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RNA interference (RNAi) is a pivotal strategy in gene functional analysis and pest management. However, the efficacy of RNAi varies significantly across different insect species, particularly exhibiting limited effectiveness in Lepidopteran insects. Therefore, it is imperative to develop innovative delivery strategies of dsRNA to enhance efficient gene silencing in these insects. In this study, we utilized the globally distributed polyphagous Lepidopteran insect pest Helicoverpa armigera as our research model due to its substantial implications for agriculture and limited success with RNAi-based approaches. Through the utilization of RNAi technique, HaLCP17 was identified as a larval cuticle protein gene with the highest lethality among 61 potential lethal target genes of H. armigera. Additionally, silencing HaLCP17 during the larval stage resulted in a maximum decrease of 2.66-fold in expression, accompanied by a mortality rate of 23.33% after 10 days. The larvae in the treatment group exhibited significant reductions in size and epidermal relaxation, leading to maximum decrease of 28.89% and 53.57% in feeding amount and larval weight respectively. Notably, the introduction of Imidazole-Modified Graphene Quantum Dots (IGQDs), a novel type of quantum dot nanoparticles, into the insect RNAi system demonstrated proficient delivery capability for dsRNA and potentiated gene silencing efficiency. Compared with naked dsRNA treatment, the injection of IGQDs-dsHaLCP17 complex reduced the expression of HaLCP17 by 1.66-fold, on the 10th day after treatment the mortality rate increased by 92.88%, and the eclosion rate decreased by 31.42%. These findings hold great potential for future control and analysis of gene function in Lepidopteran insects.

The South American tomato pinworm, Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae), has invaded most Afro-Eurasian countries. Since its first detection in China in late 2017, this pest has been now present in nearly 20 provinces/prefectures in China and is threating tomato and other Solanaceous crops such as potato, eggplants, and tobacco. Here, we provide a timely review on the current distribution, damage, management, and research in China. A standard survey form was designed and 30 answered surveys from 25 provinces have been received. The data showed that the damage has been witnessed in most of the regions despite that the severities vary among the regions. The management is chemical-control biased, and more efforts are needed to increase the adoption of non-chemical alternatives in the Integrated Pest Management packages. An Integrated Pest Management (IPM) package called “CAMEFA” was developed and demonstrated in Yunnan and Xinjiang, the two earliest regions for the invasion. Yet, the adoption by local growers is still limited. Besides T. absoluta, we suggest a multi-pest approach by combing IPM tactics coping with other major insect pests sharing the crop. Lastly, international projects are deemed to serve as a key lever for promoting IPM of T. absoluta and other invasive insect pests.

In this study, we demonstrated a new optical glucose microfluidic sensor based on quantum dots (QDs) aerogels and glucose oxidase (GOx) for rapid, low-cost and quantitative detection of glucose in human urine and serum. The combination of QDs–GOx based aerogels and microfluidic chips was first investigated and compared with other sensors, providing new insights into the design of a microfluidic system toward the detection of glucose.

Infrared spectroscopy studies of 2-methyl-4, 5-dimethoxy-3-oxo-2H-pyridizine (MDOP) in 12 pure organic solvents were undertaken to investigate the solvent-solute interactions. The frequencies of the carbonyl (C = O) of MDOP were correlated with solvent properties such as solvent acceptor number (AN) and the linear solvation energy relationships (LSER). These frequencies showed a good correlation with the solvent acceptor number (AN) and the LSER.

Reverse transcriptase quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) has become a widely used technique to quantify gene expression. It is necessary to select appropriate reference genes for normalization. In the present study, we assessed the expression stability of seven candidate genes in Tribolium castaneum (Herbst) (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) irradiated by ultraviolet B (UVB) at different developmental stages for various irradiation time periods. The algorithms of geNorm, NormFinder, and BestKeeper were applied to determine the stability of these candidate genes. Ribosomal protein genes RpS3, RpL13A, and β-actin gene (ActB) showed the highest stability across all UVB irradiation time points, whereas expression of other normally used reference genes, such as those encoding the β-tubulin gene TUBB and the E-cadherin gene CAD, varied at different developmental stages. This study will potentially provide more suitable reference gene candidates for RT-qPCR analysis in T. castaneum subjected to environmental stresses, particularly UV irradiation.

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It has been a long-standing problem that the rare electromagnetic decay process J/ψ → 3γ is plagued with both large and negative radiative and relativistic corrections. To date it remains futile to make a definite prediction to confront with the branching fraction of J/ψ → 3γ recently measured by the CLEO-c and BESIII collaborations. In this work, we investigate the joint perturbative and relativistic correction [i.e., the 0(αsμ²) correction, where v denotes the characteristic velocity of the charm quark inside the J/ψ] for this decay process, which turns out to be very significant. After incorporating the contribution from this new ingredient, with the reasonable choice of the input parameters, we are able to account for the measured decay rates in a satisfactory degree. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]