Insect chemical ecology: chemically mediated interactions and novel applications in agriculture

Forum PaperInsect chemical ecology (ICE) evolved as a discipline concerned with plant–insect interactions, and also with a strong focus on intraspecific pheromone-mediated communication. Progress in this field has rendered a more complete picture of how insects exploit chemical information in their surroundings in order to survive and navigate their world successfully. Simultaneously, this progress has prompted new research questions about the evolution of insect chemosensation and related ecological adaptations, molecular mechanisms that mediate commonly observed behaviors, and the consequences of chemically mediated interactions in different ecosystems. Themed meetings, workshops, and summer schools are ideal platforms for discussing scientific advancements as well as identifying gaps and challenges within the discipline. From the 11th to the 22nd of June 2018, the 11th annual PhD course in ICE was held at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) Alnarp, Sweden. The course was made up of 35 student participants from 22 nationalities (Fig. 1a) as well as 32 lecturers. Lectures and laboratory demonstrations were supported by literature seminars, and four broad research areas were covered: (1) multitrophic interactions and plant defenses, (2) chemical communication focusing on odor sensing, processing, and behavior, (3) disease vectors, and (4) applied aspects of basic ICE research in agriculture. This particular article contains a summary and brief synthesis of these main emergent themes and discussions from the ICE 2018 course. In addition, we also provide suggestions on teaching the next generation of ICE scientists, especially during unprecedented global situationsinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Clinical and physiological effects of transcranial electrical stimulation position on motor evoked potentials in scoliosis surgery

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>During intraoperative monitoring for scoliosis surgery, we have previously elicited ipsilateral and contralateral motor evoked potentials (MEP) with cross scalp stimulation. Ipsilateral MEPs, which may have comprised summation of early ipsilaterally conducted components and transcallosally or deep white matter stimulated components, can show larger amplitudes than those derived purely from contralateral motor cortex stimulation. We tested this hypothesis using two stimulating positions. We compared intraoperative MEPs in 14 neurologically normal subjects undergoing scoliosis surgery using total intravenous anesthetic regimens.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Trancranial electrical stimulation was applied with both cross scalp (C3C4 or C4C3) or midline (C3Cz or C4Cz) positions. The latter was assumed to be more focal and result in little transcallosal/deep white matter stimulation. A train of 5 square wave stimuli 0.5 ms in duration at up to 200 mA was delivered with 4 ms (250 Hz) interstimulus intervals. Averaged supramaximal MEPs were obtained from the tibialis anterior bilaterally.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The cross scalp stimulating position resulted in supramaximal MEPs that were of significantly higher amplitude, shorter latency and required lower stimulating intensity to elicit overall (Wilcoxon Signed Rank test, p < 0.05 for all), as compared to the midline stimulating position. However, no significant differences were found for all 3 parameters comparing ipsilaterally and contralaterally recorded MEPs (p > 0.05 for all), seen for both stimulating positions individually.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our findings suggest that cross scalp stimulation resulted in MEPs obtained ipsilaterally and contralaterally which may be contributed to by summation of ipsilateral and simultaneous transcallosally or deep white matter conducted stimulation of the opposite motor cortex. Use of this stimulating position is advocated to elicit MEPs under operative circumstances where anesthetic agents may cause suppression of cortical and spinal excitability. Although less focal in nature, cross scalp stimulation would be most suitable for infratentorial or spinal surgery, in contrast to supratentorial neurosurgical procedures.</p

Social democracy, embeddedness and decommodification: On the conceptual innovations and intellectual affiliations of Karl Polanyi

