Choosing an Adequate Pesticide Delivery System for Managing Pathogens with Difficult Biologies: Case Studies on <em>Diplodia corticola, Venturia inaequalis</em> and <em>Erwinia amylovora</em>

With the challenges that negatively impact tree-based agriculture, landscapes and forests, such as climate change, plant pathogen and insect range expansion, invasive species and limited new pesticides, it is important to introduce new and effective tree protection options. In the last 20 years, pathogens that invade wood i.e. vascular tissues of trees causing wilt, yellowing, premature defoliation, cankers and tree death, have been on the rise. Diplodia corticola causes Bot canker of oak species which can kill trees diminishing the valuable ecological services they provide and reducing profits from wood and cork production. Since this and similar pathogens have difficult biologies because they reside in wood and cause severe internal damage and tree death, their management is difficult or inefficient with classical pesticide application methods that cannot reach and distribute the active ingredient in vascular wood tissues. As practical management options for this and other vascular tissue pathogens of trees are limited, we evaluated efficacy of several trunk injected fungicides in control of D. corticola and compared it with the efficacy of trunk injection of similar compounds for control of Venturia inaequalis and Erwinia amylovora, as two well-studied apple tree pathogens with different or partially similar lifestyles to D. corticola, respectively

Adaptive Evolution in Ecological Communities

Multi-species interactions can influence evolution in ways that are unpredictable from studies that focus on simpler communities because direct and indirect species interactions alter the strength and direction of selection

Hadron Energy Reconstruction for the ATLAS Calorimetry in the Framework of the Non-parametrical Method

This paper discusses hadron energy reconstruction for the ATLAS barrel prototype combined calorimeter (consisting of a lead-liquid argon electromagnetic part and an iron-scintillator hadronic part) in the framework of the non-parametrical method. The non-parametrical method utilizes only the known $e/h$ ratios and the electron calibration constants and does not require the determination of any parameters by a minimization technique. Thus, this technique lends itself to an easy use in a first level trigger. The reconstructed mean values of the hadron energies are within $\pm 1$ of the true values and the fractional energy resolution is $[(58\pm3)/\sqrt{E}+(2.5\pm0.3)$. The value of the $e/h$ ratio obtained for the electromagnetic compartment of the combined calorimeter is $1.74\pm0.04$ and agrees with the prediction that $e/h > 1.7$ for this electromagnetic calorimeter. Results of a study of the longitudinal hadronic shower development are also presented. The data have been taken in the H8 beam line of the CERN SPS using pions of energies from 10 to 300 GeV.Comment: 33 pages, 13 figures, Will be published in NIM

A Study of B0 -> J/psi K(*)0 pi+ pi- Decays with the Collider Detector at Fermilab

We report a study of the decays B0 -> J/psi K(*)0 pi+ pi-, which involve the creation of a u u-bar or d d-bar quark pair in addition to a b-bar -> c-bar(c s-bar) decay. The data sample consists of 110 1/pb of p p-bar collisions at sqrt{s} = 1.8 TeV collected by the CDF detector at the Fermilab Tevatron collider during 1992-1995. We measure the branching ratios to be BR(B0 -> J/psi K*0 pi+ pi-) = (8.0 +- 2.2 +- 1.5) * 10^{-4} and BR(B0 -> J/psi K0 pi+ pi-) = (1.1 +- 0.4 +- 0.2) * 10^{-3}. Contributions to these decays are seen from psi(2S) K(*)0, J/psi K0 rho0, J/psi K*+ pi-, and J/psi K1(1270)

A short-term in vivo model for giant cell tumor of bone

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Because of the lack of suitable <it>in vivo </it>models of giant cell tumor of bone (GCT), little is known about its underlying fundamental pro-tumoral events, such as tumor growth, invasion, angiogenesis and metastasis. There is no existing cell line that contains all the cell and tissue tumor components of GCT and thus <it>in vitro </it>testing of anti-tumor agents on GCT is not possible. In this study we have characterized a new method of growing a GCT tumor on a chick chorio-allantoic membrane (CAM) for this purpose.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Fresh tumor tissue was obtained from 10 patients and homogenized. The suspension was grafted onto the CAM at day 10 of development. The growth process was monitored by daily observation and photo documentation using <it>in vivo </it>biomicroscopy. After 6 days, samples were fixed and further analyzed using standard histology (hematoxylin and eosin stains), Ki67 staining and fluorescence <it>in situ </it>hybridization (FISH).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The suspension of all 10 patients formed solid tumors when grafted on the CAM. <it>In vivo </it>microscopy and standard histology revealed a rich vascularization of the tumors. The tumors were composed of the typical components of GCT, including (CD51+/CD68+) multinucleated giant cells whichwere generally less numerous and contained fewer nuclei than in the original tumors. Ki67 staining revealed a very low proliferation rate. The FISH demonstrated that the tumors were composed of human cells interspersed with chick-derived capillaries.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>A reliable protocol for grafting of human GCT onto the chick chorio-allantoic membrane is established. This is the first <it>in vivo </it>model for giant cell tumors of bone which opens new perspectives to study this disease and to test new therapeutical agents.</p

The Wnt pathway regulator DKK1 is preferentially expressed in hormone-resistant breast tumours and in some common cancer types

