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Sweet potato whitefly, Bemisia tabaci biotype Q has been recognized as one of the most destructive insect pests worldwide because of increased resistance to some insecticide groups. To develop an alternative control agent, the effects of different culture conditions such as fermentation methods, culture temperatures, initial inoculum concentrations, substrates and medium supplements on the conidial production of the isolate Isaria javanica Pf04 were assessed. The results demonstrated that conidia of the isolate could be economically produced by single-phase solid state fermentation on barley substrate at 25 °C with 10 8 conidia/g of initial substrate concentrations. Using optimal conditions, the maximum conidial production obtained was 3.5 × 10 9 conidia/g dry substrate after 15 d of cultivation. The conidia, which were produced on barley alone and barley with 5% additives of silkworm powder and moth larvae, were virulent against second instar nymphs of whitefly, providing ≥90% mortality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The loss of photosynthetic function should lead to the cessation of expression and finally loss of photosynthetic genes in the new heterotroph. Dinoflagellates are known to have lost their photosynthetic ability several times. Dinoflagellates have also acquired photosynthesis from other organisms, either on a long-term basis or as “kleptoplastids” multiple times. The fate of photosynthetic gene expression in heterotrophs can be informative into evolution of gene expression patterns after functional loss, and the dinoflagellates ability to acquire new photosynthetic function through additional endosymbiosis. To explore this we analyzed a large-scale EST database consisting of 151,091 unique sequences (29,170 contigs, 120,921 singletons) obtained from 454 pyrosequencing of the heterotrophic dinoflagellate Pfiesteria piscicida. About 597 contigs from P. piscicida showed significant homology (E-value −30) with proteins associated with plastid and photosynthetic function. Most of the genes involved in the Calvin-Benson cycle were found, genes of the light-dependent reaction were also identified. Also genes of associated pathways including the chorismate pathway and genes involved in starch metabolism were discovered. BLAST searches and phylogenetic analysis suggest that these plastid-associated genes originated from several different photosynthetic ancestors. The Calvin-Benson cycle genes are mostly associated with genes derived from the secondary plastids of peridinin-containing dinoflagellates, while the light-harvesting genes are derived from diatoms, or diatoms that are tertiary plastids in other dinoflagellates. The continued expression of many genes involved in photosynthetic pathways indicates that the loss of transcriptional regulation may occur well after plastid loss and could explain the organism's ability to “capture” new plastids (i.e. different secondary endosymbiosis or tertiary symbioses) to renew photosynthetic function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report a two-photon fluorescent probe (ACu1) that can be excited by 750 nm femto-second pulses, shows high photostability and negligible toxicity, and can visualize Cu+distribution in live cells and tissues by two-photon microscopy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The loss of photosynthetic function should lead to the cessation of expression and finally loss of photosynthetic genes in the new heterotroph. Dinoflagellates are known to have lost their photosynthetic ability several times. Dinoflagellates have also acquired photosynthesis from other organisms, either on a long-term basis or as “kleptoplastids” multiple times. The fate of photosynthetic gene expression in heterotrophs can be informative into evolution of gene expression patterns after functional loss, and the dinoflagellates ability to acquire new photosynthetic function through additional endosymbiosis. To explore this we analyzed a large-scale EST database consisting of 151,091 unique sequences (29,170 contigs, 120,921 singletons) obtained from 454 pyrosequencing of the heterotrophic dinoflagellate Pfiesteria piscicida. About 597 contigs from P. piscicida showed significant homology (E-value

Background/aim: Extreme hyperbilirubinemia is occasionally observed in intensive care unit (ICU) and non-ICU settings. This study examined the etiologies of extreme hyperbilirubinemia (bilirubin level ≥12 mg/dL) and the factors associated with the 30-day mortality., Methods: This retrospective observational cohort study identified 439 patients with extreme hyperbilirubinemia at the Gyeongsang National University Changwon Hospital between 2016 and 2020. The patients were classified into three groups and 11 diseases according to their etiology. The risk factors associated with 30-day mortality at the baseline were investigated using the Cox proportional hazards model., Results: Of 439 patients with extreme hyperbilirubinemia, 287, 78, and 74 were in the liver cirrhosis/malignancy group, the ischemic injury group, and the benign hepatobiliary-pancreatic etiological group, respectively, with corresponding 30-day mortality rates of 42.9%, 76.9%, and 17.6%. The most common disease leading to hyperbilirubinemia was a pancreatobiliary malignancy (28.7%), followed by liver cirrhosis (17.3%), hepatocellular carcinoma (10.9%), and liver metastases (8.4%). The etiologies of hyperbilirubinemia, obstructive jaundice, infection, albumin level, creatinine level, and prothrombin time-international normalized ratio were independently associated with the 30-day mortality., Conclusions: This study suggests three etiologies of extreme hyperbilirubinemia in the ICU and non-ICU settings. The prognosis of patients with extreme hyperbilirubinemia depends largely on the etiology and the presence of obstructive jaundice.

Background: Markedly elevated aminotransferase levels are commonly encountered among hospitalized patients. However, data regarding the trajectory of enzyme elevation and disease-specific prognosis are limited., Methods: This study included 3237 patients with at least one episode of aspartate aminotransferase or alanine aminotransferase level being higher than 400 U/L between January 2010 and December 2019 at 2 centers. Patients were classified into 5 groups comprising 13 diseases according to etiology. Factors associated with 30-day mortality were evaluated using a logistic regression analysis., Results: The most common disease leading to markedly elevated aminotransferase level was ischemic hepatitis (33.7%), followed by pancreatobiliary disease (19.9%), DILI (12.0%), malignancy (10.8%), and viral hepatitis (7.0%). The 30-day all-cause mortality rate was 21.6%. The mortality rate for patients from the pancreatobiliary, hepatocellular, extrahepatic, malignancy, and ischemic hepatitis groups was 1.7%, 3.2%, 13.8%, 39.9%, and 44.2%, respectively. Age, etiology, and peak aminotransferase levels were independently associated with 30-day mortality., Conclusions: In patients with markedly elevated liver enzymes, the etiology and peak AST level are significantly associated with mortality., (Copyright © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. on behalf of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases.)

