Melittopalynology and Trophic niche analysis of Apis cerana and Apis mellifera in Yunnan Province of Southwest China

The present study reports results of qualitative melittopalynological analyses of 34 honey samples of Apis cerana and Apis mellifera between 2011 and 2012 in Mengzi (China Yunnan) and the trophic niche analysis of two bee species on pollen food resources. A diverse spectrum of 17 pollen types from 14 families was identified with the Asteraceae and Myrtaceae being most frequent at non-nectar flow and the Lythraceae being most frequent at main nectar flow of pomegranate. The results of trophic niche analysis to Apis cerana and Apis mellifera are these, at non-nectar flow, the Niche breadth are 0.65 and 0.57, respectively; at nectar flow, the values are 0.41 and 0.24, respectively. Trophic niche overlap index, the value of nectar flow(0.68) is greater than non-nectar flow(0.61). Interspecific competition index, the value of nectar flow(0.92) is also greater than non-nectar flow(0.77). These results may promote the development of local beekeeping and help scholars assessing the impact of introduced bees on native bees in China

Glucose and Pharmacological Modulators of ATP-Sensitive K+ Channels Control [Ca2+]c by Different Mechanisms in Isolated Mouse α-Cells

OBJECTIVE—We studied how glucose and ATP-sensitive K+ (KATP) channel modulators affect α-cell [Ca2+]c

Antibody dependent enhancement infection of Enterovirus 71 in vitro and in vivo

BACKGROUND: Human enterovirus 71 (EV71) has emerged as a significant cause of acute encephalitis and deaths in young children. The clinical manifestations caused by EV71 varied from mild hand, foot and mouth disease to severe neurological complications and deaths, but its pathogenesis remains elusive. Antibody dependent enhancement (ADE) infection has been reported in various viruses and has been shown to contribute to disease severity. RESULTS: In this study, the presence of sub-neutralizing antibody was demonstrated to enhance EV71 infection in THP-1 cells and increase the mortality of EV71 infection in a suckling mouse model. Further, a secondary infection model was established to characterize the correlation between ADE and disease severity, and primary asymptomatic EV71 infection was shown to increase the mortality of the secondary EV71 infection in suckling mice. CONCLUSIONS: Together, these in vitro and in vivo experiments strongly supported the hypothesis of ADE infection of EV71. The present findings indicate ADE might contribute to the pathogenesis of severe EV71 infection, and raise practical issues of vaccine development and antibody-based therapy

Effects of acid hydrolysis waste liquid recycle on preparation of microcrystalline cellulose

Large amounts of acidic waste are produced on the industrial scale during hydrolysis of partially amorphous cellulose to produce microcrystalline cellulose (MCC). The essential disposal and treatment of this highly acidic liquid wastes the acid feedstock and increases the production cost. To maximize the use of acid without sacrificing the MCC product quality, this project reports a successful attempt to recycle the acid hydrolysis waste liquid, focusing on the impact of waste recycling on MCC morphology and reducing sugar in the hydrolysate. The results showed that when the waste liquid is recycled 1-5 times, no metal accumulation occurred while cellulose particles remained intact, maintaining their shape and size. Their extent of crystallinity remained nearly constant, even increasing slightly with up to three cycles. The concentration of reducing sugar showed growth when recycling the waste liquid up to three times, although not quite to the levels that would allow for its cost-effective fermentation. The acid amount to be added at the start of each cycle was near 50% of that used on the first stage