Influence of Ethanol Grade on Captures of Ambrosia Beetles in Tree Fruit Orchards, Ornamental Nurseries, and Lumber Yards.

Ambrosia beetles, particularly invasive species within the tribe Xyleborini, such as Xylosandrus germanus (Blandford, 1894), pose significant threats to various ecosystems and managed habitats worldwide. Monitoring these invaders is vital for effective pest management, typically accomplished through ethanol-baited traps. We compared trap efficacy using denatured ethanol versus absolute ethanol in orchards, tree nurseries, and lumber yards in northeastern Ohio, USA, finding that absolute ethanol traps captured significantly more X. germanus. Analysis revealed acetone, ethanol, and methyl isobutyl ketone in the denatured ethanol, likely impacting trap efficacy. Our study underscores the importance of using pure denatured ethanol without acetone for effective monitoring, especially for X. germanus. Exotic xyleborines dominated trap captures across various habitats, emphasizing the need for tailored pest management strategies. Further research is warranted to explore the chemical ecology of ambrosia beetles and the influence of ethanol impurities on trap effectiveness.

Attraction of Myzus persicae (Hemiptera: Aphididae) to Volatiles Emitted From the Entomopathogenic Fungus Beauveria bassiana.

Beauveria bassiana (Balsamo) Vuillemin infects a wide variety of insects, including the green peach aphid, Myzus persicae (Sulzer). Volatiles emitted from B. bassiana can act as semiochemical attractants or repellents, with most responses reported to date resulting in insects avoiding B. bassiana. Since insects can detect 'enemy-specific volatile compounds', we hypothesized the preference behavior of M. persicae would be influenced by volatile emissions from B. bassiana. We conducted Petri dish and Y-tube olfactometer bioassays to characterize the preference of M. persicae to B. bassiana strain GHA. During Petri dish bioassays, more apterous and alate M. persicae were recorded in the vicinity of agar colonized by B. bassiana compared to agar, or Fusarium proliferatum (Matsushima) Nirenberg and Ambrosiella grosmanniae Mayers, McNew, & Harrington as representatives of nonentomopathogenic fungi. Petri dish bioassays also determined that apterous and alate M. persicae preferred filter paper saturated with 1 × 107, 1 × 106, and 1 × 105B. bassiana conidia/ml compared to Tween 80. Y-tube bioassays documented that more apterous and alate M. persicae oriented upwind to volatiles from B. bassiana mycelia compared to agar. Apterous and alate Myzus persicae were also preferentially attracted to 1 × 107 and 1 × 106B. bassiana conidia/ml compared to Tween-80 during Y-tube bioassays. These results complement a previous finding that the mosquito Anopheles stephensi (Diptera: Culicidae) Liston is attracted to volatiles from B. bassiana. Future studies aimed at characterizing the olfactory mechanism leading to the attraction of M. persicae to B. bassiana could aid in optimizing lure-and-kill strategies.

Type and duration of water stress influence host selection and colonization by exotic ambrosia beetles (Coleoptera: Curculionidae).

Fungus-farming ambrosia beetles in the tribe Xyleborini tunnel into plants and trees to establish chambers for cultivating their nutritional fungal mutualists and rearing offspring. Some xyleborine ambrosia beetles preferentially infest and perform better in living but weakened trees. Flood stress predisposes horticultural tree crops to infestation, but the impact of drought stress has not been well studied. Our objectives were to compare the effects of flood stress vs. drought stress on host selection and colonization by xyleborine ambrosia beetles and to assess the duration of flooding. Container-grown Cornus florida L. trees were flood stressed using a pot-in-pot system to submerge the roots in water while drought-stressed conditions were imposed by withholding irrigation and precipitation. When experimental trees were held under field conditions for 14 days, 7.5 × more ambrosia beetles landed on stems of the flood-stressed than on the drought-stressed trees. During two additional experiments over 14 and 22 days, ambrosia beetles tunneled into the flood-stressed trees but not the drought-stressed or standard irrigation trees. By simultaneously deploying trees that were flood stressed for varying lengths of time, it was found that more tunnel entrances, and xyleborine adults and offspring were recovered from trees that were flooded for 1-16 days and 7-22 days than from trees that were flooded for 14-29 days and 28-43 days. These results indicate that acute and severe drought stress does not predispose C. florida to infestation, but flood stress and the duration of flooding influence ambrosia beetle host selection and colonization. Understanding the role of host quality on ambrosia beetle preference behavior will assist with predicting the risk of infestation of these opportunistic insects in horticultural tree crops.

