Characterization and Generation of Male Courtship Song in Cotesia congregata (Hymenoptera: Braconidae)

Background Male parasitic wasps attract females with a courtship song produced by rapid wing fanning. Songs have been described for several parasitic wasp species; however, beyond association with wing fanning, the mechanism of sound generation has not been examined. We characterized the male courtship song of Cotesia congregata (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) and investigated the biomechanics of sound production. Methods and Principal Findings Courtship songs were recorded using high-speed videography (2,000 fps) and audio recordings. The song consists of a long duration amplitude-modulated “buzz” followed by a series of pulsatile higher amplitude “boings,” each decaying into a terminal buzz followed by a short inter-boing pause while wings are stationary. Boings have higher amplitude and lower frequency than buzz components. The lower frequency of the boing sound is due to greater wing displacement. The power spectrum is a harmonic series dominated by wing repetition rate ~220 Hz, but the sound waveform indicates a higher frequency resonance ~5 kHz. Sound is not generated by the wings contacting each other, the substrate, or the abdomen. The abdomen is elevated during the first several wing cycles of the boing, but its position is unrelated to sound amplitude. Unlike most sounds generated by volume velocity, the boing is generated at the termination of the wing down stroke when displacement is maximal and wing velocity is zero. Calculation indicates a low Reynolds number of ~1000. Conclusions and Significance Acoustic pressure is proportional to velocity for typical sound sources. Our finding that the boing sound was generated at maximal wing displacement coincident with cessation of wing motion indicates that it is caused by acceleration of the wing tips, consistent with a dipole source. The low Reynolds number requires a high wing flap rate for flight and predisposes wings of small insects for sound production

How a slow-ovipositing parasitoid can succed as a biological control agent of the invasive mealybug Phenacoccus peruvianus: implications for future classical and conservation biological control programs

[EN] Phenaccocus peruvianus Granara de Willink (Hemiptera: pseudococcidae) is an invasive mealybug that has become a pest of ornamental plants in Europe and has recently been detected in California, USA. In this work, we studied the tritrophic interaction among this mealybug, its main parasitoid Acerophagus n. sp. near coccois (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) and tending ants to disclose the success of this parasitoid controlling P. peruvianus. Acerophagus n. sp. near coccois accepted mealybugs for parasitism regardless of their size but did not hostfeed. We recorded three active defenses of P. peruvianus. Host handling time-consuming process that required more than 30 min. Tending ants, Lasius grandis (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae), reduced the time spent by parasitoids in a patch and disrupted oviposition attempts. 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Paroxetine reduces crying in young women watching emotional movies

Rationale: Crying is a unique human emotional reaction that has not received much attention from researchers. Little is known about its underlying neurobiological mechanisms, although there is some indirect evidence suggesting the involvement of central serotonin. Objectives: We examined the acute effects of the administration of 20 mg paroxetine on the crying of young, healthy females in response to emotional movies. Methods: We applied a double-blind, crossover randomised design with 25 healthy young females as study participants. On separate days, they received either paroxetine or placebo and were exposed to one of two emotional movies: 'Once Were Warriors' and 'Brian's Song'. Crying was assessed by self-report. In addition, the reactions to emotional International Affective Picture System (IAPS) pictures and mood were measured. Results: Paroxetine had a significant inhibitory effect on crying. During both films, the paroxetine group cried significantly less than the placebo group. In contrast, no effects on mood and only minor effects on the reaction to the IAPS pictures were observed. Conclusions: A single dose of paroxetine inhibits emotional crying significantly. It is not sure what the underlying mechanism is. However, since there was no effect on mood and only minor effects on the response to emotional pictures, we postulate that paroxetine mainly acts on the physiological processes involved in the crying response

A randomised trial and economic evaluation of the effect of response mode on response rate, response bias, and item non-response in a survey of doctors

