A revision of the genus Gymnetina Casey, 1915 (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Cetoniinae: Gymnetini)

The genus Gymnetina Casey (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Cetoniinae: Gymnetini) is redescribed and revised. Three new species and one new subspecies are described: G. borealis Warner and Ratcliffe, G. grossepunctata Ratcliffe and Warner, G. howdeni Warner and Ratcliffe, and G. cretacea sundbergi Warner and Ratcliffe. Gymnetina salicis (Bates), new status, is removed from synonymy with G. cretacea (LeConte), and G. alboscripta (Janson) is transferred from Gymnetis MacLeay to Gymnetina becoming Gymnetina alboscripta (Janson), new combination. Redescriptions of previously known species, a key for identification, and illustrations of the six species are provided. A brief biogeographical analysis suggests that ancestral taxa dispersed northwards from Guatemala and Mexico to the southwestern United States

Stable dose cannabinoid medicine (Sativex®, THC+CBD) can provide sustained efficacy in the treatment of refractory painful diabetic neuropathy or other peripheral neuropathic pain associated with allodynia [poster]

No abstract available

Collisions at infinity in hyperbolic manifolds

For a complete, finite volume real hyperbolic n-manifold M, we investigate the map between homology of the cusps of M and the homology of $M$. Our main result provides a proof of a result required in a recent paper of Frigerio, Lafont, and Sisto

A revision of the genus \u3ci\u3eGymnetina\u3c/i\u3e Casey, 1915 (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Cetoniinae: Gymnetini)

The genus Gymnetina Casey (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Cetoniinae: Gymnetini) is redescribed and revised. Three new species and one new subspecies are described: G. borealis Warner and Ratcliffe, G. grossepunctata Ratcliffe and Warner, G. howdeni Warner and Ratcliffe, and G. cretacea sundbergi Warner and Ratcliffe. Gymnetina salicis (Bates), new status, is removed from synonymy with G. cretacea (LeConte), and G. alboscripta (Janson) is transferred from Gymnetis MacLeay to Gymnetina becoming Gymnetina alboscripta (Janson), new combination. Redescriptions of previously known species, a key for identification, and illustrations of the six species are provided. A brief biogeographical analysis suggests that ancestral taxa dispersed northwards from Guatemala and Mexico to the southwestern United States

Letter: Faecal volatile organic metabolites, promising biomarkers in inflammatory bowel disease and Letter: Faecal volatile organic metabolites as novel diagnostic biomarkers in inflammatory bowel disease. Authors' reply

The aetiology of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) remains poorly understood. Recent evidence suggests an important role of gut microbial dysbiosis in IBD, and this may be associated with changes in faecal volatile organic metabolites (VOMs).To describe the changes in the faecal VOMs of patients with IBD and establish their diagnostic potential as non-invasive biomarkers.Faecal samples were obtained from 117 people with Crohn's disease (CD), 100 with ulcerative colitis (UC), and 109 healthy controls. Faecal VOMs were extracted using solid-phase micro-extraction and analysed by gas chromatography mass spectrometry. Data analysis was carried out using partial least squares-discriminate analysis (PLS-DA) to determine class membership based on distinct metabolomic profiles.The PLS-DA model showed clear separation of active CD from inactive disease and healthy controls (P < 0.001). Heptanal, 1-octen-3-ol, 2-piperidinone and 6-methyl-2-heptanone were up-regulated in the active CD group [variable important in projection (VIP) score 2.8, 2.7, 2.6 and 2.4, respectively], while methanethiol, 3-methyl-phenol, short-chain fatty acids and ester derivatives were found to be less abundant (VIP score of 3.5, 2.6, 1.5 and 1.2, respectively). The PLS-DA model also separated patients with small bowel CD from healthy controls and those with colonic CD from UC (P < 0.001). In contrast, less distinct separation was observed between active UC, inactive UC and healthy controls.Analysis of faecal volatile organic metabolites can provide an understanding of gut metabolomic changes in IBD. It has the potential to provide a non-invasive means of diagnosing IBD, and can differentiate between UC and CD

‘Ethnic group’, the state and the politics of representation

The assertion, even if only by implication, that ‘ethnic group’ categories represent ‘real’ tangible entities, indeed identities, is commonplace not only in the realms of political and policy discourse but also amongst contemporary social scientists. This paper, following Brubaker (2002), questions this position in a number of key respects: of these three issues will dominate the discussion that follows. First, there is an interrogation of the proposition that those to whom the categories/labels refer constitute sociologically meaningful ‘groups’ as distinct from (mere) human collectivities. Secondly, there is the question of how these categories emerge, i.e. exactly what series of events, negotiations and contestations lie behind their construction and social acceptance. Thirdly, and as a corollary to the latter point, we explore the process of reification that leads to these categories being seen to represent ‘real things in the world’ (ibid.)