Stability of Nuclear and Mitochondrial Reference Genes in Selected Tissues of the Ambrosia Beetle Xylosandrus germanus.

The fungus-farming ambrosia beetle Xylosandrus germanus (Blandford) uses a pouch-like structure (i.e., mycangium) to transport spores of its nutritional fungal mutualist. Our current study sought to identify reference genes necessary for future transcriptome analyses aimed at characterizing gene expression within the mycangium. Complementary DNA was synthesized using selected tissue types from laboratory-reared and field-collected X. germanus consisting of the whole body, head + thorax, deflated or inflated mycangium + scutellum, inflated mycangium, and thorax + abdomen. Quantitative reverse-transcription PCR reactions were performed using primers for 28S ribosomal RNA (28S rRNA), arginine kinase (AK), carbamoyl-phosphate synthetase 2-aspartate transcarbamylase-dihydroorotase (CAD), mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase 1 (CO1), and elongation factor-1α (EF1α). Reference gene stability was analyzed using GeNorm, NormFinder, BestKeeper, ΔCt, and a comprehensive final ranking by RefFinder. The gene CO1 was identified as the primary reference gene since it was generally ranked in first or second position among the tissue types containing the mycangium. Reference gene AK was identified as a secondary reference gene. In contrast, EF1α was generally ranked in the last or penultimate place. Identification of two stable reference genes will aid in normalizing the expression of target genes for subsequent gene expression studies of X. germanus' mycangium.

Microbial Control Agents for Fungus Gnats (Diptera: Sciaridae: Lycoriella) Affecting the Production of Oyster Mushrooms, Pleurotus spp.

Infestations of fungus gnats (Diptera: Sciaridae) can reduce the production of oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus spp.) grown as food crops within controlled environments. The objectives of this study were to assess the efficacy of Bacillus thuringiensis var. israelensis (Bti) and Steinernema feltiae against fungus gnat larvae. A bioassay was developed, whereby pasteurized straw was inoculated with Pleurotus columbinus and treated with Bti (Gnatrol®), S. feltiae (Nemashield®), or water. Fungus gnats (Lycoriella sp.) were released into each bioassay container for ovipositing onto the straw, thereby exposing the F1 larvae to treated or untreated substrate. Sticky cards within the containers entrapped fungus gnats emerging from the substrate as an indicator of larval survivorship. Following three bioassays, fewer fungus gnats emerged from straw treated with Bti compared to S. feltiae and the water control. Three additional bioassays using Pleurotus ostreatus also demonstrated that fewer fungus gnats emerged from straw treated with Bti compared to S. feltiae and the untreated control. Steinernema feltiae was generally ineffective. Monitoring substrate weight in the bioassay containers over time indicated that Bti and S. feltiae did not impede colonization by P. ostreatus. Incorporating Bti into straw substrate is a promising approach for managing fungus gnats infesting Pleurotus spp.

Electrophysiological and Behavioral Responses of an Ambrosia Beetle to Volatiles of its Nutritional Fungal Symbiont.

Ambrosia beetles (Coleoptera: Scolytinae) cultivate their fungal symbiont within host substrates as the sole source of nutrition on which the larvae and adults must feed. To investigate a possible role for semiochemicals in this interaction, we characterized electrophysiological and behavioral responses of Xylosandrus germanus to volatiles associated with its fungal symbiont Ambrosiella grosmanniae. During still-air walking bioassays, X. germanus exhibited an arrestment response to volatiles of A. grosmanniae, but not antagonistic fungi Beauveria bassiana, Metarhizium brunneum, Trichoderma harzianum, the plant pathogen Fusarium proliferatum, or malt extract agar. Solid phase microextraction-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry identified 2-ethyl-1-hexanol, 2-phenylethanol, methyl benzoate and 3-methyl-1-butanol in emissions from A. grosmanniae; the latter two compounds were also detected in emissions from B. bassiana. Concentration-responses using electroantennography documented weak depolarizations to A. grosmanniae fungal volatiles, unlike the comparatively strong response to ethanol. When tested singly in walking bioassays, volatiles identified from A. grosmanniae elicited relatively weak arrestment responses, unlike the responses to ethanol. Xylosandrus germanus also exhibited weak or no long-range attraction to the fungal volatiles when tested singly during field trials in 2016-2018. None of the fungal volatiles enhanced attraction of X. germanus to ethanol when tested singly; in contrast, 2-phenylethanol and 3-methyl-1-butanol consistently reduced attraction to ethanol. Volatiles emitted by A. grosmanniae may represent short-range olfactory cues that could aid in distinguishing their nutritional fungal symbiont from other fungi, but these compounds are not likely to be useful as long-range attractants for improving detection or mass trapping tactics.

