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The Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) (Diptera: Tephritidae), is among the most destructive and cosmopolitan species of the family. It has been studied extensively and has become a model species for sterile insect technique (SIT) applications. More than 3 decades of coordinated research led to the development and continuous improvement of genetic sexing strains (GSSs) for this pest. The last generation of these strains (Vienna 7 and Vienna 8), developed at the FAO/IAEA Insect Pest Control Laboratory (IPCL) in Seibersdorf, Austria, presents a combination of characters that calls for specialized control and evaluation methods, especially in mass-rearing conditions. In this paper, we present the results of two small-scale laboratory tests that can evaluate the stability, productivity, and other properties of these strains and have been used in IPCL since their development. These tests were used for the analysis of the Vienna 7 and Vienna 8 GSSs after their re-introduction to the IPCL from the different rearing facilities. Our data show the robustness and stability of the ‘sexing’ character of these strains but also point to differences among them regarding egg hatch, pupation, adult emergence rates, and male tolerance to elevated temperatures. Well-defined, small-scale protocols allow the continuous monitoring of the properties of putative important strains; they can be used as standard operating protocols to enable unbiased comparison among strains available in different mass-rearing facilities.

Cytogenetics of Tephritidae has contributed for more than 30 years to the efficient control of pest members of this family and the species delimitation among them. The sterile insect technique (SIT) is a species-specific and environmentally friendly method for the population control of insect pest species, always as a component of integrated pest management approaches. The construction of polytene chromosome maps facilitated the development, characterization, and improvement of genetic sexing strains, which have boosted the effectiveness of SIT and are considered as models for developing genetic sexing methodologies in other target species. In parallel, characterization of mitotic karyotypes and the availability of polytene chromosomes in Diptera have been and are being used as supplementary evidence in taxonomic studies. Lately, under the common understanding that speciation can be achieved via various pathways and under the umbrella of integrative taxonomy, cytogenetic studies have contributed to multidisciplinary taxonomic approaches. Such studies can shed light on the borders between closely related species and/or incipient speciation, and this is crucial both for the implementation of SIT and the revision/improvement of quarantine policies. In this review, we summarize the cytogenetic status of Tephritidae and discuss the contribution of cytogenetics to the development of genetic sexing strains in this family.

Mit der vorliegenden Arbeit wird ein Überblick zu den aktuell gängigen Formen der 3D-Dokumentation und -Rekonstruktion gegeben. Ein Schwerpunkt liegt hierbei auf der praktischen Anwendung von aktiven und passiven Methoden. Ein weiterer Punkt ist die Präsentation der produzierten Daten, mit dem Ziel der Vermittlung in Ausstellungen, Museen und Lehre. Der Fundort Hallstatt eignete sich durch die über Jahrtausende andauernde Bergbautätigkeit perfekt für die Entwicklung mehrerer Fallstudien in Bereichen der modernen 3D-Datenerstellung. Aufgrund des umfassenden archäologischen Erbes Hallstatts mussten vorab genaue Teilbereiche für die Untersuchungen definiert werden, um einen umsetzbaren Arbeitsprozess zu entwickeln. Es wurden zwei Bereiche für die geplanten Versuchsreihen ausgewählt: Der bronzezeitliche Bergbau im Christian-von-Tusch-Werk und die spätlatènezeitliche Gewerbesiedlung auf der Dammwiese. Zu Beginn wird ein Einblick in den archäologischen Forschungsstand beider Fundstellen geschaffen. Durch neun technische Fallstudien werden diverse Dokumentationsmethoden vorgestellt. Für den prähistorischen Bergbau wurde eine vollständige Hohlraumvermessung der Stollen vorgenommen und anschließend 3D-Daten exportiert und damit ein neuer Überblick zur Gesamtsituation der Grabung unter Tage geschaffen. Im Fall der Dammwiese wurden eine 3D-Rekonstruktion und eine 3D-Visualisierung der Grabungssituation von 1887/1888 sowie 3D-Repliken von ausgewählten Funden produziert und diverse UAV-Befliegungen durchgeführt. Auch Animationen, Visualisierungen und eine AR-Applikation werden präsentiert. Die 3D-Dokumentation gehört mittlerweile in der archäologischen Feldforschung zum Standard und wird aufgrund der rasanten technischen Weiterentwicklung immer einfacher, schneller und günstiger umsetzbar. Die Ergebnisse können durch moderne Vermittlungskonzepte multimedial und immersiv eingesetzt werden., The present work provides an overview of the currently common forms of 3D documentation and reconstruction. One focus is on the practical application of active and passive methods. Another point is the presentation of the produced data in exhibitions, museums and teaching. The Hallstatt site was perfectly suited for the development of several case studies in areas of modern 3D data creation through millennia of mining activity. Due to Hallstatt's extensive archaeological heritage, it was necessary to define areas of investigation in advance in order to develop a workable process. Two areas were selected for the planned test series: The Bronze Age mining in the Christian-von-Tuschwerk and the late-La Tène commercial settlement on the Dammwiese. At the beginning, an insight into the archaeological state of research of both sites is created. Nine technical case studies present various documentation methods. For the prehistoric mining a complete cavity measurement of the tunnels was made, the exported 3D data created a new overview of the overall situation of excavation underground. In the case of the Dammwiese, a 3D reconstruction and a 3D visualization of the excavation situation of 1887/1888 as well as 3D replicas of selected finds were produced and various UAV surveys were carried out. Animations, visualizations and an AR application are also presented. The 3D documentation is now standard in archaeological field research and due to the rapid technical development is always easier, faster and cheaper to implement. The results can be used by modern multimedia and immersive presentation concepts.

