OBJECTIVES Robotic thymectomy via the subxiphoid approach (RTX) is a recently introduced surgical approach. This study aimed to report on the surgical technique and early outcomes of RTX in our institute. METHODS RTX was performed using the 3-arm technique in the da Vinci robotic surgical system. The camera was inserted into a subxiphoid port, and 2 robotic arms were inserted in bilateral intercostal ports. A complete dissection of both cervical poles up to the thyroid gland was conducted, and bilateral phrenic nerves were identified in all cases. Radical combined resection of adjacent organs, including the lung, pericardium, phrenic nerve and the innominate vein, was performed if necessary. The resected specimen could be retrieved through the subxiphoid port site. RESULTS A total of 110 patients underwent RTX in our institute from October 2016 to August 2019. Thymoma was the most common diagnosis (60.9%), and the mean size of the tumours was 4.9 ± 2.4 cm. Combined resection was performed in the lung (n = 9, 8.1%), pericardium (n = 6, 5.5%) and innominate vein (n = 5, 4.5%). There were 2 minor postoperative complications (1.8%), and the mean length of hospital stay was 2.2 ± 1.4 days. For the cumulative sum curve analysis of the learning curve using operative time, 50 cases were necessary to gain proficiency. CONCLUSIONS RTX was a safe and feasible surgical approach, even in advanced thymic epithelial tumours. It should be considered one of the valuable surgical options in minimally invasive thymectomy. © The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery. All rights reserved.The vanilloid-type transient receptor potential (TRPV) channel is reported to be the molecular target of the commercial insecticide pymetrozine, which specifically disrupts the feeding of plant sap-sucking insects. However, the functions of TRPV channels in plant sap-sucking insects have not been fully elucidated. In the present study, RNA interference was used to investigate the effects of the knockdown of TRPV genes (Nan and Iav) on the mortality, locomotion, and feeding behavior of an important plant-feeding insect pest in rice, the brown planthopper, Nilaparvata lugens. Injecting dsRNA of Nan and Iav into fourth-instar nymphs significantly knocked down the target genes. The injection of dsNan or dsIav did not affect any morphological phenotype (including leg extension) of N. lugens nymphs and adults. Knockdown of Nan or Iav resulted in significantly decreased climbing activity against top plants but did not influence the leg-griping strength of adults. Knockdown of Nan resulted in a significantly elevated mortality of N. lugens in the observation period of 7 d after injection, whereas no significant difference in survival rates 7 d after injection was found between dsIav-injected and dsGFP-injected insects. Electropenetrographic (EPG) recordings indicated that knockdown of Nan and Iav reduced the ingestion activity in the rice phloem tissues of N. lugens. Knockdown of Nan and Iav significantly reduced the amount of honeydew excreted by N. lugens. Our findings indicated a relationship between TRPV and N. lugens locomotion and feeding behavior, which may help to fully elucidate the functions of TRPV in insects. © The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America.Plant tannins, polyphenolic plant secondary metabolites are involved in important chemical defense processes in plants. In this study, tannic acid was used as the standard of plant tannins to determine the effects on nutritional indices and activities of glutathione S-transferases (GSTs), cytochrome P450 monooxygenase (CYP450), carboxylesterase (CarE), and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) in fourth-instar larvae of Hyphantria cunea (Drury) by feeding on an artificial diet containing tannic acid under different treatments. We found that tannic acid significantly affected the digestive capacity and food utilization rate of H. cunea larvae. A tannic acid concentration of less than 2.0% promoted feeding and the utilization of undesirable food by H. cunea larvae, while inhibitory effects were observed at high concentrations (>2.5%). Tannic acid had a significant effect on the activity of detoxification enzymes and AChE in H. cunea larvae in concentration-dependent and time-dependent manners (P less then 0.05). These results provide new insights into the potential mechanisms underlying detoxification in H. cunea larvae against tannic acid in host plants. © The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America.In screening applications involving low-prevalence diseases, pooling specimens (e.g., urine, blood, swabs, etc.) through group testing can be far more cost effective than testing specimens individually. Estimation is a common goal in such applications and typically involves modeling the probability of disease as a function of available covariates. In recent years, several authors have developed regression methods to accommodate the complex structure of group testing data but often under the assumption that covariate effects are linear. Although linearity is a reasonable assumption in some applications, it can lead to model misspecification and biased inference in others. To offer a more flexible framework, we propose a Bayesian generalized additive regression approach to model the individual-level probability of disease with potentially misclassified group testing data. Our approach can be used to analyze data arising from any group testing protocol with the goal of estimating multiple unknown smooth functions of covariates, standard linear effects for other covariates, and assay classification accuracy probabilities. We illustrate the methods in this article using group testing data on chlamydia infection in Iowa. © The Author 2020. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail journals.permissions@oup.com.BACKGROUND The hepatotoxicity of Tripterygium wilfordii Hook. f. find more (TWHF) limits its clinic utilization. Qingluo Tongbi formula (QTF) was formulated based on a basic Chinese medicine theory. Previous studies have confirmed the safety and efficacy of QTF in treating rheumatoid arthritis. Therefore, we considered that TWHF could be detoxified based on its reasonable compatibility with QTF. We investigated the detoxicity mechanism of QTF in reducing the liver toxicity of TWHF. MATERIAL AND METHODS We used network pharmacology to determine the relevant metabolism targets of TWHF, focusing on the phase II metabolic enzymes uridine diphosphate-glucuronosyltransferase 1A1 (UGT1A1), UGT1A6, and UGT2B7. Based on the molecular mechanisms of these predictions and the results of the network analysis, we designed experiments to verify our hypothesis in vivo. We used western blotting, real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR), double immunofluorescence, and laser confocal microscopy to detect the expression of UGTs.