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Phosphine is a major fumigant for insects control in stored products. However, the current fumigation with aluminum phosphide to generate phosphine is facing many challenges, such as require manual operation, fumigation produce can’t be automatically performed, and management of residue contaminants. To address these issues, the study utilizes a combination of pure phosphine gas from cylinders and nitrogen from a membrane separation nitrogen generator. Phosphine and nitrogen are mixed at predetermined ratios, and the resulting gas mixture is delivered directly into sealed grain storage facilities via a controlled release device and circulated within the grain piles to ensure fumigant evenly distribution. This maintains effective phosphine concentrations within the storage facility. The exposure duration lasted for 13 days, during which phosphine concentrations were monitored, and the total mortality rate of adult insects within the grain piles was recorded. Within 9 hours of treatment initiation, gas concentrations reached 736 mL/m3, peaking at 1 160 mL/m3, with an effective average concentration above 200 mL/m3 sustained for 10 days. The gas circulated and distributed uniformly within the treated space, enabling effective control of major stored commodity pests within a relatively short exposure period.

To investigate the characteristics of quality formation of Simian tea, the non-volatile components, mineral elements and filamentary structure of fresh leaves from different positions of ‘Simian Tucha’ tea plants, endemic to Zigui, were analyzed using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF-MS), inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results showed that the non-volatile components were more abundant in the leaves with higher tenderness, with amino acids, alkaloids, catechins, and aroma glycosides being mainly concentrated in the first (L1) and second leaves (L2). Theanine, organic acids, and flavonoids were mainly concentrated in the third leaf (L3), while the content of non-volatile components in the older leaves was relatively lower. The accumulation of mineral elements greatly varied among tea leaves with different tenderness. The contents of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, and copper in L1 (32.41 mg/g, 4.53 mg/g, 15.65 mg/g, 45.45 μg/g, and 10.75 μg/g, respectively) and L2 (30.60 mg/g, 3.70 mg/g, 14.12 mg/g, 35.82 μg/g, 9.02 μg/g, respectively) were higher than those in older leaves. The contents of iron, manganese, and calcium were higher in mature leaves. Through SEM observation, it was found that the filamentary structure of Simian tea leaves consisted of two forms, triple-stranded coil and single-stranded coil, and was distributed in the internal thread or ringed vessels of the xylem in the vascular bundles in the midvein and lateral veins, and the number of filamentary structures was higher in the second, third and fourth leaves than that in buds and L1.

The fumigant has been approved by the World Health Organization for use in grain storage, targeting the eradication of pests in areas where grain is stored or transported to reduce insect and mold activities, thereby minimizing storage losses. Phosphine is featured by its economic viability, application readibility, rapid diffusion, and lack of residue, making it advantageous for comprehensive pest control. It demonstrates high efficacy against various harmful organisms in storage, making it one of major fumigants worldwide. However, the elimination of some fumigants has increased dependence on phosphine. The lack of standardized guidance and inappropriate use of phosphine have led to severe resistance among stored grain pests, posing a threat to the effectiveness and sustainability of phosphine treatment. This paper provides a comprehensive review of the current status and trends of phosphine resistance in stored grain pests on the global. It analyzes the genetic basis of resistance, focusing on respiratory and cuticle-related gene expression and detoxification enzyme mechanisms. A comparison of four resistance detection methods—FAO, discriminating does bioassay, rapid knockdown, and molecular identification—is rendered. The study explores key strategies for resistance management, including optimization of fumigation protocols, laboratory and field validations, and application recommendations. The aim is to offer reference information for the scientific and rational use of phosphine and the development of alternative pest control methods in the future.

