Comparative ultrastructure of aecial and telial infections of the autoecious rust fungus Puccinia tuyutensis

This study demonstrates morphological differences between aecial and telial stages of the autoecious rust Puccinia tuyutensis. The aeciospores possess verrucose ornamentation while the teliospores have smooth surfaces. The aecial and telial haustoria of this rust produced in the mesophyll of Cressa cretica differ morphologically in the following respects:(1) the haustorial mother cell of telial haustorium is more differentiated than that of aecial haustorium and its wall at the penetration site is composed of 4 layers; (2) the aecial haustorium is filamentous in appearance and slightly constricted at the point of entry into the host cell, while the telial haustorium is clavate and possesses a narrow neck with a densely staining neckband and swollen body; (3) the neck of the telial haustorium is always associated with numerous vesicles while that of the aecial haustorium is not. Vascular tissue of host leaves is heavily invaded by aecial haustoria but not by telial haustoria.     

Prediction of a low dose herbicide effect from studies on binding of metribuzin to the chloroplasts of Chenopodium album L.

Chenopodium album L. seedlings at the 4- and 8-leaf stage were exposed to low concentrations metribuzin [4-amino-6-(l, l-dimethyl)-3-(methylthio)-l,2,4-triazin (4 H )-one] in nutrient solution to study herbicide uptake and the effects of low-dose rates. Chlorophyll fluorescence was measured to relate the inhibition of photosynthesis to herbicide dose. The minimum rate at which metribuzin fully inhibited photosynthesis was less than 1 μM for seedlings at the 4-leaf stage of development, and between 1 and 5 μM for the 8-leaf stage seedlings. With isolated chloroplasts, experiments were conducted to establish the relationship between the amount of herbicide molecules bound to each chloroplast and the inhibition of photosynthesis. From the dose-response curves obtained it was calculated that photosynthesis was fully inhibited when 7.5 10⁵ molecules metribuzin were bound to each chloroplast. This amount of binding was used to estimate minimum-lethal dose rates of metribuzin required for seedlings differing in fresh weight of leaves and amounts of chloroplasts present. It is suggested that prediction of a low dose herbicide effect from studies on binding of photosystem-II inhibitors in combination with chlorophyll fluorescence measurements may lead to the development of a new weed management strategy.     

Sex ratio regulation in the waspEupelmus vuilleti (crwf.), an ectoparasitoid on bean weevil larvae (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae)

In Africa, the seeds and/or pods ofVigna unguiculata andVigna radiata (Papilionacea) are attacked in fields and storage structures by bruchid beetlesCallosobruchus maculatus andBruchidius atrolineatus, on which parasitoid communities can develop. One of these parasitoids is the solitary ectoparasitoidEupelmus vuilleti (Eupelmidae). The storage conditions ofV. unguiculata andV. radiata favor the overlapping of all host stages during several months. These conditions suggest that female parasitoids would vary the sex ratio of their offspring according to the different sizes or developmental stages of hosts. The sex ratio ofE. vuilleti was strongly related to the developmental stage of the hostC. maculatus. Under our experimental conditions, where superparasitism is rare, the proportion of daughters varied between 5 and 25% on the third larval stage but reached 70 to 90% on the pupae. The increase in the proportion of daughters was also observed in the absence of superparasitism. In this case, there was an absolute coincidence between the sex ratio of eggs laid and that of emerged adults. Manipulation of the sex of the egg by the females seems to take place at the time of the egg's fertilization. The relation between host weight and egg sex showed that the male eggs are preferentially laid on lighter host larvae and the female eggs on heavier ones.     

Proteomic fingerprinting enables quantitative biodiversity assessments of species and ontogenetic stages in Calanus congeners (Copepoda,Crustacea) from the Arctic Ocean

Species identification is pivotal in biodiversity assessments and proteomic fingerprinting by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry has already been shown to reliably identify calanoid copepods to species level. However, MALDI-TOF data may contain more information beyond mere species identification. In this study, we investigated different ontogenetic stages (copepodids C1–C6 females) of three co-occurring Calanus species from the Arctic Fram Strait, which cannot be identified to species level based on morphological characters alone. Differentiation of the three species based on mass spectrometry data was without any error. In addition, a clear stage-specific signal was detected in all species, supported by clustering approaches as well as machine learning using Random Forest. More complex mass spectra in later ontogenetic stages as well as relative intensities of certain mass peaks were found as the main drivers of stage distinction in these species. Through a dilution series, we were able to show that this did not result from the higher amount of biomass that was used in tissue processing of the larger stages. Finally, the data were tested in a simulation for application in a real biodiversity assessment by using Random Forest for stage classification of specimens absent from the training data. This resulted in a successful stage-identification rate of almost 90%, making proteomic fingerprinting a promising tool to investigate polewards shifts of Atlantic Calanus species and, in general, to assess stage compositions in biodiversity assessments of Calanoida, which can be notoriously difficult using conventional identification methods.     

