Intriguing Standing Wave Numbers and Plasmonic Effects on the Solid-Metal/Metal-Shell Nanorod Surface

In this paper, the intriguing standing wave numbers (SWNs) and surface plasmon resonance (SPR) effects on the solid-Ag/Ag-shell nanorod surface are numerically investigated by using finite element method. Various SPR effects due to the variation in rod aspect ratio (AR) and shell thickness on the scattering cross section (SCS), electromagnetic (EM) wave patterns, and the SWNs on the solid-Ag/Ag-shell nanorod surface are discussed in detail. Results reveal characteristic features of plasmon modes with respect to SWNs in photoluminescence images, which can enable us to obtain the mechanism of EM wave distributions near the solid-Ag/Ag-shell nanorods. The large EM wave with respect to their SWNs on the metal nanorod surface is very important for the applications of metal nanorod to be used to design devices like wavelength-selective photodetector, modulators, waveguides, metal nanorod-based solar cells, and plasmonic nanoantenna.     

Effect of Carbohydrate Demand on the Remobilization of Starch in Stolons and Roots of White Clover (Trifolium repens L.) after Defoliation

White clover plants were grown from stolon tips in growth cabinetsand then defoliated. Thereafter, changes in the contents ofnon-structural carbohydrates such as starch, sucrose, glucose,fructose, maltose, and pinitol in stolons and roots were monitored.Initial contents of carbohydrate reserves, photosynthetic supplyof new carbohydrates and carbohydrate demand after defoliationwere varied by growing the plants at various CO₂ partial pressures,by varying the extent of defoliation and by removing eitherroots or stolon tips at the time of defoliation. Remobilization of carbohydrate reserves in stolons increasedproportionally to their initial contents and was greater whenplants had been severely defoliated, suggesting that carbohydrateswere remobilized according to availability and demand. Starchwas the predominant reserve carbohydrate. Starch degradationwas associated with decreased contents of sucrose, glucose andfructose in young stolon parts and roots but not in old stolonparts suggesting that starch degradation was not strictly controlledby the contents of these sugars. A decrease in the demand forcarbohydrates by removal of roots did not decrease starch degradationbut increased the contents of sucrose, glucose, and fructose.Removal of stolon tips decreased starch degradation and contentsof sucrose, glucose, and fructose. The results suggest thatstarch degradation was controlled by a factor other than sucrose,glucose, and fructose which was exported from stolon tips, e.g.gibberellin. Key words: White clover, storage carbohydrates, remobilization, regrowth     

Parameter identification in N-compartment mamillary models

We consider a general mamillary model with a central compartment (compartment 1) and n?1 peripheral compartments, each bidirectionally connected to the first. Elimination is allowed from any compartment and effectively occurs from the system. With input introduced into an arbitrary compartment and measurement performed in an arbitrary compartment, explicit equations are given to derive the parameters of the model from the input-output procedure. The calculations include essentially the determination of the roots of a polynomial plus some elementary algebra. If input and measurement are performed in the same compartment, then a set of 2n elementary combinations of the model parameters can be uniquely determined. However, the model parameters themselves can only be localized, each within an interval. These intervals are explicitly calculated and their width discussed.     

Increased resource use efficiency amplifies positive response of aquatic primary production to experimental warming

Climate warming is affecting the structure and function of river ecosystems, including their role in transforming and transporting carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P). Predicting how river ecosystems respond to warming has been hindered by a dearth of information about how otherwise well‐studied physiological responses to temperature scale from organismal to ecosystem levels. We conducted an ecosystem‐level temperature manipulation to quantify how coupling of stream ecosystem metabolism and nutrient uptake responded to a realistic warming scenario. A ~3.3°C increase in mean water temperature altered coupling of C, N, and P fluxes in ways inconsistent with single‐species laboratory experiments. Net primary production tripled during the year of experimental warming, while whole‐stream N and P uptake rates did not change, resulting in 289% and 281% increases in autotrophic dissolved inorganic N and P use efficiency (UE), respectively. Increased ecosystem production was a product of unexpectedly large increases in mass‐specific net primary production and autotroph biomass, supported by (i) combined increases in resource availability (via N mineralization and N₂ fixation) and (ii) elevated resource use efficiency, the latter associated with changes in community structure. These large changes in C and nutrient cycling could not have been predicted from the physiological effects of temperature alone. Our experiment provides clear ecosystem‐level evidence that warming can shift the balance between C and nutrient cycling in rivers, demonstrating that warming will alter the important role of in‐stream processes in C, N, and P transformations. Moreover, our results reveal a key role for nutrient supply and use efficiency in mediating responses of primary producers to climate warming.     

Transferrin receptor and ferritin expressions of a human-human hybridoma in protein-free media

Summary The expressions of transferrin receptor and ferritin in a human-human hybridoma in protein-free media were examined. The regulation of the expressions of the two proteins appeared to be decoupled in protein-free cultures. Such cultures also exhibited much higher ferritin expression and endogenous iron pool than a culture in serum-free medium containing transferrin.     

Dropping of pea aphids from feeding site: a consequence of parasitism by the wasp, Monoctonus paulensis

We examined the dropping behaviour of the pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum (Harris), feeding on broad-bean plants in the laboratory. Aphid responses to foraging and oviposition by females of Monoctonus paulensis (Ashmead) were instar-specific and included kicking with the hind legs, walking away and dropping from the feeding site. Fourth nymphal instars were most likely to drop, followed by second, third, and first instars, in that order. Compared with first instars, the odds that a fourth-instar aphid will drop were 6-times higher independent of the stimulus, and 16-times higher after parasitoid attack. Dropping from the feeding site increases an aphid's mortality risk. If parasitoid offspring are more likely to survive in small pea aphids, it may be adaptive for M. paulensis to choose smaller hosts, regardless of possible fitness gains due to increased body size from development in larger aphids.     