In addition to new tumour antigens, new prognostic and diagnostic markers are needed for common cancers. In this study, we report the expression of Dickkopf-1 (DKK1) in multiple common cancers. This constitutes a comprehensive analysis of the DKK1 expression profile. Dickkopf-1 expression was evaluated by classical and quantitative reverse transcriptase–polymerase chain reaction (RT–PCR) and enzyme-linked immunosorbant assay for protein determination, in cancer lines and clinical specimens of several cancer origins. For breast cancer, expression was correlated with clinicopathological parameters. Dickkopf-1 expression was confirmed in several cancer cell lines derived from breast and other common cancers. Dickkopf-1 protein secretion was documented in breast, prostate and lung cancer lines, but was negligible in melanoma. Analysis of DKK1 expression in human cancer specimens revealed DKK1 expression in breast (21 out of 73), lung (11 out of 23) and kidney cancers (six out of 20). Interestingly, DKK1 was preferentially expressed in oestrogen and progesterone receptor-negative tumours (ER−/PR−; P=0.005) and in tumours from women with a family history of breast cancer (P=0.024). Importantly, DKK1 protein production was confirmed in multiple breast cancer specimens that were positive by RT–PCR. This work establishes DKK1 as a potential prognostic and diagnostic marker for cohorts of breast cancer patients with poor prognosis. Dickkopf-1 may also become a relevant candidate target for immunotherapy of different cancers

A search for structurally similar cellular internal ribosome entry sites

Internal ribosome entry sites (IRES) allow ribosomes to be recruited to mRNA in a cap-independent manner. Some viruses that impair cap-dependent translation initiation utilize IRES to ensure that the viral RNA will efficiently compete for the translation machinery. IRES are also employed for the translation of a subset of cellular messages during conditions that inhibit cap-dependent translation initiation. IRES from viruses like Hepatitis C and Classical Swine Fever virus share a similar structure/function without sharing primary sequence similarity. Of the cellular IRES structures derived so far, none were shown to share an overall structural similarity. Therefore, we undertook a genome-wide search of human 5′UTRs (untranslated regions) with an empirically derived structure of the IRES from the key inhibitor of apoptosis, X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis protein (XIAP), to identify novel IRES that share structure/function similarity. Three of the top matches identified by this search that exhibit IRES activity are the 5′UTRs of Aquaporin 4, ELG1 and NF-kappaB repressing factor (NRF). The structures of AQP4 and ELG1 IRES have limited similarity to the XIAP IRES; however, they share trans-acting factors that bind the XIAP IRES. We therefore propose that cellular IRES are not defined by overall structure, as viral IRES, but are instead dependent upon short motifs and trans-acting factors for their function

Living on the edge: utilising lidar data to assess the importance of vegetation structure for avian diversity in fragmented woodlands and their edges

Context: In agricultural landscapes, small woodland patches can be important wildlife refuges. Their value in maintaining biodiversity may, however, be compromised by isolation, and so knowledge about the role of habitat structure is vital to understand the drivers of diversity. This study examined how avian diversity and abundance were related to habitat structure in four small woods in an agricultural landscape in eastern England. Objectives: The aims were to examine the edge effect on bird diversity and abundance, and the contributory role of vegetation structure. Specifically: what is the role of vegetation structure on edge effects, and which edge structures support the greatest bird diversity? Methods: Annual breeding bird census data for 28 species were combined with airborne lidar data in linear mixed models fitted separately at (i) the whole wood level, and (ii) for the woodland edges only. Results: Despite relatively small woodland areas (4.9–9.4 ha), bird diversity increased significantly towards the edges, being driven in part by vegetation structure. At the whole woods level, diversity was positively associated with increased vegetation above 0.5 m and especially with increasing vegetation density in the understorey layer, which was more abundant at the woodland edges. Diversity along the edges was largely driven by the density of vegetation below 4 m. Conclusions: The results demonstrate that bird diversity was maximised by a diverse vegetation structure across the wood and especially a dense understorey along the edge. These findings can assist bird conservation by guiding habitat management of remaining woodland patches

Medium Chain Acylcarnitines Dominate the Metabolite Pattern in Humans under Moderate Intensity Exercise and Support Lipid Oxidation

Background: Exercise is an extreme physiological challenge for skeletal muscle energy metabolism and has notable health benefits. We aimed to identify and characterize metabolites, which are components of the regulatory network mediating the beneficial metabolic adaptation to exercise

Genomic architecture and evolution of clear cell renal cell carcinomas defined by multiregion sequencing

Clear cell renal carcinomas (ccRCCs) can display intratumor heterogeneity (ITH). We applied multiregion exome sequencing (M-seq) to resolve the genetic architecture and evolutionary histories of ten ccRCCs. Ultra-deep sequencing identified ITH in all cases. We found that 73–75% of identified ccRCC driver aberrations were subclonal, confounding estimates of driver mutation prevalence. ITH increased with the number of biopsies analyzed, without evidence of saturation in most tumors. Chromosome 3p loss and VHL aberrations were the only ubiquitous events. The proportion of C>T transitions at CpG sites increased during tumor progression. M-seq permits the temporal resolution of ccRCC evolution and refines mutational signatures occurring during tumor development