Pong-like elements in Arabidopsis and Brassica rapa: its regulation of F-box protein gene in different ecotypes of Arabidopsis thaliana

Pong elements are active class 2 transposons in rice. We found Pong-like elements in Arabidopsis thaliana and named them as AtPong (Arabidopsis thaliana Pong) elements. The AtPong elements carried 13 bp of TIRs and two ORFs in which NAM DNA binding domain and DDE catalytic domain are encoded. Ping and mPing (miniature Ping) elements are deficient Pong elements and we found AtPong derived deficient AtPing and AtmPing elements. We also found a homologous element of the AtPong element in Brassica rapa. This element was a deficient element by internal deletion, but showed high sequence similarity with the AtmPing so that it was named as BrmPing (Brassica rapa miniature Ping). The AtPong, AtPing, and AtmPing elements were present in intergenic regions except one element, AtPing1, which was present in an exon of a F-box protein gene. Among the different A. thaliana ecotypes, the AtPing1 showed polymorphisms of present and absent in the F-box protein gene. The excision of the AtPing1 restored the expression of the F-box protein gene, indicating that the expression of the F-box protein genes is regulated by the AtPing1.     

Frequency of hybridization between Ostrinia nubilalis E‐and Z‐pheromone races in regions of sympatry within the United States

Female European corn borer, Ostrinia nubilalis, produce and males respond to sex pheromone blends with either E‐ or Z‐Δ11‐tetradecenyl acetate as the major component. E‐ and Z‐race populations are sympatric in the Eastern United States, Southeastern Canada, and the Mediterranean region of Europe. The E‐ and Z‐pheromone races of O. nubilalis are models for incipient species formation, but hybridization frequencies within natural populations remain obscure due to lack of a high‐throughput phenotyping method. Lassance et al. previously identified a pheromone gland‐expressed fatty‐acyl reductase gene (pgfar) that controls the ratio of Δ11‐tetradecenyl acetate stereoisomers. We identified three single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers within pgfar that are differentially fixed between E‐ and Z‐race females, and that are ≥98.2% correlated with female pheromone ratios measured by gas chromatography. Genotypic data from locations in the United States demonstrated that pgfar‐z alleles were fixed within historically allopatric Z‐pheromone race populations in the Midwest, and that hybrid frequency ranged from 0.00 to 0.42 within 11 sympatric sites where the two races co‐occur in the Eastern United States (mean hybridization frequency or heterozygosity (H_O) = 0.226 ± 0.279). Estimates of hybridization between the E‐ and Z‐races are important for understanding the dynamics involved in maintaining race integrity, and are consistent with previous estimates of low levels of genetic divergence between E‐ and Z‐races and the presence of weak prezygotic mating barriers.     

Not looking where you are leaping: a novel method of oriented travel in the caterpillar Calindoea trifascialis (Moore) (Lepidoptera: Thyrididae)

The prepupation caterpillar of the Southeast Asian moth Calindoea trifascialis constructs a leaf shelter that jumps across the ground using a jumping method novel among the insects. We found that movement path direction was correlated to the direction opposite to the most intense light. Correlated random walk (CRW) analyses found net squared displacements higher than predicted by a CRW, and fractal dimension analysis indicated straighter paths at large spatial scales. Rearing experiments showed high mortality from predation on the ground, but higher mortality resulted from sun exposure. We interpret jumping path orientation as an efficient search strategy to find shade in a variable landscape, given limited perception, in the presence of overheating and desiccation risks.     

Feedback GAP: pragmatic,cluster-randomized trial of goal setting and action plans to increase the effectiveness of audit and feedback interventions in primary care

Background

Audit and feedback to physicians is a commonly used quality improvement strategy, but its optimal design is unknown. This trial tested the effects of a theory-informed worksheet to facilitate goal setting and action planning, appended to feedback reports on chronic disease management, compared to feedback reports provided without these worksheets.

Methods

A two-arm pragmatic cluster randomized trial was conducted, with allocation at the level of primary care clinics. Participants were family physicians who contributed data from their electronic medical records. The ‘usual feedback’ arm received feedback every six months for two years regarding the proportion of their patients meeting quality targets for diabetes and/or ischemic heart disease. The intervention arm received these same reports plus a worksheet designed to facilitate goal setting and action plan development in response to the feedback reports. Blood pressure (BP) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL) values were compared after two years as the primary outcomes. Process outcomes measured the proportion of guideline-recommended actions (e.g., testing and prescribing) conducted within the appropriate timeframe. Intention-to-treat analysis was performed.

Results

Outcomes were similar across groups at baseline. Final analysis included 20 physicians from seven clinics and 1,832 patients in the intervention arm (15% loss to follow up) and 29 physicians from seven clinics and 2,223 patients in the usual feedback arm (10% loss to follow up). Ten of 20 physicians completed the worksheet at least once during the study. Mean BP was 128/72 in the feedback plus worksheet arm and 128/73 in the feedback alone arm, while LDL was 2.1 and 2.0, respectively. Thus, no significant differences were observed across groups in the primary outcomes, but mean haemoglobin A1c was lower in the feedback plus worksheet arm (7.2% versus 7.4%, p<0.001). Improvements in both arms were noted over time for one-half of the process outcomes.

Discussion

Appending a theory-informed goal setting and action planning worksheet to an externally produced audit and feedback intervention did not lead to improvements in patient outcomes. The results may be explained in part by passive dissemination of the worksheet leading to inadequate engagement with the intervention.

Trial registration

ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00996645