In view of the prevailing insecticide resistance and increasing safety and health concerns, there is an urgent need to develop effective and environmentally friendly methods to control stored-product pests. S-methoprene, a microbial volatile compound with insecticidal properties, has been identified as a potential candidate for this purpose. However, its efficacy against storage pests is not well understood. In this study, wheat was treated with S-methoprene at a rate of 5 mg/kg and stored in ambient conditions within a grain bin. Samples were collected after 90 and 365 days, and bioassays were conducted on 20 mixed-sex developmental stages of Tribolium castaneum and T. confusum. S-methoprene showed significant ovicidal, pupicidal, and adulticidal activity against T. castaneum and T. confusum. The efficacy of S-methoprene was found to be influenced by the developmental stage of the pests and the timing of its application. In the 90-day treatment group, the hatching rate of three T. castaneum strains was zero, while that of T. confusum strains from Guangdong and Beijing was (1.67±2.04)% and 0%, respectively. S-methoprene treatment in the 90-day group resulted in effective pupicidal activity against both T. castaneum and T. confusum, with the F1 generation of adults being unable to reproduce. However, in the 365-day treatment group, the pupicidal activity significantly decreased, and the F1 generation of adults were able to reproduce but their F1 generation pupae can not hatch. The adulticidal activity of both pests had some effects in both treatments, but the mortality rate significantly decreased in the 365-day treatment group. The F1 generation of T. castaneum only consisted of larvae, while some larvae of T. confusum were able to pupate but could not further develop into adults. T. castaneum was found to be more susceptible to S-methoprene than T. confusum. After S-methoprene induction, the activity of three detoxification enzymes in Tribolium species was affected in varying degrees and had different variation patterns. The activity was positively correlated with induction time.

Solirubrobacter spp. were abundant in soil samples collected from deserts and other areas with high UV radiation. In addition, a novel Solirubrobacter species, with strain CPCC 204708T as the type, was isolated and identified from sandy soil sample collected from the Badain Jaran Desert of the Inner Mongolia autonomous region. Strain CPCC 204708T was Gram-stain positive, rod-shaped, non-motile, non-spore-forming, and grew optimally at 28–30°C, pH 7.0–8.0, and in the absence of NaCl. Analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequence of strain CPCC 204708T showed its identity within the genus Solirubrobacter, with highest nucleotide similarities (97.4–98.2%) to other named Solirubrobacter species. Phylogenetic and genomic analyses indicated that the strain was most closely related to Solirubrobacter phytolaccae KCTC 29190T, while represented a distinct species, as confirmed from physiological properties and comparison. The name Solirubrobacter deserti sp. nov. was consequently proposed, with CPCC 204708T (= DSM 105495T = NBRC 112942T) as the type strain. Genomic analyses of the Solirubrobacter spp. also suggested that Solirubrobacter sp. URHD0082 represents a novel species, for which the name Candidatus “Solirubrobacter pratensis” sp. nov. was proposed. Genomic analysis of CPCC 204708T revealed the presence of genes related to its adaptation to the harsh environments of deserts and may also harbor genes functional in plant-microbe interactions. Pan-genomic analysis of available Solirubrobacter spp. confirmed the presence of many of the above genes as core components of Solirubrobacter genomes and suggests they may possess beneficial potential for their associate plant and may be important resources for bioactive compounds.

