Auricular Acupressure as an Adjuvant Treatment for Wheezing in Stable Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a major public health problem. Due to the restriction of expiratory airflow, it is characterized by emphysematous destruction of the lungs. Shortness of breath is one of the main clinical symptoms. Auricular acupressure is a clinical therapy characteristic of Chinese medicine that treats the disease by compressing ear points. Usually, the seeds of Vaccaria segetalis are used to stimulate ear points, which has the effect of regulating qi and alleviating wheezing. In this paper, we propose this characteristic therapy of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) for the clinical symptoms of wheezing of lung and kidney qi deficiency type in stable COPD patients. Ear points are selected as the treatment protocol for Lung (CO14), Spleen (CO13), Kidney (CO10), Shen Men (TF4), and Ping Chuan (AT1.2.4i) points. The protocol describes a case study using auricular acupressure for a patient with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease to relieve wheezing symptoms.

Intestinal microbiota and metabolome perturbations in ischemic and idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy.

BACKGROUND: Various clinical similarities are present in ischemic (ICM) and idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (IDCM), leading to ambiguity on some occasions. Previous studies have reported that intestinal microbiota appeared dysbiosis in ICM, whether implicating in the IDCM remains unclear. The aim of this study was to assess the alterations in intestinal microbiota and fecal metabolites in ICM and IDCM. METHODS: ICM (n = 20), IDCM (n = 22), and healthy controls (HC, n = 20) were enrolled in this study. Stool samples were collected for 16S rRNA gene sequencing and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis. RESULTS: Both ICM and IDCM exhibited reduced alpha diversity and altered microbial community structure compared to HC. At the genus level, nine taxa including Blautia, [Ruminococcus]_torques_group, Christensenellaceae_R-7_group, UCG-002, Corynebacterium, Oceanobacillus, Gracilibacillus, Klebsiella and Citrobacter was specific to ICM, whereas one taxa Alistipes uniquely altered in IDCM. Likewise, these changes were accompanied by significant metabolic differences. Further differential analysis displayed that 18 and 14 specific metabolites uniquely changed in ICM and IDCM, respectively. The heatmap was generated to display the association between genera and metabolites. Receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) analysis confirmed the predictive value of the distinct microbial-metabolite features in disease status. The results showed that microbial (area under curve, AUC = 0.95) and metabolic signatures (AUC = 0.84) were effective in discriminating ICM from HC. Based on the specific microbial and metabolic features, the patients with IDCM could be separated from HC with an AUC of 0.80 and 0.87, respectively. Furthermore, the gut microbial genus (AUC = 0.88) and metabolite model (AUC = 0.89) were comparable in predicting IDCM from ICM. Especially, the combination of fecal microbial-metabolic features improved the ability to differentiate IDCM from ICM with an AUC of 0.96. CONCLUSION: Our findings highlighted the alterations of gut microbiota and metabolites in different types of cardiomyopathies, providing insights into the pathophysiological mechanisms of myocardial diseases. Moreover, multi-omics analysis of fecal samples holds promise as a non-invasive tool for distinguishing disease status.

Factors influencing the mental health status of support nurses and their workload during the COVID-19 epidemic.

OBJECTIVES: The authors used the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Task Load Index (NASA-TLX) and general health questionnaire to analyze the factors influencing the mental health status and the workload of support nurses during the COVID-19 epidemic. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The authors conducted a cross-sectional survey of 349 support nurses in April-October 2022. Using QuestionStar, a powerful online survey tool, the authors administered surveys to the participants, collected data on the mental health status and workload of support nurses, and analyzed the influencing factors based on the collected data. RESULTS: A total of 316 questionnaires were successfully collected, with an effective rate of 98.75%. The proportion of support nurses with mental health problems was 25% and the value of the NASA-TLX questionnaire was: M±SD 68.91±7.28 pts. Multi-factor analysis revealed that the number of children, family support, and nursing support location were the influencing factors of mental health status, while the multivariate analysis revealed that the presence of symptoms, nursing support location, support work type, and total 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) score were the influencing factors of the workload of support nurses. CONCLUSIONS: Compared to their counterparts in the plains, nurses working in isolated plateau regions who were caring for children and lacked family support, were more likely to have mental health issues. There was a positive correlation between the changes in GHQ-12 and NASA-TLX scores of the study participants. Compared to their counterparts in the plains and the tropical regions, nurses working in plateau regions had a heavier workload. As part of the follow-up measures to prevent and treat patients impacted by the COVID-19 epidemic, it is important to improve the mental health evaluation, consultation, and treatment of the support nurses to guarantee the high quality of the first-line support work. Int J Occup Med Environ Health. 2023;36(6)761-72.

