Comparisons were made of the effects of temperature and duration of low temperature on hatch of newly laid egg masses of the invasive spotted lanternfly, Lycorma delicatula (White). Egg masses were ...collected in mid-October 2019 and estimated to be less than 14 d old.There was a significant positive nonlinear relationship between temperature and developmental rate (1/d) for eggs held at constant temperatures. The lower threshold for egg development was estimated as 7.39°C. Eggs held at constant 10, 15, and 20°C were estimated to require 635, 715, and 849 DD7.39, respectively, to develop. Egg hatch was variable, egg hatch rates were highest (58.4%) when held at a constant 15°C, though high rates (52.7%) were also obtained when eggs were held for 84 d at 10°C, then moved to 25°C. Almost all eggs enter diapause since very few eggs were able hatch when moved to 25°C after 7 d of chill at either 5 or 10°C. Chilling at 5 or 10°C increased percentage egg hatch as the duration in chill increased up to ∼100 d and eggs held at 10°C were able to complete some or all the post-diapause development before being moved to 25°C. All egg masses were held at constant 16:8 (L:D) photoperiod and 65%RH. Our data suggest that temperature is the driving factor for diapause termination in spotted lanternfly, but other abiotic factors should be investigated. These identified developmental temperature threshold and degree day requirements for egg hatch will improve predictive distribution and phenological models.
The number of exotic species invasions has increased over recent decades, as have the ecological harm and economic burdens they impose. Rapid-response eradication of nascent exotic populations is a ...viable approach to minimizing damage, but implementation is limited by the difficulty of detecting such species during the early stages of infestation due to their small numbers. The use of environmental DNA (eDNA) has helped address this issue in aquatic ecosystems, but to the best of our knowledge has not been trialed for surveillance of exotic species in terrestrial systems. Using a high-resolution, real-time (quantitative) polymerase chain reaction assay, we developed a highly efficient protocol to survey agricultural fields for the invasive non-native brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB; Halyomorpha halys). We compared results using eDNA to those for conventional monitoring traps and documented substantially higher sensitivity and detection effectiveness. Our methodology is transferable to situations in which the DNA of terrestrial target species can be accumulated into a single substrate, suggesting that eDNA-based approaches could transform our ability to detect exotic insects in non-aquatic settings.
Objective
To investigate whether a 18F-FDG PET/CT (PET/CT)-based diagnostic strategy adds decisive new information compared to conventional imaging in the evaluation of salivary gland tumours and the ...detection of cervical lymph node metastases, distant metastases, and synchronous cancer in patients with salivary gland carcinoma.
Methods
The study was a blinded prospective cohort study. Data were collected consecutively through almost 3 years. All patients underwent conventional imaging—magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and chest X-ray (CXR)—in addition to PET/CT prior to surgery. Final diagnosis was obtained by histopathology. MRI/CXR and PET/CT were interpreted separately by experienced radiologists and nuclear medicine physicians. Interpretation included evaluation of tumour site, cervical lymph node metastases, distant metastases, and synchronous cancer.
Results
Ninety-one patients were included in the study. Thirty-three patients had primary salivary gland carcinoma and eight had cervical lymph node metastases. With PET/CT, the sensitivity was 92% and specificity 29% regarding tumour site. With MRI/CXR, the sensitivity and specificity were 90% and 26%, respectively. Regarding cervical lymph node metastases in patients with salivary gland carcinoma, the sensitivity with PET/CT was 100% and with MRI/CXR 50%. PET/CT diagnosed distant metastases in five patients, while MRI/CXR detected these in two patients. Finally, PET/CT diagnosed two synchronous cancers, whereas MRI/CXR did not detect any synchronous cancers.
Conclusions
Compared with MRI/CXR PET/CT did not improve discrimination of benign from malignant salivary gland lesions. However, PET/CT may be advantageous in primary staging and in the detection of distant metastases and synchronous cancers.
