Effects of temperature on larval development, alkaloid production and microsporidiosis in the two-spotted lady beetle, Adalia bipunctata L. (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae).

Nosema adaliae, a microsporidian pathogen described from the two-spotted lady beetle, Adalia bipunctata L., delays larval development when A. bipunctata is reared under laboratory conditions at 25 °C.

Effect of testing temperature on the nanostructural response of tendon to tensile mechanical overload.

Despite many in vitro mechanical experiments of tendon being conducted at room temperature, few assessments have been made to determine how the structural response of tendon to mechanical overload may vary with ambient temperature. We explored whether damage to the collagen nanostructure of tendon resulting from tensile rupture varies with temperature. Use of bovine tail tendons in combination with NaBH crosslink stabilization treatment allowed us to probe the mechanisms underlying the observed changes.

SNP-based association study of kernel architecture in a worldwide collection of durum wheat germplasm.

Durum wheat, genetic resource with favorable alleles is considered as natural gene pool for wheat breeding. Kernel size and weight are important factors affecting grain yield in crops. Here, association analysis was performed to dissect the genetic constitution of kernel-related traits in 150 lines collected from 46 countries and regions using a set of EST-derived and genome-wide SNP markers with five consecutive years of data.

Movement variability response to change in the rate of hopping.

Unlabelled: Movement variability is often considered undesirable, but growing evidence demonstrates positive aspects of variability. During unipedal hopping, control of limb stiffness and limb length are paramount.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare two methods of measuring movement variability that provide information at the task level, and their capacities to illuminate the neuromotor control system's response to change in hopping rate.

Low Dose Resistance Exercise: A Pilot Study Examining Effects on Blood Pressure and Augmentation Index Between Intensities.

Introduction: The effects of resistance exercise on vascular function are unclear.

Aim: To investigate the acute haemodynamic (blood pressure and augmentation index) and rate of perceived exertion (RPE) response to two types of resistance exercises of equal workload-a set of unilateral 35% of one repetition maximum (1RM) quadriceps extension and a set of unilateral 70% 1RM quadriceps extension.

Methods: Twenty two young healthy males completed both exercises on separate days.

Human and climatic drivers affect spatial fishing patterns in a multiple-use marine protected area: The Galapagos Marine Reserve.

Assessments of the effectiveness of marine protected areas (MPAs) usually assume that fishing patterns change exclusively due to the implementation of an MPA. This assumption increases the risk of erroneous conclusions in assessing marine zoning, and consequently counter-productive management actions. Accordingly, it is important to understand how fishers respond to a combination of the implementation of no-take zones, and various climatic and human drivers of change.

Spectroelectrochemical and computational studies of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and carboxy-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC-COOH).

Rapid and accurate detection of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and its main secondary metabolite carboxy-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC-COOH) is important to ensure safe roadways and workplaces, particularly in regions of the world where cannabis use is legal. In this work, we seek to demonstrate the usefulness of electrochemical SERS (EC-SERS) for the rapid detection of both THC and THC-COOH, complemented by thorough ab initio calculations for both molecules. These results indicate that application of a voltage is essential for efficient SERS detection of cannabinoids at low concentrations in bodily fluids, allowing for the eventual development of sensitive and quantitative screening tools.

Volatile and Thermally Stable Polymeric Tin Trifluoroacetates.

Tin trifluoroacetates are effective vapor phase single-source precursors for F-doped SnO, but their structures have been poorly understood for decades. Here we undertook a comprehensive structural analysis of these compounds in both the solid and gas phases through a combined single-crystal X-ray crystallography, gas phase electron diffraction, and density functional theory investigation. Tin(II) bis(trifluoroacetate) () thermally decomposes into a 1:1 mixture of and ditin(II) μ-oxybis(μ-trifluoroacetate) () during sublimation, which then polymerize into hexatin(II)-di-μ-oxyoctakis(μ-trifluoroacetate) () upon solidification.

