Phlebotomine sandflies associated with a focus of cutaneous leishmaniasis in Valle del Cauca, Colombia

Abstract. A survey was made of the phlebotomine sandfly fauna of La Guaira, a village with coffee plantations near Cali, Colombia, from which cases of American cutaneous leishmaniasis had been reported due to Leishmania (Viannia) panamensis and Le. ( V. ) braziliensis. Among six species of sandfly collected on human bait, Lutzomyia youngi was most important in terms of biting nuisance. Lu. columbiana, Lu. lichyi and Lu. scorzai as well as Lu. youngi adults occurred throughout the year. Sandfly man-biting activity occurred throughout the night and was highest within 2 h of sunset. Despite its abundance in nocturnal samples, Lu. youngi was rarely taken in diurnal resting site collections. In contrast, Lu. lichyi was collected on tree-trunks during the day in large numbers and was the only species biting in daylight. The implications of these and other findings for leishmaniasis control measures in La Guaira are considered.     

元宝山冷杉群落种内与种间竞争的数量关系

元宝山冷杉 (AbiesyuanbaoshanensisY .J .LuetL .K .Fu)特产广西 ,是种群数量极少的濒危物种。根据调查资料 ,采用Hegyi提出的单木竞争指数模型CI=∑Nj=1 (Dj/Di)·1Lij对元宝山冷杉群落的种间、种内竞争强度进行定量分析。结果表明 :元宝山冷杉种内竞争较之与其伴生树种间的竞争剧烈 ;竞争木对对象木的竞争强度与对象木的胸高直径服从幂函数关系CI=ADB,竞争强度随对象木个体的增大而减小。当元宝山冷杉胸高直径达到 35～ 40cm后 ,竞争强度变化不明显。利用模型预测了元宝山冷杉种内和种间的竞争强度     

Isolation of a hemidesmosome-rich fraction from a human squamous cell carcinoma cell line

Hemidesmosomes are cell-to-matrix adhesion complexes anchoring keratinocytes to basement membranes. For the first time, we present a method to prepare a fraction from human cultured cells that are highly enriched in hemidesmosomal proteins. Using DJM-1 cells derived from human squamous cell carcinoma, accumulation of hemidesmosomes was observed when these cells were cultured for more than 10 days in a commercial serum-free medium without supplemental calcium. Electron microscopy demonstrated that numerous electron-dense adhesion structures were present along the basal cell membranes of DJM-1 cells cultured under the aforementioned conditions. After removing cellular materials using an ammonia solution, hemidesmosomal proteins and deposited extracellular matrix were collected and separated by electrophoresis. There were eight major polypeptides, which were determined to be plectin, BP230, BP180, integrin α6 and β4 subunits, and laminin-332 by immunoblotting and mass spectrometry. Therefore, we designated this preparation as a hemidesmosome-rich fraction. This fraction contained laminin-332 exclusively in its unprocessed form, which may account for the promotion of laminin deposition, and minimal amounts of Lutheran blood group protein, a nonhemidesmosomal transmembrane protein. This hemidesmosome-rich fraction would be useful not only for biological research on hemidesmosomes but also for developing a serum test for patients with blistering skin diseases.     

稀土元素对土壤中尿素水解及其水解产物行为的影响

以潮土为供试土壤进行土培试验,研究了农用稀土对同时施加的尿素在土壤中形态转化过程影响,当稀土施用量增至10mg/kg^-1烘干土以上时,土壤中尿素水解后所形成的铵态氮含量显著增加,在不同培养时间内,土壤中源自尿素的硝态氮和亚硝态氮含量随稀土施用量增加呈降低趋势;当施用量增至50mg/kg^-1烘干土时,与对照相比的降低程度达显著水平,施加稀土元素后,土壤有效氮含量明显增加,主要由于土壤铵态氮增加所致,结合土壤pH变化,表明稀土施用量高于10mg.kg^-1烘干土时,可明显延缓尿素在潮土中水解进程并抑制水解产物铵态氮的氧化,利于土训对尿素氮固持。     

双抗双高夏大豆种质鲁99-2的选育

优良种质创新是大豆新品种选育的关键。经过近20年的中间种质创新、亲本筛选、抗性选育、鉴定和品质检验等研究,育成了双抗双高的夏大豆优良种质鲁99-2。其对大豆胞囊线虫1、3、5号生理小种的抗性均为1级;对大豆花叶病毒y6株系的抗性也为1级;籽粒脂肪含量平均为22．09％,高值为22．67％;蛋白质含量平均为43．29％,高值为45．0％;蛋白质和脂肪合计含量平均为65．38％,高值达66．40％。鲁99-2的育成说明创造和利用优良种质、选择适宜的杂交亲本和采用有效的选育方法等对大豆育种至关重要。     

