Bee survival: An applied network analytical strategy

In the interactive educational game, Pollinator Panic!, players learn crucial information about why pollinators are in peril, and ac tions to prevent community collapse. We will be presenting the many sophisticated threats to pollinator populations in the form of a game that will help players become more engaged and personally invested in existing conservation efforts. We hope to bridge the learning gap amongst differing learning styles through utilizing text, audio, and visual means of communicating these ideas in-game. The game will be publicly available online to promote ease of access and circulation via sharing on social media platforms. To accomplish this, we plan to utilize D3.js to build bipartite network models to most accurately illustrate how threats to a population can have severe ripple effects throughout a nested com- munity structure. Players will have to overcome various environmental challenges defined by empirical research to win the game and save the pollinators

The transcription factor Krüppel homolog 1 is linked to hormone mediated social organization in bees

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Regulation of worker behavior by dominant queens or workers is a hallmark of insect societies, but the underlying molecular mechanisms and their evolutionary conservation are not well understood. Honey bee and bumble bee colonies consist of a single reproductive queen and facultatively sterile workers. The queens' influences on the workers are mediated largely via inhibition of juvenile hormone titers, which affect division of labor in honey bees and worker reproduction in bumble bees. Studies in honey bees identified a transcription factor, <it>Krüppel-homolog 1 </it>(<it>Kr-h1</it>), whose expression in worker brains is significantly downregulated in the presence of a queen or queen pheromone and higher in forager bees, making this gene an ideal candidate for examining the evolutionary conservation of socially regulated pathways in Hymenoptera.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In contrast to honey bees, bumble bees foragers do not have higher <it>Kr-h1 </it>levels relative to nurses: in one of three colonies levels were similar in nurses and foragers, and in two colonies levels were higher in nurses. Similarly to honey bees, brain <it>Kr-h1 </it>levels were significantly downregulated in the presence versus absence of a queen. Furthermore, in small queenless groups, <it>Kr-h1 </it>levels were downregulated in subordinate workers with undeveloped ovaries relative to dominant individuals with active ovaries. Brain <it>Kr-h1 </it>levels were upregulated by juvenile hormone treatment relative to a vehicle control. Finally, phylogenetic analysis indicates that KR-H1 orthologs are presence across insect orders. Though this protein is highly conserved between honey bees and bumble bees, there are significant differences between orthologs of insects from different orders.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our results suggest that <it>Kr-h1 </it>is associated with juvenile hormone mediated regulation of reproduction in bumble bees. The expression of this transcription factor is inhibited by the queen and associated with endocrine mediated regulation of social organization in two species of bees. Thus, KR-H1 may transcriptionally regulate a conserved genetic module that is part of a pathway that has been co-opted to function in social behavior, and adjusts the behavior of workers to their social environmental context.</p

Investigating the Viral Ecology of Global Bee Communities with High-Throughput Metagenomics

Bee viral ecology is a fascinating emerging area of research: viruses exert a range of effects on their hosts, exacerbate the impacts of other environmental stressors, and, importantly, are readily shared across multiple bee species in a community. However, our understanding of bee viral communities is limited, as it is primarily derived from studies of North American and European Apis mellifera populations. Here, we examined viruses in populations of A. mellifera and 11 other bee species from 9 countries, across 5 continents and Oceania. We developed a novel pipeline to rapidly, inexpensively, and robustly screen for bee viruses. This pipeline includes purification of encapsulated RNA/DNA viruses, sequence-independent amplification, high throughput sequencing, integrated assembly of contigs, and filtering to identify contigs specifically corresponding to viral sequences. We identified sequences corresponding to (+)ssRNA, (-)ssRNA, dsRNA, and ssDNA viruses. Overall, we found 127 contigs corresponding to novel viruses (i.e. previously not observed in bees), with 29 represented by \u3e0.1% of the reads in a given sample. These viruses and viral families were distributed across multiple regions and species. This study provides a robust pipeline for metagenomics analysis of viruses, and greatly expands our understanding of the diversity of viruses found in bee communities

Effect of Hydrocortisone on Mortality and Organ Support in Patients With Severe COVID-19: The REMAP-CAP COVID-19 Corticosteroid Domain Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Evidence regarding corticosteroid use for severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is limited. Objective: To determine whether hydrocortisone improves outcome for patients with severe COVID-19. Design, Setting, and Participants: An ongoing adaptive platform trial testing multiple interventions within multiple therapeutic domains, for example, antiviral agents, corticosteroids, or immunoglobulin. Between March 9 and June 17, 2020, 614 adult patients with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 were enrolled and randomized within at least 1 domain following admission to an intensive care unit (ICU) for respiratory or cardiovascular organ support at 121 sites in 8 countries. Of these, 403 were randomized to open-label interventions within the corticosteroid domain. The domain was halted after results from another trial were released. Follow-up ended August 12, 2020. Interventions: The corticosteroid domain randomized participants to a fixed 7-day course of intravenous hydrocortisone (50 mg or 100 mg every 6 hours) (n = 143), a shock-dependent course (50 mg every 6 hours when shock was clinically evident) (n = 152), or no hydrocortisone (n = 108). Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary end point was organ support-free days (days alive and free of ICU-based respiratory or cardiovascular support) within 21 days, where patients who died were assigned -1 day. The primary analysis was a bayesian cumulative logistic model that included all patients enrolled with severe COVID-19, adjusting for age, sex, site, region, time, assignment to interventions within other domains, and domain and intervention eligibility. Superiority was defined as the posterior probability of an odds ratio greater than 1 (threshold for trial conclusion of superiority >99%). Results: After excluding 19 participants who withdrew consent, there were 384 patients (mean age, 60 years; 29% female) randomized to the fixed-dose (n = 137), shock-dependent (n = 146), and no (n = 101) hydrocortisone groups; 379 (99%) completed the study and were included in the analysis. The mean age for the 3 groups ranged between 59.5 and 60.4 years; most patients were male (range, 70.6%-71.5%); mean body mass index ranged between 29.7 and 30.9; and patients receiving mechanical ventilation ranged between 50.0% and 63.5%. For the fixed-dose, shock-dependent, and no hydrocortisone groups, respectively, the median organ support-free days were 0 (IQR, -1 to 15), 0 (IQR, -1 to 13), and 0 (-1 to 11) days (composed of 30%, 26%, and 33% mortality rates and 11.5, 9.5, and 6 median organ support-free days among survivors). The median adjusted odds ratio and bayesian probability of superiority were 1.43 (95% credible interval, 0.91-2.27) and 93% for fixed-dose hydrocortisone, respectively, and were 1.22 (95% credible interval, 0.76-1.94) and 80% for shock-dependent hydrocortisone compared with no hydrocortisone. Serious adverse events were reported in 4 (3%), 5 (3%), and 1 (1%) patients in the fixed-dose, shock-dependent, and no hydrocortisone groups, respectively. Conclusions and Relevance: Among patients with severe COVID-19, treatment with a 7-day fixed-dose course of hydrocortisone or shock-dependent dosing of hydrocortisone, compared with no hydrocortisone, resulted in 93% and 80% probabilities of superiority with regard to the odds of improvement in organ support-free days within 21 days. However, the trial was stopped early and no treatment strategy met prespecified criteria for statistical superiority, precluding definitive conclusions. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02735707

Effect of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor and angiotensin receptor blocker initiation on organ support-free days in patients hospitalized with COVID-19

IMPORTANCE Overactivation of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) may contribute to poor clinical outcomes in patients with COVID-19. Objective To determine whether angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor or angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) initiation improves outcomes in patients hospitalized for COVID-19. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS In an ongoing, adaptive platform randomized clinical trial, 721 critically ill and 58 non–critically ill hospitalized adults were randomized to receive an RAS inhibitor or control between March 16, 2021, and February 25, 2022, at 69 sites in 7 countries (final follow-up on June 1, 2022). INTERVENTIONS Patients were randomized to receive open-label initiation of an ACE inhibitor (n = 257), ARB (n = 248), ARB in combination with DMX-200 (a chemokine receptor-2 inhibitor; n = 10), or no RAS inhibitor (control; n = 264) for up to 10 days. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The primary outcome was organ support–free days, a composite of hospital survival and days alive without cardiovascular or respiratory organ support through 21 days. The primary analysis was a bayesian cumulative logistic model. Odds ratios (ORs) greater than 1 represent improved outcomes. RESULTS On February 25, 2022, enrollment was discontinued due to safety concerns. Among 679 critically ill patients with available primary outcome data, the median age was 56 years and 239 participants (35.2%) were women. Median (IQR) organ support–free days among critically ill patients was 10 (–1 to 16) in the ACE inhibitor group (n = 231), 8 (–1 to 17) in the ARB group (n = 217), and 12 (0 to 17) in the control group (n = 231) (median adjusted odds ratios of 0.77 [95% bayesian credible interval, 0.58-1.06] for improvement for ACE inhibitor and 0.76 [95% credible interval, 0.56-1.05] for ARB compared with control). The posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitors and ARBs worsened organ support–free days compared with control were 94.9% and 95.4%, respectively. Hospital survival occurred in 166 of 231 critically ill participants (71.9%) in the ACE inhibitor group, 152 of 217 (70.0%) in the ARB group, and 182 of 231 (78.8%) in the control group (posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitor and ARB worsened hospital survival compared with control were 95.3% and 98.1%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE In this trial, among critically ill adults with COVID-19, initiation of an ACE inhibitor or ARB did not improve, and likely worsened, clinical outcomes. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT0273570

Chemoreceptors From the Hawk Moth Manduca Sexta L

121 p.Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2005.In this study I cloned and characterized four M. sexta chemoreceptors. Differential screening of a male antennal cDNA library before the publication of the Drosophila melanogaster genome yielded one G coupled-protein receptor that had no matches in Genbank databases and the results of RT-PCR and quantitative real-time PCR experiments show MsOr1 is expressed only in male antennae suggesting a male-specific function for this receptor. In situ hybridization revealed MsOr1 was expressed exclusively in a single cell associated with male-specific type-I trichoid sensilla further suggesting this receptor is involved in pheromone detection. The second receptor, MsOr2, was discovered using fully degenerate inosine primers designed to conserved motifs of a unique group of highly conserved odorant receptors. Comparison of RT-PCR, quantitative real-time PCR and in situ hybridization results with those of previously described odorant receptors in the DmOr83b subfamily show a strong sequence and expression pattern similarity. The third receptor described in this paper, MsOr3, was found by 5'-end sequencing of a normalized and subtracted cDNA library from male M. sexta antennae. RT-PCR and quantitative real-time PCR show that this receptor is expressed only in male and female antennae. Moreover, it is expressed at much higher levels in females, suggesting it functions as a general Or, perhaps tuned to plant volatiles. A gustatory receptor was sequenced from the labial palp mRNA of M. sexta using degenerate inosine primers designed to the conserved motifs of two gustatory receptors found in the Anopheles gambiae and Drosophila melanogaster genomes. This gene fragment codes for the C-terminal region of a gustatory protein with 73% identity to DmGr21a. In D. melanogaster DmGr21a has been show to detect CO2; I propose a similar function for MsGr1 based on sequence similarity and the exclusive expression of this gustatory receptor in the labial palps of M. sexta as revealed by RT-PCR and quantitative real-time PCR. Higher expression levels of this gene in female labial palps suggest an enhanced sensitivity to the odorant that binds MsGr1, perhaps indicating a role for CO2 in oviposition.U of I OnlyRestricted to the U of I community idenfinitely during batch ingest of legacy ETD