Neotropical Copestylum (Diptera,Syrphidae) breeding in Agavaceae and Cactaceae including seven new species

We studied 42 species of saprophagous, Neotropical Copestylum (Diptera, Syrphidae) reared from decaying Cactaceae and Agavaceae. Thirty‐three species were reared during fieldwork in Bolivia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, and Trinidad from 1998–2007. Nine species came from museum and private collections. Seven were new species. We describe these new species and the third stage larva and/or puparium and breeding sites of 40 species. Not described are two apparent species related to Copestylum apicale (Loew, 1866) reared from Cactaceae. Resolution of their status was beyond the scope of this paper but reference is made to their distinctive larval morphology. Based on early stage characters all reared species can be placed in ten species groups, all but three of which have been recognized previously on the basis of adult characters. A high level of congruence was found between adult and larval characters in terms of these species groups. Eight of the groups appear to be related closely and may represent a monophyletic lineage within Copestylum that has diversified in xeric habitats. Early stage morphology varied within and amongst groups but two trends in functional morphology are recognizable. One trend is towards feeding in watery decay and the other towards feeding in firmer decay. The latter trend is characterized by species that scoop food and use grinding mills in their head skeletons to break it up. They also have armoured thoraces with varying arrangements of sclerotized spicules or stiffened setae for gripping and protection during tunnelling, a short anal segment, and a short posterior breathing tube for protecting the openings. The former trend is characterized by species with opposite and contrasting features. They filter food and have well‐developed pre‐oral setal filters but they lack grinding mills or only have poorly developed grinding mills. They have reduced thoracic armature, elongate anal segments, and posterior breathing tubes which facilitates simultaneous feeding and respiration. Comparison with 23 Copestylum species reared from bromeliads (Bromeliaceae) suggests a common pattern of diversification in that species groups with the largest body sizes are more specialized.     

BR-TRG-Ⅰ型体腔热灌注治疗系统安全性评估的动物实验

目的探讨应用BR-TRG-I型体腔热灌注治疗系统进行持续循环腹腔热灌注治疗（continuous circulatory hyperthermic intraperitoneal perfusion treatment,CCHIP）对实验动物的生命体征、肝肾功能及内脏器官病理形态的影响。方法选用家猪作为实验动物,应用BR-TRG-I型体腔热灌注治疗系统建立CCHIP动物模型,分别用44℃、45℃的设定温度进行CCHIP。在CCHIP期间记录实验动物的生命体征变化;CCHIP前及治疗后1d、3d、7d和14d抽取外周血液保存备检;CCHIP结束后即刻及2周后处死动物,观察内脏器官的大体形态学改变,切取肝、肾、小肠等器官进行病理检查。结果44℃CCHIP持续1.5h对猪的生命体征、肝肾功能无明显影响,肝、肾、小肠等脏器损伤较轻,2周后恢复正常;45℃CCHIP持续1.5h对猪的生命体征影响严重,肝肾功能损害持续2周尚不能恢复正常,肝、肾、小肠等脏器病理损伤明显。结论44℃温度CCHIP1.5h安全可行,可以作为CCHIP的安全温度;45℃温度CCHIP1.5h可对实验动物肝肾功能造成严重损害,不适合作为CCHIP的治疗温度。     

Porcine oocytes are most vulnerable to the mycotoxin deoxynivalenol during formation of the meiotic spindle

Deoxynivalenol (DON, vomitoxin) is a secondary metabolite and mycotoxin produced by Fusarium species that occurs with a high prevalence in cereals and grains intended for human and animal consumption. Pigs are considered to be the most sensitive animal species and exposure to DON results in reduced feed intake, reduced performance and cause alterations in the expression of markers of inflammation and cell cycle regulation. The objective of this study was to determine how DON possibly affects the oocyte developmental potential in vitro at concentrations which correspond to those observed in practice. To evaluate DON toxicity during specific stages of oocyte meiosis, cumulus-oocyte complexes were exposed to 0.02, 0.2, or 2 μM DON. Exposure to the highest DON concentration inhibited cumulus expansion and induced cumulus cell death. After exposure for 42 h, DON at all concentrations reduced Metaphase II formation and led to malformations of the meiotic spindle. Despite spindle malformations, exposure to different concentrations of DON did not lead to increased percentages of blastomeres with abnormal ploidy in embryos. Spindle malformation occurred by DON exposure during formation of meiotic spindles at Metaphase I and II, but embryo development was also reduced when oocytes were exposed to DON during Prophase I. Together, these results indicate that exposure to DON via contaminated food or feed can affect oocyte developmental competence by interfering directly with microtubule dynamics during meiosis, and by disturbing oocyte cytoplasmic maturation through other as yet undetermined mechanisms.     

