Validation of Zero TE-MRA in the Characterization of Cerebrovascular Diseases: A Feasibility Study

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Zero TE-MRA is less sensitive to field heterogeneity, complex flow, and acquisition noise. This study aimed to prospectively validate the feasibility of zero TE-MRA for cerebrovascular diseases assessment, compared with TOF-MRA.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Seventy patients suspected of having cerebrovascular disorders were recruited. Sound levels were estimated for each MRA subjectively and objectively in different modes. MRA image quality was estimated by 2 neuroradiologists. The degree of stenosis (grades 0-4) and the z-diameter of aneurysms (tiny group ≤3 mm and large group >3 mm) were measured for further quantitative analysis. CTA was used as the criterion standard.

RESULTS

Zero TE-MRA achieved significantly lower subjective perception and objective noise reduction (37.53%). Zero TE-MRA images showed higher signal homogeneity (3.29 ± 0.59 versus 3.04 ± 0.43) and quality of venous signal suppression (3.67 ± 0.47 versus 2.75 ± 0.46). The intermodality agreement was higher for zero TE-MRA than for TOF-MRA (zero TE, 0.90; TOF, 0.81) in the grading of stenosis. Zero TE-MRA had a higher correlation than TOF-MRA (zero TE, 0.84; TOF, 0.74) in the tiny group and a higher consistency with CTA (intraclass correlation coefficient, 0.83; intercept, -0.5084-1.1794; slope -0.4952 to -0.2093) than TOF-MRA (intraclass correlation coefficient, 0.64; intercept, 0.7000-2.6133; slope -1.0344 to -0.1923). Zero TE-MRA and TOF-MRA were comparable in the large group. Zero TE-MRA had more accurate details than TOF-MRA of AVM and Moyamoya lesions.

CONCLUSIONS

Compared with TOF-MRA, zero TE-MRA achieved more robust performance in depicting cerebrovascular diseases. Therefore, zero TE-MRA was shown to be a promising MRA technique for further routine application in the clinic in patients with cerebrovascular diseases.

[Effective prevention and control of myopia in children and adolescents]

Myopia prevention and control is an important health issue related to children and adolescents, general public physical fitness and national defense security. In 2018, General Secretary Xi Jinping gave instructions on students' myopia. Ministry of Education and other seven ministries and commissions issued the Implementation Plan of the Myopia Prevention and Control for Children and Adolescents. As the myopia prevalence continues to develop into an urgent situation, myopia prevention and control has become a national strategy. In the battle fighting against prevalent myopia, medical and scientific researchers, as professionals, play a key role in guiding the effective implementation of the project and coordinating among five parties including government, schools, medical institutions, families and individual students. It is of great significance to effectively prevent and control myopia for children and adolescents and to achieve the overall goal of prevention and control. This article summarizes the potential effective methods in myopia prevention and control, hoping to provide useful reference and help for the national prevention and control work. (Chin J Ophthalmol, 2019, 55: 81-85).

Hyperspectral Multiplexed Biological Imaging of Nanoprobes Emitting in the Short-Wave Infrared Region

Optical bioimaging with exogenous luminophores emitting in short-wave infrared spectral region (SWIR, ~ 1000-1700 nm) is a rapidly developing field, and the development of multiple SWIR-photoluminescent nanoprobes has recently been reported. In this regard, hyperspectral imaging (HSI), combined with unmixing algorithms, is a promising tool that can allow for efficient multiplexing of the SWIR-emitting nanoagents by their photoluminescence (PL) spectral profiles. The SWIR HSI technique reported here is developed to multiplex two types of nanoprobes: polymeric nanoparticles doped with organic dye (PNPs) and rare-earth doped fluoride nanoparticles (RENPs). Both types of nanoprobes exhibit PL in the same spectral range (~ 900-1200 nm), which hinders spectral separation of PL with optical filters and limits possibilities for their multiplexed imaging in biological tissues. By applying SWIR HSI, we exploited differences in the PL spectral profiles and achieved the spectrally selective and sensitive imaging of the PL signal from every type of nanoparticles. Unmixing of acquired data allowed for multiplexing of the spectrally overlapping nanoprobes by their PL profile. Both quantitative and spatial distribution for every type of nanoparticles were obtained from their mixed suspensions. Finally, the SWIR HSI technique with unmixing protocol was applied to in vivo imaging of mice subcutaneously injected with PNPs and RENPs. The applicability of hyperspectral techniques to multiplex nanoprobes in the in vivo imaging was successfully demonstrated.

