Assessing the comparative risk of plant protection products to honey bees, non-target arthropods and non-Apis bees

Background: In the European Union the placing of pesticides on the market requires as a prerequisite that a risk assessment demonstrates low risks to human health and the environment, among which includes pollinators. Currently risks are evaluated for honey bees and for non-target arthropods (NTA) of cultivated ecosystems. The actual protection of pollinators other than the honey bees, as for example for non-Apis bees, in relation to these risk assessments has recently been questioned and requires further investigation. We present the findings from a comparison of Hazard Quotient (HQ) value calculations to assess the risk to honey bees, non-target arthropods and to non-Apis bees (with the application of an additional safety factor of 10). Calculations were based on publicly available ecotoxicological data. Results: The risk to NTA, honey bees and non-Apis bees, as depicted by HQ values, indicated a higher fail rate for NTA than for bees, but a similar pass / fail rate for non-Apis bees when compared to the NTA scheme. Outcome of the risk assessment for NTA using extended laboratory tests gave similar pass/fail rates compared to the screening step for honey bees. Conclusion: A screening step for non-Apis bees could be developed based on data available on honey bees and NTAs. Keywords: risk assessment, non-Apis bees, pollinators, pesticides, non-target arthropod

Exposure of honey bees and other pollinating species to pesticides

Background: When considering the risk to bees a thorough understanding of the relevant routes of exposure and the magnitude of exposure is necessary.Results: Bees forage on plants and in particular flowers to obtain food for themselves and for provisioning their young. Foliar applications during flowering will present the most extreme acute exposure situation. Bees can be exposed to direct spray and also to contaminated pollen and nectar taken back to the colony. Spray applications before flowering may lead to exposure in pollen and nectar if the substance has systemic properties and is persistent. For soil/seed treatments exposure may occur in for systemic products due to translocation from the seed or soil to the upper parts of the plant (e.g. nectar and pollen). Other possible routes for soil/seed treatments include dust-off at sowing and guttation water. Conclusion: Risk assessment requires that relevant routes of exposure for worker bees, hive bees and young should be considered in the risk assessment for both foliar applied and seed/soil treatment pesticides. The availability of exposure models would assist in the development of honey bee and pollinator risk assessment schemes.Keywords: honey bee, pesticide, risk assessment, exposur

Effects of spinosad on honey bees (Apis mellifera): Findings from over ten years of testing and commercial use

Background: Spinosad is widely used as an insecticide in crop protection against thysanopteran, lepidopteran and dipteran species. As such it is intrinsically toxic to insects and among them to the honey bee (Apis mellifera). An updated risk assessment is presented in the context of the regulatory evaluation of spinosad products and is in accordance with the latest recommendation of regulatory guidance documents. Results: The intrinsic toxicity to the honey bee as observed in laboratory conditions through oral and contact tests on adults does not appear to impair honey bee colonies when exposed to treated attractive crops in tunnel conditions. Reasons for this could include reduced availability of residues of the product on plant surface compared to laboratory conditions, together with a fast dissipation from treated plants and the absence of active degradation products. Conclusions: Spinosad products present a negligible impact on honey bees when used under the current label recommendations and conditions of agricultural use. This conclusion deduced from data available for the regulatory risk assessment has been confirmed by the feedback of surveys on incidents, which address the potential impact of spinosad products under realistic conditions of exposure, including other environmental and chemical factors that are common in cropped areas. Keywords: honey bee, pesticide, risk assessment, risk management, spinosa

Evaluating multiple criteria for species delimitation: an empirical example using Hawaiian palms (Arecaceae: Pritchardia)

