Development and evaluation of an efficient and real-time monitoring system for the vector mosquitoes,Aedes albopictus and Culex quinquefasciatus

BackgroundThe surveillance of vector mosquitoes is essential for prevention and control of mosquito-borne diseases. In this study, we developed an internet-based vector mosquito monitor, MS-300, and evaluated its efficiency for the capture of the important vector mosquitoes, Aedes albopictus and Culex quinquefasciatus, in laboratory and field trials.Methodology/Principal findingsThe linear sizes of adult Ae. albopictus and Cx. quinquefasciatus were measured and an infrared window was designed based on these data. A device to specifically attract these two species and automatically transmit the number of captured mosquitoes to the internet was developed. The efficiency of the device in capturing the two species was tested in laboratory, semi-field and open field trials. The efficiency results for MS-300 for catching and identifying Ae. albopictus in laboratory mosquito-net cages were 98.5% and 99.3%, and 95.8% and 98.6%, respectively, for Cx. quinquefasciatus. In a wire-gauze screened house in semi-field trials, the efficiencies of MS-300 baited with a lure in catching Ae. albopictus and Cx. quinquefasciatus were 54.2% and 51.3%, respectively, which were significantly higher than 4% and 4.2% without the lure. The real-time monitoring data revealed two daily activity peaks for Ae. albopictus (8:00–10:00 and 17:00–19:00), and one peak for Cx. quinquefasciatus (20:00–24:00). During a 98-day surveillance trial in the field, totals of 1,118 Ae. albopictus and 2,302 Cx. quinquefasciatus were captured by MS-300. There is a close correlation between the number of captured mosquitoes and the temperature in the field, and a positive correlation in the species composition of the captured samples among the mosquitoes using MS-300, BioGents Sentinel traps and human landing catches.Conclusions/SignificanceThe data support the conclusion that MS-300 can specifically and efficiently capture Ae. albopictus and Cx. quinquefasciatus, and monitor their density automatically in real-time. Therefore, MS-300 has potential for use as a surveillance tool for prevention and control of vector mosquitoes.     

全球啄木鸟濒危格局及研究现状

啄木鸟科物种作为初级洞巢者与蛀干害虫控制者,对森林高度依赖,是森林生态系统重要的伞护种和环境指示物种。自20世纪以来,由于全球范围的栖息地丧失和片段化,啄木鸟科物种的森林生境急剧萎缩,威胁着该类群物种的生存和繁衍。为探究啄木鸟科动物濒危情况和研究现状,本研究利用世界自然保护联盟濒危物种红色名录(IUCN Red List)和国际鸟盟(BirdLife International)在线数据库,检索并整理出1988年到2023年以下内容：(1)全球啄木鸟的物种数、濒危等级及其变化情况;(2)各大洲的啄木鸟物种数及其受威胁物种的比例;(3)啄木鸟的主要威胁因素;(4)通过Google学术搜索等方式检索并统计啄木鸟相关文章的研究内容。结果显示：(1)目前现存254种啄木鸟,33年间全球受威胁啄木鸟由7种增加至18种,受威胁物种数占当年已命名啄木鸟物种数的比例由3.4%上升至7.0%。(2)亚洲、南美洲和北美洲各分布了83种、93种和56种啄木鸟,受威胁物种占比分别为12.0%、6.4%、5.3%。非洲和欧洲分别分布了36种和11种啄木鸟,当前没有受威胁物种。(3)农业和生物资源利用以及放牧是啄木鸟的主要威胁因素。(4)共检索到研究啄木鸟的有关文章1 024篇,研究覆盖了140种啄木鸟,其中,文章数最多的物种是红顶啄木鸟(Leuconotopicus borealis)(162篇)。研究主要集中在巢相关特征(129篇)、生境选择特征(122篇)、取食行为(112篇)、繁殖行为(99篇)和种群状况(66篇)等基础生态学内容。这些研究为啄木鸟生物学、生态学积累了一定的基础,但物种覆盖程度还远远不够。在生物多样性急剧丧失的大背景下,亟需开展更为广泛和深入的研究。本研究对全球啄木鸟的濒危格局与研究现状进行了全面的分析,以期为后续啄木鸟的研究与保护工作提供参考。     

Ungulate bocaparvovirus 4 and rodent bocavirus are different genotypes of the same species of virus

Bocaviruses are associated with many human infectious diseases, such as respiratory tract infections, gastroenteritis, and hepatitis. Rats are known to be reservoirs of bocaviruses, including rodent bocavirus and rat bocavirus. Recently, ungulate bocaparvovirus 4, a known porcine bocavirus, has also been found in rats. Thus, investigating bocaviruses in rats is important for determining the origin of the viruses and preventing and controlling their transmission. To the best of our knowledge, no study to date has investigated bocaviruses in the livers of rats. In this report, a total of 624 rats were trapped in southern China between 2014 and 2017. Liver and serum samples from rats were tested for the prevalence of bocaviruses using PCR. Sequences related to ungulate bocaparvovirus 4 and rodent bocavirus were detected in both liver and serum samples. Interestingly, the prevalence of ungulate bocaparvovirus 4 (reference strain:KJ622366.1) was higher than that of rodent bocavirus (reference strain:KY927868.1) in both liver (2.24% and 0.64%, respectively) and serum samples (2.19% and 0.44%, respectively). The NS1 regions of ungulate bocaparvovirus 4 and rodent bocavirus related sequences displayed over 84% and 88% identity at the nucleic acid and amino acid levels, respectively. Furthermore, these sequences had similar genomic structure, genomic features, and codon usage bias, and shared a common ancestor. These viruses also displayed greater adaptability to rats than pigs. Our results suggested that ungulate bocaparvovirus 4 and rodent bocavirus may originate from rats and may be different genotypes of the same bocavirus species.     

