Objective To understand the distribution, species composition, seasonal fluctuations, and presence of Dabie bandavirus in ticks in Tai'an City, providing a basis for assessing tick-borne disease risks and formulating prevention strategies. Methods Free-living ticks were monitored using the flagging method, whereas parasitic ticks were monitored through host surface examination. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) was used to detect the presence of Bandavirus dabieense in tick specimens. Results The density of free-living ticks in Tai'an City showed a continuous decreasing trend over the 3 years from 2021 to 2023, with an average tick density of 0.43 ticks/(flag·100 m). The dominant habitats were scenic areas and forests, and the seasonal fluctuations exhibited a bimodal pattern, peaking in March and August. The only free-living tick species captured was Haemaphysalis longicornis. Over the 3 years, the average tick index for parasitic ticks was 1.85, with sheep as the primary host. Seasonal fluctuations also followed a bimodal pattern, peaking in March and August. The primary parasitic tick species captured were H. longicornis and Rhipicephalus sanguineus. No Dabie bandavirus was detected in the tick specimens. Conclusions Tick density in Tai'an City remains relatively high, necessitating continued efforts to enhance tick surveillance and implement targeted prevention measures in rural environments to further reduce the health risks posed by tick-borne diseases.

To explore the changes and the reaction mechanisms between soil microecological environment and the content of secon-dary metabolites of plants under water deficit, this study carried out a pot experiment on the 3-leaf stage seedlings of Rheum officinale to analyze their response mechanism under different drought gradients(normal water supply, mild, moderate, and severe drought). The results indicated that the content of flavonoids, phenols, terpenoids, and alkaloids in the root of R. officinale varied greatly under drought stresses. Under mild drought stress, the content of substances mentioned above was comparatively high, and the content of rutin, emodin, gallic acid, and(+)-catechin hydrate in the root significantly increased. The content of rutin, emodin, and gallic acid under severe drought stress was significantly lower than that under normal water supply. The number of species, Shannon diversity index, richness index, and Simpson index of bacteria in the rhizosphere soil were significantly higher than those in blank soil, and the number of microbial species and richness index decreased significantly with the aggravation of drought stresses. In the context of water deficit, Cyanophyta, Firmicutes, Actinobacteria, Chloroflexi, Gemmatimonadetes, Streptomyces, and Actinomyces were the dominant bacteria in the rhizosphere of R. officinale. The relative content of rutin and emodin in the root of R. officinale was positively correlated with the relative abundance of Cyanophyta and Firmicutes, and the relative content of(+)-catechin hydrate and(-)-epicatechin gallate was positively correlated with the relative abundance of Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes. In conclusion, appropriate drought stress can increase the content of secondary metabolites of R. officinale from physiological induction and the increase in the association with beneficial microbe.
Rhizosphere ; Rheum ; Droughts ; Soil ; Catechin ; Emodin ; Bacteria/metabolism* ; Water/metabolism* ; Firmicutes ; Soil Microbiology

This study was aimed to evaluate the long-term effects of telbivudine (LdT) in the treatment of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) and HBV-related liver cirrhosis (LC) and to observe the changes of immunological responses during LdT treatment. Clinical data of 80 CHB and 28 HBV-related LC patients who were administered with LdT for 108 weeks and followed up were retrospectively analyzed. The liver function indicators including ALT, AST and γ-GT, HBV DNA copy number in serum and the rates of hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) seroconversion were analyzed before and 12, 24, 36, 48, 60, 72, 84, 96 and 108 weeks after LdT treatment in CHB and LC groups. Four serum fibrosis-related markers, including hyaluronic acid (HA), human laminin (LN), human type IV collagen (IV-C) and human N-terminal procollagen III peptide (PC-III), were detected before and after LdT treatment in LC group. The results showed favorable viral suppression and biochemical responses after treatment with LdT for 12 weeks, and a high rate of virological and biochemical control was maintained during the course of 108-week treatment in both CHB and LC groups. The four fibrosis-related markers, especially HA and LN, were down-regulated to some degrees in LC group. Moreover, LdT treatment led to the fluctuation of the circulating interferon-γ (IFN-γ) and interleukin-10 (IL-10) levels at different time points in CHB group. It was concluded that LdT could favorably lead to the virological suppression and biochemical remission. Besides, IFN-γ and IL-10 may represent a suitable and effective predictor of responsiveness during LdT therapy.
Adult ; Aged ; Antiviral Agents ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Hepatitis B, Chronic ; drug therapy ; immunology ; Humans ; Liver Cirrhosis ; drug therapy ; immunology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Thymidine ; analogs & derivatives ; therapeutic use

A total of 152 strains of endophytic fungi were isolated from the barks of Eucommia ulmoides in three regions (Lueyang country, Zunyi country, Cili country). Based on morphological characteristics and analysis of ITS sequences, these strains were identified into 8 genera. Thereinto Phomopsis, Diaporthe and Alternaria were common genera to Eucommia barks from different sites. But the dominant genus was different: Alternaria was the dominant genus in the barks from Cili country, and Phomopsis was the dominant genus from Zunyi country, then Diaporthe was the one from Lueyang country. According to the similarity coefficient, the composition of the endophytic fungi was distinctly different between the barks from three sites. The diversity and species richness in Lueyang country and Cili country were found higher than those in Zunyi country. The evenness of endophytic fungi was 0.936 5 in Lueyang county, which was higher than 0.737 1 or 0.641 0 in Cili county or Zunyi county, respectively. After phylogenic analysis and calculating the genetic distances of typical strains belong to Phomopsis and its perfect stage--Diaporthe, there was very high genetic diversity in the two genera from our study. In conclusion, the community structure and diversity of endophytic fungi were significant different in Eucommia barks from the three habitats.
DNA, Fungal ; genetics ; DNA, Intergenic ; genetics ; Ecosystem ; Endophytes ; classification ; physiology ; Eucommiaceae ; microbiology ; Fungi ; classification ; genetics ; physiology ; Phylogeny ; Plant Bark ; microbiology