New Scale Insects (Homoptera: Coccoidea) in the Greek Entomofauna

Η γνώση της πανίδας των κοκκοειδών εντόμων της Ελλάδος είναι περιορισμένη. Για το λόγο αυτό έγινε προσπάθεια συλλογής και αναγνώρισης τέτοιων εντόμων κατά τη διετία 1990-91.  Κατά τη συλλογή αυτή συλλέχΟησαν 71 είδη, που ανήκουν σε οκτώ οικογένειες, συγκεκριμένα στις Ortheziidae, Margarodidac, Pseudococcidae, Eriococcidae, Kermesidae, Cerococcidae, Coccidae και Diaspididae. Τα 31 ήταν νέα για την ελληνική πανίδα. Καταγράφηκαν επίσης το επίπεδο προσβολής, τα φυτά ξενιστές, καθώς επίσης και φαινολογικά δεδομένα. Τα αποτελέσματα δείχνουν ότι η πανίδα των κοκκοειδών εντόμων στη χώρα μας χρειάζεται επιπλέον μελέτη.Collection of scale insects in Greece in 1990 – 1991 provided 71 species. Among them, 31 species were new for the Greek fauna. The total number of known species is 143 in Greece. Host plant’s levels of infestation and phonological data are also presented. The results show that scale insect fauna of this country needs further intensive studies

Knowing You, Knowing Who, and Knowing What Counts: A Multi-Generational Conversation

People who have had the most impact on our lives are those who have seen some special trait or character in us and then nurture that special something. Gary Dickson has had that kind of impact on others. Gary also has left us with a discovery framework for survival in academia. Surviving academics must groom themselves for their careers through the use of knowledge that can be turned into action. Knowing yourself and your strengths and weaknesses, your field and its perception by other academics, key players both while in a Ph.D. program and in an academic position, success factors in the job market and on the road to tenure and promotion, your publication outlets, and how you personally react to criticism are all part of your desired knowledge package. But, knowledge is not enough. You must use your information system and knowledge base along with an action plan to reach your goals. Actions including but not limited to a balance in life, turning unstructured tasks into structured ones, and thinking beyond system boundaries all can guide you to be a survivor in academia. This conversation among Gary Dickson\u27s first Ph.D. student, a newly minted Ph.D. who Ken advised, and a current student of Ken\u27s, provides food for thought on building your knowledge base and some guides to actions that will aid your academic career

Single-cell lineage tracing in the mammary gland reveals stochastic clonal dispersion of stem/progenitor cell progeny.

The mammary gland undergoes cycles of growth and regeneration throughout reproductive life, a process that requires mammary stem cells (MaSCs). Whilst recent genetic fate-mapping studies using lineage-specific promoters have provided valuable insights into the mammary epithelial hierarchy, the true differentiation potential of adult MaSCs remains unclear. To address this, herein we utilize a stochastic genetic-labelling strategy to indelibly mark a single cell and its progeny in situ, combined with tissue clearing and 3D imaging. Using this approach, clones arising from a single parent cell could be visualized in their entirety. We reveal that clonal progeny contribute exclusively to either luminal or basal lineages and are distributed sporadically to branching ducts or alveoli. Quantitative analyses suggest that pools of unipotent stem/progenitor cells contribute to adult mammary gland development. Our results highlight the utility of tracing a single cell and reveal that progeny of a single proliferative MaSC/progenitor are dispersed throughout the epithelium.This work was supported by a grant from the Medical Research Council programme grant no. MR/J001023/1 (B.L-L. and C.J.W). F.M.D. was funded by a National Health and Medical Research Council CJ Martin Biomedical Fellowship (GNT1071074). O.B.H. was funded by a Wellcome Trust PhD studentship (105377/Z/14/Z)

Phospho-regulation of ATOH1 Is Required for Plasticity of Secretory Progenitors and Tissue Regeneration

