High prevalence of NTDs in Shanxi Province: a combined epidemiological approach

BACKGROUND: Shanxi Province has historically reported a high prevalence of NTDs. In order to establish baseline rates for NTDs and discuss the risk factors associated with sociodemographic, maternal characteristics, and geographic factors, we performed the present study using an approach combining population and hospital-based methodologies. METHODS: We used chi(2) and Fisher's exact tests to evaluate variation in the prevalence by selected covariates and computed crude ORs and 95% CIs. Adjusted odds ratios (AORs) were performed using logistic regression with all the covariates included in the model. RESULTS: The overall NTD prevalence during the 3 year study period was 199.38 per 10,000 births, with a higher NTD prevalence clustered in 46 villages within this geographic area. However, no statistical significance was found between NTD prevalence and the elevation of the villages or their distance from coal plants. AORs revealed women aged 20 and above had a lower risk of NTDs compared to those younger than 20 (AOR range 0.4-0.5). A higher risk of NTDs was observed among female infants (AOR 1.50; 95% CI: 1.04-2.17), women with four or more previous births (AOR 2.80; 95% CI: 1.20-6.52), and a previous history of birth defects (AOR 3.23; 95% CI: 1.46-7.12). CONCLUSIONS: This study has documented a high prevalence of NTDs in Shanxi. Similar variations to other reports were found in the risk of NTDs by maternal demographic characteristics and a clustering of NTDs in certain villages that require further exploration.     

The Landscape of Liver Chromatin Accessibility and Conserved Non-coding Elements in Larimichthys crocea,Nibea albiflora,and Lateolabrax maculatus

Marine Biotechnology - Large yellow croaker (Larimichthys crocea), yellow drum (Nibea albiflora), and Chinese seabass (Lateolabrax maculatus) are important economic marine fishes in China. The...     

Distribution characteristics of ammonia-oxidizing microorganisms and their responses to external nitrogen and carbon in sediments of a freshwater reservoir,China

Aquatic Ecology - Ammonia oxidation driven by ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) and bacteria (AOB) plays a significant role in the nitrogen cycle, but the mechanism of this important action...     

The genetic drivers for the successful invasive potential of a generalist bird,the House crow

Biological Invasions - What kind of genetic structure helps the rapid range expansion of the invasive species is fundamental to understand spread of invasion. The House crow (Corvus splendens), an...     

Oncogenic GBX2 promotes the malignant behaviors of bladder cancer cells by binding to the ITGA5 promoter and activating its transcription

Functional & Integrative Genomics - In bladder cancer patients, metastasis after surgical resection and serious adverse reactions brought by cisplatin-based systemic chemotherapy make it urgent...     

Evolution of chromosome number in grasshoppers (Orthoptera: Caelifera: Acrididae)

Organisms Diversity & Evolution - Orthoptera have some of the largest genomes of all insects. At the same time, the architecture of their genomes remains poorly understood. Comparative...     

马尾松与乡土阔叶树种凋落叶混合分解过程中全碳释放的动态变化

为了调整低山丘陵区低效林林分结构,探明马尾松（Pinus massoniana Lamb.）与乡土阔叶树种凋落叶混合分解过程中的全碳（C）释放规律。本研究以华南广泛分布的马尾松、檫木（Sassafras tzumu（Hemsl.） Hemsl）、香樟（Cinnamomum camphora（Linn） Presl）以及香椿（Toona sinensis（A. Juss.） Roem.）凋落叶为研究对象,将这4个树种凋落叶按照不同树种搭配以及混合比例组合为35个处理后进行野外分解实验,探讨C释放最佳的凋落叶树种组合以及混合比例。研究发现：4个单一树种凋落叶之间,香椿凋落叶的C释放最快,檫木和香樟凋落叶次之,马尾松凋落叶最慢。31个混合凋落叶中,C释放的非加和效应随着分解时间的延长表现出先升增强后减弱的趋势,且相对于其他季节,凋落叶在秋季的非加和效应有所减弱。一针一阔树种组合中,香樟凋落叶占比≥30%的处理：PC73和PC64的协同效应较强;一针两阔和一针三阔组合中,阔叶占比≥30%且含有香椿凋落叶的处理：PST613和712、PCT631和613、PSCT7111和6121的协同效应较强。     

中国25个蕨类植物名称原白中排印错误之更正

根据《国际藻类、菌物和植物命名法规》（深圳法规）规则9.2的精神,对我国25个蕨类植物名称的原白中指定的主模式标本错误做了更正,这些植物名称是粤里白、峨眉里白、云南姬蕨、阔基凤丫蕨、川西蹄盖蕨、无盖蹄盖蕨、贡山蹄盖蕨、哈巴蹄盖蕨、假轴果蹄盖蕨、大盖蹄盖蕨、金佛山蛾眉蕨、城口假冷蕨、墨脱红线蕨、镰羽复叶耳蕨、离脉柳叶蕨、弓羽柳叶蕨、木坪贯众、秦岭贯众、强壮鳞毛蕨、西天目鳞毛蕨、百山祖鳞毛蕨、离柄沙皮蕨、毛根蕨、长柄线蕨和长瓦韦。     

果生刺盘孢效应蛋白CfEC92靶向Mal d 1j抑制苹果免疫

由果生刺盘孢引起的炭疽叶枯病是我国苹果产区的重要病害。果生刺盘孢在侵染苹果过程中分泌效应蛋白CfEC92促进其侵染,但其作用机制仍不清楚。本研究从苹果cDNA中克隆出Mal d 1j蛋白,结构域及氨基酸序列分析显示,Mal d 1j为PR10家族成员。Mal d 1j基因过表达能显著增强苹果对炭疽叶枯病抗性,而沉默Mal d 1j显著降低其抗性。在烟草中过表达Mal d 1j提高烟草抗性,共表达CfEC92和Mal d 1j蛋白,降低Mal d 1j对疫霉菌抗性。通过酵母双杂交、BIFC和Co-IP分析证明CfEC92与Mal d 1j可以发生直接互作,且其互作定位于细胞膜和细胞核,表明CfEC92 通过与Mal d 1j互作影响植物免疫。本研究揭示了果生刺盘孢效应蛋白CfEC92通过靶向Mal d 1j抑制植物免疫促进其侵染的分子机制,为苹果炭疽叶枯病防控提供了新的思路。