When considering a mosquito release programme, one of the first issues to be addressed is how to eliminate/separate the females. The greatest number of options might eventually be available for those who can use transgenic mosquitoes, but the inherent characteristics of the target species may also provide possibilities for interim measures until more efficient methods can be developed. Differences in intrinsic size, in behaviour and in development rate between females and males are often available and useful for sexing. Efficient species-specific systems for eliminating females at the embryo stage have been developed, but most have since been discarded due to lack of use. Ideal systems specifically kill female embryos using some treatment that can be manipulated during production. Such killing systems are far more efficient than using intrinsic sexual differences, but they systems require selectable genetic markers and sex-linkage created by rare random chromosomal rearrangements. While intrinsic sexual differences should not be considered as long-term candidates for the development of robust and efficient sexing approaches, in the absence of these, the accessibility and integration of less efficient systems can provide a stop-gap measure that allows rapid start up with a minimum of investment. The International Atomic Energy Agency is funding over a 5 year period (2013-2018) a new Coordinated Research Project on "Exploring Genetic, Molecular, Mechanical and Behavioural Methods of Sex Separation in Mosquitoes" to network researchers and to address the critical need of genetic sexing strains for the implementation of the sterile insect technique (using radiation-sterilised or transgenic male mosquitoes) and for insect incompatibility technique programmes against disease-transmitting mosquitoes.

In the current study, we performed genetic and cytogenetic analyses of two genetic sexing strains (GSSs), one for Bactrocera dorsalis s.s. and one for melon fly, Bactrocera cucurbitae Coquillett, the first such strains ever constructed in these species. In both strains, the genetic sexing mechanism is based on a pupal color dimorphism (white or brown) and is the result of a reciprocal translocation between the Y chromosome and the autosome bearing the white pupae (wp) locus. Based on genetic analysis and cytological data on mitotic metaphases and larval salivary gland polytene chromosomes, we succeeded in mapping the autosome breakpoints in the two Y-autosome translocations even though the Y chromosome is not visible in polytene nuclei. We show that polytene chromosomes can be used in cytogenetic analyses toward the development of genetic control methods in these pest species. The results of the genetic analysis are in full agreement with the cytological description of the strains.

