Facilitation between invasive herbivores: hemlock woolly adelgid increases gypsy moth preference for and performance on eastern hemlock

Interactions between invertebrate herbivores with different feeding modes are common on long‐lived woody plants. In cases where one herbivore facilitates the success of another, the consequences for their shared host plant may be severe. Eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis), a canopy‐dominant conifer native to the eastern U.S., is currently threatened with extirpation by the invasive stylet‐feeding hemlock woolly adelgid (Adelges tsugae). The effect of adelgid on invasive hemlock‐feeding folivores remains unknown. This study evaluated the impact of feeding by hemlock woolly adelgid on gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar) larval preference for, and performance on, eastern hemlock. To assess preference, 245 field‐grown hemlocks were surveyed for gypsy moth herbivory damage and laboratory paired‐choice bioassays were conducted. To assess performance, gypsy moth larvae were reared to pupation on adelgid‐infested or uninfested hemlock foliage, and pupal weight, proportional weight gain, and larval period were analysed. Adelgid‐infested hemlocks experienced more gypsy moth herbivory than did uninfested control trees, and laboratory tests confirmed that gypsy moth larvae preferentially feed on adelgid‐infested hemlock foliage. Gypsy moth larvae reared to pupation on adelgid‐infested foliage gained more weight than larvae reared on uninfested control foliage. These results suggest that the synergistic effect of adelgid and gypsy moth poses an additional threat to eastern hemlock that may increase extirpation risk and ecological impact throughout most of its range

Impact of Hemlock Woolly Adelgid (Hemiptera: Adelgidae) Infestation on the Jasmonic Acid-Elicited Defenses of Tsuga canadensis (Pinales: Pinaceae)

Hemlock woolly adelgid is an invasive piercing-sucking insect in eastern North America, which upon infestation of its main host, eastern hemlock (‘hemlock’), improves attraction and performance of folivorous insects on hemlock. This increased performance may be mediated by hemlock woolly adelgid feeding causing antagonism between the the jasmonic acid and other hormone pathways. In a common garden experiments using hemlock woolly adelgid infestation and induction with methyl jasmonate (MeJA) and measures of secondary metabolite contents and defense-associated enzyme activities, we explored the impact of hemlock woolly adelgid feeding on the local and systemic induction of jasmonic acid (JA)-elicited defenses. We found that in local tissue hemlock woolly adelgid or MeJA exposure resulted in unique induced phenotypes, whereas the combined treatment resulted in an induced phenotype that was a mixture of the two individual treatments. We also found that if the plant was infested with hemlock woolly adelgid, the systemic response of the plant was dominated by hemlock woolly adelgid, regardless of whether MeJA was applied. Interestingly, in the absence of hemlock woolly adelgid, hemlock plants had a very weak systemic response to MeJA. We conclude that hemlock woolly adelgid infestation prevents systemic induction of JA-elicited defenses. Taken together, compromised local JA-elicited defenses combined with weak systemic induction could be major contributors to increased folivore performance on hemlock woolly adelgid-infested hemlock

Seasonal changes in eastern hemlock (\u3cem\u3eTsuga canadensis\u3c/em\u3e) foliar chemistry

Eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis (L.) Carriére; hemlock) is an eastern North American conifer threatened by the invasive hemlock woolly adelgid (Adelges tsugae Annand). Changes in foliar terpenes and phenolics were evaluated in new (current year growth) and mature (1-year old growth) hemlock needles during the growing season and into plant dormancy. From April through September, foliar concentrations of non-volatile soluble phenolics, condensed tannins, lignin, mono- and sesquiterpenes α-pinene, camphene, isobornyl acetate, and diterpene resin were quantified. After September, additional analyses of metabolites that continued to differ significantly in new versus mature foliage were carried out. Total soluble phenolic concentration and condensed tannin concentration in new foliage remained low relative to mature foliage throughout the growing season and converged in December. Lignin concentration in new foliage converged with that of mature foliage by July. Concentrations of α-pinene, camphene, isobornyl acetate, and diterpene resin in new foliage converged with mature foliage within one month of budbreak. The convergence of terpene concentrations in new and mature foliage suggests that these metabolites may play a role in herbivore defense during the peak growing season. Conversely, soluble phenolics, including condensed tannins, may defend foliage from herbivory outside of the spring growth period

The wrong side of the tracks: Starting school in a socially disadvantaged London borough

