Morphological traits of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) associated with resistance to shoot fly,Atherigona approximata Malloch

Shoot flies (Atherigona spp.) are the members of muscidae family which have got economic importance as pest of several crops of Gramineae family mostly cereals and millets. One of the most effective management strategies for controlling shoot fly is the use of resistant wheat cultivars carrying specific resistant traits. Among thirty wheat genotypes screened at the University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad-Karnataka (India), two advanced germplasms UAS BW-12417 and UAS BW-11110 recorded least oviposition and dead heart due to shoot fly and found to be less preferred by Atherigona approximata Malloch. The morphological traits of different wheat genotypes revealed a significant negative correlation of shoot fly oviposition and dead heart with leaf length, leaf length to breadth ratio, seedling height, average seedling growth rate, seedling vigour, leaf glossiness and trichome density of wheat leaves, which indicated the enhanced shoot fly infestation as decrease in the values of above-mentioned morphological traits. Meanwhile, increase in leaf breadth and leaf area of wheat genotype aggrandised the oviposition and dead heart damage by shoot fly. Under the changing climate where, the minor insect pests attaining major pest status, the present investigation would pave way for breeders to tailor future breeding programmes to evolve shoot fly resistant hybrids with high yielding traits.     

Dendroclimatic regions of pedunculate oak (Quercus robur L.) in Belarus

In this study, we present the boundaries of five dendrochronologically homogeneous regions of pedunculate oak (Quercus robur L.) and the master chronologies for them for the period 1703–2018 based on 27 tree-ring chronologies from different locations around Belarus. The average length of the master chronologies ranges from 70 to 310 years. Our research shows that the radial increment of a pedunculate oak in Belarus is primarily limited by the previous year’s August-September temperature, by the current year’s May temperature and by June precipitation. Oak growth in northern Belarus is mostly limited by air temperature, whereas precipitation plays more significant role in central and southern parts of the country. The most unfavorable years for oak growth in Belarus were 1940 and 1952, both of which were years when a very frosty winter was followed by a droughty summer. The results provide an important achievement in Belarusian dendrochronology, since they represent a significant breakthrough for Eastern Europe, where there is a considerable lack of dendroclimatic researches of broadleaved species.     

Oldest art or symbolic expressions in North America? Pleistocene modified bones and a human remain at Sima de las Golondrinas cave,Zacatecas, Mexico

The discovery of Pleistocene human presence at Chiquihuite Cave (state of Zacatecas, Mexico) dating to, or even before, the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM, over 18,000 years ago), prompted the search for another cave site in the same region, where the implications of Chiquihuite could be tested and corroborated in a second context. In January 2020, we started work at Sima de las Golondrinas (“Chasm of Swallows”), a cavern in the Zuloaga mountains. Excavation unit X-20 focused on an older profile left behind by unknown early-20th-century explorers. Previous radiocarbon dating of three charcoal-rich deposits had indicated the stratigraphy contained deposits ranging in age from the Terminal LGM to the Middle Holocene. The short-timed excavation revealed the stratigraphic sequence had been slowly deposited in an aquatic environment, when the cave was partly inundated for thousands of years, until the Holocene. Preliminary palynological studies confirmed the presence of water and nearby lakes, matching the paleoenvironmental reconstructions from Chiquihuite, 100 km away. Excavation X-20 yielded no lithic tools or stone raw materials, but an abundance of zoo-archaeological materials, yet without the presence of traditional megafauna. Some specimens present human modifications in the form of butchery-related cut marks, but also engravings possibly related to early symbolic behaviors. Here, we present a selection of eight bones of elevated archaeological importance. One of them is an ischium bone belonging to a young Homo sp. individual, dating to the Early Holocene. The other seven are modified bones coming from layers dating between the Terminal LGM and Younger Dryas. They belonged to white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), mountain bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis), and American pronghorn (Antilocapra americana). The assemblage includes four human-modified animal phalanges, with symbolic expression substrates. Two of them were found in levels older than 16,000 years, and may well represent some of the oldest forms of art in the Americas.     

