New method for rearing Spodoptera frugiperda in laboratory shows that larval cannibalism is not obligatory

New method for rearing Spodoptera frugiperda in laboratory shows that larval cannibalism is not obligatory. Here we show, for the first time, that larvae of the fall armyworm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae), can be successfully reared in a cohort-based manner with virtually no cannibalism. FAW larvae were reared since the second instar to pupation in rectangular plastic containers containing 40 individuals with a surprisingly ca. 90% larval survivorship. Adult females from the cohort-based method showed fecundity similar to that already reported on literature for larvae reared individually, and fertility higher than 99%, with the advantage of combining economy of time, space and material resources. These findings suggest that the factors affecting cannibalism of FAW larvae in laboratory rearings need to be reevaluated, whilst the new technique also show potential to increase the efficiency of both small and mass FAW rearings.

Bioactivity of the latex from Parahancornia amapa (Apocynaceae) on the development of Rhodnius nasutus (Hemiptera, Reduviidae, Triatominae) under laboratory conditions

Bioactivity of the latex from Parahancornia amapa (Apocynaceae) on the development of Rhodnius nasutus (Hemiptera, Reduviidae, Triatominae) under laboratory conditions. The aim of this study was to verify the effects of the methanolic fraction of the latex from Parahancornia amapa (Apocynaceae) (PALAM) on individuals of the species Rhodnius nasutus Stål (Hemiptera, Triatominae). Many of the insects treated with the substance presented deformities and these may interfere in the feeding and possibly hinder the reproductive capacity. They also presented significant mortality during the molt when compared to the control group, noting a gradual increase in mortality. The treated insects also presented delayed nymphal development (5th instar) and higher adult longevity.

Biological aspects of immature stage of Nyssomyia whitmani (Antunes and Coutinho) (Diptera, Psychodidae, Phlebotominae) in laboratory conditions

Nyssomyia whitmani (Antunes and Coutinho, 1939) has been considered as a complex of cryptic species, and some of the populations of this complex plays an important role in the transmission of Leishmania spp. in Brazil. The present study reports the biological aspects concerning the productivity out of eggs and the development time of the descendants of females obtained in Dourados municipality, Mato Grosso do Sul state. The females were captured with modified electric aspirators, fed in hamsters and further individualized in containers for breeding. At the insectary, temperature and relative humidity were maintained on average of 24.5 °C and 67.3%, respectively. From 944 females 3737 eggs were obtained, 748 (20.0%) evolved to the stage of larvae, and 93 (12.4%) of these reached adult stage. The life cycle lasted 80.6 days and the last larval instar was the longest. The use of a higher protein diet revealed a significant improvement in larval development.

Report on a special investigation of the UNI Malcolm Price Laboratory School for the period July 1, 2006 through March 31, 2009

Report on a special investigation of the UNI Malcolm Price Laboratory School for the period July 1, 2006 through March 31, 2009

Hand-in-hand advances in biomedical engineering and sensorimotor restoration.

BACKGROUND: Living in a multisensory world entails the continuous sensory processing of environmental information in order to enact appropriate motor routines. The interaction between our body and our brain is the crucial factor for achieving such sensorimotor integration ability. Several clinical conditions dramatically affect the constant body-brain exchange, but the latest developments in biomedical engineering provide promising solutions for overcoming this communication breakdown. NEW METHOD: The ultimate technological developments succeeded in transforming neuronal electrical activity into computational input for robotic devices, giving birth to the era of the so-called brain-machine interfaces. Combining rehabilitation robotics and experimental neuroscience the rise of brain-machine interfaces into clinical protocols provided the technological solution for bypassing the neural disconnection and restore sensorimotor function. RESULTS: Based on these advances, the recovery of sensorimotor functionality is progressively becoming a concrete reality. However, despite the success of several recent techniques, some open issues still need to be addressed. COMPARISON WITH EXISTING METHOD(S): Typical interventions for sensorimotor deficits include pharmaceutical treatments and manual/robotic assistance in passive movements. These procedures achieve symptoms relief but their applicability to more severe disconnection pathologies is limited (e.g. spinal cord injury or amputation). CONCLUSIONS: Here we review how state-of-the-art solutions in biomedical engineering are continuously increasing expectances in sensorimotor rehabilitation, as well as the current challenges especially with regards to the translation of the signals from brain-machine interfaces into sensory feedback and the incorporation of brain-machine interfaces into daily activities.

Reproductive and post-reproductive life history of wild-caught Drosophila melanogaster under laboratory conditions.

