A self-powered integrated strain sensor system which could be attached to the human body to detect human motion was developed.

Toxoplasma gondii infects humans and warm blooded animals causing devastating disease worldwide. It has long been a mystery as to why the peritoneal macrophages of rats are naturally resistant to T. gondii infection while those of mice are not. Here, we report that high expression levels and activity of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and low levels of arginase-1 (Arg 1) activity in the peritoneal macrophages of rats are responsible for their resistance against T. gondii infection, due to high nitric oxide and low polyamines within these cells. The opposite situation was observed in the peritoneal macrophages of mice. This discovery of the opposing functions of iNOS and Arg 1 in rodent peritoneal macrophages may lead to a better understanding of the resistance mechanisms of mammals, particularly humans and livestock, against T. gondii and other intracellular pathogens.

BackgroundRecent population structure studies of T. gondii revealed that a few major clonal lineages predominated in different geographical regions. T. gondii in South America is genetically and biologically divergent, whereas this parasite is remarkably clonal in North America and Europe with a few major lineages including Types I, II and III. Information on genotypes and mouse virulence of T. gondii isolates from China is scarce and insufficient to investigate its population structure, evolution, and transmission.Methodology/Principal FindingsGenotyping of 23 T. gondii isolates from different hosts using 10 markers for PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism analyses (SAG1, SAG2, SAG3, BTUB, GRA6, c22-8, c29-2, L358, PK1 and Apico) revealed five genotypes; among them three genotypes were atypical and two were archetypal. Fifteen strains belong to the Chinese 1 lineage, which has been previously reported as a widespread lineage from swine, cats, and humans in China. Two human isolates fall into the type I and II lineages and the remaining isolates belong to two new atypical genotypes (ToxoDB#204 and #205) which has never been reported in China. Our results show that these genotypes of T. gondii isolates are intermediately or highly virulent in mice except for the strain TgCtwh6, which maintained parasitemia in mice for 35 days post infection although it possesses the uniform genotype of Chinese 1. Additionally, phylogenetic network analyses of all isolates of genotype Chinese 1 are identical, and there is no variation based on the sequence data generated for four introns (EF1, HP2, UPRT1 and UPRT7) and two dense granule proteins (GRA6 and GRA7).Conclusion/SignificanceA limited genetic diversity was found and genotype Chinese 1 (ToxoDB#9) is dominantly circulating in mainland China. The results will provide a useful profile for deep insight to the population structure, epidemiology and biological characteristics of T. gondii in China.

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Burning rate catalysts are one of the most important components of rocket propellants and are able to enhance solid propellant burning rates. There are several kinds of burning rate catalysts such as nanometal burning rate catalysts, nanometal oxide burning rate catalysts, compound burning rate catalysts, ferrocene and its derivatives burning rate catalysts, and so on. This article reviews the recent research processes in burning rate catalysts.

Human African trypanosomiasis (HAT) is caused by Trypanosoma brucei gambiense and Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense and caused devastating epidemics during the 20th century. Due to effective control programs implemented in the last two decades, the number of reported cases has fallen to a historically low level. Although fewer than 977 cases were reported in 2018 in endemic countries, HAT is still a public health problem in endemic regions until it is completely eliminated. In addition, almost 150 confirmed HAT cases were reported in non-endemic countries in the last three decades. The majority of non-endemic HAT cases were reported in Europe, USA and South Africa, due to historical alliances, economic links or geographic proximity to disease-endemic countries. Furthermore, with the implementation of the ‘Belt and Road’ project, sporadic imported HAT cases have been reported in China as a warning sign of tropical diseases prevention. In this paper, we explore and interpret the data on HAT incidence and find no positive correlation between the number of HAT cases from endemic and non-endemic countries. This data will provide useful information for better understanding the imported cases of HAT globally in the post-elimination phase.

The coagulation behavior of aluminum salts in a eutrophic source water was investigated from the viewpoint of Al(III) hydrolysis species transformation. Particular emphasis was paid to the coagulation effect of Al13 species on removing particles and organic matter. The coagulation behavior of Al coagulants with different basicities was examined through jar tests and hydrolyzed Al(III) speciation distribution characterization in the coagulation process. The results showed that the coagulation efficiency of Al coagulants positively correlated with the content of Al13 in the coagulation process ratherthan in the initial coagulants. Aluminum chloride (AICl3) was more effective than polyaluminum chloride (PACI) in removing turbidity and dissolved organic matter in eutrophic water because AlCl3 could not only generate Al13 species but also function as a pH control agent in the coagulation process. The solidstate 27Al NMR spectra revealed that the precipitates formed from AlCl3 and PACl were significantly different and proved that the preformed Al13 polymer was more stable than the in situ formed one during the coagulation process. Through regulating Al speciation, pH control could improve the coagulation process especially in DOC removal, and AlCl3 benefited most from pH control.

An asymmetric approach for the first total synthesis of (−)-rhodomollanol A, a highly oxidized diterpenoid, is described. The efficient synthetic strategy features three key transformations: (1) an oxidative dearomatization-induced (5 + 2) cycloaddition/pinacol-type 1,2-acyl migration cascade to build up the bicyclo­[3.2.1]­octane skeleton; (2) a retro-Dieckmann fragmentation/vinylogous Dieckmann cyclization cascade to assemble the bicyclo­[3.3.0]­octane subunit; and (3) a photo-Nazarov cyclization/intramolecular cycloetherification cascade to forge the 7-oxabicyclo­[4.2.1]­nonane core structure of the natural product.