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Stingless bees (Hymenoptera: Meloponini) play a significant ecological role in tropical and subtropical regions. They have good utilization value in pollination, medicinal applications, and industrial raw materials. However, the habitats of stingless bees have experienced fragmentation owing to anthropogenic interventions in the natural environment. Consequently, this disruption precipitated a substantial decline in both population abundance and species diversity, placing them at risk of endangerment. Recognizing this scenario, implementing measures to safeguard and judiciously exploit the stingless bee population has become imperative because it has a profound impact on the harmonized advancement of domains encompassing agriculture, medicine, and ecological diversity. From July 2020 to June 2021, comprehensive questionnaire surveys were methodically conducted. The methods employed included participatory interviews and random interception sampling techniques, culminating in a dataset of 291 validated questionnaires. These surveys indicated that the denizens of the communities surrounding the national park predominantly comprise ethnic groups such as Li and Miao. These groups continue to rely primarily on traditional natural resources for their sustenance and livelihood. However, their awareness of the importance of conserving the stingless bee population remains conspicuously deficient. Among the residents displaying the willingness and capacity to contribute to stingless bee conservation efforts, their inclinations appear to be influenced by factors such as prior experience in beekeeping, comprehension of stingless bee products, and demand for beekeeping techniques. Analysis of the survey results underscores a conspicuous gap in the fundamental understanding of the value of stingless bees and their products. Among the community residents, 64.04% lacked this essential comprehension. Furthermore, 91.67% of community residents did not engage in stingless bee breeding activities, and 39.06% were unwilling to learn beekeeping techniques. These findings underscore multifaceted issues within the community pertaining to legal and regulatory frameworks for stingless bee conservation, the popularization of science regarding stingless bees, stingless bee breeding techniques, and other aspects. These inadequacies pose substantial impediments to the sustainable development of stingless bee resources in Hainan Tropical Rainforest National Park. Given these challenges, conservation of stingless bees within the Hainan Tropical Rainforest National Park has emerged as an enduring and pivotal undertaking. In the promotion process, a strategy that encompasses enhanced science communication and public consciousness campaigns is essential. Fostering a positive public disposition towards conservation efforts, encouraging autonomous participation by residents in the conservation of stingless bees, and fostering a balanced coexistence between managed breeding and the protection of wild populations are vital approaches to ensuring the sustainability of stingless bee resources.

Nalbuphine was a semisynthetic opioid analgesic widely used in the treatment of both acute and chronic pain. We developed and validated a rapid, simple and sensitive method by ultra-performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) for the simultaneous quantitation of nalbuphine in human plasma, and we reported the pharmacokinetic features of patients during general anesthesia for abdominal surgery. Sample separation was achieved on a Kinetex Phenyl-Hexyl column (50 × 2.1 mm, 1.7 μm) after simple protein precipitation with acetonitrile. The mobile phase was composed of acetonitrile and 3 mM of ammonium acetate aqueous solution with 0.1% formic acid. Gradient elution was used in 4.5 min with a flow rate of 0.5 mL/min at 40°C. MS detection using AB Sciex QTRAP 5500 mass spectrometer was characterized by electrospray ionization for positive ions in multiple reaction monitoring mode. Quantitative ion pairs were m/z 358.4 → 340.1 for nalbuphine and m/z 340.0 → 268.3 for nalmefene, which were used as the internal standard (IS). The calibration curves showed good linearity (r 2>0.99) over concentration range of 0.1–500 ng/mL. The intra-and inter-batch precisions were within 10.67%, and accuracy ranged from 94.07 to 105.34%. The IS–normalized matrix factors were 1.02–1.03 with RSD% (≤5.82%). The recoveries ranged from 101.09 to 106.30%. In conclusion, a rapid, simple, sensitive and economical analytical method was developed and validated to detect the concentration in plasma samples obtained from patients receiving nalbuphine intravenous injection and was successfully applicated to human pharmacokinetic studies of nalbuphine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We performed a meta‐analysis to evaluate the effect of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease on surgical site wound infection, and other postoperative problems after coronary artery bypass grafting. A systematic literature search up to April 2022 was performed and 37 444 subjects with coronary artery bypass grafting at the baseline of the studies; 4320 of them were with the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and 33 124 were without chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Odds ratio (OR), and mean difference (MD) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated to assess the effect of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease on surgical site wound infection, and other postoperative problems after coronary artery bypass grafting using the dichotomous, and contentious methods with a random or fixed‐effect model. The chronic obstructive pulmonary disease subjects had a significantly higher surgical site wound infection (OR, 1.27; 95% CI, 1.01‐1.60, P = 0.04), respiratory failure (OR, 1.84; 95% CI, 1.55‐2.18, P < 0.001), mortality (OR, 1.61; 95% CI, 1.37‐1.89, P < 0.001), pneumonia (OR, 2.30; 95% CI, 1.97‐2.68, P < 0.001), pleural effusion (OR, 1.78; 95% CI, 1.12‐2.83, P = 0.02), stroke (OR, 1.99; 95% CI, 1.17‐3.36, P = 0.01), and length of intensive care unit stay (MD, 0.73; 95% CI, 0.19‐1.26, P = 0.008) after coronary artery bypass grafting compared with subjects without chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. However, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease subjects did not show any significant difference in length of hospital stay (MD, 0.83; 95% CI, −0.01 to 1.67, P = 0.05), and pneumothorax (OR, 1.59; 95% CI, 0.98‐2.59, P = 0.06) after coronary artery bypass grafting compared with subjects without chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The chronic obstructive pulmonary disease subjects had a significantly higher surgical site wound infection, respiratory failure, mortality, pneumonia, pleural effusion, stroke, and length of intensive care unit stay, and no significant difference in length of hospital stay, and pneumothorax after coronary artery bypass grafting compared with subjects without chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The analysis of outcomes should be with caution because of the low sample size of 1 out of 11 studies in the meta‐analysis and a low number of studies in certain comparisons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The morphometric divergence between Apis cerana hainana and A. cerana remains uncertain. To differentiate A. cerana hainana from A. cerana, we investigate the morphological characteristics of A. cerana hainana from different geographical locations in Hainan Province. Our results revealed that the mean morphological characteristics of A. cerana hainana were lower than that of A. cerana previously reported, and there were significant differences in 14 morphological characteristics in different locations (P < 0.05), which suggested that A. cerana hainana showed geographical variability. The principal component analysis results demonstrated that the hind leg, wax mirror, length of tergum 4, forewing, sternum 3 and sternum 6 can be used as the main morphological characteristics in distinguishing A. cerana hainana. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Small hive beetles (SHB, Aethina tumida Murray, Coleoptera: Nitidulidae) are parasites of social bee colonies endemic to sub-Saharan Africa and have become an invasive species. Even though the global spread of SHB seems inevitable, the origin of novel introductions and their impact on new host populations need to be investigated to foster mitigation. Here, we report a case of SHBs from China and use COI gene sequencing to trace their origin. Since July 2018, beetle infestations of Eastern (Apis cerana) and Western (Apis mellifera) honey bee colonies with clinical symptoms were repeatedly reported from two Chinese provinces. These infestations apparently had a severe impact on A. cerana. Using morphometrics, genetics and clinical symptoms in the field, the beetles were confirmed to be A. tumida. The DNA sequences suggest an introduction from a yet unidentified African source similar to the Philippines, but very different to any other previously reported SHB haplotypes. The establishment of SHB in China underlines the need to limit novel introductions. Given that Eastern honey bees and possibly other Apis spp. are susceptible to SHB infestations, our findings highlight the need for adequate protection measures of endemic Asian honey bees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]