Long-tongued bees

35 p. : ill. ; 26 cm.Includes bibliographical references (p. 33-35).We present here new information regarding the number of ovarioles and the number and size of mature oocytes of certain bee taxa collected on a field trip in Turkey in June and July 2001. This information is augmented with similar data concerning taxa related at the tribal level to those that we found in Turkey. The mature oocytes/eggs of all taxa listed below are described and most are illustrated by photographs, scanning electron micrographs, and/or line drawings, and comparisons are made with previously published descriptions. These taxa, arranged by family, subfamily, and tribe, are as follows: Megachilidae: Megachilinae: Dioxyini: Dioxys cincta (Jurine), Dioxys pacificus Cockerell. Apidae: Xylocopinae: Xylocopini: Xylocopa (Proxylocopa) olivieri Lepeletier; Nomadinae: Ammobatoidini: Holcopasites insoletus (Linsley), Holcopasites tegularis Hurd and Linsley; Nomadinae: Biastini: Biastes brevicornis (Panzer); Nomadinae: Ammobatini: Ammobates carinatus Morawitz, Parammobatodes rozeni Schwarz, Oreopasites (Oreopasites) favreauae Rozen, Oreopasites (Oreopasites) vanduzeei Cockerell, O. (Perditopasites) barbarae Rozen, O. (P.) linsleyi Rozen, "Parammobatodes" orientana (Warnke), Pasites maculatus Jurine, Sphecodopsis (Pseudodichroa) capensis (Friese), S. (P.) fumipennis (Bischoff); Apinae: Melectini: Melecta albifrons albovaria Erichson, Melecta species, Thyreomelecta kirghisia Rightmyer and Engel, Thyreus lieftincki Rozen, Xeromelecta californica (Cresson). The mature oocyte of Xylocopa (Proxylocopa) olivieri, a ground-nesting species, is found to be large relative to the body size of the female but somewhat smaller than the "giant" eggs of wood-nesting Xylocopa, as classified by Iwata and Sakagami (1966. Gigantism and dwarfism in bee eggs in relation to the mode of life, with notes on the number of ovarioles. Japanese Journal of Ecology 16: 4-16). Egg deposition habits of some cleptoparasitic taxa are discussed. In addition to smaller size relative to body size, eggs of cleptoparasitic bees show great variation in micropylar structure, dimensions, and chorionic ornamentation, thickness, and patterning, compared with eggs of nonparasitic bees. An appendix by Maximilian Schwarz describes and names Parammobatodes rozeni, new species, from Israel

The −675 4G/5G Polymorphism in Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor-1 Gene Is Associated with Risk of Asthma: A Meta-Analysis

BACKGROUND: A number of studies assessed the association of -675 4G/5G polymorphism in the promoter region of plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI)-1 gene with asthma in different populations. However, most studies reported inconclusive results. A meta-analysis was conducted to investigate the association between polymorphism in the PAI-1 gene and asthma susceptibility. METHODS: Databases including Pubmed, EMBASE, HuGE Literature Finder, Wanfang Database, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) and Weipu Database were searched to find relevant studies. Odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to assess the strength of association in the dominant model, recessive model, codominant model, and additive model. RESULTS: Eight studies involving 1817 cases and 2327 controls were included. Overall, significant association between 4G/5G polymorphism and asthma susceptibility was observed for 4G4G+4G5G vs. 5G5G (OR = 1.56, 95% CI 1.12-2.18, P = 0.008), 4G/4G vs. 4G/5G+5G/5G (OR = 1.38, 95% CI 1.06-1.80, P = 0.02), 4G/4G vs. 5G/5G (OR = 1.80, 95% CI 1.17-2.76, P = 0.007), 4G/5G vs. 5G/5G (OR = 1.40, 95% CI 1.07-1.84, P = 0.02), and 4G vs. 5G (OR = 1.35, 95% CI 1.08-1.68, P = 0.008). CONCLUSIONS: This meta-analysis suggested that the -675 4G/5G polymorphism of PAI-1 gene was a risk factor of asthma

3D Airway changes using cone beam computed tomography in patients following mandibular advancement surgery with and without constriction

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/149306/1/ocr12292.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/149306/2/ocr12292_am.pd

A Modified View on Octocorals: Heteroxenia fuscescens Nematocysts Are Diverse, Featuring Both an Ancestral and a Novel Type

Cnidarians are characterized by the presence of stinging cells containing nematocysts, a sophisticated injection system targeted mainly at prey-capture and defense. In the anthozoan subclass Octocorallia nematocytes have been considered to exist only in low numbers, to be small, and all of the ancestral atrichous-isorhiza type. This study, in contrast, revealed numerous nematocytes in the octocoral Heteroxenia fuscescens. The study demonstrates the applicability of cresyl-violet dye for differential staining and stimulating discharge of the nematocysts. In addition to the atrichous isorhiza-type of nematocysts, a novel type of macrobasic-mastigophore nematocysts was found, featuring a shaft, uniquely comprised of three loops and densely packed arrow-like spines. In contrast to the view that octocorals possess a single type of nematocyst, Heteroxenia fuscescens features two distinct types, indicating for the first time the diversification and complexity of nematocysts for Octocorallia

A Systems Approach Uncovers Restrictions for Signal Interactions Regulating Genome-wide Responses to Nutritional Cues in Arabidopsis

As sessile organisms, plants must cope with multiple and combined variations of signals in their environment. However, very few reports have studied the genome-wide effects of systematic signal combinations on gene expression. Here, we evaluate a high level of signal integration, by modeling genome-wide expression patterns under a factorial combination of carbon (C), light (L), and nitrogen (N) as binary factors in two organs (O), roots and leaves. Signal management is different between C, N, and L and in shoots and roots. For example, L is the major factor controlling gene expression in leaves. However, in roots there is no obvious prominent signal, and signal interaction is stronger. The major signal interaction events detected genome wide in Arabidopsis roots are deciphered and summarized in a comprehensive conceptual model. Surprisingly, global analysis of gene expression in response to C, N, L, and O revealed that the number of genes controlled by a signal is proportional to the magnitude of the gene expression changes elicited by the signal. These results uncovered a strong constraining structure in plant cell signaling pathways, which prompted us to propose the existence of a “code” of signal integration

Reticulated origin of domesticated emmer wheat supports a dynamic model for the emergence of agriculture in the fertile crescent

We used supernetworks with datasets of nuclear gene sequences and novel markers detecting retrotransposon insertions in ribosomal DNA loci to reassess the evolutionary relationships among tetraploid wheats. We show that domesticated emmer has a reticulated genetic ancestry, sharing phylogenetic signals with wild populations from all parts of the wild range. The extent of the genetic reticulation cannot be explained by post-domestication gene flow between cultivated emmer and wild plants, and the phylogenetic relationships among tetraploid wheats are incompatible with simple linear descent of the domesticates from a single wild population. A more parsimonious explanation of the data is that domesticated emmer originates from a hybridized population of different wild lineages. The observed diversity and reticulation patterns indicate that wild emmer evolved in the southern Levant, and that the wild emmer populations in south-eastern Turkey and the Zagros Mountains are relatively recent reticulate descendants of a subset of the Levantine wild populations. Based on our results we propose a new model for the emergence of domesticated emmer. During a pre-domestication period, diverse wild populations were collected from a large area west of the Euphrates and cultivated in mixed stands. Within these cultivated stands, hybridization gave rise to lineages displaying reticulated genealogical relationships with their ancestral populations. Gradual movement of early farmers out of the Levant introduced the pre-domesticated reticulated lineages to the northern and eastern parts of the Fertile Crescent, giving rise to the local wild populations but also facilitating fixation of domestication traits. Our model is consistent with the protracted and dispersed transition to agriculture indicated by the archaeobotanical evidence, and also with previous genetic data affiliating domesticated emmer with the wild populations in southeast Turkey. Unlike other protracted models, we assume that humans played an intuitive role throughout the process.Natural Environment Research Council [NE/E015948/1]; Slovak Research and Development Agency [APVV-0661-10, APVV-0197-10]info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio