On the vulval morphology of some species of Bursaphelenchus (Nematoda: Parasitaphelenchinae)

The vulval pattern of six species of the genus Bursaphelenchus (B. abruptus, B. conicaudatus, B. fraudulentus, B. luxuriosae, B. mucronatus and B. xylophilus) was studied using scanning electron microscopy. A terminology for the vulval region structures observed is proposed herein and illustrated by micrographs and line drawings. It was shown that, of the studied species, only B. mucronatus and B. xylophilus share an identical morphology of the vulval region, all other species differing significantly from each other and from both B. mucronatus and B. xylophilus. This study indicates the diagnostic potential for variation in vulval morphology within Bursaphelenchus and it is recommended that such features are recorded in all future descriptions

Description of eight new species of the traumatically inseminating plant bug genus Coridromius (Heteroptera: Miridae: Orthotylinae: Coridromini)

Eight new species of the plant bug genus Coridromius are described: C. basilanus sp. nov. from the Philippines, C. eremnos sp. nov. from Sabah, Malaysia, C. fomangsu sp. nov. and C. tafo sp. nov. from Ghana, C. norfolkensis sp. nov. from Norfolk Island, Australia, C. mulu sp. nov. from Sarawak, Malaysia, C. macchabeeus sp. nov. from Mauritius, and C. taravao sp. nov. from Tahiti, French Polynesia

Concise Synthesis of (+)-allo-Kainic Acid via MgI2-Mediated Tandem Aziridine Ring Opening-Formal [3+2] Cycloaddition

3-Methyl vinyl aziridine undergoes a mild MgI2-promoted S(N)2' ring opening and concomitant cyclization with fumarate Michael acceptors to give trisubstituted pyrrolidines. The process is efficient and highly diastereoselective. This methodology has been applied to a concise asymmetric synthesis of (+)-allo-kainic acid.</p

Vanishing cycles of pencils of hypersurfaces

We prove an extended Lefschetz principle for a large class of pencils of hypersurfaces having isolated singularities, possibly in the axis, and show that the module of vanishing cycles is generated by the images of certain variation maps.Comment: 14 p, more references added, Introduction and Abstract reformulated; based on the Newton Institute preprint NI0102

Identification of a novel polyprenylated acylphloroglucinol‑derived SIRT1 inhibitor with cancer‑specific anti-proliferative and invasion-suppressing activities

SIRT1, a class III histone deacetylase, plays a critical role in regulating cancer cell growth, migration and invasion, which makes it a potential target for cancer therapeutics. In this study, we screened derivatives of several groups of natural products and identified a novel SIRT1 inhibitor JQ-101, a synthetic derivative of the polyprenylated acylphloroglucinol (PPAP) natural products, with an IC(50) for SIRT1 of 30 µM in vitro, with 5-fold higher activity for SIRT1 vs. SIRT2. Exposure of tumor cells to JQ-101 significantly enhanced acetylation of p53 and histone H4K16 at known sites of SIRT1 deacetylation, validating SIRT1 as its cellular target. JQ-101 suppressed cancer cell growth and survival by targeting SIRT1, and also exhibited selective cytotoxicity towards a panel of human tumor cell lines, while producing no toxicity in two normal human cell types at comparable concentrations. JQ-101 induced both apoptosis and cell senescence, and suppressed cancer cell invasion in vitro. In summary, we have identified JQ-101 as a new SIRT1 inhibitor which may have potential application in cancer treatment through its ability to induce tumor cell apoptosis and senescence and suppress cancer cell invasion.CA164245 - NCI NIH HHS; R01 CA101992 - NCI NIH HHS; R21 CA129046 - NCI NIH HHS; R21 CA141036 - NCI NIH HHS; P50 GM067041 - NIGMS NIH HHS; UL1RR025771 - NCRR NIH HHS; CA101992 - NCI NIH HHS; UL1 RR025771 - NCRR NIH HHS; GM-073855 - NIGMS NIH HHS; CA129046 - NCI NIH HHS; R21 CA164245 - NCI NIH HHS; GM-067041 - NIGMS NIH HHS; CA141036 - NCI NIH HHS; R01 GM073855 - NIGMS NIH HH