Comprehensive analyses of fatty acid metabolism-related lncRNA for ovarian cancer patients.

Ovarian cancer (OC) is a disease with difficult early diagnosis and treatment and poor prognosis. OC data profiles were downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas. Eight key fatty acid metabolism-related long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) were finally screened for building a risk scoring model by univariate/ multifactor and least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) Cox regression. To make this risk scoring model more applicable to clinical work, we established a nomogram containing the clinical characteristics of OC patients after confirming that the model has good reliability and validity and the ability to distinguish patient prognosis. To further explore how these key lncRNAs are involved in OC progression, we explored their relationship with LUAD immune signatures and tumor drug resistance. The structure shows that the risk scoring model established based on these 8 fatty acid metabolism-related lncRNAs has good reliability and validity and can better predict the prognosis of patients with different risks of OC, and LINC00861in these key RNAs may be a hub gene that affects the progression of OC and closely related to the sensitivity of current OC chemotherapy drugs. In addition, combined with immune signature analysis, we found that patients in the high-risk group are in a state of immunosuppression, and Tfh cells may play an important role in it. We innovatively established a prognostic prediction model with excellent reliability and validity from the perspective of OC fatty acid metabolism reprogramming and lncRNA regulation and found new molecular/cellular targets for future OC treatment.

Vitamin D receptor-deficient keratinocytes-derived exosomal miR-4505 promotes the macrophage polarization towards the M1 phenotype.

Background: The vitamin D receptor (VDR) has a low level of expression in the keratinocytes of patients with psoriasis and plays a role in the development of the disease. Furthermore, the crosstalk between macrophages and psoriatic keratinocytes-derived exosomes is critical for psoriasis progression. However, the effects of VDR-deficient keratinocytes-derived exosomes (Exos-shVDR) on macrophages and their underlying mechanisms remain largely unknown. Methods: VDR-deficient keratinocytes were constructed by infecting HaCaT cells with a VDR-targeting lentivirus, mimicking the VDR-deficient state observed in psoriatic keratinocytes. Exosomes were characterized using transmission electron microscopy, nanoparticle tracking analysis, and Western blot. The effect of Exos-shVDR on macrophage proliferation, apoptosis, and M1/M2 polarization was assessed using cell counting kit-8 assay (CCK-8), flow cytometer, real-time quantitative polymerasechain reaction (RT-qPCR), and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The mechanism underlying the effect of Exos-shVDR on macrophage function was elucidated through data mining, bioinformatics, RT-qPCR, and rescue experiments. Results: Our results revealed that both Exos-shVDR and Exos-shNC exhibited typical exosome characteristics, including a hemispheroid shape with a concave side and particle size ranging from 50 to 100 nm. The levels of expression of VDR were significantly lower in Exos-shVDR than in Exos-shNC. Functional experiments demonstrated that Exos-shVDR significantly promoted macrophage proliferation and polarization towards the M1 phenotype while inhibiting macrophage apoptosis. Moreover, miR-4505 was highly expressed in the skin tissue of patients with psoriasis. Its overexpression significantly increased macrophage proliferation and polarization towards M1 and inhibited apoptosis. Furthermore, the effects of Exos-shVDR on macrophage function occur through miR-4505. Conclusions: Exos-shVDR exacerbates macrophage proliferation, promotes polarization towards the M1 phenotype, and inhibits macrophage apoptosis by increasing the levels of miR-4505. These results indicate that modulation of macrophage function is a potential strategy for developing new drugs for the treatment of psoriasis.