MicroRNA-mediated responses to colchicine treatment in barley.

In Hordeum vulgare, nine differentially expressed novel miRNAs were induced by colchicine. Five novel miRNA in colchicine solution showed the opposite expression patterns as those in water. Colchicine is a commonly used agent for plant chromosome set doubling.

Electrophysiological evidence that psychopathic personality traits are associated with atypical response to salient distractors.

Event-related potentials (ERPs) were used to assess the neural mechanisms underlying visual-spatial attention abnormalities associated with psychopathic personality traits. Sixty-nine undergraduates (56 women, 13 men) completed the Psychopathic Personality Inventory-Revised (PPI-R; Lilienfeld & Widows, 2005) and performed two cognitive tasks in which search displays containing a lateralized singleton encircled a fixation point that changed luminance from trial-to-trial. When searching for the singleton as a target, PPI-R scores were uncorrelated with ERP measures of its salience (Ppc), goal-directed selection (N2pc), and working memory evaluation (negative amplitude CDA).

Mapping dynamic QTL dissects the genetic architecture of grain size and grain filling rate at different grain-filling stages in barley.

Grain filling is an important growth process in formation of yield and quality for barley final yield determination. To explore the grain development behavior during grain filling period in barley, a high-density genetic map with 1962 markers deriving from a doubled haploid (DH) population of 122 lines was used to identify dynamic quantitative trait locus (QTL) for grain filling rate (GFR) and five grain size traits: grain area (GA), grain perimeter (GP), grain length (GL), grain width (GW) and grain diameter (GD). Unconditional QTL mapping is to detect the cumulative effect of genetic factors on a phenotype from development to a certain stage.

Differences in Sexual Interest in Children Between Men Who Commit Undetected Versus Detected Sexual Offenses.

This study examined whether men who committed undetected sexual offenses would show more evidence of sexual interest in children than their detected counterparts. It also considered whether denial or minimization of offending history explained observed differences between undetected and detected men. In an archival database of 2,236 men, 96 were undetected and the remainder were detected men who varied in the extent to which they admitted their offending: complete deniers, partial deniers, those who admitted their offense history, and those who disclosed additional unknown offenses.

Estimating sex from the seven cervical vertebrae: An analysis of two European skeletal populations.

Methods for estimating sex from a variety of skeletal elements is vital in forensic anthropology as many of the traditionally studied bones are often fragmented upon recovery. The current study examined the seven cervical vertebrae to establish an accurate sex estimation method for Europeans. Discriminant functions were developed from the seven cervical vertebrae using the maximum body height (CHT), vertebral foramen anterior-posterior diameter (CAP), and vertebral foramen transverse diameter (CTR).

Secular trends in weight, stature, and body mass index in Nova Scotia, Canada.

Objectives: The present study aims to investigate the secular trends of weight, stature, and BMI values in a Nova Scotian sample from 1946 to 1999, with particular focus on how these trends may relate to nutrition and the evolving obesity epidemic.

Methods: Data were collected from investigative (autopsy) records of 1645 individuals (1287 males, 358 females) of European descent at the Nova Scotia Medical Examiner Service. Secular trends were evaluated by linear regression of weight, stature, and BMI with respect to the year of birth.

ISSLS PRIZE IN BASIC SCIENCE 2020: Beyond microstructure-circumferential specialization within the lumbar intervertebral disc annulus extends to collagen nanostructure, with counterintuitive relationships to macroscale material properties.

Purpose: To determine whether the annulus of lumbar intervertebral discs contains circumferential specialization in collagen nanostructure and assess whether this coincides with functional differences in macroscale material properties.

Methods: Anterior and posterior disc wall samples were prepared from 38 mature ovine lumbar segments. Regional differences in molecular thermal stability and intermolecular network integrity of the annulus' tension-bearing collagen fibres were examined with hydrothermal isometric tension (HIT) analysis, with and without preceding NaBH treatment to stabilize labile crosslinks.

