Autogeny in Ochlerotatus vigilax (Diptera: Culicidae) from southeast Queensland, Australia

Field and laboratory investigations were undertaken to determine the level of expression of autogeny in the mosquito Ochlerotatus vigilax (Skuse) from southeast Queensland, Australia, and whether there was evidence of seasonal variation. At two field sites in southeast Queensland, Wellington Point and Donnybrook, autogeny rates were determined on six occasions between January 2001 and January 2002. The autogeny rate varied between 71 and 100% at Wellington Point and between 63 and 100% at Donnybrook. Autogenous fecundity ranged from 17 to 63 eggs per female at Wellington Point and from 13 to 88 eggs per female at Donnybrook. Positive relationships were found between adult body size (indicated by wing length), autogeny rate, and fecundity. A laboratory study was conducted to investigate the influence of larval nutrition and adult diet (water versus sucrose) on the expression of autogeny. The autogeny rate at a low-diet treatment was between 73 and 90% when sucrose was withheld from females and 100% when sucrose was provided. All high-diet females were autogenous. Autogenous egg development required 80 +/- 6 h from emergence at 27 degrees C. We conclude that autogeny rates are consistently high in Oc. vigilax from the southeast Queensland region.     

ZZ domain is essentially required for the physiological binding of dystrophin and utrophin to beta-dystroglycan

An intracellular protein, dystrophin, plays an important role in keeping muscle fibers intact by binding at its N-terminal end to the subsarcolemmal cytoskeletal actin network and via its C-terminal end to the transmembraneous protein beta-dystroglycan. Duchenne muscular dystrophy is caused by the loss of dystrophin, which can result from the loss of this binding. The N-terminal part of the latter binding site of dystrophin has been well documented using overlay assay and X-ray diffraction assays. However, the binding site at the C-terminal region of dystrophin has not been examined in detail. In the present work, we report a detailed analysis of the C-terminal binding domain as follows. (1). The full binding activity corresponding to the effective binding in vivo is expressed by the dystrophin fragment spanning amino acids 3026-3345 containing the ZZ domain at the C-terminus. Determination of this binding range is important not only for understanding of the mechanism of dystrophy, but also useful for the design of truncated dystrophin constructs for gene therapy. (2). The ZZ domain binds to EF1 domain in the dystrophin fragment to reinforce the binding activity. (3). The cysteine 3340 in the ZZ domain is essential for the binding of dystrophin to beta-dystroglycan. A reported case of DMD due to missense mutation C3340Y may be caused by inability to fix dystrophin beneath the cell membrane. (4). The binding mode of utrophin is different from that of dystrophin. The difference is conspicuous concerning the cysteine residues present in the ZZ domain.     

Interaction of hepatitis B surface antigen (Australia antigen) with membrane vesicles of Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

A lysogenic strain of Pseudomonas aeruginosa was cultured from the dialysis fluid of a patient on chronic hemodialysis treatment whose blood contained hepatitis B surface antigen (HB8Ag). When this bacterium was incubated for 4 to 7 days with serum containing HB8Ag or with purified HB8Ag, a loss of the HB8Ag-specific immunological reactivity was observed. Bacteriophages can be induced from the isolated P. aeruginosa with mitomycin C; the phages, after purification on CsCl gradients, also lyse P. aeruginosa strain 25102 (ATCC). Subsequent to gradient centrifugation of the lysate, a fraction was found with a density around 1.40 g/ml that inactivated HB8Ag after a 4-h incubation at 37 C as determined by counterelectrophoresis and hemagglutination inhibition. The activity was not found in appreciable amounts in other gradient fractions. The electron microscope shows that the active fraction contains envelope vesicles of 45 to 60 nm in diameter. In spite of their loss in HB8Ag activity, the HB8Ag particles (22nm) appeared morphologically intact. These findings suggest that an enzyme(s) is present in the vesicle fraction which inactivates antigenic determinants on HB8Ag particles. Thus, the presence of these bacteria in environments such as feces, dialysis tanks, and contaminated drinking water may prevent the detection of HB8Ag.     

Adherence-Facilitating Behaviors of a Multidisciplinary Pediatric Rheumatology Staff

Investigated the behaviors of pediatric rheumatology healthcare providers that were expected to be related to patient orparent adherence. Medical charts of 108 patients ages 1 to 20years diagnosed with Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis were examined.The 473 outpatient visits over 15 months yielded a total of2,578 treatment recommendations, but only 1,390 adherence-facilitatingbehaviors by medical staff were documented. Providing informationabout how often to perform the recommendation was the most commonstaff behavior. In contrast, care providers rarely indicatedthat they addressed their patients' concerns and barriers toimplementing the recommendations, or employed behavior modificationstrategies to increase adherence. Implications of these findingsfor development of programs designed to increase treatment adherencein children with chronic diseases requiring time-consuming,intrusive medical regimens are discussed.     

Histamine increases histidine uptake by basophils.

Histamine, at high concentrations, enhanced the uptake of isotopic histidine by guinea-pig basophils. The effect was partially reversed by H1-, but not H2-, histamine receptor antagonists. These data suggest that histamine has a bioregulatory role in its own synthesis.