Variable cross-resistance to Cry11B from Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. jegathesan in Culex quinquefasciatus (Diptera: Culicidae) resistant to single or multiple toxins of Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. israelensis

A novel mosquitocidal bacterium, Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. jegathesan, and one of its toxins, Cry11B, in a recombinant B. thuringiensis strain were evaluated for cross-resistance with strains of the mosquito Culex quinquefasciatus that are resistant to single and multiple toxins of Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. israelensis. The levels of cross-resistance (resistance ratios [RR]) at concentrations which caused 95% mortality (LC95) between B. thuringiensis subsp. jegathesan and the different B. thuringiensis subsp. israelensis-resistant mosquito strains were low, ranging from 2.3 to 5.1. However, the levels of cross-resistance to Cry11B were much higher and were directly related to the complexity of the B. thuringiensis subsp. israelensis Cry toxin mixtures used to select the resistant mosquito strains. The LC95 RR obtained with the mosquito strains were as follows: 53.1 against Cq4D, which was resistant to Cry11A; 80.7 against Cq4AB, which was resistant to Cry4A plus Cry4B; and 347 against Cq4ABD, which was resistant to Cry4A plus Cry4B plus Cry11A. Combining Cyt1A with Cry11B at a 1:3 ratio had little effect on suppressing Cry11A resistance in Cq4D but resulted in synergism factors of 4.8 and 11.2 against strains Cq4AB and Cq4ABD, respectively; this procedure eliminated cross-resistance in the former mosquito strain and reduced it markedly in the latter strain. The high levels of activity of B. thuringiensis subsp. jegathesan and B. thuringiensis subsp. israelensis, both of which contain a complex mixture of Cry and Cyt proteins, against Cry4- and Cry11-resistant mosquitoes suggest that novel bacterial strains with multiple Cry and Cyt proteins may be useful in managing resistance to bacterial insecticides in mosquito populations.     

Pharmacological approaches to the prevention of restenosis after coronary angioplasty

In the absence of distant disease, therapeutic node dissections in malignant melanoma, i.e., dissections of regional nodal basins for palpable suspicious or biopsy-proven positive nodes, offer the chance of cure. The 5-year survival rates after therapeutic lymphadenectomy closely correlate with expected cure rates. Although they varied greatly in the literature, from 19% to 38%, the currently obtainable survival rates are in the upper ranges of this spectrum because patients now are closely followed-up and operated for early palpable nodal disease. Properly done, these procedures carry a low morbidity, but they should be done thoroughly to completely eradicate regional disease and avoid recurrences in the same nodal basin to achieve the maximum survival that is surgically attainable.     

Contribution of the 65-kilodalton protein encoded by the cloned gene cry19A to the mosquitocidal activity of Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. jegathesan

Two new crystal protein genes, cry19A and orf2, isolated from Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. jegathesan were cloned and characterized. The cry19A gene encodes a 74.7-kDa protein, and the orf2 gene encodes a 60-kDa protein. Cry19A contains the five conserved blocks present in most B. thuringiensis delta-endotoxins. The ORF2 amino acid sequence is similar to that of the carboxy terminus of Cry4 proteins. The cry 19A gene was expressed independently or in combination with orf2 in a crystal-negative B. thuringiensis host. The proteins accumulated as inclusions. Purified inclusions containing either Cry19A alone or Cry19A and ORF2 together were toxic to Anopheles stephensi and Culex pipiens mosquito larvae. They were more toxic to C. pipiens than to A. stephensi. However, inclusions containing Cry19A and ORF2 together were more toxic than inclusions of Cry19A alone but less toxic than the wild-type inclusions of B. thuringiensis subsp. jegathesan.     

Embedding off-the-shelf filter in PDMS chip for microbe sampling

Filtration for microfluidic sample-collection devices is desirable for sample selection, concentration, preprocessing, and manipulation, but microfabricating the required sub-micrometer structures is an elaborate process. This article presents a simple method to integrate filters in polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) devices to sample microorganisms in aqueous environments. An off-the-shelf membrane filter with 0.22-μm pores was embedded in a PDMS layer and sequentially bound with other PDMS channel layers. No leakage was observed during filtration. This device was validated by concentrating a large amount of biomass, from 15 × 10⁷ to 3 × 10⁸ cells/ml of cyanobacterium Synechocystis in simulated sample water with consistent performance across devices. The major advantages of this method are low cost, simple design, straightforward fabrication, and robust performance, enabling wide-utility of chip-based devices for field-deployable operations in environmental microbiology.     

RELOOP, an algebra based query language for an object-oriented database system

In most object-oriented databases, as opposed to value-oriented databases, data are accessed by a programming language instead of a declarative query language. End users do not have a simple tool to perform their queries. This paper is concerned with the definition of an SQL-like query language on top of the O₂ object-oriented database system. We study the influence of the object-oriented paradigm on a query language, describe our language through examples, define its semantics by means of an algebra and sketch the compilation of RELOOP in one of the languages supported by the O₂ system.     

Tendinitis of the knee]

Tendinitis of the knee occurs principally in those playing at competition level or for pleasure. Localisation of the tendinitis depends upon the type of sport; amongst those who jump the patellar tendinitis is predominant, with long distance runners tenosynovitis of the iliotibial tract are more often found, for activities involving lateral and brusque++ movements tendinitis of the biceps femoris and tenosynovitis of the "patted'oie" tend to occur. Whilst tendinitis is relatively easy to diagnose, its treatment is more difficult. Of the numerous treatments available, specific physiotherapy-massage, local infiltration, and correction of technical errors are often efficient.