Ligand-binding properties of XaffOBP9, a Minus-C odorant-binding protein from Xyleborus affinis (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae)

Xyleborus affinis, one of the most important pests of rubber trees, has caused severe damage to the natural rubber industry in Hainan province. The ability to detect host plants through a sensitive and specific olfactory system is crucial for Xyleborus affinis. Odorant binding proteins (OBPs) are believed to bind and carry hydrophobic active compounds from the environment to the surface of olfactory receptor neurons. To investigate the potential functional role of the highly expressed XaffOBP9 in binding with semiochemicals, we cloned and analyzed the cDNA sequence of XaffOBP9. The results showed that XaffOBP9 contains a 411bp open reading frame that encodes 136 amino acids. Then XaffOBP9 was expressed in Escherichia coli. The binding affinity of the recombinant OBP to 15 different ligands (14 host plant volatiles and 1 aggregation pheromone) was then examined using a fluorescence competitive binding approach. The results demonstrated that XaffOBP9 exhibited broad binding capabilities and strong affinities for 14 ligands. The structure of XaffOBP9 and its interactions with fourteen ligands were further analyzed by modeling and molecular docking, respectively. Based on the docking result, we found hydrophobic interactions are important between XaffOBP9 to these ligands and three amino acid residues (L71, Y106, and L114) were highly overlapped and contributed to the interaction with ligands. Mutation functional assays confirmed that the mutant L114A showed significantly reduced binding capacity to these ligands. This study suggested that XaffOBP9 may be involved in the chemoreception of semiochemicals and that it is helpful for the integrated management of X. affinis

Triggers of acute attacks of gout, does age of gout onset matter?: a primary care based cross-sectional study

Objectives To determine the proportion of people with gout who self-report triggers of acute attacks; identify the commonly reported triggers, and examine the disease and demographic features associated with self-reporting any trigger(s) of acute attacks of gout. Methods Individuals with gout were asked to fill a questionnaire enquiring about triggers that precipitated their acute gout attacks. Binary logistic regression was used to compute odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) to examine the association between having ≥1 self-reported trigger of acute gout and disease and demographic risk factors and to adjust for covariates. All statistical analyses were performed using STATA. Results 550 participants returned completed questionnaires. 206 (37.5%) reported at least one trigger of acute attacks, and less than 5% reported >2 triggers. Only 28.73% participants reported that their most recent gout attack was triggered by dietary or lifestyle risk factors. The most frequently self-reported triggers were alcohol intake (14.18%), red-meat or sea-food consumption (6%), dehydration (4.91%), injury or excess activity (4.91%), and excessively warm or cold weather (4.36% and 5.45%). Patients who had onset of gout before the age of 50 years were significantly more likely to identify a trigger for precipitating their acute gout attacks (aOR (95%CI) 1.73 (1.12–2.68) after adjusting for covariates. Conclusion Most people with gout do not identify any triggers for acute attacks, and identifiable triggers are more common in those with young onset gout. Less than 20% people self-reported acute gout attacks from conventionally accepted triggers of gout e.g. alcohol, red-meat intake, while c.5% reported novel triggers such as dehydration, injury or physical activity, and weather extremes

Clonal evolution in liver cancer at single-cell and single-variant resolution.

Genetic heterogeneity of tumor is closely related to its clonal evolution, phenotypic diversity and treatment resistance, and such heterogeneity has only been characterized at single-cell sub-chromosomal scale in liver cancer. Here we reconstructed the single-variant resolution clonal evolution in human liver cancer based on single-cell mutational profiles. The results indicated that key genetic events occurred early during tumorigenesis, and an early metastasis followed by independent evolution was observed in primary liver tumor and intrahepatic metastatic portal vein tumor thrombus. By parallel single-cell RNA-Seq, the transcriptomic phenotype of HCC was found to be related with genetic heterogeneity. For the first time we reconstructed the single-cell and single-variant clonal evolution in human liver cancer, and dissection of both genetic and phenotypic heterogeneity will facilitate better understanding of their relationship

Near-Field Electrospray Microprinting Of Polymer-Derived Ceramics

Ceramic microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) sensors are potentially game-changing devices in many applications in high-temperature and corrosive environments, where the use of conventional MEMS materials such as silicon is prohibited. However, the microfabrication of ceramic MEMS devices remains a major technical challenge. Here, we report a method to directly print micro ceramic patterns using near-field electrospray (ES) of polymer-derived ceramics (PDCs). We demonstrated that the viscous ceramic precursor liquids can be printed reliably without any clogging problem. The spray self-expansion due to Coulombic repulsion force among charged droplets can be suppressed by decreasing the droplet residence time in space. A spray expansion model is used to predict the line width, and the results are in decent agreement with the experiments. We demonstrated a 1-D printed polymer feature as narrow as 35 μm and a micro pentagram pattern. Moreover, after the pyrolysis of PDC at 1100 × in nitrogen, amorphous alloys of silicon, carbon, and nitrogen (SiCN) are obtained. The samples show good integrity and adhesion to the substrate. The near-field ES PDC printing can become a useful addition to the toolbox of high-temperature MEMS.[2012-0249] © 2012 IEEE

Hemocoagulase might not control but worsen gastrointestinal bleeding in an elderly patient with type II respiratory failure

Hemocoagulase has been successfully used for the management of bleeding in patients undergoing surgery. Local spray of hemocoagulase during endoscopic therapy may be effective for the management of gastrointestinal bleeding. In China, intravenous infusion of hemocoagulase is given by some physicians for the treatment of gastrointestinal bleeding. However, the potential adverse events secondary to hemocoagulase, such as hypofibrinogenemia, are poorly recognized. In this paper, we reported an elderly patient with type II respiratory failure in whom hemocoagulase might induce hypofibrinogenemia and further worsen gastrointestinal bleeding. We highlighted that fibrinogen levels should be cautiously monitored in patients receiving hemocoagulase

Design, fabrication and testing of achromatic elliptical polarizer

A method of designing achromatic elliptical polarizers using a combination of multiple birefringent waveplates is demonstrated. This approach has a simple geometric interpretation and simplifies the problem of designing an achromatic elliptical polarizer to find overlapping arcs on the Poincare sphere. The technique is applied to the design of achromatic elliptical polarizers for a broadband division-of-focal-plane full-Stokes imaging polarimeter for visible wavelength band (lambda = 450nm to 650nm). An achromatic elliptical polarizer sample with a two-layer retarder is fabricated using liquid crystal polymer. The performance of the polarizer sample is measured and compared with the theoretical calculation. For comparison, a superachromatic polarizer design (lambda = 400nm to 1 mu m) is also presented by using three-layer and four-layer retarder configurations. (C) 2017 Optical Society of AmericaArizona Technology Research Infrastructure Fund (TRIF); National Science Foundation (NSF) [1607358]Open Access Journal.This item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at [email protected]