EFFECTS OF DIET AND ABIOTIC CONDITIONS ON MALE SEX PHERMONE CONTENT, AND THE IMPORTANCE OF MALE PHEROMONES IN MALE MATING SUCCESS IN THE TRUE ARMYWORM, PSEUDALETIA UNIPUNCTA

Males of the true armyworm, Pseudaletia unipuncta, release sex pheromones from bilateral hairpencils, so fluctuating asymmetry (FA) of the pheromone source and concentration may be important in female choice. A survey of the field caught true armyworm males showed high inter-male variability in both concentration and FA from July 12toAugust5.1alsoquantifiedpheromonesofmalesfedonartificialdietorcom leaves during larval development when reared under controlled laboratory and fluctuating field conditions. Again I found that both larval diet and abiotic conditions could influence both pheromone concentration and FA. Newly-emerged males reared under field condition had more pheromones and were more symmetrical than ones reared under controlled laboratory conditions on both larval diets. However, these differences were not significant by day six. I also tested the hypothesis that male pheromone was important for male mating success in a series of experiments, where the quantity/quality of larval or adult food resources varied. Female preferred males with higher pheromone content and lower FA when there had been some level of dietary stress, but not when individuals had been provided ample diet as larvae and adults

Systematic identification of genes involved in divergent skeletal muscle growth rates of broiler and layer chickens

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The genetic closeness and divergent muscle growth rates of broilers and layers make them great models for myogenesis study. In order to discover the molecular mechanisms determining the divergent muscle growth rates and muscle mass control in different chicken lines, we systematically identified differentially expressed genes between broiler and layer skeletal muscle cells during different developmental stages by microarray hybridization experiment.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Taken together, 543 differentially expressed genes were identified between broilers and layers across different developmental stages. We found that differential regulation of slow-type muscle gene expression, satellite cell proliferation and differentiation, protein degradation rate and genes in some metabolic pathways could give great contributions to the divergent muscle growth rates of the two chicken lines. Interestingly, the expression profiles of a few differentially expressed genes were positively or negatively correlated with the growth rates of broilers and layers, indicating that those genes may function in regulating muscle growth during development.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The multiple muscle cell growth regulatory processes identified by our study implied that complicated molecular networks involved in the regulation of chicken muscle growth. These findings will not only offer genetic information for identifying candidate genes for chicken breeding, but also provide new clues for deciphering mechanisms underlining muscle development in vertebrates.</p

Bis[3,5-difluoro-2-(2-pyrid­yl)phen­yl](picolinato)iridium(III)

The Ir centre in the title complex, [Ir(C11H6F2N)2(C6H4NO2)], is six-coordinated in a slightly distorted octa­hedral IrC2N3O fashion

2-Ferrocenyl-3-meth­oxy-6-methyl­pyridine

In the title compound, [Fe(C5H5)(C12H12NO)], the dihedral angle between the pyridyl and substituted cyclo­penta­dienyl rings is 23.58 (3)°. The crystal structure is characterized by weak inter­molecular C—H⋯N hydrogen-bonding contacts, leading to the formation of chains running parallel to the n-glide planes. A weak inter­molecular C—H⋯π contact is also present

Europium-doped amorphous calcium phosphate porous nanospheres: preparation and application as luminescent drug carriers

Calcium phosphate is the most important inorganic constituent of biological tissues, and synthetic calcium phosphate has been widely used as biomaterials. In this study, a facile method has been developed for the fabrication of amorphous calcium phosphate (ACP)/polylactide-block-monomethoxy(polyethyleneglycol) hybrid nanoparticles and ACP porous nanospheres. Europium-doping is performed to enable photoluminescence (PL) function of ACP porous nanospheres. A high specific surface area of the europium-doped ACP (Eu3+:ACP) porous nanospheres is achieved (126.7 m2/g). PL properties of Eu3+:ACP porous nanospheres are investigated, and the most intense peak at 612 nm is observed at 5 mol% Eu3+ doping. In vitro cytotoxicity experiments indicate that the as-prepared Eu3+:ACP porous nanospheres are biocompatible. In vitro drug release experiments indicate that the ibuprofen-loaded Eu3+:ACP porous nanospheres show a slow and sustained drug release in simulated body fluid. We have found that the cumulative amount of released drug has a linear relationship with the natural logarithm of release time (ln(t)). The Eu3+:ACP porous nanospheres are bioactive, and can transform to hydroxyapatite during drug release. The PL properties of drug-loaded nanocarriers before and after drug release are also investigated

