The flipflop orphan genes are required for limb bud eversion in the Tribolium embryo

Abstract Background Unlike Drosophila but similar to other arthropod and vertebrate embryos, the flour beetle Tribolium castaneum develops everted limb buds during embryogenesis. However, the molecular processes directing the evagination of epithelia are only poorly understood. Results Here we show that the newly discovered genes Tc-flipflop1 and Tc-flipflop2 are involved in regulating the directional budding of appendages. RNAi-knockdown of Tc-flipflop results in a variety of phenotypic traits. Most prominently, embryonic limb buds frequently grow inwards rather than out, leading to the development of inverted appendages inside the larval body. Moreover, affected embryos display dorsal closure defects. The Tc-flipflop genes are evolutionarily non-conserved, and their molecular function is not evident. We further found that Tc-RhoGEF2, a highly-conserved gene known to be involved in actomyosin-dependent cell movement and cell shape changes, shows a Tc-flipflop-like RNAi-phenotype. Conclusions The similarity of the inverted appendage phenotype in both the flipflop- and the RhoGEF2 RNAi gene knockdown led us to conclude that the Tc-flipflop orphan genes act in a Rho-dependent pathway that is essential for the early morphogenesis of polarised epithelial movements. Our work describes one of the few examples of an orphan gene playing a crucial role in an important developmental process

Challenges and Opportunities for Emergency Department Sepsis Screening at Triage

Feasibility of ED triage sepsis screening, before diagnostic testing has been performed, has not been established. In a retrospective, outcome-blinded chart review of a one-year cohort of ED adult septic shock patients (“derivation cohort”) and three additional, non-consecutive months of all adult ED visits (“validation cohort”), we evaluated the qSOFA score, the Shock Precautions on Triage (SPoT) vital-signs criterion, and a triage concern-for-infection (tCFI) criterion based on risk factors and symptoms, to screen for sepsis. There were 19,670 ED patients in the validation cohort; 50 developed ED septic shock, of whom 60% presented without triage hypotension, and 56% presented with non-specific symptoms. The tCFI criterion improved specificity without substantial reduction of sensitivity. At triage, sepsis screens (positive qSOFA vital-signs and tCFI, or positive SPoT vital-signs and tCFI) were 28% (95% CI: 16–43%) and 56% (95% CI: 41–70%) sensitive, respectively, p 0.05, and specificities were 97% (95% CI: 96–97%) and 95% (95% CI: 95–96%), p < 0.001. ED patients who developed septic shock requiring vasopressors often presented normotensive with non-specific complaints, necessitating a low threshold for clinical concern-for-infection at triage

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND CREATION OF THE KNOWLEDGE ECONOMY: THE NEW THEORETICAL APPROACH / DARNI PLĖTRA IR ŽINIŲ EKONOMIKOS KŪRIMAS: NAUJAS TEORINIS POŽIŪRIS