高频重复经颅磁刺激联合Brunnstrom分期训练对脑卒中恢复期患者康复效果的影响

摘要 目的：探讨高频重复经颅磁刺激（rTMS）联合Brunnstrom分期训练对脑卒中恢复期患者康复效果的影响。方法：根据随机数字表法将新疆医科大学第一附属医院2020年1月~2022年2月期间收治的脑卒中恢复期患者80例分为对照组（40例,Brunnstrom分期训练）和研究组（40例,高频rTMS联合Brunnstrom分期训练）。对比两组疗效、美国国立卫生研究院卒中量表（NIHSS）评分、功能独立性量表（FIM）评分、生活质量评分、血清神经因子指标[髓鞘碱性蛋白（MBP）、神经元特异性烯醇化酶（NSE）、神经生长因子-1（NGF-1）]。结果：研究组的临床总有效率（92.50%）明显高于对照组（70.00%）（P<0.05）。治疗4周后,研究组MBP、NSE低于对照组,NGF-1高于对照组（P<0.05）。与对照组比较,治疗4周后,研究组NIHSS评分降低,FIM评分升高（P<0.05）。治疗4周后,研究组心理/躯体/物质/社会功能评分较对照组高（P<0.05）。结论：高频rTMS联合Brunnstrom分期训练有助于提高脑卒中恢复期患者的康复效果,同时还可调节血清神经指标,提高生活质量。     

血清TAP、TFF3与晚期胃癌患者含奥沙利铂化疗方案敏感性和预后的关系

摘要 目的：探讨血清肿瘤异常蛋白（TAP）、三叶因子3（TFF3）与晚期胃癌患者应用含奥沙利铂化疗方案敏感性和预后的关系。方法：选择2017年1月至2020年1月河北大学附属医院收治的115例晚期胃癌患者,所有患者接受含奥沙利铂化疗方案治疗,根据疗效分为敏感组（47例）和耐药组（68例）。化疗前检测血清TAP、TFF3水平,受试者工作特征（ROC）曲线分析TAP、TFF3预测晚期胃癌患者接受含奥沙利铂化疗疗效的价值。治疗后随访,Wilcoxon检验不同血清TAP、TFF3表达下晚期胃癌患者中位OS时间差异。结果：耐药组血清TAP、TFF3水平高于敏感组（P＜0.05）。TAP、TFF3预测晚期胃癌患者含奥沙利铂化疗耐药的曲线下面积分别为0.717、0.690,联合TAP和TFF3预测晚期胃癌患者含奥沙利铂化疗耐药的曲线下面积为0.801,高于单独TAP、TFF3单独检测。随访期间失访2例,死亡54例,高水平TAP、高水平TFF3晚期胃癌患者中位OS时间短于低水平TAP、低水平TFF3晚期胃癌患者（P＜0.05）。结论：对含奥沙利铂化疗耐药的晚期胃癌患者血清TAP、TFF3水平显著增高,高水平TAP、TFF3晚期胃癌患者中位OS时间较短,联合检测血清TAP和TFF3可预测晚期胃癌患者化疗反应性和预后。     

血清PGRN、SFRP1、CCL26与支气管哮喘急性发作期患者肺功能和气道炎症的相关性研究

摘要 目的：探讨支气管哮喘（BA）急性发作期患者血清颗粒蛋白前体（PGRN）、分泌型卷曲相关蛋白1（SFRP1）、C-C基序趋化因子配体26（CCL26）与肺功能和气道炎症的相关性。方法：选取2021年1月～2022年6月我院收治的118例BA急性发作期患者作为急性发作期组,根据病情分级将BA急性发作期患者分为轻度亚组55例、中度亚组43例、重度亚组20例,另选取同期77例BA临床控制期患者（临床控制期组）和60例体检健康志愿者（对照组）分别作为对照。采用Pearson相关性分析BA急性发作期患者血清PGRN、SFRP1、CCL26水平与肺功能和气道炎症指标的相关性。结果：对照组、临床控制期组、急性发作期组血清PGRN水平和第1秒用力呼气容积占预计值百分比（FEV₁%pred）、峰值呼气流速（PEF）依次降低,SFRP1、CCL26水平和呼出气一氧化氮（FeNO）、外周血嗜酸性粒细胞（EOS）计数依次升高（P＜0.05）。轻度亚组、中度亚组、重度亚组血清PGRN水平和FEV₁%pred、PEF依次降低,SFRP1、CCL26水平和FeNO、外周血EOS计数依次升高（P＜0.05）。Pearson相关性分析显示,BA急性发作期患者血清PGRN水平与FEV₁%pred、PEF呈正相关,与FeNO、外周血EOS计数呈负相关（P＜0.05）,SFRP1、CCL26与FEV₁%pred、PEF呈负相关,与FeNO、外周血EOS计数呈正相关（P＜0.05）。结论：BA急性发作期患者血清PGRN水平降低,SFRP1、CCL26水平升高,与病情严重程度、肺功能和气道炎症有关,可能成为BA急性发作期患者新的治疗靶点。