Fungi associated with black point were isolated from three highly susceptible wheat genotypes in the North China Plain. The 21 isolates represented 11 fungal genera. The most prevalent genera were (isolation frequency of 56.7%), (16.1%), and (6.0%). The other eight genera were, ,, ,, ,, and ; their isolation frequencies ranged from 0.8 to 4.8%. The pathogenicity of the isolates was individually assessed in the greenhouse by inoculating wheat plants with spore suspensions. Ten of the 21 isolates caused significantly higher incidences of black point than that the controls. These isolates belonged to eight fungal species (, ,, ,, ,, and ) based on morphological traits and phylogenetic analysis. The average incidences of black point in the eight fungal species were 32.4, 54.3, 43.0, 41.9, 37.2, 38.8, 50.1, and 34.1%, respectively. and were determined to be the most important pathogens in the North China Plain based on fungal prevalence and symptom severity. This study is the first to identify as a major pathogen causing black point in wheat.

Russula brunneovinacea is described as a new species from northeastern China. It is characterized by its deep brownish vinaceous to Etruscan red or Kaiser brown pileus with a slightly depressed center, incurved margin with striate, Naples Yellow context that dries with a greyish tinge, subglobose to broadly ellipsoid basidiospores with an amyloid plage and isolated warts that are connected at base or in ridges warts but do not form a reticulum. The new species is supported by ITS phylogenetic analyses and tentatively placed in Russula subsect. Integroidinae based on morphological analyses.

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BACKGROUND Anastomotic leakage (AL) is a fatal complication in patients with rectal cancer after undergoing anterior resection. However, the role of abdominal composition in the development of AL has not been studied. AIM To investigate the relationship between abdominal composition and AL in rectal cancer patients after undergoing anterior resection. METHODS A retrospective case-matched cohort study was conducted. Complete data for 78 patients with AL were acquired and this cohort was defined as the AL group. The controls were matched for the same sex and body mass index (± 1 kg/m 2 ). Parameters related to abdominal composition including visceral fat area (VFA), subcutaneous fat area (SFA), subcutaneous fat thickness (SFT), skeletal muscle area (SMA), skeletal muscle index (SMI), abdominal circumference (AC), anterior to posterior diameter of abdominal cavity (APD), and transverse diameter of abdominal cavity (TD) were evaluated based on computed tomography (CT) images using the following Hounsfield Unit (HU) thresholds: SFA: -190 to -30, SMA: -29 to 150, and VFA: -150 to -20. The significance of abdominal composition-related parameters was quantified using feature importance analysis; an artificial intelligence method was used to evaluate the contribution of each included variable. RESULTS Two thousand two hundred and thirty-eight rectal cancer patients who underwent anterior resection from 2010 to 2020 in a large academic hospital were investigated. Finally, 156 cases were enrolled in the study. Patients in the AL group showed longer operative time (225.03 ± 55.29 vs 207.17 ± 40.80, P = 0.023), lower levels of preoperative hemoglobin (123.32 ± 21.17 vs 132.60 ±1 6.31, P = 0.003) and albumin (38.34 ± 4.01 vs 40.52 ± 3.97, P = 0.001), larger tumor size (4.07 ± 1.36 vs 2.76 ± 1.28, P < 0.001), and later cancer stage ( P < 0.001) compared to the controls. Patients who developed AL exhibited a larger VFA (125.68 ± 73.59 vs 97.03 ± 57.66, P = 0.008) and a smaller APD (77.30 ± 23.23 vs 92.09 ± 26.40, P < 0.001) and TD (22.90 ± 2.23 vs 24.21 ± 2.90, P = 0.002) compared to their matched controls. Feature importance analysis revealed that TD, APD, and VFA were the three most important abdominal composition-related features. CONCLUSION AL patients have a higher visceral fat content and a narrower abdominal structure compared to matched controls.