Copulatory courtship signals male genetic quality in cucumber beetles

In the spotted cucumber beetle, Diabrotica undecimpunctata howardi (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), males court females during copulation by stroking them with their antennae. Stroking occurs exclusively during the first stages of copulation, after a male has penetrated a female's vaginal duct but before he is allowed access to her bursa copulatrix. Females accept the spermatophore of fast-stroking males and reject those of slow-stroking males by relaxing or constricting muscles distorting the vaginal duct. Here, we measure the repeatability of stroking behaviour within males, examine the effect of losing one antenna on male attractiveness and test whether such female control results in direct phenotypic benefits for the discriminating female or indirect genetic benefits that appear in her offspring. We also use a half-sibling design to quantify the variance and heritability of stroking speed and endurance. Female beetles were paired with a male that was known to stroke either quickly or slowly. No difference was found in the resulting fecundity or egg-hatching rate of the females, or in the survivorship, development rate, size, age at first reproduction or fecundity of their offspring indicating that no direct benefits are gained by discriminating among males on the basis of stroking speed. There were, however, good-genes benefits for the mates of fast-stroking males. Offspring of fast-stroking fathers were also fast strokers and were more likely to be accepted as mates than offspring of slow-stroking fathers. There was substantial variance among sires in stroking speed and endurance and the heritability of each trait was high. The antennal stroking rate was highly repeatable in successive mating attempts and males with only one antenna were not accepted as mates. The repeatability within males, variability between males and heritability between generations of copulatory stroking combine to provide females with a reliable and honest signal of the genetic quality of courting males.     

Healing across Cultures: Learning from Traditions

The health and wellness of an individual are reliant on the integrated effects of mind, body, and spirit. This triad is intricately set within a backdrop of the environment, our earth. Western cultures often disregard this holism, especially this fourth component, in its considerations of wellness as described by modern medicine. This practice is unlike that of many of the traditional cultures in the world. These cultures focus more on balance in the context of environmental respect. Varied cultures share remarkable similarities in their healing modalities, especially considering the relative isolation from one to another—evidence that there is truth to the healing knowledge they possess. We are not disconnected from the natural world in terms of health, but dependent and interconnected within ourselves and to everything around us. Social change is required to assure that the practice of modern medicine evolves to incorporate this integral aspect of health and wellness, and this can be done through partnerships with traditional healers.There is a growing demand for wellness and earthly responsibility. It is time to appropriately learn from age-old societies and their healing traditions for they do have answers we are seeking in sustainability and harmony, environmental stewardship and planetary respect, and holistic health. For thousands of years, our ancestors have known the secrets of long life—this knowledge needs to be preserved through the apprenticeship of future generations. We propose a collaboration that develops mutually beneficial learning partnerships combining modern medical knowledge with the wisdom of traditional healers around the world.     

Risk factor analysis and diagnoses of coronary heart disease in patients with hypercholesterolemia from Croatian Zagorje County

Our aim is to determine if there exists a difference in risk factors and diagnosis between patients being treated on internal medicine ward for coronary heart disease who have higher levels of cholesterol in their blood and other patients, without proved higher levels of cholesterol, hospitalized for coronary heart disease. We followed patients hospitalized in General Hospital Zabok for coronary heart disease for the period between 2004-2006y. On admission patients were diagnosed with coronary heart disease based on laboratory markers specific for the disease (CK, troponin, LDH,CRP), ECG and history taking. We analyzed two groups of patients for diagnosis and risk factors on discharge from the hospital: one group with proven hypercholesterolemia, the other with coronary heart disease without hypercholesterolemia. For the duration of the study there were no significant alternations concerning risk factors for coronary heart disease, and hypertension was the most prevalent of these factors in both groups. Values of HDL, as an indirect indicator of coronary heart disease, were lower in both groups for the duration of the study. In group of patients with hypercholesterolemia myocardial infarction with a ST segment elevation, as a discharge diagnosis, was a more prevalent complication of the disease, while for the group of patients without hypercholesterolemia stable angina pectoris was more prevalent and this is explained as atheroma plaque stabilization when there are normal values of blood cholesterol.     

Hormonal Control of Egg Dumping and Guarding in the Lace Bug, Gargaphia solani (Hemiptera: Tingidae)

This study examines the effect of juvenile hormone (JH) or a similarly acting juvenoid on the expression of maternal egg guarding and its life history alternative, egg dumping, in the lace bug, Gargaphia solani Heidemann. JH manipulations were indirect: methoprene, a synthetic JH analog, and precocene II, an allatocidal phytochemical commonly used to reduce JH synthesis, were applied exogenously to test the hypothesis that high JH titers promote egg production and egg dumping behavior, while low titers terminate egg production and initiate maternal care. As predicted, egg dumpers treated with precocene II ignored dumping opportunities and became egg guarders. Similarly, egg guarders that were treated with methoprene became gravid within 2 days and abandoned their eggs to become egg dumpers. These manipulations suggest that hormones can trigger the expression of both egg dumping and egg guarding in G. solani even when environmental conditions are inappropriate.     

