New larval host records for Tortricidae (Lepidoptera) from an Ecuadorian Andean cloud forest

A biological inventory focused on plant-caterpillar-parasitoid associations at Yanayacu Biological Station, Ecuador, yielded 81 adult specimens of Tortricidae (Lepidoptera: Tortricoidea) representing 42 species in 13 genera. Based on this material, new host records are presented for species in the following genera: Lypothora Razowski, 1981; Inape Razowski, 1988; Orthocomotis Dognin, 1905; Paraptila Meyrick, 1912; Runtunia Razowski and Wojtusiak, 2008; Transtillaspis Razowski, 1987; Xoser Razowski and Pelz, 2003; Argyrotaenia Stephens, 1852; Anacrusis Zeller, 1877; Sisurcana Powell, 1986; Amorbia Clemens, 1860; Paramorbia Powell and Lambert, 1986; and Episimus Walsingham, 1892. Tortricids were reared from 46 plant species representing 24 plant families, with Piperaceae, Melastomataceae, and Asteraceae supporting the most tortricid herbivores (six species each). Un inventario biológico centrado en relaciones parasitoide-oruga-planta desarrollado en la Estación Biológica de Yanayacu, en Ecuador, dio lugar a 81 ejemplares adultos de Tortricidae (Lepidoptera: Tortricoidea) representativos de 13 géneros y 42 especies. Basándose en este material, se presentan nuevos registros de plantas huésped para especies de los siguientes géneros: Lypothora Razowski, 1981; Inape Razowski, 1988; Orthocomotis Dognin, 1905; Paraptila Meyrick, 1912; Runtunia Razowski y Wojtusiak, 2008; Transtillaspis Razowski, 1987; Xoser Razowski y Pelz, 2003; Argyrotaenia Stephens, 1852; Anacrusis Zeller, 1877; Sisurcana Powell, 1986; Amorbia Clemens, 1860; Paramorbia Powell y Lambert, 1986; y Episimus Walsingham, 1892. Los tortrícidos se criaron a partir de 46 especies de plantas representativas de 24 familias de plantas. Las familias Piperaceae, Melastomataceae y Asteraceae resultaron ser las que soportan la mayor parte de los tortrícidos (seis especies cada una)

New larval host records for Tortricidae (Lepidoptera) from an Ecuadorian Andean cloud forest

A biological inventory focused on plant-caterpillar-parasitoid associations at Yanayacu Biological Station, Ecuador, yielded 81 adult specimens of Tortricidae (Lepidoptera: Tortricoidea) representing 42 species in 13 genera. Based on this material, new host records are presented for species in the following genera: Lypothora Razowski, 1981; Inape Razowski, 1988; Orthocomotis Dognin, 1905; Paraptila Meyrick, 1912; Runtunia Razowski and Wojtusiak, 2008; Transtillaspis Razowski, 1987; Xoser Razowski and Pelz, 2003; Argyrotaenia Stephens, 1852; Anacrusis Zeller, 1877; Sisurcana Powell, 1986; Amorbia Clemens, 1860; Paramorbia Powell and Lambert, 1986; and Episimus Walsingham, 1892. Tortricids were reared from 46 plant species representing 24 plant families, with Piperaceae, Melastomataceae, and Asteraceae supporting the most tortricid herbivores (six species each). Un inventario biológico centrado en relaciones parasitoide-oruga-planta desarrollado en la Estación Biológica de Yanayacu, en Ecuador, dio lugar a 81 ejemplares adultos de Tortricidae (Lepidoptera: Tortricoidea) representativos de 13 géneros y 42 especies. Basándose en este material, se presentan nuevos registros de plantas huésped para especies de los siguientes géneros: Lypothora Razowski, 1981; Inape Razowski, 1988; Orthocomotis Dognin, 1905; Paraptila Meyrick, 1912; Runtunia Razowski y Wojtusiak, 2008; Transtillaspis Razowski, 1987; Xoser Razowski y Pelz, 2003; Argyrotaenia Stephens, 1852; Anacrusis Zeller, 1877; Sisurcana Powell, 1986; Amorbia Clemens, 1860; Paramorbia Powell y Lambert, 1986; y Episimus Walsingham, 1892. Los tortrícidos se criaron a partir de 46 especies de plantas representativas de 24 familias de plantas. Las familias Piperaceae, Melastomataceae y Asteraceae resultaron ser las que soportan la mayor parte de los tortrícidos (seis especies cada una)

