Targeting Telomere Dynamics as an Effective Approach for the Development of Cancer Therapeutics.

Telomere is a protective structure located at the end of chromosomes of eukaryotes, involved in maintaining the integrity and stability of the genome. Telomeres play an essential role in cancer progression; accordingly, targeting telomere dynamics emerges as an effective approach for the development of cancer therapeutics. Targeting telomere dynamics may work through multifaceted molecular mechanisms; those include the activation of anti-telomerase immune responses, shortening of telomere lengths, induction of telomere dysfunction and constitution of telomerase-responsive drug release systems. In this review, we summarize a wide variety of telomere dynamics-targeted agents in preclinical studies and clinical trials, and reveal their promising therapeutic potential in cancer therapy. As shown, telomere dynamics-active agents are effective as anti-cancer chemotherapeutics and immunotherapeutics. Notably, these agents may display efficacy against cancer stem cells, reducing cancer stem levels. Furthermore, these agents can be integrated with the capability of tumor-specific drug delivery by the constitution of related nanoparticles, antibody drug conjugates and HSA-based drugs.

A Delphi Study to Construct an Index of Practice for Community Nurses Providing Transitional Home Care for Patients with Chronic Diseases.

Community nurses play a key role in providing continuous home care for patients with chronic diseases. However, a perfect system of responsibilities and requirements has not yet been formed, and nurses cannot provide high-quality nursing services for home-based patients. We attempted to construct an index of the scope of practice for community nurses providing home-based transitional care for patients with chronic diseases and to guide nurses in playing an active role in transitional care work. From March to May 2023, 14 representative community nurses from the Shanghai Community Health Service Center were selected for group interviews and 2 rounds of Delphi consultation. A total of 14 valid questionnaires were collected. The authority coefficients were 0.94 and 0.93, and the Kendall coefficients were 0.56 and 0.59 for the 2 rounds of expert consultation (P < .05). Finally, an index system, including 6 primary indices (transitional caring provider, patient self-management facilitator, community group intervention organizer, home caregiver supporter, family physician team collaborator and supervisor of home medical equipment use, and medical waste disposal) was constructed for community nurses involved in providing home-based transitional care for patients with chronic diseases. The weight values of the 6 indices were 0.19, 0.17, 0.21, 0.13, 0.14 and 0.16, respectively (CR = 0.035, and the consistency test was passed), and 16 secondary indicators and 42 tertiary indicators were identified. In this Delphi study, an index system that can be used to determine community nurses' roles in providing home-based transitional and continuous care for patients with chronic diseases was successfully established. The index system is considered reliable and easy to use and will provide a meaningful reference for community nurses and policy-makers.

Single-cell and spatial RNA sequencing reveal the spatiotemporal trajectories of fruit senescence.

The senescence of fruit is a complex physiological process, with various cell types within the pericarp, making it highly challenging to elucidate their individual roles in fruit senescence. In this study, a single-cell expression atlas of the pericarp of pitaya (Hylocereus undatus) is constructed, revealing exocarp and mesocarp cells undergoing the most significant changes during the fruit senescence process. Pseudotime analysis establishes cellular differentiation and gene expression trajectories during senescence. Early-stage oxidative stress imbalance is followed by the activation of resistance in exocarp cells, subsequently senescence-associated proteins accumulate in the mesocarp cells at late-stage senescence. The central role of the early response factor HuCMB1 is unveiled in the senescence regulatory network. This study provides a spatiotemporal perspective for a deeper understanding of the dynamic senescence process in plants.

Flower visits and pollinator pollen load networks reveal the effects of pollinator sharing on heterospecific pollen transfer in a subalpine plant community.