[Changing trends of topical anti-glaucoma medications in the Eye Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University during the past ten years]

Objective: To investigate the changing trends of topical anti-glaucoma medications in the outpatient of the Eye Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University over the decade 2005-2014. Methods: Retrospective case series study. The medications data of glaucoma outpatients in the Eye Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University were collected for the period of January 1(st) 2005 to December 31(st) 2014. SPSS 20.0 statistical software was used, mainly for statistical description of the data. The main outcome measures were the proportions of the prescriptions of different medications, and the proportions of the monotherapy and combination therapies. Results: During the 10 years, the number of glaucoma outpatients increased year by year, from 994 in 2005 to 3 266 in 2014, the gender ration was close to 1∶1, and the age were (57±18) years. The proportion of β-blockers decreased from 56.7% (750/1 323) in 2005 to 33.1% (2 120/6 407) in 2014. The proportion of cholinergic agents decreased from 17.2% (227/1 323) in 2005 to 10.3% (663/6 407) in 2014. While the proportion of prostaglandins increased from 13.3% (176/1 323) in 2005 to 36.8% (1 916/5 209) in 2011, which was close to the 37.9% (1 972/5 209) of β-blockers in 2011. In 2012, the prostaglandins proportion increased to 41.9% (2 435/5 810) exceeding the 37.2% (2 161/5 810) of β-blockers, and became the most prescribed medication. The proportion of prostaglandins continued to increase to 46.9% (3 008/6 407) in 2014. The proportion of α(2)-agonists increased from 17.0% (225/1 323) in 2005 to 22.8% (1 460/6 407) in 2014. The proportion of carbonic anhydrase inhibitors increased from 9.6% (127/1 323) in 2005 to 24.1% (1 546/6 407) in 2014.The proportion of monotherapy decreased from 78.0% (1 032/1 323) in 2005 to 58.6% (3 757/6 407) in 2014. The proportion of two drugs combination increased from 20.0% (264/1 323) in 2005 to 26.7% (1 709/6 407) in 2014. The proportion of three drugs combination increased from 2.0% (26/1 323) in 2005 to 12.3% (788/6 407) in 2014. The proportion of four drugs combination increased from 0.1% (1/1 323) in 2005 to 2.3% (150/6 407) in 2014. Conclusions: The changes of the proportions of topical anti-glaucoma medications were remarkable from 2005 to 2014 in the outpatient of the Eye Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University. The β-blockers and cholinergic agents were declining, while the prostaglandins, α(2)-agonists and carbonic anhydrase inhibitors were increasing, and the prostaglandins became the most prescribed medication since 2012. The proportion of combination therapy was increasing. (Chin J Ophthalmol, 2018, 54: 520-525).

[Quantitative evaluation of the relationship between femoral trochlear dysplasia and the degeneration of the patellofemoral cartilage by using T2mapping]

