Quantitative analytical tools for bee health (Apis mellifera) assessment

Background: The number of honeybee (Apis mellifera) colony losses has grown significantly in the past decade, endangering pollination of agricultural crops. Research indicates that no single factor is sufficient to explain colony losses and that a combination of stressors appears to impact hive health. Accurate evaluation of the different factors such as pathogen load, environmental conditions, nutrition and foraging is important to understanding colony loss. Commonly used colony assessment methods are subjective and imprecise making it difficult to compare bee hive parameters between studies. Finding robust, validated methods to assess bees and hive health has become a key area of focus for bee health and bee risk assessment.Results: Our study focused on developing and implementing quantitative analytical tools that allowed us to investigate different factors contribution to colony loss. These validated methods include: adult bee and brood cell imaging and automated counting (IndiCounter, WSC Regexperts), cellular transmitting scales and weather monitoring (Phytech, ILS) and pathogen detection (QuantiGene® Plex 2.0 RNA assay platform from Affymetrix). These techniques enable accurate assessment of colony state.Conclusion: A major challenge to date for bee health is to identify the events leading to colony loss. Our study describes validated molecular and computational tools to assess colony health that can prospectively describe the etiology of potential diseases and in some cases identify the cause leading to colony collapse.Keywords: colony loss, colony assessment methods, cellular transmitting scales, weather monitoring, QuantiGene® Plex 2.0

Factors Affecting Population Dynamics of Maternally Transmitted Endosymbionts in Bemisia tabaci

While every individual of Bemisia tabaci (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) harbors the primary symbiont (P-symbiont) Portiera, the infection frequencies of the six secondary symbionts (S-symbionts) including Hamiltonella, Arsenophonus, Cardinium, Wolbachia, Rickettsia and Fritschea vary greatly among different populations. To characterize the factors influencing the infection dynamics of the six S-symbionts in B. tabaci, gene-specific PCR were conducted to screen for the presence of the P-symbiont Portiera and the six S-symbionts in 61 (17 B and 44 Q biotypes) field populations collected from different plant species and locations in China. All individuals of the 61 populations hosted the P-symbiont Portiera, but none of them harbored Arsenophonus and Fritschea. The presence and infection rates of Hamiltonella, Cardinium, Rickettsia, Wolbachia and their co-infections Rickettsia + Hamiltonella (RH), Rickettsia + Cardinium (RC), Hamiltonella + Cardinium (HC) and Rickettsia + Hamiltonella + Cardinium (RHC) varied significantly among the 61 field populations; and the observed variations can be explained by biotypes, sexes, host plants and geographical locations of these field populations. Taken together, at least three factors including biotype, host plant and geographical location affect the infection dynamics of S-symbionts in B. tabaci

Comparative Tax Law: Theory and Practice

On 3 October 2009, a Conference on Comparative Tax Law in Theory and Practice took place at the University of Michigan Law School. It was organized by Reuven Avi-Yonah (Professor, University of Michigan Law School) and Mathias Reimann (Editor, American Journal of Comparative Law and Professor, University of Michigan Law School), and was attended by Hugh Ault (Professor of Law, Boston College Law School), Victor Thuronyi (Senior Counsel, International Monetary Fund), Brian Arnold (Professor Emeritus, University of Western Ontario), William Barker (Professor, The Dickinson School of Law, Penn State), Michael Livingston (Professor, Rutgers School of Law-Camden), Carlo Garbarino (Professor of Taxation, Bocconi University, Milan), Assaf Likhovski (Associate Professor, Tel Aviv University Faculty of Law and Visiting Professor, UCLA Law School), Omri Marian (Scientiae Juridicae Doctor (SJD), University of Michigan Law School), and Nicola Sartori (International University College, Turin and SJD, University of Michigan Law School)

Determinants of adherence to screening by colonoscopy in individuals with a family history of colorectal cancer

Objective: Although first-degree relatives (FDRs) of colorectal cancer (CRC) patients, as a high-risk population, have the most to gain from colonoscopy screening, their adherence is suboptimal. Thus, an assessment of the determinants of adherence to screening is of potential importance. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 318 FDRs of 164 CRC patients treated at Tel-Aviv Sourasky Medical Center. Interviews were conducted with a questionnaire using I-Change Model. Results: Adherence to interval colonoscopy was low with only 73 FDRs (23.0%). Greater adherence was associated with socio-demographic variables (older age, siblings, having spouse, higher level of education and income) and behavioral variables (healthier lifestyle, utilization of preventive health services). Family physicians and kin were identified as the most influential figures on uptake. Intention, affective barriers, positive attitudes, social support, cues to action, age, and health maintenance were the strongest determinants of participation in CRC screening. Conclusion: Adherence to colonoscopy is determined by multiple variables. Medical staff can play a key role in increasing adherence to colonoscopy. Practice implications: Future interventions should focus on fostering positive attitudes, overcoming barriers, enhancing social support and providing a medical recommendation. Special efforts should be invested in young FDRs, those of low socio-economic status and those who underutilize preventive medicine

Do individuals with a family history of colorectal cancer adhere to medical recommendations for the prevention of colorectal cancer?

Individuals with a family history of colorectal cancer (CRC), have a two-to-five-fold increased lifetime risk to develop CRC. Thus, they are particularly likely to benefit from adherence to medical recommendations for CRC prevention. Despite this increased risk, previous studies have shown an underutilization of colonoscopy for screening and a paucity of data on lifestyle habits that could enhance colonoscopy rates in this population. The primary aims were (a) to assess CRC screening patterns and lifestyle choices among siblings and children of CRC patients, (b) to ascertain discrepancies between actual behavior and medical recommendations, and (c) to identify family members with multiple unhealthy lifestyle habits. The secondary aim was to test for possible associations between utilization rates for CRC screening and other preventive health services. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 318 first-degree relatives (FDRs) of 164 CRC patients treated at the Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center. Interviews were conducted with a structured questionnaire. There was significant underutilization of colonoscopy for screening with only 73 FDRs (23.0 %) adhering to the recommended screening schedule. This rate was slightly improved (N = 58, 31.9 %) among subjects aged 40 years and above, although it was still far below the optimum. A similar result (N = 70, 21.7 %) was observed for other cancer screening tests and routine medical check-ups. A significant association (P <0.0001) was found for healthful lifestyles, overall use of preventive health services, and adherence to CRC screening recommendations. CRC screening is significantly underutilized among FDRs of CRC patients. FDRs who do not comply with CRC screening guidelines, lead unhealthy lifestyles, and avoid other cancer screening tests are at increased risk and should be addressed specifically in future interventions