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There are many factors known to drive species turnover although the mechanisms by which these operate are less clear. Based on comprehensive datasets we used zeta diversity and multi-site generalized dissimilarity modelling to investigate the pattern and determinants of species turnover for Lepidoptera herbivores. We found that the average number of shared herbivore species declined sharply with an increasing number of plots, with complete changes in caterpillar species composition observed even at fine spatial scales. Plant community characteristics rather than abiotic factors were found to play key roles in driving caterpillar compositional turnover, although these effects varied with increasing plots due to the varying contributions of rare and common species to compositional turnover. Our study reveals details of the impact of phylogeny- and trait- mediated processes of trees on herbivore compositional turnover, which has implications for forest management and conservation and potential avenues for maintenance of heterogeneity in herbivore communities.

Gaining knowledge on bees is of the utmost importance due to the paramount role that they play in angiosperm pollination. Herein, we provide the first genome assembly of Colletes collaris, a pan-Eurasian cellophane bee. We sequenced 50.53 Gbp of long-read data plus 57.36 Gbp of short-read data in Oxford Nanopore Technologies and Illumina platforms, respectively. The genome assembly consisted of 374.75 Mbp distributed across 374 contigs, with L50 and N50 of 9 and 8.96 Mbp, respectively. We predicted the genome to comprise 20,399 protein-coding genes, 467,947 repeats, and 4,315 non-coding RNA genes. The transcriptome and mitochondrial genome of the species were also assembled. Gene family analysis with 15 insect species identified 14,417 families, 9,517 of them found in C. collaris. A dated phylogenomic analysis revealed high numbers of orthogroups experiencing rapid evolution within Colletes.

Evolutionary timescales can be inferred by molecular-clock analyses of genetic data and fossil evidence. Bayesian phylogenetic methods such as tip dating provide a powerful framework for inferring evolutionary timescales, but the most widely used priors for tree topologies and node times often assume that present-day taxa have been sampled randomly or exhaustively. In practice, taxon sampling is often carried out so as to include representatives of major lineages, such as orders or families. We examined the impacts of different densities of diversified sampling on Bayesian tip dating on unresolved fossilized birth-death (FBD) trees, in which fossil taxa are topologically constrained but their exact placements are averaged out. We used synthetic data generated by simulations of nucleotide sequence evolution, fossil occurrences, and diversified taxon sampling. Our analyses under the diversified-sampling FBD process show that increasing taxon-sampling density does not necessarily improve divergence-time estimates. However, when informative priors were specified for the root age or when tree topologies were fixed to those used for simulation, the performance of tip dating on unresolved FBD trees maintains its accuracy and precision or improves with taxon-sampling density. By exploring three situations in which models are mismatched, we find that including all relevant fossils, without pruning off those that are incompatible with the diversified-sampling FBD process, can lead to underestimation of divergence times. Our reanalysis of a eutherian mammal data set confirms some of the findings from our simulation study, and reveals the complexity of diversified taxon sampling in phylogenomic data sets. In highlighting the interplay of taxon-sampling density and other factors, the results of our study have practical implications for using Bayesian tip dating to infer evolutionary timescales across the Tree of Life. [Bayesian tip dating; eutherian mammals; fossilized birth-death process; phylogenomics; taxon sampling.]

Human-induced biodiversity loss negatively affects ecosystem function, but the interactive effects of biodiversity change across trophic levels remain insufficiently understood. We sampled arboreal spiders and lepidopteran larvae across seasons in 2 years in a subtropical tree diversity experiment, and then disentangled the links between tree diversity and arthropod predator diversity by deconstructing the pathways among multiple components of diversity (taxonomic, phylogenetic and functional) with structural equation models. We found that herbivores were major mediators of plant species richness effects on abundance, species richness, functional and phylogenetic diversity of predators, while phylogenetic, functional and structural diversity of trees were also important mediators of this process. However, the strength and direction differed between functional, structural and phylogenetic diversity effects, indicating different underlying mechanisms for predator community assembly. Abundance and multiple diversity components of predators were consistently affected by tree functional diversity, indicating that the variation in structure and environment caused by plant functional composition might play key roles in predator community assembly. Our study highlights the importance of an integrated approach based on multiple biodiversity components in understanding the consequences of biodiversity loss in multitrophic communities.

