Life table analysis of Diaphorina citri (Hemiptera: Psyllidae) infesting sweet orange (Citrus sinensis) in São Paulo

An ecological life table for eggs and nymphs of Diaphorina citri Kuwayama (Hemiptera: Psyllidae) was constructed with data obtained from orange orchards (Citrus sinensis Osbeck) in 2 regions of the State of São Paulo, over 4 generations in the period from XI-2006 to V-2007, comprising spring, summer, and fall seasons. Young growing shoots with D. citri eggs present were identifed, and live individuals were counted until adult emergence. No predatory arthropods were observed in association with D. citri eggs and nymphs during the study. The mean parasitism of fourth- and ffth-instar nymphs by Tamarixia radiata Waterston (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) was 2.3%. The durations of the egg–adult period were similar among the 4 generations, ranging from 18.0 to 24.7 d (at mean temperatures ranging from 21.6 to 26.0 °C) and followed the temperature requirement models obtained in the laboratory for D. citri. However, survival from the egg to the adult stage for the same period varied considerably from 1.7 to 21.4%; the highest mortalities were observed in the egg and small nymphal (frst- to thirdinstar) stages, which were considered to be key phases for population growth of the pest.Uma tabela de vida ecológica foi construída para ovos e ninfas de Diaphorina citri Kuwayama (Hemiptera: Psyllidae) com dados obtidos em pomares de laranja (Citrus sinensis Osbeck) em 2 regiões do estado de São Paulo, com 4 gerações, no período de novembro de 2006 a maio de 2007, compreendendo as estações de primavera, verão e outono. Ramos jovens em crescimento com a presença de ovos de D. citri foram identificados e os indivíduos vivos foram contados até a emergência dos adultos. Nenhum predador foi observado associado a ovos e ninfas de D. citri durante o estudo. A taxa média de parasitismo de ninfas de quarto e quinto ínstares por Tamarixia radiata Waterson (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) foi de 2.3%. A duração do período de ovo a adulto foi semelhante entre as quatro gerações, variando de 18.0 a 24.7 dias (com temperaturas médias de 21.6 a 26.0 °C) e seguiram os modelos de exigencias térmicas obtidas em laboratório para D. citri. Todavia, a sobrevivencia de ovo até o estágio adulto variou consideravelmente para o mesmo período, de 1.7 a 21.4%, sendo que as maiores mortalidades foram observadas nos estágios de ovos e ninfas pequenas (de primeiro a terceiro ínstares), as quais foram consideradas fases chaves para o crescimento populacional desta praga.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

CLIC1 regulates dendritic cell antigen processing and presentation by modulating phagosome acidification and proteolysis

© 2016, Company of Biologists Ltd. All rights reserved. Intracellular chloride channel protein 1 (CLIC1) participates in inflammatory processes by regulating macrophage phagosomal functions such as pH and proteolysis. Here, we sought to determine if CLIC1 can regulate adaptive immunity by actions on dendritic cells (DCs), the key professional antigen presenting cells. To do this, we first generated bone marrow-derived DCs (BMDCs) from germline CLIC1 gene-deleted (CLIC1-/-) and wild-type (CLIC1+/+) mice, then studied them in vitro and in vivo. We found phagocytosis triggered cytoplasmic CLIC1 translocation to the phagosomal membrane where it regulated phagosomal pH and proteolysis. Phagosomes from CLIC1-/- BMDCs displayed impaired acidification and proteolysis, which could be reproduced if CLIC1+/+, but not CLIC1-/- cells, were treated with IAA94, a CLIC family ion channel blocker. CLIC1-/- BMDC displayed reduced in vitro antigen processing and presentation of full-length myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG) and reduced MOG-induced experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis. These data suggest that CLIC1 regulates DC phagosomal pH to ensure optimal processing of antigen for presentation to antigen-specific T-cells. Further, they indicate that CLIC1 is a novel therapeutic target to help reduce the adaptive immune response in autoimmune diseases

Macrophage Inhibitory Cytokine 1 (MIC-1/GDF15) Decreases Food Intake, Body Weight and Improves Glucose Tolerance in Mice on Normal & Obesogenic Diets

