Phylogenomic data exploration with increased sampling provides new insights into the higher-level relationships of butterflies and moths (Lepidoptera).

A robust and stable phylogenetic framework is a fundamental goal of evolutionary biology. As the third largest insect order in the world following Coleoptera and Diptera, Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths) play a central role in almost every terrestrial ecosystem as indicators of environmental change and serve as important models for biologists exploring questions related to ecology and evolutionary biology. However, for such a charismatic insect group, the higher-level phylogenetic relationships among its superfamilies are still poorly resolved. Compared to earlier phylogenomic studies, we increased taxon sampling among Lepidoptera (37 superfamilies and 68 families containing 263 taxa) and acquired a series of large amino-acid datasets from 69,680 to 400,330 for phylogenomic reconstructions. Using these datasets, we explored the effect of different taxon sampling with significant increases in the number of included genes on tree topology by considering a series of systematic errors using maximum-likelihood (ML) and Bayesian inference (BI) methods. Moreover, we also tested the effectiveness in topology robustness among the three ML-based models. The results showed that taxon sampling is an important determinant in tree robustness of accurate lepidopteran phylogenetic estimation. Long-branch attraction (LBA) caused by site-wise heterogeneity is a significant source of bias giving rise to unstable positions of ditrysian groups in phylogenomic reconstruction. Phylogenetic inference showed the most comprehensive framework to reveal the relationships among lepidopteran superfamilies, and presented some newly relationships with strong supports (Papilionoidea was sister to Gelechioidea and Immoidea was sister to Galacticoidea, respectively), but limited by taxon sampling, the relationships within the species-rich and relatively rapid radiation Ditrysia and especially Apoditrysia remain poorly resolved, which need to increase taxon sampling for further phylogenomic reconstruction. The present study demonstrates that taxon sampling is an important determinant for an accurate lepidopteran tree of life and provides some essential insights for future lepidopteran phylogenomic studies.

Impact of third-order dispersion on the dynamics of dissipative solitons in an ultrafast fiber laser.

Dissipative solitons (DSs), due to the complex interplay among dispersion, nonlinear, gain and loss, illustrate abundant nonlinear dynamics behaviors. Especially, dispersion plays an important role in the research of DS dynamics in ultrafast fiber lasers. Previous studies have mainly focused on the effect of even-order dispersion, i.e., group velocity dispersion (GVD) and fourth-order dispersion. In fact, odd-order dispersions, such as third-order dispersion (TOD), also significantly influences the dynamics of DSs. However, due to the lack of dispersion engineering tools, few experimental researches in this domain have been reported. In this work, by employing a pulse shaper in ultrafast fiber laser, an in-depth exploration of the DS dynamics influenced by TOD was conducted. With the increase of TOD value, the stable single DS undergoes a splitting into two solitons and then enters explosion state, and ultimately evolves into a chaotic state. The laser operation state is correlated to dispersion profile, which could be controlled by TOD. Here, the positive dispersion at long-wavelength side will be gradually shifted to negative dispersion by increasing the TOD, where soliton effect will drive the transitions. These findings offer valuable insights into the nonlinear dynamics of ultrafast lasers and may also foster applications involving higher-order dispersion.

Pan-cancer analysis of NUP155 and validation of its role in breast cancer cell proliferation, migration, and apoptosis.

NUP155 is reported to be correlated with tumor development. However, the role of NUP155 in tumor physiology and the tumor immune microenvironment (TIME) has not been previously examined. This study comprehensively investigated the expression, immunological function, and prognostic significance of NUP155 in different cancer types. Bioinformatics analysis revealed that NUP155 was upregulated in 26 types of cancer. Additionally, NUP155 upregulation was strongly correlated with advanced pathological or clinical stages and poor prognosis in several cancers. Furthermore, NUP155 was significantly and positively correlated with DNA methylation, tumor mutational burden, microsatellite instability, and stemness score in most cancers. Additionally, NUP155 was also found to be involved in TIME and closely associated with tumor infiltrating immune cells and immunoregulation-related genes. Functional enrichment analysis revealed a strong correlation between NUP155 and immunomodulatory pathways, especially antigen processing and presentation. The role of NUP155 in breast cancer has not been examined. This study, for the first time, demonstrated that NUP155 was upregulated in breast invasive carcinoma (BRCA) cells and revealed its oncogenic role in BRCA using molecular biology experiments. Thus, our study highlights the potential value of NUP155 as a biomarker in the assessment of prognostic prediction, tumor microenvironment and immunotherapeutic response in pan-cancer.

