Long-term ecological monitoring has contributed substantially towards advancements in theoretical and applied ecology. However, the costs to maintain a long-term monitoring site are enormous. ...Lightweight unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs or drones) have been rapidly emerging as a new tool for local-scale monitoring. To evaluate the value of drone applications in long-term ecological studies, we combined drone-derived canopy variables, detailed ground-based stem-mapping data and topographic and edaphic variables from a 20-ha forest dynamics plot in a species-rich subtropical forest. Specifically, we evaluated the relative importance of these variables in explaining local-scale variation in forest stand and species measures. We found that drone-derived canopy variables contributed substantially towards explaining local patterns of biodiversity and more specifically in supporting a gap dynamics hypothesis in structuring observed forest biodiversity. Stand basal area was positively related with canopy closure, indicating the importance of protecting old-growth forests as carbon sinks. The importance of topographic and edaphic variables was also demonstrated, supporting a niche differentiation hypothesis in structuring patterns in biodiversity. Species-level analyses illustrated that light-demanding species were more strongly correlated with canopy variables than shade-tolerant species. We provide convincing evidence that drones can add substantial value to long-term ecological monitoring by providing low cost, high resolution data. Drones should be included in the ecologist's toolbox to complement traditional field surveys.
•We used a lightweight drone to map in detail forest canopy structure across a 20-ha subtropical forest dynamics plot.•We examined the added benefit of incorporating drone-derived variables in explaining local variation in both stand and species measures.•Drone-derived canopy variables contributed substantially towards explaining spatial patterns in biodiversity.•Species with different light requirements responded to canopy variables supporting gap dynamics successional theories.•Lightweight drone technologies offer great potential for long-term ecological studies.
Understanding the linkages between aboveground and belowground ecosystems is important for explaining the variation in soil organisms with plant communities on a spatiotemporal scale. Here, soil ...nematode communities were investigated across three successional stages (early, mid, and late) in two contrasting forests at low and high latitudes in China. We found that forest succession affected the relative abundance of some nematode trophic groups, whereas it did not alter the total nematode abundance in the two forests. Nonmetric multidimensional scaling analysis showed that nematode community composition changed significantly from the early and mid‐stages to the late stage. The mantel analysis showed that total soil P at low latitude and litter C:N ratio at high latitude were more closely related to the variation in nematode community during forest succession, respectively. Total nematode diversity increased marginally with forest succession at low latitude, but first increased and then decreased with forest succession at high latitude. Interestingly, total nematode diversity was related to plant‐feeding nematode diversity during forest succession in both the forests. In addition, structural equation models showed that the diversity of different nematode trophic groups was directly affected by forest succession and indirectly affected by the quantity of soil resources and the quality of soil and litter. More importantly, forest succession drives total nematode diversity by directly affecting plant‐feeding nematode diversity. Collectively, forest succession alters the diversity and increases the dissimilarity of soil nematode communities. However, changes in soil and litter properties during forest succession at different latitudes differentially influence nematode communities.
To explore the value of human papillomavirus (HPV) E6/E7 and signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) mRNA detection in the screening of cervical lesions.
192 patients with abnormal ...ThinPrep cytology test (TCT) results and/or high-risk HPV infection were screened to identify possible cervical lesions in cases. Diagnoses were confirmed by histopathology. Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) was performed to detect and qualify the mRNAs of HPV E6/E7, STAT3, and Survivin in cervical exfoliated cells. In addition, the performance of separate and combined mRNA detection methods were compared with TCT, HR-HPV DNA schemes respectively.
1. Compared with HPVE6/E7 and STAT3 mRNA methods, Survivin mRNA assay had poor specificity (Sp), Youden index (YI) and concordance rate. 2. HPV E6/E7, STAT3, and STAT3 + HR-HPV methods had the best Sp, concordance rate and positive predictive value (PPV) for cervical lesions screening and atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASCUS) triage. For screening of high grade squamous intraepithelial lesions or greater (HSILs+), no difference was observed in the Se of mRNA detection methods in comparison with that of TCT, HR-HPV and TCT + HR-HPV, whereas the false positive rate (FPR) decreased by 41.48%/55.99%/17.19% and the colposcopy referral rate reduced by about 20.00%/25.00%/11.17%. For triage of women with ASCUS, no difference was observed in the Se of mRNA detection methods as compared to that of HR-HPV (χ2 = 1.05, P > 0.75), while the FPR decreased by 45.83%/37.50%/41.66% and the colposcopy referral rate reduced by 32.42%/22.60%/25.28%, respectively. The Se, YI, and PPV of the combined methods increased in comparison to each method alone. 3. Compared with the TCT + HR-HPV method, HPV E6/E7 + STAT3 method had perfect Sp (95.92%) and PPV (95.40%) for screening HSILs+, the FPR and colposcopy referral rate decreased by 31.06% and 22.48% respectively.
