Intra‐floral resource partitioning between endemic and invasive flower visitors: consequences for pollinator effectiveness

1. Sympatric flower visitor species often partition nectar and pollen and thus affect each other's foraging pattern. Consequently, their pollination service may also be influenced by the presence of other flower visiting species. Ants are solely interested in nectar and frequent flower visitors of some plant species but usually provide no pollination service. Obligate flower visitors such as bees depend on both nectar and pollen and are often more effective pollinators. 2. In Hawaii, we studied the complex interactions between flowers of the endemic tree Metrosideros polymorpha (Myrtaceae) and both, endemic and introduced flower‐visiting insects. The former main‐pollinators of M. polymorpha were birds, which, however, became rare. We evaluated the pollinator effectiveness of endemic and invasive bees and whether it is affected by the type of resource collected and the presence of ants on flowers. 3. Ants were dominant nectar‐consumers that mostly depleted the nectar of visited inflorescences. Accordingly, the visitation frequency, duration, and consequently the pollinator effectiveness of nectar‐foraging honeybees (Apis mellifera) strongly decreased on ant‐visited flowers, whereas pollen‐collecting bees remained largely unaffected by ants. Overall, endemic bees (Hylaeus spp.) were ineffective pollinators. 4. The average net effect of ants on pollination of M. polymorpha was neutral, corresponding to a similar fruit set of ant‐visited and ant‐free inflorescences. 5. Our results suggest that invasive social hymenopterans that often have negative impacts on the Hawaiian flora and fauna may occasionally provide neutral (ants) or even beneficial net effects (honeybees), especially in the absence of native birds.     

Trophic ecology of parabiotic ants: Do the partners have similar food niches?

Organisms associated with another species may experience both costs and benefits from their partner. One of these costs is competition, which is the more likely if the two species are ecologically similar. Parabioses are associations between two ant species that share a nest and often attend the same food sources. Albeit parabioses are probably mutualistic, parabiotic partners may compete for food. We therefore investigated feeding niches and dietary overlap of two parabiotically associated ants in Borneo using cafeteria experiments and stable isotope analyses. The two species strongly differed in their food choices. While Crematogaster modiglianii mostly foraged at carbohydrate‐rich baits, Camponotus rufifemur preferred urea‐rich sources. Both species also consumed animal protein. The ¹⁵N concentration in Ca. rufifemur workers was consistently lower than in Cr. modiglianii. Camponotus rufifemur but not Cr. modiglianii possesses microbial endosymbionts, which can metabolize urea and synthesize essential amino acids. Its lower ¹⁵N signature may result from a relatively higher intake of plant‐based or otherwise ¹⁵N‐depleted nitrogen. Isotopic signatures of the two partners in the same parabiosis showed strongly parallel variation across nests. As we did not find evidence for spatial autocorrelation, this correlation suggests an overlap of food sources between the two ant species. Based on model simulations, we estimated a diet overlap of 22–66% for nitrogen sources and 45–74% for carbon sources. The overlap may arise from either joint exploitation of the same food sources or trophallactic exchange of food. This suggests an intense trophic interaction and potential for competition between the parabiotic partners.     

European guidelines for quality assurance in cervical cancer screening: recommendations for cytology laboratories.

The quality of a cervical cytology laboratory depends on adequate handling and staining of the samples, screening and interpretation of the slides and reporting of the results. These guidelines give an overview of procedures recommended in Europe to manage the balance between best patient care possible, laboratory quality assurance and cost effectiveness and will be published as a chapter 4 in the European Guidelines for Quality Assurance in Cervical Cancer Screening. The laboratory guidelines include protocols for personnel and organisation, material requirements, handling and analysing cervical samples, recording of results, quality management and communication. The section on quality management is comprehensive and includes protocols for all aspects of internal and external quality assurance. The guidelines are extensively referenced and as far as possible the recommendations are evidence-based.     

European guidelines for quality assurance in cervical cancer screening: recommendations for cervical cytology terminology

There are many different systems of cytology classification used in the member states of the European Union (EU) and many different languages. The following short annexe to Chapter 3 of the European Guidelines for Quality Assurance in Cervical Cancer Screening provides a framework that will allow different terminologies and languages to be translated into standard terminology based on the Bethesda system (TBS) for cytology while retaining the cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) classification for histology. This approach has followed extensive consultation with representatives of many countries and professional groups as well as a discussion forum published in Cytopathology (2005;16:113). This article will describe the reporting of specimen adequacy, which is dealt with in more detail elsewhere in Chapter 3 of the guidelines, the optional general categorization recommended in TBS, the interpretation/cytology result and other comments that may be made on reports such as concurrent human papillomavirus testing and the use of automation review and recommendations for management. The main categories in TBS will be described in the context of CIN, dyskaryosis and dysplasia terminologies so that all may be translated into the same framework. These guidelines should allow European countries to adapt their terminology in such a way as to make their screening programmes comparable with each other as well as with programmes elsewhere in the world.     

Inter-proteomic posttranslational modifications of the SARS-CoV-2 and the host proteins ‒ A new frontier

Posttranslational modification of proteins, which include both the enzymatic alterations of protein side chains and main-chain peptide bond connectivity, is a fundamental regulatory process that is crucial for almost every aspects of cell biology, including the virus-host cell interaction and the SARS-CoV-2 infection. The posttranslational modification of proteins has primarily been studied in cells and tissues in an intra-proteomic context (where both substrates and enzymes are part of the same species). However, the inter-proteomic posttranslational modifications of most of the SARS-CoV-2 proteins by the host enzymes and vice versa are largely unexplored in virus pathogenesis and in the host immune response. It is now known that the structural spike (S) protein of the SARS-CoV-2 undergoes proteolytic priming by the host serine proteases for entry into the host cells, and N- and O-glycosylation by the host cell enzymes during virion packaging, which enable the virus to spread. New evidence suggests that both SARS-CoV-2 and the host proteins undergo inter-proteomic posttranslational modifications, which play roles in virus pathogenesis and infection-induced immune response by hijacking the host cell signaling. The purpose of this minireview is to bring attention of the scientific community to recent cutting-edge discoveries in this understudied area. It is likely that a better insight into the molecular mechanisms involved may open new research directions, and thereby contribute to novel therapeutic modality development against the SARS-CoV-2. Here we briefly discuss the rationale and touch upon some unanswered questions in this context, especially those that require attention from the scientific community.     

European guidelines for clinical management of abnormal cervical cytology, Part 2

The current paper presents the second part of chapter 6 of the second edition of the European Guidelines for Quality Assurance in Cervical Cancer Screening . The first part of the same chapter was published in a previous issue ( Cytopathology 2008;19:342–54). This part provides guidance on how to manage and treat women with histologically confirmed cervical intraepithelial neoplasia. The paper describes the characteristics, indications and possible complications of excisional and ablative treatment methods. The three options to monitor the outcome after treatment (repeat cytology, HPV testing and colposcopy) are discussed. Specific recommendations for particular clinical situations are provided: pregnancy, immuno-suppression, HIV infection, post-menopause, adolescence and cyto-colpo-histological disparity. The paper ends with recommendations for quality assurance in patient management and some general advice on how to communicate screening, diagnosis and treatment results to the woman concerned. Finally, a data collection form is attached.