Changing of flight phenology and ecotype expansion of the European corn borer (Ostrinia nubilalis Hbn.) in Hungary Part

The studies aimed to acquire the widest possible information on the annual flight in Hungary of the European corn borer (ECB), Ostrinia nubilalis Hübner (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae). The investigations used biomathematical (Part 1) and graphical (Part 2) evaluation to document changes in the individual population number.The study was conducted in Hungary using ECB moth capture records from the Plant Protection Information System black light trap system (1991–2004). We have drawn conclusions on the appearance of annual flights and the tendency of alterations in flight direction by means of light trap results in four different areas in Hungary. We calculated the flight peak quotients, the individual population numbers of the second flight peak, the distinctions of individual numbers of two flight peaks in this part.As previously published, alterations in flight direction of ECB flights began at different times in Hungary. In the current study, a gradual disappearance of the univoltine ecotype and gradual appearance of the bivoltine ecotype ECB in Hungary is confirmed by the data obtained between 1991–2004. Flight peak quotients and data concerning the second flight peak have confirmed change this process, too: the appearance of a second flight peak in Northwestern Hungary from 1995–1996 (FP = 1.27), the more significant appearance of flights in August in Western Hungary (FP = 1.05) and Northeastern Hungary (FP = 1.45), and a three and four times more individual number of the second flight peak in Southeastern Hungary (FP = 3.44). Flight peak quotients, individual population numbers of the second flight peak, the tendency towards a difference in population number of the two peaks, and size of increase of these values demonstrates the southeastern-northwestern presence of the bivoltine ecotype in Hungary

Bryozoan genera Fenestrulina and Microporella no longer confamilial; multi-gene phylogeny supports separation

Bryozoans are a moderately diverse, mostly marine phylum with a fossil record extending to the early Ordovician. Compared to other phyla, little is known about their phylogenetic relationships at both lower and higher taxonomic levels. Hence, an effort is being made to elucidate the phylogenetic relationships among bryozoans. Here, we present newly sequenced nuclear and mitochondrial genes for 21 cheilostome bryozoans and compile these with existing orthologous molecular data. Using these data, we focus on reconstructing the phylogenetic relationships of Fenestrulina and Microporella, two species-rich genera. They are currently placed in a globally distributed family, Microporellidae, defined by having a semicircular primary orifice and a proximal ascopore, although there are indirect inferences in the morphological literature that suggest they might not be confamilial. Our six-gene phylogenetic analysis reveals that the genera Fenestrulina and Microporella are each monophyletic, with the sister clade to Microporella comprising non-microporellids. These genera thus have a polyphyletic relationship and should not be placed in the same family. Our result supports the reinstatement of the family Fenestrulinidae Jullien, 1888 for Fenestrulina and genera with comparable frontal shield and ooecial morphologies. Our well-supported phylogeny based on independent molecular data lends credit to existing phylogenetic hypotheses based on morphological observations but does not conform to the current classification of these particular bryozoans. This illustrates the general need for a rethink of bryozoan higher-level systematics, ideally based on both morphological and molecular data

Microbial ligand costimulation drives neutrophilic steroid-refractory asthma

Funding: The authors thank the Wellcome Trust (102705) and the Universities of Aberdeen and Cape Town for funding. This research was also supported, in part, by National Institutes of Health GM53522 and GM083016 to DLW. KF and BNL are funded by the Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek, BNL is the recipient of an European Research Commission consolidator grant and participates in the European Union FP7 programs EUBIOPRED and MedALL. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

The MusiQual treatment manual for music therapy in a palliative care inpatient setting

This article presents the treatment manual developed during the MusiQual feasibility study carried out in Belfast by Queen’s University Belfast, Every Day Harmony Music Therapy, and Marie Curie Northern Ireland. The MusiQual study considered the feasibility of a multicentre randomised trial to evaluate the effectiveness of music therapy in improving the quality of life of hospice inpatients (protocol: McConnell et al. results: Porter et al.). The procedures in the manual are based fully on those implemented by the Music Therapists during the feasibility study, and it also incorporates the theoretical model defined and published following the realist review of the literature (McConnell and Porter). The manual is presented in the format in which it would be used in the potential future phase III multicentre randomised control trial. It represents a flexible approach to provide enough scope for practicing therapists to adapt their interventions to individual clients as is best practice in music therapy. It aims to provide stable guidelines both to ensure treatment fidelity in a future trial of music therapy for palliative care inpatients and to act as a relevant guide for Music Therapists practicing in this field

Drift or shift? Continuity, change, and international variation in knowledge production in OR/MS

With the aim of contributing to the debate around OR/MS as a discipline, this study provides a historical comparative investigation of publicly available knowledge production in the field. The empirical investigation is based on a content analysis of 300 randomly selected articles from six major journals in the field. We have found: (1) since the late 1950s to the present day there has been no significant change in the types of published research in OR/MS in North America; (2) from the late 1950s to the present day, there have been significant differences in types of published research in OR/MS internationally. The imputed imbalance between theory and applications in published work had already occurred in the early stages of the development of OR/MS in North America and has since remained very much the same. Furthermore, research in the United Kingdom has been distinctly different from that dominant in North America and elsewhere. There are also indications that outside North America and the United Kingdom there is an emerging turn towards applications-oriented research. Over the last two or three decades there has been a significant increase overall in the share of articles published by academic authors

The Old Ladies of the Seed Harvester ant Pogonomyrmex Rugosus: Foraging Performed by Two Groups of Workers

We examined temporal polyethism in Pogonomyrmex rugosus, predicting a pattern of decreasing age from foragers to nest maintenance workers to individuals that were recruited to harvest a temporary food source. Nest maintenance workers were younger than foragers, as indicated by their heavier mass and lower mandibular wear. In contrast, recruited foragers were similar in mass to foragers but they displayed higher mandibular wear, suggesting that they were at least as old as foragers. Longevity estimates for marked individuals of these two latter task groups showed mixed results. Higher mandibular wear of recruited foragers suggests that they did not follow the normal sequence for temporal polyethism, but rather that they functioned as seed-millers, which should more quickly abrade their dentition. This would be the first demonstration of specialist milling individuals in a monomorphic seed-harvester ant

New insights into the classification and nomenclature of cortical GABAergic interneurons.

A systematic classification and accepted nomenclature of neuron types is much needed but is currently lacking. This article describes a possible taxonomical solution for classifying GABAergic interneurons of the cerebral cortex based on a novel, web-based interactive system that allows experts to classify neurons with pre-determined criteria. Using Bayesian analysis and clustering algorithms on the resulting data, we investigated the suitability of several anatomical terms and neuron names for cortical GABAergic interneurons. Moreover, we show that supervised classification models could automatically categorize interneurons in agreement with experts' assignments. These results demonstrate a practical and objective approach to the naming, characterization and classification of neurons based on community consensus

Diffuse Gamma Rays: Galactic and Extragalactic Diffuse Emission

"Diffuse" gamma rays consist of several components: truly diffuse emission from the interstellar medium, the extragalactic background, whose origin is not firmly established yet, and the contribution from unresolved and faint Galactic point sources. One approach to unravel these components is to study the diffuse emission from the interstellar medium, which traces the interactions of high energy particles with interstellar gas and radiation fields. Because of its origin such emission is potentially able to reveal much about the sources and propagation of cosmic rays. The extragalactic background, if reliably determined, can be used in cosmological and blazar studies. Studying the derived "average" spectrum of faint Galactic sources may be able to give a clue to the nature of the emitting objects.Comment: 32 pages, 28 figures, kapproc.cls. Chapter to the book "Cosmic Gamma-Ray Sources," to be published by Kluwer ASSL Series, Edited by K. S. Cheng and G. E. Romero. More details can be found at http://www.gamma.mpe-garching.mpg.de/~aws/aws.htm