Characterization of the complete mitochondrial genomes of the zoonotic parasites Bolbosoma nipponicum and Corynosoma villosum (Acanthocephala: Polymorphida) and the molecular phylogeny of the order Polymorphida.

Acanthocephalans of the order Polymorphida mainly parasitic in birds and mammals, are of veterinary, medical and economic importance. However, the evolutionary relationships of its 3 families (Centrorhynchidae, Polymorphidae and Plagiorhynchidae) remain under debate. Additionally, some species of Polymorphida (i.e. Bolbosoma spp. and Corynosoma spp.) are recognized as zoonotic parasites, associated with human acanthocephaliasis, but the mitochondrial genomes for representatives of Bolbosoma and Corynosoma have not been reported so far. In the present study, the complete mitochondrial genomes B. nipponicum and C. villosum (Acanthocephala: Polymorphidae) are reported for the first time, which are 14 296 and 14 241 bp in length, respectively, and both contain 36 genes [including 12 PCGs, 22 tRNA genes and 2 rRNA genes] and 2 non-coding regions (NCR1 and NCR2). The gene arrangement of some tRNAs in the mitogenomes of B. nipponicum and C. villosum differs from that found in all other acanthocephalans, except Polymorphus minutus. Phylogenetic results based on concatenated amino acid (AA) sequences of the 12 protein-coding genes (PCGs) strongly supported that the family Polymorphidae is a sister to the Centrorhynchidae rather than the Plagiorhynchidae, and also confirmed the sister relationship of the genera Bolbosoma and Corynosoma in the Polymorphidae based on the mitogenomic data for the first time. Our present findings further clarified the phylogenetic relationships of the 3 families Plagiorhynchidae, Centrorhynchidae and Polymorphidae, enriched the mitogenome data of the phylum Acanthocephala (especially the order Polymorphida), and provided the resource of genetic data for diagnosing these 2 pathogenic parasites of human acanthocephaliasis.

Multiple exposure pathways and health risk assessment of PAHs in Lanzhou city, a semi-arid region in northwest China.

In the sparse studies for multiple pathway exposure, attention has predominantly been directed towards developed regions, thereby overlooking the exposure level and health outcome for the inhabitants of the semi-arid regions in northwest China. However, cities within these regions grapple with myriad challenges, encompassing insufficient sanitation infrastructure and outdated heating. In this study, we analyzed the characteristics and sources of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) pollution in PM2.5, water, diet, and dust during different periods in Lanzhou, and estimated corresponding carcinogenic health risk through inhalation, ingestion, and dermal absorption. Our observations revealed the concentrations of PAHs in PM2.5, food, soil, and water are 200.11 ng m-3, 8.67 mg kg-1, 3.91 mg kg-1, and 14.5 ng L-1, respectively, indicating that the Lanzhou area was seriously polluted. Lifetime incremental cancer risk (ILCR) showed a heightened cancer risk to men compared to women, to the younger than the elderly, and during heating period as opposed to non-heating period. Notably, the inhalation was the primary route of PAHs exposure and the risk of exposure by inhalation cannot be ignored. The total environmental exposure assessment of PAHs can achieve accurate prevention and control of PAHs environmental exposure according to local conditions and targets.

Treatment non-adherence among methadone maintenance patients and associated factors: a multicenter, cross-sectional study in Vietnam.

