Hybrid UCB banks in China – public storage as ethical biocapital

In China, under the heading of “private-for-public” banking, hybrid UCB banking has been politically supported by the government and is based on regulation developed since the 1990s. Although hybrid UCB banking was regarded as an “ethical” alternative to private UCB banking due to its accessibility to “the people”, this study, based on archival research and interviews with bankers, medical professionals, scientists and pregnant women contends that the practice of this ideal needs to be closely scrutinized. Analysing UCB bank networks in China in terms of “public biovalue” and “ethical biocapital”, we illustrate, first, how the synergy of public and private storage of UCB in hybrid models benefit private storage, and how transparency and oversight may increase donation and the uptake of UCB. Second, we describe the problems associated with this hybrid model. Finally, we show how the biovalue of public storage is used as ethical biocapital to buttress UCB networks

Occurrence of Alternaria leaf blight of sunflower caused by two closely related species Alternaria solani and A. tomatophila in Inner Mongolia

Sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) is an important oilseed crop in China and is grown in rotation with potato in the northern parts of China, including Inner Mongolia, Hebei, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Gansu, Jilin, Liaoning and Heilongjiang provinces. In 2014, diseased samples of sunflower (variety 3638C) with black sunken lesions on bracts and stems of sunflower were collected in Wuchuan, Hohhot (41°05′ N, 111°27′ E) and Chahaeryouyihouqi, Wulanchabu (41°52′ N, 113°0′ E), Inner Mongolia, China. We used morphological and molecular techniques to identify the causal agent of Alternaria leaf blight. Phylogenetic analysis based on a combined phylogenetic dataset using the glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (gpd) and Alternaria major allergen gene (Alt a1) was done to support the morphological identification. In addition, PCR was performed with specific primers targeted on Alt a1 and calmodulin genes of A. solani and A. tomatophila. The results showed that HaAs7 gave an amplicon of the expected size (164 bp) with A. solani-specific primers, however, no band was observed with the A. tomatophila-specific primers. The opposite pattern of PCR result (483 bp) was obtained with DNA of HaAt4 as template, indicating that HaAs7 is A. solani and HaAt4 is A. tomatophila. Furthermore, evaluation the pathogenicity of the recovered Alternaria isolates and their potential as causal agents of Alternaria leaf blight of sunflower was done. Pathogenicity tests showed that A. solani and A. tomatophila tested could be capable of causing Alternaria leaf blight of sunflower. Till now, nine species of Alternaria have been reported causing Alternaria leaf blight of sunflower, this is the first report that A. solani and A. tomatophila as causal pathogens for Alternaria leaf blight on sunflower

Feruloyl oligosaccharides, isolated from bacterial fermented wheat bran, exhibit antioxidant effects in IPEC-J2 cells and zebrafish model

Feruloyl oligosaccharides (FOs) were produced by solid-state fermentation of wheat bran using Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus licheniformis, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and its antioxidant activity was investigated using IPEC-J2 cells and zebrafish embryo model. Preliminary structure analysis revealed that FOs has an average molecular weight of 11.81 kDa and consists of mannose, ribose, rhamnose, glucuronic acid, galacturonic acid, glucose, galactose, xylose, arabinose, and fucose. The obtained FOs possess superior reducing power and DPPH and hydroxyl free radical scavenging activities. In IPEC-J2 cells, antioxidant enzymes activities and GSH level were significantly increased, while MDA level was reduced by FOs. Further studies showed that FOs achieved the aforementioned effects by activating Nrf2 signaling pathway. In zebrafish embryo, FOs effectively suppressed ROS production, lipid peroxidation, and cell death by increasing SOD and GSH-Px activities. Our findings suggested that FOs from solid-state fermented wheat bran with mixed bacteria can be used as an antioxidant food additive or drugs

Successful Ultrasound-Guided Methotrexate Intervention in the Treatment of Heterotopic Interstitial Pregnancy: A Case Report and Literature Review

