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Globally, 91% of plant production encounters diverse environmental stresses that adversely affect their growth, leading to severe yield losses of 50–60%. In this case, monitoring the connection between the environment and plant health can balance population demands with environmental protection and resource distribution. Fluorescent chemosensors have shown great progress in monitoring the health and environment of plants due to their high sensitivity and biocompatibility. However, to date, no comprehensive analysis and systematic summary of fluorescent chemosensors used in monitoring the correlation between plant health and their environment have been reported. Thus, herein, we summarize the current fluorescent chemosensors ranging from their design strategies to applications in monitoring plant-environment interaction processes. First, we highlight the types of fluorescent chemosensors with design strategies to resolve the bottlenecks encountered in monitoring the health and living environment of plants. In addition, the applications of fluorescent small-molecule, nano and supramolecular chemosensors in the visualization of the health and living environment of plants are discussed. Finally, the major challenges and perspectives in this field are presented. This work will provide guidance for the design of efficient fluorescent chemosensors to monitor plant health, and then promote sustainable agricultural development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to report three new species of Conoideocrella and Moelleriella from Yunnan Province, Southwestern China. Species of Conoideocrella and Moelleriella parasitize scale insects (Coccidae and Lecaniidae, Hemiptera) and whiteflies (Aleyrodidae, Hemiptera). Based on the phylogenetic analyses of the three-gene nrLSU, tef-1α, and rpb1, it showed one new record species (Conoideocrella tenuis) and one new species (Conoideocrella fenshuilingensis sp. nov.) in the genus Conoideocrella, and two new species, i.e., Moelleriella longzhuensis sp. nov. and Moelleriella jinuoana sp. nov. in the genus Moelleriella. The three new species were each clustered into separate clades that distinguished themselves from one another. All of them were distinguishable from their allied species based on their morphology. Morphological descriptions, illustrations, and comparisons of the allied taxa of the four species are provided in the present paper. In addition, calculations of intraspecific and interspecific genetic distances were performed for Moelleriella and Conoideocrella. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Weeds grow aggressively in agricultural fields, leading to reduced crop yields and an inability to meet the growing demand for food. Herbicides are currently the most effective method for weed control. However, the overuse of herbicides has resulted in the evolution of resistance mutants and has caused environmental pollution. Therefore, new technologies are urgently required to address this global challenge. RESULTS: We report a copper‐benzene‐1,4‐dicarboxylate metal organic framework (Cu‐BDC MOF)‐functionalized carboxyl hollow mesoporous silica (HMS‐COOH) delivery system for the pH‐controlled release of the acetyl‐CoA carboxylase (ACCase)‐inhibiting herbicide quizalofop‐p‐ethyl (QE). The delivery system (QE@HMS@Cu‐BDC) enabled the efficient control of barnyard grasses that are susceptible and resistant to ACCase‐inhibiting herbicides, which showed 93.33% and 88.33% FW control efficacy at 67.5 g ha−1, respectively. With the lowest pH value (3), QE and copper ion were released slowly to total 70.30% and 78.55% levels (respectively) from QE@HMS@Cu‐BDC after 89 h. QE@HMS@Cu‐BDC showed better absorption, conduction, transportation and ACCase activity inhibition performance than that of QE emulsifiable concentrate (EC) in both susceptible and ACCase‐herbicide resistant barnyard grasses. In addition, with the safener effect of carrier HMS@Cu‐BDC and the aid of the safener fenchlorazole‐ethyl (FE), the application of QE@HMS@Cu‐BDC was shown to mitigate the damage caused by QE to rice plants. CONCLUSION: This work found that the new material HMS‐COOH@Cu‐BDC can be used to mitigate herbicide‐induced oxidative stress and improve rice plant safety. Futhermore, the QE@HMS‐COOH@Cu‐BDC constructed in this research might be used as an efficient nanopesticide formulation for weed controls in paddy rice fields. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nitrogen and phosphorus are limiting and essential macronutrients to maintain the growth of phytoplankton, and monitoring their changes are fundamental to lake management. The relationship of TN and phytoplankton chlorophyll a (Chl. a) was reported in some research; however, TN may be underestimated in some research due to measurement errors in bloom-occurring water bodies. The alkaline potassium persulfate digestion-UV spectrophotometry method is widely used for water quality determination for TN. The organic nitrogen in cyanobacterial cells may be difficult to be completely degraded, which should result in the underestimation of TN. However, there is no detailed study on TN determination of bloom water containing high-density algal cells. 　　The TN was underestimated by directly measuring the samples from Taihu Lake, although the TN was within the allowable concentration range of the standard method (<7.0 mg/L, HJ636-2012). In order to explore the effect of cell densities on TN determination, the lab-cultured cyanobacterium and green algae was measured. The results showed that TN of high-density cells was significantly underestimated. The density of cells must be less than 108 /L to meet the requirements of accurate TN determination. We measured several samples from natural blooms to estimate the TN in the Microcystis blooms. The TN value obtained from the original water sample was underestimated by 26.59%—40.42% compared to the measured value of the water sample diluted 10—30 times. Our results demonstrated that sufficient dilution is necessary for the TN measuring of cyanobacterial blooms. 　　In order to estimate the contribution of Microcystis biomass to TN, the TN and Chl. a in four bloom samples collected from Taihu Lake were measured. The mean value was 0.15 mg N/μg Chl. a (spiked recovery rate was 98.84%—109.39%). The average nitrogen content of dry Microcystis blooms from Taihu Lake was about 16%. These data should be useful for the ecological research of and the control of Microcystis blooms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A thermodynamic model that can predict the solid solubility limit (SSL) in single phase HEAs is proposed. The accuracies of our model and other representative existing models were verified experimentally using a model single phase FCC alloy and 11 alloying elements. The results show that existing models substantially overestimate the SSLs in HEAs, leading to large prediction errors. In contrast, our model has considerably higher accuracy. The mean absolute prediction error for our model is only 2.9 at. %—less than 1/8 that of the best existing model. These results demonstrate that quantitative prediction is achievable through the present model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The brown planthopper is a notorious rice pest in many areas of Asia. The evolution of insecticide resistance in Nilaparvata lugens has become a serious problem in the effective control of this pest in the paddy field. In this article, the current susceptibility of N. lugens field populations to novel mesoionic insecticide triflumezopyrim and major classes of chemical insecticides was determined and compared. The monitoring results indicated that field populations of N. lugens had developed low resistance to triflumezopyrim (resistance ratio, RR: 1.3‒7.3‐fold) during 2015‒2018 in China, and the median lethal concentration values varied from 0.05 to 0.29 mg/L. Additionally, during 2017 to 2018, field populations of N. lugens showed high resistance levels to thiamethoxam (RR: 456.1‒1025.6‐fold), imidacloprid (RR: 2195.3‒6899.0‐fold) and buprofezin (RR: 1241.5‒4521.7‐fold), moderate to high resistance levels to dinotefuran (RR: 97.6‒320.1‐fold), clothianidin (RR: 69.4‒230.1‐fold) and isoprocarb (RR: 44.1‒108.0‐fold), and low to moderate levels of resistance to chlorpyrifos (RR: 12.0‒29.7‐fold) and nitenpyram (RR: 6.9‒24.1‐fold). In contrast, N. lugens just showed low resistance to sulfoxaflor (RR: 3.3‒8.5‐fold) and etofenprox (RR: 5.0‒9.1‐fold) in the field. Additionally, the P450 gene CYP6ER1 was found to be significantly overexpressed in all five field populations of N. lugens collected in 2018 when compared with a laboratory susceptible strain. Our findings will provide useful information to delay the evolution of insecticide resistance in N. lugens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fe3O4@MIL-100 (Fe)/PEI are used for the first time as an adsorbent material for the extraction of pesticide residues (epoxiconazole, flusilazole, tebuconazole, and triadimefon) from food matrices. The adsorbent proposed (Fe3O4@MIL-100(Fe)/PEI) was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), thermogravimetric (TG) analysis, and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) techniques to evaluate the properties of the sorbent. Then, the Fe3O4@MIL-100 (Fe)/PEI was employed for the quantification of the four triazole fungicides in fruits and vegetables (apple, orange, tomato, cabbage, and cucumber) using