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Objective To investigate the expression levels and significance of serum interleukin-17 （IL-17） and nuclear factor-κB （NF-κB） in Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia （MPP） children in acute stage with lung consolidation. Methods Sixty-four children diagnosed with MPP in acute stage were selected. According to the imaging features of chest CT scan or chest X-ray upon admission， all patients were divided into the lung consolidation group （n = 32） and non-lung consolidation group （n = 32）. The serum levels of IL-17 and NF-κB in MPP children were detected and compared between two groups. The relationship between IL-17 and NF-κB was analyzed. The receiver operating characteristic （ROC） curve was drawn. The diagnostic efficacy of serum IL-17 and NF-κB levels for lung consolidation was assessed in MPP children in acute stage. Results The serum levels of IL-17 and NF-κB in the lung consolidation group were higher than those in the non-lung consolidation group （both P < 0.05）. Spearman correlation analysis showed that IL-17 level was positively correlated with NF-κB level in MPP children （rs = 0.818， P < 0.05）. When the serum level of IL-17 was 10.45 pg/mL， the area under the ROC curve （AUC） was 0.806， and the sensitivity and specificity for the diagnosis of lung consolidation in MPP children were 75.0% and 78.1%. When the serum level of NF-κB was 534.13 pg/mL， the AUC was 0.951， and the sensitivity and specificity for the diagnosis of lung consolidation in children with MPP were 90.6% and 84.4%. Conclusions The expression levels of IL-17 and NF-κB are up-regulated in MPP children with lung consolidation in acute stage. Early detection of serum levels of IL-17 and NF-κB has certain diagnostic efficacy for lung consolidation in MPP.

【Objective】 Drought and waterlogging are two abiotic stresses impacting crop growth in many regions across the world. Understanding their variation is a prerequisite to their management and safeguarding agricultural production. Taking Jilin province in northeast China as an example, this paper analyzes spatiotemporal change of drought and waterlogging during maize growth season over the past 60 years. 【Method】 Daily meteorological data measured from 1961 to 2020 at 27 weather stations across the province were used to calculated the modified crop water deficit index (mCWDI). The daily crop coefficient (Kc) was estimated using the piecewise function. The characteristics of the drought and waterlogging were calculated using the climatic variation trend method and the center of gravity transfer method. 【Result】 Spatially, the frequency of drought shows a decreasing trend from the northwest to the southeast. Temporally, the frequency of drought decreases from the early stage to the development stage, with the drought occurring more frequently in the middle and late stages of the maize. The waterlogging occurred more frequently in the southeast and in the early and late growth stage, and less frequently in the development stage of the maize. We also found that the occurrence of waterlogging in the central province increased faster than in other regions. 【Conclusion】 Drought and waterlogging in Jilin province vary temporally and spatially. The results presented in this paper provide guidelines for improving their management and safeguarding maize production in this region.

Simple Summary: High-density intensive farming easily induces stress in largemouth bass, leading to significant impairment of growth performance and intestinal health. Ursolic acid (UA), a naturally abundant pentacyclic triterpenoid, has multifaceted biological activities, encompassing anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, lipid-modulating, and hypoglycemic properties. This study examined the effects of UA on growth performance and intestinal barrier in largemouth bass. Our findings demonstrate that dietary supplementation of UA significantly enhances the growth performance and intestinal antioxidant capacity in largemouth bass, while improving intestinal barrier function through its influence on the abundance of intestinal flora such as Tenericutes, Firmicutes, and Mycoplasma. Optimal dietary UA levels for largemouth bass were determined to be between 498 and 520 mg/kg. These findings serve as a valuable reference for largemouth bass production. This study aimed to investigate the effects of ursolic acid (UA) on the growth performance and intestinal health of largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides). Four diets were formulated with UA supplementation at 0, 250, 500, and 1000 mg/kg, defined as the control (CON), UA250, UA500, and UA1000, respectively. After an 8-week feeding experiment, the results showed that, in the UA500 group, the final body weight (FBW), weight gain rate (WGR), and specific growth rate (SGR) increased, and the feed conversion ratio (FCR) and hepatosomatic index decreased. Total superoxide dismutase (T-SOD) activity exhibited a significant increase, and malondialdehyde (MDA) content decreased. An intestinal histological analysis revealed an improvement in the intestinal structural integrity of the UA500 group. The mRNA relative expression levels of physical barrier-related genes [occludin, claudin-1, and zonula occluden-1 (zo-1)] were upregulated. The mRNA relative expression of interlenkin 10 (il-10) increased, and the mRNA relative expression of interlenkin 1β (il-1β) and tumor necrosis factor-α (tnf-α) significantly decreased. The abundance of Firmicutes and Proteobacteria decreased, and the abundance of Tenericutes increased. The abundance of Mycoplasma, Cyanobium, and Staphylococcus decreased, while the abundance of Clostridium increased. In conclusion, dietary supplementation of UA significantly enhanced the growth performance and antioxidant capacity of largemouth bass while improving intestinal barrier function through its influence on the abundance of intestinal flora, such as Tenericutes, Firmicutes, and Mycoplasma. Optimal dietary UA levels for largemouth bass were determined to be between 498 and 520 mg/kg based on quadratic regression analyses of WGR, SGR, and FCR or T-SOD and MDA content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]