Chemical Identification, Emission Pattern and Function of Male-Specific Pheromones Released by a Rarely Swarming Locust, Schistocerca americana

Pheromones serve key functions in the biology of swarming locusts. However, research has focused largely on the mass-swarming desert locust, Schistocerca gregaria. We extended these investigations to the pheromonal profile of the rarely swarming American bird grasshopper, S. americana (Drury). The headspace of mature gregarious S. americana males contained three characteristic electroantennogram-active components: (Z)-3-nonen-1-ol, (Z)-2-octen-1-ol, and nonanal. These substances were accompanied by aromatics such as phenol that are also released by females and immatures. Male-specific pheromone components were released independently from epidermal gland cells, with the highest emission rate being for (Z)-3-nonen-1-ol from the abdomen and legs. The emission of the major compound, (Z)-3-nonen-1-ol, is stress-sensitive, and coincides with sexual maturity and crowding. The emission pattern strongly supports a role of (Z)-3-nonen-1-ol in the reproductive biology of S. americana. The pheromone is involved in courtship-inhibition and is used as mate assessment pheromone in cryptic female choice. In double mating experiments, females choose sperm of males with high (Z)-3-nonen-1-ol emission. Furthermore the pheromone accelerated maturation of immature adults and supports synchronization of sexual development.     

Alleged Detrimental Mutations in the SMPD1 Gene in Patients with Niemann-Pick Disease

Loss-of-function mutations in the sphingomyelin phosphodiesterase 1 (SMPD1) gene are associated with decreased catalytic activity of acid sphingomyelinase (ASM) and are the cause of the autosomal recessive lysosomal storage disorder Niemann-Pick disease (NPD) types A and B. Currently, >100 missense mutations in SMPD1 are listed in the Human Gene Mutation Database. However, not every sequence variation in SMPD1 is detrimental and gives rise to NPD. We have analysed several alleged SMPD1 missense mutations mentioned in a recent publication and found them to be common variants of SMPD1 that give rise to normal in vivo and in vitro ASM activity. (Comment on Manshadi et al. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2015, 16, 6668–6676).     

“Site matters: Multisite randomized trial of motivational enhancement therapy in community drug abuse clinics”: Correction.

Reports an error in "Site matters: Multisite randomized trial of motivational enhancement therapy in community drug abuse clinics" by Samuel A. Ball, Steve Martino, Charla Nich, Tami L. Frankforter, Deborah Van Horn, Paul Crits-Christoph, George E. Woody, Jeanne L. Obert, Christiane Farentinos and Kathleen M. Carroll (Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 2007[Aug], Vol 75[4], 556-567). There are two errors in the means and standard deviations reported in Table 1 (p. 561). The mean (and standard deviation) for the Total sample % positive urine drug tests (28 days) in the motivational enhancement therapy (MET) column is not 0.21 (SD = 0.35) as reported, but rather 0.28 (SD = 0.40). The mean (and standard deviation) for the Total sample % positive urine drug tests (28 days) in the counseling as usual (CAU) column is not 0.28 (SD = 0.40) as reported, but rather 0.31 (SD = 0.41). These corrections do not change any of the values reported for the d, F, or p statistics in this table. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2007-11558-005.) The effectiveness of motivational enhancement therapy (MET) in comparison with counseling as usual (CAU) for increasing retention and reducing substance use was evaluated in a multisite randomized clinical trial. Participants were 461 outpatients treated by 31 therapists within 1 of 5 outpatient substance abuse programs. There were no retention differences between the 2 brief intervention conditions. Although both 3-session interventions resulted in reductions in substance use during the 4-week therapy phase, MET resulted in sustained reductions during the subsequent 12 weeks whereas CAU was associated with significant increases in substance use over this follow-up period. This finding was complicated by program site main effects and higher level interactions. MET resulted in more sustained substance use reductions than CAU among primary alcohol users, but no difference was found for primary drug users. An independent evaluation of session audiotapes indicated that MET and CAU were highly and comparably discriminable across sites. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On studying a 3D user interface for OLAP

In this paper, a new visual and interactive user interface for OLAP is presented, and its strengths and weaknesses examined. A survey on 3D interfaces for OLAP is detailed, which shows that only one interface that uses Virtual Reality has been proposed. Then we present our approach: it consists of a 3D representation of OLAP cubes where many OLAP operators have been integrated and where several measures can be visualized. A 3D stereoscopic screen can be used in conjunction with a 3D mouse. Finally a user study is reported that compares standard dynamic cross-tables with our interface on different tasks. We conclude that 3D with stereoscopy is not as promising as expected even with recent 3D devices.     

Adaptive prediction of forest fire behavior on the basis of recurrent neural networks

A method of modeling a dynamic process on the Earth surface, for instance, a forest fire, with the use of a recurrent neural network is proposed. The learning process of the neural network, similar to the process of data assimilation in GIS technologies, is described. A method of acceleration of neural network learning by using the Kalman filtration is proposed. The efficiency of its application is analyzed, and the neural network parameters at which it is reasonable to use the Kalman filter are determined.     

Hydroxyapatite-Wollastonite Bioceramics

The results of research and development of bioceramic materials based on calcium hydroxyapatite (HA) and natural mineral wollastonite are reported. The process of production of HA by several reactions is investigated. The optimum bioceramic compositions for medical purposes are determined.