Genetic variability and structure of populations of Homoeosoma nebulella (Denis et Schiffermüller) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) in northern China

In recent years, there have been significant outbreaks of the European sunflower moth (ESM) Homoeosoma nebulella in northern China, causing enormous agricultural losses to local farmers. Although some control measures have been investigated, there is limited knowledge about genetic structure among ESM populations which may be related to pest outbreak. In this study, we analyzed the genetic variation and genetic structure of ESM. Our results showed that genetic differentiation was low among populations (2.73%), while it was high within individuals (60.73%), and among individuals within populations (32.59%). Dendograms based on Fst and genetic distance revealed that populations from Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region were first clustered and subsequently grouped with populations from Heilongjiang province. The outbreaks of ESM in Inner Mongolia may be caused by dispersal of ESM from Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region

Neuroprotective effects of lomerizine on retinal ganglion cells in the diet-induced obese C57BL/6J mice

AIM: To research the neuroprotective effects of lomerizine(LOM)on retinal ganglion cells(RGCs)in the diet-induced obese C57BL/6J mice. <p>METHODS: Fifty-four mice were randomly divided into two groups which were fed a high-fat diet for 19wk. One group mice were lavaged LOM by the dosage of 80mg/kg daily at the same time. The obese mice were selected and divided into diet-induced obesity(DIO)group, diet-induced obesity and lomerizine(DIO+LOM)group. The mice in the control(CON)group were fed a basal diet. The ultrastructural changes of RGCs were detected by transmission electron microscope. The cellular apoptosis was detected by TUNEL. The laser scanning confocal microscope was used to measure intracellular calcium ion concentration. <p>RESULTS: Compared with the CON group, the RGCs in DIO group showed smaller and condensation of nuclear chromatin and increased electron density of the cytoplasm, whereas the changes in DIO+LOM mice were obviously diminished. TUNEL staining showed that the number of apoptosis cells in the ganglion cell layer(GCL)increased in DIO group and the percentage of apoptotic cells was much higher than that in the CON groups(<i>P</i><0.01). The DIO+LOM group mice showed fewer apoptosis cells and the percentage of apoptotic cells in this group were significantly decreased than the DIO mice(<i>P</i><0.05). The Laser scanning confocal microscope detection showed Ca²⁺ staining intensity of RGCs in DIO group increased and its staining intensity ratio was significantly higher than in CON group(<i>P</i><0.01), the Ca²⁺ staining intensity and its staining intensity ratio in DIO+LOM group were significantly decreased than the DIO group(<i>P</i><0.01). <p>CONCLUSION: Lomerizine has neuroprotective effects on damage of retinal ganglion cells in diet-induced obesity mice, which may be related to the attenuation of intracellular Ca²⁺ overload

Standard metabolic rate predicts growth trajectory of juvenile Chinese crucian carp (Carassius auratus) under changing food availability

Phenotypic traits vary greatly within populations and can have a significant influence on aspects of performance. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of individual variation in standard metabolic rate (SMR) on growth rate and tolerance to food-deprivation in juvenile crucian carp (Carassius auratus) under varying levels of food availability. To address this issue, 19 high and 16 low SMR (individuals were randomly assigned to a satiation diet for 3 weeks, whereas another 20 high and 16 low SMR individuals were assigned to a restricted diet (approximately 50% of satiation) for the same period. Then, all fish were completely food-deprived for another 3 weeks. High SMR individuals showed a higher growth rate when fed to satiation, but this advantage of SMR did not exist in food-restricted fish. This result was related to improved feeding efficiency with decreased food intake in low SMR individuals, due to their low food processing capacity and maintenance costs. High SMR individuals experienced more mass loss during food-deprivation as compared to low SMR individuals. Our results here illustrate context-dependent costs and benefits of intraspecific variation in SMR whereby high SMR individuals show increased growth performance under high food availability but had a cost under stressful environments (i.e., food shortage)

Two NHX-type transporters from Helianthus tuberosus improve the tolerance of rice to salinity and nutrient deficiency stress.

The NHX-type cation/H+ transporters in plants have been shown to mediate Na+ (K+ )/H+ exchange for salinity tolerance and K+ homoeostasis. In this study, we identified and characterized two NHX homologues, HtNHX1 and HtNHX2 from an infertile and salinity tolerant species Helianthus tuberosus (cv. Nanyu No. 1). HtNHX1 and HtNHX2 share identical 5'- and 3'-UTR and coding regions, except for a 342-bp segment encoding 114 amino acids (L272 to Q385 ) which is absent in HtNHX2. Both hydroponics and soil culture experiments showed that the expression of HtNHX1 or HtNHX2 improved the rice tolerance to salinity. Expression of HtNHX2, but not HtNHX1, increased rice grain yield, harvest index, total nutrient uptake under K+ -limited salt-stress or general nutrient deficiency conditions. The results provide a novel insight into NHX function in plant mineral nutrition

Neurochemical characterization of pERK-expressing spinal neurons in histamine-induced itch

Date of Acceptance: 08/07/2015 Acknowledgements This work was supported by grants from the Ministry of Science and Technology of China (2012CB966904, 2011CB51005), National Natural Science Foundation of China (31271182, 81200692, 91232724, 81200933, 81101026), Shanghai Natural Science Foundation (12ZR1434300), Key Specialty Construction Project of Pudong Health Bureau of Shanghai (PWZz2013-17), Shenzhen Key Laboratory for Molecular Biology of Neural Development (ZDSY20120617112838879), Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (1500219072) and Sino-UK Higher Education Research Partnership for PhD Studies.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Clinical evaluation on the coaxial microincision cataract surgery in hard nuclear cataracts

AIM: To assess and compare the results of 2.2mm microincision coaxial cataract surgery(MCCS)phacoemulsification with the conventional 3.0mm MCCS in hard nuclear cataracts. METHODS: Totally 132 eyes with hard cataract(Ⅳ level and above)were randomized to two groups: 2.2mm MCCS(group 1:60 eyes)and 3.0mm MCCS(group 2:72 eyes). All patients underwent standard phacoemulsification and intraocular lens implantation surgery by one experienced surgeon. The average ultrasound power(AVE)was recorded during the operation. The incidences of capsule rupture and postoperative corneal edema were compared.Visual acuity, surgically induced astigmatism(SIA)and the descent rate of endothelial cell density were compared at intervals of 1 day, 1 month and 3 months after surgery. Statistic analysis was taken by Student's t test and Chi square test. RESULTS: There was no significant difference on the incidences of capsule rupture, postoperative corneal edema and AVE(P> 0.05)between the two groups(3.3%, 10.0%, 65.09±20.15)and(4.2%, 11.1%, 69.13±15.44). One day after the surgery, the 2.2mm MCCS group showed better uncorrected visual acuity as compared to the 3.0mm MCCS group(P < 0.05). There were no significant differences on best-corrected visual acuity on 1 month and 3 months after the surgery. There was no significant difference on the descent rate of endothelial cell density(16.54%±10.20%, 17.69%±10.65%)3 months after the surgery. One day, 1 month and 3 months after the surgery, SIA was 0.77±0.31,0.66±0.29, 0.52±0.25D in the 2.2mm MCCS group, and 1.41±0.73,0.98±0.61D,0.82±0.35D in the 3.0mm MCCS group, respectively. The differences were statistically significant. CONCLUSION: The operative safety of the 2.2mm MCCS group were the same as 3.0mm MCCS group with the hard nuclear cataracts. The 2.2mm MCCS phacoemulsification could significantly reduce SIA and get better earlier visual rehabilitation