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Abstract To solve the problems of difficulty in speed measurement and low accuracy of speed measurement of induction motor (IM) during fast starting, the electromagnetic field coupling circuit (EFCC) and open‐loop control of IM considering rapid speed change are proposed. First, the EFCC of IM is established through the stator circuit, air gap magnetic field circuit and rotor circuit, and the stator voltage and electromagnetic torque of the fast starting process are deduced from the air gap magnetic density on the basis of constant slip angular velocity, and then the open‐loop control method based on the EFCC is given. Finally, compared with the open‐loop control based on the TEC, the results of simulation and experiment show that the open‐loop control based on the EFCC can follow the acceleration starting more quickly and the starting current is smaller, which is conducive to reducing the cost of the drive.

Abstract The end leakage inductance is an important component in the primary leakage inductance of the equivalent circuit. In order to calculate the end leakage inductance of a toroidal winding double‐sided linear induction motor (TW‐DSLIM) accurately and quickly, the role of ferromagnetic medium is equated by the method of images, the magnetic flux density in the end space is calculated according to the current density of the rectangular coil, end leakage inductance is obtained by calculating the end leakage magnetic energy, the impact of end leakage inductance on the performance of TW‐DSLIM is investigated, and finally the TW‐DSLIM model is established in finite element analysis to verify the effectiveness of the analytical method.

Abstract Background The impact of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) based treatments on non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLCs) with RET fusions remains poorly understood. Methods We screened patients with RET fusions at the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University and included those who were treated with ICIs based regimens for further analysis. We evaluated clinical indicators including objective response rate (ORR), disease control rate (DCR), progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS). Results A total of 232 patients with RET fusions were included in the study. Of these, 129 patients had their programmed death-ligand 1 (PDL1) expression levels tested, with 22 patients (17.8%) having a PDL1 level greater than or equal to 50%. Additionally, tumor mutational burden (TMB) status was evaluated in 35 patients, with the majority (30/35, 85.8%) having a TMB of less than 10 mutations per megabase. Out of the 38 patients treated with ICI based regimens, the median PFS was 5 months (95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.4–7.6 months) and the median OS was 19 months (95% CI: 9.7–28.3 months) at the time of data analysis. Stratification based on treatment lines did not show any significant differences in OS (18 vs. 19 months, p = 0.63) and PFS (6 vs. 5 months, p = 0.86). The ORR for patients treated with ICIs was 26.3%. Furthermore, no significant differences were found for PFS (p = 0.27) and OS (p = 0.75) between patients with positive and negative PDL1 expression. Additionally, there was no significant difference in PD-L1 levels (p = 0.10) between patients who achieved objective response and those who did not. Conclusions Patients with RET fusion positive NSCLCs may not benefit from ICI based regimens and therefore should not be treated with ICIs in clinical practice.

Abstract The vertical stability of permanent magnet (PM) electrodynamic suspension (EDS) system with a passive damping plate is studied because of the well‐known under‐damped nature of the EDS suspension system. The passive damping plate is installed under the Halbach permanent magnet array. When the vehicle‐mounted Halbach array and passive damping plate move to cut the track conductive plate, the 2D eddy current force is derived by establishing equations of magnetic vector potentials and using the Maxwell stress tensor method. And a 2D finite‐element model (FEM) is built to validate the accuracy of the derived levitation force equation. Based on the derived levitation force equation, the vertical stability of the PM EDS system with a passive damping plate and the effects of the main parameters on the damping ratio are analysed.

BackgroundProgrammed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) is more readily expressed in ROS proto-oncogene 1 (ROS1) rearranged non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) compared to NSCLC cases lacking driver gene mutations. Prior research has established a link between PD-L1 expression and reduced effectiveness of EGFR or ALK inhibitors in EGFR or ALK-positive NSCLC. Nonetheless, the relationship between initial PD-L1 levels and the clinical impact of first-line crizotinib therapy in ROS1-rearranged NSCLC is still uncertain.MethodsFrom January 2016 to December 2021, a total of 246 patients with ROS1 positive tumors were collected. Out of these, 82 patients with advanced ROS1-rearranged NSCLC, who were treated with crizotinib as their initial therapy, were selected for the study. The study aimed primarily to evaluate the objective response rate (ORR) and progression-free survival (PFS), and secondarily to assess disease control rate (DCR) and overall survival (OS).ResultsOf the 82 advanced ROS1-rearranged NSCLC patients, 38 exhibited PD-L1 positivity, subdivided into 11 with high and 27 with low expression levels, while the remaining 44 showed no PD-L1 expression. The ORR for all included patients was 80.5%. No statistically significant variance in ORR was observed among ROS1-rearranged NSCLC patients across differing PD-L1 expression statuses. However, there was a statistically significant difference in DCR between PD-L1 negative group (100%) and high expression group (90.9%) (p=0.04). The median PFS spanned 26.4 months for the PD-L1 negative group, 16.6 for the low expression group, and 13.7 for the high expression group (p=0.001). Additionally, a notable statistical disparity was also observed in median PFS between the PD-L1 negative and positive groups (p=0.02). For the entire study population, the median OS was 53.0 months (95% CI 43.8 - 62.2). In the PD-L1-negative group, the median OS reached 57.2 months, compared to 53.0 months in the PD-L1-positive group, a difference lacking statistical significance (p=0.43).ConclusionsOur results suggest that for ROS1-positive NSCLC patients receiving crizotinib as first-line therapy, PD-L1 expression may serve as a negative prognostic marker for PFS rather than OS.

BackgroundHighly selective type Ib mesenchymal–epithelial transition gene (MET) tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) are the standard-of-care (SOC) therapy for previously untreated non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) harboring MET exon 14 (METex14) skipping mutations. However, there are rare reports describing effective regimens for patients who fail SOC without identifying resistant mutations or tissue transformation.Case reportWe report the first case of a 74-year-old woman with lung adenocarcinoma (cT1cNxM0) harboring METex14 splice region mutation, which was identified by a next-generation sequencing (NGS)-based assay. The patient was administered two treatments, including first-line tepotinib and second-line vebreltinib. The patient achieved progression-free survival (PFS) of 7.6 months, and then disease progression of tepotinib was observed. A re-biopsy was performed for NGS, which revealed the same mutations as before, with no new gene mutations detected. The woman received subsequent vebreltinib therapy and experienced durable clinical benefits. In the first 6.8 months, chest computed tomography demonstrated stable disease. Then, she achieved partial response (PR). The durable PR lasted for more than 13 months, and the PFS is currently over 20 months, exceeding the prior treatment.ConclusionThis case highlights the importance of considering re-biopsy and reanalysis of genetic profiles in NSCLC patients harboring METex14 skipping mutations after progressive disease in MET TKI treatment. This raises the possibility that vebreltinib may have long-term survival benefits for patients without mutations conferring resistance (funded by Beijing Pearl Biotechnology Co., Ltd; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT04258033).