Objective: To evaluate the relationship between the femoral trochlear dysplasia(FTD) and the degeneration of the patellofemoral cartilage by using MR T2mapping technique. Methods: Sixty two subjects with FTD(aged 18-45 years) were enrolled in Tianjin First Center Hospital from January 2016 to December 2017,the controls which both age and gender were matched.T2mapping scan were aquired for each subject and control. Compare the differences of the T2mapping values for each area between subjects and controls, and compare Dejour types of femoral trochlear in different age groups, respectively. Results: The T2mapping value of subjects was significant lower than controls: the superficial-femoral-lateral layer (sFL) (P=0.000) and the superficial-patella-lateral layer (sPL) (P=0.009). In the group of age less than 30 years, the T2mapping value of subjects was significant lower than controls:sFL (P=0.001) and sPL (P=0.015). In group of age greater than 30 years, the T2mapping value of subjects was significant lower than controls: sFL (P=0.035). In difference Dejour types of FTD, the T2mapping value of type B-D was lowest in sFL(P=0.014),sPL(P=0.000), the superficial-patella-medial layer (sPM) (P=0.020) and the the T2mapping value of type B-D was highest in the deep-femoral-medial layer (dFM) (P=0.006). The difference was statistically significant, P<0.05. Conclusion: The FTD might cause the early degeneration of patellofemoral cartilage, which significantly appear in the young age; The type B-D of FTD is more likely to cause the wider range of superficial cartilage injure and involved some part of deep layer; the injure shows dehydration change in superficial cartilage and edema in deep layer.

Controlling CRISPR-Cas9 with ligand-activated and ligand-deactivated sgRNAs

The CRISPR-Cas9 system provides the ability to edit, repress, activate, or mark any gene (or DNA element) by pairing of a programmable single guide RNA (sgRNA) with a complementary sequence on the DNA target. Here we present a new method for small-molecule control of CRISPR-Cas9 function through insertion of RNA aptamers into the sgRNA. We show that CRISPR-Cas9-based gene repression (CRISPRi) can be either activated or deactivated in a dose-dependent fashion over a >10-fold dynamic range in response to two different small-molecule ligands. Since our system acts directly on each target-specific sgRNA, it enables new applications that require differential and opposing temporal control of multiple genes.

Molecular characterization and analysis of Mycoplasma pneumoniae among patients of all ages with community-acquired pneumonia during an epidemic in China

BACKGROUND

Analysis of the molecular characteristics of isolates is very important for clinical and epidemiological study of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) caused by Mycoplasma pneumoniae.

METHODS

Between 2010 and 2012, an epidemic period, M. pneumoniae was isolated from oropharyngeal swabs of consecutive CAP patients. Minimum inhibitory concentrations of macrolides, 23S rRNA gene sequencing, P1 gene and multilocus variable-number tandem-repeat analysis (MLVA) genotyping was conducted.

RESULTS

88.3% (181/205) of the isolates were macrolide-resistant M. pneumoniae (MRMP) and all harbored an A2063 G mutation. The strains were clustered into 7 MLVA types, and P1 type 1 and type 2 lineages were co-circulated (86.3% and 13.7%). Compared with adults, no specific MLVA type contributed to higher M. pneumoniae infection in children (p =  0.14). Similar macrolide profile and genotypes of M. pneumoniae was found between outpatients and inpatients. Significant differences in proportion of P1 types and two main MLVA types 4/5/7/2 and 3/5/6/2 were observed between MRMP and macrolide-sensitive M. pneumoniae (MSMP) (p <  0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

This study demonstrates a comprehensive profile of M. pneumoniae molecular characterization among CAP patients of all age, and provides more evidences on a correlation between MLVA type 4/5/7/2 and macrolide resistance in the setting of high incidence of MRMP.

Enabling genetic analysis of diverse bacteria with Mobile-CRISPRi

The vast majority of bacteria, including human pathogens and microbiome species, lack genetic tools needed to systematically associate genes with phenotypes. This is the major impediment to understanding the fundamental contributions of genes and gene networks to bacterial physiology and human health. Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats interference (CRISPRi), a versatile method of blocking gene expression using a catalytically inactive Cas9 protein (dCas9) and programmable single guide RNAs, has emerged as a powerful genetic tool to dissect the functions of essential and non-essential genes in species ranging from bacteria to humans1-6. However, the difficulty of establishing effective CRISPRi systems across bacteria is a major barrier to its widespread use to dissect bacterial gene function. Here, we establish 'Mobile-CRISPRi', a suite of CRISPRi systems that combines modularity, stable genomic integration and ease of transfer to diverse bacteria by conjugation. Focusing predominantly on human pathogens associated with antibiotic resistance, we demonstrate the efficacy of Mobile-CRISPRi in gammaproteobacteria and Bacillales Firmicutes at the individual gene scale, by examining drug-gene synergies, and at the library scale, by systematically phenotyping conditionally essential genes involved in amino acid biosynthesis. Mobile-CRISPRi enables genetic dissection of non-model bacteria, facilitating analyses of microbiome function, antibiotic resistances and sensitivities, and comprehensive screens for host-microorganism interactions.

