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Abstract Objective To investigate the clinical effect of thoracoscopic segmentectomy in the treatment of lung malignancies less than 2CM in diameter. Methods In this retrospective study, a total of 103 patients with lung cancer who received outpatient or inpatient treatment from December 2020 to May 2022 were selected and divided into the lobectomy group (n = 48) and the segmentectomy group (n = 55) according to different surgical methods. The lobectomy group was treated with thoracoscopic lobectomy, while the segmentectomy group was treated with thoracoscopic segmentectomy. The prognostic effect, complications, blood gas level and respiratory function indexes of the two groups were observed and compared. Results The general data of the two groups of patients, such as gender, age, course of disease, body mass index, lesion diameter, lesion site and pathological type, were analyzed by statistical software. There was no statistical significance in the operation time and the number of lymph node dissection between the two groups (P > 0.05), while the drainage volume and intraoperative blood loss in the segmentectomy group were lower than those in the lobectomy group, and the drainage time and hospital stay were shorter than those in the lobectomy group, with statistical significance (P 0.05). After treatment, the values of FVC, FEV1 and FEV1/FVC in each group had different amplitude changes, and the values of FVC, FEV1 and FEV1/FVC in the segmentectomy group were significantly higher than those in the lobectomy group, with statistical significance (P 0.05). There were no differences during the 2-year follow-up (median follow-up in months: 18.4; interquartile range, 14.8–21.3) in terms of overall survival (P = 0.49) and disease-free survival (P = 0.34) between groups (P > 0.05). Conclusions For patients with lung cancer less than 2 cm in diameter, thoracoscopic segmentectomy can achieve good short-term efficacy, with rapid postoperative recovery and little impact on lung function, which may be helpful to improve patients’ postoperative quality of life.

Analyzing the processes and influencing factors of accretion or erosion in estuaries and tidal basins is important for coastal conservation and utilization, planning, and ecosystem maintenance. This study analyzed the process of topographic changes in Taizhou Bay, China over the past five decades by comparing bathymetric datasets from different years. The coastlines were extracted via remote sensing image interpretation, and the coastal reclamation process was analyzed. The results revealed that this bay experienced slow siltation from 1963 to 2004, which mainly occurred on mudflats and shore slopes. It turned into a feature dominated by erosion between 2004 and 2013, and erosion increased between 2013 and 2019. Coastal reclamation has occurred during every 10-year period since the 1960s. Reclamation occupied a portion of the intertidal flat, decreased the tidal prism, and changed tidal asymmetry, causing net sediment to be transported into the bay and accumulate on the intertidal flat and upper part of the subaqueous shore. The drastic reduction in sediment supply caused by the Three Gorges Dam may have been responsible for erosion from 2004 to 2019. A negative feedback process exists between tidal flat expansion and coastal reclamation. The compensatory expansion of the tidal flat is a much slower process than the advance of reclamation.

Plant patches play a crucial role in understanding the biogeomorphology of saltmarshes. Although two-dimensional optical remote sensing has long been applied to the study of saltmarsh plant patches, studies focusing on the canopy features at a patch-scale remain limited. Therefore, a simple and efficient method is needed to capture three-dimensional patch features and their relationship to habitat. This study utilized UAV-based LiDAR to obtain three-dimensional patch features of the native species S. mariqueter and the invasive species S. alterniflora in Andong Shoal, Hangzhou Bay, and examine the relationship between patch distribution and geomorphological characteristics. A workflow was established to overcome the inability of low-cost LiDAR sensor to penetrate dense vegetation, resulting in no ground return. Results showed that S. alterniflora patches were smaller in size but taller in canopy height than S. mariqueter patches. Regarding morphological patterns of patch canopy, S. alterniflora exhibited single-arch patterns (29%) and double-arch patterns (16%), whereas S. mariqueter exhibited only single-arch patterns (83%). The presence of double-arch patches suggested the development of fairy circles, indicating that the invasive S. alterniflora exhibits greater ecological resilience compared to the native S. mariqueter. Furthermore, this study explored the ecological niches of the two species in the pioneer zone of Andong Shoal. The ecological niches for S. alterniflora were 2.00-2.25 m, whereas that for S. mariqueter were 1.85-2.00 m and 2.25-2.40 m. Distance from the tidal creeks significantly moderated the number and area of patches for both species. This study demonstrated that UAV-based LiDAR technology can provide high-quality three-dimensional information about the pioneer zone of saltmarsh, thus helping to understand biogeomorphological processes in this region.

