Experience-based modulation of behavioural responses to plant volatiles and other sensory cues in insect herbivores

Plant volatiles are important cues for many herbivorous insects when choosing a suitable host plant and finding a mating partner. An appropriate behavioural response to sensory cues from plants and other insects is crucial for survival and fitness. As the natural environment can show both large spatial and temporal variability, herbivores may need to show behavioural plasticity to the available cues. By using earlier experiences, insects can adapt to local variation of resources. Experience is well known to affect sensory-guided behaviour in parasitoids and social insects, but there is also increasing evidence that it influences host plant choice and the probability of finding a mating partner in herbivorous insects. In this review, we will focus upon behavioural changes in holometabolous insect herbivores during host plant choice and localization of mating partners, modulated by experience to sensory cues. The experience can be acquired during both the larval and the adult stage and can influence later responses to plant volatiles and other sensory cues not only within the developmental stage but also after metamorphosis. Furthermore, we will address the neurophysiological mechanisms underlying the experience-dependent behavioural adaptations and discuss ecological and evolutionary aspects of insect behavioural plasticity based upon experience.

Pregnancy rates of beef cattle are not affected by Campylobacter fetus subsp. venerealis real-time PCR-positive breeding sires in New Zealand

AIMS

Campylobacter fetus subspecies venerealis (C. fetus venerealis) is the causal agent of bovine genital campylobacteriosis, a venereal disease that is asymptomatic in bulls but responsible for reproductive wastage in female cattle. In New Zealand, a commercial real-time PCR assay was introduced in 2007 to identify the DNA of this pathogen in preputial scrapings; however, concerns were raised about the specificity of the test following anecdotal reports of a high number of test-positive bulls with no apparent relationship to reproductive performance. The objective of this study, therefore, was to examine the association between real-time PCR assay results from beef breeding bulls and pregnancy rates in beef herds using these bulls.

METHODS

Veterinarians from four veterinary practices selected beef cattle herds with relatively high and low pregnancy rates between December 2008 and February 2009. Preputial scrapings were collected from bulls used for mating in those herds. Samples were tested using the real-time PCR assay under consideration. Bivariable and multivariable analyses were used to assess the relationship between pregnancy rates in each mob (15-month-old heifers, 27-month-old heifers and mixed-age cows) and the percentage of real-time PCR-positive bulls in each mob.

RESULTS

Sixty-four (28.8%) of 222 bulls tested positive, 130 (58.6%) tested negative, and 28 (12.6%) returned an inconclusive result to the real-time PCR assay. The percentage of bulls testing real-time PCR-positive in these mobs was not associated with pregnancy rates (p=0.757) after controlling for mob, average body condition score of cows, cow to bull ratio, length of the mating period, and farm.

CONCLUSION

Real-time PCR assay results were not associated with pregnancy rates, suggesting that the specificity of the real-time PCR assay was too low to be used to reliably detect C. fetus venerealis. This study adds to a growing body of evidence indicating that C. fetus venerealis strains are either absent from, or present at clinically insignificant levels of endemicity among, beef breeding herds in New Zealand.

CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE

The real-time PCR assay that was assessed in this study should not be used for the detection of C. fetus venerealis in bulls or for investigations of low conception rates in cattle in New Zealand. During the course of this survey, sequencing analysis of an apparent C. fetus venerealis isolate from the intestines of a Friesian bull turned out to be Campylobacter hyointestinalis. As a consequence, this real-time PCR assay for C. fetus venerealis is no longer being offered by diagnostic laboratories in New Zealand.

Physical chemical effects of zinc on in vitro enamel demineralization

OBJECTIVES

Zinc salts are formulated into oral health products as antibacterial agents, yet their interaction with enamel is not clearly understood. The aim was to investigate the effect of zinc concentration [Zn(2+)] on the in vitro demineralization of enamel during exposure to caries-simulating conditions. Furthermore, the possible mechanism of zinc's action for reducing demineralization was determined.

METHODS

Enamel blocks and synthetic hydroxyapatite (HAp) were demineralized in a range of zinc-containing acidic solutions (0-3565ppm [Zn(2+)]) at pH 4.0 and 37°C. Inductively coupled-plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES) was used to measure ion release into solution. Enamel blocks were analysed by Attenuated Total Reflectance-Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), and HAp by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and neutron diffraction (ND).