Colonization of Trees by Ambrosia Beetles (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae) Is Influenced by Duration of Flood Stress.

The ambrosia beetles Xylosandrus germanus (Blandford) and Xylosandrus crassiusculus (Motschulsky) bore into flood-stressed trees to establish colonies, but the influence of flooding duration on colonization is unknown. This relationship was examined by flooding trees for various time periods and evaluating colonization. In one experiment, X. germanus bored into 20 dogwood (Cornus florida L.) trees during a 3-d flood treatment. Ten trees dissected that season had no offspring present in tunnels; the remaining trees appeared healthy and bloomed the following spring. In another experiment, dogwood trees were flooded for 3 or 7 d and then dissected to assess colonization. The incidence of superficial (short unbranched) and healed (callus tissue in entrance) tunnels was greater in the 3-d trees, while the incidence of tunnels with X. germanus or offspring was greater in the 7-d trees. Four experiments (three in Ohio and one in Virginia) had flood treatments of 0 (nonflooded), 3, 5, 7, and 10 d. Numbers of tunnel entrances, tunnels with X. germanus, and incidence of tunnels with offspring or live foundresses tended to increase as flood duration increased on apple (Malus × domestica Borkh.), dogwood, and redbud (Cercis canadensis L.) in Ohio and redbud in Virginia. Nonflooded trees in Ohio had no boring activity, but ambrosia beetles bored into three nonflooded trees in Virginia. Indicators of unsuccessful colonization, such as superficial tunnels and healing, decreased as flood duration increased. These results suggest tree crops may recover from boring by ambrosia beetles following short-duration flood events, and not necessarily require culling.

Effects of chlorantraniliprole residual on Helicoverpa zea in Bt and non-Bt cotton.

BACKGROUND: Helicoverpa zea is managed with foliar applications of chlorantraniliprole in cotton varieties that do not express the Vip3Aa19 toxin in the US Cotton Belt. Foliar insecticides and Bt could interact to influence larval susceptibility. Therefore, it has been suggested that chlorantraniliprole can be used as a tool for Bt resistance management. We designed field and laboratory studies to test the hypothesis that the interaction of Bt toxin and chlorantraniliprole application would result in lower H. zea larval survival when compared to the individual effect of Bt or chlorantraniliprole alone. We also tested for these interactions over time, since chlorantraniliprole residual has not been studied in cotton. RESULTS: Results from two field experiments and two laboratory experiments were similar. We found no interactions with Bt and chlorantraniliprole using data not corrected for natural mortality in untreated plots, indicating that these factors did not interact to influence survival. Moreover, we found that Bt and chlorantraniliprole did not interact to influence larval weight and instar. Chlorantraniliprole had lethal and sublethal effects on H. zea larval growth parameters feeding on cotton leaves up to 22 days after application, the final time period that we tested. Finally, concentration of chlorantraniliprole in the leaf was associated with larval survival for the duration of this study, but not larval growth or instar. CONCLUSION: Our findings complement the recommendation to use chlorantraniliprole for managing H. zea in cotton, given its long-residual effects. However, the utility of chlorantraniliprole as a Bt-resistance management tool for H. zea remains unclear. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry.

Community Mental Health Professionals' Perceptions About Engaging Underserved Populations.

