Taxonomy and phylogeny of Panus (Polyporales, Panaceae) in China and its relationship with allies.

Panus is a typical wood-rotting fungi, which plays considerable roles in ecosystems and has significant economic value. The genus Panus currently consists of more than 100 species; however, only eight species have been reported from China. This study aims to distinguish and describe two novel species from the Panussimilis complex, namely Panusminisporus and Panusbaishanzuensis, one new record species from Zhejiang Province, Panussimilis and three common species, Panusconchatus, Panusneostrigosus and Panusrudis, based on detailed morphological and phylogenetic studies, relying on Chinese specimens. Panusminisporus is characterised by its reddish-brown pileus, decurrent lamellae with cross-veins, slender stipe, smaller basidiospores, wider generative hyphae and absence of sclerocystidia. Panusbaishanzuensis is featured by its pileus with concentric and darker ring zone, decurrent lamellae with cross-veins, shorter stipe, longer basidiospores, diverse and shorter cheilocystidia and smaller sclerocystidia. Internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions, large subunit nuclear ribosomal RNA gene (nLSU) and translation elongation factor 1-α gene (tef-1α) were employed to perform a thorough phylogenetic analysis for genus Panus and related genera, using Bayesian Inference and Maximum Likelihood analysis. The results indicate that Panusminisporus and Panusbaishanzuensis form two independent clades within the Panussimilis complex themselves. Detailed descriptions, taxonomic notes, illustrations etc. were provided. In addition, a key to the reported species of Panus from China is also provided.

Ventricular Netrin-1 deficiency leads to defective pyramidal decussation and mirror movement in mice.

The corticospinal tract (CST) is the principal neural pathway responsible for conducting voluntary movement in the vertebrate nervous system. Netrin-1 is a well-known guidance molecule for midline crossing of commissural axons during embryonic development. Families with inherited Netrin-1 mutations display congenital mirror movements (CMM), which are associated with malformations of pyramidal decussation in most cases. Here, we investigated the role of Netrin-1 in CST formation by generating conditional knockout (CKO) mice using a Gfap-driven Cre line. A large proportion of CST axons spread laterally in the ventral medulla oblongata, failed to decussate and descended in the ipsilateral spinal white matter of Ntn1Gfap CKO mice. Netrin-1 mRNA was expressed in the ventral ventricular zone (VZ) and midline, while Netrin-1 protein was transported by radial glial cells to the ventral medulla, through which CST axons pass. The level of transported Netrin-1 protein was significantly reduced in Ntn1Gfap CKO mice. In addition, Ntn1Gfap CKO mice displayed increased symmetric movements. Our findings indicate that VZ-derived Netrin-1 deletion leads to an abnormal trajectory of the CST in the spinal cord due to the failure of CST midline crossing and provides novel evidence supporting the idea that the Netrin-1 signalling pathway is involved in the pathogenesis of CMM.

Chinese Medicine Prolongs Overall Survival of Chinese Patients with Advanced Gastric Cancer: Treatment Pattern and Survival Analysis of a 20-Year Real-World Study.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the treatment patterns and survival status of advanced gastric cancer (AGC) in China in the past two decades, and objectively evaluate the impact of standardized Chinese medicine (CM) treatment on the survival of AGC patients. METHODS: This multicenter registry designed and propensity score analysis study described the diagnosis characteristics, treatment-pattern development and survival status of AGC from 10 hospitals in China between January 1, 2000 and July 31, 2021. Overall survival (OS) was evaluated between non-CM cohort (standard medical treatment) and CM cohort (integrated standard CM treatment ≥3 months). Propensity score matching (PSM) and inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) were performed to adjust any difference in average outcomes for bias. RESULTS: A total of 2,001 patients histologically confirmed locally advanced and/or metastasis stomach and gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma were enrolled. Among them, 1,607 received systemic chemotherapy, 215 (10.74%) accepted molecular targeted therapy, 44 (2.2%) received checkpoint inhibitor therapy, and 769 (38.43%) received CM. Two-drug regimen was the main choice for first-line treatment, with fluoropyrimidine plus platinum as the most common regimen (530 cases, 60.09%). While 45.71% (16 cases) of patients with HER2 amplification received trastuzumab in first-line. The application of apatinib increased (33.33%) in third-line. The application of checkpoint inhibitors has increased since 2020. COX analysis showed that Lauren mixed type (P=0.017), cycles of first-line treatment >6 (P=0.000), CM (P=0.000), palliative gastrectomy (P=0.000), trastuzumab (P=0.011), and apatinib (P=0.008) were independent prognostic factors for the OS of AGC. After PSM and IPTW, the median OS of CM cohort and non-CM cohort was 18.17 and 12.45 months, respectively (P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: In real-world practice for AGC in China, therapy choices consisted with guidelines. Two-drug regimen was the main first-line choice. Standardized CM treatment was an independent prognostic factor and could prolong the OS of Chinese patients with AGC. (Registration No. NCT02781285).

