The effect of within-crop habitat manipulations on the conservation biological control of aphids in field-grown lettuce

Within-crop habitat manipulations have the potential to increase the biological control of pests in horticultural field crops. Wildflower strips have been shown to increase the abundance of natural enemies, but there is little evidence to date of an impact on pest populations. The aim of this study was to determine whether withincrop wildflower strips can increase the natural regulation of pests in horticultural field crops. Aphid numbers in plots of lettuce grown adjacent to wildflower strips were compared with those in plots grown in the absence of wildflowers. The presence of wildflower strips led to a decrease in aphid numbers on adjacent lettuce plants during June and July, but had less impact in August and September. The decrease in aphid numbers was greatest close to the wildflower strips and, the decrease in aphid numbers declined with increasing distance from the wildflower strips, with little effect at a distance of ten metres. The main natural enemies found in the crop were those that dispersed aerially, which is consistent with data from previous studies on cereal crops. Analysis and interpretation of natural enemy numbers was difficult due to low recovery of natural enemies, and the numbers appeared to follow changes in aphid abundance rather than being directly linked to the presence of wildflower strips. Cutting the wildflower strips, to remove floral resources, had no impact on the reduction in aphid numbers achieved during June and July, but decreased the effect of the wildflower strips during August and September. The results suggest that wildflower strips can lead to increased natural regulation of pest aphids in outdoor lettuce crops, but more research is required to determine how this is mediated by natural enemies and how the impact of wildflower strips on natural pest regulation changes during the growing season

Emergency Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus, Injunctive, and Declaratory Relief - Class Action

As a tragic combination of infectious and deadly, COVID-19 poses a once-in-a-lifetime threat on a worldwide scale. Every state and territory in the United States has now been impacted, with nearly half a million cases and over 20,000 deaths reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Even under ordinary conditions, each person who contracts this illness can be expected to infect between 2 and 3 others. Cramped, overcrowded prisons amplify this threat. With thousands of people literally stacked on top of each other and unable to move around without rubbing shoulders, such environments are fundamentally incompatible with medically-indicated social distancing and hygiene protocols. As a result, they present a grave threat not only to prisoners and staff, but also to the broader community by enabling the spread of COVID-19 both inside and outside the prison walls. This danger is playing out with disastrous consequences in Elkton Federal Correctional Institution ( FCI Elkton ), a low-security federal correctional institution with an adjacent low security satellite prison ( FSL Elkton ), collectively described as Elkton. As of April 12, 2020, at least 3 prisoners have died, and scores of prisoners and staff have reportedly been hospitalized, including more than a dozen who have needed ventilators to stay alive. These numbers will continue to grow exponentially. Despite knowing the risks to prisoners, staff, and the community, Elkton has failed to provide meaningful protection against the spread of the disease. Prisoners are still clustered together in confined spaces with limited access to hygiene and inadequate ventilation

Comparative analysis of the Geobacillus hemicellulose utilization locus reveals a highly variable target for improved hemicellulolysis

BACKGROUND: Members of the thermophilic genus Geobacillus can grow at high temperatures and produce a battery of thermostable hemicellulose hydrolytic enzymes, making them ideal candidates for the bioconversion of biomass to value-added products. To date the molecular determinants for hemicellulose degradation and utilization have only been identified and partially characterized in one strain, namely Geobacillus stearothermophilus T-6, where they are clustered in a single genetic locus. RESULTS: Using the G. stearothermophilus T-6 hemicellulose utilization locus as genetic marker, orthologous hemicellulose utilization (HUS) loci were identified in the complete and partial genomes of 17/24 Geobacillus strains. These HUS loci are localized on a common genomic island. Comparative analyses of these loci revealed extensive variability among the Geobacillus hemicellulose utilization systems, with only seven out of 41–68 proteins encoded on these loci conserved among the HUS+ strains. This translates into extensive differences in the hydrolytic enzymes, transport systems and metabolic pathways employed by Geobacillus spp. to degrade and utilize hemicellulose polymers. CONCLUSIONS: The genetic variability among the Geobacillus HUS loci implies that they have variable capacities to degrade hemicellulose polymers, or that they may degrade distinct polymers, as are found in different plant species and tissues. The data from this study can serve as a basis for the genetic engineering of a Geobacillus strain(s) with an improved capacity to degrade and utilize hemicellulose.This project was partially funded through the University of Pretoria Postdoctoral Fellowship Programme and the National Research Foundation (NRF) Research Career Advancement (RCA) Fellowship Programme.http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmcgenomics/am201

Petitioners\u27 Reply Memorandum in Support of Their Emergency Petetion for a Writ of Habeas Corpus

