Convergence and Divergence among Herbivorous Insects Specialized on Toxic Plants: Revealing Syndromes among the Cardenolide Feeders across the Insect Tree of Life.

AbstractRepeatable macroevolutionary patterns provide hope for rules in biology, especially when we can decipher the underlying mechanisms. Here we synthesize natural history, genetic adaptations, and toxin sequestration in herbivorous insects that specialize on plants with cardiac glycoside defenses. Work on the monarch butterfly provided a model for evolution of the "sequestering specialist syndrome," where specific amino acid substitutions in the insect's Na/K-ATPase are associated with (1) high toxin resistance (target site insensitivity [TSI]), (2) sequestration of toxins, and (3) aposematic coloration.

Institutionalizing Health Technology Assessment in South Africa-An Opportunity in National Health Insurance.

While South Africa has some experience in various forms of health technology assessment (HTA), it is currently fragmented across numerous players. Additionally, there is a lack of systematic and consistently applied HTA processes that inform priority-setting and budget allocations. To address this, the country is journeying toward more institutionalized use of HTA.

In with the good, out with the bad - Investment standards for external funding of health?

In recent decades, external financing of health systems in low- and middle-income countries has helped achieve remarkable improvements across the world. However, these successes have not come without problems. There are a growing number of areas where external assistance can cause harm and even undermine the development of national health systems.