The Relationship Between Mindfulness, Fatigue, and Perceived Symptoms Among Frontline Nurses Who Performed Nucleic Acid Sample Collection During the COVID-19 in China: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Objective: Given the immense stress faced by medical staff during the COVID-19 pandemic, this study aimed to evaluate the relationship between mindful attention awareness, fatigue, and perceived symptoms among frontline nurses who performed nucleic acid sample collection during the COVID-19 pandemic, to reduce their fatigue and help them cope with perceived uncomfortable symptoms. Methods: A convenience sampling method was used to survey nurses who travelled to Hainan for nucleic acid sampling in August 2022 using an online (WeChat) questionnaire. A total of 514 frontline nurses who performed nucleic acid tests completed the questionnaire. The questionnaire covered basic demographic information, Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS) ratings, and Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS) ratings. Spearman correlation analysis was used to separate the relationship between MASS and FSS, and univariate and multivariate factor analyses were used to explore the relevant influences contributing to the occurrence of fatigue. Results: A total of 514 individuals completed the survey,93.97% (n=483) were female, mean age was 31.15 ± 5.7, MASS score was 69.01 ± 13.53, and 296 (57.59%) nurses experienced symptoms of fatigue during the auxiliary period. Spearman correlation analysis showed that FSS was associated with MASS. Multifactorial analysis showed that sex, age, marital status, fertility status, years of work, adaptation to dietary habits, hidrorrhea, and MAAS scores affected the presence of fatigue symptoms among the medical staff in Hainan (P<0.05). Conclusion: The psychological status of frontline nurses undergoing nucleic acid testing during the pandemic was poor, and the appearance of fatigue symptoms could be effectively reduced by increasing levels of positive thinking among medical staff to help them cope with public health emergencies.

Relationship between valvular structure and biochemical indices of non-valvular atrial fibrillation and senile degenerative valvular heart disease.

Background: Valvular heart disease (VHD) is a common clinical condition in geriatric-related cardiovascular diseases that is connected to heart dysfunction. Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most frequent arrhythmia. Considering these two common clinical conditions, so far no sufficient data on the relationship between degenerative VHD and non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF). We aimed to explore the relationship between valvular structure and biochemistry of nonvalvular AF and degenerative valvular heart disease in the elderly. Methods: In our study, 234 VHD patients who were diagnosis evaluated by transthoracic echocardiography were enrolled in this retrospective study from January 2015 and December 2018. Significant valvular diseases were defined according to ACC/AHA Classification as any moderate or severe mitral regurgitation (MR), aortic regurgitation (AR), tricuspid stenosis, regurgitation, or aortic stenosis (AS). Data on relevant laboratory indicators were also collected. Results: A total of 234 patients with degenerative VHD were enrolled, of whom 81 had NVAF and 153 had sinus rhythm. Gender, smoking history, and some comorbidities, such as coronary artery disease, diabetes, and renal dysfunction, did not differ significantly between the two groups, but there were significant differences in age and hypertension {79 [74-83] vs. 70 [65-79] years} After propensity-score matching (PSM), we identified 68 VHD patients with NVAF and 68 VHD patients without NVAF. The NVAF + VHD had higher low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol (2.94±0.84 vs. 2.26±1.33 mmol/L, P=0.001), lower high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol [1.03 (0.89-1.34) vs. 1.56 (0.99-2.71) mmol/L, P<0.001], and higher uric acid (UA) (438.18±145.83 vs. 376.67±148.03 µmol/L, P=0.02) than the VHD group. The ejection fraction (EF) of the NVAF + VHD group was lower than that of the VHD group {63 [51-68] vs. 66 [62-69], P=0.013}. In addition, the left atrial size, MR, and calcification of the NVAF + VHD group were higher than those of the VHD group. Conclusions: Pronounced MR, valve calcification and hyperlipidemia were more likely in VHD patients with NVAF. These structures and biomarkers changes maybe important clinical parameters for disease prevention and management, which indicate early drug intervention to AF and hyperlipidemia is necessary.

Effects of Acupuncture Combined with Rehabilitation on Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome in Females: A Meta-Analysis Running Head-Acupuncture Combined with Rehabilitation on Chronic Pelvic Pain.

