Longhorn beetles are ecologically important insects in forest ecosystems as decomposers of woody substrates, microhabitat engineers, and as components of forest food webs. These species can be ...greatly affected both positively and negatively by modern forestry management practices, and should be monitored accordingly. Through headspace sampling, coupled gas chromatography-electroantennography, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, and field bioassays, we identified two compounds, 2-methyl-1-butanol and 3-hydroxy-2-hexanone, that constitute aggregation-sex pheromone attractants of three cerambycid species which breed primarily in different types of fresh, recently dead oak wood in Northern Europe:
Pyrrhidium sanguineum
(L.),
Phymatodes alni
ssp
. alni
(L.), and
Phymatodes testaceus
(L.) (Cerambycinae: Callidiini). Analyses of headspace volatiles collected from live insects indicated that the male-produced aggregation-sex pheromone of
P. sanguineum
is a 1–15:100 blend of (
R
)-2-methyl-1-butanol and (
R
)-3-hydroxy-2-hexanone, whereas the corresponding ratios for
P. alni
were 70–110:100. In field bioassays, adult
P. sanguineum
and
P. alni
were significantly attracted to multiple blends with varying ratios of the two compounds. When tested individually, the compounds were minimally attractive. In contrast, adult
P. testaceus
exhibited nonspecific attraction to both of the individual compounds and to different blends, despite the hydroxyketone not being part of its pheromone, which consists of (
R
)-2-methyl-1-butanol alone. Overall, our results suggest that a blend of 50:100 of racemic 2-methyl-1-butanol and 3-hydroxy-2-hexanone is appropriate for parallel, cost-efficient pheromone-based monitoring of all three species. In particular, these species could serve as useful indicators of how modern forestry practices affect a whole guild of saproxylic insects that require ephemeral deadwood substrates for successful breeding.
The formation of neurotoxic beta‐amyloid fibrils in Alzheimer's disease (AD) is suggested to involve membrane rafts and to be promoted, in vitro, by enriched concentrations of gangliosides, ...particularly GM1, and the cholesterol therein. In our study, the presence of rafts and their content of the major membrane lipids and gangliosides in the temporal cortex, reflecting late stages of AD pathology, and the frontal cortex, presenting earlier stages, has been investigated. Whole tissue and isolated detergent‐resistant membrane fractions (DRMs) were analysed from 10 AD and 10 age‐matched control autopsy brains. DRMs from the frontal cortex of AD brains contained a significantly higher concentration (µmol/µmol glycerophospholipids), of ganglioside GM1 (22.3 ± 4.6 compared to 10.3 ± 6.4, p < 0.001) and GM2 (2.5 ± 1.0 compared to 0.55 ± 0.3, p < 0.001). Similar increases of these gangliosides were also seen in DRMs from the temporal cortex of AD brains, which, in addition, comprised significantly lower proportions of DRMs. Moreover, these remaining rafts were depleted in cholesterol (from 1.5 ± 0.2 to 0.6 ± 0.3 µmol/µmol glycerophospholipids, p < 0.001). In summary, we found an increased proportion of GM1 and GM2 in DRMs, and accelerating plaque formation at an early stage, which may gradually lead to membrane raft disruptions and thereby affect cellular functions associated with the presence of such membrane domains.
Background
Idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH) occurs more frequently in obese females of childbearing age. A link between eating disorders and poor outcome has been suggested but remains ...unproven.
Methods
This prospective field study at two tertiary headache centers included patients with clinically suspected IIH after standardized diagnostic work-up. Eating disorders were evaluated using validated questionnaires (EDQs). Primary outcome was the impact of eating disorders on IIH severity and outcome, secondary outcome was the prevalence and type of eating disorders in IIH compared to controls.
Results
We screened 326 patients; 143 patients replied to the EDQs and were classified as ‘IIH’ or ‘non-IIH’ patients. The demographic profile of EDQ-respondents and non-respondents was similar. Presence of an eating disorder did not impact IIH severity (lumbar puncture opening pressure (p = 0.63), perimetric mean deviation (p = 0.18), papilledema (Frisén grad 1–3; p = 0.53)) nor IIH outcome (optic nerve atrophy (p = 0.6), impaired visual fields (p = 0.18)). Moreover, we found no differences in the prevalence and type of eating disorders when comparing IIH with non-IIH patients (p = 0.09).