Two-divisibility of the coefficients of certain weakly holomorphic modular forms

We study a canonical basis for spaces of weakly holomorphic modular forms of weights 12, 16, 18, 20, 22, and 26 on the full modular group. We prove a relation between the Fourier coefficients of modular forms in this canonical basis and a generalized Ramanujan tau-function, and use this to prove that these Fourier coefficients are often highly divisible by 2.Comment: Corrected typos. To appear in the Ramanujan Journa

Formation of Pentosidine during Nonenzymatic Browning of Proteins by Glucose

A fluorescent compound has been detected in proteins browned during Maillard reactions with glucose in vitro and shown to be identical to pentosidine, a pentose- derived fluorescent cross-link formed between arginine and lysine residues in collagen (Sell, D. R., and Monnier, V. M. (1989) J. Biol. Chem. 264, 21597- 2 1602). Pentosidine was the major fluorophore formed during nonenzymatic browning of ribonuclease and lysozyme by glucose, but accounted for \u3c1% of nondisulfide cross-links in protein dimers formed during the reaction. Pentosidine was formed in greatest yields in reactions of pentoses with lysine and arginine in model systems but was also formed from glucose, fructose, ascorbate, Amadori compounds, 3-deoxyglucosone, and other sugars. Pentosidine was not formed from peroxidized polyunsaturated fatty acids or malondialdehyde. Its formation from carbohydrates was inhibited under nitrogen or anaerobic conditions and by aminoguanidine, an inhibitor of advanced glycation and browning reactions. Pentosidine was detected in human lens proteins, where its concentration increased gradually with age, but it did not exceed trace concentrations (55 Fmol/mol lysine), even in the 80-year-old lens. Although its precise carbohydrate source in vivo is uncertain and it is present in only trace concentrations in tissue proteins, pentosidine appears to be a useful biomarker for assessing cumulative damage to proteins by nonenzymatic browning reactions with carbohydrates

Measurement and Instrumentation: An Introduction to Concepts and Methods, 1st Edition

Measurement and instrumentation are fundamental elements of many engineering projects. From research, to development, to manufacturing, to user products, engineers are constantly needing to measure things: brightness of a light, dimensions of an object, separation between things, frequency content, stress, strain, pressure, voltage, etc. In the real world measuring systems are not perfect, so the results of a measurement are only an estimate of the true value. Instrumentation for making measurements relies on some fundamental assumptions to ensure the veracity of the measurements. Some key elements are: bandwidth, sampling rate, dynamic range, sensor type, etc. This text discusses the basic concepts of what a measurement is, how the instrumentation chosen (or developed) can affect the measurement, and how to deal with the measurement error that is in all instrumentation systems. Topics include data acquisition, signal conditioning, sensor types, and measurement noise and its various noise distributions. The text concludes with three user projects that bring together these topics into an informative work that reinforces the theory.Funding provided by University of Oklahoma Libraries Alternative Textbook GrantN

Oxidized Amino Acids in Lens Protein with Age: Measurement of o-Tyrosine and Dityrosine in the Aging Human Lens

The concentrations of ortho-tyrosine (o-Tyr) and dityrosine (DT) were measured in noncataractous human lenses in order to assess the role of proteinoxidation reactions in the aging of lens proteins. The measurements were conducted by selected ion monitoring-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry using deuterium-labeled internal standards, which provided both high sensitivity and specificity for the quantitation of o-Tyr and DT. Between ages 1 and 78 years, the o-Tyr concentration in lens proteins varied from 0.3 to 0.9 mmol of o-Tyr/mol of Phe (n = 19), while DT ranged from 1 to 3 mumol of DT/mol of Tyr (n = 30). There were no significant changes in levels of o-Tyr with lens age. There was a statistically significant, but only slight, increase in DT in lens proteins with age (approximately 33% increases between ages 1 and 78, r = 0.5, p \u3c 0.01). At the same time, totalprotein fluorescence, measured at DT wavelengths (Ex = 317 nm, Em = 407 nm), increased 11-fold between ages 1 and 78 and correlated strongly with age (r = 0.82, p \u3c 0.0001). Although the fluorescence maxima of lens proteins were similar to those of DT, DT accounted for less than 1% of the DT-like fluorescence in lens protein at all ages. These observations indicate that oxidation of Phe and Tyr plays a limited role in the normal aging of lens proteins in vivo

