Effect of iridoid glycoside content on oviposition host plant choice and parasitism in a specialist herbivore

The Glanville fritillary butterfly Melitaea cinxia feeds upon two host plant species in Å land, Finland, Plantago lanceolataand Veronica spicata, both of which produce iridoid glycosides. Iridoids are known to deter feeding or decrease the growth rate of many generalist insect herbivores, but they often act as oviposition cues to specialist butterflies and are feeding stimulants to their larvae. In this study, two iridoid glycosides (aucubin and catalpol) were analyzed by micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography. We measured the spatial and temporal variation of iridoid glycosides in natural populations of the host plants of M. cinxia. We also analyzed the aucubin and catalpol content in plants in relation to their use by ovipositing females, and in relation to the incidence of parasitism of M. cinxia larvae in natural populations. The mean concentrations of aucubin and catalpol were higher in P. lanceolata than in V. spicata, and catalpol concentrations were higher than aucubin concentrations in both host species. Plantago lanceolata individuals that were used for oviposition by M. cinxia had higher aucubin concentrations than random plants and neighboring plants. Additionally, oviposition and random plants had higher catalpol concentrations than neighboring plants, indicating that ovipositing females select for high iridoid glycoside plants or that oviposition induces iridoid glycoside production in P. lanceolata. Parasitism by the specialist parasitoid wasp Cotesia melitaearum occurred most frequently in larval groups that were feeding on plants with low concentrations of catalpol, irrespective of year, population, and host plant species. Therefore, parasitoids appear to avoid or perform poorly in host larvae with high catalpol content.     

Cover Image,Volume 66, Issue 10

The cover image, by Bruna A. Bregadiolli et al., is based on the Research Article Towards the synthesis of poly(azafulleroid)s: main chain fullerene oligomers for organic photovoltaic devices, DOI: 10.1002/pi.5419 .

     

The application of dynamic insulation in buildings

Dynamic insulation, a form of ‘Breathing Wall’ construction which allows the movement of air and moisture through the external walls of a building, was seen as one possible method for reducing building envelope heat losses and achieving high indoor air quality. A research investigation was conducted to provide a firm scientific understanding of dynamic insulation. An important outcome of the work will be the development of building envelope designs which effectively and economically employ dynamic insulation in cold climates. This paper presents some general conclusions, confirming that the energy saving produced by dynamic insulation alone is small relative to that obtained in conjunction with conventional air heat recovery methods.     

Water hydraulic manipulator for fail safe and fault tolerant remote handling operations at ITER

Department of Intelligent Hydraulics and Automation (IHA) of Tampere University of Technology has been involved in the European Fusion program since 1994 within the ITER reactor maintenance activities. In this paper we discuss the design and development of a six degrees of freedom water hydraulic manipulator with a force feedback for teleoperation tasks. The manipulator is planned to be delivered to Divertor Test Platform 2 (DTP2) during year 2008. The paper also discusses the possibility to improve the fail safe and redundant operation of the manipulator. During the design of the water hydraulic manipulator, special provisions have been made in order to meet the safety requirements such as servo valve block for redundant operation and safety vane brakes for fail safe operation.     

Serum and urinary zinc levels in urolithiasis

Zinc has an important place amongst inhibitors of crystallisation and crystal growth. These views are supported by in vivo and in vitro studies which suggest that the urinary zinc level is a significant factor in urolithiasis. Some recent studies have given contradictory results. Blood serum and urinary zinc levels were measured in 30 normal healthy controls and 42 stone forming patients (renal, ureteric and vesical). Statistically significant levels were found in all groups, varying according to the number of calculi. Increased urinary zinc levels and decreased serum zinc levels appear to be secondary to the process of stone formation. The role of zinc as an inhibitor of urolithiasis is questionable.     

Follow-up of asbestosis patients and predictors for radiographic progression

OBJECTIVE: We followed a group of 85 Finnish asbestosis patients radiographically for an average of 6.5 (range 2-10) years to examine the progression of the disease and to assess possible explanations for the progression. METHODS: The examinations included full-size chest radiographs and a blood specimen analysis. The radiographs were classified according to the 1980 International Labor Office (ILO) classification. Progression was accepted if the second or third radiography was estimated (in a side-by-side comparison) to have more profusion of small opacities qualitatively than the first, even if the radiographs were classified into the same profusion category. RESULTS: In all, 38% of the patients showed progression during the follow-up period. The average progression of small opacities ranged from ILO 1/1 to ILO 2/2 (0.4 minor ILO categories/year). The asbestosis was progressive more often among the sprayers than among the insulators and asbestos factory workers [cross-tabulation, odds ratio (OR) 5.0, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.2-20]. In the logistic regression model the ILO classification category at the beginning of the follow-up (OR 1.54; 95% CI 0.96-2.47), the fibronectin (OR 1.01; 95% CI 1.00-1.01) and angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE; OR 1.10; 95% CI 1.00-1.20) levels, and the erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR; OR 1.05; 95% CI 1.00-1.10) were statistically associated with the radiographic progression of small opacities. Abnormalities of the pleura were found to progress more often among the patients with progressive parenchymal opacities. CONCLUSION: For the progression of small-opacity profusion the significant predictors in the logistic regression model were the ILO profusion category at the beginning of the follow-up period, the fibronectin level, the ACE value, and the ESR. The model correctly classified 94% of the patients with progression and 65% of those without progression. The differences in the mean values recorded for the biomarkers between the progressors and nonprogressors, however, were small and may therefore not be of any importance to the clinician.