The mutualistic network of plant-pollinator also involves interspecific pollination caused by pollinator sharing. Plant-pollinator networks are commonly based on flower visit observations, which may not adequately represent the actual pollen transfer between co-flowering plant species. Here, we compared the network structure of plant-pollinator interactions based on flower visits (FV) and pollen loads (PL) on the bodies of pollinators and tested how the degree of pollinator sharing in the two networks affected heterospecific pollen transfer (HPT) between plant species in a subalpine meadow. The FV and PL networks were largely overlapped. PL network included more links than FV network. The positions of plant and pollinator species in the FV and PL networks were positively correlated, indicating that both networks could detect major plant-pollinator interactions. The degree of pollinator sharing, based on either the FV or the PL network, positively influenced the amount of heterospecific pollen transferred between plant species pairs. However, the degree of pollinator sharing had a low overall explanatory power for HPT, and the explanatory powers of the FV and PL networks were similar. Overall, our study highlights the importance of FV and PL for understanding the drivers and outcomes of plant-pollinator interactions, as well as their relevance to HPT.

A Data-Driven Computational Framework for Assessing the Risk of Placental Exposure to Environmental Chemicals.

A computational framework based on placental gene networks was proposed in this work to improve the accuracy of the placental exposure risk assessment of environmental compounds. The framework quantitatively characterizes the ability of compounds to cross the placental barrier by systematically considering the interaction and pathway-level information on multiple placental transporters. As a result, probability scores were generated for 307 compounds crossing the placental barrier based on this framework. These scores were then used to categorize the compounds into different levels of transplacental transport range, creating a gradient partition. These probability scores not only facilitated a more intuitive understanding of a compound's ability to cross the placental barrier but also provided valuable information for predicting potential placental disruptors. Compounds with probability scores greater than 90% were considered to have significant transplacental transport potential, whereas those with probability scores less than 80% were classified as unlikely to cross the placental barrier. Furthermore, external validation set results showed that the probability score could accurately predict the compounds known to cross the placental barrier. In conclusion, the computational framework proposed in this study enhances the intuitive understanding of the ability of compounds to cross the placental barrier and opens up new avenues for assessing the placental exposure risk of compounds.

PagPXYs improve drought tolerance by regulating reactive oxygen species homeostasis in the cambium of Populus alba × P. glandulosa.

PXY (Phloem intercalated with xylem) is a receptor kinase required for directional cell division during the development of plant vascular tissue. Drought stress usually affects plant stem cell division and differentiation thereby limiting plant growth. However, the role of PXY in cambial activities of woody plants under drought stress is unclear. In this study, we analyzed the biological functions of two PXY genes (PagPXYa and PagPXYb) in poplar growth and development and in response to drought stress in a hybrid poplar (Populus alba × P. glandulosa, '84K'). Expression analysis indicated that PagPXYs, similar to their orthologs PtrPXYs in Populus trichocarpa, are mainly expressed in the stem vascular system, and related to drought. Interestingly, overexpression of PagPXYa and PagPXYb in poplar did not have a significant impact on the growth status of transgenic plants under normal condition. However, when treated with 8 % PEG6000 or 100 mM H2O2, PagPXYa and PagPXYb overexpressing lines consistently exhibited more cambium cell layers, fewer xylem cell layers, and enhanced drought tolerance compared to the non-transgenic control '84K'. In addition, PagPXYs can alleviate the damage caused by H2O2 to the cambium under drought stress, thereby maintaining the cambial division activity of poplar under drought stress, indicating that PagPXYs play an important role in plant resistance to drought stress. This study provides a new insight for further research on the balance of growth and drought tolerance in forest trees.

Historical context, process, and development trends of pediatric thyroid cancer research: a bibliometric analysis.