Quantitative analysis from ultrafast dynamic contrast-enhanced breast MRI using population-based versus individual arterial input functions, and comparison with semi-quantitative analysis.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the value of inline quantitative analysis of ultrafast dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) using a population-based arterial input function (P-AIF) compared with offline quantitative analysis with an individual AIF (I-AIF) and semi-quantitative analysis for diagnosing breast cancer. METHODS: This prospective study included 99 consecutive patients with 109 lesions (85 malignant and 24 benign). Model-based parameters (Ktrans, kep, and ve) and model-free parameters (washin and washout) were derived from CAIPIRINHA-Dixon-TWIST-VIBE (CDTV) DCE-MRI. Univariate analysis and multivariate logistic regression analysis with forward stepwise covariate selection were performed to identify significant variables. The AUC and F1 score were assessed for semi-quantitative and two quantitative analyses. RESULTS: kep from inline quantitative analysis with P-AIF for diagnosing breast cancer provided an AUC similar to kep from offline quantitative analysis with I-AIF (0.782 vs 0.779, p = 0.954), higher compared to washin from semi-quantitative analysis (0.782 vs 0.630, p = 0.034). Furthermore, the inline quantitative analysis with P-AIF achieved the larger F1 score (0.920) compared with offline quantitative analysis with I-AIF (0.780) and semi-quantitative analysis (0.480). There were no statistically significant differences for kep values between the two quantitative analysis schemes (p = 0.944). CONCLUSION: The inline quantitative analysis with P-AIF from CDTV in characterizing breast lesions could offer similar diagnostic accuracy to offline quantitative analysis with I-AIF, and higher diagnostic accuracy to semi-quantitative analysis.

New species, new records and common species of Pluteussect.Celluloderma from northern China.

Wood-rotting fungi are organisms that can decompose wood substrates and extract nutrients from them to support their growth. They play a crucial role in the material cycle of forest ecosystems. The genus Pluteus plays a significant role in wood decomposition. In this study, the morphology and molecular systematics of the sect. Celluloderma of the genus Pluteus were carried out. Pluteusbrunneodiscus was identified as a new species, along with the discovery of two new records, P.cystidiosus and P.chrysophlebius, and a common species, P.romellii. Pluteusbrunneodiscus is characterized by the brown center of the pileus that transitions to white towards the margins, with the surface cracking to form irregular granules. It is typically found in Populus forests growing on decomposing twigs or wood chips. Line drawings, color photographs, and phylogenetic analyses of related species within the genus Pluteus accompany the descriptions of these four species. The analyses are based on ITS + TEF1-α sequence data. Finally, a key for the twenty species within the sect. Celluloderma of the genus Pluteus, which has been documented in China, is provided.

Ortho C-H Bond Activations in an Atmospheric Microwave Plasma Ion Source.

C-H bond ortho-substitution reaction has always been a significant and challenging topic in organic chemistry. We proposed a synthesis method based on microwave plasma torches. High-resolution mass spectrometry was used to monitor rapid reaction products. 2-Alkylbenzimidazole can be formed through the reaction of phenylnitrenium ion and nitriles on a millisecond scale. This reaction can achieve the one-step formation of benzimidazoles from benzene ring single-substituted compounds without the addition of external oxidants or catalysts. A similar C-H bond activation reaction can be accomplished with ketones. Meanwhile, the microwave plasma reactor was modified, and the resulting 2-methylbenzimidazole was successfully collected, indicating the device has good application potential in organic reactions such as C-H bond activation reaction.

