Fire ant-detecting canines: a complementary method in detecting red imported fire ants

In this investigation, detection dogs are trained and used in identifying red imported fire ants, Solenopsis invicta Buren, and their nests. The methodology could assist in reducing the frequency and scope of chemical treatments for red imported fire ant management and thus reduce labor costs and chemical use as well as improve control and quarantine efficiency. Three dogs previously trained for customs quarantine were retrained to detect the scents of red imported fire ants. After passing tests involving different numbers of live red imported fire ants and three other ant species--Crematogaster rogenhoferi Mayr, Paratrechina longicornis Latreille, and Pheidole megacephala F.--placed in containers, ajoint field survey for red imported fire ant nests by detection dogs and bait traps was conducted to demonstrate their use as a supplement to conventional detection methods. The most significant findings in this report are (1) with 10 or more red imported fire ants in scent containers, the dogs had >98% chance in tracing the red imported fire ant. Upon the introduction of other ant species, the dogs still achieved on average, a 93% correct red imported fire ant indication rate. Moreover, the dogs demonstrated great competence in pinpointing emerging and smaller red imported fire ant nests in red imported fire ant-infested areas that had been previously confirmed by bait trap stations. (2) Along with the bait trap method, we also discovered that approximately 90% of red imported fire ants foraged within a distance of 14 m away from their nests. The results prove detection dogs to be most effective for red imported fire ant control in areas that have been previously treated with pesticides and therefore containing a low density of remaining red imported fire ant nests. Furthermore, as a complement to other red imported fire ant monitoring methods, this strategy will significantly increase the efficacy of red imported fire ant control in cases of individual mount treatment.     

Array CGH characterization of an unbalanced X-autosome translocation associated with Xq27.2–qter deletion, 11q24.3–qter duplication and Xq22.3–q27.1 duplication in a girl with primary amenorrhea and mental retardation

We present array comparative genomic hybridization (aCGH) characterization of an unbalanced X-autosome translocation with an Xq interstitial segmental duplication in a 16-year-old girl with primary ovarian failure, mental retardation, attention deficit disorder, learning difficulty and facial dysmorphism. aCGH analysis revealed an Xq27.2–q28 deletion, an 11q24.3–q25 duplication, and an inverted duplication of Xq22.3–q27.1. The karyotype was 46,X,der(X)t(X;11)(q27.2;q24.3) dup(X)(q27.1q22.3). We discuss the genotype–phenotype correlation in this case. Our case provides evidence for an association of primary amenorrhea and mental retardation with concomitant unbalanced X-autosome translocation and X chromosome rearrangement.     

Using polyethylene glycol as nonionic osmoticum to promote growth and lipid production of marine microalgae Nannochloropsis oculata

To promote the economic feasibility of Nannochloropsis oculata, efficacy of using polyethylene glycol (PEG) to increase microalgal growth and lipid accumulation was investigated. We first examined the effects of PEG concentrations on microalgal growth using 0–5 % (w/v) PEG-6000, and followed by exploring the effects of PEG molecular weights (400, 600, 2,000, 4,000, 6,000, and 20,000) on microalgal growth, size, as well as on yields of biomass, total lipids, and eicosapentaenoic acid. In addition, the capacity of PEG to reduce the effect of oxygen inhibition on microalgal growth was also investigated to evaluate its adaptability for use in large-scale and closed setting. Our results showed that PEG-induced osmotic stress (Π) in the range of 2.465–2.472 MPa can raise microalgal growth. The PEG with higher molecular weight exhibited greater efficacy of growth promotion but less lipid content under equal concentration. In this study, 0.5 % (w/v) PEG-20000 (Π = 2.466 MPa) remarkably enhanced microalgal growth without interference of intracellular lipid productivity and cellular size, yielding >50 % (w/w) increases in biomass, total lipid, and eicosapentaenoic acid amounts after 7 days that provided the optimal condition for microalgal cultivation. These positive effects possibly resulted from the moderate enhancement of osmotic stress in the medium and stronger chaotrope-like behavior from higher molecular weight PEG. With further verification that 0.5 % (w/v) PEG-20000 enabled to reduce the effect of oxygen inhibition on microalgal growth, the PEG-20000-mediated cultivation offers a feasible means for mass culture of N. oculata in closed setting.     

