Potential use of a group II alphabaculovirus isolated from <i>Mamestra brassicae</i> as a broad-spectrum biological pesticide

<p>A novel native isolate of <i>Mamestra brassicae</i> nucleopolyhedrovirus, designated MabrNPV-CHb1, was identified in this study. The complete nucleotide sequence of MabrNPV-CHb1 was determined. The MabrNPV-CHb1 genome consists of 154,451 bp, with a G + C content of 40.05%. The genomic sequence and comparative analysis indicated that MabrNPV-CHb1 shares high nucleotide identity with MabrNPV-K1, HearMNPV, MacoNPV-B and MacoNPV-A. The major difference between MabrNPV-CHb1 and MabrNPV-K1 is the absence of MabrNPV-CHb1 ORF134 in MabrNPV-K1. The MabrNPV-CHb1 ORF134 is a gene encoding a putative transposase, and phylogenetic analysis suggests that it is derived through horizontal gene transfer (HGT) from ascoviruses. MabrNPV-CHb1 exhibits broad-spectrum activity against lepidopteran agricultural pests, including insects in the families Noctuidae and Plutellidae. A high yield of MabrNPV-CHb1 occlusion bodies was obtained by propagation in alternative hosts, demonstrating its potential for pesticide application. Its broad host range, high yields in alternative hosts and clear genetic background could extend its potential applications as a broad-spectrum insecticide in the future.</p

Summary receiver operating characteristic (SROC) curves of MR imaging with Gd-EOB-DTPA in detection of HCC.

<p>Summary receiver operating characteristic (SROC) curves of MR imaging with Gd-EOB-DTPA in detection of HCC.</p

Gadoxetic Acid Disodium-Enhanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging for the Detection of Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Meta-Analysis

<div><p>Objective</p><p>To determine the accuracy of MR imaging with gadoxetic acid disodium (Gd-EOB-DTPA) for the detection of hepatocelluar carcinoma (HCC).</p><p>Materials and Methods</p><p>A systematic search was performed in PUBMED, EMBASE, Web of Science, Cochrane Library and the Chinese Biomedical Literature Database up to March 2013 to identify studies about evaluation of Gd-EOB-DTPA enhanced MR imaging in patients suspected of having HCC. The data were extracted to perform heterogeneity test and threshold effect test and to calculate sensitivity, specificity, diagnostic odds ratio, predictive value, and areas under summary receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC).</p><p>Results</p><p>From 601 citations, 10 were included in the meta-analysis. The methodological quality of the 10 studies was good. <b>Overall HCC</b>: There was significant heterogeneity in the pooled analysis (I² = 69.4%, P = 0.0005), and the pooled weighted values were determined to be sensitivity: 0.91 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.89, 0. 93); specificity: 0.95 (95% CI: 0.94, 0.96); diagnostic odds ratio: 169.94 (95% CI: 108.84, 265.36); positive likelihood ratio: 15.75 (95% CI: 7.45, 33.31); negative likelihood ratio: 0.10 (95% CI: 0.06, 0.15). The AUC was 0.9778. <b>HCC in cirrhosis:</b> The estimates were to be sensitivity: 0.91 (95% CI: 0.88, 0.93); specificity: 0.93 (95% CI: 0.89, 0.95); diagnostic odds ratio: 234.24 (95% CI: 33.47, 1639.25); positive likelihood ratio: 15.08 (95% CI: 2.20, 103.40); negative likelihood ratio: 0.08 (95% CI: 0.03, 0.21). The AUC was 0.9814. <b>≤20</b><b>mm HCC:</b> The AUC was 0.9936. There was no notable publication bias.</p><p>Conclusions</p><p>This meta-analysis suggests that MR imaging with Gd-EOB-DTPA has high diagnostic accuracy for the detection of HCC, especially for ≤20 mm HCC. This technique shows good prospect in diagnosis of HCC.</p></div

Methodological quality of the 10 included studies.

<p>Methodological quality of the 10 included studies.</p

Flowchart illustrating the selection of studies.

<p>Flowchart illustrating the selection of studies.</p

Folding of the 5′ and 3′ NCRs of the DpCPV-MC genome segments.

<p>The RNAfold program was used to predict the secondary structures formed by the 16 DpCPV-MC genome segments. The panhandle structure was formed by base-pairing between the 5′ and 3′ ends, and the stem–loop structure was formed by either the 5′ or 3′ terminal sequence. The panhandle structure and the stem–loop structure are marked with long brackets.</p

Electron micrographs of OBs of DpCPV-MC.

<p>(A) Transmission electron micrograph of ultrathin sections of OBs of DpCPV-MC. (B) Transmission electron micrograph of purified virions of DpCPV-MC.</p

Primers used in this study.

<p>Primers used in this study.</p

Properties of the dsRNA segments of DpCPV-MC.

<p>Properties of the dsRNA segments of DpCPV-MC.</p

Neighbor-joining tree constructed from polyhedrin amino acid sequences of representative CPVs.

<p>Sequences were aligned with the multiple sequence alignment program ClustalX2. The neighbor-joining method was used to construct the phylogenetic tree of the derived polyhedrin protein sequences with the MEGA software version 5.2. The black triangle shows the position of DpCPV-MC. Bootstrap percentage values are indicated on the left. All reference sequences used for the construction of this tree were retrieved from GenBank with their corresponding accession numbers: <i>Antheraea assamensis cypovirus 4</i>, AY212275; <i>Antheraea mylitta cypovirus 4</i>, AY212273; <i>Antheraea proylei cypovirus 4</i>, AY212276; <i>Dendrolimus punctatus cypovirus 1</i>, AY204879; <i>Bombyx mori cypovirus 1</i>, D37770; <i>Culex restuans cypovirus 17</i>, DQ212785; <i>Choristoneura occidentalis cypovirus 16</i>, EU201043; <i>Euxoa scandens cypovirus 5</i>, J04338; <i>Heliothis assulta cypovirus 14</i>, DQ077914; <i>Heliothis armigera cypovirus 5</i>, DQ077912; <i>Lymantria dispar cypovirus 1</i>, AF389471; <i>Operophtera brumata cypovirus 18</i>, DQ192250; <i>Operophtera brumata cypovirus 19</i>, DQ192254; <i>Simulium ubiquitum cypovirus 20</i>, DQ834386; <i>Trichoplusia ni cypovirus 15</i>, NC_002565; <i>Uranotaenia sapphirina cypovirus 17</i>, AY876384; <i>Lymantria dispar cypovirus 14</i>, AF389461; <i>Choristoneura fumiferana cypovirus 16</i>, U95954.</p