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Background Follow-up is a necessary step in the management of chronic disease patients. Cloud follow-up as a new form of follow-up may improve the quality of follow-up. However, there is currently a lack of patient-oriented evaluation tools for cloud follow-up service quality. Objective To develop a scale for evaluating the service experience of chronic disease patients in cloud follow-up and to examine its reliability and validity, in order to provide a tool for evaluating the quality of cloud follow-up services. Methods Guided by the service quality evaluation model, the scale was developed by using methods including literature review, semi-structured interview, expert consultation. During August to October 2022, a survey was conducted among chronic disease patients (n=480) discharged from a tertiary hospital and lived under the network of a community service center in Hangzhou, China. Item analysis and tests of reliability and validity were test on the developed scale. Results The developed scale for evaluating the service experience of chronic disease patients in cloud follow-up had 37 items distributed in 5 dimensions. Patients' perceptions and expectations to each item were evaluated simultaneously. The overall Cronbach's α coefficient of the developed scale was 0.962, with split-half reliability of 0.732 and test-retest reliability of 0.844. The content validity index of the scale was 0.980. The correlation coefficient between the scale and satisfaction scores was 0.754 (P

Background Hypertriglyceridemia has been increasingly valued as a risk factor for acute pancreatitis (AP) . However, the relationship between obesity and AP has not yet been confirmed, whether baseline triglyceride (TG) affects the risk of AP in non-obese people is still inconclusive. Objective To explore the association between baseline serum triglyceride (TG) and the risk of AP in a nonobese cohort from Kailuan Group. Methods A prospective cohort study was performed among in-service and retired workers of Kailuan Group (non-obese, without a history of AP, with complete TG information) who first attended the annual health screening for workers of the group as a benefit conducted between 2006 and 2007 or between 2008-2009. The cumulative incidence of AP across serum TG tertile groups: 〔Q1 group (TG≤0.96 mmol/L) , Q2 group (0.96 mmol/L

Island organisms often evolve phenotypes divergent from their mainland counterparts, providing a useful system for studying adaptation under differential selection. In the white-winged fairywren (Malurus leucopterus), subspecies on two islands have a black nuptial plumage whereas the subspecies on the Australian mainland has a blue nuptial plumage. The black subspecies have a feather nanostructure that could in principle produce a blue structural color, suggesting a blue ancestor. An earlier study proposed independent evolution of melanism on the islands based on the history of subspecies divergence. However, the genetic basis of melanism and the origin of color differentiation in this group are still unknown. Here, we used whole-genome resequencing to investigate the genetic basis of melanism by comparing the blue and black M. leucopterus subspecies to identify highly divergent genomic regions. We identified a well-known pigmentation gene ASIP and four candidate genes that may contribute to feather nanostructure development. Contrary to the prediction of convergent evolution of island melanism, we detected signatures of a selective sweep in genomic regions containing ASIP and SCUBE2 not in the black subspecies but in the blue subspecies, which possesses many derived SNPs in these regions, suggesting that the mainland subspecies has re-evolved a blue plumage from a black ancestor. This proposed re-evolution was likely driven by a preexisting female preference. Our findings provide new insight into the evolution of plumage coloration in island versus continental populations, and, importantly, we identify candidate genes that likely play roles in the development and evolution of feather structural coloration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Throughout the Plio-Pleistocene, climate change has impacted tropical marine ecosystems substantially, with even more severe impacts predicted in the Anthropocene. Although many studies have clarified demographic