A new genus and a new species of the tribe Haplotropidini Sergeev (Orthoptera: Acridoidea, Pamphagidae, Pamphaginae) with a key to the three genera of the tribe from China

This paper reports a new genus and a species of the tribe Haplotropidini Sergeev, 1995, i.e. Sulcohumpacris Yin, Yin et Cao gen. n. and Sulcohumpacris hebeiensis Yin, Yin et Cao sp. n. from Hebei Province, China. The new genus is similar to Humphaplotropis Xiao, Yin et Yin, 2013, but differs from the latter by the hump-formed pronotum along the median keel being deeply cut by hind sulcus and hence divided in two waves in lateral view, the anterior margin being acutely angular in the middle, the apex not reaching the hindmargin of the eyes, the frontal ridge being widened at the median ocellus, and the abdomen having large teeth along the median keel in lateral view. A key to the three genera of this Chinese tribe is given. The type specimens are deposited in the Museum of Hebei University, Baoding, China

A new species of Mongolotettix Rehn, 1928 from Henan, China (Orthoptera: Acridoidea, Acrididae)

A new species of the genus Mongolotettix Rehn, 1928 from Henan, China is described. The new species, Mongolotettix tongbaishanensis Yin, Ji et Dai sp. n. is similar to M. shanxiensis Shi, Liu et Li, 2016, but differs from the latter by shorter tegmina of male, which reach the hind margin of the 6th abdominal tergite, the maximumwidth of cubital area being 1.2 times wider than the maximum width of the medial area, the prozona of male being 1.5 times longer than the metazona, the tegmina of female being short, extending slightly over the hind margin of the 1st abdominal tergite, the length of tegmina being 2.5 times longer than its maximum width, the epiphallus being wider than high, and the length of the upper ovipositor valve being 4.4 times longer than its maximum width

Neutrophil heterogeneity and aging: implications for COVID-19 and wound healing

Neutrophils play a critical role in the immune response to infection and tissue injury. However, recent studies have shown that neutrophils are a heterogeneous population with distinct subtypes that differ in their functional properties. Moreover, aging can alter neutrophil function and exacerbate immune dysregulation. In this review, we discuss the concept of neutrophil heterogeneity and how it may be affected by aging. We then examine the implications of neutrophil heterogeneity and aging for COVID-19 pathogenesis and wound healing. Specifically, we summarize the evidence for neutrophil involvement in COVID-19 and the potential mechanisms underlying neutrophil recruitment and activation in this disease. We also review the literature on the role of neutrophils in the wound healing process and how aging and neutrophil heterogeneity may impact wound healing outcomes. Finally, we discuss the potential for neutrophil-targeted therapies to improve clinical outcomes in COVID-19 and wound healing

A comparative study of virus nucleic acid re-positive and non-re-positive patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant strain in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region