The intestinal epithelium is largely maintained by self-renewing stem cells but with apparently committed progenitors also contributing, particularly following tissue damage. However, the mechanism of, and requirement for, progenitor plasticity in mediating pathological response remain unknown. Here we show that phosphorylation of the transcription factor Atoh1 is required for both the contribution of secretory progenitors to the stem cell pool and for a robust regenerative response. As confirmed by lineage tracing, Atoh1+ cells (Atoh1(WT)CreERT2 mice) give rise to multilineage intestinal clones both in the steady state and after tissue damage. In a phosphomutant Atoh1(9S/T-A)CreERT2 line, preventing phosphorylation of ATOH1 protein acts to promote secretory differentiation and inhibit the contribution of progenitors to self-renewal. Following chemical colitis, Atoh1+ cells of Atoh1(9S/T-A)CreERT2 mice have reduced clonogenicity that affects overall regeneration. Progenitor plasticity maintains robust self-renewal in the intestinal epithelium, and the balance between stem and progenitor fate is directly coordinated by ATOH1 multisite phosphorylation

Features of vanadium geochemistry in oils from the oil and gas fields of Eastern region of Ukraine

The results of long-term studies of the geochemical features of vanadium in the oil from 36 deposits of the Eastern oil and gas region of Ukraine. Based on the results of correlation and regression analyses, the nature and forms of the relationship between the vanadium content in oil and nickel, zinc, chromium, manganese, cobalt, iron, mercury, aluminum and the total content of these metals were determined; average capacity of the productive horizon; oil density value; oil viscosity value; resin content; the density of formation water from the productive horizon; sulfur content in oil; actual depth of the productive horizon; actual temperature of the productive horizon; actual pressure of the productive horizon; oil boiling point; paraffin content; the value of mineralization for formation water from the productive horizon; content of asphaltenes. Correlation coefficients, pairwise linear regression equations as well as curves that illustrate relationships between these parameters are obtained. Based on the results of the cluster analysis, a dendrogram of the results for clustering by means of the weighted centroid method of the considered fields by the content of vanadium in the oils was elaborated. Based on the results of clustering by means of the weighted centroid method, the first natural classification of oil and gas fields of eastern region of Ukraine according to the content of vanadium in oils was developed. It has been proven that heteroatomic low-molecular sulfur-containing components of the petroleum system are the main concentrators of vanadium in the oil for the studied deposits. It has been shown that, based on the results of the cluster analysis, sample average values of vanadium concentrations that vary significantly between individual deposits or groups of deposits for established ranges could be interpreted in terms of qualitative assessment as follows: abnormally low; low; below average; average; above average; high; abnormally high. The implementation of this kind of approach makes it possible to visually compare and interpret in terms of geology various scale and various indicators of oil deposits obtained by means of experimental study

Basketball game-related statistics that discriminate between teams season-long success

The aim of the present study was to identify the game-related statistics that discriminate between season-long successful and unsuccessful basketball teams participating in the Spanish Basketball League (LEB1). The sample included all 145 average records per season from the 870 games played between the 2000-2001 and the 2005-2006 regular seasons. The following game-related statistics were gathered from the official box scores of the Spanish Basketball Federation: 2- and 3-point field-goal attempts (both successful and unsuccessful), free-throws (both successful and unsuccessful), defensive and offensive rebounds, assists, steals, turnovers, blocks (both made and received), and fouls (both committed and received). To control for season variability, all results were normalized to minutes played each season and then converted to z-scores. The results allowed discrimination between best and worst teams' performances through the following game-related statistics: assists (SC=0.47), steals (SC=0.34), and blocks (SC=0.30). The function obtained correctly classified 82.4% of the cases. In conclusion, season-long performance may be supported by players' and teams' passing skills and defensive preparation

Application of natural antioxidants in the composition of gel "Imbirol" for rhinitis of different genesis