Development of a biosensor assessing SARS-CoV-2 main protease proteolytic activity in living cells for antiviral drugs screening

Highlights:
The biosensor reported in our study can monitor SARS-CoV-2 M^pro activity in living cells instead of in vitro solutions.
The biosensor reported in our study is sensitive and easy to operate.
It is suitable for high-throughput screening.
It has the potential to be used in small animal models.     

贵州三都水族Y染色体单倍型频率分析

在92例贵州三都水族个体中,用PCR-RFLP法研究由11个单核苷酸多态位点(SNPs)组成的Y染色体单倍型频率分布,结果显示该人群的Y染色体主要为南方特异的H11和H9单倍型,两者频率高达90.22％。主成分分析结果显示其父系遗传结构与我国黎族、布依族等汉藏语系壮侗语族民族最为接近。通过Y染色体的遗传学观察与历史记载和语言学分类有较好一致性。 Abstract:Non-recombination region of Y-chromosome is a useful marker in tracing evolutionary history of paternal lineage.In the present study,total 92 individuals from Shui ethnic group in Sandu Shui Ethnic Group Autonomous County of Guizhou Province were inspected with 11 SNP sites including M7,M9,M15,M45,M89,M95,M119,M122,M130,M134 and YAP on Y-chromosome.All the subjects were required to be unrelated and without intermarriage with other ethnic groups within three generations.The haplotypes were analyzed by PCR-RFLP method.Four haplotypes H5,H8,H9 and H11 were detected with frequencies of 0.054,0.044,0.315 and 0.587,respectively.Principle component indicated that the paternal lineage of Shui ethnic group is much closer to Li ethnic group of Hainan Province and Bouyei ethnic group of Guizhou Province,which belong to the group of Zhuang-Dong branch of Sino-Tibetan language family.In addition genetic study of Shui coincides with its linguistic distribution.     

白蜡虫碱性磷酸酶功能基团的研究

白蜡ricerus pela雌成虫经匀浆,正丁醇抽提,硫酸铵分段盐析,SephadexG-150凝胶过滤等步骤,得到比活力为136.65U/mg蛋白酶制品,用苯甲基磺酰氟、N-溴代琥珀酰亚胺、三硝基苯磺酸、二巯基苏糖醇、对氯汞苯甲酸、琥珀酸酐、溴乙酸、碘乙酸等化学修饰剂在一定条件下选择修饰白蜡虫碱性磷酸酶的几种氨基酸残基,并测定酶活力变化。结果表明：苯甲基磺酰氟、N-溴代琥珀酰亚胺、三硝基苯磺酸、琥珀酸酐、二巯基苏糖醇的修饰能显著抑制酶的活力,活力的降低与修饰剂的浓度有关,氯汞苯甲酸、溴乙酸、碘乙酸的修饰对酶的抑制作用影响较小。初步认为：丝氨酸、赖氨酸和色氨酸残基是白蜡虫碱性磷酸酶的必需功能基团,部分二硫键也是酶的催化功能所必需的。     

α-肿瘤坏死因子的肿瘤靶向性改造

α-肿瘤坏死因子(tumor necrosis factor-α,TNF-α)是一种多效性的细胞因子,能高效地杀伤或抑制肿瘤细胞。但是由于其对全身有毒副作用,这使T N F-α的应用受到了限制。提高T N F-α的抗肿瘤活性,降低毒副作用以及开发具有肿瘤靶向性的融合蛋白是将其应用于临床的关键。     

Cystine Deprivation Induces Oligodendroglial Death: Rescue by Free Radical Scavengers and by a Diffusible Glial Factor

Abstract: In this study we examined the effect on oligodendroglial survival of exogenous cystine deprivation. Oligodendroglia isolated from mixed glial primary cultures derived from brains of 1-day-old rats, and then grown for 3 days, were markedly dependent on extracellular cystine for survival. The EC₅₀ values for cystine for a 24-h exposure ranged from 2 to 65 µ M . After 6 h of cystine deprivation, the cellular glutathione level decreased to 21 ± 13% of the control. Free radical scavengers (α-tocopherol, ascorbate, idebenone, and N-tert -butyl-α-phenylnitrone) were protective against cystine deprivation but had no effect on the glutathione level. An iron chelator, desferrioxamine mesylate, also was protective. These findings suggest that intracellular hydroxyl radicals are important for this toxicity. In contrast to the observations in 3-day-old cultures, the dependence on exogenous cystine for cell viability was not observed consistently in oligodendroglia cultured for 6 days before the onset of cystine deprivation. Several observations suggested that this loss of cystine dependence was due to a diffusible factor. Sensitivity to the toxicity of cystine deprivation in day 6 cultures increased as the volume of medium was increased from 0.3 to 2 ml. Furthermore, preincubation of cystine-depleted medium with astrocyte cultures eliminated the toxicity of the cystine deprivation. HPLC assay of the conditioned cystine-depleted medium showed no significant change in cystine or cysteine concentration. We conclude that oligodendroglia are highly susceptible to cystine deprivation in day 3 cultures and that this susceptibility is due to the accumulation of intracellular free radicals in the setting of glutathione depletion. The resistance of day 6 oligodendroglial cultures is caused at least in part by a diffusible factor.     

匍匐茎草本植物形态可塑性、整合作用与觅食行为研究进展

综述了匍匐茎型克隆植物在形态可塑性、整合作用及觅食行为方面的研究进展。资源斑块性分布是生境异质性的特征之一,适应于异质性生境,匍匐茎植物对环境资源表现了一系列可塑性反应。本文着重从匍匐茎植物对光、水、肥的可塑性反应及其整合作用以及觅食行为等方面的研究进行总结分析,以期对匍匐茎型克隆植物进行更广泛深入的研究。