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A new species, Camposporium chinense, is described and illustrated from a specimen collected on dead branches of an unidentified broadleaf tree in Jiangxi, China. The fungus is characterized by its fusiform, 9–12-septate, versicolored conidia with an unbranched, aseptate apical appendage. A key to Camposporium species is provided.

Diaporthe species have often been reported as plant pathogens, endophytes and saprophytes, commonly isolated from a wide range of infected plant hosts. In the present study, twenty strains obtained from leaf spots of twelve host plants in Yunnan Province of China were isolated. Based on a combination of morphology, culture characteristics and multilocus sequence analysis of the rDNA internal transcribed spacer region (ITS), translation elongation factor 1-α (TEF), β-tubulin (TUB), calmodulin (CAL), and histone (HIS) genes, these strains were identified as eight new species: Diaporthe camelliae-sinensis, D. grandiflori, D. heliconiae, D. heterostemmatis, D. litchii, D. lutescens, D. melastomatis, D. pungensis and two previously described species, D. subclavata and D. tectonendophytica. This study showed high species diversity of Diaporthe in tropical rain forests and its hosts in south-western China.

Three specimens of Bactrodesmium were collected on dead branches of unidentified plants from subtropical forests in Jiangxi, China. Two represent new species: B. chinense is distinguished by its ellipsoidal to broadly fusiform 9–11-euseptate verrucose reddish brown conidia with pale brown to subhyaline end cells; B. lushanense is characterized by its variably shaped (obovoid, clavate, ellipsoid) verrucose dark brown to black conidia with 3–6 dark-banded eusepta and paler basal cells. The third specimen represents, B. novageronense, a new record for China. The three species are described, illustrated, and compared with similar taxa.

The excellent stretchability and biocompatibility of flexible sensors have inspired an emerging field of plant wearables, which enable intimate contact with the plants to continuously monitor the growth status and localized microclimate in real-time. Plant flexible wearables provide a promising platform for the development of plant phenotype and the construction of intelligent agriculture via monitoring and regulating the critical physiological parameters and microclimate of plants. Here, the emerging applications of plant flexible wearables together with their pros and cons from four aspects, including physiological indicators, surrounding environment, crop quality, and active control of growth, are highlighted. Self-powered energy supply systems and signal transmission mechanisms are also elucidated. Furthermore, the future opportunities and challenges of plant wearables are discussed in detail.

Background: Ongoing infection-control strategies have played an important role in preventing the spread of COVID-19 and mitigating its effects. However, limited studies have explored the influence of these strategies from the perspective of COVID-19 patients. This study aims to describe the impact of governmental COVID-19 policy and prevention strategies on COVID-19 patients in China. Methods: Twenty-six people who had been treated for COVID-19 in a COVID-19-designated facility in Shanghai, China, were recruited using the purposive sampling method. These individuals participated in semi-structured interviews by phone from April to June 2020. A thematic content analysis approach was conducted. The consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative studies checklist was applied. Results: Three categories of themes emerged from the thematic analysis. The first was “Consciously adhere to COVID-19-related infection-control strategies.” Most of these patients followed the COVID-19 strategies throughout the stages of their illness. The second category was “Positive experiences of the COVID-19-related infection-control strategies.” These patients shared their positive experiences of the governmental infection-control strategies to contain the virus; for example, they experienced a quick and adequate medical response, they were con dent in the medical system, or they received help from community workers. The third category was “Negative experiences of the COVID-19-related infection-control strategies.” These patients experienced psychological distress, stigma, privacy exposures, and inconveniences from the governmental strategies. Conclusions: Our findings exemplify how patients with COVID-19 adhered to the infection-control strategies in China. It is urgent to develop a culturally sensitive intervention to eliminate the psychological distress and stigma of patients with COVID-19 and to protect their privacy during and after the pandemic.

Species of Diaporthe have often been reported as plant pathogens, endophytes or saprobes, commonly isolated from a wide range of plant hosts. Sixteen strains isolated from species of ten host genera in Yunnan Province, China, represented three new species of Diaporthe, D. chrysalidocarpi, D. machili and D. pometiae as well as five known species D. arecae, D. hongkongensis, D. middletonii, D. osmanthi and D. pandanicola. Morphological comparisons with known species and DNA-based phylogenies based on the analysis of a multigene (ITS, TUB, TEF, CAL and HIS) dataset support the establishment of the new species. This study reveals that a high species diversity of Diaporthe with wide host ranges occur in tropical rainforest in Yunnan Province, China.

