The endoparasitoid Asecodes hispinarum (Bouček) (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) serves as an effective biological control agent against Brontispa longissima (Gestro) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), a notorious palm pest. Endosymbionts found in parasitoids and their hosts have attracted significant attention due to their substantial influence on biocontrol efficacy. In this study, we employed 16S rRNA sequencing, polymerase chain reaction, and fluorescence in situ hybridization to assess the symbiotic bacteria composition, diversity, phylogeny, and localization in A.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To explore changing trends in circulating immune indicators of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) undergoing TACE plus immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) and anti-VEGF antibodies/TKIs and to elucidate the relationship between immune response and tumor prognosis.
Materials: This single-center retrospective study included patients with unresectable HCC undergoing TACE plus ICIs and anti-VEGF antibodies/TKIs from March 11, 2019, to February 15, 2024. Peripheral blood samples were collected at baseline and every cycle, from which blood cell counts and immune indicators were analyzed.
Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia Mill.) is a widely utilized aromatic plant, with the economic value of its essential oil (EO) largely dependent on its aroma. This study investigated the differences in volatile organic compounds (VOCs) within the EOs of three species of lavender (H70-1, French blue, Taikong blue) in Ili region from 2019 to 2023 with the combination of sensory evaluation, gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry (GC-IMS), and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRapid urban expansion and economic development challenges to the sustainability of ecosystem services (ESs), a solid understanding of the mechanisms that drive ESs helps policymakers to respond. However, few existing studies on ES-driven mechanisms emphasize the integration of natural and cultural services, with most neglecting spatial non-stationarity at the geographic scale. Here, we improved the ROS model to quantify cultural ecosystem services (CES) and developed a comprehensive ecosystem services index (CESI) by coupling CES with 6 typical natural ESs (carbon storage (CS), water yield (WY), nitrogen export (NE), soil conservation (SC), habitat quality (HQ), food supply (FS)), subsequently, Spearman's correlation and MGWR were employed to reveal the CESI-driven mechanism considering geographic scales.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTaiwan oil millet has two types of epicuticular wax: platelet wax composed primarily of octacosanol and filament wax constituted essentially by the singular compound of octacosanoic acid. Taiwan oil millet (TOM-Eccoilopus formosanus) is an orphan crop cultivated by the Taiwan indigenous people. It has conspicuous white powder covering its leaf sheath indicating abundant epicuticular waxes, that may contribute to its resilience.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFKnowledge regarding the ligament footprints in the canine stifle is essential for biomechanical modeling of the joint and patient-specific surgical planning for anatomical ligament reconstruction. The present study aimed to establish and evaluate deformable shape templates (DSTs) of the femur and tibia with footprints of the cruciate and collateral ligaments embedded for the noninvasive estimation of ligament footprint positions. To this end, a data set of computed tomography (CT)-derived surface models of the femur and tibia were established and used to build statistical shape models (SSMs).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Spodoptera frugiperda, a global agricultural pest, can be effectively controlled through the sterile insect technique. However, exposure to low-dose radiation below the sterilization threshold may induce hormetic effects. Here, the biphasic aspects of the fertile progeny population of S.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe negative impacts of conventional agriculture and the imperative to adopt conservation tillage garnered significant attention. However, the effects of conservation tillage on soil enzyme activities still lack comprehensive cognition. Here, we collected 14,308 pairwise observations from 369 publications worldwide to systematically evaluate the effects of different conservation tillage practices (reduced tillage (T), reduced tillage with straw return (TS), reduced tillage with straw mulch return (TSO), no-tillage (NT), no-tillage with straw return (NTS), and no-tillage with straw mulch return (NTSO)) on the activities of 35 enzymes in soil.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe rate of germline mutation is fundamental to evolutionary processes, as it generates the variation upon which selection acts. The guppy, , is a model of rapid adaptation, however the relative contribution of standing genetic variation versus de novo mutation (DNM) to evolution in this species remains unclear. Here, we use pedigree-based approaches to quantify and characterize germline DNMs in three large guppy families.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSoil erosion (SE) is one of the most serious disasters in the world, which directly damage the productivity of the land and affect human well-being. How to effectively mitigate soil erosion is a challenge faced by all countries in the world. In this study, soil erosion was quantitatively assessed base on the RULSE model in an ecologically fragile area [Xiushui watershed (XSW)], and the effects of three major categories of factors (land use/cover change, landscape fragmentation and climate) on soil erosion were investigated using correlation analysis and structural equation model.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: With the wide application of multislice spiral computed tomography (CT), the frequency of detection of multiple lung cancer is increasing. This study aimed to analyze gene mutations characteristics in multiple primary lung cancers (MPLC) using large panel next-generation sequencing (NGS) assays.