histories of seabirds in polar regions, the history of keystone seabirds of the tropics is unclear, despite the prominence of albatrosses (Diomedeidae, Procellariiformes) as the largest and most threatened group of oceanic seabirds. To understand the impact of climate change on tropical albatrosses, we investigated the evolutionary and demographic histories of all four North Pacific albatrosses and their prey using whole-genome analyses. We report a striking concordance in demographic histories among the four species, with a notable dip in effective population size at the beginning of the Pleistocene and a population expansion in the Last Glacial Period when sea levels were low, which resulted in increased potential coastal breeding sites. Abundance of the black-footed albatross dropped again during the Last Glacial Maximum, potentially linked to climate-driven loss of breeding sites and concordant genome-derived decreases in its major prey. We find very low genome-wide (π < 0.001) and adaptative genetic diversities across the albatrosses, with genes of the major histocompatibility complex close to monomorphic. We also identify recent selective sweeps at genes associated with hyperosmotic adaptation, longevity, and cognition and memory. Our study has shed light on the evolutionary and demographic histories of the largest tropical oceanic seabirds and provides evidence for their large population fluctuations and alarmingly low genetic diversities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highly active and durable Pd-based electrocatalysts for ethanol oxidation reaction (EOR) play a crucial role in the commercialization of direct ethanol fuel cells (DEFCs). However, the poisonous intermediates (especially adsorbed CO species (COad)) formed during the EOR process can easily adsorb and block the active sites on Pd electrodes, which in turn limits the catalytic efficiency. Hence, we present a series of Pd-based composites with a strong coupling interface consisting of Pd nanosheets and amorphous Bi(OH)3 species. The incorporation of Bi(OH)3 can induce an electron-rich state adjacent to the Pd sites and effectively separate the Pd ensemble, leading to excellent CO tolerance. The optimal Pd-Bi(OH)3 NSs catalyst manifests a mass activity of 2.2 A·mgPd−1, which is 5.7 and 2.0 times higher than that of Pd NSs and commercial Pd/C catalyst, respectively. Further CO-stripping experiments and CO-DRIFTS tests confirm the excellent CO tolerance on Pd-Bi(OH)3 NSs electrode, leading to the enhanced EOR durability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background The 1555A > G mutation is the most common cause of aminoglycoside-induced and non-syndromic deafness. However, the variable clinical phenotype and incomplete penetrance of A1555G-induced hearing loss complicate our understanding of this mutation. Environmental factors, nuclear genes, mitochondrial haplotypes/variants and a possible threshold effect have been reported to may be involved in its manifestation. Methods Here, we performed a clinical, molecular, genetic and phylogenic analysis in a six-generation Chinese family. Results A clinical evaluation revealed that affected individuals without aminoglycoside exposure developed hearing loss extending gradually from 12000 Hz to 8000 Hz and then to 4000 Hz. Using pyrosequencing, we detected an identical homoplasmic 1555A > G mutation in all individuals except one. We did not find any correlation between the mutation load and the severity of hearing loss. T123N coexisted with the 1555A > G mutation in six affected subjects in our pedigree. Analysis of the complete mtDNA genome of this family revealed that this family belonged to haplotype B4C1C and exhibited high penetrance. Upon the inclusion of subjects that had been exposed to aminoglycosides, the penetrance of the hearing loss was 63.6%.; without exposure to aminoglycosides, it was 51.5%. This pedigree and another reported Chinese pedigree share the same haplotype (B4C1C) and lack functionally significant mitochondrial tRNA variants, but nevertheless they exhibit a different penetrance of hearing loss. Conclusions Our results imply that the factors responsible for the higher penetrance and variable expression of the deafness associated with the 1555A > G mutation in this pedigree may not be mtDNA haplotype/variants, but rather nuclear genes and/or aminoglycosides.

The ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) epidemic has made a huge impact on health, economies, and societies all over the world. Although reverse transcription‐polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR)‐based nucleic acid detection has been primarily used in the diagnosis of COVID‐19, it is time‐consuming with limited application scenarios and must be operated by qualified personnel. Antibody test, particularly point‐of‐care antibody testing, is a suitable complement to nucleic acid test as it provides rapid, portable, and cost‐effective detection of infections. In this study, a Rapid Antibody Test Kit was developed based on fluorescence immunochromatography for the sensitive, accurate, and automated detection of immunoglobulin M (IgM) and IgG antibodies against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) in human serum, plasma, and whole blood samples within 10 min. The sensitivity, specificity, precision, and stability of the test kit were of good performance. No cross‐activity and no interference was observed. In the multiple‐center parallel study, 223 samples from hospitalized patients were used to evaluate the clinical specificity of the test. Both SARS‐CoV‐2 IgM and IgG achieved a clinical specificity of 98.21%. The clinical sensitivities of SARS‐CoV‐2 IgM and IgG were 79.54% and 87.45%, respectively, among 733 reverse transcription‐polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR) confirmed SARS‐CoV‐2 samples. For the combined IgM and IgG assays, the sensitivity and specificity were 89.22% and 96.86%, respectively. Our results demonstrate that the combined use of IgM and IgG could serve as a more suitable alternative detection method for patients with COVID‐19, and the developed kit is of great public health significance for the prevention and control of the COVID‐19 pandemic. Highlights: We developed a rapid SARS‐CoV‐2 IgM and IgG test, which could be easy‐use and automatic for prevention and control of the COVID‐19 pandemic.The test showed good performance in evaluation of sensitivity, specificity, precision, and stability, and no cross‐activity and interference was observed.The combined use of IgM and IgG showed could be more suitable for COVID‐19 patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: TRAIL (tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand) can induce apoptosis in a variety of cancer cells. However, drug resistance of tumor and short half-life seriously affects its clinical targeted therapy. Cabazitaxel (CTX) is a taxane drug, which can induce apoptosis or autophagy by inhibiting the phosphorylation of PI3K/Akt/mTOR and sensitive to some drug-resistant tumors. Therefore, we explored the possibility of developing a mesenchymal stem cell-derived exosomes (MSC-EXO) vector for oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) to deliver CTX/TRAIL combinations. Methods: After ultracentrifugation and dialysis, CTX/TRAIL loaded exosomes transfected MSC (MSCT)-derived exosome (EXO) (MSCT-EXO/CTX) were isolated and purified. The expression of CD63, CD9 and TRAIL was detected by BCA to confirm the origin of EXO. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was used to determine the drug loading of VPF and draw the in vitro release profile. MTT assay, flow cytometry and Western blot were used to detect the antitumor effect of MSCT-EXO/CTX in vitro. Subsequently, the antitumor effect of MSCT-EXO/CTX in vivo was verified by mouse model. Results: The diameter of the membrane particles was about 60– 150 nm. We have proved that the incorporation and release of CTX in MSCT-EXO can inhibit the activation of PI3K, Akt and mTOR, which is a possible synergistic mechanism of CTX. MSCT-EXO and CTX can induce the apoptosis of SCC25 tumor cells in a dose-dependent manner and exert a good synergistic effect in the proportion range of 10:1– 5:1. The inherent activity of MSCT-EXO and the direct effect of MSCT-EXO/CTX on OSCC confirm that MSCT-EXO/CTX makes MSCT-EXO and CTX have an efficient synergistic effect and a highly effective pharmacological inhibition on cancer cells, as verified by the subsequent mouse model. MSCT-EXO/CTX showed the lowest relative tumor volume and the highest tumor inhibition rate (P< 0.05) in vivo. Conclusion: An MSCT-EXO-based CTX delivery system might be an effective anticancer method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We collected multi‐locus data to test whether hybridization has occurred between a critically endangered waterbird, the Chinese Crested Tern Thalasseus bernsteini, and the Greater Crested Tern Thalasseus bergii. Phylogenetic analysis shows these two tern species are sister species, having diverged < 1 million years ago. Our findings suggest a grave threat to the survival of the Chinese Crested Tern, and illustrate the need for conservation managers to monitor further hybridization of this endangered tern species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Endostatin has previously been demonstrated to efficiently inhibit the angiogenesis and growth of endothelial cells. However, the role of endostatin in the tumor microenvironment remains to be elucidated. To investigate the antitumor effect of endostatin in lung cancer, the present study was designed to explore the alterations of microvessel density in Lewis lung cancer models and the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), interleukin (IL)-6, IL-17, interferon (IFN)-γ and hypoxia inducible factor (HIF)-1α, following endostatin therapy. It was demonstrated that the growth and angiogenesis of tumors were markedly suppressed by treatment with endostatin, compared with