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Animal mitochondrial genomes usually exhibit conserved gene arrangement across major lineages, while those in the Hymenoptera are known to possess frequent rearrangements, as are those of several other orders of insects. Here, we sequenced two complete mitochondrial genomes of Trichogramma japonicum and Trichogramma ostriniae (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea: Trichogrammatidae). In total, 37 mitochondrial genes were identified in both species. The same gene arrangement pattern was found in the two species, with extensive gene rearrangement compared with the ancestral insect mitochondrial genome. Most tRNA genes and all protein-coding genes were encoded on the minority strand. In total, 15 tRNA genes and seven protein-coding genes were rearranged. The rearrangements of cox1 and nad2 as well as most tRNA genes were novel. Phylogenetic analysis based on nucleotide sequences of protein-coding genes and on gene arrangement patterns produced identical topologies that support the relationship of (Agaonidae + Pteromalidae) + Trichogrammatidae in Chalcidoidea. CREx analysis revealed eight rearrangement operations occurred from presumed ancestral gene order of Chalcidoidea to form the derived gene order of Trichogramma . Our study shows that gene rearrangement information in Chalcidoidea can potentially contribute to the phylogeny of Chalcidoidea when more mitochondrial genome sequences are available.

Novel neural stimulation protocols mimicking biological signals and patterns have demonstrated significant advantages as compared to traditional protocols based on uniform periodic square pulses. At the same time, the treatments for neural disorders which employ such protocols require the stimulator to be integrated into miniaturized wearable devices or implantable neural prostheses. Unfortunately, most miniaturized stimulator designs show none or very limited ability to deliver biomimetic protocols due to the architecture of their control logic, which generates the waveform. Most such designs are integrated into a single System-on-Chip (SoC) for the size reduction and the option to implement them as neural implants. But their on-chip stimulation controllers are fixed and limited in memory and computing power, preventing them from accommodating the amplitude and timing variances, and the waveform data parameters necessary to output biomimetic stimulation. To that end, a new stimulator architecture is proposed, which distributes the control logic over three component tiers – software, microcontroller firmware and digital circuits of the SoC, which is compatible with existing and future biomimetic protocols and with integration into implantable neural prosthetics. A portable prototype with the proposed architecture is designed and demonstrated in a bench-top test with various known biomimetic output waveforms. The prototype is also tested in vivo to deliver a complex, continuous biomimetic stimulation to a rat model of a spinal-cord injury. By delivering this unique biomimetic stimulation, the device is shown to successfully reestablish the connectivity of the spinal cord post-injury and thus restore motor outputs in the rat model.

Wild ( Bombyx mandarina) and domestic silkworms ( B. mori ) are good models for investigating insect domestication, as 5000 years of artificial breeding and selection have resulted in significant differences between B. mandarina and B. mori . In this study, we improved the genome assemblies to the chromosome level and updated the protein-coding gene annotations for B. mandarina . Based on this updated genome, we identified 68 cytochrome P450 genes in B. mandarina . The cytochrome P450 repository in B. mandarina is smaller than in B. mori . Certain currently unknown key genes, rather than gene number, are critical for insecticide resistance in B. mandarina, which shows greater resistance to insecticides than B. mori . Based on the physical maps of B. mandarina, we located 66 cytochrome P450s on 18 different chromosomes, and 27 of the cytochrome P450 genes were concentrated into seven clusters. KEGG enrichment analysis of the P450 genes revealed the involvement of cytochrome P450 genes in hormone biosynthesis. Analyses of the silk gland transcriptome identified candidate cytochrome P450 genes ( CYP306A ) involved in ecdysteroidogenesis and insecticide metabolism in B. mandarina .

Animal mitochondrial genomes have provided large and diverse datasets for evolutionary studies. Here, the first two representative mitochondrial genomes from the family Pompilidae (Hymenoptera: Vespoidea) were determined using next-generation sequencing. The sequenced region of these two mitochondrial genomes from the species Auplopus sp. and Agenioideus sp. was 16,746 bp long with an A + T content of 83.12% and 16,596 bp long with an A + T content of 78.64%, respectively. In both species, all of the 37 typical mitochondrial genes were determined. The secondary structure of tRNA genes and rRNA genes were predicted and compared with those of other insects. Atypical trnS1 using abnormal anticodons TCT and lacking D-stem pairings was identified. There were 49 helices belonging to six domains in rrnL and 30 helices belonging to three domains in rrns present. Compared with the ancestral organization, four and two tRNA genes were rearranged in mitochondrial genomes of Auplopus and Agenioideus, respectively. In both species, trnM was shuffled upstream of the trnI-trnQ-trnM cluster, and trnA was translocated from the cluster trnA-trnR-trnN-trnS1-trnE-trnF to the region between nad1 and trnL1, which is novel to the Vespoidea. In Auplopus, the tRNA cluster trnW-trnC-trnY was shuffled to trnW-trnY-trnC. Phylogenetic analysis within Vespoidea revealed that Pompilidae and Mutillidae formed a sister lineage, and then sistered Formicidae. The genomes presented in this study have enriched the knowledge base of molecular markers, which is valuable in respect to studies about the gene rearrangement mechanism, genomic evolutionary processes and phylogeny of Hymenoptera.