One of the stages of the pathophysiological study of the state of the prooxidant-antioxidant system under the conditions of modeling different types of rhinitis in rats was carried out. The experiment took 36 rats, with bacterial and chemical rhinitis, with treatment and without it. Indicators of peroxidation of lipids and antioxidant system were determined in serum: thiobarbituric acid (TBA) and diene conjugates (DK), reduced glutathione (RG) and catalase (Cat). The obtained research results confirmed the formation of oxidative stress in experimental groups, both in chemical and bacterial rhinitis, according to DK and TBA data at 168.3%, 216.1% (chemical) and 159.4%, 216.1% (at bacterial) compared to intact animals. Imbirol shows pronounced therapeutic antioxidant properties in comparison with the reference preparation Pinosol. The effectiveness of the new gel "Imbirol" has a more positive dynamics of AOS restoration in blood serum when developing experimental rhinitis and does not differ significantly from the parameters of the reference preparation "Pinosol". In the pathogenesis of chemical and bacterial rhinitis, the violation of the antioxidant-antioxidant system is installed at the system level. Application of powerful universal treatment with gel "Imbirol" in both types of experimental rhinitis contributes to the normalization of the indicators of the system "peroxidation-antioxidant protection". The applying of the gel "Imbirol" in chemical and bacterial rhinitis reliably led to the restoration of the excited AOS parameters at the systemic level by reducing the concentration of TBA and DC and increasing the activity of the enzymes of catalase and RG. The obtained results allow to continue the study of the influence of antioxidants in experimental rhinitis, and mechanisms of restoration of the nasal mucosa under the pharmacological influence of the gel "Imbirol"

Factors to affect inbred beet plants while developing material for linear selection

Considering its capacities, the generative system of Beta vulgaris L. is regarded as highly productive. While inbreeding, the reproductive potential of cross-pollinated beet plants with gametophytic self-incompatibility (SI) changes significantly and is determined by a joint effect of multiple factors including the level of inbred depression. In the present study, original data have been obtained revealing relationships between inbred beet seed productivity, its self-incompatibility and microgametophyte parameters, which is crucial for developing and maintaining constant fertile beet lines. It has been discovered that inbred depression increases the number of sterile microgametes and anomalous pollen grains, reduces pollen fertility and the length of pollen tubes. As a result, the seed yield in inbred beet progeny, including SI ones, reduces significantly just after the third inbreeding. At the same time, highly productive inbred beet is characterized by a lower rate of pollen tube growth in vitro. In inbred plants, there is no close relationship between pollen viability and seed productivity, because the elimination of germinated male gametes and degeneration of seed embryos may go over the entire period of fertilization starting its progamic phase. The SI plants have more degenerating embryos than self-fertile ones, but seed vessel outgrowth in the seeds with abortive embryos makes them morphologically similar to fertile seeds. For that reason, when assessing inbred beet plants based on their self-incompatibility/self-fertility, one should consider the qualitative characteristics of the seeds. Using the method of recurrent selection based on such factors as seed productivity, pollen tube length and field germination rate increase the output of plant forms with a potentially high self-compatibility in their progeny. To support such genotypes in the progeny, one has to, starting from the third inbreeding, perform sib crossing to reduce the negative effect of inbred depression and self-incompatibility

"They're Really PD Today": An Exploration of Mental Health Nursing Students' Perceptions of Developing a Therapeutic Relationship With Patients With a Diagnosis of Antisocial Personality Disorder

The therapeutic relationship is of particular importance when working with patients with antisocial personality disorder, but despite this, there is a paucity of literature exploring student nurses’ perceptions of developing a therapeutic relationship with such patients. Hence, this qualitative study explored the perceptions of second-year mental health nursing students of developing a therapeutic relationship with this patient group. Student nurses from a University in the Northwest of England participated in two focus groups, to compare the perceptions of a group of student nurses who had experience in secure settings (forensic hospital) with those who had not. Four key themes emerged: diagnosis, safety, engagement, and finally environmental influences. Both groups commented on looking beyond the diagnosis and seeing the person. The student nurses cited other staff in their clinical placement areas as hugely influential in terms of the development of their perceptions of patients with antisocial personality disorder and how to relate to them