As the rate of spread of invasive species increases, consumer–resource communities are often populated by a combination of exotic and native species at all trophic levels. In parasitoid–host ...communities, these novel associations may lead to disconnects between parasitoid preference and performance, and parasitoid oviposition may result in death of the parasitoid offspring, death of the host, or death of both. Despite their relevance for biological control risk and efficacy assessments, the direct and indirect population-level consequences of parasitoids attacking and killing their hosts without successfully reproducing (non-reproductive mortality) are poorly understood. Non-reproductive mortality induced by egg parasitoids (parasitoid-induced host egg abortion) may be particularly important for understanding the population dynamics of the invasive agricultural pest Halyomorpha halys (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) and endemic stink bugs in North America, which are attacked by a suite of both native and introduced egg parasitoids. It is unclear, however, how various factors controlling parasitoid foraging and developmental success manifest at the population level. We constructed two related versions of a two-host–one-parasitoid model to evaluate the population-level consequences of non-reproductive host mortality. Egg abortion can result in strong negative or positive enemymediated indirect effects, taking the form of apparent competition, apparent parasitism, apparent amensalism, or apparent commensalism. For parasitoids limited in their reproductive output by the number of eggs they can produce, higher non-reproductive host mortality can reduce the strength of the positive indirect effect in cases of apparent parasitism, and it can reduce the negative indirect effect on the more suitable host in cases of apparent competition. For time-limited parasitoids, unsuitable hosts with high levels of non-reproductive parasitoid-induced mortality can be strongly suppressed in the presence of a suitable host, while the suitable host is only negligibly impacted (i.e., apparent amensalism). We evaluate these model-derived hypotheses within the context of H. halys and its native and nonnative parasitoids in North America, and discuss their application to risk assessment in biological control programs.
Time spent in glycemic target range (time in range TIR; plasma glucose 70-180 mg/dL 3.9-10.0 mmol/L) as a surrogate endpoint for long-term diabetes-related outcomes requires validation. This post hoc ...analysis investigated the association between TIR, derived from 8-point glucose profiles (derived TIR dTIR) at 12 months, and time to cardiovascular or severe hypoglycemic episodes in people with type 2 diabetes in the DEVOTE trial. At 12 months, dTIR was significantly negatively associated with time to first major adverse cardiovascular event (
= 0.0087), severe hypoglycemic episode (
< 0.0001), or microvascular event (
= 0.024). A nonsignificant trend was seen toward association between 12-month hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) and these outcomes, but this was no longer seen after addition of dTIR to the model. The results support targeting TIR >70% and suggest dTIR could be used in addition to, or in some instances in place of, HbA1c as a clinical biomarker.
ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT01959529.
The brown marmorated stink bug, Halyomorpha halys, a native of Asia, has become a serious invasive pest in the USA. H. halys was first detected in the USA in the mid 1990s, dispersing to over 41 ...other states. Since 1998, H. halys has spread throughout New Jersey, becoming an important pest of agriculture, and a major nuisance in urban developments. In this study, we used spatial analysis, geostatistics, and Bayesian linear regression to investigate the invasion dynamics and colonization processes of this pest in New Jersey. We present the results of monitoring H. halys from 51 to 71 black light traps that were placed on farms throughout New Jersey from 2004 to 2011 and examined relationships between total yearly densities of H. halys and square hectares of 48 landscape/land use variables derived from urban, wetland, forest, and agriculture metadata, as well as distances to nearest highways. From these analyses we propose the following hypotheses: (1) H. halys density is strongly associated with urban developments and railroads during its initial establishment and dispersal from 2004 to 2006; (2) H. halys overwintering in multiple habitats and feeding on a variety of plants may have reduced the Allee effect, thus facilitating movement into the southernmost regions of the state by railroads from 2005 to 2008; (3) density of H. halys contracted in 2009 possibly from invading wetlands or sampling artifact; (4) subsequent invasion of H. halys from the northwest to the south in 2010 may conform to a stratified-dispersal model marked by rapid long-distance movement, from railroads and wetland rights-of-way; and (5) high densities of H. halys may be associated with agriculture in southern New Jersey in 2011. These landscape features associated with the invasion of H. halys in New Jersey may predict its potential rate of invasion across the USA and worldwide.
