Description of Ortheziolamameti tranfagliai new species (Hemiptera,Coccoidea, Ortheziidae) from India

This paper describes a new Ortheziolamameti species from the Oriental region (India), namely Ortheziolamameti tranfagliai Konczné Benedicty, sp. n. The examined material was extracted from forest litter from India, using Berlese funnels. With this new species the genus Ortheziolamameti now includes six species. An identification key and distribution map are provided.     

The changing epitome of species identification – DNA barcoding

The discipline taxonomy (the science of naming and classifying organisms, the original bioinformatics and a basis for all biology) is fundamentally important in ensuring the quality of life of future human generation on the earth; yet over the past few decades, the teaching and research funding in taxonomy have declined because of its classical way of practice which lead the discipline many a times to a subject of opinion, and this ultimately gave birth to several problems and challenges, and therefore the taxonomist became an endangered race in the era of genomics. Now taxonomy suddenly became fashionable again due to revolutionary approaches in taxonomy called DNA barcoding (a novel technology to provide rapid, accurate, and automated species identifications using short orthologous DNA sequences). In DNA barcoding, complete data set can be obtained from a single specimen irrespective to morphological or life stage characters. The core idea of DNA barcoding is based on the fact that the highly conserved stretches of DNA, either coding or non coding regions, vary at very minor degree during the evolution within the species. Sequences suggested to be useful in DNA barcoding include cytoplasmic mitochondrial DNA (e.g. cox1) and chloroplast DNA (e.g. rbcL, trnL-F, matK, ndhF, and atpB rbcL), and nuclear DNA (ITS, and house keeping genes e.g. gapdh). The plant DNA barcoding is now transitioning the epitome of species identification; and thus, ultimately helping in the molecularization of taxonomy, a need of the hour. The ‘DNA barcodes’ show promise in providing a practical, standardized, species-level identification tool that can be used for biodiversity assessment, life history and ecological studies, forensic analysis, and many more.     

A novel herbal treatment reduces depressive-like behaviors and increases BDNF levels in the brain of stressed mice

Aims

Depression is a chronic, recurring and potentially life-threatening illness. Current treatments for depression are characterized by a low success rate and associated with a wide variety of side effects. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the behavioral and biological anti-depressant effects of a novel herbal treatment (NHT), as well as to assess its potential side effects, in comparison to treatment with the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor escitalopram.

Main methods

Depressive-like behavior was evaluated using the forced swim test (FST) and the tail suspension test (TST). Sexual behavior was evaluated following treatment by measuring latency before first mount and number of total mounts. Brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels were evaluated using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Serotonin transporter (SERT) levels in the pre-frontal cortex (PFC) and hypothalamus were evaluated using high affinity binding assay.

Key findings

(1) The NHT reduced depressive-like behavior in the FST and TST; (2) BDNF levels in the PFC of mice treated both with the NHT and escitalopram were increased; (3) SERT levels in the hypothalamus were significantly higher in the NHT group, in comparison to escitalopram and the control groups, and significantly lower in the PFC of the NHT group in comparison to the escitalopram group; and (4) the NHT led to less sexual dysfunction, compared to treatment with escitalopram.

Significance

Our NHT has the potential of being highly efficacious in treating depression in humans, while causing minimal to no influence on sexual function.     

Preparation of a Blood Culture Pellet for Rapid Bacterial Identification and Antibiotic Susceptibility Testing

Bloodstream infections and sepsis are a major cause of morbidity and mortality. The successful outcome of patients suffering from bacteremia depends on a rapid identification of the infectious agent to guide optimal antibiotic treatment. The analysis of Gram stains from positive blood culture can be rapidly conducted and already significantly impact the antibiotic regimen. However, the accurate identification of the infectious agent is still required to establish the optimal targeted treatment. We present here a simple and fast bacterial pellet preparation from a positive blood culture that can be used as a sample for several essential downstream applications such as identification by MALDI-TOF MS, antibiotic susceptibility testing (AST) by disc diffusion assay or automated AST systems and by automated PCR-based diagnostic testing. The performance of these different identification and AST systems applied directly on the blood culture bacterial pellets is very similar to the performance normally obtained from isolated colonies grown on agar plates. Compared to conventional approaches, the rapid acquisition of a bacterial pellet significantly reduces the time to report both identification and AST. Thus, following blood culture positivity, identification by MALDI-TOF can be reported within less than 1 hr whereas results of AST by automated AST systems or disc diffusion assays within 8 to 18 hr, respectively. Similarly, the results of a rapid PCR-based assay can be communicated to the clinicians less than 2 hr following the report of a bacteremia. Together, these results demonstrate that the rapid preparation of a blood culture bacterial pellet has a significant impact on the identification and AST turnaround time and thus on the successful outcome of patients suffering from bloodstream infections.     

一株耐锌真菌CTB430-1分离鉴定及其富集特性

从某锌尾砂坝土壤中筛选分离、纯化得到一株对锌具有较强抗性的菌株,命名为CTB430-1.对菌株进行形态观察、生理生化试验,采用ITS基因序列分析并构建系统发育树,鉴定该菌为黄曲霉（Aspergillus flavus）.研究其对Zn（Ⅱ）抗性和富集特性.结果表明：Zn（Ⅱ）对该菌株的最低抑菌浓度为800 mg/L;菌株对Zn（Ⅱ）的富集量在250 mg/L时达到最大,为40.37 mg/g;采用扫描和透射电镜观察富集前后菌丝体表面形态和内部结构变化,表明Zn（Ⅱ）毒害作用可能导致生长中菌丝表面结构破坏,CTB430-1富集Zn（Ⅱ）由表面吸附和胞内富集两部分组成.     

一种鹿科动物标本的分子鉴定

中国是世界上鹿科动物资源最丰富的国家之一,共有18种,分属獐亚科、麂亚科、鹿亚科和美洲鹿亚科,占全球鹿种的41.7％(盛和林等,1992).在皖南分布的鹿科动物有梅花鹿华南亚种(Cervus nippon pseudaxis)、黑麂(Muntiacus crinifrons)、黄麂(Muntiacus reevesi)和毛冠鹿(Elaphadus cephalophus)(王岐山,1990).2001年11月从泾县获得一具标本(图1-A,标本现保存于安徽师范大学标本馆),体形及大小似梅花鹿,身体背部毛棕褐色,无明显白斑,尾背面黑色、腹面纯白,但鹿角主干表面光滑,无眉叉及其它分叉.鹿角是鹿科动物所特有的结构,是区别于其它有蹄类的标志之一.     

美洲大蠊Per a7基因的克隆、表达及免疫学鉴定

根据原肌球蛋白基因序列设计引物,以我国南方地区美洲大蠊Periplaneta Americana RNA为模板,用RT-PCR方法扩增出852 bp的全长编码片段,经序列分析发现该基因与NCBI公布的Per a7有3个核苷酸发生改变。将目的片段克隆到pET24a(+)表达载体中,在大肠杆菌BL21 Star获得表达,融合蛋白的分子量约为33 kD。利用蟑螂过敏性患者血清对表达产物进行Western blotting检测,出现明显的识别条带,说明表达产物具有IgE结合活性。     

猫尾射的生药鉴别

猫尾射是闽台民间传统的膳用中草药。本文对猫尾射的植物形态、生药性状、显微特征(包括根横切面、粉末装片)进行系统观察和理化鉴别,为其生药鉴定提供参考。