Fipronil modulation of GABAA receptor single-channel currents

Fipronil is the first phenylpyrazole insecticide introduced for pest control. Although fipronil is known to inhibit GABA receptors, the detailed mechanism of action remains to be seen. In order to elucidate the mechanism of fipronil interaction with the mammalian GABAA system, single-channel patch clamp experiments were performed using rat dorsal root ganglion neurons. The amplitude of main conductance state (27pS) current was not significantly altered by co-application of 10 microM fipronil and 10 microM GABA. The histograms of open time distribution were fitted to a sum of three exponential functions. After application of 10 microM fipronil, the proportion of the fastest component increased slightly and that of the slowest component decreased slightly. Thus, the mean open time was decreased from 11.4 ms to 7.8 ms by fipronil. The histograms of closed time distribution were fitted to a sum of four exponential functions. Fipronil 10 microM prolonged the slowest time constant resulting in a prolongation of the mean closed time from 29.7 ms to 52.8 ms. Thus, the frequency of channel openings was reduced. Thus, the fipronil suppression of GABA-induced whole-cell currents is caused in part by decreases in the channel open time and the frequency of channel openings.     

Epidemiological, clinical, echo-doppler characteristics of mitral valve endocardiosis in Cavalier King Charles in France: a retrospective study of 451 cases (1995 to 2003)

A study performed on 451 Cavalier King Charles showed that 40.6% of dogs had a left apical systolic heart murmur, whose prevalence increased with age (> 11-year-old, 100%), but was not different between males and females. Mitral valve endocardiosis represented 93.3% of the ultrasonographic abnormalities.     

A plant miRNA contributes to antibacterial resistance by repressing auxin signaling

Plants and animals activate defenses after perceiving pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) such as bacterial flagellin. In Arabidopsis, perception of flagellin increases resistance to the bacterium Pseudomonas syringae, although the molecular mechanisms involved remain elusive. Here, we show that a flagellin-derived peptide induces a plant microRNA (miRNA) that negatively regulates messenger RNAs for the F-box auxin receptors TIR1, AFB2, and AFB3. Repression of auxin signaling restricts P. syringae growth, implicating auxin in disease susceptibility and miRNA-mediated suppression of auxin signaling in resistance.     

Drilling to gabbro in intact ocean crust

Sampling an intact sequence of oceanic crust through lavas, dikes, and gabbros is necessary to advance the understanding of the formation and evolution of crust formed at mid-ocean ridges, but it has been an elusive goal of scientific ocean drilling for decades. Recent drilling in the eastern Pacific Ocean in Hole 1256D reached gabbro within seismic layer 2, 1157 meters into crust formed at a superfast spreading rate. The gabbros are the crystallized melt lenses that formed beneath a mid-ocean ridge. The depth at which gabbro was reached confirms predictions extrapolated from seismic experiments at modern mid-ocean ridges: Melt lenses occur at shallower depths at faster spreading rates. The gabbros intrude metamorphosed sheeted dikes and have compositions similar to the overlying lavas, precluding formation of the cumulate lower oceanic crust from melt lenses so far penetrated by Hole 1256D.     

The embryonic vertebrate heart tube is a dynamic suction pump

The embryonic vertebrate heart begins pumping blood long before the development of discernable chambers and valves. At these early stages, the heart tube has been described as a peristaltic pump. Recent advances in confocal laser scanning microscopy and four-dimensional visualization have warranted another look at early cardiac structure and function. We examined the movement of cells in the embryonic zebrafish heart tube and the flow of blood through the heart and obtained results that contradict peristalsis as a pumping mechanism in the embryonic heart. We propose a more likely explanation of early cardiac dynamics in which the pumping action results from suction due to elastic wave propagation in the heart tube.     

