Selection of promising fungal biological control agent of the western flower thrips Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande)

Aims: Larval stages of Frankliniella occidentalis are known to be refractory to fungal infection compared with the adult stage. The objective of this study was to identify promising fungal isolate(s) for the control of larval stages of F. occidentalis. Methods and Results: Ten isolates of Metarhizium anisopliae and eight of Beauveria bassiana were screened for virulence against second‐instar larvae of F. occidentalis. Conidial production and genetic polymorphism were also investigated. Metarhizium anisopliae isolates ICIPE 7, ICIPE 20, ICIPE 69 and ICIPE 665 had the shortest LT₅₀ values of 8·0–8·9 days. ICIPE 69, ICIPE 7 and ICIPE 20 had the lowest LC₅₀ values of 1·1 × 10⁷, 2·0 × 10⁷ and 3·0 × 10⁷ conidia ml^?1, respectively. Metarhizium anisopliae isolate ICIPE 69 produced significantly more conidia than M. anisopliae isolates ICIPE 7 and ICIPE 20. Internally transcribed spacers sequences alignment showed differences in nucleotides composition, which can partly explain differences in virulence. Conclusion: These results coupled with the previous ones on virulence and field efficacy against other species of thrips make M. anisopliae isolate ICIPE 69 a good candidate. Significance and Impact of the Study: Metarhizium anisopliae isolate ICIPE 69 can be suggested for development as fungus‐based biopesticide for thrips management.     

Antiproliferative and antioxidant potential of beta-ionone against benzo(a)pyrene-induced lung carcinogenesis in Swiss albino mice

Nowadays, in developing countries like India, incidence of lung cancer is increasing rapidly, and as a consequence it has become the most common cause of malignancy-associated death. This study is aimed to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of beta-ionone (ION), a precursor for carotenoids against benzo(a)pyrene [B(a)P]-induced lung carcinogenesis. B(a)P (50 mg/kg body weight, orally twice a week for 4 successive weeks)-induced lung cancer in mice was assessed both in tissue and serum in terms of increase LPO and tissue marker enzymes, such as aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase, γ-glutamyl transpeptidase, 5'-nucleotidase, and lactate dehydrogenase, and serum tumor markers such as carcinoembryonic antigen and neuron-specific enolase with concordant decrease in activities of tissue enzymic and non-enzymic antioxidants were observed on the treatment of ION (60 mg/kg body weight, orally twice a week for 16 weeks) significantly attenuated LPO and restored all cancer marker enzymes and antioxidants levels to near normal, which indicates the anticancer effect of ION. This was further confirmed by histological staining of argyrophilic nucleolar organizer region and histopathological analysis of lung tissue, immunohistochemical and immunoblot analysis of proliferating cell nuclear antigen. Overall findings suggested that the ION effectively ameliorated the lung carcinogenesis, which is attributed to the antiproliferative and antioxidant potential through free radical scavenging property.     

Relationship Between Serum Lithium, Salivary Lithium, and Urinary Lithium in Patients on Lithium Therapy

Lithium carbonate is used in the treatment of both psychiatric and nonpsychiatric disorders. The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between serum lithium, salivary lithium, and urinary lithium. Blood, saliva, and urine samples were collected from 50 patients, and estimation of serum, salivary, and urine lithium was done using an atomic absorption spectrophotometer. Mean serum lithium was 0.75 ± 0.25 mEq/L, mean salivary lithium was 1.91 ± 0.80 mEq/L, and mean urine lithium was 7.16 ± 4.84 mEq/L. A significant direct correlation was found between serum lithium and salivary lithium (r = 0.695, p < 0.001). This correlation was higher in females (r = 0.770, p < 0.001) when compared to males (r = 0.665, p < 0.001). Even though a significant correlation was found between serum and salivary lithium levels, more studies are needed in this domain to establish salivary therapeutic monitoring as a feasible option for patients on lithium carbonate therapy.     

Production of 3-hydroxypropionic acid via malonyl-CoA pathway using recombinant Escherichia coli strains

Malonyl-CoA is an intermediary compound that is produced during fatty acid metabolism. Our study aimed to produce the commercially important platform chemical 3-hydroxypropionic acid (3-HP) from its immediate precursor malonyl-CoA by recombinant Escherichia coli strains heterologously expressing the mcr gene of Chloroflexus aurantiacus DSM 635, encoding an NADPH-dependent malonyl-CoA reductase (MCR). The recombinant E. coli overexpressing mcr under the T5 promoter showed MCR activity of 0.015 U mg?1 protein in crude cell extract and produced 0.71 mmol/L of 3-HP in 24h in shake flask cultivation under aerobic conditions with glucose as the sole source of carbon. When acetyl-CoA carboxylase and biotinilase, encoded by the genes accADBCb (ACC) of E. coli K-12 were overexpressed along with MCR, the final 3-HP titer improved by 2-fold, which is 1.6 mM. Additional expression of the gene pntAB, encoding nicotinamide nucleotide transhydrogenase that converts NADH to NADPH, increased 3-HP production to 2.14 mM. The strain was further developed by deleting the sucAB gene, encoding α-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase complex in tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle, or blocking lactate and acetate production pathways, and evaluated for the production of 3-HP. We report on the feasibility of producing 3-HP from glucose through the malonyl-CoA pathway.     

