The breeding biology of Red-Whiskered Bulbul(Pycnonotus jocosus) in Xishuangbanna, southwest China

To fill the gap in breeding biology information about the Red-Whiskered Bulbul （Pycnonotus jocosus）, in 2013, we studied the breeding biology of this species in Xishuangbanna, southwest China. The breeding began from February and continued until early August. The breeding strategy of P. jocosus was more flexible and their nests were only built in cultivated landscapes, whereas, no nest building in native tropical rain forest was found. Small open cup nests were built on 50 different plant species, and at heights ranging from 2.1±0.6 m above the ground （n=102）. The mean clutch size was 2.53±0.51 eggs （n=40） and the mean egg mass was 2.81±0.25 g （n=60）. The average incubation period was 11.1±0.5 days （n=14）, and the average nestling period was 11.0±0.8 days （n=31）. The overall nest success was 34.22%.The hatching and fledging showed either asynchrony or synchrony. Invertebrate food decreased with nestling age, whereas, plant food increased with nestling age. Moreover, distinct parental roles of the parents in nestling period were found. Compared with other passerine species, P. jocosus spent less time in incubating （58%）. The clutch size, incubation and nestling period of the P. jocosus in southwest China were different from those of the R jocosus in India.

Contributions to the flora of Myanmar from 2000 to 2019

Myanmar is botanically rich and floristically diverse:one of the world's biodiversity hotspots.However,Myanmar is still very unevenly explored,and until a plant checklist was published in 2003,relatively little work was done on its flora.This checklist included 11,800 species of spermatophytes in 273 families.Since this checklist was published,the botanical exploration of Myanmar has accelerated and there have been many additional publications.We therefore surveyed the literature of taxonomic contributions to Myanmar’s vascular flora over the last 20 years(2000e2019)and compiled a list of new and newly described taxa.Our list includes 13 genera,193 species,7 subspecies,19 varieties,and 2 forms new to science;and 3 families,34 genera,347 species,4 subspecies,7 varieties,and 1 form newly recorded in Myanmar.Altogether,they represent 91 families and 320 genera.Most of the new discoveries belong to 15 families,with more than 25%(146 taxa)belonging to Orchidaceae.These new discoveries are unevenly distributed in the country,with about 41%of the newly discovered species described from Kachin State in northeast Myanmar.This reflects the incompleteness of our current knowledge of the flora of Myanmar and the urgent need for a greatly expanded effort.The completion of the flora of Myanmar requires more fieldwork from north to south,taxonomic studies on new and existing collections,and some mechanism that both coordinates the efforts of various international institutions and initiatives and encourages continued international cooperation.In addition,producing modern taxonomic treatments of the flora of Myanmar requires the participation of experts on all vascular plant families and genera.There is also an urgent need to attract young scientists to plant taxonomy,to work on inventories,identification,nomenclature,herbarium work,and comparative studies.

Complete mitochondrial genome of the leaf muntjac(Muntiacus putaoensis) and phylogenetics of the genus Muntiacus

The leaf muntjac （Muntiacus putaoensis） is an endemic deer species found in the east trans- Himalayan region. In recent years, population numbers have decreased due to heavy hunting and habitat loss, and little genetic data exists for this species, thus our knowledge of distribution rangs and population sizes likewise remain limited. We obtained mtDNA genes and the complete mitochondrial genome sequence of M. putaoensis using PCR, followed by direct sequencing. The complete mitogenome sequence was determined as a circular 16 349 bp mitochondrial genome, containing 13 protein-coding genes, two rRNA genes 22 tRNA genes, and one control region, the gene composition and order of which were similar to most other vertebrates so far reported. Most mitochondrial genes, except for ND6 and eight tRNAs, were encoded on the heavy strand. The overall base composition of the heavy strand was 33.1% A, 29.3% T, 24.2% C, and 13.4% G, with a strong AT bias of 62.4%. There were seven regions of gene overlap totaling 95 bp and 11 intergenic spacer regions totaling 74 bp. Phylogenetic analyses （ML and BI） among the Muntiacus genus based on the sequenced of mitogenome and ND4L-ND4 supported M. putaoensis as a member of Muntiacus, most closely related to M. vuquangensis. However, when analyses based on cyt b included two more muntjacs, M. truongsonensis was most closely related to M. putaoensis rather than M. vuquangensis, and together with M. rooseveltorum, likely forming a M. rooseveltorum complex of the species. This study will help in the exploration of the evolutionary history and taxonomic status of the leaf muntjac, as well as its protection as a genetic resource.

