Comparative Genomic Mapping Implicates LRRK2 for Intellectual Disability and Autism at 12q12, and HDHD1, as Well as PNPLA4, for X-Linked Intellectual Disability at Xp22.31.

We report a genomic and phenotypic delineation for two chromosome regions with candidate genes for syndromic intellectual disability at 12q12 and Xp22.31, segregating independently in one family with four affected members. Fine mapping of three affected members, along with six unreported small informative CNVs, narrowed down the candidate chromosomal interval to one gene at 12q12.

Sonographic identification of peripheral nerves in the forearm.

Background: With the growing utilization of ultrasonography in emergency medicine combined with the concern over adequate pain management in the emergency department (ED), ultrasound guidance for peripheral nerve blockade in ED is an area of increasing interest. The medical literature has multiple reports supporting the use of ultrasound guidance in peripheral nerve blocks. However, to perform a peripheral nerve block, one must first be able to reliably identify the specific nerve before the procedure.

Up-regulation of abscisic acid signaling pathway facilitates aphid xylem absorption and osmoregulation under drought stress.

The activation of the abscisic acid (ABA) signaling pathway reduces water loss from plants challenged by drought stress. The effect of drought-induced ABA signaling on the defense and nutrition allocation of plants is largely unknown. We postulated that these changes can affect herbivorous insects.

Influence of air temperature on the first flowering date of Prunus yedoensis Matsum.

Climate change is expected to have a significant effect on the first flowering date (FFD) in plants flowering in early spring. Prunus yedoensis Matsum is a good model plant for analyzing this effect. In this study, we used a degree day model to analyze the effect of air temperatures on the FFDs of P.

Foraging on individual leaves by an intracellular feeding insect is not associated with leaf biomechanical properties or leaf orientation.

Nearly all herbivorous arthropods make foraging-decisions on individual leaves, yet systematic investigations of the adaptive significance and ecological factors structuring these decisions are rare with most attention given to chewing herbivores. This study investigated why an intracellular feeding herbivore, Western flower thrips (WFT) Frankliniella occidentalis Pergande, generally avoids feeding on the adaxial leaf surface of cotton cotyledons. WFT showed a significant aversion to adaxial-feeding even when excised-cotyledons were turned up-side (abaxial-side 'up'), suggesting that negative-phototaxis was not a primary cause of thrips foraging patterns.

Pea aphid promotes amino acid metabolism both in Medicago truncatula and bacteriocytes to favor aphid population growth under elevated CO2.

Rising atmospheric CO(2) levels can dilute the nitrogen (N) resource in plant tissue, which is disadvantageous to many herbivorous insects. Aphids appear to be an exception that warrants further study. The effects of elevated CO(2) (750 ppm vs.

Impact of insecticides on parasitoids of the leafminer, Liriomyza trifolii, in pepper in south Texas.

Liriomyza leafminers (Diptera: Agromyzidae) are cosmopolitan, polyphagous pests of horticultural plants and many are resistant to insecticides. Producers in South Texas rely on insecticides as the primary management tool for leafminers, and several compounds are available. The objective of this study is to address the efficacy of these compounds for controlling Liriomyza while minimizing their effects against natural enemies.

Volatiles emitted by Carya illinoinensis (Wang.) K. Koch as a prelude for semiochemical investigations to focus on Acrobasis nuxvorella Nuenzig (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae).

Background: Plant volatiles have complex intra- and interspecific effects in the environment that include plant/herbivore interactions. Identifying the quantity and quality of volatiles produced by a plant is needed to aid the process of determining which chemicals are exerting what effects and then examining whether these effects can be manipulated to benefit society. The qualitative characterization of volatile compounds emitted by pecan, Carya illinoinensis (Wang.

Host plant effects on alkaline phosphatase activity in the whiteflies, Bemisia tabaci Biotype B and Trialeurodes vaporariorum.

Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) B-biotype and Trialeurodes vaporariorum (Westwood) (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) often coexist on greenhouse-grown vegetable crops in northern China. The recent spread of B. tabaci B-biotype has largely replaced T.

DNA identification confirms pecan weevil (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) infestation of Carpathian walnut.

Larvae found infesting fruit from a Carpathian walnut, Juglans regia L., tree in Missouri were confirmed by DNA analysis to be those of pecan weevil, Curculio caryae (Horn) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae). The infested walnut tree occurs in the midst of pecan weevil-infested pecans, Carya illinoinensis (Wang.

Determining circadian response of adult male Acrobasis nuxvorella (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) to synthetic sex attractant pheromone through time-segregated trapping with a new clockwork timing trap.

