Stimulation of polydnavirus replication by 20-hydroxyecdysone.

During oviposition the endoparasitic wasp Campoletis sonorensis, introduces a polydnavirus into parasitized insects where viral gene expression is required for endoparasite survival. The polydnavirus is integrated into wasp chromosomal DNA and replicates only in the ovary. Ecdysteroids regulate the developmental expression of many insect genes and may regulate polydnavirus replication. Direct verification of viral replication was performed by dot blot hybridization and by amplifying DNA sequences containing the viral integration site; this 'junction' fragment cannot be amplified from integrated virus. Thoracic ligations and in vitro ecdysteroid treatments of wasp ovaries support the hypothesis that polydnavirus DNA replication is regulated by ecdysteroid during parasite development.     

Isolation of a neurosecretory substance which stimulates RNA synthesis in regenerating planarians

Summary An approach to the isolation of neurosecretory material from planarians is described. This material stimulated RNA synthesis, in a dose-dependent response, in regeneratingDugesia tigrina. The data support the concept that neurosecretion plays a key role in the process of regeneration in planarians.Supported by funds from the National Research Council of Canada.     

A syndrome of altered cardiovascular, craniofacial, neurocognitive and skeletal development caused by mutations in TGFBR1 or TGFBR2

We report heterozygous mutations in the genes encoding either type I or type II transforming growth factor beta receptor in ten families with a newly described human phenotype that includes widespread perturbations in cardiovascular, craniofacial, neurocognitive and skeletal development. Despite evidence that receptors derived from selected mutated alleles cannot support TGFbeta signal propagation, cells derived from individuals heterozygous with respect to these mutations did not show altered kinetics of the acute phase response to administered ligand. Furthermore, tissues derived from affected individuals showed increased expression of both collagen and connective tissue growth factor, as well as nuclear enrichment of phosphorylated Smad2, indicative of increased TGFbeta signaling. These data definitively implicate perturbation of TGFbeta signaling in many common human phenotypes, including craniosynostosis, cleft palate, arterial aneurysms, congenital heart disease and mental retardation, and suggest that comprehensive mechanistic insight will require consideration of both primary and compensatory events.     

Secondary antibody responses of mice to bacterial somatic antigens

Zusammenfassung IgG- und IgM-Antikörper wurden mit 2 Injektionen vonSalmonella-antigenen (S.-newport-Zellen undS.-typhi-Lipopolysacchariden) in Mäusen erzeugt. Es ergab sich, dass die IgG-Antikörper bei ihrer zweiten Reaktion nur dann ein Maximum erreichten, wenn zwischen der ersten und zweiten Injektion ein Zeitraum von mindestens 4 Wochen verstrichen war. Weiter wurde gefunden, dass die Lipopolysaccharide, im Gegensatz zu den Bakterienzellen, die Bildung der IgM-Antikörper favorisierten.     

Systemic Research Practices Towards the Development of an Eco-Community in Vietnam: some Joint Post-Facto Reflections

In this article we discuss how an interdisciplinary research team partnered with a variety of stakeholders concerned with and/or affected by the impacts of climate change in the Red River Delta of Vietnam. The research, undertaken from 2016 to 2018, drew upon a wide range of methods to investigate systemically these impacts – with a view to the research inputting into the development of (more) sustainable ways of living. The research solicited various accounts of the experience of climate change in the community, set up learning processes in community meetings, and created an interface with government officials positioned at commune, district, provincial, and national levels. The intention was to offer support towards developing a learning process (broadly defined as including learnings/systemic inquiry across organizational levels of the society) to pursue options for sustainable living. The article offers our post-facto reflections which render more explicit (to ourselves and for the benefit of audiences) how the research team, with Hoang as lead researcher, facilitated the inquiry process towards developing a synthesis which underscored the assets for resilience to climate change and supported interventions to strengthen such (defined) assets.