Aphis gossypii is one of the most economically important agricultural pests that cause serious crop losses worldwide, and the indiscriminate chemical application causes resistance development in A. gossypii, a major obstacle to successful control. In this study, we selected the up-regulated expression gene AgJHAMT, which was enriched into juvenile hormone pathway though transcriptome sequencing analysis of the cotton aphids that fed on transgenic cotton lines expressing dsAgCYP6CY3 (the TG cotton). The AgJHAMT gene was overexpressed in cotton aphids which fed on the TG cotton, and its expression profile during the nymphs was clarified. Then, silencing AgJHAMT could advance the developmental period of cotton aphids by 0.5 days compared with control groups. The T and t values of cotton aphids in the dsJHAMT treatment group (6.88 ± 0.15, 1.65 ± 0.06) were significantly shorter than that of the sprayed H2O control group (7.6 ± 0.14, 1.97 ± 0.09) (P < 0.05), respectively. The fast growth caused by AgJHAMT silencing was rescued by applying the JH analogue, methoprene. Overall, these findings clarified the function of AgJHAMT in the developmental period of A. gossypii. This study contributes to further clarify the molecular mechanisms of delaying the growth and development of cotton aphids by the transgenic cotton lines expressing dsAgCYP6CY3.

Two-spotted spider mite, Tetranychus urticae Koch (Acari: Prostigmata), is one of the most economically important mite species, mainly controlled by chemical acaricides. Natural enemies have been assessed as reliable alternatives for management of this phytophagous mite. In the current project, demographic characteristics of Neoseiulus californicus McGregor (Acari: Phytoseiidae) to sublethal concentrations (LC10 = 6.76 × 102, LC20 = 8.74 × 103 and LC30 = 55.38 × 103 conidia ml−1) of entomopathogenic fungus, Beauveria bassiana (Bals.) Vuill. TV strain were investigated under laboratory conditions at 25 ± 2°C, 70 ± 5% RH and a photoperiod of 16:8 (L:D) h. Our results indicated that when adult predators were exposed to LC20 and LC30 of B. bassiana, the oviposition period was significantly reduced compared with other treatments. Neoseiulus californicus fecundity was significantly greater in the control (37 eggs) than in LC30 (24 eggs). Life table analysis revealed that the net reproductive rate (R0) declined as the sublethal concentrations of B. bassiana increased. The most striking result to emerge from the data is that not only intrinsic (r); but also, finite rate of increase (λ) was not significantly affected by different concentrations of B. bassiana. Our findings revealed some potential interactions of B. bassiana and N. californicus during their combinations for managing T. urticae that may be helpful for optimising control of this important pest.

This paper investigates the composition of the internal policy advisory system (PAS) in a Napoleonic country, Italy, where policy formulation and advice have traditionally been dominated by the Ministerial Cabinets, legal competences, and with a clear influence of political parties in the selection of experts. Based on the literature on the PASs, we argue that the role of the governments in shaping the systems of advice is growing and discuss how different trends push towards a pluralization of the advisers in the Napoleonic systems. Our research undertakes a unique mapping of the internal PAS in the second Conte government (2019–2021), in order to show if the Italian PAS is becoming more plural, and who are the advisors (in terms of how varied are their characteristics, skills and mandates). Our analysis combines the descriptive mapping of the internal PAS with qualitative interviews aimed at better understanding the move from the domination of the Ministerial Cabinet towards a complex and loosely coupled network of advisors.

While tension-type headache (TTH) is the most common primary headache disorder, its effect according to sex, race and ethnicity remains unclear. We investigated disparities in sex, racial and ethnic representation in TTH clinical trials with comparison to global disease burdens. In this cross-sectional analysis, TTH clinical trials had female overrepresentation and racial and ethnic minority underrepresentation, which may affect understanding of the impact of TTH on different populations and personalized treatment development. Trial enrollment that is diverse and reflective of global disease burdens is crucial for improving study generalizability, understanding of diverse clinical presentations, and ensuring healthcare equity.

