Effect of Prey Density on Diurnal Activity and Ovarian Development in \u3ci\u3eCalosoma Calidum\u3c/i\u3e (Coleoptera: Carabidae): Implications for Biological Control of the Gypsy Moth, \u3ci\u3eLymantria Dispar (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae)\u3c/i\u3e in the Midwest

Four feeding treatments were used in the laboratory to study the effects of the availability of prey on diurnal behavior and ovarian development of Calosoma calidum. Activity was closely monitored for six weeks. No significant differences were found between male and female behavior patterns. Diurnal beetle activity was found to be inversely related to prey density; in treatments where prey was available, diurnal activity declined during the course of the experiment. At the end of six weeks, dissections of female beetles showed that ovarian development and fat body quantity were dependent upon the number of prey available for consumption

Degree of Hazard Evaluation Program User's Guide

The Degree of Hazard program is a computer model which incorporates the Degree of Hazard Methodology as developed by the Institute for Environmental Studies at the University of Illinois through funding by the Hazardous Waste Research and Information Center. The Degree of Hazard Methodology is an evaluation process which identifies the toxicity, fire, disease, leaching, and environmental hazards within a specific waste stream. The details of the various calculations are described within the Illinois Administrative Code, Section 808, Appendix B. The Degree of Hazard (DOH) program allows entry of the components of a specific waste stream, computes the degree of hazard for the waste stream, and displays or prints the results. Several related reports may be generated and printed. (Note: This software program is no longer available).Ope

Linkage Disequilibrium in Wild Mice

Crosses between laboratory strains of mice provide a powerful way of detecting quantitative trait loci for complex traits related to human disease. Hundreds of these loci have been detected, but only a small number of the underlying causative genes have been identified. The main difficulty is the extensive linkage disequilibrium (LD) in intercross progeny and the slow process of fine-scale mapping by traditional methods. Recently, new approaches have been introduced, such as association studies with inbred lines and multigenerational crosses. These approaches are very useful for interval reduction, but generally do not provide single-gene resolution because of strong LD extending over one to several megabases. Here, we investigate the genetic structure of a natural population of mice in Arizona to determine its suitability for fine-scale LD mapping and association studies. There are three main findings: (1) Arizona mice have a high level of genetic variation, which includes a large fraction of the sequence variation present in classical strains of laboratory mice; (2) they show clear evidence of local inbreeding but appear to lack stable population structure across the study area; and (3) LD decays with distance at a rate similar to human populations, which is considerably more rapid than in laboratory populations of mice. Strong associations in Arizona mice are limited primarily to markers less than 100 kb apart, which provides the possibility of fine-scale association mapping at the level of one or a few genes. Although other considerations, such as sample size requirements and marker discovery, are serious issues in the implementation of association studies, the genetic variation and LD results indicate that wild mice could provide a useful tool for identifying genes that cause variation in complex traits

The Maunakea Spectroscopic Explorer Book 2018

(Abridged) This is the Maunakea Spectroscopic Explorer 2018 book. It is intended as a concise reference guide to all aspects of the scientific and technical design of MSE, for the international astronomy and engineering communities, and related agencies. The current version is a status report of MSE's science goals and their practical implementation, following the System Conceptual Design Review, held in January 2018. MSE is a planned 10-m class, wide-field, optical and near-infrared facility, designed to enable transformative science, while filling a critical missing gap in the emerging international network of large-scale astronomical facilities. MSE is completely dedicated to multi-object spectroscopy of samples of between thousands and millions of astrophysical objects. It will lead the world in this arena, due to its unique design capabilities: it will boast a large (11.25 m) aperture and wide (1.52 sq. degree) field of view; it will have the capabilities to observe at a wide range of spectral resolutions, from R2500 to R40,000, with massive multiplexing (4332 spectra per exposure, with all spectral resolutions available at all times), and an on-target observing efficiency of more than 80%. MSE will unveil the composition and dynamics of the faint Universe and is designed to excel at precision studies of faint astrophysical phenomena. It will also provide critical follow-up for multi-wavelength imaging surveys, such as those of the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope, Gaia, Euclid, the Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope, the Square Kilometre Array, and the Next Generation Very Large Array.Comment: 5 chapters, 160 pages, 107 figure

SAQC: SNP Array Quality Control

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Genome-wide single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) arrays containing hundreds of thousands of SNPs from the human genome have proven useful for studying important human genome questions. Data quality of SNP arrays plays a key role in the accuracy and precision of downstream data analyses. However, good indices for assessing data quality of SNP arrays have not yet been developed.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We developed new quality indices to measure the quality of SNP arrays and/or DNA samples and investigated their statistical properties. The indices quantify a departure of estimated individual-level allele frequencies (AFs) from expected frequencies via standardized distances. The proposed quality indices followed lognormal distributions in several large genomic studies that we empirically evaluated. AF reference data and quality index reference data for different SNP array platforms were established based on samples from various reference populations. Furthermore, a confidence interval method based on the underlying empirical distributions of quality indices was developed to identify poor-quality SNP arrays and/or DNA samples. Analyses of authentic biological data and simulated data show that this new method is sensitive and specific for the detection of poor-quality SNP arrays and/or DNA samples.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This study introduces new quality indices, establishes references for AFs and quality indices, and develops a detection method for poor-quality SNP arrays and/or DNA samples. We have developed a new computer program that utilizes these methods called SNP Array Quality Control (SAQC). SAQC software is written in R and R-GUI and was developed as a user-friendly tool for the visualization and evaluation of data quality of genome-wide SNP arrays. The program is available online (<url>http://www.stat.sinica.edu.tw/hsinchou/genetics/quality/SAQC.htm</url>).</p

Genetic predisposition to mosaic Y chromosome loss in blood.

