Japanese barberry seed predation by Rhagoletis meigenii fruit flies harboring Wolbachia endosymbionts

The phytophagous fruit fly Rhagoletis meigenii harbors the bacterium Wolbachia pipientis and, together with Japanese barberry, form a tri-partite symbiosis. R. meigenii is a seed predator of invasive Japanese barberry plants and is dependent on this insect-plant interaction for reproductive success. The endosymbiotic bacterium W. pipientis is a reproductive parasite known to alter the sex ratios of offspring and the fitness of infected host insects. We investigated Japanese barberry fruit for the degree of infestation by R. meigenii and characterized the Wolbachia strain infecting R. meigenii. Densities of R. meigenii in four naturalized stands of Japanese barberry revealed low numbers of fruit flies with high variability in the population densities observed among individual plants. Overall, R. meigenii infested roughly 10–20 % of the Japanese barberry fruits analyzed; fruit with two seeds (vs. one seed) were the most frequently infested. Approximately, 90 % of the R. meigenii tested positive for Wolbachia infection via PCR amplification of the Wolbachia surface protein (wsp) gene. No bacterial strain diversity was observed when comparing multi-locus sequence typing (MLST) profiles within or among five R. meigenii populations in Maine, although the MLST profile obtained from R. meigenii differed from three co-occurring Rhagoletis. The Wolbachia endosymbiont of R. meigenii is a member of the Wolbachia supergroup A and the ST-13 cluster complex.     

Axial Diffusivity of the Corona Radiata at 24 Hours Post-Stroke: A New Biomarker for Motor and Global Outcome

Fractional anisotropy (FA) is an effective marker of motor outcome at the chronic stage of stroke yet proves to be less efficient at early time points. This study aims to determine which diffusion metric in which location is the best marker of long-term stroke outcome after thrombolysis with diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) at 24 hours post-stroke. Twenty-eight thrombolyzed patients underwent DTI at 24 hours post-stroke onset. Ipsilesional and contralesional FA, mean (MD), axial (AD), and radial (RD) diffusivities values were calculated in different Regions-of-Interest (ROIs): (1) the white matter underlying the precentral gyrus (M1), (2) the corona radiata (CoRad), (3) the posterior limb of the internal capsule (PLIC) and (4) the cerebral peduncles (CP). NIHSS scores were acquired at admission, day 1, and day 7; modified Rankin Scores (mRS) at 3 months. Significant decreases were found in FA, MD, and AD of the ipsilesional CoRad and M1. MD and AD were also significantly lower in the PLIC. The ratio of ipsi and contralesional AD of the CoRad (CoRad-rAD) was the strongest diffusion parameter correlated with motor NIHSS scores on day 7 and with the mRS at 3 months. A Receiver-Operator Curve analysis yielded a model for the CoRad-rAD to predict good outcome based on upper limb NIHSS motor scores and mRS with high specificity and sensitivity. FA values were not correlated with clinical outcome. In conclusion, axial diffusivity of the CoRad from clinical DTI at 24 hours post-stroke is the most appropriate diffusion metric for quantifying stroke damage to predict outcome, suggesting the importance of early axonal damage.     

Temperature coupling in cricket acoustic communication

Summary Temperature effects on calling song production and recognition were investigated in the North American field cricket, Gryllus firmus. Temporal parameters of field-recorded G. firmus calling song are strongly affected by temperature. Chirp rate and syllable rate increase, by factors of 4 and 2, respectively, as linear functions of temperature over the range in which these animals sing in the field (12°–30 °C). Temperature affects syllable duration to a lesser extent, and does not influence calling song carrier frequency. Female phonotactic preference, measured on a spherical treadmill in the laboratory, also changes with temperature such that warmer females prefer songs with faster chirp and syllable rates. Best phonotaxis, measured as accuracy of orientation to the sound source, and highest walking velocity, occur in response to temperature-matched songs at 15°, 21°, and 30 °C. Experiments under semi-natural conditions in an outdoor arena revealed that females perform phonotaxis at temperatures as low as 13 °C. Taken together, the song and phonotaxis data demonstrate that this communication system is temperature coupled. A strategy is outlined by which temperature coupling may be exploited to test hypotheses about the organization of neural networks subserving song recognition.Abbreviations CP chirp period - SP syllable period - SD syllable duration     

