Bionomics of the alder sawfly, Fenusa dohrnii (Tischbein)

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Determination of the distribution of Calotropis gigantea (L.) in Sri Lanka using MaxEnt modelling technique

Calotropis gigantea is a drought-resistant, salt-tolerant, native plant in Sri Lanka with ayurvedic medicinal values. The plant is used for fiber, fodder and fuel, as well as a fertilizer. Despite its benefits, C. gigantea has become an emerging problem in countries where it has been introduced because of its invasiveness. Although C. gigantea is widely distributed in Sri Lanka, precise information on its distribution is lacking. Therefore, the present study was aimed at determining the distribution of C. gigantea in Sri Lanka. Field surveys were conducted in 120 sites covering all provinces in Sri Lanka from December 2014 to June 2015 to record the occurrence of C. gigantea. C. gigantea was distributed in all provinces except the Central province. It was more widespread along coastal regions, but its occurrence was low in the Western and Sabaragamuwa provinces. MaxEnt modelling predicted that the entire coast of Northern, North-Central and Eastern provinces contain the highest probability of C. gigantea distribution whereas the low probability was in North-Western, Western, Southern, Uva, Central, and Sabaragamuwa provinces. No occurrence probability was predicted in certain regions of Southern, Sabaragamuwa, Uva, and Central provinces of Sri Lanka. The study provides information on the current and potential distribution range of C. gigantea in Sri Lanka

Decreasing Sedentary Time during Lessons Reduces Obesity in Primary School Children: The Active Movement Study

Introduction: School-based exercise interventions targeted at reducing obesity are often successful in the short term, but they are resource-heavy and do not always lead to long-lasting behaviour changes. This study investigated the effect of reducing sedentary time, rather than increasing exercise, on physical activity (PA) behaviours and obesity in primary school children. Methods: Thirty UK state primary schools participated in this cluster-controlled intervention study (IDACI score = 0.15 ± 0.07, free school meals = 26 ± 9%). Twenty-six intervention and 4 control schools (intervention = 3,529, control = 308 children) completed the Physical Activity Questionnaire for Children (PAQ-C) in terms 1 and 3. Three intervention and 3 control schools (intervention = 219, control = 152 children) also measured waist-to-height ratio (WTHR). The Active Movement Intervention is a school-based programme which integrates non-sedentary behaviours such as standing and walking in the classroom. Data were analysed via ANCOVAs and multiple linear regressions. Results: WTHR was reduced by 8% in the intervention group only (F(2, 285) = 11.387, p < 0.001), and sport participation increased by 10% in the intervention group only (F(1, 232) = 6.982, p = 0.008). Other PAQ-C measures increased significantly in the intervention group, but there was no group*time interaction. Changes in PAQ-C did not predict reductions in WTHR. Instead, the amount of change in WTHR was predicted by intervention group and by baseline WTHR of the pupil, where children with higher baseline WTHR showed greater reductions (F(2, 365) = 77.21, p < 0.001, R2 = 0.30). Socio-economic status (SES), age, or gender did not mediate any of the changes in the PAQ-C or WTHR. Conclusion: Reducing sedentary behaviours during school time can be an effective obesity reduction strategy for primary school children who are overweight. The lack of demographic effects suggests that this method can be effective regardless of the school’s SES, pupil age, or gender

Behaviour of cattle in an agro-forestry system

Objective of the present study was to understand the behaviour of dairy cattle tethered underagro-forcstry systems. Three genetically uncharacterized, indigenous, non-lactating cows and twobulls (mean live weight 199±29) were tethered close to a water stream in an agro-forestry system.The vegetation of the agro-forestry system comprised of teak, coconut, mahogany and shrubs. Animalshad enough foraging materials around the place they were tethered. One observer was assigned toeach animal. The behaviour of the animals was observed for five hours from 1000 1500 hrs. Themean temperature and the relative humidity of day of the study were 28°C and 79% respectively.Frequency and the duration of the time spent on nine behaviours were recorded. The behaviouralactivities studied were drinking, feeding (ground level and upper level), lying, standing, walking,urination, defecation, vocal ization and interactions (cattle-cattle and cattle-other an irnals ). Feedingwas the most prominent behaviour of the animals. The time spent on feeding and the frequency offeeding during the 300 minutes study period were 252 min and 23, respectively and thus the feedingbehaviour accounted for 84% of the total time budget. The frequency (15) and the time spent onground level grazing (234 min) were significantly higher (p&lt;O.OOI) than the frequencies and the timespent on upper level feeding. Though not statistically significant, animals spent more time on standing(18.9min or 6.3% of the total time) than on Laying (14.6 min or 5% of the total time). The frequencyof standing (5) was also significantly (p&lt;O.OO I) higher than that oflying (I). May be due to tethering,cattle spent less time (8.3 minutes or 2.7% of the total time) on walking. The frequency of drinking(2) and the time spent on drinking were (3 min or 1% of the total time) unexpectedly low. Cattledefecated and urinated twice during the five- hour study period. Vocalization was the least prominentbehavioural activity. It is concluded that cattle highly engage with feeding particularly, on groundlevel when they are tethered under agro-forestry systems. Further researches are needed to determineas to why the drinking behaviour is suppressed when tethered in agro-forestry systems