Herbivorous insects acquire microorganisms from host plants or soil, but it remains unclear how the diversity and functional composition of host plants contribute to structuring herbivore microbiomes. Within a controlled tree diversity setting, we used DNA metabarcoding of 16S rRNA to assess the contribution of Lepidoptera species and their local environment (particularly, tree diversity, host tree species, and leaf traits) to the composition of associated bacterial communities. In total, we obtained 7,909 bacterial OTUs from 634 caterpillar individuals comprising 146 species. Tree diversity was found to drive the diversity of caterpillar‐associated bacteria both directly and indirectly via effects on caterpillar communities, and tree diversity was a stronger predictor of bacterial diversity than diversity of caterpillars. Leaf toughness and dry matter content were important traits of the host plant determining bacterial species composition, while leaf calcium and potassium concentration influenced bacterial richness. Our study reveals previously unknown linkages between trees and their characteristics, herbivore insects, and their associated microbes, which contributes to developing a more nuanced understanding of functional dependencies between herbivores and their environment, and has implications for the consequences of plant diversity loss for trophic interactions., In this study, we hypothesized that the community composition of herbivore‐associated microbes is driven by specific aspects of their surroundings (particularly, leaf traits, host tree species, and diversity thereof) and by the composition and diversity of the host herbivore species. We found that tree diversity and leaf traits drive caterpillar‐associated microbes in a controlled setting. It revealed the linkages between tree (leaves), herbivores, and associated microbes, which contributes to the development of a more comprehensive understanding of relationships and functional dependencies between herbivores and their environment, and of the consequences of plant diversity loss for trophic interactions.

From regional to global scales, anthropogenic environmental change is causing biodiversity loss and reducing ecosystem functionality. Previous studies have investigated the relationship between plant diversity and functional insect communities in temperate and also in tropical grasslands and forests. However, few studies have explored these dynamics in subtropical forests. Here, cavity-nesting Hymenoptera and associated parasitoids were collected across a controlled tree diversity experiment in subtropical China to test how predatory wasps, bees and parasitoids respond to tree species richness. Abundance and species richness of predatory wasps and parasitoids were positively correlated with tree species richness, while bee abundance and bee species richness were unrelated to tree species richness. Our results indicate that tree species richness increases the abundance and species richness of important communities such as predators and parasitoids. Moreover, the results highlight the importance of subtropical forests in maintaining abundance and species richness of key functional insect groups.

Declining plant diversity alters ecological networks, such as plant-herbivore interactions. However, our knowledge of the potential mechanisms underlying effects of plant species loss on plant-herbivore network structure is still limited. We used DNA barcoding to identify herbivore-host plant associations along declining levels of tree diversity in a large-scale, subtropical biodiversity experiment. We tested for effects of tree species richness, host functional and phylogenetic diversity, and host functional (leaf trait) and phylogenetic composition on species, phylogenetic and network composition of herbivore communities. We found that phylogenetic host composition and related palatability/defence traits but not tree species richness significantly affected herbivore communities and interaction network complexity at both the species and community levels. Our study indicates that evolutionary dependencies and functional traits of host plants determine the composition of higher trophic levels and corresponding interaction networks in species-rich ecosystems. Our findings highlight that characteristics of the species lost have effects on ecosystem structure and functioning across trophic levels that cannot be predicted from mere reductions in species richness.

Evolutionary timescales can be estimated using a combination of genetic data and fossil evidence based on the molecular clock. Bayesian phylogenetic methods such as tip dating and total-evidence dating provide a powerful framework for inferring evolutionary timescales, but the most widely used priors for tree topologies and node times often assume that present-day taxa have been sampled randomly or exhaustively. In practice, taxon sampling is often carried out so as to include representatives of major lineages, such as orders or families. We examined the impacts of these diversified sampling schemes on Bayesian molecular dating under the unresolved fossilized birth-death (FBD) process, in which fossil taxa are topologically constrained but their exact placements are not inferred. We used synthetic data generated by simulation of nucleotide sequence evolution, fossil occurrences, and diversified taxon sampling. Our analyses show that increasing sampling density does not substantially improve divergence-time estimates under benign conditions. However, when the tree topologies were fixed to those used for simulation or when evolutionary rates varied among lineages, the performance of Bayesian tip dating improves with sampling density. By exploring three situations of model mismatches, we find that including all relevant fossils without pruning off those inappropriate for the FBD process can lead to underestimation of divergence times. Our reanalysis of a eutherian mammal data set confirms some of the findings from our simulation study, and reveals the complexity of diversified taxon sampling in phylogenomic data sets. In highlighting the interplay of taxon-sampling density and other factors, the results of our study have useful implications for Bayesian molecular dating in the era of phylogenomics.

