No abstract

Preoperative ALP, GGT and LDH could predict prognosis in HBV-related HCC patients who received curative liver resection.

We describe a new and highly aggressive species of pine shoot beetle, Tomicus yunnanensis Kirkendall & Faccoli, which has been decimating Pinus yunnanensis forests in southwest China for almost three decades. This species was confused with T. piniperda until recent molecular studies showed the SW China populations to be quite divergent from T. piniperda of northeast China and Europe. The clearest morphological differences between these two species lie in the surface sculpture of the elytra: the new species has more widely spaced interstrial granules on the elytral disc, the punctures of interstria 2 on the declivity arranged irregularly and those of striae 1 and 3 smaller. The new species also has dense small hairs on the tip of the antennal club, while T. piniperda has only scattered small hairs on that segment. Mature T. piniperda specimens are uniformly black, while those of T. yunnanensis have the bulk of the elytra lighter than the base of the elytra and the pronotum. The new species is actually more similar to the Mediterranean species T. destruens, which differs in geographical distribution and in having the punctures of interstria 2 dense on the declivity and light-colored antennae. Species of Tomicus are of general concern to foresters because of their impact on conifer growth, but good illustrations for many species are lacking. We here provide a detailed key to all seven species of the genus (T. minor, T. piniperda, T. destruens, T. brevipilosus, T. yunnanensis and the virtually unknown T. puellus and T. pilifer) as well as diagnostic photographs and drawings. We summarize the biological differences between the new species and T. piniperda and recommend improved communication between taxonomists and forest entomologists, as avoidable taxonomic confusion such as that of T. yunnanensis and T. destruens with T. piniperda hinders the combatting of outbreaks of forest insects.

We found that U. urealyticum and M. genitalium may increase the risk of high-risk HPV infection, while U. urealyticum, U. parvum, and M. hominis may increase the risk of abnormal cervical cytopathology.

1 In South-western China, Yunnan pines Pinus yunnanensis, suffer considerable damage from an undescribed Tomicus sp. previously thought to be T. piniperda. 2 To assess the effect of shoot maturation feeding (during which an aggregation process appears to occur) on host resistance to attacks on the bole, the relationships between shoot damage, bole attack density and tree survival were studied. 3 Attack distribution in the crown and in the stem did not vary between killed and surviving trees, indicating that mortality is determined by the quantity of attacks. 4 The level of shoot damage and bole attack density were positively and linearly correlated. This can be explained by the fact that bole attacks are caused by beetles coming from the crown of the same tree. 5 A critical threshold of bole attack density (around 80 attacks/m 2 ) above which trees die was observed. However, because attacks continue after this threshold is reached, the density of failed attacks on the killed trees was used as an estimator of the threshold density. It decreased when shoot damage increased. 6 The existence of a critical threshold of shoot damage (60% damaged shoots) was also demonstrated. Above this threshold, stem attack density was always sufficiently high to kill trees. 7 The results emphasize that concentration of shoot attacks is the main reason for the extensive tree damage observed in China. 8 A model of relationships between shoot and stem attacks is proposed, suggesting that management to reduce shoot attacks would protect trees from dying by both decreasing the number of bole attacks and raising the threshold for successful attack density on the bole to levels that could not be attained.

Tomicus species (Coleoptera: Scolytidae) are serious pests of pines with a wide distribution in Europe, Asia and America. In Yunnan, south-western China, T. piniperda has destroyed more than 0.5 million ha of Pinus yunnanensis in the past 15 years. A blue stain fungus belonging to the genus Leptographium is associated with both the shoot-feeding and trunk-attacking stages of the beetle's life cycle. The fungus is morphologically similar to the anamorph of Ophiostoma crassivaginatum and to L. pyrinum, which are both characterised by short robust conidiophores and hyphae covered by a granular layer. Both these species have been isolated from conifers and are associated with insects. After comparing the fungus from T. piniperda with similar Leptographium species, using light and scanning electron microscopy, we concluded that it represents a new taxon, which is described here as L. yunnanense sp. nov.

Bactrocera dorsalis (Diptera: Tephritidae) is an important pest for many tropical and subtropical fruits. The fly is probably introduced in Yunnan, a southwestern province of China that shares borders with Vietnam, Laos and Myanmar. Depending on local environmental conditions, this species occurs either only in the most favorable seasons or year-round. To infer the genetic diversity and structure of the fly in the region, and to understand the relationships between the flies of year-round and seasonal areas, we analyzed 304 individuals from 14 populations using the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I gene (COI). The sampled populations were structured into four groups, probably isolated by the main natural barriers in Yunnan such as mountain ranges and rivers. Our data suggest either that B. dorsalis in Yunnan originated from multiple introductions events, even if the source populations still need to be identified; or that Yunnan is a natural origin of this species (i.e., that it is not invasive there). Finally, we found some evidences that the seasonal populations were colonized from nearby year-round populations.

Population dynamics of the Oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel) (Diptera: Tephritidae), were monitored year-round using methyl eugenol-baited traps in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006 in Baoshanba, Yunnan Province, China. Environmental factors including air temperature, rainfall and host-plant species were analyzed with respect to the population dynamics. This species occurred only during April-November, with one yearly peak in August. The population fluctuation patterns with respect to season were identical in all study years. Correlation analysis and stepwise regression analysis indicated that air temperature, rainfall, sunlight hours and relative humidity were the major climatic factors that correlated with changes in the size of the fly population, and that monthly mean temperature, monthly sunlight hours and monthly relative humidity were most important. The seasonal increase in population size coincided with the fruiting period of the fly's host plants, but host fruit availability influenced the population size only when temperatures were sufficiently high. Cold temperatures may explain why there was no trap capture in the winter months. We believe that air temperature is the key factor explaining the seasonal occurrence of the fly population at Baoshanba.