Population dynamics of Meloidogyne incognita on black pepper plants in two agro-ecological regions in Vietnam

The objective of our study was to examine the effect of local environmental conditions, especially air temperature and rainfall, in two agro-ecological regions in Vietnam on the population dynamics of Meloidogyne incognita on black pepper plants and on percentage root galling. The two study sites were situated in Cam Lo, Quang Tri province (North Central Coast) and Buon Ma Thuot, Dac Lac province (Central Highlands). At the study sites, 13 plant-parasitic nematode taxa belonging to 12 genera were identified. Ten of these taxa were present in both study sites. Helicotylenchus certus, Hemicriconemoides cocophilus and Pratylenchus coffeae were only found in Buon Ma Thuot. Based on nematode population densities, M. incognita was the most abundant taxon present. Rainfall and air temperature differed significantly between the two study sites. The most important climatic difference was rainfall: in Buon Ma Thuot, the rainy season lasted 2 months longer and the monthly rainfall during the rainy season was much higher compared to Cam Lo. Although this difference resulted in some differences in the population dynamics of M. incognita in the soil and roots of the black pepper variety Vinh Linh, the highest root population densities were observed in both study sites during the first half of the dry season. In Cam Lo, the highest percentage root galling was observed during the first half of the dry season. In Buon Ma Thuot, the highest percentage root galling was observed towards the end of the rainy season. Estimating the population densities if M. incognita to decide on the application of a management strategy should be done during the first half of the dry season.     

On the Implementation of Friedman Boundary Conditions in Liquid Water Simulations

Abstract

We have applied the image approximation to the reaction field as suggested by H.L. Friedman [Mol. Phys., 29, 1533 (1975)] by investigating appropriate cavity sizes and system parameters for use in molecular simulations. The energy of and the structure around a central simple point charge (SPC) water molecule in a dielectric cavity was found to be in good agreement with the properties of a liquid sample. To confine the water molecules within the cavity, we introduced a short-range repulsion between a real charge and its image as the Lennard-Jones repulsive potential between oxygen atoms of the SPC potential. For a system of 65 water molecules a cavity radius of 10.45 Å is appropriate; this radius is altered to 12.00 Å for a cavity surrounding 113 molecules. The effect of the boundary is restricted to the outer-most water layer which is in contact with the dielectric continuum.     

Controllers for imposing continuum-to-molecular boundary conditions in arbitrary fluid flow geometries

We present a new parallelised controller for steering an arbitrary geometric region of a molecular dynamics (MD) simulation towards a desired thermodynamic and hydrodynamic state. We show that the controllers may be applied anywhere in the domain to set accurately an initial MD state, or solely at boundary regions to prescribe non-periodic boundary conditions (PBCs) in MD simulations. The mean molecular structure and velocity autocorrelation function remain unchanged (when sampled a few molecular diameters away from the constrained region) when compared with those distributions measured using PBCs. To demonstrate the capability of our new controllers, we apply them as non-PBCs in parallel to a complex MD mixing nano-channel and in a hybrid MD continuum simulation with a complex coupling region. The controller methodology is easily extendable to polyatomic MD fluids.     

A study of wall shear stress in 12 aneurysms with respect to different viscosity models and flow conditions

Recent computational fluid dynamics (CFD) studies relate abnormal blood flow to rupture of cerebral aneurysms. However, it is still debated how to model blood flow with sufficient accuracy. Common assumptions made include Newtonian behaviour of blood, traction free outlet boundary conditions and inlet boundary conditions based on available literature. These assumptions are often required since the available patient specific data is usually restricted to the geometry of the aneurysm and the surrounding vasculature. However, the consequences of these assumptions have so far been inadequately addressed.     

Kinetics of cross-slope running

The purpose of the present study was to identify kinetic responses to running on mediolaterally elevated (cross-sloped) running surfaces. Ground reaction forces (GRFs), GRF lever arms and joint moment characteristics of 19 male runners were analyzed when running at 3.5 m/s on a custom-made, tiltable runway. Tilt angles of 3° and 6° for medial and lateral elevation were analyzed using a 10 camera Vicon Nexus system and a force platform. The point of force application of the GRF showed a systematic shift in the order of 1–1.5 cm to either the lateral or medial aspect of the foot for lateral or medial inclinations, respectively. Consequently, the strongest significant effects of tilt orientation and level on joint kinetics and ground reaction force lever arms were identified at the ankle, knee and hip joint in the frontal plane of movement. External eversion moments at the ankle were significantly increased by 35% for 6° of lateral elevation and decreased by 16% for 6° of medial elevation. Altering the cross-slope of the running surface changed the pattern of ankle joint moments in the transversal plane. Effect sizes were on average larger for laterally elevated conditions, indicating a higher sensitivity of kinetic parameters to this kind of surface tilt. These alterations in joint kinetics should be considered in the choice of the running environment, especially for specific risk groups, like runners in rehabilitation processes.     

