DNA barcoding for biosecurity: case studies from the UK plant protection program.

Since its conception, DNA barcoding has seen a rapid uptake within the research community. Nevertheless, as with many new scientific tools, progression towards the point of routine deployment within diagnostic laboratories has been slow. In this paper, we discuss the application of DNA barcoding in the Defra plant health diagnostic laboratories, where DNA barcoding is used primarily for the identification of invertebrate pests. We present a series of case studies that demonstrate the successful application of DNA barcoding but also reveal some potential limitations to expanded use. The regulated plant pest, Bursephalenchus xylophilus, and one of its vectors, Monochamus alternatus, were found in dining chairs. Some traded wood products are potentially high risk, allowing the movement of longhorn beetles; Trichoferus campestris, Leptura quadrifasciata, and Trichoferus holosericeus were found in a wooden cutlery tray, a railway sleeper, and a dining chair, respectively. An outbreak of Meloidogyne fallax was identified in Allium ampeloprasum and in three weed species. Reference sequences for UK native psyllids were generated to enable the development of rapid diagnostics to be used for monitoring following the release of Aphalara itadori as a biological control agent for Fallopia japonica.

Factors That Influence the Clinical Implementation of Aerobic Exercise in Stroke Rehabilitation: A Theory-Informed Qualitative Study.

OBJECTIVE: Best practice guidelines recommend that aerobic exercise (AEx) be implemented as early as possible poststroke, yet the prescription of AEx remains limited in stroke rehabilitation settings. This study used theoretical frameworks to obtain an in-depth understanding of barriers and enablers to AEx implementation in the stroke rehabilitation setting. METHODS: A qualitative, descriptive study was conducted. Participants were recruited from 4 stroke rehabilitation settings in Ontario, Canada, that have participated in an implementation study to provide structured AEx programming as part of standard care. Six clinician focus groups (with 19 physical therapists and 5 rehabilitation assistants) and one-to-one interviews with 7 managers and 1 physician were conducted to explore barriers and enablers to AEx implementation. The Theoretical Domains Framework and Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research informed content analysis for clinician and manager perspectives, respectively. RESULTS: Barriers specific to resource constraints and health care system pressures, combined with patient goals, led to interventions to improve function being prioritized over AEx. Successful implementation was enabled through an interprofessional approach and team engagement in the planning and implementation process. Health care providers described concerns about patient safety, but confidence and capability for implementing AEx were enabled by education, skill development, use of exercise tests, and consultation with individuals with content expertise. Participants described the development of supportive processes that enabled AEx implementation within team workflows and shared resources. CONCLUSION: Strategies to support implementation of AEx in stroke rehabilitation should incorporate knowledge and skills, the provision of clinical decision-making tools, access to expert consultation, the roles and social influence of the interprofessional team and formal and informal leaders, and supportive processes adapted to the local context. IMPACT: Results from this study will inform the development of a clinical implementation toolkit to support clinical uptake of AEx in the stroke rehabilitation setting.

The occurrence of Melissococcus plutonius in healthy colonies of Apis mellifera and the efficacy of European foulbrood control measures.

European foulbrood (EFB) persists in England and Wales despite current treatment methods, all of which include feeding honey bee colonies with the antibiotic oxytetracycline (OTC). A large-scale field experiment was conducted to monitor a husbandry-based method, using comb replacement (known as Shook swarm), as a drug free EFB control option. The understanding of EFB epidemiology is limited, with little information on the presence of Melissococcus plutonius in disease free colonies. Additional samples were collected from diseased and disease free apiaries to identify symptomless infection. EFB reoccurrence was not significantly different between OTC and husbandry methods and real-time PCR data demonstrated that fewer Shook swarm treated colonies contained M. plutonius carryover to the Spring following treatment. Asymptomatic colonies from diseased apiaries showed an increased risk of testing positive for M. plutonius compared to asymptomatic colonies from disease free apiaries. The probability of a sample being symptomatic increased when a greater quantity of M. plutonius was detected in adult bees and larvae. The possibility of treating EFB as an apiary disease rather than a colony disease and the implications of a control strategy without antibiotics are discussed.

The invasion, provenance and diversity of Vespa velutina Lepeletier (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) in Great Britain.

