Field Test for Repellency of Cedarwood Oil and Cedrol to Little Fire Ants

Eastern redcedars (Juniperus virginiana L.) are an abundant renew- able resource and represent a potential source of valuable natural products that may serve as natural biocides. The aromatic wood can be extracted to obtain cedarwood oil (CWO) and critical carbon dioxide (CO2) extraction of eastern redcedars gives both high yields and high quality CWO. In this study, CO2-derived CWO and cedrol, the most abundant component of CWO, were field-tested for repellency against the little fire ant (LFA), Wasmannia auropunctata Roger, in a Hawaiian macadamia orchard. Field tests were conducted using chopsticks baited with peanut-butter placed in established LFA trails on macadamia tree trunks and branches. The chopsticks and any ants present were collected after ca. 24 hours and the number of ants determined by visual counting. Four treatments were compared: Hexane only control; mineral oil; CWO; and cedrol. Control chopsticks and chopsticks treated with mineral oil had very high numbers of ants and were statistically equivalent. The CWO-treated chopsticks had significantly fewer LFAs than all the other treatments. Chopsticks treated with cedrol had fewer ants than the control chopsticks but more than the chopsticks treated with CWO. This research suggests that CWO extracts from J. virginianna may provide a renewable source of a natural ant repellent and could help manage this invasive pest

Evaluation of a Single-Matrix Food Attractant Tephritid Fruit Fly Bait Dispenser for Use in Federal Trap Detection Programs

The use of synthetic food attractant lures for Tephritid fruit fly trapping is presently being incorporated into U.S. state and federal detection programs. These lures consist of ammonium acetate, trimethylamine hydrochloride and putrescine contained in individual packages that are attached to the inside (top) of plastic McPhail-type traps. Two chemical packets are placed in the traps for Anastrepha spp., where as three are attached for Ceratitis capitata. This report presents data on trap captures of the above species comparing the current (individually packaged) baits with a novel dispenser containing either two or three components into a single matrix. Tests were conducted in Florida and Hawaii using hand release of sterile Caribbean fruit fly (Caribfly), Anastrepha suspensa and the Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata (medfly)/ aerially released medfly/ and wild caribfly populations (Florida) and wild medfly (Hawaii). Observations in the Florida study indicated that minor formulation adjustment should increase the efficacy of the Anastrepha attractant, whereas less of an adjustment may be required to capture Ceratitis capitata. Results in open field tests in Hawaii indicated that the three-component synthetic food attractant in a single cone unit was just as effective in capturing wild male and female Medflies as the same food attractants in individual packets. The single matrix has some advantages in handling and ease-of-use, especially with the Multilure trap

Splice site strength–dependent activity and genetic buffering by poly-G runs

Pre-mRNA splicing is regulated through the combinatorial activity of RNA motifs, including splice sites and splicing regulatory elements. Here we show that the activity of the G-run (polyguanine sequence) class of splicing enhancer elements is approx4-fold higher when adjacent to intermediate strength 5' splice sites (ss) than when adjacent to weak 5' ss, and approx1.3-fold higher relative to strong 5' ss. We observed this dependence on 5' ss strength in both splicing reporters and in global microarray and mRNA-Seq analyses of splicing changes following RNA interference against heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein (hnRNP) H, which cross-linked to G-runs adjacent to many regulated exons. An exon's responsiveness to changes in hnRNP H levels therefore depends in a complex way on G-run abundance and 5' ss strength. This pattern of activity enables G-runs and hnRNP H to buffer the effects of 5' ss mutations, augmenting both the frequency of 5' ss polymorphism and the evolution of new splicing patterns. Certain other splicing factors may function similarly.American Heart AssociationHuman Frontier Science Program (Strasbourg, France)National Institutes of Health (U.S.)National Science Foundation (U.S.) (equipment grant DBI-0821391

Extension Of The Use Of Augmentoria For Sanitation In A Cropping System Susceptible To the Alien Terphritid Fruit Flies (diptera: Terphritidae) In Hawaii.