Objective: At present, the structure of knowledge in the field of childhood thyroid cancer is not clear enough, and scholars lack a sufficient understanding of the developing trends in this field, which has led to a shortage of forward-looking outputs. The purpose of this research is to help scholars construct a complete knowledge framework and identify current challenges, opportunities, and development trends. Methods: We searched the literature in the Web of Science Core Collection database on August 7, 2023 and extracted key information from the top 100 most cited articles, such as the countries, institutions, authors, themes, and keywords. We used bibliometric tools such as bibliometrix, VOSviewer, and CiteSpace for a visualization analysis and Excel for statistical descriptions. Results: The top 100 most cited articles fluctuated over time, and the research was concentrated in European countries, the United States, and Japan, among which scientific research institutions and scholars from the United States made outstanding contributions. Keyword analysis revealed that research has shifted from simple treatment methods for pediatric thyroid cancer (total thyroidectomy) and inducing factors (the Chernobyl power station accident) to the clinical applications of genetic mutations (such as the BRAF and RET genes) and larger-scale genetic changes (mutation studies of the DICER1 gene). The thematic strategy analysis showed an increasing trend towards the popularity of fusion oncogenes, while the popularity of research on traditional treatments and diagnostics has gradually declined. Conclusion: Extensive research has been conducted on the basic problems of pediatric thyroid cancer, and there has been significant outputs in the follow-up and cohort analysis of conventional diagnostic and treatment methods. However, these methods still have certain limitations. Therefore, scholars should focus on exploring fusion genes, the clinical applications of molecular targets, and novel treatment methods. This study provides a strong reference for scholars in this field.

Biotransformation of Patchouli Alcohol by Cladosporium cladosporioides and the Anti-Influenza Virus Activities of Biotransformation Products.

The biotransformation of patchouli alcohol by Cladosporium cladosporioides afforded 31 products, including 21 new ones (1-3, 5, 6, 8-14, and 17-25). Their structures were determined by extensive spectroscopic data analysis (1H and 13C NMR, HSQC, HMBC, 1H-1H COSY, ROESY, and HRESIMS), and the absolute configuration of compounds 1, 2, 8, 9, and 17 was determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction using Cu Kα radiation. Structurally, compounds 21-24 were patchoulol-type norsesquiterpenoids without Me-12. Among them, a Δ3(4) double bond existed in compounds 21 and 22; a three-membered ring was formed between C-4, C-5, and C-6 in compound 23; an epoxy moiety appeared between C-3 and C-4 in compound 24. Furthermore, the biotransformation products 9, 10, 12, and 25 showed potent anti-influenza virus activity with EC50 values of 2.11, 7.94, 20.87, and 3.45 µM, respectively.

Effect of cognitive behavior therapy based on the health education pathway on psychology of papillary thyroid carcinoma patients: a randomized controlled trial.

OBJECTIVES: Our main aim was to explore whether cognitive behavior therapy based on the health education pathway (CBT-HEP) can effectively alleviate the distress, anxiety, and depression of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) patients after 131 I treatment. In addition, we investigated the critical factors that can significantly affect the distress and quality of life in PTC patients before 131 I treatment. METHODS: In total, 496 people were screened and 357 were enrolled, followed by randomization of those with a distress thermometer (DT) ≥4. Patients in the experimental group received CBT-HEP intervention, and patients in the control group were given casual conversation. RESULTS: The scores of DT, Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAMA) and Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) in CBT-HEP group decreased gradually after intervention. In control group, DT scores decreased significantly, while HAMA and PHQ-9 scores did not change significantly. CONCLUSION: CBT-HEP is effective in relieving distress, anxiety and depression in PTC patients. In addition, female sex, lifestyle, hypothyroidism, negative emotions, related symptoms, fear of tumor recurrence and radiation safety are the critical factors affecting mental health and quality of life.

An ethnoveterinary study on medicinal plants used by the Bai people in Yunlong County northwest Yunnan, China.

