European Corn Borer

NYS IPM Type: Vegetables IPM Fact Sheet; NYS IPM Type: Field Crops Fact SheetThe European corn borer is a major pest of corn and feeds on over 200 plant species including many weeds. This insect generally produces generations in June and August in most areas of the United States and the northeast. However, a strain producing only one annual generation In July may also be present in some fields. In some areas of the northeast, the single and multi-generatlon strains may be present together

How Does Individual Recognition Evolve? Comparing Responses to Identity Information in P olistes Species with and Without Individual Recognition

A wide range of complex social behaviors are facilitated by the recognition of individual conspecifics. Individual recognition requires sufficient phenotypic variation to provide identity information as well as receivers that process and respond to identity information. Understanding how a complex trait such as individual recognition evolves requires that we consider how each component has evolved. Previous comparative studies have examined phenotypic variability in senders and receiver learning abilities, although little work has compared receiver responses to identity information among related species with and without individual recognition. Here, we compare responses to identity information in two Polistes paper wasps: P. fuscatus, which visually recognizes individuals, and P. metricus , which does not normally show evidence of individual recognition. Although the species differ in individual recognition, the results of this study show that receiver responses to experimentally manipulated identity information are surprisingly similar in both species. Receivers direct less aggression toward identifiable individuals than unidentifiable individuals. Therefore, the responses necessary for individual recognition may pre‐date its evolution in the P. fuscatus lineage. Additionally, our data demonstrate the apparent binary differences in a complex behavior between the two species, such as individual recognition, likely involve incremental differences along a number of axes.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/102093/1/eth12191.pd

«CONCIENCIA DE IMPERIO Y SENTIMIENTO NACIONAL EN LAS PROVINCIAS ROMANAS. HISPANIA Y EL IMPERIO ROMANO EN LA CONCEPCIÓN DE FLORO»

Los esfuerzos «patrióticos» y eruditos, a los que debemos y agradecemos la fundación del Museo Central Romano-Germánico, han sido actualizados por Kurt Bohner en su profunda valoración de un acontecimiento como éste, verdaderamente ejemplar. Tales impulsos tenían que servir, como ya entonces alguien dijo «al despertar del sentido histórico»' y sólo podrían estar a la altura de su misión patriótica si mantenían en su ideario, incluso cuando se trataba de agrupaciones para el estudio de la antigüedad y de la historia alemana, el reconocer y valorar adecuadamente junto a las líneas de desarrollo nacionales también los procesos de alcance universa. (...

Multisystem proteinopathy due to a homozygous p.Arg159His VCP mutation : a tale of the unexpected

ObjectiveTo assess the clinical, radiologic, myopathologic, and proteomic findings in a patient manifesting a multisystem proteinopathy due to a homozygous valosin-containing protein gene (VCP) mutation previously reported to be pathogenic in the heterozygous state.MethodsWe studied a 36-year-old male index patient and his father, both presenting with progressive limb-girdle weakness. Muscle involvement was assessed by MRI and muscle biopsies. We performed whole-exome sequencing and Sanger sequencing for segregation analysis of the identified p.Arg159His VCP mutation. To dissect biological disease signatures, we applied state-of-the-art quantitative proteomics on muscle tissue of the index case, his father, 3 additional patients with VCP-related myopathy, and 3 control individuals.ResultsThe index patient, homozygous for the known p.Arg159His mutation in VCP, manifested a typical VCP-related myopathy phenotype, although with a markedly high creatine kinase value and a relatively early disease onset, and Paget disease of bone. The father exhibited a myopathy phenotype and discrete parkinsonism, and multiple deceased family members on the maternal side of the pedigree displayed a dementia, parkinsonism, or myopathy phenotype. Bioinformatic analysis of quantitative proteomic data revealed the degenerative nature of the disease, with evidence suggesting selective failure of muscle regeneration and stress granule dyshomeostasis.ConclusionWe report a patient showing a multisystem proteinopathy due to a homozygous VCP mutation. The patient manifests a severe phenotype, yet fundamental disease characteristics are preserved. Proteomic findings provide further insights into VCP-related pathomechanisms

A P2X receptor from the tardigrade species Hypsibius dujardini with fast kinetics and sensitivity to zinc and copper

