Forced hot-air treatment against <Emphasis Type="Italic">Bactrocera papayae</Emphasis> (Diptera: Tephritidae) in papaya

The Asian papaya fruit fly, Bactrocera papayae Drew and Hancock, was treated with hot-water immersion and forced hot air to develop a phytosanitary heat treatment schedule. Hot-water immersion tests were conducted with 12- and 24-h-old eggs and with first and third instar larvae to compare the relative thermotolerances of this fruit fly among these life stages. The 24-h-old eggs, the most thermotolerant among the four life stages tested, were subjected to time and temperature tests using cage-infested papaya fruits in a forced hot-air chamber. Heating the papayas to a minimum core temperature of 47.7 °C (95% confidence interval 47.2–48.3 °C) was estimated to induce probit-nine mortality based on a probit analysis of the data. Confirmatory tests in which papayas infested with 24-h-old eggs were heated to a minimum fruit core temperature of 47.2 °C that was maintained for 0–30 min followed by hydrocooling to a fruit core temperature of ≈25 °C resulted in the complete mortality of an estimated treated population of 43,425 eggs aged 24 h (99.9931% mortality at the 95% confidence level). Therefore, heating the papaya fruits to a core temperature of 47.2 °C for a minimum dwell time of 30 min, which was the longest dwell time in the confirmatory tests, may serve as a phytosanitary heat treatment schedule for the control of B. papayae in papaya fruits.     

Epigenetic divergence of key genes associated with water temperature and salinity in a highly invasive model ascidian

Invasive species offer good models for studying mechanisms of response to rapid changing environments in the wild. DNA methylation is considered to be one of crucial drivers for rapid local adaptation. However, the extent of epigenetic variation and the factors driving such variation remain largely unexplored in biological invasions. Here we used direct bisulfite sequencing to investigate DNA methylation patterns of five key genes corresponding to two important environmental factors in marine ecosystems, water temperature and salinity, in a model invasive ascidian Ciona robusta (=C. intestinalis spA). Our results clearly showed that DNA methylation mainly occurred in gene bodies, rather than promoters, at regions with low values of CpG O/E. We detected significant variation of DNA methylation among populations in two genes (heat shock protein 90 and Na⁺-K⁺-2Cl^? cotransporter). Interestingly, significant correlation was detected between methylation levels and the two environmental factors at some CpGs in these two genes. When the data of all CpGs was subjected to principal component analysis, individuals were assigned back to their population orgins. All the results suggest that environmental factors likely contribute, at least partially, to the observed DNA methylation variation. Such variation, either by some loci alone or through gene networks, might be involved in rapid local adaptation during biological invasions.     

Synthesis of 3- and 29-substituted celastrol derivatives and structure-activity relationship studies of their cytotoxic activities

A series of 3-carbamate and 29-ester celastrol derivatives (compounds 1–26) were designed and synthesized. These analogues were evaluated for their cytotoxic activities against several cancer cell lines. Cytotoxicity data revealed that the properties of substituents and substitution position had important influence on cytotoxic activity. Modification of C-3 hydroxyl with size-limited groups did not reduce the activity obviously. The introduction of polarity group like piperazine could improve the solubility. Compound 23 was chosen to further evaluate anti-tumor efficacy in vivo. It showed higher inhibition rate and better safety than celastrol during in vivo experiment by intragastric administration. The preliminary antitumor studies of compound 23in vivo showed that it might be promising for the development of new antitumor agents.     

Genetic diversity and population differentiation in the yellow drum Nibea albiflora along the coast of the China Sea

Nibea albiflora (yellow drum) is an important seafood fish species in East Asia. We explored the population genetic variation of N. albiflora along the coastal waters of the China Sea using microsatellite markers to facilitate a selective breeding programme that is undertaken in China. A total of 256 alleles were detected at 12 loci in four wild populations. A high level of genetic diversity was observed with the mean number of alleles and the observed and expected heterozygosity in each population ranging from 7.917 to 14.083, 0.701 to 0.764 and 0.765 to 0.841, respectively. Pairwise fixation index (F_ST) analysis indicated significant but weak genetic differentiation among populations from four localities (F_ST?=?0.030, P?<?0.01), which was also confirmed by analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA). Significant genetic differentiation was detected between Ningde and the other populations (F_ST?=?0.047–0.056, P?<?0.01). Structure analysis suggested that N. albiflora within the examined range might be composed of two stocks. The data of the present study revealed high genetic diversity and low genetic differentiation among the N. albiflora populations along the coast of the China Sea. This baseline information could be valuable for future selective breeding programmes of N. albiflora.     