Afidopyropen has high activity against pests. However, it poses potential risks to the soil ecology after entering the environment. The toxicity of afidopyropen to earthworms (Eisenia fetida) was studied for the first time in this study. The results showed that afidopyropen had low level of acute toxicity to E. fetida. Under the stimulation of chronic toxicity, the increase of reactive oxygen species (ROS) level activated the antioxidant and detoxification system, which led to the increase of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione S-transferase (GST) activities. Lipid peroxidation and DNA damage were characterized by the increase of malondialdehyde (MDA) and 8-hydroxy-2’-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) contents. Meanwhile, the functional genes SOD, CAT, GST, heat shock protein 70 (HSP70), transcriptionally controlled tumor protein (TCTP), and annetocin (ANN) played a synergistic role in antioxidant defense. However, the comprehensive toxicity of high concentration still increased on the 28th day. In addition, strong histopathological damage in the body wall and intestine was observed, accompanied by weight loss, which indicated that afidopyropen inhibited the growth of E. fetida. The molecular docking revealed that afidopyrene combined with the surface structure of SOD and GST proteins, which made SOD and GST become sensitive biomarkers reflecting the toxicity of afidopyropen to E. fetida. Summing up, afidopyropen destroys the homeostasis of E. fetida through chronic toxic. These results provide theoretical data for evaluating the environmental risk of afidopyropen to soil ecosystem.

The distribution pattern and the morphology of sandy beaches have been extensively studied, while those in turbid coastal environments near large river estuaries are still unclear. This study analyzes the distribution pattern, morphological characteristics, and influencing factors of Zhejiang sandy beaches using statistical analysis, based on field data and historical records. Results show that the mean grain size distribution of Zhejiang sandy beaches ranges from fine sand to very coarse sand, and the beach slope and sediment grain size correspond well with the wave heights in the three regions of Zhejiang. The extent of beach headlands in central Zhejiang appeared the largest, suggesting an increased susceptibility to wave erosion due to the less sheltered headlands. Most sandy beaches in Zhejiang formed on the islands and the areas far from the estuaries, showing quantity difference in beach distribution. The comparison of the regional difference in Zhejiang sandy beaches shows that embayment is the main factor affecting the beach distribution pattern and morphological characteristics. The different embayment characteristics provide the space for beach formation and the interaction with the coastal process, the sediment supply, the nearshore hydrodynamic environment, and human intervention also have influence on the morphological characteristics of Zhejiang beaches.

Tidal bay evolution is the result of the comprehensive influence of multiple factors. It is crucial to analyze the primary factors to disassemble the comprehensive effects. In this study, remote sensing and bathymetric data were used to investigate anthropogenic activities and geomorphological changes in Puba Bay, China. From 1964 to 2020, the intertidal zone area decreased by 64.5% due to mariculture ponds and coastal reclamation, with the former accounting for 60.4% of the total area. Over five decades, the bay experienced significant silting, with a 61.5% decrease in underwater area, an 88.4% decrease in volume, and considerable reductions in maximum water depth, cross-sectional terrain depth, and width. Anthropogenic activities led to a reduction in tidal prism and tidal velocity, resulting in increased flood dominance and decreased ebb dominance in the main channel, leading to more siltation. Negative and positive feedback mechanisms were observed between anthropogenic activities, seaward expansion of intertidal flats, and bay siltation. The influence of mariculture ponds, as the major factor, on geomorphological changes was found to be similar to that of coastal reclamation. To maintain water depth and capacity for material exchange in the bay, preliminary suggestions for mariculture pond management are proposed.

