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Elevated atmospheric CO2 (eCO2) and increased nitrogen (N) fertilization significantly change the nutritional quality of plants and influence the growth and development of insects. However, little is known about plant metabolism and plant-insect interactions under eCO2 and increased N fertilization, especially C4 plants. Thus, the combined effects of eCO2 and increased N fertilization on maize- Ostrinia furnacalis interactions were tested in this study. Our data demonstrated that both eCO2 and increased N fertilization increased starch content, while increased N fertilization promoted the N content in maize. The combined effects of eCO2 and increased N fertilization did not influence the total non-structural carbohydrates (TNC):N ratio in maize. The jasmonic acid level of maize was enhanced by increased N fertilization and O. furnacalis infestation. The total phenolics content and defensive enzyme activities of maize increased under eCO2, increased N fertilization and O. furnacalis infestation. Protective enzyme activities were enhanced, while digestive enzyme activities, mean relative growth rate, body mass and efficiency of conversion of ingested food decreased for O. furnacalis feeding on maize grown under eCO2 and increased N fertilization. Therefore, eCO2 and increased N fertilization increased starch and N accumulation, and did not influence the TNC:N ratio, however, eCO2 and N promoted the resistance-related secondary metabolites (with or without O. furnacalis induced) of maize, which ultimately decreased the fitness of O. furnacalis to the host. These results will help to better understand the metabolic mechanisms of plants and the plant-insect interaction under eCO2 and increased N fertilization in the context of future climate change scenarios.

The Western flower thrips, Frankliniella occidentalis Pergande (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) is an invasive polyphagous pest with an expanding global range that damages a wide variety of crops. F. occidentalis was first reported in China from Yunnan province during 2000, and has rapidly expanded its range since then. It is currently distributed across at least 10 provinces in China and has become a particularly devastating pest, causing substantial damage and economic losses. At present, the still heavy reliance on frequent use of insecticides for control of F. occidentalis, has lead to a series of ecological problems stemming from insecticide resistance, interspecific displacement and non-target effects. Thus, integrated pest management (IPM) programmes, multiple complementary tactics, including preventive tactics, biological controls, and judicious use of insecticides will likely provide a viable IPM strategy for control of F. occidentalis in the near future. This review provides an overview for information gained during the 10+ years since the invasion of F. occidentalis into China, reviews lessons that have been learned enhancing our overall understanding of the biology and ecology of F. occidentalis and discusses IPM practices relative to this widespread invasive insect pest.

Companion planting is a well-known strategy to manage insect pests and support a natural enemy population through vegetative diversification. Trap cropping is one such type of special companion planting strategy that is traditionally used for insect pest management through vegetative diversification used to attract insect pests away from the main crops during a critical time period by providing them an alternative preferred choice. Trap crops not only attract the insects for feeding and oviposition, but also act as a sink for any pathogen that may be a vector. Considerable research has been conducted on different trap crops as companion plant species to develop improved pest management strategies. Despite this, little consensus exists regarding optimal trap cropping systems for diverse pest management situations. An advantage of trap cropping over an artificially released natural enemy-based biological control could be an attractive remedy for natural enemies in cropping systems. Besides, many trap crop species can conserve natural enemies. This secondary effect of attracting natural enemies may be an advantage compared to the conventional means of pest control. However, this additional consideration requires a more knowledge-intensive background to designing an effective trap cropping system. We have provided information based on different trap crops as companion plant, their functions and an updated list of trap cropping applications to attract insect pests and natural enemies that should be proven as helpful in future trap cropping endeavors.

Objective To explore the effects of long-term oral ACEIs/ARBs on the incidence of exacerbation and in-hospital mortality in elderly COVID-19 Omicron BA.2 patients with hypertension, especially patients aged 80 years or older. Materials and methods In this retrospective study, patients suffering mild and rcommon COVID-19 with hypertension who were hospitalized in the Shanghai Fourth People’s Hospital between April 2022 and June 2022 were enrolled. Primary outcomes included the incidence of exacerbation and in-hospital mortality. Secondary outcomes included the incidence of respiratory failure of patients, use of mechanical ventilation, nucleic acid conversion time (NCT), hospitalization costs, and the temporal trend of the incidence of exacerbations and in-hospital mortality in different age groups. The data were analysed using propensity score weighting (PSW). Results In the entire cohort, there were 298 ACEI/ARB users and 465 non-ACEI/ARB users. The ACEI/ARB group showed a lower incidence of exacerbation (OR = 0.64, 95% CI for OR: 0.46–0.89, P  = 0.0082) and lower in-hospital mortality (OR = 0.49, 95% CI for OR: 0.27–0.89, P  = 0.0201) after PSW. Sensitivity analysis obtained the same results. The results of the subgroup of patients aged 80 years and older obtained a similar conclusion as the whole cohort. Most of the study indicators did not differ statistically significantly in the subgroup of patients aged 60 to 79 years except for rates of mechanical ventilation and respiratory failure. Conclusion Antihypertensive therapy with ACEIs/ARBs might reduce the incidence of exacerbation and in-hospital mortality. The findings of this study support the use of ACEIs/ARBs in COVID-19 patients infected by Omicron BA.2, especially in patients aged 80 years or older with hypertension.

