Comparative morphological and functional analysis of wing coupling and related structures in caddisflies (Insecta: Trichoptera)

Several orders of morphologically four-winged insects have evolved mechanisms that enforce a union between the mesothoracic and metathoracic wings (forewings and hindwings) during the wing beat cycle. Such mechanisms result in a morphologically tetrapterous insect flying as if it were functionally dipterous, and these mechanisms have been described for several insect orders. The caddisfly suborders Annulipalpia and Integripalpia (Trichoptera) have each evolved wing coupling apparati. At least three systems have evolved within the suborder Annulipalpia (Polycentropodidae; Hydropsychidae: Hydropsychinae, Macronematinae), and within Integripalpia the evolution of wing coupling mechanisms is diverse to the point that it defies simple enumeration into discrete categories; conservatively seven different mechanisms have evolved. The comparative and inferred functional morphology of the putative wing coupling mechanisms is described for families in both Annulipalpia and Integripalpia. A novel form-functional complex putatively involved with at-rest forewing-forewing coupling is described for Hydropsychidae: Smicrideinae (Annulipalpia) and Philorheithridae (Integripalpia: Brevitentoria), and the form-functional consequences of this novel mechanism for forewing-hindwing coupling are elaborated. Experimental evidence regarding coupled versus uncoupled flight is given for both Annulipalpia and Integripalpia, including the discovery of wing coupling in Polycentropodidae (Annulipalpia) and Brachycentridae (Integripalpia: Plenitentoria). Based on experimental evidence and comparative morphological considerations it is argued that wing coupling is a far more complex phenomenon than presence- absence. It is likely that all Trichoptera have coupled wings on the downstroke, with the synchronous downstroke enforced either by a fully developed wing coupling apparatus or, when present, by the interaction of the forewing jugal lobe and the hindwing frenular-type setae. It is also suggested that for several families and sub-family clades, the morphology of the wing coupling apparatus is a synapomorphy and contributes characters for phylogenetic analyses

FIRST REPORT OF ECONOMIC INJURY DUE TO THE SPIRALING WHITEFLY (HEMIPTERA: ALEYRODIDAE) ON PEPPER IN INDONESIA

A pest survey and subsequent identification\ud confirmed the presence of the spiraling whitefly,\ud Aleurodicus dispersus Russell (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae),\ud in Pinrang District, South Sulawesi\ud Province of Indonesia. This is the first report of\ud the insect in the province and population outbreaks\ud resulting in serious damage to pepper,\ud Capsicum annuum L. (Solanaceae), in Indonesia.\ud In our subsequent survey, A. dispersus was found\ud on pepper in 2 other districts of the province, Pangkep\ud and Wajo. Given its wide host range and dispersal\ud capability, the insect poses a serious threat\ud to pepper in Indonesia. Pepper growers at the\ud survey site applied mixtures of insecticides 2???3\ud times per week to suppress the pest. Their insecticide\ud choices and application frequencies were\ud based on their own experience in controlling other\ud pests. They urgently need information on effective\ud measures to control this new pest. Therefore,a study on field and laboratory evaluations of selected\ud insecticides against the spiraling whitefly\ud has been completed recently and the results will\ud be published in a separate paper. Surveys for\ud potential biological control agents, such as parasitoid\ud wasps and entomopathogenic fungi, are\ud also underway. Furthermore, given the following\ud phenomena: the presence of high population of\ud A. dispersus concomitant with the high incidence\ud of PepYLCIV, a Begomovirus; low population of\ud its known vector, B. tabaci; and the ability of A.\ud dispersus to transmit a Begomovirus, CBSV in\ud Africa; it is imperative to conduct a study to determine\ud the capability of the spiraling whitefly in\ud transmitting the PepYLCIV in South Sulawesi

Weight management for patients in general practice tailored to health literacy

Our aim was to develop and evaluate the feasibility and impact of a PHC approach to weight management tailored to the level of health literacy of obese patients. There were three key activities undertaken in this regard: 1) a literature review; 2) a pilot study; and 3) a weight management trial called “Better Management of Weight in General Practice” (BMWGP). In this report we describe the three activities and use the BMWGP baseline data to explore three issues. First, we look at the effectiveness of a screening tool to identify patients with low health literacy in general practice. Second, we describe the association between health literacy and a range of factors, behavioural intentions, lifestyle behaviours and quality of life to better understand the link between health literacy and health in a population of patients with obesity attending general practices. Third, we identify the groups most likely to experience weight stigma and how stigma relates to health literacy.The research reported in this paper is a project of the Australian Primary Health Care Research Institute which is supported by a grant from the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing under the Primary Health Care Research Evaluation and Development Strategy