control group. The microvessel density in mice treated with endostatin was significantly inhibited in a dose-dependent manner. The expression levels of VEGF, IL-6 and IL-17 in tumors were decreased, however IFN-γ and HIF-1α expression levels were increased, following treatment with endostatin. In addition, the proportion of myeloid derived suppressor cells and tumor associated macrophages (TAMs; M2 type) were significantly decreased, whereas those of mature dendritic cells and TAMs (M1 type) were increased, and cluster of differentiation (CD)8+ T cells were recruited to infiltrate the tumors following treatment with endostatin. In addition, the expression levels of IL-6, IL-10, tumor growth factor-β and IL-17 in tumor tissue were potently decreased with endostatin therapy. These results indicated that endostatin efficiently inhibited tumor angiogenesis and reversed the immunosuppressive microenvironment associated with the presence of tumors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our knowledge of the systematics and taxonomy of Asian birds has improved much in the last two decades, and the number of recognised species has increased significantly as a result of in-depth studies using an integrative taxonomic approach. The Sino-Himalayan mountains harbor a high level of passerine diversity. Several allopatric or parapatric taxa that are currently treated as subspecies of polytypic species within that region are likely to deserve full species status, and thus their taxonomic status needs to be revisited. Based on analyses of multilocus data, vocalizations and morphology, we propose that the white-tailed rubythroat Calliope pectoralis should be treated as two species, the Himalayan rubythroat C. pectoralis sensu stricto in the Tian Shan and Himalayan mountains, and the Chinese rubythroat C. tschebaiewi in the mountains of southwestern and north-central China. According to our dating analyses based on mitochondrial loci, these two species diverged approximately 2.2 million yr ago. We further found that C. tschebaiewi was paraphyletic to C. pectoralis sensu stricto in nuclear data, which demonstrates a state of mitonuclear discordance that warrants further work. Our results suggest that geographic changes and glacial cycles in the Pleistocene may have caused allopatric divergence in the C. pectoralis complex. Our study stresses the importance of applying an integrative taxonomy approach to fully unravel the true avian diversity in the Sino-Himalayan Mountains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given their recent worldwide declines and extinctions, characterization of species-level diversity is of critical importance for large-scale biodiversity assessments and conservation of amphibians. This task is made difficult by the existence of cryptic species complexes, species groups comprising closely related and morphologically analogous species. The combination of morphology, genetic, and bioacoustic analyses permits robust and accurate species identification. Using these methods, we discovered two undescribed Xenophrys species, namely Xenophrys linisp. nov. and Xenophrys chenisp. nov. from the middle range of Luoxiao Mountains, southeast China. These two new species can be reliably distinguished from other known congeners by morphological and morphometric differences, distinctness in male advertisement calls, and substantial genetic distances (>3.6%) based on the mitochondrial 16s and 12s rRNA genes. The two new species, together with X. jinggangensis, are sympatric in the middle range of Luoxiao Mountains but may be isolated altitudinally and ecologically. Our study provides a first step to help resolve previously unrecognized cryptic biodiversity and provides insights into the understanding of Xenophrys diversification in the mountain complexes of southeast China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bag-of-features based approaches have become prominent for image retrieval and image classification tasks in the past decade. Such methods represent an image as a collection of local features, such as image patches and key points with scale invariant feature transform (SIFT) descriptors. To improve the bag-of-features methods, we first model the assignments of local descriptors as contribution functions, and then propose a novel multiple assignment strategy. Assuming the local features can be reconstructed by their neighboring visual words in a vocabulary, reconstruction weights can be solved by quadratic programming. The weights are then used to build contribution functions, resulting in a novel assignment method, called quadratic programming (QP) assignment. We further propose a novel visual word weighting method. The discriminative power of each visual word is analyzed by the sub-similarity function in the bin that corresponds to the visual word. Each sub-similarity function is then treated as a weak classifier. A strong classifier is learned by boosting methods that combine those weak classifiers. The weighting factors of the visual words are learned accordingly. We evaluate the proposed methods on medical image retrieval tasks. The methods are tested on three well-known data sets, i.e., the ImageCLEFmed data set, the 304 CT Set, and the basal-cell carcinoma image set. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed QP assignment outperforms the traditional nearest neighbor assignment, the multiple assignment, and the soft assignment, whereas the proposed boosting based weighting strategy outperforms the state-of-the-art weighting methods, such as the term frequency weights and the term frequency-inverse document frequency weights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) stands as the sixth most common cause of cancer-related mortality on a global scale, with a strikingly high proportion-over half-of these fatalities occurring within China. The emergence of radiation resistance in ESCC patients significantly diminishes overall survival rates, complicating treatment regimens and reducing clinical outcomes. There is an urgent need to explore the molecular mechanisms that underpin radiation resistance in ESCC, which could lead to the identification of new therapeutic targets aimed at overcoming this resistance. This study aims to elucidate the role of myeloid cell leukemia-1 (MCL1) in ESCC and its association with radioresistance, thereby providing a novel strategy for enhancing the efficacy of radiotherapy., Methods: We used The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database, Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) project and real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) of 10 pairs of fresh endoscopic biopsy samples from patients with ESCC to analyze the messenger RNA (mRNA) expression levels of MCL1 in esophageal cancer tissues as compared to normal tissues. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) staining and Western blotting were performed using an anti-MCL1 antibody to visualize protein expression. The mechanism of radioresistance of ESCC was examined by combining bioinformatics analysis, Western blotting, and clone formation and stemness sphere formation assays., Results: The analysis of TCGA database and the results of RT-qPCR indicated that the mRNA level of MCL1 was overexpressed in esophageal cancer tissues. Subsequently, the results of IHC and Western blotting showed that the protein level of MCL1 expression in cancer tissues was significantly higher than that in adjacent normal tissues. Moreover, there was a significant upregulation of MCL1 in ESCC tissues and in radioresistant tissues and cells, with its overexpression correlating with the acquisition of stemness properties in ESCC. In terms of mechanism, MCL1 induced cell cycle arrest by regulating the expression of cyclin D3 and p21 through the JAK-STAT signaling pathway. G0/G1 phase arrest contributed to the stem cell-like phenotype. Blocking JAK-STAT signaling significantly improved the efficacy of radiotherapy for ESCC., Conclusions: These findings indicate that MCL1 is a critical cell cycle regulator that drives the stemness and radioresistance of ESCC and may thus be a potential target in a combined therapeutic strategy aimed at overcoming radioresistance., Competing Interests: Conflicts of Interest: All authors have completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure form (available at https://jtd.amegroups.com/article/view/10.21037/jtd-2024-2027/coif). The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare., (2024 AME Publishing Company. All rights reserved.)

Background: Dietary diversity is influenced by nutritional literacy. This study sought to investigate associations between nutritional literacy and dietary diversity among elderly Chinese individuals with chronic diseases and clarify how nutritional literacy affects dietary diversity., Methods: Three communities in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province were chosen at random to assess nutritional literacy and diet status, which included 301 individuals over the age of 60 with chronic diseases., Results: The elderly had a middle and lower level of nutritional literacy (n = 301,20.16±5.45). Dietary diversity scores (DDSs) and nutrition literacy showed a positive correlation (r = 0.366, P < 0.001). Higher DDSs were seen in those with greater education levels (OR = 2.15,95 %CI = 1.57∼2.94) and those with better awareness of diet and health (OR = 1.29,95 % CI = 1.02∼1.55)., Conclusions: The elderly face significant challenges in maintaining a reasonable nutritional intake over time and their nutritional literacy warrants attention., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest This study declares no conflict of interest, financial or otherwise., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Potato ( Solanum tuberosum L.) is a globally important staple crop, and China has contributed more than 20% of the world's production. In Guangdong Province, potato has become one of the most important winter crops, increased the farmer income. However, the potato were seriously affected by soft rot disease caused by Pectobacterium spp. in the past decade. In February 2024, typical symptoms of potato soft rot were observed on the plants of cultivar "Daxiyang" in Enping City, Guangdong Province, where the disease incidences ranged 3%-5% in the investigated fields. The stems adjacent to the tubes showed typical inky black symptoms, and the plants appeared yellow. The interior of the tubes appeared water-soaked and had developed to overall decay, with an evident smell. Eleven symptomatic plants were collected and used to isolate the causal agents. Pieces of tube tissue (about 5×5 mm) were removed between the rot-symptomatic and non-symptomatic margins, and surface sterilized using 75% ethanol for 30 s and 2% NaClO for 1 min. The pieces were rinsed in sterile water for three times, and then plated on Luria-Bertani (LB) medium agar for 36 h at 30°C. The produced colonies were selected for hypersensitive test on tobacco, and the colonies with a positive reaction were subcultured three times. Two representative strains, EP51-2 and EP51-3, were processed for gene sequencing, including house-keeping genes, danX , leuS , and recA (Portier et al. 2019). The gene sequences (GenBank