生物软件在序列分析过程中的运用

介绍了组合使用BLAST、FASTA/BLASTScan3.2,或用多序列比对软件,从数据库中快速提取大数量目标序列,最后用MEGA4快捷编辑整理大数量序列的方法。还介绍了一种生成核酸序列与其氨基酸序列相似性百分率整合表格的方法。简述了对引物设计的基本认识并介绍了多重引物兼容性筛选软件;对构建系统发育树的认识并引出分子进化树构建软件MEGA4的使用和PAUP 4.0常用建树命令模块。期望这些方法和软件的使用能解决生物序列分析过程的常见问题。     

Surprising negative association between IgG1 allotype disparity and anti-adalimumab formation: a cohort study

Introduction

The human monoclonal antibody adalimumab is known to induce an anti-globulin response in some adalimumab-treated patients. Antibodies against adalimumab (AAA) are associated with non-response to treatment. Immunoglobulins, such as adalimumab, carry allotypes which represent slight differences in the amino acid sequences of the constant chains of an IgG molecule. Immunoglobulins with particular IgG (Gm) allotypes are racially distributed and could be immunogenic for individuals who do not express these allotypes. Therefore, we investigated whether a mismatch in IgG allotypes between adalimumab and IgG in adalimumab-treated patients is associated with the development of AAA.

Methods

This cohort study consisted of 250 adalimumab-treated rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients. IgG allotypes were determined for adalimumab and for all patients. Anti-idiotype antibodies against adalimumab were measured with a regular radio immunoassay (RIA), and a newly developed bridging enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to measure anti-allotype antibodies against adalimumab. The association between AAA and the G1m3 and the G1m17 allotypes was determined. For differences between groups we used the independent or paired samples t-test, Mann-Whitney test or Chi square/Fisher's exact test as appropriate. To investigate the influence of confounders on the presence or absence of AAA a multiple logistic regression-analysis was used.

Results

Adalimumab carries the G1m17 allotype. No anti-allotype antibodies against adalimumab were detected. Thirty-nine out of 249 patients had anti-idiotype antibodies against adalimumab (16%). IgG allotypes of RA patients were associated with the frequency of AAA: patients homozygous for G1m17 had the highest frequency of AAA (41%), patients homozygous for G1m3 the lowest frequency (10%), and heterozygous patients' AAA frequency was 14% (P = 0.0001).

Conclusions

An allotype mismatch between adalimumab and IgG in adalimumab-treated patients did not lead to a higher frequency of AAA. On the contrary, patients who carried the same IgG allotype as present on the adalimumab IgG molecule, had the highest frequency of anti-adalimumab antibodies compared to patients whose IgG allotype differed from adalimumab. This suggests that the allotype of adalimumab may not be highly immunogenic. Furthermore, patients carrying the G1m17-allotype might be more prone to antibody responses.     

棉蚜体色变化的生态遗传学研究

调查了不同寄主上棉蚜刀Aphis gossypll自受精卵孵化出的自然种群、室内混合饲养以及单个饲养蚜虫的体色变化。结果表明：不论是自然还是实验种群,是群体还是个体饲养,不论寄主、栽培条件、生育期营养相同与否,棉蚜体色在世代内稳定不变,即出生时是什么颜色保持终生不变;在世代间则随温度升高体色渐变为黄色,温度降低体色逐渐转绿。伏蚜由苗蚜而来。X²检验证实：棉蚜体色变化与营养、寄主种类、光照、光质、栽培条件等无关,仅与温度密切相关,属于同一基因型在不同环境条件下的反应规范。但在太槿上还发现有个别深黄色棉蚜,从卵孵化到迁飞体色不随温度变化,表明棉蚜体色变化中还存在遗传多态现象。胚胎学观察与染色体校型分析结果证实了上述结论与观点。     

Repair and replication of plasmids with site-specific 8-oxodG and 8-AAFdG residues in normal and repair-deficient human cells.

The in vivo mutagenicity of 7-hydro-8-oxo-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-oxodG) and N-(guanin-8-yl)-N-acetyl-2-aminofluorene (8-AAFdG) in human cells was determined by transfecting various cell lines with plasmids that carried a single adduct at a defined site. 8-OxodG is one of the many DNA modifications formed by oxygen radicals, and was found to be highly miscoding during replication with purified DNA polymerases in vitro. Here we show that the frequency of mutations induced by 8-oxodG during replication in vivo is at most only 2% above background. The most predominant mutation found was a single G----T transversion. The frequency of this transversion was found to be 3 to 5-fold increased in excision repair deficient XP-A cells. Interestingly, also the replication of 8-oxodG containing plasmids was significantly impaired (approximately 4-fold) in the XP-A cells, but not in HeLa cells, normal fibroblasts or XP-A revertant cells. When 8-AAFdG containing plasmids were used, the mutation frequencies did not exceed background levels (less than 2%) with any of the cell lines tested. The presence of 8-AAFdG almost completely inhibited plasmid replication (more than 50-fold) in XP-A cells. Apparently, both 8-AAFdG and 8-oxodG are not or poorly repaired in these cells, causing a block of DNA replication. This suggests that both lesions are substrates for excision repair, although to a varying extent.