Salinity effects on expression and localization of aquaporin 3 in gills of the euryhaline milkfish (Chanos chanos).

Milkfish (Chanos chanos) are important euryhaline fish in Southeast Asian countries that can tolerate a wide range of salinity changes. Previous studies have revealed that milkfish have strong ion regulation and survival abilities under osmotic stress. In addition to ion regulation, water homeostasis in euryhaline teleosts is important during environmental salinity shifts. Aquaporins (AQP) are vital water channels in fish, and different AQPs can transport water influx or outflux from the body. AQP3 is one of the AQP channels, and the function of AQP3 in the gills of euryhaline milkfish is still unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate the expression and localization of AQP3 in the gills of euryhaline milkfish to contribute to our understanding of the physiological role and localization of AQP3 in fish. The AQP3 sequence was found in the milkfish next-generation sequencing (NGS) database and is mainly distributed in the gills of freshwater (FW)-acclimated milkfish. Under hypoosmotic and hyperosmotic stress, the osmolality of milkfish immediately shifted, similar to the aqp3 gene expression. Moreover, the abundance of AQP3 protein significantly decreased 3 h after transferring milkfish from FW to seawater (SW). However, there was no change within 7 days when the milkfish experienced hypoosmotic stress. Moreover, double immunofluorescence staining of milkfish gills showed that AQP3 colocalized with Na+ /K+ ATPase at the basolateral membrane of ionocytes. These results combined indicate that milkfish have a strong osmoregulation ability under acute osmotic stress because of the quick shift in the gene and protein expression of AQP3 in their gills.

Diagnostic role of multislice spiral computed tomography combined with clinical manifestations and laboratory tests in acute appendicitis subtypes.

The study aimed to investigate the diagnostic role of multislice spiral CT (MSCT) combined with clinical manifestations and laboratory tests in acute appendicitis subtypes. Patients diagnosed with acute appendicitis were included for retrospective analysis and their clinical manifestations and MSCT signs were analyzed. The clinical manifestations of different subtypes of acute appendicitis, including simple appendicitis, suppurative appendicitis and gangrenous appendicitis, were compared. The clinical manifestations were anorexia in 51.1% of patients, nausea and vomiting in 62.0%, shifting right lower abdominal pain in 51.1%, elevated body temperature in 31.2%, right lower quadrant abdominal tenderness in 91.4%, rebound tenderness in 91.4%, increased white cell count in 89.1%, high neutrophil count in 88.2%, increased appendiceal diameter enlargement in 100%, surrounding exudate in 95.0%, fecal stones in 51.6%, appendiceal wall thickening in 94.6%, lymph node in 82.8% and intestinal stasis in 18.6%. There were statistically significant differences in body temperature and neutrophil percentage among the subtypes of appendicitis and they were lowest in simple appendicitis and highest in gangrenous appendicitis. There were statistically significant differences in appendix diameter and the surrounding exudate among the subtypes of appendicitis and they were lowest in simple appendicitis and highest in gangrenous appendicitis. Clinical manifestations and MSCT signs, especially body temperature, percentage of neutrophils and the surrounding exudate, might have significant diagnostic value in acute appendicitis.

A Preliminary Toxicology Study on Eco-friendly Control Target of Spodoptera frugiperda.

Pyrethroid and indoxacarb are commonly used pesticides to control the fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda) in the crops. There are a series of consequences caused by the use of pyrethroid and indoxacarb pesticides under emergency control, such as pest resistance development, contamination of soil, water, and farm products. This study analyzed the structure and physiological function of the sodium channel in S. frugiperda, which is an important step to elaborate the resistance mechanism of S. frugiperda to indoxacarb and pyrethroid pesticides. According to genetic analysis, the cloned cDNA sequences of sodium channel in S. frugiperda (SfNav) showed the shortest genetic distance with that of the sodium channel in Helicoverpa armigera. Under the induction of three pesticides, the expression of SfNav decreased in the first 12 h and then increased after 24 h. It was concluded that SfNav had a typical structure of the sodium channel of insects and its down-regulated expression can decrease the combination of S. frugiperda with pyrethroid and indoxacarb pesticides. The up-regulated expression of SfNav was conducive to the enhancement of the pesticide resistance.

A long-term treatment outcome of intentional replantation in Taiwanese population.

