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The western tree hole mosquito, Aedes sierrensis(Ludlow) (Diptera: Clucidae), is a pestiferous mosquito with a range extending over the entire pacific seaboard and into portions of the intermountain west. As a peridomestic heartworm vector, it demands at least some level of surveillance to understand its abundance. However, the species is refractory to a majority of conventional vector surveillance approaches for tracking mosquitoes. To find more options for Aedes sierrensissurveillance, a variety of oviposition attractants were evaluated in arena-style choice assays using colony reared adults. A range of infusion treatments (e.g., alfalfa, oak, and beetroot) were examined and then combined with investigations of liquid color as well as ovicup color and entryway position. These studies revealed that Ae. sierrensishave an affinity for purple coloration, plain water, and larger entryway sizes for oviposition cups. A prototype ovicup was 3D-printed using purple filament and multiple types of entryways, and used to re-test infusion waters. No particular attraction differences were detected after normalizing for purple color. Comparisons to black 3D-printed cups yielded surprising observations that male mosquitoes also aggregated on purple cups while females sheltered, but not necessarily oviposited, in black cups. Although this was only a laboratory-based assessment, these studies provide useful information for future field trials of potential oviposition traps for surveillance of Ae. sierrensis.

Summary points The private finance initiative (PFI) brings no new capital investment into public services and is a debt which has to be serviced by future generations The government's case [...]

Introduction Associations between social deprivation and cancer survival have been reported for many cancers.[1-4] For most cancers, stage at presentation remains the single most important source of variation in outcome, [...]

Taking the fictional town of Poorly-upon-Thames as its setting, this First Sight programme on rationing in the NHS followed the case of Mrs harris, a 52 year old woman diagnosed [...]

Heliothis subflexamales were flown in a wind tunnel to a variety of combinations of synthetic pheromone components admixed on a filter paper disk. Blends containing (Z)-11-hexadecenal (Z11–16:Ald, 1000 ng), (Z)-9-hexadecenal (Z9–16:Ald, 500 ng) and (Z)-11-hexadecenol (Z11–16:OH, 10–500 ng) elicited upwind flight and source contact in 52–69% of males. All these compounds have previously been isolated and identified from female H. subflexagland extracts and volatile pheromone emissions. Males were not attracted by blends in which Z9–16:Ald was omitted (0% source contact). Similarly, blends lacking Z11–16:OH were unattractive to male H. subflexa(3% or less source contact). Males were extremely sensitive to the presence of Z11–16:OH; however, responding in high numbers (57–69% source contact) to blends containing a dosage of 1% (10 ng) or greater Z11–16:OH. Males were unresponsive to blends in which Z9–16:Ald was replaced with a variety of dosages of (Z)-9-tetradecenal, a secondary component of a closely-related congeneric species, Heliothis virescens. Another compound present in the blend emitted by conspecific females, (Z)-11-hexadecenyl acetate (Z11–16:Ac), did not inhibit H. subflexamales (69% source contact) when added to the three-component mixture (1:0.5:0.1) at a ratio of 0.1 (100 ng) with respect to Z11–16:Ald. These results indicate that Z9–16:Ald and Z11–16:OH are required in addition to Z11–16:Ald to elicit significant levels of upwind flight in H. subflexamales. The effects of Z11–16:Ac are more subtle, but at the dosage tested in these experiments, this compound does not have an antagonistic effect on upwind flight and source location by H. subflexamales.

