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We report the growth of α-Ga2O3 on m-plane α-Al2O3 by conventional plasma-assisted molecular-beam epitaxy and In-mediated metal–oxide-catalyzed epitaxy (MOCATAXY). We report a growth rate diagram for α-Ga2O3( 10 1 ¯ 0 ), and observe (i) a growth rate increase, (ii) an expanded growth window, and (iii) reduced out-of-lane mosaic spread when MOCATAXY is employed for the growth of α-Ga2O3. Through the use of In-mediated catalysis, growth rates over 0.2 μm h−1 and rocking curves with full width at half maxima of Δω ≈ 0.45° are achieved. Faceting is observed along the α-Ga2O3 film surface and explored through scanning transmission electron microscopy.

Longan is an economically important sub-tropical fruit tree native to southern China and southeast Asia. Its production has been affected significantly by climate change, but the underlying reasons remain unclear. Herein, the potential growing areas of longan were simulated by the Maxent model under current and future conditions. The results showed excellent prediction performance, with an area under curve of >0.9 for model training and validation. The key environmental variables identified were mean temperature of the coldest quarter, minimum temperature of the coldest month, annual mean temperature and mean temperature of the driest quarter. The optimum suitable areas of longan were found to be concentrated mainly in south-western, southern and eastern China, with a slight increase in optimum suitable areas under two different emission scenarios of three global climatic models. However, its future potential growing areas were predicted to differ among provinces or cities. Suitable growing areas in Sichuan, Jiangxi, Guangxi and Chongqing will first increase and then remain approximately unchanged between the 2050s and 2070s; those in Yunnan, Guangdong and Hainan will remain approximately unchanged from the present to the 2070s; those in Fujian and Guizhou will fluctuate slightly from the present to the 2050s and then increase to the 2070s; those in Taiwan will first decrease and then increase. In summary, the major future production areas of longan will be Guangdong, Hainan and Guangxi provinces, followed by Chongqing, Yunnan, Fujian and Taiwan. Thus, this study serves as a useful guide for the management of longan.

Neutrophil extracellular trap (NET) is a type of bead-like, fibrous and reticular substances that is actively released by activated inflammatory neutrophils during the stage of infections or inflammatory responses. NET, which is composed of chromatin DNA and multiple intracellular protein components, may wrap pathogens to limit their diffusions. Meanwhile, NET may kill pathogens via a wide range of antibacterial proteins, which is considered as the third antibacterial mechanism of neutrophils, in addition to phagocytosis and degranulation. Recent studies have shown the involvement of NET in the immune response against parasitic infections. This review summarizes the advances of NETs in the immune responses against parasitic infections, so as to provide insights into the elucidation of the pathogenesis and development of therapeutics of parasitic diseases.

Potential planting area for tuber mustard was simulated using the Maxent model under current and future conditions based on 591 coordinates and 22 environmental layers. Model accuracy was excellent, with area under the receiving operator curve values of 0.967 and 0.958 for model training and testing, respectively. Dominant factors were mean diurnal range, mean temperature of the coldest quarter, annual mean temperature and minimum temperature of the coldest month, with thresholds of 6.5–7.5, 5.5–9, 16–19 and 2.0–6.5 °C, respectively. Under current conditions, suitable habitat areas (2.16% of total land in China) were concentrated mainly in Central, Southwest and East China, which can be defined as three occurrence and diffusion centres. In the 2050s and 2070s, suitable habitat areas are predicted to change to 3.72 and 3.92%, and 3.60 and 3.73% under scenarios RCP4.5 and RCP6.0, respectively, indicating that suitable habitat areas will increase slightly. However, future distribution of tuber mustard was predicted to differ among provinces or cities, i.e. predicted suitable habitat areas in Sichuan Province increased up to the 2050s but remained relatively unchanged between the 2050s and 2070s; in Chongqing city they first increased and then decreased; in Hunan, Anhui, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Fujian Provinces they increased continuously; and in Guizhou, Hubei, Jiangxi Provinces and Shanghai city they first decreased, and then increased. The results from the current study provide useful information for management decisions of tuber mustard.