The monitoring of beach topographical changes and recovery processes under typhoon storm influence has primarily relied on traditional techniques that lack high spatial resolution. Therefore, we used an unmanned aerial vehicle light detection and ranging (UAV LiDAR) system to obtain the four time periods of topographic data from Tantou Beach, a sandy beach in Xiangshan County, Zhejiang Province, China, to explore beach topography and geomorphology in response to typhoon events. The UAV LiDAR data in four survey periods showed an overall vertical accuracy of approximately 5 cm. Based on the evaluated four time periods of the UAV LiDAR data, we created four corresponding DEMs for the beach. We calculated the DEM of difference (Dod), which showed that the erosion and siltation on Tantou Beach over different temporal scales had a significant alongshore zonal feature with a broad change range. The tidal level significantly impacted beach erosion and siltation changes. However, the storm surge did not affect the beach area above the spring high-tide level. After storms, siltation occurred above the spring high-tide zone. This study reveals the advantage of UAV LiDAR in monitoring beach changes and provides novel insights into the impacts of typhoon storms on coastal topographic and geomorphological change and recovery processes.

Plastic mulching is a widely used intensive planting system for cotton production in China. For the present study, the effects of three plastic mulching treatments (i.e., NDNM: normal sowing date with no plastic mulching as a positive control, NDM: normal sowing date with plastic mulching, and LDM: sowing 7 days late with plastic mulching) were studied in the field on seedling disease, Verticillium wilt, and Fusarium wilt as well as on the lint yield in cotton from 2019 to 2020. The treatment effects were evaluated based on the disease incidence (DI) and disease severity index (DSI), seedling fresh weights, lint yields, and yield components. For all cultivars (SCRC28, SCRC21, and Jimian11), both the DIs and DSIs of the seedling disease were lower in the LDM treatment than in the NDNM and NDM treatments. The DIs and DSIs of Fusarium wilt for all the cultivars were higher in the NDNM treatment than in the NDM and LDM treatments. However, the DIs and DSIs for Verticillium wilt were lower in the NDNM treatment. Moreover, the seedling fresh weights, average lint yields, and boll numbers per square meter were all highest in the NDM treatment and lowest in the NDNM treatment. The results of this study demonstrated that the use of plastic mulching with a suitable seed sowing date would be an appropriate cultural practice for enhancing cotton production and reducing the severity of cotton seedling and Fusarium wilt disease.

The massive and repetitive application of synthetic insecticides for the management of cotton pests results in the accumulation of resistance in Aphis gossypii Glover, a destructive pest worldwide. New chemistries are needed for pest management. Afidopyropen exhibits high efficacy against piercing-sucking pests and has been applied as a complementary alternative insecticide against aphids. This study was conducted to investigate the lethal and sublethal effects of afidopyropen on the life parameters and physiological responses of A. gossypii. Detoxifying enzyme activities and expression levels of P450 genes were compared after exposure to three generations of afidopyropen. Bioassay results indicate that afidopyropen possessed the highest toxicity, with a LC50 value of 0.30 mg/L. Sublethal concentrations (LC5 and LC10) caused adverse impacts on the F0 generation, reducing adult longevity and fecundity. A high concentration (LC10) also caused adverse effects on the F1 generation, while a low concentration (LC5) stimulated the fecundity. After continuous treatments with afidopyropen, the susceptibility decreased. GSTs and P450 were induced through sublethal concentrations; moreover, their activities in the F3 generation were higher than that in the F0 generation. Furthermore, the expression levels of 12 P450 genes in the F3 generation were higher than those in F0 generation. In conclusion, afidopyropen has excellent acute toxicity and continuous control effects on A. gossypii. GSTs and P450 may play important roles in the resistance of A. gossypii to afidopyropen.

Fluopicolide is a new benzamide fungicide with a unique mechanism of action and is toxic to some non-target organisms. However, there is a lack of research on the chronic toxicity of fluopicolide to earthworms. In this study, in order to evaluate the chronic toxicity of fluopicolide to earthworms, the levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and malondialdehyde (MDA), the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and glutathione S-transferase (GST), and DNA oxidative damage (8-hyoxy-2-deoxyguanosine content) in earthworms were measured at 7, 14, 21, and 28 days after exposure to different concentrations (0, 0.1, 0.5, 1, 2.5, 5, and 10 mg/kg) of fluopicolide. In most treatment groups, the ROS levels increased significantly 7 days after exposure and then decreased gradually with an increase in exposure time, a certain dose–effect relationship. The antioxidant enzymes’ activities (SOD and CAT) in most treatment groups were activated, showing an increasing trend at first and then a decreasing trend; however, the CAT activity in the high-concentration treatment group was inhibited 21 days after exposure. The GST activity and MDA content showed an increasing trend at first and then a decreasing trend, which was dependent on the dose. As a biomarker of DNA damage, the 8-OHdG content was positively correlated with the concentration of fluopicolide. The results showed that a low dose of fluopicolide could cause oxidative stress and DNA damage in earthworms.