In the roughly 120 hours since Petitioners filed their emergency petition for a writ of habeas corpus, the death toll at Elkton has doubled, and the number of BOP-confirmed COVID-19 cases among prisoners has tripled. About three dozen corrections staff have tested positive for the virus, a number that has also tripled since this case was filed. Elkton now accounts for more than one-third of all prisoner deaths from COVID-19 in federal prisons nationwide, and over half of the COVID-19 deaths in Columbiana County, making it one of the deadliest places a person can live in the current pandemic. According to one source, 32 prisoners have been hospitalized, including 16 requiring ventilators. Meanwhile, Respondents “have yet to come up with a good, sound criteria of how they are going to actually start the testing” of prisoners, much less a plan for social distancing, release, or transfer. Two weeks after the Attorney General exhorted Respondents to “immediately review” all prisoners with COVID-19 risk factors and “immediately transfer them” after quarantine, a mere six of the 2,400 prisoners at Elkton, or 0.25%, have been approved. Elkton has become an epicenter of COVID-19, and continued confinement will mean a sentence of death, permanently damaged organs, or unnecessary suffering for more residents. Respondents’ lack of effective action constitutes deliberate indifference to serious medical need. This Court is empowered to provide a process for the necessary releases—the only means by which prisoners’ Eighth Amendment rights can be vindicated. The nature of that authority, under 28 U.S.C. § 2241 or alternatively 28 U.S.C. § 1331, is explained further in Section III below

ASPIRE-2-PREVENT: a survey of lifestyle, risk factor management and cardioprotective medication in patients with coronary heart disease and people at high risk of developing cardiovascular disease in the UK.

OBJECTIVE: To determine in patients with coronary heart disease (CHD) and people at high risk of developing cardiovascular disease (CVD) whether the Joint British Societies' guidelines on CVD prevention (JBS2) are followed in everyday clinical practice. DESIGN: A cross-sectional survey was undertaken of medical records and patient interviews and examinations at least 6 months after the recruiting event or diagnosis using standardised instruments and a central laboratory for measurement of lipids and glucose. SETTINGS: The ASPIRE-2-PREVENT survey was undertaken in 19 randomly selected hospitals and 19 randomly selected general practices in 12 geographical regions in England, Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland. PATIENTS: In hospitals, 1474 consecutive patients with CHD were identified and 676 (25.6% women) were interviewed. In general practice, 943 people at high CVD risk were identified and 446 (46.5% women) were interviewed. RESULTS: The prevalence of risk factors in patients with CHD and high-risk individuals was, respectively: smoking 14.1%, 13.3%; obesity 38%, 50.2%; not reaching physical activity target 83.3%, 85.4%; blood pressure ≥130/80 mm Hg (patients with CHD and self-reported diabetes) or ≥140/85 mm Hg (high-risk individuals) 46.9%, 51.3%; total cholesterol ≥4 mmol/l 52.6%, 78.7%; and diabetes 17.8%, 43.8%. CONCLUSIONS: The potential among patients with CHD and individuals at high risk of developing CVD in the UK to achieve the JBS2 lifestyle and risk factor targets is considerable. CVD prevention needs a comprehensive multidisciplinary approach, addressing all aspects of lifestyle and risk factor management. The challenge is to engage and motivate cardiologists, physicians and other health professionals to routinely practice high quality preventive cardiology in a healthcare system which must invest in prevention

Comparative genomic analysis of bacteriophages specific to the channel catfish pathogen Edwardsiella ictaluri

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The bacterial pathogen <it>Edwardsiella ictaluri </it>is a primary cause of mortality in channel catfish raised commercially in aquaculture farms. Additional treatment and diagnostic regimes are needed for this enteric pathogen, motivating the discovery and characterization of bacteriophages specific to <it>E. ictaluri</it>.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The genomes of three <it>Edwardsiella ictaluri</it>-specific bacteriophages isolated from geographically distant aquaculture ponds, at different times, were sequenced and analyzed. The genomes for phages eiAU, eiDWF, and eiMSLS are 42.80 kbp, 42.12 kbp, and 42.69 kbp, respectively, and are greater than 95% identical to each other at the nucleotide level. Nucleotide differences were mostly observed in non-coding regions and in structural proteins, with significant variability in the sequences of putative tail fiber proteins. The genome organization of these phages exhibit a pattern shared by other <it>Siphoviridae</it>.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>These <it>E. ictaluri</it>-specific phage genomes reveal considerable conservation of genomic architecture and sequence identity, even with considerable temporal and spatial divergence in their isolation. Their genomic homogeneity is similarly observed among <it>E. ictaluri </it>bacterial isolates. The genomic analysis of these phages supports the conclusion that these are virulent phages, lacking the capacity for lysogeny or expression of virulence genes. This study contributes to our knowledge of phage genomic diversity and facilitates studies on the diagnostic and therapeutic applications of these phages.</p

Meeting report : 1st international functional metagenomics workshop May 7–8, 2012, St. Jacobs, Ontario, Canada

This report summarizes the events of the 1st International Functional Metagenomics Workshop. The workshop was held on May 7 and 8 in St. Jacobs, Ontario, Canada and was focused on building a core international functional metagenomics community, exploring strategic research areas, and identifying opportunities for future collaboration and funding. The workshop was initiated by researchers at the University of Waterloo with support from the Ontario Genomics Institute (OGI), Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and the University of Waterloo