The life history of the fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster) is well understood, but fitness components are rarely measured by following single individuals over their lifetime, thereby limiting insights into lifetime reproductive success, reproductive senescence and post-reproductive lifespan. Moreover, most studies have examined long-established laboratory strains rather than freshly caught individuals and may thus be confounded by adaptation to laboratory culture, inbreeding or mutation accumulation. Here, we have followed the life histories of individual females from three recently caught, non-laboratory-adapted wild populations of D. melanogaster. Populations varied in a number of life-history traits, including ovariole number, fecundity, hatchability and lifespan. To describe individual patterns of age-specific fecundity, we developed a new model that allowed us to distinguish four phases during a female's life: a phase of reproductive maturation, followed by a period of linear and then exponential decline in fecundity and, finally, a post-ovipository period. Individual females exhibited clear-cut fecundity peaks, which contrasts with previous analyses, and post-peak levels of fecundity declined independently of how long females lived. Notably, females had a pronounced post-reproductive lifespan, which on average made up 40% of total lifespan. Post-reproductive lifespan did not differ among populations and was not correlated with reproductive fitness components, supporting the hypothesis that this period is a highly variable, random 'add-on' at the end of reproductive life rather than a correlate of selection on reproductive fitness. Most life-history traits were positively correlated, a pattern that might be due to genotype by environment interactions when wild flies are brought into a novel laboratory environment but that is unlikely explained by inbreeding or positive mutational covariance caused by mutation accumulation.

Constraint and cost of oxidative stress on reproduction: correlative evidence in laboratory mice and review of the literature.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: One central concept in evolutionary ecology is that current and residual reproductive values are negatively linked by the so-called cost of reproduction. Previous studies examining the nature of this cost suggested a possible involvement of oxidative stress resulting from the imbalance between pro- and anti-oxidant processes. Still, data remain conflictory probably because, although oxidative damage increases during reproduction, high systemic levels of oxidative stress might also constrain parental investment in reproduction. Here, we investigated variation in oxidative balance (i.e. oxidative damage and antioxidant defences) over the course of reproduction by comparing female laboratory mice rearing or not pups. RESULTS: A significant increase in oxidative damage over time was only observed in females caring for offspring, whereas antioxidant defences increased over time regardless of reproductive status. Interestingly, oxidative damage measured prior to reproduction was negatively associated with litter size at birth (constraint), whereas damage measured after reproduction was positively related to litter size at weaning (cost). CONCLUSIONS: Globally, our correlative results and the review of literature describing the links between reproduction and oxidative stress underline the importance of timing/dynamics when studying and interpreting oxidative balance in relation to reproduction. Our study highlights the duality (constraint and cost) of oxidative stress in life-history trade-offs, thus supporting the theory that oxidative stress plays a key role in life-history evolution.

Development of a high throughput PCR to detect Coxiella burnetii and its application in a diagnostic laboratory over a 7-year period.

Q fever is a worldwide zoonotic infectious disease due to Coxiella burnetii. The clinical presentation may be acute (pneumonia and/or hepatitis) or chronic (most commonly endocarditis). Diagnosis mainly relies on serology and PCR. We therefore developed a quantitative real-time PCR. We first tested blindly its performance on various clinical samples and then, when thoroughly validated, we applied it during a 7-year period for the diagnosis of both acute and persistent C. burnetii infection. Analytical sensitivity (< 10 copies/PCR) was excellent. When tested blindly on 183 samples, the specificity of the PCR was 100% (142/142) and the sensitivity was 71% (29/41). The sensitivity was 88% (7/8) on valvular samples, 69% (20/29) on blood samples and 50% (2/4) on urine samples. This new quantitative PCR was then successfully applied for the diagnosis of acute Q fever and endovascular infection due to C. burnetii, allowing the diagnosis of Q fever in six patients over a 7-year period. During a local small cluster of cases, the PCR was also applied to blood from 1355 blood donors; all were negative confirming the high specificity of this test. In conclusion, we developed a highly specific method with excellent sensitivity, which may be used on sera for the diagnosis of acute Q fever and on various samples such as sera, valvular samples, aortic specimens, bone and liver, for the diagnosis of persistent C. burnetii infection.

Candida species distribution and antifungal susceptibility testing according to European Committee on Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing and new vs. old Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute clinical breakpoints: a 6-year prospective candidaemia survey from the fungal infection network of Switzerland.