Coastal evolutions are expected to have a significant impact on storm tides, disproportionately aggravating coastal flooding. In this study, we utilize a nested storm tide model to provide an integrated investigation of storm tide responses to changes in coastline and bathymetry along the Zhejiang coasts. We selected coastline and bathymetry data from 1980 and 2016, as well as data from three typical typhoon events (i.e., Winnie, Haikui, and Chan-hom) for simulating the storm surge processes. The results indicate that changes in the coastline and bathymetry from 1980 to 2016 have resulted in an increase in storm tides in the northern part and a decrease in the central part of Zhejiang. Specifically, storm tides in Hangzhou Bay have increased significantly, with an average increase of about 0.3 m in the maximum storm tides primarily attributed to coastline changes. On the contrary, in smaller basins like Sanmen Bay, while reclamation itself has reduced peak storm surges, rapid siltation has consequently exacerbated the storm surge. By decomposing storm tides into astronomical tides and storm surges, we discovered that the change in tidal levels was twice as significant as the surge change. Moreover, the nonlinear tide–surge interaction was nearly four times that of the pure surge, significantly contributing to storm surge variation. Alterations in the momentum balance reveal that the water depth-induced bottom friction and wind stress increase contributes to the local enlargement of storm tides at the bay head, while the coastline changes exaggerate nearshore storm tides through an increase in the advection term.

The risk assessment and resistance mechanisms of insecticide resistance are critical for resistance management strategy before a new insecticide is widely used. Triflumezopyrim (TFM) is the first commercialized mesoionic insecticide, which can inhibit nicotinic acetylcholine receptor with high-performance against the small brown planthopper (SBPH), Laodelphax striatellus (Fallén). In our study, the resistance of SBPH to TFM increased 26.29-fold, and the actual heritability of resistance was 0.09 after 21 generations of continuous selection by TFM. After five generations of constant feeding under insecticide-free conditions from F16 generation, the resistance level decreased 2.05-fold, and the average resistance decline rate per generation was 0.01, but there were no statistical decline. The TFM resistant strains had no cross-resistance to imidacloprid, nitenpyram, thiamethoxam, dinotefuran, flonicamid, pymetrozine, and chlorfenapyr. The third and fifth nymphal stage duration, pre-adult stage, adult preoviposition period, longevity, emergence rate, and hatchability of the resistant strain were significantly lower than those of the susceptible strain, while the female-male ratio was considerably increased. The fitness cost was 0.89. Further, cytochrome P450 monooxygenase (P450) and carboxylesterase (CarE) activities were markedly increased, but only the enzyme inhibitor piperonyl butoxide (PBO) had a significant synergistic effect on the resistant strain. The expression of CYP303A1, CYP4CE2, and CYP419A1v2 of P450 genes was significantly increased. SBPH has a certain risk of resistance to TFM with continuous application. The TFM resistance may be due to the increased activity of P450 enzyme regulated by the overexpression of P450 genes.

This paper investigates the leader–follower formation tracking control of underactuated surface vessels (USVs) with input saturation. Each vessel is subject to the uncertainties induced by model uncertainties and environmental disturbances. First, an event-triggered extended-state observer (ETESO) is used to recover the velocity, yaw rate and uncertainties. Then, an estimator is used to estimate the velocity of the leader. An event-triggered controller (ETC) is constructed based on the estimator, the observer and extra variables. Specifically, extra variables are used to solve the problems of underactuation and input saturation. Stability analysis of the control system is conducted to prove that all signals are bounded. Simulations demonstrate that the ETESO can accurately estimate the uncertainties, velocity and yaw rate, and the ETC can largely reduce the action times of actuator.

