Interaction between toxigenic fungi and weevils in corn grain samples

This study investigated the ability of weevils to transmit Aspergillus flavus and Fusarium verticillioides fungal spores and the consequent production of mycotoxins. For this purpose, corn grain samples were stored in flasks connected to a hose to form a closed system (flasks A and B). Flasks A were inoculated with the following groups: group 1 (corn + weevil); group 2 (corn + A. flavus); group 3 (corn + A. flavus + weevil); group 4 (corn + F. verticillioides); group 5 (corn + E verticillioides + weevil), and group 6 (corn + A. flavus + E verticillioides + weevil). Flasks B contained sterile grains. The samples were incubated for 10, 20 and 30 days, posteriorly, weight, water activity, mycoflora, aflatoxins and fumonisins. The corn grain samples were also submitted to scanning electron microscopy. Our results showed that weevils could enhance corn grains contamination by these fungi, hence, could increase mycotoxins production. These findings demonstrate the importance of weevils as fungal vectors and the need for good manipulation and storage practices of grains. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Description of immature stages of Phelypera schuppeli (Boheman, 1834) with comments on natural history (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Hyperinae)

Immatures of the Phelypera schuppeli (Boheman, 1834) (Curculionidae; Hyperinae; Cepurini) are described, illustrated and compared with available descriptions of larvae and pupae of Hyperini. Immatures and adults from midwest (Dourados, Mato Grosso do Sul; Pirenopolis, Goias) and southeast Brazil (Bauru, Sao Paulo) were found on leaves of the host plant, Pachira aquatica Aubl. (Malvaceae, formerly Bombacaceae), a tree used as an ornamental plant in many Brazilian frost-free cities. Larvae of P. schuppeli are exophytic, brightly colored, eruciform and possess abdominal ambulatory ampullae, resembling larvae of Lepidoptera. Mature larvae can spin globular lattice-like cocoons where pupation takes place. Data in the field and under laboratory conditions confirmed previously published biological observations on P. schuppeli. Additional information about defensive behaviors, process of cocoon construction and natural enemies, such as the larval predator Supputius cinticeps (Stal, 1860) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) and the prepupal and pupal parasitoid Jaliscoa nudipennis Boucek, 1993 (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae), are reported.

Dual-energy multidetector CT: how does it work, what can it tell us, and when can we use it in abdominopelvic imaging?

Dual-energy CT provides information about how substances behave at different energies, the ability to generate virtual unenhanced datasets, and improved detection of iodine-containing substances on low-energy images. Knowing how a substance behaves at two different energies can provide information about tissue composition beyond that obtainable with single-energy techniques. The term K edge refers to the spike in attenuation that occurs at energy levels just greater than that of the K-shell binding because of the increased photoelectric absorption at these energy levels. K-edge values vary for each element, and they increase as the atomic number increases. The energy dependence of the photoelectric effect and the variability of K edges form the basis of dual-energy techniques, which may be used to detect substances such as iodine, calcium, and uric acid crystals. The closer the energy level used in imaging is to the K edge of a substance such as iodine, the more the substance attenuates. In the abdomen and pelvis, dual-energy CT may be used in the liver to increase conspicuity of hypervascular lesions; in the kidneys, to distinguish hyperattenuating cysts from enhancing renal masses and to characterize renal stone composition; in the adrenal glands, to characterize adrenal nodules; and in the pancreas, to differentiate between normal and abnormal parenchyma.

Focal cystic high-attenuation lesions: characterization in renal phantom by using photon-counting spectral CT--improved differentiation of lesion composition

To evaluate the capability of spectral computed tomography (CT) to improve the characterization of cystic high-attenuation lesions in a renal phantom and to test the hypothesis that spectral CT will improve the differentiation of cystic renal lesions with high protein content and those that have undergone hemorrhage or malignant contrast-enhancing transformation.

[Consensus recommendations for the assessment of fitness to drive in cognitively impaired patients]

Memory Clinics provide evidence based diagnosis and treatment of dementia. Whenever a diagnosis of dementia is made, it is important to inform the patients about the possible impact of dementia on driving. Patients and their next of kin require competent advice whenever this difficult question is addressed and the mobility desire and the risks related to driving need to be carefully weight up. The time of diagnosis does not necessarily equate to the time when a person with dementia becomes an unsafe driver. The cause and severity of dementia, comorbidities and the current medication need to be carefully taken into account for this decision. On behalf of the association of the Swiss Memory Clinics, a group of experts has developed recommendations to assess fitness to drive in cognitively impaired older adults.

