Schistocephalus solidus: establishment of tapeworms in sticklebacks--fast food or fast lane?

The penetration of the intestinal mucosal wall is supposed to be critical for helminth parasite infestation, but has rarely been analyzed in detail. We here studied the establishment process of Schistocephalus solidus tapeworms in their second intermediate host, the three-spined stickleback, from oral uptake after experimental exposure, to passage through the gastro-intestinal tract and arrival in the fish body cavity. Using histological techniques, we found tapeworms to penetrate the intestine within 14-24 h, spending most of the time in the stomach lumen and only a very short period in the intestine. Unexpectedly, tapeworms lost their outer layer, together with the cercomer, in the intestine lumen rather than later during intestine wall penetration. Once exposed, the underlying tegument with microtriches might serve to facilitate migration of the parasite into the body cavity.     

渗透促进剂对5－DSA标记裸鼠皮肤角质层影响的ESR研究

通过测定５－唑烷氮氧自由基硬脂酸（５－ＤＳＡ）标记裸鼠皮肤角质层的电子自旋共振（ＥＳＲ）谱,研究某些渗透促进剂如月桂酮（ＡＺ）、油酸（ＯＡ）、丙二醇（ＰＧ）、二甲基亚砜（ＤＭＳＯ）等对裸鼠皮肤角质层的影响。促渗剂处理皮肤后,标记物序参数降低,各向同性超精细分裂偶合常数增大,前者表明保渗剂能够引起皮肤角质层细胞间脂质排列有序性降低,流动性增大;后者表明标记物周围脂质区域极性增大。     

Assessment of Potential Sublethal Effects of Various Insecticides on Key Biological Traits of The Tobacco Whitefly,Bemisia tabaci

The tobacco whitefly Bemisia tabaci is one of the most devastating pests worldwide. Current management of B. tabaci relies upon the frequent applications of insecticides. In addition to direct mortality by typical acute toxicity (lethal effect), insecticides may also impair various key biological traits of the exposed insects through physiological and behavioral sublethal effects. Identifying and characterizing such effects could be crucial for understanding the global effects of insecticides on the pest and therefore for optimizing its management in the crops. We assessed the effects of sublethal and low-lethal concentrations of four widely used insecticides on the fecundity, honeydew excretion and feeding behavior of B. tabaci adults. The probing activity of the whiteflies feeding on treated cotton seedlings was recorded by an Electrical Penetration Graph (EPG). The results showed that imidacloprid and bifenthrin caused a reduction in phloem feeding even at sublethal concentrations. In addition, the honeydew excretions and fecundity levels of adults feeding on leaf discs treated with these concentrations were significantly lower than the untreated ones. While, sublethal concentrations of chlorpyrifos and carbosulfan did not affect feeding behavior, honeydew excretion and fecundity of the whitefly. We demonstrated an antifeedant effect of the imidacloprid and bifenthrin on B. tabaci, whereas behavioral changes in adults feeding on leaves treated with chlorpyrifos and carbosulfan were more likely caused by the direct effects of the insecticides on the insects'' nervous system itself. Our results show that aside from the lethal effect, the sublethal concentration of imidacloprid and bifenthrin impairs the phloem feeding, i.e. the most important feeding trait in a plant protection perspective. Indeed, this antifeedant property would give these insecticides potential to control insect pests indirectly. Therefore, the behavioral effects of sublethal concentrations of imidacloprid and bifenthrin may play an important role in the control of whitefly pests by increasing the toxicity persistence in treated crops.     

Schistosoma mansoni: histological localization of gelatinase in the preacetabular glands of cercariae

Proteolytic activity was demonstrated in secretions from the preacetabular glands of cercariae of Schistosoma mansoni. Thin gelatin film substrates were lysed by living cercariae stimulated to penetrate by application on the films of skin surface lipid. Lysis was directly related to number of cercariae, time, and temperature of incubation and pH of the medium. Gelatinase activity in unfixed frozen sections of cercariae incubated on the gelatin films was in the preacetabular glands which are the source of the secretion emptied into skin during penetration. Protease activity, therefore, appears to be related to penetration. The schistosome larvae which made the penetration attempt satisfied the accepted criteria for schistosomules, and therefore appeared to have transformed into schistosomules even though they did not successfully penetrate anything.     

脱血红素细胞色素c插入磷脂单分子层能力的研究

介绍了一种改进的、用于研究膜脂-蛋白相互作用的气-液界面单分子层实验模型及实验装置,并在该实验装置上研究了来自马心和金枪鱼心的线粒体前体蛋白脱血红素细胞色素c与大豆磷脂单分子层的相互作用,实验结果表明这两种前体蛋白对大豆磷脂单分子层都具有较强的亲和性和插膜能力,其临界插膜压力分别为43mN/m、45mN/m.     