The complete mitochondrial genome of the Metaphycus eriococci (Timberlake, 1916) (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) was obtained via next-generation sequencing. This mitochondrial genome is 15,749 bp in len...

Plant diversity loss can alter higher trophic -level communities via non -random species interactions, which in turn may cascade to affect key ecosystem func-tions. These non -random linkages might be best captured by patterns of phyloge-netic diversity, which take into account co -evolutionary dependencies. However,lack of adequate phylogenetic data of higher trophic levels hampers our mecha-nistic understanding of biodiversity relationships in species-rich ecosystems.2. We used DNA barcoding to generate data on the phylogenetic diversity of lepi-dopteran caterpillars in a large- scale forest biodiversity experiment in subtropicalChina. We analysed how different metrics of lepidopteran phylogenetic diversity(Faith's PD, MPD, MNTD) and taxonomic diversity were influenced by multiple components of tree diversity (taxonomic, functional, phylogenetic).3. Our data from six sampling periods represent 7,204 mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) sequences of lepidopteran larvae, clustered into 461 mo-lecular operational taxonomic units. Lepidopteran abundance, the effective num-ber of species (irrespective of the focus on rare or common species) and Faith's PD and MPD (reflecting basal evolutionary splits), but not MNTD (reflecting re-cent evolutionary splits), significantly increased with experimentally manipulated ree species richness. Lepidopteran MNTD decreased with increasing tree MNTD. Path analyses showed that tree phylogenetic and functional diversity explained part, but not all of the effects of tree species richness on lepidopteran diversity. Importantly, tree diversity effects on lepidopteran diversity were to a large extent indirect, operating via changes in lepidopteran abundance. 4. Synthesis. Our study shows that evolutionary dependencies determine the response of herbivore communities to changes in host plant diversity. Incorporating a wider range of diversity metrics both at the level of producers and consumers can thus help to develop a more comprehensive understanding of the functional consequences of biodiversity change across trophic levels. Moreover, the dependence of trophic linkages on herbivore abundances underlines the need to address the consequences of current declines in insect abundances for ecosystem structure and functioning. peerReviewed

Sinella curviseta, among the most widespread springtails (Collembola) in Northern Hemisphere, has often been treated as a model organism in soil ecology and environmental toxicology. However, little information on its genetic knowledge severely hinders our understanding of its adaptations to the soil habitat. We present the largest genome assembly within Collembola using ∼44.86 Gb (118X) of single-molecule real-time Pacific Bioscience Sequel sequencing. The final assembly of 599 scaffolds was ∼381.46 Mb with a N50 length of 3.28 Mb, which captured 95.3% complete and 1.5% partial arthropod Benchmarking Universal Single-Copy Orthologs (n = 1066). Transcripts and circularized mitochondrial genome were also assembled. We predicted 23,943 protein-coding genes, of which 83.88% were supported by transcriptome-based evidence and 82.49% matched protein records in UniProt. In addition, we also identified 222,501 repeats and 881 noncoding RNAs. Phylogenetic reconstructions for Collembola support Tomoceridae sistered to the remaining Entomobryomorpha with the position of Symphypleona not fully resolved. Gene family evolution analyses identified 9,898 gene families, of which 156 experienced significant expansions or contractions. Our high-quality reference genome of S. curviseta provides the genetic basis for future investigations in evolutionary biology, soil ecology, and ecotoxicology.

Very recently, the BESIII collaboration reported a charged hidden-charm structure with strangeness in the recoil mass of $K^+$ of a process $e^+e^-\to D_s^{*-}D^0K^+$ or $D_s^{-}D^{*0}K^+$, which is named as $Z_{cs}(3985)^{-}$. The newly observed charged structure can be treated as a partner structure with strangeness of well-known $Z_{c}(3885)^{-}$ reported in a process $e^+e^-\to D^{*-}D^0\pi^+$. In this work, we propose a novel picture to understand the nature of $Z_{cs}(3985)$. By performing a combined analysis for the line shape of the recoil mass distribution of $K^+$ at five energy points $\sqrt{s}=4.628, 4.641, 4.661, 4.681, 4.698$ GeV, we find that the $Z_{cs}(3985)$ can be explained as a reflection structure of charmed-strange meson $D_{s2}^{*}(2573)$, which is produced from the open-charm decay of $Y(4660)$ with a $D_s^*$ meson. Furthermore, we predicted the angular distribution of final state $D_s^{*-}$ in process $e^+e^-\to D_s^{*-}D^0K^+$ based on our proposed reaction mechanism, which may be an essential criterion to test the non-resonant nature of $Z_{cs}(3985)$ further., Comment: 5 pages, 1 table and 3 figures

