ICSID, public opinion and the effect of (hypothetical) elite messaging

This Perspective presents a unique survey of American public opinion on ICSID, and via a survey experiment demonstrates that attempts to increase public support by Republicans or Democrats would likely backfire. Only bi-partisan framing of ICSID can positively move public opinion

A Sugar Gustatory Receptor Identified from the Foregut of Cotton Bollworm Helicoverpa armigera

Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner) is one of the most polyphagous and cosmopolitan pest species, the larvae of which feed on numerous important crops. The gustatory system is critical in guiding insect feeding behavior. Here, we identified a gustatory receptor from H. armigera, HaGR9, which shows high levels of identity to DmGR43a from Drosophila melanogaster and BmGR9 from Bombyx mori. Reverse transcriptase PCR (RT-PCR) revealed HaGR9 is highly expressed in larval foregut, with little or no expression in other chemosensory tissues. Membrane topology studies indicated that, like two previously studied B. mori GRs, BmGR8 and BmGR53, HaGR9 has an inverted topology relative to G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), an intracellular N-terminus and an extracellular C-terminus. Calcium imaging studies confirmed HaGR9 is a sugar receptor showing dose-dependent responses to D-galactose, D-maltose, and D-fructose. This highly-expressed foregut-specific gustatory receptor may contribute to the regulation of larval feeding behavior

Teaching Critical Reading: Media Literacy in the High School Classroom

The present qualitative action research study was conducted to examine student- participant perceptions and performance in a critical media literacy unit in an Advanced Placement English Language and Composition (AP ELC) classroom. Critical media literacy skills and, specifically, rhetorical analysis skills, are tested on the end-of-course AP ELC exam. The teacher-researcher designed a four-week unit, Reading Mass Media, and implemented it with 38 student-participants in two sections of AP ELC taught by the teacher-researcher in a racially and economically diverse rural South Carolina high school. The purpose of the present action research is to describe student-participants’ performance and perceptions during the implementation of the Unit, which included rhetorical analysis of several popular culture texts (e.g., print advertisements, commercials, and movie trailers) as well as an investigation of issues of representation in the media. Though various types of media texts were used in the Unit, print advertisements were prioritized because student-participants from low socioeconomic backgrounds may have had limited access to online texts, which could affect their readiness to apply and develop new literacies. Action research methodology was used to answer the research question: What is the impact of a rhetorical analysis unit using critical media literacy on an Advanced Placement English Language and Composition class? Data collection included a pretest and pre-instruction survey, classroom observations, a posttest and post-instruction survey, and a focus-group interview. The pretest and posttest examined changes in student-participant performance, and the pre- and post-instructional surveys examined changes in student-participant perspectives. Classroom observations and the focus-group interview were used for polyangulation. Findings include the following themes: The Unit improved student-participants’ confidence and performance with the skills of rhetorical analysis, increased student- participants’ sensitivity to patterns of representation and stereotyping, promoted the critical reading of media texts, and encouraged active student-participant engagement. Overall, student-participants enjoyed the Unit, describing it as interesting, relevant, eye- opening, and useful in developing the skills of rhetorical analysis. The teacher-researcher used these themes to develop an action plan, which includes updating the Unit for use with future AP ELC classes, developing professional development sessions to share findings and strategies, and working with district officials to design a media literacy course

ICSID，公众舆论及精英信息的（潜在）影响

This Perspective presents a unique survey of American public opinion on ICSID, and via a survey experiment demonstrates that attempts to increase public support by Republicans or Democrats would likely backfire. Only bi-partisan framing of ICSID can positively move public opinion

Biometric Data Comparison Between Lewis and Sprague Dawley Rats

Introduction: Pressure mapping systems are often used for indirect assessment of kinematic gait parameter differences after repair of critical peripheral nerve defects in small animal models. However, there does not appear to be any literature that studies the differences in normal gait pattern of Sprague Dawley rats compared to Lewis rats using a Tekscan VH4 pressure mat system. The purpose of this study is to assess the gait profile of Lewis and Sprague Dawley rats generated by Tekscan\u27s VH4 system to detect similarities and/or differences in gait parameters involving both force and temporal variables. Materials and Methods: The gait profile of 14 Lewis and 14 Sprague Dawley rats was recorded using a Tekscan VH4 pressure map system with two successful walks per animal and gait parameter data was normalized for mean variance between the two rodent strains. Results: The results showed that temporal and normalized force parameters were not significantly different between the two types of rats. Maximum force, contact area, stride length, and adjusted pressure variables were significantly different between the two strains, likely attributed to the body size and weight differential between the strains. Variation in some of these parameters were considered due to differences in overall body size between the two strains, variations in gait kinematics between individual rodent subjects, and the limitations of the current experimental design. Conclusion: For future in vivo models, either Sprague Dawley or Lewis rat strains would be acceptable animal models when comparing base-line gait profiles using the Tekscan VH4 pressure map system when assessing critical defect repairs of peripheral nerves