1. The expression of HPV E6/E7 and STAT3 mRNA confirmed using FISH assay is expected to be a new method and molecular marker for cervical lesions screening. Survivin mRNA was excluded due to its poor performance. 2. HPV E6/E7, STAT3, and STAT3 +HR-HPV assays could be new approaches for cervical cancer screening and ASCUS triage, and the efficiency of combined screening program was better than that of a separate one. 3. HPV E6/E7 + STAT3 regimen is expected to be a diagnostic strategy for cervical lesions.
Dyslipidemia, the prevalence of which historically has been low in China, is emerging as the second leading yet often unaddressed factor associated with the risk of cardiovascular diseases. However, ...recent national data on the prevalence, treatment, and control of dyslipidemia are lacking.
To assess the prevalence, treatment, and control of dyslipidemia in community residents and the availability of lipid-lowering medications in primary care institutions in China.
This cross-sectional study used data from the China-PEACE (Patient-Centered Evaluative Assessment of Cardiac Events) Million Persons Project, which enrolled 2 660 666 community residents aged 35 to 75 years from all 31 provinces in China between December 2014 and May 2019, and the China-PEACE primary health care survey of 3041 primary care institutions. Data analysis was performed from June 2019 to March 2021.
Study period.
The main outcome was the prevalence of dyslipidemia, which was defined as total cholesterol greater than or equal to 240 mg/dL, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) greater than or equal to 160 mg/dL, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) less than 40 mg/dL, triglycerides greater than or equal to 200 mg/dL, or self-reported use of lipid-lowering medications, in accordance with the 2016 Chinese Adult Dyslipidemia Prevention Guideline.
This study included 2 314 538 participants with lipid measurements (1 389 322 women 60.0%; mean SD age, 55.8 9.8 years). Among them, 781 865 participants (33.8%) had dyslipidemia. Of 71 785 participants (3.2%) who had established atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) and were recommended by guidelines for lipid-lowering medications regardless of LDL-C levels, 10 120 (14.1%) were treated. The overall control rate of LDL-C (≤70 mg/dL) among adults with established ASCVD was 26.6% (19 087 participants), with the control rate being 44.8% (4535 participants) among those who were treated and 23.6% (14 552 participants) among those not treated. Of 236 579 participants (10.2%) with high risk of ASCVD, 101 474 (42.9%) achieved LDL-C less than or equal to 100 mg/dL. Among participants with established ASCVD, advanced age (age 65-75 years, odds ratio OR, 0.63; 95% CI, 0.56-0.70), female sex (OR, 0.56; 95% CI, 0.53-0.58), lower income (reference category), smoking (OR, 0.89; 95% CI, 0.85-0.94), alcohol consumption (OR, 0.87; 95% CI, 0.83-0.92), and not having diabetes (reference category) were associated with lower control of LDL-C. Among participants with high risk of ASCVD, younger age (reference category) and female sex (OR, 0.58; 95% CI, 0.56-0.59) were associated with lower control of LDL-C. Of 3041 primary care institutions surveyed, 1512 (49.7%) stocked statin and 584 (19.2%) stocked nonstatin lipid-lowering drugs. Village clinics in rural areas had the lowest statin availability.
These findings suggest that dyslipidemia has become a major public health problem in China and is often inadequately treated and uncontrolled. Statins were available in less than one-half of the primary care institutions. Strategies aimed at detection, prevention, and treatment are needed.
Nelson Bay orthoreovirus (NBV) is a species in the genus Orthoreovirus, family Reoviridae, containing 4, possibly 5, members. Here, we report a putative sixth member, Xi River virus (XRV), isolated ...from fruit bats collected in a location near the Xi River, Guangdong Province, China. This virus showed the same electron microscopic morphology as NBV, fusogenic CPE, and a 10-segmented double-strand RNA genome, as well as high sequence identity to NBV members. It is the first bat reovirus isolated in China.
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