This study explored mental health professionals' perceptions about barriers and facilitators to engaging underserved populations. Responses were coded using an iterative thematic analysis based on grounded theory. Results revealed that many professionals endorsed barriers to engaging ethnic minorities and families receiving social services. Client-provider racial and linguistic matching, therapy processes and procedures (e.g., nonjudgmental stance), and implementation supports (e.g., supervision) were commonly nominated as engagement facilitators. Many professionals felt that an organizational culture focused on productivity is detrimental to client engagement. Findings shed light on professionals' perceived barriers to delivering high-quality care to underserved communities and illuminate potential engagement strategies.

Attraction of Invasive Ambrosia Beetles (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae) to Ethanol-Treated Tree Bolts.

Ethanol-treated bolts (tree stem sections) have potential as monitoring and pesticide screening tools for ambrosia beetles (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae). Bolts were infused with ethanol by immersing them for at least 24 h. Attacks on ethanol-treated bolts by Xylosandrus species were compared with captures in ethanol-baited traps. Bolts infused in ethanol were usually as attractive or more attractive to Xylosandrus germanus (Blandford) than ethanol-baited bottle traps. Xylosandrus crassiusculus (Motschulsky) were more attracted to bolts than trap in some experiments, but numbers were low and differences were usually not significant. Two techniques for treating bolts with ethanol were compared. Attraction of ambrosia beetles to ethanol-infused bolts were compared with bolts with a drilled cavity filled with ethanol. Drilled bolts filled with ethanol were attractive to X. germanus and were reliably attacked, but numbers of beetles were often lower than in traps and infused bolts. Aged and fresh ethanol-infused bolts were compared with evaluate residual attractiveness. Bolts aged 7 d usually had fewer X. germanus than fresh bolts and traps, and bolts aged 14 d had no beetles. Ethanol-infused bolts from different species of trees were compared. Xylosandrus germanus attacked all species tested with more attacks usually in red maple (Acer rubrum L.). Anisandrus maiche Stark was attracted to ethanol-infused bolts indicating it may attack trees emitting ethanol. Bolts attracted fewer nontarget species than traps, but residual attraction was much less. The selectivity of ethanol-treated bolts for Xylosandrus species should make them useful for monitoring and screening pesticides against those species.

Long-Lasting Insecticide Netting for Protecting Tree Stems from Attack by Ambrosia Beetles (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae).

Ambrosia beetles (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae) are destructive wood-boring insects of horticultural trees. We evaluated long-lasting insecticide netting for protecting stems against ambrosia beetles. Container-grown eastern redbud, Cercis canadensis, trees were flood-stressed to induce ambrosia beetle attacks, and deltamethrin-treated netting was wrapped from the base of the stem vertically to the branch junction. Trees were deployed under field conditions in Ohio, Virginia, Tennessee, and Mississippi with the following treatments: (1) flooded tree; (2) flooded tree with untreated netting; (3) flooded tree with treated 'standard mesh' netting of 24 holes/cm2; (4) flooded tree with treated 'fine mesh' netting of 28 holes/cm2; and/or (5) non-flooded tree. Treated netting reduced attacks compared to untreated netting and/or unprotected trees in Mississippi in 2017, Ohio and Tennessee in 2018, and Virginia in 2017-2018. Inconsistent effects occurred in Mississippi in 2018. Fewer Anisandrus maiche, Xylosandrus germanus, and Xyleborinus saxesenii were dissected from trees deployed in Ohio protected with treated netting compared to untreated netting; trees deployed in other locations were not dissected. These results indicate long-lasting insecticide netting can provide some protection of trees from ambrosia beetle attacks.

Minimizing Bee (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) Bycatch in Japanese Beetle Traps.

Native and introduced bees were attracted to and captured in commercially available Japanese beetle, Popillia japonica Newman (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae), traps baited with floral lure components: geraniol, eugenol, and phenethyl propionate [PEP] in Rhode Island, Ohio, and Tennessee. Studies in Rhode Island showed that Bombus impatiens Cresson (Hymenoptera: Apidae) was significantly more attracted to geraniol alone and as a component in floral lure blends than to either eugenol or PEP alone. Xylocopa virginica (L.) (Hymenoptera: Apidae) was more selective in being primarily attracted to traps baited with higher amounts of geraniol in 2016. Removing geraniol from the floral lure blend did not significantly reduce Japanese beetle captures in 2017 and 2018 in Rhode Island and Ohio but did significantly reduce bee captures in Rhode Island in 2017 and 2018. Green, black, brown, and red traps captured significantly fewer bees than clear or standard yellow vane and green cage traps in 2018 in Rhode Island and Tennessee; however, there were no significant differences between Japanese beetle captures in any of the colored or clear traps. Our results show that using all green traps with a lure composed of eugenol and PEP and the Japanese beetle female produced sex pheromone can effectively capture Japanese beetles while minimizing bycatch of bees.