Conclusion
Eating disorders did not affect IIH severity or outcome. We found the same prevalence and distribution pattern of eating disorders in IIH and non-IIH patients advocating against a direct link between IIH and eating disorders.
During the COVID pandemic, government authorities worldwide have tried to limit the spread of the virus. Sweden's distinctive feature was the use of voluntary public health recommendations. Few ...studies have evaluated the effectiveness of this strategy. Based on data collected in the spring of 2020, this study explored associations between compliance with recommendations and observed symptoms of contagion in others, using self-report data from university students. Compliance with recommendations ranged between 69.7 and 95.7 percent. Observations of moderate symptoms of contagion in "Someone else I have had contact with" and "Another person" were markedly associated with reported self-quarantine, which is the most restrictive recommendation, complied with by 81.2% of participants. Uncertainty regarding the incidence and severity of contagion in cohabitants was markedly associated with the recommendation to avoid public transportation, a recommendation being followed by 69.7%. It is concluded that students largely followed the voluntary recommendations implemented in Sweden, suggesting that coercive measures were not necessary. Compliance with recommendations were associated with the symptoms students saw in others, and with the perceived risk of contagion in the student's immediate vicinity. It is recommended that voluntary recommendations should stress personal relevance, and that close relatives are at risk.
Fisheries management and sustainability assessment of fisheries more generally have recently expanded their scope from single‐species stock assessment to ecosystem‐based approaches, aiming to ...incorporate economic, social and local environmental impacts, while still excluding global‐scale environmental impacts. In parallel, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) has emerged as a widely used and recommended framework to assess environmental impacts of products, including global‐scale impacts. For over a decade, LCA has been applied to seafood supply chains, leading to new insights into the environmental impact of seafood products.
We present insights from seafood LCA research with particular focus on evaluating fisheries management, which strongly influences the environmental impact of seafood products. Further, we suggest tangible ways in which LCA could be taken up in management. By identifying trade‐offs, LCA can be a useful decision support tool and avoids problem shifting from one concern (or activity) to another. The integrated, product‐based and quantitative perspective brought by LCA could complement existing tools. One example is to follow up fuel use of fishing, as the production and combustion of fuel used dominates overall results for various types of environmental impacts of seafood products, and is also often linked to biological impacts of fishing. Reducing the fuel use of fisheries is therefore effective to reduce overall impacts. Allocating fishing rights based on environmental performance could likewise facilitate the transition to low‐impact fisheries. Taking these steps in an open dialogue between fishers, managers, industry, NGOs and consumers would enable more targeted progress towards sustainable fisheries.
Aims:
The COVID-19 containment strategy in Sweden uses public health recommendations relying on personal responsibility for compliance. Universities were one of few public institutions subject to ...strict closure, meaning that students had to adapt overnight to online teaching. This study investigates the prevalence of self-reported recommendation compliance and associations with self-reported symptoms of contagion, self-experienced effects on mental health and academic self-efficacy among university students in Sweden in May–June 2020.
Methods:
This was a cross-sectional 23 question online survey in which data were analysed by multinomial regression, taking a Bayesian analysis approach complemented by null hypothesis testing.
Results:
A total of 4495 students consented to respond. Recommendation compliance ranged between 70% and 96%. Women and older students reported higher compliance than did men and younger students. Mild to moderate COVID-19 symptoms were reported by 30%, severe symptoms by fewer than 2%; 15% reported being uncertain and half of the participants reported no symptoms. Mental health effects were reported by over 80%, and changes in academic self-efficacy were reported by over 85%; in both these areas negative effects predominated. Self-reported symptoms and uncertainty about contagion were associated with non-compliance, negative mental health effects, and impaired academic self-efficacy.
Conclusions:
Students generally followed public health recommendations during strict closure of universities, but many reported considerable negative consequences related to mental health and academic self-efficacy. Digital interventions should be developed and evaluated to boost coping skills, build resilience and alleviate student suffering during the pandemic and future similar crises.