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Surveys of doctors are an important data collection method in health services research. Ways to improve response rates, minimise survey response bias and item non-response, within a given budget, have not previously been addressed in the same study. The aim of this paper is to compare the effects and costs of three different modes of survey administration in a national survey of doctors.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A stratified random sample of 4.9% (2,702/54,160) of doctors undertaking clinical practice was drawn from a national directory of all doctors in Australia. Stratification was by four doctor types: general practitioners, specialists, specialists-in-training, and hospital non-specialists, and by six rural/remote categories. A three-arm parallel trial design with equal randomisation across arms was used. Doctors were randomly allocated to: online questionnaire (902); simultaneous mixed mode (a paper questionnaire and login details sent together) (900); or, sequential mixed mode (online followed by a paper questionnaire with the reminder) (900). Analysis was by intention to treat, as within each primary mode, doctors could choose either paper or online. Primary outcome measures were response rate, survey response bias, item non-response, and cost.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The online mode had a response rate 12.95%, followed by the simultaneous mixed mode with 19.7%, and the sequential mixed mode with 20.7%. After adjusting for observed differences between the groups, the online mode had a 7 percentage point lower response rate compared to the simultaneous mixed mode, and a 7.7 percentage point lower response rate compared to sequential mixed mode. The difference in response rate between the sequential and simultaneous modes was not statistically significant. Both mixed modes showed evidence of response bias, whilst the characteristics of online respondents were similar to the population. However, the online mode had a higher rate of item non-response compared to both mixed modes. The total cost of the online survey was 38% lower than simultaneous mixed mode and 22% lower than sequential mixed mode. The cost of the sequential mixed mode was 14% lower than simultaneous mixed mode. Compared to the online mode, the sequential mixed mode was the most cost-effective, although exhibiting some evidence of response bias.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Decisions on which survey mode to use depend on response rates, response bias, item non-response and costs. The sequential mixed mode appears to be the most cost-effective mode of survey administration for surveys of the population of doctors, if one is prepared to accept a degree of response bias. Online surveys are not yet suitable to be used exclusively for surveys of the doctor population.</p

Healthcare costs and utilization for Medicare beneficiaries with Alzheimer's

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder incurring significant social and economic costs. This study uses a US administrative claims database to evaluate the effect of AD on direct healthcare costs and utilization, and to identify the most common reasons for AD patients' emergency room (ER) visits and inpatient admissions.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Demographically matched cohorts age 65 and over with comprehensive medical and pharmacy claims from the 2003–2004 MEDSTAT MarketScan^®Medicare Supplemental and Coordination of Benefits (COB) Database were examined: 1) 25,109 individuals with an AD diagnosis or a filled prescription for an exclusively AD treatment; and 2) 75,327 matched controls. Illness burden for each person was measured using Diagnostic Cost Groups (DCGs), a comprehensive morbidity assessment system. Cost distributions and reasons for ER visits and inpatient admissions in 2004 were compared for both cohorts. Regression was used to quantify the marginal contribution of AD to health care costs and utilization, and the most common reasons for ER and inpatient admissions, using DCGs to control for overall illness burden.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Compared with controls, the AD cohort had more co-morbid medical conditions, higher overall illness burden, and higher but less variable costs ($13,936 s.$10,369; Coefficient of variation = 181 vs. 324). Significant excess utilization was attributed to AD for inpatient services, pharmacy, ER visits, and home health care (all p < 0.05). In particular, AD patients were far more likely to be hospitalized for infections, pneumonia and falls (hip fracture, syncope, collapse).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Patients with AD have significantly more co-morbid medical conditions and higher healthcare costs and utilization than demographically-matched Medicare beneficiaries. Even after adjusting for differences in co-morbidity, AD patients incur excess ER visits and inpatient admissions.</p

Description and validation of a Markov model of survival for individuals free of cardiovascular disease that uses Framingham risk factors

BACKGROUND: Estimation of cardiovascular disease risk is increasingly used to inform decisions on interventions, such as the use of antihypertensives and statins, or to communicate the risks of smoking. Crude 10-year cardiovascular disease risk risks may not give a realistic view of the likely impact of an intervention over a lifetime and will underestimate of the risks of smoking. A validated model of survival to act as a decision aid in the consultation may help to address these problems. This study aims to describe the development of such a model for use with people free of cardiovascular disease and evaluates its accuracy against data from a United Kingdom cohort. METHODS: A Markov cycle tree evaluated using cohort simulation was developed utilizing Framingham estimates of cardiovascular risk, 1998 United Kingdom mortality data, the relative risk for smoking related non-cardiovascular disease risk and changes in systolic blood pressure and serum total cholesterol total cholesterol with age. The model's estimates of survival at 20 years for 1391 members of the Whickham survey cohort between the ages of 35 and 65 were compared with the observed survival at 20-year follow-up. RESULTS: The model estimate for survival was 75% and the observed survival was 75.4%. The correlation between estimated and observed survival was 0.933 over 39 subgroups of the cohort stratified by estimated survival, 0.992 for the seven 5-year age bands from 35 to 64, 0.936 for the ten 10 mmHg systolic blood pressure bands between 100 mmHg and 200 mmHg, and 0.693 for the fifteen 0.5 mmol/l total cholesterol bands between 3.0 and 10.0 mmol/l. The model significantly underestimated mortality in those people with a systolic blood pressure greater than or equal to 180 mmHg (p = 0.006). The average gain in life expectancy from the elimination of cardiovascular disease risk as a cause of death was 4.0 years for all the 35 year-old men in the sample (n = 24), and 1.8 years for all the 35 year-old women in the sample (n = 32). CONCLUSIONS: This model accurately estimates 20-year survival in subjects from the Whickham cohort with a systolic blood pressure below 180 mmHg

