An insect lac blanket-mimetic and degradable shellac hydrogel/chitosan packaging film with controllable gas permeation for fresh-cut vegetables preservation.

Fresh-cut products are extremely perishable due to the processing operations, and the atmosphere environment, especially CO2, O2 and H2O, could profoundly affect their shelf life. Herein, an insect "lac blanket"-mimetic and facile strategy was proposed for fresh-cut vegetables preservation, employing porous shellac hydrogel microparticles as gas "switches" in chitosan film to regulate CO2, O2 and H2O vapor permeability. Thus, the shellac hydrogel/chitosan hybrid film presented the controllable and wide range of gas permeability, compared with the chitosan film. The shellac-COOH nanoscale vesicles aggregated to form shellac hydrogel network via hydrophobic binding. The shellac hydrogel microparticles played a certain lubricating effect on the hybrid film casting solution. The hydrogen bond network between shellac hydrogel and chitosan contributed to the excellent mechanical properties of the hybrid film. The hybrid film also exhibited remarkable water-resistant, antifogging properties, optical transparency and degradability. The hybrid packaging films prepared through this strategy could adjust the internal gas (CO2, O2, H2O and ethylene) contents within the packages, and further exhibited admirable preservation performance on three fresh-cut vegetables with different respiratory metabolisms. This gas permeation-controlled strategy has great potential in fresh food preservation and various other applications that need a modified atmosphere.

A morphological traits dataset of Heteroptera sampled in biodiversity priority areas of Southwest China.

Functional traits reveal the adaptive strategies of species to their environment, and are relevant to the formation of communities, the function of ecosystems, and the mechanisms underlying biodiversity. However, trait databases have not been established for most biological taxa, especially for insects, which encompass a vast number of species. This study measured the morphological traits of 307 species of Heteroptera insects collected in 2019 from the "Xishuangbanna Priority Conservation Area" in Southwest China using sweep netting and light trapping methods. This study provides a dataset for 307 Heteroptera species, comprising 34 morphometric measurements and 17 morphological traits. The dataset contains information on species sex, abundance, and the average, maximum, and minimum values of traits. This dataset facilitates an enhanced understanding of the functional traits and ecological associations of Heteroptera insects and offers opportunities for exploring a more diverse range of research topics.

The effects of implicit emotion on the use of theory of mind among college students in China.

This research aims to study the impact of implicit emotion on the use of theory of mind and enrich the research on emotions and the use of theory of mind, thus allowing adults to apply theory of mind more effectively in the context of social interaction. This study includes 120 college students as participants. A two (level of theory of mind: high vs. low) * three (implicit emotional state: implicit positive emotion, implicit neutral emotion, or implicit negative emotion) * two (private knowledge: endowed vs. unendowed) between-subjects three-factor design was employed. This study obtained the following results: (1) The main effect of different implicit emotional states on college students' use of theory of mind is significant. College students with implicit positive emotions use theory of mind much less than those with implicit neutral and negative emotions. (2) In cases of implicit positive emotions, college students with a low level of theory of mind use theory of mind substantially less than students with a high level of theory of mind. In cases of implicit neutral and negative emotions, college students with the high and low theory of mind do not exhibit substantial differences in their use of theory of mind. This study concludes that different emotional states affect college students' use of theory of mind.

Data of ant community compositions and functional traits responding to land-use change at the local scale.

Aim: Off-reserve conservation is a major contributor to China biodiversity conservation efforts, biodiversity conservation being achieved within afforestation and low-intensity agriculture in fragmented landscapes. Functional trait is more strongly related to ecological processes than taxonomic diversity and reflects ecosystem functioning and species responses to environmental changes. In this study, we selected five habitats that differ in degree of disturbance to explore the effects of land use on ant community compositions, traits distributions and functional diversity change. We assessed how habitat disturbance affects the ant community compositions and traits distributions and asked if ant functional diversity respond to disturbance at the local scale? Location: Lüchun County, Yunnan Province, southwest China. Methods: Pitfall traps were used to survey ant communities. Additionally, we measured four ant morphological traits (eyes diameter, distance between eyes, femur length of the hind-leg and Weber's length) to assess the functional traits distributions and functional diversity. Shade plot of ant relative abundance was used to explore species distribution amongst different habitats. Kernel density plot was used to explore ant traits distribution patterns amongst different habitats. Non-metric multi-dimensional scaling ordination, based on ant Weber's length, was used to explore the ant traits compositions amongst different habitats. The fourth corner model was used to evaluate the association between ant traits and environmental variables. The FRic, RaoQ and FEve indices were selected as three complementary measures of the multivariate functional traits space and functional redundancy of different habitats. Results: We collected 14258 ants, representing 89 species, 40 genera and seven subfamilies. Aphaenogasterschurri and Tetramoriumciliatum were the common species of secondary forest; P.sagei, P.pieli, Cardiocondylawroughtonii, Recurvidrisnuwa, Tapinnomamelanocephalum, Monomoriumpharaonis and M.orientale were the common species in plantations; and Iridomyrmexanceps and Cardiocondylanuda were the common species in managed farms. Ants had medium eye diameters, narrow distances between eyes, medium leg lengths and smaller body sizes in greatly-disturbed habitats; and ants had an increasing eye diameter and narrowing of the space between eyes, while the leg length and Weber's length became shorter in moderately-disturbed habitats. Ant trait composition, based on Weber's length, showed significantly differences amongst five habitats. The fourth corner analysis indicated that ant species traits were significantly correlated with environmental variables. The functional diversity of secondary forest, lac plantation and lac plantation-corn agroforest were higher than those in dryland farm and rice paddy. Functional diversities were significantly negatively correlated with bare ground cover and significantly positively correlated with leaf-litter cover, leaf-litter thickness and plant cover. Main conclusion: Our results indicated that ant traits distribution patterns were affected by land-use changes, followed by anthropogenic disturbance pressures at the local scale. Ant traits compositions in greatly-disturbed habitats also differed from the habitats with less disturbance. It is unfavourable for the survival of the large body-size ants in more open habitats with more anthropogenic disturbance. Compared with secondary forest, dryland farm and rice paddies were less resistant and more vulnerable and lac plantations had approximately functional diversity of ant communities, suggesting that lac plantations might be resistant as secondary forest to species loss.

