First molecular identification of the vertebrate hosts of Culicoides imicola in Europe and a review of its blood‐feeding patterns worldwide: implications for the transmission of bluetongue disease and African horse sickness

Culicoides (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) are vectors of pathogens that affect wildlife, livestock and, occasionally, humans. Culicoides imicola (Kieffer, 1913) is considered to be the main vector of the pathogens that cause bluetongue disease (BT) and African horse sickness (AHS) in southern Europe. The study of blood‐feeding patterns in Culicoides is an essential step towards understanding the epidemiology of these pathogens. Molecular tools that increase the accuracy and sensitivity of traditional methods have been developed to identify the hosts of potential insect vectors. However, to the present group's knowledge, molecular studies that identify the hosts of C. imicola in Europe are lacking. The present study genetically characterizes the barcoding region of C. imicola trapped on farms in southern Spain and identifies its vertebrate hosts in the area. The report also reviews available information on the blood‐feeding patterns of C. imicola worldwide. Culicoides imicola from Spain feed on blood of six mammals that include species known to be hosts of the BT and AHS viruses. This study provides evidence of the importance of livestock as sources of bloodmeals for C. imicola and the relevance of this species in the transmission of BT and AHS viruses in Europe.     

The ejectisomes of the flagellate Chilomonas paramecium: visualization by freeze-fracture and isolation techniques

Freeze-fracture procedures were used to visualize ejectisomes and adjacent plasma membrane specializations in the flagellate protozoan Chilomonas paramecium. The ejectisomes are membrane-bounded, cylindrically rolled, extrusive organelles. Small ones occur in large number beneath the plasma membrane of the body and considerably larger ones are located around the gullet membrane. The intra-membrane particle distribution is different in each type. In small ejectisomes, the portion of the membrane in contact with the plasma membrane of the body has a P-face rosette of five particles while the plasma membrane has not been observed with a rosette. Small ejectisomes and plasma membrane both contain aggregations of particles a short distance from the contact or docking site. Slightly beneath the plasma membrane is the periplastic sheet with which we speculate the small ejectisomes interact during the docking phenomenon. No obvious rosettes have been observed in large ejectisomes. Some other ejectisomal structures are presented and discussed.     

Can Acupuncture Treatment Be Double-Blinded? An Evaluation of Double-Blind Acupuncture Treatment of Postoperative Pain

Blinding protects against bias but the success of blinding is seldom assessed and reported in clinical trials including studies of acupuncture where blinding represents a major challenge. Recently, needles with the potential for double-blinding were developed, so we tested if acupuncture can be double-blinded in a randomized study of sixty-seven patients with acute pain ≥ 3 (0-10 scale following third molar removal) who received active acupuncture with a penetrating needle or placebo acupuncture with a non-penetrating needle. To test if acupuncture was administered double-blind, patients and acupuncturists were asked about perceived treatment allocation at the end of the study. To test if there were clues which led to identification of the treatment, deep dull pain associated with needle application and rotation (termed “de qi” in East Asian medicine), and patients’ pain levels were assessed. Perceived treatment allocation depended on actual group allocation (p < 0.015) for both patients and acupuncturists, indicating that the needles were not successful in double-blinding. Up to 68% of patients and 83% of acupuncturists correctly identified the treatment, but for patients the distribution was not far from 50/50. Also, there was a significant interaction between actual or perceived treatment and the experience of de qi (p = 0.027), suggesting that the experience of de qi and possible non-verbal clues contributed to correct identification of the treatment. Yet, of the patients who perceived the treatment as active or placebo, 50% and 23%, respectively, reported de qi. Patients’ acute pain levels did not influence the perceived treatment. In conclusion, acupuncture treatment was not fully double-blinded which is similar to observations in pharmacological studies. Still, the non-penetrating needle is the only needle that allows some degree of practitioner blinding. The study raises questions about alternatives to double-blind randomized clinical trials in the assessment of acupuncture treatment.     

Synthesis, assembly and function of plant cell wall macromolecules.

The plant cell wall consists of a structurally intricate network of polysaccharide and protein whose biosynthesis, assembly and functions are still poorly understood. Recent research has shown how cell wall macromolecules, and fragments thereof, appear to be involved in processes such as cell growth, cell and tissue differentiation and the control of pathogenesis.     

Marine polyprenylated hydroquinones, quinones, and chromenols with inhibitory effects on leukotriene formation

A series of polyprenylated hydroquinones, quinones, and chromenols were isolated from the extracts of the marine sponge Ircinia spinosula and the brown alga Taonia atomaria, which gave rise to the constituents 1-4 and 5-8, respectively. Compounds 1, 2, 6, and 7 are new natural products, which were fully characterized. Their anti-inflammatory activities in terms of leukotriene formation were evaluated in an in vitro assay with pork leukocytes. The new hydroxylated compound, 2'-[28-hydroxy]heptaprenyl-1',4'-hydroquinone (= 2-[(2E,6E,10E,14E,18Z,22E)-19-(hydroxymethyl)-3,7,11,15,23,27-hexamethyloctacosa-2,6,10,14,18,22,26-heptaen-1-yl]benzene-1,4-diol; 1), the known tetraprenyl benzoquinone sargaquinone (5), and the known polyprenyl chromenols 3 and 4 exhibited the highest anti-inflammatory activities, with IC50 values of 1.9-9.4 microM (Table 3). Potential structure-activity relationships (SAR) are discussed.