Objective A retrospective study of the clinical and radiological results between local bone graft with a cage and without cage in patients treated with unilateral fixation and posterior lumbar interbody fusion surgery. Methods A total of 52 patients who underwent PLIF in our institution were evaluated from January 2015 to January 2018. 30 of these patients received PLIF with local bone graft combined with using one cage, and 22 patients received PLIF with local bone graft without using cage. The clinical data and perioperative complications of the two groups were recorded. X-ray were taken before, after operation and at the end of follow-up to calculate the height of intervertebral disc and the fusion rate. SUK's criteria were used to evaluate the quality of spinal fusion at the follow-up time. The results between the cage and non- cage group were compared. Results There was no statistical difference in baseline data between the two groups, and The mean follow-up time was 18.43 months in cage group and 17.50 months in non- cage group (P = 0.553). In additions, the significant difference was not found in the comparison of perioperative evaluation data between the two groups, such as operation time (P = 0.299), blood loss (P = 0.342) and incidence of complications (P = 1.000). Furthermore, the significant difference of VAS score cannot be found in preoperation (Pleg=0.731, Plowback=0.786), postoperation (Pleg=0.534, Plowback=0.725) and the final follow-up (Pleg=0.654, Plowback=0.362) between the two groups. The same results were also obtained in the comparison of ODI index (Ppre=0.682, Pfinal=0.712) and intervertebral height (Ppost=0.363, Pfinal=0.094). The final fusion rates were 96.7% (cage group) and 86.4% (non- cage group) respectively, and there was no statistical difference (P = 0.553). Conclusion Local bone graft has the same advantages as a cage in unilateral PLIF. Comparing with local bone graft using cage, we believe that the local bone graft is a more ideal way in unilateral PLIF, and decrease operation cost.

Despite intense interest in bees, no genomes are available for the bee family Colletidae. Colletes gigas, one of the largest species of the genus Colletes in the world, is an ideal candidate to fill this gap. Endemic to China, C. gigas has been the focus of studies on its nesting biology and pollination of the economically important oil tree Camellia oleifera, which is chemically defended. To enable deeper study of its biology, we sequenced the whole genome of C. gigas using single-molecule real-time sequencing on the Pacific Bioscience Sequel platform. In total, 40.58 G (150×) of long reads were generated and the final assembly of 326 scaffolds was 273.06 Mb with a N50 length of 8.11 Mb, which captured 94.4% complete Benchmarking Universal Single-Copy Orthologs. We predicted 11,016 protein-coding genes, of which 98.50% and 84.75% were supported by protein- and transcriptome-based evidence, respectively. In addition, we identified 26.27% of repeats and 870 noncoding RNAs. The bee phylogeny with this newly sequenced colletid genome is consistent with available results, supporting Colletidae as sister to Halictidae when Stenotritidae is not included. Gene family evolution analyses identified 9,069 gene families, of which 70 experienced significant expansions (33 families) or contractions (37 families), and it appears that olfactory receptors and carboxylesterase may be involved in specializing on and detoxifying Ca. oleifera pollen. Our high-quality draft genome for C. gigas lays the foundation for insights on the biology and behavior of this species, including its evolutionary history, nesting biology, and interactions with the plant Ca. oleifera.

