Complex floral traits shape pollinator attraction to ornamental plants.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Ornamental flowering plant species are often used in managed greenspaces to attract and support pollinator populations. In natural systems, selection by pollinators is hypothesized to result in convergent multimodal floral phenotypes that are more attractive to specific pollinator taxa. In contrast, ornamental cultivars are bred via artificial selection by humans, and exhibit diverse and distinct phenotypes. Despite their prevalence in managed habitats, the influence of cultivar phenotypic variation on plant attractiveness to pollinator taxa is not well resolved. METHODS: We used a combination of field and behavioural assays to evaluate how variation in floral visual, chemical and nutritional traits impacted overall attractiveness and visitation by pollinator taxonomic groups and bee species to 25 cultivars of five herbaceous perennial ornamental plant genera. KEY RESULTS: Despite significant phenotypic variation, cultivars tended to attract a broad range of pollinator species. Nonetheless, at the level of insect order (bee, fly, butterfly, beetle), attraction was generally modulated by traits consistent with the pollination syndrome hypothesis. At the level of bee species, the relative influence of traits on visitation varied across plant genera, with some floral phenotypes leading to a broadening of the visitor community, and others leading to exclusion of visitation by certain bee species. CONCLUSIONS: Our results demonstrate how pollinator choice is mediated by complex multimodal floral signals. Importantly, the traits that had the greatest and most consistent effect on regulating pollinator attraction were those that are commonly selected for in cultivar development. Though variation among cultivars in floral traits may limit the pollinator community by excluding certain species, it may also encourage interactions with generalist taxa to support pollinator diversity in managed landscapes.

Measuring Plant Attractiveness to Pollinators: Methods and Considerations.

Global pollinator declines have fostered increased public interest in creating pollinator-friendly gardens in human-managed landscapes. Indeed, studies on urban pollinator communities suggest that flower-rich greenspaces can serve as promising sites for conservation. Ornamental flowers, which are readily available at most commercial garden centers, are ubiquitous in these landscapes. These varieties are often non-native and highly bred, and their utility to pollinators is complex. In this study, we used observational data and citizen science to develop a methods framework that will assist stakeholders in the floriculture industry to incorporate metrics of pollinator health into existing breeding and evaluation protocols. The results of this study support how plant attractiveness to pollinators is often dependent on variables such as climate and plant phenology, which should be considered when developing an assessment tool. Furthermore, we found that some cultivars were consistently attractive across all observations while for other cultivars, pollinator visitation was apparently conditional. We determine using multiple statistical tests that 10 min is a sufficient length of time for observation of most plant types to broadly estimate three measures of plant attractiveness: visitor abundance, primary visitors attracted, and cultivar rank attractiveness, without sacrificing efficiency or accuracy. Additionally, we demonstrate that properly trained non-expert observers can collect accurate observational data, and our results suggest that protocols may be designed to maximize consistency across diverse data collectors.

Herbaceous perennial ornamental plants can support complex pollinator communities.

Human-designed landscapes can host diverse pollinator communities, and the availability of floral resources is central to supporting insect biodiversity in highly modified environments. However, some urban landscapes have relatively few pollinator-attractive plant species and management in urban environments rarely considers the function of these plants in generating and supporting a stable ecological community. Evaluations of 25 cultivars within five commercially popular herbaceous perennial ornamental plant genera (Agastache, Echinacea, Nepeta, Rudbeckia, and Salvia) revealed variation in the total and proportional abundance of visitors attracted. These varieties supported multiple pollinator functional groups, however bees were the primary visitors to in this system. Cultivars were assessed according to their function within a plant-pollinator network. Comparisons of artificial networks created with the six most attractive and six least attractive cultivars demonstrated that a planting scheme using the most attractive cultivars would attract nearly four times as many bee species, including several specialists and rare species. Plant diversity in the landscape was correlated with abundance and diversity of pollinator visitors, demonstrating that community context shapes a plant's relative attractiveness to pollinators. We conclude that herbaceous perennial cultivars can support an abundance and diversity of pollinator visitors, however, planting schemes should take into consideration the effects of cultivar, landscape plant diversity, floral phenology, floral area, and contribution to a stable ecological community.

Cortical astrocytes regulate ethanol consumption and intoxication in mice.

