Sugarcane stem borers of the Colombian Cauca River Valley: current pest status, biology, and control

Citation: Vargas, G., Gomez, L. A., & Michaud, J. P. (2015). Sugarcane stem borers of the Colombian Cauca River Valley: current pest status, biology, and control. Florida Entomologist, 98(2), 728-735. Retrieved from ://WOS:000356451400049Sugarcane stem borers of the genus of Diatraea (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) form a species complex that causes serious economic losses to sugarcane production in the Cauca River Valley and other regions of Colombia. Two primary species, Diatraea saccharalis (F.) and D. indigenella Dyar and Heinrich, have been effectively managed for more than 4 decades through augmentative releases of the tachinid flies Lydella minense (Townsend) and Billaea claripalpis (Wulp) (Diptera: Tachinidae) and the egg parasitoid Trichogramma exiguum Pinto & Platner (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae). Here we review the current pest status of Diatraea species, damage assessment protocols, management tactics, and the environmental factors and cultural practices that can affect biological control outcomes. Recent changes in the cultivars grown have the potential to increase pest populations and diminish biological control efficacy. Additionally, recent outbreaks of new Diatraea species may further increase overall pest pressure. Thus, there is a need to develop supplementary tactics for the management of these pests that will be compatible with biological control, as well as more reliable protocols for assessing host plant resistance against the increase in infestation intensity

A short in-frame deletion in NTRK1 tyrosine kinase domain caused by a novel splice site mutation in a patient with congenital insensitivity to pain with anhidrosis

Background: Congenital insensitivity to pain with anhidrosis (CIPA) is a rare autosomal recessive genetic disease characterized by the lack of reaction to noxious stimuli and anhidrosis. It is caused by mutations in the NTRK1 gene, which encodes the high affinity tyrosine kinase receptor I for Neurotrophic Growth Factor (NGF). -- Case Presentation: We present the case of a female patient diagnosed with CIPA at the age of 8 months. The patient is currently 6 years old and her psychomotor development conforms to her age (RMN, SPECT and psychological study are in the range of normality). PCR amplification of DNA, followed by direct sequencing, was used to investigate the presence of NTRK1 gene mutations. Reverse transcriptase (RT)-PCR amplification of RNA, followed by cloning and sequencing of isolated RT-PCR products was used to characterize the effect of the mutations on NTRK1 mRNA splicing. The clinical diagnosis of CIPA was confirmed by the detection of two splice-site mutations in NTRK1, revealing that the patient was a compound heterozygote at this gene. One of these alterations, c.574+1G > A, is located at the splice donor site of intron 5. We also found a second mutation, c.2206-2 A > G, not previously reported in the literature, which is located at the splice acceptor site of intron 16. Each parent was confirmed to be a carrier for one of the mutations by DNA sequencing analysis. It has been proposed that the c.574+1G > A mutation would cause exon 5 skipping during NTRK1 mRNA splicing. We could confirm this prediction and, more importantly, we provide evidence that the novel c.2206-2A > G mutation also disrupts normal NTRK1 splicing, leading to the use of an alternative splice acceptor site within exon 17. As a consequence, this mutation would result in the production of a mutant NTRK1 protein with a seven aminoacid in-frame deletion in its tyrosine kinase domain. --Conclusions: We present the first description of a CIPA-associated NTRK1 mutation causing a short interstitial deletion in the tyrosine kinase domain of the receptor. The possible phenotypical implications of this mutation are discussed.This investigation was supported by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III and the Fundacion Vasca de Innovacion e Investigacion Sanitarias (funds to ES)

