Adverse environmental conditions influence age-related innate immune responsiveness

Background-  

The innate immune system plays an important role in the recognition and induction of protective responses against infectious pathogens, whilst there is increasing evidence for a role in mediating chronic inflammatory diseases at older age. Despite indications that environmental conditions can influence the senescence process of the adaptive immune system, it is not known whether the same holds true for the innate immune system. Therefore we studied whether age-related innate immune responses are similar or differ between populations living under very diverse environmental conditions.     

Ecologists can enable communities to implement malaria vector control in Africa

Background

Malaria imposes significant costs on households and the poor are disproportionately affected. However, cost data are often from quantitative surveys with a fixed recall period. They do not capture costs that unfold slowly over time, or seasonal variations. Few studies investigate the different pathways through which malaria contributes towards poverty. In this paper, a framework indicating the complex links between malaria, poverty and vulnerability at the household level is developed and applied using data from rural Kenya.

Methods

Cross-sectional surveys in a wet and dry season provide data on treatment-seeking, cost-burdens and coping strategies (n = 294 and n = 285 households respectively). 15 case study households purposively selected from the survey and followed for one year provide in-depth qualitative information on the links between malaria, vulnerability and poverty.

Results

Mean direct cost burdens were 7.1% and 5.9% of total household expenditure in the wet and dry seasons respectively. Case study data revealed no clear relationship between cost burdens and vulnerability status at the end of the year. Most important was household vulnerability status at the outset. Households reporting major malaria episodes and other shocks prior to the study descended further into poverty over the year. Wealthier households were better able to cope.

Conclusion

The impacts of malaria on household economic status unfold slowly over time. Coping strategies adopted can have negative implications, influencing household ability to withstand malaria and other contingencies in future. To protect the poor and vulnerable, malaria control policies need to be integrated into development and poverty reduction programmes.     

Free brownian motion of individual lipid molecules in biomembranes

The mobility of phospolipids in free-standing and supported membranes was investigated on the level of individual molecules. For the analysis of trajectories a new statistical treatment was developed that permitted us to clearly distinguish different types of diffusional motion. A freely diffusing subfraction of lipids within supported membranes was identified. Its mobility was characterized by a mean lateral diffusion constant of D(supp) = 4.6 &mgr;m(2)/s. In comparison, the mobility of lipids embedded in "free-standing" planar membranes yielded an increase in the mean diffusion constant by a factor of 4.5, D(free) = 20.6 &mgr;m(2)/s. This increase is attributed to the ultrathin (</=1 nm) lubricating water layer between membranes and glass support.     

Phylogeny of the genus trichoderma based on sequence analysis of the internal transcribed spacer region 1 of the rDNA cluster

Sequences of the internal transcribed spacer region 1 (ITS1) of the ribosomal DNA were used to determine the phylogenetic relationships of species of Trichoderma sect. Pachybasium. To this end, 85 strains-including all the available ex-type strains-were analyzed. Parsimony analysis demonstrated that the section is nonmonophyletic, distributing the 85 strains among three main groups that were supported by bootstrap values. Group A comprises two clades (A1 and A2), with A1 including T. polysporum, T. piluliferum, and T. minutisporum, while A2 included T. hamatum, T. pubescens, and T. strigosum in addition to species previously included in sect. Trichoderma (i.e., T. viride, T. atroviride, and T. koningii). The ex-type strain of T. fasciculatum formed a separate branch basal to clade A. Clade B contained the sect. Pachybasium members T. harzianum, T. fertile, T. croceum, T. longipile, T. strictipile, T. tomentosum, T. oblongisporum, T. flavofuscum, T. spirale, and the anamorphs of Hypocrea semiorbis and H. cf. gelatinosa. Sequence differences among clades A1, A2, and B were in the same order of magnitude as between each of them and T. longibrachiatum, which was used as an outgroup in these analyses. Sequence differences within clades A1, A2, and B were considerably smaller: in some cases (i.e., T. virens and T. flavofuscum; T. strictipile and H. cf. gelatinosa), the ITS1-sequences were identical, suggesting conspecifity. In other cases (e.g., T. crassum and T. longipile; T. harzianum, T. inhamatum, T. croceum, T. fertile, and H. semiorbis; T. hamatum and T. pubescens; and T. viride, T. atroviride, and T. koningii) differences were in the range of 1-3 nt only, suggesting a very close phylogenetic relationship. The sequence of a previously described aggressive mushroom competitor group of T. harzianum strains (Th2) was strikingly different from that of the ex-type strain of T. harzianum and closely related species and is likely to be a separate species. Copyright 1998 Academic Press.     

