[Clinical Value of White Light Image, Endoscopic Ultrasonography and Magnifying Endoscopy with Narrow Band Imaging in Evaluation of Indications for Endoscopic Treatment of Early Gastric Cancer].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the application value of white light image (WLI), endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) and magnifying endoscopy with narrow band imaging (ME-NBI) in the endoscopic treatment of early gastric cancer (EGC), and to provide basis for decision-making in clinical diagnosis and treatment. METHODS: The clinicopathological data of EGC patients who underwent endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) at West China Hospital, Sichuan University between December 2013 and October 2020 were included. The accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of EGC invasive depth were compared between WLI and EUS. The role of ME-NBI in predicting the differentiation types of EGC was analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 280 patients (291 lesions) were enrolled in the study. Among them, 199 patients (207 lesions) received EUS and 160 patients (168 lesions) received ME-NBI. The overall accuracy of WLI in diagnosing the invasive depth of EGC was 87.0%, significantly higher than that of EUS (46.4%, P<0.001). When WLI was combined with EUS, the diagnostic accuracy (87.4%) was not significantly improved. The overall accuracy of determining the differentiation degree of EGC with ME-NBI was 92.3% (155/168), and the accuracy of determining undifferentiated EGC with ME-NBI was significantly lower than that of differentiated EGC (41.2% vs. 98.0%, P<0.001). CONCLUSION: In the evaluation of indications for endoscopic treatment of EGC, WLI showed better performance in predicting the invasive depth of EGC, while EUS demonstrated limited value. ME-NBI showed better accuracy for predicting the differentiation degree of most EGC, especially for differentiated EGC.

Effects of RNAi-mediated plasma membrane calcium transporting ATPase and inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor gene silencing on the susceptibility of Mythimna separata to wilforine.

Wilforine, a compound of sesquiterpene alkaloids isolated from Tripterygium wilfordii, exhibits excellent insecticidal activity against Mythimna separata. In order to clarify the action mechanism of wilforine, the plasma membrane calcium transporting ATPase (PMCA) and inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor (IP3R) from M. separata were studied. Results showed that the open reading frame of MsIP3R and MsPMCA were 8118 bp and 3438 bp in length, as well as encoded 2706 and 1146 amino acids, respectively. Multiple sequence alignment and phylogenetic analysis revealed that the MsIP3R and MsPMCA had high homology with the IP3R and PMCA of other insects, but had low similarity with those of mammals, which means the IP3R and PMCA have potential to be the novel targets of insecticides with high selectivity between mammals and insects. Both MsIP3R and MsPMCA genes existed throughout the life cycle of M. separata, and were all predominantly expressed in somatic muscle of fifth-instar larvae and the adults. The susceptibilities of PMCA-silenced M. separata to wilforine were significantly lower than that of the normal M. separata, which illustrates that PMCA could be one of the targets of wilforine. However, the susceptibilities of IP3R-silenced M. separata to wilforine did not change significantly compared with the susceptibilities of normal M. separata, which shows that wilforine may not interact with the IP3R protein. These findings provide clues for elucidating the insecticidal mechanism of wilforine.

B cell memory responses induced by foot-and-mouth disease virus-like particles in BALB/c mice.

A challenging but critical question is that new foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) vaccines should be to induce B cell memory to provide antibodies for long-term protection. The maintenance of B cell memory is dependent on long-lived plasma cells (LLPCs) and memory B cells. We developed a chimeric FMDV virus-like particles (FMDV-VLPs), fusing VP1-VP4 into HBcAg. In our study, we investigated if or how long B cell memory was induced by FMDV-VLPs in mice. The data showed that FMDV-VLPs can induce memory humoral responses with a high level of total IgG1, IgG2a, IgA, and FMDV-specific IgG antibodies in serum. The persistence of antibody levels in serum could depend on LLPCs. The proportion of LLPCs in CD19+ cells in bone marrow exhibited a dynamic trend with two peaks at 28 days post-immunization (dpi) and 72 dpi, respectively. Additionally, the proportion of memory B cells in CD19+ cells in the spleen increased significantly both at 7 days post primary immunization and at 7 days post -boost immunization. Of note, LLPCs together with memory B cells contribute to the production of FMDV-specific IgG and IgG1. The changes of LLPCs and memory B cells may be related to TNF-α, IL-6 and, CXCL12. Taken together, FMDV-VLPs could induce B cells memory responses. A further understanding of the mechanisms that FMDV-VLPs how we can manipulate the induction and maintenance of memory B cells and LLPCs will promote vaccine design and likely address several challenges to develop FMDV new vaccines in the future.

Efficacy of binary combinations between methyl salicylate and carvacrol against thrips Anaphothrips obscurus: laboratory and field trials.

BACKGROUND: Thrips Anaphothrips obscurus are one of the cosmopolitan major pests feeding on cereals and other grasses. In order to develop alternatives of chemical insecticides for thrips control, based on fumigant activity screening and evaluation of 22 essential oil (EO) compounds against the thrips, the binary interactions of methyl salicylate and carvacrol (MS-C) with high fumigant toxicity were studied systematically by bioassay and field trials. RESULTS: The bioassay results showed that six in 22 EO compounds had high fumigant toxicity against both the second-instar nymphs and adults of A. obscurus, including methyl salicylate, carvacrol, thymol, trans-cinnamaldehyde, diallyl trisulfide, and L-perillaldehyde. Furthermore, the combination of methyl salicylate mixed with carvacrol at a volume ratio of 5:5 exhibited the most significant synergism against A. obscurus, with a poison ratio value of 1.32 and a co-toxicity coefficient of 151.15. The optimal formulation of microemulsion (ME) was composed of 5% methyl salicylate, 5% carvacrol, 46% adjuvant and 44% deionized water. The result of dynamic light scattering and stability showed that MS-C 10% ME was a transparent, single-phase and homogeneous liquid system. Field trials indicated that the ME displayed a significant control efficacy of about 89.17% on thrips in peppers, and 82.59% in broad bean on the seventh day post application with a dosage of 600.0 g A.I hm-2 , respectively. CONCLUSION: The binary combination of MS-C possesses strikingly synergistic action against thrips A. obscurus, and the MS-C 10% ME has the potential to be developed as a botanical pesticide product for thrips control. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry.