Second International Lygus Symposium: Asilomar Conference Grounds, Pacific Grove, California, April 15-19 2007

The Second International Lygus Symposium brought together 52 entomologists from six nations and 11 states representing universities, public agencies, and private entities to discuss the latest research on Lygus species and their relatives. Symposium topics included Lygus biology, behavior and ecology, IPM, insecticides and resistance, and biological control. Papers and posters dealt with Lygus as a pest of several crops, including cotton, strawberries, seed alfalfa, canola, dry beans, cucumbers, cereals, peaches, and new crops guayule and lesquerella. Intercrop movement of Lygus2008200820082008 species was another important topic of many presentations. In the capstone session, participants identified needs and priorities for ongoing Lygus research and education (available at http://ag.arizona.edu/apmc/Arid_SWPMC_RAMP.html). The conference was sponsored in part by FMC Corporation, the University of Arizona Arizona Pest Management Center, the University of California Statewide IPM Program, and a grant to Ellsworth et al. (CRIS# 0207436) from the USDA-CSREES, Risk Avoidance and Mitigation Program (RAMP)

Effects of Local and Landscape Factors on Population Dynamics of a Cotton Pest

BACKGROUND: Many polyphagous pests sequentially use crops and uncultivated habitats in landscapes dominated by annual crops. As these habitats may contribute in increasing or decreasing pest density in fields of a specific crop, understanding the scale and temporal variability of source and sink effects is critical for managing landscapes to enhance pest control. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We evaluated how local and landscape characteristics affect population density of the western tarnished plant bug, Lygus hesperus (Knight), in cotton fields of the San Joaquin Valley in California. During two periods covering the main window of cotton vulnerability to Lygus attack over three years, we examined the associations between abundance of six common Lygus crops, uncultivated habitats and Lygus population density in these cotton fields. We also investigated impacts of insecticide applications in cotton fields and cotton flowering date. Consistent associations observed across periods and years involved abundances of cotton and uncultivated habitats that were negatively associated with Lygus density, and abundance of seed alfalfa and cotton flowering date that were positively associated with Lygus density. Safflower and forage alfalfa had variable effects, possibly reflecting among-year variation in crop management practices, and tomato, sugar beet and insecticide applications were rarely associated with Lygus density. Using data from the first two years, a multiple regression model including the four consistent factors successfully predicted Lygus density across cotton fields in the last year of the study. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Our results show that the approach developed here is appropriate to characterize and test the source and sink effects of various habitats on pest dynamics and improve the design of landscape-level pest management strategies

Hematopoietic Fingerprints: An Expression Database of Stem Cells and Their Progeny

SummaryHematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) continuously regenerate the hematologic system, yet few genes regulating this process have been defined. To identify candidate factors involved in differentiation and self-renewal, we have generated an expression database of hematopoietic stem cells and their differentiated progeny, including erythrocytes, granulocytes, monocytes, NK cells, activated and naive T cells, and B cells. Bioinformatic analysis revealed HSCs were more transcriptionally active than their progeny and shared a common activation mechanism with T cells. Each cell type also displayed unique biases in the regulation of particular genetic pathways, with Wnt signaling particularly enhanced in HSCs. We identified ∼100–400 genes uniquely expressed in each cell type, termed lineage “fingerprints.” In overexpression studies, two of these genes, Zfp105 from the NK cell lineage, and Ets2 from the monocyte lineage, were able to significantly influence differentiation toward their respective lineages, demonstrating the utility of the fingerprints for identifying genes that regulate differentiation

Systematic profiling of DNMT3A variants reveals protein instability mediated by the DCAF8 E3 ubiquitin ligase adaptor

Clonal hematopoiesis is a prevalent age-related condition associated with greatly increased risk of hematologic disease; mutations in DNA methyltransferase 3A (DNMT3A) are the most common driver of this state. DNMT3A variants occur across the gene with some particularly associated with malignancy, but the functional relevance and mechanisms of pathogenesis of the majority of mutations is unknown. Here, we systematically investigated the methyltransferase activity and protein stability of 253 disease-associated DNMT3A mutations, finding that 74% were loss-of-function mutations. Half of these variants exhibited reduced protein stability and, as a class, correlated with greater clonal expansion and AML development. We investigated the mechanisms underlying the instability using a CRISPR screen and uncovered regulated destruction of DNMT3A mediated by the DCAF8 E3 ubiquitin ligase adaptor. We establish a new paradigm to classify novel variants that has prognostic and potential therapeutic significance for patients with hematologic disease

The Current State of Performance Appraisal Research and Practice: Concerns, Directions, and Implications

On the surface, it is not readily apparent how some performance appraisal research issues inform performance appraisal practice. Because performance appraisal is an applied topic, it is useful to periodically consider the current state of performance research and its relation to performance appraisal practice. This review examines the performance appraisal literature published in both academic and practitioner outlets between 1985 and 1990, briefly discusses the current state of performance appraisal practice, highlights the juxtaposition of research and practice, and suggests directions for further research

Measurements of branching fraction ratios and CP-asymmetries in suppressed B^- -> D(-> K^+ pi^-)K^- and B^- -> D(-> K^+ pi^-)pi^- decays

We report the first reconstruction in hadron collisions of the suppressed decays B^- -> D(-> K^+ pi^-)K^- and B^- -> D(-> K^+ pi^-)pi^-, sensitive to the CKM phase gamma, using data from 7 fb^-1 of integrated luminosity collected by the CDF II detector at the Tevatron collider. We reconstruct a signal for the B^- -> D(-> K^+ pi^-)K^- suppressed mode with a significance of 3.2 standard deviations, and measure the ratios of the suppressed to favored branching fractions R(K) = [22.0 \pm 8.6(stat)\pm 2.6(syst)]\times 10^-3, R^+(K) = [42.6\pm 13.7(stat)\pm 2.8(syst)]\times 10^-3, R^-(K)= [3.8\pm 10.3(stat)\pm 2.7(syst]\times 10^-3, as well as the direct CP-violating asymmetry A(K) = -0.82\pm 0.44(stat)\pm 0.09(syst) of this mode. Corresponding quantities for B^- -> D(-> K^+ pi^-)pi^- decay are also reported.Comment: 8 pages, 1 figure, accepted by Phys.Rev.D Rapid Communications for Publicatio

Search for the standard model Higgs boson in the H to ZZ to 2l 2nu channel in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

A search for the standard model Higgs boson in the H to ZZ to 2l 2nu decay channel, where l = e or mu, in pp collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 7 TeV is presented. The data were collected at the LHC, with the CMS detector, and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 4.6 inverse femtobarns. No significant excess is observed above the background expectation, and upper limits are set on the Higgs boson production cross section. The presence of the standard model Higgs boson with a mass in the 270-440 GeV range is excluded at 95% confidence level.Comment: Submitted to JHE

Combined search for the quarks of a sequential fourth generation

Results are presented from a search for a fourth generation of quarks produced singly or in pairs in a data set corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 5 inverse femtobarns recorded by the CMS experiment at the LHC in 2011. A novel strategy has been developed for a combined search for quarks of the up and down type in decay channels with at least one isolated muon or electron. Limits on the mass of the fourth-generation quarks and the relevant Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa matrix elements are derived in the context of a simple extension of the standard model with a sequential fourth generation of fermions. The existence of mass-degenerate fourth-generation quarks with masses below 685 GeV is excluded at 95% confidence level for minimal off-diagonal mixing between the third- and the fourth-generation quarks. With a mass difference of 25 GeV between the quark masses, the obtained limit on the masses of the fourth-generation quarks shifts by about +/- 20 GeV. These results significantly reduce the allowed parameter space for a fourth generation of fermions.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO