Comparative mitochondrial genomics of five Dermestid beetles (Coleoptera: Dermestidae) and its implications for phylogeny.

Dermestid beetles (Coleoptera: Dermestidae) are important pests of various stored products, posing potential threats to international trade. Their detailed characterization on molecular basis is a pre-requisite for proper identification and for understanding of their phylogenetic relationships. In this work, the whole mitochondrial genomes (mitogenomes) of Trogoderma granarium, Dermestes lardarius, D. ater, Attagenus augustatus augustatus and Attagenus unicolor japonicus were firstly sequenced to update the database using the next-generation sequencing technique. Based on the selected model species, a comparative analysis of four Dermestidae genera was performed. The mitochondrial genomes of these five species above showed high similarity in nucleotide composition, base composition and gene order, including 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 22 transfer RNAs (tRNAs), 2 ribosomal RNAs (rRNAs) and a non-coding control region, which was similar to most of Coleoptera species. The phylogenetic analysis based on the PCGs and two rRNAs indicated that the relationships within Dermestidae were reconstructed as (((Trogoderma + Anthrenus) + Attagenus) + Dermestes) using both Maximum Likelihood (ML) and Bayesian Inference (BI) analysis. However, more mitogenomes should be sequenced to obtain a more holistic view of the whole family. This study not only showed the mitogenomes of five Dermestidae species and their high conservativeness, but also discussed its implications for reconstructing a more comprehensive phylogeny of dermestids.

Increased Sputum IL-17A Level in Non-asthmatic Eosinophilic Bronchitis.

BACKGROUND: Non-asthmatic eosinophilic bronchitis (NAEB) is one common cause of chronic cough which is characterized as airway eosinophilic inflammation like asthma but lack of airway hyper-responsiveness. Previous studies showed that Th2-pathway plays a role in NAEB, but the role of non-Th2 pathway in mechanism of NAEB remains unknown. Recently, IL-17A, a Th17-pathway cytokine, has been demonstrated to be involved in asthma development. However, the relationship between Th17-pathway and NAEB is unknown. METHODS: We aim to assess the airway level of IL-17A in the subjects with NAEB. Relationships between the IL-17A level and airway function in NAEB or asthma are also observed. We measured IL-17A concentrations in the sputum supernatant from 12 subjects with EB, 16 subjects with asthma [9 eosinophilic asthmatic (EA) and 7 non-eosinophilic asthmatic (NEA) according to the sputum eosinophil ≥ 3%], and 9 healthy control subjects. RESULTS: Increasing IL-17A level was found in NAEB group (29.65 ± 8.13 pg/ml), EA group (32.45 ± 3.22 pg/ml), and NEA group (29.62 ± 6.91 pg/ml) compared with the healthy control group (17.05 ± 10.30 pg/ml) (P < 0.05, P < 0.01, P < 0.05, respectively). The sputum IL-17A level was correlated with FENO (r = 0.44, P < 0.01), FEV1/FVC% (r = - 0.38, P < 0.05), MMEF%pred (r = - 0.34, P < 0.05), and sputum neutrophil% (r = 0.33, P < 0.05) in total. CONCLUSION: Th17-pathway may play a role not only in asthmatics, but also in subjects with NAEB, as reflected by increasing IL-17A concentrations in sputum supernatant.

Fiscal agricultural expenditures' impact on sustainable agricultural economic development: Dynamic marginal effects and impact mechanism.

Sustainable agricultural economic development is the core task for achieving the objective of rural revitalization strategy in China, which cannot be separated from the support and guidance of fiscal policy, and agricultural industry integration is a key path for the fiscal promotion of sustainable agricultural economic development. This paper systematically examines the interaction mechanism between fiscal agricultural expenditures and sustainable agricultural economic development by using 31 provincial panel data in China from 2008 to 2020 and adopting a two-way fixed effect model, a panel quantile model, and a mediating effect model, respectively. The results show that the impact of fiscal agricultural expenditures on sustainable agricultural economic development is significantly positive, and appears a dynamic increasing trend with the agricultural development stage upgrading. Moreover, heterogeneity analysis shows that the effect of fiscal agricultural expenditures is more obvious for the samples in the central region and with a high share of primary industry. Further, a mediating effect test finds that agricultural industry integration plays a mediating mechanism between fiscal agricultural expenditures and sustainable agricultural economic development. Therefore, this paper proposes constructing a long-term investment mechanism for fiscal agricultural expenditures, formulating differentiated fiscal support policies for agriculture, and prioritizing support for agricultural industry integration, which provides theoretical support and policy inspiration for promoting sustainable agricultural economic development.

Study of the High-Efficiency Ejecting-Explosion EDM of SiCp/Al Composite.