Comparative bionomics of four populations of Meccus longipennis (Hemiptera: Reduviidae: Triatominae) under laboratory conditions

The values of biological parameters related to the life cycles of four populations of Meccus longipennis (Reduviidae: Triatominae) were evaluated. Cohorts of each of the four studied populations from different geographical areas of Mexico were maintained under similar laboratory conditions and then compared. The population from El Saucito de Araujo was different from the other three studied populations, which could help explain the secondary importance of M. longipennis in the state of Chihuahua. This paper also supports the proposition that biological traits are important criteria for determining relationships between populations.     

Long‐term effects of climatic–hydrological drivers on macroinvertebrate richness and composition in two Mediterranean streams

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黄粉虫抗菌肽在大肠杆菌中表达条件优化及活性分析

为了提高黄粉虫抗菌肽基因tmAMP1m在大肠杆菌中的表达量,研究了培养温度、诱导时间及IPTG浓度等不同条件对HIS-TmAMP1m融合蛋白表达量和活性的影响。通过Tricine-SDS-PAGE分析确定最佳表达条件,同时,通过琼脂孔穴扩散法检测其抑菌活性。结果表明,含有重组质粒的大肠杆菌在37℃,使用终浓度为0.1 mmol/L IPTG培养4 h时,融合蛋白表达量较高,可占细菌总蛋白40%以上,抗菌活性最好。用Ni2+亲和层析纯化获得较纯的融合蛋白,Western blotting分析表明其能与His单克隆抗体起特异性反应。诱导表达的融合蛋白对宿主菌生长产生一定程度抑制。融合蛋白经100℃煮沸10 h,在20℃反复冻融10次,与强酸强碱缓冲液、不同的有机溶剂和蛋白酶混合后都具有极强的稳定性,仍然表现出良好的抗菌活性。此外,最小抑菌浓度(MIC)测定结果表明,融合蛋白对5种菌具有良好的抗菌活性。研究结果为昆虫抗菌肽推广应用和进一步研究奠定了基础。     

Speciation studies of aluminium(III)–acetate complexes under physiological conditions

Abstract

The aluminium complexes of acetic acid (ACT) have been studied using Potentiometric titrations under physiological conditions of temperature (37°C) and ionic strength (0.15 dm^?3 dm^?3 NaCI) and at different ligand to metal ratios. The variations of pH were measured with the help of a glass electrode calibrated daily in hydrogen ion concentrations. Results obtained within the pH range of 2.6–4.2 were analysed to determine stability constants using the SUPERQUAD program. Different complex combinations were considered during the calculation procedure, and evidence was found for ML₂ mononuclear species beside binuclear hydroxo-complexes M₂L(OH)₂ and M₂L(OH)₃ and metal ion hydroxides. Speciation calculations based on the corresponding constants were then used to simulate species distributions.     

Pre-storage centrifugation conditions have significant impact on measured microRNA levels in biobanked EDTA plasma samples

BackgroundIn the past few years, an increasing number of studies have reported the potential use of microRNAs (miRNA) as circulating biomarkers for diagnosis or prognosis of a wide variety of diseases. There is, however, a lack of reproducibility between studies. Due to the high miRNA content in platelets this may partly be explained by residual platelets in the plasma samples used. When collecting fresh plasma samples, it is possible to produce cell-free/platelet-poor plasma by centrifugation. In this study, we systematically investigated whether biobanked EDTA plasma samples could be processed to be suitable for miRNA analysis.Materials and methodsBlood samples were collected from ten healthy volunteers and centrifuged to produce platelet-poor-plasma (PPP) and standard biobank plasma. After one week at ?80 °C the biobanked EDTA plasma was re-centrifuged by different steps to remove residual platelets. Using RT-qPCR the levels of 14 miRNAs in the different plasma preparations were compared to that of PPP.ResultsWe were able to remove residual platelets from biobanked EDTA plasma by re-centrifugation of the thawed samples. Nevertheless, for most of the investigated miRNAs, the miRNA level was significantly higher in the re-centrifuged biobanked plasma compared to PPP, even when the platelet count was reduced to 0–1×10⁹/L.ConclusionWe found, that pre-storage centrifugation conditions have a significant impact on the measured EDTA plasma level of miRNAs known to be present in platelets. Even for the miRNAs found to be less effected, we showed that a 1.5–3 fold change in plasma levels may possible be caused by or easily overseen due to sample preparation and/or storage.