A unique form of light reflector and the evolution of signalling in Ovalipes (Crustacea: Decapoda: Portunidae)

The first demonstration, to our knowledge, of an evolutionary shift in communication mode in animals is presented. Some species of Ovalipes display spectacular iridescence resulting from multilayer reflectors in the cuticle. This reflector is unique in animals because each layer is corrugated and slightly out of phase with adjacent layers. Solid layers are separated from fluid layers in the reflector by side branches acting as support struts. An effect of this reflector is that blue light is reflected over a ''broad'' angle around a plane parallel to the sea floor when the host crab is resting. Species of Ovalipes all possess stridulatory structures. The shallow-water species with the best developed stridulatory structures are non-iridescent and use sound as a signal. Deep-water species possess poorly developed stridulatory structures and display iridescence from most regions of the body. In deep water, where incident light is blue, light display is highly directional in contrast to sound produced via stridulation. Sound and light display probably perform the same function of sexual signalling in Ovalipes, although the directional signal is less likely to attract predators. Deep-water species of Ovalipes appear to have evolved towards using light in conspecific signalling. This change from using sound to using light reflects the change in habitat light properties, perhaps the hunting mechanisms of cohabitees, and its progression is an indicator of phylogeny. The changes in sexual signalling mechanisms, following spatial–geographical isolation, may have promoted speciation in Ovalipes.     

Loose front teeth: radiological and histological correlation with grooming function in the impala Aepyceros melampus

Casual observations have revealed that the anterior dentition of impala and other antelope is loosely embedded, with the tips of the teeth movable over a distance of 1middot;5 to 2mm. The comb-like anterior dentition of impala Aepyceros melampus is utilized extensively for grooming purposes, and it was hypothesized that the looseness of the teeth might be related to the grooming function. A sample of 12 impala mandibles was obtained from Pilanesberg National Park. Boputhatswana. Six of the incisor canine (IC) complexes were examined macroscopically, radiographically and histologically, while the remaining six were used to determine the alveolar depth relative to total root length, The findings were: (1) wide periodontal ligament spaces, most prominent in the apical region; (2) a loose, highly vascular periodontal ligament; (3) well-developed trans-septal periodontal ligament fibres; and (4) relatively shallow alveoli, with only approximately two-thirds of the roots included within the alveoli. In no case could looseness be ascribed to pathological changes in the periodontal ligament, cementum or alveolar bone. These features suggest that the looseness of the teeth is associated with a see-saw action of the teeth about a fulcrum below the alveolar bone crest. with the maintenance of the closed resting position of the teeth being facilitated by the well-developed trans-septal fibres. It is suggested that the minimal interdental space maintained by this arrangement during grooming assists in the efficient removal of parasites from the pelage by impala.     

Nonglucosylated oligosaccharides are transferred to protein in MI8-5 Chinese hamster ovary cells

A CHO mutant MI8-5 was found to synthesize Man9-GlcNAc2-P-P-dolichol rather than Glc3Man9GlcNAc2-P-P-dolichol as the oligosaccharide-lipid intermediate in N-glycosylation of proteins. MI8-5 cells were incubated with labeled mevalonate, and the prenol was found to be dolichol. The mannose-labeled oligosaccharide released from oligosaccharide-lipid of MI8-5 cells was analyzed by HPLC and alpha-mannosidase treatment, and the data were consistent with a structure of Man9GlcNAc2. In addition, MI8-5 cells did not incorporate radioactivity into oligosaccharide- lipid during an incubation with tritiated galactose, again consistent with MI8-5 cells synthesizing an unglucosylated oligosaccharide-lipid. MI8-5 cells had parental levels of glucosylphosphoryldolichol synthase activity. However, in two different assays, MI8-5 cells lacked dolichol- P-Glc:Man9GlcNAc2-P-P-dolichol glucosyltransferase activity. MI8-5 cells were found to synthesize glucosylated oligosaccharide after they were transfected with Saccharomyces cerevisiae ALG 6, the gene for dolichol-P-Glc:Man9GlcNAc2-P-P-dolichol glucosyltransferase. MI8-5 cells were found to incorporate mannose into protein 2-fold slower than parental cells and to approximately a 2-fold lesser extent.      

