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Impatiens chenmoui (Balsaminaceae), a new species from southern Yunnan, China, was described and illustrated based on morphological and molecular evidence. This new species is morphologically most similar to Impatiens oblongata Ruchis. & Niet, but can be distinguished by 7–9 pairs of leaf veins, glabrous perianth, obovate upper petal, and capsule with trichome.

Viola shiweii Xiao C. Li & Z. W. Wang (Violaceae), a new species from Guizhou, China, is described, based on morphological and molecular evidence. The new species is morphologically most similar to V. kwangtungensis Melchior in its glabrous lateral petals and stoloniferous habit, but can be distinguished by its obtuse teeth along the leaf margin, its abaxially greyish-green leaf blade and its broader and entire sepals with a distinct basal appendage.

Quercus ningangensis is an economically and ecologically important tree species belonging to the family Fagaceae. In this study, the complete chloroplast (cp) genome of Q. ningangensis was sequenced and assembled, and 18 published cp genomes of Quercus were retrieved for genomic analyses (including sequence divergence, repeat elements, and structure) and phylogenetic inference. With this study, we found that complete cp genomes in Quercus are conserved, and we discovered a codon composition bias, which may be related to genomic content and genetic characteristics. In addition, we detected considerable structural variations in the expansion and contraction of inverted repeat regions. Six regions with relatively high variable ( matK-rps16 , psbC , ycf3 intron, rbcL , petA-psbJ , and ycf1 ) were detected by conducting a sliding window analysis, which has a high potential for developing effective genetic markers. Phylogenetic analysis based on Bayesian inference and maximum likelihood methods resulted in a robust phylogenetic tree of Quercus with high resolution for nearly all identified nodes. The phylogenetic relationships showed that the phylogenetic position of Q. ningangensis was located between Q. sichourensis and Q. acuta . The results of this study contribute to future research into the phylogenetic evolution of Quercus section Cyclobalanopsis ( Fagaceae ).

The sublethal effects of pesticide poisoning will have significant negative impacts on the foraging and learning of bees and bumblebees, so it has received widespread attention. However, little is known about the physiological effects of sublethal spinetoram and glyphosate exposure on bumblebees. We continuously exposed Bombus terrestris to sublethal (2.5 mg/L) spinetoram or glyphosate under controlled conditions for 10 days. The superoxide dismutase, glutathione-S-transferase, carboxylesterase, prophenoloxidase, α-amylase and protease activities, and changes in gut microbes were measured to understand the effects of sublethal pesticide exposure on the physiology and gut microbes of bumblebees. Sublethal pesticide exposure to significantly increased superoxide dismutase activity and significantly decreased gut α-amylase activity in bumblebees but had no significant effect on glutathione-S-transferase, carboxylesterase or gut protease activities. In addition, glyphosate increased the activity of prophenoloxidase. Interestingly, we observed that neither of the two pesticides had a significant effect on dominant gut bacteria, but glyphosate significantly altered the structure of the dominant gut fungal community, and reduced the relative abundance of Zygosaccharomyces associated with fat accumulation. These results suggest that sublethal spinetoram and glyphosate do not significantly affect the detoxification system of bumblebees, but may affect bumblebee health by inhibiting energy acquisition. Our results provide information on the sublethal effects of exposure to low concentrations of glyphosate and spinetoram on bumblebees in terms of physiology and gut microbes.

The olfactory system is used by insects to find hosts, mates, and oviposition sites. Insects have different types of olfactory proteins, including odorant-binding proteins (OBPs), chemosensory proteins (CSPs), odorant receptors (ORs), ionotropic receptors (IRs), and sensory neuron membrane proteins (SNMPs) to perceive chemical cues from the environment. The greater wax moth, Galleria mellonella, is an important lepidopteran pest of apiculture. However, the molecular mechanism underlying odorant perception in this species is unclear. In this study, we performed transcriptome sequencing of G. mellonella antennae to identify genes involved in olfaction. A total of 42,544 unigenes were obtained by assembling the transcriptome. Functional classification of these unigenes was determined by searching against the Gene Ontology (GO), eukaryotic orthologous groups (KOG), and the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) databases. We identified a total of 102 olfactory-related genes: 21 OBPs, 18 CSPs, 43 ORs, 18 IRs, and 2 SNMPs. Results from BLASTX best hit and phylogenetic analyses showed that most of the genes had a close relationship with orthologs from other Lepidoptera species. A large number of OBPs and CSPs were tandemly arrayed in the genomic scaffolds and formed gene clusters. Reverse transcription-quantitative PCR results showed that GmelOBP19 and GmelOR47 are mainly expressed in male antennae. This work provides a transcriptome resource for olfactory genes in G. mellonella, and the findings pave the way for studying the function of these genes.