OBJECTIVE: This multicenter, cross-sectional study was conducted to investigate the prevalence of treatment non-adherence and its associated factors among methadone maintenance patients in Vietnam. METHODS: This secondary data analysis was conducted using the data from a previous study. Six hundred patients were interviewed face-to-face to collect data on their demographic characteristics and social support. Information about the treatment characteristics and patients' non-adherence was gathered from medical records and books monitoring their treatment process. Treatment non-adherence was defined as missing at least one methadone dose in the last three months. RESULTS: The overall prevalence of non-adherence was 45.7%. The average social support score of patients who completely adhered to treatment was significantly higher than that of those who did not (p < 0.001). In the multivariate logistic regression model, for each one-unit increase in social support (one score), treatment time (a year), and patient's monthly income (one million Vietnam dongs), the odds of non-adherence decreased by 28% (aOR = 0.72, 95%CI 0.59-0.88, p = 0.002), 15% (aOR = 0.85, 95%CI 0.80-0.91, p < 0.001) and 9% (aOR = 0.91, 95%CI 0.85-0.97, p = 0.004), respectively. Patients living in Son La (a mountainous province) were 1.72 times (95%CI 1.09-2.71) more likely to be non-adherent as compared to those in other areas (p = 0.020). As per univariate analyses, other associated factors could be age, education level, family monthly income, occupation, and opioid relapse (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: A high non-adherence rate was found among Vietnamese methadone maintenance patients. Interventions involving social support, occupation, income, and education are needed to improve their treatment adherence.

Bridge-layered decompression technique for vertebral artery-involved hemifacial spasm: technical note.

BACKGROUND: Hemifacial spasm (HFS) is most effectively treated with microvascular decompression (MVD). However, there are certain challenges in performing MVD for HFS when the vertebral artery (VA) is involved in compressing the facial nerve (VA-involved). This study aimed to introduce a "bridge-layered" decompression technique for treating patients with VA-involved HFS and to evaluate its efficacy and safety to treat patients with HFS. METHODS: A single-center retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical data of 62 patients with VA-involved HFS. The tortuous trunk of VA was lifted by a multi-point "bridge" decompression technique to avoid excessive traction of the cerebellum and reduce the risk of damage to the facial-acoustic nerve complex. To fully decompress all the responsible vessels, the branch vessels of VA were then isolated using the "layered" decompression technique. RESULTS: Among the 62 patients, 59 patients were cured immediately after the surgery, two patients were delayed cured after two months, and one had occasional facial muscle twitching after the surgery. Patients were followed up for an average of 19.5 months. The long-term follow-up results showed that all patients had no recurrence of HFS during the follow-up period, and no patients developed hearing loss, facial paralysis, or other permanent neurological damage complications. Only two patients developed tinnitus after the surgery. CONCLUSION: The "bridge-layered" decompression technique could effectively treat VA-involved HFS with satisfactory safety and a low risk of hearing loss. The technique could be used as a reference for decompression surgery for VA-involved HFS.

Anti-phase pulsation of counter-propagating dissipative solitons in a bidirectional fiber laser.

Due to its unique geometric structure, the bidirectional ultrafast fiber laser is an excellent light source for dual-comb applications. However, sharing the same gain between the counter-propagating solitons also gives rise to complex dynamics. Herein, we report the anti-phase pulsation of counter-propagating dissipative solitons in a bidirectional fiber laser. The in-phase and anti-phase soliton pulsation can be manipulated by adjusting the intracavity birefringence. The periodic modulation of polarization-dependent gain (PDG) caused by polarization hole burning (PHB) in the gain fiber can be responsible for anti-phase pulsation of bidirectional dissipative solitons. These findings offer new, to the best of our knowledge, insights into the complex dynamics of solitons in dissipative optical systems and performance improvement of bidirectional ultrafast fiber lasers.

