Preference of foraging ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) for bait toxicants in South African vineyards

Argentine ants Linepithema humile (Mayr), common pugnacious ants Anoplolepis custodiens (F. Smith) and cocktail ants Crematogaster peringueyi Emery are the main indirect ant pests in South African vineyards. These ants form mutualistic relationships with the vine mealybug Planococcus ficus (Signoret) (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae), an economic phloem-feeding pest of vines that excretes honeydew. Ants feed on the honeydew from mealybugs and also affect predator-prey interactions by protecting them from attack by natural enemies. This consequently reduces the efficacy of predators and parasitic Hymenoptera in controlling P. ficus. Current strategies for ant control are limited to the application of long term residual insecticides that are detrimental to the environment, labour intensive to apply and potentially disruptive to biological control. Here, we report on the development of an alternative method of ant control using baits which are likely to show delayed toxicity to these ant species. Field bait preference assessments were carried out during spring, summer and autumn in three vineyards of the Cape Winelands region, Republic of South Africa during 2007/08. Preference/non-preference is the first behaviour an ant exhibits when encountering bait and this was measured in terms of numbers of ants at bait stations. Five toxicants comprising Gourmet ant bait (containing 0.5% boric acid as active ingredient and a honeydew mimic as an attractant), boric acid (0.5%), fipronil (0.0001%), fenoxycarb (0.5%) and spinosad (0.01%) all dissolved in 25% sucrose solution were tested against a 25% sucrose solution control. Gourmet ant bait was overall the most preferred bait during spring, summer and autumn, and on some occasions being significantly more preferable to ants than the control solution.     

Ectomycorrhizal community and extracellular enzyme activity following simulated atmospheric N deposition

Ectomycorrhizal (EM) fungi are abundant in temperate and boreal ecosystems and are understood to be an important means whereby plants can fulfill their nutrition requirements. The extent of the EM fungal involvement in accessing organic sources of N, however, remains unknown. Some EM fungi have been found to produce lignolytic and proteolytic enzymes which are necessary to depolymerize organic substrates, but this ability varies by species. Both EM fungal communities and the activities of lignolytic and proteolytic enzymes may be sensitive to changes in inorganic N availability such as through increased atmospheric deposition. Our objectives were to simulate an ecologically relevant increase in atmospheric N deposition in areas currently receiving very little exogenous N and examine changes in EM community composition, lignin degrading enzyme activity, and soil protein depolymerization. We found a distinct shift in the EM community composition following simulated atmospheric N deposition. Likewise, we found a significant decrease in the activity of lignin degrading enzymes, which could have important implications on ecosystem N and C cycling. Contrary to our hypotheses, proteolysis increased following N addition. The fact that lignolytic and proteolytic enzymes exhibit opposite responses is counterintuitive and suggests much is yet to be learned about how N addition affects global C storage by affecting the decomposition of organic matter. Our data suggest small increases in atmospheric N deposition could produce significant changes in communities of EM fungi and N and C cycles.     

Synthesis of self-pillared zeolite nanosheets by repetitive branching

Hierarchical zeolites are a class of microporous catalysts and adsorbents that also contain mesopores, which allow for fast transport of bulky molecules and thereby enable improved performance in petrochemical and biomass processing. We used repetitive branching during one-step hydrothermal crystal growth to synthesize a new hierarchical zeolite made of orthogonally connected microporous nanosheets. The nanosheets are 2 nanometers thick and contain a network of 0.5-nanometer micropores. The house-of-cards arrangement of the nanosheets creates a permanent network of 2- to 7-nanometer mesopores, which, along with the high external surface area and reduced micropore diffusion length, account for higher reaction rates for bulky molecules relative to those of other mesoporous and conventional MFI zeolites.     

Differences in food habits and cardiovascular disease risk factors among Native Americans with and without diabetes: the Inter-Tribal Heart Project

OBJECTIVE: To examine differences in food habits among Native Americans with and without diabetes. DESIGN: A cross-sectional epidemiological study in which participants underwent a physical examination and answered an extensive interviewer-administered questionnaire to assess differences in food servings, preparation and eating habits. SETTING/PARTICIPANTS: Participants aged >/=25 years were randomly selected from three reservations in Minnesota and Wisconsin. There were 990 persons without diabetes, 294 with a prior diagnosis of diabetes, and 80 with fasting glucose >125 mg dl(-1) but no prior diabetes diagnosis. RESULTS: Persons with prior diabetes diagnosis were less likely than those without diabetes to report eating fast-food meals two or more times per week, eat visible fat on meat or the skin on poultry, eat fried chicken or fried fish, to add fat to cooked vegetables and drink whole milk. Persons with previously undiagnosed diabetes were more likely than previously diagnosed persons to report eating fast-food meals two or more times per week, eat visible fat on meat and the skin on poultry, drink whole milk and eat fried fish, but were less likely to drink low-fat milk. Previously undiagnosed persons were more likely than either diagnosed persons or persons without diabetes to consume lard from cooked foods and use it when cooking. CONCLUSION: Persons with diagnosed diabetes showed healthier eating patterns than those without diabetes, while undiagnosed persons showed some less favourable patterns. Because virtually all persons with diabetes in these communities receive nutrition education, the results suggest that nutrition education programmes for diabetics may be associated with healthier eating patterns.     