腐植酸对植物生理活动的影响

本文介绍了腐植酸的形成、提取、分类以及活性基团等方面的特征。腐植酸能影响植物的多种生理活动,包括植物的生长、营养元素的吸收、蛋白质和核酸的合成、光合作用、呼吸作用以及有些酶的活性等。腐植酸对植物的这些作用受自身不同成分、浓度、植物种类、外界营养条件等多方面的影响。本文也从细胞或分子水平讨论了腐植酸促进植物生长、影响营养元素吸收及促进呼吸作用的机理。     

Blockade of ITGA2 Induces Apoptosis and Inhibits Cell Migration in Gastric Cancer

Background

Gastric cancer is currently the fourth leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. Gastric cancer is often diagnosed at advanced stages and the outcome of the treatment is often poor. Therefore, identifying new therapeutic targets for this cancer is urgently needed. Integrin alpha 2 (ITGA2) subunit and the beta 1 subunit form a heterodimer for a transmembrane receptor for extracellular matrix, is an important molecule involved in tumor cell proliferation, survival and migration. Integrin α2β1 is over-expressed on a variety of cancer cells, but is low or absent in most normal organs and resting endothelial cells.

Results

In this report, we assessed the ITGA2 as the potential therapeutic target with the bioinformatics tools from the TCGA dataset in which composed of 375 gastric cancer tissues and 32 gastric normal tissues. According to the information from the Cancer Cell Line Encyclopedia (CCLE) database, the AGS cell line with ITGA2 high expression and the SUN-1 cell line with low expression were chosen for the further investigation. Interestingly, the anti-ITGA2 antibody (at 3 μg/ml) inhibited approximately 50% survival of the AGS cells (over-expressed ITGA2), but had no effect in SNU-1 cells (ITGA2 negative). The extents of antibody-mediated cancer inhibition positively correlated with the expression levels of the ITGA2. We further showed that the anti-ITGA2 antibody induced apoptosis by up-regulating the RhoA-p38 MAPK signaling to promote the expressions of Bim, Apaf-1 and Caspase-9, whereas the expressions of Ras and Bax/Bcl-2 were not affected. Moreover, blocking ITGA2 by the specific antibody at lower doses also inhibited cell migration of gastric cancer cells. Blockade of ITGA2 by a specific antibody down-regulated the expression of N-WASP, PAK and LIMK to impede actin organization and cell migration of gastric cancer cells.

Conclusions

Here, we showed that the mRNA expression levels of ITGA2 comparing to normal tissues significantly increased. In addition, the results revealed that targeting integrin alpha 2 subunit by antibodies did not only inhibit cell migration, but also induce apoptosis effect on gastric cancer cells. Interestingly, higher expression level of ITGA2 led to significant effects on apoptosis progression during anti-ITGA2 antibody treatment, which indicated that ITGA2 expression levels directly correlate with their functionality. Our findings suggest that ITGA2 is a potential therapeutic target for gastric cancer.

     

Development of a Newborn Screening Program for Critical Congenital Heart Disease (CCHD) in Taipei

BackgroundEarly detection of critical congenital heart disease (CCHD) can significantly reduce morbidity and mortality among newborns. We investigate the feasibility of implementing a community-based newborn CCHD screening program in Taipei.MethodsTwelve birthing facilities in Taipei participated in a trial screening program between October 1, 2013, and March 31, 2014. Newborns underwent pulse oximetry at 24–36 h old, with probes attached to the right hand and one lower limb. Any screening saturation ≥95% in either extremity, with an absolute difference of ≤3% between the right hand and foot, was accepted as a screening pass. A screening result was considered as a fail if the oxygen saturation was <95% at either probe site, on 3 separate occasions, each separated by 30 min or the first result was <95% at either probe site, and any subsequent oxygen saturation measurement was <90%. Public health nurses would follow up all missed or refused cases.ResultsOf the 6,387 live births, 6,296 newborns (coverage rate: 6,296/6,387 = 98.6%) underwent appropriate pulse oximetry screening. Sixteen newborns (0.25%) were reported to have a failed screening result. Five of these screen positive newborns were confirmed with CCHD; two of them were diagnosed solely attributed to the failed screening results. The false-positive rate was 0.18%. Implementing a 6-month screening program for CCHD produced good case detection rate, while using efficient screening and referral systems.ConclusionThis program was successful in integrating screening, referral and public health tracking systems. The protocol outlined in this report could provide a community-based model for worldwide implementation.     