This article is the 15th contribution in the Fungal Diversity Notes series, wherein 115 taxa from three phyla, nine classes, 28 orders, 48 families, and 64 genera are treated. Fungal taxa described and illustrated in the present study include a new family, five new genera, 61 new species, five new combinations, one synonym, one new variety and 31 records on new hosts or new geographical distributions. Ageratinicolaceae fam. nov. is introduced and accommodated in Pleosporales. The new genera introduced in this study are Ageratinicola , Kevinia , Pseudomultiseptospora (Parabambusicolaceae), Marasmiellomycena , and Vizzinia (Porotheleaceae). Newly described species are Abrothallus altoandinus , Ageratinicola kunmingensis , Allocryptovalsa aceris , Allophoma yuccae , Apiospora cannae , A. elliptica , A. pallidesporae , Boeremia wisteriae , Calycina papaeana , Clypeococcum lichenostigmoides , Coniochaeta riskali-shoyakubovii , Cryphonectria kunmingensis , Diaporthe angustiapiculata , D. campylandrae , D. longipapillata , Diatrypella guangdongense , Dothiorella franceschinii , Endocalyx phoenicis , Epicoccum terminosporum , Fulvifomes karaiensis , F. pannaensis , Ganoderma ghatensis , Hysterobrevium baoshanense , Inocybe avellaneorosea , I. lucida , Jahnula oblonga , Kevinia lignicola , Kirschsteiniothelia guangdongensis , Laboulbenia caprina , L. clavulata , L. cobiae , L. cosmodisci , L. nilotica , L. omalii , L. robusta , L. similis , L. stigmatophora , Laccaria rubriporus , Lasiodiplodia morindae , Lyophyllum agnijum , Marasmiellomycena pseudoomphaliiformis , Melomastia beihaiensis , Nemania guangdongensis , Nigrograna thailandica , Nigrospora ficuum , Oxydothis chinensis , O. yunnanensis , Petriella thailandica , Phaeoacremonium chinensis , Phialocephala chinensis , Phytophthora debattistii , Polyplosphaeria nigrospora , Pronectria loweniae , Seriascoma acutispora , Setoseptoria bambusae , Stictis anomianthi , Tarzetta tibetensis , Tarzetta urceolata , Tetraploa obpyriformis , Trichoglossum beninense , and Tricoderma pyrrosiae . We provide an emendation for Urnula ailaoshanensis Agaricus duplocingulatoides var. brevisporus introduced as a new variety based on morphology and phylogeny.

Outburst floods caused by breaches of landslide dams may cause serious damages and loss of lives in downstream areas; for this reason the study of the dynamic of the process is of particular interest for hazard and risk assessment. In this paper we report a field-scale landslide dam failure experiment conducted in Nantou County, in the central of Taiwan.The seismic signal generated during the dam failure was monitored using a broadband seismometer and the signal was used to study the dam failure process.We used the short-time Fourier transform（STFT） to obtain the time–frequency characteristics of the signal and analyzed the correlation between the power spectrum density（PSD） of the signal and the water level. The results indicate that the seismic signal generated during the process consisted of three components： a low-frequency band（0–1.5 Hz）, an intermediate-frequency band（1.5–10 Hz） and a highfrequency band（10–45 Hz）. We obtained the characteristics of each frequency band and the variations of the signal in various stages of the landslide dam failure process. We determined the cause for the signal changes in each frequency band and its relationship with the dam failure process. The PSD sediment flux estimation model was used to interpret the causes of variations in the signal energy before the dam failure and the clockwise hysteresis during the failure. Our results show that the seismic signal reflects the physical characteristics of the landslide dam failure process. The method and equipment used in this study may be used to monitor landslide dams and providing early warnings for dam failures.