Knowledge and attitudes of community pharmacists regarding dementia: A nationwide cross-sectional study in Vietnam.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate Vietnamese community pharmacists' knowledge and attitudes towards dementia. METHODS: 1066 community pharmacists in eight provinces/centrally-governed cities were recruited using a non-probability convenience sampling technique. Their dementia knowledge was measured using a set of 14 questions developed through a literature review. The Approaches to Dementia Questionnaire was used to assess pharmacists' attitudes towards dementia. Cronbach's alpha was 0.88 for the overall questionnaire (0.70 for the knowledge part and 0.81 for the attitude part). RESULTS: Participants were mostly female (74.2%), 20-39 years old (79.1%), and had work experience in pharmacies of less than 10 years (77.0%). Medicines for dementia were available in only 40 community pharmacies (3.8%), including galantamine (3.0%) and donepezil (0.8%). Pharmacists' average knowledge and attitude scores were 8.03 ± 2.61 and 64.81 ± 7.34, respectively. There were considerable differences in pharmacists' knowledge and attitudes between rural and urban areas and among eight provinces (p < 0.001). Higher knowledge and attitude scores were found among those with higher education levels and longer work experience (p < 0.001). Using reliable sources to seek information on dementia, such as books and scientific articles, also helped pharmacists to have better knowledge and more positive attitudes (p < 0.001). There was a positive relationship between knowledge and attitude scores (r = 0.326, p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Community pharmacists demonstrated moderate levels of knowledge and attitudes towards dementia. Their knowledge about the symptoms of dementia was inadequate. Educational interventions and training programs are urgently needed to enhance their dementia knowledge and attitudes.

Study on the relationship between obesity and complications of Pediatric Epilepsy surgery.

OBJECTIVE: Studies have shown that obesity has a significant impact on poor surgical outcomes. However, the relationship between obesity and pediatric epilepsy surgery has not been reported. This study aimed to explore the relationship between obesity and complications of pediatric epilepsy surgery and the effect of obesity on the outcome of pediatric epilepsy surgery, and to provide a reference for weight management of children with epilepsy. METHODS: A single-center retrospective analysis of complications in children undergoing epilepsy surgery was conducted. Body mass index (BMI) percentiles were adjusted by age and used as a criterion for assessing obesity in children. According to the adjusted BMI value, the children were divided into the obese group (n = 16) and nonobese group (n = 20). The intraoperative blood loss, operation time, and postoperative fever were compared between the two groups. RESULTS: A total of 36 children were included in the study, including 20 girls and 16 boys. The mean age of the children was 8.0 years old, ranging from 0.8 to 16.9 years old. The mean BMI was 18.1 kg/m2, ranging from 12.4 kg/m2 to 28.3 kg/m2. Sixteen of them were overweight or obese (44.4%). Obesity was associated with higher intraoperative blood loss in children with epilepsy (p = 0.04), and there was no correlation between obesity and operation time (p = 0.21). Obese children had a greater risk of postoperative fever (56.3%) than nonobese children (55.0%), but this was statistically nonsignificant (p = 0.61). The long-term follow-up outcomes showed that 23 patients (63.9%) were seizure-free (Engel grade I), 6 patients (16.7%) had Engel grade II, and 7 patients (19.4%) had Engel grade III. There was no difference in long-term seizure control outcomes between obese and nonobese groups (p = 0.682). There were no permanent neurological complications after surgery. CONCLUSION: Compared with nonobese children with epilepsy, obese children with epilepsy had a higher intraoperative blood loss. It is necessary to conduct early weight management of children with epilepsy as long as possible.

Opioid relapse and its predictors among methadone maintenance patients: a multicenter, cross-sectional study in Vietnam.

BACKGROUND: Opioid relapse, one of the common and severe problems during methadone maintenance treatment, can give rise to poor treatment outcomes. This study measured the opioid relapse rate and its associated factors among methadone maintenance patients in Vietnam. METHODS: Information about the demographic characteristics and social support of 655 patients was collected through direct interviews. Medical records were used to gather data on treatment characteristics. Relapse was determined via urine opioid test results. RESULTS: The overall relapse rate of patients during treatment was 13.1%. According to the multivariate logistic regression model, living in mountainous areas (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 3.63, 95% CI 1.90-7.46) and long duration of drug use in the past (aOR = 1.06, 95% CI 1.03-1.09) were associated with an increase in the odds of opioid relapse. By contrast, living with many family members (aOR = 0.69, 95% CI 0.55-0.85), having longer treatment time (aOR = 0.80, 95% CI 0.73-0.87), and completely adhering to treatment (aOR = 0.38, 95% CI 0.23-0.64) were protective for opioid relapse. As per the univariate analyses, the odds of opioid relapse declined by 25% for each increase of one close friend or relative (OR = 0.75, 95% CI 0.66-0.86). Regarding social support (range score: 0-100), each additional increase of one score was associated with a 1% decrease in the odds of opioid relapse (OR = 0.99, 95% CI 0.98-0.99). Patient sex, education level, occupation type, patient's monthly income, family's monthly income, the number of previous treatments, daily methadone dose, comorbidity, and received antiretroviral therapy were not associated with opioid relapse among patients (p > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Residence, the role of family and social support, and treatment adherence should be paid more attention to guarantee and enhance the success of methadone maintenance treatment.