Food intake and body weight are controlled by a variety of central and peripheral factors, but the exact mechanisms behind these processes are still not fully understood. Here we show that that macrophage inhibitory cytokine-1 (MIC-1/GDF15), known to have anorexigenic effects particularly in cancer, provides protection against the development of obesity. Both under a normal chow diet and an obesogenic diet, the transgenic overexpression of MIC-1/GDF15 in mice leads to decreased body weight and fat mass. This lean phenotype was associated with decreased spontaneous but not fasting-induced food intake, on a background of unaltered energy expenditure and reduced physical activity. Importantly, the overexpression of MIC-1/GDF15 improved glucose tolerance, both under normal and high fat-fed conditions. Altogether, this work shows that the molecule MIC-1/GDF15 might be beneficial for the treatment of obesity as well as perturbations in glucose homeostasis

Interior regularity criteria for suitable weak solutions of the Navier-Stokes equations

We present new interior regularity criteria for suitable weak solutions of the 3-D Navier-Stokes equations: a suitable weak solution is regular near an interior point $z$ if either the scaled $L^{p,q}_{x,t}$-norm of the velocity with $3/p+2/q\leq 2$, $1\leq q\leq \infty$, or the $L^{p,q}_{x,t}$-norm of the vorticity with $3/p+2/q\leq 3$, $1 \leq q < \infty$, or the $L^{p,q}_{x,t}$-norm of the gradient of the vorticity with $3/p+2/q\leq 4$, $1 \leq q$, $1 \leq p$, is sufficiently small near $z$

Nonexistence of self-similar singularities for the 3D incompressible Euler equations

We prove that there exists no self-similar finite time blowing up solution to the 3D incompressible Euler equations. By similar method we also show nonexistence of self-similar blowing up solutions to the divergence-free transport equation in $\Bbb R^n$. This result has direct applications to the density dependent Euler equations, the Boussinesq system, and the quasi-geostrophic equations, for which we also show nonexistence of self-similar blowing up solutions.Comment: This version refines the previous one by relaxing the condition of compact support for the vorticit

Retargeted adenoviruses for radiation-guided gene delivery

The combination of radiation with radiosensitizing gene delivery or oncolytic viruses promises to provide an advantage that could improve the therapeutic results for glioblastoma. X-rays can induce significant molecular changes in cancer cells. We isolated the GIRLRG peptide that binds to radiation-inducible 78 kDa glucose-regulated protein (GRP78), which is overexpressed on the plasma membranes of irradiated cancer cells and tumor-associated microvascular endothelial cells. The goal of our study was to improve tumor-specific adenovirus-mediated gene delivery by selectively targeting the adenovirus binding to this radiation-inducible protein. We employed an adenoviral fiber replacement approach to conduct a study of the targeting utility of GRP78-binding peptide. We have developed fiber-modified adenoviruses encoding the GRP78-binding peptide inserted into the fiber-fibritin. We have evaluated the reporter gene expression of fiber-modified adenoviruses in vitro using a panel of glioma cells and a human D54MG tumor xenograft model. The obtained results demonstrated that employment of the GRP78-binding peptide resulted in increased gene expression in irradiated tumors following infection with fiber-modified adenoviruses, compared with untreated tumor cells. These studies demonstrate the feasibility of adenoviral retargeting using the GRP78-binding peptide that selectively recognizes tumor cells responding to radiation treatment

A single residue substitution in the receptor-binding domain of H5N1 hemagglutinin is critical for packaging into pseudotyped lentiviral particles

© 2012 Tang et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.Background: Serological studies for influenza infection and vaccine response often involve microneutralization and hemagglutination inhibition assays to evaluate neutralizing antibodies against human and avian influenza viruses, including H5N1. We have previously characterized lentiviral particles pseudotyped with H5-HA (H5pp) and validated an H5pp-based assay as a safe alternative for high-throughput serological studies in BSL-2 facilities. Here we show that H5-HAs from different clades do not always give rise to efficient production of H5pp and the underlying mechanisms are addressed. Methodology/Findings: We have carried out mutational analysis to delineate the molecular determinants responsible for efficient packaging of HA from A/Cambodia/40808/2005 (H5Cam) and A/Anhui/1/2005 (H5Anh) into H5pp. Our results demonstrate that a single A134V mutation in the 130-loop of the receptor binding domain is sufficient to render H5Anh the ability to generate H5Anh-pp efficiently, whereas the reverse V134A mutation greatly hampers production of H5Cam-pp. Although protein expression in total cell lysates is similar for H5Anh and H5Cam, cell surface expression of H5Cam is detected at a significantly higher level than that of H5Anh. We further demonstrate by several independent lines of evidence that the behaviour of H5Anh can be explained by a stronger binding to sialic acid receptors implicating residue 134. Conclusions: We have identified a single A134V mutation as the molecular determinant in H5-HA for efficient incorporation into H5pp envelope and delineated the underlying mechanism. The reduced binding to sialic acid receptors as a result of the A134V mutation not only exerts a critical influence in pseudotyping efficiency of H5-HA, but has also an impact at the whole virus level. Because A134V substitution has been reported as a naturally occurring mutation in human host, our results may have implications for the understanding of human host adaptation of avian influenza H5N1 virusesThis work was supported by grants from the Research Fund for the Control of Infectious Diseases of Hong Kong (RFCID#08070972), the Area of Excellence Scheme of the University Grants Committee (grant AoE/M-12/-06 of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China), the French Ministry of Health, and the RESPARI project of the Institut Pasteur International Network