Abstract Background China has the largest number of patients on maintenance hemodialysis (MHD) worldwide. Despite continuous improvements in hemodialysis techniques, patients on MHD have a higher mortality rate than the general population. Understanding the characteristics of death in this population can better promote clinical practice, thereby improving patients’ survival. Methods We collected demographic and clinical data for patients on MHD registered in the Beijing Blood Purification Quality Control and Improvement Center database from 2014 to 2020. The annual mortality rate was calculatedand the primary cause of end-stage renal disease (ESRD), dialysis vintage, and cause of death among deceased patients were analyzed. Results (1) 24,363 patients on MHD were included, of which 6,065 patients died from 2014 to 2020. The annual mortality rate fluctuated between 7.4% and 8.0%. The median age of death was 70.0 (60.8–79.0) years and the male to female ratio was 1.27:1 (2). The top three primary causes of ESRD in deceased patients were chronic glomerulonephritis (CGN), diabetic nephropathy (DN), and hypertensive nephropathy (HN). Comparison of the annual mortality rate showed DN > HN > CGN (3). The median dialysis vintage of deceased patients was 3.7 (1.8–6.9) years, which slowly increased annually. Patients with diabetes had a shorter dialysis vintage than patients without diabetes (3.4 vs. 4.1 years, Z = 8.3, P

Abstract The effects of atmospheric thermal structure on the surface energy flux are poorly understood over the Arctic sea‐ice surface. Here, we explore the mechanism of sensible heat exchange under different types of thermal structures over the Arctic sea‐ice surface by using data collected during the Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate expedition. The quadrant analysis indicates that strong surface temperature inversions below 100 m enhance non‐local effects on the positive (upward) sensible heat flux (w′θ′‾) through entrainment of large eddies from the convective boundary layer aloft. However, strong surface inversions restrict the contributions of large eddies to the negative (downward) w′θ′‾ due to intensified surface stability. By inspecting the existing parameterization schemes, we found that the European Center for Medium‐Range Weather Forecasts Integrated Forecasting System scheme fails to predict the impacts of non‐local processes on the positive w′θ′‾, and an adjustment term to correct the bias of parameterized w′θ′‾ is proposed.

BackgroundFurmonertinib is the standard treatment option in the first-line setting for advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with sensitive epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations in China. However, there are limited real-world data available.MethodsWe conducted a retrospective study at a single center, analyzing a cohort of 73 NSCLC patients who tested positive for EGFR mutations and were treated with furmonertinib as their initial therapy between August 2022 and December 2023. The primary endpoint was progression-free survival (PFS), with secondary endpoints including objective response rate (ORR), overall survival (OS), and safety profile.ResultsThe median observation period was 9 months (95% confidence interval [CI], 8.0–20.0). The median PFS was 19.5 months (95% CI, 14.6–24.4). OS data were not yet mature. Univariate analysis showed no significant correlation between PFS and factors such as Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status (ECOG PS) score, presence of brain or liver metastases, sex, age, EGFR mutation status, or number of metastatic sites. However, multivariate analysis indicated a potential trend toward extended PFS in patients younger than 65 years (p = 0.053, 95% CI, 0.10–1.02), although the p-value was only marginally significant. The most common adverse events were diarrhea (24%), anemia (36%), and liver injury (32%); however, only four cases experienced severe adverse events.ConclusionIn a real-world setting, furmonertinib appears to be a favorable treatment option for EGFR-mutated patients. The manageable nature of adverse events further supports its use in clinical practice.

BackgroundThe effectiveness of combining immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) with chemotherapy in treating non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLCs) with BRAF mutations has not been sufficiently explored.MethodsWe compiled data from 306 NSCLC patients with identified BRAF mutations. We looked at efficacy by assessing the objective response rate (ORR) and disease control rate (DCR), as well as survival through measuring progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS).ResultsOut of the patient pool, 44 were treated with a regimen of immune-chemotherapy. Patients undergoing ICI in combination with chemotherapy had a median PFS of 4 months, and the median OS was recorded at 29 months. There was a notable increase in OS in patients receiving first-line treatment versus subsequent lines (29 vs 9.75 months, p=0.01); however, this was not the case with PFS (9 vs 4 months, p=0.46). The ORR for patients on ICIs was 36.3%. PFS and OS rates did not significantly differ between patients with the BRAF-V600E mutation and those with non-V600E mutations (p=0.75 and p=0.97, respectively). Additionally, we found a significant variation in PD-L1 expression between those who responded to treatment and those who didn’t (p=0.04).ConclusionOur findings indicate that chemo-immunotherapy as an initial treatment may lead to improved OS in patients with BRAF-mutated NSCLC when compared to its use in subsequent lines of therapy. Further studies are needed to validate these results and to delve deeper into how specific types of BRAF mutations and PD-L1 expression levels might predict a patient’s response to treatments in NSCLC.

Abstract Background Chromatin regulators (CRs) are critical epigenetic modifiers and have been reported to play critical roles during the progression of various tumors, but their role in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) has not been comprehensively studied. Methods Differential expression and univariate Cox regression analyses were conducted to identify the prognostic CRs. Consensus clustering was applied to classify the subtypes of LUAD based on prognostic CRs. LASSO-multivariate Cox regression method was used for construction of a prognostic signature and development of chromatin regulator-related gene index (CRGI). The capacity of CRGI to distinguish survival was evaluated via Kaplan–Meier method in multiple datasets. Relationship between CRGI and tumor microenvironment (TME) was evaluated. Additionally, clinical variables and CRGI were incorporated to create a nomogram. The role of the prognostic gene NPAS2 in LUAD was elucidated via clinical samples validation and a series of in vitro and in vivo experiments. Results Two subtypes of LUAD were classified based on 46 prognostic CRs via consensus clustering which had significantly different survival and TME. A prognostic signature consisting of six CRs (MOCS, PBK, CBX3, A1CF, NPAS2, and CTCFL) was developed and proved to be an effective survival predictor in multiple independent datasets. The prognostic signature was also demonstrated to be an indicator of TME and sensitivity to immunotherapy and chemotherapy. The nomogram was suggested to be a simple tool that can predict survival accurately. Clinical samples show that NPAS2 is highly expressed in LUAD tissues, and in vitro and in vivo experiments demonstrated that inhibition of NPAS2 impeded malignant progression of LUAD cells. Conclusions Our study comprehensively unveiled the functions of CRs in LUAD, developed a classifier to predict survival and response to treatments, and suggested that NPAS2 promoted LUAD progression for the first time.