There have been notable and significant advances in elucidating the chemical ecology of the invasive
Halyomorpha halys
(Hemiptera: Pentatomidae), brown marmorated stink bug. This highly destructive ...and polyphagous pest is originally from Korea, China, and Japan, but was accidentally introduced into North America and Europe. Prior to its invasion into these regions, little was known about its chemical ecology. However, since then, researchers have identified and synthesized its aggregation pheromone, documented its synergism with the pheromone of another Asian stink bug,
Plautia stali
, developed monitoring traps of various designs, and lures with reliable attractants have become commercially available. Furthermore, plant volatiles have been shown to have attractive, neutral, and repellent effects on attraction and retention of
H. halys
, and
H. halys
-derived volatiles have been shown to play a role in recruiting natural enemies. Finally, management strategies based on pheromone-based technology have been evaluated, including insecticide applications based on a cumulative threshold of adult captures in pheromone-baited traps, and the use of intensively baited trees in an attract-and-kill strategy to manage this pest. This review summarizes the available literature on the chemical ecology of
H. halys
and concludes with several research areas that should be explored in future research.
Abstract 18F-fluoro-deoxy-glucose-positron emission tomography/computed tomography-scan (PET/CT) is used increasingly for detection of cancer. Precise diagnostic assessment of tumour extension in ...head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is of critical importance for ensuring that patients receive proper treatment. Preliminary studies have shown divergent results of PET/CT in diagnosis and staging of HNSCC. The aims of this study were (1) to systematically review and meta-analyse published data about the diagnostic accuracy of PET/CT for diagnosing patients with HNSCC and (2) to compare the diagnostic accuracy of PET/CT with that of standard conventional imaging (SCI). Methods A systematic literature search in the PubMed, Embase and Cochrane databases on publications of PET/CT diagnostics of HNSCC from January 2005 to July 2013 was carried out. All retrieved studies were reviewed and qualitatively analysed. Along with the calculated pooled sensitivity and specificity of PET/CT and SCI, bubble- and summary receiver operating characteristics (SROC) plots were created. Findings Two meta-analyses of diagnostic accuracy were conducted. The first, on PET/CT, included 987 patients distributed across nine studies. The second, on SCI, included 517 patients participating in a total of six studies among those comparing PET/CT to SCI. The meta-analyses showed a pooled sensitivity of 89.3% (95% confidence interval 95% CI: 83.4–93.2%) and specificity of 89.5% (95% CI: 82.9–93.7%) for PET/CT and correspondingly, a pooled sensitivity and specificity of 71.6% (95% CI: 44.3–88.9%) and 78.0% (95%CI: 30.2–96.7%) for SCI. A graphical comparison to SCI showed a clear difference in favour of PET/CT. Interpretation PET/CT is highly accurate in diagnosing patients suffering from HNSCC
Codling moth (
L.) is a very important pest in apple, pear, and walnut orchards worldwide, including the USA. Cydia pomonella granulovirus (CpGV) is used to control codling moth in organic and ...conventional production. Due to increasing codling moth infestations from organic apple orchards in Washington State, USA, five codling moth colonies (WA1-WA5) were screened for their susceptibility relative to the isolate GV-0001, the main active ingredient of Cyd-X
, using a discriminating concentration of 6 × 10
OB/mL. Compared to a susceptible laboratory colony, the observed results indicated that GV-0001 lacked efficacy against codling moth colony WA3. It was confirmed that WA3 was the first case of codling moth resistance to CpGV in the USA. Further testing of WA3 was performed on a range of CpGV isolates and a lack of efficacy was observed against additional isolates. However, three newly developed CpGV preparations can efficiently infect larvae from the resistant colony WA3. Our results suggest that there is an urgent need to monitor the situation in the USA, aiming to prevent the emergence or spread of additional codling moth populations with CpGV resistance. Strategies to sustain the efficacy of codling moth control using novel CpGV formulations need to be developed.
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