Objective: To investigate the clinical efficacy of this combined treatment for chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CPPS) by meta-analysis. Methods: Relevant articles were retrieved from PubMed, CNKI, Wanfang Data, Web of Science, and Embase, including randomized controlled trials on acupuncture combined with rehabilitation for CPPS in females. Results: A total of 224 articles were retrieved in this study, and 14 studies were finally identified for inclusion. Among them, the treatment group was treated with acupuncture combined with pelvic floor rehabilitation therapy, while the control group was treated with acupuncture or pelvic floor rehabilitation therapy. Meta-analysis showed that the treatment effective rate in the treatment group was significantly higher than that in the control group (OR = 6.54; 95% CI: 4.20, 10.21; P < 0.05). After treatment, compared with the control group, the treatment group showed lower incidences of adverse reactions (OR = 0.16; 95% CI: 0.09, 0.27; P < 0.05), bladder prolapse (OR = 0.36; 95% CI: 0.18, 0.73; P < 0.05), cervical prolapse (OR = 0.22; 95% CI: 0.10, 0.49; P < 0.05), and pelvic peritoneal hernia (OR = 0.14; 95% CI: 0.05, 0.38; P < 0.05); in addition, the treatment group was also associated with lower pain score (SMD = -4.05; 95% CI: -6.75, -1.34; P < 0.05) and pelvic dysfunction score (SMD = -4.35; 95% CI: -5.37, -3.34; P < 0.05). Conclusion: Acupuncture combined with rehabilitation is effective for CPPS in females, which can significantly reduce the pain intensity and improve pelvic dysfunction of patients.

The effects of laparoscopic myomectomy and open surgery on uterine myoma patients' postoperative immuno-inflammatory responses, endocrine statuses, and prognoses: a comparative study.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the effects of laparoscopic myomectomy and open surgery on the postoperative inflammatory responses, endocrine statuses, and prognoses of uterine myoma patients. METHODS: Uterine myoma patients (n=126) admitted to the Department of Gynecology in our hospital were recruited as the study cohort and divided into an observation group (n=63), and a control group (n=63). The patients in the observation group underwent laparoscopic myomectomies, and the patients in the control group underwent open surgery. The completion times, intraoperative blood loss volumes, postoperative hospital stay durations, postoperative exhaust times, preoperative and postoperative immune function, inflammatory factors, sex hormone levels, postoperative complications, and prognoses were observed. RESULTS: The observation group showed shorter hospital stays, lower intraoperative blood loss volumes, and shorter postoperative exhaust times (P<0.001). After the surgery, CD3+%, CD4+%, and CD4+%/CD8+% were decreased, but the CD8+% was increased in the two groups (all P<0.01). The observation group had higher CD3+%, CD4+% and CD4+%/CD8+%, and lower CD8+% than the control group (all P<0.001). The C-reactive protein, TNF-α, and IL-6 levels were higher after the surgery in the two groups (all P<0.05), but the observation group had lower levels (all P<0.001). The follicle-stimulating hormone and luteinizing hormone levels were lower, but the estradiol levels were higher in the observation group compared to the levels in the control group (all P<0.001). The total number of complications in the observation group was significantly lower than it was in the control group (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: Laparoscopic myomectomy contributes to quick recoveries and short hospital stays, reduces the postoperative inflammatory response and immunosuppression, has little effect on the postoperative sex hormone levels, and has a low incidence of complications. It is worthy of clinical application.

[Optimal pain control goal for preventing delirium in critical patients].

OBJECTIVE: To study the optimal pain control goal for preventing delirium in critical patients. METHODS: A prospective cohort study were conducted. The patients admitted to general departments and transferred to the intensive care unit (ICU) due to critical illness in the First People's Hospital of Changde from January 2017 to November 2019 were enrolled. The General data of the patients were collected within 48 hours after admission. All patients admitted to the ICU were evaluated for pain level using the critical care pain observation tool (CPOT) every 8 hours by nurses, and confusion assessment method of ICU (CAM-ICU) was used to screen delirium patient every 8 hours by the leader of nursing team without knowing the pain level of the patients, until the subjects were transferred out of ICU. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was drawn, the area under ROC curve (AUC) and the optimal threshold were analyzed with delirium as the reference standard; according to the optimal threshold, multivariate Logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the correlation between CPOT score and delirium. RESULTS: During the study period, 575 patients were admitted to the participating departments and passed the preliminary screening according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. During the study period, 34 patients were excluded due to incomplete data. Finally, a total of 541 patients were enrolled in the analysis, including 149 patients in delirium group and 392 patients in non-delirium group. There was no significant difference in gender, age, source of patients, education level, smoking history, drinking history, family mental history, acute physiology and chronic health evaluation II (APACHE II) score or other general information between the two groups. There were 10.1% (15/149) of patients in the delirium group used opioids, which was significantly higher than 4.3% (17/392) in the non-delirium group, and the difference was statistically significant (P < 0.05). The CPOT score in the delirium group was significantly higher than that in the non-delirium group (4.24±1.78 vs. 2.75±1.95, P < 0.01). The patients were subdivided into young group (< 40 years old), middle-aged group (40-65 years old) and old group (> 65 years old) according to age. The analysis results were consistent with the overall analysis results. ROC curve analysis showed that the AUC of CPOT score predicting delirium was 0.719; when the best threshold value of CPOT score was 2.5, the sensitivity was 91.3%, the specificity was 49.0%, the positive predictive value was 40.5% and the negative predictive value was 93.7%. Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that the risk of delirium in ICU patients with CPOT score ≥ 3 was 10.043 times higher than that in patients with CPOT score < 3 [odds ratio (OR) = 10.043, 95% confidence interval (95%CI) was 5.498-18.345, P < 0.001]. When the gender, age, APACHE II score, smoking history, drinking history, opioids usage were adjusted, the risk of delirium in patients with CPOT score ≥ 3 was 10.719 times higher than that in patients with CPOT score < 3 (OR = 10.719, 95%CI was 5.689-20.196, P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The best pain control goal for preventing the occurrence of delirium in ICU patients is a CPOT score of 3 or less.

