Predicting the Potential Worldwide Distribution of the Red Palm Weevil Rhynchophorus ferrugineus (Olivier) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) using Ecological Niche Modeling

This is the publisher's version, also available electronically from http://www.bioone.org/doi/abs/10.1653/024.095.0317.The red palm weevil (RPW), Rhynchophorus ferrugineus (Olivier) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), ranks among the most important pests of various palm species. The pest originates from South and Southeast Asia, but has expanded its range dramatically since the 1980s. We used ecological niche modeling (ENM) approaches to explore its likely geographic potential. Two techniques, the Genetic Algorithm for Rule-set Prediction (GARP) and a maximum entropy approach (MaxEnt), were used. However, MaxEnt provided more significant results, with all 5 random replicate subsamples having P < 0.002 while GARP models failed to achieve statistical significance in 3 of 5 cases, in which predictions achieved probabilities of 0.07 < P < 0.10. The MaxEnt models predicted successfully the known distribution, including the single North American occurrence point of Laguna Beach, California, and various areas where the pest has been reported in North Africa, southern Europe, Middle East and South and Southeastern Asia. In addition, areas where the pest has not been yet reported were found to be suitable for invasion by RPW in sub-Saharan Africa, southern, central and northern America, Asia, Europe, and Oceania. Highly suitable areas in the United States of America were limited mostly to coastal California and southern Florida, while all Caribbean islands were found highly suitable for establishment and spread of the pest

Anatomical and chemical characteristics associated with lodging resistance in wheat

Anatomical and chemical characteristics of stems affect lodging in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivars. Traits associated with lodging resistance, such as plant height, stem strength, culm wall thickness, pith diameter, and stem diameter, were extensively investigated in earlier studies. However, the solid stem trait was rarely considered. In this study, we measured a range of anatomical and chemical characteristics on solid and hollow stemmed wheat cultivars. Significant correlations were detected between resistance to lodging and several anatomical features, including width of mechanical tissue, weight of low internodes, and width of stem walls. Morphological features that gave the best indication of improved lodging resistance were increased stem width, width of mechanical tissue layer, and stem density. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that 99% of the variation in lodging resistance could be explained by the width of the mechanical tissue layer, suggesting that solid stemmed wheat has several anatomical features for increasing resistance to lodging. In addition, microsatellite markers GWM247 and GWM340 were linked to a single solid stem QTL on chromosome 3BL in a population derived from the cross Xinongshixin (solid stem)/Line 3159 (hollow stem). These markers should be valuable in breeding wheat for solid stem

Self-aligned patterning of tantalum oxide on Cu/SiO2 through redox-coupled inherently selective atomic layer deposition

Abstract Atomic-scale precision alignment is a bottleneck in the fabrication of next-generation nanoelectronics. In this study, a redox-coupled inherently selective atomic layer deposition (ALD) is introduced to tackle this challenge. The ‘reduction-adsorption-oxidation’ ALD cycles are designed by adding an in-situ reduction step, effectively inhibiting nucleation on copper. As a result, tantalum oxide exhibits selective deposition on various oxides, with no observable growth on Cu. Furthermore, the self-aligned TaOx is successfully deposited on Cu/SiO2 nanopatterns, avoiding excessive mushroom growth at the edges or the emergence of undesired nucleation defects within the Cu region. The film thickness on SiO2 exceeds 5 nm with a selectivity of 100%, marking it as one of the highest reported to date. This method offers a streamlined and highly precise self-aligned manufacturing technique, which is advantageous for the future downscaling of integrated circuits

Perioperative nursing of patients with verrucous epidermal nevi (疣状表皮痣手术患者围手术期护理体会)

This paper summarized the nursing management for 33 patients with verrucous epidermal nevi. Psychological guidance and health education were carried out before surgery. Nurses had enhanced the intraoperative coordination and monitoring of illness condition. Key issues of postoperative nursing included wound care, body position care, perineal care; nutrition support, medical care and health education before discharge form hospital. The comprehensive perioperative nursing interventions could effectively improve the wound healing, reduce the risk of complications and improve patients’ quality of life. (本文总结33例疣状表皮痣手术患者的围手术期护理经验。术前做好心理辅导和健康教育, 完善术前准备; 术中密切配合、积极观察患者生命体征; 术后开展创面护理、体位护理、会阴部护理、饮食护理、用药护理等全面护理; 出院前给予健康指导。护士通过实施精细的围术期护理, 能有效促进创面愈合, 降低并发症风险, 提高患者生活质量。

Zdhhc2 Is Essential for Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cells Mediated Inflammatory Response in Psoriasis

