A Chromosome-Level Genome Assembly of the Parasitoid Wasp, Cotesia glomerata (Hymenoptera: Braconidae).

Hymenopterans make up about 20% of all animal species, but most are poorly known and lack high-quality genomic resources. One group of important, yet understudied hymenopterans are parasitoid wasps in the family Braconidae. Among this understudied group is the genus Cotesia, a clade of ~1,000 species routinely used in studies of physiology, ecology, biological control, and genetics.

Corrigendum: The Extended Specimen Network: A Strategy to Enhance US Biodiversity Collections, Promote Research and Education.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1093/biosci/biz140.].

Assessment of North American arthropod collections: prospects and challenges for addressing biodiversity research.

Over 300 million arthropod specimens are housed in North American natural history collections. These collections represent a "vast hidden treasure trove" of biodiversity -95% of the specimen label data have yet to be transcribed for research, and less than 2% of the specimens have been imaged. Specimen labels contain crucial information to determine species distributions over time and are essential for understanding patterns of ecology and evolution, which will help assess the growing biodiversity crisis driven by global change impacts.

MIReAD, a minimum information standard for reporting arthropod abundance data.

Arthropods play a dominant role in natural and human-modified terrestrial ecosystem dynamics. Spatially-explicit arthropod population time-series data are crucial for statistical or mathematical models of these dynamics and assessment of their veterinary, medical, agricultural, and ecological impacts. Such data have been collected world-wide for over a century, but remain scattered and largely inaccessible.

Aggregated occurrence records of the federally endangered Poweshiek skipperling ().

Background: Primary biodiversity data records that are open access and available in a standardised format are essential for conservation planning and research on policy-relevant time-scales. We created a dataset to document all known occurrence data for the Federally Endangered Poweshiek skipperling butterfly [ (Parker, 1870; Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae)]. The Poweshiek skipperling was a historically common species in prairie systems across the upper Midwest, United States and Manitoba, Canada.

Billbug (Coleoptera: Dryophthoridae: Sphenophorus spp.) Seasonal Biology and DNA-Based Life Stage Association in Indiana Turfgrass.

Eleven species of billbugs (Coleoptera: Dryophthoridae: Sphenophorus spp. Schönherr) infest managed turfgrass in North America. However, the regional variation in species composition remains unresolved and the seasonal phenology of several species has not been well documented.

A phylogenomic analysis of lichen-feeding tiger moths uncovers evolutionary origins of host chemical sequestration.

Host species utilize a variety of defenses to deter feeding, including secondary chemicals. Some phytophagous insects have evolved tolerance to these chemical defenses, and can sequester secondary defense compounds for use against their own predators and parasitoids. While numerous studies have examined plant-insect interactions, little is known about lichen-insect interactions.

LepNet: The Lepidoptera of North America Network.

The Lepidoptera of North America Network, or LepNet, is a digitization effort recently launched to mobilize biodiversity data from 3 million specimens of butterflies and moths in United States natural history collections (http://www.lep-net.org/).

HPLC-MS Analysis of Lichen-Derived Metabolites in the Life Stages of Crambidia cephalica (Grote & Robinson).

Tiger moths (Lepidoptera: Erebidae: Arctiinae: Arctiini) are notable for their specialized associations with hosts that produce toxic secondary compounds, and are thus an ideal study system for understanding insect-plant interactions and the evolution of antipredatory defense. Likewise, their sister lineage (Arctiinae: Lithosiini) has been documented feeding on algae and lichens, and is known to sequester lichen-derived secondary compounds from the larval to adult stages. Prevalence of lichenivory in this early radiation (ca.

Host-Related Olfactory Behavior in a Fruit-Piercing Moth (Lepidoptera: Erebidae) in Far Eastern Russia.

The host preference of the economically important fruit piercing moth, Calyptra lata (Butler 1881), was studied when exposed to different fruits and the odors of those fruits in enclosed feeding assays and in a two-choice olfactometer. The fruits consisted of three ripe and locally available types: raspberries, cherries and plums. Moths were released in cages with the ripened fruit and observed for any feeding events, which were then documented.

Origin of the hungry caterpillar: Evolution of fasting in slug moths (Insecta: Lepidoptera: Limacodidae).

Studies of caterpillar defense strategy evolution typically focus on aposematic coloration, gregarious behavior, and/or chemical defense. In the slug moth family Limacodidae, the evolution of chemical defense is coupled to the life history trait of first instar feeding behaviors. In nettle caterpillars, the first instars fast and molt into a second instar that feeds.

Phylogeny and evolution of pharmacophagy in tiger moths (Lepidoptera: Erebidae: Arctiinae).

The focus of this study was to reconstruct a phylogenetic hypothesis for the moth subfamily Arctiinae (tiger moths, woolly bears) to investigate the evolution of larval and adult pharmacophagy of pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) and the pathway to PA chemical specialization in Arctiinae. Pharmacophagy, collection of chemicals for non-nutritive purposes, is well documented in many species, including the model species Utetheisa ornatrix L. A total of 86 exemplar ingroup species representing tiger moth tribes and subtribes (68 genera) and nine outgroup species were selected.