A target-oriented algorithm for maintaining serum calcium stability automatically in regional citrate anticoagulation.

BACKGROUND: Regional citrate anticoagulation (RCA) for renal replacement therapy is widely practiced in critically ill patients. However, concern exists regarding its labor-intensiveness for monitoring and the associated hypocalcemia. In this study, we provided an algorithm for prescribing RCA and evaluated its safety in patients. METHODS: During 18 hemofiltration treatments with calcium-free replacement solution, participants were randomized to receive algorithm-based or trial-and-error RCA protocol. The effluent volume, post-filter and in vivo ionized calcium (iCa), and calcium in the sera and effluents were periodically measured at an interval of 1 to 2 h. RESULTS: For patients received algorithm-based RCA protocol, no one had a serum iCa less than 0.9 mmol/L, and none needed calcium supplement adjustment to maintain serum calcium stability. For patients accepted trial-and-error protocol, all patients had a serum iCa below 0.9 mmol/L, their serum iCa and calcium levels fluctuated dramatically, and all patients need additional calcium supplement adjustment during RCA. None of the participants showed a post-filter iCa > 0.4 mmol/L. CONCLUSION: We provided a safe algorithm for calculating calcium supplementation doses that could maintain serum calcium stability without additional adjustment during RCA.

A randomized controlled trial for the effect of Modified Shenling Baizhu Powder on delaying the illness progress of COPD stable phase patients (GOLD 1-2 stages): A study protocol.

INTRODUCTION: As one of the most prominent public health and medical problems, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) has a serious impact on the quality of life of participants and may even be life-threatening. While modern medicine has worked well to alleviate the symptoms of COPD, the current situation with this chronic disease is not encouraging. Lung-spleen qi deficiency syndrome is one of the common forms of COPD and the traditional Chinese medicine formula Modified Shenling Baizhu Powder is very frequently used in the treatment of this syndrome. However, no direct evidence is available to support the efficacy and safety of Modified Shenling Baizhu Powder for COPD treatment. METHODS: The study is a prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial in which 270 eligible participants will be randomly assigned to either the experimental or control group in a 1:1 ratio. Both groups will receive the standard Western medication. Meanwhile, participants in the experimental group will undergo Modified Shenling Baizhu Powder, while those in the control group will undergo a matched placebo. The course of treatment is 6 months with 12 months of follow-up. Primary outcome is the forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) after bronchodi-lator use. The secondary outcomes include the declines and the between-group difference in the change from baseline to 18 months in FEV1 before bronchodilator use; the forced vital capacity (FVC), FEV1/FVC, FEV1%pred after bronchodilator use, modified British medical research council, COPD Assessment Test, St George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ); frequency, interval, duration and severity of COPD exacerbations; time to first COPD exacerbation; administration of rescue medication and a cost-effectiveness analysis; Smoking status. A safety assessment will also be performed during the trial. DISCUSSION: The results of this trial will provide comprehensive evidence of the efficacy of Modified Shenling Baizhu Powder for early-stage COPD and the potential mechanism by which Modified Shenling Baizhu Powder acts, which may provide reference for the treatment plan of COPD participants. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ChiCTR2000037873, Registered 2 September 2020.

Effect of Curcumin Supplement in Summer Diet on Blood Metabolites, Antioxidant Status, Immune Response, and Testicular Gene Expression in Hu Sheep.