Sustaining Plants and People: Traditional Q’eqchi’ Maya Botanical Knowledge and Interactive Spatial Modeling in Prioritizing Conservation of Medicinal Plants for Culturally Relative Holistic Health Promotion

Ethnobotanical surveys were conducted to locate culturally important, regionally scarce, and disappearing medicinal plants via a novel participatory methodology which involves healer-expert knowledge in interactive spatial modeling to prioritize conservation efforts and thus facilitate health promotion via medicinal plant resource sustained availability. These surveys, conducted in the Maya Mountains, Belize, generate ethnobotanical, ecological, and geospatial data on species which are used by Q’eqchi’ Maya healers in practice. Several of these mountainous species are regionally scarce and the healers are expressing difficulties in finding them for use in promotion of community health and wellness. Based on healers’ input, zones of highest probability for locating regionally scarce, disappearing, and culturally important plants in their ecosystem niches can be facilitated by interactive modeling. In the present study, this is begun by choosing three representative species to train an interactive predictive model. Model accuracy was then assessed statistically by testing for independence between predicted occurrence and actual occurrence of medicinal plants. A high level of accuracy was achieved using a small set of exemplar data. This work demonstrates the potential of combining ethnobotany and botanical spatial information with indigenous ecosystems concepts and Q’eqchi’ Maya healing knowledge via predictive modeling. Through this approach, we may identify regions where species are located and accordingly promote for prioritization and application of in situ and ex situ conservation strategies to protect them. This represents a significant step toward facilitating sustained culturally relative health promotion as well as overall enhanced ecological integrity to the region and the earth.     

Viability and engraftment of hematopoietic progenitor cells after long-term cryopreservation: effect of diagnosis and percentage dimethyl sulfoxide concentration

Background aimsWe carried out a retrospective analysis of viability by diagnosis and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) concentration in patients who had undergone autologous transplants using hematopoietic progenitor cells (HPC) after long-term storage (up to 17.8 years).MethodsViability was tested using flow cytometry for HPC that were harvested and preserved using a controlled rate freezer and 5% or 10% DMSO with human serum albumin, then stored in liquid nitrogen. Data from 262 samples were analyzed (249 myeloma patients and 13 other diagnoses): 100 consecutively thawed samples with a storage time of <1 year (all 10% DMSO), 50 consecutive samples stored for 1–4.9 years (10% DMSO), 50 samples stored for 5–9 years (5% DMSO) and all samples stored and used for transplant after >9 years (60 samples, 5% DMSO; two samples, 10% DMSO).ResultsNo statistically significant difference in viability between the 5% DMSO and 10% DMSO groups was observed (P = 0.08), so the 1–4.9 years and 5–9 years were combined and the three groups (<1 year, 1–9 years and >9 years) were compared using an anova test. There was no difference in viability based on cryostorage period (P = 0.23) or between myeloma and other diagnoses (P = 0.45). No difference was seen in time to White blood cell (WBC) engraftment (P = 0.10) or to platelet engraftment between groups (P = 0.52).ConclusionsThese data suggest that long-term storage in 5% DMSO and human serum albumin is safe.     

The impact of UV-B irradiation applied at different phases of somatic embryo development in Norway spruce on polyamine metabolism

Key message

Higher polyamine levels of fully developed embryos had positive effects on their ability to tolerate UV-B irradiation when compared with induced responses of early embryos.

Abstract

The aim of this work was to test the hypothesis that the higher levels of polyamines (PAs) might be involved in the response of Norway spruce somatic embryos to UV-B irradiation. We compare here the effects of 0.1, 0.6 and 6 W m^?2 h^?1 UV-B irradiation on polyamine metabolism in early and fully developed Norway spruce somatic embryos. The impact of UV-B treatment on irradiated embryogenic suspensor mass (ESM, consisting of early somatic embryos) and matured somatic embryos was assessed by measuring changes in the content of PAs and the activities of enzymes involved in their biosynthesis. Under control conditions, developmental stages of embryos are characterized not only by clear differences in their histological structure, but also by the levels of free PAs, which are several fold higher in fully developed embryos than those of early embryos. The decrease in the PA content and the decline in PA biosynthetic enzyme activities in irradiated ESMs were dependent on the doses of UV-B irradiation applied and the length of time after the exposure. The viability of ESM and its histological structure changed depending on the dose applied. The effect was much more pronounced in ESM treated with higher UV-B doses (0.6 W m^?2 h^?1), where the embryos were seriously damaged or killed, and irradiation with 6 W m^?2 h^?1 was lethal to the culture. No marked differences in PA contents were observed between control and UV-B irradiated fully developed embryos. The effect of UV-B irradiation on fully developed embryos was marginal when compared with that on proliferating tissue. The increase in malondialdehyde (MDA) levels in irradiated ESM was correlated with the decrease in their PA contents. Neither significant increases in MDA levels nor significant changes in PA content were observed in the fully developed embryos after irradiation; this may indicate that the plants’ defence mechanisms are particularly active in these tissues. The accumulation of higher levels of PAs in fully developed somatic embryos may be causally linked to their better tolerance to UV-B irradiation.

