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The shear strength (particularly soil cohesion) of rooted soil is an important parameter that reflects the true erodibility of meadows, particularly in meadows experiencing different degrees of degradation, ranging from undegraded (UD) through to lightly degraded (LD) and from moderately degraded (MD) to heavily degraded (HD). The cohesion of rooted soil is controlled not only by the soil moisture content and its natural density, but also by roots (including not only their density, spatial distribution, and diameters, but also their tensile strength). This study aimed to improve the current understanding of the erosion resistance of rooted soil and elucidate the impact of meadow degradation on the physical–mechanical indices of rooted soil. Based on this discussion, a one-way analysis of variance was performed at significance levels of 0.05 and 0.01 to test the impact of degradation on the physical–mechanical indices of rooted soil across degradation. Furthermore, the probabilistic distributions of the physical–mechanical indices were described using normal, gamma, Weibull, and generalized extreme values (GEV). The Kolmogorov–Smirnov (KS) test was used to identify the optimal distribution based on p-values and the Pearson correlation coefficient was used to quantify the correlation between the cohesion of rooted soil and other indices. The one-way ANOVA indicated that the soil's natural density and soil moisture content decreased firstly, followed by an increase, the root amount and cohesion decreased, the root content experienced an initial increasing and then decreasing trend, and the internal friction angle exhibited a stepwise increasing trend. The four distributions sufficiently described the actual distribution of data on the physical–mechanical indices of rooted soil, except for the internal friction angle in UD and MD soils and the soil moisture content in MD soil. Additionally, the KS tests showed that the optimal distribution depended on both the physical–mechanical indices themselves and the degree of degradation. The Pearson correlation analysis showed that the correlation between cohesion and the other physical–mechanical indices varied considerably depending on the degree of degradation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anhydroicaritin (1a), baohuoside (1b) and icariin (1c) were recognized as major pharmacologically active ingredients of Epimedium plants. Their primary means of acquisition were chemical isolation from plants. However, it suffers from low yield, environmental pollution and shortage of plants. Herein, to remedy these problems, biosynthesis was explored to obtain the three active ingredients. Fortunately, with SfFPT as 8-prenyltransferase, EpPF3RT and Ep7GT as glycosyltransferases, kaempferide (1) was transferred to 1a, 1b and 1c enzymatically. Thus, we report the details of this method. This approach represents a promising environmental friendly alternative for the production of these compounds from an abundant analogue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (nCT) or neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy followed by surgery has been recommended as standard treatment in patients with locally advanced esophageal cancer (LAEC). But the risk of tumor recurrence still remained, and many patients refused or abandoned radiotherapy because of the intolerable adverse effects in China. Neoadjuvant immunochemotherapy (nICT) followed by surgery has become an emerging treatment in patients with esophageal cancer. There was still no consensus on whether nICT was superior to nCT alone in patients with esophageal cancer. Methods: In this retrospective study, patients with resectable esophageal cancer who received surgery after nICT (n=26, 40%) or nCT alone (n=39, 60%) were included. The patients were classified as nICT or nCT arm. The primary endpoints were pathological tumor response (PTR) and event-free survival (EFS). The different clinic-pathological features were compared by the Kruskal-Wallis test for continuous variables and the Chi-square (χ2) test for categorical variables. Kaplan-Meier curves were used to estimate EFS from the date of treatment to recurrence or death. All tests were 2-sided with a significative P-value defined <.05. Results: Three (11.5%) of the 26 patients achieved pathological complete remission (pCR) in the nICT group, and four (10.3%) of the 39 patients achieved pCR in the nCT group, respectively (P=1.000). Six (23.1%) of the 26 patients achieved major pathological response (MPR) in the nICT group, and 11 (28.2%) of the 39 patients achieved MPR in the nCT group, respectively (P=0.645). Downstaging was achieved in 13 (44.8%) patients in the nICT group and 16 (55.2%) patients in the nCT group, respectively (P=0.732). To verify the tumor regression grade (TRG) results, we compared them with MPR and pCR, which showed a significant dependency (P< 0.001). Patients who achieved downgrading showed better MPR and pCR rates (P<0.001 and P =0.010). There was no significant difference in EFS between the nICT and nCT groups (HR=1.011, 95% CI: 0.421–2.425, P = 0.981). Conclusions: Neoadjuvant PD-1 blockade combined with chemotherapy was not superior to chemotherapy alone for patients with resectable locally advanced esophageal carcinoma. However, more studies with long-term follow-up were needed to confirm this result. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using chicken feathers as bait, Acremonium globosisporum sp. nov. and Acremonium curvum sp. nov. were collected from the soil of Yuncheng East Garden Wildlife Zoo and Zhengzhou Zoo in China. They were identified by combining the morphological characteristics and the two-locus DNA sequence (LSU and ITS) analyses. In the phylogenetic tree, both new species clustered into separate subclades, respectively. They were different from their allied species in their morphology. The description, illustrations, and phylogenetic tree of the two new species were provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study aimed to compare the survival outcomes between squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and adenocarcinoma/adenosquamous carcinoma (AC/ASC) of the cervix after radical radiotherapy and chemotherapy.Methods: Propensity score matching (1:4) was used to compare overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) in cervical cancer patients with SCC and AC/ASC in China.Results: Five thousand four hundred sixty-six patients were enrolled according to the criteria. The 5-year OS and DFS in the SCC group (n = 5251) were higher than those in the AC/ASC group (n = 215). After PSM (1:4), the 5-year OS and DFS in the SCC group were higher than those in the AC/ASC group (72.2% vs 56.9%, p < 0.001, HR = 1.895; 67.6% vs 47.8%, p < 0.001, HR = 2.056). In stage I-IIA2 patients, after PSM (1:4), there was no significant difference in 5-year OS between the SCC group (n = 143) and the AC/ASC group (n = 34) (68.5% vs 67.8%, P = 0.175). However, the 5-year DFS in the SCC group was higher than that in the AC/ASC group (71.0% vs 55.7%, P = 0.045; HR = 2.037, P = 0.033). In stage IIB-IV patients, after PSM (1:4), the 5-year OS and DFS in the SCC group (n = 690) were higher than those in the AC/ASC group (n = 173) (70.7% vs 54.3% P < 0.001 vs 1.940%, P < 0.001 vs 45.8%, p < 0.001).Conclusions: For stage I-IIA2, there was no significant difference in 5-year survival time, but patients with AC/ASC were more likely to relapse. In the more advanced IIB-IV stage, the oncological outcome of radical radiotherapy and chemotherapy of cervical AC/ASC was worse than that of SCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A high-quality genome is of significant value when seeking to control forest pests such as Dendrolimus kikuchii , a destructive member of the order Lepidoptera that is widespread in China. Herein, a high quality, chromosome-level reference genome for D. kikuchii based on Nanopore, Pacbio HiFi sequencing and the Hi-C capture system is presented. Overall, a final genome assembly of 705.51 Mb with contig and scaffold N50 values of 20.89 and 24.73 Mb, respectively, was obtained. Of these contigs, 95.89% had unique locations on 29 chromosomes. In silico analysis revealed that the genome contained 15,323 protein-coding genes and 63.44% repetitive sequences. Phylogenetic analyses indicated that D. kikuchii may diverged from the common ancestor of Thaumetopoea. Pityocampa , Thaumetopoea ni, Heliothis virescens , Hyphantria armigera , Spodoptera frugiperda , and Spodoptera litura approximately 122.05 million years ago. Many gene families were expanded in the D. kikuchii genome, particularly those of the Toll and IMD signaling pathway, which included 10 genes in peptidoglycan recognition protein , 19 genes in MODSP , and 11 genes in Toll. The findings from this study will help to elucidate the mechanisms involved in protection of D. kikuchii against foreign substances and pathogens, and may highlight a potential channel to control this pest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer worldwide, but its incidence varies greatly in different countries. Regardless of incidence or mortality, the burden of cervical cancer in China accounts for approximately 18% of the global burden. The Chinese Cervical Cancer Clinical Study is a hospital-based multicenter open cohort. The major aims of this study include (i) to explore the associations of therapeutic strategies with complications as well as mid- and long-term clinical outcomes; (ii) to widely assess the factors which may have an influence on the prognosis of cervical cancer and then guide the treatment options, and to estimate prognosis using a prediction model for precise post-treatment care and follow-up; (iii) to develop a knowledge base of cervical clinical auxiliary diagnosis and prognosis prediction using artificial intelligence and machine learning approaches; and (iv) to roughly map the burden of cervical cancer in different districts and monitoring the trend in incidence of cervical cancer to potentially inform prevention and control strategies. Patients eligible for inclusion were those diagnosed with cervical cancer, whether during an outpatient visit or hospital admission, at 47 different types of medical institutions in 19 cities of 11 provinces across mainland China between 2004 and 2018. In a total, 63 926 patients with cervical cancer were enrolled in the cohort. Since the project inception, a large number of standardized variables have been collected, including epidemiological characteristics, cervical cancer-related symptoms, physical examination results, laboratory testing results, imaging reports, tumor biomarkers, tumor staging, tumor characteristics, comorbidities, co-infections, treatment and short-term complications. Follow-up was performed at least once every 6 months within the first 5 years after receiving