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Robust species delimitations are fundamental for conservation, evolutionary, and systematic studies, but they can be difficult to estimate, particularly in rapid and recent radiations. The consensus that species concepts aim to identify evolutionarily distinct lineages is clear, but the criteria used to distinguish evolutionary lineages differ based on the perceived importance of the various characteristics of evolving populations. We examined three different species-delimitation criteria (monophyly, absence of genetic intermediates, and diagnosability) to determine whether currently recognized species of Hawaiian <it>Pritchardia </it>are distinct lineages.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Data from plastid and nuclear genes, microsatellite loci, and morphological characters resulted in various levels of lineage subdivision that were likely caused by differing evolutionary rates between data sources. Additionally, taxonomic entities may be confounded because of the effects of incomplete lineage sorting and/or gene flow. A coalescent species tree was largely congruent with the simultaneous analysis, consistent with the idea that incomplete lineage sorting did not mislead our results. Furthermore, gene flow among populations of sympatric lineages likely explains the admixture and lack of resolution between those groups.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Delimiting Hawaiian <it>Pritchardia </it>species remains difficult but the ability to understand the influence of the evolutionary processes of incomplete lineage sorting and hybridization allow for mechanisms driving species diversity to be inferred. These processes likely extend to speciation in other Hawaiian angiosperm groups and the biota in general and must be explicitly accounted for in species delimitation.</p

A Clinical Index for Disease Activity in Cats with Chronic Enteropathy

Background: There is a need for a clinically useful, quantitative index for measurement of disease activity in cats with chronic enteropathy (CE). Objective: To develop a numerical activity index that is of practical value to clinicians treating CE in cats. Animals: Eighty-two cats with CE. Methods: Retrospective case review of 59 cats diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Prospective validation study of 23 cats having either IBD or food-responsive enteropathy (FRE). Multivariate regression analysis was used to identify which combination of clinical and laboratory variables were best associated with intestinal inflammation of IBD. This combination of variables was expressed in a score that was used as an activity index for the prospective assessment of disease activity and of the effect of treatment in cats with IBD or FRE. Results: The combination of gastrointestinal signs, endoscopic abnormalities, serum total protein, serum alanine transaminase/alkaline phosphatase activity, and serum phosphorous concentration had the best correlation with histopathologic inflammation and comprise the feline chronic enteropathy activity index (FCEAI). Positive treatment responses in cats with CE were accompanied by significant (P \u3c .05) reductions in FCEAI scores after treatment. Conclusions and Clinical Importance: The FCEAI is a simple numerical measure of inflammatory activity in cats with CE. The scoring index can be reliably used in the initial assessment of disease severity for both IBD and FRE and as a measure of clinical response to treatment for these disorders

Cloud Atlas: Weak Color Modulations Due to Rotation in the Planetary-mass Companion GU Psc b and 11 Other Brown Dwarfs

Among the greatest challenges in understanding ultracool brown dwarf and exoplanet atmospheres is the evolution of cloud structure as a function of temperature and gravity. In this study, we present the rotational modulations of GU Psc b—a rare mid-T spectral type planetary-mass companion at the end of the L/T spectral type transition. Based on the Hubble Space Telescope/WFC3 1.1–1.67 μm time-series spectra, we observe a quasi-sinusoidal light curve with a peak-to-trough flux variation of 2.7% and a minimum period of 8 h. The rotation-modulated spectral variations are weakly wavelength-dependent, or largely gray between 1.1 and 1.67 μm. The gray modulations indicate that heterogeneous clouds are present in the photosphere of this low-gravity mid-T dwarf. We place the color and brightness variations of GU Psc b in the context of rotational modulations reported for mid-L to late-T dwarfs. Based on these observations, we report a tentative trend: mid-to-late T dwarfs become slightly redder in J − H color with increasing J-band brightness, while L dwarfs become slightly bluer with increasing brightness. If this trend is verified with more T-dwarf samples, it suggests that in addition to the mostly gray modulations, there is a second-order spectral-type dependence on the nature of rotational modulations

Immuno-inhibitory PD-L1 can be induced by a peptidoglycan/NOD2 mediated pathway in primary monocytic cells and is deficient in Crohn's patients with homozygous NOD2 mutations.

Peptidoglycan (PGN) is a ubiquitous bacterial membrane product that, despite its well known pro-inflammatory properties, has also been invoked in immuno-tolerance of the gastrointestinal tract. PGN-induced mucosal IL-10 secretion and downregulation of Toll like receptors are potential mechanisms of action in the gut but there are few data on tolerogenic adaptive immune responses and PGN. Here, using blood-derived mononuclear cells, we showed that PGN induced marked cell surface expression of PD-L1 but not PD-L2 or CD80/CD86, and specifically in the CD14(+) monocytic fraction. This was reproduced at the gene level with rapid induction (<4 h) and, unlike for LPS stimulation, was still sustained at 24 h. Using transfected and native muramyl dipeptide (MDP), which is a cleavage product of PGN and a specific NOD2 agonist, in assays with wild type cells or those from patients with Crohn's disease carrying the Leu1007 frameshift mutation of NOD2, we showed that (i) both NOD2 dependent and independent signalling (appearing TLR2 mediated) occurred for PGN upregulation of PD-L1 (ii) upregulation is lost in response to MDP in patients with the homozygous mutation and (iii) PD-L1 upregulation was unaffected in patients with heterozygous mutations as previously reported for cytokine responses to MDP. The uptake of PGN and its cleavage products by the intestinal mucosa is well recognised and further work should consider PD-L1 upregulation as one potential mechanism of the commensal flora-driven intestinal immuno-tolerance. Indeed, recent work has shown that loss of PD-L1 signalling in the gut breaks CD8(+) T cell tolerance to self antigen and leads to severe autoimmune enteritis.The authors wish to thank the Sir Halley Stewart Trust and the Dairy Council for their generous support of the research described within and the MRC for their continual suppor

Cloud Atlas: Rotational Spectral Modulations and potential Sulfide Clouds in the Planetary-mass, Late T-type Companion Ross 458C

Measurements of photometric variability at different wavelengths provide insights into the vertical cloud structure of brown dwarfs and planetary-mass objects. In seven Hubble Space Telescope consecutive orbits, spanning $\sim$10 h of observing time}, we obtained time-resolved spectroscopy of the planetary-mass T8-dwarf Ross 458C using the near-infrared Wide Field Camera 3. We found spectrophotometric variability with a peak-to-peak signal of 2.62$\pm$0.02 % (in the 1.10-1.60~$\mu$m white light curve). Using three different methods, we estimated a rotational period of 6.75$\pm$1.58~h for the white light curve, and similar periods for narrow $J$- and $H$- band light curves. Sine wave fits to the narrow $J$- and $H$-band light curves suggest a tentative phase shift between the light curves with wavelength when we allow different periods between both light curves. If confirmed, this phase shift may be similar to the phase shift detected earlier for the T6.5 spectral type 2MASS J22282889-310262. We find that, in contrast with 2M2228, the variability of Ross~458C shows evidence for a {color trend} within the narrow $J$-band, but gray variations in the narrow $H$-band. The spectral time-resolved variability of Ross 458C might be potentially due to heterogeneous sulfide clouds in the atmosphere of the object. Our discovery extends the study of spectral modulations of condensate clouds to the coolest T dwarfs, planetary-mass companions.Comment: Accepted in ApJ

Cloud Atlas: Discovery of Rotational Spectral Modulations in a Low-mass, L-type Brown Dwarf Companion to a Star

Observations of rotational modulations of brown dwarfs and giant exoplanets allow the characterization of condensate cloud properties. As of now rotational spectral modulations have only been seen in three L-type brown dwarfs. We report here the discovery of rotational spectral modulations in LP261-75B, an L6-type intermediate surface gravity companion to an M4.5 star. As a part of the Cloud Atlas Treasury program we acquired time-resolved Wide Field Camera 3 grism spectroscopy (1.1--1.69~$\mu$m) of LP261-75B. We find gray spectral variations with the relative amplitude displaying only a weak wavelength dependence and no evidence for lower-amplitude modulations in the 1.4~$\mu$m water band than in the adjacent continuum. The likely rotational modulation period is 4.78$\pm$0.95 h, although the rotational phase is not well sampled. The minimum relative amplitude in the white light curve measured over the whole wavelength range is 2.41$\pm$0.14\%. We report an unusual light curve with seemingly three peaks approximately evenly distributed in rotational phase. The spectral modulations suggests that the upper atmosphere cloud properties in {LP261-75B} are similar to two other mid-L dwarfs of typical infrared colors, but differ from that of the extremely red L-dwarf WISE0047