We measured the effects of exposure to volatile compounds produced by host plants on the rate of capture of male Spodoptera exigua using synthetic sex pheromones. Exposure to volatile compounds stimulated strong electroantennographic responses of male S. exigua. The behavioral responses of male moths to combinations of sex pheromone and volatile compounds were tested in wind tunnel experiments. When lures were baited with synthetic sex pheromone plus benzaldehyde, phenylacetaldehyde, (Z)-3-hexenyl acetate, or linalool, respectively, the landing rate of S. exigua males was increased by 101.4%, 79.6%, 60.6%, and 34.3%, respectively, compared to sex pheromone alone. In field tests, traps baited with either pheromone + (E)-2-hexenal, pheromone + phenylacetaldehyde, pheromone + (Z)-3-hexenyl acetate, or pheromone + (Z)-3-hexenol enhanced moth catches by 38.8%, 34.6%, 24.6%, and 20.8%, respectively compared to traps baited with pheromone alone. In a second field experiment, more S. exigua males were trapped with a combination of a synthetic sex pheromone blend and several individual host plant volatiles compared to synthetic sex pheromone alone. These results suggest that some host plant volatiles enhance the orientation response of S. exigua male moths to sex pheromone sources.

Increasing evidence has indicated that the splicing factor hnRNPA2B1 plays a direct role in cancer development, progression, gene expression, and signal transduction. Previous studies have shown that knocking down hnRNPA2B1 in breast cancer cells induces apoptosis, but the mechanism and other functions of hnRNPA2B1 in breast cancer are unknown. The goal of this study was to investigate the biological function, clinical significance, and mechanism of hnRNPA2B1 in breast cancer. The expression of hnRNPA2B1 in 92 breast cancer and adjacent normal tissue pairs was analyzed by immunohistochemical staining. Stable clones exhibiting knockdown of hnRNPA2B1 via small hairpin RNA expression were generated using RNA interference technology in breast cancer cell lines. The effects of hnRNPA2B1 on cell proliferation were examined by MTT and EdU assay, and cellular apoptosis and the cell cycle were examined by flow cytometry. A nude mouse xenograft model was established to elucidate the function of hnRNPA2B1 in tumorigenesis in vivo. The role of hnRNPA2B1 in signaling pathways was investigated in vitro. Our data revealed that hnRNPA2B1 was overexpressed in breast cancer tissue specimens and cell lines. Knockdown of hnRNPA2B1 reduced breast cancer cell proliferation, induced apoptosis, and prolonged the S phase of the cell cycle in vitro. In addition, hnRNPA2B1 knockdown suppressed subcutaneous tumorigenicity in vivo. On a molecular level, hnRNPA2B1 knockdown decreased signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 and extracellular-signal-regulated kinase 1/2 phosphorylation. We concluded that hnRNPA2B1 promotes the tumorigenic potential of breast cancer cells, MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231, through the extracellular-signal-regulated kinase 1/2 or signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 pathway, which may serve as a target for future therapies.

A 56‐day feeding trial was conducted to evaluate the effects of supplemented diets with β‐glucan (BG) at four levels [0 (D1), 250 (D2), 500 (D3) and 1000 (D4) mg BG kg−1] on red sea bream, Pagrus major. The obtained results revealed a significant increase (P < 0.05) in final body weight, weight gain, specific growth rate, feed intake, body protein content, lysozyme activity and tolerance against low‐salinity stress test in all BG‐supplemented groups when compared with BG‐free group. Furthermore, D4 group resulted in a significant increase in feed efficiency ratio, protein gain, protein and lipid digestibilities, serum bactericidal activity and peroxidase content when compared with D1 group (P < 0.05). Haematocrit and plasma protein content in D3 group were significantly higher than those in D1 group (P < 0.05). Interestingly, BG supplementation decreased glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (GOT) in D2 group and reactive oxygen metabolites in D2, D3 and D4 groups when compared with D1 group. Following low‐salinity stress test, significantly higher amounts of secreted mucus were observed in fish fed D2 and D4 diets than those from fish fed D1 diet (P < 0.05). In conclusion, the supplementation of BG improves growth, stress resistance and immune response of P. major.

