Sphenoptera jugoslavica negatively influences diffuse knapweed populations, but the influence is inconsistent in space and time. In spring 1998, a 3-yr experiment was established to determine whether low rates of picloram or clopyralid would increase the percentage of plants infested with S. jugoslavica, thereby potentially enhancing its capacity to control diffuse knapweed. The experiment was conducted at three sites in Colorado, where S. jugoslavica was released in 1994. Picloram and clopyralid were applied separately to plots at 35, 70, or 140 g ha−1 during June or September, and a non–herbicide-treated control was added. Density and cover measurements were collected in permanent quadrats three times during each growing season to determine whether herbicides influenced diffuse knapweed growth and population dynamics. Diffuse knapweed plants were harvested outside the permanent quadrats to determine the percentage of plants bearing S. jugoslavica larvae. During the spring after herbicide application, all picloram rates and the 35-g ha−1 rate of clopyralid applied the previous June increased the percentage of plants infested by S. jugoslavica approximately 25% compared with the nonsprayed control. None of the herbicide treatments increased the percentage of plants infested by S. jugoslavica 2 yr after application, indicating that the herbicides' positive effects on the percentage of plants infested by S. jugoslavica lasted only 1 yr. Results indicate that combining S. jugoslavica with low rates of picloram or clopyralid applied in June can improve diffuse knapweed control compared with using S. jugoslavica alone.

Digitate shell morphologies have evolved repeatedly in planktonic foraminifera throughout the Cretaceous and Cenozoic. Digitate species are usually rare in fossil and modern assemblages but show increased abundance and diversity at times during the Cretaceous and middle Eocene. In this paper we discuss the morphology and stratigraphic distribution of digitate planktonic foraminifera and establish the isotopic depth ecology of fossil ones to draw parallels with modern counterparts. δ18O and δ13C values of six extinct and two modern digitate species, from six time slices (Cenomanian, Turonian, Eocene, Miocene, Pleistocene and Holocene) have similar isotopic depth ecologies, consistently registering the most negative δ13C and usually the most positive δ18O compared to coexisting species. These results indicate a similar deep, subthermocline (é150 m) habitat, characterized by lower temperatures, reduced oxygen, and enrichment of dissolved inorganic carbon. This is consistent with water-column plankton studies that provide insight into the depth preferences of the three modern digitate species; in over 70% of observations digitates occurred in nets below 150 m, and down to 2000 m. The correlation between digitate species and subsurface habitats across multiple epochs suggests that elongated chambers were advantageous for survival in a deep mesopelagic habitat, where food is usually scarce. Increased abundance and diversity of digitates in association with some early and mid-Cretaceous oceanic anoxic events, in middle Eocene regions of coastal and equatorial upwelling, and occasionally in some modern upwelling regions, suggests an additional link with episodes of enhanced ocean productivity associated with expansion of the oxygen minimum zone (OMZ). We suggest that the primary function of digitate chambers was as a feeding specialization that increased effective shell size and food gathering efficiency, for survival in a usually food-poor environment, close to the OMZ. Episodes of increased digitate abundance and diversity indicate expansion of the deep-water ecologic opportunity under conditions that were unfavorable to other planktonic species. Our results provide evidence of iterative evolution reflecting common functional constraints on planktonic foraminifera shell morphology within similar subsurface habitats. They also highlight the potential of digitate species to act as indicators of deep watermasses, especially where there was expansion of the OMZ.

The potential of various quantitative lateral flow (LF) based assays utilizing up-converting phosphor (UCP) reporters for the diagnosis of schistosomiasis is reviewed including recent developments. Active infections are demonstrated by screening for the presence of regurgitated worm antigens (genus specific polysaccharides), whereas anti-Schistosoma antibodies may indicate ongoing as well as past infections. The circulating anodic antigen (CAA) in serum or urine (and potentially also saliva) is identified as the marker that may allow detection of single-worm infections. Quantitation of antigen levels is a reliable method to study effects of drug administration, worm burden and anti-fecundity mechanisms. Moreover, the ratio of CAA and circulating cathodic antigen (CCA) is postulated to facilitate identification of either Schistosoma mansoni or Schistosoma haematobium infections. The UCP-LF assays allow simultaneous detection of multiple targets on a single strip, a valuable feature for antibody detection assays. Although antibody detection in endemic regions is not a useful tool to diagnose active infections, it gains potential when the ratio of different classes of antibody specific for the parasite/disease can be determined. The UCP-LF antibody assay format allows this type of multiplexing, including testing a linear array of up to 20 different targets. Multiple test spots would allow detection of specific antibodies, e.g. against different Schistosoma species or other pathogens as soil-transmitted helminths. Concluding, the different UCP-LF based assays for diagnosis of schistosomiasis provide a collection of tests with relatively low complexity and high sensitivity, covering the full range of diagnostics needed in control programmes for mapping, screening and monitoring.