Issues and gaps in international guidance and national regulatory systems affecting international live insect trade

International trade in live insects involves the shipping of many different species, for various purposes, with a variety of handling requirements regulated by numerous authorities with varying objectives. The diversity of factors at play has both created and been subject to a complex regulatory landscape. A review of global production, shipping and use experiences from a range of perspectives has shown gaps and inconsistencies in international guidance and national implementation. Private carriers add another layer of uncertainty that is disproportionate to risks, resulting in variable practices and charges. Many benefits can come from international trade in insects, including pollinator services, control of pests and of disease vectors, and enhanced international scientific research and innovation. These benefits will be better achieved through a more evidence-based and efficient approach to regulating trade. This change in approach will in turn require an improved and widely accepted risk-management landscape for insect trade.

The role of international organisations in controlling invasive species and preserving biodiversity

Invasive alien species spread through the environment and threaten native biodiversity, assisted by the absence of natural enemies. Alien species may also carry pathogens, which can be transmitted to native species. About half of the known endangered species are under threat from invasive alien species. The Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in 2008 invited relevant international organisations to work together to fill the gap in the international regulatory framework on invasive alien species. The Convention also reaffirmed the need for capacity and expertise to deal with invasive alien species in many countries, especially in developing countries. In this paper, the authors review the findings of this project.

A new cannula with a flexible tip (Swing Tip) may improve the success rate of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography

BACKGROUND AND STUDY AIMS

Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) is sometimes unsuccessful because the anatomy of the papilla of Vater precludes cannulation by routine means. The efficacy of a new flexible tip cannula (the Swing Tip) was studied in patients in whom routine ERCP was unsuccessful.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

The Swing Tip cholangiographic catheter has an articulation at its tip which allows the tip to be flexed from 90 degrees to 30 degrees. Routine cholangiography was successful in 175 of 195 patients in whom it was attempted between September 2000 and November 2001. ERCP with the Swing Tip catheter was attempted in the 20 patients in whom ERCP had failed.

RESULTS

In 17 of 20 patients, we attempted to insert the Swing Tip catheter into the common bile duct to perform cholangiography. Insertion was successful in 11 patients and unsuccessful in six. There were no complications related to the procedure.

CONCLUSION

The Swing Tip catheter is a useful adjunct to standard ERCP catheters for patient in whom standard techniques are unsuccessful.

Technical modifications and strategies for stenting gastric outlet strictures using esophageal endoprostheses

BACKGROUND AND STUDY AIMS

The outcome of stenting gastric outlet stricture is favorable compared with a bypass operation which has significant morbidity and mortality. In Japan, this procedure is particularly complicated by a lack of enteral stents. We report some technical stratagems for stent placement for gastric outlet strictures.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Between February 1993 and July 2001, 23 patients with gastric outlet strictures (14 men, nine women; mean age 72 years) underwent stent placement using an esophageal stent system. The Ultraflex or Z-stents were used in 18 or five patients, respectively. With the Ultraflex, we increased the length of the delivery system. Some patients underwent stent placement with the help of endoscopic assistance with a grasping forceps or a home-made sheath.

RESULTS

The metal stent was successfully inserted in all patients. There were no complications during the procedure. Migration occurred in two out of five patients treated with the Z-stent, whereas there was no migration in patients treated with the Ultraflex stent. In two patients, curable pancreatitis was caused by pressure on the duodenal papilla. One of these patients also experienced bile stasis which required biliary decompression. There were three cases of obstruction, caused by tumor ingrowth (1), hyperplasia (1) and stent fracture (1); recanalization by an additional stent placement and/or cutting stent filaments was successful. All the patients died, with a median survival period of 52 days. There was no procedure-related mortality.

CONCLUSIONS

With some technical modification, stent placement for gastric outlet stricture, even using an esophageal stent, is feasible. This procedure offers good palliation with no major complications.

Successful repair of a damaged duodenal stent by cutting stent wires and placement of a second stent

Duodenal stenting has been gradually established in recent years because it is less invasive than standard surgical procedures and produces a rapid therapeutic response. For palliation of both duodenal and biliary stenoses, double stenting may be performed. Duodenal stents offer a great advantage in allowing endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) without the need for balloon dilation. When biliary stent dysfunction occurs, the patient undergoes diagnostic and/or therapeutic ERCP across the duodenal stent. We encountered a duodenal stent fracture in a patient who required repeated ERCPs for stent dysfunction. Duodenal stent fractures have not previously been reported. The damaged stent was successfully repaired by using a cutting wire filament and placing another duodenal stent coaxially with the first. Clinicians should be aware of the possibility of stent fracture following endoscopic procedures, such as an ERCP, that require passage through the stent. The procedure described in this report would be of significant benefit if a gastrointestinal stent is fractured and occluded by a broken part.

Is structural flexibility of antigen-binding loops involved in the affinity maturation of anti-DNA antibodies?

Effects of somatic mutations in Ig variable region genes on the affinity maturation of autoantibodies were investigated using single precursor B cell-derived anti-double-stranded DNA mAb generated from an autoimmune disease-prone (NZB x NZW)F1 mouse. Analyses of DNA sequences, homology modeling on a graphic computer and molecular dynamics simulation of antigen-binding sites showed that any single site of mutation and changes in the electrostatic or hydrogen-bonding potential of the residues and in the three-dimensional structure could not solely explain the difference in DNA-binding activities. However, a significant increase in the flexibility of antigen-binding Fv loops, particularly VL CDR1 and VH CDR3, was associated with affinity-maturated anti-DNA antibodies. Such high flexibility of the FV loops may provide the environment where the antibodies could effectively interact with antigen DNA, a model consistent with the 'induced-fit' hypothesis of antigen-antibody interactions.

