Effects of temperature, fungal infection and weight on intermoult duration and survival of starving earwig larvae

Clinical Value of sTREM-1, PCT, and 1,3-β-D Glucan in Diagnosis of Immune-Associated Pulmonary Interstitial Disease with Fungal Infection

Background

Fungal infection in the lungs can cause fungal infectious diseases. This disease develops rapidly and involves a wide range. Pathogenic fungi are also more serious types of pathogenic bacteria. If it invades deep organs and tissues, it will endanger life, so it needs timely diagnosis.

Aim

To investigate the diagnostic value of serum soluble myeloid cell triggering receptor-1 (sTREM-1), procalcitonin (PCT), and 1,3-β-D glucan detection in immune related lung disease complicated with fungal infection.

Methods

In this study, a case-control study was conducted. 50 patients with immune-related pulmonary disease complicated with fungal infection (infection group) diagnosed by sputum culture in our hospital from January 2017 to December 2021 were selected as the control group, and 50 patients with immune-related pulmonary disease without fungal infection were selected as the control group. The levels of sTREM-1, PCT, and 1,3-β-D glucan were compared in the two groups. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) was used to analyze the value of the three indicators in the diagnosis of immune-related pulmonary disease complicated with fungal infection, and the changes of the three indicators before and after treatment were compared.

Results

The levels of sTREM-1, PCT, and 1,3-β-D glucan in the infection group were higher than those in the control group (P < 0.05). The levels of sTREM-1, PCT, and 1,3-β-D glucan in the infection group after treatment were significantly lower than those before treatment (P < 0.05). The AUC value of sTREM-1 in the diagnosis of immune-related pulmonary diseases complicated with fungal infection was 0.980, the sensitivity was 97.11%, and the specificity was 83.06%. The AUC value of PCT in the diagnosis of immune-related pulmonary diseases complicated with fungal infection was 0.860, the sensitivity was 80.00%, and the specificity was 72.41%. The AUC value of 1,3-β-D glucan in the diagnosis of immune-related pulmonary diseases complicated with fungal infection was 0.993, the sensitivity was 98.74%, and the specificity was 99.16%. The levels of sTREM-1, PCT, and 1,3-β-D glucan in the infection group after treatment were considerably lower than those before treatment, and the difference was statistically significant (P < 0.05).

Conclusion

The detection of sTREM-1, PCT, and 1,3-β-D glucan levels has high clinical value for the diagnosis of immune-related pulmonary diseases complicated with fungal infection.

Effects of ocean acidification and warming on the development and biochemical responses of juvenile shrimp Palaemon elegans (Rathke, 1837)

Anthropogenic CO₂ emissions have led to the warming and acidification of the oceans. Although, there is a growing of evidence showing that simultaneous occurrence of ocean acidification and ocean warming are threats to marine organisms, information on their combined effect on coastal shrimp species remains scarce. The purpose of this study was to estimate the combined effects of seawater acidification and warming on growth-related traits and biochemical responses of P. elegans juveniles. In this work, shrimp were exposed for 65 days at 4 experimental conditions: pH 8.10 * 18 °C, pH 7.80 * 18 °C, pH 8.10 * 22 °C, pH 7.80 * 22 °C. The results showed that low pH decreases the lipid content by ∼13% (p < 0.05). Higher temperature reduced the condition factor by ∼11%, the protein content by ∼20%, the PUFA by ∼8,6% and shortened moulting events by 5 days (p > 0.05) while the SFA increased ∼9.4%. The decrease in condition factor and protein was however more prominent in organisms exposed to the combination of pH and temperature with a decrease of ∼13% and ∼21%, respectively. Furthermore, essential fatty acids as EPA and DHA also decreased by ∼20% and ∼6.6% in low pH and higher temperature condition. Despite this study suggest that warming may have a greater impact than acidification, it has been shown that their combined effect can exacerbate these impacts with consequences for the shrimp's body size and biochemical profile.

Negative effects of fluctuating temperatures around the optimal temperature on reproduction and survival of the red flour beetle

Whereas the vast majority of animals in nature experience daily or seasonal thermal fluctuations, most laboratory experiments use constant temperatures. We examined the effect of fluctuating temperatures on reproduction and survival under starvation, two important components of fitness. We used the red flour beetle as a model organism, which is a significant pest in grain mills around the world. Fluctuations around the optimal temperature were always negative for the adult survival under starvation. The effect of thermal fluctuations on the number of offspring reaching adulthood was negative as well but increased with the extent of exposure. It was the strongest when the adult parents were kept and the offspring were raised under fluctuating temperatures. However, the later the offspring were exposed to fluctuations during their development, the weaker the effect of fluctuating temperatures was. Moreover, raising the parents under fluctuating temperatures but keeping them after pupation at constant temperatures fully alleviated the negative effects of fluctuations on the offspring. Finally, we demonstrate that keeping the parents a few days under fluctuating temperatures is required to induce negative effects on the number of offspring reaching adulthood. Our study disentangles between the effects of thermal fluctuations experienced during the parental and offspring stage thus contributing to the ongoing research of insects under fluctuating temperatures.