Comprehensive Analysis of Genomic and Expression Data Identified Potential Markers for Predicting Prognosis and Immune Response in CRC.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the most prevalent type of malignant tumor of the gastrointestinal tract. In the current study, we characterized the landscape of genomic alterations in CRC patients. Based on the results of whole-exome sequencing (WES), we identified 31 significantly mutated genes. Among them, several genes including TP53, KRAS, APC, PI3KCA, and BRAF were reported as significantly mutated genes in previous studies. In the current study, the most frequently mutated gene was TP53, which encodes tumor suppressor p53, affecting approximately 60% of CRC patients. In addition, we performed the expression profiles of significantly mutated genes between the normal group and tumor groups and identified 20 differentially expressed genes (DEGs); among them, CSMD3, DCHS2, LRP2, RYR2, and ZFHX4 were significantly negatively correlated with PFS. Moreover, consensus clustering analysis for CRC based on the expression of significantly somatic mutated genes was performed. In total, three subtypes of CRC were identified in CRC, including cluster1 (n = 453), cluster2 (n = 158), and cluster 3 (n = 9), based on expression level of significantly somatic mutated genes. Clinicopathological features analysis showed subtype C1 had the longest progression-free survival (PFS) with median time of 8.2 years, while subtypes C2 and C3 had 4.1 and 2.7 years of PFS, respectively. Moreover, we found three subtypes related to tumor infiltration depth, lymph node metastasis, and distant metastasis. Immune infiltration analysis showed the tumor infiltration levels of B cell native, T cell CD8+, T cell CD4+ memory activated, T cell gamma delta, NK cell resting, macrophage M0, macrophage M2, myeloid dendritic cell activated, mast cell activated, and mast cell resting significantly changed among the three groups, demonstrating the three subgroups classified by 22 somatically significantly mutated genes had a high capacity to differentiate patients with different immune statuses, which is helpful for the prediction of immunotherapy response of CRC patients. Our findings could provide novel potential predictive indicators for CRC prognosis and therapy targets for CRC immunotherapy.

Knowledge, attitudes, and practices of university students regarding COVID-19: a cross-sectional study in Vietnam.

OBJECTIVE: This cross-sectional study investigated the knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) of Vietnamese university students regarding COVID-19. METHODS: A validated questionnaire (Cronbach's alpha = 0.71) was used to survey 1,025 students. A convenience sampling method was used for recruiting students from April to May 2022. The Wilcoxon rank-sum test and the Kruskal-Wallis rank-sum test/Dunn test for multiple comparisons were employed to compare students' KAP scores between two groups and among three groups or more, respectively. Factors associated with students' COVID-19 KAP scores were determined via univariate and multivariate linear regression models. Variables in the multivariate linear regression models were chosen using the Bayesian Model Averaging method in R software version 4.2.0. RESULTS: A majority of students had good knowledge (75.61%), positive attitudes (98.24%), and good practices toward COVID-19 (94.93%). Regarding the COVID-19 knowledge, the proportions of students who knew that mosquito bites and exposure to/eating wild animals would not lead to COVID-19 infection were not high (47.22 and 34.34%, respectively). More importantly, 70.34% of students thought that vitamins and minerals could help prevent or cure COVID-19. Antibiotics were the first choice for COVID-19 treatment of 438 students (42.73%). Nearly half of students (48.0%) bought antibiotics to keep at home in case of COVID-19 infection. The average KAP scores of medical students (19.97 ± 3.99, 45.10 ± 3.94, 9.72 ± 1.78) and females (18.67 ± 4.44, 44.79 ± 3.79, 9.36 ± 1.84) were significantly higher than those of non-medical students (16.48 ± 4.37, 43.33 ± 4.03, 8.68 ± 1.87) and males (17.01 ± 4.55, 42.79 ± 4.39, 8.77 ± 1.97), respectively (p < 0.001). Older students were more likely to have good knowledge and practices than the younger ones (p < 0.001). In addition, students using websites of the World Health Organization/the Ministry of Health and scientific articles to seek COVID-19 information were significantly associated with higher KAP scores when compared with those not using these sources (p < 0.001, p < 0.001, and p = 0.00139, respectively). CONCLUSION: Students' KAP scores significantly varied by age, sex, major, and sources of COVID-19 information. Although many students had sufficient knowledge, positive attitudes, and good preventive practices toward COVID-19, additional education and training strategies are paramount, especially for non-medical students and males.