Microdochium species have often been reported as plant pathogens and saprophytes and are commonly isolated from some diseased plant hosts. The primary aim of the present study was to describe and illustrate two new Microdochium species isolated from the leaf spot of Indocalamus longiauritus in Yunnan Province, China, namely Microdochium yunnanense and M. indocalami, spp. nov., based on their morphology and multilocus phylogenetic analyses of the combined ITS, LSU, TUB2, and RPB2. DNA sequence data indicate that six strains represent three independent groups from related and similar species in Microdochium. Microdochium indocalamisp. nov. clustered with M. fisheri, M. lycopodinum, M. rhopalostylidis, and M. phragmitis. Microdochium yunnanensesp. nov. grouped with M. bolleyi. In addition, the strain SAUCC1017 is recorded as an unidentified species in Microdochium. Descriptions and illustrations of the new species in the genus and Microdochium sp. indet. are provided.

Oxidative stress contributes a lot to initiation and progression of pathological conditions. Heme oxygenase 1 (HO1), a cytoprotective enzyme, is usually upregulated to alleviate oxidative stress in vivo. The function of teleost HO1 in the response to oxidative stress induced by heavy metal exposure and in pathogenic bacterial infection remains uncertain. In the present study, both complementary DNA and genomic sequence of a HO1-like gene cloned from the liver of swamp eel (Monopterus albus) are reported. Sequence analysis showed that the putative amino acid sequence contained a conserved heme oxygenase signature and displayed higher similarity to HO1 genes of other teleosts. Expression profile of swamp eel HO1 was investigated in healthy tissues and in tissues following stimulation with pathogenic bacteria (Aeromonas hydrophila) or cadmium chloride (CdCl2) exposure. Results demonstrated that HO1 messenger RNA (mRNA) was highly expressed in the liver and relatively less in other tissues. Bacterial infection with A. hydrophila significantly changed HO1 mRNA expression in the liver, spleen, and kidney, and the mRNA expression of HO1 and Nrf2 in the liver was elevated after the fish were exposed to CdCl2. Subsequently, the swamp eel HO1 was subcloned into a pET28a expression vector and transformed into Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3). Recombinant HO1 (rHO1) was successfully induced by 0.1 mmol/l IPTG and purified by Ni-NTA His Bind Resin purification system. To determine whether the rHO1 could confer stress tolerance in vitro, the viability of control and HO1-expressing E. coli under CdCl2 stress was compared by spot assay. The rHO1 protein significantly increased survival rates of the bacterial hosts. To evaluate whether intraperitoneal injection with rHO1 protected the liver of swamp eel against A. hydrophila-induced oxidative stress, mRNA expression of HO1, Nrf2, hepcidin, and IL-1β as well as the oxidative stress-related parameters (ROS and total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC)) in the liver were examined. The results showed that exogenous rHO1 could significantly upgrade the mRNA expression of HO1 and hepcidin, coupled with increased ROS and T-AOC levels. However, Nrf2 and IL-1β expression levels were significantly downregulated and upregulated, respectively. These results suggested that HO1 should not only play a protective role in oxidative stress response and its adverse effects deserved further investigation.

In this work, Polycaprolactone@Chitosan (PCL@CS) coaxial nanofibers (NFs) were successfully prepared by co-electrospinning technique. Feed rate, solvent ratio 0.6 mL/h and 3:1 was optimized, respectively. Furthermore, coaxial nanofibers were characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and differential scanning calorimeter (DSC); also contact angle was checked, CS has higher hydrophilicity than PCL@CS and PCL. Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were synthesized and immobilized on the coaxial nanofibers. Gram negative Escherichia coli BH5 α ( E. coli ) and Gram positive Staphylococcus aureus ( S. aureus ) were tested against modified coaxial nanofibers for antibacterial activity, 13 mm inhibition zone was measured against E. coli which was higher than S. aereus .

Structure damage identification is a hot research area internationally in recent years. Two damage identification methods based on sensitivity analysis are concluded. A three-tier steel frame structure model is established through utilizing ANSYS10.0, the software of finite element analysis. Through modal analysis of finite element, the frequency and formation before and after damage are obtained. The position of damage of the model is fixed by applying two damage indexes. It is indicated from the results that these two methods are effective for damage identification of the space structure of steel frame.