Lead (Pb) and arsenic (As) are commonly occurring heavy metals in the environment and produce detrimental impacts on the central nervous system. Although they have both been indicated to exhibit neurotoxic properties, it is not known if they have joint effects, and their mechanisms of action are likewise unknown. In this study, zebrafish were exposed to different concentrations of Pb (40 μg/L, 4 mg/L), As (32 μg/L, 3.2 mg/L) and their combinations (40 μg/L + 32 μg/L, 4 mg/L + 3.2 mg/L) for 30 days. The histopathological analyses showed significant brain damage characterized by glial scar formation and ventricular enlargement in all exposed groups. In addition, either Pb or As staining inhibited the swimming speed of zebrafish, which was enhanced by their high concentrations in a mixture. To elucidate the underlying mechanisms, we examined changes in acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity, neurotransmitter (dopamine, 5-hydroxytryptamine) levels, HPI axis-related hormone (cortisol and epinephrine) contents and neurodevelopment-related gene expression in zebrafish brain. The observations suggest that combined exposure to Pb and As can cause abnormalities in swimming behavior and ultimately exacerbate neurotoxicity in zebrafish by interfering with the cholinergic system, dopamine and 5-hydroxytryptamine signaling, HPI axis function as well as neuronal development. This study provides an important theoretical basis for the mixed exposure of heavy metals and their toxicity to aquatic organisms.

Seahorses may have required adaptations to avoid immunological rejection of allogenic embryos by males. The authors show that a single substitution in tlx1 is associated with loss of the spleen in seahorses, and that across the clade, degree of male pregnancy is negatively correlated with immune gene repertoire complexity.

The Agelas genus sponges are widely distributed and provide shelter for organisms that inhabit reefs. However, there is a lack of research on the genetic diversity of the Agelas sponges. Additionally, only one Agelas mitochondrial genome has been documented, leaving the characteristics of the Agelas genus’s mitogenome in need of further clarification. To address this research gap, we utilized Illumina HiSeq4000 sequencing and de novo assembly to ascertain the complete mitochondrial genome of Agelas sp. specimens, sourced from the South China Sea. Our analysis of the cox1 barcoding similarity and phylogenetic relationship reveals that taxonomically, the Agelas sp. corresponds to Agelas nakamurai. The mitogenome of Agelas nakamurai is 20,885 bp in length, encoding 14 protein-coding genes, 24 transfer RNA genes, and 2 ribosomal RNA genes. Through a comparison of the mitochondrial genes, we discovered that both Agelas nakamurai and Agelas schmidti have an identical gene arrangement. Furthermore, we observed a deletion in the trnD gene and duplication and remodeling of the trnL gene in the Agelas nakamurai’s mitogenome. Our evolutionary analysis also identified lineage-specific positive selection sites in the nad3 and nad5 genes of the Agelas sponges’ mitogenome. These findings shed light on the gene rearrangement events and positive selection sites in the mitogenome of Agelas nakamurai, providing valuable molecular insights into the evolutionary processes of this genus.

Objective To study the characteristics of HIV infection among voluntary blood donors in Shijiazhuang from 2011 to 2021, so as to provide reference for decision making in the control of HIV for blood centers. Methods The confirmatory results of HIV reactive samples in initial screening among voluntary blood donors from 2011 to 2021 in our center were statistical analyzed. Results A total of 2 008 299 samples from 1 667 315 blood donors were detected, among which 3 217 samples were HIV reactive and 234 were confirmed positive, with the positive rate at 11.65/100 000 and the prevalence of 14.03/100 000. The prevalence in men was higher than that in women (16.52/100 000 vs 1.39/100 000), in first-time blood donors higher than that in repeated donors (17.27/100 000 vs 8.12/100 000), in whole blood donors higher than that in plateletpheresis donors (12.01/100 000 vs 8.41/100 000), and the differences were statistically significant (P

Abstract Background Anovulation is one of the main causes of female infertility. This study will evaluate the effectiveness and safety of Bushen Culuan Decoction for anovulatory infertility caused by six diseases, including anovulatory abnormal uterine bleeding, polycystic ovarian syndrome, hyperprolactinemia, luteinized unruptured follicle syndrome, corpus luteum insufficiency, and premature ovarian insufficiency. Methods This is a randomized, double-blinded, double-dummy, parallel, positively controlled, adaptive, multicenter clinical trial. All participants will be randomly allocated by a central randomization system to the treatment group or the control group in a 1:1 ratio. The treatment group will undergo a 14-day treatment with Bushen Culuan Decoction 13 g three times a day and a 5-day treatment with clomiphene citrate placebo tablets 50 mg once a day starting on day 5 of every menstrual period. The control group will undergo a 14-day treatment with Bushen Culuan Decoction placebo 13 g three times a day and a 5-day treatment with clomiphene citrate tablets 50 mg once a day from day 5 in every menstrual period. The whole treatment will last through 3 menstrual periods or 6 menstrual periods, depending on whether ovulation is regained in the first 3 menstrual periods. All statistical analyses will be performed in SPSS 21.0 (SPSS, Chicago, Illinois, USA), and a p value

This article focus on derive the process-structure-property relationship of Poly( l -lactide) (PLLA) fibers prepared by two-step melt spinning process. The spinning temperature, spinning rate, drawing temperature as well as draw ratio were studied to analyze the influence of process variables on the structure and properties of PLLA fibers. It suggests that the crystallinity, lamellar orientation structure and mechanical properties of fibers are dependent on the spinning conditions, including melt-spinning and hot-drawing process. An approximate linear correlation resulted between the orientation degree and tensile strength of PLLA fibers, which means that the oriented structure plays a dominant role to enhance PLLA fibers. PLLA fibers with high performance of 499 MPa and 5.30 GPa in tensile strength and Young’s modulus separately have been realized by the selected spinning parameters. The results provide a theoretical direction for enhancing PLLA fibers by adjusting the structure characteristic via modifying the spinning parameters.