An improved Monte-Carlo algorithm is proposed to address the problem of an unclear workspace boundary in a multi-robot coordinated lifting system. The spatial configuration of a multi-robot coordinated lifting system with rolling base is analyzed, and the kinematics and static workspace of the system are established. To solve the workspace boundary, first, the error introduced by the layers is reduced using an intra-layer thinning method. Second, each layer is divided simultaneously based on rows and columns, and the initial boundary points are extracted by searching for the best value. Third, random three-dimensional points are added in the neighborhood, and pseudo-boundary points are removed using three-dimensional local spherical coordinates to achieve a high-precision solution for the workspace boundary. Finally, the workspace volume is used to analyze the influence of structural parameters on the workspace boundary. The results show that the lifting system has limited carrying capacity and a data reference for selecting the structural parameters by analyzing the factors that affect the workspace. Findings provide a basis for further studies on the structural configuration and optimization of the lifting system.

In mammals, DNA methylation (DNAme) erasure and reinstatement during embryo development and germline establishment are sensitive to the intrauterine environment. Maternal intake of a high-fat diet (HFD), associated with excessive gestational weight gain, has transgenerational effects on offspring health, which may be mediated by changes in DNAme in the germline. Here, we tested the impact of a maternal HFD on embryonic germline DNAme erasure using a rat strain that expresses green fluorescent protein specifically in germ cells. DNAme was analysed by methyl-seq capture in germ cells collected from male and female F1 gonads at gestational day 16. Our data show that although HFD induced global hypomethylation in both sexes, DNAme erasure in female germ cells was more advanced compared to male germ cells. The delay in DNAme erasure in males and the greater impact of HFD suggest that male germ cells are more vulnerable to alterations by exogenous factors.

The floristic composition of the understory plays a fundamental role in the long-term conservation of the diversity, structure, and function of mountain cloud forests in the Andes. We evaluated the relationship between the understory tree floristic composition of four types of predefined cloud forests and the canopy structure, the light transmitted to the understory, and the effect of topography. Through multivariate analysis, we found an environmental gradient correlated with light penetration into the understory and a gradient associated with the slope and, to a lesser extent, with the elevation. Then, we identified floristically well-differentiated ecological groups in response to environmental conditions; however, the groups only partially coincided with the understory composition of the predefined forests. We found environmental response species groups such as Roupala obovata and Beilschmiedia sulcata that are indicator species of sites with lower light penetration into the understory but with steeper slopes and higher elevation. In comparison, Clusia multiflora and Zanthoxylum quinduense to be the main indicator species from sites with greater light penetration into the understory and lower slope and elevation. These findings support appropriate species selection when implementing restoration strategies in forest landscape restoration plans.

Concentrated corporate power and failures to manage the distribution of risk mean that workers bear the heaviest burden in globalised apparel supply chains. Law and associated normative frameworks seek to strengthen collective worker voice and other worker rights to tip the scales of unequal bargaining power to benefit the workers. However, some of the traditional tools of labour law such as unionising and collective bargaining have weakened over the years and exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using a conceptual framework based on regulatory theory, feminist insights, and semi-autonomous social fields, this article examines the law-practice gap for regulating just wages within the apparel supply chain, responses, and how workers fight wage theft and carve out pathways to demand just wage standards. Drawing from the case of Sri Lanka, the article discusses how alternative forms of worker voice seek to fill in the implementation gaps. The findings of this study demonstrate worker initiatives to shape the regulation of just wages and how networked labour activism, especially by women workers, prompts to re-imagine structures of actor accountability on wage rights.

This paper assesses the role of political tensions between the USA and China and global market forces in explaining oil price fluctuations. To this end, we take part of the previous literature, which highlights (i) the importance of political events in explaining oil price dynamics, (ii) time-varying patterns in the oil market, and (iii) asymmetries in the impact of political tensions and uncertainty on oil prices. While this literature generally focuses on one of these features, we account for all of them simultaneously, allowing for a complete and meaningful investigation of political tensions on oil prices. To this end, we rely on quantile autoregressive distributed lag error-correction models, which are specifically designed to address both the long-run and short-run dynamics across a range of quantiles in a fully parametric setting. Our results show evidence of a quantile-dependent long-term relationship between oil prices and their determinants over the 1958–2022 period, which is also time varying across quantiles: the adjustment speed toward the long-term equilibrium is faster for the highest quantiles, fluctuating between 4% and 6% in the recent period. Overall, our findings highlight the increased role played by China in the oil market since the mid-2000s.