Metabolic analysis of the interaction between plants and herbivores

Insect herbivores by necessity have to deal with a large arsenal of plant defence metabolites. The levels of defence compounds may be increased by insect damage. These induced plant responses may also affect the metabolism and performance of successive insect herbivores. As the chemical nature of induced responses is largely unknown, global metabolomic analyses are a valuable tool to gain more insight into the metabolites possibly involved in such interactions. This study analyzed the interaction between feral cabbage (Brassica oleracea) and small cabbage white caterpillars (Pieris rapae) and how previous attacks to the plant affect the caterpillar metabolism. Because plants may be induced by shoot and root herbivory, we compared shoot and root induction by treating the plants on either plant part with jasmonic acid. Extracts of the plants and the caterpillars were chemically analysed using Ultra Performance Liquid Chromatography/Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry (UPLCT/MS). The study revealed that the levels of three structurally related coumaroylquinic acids were elevated in plants treated on the shoot. The levels of these compounds in plants and caterpillars were highly correlated: these compounds were defined as the ‘metabolic interface’. The role of these metabolites could only be discovered using simultaneous analysis of the plant and caterpillar metabolomes. We conclude that a metabolomics approach is useful in discovering unexpected bioactive compounds involved in ecological interactions between plants and their herbivores and higher trophic levels.

Vibro-Injection Pile Installation in Sand: Part I—Interpretation as Multi-material Flow

The installation of vibro-injection piles into saturated sand has a significant impact on the surrounding soil and neighboring buildings. It is generally characterized by a multi-material flow with large material deformations, non-stationary and new material interfaces, and by the interaction of the grain skeleton and the pore water. Part 1 in this series of papers is concerned with the mathematical and physical modeling of the multi-material flow associated with vibro-injection pile installation. This model is the backbone of a new multi-material arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian (MMALE) numerical method presented in Part 2.DFG, 76838227, Numerische Modellierung der Herstellung von Rüttelinjektionspfähle

Prestige, Performance and Social Pressure in Viral Challenge Memes: Neknomination, the Ice-Bucket Challenge and SmearForSmear as Imitative Encounters

This article examines social media challenges that emerged in 2013, focusing on Neknomination, the Ice-Bucket Challenge and SmearForSmear. We understand them as ‘viral challenge memes’ that manifest a set of consistent features, making them a distinctive phenomenon within digital culture. Drawing upon Tarde’s concept of the imitative-encounter, we highlight three central features: their basis in social belonging and participation; the role of prestigious people and groups in determining the spread of challenges; and the distinctive techniques of self-presentation undertaken by participants. Based upon focus group interviews, surveys and visual analysis we suggest that viral challenge memes are social practices that diffuse in a wave-like fashion. Negotiating tensions between the social and individual, imitation and innovation, continuity and change, viral challenge memes are best thought of as creative practices, rather than sheep-like acts of conformity, and affirm the usefulness of analytical principles drawn from Tarde

Long-term population dynamics of dreissenid mussels (Dreissena polymorpha and D. rostriformis): a cross-system analysis

Dreissenid mussels (including the zebra mussel Dreissena polymorpha and the quagga mussel D. rostriformis) are among the world's most notorious invasive species, with large and widespread ecological and economic effects. However, their long-term population dynamics are poorly known, even though these dynamics are critical to determining impacts and effective management. We gathered and analyzed 67 long-term (>10 yr) data sets on dreissenid populations from lakes and rivers across Europe and North America. We addressed five questions: (1) How do Dreissena populations change through time? (2) Specifically, do Dreissena populations decline substantially after an initial outbreak phase? (3) Do different measures of population performance (biomass or density of settled animals, veliger density, recruitment of young) follow the same patterns through time? (4) How do the numbers or biomass of zebra mussels or of both species combined change after the quagga mussel arrives? (5) How does body size change over time? We also considered whether current data on long-term dynamics of Dreissena populations are adequate for science and management. Individual Dreissena populations showed a wide range of temporal dynamics, but we could detect only two general patterns that applied across many populations: (1) Populations of both species increased rapidly in the first 1–2 yr after appearance, and (2) quagga mussels appeared later than zebra mussels and usually quickly caused large declines in zebra mussel populations. We found little evidence that combined Dreissena populations declined over the long term. Different measures of population performance were not congruent; the temporal dynamics of one life stage or population attribute cannot generally be accurately inferred from the dynamics of another. We found no consistent patterns in the long-term dynamics of body size. The long-term dynamics of Dreissena populations probably are driven by the ecological characteristics (e.g., predation, nutrient inputs, water temperature) and their temporal changes at individual sites rather than following a generalized time course that applies across many sites. Existing long-term data sets on dreissenid populations, although clearly valuable, are inadequate to meet research and management needs. Data sets could be improved by standardizing sampling designs and methods, routinely collecting more variables, and increasing support.Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies (DLS) NSF‐LTREB. Grant Number: DEB‐1556246 NSF‐OPUS. Grant Numbers: DEB‐1456532, JE 288/9‐1, JE 288/9‐2, TÁMOP‐4.2.2.A‐11/1/KONV‐2012‐0038, GINOP‐2.3.2‐15‐2016‐00019, LG‐T; USGS G14AC000263, US EPA GL00E01184 Cornell Agricultural Experiment Station. Grant Number: NYC‐0226747 New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. Grant Number: 1517823 Belarusian Republican Foundation for Fundamental Researc