Asian swamp eel is a highly commercial fish, primarily for China and other Asian countries. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the genetic diversity of wild and cultured samples of Asian swamp eel Monopterus albus using ISSR markers. A total of 129 individuals belonging to three wild samples, Xiantao (XT), Huanggang (HG), Xinyang (XY) and three cultured samples, Wuhan (WH), Jingzhou (JZ) and Nanjing (NJ) were randomly selected for genetic analysis. Twelve ISSR primers were used for screening the six populations and 110 loci were obtained. The polymorphic loci were estimated to be 54%, 56.3%, 58.2%, 60.6%, 69.5% and 71% in NJ,WH, JZ, XT, HG and XY samples, respectively. Average heterozygosity value varied from 0.1956 to 0.2449. The three wild samples showed higher genetic diversity than the cultured samples (P < 0.05), including polymorphic bands (PPB), observed number of alleles per locus (to), effective number of alleles per locus (Ne), Nei’s gene diversity index (H) and Shannon’s information index (I).

An alkaloid compound, lappaconitine Hydrochloride, was synthesized with lappaconitine which was isolated from the root ofAconitum sinomontanum Nakaiin Gansu province in China. The structures were elucidated by IR,NMR, Anal. and X-ray diffraction analysis. Crystal data: C32H47ClN2O9,Mr= 639.17, space group monoclinic, P21; a=10.665 (7) Å, b=12.178 (7) Å and c=12.214 (7) Å; β=91.003 (10)°, Z=2, Dx= 1.338 mg/m-3,F(000)= 684,µ=0.18.00 mm-1, V=1586.1 (16) Å3; R1=0.038,wR2=0.087, Flack parameter x= -0.12 (7). RingA, B, C, D, EandFrespectively present boat, chair, envelope, boat, boat and envelope forms. The absolute configuration was determined as 1S, 4S, 5S, 7S, 8S, 9S, 10S, 11S, 13R, 14S, 16S, 17 R. And the analgesic potential has been investigated in a mouse model of acute pain. The result exhibited that the analgesic effect of the compound is worse than lappaconitine hydrobromide.

An interpenetrating polymer network was formed by blending of PLLA and PEG cross-linked β-CD to improve the toughness of PLLA, and the mechanical properties of PLLA composites were studied using tensile test. The PLLA composite samples exhibited a single glass transition and their Tg values decreased with increasing PEG/β-CD content, indicating that PLLA and PEG/β-CD are miscible. The PLLA composite samples aged at room temperature achieved the highest fracture strain (about 235%), about 40 times that of the original PLLA sample, while the Young's modulus was not seriously hampered.

C32H45N2O8Cl2Cu Monoclinic, P2/1, a = 10.665(2)Å, b = 12.4197(2)Å, c = 12.1995(3)Å, α = 90.00°, β = 90.201(1) o, γ = 90.00 o, V = 1615.96(6)Å3, Z = 2, Rgt(F) = 0.028, wRref(F2) = 0.083, T = 153K.

Pectolytic enzymes are found mainly in fungi and bacteria. The most widely occurring enzymes are polygalacturonase (PGs), pectin methylesterase (PMEs) and pectate lyase (PLs) produced during the infection process and during culturing. The secretion of these enzymes results in the disorganization of the plant cell walls, which is responsible for the pathogenicity of the pathogens. These enzymes degrade the pectin of plants causing maceration of plant tissues and the enzyme activity increases under favourable environmental conditions. We have found that Phytophthora capsici, a pathogenic oomycete, produces levels of these three enzymes equal to those produced by soft-rotting Erwinia chrysanthemi. The activity of PGs, PLs and PMEs was investigated at the optimum temperature, pH and ionic strength in highly pathogenic P. capsici strains cultivated in two kinds of liquid medium containing either crude pepper extracts plus pectin or pectin as the carbon source. Virulence tests and enzymes activity showed that there was a high correlation between the enzyme activity and the pathogenicity of P. capsici. The effects of different carbon sources on the enzyme activity showed that pepper extract plus pectin was the best source for the carbon source.

1,5-Bis(2-carboxyphenyl)-3-phenylformazan (BCPF) and its complexes with Cu(II), Zn(II), Cd(Il), Hg(II) and' Pb(II) have been synthesized. The structures of BCPF and its complexes were confirmed by ...

FTIR spectroscopy and thermal analysis were applied to study the nylon6–lithium salt systems. The DTA results show that lithium ions cause a significantreduction of the melting point of nylon–lithium salt samples. In addition, lithium saltscan also prevent the crystallization of molten nylon in the cooling process. Tempera-ture-variable FTIR spectroscopy demonstrates that stronger hydrogen bonds formwhen nylon–lithium halide is molten. Such stronger hydrogen bonds in molten nylonlithium systems may account for the reduction of the melting point and delaying thecrystallization of the amorphous nylon. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 77:2685–2690, 2000 Key words: nylon; lithium salt; FTIR; thermal analysis; hydrogen bonds INTRODUCTION Interaction between metal ions and polar groupsof polymers provides a chance to modify the per-formance of polymer in various aspects. Ionomers,as a successful branch in this field, have attracteda wide attention. 1–5 On the other hand, extensiveinvestigations have shown that amide groups pos-sess considerable ability to coordinate with metalions.