Bone Analysis Using Trabecular Bone Score and Dual-Energy X-Ray Absorptiometry-Based 3-Dimensional Modeling in Postmenopausal Women With Primary Hyperparathyroidism

ObjectivePredominance of bone loss in cortical sites with relative preservation of trabecular bone, even in postmenopausal women, has been described in primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT). The aim of this study was to evaluate bone microarchitectural differences using dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA), trabecular bone score (TBS), and DXA-based 3-dimensional (3D) modeling (3D-DXA) between postmenopausal women diagnosed with PHPT (PM-PHPT) and healthy postmenopausal controls.MethodsThis retrospective study included 44 women with PM-PHPT (9 of whom had fractures) and 48 healthy women matched by age, body mass index, and years since menopause treated at Hospital Universitario Fundación Jiménez Díaz between 2008 and 2017. The bone mineral density (BMD) of the lumbar spine (LS), femoral neck, total hip (TH), and 1/3 radius was assessed using DXA, and trabecular volumetric BMD (vBMD), cortical vBMD, integral vBMD, cortical thickness, and cortical surface BMD at TH were assessed using a 3D-DXA software and TBS at LS.ResultsThe mean adjusted BMD values at LS, the femoral neck, and TH; TBS at LS; and TH 3D-DXA parameters (trabecular vBMD, integral vBMD, cortical thickness, and cortical surface BMD) were significantly reduced in women with PM-PHPT compared with those in the controls. However, differences in mean cortical vBMD were not statistically significant (P = .078). There were no significant differences in mean BMD, TBS, or the 3D-DXA parameters between patients with fractures and those without fractures. The 25-hydroxyvitamin D level appeared to be associated with TBS but not with DXA and 3D-DXA measurements.ConclusionPM-PHPT has significant involvement of the trabecular and cortical compartments of the bone, as determined by DXA, TBS, and 3D-DXA.     

What’s in the body? Children’s annotated drawings

ABSTRACT

This paper presents a study of children’s ideas of the body’s internal structure. Children between four and 13 years (N = 170) individually produced drawings. During each drawing session the children explained their drawings to a facilitator and added written labels either by themselves or, if they were too young to write, with the facilitator’s help. The results provide an updated comprehensive picture of children in different age groups and their views on the internal structure of the body. The type and numbers of organs drawn are similar to those documented in previous studies. However, in comparison to recent studies, the children drew more organs, the brain was indicated almost as often as the heart, and the Valentine heart was frequently used as a symbol. In contrast with previous research, children drew connections between organs. This result calls for caution regarding conclusions made from decontextualized questions. The importance of providing children with the opportunity to clarify their drawings is emphasised since it otherwise becomes a question of the researcher’s interpretation. The connections they draw, and explanations they give to their drawings, have interesting implications for understanding children’s ideas, and hence both for teaching and learning and for science education research.     

On the rigidity of RNA in tomato bushy stunt virus

The motional state of RNA in tomato bushy stunt virus, both in the crystalline state and in solution, has been investigated using ³¹P nuclear magnetic resonance methods. It has been found that the RNA is highly immobile in the native virus and it is suggested that the lack of a high-resolution X-ray diffraction pattern for either the RNA or the N-terminal regions of the protein coat molecules (Harrison et al., 1978) is due to static disorder in the crystals. Dynamic disorder has been detected in the virus after treatment with EDTA, which causes a structural change and an increase in particle size.     