Abstract We propose and numerically demonstrate a phase-gradient metasurface with high anomalous transmission efficiency and a large anomalous refraction angle that consists of discontinuous regular hexagonal nanorods supported by a silica substrate. The metasurface achieves high anomalous transmission efficiency and a full 2 $$\pi$$ π phase shift for the wavelength range of 1400–1600 nm. At a central wavelength of approximately 1529 nm, the total transmission efficiency reaches 96.5%, and the desired anomalous transmission efficiency reaches 96.2%, with an anomalous refraction angle as large as 30.64. With the adjustment of the period and the number of nanorods per periodic interval, the anomalous transmission efficiency exceeds 69.6% for a large anomalous refraction angle of 68.58. The superior performance of the proposed design may pave the way for its application in optical wavefront control devices.

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have greatly transformed the treatment and improved the prognosis for patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) without driver gene alterations. However, the effects of ICI combination therapy in ROS1 fusion-positive NSCLC remains unclear. Herein, we present a case with ROS1 fusion-positive NSCLC treated with ICI plus chemotherapy. The patient achieved a continuous partial response (PR) to ICI plus chemotherapy and a more than 35 months progression free survival. This case demonstrates that ICI plus chemotherapy is a promising option for patients with ROS1 fusion-positive NSCLC.

Neurohypophysial hormones regulate the reproductive behavior of teleosts; however, their role in the gestation and parturition of ovoviviparous fishes with male pregnancy (syngnathids) remains to be demonstrated. In the present study, the complementary DNA (cDNA) sequences of arginine vasotocin (VT) and isotocin (IT) from the lined seahorse (Hippocampus erectus) were cloned and identified. We observed that the mature core peptides of seahorse VT and IT were conserved among teleosts. In the phylogenic tree, seahorse VT and IT were clustered independently with teleost VT and IT. The tissue distribution patterns of VT and IT were similar, and both were highly expressed in the brain, gills, and gonads. Interestingly, they were also expressed to some extent in the brood pouch. In situ hybridization revealed that VT and IT messenger RNA (mRNA) signals in the brain were mainly located in the preoptic area region of the hypothalamus. Intraperitoneal administration of the VT core peptide to pregnant seahorses induced premature parturition, stimulated gonadotropin release, increased serum estrogen levels, and decreased prolactin secretion. Moreover, VT injection upregulated the mRNA expression of the membrane estrogen receptor in the brood pouch. In summary, neurohypophysial hormones promote premature parturition by regulating estrogen synthesis through the hypothalamus–pituitary–gonad axis.

Objectives Lower high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels have been observed in chronic liver disease patients. The aim of this study was to develop a model that incorporates HDL-C levels and the Model for End-stage Liver Disease (MELD) score to predict 30-day mortality in Asian cirrhosis patients. Methods Cirrhosis patients were recruited from two hospitals in this retrospective observational study. Propensity score matching was used. The model’s performance was evaluated, including its ability to predict 30-day mortality, accuracy, and clinical utility. Net reclassification improvement (NRI) and integrated discrimination improvement (IDI) were calculated. Results The HDL-C + MELD model showed good ability to predict 30-day mortality (area under the curve, 0.784; sensitivity, 0.797; specificity, 0.632), which was better than that of the MELD score alone. It also showed good calibration and a net benefit for all patients, which was better than that of the MELD score, except at the threshold probability. NRI and IDI results confirmed that adding HDL-C levels to the MELD score improved the model’s performance in predicting 30-day mortality. Conclusion We added HDL-C levels to the MELD score to predict 30-day mortality in Asian patients with cirrhosis. The HDLC + MELD model shows good ability to predict 30-day mortality and clinical utility.

Abstract Background Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been reported to exert crucial functions in regulating the progression of human cancers. However, the function and mechanism of long intergenic non-protein coding RNA 01089 (LINC01089) in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) have not been revealed. Methods The expression level of LINC01089, microRNA (miRNA, miR)-152-3p and phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted onc hromosome ten (PTEN) mRNA was detected by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). After gain-of-function and loss-of-function models were established with NSCLC cell lines, the proliferation, migration and invasion of NSCLC cells were detected by cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) assay, scratch healing assay, Transwell assay, respectively. Dual luciferase reporter assay was employed to validate the binding relationship between miR-152-3p and LINC01089 or the 3’UTR of PTEN. Western blot was used to detect PTEN expression in NSCLC cells after LINC01089 and miR-152-3p were selectively modulated. Results LINC01089 was down-regulated in NSCLC tissues and cells. Functional experiments showed that knockdown of LINC01089 could promote the proliferation, migration and invasion of NSCLC cells, while over-expression of LINC01089 had the opposite effects. miR-152-3p was identified as a functional target for LIN01089, and miR-152-3p could reverse the function of LINC01089. Additionally, LINC01089 could up-regulate the expression level of PTEN via repressing miR-152-3p. Conclusions Down-regulation of LINC01089 promoted the progression of NSCLC through regulating miR-152-3p/PTEN axis.

While rapid urbanization promotes social and economic development, it exacerbates human outdoor thermal comfort, which increases the risks to human health. This paper uses four thermal comfort indices and multiple satellite observations to explore the urbanization effect on summer heat stress in Guangdong from 1979–2018, a coastal province of China. Two types of thermal comfort index are used here, namely the direct thermal comfort index (Heat Index, HI; Temperature–Humidity Index, THI; Discomfort Index, DI) and the physiological thermal comfort index (Universal Thermal Climate Index, UTCI). We compare the differences in the urbanization effects on the changes in the three direct thermal comfort indices (HI, THI, and DI) and a physiological thermal comfort index (UTCI). The results show that all four thermal comfort indices indicate an overall warming trend. Of them, urban sites show a higher warming trend than rural sites, indicating that heat stress changes are significantly influenced by urbanization from 1979–2018, which is consistent with the effect of urbanization on surface air temperature. However, except for the UTCI, this warming of direct thermal comfort indices affected by urbanization has become insignificant under the regional vegetation greening from 2004–2018 (also consistent with surface air temperature). This is primarily attributed to the different effects of wind speed on the physiological thermal comfort index in urban and rural areas: Decreasing wind speeds in urban areas lead to an increase in UTCI, while wind speeds in rural areas increase instead and decrease UTCI, thus widening the UTCI differences between urban and rural areas. Our results indicate that urbanization has a different effect on thermal comfort indices. When using the thermal comfort index, it is necessary to consider that different thermal comfort indices may bring different results. UTCI considers more factors that affect human heat perception, so it can better describe human outdoor thermal comfort. It also highlights the importance of urban ventilation and urban greenness in mitigating urban outdoor thermal comfort in the sustainable construction of future urbanization in coastal cities.

A new seahorse genome and the re-sequenced genomes of 21 other species shed new light on the evolutionary origin and global dispersal routes of seahorses, and show that bony spines—a key adaptation against predation—probably evolved multiple times via independent substitutions in the bmp3 gene.

IntroductionLow serum parathyroid hormone (PTH) and secondary hyperparathyroidism (SHPT) are very common in patients undergoing hemodialysis. However, it remains unclear which of these has a lower mortality.ObjectiveIn this study, we compared outcomes between hemodialysis patients with low PTH and those with SHPT.MethodsThis was a multi-center, retrospective, matched cohort study. Median intact PTH (iPTH) was used as the cutoff for allocating participants to low PTH (iPTH

Viviparity has originated independently more than 150 times in vertebrates, while the male pregnancy only emerged in Syngnathidae fishes, such as seahorses. The typical male pregnancy seahorses have closed sophisticated brood pouch that act as both uterus and placenta, representing an excellent model system for studying the evolutionary process of paternal immune protection. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that the hampII gene family has multiple tandem duplicated genes and shows independent lineage-specific expansion in seahorses, and they had the highest ratio of nonsynonymous substitutions to synonymous substitutions (dN/dS) in the seahorse phylogenetic branch. The expression levels of hampIIs in the brood pouch placenta were significantly higher during pregnancy than non-pregnancy. Both LPS stimulation test in vivo and cytotoxicity test in vitro proved the immunological protection function of hampIIs against pathogen infection in seahorse. Besides, seahorse hampII peptides exhibit weaker antibacterial function, but stronger agglutination and free endotoxin inhibition. We assumed that the modified immunological function seemed to be a trade-off between the resistance to microbial attack and offspring protection. In brief, this study suggests that the rapid co-option of hampIIs contributes to the evolutionary adaption to paternal immune care during male pregnancy.

Objective This retrospective study aimed to investigate the clinical features of lung cancer patients with leptomeningeal metastasis (LM) and explore the clinical efficacy and tolerance of intrathecal pemetrexed (IP) combined with systemic antitumor therapy. Methods Thirty-four lung cancer patients (11 men, 23 women) with LM receiving IP at our hospital were retrospectively reviewed between August 2018 and December 2019. Identified cases showed either positive cerebrospinal fluid cytology or typical findings (leptomeningeal enhancement or ventricle broadening) upon imaging examination. Results Before the diagnosis of LM, 24 (70.6%) patients received EGFR-TKI therapy with or without other agents (antivascular therapy, or chemotherapy), 5 (14.7%) patients received chemotherapy, 1 (2.9%) patient received antivascular therapy, and 3 (8.8%) patients received ALK inhibitors. Fourteen (41.2%) patients did not change the systematic regimen at the beginning of IP, while 20 (58.8%) patients changed to antitumor agents. IP was administered for a median of 3 times (range, 1-12 times). The IP dose was 15, 20, 25, 30, and 40 mg in 8 (23.5%), 21 (58.8%), 2 (5.9%), 2 (5.9%), and 1 (5.9%) patient, respectively. In all IP dose levels, the major adverse events were myelosuppression and elevation of hepatic aminotransferases (EHA). Grade 1/2 myelosuppression occurred in 4 (11.8%) patients. Grade 1/2 EHA also occurred in 4 (11.8%) patients. Grades 3/4 adverse events were not observed. After IP and systematic therapy, the clinical manifestations related to LM in 26 (76.5%) patients improved. In the whole cohort, the median overall survival was 20 months. The median time from the initial IP administration until death or the last follow-up was 3.5 months. Conclusions IP showed controllable toxicity and good efficacy, prolonged the survival time, and improved the quality of life when combined with tailored systemic antitumor therapy in lung cancer patients.

V-Raf murine sarcoma viral oncogene homolog B (BRAF) kinase, which was encoded by BRAF gene, plays critical roles in cell signaling, growth, and survival. Mutations in BRAF gene will lead to cancer development and progression. In non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), BRAF mutations commonly occur in never-smokers, women, and aggressive histological types and accounts for 1%–2% of adenocarcinoma. Traditional chemotherapy presents limited efficacy in BRAF-mutated NSCLC patients. However, the advent of targeted therapy and immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have greatly altered the treatment pattern of NSCLC. However, ICI monotherapy presents limited activity in BRAF-mutated patients. Hence, the current standard treatment of choice for advanced NSCLC with BRAF mutations are BRAF-targeted therapy. However, intrinsic or extrinsic mechanisms of resistance to BRAF-directed tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) can emerge in patients. Hence, there are still some problems facing us regarding BRAF-mutated NSCLC. In this review, we summarized the BRAF mutation types, the diagnostic challenges that BRAF mutations present, the strategies to treatment for BRAF-mutated NSCLC, and resistance mechanisms of BRAF-targeted therapy.

Tumour vascular mimicry (VM) is the process by which new blood vessels are formed by tumour cells rather than endothelial cells. An increasing number of studies have revealed that the VM process is associated with cancer progression and metastasis. MiR-138-5p has been reported to act as a tumour suppressor in many cancers. However, the role and underlying mechanism of miR-138-5p in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) VM remain unclear. In this study, VM density was detected by CD31/periodic acid-Schiff double staining in HCC clinical specimens. We found that miR-138-5p expression correlated strongly and negatively with microvessel density. Additionally, the miR-138-5p mimic or inhibitor decreased or increased, respectively, tube formation capacity in HepG2 and Hep3B cells. Consistent with this finding, miR-138-5p repressed vessel density in vivo. Moreover, miR-138-5p targeted hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF-1α) and regulated the expression of HIF-1α and vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA), which are established classical master regulators for angiogenesis. Consistent with these findings, the HIF-1α inhibitor CAY10585 effectively blocked HCC cell VM and VEGFA expression. In conclusion, miR-138-5p inhibits HepG2 and Hep3B cell VM by blocking the HIF-1α/VEGFA pathway. Therefore, miR-138-5p may serve as a useful therapeutic target for miRNA-based HCC therapy.

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a major respiratory pathogen in infants. The early formalin-inactivated RSV not only failed to protect infants against infection, but also was associated with enhanced pulmonary inflammatory disease upon natural infection. A safe and effective vaccine should prevent the inflammatory disease and provide protection. Immune memory is the cornerstone of vaccines. In this study, we evaluated three types of immune memory T cells, antibodies, and lung inflammation of a vaccine candidate G1F/M2, which includes a neutralizing epitope fragment of RSV G protein and a cytotoxic T lymphocyte epitope of M2 protein, with toll-like receptor 9 agonist CpG2006 as an adjuvant by intranasal (i.n.) and intraperitoneal (i.p.) immunization protocols. The results indicated that immunization of mice with G1F/M2 + CpG i.p. induced significantly higher level of CD4+ or CD8+ central memory (TCM), Th1-type effector memory (TEM), and balanced ratio of IgG1/IgG2a, but lower level of lung tissue-resident memory (TRM), compared with immunization with G1F/M2 + CpG i.n., G1F/M2 i.n., or G1F/M2 i.p. Following RSV challenge, the mice immunized with G1F/M2 + CpG i.p. showed higher level of Th1-type responses, remarkably suppressed inflammatory cytokines and histopathology in lungs, compared with mice immunized with G1F/M2 + CpG i.n., G1F/M2 i.n., or G1F/M2 i.p. These results suggested that high level of TCM and Th1 type of TEM in spleens may contribute to inhibition of lung inflammation, while high level of TRM in lungs and lack of or weak Th1-type immune memory in spleens may promote lung inflammation following RSV challenge.

Abstract Background The evolution of male pregnancy is the most distinctive characteristic of syngnathids, and their specialized life history traits make syngnathid species excellent model species for many issues in biological evolution. However, the origin of syngnathids and the evolutionary divergence time of different syngnathid species remain poorly resolved. Comprehensive phylogenetic studies of the Syngnathidae will provide critical evidence to elucidate their origin, evolution, and dispersal patterns. Results We sequenced the mitochondrial genomes of eight syngnathid species in this study, and the estimated divergence times suggested that syngnathids diverged from other teleosts approximately 48.8 Mya during the Eocene period. Selection analysis showed that many mitochondrial genes of syngnathids exhibited significantly lower Ka/Ks values than those of other teleosts. The two most frequently used codons in syngnathid fishes were different from those in other teleosts, and a greater proportion of the mitochondrial simple sequence repeats (SSRs) were distributed in non-coding sequences in syngnathids compared with other teleosts. Conclusions Our study indicated that syngnathid fishes experienced an adaptive radiation process during the early explosion of species. Syngnathid mitochondrial OXPHOS genes appear to exhibit depressed Ka/Ks ratios compared with those of other teleosts, and this may suggest that their mitogenomes have experienced strong selective constraints to eliminate deleterious mutations.

Abstract Background The Toronto hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) risk index (THRI) was developed to predict HCC in patients with cirrhosis. This study aimed to validate the THRI in a 10-year Asian cohort. Methods A total of 2836 patients with cirrhosis at the First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University between January 2008 and May 2018 were evaluated. Based on the THRI value at diagnosis, patients were divided into three groups ( 240, high-risk). Student’s t test and Fisher’s exact test were applied to compare parameters between the HCC group and the non-HCC group. The receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve was drafted to identify the value of the THRI in predicting HCC. Logistic regression was utilized to assess the relationship between the development of HCC and THRI values. The incidence of HCC was calculated for the three groups using the Kaplan-Meier method, and curves were compared using the log-rank test. Results Of 520 patients enrolled in this study, 76 patients developed HCC. Patients who developed HCC had a higher THRI score than those who did not develop HCC (279.5 ± 57.1 vs. 232.3 ± 67.6, respectively, p < 0.001). The area under the ROC curve for the THRI to predict HCC was 0.707 ([95% CI 0.645–0.769], p < 0.001), with a sensitivity of 0.842 and a specificity of 0.486 when the cutoff THRI value was 226. Compared to the low-risk group, the high-risk group presented higher odds of developing HCC (adjusting odds ratio 1.026 [95% CI 1.002–1.051], p = 0.036). Differences existed in the cumulative incidence of HCC among the three risk groups (log-rank, p < 0.001). The 5-year cumulative HCC incidence of the low-risk group, intermediate-risk group, and high-risk group was 0%, 13%, and 34%, respectively. Conclusion This study validated THRI values for predicting HCC in Asians with cirrhosis, which presented a fine sensitivity to identify the high-risk population of HCC for secondary prevention.

A wheelset is one of the most severely worn components of railway bogies. Its health condition has a significant impact on the safety and comfort of railway trains. Moreover, wheelset maintenance costs account for a sizeable part of the railway operating company. Therefore, it is essential to investigate executable maintenance strategies for wheelsets. In this paper, a maintenance strategy that combines periodic inspection and preventive maintenance is proposed. The wheel flange and wheel diameter deterioration models are established by the compound Poisson process based on the cumulative shock from the failure mechanism, and the Weibull distribution is adopted for modeling wheel tread failure probability. The age reduction factor is introduced to describe the maintenance effect. Then, the joint maintenance optimization model is constructed to determine the periodic inspection interval and the reprofiling strategy, with the objective of achieving a minimum maintenance cost rate and with the wheel flange thickness failure as the failure risk constraint. Lastly, a case study is provided, and the results show that, compared with the two conventional maintenance strategies with fixed inspection periods, the maintenance strategy proposed in this paper can reduce the maintenance cost rate by 27.06% and 12.0%, respectively. Moreover, the life span is prolonged by 11.51% and 11.98%, respectively.