In summer, the high temperature affects animal growth and reproductive performance. Curcumin is a flavonoid with anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. To evaluate the effects of dietary curcumin supplement on the blood biochemical parameters and testicular gene expressions in Hu sheep in summer, a total of 144 male Hu sheep aged four months were randomly divided into three groups (Con, Cur1, and Cur2, n = 48). Sheep in Con, Cur1, and Cur2 groups were fed a basal diet supplement with 0, 450, and 900 mg (per sheep) curcumin daily, respectively. Sheep were fed for 35 days, including a pre-feed for seven days. The results showed that the supplement with 450 mg and 900 mg curcumin increased serum free fatty acid (NEFA) and glutathione peroxidase (GPX), as well as IgA and IgM. The supplement with 450 mg curcumin increased the IgG level, while the supplement with 900 mg curcumin had a lower IgG level than the supplement with 450 mg curcumin (p < 0.05). Dietary curcumin supplement increased testicular organ index, serum testosterone level, and testicular star mRNA expression (p < 0.05). Furthermore, dietary curcumin supplement linearly inhibited testicular apoptosis with increased testicular bcl-2 mRNA expression and decreased caspase-3 mRNA expression (p < 0.05). In conclusion, dietary curcumin supplement can promote lipid metabolism, antioxidant capacity, and immune response, as well as testicular development, in Hu sheep, which provides evidence of application of curcumin in sheep production.

Phylomitogenomics reconfirm the phylogenetic position of the genus Metaplax inferred from the two grapsid crabs (Decapoda: Brachyura: Grapsoidea).

Two new complete mitogenomes of the grapsids, Metaplax longipes Stimpson, 1858 and Nanosesarma minutum (De Man, 1887) were sequenced using next-generation sequencing (NGS). By analyzing a combination of 75 Brachyura taxa, our phylomitogenomic inferences suggested that Metaplax crab seperated earlier from the sesarmid crabs and closely related to the varunids with respect to Nanosesarma crab. It reconfirmed that the Metaplax should be removed from the Sesarmidae and assinged to the Varunidae. Additional mitogenomic comparisons including gene rearrangement and genomic organization were conducted among the 33 taxa of Grapsoidea and Ocypodoidea, and a shared rearrangement pattern between Metaplax longipes and the varunids were recovered, which also strongly supported the inference for the phylogenetic position of the Metaplax.

3(2H)-pyridazinone derivatives: a new scaffold for novel plant activators.

Due to the emergence of drug resistance, pesticide residue and environmental contamination, it is important to develop novel eco-friendly strategies to protect plants. Among them, plant activators have been gaining more and more attention. Herein, based on SHAFTS method, a new scaffold for novel plant activators was predicted and the discovery and structure-activity relationships of a series of 3(2H)-pyridazinone derivatives as novel plant activators were elucidated in detail. The vast majority of compounds exhibited excellent broad-spectrum induced resistance activity against tested diseases in vivo but no direct antimicrobial activity in vitro. Among them, compound 32 showed excellent efficacy against four pathogens and great potential as new plant activators in crop protection.

Characterization of four new mitogenomes from Ocypodoidea & Grapsoidea, and phylomitogenomic insights into thoracotreme evolution.

Four new complete mitochondrial genomes (mitogenomes) from the two superfamilies Ocypodoidea and Grapsoidea were sequenced, which represented Uca (Gelasimus) borealis (Ocypodidae: Ucinae), Dotilla wichmani (Dotillidae), Metopograpsus quadridentatus (Grapsidae: Grapsinae), and Gaetice depressus (Varunidae: Gaeticinae). All of the mitogenomes shared the complete set of 37 mitochondrial genes. Mitogenome lengths were 15,659, 15,600, 15,517, and 16,288 bp, respectively, with A + T contents of 69.41%, 68.46%, 70.30%, and 72.96%, respectively. Comparative genomic analyses suggested that they exhibited different genomic rearrangements. In particular, G. depressus shared a major rearrangement pattern present in Eriocheir crabs, while the remainder shared the brachyuran ground genomic rearrangement patterns. Phylomitogenomic inferences provided new evidence for the strongly supported nesting of Thoracotremata within Heterotremata clades. A close phylogenetic relationship was observed between Varunidae and Macrophthalmidae crabs, and between Dotillidae and Grapsidae crabs, which was consistent with mitochondrial genomic rearrangement similarities. Altogether, these results suggest the presence of reciprocal paraphyly for Ocypodoidea and Grapsoidea.

