In this study, we report the development of a set of 15 polymorphic microsatellite markers for the box tree moth, Cydalima perspectalis (Walker), a highly invasive insect in Europe causing significant damage to natural and ornamental Buxus trees. The markers were characterized for four distant populations in both its native (China, two populations) and invasive ranges (Czech Republic and Turkey, one population each). The number of alleles ranged from 2 to 12. No marker significantly deviated from the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium for all the populations sampled. These microsatellite markers are promising tools for further studies on the invasive pathways and dispersal pattern of the box tree moth in Europe., Audrey Bras, Laure Sauné, Alain Roques, Jérôme Rousselet, Marie-Anne Auger-Rozenberg., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Here we describe 16 novel microsatellite loci in the genome of the dragonhead sap beetle Thymogethes norvegicus, which were identified using a next-generation sequencing approach. In 40 dragonhead sap beetles from a population in southern Norway, we found 2-4 alleles per locus. Expected heterozygosity ranged from 0.18-0.65. Three of the loci showed significant deviation from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. After correcting for multiple tests, one pairwise locus combination displayed significant linkage disequilibrium. These novel microsatellite loci will be useful for future population structure, genetic diversity and conservation genetic studies of the dragonhead sap beetle., Oddmund Kleven, Anders Endrestøl., and Obsahuje bibliografii
The longhorn crazy ant, Paratrechina longicornis (Latreille), is a ubiquitous agricultural and urban pest that has invaded most tropical and subtropical regions. Although P. longicornis has been found worldwide for more than a century, the genetic structure, origin, and invasion history of this species have not yet been extensively studied, partially because of the limited number of genetic markers currently available. In the present study, we developed 36 polymorphic microsatellite markers for P. longicornis and characterized these markers by genotyping P. longicornis workers from 74 colonies in East and Southeast Asia. All loci were polymorphic, with the number of alleles per locus ranging from 3 to 18 (8.5 on average). Extremely high levels of heterozygosity were found in all populations, suggesting that workers are invariably produced from the mating of divergent queen and male lineages. Queens and males possess non-overlapping allele size ranges at 18 loci, indicating the potential resolving power of the subset of markers in inferring the history of queen and male lineages. Genetic differentiation among three studied populations was low yet significant and may likely reflect their close association with human activities. Overall, the new microsatellite markers developed in the present study serve as a practical tool to reconstruct routes of invasion and assess the population genetics of this invasive ant.
Nebulization with saline solution, although commonly used to
alleviate respiratory symptoms, particularly in children, is often
questioned concerning its effectiveness. In this study, we
investigated the effects of isotonic saline nebulization on lung
function in 40 children (mean age of 14±1 years) suffering from
different types of airway disorders. Measurements were carried
out directly before and up to 15 min after nebulization, for six
days in a row, always on the same day time in the morning. The
children were divided into two study groups according to the
baseline ratio of forced expired volume in one second/forced vital
capacity (FEV1/FVC), below and above 80 %. We found
significant improvements after saline nebulization in FEV1, midexpiratory flow at 50 % and 75 % of FVC (MEF50 and MEF75),
and peak expiratory flow (PEF) in the group with the baseline
FEV1/FVC less than 80 %. In contradistinction, children with an
index greater than 80 % displayed no appreciable changes in the
lung function variables when compared with the baseline level
before saline nebulization. We conclude that isotonic saline
nebulization might mitigate the functional signs of threatening
pulmonary obstruction and as such may be clinically useful in
pediatric patients with mild respiratory problems.
Itch is the most common chief complaint in patients visiting
dermatology clinics and is analogous to cough and also sneeze of
the lower and upper respiratory tract, all three of which are host
actions trying to clear noxious stimuli. The pathomechanisms of
these symptoms are not completely determined. The itch can
originate from a variety of etiologies. Itch originates following the
activation of peripheral sensory nerve endings following damage
or exposure to inflammatory mediators. More than one sensory
nerve subtype is thought to subserve pruriceptive itch which
includes both unmyelinated C-fibers and thinly myelinated Aδ
nerve fibers. There are a lot of mediators capable of stimulating
these afferent nerves leading to itch. Cough and itch pathways are
mediated by small-diameter sensory fibers. These cough and itch
sensory fibers release neuropeptides upon activation, which leads
to inflammation of the nerves. The inflammation is involved in the
development of chronic conditions of itch and cough. The aim of
this review is to point out the role of sensory nerves in the
pathogenesis of cough and itching. The common aspects of itch
and cough could lead to new thoughts and perspectives in both
fields.
The Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) can provide the daily position time series for the geodesy and geophysical studies. However, due to various unpredictable factors, such as receiver failure or bad observation conditions, missing data inevitably exist in GNSS position time series. Most traditional time series analysis methods require the time series should be completed. Therefore, filling the missing data is a valuable step before analyzing the GNSS time series. In this study, a new method named Iteration Empirical Mode Decomposition (Iteration EMD) is proposed to fill the missing data in GNSS position time series. The simulation experiments are performed by randomly removing different missing percentages of the synthetic time series, with the added different types noise. The results show that Iteration EMD approach performs well regardless of high or low missing percentage. When the missing percentage increases from 5 % to 30 % with a step of 5 %, all the Root Mean Square Errors (RMSE) and Mean Absolute Errors (MAE) of Iteration EMD are smaller than Interpolation EMD. The relative improvements at different percentages of Iteration EMD relative to Interpolation EMD are significant, especially for the high missing percentage. The real GNSS position time series of eight stations were selected to further evaluate the performance of Iteration EMD with an average missing percentage 8.15 %. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was performed on the filled time series, which is used to assess the interpolation performance of Iteration EMD and Interpolation EMD. The results show that Iteration EMD can preserve variance 75.9 % with the first three Principal Components (PC), more than 66.5% of interpolation EMD. Therefore, we can conclude that Iteration EMD is an efficient interpolation method for GNSS position time series, which can make full use of available information in existing time series to fill the missing data.
Alice Jedličková - Stanislava Fedrová (eds.)., Autoři: Stanislava Fedrová, Martina Janáková, Alice Jedličková, Matěj Kos, Michaela Koutská, Veronika Kubecová, Tereza Nahodilová, Lucie Petreková, Anastasia Syrota, Veronika Šašalová, Šárka Švihálková, Ondřej Trojan, Adam Vrchlabský, Obsahuje bibliografii a bibliografické odkazy, and born digital