Geographic distribution, phylogeny, and genetic diversity of the fruit- and blood-feeding moth Calyptra thalictri Borkhausen (Insecta: Lepidoptera: Erebidae).

Facultative blood feeding on live animals or carrion is widespread within Lepidoptera. Male moths within the genus Calyptra are known to use their fruit-piercing mouthparts to occasionally feed on mammalian blood. The Palearctic species Calyptra thalictri is known to exhibit differential feeding behaviors that appear to be based on geographic location.

A molecular phylogenetic analysis of the vampire moths and their fruit-piercing relatives (Lepidoptera: Erebidae: Calpinae).

Within butterflies and moths, adult hematophagy is limited to species within the vampire moth genus Calyptra. These moths are placed within the subfamily Calpinae, whose other members are known to exhibit a broad range of feeding behaviors including those that can be considered 'piercers' of fruits or other hosts and 'tear feeders'. Here, we reconstruct a phylogenetic hypothesis of Calpinae using molecular data to test whether hematophagy in Calyptra arose from plant or animal-related behaviors.

To be or not to be… a vampire: a matter of sensillum numbers in Calyptra thalictri?

The mechanisms by which blood feeding in insects has evolved are unclear, primarily because there has been no access to species in which there is a mixture of same-sex blood feeding and non-blood feeding individuals. The discovery of a subset of male Calyptra thalictri (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae: Calpini) that blood feed under constrained experimental conditions, while the majority of these males do not, provides a unique opportunity to investigate members of the same species for potential root mechanisms leading to the ability to blood feed. Previously, C.

Release of TEGDMA from composite during the chewing situation.

The aim of this study was to investigate the triethylene glycol (TEGDMA) elution kinetics from light-cured composite with and without chewing simulation over a time period of 86 h. An experimental composite with TEGDMA labeled with a tracer dose of 14C-TEGDMA was used. The material parameters were in the range of commercially available composites.

Autologous bone graft versus demineralized bone matrix in internal fixation of ununited long bones.

Background: Non-unions are severe complications in orthopaedic trauma care and occur in 10% of all fractures. The golden standard for the treatment of ununited fractures includes open reduction and internal fixation (ORIF) as well as augmentation with autologous-bone-grafting. However, there is morbidity associated with the bone-graft donor site and some patients offer limited quantity or quality of autologous-bone graft material.

Metabolism of TEGDMA and HEMA in human cells.

Previous in vivo studies have shown that the comonomers triethylene glycol dimethacrylate (TEGDMA) and 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) from dental materials can be metabolised to CO(2) by two postulated pathways: an epoxide and a valine pathway. In the epoxide pathway the formation of pyruvate is postulated and in valine pathway the formation of l-malate. The aim of this investigation was to quantify the formation of the intermediates pyruvate and l-malate to show which pathway may be preferred in A549 cells.

Eluted substances from unpolymerized and polymerized dental restorative materials and their Nernst partition coefficient.

Objectives: Components released from resin-based dental materials are important factors in the assessment of the biocompatibility of these materials. The study was performed to investigate the elution of substances from unpolymerized and polymerized composites (Tetric=TET; Arabesk=ARA), ormoceres (Admira)=ADM; Definite=DEF) and the compomere (Hytac=HYT).

Methods: Specimens were polymerized and immersed in either water or methanol.

The toxicokinetics and distribution of 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate in mice.

The cytotoxicity of dental composites has been attributed to the release of residual monomers from polymerized resin-based composites due to the degradation processes or the incomplete polymerisation of materials. 2-Hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) is one of the major components released from dental resin-based composites. It was shown in vitro that HEMA was released into the adjacent biophase from such materials during the first days after placement.

Titanium alloy pins versus stainless steel pins in external fixation at the wrist: a randomized prospective study.

Background: Pin-track complications remain the most troublesome disadvantages of external fixation. The purpose of this study was to compare pin-related complications and pain levels after the use of external fixation for the stabilization of distal radial fractures with pins composed of two different materials.

Methods: In a prospective trail 80 patients (320 pins) with unstable distal radial fracture were randomized for standard small AO-external fixator treatment with the use of identical pin geometry either composed of stainless-steel (Ss) (n = 40) or titanium alloy (Ti6Al4V) (n = 40).

[Midshaft clavicle fractures--classification and therapy. Results of a survey at German trauma departments].

Introduction: The therapy of the midshaft clavicle fracture, in particular dislocated midshaft fractures, remains controversial. Therefore the objective of this study was to obtain data about the current treatment for midshaft clavicle fractures.

Methods: In a countrywide anonymous survey 240 German orthopaedic trauma departments were asked about their diagnostic and therapeutic procedures for midshaft clavicle fractures.

Cooling extensive burns: sprayed coolants can improve initial cooling management - a thermography-based study.

This pilot study was designed to verify whether the spraying of coolant improves initial cooling in extensive burns. The cooling effects of 1l of sprayed water and 5l of poured water (at 22 degrees C) were tested; 53 healthy participants were cooled for 15 min over 18% of their total body surface, twice. Thermographic imaging measured the loss of skin temperature and assessed the homogeneity of cooling.