The city of Shenzhen has recently experienced extraordinary economic growth accompanied by a huge internal migrant influx. We investigated the local dynamics of tuberculosis (TB) epidemiology in the Nanshan District of Shenzhen to provide insights for TB control strategies for this district and other rapidly developing regions in China. We analyzed the age-specific incidence and number of TB cases in the Nanshan District from 2011 to 2016. Over all, the age-standardized incidence of TB decreased at an annual rate of 3.4%. The incidence was lowest amongst the age group 0–14 and showed no increase in this group over the six-year period (P = 0.587). The fastest decreasing incidence was among the 15–24 age group, with a yearly decrease of 13.3% (β = 0.867, P < 0.001). In contrast, the TB incidence increased in the age groups 45–54, 55–54, and especially in those aged ≥65, whose yearly increase was 13.1% (β = 1.131, P < 0.001). The peak time of TB case presentation was in April, May, and June for all age groups, except in August for the 45–54 cohort. In the rapidly developing Nanshan District, TB control policies targeted to those aged 45 years and older should be considered. The presentation of TB cases appears to peak in the spring months.
Current passive sensors fail to accurately identify cloud phase, thus largely limiting the quantification of radiative contributions and precipitation of different cloud phases over the Tibet Plateau (TP), especially for the mixed-phase and supercooled water clouds. By combining the 4 years of (January 2007–December 2010) cloud phase (2B-CLDCLASS-LIDAR), radiative fluxes (2B-FLXHR-LIDAR), and precipitation (2C-PRECIP-COLUMN) products from CloudSat, this study systematically quantifies the radiative contribution of cloud phases and precipitation over the TP. Statistical results indicate that the ice cloud frequently occurs during the cold season, while mixed-phase cloud fraction is more frequent during the warm season. In addition, liquid clouds exhibit a weak seasonal variation, and the relative cloud fraction is very low, but supercooled water cloud has a larger cloud distribution (the value reaches about 0.24) than those of warm water clouds in the eastern part of the TP during the warm season. Within the atmosphere, the ice cloud has the largest radiative contribution during the cold season, the mixed-phase cloud is the second most important cloud phase for the cloud radiative contribution during the warm season, and supercooled water clouds’ contribution is particularly important during the cold season. In particular, the precipitation frequency over the TP is mainly dominated by the ice and mixed-phase clouds and is larger over the southeastern part of the TP during the warm season.
Localmate competition (LMC) models predict a female-biased offspring sex ratio when a single foundress oviposits alone in a patch and an increasing proportion of sons with increasing foundress number. We tested whether the solitary pupal parasitoid, Trichopria drosophilae (Hymenoptera: Diapriidae), adjusted offspring sex ratio with foundress number when parasitizing Drosophila melanogaster pupae. Mean number of female offspring was higher than that of males, with a male proportion of 26 ± 16% when only one foundress oviposited. However, male proportion reached 58 ± 26%, 48 ± 22%, and 51 ± 19% in three-, five and seven-foundress cohorts. That the male proportion of offspring increased with foundress number is consistent with LMC models.
Postnatal colonization and development of the gut microbiota is linked to health and growth. A comprehensive understanding of the postnatal compositional changes and development of the microbial community is helpful to understand the gut health and improve the survival rate of South China tiger cubs (<i>Panthera tigris amoyensis</i>). Fecal samples from three tiger cubs were collected on the day of birth in 2018 (June 17–21 [G0], July 18 [G1], July 31 [G2], and August 7 [G3]). The 16S rRNA genes of the fecal microflora were sequenced. Results showed that 38 phyla, 58 classes, 134 orders, 272 families, and 636 genera of bacteria from 3,059 operational taxonomic units were identified from 12 fecal samples. The diversity and abundance of species of group G0 were significantly higher (<i>p</i> < 0.05 or 0.01) than those of groups G2 and G3. The predominant phylum was Proteobacteria in groups G0 and G1 (38.85% and 48%, respectively) and Firmicutes in groups G2 and G3 (71.42% and 75.29%, respectively). At the phylum level, the abundance of Deinococcus-Thermus was significantly decreased in groups G1, G2, and G3 as compared to group G0 (<i>p</i> < 0.05), while that of Firmicutes was significantly increased in groups G2 and G3 (<i>p</i> < 0.05). At the genus level, the abundance of <i>Faecalibacterium</i>, <i>Ralstonia</i>, and unidentified <i>Rickettsiales</i> was significantly decreased in groups G1, G2, and G3 as compared with group G0 (<i>p</i> < 0.05), while that of <i>Pseudomonas</i> was significantly decreased in groups G2 and G3 (<i>p</i> < 0.05). The composition and structure of fecal microbiota of South China tiger cubs changed after birth.
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