ObjectiveThis study aimed to provide a basis for epidemic prevention and control measures as well as the management of re-positive personnel by analyzing and summarizing the characteristics of re-positive patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Delta variant infections discharged from a hospital in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region in 2021.MethodsThis case-control study included a total of 45 patients with Delta variant infections diagnosed in the Fourth People's Hospital of the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region between October 17 and November 28, 2021. Based on the nucleic acid test results post-discharge, the patients were dichotomized into re-positive and non-re-positive groups. Based on the time of the first re-positive test, the re-positive group was further divided into <7 and ≥7 days groups to compare their clinical characteristics and explore the possible influencing factors of this re-positivity.ResultsOf the 45 total patients, 16 were re-positive (re-positivity rate: 35.6%), including four patients who were re-positive after 2 weeks (re-positivity rate: 8.8%). The median time of the first re-positive after discharge was 7 days (IQR: 14-3). The re-positive group was younger than the non-re-positive group (35 vs. 53, P < 0.05), had a higher proportion of patients who were not receiving antiviral therapy (56.2 vs. 17.2%, P < 0.05). The median CT value of nucleic acid in the re-positive group was considerably greater than that at admission (36.7 vs. 22.6 P < 0.05). The findings demonstrated that neutralizing antibody treatment significantly raised the average IgG antibody level in patients, particularly in those who had not received COVID-19 vaccine (P < 0.05). The median lowest nucleic acid CT value of the ≥7 days group during the re-positive period and the immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibody level at discharge were lower than those in the <7 days group (P < 0.05). When compared to the non-positive group, patients in the ≥7 days group had a higher median virus nucleic acid CT value (27.1 vs. 19.2, P < 0.05) and absolute number of lymphocytes at admission (1,360 vs. 952, P < 0.05), and a lower IgG antibody level at discharge (P < 0.05).ConclusionsIn conclusion, this study found that: (1) The re-positivity rate of SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant infection in this group was 35.6%, while the re-positivity rate was the same as that of the original strain 2 weeks after discharge (8.0%). (2) Young people, patients who did not use antiviral therapy or had low IgG antibody levels at discharge were more likely to have re-positive. And the CT value of nucleic acid at the time of initial infection was higher in re-positive group. We speculated that the higher the CT value of nucleic acid at the time of initial infection, the longer the intermittent shedding time of the virus. (3) Re-positive patients were asymptomatic. The median CT value of nucleic acid was > 35 at the re-positive time, and the close contacts were not detected as positive. The overall transmission risk of re-positive patients is low

MiR-4319 Suppress the Malignancy of Triple-Negative Breast Cancer by Regulating Self-Renewal and Tumorigenesis of Stem Cells

Background/Aims: High levels of cancer stem cells (CSCs) in patients with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) correlate with risk of poor clinical outcome and possibly contribute to chemoresistance and metastasis in patients with highly malignant TNBC. Aberrant microRNA expression is associated with the dysfunction of self-renewal and proliferation in cancer stem cells, while there is little information about the TNBC-specific microRNAs in regulating CSC ability. Methods: Solexa deep sequencing was performed to detect the expression levels of TNBC or non-TNBC stem cells (CSCs) microRNAs. Mammosphere formation assay, qRT-PCR and the xenograft model in nude mice were performed. Bioinformatic analysis and microarray were used to select the target gene, and luciferase reporter assays were used to confirm the binding sites. Results: Solexa sequencing data exhibited differential expression of 193 microRNAs between TNBC and non-TNBC stem cells. The gene ontology analysis and pathways analyses showed that genes were involved in the maintenance of stemness. MiR-4319 could suppress the self-renewal and formation of tumorspheres in TNBC CSCs through E2F2, and also inhibited tumor initiation and metastasis in vivo. Moreover, increased E2F2 could reverse the effect of miR-4319 on the self-renewal in TNBC CSCs. Conclusions: MiR-4319 suppresses the malignancy of TNBC by regulating self-renewal and tumorigenesis of stem cells and might be a remarkable prognostic factor or therapeutic target for patients with TNBC

Electrocatalytic oxidation of ethanol on Pt/nanoTiO(2)-CNT complex catalysts

Pt/nanoTiO(2)-CNT complex catalysts were prepared by direct hydrolysis of Ti(OEt)(4) and electrochemical scan electrodepositing method. The results of XRD and SEM showed that the nanoTiO(2) (anatase) and Pt nanoparticles (size about 5 similar to 10 nm) were dispersed uniformly on CNT film surface. The electrocatalytic activity of Pt/nanoTiO(2)-CNT electrode was investigated by cyclic voltammetry and chronopotentiogram. The results indicated that Pt/nanoTiO(2)- CNT electrode (Pt loading was 0.32 mg . cm(-2)) exhibited high electrochemical activity surface area (51.8 m2. g(-1)) and very high electrocatalytic activity and stability for the electro-oxidation of ethanol at room temperature in atmosphere pressure. The oxidation peak potentials of ethanol were 0.59, 0.96, and 0.24 V, and the corresponding oxidation peak current sdensities were - 115, -113, and -75 mA . cm(-2). The high electrocatalytic activity and good stability can be attributed to the synergistic catalytic effect among nanocomposite