Protein glycosylation is one of the key processes that play essential roles in biological functions and dysfunctions. However, progress in glycomics has considerably lagged behind genomics and proteomics, due in part to the enormous challenges in analysis of glycans. Here we present a new integrated and automated microfluidic lectin barcode platform to substantially improve the performance of lectin array for focused glycomic profiling. The chip design and flow control were optimized to promote the lectin-glycan binding kinetics and speed of lectin microarray. Moreover, we established an on-chip lectin assay which employs a very simple blocking method to effectively suppress the undesired background due to lectin binding of antibodies. Using this technology, we demonstrated focused differential profiling of tissue-specific glycosylation changes of a biomarker, CA125 protein purified from ovarian cancer cell line and different tissues from ovarian cancer patients in a fast, reproducible, and high-throughput fashion. Highly sensitive CA125 detection was also demonstrated with a detection limit much lower than the clinical cutoff value for cancer diagnosis. This microfluidic platform holds the potential to integrate with sample preparation functions to construct a fully integrated “sample-to-answer” microsystem for focused differential glycomic analysis. Thus, our technology should present a powerful tool in support of rapid advance in glycobiology and glyco-biomarker development.

1. There are numerous data that support the trade‐off between flight capability and reproduction in female wing polymorphic insects, but the relationship between wing form and fitness remains poorly investigated in males. 2. In the present study, the development of flight muscle and gonads, spermatophore size, and multiple copulation ability were investigated in both long‐winged (LW) and short‐winged (SW) males to verify this trade‐off, using a wing dimorphic cricket species Velarifictorus aspersus (Walker). 3. The LW males had better‐developed wing muscles than the SW males on the day of emergence, and both of them developed wing muscles after emergence, but the peak of weight in SW males was achieved 4 days later than that of the LW males. The accessory glands (AG) of the LW males developed significantly slower than that of the SW males. These results suggest that development and maintenance of flight muscles have a cost on the development of reproductive organs in male V. asperses. 4. The SW males produced significantly heavier spermatophores in a single copulation and mated more often than LW males. This indicates the SW males have a higher mating success than the LW males, thereby increasing their chance of siring offspring.

Morphology, flight muscles, and reproductive development were compared between long‐winged (LW) and short‐winged (SW) morphs of the cricket Velarifictorus ornatus (Shiraki) (Orthoptera: Gryllidae). There was no difference in body weight and pre‐oviposition between the two morphs, but LW individuals had better‐developed flight muscles than SW individuals during and after emergence of the adult. The flight muscles at adult emergence represented 11.9% of the total body weight in the LW female and 4.9% in the SW female. In addition, the weight of the flight muscle of LW females increased by 50% during the first 5 days, whereas the flight muscle of the SW variant increased only slightly after adult emergence. The process of oviposition in LW, SW, and de‐alated females varied: SW females produced more eggs at the early stage than LW females, but de‐alation could shorten the time until the peak of egg laying and caused histolysis of flight muscles of LW females. There was no significant difference in total egg production between the above three groups. In the male, unlike the female, the accessory glands of the two wing morphs enlarged continuously at the same rate. There was no difference between the two wing morphs in the mass of the testes during the first 7 days after adult emergence.

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An 8-week feeding trial was conducted to determine the effect of dietary glutamine (Gln) on the erythrocyte function in juvenile Jian carp. The results indicated that dietary Gln caused significant increases in haematocrit, erythrocyte count, haemoglobin concentration, mean corpuscular volume and mean corpuscular haemoglobin content in carp blood. Dietary Gln caused significant decreases in the levels of superoxide anion, hydrogen peroxide, met-haemoglobin, malonaldehyde and protein carbonyl and increases in the level of reduced glutathione and the activities of Na + , K +-ATPase and lactate dehydrogenase in carp erythrocytes. These results demonstrated that dietary Gln could improve the function of erythrocytes in fish. Meanwhile, the present study explored the effect of dietary Gln on hydroxyl radical (%OH)-induced apoptosis in carp erythrocytes. We found that dietary Gln prevented the %OH-induced apoptosis by inhibiting the generation of reactive oxygen species and the oxidation of cellular components, and restoring the non-enzymatic and enzymatic antioxidant activities in fish erythrocytes. These results revealed that the effects of Gln on the function may be closely associated with apoptosis in fish erythrocytes. Moreover, our data suggested that dietary Gln raised the levels of alanine (Ala), citrulline (Cit) and proline (Pro) in plasma of carp. We then examined the protective effects of Ala, Cit and Pro at the physiological concentrations in %OH-induced carp erythrocytes. The results indicated that Ala, Cit or Pro at the physiological concentrations suppressed apoptosis and the oxidation of cellular components, and restored the GSH antioxidant system in the %OH-induced carp erythrocytes. Moreover, the combination of Ala, Cit and Pro at the physiological concentrations produces a greater protective effect than their individual effects in fish erythrocytes. These results displayed that the effects of Gln on erythrocytes are at least partly dependent on that of its metabolites in fish. Ala, Cit, Pro and their combination could serve as an antioxidant or apoptosis-inhibitor in fish.