We propose and numerically investigate a multi-parameter integrated sensor based on a selectively filled D-shaped photonic crystal fiber (PCF). The simple structure can be used to comprehensively detect refractive index, magnetic field, temperature, and voltage. According to the surface plasmon resonance and directional coupling effect, the PCF is coated with a gold nano-film to detect the refractive index of the external environment. In addition, magnetic fluid (water-based Fe3O4), toluene, and nematic liquid crystal (NLC E7) are selectively filled into different cladding air holes of the D-shaped PCF to realize the different sensing of the magnetic field, temperature, and voltage. The measurement of refractive index, magnetic field, temperature, and voltage are independent of each other, so these four parameters can be measured simultaneously. The sensing characteristics of the proposed structure are investigated systematically by the finite element method. The results show that the sensitivities of refractive index, magnetic field, temperature, and voltage are 4600 nm/RIU, 1.375 nm/Oe, 15.143 nm/°C, and 0.971 nm/V, respectively. The presented design based on materials selectively filled with D-shaped PCF might enable promising application in multi-parameter optical sensing.

Multi-contrast MRI images use different echo and repetition times to highlight different tissues. However, not all desired image contrasts may be available due to scan-time limitations, suboptimal signal-to-noise ratio, and/or image artifacts. Deep learning approaches have brought revolutionary advances in medical image synthesis, enabling the generation of unacquired image contrasts (e.g., T1-weighted MRI images) from available image contrasts (e.g., T2-weighted images). Particularly, CycleGAN is an advanced technique for image synthesis using unpaired images. However, it requires two separate image generators, demanding more training resources and computations. Recently, a switchable CycleGAN has been proposed to address this limitation and successfully implemented using CT images. However, it remains unclear if switchable CycleGAN can be applied to cross-contrast MRI synthesis. In addition, whether switchable CycleGAN is able to outperform original CycleGAN on cross-contrast MRI image synthesis is still an open question. In this paper, we developed a switchable CycleGAN model for image synthesis between multi-contrast brain MRI images using a large set of publicly accessible pediatric structural brain MRI images. We conducted extensive experiments to compare switchable CycleGAN with original CycleGAN both quantitatively and qualitatively. Experimental results demonstrate that switchable CycleGAN is able to outperform CycleGAN model on pediatric MRI brain image synthesis.

While the influences of droughts on Amazon rainforest have been extensively examined, little attention was paid to the extremely wet years characterized by low radiation which may limit the rainforest growth. Here, based on a series of satellite-observed vegetation and hydro-meteorological products, we found a two-stage canopy growth anomaly in the record-breaking wet year 2009, i.e. negative anomalies during April–July followed by positive ones during August–November. Our analysis suggests that, in April–July, low radiation associated with above-average rainfall and cloud cover was the most likely cause for negative anomalies in the canopy growth. In August–November, the rainfall and cloud cover were close to the average, but the solar radiation reaching the land surface was considerably above the average. This was because the atmospheric aerosols were extremely low, resulting from reduced biomass burning activities under the wet conditions. Large-scale positive anomalies in the canopy growth were observed during this 4 month period, mainly driven by the above-average radiation. During the severe drought year 2005, the forest canopy growth also experienced a two-stage process, but in the opposite order from the one in 2009. In April–July, enhanced canopy growth was observed in response to the above-average radiation. With the drought progress and soil water depletion, the canopy senescence was observed during the drought peak in August–November. Interestingly, if we examined the regional canopy growth anomaly during the typical dry season (i.e. July–September), both years showed similarly negative anomalies, but resulting from opposite eco-hydrological processes. This study identifies the explanation for the negative anomalies in the dry-season canopy growth over southern Amazon rainforest in both flood and drought years, and also underscores the necessity to separate different hydro-meteorological stages to better understand vegetation responses to extreme events.

All-dielectric Huygens’ metasurfaces have been widely used in wavefront manipulation through multipole interactions. Huygens’ metasurfaces utilize the superposition between an electric dipole and a magnetic dipole resonance to realize transmission enhancement and an accumulated 2π phase change. Benefiting from this unique property, we design and numerically investigate an all-dielectric Huygens’ metasurface exhibiting high-efficiency anomalous refraction. To suppress the substrate effect, the metasurface structure is submerged in a dielectric plate. We strategically placed two elements in four short periods to form a unit cell and adjusted the spacing between the two elements to effectively inhibit the interaction between elements. At the operating wavelength of 692 nm, the obtained anomalous transmission efficiency is over 90.7% with a diffraction angle of 30.84°. The performance of the proposed structure is far superior to most of the existing phase-gradient metasurface structures in the visible region, which paves the way for designing efficient beam deflection devices.

Canopy dynamics associated with fires in tropical forests play a critical role in the terrestrial carbon cycle and climate feedbacks. The aim of this study was to characterize forest canopy dynamics in the southern Amazon during the 2019 fire season (July–October) using passive microwave-based vegetation optical depth (VOD) and three optical-based indices. First, we found that precipitation during July–October 2019 was close to the climatic means, suggesting that there were no extreme hydrometeorological events in 2019 and that fire was the dominant factor causing forest canopy anomalies. Second, based on the active fire product (MCD14ML), the total number of active fires over each grid cell was calculated for each month. The number of active fires during the fire season in 2019 was above average, particularly in August and September. Third, we compared the anomalies of VOD and optical-based indices (the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), the enhanced vegetation index (EVI), and the normalized burn ratio (NBR)) against the spatiotemporal distribution of fires during July–October 2019. Spatially, the location with a concentrated distribution of significant negative VOD anomalies was matched with the grid cells with fire activities, whereas the concentrated distribution of strong negative anomalies in optical-based indices were found in both burned and unburned grid cells. When we focused on the temporal pattern over the grid cells with fire activity, the VOD and the optical-based indices behaved similarly from July to October 2019, i.e., the magnitude of negative anomalies became stronger with increased fire occurrences and reached the peak of negative anomalies in September before decreasing in October. A discrepancy was observed in the magnitude of negative anomalies of the optical-based indices and the VOD; the magnitude of optical-based indices was larger than the VOD in August–September and recovered much faster than the VOD over the grid cells with relatively low fire activity in October. The most likely reason for their different responses is that the VOD represents the dynamics of both photosynthetic (leaf) and nonphotosynthetic (branches) biomass, whereas optical-based indices are only sensitive to photosynthetic (leaf) active biomass, which recovers faster. Our results demonstrate that VOD can detect the spatiotemporal of canopy dynamics caused by fire and postfire canopy biomass recovery over high-biomass rainforest, which enables more comprehensive assessments, together with classic optical remote sensing approaches.