accessions no. PP870934 to PP870939) of these two representative strains were matched with Pectobacterium aroidearum strain NCPPB 929 (CP166097.1) with identities ranging from 97.15 to 100% and the coverage of 100%. The sequences of three genes were concatenated and used for phylogenetic analyses, along with representative strains from 19 other Pectobacterium species. Phylogenetic analyses supported that EP51-2 and EP51-3 were grouped into P. aroidearum with the representative strains. Koch's postulates were applied to determine the pathogenicity of P. aroidearum strain EP51-2. According to the external inoculation method on potato stems (Czajkowski et al. 2010), each of six pots of healthy potato plants was inoculated at the basal stem with 100 µl of bacterial suspension (10 8 CFU/ml), while six pots inoculated with LB served as controls. The plants were then kept at 30°C and maintained at 95% humidity. After 2 days, all six plants inoculated with the bacteria exhibited typical symptoms on the stems, which progressed to the collapse of the whole plant; the controls remained symptom-free during the observation. Single colonies reisolated from the symptomatic stem of the inoculated plants were confirmed using PCR and sequencing with recA primers as described above, and the causal agent was identified as P. aroidearum strains, fulfilling Koch's postulates. P. aroidearum has been reported on Chinese cabbage (Xie et al. 2018) and leaf mustard (Chu et al. 2024) in China, as well as on crops in the family Araceae, such as konjac (Wei et al. 2021), taro (Zhou et al. 2022), and Pinellia ternata (Du et al. 2024). To our knowledge, this is the first report of P. aroidearum causing potato soft rot in China. This pathogen has been prevalent in the taro fields in Guangdong Province and has caused severe losses. This report highlights an expansion of the host range for this pathogen. Attention should be focused on this newly emerging pathogen affecting potatoes, and immediate measures should be implemented to control its spread.

Chytridiomycosis, an infectious skin disease caused by the chytrid fungi, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis and B. salamandrivorans, poses a significant threat to amphibian biodiversity worldwide. Antifungal bacteria found on the skin of chytrid-resistant amphibians could potentially provide defense against chytridiomycosis and lower mortality rates among resistant individuals. The Hong Kong newt (Paramesotriton hongkongensis) is native to East Asia, a region suspected to be the origin of chytrids, and has exhibited asymptomatic infection, suggesting a long-term coexistence with the chytrids. Therefore, the skin microbiota of this resistant species warrant investigation, along with other factors that can affect the microbiota. Among the 149 newts sampled in their natural habitats in Hong Kong, China, putative antifungal bacteria were found in all individuals. There were 314 amplicon sequence variants distributed over 25 genera of putative antifungal bacteria; abundant ones included Acinetobacter, Flavobacterium, and Novosphingobium spp. The skin microbiota compositions were strongly influenced by the inter-site geographical distances. Despite inter-site differences, we identified some core skin microbes across sites that could be vital to P. hongkongensis. The dominant cores included the family Comamonadaceae, family Chitinophagaceae, and class Betaproteobacteria. Moreover, habitat elevation and host sex also exhibited significant effects on skin microbiota compositions. The antifungal bacteria found on these newts offer an important resource for conservation against chytridiomycosis, such as developing probiotic treatments for susceptible species., (© 2024 The Author(s). Integrative Zoology published by International Society of Zoological Sciences, Institute of Zoology/Chinese Academy of Sciences and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.)

One of the major threats for the massive loss in global amphibian diversity is chytridiomycosis, caused by chytrid fungi Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) and B. salamandrivorans (Bsal). Following its discovery in 2013, Bsal has emerged as a severe threat to the global survival of urodelans. In 2018, a study reported a high prevalence of Bsal (65.6%) in the Hong Kong newts (Paramesotriton hongkongensis, Near Threatened) of a southern China population adjacent to Hong Kong (HK). Uncertainty regarding the Bsal infection status of P. hongkongensis inhabiting HK raised deep concern over the risk of introducing Bsal from that population. We screened the skin swabs from wild individuals of P. hongkongensis, 15 sympatric amphibian species, and 16 imported amphibian species in HK for chytrids. We found that both Bsal and Bd occur in low prevalences in P. hongkongensis (Bsal 1.7%, 5/293; Bd 0.34%, 1/293), Hong Kong cascade frog, Amolops hongkongensis, family Ranidae (Bsal only, 5.26%, 1/19), and Asian common toad, Duttaphrynus melanostictus, family Bufonidae (Bsal only, 5.88%, 1/17), populations of HK, with infected individuals being asymptomatic, suggesting a potential role of these species as reservoirs of Bsal. Conversely, Bd, but not Bsal, was present on 13.2% (9/68) of imported amphibians, indicating a high chytrid introduction risk posed by international amphibian trade. Long-term surveillance of the presence of Bd and Bsal in wild and captive amphibians would be advisable, and we recommend that import and export of nonnative chytrid carriers should be prevented, especially to those regions with amphibian populations naïve to Bd and Bsal., (© Wildlife Disease Association 2023.)