Temporal and spatial changes of macrobenthos community in the regions frequently occurring black water aggregation in Lake Taihu.

Seasonal survey was performed from August 2015 to May 2016 at 50 sampling sites in Lake Taihu to determine the spatial and temporal changes in macrobenthos community and their relationships with environmental variables. A total of 58 macrobenthos species were collected and identified, including 28 species of annelids, 17 species of molluscs, and 12 species of arthropods. Both the community composition and the dominant species changed temporally and spatially. Correspondingly, the macrobenthos biodiversity differed among regions and seasons. The macrobenthos density decreased with increased sediment depth, which is the first report about the vertical distribution of macrobenthos in Lake Taihu. The majority of benthic animals were located within the sediment depth of 0-5 cm and 5-10 cm, accounting for 39.25% and 24.87% of the total abundance respectively. Redundancy discriminate analysis revealed that the main environmental factors affecting the most contributing macrobenthos species were temperature in summer, transparency, dissolved oxygen and pH in autumn, and water depth and dissolved oxygen in winter. Particularly, salinity and conductivity showed high correlation with the macrobenthos community through the whole sampling period. The investigation reveals the inherent spatiotemporal variation of macrobenthos community, and provides references for the biological assessment of water quality in Lake Taihu.

An integrated metabolic consequence of Hepatospora eriocheir infection in the Chinese mitten crab Eriocheir sinensis.

Despite the economic and evolutionary importance of aquatic host-infecting microsporidian species, at present, limited information has been provided about the microsporidia-host interactions. This study focused on Hepatospora eriocheir, an emerging microsporidian pathogen for the Chinese mitten crab Eriocheir sinensis. Hypertrophy of hepatopancreas cells was a common feature of H. eriocheir infection. More importantly, mitochondria of the hepatopancreas were drawn around the H. eriocheir, most likely to aid the uptake of ATP directly from the host. To better understand the crab anti-microsporidian response, de novo transcriptome sequencing of the hepatopancreas tissue was furtherly proceeded. A total of 47.84 M and 57.21 M clean reads were generated from the hepatopancreas of H. eriocheir infected and control groups respectively. Based on homology searches, functional annotation with 6 databases (Nr, Swiss-Prot, KEGG, KOGs, Pfam and GO) for 88,168 unigenes was performed. 2619 genes were identified as differently up-regulated and 2541 genes as differently down-regulated. Prominent functional categories enriched with differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were "ATP binding", "mitochondrion and extracellular region", "oxygen transporter activity", "oxidoreductase activity", "alanine, aspartate and glutamate metabolism", "carbohydrate metabolic process", "starch and sucrose metabolism" and "fatty acid biosynthesis". These results confirmed a parasite external energy supply and an integrated metabolic stress. In addition, simple sequence repeats (SSRs) and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were also identified from the gene library. Taken together, these findings allow us to better understand the underlying mechanisms regulating interactions between H. eriocheir and the crab E. sinensis.

[Construction of Graphitic Carbon Nitride-Bismuth Oxyiodide Layered Heterostructures and Their Photocatalytic Antibacterial Performance].

The thin layered graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) was prepared by the thermal polymerization process with urea as the precursor. The layered heterostructure of graphitic carbon nitride-bismuth oxyiodide (g-C3N4/BiOI) was constructed by the in-situ synthetization of bismuth oxyiodide (BiOI) on the surface of the thin layered g-C3N4. The morphology, specific surface area, crystal structure, molecular structure, light absorption properties, and surface properties were characterized by TEM, BET, XRD, FT-IR, UV-Vis DRS, and XPS, respectively. The disinfection performance of the synthesized catalysts under visible light irradiation was investigated. The antibacterial mechanism of g-C3N4/BiOI in the photocatalytic process was further revealed by the capture of sacrificial agents. The results indicate that the prepared sample has a layered heterojunction structure with a specific surface area of 63 m2·g-1 and its light absorption side can obtain 600 nm. The results of the photocatalytic activity test indicate that g-C3N4/BiOI can kill bacteria within 4 h, which is significantly higher than that of g-C3N4 and BiOI. The main active species of g-C3N4/BiOI in the photocatalytic process can be attributed to the photogenerated holes.