Photoperiod manipulation of insect diapause: a method of pest control?

Extension of day length by artificial light in selected field plots in the fall prevented 76 percent of European corn borer [Ostrinia nubilalis (Hübner)] larvae and 70 percent of codling moth [Laspeyresia pomonella (L.)] larvae from entering diapause. Nondiapausing insects cannot survive rigorous winter conditions.

Identification of a neuropeptide hormone that regulates sex pheromone production in female moths.

A pheromone biosynthesis activating neuropeptide (PBAN) hormone that controls sex pheromone production in female moths was identified from the brain-subesophageal ganglion complexes of the adult corn earworm, Heliothis zea. PBAN has 33 amino acid residues and a molecular weight of 3900. Its amino acid sequence has no significant homology with any of the fully characterized peptide hormones. The synthetic peptide, at a dose of between 2 and 4 picomoles, induced production of a normal quantity of sex pheromone in ligated H. zea females. The peptide also induced pheromone production in six other species of moths, thus indicating that this or similar peptides may be responsible for the regulation of pheromone production in moths.

Racial/Ethnic and socioeconomic differences in multiple risk factors for heart disease and stroke in women: behavioral risk factor surveillance system, 2003.

OBJECTIVE: To examine racial/ethnic and socioeconomic disparities in multiple risk factors for heart disease and stroke among women. METHODS: Data from 153,466 adult women in the 2003 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), a telephone survey of U.S. adults, were used to assess the prevalence of multiple (i.e., >or=2 of diabetes, current smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity, or physical inactivity) risk factors for heart disease and stroke. Descriptive and multivariable analyses assessed differences in multiple risk factors among racial/ethnic and socioeconomic groups. RESULTS: More than one third (36.5%) of all women had multiple risk factors. The age-standardized prevalence of multiple risk factors was lowest in whites and Asians. After adjustment for age, income, education, and health coverage, the odds for multiple risk factors was greater in black (OR = 1.53, 95% CI = 1.42-1.64) and Native American women (1.36, 95% CI = 1.11-1.67) and lower for Hispanic women (OR = 0.83, 95% CI = 0.76-0.91) compared with white women. Prevalence estimates and odds of multiple risk factors increased with age; decreased with education, income, and employment; and were lower in those with no health coverage. Smoking was more common in younger women, whereas older women were more likely to have medical conditions (high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or diabetes) and be physically inactive. CONCLUSIONS: Over one third of U.S. women have two or more risk factors for heart disease and stroke. Prevention programs that target risk reduction are especially critical to decrease the burden of heart disease and stroke in these higher-risk U.S. women.

Antibody development against northern fowl mites (Acari: Macronyssidae) in chickens.

This study reports the development of an antibody against protein(s) from the tissue of the northern fowl mite, Ornithonyssus sylviarum (Canestrini & Fanzago). Northern fowl mite proteins were obtained by affinity chromatography and used for immunization. Western blot analysis identified proteins that were reactive with sera from birds immunized with the antigen; this indicated that serum antibodies against the northern fowl mite had been produced. Chickens that had been immunized or infested, or both, with the northern fowl mite produced sera that were reactive with a 100 kilodalton (kD) protein. The response was greater if the chicken had been immunized with the antigen and infested with the northern fowl mite. Experimentally immunized and infested chickens experienced limited decreases in the levels of northern fowl mite infestation. Survival of bloodfed mites after ingestion of the immune chicken blood was assessed in an in vitro feeding study using blood-filled parafilm sacs; minor differences in northern fowl mite feeding tendencies were noted. The chickens developed antibodies to the northern fowl mite proteins, but this immunity did not decrease the infestation level or in vitro feeding.

Viability of skin flaps subjected to simultaneous chemical peel with occlusive taping.

This study was undertaken to determine whether the application of a standardized chemical peel with an occlusive tape dressing to an acutely raised skin flap (as in combining rhytidectomy with chemical peel) affects skin flap viability. Thirty-six 4-cm x 4-cm dorsal skin flaps were raised on guinea pigs and sutured back into place. Eighteen of these flaps were simultaneously treated with a single application of Baker's solution and a 24-hour occlusive tape dressing. A mean of 3.1 cm2 of the nonpeeled flaps necrosed, compared with 6.3 cm2 of the peeled flaps, a statistically significant increase in tissue loss in flaps that were simultaneously chemically peeled. We conclude that application of Baker's solution with an occlusive tape dressing to an acutely raised skin flap impairs skin flap viability and may result in skin flap necrosis.

Dermal healing after local skin flaps and chemical peel.

Like cells respond to injury through repair mechanisms unique for each cell type (eg, regeneration of the epidermis, granulation over exposed fat). How simultaneous chemical peel affects a local skin flap and why minimal differences in chemical peels can result in significant differences in outcome is not fully understood. In this study guinea pig skin was exposed to skin flap elevation, chemical peel, or a combination of the two. Biopsy specimens were taken at 3 to 35 days after injury and the histologic sections were studied. Results demonstrate that (1) lifting a flap causes changes in the subcutaneous tissue and reticular dermis that makes it more vulnerable to secondary injury and (2) the reticular dermis responds to injury as two physiologically distinct layers, although it appears histologically homogeneous. The upper reticular dermis heals by reorganization, while the deeper reticular dermis heals by scar formation. The differing response to injury of these cell layers may in part explain the low safety margin in aggressive chemical peels.

Circadian rhythm of trehalose in the face fly Musca autumnalis de Geer.