Hepcidin is a cysteine-rich, dual-function peptide with antimicrobial activity that plays crucial roles in iron homeostasis. A few hepcidin-like genes have been isolated from teleost. Here, we have identified a hepcidin-like gene from rice field eel (RFE), Monopterus albus. Nucleotide sequences including cDNA and genomic DNA (GenBank accession numbers: FJ436808 and FJ594996, respectively) and deduced amino acid sequences were presented. In the 949 bp-long genomic sequence, two introns and three exons were identified. The full-length cDNA encodes a prepropeptide of 90 amino acid residues. RTPCR analysis suggested that hepcidin transcripts are highly abundant in the liver and kidney, less abundant in the heart, skin, brain, blood cells, intestine, spleen and stomach and undetectable in muscle. After challenged with Aeromonas hydrophila infection or iron-dextran stimulation, the hepcidin transcript levels were analyzed by RT-PCR. The results revealed that the expression of hepcidin dramatically increased at 24 h post-infection of the pathogen injection. Moreover, hepcidin mRNAs in the liver, intestine and brain were 2.4, 1.5 and 2-fold increase, respectively, compared with the control animals after 5 days in iron-dextran injected RFEs.Key words: Rice field eel, Monopterus albus, hepcidin, gene expression

Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II molecules play an important role in the immune response of vertebrates. In this paper, full-length MHC IIA cDNA was isolated from swamp eel (Monopterus albus) by rapid amplification of cDNA ends PCR. The genomic structure, molecular polymorphism, tissue distribution, and immune response of the MHC IIA gene to bacterial challenge were investigated. The full-length cDNA (GenBank accession No.: KC616308) is 1,509 bp in length including an 83 bp-long 5′ untranslated region (UTR) and a 709 bp-long 3′ UTR, which encoded a 238 amino acids protein. In the 2,339 bp-long MHC IIA genomic DNA, four exons and three introns were identified. Sequence comparison exhibited that the deduced amino acid sequence shared 27.1–66.3% identity with those of other species. Seven alleles were identified from five healthy individuals. Number of alleles per individual diversified from two to five. Five different 5′ UTR sequences and two different 3′ UTR sequences from one individual may infer the existence of five loci at least. Real-time quantitative PCR demonstrated that swamp eel MHC IIA transcripts were ubiquitously expressed in ten tissues, but the expression level was distinctly different. Significant changes were observed in liver, spleen, kidney and intestine after challenged with pathogenic bacteria Aeromonas hydrophilia.

To analyze and summarize the medical treatment experience following separation of thoracopagus conjoined twins.The clinical manifestations and the medical therapy of a pair of thoracopagus conjoined twins were analyzed. The conjunction of the female twins was from 5 cm above the nipple to the umbilicus. They also suffered from complex congenital heart diseases. At the 17th day of their lives, they were surgically separated. One girl died after the operation, the other survived but experienced heart failure, sepsis and multiple organ dysfunction (including liver, blood and kidney et al). In order to protect or maintain the main organ function, the vital signs and the objective indexes were monitored continually, such as blood routine test, C reactive protein, hepatorenal function, bacterial culture, and galactomannan test, blood gas analysis and chest radiogram.It is important to protect the main organ function and prevent or control infection. The early surgical correction of congenital heart disease may contribute to recovery of the children.

Phytophthora capsici causes serious diseases in numerous crop plants. Polygalacturonases (PGs) are cell wall-degrading enzymes that play an important role in pathogenesis in straminopilous pathogens. To understand PGs as they relate to the virulence of P. capsici, Pcipg2 was identified from a genomic library of a highly virulent P. capsici strain. Pcipg2 was strongly expressed during symptom development after the inoculation of pepper leaves with P. capsici. The wild protein (PCIPGII) was obtained from the expression of pcipg2 and found that increasing activity of PGs in PCIPGII-treated pepper leaves was consistent with increasing symptom development. Asp residues in active sites within pcipg2 affected PCIPGII activity or its virulence on pepper leaves. Results show that pcipg2 is an important gene among pcipg genes, and illustrate the benefit of analyzing mechanisms of pathogenicity during the period of host/parasite interaction.