Tephritid fruit flies are a major problem of fruit and vegetable crops throughout the world. Management programs for the control of these pests use a range of techniques, but sequestering fruit to prevent progeny survival is often overlooked. This study reports efforts to demonstrate to growers of fruiting crops a technique to sequester emerging adult flies while conserving their parasitoid natural enemies. Demonstration trials were conducted in 4 phases to determine whether growers on the Island of Hawaii would use a tent-like structure (augmentorium) to sequester fruit-fly infested, culled fruit. In phase 1 it was shown that 1127 Bactrocera cucurbitae (Coquillett) were recovered from cull fruit removed to the augmentorium, and that the combination of bait spray, male lure trapping and sanitation could reduce the level of infestation. Subsequently phase 2 confirmed the three techniques disrupted the breeding cycle and 2 farmers were convinced to use these techniques. In phase 3, further expansion to 12 farms, whose 15 augmentoria were monitored, indicated that over 80% of the growers used the tents (22,217 adult flies recovered from the tents over 1260 days). In phase 4, success of phases 1 to 3 convinced 30 farms to requested 40 augmentoria and an opinion survey of those growers is reported. Implications for use of augmentoria to sequester other insect pests and release their natural enemies, is discussed.

Mark-Release-Recapture Experiments on the Effectiveness of Methyl Eugenol–Spinosad Male Annihilation Technique Against an Invading Population of Bactrocera dorsalis

Bactrocera dorsalis is a pest of major concern in fruit-growing areas where it is not established. Control and eradication often employs male annihila- tion technique, using methyl eugenol as an attractant (MAT-ME). We conduced a small-scale mark-release-recapture study comparing two densities of MAT-ME (“high” = 225 spots per km2; “low” = 100 spots per km2) with a control by counting males recaptured in sentinel traps baited with ME 40 m from the release point. We hypothesized that recaptures would be reduced under the two MAT treatments by equivalent amounts compared with the control, reflecting male mortality from the treatments. We found a large degree of variation in trap recaptures between replicates and treatments, and no significant difference between recaptures under the high treatment and control. Recaptures were significantly lower under the low treatment, indicating greater mortality compared with control and high. We propose the “MAT-ME saturation hypothesis” to explain this result: increasing the number of stations per square mile increases mortality of receptive males until too many stations create a high enough background of ME that the males don’t effectively follow a gradient to MAT sources. Our findings highlight that further research into the effect of increasing MAT-ME spot density on male mortality is needed

Ultra-Fast Bioorthogonal Spin-Labeling and Distance Measurements in Mammalian Cells Using Small, Genetically Encoded Tetrazine Amino Acids

Studying protein structures and dynamics directly in the cellular environments in which they function is essential to fully understand the molecular mechanisms underlying cellular processes. Site-directed spin-labeling (SDSL)—in combination with double electron–electron resonance (DEER) spectroscopy—has emerged as a powerful technique for determining both the structural states and the conformational equilibria of biomacromolecules. In-cell DEER spectroscopy on proteins in mammalian cells has thus far not been possible due to the notable challenges of spin-labeling in live cells. In-cell SDSL requires exquisite biorthogonality, high labeling reaction rates and low background signal from unreacted residual spin label. While the bioorthogonal reaction must be highly specific and proceed under physiological conditions, many spin labels display time-dependent instability in the reducing cellular environment. Additionally, high concentrations of spin label can be toxic. Thus, an exceptionally fast bioorthogonal reaction is required that can allow for complete labeling with low concentrations of spin-label prior to loss of signal. Here we utilized genetic code expansion to site-specifically encode a novel family of small, tetrazine-bearing non-canonical amino acids (Tet-v4.0) at multiple sites in green fluorescent protein (GFP) and maltose binding protein (MBP) expressed both in E. coli and in human HEK293T cells. We achieved specific and quantitative spin-labeling of Tet-v4.0-containing proteins by developing a series of strained trans-cyclooctene (sTCO)-functionalized nitroxides—including a gem-diethyl-substituted nitroxide with enhanced stability in cells—with rate constants that can exceed 106 M−1 s−1. The remarkable speed of the Tet-v4.0/sTCO reaction allowed efficient spin-labeling of proteins in live HEK293T cells within minutes, requiring only sub-micromolar concentrations of sTCO–nitroxide added directly to the culture medium. DEER recorded from intact cells revealed distance distributions in good agreement with those measured from proteins purified and labeled in vitro. Furthermore, DEER was able to resolve the maltose-dependent conformational change of Tet-v4.0-incorporated and spin-labeled MBP in vitro and successfully discerned the conformational state of MBP within HEK293T cells. We anticipate the exceptional reaction rates of this system, combined with the relatively short and rigid side chains of the resulting spin labels, will enable structure/function studies of proteins directly in cells, without any requirements for protein purification

MRI-based porosity index (PI) and suppression ratio (SR) in the tibial cortex show significant differences between normal, osteopenic, and osteoporotic female subjects

