Tools to tie: Flower characteristics, voc emission profile, and glandular trichomes of two mexican salvia species to attract bees

A plant can combine physical and chemical tools to interact with other organisms. Some are designed for pollinator attraction (i.e., colors and volatile organic compounds-VOCs); others can act to discourage herbivores (i.e., non-glandular trichomes). Few studies fully address available tools in a single species; notwithstanding, this information can be pivotal in understanding new interactions out of the home range. We characterized flower traits, emission profiles of constitutive compounds from flowers and leaves, micro-morphology of the glandular trichomes, and listed flower visitors of two Mexican bird-pollinated Salvia species (S. blepharophylla and S. greggii), growing in an Italian botanical garden. Flowers were highly variable in their morphometric characteristics. In both species, four trichome morphotypes with similar histochemistry and distribution were documented for leaves and flowers except the calyx abaxial side. The vegetative emission profiles were qualitatively more complex than the floral ones; however, common compounds occurring in high relative percentages were β-caryophyllene and germacrene D. Floral bouquets were dominated by limonene and β-pinene in S. greggii and by 1,8-cineole in S. blepharophylla. Two potential (non-bird) pollinators were especially abundant: small bees belonging to the genus Lasioglossum and large bees belonging to the species Xylocopa violacea. Our study highlights the plasticity of these plants, as well as tools that can be conveniently used to establish novel interactions

Morphological and biochemical effects on the skeletal muscle of ovariectomized old female rats submitted to the intake of diets with vegetable or animal protein and resistance training

Introduction. Sarcopenia is a process characterized by reduction in protein mass and muscle strength with increasing age, especially in the postmenopausal period, resulting in functional limitations and with great impact on the physical autonomy of the elderly. Objective. To evaluate the effects of diets with vegetable proteins (VP) or animal proteins (AP) associated with resistance training (RT) on the structural and biochemical parameters of the medial gastrocnemius muscle in Wistar rats with sarcopenia. Methods. An experimental model with ovariectomized rats was used to induce sarcopenia and resistance training. The histochemical technique was used for the typing of muscle fibers, the cross-sectional area of myocytes, and volume densities of myocytes and interstitiumthe technique of Picrosirius stain was used to highlight the collagen fibers. Results. The VP diet was not able to minimize the effects of sarcopenia in the medial gastrocnemius of sedentary animals and when associated with RT, it promoted maintenance of the CSA, attenuating the atrophy of type IIB fibers in the medial gastrocnemius. The AP diet in sedentary animals protected the type I fibers. When combined with RT, the AP promoted muscle remodeling, with reduction in volume density of type I and IIA fibers, and increase of IIB fibers, together with an increase in collagen volume density. Conclusion. The data suggest a tendency to better results of hypertrophy in animal groups that consumed the AP diet, even the sedentary animals, although more evident in those trained.Laboratory of Morphological and Immunohistochemical Studies, Universidade São Judas Tadeu, BrazilPostgraduate Program (Stricto Sensu), Ph.D. Course in Physical Education, Universidade São Judas Tadeu, BrazilBiological Sciences Department, Federal University of São Paulo, Diadema, SP, BrazilLaboratory of Clinical Analysis, ABC Medical School, Santo André, SP, BrazilBiological Sciences Department, Federal University of São Paulo, Diadema, SP, BrazilWeb of Scienc

Growth performance of the black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) on by-products from brewing production

Hermetia illucens (Diptera: Stratiomyidae), also known as the black soldier fly, is considered an interesting candidate as alternative source of protein for livestock. Larvae of this species are able to efficiently bio-convert organic waste material into insect biomass. In addition, larvae can consume twice of their weight per day of waste, accumulating high amounts of protein and fat. The choice of the correct rearing substrate is essential in order to contribute to the disposal of waste or by-products obtained from the various stages of the industrial food production, that could hardly find other utilization, and to maximize the production of black soldier fly prepupae. Moreover, it is important to identify a lowcost diet with no competition with animal or human consumption. Among numerous by-products of vegetal origin, in this study black soldier fly larvae were reared on the following substrates originating from the brewing production: brewer\u2019s spent grain, trub, and a mix of the two by-products (50 and 50%). The influence of the rearing substrates of the different life-history traits was observed. In particular, we considered the survivorship of the different developmental stages, the larval final weight, the duration of the larval period and the emergence of adults. Larvae could complete their development on the three substrates tested. Nevertheless, some differences were observed on the different parameters. In particular, the mixture of the two by-products resulted in a faster growth of the larvae that took less days to reach prepupal stage than the ones grown on the single by-product. The same trend was noticed on the final larval weight. The mortality of the larvae was significantly higher on those grown on brewer\u2019s spent grain, while no differences were noticed among the other substrates. This study showed the possibility to rear the black soldier fly on different byproducts coming from the brewing production industry, that can therefore represent an interesting rearing substrate for the insect. More research is needed to optimize the diet for a possible use in mass rearing system

Preclinical immunotherapy with Cytokine-Induced Killer lymphocytes against epithelial ovarian cancer