Mosaic loss of chromosome Y (LOY) in circulating white blood cells is the most common form of clonal mosaicism1-5, yet our knowledge of the causes and consequences of this is limited. Here, using a computational approach, we estimate that 20% of the male population represented in the UK Biobank study (n = 205,011) has detectable LOY. We identify 156 autosomal genetic determinants of LOY, which we replicate in 757,114 men of European and Japanese ancestry. These loci highlight genes that are involved in cell-cycle regulation and cancer susceptibility, as well as somatic drivers of tumour growth and targets of cancer therapy. We demonstrate that genetic susceptibility to LOY is associated with non-haematological effects on health in both men and women, which supports the hypothesis that clonal haematopoiesis is a biomarker of genomic instability in other tissues. Single-cell RNA sequencing identifies dysregulated expression of autosomal genes in leukocytes with LOY and provides insights into why clonal expansion of these cells may occur. Collectively, these data highlight the value of studying clonal mosaicism to uncover fundamental mechanisms that underlie cancer and other ageing-related diseases.This research has been conducted using the UK Biobank Resource under application 9905 and 19808. This work was supported by the Medical Research Council [Unit Programme number MC_UU_12015/2]. Full study-specific and individual acknowledgements can be found in the supplementary information

How Resource Dynamics Explain Accumulating Developmental and Health Disparities for Teen Parents’ Children

This study examines the puzzle of disparities experienced by U.S. teen parents’ young children, whose health and development increasingly lag behind those of peers while their parents are simultaneously experiencing socioeconomic improvements. Using the nationally representative Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort (2001–2007; N ≈ 8,600), we assess four dynamic patterns in socioeconomic resources that might account for these growing developmental and health disparities throughout early childhood and then test them in multilevel growth curve models. Persistently low socioeconomic resources constituted the strongest explanation, given that consistently low income, maternal education, and assets fully or partially account for growth in cognitive, behavioral, and health disparities experienced by teen parents’ children from infancy through kindergarten. That is, although teen parents gained socioeconomic resources over time, those resources remained relatively low, and the duration of exposure to limited resources explains observed growing disparities. Results suggest that policy interventions addressing the time dynamics of low socioeconomic resources in a household, in terms of both duration and developmental timing, are promising for reducing disparities experienced by teen parents’ children

WILDLIFE AS NATURAL ENEMIES OF CROP PESTS

One asset of wildlife to landowners is the potential but understudied role of birds and other species as endemic natural enemies of crop pests. Enhancing such natural enemies as part of sustainable agricultural systems offers promise for maintaining agricultural competitiveness while providing wildlife habitat in intensively farmed areas. The University of Nebraska has established an agroforestry research team to address interdisciplinary questions and outreach associated with this topic. Included are studies of bird, mammal, and insect use of woody and herbaceous corridors and adjacent cropfields in east-central Nebraska. Uncultivated areas needed to sustain natural enemies of crop pests also provide other benefits. Properly planned windbreak edges, for example, can enhance stewardship of soil and water by preventing erosion, conserving moisture, and increasing dryland crop yields. Management practices that enhance endemic natural enemies of crop pests and provide other benefits can better ensure long-term continuation of agriculture and living wild resources, an opportunity for extension education and future research

Trees on the Great Plains: Agro-Ecosystem Diversity

Agriculture in the Great Plains faces increasing pressure for environmental stewardship and for more economical farming and pest management practices. The concept of sustainable agriculture was developed to address these needs. A sustainable agricultural system is one that consistently enhances environmental quality and the resource bases, provides basic human food and fiber needs, is economically viable, and enhances the quality of life for farmers and society. In the Great Plains, we define agroforestry as the use of trees to help make agricultural production systems more sustainable. The trees function to conserve soil, water, wildlife, and other natural resources. They also improve water quality while maintaining natural resources and crop and livestock productivity and profitability

Influences of Trees on Abundance of Natural Enemies of Insect Pests: A Review

In this article we review the use of natural enemies in crop pest management and describe research needed to better meet information needs for practical applications. Endemic natural enemies (predators and parasites) offer a potential but understudied approach to controlling insect pests in agricultural systems. With the current high interest in environmental stewardship, such an approach has special appeal as a method to reduce the need for pesticides while maintaining agricultural profitability. Habitat for sustaining populations of natural enemies occurs primarily at field edges where crops and edge vegetation meet. Conservation and enhancement of natural enemies might include manipulation of plant species and plant arrangement, particularly at these edges; and consideration of optimum field sizes, number of edges, and management practices in and near edges. Blending the benefits of agricultural and forestry (windbreak) systems is one promising approach to field edge management that has additional benefits of wind protection and conservation of desirable wildlife species