Therapeutic effects of Jiaotai pill on rat insomnia via regulation of GABA signal pathway

Purpose: To investigate the therapeutic effects of Jiaotai pill (JTP) on rats with insomnia induced by pchlorophenylalanine (PCPA).Methods: Rats with PCPA-induced insomnia were divided into 5 groups (n = 10), made up of control group, positive treatment group (estazolam 0.1 mg/kg), and 3 JTP treatment groups (0.6, 1.2 and 2.4 g/kg). Another group of 10 rats were treated as normal group. Rats in normal and control groups were treated with normal saline (10 mL/kg). After 14 days of drug treatment, the rats were injected intraperitoneally with sodium pentobarbital (45 mg/kg) and thereafter, latent period and sleeping time were recorded, while contents of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and glutamic acid (Glu) in hypothalamus were determined by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Furthermore, the expressions of glutamate decarboxylase 65 (GAD-65), glutamate decarboxylase 67 (GAD-67), GABAaminotransferase (GABA)-T, anti-GABA transporter 1 (GAT)-1, anti-GABA transporter (GAT)-3, and GABA receptors (GABA-A and GABA-B) in the hypothalamus were analyzed by western blotting assay.Results: The results showed that JTP (0.6, 1.2 and 2.4 g/kg) significantly shortened latent period and prolonged sleeping time (p &lt; 0.01). JTP also increased GABA level (p &lt; 0.01), but decreased Glu contents of the rat hypothalamus (p &lt; 0.01). Western blotting data indicate that JTP significantly upregulated the levels of GAD-65 (p &lt; 0.01), GAD-67 (p &lt; 0.05), GAT-1 (p &lt; 0.01), GAT-3 (p &lt; 0.01), GABA-A (p &lt; 0.01) and GABA-B (p &lt; 0.01), while the level of GABA-T was down-regulated.Conclusion: The results demonstrate that JTP possesses significant sedative effects on insomnia in rats, most probably through a mechanism involving GABA signal pathway.Keywords: Jiaotai pill, Insomnia, GABA, Glutamate, Estazolam, GABA signal pathwa

Polymorphism in exon 1 of adiponectin gene and its association with water holding capacity, IMF and abdominal fat in duck

The objective of the present study was to investigate the effect of polymorphism in adiponectin gene on meat quality traits, serum total cholesterol, serum triglyceride and abdominal fat of 170 individuals from Cherry Valley duck (CV), Jinding duck (JD) and Hybrid duck (CV × JD) (HB) populations. PCR-SSCP technique was developed to analyze a 230 bp region of the adiponectin gene exon 1. Three genotypes (CC, CD and DD), which were the products of two alleles (C and D) were observed. Alignment sequences’ results showed that four SNPs (C86T, C104T, C146T and C155T) were found and all of those nucleotide variations were nonsense mutations. Association analysis indicated that all of these traits had significant population effects except meat colour (P &lt; 0.05) and then the birds with homozygote (CC) had significant lower than homozygotes (DD) for IMF, water holding capacity and abdominal fat (P &lt; 0.05). The research suggested that genotype DD may be an advantage genotype for fat deposition in duck. The adiponectin gene exon 1 polymorphism could be used in marker assistant selection (MAS) as a genetic marker for the birds’ fat deposition.Key words: Duck, adiponectin gene, polymorphism, meat quality, fatness