General Synthesis of Conformationally Constrained Noncanonical Amino Acids with C(sp3)-Rich Benzene Bioisosteres.

Recent years have seen novel modalities emerge for the treatment of human diseases resulting in an increase in beyond rule of 5 (bRo5) chemical matter. As a result, synthetic innovations aiming to enable rapid access to complex bRo5 molecular entities have become increasingly valuable for medicinal chemists' toolkits. Herein, we report the general synthesis of a new class of noncanonical amino acids (ncAA) with a cyclopropyl backbone to achieve conformational constraint and bearing C(sp3)-rich benzene bioisosteres. We also demonstrate preliminary studies toward utilities of these ncAA as building blocks for medicinal chemistry research.

Multiple evidence reveals two new species and new distributions of Calocybe species (Lyophyllaceae) from northeastern China.

The Calocybe species possess notable economic and medicinal value, demonstrating substantial potential for resource utilization. The taxonomic studies of Calocybe are lacking in quality and depth. Based on the specimens collected from northeast China, this study provides a detailed description of two newly discovered species, namely Calocybebetulicola and Calocybecystidiosa, as well as two commonly found species, Calocybedecolorata and Calocybeionides. Additionally, a previously unrecorded species, C.decolorata, has recently been discovered in Jilin Province, China. The two newly discovered species can be accurately distinguished from other species within the genus Calocybe based on their distinct morphological characteristics. The primary distinguishing features of C.betulicola include its grayish-purple pileus, grayish-brown to dark purple stipe, smaller basidiomata, absence of cellular pileipellis, and its habitat on leaf litter within birch forests. Calocybecystidiosa is distinguished by its growth on the leaf litter of coniferous forests, a flesh-pink pileus, a fibrous stipe with a white tomentose covering at the base, non-cellular pileipellis, larger basidiospores, and the presence of cheilocystidia. The reconstruction of phylogenetic trees using combined ITS, nLSU, and tef1-α sequences, employing maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference analyses, showed that C.betulicola formed a cluster with C.decurrens, while C.cystidiosa clustered with C.vinacea. However, these two clusters formed separate branches themselves, which also supported the results obtained from our morphological studies. A key to the Calocybe species reported from northeast China is provided to facilitate future studies of the genus.

Soliton and dispersive wave generation with third-order dispersion and temporal boundary.

We investigate the pulse evolution and energy conservation condition at the temporal boundary under third-order dispersion. When the fundamental soliton crosses the temporal boundary and forms two reflected pulses and one transmitted pulse, the power of the transmitted pulse first increases and then decreases as the incident spectrum shifts toward the blue side. If the transmitted spectrum lies in the anomalous group-velocity dispersion region, second-order soliton is formed and dispersive wave is radiated. We present a modified phase-matching condition to predict the resonance frequencies. The predicted results are in good agreement with the results obtained by numerically solving the nonlinear Schrödinger equation.

Chronic cadmium exposure impairs flight behavior by dampening flight muscle carbon metabolism in bumblebees.

Cadmium pollution affects the global ecosystem because cadmium can be transferred up the food chain. The bumblebee, Bombus terrestris, is an important insect pollinator. Their foraging activity on flowers exposes them to harmful heavy metals, which damages their health and leads to massive population declines. However, the effects of chronic exposure to heavy metals on the flight performance of bumblebees have not yet been characterized. Here, we studied variation in the flight capacity of bumblebees induced by chronic cadmium exposure at field-realistic concentrations using behavioral, physiological, and molecular approaches. Chronic cadmium exposure caused a significant reduction in the duration, distance, and mean velocity of bumblebee flight. Transcriptome analysis showed that the impairment of carbon metabolism and mitochondrial dysfunction in the flight muscle were the primary causes. Physiological, biochemical, and metabolomic analyses validated disruptions in energy metabolism, and impairments in mitochondrial respiratory chain complexes activities. Histological analysis revealed muscle fiber damage and mitochondrial loss. Exogenous decanoic acid or citric acid partially restored sustained flight ability of bumblebees by mitigating muscle fiber damage and increasing energy generation. These findings provide insights into how long-term cadmium stress affects the flight ability of insects and will aid human muscle or exercise-related disease research.