Distonias: conceitos, classificação e fisiopatologia

Pacientes portadores de movimentos distônicos têm sido relatados na literatura desde o fim do século passado. A conceituação clínica do movimento distônico tem sido debatida. Atualmente, é definida como uma síndrome de contrações musculares mantidas, frequentemente causando movimentos repetitivos ou de torção, ou posturas anormais. Distonias costumam ser classificadas segundo três critérios: distribuição, idade de início e etiologia. As formas generalizadas costumam iniciar-se na infância enquanto as formas focais quase sempre se iniciam na idade adulta. Movimentos e posturas distônicas podem ocorrer durante o repouso ou apenas durante o movimento voluntário. Geralmente pioram ou são desencadeados pela adoção de posturas específicas. Não se conhecem os mecanismos fisiopatológicos responsáveis pelo aparecimento da distonia. Evidências obtidas a partir do estudo das formas secundárias sugerem o envolvimento de algumas regiões dos núcleos da base, particularmente o putâmen e o globo pálido.Since the last decades of the past century there have been several reports in the medical literature describing patients with dystonia. The clinical and phenomenological concepts of dystonic movements have been debated. Presently, dystonia is defined as a syndrome of sustained muscle contractions, frequently causing twisting and repetitive movements, or abnormal postures. Dystonia is usually classified according to three criteria: distribution, age of onset and etiology. The generalized forms often have their onset at childhood whereas the focal forms are most commonly seen in adults. Dystonic movements and postures can occur during resting or they can be precipitated by voluntary movements or by the adoption of specific posture patterns.The pathophysiologic mechanisms related to the appearance of dystonia are presently unknown. However, there are compelling evidences suggesting the involvement of some basal ganglia nuclei (e.g.putamen and globus palidus) in the development of dystonia

Childhood cancer research in Oxford II: the childhood cancer research group

Background We summarise the work of the Childhood Cancer Research Group, particularly in relation to the UK National Registry of Childhood Tumours (NRCT). Methods The Group was responsible for setting up and maintaining the NRCT. This registry was based on notifications from regional cancer registries, specialist children’s tumour registries, paediatric oncologists and clinical trials organisers. For a large sample of cases, data on controls matched by date and place of birth were also collected. Results Significant achievements of the Group include: studies of aetiology and of genetic epidemiology; proposals for, and participation in, international comparative studies of these diseases and on a classification system specifically for childhood cancer; the initial development of, and major contributions to, follow-up studies of the health of long-term survivors; the enhancement of cancer registration records by the addition of clinical data and of birth records. The Group made substantial contributions to the UK government’s Committee on Medical Aspects of Radiation in the Environment. Conclusion An important part of the ethos of the Group was to work in collaboration with many other organisations and individuals, both nationally and internationally: many of the Group’s achievements described here were the result of such collaborations

Phaeochromocytoma and functioning paraganglioma in childhood and adolescence: role of iodine 131 metaiodobenzylguanidine

Phaeochromocytomas and functioning paragangliomas are rare tumours in childhood and adolescence. We review our experience of 43 cases (24 men, 19 women) who were first diagnosed at the age of ⩽ 18 years. All patients were evaluated at some point in their illness with iodine 131 metaiodobenzylguanidine ( 131 I-mIBG) scintigraphy. Eight patients (19%) had bilateral adrenal tumours, 12 (28%) had solitary extra-adrenal tumours, and 8 (19%) had multiple tumours. In 10 patients (23%), the tumours were associated with a familial neurocristopathic syndrome. Thirteen of 24 (54%) unifocal tumours which were initially considered to be benign ultimately proved to be multi-focal and/or malignant. The final prevalence of malignancy was 60% − 26 patients, of whom only 15 (57%) had obviously malignant tumours at the time of diagnosis. Primary tumour size ⋝5 cm was more commonly associated with a malignant course in adrenal but not extra-adrenal tumours. No other clinical, biochemical or morphological characteristic was significantly associated with malignancy. Although the high prevalence of malignancy in this series at least partly reflects referral bias, the need for lifelong follow-up of these patients is underscored. 131 I-mIBG scintigraphy was positive in 36 patients (84%), with a somewhat lower false-negative rate (12%) than X-ray computed tomography (20%). Eight patients with malignant tumours received therapeutic doses of 131 I-mIBG, with partial tumour responses in 3. Thus, 131 I-mIBG is an efficacious, non-invasive, localising agent and may be considered as a palliative therapeutic agent when alternatives have failed.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/46831/1/259_2005_Article_BF02262730.pd

Pan-cancer analysis of whole genomes

Cancer is driven by genetic change, and the advent of massively parallel sequencing has enabled systematic documentation of this variation at the whole-genome scale(1-3). Here we report the integrative analysis of 2,658 whole-cancer genomes and their matching normal tissues across 38 tumour types from the Pan-Cancer Analysis of Whole Genomes (PCAWG) Consortium of the International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC) and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). We describe the generation of the PCAWG resource, facilitated by international data sharing using compute clouds. On average, cancer genomes contained 4-5 driver mutations when combining coding and non-coding genomic elements; however, in around 5% of cases no drivers were identified, suggesting that cancer driver discovery is not yet complete. Chromothripsis, in which many clustered structural variants arise in a single catastrophic event, is frequently an early event in tumour evolution; in acral melanoma, for example, these events precede most somatic point mutations and affect several cancer-associated genes simultaneously. Cancers with abnormal telomere maintenance often originate from tissues with low replicative activity and show several mechanisms of preventing telomere attrition to critical levels. Common and rare germline variants affect patterns of somatic mutation, including point mutations, structural variants and somatic retrotransposition. A collection of papers from the PCAWG Consortium describes non-coding mutations that drive cancer beyond those in the TERT promoter(4); identifies new signatures of mutational processes that cause base substitutions, small insertions and deletions and structural variation(5,6); analyses timings and patterns of tumour evolution(7); describes the diverse transcriptional consequences of somatic mutation on splicing, expression levels, fusion genes and promoter activity(8,9); and evaluates a range of more-specialized features of cancer genomes(8,10-18).Peer reviewe