Monitoring spatiotemporal changes in tidal wetlands under the disturbance of human activities provides a strong basis for coastal wetland protection and restoration. Long-term serial remote sensing images and other historical data were collected and analysed to investigate the distribution of tidal wetlands of Yueqing Bay in 1969, 1981, 1993, 2003, 2013, and 2021, a case study across the past 50 years. The data revealed that human activities cumulatively caused the net loss of approximately 59.62 km2 in area of tidal wetlands during the observation period. Firstly, between 1969 and 1993, reclamation primarily accounted for the variation of the tidal wetlands. Furthermore, between 1993 and 2013, the invasion of Spartina alterniflora and mudflat aquaculture also became important influencing factors. Between 2013 and 2021, development activities eased, and mangrove planting area increased. Over the analysis period, the overall results revealed that the tidal wetlands in Yueqing Bay underwent a transformation process from the relatively simple effects of exploitation by reclamation to the collective influence of combined exploitation and restoration, increasing the overall diversity of Yueqing Bay tidal wetlands over the study period.

In this paper, a neuroadaptive distributed output feedback formation tracking control scheme for multiple marine surface vessels with model uncertainties, unknown environmental disturbances and input and output constraints is proposed. A neural network based observer is developed to reconstruct the unmeasured velocity and approach the model uncertainties. To handle the input constraint, an auxiliary dynamic system is introduced. The tracking error transformation and the barrier Lyapunov function are used to tackle with the output constraint. Subsequently, by using the estimated velocity of neighboring vessels, neuroadaptive distributed output feedback controllers are developed. Furthermore, to avoid directly taking the time derivation of virtual control law and generate smooth reference signals, linear tracking differentiators are employed. Finally, it is shown that all the signals in the closed-loop system are bounded via Lyapunov analysis. Simulations are carried out to verify the proposed control scheme.

Laodelphax striatellus Fallén is one of the main pests that can severely harm rice, corn, and wheat. Insecticides acting on the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) are the main type of pesticides used for the control of L. striatellus in Shandong Province, a major grain-producing region in China. In this study, the rice seedling dipping method was used to determine the sensitivities of six field L. striatellus populations in Shandong to seven insecticides acting on nAChR. The results showed that all the field populations were sensitive to clothianidin, nitenpyram, and triflumezopyrim, and the Jiaxiang population exhibited the lowest resistance ratio (RR) to imidacloprid, dinotefuran, sulfoxaflor, and thiamethoxam. The Donggang population showed a medium-level resistance to imidacloprid, with the highest RR of 17.48-fold. The Yutai population showed low-level resistance to imidacloprid and thiamethoxam, with RRs of 7.23- and 7.02-fold, respectively. The contents of cytochrome P450 monooxygenase (P450s), carboxylesterase (CarE), and glutathione S-transferase (GST) were the highest in the Donggang population and the lowest in the Jiaxiang population. The P450 gene CYP314A1 and the CarE gene LsCarE12 were highly up-regulated in all populations. No mutations of V62I, R81T, and K265E in the nAChR β1 subunit were found in any of the populations. These results provide valuable information for the strategies of resistance management of L. striatellus in the field.

Sea level rise (SLR) due to climate change is expected to alter tidal processes and energy transport, disproportionately affecting coastal communities. Utilizing a nested hydrodynamics model, we provided an integrated investigation of tidal responses to SLR in the Hangzhou Bay (HZB). The scenarios of SLR in the next hundred years count for both non-uniform trends based on historical altimetry data and uniform trends from the latest IPCC projections. In a comparison of model results under different SLR scenarios, we found that the tidal range is amplified by SLR in HZB with stronger amplification at the shallow southern coast. Tidal range change generally increases with the SLR scale; however, neglecting the heterogeneities in the spatial distribution of SLR tends to overestimate the SLR effects. The harmonic analysis illustrates that SLR exaggerates the dominated semidiurnal tides (M2 and S2) but dampens their overtides and compound tides (M4, M6, and MS4), of which M2 amplitude amplification explains 71.2–90.0% of tidal range change. SLR tends to promote tidal energy entering HZB through the Zhoushan Archipelago (ZA) compared to the prototype, while dampened sea-bed roughness and reduced tidal velocity come with a less dissipative environment in HZB, resulting in 6–18% more tidal energy exported upstream. Numerical experiments indicate ZA has significant effects on tidal responses and energy flux generation, therefore, its quantitative influences and physical mechanism are also discussed in this paper.

