Solid cultures of thrips-pathogenic fungi Isaria javanica strains for enhanced conidial productivity and thermotolerance

Entomopathogenic fungi have great potential to control agricultural and horticultural insect pests, however optimizing conidial production systems to demonstrate high productivity and stability still needs additional efforts for successful field application and industrialization. Although many virulent entomopathogenic fungal isolates have been viewed as potential candidates in a laboratory environment, very few of the isolates are being used in practice for application in agricultural fields as commercial products. I. javanicus is an entomopathogenic fungus that is parasitic to various diverse coleopteran and lepidopteran insects and thought good candidate as biopesticdes. In this work, the basic characteristics of two entomopathogenic fungi, I. javanica FG340 and Pf04, were investigated in morphological examinations, genetic identification, and virulence against Thrips palmi, and then the feasibility of various grains substrates for conidial production was assessed, particularly focusing on conidial productivity and thermotolerance. Isaria javanica FG340 and Pf04 conidia were solid-cultured on 12 grains for 14?days in a Petri dish. Of the tested Italian millet, perilla seed, millet and barley-based cultures showed high conidial production. The four-grain media yielded >1?×?10⁹ conidia/g of I. javanica FG340 and Pf04. Pf04 strain had enhanced thermotolerance up to 45?°C when cultured on Italian millet. In application, it was easy to make a conidial suspension using the cultured grains, and several surfactants were tested to release the conidia. This work suggests several possible inexpensive grain substrates by which to promote conidial production combined with enhanced stability against exposure to high temperature.     

Enhanced immunodetection of cell-free synthesized erythropoietin under denaturing conditions

A monoclonal antibody produced by hydridoma cell line, ATCC HB8209, was used to detect and purify erythropoietin synthesized in a cell-free system. The antibody was raised against the N-terminal 20 residues of erythropoietin. It retained anti-erythropoietin activity in 6 M urea in which most of the cell-free synthesized erythropoietin became soluble and gave an enhanced activity of the antibody.     

Monoclonal antibody to shiga toxin 1, which blocks receptor binding and neutralizes cytotoxicity

A monoclonal antibody, 5-5B, which neutralizes Shiga toxin 1 (Stx1) cytotoxicity of Escherichia coli, was constructed. An epitope analysis indicated that Asn55 in Stx1 B subunit was an important residue. This result and our previous results using an anti-Stx2 monoclonal antibody indicate that the region around the cysteine residue of the disulfide bond might be important for the neutralization of Stx cytotoxicity, making it a potential vaccination candidate.     

Assignment of 1H, 13C and 15N resonances of the reduced human IgG1 CH3 domain

Here we report the NMR resonance assignments for the reduced form of human IgG1 C_H3 domain, a 26 kDa dimer in solution (residues 341–447). The assignments have been deposited in the BioMagResBank with a BMRB accession number of 15204.     

Cloning, expression, and characterization of a lipolytic enzyme gene (lip8) from Pseudomonas aeruginosa LST-03

A lipolytic enzyme gene (lip8) was cloned from organic solvent-tolerant Pseudomonas aeruginosa LST-03 and sequenced. In the sequenced nucleotides, an open reading frame consisting of 1,173 nucleotides and encoding 391 amino acids was found. Lip8 is considered to belong to the family VIII of lipolytic enzymes whose serine in the consensus sequence of -Ser-Xaa-Xaa-Lys- acts as catalytic nucleophile. The gene was expressed in Escherichia coli and purified by a combination of ammonium sulfate fractionation and hydrophobic interaction and ion-exchange chromatographies to homogeneity on SDS-PAGE analysis. The optimum temperature and heat stability of Lip8 were not as high as those of Lip3 and LST-03 lipase, two other lipolytic enzymes from the same strain. Addition of glycerol to a solution containing Lip8 stabilized this enzyme. By measuring the activities against various triacylglycerols and fatty acid methyl esters having carbon chains of different lengths, Lip8 was categorized as an esterase which has higher activities against fatty acid methyl esters with short-chain fatty acids.     

Trends in the Use of Nephron-Sparing Surgery over 7 Years: An Analysis Using the R.E.N.A.L. Nephrometry Scoring System

Objective

To analyze trends in the use of partial nephrectomy, we evaluated which individual factors of renal nephrometry score (RNS) influenced the operative approach bi-annually from 2008 to 2014.

Materials and Methods

We performed a retrospective review of renal cell carcinoma treated by surgery in 2008, 2010, 2012, and 2014. The complexity of renal masses was measured using the R.E.N.A.L. nephrometry scoring system with CT or MRI. Group comparison in terms of operation year and surgical type (partial nephrectomy versus radical nephrectomy) was performed. We developed a nomogram to quantitate the likelihood of selecting partial nephrectomy over radical nephrectomy.