Neuronal pyroptosis serves an important role in the progress of neurologic dysfunction following subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), which is predominantly caused by a ruptured aneurysm. Hydrogen gas has been previously reported to be an effective anti-inflammatory agent against ischemia-associated diseases by regulating mitochondrial function. The objective of the present study was to investigate the potential neuroprotective effects of hydrogen gas post-conditioning against neuronal pyroptosis after SAH, with specific focus on the mitochondrial ATP-sensitive [K.sup.+] (mito[K.sub.ATP]) channels. Following SAH induction by endovascular perforation, rats were treated with inhalation of 2.9% hydrogen gas for 2 h post-perforation. Neurologic deficits, brain water content, reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels, neuronal pyroptosis, phosphorylation of ERK1/2, p38 MAPK and pyroptosis-associated proteins IL-1[beta] and IL-18 were evaluated 24 h after perforation by a modified Garcia method, ratio of wet/dry weight, 2',7'-dichlorofluorescin diacetate, immunofluorescence and western blot assays, respectively. An inhibitor of the mito[K.sub.ATP] channel, 5-hydroxydecanoate sodium (5-HD), was used to assess the potential role of the mito[K.sub.ATP]-ERK1/2-p38 MAPK signal pathway. Hydrogen gas post-conditioning significantly alleviated brain edema and improved neurologic function, reduced ROS production and neuronal pyroptosis, suppressed the expression of IL-1[beta] and IL-18 whilst upregulating ERK1/2 phosphorylation, but downregulated p38 MAPK activation 24 h post-SAH. These aforementioned effects neuroprotective were partially reversed by 5-HD treatment. Therefore, these observations suggest that post-conditioning with hydrogen gas ameliorated SAH-induced neuronal pyroptosis at least in part through the mito[K.sub.ATP]/ ERK 1/2/p38 MAPK signaling pathway. Key words: hydrogen gas, post-conditioning, pyroptosis, subarachnoid hemorrhage, mitochondrial ATP-sensitive potassium channel

Neuronal pyroptosis serves an important role in the progress of neurologic dysfunction following subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), which is predominantly caused by a ruptured aneurysm. Hydrogen gas has been previously reported to be an effective anti-inflammatory agent against ischemia-associated diseases by regulating mitochondrial function. The objective of the present study was to investigate the potential neuroprotective effects of hydrogen gas post-conditioning against neuronal pyroptosis after SAH, with specific focus on the mitochondrial ATP-sensitive K+ (mitoKATP) channels. Following SAH induction by endovascular perforation, rats were treated with inhalation of 2.9% hydrogen gas for 2 h post-perforation. Neurologic deficits, brain water content, reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels, neuronal pyroptosis, phosphorylation of ERK1/2, p38 MAPK and pyroptosis-associated proteins IL-1β and IL-18 were evaluated 24 h after perforation by a modified Garcia method, ratio of wet/dry weight, 2',7'-dichlorofluorescin diacetate, immunofluorescence and western blot assays, respectively. An inhibitor of the mitoKATP channel, 5-hydroxydecanoate sodium (5-HD), was used to assess the potential role of the mitoKATP-ERK1/2-p38 MAPK signal pathway. Hydrogen gas post-conditioning significantly alleviated brain edema and improved neurologic function, reduced ROS production and neuronal pyroptosis, suppressed the expression of IL-1β and IL-18 whilst upregulating ERK1/2 phosphorylation, but downregulated p38 MAPK activation 24 h post-SAH. These aforementioned effects neuroprotective were partially reversed by 5-HD treatment. Therefore, these observations suggest that post-conditioning with hydrogen gas ameliorated SAH-induced neuronal pyroptosis at least in part through the mitoKATP/ERK1/2/p38 MAPK signaling pathway.

This study was to investigate the responses of phospholipase D（PLD） and lipoxygenase（LOX） to mechanical wounding in postharvest cucumber（Cucumis sativus L.cv.Biyu-2） fruits.Membrane-associated Ca2＋ content,activities and gene expression of PLD and LOX,and contents of phosphatidylcholine（PC）,phosphatidylinositol（PI）,and phosphatidic acid（PA） were determined in cucumber fruits following mechanical wounding.Results show that PLD and LOX activities increased with the PLD and LOX mRNAs which are upregulated upon wounding,while membrane-associated Ca^2＋ content decreased.Accompanying with the increase of PLD and LOX activities,accumulation of PA and losses of PC and PI were observed in all fruits,but there were differences of degrees between wounded and control fruits.Results suggest that PLD and LOX might be the main hydrolytic enzymes of phospholipids in postharvest cucumber fruits participating in the mechanical wounding injury.The activation of PLD and LOX might be the result of gene expression,which could be This study was to investigate the responses of phospholipase D（PLD） and lipoxygenase（LOX） to mechanical wounding in postharvest cucumber（Cucumis sativus L.cv.Biyu-2） fruits.Membrane-associated Ca^2＋ content,activities and gene expression of PLD and LOX,and contents of phosphatidylcholine（PC）,phosphatidylinositol（PI）,and phosphatidic acid（PA） were determined in cucumber fruits following mechanical wounding.Results show that PLD and LOX activities increased with the PLD and LOX mRNAs which are upregulated upon wounding,while membrane-associated Ca2＋ content decreased.Accompanying with the increase of PLD and LOX activities,accumulation of PA and losses of PC and PI were observed in all fruits,but there were differences of degrees between wounded and control fruits.Results suggest that PLD and LOX might be the main hydrolytic enzymes of phospholipids in postharvest cucumber fruits participating in the mechanical wounding injury.The activation of PLD and LOX might be the result of gene expression,which could be stimulated by the Ca^2＋ flowing from the membrane to the cytoplasm upon receiving the wounding signals.