To study the safety, durability and effectiveness of a new medical liquid silicone rubber elastomer (LSRE) compound Urolastic in penile augmentation in beagle dogs.A total of 30 beagle dogs were included in the experiment. The diameters of the proximal, middle and distal penis of the animals were measured and the indexes of blood routine, liver and kidney function and electrolytes obtained before and at 1 week and 3 months after penile subcutaneous injection of the LSRE compound. CT scanning and pathological examinations of the liver, kidney and penile tissues were performed at 1 and 3 months after treatment.The diameters of the proximal, middle and distal penis of the dogs were increased by (0.4 ± 0.3) cm, (0.6 ± 0.1) cm and (0.5 ± 0.3) cm at 1 week, and (0.4 ± 0.2) cm, (0.5 ± 0.1) cm and (0.6 ± 0.2) cm at 3 months after injection of the LSRE compound, with statistically significant difference from the baseline (P0.01 or P0.05) but not between the 1st week and the 3rd month (P0.05). The counts of leukocytes and neutrophils were markedly increased compared with the baseline (［18.16 ± 2.57］ vs ［15.16 ± 3.17］ g/L, P0.05; ［77.34 ± 9.21］% vs ［67.18 ± 8.25］%, P0.05), but not the other blood routine indexes. There were no statistically significant differences in the liver and kidney functions or electrolytes before and after the injection. At 1 and 3 months after treatment, Urolastic was clearly visible and the injection points were irregular in shape at CT imaging. The anatomical findings were consistent with the CT manifestations and showed that the material was easily separated from the surrounding tissues. No significant inflammatory cell infiltration was observed in pathological examinations at 1 and 3 months.The new medical LSRE compound Urolastic has a good clinical application prospect in penile augmentation for its advantages of significant effectiveness and high safety.

To investigate the clinical effect of suprapubic V-Y incision versus that of Sun's coronal sulcus ring incision plus suprapubic liposuction (CSRI+SPLS) for penile elongation.From December 2010 to January 2018, 100 adult males with congenital short penis underwent suprapubic V-Y incision (the V-Y group, n = 50) or CSRI+SPLS (n = 50) for penile elongation surgery in our department. We statistically analyzed the clinical data on the two groups of patients, including age, body mass index (BMI), pre- and post-operative penile lengths in flaccid and erectile states, operation time, intraoperative blood loss, postoperative use of analgesics, postoperative hospital stay, stage-Ⅰ wound healing, incidence of postoperative complications, and quality of pre- and post-operative sexual life.The average ages of the patients in the V-Y and CSRI+SPLS groups were 23.5 and 23.0 years, their BMIs (26.59 ± 1.16) and (26.44 ± 0.96) kg/m2, preoperative flaccid penile lengths (5.11 ± 0.30) and (5.12 ± 0.35) cm, preoperative erectile penile lengths (7.57 ± 0.65) and (7.35 ± 0.59) cm, postoperative flaccid penile lengths (7.80 ± 0.40) and (7.79 ± 0.42) cm, postoperative erectile penile lengths (11.59 ± 0.55) and (11.47 ± 0.64) cm, none with statistically significant difference between the two groups (P0.05). Compared with the V-Y group, the CSRI+SPLS group showed a markedly shorter operation time (108 ［90－120］ vs 51 ［45－58］ min, P0.01), less intraoperative blood loss (30 ［15－45］ vs 15 ［5－25］ ml, P0.01), shorter postoperative hospital stay 8 ［6－11］ vs 4 ［2－6］ d, P0.01), lower incidence rates of postoperative hematoma (23.33% ［7 cases］ vs 0, P0.05) and infection (20.00% ［6 cases］ vs 0, P0.05), higher stage-Ⅰ healing rate (76.67% ［23 cases］ vs 100.00% ［30 cases］, P0.05), lower rate of postoperative use of analgesics (26.67% ［8 cases］ vs 3.33% ［1 case］, P0.05), and higher score on the quality of postoperative sexual life (36.73 ± 5.41 vs 42.07 ± 3.64, P0.01) though with no statistically significant difference preoperatively (28.70 ± 4.87 vs 28.27 ± 3.40, P0.05).As a surgical procedure for penile elongation, Sun's coronal sulcus ring incision plus suprapubic liposuction is superior to suprapubic V-Y incision for its advantages of lower invasiveness, shorter operation time, less intraoperative blood loss, and lower incidence of postoperative complications.

