Estimating the feed intake of grazing herbivores is critical for determining their nutrition, overall productivity and utilization of grassland resources. A 17-day indoor feeding experiment was conducted to evaluate the potential use of Medicago sativa as a natural supplement for estimating the total feed intake of sheep. A total of 16 sheep were randomly assigned to four diets (four sheep per diet) containing a known amount of M. sativa together with up to seven forages common to typical steppes. The diets were: diet 1, M. sativa + Leymus chinensis + Puccinellia distans; diet 2, species in diet 1 + Phragmites australis; diet 3, species in diet 2 + Chenopodium album + Elymus sibiricus; and diet 4, species in diet 3 + Artemisia scoparia + Artemisia tanacetifolia. After faecal marker concentrations were corrected by individual sheep recovery, treatment mean recovery or overall recovery, the proportions of M. sativa and other dietary forages were estimated from a combination of alkanes and long-chain alcohols using a least-square procedure. Total intake was the ratio of the known intake of M. sativa to its estimated dietary proportion. Each dietary component intake was obtained using total intake and the corresponding dietary proportions. The estimated values were compared with actual values to assess the estimation accuracy. The results showed that M. sativa exhibited a distinguishable marker pattern in comparison to the other dietary forage species. The accuracy of the dietary composition estimates was significantly (P < 0.001) affected by both diet diversity and the faecal recovery method. The proportion of M. sativa and total intake across all diets could be accurately estimated using the individual sheep or the treatment mean recovery methods. The largest differences between the estimated and observed total intake were 2.6 g and 19.2 g, respectively, representing only 0.4% and 2.6% of the total intake. However, they were significantly (P < 0.05) biased for most diets when using the overall recovery method. Due to the difficulty in obtaining individual sheep recovery under field conditions, treatment mean recovery is recommended. This study suggests that M. sativa, a natural roughage instead of a labelled concentrate, can be utilized as a dietary supplement to accurately estimate the total feed intake of sheep indoors and further indicates that it has potential to be used in steppe grassland of northern China, where the marker patterns of M. sativa differ markedly from commonly occurring plant species.

Dietary protein restriction is one of the effective ways to reduce post-weaning diarrhoea and intestinal fermentation in piglets, but it may also reduce growth performance. The compensatory growth induced by subsequent protein realimentation may solve the issue. However, little research has been done on the impact of protein realimentation on the gut. In this study, the effects of protein restriction and realimentation on ileal morphology, ileal microbial composition and metabolites in weaned piglets were investigated. Thirty-six 28-day-old weaned piglets with an average body weight of 6.47 ± 0.04 kg were randomly divided into a control group and a treatment group. The CP level in the diet of the control group was 18.83% for the entire experimental period. The piglets in the treatment group were fed 13.05% CP between days 0 and 14 and restored to a diet of 18.83% CP for days 14 to 28. On day 14 and 28, six pigs from each group were sacrificed and sampled. It was found that the abundance of Lactobacillus and Salmonella in the ileal digesta was significantly lower in the treatment group than the control group on day 14, whereas the abundance of Clostridium sensu stricto 1, Streptococcus, Halomonas and Pseudomonas significantly increased in the ileal digesta of the treatment group on day 14 compared with the control group. In addition, reduced concentrations of lactic acid, total short-chain fatty acids (total SCFAs), total branched chain fatty acids, ammonia and impaired ileal morphology and mucosal barrier were observed in the treatment group on day 14. However, diarrhoea levels decreased in the treatment group throughout the experiment. During the succedent protein realimentation stage, the treatment group demonstrated compensatory growth. Compared with the control group, the treatment group showed increased abundance of Lactobacillus and reduced abundance of Salmonella, Halomonas and Pseudomonas in the ileum on day 28. The concentrations of lactic acid and total SCFAs increased significantly, whereas the concentration of ammonia remained at a lower level in the treatment group on day 28 compared with the control group. Overall, protein realimentation could improve ileal morphology and barrier functions and promote ileal digestive and absorptive functions. In conclusion, ileal microbial composition and metabolites could change according to dietary protein restriction and realimentation and eventually influence ileal morphology and barrier functions.

Distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) are highly susceptible to lipid oxidation because DDGS contain about 10% crude fat, which is largely composed of polyunsaturated fatty acids. l-carnitine serves an important function in fatty acids β-oxidation, and also has antioxidant properties. The objective of this study was to examine the effects of l-carnitine in the DDGS diet of gestating and lactating sows on reproductive performance, milk composition and antioxidant status of sows and their offspring. One hundred and twenty sows (Landrace×Large white, mean parity 4.2, initial BW 230 kg) were randomly allotted to 1 of 4 dietary treatments (n=30 sows/treatment). Treatments were arranged as a 2×2 factorial with two levels of dietary DDGS (0 v. 250 g/kg in gestating diets and 400 g/kg in lactating diets) and two levels of dietary l-carnitine (0 v. 100 mg/kg in gestating diets and 0 v. 200 mg/kg in lactating diets). Distillers dried grains with solubles had no significant effect on litter size but significantly reduced the birth weights and weaning weights of piglets (P<0.05). Distillers dried grains with solubles reduced the antioxidant enzyme activities (P<0.05) and increased the malondialdehyde level in the plasma of sows on day 60 of gestation (P=0.004) and day 14 of lactation (P=0.008). The compositions of colostrum and milk were not affected by inclusion of DDGS and dietary l-carnitine (P>0.05). Supplementing the diets with l-carnitine had no significant effect of total litter size (P>0.05) but increased the number of piglets born alive and piglets weaned, birth weight and weaning weight of piglets and litter weight at birth and weaning (P<0.05). l-carnitine supplementation also increased the concentration of l-carnitine in milk and l-carnitine status of piglets (P<0.05). The antioxidant enzyme activities of new born and weaning piglets were increased (P<0.05) by maternal dietary l-carnitine but this did not extend to finishing pigs. In conclusion, including DDGS in the sows diet could induce oxidative stress, which may be associated with the reduced individual birth and weaning weight of piglets. Dietary l-carnitine supplementation improved the antioxidant and l-carnitine status of sows, which may be associated with the improved reproduction and piglet performance and the antioxidant status of piglets at birth and weaning. There were no interactions between DDGS and l-carnitine.

Human cystic echinococcosis is a widespread, chronic, endemic, helminthic zoonosis caused by larval tapeworms of the species Echinococcus granulosus. At present, there is no rational and effective therapy for patients with echinococcosis. The present study evaluated whether the combination of alkaloids from Sophora moorcroftiana seeds (SMSa2) and Bacillus Calmette–Guérin (BCG) was effective in the treatment of experimental echinococcosis. After 20 weeks of secondary infection with protoscoleces, mice were randomly allocated to five groups and treated for 6 weeks by daily intragastric administration of albendazole (ABZ, 100 mg/kg), SMSa2 (100 mg/kg), BCG (abdominal subcutaneous injection at 5 × 106 CFU), SMSa2 + BCG (100 mg/kg SMSa2 and 5 × 106 CFU BCG) or normal saline (untreated group), respectively. The results indicated a significant reduction in the weight of hydatid cysts in the SMSa2 + BCG group compared with the untreated, SMSa2 and BCG groups. The rate of inhibition of hydatid cyst growth in the SMSa2 + BCG group (76.1%) was obviously increased compared with that in the SMSa2 (25.7%) and BCG (26.6%) groups, respectively. Compared with the untreated control, the SMSa2 + BCG group showed a non-significant increase in serum interleukin-4 (IL-4). Furthermore, the serum levels of interferon-γ (IFN-γ) between the untreated and SMSa2 + BCG groups were not statistically different. Therefore, the combination of alkaloids from S. moorcroftiana seeds and BCG can reduce cyst burden and is an effective therapeutic regimen against echinococcosis.