In the elderly, even mild anaemia leads to significantly decreased quality of life and reduced survival rate. Therefore even mild anaemias should be worked up especially in the elderly. More than 75 % of all anaemias have a specific and treatable cause.Differential diagnosis of anaemia in the elderly is much more challenging compared to the differential diagnosis in younger patients: in older patients often more than one dysfunction is responsible for the anaemia simultaneously. Many routine laboratory parameters are changed by ageing and are therefore only of limited value for diagnosis of anaemia. Soluble transferinreceptor and hepcidin are two parameters feasible for differential diagnosis of the causes of anaemia in the elderly.The most common cause of iron deficiency anaemia in the elderly is gastrointestinal bleeding. Many causes for gastrointestinal bleeding -like angiodysplasia of the colon - can readily be treated with endoscopic therapy. For this reason, colonoscopy is part of the standard workup for elderly patients with iron-deficient anaemia (IDA) if no contraindications exist.Therapy of anaemia is based on the specific cause or the causes. In IDA, the first step other than causal treatment is to replace iron orally. If this is not tolerated because of side effects or does not lead to a sufficient rise in the haemoglobin level, intravenous iron replacement therapy is indicated. Folic acid deficiency is generally treated orally, whereas vitamin B12 deficiency is generally treated by the parenteral - preferably subcutaneous - route. In anaemia due to chronic renal failure and anaemia due to myelodysplastic syndromes, the underlying cause must be treated, furthermore erythropoiesis-stimulating agents can be indicated.

We report here a cytogenetic analysis of the melon fly, Bactrocera Cucurbitae, Coquillett (Diptera: Tephritidae), a species of significant agricultural importance. The mitotic karyotype and detailed photographic maps of the larval salivary gland polytene chromosomes of the species are presented. The mitotic karyotype consists of six pairs of chromosomes including one pair of heteromorphic sex (XX/XY) chromosomes. The heterogametic sex is ascribed to the male. The analysis of polytene chromosomes has shown a total number of five long polytene elements (10 polytene arms) that correspond to the five autosomes. The characteristic features and the most prominent landmarks of each polytene chromosome are presented. The proposed chromosomal homology between B. Cucurbitae and Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann), was determined by comparing chromosome banding patterns. The detection of heterozygous chromosome inversions in two strains is shown and discussed. The current study provides workable polytene chromosome maps of the species and compares our results with previous reports. We show that these maps can be used for cytogenetic studies in the species and for comparative studies among the tephritid species. They also can support the development of control methods and clarify the taxonomic status of B. cucurbitae.

The application of the Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) in area-wide integrated pest management (AW-IPM) programmes continues to increase. However, programme efficiency can still be considerably enhanced when certain components of the technology are improved, such as the development of improved strains for mass rearing and release. These include strains that (1) produce only male insects for sterilization and release and (2) carry easily identifiable markers to identify released sterile insects in the field. Using both classical and modern biotechnology techniques, key insect pests are targeted, where SIT programmes are being implemented. The pests include mosquitoes, the Mexican fruit fly, the codling moth, the oriental fruit fly and the pink bollworm. This special issue summarizes the results of research efforts aimed at the development and evaluation of new strains to a level where a decision can be made as to their suitability for use in large scale SIT programmes. Major beneficiaries will be operational AW-IPM programmes that apply the SIT against major insect pests.

The oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel), is a key pest that causes reduction of the crop yield within the international fruit market. Fruit flies have been suppressed by two Area-Wide Integrated Pest Management programs in Thailand using Sterile Insect Technique (AW-IPM-SIT) since the late 1980s and the early 2000s. The projects’ planning and evaluation usually rely on information from pest status, distribution, and fruit infestation. However, the collected data sometimes does not provide enough detail to answer management queries and public concerns, such as the long term sterilization efficacy of the released fruit fly, skepticism about insect migration or gene flow across the buffer zone, and the re-colonisation possibility of the fruit fly population within the core area. Established microsatellite DNA markers were used to generate population genetic data for the analysis of the fruit fly sampling from several control areas, and non-target areas, as well as the mass-rearing facility. The results suggested limited gene flow (m < 0.100) across the buffer zones between the flies in the control areas and flies captured outside. In addition, no genetic admixture was revealed from the mass-reared colony flies from the flies within the control area, which supports the effectiveness of SIT. The control pests were suppressed to low density and showed weak bottleneck footprints although they still acquired a high degree of genetic variation. Potential pest resurgence from fragmented micro-habitats in mixed fruit orchards rather than pest incursion across the buffer zone has been proposed. Therefore, a suitable pest control effort, such as the SIT program, should concentrate on the hidden refuges within the target area.