Host specificity of parasitoids may be measured by various specialization indices to assess the variation of interaction strength among species and the structure of the wider interaction network. However, the conclusions from analyses at the species and network levels may differ, which remains poorly explored. In addition, the recovery of cryptic species of hosts and parasitoids with molecular data may affect the structure of inferred interaction links. We quantified host specificity of hymenopteran parasitoids (family Encyrtidae) on armored scale insects (Hemiptera: Diaspididae) from a wide geographic sampling range across the Chinese Mainland based on both morphological and molecular species delimitation. Mitochondrial COI and nuclear 28S markers detected high cryptic species diversity in the encyrtids and to a lesser degree in the diaspidids, which divided generalist morphospecies into complexes of specialists and generalists. One‐to‐one reciprocal host–parasite links were increased in the molecular data set, but different quantitative species‐level indices produced contrasting estimates of specificity from various one‐to‐multiple and multiple‐to‐multiple host–parasite links. Network indices calculated from DNA‐based species, compared to morphology‐based species definitions, showed lower connectance and generality, but greater specialization and compartmentalization of the interaction network. We conclude that a high degree of cryptic species in host–parasitoid systems refines the true network structure and may cause us overestimating the stability of these interaction webs.

The mitochondrial genome of the Platencyrtus parkeri Feriere (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) was obtained via next-generation sequencing. The assembled mitogenome is 13,393 bp in length, which contains 33 classical eukaryotic mitochondrial genes with three tRNA genes and rrnS gene missing. All the 13 PCGs begin with typical ATN codons. The 19 detected tRNAs range from 58 to 70 bp in length with typical cloverleaf structure except for trnS1, whose dihydrouridine (DHU) arm forms a simple loop. Meanwhile, they have six tRNAs inserted between nad2 and nad3 compared with Encyrtus infelix. Phylogenetic analysis highly supported the monophyly of Pteromalidae. Eupelmidae and Encyrtidae have a close relationship. Within Encyrtidae, Platencyrtus parkeri Feriere and Encyrtus infelix are close to each other.

The complete mitochondrial genome of the Cerceris quinquefasciata (Rossi, 1792) (Hymenoptera: Crabronidae) was obtained via next-generation sequencing. This mitochondrial genome is 16,188 bp in length with 37 classical eukaryotic mitochondrial genes and two A + T-rich region. All the 13 PCGs begin with typical ATN codons. Among them, eleven PCG genes terminate with TAA, two with T-. All of the 22 tRNA genes, ranging from 58 to 72 bp with typical cloverleaf structure except for trnS1, whose dihydrouridine (DHU) arm forms a simple loop. Phylogenetic analysis highly supported Crabronidae is the sister group of anthophila bees.

The complete mitochondrial genome of the Cerceris bucculata (A. Costa, 1860) (Hymenoptera: Crabronidae) was obtained via next-generation sequencing. This mitochondrial genome is 16178 bp in length ...

Mealybugs (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) are an insect group that feeds on plant sap; many are major pests of ornamental plants and crops worldwide. The difficulty of morphological identification of mealybugs points to a need for a rapid and effective identification method, like DNA barcoding, to assist morphological taxonomy. Here, we employed diverse methods (best close match [BCM], Neighbor-Joining [NJ] tree, Barcoding with LOGic formulas [BLOG], Poisson Tree Process [PTP] Species Delimitation Method) to test the efficiency of two molecular markers (mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase I [COI] and large ribosomal subunit gene [28S]) that could be used for species identification of 54 mealybug species that commonly occur in China. Two hundred six COI barcodes (47 species) and 242 28S sequences (53 species) were recovered from 246 individuals. In both the COI and 28S data sets, species except for Planococcus citri and P. minor were unambiguously identified by all the methods. The PTP analysis based on COI sequences generated more putative species in Antonina tesquorum , Atrococcus paludinus , and Formicococcus sp. than morphological identification. Among these three cases, the sequences of At. paludinus showed 3.55% variation at the 28S locus, possibly reflecting cryptic diversity in this taxon. Our study corroborates the utility of the COI and 28S genes in the rapid identification of mealybugs, and the barcode library we provide will create an effective identification system for mealybug pest management in China.