[Hybridoma Data Bank (HDB)]

A Hybridoma Data Bank (HDB) has been developed with the collaboration of ATCC (USA), Cerdic (Europe) and RIKEN (Japan). The database holds more than 23000 records of the monoclonal antibodies. HDB is designed to meet diverse research requirements. HDB describes the development, isotype, specificity, applications, availability and literature citations for an individual monoclonal antibody. The World Data Center (WDC) at RIKEN in Japan is currently giving users' access to HDB on INTERNET, packet switching system and telephone line. The procedures for access to WDC and the interactive information retrieval system in WDC are introduced. The extraction of HDB data to create the visual table, showing reactivity patterns of monoclonal antibodies, are also shown, as an example of intelligent usage of HDB.

An automated analysis of chemotaxis in vitro using a computer-assisted scanning densitometer

The quantitation of chemotaxis in vitro was developed with a computer-assisted scanning densitometer. The method of estimating the number of cells on a filter was based on the photo-reflection from the nuclei of stained cells. Samples obtained from a 48-well micro chemotaxis assembly were successfully analyzed by this method. This assay system could quantitate chemotaxis much faster and more accurately than by cell counting under the microscope. It was sensitive enough to determine the responsiveness of SMCs and fibroblasts to various chemoattractants. This system could be applied to medical and biological screening tests for drugs and clones in laboratories.

Functional disability of rat splenocytes provoked to lipid peroxidation by cumene hydroperoxide

Rat splenocytes were provoked to lipid peroxidation in a dose-dependent manner by cumene hydroperoxide. After exposure to cumene hydroperoxide, formation of high molecular weight protein, presumably through cross-linking of lower molecular weight protein, was stimulated in splenocytes as well as in erythrocyte ghosts. The mitogenic response to concanavalin A of splenocytes was remarkably depressed by addition of cumene hydroperoxide to cultures. This depression was due rather to failures of splenocytes in responding to concanavalin A than deactivation of concanavalin A molecules. It is notworthy that the viability of splenocytes was unaffected by cumene hydroperoxide under the culture conditions where the mitogenic response was depressed. The addition of alpha-tocopherol or thiourea could block the depression of mitogenic response by cumene hydroperoxide, indicating that the depressed response to concanavalin A was related to radical formation. Overall evidence suggests that the function of immunocompetent cells can be depressed through lipid peroxidation-associated mechanisms without suffering from lethal damage.

Effect of pyridoxal 5'-phosphate on the 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 receptor system

The effect of pyridoxal 5'-phosphate on the 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 receptor system has been studied by using pig intestinal chromatin. Pyridoxal 5'-phosphate did not affect the binding of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 to its receptor extracted from chromatin with hypertonic KCl, although in the presence of pyridoxal 5'-phosphate 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3-receptor complexes were not readily precipitated with polyethylene glycol. In contrast, pyridoxal 5'-phosphate showed a potency to dissociate the 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 receptor from chromatin in a dose-dependent manner. A low concentration of pyridoxal 5'-phosphate was as effective as hypertonic KCl in dissociating the receptor from chromatin, while pyridoxine, p-nitrophenyl phosphate, or inorganic phosphate was much less effective. These observations suggest the inhibitory effect of pyridoxal 5'-phosphate on the recognition of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 by its receptor system.

Intestinal absorption of dinitrophenyl-lysine and effect of immunization with dinitrophenylated bovine serum albumin

The intestinal absorption of dinitrophenyl-lysine (DNP-lys) was studied with a special interest on the role of the immune system in the absorption of small molecules which are recognized as nonself. [3H]-DNP-lys was rapidly absorbed by ligated intestinal loops in situ via a saturable and unique route. When [3H]-DNP-lys was preincubated with the immune serum obtained from rats immunized with dinitrophenylated bovine serum albumin (DNP-BSA), the [3H]-DNP-lys absorption was depressed. The absorption of [3H]-DNP-lys in DNP-BSA-immunized rats was depressed compared to the control. The results obtained suggest that the immune system play a role in avoiding the absorption of small molecules with antigenicity.

Biliary immunoglobulins in protein-energy malnourished rats

The effect of protein-energy malnutrition on biliary immunoglobulins was investigated in rats fed isocaloric diets containing 0.5%, 5%, and 18% casein, respectively. Growth was severely retarded in rats fed 0.5% casein diet and moderately in rats fed 5% casein diet, and these groups had decreases in serum albumin and total protein levels. Since the energy intake was low in rats fed protein-insufficient diets, the nutritional status was defined not as protein malnutrition but protein-energy malnutrition. Depression of systemic immune functions in protein-energy malnourished rats were demonstrated by serum IgG and IgA levels, and antibody responses to dinitrophenylated bovine gamma globulin, a T-cell dependent antigen. The depressed systemic immune functions observed in those rats were suggested to be caused by thymic atrophy. IgA levels in bile were much higher in all groups than IgG levels. IgG levels decreased in rats fed 0.5% casein diet but not in rats fed 5% casein diet, while IgA levels decreased in rats fed 5% and 0.5% casein diet relating to casein levels. The ratios of IgA to IgG in bile also decreased in rats fed protein-insufficient diets. By sucrose density gradient centrifugation secretory IgA levels in bile were shown to decrease in rats fed 0.5% casein diet, suggesting that the secretion of IgA by hepatic parenchymal cells is depressed in the protein-energy malnourished rats.