Electron Microscope Study of the Pressure-Induced Phase Transformation and Microstructure Change of TiO2 Nanocrystals.

Microstructure transformation of materials under compression is crucial to understanding their high-pressure phase transformation. However, direct observation of the microstructure of compressive materials is a considerable challenge, which impedes the understanding of the relations among phase transformation, microstructure, and material properties. In this study, we used transmission Kikuchi diffraction and transmission electron microscopy to intuitively characterize pressure-induced phase transformation and microstructure of TiO2. We observed the changes of twin boundaries with increasing pressure and intermediate phase TiO2-I of anatase transformed into TiO2-II (α-PbO2 phase) for the first time. The following changes occur during this transformation: anatase (diameter of ∼100 nm) → anatase twins 60° along the [110] zone axis → intermediate TiO2-I twins 60° along the [010] zone axis → TiO2-II twins 90° along the [010] zone axis. These results directly reveal the crystallographic relation among these structures, enhancing our understanding of the phase transformation in TiO2 nanocrystals.

Alanine metabolism mediates energy allocation of the brown planthopper to adapt to resistant rice.

INTRODUCTION: During the adaptation to host plant resistance, herbivorous insects faced the challenge of overcoming plant defenses while ensuring their own development and reproductive success. To achieve this, a strategic allocation of energy resources for detoxification and ecological fitness maintenance became essential. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to elucidate the intricate energy allocation mechanisms involved in herbivore adaptation that are currently poorly understood. METHODS: The rice Oryza sativa and its monophagous pest, the brown planthopper (BPH), Nilaparvata lugens were used as a model system. An integrated analysis of metabolomes and transcriptomes from different BPH populations were conducted to identify the biomarkers. RNA interference of key genes and exogenous injection of key metabolites were performed to validate the function of biomarkers. RESULTS: We found that alanine was one of the key biomarkers of BPH adaptation to resistant rice variety IR36. We also found that alanine flow determined the adaptation of BPH to IR36 rice. The alanine aminotransferase (ALT)-mediated alanine transfer to pyruvate was necessary and sufficient for the adaptation. This pathway may be conserved, at least to some extent, in BPH adaptation to multiple rice cultivars with different resistance genes. More importantly, ALT-mediated alanine metabolism is the foundation of downstream energy resource allocation for the adaptation. The adapted BPH population exhibited a significantly higher level of energy reserves in the fat body and ovary when fed with IR36 rice, compared to the unadapted population. This rendered the elevated detoxification in the adapted BPH and their ecological fitness recovery. CONCLUSION: Overall, our findings demonstrated the crucial role of ALT-mediated alanine metabolism in energy allocation during the adaptation to resistant rice in BPH. This will provide novel knowledge regarding the co-evolutionary mechanisms between herbivores and their host plants.

Clinical application of a positioning annular gingival cutter in minimally invasive stage II implant surgery.

BACKGROUND: Dental implant restoration is an effective therapy for missing teeth and is widely used in clinical practice to provide more treatment options for patients. OBJECTIVE: To explore the application of a positioning annular gingival cutter in minimally invasive stage II implant surgery and to evaluate its clinical effects. METHOD: Stage II implant surgery using a positioning annular gingival cutter was performed on 15 selected patients at 15 implant sites with sufficient keratinized gingival width in the posterior region. The patient underwent crown restoration 2 weeks after surgery and returned for follow-up 3 months later. The surgical effects were recorded for each patient, including the duration of surgery, postoperative pain and swelling, keratinized gingiva width, probing depth (PD) measurements, and the percentage of bleeding on probing (BOP) before surgery, during crown restoration, and 3 months after crown restoration. The data were subjected to a paired sample t-test using Statistical Product and Service Solutions (SPSS) 25.0. RESULTS: The duration of stage II implant surgery using a positioning annular gingival cutter was 9.23 ± 1.63 min, and the duration of postoperative pain and swelling was 0.73 ± 0.35 and 0.81 ± 0.35 d, respectively. The keratinized gingiva width was 2.93 ± 0.41 mm before surgery and 2.91 ± 0.46 mm after crown restoration, demonstrating no significant reduction (P> 0.05). The keratinized gingiva width remained stable 3 months after crown restoration, with an average of 2.85 ± 0.49 mm, without significant reduction (P> 0.05). No obvious inflammation is observed. PD was 2.60 ± 0.52 mm and BOP was 10%. CONCLUSION: The use of a positioning annular gingival cutter in stage II implant surgery achieves a positive and stable clinical effect within a short time.