The rules governing the central discrimination of odors are complex and poorly understood, but a growing body of evidence supports the hypothesis that olfactory glomeruli may represent functionally distinct coding modules in the brain. Testing this hypothesis requires that both the functional characteristics and the spatial position of the glomerulus under study be uniquely identifiable. To address these questions, we examined a specialized array of glomeruli (the macroglomerular complex; MGC) in the antennal lobe of male moths that receives input from olfactory receptor cells tuned specifically to female‐released odorants that either promote upwind flight (conspecific sex pheromones) or inhibit it (interspecific antagonists). By using a three‐dimensional reconstruction method based on high‐resolution laser‐scanning confocal microscopy, we generated precise spatial maps of the MGC glomeruli in two related noctuid species with similar pheromone chemistry, Heliothis virescensand Helicoverpa zea. To determine the breadth of tuning of individual MGC glomeruli in processing information about these social signals, we used intracellular recording and staining methods to examine the responses of projection (output) neurons that innervate MGC glomeruli and that each project an axon to higher integrative centers. In both species, a close correspondence was found between the odor specificity of the projection neurons and the glomerulus (or glomeruli) supplied by them. The binary blend of pheromone components for each species was represented by neural activity in only two distinct glomeruli in both H. virescensand H. zea. Odorants that antagonize upwind flight when they are added to the respective pheromonal blendsevoked excitatory activity in output neurons restricted to a third glomerulus in the MGCs of both species. In summary, these results suggest that the selective activation of different combinations of functionally distinct MGC glomeruli is a general means for discriminating these specific attractant and antagonist chemical signals in the brain. J. Comp. Neurol. 400:35–56, 1998. © 1998 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.

MaleHeliothis virescens (F.) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) were made to fly into a uniformly white and translucent tube within a large wind tunnel while responding to sex pheromone. Different visual patterns placed within the tube greatly affected the ability of the male moths to maintain upwind progress or remain oriented to the wind while in contact with the plume. Over 89% of males attempting to fly through a blank tube, lacking visual patterns, became disoriented, the males gaining or losing altitude and repeatedly hitting the sides of the tube. Patterns of 20–40 dots placed on the sides of the tube at or slightly above plume level resulted in high levels of sustained upwind flight (47–74%) relative to patterns placed directly below (30–40%), directly above (35%), or slightly below the level of the flight path (26–44%). Optimal upwind progression in pheromone-responding males occurred when image motion could be resolved both transversely (T), orthogonally to the longitudinal axis of the body relative to the horizontal plane of the environment, and longitudinally (L), along the body axis. Even very sparse patterns (single rows of dots) could elicit high levels of sustained upwind flight (53–63%) when positioned within the tube such that the males' movements would create both L and T image motion. However, successful negotiation of the tube was also unexpectedly facilitated by patterns apparently providing no horizontal transverse component for flying males but providing longitudinal flow while centering the moth in the plume through a symmetrical left-right input (4–40%).

Aspects of the intermittent fine structure of an odor plume were mimicked and experimentally modified in the wind tunnel using an air-pulsing device. Filaments of a behaviorally active blend of six sex-pheromone components created by the device in a temporally regular fashion elicited sustained upwind flight and source location in male Heliothis virescens.Males did not exhibit sustained upwind flight in significant numbers until a frequency of 4 filaments/s was delivered, at a loading of 1 µg of the major component, Z11-16: Ald, with the other components loaded at their appropriate ratios. A loading of 10 µg Z11-16: Ald was found to be optimal at this filament delivery rate. Electroantennogram recordings to different filament delivery rates of the complete blend indicated that a stationary male antenna can respond to the pulse rates used in this study. Importantly, when a main component necessary for upwind flight, Z9-14:Ald, was isolated into its own filaments and pulsed alternately against filaments of the five other components (including the other component essential for upwind flight, Z11-16: Ald), upwind flight to the source was significantly reduced (9%) compared to upwind flight and source location in response to filaments composed of the entire blend (30%), indicating that the complete pheromone blend must arrive on the antenna simultaneously for optimal evocation of sustained upwind progress. Neurophysiological evidence from other studies suggests that higher-order interneurons whose phasic response is enhanced when the entire blend is presented simultaneously may be of importance in explaining this behavioral difference stemming from synchronous vsasynchronous arrival of the components.

Animals are equipped with a variety of sensory systems that allow them to extract information from the environments they inhabit. The ability to detect the chemical environment is probably the most ancient sense. The sense of smell can provide important details about the habitat because chemical signals emitted by both beneficial and potentially harmful sources can be detected and appropriate behavior initiated without relying upon input from other sensory modalities. Even though olfactory communication can be slow compared to other sensory modalities such as vision and sound, it is sometimes very reliable and stable (e.g. trail or territory marking) and in other circumstances may be much more ephemeral (e.g. odors released only during specific periods of the day or night). Thus, olfactory cues can be manipulated over time and spatial scales that other sensory modalities cannot, and this is perhaps why we find an abundance of olfactory communication in the animal world. For adult moths, olfactory signals are a vital source of information that modulate many aspects of their behavior. In these animals, an appreciation of the features of odors coupled with behavioral experimentation has enhanced our understanding of the neurobiology of olfactory processing.