Objective: Online aggression (OA) in Chinese university students is a public health concern. Drawing on the general aggression model (GAM), this study examines the extent to which nonviolent and violent stressful life events predict OA through altering moral cognition (i.e., moral disengagement). It also examines whether the two types of stressful life events interactively predict moral disengagement and whether violent stressful life events moderate the link between moral disengagement and OA. Method: Participants were 569 Chinese university students (Mage = 21.94 years, 42.5% males). They participated in a three-wave study, with 3-month spanning each wave, to self-report nonviolent stressful life events at Time 1 (T1), violent stressful life events and moral disengagement at T1 and Time 2 (T2), and OA at T1 and Time 3. Results: Results of path analysis showed that after controlling for the baseline levels of respective variables, T2 moral disengagement mediated the associations between T1 violent, but not nonviolent, stressful life events and Time 3 OA. The interactive effect between the two types of stressful life events at T1 on moral disengagement at T2 was insignificant; neither was the interactive effect between T2 moral disengagement and T2 violent stressful life events on Time 3 OA. The significance of results did not change after adjusting students' gender, age, and family socioeconomic status. Conclusion: These findings support the utility of GAM in explaining how OA develops in Chinese young people, implying that some situational inputs appear more important than others in these developmental processes. The results also shed light on strategies to prevent Chinese university students' OA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Five Gram-stain-positive, aerobic, non-motile actinobacterial strains designated as CPCC 205763T, CPCC 203386T, CPCC 205716T, CPCC 203406T, and CPCC 203407 were obtained from different ecosystems associated with four kinds of Chinese traditional medicinal plants. The 16S rRNA gene sequences of these five strains showed closely related to members of the genus Herbiconiux of the family Microbacteriaceae, with the highest similarities of 97.4–99.7% to the four validly named species of Herbiconiux. In the phylogenetic trees based on 16S rRNA gene sequences and the core genome, these isolates clustered into the clade of the genus Herbiconiux within the lineage of the family Microbacteriaceae. The overall genome relatedness indexes (values of ANI and dDDH) and the phenotypic properties (morphological, physiological and chemotaxonomic characteristics) of these isolates, readily supported to affiliate them to the genus Herbiconiux, representing four novel species, with the isolates CPCC 203406T and CPCC 203407 being classified in the same species. For which the names Herbiconiux aconitum sp. nov. (type strain CPCC 205763T = I19A-01430T = CGMCC 1.60067T), Herbiconiux daphne sp. nov. (type strain CPCC 203386T = I10A-01569T = DSM 24546T = KCTC 19839T), Herbiconiux gentiana sp. nov. (type strain CPCC 205716T = I21A-01427T = CGMCC 1.60064T), and Herbiconiux oxytropis sp. nov. (type strain CPCC 203406T = I10A-02268T = DSM 24549T = KCTC 19840T) were proposed, respectively. In the genomes of these five strains, the putative encoding genes for amidase, endoglucanase, phosphatase, and superoxidative dismutase were retrieved, which were classified as biosynthetic genes/gene-clusters regarding plant growth-promotion (PGP) functions. The positive results from IAA-producing, cellulose-degrading and anti-oxidation experiments further approved their potential PGP bio-functions. Pangenome analysis of the genus Herbiconiux supported the polyphasic taxonomy results and confirmed their bio-function potential.

Stenotrophomonas spp. have primarily been reported as non-pathogenic, plant-probiotic bacteria, despite the presence of some opportunistic human pathogens in the genus. Here, three Gram-stain negative, rod-shaped, non-spore-forming bacteria, designated as strains CPCC 101365T, CPCC 101269T, and CPCC 101426 were isolated from surface-sterilized medicinal plant roots of a mulberry plant in Chuxiong of the Yunnan Province, freshwater from Erhai Lake in the Yunnan Province, and sandy soils in the Badain Jaran desert in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China, respectively. The 16S rRNA gene sequences analysis of these isolates in comparison with sequences from the GenBank database indicated that they belong to the genus Stenotrophomonas, with nucleotide similarities of 96.52–99.92% to identified Stenotrophomonas members. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene and genome sequences confirmed that the isolates are members of the genus Stenotrophomonas. Values for genomic average nucleotide identity (ANI;

Two Gram-staining negative strains (CPCC 101082T and CPCC 101083T) were isolated from biological sandy soil crusts samples collected from Badain Jaran desert, China. Both isolates were heterotrophic phototroph, could produce indole-3-acetic acid. The 16S rRNA gene sequences of these two strains were closely related to the members of the family Geminicoccaceae, showing high similarities with Geminicoccus roseus DSM 18922T (96.9%) and Arboricoccus pini B29T1T (90.1%), respectively. In phylogenetic tree based on 16S rRNA gene sequences, strain CPCC 101082T and CPCC 101083T formed a robust distinct clade with Geminicoccus roseus DSM 18922T within the family Geminicoccaceae, which indicated that these two isolates could be classified into the genus Geminicoccus. The growth of strain CPCC 101082T occurred at 15–42°C and pH 4.0–10.0 (optima at 28–37°C and pH 6.0–8.0). The growth of strain CPCC 101083T occurred at 4–45°C and pH 4.0–10.0 (optima at 25–30°C and pH 6.0–8.0). The major cellular fatty acids of CPCC 101082T and CPCC 101083T contained C18:1ω7c/C18:1ω6c, cyclo-C19:0ω8c, and C16:0. Q-10 was detected as the sole respiratory quinone. Diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine, an unidentified phospholipid and an unidentified aminolipid were tested in the polar lipids profile. The genomes of the two isolates were characterized as about 5.9 Mbp in size with the G + C content of nearly 68%. The IAA-producing encoding genes were predicated in both genomes. The values of average nucleotide identity were 80.6, 81.2 and 92.4% based on a pairwise comparison of the genomes of strains CPCC 101082T and CPCC 101083T and Geminicoccus roseus DSM 18922T, respectively. On the basis of the genotypic, chemotaxonomic and phenotypic characteristics, the strains CPCC 101082T (=NBRC 113513T = KCTC 62853T) and CPCC 101083T (=NBRC 113514T = KCTC 62854T) are proposed to represent two novel species of the genus Geminicoccus with the names Geminicoccus flavidas sp. nov. and Geminicoccus harenae sp. nov.