Mate finding is a key lifecycle event for the pecan nut casebearer, Acrobasis nuxvorella Neunzig, as it is for virtually all Lepidoptera, many of which rely on long-range, species-specific sex pheromones, regulated largely by circadian clocks. Adult male moths were trapped at discrete time intervals during the first two seasonal flights for 6 yr to determine times of peak activity associated with male response to pheromones. From 1997 to 2002, the Harris-Coble automated clockwork timing trap was used for hourly time-segregated sampling.

Temporal allocation of metabolic tolerance in the body of beet armyworm in response to three gossypol-cotton cultivars.

The nutrient composition and enzyme activities in larvae of the beet armyworm, Spodoptera exigua (Hübner), fed on high, medium or low gossypol cotton cultivars were examined at different time intervals. Significantly lower free fatty acid was observed in larvae fed for 6 h on high gossypol 'M9101' compared to larvae fed on the low (ZMS13) and intermediate (HZ401) gossypol cultivars. Significantly higher trypsin activity was observed in larvae fed on high gossypol 'M9101' for 24 h compared to those fed for 1, 4 and 6 h.

Physiological time model for predicting adult emergence of western corn rootworm (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) in the Texas High Plains.

Field observations at three locations in the Texas High Plains were used to develop and validate a degree-day phenology model to predict the onset and proportional emergence of adult Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) adults. Climatic data from the Texas High Plains Potential Evapotranspiration network were used with records of cumulative proportional adult emergence to determine the functional lower developmental temperature, optimum starting date, and the sum of degree-days for phenological events from onset to 99% adult emergence. The model base temperature, 10 degrees C (50 degrees F), corresponds closely to known physiological lower limits for development.

A new pheromone race of Acrobasis nuxvorella (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae).

The sex pheromone of the monophagous Acrobasis nuxvorella Neunzig (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) was reported as (9E,11Z)-hexadecadienal (9E,11Z-16:Ald) (Biorg. Med. Chem.

Native ant responses to Solenopsis invicta buren reduction using broadcast baits.

A pilot study was conducted to investigate the impact of Solenopsis invicta management with an insect growth regulator bait (s-methoprene) on native ant species and to determine the responses of these species to S. invicta reduction. This invasive species alters the diversity and structure of different trophic levels of arthropod assemblages.

Evidence that lipopolysaccharide-induced anorexia depends upon central, rather than peripheral, inflammatory signals.

Systemic inflammatory stimuli cause anorexia and weight loss by disrupting the physiological regulation of energy balance. Mice lacking MyD88, an intracellular mediator of signal transduction activated by Toll-like receptor 4 or IL-1beta receptors, are resistant to anorexia induced by the bacterial endotoxin lipopolysaccharide (LPS), despite a significant circulating cytokine response. Thus, we hypothesized that induction of a peripheral inflammatory response is insufficient to cause LPS-induced anorexia when MyD88 signaling in the central nervous system and other tissues is absent.

Sticky traps for monitoring Pseudacteon parasitoids of Solenopsis fire ants.

A newly developed method for passively trapping adult Pseudacteon phorid flies, which parasitize workers of Solenopsis saevissima complex fire ants, is described. Adult flies responding to deployed Solenopsis invicta midden were captured when they landed on a Tanglefoot-coated perch, which is part of the trap. This sampling method provided a uniform, repeatable, and verifiable sample that allowed continuous and simultaneous sampling among locations, which can only be accomplished with other techniques by substantially increasing the number of observers.

Resurgence and persistence of Dorymyrmex flavus after reduction of Solenopsis invicta buren with a broadcast bait.

The effects of bait treatment(s) on population dynamics of Solenopsis invicta and Dorymyrmex flavus were studied, and various factors underlying the resurgence and persistence of D. flavus to reinvasion by S. invicta were studied in more detail.

MyD88 is a key mediator of anorexia, but not weight loss, induced by lipopolysaccharide and interleukin-1 beta.

Systemic inflammatory signals can disrupt the physiological regulation of energy balance, causing anorexia and weight loss. In the current studies, we investigated whether MyD88, the primary, but not exclusive, intracellular signal transduction pathway for Toll-like receptor 4 and IL-1 receptor I, is necessary for anorexia and weight loss to occur in response to stimuli that activate these key innate immune receptors. Our findings demonstrate that the absence of MyD88 signaling confers complete protection against anorexia induced by either lipopolysaccharide (LPS) (20 h food intake in MyD88-/- mice 5.

Physiological time model of Scirpophaga incertulas (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) in rice in Guandong Province, People's Republic of China.

Scirpophaga incertulas (Walker) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) is autochthonous and monophagous on rice, Oryza spp., which favors the development of a physiological time model using degree-days (degrees C) to establish a well defined window during which adults will be present in fields. Model development of S.