Distinct host ranges of the melon fly, Bactrocera cucurbitae (Coquillett), have been reported among different island populations, suggesting significant genetic divergence. Thus, for the application of the sterile insect technique (SIT), it is important to ensure that released flies are sexually fully compatible with each other and with the laboratory strains. Mating tests among the following strains of the melon fly, B. cucurbitae: Mauritius laboratory-adapted (35 generations), Seychelles laboratory-adapted (24 generations), and Hawaii genetic sexing strain (90 generations), were conducted in field cages at the FAO/IAEA Agriculture and Biotechnology Laboratories in Seibersdorf, Austria during the months of August/September 2009. The genetic sexing strain, developed in Hawaii in 2001, allows separation of females and males on the basis of pupal colour. Two separate series of trials were run simultaneously. In the first, melon fly females from Mauritius were the target strain and the competing males were from Mauritius, Seychelles, and Hawaii (GSS). In the second trial, melon fly females from the Seychelles selected among competing males from the same three populations. Sexual activity was similar among the melon fly populations and no significant non-random, assortative mating was observed. Therefore, it is suggested that melon flies from Mauritius, Seychelles and the Hawaii are compatible, at least under semi-natural conditions.

Wolbachia are obligatory intracellular and maternally inherited bacteria that infect and spread through natural arthropod populations by inducing male-killing, feminization, parthenogenesis, and, most commonly, unidirectional and bidirectional cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI). Cytoplasmic incompatibility can be used to control natural populations of insect pests, in a way analogous to the Sterile Insect Technique (SIT), namely through the Incompatible Insect Technique (IIT). For the successful application of the IIT (based on a unidirectional CI approach) against a target species, it is essential that only males are released, as the release of females would lead to fertile matings between the released males and the released females and the establishment of a Wolbachia-carrying field population. In the present study, we describe a Wolbachia-infected line of the VIENNA 8 genetic sexing strain of the Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) (Diptera: Tephritidae), that carries the selectable marker temperature sensitive lethal (tsl). We show that (1) transferred Wolbachia induce high levels of CI even after the temperature treatment required for the male-only production, and (2) the Wolbachia-infected genetic sexing C. capitata line can be used in cage population suppression experiments analogous to the SIT. We also discuss our results in a comparison between IIT and SIT, investigating whether irradiation and cytoplasmic factors can be combined toward the development of novel strategies for insect pest control.

Managing hierarchies is an ever-recurring challenge for relational database systems. Through investigations of customer scenarios at SAP we found that today's RDBMSs still leave a lot to be desired in order to meet the requirements of typical applications. Our research puts a new twist on handling hierarchies in SQL-based systems. We present an approach for modeling hierarchical data natively, and we extend the SQL language with expressive constructs for creating, manipulating, and querying a hierarchy. The constructs can be evaluated efficiently by leveraging existing indexing and query processing techniques. We demonstrate the feasibility of our concepts with initial measurements on a HANA-based prototype.

A dominant mutation, Sergeant (Sr2), which affects expression of a third stripe on the abdomen of the Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann), was recently isolated and the results of an extended genetic analysis are reported here. In addition, field cage data are presented on the mating competitiveness of strains carrying this mutation, including a genetic sexing strain (GSS). The incorporation of a phenotypic marker, such as Sr2, in a Mediterranean fruit fly GSS would complement, and could replace, the use of fluorescent dye for monitoring sterile insect technique programs and increase program efficiency by improving sterile and wild fly identification procedures. The mutation is homozygous lethal, and it is located on chromosome 5 at position 78B and 60D on the salivary and trichogen polytene maps, respectively. The development of the Sr2 GSS is described here, together with data on fitness and penetrance of the mutation. The field-cage results demonstrated 1) random mating bet...

The ability to genetically engineer insects other than Drosophila melanogaster has further extended modern genetic techniques into important insect pest species ranging from fruit fly pests of horticulture to mosquito vectors of human disease. In only a relatively short period of time, a range of transgenes have been inserted into more than 10 insect pest species. Genetic transformation of these pest species has proven to be a very important laboratory tool in analyzing gene function and effects on phenotype however the full extension of this technology into the field is yet to be realized. Here we briefly review the development of transgenic technology in pest insect species and discuss the challenges that remain in this applied area of insect genetics and entomology.