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic in the past few years led to major adjustments in the provision of healthcare. This study aimed to investigate trainees' perception of impact of the pandemic on specialty training in Obstetrics & Gynaecology (O&G) in Hong Kong. Methods: A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was performed on all the O&G trainees and the young fellows of the Hong Kong College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (HKCOG). The questionnaires included 5 parts: demographic data, impact on clinical activities, redeployment, educational activities and career progression. Results: A total of 104 questionnaires (92.9%) were received for final analysis. The majority of the participants had reductions in elective and emergency operations, as well as exposure to in-patient admissions and out-patient clinics in both obstetrics and gynaecology. The reduction was most significant in elective gynaecology operations. One-third (34.6%) of the participants had been redeployed to other departments, and educational activities were reduced during the pandemic. Around 58% of the trainees were concerned with the reduction in clinical exposure, and 78% worried they would not be able to log sufficient number of surgical procedures. Basic trainees were significantly more worried than higher trainees. Around half of the trainees had doubts or regrets about choosing to undergo O&G specialty training. Conclusion: The O&G trainees in Hong Kong perceived that the COVID-19 pandemic had significant negative impacts on their training. Many trainees were worried they would not be able to attain the required level of competence when they complete their specialist training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Grain safety is of fundamental importance for the whole society. The traditional methods cannot fulfil the requirements of whole grain chain traceability. Also it is hard to combine with the modern technological developments. In view of the two bottlenecks, and based on the analysis of the application and research status of block chain technology in grain industry, the characteristics of block chain technology, such as “decentralization”, “timestamp” and “unchangeable”, and the differences between block-chain traceability mode and traditional traceability mode, this article proposed the application scenarios of block chain technology in the construction of grain traceability system, summarized the development trend of block chain technology innovation, and put forward the key issues that should be paid attention to.

5G technology and its potential to ‘revolutionize’ the industry are of interest to grain industry and researchers. To meet this ‘step change’, it is necessary to understand the compatibility of grain industrial chains with 5G and how 5G technology might change the industry. We conducted a discourse analysis of advantages of 5G in grain industry. Two main discourse were identified: (1) 5G as a technology that will significantly improve the efficiency of the grain industry systems, and similarly (2) 5G as a way for every participant to benefit. It provides quality service. We relate these findings and the literature on adoption of information technology in grain industry and the potential of grain participants to embrace 5G technology,highlighting key questions and issues that need to be addressed in further development of 5G technology in grain industry. This is the first study of 5G in grain industry that use discourse analysis to examine the whole grain industry system and thus make better progress in the application of 5G technology.

Based on the national standard GB 5009.4—2016, the relative contribution of each influencing factor to ash content change of wheat flour was studied, including sample weight, carbonization time, ashing time and ashing temperature. All the data were analyzed by Grubbs’test method. Ash content results indicated that the recommended weight for wheat flour is 3 g. Carbonization time and period were very important. The recommend means of ash temperature and ash time for wheat flour samples were 550 ℃ and 4 h, respectively.Means of ash content between dry basis and wet basis varied slightly. Finally, a measurement was proposed for wheat flour ash content based on the new standard of GB5009.4—2016.