Managing and Adapting Practice: Provider Perceptions of an Evidence-Informed Framework for Delivering Mental Health Services.

This study examined providers' reflections on delivering managing and adapting practice (MAP), an evidence-informed framework that guides decision-making from scientific and client data. Consensual qualitative research methods were used to analyze the reflections of 201 youth mental health providers. Results indicated that providers approached MAP according to their own preferences and particular cases. While most appeared to approach MAP from a practice management standpoint, when faced with challenging cases, providers used coordination and outcomes management resources. Regardless of approach, most providers came to appreciate the full framework through reflective practice. Their diverse approaches offer lessons for evidence-based practice implementation and sustainment.

Lesion Localization of Poststroke Lateropulsion.

Background and Purpose- Hemispheric stroke studies associating lateropulsion (pusher syndrome) with the location of brain lesions have had mixed results from small, unmatched samples. This study was designed to determine whether lateropulsion localizes to specific brain regions across patients with stroke using a case-control design. Methods- Fifty patients with lateropulsion after stroke were matched with 50 stroke patients without lateropulsion using age, time since onset of stroke, admission motor Functional Independence Measure score, lesion side, and gender. The primary analysis included multivariate lesion symptom mapping using sparse canonical correlations to identify regions most associated with lateropulsion as assessed with the Burke Lateropulsion Scale. Secondary analyses included evaluating paired comparisons for lesion volume, degree of motor impairment, motor and cognitive Functional Independence Measure scores. Results- The lesion symptom mapping analysis of all lesions mapped onto a common hemisphere produced an overall significant model ( P<5×10-5) with a regional peak at the inferior parietal lobe at the junction of the post-central gyrus (Brodmann Area 2) and Brodmann Area 40 as the lesion location most associated with lateropulsion. Lesion volume was larger for patients with lateropulsion. Despite adequate matching, motor performance and total Functional Independence Measure scores differed at a group level between patients with and without lateropulsion. Conclusions- This analysis implicated lesion involvement of the inferior parietal lobe as a key neuroanatomical determinant of developing lateropulsion. A better understanding of the anatomic underpinnings of lateropulsion may improve rehabilitation efforts, including the potential for informing noninvasive neuromodulation approaches.

Trap Tree and Interception Trap Techniques for Management of Ambrosia Beetles (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae) in Nursery Production.

The majority of wood-boring ambrosia beetles are strongly attracted to ethanol, a behavior which could be exploited for management within ornamental nurseries. A series of experiments was conducted to determine if ethanol-based interception techniques could reduce ambrosia beetle pest pressure. In two experiments, trap trees injected with a high dose of ethanol were positioned either adjacent or 10-15 m from trees injected with a low dose of ethanol (simulating a mildly stressed tree) to determine if the high-dose trap trees could draw beetle attacks away from immediately adjacent stressed nursery trees. The high-ethanol-dose trees sustained considerably higher attacks than the low-dose trees; however, distance between the low- and high-dose trees did not significantly alter attack rates on the low-dose trees. In a third experiment, 60-m length trap lines with varying densities of ethanol-baited traps were deployed along a forest edge to determine if immigrating beetles could be intercepted before reaching sentinel traps or artificially stressed sentinel trees located 10 m further in-field. Intercept trap densities of 2 or 4 traps per trap line were associated with fewer attacks on sentinel trees compared to no traps, but 7 or 13 traps had no impact. None of the tested intercept trap densities resulted in significantly fewer beetles reaching the sentinel traps. The evaluated ethanol-based interception techniques showed limited promise for reducing ambrosia beetle pressure on nursery trees. An interception effect might be enhanced by applying a repellent compound to nursery trees in a push-pull strategy.