Summary Die analytische Untersuchung realer optischer Systeme erfordert die Datenreduktion ihrer gemessenen Wellenflachen oder Punktbilder. Es wird eine nicht iterative Anpassung vorgestellt, die ohne vorherige Glattung alle Bildpunkte berucksichtigt und keine a priori Informationen voraussetzt. Beispiele werden prasentiert. Analysis of real optical systems require data reduction of their measured wavefronts or point-spread functions. A non-iterative fitting procedure is presented, which takes all pixels into account without prior smoothing. The fitting procedure needs no a priori information. Examples are shown.

The sterile insect technique (SIT) is an environmentally safe technology to control insect pests. To improve this technology, genetic sexing strains (GSS) have been developed for the Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata. Such strains are based on Y-autosome translocations linking a selectable marker to the male sex and their long-term stability, especially under large-scale mass rearing conditions, is threatened by genetic recombination in the heterozygous males. We have measured male recombination in order to be able to construct GSS that are more stable. Our results show that male recombination occurs at very low frequencies, that is, below 1% per generation. Furthermore, recombination in medfly males occurs premeiotically. By selecting strains where the Y-autosome translocation breakpoint and the selectable marker are closely linked, the deleterious effects of recombination on the stability of GSS can be minimized. In such strains recombination is reduced by ca. 80% as compared to previously studied GSS. Although recombinants still occur at very low frequencies they still pose a threat to the integrity of the sexing system if they possess a selective advantage. Under mass rearing condition such recombinants will accumulate according to their relative fitness and additional measures, such as improved mass rearing strategies, are required to preserve the accuracy of the sexing system. As a conclusion it is shown that current GSS are stable enough to allow mass rearing at levels exceeding 1000 million male medflies per week.

Background Anastrephaludens is among the pests that have a major impact on México's economy because it attacks fruits as citrus and mangoes. The Mexican Federal government uses integrated pest management to control A. ludens through the Programa Nacional Moscas de la Fruta [National Fruit Fly Program, SAGARPA-SENASICA]. One of the main components of this program is the sterile insect technique (SIT), which is used to control field populations of the pest by releasing sterile flies. Results To increase the efficiency of this technique, we have developed a genetic sexing strain (GSS) in which the sexing mechanism is based on a pupal colour dimorphism (brown-black) and is the result of a reciprocal translocation between the Y chromosome and the autosome bearing the black pupae (bp) locus. Ten strains producing wild-type (brown pupae) males and mutant (black pupae) females were isolated. Subsequent evaluations for several generations were performed in most of these strains. The translocation strain named Tapachula-7 showed minimal effect on survival and the best genetic stability of all ten strains. Genetic and cytogenetic analyses were performed using mitotic and polytene chromosomes and we succeeded to characterize the chromosomal structure of this reciprocal translocation and map the autosome breakpoint, despite the fact that the Y chromosome is not visible in polytene nuclei following standard staining. Conclusions We show that mitotic and polytene chromosomes can be used in cytogenetic analyses towards the development of genetic control methods in this pest species. The present work is the first report of the construction of GSS of Anastrepha ludens, with potential use in a future Moscafrut operational program.

In optical and automotive industry, there are many measurement applications with a need for high resolutions in the nanometer range under shop floor conditions. These are typical applications for interferometrical methods. Very often, the surface under test has a cylindrical or conical shape, so that the typical camera based flat wavefront interferometer has to be replaced by an optical stylus applied to a form measuring device.

The construction of the first balancer chromosome, FiM1, for the medfly Ceratitis capitata is described. This chromosome has three overlapping pericentric inversions and is marked with dominant and recessive mutations. The inversion breakpoints of FiM1 suppress recombination throughout the length of the fifth chromosome, allowing lethal mutations to be recovered and maintained. This chromosome will provide a powerful tool for the manipulation of laboratory stocks, in particular, the recovery of new mutant and transgenic strains. We demonstrate the use of FiM1 for the recovery and maintenance of chromosomes carrying lethal mutations.

In the Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata, the sex-determining region maps to the long arm of the Y chromosome. DNA from this region of the Y chromosome and, for comparison, from the tip of the long arm of the X chromosome, was isolated by microdissection and amplified by degenerate oligonucleotide primer PCR (DOP-PCR). FISH of the Y-chromosomal microdissection products medY1-medY5 to mitotic chromosomes revealed hybridization signals on most of the long arm of the Y chromosome, including the male-determining region, and on the long arm of the X chromosome, as well as weaker signals on the autosomes, some of which were located in the heterochromatin next to the centromeres. The X-chromosomal microdissected probe medX1 revealed strong signals on the sex chromosomes and randomly distributed signals on the autosomes. Chromosomal in situ suppression hybridization indicates that the Y chromosome contains considerable amounts of Y-enriched and Y-specific sequences and that X-enriched sequences are present on the long arm of the X chromosome. The microdissected probes medY1, medY2, and medX1 hybridize to the sex chromosomes of two closely related species,Ceratitis rosa and Trirhithrum coffeae.

The Glossina pallidipes salivary gland hypertrophy virus (GpSGHV) is a rod-shaped, non-occluded double-stranded DNA virus that causes salivary gland hypertrophy (SGH) and reduced fecundity in the tsetse fly G. pallidipes . High GpSGHV prevalence (up to 80%) makes it impossible to mass-rear G. pallidipes colonies for the sterile insect technique (SIT). To evaluate the feasibility of molecular-based GpSGHV management strategies, we investigated the prevalence and genetic diversity of GpSGHV in wild populations of G. pallidipes collected from ten geographical locations in eastern and southern Africa. Virus diversity was examined using a total sequence of 1497 nucleotides (∼1% of the GpSGHV genome) from five putative conserved ORFs, p 74, pif 1, pif 2, pif 3 and dnapol. Overall, 34.08% of the analyzed flies ( n = 1972) tested positive by nested PCR. GpSGHV prevalence varied from 2% to 100% from one location to another but phylogenetic and gene genealogy analyses using concatenated sequences of the five putative ORFs revealed low virus diversity. Although no correlation of the virus diversity to geographical locations was detected, the GpSGHV haplotypes could be assigned to one of two distinct clades. The reference (Tororo) haplotype was the most widely distributed, and was shared by 47 individuals in seven of the 11 locations. The Ethiopian haplotypes were restricted to one clade, and showed the highest divergence (with 14–16 single nucleotide mutation steps) from the reference haplotype. The current study suggests that the proposed molecular-based virus management strategies have a good prospect of working throughout eastern and southern Africa due to the low diversity of the GpSGHV strains.

Effects of gamma radiation on the egg and larval stages of the Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann), were examined. Eggs and larvae were exposed at different ages to a series of gamma radiation doses ranging from 5 to 1,280 Gy. Eggs in the 1st half of their development (1 and 24 h) were very sensitive to irradiation treatment (20 Gy prevented egg hatch). However, mature eggs (48 h old) were much more tolerant. When mature eggs were irradiated, a dose of 640 Gy prevented egg hatch. Pupariation of eggs treated at 1 and 24 h was significantly affected at a dose of 20 Gy; adult emergence of eggs at 1, 14, and 48 h was prevented at this dose. The larval stage was significantly more resistant to radiation than the egg stage. Survival to the pupal stage increased with increasing age of larvae, and decreased with increasing dose. The minimum dose required to prevent pupariation ranged from over 160 Gy for the 1st instar to > 640 Gy for mature 3rd instars. In contrast, doses required to prevent adult emergence from irradiated larvae were relatively low and ranged from 10-20 to 20-40 Gy depending on the age of the insects when irradiated. Tests in which > 100,000 mature larvae were treated in air with a dose of 40 Gy resulted in no adult emergence. Similar results were obtained when 3rd instars were irradiated inside natural host fruits in a small scale laboratory experiment.

The effect of gamma radiation on the phenoloxidase activity in larvae of the Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann), was examined. Phenoloxidase activity was determined by spectrophotometrically measuring the increase in optical density at 490 nm because of the conversion of L-Dopa to Dopachrome, or by observing the degree of melanization in larvae killed by freezing. Both methods produced comparable results. In unir-radiated larvae, phenoloxidase activity can be detected on day 4 (late 2nd instar), and the activity continues to accumulate through day 7 (late 3rd instar). This accumulation was not observed when larvae were irradiated with a minimum dose of 40 Gy before the 3rd instar. However, irradiating larvae in which enzyme activity was already high (days 5 and 6) did not remove activity but only reduced the rate of further accumulation. These results indicate that measuring the activity of this enzyme in C. capitata larvae is a good, sensitive, and reliable indicator of irradiation treatment provided that the limits mentioned above are observed.