Abstract: Addition of (Z)-11-hexadecenyl acetate (Z11-16:Ac) into a normally attractive binary blend of Heliothis virescens pheromone components resulted in a suppression of upwind flight and source location by males. Male response was reduced even at the lowest dosages of Z11-16:Ac tested but upwind flight and source location were most clearly reduced when the loading of Z11-16:Ac reached 10% or more of the (Z)-11-hexadecenal (Z11-16:Ald) loading (the major component present in the binary blend). Similar patterns of suppression in response were noted when Z11-16:Ac was added to binary blends of pheromone components at both 10 and 100 μg loadings of Z11-16:Ald. Males in casting flight following upwind flight in a mechanically generated pulsed plume, responded to the interception of a subsequent, single binary-blend filament by making a toward-source upwind surge. Responses of males to a single filament that was tainted by a level of Z11-16:Ac that had allowed some reduced level of upwind flight and source location to occur in the previous plume experiments were diminished compared with their control counterparts. Analysis of the flight tracks revealed that the surges in response to single tainted filaments were stunted because males made fewer significant changes in course angles steered, airspeeds generated, and in the tempo of counterturns executed.

OBJECTIVE: To measure the reliability of data collected by the Thames cancer registry and to identify factors in the registration process affecting reliability. DESIGN: A retrospective study of data from the registry, including death certificate only registrations, and hospital case notes on cases of colorectal cancer diagnosed in 1983 or 1988. SETTING: Four districts in South Thames region. SUBJECTS: 673 cases of colorectal cancer in resident patients. MAIN MEASURES: Dates of birth, diagnosis of cancer, and death; sex; tumour site; whether treatment was given; type of treatment; and district of residence. RESULTS: Among the 416 (62%) case notes retrieved, including 66 death certificate only registrations, full or high agreement between registry data and hospital notes was recorded for sex, district of residence, and dates of birth and death. Only 12% of cases had the same date of diagnosis, which may be due to failure of registry policy. Lower agreement rates occurred for tumour site (87%), whether treatment occurred (84%), and treatments administered (80%, 1983; 72%, 1988). 20% of surgical treatments and 37% of adjuvant therapy, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy were not recorded by the registry. Disagreements were common among death certificate only registrations. Such registrations accounted for 16(32%) disagreements over tumour site, 33(41%) major disagreements over date of diagnosis (difference > 30 days), and 47(44%) disagreements over treatment. In 65 cases the registry failed to capture all treatments carried out within the six month follow up period, 38(58%) of which were for death certificate only registrations. In 36% of death certificate only registrations the patients survived more than one year from diagnosis, indicating a failure of registry policy over retrospective follow up. CONCLUSIONS: Registry data on district of residence; sex; dates of birth, diagnosis, and death are highly reliable, but treatment and tumour site data are less so. Lack of follow up in death certificate only registrations and failure to monitor treatments during follow up period seemed to be associated with disagreements [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The macroglomerular complex (MGC) is a sexually dimorphic array of contiguous glomeruli in male moths, located at the base of the antennal nerve where it enters the primary olfactory processing area of the brain, the antennal lobe. A new three-dimensional reconstruction method was used to map this glomerular array, and images obtained with the laser scanning confocal microscope revealed the precise location and spatial arrangement of the MGC glomeruli in two related species of Heliothine moth. Intracellular recording and staining of projection neurons (PNs) that arborize within the MGC has revealed that information about the two attractive components of the Pheromone blend is segregated to different glomeruli in both species. In one species, Helicoverpa zea, a third glomerulus serves as the locus for the processing of odors that antagonize upwind flight. Thus, activation of different but overlapping sets of glomeruli within the MGC may provide a neural substrate for discriminating attractant vs antagonist chemical signals.

Presents a letter to the editor referencing to an article about the efforts of Labour ministers to seek the private sector for additional capital in London, England.

