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BACKGROUND: The ectoparasitic wasp Habrobracon hebetor (Hymenoptera, Braconidae) can parasitize various species of lepidopteran pests. To maximize its potential for biological control, it is necessary to investigate its gene function through genome engineering. RESULTS: To test the effectiveness of genome engineering system in H. hebetor, we injected the mixture of clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) ‐associated (Cas) 9 protein and single guide RNA(s) targeting gene white into embryos. The resulting mutants display a phenotype of eye pigment loss. The phenotype was caused by small indel and is heritable. Then, we compared some biological parameters between wildtype and mutant, and found there were no significant differences in other parameters except for the offspring female rate and adult longevity. In addition, cocoons could be used to extract genomic DNA for genotype during the gene editing process without causing unnecessary harm to H. hebetor. CONCLUSION: Our results demonstrate that the CRISPR/Cas9 system can be used for H. hebetor genome editing and it does not adversely affect biological parameters of the parasitoid wasps. We also provide a feasible non‐invasive genotype detection method using genomic DNA extracted from cocoons. Our study introduces a novel tool and method for studying gene function in H. hebetor, and may contribute to better application of H. hebetor in biocontrol. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Adult parasitic wasps take sugars to meet their energy needs and display different lifespans and fertility in response to different sugar sources. Pteromalus puparum is an endoparasitoid with a wide range of hosts, including many lepidopteran pests. As a potential natural enemy resource, the availability of sugar sources has profound effects for wasp applications and host populations dynamics. RESULTS: We assessed the effect of feeding sucrose and honey on the lifespan of P. puparum in the range 0–40% (w/v). The results indicated a statistically significant positive effect of sucrose and honey solutions on the lifespan of P. puparum female adults. Correlation analyses confirmed a strong positive correlation between high concentrations of sugar and extended lifespan. The optimum concentration of sucrose solution for wasps was 20%, while 10% for honey. Then, we examined the expression patterns of 15 lifespan‐related genes. The results showed that the relative expression levels of 14 genes were significantly correlated with the mean lifespan of sucrose‐fed wasps, and six genes correlated with the mean lifespan of honey‐fed wasps. In addition, the models for lifespan prediction were constructed. CONCLUSION: We elaborated the quantitative effects of two sugar sources (sucrose and honey) on P. puparum lifespan, investigated the expression patterns of lifespan‐related genes when fed different sugar sources, and developed round lifespan prediction models accordingly. This study provides a novel tool for studying the longevity regulating mechanisms of parasitic wasps, and may be instructive for mass‐production of parasitoids as biological control agents. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to determine the efficacy of immunonutrition vs standard nutrition in cancer patients treated with surgery. Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, EMBASE, MEDLINE, EBSCOhost, and Web of Science were searched. Sixty-one randomized controlled trials were included. Immunonutrition was associated with a significantly reduced risk of postoperative infectious complications (risk ratio [RR] 0.71 [95% CI, 0.64-0.79]), including a reduced risk of wound infection (RR 0.72 [95% CI, 0.60-0.87]), respiratory tract infection (RR 0.70 [95% CI, 0.59-0.84]), and urinary tract infection (RR 0.69 [95% CI, 0.51-0.94]) as well as a decreased risk of anastomotic leakage (RR 0.70 [95% CI, 0.53-0.91]) and a reduced hospital stay (MD -2.12 days [95% CI -2.72 to -1.52]). No differences were found between the 2 groups with regard to sepsis or all-cause mortality. Subgroup analyses revealed that receiving arginine + nucleotides + ω-3 fatty acids and receiving enteral immunonutrition reduced the rates of wound infection and respiratory tract infection. The application of immunonutrition at 25-30 kcal/kg/d for 5-7 days reduced the rate of respiratory tract infection. Perioperative immunonutrition reduced the rate of wound infection. For malnourished patients, immunonutrition shortened the hospitalization time. Therefore, immunonutrition reduces postoperative infection complications and shortens hospital stays but does not reduce all-cause mortality. Patients who are malnourished before surgery who receive arginine + nucleotides + ω-3 fatty acids (25-30 kcal/kg/d) via the gastrointestinal tract during the perioperative period (5-7 days) may show better clinical efficacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: We conducted a systematic review to assess the effects of immunonutrition on chemoradiotherapy patients.Methods: We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, EMBASE, MEDLINE, CINAHL, and the Web of Science. We assessed the risk of bias using the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool. Our primary outcomes were the incidence of oral mucositis and diarrhea. The secondary outcomes were the incidence of esophagitis, grade ≥3 oral mucositis, grade ≥3 diarrhea, grade ≥3 esophagitis, and body weight loss.Results: A total of 1478 patients and 27 studies were included. There were no significant differences in the incidence of oral mucositis (relative risk [RR] = 0.91; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.79-1.05), diarrhea (RR = 0.89; 95% CI, 0.76-1.05), or esophagitis (RR = 0.55; 95% CI, 0.11-2.86) between the immunonutrition group and standard nutrition/placebo group. Nevertheless, immunonutrition significantly reduced the incidence of grade ≥3 oral mucositis (RR = 0.45; 95% CI, 0.22-0.92), grade ≥3 diarrhea (RR = 0.56; 95% CI, 0.35-0.88), grade ≥3 esophagitis (RR = 0.15; 95% CI, 0.04-0.54), and losing >5% body weight (RR = 0.34; 95% CI, 0.18-0.64).Conclusions: In this study, immunonutrition failed to reduce the incidence rates of oral mucositis, diarrhea, or esophagitis but was conducive to significantly improving the severity of oral mucositis and diarrhea esophagitis and reducing the rate of body weight loss. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Radical reactions have been widely applied in C−P bond‐forming strategies. Most of these strategies require initiators, transition metal catalysts, or organometallic reagents. Herein, a transition metal‐free C(sp3)−P bond formation to prepare α‐aminophosphine oxides via deprotonative radical coupling processes of 2‐azaallyls with chlorodiphenylphosphine oxides was presented. Deprotonation of N‐benzyl imines may generate super‐electron‐donor (SED) 2‐azaallyl anions that reduced chlorodiphenylphosphine oxides to phosphine oxide radicals. Single‐electron transfer (SET) process transformed the 2‐azaallyl anions into 2‐azaallyl radicals, which may couple with phosphine oxide radicals to construct C−P bonds. The deprotonative radical coupling approach enables the synthesis of α‐aminophosphine oxides bearing various functional groups under mild conditions and without precious transition metal catalysts or oxidants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel and simple fluorescence method for Hg2+ recognition and detection has been developed based on T‐Hg2+‐T complex and exonuclease III (Exo III) assisted cyclic signal amplification. Graphene oxide (GO) and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were used to quench the fluorescence FAM‐labelled single strand DNA (FAM‐ssDNA). The optimum conditions, including GO and CNTs concentrations, enzyme concentration and enzymatic hydrolysis time, were studied. The linear range, regression equation and metal ion selectivity were further studied and compared. The recovery rates of Hg2+ in tap water and urine were between 93.83–103.5%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein, a novel and scalable synthesis of electron rich 1,3‐dienes based on KOtBu mediated isomerization of propargylic ether derivatives was developed. This new process features easy handling reaction conditions, transition‐metal‐free isomerization, high isolated yields, and most of all, it could be used for modification of natural products at late stage functionalizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Isochromenes are important pharmacophores present in biologically active molecules and natural products. Their synthesis is generally limited to cyclization of phenyl propargyl ether precursors under transition metal catalyzed conditions. Herein, we present a novel disconnection that rapidly constructs isochromene derivatives through a cascade radical cyclization strategy. Generation of aryl radicals by SET reduction of 2‐iodo benzyl allenyl ethers is followed by radical cyclization to construct the isochromene core with formation of an allylic radical. The allylic radical then undergoes coupling with the azaallyl radical to give products in good to excellent yields. The elaborated 2‐iodo phenyl propargyl ether precursors can be used to construct isochromenes bearing various functional groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Benzofurans are among the most popular structural units in bioactive natural products, however, the synthesis of such structures by radical cyclization cascade reactions is rare. Herein, we report a mild and broadly applicable method for the construction of complex benzofurylethylamine derivatives through a unique radical cyclization cascade mechanism. Single‐electron transfer (SET) from 2‐azaallyl anions to 2‐iodo aryl allenyl ethers initiates a radical cyclization that is followed by intermolecular radical–radical coupling. This expedient approach enables the synthesis of a range of polycyclic benzofurans that would otherwise be difficult to prepare. Well behaved radicals: a mild and broadly applicable method for the construction of complex benzofurylethylamine derivatives through a unique radical cyclization cascade mechanism is presented. SET from 2‐azaallyl anions to 2‐iodo aryl allenyl ethers initiates a radical cyclization that is followed by intermolecular radical–radical coupling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Magnetic oxides are widely used as electromagnetic (EM) wave absorbers. To promote the absorption efficiency, tremendous efforts have been contributed to adjusting the composite, structure, and size of magnetic loss materials. Employing carbon materials (CNTs, CF, graphene, PANI) is an efficient way to improve the dielectric loss of the matrix. Anchoring the tiny‐monodispersed Fe3O4 nanoparticles (NPs) onto the lightweight multi − walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) leads to improve dielectric loss and impedance matching characteristic. Magnetic Fe3O4 NPs along the one‐dimensional nanotubes direction play a good synergetic role with MWCNTs due to the interfacial strong chemical and structure bonding. The as‐synthesized Fe3O4/MWCNTs nanocomposites exhibit efficient EM wave absorption characteristics (RL av−10 dB) with a maximum reflection loss of −63.64 dB at 12.08 GHz and a diminutive thickness of only 1.6 mm. The magnetic Fe3O4 NPs show strong chemical and structure bonding with the one‐dimensional MWCNTs. This work may show a way to broaden the application of such kinds of lightweight high‐performance absorbing materials frameworks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]