The current status of foot self-care knowledge, behaviours, and analysis of influencing factors in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus in China

Purpose:To investigate the knowledge and behaviours on foot self-care in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus;analyse the influential factors,and provide information for the intervention study.Methods:A total of 5961 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus from 144 hospitals in China were included in the study.The investigation content included patients'demographic data,foot self-care knowledge and behaviours.The investigation tools were the questionnaires on the general diabetes information,on the foot self-care knowledge,and on the foot selfcare behaviours.Results:The foot self-care knowledge was medium and the foot self-care behaviour was poor.The status of knowledge and behaviours were influenced by education,duration of diabetes mellitus,periodic inspection,and education about diabetic complications.Pearson analysis demonstrated that there was positive correlation between knowledge score and behaviour score(r?0.27,p<0.001).Conclusions:The status of foot self-care knowledge and behaviours are not optimistic.According to the patients'own characteristics,the theory of knowledge,attitude and practice applies to encouraging patients to go for periodic inspection and education about diabetic complications so as to enhance the knowledge and promote the self-care behaviours.

Bird diversity in northern Myanmar and conservation implications

We conducted four bird biodiversity surveys in the Putao area of northern Myanmar from 2015 to 2017. Combined with anecdotal information collected between 2012 and 2015, we recorded 319 bird species, including two species （Arborophila mandellii and Lanius sphenocercus） previously unrecorded in Myanmar. Bulbuls （Pycnonotidae）, babblers Timaliidae） pigeons and doves （Columbidae）, and ）heasants and partridges （Phasianidae） were the most abundant groups of birds recorded. Species richness below 1 500 m a.s.l, was higher than species richness at higher elevations. Our results suggest that the current protected areas in this region should be expanded to lower elevations to cover critical conservation gaps.

Higher Viral Load and Prolonged Viral Shedding Period is Associated with Impaired Th17 Cell Response in Patients with H1N1 Influenza A

Objective To explore whether age,disease severity,cytokines and lymphocytes in H1N1 influenza A patients correlate with viral load and clearance.Methods Total of 70 mild and 16 severe patients infected with H1N1 influenza A virus were enrolled in this study.Results It was found that the patients under 14 years old and severe patients displayed significantly higher viral loads and prolonged viral shedding periods compared with the patients over 14 years old and mild patients,respectively(P < 0.05).Moreover,the patients under 14 years old and severe patients displayed significantly lower Th17 cell frequency than the patients over 14 years old and mild patients(P < 0.01).The viral shedding period inversely correlated with the frequency of IL-17+IFN-γ-CD4+ T cells.Additionally,the decreased concentration of serum TGF-β correlated with the decreased frequency of IL-17+IFN-γ-CD4+ T cells.Conclusions Both younger and severe patients are associated with higher viral loads and longer viral shedding periods,which may partially be attributed to the impaired Th17 cell response.

Dynamic Changes of Multiple Immune Cells in Chronic Hepatitis B Patients Undergoing Antiviral Treatment

Objective Various immune cells in patients with CHB have been demonstrated to play critical roles in HBV infection.The goal of this study is to observe changes in Thl7,Treg,Thl and B lymphocytes from peripheral blood and to evaluate immune status of CHB patients undergoing antiviral treatment.Methods Total of 49 CHB patients,19 asymptomatic carriers and 29 healthy donors were included in our present study.The frequencies of peripheral Thl7 cells(CD3^+CD4^+IL-17^+Tcells),Treg cells(CD3^+CD4^+CD25^+CD127^- T cells),Th1 cells(CD3^+CD4^+IFN^-γ T cells) and B lymphocytes in chronic hepatitis B(CHB) were analyzed by flow cytometry.Results The frequency of Th17 cells increased after treatment for 6 months,but there was no statistically significant difference of IL-17 expression between baseline and 6 months after treatment.The frequencies of Treg cells,momory B cells and total CD19^+B cells decreased after antiviral treatment.The frequencies of Thl cells and plasma cells increased after antiviral treatment.Conclusions This study highlights that the reestablishment of immune function during antiviral treatment in CHB patients,which caused by the antiviral drugs or the patients themselves.CHB patients may exhibit varied responses to these antiviral drugs.It is essential to supplement immune therapy during the antiviral treatment,but Th17 may play a limited role in inflammation during antiviral treatment,targeting Th17 therapy may not be useful for CHB treatment.More time and more experiments are critical to explain it.