To study the therapeutic efficacy of compound amino acid combined with vitamin E in the treatment of idiopathic asthenospermia.This study included 120 cases of idiopathic asthenospermia treated in the Outpatient Department of our hospital between February 2014 and January 2015. We randomized the patients into a treatment group( n = 70,aged23- 43 [mean 32. 5] years) and a control group( n = 50,aged 23- 44 [mean 31. 7] years),the former treated with compound amino acid plus vitamin E while the latter with vitamin E only. After 90 days of medication, we evaluated the therapeutic effects by comparing the total sperm motility( progressive motility + non-progressive motility, PR + NP),the percentage of progressively motile sperm( PR),and the pregnancy rate between the two groups.Before treatment, PR + NP and PR were(26. 24 ± 6. 56) %and(24. 65 ± 6. 43) % in the treatment group and(15. 13 ± 5. 68) % and(14. 73 ± 6. 16) in the control, with no statistically significant differences between the two groups( P0. 05). After 90 days of medication, PR + NP and PR were( 49. 63 ± 9. 78) % and(33. 33 ± 5. 64)% in the former and(37. 67 ± 7. 98)% and(27. 23 ± 6. 46)% in the latter, remarkably increased in both groups as compared with the baseline( P0. 05),but significantly more in the treatment than in the control group( P0. 05). Four pregnancies(5. 71%) were achieved in the former group but only 1(2. 00%) in the latter. The total rate of effectiveness was markedly higher in the treatment group than in the control(74. 28% vs 44. 00%,P0. 05). No adverse reactions were observed in either group.Compound amino acid combined with vitamin E can safely and effectively improve sperm motility in idiopathic asthenospermia patients.

To investigate the therapeutic efficacy and safety of Gujing Maisiha Tablets combined with natural vitamin E in the treatment of idiopathic asthenospermia.This study included 135 outpatients with idiopathic asthenospermia received in our hospital from February 2015 to January 2016. We randomly divided them into a treatment group (n = 65, aged 22－44 ［mean 32.8］ yr) and a control group (n = 55, aged 21－43 ［mean 33.7］ yr) to be treated with Gujing Maisiha Tablets combined with natural vitamin E or natural vitamin E only, both for 90 days. We obtained total sperm motility and the percentage of progressively motile sperm (PMS) from the patients before and after medication and evaluated the clinical effects by comparing the collected parameters and pregnancy rates between the two groups.The baseline total sperm motility and PMS were (25.23 ± 5.57)% and (17.53 ± 5.78)% in the treatment group, with no statistically significant differences from (26.05 ± 6.77)% and (15.11 ± 6.55)% in the control (P0.05). After 90 days of medication, both the treatment and the control groups showed remarkable increases in total sperm motility (［48.73 ± 8.66］% and ［36.54 ± 8.09］%, P0.05) and PMS (［32.77 ± 6.04］% and ［26.99 ± 6.87］%, P0.05). However, both total sperm motility and PMS were significantly higher in the treatment than in the control group after medication (P0.05), and so was the total rate of clinical effectiveness (73.85% vs 54.55%, P0.05). No adverse reactions were observed in either of the two groups during the treatment.Gujing Maisiha Tablets combined with natural vitamin E is safe and effective for the treatment of idiopathic asthenospermia.目的： 研究固精麦斯哈片联合天然维生素E治疗特发性弱精子症的临床效果。方法： 纳入2015年1月至2016年1月门诊135例弱精子症患者。随机分为两组，治疗组患者72例，年龄22~44岁, 平均年龄33.6岁；对照组患者63例，年龄21~43岁, 平均年龄32.8岁。治疗组服用固精麦斯哈片(每次６片，每日２次)和天然维生素E(每次100 mg，每日２次)，对照组服用天然维生素E(每次100 mg，每日２次)，连续服用30 d为1个疗程，总共3个疗程。治疗前及治疗90 d后通过对精子总活力（PR+NP）、精子前向运动率（PR）和配偶妊娠情况比较，评估其临床有效性。 结果： 治疗组和对照组在治疗前，精液中PR+NP、PR分别为(25.23±5.57)%和(17.53±5.78)%、(26.05±6.77)%和(15.11±6.55)% ，数据无统计学差异(P0.05)。治疗组治疗90 d后精液中PR+NP、PR分别为(48.73±8.66)%、(32.77±6.04)%，与治疗前比较，差异具有统计学意义(P0.05)；对照组治疗90 d后精液中PR+NP、PR分别为(36.54±8.09)%、(26.99±6.87)%，与治疗前比较同样具有统计学意义（P0.05）。但是治疗组精液中PR+NP、PR改善明显优于对照组，差异具有统计学意义(P0.05)。临床疗效上，治疗组总有效率（73.85%）明显高于对照组（54.55%），两组间差异具有统计学意义（P0.05）。在整个治疗过程中，两组均无不良反应。结论： 固精麦斯哈片联合天然维生素E用药对不明原因弱精子症有较好的临床效果。.

