Kangxu Wang

Food-web transfer is a major pathway for non-target predator effects of diatomite nanoparticles. A dsRNA-loaded DNP safety switch reduces predator mortality while maintaining prey suppression.

BACKGROUND: Phosphine fumigation remains a cornerstone of stored‐grain protection, yet widespread resistance in Rhyzopertha dominica threatens its long‐term effectiveness. RNA interference (RNAi) through ingestion of double‐stranded RNA (dsRNA) offers a sequence‐specific mode‐of‐action (MoA) distinct from conventional insecticides. However, practical development requires identification of orally effective target genes, demonstration of grain‐protection benefits, and validation of efficacy in phosphine‐resistant populations. RESULTS: Oral delivery of dsRNA produced dose‐dependent reductions in adult survival, with survival ranging from 3% to 12% among the five target‐gene treatments at 300 ng μL ^–1 after 10 days of continuous exposure, compared with >90% in the controls. Target transcript levels were reduced to 15–48% of control levels following dsRNA exposure, confirming RNAi activity. dsRNA treatment also substantially reduced grain damage, with relative grain weight loss reduced to as low as 8% of the water‐treated control at 300 ng μL ^–1 . Oral RNAi remained effective across populations with different levels of phosphine resistance, with corrected mortality reaching ≈82% by Day 10 in the highly resistant population (RR = 1173.63). CONCLUSION: Oral RNAi can suppress R. dominica populations and reduce grain damage while maintaining efficacy in phosphine‐resistant populations under the conditions tested. These findings support RNAi as a complementary MoA that may help diversify management options for stored‐grain protection and resistance management. © 2026 The Author(s). Pest Management Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.

Diatomaceous earth is widely used in pest management and other industrial applications; however, non-target ecological risks remain poorly resolved. Using a predator–prey microcosm model (Xylocoris flavipes and Tribolium castaneum), we show that diatomite nanoparticles (DNP) impact the predator primarily via trophic transfer after predators consume DNP-exposed prey. Predator mortality increased with prey pretreatment dose and was higher under trophic transfer than co-occurrence exposure, identifying food-web transfer as the dominant pathway driving predator mortality. To mitigate non-target effects while preserving pest control, we developed a double-stranded RNA (dsRNA)-loaded DNP formulation via APTES silanization and electrostatic adsorption (dsRNA@DNP). dsRNA@DNP maintained lethality against T. castaneum while significantly reducing predator mortality during trophic exposure. Release assays showed that dsRNA remained largely associated with DNP across low-ionic-strength and tested pH conditions but was substantially released under high ionic strength, consistent with reversible electrostatic association. Gene-expression analysis showed reduced Chc expression in the predator with no detectable reduction in the prey. These findings identify trophic transfer as an important pathway for non-target effects of diatomite nanoparticles and demonstrate a safety-by-design strategy to reduce predator mortality while maintaining prey suppression.

This paper presents the opdainlp team's solution for the GPU track of the CPDC 2025 challenge. The challenge consists of three tasks, aiming to build an in-game conversational AI that adheres to character personas, aligns with the game's worldview, and supports function calling. Considering both effectiveness and resource/time constraints during inference, we synthesized data for some of the tasks based on the datasets provided by the competition organizers. We employed Qwen3-14B with LoRA fine-tuning and model fusion, and utilized a base model integrated with multiple LoRA adapters during inference. Specifically, in the competition, we used three distinct LoRA adapters to handle tool calling, response generation with tool call results, and response generation without tool call results, respectively. MultiLoRA inference was implemented using vLLM. Our solution achieved the first place in Task 1 and Task 3, and the second place in Task 2 of the GPU track.