Climate change has greatly affected agricultural production, and will lead to further changes in cropping system, varietal type and cultivation techniques for each region. The potential effects of climate change on rice production in Fujian Province, China, were explored in the current study with CERES-Rice model and climate-change scenarios, based on the self-adaptation of rice production. The results indicated that simulated yields of early rice in the double-rice region in south-eastern Fujian under scenarios A2, B2 and A1B increased by 15·9, 18·0 and 19·2%, respectively, and correspondingly those of late rice increased by 9·2, 7·4 and 7·4% when self-adaptation adjustment was considered, compared to scenarios without that consideration. In the double-rice region in north-western Fujian, simulated yields of early rice increased by 21·2, 20·5 and 18·9% and those of late rice by 14·7, 14·8 and 7·2% under scenarios A2, B2 and A1B, respectively, when self-adaptation was considered, compared to without consideration. Similar results were obtained for the single-rice region in the mountain areas of north-western Fujian, correspondingly increasing by 4·9, 5·0 and 2·9% when self-adaptation was considered compared to when it was not. In this single-rice region, double rice might be grown in the future at the Changting site under scenarios A1 and B2. When the self-adaptation adjustment was considered, the simulated overall output of rice crops in Fujian under scenarios A2, B2 and A1B increased by 5·9, 5·2 and 5·1%, respectively. Thus, more optimistic results were obtained when the self-adaptation ability of rice production was considered.

To investigate patterns of survival and estimate conditional survival rates among brain cancer patients in Canada. METHODS: Canadian Cancer Registry data were obtained for all patients with primary brain cancer diagnosed between 1992 and 2008 (n=38,095). Follow-up ended with patient death or December 31, 2008, whichever occurred first. Crude Kaplan-Meier estimates were calculated at one, two, and five years post-diagnosis and also used to estimate conditional survival (restricted to 2000-2008). Age group, sex, residence and microscopic confirmation were considered in estimating rates for major histology types using multivariate models. RESULTS: The overall five-year survival rate was 27%. Oligodendrogliomas had the highest 5-year survival rate (65%, 95% CI: 62.5-67.4%) and glioblastomas the lowest (4.0%, 95% CI: 3.7-4.3%). Compared to Ontario, the age- and sex-adjusted 5-year glioblastoma survival estimates were lower in British Columbia, Alberta and Manitoba-Saskatchewan, lower in all other regions for diffuse astrocytoma, and lower in Manitoba-Saskatchewan for anaplastic astrocytomas. Estimates were significantly higher for oligodendrogliomas in Alberta, and for anaplastic oligodendrogliomas in Alberta and Quebec (P<0.05). Longer term conditional survival rates (surviving an additional 2 years 1-4 years after diagnosis) varied by histologic group. CONCLUSION: There is a need to further explore the underlying reasons for the observed variation in survival rates by region in an effort to improve the prognosis of brain cancer in the Canadian patient population. Conditional survival information has value for clinicians as they plan the course of treatment and follow-up for individual patients.

Disparities in cancer survival rates have been identified for rural patients in Canada and are thought to be due to inequities in access to care. The objective was to perform the first examination of urban and rural brain cancer survival in Canada. Methods: A population-based retrospective cohort study was performed using Canadian Cancer Registry data for patients diagnosed with a primary brain cancer from 1996-2008. Seven major brain cancer histology groups used were glioblastoma, diffuse astrocytoma, glioma (not otherwise specified), oligodendroglioma, anaplastic astrocytoma, oligoastrocytic tumours, and anaplastic oligodendroglioma as categorized by the Central Brain Tumor Registry of the United States (CBTRUS). Kaplan-Meier (KM) survival estimates and Cox Proportional Hazards Regression were performed, adjusting for sex, histology, age group, region, and urban-rural residence. Rural residence was defined using Statistics Canada’s “Rural and Small Town” definition of living in a region with a population of less than 10,000 people. Results: No significant difference between urban and rural residence was identified in crude KM survival estimates. Though not significant, 5-year survival was generally better among rural residents than urban residents, except for rural residents with anaplastic astrocytoma. There remained no significant difference for Cox hazard ratios after adjustment for age, sex, or region. Conclusions: This is the first study to examine the effect of urban-rural residence on brain cancer survival. No significant differences for any histology were found, indicating equitable access to care for brain cancer patients in Canada, regardless of their location of residence.