International audienceZdhhc family genes are composed of 24 members that regulate palmitoylation, a post-translational modification process for proteins. Mutations in genes that alter palmitoylation orde-palmitoylation could result in neurodegenerative diseases and inflammatory disorders. Inthis study, we found that Zdhhc2 was robustly induced in psoriatic skin and loss of Zdhhc2in mice by CRISPR/Cas9 dramatically inhibited pathology of the ear skin followingimiquimod treatment. As psoriasis is an inflammatory disorder, we analyzed tissueinfiltrating immune cells and cytokine production. Strikingly we found that a masterpsoriatic cytokine interferon-a(IFN-a) in the lesioned skin of wildtype (WT) mice was 23-fold higher than that in Zdhhc2 deficient counterparts. In addition, we found that CD45+white blood cells (WBC) infiltrating in the skin of Zdhhc2 deficient mice were also significantlyreduced. Amelioration in psoriasis and dramatically reduced inflammation of Zdhhc2deficient mice led us to analyze the cellular components that were affected by loss ofZdhhc2. We found that imiquimod induced plasmacytoid dendritic cell (pDC) accumulationin psoriatic skin, spleen, and draining lymph nodes (DLN) were drastically decreased inZdhhc2 deficient mice, and the expression of pDC activation marker CD80 also exhibitedsignificantly inhibited in psoriatic skin. In further experiments, we confirmed the cell intrinsiceffect of Zdhhc2 on pDCs as we found that loss of zDHHC2 in human CAL-1 pDCdampened both interferon regulatory factor 7 (IRF7) phosphorylation and IFN-aproduction.Therefore, we identified novel function of Zdhhc2 in controlling inflammatory response inpsoriasis in mice and we also confirmed that crucial role of Zdhhc2 in pDCs by regulatingIRF7 activity and production of the critical cytokine. Our resultsfinding the dependence ofIFN-aproduction on Zdhhc2 in inflamed murine skin and in human pDCs provide rationalefor targeting this new molecule in treatment of inflammation

Excessive immunosuppression by regulatory T cells antagonizes T cell response to schistosome infection in PD-1-deficient mice

Schistosomiasis is caused by parasitic flatworms known as schistosomes and affects over 200 million people worldwide. Prevention of T cell exhaustion by blockade of PD-1 results in clinical benefits to cancer patients and clearance of viral infections, however it remains largely unknown whether loss of PD-1 could prevent or cure schistosomiasis in susceptible mice. In this study, we found that S . japonicum infection dramatically induced PD-1 expression in T cells of the liver where the parasites chronically inhabit and elicit deadly inflammation. Even in mice infected by non-egg-producing unisex parasites, we still observed potent induction of PD-1 in liver T cells of C57BL/6 mice following S . japonicum infection. To determine the function of PD-1 in schistosomiasis, we generated PD-1-deficient mice by CRISPR/Cas9 and found that loss of PD-1 markedly increased T cell count in the liver and spleen of infected mice. IL-4 secreting Th2 cells were significantly decreased in the infected PD-1-deficient mice whereas IFN-γ secreting CD4 + and CD8 + T cells were markedly increased. Surprisingly, such beneficial changes of T cell response did not result in eradication of parasites or in lowering the pathogen burden. In further experiments, we found that loss of PD-1 resulted in both beneficial T cell responses and amplification of regulatory T cells that prevented PD-1-deficient T cells from unleashing anti-parasite activity. Moreover, such PD-1-deficient Tregs exert excessive immunosuppression and express larger amounts of adenosine receptors CD39 and CD73 that are crucial for Treg-mediated immunosuppression. Our experimental results have elucidated the function of PD-1 in schistosomiasis and provide novel insights into prevention and treatment of schistosomiasis on the basis of modulating host adaptive immunity

Excessive immunosuppression by regulatory T cells antagonizes T cell response to schistosome infection in PD-1-deficient mice

Schistosomiasis is caused by parasitic flatworms known as schistosomes and affects over 200 million people worldwide. Prevention of T cell exhaustion by blockade of PD-1 results in clinical benefits to cancer patients and clearance of viral infections, however it remains largely unknown whether loss of PD-1 could prevent or cure schistosomiasis in susceptible mice. In this study, we found that S. japonicum infection dramatically induced PD-1 expression in T cells of the liver where the parasites chronically inhabit and elicit deadly inflammation. Even in mice infected by non-egg-producing unisex parasites, we still observed potent induction of PD-1 in liver T cells of C57BL/6 mice following S. japonicum infection. To determine the function of PD-1 in schistosomiasis, we generated PD-1-deficient mice by CRISPR/Cas9 and found that loss of PD-1 markedly increased T cell count in the liver and spleen of infected mice. IL-4 secreting Th2 cells were significantly decreased in the infected PD-1-deficient mice whereas IFN-γ secreting CD4 + and CD8 + T cells were markedly increased. Surprisingly, such beneficial changes of T cell response did not result in eradication of parasites or in lowering the pathogen burden. In further experiments, we found that loss of PD-1 resulted in both beneficial T cell responses and amplification of regulatory T cells that prevented PD-1-deficient T cells from unleashing anti-parasite activity. Moreover, such PD-1-deficient Tregs exert excessive immunosuppression and express larger amounts of adenosine receptors CD39 and CD73 that are crucial for Treg-mediated immunosuppression. Our experimental results have elucidated the function of PD-1 in schistosomiasis and provide novel insights into prevention and treatment of schistosomiasis on the basis of modulating host adaptive immunity