[Evaluation of the fabrication deviation of a kind of milling digital implant surgical guides]

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the deviation of digital implant surgical guides during fabrication process in the Organical Dental Implant (ODI) system.

METHODS

This study included two parts. The first part was the in vitro study. A resin block with a diagnostic template was used for the planning. After cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) scanning, a surgical guide with eight implants was virtually designed using the ODI system. The guide was milled by a 5-axial numerical controlled milling machine, and an optical scanning was taken to digitalize the guide to a standard tessellation language (STL) form. The STL data were then imported into an ODI software and registered with the original design. The deviation of the sleeves between the design and the STL was measured in the ODI software and set as the golden standard. Then the ODI examination table was used to measure the deviation of the guide during fabrication. Examiners A and B measured 10 times separately. The reliability and the validity of the examination table was calculated. The second part was the in vivo study: The deviation during fabrication of 12 guides designed and fabricated by the ODI system were measured using the examination table.

RESULTS

The standard deviation of the deviation measured using the examination table by examiners A and B were all below 0.40 mm (for the shell reference points) and 0.71 degree (for the angles). No significant difference was found between the two examiners for any implant sites. The result of the examination table was larger than that of the software for the shell reference point (t-test, P<0.05), but no significant difference was found for the angle deviation (t-test, P>0.05). The 45 implants positions in the 12 guides for the in vivo study were examined using the examination table. The deviations at the shell reference points were (1.06±0.29) mm (0.42-1.75 mm), and at the implant tip were (1.12±0.48) mm (0.41-2.44 mm). The angle deviations were (1.42±0.70) degree (0.29-2.96 degree).

CONCLUSION

Deviation is unavoidable during the fabrication process of the guides. The examination table of the ODI system is a reliable and valid tool to measure the deviation during fabrication of the ODI guides. More studies should be designed to research the relationship between the fabrication deviation and the implant insertion deviation.

3D Black-Blood Luminal Angiography Derived from High-Resolution MR Vessel Wall Imaging in Detecting MCA Stenosis: A Preliminary Study

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

3D high-resolution vessel wall imaging is increasingly used for intracranial arterial diseases. This study compared the diagnostic performance of black-blood luminal angiography derived from 3D vessel wall imaging with source images of vessel wall imaging and TOF-MRA in detecting middle cerebral artery stenosis.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Sixty-two patients with suspected MCA atherosclerosis underwent TOF-MRA, vessel wall imaging, and CTA. Intracranial black-blood luminal angiography was created from source images of vessel wall imaging using minimum intensity projection. The degree and length of MCA stenosis were measured on source images of vessel wall imaging, TOF-MRA, and black-blood luminal angiography and compared using CTA as a reference standard.

RESULTS

The image quality of black-blood luminal angiography was diagnostic in most patients. The intra- and interobserver agreement for both stenosis degree and length measurements was excellent for black-blood luminal angiography. It was comparable with that of source images of vessel wall imaging in grading stenosis. Compared with TOF-MRA, black-blood luminal angiography showed significantly higher sensitivity for the detection of severe stenosis (89.3% versus 64.3%, P = .039) and higher specificity for the detection of occlusion (95.4% versus 84.6%, P = .039). Lesion length estimated on source images of vessel wall imaging was significantly greater than that measured by CTA and black-blood luminal angiography (P < .001 and P = .010).