Toxocariasis is a very prevalent zoonotic disease worldwide. Recently, investigators have focused more on Toxocara spp. seroprevalence in humans. Information regarding Toxocara seroprevalence in people from different ethnic backgrounds in China is limited. For this study, blood samples were collected from a total of 802 Han, 520 Korean, 303 Manchu, and 217 Mongol subjects from Jilin and Shandong provinces. The overall Toxocara seroprevalence was 16·07% (14·21% Han, 20·58% Korean, 11·22% Manchu, 18·89% Mongol). Living in suburban or rural areas, having dogs at home, exposure to soil, and consumption of raw/undercooked meat were risk factors for Toxocara infection. Exposure to soil was identified as the major risk factor for Toxocara seropositivity in all of the tested ethnicities. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report concerning Toxocara infection in Manchus and Mongols in China. The present study provided baseline data for effective prevention strategies of toxocariasis in northeast China and recommends improvements in personal hygiene standards to achieve this goal.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has emerged as a serious hospital and community-acquired infection and some strains are associated with greater severity. We investigated the clinical variability and molecular characteristics of MRSA infections in Shenzhen, China through a study at nine sentinel hospitals from January to December 2014. MRSA infections were classified as community-associated (CA-MRSA), healthcare-associated (HA-MRSA), and healthcare-associated community-onset (HACO-MRSA). In total, 812 MRSA isolates were collected and 183 of these were selected for further study. Patients with HA-MRSA infections were generally of greater age compared to other groups. Distinct body site and clinical presentations were evident in infected patients, e.g. CA-MRSA (skin and soft tissue, 53%), HA-MRSA (respiratory tract, 22%; surgical site, 20%; trauma wounds, 20%) and HACO-MRSA (mastitis, 47%). In contrast to HA-MRSA, other categories of strains were significantly more susceptible to gentamicin, sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim, and tetracycline. No resistance to vancomycin or linezolid was recorded. The predominant clonal lineage within each strain category was CC59-t437-SCCmec IV/V-agr I (CA, 51·4%; HA, 28·9%; HACO, 52·9%) which exhibited characteristics of a traditional CA clone together with agr I which is more often associated with HA clones. In conclusion, for the three categories of MRSA infections, there were significant differences in clinical characteristics of patients, but the predominant clone in each category shared a similar genetic background which suggests that transmission of MRSA strains has occurred between the community and hospitals in Shenzhen.

Accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon dating a continuous core from Lake Gun Nur, northern Mongolia, shows a period between 10 and 8 ka BP that could not be dated accurately. Further dating on alkali-insoluble residue and humic acid from the same samples in the Gun Nur core suggest that this AMS 14C date anomaly is neither analytical nor material related. We hypothesize that the 14C anomaly may be derived from increasing production rates of 14C caused by diminished solar activity, a low 14CO2/14CO ratio in the atmosphere, or an unstable 14C flux in the lower atmosphere caused by changing geomagnetic field strength. Our results imply that the 14C data used for 14C age calibration cannot correct the age-depth regression between 8 and 10 ka BP to fit the age-depth model along with other time intervals.

At the end of 2013, China reported a countrywide outbreak of measles. From January to May 2014, we investigated the clinical and immunological features of the cases of the outbreak admitted to our hospital. In this study, all 112 inpatients with clinically diagnosed measles were recruited from the 302 Military Hospital of China. The virus was isolated from throat swabs from these patients, and cytokine profiles were examined. By detecting the measles virus of 30 of the 112 patients, we found that this measles outbreak was of the H1 genotype, which is the major strain in China. The rates of complications, specifically pneumonia and liver injury, differed significantly in patients aged <8 months, 8 months to 18 years, and >18 years: pneumonia was more common in children, while liver injury was more common in adults. Pneumonia was a significant independent risk factor affecting measles duration. Compared to healthy subjects, measles patients had fewer CD4+IL-17+, CD4+IFN-γ +, and CD8+IFN-γ + cells in both the acute and recovery phases. In contrast, measles patients in the acute phase had more CD8+IL-22+ cells than those in recovery or healthy subjects. We recommend that future studies focus on the age-related distribution of pneumonia and liver injury as measles-related complications as well as the association between immunological markers and measles prognosis.