Biomechanical evaluation of peak reverse torque (PRT) in a dynamic compression plate-screw construct used in a goat tibia segmental defect model

Introduction: Pressure mapping systems are often used for indirect assessment of kinematic gait parameter differences after repair of critical peripheral nerve defects in small animal models. However, there does not appear to be any literature that studies the differences in normal gait pattern of Sprague Dawley rats compared to Lewis rats using a Tekscan VH4 pressure mat system. The purpose of this study is to assess the gait profile of Lewis and Sprague Dawley rats generated by Tekscan\u27s VH4 system to detect similarities and/or differences in gait parameters involving both force and temporal variables. Materials and Methods: The gait profile of 14 Lewis and 14 Sprague Dawley rats was recorded using a Tekscan VH4 pressure map system with two successful walks per animal and gait parameter data was normalized for mean variance between the two rodent strains. Results: The results showed that temporal and normalized force parameters were not significantly different between the two types of rats. Maximum force, contact area, stride length, and adjusted pressure variables were significantly different between the two strains, likely attributed to the body size and weight differential between the strains. Variation in some of these parameters were considered due to differences in overall body size between the two strains, variations in gait kinematics between individual rodent subjects, and the limitations of the current experimental design. Conclusion: For future in vivo models, either Sprague Dawley or Lewis rat strains would be acceptable animal models when comparing base-line gait profiles using the Tekscan VH4 pressure map system when assessing critical defect repairs of peripheral nerves

Safe food through better labelling: A robust method for the rapid determination of caprine and bovine milk allergens

Accidental milk cross-contamination is one of the most common causes for costly food recalls. Yet, quantifying trace-levels of allergen is time-consuming and current methods are not adapted for routine analyses making quality control for trace-level allergen content impractical. This perpetuates voluntary “may-contain” statements that are unhelpful for people suffering from food allergies. Here, we developed a rapid LC-MS method enabling milk allergen quantification by comparing all tryptic-peptides of major milk allergens. The bovine-specific αS-2 casein peptide and allergen-epitope NAVPITPTLNR provided excellent performance in sensitivity (LOD 1 mg.kg − 1; LOQ 2 mg.kg − 1) across various dairy products, good recovery rates in baked croissants (77 % with a 10 % inter-day RSD) and a linear range of 2 – 2,000 mg.kg − 1. The method can be used for routine determination of trace-contamination with bovine milk allergen and the adulteration of high-value caprine dairy products with lower-value bovine milk products, protecting consumer trust and the growing population suffering from food allergies

Behavioural and Genetic Evidence for C. elegans' Ability to Detect Volatile Chemicals Associated with Explosives

Abstract Background: Automated standoff detection and classification of explosives based on their characteristic vapours would be highly desirable. Biologically derived odorant receptors have potential as the explosive recognition element in novel biosensors. Caenorhabditis elegans' genome contains over 1,000 uncharacterised candidate chemosensory receptors. It was not known whether any of these respond to volatile chemicals derived from or associated with explosives

Erratum to: Genomic innovations, transcriptional plasticity and gene loss underlying the evolution and divergence of two highly polyphagous and invasive Helicoverpa pest species

Upon publication of the original article [1], it was noticed that Dr Papanicolaou’s surname was spelt incorrectly. The correct spelling is “Papanicolaou”, as shown in the author list of this erratum.Additional co-authors: A. Anderson, S. Asgari, P. G. Board, A. Bretschneider, P. M. Campbell, T. Chertemps, J. T. Christeller, C. W. Coppin, S. J. Downes, G. Duan, C. A. Farnsworth, R. T. Good, L. B. Han, Y. C. Han, K. Hatje, I. Horne, Y. P. Huang, D. S. T. Hughes, E. Jacquin-Joly, W. James, S. Jhangiani, M. Kollmar, S. S. Kuwar, S. Li, N-Y. Liu, M. T. Maibeche, J. R. Miller, N. Montagne, T. Perry, J. Qu, S. V. Song, G. G. Sutton, H. Vogel, B. P. Walenz, W. Xu, H-J. Zhang, Z. Zou, P. Batterham, O. R. Edwards, R. Feyereisen, R. A. Gibbs, D. G. Heckel, A. McGrath, C. Robin, S. E. Scherer, K. C. Worley, Y. D. W