Host relationships among many Aphelinidae are complex due to their heteronomous reproductive behaviour, where males have different host relationships from females. Heteronomous parasitoids present a fascinating problem in host selection and sex ratio decision making. Accurate identification of insect parasitoids is a prerequisite in the determination of parasitoid-host relationships. With the goal of disentangling the parasitoid-host associations in the genus Coccophagus, we compared the performances of the COI barcode and of the 28S-D2 rRNA region for identification and delimitation of 17 morphospecies of Coccophagus parasitoid wasps collected during a 9-year rearing programme of scale insects in China. Molecular data were analysed by two different methods of species delimitation, the automatic barcode gap discovery and the general mixed yule coalescent. Both methods were effective in discriminating all previously recognized morphospecies. The congruence of morphospecies delimitation with that obtained by DNA barcode and nuclear gene data greatly enhanced our ability to unravel the parasitoid-host associations of genus Coccophagus. Most Coccophagus species (11 out of 17) can use host species belonging to different genera, with different levels of host specificity, particularly in host selection to produce female offspring. Sex-related differences in host relationships have also been detected and discussed.

Iron oxide compounds constitute an important component of mineral dust aerosols. Several previous studies have shown that these minerals are strong absorbers at visible wavelengths and thus that they play a critical role in the overall climate perturbation caused by dust aerosols. When compiling a database of complex refractive indices of possible mineral species of iron oxides to study their optical properties, we found that uniformly continuous optical constants for a single type of iron oxide in the wavelength range between 0.2 and 50 μm are very scarce, and that the use of hematite to represent all molecular or mineral iron-oxides types is a popular hypothesis. However, the crucial problem is that three continuous data sets for complex refractive indices of hematite are employed in climate models, but there are significant differences between them. Thus, the real role of iron oxides in the optical properties of dust aerosols becomes a key scientific question, and we address this problem by considering different refractive indices, size distributions and more logical weight fractions and mixing states of hematite. Based on the microscopic observations, a semi-external mixture that employs an external mixture between Fe aggregates and other minerals and partly internal mixing between iron oxides and aluminosilicate particles is advised as the optimal approximation. The simulations demonstrate that hematite with a spectral refractive index from Longtin et al. (1988) shows approximately equal absorbing capacity to the mineral illite over the whole wavelength region from 0.55 to 2.5 μm, and only enhances the optical absorption of aerosol mixture at λ < 0.55 μm. Using the data set from Querry (1985) may overestimate the optical absorption of hematite at both visible and near-infrared wavelengths. More laboratory measurements of the refractive index of iron oxides, especially for hematite and goethite in the visible spectrum, should therefore be taken into account when assessing the effect of mineral dust on climate forcing.

Aphis glycines Matsumura is an important pest of soybean in Asia and North America. Hymenoptera parasitoids play a key role in the control of the soybean aphid. The correct identification of parasitoids is a critical step that precedes the assessment of their potential biological control agents. Accurate identification of the majority of the species attacking the soybean aphid often requires elaborate specimen preparation and expert taxonomic knowledge. In this study, we facilitated the identification of soybean aphid parasitoids by applying a DNA barcoding approach following a preliminary morphological identification. We generated DNA sequence data from the mitochondrial COI gene and the D2 region of 28S rDNA to assess the genetic variation within and between parasitoid species emerging from the soybean aphid in China. Fifteen Hymenoptera parasitoid species belonging to 10 genera of five families were identified with little intra-specific variation (0.09% ± 0.06% for 28S and 0.36% ± 0.18% for COI) and large inter-specific divergence (30.46% ± 3.42% for 28S and 20.4% ± 1.20% for COI).

The mitochondrial genome of the Encyrtus infelix was sequenced and it is the first completed mitochondrial genome of species in the family Encyrtidae (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea). This mitochondrial genome is 15,698 bp in length with 37 classical eukaryotic mitochondrial genes and an A + T-rich region. All the 13 PCGs begin with typical ATN codons. Among them, seven genes terminate with TAA, one with TA– and five with T––. All of the 22 tRNA genes range from 56 to 70 bp with typical cloverleaf structure except for trnS1, whose dihydrouridine (DHU) arm forms a simple loop. Gene directions and arrangements are similar to Eurytoma sp. mitochondrial genome. Encyrtus infelix also has a dramatic gene rearrangement, the placements of some genes are peculiar to Chalcidoidea. Phylogenetic analysis highly supported the monophyly of both Chalcidoidea and Pteromalidae.