Gom-chwi ( Ligularia fischeri ) is severely infected with Phytophthora drechsleri , the causal organism of Phytophthora root rot, an economically important crop disease that needs management throughout the cultivation period. In the present study, Phytophthora root rot was controlled by using bacterial isolates from rhizosphere soils collected from various plants and screened for antagonistic activity against P. drechsleri . A total of 172 bacterial strains were isolated, of which, 49 strains showed antagonistic activities by dual culture assay. In the seedling assay, six out of the 49 strains showed a predominant effect on suppressing P. drechsleri . Among the six strains, the ObRS-5 strain showed remarkable against P. drechsleri when treated with seed dipping or soil drenching. The ObRS-5 strain was identified as Enterobacter asburiae based on 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequences analysis. The bacterial cells of E. asburiae ObRS-5 significantly suppressed sporangium formation and zoospore germination in P. drechsleri by 87.4% and 66.7%, respectively. In addition, culture filtrate of E. asburiae ObRS-5 also significantly inhibited sporangium formation and zoospore germination by 97.0% and 67.6%, respectively. Soil drenched bacterial cells, filtrate, and culture solution of E. asburiae ObRS-5 effectively suppressed Phytophthora root rot by 63.2%, 57.9%, and 81.1%, respectively. Thus, E. asburiae ObRS-5 could be used as a potential agent for the biological control of Phytophthora root rot infecting gom-chwi., (© The Korean Society of Plant Pathology.)

The beet armyworm Spodoptera exigua (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) is difficult to control using chemical insecticides because of the development of insecticide resistance. Several pest control agents are used to control the beet armyworm. Entomopathogenic fungi are one of the candidates for eco-friendly pest control instead of chemical control agents. In this study, among various entomopathogenic fungal strains isolated from soil two isolates were selected as high virulence pathogens against larva of beet armyworm. Control efficacy of fungal conidia was influenced by conidia concentration, temperature, and relative humidity (RH). The isolates Metarhizium anisopliae FT83 showed 100% cumulative mortality against second instar larvae of S. exigua 3 days after treatment at 1 × 10(7) conidia/mL and Paecilomyces fumosoroseus FG340 caused 100% mortality 6 days after treatment at 1 × 10(4) conidia/mL. Both M. anisopliae FT83 and P. fumosoroseus FG340 effectively controlled the moth at 20~30℃. M. anisopliae FT83 was significantly affected mortality by RH: mortality was 86.7% at 85% RH and 13.4% at 45% RH. P. fumosoroseus FG340 showed high mortality as 90% at 45% RH and 100% at 75% RH 6 days after conidia treatments. These results suggest that P. fumosoroseus FG340 and M. anisopliae FT83 have high potential to develop as a biocontrol agent against the beet armyworm.

Two-photon microscopy (TPM) has become an indispensable tool in the study of biology and medicine due to the capability of this method for molecular imaging deep inside intact tissues. For the maximum utilization of TPM, a variety of two-photon (TP) probes for specific applications are needed. In this article, we report a small-molecule TP probe (ANO1) for nitric oxide (NO) that shows a rapid and specific NO response, a 68-fold fluorescence enhancement in response to NO, and a maximum TP-action cross-section of 170 GM (GM: 10(-50) cm(4) photon(-1)) upon reaction with excess NO. This probe can be easily loaded into cells and tissues and can real-time monitor NO in living tissues at 100-180 μm depth for longer than 1200 s through the use of TPM, with minimum interference from other biologically relevant species., (Copyright © 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

pH values go live! A ratiometric two-photon (TP) probe (NP1, see scheme) that has a significant TP action cross-section, high photostability, negligible toxicity, and can estimate pH values in live cells and human tissues by two-photon microscopy is described. NP1 can detect the difference in pH between live cells from the gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) and the lower esophageal sphincter of patients with and without esophagitis., (Copyright © 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

We report a two-photon (TP) probe (ACaLN) for near-membrane Ca(2+) that shows a 13-fold TP excited fluorescence (TPEF) enhancement in response to Ca(2+), dissociation constants (K(d)(TP)) of (1.9±0.2) μM, pH-insensitivity at the biologically relevant pH, and can detect near-membrane Ca(2+) in live cells for more than 1500 s and in living tissues at 120 μm depth without interference from other metal ions. Comparison with existing probes provides a useful strategy for the design of efficient TP probes for the near-membrane metal ions., (Copyright © 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

A series of Zn(2+)-selective two-photon fluorescent probes (AZnM1-AZnN) that had a wide range of dissociation constants (K(d) (TP) =8 nm-12 μM) were synthesized. These probes showed appreciable water solubility (>3 μM), cell permeability, high photostability, pH insensitivity at pH>7, significant two-photon action cross-sections (86-110 GM) upon complexation with Zn(2+), and can detect the Zn(2+) ions in HeLa cells and in living tissue slices of rat hippocampal at a depth of >80 μm without mistargeting and photobleaching problems. These probes can potentially find application in the detection of various amounts of Zn(2+) ions in live cells and intact tissues., (Copyright © 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

We report a two-photon fluorescent probe (AHg1) that can be excited by 780 nm femto-second pulses, shows high photostability and negligible toxicity, and can visualize the site of Hg(2+) accumulation, but can also estimate trace amounts of mercury ions in fresh fish organs by two-photon microscopy.