AlphaLISA检测金黄色葡萄球菌肠毒素E方法的建立

目的:利用AlphaLISA技术,建立新型均相检测方法,对金黄色葡萄球菌肠毒素E(SEE)进行检测。方法:采用2种SEE抗体建立AlphaLISA检测方法,羊抗肠毒多克隆抗体同受体微球偶联,SEE小鼠单克隆抗体标记生物素,并同偶联了亲和素的供体微球连接,3种组分与待测抗原形成双抗体夹心结构,680nm的光激发供体微球产生能量,将周围反应体系中的氧分子转变为激发态,并将能量传递给受体微球,产生520~620nm的荧光,荧光信号与抗原浓度正相关。对该方法的反应体系进行优化,验证其重复性、敏感性和特异性,并采用该方法检测菌液上清和食品模拟样本。结果:所建立的AlphaLISA检测方法重复性较好,批间变异系数和批内变异系数皆小于10%;检测SEE的灵敏度可以达到100pg/mL,并与其他几种毒素均无交叉反应,具有较好的特异性。该方法也能够准确地对金黄色葡萄球菌菌液上清中的SEE进行检测,对食品模拟样本的检测也有较好的灵敏度。结论:建立了检测SEE的AlphaLISA方法。该方法均相免洗,操作便捷,用时短,灵敏度更高,可对菌液上清和不同食品模拟样本中的SEE进行检测。     

Regulation of tristetraprolin during differentiation of 3T3-L1 preadipocytes

Tristetraprolin is a zinc-finger-containing RNA-binding protein. Tristetraprolin binds to AU-rich elements of target mRNAs such as proto-oncogenes, cytokines and growth factors, and then induces mRNA rapid degradation. It was observed as an immediate-early gene that was induced in response to several kinds of stimulus, such as insulin and other growth factors and stimulators of innate immunity such as lipopolysaccharides. We observed that tristetraprolin was briefly expressed during a 1-8 h period after induction of differentiation in 3T3-L1 preadipocytes. Detailed analysis showed that tristetraprolin mRNA expression was stimulated by fetal bovine serum and differentiation inducers, and was followed by rapid degradation. The 3'UTR of tristetraprolin mRNAs contain adenine- and uridine-rich elements. Biochemical analyses using RNA pull-down, RNA immunoprecipitation and gel shift experiments demonstrated that adenine- and uridine-rich element-binding proteins, HuR and tristetraprolin itself, were associated with tristetraprolin adenine- and uridine-rich elements. Functional characterization confirmed that tristetraprolin negatively regulated its own expression. Thus, our results indicated that the tight autoregulation of tristetraprolin expression correlated with its critical functional role in 3T3-L1 differentiation.     

Mitochondrial anchoring of PKCα by PICK1 confers resistance to etoposide-induced apoptosis

Various pathways, including regulation of functions of the Bcl-2 family, are implicated in the survival promotion by PKCα, however the molecular mechanisms are still obscure. We have previously demonstrated that PKCα is selectively anchored to mitochondria by PICK1 in fibroblasts NIH 3T3. In this study, we show that over-expression of PICK1 in leukemia REH confers resistance to etoposide-induced apoptosis, which requires an interaction with PKCα as the non-interacting mutant PICK1 loses the pro-survival activity. The PKCα selective inhibitor Gö6976 also abolishes the anti-apoptotic effect indicating a requirement for PKC activity. Disruption of PICK1/PKCα interactions by inhibitory peptides significantly increases cellular susceptibility to etoposide. Similar effects are also observed in HL60 cells, which exhibit an intrinsic resistance to etoposide. Molecular analysis shows that the wild type PICK1, but not the non-interacting mutant, prevents the loss of mitochondrial membrane potential with a coincident increase in phosphorylation of the anti-apoptotic Bcl-2(Ser70) and a decrease in dimerization of the pro-apoptotic Bax. PICK1 may provide the spatial proximity for phosphorylation of Bcl-2(Ser70) by PKCα which then leads to a higher survival. Taken together, our results suggest that PICK1 may mediate the pro-survival activity of PKCα by serving as a molecular link between PKCα and mitochondria.     

Lack of ceruloplasmin expression alters aspects of copper transport to the fetus and newborn, as determined in mice

Copper transport and accumulation were studied in virgin and lactating C57BL/6 mice, with and without expression of ceruloplasmin (Cp), to assess the importance of Cp to these processes. One hour after i.p. injection of tracer ⁶⁴Cu, liver and kidney accounted for 80% of the radioactivity, and mammary gland 1%, while in lactating Cp+/+ mice 2–4 days post partum, uptake by mammary gland was 9-fold higher and that of liver and other organs was decreased, with ⁶⁴Cu rapidly appearing in milk. Parallel studies in Cp−/− mice (siblings from same colony) gave virtually identical results. However, their milk contained less ⁶⁴Cu, and actual copper contents determined by furnace atomic absorption were less than half those for milk from normal dams. Liver copper concentrations of pups born to Cp−/− dams also were half those of pups from wild type dams. Copper in pup brains was unaffected; but iron concentrations were reduced. We conclude that absence of Cp, while not affecting entry of exchangeable copper from the blood into the mammary gland, does have a significant effect on the availability of this metal to the newborn through the milk and in the form of stores accumulating in gestation.