Internal and external cooling methods and their effect on body temperature, thermal perception and dexterity

© 2018 The Authors. Published by PLOS. This is an open access article available under a Creative Commons licence. The published version can be accessed at the following link on the publisher’s website: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0191416© 2018 Maley et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Objective The present study aimed to compare a range of cooling methods possibly utilised by occupational workers, focusing on their effect on body temperature, perception and manual dexterity. Methods Ten male participants completed eight trials involving 30 min of seated rest followed by 30 min of cooling or control of no cooling (CON) (34C, 58% relative humidity). The cooling methods utilised were: ice cooling vest (CV0), phase change cooling vest melting at 14C (CV14), evaporative cooling vest (CVEV), arm immersion in 10C water (AI), portable water-perfused suit (WPS), heliox inhalation (HE) and ice slushy ingestion (SL). Immediately before and after cooling, participants were assessed for fine (Purdue pegboard task) and gross (grip and pinch strength) manual dexterity. Rectal and skin temperature, as well as thermal sensation and comfort, were monitored throughout. Results Compared with CON, SL was the only method to reduce rectal temperature (P = 0.012). All externally applied cooling methods reduced skin temperature (P0.05). Conclusion The present study observed that ice ingestion or ice applied to the skin produced the greatest effect on rectal and skin temperature, respectively. AI should not be utilised if workers require subsequent fine manual dexterity. These results will help inform future studies investigating appropriate pre-cooling methods for the occupational worker.This project is financially supported by the US Government through the Technical Support Working Group within the Combating Terrorism Technical Support Office.Published versio

Pulmonary function deficits in newborn screened infants with cystic fibrosis managed with standard UK care are mild and transient

With the advent of novel designer molecules for cystic fibrosis (CF) treatment, there is huge need for early-life clinical trial outcomes, such as infant lung function (ILF). We investigated the degree and tracking of ILF abnormality during the first 2 years of life in CF newborn screened infants. Forced expiratory volume in 0.5 s (FEV₀.₅), lung clearance index (LCI) and plethysmographic functional residual capacity were measured at ∼3 months, 1 year and 2 years in 62 infants with CF and 34 controls. By 2 years there was no significant difference in FEV₀.₅ z-score between CF and controls, whereas mean LCI z-score was 0.81 (95% CI 0.45–1.17) higher in CF. However, there was no significant association between LCI z-score at 2 years with either 3-month or 1-year results. Despite minimal average group changes in any ILF outcome during the second year of life, marked within-subject changes occurred. No child had abnormal LCI or FEV₀.₅ on all test occasions, precluding the ability to identify “high-risk” infants in early life. In conclusion, changes in lung function are mild and transient during the first 2 years of life in newborn screened infants with CF when managed according to a standardised UK treatment protocol. Their potential role in tracking disease to later childhood will be ascertained by ongoing follow-up

Identification of Novel Antimalarial Chemotypes via Chemoinformatic Compound Selection Methods for a High-Throughput Screening Program against the Novel Malarial Target, PfNDH2: Increasing Hit Rate via Virtual Screening Methods

Malaria is responsible for approximately 1 million deaths annually; thus, continued efforts to discover new antimalarials are required. A HTS screen was established to identify novel inhibitors of the parasite's mitochondrial enzyme NADH:quinone oxidoreductase (PfNDH2). On the basis of only one known inhibitor of this enzyme, the challenge was to discover novel inhibitors of PfNDH2 with diverse chemical scaffolds. To this end, using a range of ligand-based chemoinformatics methods, ~17000 compounds were selected from a commercial library of ~750000 compounds. Forty-eight compounds were identified with PfNDH2 enzyme inhibition IC(50) values ranging from 100 nM to 40 μM and also displayed exciting whole cell antimalarial activity. These novel inhibitors were identified through sampling 16% of the available chemical space, while only screening 2% of the library. This study confirms the added value of using multiple ligand-based chemoinformatic approaches and has successfully identified novel distinct chemotypes primed for development as new agents against malaria