Phlebotomine sandfly responses to carbon dioxide and human odour in the field

Responses of Lutzomyia sandflies (Diptera: Psychodidae: Phlebotominae) to carbon dioxide (CO2) and human odour were investigated by field experiments in Parana State, southern Brazil. Catches of two predominant species: Lu. intermedia (Antunes & Coutinho) and Lu. whitmani Lutz & Neiva, were compared between traps baited with a human adult or with CO2 emitted at the human-equivalent rate. When the baits were only 40 cm apart, no difference of attractiveness was detected. When baits were separated by 20 m, however, significantly fewer sandflies (44% Lu. intermedia, 46% Lu. whitmani) were trapped with CO2 compared with human bait. This is the first field evidence that anthropophilic sandflies are attracted by human kairomones in addition to CO2. For both species [Lutzomyia intermedia and Lu. whitmani] [corrected], the proportion of human attractiveness attributable to CO2 was significantly more [corrected] for males than females; for Lu. intermedia males human bait was no more attractive than CO2 alone. Gender differences in sandfly olfactory sensitivity are likely to be associated with behavioural differences on the host, where females feed on blood and males find mates. With traps 20 m apart, both Lutzomyia spp. showed roughly linear increased responses (log-log scale) to 0.08-0.55% CO2 equivalent to 0.5-4 humans. This would explain why host size is generally proportional to attractiveness, as observed for other species of phlebotomine sandflies.     

小径竹密度对雷公鹅耳枥幼苗早期更新的影响

通过去除法控制竹丛密度,人为设置4种竹丛密度梯度[密度1:(3.83±0.53)株/m~2;密度2:(16±1.80)株/m~2;密度3:(39±1.69)株/m~2;密度4:(69±2.15)株/m~2],测定不同密度竹丛下的微环境(包括土壤温度、湿度、电导率、凋落物厚度),研究竹丛密度及微环境对雷公鹅耳枥(Carpinus viminea Wall.)幼苗数量、存活动态、生长情况的影响。结果显示,竹丛密度对环境有显著影响,随着竹丛密度的增加,竹丛盖度、凋落物厚度、土壤温度升高明显;雷公鹅耳枥幼苗萌生量显著减少,4组密度梯度中幼苗数量分布依次排序为:密度1(28.53±3.14)株/m~2密度2(17.36±1.45)株/m~2密度3(12.36±0.93)株/m~2密度4(8.92±0.93)株/m~2,表明随着小径竹密度增加,其对雷公鹅耳枥幼苗萌发的抑制作用越强;小径竹的密集生长可对雷公鹅耳枥幼苗的存活率产生影响,且对幼苗的生长具有一定抑制作用。研究结果表明小径竹密集生长的环境不仅抑制了雷公鹅耳枥新生幼苗的分布和幼苗生长,还对种群的更新以及森林群落的演替产生一定的负面影响。     

Discovery of Lu AA33810: a highly selective and potent NPY5 antagonist with in vivo efficacy in a model of mood disorder

The structure-activity relationship of a series of tricyclic-sulfonamide compounds 11-32 culminating in the discovery of N-[trans-4-(4,5-dihydro-3,6-dithia-1-aza-benzo[e]azulen-2-ylamino)-cyclohexylmethyl]-methanesulfonamide (15, Lu AA33810) is reported. Compound 15 was identified as a selective and high affinity NPY5 antagonist with good oral bioavailability in mice (42%) and rats (92%). Dose dependent inhibition of feeding was observed after i.c.v. injection of the selective NPY5 agonist ([cPP(1-7),NPY(19-23),Ala(31),Aib(32),Gln(34)]-hPP). In addition, ip administration of Lu AA33810 (10 mg/kg) produced antidepressant-like effects in a rat model of chronic mild stress.     

Methoxinine – an alternative stable amino acid substitute for oxidation‐sensitive methionine in radiolabelled peptide conjugates

Radiolabelled peptides with high specificity and affinity towards receptors that are overexpressed by tumour cells are used in nuclear medicine for the diagnosis (imaging) and therapy of cancer. In some cases, the sequences of peptides under investigations contain methionine (Met), an amino acid prone to oxidation during radiolabelling procedures. The formation of oxidative side products can affect the purity of the final radiopharmaceutical product and/or impair its specificity and affinity towards the corresponding receptor. The replacement of Met with oxidation resistant amino acid analogues, for example, norleucine (Nle), can provide a solution. While this approach has been applied successfully to different radiolabelled peptides, a Met → Nle switch only preserves the length of the amino acid side chain important for hydrophobic interactions but not its hydrogen‐bonding properties. We report here the use of methoxinine (Mox), a non‐canonical amino acid that resembles more closely the electronic properties of Met in comparison to Nle. Specifically, we replaced Met¹⁵ by Mox¹⁵ and Nle¹⁵ in the binding sequence of a radiometal‐labelled human gastrin derivative [d ‐Glu¹⁰]HG(10‐17), named MG11 (d ‐Glu‐Ala‐Tyr‐Gly‐Trp‐Met‐Asp‐Phe‐NH₂). A comparison of the physicochemical properties of ¹⁷⁷Lu‐DOTA[ X ¹⁵]MG11 ( X = Met, Nle, Mox) in vitro (cell internalization/externalization properties, receptor affinity (IC₅₀), blood plasma stability and logD) showed that Mox indeed represents a suitable, oxidation‐stable amino acid substitute of Met in radiolabelled peptide conjugates. Copyright © 2017 European Peptide Society and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

秀叶苏铁——广西苏铁属一新种

本文发表了一苏铁属新种,即秀叶苏铁,对其特征进行了阐述。