Astrocytes are fundamental building blocks of the central nervous system. Their dysfunction has been implicated in many psychiatric disorders, including alcohol use disorder, yet our understanding of their functional role in ethanol intoxication and consumption is very limited. Astrocytes regulate behavior through multiple intracellular signaling pathways, including G-protein coupled-receptor (GPCR)-mediated calcium signals. To test the hypothesis that GPCR-induced calcium signaling is also involved in the behavioral effects of ethanol, we expressed astrocyte-specific excitatory DREADDs in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) of mice. Activating Gq-GPCR signaling in PFC astrocytes increased drinking in ethanol-naïve mice, but not in mice with a history of ethanol drinking. In contrast, reducing calcium signaling with an astrocyte-specific calcium extruder reduced ethanol intake. Cortical astrocyte calcium signaling also altered the acute stimulatory and sedative-hypnotic effects of ethanol. Astrocyte-specific Gq-DREADD activation increased both the locomotor-activating effects of low dose ethanol and the sedative-hypnotic effects of a high dose, while reduced astrocyte calcium signaling diminished sensitivity to the hypnotic effects. In addition, we found that adenosine A1 receptors were required for astrocyte calcium activation to increase ethanol sedation. These results support integral roles for PFC astrocytes in the behavioral actions of ethanol that are due, at least in part, to adenosine receptor activation.

More Than Meets the Eye? The Role of Annual Ornamental Flowers in Supporting Pollinators.

Ornamental flowers are commonly planted in urban and suburban areas to provide foraging resources for pollinator populations. However, their role in supporting broad pollinator biodiversity is not well established as previous studies have been conducted in urban landscapes with pollinator communities that are distinct from those in natural systems. We observed pollinator visitation patterns to five ornamental annual plant genera and their cultivars over multiple years at two semi-natural sites in Pennsylvania to understand their potential for supporting diverse pollinator communities. There was significant variation in visitor abundance and diversity by season and year for many annual ornamental cultivars. Within some genera, cultivars had similar visitor abundance, diversity, and main visitor taxa, while cultivars in other genera varied greatly in these measures. We observed only polylectic (pollen generalist) bee species visiting annual ornamentals, despite the presence of oligolectic (pollen specialist) bee species in the background population. We conclude that the attractiveness of annual ornamental plants likely depends on both cultivar characteristics and environmental context. While their role in supporting complex pollinator populations is limited both based on the number of and dietary breadth of the species they support, ornamental plants may nonetheless provide long-lasting supplemental foraging resources for the generalist pollinator communities characteristic of urban and suburban environments.

Intracellular survival of Staphylococcus aureus within cultured enterocytes.

BACKGROUND: Little is known about the mechanisms involved in bacterial translocation from the intestinal lumen to extraintestinal sites. Because Staphylococcus aureus can colonize the intestinal tract, and because the intestinal tract is a reservoir for antibiotic resistant S. aureus, experiments were designed to clarify the interactions of S. aureus with cultured intestinal epithelial cells, and assays included measurements of bacterial internalization, enterocyte apoptosis, and epithelial barrier function. METHODS AND RESULTS: Mature, confluent enterocytes were incubated 1 h with S. aureus, and the gentamicin protection assay was used to quantify intracellular bacterial survival at various time intervals up to 120 h later. Enterocyte apoptosis was assessed using Annexin V, and the permeability of confluent enterocyte cultures was measured by transepithelial electrical resistance and by transmigration of Escherichia coli across confluent enterocytes.S. aureus was internalized by cultured enterocytes and remained viable for up to 120 h within both HT-29 and Caco-2 enterocytes. S. aureus intracellular survival was associated with enterocyte apoptosis and with decreased transepithelial electrical resistance across confluent Caco-2 enterocytes. S. aureus intracellular survival over time was also associated with increased E. coli transmigration across confluent Caco-2, but not HT-29, enterocytes. CONCLUSIONS: S. aureus appeared to survive within cultured enterocytes for prolonged time periods, up to several days. Survival of S. aureus within host eukaryotic cells, such as enterocytes, might facilitate persistence of S. aureus in infected tissue despite appropriate antibiotic therapy.

Effect of tumor necrosis factor alpha, interferon gamma, and interleukin-4 on bacteria-enterocyte interactions.