The new theoretical approach of the processes of creating knowledge based society and the knowledge economy, as well as sustainable development processes is described in the article. The main idea is that the creation and development processes of the knowledge‐based society and knowledge economy may be attributed to the category of global transformation and sustainable development processes, therefore, all general phenomena and characteristics of global transformations and sustainable development in general, are absolutely typical for the creation and development of the knowledge based society and knowledge economy. The processes of the creating of knowledge based society and knowledge economy and modernization are analyzed in the general context of the processes of sustainable development. The main principles of creating the knowledge based society and knowledge economy and modernization are described. Creating and modernization of the knowledge based society and knowledge economy are very complicated processes, oriented to the formation of the new quality of society and qualitatively new lifestyle, these processes may be described as “twice” as complicated, because they win distinction by orientations to the pursuit of new quality in two aspects: the knowledge based society and knowledge economy, compared to “traditional” society and economy, are in all cases described as qualitatively new, creating and development of the knowledge based society and knowledge economy takes place under the conditions of the global changes, which means that qualitative changes take place in all global space, the essence of those changes is the creation and spread of the knowledge‐based society and knowledge economy. A special attention is given to the conclusion that in the environment of the knowledge based society creation and generating knowledge economy and development, the provisions for sustainable development should be attained. The processes of creating knowledge based society and knowledge economy and further development should be analyzed and assessed in the context of processes of globalization and internationalization, as well as processes of global transformations. The “Power” concept intended for the scientific cognition of sustainable development and knowledge based society and knowledge economy creation processes phenomena is analyzed. Santrauka Straipsnyje išdėstomas naujas teorinis požiūris į darnios plėtros ir į žiniomis grindžiamos visuomenės bei žinių ekonomikos kūrimo procesus. Pagrindine ideja, išreiškianti šio teorinio požiūrio esmė, yra ta, kad darnios plėtros bei žiniomis grindžiamos visuomenės ir žinių ekonomikos kūrimo procesai suvoktini ir nagrinėtini kaip sudarantys bendra visuma. Žiniomis grindžiamos visuomenės ir žinių ekonomikos kūrimas traktuojamas kaip pagrindinė prielaida realiai įgyvendinti darnios plėtros nuostatas, o darni plėtra vertinama kaip išskirtinis žiniomis grindžiamos visuomenės ir žinių ekonomikos kūrimo procesams būdingas požymis. Šiuolaikinėmis globalizacijos bei socialinės, ekonominės raidos ir mokslo bei technologijų pažangos internacionalizavimo salygomis išryškėja daug naujų aplinkybių ir reiškinių, kurių poveikis ir vaidmuo mažai atsispindi daugelyje tradiciniu požiūrių, skirtų tiek darniai plėtrai, tiek žiniomis grindžiamos visuomenės ir žinių ekonomikos kūrimo procesams. Padaryta išvada, kad tradiciniai darnios plėtros bei jos problemų, žiniomis grindžiamos visuomenės ir žinių ekonomikos kūrimo logikos bei tendencijų suvokimai vis labiau neatitinka šiuolaikiniu poreikių ir iššūkių ir reikalingi esminių papildymų bei patikslinimų. Šiuolaikiniai požiūriai į darnią plėtrą bei į žiniomis grindžiamos visuomenės ir žinių ekonomikos kūrimą turėtų kur kas geriau perteikti šiuo metu pasaulyje vykstančių naujo tipo transformacijų procesų vaidmenį ir įtaką, visų pirmą tų transformacijų, kurios išreiškia žiniomis grindžiamos visuomenės vertybių ir idealų pasklidima globaliu mastu. Būtent tokios visuomenės kūrimasis ir šios visuomenės vertybių ir idealų pasklidimas globalizacijos aplinkoje sukelia naujų transformacijų šiuolaikinėje visuomenėje bei jos gyvenime, sudaro prielaidas suvokti būtinybę naujai reaguoti į darnios plėtros poreikius bei spręsti naujas problemas. Straipsnyje detaliai apibūdinta vadinamoji galios koncepcija, kuria remiantis siūloma kompleksiškai nagrinėti darnios plėtros bei žiniomis grindžiamos visuomenės ir žinių ekonomikos kūrimo procesus, spręsti daugeli tokių procesų valdymo klausimu. Galios koncepcijos taikymas leidžia modeliuoti stambiose sistemose vykstančius socialines, ekonomines, politines raidos, mokslo ir technologijų pažangos reiškinius bei procesus, identifikuoti ir vertinti atitinkamų procesų suderinamumą, vienų procesų poveikius kitiems procesams, identifikuoti įvairias disproporcijas, išryškejančias netolygiu pokyčių sąlygomis. Visa tai leidžia diagnozuoti pasireiškusias ar galinčias pasireikšti darnios plėtros žiniomis grindžiamos visuomenės ir žinių ekonomikos kūrimo problemas ir numatyti priemones, skirtas šioms problemoms spręsti. Straipsnyje atskleisti darnios plėtros bei žiniomis grindžiamos visuomenės ir žinių ekonomikos kūrimo procesų kaip visumos principai, kompleksiškai išnagrinėti darnios plėtros bei žiniomis grindžiamos visuomenės ir žinių ekonomikos kūrimo dėsningumai. Prioritetinis dėmesys skiriamas integracijos ir sintezės kaip jungimosi procesų logikai atskleisti. Išdestytas teorinis požiūris gali būti gana plačiai taikomas nagrinejant įvairius darnios plėtros bei žiniomis grindžiamos visuomenės ir žinių ekonomikos kūrimo reiškinius. First published online: 10 Feb 2011 Reikšminiai žodžiai: žiniomis grindžiama visuomenė, žiniu ekonomika, darni plėtra, galios koncepcija, darnios plėtros bei žiniomis grindžiamos visuomenės ir žiniu ekonomikos kūrimo bei raidos dėsninguma

Agricultural landscape structure and invasive species : The cost-effective level of crop field clustering

Invasive pests in agricultural settings may have severe consequences for agricultural production, reducing yields and the value of crops. Once an invader population has established, controlling it tends to be very expensive. Therefore, when the potential impacts on production may be great, protection against initial establishment is often perceived to be the most cost-effective measure. Increasing attention in the ecological literature is being given to the possibility of curbing invasion processes by manipulating the field and cropping patterns in agricultural landscapes, so that they are less conducive to the spread of pests. However, the economic implications of such interventions have received far less attention. This paper uses a stochastic spatial model to identify the key processes that influence the vulnerability of a fragmented agricultural landscape to pests. We explore the interaction between the divergent forces of ecological invasion pressure and economic returns to scale, in relation to the level of clustering of crop fields. Results show that the most cost-effective distances between crop fields in terms of reducing food production impacts from an invasive pest are determined by a delicate balance of these two forces and depend on the values of the ecological and economic parameters involved. If agricultural productivity declines slowly with increasing distance between fields and the dispersal range of the potential invader is high, manipulation of cropping structure has the potential to protect against invasion outbreaks and the farmer can gain benefit overall from maintaining greater distances between fields of similar crops

Amnioserosa cell constriction but not epidermal actin cable tension autonomously drives dorsal closure

Tissue morphogenesis requires coordination of multiple force-producing components. During dorsal closure in fly embryogenesis, an epidermis opening closes. A tensioned epidermal actin/MyosinII cable, which surrounds the opening, produces a force that is thought to combine with another MyosinII force mediating apical constriction of the amnioserosa cells that fill the opening. A model proposing that each force could autonomously drive dorsal closure was recently challenged by a model in which the two forces combine in a ratchet mechanism. Acute force elimination via selective MyosinII depletion in one or the other tissue shows that the amnioserosa tissue autonomously drives dorsal closure while the actin/MyosinII cable cannot. These findings exclude both previous models, although a contribution of the ratchet mechanism at dorsal closure onset remains likely. This shifts the current view of dorsal closure being a combinatorial force-component system to a single tissue-driven closure event