Taxonomic review of the genus Stenotus Jakovlev (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Miridae) from the Korean Peninsula

AbstractA genus Stenotus Jakovlev (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Miridae) is reviewed taxonomically from the Korean Peninsula with a new record Stenotus binotatus (Fabricius 1794). Morphological information, such as descriptions of male and female genitalia, of the Korean species with photographs and illustrations, and a key to the Korean species are provided

Fatty acid status and antioxidant defense system in mothers and their newborns after salmon intake during late pregnancy.

The aim of the present study was to assess the maternal and newborn status of erythrocyte fatty acids and the antioxidant defense system after the intake of two portions of salmon per week during late pregnancy. Pregnant women (N = 123) were randomly assigned to continue their habitual diet, which was low in oily fish (control group, n = 61) or to consume two 150-g salmon portions per week (salmon group, n = 62) beginning at 20 wk of gestation and lasting until delivery. Fatty acids, selenium, and glutathione concentrations and antioxidant defense enzyme activities were measured in maternal erythrocytes at 20, 34, and 38 wk of pregnancy, and in cord erythrocytes collected at birth. Plasma concentrations of antioxidant molecules were measured. Compared with the control group, consuming salmon had little effect on erythrocyte fatty acids in either mothers or newborns. Components of the antioxidant defense system did not differ between groups. Glutathione peroxidase activity and the concentrations of tocopherols, retinol, and coenzyme Q10 were significantly lower in cord blood compared with maternal blood at week 38 in both groups. Maternal and newborn erythrocyte fatty acids are not strongly affected by the intake of two portions of salmon per week during the second half of pregnancy, although erythrocyte docosahexaenoic acid might be increased in newborns. Maternal and newborn antioxidant defense systems are not impaired by intake of salmon from 20 wk gestation

DXP levels in cells expressing wild type and mutant <i>aceE</i> and <i>ribB</i> genes.

<p><i>E.coli</i> cells defective in both DXS and DXR were transformed with pCRII-TOPO constructs with the indicated wild type or mutant genes or an empty vector control (Ø). Positive transformants were grown in triplicate for 5 h with MVA, and DXP levels were measured by LC-MS. Mean and standard deviation (n = 3) values are represented relative to the levels in Ø controls.</p

Ocurrence of identified mutations in EcAB4-2 cells.

<p>Ocurrence of identified mutations in EcAB4-2 cells.</p

Complementation of <i>E.coli</i> strains defective in DXS or DXR.

<p>Cells were transformed with pCRII-TOPO constructs and plated on LB medium containing chloramphenicol (for the disruption of chromosomal <i>dxs</i> or <i>dxr</i> genes), kanamycin (for the MVA operon) and ampicillin (for the introduced plasmid). The medium was supplemented (+) or not (−) with MVA as indicated. Plates were incubated at 37°C for 20 h. (A) Position of transformants harboring plasmids with the indicated wild type or mutant (asterisks) genes or an empty vector control (Ø). (B) EcAB4-2 (<i>dxs::CAT</i>) transformants. (C) EcAB4-10 (<i>dxr::CAT</i>) transformants.</p

Biosynthesis of isoprenoid precursors in <i>E. coli</i>.

<p>The indicated genes (in italics) encode enzymes that produce the first intermediates of the MEP pathway either originally (<i>dxs</i>, <i>dxr</i>) or by mutation as indicated by asterisks (<i>aceE</i>, <i>ribB</i>). The <i>E. coli</i> strains used in this work are engineered to synthesize isopentenyl diphosphate (IPP) and dimethylallyl diphosphate (DMAPP) from exogenously supplied mevalonic acid (MVA). GAP, D-glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate; DXP, 1-deoxy-D-xylulose 5-phosphate; MEP, 2-<i>C</i>-methyl-D-erythritol 4-phosphate.</p

Biosynthesis of isoprenoids in plants: Structure of the 2C-methyl-d-erithrytol 2,4-cyclodiphosphate synthase from Arabidopsis thaliana. Comparison with the bacterial enzymes

The X-ray crystal structure of the 2C-methyl-d-erythritol 2,4-cyclodiphosphate synthase (MCS) from Arabidopsis thaliana has been solved at 2.3 Å resolution in complex with a cytidine-5-monophosphate (CMP) molecule. This is the first structure determined of an MCS enzyme from a plant. Major differences between the A. thaliana and bacterial MCS structures are found in the large molecular cavity that forms between subunits and involve residues that are highly conserved among plants. In some bacterial enzymes, the corresponding cavity has been shown to be an isoprenoid diphosphate-like binding pocket, with a proposed feedback-regulatory role. Instead, in the structure from A. thaliana the cavity is unsuited for binding a diphosphate moiety, which suggests a different regulatory mechanism of MCS enzymes between bacteria and plants

Use of failure-to-rescue after emergency surgery as a dynamic indicator of hospital resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic. A multicenter retrospective propensity score-matched cohort study

10.1016/j.ijsu.2022.106890INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SURGERY106complete

Interspecies Chimerism with Mammalian Pluripotent Stem Cells

Interspecies blastocyst complementation enables organ-specific enrichment of xenogenic pluripotent stem cell (PSC) derivatives. Here, we establish a versatile blastocyst complementation platform based on CRISPR-Cas9-mediated zygote genome editing and show enrichment of rat PSC-derivatives in several tissues of gene-edited organogenesis-disabled mice. Besides gaining insights into species evolution, embryogenesis, and human disease, interspecies blastocyst complementation might allow human organ generation in animals whose organ size, anatomy, and physiology are closer to humans. To date, however, whether human PSCs (hPSCs) can contribute to chimera formation in non-rodent species remains unknown. We systematically evaluate the chimeric competency of several types of hPSCs using a more diversified clade of mammals, the ungulates. We find that naïve hPSCs robustly engraft in both pig and cattle pre-implantation blastocysts but show limited contribution to post-implantation pig embryos. Instead, an intermediate hPSC type exhibits higher degree of chimerism and is able to generate differentiated progenies in post-implantation pig embryos