BACKGROUND: The Bai people in Yunlong County, northwest Yunnan, China, have used medicinal plants and traditional remedies for ethnoveterinary practices. The Bai have mastered ethnoveterinary therapeutic methods in livestock breeding since ancient times. The Bai's traditional ethnoveterinary knowledge is now facing extinction, and their unique ethnoveterinary practices have rarely been recorded. This study documented animal diseases, EMPs, and related traditional knowledge in Yunlong County, China. METHODS: Ethnobotanical fieldwork was conducted in six villages and townships of Yunlong County between 2021 and 2022. Data were obtained through semi-structured interviews, participatory observations, and keyperson interviews. A total of 68 informants were interviewed, and the informant consensus factor and use reports (URs) were used to evaluate the current ethnoveterinary practices among the local communities. Information on livestock diseases, medicinal plants, and traditional ethnoveterinary medicine knowledge were also obtained. RESULTS: A total of 90 plant species belong to 51 families, 84 genera were recorded as being used as EMPs by the Bai people, and Asteraceae plants are most frequently used. A total of 68 informants were interviewed, including 58 men (85.3%) and 10 women (14.7%). The most commonly used EMPs parts included the roots, whole plants, leaves, and stems, and the common livestock diseases identified in this field investigation included trauma and fracture, gastrointestinal disorders, respiratory disorders, parasitic diseases, miscellaneous, venomous snake bites, reproductive diseases, infectious diseases, skin disease, and urinary diseases. Most of the EMPs are herbs (77.78%). Courtyard is one of the habitats of medicinal plants in Yunlong County. CONCLUSION: Traditional knowledge of ethnoveterinary medicine is related to the local sociocultural characteristics of the Bai. Plants are used in cultural traditions, which, in turn, nourish the plant culture. Cultural diversity and biodiversity are interdependent. This traditional knowledge is at risk of disappearance because of the increasing extension of Western veterinary medicine, lifestyle changes, and mainstream cultural influences. Therefore, it is important to continue research on ethnoveterinary practices.

Assessment of Fetal Exposure and Elimination of Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances: New Evidence from Paired Serum, Placenta, and Meconium Samples.

Multiple pieces of evidence have shown that prenatal exposure to perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) is closely related to adverse birth outcomes for infants. However, difficult access to human samples limits our understanding of PFASs transport and metabolism across the human placental barrier, as well as the accurate assessment of fetal PFASs exposure. Herein, we assess fetal exposure to 28 PFASs based on paired serum, placenta, and meconium samples. Overall, 21 PFASs were identified first to be exposed to the fetus prenatally and to be metabolized and excreted by the fetus. In meconium samples, 25 PFASs were detected, with perfluorooctane sulfonate and perfluorohexane sulfonic acid being the dominant congeners, suggesting the metabolism and excretion of PFASs through meconium. Perfluoroalkyl sulfonic acids might be more easily eliminated through the meconium than perfluorinated carboxylic acids. Importantly, based on molecular docking, MRP1, OATP2B1, ASCT1, and P-gp were identified as crucial transporters in the dynamic placental transfer of PFASs between the mother and the fetus. ATSC5p and PubchemFP679 were recognized as critical structural features that affect the metabolism and secretion of PFASs through meconium. With increasing carbon chain length, both the transplacental transfer efficiency and meconium excretion efficiency of PFASs showed a structure-dependent manner. This study reports, for the first time, that meconium, which is a noninvasive and stable biological matrix, can be strong evidence of prenatal PFASs exposure.

Effects of expanding imports on urban manufacturing employment: Evidence from China.

Full employment is important to promote the high-quality development of the urban economy. Using urban-level data on China from 2004 to 2018, we analyse the effects and mechanism of expanding imports on urban manufacturing employment. We use the Guiding Opinions on Strengthening Import to Promote Balanced Development of Foreign Trade issued by the China State Council in 2012 as a natural experiment to solve the endogeneity problem. We find that expanding imports significantly increases urban manufacturing employment. This conclusion is still robust after a series of robustness tests. Further mechanism tests reveal that productivity improvements and upgrades to product quality from expanding imports can explain increased urban manufacturing employment. The results of the heterogeneity analysis show that expanding imports promote manufacturing employment in large and medium-sized cities but not small cities. Expanding imports increases employment in manufacturing in cities in different regions, with the largest effects on eastern cities, the second largest effects on western cities, and the smallest effects on central cities. These results suggest that expanding imports is an effective channel for increasing employment.

Sleep behaviors predicted sleep disturbances among Chinese health science students: a cross-sectional study.

PURPOSE: Healthy sleep is essential for individuals' physiological and psychological health. Health science students experience a high prevalence of sleep disturbances which may be due to maladaptive behaviors. This study aimed to examine the associations of sleep behaviors including sleep hygiene and bedtime procrastination with the associations of sleep disturbances (e.g., poor sleep quality, insomnia, and short sleep). METHODS: This cross-sectional study included health science students from a medical university in Shanghai, China. Sleep disturbances included poor sleep quality, insomnia, and short sleep. They were measured by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), and one question "How many hours of sleep did you usually get during the past week?", respectively. Sleep behaviors included sleep hygiene and bedtime procrastination measured by the Sleep Hygiene Index (SHI) and Bedtime Procrastination Scale (BPS), respectively. Logistic regression was performed while controlling for potential confounders. RESULTS: A total of 464 health science students participated. Poorer overall sleep hygiene and more bedtime procrastination were independently associated with higher odds of poor sleep quality (OR=1.065, 95% CI 1.028-1.103; OR=1.040, 95% CI 1.006-1.075, respectively) and insomnia (OR=1.059, 95% CI 1.018-1.101; OR=1.093, 95% CI 1.049-1.139, respectively). More bedtime procrastination was associated with higher odds of short sleep (OR=1.148, 95% CI 1.093-1.206). Commonly reported specific sleep behaviors, such as "Going to bed later than intended", "Doing other things than sleep at bedtime", and "Easily stopping what I am doing at bedtime", were also related to higher odds of sleep disturbances. CONCLUSIONS: Sleep hygiene and bedtime procrastination were strong predictors of sleep disturbances. Tailored interventions targeting specific sleep behaviors are warranted to clarify their effect on sleep disturbances.

A Bioequivalence Trial of Dienogest in Healthy Chinese Participants Under Fed Conditions.

This trial was a randomized, open-label, single-dose, 2-treatment, 2-period, crossover study to evaluate the pharmacokinetic (PK) profile, bioequivalence, and safety of test formulation and reference formulation of 2-mg dienogest tablets in healthy Chinese participants. Eligible participants were randomly administered a single 2-mg dose of either the test formulation or the reference formulation orally under fed conditions, followed by a 1-week washout period and the administration of the other formulation. Samples of blood were collected until 48 hours following administration. The main PK parameters were calculated using noncompartmental analysis techniques. The main PK parameters included maximum plasma concentration, area under the plasma concentration-time curve (AUC) from time zero to the last quantifiable concentration, and AUC from time zero to infinity. The bioequivalence of test and reference dienogest tablets was determined if the 90% confidence intervals of the geometric mean ratio of the test to reference formulations were within the predefined range of 80%-125%. The safety assessment included incidence of adverse events and serious adverse events and others. Twenty-four healthy Chinese participants were enrolled in this trial. The geometric mean ratios of maximum plasma concentration, AUC from time zero to the last quantifiable concentration, and AUC from time zero to infinity between the 2 formulations, and corresponding 90% confidence intervals, all fell within the range of 80%-125% under fed conditions. The test and reference dienogest tablets were well tolerated, and no severe adverse events were reported in the trial. It was shown that the test and the reference dienogest tablets were bioequivalent and well tolerated under fed conditions in healthy Chinese female participants.