Cloud-fracture networks as a means of accessing superhot geothermal energy.

Superhot geothermal environments (above ca. 400 °C) represent a new geothermal energy frontier. However, the networks of permeable fractures capable of storing and transmitting fluids are likely to be absent in the continental granitic crust. Here we report the first-ever experimental results for well stimulation involving the application of low-viscosity water to granite at temperatures ≥400 °C under true triaxial stress. This work demonstrates the formation of a network of permeable microfractures densely distributed throughout the entire rock body, representing a so-called cloud-fracture network. Fracturing was found to be initiated at a relatively low injection pressure between the intermediate and minimum principal stresses and propagated in accordance with the distribution of preexisting microfractures, independent of the directions of the principal stresses. This study confirms the possibility of well stimulation to create excellent fracture patterns that should allow the effective extraction of thermal energy.

Multiple ant species tending lac insect Kerria yunnanensis (Hemiptera: Kerriidae) provide asymmetric protection against parasitoids.

This study investigated the effects of ant attendance on the parasitoid community and parasitism of lac insect Kerria yunnanensis aggregations in Yunnan province, China. We manipulated ant attendance to establish three treatments: (1) ant exclusion; (2) low ant attendance by several ant species; and (3) high ant attendance by Crematogaster macaoensis. Five parasitoid species were collected, with two species contributing 82.7 and 13.2% of total abundance respectively. Total parasitoid abundance was lowest in the February sample when K. yunnanensis was in its younger life stage, being significantly lower in the ant exclusion treatment. In April, all three treatments had significantly different parasitoid abundances, being highest in the ant exclusion treatment and the lowest in the high ant attendance treatment. When ants were present, there were strong negative relationships between total parasitoid abundance and ant abundance, with the relationships being dependent upon the ant species composition and abundance. The patterns of total parasitoid abundance were driven by the two most abundant parasitoid species. Parasitoid species richness did not differ among treatments or between sample times, however, multivariate analysis confirmed that overall parasitoid community structure differed significantly among treatments and between sample times, with the high ant attendance treatment differing most from the other two treatments. Interestingly the absence of ants did not result in increased parasitism from four of the five parasitoids. Ants in lac insect farming systems have a clear role for agricultural pest management. A full understanding of the asymmetric abilities of ants to influence parasitoid communities, and affect parasitism of hosts will require further experimental manipulation to assess the relative roles of 1) the abundance of each individual ant species on parasitoid access to hosts, 2) competition among parasitoids, and 3) the interaction between the first two factors.

[Effects of lac insect honeydew on the diversity of ground-dwelling ants in lac plantation].

By the method of pitfall trapping, an investigation was conducted on the diversity of ground-dwelling ants in a lac plantation in Yayi Town of Mojiang County, Yunnan Province of Southwest China in December 2009-May 2010, aimed to understand the effects of lac insect honeydew on the diversity of ground-dwelling ants. The presence or absence of lac insect honeydew and its dynamics all affected the species composition, abundance, and diversity of ground-dwelling ants. In the lac plantation with lac insect hosting, a total of 4953 ant individuals were collected, belonging to 34 species, 23 genera, and 5 subfamilies of Formicidae; whereas in the lac plantation without lac insect hosting, a total of 2416 ant individuals were collected, belonging to 30 species, 20 genera, and 5 subfamilies of Formicidae. The relative abundance, species richness (S), and ACE index in the lac plantation with lac insect hosting were higher than those in the lac plantation without lac insect hosting, and the common species and indicator species of ground-dwelling ants in the lac plantation with lac insect hosting differed from those in the lac plantation without lac insect hosting, suggesting that lac insect hosting altered the community structure of ground-dwelling ants. The adult lac insects excreted larger quantity of honeydew than the larval lac insects, and the relative abundance, S, and ACE index of ground-dwelling ants were higher at the adult stage than at the larval stage of lac insects. The common species and indicator species of ground-dwelling ants also had great differences between the two stages of lac insects.