Simultaneous determination of ethidimuron, methabenzthiazuron, and their two major degradation products in soil

An analytical method has been developed for the quantification of two herbicides (ethidimuron and methabenzthiazuron) and their two main soil derivatives. This method involves fluidized-bed extraction (FBE) prior to cleanup and analysis by reverse-phase liquid chromatography with UV detection at 282 nm. FBE conditions were established to provide efficient extraction without degradation of the four analytes. (14)C-labeled compounds were used for the optimization of extraction and purification steps and for the determination of related efficiencies. Extraction was optimal using a fexIKA extractor operating at 110 degrees C for three cycles (total time = 95 min) with 75 g of soil and 150 mL of a 60:40 v/v acetone/water mixture. Extracts were further purified on a 500 mg silica SPE cartridge. Separation was performed on a C18 Purosphere column (250 mm x 4 mm i.d.), at 0.8 mL min(-1) and 30 degrees C with an elution gradient made up of phosphoric acid aqueous solution (pH 2.2) and acetonitrile. Calibration curves were found to be linear in the 0.5-50 mg L(-1) concentration range. Besides freshly spiked soil samples, method validation included the analysis of samples with aged residues. Recovery values, determined from spiked samples, were close to 100%. Limits of detection ranged between 2 and 3 microg kg(-1) of dry soil and limits of quantification between 8 and 10 microg kg(-1) of dry soil. An attempt to improve these performances by using fluorescence detection following postcolumn derivatization by orthophthalaldehyde-mercaptoethanol reagent was unsuccessful.     

New strategies for the elimination of polio from India

The feasibility of global polio eradication is being questioned as a result of continued transmission in a few localities that act as sources for outbreaks elsewhere. Perhaps the greatest challenge is in India, where transmission has persisted in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar despite high coverage with multiple doses of vaccine. We estimate key parameters governing the seasonal epidemics in these areas and show that high population density and poor sanitation cause persistence by not only facilitating transmission of poliovirus but also severely compromising the efficacy of the trivalent vaccine. We analyze strategies to counteract this and show that switching to monovalent vaccine may finally interrupt virus transmission.     

Baseline toxicity and stage specificity of recently developed reduced‐risk insecticides chlorantraniliprole and spinetoram to obliquebanded leafroller,Choristoneura rosaceana (Harris) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae)

BACKGROUND: Studies were designed to assess baseline toxicity of the two recently developed reduced‐risk insecticides chlorantraniliprole and spinetoram to obliquebanded leafroller (OBLR), Choristoneura rosaceana (Harris), and to determine stage‐specific effects of these products on OBLR, so that these new chemicals could be judiciously incorporated into IPM programs by targeting only the most susceptible stages of OBLR. RESULTS: Both chlorantraniliprole and spinetoram were highly effective against neonate OBLR larvae at much lower doses than conventional standard azinphosmethyl. Most of the mortality caused by spinetoram occurred during the 4 day exposure period, while significant delayed mortality was observed as a result of chlorantraniliprole treatment during the 7 day recovery period, indicating that chlorantraniliprole is a slower‐acting compound compared with spinetoram. Unlike broad‐spectrum predecessors, the toxicity of chlorantraniliprole significantly increased with larval age. Similarly, the toxicity of spinetoram increased as larvae grew from neonates to third instars. CONCLUSION: Chlorantraniliprole and spinetoram are highly effective against OBLR larvae, regardless of larval age. Incorporation of these reduced‐risk chemistries into IPM programs for OBLR would lead to effective management of this pest in tree fruit systems. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry     

Increase in growth,productivity and nutritional status of rice (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Oryza sativa</Emphasis> L. cv. Basmati) and enrichment in soil fertility applied with an organic matrix entrapped urea

Field experiments were conducted to evaluate the effects of eco-friendly organic matrix entrapped urea (OMEU) on growth, productivity, and yield of rice (Oryza sativa L. cv. Basmati) and soil enrichment in the paddy field at Rohtak (Haryana) located near Delhi. The OMEU prepared in granular form contained cow dung, rice bran (grain cover of Oryza sativa), powder of neem leaves (Azadirachta indica), and clay soil (diameter of particles < 0.02 mm) in 1:1:1:1 ratios and saresh (plant gum of Acacia sp.) as binder along with half of the recommended dose of commercially available soluble urea (free urea; FU). Single basal application of OMEU showed an increase in plant growth in terms of fresh and dry weights, root length, root, leaf and tiller numbers, soluble protein, total N and ammonium in leaves, productivity in terms of grain and straw yield, and nutritional and microbial activities of field soil over free form of urea and no fertilizer application. Nutritional status of rice grains was also improved over the free urea and no fertilizer controls. Our data indicate that OMEU, which is low cost and based on bio-degradable, non-toxic, and locally available agro-waste, can be attempted to replace the conventional use of soluble urea in rice.