Information Needs and Its Association With Depressive Symptoms in People With Type 2 Diabetes.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to describe the information needs and examine its association with depressive symptoms in people with type 2 diabetes (T2D). METHODS: A descriptive, correlational design was used. People with T2D (N = 358) were recruited from 12 communities in Shanghai, China. Self-reported information needs and depressive symptoms were measured using the Information Needs in Diabetes Questionnaire and Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), respectively. Multivariate linear regression analysis was performed. RESULTS: The participants were 64.8 years on average, and 46.6% were men. One hundred fifty-one (42.2%) had depressive symptoms (PHQ-9 ≥ 5). Participants had the least knowledge about "diabetes research," "acute complications," and "lifestyle adjustment." The sample had the highest levels of information needs about topics including "mental strain," "treatment/therapy," and "diabetes in everyday life." Compared to those without depressive symptoms, those experiencing depressive symptoms were less informed and had higher levels of need for further information. Controlling for covariates, higher levels of need for further information were significantly associated with greater depressive symptoms (B = 0.368, 95% CI, 0.155-0.582, P = .001). CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated areas that should be prioritized when meeting patients' information needs. It also showed the potential negative effect of unmet information needs on depression. These findings may help develop a more tailored intervention for people with T2D.

Comprehensive next-generation sequencing reveals double primary colorectal carcinoma missed by diagnostic imaging: A case report.

BACKGROUND: Multiple primary colorectal carcinoma (MPCC) is a rare clinical disease, which is challenging to differentiate from metastatic disease using histopathological methods. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) has been employed to identify multiple primary cancers. CASE SUMMARY: This study a rare case of a 63-year-old male patient diagnosed with MPCC by targeted NGS, which was initially missed by radiological evaluation. The patient was found to have two tumors located on the surface of the colorectum which had distinct genomic alterations. Based on wild-type KRAS detected in the unresected tumor, the patient benefited from the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibitor cetuximab treatment, but developed novel mutations including KIF5B-RET fusion, which provides a possible resistance mechanism to anti-EGFR therapy. CONCLUSION: Our case highlights the necessity of using genetic testing for primary tumor diagnosis and the application of serial plasma circulating tumor DNA profiling for dynamic disease monitoring.

Machine learning models based on residue interaction network for ABCG2 transportable compounds recognition.

As the one of the most important protein of placental transport of environmental substances, the identification of ABCG2 transport molecules is the key step for assessing the risk of placental exposure to environmental chemicals. Here, residue interaction network (RIN) was used to explore the difference of ABCG2 binding conformations between transportable and non-transportable compounds. The RIN were treated as a kind of special quantitative data of protein conformation, which not only reflected the changes of single amino acid conformation in protein, but also indicated the changes of distance and action type between amino acids. Based on the quantitative RIN, four machine learning algorithms were applied to establish the classification and recognition model for 1100 compounds with transported by ABCG2 potential. The random forest (RF) models constructed with RIN presented the best and satisfied predictive ability with an accuracy of training set of 0.97 and the test set of 0.96 respectively. In conclusion, the construction of residue interaction network provided a new perspective for the quantitative characterization of protein conformation and the establishment of prediction models for transporter molecular recognition. The ABCG2 transport molecular recognition model based on residue interaction network provides a possible way for screening environmental chemistry transported through placenta.

Water use strategies of Nitraria tangutorum in the lake-basin region of the Badain Jaran Desert.

Information regarding plant water-use strategies is essential for understanding the hydrological processes and plant survival adaptation mechanisms in desert lake basin regions. To examine the water use strategies of plants in desert lake basin areas, water uptake patterns, water use efficiency, and water potential of Nitraria tangutorum were investigated at different distances from the lake duringhe growing seasons in the lake basin regions of the Badain Jaran Desert. The results indicate that N. tangutorum primarily absorbed groundwater in May (63.8%) and August (53.5%), relied on deep soil water in June (75.1%), and uniformly absorbed soil water from different layers in July. These observations could be explained by periodic fluctuations in the groundwater level and the consequent decrease in soil water availability, as well as plant root adjustments. As soil water availability decreases, N. tangutorum adapts to water variation by increasing its water use efficiency (WUE) and reducing its leaf water potential (Ψ). With intensified water stress, N. tangutorum gradually shifted from adventurous anisohydric regulation to conservative isohydric regulation. Thus, N. tangutorum responds to diverse degrees of environmental changes by altering its water-use strategy. A better understanding of the adaptive water use strategies developed by desert plants under varying water availability conditions provides insight into the diversity of species' reactions to long-term drought and quantifies the hydrological cycle of desert ecosystems against the background of worldwide climate warming.