BACKGROUND: Diatomaceous earth (DE) is widely recognized as an effective physical insecticide due to its ability to dehydrate and kill insects. However, emerging evidence suggests that DE and similar artificial materials also induce nanotoxic effects, highlighting the need for a deeper understanding of its insecticidal mechanisms. RESULTS: We examined the effects of DE nanoparticles (DNP) and DE microparticles (DMP) using red flour beetles ( Tribolium castaneum ) and fruit fly ( Drosophila melanogaster ) S2 cells. Our results demonstrate that while DMP primarily causes water loss, DNP induces significant cytotoxicity in insects. To uncover the cellular uptake mechanism underlying this nanotoxicity, we screened candidate pathways using chemical inhibitors in S2 cells and identified the involvement of clathrin‐dependent endocytosis in the DNP cytotoxicity. This finding was further validated through RNA interference in T. castaneum . CONCLUSION: Our study elucidates the distinct mechanisms of DE insecticidal activity and establishes DNP as a natural nanoinsecticide with potential for sustainable pest management. © 2025 Society of Chemical Industry.

Sprayable double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) pesticides, based on RNA interference (RNAi), have shown promise in preharvest crop protection, yet their use for postharvest grain storage remains underexplored. In this study, we evaluated the efficacy and stability of sprayable dsRNA in protecting stored rice grains from the lesser grain borer (Rhyzopertha dominica). Results showed significant insecticidal activity, with 72% mortality observed after ingestion of grains stored for 60 days post-treatment, compared to 90% mortality in freshly treated grains. To assess dsRNA persistence, we developed a sensitive detection method for low-input samples. Approximately 73% of the initial dsRNA remained detectable after 60 days of storage, with increased absorption into the rice hull over time. These findings demonstrate the durability and effectiveness of sprayable dsRNA in stored grain protection and underscore its potential as a sustainable alternative to chemical pesticides for postharvest pest management.

Double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) pesticides, those based on RNA interference (RNAi) technology utilizing dsRNA, have shown potential for pest control. However, the off-target effects of dsRNA pose limitations to the widespread application of RNAi and raise concerns regarding potential side effects on other beneficial organisms. The precise impact and underlying factors of these off-target effects are still not well understood. Here, we found that the transcript level and sequence matching jointly regulate off-target effects of dsRNA. The much lower expressed target genes were knocked down to a lesser extent than genes with higher expression levels, and the critical sequence identity of off-target effects is approximately 80%. Moreover, off-target effects could be triggered by a contiguous matching sequence length exceeding 15 nt as well as nearly perfectly matching sequences with one or two base mismatches exceeding 19 nt. Increasing the dosage of dsRNA leads to more severe off-target effects. However, the length of mismatched dsRNA, the choice of different RNAi targets, and the location of target sites within the same gene do not affect the severity of off-target effects. These parameters can be used to guide the design of possibly selective sequences for RNAi, optimize the specificity and efficiency of dsRNA, and facilitate practical applications of RNAi for pest control.

The purpose of this study is to explain the mechanism of porcine myofibrillar protein gel properties modulated by κ-carrageenan. The textural properties results showed that the stress at fracture of the composite gel with 0.4% κ-carrageenan had the highest value (91.33 g), which suggested that the 0.4% κ-carrageenan addition was the limitation. The strain at fracture was significantly reduced with κ-carrageenan addition. The composite gel with 0.4% κ-carrageenan had the lowest proportion of T22 (7.85%) and the shortest T21 relaxation time (252.81 ms). The paraffin section showed that the phase separation behavior of the composite gel transformed from single-phase behavior to dispersed phase behavior to bi-continuous phase behavior, and the ratio of CG/MP phase area significantly increased from 0.06 to 1.73. The SEM showed that the three-dimensional network of myofibrillar protein transformed from a loose structure to a compact structure to an unaggregated structure with κ-carrageenan addition. The myofibrillar protein network of the treatment with 0.4% κ-carrageenan had the highest DF value (1.7858) and lowest lacunary value (0.452). The principal component analysis was performed on the data of microstructure and textural properties, and the results showed that the dispersed phase behavior and moisture stabilization promoted the aggregation of myofibrillar protein and the composite gel had better water holding capacity and textural properties, while bi-continuous phase behavior hindered the aggregation of myofibrillar protein and the composite gel had worse water holding capacity and textural properties.