SiCp/Al composites have excellent physical properties and are widely used in aerospace and other fields. Because of their poor machinability, they are often machined by non-traditional machining methods such as electrical discharge machining (EDM). In the process of EDM, due to the "shielding" effect of the reinforced particles of SiC, the local ejection force is low during the processing process, and it is difficult to throw the reinforced particles smoothly, which ultimately leads to a low material removal rate and poor surface quality. In this paper, a high-low-voltage composite ejecting-explosion EDM power supply is developed to explore the explosive effect of reinforced particles in the ejecting-explosion EDM process and the unique process law of the explosion process. The experiment platform uses self-developed CNC machining machine tools based on an ejecting-explosive EDM power supply, and the influence of a detonation-increasing wave on the processing of SiCp/Al composites with different volume fractions was studied by changing four factors: the open-circuit voltage difference, pulse current difference, pulse phase difference, and pulse width difference of the back wave behind the step front. The material removal rate and surface roughness were measured. The research results showed that the material removal rate could be increased to 164.63%, and the material surface roughness could be increased to 30.03% by adjusting the high and low pulse current difference from 1 A to 8 A. When the voltage difference between high and low wave (HLW) pulses increases from 40 V to 120 V, the material removal rate can be increased to 150.39%, and the material surface roughness can be increased to 20.49%. The material removal rate increases with the increase in pulse phase difference and open-circuit voltage difference. With the increase in peak current difference and pulse width difference, the material removal rate becomes faster at first and then slower. The surface roughness of materials increases with the growth of open-circuit voltage difference, peak current difference, pulse width difference, and pulse phase difference.

Eosinophil Progenitors in Patients With Non-Asthmatic Eosinophilic Bronchitis, Eosinophilic Asthma, and Normal Controls.

Objective: This study aims to explore the potential of in situ airway differentiation of eosinophil progenitors (EoPs) and hematopoietic progenitor cells (HPCs) in sputum and peripheral blood from patients with non-asthmatic eosinophilic bronchitis (NAEB), eosinophilic asthma (EA), and healthy controls (HC). Methods: Using flow cytometry, we enumerated sputum and blood HPCs and EoPs in patients with NAEB (n=15), EA (n=15), and HC (n=14) at baseline. Patients with NAEB and EA were then treated for 1 month with budesonide (200 µg, bid) or budesonide and formoterol (200/6 µg, bid), respectively. HPCs and EoPs in both compartments were re-evaluated. Results: At baseline, NAEB and EA both had significantly greater numbers of sputum but not blood HPCs and EoPs (p<0.05) compared to HC. There were no differences between NAEB and EA. After 1 month of inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) treatment, NAEB patients showed a significant improvement in cough symptoms, but the attenuation of sputum HPC and EoP levels was not significant. Conclusions: NAEB patients have increased airway levels of HPCs and EoPs. One-month treatment with ICS did not fully suppress the level of EoPs in NAEB. Controlling in situ airway differentiation of EoPs may control airway eosinophilia and provide long-term resolution of symptoms in NAEB.

Arnold Nerve Reflex: Vagal Hypersensitivity in Chronic Cough With Various Causes.

BACKGROUND: A higher incidence of Arnold nerve reflex (ANR) has been observed in patients with chronic cough. However, the different ANR response in various causes of chronic cough remains unclear. Furthermore, it is unknown whether ANR will change after effective treatment. METHODS: Patients with chronic cough were enrolled in the Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health. The causes of chronic cough were diagnosed via a validated management algorithm. Patients underwent an assessment of ANR response before and after 1 month of etiologic treatment. RESULTS: A total of 127 patients with chronic cough and 55 healthy control subjects were enrolled. The positive response, defined as cough-only ANR or urge-to-cough (UTC), was present in 14.8% of patients with cough variant asthma (CVA), 11.1% of patients with upper airway cough syndrome, 15.4% of patients with gastroesophageal reflex related cough (GERC), 4.8% of patients with eosinophilic bronchitis, and 26.9% of patients with unexplained cough (UC). No ANR or UTC was found in the healthy control subjects. The incidence of the positive response was higher in subjects with CVA, GERC, and UC compared with healthy control subjects (all P < .05). No difference was observed among the different causes of chronic cough (all P > .05). After 1 month of treatment, 87.5% of patients identified with a positive response changed to a negative response. In a subgroup analysis, an increased cough sensitivity to capsaicin was found in the patients with a positive response compared with the patients with a negative response (P < .05). CONCLUSIONS: A positive ANR appears to be a sign of vagal hypersensitivity and can be reversed after effective treatment of chronic cough. However, although various causes of chronic cough share a similar feature of an elevated ANR response in a minority of patients, there appears to be limited usefulness in assessing ANR because it does not appear to be a valid predictor of etiology of chronic cough or outcome of treatment.

A Simulation Study of Debris Removal Process in Ultrasonic Vibration Assisted Electrical Discharge Machining (EDM) of Deep Holes †.

When machining a small hole with high aspect ratio in EDM, it is hard for the flushing liquid entering the bottom gap and the debris could hardly be removed, which results in the accumulation of debris and affects the machining efficiency and machining accuracy. The assisted ultrasonic vibration can improve the removal of debris in the gap. Based on dynamics simulation software, Fluent, a three-dimensional (3D) model of debris movement in the gap flow field of EDM small hole machining assisted with side flushing and ultrasonic vibration is established in this paper. The laws of different amplitudes and frequencies and different aspect ratios on debris distribution and movement are quantitatively analyzed. The motion height of debris was observed under different conditions. The research results show that periodic ultrasonic vibration can promote the movement of debris, which is beneficial to the removal of debris in the machining gap. When compared to traditional small hole machining in EDM, the debris in the machining gap were greatly reduced, which ensures the stability of the machining process and improves the machining efficiency.