Phylogenetic Analysis of Some Species of the Anopheles hyrcanus Group (Diptera: Culicidae) in China Based on Complete Mitochondrial Genomes.

Some species of the Hyrcanus group are vectors of malaria in China. However, the member species are difficult to identify accurately by morphology. The development of sequencing technologies offers the possibility of further studies based on the complete mitochondrial genome. In this study, samples of mosquitoes of the Hyrcanus group were collected in China between 1997 and 2015. The mitochondrial genomes of ten species of the Hyrcanus group were analyzed, including the structure and base composition, codon usage, secondary structure of tRNA, and base difference sites in protein coding regions. Phylogenetic analyses using maximum-likelihood and Bayesian inference were performed based on mitochondrial genes and complete mitochondrial genomes The mitochondrial genome of 10 Hyrcanus group members ranged from 15,403 bp to 15,475 bp, with an average 78.23% (A + T) content, comprising of 13 PCGs (protein coding genes), 22 tRNAs, and 2 rRNAs. Site differences between some closely related species in the PCGs were small. There were only 36 variable sites between Anopheles sinensis and Anopheles belenrae for a variation ratio of 0.32% in all PCGs. The pairwise interspecies distance based on 13 PCGs was low, with an average of 0.04. A phylogenetic tree constructed with the 13 PCGs was consistent with the known evolutionary relationships. Some phylogenetic trees constructed by single coding regions (such as COI or ND4) or combined coding regions (COI + ND2 + ND4 + ND5 or ND2 + ND4) were consistent with the phylogenetic tree constructed using the 13 PCGs. The phylogenetic trees constructed using some coding genes (COII, ND5, tRNAs, 12S rRNA, and 16S rRNA) differed from the phylogenetic tree constructed using PCGs. The difference in mitochondrial genome sequences between An. sinensis and An. belenrae was very small, corresponding to intraspecies difference, suggesting that the species was in the process of differentiation. The combination of all 13 PCG sequences was demonstrated to be optimal for phylogenetic analysis in closely related species.

Influence of Strengthened Nodes on the Mechanical Performance of Aeolian Sand-Geogrid Interface.

Node thickening is a way to strengthen the nodes of a geogrid. Increasing the node thickness in conventional biaxial geogrids enhances the interface frictional strength parameters and improves its three-dimensional reinforcement effect. Based on the triaxial tests of aeolian sand, single-rib strip tests of geogrids, and pull-out tests of geogrid in aeolian sand, a three-dimensional discrete element pull-out model for geogrids with strengthened nodes was developed to investigate the mechanical performance of an aeolian sand-geogrid interface. The influences of increasing node thickness, the number of strengthened nodes, and the spacing between adjacent nodes on the mechanical performance of the geogrid-soil interface were extensively studied used the proposed model. The results demonstrated that strengthened nodes effectively optimize the reinforcing performance of the geogrid. Among the three node-thickening methods, that in which both the upper and lower sides of nodes are thickened showed the most significant improvement in ultimate pull-out resistance and interface friction angle. Moreover, when using the same node-thickening method, the ultimate pull-out resistance increase shows a linear relationship with the node thickness increase and the strengthened node quantity. In comparison with the conventional geogrid, the strengthened nodes in a geogrid lead to a wider shear band and a stronger ability to restrain soil displacement. When multiple strengthened nodes are simultaneously applied, there is a collective effect that is primarily influenced by the spacing between adjacent nodes. The results provide a valuable reference for optimizing the performance of geogrids and determining the spacing for geogrid installation.