Absence of involvement of nitric oxide in LP-BM5-induced immunodeficiency syndrome

Abstract To examine the role of nitric oxide (NO) in murine AIDS (MAIDS) pathogenesis, we determined NO production and inducible NOS (iNOS) mRNA expression in the macrophages of LP-BM5-infected mice, together with the in vivo effects of l -NAME, a competitive inhibitor of NO synthase. LP-BM5 infection induced neither spontaneous nitrite production nor iNOS mRNA expression. No differences in IFNγ + LPS-induced nitrite production or iNOS mRNA expression were observed in macrophages from non-infected or infected mice. Spleen weight, ecotropic MuLV replication, the blood lymphocyte phenotype and proliferative response of splenocytes were not modified by l -NAME. LP-BM5 infection did not increase macrophage NO production and NO production did not appear to protect against LP-BM5-induced immunodeficiency.     

Linear n-compartment catenary models: Formulas to describe tracer amount in any compartment and identification of parameters from a concentration-time curve

Resolution of kinetic equations and parameter identification are discussed for n-compartment linear catenary models with elimination allowed from any compartment. For a given input, general formulas are derived to describe the tracer amount in any compartment as a function of the model parameters. Conversely, explicit procedures are given to identify the model parameters when the concentration-time curve is known in one arbitrary compartment, the tracer being injected into the same compartment. In this inverse problem, the solution is not unique: the model transfer rate constants can only be localized in a finite set of intervals.     

Isolation and proliferation of umbilical cord tissue derived mesenchymal stem cells for clinical applications

Umbilical cord (UC) is a rich source of rapidly proliferating mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) that are easily cultured on a large-scale. Clinical applications of UC–MSCs include graft-versus-host disease, and diabetes mellitus types 1 and 2. UC–MSCs should be isolated and proliferated according to good manufacturing practice (GMP) with animal component-free medium, quality assurance, and quality control for their use in clinical applications. This study developed a GMP standard protocol for UC-MSC isolation and culture. UC blood and UC were collected from the same donors. Blood vasculature was removed from UC. UC blood was used as a source of activated platelet rich plasma (aPRP). Small fragments (1–2 mm²) of UC membrane and Wharton’s jelly were cut and cultured in DMEM/F12 medium containing 1 % antibiotic–antimycotic, aPRP (2.5, 5, 7.5 and 10 %) at 37 °C in 5 % CO₂. The MSC properties of UC–MSCs at passage 5 such as osteoblast, chondroblast and adipocyte differentiation, and markers including CD13, CD14, CD29, CD34, CD44, CD45, CD73, CD90, CD105, and HLA-DR were confirmed. UC–MSCs also were analyzed for karyotype, expression of tumorigenesis related genes, cell cycle, doubling time as well as in vivo tumor formation in NOD/SCID mice. Control cells consisted of UC–MSCs cultured in DMEM/F12 plus 1 % antibiotic–antimycotic, and 10 % fetal bovine serum (FBS). All UC-MSC (n = 30) samples were successfully cultured in medium containing 7.5 and 10 % aPRP, 92 % of samples grew in 5.0 % aPRP, 86 % of samples in 2.5 % aPRP, and 72 % grew in 10 % FBS. UC–MSCs in these four groups exhibited similar marker profiles. Moreover, the proliferation rates in medium with PRP, especially 7.5 and 10 %, were significantly quicker compared with 2.5 and 5 % aPRP or 10 % FBS. These cells maintained a normal karyotype for 15 sub-cultures, and differentiated into osteoblasts, chondroblasts, and adipocytes. The analysis of pluripotent cell markers showed UC–MSCs maintained the expression of the oncogenes Nanog and Oct4 after long term culture but failed to transfer tumors in NOD/SCID mice. Replacing FBS with aPRP in the culture medium for UC tissues allowed the successful isolation of UC–MSCs that satisfy the minimum standards for clinical applications.     

Establishment of a Wolbachia Superinfection in Aedes aegypti Mosquitoes as a Potential Approach for Future Resistance Management

Wolbachia pipientis is an endosymbiotic bacterium estimated to chronically infect between 40–75% of all arthropod species. Aedes aegypti, the principle mosquito vector of dengue virus (DENV), is not a natural host of Wolbachia. The transinfection of Wolbachia strains such as wAlbB, wMel and wMelPop-CLA into Ae. aegypti has been shown to significantly reduce the vector competence of this mosquito for a range of human pathogens in the laboratory. This has led to wMel-transinfected Ae. aegypti currently being released in five countries to evaluate its effectiveness to control dengue disease in human populations. Here we describe the generation of a superinfected Ae. aegypti mosquito line simultaneously infected with two avirulent Wolbachia strains, wMel and wAlbB. The line carries a high overall Wolbachia density and tissue localisation of the individual strains is very similar to each respective single infected parental line. The superinfected line induces unidirectional cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI) when crossed to each single infected parental line, suggesting that the superinfection would have the capacity to replace either of the single constituent infections already present in a mosquito population. No significant differences in fitness parameters were observed between the superinfected line and the parental lines under the experimental conditions tested. Finally, the superinfected line blocks DENV replication more efficiently than the single wMel strain when challenged with blood meals from viremic dengue patients. These results suggest that the deployment of superinfections could be used to replace single infections and may represent an effective strategy to help manage potential resistance by DENV to field deployments of single infected strains.