Background: Captive populations permit research and conservation of endangered species in which these efforts are hardly implemented in wild populations. Thus, analysing genetic diversity and structure of captive populations offers unique opportunities. One example is the critically endangered Blue-crowned Laughingthrush, Garrulax courtoisi , which has only two known wild populations in Wuyuan, Jiangxi and Simao, Yunnan, China. We carried out the first conservation genetic study, in order to provide useful implications that allow for successful ex situ conservation and management of the Blue-crowned Laughingthrush., Methods: Using the novel microsatellite markers developed by whole-genome sequencing, we genotyped two captive populations, from the Ocean Park Hong Kong, which are of unknown origin, and the Nanchang Zoo, which were introduced from the Wuyuan wild population since the year 2010-2011, respectively. The genetic diversity of captive Blue-crowned Laughingthrush populations was estimated based on genetic polymorphisms revealed by a new microsatellite data set and mitochondrial sequences. Then, we characterised the population structure using STRUCTURE, principal coordinates analysis, population assignment test using the microsatellite data, and haplotype analysis of mitochondrial data. Additionally, we quantified genetic relatedness based on the microsatellite data with ML-Relate., Results: Our results showed equally low levels of genetic diversity of the two captive Blue-crowned Laughingthrush populations. The population structure analysis, population assignment test using the microsatellite data, and haplotype analysis of the mitochondrial data showed weak population structuring between these two populations. The average pairwise relatedness coefficient was not significant, and their genetic relatedness was quantified., Discussion: This study offers a genetic tool and consequently reveals a low level of genetic diversity within populations of a critically endangered bird species. Furthermore, our results indicate that we cannot exclude the probability that the origin of the Hong Kong captive population was the wild population from Wuyuan. These results provide valuable knowledge that can help improve conservation management and planning for both captive and wild Blue-crowned Laughingthrush populations., Competing Interests: Guoling Chen is a master student and Yang Liu is an Associate Professor in Sun Yat-sen University. Chenqing Zheng and Xu Yang are bioinformaticians employed by Shenzhen Realomics Biological Technology Ltd. Nelson Wan is employed by Ocean Park Corporation Hong Kong. Daoqiang Liu is employed by Nanchang Zoo. Vivian Wing Kan Fu and Yat-tung Yu are conservationists in The Hong Kong Bird Watching Society, a bird conservation NGO. The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Objective: To investigate the antitumor effect of endostatin combined with tumor antigen-pulsed dendritic cell (DC)-T cell therapy on lung cancer., Methods: Transplanted Lewis lung cancer (LLC) models of C57BL/6 mice were established by subcutaneous injection of LLC cells in left extremity axillary. Tumor antigen-pulsed DC-T cells from spleen cells and bone of mice were cultured in vitro. Tumor-bearing mice were randomly divided into three groups, including DC-T+endostatin group, DC-T group, and phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) control group. Microvessel density (MVD) of tumor tissue in tumor-bearing mice was determined by immunohistochemistry (IHC). The expressions of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) were determined by Western blotting and IHC staining. The proportions of CD8+ T cells, mature dendritic cells (mDC), tumor-associated macrophages [TAM (M1/M2)], and myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC) in suspended cells of tumor tissue were determined by flow cytometry. The expressions of interleukin (IL)-6, IL-10, IL-17, transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) and interferon-γ (IFN-γ) in suspended cells of tumor tissue were detected by enzyme-linked immune sorbent assay (ELISA)., Results: DC-T cells combined with endostatin remarkably suppressed tumor growth. MVD of mice in DC-T+endostatin group was significantly lower than that of the control group and DC-T monotherapy group. The expressions of VEGF, IL-6 and IL-17 in tumors were markedly decreased, but IFN-γ and HIF-1α increased after treating with DC-T cells combined with endostatin, compared to control group and DC-T group. In the DC-T+endostatin group, the proportions of MDSC and TAM (M2 