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Osseointegrated implants have been developed to allow direct skeletal fixation of a prosthesis as an alternative to traditional socket-fitted prostheses for patients who have suffered from a major limb amputation. The implants contribute to improvements in functional outcome and quality of life and radiological evaluation plays a crucial role in pre- and post-operative assessment. This article acts as a guide for radiologists who may be tasked with providing the radiological information required by surgeons and prosthetists. We also look at the radiological appearances of complications that may arise in patients treated with an osseointegrated implant. Plain X-rays are used to screen patients who wish to undergo treatment. Limb-length X-rays are then used to measure the length of any residual bone, and comparisons can be made with the normal side (if present). From this, decisions about the likely size of the implant and the need for further amputation can be made. CT scans enable accurate assessment of the medullary cavity and cortical thickness. Post-operatively, plain X-rays form the mainstay of the routine monitoring of the bone-implant interface. Potential complications include infection, aseptic loosening, mechanical fracture of the implant and periprosthetic fracture. Infection and aseptic loosening can be seen as a lucency at the bone-implant interface which (if left untreated) can lead to loss of the implant. Implant and periprosthetic fractures are radiographically obvious. Radiologists involved in the care of patients undergoing treatment with an osseointegrated implant should become familiar with the imaging requirements so they can contribute to optimal patient outcomes., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

The false codling moth Thaumatotibia leucotreta (Meyrick), is an invasive species in Israel. In order to carry out a classical biological control program, the African egg parasitoid Trichogrammatoidea cryptophlebiae (Nagaraja) was recently introduced into Israel, and nontarget host risk assessment was performed as required. In no-choice tests we determined that T. cryptophlebiae was unable to develop in eggs of four nontarget Lepidopteran species: Pectinophora gossypiella (Saunders), Spodoptora littoralis (Boisduval), Ephestia kuehniella (Zeller), and Belenois aurota (Fabricius). Conversely, it developed in three Lepidopteran species eggs of the Tortricidae family: Cydia pomonella (Linnaeus), Lobesia botrana (Denis and Schiffermüller), and Epiblema strenuana (Walker). Epiblema strenuana eggs showed the lowest parasitism level among all tested moth eggs of the Tortricidae family. The progeny production of parasitized false codling moth eggs was similar to that of C. pomonella eggs, but smaller than that of L. botrana eggs. However, moth egg and parasitoid clutch sizes were smallest on L. botrana eggs and largest on C. pomonella eggs. In choice bioassays, T. cryptophlebiae significantly preferred to parasitize T. leucotreta eggs over the eggs of C. pomonella, L. botrana, and E. strenuana. Moreover, the choice of T. leucotreta eggs over the eggs of L. botrana was not affected by the parasitoids' rearing histories. Our data support the assumption that T. cryptophlebiae develops only in moth species of the Tortricidae family. Thus, the risk that it may attack nontarget species is low., (© The Author(s) 2019. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Background: Mating disruption (MD) employs high doses of a pest's synthetic sex pheromone in agricultural plots, to interfere with its reproduction. MD is assumed to have few behavioral effects on non-target arthropods, because sex pheromones are highly species-specific and non-toxic. Nevertheless, some natural enemies use their host's sex pheromones as foraging cues, and thus may be attracted to MD plots. To investigate this hypothesis, we compared parasitoid and spider assemblages in paired plots in five Israeli vineyards during 2015. One plot was MD-treated against two key pests, Lobesia botrana (Denis & Schiffermüller) and Planococcus ficus (Signoret). Both plots were insecticide-treated as needed. Natural enemies were suction-sampled and collected from pheromone-baited monitoring traps., Results: The total abundance, species diversity and species composition of most natural enemies were unaffected by MD. An important exception involved P. ficus' main parasitoid, Anagyrus sp. nr. pseudococci (Girault). Anagyrus sp. nr. pseudococci females were mainly captured in control plots, while male captures were low and not influenced by MD. Parasitized P. ficus occurred only in MD plots., Conclusion: Non-target effects of MD involved mostly A. sp. nr. pseudococci females and hardly affected other natural enemies. These findings support the use of MD as an environmentally friendly pest management strategy. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry., (© 2018 Society of Chemical Industry.)

Although pain is traditionally assumed to be poorly localized, recent work indicates that spatial acuity for nociception is surprisingly high. Here we investigated whether the nervous system can also accurately estimate the distance between two nociceptive stimuli. Estimating distance implies a metric representation of spatial relations, a property that underlies abilities such as perceiving the size of external objects. We presented pairs of simultaneous nociceptive or non-nociceptive somatosensory stimuli, and asked participants to judge the distance between them. Judgments of distance between nociceptive stimuli were much worse than judgments of distance between non-nociceptive tactile stimuli, even on skin regions where spatial acuity for nociception exceeded spatial acuity for touch. Control experiments ruled out explanations based on inaccurate localization of double nociceptive stimuli. Thus, the nervous system poorly represents the distance between two nociceptive stimuli. The dissociation between high spatial acuity and poor distance judgment in the nociceptive system may reflect a specialization for computing accurate spatial representations useful to protect the body, rather than to perceive the size of external objects., (Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Studies of the mechanisms by which mating-disruption techniques control insect pest populations have traditionally focused on the effects of the species-specific sex pheromone on the male moths, while neglecting possible direct effects of the pheromone on females. Here, the effects of exposure to synthetic species-specific sex-pheromone on Lobesia botrana (European grapevine moth) females were tested., Results: Females in vineyards that were treated with mating-disruption pheromone burst into short bouts of flying more frequently, but called significantly less frequently than females in untreated plots. Reduced calling caused by exposure to the species-specific sex-pheromone may increase the age at which females mate and thereby reduce female fecundity. Females that called in a pheromone-saturated environment experienced a decrease in number of oviposited eggs. A further decrease in reproductive success may occur if females delay oviposition when exposed to access of the synthetic pheromone., Conclusions: In addition to reducing the ability of males to locate females, the mating-disruption technique can suppress pest numbers as a consequence of its direct effects on females. The two mechanisms probably act synergistically., (© 2014 Society of Chemical Industry.)

Background: The sterile insect technique (SIT) is an alternative, environmentally friendly method for controlling insect pests. In the Lepidoptera, a low dose of gamma irradiation causes inherited sterility (SIT-IS), leading to full sterility in females but only partial sterility in males, which successfully compete with wild males for mates. This study examined the effect of a low radiation dose (150 Gy) on the fitness parameters of male and female Lobesia botrana, a polyphagous and major pest of vineyards found in the Middle East, Europe and the Americas., Results: Irradiation of the pupae did not affect their emergence rate, flight ability out of a cylinder, male response to sex pheromone in a field cage or male or female mating success. A major effect of irradiation was observed in the significantly reduced number of irradiated females' offspring reaching pupation, and as a consequence a limited number of F2 offspring. The effect of irradiation on male partial sterility (also called inherited sterility) was reflected in the male-biased sex ratio of F1 offspring of irradiated males, the reduced number of F1 offspring and the very low number of F2 descendants., Conclusion: This study demonstrates the feasibility of controlling L. botrana using SIT-IS. Adding this method to the arsenal of environmentally friendly tools to control this pest may assist in further reducing the use of insecticides on edible crops., (© 2014 Society of Chemical Industry.)

In the autumn of 1975 five cases of poliomyelitis occurred within 6 weeks in German children of families of low socioeconomic class. They lived in two districts of Freiburg with close familial and occupational contacts. One child had been immunised against polio once orally several years ago and none of the others were immunised. The clinical course and results of investigations of the environment are reported. Included is the state of immunisation of 472 school beginners in Freiburg schools and the antibody levels of 284 children aged 1 to 10 years from Freiburg and the adjoining areas.

Considering the fact that various epidemiological situations in Public Health departments arise everyday life, many different proposals are made for Public Health and sanitary measures, e.g. throat culture, antibiotic treatment and, in particular, readmission to community institutions.

Liver abscess is the most frequent complication of intestinal disease caused by entamoeba histolytica. Noninvasive procedures are nowaday most important in establishing the diagnosis: sonography, scintigraphy and computer tomography (CT). Sonography is rather precise and should be used in the first place. Recently it became possible to demonstrate specific antigens to amoeba in the pus of the abscess or in liver biopsy material; this procedure has been proven to be dependable and fast in establishing a diagnosis. Serological methods like indirect hemagglutination tests usually show positive results in high titers. The clinical picture, serological and immunological diagnostic procedures as well as demonstration of intrahepatic defects by sonography and/or scintigraphy usually help to establish a diagnosis fastly; only in a few cases will it be necessary to do computer tomography additionally. Metronidazole, tinidazole and other nitroimidazoles have led to a considerable decrease of lethality, which used to be rather high before. Treatment of the intestinal disease caused by amoebae should not be forgotten. Cortisone is contraindicated.