Objective: To analyze the characteristic of coagulation function in non-small cell lung cancer patients with acute cerebral infarction as the initial symptom. Methods: Cases diagnosed as non-small cell lung cancer in our hospital from January 2015 to January 2016 were used for study. Fifteen cases with acute cerebral infarction as the initial symptom were included in experimental group. Thirty-three cases with no initial symptom on acute cerebral infarction were included in control group. Clinical data in patients of two groups were collected, including general information, coagulation function index, thrombelastogram index. Results: The prothrombin time (PT) [(9.69 ± 1.42) vs. (13.04 ± 1.96) s], activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) [(30.14 ± 5.79) vs. (39.34 ± 7.63) s], international normalized ratio (INR) [(0.76 ± 0.10) vs. (1.35 ± 0.22)], coagulation reaction time (R) [(4.76 ± 0.79) vs. (6.11 ± 0.93) min], and blood clot formation time (K) [(1.73 ± 0.21) vs. (6.11 ± 0.93) min] in patients of experimental group were obviously lower than that of in control group. Fibrinogen (FIB) [(5.43 ± 0.89) vs. (2.14 ± 0.36) g/L], D-dimer [(0.84 ± 0.17) vs. 0.30 ± 0.06) mg/L], the maximum amplitude of thrombus (MA) [(65.62 ± 10.34) vs. (48.69 ± 8.61) mm], and α-angle [(68.12 ± 9.51) vs. (60.37 ± 10.29) deg] in patients of experimental group were obviously higher than that in control group. PT, APTT, INR, R value, and K value in patients of tumor node metastasis (TNM) Stage III–IV were significantly lower than that in TNM Stage I–II, and FIB, D-dimer, MA, α-angle were all higher than that in patients of TNM Stage I–II. PT, APTT, INR, R value, K value in patients with lymphatic metastasis were significantly lower than that in patients with no lymph node metastasis, and FIB, D-dimer, MA, α-angle were obviously higher than that in patients with no lymph node metastasis. Conclusions: Patients with non-small cell lung cancer have hypercoagulability and hyperfibrinolysis with acute cerebral infarction as the initial symptom, and coagulation function involved in the development of lung disease.

Although the medicinal properties of Coelogyne spp. have been previously studied, there is little genomic information providing a valuable tool for the plant taxonomy, conservation, and utilization of this genus. This study used the next-generation MiSeq sequencing platform to characterize the chloroplast (cp) genomes of Coelogyne fimbriata and Coelogyne ovalis. The Maximum Likelihood (ML) and Bayesian (BI) methods were employed to confirm the phylogenetic position of two Coelogyne species based on the whole chloroplast genome sequences. Additionally, we developed eight new primers based on the two cp genomes’ medium variable regions and evaluated the transferability to another 16 Coelogyne species. We constructed phylogenetic trees including 18 Coelogyne species and four outgroup species using the chloroplast fragments with the ML method. Our results showed that the cp genomes of C. fimbriata and C. ovalis contained a small single-copy region (18,839 and 18,851 bp, respectively) and a large single-copy region (87,606 and 87,759 bp, respectively), separated by two same-length inverted-repeat regions (26,675 bp in C. fimbriata and 26,715 bp C. ovalis, respectively). They all contained 86 protein-coding genes, 38 tRNA genes, and eight rRNA genes, revealing strong structure and gene content similarities. The phylogenetic analysis indicated a close relationship between the genera Coelogyne and Pleione. The newly developed primers revealed good transferability among the Coelogyne taxa and provided enough variable sites to distinguish C. fimbriata and C. ovalis. The two complete cp genomes and the eight new primers of Coelogyne provide new genomic data for further studies on phylogenomics, population genetics, and evolutionary history of Coelogyne taxa.

Lindera megaphylla (Lauraceae) is an ecologically important and dominant evergreen broad-leaf tree species in the warm-temperate and subtropical zone of China. In this study, we sequenced and assembled two complete genomes of L. megaphylla (LM01 and LM02) based on the next-generation sequencing data. The two complete chloroplasts of L. megaphylla are 152,741 bp in length, including two same length inverted repeats of 20,067 and 20,068 bp, a small single copy of 18,882 and 18,914 bp and a large single copy of 93,726 and 93,691 bp for LM01 and LM02 respectively. They all contain 84 protein-coding, 36 tRNA and eight rRNA genes. The phylogenetic analysis based on chloroplast genomes indicates that L. megaphylla is closely related to another Lindera and Litsea species.

Amylase is one of three main enzymes involved in the breakdown and utilization of macromolecules. In honey bees (Apis mellifera), amylase was traditionally believed to originate only as secretion of the bee. However, other sources of amylase production, such as microbes in the guts of bees remained to be studied. In our research, we compared the differences in the amylase values in rape flower nectar and honey in the stomachs of bees. Then, culture-dependent and culture-independent (16sDNA) methods were used to isolate and identify bacteria in rape flower nectar and bee stomach honey. The dominant bacteria were added to nectar, and the amylase values of nectar with added gut microbes and nectar without added microbes were compared. Our findings indicate that the amylase value was significantly increased, which correlates with the increase in number of bacteria that occurred from nectar to honey in the stomachs of bees. The dominant bacteria in honey bee stomachs were mainly Bacillus during the flowering season of rape. Experiments confirmed that the amylase levels in nectar increased significantly when bacteria were added. These results indicate that bacteria in the foregut of bees help in the processing floral nectar into honey.

The insect mitogenome is typically a compact circular molecule with highly conserved gene contents. Nonetheless, mitogenome structural variations have been reported in specific taxa, and gene rearrangements, usually the tRNAs, occur in different lineages. Because synapomorphies of mitogenome organizations can provide information for phylogenetic inferences, comparative analyses of mitogenomes have been given increasing attention. However, most studies use a very few species to represent the whole genus, tribe, family, or even order, overlooking potential variations at lower taxonomic levels, which might lead to some incorrect inferences. To provide new insights into mitogenome organizations and their implications for phylogenetic inference, this study conducted comparative analyses for mitogenomes of three social bee tribes (Meliponini, Bombini, and Apini) based on the phylogenetic framework with denser taxonomic sampling at the species and population levels. Comparative analyses revealed that mitogenomes of Apini and Bombini are the typical type, while those of Meliponini show diverse variations in mitogenome sizes and organizations. Large inverted repeats (IRs) cause significant gene rearrangements of protein coding genes (PCGs) and rRNAs in Indo-Malay/Australian stingless bee species. Molecular evolution analyses showed that the lineage with IRs have lower dN/dS ratios for PCGs than lineages without IRs, indicating potential effects of IRs on the evolution of mitochondrial genes. The finding of IRs and different patterns of gene rearrangements suggested that Meliponini is a hotspot in mitogenome evolution. Unlike conserved PCGs and rRNAs whose rearrangements were found only in the mentioned lineages within Meliponini, tRNA rearrangements are common across all three tribes of social bees, and are significant even at the species level, indicating that comprehensive sampling is needed to fully understand the patterns of tRNA rearrangements, and their implications for phylogenetic inference. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Adequate gestational weight gain (GWG) is critical for maternal and child health. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) standard has long been adopted in clinical practice to guide GWG in China. Since October 2022, China has officially promulgated and adopted the Standard of Recommendation for Weight Gain during Pregnancy Period (WS/T 801-2022) (herein after referred to as SRWGPP) to guide GWG. Objective To compare the distribution of GWG recommended by the SRWGPP and IOM used for Chinese singleton pregnant women and associated adverse pregnancy outcomes, providing clinical evidence for further application of the SRWGPP. Methods The data of this study were from a prospective cohort study involving singleton pregnant women who gave birth in Beijing Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital, Capital Medical University from May 2020 to September 2021 and participated in the Beijing Birth Cohort Study (registration number: ChiCTR220058395) . Baseline information was collected from the participants, and the incidence of pregnancy complications and outcomes was obtained from the clinical health record system. We compared the distribution of GWG of the participants based on the criteria by the SRWGPP and the IOM guidelines. Then we divided the participants into five groups: insufficient weight gain (IOM+IW) , insufficient weight gain+appropriate weight gain (IOM+IW+AW) , appropriate weight gain (IOM+AW) , appropriate weight gain+ excessive weight gain (IOM+AW+EW) , and excessive weight gain (IOM+EW) . The risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes〔large for gestational age (LGA) , small for gestational age (SGA) , macrosomia, low birth weight, and preterm birth〕 was analyzed after adjusting for confounding factors. Results A total of 11 839 singleton pregnant women were included. The proportions of women with insufficient, appropriate, and excessive GWG were 36.7% (4 339/11 839) , 38.9% (4 601/11 839) , and 24.5% (2 899/11 839) , respectively, according to the IOM standard, and were 16.2% (1 913/11 839) , 45.0% (5 332/11 839) , and 38.8% (4 594/11 839) , respectively, according to the SRWGPP. The proportions of pregnant women in groups of IOM+IW, IOM+IW+AW, IOM+AW, IOM+AW+EW and IOM+EW were 16.2% (1 913/11 839) , 20.5% (2 426/11 839) , 24.6% (2 907/11 839) , 14.3% (1 694/11 839) and 24.5% (2 899/11 839) , respectively. The results from multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that the risk of overall adverse pregnancy outcomes in IOM+AW+EW group was higher than that in IOM+AW group〔aOR=1.23, 95%CI (1.07, 1.41) , P