Medicinal plants serve as vital resources for preventing and treating diseases, with their flowers, fruits, leaves, roots, or entire plants being utilized in the pharmaceutical industry or as direct therapeutic agents. During our investigation of microfungi associated with medicinal plants in Guizhou and Sichuan Provinces, China, several asexual and sexual fungal morphs were collected. Multi-locus phylogenetic analysis based on combined ITS, LSU, SSU and TEF1-α datasets revealed that these taxa are related to the family Dictyosporiaceae. Morphological characteristics, along with multi-locus phylogenetic analysis, supported the establishment of Dictyocheirospora alangii sp. nov. and Pseudocoleophoma rosae sp. nov., as well as the introduction of a novel genus Neoxylochrysis, which accommodates Neoxylochrysis typhicola comb. nov. (≡Pseudocoleophoma typhicola). In addition, four new host records are introduced for Aquadictyospora lignicola from Periploca forrestii, Dendryphiella eucalyptorum from Leonurus japonicus, Ophiopogon japonicus and Sambucus javanica, D. vinosa from Phytolacca americana, and Dictyocheirospora rotunda from Euonymus japonicus and Prinsepia utilis. Detailed descriptions, micrographs of the new taxa and a phylogenetic tree are provided.

Tropilaelaps mercedesae, one of the most devastating parasitic mites of honey bee Apis mellifera hosts, is a major threat to honey products by causing severe damage to honey bee colonies. Here, we recorded injury numbers caused by T. mercedesae to different body parts of the larval, pupal, and crippled adult stages of honey bee A. mellifera. We evaluated the relationship between infestation rate and injury numbers per bee for both larvae and pupae. We also noted the total bee numbers per beehive and examined the relationship between the infestation rate and population size. T. mercedesae infested all developmental stages of honey bees, with the highest injury numbers in the abdomens of bee pupae and the antennas of crippled adult bees. Although larvae received more injury numbers than pupae, both infestation rate and injury numbers decreased as the larval stage progressed to the pupal stage. The infestation rate increased as the population size per beehive decreased. This study provided new perspectives to the understanding of changes in the effects of T. mercedesae infestations on different developmental stages of honey bees. It also showed useful baseline information for screening honey bee stock that might have high defensive behaviors against mite infestation.

The global trade of honeybee hive products imposes the risk of the introduction of exotic pests. However, data on the potential of specific products enabling pest survival are often lacking. This holds especially true for ectoparasitic mites Tropilaelaps spp., which are mandatory pests of honeybees in many countries. Here, we evaluated the longevity of Tropilaelaps mercedesae mites associated with empty honeycomb and dry pollen as two possible global import routes. Mites were able to survive up to three days in dry pollen and up to six days in empty honeycomb, thereby suggesting a sufficient time window for the potential introduction of T. mercedesae into mite-free countries via import of these hive products.

This research focuses on optimizing renewable energy systems to achieve Nearly Zero-Energy Building (nZEB) Level 1 status, defined as reducing energy consumption by 87.5% to 100%. The major objectives are to explore the impact factors in the optimization of energy storage systems (ESSs), solar PV and ESS capacities, as well as energy consumption patterns. This study is based on monitoring data from an office building in Thailand with a 120 kW peak load and a 40 kW average load, equipped with a 160 kW photovoltaic (PV) system and 45 kWh from ESS. This study is based on comparing a simulation of a renewable energy system, particularly from unutilized solar energy, with building load demand to optimize the best system suitability for achieving nZEB Level 1 status. The results indicate that a 200 kW PV system combined with a 275 kWh ESS and a 250 kW PV system with an ESS capacity of 175 kWh can adequately supply the required clean energy demand. These findings provide insights on optimizing factors of renewable energy systems for buildings aiming to achieve sustainability targets. This work has summarized a framework including optimization impact factors with financial aspects which can be applied to similar cases. In addition, an analysis of working-day load profiles and appliance usage patterns has been performed to provide broader consumption insights. This approach identifies trends in HVAC, lighting, and electronics consumption, enabling the optimization scheme to be adapted to buildings with varying load patterns. Additionally, this study examines the effects of building operation hours on energy consumption. By adjusting operational schedules based on these insights, different renewable energy system capacities can be re-estimated to ensure achievement of the desired nZEB Level.

Dicephalospora is a discomycetous genus belonging to the family Helotiaceae (Helotiales). The genus currently comprises 19 species. Among them, 17 species have been reported from Asia, of which 14 were reported from China. During a survey of Leotiomycetes, we collected six specimens of Dicephalospora species from southwest China and northern Thailand. The samples were examined based on the phylogenetic analyses of LSU and ITS sequence data, along with morphological characterization, and our results demarcate three new Dicephalospora species, viz., D. tengyueica, D. maetaengica and D. menghaica. Dicephalospora tengyueicasp. nov. formed a distinct clade closely related to D. rufocornea, D. irregularis and D. sagerae, whereas D. maetaengicasp. nov. clustered closer to D. menghaicasp. nov. with 100% ML and 1.00 BIPP statistical support. All three species have similar apothecia sizes but differ in their coloration. Dicephalospora tengyueica has aseptate ascospores, while D. menghaica and D. maetaengica have 7-septate ascospores. The paraphyses in D. menghaica are branched, while they are unbranched in the other two species. An updated key to the known species of Dicephalospora is also provided.

Calycina (Pezizellaceae, Helotiales) is a heterogeneous group, and the taxonomic classification is frequently revised due to unclear phylogenetic relationships. To date, a total of 35 species in this genus have been documented, with six recorded in China, including four species that are endemic to the country. Calycina species are reported in their sexual and asexual morphs, and the phylogenetic placements of several species remain unresolved due to the lack of molecular data. During a study on the fungal diversity of southwestern China, six specimens were collected and analyzed using both morphological characterizations and multi-gene phylogenetic analyses (LSU and ITS). The results revealed two new species, C. botanica and C. xishuangbanica, and the first sexual report of C. brevipes, with detailed morphological descriptions and phylogenetic trees.