Multigene panel testing of breast cancer predisposition genes have been extensively conducted in Europe and America, which is relatively rare in Asia however. In this study, we assessed the frequency of germline mutations in 40 cancer predisposition genes, including BRCA1 and BRCA2, among a large cohort of Chinese patients with high hereditary risk of BC. From 2015 to 2016, consecutive BC patients from 26 centers of China with high hereditary risk were recruited (n = 937). Clinical information was collected and next-generation sequencing (NGS) was performed using blood samples of participants to identify germline mutations. In total, we acquired 223 patients with putative germline mutations, including 159 in BRCA1/2, 61 in 15 other BC susceptibility genes and 3 in both BRCA1/2 and non-BRCA1/2 gene. Major mutant non-BRCA1/2 genes were TP53 (n = 18), PALB2 (n = 11), CHEK2 (n = 6), ATM (n = 6) and BARD1 (n = 5). No factors predicted pathologic mutations in non-BRCA1/2 genes when treated as a whole. TP53 mutations were associated with HER-2 positive BC and younger age at diagnosis; and CHEK2 and PALB2 mutations were enriched in patients with luminal BC. Among high hereditary risk Chinese BC patients, 23.8% contained germline mutations, including 6.8% in non-BRCA1/2 genes. TP53 and PALB2 had a relatively high mutation rate (1.9 and 1.2%). Although no factors predicted for detrimental mutations in non-BRCA1/2 genes, some clinical features were associated with mutations of several particular genes.

ObjectivesThe aim of this study is to systematically review the published studies and summarize the estimates of HIV and syphilis prevalences among high school and college student MSM in China in order to provide information for conducting targeted interventions.MethodsPubmed, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang and Google Scholar databases were searched in January 2013 to identify relevant articles. Data of eligible citations were extracted by two reviewers. All analyses were performed using Comprehensive Meta-Analysis V2.0 and SPSS V17.0.ResultsTwenty-four eligible studies (6 in English and 18 in Chinese), published between 2006 and 2012, with a total of 3083 student MSM participants, were included. The meta-analyses showed that the prevalences of HIV and syphilis among studied student MSM were 4.4% (95% CI: 3.0%, 6.4%) and 5.7% (95% CI: 4.8%, 6.7%), respectively. HIV prevalence increased over the study period (3.0% in 2003–2006; 4.5% in 2007–2008, and 6.8% in 2009–2010, trend test chi-square = 11.3, p = 0.001).ConclusionsStudent MSM have become high-risk populations for HIV infection in China. The high prevalence of syphilis and the increasing HIV prevalence trend indicate the potential for a more severe HIV epidemic. Comprehensive intervention strategies that address condom promotion, syphilis detection and treatment, and health education need to be tailored to this vulnerable population to prevent HIV and syphilis infections.

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When Spodoptera litura (Fabricius) larvae were treated with the insecticides deltamethrin, endosulfan, malathion, and carbaryl at dosages causing 30% mortality (LD30), female moths reared from survivors showed similar patterns in the frequency of calling behavior. However, females reared from larvae dosed with deltamethrin had significantly higher titers of sex pheromone than those treated with endosulfan, malathion, or carbaryl, or control individuals. The ratio of the sex pheromone blend, Z9,E12-14:OAc to Z9,E11-14:OAc in females from the deltamethrin treatment group differed significantly from that of female moths in other treatments. In a wind-tunnel bioassay, males reared from larvae treated with deltamethrin, malathion, or carbaryl were less likely to display behaviors resulting in the location of a sex pheromone source than males reared from larvae treated with endosulfan or a solvent control (acetone). Mating success was significantly decreased in pairs containing either males or females reared from larvae that survived treatment with deltamethrin.