Background We had two aims in undertaking this study, as follows: (1) to describe regional and district trends in incidence and treatment for colorectal cancer in South East England from 1982 to 1988; (2) to examine the effect of registration practice and case ascertainment on district variations in incidence and treatment using data on death certificate only (DCO) registrations, mortality and stage. Methods We included all cases registered by the Thames cancer registry diagnosed with colon or rectal cancer between 1982 and 1988 and resident in 28 districts in the two South Thames regions. Indirect standardized incidence ratios were calculated for the districts and a χ2 test for trend was carried out. Results In the SE England regional analysis, between 1982 and 1988 there was a significant increase in the incidence of cases of colon and rectal cancer in the over-75s, but treatment rates remained unchanged. Treatment rates fell significantly in the under-65s although incidence rates remained unchanged. Age is a strong predictor of nontreatment. Between 1982 and 1988 the relative risk of not receiving treatment increased for all ages over 65 years. DCO registrations accounted for 22 per cent and 15 per cent of all colon and rectal cancer cases, respectively, between 1982 and 1988. The proportions rose (between 1982 and 1988) from 10 and 8 per cent to 25 and 19 per cent in colon and rectal cancer, respectively. DCO registration rates increased over time and in all age groups in South East England for both colon and rectal cancer between 1982 and 1988, but the largest increase was in the over-75s. Thirty-two per cent of colon and 25 per cent of rectal cases were unstaged. Although the proportion of unstagedcases remained constant over time, they were increasingly the result of DCO registrations. Errors in the registry staging data rendered those cases which were staged unusable. In the district analysis, there were significant variations in age-standardized incidence, treatment and DCO registration ratios across the 28 districts for men and women with colon and rectal cancer between 1982 and 1988. DCO registrations show a negative correlation with treatment for both colon and rectal cancer (p < 0·05) and with incidence for only rectal cancer. Conclusions We report significant differences in age-standardized incidence and treatment ratios across 28 districts in South East England, some of which can be accounted for by differences in registration practice. There is a complex relationship between DCO registrations and incidence and treatment for both colon and rectal cancer. DCO registrations are a good proxy for under-ascertainment of incidence in rectal cancer but not colon cancer, and are a good proxy for under-ascertainment of treatment in both colon and rectal cancers. Information from the cancer registry can be used to examine registration and treatment rates across districts. However, if variations are to be adequately explained, meticulous data collection on stage and quality control are essential.

Background This paper describes the relationship between social deprivation and incidence of, and survival from, breast, lung, and colorectal cancers among residents of the South Thames regions. We analysed 23 505 cases of breast cancer, 29 903 cases of lung cancer and 21 905 cases of colorectal cancer, aged 40–99 inclusive at diagnosis and diagnosed between 1 January 1987 and 31 December 1992. Methods Using the 1991 Census in conjunction with the Townsend index on social deprivation, we derived proxy indicators of deprivation based on patients home postal codes. Cumulative relative five-year survival rates (per cent) were calculated for each cancer. We then compared our results with the relevant standardized incidence and mortality ratios by deprivation status. Results A clear trend was observed in standardized mortality rates across deprivation tenths for the three tumour sites: mortality increased with deprivation. A strong positive correlation was found between deprivation and the incidence of lung cancers (p<0.0001), but no association was found between deprivation and incidence of breast and colorectal cancers. Significantly lower five-year relative survival rates were found for breast and colorectal cancer patients in the most deprived Townsend tenths. Breast cancer patients resident in the most affluent tenth of enumeration districts had a 70 per cent relative survival ratio compared with 57 per cent in the most deprived tenth. The corresponding figures for colorectal cancer patients were 40 per cent and 32 per cent, respectively. Conclusion Survival differences by deprivation status exist in South Thames among patients suffering from breast or colorectal cancers and are not explained by differences in the incidences of these diseases. For lung cancer, incidence and mortality were positively correlated with deprivation, but no socio-economic gradient was found for survival.

Presents letters to the editor. Reaction to an article by Kenneth Anderson concerning the United States' fight against terrorism; Responses to reviews of books including 'Negotiating the Constitution,' by Joseph M. Lynch, 'Dr Eckener's Dream Machine,' by Douglas Botting, 'Distant Music,' by Lee Langley, and others.