To analyze the correlation of serum placental growth factor (PLGF), pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A (PAPP-A) and disease severity in patients with hypertensive disorders in pregnancy (HDP).Altogether 88 pregnant women with hypertensive disorder who underwent prenatal examination and delivery in our hospital from March 2017 to February 2019 were selected and included as the research group (n=88), and 62 healthy pregnant women who underwent prenatal examination during the same period were included as the normal control group (n=62). Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to detect the expression levels of PAPP-A and PLGF in the serum of the two groups. The correlation of the expression levels of PAPP-A and PLGF with the severity of HDP was analyzed. The occurrence of adverse pregnancy outcomes in the two groups was compared, and the relationship of the expression levels of PAPP-A and PLGF with adverse pregnancy outcomes was compared.PAPP-A expression level in serum of pregnant women in the research group was significantly higher than that in the control group, while PLGF expression level was significantly lower than that in the control group (p0.001). PAPP-A expression level was positively correlated with HDF severity (r=0.753, p0.001), while PLGF expression level was negatively correlated with HDP severity (r=-0.929, p0.001). The incidence of adverse pregnancy outcomes in the research group was significantly higher than that in the control group (p0.05). The serum PAPP-A level of patients in the group with adverse pregnancy outcomes was significantly higher than that in the group without adverse pregnancy outcomes, while PLGF level was significantly lower than that in the group without adverse pregnancy outcomes (p0.001).In conclusion, the expression levels of PAPP-A and PLGF in serum were closely related to the severity of HDP and could be used as indicators for disease monitoring.

We report controlled silicon doping of Ga2O3 grown in plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy. Adding an endplate to the Si effusion cell enables the control of the mobile carrier density, leading to over 5-orders of magnitude change in the electrical resistivity. Room temperature mobilities [Formula: see text] are achieved, with a peak value [Formula: see text] at a doping density of low-[Formula: see text]. Temperature-dependent Hall effect measurements exhibit carrier freeze out for samples doped below the Mott criterion. A mobility of [Formula: see text] is observed at [Formula: see text].

Despite the amazing progress in the treatment of gastric cancer (GC), it is still the third leading cause of cancer death in the world. This study explored the key genes that are related to the prognosis and pathogenesis of GC. Data from the cancer genome atlas (TCGA) and Oncomine were applied to evaluate the expression of cystatin 2 (CST2) in GC samples. Kaplan-Meier plotter was carried out to detect the overall survival of GC patients with different expression levels of CST2. Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) was carried out to investigate the functions and pathways connected with CST2 expression. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and Western blot assays were used to assess CST2 expression. The biological properties of GC cells were assessed with the support of cell proliferation and Transwell assays. Important proteins involved in the regulation of CST2 in GC cell behaviors were evaluated by Western blot. Through analysis of the database, we found that CST2 expression was significantly upregulated in GC samples and actively related to GC patients' poor outcomes. Importantly, the analysis of GSEA showed that GST2 expression was closely connected with the proliferation and migration of cells, as well as the TGF-β1 signaling pathway. In addition, biological assays illustrated that over-expression of CST2 strengthened the activity and metastasis of GC cells. After the upregulation of CST2, the expression of cyclin D1, N-cadherin, vimentin, TGF-β1, and Smad4 increased, and E-cadherin expression decreased. Our findings revealed that over-expression of CST2 enhanced the growth, migration, and invasion of GC cells through modulating the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and TGF-β1 signaling pathway, affording a possible biomarker for the treatment of GC.

Ti alloys have many excellent properties, including low elastic modulus, desired corrosion resistance, nontoxicity, and biocompatibility. Hence, they promise to be major hard-tissue implant biomaterials (HTIBs). However, some properties, like surface hardness, wearability, and cellular activity, need to be enhanced. Moreover, their corrosion resistance in simulated body fluids and biocompatibility also need to be investigated systematically before practical applications. As HTIBs, the primary properties in clinical applications are wearability, corrosion resistance, and biocompatibility. Surface modification is a commonly used effective way to improve the above-mentioned disadvantages. This work is a brief review of the main surface modification technologies of Ti alloys for HTIBs (hereafter referred to as Ti alloys). The main surface modification technologies of Ti alloys are divided into four types, namely, physical technologies, chemical technologies, electrochemical technologies, and surface plastic deformation technologies. The principle and applications of these four types of surface modification technologies on Ti alloys are introduced one by one. Finally, the future directions for the surface modification of Ti alloys are proposed.

