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Tibet orbivirus (TIBOV) was identified as a novel orbivirus in 2014. Antibodies against TIBOV were detected in cattle, Asian buffalo, and goats, while all the sequenced TIBOV strains were isolated from mosquitos and Culicoides. The known TIBOV strains have been classified into four putative serotypes. In this study, two TIBOV strains isolated from Culicoides spp. in Shizong County of Yunnan Province, China, were fully sequenced. The phylogenetic analysis of outer capsid protein 2 (VP2) indicated that these two viral strains belong to two novel putative serotypes of TIBOV. The updated putative serotypes may help in an investigation of the distribution and virulence of TIBOV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flash flood can cause dramatic damages to the infrastructure of transportation networks. Because of the uncertainty of flash floods and the access function of roads, assessing the impact of flash floods on transportation systems has been a great challenge. In this study, we proposed a framework for evaluating the risk posed by flash floods to transportation network, which considers the interruption probability of road links and the expected impact on the access function of transportation. To assess the probability of interruption, we used the random forest model to output the flash floods susceptibility. Then, a multiple centrality model was used to evaluate the expected impact when a link was interrupted. The risk takes into account the flash floods susceptibility and road multiple centrality, and it identify critical links. Using the natural break points method, the result of flash floods susceptibility, road multiple centrality and risk were divided into five levels: extremely low, low, moderate, high and extremely high. Approximately 30.8% of the roads were found to be at high and extremely high risk, and most of these roads were located in Sichuan and Yunnan provinces. The flash floods susceptibility contributes more to the risk than the road multiple centrality, thus, further study should be focused on the areas with high flash floods susceptibility. We discussed different disaster prevention and mitigation measures for the different types of high risk links. The results can improve our understanding of the risks posed by flash floods to road networks. The proposed generalized network risk analysis method provides a new perspective and tool for analysing the impact of flash floods on road network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Food abundance and climatic factors can significantly affect the behavior of animals and constrain their activity budgets. The population of western black crested gibbons (Nomascus concolor) in Mt. Wuliang lives in montane forest and is close to the northern extreme of the distribution for gibbons (Hylobatidae). Their habitats show remarkable seasonal variation in terms of food availability, temperature, and rainfall. To understand behavioral adaptations of western black crested gibbons to different sets of ecological conditions, we examined relationships among food availability, mean temperature, rainfall, and behavior patterns by observing two groups for 1 year each. Our results revealed that activity budget was affected by food availability and mean temperature. The gibbons spent more time eating flowers when that resource was more available and spent less time moving when fruit was more available. The gibbons spent less time feeding and more time resting, and spent less feeding time on fruit and leaves when the mean temperature was lower. These results suggest that the gibbons displayed a pronounced preference for flowers as a food resource and adopted a time minimizer strategy when high‐nutrient food items (i.e., fruit) were more available. In addition, the gibbons adopted an energy‐conserving strategy during periods of low temperature. The flexibility of behavioral patterns in responding to food availability and temperature may potentially improve the gibbons' prospects of surviving and reproducing in a northern montane forest. Research Highlights: This is the first detailed study of seasonal variation in activity budget and feeding behavior of western black crested gibbons.The gibbons displayed a pronounced preference for flowers as a food resource.The gibbons adopted a time minimizer strategy when high‐nutrient food items (i.e., fruit) were more available and an energy‐conserving strategy during periods of low temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]