Enhancement of Penetration of Millimeter Waves by Field Focusing Applied to Breast Cancer Detection.

OBJECTIVE: The potentialities of improving the penetration of millimeter waves for breast cancer imaging are here explored. METHODS: A field focusing technique based on a convex optimization method is proposed, capable of increasing the field level inside a breast-emulating stratification. RESULTS: The theoretical results are numerically validated via the design and simulation of two circularly polarized antennas. The experimental validation of the designed antennas, using tissue-mimicking phantoms, is provided, being in good agreement with the theoretical predictions. CONCLUSION: The possibility of focusing, within a lossy medium, the electromagnetic power at millimeter-wave frequencies is demonstrated. SIGNIFICANCE: Field focusing can be a key for using millimeter waves for breast cancer detection.

Who is eating fructose within the Aedes albopictus gut microbiota?

The Asian tiger mosquito Aedes albopictus is a major public health concern because of its invasive success and its ability to transmit pathogens. Given the low availability of treatments against mosquito-borne diseases, vector control remains the most suitable strategy. The methods used thus far are becoming less effective, but recent strategies have emerged from the study of mosquito-associated microorganisms. Although the role of the microbiota in insect biology does not require further proof, much remains to be deciphered in mosquitoes, especially the contribution of the microbiota to host nutrient metabolism. Mosquitoes feed on plant nectar, composed of mostly fructose. We used stable isotope probing to identify bacteria and fungi assimilating fructose within the gut of Ae. albopictus. Mosquitoes were fed a 13 C-labelled fructose solution for 24 h. Differences in the active microbial community according to the sex of mosquitoes were highlighted. The bacterium Lelliottia and the fungi Cladosporium and Aspergillus dominated the active microbiota in males, whereas the bacterium Ampullimonas and the yeast Cyberlindnera were the most active in females. This study is the first to investigate trophic interactions between Ae. albopictus and its microbiota, thus underscoring the importance of the microbial component in nectar feeding in mosquitoes.

Shared larval rearing environment, sex, female size and genetic diversity shape Ae. albopictus bacterial microbiota.

The Asian tiger mosquito Aedes albopictus became of public health concern as it can replicate and transmit viral and filarial pathogens with a strong invasive success over the world. Various strategies have been proposed to reduce mosquito population's vectorial capacity. Among them, symbiotic control of mosquito borne disease offers promising perspectives. Such method is likely to be affected by the dynamics of mosquito-associated symbiotic communities, which might in turn be affected by host genotype and environment. Our previous study suggested a correlation between mosquitoes' origin, genetic diversity and midgut bacterial diversity. To distinguish the impact of those factors, we have been studying the midgut bacterial microbiota of two Ae. albopictus populations from tropical (La Réunion) and temperate (Montpellier) origins under controlled laboratory conditions. the two populations experienced random mating or genetic bottleneck. Microbiota composition did not highlight any variation of the α and ß-diversities in bacterial communities related to host's populations. However, sizes of the mosquitoes were negatively correlated with the bacterial α-diversity of females. Variations in mosquito sex were associated with a shift in the composition of bacterial microbiota. The females' mosquitoes also exhibited changes in the microbiota composition according to their size and after experiencing a reduction of their genetic diversity. These results provide a framework to investigate the impact of population dynamics on the symbiotic communities associated with the tiger mosquito.

The mosquito holobiont: fresh insight into mosquito-microbiota interactions.

The holobiont concept was first developed for coral ecosystems but has been extended to multiple organisms, including plants and other animals. Studies on insect-associated microbial communities have produced strong evidence that symbiotic bacteria play a major role in host biology. However, the understanding of these symbiotic relationships has mainly been limited to phytophagous insects, while the role of host-associated microbiota in haematophagous insect vectors remains largely unexplored. Mosquitoes are a major global public health concern, with a concomitant increase in people at risk of infection. The global emergence and re-emergence of mosquito-borne diseases has led many researchers to study both the mosquito host and its associated microbiota. Although most of these studies have been descriptive, they have led to a broad description of the bacterial communities hosted by mosquito populations. This review describes key advances and progress in the field of the mosquito microbiota research while also encompassing other microbes and the environmental factors driving their composition and diversity. The discussion includes recent findings on the microbiota functional roles and underlines their interactions with the host biology and pathogen transmission. Insight into the ecology of multipartite interactions, we consider that conferring the term holobiont to the mosquito and its microbiota is useful to get a comprehensive understanding of the vector pathosystem functioning so as to be able to develop innovative and efficient novel vector control strategies.

Comprehensive proteome profiling in Aedes albopictus to decipher Wolbachia-arbovirus interference phenomenon.

BACKGROUND: Aedes albopictus is a vector of arboviruses that cause severe diseases in humans such as Chikungunya, Dengue and Zika fevers. The vector competence of Ae. albopictus varies depending on the mosquito population involved and the virus transmitted. Wolbachia infection status in believed to be among key elements that determine viral transmission efficiency. Little is known about the cellular functions mobilized in Ae. albopictus during co-infection by Wolbachia and a given arbovirus. To decipher this tripartite interaction at the molecular level, we performed a proteome analysis in Ae. albopictus C6/36 cells mono-infected by Wolbachia wAlbB strain or Chikungunya virus (CHIKV), and bi-infected. RESULTS: We first confirmed significant inhibition of CHIKV by Wolbachia. Using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis followed by nano liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry, we identified 600 unique differentially expressed proteins mostly related to glycolysis, translation and protein metabolism. Wolbachia infection had greater impact on cellular functions than CHIKV infection, inducing either up or down-regulation of proteins associated with metabolic processes such as glycolysis and ATP metabolism, or structural glycoproteins and capsid proteins in the case of bi-infection with CHIKV. CHIKV infection inhibited expression of proteins linked with the processes of transcription, translation, lipid storage and miRNA pathways. CONCLUSIONS: The results of our proteome profiling have provided new insights into the molecular pathways involved in tripartite Ae. albopictus-Wolbachia-CHIKV interaction and may help defining targets for the better implementation of Wolbachia-based strategies for disease transmission control.