Water dynamics in deuterated gypsum, CaSO⋅2DO, investigated by solid state deuterium NMR.

NMR relaxation theory and NMR lineshape calculations were used to characterize the rates of C symmetry jumps of deuterium nuclei in partly deuterated gypsum powder. The experimental data consisted of variable temperature deuterium NMR powder line shapes and deuterium T relaxation times. All of the Mathematica© notebooks used to simulate the spectra and match the experimental T values are included as supplementary material, and are suitable templates for similar calculations on other systems.

Unique Access to u-Channel Physics: Exclusive Backward-Angle Omega Meson Electroproduction.

Backward-angle meson electroproduction above the resonance region, which was previously ignored, is anticipated to offer unique access to the three quark plus sea component of the nucleon wave function. In this Letter, we present the first complete separation of the four electromagnetic structure functions above the resonance region in exclusive ω electroproduction off the proton, ep→e^{'}pω, at central Q^{2} values of 1.60, 2.

Neuropsychological Test Performances and Depression in Early-Stage De Novo Parkinson's Disease.

Objective: Evaluate neuropsychological test performance in depressed patients with early-stage Parkinson's disease.

Method: Data from 422 participants from the Parkinson's Progression Marker Initiative were examined. The Geriatric Depression Scale-15 was used to categorize depressed and non-depressed participants.

Towards an integrative understanding of soil biodiversity.

Soil is one of the most biodiverse terrestrial habitats. Yet, we lack an integrative conceptual framework for understanding the patterns and mechanisms driving soil biodiversity. One of the underlying reasons for our poor understanding of soil biodiversity patterns relates to whether key biodiversity theories (historically developed for aboveground and aquatic organisms) are applicable to patterns of soil biodiversity.

First Measurement of Inclusive Muon Neutrino Charged Current Differential Cross Sections on Argon at E_{ν}∼0.8 GeV with the MicroBooNE Detector.

We report the first measurement of the double-differential and total muon neutrino charged current inclusive cross sections on argon at a mean neutrino energy of 0.8 GeV. Data were collected using the MicroBooNE liquid argon time projection chamber located in the Fermilab Booster neutrino beam and correspond to 1.

Global distribution of earthworm diversity.

Soil organisms, including earthworms, are a key component of terrestrial ecosystems. However, little is known about their diversity, their distribution, and the threats affecting them. We compiled a global dataset of sampled earthworm communities from 6928 sites in 57 countries as a basis for predicting patterns in earthworm diversity, abundance, and biomass.

Live imaging of contracting muscles with wide-field second harmonic generation microscopy using a high power laser.

Wide-field second harmonic generation (SHG) microscopy was developed using a high-power (> 4 W) and high-repetition-rate (MHz range) laser oscillator to achieve fast SHG imaging over a large area (400 µm × 400 µm). The microscope was used for high spatial resolution imaging of contracting muscles in live larvae. Anisotropic and isotropic bands of striated muscle were distinguished, allowing accurate determination of sarcomere length and SHG intensity from individual sarcomeres.

Effects of the microsporidian pathogen, Nosema adaliae (Nosematidae) on the seven-spotted lady beetle, Coccinella septempunctata L. (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae).

Lady beetles are important predators in nature. Some species, including the two-spotted lady beetle, Adalia bipunctata L., are native to North America, whereas others, such as the seven-spotted lady beetle, Coccinella septempunctata L.

Features of Vibrational and Electronic Structures of Decavanadate Revealed by Resonance Raman Spectroscopy and Density Functional Theory.

Polyoxometalates are known to be inhibitors of a diverse collection of enzymes, although the specific interactions that lead to this bioactivity are still unclear. Spectroscopic characterization may be an invaluable if indirect tool for remedying this problem, yet this requires clear, cogent assignment of polyoxometalate spectra before the complicating effect of their binding to large biomolecules can be considered. We report the use of FT-IR and resonance Raman spectroscopies alongside density functional theory to describe the vibrational and electronic structures of decavanadate, [VO].