This paper investigates swarm control for unmanned surface vessels subject to multiple constraints. These constraints can be summarized as model parameter uncertainty, the unavailability of velocity measurements, time-varying environmental disturbances, input saturation and output constraints. Firstly, to recover unmeasured velocity information, to identify unknown vehicle dynamics and to estimate time-varying environmental disturbances, a neural adaptive state observer is designed for each vessel. Secondly, to avoid complex calculations, a second-order linear tracking differentiator is employed to generate a smooth reference signal and to extract the time derivative of the kinematic control law. Thirdly, to solve the input saturation, an auxiliary dynamic system is introduced. Fourthly, the barrier Lyapunov function is used to achieve connectivity preservation, collision avoidance and swarm control. Meanwhile, by using the estimated velocities of vessels, an output feedback controller is designed. The stability of the closed-loop system is proved. The simulation results show the effectiveness of the proposed swarm control strategy.

This paper addresses the distributed swarm control problem of multiple unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) in Euclidean space with virtual leader. Firstly, to investigate the topology of the neighborhood relations between vehicles, a new time-variant topology structure is proposed. Secondly, to research the dynamic properties of the group for the case where the number of virtual leader is different, a grouping method based on cosine similarity is proposed. Thirdly, to ensure the high effeciency of information transmission and the reduction of costs, a distributed swarm control algorithm is proposed, which is mainly composed of three parts: gradient descent term, velocity consensus term and navigational feedback term. To analyze the stability of system, the concept of translation framework is introduced. Based on the properties of the Hamiltonian and LaSalle invariance principle, the stability of multiple USVs swarm motion is proved. Finally, simulation results illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed methods.

This paper addresses multiple task assignment and path-planning problems for a multiple unmanned surface vehicle (USVs) system. Since it is difficult to solve multi-task allocation and path planning together, we divide them into two sub-problems, multiple task allocation and path planning, and study them separately. First, to resolve the multi-task assignment problem, an improved self-organizing mapping (ISOM) is proposed. The method can allocate all tasks in the mission area, and obtain the set of task nodes that each USV needs to access. Second, aiming at the path planning of the USV accessing the task nodes, an improved genetic algorithm (IGA) with the shortest path is proposed. To avoid USV collision during navigation, an artificial potential field function (APFF) is proposed. A multiple USV system with multi-task allocation and path planning is simulated. Simulation results verify the effectiveness of the proposed algorithms.

This paper investigates the formation tracking control problem of a group of underactuated surface vessels (USVs) in the presence of model uncertainties and environmental disturbances. Additional constraints, such as collision avoidance, heterogeneous limited communication range and input saturation are also considered. A modified barrier Lyapunov function (BLF) is introduced to achieve the connectivity preservation, the collision avoidance and the distributed formation tracking. Extended state observer (ESO) is employed to estimate total disturbances consisting of environmental disturbances and model uncertainties. Auxiliary variables are introduced to deal with the underactuated problem and input saturation. A distributed controller is developed for each USV. Using the Lyapunov method analyze the stability of the system, it is proven that all signals are bounded and tracking errors converge to a neighborhood of the origin. Simulation results show that the proposed controller is practicable and effective.

Intensive cooling technology is widely utilized in the production of high-strength hot-rolled steel strip. However, intensive cooling at high cooling rate may cause stress heterogeneity on a steel strip, which further generates great residual stress and influences steel strip shape. In this study, a three-dimensional finite element (FE) model of high-strength low-alloy steel strip on the run-out table coupled with heat transfer, phase transformation, and strain/stress is developed by ABAQUS software. To enhance modeling precision, several experiments are conducted, such as uniaxial tensile test at multiple temperatures, dynamic continuous cooling transformation, and scanning electron microscopy, to determine the material properties and boundary conditions of the FE model. Four new models are established based on this model to reduce the residual stress of strip by modifying the initial and boundary conditions. Results show that reducing the initial transverse temperature difference is the most effective in reducing residual stress, followed by sparse cooling, edge masking, and posterior cooling.