Particulate matter (PM) has been a threat to the environment and public health in the metropolises of developing industrial countries such as Beijing. The microorganisms associated with PM have an impact on human health if they are exposed to the respiratory tract persistently. There are few reports on the microbial resources collected from PM and their antimicrobial activities. In this study, we greatly expanded the diversity of available commensal organisms by collecting 1,258 bacterial and 456 fungal isolates from 63 PM samples. A total of 77 bacterial genera and 35 fungal genera were included in our pure cultures, with Bacillus as the most prevalent cultured bacterial genus, Aspergillus, and Penicillium as the most prevalent fungal ones. During heavy-haze days, the numbers of colony-forming units (CFUs) and isolates of bacteria and fungi were decreased. Bacillus, Paenibacillus, and Chaetomium were found to be enriched during haze days, while Kocuria, Microbacterium, and Penicillium were found to be enriched during non-haze days. Antimicrobial activity against common pathogens have been found in 40 bacterial representatives and 1 fungal representative. The collection of airborne strains will provide a basis to greatly increase our understanding of the relationship between bacteria and fungi associated with PM and human health.

Three Gram-stain-positive, aerobic, motile actinobacterial strains designated as CPCC 205119T, CPCC 205215, and CPCC 205251 were isolated from different biological soil crust samples collected from Tengger Desert, China. The 16S rRNA gene sequence comparison of these three strains showed they had almost identical 16S rRNA genes, which were closely related to members of the family Geodermatophilaceae, with the highest similarities of 96.3–97.3% to the species of Modestobacter. In the phylogenetic tree based on 16S rRNA gene sequences, these isolates clustered into a subclade next to the branch containing the species of Modestobacter lapidis and Modestobacter multiseptatus, within the lineage of the genus Modestobacter. The comparative genomic characteristics (values of ANI, dDDH, AAI, and POCP) and the phenotypic properties (morphological, physiological, and chemotaxonomic characteristics) of these isolates readily supported to affiliate them to the genus Modestobacter as a single separate species. For which, we proposed that the isolates CPCC 205119T, CPCC 205215, and CPCC 205251 represent a novel species of the genus Modestobacter as Modestobacter deserti sp. nov. CPCC 205119T (=I12A-02624=NBRC 113528T=KCTC 49201T) is the type strain. The genome of strain CPCC 205119T consisted of one chromosome (4,843,235bp) containing 4,424 coding genes, 48 tRNA genes, five rRNA genes, three other ncRNA genes, and 101 pseudogenes, with G+C content of 74.7%. The whole-genome sequences analysis indicated that this species contained alkaline phosphatase genes (phoA/phoD), phosphate transport-related genes (phoU, phnC, phnD, phnE, phoB, phoH, phoP, phoR, pitH, ppk, pstA, pstB, pstC, and pstS), trehalose-phosphate synthase gene (otsA), trehalose 6-phosphate phosphatase gene (otsB) and other encoding genes for the properties that help the microorganisms to adapt to harsh environmental conditions prevalent in deserts. Strains of this species could solubilize tricalcium phosphate [Ca3(PO4)2] and phytin, assimilate pyrophosphate, thiophosphate, dithiophosphate, phosphoenol pyruvate, 2-deoxy-d-glucose-6-phosphate, and cysteamine-S-phosphate.

