Spatial and temporal patterns of amphibian species richness on Tianping Mountain,Hunan Province,China

DEAR EDITOR,Exploring species richness patterns across space and time can help in understanding species distribution and in formulating conservation strategies.Among taxa,amphibians are of utmost importance as they are highly sensitive to environmental changes due to their unique life histories(Zhong et al.,2018).Here,we investigated the spatial and temporal patterns of amphibian species richness on Tianping Mountain in China.Specifically,we established 10 transects at low to high elevations,and sampled amphibians in April,June,August,and October 2017.Our results demonstrated that amphibian species composition and richness varied significantly at both spatial and temporal scales and were associated with gradients of environmental change in microhabitats on Tianping Mountain.

Spatiotemporal patterns of anuran functional diversity in temperate montane forests

Functional diversity is an integrative approach to better understand biodiversity across space and time.In the present study,we investigated the spatiotemporal patterns(i.e.,elevation and season)and environmental determinants of anuran functional diversity on Tianping Mountain,northwest Hunan,China.Specifically,10 transects were established from low(300 m a.s.l.)to high(1492 m a.s.l.)elevations,and anuran communities were sampled in spring,early summer,midsummer,and autumn in 2017.Four functional diversity indices were computed for each transect in each season using ecomorphological functional traits.Our results demonstrated that these indices had contrasting responses to increasing elevations.However,they did not differ significantly among seasons in terms of temporal patterns.Interestingly,the unique spatiotemporal functional diversity patterns were impacted by distinct environmental variables,such as leaf litter cover,water temperature,number of trees,and water conductivity.

Single-center Experience in the Diagnosis and Treatment of Hepatic Perivascular Epithelioid Cell Neoplasm

Background and Aims:Perivascular epithelioid cell neo-plasms(PEComas)are a rare type of mesenchymal neo-plasm and their preoperative diagnosis is challenging.In this study,we summarized the experience from a single medical center to study the examinations,clinical presen-tations,and pathological and histological characteristics of PEComas in the liver in order to optimize overall un-derstanding of the diagnosis and treatment of these neo-plasms.Methods:We conducted a retrospective analysis to investigate the clinical and pathological characteristics as well as imaging presentations of 75 patients diagnosed with hepatic PEComa in The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhe-jiang University between April 2010 and April 2020.Re-sults:Among the 75 patients,52 were women,and the median age was 48 years.Most patients had no specific symptoms,and two were admitted to the hospital for a second time owing to relapse.All patients underwent surgi-cal resection.Histologically,38 patients had classical angio-myolipoma(AML)and 37 had epithelioid AML.The PECo-mas were accompanied by positive immunohistochemical expression of HMB45,Melan-A,and smooth muscle actin.Follow-up data were obtained from 47 of the total 75 pa-tients,through October 2020.Two patients had metastasis after surgery.Conclusions:AML is the most common type of hepatic PEComa.There are no specific symptoms of he-patic PEComa,and serological examinations and imaging modalities for accurate preoperative diagnosis are lacking.Epithelioid AML should be considered a tumor of uncertain malignant potential;however,the prognosis of PEComa af-ter resection is promising.