Reduced Levels of Membrane-Bound Alkaline Phosphatase Are Common to Lepidopteran Strains Resistant to Cry Toxins from Bacillus thuringiensis

Development of insect resistance is one of the main concerns with the use of transgenic crops expressing Cry toxins from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis. Identification of biomarkers would assist in the development of sensitive DNA-based methods to monitor evolution of resistance to Bt toxins in natural populations. We report on the proteomic and genomic detection of reduced levels of midgut membrane-bound alkaline phosphatase (mALP) as a common feature in strains of Cry-resistant Heliothis virescens, Helicoverpa armigera and Spodoptera frugiperda when compared to susceptible larvae. Reduced levels of H. virescens mALP protein (HvmALP) were detected by two dimensional differential in-gel electrophoresis (2D-DIGE) analysis in Cry-resistant compared to susceptible larvae, further supported by alkaline phosphatase activity assays and Western blotting. Through quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) we demonstrate that the reduction in HvmALP protein levels in resistant larvae are the result of reduced transcript amounts. Similar reductions in ALP activity and mALP transcript levels were also detected for a Cry1Ac-resistant strain of H. armigera and field-derived strains of S. frugiperda resistant to Cry1Fa. Considering the unique resistance and cross-resistance phenotypes of the insect strains used in this work, our data suggest that reduced mALP expression should be targeted for development of effective biomarkers for resistance to Cry toxins in lepidopteran pests

<span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family: "Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family:HiddenHorzOCR;mso-ansi-language:EN-IN; mso-fareast-language:EN-IN;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA" lang="EN-IN">Synthesis of vinyl caffeate, an antioxidant from <i>Perilla frutescens </i>Britton var. <i>crispa </i>(Thunb.)</span>

1280-1281<span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family: " times="" new="" roman";mso-fareast-font-family:hiddenhorzocr;mso-ansi-language:en-in;="" mso-fareast-language:en-in;mso-bidi-language:ar-sa"="" lang="EN-IN">Mercuric acetate mediated trans vinylation has been used as a key step in the synthesis of vinyl caffeate 1. The title compound has been obtained from 3,4-dihydroxybenzaldehyde in four steps with an overall yield of 20%.</span

Antibacterial Activity of Nanostructured Polyaniline Combined With Mupirocin

Nanostructured and conducting polymer polyaniline (PANI) is used in numerous applications in electrotherapy, electro-magnetic materials for monitoring health, antimicrobial clothing, data transfer in smart textiles, biosensors and for defense technology. An important criterion for all the above mentioned utilities is, producing polymeric conductive fibers. In the present study we prepared conducting PANI nanofibres combined with mupirocin, a topical antimicrobial agent, through a self-assembly process. The prepared polymer was then tested for the antibacterial properties against various Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria such as Streptococcus pyogenes, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) were used to identify the chemical structure of the PANI nanofibres. The antibacterial properties were assessed by measuring the zones of inhibition. It was evident from these results that antimicrobial activity increased with increasing PANI and PANI combined with mupirocin (PANI-mupirocin) concentrations. It was also found that PANI-mupirocin has enhanced antimicrobial activity compared to PANI alone. This information might be useful to evaluate the potential use of nanostructured polyaniline in fabrics incorporated with antibacterial agents as a prophylactic use against bacterial skin infections in the near future

Correction to: Preclinical Evaluation and Dosimetry of [¹¹¹In] CHX-DTPA-scFv78-Fc Targeting Endosialin/Tumor Endothelial Marker 1 (TEM1).

In the original article, some numerical values in the following paragraph were reported incorrectly

Measuring Citizen Satisfaction with Aspects of Public Services from a Local Authority and Determining Their Importance: A Case Study

Service quality, Customer satisfaction, Public sector, Attribute importance,