A Comprehensive Assessment of the Effects of Bt Cotton on Coleomegilla maculata Demonstrates No Detrimental Effects by Cry1Ac and Cry2Ab

The ladybird beetle, Coleomegilla maculata (DeGeer), is a common and abundant predator in many cropping systems. Its larvae and adults are predaceous, feeding on aphids, thrips, lepidopteran larvae and plant tissues, such as pollen. Therefore, this species is exposed to insecticidal proteins expressed in insect-resistant, genetically engineered cotton expressing Cry proteins derived from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt). A tritrophic bioassay was conduced to evaluate the potential impact of Cry2Ab- and Cry1Ac-expressing cotton on fitness parameters of C. maculata using Bt-susceptible and -resistant larvae of Trichoplusia ni as prey. Coleomegilla maculata survival, development time, adult weight and fecundity were not different when they were fed with resistant T. ni larvae reared on either Bt or control cotton. To ensure that C. maculata were not sensitive to the tested Cry toxins independent from the plant background and to add certainty to the hazard assessment, C. maculata larvae were fed artificial diet incorporated with Cry2Ab, Cry1Ac or both at >10 times higher concentrations than in cotton tissue. Artificial diet containing E-64 was included as a positive control. No differences were detected in any life-table parameters between Cry protein-containing diet treatments and the control diet. In contrast, larvae of C. maculata fed the E-64 could not develop to the pupal stage and the 7-d larval weight was significantly negatively affected. In both feeding assays, the stability and bioactivity of Cry proteins in the food sources were confirmed by ELISA and sensitive-insect bioassays. Our results show that C. maculata is not affected by Bt cotton and is not sensitive to Cry2Ab and Cry1Ac at concentrations exceeding the levels in Bt cotton, thus demonstrating that Bt cotton will pose a negligible risk to C. maculata. More importantly, this study demonstrates a comprehensive system for assessing the risk of genetically modified plants on non-target organisms

Application of carbon nanoparticles combined with refined extracapsular anatomy in endoscopic thyroidectomy

ObjectiveTo evaluate the value of refined extracapsular anatomy combined with carbon nanoparticle suspension tracing technology for protecting parathyroid function and the thoroughness of lymph node dissection in the central region during endoscopic thyroid cancer surgery.Patients and methodsRetrospective clinical data analysis was performed on 108 patients who underwent endoscopic thyroid cancer surgery at the First Affiliated Hospital of Wannan Medical College (Yijishan Hospital) from November 2019 to November 2022. Before surgery, thyroid function tests, color Doppler ultrasounds and neck-enhanced CT scans were performed on all patients. Cytopathological diagnosis obtained via ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration served as confirmation for the primary diagnosis. It was determined whether to perform a total thyroidectomy or a hemithyroidectomy (HT) together with preventive unilateral (ipsilateral) central neck dissection. Follow-up times were 1 to 34 months.ResultsTransient neuromuscular symptoms were present in 3.70% (4/108) cases, with no permanent neuromuscular symptoms or permanent hypoparathyroidism. Regarding transient hypoparathyroidism, the patients recovered after three months and did not need long-term calcium supplementation. The number of harvested LNs (mean± SD) was 5.54 ± 3.84, with ≤5 in 57.41% (62/108) and >5 in 42.59% (46/108) cases. The number of patients with metastatic LNs was 37.96% (41/108), with ≤2 in 65.85% (27/41) and >2 in 34.15% (14/41) cases.ConclusionsFine extracapsular anatomy combined with carbon nanoparticle suspension tracing is effective in endoscopic thyroid cancer surgery. It can improve the thoroughness of prophylactic central neck dissection and recognition of the parathyroid gland and avoid parathyroid injury and other complications to effectively protect parathyroid function

A Study of the Problem Solving Behavior in Youth with Mental Retardation : In Comparison to Children without Mental Retardation on the Transformation Task

