A Genotyping Array for the Globally Invasive Vector Mosquito, Aedes albopictus

BACKGROUND: Although whole-genome sequencing (WGS) is the preferred genotyping method for most genomic analyses, limitations are often experienced when studying genomes characterized by a high percentage of repetitive elements, high linkage, and recombination deserts. The Asian tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus), for example, has a genome comprising up to 72% repetitive elements, and therefore we set out to develop a single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) chip to be more cost-effective. Aedes albopictus is an invasive species originating from Southeast Asia that has recently spread around the world and is a vector for many human diseases. Developing an accessible genotyping platform is essential in advancing biological control methods and understanding the population dynamics of this pest species, with significant implications for public health. METHODS: We designed a SNP chip for Ae. albopictus (Aealbo chip) based on approximately 2.7 million SNPs identified using WGS data from 819 worldwide samples. We validated the chip using laboratory single-pair crosses, comparing technical replicates, and comparing genotypes of samples genotyped by WGS and the SNP chip. We then used the chip for a population genomic analysis of 237 samples from 28 sites in the native range to evaluate its usefulness in describing patterns of genomic variation and tracing the origins of invasions. RESULTS: Probes on the Aealbo chip targeted 175,396 SNPs in coding and non-coding regions across all three chromosomes, with a density of 102 SNPs per 1 Mb window, and at least one SNP in each of the 17,461 protein-coding genes. Overall, 70% of the probes captured the genetic variation. Segregation analysis found that 98% of the SNPs followed expectations of single-copy Mendelian genes. Comparisons with WGS indicated that sites with genotype disagreements were mostly heterozygotes at loci with WGS read depth \u3c 20, while there was near complete agreement with WGS read depths \u3e 20, indicating that the chip more accurately detects heterozygotes than low-coverage WGS. Sample sizes did not affect the accuracy of the SNP chip genotype calls. Ancestry analyses identified four to five genetic clusters in the native range with various levels of admixture. CONCLUSIONS: The Aealbo chip is highly accurate, is concordant with genotypes from WGS with high sequence coverage, and may be more accurate than low-coverage WGS

Lymphangiogenesis Is Required for Pancreatic Islet Inflammation and Diabetes

Lymphangiogenesis is a common phenomenon observed during inflammation and engraftment of transplants, but its precise role in the immune response and underlying mechanisms of regulation remain poorly defined. Here we showed that in response to injury and autoimmunity, lymphangiogenesis occurred around islets and played a key role in the islet inflammation in mice. Vascular endothelial growth factors receptor 3 (VEGFR3) is specifically involved in lymphangiogenesis, and blockade of VEGFR3 potently inhibited lymphangiogenesis in both islets and the draining LN during multiple low-dose streptozotocin (MLDS) induced autoimmune insulitis, which resulted in less T cell infiltration, preservation of islets and prevention of the onset of diabetes. In addition to their well-known conduit function, lymphatic endothelial cells (LEC) also produced chemokines in response to inflammation. These LEC attracted two distinct CX3CR1hi and LYVE-1+ macrophage subsets to the inflamed islets and CX3CR1hi cells were influenced by LEC to differentiate into LYVE-1+ cells closely associated with lymphatic vessels. These observations indicate a linkage among lymphangiogenesis and myeloid cell inflammation during insulitis. Thus, inhibition of lymphangiogenesis holds potential for treating insulitis and autoimmune diabetes

Phytochemical analysis of Anvillea garcinii leaves: identification of garcinamines F-H and their antiproliferative activity