RESULTS

ICP-OES analysis of the acidic solutions showed a decrease in [Ca(2+)] and [PO4(3-)] release with increasing [Zn(2+)]. FTIR revealed a α-hopeite (α-Zn3(PO4)2.4H2O)-like phase on the enamel surfaces at >107ppm [Zn(2+)]. XRD and ND analysis confirmed a zinc-phosphate phase present alongside the HAp.

CONCLUSIONS

This study confirms that zinc reduces enamel demineralization. Under the conditions studied, zinc acts predominantly on enamel surfaces at PO4(3-) sites in the HAp lattice to possibly form an α-hopeite-like phase.

CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE

These results have a significant implication on the understanding of the fundamental chemistry of zinc in toothpastes and demonstrate its therapeutic potential in preventing tooth mineral loss.

General practitioner prescribing of single and combination nicotine replacement therapy in the UK: a retrospective database study

Background

Guidance in England and Wales recommends that nicotine replacement therapies (NRTs), varenicline or bupropion should be offered for smoking cessation support. Research on general practitioner (GP) NRT prescribing patterns for smoking cessation is lacking in the published literature.

Methods

UK primary care electronic health records were retrospectively analysed to identify the most common GP initiated NRT prescribing patterns, characterise people who receive NRT and determine whether NRTs given in a first quit attempt are different from subsequent attempts.

Results

The study population comprised 38,954 individuals in UK primary care data with a first ever NRT patch smoking cessation attempt for the period January 2008-December 2011. The majority (64.3%) received NRT patch monotherapy at first smoking cessation attempt, and the most common NRT was 21 mg/24 hours patch monotherapy (15.2%). Of the 35.7% first smoking cessation attempts which were NRT combination therapy, the most common combination was patch + inhalator (56.2%). The proportion of people who started a smoking cessation attempt with combination therapy increased from 25.7% in 2008 to 44.8% in 2011. The majority of the population had one recorded smoking cessation attempt but a significant minority (20.2% N = 7,868) started a second smoking cessation attempt. Second and third attempts, while predominantly patch monotherapy, also demonstrated an increasing use of NRT combinations over the study period (2^ndepisode: 20.6%-38.2%; 3^rdepisode: 20.0%-36.8%). However, a minority received only non-patch NRT during second and third NRT episodes. Taking into account the 39,068 people prescribed NRT patch during the study period with a history of NRT at baseline (excluded from the analysis), the total proportion of people prescribed NRT patch between 2008–2011 who had more than one NRT episode was 48.4% (46,936/96,986) and of 128,115 NRT users, only 14.7% (N = 18,838) were prescribed bupropion or varenicline prior to NRT use.

Conclusions

The study findings represent new data describing GP NRT prescription patterns in the UK. Given the predominance of NRT patch monotherapy observed, health policy makers and service commissioners should ensure that GPs provide equality of access to all recommended smoking cessation pharmacotherapies.

Glass ionomer cements: effect of strontium substitution on esthetics, radiopacity and fluoride release

OBJECTIVE

SrO and SrF2 are widely used to replace CaO and CaF2 in ionomer glasses to produce radiopaque glass ionomer cements (GIC). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of this substitution on release of ions from GIC as well as its effect on esthetics (translucency) and radiopacity.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Cements were produced from ionomer glasses with varying content of Sr, Ca and F. The cements were stored in dilute acetic acid (pH 4.0) for up to 7 days at 37°C. Thereafter, the cements were removed and the solution was tested for F(-), Sr(2+), Ca(2+), and Al(3+) release. Radiopacity and translucency were measured according to BS EN ISO 9917-1:2003.

RESULTS

Ion release was linear to t(1/2) suggesting that this is a diffusion controlled mechanism rather than dissolution. The fluoride release from the cements is enhanced where some or all calcium is replaced by strontium. Radiopacity shows a strong linear correlation with Sr content. All cements were more opaque than the C0.70 0.55 standard but less opaque than the C0.70 0.90 standard which is the limit for the ISO requirement for acceptance.

SIGNIFICANCE

This study shows that the replacement of calcium by strontium in a glass ionomer glass produces the expected increase in radiopacity of the cement without adverse effects on visual properties of the cement. The fluoride release from the cements is enhanced where some or all calcium is replaced by strontium.