The present study was performed to evaluate the food safety of TT51-1, a new type of genetically modified rice that expresses the Cry1Ab/Ac protein (Bt toxin) and is highly resistant to most lepidopteran pests. Sixteen male and 16 female cynomolgus monkeys were randomly divided into four groups: conventional rice (non-genetically modified rice, non-GM rice), positive control, 17.5% genetically modified rice (GM rice) and 70% GM rice. Monkeys in the non-GM rice, positive control, and GM rice groups were fed on diets containing 70% non-GM rice, 17.5% GM rice or 70% GM rice, respectively, for 182 days, whereas animals in the positive group were intravenously injected with cyclophosphamide every other day for a total of four injections before the last treatment. Six months of treatment did not yield abnormal observations. Specifically, the following parameters did not significantly differ between the non-GM rice group and GM rice groups: body weight, food consumption, electrocardiogram, hematology, immuno-phenotyping of lymphocytes in the peripheral blood, mitogen-induced peripheral blood lymphocyte proliferation, splenocyte proliferation, KLH-T cell-dependent antibody response, organ weights and ratios, and histological appearance (p>0.05). Animals from the GM rice group differed from animals in the non-GM rice group (p<0.05) in several parameters: specifically, their body temperatures and serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels were higher, whereas their levels of serum K+, Cl- and cytokines (IL-2, IL-4 and IL-5) were lower. Because dose- or time-dependent changes were not observed in this study and animals appeared histologically normal, the aforementioned differences were not considered to be adverse or related to the treatment with GM rice. In conclusion, a 6-month feeding study of TT51-1 did not show adverse immunotoxicological effects on cynomolgus monkeys

Texts of Kolima dialect of Yukaghir

<p>Clinical chemistry data of monkeys fed on diets containing GM rice or non-GM rice.</p

T-Lymphocytes Enable Osteoblast Maturation via IL-17F during the Early Phase of Fracture Repair

While it is well known that the presence of lymphocytes and cytokines are important for fracture healing, the exact role of the various cytokines expressed by cells of the immune system on osteoblast biology remains unclear. To study the role of inflammatory cytokines in fracture repair, we studied tibial bone healing in wild-type and Rag1−/− mice. Histological analysis, µCT stereology, biomechanical testing, calcein staining and quantitative RNA gene expression studies were performed on healing tibial fractures. These data provide support for Rag1−/− mice as a model of impaired fracture healing compared to wild-type. Moreover, the pro-inflammatory cytokine, IL-17F, was found to be a key mediator in the cellular response of the immune system in osteogenesis. In vitro studies showed that IL-17F alone stimulated osteoblast maturation. We propose a model in which the Th17 subset of T-lymphocytes produces IL-17F to stimulate bone healing. This is a pivotal link in advancing our current understanding of the molecular and cellular basis of fracture healing, which in turn may aid in optimizing fracture management and in the treatment of impaired bone healing

Boosting with an aerosolized Ad5-nCoV elicited robust immune responses in inactivated COVID-19 vaccines recipients

IntroductionThe SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant has become the dominant SARS-CoV-2 variant and exhibits immune escape to current COVID-19 vaccines, the further boosting strategies are required.MethodsWe have conducted a non-randomized, open-label and parallel-controlled phase 4 trial to evaluate the magnitude and longevity of immune responses to booster vaccination with intramuscular adenovirus vectored vaccine (Ad5-nCoV), aerosolized Ad5-nCoV, a recombinant protein subunit vaccine (ZF2001) or homologous inactivated vaccine (CoronaVac) in those who received two doses of inactivated COVID-19 vaccines. ResultsThe aerosolized Ad5-nCoV induced the most robust and long-lasting neutralizing activity against Omicron variant and IFNg T-cell response among all the boosters, with a distinct mucosal immune response. SARS-CoV-2-specific mucosal IgA response was substantially generated in subjects boosted with the aerosolized Ad5-nCoV at day 14 post-vaccination. At month 6, participants boosted with the aerosolized Ad5-nCoV had remarkably higher median titer and seroconversion of the Omicron BA.4/5-specific neutralizing antibody than those who received other boosters. DiscussionOur findings suggest that aerosolized Ad5-nCoV may provide an efficient alternative in response to the spread of the Omicron BA.4/5 variant.Clinical trial registrationhttps://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.html?proj=152729, identifier ChiCTR2200057278