Methods for the regioselective C-H borylation and subsequent cross-coupling of the 2,1-borazaronaphthalene core are reported. Azaborines are dependent on B-N/C═C isosterism when employed in ...strategies for developing diverse heterocyclic scaffolds. Although 2,1-borazaronaphthalene is closely related to naphthalene in terms of structure, the argument is made that the former has electronic similarities to indole. Based on that premise, iridium-mediated C-H activation has enabled facile installation of a versatile, nucleophilic coupling handle at a previously inaccessible site of 2,1-borazaronaphthalenes. A variety of substituted 2,1-borazaronaphthalene cores can be successfully borylated and further cross-coupled in a facile manner to yield diverse C(8)-substituted 2,1-borazaronaphthalenes.
Introduction:
Patients with life-threatening diseases have reportedly end-of-life experiences that are perceived positively. Loved ones and healthcare personnel may mistakenly interpret the phenomena ...as confusion and patients can be reluctant to talk about it due to fear of ridicule. Studies addressing patients directly are scarce and there is a lack of studies from highly secular countries. The aim was to establish whether end-of-life experiences are present among patients, oriented in time, place and person and receiving palliative end-of-life care in one of the world's most secular countries. If present, examine the content and patients’ subjective experiences.
Design:
Qualitative design with semi-structured, in-depth interviews. 25 participants, receiving end-of-life palliative care at home or in a hospice inpatient unit.
Results:
Patients were interviewed on 1-3 consecutive occasions. 16/25 patients reported end-of-life experiences of which the majority were perceived to be positive. Four themes were identified: vivid dreams while asleep, experiences while awake, references to medical circumstances and communication about end-of-life experiences. Prevalent content was deceased and living loved ones and journeys. Some patients distinguished between hallucinations/nightmares and end-of-life experiences.
Conclusions:
End-of-life experiences are present among oriented patients in a highly secular country and can have a profound positive impact, which warrants clinical attention. Education for healthcare personnel about end-of-life experiences is needed in order to support patients and loved ones and not mistakenly medicalize. Further directions for research could be to study the experiences of the phenomenon among health care personnel in the same context, which could strengthen the present findings.
Enantioenriched allenes serve as chiral transfer reagents, making them attractive synthetic targets. Herein, the synthesis of enantioenriched allenes utilizing a Pd(0)-catalyzed cross-coupling ...reaction of propargylic carbonates and phosphates with alkenyl trifluoroborates is reported. Di-, tri-, and tetrasubstituted allenes were synthesized in moderate to high optical yields. Several racemic allenes possessing various functional groups were also synthesized.
Aim
The prevalence and severity of urinary incontinence (UI) increase with age and comorbidity. The benefits of pharmacotherapy for UI in the elderly are questionable. The aim of the present study ...was to systematically review the efficacy of pharmacological treatment for UI in the elderly and frail elderly.
Methods
We searched PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane library and Cinahl databases through October 2013 to identify prospective controlled trials that evaluated pharmacological treatment for UI in persons aged ≥65 years. Elderly persons living in nursing homes were regarded as frail elderly. Outcomes were urinary leakage, quality of life and adverse events.
Results
We screened 1038 s and assessed 309 full‐text articles. We identified 13 trials of high or moderate quality; 11 evaluated anticholinergic drugs and two evaluated duloxetine. Oxybutynin, the only drug studied in the frail elderly population, had no effect on urinary leakage or quality of life in elderly with urgency UI (UUI). Seven trials evaluated the effects of darifenacin, fesoterodine, solifenacin, tolterodine or trospium. Urinary leakage decreased (standard mean difference: −0.24, 95% confidence interval −0.32–0.15), corresponding to a reduction of half a leakage per 24 h. Common side‐effects of treatment were dry mouth and constipation. Data were insufficient for evaluation of the effect on quality of life or cognition. The evidence was insufficient to evaluate the effects of duloxetine. No eligible studies on mirabegron and estrogen were found.
Conclusions
Anticholinergics have a small, but significant, effect on urinary leakage in older adults with UUI. Treatment with drugs for UUI in the frail elderly is not evidence based. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2015; 15: 521–534.
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