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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.

A single-oral-dose, two-period cross-over study with a 5-day washout period under fed condition was conducted in six beagle dogs to explore the pharmacokinetic characteristics and relative bioavailability between sustained-release (SR) tablets and enteric-coated (EC) tablets of pentoxifylline (PTX) and its metabolite. The results showed that M5 exhibited the highest exposure level, while M1 demonstrated the lowest in both the SR and EC tablet groups. For PTX and M1, T1/2 were 0.42 and 0.55 h, with tmax of 1.83 and 1.83 h, respectively, in the SR tablet group; in the EC tablet group, T1/2 were 0.38 and 0.47 h, respectively. However, a significantly prolonged absorption process was noted, with tmax values of 5.06 and 5.78 h. In contrast, M5 exhibited distinct pharmacokinetic differences compared to PTX and M1. For the SR tablet group, T1/2 and tmax were recorded at 2.03 and 3.08 h, respectively. In the EC tablet group, T1/2 and tmax were 1.67 and 5.78 h, respectively. With regard to the geometric least squares mean (LSM) of AUC and Cmax for SR tablets and EC tablets, the ratios of SR/EC of PTX, M1 and M5 were 67.62% (90% CI, 50.49%–90.55%), 78.18% (90% CI, 54.15%–112.88%), and 119.11% (90% CI, 99.62%–142.41%), respectively, for AUC(0-t). The ratios were 67.62% (90% CI, 50.50%–90.55%), 78.36% (90% CI, 54.48%–112.72%), and 119.39% (90% CI, 100.03%–142.50%) for AUC(0−∞) and 54.36% (90% CI, 36.63%–80.67%), 58.80% (90% CI, 40.84%–84.66%), and 100.51% (90% CI, 89.50%–112.88%) for Cmax, respectively. The AUC ratio predictions of bioconversion results indicated that there was no significant difference in the bioconversion of M1 between the SR tablets and EC tablets, with conversion rates of 0.37 and 0.36, respectively. In contrast, the conversion rate of M5 demonstrated a significant difference (p < 0.05) between the SR tablets and EC tablets, with the ratio of 3.09 and 1.91, respectively. Furthermore, the EC tablet group demonstrated notable inter-individual differences and irregular drug absorption, following meals. Consequently, the SR tablets appeared to provide a more stable and controllable therapeutic effect in beagle dogs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Pyrotinb has been approved for the treatment of HER2-positive advanced or metastatic breast cancer in China. However, the plasma concentration of pyrotinb in different patients varies greatly, and in the course of treatment, if patients have intolerable adverse reactions, the drug dosage will be reduced or even stopped. This study set out to establish an ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) for the determination of pyrotinb in human plasma, analyze the population pharmacokinetics (PPK) of pyrotinib and assess the influence of patient variables on PK of pyrotinib in patients with HER2 positive breast cancer. Method: An UPLC-MS/MS method was developed to measure pyrotinib in human plasma. Utilizing a gradient elution procedure and a Kinetex C18 column (2.1 mm × 100 mm, 1.7 μm), sample separation was accomplished in 5.5 min. Pyrotinb extraction via protein precipitation was used as a sample pre-treatment technique. In total, 50 patients provided 158 plasma samples, which were identified and used in the PPK investigation. The non-linear mixed-effects modeling (NONMEM) approach was used to assess the plasma concentrations and covariates information. For the final PPK model evaluation, external evaluation, non-parametric bootstrap, visual predictive check (VPC), and goodness-of-fit (GOF) were used. Results: The UPLC-MS/MS method for determining plasma concentration of pyrotinib in patients had good selectivity and linearity in the range of 1–1,000 ng/mL. Pyrotinib concentration profile in HER2-positive breast cancer patients was well described by a single-compartment PPK model with first-order absorption and elimination. The formulas for the final estimated values of overall parameters of CL/F and Vd/F and Ka are respectively: C L / F L / h = 88.8 × e TP / 67.2 × 0.376 , V / F L = 3940 , K A h − 1 = 0.357 F I X E D. No dosage adjustment was advised, despite the possibility that the total protein levels could have a substantial impact on the apparent distribution volume of pyrotinib with limited magnitude. Conclusion: In this study, an UPLC-MS/MS method was established to determine the concentration of pyrotinib in human plasma. A population pharmacokinetic model of pyrotinib in HER2 positive breast cancer patients suggested that low serum total protein reduced the clearance rate of pyrotinib in patients. Clinical medical staff should pay attention to the liver function of patients with abnormal serum total protein and be alert to the occurrence of adverse drug reactions. [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]

Apis cerana is an important pollinator of agricultural crops in China. In the agricultural environment, A. cerana may be exposed to acetamiprid (neonicotinoid insecticide) and difenoconazole (triazole fungicide), alone or in combination because they are commonly applied to various crops. At present, our understanding of the toxicological effects of acetamiprid and difenoconazole on honey bee gut microbiomes is limited. The primary objective of this study was to explore whether these two pesticides affect honey bees' gut microbiota and to analyze the transcriptional effects of these two pesticides on honey bees' head and gut. In this study, adults of A. cerana were exposed to acetamiprid and/or difenoconazole by contaminated syrup at field-realistic concentrations for 10 days. Results indicated that acetamiprid and/or difenoconazole chronic exposure did not affect honey bees' survival and food consumption, whereas difenoconazole decreased the weight of honey bees. 16S rRNA sequencing suggested that difenoconazole and the mixture of difenoconazole and acetamiprid decreased the diversity index and shaped the composition of gut bacteria microbiota, whereas acetamiprid did not impact the gut bacterial community. The ITS sequence data showed that neither of the two pesticides affected the fungal community structure. Meanwhile, we also observed that acetamiprid or difenoconazole significantly altered the expression of genes related to detoxification and immunity in honey bees' tissues. Furthermore, we observed that the adverse effect of the acetamiprid and difenoconazole mixture on honey bees' health was greater than that of a single mixture. Taken together, our study demonstrates that acetamiprid and/or difenoconazole exposure at field-realistic concentrations induced changes to the honey bee gut microbiome and gene expression., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Han, Ye, Gu, Zhong, Gao, Zhao and Wang.)