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Helicoverpa armigera and Aphis gossypii are two important insect species that feed on cotton plants. These insects have distinct abilities to induce plant resistance and tolerate plant toxins, which results in interspecific competition imbalance that may be fatal to the low-tolerance A. gossypii and force these insects to develop avoidance behaviors and subsequently separate from their niche. We implemented ecological experiments to test the effects of H. armigera-induced plant resistance and behavioral avoidance in A. gossypii, and employed transcriptomics and metabolomics analyses to reveal changes in resistance genes and metabolites in plants.Our results demonstrate that cotton plants induced by H. armigera cause significant inhibitory and avoidance effects on A. gossypii insect populations. Electrical penetration graph (EPG) analysis showed changes in plant resistance induced by H. armigera leading to a decreased feeding efficiency of A. gossypii. In addition, genes associated with jasmonic acid and ethylene signaling pathways were significantly up-regulated in cotton plants after H. armigera induction, which led to a significant up-regulation of metabolites inducing plant resistance. These observations were corroborated by bioactivity analysis on metabolites, which showed that jasmonic acid, gossypol and tannins have significant inhibitory effects on A. gossypii populations. In contrast, methylparaben is associated with avoidance behaviors on A. gossypii populations.Our study suggests that the differences in the ability to induce plant resistance and tolerance between two non-predatory insects were lethal to low-tolerance A. gossypii insects, which might be a major factor determining their niche differentiation. This was further demonstrated by screening anti-insect and bio-hormonal metabolites. Our study provides a reference for investigating the evolutionary relationship between non-predatory insects and insights to implement effective insect biocontrol. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry.

Weijiao Liu,1,2,* Wei Gu,1,* Xiaofeng Jin,1,* Jian Wang1,3 1Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Beijing Friendship Hospital Pinggu Campus, Capital Medical University, Beijing, People’s Republic of China; 3State Key Laboratory of Complex Severe and Rare Diseases, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Jian WangDepartment of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, No. 1 Shuaifuyuan, Wangfujing, Dongcheng District, Beijing, 100730, People’s Republic of ChinaEmail wangjianent@126.comPurpose: Surgical drainage is an essential part of treatment for deep neck infections (DNIs) or deep neck multiple-space infections (DNMIs). With the emergence and application of new technologies and new materials, vacuum-assisted closure (VAC) in the treatment of DNMIs has been reported. However, reports on the timing of VAC placement are limited. Herein, we compared simultaneous versus staged VAC placement in the treatment of DNMIs.Patients and Methods: Medical data from 24 patients with DNMIs who had received VAC treatment in the last five years were analyzed. The patients were classified into a simultaneous VAC placement group (11 patients) and a staged VAC placement group (13 patients) according to the timing of VAC placement when incision and drainage were performed.Results: No differences in baseline characteristics were found between the two groups. All patients in the two groups survived and recovered. The hospitalization duration (days), time to wound healing (days), number of debridement procedures, and disease course (days) in the simultaneous VAC placement group and staged VAC placement group were 10 (4– 18) and 22 (8– 35), 21 (4– 39) and 50 (9– 86), one (1– 2) and two (1– 4), and 31.5 (11– 49) and 56 (19– 98), respectively. The results in the simultaneous VAC placement group were better than those in the staged VAC placement group (P = 0.001, 0.016, 0.045, and 0.016, respectively). The numbers of VAC sponge changes in the simultaneous VAC placement group and staged VAC placement group were two (1– 2) and two (1– 4), respectively, with no statistically significant difference (P = 0.336).Conclusion: Simultaneous VAC placement during incision and drainage may shorten the wound healing time, hospitalization duration, and disease course and may reduce the number of debridement procedures.Keywords: deep neck multiple-space infections, DNMIs, necrotizing fasciitis, surgical treatment, negative pressure wound therapy

OBJECTIVE Microtia can profoundly influence health-related quality of life. The aim of this study was to investigate the psychosocial status of children and adolescents with unilateral and bilateral microtia before reconstruction surgery. METHODS Eighty-six patients with microtia from Peking Union Medical College Hospital (54 with unilateral microtia and 32 with bilateral microtia) responded to structured interviews before reconstruction surgery. The 3 clinically validated questionnaires were the Piers-Harris Children's Self-concept Scale (PHCSS), the Social Anxiety Scale for Children (SASC), and the Children's Loneliness Scale (CLS). Scores from the PHCSS and SASC were compared with Chinese norms. The total scores of the unilateral and bilateral groups were compared for all three questionnaires. RESULTS Males with unilateral and bilateral microtia had significantly different PHSCC scores than norms (both P