The concentration of ammonia in the excreta of sixth instar larvae ofLamida moncusalis Walker (Pyralidae: Lepidoptera) during development

Summary The concentration of ammonia in the fresh and dry excreta ofLamida moncusalis Walker was determined. It was found that a large quantity of ammonia was lost from the excreta on drying. Ammonia is one of the major excretory products of the larva.5 September 1986Acknowledgment. We thank the State Committee on Science, Technology and Environment, Kerala, for the financial assistance.     

Synthesis of glass ceramics from kaolin and dolomite mixture

Cordierite-and anorthite-based binary glass ceramics of the CaO-MgO-Al₂O₃-SiO₂ (CMAS) system were synthesized by mixing local and abundant raw minerals (kaolin and doloma by mass ratio of 82/18). A kinetics study reveals that the activation energy of crystallization (Ea) calculated by the methods of Kissinger and Marotta are 438 kJ·mol-1 and 459 kJ·mol-1, respectively. The Avrami parameter (n) is estimated to be approximately equal to 1, corresponding to the surface crystallization mechanism. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis shows that the anorthite and cordierite crystals are precipitated from the parent glass as major phases. Anorthite crystals first form at 850℃, whereas the μ-cordierite phase appears after heat treatment at 950℃. Thereafter, the cordierite allotropically transforms to α-cordierite at 1000℃. Complete densification is achieved at 950℃; however, the density slightly decreases at higher temperatures, reaching a stable value of 2.63 kg·m-3 between 1000℃ and 1100℃. The highest Vickers hardness of 6 GPa is also obtained at 950℃. However, a substantial decrease in hardness is recorded at 1000℃; at higher sintering temperatures, it slightly increases with increasing temperature as the α-cordierite crystallizes.     

A mechanosensory complex that mediates the endothelial cell response to fluid shear stress

Shear stress is a fundamental determinant of vascular homeostasis, regulating vascular remodelling, cardiac development and atherogenesis, but the mechanisms of transduction are poorly understood. Previous work showed that the conversion of integrins to a high-affinity state mediates a subset of shear responses, including cell alignment and gene expression. Here we investigate the pathway upstream of integrin activation. PECAM-1 (which directly transmits mechanical force), vascular endothelial cell cadherin (which functions as an adaptor) and VEGFR2 (which activates phosphatidylinositol-3-OH kinase) comprise a mechanosensory complex. Together, these receptors are sufficient to confer responsiveness to flow in heterologous cells. In support of the relevance of this pathway in vivo, PECAM-1-knockout mice do not activate NF-kappaB and downstream inflammatory genes in regions of disturbed flow. Therefore, this mechanosensing pathway is required for the earliest-known events in atherogenesis.     

Mutations in SECISBP2 result in abnormal thyroid hormone metabolism

Incorporation of selenocysteine (Sec), through recoding of the UGA stop codon, creates a unique class of proteins. Mice lacking tRNA(Sec) die in utero, but the in vivo role of other components involved in selenoprotein synthesis is unknown, and Sec incorporation defects have not been described in humans. Deiodinases (DIOs) are selenoproteins involved in thyroid hormone metabolism. We identified three of seven siblings with clinical evidence of abnormal thyroid hormone metabolism. Their fibroblasts showed decreased DIO2 enzymatic activity not linked to the DIO2 locus. Systematic linkage analysis of genes involved in DIO2 synthesis and degradation led to the identification of an inherited Sec incorporation defect, caused by a homozygous missense mutation in SECISBP2 (also called SBP2). An unrelated child with a similar phenotype was compound heterozygous with respect to mutations in SECISBP2. Because SBP2 is epistatic to selenoprotein synthesis, these defects had a generalized effect on selenoproteins. Incomplete loss of SBP2 function probably causes the mild phenotype.     

Preparation of bioactive glasses with controllable degradation behavior and their bioactive characterization

Bioactive glasses and ceramics have been widely investigated for bone repair because of their excel-lent bioactive characteristics. However, these biomaterials undergo incomplete conversion into a bone-like material, which severely limits their biomedical application. In this paper, borosilicate bioac-tive glasses were prepared by traditional melting process. The results showed that borosilicate glasses possessed high biocompatibility and bioactivity. In addition, when immersed in a 0.02 mol/L K2HPO4 solution, particles of a borate glass were fully converted to HA. The desirable conversion rate to HA may be achieved through the adjustment of the B2O3/SiO2 ratio. The results of XRD and FTIR analysis indicated that the degradation product was carbonate-substituted hydroxyapatite, which was similar to the inorganic component of bone.     

用参数化法简化多元间歇精馏塔的操作优化

考虑了塔板的效率及水力学特性,建立了基于相对挥发度的各板汽液平衡关系。以回流比为操作变量,以单位时间获取最大产量为优化的目标函数。产品的平均浓度以终端函数的形式出现在目标函数中。采用参数化方法化无穷维优化问题为有穷维优化问题,并用改良罚函数和变量置换的方法处理不等式约束,最后用POWELL法搜索最优解。在仿真实验中获得了满意的结果并比较了最优恒回流比和最优变回流比的控制策略的差别。     

The excretion of urea by the larvae ofSpodoptera mauritia boisd. (Noctuidae: Lepidoptera) during development

Summary The concentration of urea in the excreta of the 6th instar larvae ofSpodoptera mauritiavaries from 4.017±0.541 to 31.052±1.193 moles/g dry excreta (mean±SE). The observation confirms that urea excreted is of metabolic origin.     

Identification of cells initiating human melanomas

Tumour-initiating cells capable of self-renewal and differentiation, which are responsible for tumour growth, have been identified in human haematological malignancies and solid cancers. If such minority populations are associated with tumour progression in human patients, specific targeting of tumour-initiating cells could be a strategy to eradicate cancers currently resistant to systemic therapy. Here we identify a subpopulation enriched for human malignant-melanoma-initiating cells (MMIC) defined by expression of the chemoresistance mediator ABCB5 (refs 7, 8) and show that specific targeting of this tumorigenic minority population inhibits tumour growth. ABCB5+ tumour cells detected in human melanoma patients show a primitive molecular phenotype and correlate with clinical melanoma progression. In serial human-to-mouse xenotransplantation experiments, ABCB5+ melanoma cells possess greater tumorigenic capacity than ABCB5- bulk populations and re-establish clinical tumour heterogeneity. In vivo genetic lineage tracking demonstrates a specific capacity of ABCB5+ subpopulations for self-renewal and differentiation, because ABCB5+ cancer cells generate both ABCB5+ and ABCB5- progeny, whereas ABCB5- tumour populations give rise, at lower rates, exclusively to ABCB5- cells. In an initial proof-of-principle analysis, designed to test the hypothesis that MMIC are also required for growth of established tumours, systemic administration of a monoclonal antibody directed at ABCB5, shown to be capable of inducing antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity in ABCB5+ MMIC, exerted tumour-inhibitory effects. Identification of tumour-initiating cells with enhanced abundance in more advanced disease but susceptibility to specific targeting through a defining chemoresistance determinant has important implications for cancer therapy.