FIGENIX: Intelligent automation of genomic annotation: expertise integration in a new software platform

Background  

Two of the main objectives of the genomic and post-genomic era are to structurally and functionally annotate genomes which consists of detecting genes' position and structure, and inferring their function (as well as of other features of genomes). Structural and functional annotation both require the complex chaining of numerous different software, algorithms and methods under the supervision of a biologist. The automation of these pipelines is necessary to manage huge amounts of data released by sequencing projects. Several pipelines already automate some of these complex chaining but still necessitate an important contribution of biologists for supervising and controlling the results at various steps.     

Single amino acid supplementation in aminoacidopathies: a systematic review

Aminoacidopathies are a group of rare and diverse disorders, caused by the deficiency of an enzyme or transporter involved in amino acid metabolism. For most aminoacidopathies, dietary management is the mainstay of treatment. Such treatment includes severe natural protein restriction, combined with protein substitution with all amino acids except the amino acids prior to the metabolic block and enriched with the amino acid that has become essential by the enzymatic defect. For some aminoacidopathies, supplementation of one or two amino acids, that have not become essential by the enzymatic defect, has been suggested. This so-called single amino acid supplementation can serve different treatment objectives, but evidence is limited. The aim of the present article is to provide a systematic review on the reasons for applications of single amino acid supplementation in aminoacidopathies treated with natural protein restriction and synthetic amino acid mixtures.     

Establishment of papaya banker plant system for parasitoid, Encarsia sophia (Hymenoptera: Aphilidae) against Bemisia tabaci (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) in greenhouse tomato production

The silverleaf whitefly, Bemisia tabaci biotype B (Gennadius) (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae), is a key pest of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) and other vegetable crops worldwide. To combat this pest, a non-crop banker plant system was evaluated that employs a parasitoid, Encarsia sophia (Girault & Dodd) (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae) with whitefly, Trialeurodes variabilis (Quaintance) (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae), as an alternative host for rearing and dispersal of the parasitoid to the target pest. (a) Multi-choice and no-choice greenhouse experiments were conducted to determine host specificity of T. variabilis to papaya (Carica papaya L.) and three vegetable crops including tomato, green bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.), and cabbage (Brassica oleracea L.). The result showed that papaya was an excellent non-crop banker plant for supporting the non-pest alternative host, T. variabilis, whose adults had a strong specificity to papaya plants for feeding and oviposition in both multi-choice and no-choice tests. (b) The dispersal ability of E. sophia was investigated from papaya banker plants to tomato and green bean plants infested with B. tabaci, as well as to papaya control plants infested with T. variabilis; and (c) the percent parasitism by E. sophia on T. variabilis reared on papaya plants and on B. tabaci infested on tomato plants was also evaluated. These data proved that E. sophia was able to disperse at least 14.5 m away from papaya plants to target tomato, bean or papaya control plants within 48–96 h. Furthermore, E. sophia was a strong parasitoid of both T. variabilis and B. tabaci. There was no significant difference in percent parasitism by E. sophia on T. variabilis (36.2–47.4%) infested on papaya plants or B. tabaci (29–45.9%) on tomato plants. Thus, a novel banker plant system for the potential management of B. tabaci was established using papaya as a non-crop banker plant to support a non-pest alternative host, T. variabilis for maintaining the parasitoid to control B. tabaci. The established banker plant system should provide growers with a new option for long-term control of B. tabaci in greenhouse vegetable production. Ongoing studies on the papaya banker plant system are being performed in commercial greenhouses.