Background This study aimed to describe the burden of community-acquired acute kidney injury (AKI) in China based on a nationwide survey about AKI. Study Design Cross-sectional and retrospective study. Setting & Participants A national sample of 2,223,230 hospitalized adult patients from 44 academic/local hospitals in Mainland China was used. AKI was defined according to the 2012 KDIGO AKI creatinine criteria or an increase or decrease in serum creatinine level of 50% during the hospital stay. Community-acquired AKI was identified when a patient had AKI that could be defined at hospital admission. Predictors The rate, cause, recognition, and treatment of community-acquired AKI were stratified according to hospital type, latitude, and economic development of the regions in which the patients were admitted. Outcomes All-cause in-hospital mortality and recovery of kidney function at hospital discharge. Results 4,136 patients with community-acquired AKI were identified during the 2 single-month snapshots (January 2013 and July 2013). Of these, 2,020 (48.8%) had cases related to decreased kidney perfusion; 1,111 (26.9%), to intrinsic kidney disease; and 499 (12.1%), to urinary tract obstruction. In the north versus the south, more patients were exposed to nephrotoxins or had urinary tract obstructions. 536 (13.0%) patients with community-acquired AKI had indications for renal replacement therapy (RRT), but only 347 (64.7%) of them received RRT. Rates of timely diagnosis and appropriate use of RRT were higher in regions with higher per capita gross domestic product. All-cause in-hospital mortality was 7.3% (295 of 4,068). Delayed AKI recognition and being located in northern China were independent risk factors for in-hospital mortality, and referral to nephrology providers was an independent protective factor. Limitations Possible misclassification of AKI and community-acquired AKI due to nonstandard definitions and missing data for serum creatinine. Conclusions The features of community-acquired AKI varied substantially in different regions of China and were closely linked to the environment, economy, and medical resources.

To provide biomarkers related to the radiation response of patients to avoid unnecessary side effects on those who were not sensitive to radiotherapy.In the present study, we compared the different four proteins (PDIA3, Vimentin, Galectin3, Dhe3) patterns in rectal tumor tissue before and after radiation therapy by using 2-D PAGE, mass spectrometry, and bioinformatics analysis.The protein level of Galectin3 and PDIA3 were downregulated in rectal cancer patients before and after radiotherapy (1.42 folds); while Dhe3 protein and Vimentin were upregulated (1-2 folds), and we also revealed Vimentin as its role in the negative regulation of the well-known transcription factor ATF4.Our study showed that four candidate proteins, including PIDA3, Galectin3, Dhe3, and Vimentin, might be the potential biomarkers in the identification of radiation response in rectal cancer.

The distribution of peripheral blood lymphocyte subsets were compared between patients with colorectal cancer and healthy controls. The number of natural killer(NK) cells and CD(8)(+)T cells and the percentage of naive CD(4)(+) T cells were all decreased significantly in patients. On the contrary, the percentages of memory CD(4)(+) T cells, HLA-DR(+) CD(8)(+) T cells and CD(38)(+) CD(8)(+) T cells were significantly increased. It suggests that the tumor killing effect of cytotoxic lymphocytes in peripheral blood is impaired in patients with colorectal cancer, whereas the immune response is over stimulated.筛选符合条件的结直肠癌患者，术前取外周静脉血，与健康体检者比较外周血淋巴细胞亚群情况的差异。结果显示，结直肠癌患者的自然杀伤细胞数量、CD(8)(+)T细胞数量、纯真CD(4)(+)T细胞百分比明显低于健康对照，提示结直肠癌患者外周血直接杀伤肿瘤细胞的能力减弱；记忆CD(4)(+)T细胞、HLA-DR(+)CD(8)(+) T细胞及CD(38)(+)CD(8)(+) T细胞百分比明显高于健康对照，提示结直肠癌患者机体内免疫反应活跃。.

BackgroundDepression is a major debilitating psychiatric disorder. Current antidepressant drugs are often associated with side effects or treatment resistance. The aim of this meta-analysis was to evaluate therapeutic effects of high-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (HF-rTMS) in major depression (MD).MethodsThe medical data bases of PubMed, Medline, Embase and Cochrane Central Register were searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) reporting the therapeutic effects of high-frequency rTMS for depression, which were published in English between January 1990 and June 2016. The index terms were “depress*”, “depression” and “transcranial magnetic stimulation”. Depression outcome data of different sessions (5, 10, 15, and 20 sessions of rTMS treatment) were extracted and synthesized by calculating standardized mean difference (SMD) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) by using a random-effect model. Within each session group, the subgroup analyses based on the number of pulses (≤ 1000, 1200–1500, 1600–1800, and 2000–3000) were also conducted.ResultsThirty RCTs with a total of 1754 subjects including 1136 in the rTMS group and 618 in the sham group were included in this meta-analysis. rTMS had a significant overall therapeutic effect on depression severity scores (SMD = −0.73, P < 0.00001). The five, 10, 15, 20 sessions of rTMS treatments yielded the significant mean effect sizes of −0.43, −0.60, −1.13, and −2.74, respectively. In the four groups (5, 10, 15, 20 sessions), the maximal mean effect size was all obtained in the subgroup of 1200–1500 pulses per day (−0.97, −1.14, −1.91, −5.47; P < 0.05).ConclusionsThe increasing of HF-rTMS sessions is associated with the increased efficacy of HF-rTMS in reducing depressed patients’ symptom severity. A total number of pulses of 1200–1500 per day appear to deliver the best antidepressant effects of HF-rTMS.

Objective This study aims to determine whether fetal meconium passage is associated with autism. Study design This retrospective birth cohort analysis of 9 945 896 children born in California 1991 to 2008 linked discharge diagnosis and procedure codes for prenatal stressors, meconium-stained amniotic fluid (MSAF) and meconium aspiration syndrome (MAS) with autism diagnoses for 47 277 children through 2012. We assessed the relative risk of autism by meconium status using logistic regression, adjusting for demographic and clinical features. Results Children exposed to meconium (MSAF and MAS) were more likely to be diagnosed with autism in comparison with unexposed children (0.60% and 0.52%, vs 0.47%, respectively). In adjusted analyses, there was a small increase in autism risk associated with MSAF exposure (adjusted relative risk (aRR) 1.18, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.12 to 1.25), and a marginal association that failed to achieve significance between MAS and autism (aRR 1.08, 95% CI 0.98 to 1.20). Conclusion Resuscitation of neonates with respiratory compromise from in utero meconium exposure may mitigate long-term neurodevelopmental damage.

The use of expensive hole transport layers (HTLs) and back contact along with the stability issue of perovskite solar cells (PSCs) has been a detrimental factor when it comes to commercialization of the technology. In addition, high temperature and long annealing time processed electron transport layers (ETLs, e.g. TiO2) prevent the flexible solar cell application in most polymer substrates. Herein, we opted for HTL-free carbon electrodes owing to their low-cost production and superior stability in air, compared with their noble metal counterparts. In this work, we fabricate planar PSCs using low-temperature solution processed SnO2 quantum dots (QDs) as ETLs, which offers significant advantages over high-temperature processed ETLs because of its excellent electron extraction and hole blocking ability. In addition, by integrating a low-cost and stable carbon electrode, an impressive energy conversion efficiency of 13.64% with a device architecture glass/In doped SnO2/QD-SnO2/perovskite/carbon under 1 sun illumination at ambient conditions have been achieved. This work paves the way to achieve fully low-temperature processed printable PSCs at an affordable cost by integrating the QD SnO2 ETL and carbon electrodes.

Cell autophagy reduces the sensitivity of cancer cells to therapeutic reagents in various types of human cancer. Therefore, the aim of our study was to use human colorectal cancer HCT116 cells to explore whether inhibition of autophagy by 3-Methyladenine (3-MA, an autophagy inhibitor) is able to enhance hypoxia-induced apoptosis in vitro.HCT116 cells were treated with 3-MA, hypoxia, or 3-MA plus hypoxia, and the autophagy, apoptosis and proliferation of the HCT116 cells were investigated. Western blot analysis was used to detect autophagy specificity protein microtubule-associated protein light chain 3 (LC3) expression. Effects on apoptosis were evaluated by using flow cytometry (JC-1 staining to measure mitochondrial membrane potential) and annexin V-propidium iodide (PI) staining.The results showed that the treatment of HCT116 cells in vitro with hypoxia alone increased autophagy as well as apoptosis, whereas combination treatment with 3-MA and hypoxia markedly inhibited hypoxia-induced autophagy, but increased hypoxia-induced cell apoptosis.Autophagy might play a role as a self-defense mechanism in hypoxia-treated colon cancer cells, and its inhibition could be a promising strategy for the adjuvant chemotherapy of colon cancer.