As the most extensively used chemical repellent, N,N-diethyl-3-methylbenzamide (DEET) displayed repellency to a wide range of insects, including the common bed bug, Cimex lectularius. While the neuronal or molecular basis involved in DEET's repellency have been majorly focused on mosquitos and fruit flies, DEET's repellency to the common bed bug is largely unreached. To gain new insights into the cellular and molecular mechanisms in DEET's repellency to the common bed bug, we characterized the neuronal response of bed bugs to DEET, identified the olfactory receptors targeted by DEET and demonstrated the interfering effect of DEET on bed bug's responses to human odorants. High doses of DEET were required for activating the olfactory receptor neurons in the sensilla of bed bugs and at least three DEET-sensitive receptors were functionally deciphered. These DEET-sensitive receptors presented even more sensitive to certain botanical terpenes/terpenoids which also displayed repellency at varying levels for bed bugs. In addition, DEET produced a blocking effect on the neuronal responses of bed bugs to specific human odors and showed inhibitory effect on the function of odorant receptors in responding to certain human odors. Taken together, our results indicate that DEET may function as a stimulus that triggers avoidance behaviors and a molecular “confusant” for interrupting the host odor recognition in the odorant receptors of bed bugs. The receptors that coincidently responded to both synthetic DEET and botanical terpenes/terpenoids suggested that DEET probably target on receptors that originally responded to terpenes/terpenoids. This study gave novel insight into the mechanisms of DEET's repellency to bed bugs and also provided valuable information for developing new reagents for bed bug control.

White spot syndrome virus (WSSV) causes large economic losses to the shrimp aquaculture industry, and thus far there are no efficient therapeutic treatments available against this lethal virus. In this study, we present the development of a novel real time isothermal recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA) assay for WSSV detection on a small ESEQuant Tube Scanner device. The RPA sensitivity, specificity and rapidity were evaluated by using a plasmid standard as well as viral and shrimp genomic DNAs. Compared with qPCR, the RPA assay revealed more satisfactory performance. It reached a detection limit up to 10 molecules in 95% of cases as determined by probit analysis of 8 independent experiments within 6.41 ± 0.17 min at 39 °C. Consequently, this rapid RPA method has great application potential for field use or point of care diagnostics.

Abstract Hepatitis B virus is a globally distributed pathogen and the history of HBV infection in humans predates 10000 years. However, long-term evolutionary history of HBV in Eastern Eurasia remains elusive. We present 34 ancient HBV genomes dating between approximately 5000 to 400 years ago sourced from 17 sites across Eastern Eurasia. Ten sequences have full coverage, and only two sequences have less than 50% coverage. Our results suggest a potential origin of genotypes B and D in Eastern Asia. We observed a higher level of HBV diversity within Eastern Eurasia compared to Western Eurasia between 5000 and 3000 years ago, characterized by the presence of five different genotypes (A, B, C, D, WENBA), underscoring the significance of human migrations and interactions in the spread of HBV. Our results suggest the possibility of a transition from non-recombinant subgenotypes (B1, B5) to recombinant subgenotypes (B2 - B4). This suggests a shift in epidemiological dynamics within Eastern Eurasia over time. Here, our study elucidates the regional origins of prevalent genotypes and shifts in viral subgenotypes over centuries.

Postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) is one of the most common and serious complications of herpes zoster infection. Pulsed radiofrequency (PRF) therapy has emerged to be a neuromodulation technique for the treatment of PHN. Two therapeutic options are available for PRF, including high-voltage and standard-voltage PRF. Some studies suggested that the former one had better clinical efficacy than the latter one. For the first time, this pooled analysis compared the efficacy and safety of these two surgeries for the treatment of PHN. Five commonly used databases were applied to identify the eligible studies. This study was registered on the PROSPERO (ID: CRD42023460236), which provided more relevant information. Finally, four randomized controlled trials (RCTs) with 285 participants were included. The combined odds ratios (OR) showed that high-voltage PRF exhibited a significantly higher treatment efficiency than the standard PRF (OR = 1.4, 95%CI: 1.16 to 1.69, P