The kisspeptin/GPR54 system plays a crucial role in the regulation of the reproductive axis in vertebrates. Male pregnancy and ovoviviparity are special reproductive phenomena among vertebrates. To better understand the neuroendocrine mechanisms of male pregnancy, cDNAs encoding kiss2 and GPR54 were cloned and functionally characterized from the lined seahorse, Hippocampus erectus, an ovoviviparous teleost with male pregnancy. The core mature peptide of seahorse Kiss2 is high conserved among seahorses, but unique among vertebrate Kiss orthologs. In the phylogenic analysis, the seahorse Kiss clustered with the teleost Kiss2 clade. The kiss2 transcripts were shown to be widely expressed in various tissues, notably in the brain and gonad of the seahorse, while GPR54-2 mRNA was expressed exclusively in the brain. In addition, kiss2 mRNA found in male seahorse brain tissue increased significantly at the early pubertal stage, and decreased significantly during pregnancy. Intraperitoneal administration of seahorse Kiss2-10 to sexual mature male seahorses demonstrated to stimulate lutropin β (LHβ) and follitropin β (FSHβ) release and increased serum testosterone levels. In summary, we first identified the kisspeptin/GPR54 system in an ovoviviparous fish with male pregnancy, which might be involved in the regulation of the reproductive functions of pubertal onset, gonadal development, and male pregnancy via regulating the synthesis of both gonadotropic hormone (GTH) and testosterone.

Leptin is an essential hormone for the regulation of energy metabolism and food intake in vertebrate animals. To better understand the physiological roles of leptin in nutrient regulation in paternal ovoviviparous fish (family Syngnathidae), the present study cloned the full-length of leptin-a and leptin receptor (lepr) genes in lined seahorse (Hippocampus erectus). Results showed that there was a 576-bp intron between two exons in leptin-a gene but no leptin-b gene in seahorse. Although the primary amino acid sequence conservation of seahorse leptin-a was very low, the 3-D structure modeling of seahorse leptin-a revealed strong conservation of tertiary structure with other vertebrates. Seahorse leptin-a mRNA was highly expressed in brain, whereas lepr mRNA was mainly expressed in ovary and gill. Interestingly, both leptin-a and lepr mRNA were expressed in the brood pouch of male seahorse, suggesting the leptin system plays a role during the male pregnancy. Physiological experiments showed that the expression of hepatic leptin-a and lepr mRNA in unfed seahorses was significantly higher than that in those fed 100%, as well as 60%, of their food during the fasting stage, showing that seahorse might initiate the leptin system to regulate its energy metabolism while starving. Moreover, the expression of leptin-a in the brood pouch of pregnant seahorse was significantly upregulated compared with non-pregnant seahorse, whereas the expression of lepr was downregulated, suggesting that the leptin system might be involved in the male pregnancy. In conclusion, the leptin system plays a role in the energy metabolism and food intake, and might provide new insights into molecular regulation of male pregnancy in seahorse.

Inshore-offshore migration occurs frequently in seahorse species, either because of prey opportunities or because they are driven by reproduction, and variations in water temperature may dramatically change migratory seahorse behavior and physiology. The present study investigated the behavioral and physiological responses of the lined seahorse Hippocampus erectus under thermal stress and evaluated the potential effects of different temperatures on its reproduction. The results showed that the thermal tolerance of the seahorses was time dependent. Acute thermal stress (30°C, 2–10 h) increased the basal metabolic rate (breathing rate) and the expression of stress response genes (Hsp genes) significantly and further stimulated seahorse appetite. Chronic thermal treatment (30°C, 4 weeks) led to a persistently higher basal metabolic rate, higher stress response gene expression and higher mortality rates, indicating that the seahorses could not acclimate to chronic thermal stress and might experience massive mortality rates due to excessively high basal metabolic rates and stress damage. Additionally, no significant negative effects on gonad development or reproductive endocrine regulation genes were observed in response to chronic thermal stress, suggesting that seahorse reproductive behavior could adapt to higher-temperature conditions during migration and within seahorse breeding grounds. In conclusion, this simulation experiment indicates that temperature variations during inshore-offshore migration have no effect on reproduction, but promote significantly high basal metabolic rates and stress responses. Therefore, we suggest that the observed high tolerance of seahorse reproduction is in line with the inshore-offshore reproductive migration pattern of lined seahorses. This article has an associated First Person interview with the first author of the paper.

The crinoid Stephnometra indica inhabits coral reefs and surrounding waters in the western Pacific Ocean. In this study, the complete mitochondrial genome of S. indica (15,878 bp) was confirmed to contain 13 protein-coding genes, 22 tRNA genes, and 2 rRNA genes. The gene order of S. indica was identical to that of previously published Crinoidea. The nucleotide composition of the S. indica mitogenome was biased toward A + T nucleotide 73.68%. There were four unassigned regions (UASs) found in S. indica and all four UAS regions were AT-biased. The phylogenetic relationship illustrated that S. indica is more closely related to Antedon mediterranea within the family Crinoidea.

Population genetic of seahorses is confidently influenced by their species-specific ecological requirements and life-history traits. In the present study, partial sequences of mitochondrial cytochrome b (cytb) and control region (CR) were obtained from 50 Hippocampus mohnikei and 92 H. trimaculatus from four zoogeographical zones. A total of 780 base pairs of cytb gene were sequenced to characterize mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) diversity. The mtDNA marker revealed high haplotype diversity, low nucleotide diversity, and a lack of population structure across both populations of H. mohnikei and H. trimaculatus. A neighbour-joining (NJ) tree of cytb gene sequences showed that H. mohnikei haplotypes formed one cluster. A maximum likelihood (ML) tree of cytb gene sequences showed that H. trimaculatus belonged to one lineage. The star-like pattern median-joining network of cytb and CR markers indicated a previous demographic expansion of H. mohnikei and H. trimaculatus. The cytb and CR data sets exhibited a unimodal mismatch distribution, which may have resulted from population expansion. Mismatch analysis suggested that the expansion was initiated about 276,000 years ago for H. mohnikei and about 230,000 years ago for H. trimaculatus during the middle Pleistocene period. This study indicates a possible signature of genetic variation and population expansion in two seahorses under complex marine environments.