treatment and then annually thereafter. At present, we are developing a cervical cancer imaging database containing Dicom files with data of computed tomography/magnetic resonance imaging examination. Additionally, we are also collecting original pathological specimens of patients with cervical cancer. Potential collaborators are welcomed to contact the corresponding authors, and anyone can submit at least one specific study proposal describing the background, objectives and methods of the study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• An IEU-Net model and high-resolution images are reliable for urban forest mapping. • Afforestation and deforestation exerted a net cooling and warming. • Two landscape-type conversions displayed greater cooling and weaker warming. • A robust and accurate land surface temperature feedback framework was proposed. Accurate characterization of urban forest change can help quantify its impact on the urban thermal environment. Taking Hangzhou City and Zhaoqing City, China as two cases, we proposed a deep learning-based approach to extract forest/non-forest types using China's Gaofen data and the labels it generates. We then explored the impacts of urban forest patterns on land surface temperature (LST). Our results indicate that Gaofen-1/6 images performed well for urban forest/non-forest mapping with an accuracy of over 90%. We found that afforestation and deforestation exerted a net cooling of -0.62±0.30°C and -1.23±0.26°C and warming of 1.71±0.16°C and 1.29±0.14°C in Hangzhou and Zhaoqing, respectively. Balancing the LST changes of both afforestation and deforestation found total warming due to deforestation, especially in Hangzhou. Latitudinal reduced cooling and enhanced warming were found from Zhaoqing to Hangzhou, which can be explained by strong evaporative effects and inconsistent albedo effects. Moreover, a more pronounced cooling when other types converted to landscape core type and a weaker warming when landscape core type converted to other types were detected, especially in Zhaoqing. This study highlights the importance of designing rational afforestation plans, avoiding deforestation activities, and reducing forest fragmentation in delineating effective climate mitigation strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The aim of this study was to better understand methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) at the molecular level by investigating the genotypic characteristics and evolutionary patterns of MRSA clones in Shenyang, China. Methods: We analyzed the molecular epidemiology of 60 MRSA isolates in Shenyang, China, between 2002 and 2008, using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), multilocus sequence typing (MLST), staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCC mec) typing, and S. aureus protein A ( spa) typing. They were examined for their antimicrobial susceptibilities. Results: Among the 60 isolates, ST239 was identified most frequently (34 isolates; 58%), followed by ST5 (20 isolates; 34%). Nine spa types were obtained and 4 PFGE strain families (A, B, C, and D) were resolved. Spa type t030, which corresponded to PFGE genotypes A1, A3, and A4, constituted 45% (27/60) of all isolates; spa type t037, which corresponded to PFGE type A2, accounted for 13% (8/60) of all isolates. These 2 spa genotypes belonged to ST239 and carried SCC mec type III. Isolates genotyped as spa type t002 comprised 27% (16/60) of the study set and included isolates typed as PFGE B1 and B2, ST5, and SCC mec II. Most of MRSA isolates belonging to ST239 were susceptible to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC50) of vancomycin among MRSA isolates belonging to ST5 (2 mg/l) was higher than that for other isolates (1 mg/l). Conclusions: These data document 2 major epidemic MRSA clones in Shenyang, China: ST239-MRSA-SCC mec type III-t037/t030 and ST5-MRSA-SCC mec type II-t002. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is an ever-growing demand of construction of large-diameter tunnel in Shanghai, China. How to minimize the environmental impact induced by the tunnel construction has been a hot topic of research over the recent years. The Yingbin San Road tunnel with an external diameter of 13.95 m has been taken as an example to elaborate the controlling of ground surface deformation induced by shield-driven tunneling, in the case of tunnel passing through the settlement sensitive area and adverse geological conditions. Tunneling process of the EPB shield machine was simulated using a three-dimensional finite difference method. Parametric study was performed to optimize the construction parameters. Field measurement was also carried out to validate the numerical model and its applicability in the case of large-diameter tunnels. Both the numerical prediction and field test data show that grouting pressure and quality appear to determine the surface settlement rather than the supporting pressure at workface on the premise of guaranteeing the safety of tunneling process. Both the empirical correlations and field observations demonstrate that the volume loss V i should be controlled below 0.2% to guarantee the maximum surface settlement no more than 10 mm in the airport area. However, the empirical predictions of trough width parameter i do not match the field measurement very well except for the case where such a high volume loss as 0.81% was obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]