Trichogramma chilonis Ishii (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae) is an important natural enemy of many species of lepidopterous pests and a widely used biological control agent. Detailed knowledge about its mate choice and host discrimination behavior is lacking. In this study, we studied the mate choice and host discrimination behavior of T. chilonis in experimental arenas through video tracking. Males’ mate recognition capacity was realized by perceiving the sex pheromone of females. When offered two females of different species, male could distinguish the conspecific female from Trichogrammatoidea bactrae Nagaraja (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae), a species that has overlapping hosts with T. chilonis. When placed with two females of different mating status, male preferred mating with the virgin female to the mated female. T. chilonis females could distinguish unparasitized host eggs from parasitized ones (parasitized by conspecific females or heterospecific females). They preferred to stay on and lay eggs in unparasitized host eggs. When T. chilonis females were only provided with parasitized host eggs (parasitized by T. chilonis and T. bactrae females), conspecific superparasitism occurred more often than heterospecific superparasitism. Furthermore, the host egg discrimination ability of T. chilonis females was mainly achieved through antennal perception.

A cross-sectional study was conducted from June 2013 to August 2015 to determine the seroprevalence and possible risk factors for human Toxoplasma gondii infection in Korean, Manchu, Mongol and Han ethnic groups in eastern and northeastern China. A total of 1842 serum samples, including Han (n = 802), Korean (n = 520), Manchu (n = 303) and Mongol (n = 217) groups, were analysed using enzyme-linked immunoassays to detect IgG and IgM T. gondii antibodies. The overall T. gondii IgG and IgM seroprevalences were 13·79% and 1·25%, respectively. Of these groups, Mongol ethnicity had the highest T. gondii seroprevalence (20·74%, 45/217), followed by Korean ethnicity (16·54%, 86/520), Manchu ethnicity (13·86%, 42/303) and Han ethnicity (11·35%, 98/802). Multiple analysis showed that the consumption of raw vegetables and fruits, the consumption of raw/undercooked meat and the source of drinking water were significantly associated with T. gondii infection in the Han group. Likewise, having a cat at home was identified as being associated with T. gondii infection in the Korean, Manchu and Mongol groups. Moreover, the consumption of raw/undercooked meat was identified as another predictor of T. gondii seropositivity in the Mongol group. The results of this survey indicate that T. gondii infection is prevalent in Korean, Manchu, Mongol and Han ethnic groups in the study region. Therefore, it is essential to implement integrated strategies with efficient management measures to prevent and control T. gondii infection in this region of China. Moreover, this is the first report of T. gondii infection in Korean, Manchu, and Mongol ethnic groups in eastern and northeastern China.

Understanding the physiological mechanisms of biomass accumulation and partitioning in the grain, and the nitrogen (N) uptake associated with different plant densities and N management strategies, is essential for achieving both high yield and N use efficiency (NUE) in maize plants. A field experiment was conducted in 2013 and 2014, using five rates of N application and three plant densities (6·0, 7·5 and 9·0 plants/m2) in Quzhou County on the North China Plain (NCP). The objective was to evaluate whether higher plant density can produce more biomass allocated to the grain to achieve higher grain yield and to determine the optimal N management strategies for different plant densities. The highest grain yield and NUE were achieved in the 7·5 plants/m2 treatment; both the sub-optimal (6·0 plants/m2) and supra-optimal (9·0 plants/m2) plant densities resulted in diminished yield and NUE. Compared to 6·0 plants/m2, the 7·5 plants/m2 treatment displayed higher biomass accumulation during the grain-filling period and also exhibited more biomass allocated to kernels with similar total biomass accumulation compared with the 9·0 plants/m2 treatment, which contributed to its higher grain yield. The N uptake in the 7·5 plants/m2 treatment was similar to that in the 9·0 plants/m2 treatment up to pre-silking. However, the post-silking N uptake of the 7·5 plants/m2 treatment was 66·4 kg/ha, which was 29·1% higher than that of the 9·0 plants/m2 treatment. Furthermore, the highest maize grain yield was achieved in the 0·7 × optimal N rate (ONR × 0·7), ONR and ONR × 1·3 treatments for 6·0, 7·5 and 9·0 plants/m2, respectively, which suggests that different N management strategies are needed for different plant densities. In conclusion, selecting a planting density of 7·5 plants/m2 with an in-season root zone N management is a potentially effective strategy for achieving high grain yield and high NUE for maize production on the NCP.

Necrophoric behaviour is critical sanitation behaviour in social insects. However, little is known about the necrophoric responses of workers towards different developmental stages in a colony as well as its underlying mechanism. Here, we show that Solenopsis invicta workers display distinct necrophoric responses to corpses of workers and pupae. Corpses of workers killed by freezing (dead for <1 h) were carried to a refuse pile, but pupal corpses would take at least 1 day to elicit workers’ necrophoric response. Metarhizium anisopliae-infected pupal corpses accelerated the necrophoric behaviour of resident workers, with 47.5% of unaffected corpses and 73.8% infected corpses discarded by 1 day post-treatment). We found that fungus-infected pupal corpses had a higher concentration of fatty acids (palmitic acid, oleic acid and linoleic acid) on their surface. We experimentally confirmed that linoleic and oleic acids would elicit a necrophoric response in workers. The appearance of linoleic and oleic acids appeared to be chemical signals involved in recognition of pupal corpses, and M. anisopliae infection could promote the accumulation of fatty acids on surface of pupal corpses resulting in accelerated necrophoric responses of workers.

Hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) is an acute contagious condition caused by a spectrum of human enteroviruses. HFMD reinfection is common in the absence of cross-protection from other virus subtypes. This study focused on reinfection in children in Anhui province, China between 2008 and 2013 using surveillance system data. We classified 8960 cases as reinfected, corresponding to a rate of 2·02%. The reinfection rate was higher in boys than in girls [odds ratio (OR) 1·27, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1·21–1·32, P < 0·001], children aged < 3 years (OR 3·82, 95% CI 3·58–4·07, P < 0·001), and children living in rural areas (OR 1·09, 95% CI 1·04–1·14, P = 0·001). The reinfection rate in children who were originally infected with non-enterovirus A71 (non-EVA71) enteroviruses was higher than those infected with EVA71 (OR 1·36, 95% CI 1·02–1·80, P = 0·034). Influential factors of reinfection rate included annual incidence (β coefficient = 0·715, P = 0·002) and the proportion of EVA71 in patients with mild HFMD (β coefficient = −0·509, P = 0·018). These results demonstrate that boys aged <3 years, especially those in rural areas or regions with a lower EVA71 proportion are more prone to reinfection, and specific health education programmes should be developed to protect these susceptible populations.

This study characterized Neisseria meningitidis serogroup C strains in China in order to establish their genetic relatedness and describe the use of multilocus variable-number tandem-repeat (VNTR) analysis (MLVA) to provide useful epidemiological information. A total of 215 N. meningitidis serogroup C strains, obtained from 2003 to 2012 in China, were characterized by MLVA with different published schemes as well as multilocus sequence typing. (i) Based on the MLVA scheme with a combination of five highly variable loci, 203 genotypes were identified; this level of discrimination supports its use for resolving closely related isolates. (ii) Based on a combination of ten low variable loci, clear phylogenetic relationships were established within sequence type complexes. In addition, there was evidence of microevolution of VNTR loci over the decade as strain lineages spread from Anhui to other provinces, the more distant the provinces from Anhui, the higher the genetic variation.