Trehalose levels were determined over two 24 hr spans in groups of face fly adults 3-4 days after emergence from the puparium. Face fly pupae were placed in rearing chambers at 27 degrees C in a staggered light-dark regimen, LD 16:8, so that at a given clock hour, samples could be obtained at several different hours after lights on (HALO). Trehalose was determined in hemolymph collected from a puncture in the intersegmental membrane of the abdomen. Treated hemolymph samples were passed through a Bio-Rad Amino 5-S disaccharide column and a Waters 410 refractive index detector was used to differentiate among sugars. The circadian acrophase derived by cosinor analysis in hemolymph trehalose (when the values were 25.49 and 26.86 micrograms/microliters on the first and second days respectively) occurred at -226 degrees (ca 15 HALO) and the bathyphase at 24 HALO. The mesor = 11.82 micrograms/microliters trehalose, the amplitude = 8.57 micrograms/microliters trehalose and the P-value for presence of a rhythm was 0.003. Based on these data, differences between control and test flies in a bioassay of hypertrehalosemic activity would be most easily observed at 0-8 HALO, while exogenous hypotrehalosemic activity would be best assayed at 12-20 HALO.

Space travel shortens diapause in gypsy moth eggs.

Field-collected and laboratory-reared gypsy moth eggs were exposed to microgravity, cosmic radiation, sub-freezing temperatures, unusual vibrations, and other extraterrestrial phenomena while they were sealed for 6 days, in January, in a Get-Away-Special (GAS) canister in the open bay of a NASA earth-orbiting spacecraft, the Columbia. Insects were not exposed to light after preparation for and during space flight. Under field conditions, out-of-doors, the eggs should have hatched in April, after 3-4 months of chilling temperatures and should not have hatched after the 6 days of chilling to -11 degrees C during flight in the Columbia spacecraft. However by April 1, more than 4000 larvae had hatched from eggs that had travelled in space, as opposed to approximately 350 from a similar number of control, earthbound eggs. These results indicate that the period of a circannual rhythm in field- and lab-reared insects had been shortened, presumably as result of exposure to microgravity, other factors associated with space flight, and/or conditions of outer space. These results suggest that it may be possible to develop methods for rearing the gypsy moth year round, without the necessity of three months chilling interspersed in the development process. This, in turn, would facilitate production of large numbers of insects for sterile male release or for use as a rearing medium for parasites, predators and pathogens of the gypsy moth.

Renal transplantation in Alport's syndrome.

Nineteen patients (3 women and 16 men) with Alport's Syndrome and endstage renal failure received 23 allograft kidneys at two medical centers between 1972 and 1983. Ten patients had pretransplant splenectomies, and four patients had pretransplant thoracic duct drainage. After a mean follow-up time of 49 months, analysis revealed total allograft survival was 65 per cent at 1 year, 50 per cent at 2 years, and 57 per cent at 5 years. Pretransplant splenectomy resulted in 60 per cent allograft survival at 24 months mean follow-up. Pretransplant thoracic duct drainage resulted in 100 per cent allograft survival at 15.6 months mean follow-up. The overall allograft survival was greatest for three and four antigen-matched kidneys and for living related donor kidneys. Data indicated that 50 per cent of all allografts in men were functional at 50.8 months mean follow-up. All allografts in women were functional at 48.3 months mean follow-up. Three of four patients who expired had pretransplant splenectomies. From this study, the authors conclude that renal transplantation is the preferred method of treatment for patients with Alport's Syndrome.

The evaluation of rhytidectomy flap healing after CO2 laser resurfacing in a pig model.

OBJECTIVE: This study was conducted to determine when it becomes safe to perform laser resurfacing after rhytidectomy flap elevation. STUDY DESIGN: Eighty-four sites on 12 domestic Yorkshire pigs were selected; 4 x 10-cm skin flaps were elevated in 72 of the 84 sites and shortened 10%. The 12 remaining sites (controls) were treated with laser resurfacing alone. Laser resurfacing was also performed at days 0, 7, 14, 21, and 28 after closing the skin flaps. The healing time for the laser-resurfaced sites without flap elevation were compared to that of the skin flaps treated with the laser at days 0, 7, 14, 21, and 28. Twelve "skin flap" controls were elevated, shortened 10%, and closed without laser treatment. Resurfacing was performed using 2 passes with the Sharplan Silk Touch CO(2) laser. RESULTS: The average healing time for the skin flaps treated with the laser at day 0 was 23.9 days. All of these flaps showed skin slough with delayed healing followed by scar formation. The areas treated with the laser alone (controls), and the subsequent skin flaps treated with the laser postoperatively at days 7, 14, 21, and 28 days completely re-epithelialized in an average of 7.8, 8.1, 7.3, 7.4, and 7.3 days, respectively. There were no statistically significant differences in healing time between the controls and flaps treated with the laser on or after 7 days (P > 0.05). However, there were statistically significant differences in healing time between the laser-treated skin flaps at day 0 and the controls, between the laser-treated flaps on day 0 and day 7, and between the laser-treated flaps on day 0 and day 14 (P < 0.001). Because there was little difference in healing time after 14 days, only the healing times for laser-treated skin flaps up to 14 days were compared using paired t tests. CONCLUSIONS: From our observations using a pig model, we conclude that skin flaps may be safely laser resurfaced about 1 week postoperatively. On the other hand, simultaneous flap elevation and laser resurfacing results in delayed healing with subsequent scar formation.

Long-term results of treatment for temporomandibular disorders: an evaluation by patients.

In this study, 110 patients with temporomandibular disorders who had been treated 2 to 81/2 years earlier were asked to evaluate the treatment they received. Of the patients, 85.5% reported that they were not experiencing pain or that they were experiencing much less pain; 79.1% reported that the treatment they had received had helped them completely or considerably. Analysis of the data did not disclose a subgroup or factor that could be correlated with the reduction of pain or the patient's perception of the success of treatment.