Four putative entomopathogenic fungi of armoured scale insects on <Emphasis Type="Italic">Citrus</Emphasis> in Australia

This study led to the discovery of four putative entomopathogenic fungi of armoured scale insects on citrus trees in coastal New South Wales. Two of these species belong in Podonectria as P. coccicola (Ellis & Everh.) Petch (syn. Tetracrium coccicola (Höhn.) Ellis & Everh.) and P. novae-zelandiae Dingley. Members of this genus are grown in culture for the first time. Formerly placed in the Pleosporales, Tubeufiaceae, or more recently in the Tubeufiales, these species are herein placed in the new family Podonectriaceae fam. nov., Pleosporales. Another species is placed in the Hypocreales, Bionectriaceae as Clonostachys coccicola (J.A. Stev.) H.T. Dao comb. nov. (basionym Tubercularia coccicola J.A. Stev., syn. Nectria tuberculariae Petch). The fourth species is Myriangium citri Henn. (Myriangiales, Myriangiaceae). Each fungal species is characterized and the phylogenetic placement confirmed by molecular analyses of the ITS and 28 s rDNA regions. In addition, their biology is noted, including location of the fungi within tree canopies.     

Incidence of AIDS-Defining Opportunistic Infections and Mortality during Antiretroviral Therapy in a Cohort of Adult HIV-Infected Individuals in Hanoi, 2007-2014

Background

Although the prognosis for HIV-infected individuals has improved after antiretroviral therapy (ART) scale-up, limited data exist on the incidence of AIDS-defining opportunistic infections (ADIs) and mortality during ART in resource-limited settings.

Methods

HIV-infected adults in two large hospitals in urban Hanoi were enrolled to the prospective cohort, from October 2007 through December 2013. Those who started ART less than one year before enrollment were assigned to the survival analysis. Data on ART history and ADIs were collected retrospectively at enrollment and followed-up prospectively until April 2014.

Results

Of 2,070 cohort participants, 1,197 were eligible for analysis and provided 3,446 person-years (PYs) of being on ART. Overall, 161 ADIs episodes were noted at a median of 3.20 months after ART initiation (range 0.03–75.8) with an incidence 46.7/1,000 PYs (95% confidence interval [CI] 39.8–54.5). The most common ADI was tuberculosis with an incidence of 29.9/1,000 PYs. Mortality after ART initiation was 8.68/1,000 PYs and 45% (19/45) died of AIDS-related illnesses. Age over 50 years at ART initiation was significantly associated with shorter survival after controlling for baseline CD4 count, but neither having injection drug use (IDU) history nor previous ADIs were associated with poor survival. Semi-competing risks analysis in 951 patients without ADIs history prior to ART showed those who developed ADIs after starting ART were at higher risk of death in the first six months than after six months.

Conclusion

ADIs were not rare in spite of being on effective ART. Age over 50 years, but not IDU history, was associated with shorter survival in the cohort. This study provides in-depth data on the prognosis of patients on ART in Vietnam during the first decade of ART scale-up.     

Glandular trichomes and essential oil characteristics of in vitro propagated <Emphasis Type="Italic">Micromeria pulegium</Emphasis> (Rochel) Benth. (Lamiaceae)

Main conclusion

In vitro conditions and benzyladenine influenced both content and composition of micropropagated Micromeria pulegium essential oils, with pulegone and menthone being the main essential oil components. The content and chemical composition of Micromeria pulegium (Rochel) Benth. essential oils were studied in native plant material at vegetative stage and in micropropagated plants, obtained from nodal segments cultured on solid MS medium supplemented with N⁶–benzyladenine (BA) or kinetin at different concentrations, alone or in combination with indole-3-acetic acid. Shoot proliferation was achieved in all treatments, but the highest biomass production was obtained after treatment with 10 μM BA. Phytochemical analysis identified up to 21 compounds in the essential oils of wild-growing and in vitro cultivated plants, both showing very high percentages of total monoterpenoids dominated by oxygenated monoterpenes of the menthane type. Pulegone and menthone were the main essential oil components detected in both wild-growing plants (60.07 and 26.85 %, respectively) and micropropagated plants grown on either plant growth regulator-free medium (44.57 and 29.14 %, respectively) or BA-supplemented medium (50.77 and 14.45 %, respectively). The percentage of total sesquiterpenoids increased in vitro, particularly owing to sesquiterpene hydrocarbons that were not found in wild-growing plants. Differences in both content and the composition of the essential oils obtained from different samples indicated that in vitro culture conditions and plant growth regulators significantly influence the essential oils properties. In addition, the morphology and structure of M. pulegium glandular trichomes in relation to the secretory process were characterized for the first time using SEM and light microscopy, and their secretion was histochemically analyzed.

     

Modification of flower colour by suppressing β‐ring carotene hydroxylase genes in Oncidium

Oncidium ‘Gower Ramsey’ (Onc. GR) is a popular cut flower, but its colour is limited to bright yellow. The β‐ring carotene hydroxylase (BCH2) gene is involved in carotenoid biogenesis for pigment formation. However, the role of BCH2 in Onc. GR is poorly understood. Here, we investigated the functions of three BCH2 genes, BCH‐A2, BCH‐B2 and BCH‐C2 isolated from Onc. GR, to analyse their roles in flower colour. RT‐PCR expression profiling suggested that BCH2 was mainly expressed in flowers. The expression of BCH‐B2 remained constant while that of BCH‐A2 gradually decreased during flower development. Using Agrobacterium tumefaciens to introduce BCH2 RNA interference (RNAi), we created transgenic Oncidium plants with down‐regulated BCH expression. In the transgenic plants, flower colour changed from the bright yellow of the wild type to light and white‐yellow. BCH‐A2 and BCH‐B2 expression levels were significantly reduced in the transgenic flower lips, which make up the major portion of the Oncidium flower. Sectional magnification of the flower lip showed that the amount of pigmentation in the papillate cells of the adaxial epidermis was proportional to the intensity of yellow colouration. HPLC analyses of the carotenoid composition of the transgenic flowers suggested major reductions in neoxanthin and violaxanthin. In conclusion, BCH2 expression regulated the accumulation of yellow pigments in the Oncidium flower, and the down‐regulation of BCH‐A2 and BCH‐B2 changed the flower colour from bright yellow to light and white‐yellow.     