Of the several debates that revolve around the work of the economic historian and political economist Karl Polanyi, one that continues to exercise minds concerns his analysis of, and political attitudes toward, post-war capitalism and the welfare state. Simplified a little, it is a debate with two sides. To borrow Iván Szelényi's terms, one side constructs a ‘hard’ Karl Polanyi, the other a ‘soft’ one. The former advocated a socialist mixed economy dominated by redistributive mechanisms. He was a radical socialist for whom the market should never be the dominant mechanism of economic coordination. His ‘soft’ alter ego insisted that the market system remain essentially intact but be complemented by redistributive mechanisms. The ‘double movement’ – the central thesis of his ‘Great Transformation’ – acts, in this reading, as a self-correcting mechanism that moderates the excesses of market fundamentalism; its author was positioned within the social-democratic mainstream for which the only realistic desirable goal is a regulated form of capitalism. In terms of textual evidence there is much to be said for both interpretations. In this article I suggest a different approach, one that focuses upon the meaning of Polanyi's concepts in relation to their socio-political and intellectual environment

Pharmacological characterisation of anti-inflammatory compounds in acute and chronic mouse models of cigarette smoke-induced inflammation

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Candidate compounds being developed to treat chronic obstructive pulmonary disease are typically assessed using either acute or chronic mouse smoking models; however, in both systems compounds have almost always been administered prophylactically. Our aim was to determine whether the prophylactic effects of reference anti-inflammatory compounds in acute mouse smoking models reflected their therapeutic effects in (more clinically relevant) chronic systems.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>To do this, we started by examining the type of inflammatory cell infiltrate which occurred after acute (3 days) or chronic (12 weeks) cigarette smoke exposure (CSE) using female, C57BL/6 mice (n = 7-10). To compare the effects of anti-inflammatory compounds in these models, mice were exposed to either 3 days of CSE concomitant with compound dosing or 14 weeks of CSE with dosing beginning after week 12. Budesonide (1 mg kg^-1; i.n., q.d.), roflumilast (3 mg kg^-1; p.o., q.d.) and fluvastatin (2 mg kg^-1; p.o., b.i.d.) were dosed 1 h before (and 5 h after for fluvastatin) CSE. These dose levels were selected because they have previously been shown to be efficacious in mouse models of lung inflammation. Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) leukocyte number was the primary endpoint in both models as this is also a primary endpoint in early clinical studies.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>To start, we confirmed that the inflammatory phenotypes were different after acute (3 days) versus chronic (12 weeks) CSE. The inflammation in the acute systems was predominantly neutrophilic, while in the more chronic CSE systems BALF neutrophils (PMNs), macrophage and lymphocyte numbers were all increased (p < 0.05). In the acute model, both roflumilast and fluvastatin reduced BALF PMNs (p < 0.01) after 3 days of CSE, while budesonide had no effect on BALF PMNs. In the chronic model, therapeutically administered fluvastatin reduced the numbers of PMNs and macrophages in the BALF (p ≤ 0.05), while budesonide had no effect on PMN or macrophage numbers, but did reduce BALF lymphocytes (p < 0.01). Roflumilast's inhibitory effects on inflammatory cell infiltrate were not statistically significant.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>These results demonstrate that the acute, prophylactic systems can be used to identify compounds with therapeutic potential, but may not predict a compound's efficacy in chronic smoke exposure models.</p

Phase I trial combining gemcitabine and treosulfan in advanced cutaneous and uveal melanoma patients

Gemcitabine and treosulfan are DNA-damaging agents. Preclinical studies suggest that synergism exists when melanoma cells are exposed to both drugs concurrently. We conducted a phase I trial in advanced melanoma patients to determine the optimal dose of gemcitabine to be combined with treosulfan. Cohorts of three patients received increasing doses of gemcitabine, commencing at 0.5 g m−2, followed by a fixed dose of 5.0 g m−2 treosulfan on day one of a 21-day cycle. Patients alternately received a first cycle of single-agent gemcitabine or treosulfan before subsequent cycles of both drugs. Peripheral blood lymphocytes were collected in cycles 1 and 2 at various time points until 48 h post-treatment. The single-cell gel electrophoresis (Comet) assay was used to measure chemotherapy-induced DNA damage. A total of 27 patients were enrolled, no objective responses were observed, but two uveal melanoma patients had minor responses. Dose-limiting myelosuppression was reached at 3.0 g m−2 gemcitabine. DNA single-strand breaks were detected 4 h post-gemcitabine, repaired by 24 h. DNA interstrand crosslinks were detected 4 h post-treosulfan, fully removed by 48 h. Following combination chemotherapy, treosulfan-induced DNA crosslinks persisted, still being detectable 48 h post-treatment, supporting the hypothesis that gemcitabine potentiates treosulfan-induced cytotoxicity. The recommended regimen for further study is 2.5 g m−2 gemcitabine combined with 5.0 g m−2 treosulfan