Autologous bone fragments for skull reconstruction after microvascular decompression.

BACKGROUND: Various methods are used to reconstruct the skull after microvascular decompression, giving their own advantages and disadvantages. The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of using autologous bone fragments for skull reconstruction after microvascular decompression. METHODS: The clinical and follow-up data of 145 patients who underwent microvascular decompression and skull reconstruction using autologous bone fragments in our hospital from September 2020 to September 2021 were retrospectively analyzed. RESULTS: Three patients (2.06%) had delayed wound healing after surgery and were discharged after wound cleaning. No patient developed postoperative cerebrospinal fluid leakage, incisional dehiscence, or intracranial infection. Eighty-five (58.62%) patients underwent follow-up cranial computed tomography at 1 year postoperatively, showed excellent skull reconstruction. And, the longer the follow-up period, the more satisfactory the cranial repair. Two patients underwent re-operation for recurrence of hemifacial spasm, and intraoperative observation revealed that the initial skull defect was filled with new skull bone. CONCLUSION: The use of autologous bone fragments for skull reconstruction after microvascular decompression is safe and feasible, with few postoperative wound complications and excellent long-term repair results.

Phosphine-Catalyzed Enantioselective (3+2) Annulation of Vinylcyclopropanes with Imines for the Synthesis of Chiral Pyrrolidines.

A phosphine-catalyzed highly enantioselective and diastereoselective (up to 98 % ee and >20 : 1 dr) (3+2) annulation between vinylcyclopropanes and N-tosylaldimines has been developed, which allows facile access to a range of highly functionalized chiral pyrrolidines. Notably, this method makes use of vinylcyclopropanes as a synthon for phosphine-mediated asymmetric annulation reaction, which will offer new opportunities for potential applications of cyclopropanes substrates in phosphine-catalyzed organic transformations.

An Impedance-Loaded Orthogonal Frequency-Coded SAW Sensor for Passive Wireless Sensor Networks.

A passive wireless impedance-loaded orthogonal frequency-coded (OFC) surface acoustic wave (SAW) sensor for wireless sensor networks was proposed in this paper. One of the chips on OFC SAW tag is connected to an external sensor, which could cause a phase shift in the time response of the corresponding part on the SAW device. The phase shift corresponds to the sensed quantity, which could be temperature, strain, vibration, pressure, etc. The OFC SAW tag is isolated by a proper package from the direct effect of the measurand on the device's response which could avoid the multiple measurands coupling. The simultaneous work of multiple sensors is guaranteed by orthogonal frequency coding. By processing the response based on an extended matched filter algorithm, sensing information of the specific coded OFC device can be extracted from the superimposed response of multiple independent encoded sensors. Compared to previous methods, the proposed method can produce a more flexible passive (battery-free) wireless sensor suitable for large-scale wireless sensor networks. Simulation and experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the sensor.

Effects of aminooxyacetic acid on hippocampal mitochondria in rats with chronic alcoholism: the analysis of learning and memory-related genes.

