CALES ORCHAMOPLATI SP. N. (HYMENOPTERA: APHELINIDAE) FROM AUSTRALIA

Abstract
Cales orchamoplati sp. n., an aphelinid parasite of the aleyrodid Orchamoplatus citri (Takahashi), is described from South Australia.     

Possible Sources of Iron for Lipid Peroxidation

Possible sources of iron for lipid peroxidation are described and discussed. In particular. evidence is presented that microsomes contain ferric nonheme iron which may participate in formation of lipid oxidants. provided reductants are available to favor its mobilization from membrane binding sites. Aging-and tumor-associated changes of this microsomal pool of nonheme iron are also described and discussed from biochemical and biomedical viewpoints.     

Circularly polarized light at the mirror: Caveats and opportunities

Moving from the simple concept that reflection onto a mirror surface changes the handedness of circularly polarized light, we describe what happens to the emergent polarization in two different cases after reflection on a back mirror. In the first case, a regular emitter is taken into account, where reflection has the effect to destroy the emergent polarization. In the second case, we show what could happen when a hypothetical apparently non-reciprocal emitting material undergoes a similar experiment. These simple concepts have important implications in the design of efficient circularly polarized emitting devices.     

Isolation,stereochemical study,and racemization of (±)-pratenone A,the first naturally occurring 3-(1-naphthyl)-2-benzofuran-1(3H)-one polyketide from a marine-derived actinobacterium

(±)-Pratenone A ( 1 ), the first representative of natural 3-(1-naphthyl)-2-benzofuran-1(3H)-one polyketides, was isolated from a marine-derived Streptomyces pratensis strain KCB-132 together with three other new analogues ( 2−4 ). Its structure was assigned by spectroscopic analysis, and the absolute configurations of the two enantiomers separated by high-performance liquid chromatography were determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction and electronic circular dichroism calculations. The solvent-induced racemization of 1 and a proposed biogenetic pathway to 1−4 from the co-isolated angucyclinone precursor, as well as their biological activity, are also discussed.     

Specifically Designed Polymeric Nanospheres Increase Cellular Uptake of Unmodified Antisense ODNs

Abstract

The cellular uptake and the inhibitory effect of c-myb unmodified antisense oligonucleotides reversibly bound to new polymeric nanoparticles in HL-60 cellular system have been found to increase by 50 folds if compared with the free ODN. An initial single dose (320 nM) of the nanoparticle bound unmodified antimyb ODN has been able to specifically inhibit HL-60 leukemia cell proliferation for at least 8 days.     

COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF METHODS FOR THE PURIFICATION OF DNA FROM LOW-BIOMASS SAMPLES BASED ON TOTAL YIELD AND CONSERVED MICROBIAL DIVERSITY

Despite advances in the specificity and sensitivity of molecular biological technologies, the efficient recovery of DNA from low-biomass samples remains extremely challenging. Optimal methods to purify biomolecules from such environments should (1) achieve the greatest total yield and (2) reflect the true microbial diversity of the sample. These attributes were assessed from five DNA purification regimes: a standard-manual procedure, MoBio Ultraclean and Promega Wizard kits, and an automated Axcyte AutoLyser method with and without bead-beating agitation. A homogenous mixture of known concentrations of nine distinct bacterial lineages isolated from low-biomass environments was prepared and suitable aliquots of subsamples were processed in parallel. DNA products from each of these methods were then subjected to polymerase chain reaction (PCR), quantitative PCR and 16S rRNA clone-library analysis. The Axcyte AutoLyser outperformed all other purification regimes examined. This automated method consistently both yielded the highest concentration of PCR-amplifiable DNA, and reported species composition most consistent with the starting solution.

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS

This communication carefully examines the effectiveness of common DNA purification regimes as well as an automated method. Comparative analyses convincingly demonstrate that the different methods not only result in different recovery of genomic DNA, but more importantly, different estimations of microbial diversity in the sample. This report will hopefully inspire investigators from various industries (pharmaceutical, ecological, medical, semiconductor, etc.) who find themselves in the initial phases of large-scale studies to devote a significant effort into optimizing sample extraction protocols to achieve the most accurate information.