BACKGROUND: Little is known about the mechanisms involved in bacterial translocation from the intestinal lumen to extraintestinal sites. Because the cytokine cascade associated with sepsis, inflammation, and trauma has been shown to affect intestinal epithelial permeability, experiments were designed to clarify the effects of selected cytokines on bacterial adherence to and internalization by cultured HT-29 and Caco-2 enterocytes. METHODS: Mature, confluent enterocytes were pretreated 48 to 72 h with tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha), interferon gamma, (IFN-gamma), or interleukin-4 (IL-4). Adherence of Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella typhimurium, Proteus mirabilis, and Escherichia coli was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and bacterial internalization was quantified by the gentamicin protection assay. Enterocyte permeability was measured by transepithelial electrical resistance and by flux of 40-kDa fluorescent dextran. Bacterial transmigration across confluent enterocytes was measured using enterocytes cultivated on permeable supports. RESULTS: TNF-alpha, IFN-gamma, and IL-4 had variable effects on bacterial adherence to HT-29 and Caco-2 enterocytes, although the most consistent finding was increased bacterial adherence associated with INF-gamma. However, none of these cytokines had a noticeable effect on bacterial internalization by either Caco-2 or HT-29 enterocytes. In addition, none of these cytokines had a noticeable effect on the permeability of confluent enterocytes as measured by transepithelial electrical resistance or dextran flux. Bacterial transmigration across confluent HT-29 enterocytes was not altered by TNF-alpha, IFN-gamma, or IL-4; however, IL-4 consistently decreased bacterial transmigration across confluent Caco-2 enterocytes. CONCLUSIONS: IFN-gamma may augment the epithelial adherence of selected species of enteric bacteria, and IL-4 may act as a barrier-sustaining agent to decrease bacterial migration across the intestinal epithelium.

Adverse clinical events during cemented long-stem femoral arthroplasty.

The occurrence and risk factors for adverse clinical events associated with cemented long-stem femoral arthroplasty were studied. The hypothesis was that patients with femoral metastatic disease and previously uninstrumented canals were at higher risk for such adverse events. Fifty-five consecutive patients requiring long-stem femoral arthroplasty at two institutions were retrospectively reviewed. Adverse clinical events including hypotension, sympathomimetic administration, and O 2 desaturation were subclassified according to the timing of their occurrence. Adverse events occurred in 34 of 55 patients (62%), including coma in two patients and death in a third patient. The three catastrophic events occurred in patients with metastatic disease involving previously uninstrumented femoral canals. Desaturation was more frequent in patients with metastatic disease and previously uninstrumented canals compared with patients who had revision arthroplasty and patients with previously instrumented femoral canals. Preexisting medical illness was a significant risk factor in total adverse clinical events that included cement-associated adverse clinical events and cement-associated and postoperative hypotension. In long-stem cemented femoral components risk factors for adverse clinical events included metastatic disease, uninstrumented femoral canals, and preexisting medical conditions. These findings underscore the importance of appropriate patient selection, patient and family education, and anesthesia preparation before long-stem cemented femoral arthroplasty.

Humoral immunity host factors in subjects with failing or successful titanium dental implants.

BACKGROUND: Treatment with titanium dental implants is in general successful. However, an unknown number of implants do not integrate and are removed either by exfoliation or at the time of second stage surgery. It would be of importance to identify subjects at risk and predict early implant failure. METHODS: In a retrospective study serum IgG antibody titers and avidity in sera from 40 subjects who had experienced titanium dental implant treatments with non-osseo-integration as the outcome (NOTI) and in sera from 40 age and gender matched control subjects who had received successful titanium dental implants (SOTI) were studied. Serum IgG titers to whole cell Actinomyces viscosus, Bacteroides forsythus, Porphyromonas gingivalis, Staphylococcus aureus, and Streptococcus intermedius sonicated antigen preparations were studied by ELISA. RESULTS: Serum IgG antibody titers to S. aureus were significantly higher in subjects with SOTI than in NOTI (p<0.001) suggesting that higher titers indicate protection against implant failure as a result of S. aureus infection. Statistically significant higher serum IgG antibody avidity to P. gingivalis and B. forsythus were found in subjects with SOTI than in subjects with NOTI (p<0.01 and p<0.001, respectively). Statistical analysis failed to demonstrate antibody titer or avidity differences to the other pathogens studied. The likelihood that SOTI was associated with a high OD reading for S. aureus was 13.1:1 (p<0.001). Whether subjects were edentulous or not, or if they had lost teeth because of periodontitis or caries did not seem to matter. CONCLUSION: Serum IgG antibodies relative to B. forsythus, P. gingivalis and S. aureus may be associated with the outcome of implant procedures and explain why early implant failures occur.