Identification of sympatric cryptic species of Aedes albopictus subgroup in Vietnam: new perspectives in phylosymbiosis of insect vector.

BACKGROUND: The Aedes (Stegomyia) albopictus subgroup includes 11 cryptic species of which Ae. albopictus is the most widely distributed. Its global expansion associated with a documented vector competence for several emerging arboviruses raise obvious concerns in the recently colonized regions. While several studies have provided important insights regarding medical importance of Ae. albopicus, the investigations of the other sibling species are scarce. In Asia, indigenous populations within the Ae. albopictus subgroup can be found in sympatry. In the present study, we aimed to describe and compare molecular, morphological and bacterial symbionts composition among sympatric individuals from the Ae. albopictus subgroup inhabiting a Vietnamese protected area. RESULTS: Based on morphological structure of the cibarial armarture, we identified a cryptic species in the forest park at Bù Gia Map in the south-eastern region of Vietnam. Analysis of nuclear (ITS1-5.8S-ITS2) and mitochondrial (cox1, nad5) markers confirmed the divergence between the cryptic species and Ae. albopictus. Analysis of midgut bacterial microbiota revealed a strong similarity among the two species with a notable difference; contrary to Ae. albopictus, the cryptic species did not harbour any Wolbachia infection. CONCLUSIONS: These results could reflect either a recent invasion of Wolbachia in Ae. albopictus or alternatively a loss of this symbiont in the cryptic species. We argue that neglected species of the Ae. albopictus subgroup are of main importance in order to estimate variation of host-symbionts interactions across evolution.

Native Wolbachia from Aedes albopictus Blocks Chikungunya Virus Infection In Cellulo.

Wolbachia, a widespread endosymbiont of terrestrial arthropods, can protect its host against viral and parasitic infections, a phenotype called "pathogen blocking". However, in some cases Wolbachia may have no effect or even enhance pathogen infection, depending on the host-Wolbachia-pathogen combination. The tiger mosquito Aedes albopictus is naturally infected by two strains of Wolbachia, wAlbA and wAlbB, and is a competent vector for different arboviruses such as dengue virus (DENV) and chikungunya virus (CHIKV). Interestingly, it was shown in some cases that Ae. albopictus native Wolbachia strains are able to inhibit DENV transmission by limiting viral replication in salivary glands, but no such impact was measured on CHIKV replication in vivo. To better understand the Wolbachia/CHIKV/Ae. albopictus interaction, we generated a cellular model using Ae. albopictus derived C6/36 cells that we infected with the wAlbB strain. Our results indicate that CHIKV infection is negatively impacted at both RNA replication and virus assembly/secretion steps in presence of wAlbB. Using FISH, we observed CHIKV and wAlbB in the same mosquito cells, indicating that the virus is still able to enter the cell in the presence of the bacterium. Further work is needed to decipher molecular pathways involved in Wolbachia-CHIKV interaction at the cellular level, but this cellular model can be a useful tool to study the mechanism behind virus blocking phenotype induced by Wolbachia. More broadly, this put into question the ecological role of Wolbachia symbiont in Ae. albopictus, but also the ability of the CHIKV to counteract Wolbachia's antiviral potential in vivo.

Prion degradation in soil: possible role of microbial enzymes stimulated by the decomposition of buried carcasses.

This study is part of a European project focused on understanding the biotic and abiotic mechanisms involved in the retention and dissemination of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE) infectivity in soil in order to propose practical recommendations to limit environmental contamination. A 1-year field experiment was conducted with lamb carcasses buried in a pasture soil at three depths (25, 45, and 105 cm). Microbial community response to carcasses was monitored through the potential proteolytic activity and substrate induced respiration (SIR). Soil above carcasses and control soil exhibited low proteolytic capacity, whatever the depth of burial. Contrastingly, in soil beneath the carcasses, proteolysis was stimulated. Decomposing carcasses also stimulated SIR, i.e., microbial biomass, suggesting that proteolytic populations specifically developed on lixiviates from animal tissues. Decomposition of soft tissues occurred within 2 months at subsurface while it lasted at least 1 year at deeper depth where proteolytic activities were season-dependent. The ability of soil proteases to degrade the beta form of prion protein was shown in vitro and conditions of burial relevant to minimize the risk of prion protein dissemination are discussed.

Use of polyclonal antibodies to detect and quantify the NOR protein of nitrite oxidizers in complex environments.

In the approaches or models which aim to understand and/or predict how the functioning of ecosystems may be affected by perturbations or disturbances, little attention is generally given to microorganisms. Even when they are taken into account as indicators, variables which are poorly informative about the changes in the microbial functioning (microbial biomass or diversity or total number of microorganisms) are often used. To be able to estimate, in complex environments, the quantity of enzymes involved in key ecosystem processes may constitute a useful complementary tool. Here, we describe an immunological method for detecting and quantifying, in complex environments, the nitrite oxidoreductase (NOR), responsible for the oxidation of nitrite to nitrate. The alpha-catalytic subunit of the enzyme was purified from Nitrobacter hamburgensis and used for the production of polyclonal antibodies. These antibodies were used to detect and quantify the NOR by a chemifluorescence technique on Western blots after separation of total proteins from pure cultures and soil samples. They recognized the alpha-NOR of all the Nitrobacter species described to date, but no reaction was observed with members of other nitrite-oxidizing genera. The detection threshold and reproducibility of the proposed method were evaluated. The feasibility of its use to quantify NOR in a soil was tested.