Sinusoidal Transcranial Direct Current Versus Galvanic Vestibular Stimulation for Treatment of Lateropulsion Poststroke.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the effects of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) versus Galvanic Vestibular Stimulation (GVS) on Lateropulsion following stroke. METHODS: Patients with Stroke and Burke Lateropulsion Scale (BLS) scores greater than or equal to 2 gave informed consent to receive sinusoidal 1 Hz DC (0-2 mA) anodal stimulation over the affected parietal cortex versus similar GVS with ipsilesional mastoidal anode. Seated haptic center of pressure (COP-X) was measured using an AMTI analog-to-digital forceplate. An inclinometer (Biopac ) measured lateral thoracic tilt. COP-X Power Spectra were analyzed over 3 frequency intervals: 0-.3 Hz, .3-1 Hz, and 1-3 Hz. RESULTS: Six males/4 females age 66 ± 9.5 standard deviation with admission BLS scores of 5.4 ± 3.7 within 8.6 ± 8.1 days poststroke were enrolled. COP-X medial-lateral speed increased for both the tDCS and the GVS protocols compared to sham condition. Fourier Analysis of COP-X velocity for 0-.3 Hz responses showed a significant increase for tDCS stimulation. The .3-1 Hz responses for the tDCS condition were decreased from baseline. Lateral thoracic tilt showed significant improvement for tDCS compared to Sham stimulation at 10 minutes and for GVS versus Sham at 15 minutes. DISCUSSION: Anodal tDCS over the ipsilesional PIVC increases low frequency postural responses usually attributed to visual control with down regulation of median frequency vestibular responses, biasing postural control toward more dependence on visual as opposed to vestibular control. CONCLUSIONS: 2 mA sinusoidal 1 Hz anodal tDCS over the ipsi-lesional PIVC or similar ipsi-lesional anodal GVS improve Lateropulsion following stroke.

Effect of Dextroamphetamine on Poststroke Motor Recovery: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Data from animal models show that the administration of dextroamphetamine combined with task-relevant training facilitates recovery after focal brain injury. Results of clinical trials in patients with stroke have been inconsistent. Objectives: To collect data important for future studies evaluating the effect of dextroamphetamine combined with physiotherapy for improving poststroke motor recovery and to test the efficacy of the approach. Design, Setting, Participants: This pilot, double-blind, block-randomized clinical trial included patients with cortical or subcortical ischemic stroke and moderate or severe motor deficits from 5 rehabilitation hospitals or units. Participants were screened and enrolled from March 2001 through March 2003. The primary outcome was assessed 3 months after stroke. Study analysis was completed December 31, 2015. A total of 1665 potential participants were screened and 64 were randomized. Participants had to begin treatment 10 to 30 days after ischemic stroke. Data analysis was based on intention to treat. Interventions: Participants were allocated to a regimen of 10 mg of dextroamphetamine (n = 32) or placebo (n = 32) combined with a 1-hour physical therapy session beginning 1 hour after drug or placebo administration every 4 days for 6 sessions in addition to standard rehabilitation. Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary outcome was the difference between groups in change in Fugl-Meyer motor scores from baseline to 3 months after stroke (intention to treat with dextroamphetamine). Secondary exploratory measures included the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale, Canadian Neurological Scale, Action Research Arm Test, modified Rankin Scale score, Functional Independence Measure, Ambulation Speed and Distance, Mini-Mental State Examination, Beck Depression Inventory, and Stroke Impact Scale. Results: Among the 64 patients randomized to dextroamphetamine vs placebo (55% men; median age, 66 years; age range, 27-91 years), no overall treatment-associated difference in the mean (SEM) change in Fugl-Meyer motor scores from baseline to 3 months after stroke was noted (-18.65 [2.27] points with dextroamphetamine vs -20.83 [2.94] points with placebo; P = .58). No overall treatment-associated differences in any of the study's secondary measures and no differences in subgroups based on stroke location or baseline severity were found. No adverse events were attributed to study treatments. Conclusions and Relevance: Treatment with dextroamphetamine combined with physical therapy did not improve recovery of motor function compared with placebo combined with physical therapy as assessed 3 months after hemispheric ischemic stroke. The studied treatment regimen was safe. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01905371.

