The mating system ofBrechmorhoga pertinax (Hagen): The evolution of brief patrolling bouts in a “territorial” dragonfly (Odonata: Libellulidae)

Males of Brechmorhoga pertinax(Hagen) patrolled and competed for narrow strips of stream edge, 2–8 m long, containing a few barely submerged patches of sandy or fine gravel substrate. These scarce patches were used as oviposition sites by females that usually, but not always, mated with a patrolling male just prior to egg-laying. Females visited the oviposition sites evenly throughout the day from 0830 to 1430 but male activity rose until midday and then declined sharply after 1330. Some gravid females refused to mate in the midafternoon despite male efforts to copulate with them. The average patrolling bout by a male lasted less than 15 min, with defenders usually leaving immediately after one or two aggressive interactions with intruders or leaving voluntarily without apparent cause. Many individuals returned for additional bouts of patrolling at the same site, but the total daily period of patrolling for any one individual almost never exceeded 1 h.     

Clinicians'' requirements for chemical sensors for in vivo monitoring: a multinational survey.

We report on a survey of senior clinicians in 11 countries which asked about what they see as the main areas where in vivo chemical sensors will be most useful in medicine, and about what their operating characteristics should be. This information may help those designing such sensors to match available and new technologies to clinical needs.     

First fungus gnats of genus Manota Williston (Diptera: Mycetophilidae) from Japan

The genus Manota is recorded from Japan for the first time. Three new species, Manota satoyamanis, Manota indahae and Manota tunoae spp. nov., are described, based on specimens collected in an ecological sampling program of arthropods in the “satoyama” landscape of Ishikawa Prefecture. “Satoyama” represents the traditional rural landscape of Japan, which is characterized by a mosaic of secondary forests, plantations, ponds and rice paddy fields. The new species raise the number of Palearctic Manota species from five to eight.     

Manufacturing and <Emphasis Type="Italic">in vivo</Emphasis> inner ear visualization of MRI traceable liposome nanoparticles encapsulating gadolinium

Background  

Treatment of inner ear diseases remains a problem because of limited passage through the blood-inner ear barriers and lack of control with the delivery of treatment agents by intravenous or oral administration. As a minimally-invasive approach, intratympanic delivery of multifunctional nanoparticles (MFNPs) carrying genes or drugs to the inner ear is a future therapy for treating inner ear diseases, including sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) and Meniere's disease. In an attempt to track the dynamics and distribution of nanoparticles in vivo, here we describe manufacturing MRI traceable liposome nanoparticles by encapsulating gadolinium-tetra-azacyclo-dodecane-tetra-acetic acid (Gd-DOTA) (abbreviated as LPS+Gd-DOTA) and their distribution in the inner ear after either intratympanic or intracochlear administration.     

Comparative genomic and proteomic analysis of high grade glioma primary cultures and matched tumor in situ

Developing targeted therapies for high grade gliomas (HGG), the most common primary brain tumor in adults, relies largely on glioma cultures. However, it is unclear if HGG tumorigenic signaling pathways are retained under in-vitro conditions. Using array comparative genomic hybridization and immunohistochemical profiling, we contrasted the epidermal and platelet-derived growth factor receptor (EGFR/PDGFR) in-vitro pathway status of twenty-six primary HGG cultures with the pathway status of their original HGG biopsies. Genomic gains or amplifications were lost during culturing while genomic losses were more likely to be retained. Loss of EGFR amplification was further verified immunohistochemically when EGFR over expression was decreased in the majority of cultures. Conversely, PDGFRα and PDGFRβ were more abundantly expressed in primary cultures than in the original tumor (p<0.05). Despite these genomic and proteomic differences, primary HGG cultures retained key aspects of dysregulated tumorigenic signaling. Both in-vivo and in-vitro the presence of EGFR resulted in downstream activation of P70s6K while reduced downstream activation was associated with the presence of PDGFR and the tumor suppressor, PTEN. The preserved pathway dysregulation make this glioma model suitable for further studies of glioma tumorigenesis, however individual culture related differences must be taken into consideration when testing responsiveness to chemotherapeutic agents.     

The Mating System of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Amegilla</Emphasis> (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Asarapoda</Emphasis>) <Emphasis Type="Italic">paracalva</Emphasis> Brooks (Hymenoptera: Apidae)

Males of the solitary bee Amegilla (Asarapoda) paracalva employ two mate-locating tactics: aggressive defense of sites from which virgin females are emerging and patrolling flower patches that are visited by conspecific females. At one study site, a single male was able to control an entire emergence area for one or more days. Multiple males patrolled one flower patch, interacting aggressively on occasion but no one individual was able to monopolize this resource. Territorial males at the emergence site secured mates by waiting by tunnels for receptive virgin females to emerge after metamorphosis. Males patrolling the flower patch pounced upon flower visiting conspecifics and mated with receptive females there. Territorial males at the emergence site were larger than average individuals, probably because of the advantage larger males have when grappling with opponents. Flower patrolling males were smaller than territorial males at the emergence sites, perhaps because of the advantages gained by these males from rapid, agile flight.     

PAMAM dendrimers for the delivery of the antibacterial Triclosan

Many oral care products incorporate an antibacterial compound to prevent the formation of dental plaque which predisposes teeth to dental caries or periodontal disease []. Triclosan (TCN) is a commonly used antiplaque agent in toothpastes []. Strategies to increase the delivery efficiency of antibacterials using formulation aids such as polyamidoamine (PAMAM) dendrimers are of interest.

Solubilisation studies over the pH range 5-12 demonstrated an increase in the level of TCN solubilised with increasing dendrimer concentration (1 mM–5 mM). However, the dendrimer was unable to enhance TCN solubility at lower pH values and the solubilising effect observed was attributed to the ionization of TCN (pKa 8.14) resulting from dendrimer induced pH changes.

End group modification of G3 PAMAM dendrimer with phenylalanine in order to promote solubility through π–π stacking between TCN and the amino acid has been carried out. Phenylalanine:G3 PAMAM conjugates of different ratios (32:1, 21:1, 16:1) were synthesized. The fully conjugated dendrimer (32:1) had poor aqueous solubility, whereas the 21:1 and 16:1 dendrimer conjugates were water soluble. The 21:1 conjugate was tested for its ability to solubilise TCN, however, again there was no increase over control buffer solutions of the same pH. An alternative approach under investigation is to directly conjugate TCN to PAMAM dendrimers via a hydrolysable linkage.