The most severe outcome of the widespread interspecific competition that occurs between invasive organisms and their local congeners is species displacement. The western flower thrips, Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande), which originated from western North America, has invaded much of the agricultural world since the 1970s, and in so doing, has become a dominant thrips species in many of the areas it has invaded. Its invasion success and the extent of its distribution in the regions it has invaded can be largely attributed to its superiority in interspecific competition. In some instances, however, F. occidentalis has been less successful in its invasion attempts and has not become dominant in its new environment. Thrips species displacements often arise from interactions of different mechanisms that are mediated by numerous biotic and abiotic factors. In this review, we summarize competitive interaction events that have been documented between F. occidentalis and several species of other locally present thrips, their interaction mechanisms and mediating factors. This review will help to better understand displacement events of thrips species in some areas and to develop management strategies for thrips species with high invasion potential.

Among 28 isolates of Beauveria bassiana tested for virulence against F. occidentalis in laboratory bioassays, we found strain SZ-26 as the most potent, causing 96% mortality in adults at 1×10(7) mL(-1)conidia after 4 days. The effect of the strain SZ-26 on survival, longevity and fecundity of the predatory mite Neoseiulus (Amblyseius) barkeri Hughes were studied under laboratory conditions. The bioassay results showed that the corrected mortalities were less than 4 and 8% at 10 days following inoculation of the adult and the larvae of the predator, respectively, with 1×10(7) conidia mL(-1) of SZ-26. Furthermore, no fungal hyphae were found in dead predators. The oviposition and postoviposition durations, longevity, and fecundity displayed no significant differences after inoculation with SZ-26 using first-instar larvae of F. occidentalis as prey in comparison with untreated predator. In contrast, the preoviposition durations were significantly longer. Observations with a scanning electron microscope, revealed that many conidia were attached to the cuticles of F. occidentalis at 2 h after treatment with germ tubes oriented toward cuticle at 24 h, penetration of the insect cuticle at 36 h, and finally, fungal colonization of the whole insect body at 60 h. In contrast, we never observed penetration of the predator's cuticle and conidia were shed gradually from the body, further demonstrating that B. bassiana strain SZ-26 show high toxicity against F. occidentalis but no pathogenicity to predatory mite.

Objective To explore the differences of the risk of complications, functional rehabilitation, and hospitalization expenses between the ischemic stroke patients cared by their families or orderlies. Methods This was a retrospective cohort study. We collected a total of 443 patients with ischemic stroke. According to the different types of nursing staff, they were divided into family caregiving group and orderly caregiving group. Propensity Score Weighting (PSW) method was used to balance the baseline; The weighted logistic regression model was used to analyze the risk of pulmonary, urinary tract infection, diarrhea, falls, and pressure ulcer in different groups of patients. The functional rehabilitation indicators, including the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score, Barthel score, muscle strength grade and hospitalization cost before discharge, were compared between the two groups by means of independent samples t test or Wilcoxon rank sum test, depending on the distribution characteristics of the data. P value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results ①There were no significant differences in the incidence of pulmonary, urinary tract infection, diarrhea and fall between the two groups. The family caregiving group had a lower risk of developing pressure ulcer. ②The proportion of patients with upper limb muscle strength of grade 3 or above in the family caregiving group (90.60%) was higher than that in the orderly caregiving group (82.26%). ③The hospitalization expenses of the family caregiving group, and the average daily hospitalization expenses were higher than those of the orderly caregiving group, respectively. Conclusion Family caregiving is a protective factor for pressure ulcer in ischemic stroke patients.The patients in the family caregiving group had better upper limb muscle strength.