Despite improvements in surgery and medical treatments, epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) remains the most lethal gynaecological malignancy. Aim of this study is to investigate the preclinical immunotherapy activity of cytokine-induced killer lymphocytes (CIK) against epithelial ovarian cancers, focusing on platinum-resistant settings. We generated CIK ex vivo starting from human peripheral blood samples (PBMCs) collected from EOC patients. Their antitumor activity was tested in vitro and in vivo against platinum-resistant patient-derived ovarian cancer cells (pdOVCs) and a Patient Derived Xenograft (PDX), respectively. CIK were efficiently generated (48 fold median ex vivo expansion) from EOC patients; pdOVCs lines (n = 9) were successfully generated from metastatic ascites; the expression of CIK target molecules by pdOVC confirmed pre and post treatment in vitro with carboplatin. The results indicate that patient-derived CIK effectively killed autologous pdOVCs in vitro. Such intense activity was maintained against a subset of pdOVC that survived in vitro treatment with carboplatin. Moreover, CIK antitumor activity and tumor homing was confirmed in vivo within an EOC PDX model. Our preliminary data suggest that CIK are active in platinum resistant ovarian cancer models and should be therefore further investigated as a new therapeutic option in this extremely challenging setting

Flower selection of Xylocopa violacea: aromatic and ornamental plants as resources in a botanic garden

We assessed the interactions between aromatic and ornamentals plants and local pollinators in a botanic garden. We focused our attention on a frequent solitary bee, Xylocopa violacea, that thanks to its large size and its feeding preferences can visit many types of flowers. By conducting linear walking transects, we recorded all flower visits by bees, highlighting those of X. violacea. We analysed bee preferences in terms of plant family, plant origin or flower morphology. We also identified plant species that were visited by X. violacea together with other foraging bees. Results indicated that X. violacea selectively visits flowering plant species at the botanic garden, preferring Lamiaceae and bilabiate flower types on which legitimate or illegitimate visits can be performed. Other bee species do concurrently visit the same plants, and in the future studies on competition, resource exploitation and pollination success will be addressed

Inflammatory Aetiology of Human Myometrial Activation Tested Using Directed Graphs

There are three main hypotheses for the activation of the human uterus at labour: functional progesterone withdrawal, inflammatory stimulation, and oxytocin receptor activation. To test these alternatives we have taken information and data from the literature to develop causal pathway models for the activation of human myometrium. The data provided quantitative RT-PCR results on key genes from samples taken before and during labour. Principal component analysis showed that pre-labour samples form a homogenous group compared to those during labour. We therefore modelled the alternative causal pathways in non-labouring samples using directed graphs and statistically compared the likelihood of the different models using structural equations and D-separation approaches. Using the computer program LISREL, inflammatory activation as a primary event was highly consistent with the data (p = 0.925), progesterone withdrawal, as a primary event, is plausible (p = 0.499), yet comparatively unlikely, oxytocin receptor mediated initiation is less compatible with the data (p = 0.091). DGraph, a software program that creates directed graphs, produced similar results (p = 0.684, p = 0.280, and p = 0.04, respectively). This outcome supports an inflammatory aetiology for human labour. Our results demonstrate the value of directed graphs in determining the likelihood of causal relationships in biology in situations where experiments are not possible

CD44v6 as innovative sarcoma target for CAR-redirected CIK cells

Purpose of our study was to explore a new immunotherapy for high grade soft tissue sarcomas (STS) based on cytokine-induced killer cells (CIK) redirected with a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) against the tumor-promoting antigen CD44v6. We aimed at generating bipotential killers, combining the CAR specificity with the intrinsic tumor-killing ability of CIK cells (CAR+.CIK). We set a patient-derived experimental platform. CAR+.CIK were generated by transduction of CIK precursors with a lentiviral vector encoding for anti-CD44v6-CAR. CAR+.CIK were characterized and assessed in vitro against multiple histotypes of patient-derived STS. The anti-sarcoma activity of CAR+.CIK was confirmed in a STS xenograft model. CD44v6 was expressed by 40% (11/27) of patient-derived STS. CAR+.CIK were efficiently expanded from patients (n = 12) and killed multiple histotypes of STS (including autologous targets, n = 4). The killing activity was significantly higher compared with unmodified CIK, especially at low effector/target (E/T) ratios: 98% vs 82% (E/T = 10:1) and 68% vs 26% (1:4), (p<0.0001). Specificity of tumor killing was confirmed by blocking with anti-CD44v6 antibody. CAR+.CIK produced higher amounts of IL6 and IFN-γ compared to control CIK. CAR+.CIK were highly active in mice bearing subcutaneous STS xenografts, with significant delay of tumor growth (p<0.0001) without toxicities. We report first evidence of CAR+.CIK's activity against high grade STS and propose CD44v6 as an innovative target in this setting. CIK are a valuable platform for the translation of CAR-based strategies to challenging field of solid tumors. Our findings support the exploration of CAR+.CIK in clinical trials against high grade STS