Results

A total of 1106 cases (237 in 2008, 225 in 2010, 292 in 2012, and 352 in 2014) were available for the study. Over the study period, the proportion of partial nephrectomies performed increased steadily from 21.5% in 2008 to 66.5% in 2014 (p < 0.05). Furthermore, use of partial nephrectomy increased steadily in all RNS complexity groups (low, moderate, and high) (p < 0.05). In the analysis of individual components of RNS, values of the R and N components increased statistically by year in the partial nephrectomy group (p < 0.05). Average AUC was 0.920.

Conclusions

The proportion of partial nephrectomies performed sharply increased over the study period. Additionally, over the study period, more partial nephrectomies were performed for renal masses of larger size and closer to the collecting system and main renal vessels. A nomogram developed based on this recent data set provides significant predictive value for surgical decision making.     

Frequent predation on primates by crowned eagles (Stephanoaetus coronatus) in Mahale Mountains National Park,Tanzania

Primates - The significance of raptor predation has been repeatedly emphasized in studies on arboreal primates; however, there are few studies on the predation of primates by raptors in...     

Protective action of dehydroascorbic acid on the Ah receptor-dependent and receptor-independent induction of lipid peroxidation in adipose tissue of male guinea pig caused by TCDD administration

The effect of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) on lipid peroxidation, ³H-Me-glucose (³H-Me-glu), and ¹⁴C-dehydroascorbic acid (¹⁴C-DHA) uptakes were studied in adipose tissue of male guinea pig. Under in vitro test conditions, using isolated adipose tissue in a culture medium (explant culture), TCDD reduced the uptake of ³H-Me-glu and ¹⁴C-DHA in a dose- and time-dependent fashion. The IC₅₀ values of TCDD's action were 0.04 and 2 nM on ¹⁴C-DHA and ³H-Me-glu uptakes, respectively. TCDD (10 nM) also suppressed glucose transporting activity within 15 minutes in explant-cultured adipocytes. Cytochalasin B (CB) and nonlabeled D-glucose inhibited ¹⁴C-DHA uptake also in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, TCDD was found to induce lipid peroxidation in ex-plant-cultured adipose tissue. This effect of TCDD was similar to that of a typical lipid peroxidation inducer, CCl⁴, and it was dose and time dependent. TCDD caused a statistically significant rise in lipid peroxidation at a concentration as low as 0.1 nM after 60 minutes of treatment in explant culture. Unexpectedly, the Ah receptor partial antagonists, 4,7-phenanthroline and α-naphthoflavone, did not fully antagonize TCDD-induced lipid peroxidation in explant-cultured adipocytes. In vivo treatment of TCDD also induced lipid peroxidation. Among seven organs of male guinea pig tested, the levels of lipid peroxidation in adipose tissue and in liver increased at 1 and 40 days following a single i.p. dose of TCDD (1 μg/kg). The results of an in vivo time-course study indicated that such an effect of TCDD was most pronounced after 40 days of treatment. Finally, we have tested the protective role of some antioxidants on TCDD-induced lipid peroxidation under explant-culture conditions. The results indicated that DHA, but not ascorbic acid, could completely abolish TCDD-induced lipid peroxidation. The protective effect of DHA on TCDD-induced lipid peroxidation was stronger than that of α-tocopherol and uric acid, and this effect was blocked by CB. We conclude from these studies that TCDD acts in this guinea pig tissue through two different routes: one is the Ah receptor-dependent route causing the reduction of the level of glucose transporters and subsequent decrease of cellular uptake of DHA and the other, the Ah receptor-independent route causing the overall lipid peroxidation. Nevertheless, it appears likely that both events are antagonized by DHA. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Biochem Toxicol 11: 269–278, 1997.     

Ovarian cancer gene therapy using HPV-16 pseudovirion carrying the HSV-tk gene

Ovarian cancer is the leading cause of death from all gynecological cancers and conventional therapies such as surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy usually fail to control advanced stages of the disease. Thus, there is an urgent need for alternative and innovative therapeutic options. We reason that cancer gene therapy using a vector capable of specifically delivering an enzyme-encoding gene to ovarian cancer cells will allow the cancer cell to metabolize a harmless prodrug into a potent cytotoxin, which will lead to therapeutic effects. In the current study, we explore the use of a human papillomavirus (HPV) pseudovirion to deliver a herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase (HSV-tk) gene to ovarian tumor cells. We found that the HPV-16 pseudovirion was able to preferentially infect murine and human ovarian tumor cells when administered intraperitoneally. Furthermore, intraperitoneal injection of HPV-16 pseudovirions carrying the HSV-tk gene followed by treatment with ganciclovir led to significant therapeutic anti-tumor effects in murine ovarian cancer-bearing mice. Our data suggest that HPV pseudovirion may serve as a potential delivery vehicle for ovarian cancer gene therapy.