CONCLUSIONS

Black-blood luminal angiography is better than TOF-MRA in detecting severe stenosis and occlusion of the MCA. Compared with source images of vessel wall imaging, it is more accurate in evaluating stenosis length. Black-blood luminal angiography can be produced as a derivative from vessel wall imaging and implemented as an adjunct to vessel wall imaging and TOF-MRA without extra acquisition time.

Epidemiological characterization of respiratory tract infections caused by Mycoplasma pneumoniae during epidemic and post-epidemic periods in North China, from 2011 to 2016

BACKGROUND

Mycoplasma pneumoniae (M. pneumoniae) is a commonly causative pathogen for respiratory tract infections (RTIs) in humans. The epidemiological features of M. pneumoniae infections during post-epidemic, including age distribution and the seasonality of the patients, are not well investigated.

METHODS

We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 7835 consecutive RTIs patients (3852 adults and 3983 children) who visited a teaching hospital, and defined an epidemic (2011-2013) and a post-epidemic period (2014-2016). M. pneumoniae was detected by fluorescence-quantatitive PCR in respiratory samples. Informed consent was obtained by all adults and the legal representatives of patients aged < 18 years, and the study was approved by Institutional Review Board of Beijing Chao-Yang Hospital (project approval number 10-KE-49).

RESULTS

The median (IQR) age was 16 (53) years (range < 0-105 years). The M. pneumoniae positive rate was 14.4% (21.2%, epidemic; 6.7%, post-epidemic), with seasonal peaks from late summer to autumn during epidemic, and from fall to winter during post-epidemic period, which was highest in children aged 7-17 years. In epidemic, no statistical difference was found in the positive rates between children and adults among most months (except February, July and August), neither for the positive rates among age groups (P = 0.801). However, in post-epidemic period, significant differences were observed in the positive rates between children and adults in nearly every month (P< 0.05 or P< 0.001, except May), as well as in the positive rates among age groups (P< 0.001). Most of the older patient admissions and all of ICU admissions occurred during the epidemic.

CONCLUSIONS

Different patterns of age distribution and seasonality of M. pneumoniae RTIs between epidemic and post-epidemic periods were reported. Our results suggest that M. pneumoniae should be considered as a possible pathogen in pneumonia patients admitted to the ICU in the setting of an epidemic.

iTRAQ-based proteomic analysis of DMH-induced colorectal cancer in mice reveals the expressions of β-catenin, decorin, septin-7, and S100A10 expression in 53 cases of human hereditary polyposis colorectal cancer

PURPOSE

The aim of this study is to explore the roles of β-catenin, decorin, septin-7, and S100A10 expression in colorectal cancer development.

METHODS

Twenty-five BALB/c mice were divided into five groups; four groups were administrated N,N-dimethylhydrazine for 0, 10, 15, and 20 weeks, and one group was administrated normal saline for 20 weeks. The colons were collected for histopathological analysis. Protein samples prepared from the frozen colon tissues of mice treated with N,N-dimethylhydrazine for the different time points were evaluated using the isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantification (iTRAQ) labeling technique coupled with the 2D liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry analysis. Based on the proteomic analysis results, immunohistochemical staining of β-catenin, decorin, septin-7, and S100A10 was performed in paraffin-embedded mice colorectal tissue, and 53 cases of human hereditary polyposis colorectal cancer samples.

RESULTS

Colorectal cancer was observed in mice treated with N,N-dimethylhydrazine for 20 weeks, and adenomas were observed in mice subjected to the 10-, and 15-week treatments. Seventy-two differentially expressed proteins were involved in the development of cancer as per the iTRAQ and spectrometry analysis. In normal epithelium, adenoma, and cancer from human hereditary polyposis colorectal cancer, S100A10 expression (c2 = 100.989, P = 0.000) was highest in cancer, whereas decorin (c2 = 12.852, P = 0.002) and septin-7 (c2 = 66.519, P = 0.002) expressions were highest in the normal epithelium, which was confirmed via immunohistochemical staining.

CONCLUSIONS

The subcellular localization of β-catenin and decorin, septin-7, and S100A10 expressions are associated with the development of colorectal cancer in mice after N,N-dimethylhydrazine treatment and in human hereditary polyposis colorectal cancers.