Beam shape effects on grating spectrometer resolution.

The collimated optical beam in a grating spectrometer may be circular or elliptical in cross section, so that different parts of the beam illuminate different numbers of grooves on the grating. Here we estimate the consequent loss in spectral resolution relative to that obtained with a beam that illuminates a fixed number of grooves. The effect reduces the intrinsic resolving power of the spectrometer by approximately 15%, exclusive of other contributions such as finite entrance-slit width.

Distributions of Sensitivities to Three Sterol Demethylation Inhibitor Fungicides Among Populations of Uncinula necator Sensitive and Resistant to Triadimefon.

ABSTRACT Single-conidial isolates of Uncinula necator from (i) a population representing two vineyards with no previous exposure to sterol demethylation inhibitor (DMI) fungicides ("unexposed," n = 77) and (ii) a population representing two vineyards in which powdery mildew was poorly controlled by triadimefon after prolonged DMI use ("selected," n = 82) were assayed to determine distributions of sensitivities to the DMI fungicides triadimenol (the active form of triadimefon), myclobutanil, and fenarimol. Median 50% effective dose (ED(50)) values (micrograms per milliliter) in the selected versus unexposed populations were 0.06 versus 1.9 for triadimenol, 0.03 versus 0.23 for myclobutanil, and 0.03 versus 0.07 for fenarimol, respectively. Isolates were grouped into sensitivity classes according to their ED(50) values, and those from the selected population were categorized as resistant if the frequency of their sensitivity class had increased significantly relative to levels found in the unexposed population (ED(50) values exceeding 0.56, 0.18, and 0.18 mug/ml for triadimenol, myclobutanil, and fenarimol, respectively). Of the 76 isolates defined as resistant to triadimenol, 64% were classified as cross-resistant to myclobutanil, 18% were classified as cross-resistant to fenarimol, and 17% were classified as resistant to all three fungicides; 25% of the isolates classified as resistant to myclobutanil also were classified as resistant to fenarimol. Similar cross-resistance relationships were revealed when all isolates were examined by regressing log ED(50) values for each fungicide against those for the remaining two fungicides to determine the correlation coefficients (e.g., r = 0.85 for triadimenol versus myclobutanil and 0.56 for triadimenol versus fenarimol). The restricted levels of cross-resistance indicated by these data, particularly between fenarimol and the other two fungicides, is in sharp contrast to the high levels of cross-resistance among DMIs reported for some other pathogens and has significant implications with respect to programs for managing grapevine powdery mildew and DMI resistance.

Multiplex polymerase chain reaction for simultaneous detection of Lawsonia intracellularis, Serpulina hyodysenteriae, and salmonellae in porcine intestinal specimens.

Proliferative enteritis, swine dysentery, and porcine salmonellosis are the most common enteric bacterial diseases affecting pigs in the growing and finishing stages of production. Currently, diagnoses of these diseases by standard cultural techniques of intestinal specimens can be laborious, time consuming, and expensive (swine dysentery, porcine salmonellosis) or impossible (proliferative enteritis). Amplification by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) of DNA sequences specific for each bacterial agent is a highly sensitive and specific method that overcomes the limitations associated with standard detection methods. A multiplex PCR (M-PCR) assay was developed for simultaneous detection and identification of the etiologic agents associated with proliferative enteritis, swine dysentery, and porcine salmonellosis in a single reaction using total DNA obtained directly from intestinal specimens. Purified DNA obtained from pure cultures of each bacterial agent alone or mixed in different combinations and concentrations and total DNA from intestinal specimens were amplified using the Lawsonia intracellularis-, Serpulina hyodysenteriae-, and salmonellae-specific M-PCR assay. Intestinal specimens consisted of feces and mucosal scrapings obtained from field cases of each disease alone or in combinations and feces obtained from pigs challenged with S. hyodysenteriae. The banding pattern of the amplified PCR products, after agarose gel electrophoresis and staining, indicated the presence of individual or combinations of etiologic agents in each specimen. Results from this study indicated that simultaneous amplification of L. intracellularis-, S. hyodysenteriae-, and salmonellae-specific DNA sequences by M-PCR can be used for specific detection and identification of three major enteric bacterial pathogens associated with proliferative enteritis, swine dysentery, and porcine salmonellosis occurring alone or in combinations. Also, the M-PCR assay can be done using DNA obtained directly from intestinal specimens submitted for diagnostic investigation.