Conditional expression of Lodavin, an avidin-tagged LDL receptor, for biotin-mediated applications in vivo

Lodavin represents an engineered fusion protein that consists of a cytoplasmic and a transmembrane domain of the human low‐density lipoprotein receptor coupled to an extracellular avidin monomer. Biotinylated compounds have been successfully targeted to Lodavin‐expressing cells that have been transduced by a Lodavin‐containing virus, and the targeting is based on the high affinity between biotin and avidin. We engineered a Rosa26 (R26R) knock‐in Lodavin mouse to develop biotin‐based applications such as targeted drug delivery, cell purification, and tissue imaging in vivo. A cDNA encoding Lodavin was inserted downstream of a floxed βgeo resistance gene in the R26R locus in embryonic stem cells, and a germ line‐derived R26RLodavin mouse line was generated. Efficient removal of the floxed βgeo cassette and conditional activation of Lodavin expression was achieved as a result of crossing the R26RLodavin mice with HoxB7‐Cre, Wnt4‐Cre, or Tie1‐Cre mice. In summary, the R26RLodavin mouse line may provide a useful tool for testing and developing applications with the aid of avidin and biotin interaction. genesis 50:693–699, 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Modular design of artificial tissue homeostasis: robust control through synthetic cellular heterogeneity

Synthetic biology efforts have largely focused on small engineered gene networks, yet understanding how to integrate multiple synthetic modules and interface them with endogenous pathways remains a challenge. Here we present the design, system integration, and analysis of several large scale synthetic gene circuits for artificial tissue homeostasis. Diabetes therapy represents a possible application for engineered homeostasis, where genetically programmed stem cells maintain a steady population of β-cells despite continuous turnover. We develop a new iterative process that incorporates modular design principles with hierarchical performance optimization targeted for environments with uncertainty and incomplete information. We employ theoretical analysis and computational simulations of multicellular reaction/diffusion models to design and understand system behavior, and find that certain features often associated with robustness (e.g., multicellular synchronization and noise attenuation) are actually detrimental for tissue homeostasis. We overcome these problems by engineering a new class of genetic modules for 'synthetic cellular heterogeneity' that function to generate beneficial population diversity. We design two such modules (an asynchronous genetic oscillator and a signaling throttle mechanism), demonstrate their capacity for enhancing robust control, and provide guidance for experimental implementation with various computational techniques. We found that designing modules for synthetic heterogeneity can be complex, and in general requires a framework for non-linear and multifactorial analysis. Consequently, we adapt a 'phenotypic sensitivity analysis' method to determine how functional module behaviors combine to achieve optimal system performance. We ultimately combine this analysis with Bayesian network inference to extract critical, causal relationships between a module's biochemical rate-constants, its high level functional behavior in isolation, and its impact on overall system performance once integrated.     

Hybrid minimally invasive extraction of atrial clot avoids redo sternotomy in Jehovah's Witness

We report the novel use of the AngioVac device in a percutaneous hybrid approach to remove a large right atrial clot as an effective and potentially lifesaving alternative to a very high-risk redo-sternotomy in a Jehovah's Witness patient.     

Constraints on energy intake in fish: the link between diet composition, energy metabolism, and energy intake in rainbow trout

The hypothesis was tested that fish fed to satiation with iso-energetic diets differing in macronutrient composition will have different digestible energy intakes (DEI) but similar total heat production. Four iso-energetic diets (2 × 2 factorial design) were formulated having a contrast in i) the ratio of protein to energy (P/E): high (H(P/E)) vs. low (L(P/E)) and ii) the type of non-protein energy (NPE) source: fat vs. carbohydrate which were iso-energetically exchanged. Triplicate groups (35 fish/tank) of rainbow trout were hand-fed each diet twice daily to satiation for 6 weeks under non-limiting water oxygen conditions. Feed intake (FI), DEI (kJ kg(-0.8) d(-1)) and growth (g kg(-0.8) d(-1)) of trout were affected by the interaction between P/E ratio and NPE source of the diet (P<0.05). Regardless of dietary P/E ratio, the inclusion of carbohydrate compared to fat as main NPE source reduced DEI and growth of trout by ~20%. The diet-induced differences in FI and DEI show that trout did not compensate for the dietary differences in digestible energy or digestible protein contents. Further, changes in body fat store and plasma glucose did not seem to exert a homeostatic feedback control on DEI. Independent of the diet composition, heat production of trout did not differ (P>0.05). Our data suggest that the control of DEI in trout might be a function of heat production, which in turn might reflect a physiological limit related with oxidative metabolism.