First intercomparison study on the analysis of oxygenated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (oxy-PAHs) and nitrogen heterocyclic polycyclic aromatic compounds (N-PACs) in contaminated soil

Oxygenated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (oxy-PAHs) and nitrogen heterocyclic polycyclic aromatic compounds (N-PACs) are toxic, highly leachable and often abundant at sites that are also contaminated with PAHs. However, due to lack of regulations and standardized methods for their analysis, they are seldom included in monitoring and risk-assessment programs. This intercomparison study constitutes an important step in the harmonization of the analytical methods currently used, and may also be considered a first step towards the certification of reference materials for these compounds. The results showed that the participants were able to determine oxy-PAHs with accuracy similar to PAHs, with average determined mass fractions agreeing well with the known levels in a spiked soil and acceptable inter- and intra-laboratory precisions for all soils analyzed. For the N-PACs, the results were less satisfactory, and have to be improved by using analytical methods more specifically optimized for these compounds.

Induced Jasmonate Signaling Leads to Contrasting Effects on Root Damage and Herbivore Performance

Induced defenses play a key role in plant resistance against leaf feeders. However, very little is known about the signals that are involved in defending plants against root feeders and how they are influenced by abiotic factors. We investigated these aspects for the interaction between rice (Oryza sativa) and two root-feeding insects: the generalist cucumber beetle (Diabrotica balteata) and the more specialized rice water weevil (Lissorhoptrus oryzophilus). Rice plants responded to root attack by increasing the production of jasmonic acid (JA) and abscisic acid, whereas in contrast to in herbivore-attacked leaves, salicylic acid and ethylene levels remained unchanged. The JA response was decoupled from flooding and remained constant over different soil moisture levels. Exogenous application of methyl JA to the roots markedly decreased the performance of both root herbivores, whereas abscisic acid and the ethylene precursor 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid did not have any effect. JA-deficient antisense 13-lipoxygenase (asLOX) and mutant allene oxide cyclase hebiba plants lost more root biomass under attack from both root herbivores. Surprisingly, herbivore weight gain was decreased markedly in asLOX but not hebiba mutant plants, despite the higher root biomass removal. This effect was correlated with a herbivore-induced reduction of sucrose pools in asLOX roots. Taken together, our experiments show that jasmonates are induced signals that protect rice roots from herbivores under varying abiotic conditions and that boosting jasmonate responses can strongly enhance rice resistance against root pests. Furthermore, we show that a rice 13-lipoxygenase regulates root primary metabolites and specifically improves root herbivore growth.

Stadtbezirk 29: Urwahlbezirk 53: In der Vorversammlung wurden gewählt ...

Welsch (Projektbearbeiter): Bekanntgabe der in der Vorversammlung gewählten Kandidaten des 53. Berliner Urwahlbezirks

A fungal endophyte helps plants to tolerate root herbivory through changes in gibberellin and jasmonate signaling

Plant–microbe mutualisms can improve plant defense, but the impact of root endophytes on below-ground herbivore interactions remains unknown. We investigated the effects of the root endophyte Piriformospora indica on interactions between rice (Oryza sativa) plants and its root herbivore rice water weevil (RWW; Lissorhoptrus oryzophilus), and how plant jasmonic acid (JA) and GA regulate this tripartite interaction. Glasshouse experiments with wild-type rice and coi1-18 and Eui1-OX mutants combined with nutrient, jasmonate and gene expression analyses were used to test: whether RWW adult herbivory above ground influences subsequent damage caused by larval herbivory below ground; whether P. indica protects plants against RWW; and whether GA and JA signaling mediate these interactions. The endophyte induced plant tolerance to root herbivory. RWW adults and larvae acted synergistically via JA signaling to reduce root growth, while endophyte-elicited GA biosynthesis suppressed the herbivore-induced JA in roots and recovered plant growth. Our study shows for the first time the impact of a root endophyte on plant defense against below-ground herbivores, adds to growing evidence that induced tolerance may be an important root defense, and implicates GA as a signal component of inducible plant tolerance against biotic stress.

Die Bedeutung Zentral-Afrikas und die afrikanische Centralbahn (Ost-West) : Betrachtungen

von A. von Falkenegg

Geschichte der christlichen Kirche : für die reifere Jugend und zur häuslichen Erbauung ; mit einer chronologischen Zeittafel

von F. Boll