Excessive TV viewing and cardiovascular disease risk factors in adolescents. The AVENA cross-sectional study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Excessive television (TV) viewing might play an important role in the development of cardiovascular disease (CVD). The aim of this study was to examine the independent associations between TV viewing and CVD risk factors in adolescents.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A sample of 425 adolescents, aged 13- to 18.5-year-old, was included in this study. Body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), glucose, total cholesterol, triglycerides, HDL-cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, apolipoprotein (apo) A-1, apo B-100, and lipoprotein(a) levels were determined. A composite CVD risk score was computed based on age-, sex-, sexual maturation- and race-standardized triglycerides, HDL-cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol and glucose. TV viewing was self-reported.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Two hundred and twenty-five adolescents (53%) who spent >3 hrs/day watching TV were considered as the "high TV viewing" group. Ninety-nine adolescents (23%) from the total sample were classified as overweight according to International age- and sex-specific BMI values. The high TV viewing group had significantly less favorable values of HDL-cholesterol, glucose, apo A1 and CVD score, independent of age, sex, sexual maturation, race and weight status. There was a significant interaction effect of TV viewing × weight status (P = 0.002) on WC, and the negative influence of TV viewing on WC persisted in the overweight group (P = 0.031) but was attenuated in non-overweight adolescents (P > 0.05).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Excessive TV viewing seems to be related to an unfavorable CVD risk factors profile in adolescence. Reducing TV viewing in overweight adolescents might be beneficial to decrease abdominal body fat.</p

Differential effects of natural palm oil, chemically- and enzymatically-modified palm oil on weight gain, blood lipid metabolites and fat deposition in a pediatric pig model

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Increasing prevalence of obesity and overweight in the Western world, continue to be a major health threat and is responsible for increased health care costs. Dietary intervention studies show a strong positive association between saturated fat intake and the development of obesity and cardiovascular disease. This study investigated the effect of positional distribution of palmitic acid (Sn-1, 2 & 3) of palm oil on cardiovascular health and development of obesity, using weaner pigs as a model for young children.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Male and female weaner piglets were randomly allocated to 4 dietary treatment groups: 1) pork lard (LRD); 2) natural palm olein (NPO); 3) chemically inter-esterified PO (CPO) and 4) enzymatically inter-esterified PO (EnPO) as the fat source. Diets were formulated with 11% lard or with palm olein in order to provide 31% of digestible energy from fat in the diet and were balanced for cholesterol, protein and energy across treatments.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>From 8 weeks onwards, pigs on EnPO diet gained (P < 0.05) more weight than all other groups. Feed conversion efficiency (feed to gain) over the 12 week experimental period did not vary between treatment groups. Plasma LDL-C content and LDL-C/HDL-C ratio in pigs fed natural PO tended to be lower compared to all other diets. The natural PO lowered (P < 0.02) the plasma triglyceride (TG) content relative to the lard or EnPO diets, but was not different from the CPO diet. The natural PO diet was associated with lower (P < 0.05) saturated fat levels in subcutaneous adipose tissue than the CPO and EnPO diets that had lower saturated fat levels than the lard diet. Female pigs had lower lean and higher fat and fat:lean ratio in the body compared with male pigs. No difference in weight gain or blood lipid parameters was observed between sexes.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The observations on plasma TG, muscle and adipose tissue saturated fatty acid contents and back fat (subcutaneous) thickness suggest that natural palm oil may reduce deposition of body fat. In addition, dietary supplementation with natural palm oil containing palmitic acid at different positions in meat producing animals may lead to the production of meat and meat products with lower saturated fats. An increase in fat content and a decrease in lean content in female pigs resulted in an increased body fat:lean ratio but gender had no effect on blood lipid parameters or insulin concentrations.</p

Smart cities, social media platforms and security: online content regulation as a site of controversy and conflict

Abstract Smart, technologically managed city-regions are one of the main characteristics of the contemporary world. Since the attack to the Charlie Hebdo offices, city-regions and social media digital technologies have increasingly been changing the definition of 'territory of security' and 'security governance'. What are the characteristics of the security architecture created by the interaction of smart city-regions and digital technologies? Drawing from Actor-Network theory and Science and Technology Studies, we provide an empirical account of the shape of this new territory, by presenting a study of the controversy concerning security and social media in UK, the role of cities in this changed security space, and how social sciences can help better understand and respond to the opportunities and threats of smart cities

Four challenges in the field of alternative, radical and citizens’ media research

In January 1994 the Zapatista movement in southern Mexico inaugurated a new era of media use for dissent. Since that time, an array of dissenting collectives and individuals have appropriated media technologies in order to make their voices heard or to articulate alternative identities. From Zapatista media to the Arab Spring, social movements throughout the world are taking over, hybridizing, recycling, and adapting media technologies. This new era poses a new set of challenges for academics and researchers in the field of Communication for Social Change (CfSC). Based on examples from Mexico, Lebanon, and Colombia, this article highlights and discusses four such research challenges: accounting for historical context; acknowledging the complexity of communication processes; anchoring analysis in a political economy of information and communication technologies; and positioning new research in relation to existing knowledge and literature within the field of communication and social change.Yeshttps://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/manuscript-submission-guideline