Purpose: This study aims to share the experience of minimally invasive ultrasound-guided methotrexate intervention in the treatment of heterotopic interstitial pregnancy (HIP) with good pregnancy outcomes, and to review the treatment, pregnancy outcomes, and impact on the future fertility of HIP patients. Methods: The paper describes the medical history, clinical manifestations, treatment history, and clinical prognosis of a 31-year-old woman with HIP, and reviews cases of HIP from 1992 to 2021 published in the PubMed database. Results: The patient was diagnosed with HIP by transvaginal ultrasound (TVUS) at 8 weeks after assisted reproductive technology. The interstitial gestational sac was inactivated by ultrasound-guided methotrexate injection. The intrauterine pregnancy was successfully delivered at 38 weeks of gestation. Twenty-five HIP cases in 24 studies published on PubMed from 1992 to 2021 were reviewed. Combined with our case, there were 26 cases in total. According to these studies, 84.6% (22/26) of these cases were conceived by in vitro fertilization embryo transfer, 57.7% (15/26) had tubal disorders, and 23.1% (6/26) had a history of ectopic pregnancy; 53.8% (14/26) of the patients presented with abdominal pain and 19.2% (5/26) had vaginal bleeding. All cases were confirmed by TVUS. In total, 76.9% (20/26) of intrauterine pregnancies had a good prognosis (surgery vs. ultrasound interventional therapy 1:1). All fetuses were born without abnormalities. Conclusions: The diagnosis and treatment of HIP remain challenging. Diagnosis mainly relies on TVUS. Interventional ultrasound therapy and surgery are equally safe and effective. Early treatment of concomitant heterotopic pregnancy is associated with high survival of the intrauterine pregnancy

Functional Characterization of a (<i>E</i>)-β-Ocimene Synthase Gene Contributing to the Defense against <i>Spodoptera litura</i>

Soybean is a worldwide crop that offers valuable proteins, fatty acids, and phytonutrients to humans but is always damaged by insect pests or pathogens. Plants have captured sophisticated defense mechanisms in resisting the attack of insects and pathogens. How to protect soybean in an environment- or human-friendly way or how to develop plant-based pest control is a hotpot. Herbivore-induced plant volatiles that are released by multiple plant species have been assessed in multi-systems against various insects, of which (E)-β-ocimene has been reported to show anti-insect function in a variety of plants, including soybean. However, the responsible gene in soybean is unknown, and its mechanism of synthesis and anti-insect properties lacks comprehensive assessment. In this study, (E)-β-ocimene was confirmed to be induced by Spodoptera litura treatment. A plastidic localized monoterpene synthase gene, designated as GmOCS, was identified to be responsible for the biosynthesis of (E)-β-ocimene through genome-wide gene family screening and in vitro and in vivo assays. Results from transgenic soybean and tobacco confirmed that (E)-β-ocimene catalyzed by GmOCS had pivotal roles in repelling a S. litura attack. This study advances the understanding of (E)-β-ocimene synthesis and its function in crops, as well as provides a good candidate for further anti-insect soybean improvement

Amelioration of Hypothermia-Induced Damage on Peanut by Exogenous Application of Chitooligosaccharide

Low temperature is the most common abiotic stress factor in peanut cultivation. Chitooligosaccharide (COS) plays an important role in the low-temperature resistance in plants, however, the role of COS in regulating the cold tolerance in peanuts is not clear. This research investigated the effects of exogenous COS on peanut seedlings in response to low temperatures. The results showed that exogenous COS can significantly alleviate the cooling symptoms of seedlings by reducing the content of malondialdehyde (MDA) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) under simulated low-temperature conditions (8 °C). These reductions may be related to the elevation of superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), catalase (CAT) and polyphenoloxidase (PPO) activities and the increased contents of osmotic substances such as soluble sugars (SS), soluble protein (SP), proline (Pro), and total phenols (TP) compared with those in untreated seedlings. Meanwhile, the contents of chlorophyll a and b in a peanut leaf also increased, as well as the net photosynthetic rate (Pn), resulted in an increased plant height, a heavier fresh weight, and an increased dry weight. Notably, the treatment of 100 mg·L−1 COS had maximum gain effects compared with those of other treatments. In summary, this study revealed the usage of COS for chilling stress alleviation, and 100 mg L−1 foliar spraying is recommended

Personalized cancer vaccines from bacteria-derived outer membrane vesicles with antibody-mediated persistent uptake by dendritic cells

Nanocarriers with intrinsic immune adjuvant properties can activate the innate immune system while delivering tumor antigen, thus efficiently facilitating antitumor adaptive immunity. Bacteria-derived outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) are an excellent candidate due to their abundance of pathogen associated molecular patterns. However, during the uptake of OMVs by dendritic cells (DCs), the interaction between lipopolysaccharide and toll-like receptor 4 induces rapid DC maturation and uptake blockage, a phenomenon we refer to as “maturation-induced uptake obstruction” (MUO). Herein we decorated OMV with the DC-targeting αDEC205 antibody (OMV-DEC), which endowed the nanovaccine with an uptake mechanism termed as “not restricted to maturation via antibody modifying” (Normandy), thereby overcoming the MUO phenomenon. We also proved the applicability of this nanovaccine in identifying the human tumor neoantigens through rapid antigen display. In summary, this engineered OMV represents a powerful nanocarrier for personalized cancer vaccines, and this antibody modification strategy provides a reference to remodel the DC uptake pattern in nanocarrier design