Whole tumor based texture analysis of magnetic resonance diffusion imaging for colorectal liver metastases: A prospective study for diffusion model comparison and early response biomarker.

PURPOSE: To evaluate and compare the diagnostic value of diffusion-related texture analysis parameters obtained from various magnetic resonance diffusion models as early predictors of the clinical response to chemotherapy in patients with colorectal liver metastases (CRLM). METHODS: Patients (n = 145) with CRLM were prospectively and consecutively enrolled and scanned using diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI)-magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)/intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM)/diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI) before (baseline) and two-three weeks after (follow-up) commencing chemotherapy. Therapy response was evaluated based on the Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST, version 1.1). The histogram and texture parameters of each diffusion-related parametric map were analysed between the responding and non-responding groups, screened using LASSO, and fitted with binary logistic regression models. The diagnostic efficacy of each model in the early prediction of CRLM was analysed, and the corresponding receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was drawn. The area under the curve (AUC) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated. RESULTS: Of the 145 analysed patients, 69 were in the responding group and 76 were in the non-responding group. Among all models, the difference value based on the histogram and texture features of the DKI-derived parameters performed best for the early prediction of CRLM treatment efficacy. The AUC of the DKI model in the validation set reached 0.795 (95% CI 0.652-0.938). Among the IVIM-derived parameters, the difference model based on D and D* performed best, and the AUC in the validation set reached 0.737 (95% CI 0.586-0.889). Finally, in the DWI sequence, the model comprising baseline features performed the best, with an AUC of 0.699 (95% CI 0.537-0.86) in the validation set. CONCLUSIONS: Baseline DWI parameters and follow-up changes in IVIM and DKI parameters predicted the chemotherapeutic response in patients with CRLM. In addition, as very early predictors, DKI-derived parameters were more effective than DWI- and IVIM-related parameters, in which changes in D-parameters performed best.

Establishment and optimization of sulfur-based autotrophic-heterotrophic denitrification biofilters for advanced post-anaerobic treatment of effluent from kitchen wastewater and landfill leachate under low temperature.

Landfill leachate treatment is a major challenge in wastewater treatment. In this study, two sulfur-based autotrophic-heterotrophic denitrification biofilters (Ra biofilter with room-temperature molded filler and Rb biofilter with melt molded filler) were used to treat kitchen-landfill leachate at low temperatures. The effects of reflux ratio, concentrations of NaHCO3, and Na2S2O3 on the total nitrogen removal efficiency were analyzed, and based on response surface methodology, the optimum parameters were determined. After optimization, the total nitrogen removal efficiency for the Ra and Rb biofilters increased by 83% and 81%, respectively. Moreover, sulfur-based autotrophic denitrification accounted for more than 70% of the nitrogen removal in both biofilters. Based on high-throughput sequencing results, the functional bacteria exhibited high abundance in the Ra biofilter, indicating that the room-temperature molded filler favored the enrichment of functional bacteria. These findings were important for optimizing the operation of sulfur autotrophic-heterotrophic denitrification biofilters at low temperatures.

Analytical and preparative chiral supercritical fluid chromatography resolutions using crown ether-derived column.

In this study, crown ether-derived column Crownpak® CR-I (+) was evaluated under SFC conditions using 12 primary amines, and the chromatographic results were compared against eight immobilized polysaccharide-based columns. Crownpak® CR-I (+) achieved a significantly higher success rate. It was found that the addition of 5% water to the modifier dramatically improved the peak shape for chiral separation of primary amines on Crownpak® CR-I (+). The first reported preparative SFC separations on Crownpak® CR-I (+) are shown, offering a new approach for the preparative resolution of primary amines. The case studies demonstrate that Crownpak® CR-I (+) is a very useful column in the chiral separation of challenging compounds that contain a primary amine group in the pharmaceutical industry.