Antibodies to beta 2 glycoprotein I: standardized immunoassay and a reference interval for healthy controls.

Patients with antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) demonstrate an antibody reactivity with beta 2 glycoprotein I (beta 2 GPI) independent of the anionic phospholipids that previously had been believed to be the relevant autoantigens associated with this syndrome. Immunoassays for IgG anti-beta 2 GPI have, however, suffered from a lack of standardization. In this article, we describe an assay based on reference standards that we developed recently. The assay exhibits excellent linearity, with regard to both application of the standards and dilution of out-of-range specimens. Precision was assessed both within the between run and was judged to be satisfactory. A reference interval was developed on the basis of a control group consisting of 111 men and 93 women, yielding a range of 0-19 standard IgG anti-beta 2 GPI units (SGU) for the ninety-fifth percentile of values. These data suggest that this standardized anti-beta 2 GPI assay may be useful in the clinical diagnostic laboratory.

Far-infrared hydrogen lasers in the peculiar star MWC 349A.

Far-infrared hydrogen recombination lines H15 alpha (169.4 micrometers), H12 alpha (88.8 micrometers), and H10 alpha (52.5 micrometers) were detected in the peculiar luminous star MWC 349A from the Kuiper Airborne Observatory. Here it is shown that at least H15 alpha is strongly amplified, with the probable amplification factor being greater than or about equal to 10(3) and a brightness temperature that is greater than or about equal to 10(7) kelvin. The other two lines also show signs of amplification, although to a lesser degree. Beyond H10 alpha the amplification apparently vanishes. The newly detected amplified lines fall into the laser wavelength domain. These lasers, as well as the previously detected hydrogen masers, may originate in the photoionized circumstellar disk of MWC 349A and constrain the disk's physics and structure.

Binding of beta 2 glycoprotein I to activated polystyrene and its recognition by human IgG autoantibodies.

Beta 2 glycoprotein I (apolipoprotein H, beta 2GPI) is involved in the formation of epitope(s) recognized by clinically relevant autoantibodies from patients with antiphospholipid syndrome. We studied the binding of beta 2GPI to chemically activated polystyrene in a microtitre plate format. Adsorption isotherms (at 37 degrees C) were generated for beta 2GPI on activated polystyrene and on unactivated polystyrene, with both human serum antibodies and rabbit polyclonal IgG antibodies as probes, and horseradish peroxidase (HRP)-tagged anti-IgG to detect binding. Additionally, beta 2GPI was biotinylated and isotherms were developed by using HRP-streptavidin as the recognition sequence. Human serum autoantibodies, which did not precipitate beta 2GPI in solution, yielded a characteristic chemisorption isotherm on activated polystyrene but did not recognize beta 2GPI bound to untreated polystyrene. The rabbit IgG, which did precipitate beta 2GPI in solution, detected beta 2GPI bound to both activated polystyrene and, to a lesser extent, to untreated polystyrene. The binding of beta 2GPI to untreated polystyrene was confirmed by the use of biotinylated beta 2GPI. To assess the prevalence of IgG anti-beta 2GPI autoantibodies, we surveyed 113 sera submitted to our laboratory for anticardiolipin antibody (aCL) testing. Only nine (8%) had anti-beta 2GPI activity greater than two standard deviations above the mean for those sera in which aCL activity was within normal limits. We conclude that epitope presentation of beta 2GPI for human autoantibody binding is dependent on surface properties of the polystyrene, and that beta 2GPI autoantibodies are found only in a subpopulation of sera positive for aCL.