Block partitions: an extended view

Given a sequence $S=(s_1,\dots,s_m) \in [0, 1]^m$, a block $B$ of $S$ is a subsequence $B=(s_i,s_{i+1},\dots,s_j)$. The size $b$ of a block $B$ is the sum of its elements. It is proved in [1] that for each positive integer $n$, there is a partition of $S$ into $n$ blocks $B_1, \dots , B_n$ with $|b_i - b_j| \le 1$ for every $i, j$. In this paper, we consider a generalization of the problem in higher dimensions

Data on the parasitoid complexes of Metallus pumilus (Hymenoptera: Tenthredinidae) and Emmetia heinemanni (Lepidoptera: Tischeriidae) mining leaves of Rubus sp.

251 Rubus leaves mined by three species of leaf miners, Metallus pumilus (Klug, 1816), Emmetia heinemanni (Wocke, 1871) and Ectoedemia rubivora (Wocke, 1860), were collected between 2011 and 2014 in order to rear out their parasitoids. No parasitoids have been reared out from Ectoedemia rubivora, but we have identifi ed 3 parasitoid species from Emmetia heinemanni and 5 species from Metallus pumilus. With 2 tables

New records of jumping plant-lice from Hungary (Hemiptera: Psylloidea)

Authors made regular insect collections between 2008 and 2015 especially on ornamental trees and shrubs, also on herbs, on streets, parks, in city greenery, forests, botanical gardens and private gardens, in various localities of Hungary. Trioza ilicina (De Stefani Perez), Ctenarytaina eucalypti (Maskell) and Ctenarytaina peregrina Hodkinson are reported for the first time in Hungary. New host, locality and habitat data are given

Recent data to the jumping plant-lice fauna of Hungary (Hemiptera: Psylloidea)

Authors made regular insect collections between 2010 and 2017, especially on ornamental trees and shrubs, on streets, parks, in city greenery, forests, botanical gardens and private gardens, in various localities of Hungary. Trioza soniae Rapisarda, 1994 and Trioza scottii Löw, 1880 are reported for the first time in Hungary. New host, locality and habitat data are given

Community impacts of anthropogenic disturbance: natural enemies exploit multiple routes in pursuit of invading herbivore hosts.

This is the final version of the article. Available from the publisher via the DOI in this record.BACKGROUND: Biological invasions provide a window on the process of community assembly. In particular, tracking natural enemy recruitment to invading hosts can reveal the relative roles of co-evolution (including local adaptation) and ecological sorting. We use molecular data to examine colonisation of northern Europe by the parasitoid Megastigmus stigmatizans following invasions of its herbivorous oak gallwasp hosts from the Balkans. Local host adaptation predicts that invading gallwasp populations will have been tracked primarily by sympatric Balkan populations of M. stigmatizans (Host Pursuit Hypothesis). Alternatively, ecological sorting allows parasitoid recruitment from geographically distinct populations with no recent experience of the invading hosts (Host Shift Hypothesis). Finally, we test for long-term persistence of parasitoids introduced via human trade of their hosts' galls (Introduction Hypothesis). RESULTS: Polymorphism diagnostic of different southern refugial regions was present in both mitochondrial and nuclear microsatellite markers, allowing us to identify the origins of northern European invaded range M. stigmatizans populations. As with their hosts, some invaded range populations showed genetic variation diagnostic of Balkan sources, supporting the Host Pursuit Hypothesis. In contrast, other invading populations had an Iberian origin, unlike their hosts in northern Europe, supporting the Host Shift Hypothesis. Finally, both British and Italian M. stigmatizans populations show signatures compatible with the Introduction Hypothesis from eastern Mediterranean sources. CONCLUSIONS: These data reveal the continental scale of multi-trophic impacts of anthropogenic disturbance and highlight the fact that herbivores and their natural enemies may face very different constraints on range expansion. The ability of natural enemies to exploit ecologically-similar hosts with which they have had no historical association supports a major role for ecological sorting processes in the recent assembly of these communities. The multitude of origins of invading natural enemy populations in this study emphasises the diversity of mechanisms requiring consideration when predicting consequences of other biological invasions or biological control introductions.Funding was provided by NERC grant NE/B504406/1 to GNS and KS and NE/E014453/1 to GNS and JAN

Cost-effectiveness analysis alongside the inter-B-NHL ritux 2010 trial:rituximab in children and adolescents with B cell non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma

Objectives: The randomized controlled trial Inter-B-NHL ritux 2010 showed overall survival (OS) benefit and event-free survival (EFS) benefit with the addition of rituximab to standard Lymphomes Malins B (LMB) chemotherapy in children and adolescents with high-risk, mature B cell non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Our aim was to assess the cost-effectiveness of rituximab-chemotherapy versus chemotherapy alone in the French setting.Methods: We used a decision-analytic semi-Markov model with four health states and 1-month cycles. Resource use was prospectively collected in the Inter-B-NHL ritux 2010 trial (NCT01516580). Transition probabilities were assessed from patient-level data from the trial (n = 328). In the base case analysis, direct medical costs from the French National Insurance Scheme and life-years (LYs) were computed in both arms over a 3-year time horizon. Incremental net monetary benefit and cost-effectiveness acceptability curve were computed through a probabilistic sensitivity analysis. Deterministic sensitivity analysis and several sensitivity analyses on key assumptions were also conducted, including one exploratory analysis with quality-adjusted life years as the health outcome.Results: OS and EFS benefits shown in the Inter-B-NHL ritux 2010 trial translated into the model by rituximab-chemotherapy being the most effective and also the least expensive strategy over the chemotherapy strategy. The mean difference in LYs between arms was 0.13 [95% CI 0.02; 0.25], and the mean cost difference € − 3 710 [95% CI € − 17,877; € 10,525] in favor of rituximab-chemotherapy group. For a € 50,000 per LY willingness-to-pay threshold, the probability of the rituximab-chemotherapy strategy being cost-effective was 91.1%. All sensitivity analyses confirmed these findings.Conclusion: Adding rituximab to LMB chemotherapy in children and adolescents with high-risk mature B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma is highly cost-effective in France.Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01516580