Health-related quality of life measured using the EQ-5D-5L: South Australian population norms

© 2016 The Author(s). Background: Although a five level version of the widely-used EuroQol 5 dimensions (EQ-5D) instrument has been developed, population norms are not yet available for Australia to inform the future valuation of health in economic evaluations. The aim of this study was to estimate HrQOL normative values for the EQ-5D-5L preference-based measure in a large, randomly selected, community sample in South Australia. Methods: The EQ-5D-5L instrument was included in the 2013 South Australian Health Omnibus Survey, an interviewer-administered, face-to-face, cross-sectional survey. Respondents rated their level of impairment across dimensions (mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain/discomfort, and anxiety/depression) and global health rating on a visual analogue scale (EQ-VAS). Utility scores were derived using the newly-developed UK general population-based algorithm and relationships between utility and EQ-VAS scores and socio-demographic factors were also explored using multivariate regression analyses. Results: Ultimately, 2,908 adults participated in the survey (63.4 % participation rate). The mean utility and EQ-VAS scores were 0.91 (95 CI 0.90, 0.91) and 78.55 (95 % CI 77.95, 79.15), respectively. Almost half of respondents reported no problems across all dimensions (42.8 %), whereas only 7.2 % rated their health >90 on the EQ-VAS (100=the best health you can imagine). Younger age, male gender, longer duration of education, higher annual household income, employment and marriage/de facto relationships were all independent, statistically significant predictors of better health status (p<0.01) measured with the EQ-VAS. Only age and employment status were associated with higher utility scores, indicating fundamental differences between these measures of health status. Conclusions: This is the first Australian study to apply the EQ-5D-5L in a large, community sample. Overall, findings are consistent with EQ-5D-5L utility and VAS scores reported for other countries and indicate that the majority of South Australian adults report themselves in full health. When valuing health in Australian economic evaluations, the utility population norms can be used to estimate HrQOL. More generally, the EQ-VAS score may be a better measure of population health given the smaller ceiling effect and broader coverage of HrQOL dimensions. Further research is recommended to update EQ-5D-5L population norms using the Australian general population specific scoring algorithm once this becomes publically available

Tolerance to Hairy Chinch Bug Feeding in Kentucky Bluegrass

Seventeen Kentucky bluegrass, Poa pratensis L., cultivars were evaluated for tolerance to feeding by adult hairy chinch bugs, Blissus leucopterus hirtus Montandon. Adults were confined on one month-old plants within a 10 cm diam × 20.3 cm high cylindrical plastic cage for 17-19 days. Cages were divided longitudinally so that 1/2 of the plants in each pot were infested. Tolerance was evaluated as differences between infested and uninfested plants for height of regrowth, dry weight, yield of clippings, root length and weight, plant survival, tillering, and % dry matter. Regrowth, yield of clippings, root length, and plant survival were significantly reduced and % dry matter significantly increased in almost all cases by adult feeding. Dry weight, root weight, and tillering of plants were not significantly changed by feeding. Significant differences were found in tolerance among Kentucky bluegrass cultivars. Differences in cultivar regrowth, yield, and % dry matter were the most useful criteria for measuring toleranc

Peaks in the Hartle-Hawking Wave Function from Sums over Topologies

Recent developments in ``Einstein Dehn filling'' allow the construction of infinitely many Einstein manifolds that have different topologies but are geometrically close to each other. Using these results, we show that for many spatial topologies, the Hartle-Hawking wave function for a spacetime with a negative cosmological constant develops sharp peaks at certain calculable geometries. The peaks we find are all centered on spatial metrics of constant negative curvature, suggesting a new mechanism for obtaining local homogeneity in quantum cosmology.Comment: 16 pages,LaTeX, no figures; v2: some changes coming from revision of a math reference: wave function peaks sharp but not infinite; v3: added paragraph in intro on interpretation of wave functio