The infection process ofFusarium oxysporum in cotton root tips

Summary Conidia ofFusarium oxysporum f. sp.vasinfectum started to germinate on the roots of cotton (Gossypium barbadense L.) 6 h after inoculation and formed a compact mycelium covering the root surface. 18 h later, penetration hyphae branched off and infected the root. The number of penetration hyphae increased with the number of conidia used for inoculation. The optimal temperature for penetration was between 28 and 30 °C. The highest numbers of penetration hyphae were found in the meristematic zone, 40 percent less in the elongation and root hair zones, and none in the lateral root zone. The fine structure of the infection process was studied in protodermal cells of the meristematic zone and in rhizodermal cells of the elongation zone. The penetration hyphae were well preserved after freeze substitution and showed a Golgi equivalent consisting of three populations of smooth cisternae. Plant reactions were found already during fungal growth on the root surface. In the meristematic zone, a thickening of the plant cell wall due to an apposition of dark and lightly staining material below the hyphae occurred. This wall apposition increased in size around the hypha invading the plant cell and led to the formation of a prominent wall apposition with finger-like projections into the host cytoplasm. In the elongation zone, the deposits around the penetration hypha appeared less thick and the dark inclusions were less pronounced. High pressure freezing of infected cells revealed, thatF. oxysporum penetrates and grows within the host cells without inducing damages such as plasmolysis, cell degeneration or even host necrosis. We suggest thatF. oxysporum has an endophytic or biotrophic phase during colonization of the root tips.Abbreviation Ph penetration hyphae     

Far-infrared spectroscopy of salt penetration into a collagen fiber scaffold

We employed far-infrared spectroscopy to observe the amount of salt that penetrates into collagen fiber masses. The absorption properties of collagen sheets prepared from tilapia skin, bovine skin, rat tail, and sea cucumber dermis were measured using a transmission Fourier transform spectrometer in a band from approximately 100 to 700 cm⁻¹. We confirmed that the absorbance spectra of the four types of dried collagen sheet show good agreement, even though the amino acid compositions differed. The absorbance peaks observed in the band corresponded to collective vibrations of plural functional groups such as methylene and imino groups in collagen. When salt solution was added to the collagen sheets and then dried, the spectral shapes of the sheets at approximately 166 cm⁻¹ were clearly different from those of the plain collagen sheets. The differential absorbance between wavenumbers 166 cm⁻¹ and 250 cm⁻¹ sensitively reflected the difference between higher-order structures, and the salt diffusion (crystallization) depended on the collagen fiber condition. From these results, we consider that spectral changes can be used for the numerical evaluation of salt penetration into a collagen fiber scaffold.     

聚乙二醇重组人粒细胞刺激因子Ib期临床NSCLC人体试验的安全性研究

目的:考察非小细胞肺癌患者化疗后对HHPG-19K的耐受性及该药物的安全性.方法:随机将招募受试者30例平均分成设五个试验组:HHPG-19K 3个剂量组(60 μg/Kg、100 μg/Kg、200 μg/Kg)、阳性对照组(惠尔血,即G-CSF 5 μg/Kg/天)和阴性对照组,对比5组的安全性观察指标.结果:3个剂量组均出现不良事件,占总人数的100％;另外,实验室检查值的异常主要有ALP、ALT及AST升高等.不良事件的类型和严重程度均为轻中度,与阳性对照组无差异(P＜0.05).而阴性对照组发生不良事件为13％,少于剂量组与阳性对照组(P＜0.05).结论:试验用药物HHPG-19K在非小细胞肺癌化疗患者中具有较好的耐受性,且不产生耐药性抗体,其中100 μg/kg安全性更好.     

细胞松驰素B对牛传染性鼻气管炎病毒感染与复制的影响

体外培养的牛肾细胞,经浓度为50μg/ml的细胞松弛素B(CB)处理2小时后,牛传染性鼻气管炎病毒(IBRV)仍能侵入细胞,繁殖的子代病毒数量不受影响。然而当同样浓度的CB在病毒的整个繁殖期中持续存在时,病毒的繁殖即完全被抑制。说明细胞的吞噬作用至少不是这种病毒进入细胞的唯一方式,可能病毒囊膜与细胞膜的融合是病毒进入细胞的主要方式;而在侵入细胞后的病毒繁殖过程中,细胞微丝和其它对CB敏感的系统起着不可缺少的作用。降解微丝对IBRV的早期发生有明显的影响,其效应强度与CB的浓度有关。还观察到CB处理对病毒形态发生方式有明显影响。     

When the going gets tough: Responses of Sorghum bicolor L. (cv. Tegemeo) seedlings to soil penetration resistance

Summary

Sorghum bicolor L. (cv. Tegemeo) seedlings were grown for nine days in soil at field capacity packed to give a uniform penetration resistance (PR) of either 0.25, 1.00 or 1.75 MPa. Root biomass was not significantly affected by soil PR treatment. However, as PR increased to 1.75 MPa, the diameter of the seminal root axis increased by 52% whilst its length decreased by 30%. Shoot growth, in terms of oven dry (OD) weight and photo-synthetic area, was reduced in both the 0.25 MPa and 1.75 MPa treatments compared to the 1.00 MPa treatment. A reduced nutrient, water or oxygen supply to the roots were discounted as possible causes of the root and shoot responses to soil PR. It is suggested that the changes in root morphology between treatments were a direct result of the changes in soil PR. For shoot growth, in the 0.25 MPa treatment it is suggested that shoot growth was reduced as a result of an increase in the carbon sink strength of the roots.