Clinical analysis of combined revascularization in treating ischemic Moyamoya disease in adults

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical efficacy of superficial temporal artery-middle cerebral artery anastomosis (STA-MCA)+encephalo-duro-myo-synangiosis (EDMS) in treating ischemic Moyamoya disease (IMD) in adults.

METHODS

A total of 30 adult patients with IMD were selected to be included in the study; they underwent STA-MCA+EDMS and were followed up for 3 months to 2 years. The digital subtraction angiography findings, modified Rankin scale (mRs) score, and complications of all the patients were compared.

RESULTS

Thirty patients successfully completed the surgery. Three patients had postoperative complications (two patients with cerebral infarction on the surgical side and one patient with poor scalp healing). The postoperative morbidity rate was 10%. Angiography conducted at 3 to 6 months postoperatively showed 28 cases of anastomotic patency; the anastomotic patency rate was 93.3%. The mRs scores of the patients' neurological function 3 months after surgery were lower than those before surgery.

CONCLUSION

STA-MCA+EDMS is effective in treating Moyamoya disease.

The Boltzmann project

The International Committee for Weights and Measures (CIPM), at its meeting in October 2017, followed the recommendation of the Consultative Committee for Units (CCU) on the redefinition of the kilogram, ampere, kelvin and mole. For the redefinition of the kelvin, the Boltzmann constant will be fixed with the numerical value 1.380 649 × 10-23 J K-1. The relative standard uncertainty to be transferred to the thermodynamic temperature value of the triple point of water will be 3.7 × 10-7, corresponding to an uncertainty in temperature of 0.10 mK, sufficiently low for all practical purposes. With the redefinition of the kelvin, the broad research activities of the temperature community on the determination of the Boltzmann constant have been very successfully completed. In the following, a review of the determinations of the Boltzmann constant k, important for the new definition of the kelvin and performed in the last decade, is given.

Exosomes promote cetuximab resistance via the PTEN/Akt pathway in colon cancer cells

Cetuximab is widely used in patients with metastatic colon cancer expressing wildtype KRAS. However, acquired drug resistance limits its clinical efficacy. Exosomes are nanosized vesicles secreted by various cell types. Tumor cell-derived exosomes participate in many biological processes, including tumor invasion, metastasis, and drug resistance. In this study, exosomes derived from cetuximab-resistant RKO colon cancer cells induced cetuximab resistance in cetuximab-sensitive Caco-2 cells. Meanwhile, exosomes from RKO and Caco-2 cells showed different levels of phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) and phosphor-Akt. Furthermore, reduced PTEN and increased phosphorylated Akt levels were found in Caco-2 cells after exposure to RKO cell-derived exosomes. Moreover, an Akt inhibitor prevented RKO cell-derived exosome-induced drug resistance in Caco-2 cells. These findings provide novel evidence that exosomes derived from cetuximab-resistant cells could induce cetuximab resistance in cetuximab-sensitive cells, by downregulating PTEN and increasing phosphorylated Akt levels.

NSs protein of severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus suppresses interferon production through different mechanism than Rift Valley fever virus

Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus (SFTSV) is a newly identified Phlebovirus that causes severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome. Our study demonstrated that SFTSV NSs functioned as IFN antagonist mainly by suppressing TBK1/IKKε-IRF3 signaling pathway. NSs interacted with and relocalized TANK-binding kinase 1 (TBK1) into NSs-induced cytoplasmic structures and this interaction could effectively inhibit downstream phosphorylation and dimerization of interferon regulatory factor 3 (IRF3), resulting in the suppression of antiviral signaling and IFN induction. Functional sites of SFTSV NSs binding with TBK1 were then studied and results showed that NSs had lost their IFN-inhibiting activity after deleting the 25 amino acids in N-terminal. Furthermore, the mechanism of Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) NSs blocking IFN-β response were also investigated. Preliminary results showed that RVFV NSs proteins could neither interact nor co-localize with TBK1 in cytoplasm, but suppressed its expression levels, phosphorylation and dimerization of IRF3 in the subsequent steps, resulting in inhibition of the IFN-β production. Altogether, our data demonstrated the probable mechanism used by SFTSV to inhibit IFN responses which was different from RVFV and pointed toward a novel mechanism for RVFV suppressing IFN responses.

