Quantitative age grading of mosquitoes using surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy.

Mosquito-borne pathogens, including malaria, Zika, dengue, and chikungunya continue to be a major public health concern globally. Based on the understanding that only older female mosquitoes are infectious and represent a risk to human health, scientists have sought to age-grade mosquitoes for decades. To date, however, no reliable, cost-effective and practical methods exist to age older mosquitoes despite the tremendous epidemiological value of this approach.

Positive and negative interspecific interactions between coexisting rice planthoppers neutralise the effects of elevated temperatures.

Global warming is often predicted to increase damage to plants through direct effects on insect herbivores. However, the indirect impacts of rising temperatures on herbivores, mediated through interactions with their biotic environment, could dampen these effects.Using a series of reciprocal density experiments with gravid females and developing nymphs, we examined interspecific competition between two coexisting phloem feeders (BPH) and (WBPH), on rice at 25 and 30°C.

Ikaros mediates the DNA methylation-independent silencing of MCJ/DNAJC15 gene expression in macrophages.

MCJ (DNAJC15) is a mitochondrial protein that regulates the mitochondrial metabolic status of macrophages and their response to inflammatory stimuli. CpG island methylation in cancer cells constitutes the only mechanism identified for the regulation of MCJ gene expression. However, whether DNA methylation or transcriptional regulation mechanisms are involved in the physiological control of this gene expression in non-tumor cells remains unknown.

The tick saliva immunosuppressor, Salp15, contributes to Th17-induced pathology during Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis.

Salp15 is a tick saliva protein that inhibits CD4(+) T cell differentiation through its interaction with CD4. The protein inhibits early signaling events during T cell activation and IL-2 production. Because murine Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis development is mediated by central nervous system-infiltrating CD4(+) T cells that are specific for myelin-associated proteins, we sought to determine whether the treatment of mice with Salp15 during EAE induction would prevent the generation of proinflammatory T cell responses and the development of the disease.

Electrical activation of mouse oocytes.

Activation of the oocyte is the least efficient step in nuclear transplantation in the rabbit. We report the influence of age of oocytes, field strength, pulse duration and number, and shape of field on the rate of activation of mouse oocytes by electrical pulses. Regardless of oocyte age, activation rates were similar over a wide range of field strengths and pulse durations.