The incidence of chronic alcoholism leading to central and peripheral nervous system damage has been increasing year-to-year. The purpose of this study is to explore the effects of aminooxyacetic acid on hippocampus mitochondria in rats with chronic alcoholism and analyze learning and memory-related genes. Sixty male Sprague Dawley rats were randomly divided into three groups. Except for the control group, each group was fed with the water containing (v/v) 6% alcohol for 28 days. After 14 days, rats in the treatment group were intraperitoneally injected daily for 14 days with aminooxyacetic acid. High throughput sequencing was combined and tested for learning and memory abilities, Hydrogen sulfide content, catalase activity in mitochondria, and the expression of F-actin in the hippocampus of the rats in each group. Compared with the control group, the learning and memory abilities of rats with chronic alcoholism were significantly impaired, mitochondria contained vacuoles, hydrogen sulfide increased, but catalase activity and F-actin content were significantly decreased, After treatment with aminooxyacetic acid, mitochondrial morphology improved, hydrogen sulfide content was decreased, while catalase activity and F-actin expression of in hippocampus were increased. This indicates that aminooxyacetic acid may improve learning and memory in rats with chronic alcoholism, and the mechanism is related to decreased hydrogen sulfide content and an increase of both catalase activity and F-actin level in the hippocampus, thereby reducing the damage of alcohol to mitochondria and neurons.

The first complete mitochondrial genome of the agricultural pest Micromelalopha sieversi (Staudinger, 1892) (Lepidoptera: Notodontidae).

Micromelalopha sieversi (Staudinger, 1892) is a significant pest of Poplar trees in China. In this study, we used high-throughput sequencing to sequence the whole mitochondrial genome of M. sieversi. The length of the genome was 15,373 base pairs. The nucleotide composition was 39.8%, 11.5%, 8.0%, and 40.7% for A, C, G, and T, respectively. We used the maximum-likelihood method to construct a molecular phylogenetic tree based on complete mitogenome sequences of 19 Noctuoidea species as ingroups and five Geometroidea species as outgroups. The results indicate that the genus Micromelalopha is closely related to the genus Clostera in family Notodontidae.

Modeling the impact of non-human host predation on the transmission of Chagas disease.

In addition to the traditional transmission route via the biting-and-defecating process, non-human host predation of triatomines is recognized as another significant avenue for Chagas disease transmission. In this paper, we develop an eco-epidemiological model to investigate the impact of predation on the disease's spread. Two critical thresholds, Rvp (the basic reproduction number of triatomines) and R0p (the basic reproduction number of the Chagas parasite), are derived to delineate the model's dynamics. Through the construction of appropriate Lyapunov functions and the application of the Bendixson-Dulac theorem, the global asymptotic stabilities of the equilibria are fully established. The vector-free equilibrium E0 is globally stable when Rvp<1. E1, the disease-free equilibrium, is globally stable when Rvp>1 and R0p<1, while the endemic equilibrium E∗ is globally stable when both Rvp>1 and R0p>1. Numerical simulations highlight that the degree of host predation on triatomines, influenced by non-human hosts activities, can variably increase or decrease the Chagas disease transmission risk. Specifically, low or high levels of host predation can reduce R0p to below unity, while intermediate levels may increase the infected host populations, albeit with a reduction in R0p. These findings highlight the role played by non-human hosts and offer crucial insights for the prevention and control of Chagas disease.

Rapid Determination of Cr3+ and Mn2+ in Water Using Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy Combined with Filter Paper Modified with Gold Nanoclusters.

Excessive emissions of heavy metals not only cause environmental pollution but also pose a direct threat to human health. Therefore, rapid and accurate detection of heavy metals in the environment is of great significance. Herein, we propose a method based on laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) combined with filter paper modified with bovine serum albumin-protected gold nanoclusters (LIBS-FP-AuNCs) for the rapid and sensitive detection of Cr3+ and Mn2+. The filter paper modified with AuNCs was used to selectively enrich Cr3+ and Mn2+. Combined with the multi-element detection capability of LIBS, this method achieved the simultaneous rapid detection of Cr3+ and Mn2+. Both elements showed linear ranges for concentrations of 10-1000 µg L-1, with limits of detection of 7.5 and 9.0 µg L-1 for Cr3+ and Mn2+, respectively. This method was successfully applied to the determination of Cr3+ and Mn2+ in real water samples, with satisfactory recoveries ranging from 94.6% to 105.1%. This method has potential application in the analysis of heavy metal pollution.