a routine agricultural practice, irrigation is fundamental to protect crops from water scarcity and ensure food security in China. However, consistent and reliable maps about the spatial distribution and extent of irrigated croplands are still unavailable, impeding water resource management and agricultural planning. Here, we produced annual 500-m irrigated cropland maps across China for 2000-2019, using a two-step strategy that integrated statistics, remote sensing, and existing irrigation products into a hybrid irrigation dataset. First, we generated intermediate irrigation maps (MIrAD-GI) by fusing the MODIS-derived greenness index and statistical data. Second, we collected all existing available irrigation maps over China and integrated them with MIrAD-GI into an improved series of annual irrigation maps, using constrained statistics and a synergy mapping method. The resultant maps had moderate overall accuracies (0.732~0.819) based on nationwide reference ground samples and outperformed existing irrigation products by inter-comparison. As the first of this kind in China, the annual maps delineated the spatiotemporal pattern of irrigated croplands and could contribute to sustainable water use and agricultural development.Transfusion-associated circulatory overload (TACO) is the leading cause of transfusion related morbidity and mortality. The only treatment is empirical use of furosemide. Our aim was to investigate if furosemide can prevent TACO. A randomized controlled trial was performed using a previously validated two-hit rat model for TACO. Volume incompliance was induced (first hit) in anemic, anesthetized Lewis rats. Rats were randomized to placebo, low-dose (5 mg kg-1) or high-dose (15 mg kg-1) furosemide-administered prior to transfusion (second-hit) and divided over two doses. Primary outcome was change in left-ventricular end-diastolic pressure (∆LVEDP) pre- compared to post-transfusion. Secondary outcomes included changes in preload, afterload, contractility and systemic vascular resistance, as well as pulmonary outcomes. Furosemide treated animals had a significantly lower ∆LVEDP compared to placebo (p = 0.041), a dose-response effect was observed. ∆LVEDP in placebo was median + 8.7 mmHg (IQR 5.9-11), + 3.9 (2.8-5.6) in the low-dose and 1.9 (- 0.6 to 5.6) in the high-dose group. The effect of furosemide became apparent after 15 min. While urine output was significantly higher in furosemide treated animals (p = 0.03), there were no significant changes in preload, afterload, contractility or systemic vascular resistance. Furosemide rapidly and dose-dependently decreases the rise in hydrostatic pulmonary pressure following transfusion, essential for preventing TACO.Intracellular compartments are functional units that support the metabolism within living cells, through spatiotemporal regulation of chemical reactions and biological processes. Consequently, as a step forward in the bottom-up creation of artificial cells, building analogous intracellular architectures is essential for the expansion of cell-mimicking functionality. Herein, we report the development of a droplet laboratory platform to engineer complex emulsion-based, multicompartment artificial cells, using microfluidics and acoustic levitation. Such levitated models provide free-standing, dynamic, definable droplet networks for the compartmentalisation of chemical species. Equally, they can be remotely operated with pneumatic, heating, and magnetic elements for post-processing, including the incorporation of membrane proteins; alpha-hemolysin; and mechanosensitive channel of large-conductance. The assembly of droplet networks is three-dimensionally patterned with fluidic input configurations determining droplet contents and connectivity, whilst acoustic manipulation can be harnessed to reconfigure the droplet network in situ. The mechanosensitive channel can be repeatedly activated and deactivated in the levitated artificial cell by the application of acoustic and magnetic fields to modulate membrane tension on demand. This offers possibilities beyond one-time chemically mediated activation to provide repeated, non-contact, control of membrane protein function. Collectively, this expands our growing capability to program and operate increasingly sophisticated artificial cells as life-like materials.Genome changes play a crucial role in carcinogenesis, and many biomarkers can be used as effective prognostic indicators in various tumors. Although previous studies have constructed many predictive models for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) based on molecular signatures, the performance is unsatisfactory. Because multi-omics data can more comprehensively reflect the biological phenomenon of disease, we hope to build a more accurate predictive model by multi-omics analysis. We use the TCGA to identify crucial biomarkers and construct prognostic models through difference analysis, univariate Cox, and LASSO/stepwise Cox analysis. The performances of predictive models were evaluated and validated through survival analysis, Harrell’s concordance index (C-index), receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, and decision curve analysis (DCA). Multiple mRNAs, lncRNAs, miRNAs, CNV genes, and SNPs were significantly associated with the prognosis of HCC. We constructed five single-omic models, and the mRNA and lncRNA models showed good performance with c-indexes over 0.70. The multi-omics model presented a robust predictive ability with a c-index over 0.77. This study identified many biomarkers that may help study underlying carcinogenesis mechanisms in HCC. In addition, we constructed multiple single-omic models and an integrated multi-omics model that may provide practical and reliable guides for prognosis assessment.Sound delivery is a key aspect of immersivity in virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR), with studies hinting at a correlation between users’ ability to locate sounds around them and the ‘feeling of being there’. This is particularly true for WebVR, a method of delivering immersive experiences through a local web browser that has recently captured attention in multiple industries. In WebVR, audio is the main spatial cue. Designers need to select the correct number of sound sources so that users perceive the location of incoming sound correctly. click here Information on how users localize sound is essential. Sound localization experiments, so far, have been run only in empty spaces or closed rooms, without clear indications for designers in WebVR. Thus, in this study, we investigate sound localization directly through WebVR. To do so, we designed a traditional empty room for training and a city-like virtual environment for testing purposes. In our paper, we also discuss key design parameters, differences in perception for vertical and horizontal directions, the impact of training, and the role of changing virtual environments.