Indicators for prediction of Mycobacterium tuberculosis positivity detected with bronchoalveolar lavage fluid

Background:The diagnosis of active pulmonary tuberculosis(TB)remains a challenge in clinic,especially for sputum negative pulmonary TB.Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid(BALF)has higher sensitivity than sputum for detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis(Mtb).However,bronchoscopy is invasive and costly,and not suitable for all patients.In order to make TB patients get more benefit from BALF for diagnosis,we explore which indicator might be used to optimize the choice of bronchoscopy.Methods:A total of 1539 sputum-smear-negative pulmonary TB suspects who underwent bronchoscopy were recruited for evaluation.The sensitivity,specificity and accuracy of Mtb detection in sputum and BALF were compared.Odds ratios and 95%confidence intervals were used to assess variables that associated with positive acid-fast bacilli(AFB)smear,Mtb culture and nucleic acid amplification test(NAAT)of BALF in sputum-negative and non-sputum-producing pulmonary TB suspects.Results:BALF has significantly higher sensitivity(63.4%)than sputum(43.5%)for Mtb detection by culture and NAAT.19.7%(122/620)sputum-negative and 40.0%(163/408)non-sputum-producing suspects had positive bacteriological results in BALF.Among sputum-negative and non-sputum-producing pulmonary TB suspects,the positivity of Mtb detection in BALF is associated with a younger age,the presence of pulmonary cavities and a positive result of interferon-gamma release assay(IGRA).Sputum-negative patients under 35 years old with positive IGRA and pulmonary cavity had 84.8%positivity of Mtb in BALF.Conclusions:Our study indicated that combination of age,the presence of pulmonary cavity,and the result of IGRA is useful to predict the positivity of Mtb detection in BALF among sputum-negative and non-sputum producing pulmonary TB suspects.Those who are under 35 years old,positive for the presence of pulmonary cavity and IGRA,should undergo bronchoscopy to collect BAFL for Mtb tests,as they have the highest possibility to get bacteriologically confirmation of TB.

Clinicodiagnostic management and bacteriological etiology of non-puerperal mastitis in the population of Southern China

This study aimed to describe the clinicopathologic characteristics of non-puerperal mastitis and to investigate spectrum of organisms causing it in the population of Southern China.We retrospectively registered 364 female patients with histological confirmation of inflammatory disease of the breast in the non-lactational phase,who were admitted to our institution over an 11-year period(2005–2016).Clinical,laboratory,and radiographic imaging features,as well as their bacteriological etiology,were analyzed in detail.In this study,117 patients were diagnosed with periductal mastitis(PDM)/mammary duct ectasia(MDE)and 247 patients were diagnosed with idiopathic granulomatous mastitis(IGM).There were significant differences in terms of mean age of onset,menstruation period,and menstruation history.Nipple discharge,inverted nipple,and the ratio of abscess and fistula were more spontaneous in women with PDM/MDE compared to IGM.The inflammatory biomarkers including leukocyte count,neutrophil percentage,and highsensitivity C-reactive protein in PDM/MDE group were significantly higher than IGM group.For bacteriological etiology,the most commonly isolated organism was Corynebacterium kroppenstedtii(C kroppenstedtii)in the IGM group and Staphylococcus in the PDM/MDE group.The study shows that the combination of demographic characteristics and clinicopathological characteristics was helpful in differential diagnosis of PDM/MDE and IGM.IGM can be associated with C kroppenstedtii,providing a possible effective therapeutic and preventive method by targeting this kind of bacilli.