Anvillea garcinii is a medicinal plant used in the Arab region for intestinal diseases, lung and liver diseases, digestive problems, and as an antidiabetic agent. Repeated chromatographic purifications of A. garcinii leaves led to the isolation of three undescribed guaiane sesquiterpene derivatives, named garcinamines F–H, characterized by the presence of an amino acid unit, along with five known sesquiterpene lactones (garcinamines B–E and 9-hydroxyparthenolide). The structures of the new compounds were established using spectroscopic (1D and 2D NMR) and spectrometric methods (ESIMS). Garcinamine H possesses a double bond at the D1,10 position, a structural feature rarely reported in guaianolide-type sesquiterpenes. The antiproliferative activity of the isolated sesquiterpenes was screened against three different cancer cell lines, and 9-hydroxyparthenolide and garcinamines C and D displayed significant effects against lung carcinoma (A549), colon carcinoma (LoVo), and breast carcinoma (MCF7) cell lines

Euphocactoside, a New Megastigmane Glycoside from <i>Euphorbia cactus</i> Growing in Saudi Arabia

A phytochemical investigation of the aerial parts of Euphorbia cactus Ehrenb. ex Boiss. revealed a new megastigmane, euphocactoside (5), along with eleven known metabolites. Euphocactoside (5) is the 3-O-glucoside derivative of a polyhydroxylated megastigmane showing unprecedented structural features. The structure of euphocactoside, including stereochemical details, was elucidated by extensive spectroscopic analysis based on 1D and 2D nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and high-resolution mass spectrometry (HR-ESIMS). The isolated compounds were evaluated for their cytotoxic activity against three different human cancer cell lines, namely, A549 (lung), LoVo (colon), and MCF-7 (breast), using MTT assay, and moderate to marginal activities were observed for compounds 1–3, 8 and 9 against all three cell lines

A comprehensive physico-chemical characterization of superhydrophilic loose nanofiltration membranes

Nanofiltration (NF) membranes, especially loose NF membranes, trigger a growing interest for the fractionation of concentrated organic matters/salt mixtures in addition to the production of pure water. This study presents an in-depth characterization of two superhydrophilic loose NF membranes (Sepro NF 6 and 2A, Ultura). The physical characterization included the determination of the molecular weight cut-off (MWCO), pore size distribution, membrane morphology, surface charge, roughness and hydrophilicity. This was combined with a chemical characterization, i.e., by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), to determine the intrinsic membrane properties. The chemical characterization demonstrates that both Sepro NF membranes are poly(piperazineamide) based, showing the modification chemistry for the top layer through XPS measurement. Specifically, Sepro NF 6 and NF 2A membranes were found to have a superhydrophilic surface (contact angle for Sepro NF 6: 14.3±0.9°; that for Sepro NF 2A: 21.7±1.4°) with a low roughness, offering a potential advantage over conventional NF membranes in minimizing membrane fouling. Sepro NF 6 and NF 2A membranes had a mean effective pore size of 0.64±0.03 nm and 0.52±0.01 nm (corresponding to MWCOs of 862±80 Da and 493±53 Da), respectively. In terms of filtration performance, Sepro NF 6 showed a high permeability of 16.7 L m−2 h−1 bar−1 with 88.9% salt transmission for 0.01 mol L−1 NaCl solution, and a slightly lower permeability and salt transmission was obtained for Sepro NF 2A, which is desired for an effective fractionation of target organic matter/salt mixtures.publisher: Elsevier articletitle: A comprehensive physico-chemical characterization of superhydrophilic loose nanofiltration membranes journaltitle: Journal of Membrane Science articlelink: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.memsci.2015.11.044 content_type: article copyright: Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.status: publishe

Corruption, anti-corruption, and inter-county income disparity in China

The rapid economic growth in China has been connected with a large income gap across regions. While most existing research has focused on economic factors to explain the problem, we argue that local government's anti-corruption endeavors also play a very significant role in influencing local income levels. Recent research shows that corruption undermines economic growth and generates poverty, we therefore hypothesize that government anti-corruption measures should increase local income levels. Using county-level data and Ordinary Least Square (OLS) estimates, we find counties with higher degree of anti-corruption tend to have higher income measured by county-level per capita GDP. We also employ a recently developed Shapley value decomposition technique to quantify the contributions of each variable. We find that anti-corruption plays a large role in explaining inter-county income disparity in China. © 2011.link_to_subscribed_fulltex