Behaviour of cattle in an agro-forestry system

Objective of the present study was to understand the behaviour of dairy cattle tethered underagro-forcstry systems. Three genetically uncharacterized, indigenous, non-lactating cows and twobulls (mean live weight 199±29) were tethered close to a water stream in an agro-forestry system.The vegetation of the agro-forestry system comprised of teak, coconut, mahogany and shrubs. Animalshad enough foraging materials around the place they were tethered. One observer was assigned toeach animal. The behaviour of the animals was observed for five hours from 1000 1500 hrs. Themean temperature and the relative humidity of day of the study were 28°C and 79% respectively.Frequency and the duration of the time spent on nine behaviours were recorded. The behaviouralactivities studied were drinking, feeding (ground level and upper level), lying, standing, walking,urination, defecation, vocal ization and interactions (cattle-cattle and cattle-other an irnals ). Feedingwas the most prominent behaviour of the animals. The time spent on feeding and the frequency offeeding during the 300 minutes study period were 252 min and 23, respectively and thus the feedingbehaviour accounted for 84% of the total time budget. The frequency (15) and the time spent onground level grazing (234 min) were significantly higher (p&lt;O.OOI) than the frequencies and the timespent on upper level feeding. Though not statistically significant, animals spent more time on standing(18.9min or 6.3% of the total time) than on Laying (14.6 min or 5% of the total time). The frequencyof standing (5) was also significantly (p&lt;O.OO I) higher than that oflying (I). May be due to tethering,cattle spent less time (8.3 minutes or 2.7% of the total time) on walking. The frequency of drinking(2) and the time spent on drinking were (3 min or 1% of the total time) unexpectedly low. Cattledefecated and urinated twice during the five- hour study period. Vocalization was the least prominentbehavioural activity. It is concluded that cattle highly engage with feeding particularly, on groundlevel when they are tethered under agro-forestry systems. Further researches are needed to determineas to why the drinking behaviour is suppressed when tethered in agro-forestry systems

The bisphosphonate zoledronic acid impairs membrane localisation and induces cytochrome c release in breast cancer cells

Bisphosphonates are well established in the management of cancer-induced bone disease. Recent studies have indicated that these compounds have direct inhibitory effects on cultured human breast cancer cells. Nitrogen-containing bisphosphonates including zoledronic acid have been shown to induce apoptosis associated with PARP cleavage and DNA fragmentation. The aim of this study was to identify the signalling pathways involved. Forced expression of the anti-apoptotic protein bcl-2 attenuated bisphosphonate-induced loss of cell viability and induction of DNA fragmentation in MDA-MB-231 cells. Zoledronic acid-mediated apoptosis was associated with a time and dose-related release of mitochondrial cytochrome c into the cytosol in two cell lines. Rescue of cells by preincubation with a caspase-3 selective inhibitor and demonstration of pro-caspase-3 cleavage products by immunoblotting suggests that at least one of the caspases activated in response to zoledronic acid treatment is caspase-3. In both MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7 breast cancer cells, zoledronic acid impaired membrane localisation of Ras indicating reduced prenylation of this protein. These observations demonstrate that zoledronic acid-mediated apoptosis is associated with cytochrome c release and consequent caspase activation. This process may be initiated by inhibition of the enzymes in the mevalonate pathway leading to impaired prenylation of key intracellular proteins including Ras

Varespladib and cardiovascular events in patients with an acute coronary syndrome: the VISTA-16 randomized clinical trial

IMPORTANCE: Secretory phospholipase A2(sPLA2) generates bioactive phospholipid products implicated in atherosclerosis. The sPLA2inhibitor varespladib has favorable effects on lipid and inflammatory markers; however, its effect on cardiovascular outcomes is unknown. OBJECTIVE: To determine the effects of sPLA2inhibition with varespladib on cardiovascular outcomes. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: A double-blind, randomized, multicenter trial at 362 academic and community hospitals in Europe, Australia, New Zealand, India, and North America of 5145 patients randomized within 96 hours of presentation of an acute coronary syndrome (ACS) to either varespladib (n = 2572) or placebo (n = 2573) with enrollment between June 1, 2010, and March 7, 2012 (study termination on March 9, 2012). INTERVENTIONS: Participants were randomized to receive varespladib (500 mg) or placebo daily for 16 weeks, in addition to atorvastatin and other established therapies. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: The primary efficacy measurewas a composite of cardiovascular mortality, nonfatal myocardial infarction (MI), nonfatal stroke, or unstable angina with evidence of ischemia requiring hospitalization at 16 weeks. Six-month survival status was also evaluated. RESULTS: At a prespecified interim analysis, including 212 primary end point events, the independent data and safety monitoring board recommended termination of the trial for futility and possible harm. The primary end point occurred in 136 patients (6.1%) treated with varespladib compared with 109 patients (5.1%) treated with placebo (hazard ratio [HR], 1.25; 95%CI, 0.97-1.61; log-rank P = .08). Varespladib was associated with a greater risk of MI (78 [3.4%] vs 47 [2.2%]; HR, 1.66; 95%CI, 1.16-2.39; log-rank P = .005). The composite secondary end point of cardiovascular mortality, MI, and stroke was observed in 107 patients (4.6%) in the varespladib group and 79 patients (3.8%) in the placebo group (HR, 1.36; 95% CI, 1.02-1.82; P = .04). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: In patients with recent ACS, varespladib did not reduce the risk of recurrent cardiovascular events and significantly increased the risk of MI. The sPLA2inhibition with varespladib may be harmful and is not a useful strategy to reduce adverse cardiovascular outcomes after ACS. TRIAL REGISTRATION: clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT01130246. Copyright 2014 American Medical Association. All rights reserved