Serotonin and corticosterone rhythms in mice exposed to cigarette smoke and in patients with COPD:implication for COPD-associated neuropathogenesis

The circadian timing system controls daily rhythms of physiology and behavior, and disruption of clock function can trigger stressful life events. Daily exposure to cigarette smoke (CS) can lead to alteration in diverse biological and physiological processes. Smoking is associated with mood disorders, including depression and anxiety. Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) have abnormal circadian rhythms, reflected by daily changes in respiratory symptoms and lung function. Corticosterone (CORT) is an adrenal steroid that plays a considerable role in stress and anti-inflammatory responses. Serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine; 5HT) is a neurohormone, which plays a role in sleep/wake regulation and affective disorders. Secretion of stress hormones (CORT and 5HT) is under the control of the circadian clock in the suprachiasmatic nucleus. Since smoking is a contributing factor in the development of COPD, we hypothesize that CS can affect circadian rhythms of CORT and 5HT secretion leading to sleep and mood disorders in smokers and patients with COPD. We measured the daily rhythms of plasma CORT and 5HT in mice following acute (3 d), sub-chronic (10 d) or chronic (6 mo) CS exposure and in plasma from non-smokers, smokers and patients with COPD. Acute and chronic CS exposure affected both the timing (peak phase) and amplitude of the daily rhythm of plasma CORT and 5HT in mice. Acute CS appeared to have subtle time-dependent effects on CORT levels but more pronounced effects on 5HT. As compared with CORT, plasma 5HT was slightly elevated in smokers but was reduced in patients with COPD. Thus, the effects of CS on plasma 5HT were consistent between mice and patients with COPD. Together, these data reveal a significant impact of CS exposure on rhythms of stress hormone secretion and subsequent detrimental effects on cognitive function, depression-like behavior, mood/anxiety and sleep quality in smokers and patients with COPD

TGF-b Superfamily Cytokine MIC-1/GDF15 Is a Physiological Appetite and Body Weight Regulator

The TGF-b superfamily cytokine MIC-1/GDF15 circulates in all humans and when overproduced in cancer leads to anorexia/cachexia, by direct action on brain feeding centres. In these studies we have examined the role of physiologically relevant levels of MIC-1/GDF15 in the regulation of appetite, body weight and basal metabolic rate. MIC-1/GDF15 gene knockout mice (MIC-1−/−) weighed more and had increased adiposity, which was associated with increased spontaneous food intake. Female MIC-1−/− mice exhibited some additional alterations in reduced basal energy expenditure and physical activity, possibly owing to the associated decrease in total lean mass. Further, infusion of human recombinant MIC-1/GDF15 sufficient to raise serum levels in MIC-1−/− mice to within the normal human range reduced body weight and food intake. Taken together, our findings suggest that MIC-1/GDF15 is involved in the physiological regulation of appetite and energy storage

Thermodynamic curvature and black holes

I give a relatively broad survey of thermodynamic curvature $R$, one spanning results in fluids and solids, spin systems, and black hole thermodynamics. $R$ results from the thermodynamic information metric giving thermodynamic fluctuations. $R$ has a unique status in thermodynamics as being a geometric invariant, the same for any given thermodynamic state. In fluid and solid systems, the sign of $R$ indicates the character of microscopic interactions, repulsive or attractive. $|R|$ gives the average size of organized mesoscopic fluctuating structures. The broad generality of thermodynamic principles might lead one to believe the same for black hole thermodynamics. This paper explores this issue with a systematic tabulation of results in a number of cases.Comment: 27 pages, 10 figures, 7 tables, 78 references. Talk presented at the conference Breaking of Supersymmetry and Ultraviolet Divergences in extended Supergravity, in Frascati, Italy, March 27, 2013. v2 corrects some small problem