The Association of Diabetes and Hyperglycemia on Inpatient Readmissions

ObjectiveTo evaluate the association between inpatient glycemic control and readmission in individuals with diabetes and hyperglycemia (DM/HG).MethodsTwo data sets were analyzed from fiscal years 2011 to 2013: hospital data using the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) codes for DM/HG and point of care (POC) glucose monitoring. The variables analyzed included gender, age, mean, minimum and maximum glucose, along with 4 measures of glycemic variability (GV), standard deviation, coefficient of variation, mean amplitude of glucose excursions, and average daily risk range.ResultsOf 66 518 discharges in FY 2011-2013, 28.4% had DM/HG based on ICD-9 codes and 53% received POC monitoring. The overall readmission rate was 13.9%, although the rates for individuals with DM/HG were higher at 18.9% and 20.6% using ICD-9 codes and POC data, respectively. The readmitted group had higher mean glucose (169 ± 47 mg/dL vs 158 ± 46 mg/dL, P < .001). Individuals with severe hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia had the highest readmission rates. All 4 GV measures were consistent and higher in the readmitted group.ConclusionIndividuals with DM/HG have higher 30-day readmission rates than those without. Those readmitted had higher mean glucose, more extreme glucose values, and higher GV. To our knowledge, this is the first report of multiple metrics of inpatient glycemic control, including GV, and their associations with readmission.     

Integration of working environment into life cycle assessment framework

Background, aim, and scope  Life cycle assessment (LCA) has been considered one of the tools for supporting decision-making related to the environmental aspects of a product system. It has mainly been used to evaluate the potential impacts associated with relevant inputs and outputs to/from a given product system throughout its life cycle. In most cases, LCA has not considered the impacts on the internal environment, i.e. working environment, but only the external environment. Recently, it has been recognized that the consideration of the impacts on the working environment as well as on the external environment, is needed in order to assess all aspects of the effects on human well-being. To this end, this study has developed a total environmental assessment methodology which enables one to integrate both the working environment and the external environment into the conventional LCA framework. Materials and methods  In general, the characteristics of the impacts on the external environment are different from those on the working environment. In order to properly integrate the two types into total environmental impacts, it is necessary to define identical system boundaries and select impact category indicators at the same level. In order to define the identical system boundary and reduce the uncertainties of LCI results, the hybrid IOA (input–output analysis) method, which integrates the advantages between conventional LCI method and IOA method, is introduced to collect input and output data throughout the entire life cycle of a given product. For the impact category indicators at the endpoint level, LWD (Lost Work Days) is employed to evaluate the damage to human health and safety in the working environment, while DALY (disability-adjusted life years) and PAF (Potentially Affected Fraction) are selected to evaluate the damage to human health and eco-system quality in the external environment, respectively. Results and discussion  The environmental intervention factors (EIFs) are developed not only for the data categories of resource use, air emissions, and water emissions, but also for occupational health and safety to complete a life cycle inventory table. For the development of the EIFs on occupational health and safety, in particular, the number of workers affected by i hazardous items and the number of workers affected at the i magnitude of disability are collected. For the characterization of the impact categories in the working environment, such as occupational health and safety, the exposure factors, effect factors, and damage factors are developed to calculate the LWD of each category. For normalization, the normalization reference is defined as the total LWD divided by the total number of workers. A case study is presented to illustrate the applicability of the proposed method for the integration of the working environment into the conventional LCA framework. Conclusions  This study is intended to develop a methodology which enables one to integrate the working environmental module into the conventional LCA framework. The hybrid IOA method is utilized to extend the system boundary of both the working environment module and the external environment module to the entire life cycle of a product system. In this study, characterization models and category indicators for occupational health and safety are proposed, respectively, while the methodology of Eco-indicator 99 is used for the external environment. In addition to aid further understanding on the results of this method, this study introduced and developed the category indicators such as DALY, and LWD, which can be expressed as a function of time, and introduced PAF, which can be expressed as a probability. Recommendations and perspectives  The consideration of the impacts not only on the external environment, but also on the working environment, is very important, because the best solution for the external environment may not necessarily be the best solution for the working environment. It is expected that the integration of occupational health and safety matters into the conventional LCA framework can bring many benefits to individuals, as well as industrial companies, by avoiding duplicated measures and false optimization.