Clinical Features of Brain Metastases in Small Cell Lung Cancer: an Implication for Hippocampal Sparing Whole Brain Radiation Therapy

PURPOSE: To assess the clinical features and distribution of brain metastases (BMs) of small cell lung cancer (SCLC) in the hippocampal and perihippocampal region, with the purpose of exploring the viability of hippocampal-sparing whole-brain radiation therapy (HS-WBRT) on reducing neurocognitive deficits. METHODS: This was a retrospective analysis of the clinical characteristics and patterns of BMs in patients with SCLC. Associations between the clinical characteristics and hippocampal metastases (HMs)/perihippocampal metastases (PHMs) were evaluated in univariate and multivariate regression analyses. RESULTS: A total of 1594 brain metastatic lesions were identified in 180 patients. Thirty-two (17.8%) patients were diagnosed with BMs at the time of primary SCLC diagnosis. The median interval between diagnosis of primary SCLC and BMs was 9.3 months. There were 9 (5.0%) and 22 (12.2%) patients with HMs and PHMs (patients with BMs located in or within 5 mm around the hippocampus), respectively. In the univariate and multivariate analysis, the number of BMs was the risk factor for HMs and PHMs. Patients with BMs ≥ 5 had significantly higher risk of HMs (odds ratio [OR] 7.892, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.469-42.404, P = .016), and patients with BMs ≥ 7 had significantly higher risk of PHMs (OR 5.162, 95% CI 2.017-13.213, P = .001). Patients with extracranial metastases are also associated with HMs. CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate that patients with nonoligometastatic disease are significantly associated with HMs and PHMs. The incidence of PHMs may be acceptably low enough to perform HS-WBRT for SCLC. Our findings provide valuable clinical data to assess the benefit of HS-WBRT in SCLC patients with BMs.     

木薯己糖激酶MeHXK5的催化功能鉴定

该研究利用ISSR分子标记,对分布于福建省内5个样地( 邵武、建阳、建瓯、周宁和屏南)的61个野钩锥(Castanopsis tibetana)单株的遗传多样性进行了分析,并采用聚类分析方法探讨了它们的遗传关系。结果表明： 用10条ISSR引物从61个单株的基因组DNA共扩增出158条带,包含145条多态性条带,多态性条带百分率达91.77%,其中引物 UBC817、UBC819与UBC842的多态性条带百分率（PPB）为100.0%。各居群的多态性条带百分率(PPB)、有效等位基因数(Ne)、Nei’s基因多样度(H)和Shannon’s多样性指数（I）等各遗传指数差异较大,其中各项遗传指标中最高的为邵武居群,而周宁居群则最低。5个居群的基因分化系数和基因流分别为0.144 0和2.973 0,说明5个居群总遗传变异的14.40%存在于居群间,85.60%存在于居群内。种间总基因多样度分别为0.395 8,种内基因多样度分别为0.338 8,表明钩锥种间遗传多样性较高,且种间变异大于种内变异。各居群间的遗传距离差异较大; 其中,邵武与建瓯居群的遗传距离最近,仅为0.081 5; 建阳和周宁居群的遗传距离最远,为0.162 9。通过聚类分析可将5个钩锥居群聚为3支,屏南与周宁的居群各自独立聚为2支;来自邵武、建瓯及建阳的居群聚为一支,且可进一步分为两个亚支,建阳居群为1个亚支,邵武和建瓯居群聚为1个亚支。供试的钩锥具有较高的遗传多样性,存在着较为频繁的基因交流。该研究结果较准确地揭示了钩锥种间的遗传多样性。