X chromosome effects and their interactions with mitochondrial effects

We report a simple and rapid method for detecting additive genetic variance due to X-linked loci in the absence of marker data for this chromosome. We examined the interaction of this method with an established method for detecting mitochondrial linkage (another source of sex-asymmetric genetic covariance). When applied to data from the Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism, this method found evidence of X-chromosomal linkage for one continuous trait (ntth1) and one discrete trait (SPENT). Evidence of mitochondrial contribution was found for one discrete trait (CRAVING) and three continuous traits (ln(CIGPKYR), ecb21, and tth1). Results for ntth1 suggest that methods that do not also allow for male-female heterogeneity in environmental variance may be overly conservative in detection of X-chromosomal effects

Effect of Phosphate on the Kinetics and Specificity of Glycation of Protein

The glycation (nonenzymatic glycosylation) of several proteins was studied in various buffiner os rder to assess the effects of buffering ions on the kinetics and specificity of glycation of protein. Incubation of RNase with glucose in phosphate buffer resulted in inactivation of the enzyme because of preferential modification of lysine residues ino r near the activsei te. In contrast, in the cationic buffers, 3-(N-morpholino)propanesulfonic acid and 3-(N-tris(hydroxymethyl)rnethylamino)- 2-hydroxypropanesulfonica cid, the kineticso f glycation of RNase were decreased 2- to 3-fold, there was a decrease in glycation of active site versus peripheral lysines, and the enzyme was resistant to inactivation by glucose. The extent of Schiff base formation on RNase was comparable in the three buffers, suggesting that phosphate, bound in the active site of RNase, catalyzed the Amadori rearrangement at active site lysines, leading to the enhanced rate of inactivation of the enzyme. Phosphate catalysis of glycation was concentration-dependent and could be mimicked by arsenate. Phosphate also stimulated the rate of glycation of other proteins, such as lysozyme, cytochrome c, albumin, and hemoglobin. As with RNase, phosphate affected the specificity of glycation of hemoglobin, resulting in increasegdly cation of amino-terminal valine versus intrachain lysine residues. 2,3-Diphosphoglycerate exerted similar effeocnt st he glycation of hemoglobin, suggesting that inorganic and organic phosphates may play an important role in determining the kinetics and specificity of glycation of hemoglobin in the red cell. Overall, these studies establishth at buffering ions or ligands can exert significant effects on the kinetics ands pecificity of glycation of proteins

Genetic Analysis Workshop 17 mini-exome simulation

The data set simulated for Genetic Analysis Workshop 17 was designed to mimic a subset of data that might be produced in a full exome screen for a complex disorder and related risk factors in order to permit workshop participants to investigate issues of study design and statistical genetic analysis. Real sequence data from the 1000 Genomes Project formed the basis for simulating a common disease trait with a prevalence of 30% and three related quantitative risk factors in a sample of 697 unrelated individuals and a second sample of 697 individuals in large, extended pedigrees. Called genotypes for 24,487 autosomal markers assigned to 3,205 genes and simulated affection status, quantitative traits, age, sex, pedigree relationships, and cigarette smoking were provided to workshop participants. The simulating model included both common and rare variants with minor allele frequencies ranging from 0.07% to 25.8% and a wide range of effect sizes for these variants. Genotype-smoking interaction effects were included for variants in one gene. Functional variants were concentrated in genes selected from specific biological pathways and were selected on the basis of the predicted deleteriousness of the coding change. For each sample, unrelated individuals and family, 200 replicates of the phenotypes were simulated