The yellow-legged or Asian hornet (Vespa velutina colour form nigrithorax) was introduced into France from China over a decade ago. Vespa velutina has since spread rapidly across Europe, facilitated by suitable climatic conditions and the ability of a single nest to disperse many mated queens over a large area. Yellow-legged hornets are a major concern because of the potential impact they have on populations of many beneficial pollinators, most notably the western honey bee (Apis mellifera), which shows no effective defensive behaviours against this exotic predator. Here, we present the first report of this species in Great Britain. Actively foraging hornets were detected at two locations, the first around a single nest in Gloucestershire, and the second a single hornet trapped 54 km away in Somerset. The foraging activity observed in Gloucestershire was largely restricted to within 700 m of a single nest, suggesting highly localised movements. Genetic analyses of individuals from the Gloucestershire nest and the single hornet from Somerset suggest that these incursions represent an expansion of the European population, rather than a second incursion from Asia. The founding queen of the Gloucestershire nest mated with a single male, suggesting that sexual reproduction may have occurred in an area of low nest density. Whilst the nest contained diploid adult males, haploid 'true' males were only present at the egg stage, indicating that the nest was detected and removed before the production of queens. Members of the public reported additional dead hornets associated with camping equipment recently returned from France and imported timber products, highlighting possible pathways of incursion. The utility of microsatellites to inform surveillance during an incursion and the challenge of achieving eradication of this damaging pest are discussed.

Discovery of an unknown diversity of Leucinodes species damaging Solanaceae fruits in sub-Saharan Africa and moving in trade (Insecta, Lepidoptera, Pyraloidea).

The larvae of the Old World genera Leucinodes Guenée, 1854 and Sceliodes Guenée, 1854 are internal feeders in the fruits of Solanaceae, causing economic damage to cultivated plants like Solanummelongena and Solanumaethiopicum. In sub-Saharan Africa five nominal species of Leucinodes and one of Sceliodes occur. One of these species, the eggplant fruit and shoot borer Leucinodesorbonalis Guenée, 1854, is regarded as regularly intercepted from Africa and Asia in Europe, North and South America and is therefore a quarantine pest on these continents. We investigate the taxonomy of African Leucinodes and Sceliodes based on morphological characters in wing pattern, genitalia and larvae, as well as mitochondrial DNA, providing these data for identification of all life stages. The results suggest that both genera are congeneric, with Sceliodes syn. n. established as junior subjective synonym of Leucinodes. Leucinodesorbonalis is described from Asia and none of the samples investigated from Africa belong to this species. Instead, sub-Saharan Africa harbours a complex of eight endemic Leucinodes species. Among the former nominal species of Leucinodes (and Sceliodes) from Africa, only Leucinodeslaisalis (Walker, 1859), comb. n. (Sceliodes) is confirmed, with Leucinodestranslucidalis Gaede, 1917, syn. n. as a junior subjective synonym. The other African Leucinodes species were unknown to science and are described as new: Leucinodesafricensis sp. n., Leucinodesethiopica sp. n., Leucinodeskenyensis sp. n., Leucinodesmalawiensis sp. n., Leucinodespseudorbonalis sp. n., Leucinodesrimavallis sp. n. and Leucinodesugandensis sp. n. An identification key based on male genitalia is provided for the African Leucinodes species. Most imports of Leucinodes specimens from Africa into Europe refer to Leucinodesafricensis, which has been frequently imported with fruits during the last 50 years. In contrast, Leucinodeslaisalis has been much less frequently recorded, and Leucinodespseudorbonalis as well as Leucinodesrimavallis only very recently in fruit imports from Uganda. Accordingly, interceptions of Leucinodes from Africa into other continents will need to be re-investigated for their species identity and will likely require, at least in parts, revisions of the quarantine regulations. The following African taxa are excluded from Leucinodes: Hyperanalyta Strand, 1918, syn. rev. as revised synonym of Analyta Lederer, 1863; Analytaapicalis (Hampson, 1896), comb. n. (Leucinodes); Lygropiaaureomarginalis (Gaede, 1916), comb. n. (Leucinodes); Sylleptehemichionalis Mabille, 1900, comb. rev., Sylleptehemichionalisidalis Viette, 1958, comb. rev. and Sylleptevagans (Tutt, 1890), comb. n. (Aphytoceros). Deanolisiriocapna (Meyrick, 1938), comb. n. from Indonesia is originally described and misplaced in Sceliodes, and Leucinodescordalis (Doubleday, 1843), comb. n. (Margaritia) from New Zealand, Leucinodesraondry (Viette, 1981), comb. n. (Daraba) from Madagascar as well as Leucinodesgrisealis (Kenrick, 1912), comb. n. (Sceliodes) from New Guinea are transferred from Sceliodes to Leucinodes. While Leucinodes is now revised from Africa, it still needs further revision in Asia.