The Mediterranean fruit fly Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) (Diptera: Tephritidae) is one of the most important pest of fruits and vegetables in tropical and subtropical countries. The sterile insect technique (SIT) as a component of area-wide integrated pest management (AW-IPM) approaches is being used for the successful management of this pest. VIENNA 8 is a genetic sexing strain (GSS) that has a white pupae (wp) and temperature sensitive lethal (tsl) mutation, the latter killing all female embryos when eggs are exposed to high temperatures (34°C). The use of this GSS permits production and the release of only males which has increased the cost effectiveness of the SIT several fold for this pest. An efficient method of identification of recaptured sterile males can further increase the cost effectiveness of the SIT for this pest. Therefore, VIENNA 8-Sergeant2 (Sr2) strain and the transgenic strain VIENNA 8-1260 having visible markers were constructed. All three strains were evaluated for egg production, egg hatch, and egg sterility parameters under semi mass-rearing conditions and mating competitiveness in field cages. VIENNA 8-1260 females produced significantly fewer eggs as compared with the two other strains, which produced similar numbers of eggs. However, egg hatch of all strains was similar. Egg hatch of eggs produced by untreated females that had mated with adult males that had been irradiated with 100 Gy as pupae 2 days before emergence, was different for the three strains, i.e., egg hatch of 0.63%, 0.77%, 0.89% for VIENNA 8, VIENNA 8-1260, and VIENNA 8-Sr2, respectively. Differences in male mating competitiveness of the three strains against wild-type males were gradually reduced with successive generations under semi mass-rearing conditions. However, VIENNA 8 males adapted faster to laboratory conditions as compared with VIENNA 8-Sr2 and VIENNA 8-1260 males with respect to mating competitiveness. VIENNA 8 males of the F10 generation were equally competitive with wild-type males, whereas the mating competitiveness of VIENNA 8-Sr2 and VIENNA 8-1260 males was similar but lower as compared with wild-type males. Males from all three strains copulated earlier than wild-type males. Results are discussed in relation with the potential benefits of incorporating novel strains for more effective SIT application.

Background Diptera have an extraordinary variety of sex determination mechanisms, and Drosophila melanogaster is the paradigm for this group. However, the Drosophila sex determination pathway is only partially conserved and the family Tephritidae affords an interesting example. The tephritid Y chromosome is postulated to be necessary to determine male development. Characterization of Y sequences, apart from elucidating the nature of the male determining factor, is also important to understand the evolutionary history of sex chromosomes within the Tephritidae. We studied the Y sequences from the olive fly, Bactrocera oleae. Its Y chromosome is minute and highly heterochromatic, and displays high heteromorphism with the X chromosome. Methodology/Principal Findings A combined Representational Difference Analysis (RDA) and fluorescence in-situ hybridization (FISH) approach was used to investigate the Y chromosome to derive information on its sequence content. The Y chromosome is strewn with repetitive DNA sequences, the majority of which are also interdispersed in the pericentromeric regions of the autosomes. The Y chromosome appears to have accumulated small and large repetitive interchromosomal duplications. The large interchromosomal duplications harbour an importin-4-like gene fragment. Apart from these importin-4-like sequences, the other Y repetitive sequences are not shared with the X chromosome, suggesting molecular differentiation of these two chromosomes. Moreover, as the identified Y sequences were not detected on the Y chromosomes of closely related tephritids, we can infer divergence in the repetitive nature of their sequence contents. Conclusions/Significance The identification of Y-linked sequences may tell us much about the repetitive nature, the origin and the evolution of Y chromosomes. We hypothesize how these repetitive sequences accumulated and were maintained on the Y chromosome during its evolutionary history. Our data reinforce the idea that the sex chromosomes of the Tephritidae may have distinct evolutionary origins with respect to those of the Drosophilidae and other Dipteran families.