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: Intentional replantation was a conventional treatment option in surgical endodontics but usually be seen as a last resort. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the long-term treatment outcome of intentional replantation in Taiwanese population, including the survival rates and the related prognostic factors. METHODS: Subjects included 215 teeth from 199 patients who had received intentional replantation in a Taiwan medical center. Patients at age under 20 years and those follow-up periods less than 6 months were excluded. The replanted teeth were followed up for a period of 6 months-120 months. Post-treatment assessments, including tooth survival and functional status, were evaluated using both clinical and radiographic examinations. RESULTS: Kaplan-Meier survival analysis revealed the overall tooth survival rate at 4 years was 82.8%. In bivariate analysis, both root-end filling material and enamel matrix derivative (EMD) applications were found to be significant (P < 0.05). The multivariate analysis revealed that age and the presence of a sinus tract or abscess might be the predictors of treatment outcome in intentional replantation. CONCLUSION: Intentional replantation, operated with improved modern technique, is a reliable and viable treatment with a high long-term survival rate (82.8%). If replanted teeth are diagnosed as acute or chronic apical abscess at the pre-operative examination, the risk of failure is measured 2.7 times higher than those diagnosed with other conditions. Application of EMD on the root surface of a replanted tooth may promote the formation and regeneration of periodontal apparatus, therefore increasing the functioning rate and improving the treatment outcome.

Controlled Release of Spirotetramat Using Starch-Chitosan-Alginate-Encapsulation.

This study was intended to develop an environment-friendly controlled release system for spirotetramat in an alginate matrix. Four formulations, starch-chitosan-calcium alginate (SCCA), starch-calcium alginate (SCA), chitosan-calcium alginate (CCA), and calcium alginate (CA) complex gel beads, were prepared by the extrusion-exogenous gelation method. The properties of the formulations were studied. The results showed that the release behaviors of the formulations in water could be well described by the logistic model, and the release occurred through Fickian diffusion. Among the four formulations, SCCA showed the highest entrapment efficiency, drug loading and the slowest release rate. Degradation studies revealed that the SCCA formulation exhibited an obvious slower degradation rate of spirotetramat in soils than the commercially available formulation. The estimated half-life of the SCCA formulation was 2.31, 3.25, and 4.51 days in waterloggogenic paddy soil, purplish soil, and montmorillonite, respectively, when the soils were moistened to 60% of its dry weight. This study provided a possible approach to prolong the duration of spirotetramat and to reduce environmental contamination.

Historical gene flow and profound spatial genetic structure among golden pheasant populations suggested by multi-locus analysis.

Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) is a good marker system for geographical genetics since they are functional genes in the immune system that are likely to affect the fitness of the individual, and the survival and evolutionary potential of a population in a changing environment. Golden pheasant (Chrysolophus pictus) is a wild Phasianidae distributed in central and north China. In this study, we used a locus-specific genotyping technique for MHC IIB genes of golden pheasant. Combining with microsatellites (simple sequence repeat, SSR) and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) D-loop region, we investigated the demographic history and illuminate genetic structure of this bird in detail. SYR (south of Yangtze river) - NYR (north of Yangtze river) lineages, separated by Yangtze River, were defined in genetic structure of MHC IIB. NYR was supposed as refuge during glacial period, suggested by diversity parameters and more ancient alleles in this region. Based on this hypothesis, there was gene flow from NYR to SYR, which was proved by three pieces of evidence: (1) distinct demographic histories of SYR (kept stable) and NYR (experienced expansion); (2) specific affiliation of LC in genetic structure of SSR and MHC genes; (3) significant gene flow from NYR to SYR. Moreover, we also found balancing selection by combination of three Grouping A2's regions (SC, QL and North) into one in Grouping B4 (NYR) and no pattern of isolation by distance (IBD) found in MHC IIB, whereas for SSR we found a relatively strong and significant IBD. Several mechanisms in the evolution of MHC IIB genes, including recombination, historically positive selection, trans-species evolution and concerted evolution, were shown by molecular and phylogenetic analysis. Overall these results suggest the Yangtze River was inferred to be a geological barrier for this avian and NYR might experience population expansion, which invaded into a neighboring region. This study contributes to the understanding of the effects of geographic features on contemporary patterns of genetic variation in the golden pheasant in China, and helps us to define the adaptive unite (AU) for this avian.

Isolation of a 97-kb minimal essential MHC B locus from a new reverse-4D BAC library of the golden pheasant.

The bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) system is widely used in isolation of large genomic fragments of interest. Construction of a routine BAC library requires several months for picking clones and arraying BACs into superpools in order to employ 4D-PCR to screen positive BACs, which might be time-consuming and laborious. The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) is a cluster of genes involved in the vertebrate immune system, and the classical avian MHC-B locus is a minimal essential one, occupying a 100-kb genomic region. In this study, we constructed a more effective reverse-4D BAC library for the golden pheasant, which first creates sub-libraries and then only picks clones of positive sub-libraries, and identified several MHC clones within thirty days. The full sequencing of a 97-kb reverse-4D BAC demonstrated that the golden pheasant MHC-B locus contained 20 genes and showed good synteny with that of the chicken. The notable differences between these two species were the numbers of class II B loci and NK genes and the inversions of the TAPBP gene and the TAP1-TAP2 region. Furthermore, the inverse TAP2-TAP1 was unique in the golden pheasant in comparison with that of chicken, turkey, and quail. The newly defined genomic structure of the golden pheasant MHC will give an insight into the evolutionary history of the avian MHC.