Effects of antiplatelet therapy on stroke risk by brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases: subgroup analyses of the RESTART randomised, open-label trial

Background Findings from the RESTART trial suggest that starting antiplatelet therapy might reduce the risk of recurrent symptomatic intracerebral haemorrhage compared with avoiding antiplatelet therapy. Brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases (such as cerebral microbleeds) are associated with greater risks of recurrent intracerebral haemorrhage. We did subgroup analyses of the RESTART trial to explore whether these brain imaging features modify the effects of antiplatelet therapy

Examination of the Cytotoxic and Embryotoxic Potential and Underlying Mechanisms of Next-Generation Synthetic Trioxolane and Tetraoxane Antimalarials

Semisynthetic artemisinin-based therapies are the first-line treatment for P. falciparum malaria, but next-generation synthetic drug candidates are urgently required to improve availability and respond to the emergence of artemisinin-resistant parasites. Artemisinins are embryotoxic in animal models and induce apoptosis in sensitive mammalian cells. Understanding the cytotoxic propensities of antimalarial drug candidates is crucial to their successful development and utilization. Here, we demonstrate that, similarly to the model artemisinin artesunate (ARS), a synthetic tetraoxane drug candidate (RKA182) and a trioxolane equivalent (FBEG100) induce embryotoxicity and depletion of primitive erythroblasts in a rodent model. We also show that RKA182, FBEG100 and ARS are cytotoxic toward a panel of established and primary human cell lines, with caspase-dependent apoptosis and caspase-independent necrosis underlying the induction of cell death. Although the toxic effects of RKA182 and FBEG100 proceed more rapidly and are relatively less cell-selective than that of ARS, all three compounds are shown to be dependent upon heme, iron and oxidative stress for their ability to induce cell death. However, in contrast to previously studied artemisinins, the toxicity of RKA182 and FBEG100 is shown to be independent of general chemical decomposition. Although tetraoxanes and trioxolanes have shown promise as next-generation antimalarials, the data described here indicate that adverse effects associated with artemisinins, including embryotoxicity, cannot be ruled out with these novel compounds, and a full understanding of their toxicological actions will be central to the continuing design and development of safe and effective drug candidates which could prove important in the fight against malaria

Life review in advanced age:qualitative research on the 'start in life' of 90-year-olds in the Lothian Birth Cohort 1921

BACKGROUND: This research report presents findings on ‘start in life’ from a qualitative study of 90-year-olds from the Lothian Birth Cohort 1921. The study aimed to contextualise the LBC1921 cohort in time and place, describe cohort members’ experiences of family and schooling and stimulate further inquiry into the relationships between ‘start in life’ and risk and resilience factors relating to longevity and healthy ageing. Scottish education and family life in the early 1930s are briefly described. METHODS: Life review questionnaire: A qualitative Life Review Questionnaire was developed, requiring free-text handwritten responses. Its ‘Start in Life’ section focused on schooling and family support. Sample: Wave 4 of the Lothian Birth Cohort 1921 involved testing 129 members near to their 90(th) birthday. They reside largely in Edinburgh and its environs. The Life Review Questionnaire was administered to 126 participants, 54 % women. Qualitative analysis: Thematic analysis was the qualitative technique used to categorise, code and extract meaning from questionnaire text. Narratives were extracted from the data to present illustrative stories. RESULTS: Narratives of start in life gave contextual description. Thematic analysis showed LBC1921 members enjoying their schooling, highlighting teachers, academic achievement, school activities and school friendships. Personal qualities, family circumstances and aspects of schooling sometimes hindered educational performance. Family life was recalled mostly with warmth and parents were often portrayed as valuing education and supporting learning and development. Family adversity from poverty, parental illness and parental death was often mitigated by support from parents (or the remaining parent). Overall, most cohort members believed that they had got off to a good ‘start in life’. CONCLUSIONS: This qualitative investigation of ‘start in life’ adds context and richness to quantitative investigations of the sizeable LBC1921 cohort, stimulating fresh insights and hypotheses into the relationship between child risk and resilience factors that may influence ageing. It demonstrates the utility and wider application of the Life Review Questionnaire. Although the surviving cohort is not representative of their childhood peers, their words provide insight into the processes of weaving experience and memory into a rich texture of meanings that may help create wellbeing across a lifetime