Winter locomotor activity patterns of European hares (Lepus europaeus)

In this study, activity patterns of the European hare (Lepus europaeus) were analyzed during winter using global positioning system (GPS) collars on 24 hares in two study areas located in central Italy. We programmed the collars to collect 12 location points per day, for a duration of three months. Results show two distinct phases of activities related to the day–night cycle. The daytime phase is characterized by inactivity at the form while the second phase is characterized by movements. Males were more active than females, showing a constant locomotor activity during the whole night. Females showed two peaks of activity during the night with a reduction in the middle of this time period. The comparison between females of the two study areas showed difference in interfix distance in particular around sunset and sunrise. In fact the minimum daily movement between the two areas shows that foraging sites of area B are more distant than those of area A. The recent possibility to apply GPS collars on small–medium mammals provides a powerful instrument to study the behavioral ecology of the European hare, and consequently promote an effective population management strategy for the species conservation.     

Secretion of Spodoptera littoralis female reproductive system on deposited egg masses that possibly acts as oviposition deterring substance for conspecific females

Egg masses laid by Spodoptera littoralis mated female moths were extracted by petroleum ether (PE), ethanol (E) and Ringer's solution (RS). Egg-wash extracts were evaporated and the weights of crude materials were obtained. Different aqueous concentrations were made. The amount of extracted material increased as the weight of eggs used increased and vice versa. Coating Nerium oleander leaves with aqueous egg-wash extracts prepared from S. littoralis egg-masses deterred the mated conspecific female moths from ovipositing their eggs on treated leaves, as well as causing a decrease in the total number of deposited eggs per female during the moth's life span. The highest deterrent effect on conspecific female moths to oviposit their eggs was obtained after treatment of N. oleander leaves with PE or E egg-wash extract. The deterrent effects of the tested egg-wash extracts was concentration dependant; an increase in the concentration of any extract caused an obvious decrease in the number of deposited egg-masses and the total number of laid eggs on the treated N. oleander leaves.     

Truncatella angustata associated with grapevine trunk disease in northern Iran

In recent years, grapevine trunk diseases have gained growing attentions due to worldwide incidence of the disease. In a survey on fungal agents associated with grapevine trunk diseases in northern Iran, wood samples were collected from grapevines having the symptoms of declination. Isolation was made using routine plant pathology methods. A coelomycetous fungus with appendage-bearing conidia was recovered from symptomatic tissues. Based on morphological and cultural characteristics, the causal agent of the disease was identified as Truncatella angustata. The identity of the species was further confirmed by sequence data of internal transcribed spacer-rDNA region. A phylogeny inferred using sequence data obtained in this study, together with the sequences from GenBank, clustered our isolates together with T. angustata known from other host plant species. Pathogenicity tests performed on detached shoots of grapevines led to the same symptoms as observed in field conditions. This is first study on the pathogenicity of T. angustata on grapevine in Iran and first report on the occurrence of T. angustata on grapevine in Iran.     

Recombinase-mediated cassette exchange (RMCE) — A rapidly-expanding toolbox for targeted genomic modifications

Starting in 1991, the advance of Tyr-recombinases Flp and Cre enabled superior strategies for the predictable insertion of transgenes into compatible target sites of mammalian cells. Early approaches suffered from the reversibility of integration routes and the fact that co-introduction of prokaryotic vector parts triggered uncontrolled heterochromatization. Shortcomings of this kind were overcome when Flp-Recombinase Mediated Cassette Exchange entered the field in 1994. RMCE enables enhanced tag-and-exchange strategies by precisely replacing a genomic target cassette by a compatible donor construct. After “gene swapping” the donor cassette is safely locked in, but can nevertheless be re-mobilized in case other compatible donor cassettes are provided (“serial RMCE”). These features considerably expand the options for systematic, stepwise genome modifications. The first decade was dominated by the systematic generation of cell lines for biotechnological purposes. Based on the reproducible expression capacity of the resulting strains, a comprehensive toolbox emerged to serve a multitude of purposes, which constitute the first part of this review. The concept per se did not, however, provide access to high-producer strains able to outcompete industrial multiple-copy cell lines. This fact gave rise to systematic improvements, among these certain accumulative site-specific integration pathways. The exceptional value of RMCE emerged after its entry into the stem cell field, where it started to contribute to the generation of induced pluripotent stem (iPS-) cells and their subsequent differentiation yielding a variety of cell types for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. This topic firmly relies on the strategies developed in the first decade and can be seen as the major ambition of the present article. In this context an unanticipated, potent property of serial Flp-RMCE setups concerns the potential to re-open loci that have served to establish the iPS status before the site underwent the obligatory silencing process. Other relevant options relate to the introduction of composite Flp-recognition target sites (“heterospecific FRT-doublets”), into the LTRs of lentiviral vectors. These “twin sites” enhance the safety of iPS re-programming and -differentiation as they enable the subsequent quantitative excision of a transgene, leaving behind a single “FRT-twin”. Such a strategy combines the established expression potential of the common retro- and lentiviral systems with options to terminate the process at will. The remaining genomic tag serves to identify and characterize the insertion site with the goal to identify genomic “safe harbors” (GOIs) for re-use. This is enabled by the capacity of “FRT-twins” to accommodate any incoming RMCE-donor cassette with a compatible design.     