     

Q’eqchi’ Maya healers’ traditional knowledge in prioritizing conservation of medicinal plants: culturally relative conservation in sustaining traditional holistic health promotion

This ethnobotanical study in the spirit of transdisciplinarity, and in collaboration with Q’eqchi’ Maya traditional healers, compares traditional Q’eqchi’ Maya ecosystem constructs or environmental zones with scientific ecosystems. To determine which categorization method better accommodates Q’eqchi’ Maya medicinal plant diversity, we analized 26 transects representing 160 medicinal plant occurrences. Our transect array encompasses a representative sampling of Q’eqchi’ Maya medicinal plant repertoire with use values broadly distributed over 17 usage categories. With a cumulative frequency of 2,235 medicinal plants through ecological zones, we conducted one-way ANOVA on the mean number of medicinal plant species identified in transects of the two conceptual schemes being contested. Our analysis reveals the Q’eqchi Maya environmental zones are the most salient. That is, knowledge of the Q’eqchi’ Maya environmental zones improves one’s ability to predict whether there will be a high or low abundance of Q’eqchi’ Maya medicinal plant species in a particular region, whereas knowledge of scientific ecosystems does not accomplish this feat as well. This is a notable finding as it suggests that if indeed Q’eqchi’ Maya medicinal plant diversity is better accounted for by the zones as envisioned by the Q’eqchi’ Maya, then it should be this mode of conceptualization that should be adopted by scientists and conservationists when trying to locate and protect regional Q’eqchi’ Maya medicinal plant diversity. These efforts serve as a model internationally in the conservation of medicinal plant biodiversity supportive of culturally relative holistic health promotion.     

The prevalence of cardiovascular disease risk factors in patients from Croatian Zagorje County treated at Department of Medicine, Zabok General Hospital from 2000 to 2006

The aim of the study was to assess the prevalence of risk factors for cardiovascular disease in patients treated for coronary heart disease (CHD) at Department of Medicine, Zabok General Hospital during the 2000-2006 period. Cardiovascular diseases are a group of diseases that occur due to arterial. The risk factors that lead to the development and occurrence of cardiovascular disease are hypertension, cigarette smoking, hyperholesterolemia, hypertriglyceridemia, diabetes mellitus and positive family history. Additional factors favoring the occurrence of cardiovascular disease include overweight, inadequate physical activity, and emotional stress. Data on all patients hospitalized and diagnosed with CHD at Department of Medicine, Zabok General Hospital during the 2000-2006 period were analyzed for the prevalence of risk factors for CHD, i.e. hypertension, cigarette smoking, hypercholesterolemia, hypertriglyceridemia, diabetes mellitus and positive family history of cardiovascular disease. Hypercholesterolemia was defined by a cholesterol level higher than 5.1 mmol/L, hypertension from history data and blood pressure measurement on admission greater than 140/90 mmHg, diabetes mellitus from history data, and hypertriglyceridemia by a triglyceride level greater than 1.7 mmol/L. Information on heredity and cigarette smoking was collected from history and a questionnaire filled out on admission. All laboratory values were determined on patient admission to the hospital. Analysis of the risk factors for CHD recorded in patients from Zagorje County during the 2000-2006 period revealed hypertension to be the most common risk factor in our patients. According to sex, CHD was found to show a male preponderance. According to age at admission, CHD predominated in the > 70 age group, which accounted for one third of all patients, followed by a comparable proportion of the 50-60 and 60-70 age groups, i.e. still active population groups. As CHD is one of the leading health threats worldwide, estimated to remain so at least by 2020, it is fully justified to invest all efforts in the study of cardiovascular disease. New research projects should be focused on the prevention and early detection of the disease, improvement of diagnosis procedures, introduction of novel therapeutic options, use of new concepts, and due survey of the measures taken. CHD poses great socioeconomic burden upon every community in industrialized societies because of the ever younger age at onset. Actions should be taken to improve awareness of the CHD risks and morbidity in the population at large, stimulating favorable lifestyle and dietary modifications, and one's own health awareness, in order to upgrade the control of risk factors for and morbidity of cardiovascular disease.