First record on epizootics of Entomophthora grylli on grasshopper in Indian subcontinent: pathogen city and bio control potential on Oxya velox

A naturally-occurring fungus called Entomophthora grylli was for the first time isolated from two species of grasshopper Oxya velox and Oxya vicinia in Jammu and Kashmir, India. The epizootic was confined along Indo–Pak border between 74 degrees 24′ and 75 degrees 18′, East longitude and 32 degrees 50′ and 33 degrees 30′ North latitude. The fungus proved to be highly pathogenic and the natural mortality was significantly influenced by the population density which increased from 26.00 to 73.60 over the period of epizootics. On the basis of the available literature this appears to be the first record from the Indian sub-continent. While many infected grasshoppers apparently produced neither conidia nor resting spores, the cadavers were found to be full of hyphal bodies and resting spores towards the end of epizootics. These resting spores or their germ tubes were not invasive as such but if provided a saturated environment for a week, they start germinating, resulting in germ conidia which were able to induce dermal pathogencity. Further, it was observed that the disease could not be transmitted to healthy individuals by ingestion. However, the intra-haemocoel infectivity of fresh resting spores, germinated resting spores, and germ conidia proved to be highly pathogenic as they resulted in 81.4% grasshopper mortality. Although E. grylli is fastidious, it is possible to multiply it on a large scale as protoplasts which are infective upon injection in their hosts. However, the lack of a cell wall renders them very fragile, and they are neither infective upon application to the insect's cuticle nor upon ingestion. In the present study, a method on delivery of pathogen through “sticky molasses pan trap” was developed for inducing infection in grasshoppers in a paddy nursery which would facilitate its use as a bioinsecticide, analogous to other entomopathogenic fungi.     

Enantioselective separation and electrochemical sensing of D- and L-tryptophan at ultratrace level using molecularly imprinted micro-solid phase extraction fiber coupled with complementary molecularly imprinted polymer-fiber sensor

Highly efficient enantioselective separation and quantitative recoveries of D- and L-tryptophan in aqueous and real samples can be achieved, with a monolithic molecularly imprinted polymeric fiber that serves both for micro-solid phase extraction and ultratrace sensing, without any false-positive (non-specific) contribution and cross-reactivity, in the range of 0.15-30.00 ng mL(-1) with detection limit as low as 0.0261 ng mL(-1) (relative standard deviation=0.64%, signal/noise=3). The proposed method combining molecularly imprinted micro-solid phase extraction fiber and a complementary molecularly imprinted polymer-carbon composite fiber sensor is proven to be useful for clinical diagnosis of stress-related diseases caused by acute tryptophan depletion.     

Rapid and massive virus-specific plasmablast responses during acute dengue virus infection in humans

Humoral immune responses are thought to play a major role in dengue virus-induced immunopathology; however, little is known about the plasmablasts producing these antibodies during an ongoing infection. Herein we present an analysis of plasmablast responses in patients with acute dengue virus infection. We found very potent plasmablast responses that often increased more than 1,000-fold over the baseline levels in healthy volunteers. In many patients, these responses made up as much 30% of the peripheral lymphocyte population. These responses were largely dengue virus specific and almost entirely made up of IgG-secreting cells, and plasmablasts reached very high numbers at a time after fever onset that generally coincided with the window where the most serious dengue virus-induced pathology is observed. The presence of these large, rapid, and virus-specific plasmablast responses raises the question as to whether these cells might have a role in dengue immunopathology during the ongoing infection. These findings clearly illustrate the need for a detailed understanding of the repertoire and specificity of the antibodies that these plasmablasts produce.     

Unique frequencies of HFE gene variants in Roma/Gypsies

The aim of this study was to assess the frequencies of three hemochromatosis gene (HFE) mutations in ethnic Roma/Gypsies in Slovakia. A cohort of 367 individuals representing general population and not preselected for health status was genotyped by TaqMan real-time PCR assay for C282Y, H63D and S65C mutations in HFE gene. A unique genetic profile was revealed: C282Y is found in the highest frequency of all Central European countries (4.90%), while the frequency of H63D mutation (4.09%) is lower than any reported in Europe so far. S65C mutation was not present in the cohort. These mutation frequencies can be explained rather by gene influx and genetic isolation than by genetic inheritance from a former Roma/Gypsy homeland.     

Electrokinetic studies of the testosterone-aqueous d-glucose interface

Electro-osmosis and streaming-potential measurements were made across a testosterone-plug membrane, using water and aqueous solutions of d-glucose as permeants. The electrophoretic velocity of testosterone particles dispersed in these solutions was also measured, experiments being confined to the range where linear flux-force relationships hold. Phenomenological coefficients were evaluated by using these linear relations, and the results analyzed inthe light of the thermodynamics of irreversible processes. Saxen's relationship holds between electro-osmosis and streaming potential. Concentration dependence of the various phenomenological coefficients was also examined. Cross-phenomenological coefficients were found to decrease with increase in the concentration of d-glucose solutions. The results are explained on the basis of strong hydrogen-bonding between d-glucose and the surrounding water molecules. Such membrane parameters as pore size, average number of pores, and the membrane constant were evaluated. Electro-osmotic and electrophoretic data were used to estimate the zeta potential, in order to characterize the membrane-permeant interface. The dependence of the zeta potential on the concentration was also examined.     

The origin of tetraradial symmetry in cnidarians

Serially arranged sets of eight septa‐like structures occur in the basal part of phosphatic tubes of Sphenothallus from the early Ordovician (early Floian) Fenxiang Formation in Hubei Province of China. They are similar in shape, location and number, to cusps in chitinous tubes of extant coronate scyphozoan polyps, which supports the widely accepted cnidarian affinity of this problematic fossil. However, unlike the recent Medusozoa, the tubes of Sphenothallus are flattened at later stages of development, showing biradial symmetry. Moreover, the septa (cusps) in Sphenothallus are obliquely arranged, which introduces a bilateral component to the tube symmetry. This makes Sphenothallus similar to the Early Cambrian Paiutitubulites, having similar septa but with even more apparent bilateral disposition. Biradial symmetry also characterizes the Early Cambrian tubular fossil Hexaconularia, showing a similarity to the conulariids. However, instead of being strictly tetraradial like conulariids, Hexaconularia shows hexaradial symmetry superimposed on the biradial one. A conulariid with a smooth test showing signs of the ‘origami’ plicated closure of the aperture found in the Fenxiang Formation supports the idea that tetraradial symmetry of conulariids resulted from geometrical constrains connected with this kind of closure. Its minute basal attachment surface makes it likely that the holdfasts characterizing Sphenothallus and advanced conulariids are secondary features. This concurs with the lack of any such holdfast in the earliest Cambrian Torellella, as well as in the possibly related Olivooides and Quadrapyrgites. Bilaterally arranged internal structures in polyps representing probably the oldest medusozoans support the suggestions based on developmental evidence that the ancestor of cnidarians also was a bilaterally symmetrical animal. This is one more example of fossil data that strictly fit the molecular phylogenetic evidence but not necessarily morphology‐based zoological interpretations.