The Oriental fruit fly, Batrocera dorsalis s.s. (Hendel) is one of the most destructive agricultural pests, belonging to a large group of difficult to distinguish morphologically species, referred as the B. dorsalis complex. We report here a cytogenetic analysis of two laboratory strains of the species and provide a photographic polytene chromosome map from larval salivary glands. The mitotic complement consists of six chromosome pairs including a heteromorphic sex (XX/XY) chromosome pair. Analysis of the polytene complement has shown a total of five polytene chromosomes (10 polytene arms) that correspond to the five autosomes. The most important landmarks of each polytene chromosome and characteristic asynapsis at a specific chromosomal region are presented and discussed. Chromosomal homology between B. dorsalis and Ceratitis capitata has been determined by comparing chromosome banding patterns. The detection of chromosome inversions in both B. dorsalis strains is shown and discussed. Our results show that the polytene maps presented here are suitable for cytogenetic analysis of this species and can be used for comparative studies among species of the Tephritidae family. They also provide a diagnostic tool that could accelerate species identification within the B. dorsalis complex and could shed light on the ongoing speciation in this complex. Polytene chromosome maps can facilitate the development of biological control methods and support the genome mapping project of the species that is currently in progress.

Many late embryogenesis abundant (Lea) protein genes in plants are regulated by abscisic acid (ABA). The RNA level of a carrot gene, DC8, increases in response to ABA in developing seeds. However, DC8 cannot be induced by ABA in adult tissues. We used chimeric genes made of various DC8 promoter fragments fused to beta-glucuronidase (GUS) to analyze the transcriptional regulation of DC8. DC8:GUS expression was measured in electroporated carrot protoplasts and in stably transformed carrots. The region of the DC8 promoter from -170 to -51 contained ABA-responsive sequences that required a 5' upstream region for high levels of expression in embryogenic callus protoplasts. 505 bp of the DC8 promoter conferred GUS expression in stably transformed somatic and zygotic embryos. DC8:GUS was expressed only in tissues formed in the seed. This includes cells in the embryo, the endosperm and the germinating seedlings. Gel retardation and competition experiments were performed to analyze the embryo nuclear protein-DNA binding activities in vitro. No binding activity was detected on the putative ABA-responsive region; however the 5' upstream regions located between -505 and -301 interacted with embryo nuclear factors. An additional site of DNA-protein interaction was located between positions -32 and +178. The nuclear proteins that bind these sequences were found in the embryo nuclei only, not in the nuclei from leaves or roots.

Careful preoperative planning is of outmost importance - in particular when considering complex corrective surgery on congenitally malformed hearts. As an aid to such decision-making we describe a system for virtual reconstruction of patient-specific morphology from 3D-capable imaging modalities such as MRI and CT. We introduce and illustrate the concept of virtual cardiotomy as a new tool to preoperatively evaluate the feasibility of different surgical strategies by investigating the anatomical spatial relations through any number of virtual incisions. We review the technical and clinical implementation of the various components of the system, namely 3D imaging, segmentation and reconstruction, visualization, and simulation of tissue elasticity. Finally we summarize the main findings from a recent evaluation study on 42 infants and children.

Careful preoperative planning is of outmost importance -- in particular when considering complex corrective surgery on congenitally malformed hearts. As an aid to such decisionsmaking we describe a system for virtual reconstruction of patient-specific morphology from 3D-capable imaging modalities such as MRI and CT. We introduce and illustrate the concept of virtual cardiotomy as a new tool to preoperatively evaluate the feasibility of different surgical strategies by investigating the anatomical spatial relations through any number of virtual incisions. Ve review the technical and clinical implemtation of the various components of the system, namely 3D imaging, segmentation and reconstruction, visualization, and simulation of tissue elasticity. Finally we summarize the main findings from a resent evaluation study on 42 infants and children.

Background The sterile insect technique (SIT) is an environment-friendly method used in area-wide pest management of the Mediterranean fruit fly Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann; Diptera: Tephritidae). Ionizing radiation used to generate reproductive sterility in the mass-reared populations before release leads to reduction of competitiveness. Results Here, we present a first alternative reproductive sterility system for medfly based on transgenic embryonic lethality. This system is dependent on newly isolated medfly promoter/enhancer elements of cellularization-specifically-expressed genes. These elements act differently in expression strength and their ability to drive lethal effector gene activation. Moreover, position effects strongly influence the efficiency of the system. Out of 60 combinations of driver and effector construct integrations, several lines resulted in larval and pupal lethality with one line showing complete embryonic lethality. This line was highly competitive to wildtype medfly in laboratory and field cage tests. Conclusion The high competitiveness of the transgenic lines and the achieved 100% embryonic lethality causing reproductive sterility without the need of irradiation can improve the efficacy of operational medfly SIT programs.