Search

In this paper, three new species of the tribe Anthocoptini from China are described and illustrated. They are Aculops grewiaesp. nov. infesting Grewia biloba G.Don. (Malvaceae), Aculops koelreuteriaesp. nov. infesting Koelreuteria paniculata Laxm. (Sapindaceae) and Tegolophus pogonatherisp. nov. infesting Pogonatherum crinitum (Thunb.) Kunth (Poaceae). All of them are vagrants on lower leaf surface and cause no apparent symptom to their host plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of geothermal power generation in recent years has not given cause for optimism, and the reasons behind this situation are complicated. Nevertheless, if the global geothermal power generation market is studied, some interesting phenomena are revealed. First, the development of geothermal power generation around the world is unbalanced and highly correlated with the distribution of geothermal resources; therefore, the geothermal power generation potential in each country is examined and candidate countries are selected to analyze this unbalanced global development. Further, considering that the exploitation of energy does not rest solely on resource endowment and that the market is a critical factor, the factors that may influence the market are identified by studying the history of global geothermal power generation. Although the influencing factors in each country are not the same, the analysis indicates that factors such as a country's energy strategy, energy resource location, and the sustainable development of geothermal resources play critical roles in the development of geothermal power generation. Finally, the resource endowment is jointly considered with the main factors that influence the market to create a well-organized analytical framework for other researchers. The proposed analytical framework is then applied to make a tentative preliminary judgment about the development of geothermal power generation in China. The analysis shows that China has considerable potential for geothermal power generation; however, the development prospects under the current conditions are not promising. • GPG development correlates with distribution of medium-high temperature resources. • Critical external factors influencing the development of GPG are also discussed. • Geothermal power generation in China is not promising based on current conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Rabies is a fatal zoonotic disease whose pathogenesis has not been fully elucidated, and vaccination is the only effective method for protecting against rabies virus infection. Most inactivated vaccines are produced using Vero cells, which are African green monkey kidney cells, to achieve large-scale production. However, there is a potential carcinogenic risk due to nonhuman DNA contamination. Thus, replacing Vero cells with human diploid cells may be a safer strategy. In this study, we developed a novel 2BS cell-adapted rabies virus strain and analysed its sequence, virulence and immunogenicity to determine its application potential as a human diploid cell inactivated vaccine. Methods and results: The 2BS cell-adapted rabies virus strain 2aG4-B40 was established by passage for 40 generations and selection of plaques in 2BS cells. RNA sequence analysis revealed that mutations in 2BS cell-adapted strains were not located at key sites that regulate the production of neutralizing antibodies or virulence in the aG strain (GQ412744.1). The gradual increase in virulence (remaining above 7.0 logLD50/ml from the 40th to 55th generation) and antigen further indicated that these mutations may increase the affinity of the adapted strains for human diploid cells. Identification tests revealed that the 2BS cell-adapted virus strain was neutralized by anti-rabies serum, with a neutralization index of 19,952. PrEP and PEP vaccination and the NIH test further indicated that the vaccine prepared with the 2aG4-B40 strain had high neutralizing antibody levels (2.24 to 46.67 IU/ml), immunogenicity (protection index 270) and potency (average 11.6 IU/ml). Conclusions: In this study, a 2BS cell-adapted strain of the 2aG4 rabies virus was obtained by passage for 40 generations. The results of sequencing analysis and titre determination of the adapted strain showed that the mutations in the adaptive process are not located at key sequence regions of the virus, and these mutations may enhance the affinity of the adapted strain for human diploid cells. Moreover, vaccines made from the adapted strain 2aG4-B40 had high potency and immunogenicity and could be an ideal candidate rabies virus strain for inactivated vaccine preparation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]