Background Understanding the impact of environmental factors on physical activity (PA) and physical fitness (PF) is crucial for promoting a healthy lifestyle among children and adolescents. This study examines how awareness of sports policies, school, family, and community environments influence PA and PF in Chinese youth. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted with 2747 children and adolescents (mean age 12.90 ± 2.49; 48.2% male) from 17 schools across five Chinese cities. Environmental factors were assessed via questionnaires, and PA levels were measured using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short Form (IPAQ-SF). PF metrics, including BMI, waist-to-height ratio, grip strength, vertical jump, and 20-m shuttle run test (20-mSRT), were measured onsite. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was used to explore relationships between environmental factors and PA/PF outcomes. Results The school environment scored highest (78.0 ± 9.5), while the community environment scored lowest (38.7 ± 18.0). Family environment positively influenced low-intensity PA (LPA) (β = 0.102, P  < 0.001) but negatively affected moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) (β = -0.055, P  = 0.035). Community environment and awareness of sports policies positively impacted MVPA (β = 0.216, P  < 0.001; β = 0.072, P  = 0.009, respectively). Family environment positively influenced BMI reduction (β = -0.103, P  < 0.001) but negatively affected grip strength (β = -0.063, P  = 0.018). Community environment improved grip strength and 20-mSRT performance (β = 0.088, P  = 0.002; β = 0.065, P  = 0.027). Conclusions School environments, despite high scores, do not significantly impact PA and PF. Community environments, though scoring lower, positively affect MVPA, grip strength, and 20-mSRT. Awareness of sports policies boosts MVPA, while family environments support LPA and BMI but are inversely related to MVPA and grip strength. Integrated strategies involving community infrastructure, family support, and policy awareness are essential for promoting active lifestyles among children and adolescents.

(Bagrall 1913) (MTU) is a major pest of cowpea ( (L.) Walp.) and shows a strong preference for floral tissues. To clarify the spatiotemporal distribution of thrips, we conducted a detailed survey of their abundance in flowers of different developmental stages-sampled in the morning (preanthesis flowers, PAF; open flowers, OPF; postanthesis flowers, PoAF) and at dusk (preanthesis flowers scheduled to open the next morning, PAF-D; closed flowers, CF). Behavioral responses of MTU to floral volatiles from these stages were evaluated using a Y-tube olfactometer, followed by chemical analysis via gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The results indicate that 58.3% of adults sheltered in keel petals, while 76.7% of nymphs aggregated inside the diadelphous stamens. Thrips abundance on OPF in the morning was significantly higher than on PAF or PoAF, but did not differ significantly from that on CF. Olfactometric assays demonstrated a clear preference of MTU for OPF, which emitted a greater number and higher concentrations of volatile compounds compared to PAF, PAF-D, CF, and PoAF. Together, these findings reveal distinct spatiotemporal dynamics of thrips in relation to cowpea flower development, underscoring the role of floral age in driving host-switching behavior.

Tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV), belonging to the genus Orthotospovirus, is a significant pathogen through its infection of economically vital crops including tomato, tobacco, pepper, and other species worldwide. Given its substantial influence on the agricultural industry, in-depth research on TSWV is of great necessity. Several studies have been conducted on the dinucleotide preference of TSWV previously; however, the information regarding codon usage bias (CUB) and the virus’s adaptive evolution remains inconclusive. Here, a thorough analysis of TSWV was performed by utilizing five protein-coding sequences in order to investigate the characteristics of CUB. It has been observed that the TSWV protein-coding sequences are AU-rich, and codons ending with A or U are also preferred in these sequences. A consistently stable and preserved genomic composition characterized by a lower codon usage preference was also observed. Principal Component Analysis (PCA), neutrality analysis, and ENC-plot indicated that, in comparison to mutational pressure, natural selection has a more dominant influence on the CUB of TSWV. The codon adaptation index (CAI) demonstrated a more significant correlation between TSWV and Nicotiana tabacum. Meanwhile, the relative codon deoptimization index (RCDI) indicated a stronger correlation between TSWV and Solanum lycopersicum. This study is the first to systematically characterize the CUB of TSWV based on its protein-coding sequences, providing critical insights into viral genetic diversity, evolution mechanisms, and host adaptation. The findings advance understanding of plant-virus coevolution and inform virus-resistant crop breeding and antiviral strategies.