A catalogue of Burmite inclusions

Burmite (Burmese amber) from the Hukawng Valley in northern Myanmar is a remarkable valuable and obviously the most important amber for studying terrestrial diversity in the mid-Cretaceous.The diversity of Burmite inclusions is very high and many new taxa were found,including new order,new family/subfamily,and new genus.Till the end of 2016,14 phyla,21 classes,65 orders,279 families,515 genera and 643 species of organisms are recorded,which are summized and complied in this catalogue.Among them,587 species are arthropods.In addtion,the specimens which can not be identified into species are also listed in the paper.The information on type specimens,other materials,host and deposition of types are provided.     

Supreme™ laryngeal mask airway use in general Anesthesia for category 2 and 3 Cesarean delivery: a prospective cohort study

Background

The Supreme? laryngeal mask airway (SLMA) is a single-use LMA with double lumen design that allows separation of the respiratory and the alimentary tract, hence potentially reducing the gastric volume and risk of aspiration. The purpose of this prospective cohort study is to evaluate the the role of the SLMA as an airway technique for women undergoing category 2 and 3 Cesarean delivery under general anesthesia.

Methods

We recruited 584 parturients who underwent category 2 or 3 Cesarean delivery under general anesthesia, in which 193 parturients underwent category 2 and 391 parturients underwent category 3 Cesarean delivery. The primary outcome was insertion success rate at 1st attempt in SLMA insertion. The secondary outcomes included anaesthetic, obstetric outcomes and maternal side effects associated with airway device.

Results

The 1st attempt insertion success rate was 98.3%, while the overall insertion success rate was 100%. The mean (Standard deviation) time to effective ventilation was 15.6 (4.4) seconds. Orogastric tube insertion was successful at the 1st attempt in all parturients. There was no clinical evidence of aspiration or regurgitation. No episodes of hypoxemia, laryngospasm or bronchospasm were observed intra-operatively. The incidence of complications was low and with good maternal satisfaction reported.

Conclusions

The SLMA could be an alternative effective airway in category 2 and 3 parturients emergency Cesarean Delivery under general anesthesia in a carefully-selected obstetric population.

Trial registration

Clinical Trials Registration: Clinicaltrials.gov Registration NCT02026882. Registered on December 31, 2013.

     

A novel thermophilic endo-β-1,4-mannanase from Aspergillus nidulans XZ3: functional roles of carbohydrate-binding module and Thr/Ser-rich linker region

The gene man5XZ3 from Aspergillus nidulans XZ3 encodes a multimodular β-mannanase of glycoside hydrolase family 5 that consists of a family 1 carbohydrate-binding module (CBM1), a Thr/Ser-rich linker region, and a catalytic domain. Recombinant Man5XZ3 and its two truncated derivatives, Man5ΔCBM (removing the CBM1) and Man5ΔCL (removing both the CBM1 and linker region), were produced in Pichia pastoris and showed significant variance in the secondary structure. The three enzymes had similar biochemical properties, such as optimal pH and temperature (pH 5.0 and 80 °C) and excellent pH stability at pH 4.0–10.0. Removal of the CBM1 alone could improve the thermostability of Man5XZ3, but further removal of the linker region resulted in worse thermostability. Man5XZ3 retained greater enzyme activity in the presence of an organic solvent (acetone), two detergents (SDS and Triton X-100), and a chaotropic agent (urea) compared with Man5ΔCBM and Man5ΔCL. This study provides an excellent β-mannanase candidate favorable for various industries and primarily demonstrates the relationship between enzyme structure and function.     

Expression of recombinant Digitalis lanata EHRH. cardenolide 16′-O-glucohydrolase in Cucumis sativus L. hairy roots

The coding sequence for the Digitalis lanata EHRH. cardenolide 16′-O-glucohydrolase was inserted downstream of the 35S promoter in the binary vector pBI121 resulting in plant expression vector pBI121cgh. Cotyledon explants excised from 10-day-old seedlings of Cucumis sativus L. were transformed using Agrobacterium rhizogenes 15834 harbouring pBI121cgh. Hairy roots were obtained from infected cotyledon explants in vitro 10 days after inoculation. PCR amplification of coding sequences for cgh I, rolB and rolC from Ri plasmid showed that the aimed sequences were inserted into the genome of transformed cucumber hairy roots. Glycolytic activity of the transgenic CGH I was measured by HPLC using Lanatoside glycosides as substrate. Therefore, the cgh I transformed cucumber hairy roots may provide a valuable model for biotransformation of natural compounds by recombinant enzymes.This report is dedicated to Prof. W. Roos on the occasion of his 60th birthday.     

Comparison of the expression of Bacillus thuringiensis full-length and N-terminally truncated vip3A gene in Escherichia coli

AIMS: Studies were performed to demonstrate the function of the putative signal peptide of Vip3A proteins in Escherichia coli. METHODS AND RESULTS: The full-length vip3A-S184 gene was isolated from a soil-isolated Bacillus thuringiensis, and the vip3AdeltaN was constructed by deleting 81 nucleotides at the 5'-terminus of vip3A-S184. Both were transformed and expressed in E. coli. About 19.2% of Vip3A-S184 proteins secreted soluble proteins and others formed inclusion bodies in the periplasmic space. In contrast, the Vip3AdeltaN was insoluble and formed inclusion bodies in the cytoplasm. Bioassay indicated that Vip3A-S184 showed different toxicity against Spodoptera exigua, Helicoverpa armigera and S. litura, but Vip3AdeltaN showed no toxicity to either of them because of the deletion of the first 27 amino acids at the N-terminus. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that the deleted N-terminal sequences were essential for the secretion of Vip3A-S184 protein in E. coli and might be required for toxicity. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: The function of the putative signal peptide of Vip3A protein in E. coli was investigated. These would be helpful to make clear the unknown secretion pathway of Vip3A protein in B. thuringiensis and determine the receptor-binding domain or toxic fragment of Vip3A-S184 protein.     

Determination of an Optimal Standardized Uptake Value of Fluorodeoxyglucose for Positron Emission Tomography Imaging to Assess Pathological Volumes of Cervical Cancer: A Prospective Study

Purpose

To determine the optimal standardized uptake value (SUV) of ¹⁸F-fluorodeoxyglucose (¹⁸F-FDG) for positron emission tomography (PET) imaging, at which the PET-defined gross tumor volume (GTV_PET) best matches with the pathological volume (GTV_PATH) in the cervical cancer.

Materials and Methods

Ten patients with the cervical cancer who underwent surgery were enrolled in this study. The excised specimens were processed for whole-mount serial sections and H-E staining. The tumor borders were outlined in sections under a microscope, histopathological images were scanned and the GTV_PATH calculated. The GTV_PET was delineated automatically by using various percentages relative to the maximal SUV and absolute SUV. The optimal threshold SUV was further obtained as the value at which the GTV_PET best matched with the GTV_PATH.

Results

An average of 85±10% shrinkage of tissue was observed after the formalin fixation. The GTV_PATH was 13.38±2.80 cm³ on average. The optimal threshold on percentile SUV and absolute SUV were 40.50%±3.16% and 7.45±1.10, respectively. The correlation analysis showed that the optimal percentile SUV threshold was inversely correlated with GTV_PATH (p<0.05) and tumor diameter (p<0.05). The absolute SUV was also positively correlated with SUV_max (p<0.05).

Conclusion

The pathological volume could provide the more accurate tumor volume. The optimal SUV of FDG for PET imaging by use of GTV_PATH as standard for cervical cancer target volume delineation was thus determined in this study, and more cases are being evaluated to substantiate this conclusion.