Interactions between exotic and native lady beetle species stabilize community abundance.

A 23-year time-series of abundance for 13 lady beetle species (Coccinellidae) was used to investigate community stability. The community exhibited persistence in ten habitats, no overall trend in abundance, and low temporal variability quantified as Population variability (PV) = 0.33 on a scale from 0 to 1 that declined to 0.

Comparison of Relative Bias, Precision, and Efficiency of Sampling Methods for Natural Enemies of Soybean Aphid (Hemiptera: Aphididae).

Generalist natural enemies play an important role in controlling soybean aphid, Aphis glycines (Hemiptera: Aphididae), in North America. Several sampling methods are used to monitor natural enemy populations in soybean, but there has been little work investigating their relative bias, precision, and efficiency. We compare five sampling methods: quadrats, whole-plant counts, sweep-netting, walking transects, and yellow sticky cards to determine the most practical methods for sampling the three most prominent species, which included Harmonia axyridis (Pallas), Coccinella septempunctata L.

Predator identity and the nature and strength of food web interactions.

1. Most trophic interaction theory assumes that all predators are an abstract form of risk to which prey respond in a quantitatively similar manner. This conceptualization can be problematic because recent empirical work demonstrates that variation in the responses of prey to different predators can play a key role in structuring communities and regulating ecosystem function.

Technetium-99m-tetrofosmin as a substrate for P-glycoprotein: in vitro studies in multidrug-resistant breast tumor cells.

Unlabelled: The accumulation of 99mTc-tetrofosmin (TFos) was studied in wildtype (WT) and doxorubicin-resistant (AdrR) variants of the rat MatB and human MCF-7 breast tumor cell lines to determine whether TFos, like 99mTc-sestamibi (MIBI), is a substrate for P-glycoprotein (P-gp), a multidrug-resistance transporter.

Methods: The time course of accumulation of TFos and MIBI in WT and AdrR cells over 1 hr was studied using single-cell suspensions at 1 x 10(6) cells/ml incubated at 37 degrees C in the presence or absence of PSC833, a potent modulator of P-gp. Modulator dose-response curves were generated for PSC833, cyclosporin A, and verapamil.

What is wrong with patient education programs?

The importance of patient education is recognized everywhere. Why, then, are there so many inadequate programs? A study of nursing and medical faculty at a major medical center reveals three key barriers to providing the best possible information.