type) were significantly decreased, mDC and TAM (M1 type) were up-regulated, and CD8+ T cells were recruited to infiltrate tumors, in contrast to PBS control and DC-T monotherapy. DC-T cells combined with endostatin potently reduced the expressions of IL-6, IL-10, TGF-β and IL-17 in tumor tissue, and enhanced the expression of IFN-γ., Conclusions: The study indicated the synergic antitumor effects between endostatin and tumor antigen-pulsed DC-T cells, which may be a prospective therapy strategy to achieve potent antitumor effects on lung cancer., Competing Interests: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Emodin, a major bioactive extract of several Chinese herbs, has been shown to have a number of biological activities including antiviral, anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor, anti-fibrosis etc. In the present study, we investigated the effects of emodin as an anti-inflammatory agent on lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induced keratitis in Wistar rats. Clinical score, slit-lamp microscope were used to determine corneal inflammatory response. Corneal structure was observed by hematoxylin-eosin staining and transmission electron microscopy. Messenger ribonucleic acid levels of tight junction protein and cytokines were determined by reverse transcription- polymerase chain reaction. The activation of nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) was detected with Western blot. We found that disorganized corneal tissue and cellular structures were observed in keratitis rats and emodin could deduce inflammatory response and improve corneal structure. Pretreated with emodin could up-regulate and down-regulate the mRNA expression of occludin and Interleukin-6. The activation of NF-κB could be inhibited partly after emodin treatment. In conclusion, emodin reduced corneal inflammation in LPS-induced keratitis in Wistar rats due to its capability of inhibition in NF-κB activation.

Objective: To evaluate the application of a microsurgical two-layer anastomosis technique in the treatment of failed vasectomy reversal., Methods: A microsurgical two-layer anastomosis was used in a series of 24 patients with confirmed anastomotic obstruction after previous vasectomy reversal. The patients were followed up for 9 months to 6 years, and the efficacy of the procedure was evaluated by regular seminal analysis and pregnancy records. The results were compared with those obtained from 34 patients who had received primary microsurgical vasovasostomy in our hospital using the same microsurgical technique., Results: In the treatment group for failed vasectomy reversal patients, the postoperative patency rate was 87.5% (21/24), resulting in a pregnancy rate of 54.2% (13/24). In primary reversal group, the postoperative patency rate was 94.1% (32/34), resulting in a pregnancy rate of 67.6% (23/34). Both the patency and pregnancy rate were not significantly different between these two groups., Conclusions: The microsurgical vasovasostomy and vasoepididymostomy provided satisfactory patency rate and natural pregnancy rate for patients with a previous failed vasectomy reversal, which is comparable with the results of patients who had undergone primary procedure.

Although there have been many experimental studies demonstrating that bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have the potential to differentiate into mesenchymal tissues such as osteocytes, chondrocytes, and adipocytes in vivo and in vitro, little information is available regarding their potential to differentiate into lymphatic endothelial cells. Therefore, we chose to investigate differentiation of MSCs into lymphatic endothelial cells using stimulation with members of the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGFs) family. Rat MSCs were isolated from bone marrow aspirate of Sprague-Dawley rats as previously described and characterized with flow cytometry for surface markers CD14, CD34, CD29, and CD90. Purified MSCs were plated and cultured in the presence of VEGF-A, VEGF-C, or the combination of both for 10 days. We examined the cells for Prox-1 and LYVE-1 by immunocytochemistry, RT-PCR, and Western blot analysis. Results demonstrated that compared to controls, cell differentiated with VEGF-A, VEGF-C and VEGF-A+VEGF-C expressed Prox-1 and LYVE-1. Our results indicate that MSCs induced by VEGFs are capable of differentiating into lymphatic endothelial-like cells in vitro, and this response has the potential to make them attractive candidates for the development of autologous tissue grafts for future therapy.