Objective: To evaluate the local incidence of orofacial cleft (OFC) encountered in fetal morphology scan and prenatal diagnosis, genetic etiology of fetuses with or without other structural abnormalities, and their pregnancy outcomes. Design: Retrospective cohort study. Setting: Two maternal fetal medicine units, tertiary hospitals, Hong Kong. Participants: All pregnant women with antenatal diagnosis of fetal OFC between January 2016 and December 2020 (N = 66). Results: OFC has an incidence of 0.13% among pregnancies in Hong Kong and 28.8% (19/66) were syndromic cleft that exhibited other fetal structural anomalies. There were 55 cases (84.6%) who opted for invasive prenatal diagnostic testing. Genetic defects were identified in 25.8% (17/66) of this cohort, including 14 pathogenic variants. The detection rate in the syndromic cases is 68.4% (13/19) which was significantly higher than 8.5% (4/47) among non-syndromic cases. Aneuploidies would be the most common cause, accounting for 9.1% (6/66). Chromosomal microarray analysis (CMA) provided an incremental diagnostic yield of 6.1% compared to conventional karyotyping. A total of 29 live births including 3 cases of a variant of uncertain significance and 26 cases without genetic abnormalities detected have continued pregnancy to birth. There were 87.5% (21/24) without detectable pathogenic genetic abnormality reported good long-term outcomes. The chance of OFC fetuses having a good long-term outcome was significantly higher if no genomic variant was detected (P <.001). Conclusions: Invasive prenatal tests with CMA should be offered to pregnancies with OFC regardless of the type. It has provided incremental diagnostic yield over conventional karyotyping and helped in prenatal and genetic counseling. A negative result in non-syndromic OFC favors couples to keep the pregnancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Protein kinase B (PknB) is one of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis serine/threonine protein kinases and has an essential role in sustaining mycobacterial growth. Here, we identified and characterized a novel small molecule compound named IMB-YH-8 that inhibited PknB and served as anti-mycobacteria lead compound. IMB-YH-8 inhibited PknB auto-phosphorylation and the phosphorylation of GarA by PknB in a dose-dependent manner. The compound did not inhibit human Akt1 or other serine/threonine kinases in M. tuberculosis except for the highly homologous PknA. IMB-YH-8 bound to PknB with a moderate affinity. Molecular docking revealed that IMB-YH-8 interacts with the catalytic domain of PknB. Observations of electron microscopy showed that IMB-YH-8 changed the morphology of H37Rv and disrupted the cell wall. The differential transcriptional response of M. tuberculosis to IMB-YH-8 revealed changes in SigH regulatory pathways modulated by PknB. Notably IMB-YH-8 not only potently inhibited drug-sensitive and multidrug-resistant clinical isolates but also exhibited a dose dependent inhibition of intracellular M. tuberculosis. Taken together, these in vitro data demonstrate that IMB-YH-8 is a novel inhibitor of PknB, which potently prevents growth of M. tuberculosis. It is as yet unclear whether inhibition of PknA contributes to the anti-tubercular action of IMB-YH-8.

To assess the diversity of actinobacterial taxa in desert sands and obtain the novel microbial resources, 79 and 50 samples were collected from the Badain Jaran (BJD) and Tengger Deserts (TGD) of China, respectively. High-throughput sequencing (HTS) of environmental 16S rRNA genes within these samples was conducted on an Illumina Miseq platform, using universal bacterial primers targeting the V3–V4 hypervariable region. Based on the HTS analyses, cultivation-dependent (CULD) techniques were optimized to identify the cultivable Actinobacteria members. A total of 346,766 16S rRNA gene reads comprising 3,365 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were obtained from the BJD sands using HTS, while 170,583 reads comprising 1,250 OTUs were detected in the TGD sands. Taxonomic classification indicated that Actinobacteria was the predominant phylum, comprising 35.0 and 29.4% of the communities in BJD and TGD sands, respectively. Among the Actinobacteria, members of the Geodermatophilaceae were considerably abundant in both deserts, indicating that they represent ubiquitous populations within the deserts. At the genus level, Arthrobacter spp. and Kocuria spp. were dominant, and corresponded to 21.2 and 5.3% of the actinobacterial communities in BJD and TGD deserts, respectively. A total of 786 and 376 actinobacterial strains were isolated and identified from BJD and TGD samples, respectively. The isolates comprised 73 genera of 30 families within the phylum Actinobacteria. In addition to the Geodermatophilaceae, Streptomyces spp. were a prominent component of the isolates, comprising 25% of the isolates from BJD and 17.5% of those from TGD. Comparison of the actinobacterial community structure in other ecosystems indicated that Geodermatophilaceae was the main actinobacterial group in desert sands, which is consistent with our results. Additionally, in these desert habits, Geodermatophilaceae and some other core groups may promote or inhabit the subsequent members' occurrence or prosper to shape the bacteria community structure. However, it should be noted that a number of other low-abundance bacteria appear to be specific to desert sands, which are worth further investigation. In antimicrobial activity assays, 10.36 % of the tested isolates showed antimicrobial activities in one or more screens. Importantly, 37 of the newly isolated strains reported here represent novel taxa that could be valuable resources for further research of novel secondary metabolites and their ecological significance in deserts.