Endogenous MHC class II processing of a viral nuclear antigen after autophagy

CD4+ T cells classically recognize antigens that are endocytosed and processed in lysosomes for presentation on major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II molecules. Here, endogenous Epstein-Barr virus nuclear antigen 1 (EBNA1) was found to gain access to this pathway by autophagy. On inhibition of lysosomal acidification, EBNA1, the dominant CD4+ T cell antigen of latent Epstein-Barr virus infection, slowly accumulated in cytosolic autophagosomes. In addition, inhibition of autophagy decreased recognition by EBNA1-specific CD4+ T cell clones. Thus, lysosomal processing after autophagy may contribute to MHC class II-restricted surveillance of long-lived endogenous antigens including nuclear proteins relevant to disease.     

Analgesic efficacy of intra‐articular morphine in experimentally induced radiocarpal synovitis in horses

ObjectiveTo compare the analgesic effect of intra-articular (IA) and intravenous (IV) morphine in horses with experimentally induced synovitis.AnimalsEight adult horses.Study designRandomized, observer blinded, double dummy trial with sequential crossover design.MethodsRadiocarpal synovitis was induced by IA injection of lipopolysaccharide on two occasions separated by a 3-week washout period. In one study period horses received treatment IA; morphine IA (0.05 mg kg^?1) plus saline IV and in the other study period they received treatment IV; saline IA plus morphine IV (0.05 mg kg^?1). Lameness and pain were evaluated repeatedly by two observers throughout each of the two 168-hour study periods. Pain was evaluated by use of a visual analogue scale of pain intensity (VAS) and a composite measure pain scale (CMPS). Comparison of treatments was performed by analysis of variance with repeated measurements. Significance level was set to p ≤ 0.05. Inter-observer agreement and agreement between the VAS and CMPS was assessed by use of the Bland–Altman method.ResultsIntra-articular injection of LPS elicited a marked synovitis resulting in lameness and pain. IA morphine resulted in significantly less lameness than IV morphine (p = 0.03). CMPS (p = 0.09) and VAS (p = 0.10) pain scores did not differ significantly between treatments. Inter-observer agreement of the CMPS was classified as good, but only fair for the VAS. Agreement between the two pain scales was considered fair.Conclusions and clinical relevanceAn analgesic effect of IA morphine was demonstrated by significantly reduced lameness scores. The results support the common practice of including IA morphine in a multimodal analgesic protocol after arthroscopic surgery, although further studies in clinical cases are needed. The employed CMPS had good reproducibility, and was easy to use, but may have limited sensitivity at mild intensity pain.     

Population genetics and ethnobotany of cultivated Diospyros riojae Gómez Pompa (Ebenaceae), an endangered fruit crop from Mexico

The traditional cultivation of an endangered species, Diospyros riojae, in North-Central Mexico, and the sale of its fruit, is described for the first time. This is complemented by the first examination of genetic structure in New World Ebenaceae. Genetic comparisons are made among 27 accessions of D. riojae from across its known range of cultivation, and individuals of Diospyros conzattii, Diospyros digyna, Diospyros californica, Diospyros rosei, Diospyros rekoi and an unknown species of Diospyros from Oaxaca, Mexico. Morphological comparisons are made between D. conzattii, D. riojae, and the unknown species of Diospyros from Oaxaca. D. riojae is cultivated in two markedly different climates: arid and semi-arid localities west of the Sierra Gorda, especially near Tecozautla, Hidalgo, and humid areas of the Huasteca Region, east of the Sierra Gorda. Much lower levels of genetic diversity were detected in western populations, where populations are larger, and management intensity is the greatest. Neither the results of our genetic analysis, nor our morphological analysis of recent collections of D. riojae, D. conzattii, and an unknown species from Oaxaca, are consistent with the most recent revision of Neotropical Diospyros. Taxon-level divergence, rather than cultivar-level divergence, is suggested for D. riojae and D. conzattii.