HPLC-UV for separation and detection. During the extraction process, the main parameters such as amount of adsorbent, extraction time, pH value, ionic strength, eluting solvent, and eluting volume were optimized. Under the optimum conditions, good linearity of this method was observed for all analytes, with correlation coefficients (R2) ≥ 0.9908. The limits of detection (LODs) ranged from 0.021–3.04 μg kg−1. The extraction recoveries of the four triazole fungicides varied from 73.9 to 109.4% with relative standard deviations (RSD) in the range 0.5 to 6.2%. Compared with other MOFs, the modification of Fe3O4@MIL-100 (Fe) with PEI shows high efficient adsorption due to the combined benefits of MIL-100 (Fe) and PEI. The material is easily synthesized, has good stability, and is of low cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Long‐term monitoring data is helpful to understand the fluctuation of susceptibility and pattern of cross resistance in insecticide resistance management. After the occurrence of imidacloprid resistance, the brown planthopper (BPH) has gradually developed resistance to thiamethoxam and clothianidin since 2010, but not to dinotefuran and nitenpyram. Here, we analyzed susceptibilities data of five neonicotinoids during 2005–2017 in East Asia and Vietnam to conduct cross‐resistance patterns among neonicotinoids. To determine the factors of development of cross resistance in laboratory bioassays, we used the imidacloprid resistant and control strains that were selected from filed populations in the Philippines and Vietnam. RESULTS: The Linear Mixed Models (LMM) analyses of insecticide susceptibility data showed that the slope values of imidacloprid resistance effects were 0.68 and 1.09 for resistance to thiamethoxam and clothianidin, respectively. Laboratory bioassay results showed that the LD50 values for thiamethoxam and clothianidin in resistant strains (1.4–5.5 μg g−1) were 3.2–16.4 times higher than those in the control strains (0.28–1.5 μg g−1). However, the increase in the LD50 values for imidacloprid was not related to that for dinotefuran and nitenpyram based on the results of the LMM analysis and laboratory bioassay. CONCLUSION: Our results demonstrate that the development of imidacloprid resistance result in strong‐cross resistance to some neonicotinoids, thiamethoxam and clothianidin, but not to others, dinotefuran and nitenpyram. We anticipate that our findings will be a starting point for understanding mechanism of the different trend of cross resistance by analyzing long‐term susceptibility data and laboratory bioassays in insect pests. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cell surface structure plays a key role in Microcystis colony formation. The S-layer is a crystalline array of monomolecular proteins that constitute the outermost component of the cyanobacterial cell envelope. To date, no biochemical characterization of the S-layer protein in Microcystis has been reported. Here, we compared S-layer on the cell wall of the unicellular strain Microcystis aeruginosa PCC7806 with the colonial strain M. aeruginosa XW01. We observed crystalline S-layers in XW01 cell walls; however, similar structures were not observed in PCC7806. Sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis analysis revealed a thick putative S-layer protein band with an apparent molecular weight of 70 kDa extracted from XW01 cells, as well as an S-layer peptide fragment with the sequence ETYPLLAAPGAATDATR, similar to the translated product from PCC7806 unknown gene CAO89090.1. The amino acid composition of the translated CAO89090.1 product shared biochemical characteristics with those of bacterial S-layer proteins. Furthermore, a 1002-bp DNA fragment amplified from XW01 displayed 95% similarity with the CAO89090.1 gene, while the S-layer gene expression in XW01 was 36-fold higher than that observed in PCC7806. These data suggested that the S-layer protein plays a key role in Microcystis colony formation due to its significant contribution to cell surface hydrophobicity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND The two rice planthoppers, Nilaparvata lugens and Sogatella furcifera, have different life cycles in the regions of East Asia, the Red River Delta, and the Mekong Delta. The susceptibilities of these species to a range of insecticides have not previously been compared among the three regions over multiple years. Here, we describe the differences and similarities in insecticide susceptibilities of the two species among the three regions in 2006-2011. RESULTS In all three regions in 2006 − 2011, N. lugens developed high and moderate levels of resistance to imidacloprid and thiamethoxam, respectively, but this species did not develop resistance to fipronil. In contrast, S. furcifera developed a high level of resistance to fipronil. The ranges in 50% lethal dose (LD50) values for N. lugens treated with both imidacloprid and thiamethoxam were similar over time between East Asia and the Red River Delta, and were different in the Mekong Delta. CONCLUSION The results support the idea that resistant populations migrate from the Red River Delta region to East Asia. Therefore, continuous monitoring of the susceptibility of N. lugens to insecticides in the Red River Delta is very important for insecticide resistance management in East Asia. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent evidence suggested a positive correlation between environmental estrogens (EEs) and high incidence of abnormalities in male urogenital system, but the mechanism remains unclear. Diethylstilbestrol (DES) is a nonsteroidal synthetic estrogen that disrupts the morphology and proliferation of gubernaculum testis cells, but the underlying mechanism is unclear. In this study, mouse gubernaculum testis cells were pretreated with phospholipase C (PLC) inhibitor U‐73122 and then treated with DES. The results demonstrated that U‐73122 impaired DES‐evoked intracellular Ca2+ mobilization in gubernaculum testis cells and inhibited DES‐induced proliferation of gubernaculum testis cells. Mechanistically, we found that U‐73122 inhibited DES‐induced activation of cAMP‐response element binding protein (CREB) in gubernaculum testis cells. In conclusion, these data suggest that the effects of DES on mouse gubernaculum testis cells are mediated by PLC‐Ca2+‐CREB pathway. Significance of the study: Environmental estrogens remain a serious threat to male reproductive health, and it is important to understand the mechanism by which EEs affect the male productive system. Here we explore potential mechanisms how the proliferation and contractility of gubernaculum testis cells are regulated by diethylstilbestrol. Our findings provide the first evidence that PLC‐Ca2+‐CREB signalling pathway mediates the nongenomic effects of diethylstilbestrol on gubernaculum testis cells. These findings provide new insight into the role of diethylstilbestrol in the aetiology of male reproductive dysfunction and will help develop better approaches for the prevention and therapy of male reproductive malformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To evaluate the quantity of Spirulina cultured in seawater, salt-tolerant strains were screened out and their growth and antioxidant accumulation were studied in different salt concentrations Results: Salt tolerance of five Spirulina strains were investigated with modified Zarrouk medium (with 200-800 mM NaCl). All strains grew well with 400 mM NaCl; their growth rates were almost same as in the control medium. Spirulina strains FACHB-843 (SP843) and FACHB-972 (SP972) had the highest salt tolerance their growth rates in 600 mM NaCl were nearly same as the control. Both strains produced more carotene, phycocyanin, polysaccharides, proline and betaine in 400-600 mM NaCl than the control. Salt stress also induced them to produce higher activities of superoxide dismutase and peroxidase. Total antioxidant capacities of SP843 and SP972 peaked at 600 and 400 mM NaCl, respectively. Conclusion: Spirulina strains cultured with seawater accumulate more bioactive substances and will have a higher nutritive value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The widespread planting of genetically engineered cotton producing the Cry1Ac toxin has led to significantly reduced pesticide applications since 1997. However, consequently, the number of green mirid bugs (GMB), Apolygus lucorum (Meyer-Dür) has increased. So far the GMB, instead of the cotton bollworm Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner), has become the major pest in the transgenic Bt cotton field and has influenced cotton yield. Disproportionately, only a few studies on GMB at molecular level have been reported. Libraries from both third instar nymphs and adults were sequenced using Illumina technology, producing more than 106 million short reads and assembled into 63 029 unigenes of mean length 597 nt and N50 813 nt, ranging from 300 nt to 9771 nt. BLASTx analysis against Nr, Swissprot, GO and COG was performed to annotate these unigenes. As a result, 26 478 unigenes (42.01%) matched to known proteins and 107 immune-related, 320 digestive-related and 53 metamorphosis-related genes were detected in these annotated unigenes. Additionally, we profiled gene expression using mapping based differentially expressed genes (DEGs) strategy between the two developmental stages: nymph and adult. The results demonstrated that thousands of genes were significantly differentially expressed at different