Substantial evidence exists that social circumstances can affect children’s language development. As a result many children in socially deprived areas start school with delayed language, which may persist and adversely affect their attainment. We assessed the language of children in seven reception classes in a London (UK) borough and followed the progress of children with English as their first language (E1L) and with English as an additional language (EAL) during their first 2 years at school. Significant differences were found between schools. The effect of social factors on performance was reflected in a high correlation between the mean language score for each school and the percentage of children in the school receiving the pupil premium. Many of the children with EAL had very low scores reflecting their limited exposure to English prior to starting school. Most of these children attended schools where children with E1L also had low scores increasing the demands on the schools and their teachers. Children who had low initial scores made modest but significant progress during their reception year but failed to improve further during year 1 despite having non-verbal ability appropriate for their age. These results support previous findings that social deprivation can seriously delay language development, and that many children start school with weak communication skills. They add to previous findings by showing that the level of delay may differ substantially across schools in the same borough, by reporting data on children with EAL and by showing that children struggle to improve their abilities in the first 2 years of school

Evidence-based guidelines for use of probiotics in preterm neonates

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Current evidence indicates that probiotic supplementation significantly reduces all-cause mortality and definite necrotising enterocolitis without significant adverse effects in preterm neonates. As the debate about the pros and cons of routine probiotic supplementation continues, many institutions are satisfied with the current evidence and wish to use probiotics routinely. Because of the lack of detail on many practical aspects of probiotic supplementation, clinician-friendly guidelines are urgently needed to optimise use of probiotics in preterm neonates.</p> <p>Aim</p> <p>To develop evidence-based guidelines for probiotic supplementation in preterm neonates.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>To develop core guidelines on use of probiotics, including strain selection, dose and duration of supplementation, we primarily used the data from our recent updated systematic review of randomised controlled trials. For equally important issues including strain identification, monitoring for adverse effects, product format, storage and transport, and regulatory hurdles, a comprehensive literature search, covering the period 1966-2010 without restriction on the study design, was conducted, using the databases PubMed and EMBASE, and the proceedings of scientific conferences; these data were used in our updated systematic review.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In this review, we present guidelines, including level of evidence, for the practical aspects (for example, strain selection, dose, duration, clinical and laboratory surveillance) of probiotic supplementation, and for dealing with non-clinical but important issues (for example, regulatory requirements, product format). Evidence was inadequate in some areas, and these should be a target for further research.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>We hope that these evidence-based guidelines will help to optimise the use of probiotics in preterm neonates. Continued research is essential to provide answers to the current gaps in knowledge about probiotics.</p

New genetic loci link adipose and insulin biology to body fat distribution.

Body fat distribution is a heritable trait and a well-established predictor of adverse metabolic outcomes, independent of overall adiposity. To increase our understanding of the genetic basis of body fat distribution and its molecular links to cardiometabolic traits, here we conduct genome-wide association meta-analyses of traits related to waist and hip circumferences in up to 224,459 individuals. We identify 49 loci (33 new) associated with waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for body mass index (BMI), and an additional 19 loci newly associated with related waist and hip circumference measures (P < 5 × 10(-8)). In total, 20 of the 49 waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for BMI loci show significant sexual dimorphism, 19 of which display a stronger effect in women. The identified loci were enriched for genes expressed in adipose tissue and for putative regulatory elements in adipocytes. Pathway analyses implicated adipogenesis, angiogenesis, transcriptional regulation and insulin resistance as processes affecting fat distribution, providing insight into potential pathophysiological mechanisms

Whole-genome sequence-based analysis of thyroid function

Tiina Paunio on työryhmän UK10K Consortium jäsen.Normal thyroid function is essential for health, but its genetic architecture remains poorly understood. Here, for the heritable thyroid traits thyrotropin (TSH) and free thyroxine (FT4), we analyse whole-genome sequence data from the UK10K project (N = 2,287). Using additional whole-genome sequence and deeply imputed data sets, we report meta-analysis results for common variants (MAF >= 1%) associated with TSH and FT4 (N = 16,335). For TSH, we identify a novel variant in SYN2 (MAF = 23.5%, P = 6.15 x 10(-9)) and a new independent variant in PDE8B (MAF = 10.4%, P = 5.94 x 10(-14)). For FT4, we report a low-frequency variant near B4GALT6/ SLC25A52 (MAF = 3.2%, P = 1.27 x 10(-9)) tagging a rare TTR variant (MAF = 0.4%, P = 2.14 x 10(-11)). All common variants explain >= 20% of the variance in TSH and FT4. Analysis of rare variants (MAFPeer reviewe

Safety, immunogenicity, and reactogenicity of BNT162b2 and mRNA-1273 COVID-19 vaccines given as fourth-dose boosters following two doses of ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 or BNT162b2 and a third dose of BNT162b2 (COV-BOOST): a multicentre, blinded, phase 2, randomised trial