Net contribution and predictive ability of the CUN-BAE body fatness index in relation to cardiometabolic conditions

BACKGROUND: The CUN-BAE (Clínica Universidad de Navarra-Body adiposity estimator) index is an anthropometric index based on age, sex and body mass index (BMI) for a refined prediction of body fatness in adults. CUN-BAE may help detect metabolically unhealthy individuals with otherwise normal weight according to BMI or waist circumference (WC). The aim of this study was to evaluate whether CUN-BAE, independent of its components (BMI, age and sex), was associated with cardiometabolic conditions including arterial hypertension, diabetes mellitus and metabolic syndrome (MetS). METHODS: The ENRICA study was based on a cross-sectional sample of non-institutionalized men and women representative of the adult Spanish population. Body weight, height, and WC were measured in all participants. The residual of CUN-BAE (rCUN-BAE), i.e. the part of the index not explained by its components, was calculated. The associations of CUN-BAE, rCUN-BAE, BMI and WC with hypertension, diabetes and MetS were analysed by multivariate logistic regression, and the Akaike information criterion (AIC) was calculated. RESULTS: The sample included 12,122 individuals. rCUN-BAE was associated with hypertension (OR 1.14, 95% CI 1.07-1.21) and MetS (OR 1.48, 1.37-1.60), but not with diabetes (OR 1.05, 0.94-1.16). In subjects with a BMI?<?25 kg/m2, CUN-BAE was significantly associated with all three outcome variables. CUN-BAE was more strongly associated with the cardiometabolic conditions than BMI and WC and fit similar AICs. CONCLUSIONS: The CUN-BAE index for body fatness was positively associated with hypertension, diabetes and MetS in adults independent of BMI or WC. CUN-BAE may help to identify individuals with cardiometabolic conditions beyond BMI, but this needs to be confirmed in prospective settings.Funding: The ENRICA study was funded and financed by Sanofi-Aventis. Specific funding for this analysis came from the governmental Spain FIS PI12/1166 and PI11/01379 projects and from the “UAM Chair in Epidemiology and Control of Cardiovascular Risk”

The Evolution of Compact Binary Star Systems

We review the formation and evolution of compact binary stars consisting of white dwarfs (WDs), neutron stars (NSs), and black holes (BHs). Binary NSs and BHs are thought to be the primary astrophysical sources of gravitational waves (GWs) within the frequency band of ground-based detectors, while compact binaries of WDs are important sources of GWs at lower frequencies to be covered by space interferometers (LISA). Major uncertainties in the current understanding of properties of NSs and BHs most relevant to the GW studies are discussed, including the treatment of the natal kicks which compact stellar remnants acquire during the core collapse of massive stars and the common envelope phase of binary evolution. We discuss the coalescence rates of binary NSs and BHs and prospects for their detections, the formation and evolution of binary WDs and their observational manifestations. Special attention is given to AM CVn-stars -- compact binaries in which the Roche lobe is filled by another WD or a low-mass partially degenerate helium-star, as these stars are thought to be the best LISA verification binary GW sources.Comment: 105 pages, 18 figure

Single cell genome analysis supports a link between phagotrophy and primary plastid endosymbiosis

Two cases of primary plastid endosymbiosis are known. The first occurred ca. 1.6 billion years ago and putatively gave rise to the canonical plastid in algae and plants. The second is restricted to a genus of rhizarian amoebae that includes Paulinella chromatophora. Photosynthetic Paulinella species gained their plastid from an α-cyanobacterial source and are sister to plastid-lacking phagotrophs such as Paulinella ovalis that ingest cyanobacteria. To study the role of feeding behavior in plastid origin, we analyzed single-cell genome assemblies from six P. ovalis-like cells isolated from Chesapeake Bay, USA. Dozens of contigs in these cell assemblies were derived from prey DNA of α-cyanobacterial origin and associated cyanophages. We found two examples of horizontal gene transfer (HGT) in P. ovalis-like nuclear DNA from cyanobacterial sources. This work suggests the first evidence of a link between feeding behavior in wild-caught cells, HGT, and plastid primary endosymbiosis in the monophyletic Paulinella lineage