developmental stages. The transcriptome and gene expression data provided comprehensive and global gene resources of GMB. This transcriptome would improve our understanding of the molecular mechanisms of various underlying biological characteristics, including development, digestion and immunity in GMB. Therefore, these findings could help elucidate the intrinsic factors of the GMB resurgence, offering novel pest management targets for future transgenic cotton breeding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chlorin derivatives are promising photosensitive agents for photodynamic therapy (PDT) of tumors. The aim of the current study is to investigate the PDT therapeutic effects of a novel chlorin-based photosensitizer, meso-tetra[3-( N, N-diethyl)aminomethyl-4-methoxy]phenyl chlorin (TMPC) for gliomas in vitro and in vivo. Physicochemical characteristics of TMPC were recorded by ultraviolet visible spectrophotometer and fluorescence spectrometer. The rate of singlet oxygen generation of TMPC upon photo-excitation was detected by using 1,3-diphenylisobenzofuran (DPBF). The accumulation of TMPC in gliomas U87 MG cells was measured by fluorescence spectrometer. The efficiency of TMPC-PDT in vitro was analyzed by MTT assay and clonogenic assay. The biodistribution and clearance of TMPC were determined by fluorescence measuring. Human gliomas U87 MG tumor-bearing mice model was used to evaluate the antitumor effects of TMPC-PDT. TMPC shows a singlet oxygen generation rate of 0.05 and displays a characteristic long wavelength absorption peak at 653 nm ( ε = 15,400). The accumulation of TMPC increased with the increase of incubation time. In vitro, PDT using TMPC and laser showed laser dose- and concentration-dependent cytotoxicity to U87 MG cells. In U87 MG tumor-bearing mice, TMPC-PDT significantly reduced the growth of the tumors. Both in vitro and in vivo, TMPC showed little dark toxicity. In vitro and in vivo studies, it found that TMPC has excellent antitumor activities. It suggests that TMPC is a potential photosensitizer of photodynamic therapy for cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Around 1% of angiosperms are parasitic plants. Their growth and development solely or partly depend on host plants from which they extract water, nutrients, and other molecules using a parasitic plant-specific organ, the haustorium. Strong depletion of nutrients can result in serious growth retardation and in some cases, death of the hosts. The genus Cuscuta (dodder) comprises about 200 holoparasitic species occurring on all continents. Their seedlings have no roots and cotyledons but are only string-like hypocotyls. When they contact suitable host plants, haustoria are formed and thereafter seedlings rapidly develop into vigorously growing branches without roots and leaves. This highly specialized lifestyle suggests that Cuscuta plants likely have unique physiology in development and stress responses. Using germination and seedling growth assays, we show that C. australis seeds and seedlings are highly insensitive to abscisic acid (ABA). Transcriptome analysis and protein sequence alignment with Arabidopsis, tomato, and rice homologs revealed that C. australis most likely consists of only four functional ABA receptors. Given that Cuscuta plants are no longer severely challenged by drought stress, we hypothesize that the ABA-mediated drought resistance pathway in Cuscuta spp. might have had degenerated over time during evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The etiology of testicular dysgenesis syndrome is multifactorial and involves environmental factors, such as environmental estrogens. Several studies have shown that hormonal effects on the gubernaculum may affect testicular descent. Diethylstilbestrol (DES) is a nonsteroidal synthetic estrogen that disrupts the morphology and proliferation of gubernacular cells, but the underlying mechanisms remain elusive. In this study, we aimed to determine whether DES may regulate the function of gubernaculum testis cells by way of nongenomic effects mediated by G protein-coupled estrogen receptor (GPER). We used cultured mouse gubernacular testis cells to demonstrate that GPER is expressed in gubernaculum testis cells. Erk1/2 inhibitor PD98059, PKA inhibitor H89, and Src inhibitor PP2 relieved DES-induced inhibition of gubernaculum testis cell proliferation, but ER inhibitor ICI 182780 had no effects on DES-induced inhibition of gubernaculum testis cell proliferation. In addition, we found that DES induced the activation of CREB downstream of PKA, Src, and ERK1/2 in these cells. These data suggest that the effects of DES on mouse gubernaculum testis cells are mediated at least partially by GPER-protein kinase A-ERK-CREB signaling pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND With the objective of finding novel valuable herbicidal candidates, a series of novel 4-(1 H-pyrazol-1-yl)-6-(alkynyloxy)-pyrimidine derivatives were synthesised and their herbicide activities were evaluated in vivo. RESULTS The results showed that many target compounds expressed bleaching activities. Among these, compound 5 h showed the best bleaching activity to gramineous weeds, being able to produce the highest inhibition of chlorophyll level in seedlings of Pennisetum alopecuroides L. ( IC50 = 3.48 mg L−1). Moreover, compound 5 h expressed good selective toxicity between gramineous P. alopecuroides L. and broadleaf plant Brassica campestris L. CONCLUSIONS The present work demonstrates that pyrimidine derivatives containing pyrazole can be used as potential lead compounds for developing novel pigment biosynthesis inhibitors. © 2013 Society of Chemical Industry [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we investigated the effect of 131I gelatin microspheres (131I-GMSs) on human hepatocellular carcinoma cells (HepG2) in nude mice (Balb/c) and the biodistribution of 131I-GMSs after intratumoral injection. The treatment group and control group animals received intratumoral injections of 1 mCi 131I-GMSs and GMSs unlabeled 131I, respectively. The size of the implanted tumor was measured once a week for 8 weeks, and the survival time was calculated from the day of injection to 64 days post-injection. Another 35 animals received intratumoral injections of 0.2 mCi 131I-GMSs and were subject to single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) on days 1, 8, 16, 24 and 32 post-injection. Samples of various organs were collected and used to calculate tissue concentrations on days 1, 4, 8, 16 and 24. Free thyroxine (FT4) in fetal bovine serum was tested to evaluate thyroid function. The tumors were collected for histological examination. 131I-GMSs produced a pronounced reduction in HepG2 tumor volume, and the overall survival was 73.3% in the treatment group and only 13.3% in the control group ( P < 0.001). Tissue radioactivity concentration measurements and SPECT demonstrated that the injected 131I-GMSs mainly accumulated within the tumors. The concentration of FT4 was stable during the observation period. The microspheres could be observed by histological methods on day 32. 131I-GMSs suppressed the growth of HepG2 in the nude mice and were retained in the tumor for a long period of time after injection. Direct intratumoral injection of 131I-GMSs offers a promising modality for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microcystis blooms can move vertically and horizontally in natural water bodies, which often causes a rapid change of nutritional environment around Microcystis cells. To evaluate the capability of Microcystis capturing nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) when environmental nutrient levels change, we studied N and P adsorption of two different forms of Microcystis aeruginosa strains, a colonial strain XW01 and a unicellular strain PCC 7806, and a green alga Chlorella pyrenoidosa to different concentrations of nitrate, ammonium and phosphate in 30 min. The results showed that XW01 had much stronger adsorption capacity than PCC7806 and Chlorella. As main components of the cell wall, the polysaccharides of XW01 displayed different adsorption capacities in different N and P concentrations, their adsorption capabilities rose higher with the N or P concentration increase. Comparing with pH 7.0, XW01 could adsorb much more ammonia and phosphate in alkaline condition (pH 9.0), although the nitrate adsorption decreased a little. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A Streptomyces strain, NT0401, was isolated from soil that selectively inhibited Microcystis strains but did not affect other microorganisms. Based on its morphology, physiology and 16S rDNA sequence, it was identified as Streptomyces grisovariabilis. The active substance produced by NT0401 was a water-soluble compound with a Mr <1 kDa that was stable over a broad pH range and at 100°C for 20 min. This organism should be a potential environment-friendly strain for control of Microcystis blooms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Purpose: The macrophage-derived chemokine (MDC/CCL22) is a prototypic Th2-type chemokine intimately involved in Th2-skewed allergic diseases, such as atopic dermatitis and asthma. The statins (3-hydroxy-3-methyl glutaryl coenzyme A reductase inhibitors) have been demonstrated to relieve allergic inflammation. However, the immunological effects and mechanisms of statins against atopic dermatitis remain unknown, at least in vitro. This study aimed to define how different statins affect MDC expression