We analyzed the species distribution of Candida blood isolates (CBIs), prospectively collected between 2004 and 2009 within FUNGINOS, and compared their antifungal susceptibility according to clinical breakpoints defined by the European Committee on Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing (EUCAST) in 2013, and the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) in 2008 (old CLSI breakpoints) and 2012 (new CLSI breakpoints). CBIs were tested for susceptiblity to fluconazole, voriconazole and caspofungin by microtitre broth dilution (Sensititre(®) YeastOne? test panel). Of 1090 CBIs, 675 (61.9%) were C. albicans, 191 (17.5%) C. glabrata, 64 (5.9%) C. tropicalis, 59 (5.4%) C. parapsilosis, 33 (3%) C. dubliniensis, 22 (2%) C. krusei and 46 (4.2%) rare Candida species. Independently of the breakpoints applied, C. albicans was almost uniformly (>98%) susceptible to all three antifungal agents. In contrast, the proportions of fluconazole- and voriconazole-susceptible C. tropicalis and F-susceptible C. parapsilosis were lower according to EUCAST/new CLSI breakpoints than to the old CLSI breakpoints. For caspofungin, non-susceptibility occurred mainly in C. krusei (63.3%) and C. glabrata (9.4%). Nine isolates (five C. tropicalis, three C. albicans and one C. parapsilosis) were cross-resistant to azoles according to EUCAST breakpoints, compared with three isolates (two C. albicans and one C. tropicalis) according to new and two (2 C. albicans) according to old CLSI breakpoints. Four species (C. albicans, C. glabrata, C. tropicalis and C. parapsilosis) represented >90% of all CBIs. In vitro resistance to fluconazole, voriconazole and caspofungin was rare among C. albicans, but an increase of non-susceptibile isolates was observed among C. tropicalis/C. parapsilosis for the azoles and C. glabrata/C. krusei for caspofungin according to EUCAST and new CLSI breakpoints compared with old CLSI breakpoints.

A Laboratory Investigation into the Effects of the Aggregated Related Facts of Critical VMA in Asphalt Paving Mixtures, June 2000

This report summarizes research conducted at Iowa State University on behalf of the Iowa Department of Transportation, focusing on the volumetric state of hot-mix asphalt (HMA) mixtures as they transition from stable to unstable configurations. This has raditionally been addressed during mix design by meeting a minimum voids in the mineral aggregate (VMA) requirement, based solely upon the nominal maximum aggregate size without regard to other significant aggregate-related properties. The goal was to expand the current specification to include additional aggregate properties, e.g., fineness modulus, percent crushed fine and coarse aggregate, and their interactions. The work was accomplished in three phases: a literature review, extensive laboratory testing, and statistical analysis of test results. The literature review focused on the history and development of the current specification, laboratory methods of identifying critical mixtures, and the effects of other aggregate-related factors on critical mixtures. The laboratory testing involved three maximum aggregate sizes (19.0, 12.5, and 9.5 millimeters), three gradations (coarse, fine, and dense), and combinations of natural and manufactured coarse and fine aggregates. Specimens were compacted using the Superpave Gyratory Compactor (SGC), conventionally tested for bulk and maximum theoretical specific gravities and physically tested using the Nottingham Asphalt Tester (NAT) under a repeated load confined configuration to identify the transition state from sound to unsound. The statistical analysis involved using ANOVA and linear regression to examine the effects of identified aggregate factors on critical state transitions in asphalt paving mixtures and to develop predictive equations. The results clearly demonstrate that the volumetric conditions of an HMA mixture at the stable unstable threshold are influenced by a composite measure of the maximum aggregate size and gradation and by aggregate shape and texture. The currently defined VMA criterion, while significant, is seen to be insufficient by itself to correctly differentiate sound from unsound mixtures. Under current specifications, many otherwise sound mixtures are subject to rejection solely on the basis of failing to meet the VMA requirement. Based on the laboratory data and statistical analysis, a new paradigm to volumetric mix design is proposed that explicitly accounts for aggregate factors (gradation, shape, and texture).

Duloxetine inhibits effects of MDMA ("ecstasy") in vitro and in humans in a randomized placebo-controlled laboratory study.

This study assessed the effects of the serotonin (5-HT) and norepinephrine (NE) transporter inhibitor duloxetine on the effects of 3,4-methylenedioxy-methamphetamine (MDMA, ecstasy) in vitro and in 16 healthy subjects. The clinical study used a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, four-session, crossover design. In vitro, duloxetine blocked the release of both 5-HT and NE by MDMA or by its metabolite 3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine from transmitter-loaded human cells expressing the 5-HT or NE transporter. In humans, duloxetine inhibited the effects of MDMA including elevations in circulating NE, increases in blood pressure and heart rate, and the subjective drug effects. Duloxetine inhibited the pharmacodynamic response to MDMA despite an increase in duloxetine-associated elevations in plasma MDMA levels. The findings confirm the important role of MDMA-induced 5-HT and NE release in the psychotropic effects of MDMA. Duloxetine may be useful in the treatment of psychostimulant dependence. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinicaltrials.gov NCT00990067.