Methods: Patients with MPLC surgically removed from the Affiliated Hospital of Guangdong Medical University from Jan 2020 to Dec 2021 enrolled the study.
Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative disease that causes pain, cartilage deformation, and joint inflammation. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are potential therapeutic agents for OA treatment. However, the 2D culture of MSCs could potentially affect their characteristics and functionality.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe degree of divergence between the sex chromosomes is not always proportional to their age. In poeciliids, four closely related species all exhibit a male heterogametic sex chromosome system on the same linkage group, yet show a remarkable diversity in X and Y divergence. In Poecilia reticulata and P.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLin Chuang Er Bi Yan Hou Tou Jing Wai Ke Za Zhi
February 2023
Head and neck primary soft tissue sarcoma is a rare adult connective tissue malignant tumor derived from mesenchymal tissue, which can occur in the paranasal sinuses, throat or neck space.The clinical manifestations are local spread masses in the head and neck or difficulty breathing, swallowing, etc al. MRI and enhanced CT examination are the most commonly used to diagnose such diseases.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) phantoms based on data of Caucasians have been widely used for fetal dosimetry. However, there are differences in body size during pregnancy among Taiwanese and Caucasians. In this study, the uterine dose conversion coefficients (DCCs) of Taiwanese pregnant women were evaluated to facilitate the use of it to estimate the possible uterine dose (usually regarded as fetal dose) of pregnant Taiwanese women during radiation practice or medical exposures.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUnlabelled: The crosstalk between signaling and metabolic pathways has been known to play key roles in human diseases and plant biological processes. The integration of signaling and metabolic pathways can provide an essential reference framework for crosstalk analysis. However, current databases use distinct structures to present signaling and metabolic pathways, which leads to the chaos in the integrated networks.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCurr Alzheimer Res
December 2022
Objectives: This study aimed to explore whether bilingual older adults had a cognitive advantage over their monolingual counterparts, and validate the influence of cognition-related (participants' cognitive condition, the cognitive domain assessed), and bilingualism-related factors (second language proficiency, frequency of use, acquisition time, and immigration status of participants)on the cognitive advantage of bilingualism.
Methods: Through a systematic search of nine databases (Web of Science, PubMed, Elsevier Science Direct, Cochrane Library, Embase, PsycINFO, CNKI, VIP and Wanfang) from the inception to April 2021, observational studies with bilingual and monolingual older adults as participants and cognitive function scores as outcome measures were included. Two reviewers independently completed the selection and methodological quality assessment of studies using the JBI cross-sectional study quality evaluation tool and used a pre-designed table for data extraction and sorting.
Front Cell Infect Microbiol
September 2022
Preterm infants or those with low birth weight are highly susceptible to invasive fungal disease (IFD) and other microbial or viral infection due to immaturity of their immune system. Antibiotics are routinely administered in these vulnerable infants in treatment of sepsis and other infectious diseases, which might cause perturbation of gut microbiome and hence development of IFD. In this study, we compared clinical characteristics of fungal infection after antibiotic treatment in preterm infants.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSeveral studies have focused on using cell carriers to solve the problem of mesenchymal stem cell expansion on regenerative medicine. However, the disadvantages of using prolonged enzymatic treatment and low cell harvest efficiency still trouble researchers. In this study, PNIPAAm-immobilized gelatin microspheres (abbreviated as GNMS) were synthesized using a simple power-driven flow-focusing microinjection system.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDifferences in allele frequencies at autosomal genes between males and females in a population can result from two scenarios. First, unresolved sexual conflict over survival can produce allelic differentiation between the sexes. However, given the substantial mortality costs required to produce allelic differences between males and females at each generation, it remains unclear how many loci within the genome experience significant sexual conflict over survival.
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