The cost analysis of cemented versus cementless total hip replacement operations on the NHS

In a time of limited resources, the debate continues over which types of hip prosthesis are clinically superior and more cost-effective. Orthopaedic surgeons increasingly need robust economic evidence to understand the full value of the operation, and to aid decision making on the 'package' of procedures that are available and to justify their practice beyond traditional clinical preference. In this paper we explore the current economic debate about the merits of cemented and cementless total hip replacement, an issue that continues to divide the orthopaedic community.

Complex lower genitourinary reconstruction following combat-related injury

There is little data in the literature on the reconstruction of combat related lower genitourinary trauma. Published reports document patterns of injury, which is useful for epidemiological analysis of military trauma, but very few describe the reconstructive management. We aim to describe a systematic multidisciplinary approach to planning the challenging reconstruction of the severely injured male perineum.

Distribution of phylogenetic groups, sequence type ST131, and virulence-associated traits among Escherichia coli isolates from men with pyelonephritis or cystitis and healthy controls

Urinary tract infections (UTI), which are mostly caused by Escherichia coli, are an important public health problem worldwide. Although men experience diverse UTI syndromes, there have been relatively few molecular-epidemiological studies of UTI pathogenesis in men. We studied the distribution of 22 E. coli virulence factor (VF) genes, major phylogenetic groups, sequence type ST131, and UTI-associated O antigens among 101 pyelonephritis, 153 cystitis and 135 fecal healthy control E. coli isolates from men aged 30-70 years in a regional area of NSW, Australia. Overall, the studied traits exhibited a prevalence gradient across these groups, highest in pyelonephritis, intermediate in cystitis, and lowest among fecal isolates. Differences in virulence gene prevalence between cystitis and pyelonephritis isolates were limited to eight genes. The UTI-associated O antigens were also distributed widely, but types O6, O25 and O75 were significantly associated with pyelonephritis. The ST131 clonal group, which accounted for 13% of isolates overall (22% of group B2 isolates), likewise exhibited a significant descending prevalence gradient from pyelonephritis (36%), through cystitis (8%), to fecal (0%) isolates. These findings contribute to better understanding of the pathogenesis of UTIs in men and identify specific VF genes and O types, and a prominent clonal group (ST131), as being important in UTI pathogenesis in this population.

Critical research needs for managing coral reef marine protected areas: perspectives of academics and managers

Marine protected areas (MPAs) are a primary policy instrument for managing and protecting coral reefs. Successful MPAs ultimately depend on knowledge-based decision making, where scientific research is integrated into management actions. Fourteen coral reef MPA managers and sixteen academics from eleven research, state and federal government institutions each outlined at least five pertinent research needs for improving the management of MPAs situated in Australian coral reefs. From this list of 173 key questions, we asked members of each group to rank questions in order of urgency, redundancy and importance, which allowed us to explore the extent of perceptional mismatch and overlap among the two groups. Our results suggest the mismatch among MPA managers and academics is small, with no significant difference among the groups in terms of their respective research interests, or the type of questions they pose. However, managers prioritised spatial management and monitoring as research themes, whilst academics identified climate change, resilience, spatial management, fishing and connectivity as the most important topics. Ranking of the posed questions by the two groups was also similar, although managers were less confident about the achievability of the posed research questions and whether questions represented a knowledge gap. We conclude that improved collaboration and knowledge transfer among management and academic groups can be used to achieve similar objectives and enhance the knowledge-based management of MPAs.

Designing monitoring programs for chemicals of emerging concern in potable reuse--what to include and what not to include?

This study discussed a proposed process to prioritize chemicals for reclaimed water monitoring programs, selection of analytical methods required for their quantification, toxicological relevance of chemicals of emerging concern regarding human health, and related issues. Given that thousands of chemicals are potentially present in reclaimed water and that information about those chemicals is rapidly evolving, a transparent, science-based framework was developed to guide prioritization of which compounds of emerging concern (CECs) should be included in reclaimed water monitoring programs. The recommended framework includes four steps: (1) compile environmental concentrations (e.g., measured environmental concentration or MEC) of CECs in the source water for reuse projects; (2) develop a monitoring trigger level (MTL) for each of these compounds (or groups thereof) based on toxicological relevance; (3) compare the environmental concentration (e.g., MEC) to the MTL; CECs with a MEC/MTL ratio greater than 1 should be prioritized for monitoring, compounds with a ratio less than '1' should only be considered if they represent viable treatment process performance indicators; and (4) screen the priority list to ensure that a commercially available robust analytical method is available for that compound.