Male-Produced Aggregation Pheromones of the Cerambycid Beetles Xylotrechus colonus and Sarosesthes fulminans

Adults of both sexes of the cerambycid beetles Xylotrechus colonus (F.) and Sarosesthes fulminans (F.) were attracted to odors produced by male conspecifics in olfactometer bioassays. Analyses of headspace volatiles from adults revealed that male X. colonus produced a blend of (R)- and (S)-3-hydroxyhexan-2-one and (2 S,3 S)- and (2R,3R)-2,3-hexanediol, whereas male S. fulminans produced (R)-3-hydroxyhexan-2-one and (2 S,3R)-2,3-hexanediol. All of these compounds were absent in the headspace of females. Two field bioassays were conducted to confirm the biological activity of the synthesized pheromones: (1) enantiomerically enriched pheromone components were tested singly and in species-specific blends and (2) four-component mixture of racemic 3-hydroxyhexan-2-one plus racemic 2-hydroxyhexan-3-one and the four-component blend of the stereoisomers of 2,3-hexanediols were tested separately and as a combined eight-component blend. In these experiments, adult male and female X. colonus were captured in greatest numbers in traps baited with the reconstructed blend of components produced by males, although significant numbers were also captured in traps baited with (R)-3-hydroxyhexan-2-one alone or in blends with other compounds. Too few adult S. fulminans were captured for a statistical comparison among treatments, but all were caught in traps baited with lures containing (R)-3-hydroxyhexan-2-one. In addition to these two species, adults of two other species of cerambycid beetles, for which pheromones had previously been identified, were caught: Neoclytus a. acuminatus (F.) and its congener Neoclytus m. mucronatus (F.). Cross-attraction of beetles to pheromone blends of other species, and to individual pheromone components that are shared by two or more sympatric species, may facilitate location of larval hosts by species that compete for the same host species

Evaluation of a novel nutrition education intervention for medical students from across England

Objectives: Problems such as hospital malnutrition (∼40% prevalence in the UK) may be managed better by improving the nutrition education of 'tomorrow's doctors'. The Need for Nutrition Education Programme aimed to measure the effectiveness and acceptability of an educational intervention on nutrition for medical students in the clinical phase of their training. Design: An educational needs analysis was followed by a consultative process to gain consensus on a suitable educational intervention. This was followed by two identical 2-day educational interventions with before and after analyses of Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices (KAP). The 2-day training incorporated six key learning outcomes. Setting: Two constituent colleges of Cambridge University used to deliver the above educational interventions. Participants: An intervention group of 100 clinical medical students from 15 medical schools across England were recruited to attend one of two identical intensive weekend workshops. Primary and secondary outcome measures: The primary outcome measure consisted of change in KAP scores following intervention using a clinical nutrition questionnaire. Secondary outcome measures included change in KAP scores 3 months after the intervention as well as a student-led semiqualitative evaluation of the educational intervention. Results: Statistically significant changes in KAP scores were seen immediately after the intervention, and this was sustained for 3 months. Mean differences and 95% CIs after intervention were Knowledge 0.86 (0.43 to 1.28); Attitude 1.68 (1.47 to 1.89); Practice 1.76 (1.11 to 2.40); KAP 4.28 (3.49 to 5.06). Ninety-seven per cent of the participants rated the overall intervention and its delivery as 'very good to excellent', reporting that they would recommend this educational intervention to colleagues. Conclusion: Need for Nutrition Education Programme has highlighted the need for curricular innovation in the area of clinical health nutrition in medical schools. This project also demonstrates the effectiveness and acceptability of such a curriculum intervention for 'tomorrow's doctors'. Doctors, dietitians and nutritionists worked well in an effective interdisciplinary partnership when teaching medical students, providing a good model for further work in a healthcare setting

fMRI evidence of ‘mirror’ responses to geometric shapes

Mirror neurons may be a genetic adaptation for social interaction [1]. Alternatively, the associative hypothesis [2], [3] proposes that the development of mirror neurons is driven by sensorimotor learning, and that, given suitable experience, mirror neurons will respond to any stimulus. This hypothesis was tested using fMRI adaptation to index populations of cells with mirror properties. After sensorimotor training, where geometric shapes were paired with hand actions, BOLD response was measured while human participants experienced runs of events in which shape observation alternated with action execution or observation. Adaptation from shapes to action execution, and critically, observation, occurred in ventral premotor cortex (PMv) and inferior parietal lobule (IPL). Adaptation from shapes to execution indicates that neuronal populations responding to the shapes had motor properties, while adaptation to observation demonstrates that these populations had mirror properties. These results indicate that sensorimotor training induced populations of cells with mirror properties in PMv and IPL to respond to the observation of arbitrary shapes. They suggest that the mirror system has not been shaped by evolution to respond in a mirror fashion to biological actions; instead, its development is mediated by stimulus-general processes of learning within a system adapted for visuomotor control

Metabolic Syndrome features and risk of neural tube defects

Research articl

Expedited batch processing and analysis of transposon insertions

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>With advances in sequencing technology, greater and greater amounts of eukaryotic genome data are becoming available. Often, large portions of these genomes consist of transposable elements, frequently accounting for 50% or more in vertebrates. Each transposable element family may have thousands or tens of thousands of individual copies within a given genome, and therefore it can take an exorbitant amount of time and effort to process data in a meaningful fashion.</p> <p>Findings</p> <p>In order to combat this problem, we developed a set of bioinformatics techniques and programs to streamline the analysis. This includes a unique Perl script which automates the process of taking BLAST, Repeatmasker and similar data to extract and manipulate the hit sequences from the genome. This script, called Process_hits uses an object-oriented methodology to compile all hit locations from a given file for processing, organize this data into useable categories, and output it in multiple formats.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The program proved capable of handling large amounts of transposon data in an efficient fashion. It is equipped with a number of useful sub-functions, each of which is contained within its own sub-module to allow for greater expandability and as a foundation for future program design.</p

A European project on incidence, treatment, and outcome of sarcoma

Abstract BACKGROUND: Sarcomas are rare tumors (1-2% of all cancers) of mesenchymal origin that may develop in soft tissues and viscera. Since the International Classification of Disease (ICD) attributes visceral sarcomas (VS) to the organ of origin, the incidence of sarcoma is grossly underestimated. The rarity of the disease and the variety of histological types (more than 70) or locations account for the difficulty in acquiring sufficient personal experience. In view of the above the European Commission funded the project called Connective Tissues Cancers Network (CONTICANET), to improve the prognosis of sarcoma patients by increasing the level of standardization of diagnostic and therapeutic procedures through a multicentre collaboration. METHODS/DESIGN: Two protocols of epidemiological researches are here presented. The first investigation aims to build the population-based incidence of sarcoma in a two-year period, using the new 2002 WHO classification and the "second opinion" given by an expert regional pathologist on the initial diagnosis by a local pathologist. A three to five year survival rate will also be determined. Pathology reports and clinical records will be the sources of information.The second study aims to compare the effects on survival or relapse-free period - allowing for histological subtypes, clinical stage, primary site, age and gender - when the disease was treated or not according to the clinical practice guidelines (CPGs). DISCUSSION: Within CONTICANET, each group was asked to design a particular study on a specific objective, the partners of the network being free to accept or not the proposed protocol. The first protocol was accepted by the other researchers, therefore the incidence of sarcoma will be assessed in three European regions, Rhone-Alpes and Aquitaine (France) and Veneto (Italy), where the geographic distribution of sarcoma will be compared after taking into account age and gender. The conformity of the clinical practice with the recommended guidelines will be investigated in a French (Rhone Alps) and Italian (Veneto) region since the CPGs were similar in both areas

IFNAR1-Signalling Obstructs ICOS-mediated Humoral Immunity during Non-lethal Blood-Stage Plasmodium Infection

Funding: This work was funded by a Career Development Fellowship (1028634) and a project grant (GRNT1028641) awarded to AHa by the Australian National Health & Medical Research Council (NHMRC). IS was supported by The University of Queensland Centennial and IPRS Scholarships. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Binary and Millisecond Pulsars at the New Millennium

We review the properties and applications of binary and millisecond pulsars. Our knowledge of these exciting objects has greatly increased in recent years, mainly due to successful surveys which have brought the known pulsar population to over 1300. There are now 56 binary and millisecond pulsars in the Galactic disk and a further 47 in globular clusters. This review is concerned primarily with the results and spin-offs from these surveys which are of particular interest to the relativity community.Comment: 59 pages, 26 figures, 5 tables. Accepted for publication in Living Reviews in Relativity (http://www.livingreviews.org

Adverse effects of statin therapy: perception vs. the evidence - focus on glucose homeostasis, cognitive, renal and hepatic function, haemorrhagic stroke and cataract

Aims: To objectively appraise evidence for possible adverse effects of long-term statin therapy on glucose homeostasis, cognitive, renal and hepatic function, and risk for haemorrhagic stroke or cataract. Methods and results: A literature search covering 2000-2017 was performed. The Panel critically appraised the data and agreed by consensus on the categorization of reported adverse effects. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and genetic studies show that statin therapy is associated with a modest increase in the risk of new-onset diabetes mellitus (about one per thousand patient-years), generally defined by laboratory findings (glycated haemoglobin ≥6.5); this risk is significantly higher in the metabolic syndrome or prediabetes. Statin treatment does not adversely affect cognitive function, even at very low levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and is not associated with clinically significant deterioration of renal function, or development of cataract. Transient increases in liver enzymes occur in 0.5-2% of patients taking statins but are not clinically relevant; idiosyncratic liver injury due to statins is very rare and causality difficult to prove. The evidence base does not support an increased risk of haemorrhagic stroke in individuals without cerebrovascular disease; a small increase in risk was suggested by the Stroke Prevention by Aggressive Reduction of Cholesterol Levels study in subjects with prior stroke but has not been confirmed in the substantive evidence base of RCTs, cohort studies and case-control studies. Conclusion: Long-term statin treatment is remarkably safe with a low risk of clinically relevant adverse effects as defined above; statin-associated muscle symptoms were discussed in a previous Consensus Statement. Importantly, the established cardiovascular benefits of statin therapy far outweigh the risk of adverse effects