The construction of cosmid libraries of eukaryotic DNA using the Homer series of vectors

We have constructed and characterised a series of approved, disabled cosmid vectors which we call Homer cosmids and have examined the optimal conditions for the construction of libraries of eukaryotic DNA segments using these vectors. Analysis of these libraries shows that most of the sequences we have tested for are present at the expected frequency and that the libraries can be stably propagated. We have also directly tested the stability of cosmid clones carrying tandemly repeated inserts. This work shows that it should be possible to clone most eukaryotic genes using cosmid vectors and that such cloning systems have considerable advantages over those more commonly used.     

Development of a closed-loop artificial pancreas.

A closed-loop glucose controlled insulin infusion system was developed, consisting of elements for continuous blood glucose analysis, a computer control system, and infusion systems. Improvements include decreased size, cost reduction and better performance. The algorithm used was a piecewise linear representation of the sigmoidal curve commonly employed. The apparatus has been applied to simulation of the healthy beta cell and glucose clamp studies.     

Induction of stalk cell differentiation by cyclic-AMP in a susceptible variant of Dictyostelium discoideum.

The P-4 variant of Dictyostelium discoideum (DdH) was found to produce a great excess of stalk cells compared to the wild type DdH. If the vegetative cells of P-4 were repeatedly washed, the variant changed back to the wild type phenotype, and if cyclic-AMP was added to the washed P-4 cells, the variant character was restored. Furthermore, if the concentration of added cyclic-AMP was increased, it was possible to induce 100% stalk cells in P-4. Phosphodiesterase would cause the variant to change to the wild type, while 5-AMP and cyclic-nucleotides other than cyclic-AMP have no effect at all. Therefore it was concluded that cyclic-AMP plays a key role in stalk cell differentiation.A comparison between wild type DdH and the variant P-4 showed that DdH is ten times less sensitive to cyclic-AMP induction. They both produce the same amount of cyclic-AMP and extracellular phosphodiesterase, but the specific activity of P-4 cell-bound phosphodiesterase during development is significantly less than that in the DdH. One hypothesis that accounts for the P-4-DdH difference is that because of the lack of cell-bound phosphodiesterase, more cyclic-AMP enters the variant cells and hence more stalk cell differentiation.     

Carrier solutions for low-level intravenous insulin infusion.

In the use of low-level intravenous insulin infusion for treating diabetic hyperglycaemia and ketoacidosis adsorption of insulin to containers or plastic infusion apparatus results in significant losses of 60-80% of insulin in dilute physiological saline solution (40 U/l). It is therefore necessary to add protein to the carrier solution to minimize losses and maintain a constant delivery rate. Recovery studies showed that 3.5% w/v polygeline solution (polymer of degraded gelatin) was a suitable medium for this purpose, offering some advantages over human serum albumin. A minimum concentration of 0.5% polygeline was required to ensure adequate delivery of insulin to the patient.     

Detection of membrane-associated antigens on lymphoid cells by antibody coupled to staphylococcal protein A.

A simple technique is described for the detection of membrane-associated antigens on lymphoid cells. It is based on the observation that the protein A component of staphylococci binds to the Fc pieces of IgG molecules. Lymphocytes from various sources (mouse, rat, and human tissues) were incubated with hyperimmune antisera directed against surface determinants. Subsequent treatment with a suspension of staphylococci containing protein A permitted visualization of both the presence and distribution of determinants on the cell membrane. The method had comparable sensitivity to the fluorescent sandwich technique and could be used to detect a variety of membrane antigens on both T cells and B cells.     

Characterization of Polar and Non‐Polar Compounds of House Edible Bird's Nest (EBN) from Johor,Malaysia

This work investigated the polar (PC: protein, amino acid and metabolite) and non‐polar (NPC: fatty acid) compounds and bioactivity characteristics of the EBN harvested from the state of Johor in Malaysia. The electrophoretic gels exhibited 15 protein bands (16–173 kD) with unique protein profile. Amino acids analysis by AccQ?Tag method revealed 18 types of amino acids in EBN. Metabolite profiling was performed using High‐Performance Liquid Chromatography coupled with Quadrupole Time‐of‐Flight Mass Spectrometer (HPLC‐QTOF/MS) technique and a total of 54 compounds belonging to different groups were detected and identified. These findings help to uncover the relation of therapeutic activity of EBN. The EBN was further extracted with AcOEt and BuOH. The AcOEt extract was fractionated into three fractions (F₁?F₃), and the high triglyceride content in F₂ was verified by gC‐FID. The three groups of fatty acids discovered in EBN are 48.43 % of poly‐unsaturated (PUFA), 25.35 % of saturated fatty acids (SFA) and 24.74 % of mono‐unsaturated fat (MUFA). This is the first time to report results ofEBN, BuOH, and AcOEt extracts and of fraction F₂ (TEBN) on their analysis for their antioxidant activities by DPPH, ABTS and catalase assay and for their paraoxonase and anti‐tyrosinase activities. The results showed that TEBN exhibited the significant bioactivity in all assays. These findings suggest that TEBN is a good source for natural bioactive compounds in promoting body vigor. Current work widened the content of EBN especially on the triglyceride and also marked the content of specific location (Johor, Malaysia) of EBN origin.     

Molecular Targets for the Testing of COVID‐19

The pandemic outbreaks of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2), spread all over the world in a short period of time. Efficient identification of the infection by SARS‐CoV‐2 has been one of the most important tasks to facilitate all the following counter measurements in dealing with the infectious disease. In Taiwan, a COVID‐19 Open Science Platform adheres to the spirit of open science: sharing sources, data, and methods to promote progress in academic research while corroborating findings from various disciplines has established in mid‐February 2020, for collaborative research in support of the development of detection methods, therapeutics, and a vaccine for COVID‐19. Research priorities include infection control, epidemiology, clinical characterization and management, detection methods (including viral RNA detection, viral antigen detection, and serum antibody detection), therapeutics (neutralizing antibody and small molecule drugs), vaccines, and SARS‐CoV‐2 pathogenesis. In addition, research on social ethics and the law are included to take full account of the impact of the COVID‐19 virus.     

Application of plant metabarcoding to identify diverse honeybee pollen forage along an urban–agricultural gradient

Understanding animal foraging ecology requires large sample sizes spanning broad environmental and temporal gradients. For pollinators, this has been hampered by the laborious nature of morphologically identifying pollen. Identifying pollen from urban environments is particularly difficult due to the presence of diverse ornamental species associated with consumer horticulture. Metagenetic pollen analysis represents a potential solution to this issue. Building upon prior laboratory and bioinformatic methods, we applied quantitative multilocus metabarcoding to characterize the foraging ecology of honeybee colonies situated in urban, suburban, mixed suburban–agricultural and rural agricultural sites in central Ohio, USA. In cross‐validating a subset of our metabarcoding results using microscopic palynology, we find strong concordance between the molecular and microscopic methods. Our results suggest that forage from the agricultural site exhibited decreased taxonomic diversity and temporal turnover relative to the urban and suburban sites, though the generalization of this observation will require replication across additional sites and cities. Our work demonstrates the power of honeybees as environmental samplers of floral community composition at large spatial scales, aiding in the distinction of taxa characteristically associated with urban or agricultural land use from those distributed ubiquitously across the sampled landscapes. Observed patterns of high forage diversity and compositional turnover in our more urban sites are likely reflective of the fine‐grain heterogeneity and high beta diversity of urban floral landscapes at the scale of honeybee foraging. This provides guidance for future studies investigating how relationships between urbanization and measures of pollinator health are mediated by variation in floral resource dynamics across landscapes.