Use of Oral Hydration Protocols for Dysphagic Patients Following Stroke.

PURPOSE: The aim of the study was to describe the use of oral hydration protocols for dysphagic patients following stroke. DESIGN AND METHODS: We reviewed inpatient records for patients able to take food and liquids orally within 30 days of an ischemic stroke. Orders were hierarchically defined with three levels of liquid consistency modification (LCM) and six levels of augmented hydration orders (AHOs). Change from admission to discharge in hydration and functional independence measure (FIM) scores across LCM and AHO groups was assessed. FINDINGS: Length of stay, admission FIM, discharge FIM, and change in FIM scores were all significantly related to LCM and AHO group assignment. Need for supplemental intravenous hydration was low (6.9%) over the 2-year study period and was significantly related to both LCM and AHO group assignment. CONCLUSION AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: The association of LCM and AHO interventions with functional outcomes and need for intravenous fluids helps to validate their clinical utility.

Symbiont selection via alcohol benefits fungus farming by ambrosia beetles.

Animal-microbe mutualisms are typically maintained by vertical symbiont transmission or partner choice. A third mechanism, screening of high-quality symbionts, has been predicted in theory, but empirical examples are rare. Here we demonstrate that ambrosia beetles rely on ethanol within host trees for promoting gardens of their fungal symbiont and producing offspring. Ethanol has long been known as the main attractant for many of these fungus-farming beetles as they select host trees in which they excavate tunnels and cultivate fungal gardens. More than 300 attacks by Xylosandrus germanus and other species were triggered by baiting trees with ethanol lures, but none of the foundresses established fungal gardens or produced broods unless tree tissues contained in vivo ethanol resulting from irrigation with ethanol solutions. More X. germanus brood were also produced in a rearing substrate containing ethanol. These benefits are a result of increased food supply via the positive effects of ethanol on food-fungus biomass. Selected Ambrosiella and Raffaelea fungal isolates from ethanol-responsive ambrosia beetles profited directly and indirectly by (i) a higher biomass on medium containing ethanol, (ii) strong alcohol dehydrogenase enzymatic activity, and (iii) a competitive advantage over weedy fungal garden competitors (Aspergillus, Penicillium) that are inhibited by ethanol. As ambrosia fungi both detoxify and produce ethanol, they may maintain the selectivity of their alcohol-rich habitat for their own purpose and that of other ethanol-resistant/producing microbes. This resembles biological screening of beneficial symbionts and a potentially widespread, unstudied benefit of alcohol-producing symbionts (e.g., yeasts) in other microbial symbioses.

Residue Age and Attack Pressure Influence Efficacy of Insecticide Treatments Against Ambrosia Beetles (Coleoptera: Curculionidae).

Management of ambrosia beetles in ornamental nurseries relies, in part, on insecticide treatments to prevent beetles from boring into trees. However, data on residual efficacy of commonly used pyrethroid insecticides is needed to gauge the duration that trees are protected during spring when peak beetle pressure occurs. Residual efficacy of bifenthrin and permethrin trunk sprays was examined in field trials which used trees injected with 10% ethanol to ensure host attack pressure. Permethrin consistently reduced attacks by Xylosandrus germanus (Blandford; Coleoptera: Curculionidae) and other ambrosia beetles for at least 4 wk, while efficacy of bifenthrin was inconsistent and lasted only about 10 d. Since previous studies demonstrated attacks are positively correlated with host ethanol emissions, we injected trees with 2.5, 5, and 10% ethanol to determine if residual efficacy was affected by attack pressure. Preventive treatments with bifenthrin reduced ambrosia beetle attacks at all concentrations of injected ethanol compared to non-sprayed controls. There was no interaction between attack pressure and insecticide treatment with respect to total attacks or attacks by X. germanus. However, increasing attack pressure did increase the probability of attacks on insecticide treated trees by X. germanus and other Scolytinae. Results from our current study will improve the ability of growers to make decisions on frequency of protective sprays, but residual efficacy of insecticide treatments may decline as attack pressure increases. Cultural practices should therefore maximize host vigor and minimize attack pressure associated with stress-induced ethanol emissions.