The effect of rapid privatisation on mortality in mono-industrial towns in post-Soviet Russia: a retrospective cohort study

Background Population-level data suggest that economic disruptions in the early 1990s increased working-age male mortality in post-Soviet countries. This study uses individual-level data, using an indirect estimation method, to test the hypothesis that fast privatisation increased mortality in Russia. Methods In this retrospective cohort study, we surveyed surviving relatives of individuals who lived through the post-communist transition to retrieve demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of their parents, siblings, and male partners. The survey was done within the framework of the European Research Council (ERC) project PrivMort (The Impact of Privatization on the Mortality Crisis in Eastern Europe). We surveyed relatives in 20 mono-industrial towns in the European part of Russia (ie, the landmass to the west of the Urals). We compared ten fast-privatised and ten slow-privatised towns selected using propensity score matching. In the selected towns, population surveys were done in which respondents provided information about vital status, sociodemographic and socioeconomic characteristics and health-related behaviours of their parents, two eldest siblings (if eligible), and first husbands or long-term partners. We calculated indirect age-standardised mortality rates in fast and slow privatised towns and then, in multivariate analyses, calculated Poisson proportional incidence rate ratios to estimate the effect of rapid privatisation on all-cause mortality risk. Findings Between November, 2014, and March, 2015, 21 494 households were identified in 20 towns. Overall, 13 932 valid interviews were done (with information collected for 38 339 relatives [21 634 men and 16 705 women]). Fast privatisation was strongly associated with higher working-age male mortality rates both between 1992 and 1998 (age-standardised mortality ratio in men aged 20–69 years in fast vs slow privatised towns: 1·13, SMR 0·83, 95% CI 0·77–0·88 vs 0·73, 0·69–0·77, respectively) and from 1999 to 2006 (1·15, 0·91, 0·86–0·97 vs 0·79, 0·75–0·84). After adjusting for age, marital status, material deprivation history, smoking, drinking and socioeconomic status, working-age men in fast-privatised towns experienced 13% higher mortality than in slow-privatised towns (95% CI 1–26). Interpretation The rapid pace of privatisation was a significant factor in the marked increase in working-age male mortality in post-Soviet Russia. By providing compelling evidence in support of the health benefits of a slower pace of privatisation, this study can assist policy makers in making informed decisions about the speed and scope of government interventions.All authors acknowledge financial support from the European Research Council (ERC). DStu is funded by a Wellcome Trust Investigator Award

Enhancer viruses and a transgenic platform for combinatorial cell subclass-specific labeling

The rapid pace of cell type identification by new single-cell analysis methods has not been met with efficient experimental access to the newly discovered types. To enable flexible and efficient access to specific neural populations in the mouse cortex, we collected chromatin accessibility data from individual cells and clustered the single-cell data to identify enhancers specific for cell classes and subclasses. When cloned into adeno-associated viruses (AAVs) and delivered to the brain by retro-orbital injections, these enhancers drive transgene expression in specific cell subclasses in the cortex. We characterize several enhancer viruses in detail to show that they result in labeling of different projection neuron subclasses in mouse cortex, and that one of them can be used to label the homologous projection neuron subclass in human cortical slices. To enable the combinatorial labeling of more than one cell type by enhancer viruses, we developed a three-color Cre-, Flp- and Nigri- recombinase dependent reporter mouse line, Ai213. The delivery of three enhancer viruses driving these recombinases via a single retroorbital injection into a single Ai213 transgenic mouse results in labeling of three different neuronal classes/subclasses in the same brain tissue. This approach combines unprecedented flexibility with specificity for investigation of cell types in the mouse brain and beyond