Dispersal patterns and population genetic structure of Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae) in three different climatic regions of China.

BACKGROUND: Aedes albopictus is an indigenous primary vector for dengue and Zika viruses in China. Compared with its insecticide resistance, biology and vector competence, little is known about its genetic variation, which corresponds to environmental variations. Thus, the present study examines how Ae. albopictus varies among different climatic regions in China and deciphers its potential dispersal patterns. METHODS: The genetic variation and population structure of 17 Ae. albopictus populations collected from three climatic regions of China were investigated with 11 microsatellite loci and the mitochondrial coxI gene. RESULTS: Of 44 isolated microsatellite markers, 11 pairs were chosen for genotyping analysis and had an average PIC value of 0.713, representing high polymorphism. The number of alleles was high in each population, with the ne value increasing from the temperate region (3.876) to the tropical region (4.144). Twenty-five coxI haplotypes were detected, and the highest diversity was observed in the tropical region. The mean Ho value (ca. 0.557) of all the regions was significantly lower than the mean He value (ca. 0.684), with nearly all populations significantly departing from HWE and displaying significant population expansion (p value < 0.05). Two genetically isolated groups and three haplotype clades were evaluated via STRUCTURE and haplotype phylogenetic analyses, and the tropical populations were significantly isolated from those in the other regions. Most genetic variation in Ae. albopictus was detected within populations and individuals at 31.40 and 63.04%, respectively, via the AMOVA test, and a relatively significant positive correlation was observed among only the temperate populations via IBD analysis (R2 = 0.6614, p = 0.048). Recent dispersions were observed among different Ae. albopictus populations, and four major migration trends with high gene flow (Nm > 0.4) were reconstructed between the tropical region and the other two regions. Environmental factors, especially temperature and rainfall, may be the leading causes of genetic diversity in different climatic regions. CONCLUSIONS: Continuous dispersion contributes to the genetic communication of Ae. albopictus populations across different climatic regions, and environmental factors, especially temperature and rainfall, may be the leading causes of genetic variation.

ESIPT-Modulated Emission of Lanthanide Complexes: Different Energy-Transfer Pathways and Multiple Responses.

Two series of isostructural lanthanide coordination complexes, namely, LIFM-42(Ln) (Ln=Eu, Tb, Gd, in which LIFM stands for the Lehn Institute of Functional Materials) and LIFM-43(Ln) (Ln=Er, Yb), were synthesized through the self-assembly of an excited-state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) ligand, 5-[2-(5-fluoro-2-hydroxyphenyl)-4,5-bis(4-fluorophenyl)-1H-imidazol-1-yl]isophthalic acid (H2 hpi2cf), with different lanthanide ions. In the coordination structures linked by the ligands and oxo-bridged LnIII 2 clusters (for LIFM-42(Ln) series) or isolated LnIII ions (for LIFM-43(Ln) series), the ESIPT ligand can serve as both the host and antenna for protecting and sensitizing the photoluminescence (PL) of LnIII ions. Meanwhile, the -OH⋅⋅⋅N active sites on the ligands are vacant, which provides availability to systematically explore the PL behavior of Ln complexes with ESIPT interference. Based on the accepting levels of different lanthanide ions, energy transfer can occur from the T1 (K*) or T1 (E*) (K*=excited keto form, E*=excited enol form) excited states of the ligand. Furthermore, the sensitized lanthanide luminescence in both visible and near-infrared regions, as well as the remaining K* emission of the ligand, can be modulated by the ESIPT responsiveness to different solvents, anions, and temperature.

[Kinetic study on dissociation of amylose/salicylic acid compound using non-isothermal method].

The inclusion compound of amylose and salicylic acid (SA) was prepared by a sealed temperature control method, and the formation of the inclusion compound was confirmed by IR spectrum and powder X-ray diffraction. The kinetic parameters of dissociation of amylose/SA compound were studied by the nonisothermal method which was defined as a relationship between the dissociation ratio and time. The values of activation energy (Ea) and frequency factors (InA) were calculated by a nonlinear least-square method. In this study, the formation of the inclusion compound of amylose/SA was confirmed by IR spectrum powder X-ray diffraction. SA existed in a molecule form in the spiral stouction of amylose. The dissociation of amylose/SA compound was attributed to first order reaction. The values of Ea calculated by the nor-isothermal method were 21.71 and 22.41 kJ x mol(-1) at heating rate 5 and 10 degrees C x h(-1), respectively. The corresponding isothermal method value of Ea was 22.17 kJ x mol(-1); the calculated InA values were 9.32 and 10.08 at heating rate 5 and 10 degrees C x h(-1), respectively. The corresponding isothermal method lnA value was 9.26. The results were in good agreement with Ea values and lnA values by isothermal method. These results indicated that the non-isothermal method described in this study could be adequately used for the stability study of inclusion compound and was a rapid and accurate method for the determination of kinetic parameters.

Collection, mapping, and annotation of over 28,000 cDNA clones from japonica rice.

We collected and completely sequenced 28,469 full-length complementary DNA clones from Oryza sativa L. ssp. japonica cv. Nipponbare. Through homology searches of publicly available sequence data, we assigned tentative protein functions to 21,596 clones (75.86%). Mapping of the cDNA clones to genomic DNA revealed that there are 19,000 to 20,500 transcription units in the rice genome. Protein informatics analysis against the InterPro database revealed the existence of proteins presented in rice but not in Arabidopsis. Sixty-four percent of our cDNAs are homologous to Arabidopsis proteins.

Effect of 1-O-ethyl-3-butylcyclohexanol on the skin permeation of drugs with different physicochemical characteristics.

The effects of 1-O-ethyl-3-butylcyclohexanol (OEBC) on the in vitro skin permeation of ten model drugs with different physicochemical properties across excised rat skin were evaluated. The results showed that the addition of OEBC significantly improved the in vitro skin permeation of the model drugs compared with the control (without OEBC). To clarify the promoting mechanism of OEBC, a multiple regression analysis was employed. When the permeation study was performed without OEBC, the permeability coefficient was quantitatively predicted as a linear function of molecular weight (log MW) and their lipophilicity (partition coefficient of drugs between octanol and water (log K(o/w)) with a sufficiently high correlation coefficient (r=0.842). It was suggested that skin permeation of drugs without OEBC was explained as a function of diffusion of drugs through the skin and partitioning of drugs to the skin. Although OEBC was administered, the permeability coefficient of drugs cannot be predicted as a linear function of log MW and log K(o/w) (r=0.572).