Evaluation of Yeasts and Yeast Products in Larval and Adult Diets for the Oriental Fruit Fly, Bactrocera dorsalis, and Adult Diets for the Medfly, Ceratitis capitata, and the Melon Fly, Bactrocera curcurbitae

Several yeasts and yeast products were tested in adult diets for the medfly Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann), oriental fruit fly Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel), and melon fly, Bactrocera curcurbitae (Coquillett) (Diptera: Tephritidae) and in larval liquid diet for mass-rearing B. dorsalis. Three hydrolyzed brewer's yeasts (FNILS65, FNI200 and FNI210), one glutamine enriched yeast (GSH), one vitamin-enriched yeast (RDA500), Korea yeast, whole cell yeasts, and combinations of them were evaluated. Adult flies fed on a diet with FNI210FNI210 + GSH and RDA500 produced the highest number of eggs in all three tested fruit fly species. However, no significant difference was seen in egg hatch from flies fed on these diets with yeast in comparison to the control standard diet. When these yeasts were incorporated into a larval liquid diet with wheat germ oil, FNI200 and FNIL65 showed significantly higher pupal recovery than those from FNI210 and better adult flying and mating than those from Korea yeast. Glutamine enriched yeast enhanced fly performance, especially with FNI200 + GSH and FNILS65 + GSH, but not vitamin enriched yeast. Among the larvae reared with FNI200 + GSH, FNILS65 + GSH and torula yeast, those reared in FNILS65 + GSH diet with wheat germ oil developed the best. In order to select the most cost-effective yeast for liquid diet, FNILS65 + GSH and wheat germ oil was combined with whole cell yeast (LBI2240 series) and compared to the control diet (conventional mill feed diet currently used in the rearing facility). A ratio of 3:1 of LBI2240 and FNILS65 + wheat germ oil was selected as the most effective yeast for oriental fruit fly liquid larval diet based on cost and performance parameters

Concomitant t(8;21) and trisomy 4 in a patient with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML)

The t(8;21)(q22;q22) is a frequently occurring aberration in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) (18-20%) and usually correlate with French-America-British (FAB) M2 subtype. Several studies showed that patients carrying this abnormality demonstrated good response to standard chemotherapy but also have a high incidence of disease relapse. Trisomy 4 is a rare and specific chromosomal abnormality occurring in AML M2 or M4 of the FAB subtypes. We report a case of a 33-year-old female with an apparently clinical and hematologic diagnosis of acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) in whom cytogenetic analysis revealed an abnormal karyotype with trisomy 4, in addition to t(8;21). Trisomy 4 and t(8;21) in a patient with AML is rare. The significance of t(8;21) with trisomy 4 in AML are unclear but patients bearing this abnormality are associated with a poor prognosis

Hepatitis B virus with primary resistance to adefovir [11]

Correspondencepublished_or_final_versio

Risk Spillovers in Returns for Chinese and International Tourists to Taiwan

Fluctuations in the numbers of visitors directly affect the rates of return on tourism business activities. Therefore, maintaining a firm grasp of the relationship between the changes in the numbers of Chinese tourists and international travellers visiting Taiwan is conducive to the formulation of an effective and practical tourism strategy. Although the topic of international visitors to Taiwan is important, existing research has discussed the issue of the travel demand between Chinese tourists and international travellers visiting Taiwan. This paper is the first to examine the spillover effects between the rate of change in the numbers of Chinese tourist arrivals and the rate of change in the numbers of international traveller arrivals. Using daily data for Chinese tourists and international travellers visiting Taiwan over the period from 1 January 2014 to 31 October 2016, together with the Diagonal BEKK model, the paper analyses the co-volatility spillover effects between the rate of change in the numbers of international travellers and the rate of change in the numbers of Chinese tourists visiting Taiwan. The empirical results show that there is no dependency relationship between the rate of change in the numbers of Chinese tourists and the rate of change in the numbers of international travellers visiting Taiwan. However, there is a significant negative co-volatility spillover effect between the rate of change in the numbers of Chinese tourists and the rate of change in the numbers of international travellers. The empirical findings suggest that Taiwan should abandon its development strategy of focusing only on a single market, namely China, and to be pro-active in encouraging visits by international travellers to Taiwan for sightseeing purposes, thereby increasing the willingness of international travellers to visit Taiwan. Moreover, with the reduction in the numbers of Chinese tour groups visiting Taiwan, and increases in the numbers of individual travellers, the Taiwan Government should change its previous travel policies of mainly attracting Chinese tour group travellers and actively promoting in-depth tourism among international tourists, by developing tourism that focuses on the special characteristics of different localities. In this way, the government can enhance the quality of Taiwan’s tourism, and also attract travellers with high spending power

Effects of Ixeris Chinensis (Thunb.) Nakai boiling water extract on hepatitis B viral activity and hepatocellular carcinoma

Background: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection and hepatocellular carcinoma are major diseases that affect the Taiwanese population. Therefore, the development of an alternative herbal medicine that can effectively treat these diseases is a research target. In this study, we tested Ixeris Chinensis (Thunb.) Nakai boiling water extract (ICTN BWE) in vitro and analysed its effects on the HBV and liver cancer.Materials and Methods: We used a human liver cancer cell line (Hep3B, a cell line that continuously secretes HBV particles into a medium) as an experimental model for the screening of various ICTN BWE concentrations and their effects on the HBV in vitro.Results: Our results showed that 75 μg/mL ICTN BWE downregulated the relative expression of the hepatitis B virus surface antigens (HBsAg) to 77.1%. Using the human liver cancer cell lines HuH-7 and HepG2, and 3-(4,5- dimethylthiazol-zyl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) and tumour clonogenic assays, we then showed that ICTN BWE inhibits hepatocellular carcinoma growth.Conclusion: Fluorescent microscopy of DAPI(4',6-Diamidino-2-phenylindole)-stained nuclei and DNA fragmentation assays confirmed the inhibitory effects of ICTN BWE on liver tumour cell growth through induction of apoptosis.Keywords: herbal medicine, Ixeris Chinensis (Thunb.) Nakai, antihepatocellular carcinoma, apoptosis, antihepatitis B viru