Genomic innovations, transcriptional plasticity and gene loss underlying the evolution and divergence of two highly polyphagous and invasive Helicoverpa pest species

BACKGROUND

Helicoverpa armigera and Helicoverpa zea are major caterpillar pests of Old and New World agriculture, respectively. Both, particularly H. armigera, are extremely polyphagous, and H. armigera has developed resistance to many insecticides. Here we use comparative genomics, transcriptomics and resequencing to elucidate the genetic basis for their properties as pests.

RESULTS

We find that, prior to their divergence about 1.5 Mya, the H. armigera/H. zea lineage had accumulated up to more than 100 more members of specific detoxification and digestion gene families and more than 100 extra gustatory receptor genes, compared to other lepidopterans with narrower host ranges. The two genomes remain very similar in gene content and order, but H. armigera is more polymorphic overall, and H. zea has lost several detoxification genes, as well as about 50 gustatory receptor genes. It also lacks certain genes and alleles conferring insecticide resistance found in H. armigera. Non-synonymous sites in the expanded gene families above are rapidly diverging, both between paralogues and between orthologues in the two species. Whole genome transcriptomic analyses of H. armigera larvae show widely divergent responses to different host plants, including responses among many of the duplicated detoxification and digestion genes.

CONCLUSIONS

The extreme polyphagy of the two heliothines is associated with extensive amplification and neofunctionalisation of genes involved in host finding and use, coupled with versatile transcriptional responses on different hosts. H. armigera's invasion of the Americas in recent years means that hybridisation could generate populations that are both locally adapted and insecticide resistant.

The effects of process technology on the physicochemical properties of peony seed oil

Peony seed oils (PSOs) were prepared using supercritical CO2 (SC) and compared with soxhlet extraction (SE) and mechanical screw press extraction (SPE) methods. The fatty acid compositions of the oils were determined, and the physicochemical properties of the oils, including free radical-scavenging activity, α-amylase and α-glucosidase inhibition, thermal and rheological properties were evaluated. The unsaturated fatty acids in the SE oils were higher than SC and SPE oils due to the higher percentage of olefinic, allylic methylene and allylic methine protons in the SE oils. The SPE oils also displayed the highest DPPH and ABTS+ radical scavenging activity at the tested concentrations. However, the SE oils showed stronger inhibitory effects on α-amylase and α-glucosidase enzymes under in vitro conditions when compared with the other oil samples. The three oils had similar melting and crystalline point due to similar contents of fatty acids (FAs). The SC oils had a lower Ea than the others.

Phosphoglycerate mutase 1 promotes cancer cell migration independent of its metabolic activity

Phosphoglycerate mutase 1 (PGAM1) is a glycolytic enzyme that coordinates glycolysis and biosynthesis to promote cancer growth via its metabolic activity. Here, we report the discovery of a non-metabolic function of PGAM1 in promoting cancer metastasis. A proteomic study identified α-smooth muscle actin (ACTA2) as a PGAM1-associated protein. PGAM1 modulated actin filaments assembly, cell motility and cancer cell migration via directly interacting with ACTA2, which was independent of its metabolic activity. The enzymatically inactive H186R mutant retained its association with ACTA2, whereas 201-210 amino acids deleted PGAM1 mutant lost the interaction with ACTA2 regardless of intact metabolic activity. Importantly, PGAM1 knockdown decreased metastatic potential of breast cancer cells in vivo and PGAM1 and ACTA2 were jointly associated with the prognosis of breast cancer patients. Together, this study provided the first evidence revealing a non-metabolic function of PGAM1 in promoting cell migration, and gained new insights into the role of PGAM1 in cancer progression.