Comparison of thermal responses with and without cold protective clothing in a warm environment after severe cold exposures

1. 1. Ten male students remained in a severely cold room (-25°C) for 20 min. thereafter, they transferred in a warm room (25°C) for 20 min.

2. 2. This pattern was repeated three times, total cold exposure time amounting to 60 min.

3. 3. In the warm room, the subjects removed their cold-protective jackets, or wore them continously.

4. 4. Rectal temperature, skin temperatures, manual performance and thermal comfort were measured during the experiment.

5. 5. Removing cold-protective jackets after severe cold exposure increased peripheral skin temperatures and reduced the discomfort in the warm room.

6. 6. However, these results were accompanied by a greater decrease in rectal temperature and manual performance.

7. 7. It is recommended that workers continue to wear cold-protective clothing in the warm areas outside of the cold storage to prevent decreases in deep body temperature and work efficiency caused by repated cold exposures.

Using the nematophagous fungus Esteya vermicola to control the disastrous pine wilt disease

The present study evaluated the protective effects of the nematophagous fungus Esteya vermicola on the large pine trees of Mt. Wora, Jinju, South Korea for six years. When pine trees were treated with E. vermicola 110 days before artificial normal pinewood nematode (PWN) infection, 30–50% of the trees survived for six years. When pine trees were treated with E. vermicola one week after artificial normal PWN infection, 40% of the trees were saved. In contrast, all of the control trees were killed by pine wilt disease in the first year. Although it has been more than six years since the beginning of this experiment, the existence of E. vermicola inside the treated pine trees was successfully detected using a PCR method with two pairs of specific primers for E. vermicola. These results suggest that E. vermicola possesses great potential as a biocontrol agent to combat the disastrous pine wilt disease. This is the first report of using nematophagous fungi to control pine wilt disease in the field for a duration of over five years.     

Protective enzymatic systems against activated oxygen species compared in normal and vitrified shoots of Prunus avium L. L. raised in vitro

Vitrification of shoots of Prunus avium L. L. was induced and expressed in a four week in vitro multiplication cycle simply by replacing agar by gelrite. The first vitrification symptoms were visible from the 7th day on. Enzymatic antioxidants were compared weekly in crude extract of normal (on agar) and vitrifying (on gelrite) shoots. The activity of superoxide dismutase was higher in vitrifying shoots. The other enzymes (gaîacol-peroxidase, catalase, ascorbate peroxidase, mono- and dehydro-ascorbate reductases, glutathione reductase) had lower activities. Increased superoxide dismutase activity might mean hydrogen peroxide accumulation and decreased activities of the other enzymes, deficiency in its detoxification. The question therefore is raised whether the hyperhydric morphological abnormalities result from the accumulation of toxic oxygen forms. Vitrification is often considered as a morphological response to several stresses. Contrary to most plants which adapt themselves to stresses by increasing all the above defence enzymes, in vitro shoots under vitrifying conditions appear unable to react in a similar manner.Abbreviations Apx ascorbate peroxidase - Gpx gaîacol peroxidase - CAT catalase - H₂O₂ hydrogen peroxide - SOD superoxide dismutase - MDHAR monodehydroascorbate reductase - DHAR dehydroascorbate reductase - GR glutathione reductase - MS Murashige and Skoog (1962) - IBA indolebutyric acid - BAP benzyladenine - GA₃ gibberellic acid     

A2T and A2V Aβ peptides exhibit different aggregation kinetics,primary nucleation,morphology, structure,and LTP inhibition

The histopathological hallmark of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the aggregation and accumulation of the amyloid beta peptide (Aβ) into misfolded oligomers and fibrils. Here we examine the biophysical properties of a protective Aβ variant against AD, A2T, and a causative mutation, A2T, along with the wild type (WT) peptide. The main finding here is that the A2V native monomer is more stable than both A2T and WT, and this manifests itself in different biophysical behaviors: the kinetics of aggregation, the initial monomer conversion to an aggregation prone state (primary nucleation), the abundances of oligomers, and extended conformations. Aggregation reaction modeling of the conversion kinetics from native monomers to fibrils predicts the enhanced stability of the A2V monomer, while ion mobility spectrometry‐mass spectrometry measures this directly confirming earlier predictions. Additionally, unique morphologies of the A2T aggregates are observed using atomic force microscopy, providing a basis for the reduction in long term potentiation inhibition of hippocampal cells for A2T compared with A2V and the wild type (WT) peptide. The stability difference of the A2V monomer and the difference in aggregate morphology for A2T (both compared with WT) are offered as alternate explanations for their pathological effects. Proteins 2016; 84:488–500. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Immunogenicity and Infectivity of Sporozoites of Mammalian Malaria Isolated by Density-Gradient Centrifugation*

Sporozoites of rodent and simian malaria (Plasmodium berghei and P. cynomolgi) were purified by centrifugation on a linear Renografin/BSA gradient. This procedure made it possible to process rapidly a large number of infected mosquitoes leading to the recovery of a considerable proportion of sporozoites. Gradient-recovered sporozoites (GRS) freed of most bacteria and mosquito tissue contaminants, retained their infectivity and immunogenicity. Mice repeatedly injected i.v. with irradiated GRS of P. berghei acquired total protection against an otherwise lethal sporozoite challenge. GRS of P. berghei and P. cynomolgi induced antisporozoite (CSP) antibody production in rats.     

Basic considerations in assessing and preventing occupational infections in personnel working with nonhuman primates

Transmission of zoonotic infections of nonhuman primates to human contacts is a documented occupational hazard. Although the list of naturally occurring and experimentally induced infections of nonhuman primates is extensive the risks of transmission may substantially be reduced by the use of good animal care practices, appropriate protective measures and devices, and suitable animal facilities. The essential elements of good animal care practices include high levels of personal hygiene; minimizing the creation of potentially infectious aerosols and droplets; use of personal protective clothing, devices, and vaccines; a system for reporting, evaluating, and treatment of occupational exposures and infections; and animal facilities appropriate for the species being used and the activities conducted. These essential elements are described and discussed in the context of published voluntary codes of practice--notably "Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories."     

Cloning, expression and protective immunity evaluation of the full-length cDNA encoding succinate dehydrogenase iron-sulfur protein of Schistosoma japonicum

1071-bp fragment was obtained from the Schistosoma japonicum (Chinese strain) adult cDNA library after the 3' and 5' ends of the incomplete expression sequence tag (EST) of succinate dehydrogenase iron-sulfur protein of Schistosoma japonicum (SjSDISP) were amplified by the anchored PCR with 2pairs of primers designed according to the EST of SjSDISP and the sequence of multiclone sites of the library vector. Sequence analysis indicated that the fragment was a full-length cDNA with a complete open reading frame (ORF), encoding 278 amino acid residues. The fragment was cloned into prokaryotic expression vector pQE30, and subsequently sequenced and expressed in Escherichia coll.SDS-PAGE and Western-blot analyses showed that the recombinant protein was about 32 kD and could be recognized by the polyclonal antisera from rabbits immunized with Schistosoma japonicum adult worm antigen. Compared with the FCA controls, mice vaccinated with rSjSDISP (test) or rSjGST (positive control) all revealed high levels of specific antibody and significant reduction in worm burden, liver eggs per gram (LEPG), fecal eggs per gram (FEPG) and intrauterine eggs. These results suggest that SjSDISP may be a novel and partially protective vaccine candidate against schistosomiasis. In contrast to the worm burden reduction rate, the higher degree of egg reduction rate in the test group also suggested that SjSDISP vaccine may primarily play a role in anti-embryonation or anti-fecundity immunity.     

Cd-Pb复合胁迫对革叶耳蕨和黑足鳞毛蕨保护酶活性的影响

本试验研究了鳞毛蕨科两种植物革叶耳蕨(Polystichum neolobatum)和黑足鳞毛蕨(Dryopteris fuscipes)在不同浓度Cd-Pb复合胁迫下保护酶活性的变化。结果表明,革叶耳蕨POD、SOD、CAT活性与处理浓度呈正相关趋势,即随着处理浓度升高,酶活性明显升高;黑足鳞毛蕨POD、SOD及CAT活性表现出在高浓度(600+1200 mg/kg)处理下受抑制,而在低、中浓度(200+400 mg/kg、400+800 mg/kg)处理下表现为促进作用。     

不同叶龄鸭跖草耐咪唑乙烟酸能力差异的生理生化基础

比较不同叶龄鸭跖草耐咪唑乙烟酸能力的结果表明,鸭跖草受咪唑乙烟酸伤害的程度有随着鸭跖草叶龄的增加而减轻的趋势,株高和鲜重的抑制率也有减小的趋势。另外,随着叶龄的增大,鸭跖草叶中超氧化物歧化酶（SOD）、过氧化物酶（POD）、谷胱甘肽-S-转移酶（GST）、乙酰乳酸合成酶（ALS）的活性和谷胱甘肽（GSH）的含量增大。三叶龄以上鸭跖草的各项指标与二叶龄之间差异显著。     

沿重离子贯穿深度的番茄干种子辐射生物学效应研究

本文采用80MeV/u的^12C^6 辐照番茄干种子,研究处于不同离子贯穿深度番茄干种子的辐照生物学效应,检测其生理生化指标。结果表明：辐照后不同贯穿深度上番茄种子的发芽势与物理剂量对应,第8层样品（对应于碳离子在水中的贯穿深度为15mm）出现峰值76.7％,发芽率随离子入射深度的变化不明显;不同贯穿深度辐照样品的根尖细胞微核率也与物理剂量相对应,在第6、7层样品中出现峰值0.257％;另外,辐照样品幼苗茎叶的一氧化氮合酶（NOS）活性、谷胱甘肽（GSH）含量及总抗氧化力在第9层出现峰值,谷胱甘肽过氧化物酶（GSH-PX）活性在第7-8层出现峰值,超氧化物歧化酶（SOD）、过氧化氢酶（CAT）活性的变化与重离子贯穿深度没有明显的相关性。总而言之,本工作发现辐照品的多个生理生化指标均与入射离子的微剂量分布相对应,即存在生物效应峰。