SSCP analysis of the tyrosine kinase domain of the insulin receptor gene: Polymorphisms detected in South African black and white subjects

The frequency of DNA polymorphisms in the tyrosine kinase domain (exons 17–21) of the insulin receptor gene was assessed in 30 black and 30 white South Africans, using single-stranded conformation polymorphism and direct sequencing analysis. A comparison of the frequencies of the normal versus the combined polymorphic alleles, found only in exon 17, showed a significant difference between black and white groups (P = 0.037). Received: 25 May 1995 / Revised: 1 September 1995     

Improving protein extraction yield in reversed micellar systems through surface charge engineering

The mechanism of extraction of rat cytochrome b(5) from water into a sodium dioctylsulfosuccinate (AOT) micellar organic phase was studied using protein engineering of surface charged residues. The extraction behavior of native cytochrome b(5) and modified proteins with substitutions of the type glutamic acid --> lysine at positions 44 (E44K), 56 (E56K), and 92 (E92K), was studied as a function of pH. The results indicate that an important mechanism of extraction is an electrostatic interaction of this protein with the negatively charged surfactant. We demonstrate that it is possible to improve extraction by engineering the protein surface charge, increasing the driving force responsible for the protein transfer to the micellar phase. (c) 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Survey of bovine mycotic mastitis in dairy herds in the State of São Paulo,Brazil

The purpose of this study was to isolate fungi from the quarter milk of cow udders from several dairy herds and to identify the different genera and species involved in mastitis. A total of 2078 milk samples from normal, clinical and subclinical mastitis quarters from 22 dairy herds of 16 districts in the State of São Paulo, Brazil was utilized in this survey. Two hundred and fifty one (12.07%) fungi were isolated from the samples. Two hundred and eight of these (82.86%) were yeasts and 30 (11.95%) were moulds. The fungi were isolated in pure culture (24.77%) or in cultures mixed with bacteria (72.22%). The yeasts isolated were:Cryptococcus spp. (71 strains),Rhodotorula spp. (40),Candida spp. (68),Trichosporon cutaneum (21),Aureobasidium pullulans (7), andPichia ohmeri (1). Moulds classified in following genera were also isolated:Aspergillus (3),Penicillium (3),Alternaria (3),Phoma (3),Epicoccum (2), andGeotrichum (16).     

Combining industrial ecology tools to assess potential greenhouse gas reductions of a circular economy: Method development and application to Switzerland

Industrial ecology (IE) methodologies, such as input/output or material flow analysis and life cycle assessment (LCA), are often used for the environmental evaluation of circular economy strategies. Up to now, an approach that utilizes these methods in a systematic, integrated framework for a holistic assessment of a geographic region's sustainable circular economy potential has been lacking. The approach developed in this study (IE4CE approach) combines IE methodologies to determine the environmental impact mitigation potential of circular economy strategies for a defined geographic region. The approach foresees five steps. First, input/output analysis helps identify sectors with high environmental impacts. Second, a refined analysis is conducted using material flow and LCA. In step 3, circular strategies are used for scenario design and evaluated in step 4. In step 5, the assessment results are compiled and compared across sectors. The approach was applied to a case study of Switzerland, analyzing 8 sectors and more than 30 scenarios in depth. Carbon capture and storage (CCS) from waste incineration, biogas and cement production, food waste prevention in households, hospitality and production, and the increased recycling of plastics had the highest mitigation potential. Most of the scenarios do not influence each other. One exception is the CCS scenarios: waste avoidance scenarios decrease the reduction potential of CCS. A combination of scenarios from different sectors, including their impact on the CCS scenario potential, led to an environmental impact mitigation potential of 11.9 Mt CO₂-eq for 2050, which equals 14% of Switzerland's current consumption-based impacts.