CYP2J2 and its metabolites (epoxyeicosatrienoic acids) attenuate cardiac hypertrophy by activating AMPKα2 and enhancing nuclear translocation of Akt1

Cytochrome P450 epoyxgenase 2J2 and epoxyeicosatrienoic acids (EETs) are known to protect against cardiac hypertrophy and heart failure, which involve the activation of 5′‐AMP‐activated protein kinase (AMPK) and Akt. Although the functional roles of AMPK and Akt are well established, the significance of cross talk between them in the development of cardiac hypertrophy and antihypertrophy of CYP2J2 and EETs remains unclear. We investigated whether CYP2J2 and its metabolites EETs protected against cardiac hypertrophy by activating AMPKα2 and Akt1. Moreover, we tested whether EETs enhanced cross talk between AMPKα2 and phosphorylated Akt1 (p‐Akt1), and stimulated nuclear translocation of p‐Akt1, to exert their antihypertrophic effects. AMPKα2^?/? mice that overexpressed CYP2J2 in heart were treated with Ang II for 2 weeks. Interestingly, overexpression of CYP2J2 suppressed cardiac hypertrophy and increased levels of atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) in the heart tissue and plasma of wild‐type mice but not AMPKα2^?/? mice. The CYP2J2 metabolites, 11,12‐EET, activated AMPKα2 to induce nuclear translocation of p‐Akt1 selectively, which increased the production of ANP and therefore inhibited the development of cardiac hypertrophy. Furthermore, by co‐immunoprecipitation analysis, we found that AMPKα2β2γ1 and p‐Akt1 interact through the direct binding of the AMPKγ1 subunit to the Akt1 protein kinase domain. This interaction was enhanced by 11,12‐EET. Our studies reveal a novel mechanism in which CYP2J2 and EETs enhanced Akt1 nuclear translocation through interaction with AMPKα2β2γ1 and protect against cardiac hypertrophy and suggest that overexpression of CYP2J2 might have clinical potential to suppress cardiac hypertrophy and heart failure.     

Inhibition of soluble epoxide hydrolase activity by compounds isolated from the aerial parts of Glycosmis stenocarpa

The aim of this study is to search for soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH) inhibitors from natural plants, bioassay-guided fractionation of lipophilic n-hexane and chloroform layers of an extract of the aerial parts of Glycosmis stenocarpa led to the isolation of 12 compounds (1–12) including murrayafoline-A (1), isomahanine (2), bisisomahanine (3), saropeptate (4), (24?S)-ergost-4-en-3,6-dione (5), stigmasta-4-en-3,6-dion (6), stigmast-4-en-3-one (7), β-sitosterol (8), 24-methylpollinastanol (9), trans-phytol (10), neosarmentol III (11) and (+)-epiloliolide (12). Their structures were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic data. Among them, neosarmentol III (11) was isolated from nature for the first time. All the isolated compounds were evaluated for their inhibitory activity against sEH. Among isolated carbazole-type compounds, isomahanine (2) and bisisomahanine (3) were identified as a potent inhibitor of sEH, with IC₅₀ values of 22.5?±?1.7 and 7.7?±?1.2?µM, respectively. Moreover, the inhibitory action of 2 and 3 represented mixed-type enzyme inhibition.     

Phenotypic Characteristics and Fatty Acid Composition of Seeds from Different Herbaceous Peony Species Native to China

Herbaceous peony has been widely cultivated in China due to its substantial ornamental and medicinal value. In the present study, the phenotypic characteristics, total fatty acid (FA) content, and nine FA compositions of herbaceous peony seeds from 14 populations belonging to six species and one subspecies were determined by normal test and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The results showed that the phenotypic characteristics of seeds varied dramatically among species. The concentrations of five major FAs in seed oils were as follows: linoleic acid (173.95–236.51 μg/mg), linolenic acid (227.82–302.71 μg/mg), oleic acid (135.32–208.81 μg/mg), stearic acid (6.52–11.7 μg/mg), and palmitic acid (30.67–47.64 μg/mg). Correlation analysis demonstrated that oleic acid had the highest partial correlation coefficient with total FAs and might be applied to develop a model of phenotypic characteristics. FAs were significantly influenced by the following environmental factors: latitude, elevation, and annual average temperature. Based on the FA levels in the seed oils, clustering analysis divided 14 populations into two clusters. It was found that the average contents of oleic acid, linoleic acid, and total FAs in cluster I (147.16 μg/mg, 200.31 μg/mg, and 671.24 μg/mg, respectively) were significantly lower than those in cluster II (196.65 μg/mg, 220.16 μg/mg, and 741.78 μg/mg, respectively). Cluster I was perfectly consistent with subsect. Foliolatae, while cluster II was in good agreement with subsect. Dissectifoliae. Therefore, the FA composition of wild herbaceous peony seed oil might be used as a chemotaxonomic marker.     

Creating Multiband and Broadband Metamaterial Absorber by Multiporous Square Layer Structure

Plasmonics - Since the metamaterial perfect absorber (MPA) is composed of electromagnetic resonance structures, the main operational mechanism of the MPA is electromagnetic resonance. In this work,...