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Orthologs of the vertebrate ATP gated P2X channels have been identified in <it>Dictyostelium </it>and green algae, demonstrating that the emergence of ionotropic purinergic signalling was an early event in eukaryotic evolution. However, the genomes of a number of animals including <it>Drosophila melanogaster </it>and <it>Caenorhabditis elegans</it>, both members of the Ecdysozoa superphylum, lack P2X-like proteins, whilst other species such as the flatworm <it>Schistosoma mansoni </it>have P2X proteins making it unclear as to what stages in evolution P2X receptors were lost. Here we describe the functional characterisation of a P2X receptor (<it>Hd</it>P2X) from the tardigrade <it>Hypsibius dujardini </it>demonstrating that purinergic signalling is preserved in some ecdysozoa.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>ATP (EC₅₀~44.5 μM) evoked transient inward currents in <it>Hd</it>P2X with millisecond rates of activation and desensitisation. <it>Hd</it>P2X is antagonised by pyridoxal-phosphate-6-azophenyl-2',4' disulfonic acid (IC₅₀15.0 μM) and suramin (IC₅₀22.6 μM) and zinc and copper inhibit ATP-evoked currents with IC₅₀values of 62.8 μM and 19.9 μM respectively. Site-directed mutagenesis showed that unlike vertebrate P2X receptors, extracellular histidines do not play a major role in coordinating metal binding in <it>Hd</it>P2X. However, H306 was identified as playing a minor role in the actions of copper but not zinc. Ivermectin potentiated responses to ATP with no effect on the rates of current activation or decay.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The presence of a P2X receptor in a tardigrade species suggests that both nematodes and arthropods lost their P2X genes independently, as both traditional and molecular phylogenies place the divergence between Nematoda and Arthropoda before their divergence from Tardigrada. The phylogenetic analysis performed in our study also clearly demonstrates that the emergence of the family of seven P2X channels in human and other mammalian species was a relatively recent evolutionary event that occurred subsequent to the split between vertebrates and invertebrates. Furthermore, several characteristics of <it>Hd</it>P2X including fast kinetics with low ATP sensitivity, potentiation by ivermectin in a channel with fast kinetics and distinct copper and zinc binding sites not dependent on histidines make <it>Hd</it>P2X a useful model for comparative structure-function studies allowing a better understanding of P2X receptors in higher organisms.</p

Molecular imaging: novel tools in visualizing rheumatoid arthritis

Molecular imaging is a rapidly emerging field in biomedical research, aiming at the visualization, characterization and quantification of molecular and cellular processes non-invasively within intact living organisms. To sense biological processes such as gene expression, angiogenesis, apoptosis or cell trafficking in vivo, imaging reporter agents that interact specifically with molecular targets and appropriate imaging systems are currently under development. In rheumatoid arthritis, these novel tools will be used to evaluate physiological and pathophysiological processes, to facilitate diagnosis and monitor therapeutic regimens, to enable reliable prognosis and to support the development of new therapies. In this review, we summarize the basic principles of molecular imaging, such as the development of molecular imaging agents, the actual capabilities of different imaging modalities and the most recent advances in molecular imaging, demonstrating the potential of this technology. With regard to their applicability in rheumatic diseases, we discuss potential molecular targets, current experimental approaches and the future prospects for molecular imaging in rheumatoid arthriti

Anti-phospholipid-antibodies in patients with relapsing polychondritis

Relapsing polychondritis (RP) is an extremly rare multisystemic disease thought to be of autoimmune origin. In order to assess if RP is associated with anti-phospholipid antibodies (aPL), clinical data and sera of 21 patients with RP were collected in a multicentre study. Concentration of anti-cardiolipin antibodies (aCL) (IgG-, IgM-and IgA-isotypes), anti-phosphatidylserine-antibodies (aPS) (IgG-and IgM-isotypes) and anti-β-2-glycoprotein I-antibodies (aβ2 GPI) were measured by ELISA. In eight patients aCL were found to be elevated. One patient had elevated aPS. No patient had elevated aβ2 GPI. No patient had clinical signs and symptoms of a aPL syndrome. Interestingly, the two RP patients with the highest aPL had concomitant systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Therefore the presence of elevated aPL in RP is probably more closely related to an associated SLE than to RP itself. There is no convincing evidence that aPL are associated with RP

Production of 26Al in stellar hydrogen-burning environments: spectroscopic properties of states in 27Si

Model predictions of the amount of the radioisotope 26Al produced in hydrogen-burning environments require reliable estimates of the thermonuclear rates for the 26gAl(p,{\gamma})27Si and 26mAl(p,{\gamma})27Si reactions. These rates depend upon the spectroscopic properties of states in 27Si within about 1 MeV of the 26gAl+p threshold (Sp = 7463 keV). We have studied the 28Si(3He,{\alpha})27Si reaction at 25 MeV using a high-resolution quadrupole-dipole-dipole-dipole magnetic spectrograph. For the first time with a transfer reaction, we have constrained J{\pi} values for states in 27Si over Ex = 7.0 - 8.1 MeV through angular distribution measurements. Aside from a few important cases, we generally confirm the energies and spin-parity assignments reported in a recent {\gamma}-ray spectroscopy study. The magnitudes of neutron spectroscopic factors determined from shell-model calculations are in reasonable agreement with our experimental values extracted using this reaction.Comment: accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.