Parasites Recovered From Overwintering Mimosa Webworm, \u3ci\u3eHomadaula Anisocentra\u3c/i\u3e (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae)

The mimosa webworm, Homadaula anisocentra, overwinters in the pupal stage. Two parasites, Parania geniculata and Elasmus albizziae, are associated with overwintering pupae or the immediate prepupal larvae. Combined parasitism during the winters of 1981-82,1982-83, and 1983-84 was 2.1,3.9, and 2.9%, respectively

DamID as a versatile tool for understanding gene regulation

The interaction of proteins and RNA with chromatin underlies the regulation of gene expression. The ability to profile easily these interactions is fundamental for understanding chromatin biology in vivo. DNA adenine methyltransferase identification (DamID) profiles genome-wide protein-DNA interactions without antibodies, fixation or protein pull-downs. Recently, DamID has been adapted for applications beyond simple assaying of protein-DNA interactions, such as for studying RNA-chromatin interactions, chromatin accessibility and long-range chromosome interactions. Here, we provide an overview of DamID and introduce improvements to the technology, discuss their applications and compare alternative methodologies

Test-retest reliability of segment kinetic energy measures in the golf swing

Analyses of segment kinetic energy (KE) can provide the most appropriate means of exploring sequential movements. As the reliability associated with its measurement has not been reported, the aim of this study was to examine the test-retest reliability of segment KE measures in the golf swing. On two occasions, seven male golfers hit five shots with three different clubs. Body segment inertia parameters were estimated for 17 rigid bodies and 3D kinematic data were collected during each swing. The magnitude and timing of peak total, linear and angular kinetic energies were then calculated for each rigid body and for four segment groups. Regardless of club type, KE was measured with high reliability for almost all rigid bodies and segment groups. However, significantly larger magnitudes of peak total (p = 0.039) and linear (p = 0.021) lower body KE were reported in test 2 than in test 1. The high reliability reported in this study provides support for the use of analyses of segment kinetic energy. However, practitioners should pay careful attention to the identification of anatomical landmarks which define the thigh, pelvis and thorax as this was the main cause of variability in repeated measures of segment kinetic energy

The Metal-Insulator Transition of NbO2: an Embedded Peierls Instability

Results of first principles augmented spherical wave electronic structure calculations for niobium dioxide are presented. Both metallic rutile and insulating low-temperature NbO2, which crystallizes in a distorted rutile structure, are correctly described within density functional theory and the local density approximation. Metallic conductivity is carried to equal amounts by metal t_{2g} orbitals, which fall into the one-dimensional d_parallel band and the isotropically dispersing e_{g}^{pi} bands. Hybridization of both types of bands is almost negligible outside narrow rods along the line X--R. In the low-temperature phase splitting of the d_parallel band due to metal-metal dimerization as well as upshift of the e_{g}^{pi} bands due to increased p-d overlap remove the Fermi surface and open an optical band gap of about 0.1 eV. The metal-insulator transition arises as a Peierls instability of the d_parallel band in an embedding background of e_{g}^{pi} electrons. This basic mechanism should also apply to VO2, where, however, electronic correlations are expected to play a greater role due to stronger localization of the 3d electrons.Comment: 4 pages, revtex, 6 eps figures, additional material avalable at http://www.physik.uni-augsburg.de/~eyert

A longitudinal, observational study examining the relationships of patient satisfaction with services and mental well-being to their clinical course in young people with Type 1 diabetes mellitus during transition from child to adult health services

AIM: We hypothesized that participant well-being and satisfaction with services would be positively associated with a satisfactory clinical course during transition from child to adult health care. METHODS: Some 150 young people with Type 1 diabetes mellitus from five diabetes units in England were recruited to a longitudinal study of transition. Each young person was visited at home four times by a research assistant; each visit was 1 year apart. Satisfaction with services (Mind the Gap; MTG) and mental well-being (Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale; WEMWBS) were captured. Change in HbA1c , episodes of ketoacidosis, clinic and retinal screening attendance were used to assess clinical course. In total, 108 of 150 (72%) young people had sufficient data for analysis at visit 4. RESULTS: Mean age at entry was 16 years. By visit 4, 81.5% had left paediatric healthcare services. Median HbA1c increased significantly (P = 0.01) from 69 mmol/mol (8.5%) at baseline to 75 mmol/mol (9.0%) at visit 4. WEMWBS scores were comparable with those in the general population at baseline and were stable over the study period. MTG scores were also stable. By visit 4, some 32 individuals had a 'satisfactory' and 76 a 'suboptimal' clinical course. There were no significant differences in average WEMWBS and MTG scores between the clinical course groups (P = 0.96, 0.52 respectively); nor was there a significant difference in transfer status between the clinical course groups. CONCLUSIONS: The well-being of young people with diabetes and their satisfaction with transition services are not closely related to their clinical course. Investigating whether innovative psycho-educational interventions can improve the clinical course is a research priority

Pansynaptic Enlargement at Adult Cortical Connections Strengthened by Experience

Behavioral experience alters the strength of neuronal connections in adult neocortex. These changes in synaptic strength are thought to be central to experience-dependent plasticity, learning, and memory. However, it is not known how changes in synaptic transmission between neurons become persistent, thereby enabling the storage of previous experience. A long-standing hypothesis is that altered synaptic strength is maintained by structural modifications to synapses. However, the extent of synaptic modifications and the changes in neurotransmission that the modifications support remain unclear. To address these questions, we recorded from pairs of synaptically connected layer 2/3 pyramidal neurons in the barrel cortex and imaged their contacts with high-resolution confocal microscopy after altering sensory experience by whisker trimming. Excitatory connections strengthened by experience exhibited larger axonal varicosities, dendritic spines, and interposed contact zones. Electron microscopy showed that contact zone size was strongly correlated with postsynaptic density area. Therefore, our findings indicate that whole synapses are larger at strengthened connections. Synaptic transmission was both stronger and more reliable following experience-dependent synapse enlargement. Hence, sensory experience modified both presynaptic and postsynaptic function. Our findings suggest that the enlargement of synaptic contacts is an integral part of long-lasting strengthening of cortical connections and, hence, of information storage in the neocorte