History of gene therapy

Two decades after the initial gene therapy trials and more than 1700 approved clinical trials worldwide we not only have gained much new information and knowledge regarding gene therapy in general, but also learned to understand the concern that has persisted in society. Despite the setbacks gene therapy has faced, success stories have increasingly emerged. Examples for these are the positive recommendation for a gene therapy product (Glybera) by the EMA for approval in the European Union and the positive trials for the treatment of ADA deficiency, SCID-X1 and adrenoleukodystrophy. Nevertheless, our knowledge continues to grow and during the course of time more safety data has become available that helps us to develop better gene therapy approaches. Also, with the increased understanding of molecular medicine, we have been able to develop more specific and efficient gene transfer vectors which are now producing clinical results.     

不同栽培管理梨园梨小食心虫发生程度研究

梨小食心虫Grapholitha molesta(Busck)是梨园中的一种重要害虫。本论文采用性诱剂诱集法研究了不同栽培管理条件下梨园梨小食心虫发生的情况。结果表明,在5种不同种植模式的果园中,梨小食心虫在单植桃园中发生最重,试验期间梨小食心虫的日平均诱蛾量为10.9头/盆,与其他4种栽植模式果园的诱捕量均呈显著差异,且混有桃树的果园中梨小食心虫的发生数量多,而单植梨园、梨苹果混栽园、单植苹果园的梨小食心虫发生相对较轻。果实套袋的管理方法也可以显著降低梨小食心虫的发生数量,非套袋梨园的日平均诱捕量为13.8头/盆,是套袋梨园的1.52倍。试验还表明,不同品种和不同树龄的梨树对梨小食心虫的抗虫性均存在显著差异。酥梨比巴梨的抗虫性差,试验期间酥梨园的日平均诱捕量为12.6头/盆,是巴梨园的2.21倍,而40年老酥梨园日平均诱蛾量为12.5头/盆,是20年酥梨园诱蛾量的2.5倍。     

THE EUPYRENE-APYRENE DICHOTOMOUS SPERMATOGENESIS OF LEPIDOPTERA. ORGAN CULTURE STUDY ON THE TIMING OF APYRENE COMMITMENT IN THE CODLING MOTH

Lepidopteran spermatogenesis is dichotomous, producing eupyrene (nucleated) and apyrene (anucleated) spermatozoa. The eupyrene precedes the apyrene spermatogenesis. The timing of the switchover from eupyrene to apyrene spermatogenesis was determined by cultivating testes of accurately aged codling moth larvae in a medium containing mammalian serum but neither hemolymph nor insect hormones. In cultures, eupyrene spermatogenesis occurred in testes dissected from either 4th or 5th instar larvae, probably due to macromolecular factor-like activity of the serum of the medium. But apyrene spermatogenesis occurred only in testes explanted during or after the fourth day of the 5th instar larva. It is concluded that: (1) An apyrene spermatogenesis inducing factor (ASIF) becomes active on the fourth day of the 5th instar larva in addition to the already existing macromolecular factor. (2) Primary spermatocytes can develop into either eupyrene or apyrene spermatozoa. (3) The apyrene spermatogenesis commitment and pupal commitment of other tissues coincide about the fourth day of the 5th instar larva.     

不同口径陷阱诱捕器诱杀梨小食心虫研究

梨小食心虫Grapholitha molesta(Busck)是重要的蛀果类害虫之一,目前性信息素广泛应用于梨小食心虫防治,为明确性信息素陷阱诱捕器的诱捕效果,针对开口方式设计四面开口和两面开口两种处理的陷阱诱捕器;针对口径的大小下设计2、3、4、5、6 cm的5种口径的对口瓶陷阱式诱捕器,分别在桃园对梨小食心虫进行诱捕试验,诱捕结果显示两面开口的诱捕器诱捕效果比四面开口的诱捕器效果显著,口径为2 cm和3 cm的陷井式诱捕器诱捕效果最佳,诱捕量显著高于5 cm和6 cm,诱捕量达34.6头/日和20.4头/日。通过试验明确了陷阱诱捕器的最佳诱捕效果的参数,同时为测报及田间大量诱杀的诱捕器使用提供依据,为防控梨小食心虫性信息素诱捕器提供标准化参数。     

Philosophy,politics and extralegal action: Native Indian leaders in Canada*

Immigration and asylum are key political issues in Britain and the European Union. Yet the policies of states and supranational bodies seem to have had little success in preventing unwanted flows and effectively managing immigration and integration. This article examines three types of reasons for policy failure: factors arising from the social dynamics of the migratory process; factors linked to globalization and the North-South divide; and factors arising within political systems. Key issues include the role of migrant agency, the way the North-South divide encourages flows, and hidden agendas in national policies. EU efforts attempts to address the root causes of migration in countries of origin are discussed. The article concludes that migration policies might be more successful if they were explicitly linked to long-term political agendas concerned with trade, development and conflict prevention. Reducing North-South inequality is the real key to effective migration management.     

The case in international law for Canada's extension of fisheries jurisdiction beyond 200 miles

In March 1995, Canadian fisheries authorities boarded and arrested the Spanish fishing vessel, Estai, outside the Canadian 200‐mile zone on the Grand Banks, an event that served to focus world attention on a dispute that had its origins in the failure of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea to implement an effective conservation and management regime for fish stocks on the high seas, particularly with respect to fish stocks that straddle coastal states’ exclusive economic zones. This article examines the origins of the dispute, including the allegations relating to overfishing of North Atlantic Fisheries Organization‐recommended quotas, the background to the vessel's arrest, and the subsequent confrontation that occurred, both at diplomatic levels and on the high seas, between Canada and the European Union. An analysis is made of the case in international law for Canada's extension of jurisdiction beyond 200 miles pursuant to the provisions of Section 5 of the Coastal Fisheries Protection Act. Finally, the article examines the implications of the recently concluded Agreement on the Conservation and Management of Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks for disputes of the kind that arose in the present case.