Investigation into the performance and stability of immobilized and coated polysaccharide columns in supercritical fluid chromatography.

In this study, the performance of the widely used "golden four" coated chiral stationary phases (Chiralpak AD-3, Chiralcel OD-3, Chiralpak AS-3, and Chiralcel OJ-3) was compared with their corresponding immobilized versions (Chiralpak IA-3, Chiralpak IB-3, Chiralpak IB N-3, Chiralpak IH-3, and Chiralpak IJ-3) under supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) conditions with a set of 30 racemic compounds. Using the traditional modifiers, methanol and isopropanol, the immobilized columns (Chiralpak IB N-3 and Chiralpak IH-3) showed an improved general ability to successfully resolve the enantiomers of the target analytes relative to their coated versions (Chiralcel OD-3 and Chiralpak AS-3), while the coated columns (Chiralpak AD-3, Chiralcel OD-3, and Chiralcel OJ-3) performed better than their immobilized versions (Chiralpak IA-3, Chiralpak IB-3, and Chiralpak IJ-3). An investigation of the non-traditional modifiers, dichloromethane, ethyl acetate, and tetrahydrofuran with immobilized columns, revealed a generally decreased ability to successfully resolve the enantiomers of the target analytes, relative to the use of the traditional modifiers, methanol and isopropanol. The stability of the coated columns (Chiralpak AD-H and Chiralcel OD-H) was evaluated by injecting "forbidden" solvents, including dichloromethane, dimethyl sulfoxide, and tetrahydrofuran. After 200 injections of these solvents on coated columns, the retention factors and resolutions slightly decreased, and a significant increase in column backpressure was observed, indicating some degree of stationary phase degradation.

Morphology and molecular phylogeny of Neolentinus in northern China.

Neolentinus is a significant genus, belonging to Gloeophyllaceae, with important economic and ecological values, which are parasites on decaying wood of broad-leaf or coniferous trees, and will cause brown rot. However, the taxonomic study is lagging behind to other groups of macrofungi, especially in China. In view of this, we conducted morphological and molecular phylogenetic studies on this genus. We have discovered new types of cheilocystidia and with extremely long lamellae in Neolentinus, and, thus proposed it as a new species-Neolentinus longifolius. At the same time, we clarified the distribution of Neolentinus cyathiformis in China and provided a detailed description. Moreover, we also described two common species, viz. Neolentinus lepideus and Neolentinus adhaerens. All the species are described based on the Chinese collections. The key to the reported species of Neolentinus from China is provided. And the phylogeny of Neolentinus from China is reconstructed based on DNA sequences of multiple loci including the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions, the large subunit nuclear ribosomal RNA gene (nLSU), and the translation elongation factor 1-α gene (tef-1α). In addition, full morphological descriptions, illustrations, color photographs, taxonomic notes, and all the available sequences of Neolentinus species are provided.

A new species and new records of Hymenopellis and Xerula (Agaricales, Physalacriaceae) from China.

Hymenopellis is the genus that exhibits the highest number of species within the Xerula/Oudemansiella complex. Numerous species of Hymenopellis demonstrate edibility, and some of these species have been domesticated and cultivated. During an extensive survey carried out in Henan and Jilin Provinces, China, a substantial quantity of Hymenopellis specimens was gathered as a component of the macrofungal resource inventory. Based on the findings of morphological and molecular phylogenetic studies, a new species, Hymenopellis biyangensis, has been identified. A new record species, Hymenopellis altissima, has been discovered in China. Additionally, two new record species, Hymenopellis raphanipes and Xerula strigosa, have been found in Henan Province. Internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and large subunit ribosomal (nrLSU) were used to establish a phylogeny for species identification. Detailed descriptions, field habitat maps and line drawings of these species are presented. The discussion focuses on the relationships between newly discovered species and other related taxa. Additionally, this study provides and a key to the documented species of Hymenopellis and Xerula found in China.