in HaCaT cells, a human keratinocyte cell line.Experimental Approach: To measure the effects of statins on MDC expression in HaCaT cells, we used a cell viability assay, reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and Western blotting analyses.Key Results: Fluvastatin, but not atorvastatin or simvastatin, inhibited MDC expression induced by interferon (IFN)-gamma and NF-kappaB activation. A NF-kappaB inhibitor, but not a STAT1 inhibitor, suppressed MDC expression in HaCaT cells. Further, inhibition of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) significantly suppressed IFN-gamma-induced MDC expression and NF-kappaB activation. Interestingly, fluvastatin suppressed IFN-gamma-induced NF-kappaB activation in parallel with p38 MAPK phosphorylation.Conclusions and Implications: These results indicate that fluvastatin inhibited expression of the CC chemokine MDC induced by IFN-gamma in HaCaT cells, by inhibiting NF-kappaB activation via the p38 MAPK pathway. This blockade of a Th2 chemokine by fluvastatin may suppress the infiltration of Th2 cells into skin lesions and lessen the skin inflammation seen in atopic dermatitis, suggesting a potential therapeutic use of fluvastatin for this condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anabaena sp. PCC 7120 is a cyanobacterium capable of performing several important biological functions: photosynthesis, nitrogen fixation, cell differentiation, cell–cell communication, etc. These activities require an extensive signaling capability in order to respond to the changing environment. Based on the genomic data, we have retrieved several gene families encoding signaling components. It is estimated that 211 genes encode two-component signaling elements, and 66 genes encode Ser/Thr kinases and phosphatases. These genes together represent 4.2% of the coding capacity of the whole genome, making Anabaena PCC 7120 a leading member among prokaryotes in terms of its signaling potential. It is known that two-component systems are composed of a few basic modules that can arrange into different structures best adapted for each signaling system. Many proteins in Anabaena PCC 7120 have incorporated both modules of two-component systems and catalytic domains of either Ser/Thr kinases or phosphatases. A family of 13 genes encode proteins with both a Ser/Thr kinase domain and a His kinase domain, and another four genes were also found whose products have both a response regulator domain and a Ser/Thr phosphatase domain. Of all the signaling proteins in Anabaena PCC 7120, about one third (35%) are conserved in the genome of the unicellular cyanobacterium strain Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803. Interestingly, one subfamily of His kinases and two subfamilies of response regulators are found in Anabaena PCC 7120 but are absent in Synechocystis PCC 6803. This study constitutes a basis for analyses of signal transduction in Anabaena PCC 7120 using functional genomic approaches. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Introduction: The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of 131I gelatin microspheres (131I-GMS) on human breast cancer cells (MCF-7) in nude mice and the biodistribution of 131I-GMSs following intratumoral injections.Methods: A total of 20 tumor-bearing mice were divided into a treatment group and control group and received intratumoral injections of 2.5 mci 131I-GMSs and nonradioactive GMSs, respectively. Tumor size was measured once per week. Another 16 mice received intratumoral injections of 0.4 mci 131I-GMSs and were subjected to single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) scans and tissue radioactivity concentration measurements on day 1, 4, 8 and 16 postinjection. The 20 tumor-bearing mice received intratumoral injections of 0.4 mci [131I] sodium iodide solution and were subjected to SPECT scans and intratumoral radioactivity measurements at 1, 6, 24, 48 and 72 h postinjection. The tumors were collected for histological examination.Results: The average tumor volume in the 131I-GMSs group on post-treatment day 21 decreased to 86.82 ± 63.6%, while it increased to 893.37 ± 158.12% in the control group (P < 0.01 vs. the 131I-GMSs group). 131I-GMSs provided much higher intratumoral retention of radioactivity, resulting in 19.93 ± 5.24% of the injected radioactivity after 16 days, whereas the control group retained only 1.83 ± 0.46% of the injected radioactivity within the tumors at 1 h postinjection.Conclusions: 131I-GMSs suppressed the growth of MCF-7 in nude mice and provided sustained intratumoral radioactivity retention. The results suggest the potential of 131I-GMSs for clinical applications in radiotherapy for breast cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]