Effects of Water Quality on the Distribution of Chinese Giant Salamander(Andrias davidianus)in Guizhou Province,China

13 water quality parameters were tested from 38 reaches of 34 counties in Guizhou where Chinese giant salamander(Andrias davidianus) distributed over the past 30 years. Dissolved oxygen and p H were found to be significant determinants of the species distribution in recent years(P<0.05). There was no Chinese giant salamander distribution in the recent five years in rivers with dissolved solids of greater than 415 mg/L, conductivity of greater than 639 us/cm, salinity of greater than 0.31 ppt and total hardness of greater than 150 mg/L. Sensitive to environment, the Chinese giant salamander is an important indicator for environmental quality, so it could be used as one of the environmental indicator. Eutrophication, chemical fertilizer, pesticides and inorganic pollutants may be one of reasons driving wild CGS into extinction.

Acute aortic dissection mimicking acute myelopathies: a case report

Myelopathy is a common etiology of acute bilateral limb weakness. While painless acute aortic dissection(AAD)is the most common catastrophic event that can mimic myelopathic manifestations of acute bilat-eral limb weakness, it is often easily ignoredWe describe a case of painless AAD in a 70-year-old man with a histo-ry of hypertension manifesting as acute myelopathy(bi-lateral limb weakness and loss of all types of sensation)with increased levels of serum myoglobin and D-dimer.Magnetic resonance imaging of the spinal cord revealed a normal thoracic and lumbar spinal cord but a dissection of the thoracic aorta. Computed tomography angiography of the chest and abdominal aorta showed a Stanford type B dissection extending throughout the thoracic aorta and into the abdominal aorta hypomere.The patient died be-cause of a sudden drop in blood pressure during transfer to vascular surgery.The clinical presentation of painless AAD mimics myelopathies.Aortic dissection should be considered in patients presenting with acute bilateral limb weakness.Physical examination of the skin temperature,dorsalis pedis artery,serum D-dimer,and myocardial markers can provide diagnostic clues.

A New Species of the Asian Toad Genus Megophrys sensu lato(Amphibia: Anura: Megophryidae) from Guizhou Province, China

We describe a new species of the genus Megophrys sensu lato from Guizhou Province, China. Molecular phylogenetic analyses based on mitochondrial DNA and nuclear DNA sequences all strongly supported the new species as an independent lineage in Megophrys(Panophrys) clade. The new species is distinguished from its congeners by a combination of the following morphological characteristics:(1) small body size with SVL < 38.8 mm in male and SVL < 42.3 mm in female;(2) vomerine teeth absent;(3) tongue not notched behind;(4) a small horn-like tubercle at the edge of each upper eyelid;(5) tympanum distinctly visible, rounded;(6) two metacarpal tubercles in hand;(7) relative finger lengths: II < I < V < III;(8) toes with rudimentary webbing at bases;(9) heels overlapping when thighs are positioned at right angles to the body;(10) tibiotarsal articulation reaching the level between tympanum to eye when leg stretched forward;(11) an internal single subgular vocal sac in male;(12) in breeding male, the nuptial pads with black nuptial spines on the dorsal bases of the first and second fingers.

A New Species of the Asi an Toad Genus Megophrys sensu lato (Anura: Megophryidae) from Guizhou Province, China

We describe a new species of the genus Megophr ys from Guizhou Province, China. Molecular phylogenetic analyses based on mitochondrial DNA and nuclear DNA sequences all strongly supported the new species as an independent clade nested into the Megophrys clade and sister to M. minor. On morphology,the new species is distinguished from its congeners by a combination of the following characters:(1) small body size with SVL < 39.2 mm in male and SVL < 40.4 mm in female;(2) vomerine teeth absent;(3) tongue not notched behind;(4) a small horn-like tubercle at the edge of each upper eyelid;(5) tympanum distinctly visible, rounded;(6) two or three metacarpal tubercles in hand;(7) relative finger lengths: Ⅰ< Ⅱ< Ⅴ< Ⅲ;(8) toes without webbing;(9) heels overlapped when thighs are positioned at right angles to the body;(10) tibiotarsal articulation reaching tympanum to eye when leg stretched forward;(11) an internal single subgular vocal sac in male;(12) in breeding male, the nuptial pads with black nuptial spines on the dorsal bases of the first and second fingers.

Description of a New Species of the Asian Newt Genus Tylototriton sensu lato(Amphibia:Urodela:Salamandridae) from Southwest China

The newt genus Tylototriton sensu lato is widely distributed in Eastern,Southeastern and Southern Asia.Previous studies indicated that there still has been several cryptic species in the group.Here,we describe a new species of the genus from Guizhou Province,China.Phylogenetic analyses based on mitochondrial DNA supported that the new species was resolved as an independent clade nested into the Tylototriton sensu lato clade.On morphology,the new species could be distinguished from its congeners by a combination of the following characters:large body size(SVL 76.8-85.2 mm in male and 76.3-87.4 mm in female);head longer than wide;snout truncate in dorsal view;tail length longer than the snout-vent length in males;the distal digit ends,ventral digits,peripheral area of cloaca and the tail s lower margin are orange;relative length of toesⅢ> Ⅳ> Ⅱ> Ⅰ> Ⅴ;the distal tips of the limbs greatly overlapping when the fore and hind limbs are pressed along the trunk;fingertips reach the level beyond the snout when the forelimbs are stretched forward.

Collected Data of Local Ecological Knowledge to Predict Current Status and Potential Threats of salamander(Andrias davidianusin)in Zhengan County of Guizhou Province,China

Chinese giant salamander(CGS, Andrias davidianus) is experiencing the threat of extinction. It is disappearing gradually, because of overharvesting, environmental pollution, specially river pollution, activity of human exploitation, and so on. We conducted community interview fieldworks to collect respondent data from Xieba Country(not reserve) situated in Zhengan County of Guizhou Province, where one of the places known by historical giant salamander records in Guizhou. Through the analysis of the collected data, we created quantitative data of use for conservation management on the local status of salamander populations, and we compared our data with those available data of Y. Pan et al., who investigated the status of CGS in 3 reserves in Guizhou Province in 2015.The conclusions have a similar trend, which proved that the collected data were creditable. Through statistical analysis of the comparison data, the number of wild CGS decreased actually followed the increase of artificial framing.Because of the source of breeding to catch wild CGS, overharvesting was likely the most reason to make wild CGS decline.

Integrated metabolism and epigenetic modifications in the macrophages of mice in responses to cold stress

The negative effects of low temperature can readily induce a variety of diseases.We sought to understand the reasons why cold stress induces disease by studying the mechanisms of fine-tuning in macrophages following cold exposure.We found that cold stress triggers increased macrophage activation accompanied by metabolic reprogramming of aerobic glycolysis.The discovery,by genome-wide RNA sequencing,of defective mitochondria in mice macrophages following cold exposure indicated that mitochondrial defects may contribute to this process.In addition,changes in metabolism drive the differentiation of macrophages by affecting histone modifications.Finally,we showed that histone acetylation and lactylation are modulators of macrophage differentiation following cold exposure.Collectively,metabolism-related epigenetic modifications are essential for the differentiation of macrophages in cold-stressed mice,and the regulation of metabolism may be crucial for alleviating the harm induced by cold stress.