NF-κB: a new player in angiostatic therapy

Angiogenesis is considered a promising target in the treatment of cancer. Most of the angiogenesis inhibitors in late-stage clinical testing or approved for the treatment of cancer act indirectly on endothelial cells. They either neutralize angiogenic growth factors from the circulation or block the signaling pathways activated by these growth factors. Another group of angiogenesis inhibitors are the direct angiostatic compounds. These agents have a direct effect on the endothelium, affecting cellular regulatory pathways, independently of the tumor cells. The reason that this category of agents is lagging behind regarding their translation to the clinic may be the lack of sufficient knowledge on the mechanism of action of these compounds. The transcription factor NF-κB has been recently connected with multiple aspects of angiogenesis. In addition, several recent studies report that angiogenesis inhibition is associated to NF-κB activation. This is of special interest since in tumor cells NF-κB activation has been associated to inhibition of apoptosis and currently novel treatment strategies are being developed based on inhibition of NF-κB. The paradigm that systemic NF-κB inhibition can serve as an anti-cancer strategy, therefore, might need to be re-evaluated. Based on recent data, it might be speculated that NF-κB activation, when performed specifically in endothelial cells, could be an efficient strategy for the treatment of cancer

Compressed collagen and decellularized tissue: novel components in a pipeline approach for the study of cancer metastasis

Metastasis is a complex process which is difficult to study and model. Experimental ingenuity is therefore essential when seeking to elucidate the biological mechanisms involved. Typically, in vitro models of metastasis have been overly simplistic, lacking the characteristic elements of the tumour microenvironment, whereas in vivo models are expensive, requiring specialist resources. Here we propose a pipeline approach for the study of cell migration and colonization, two critical steps in the metastatic cascade.We used a range of extracellular matrix derived contexts to facilitate a progressive approach to the observation and quantification of cell behaviour in 2D, 3D and at border zones between dimensions. At the simplest level, cells were set onto collagen-coated plastic or encapsulated within a collagen matrix. To enhance this, a collagen compression technique provided a stiffened, denser substrate which could be used as a 2D surface or to encapsulate cells. Decellularized tissue from the chorioallantoic membrane of the developing chicken embryo was used to provide a more structured, biologically relevant extracellular matrix-based context in which cell behaviour could then be compared with its in vivo counterpart.Cell behaviour could be observed and quantified within each context using standard laboratory techniques of microscopy and immunostaining, affording the opportunity for comparison and contrast of behaviour across the whole range of contexts. In particular, the temporal constraints of the in vivo CAM were removed when cells were cultured on the decellularized CAM, allowing for much longer-term cell colonization and cell-cell interaction.Together the assays within this pipeline provide the opportunity for the study of cell behaviour in a replicable way across multiple environments. The assays can be set up and analysed using easily available resources and standard laboratory equipment. We believe this offers the potential for the detailed study of cell migration and colonization of tissue, essential steps in the metastatic cascade. Also, we propose that the pipeline could be used in the wider arena of cell culture in general with the increasingly more complex contexts allowing cell behaviours and interactions to be explored in a stepwise fashion in an integrated way

Pulmonary Arterial Stent Implantation in an Adult with Williams Syndrome

We report a 38-year-old patient who presented with pulmonary hypertension and right ventricular dysfunction due to pulmonary artery stenoses as a manifestation of Williams syndrome, mimicking chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension. The patient was treated with balloon angioplasty and stent implantation. Short-term follow-up showed a good clinical result with excellent patency of the stents but early restenosis of the segments in which only balloon angioplasty was performed. These stenoses were subsequently also treated successfully by stent implantation. Stent patency was observed 3 years after the first procedure