This study was made to investigate and evaluate the safety and carcinogenicity of nitenpyram (NIT) in rats.A totally 50 male and 50 female SD rats were treated with NIT at 0, 800, 2400, and 7200 ppm, respectively, for 104 w. The growth, clinical signs, and survival rates, as well as the body and organ weights of these animals, were analyzed. Histopathological examination was also performed.Compared with the control group, survival rates at 104 w were significantly decreased in the 7200 ppm dose group, for both the male and female animals. The occurrence of esophageal squamous papilloma (ESP) was significantly increased in the treated animals. The occurrences of ESP for the 0, 800, 2400, and 7200 ppm NIT treatment groups were 0/39, 0/39, 3/35, and 9/27 for the male animals, and 0/43, 0/43, 6/49, and 12/33 for the female animals, respectively. For pre-neoplastic lesion of ESP, the occurrences of esophageal squamous hyperplasia for the 0, 800, 2400 and 7200 ppm NIT treatment groups were 0/39, 1/39, 10/35, and 9/27 for the male animals, and 0/43, 2/43, 15/49, and 17/33 for the female animals, respectively. The basal cell hyperplasia from mild to severe degrees was observed in the treatment groups.NIT exhibits carcinogenicity of ESP in the male and female rats after the two-year treatment.

Propofol is one of the most commonly used intravenous anesthetic agents used in cancer resections, but the effect of propofol on non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) remains unclear. Previous researches have reported that propofol can inhibit extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) 1/2 phosphorylation or activate p53-upregulated modulator of apoptosis (PUMA) signaling, resulting in apoptosis. In addition, PUMA is negatively regulated by ERK1/2 activation. In the present work, we determined the effect of propofol on NSCLC A549 cells and explored its signaling pathway.A549 cells were treated with different concentrations of propofol (1-10 μg/mL) for 6 h. After washing, cells were cultured in Dulbecco's Modified Eagle Medium supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum and antibiotics for another 72 h. Cell survival and apoptosis were determined by MTT, flow cytometry, and TUNEL analyses. To assess whether propofol functions via ERK1/2 and PUMA signaling pathways, A549 cells were transfected with small interfering RNA (siRNA) to target PUMA, or treated with human recombinant ERK1/2 (hrERK1/2) to activate ERK1/2.Propofol treatment inhibited viability and induced apoptosis of A549 cells in a dose-dependent manner in vitro. Propofol inhibited phosphorylation of ERK1/2 (pERK1/2) and increased ERK1/2-dependent PUMA expression. Knockdown of PUMA by siRNA or treatment with hrERK1/2 to activate ERK1/2 blocked propofol-induced apoptosis and cell viability. Upregulation of PUMA expression by propofol requires pERK1/2 inactivation.Propofol inhibits viability and induces apoptosis of A549 cells via an ERK1/2-dependent PUMA signaling.

Badiranji Buya Keli (BBK) is a traditional Uyghur medicine derived from Dracocephalum Moldavica Herba (DMH, the aerial part of Dracocephalum moldavica L.). BBK has been widely used in treating cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. Here, the quality control of BBK was established by using HPLC analysis of rosmarinic acid and tilianin. After chemical standardization, the biological effects of BBK was tested. First, BBK inhibited platelet aggregation of rabbit plasma. Second, BBK induced vasodilation in rat aortic ring, and this effect was partially mediated by nitric oxide (NO) production in endothelial cells. Third, BBK induced NO production in cultured human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). In HUVECs, the phosphorylation of endothelial NO synthase (eNOS) was markedly increased after application of BBK. Pre-treatment with the eNOS blocker N(ω) -nitro-l-arginine methyl ester hydrochloride could abolish BBK-induced NO production and eNOS phosphorylation. Taken together, these results suggest that BBK could exert beneficial effects in cardiovascular system, which may provide parts of molecular explanation to account for its traditional usage in Uyghur medicine.

The aim of the paper is to investigate the rolling contact fatigue mechanism of the Fe–Cr alloy coating under different stress conditions. The Fe–Cr alloy surface coatings and Ni–Al alloy undercoatings were respectively deposited on the steel substrates using a high efficiency plasma spraying system. The distribution of maximum stress and shear at the interface and the inside of the coating were obtained using finite element simulation and experiment. The maximum stress is the critical failure stress, and shear stress does the main driving force for coating failure. The different failure modes are due to the synergy of the maximum stress and the shear stress.

The pump user demands for specification along with noise and vibration magnitude for extreme operating conditions apart from best efficiency flow. In order to predict the noise level in pumps, the entire unit of pump has to be considered for acoustic evaluation. Hence, the full three dimensional model of vertical inline pump which consists of inlet pipe, impeller, and volute casing is considered for detailing the flow induced noise using Lighthill analogy. The performance characteristics of pump are well matched between experimental and computational results and the overall sound power level at best efficiency flow using computation was compared with empirical relations and found to be agreed well. The streamline patterns along the inlet pipe shows the effects of recirculation and return flow at partload condition and confirm that the utilization of flow passage is not well streamlined even for nominal flow rate. Further, the detailed study of inlet pipe cross sections reveals the nature of different noise sources such as dipole and quadrupole sound levels along with Proudman source power level. The intensity of turbulence and vortices in flow passage is predicted well using quadrupole source and Proudman sound power levels.

Antimony chalcogenides with quasi-one-dimensional nanoribbon structures represent a new group of cost-effective, non-toxic, and earth-abundant materials for photovoltaics. In this work, interfacial engineering of oxygenated chemical bath–deposited (CBD) CdS buffer layers were used to tailor Sb2Se3 thin-film solar cells using close space sublimation (CSS) deposition process. Sb2Se3 solar cells with oxygenated CBD CdS have demonstrated a champion power conversion efficiency of 6.3% with graphite as back contact. Van der Waals (vdW) gap in Sb2Se3 is regulated via oxygen diffusion, which significantly influences the growth direction of (Sb4Se6)n quasi-one-dimensional nanoribbons. The improved interface quality and ribbon orientation, in turn, enhance the electrical and optical properties as well as device performance of the Sb2Se3 solar cells. The defect level and corresponding device performance associated with the oxygen environment were investigated by both theoretical and experimental approaches. This work provides an effective way to tune the microstructure and electronic structure of non-cubic chalcogenides by tailoring the interfacial area between the window layer and Sb2Se3 absorber.

The study aimed to investigate the bio-distribution and radio-immuno-imaging features of [(131)I]-herceptin in nude mice with BT-474 breast carcinoma. [(131)I]-Herceptin was administrated by tail intravenous injection to the nude mice with BT-474 breast carcinoma. Radiocounting was performed at 4, 12, 24, 48, and 96 h after administration. The activity ratio in the tumor tissue and non-tumor tissue (T/NT) and the radiocounting percentage per gram tissue to the injected dose (%ID/g) were calculated. The nude mice with BT-474 breast carcinoma were also visualized continuously by single photon emission computed tomography at 2, 4, 8, 12, 24, 48, and 96 h after the injection of [(131)I]-herceptin. Nude mice with MDA-MB-231 used as the control group were subjected to the same analyses. Clear tumor images were obtained after the injection of [(131)I]-herceptin in nude mice with BT-474 breast carcinoma. The images were the clearest at 24 h after the injection and remained clear even at 96 h. The T/NT ratio and %ID/g in the tumor tissues of nude mice with BT-474 were both significantly higher than those of the control group (P < 0.01). [(131)I]-Herceptin displays tumors clearly in the nude mice with BT-474 and accumulates well in the tumor tissues.

To extrapolate the influence of plant cultivars varying in resistance levels to hosts on parasitoid life history traits, we estimated variation in parasitoid developmental and reproductive performances as a function of resistance in soybean cultivars, which were randomly chosen from a line of resistant genotypes. Our study showed that the parasitoidMeteorus pulchricornisvaried widely in offspring survival and lifetime fecundity, but varied slightly in development time and adult body size, in response to the soybean cultivars that varied in resistance to the hostSpodoptera litura. Furthermore, the variability in survival and lifetime fecundity was different between attacking the 2nd and the 4th instar host larvae, varying more in survival but less in lifetime fecundity when attacking the 4th than 2nd instar larvae. Our study provides further evidence supporting that plant resistance to herbivorous hosts have variable effects on different life history traits of higher trophic level parasitoids.