[Monopolization of honeydew sources by Crematogaster macaoensis and its effects on lac production].

From October 2008 to May 2010, an investigation was made in a lac plantation in Yayi region of Mojiang County, Yunnan Province, China, aimed to understand the behavior of the monopolization of honeydew sources by ant Crematogaster macaoensis, and its effects on the sex ratio, mortality, fecundity, and lac production of Yunnan lac insect Kerria yunnanensis. The results showed that C. macaoensis fed and monopolized the honeydews around the clock during the whole life cycle of K. yunnanensis on the stick-lac, and the average number of visiting C. macaoensis ranged from 16.8 +/- 2.3 to 39.3 +/- 10.0 per 10 cm length of the stick-lac. C. macaoensis constructed shelters to prevent other animals from visiting the lac insect. C. macaoensis monopolization reduced the lac production of individual K. yunnanensi significantly, but had no significant effects on the lac production of whole lac insect colony. In addition, C. macaoensis monopolization reduced the mortality of K. yunnanensis significantly, and increased the percentage of K. yunnanensis females and the adult female fecundity. It was concluded that ant monopolization of the lac insect honeydew seemed to be beneficial to the lac production by the Yunnan lac insect.

[Coexistence mechanism of ant community in lac plantation under habitat heterogeneity].

In order to reveal the coexistence mechanism of ant community in lac plantation, an investigation was made on the ant community composition and the ability of ant species in discovering and holding food resources in a lac plantation in Yayi Town of Mojiang County, Yunnan Province, with the relationships between ant body size and its ability of finding food under habitat heterogeneity probed. There were six dominant ant species in the plantation, i. e., Tetraponera allaborans (Walker), Crematogaster macaoensis Wheeler, Crematogasterferrarii Emery, Dolichoderus thoracicus (Smith), Polyrhachis proxima Roger, and Camponotus parius Emery. The hind leg length (y) of the six ant species increased allometrically with their head width (x), and the regression equation was y = 0.56 + 1.02x + 5.97x2 - 10.85x3. Different ant species had significant differences in their actual and relative frequency in discovering food resources in different habitats, but habitat type had no significant effects on the actual frequency in holding food resources by the ant species. The ant species with bigger head width and bigger body size index could discover more food resources in simple habitat. In contrast, the ant species with smaller head width, shorter hind leg length, and smaller body size index could discover more food resources in complex habitat. The heterogeneity of habitat caused the coexistence of ants: the smaller ant species lived in complex habitat, while the larger ones lived in simple habitat. In addition, numerically dominant ant species were unable to possess all resources, and thereby, could provide the opportunity to other ant species for resources acquisition, making the species coexistence come true.

[Diversity of grasshopper community in lac plantation-farmland ecosystem].

The grasshopper communities in the paddy field, dry land, natural forest, and plantation forest of lac plantation-farmland ecosystem in Lvchun County, Yunnan were investigated by sweep netting. A total of 1426 grasshoppers belonging to 33 species, 22 genena, and 5 families were captured. In the paddy field, dry land, natural forest, and plantation forest of the ecosystem, the species richness S were 16.333, 13.000, 11.000, and 12.000, Margalef index was 2.873, 2.266, 2.335, and 2. 137, Shannon-Wiener index was 2.034, 1.976, 1.982, and 1.488, Simpson index was 0.196, 0.189, 0.174, and 0.323, and Pielou index was 0.728, 0.787, 0.829, 0.599, respectively. This ecosystem had a lower diversity of grasshopper communities, and different land use habitats in the ecosystem had different species component and diversity. In paddy field, grasshopper had a higher diversity than in dry land, but its evenness and stability were moderate; in natural forest, the diversity was high and the stability was strong; while in plantation forest, the diversity was low and the stability was weak. There existed species exchange in different land use habitats in the ecosystem.

[Effects of host plants on natural population of Kerria yunnanensis (Hemipterae: Kerridae)].

The study on the development, survivorship and reproduction of Kerria yunnanensis on 4 kinds of host trees indicated that in natural environment, the initial K. yunnanensis population density varied from 181.17 individuals on Dalbergia obtusifolia to 145.27 individuals on Ficus facemosa per cm2, realized sex ratio varied from 0.24 on D. obtusifolia and F. cunia to 0.19 on D. balansae, accumulated population mortality from larval to adult varied from 90.03% on D. balansae to 87.05% on F. cunia, and development period from larval to adult ranged from 156 days on D. balansae to 140 days on F. facemosa. The oviposition of K. yunnanensis varied from 536 eggs on D. balansae to 345.86 eggs on F. facemosa, female adult mass varied from 12.62 mg on D. balansae to 9.03 mg on F. cunia, and basic reproduction rate varied from 48.51 on D. balansae to 32.79 on F. facemosa. D. balansae was the most suitable host plant for K. chinensis summer life cycle.