Background Some high-income countries have deployed fourth doses of COVID-19 vaccines, but the clinical need, effectiveness, timing, and dose of a fourth dose remain uncertain. We aimed to investigate the safety, reactogenicity, and immunogenicity of fourth-dose boosters against COVID-19.Methods The COV-BOOST trial is a multicentre, blinded, phase 2, randomised controlled trial of seven COVID-19 vaccines given as third-dose boosters at 18 sites in the UK. This sub-study enrolled participants who had received BNT162b2 (Pfizer-BioNTech) as their third dose in COV-BOOST and randomly assigned them (1:1) to receive a fourth dose of either BNT162b2 (30 µg in 0·30 mL; full dose) or mRNA-1273 (Moderna; 50 µg in 0·25 mL; half dose) via intramuscular injection into the upper arm. The computer-generated randomisation list was created by the study statisticians with random block sizes of two or four. Participants and all study staff not delivering the vaccines were masked to treatment allocation. The coprimary outcomes were safety and reactogenicity, and immunogenicity (antispike protein IgG titres by ELISA and cellular immune response by ELISpot). We compared immunogenicity at 28 days after the third dose versus 14 days after the fourth dose and at day 0 versus day 14 relative to the fourth dose. Safety and reactogenicity were assessed in the per-protocol population, which comprised all participants who received a fourth-dose booster regardless of their SARS-CoV-2 serostatus. Immunogenicity was primarily analysed in a modified intention-to-treat population comprising seronegative participants who had received a fourth-dose booster and had available endpoint data. This trial is registered with ISRCTN, 73765130, and is ongoing.Findings Between Jan 11 and Jan 25, 2022, 166 participants were screened, randomly assigned, and received either full-dose BNT162b2 (n=83) or half-dose mRNA-1273 (n=83) as a fourth dose. The median age of these participants was 70·1 years (IQR 51·6–77·5) and 86 (52%) of 166 participants were female and 80 (48%) were male. The median interval between the third and fourth doses was 208·5 days (IQR 203·3–214·8). Pain was the most common local solicited adverse event and fatigue was the most common systemic solicited adverse event after BNT162b2 or mRNA-1273 booster doses. None of three serious adverse events reported after a fourth dose with BNT162b2 were related to the study vaccine. In the BNT162b2 group, geometric mean anti-spike protein IgG concentration at day 28 after the third dose was 23 325 ELISA laboratory units (ELU)/mL (95% CI 20 030–27 162), which increased to 37 460 ELU/mL (31 996–43 857) at day 14 after the fourth dose, representing a significant fold change (geometric mean 1·59, 95% CI 1·41–1·78). There was a significant increase in geometric mean anti-spike protein IgG concentration from 28 days after the third dose (25 317 ELU/mL, 95% CI 20 996–30 528) to 14 days after a fourth dose of mRNA-1273 (54 936 ELU/mL, 46 826–64 452), with a geometric mean fold change of 2·19 (1·90–2·52). The fold changes in anti-spike protein IgG titres from before (day 0) to after (day 14) the fourth dose were 12·19 (95% CI 10·37–14·32) and 15·90 (12·92–19·58) in the BNT162b2 and mRNA-1273 groups, respectively. T-cell responses were also boosted after the fourth dose (eg, the fold changes for the wild-type variant from before to after the fourth dose were 7·32 [95% CI 3·24–16·54] in the BNT162b2 group and 6·22 [3·90–9·92] in the mRNA-1273 group).Interpretation Fourth-dose COVID-19 mRNA booster vaccines are well tolerated and boost cellular and humoral immunity. Peak responses after the fourth dose were similar to, and possibly better than, peak responses after the third dose

Characteristics that predict volunteer retention and fundraising in community-based challenge events

The financial viability of many not-for-profit organisations is linked to community fundraising by volunteers. This study explored predictors of volunteer retention and fundraising performance in relay for life (RFL), an international volunteer community-based cancer fundraising event. A self-report survey completed by 1298 RFL volunteers (24% response) assessed: satisfaction with volunteering; organisational commitment; psychological sense of connection; motives; social norms; capacity to volunteer as in perceived behavioural control and barriers to volunteering; satisfaction with community; behavioural intention. Primary outcomes were return participation in RFL and funds raised. Returning volunteers reported higher perceived behavioural control and satisfaction with community. Indirect effects through age-moderated intention-to-return were higher satisfaction with volunteering; organisational commitment; psychological sense of connection; capacity to volunteer. Funds raised were higher in teams with volunteers who were older, strongly committed to the organisation and motivate to fight cancer; with low interest in social/entertainment. Strategies to nurture the volunteer-organisation relationship and enhance volunteer capabilities may be most crucial for event success and long-term viability