NOTES ON GRAPHS WITH LEAST EIGENVALUE AT LEAST −2

A new proof concerning the determinant of the adjacency matrix of the line graph of a tree is presented and an invariant for line graphs, introduced by Cvetković and Lepović, with least eigenvalue at least −2 is revisited and given a new equivalent definition [D. Cvetković and M. Lepović. Cospectral graphs with least eigenvalue at least −2. Publ. Inst. Math., Nouv. Sér., 78(92):51–63, 2005.]. Employing this invariant and other techniques, it is shown that the line graphs of double stars are determined by their adjacency spectra

“Storage-Discharge” Ethanol Cold Plasma for Synthesizing High Performance Pd/Al2O3 Catalysts

Atmospheric pressure cold plasma is an environmentally friendly and novel method to synthesize supported metal catalysts, which usually uses active hydrogen species to reduce metal ions. Ethanol is a hydrogen-rich renewable liquid hydrogen source, and it is more convenient to store and transport than H2. In this study, a &ldquo;storage-discharge&rdquo; ethanol cold plasma was used to prepare Pd/Al2O3-EP catalysts, and the obtained catalysts are used for CO oxidation. The complete oxidation of CO temperature (T100) over Pd/Al2O3-EP was 145 &deg;C, which was comparable to the performance of Pd/Al2O3-HP that was synthesized by atmospheric pressure hydrogen cold plasma. Pd/Al2O3-EP-C obtained by calcining Pd/Al2O3-EP at 450 &deg;C for 2 h in air atmosphere in order to remove residual carbon species showed much higher CO oxidation activity, and T100 was 130 &deg;C. The Pd/Al2O3 catalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron diffraction (XPS), Brunauer&ndash;Emmett&ndash;Teller (BET), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and the structure-performance relationship was analyzed. The results indicate that the &ldquo;storage-discharge&rdquo; ethanol cold plasma can reduce the Pd precursor ions into metallic Pd state, and the dissociation of ethanol forms lots of highly active chemisorbed oxygen species, which can enhance the performance of Pd/Al2O3-EP for CO oxidation. In contrast, Pd/Al2O3-EP-C shows much higher CO oxidation activity, which is mainly attributed to the removal of the residual carbon species, and the exposure of more Pd active sites and chemisorbed oxygen species. The &ldquo;storage-discharge&rdquo; ethanol cold plasma is a safe and efficient novel method for synthesizing supported Pd catalysts, and it has important potential for the preparation and application of supported metal catalysts

Antimicrobial Resistance and Molecular Epidemiology of ESBL-Producing Escherichia coli Isolated from Outpatients in Town Hospitals of Shandong Province, China

This study aimed to investigate antimicrobial resistance and molecular epidemiology of extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Escherichia coli (E. coli) isolated from outpatients in town hospitals of Shandong province, China. Antimicrobial susceptibility of ESBL-producing E. coli was tested using the disk diffusion and resistance genes encoding for β-lactamases (blaTEM, blaCTXM, and blaSHV) were detected by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Multilocus sequence typing (ST) of ESBL-producing E. coli was analyzed in this study. Our results showed that of 320 E. coli isolates, 201 carried ESBL genes (201/320, 62.8%), and these isolates all carried blaCTX-M genes, the most common being blaCTX-M-14 (116/201, 57.7%), followed by blaCTX-M-55 (47/201, 23.4%) and blaCTX-M-15 (31/201, 15.4%). ESBL-producing E. coli exhibited highly resistant to penicillin derivatives, fluoroquinolones, folate pathway inhibitors, and third-generation cephalosporins, but no carbapenem-resistant isolates were found in this study. Forty-two STs were found among the 201 ESBL-producing E. coli, and the most common ST was ST131 (27/201, 13.4%), followed by ST405 (19/201, 9.5%) and ST69 (15/201, 7.5%). Taken together, a high isolation rate of ESBL-producing E. coli (62.8%) was found among outpatients in town hospitals. blaCTX-M gene was most dominant and was composed of a variety of subtypes. No dominant ST was detected among ESBL-producing E. coli, indicating that these ESBL-producing E. coli isolates derive from different clones