Prehabilitation improves physical function of individuals with severe disability from hip or knee osteoarthritis.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the effects of prehabilitation (enhancing physical capacity before total hip or knee joint arthroplasty) on pain and physical function of adults with severe hip and knee osteoarthritis (OA). METHODS: Consecutive patients (n=650) from 2006 to 2008 with hip or knee OA awaiting total joint arthroplasty (TJA) attended a hospital outpatient clinic for a prehabilitation assessment. All participants completed self-report (Lower Extremity Functional Scale [LEFS] and visual analogue scale for pain [VAS]) and functional performance measures (self-paced walk [SPW], timed stair, and timed up-and-go [TUG] tests). A subset of 28 participants with severe disability participated in a structured outpatient prehabilitation programme. Between-group differences were assessed via independent t-tests; paired Student's t-tests and Wilcoxon signed rank tests were used to compare changes in pain and function following the prehabilitation programme. RESULTS: A total of 28 individuals (16 female) with mean age 67 (SD 10) years and BMI 33 (8) kg/m(2) awaiting TJA (10 hips, 18 knees) participated in a prehabilitation programme of 9 (6) weeks' duration. Relative to baseline, there was significant improvement in LEFS score (mean change 7.6; 95% CI, 1.7-13.5; p=0.013), SPW (mean change 0.17 m/s; 95% CI, 0.07-0.26; p=0.001), TUG (mean change 4.2 s; 95% CI, 2.0-6.4; p<0.001), and stair test performance (mean change 3.8 s [SD 14.6]; p=0.005) following prehabilitation. CONCLUSION: This study presents preliminary evidence that prehabilitation improves physical function even in the most severely compromised patients with OA awaiting TJA.

Objectif : Évaluer l'effet, en termes de douleurs et d'incapacités, d'un programme de pré-réadaptation ayant pour but d'optimiser la condition de patients souffrant d'arthrose sévère en attente d'une arthroplastie totale de la hanche ou du genou Méthode : Une cohorte de 650 patients consécutifs souffrant d'arthrose de la hanche ou du genou en attente d'une arthroplastie ont subi une évaluation préchirurgicale dans une clinique externe. L'évaluation des participants comprenait des mesures auto-rapportées telles que l'échelle fonctionnelle des membres inférieurs (ÉFMI), des mesures de douleurs à l'aide d'échelles visuelles analogues (EVA) et des mesures de performance fonctionnelle (test de marche à vitesse libre, test chronométré des escaliers, test chronométré assis-debout [TUG]). Un sous-groupe de 28 participants souffrant d'incapacités sévères a participé à un programme structuré de pré-réadaptation.  Des tests de t de Student indépendants ont été utilisés pour évaluer les différences entre les deux groupes. Des tests de t de Student et des tests Wilcoxon pour mesures appariées ont été utilisés pour comparer les changements en termes de douleurs et d'incapacités suivant le programme de pré-réadaptation. Résultats : Au total, 28 individus (16 femmes, 12 hommes) avec un âge moyen (écart-type : ET) de 67 (10) ans et un IMC moyen de 33 (8) kg/m2 en attente d'une arthroplastie (10 hanches, 18 genoux) ont participé au programme de pré-réadaptation d'une durée moyenne de 9 (6) semaines. Suivant l'intervention, des changements significatifs ont été observés en termes d'incapacités fonctionnelles mesuré par l'ÉFMI (changement moyen de 7,6; IC 95%, 1,7­13,5; p=0,013), au test de marche à vitesse libre (changement moyen de 0,17 m/s; IC 95%: 0,07­0,26; p=0,001), au test TUG (changement moyen de 4,2 s; IC 95%, 2,0­6,4; p<0,001) et au test chronométré des escaliers (changement moyen de 3,8 s [ET :14,6]; p=0,005). Conclusion : Cette étude présente des évidences préliminaires qu'un programme de pré-réadaptation, chez des patients souffrant d'arthrose, en attente d'une arthroplastie du genou ou de la hanche, peut améliorer la fonction physique même chez les patients les plus sévèrement atteints.