IntroductionUltrashort echo time (UTE) MRI enables quantitative assessment of cortical bone. The signal ratio in dual-echo UTE imaging, known as porosity index (PI), as well as the signal ratio between UTE and inversion recovery UTE (IR-UTE) imaging, known as the suppression ratio (SR), are two rapid UTE-based bone evaluation techniques developed to reduce the time demand and cost in future clinical studies. The goal of this study was to investigate the performance of PI and SR in detecting bone quality differences between subjects with osteoporosis (OPo), osteopenia (OPe), and normal bone (Normal).MethodsTibial midshaft of fourteen OPe (72 ± 6 years old), thirty-one OPo (72 ± 6 years old), and thirty-seven Normal (36 ± 19 years old) subjects were scanned using dual-echo UTE and IR-UTE sequences on a clinical 3T scanner. Measured PI, SR, and bone thickness were compared between OPo, OPe, and normal bone (Normal) subjects using the Kruskal–Wallis test by ranks. Spearman’s rank correlation coefficients were calculated between dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) T-score and UTE-MRI results.ResultsPI was significantly higher in the OPo group compared with the Normal (24.1%) and OPe (16.3%) groups. SR was significantly higher in the OPo group compared with the Normal (41.5%) and OPe (21.8%) groups. SR differences between the OPe and Normal groups were also statistically significant (16.2%). Cortical bone was significantly thinner in the OPo group compared with the Normal (22.0%) and OPe (13.0%) groups. DEXA T-scores in subjects were significantly correlated with PI (R=-0.32), SR (R=-0.50), and bone thickness (R=0.51).DiscussionPI and SR, as rapid UTE-MRI-based techniques, may be useful tools to detect and monitor bone quality changes, in addition to bone morphology, in individuals affected by osteoporosis

Area-Wide Suppression of the Mediterranean Fruit Fly, Ceratitis capitata, and the Oriental Fruit Fly, Bactrocera dorsalis, in Kamuela, Hawaii

The United States Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service initiated an area-wide fruit fly management program in Hawaii in 2000. The first demonstration site was established in Kamuela, Hawaii, USA. This paper documents suppression of the Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann), and the oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel) (Diptera: Tephritidae), in a 40 km2 area containing urban, rural and agricultural zones during a 6 year period. The suppression techniques included sanitation, GF-120 NF Naturalyte Fruit Fly Bait sprays, male annihilation, Biolure® traps, and parasitoids against C. capitata and B. dorsalis. In addition, small numbers of sterile males were released against B. dorsalis. Substantial reductions in fruit infestation levels were achieved for both species (90.7 and 60.7% for C. capitata and B. dorsalis, respectively) throughout the treatment period. Fruit fly captures in the 40 km2 treatment area were significantly lower during the 6 year period than those recorded in three non-treated areas. The strategy of combining suppression techniques in an area-wide approach is discussed

A Giant Planet Undergoing Extreme-Ultraviolet Irradiation By Its Hot Massive-Star Host

The amount of ultraviolet irradiation and ablation experienced by a planet depends strongly on the temperature of its host star. Of the thousands of extrasolar planets now known, only six have been found that transit hot, A-type stars (with temperatures of 7,300–10,000 kelvin), and no planets are known to transit the even hotter B-type stars. For example, WASP-33 is an A-type star with a temperature of about 7,430 kelvin, which hosts the hottest known transiting planet, WASP-33b (ref. 1); the planet is itself as hot as a red dwarf star of type M (ref. 2). WASP-33b displays a large heat differential between its dayside and nightside2, and is highly inflated–traits that have been linked to high insolation3,4. However, even at the temperature of its dayside, its atmosphere probably resembles the molecule-dominated atmospheres of other planets and, given the level of ultraviolet irradiation it experiences, its atmosphere is unlikely to be substantially ablated over the lifetime of its star. Here we report observations of the bright star HD 195689 (also known as KELT-9), which reveal a close-in (orbital period of about 1.48 days) transiting giant planet, KELT-9b. At approximately 10,170 kelvin, the host star is at the dividing line between stars of type A and B, and we measure the dayside temperature of KELT-9b to be about 4,600 kelvin. This is as hot as stars of stellar type K4 (ref. 5). The molecules in K stars are entirely dissociated, and so the primary sources of opacity in the dayside atmosphere of KELT-9b are probably atomic metals. Furthermore, KELT-9b receives 700 times more extreme-ultraviolet radiation (that is, with wavelengths shorter than 91.2 nanometres) than WASP-33b, leading to a predicted range of mass-loss rates that could leave the planet largely stripped of its envelope during the main-sequence lifetime of the host star (ref. 6)