Invasion success of a widespread invasive predator may be explained by a high predatory efficacy but may be influenced by pathogen infection

Invasive alien species (IAS) can drive community change through ecological interactions. Parasites and pathogens can play an important role in community function including mitigating or enhancing IAS impacts. Despite this, the degree to which pathogen pressure influences IAS impacts remains poorly understood. We quantified the predatory behaviour of the highly invasive alien harlequin ladybird (Harmonia axyridis) and two UK native species, the 7-spot (Coccinella septempunctata) and 2-spot (Adalia bipunctata) ladybirds, using comparative functional response experiments. We investigated the impacts of pathogen infection on the predatory ability of the ladybirds by exposing individuals to Beauveria bassiana, a widespread entomopathogen. Invasive H. axyridis was a more efficient predator than both the native A. bipunctata and C. septempunctata, often having higher attack and/or lower prey handling time coefficients, whereas native A. bipunctata were the least efficient predators. These differences were found in both adult and larval life-stages. Beauveria bassiana infection significantly altered the predatory efficiency of adult and larval ladybird predators. The effects of pathogenic infection differed between species and life-stage but in many cases infection resulted in a reduced predatory ability. We suggest that the interactions between IAS and pathogens are integral to determining invasion success and impact

Invasion success of a widespread invasive predator may be explained by a high predatory efficacy but may be influenced by pathogen infection

Invasive alien species (IAS) can drive community change through ecological interactions. Parasites and pathogens can play an important role in community function including mitigating or enhancing IAS impacts. Despite this, the degree to which pathogen pressure influences IAS impacts remains poorly understood. We quantified the predatory behaviour of the highly invasive alien harlequin ladybird (Harmonia axyridis) and two UK native species, the 7-spot (Coccinella septempunctata) and 2-spot (Adalia bipunctata) ladybirds, using comparative functional response experiments. We investigated the impacts of pathogen infection on the predatory ability of the ladybirds by exposing individuals to Beauveria bassiana, a widespread entomopathogen. Invasive H. axyridis was a more efficient predator than both the native A. bipunctata and C. septempunctata, often having higher attack and/or lower prey handling time coefficients, whereas native A. bipunctata were the least efficient predators. These differences were found in both adult and larval life-stages. Beauveria bassiana infection significantly altered the predatory efficiency of adult and larval ladybird predators. The effects of pathogenic infection differed between species and life-stage but in many cases infection resulted in a reduced predatory ability. We suggest that the interactions between IAS and pathogens are integral to determining invasion success and impact

Management of radiation oncology patients with a pacemaker or ICD: A new comprehensive practical guideline in The Netherlands

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Current clinical guidelines for the management of radiotherapy patients having either a pacemaker or implantable cardioverter defibrillator (both CIEDs: Cardiac Implantable Electronic Devices) do not cover modern radiotherapy techniques and do not take the patient’s perspective into account. Available data on the frequency and cause of CIED failure during radiation therapy are limited and do not converge. The Dutch Society of Radiotherapy and Oncology (NVRO) initiated a multidisciplinary task group consisting of clinical physicists, cardiologists, radiation oncologists, pacemaker and ICD technologists to develop evidence based consensus guidelines for the management of CIED patients. CIED patients receiving radiotherapy should be categorised based on the chance of device failure and the clinical consequences in case of failure. Although there is no clear cut-off point nor a clear linear relationship, in general, chances of device failure increase with increasing doses. Clinical consequences of device failures like loss of pacing, carry the most risks in pacing dependent patients. Cumulative dose and pacing dependency have been combined to categorise patients into low, medium and high risk groups. Patients receiving a dose of less than 2 Gy to their CIED are categorised as low risk, unless pacing dependent since then they are medium risk. Between 2 and 10 Gy, all patients are categorised as medium risk, while above 10 Gy every patient is categorised as high risk. Measures to secure patient safety are described for each category. This guideline for the management of CIED patients receiving radiotherapy takes into account modern radiotherapy techniques, CIED technology, the patients’ perspective and the practical aspects necessary for the safe management of these patients. The guideline is implemented in The Netherlands in 2012 and is expected to find clinical acceptance outside The Netherlands as well.</p

Genome-wide association study identifies eight loci associated with blood pressure

Elevated blood pressure is a common, heritable cause of cardiovascular disease worldwide. To date, identification of common genetic variants influencing blood pressure has proven challenging. We tested 2.5 million genotyped and imputed SNPs for association with systolic and diastolic blood pressure in 34,433 subjects of European ancestry from the Global BPgen consortium and followed up findings with direct genotyping (N ≤ 71,225 European ancestry, N ≤ 12,889 Indian Asian ancestry) and &lt;i&gt;in silico&lt;/i&gt; comparison (CHARGE consortium, N= 29,136). We identified association between systolic or diastolic blood pressure and common variants in eight regions near the CYP17A1 (P = 7 × 10&lt;sup&gt;−24&lt;/sup&gt;), CYP1A2 (P = 1 × 10&lt;sup&gt;−23&lt;/sup&gt;), FGF5 (P = 1 × 10&lt;sup&gt;−21&lt;/sup&gt;), SH2B3 (P = 3 × 10&lt;sup&gt;−18&lt;/sup&gt;), MTHFR (P = 2 × 10&lt;sup&gt;−13&lt;/sup&gt;), c10orf107 (P = 1 × 10&lt;sup&gt;−9&lt;/sup&gt;), ZNF652(P = 5 × 10&lt;sup&gt;−9&lt;/sup&gt;) and PLCD3 (P = 1 × 10&lt;sup&gt;−8&lt;/sup&gt;) genes. All variants associated with continuous blood pressure were associated with dichotomous hypertension. These associations between common variants and blood pressure and hypertension offer mechanistic insights into the regulation of blood pressure and may point to novel targets for interventions to prevent cardiovascular disease