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Objectives Stereotactic radiosurgery combined with pharmacological treatment is currently one of the most acceptable alternatives for the treatment of trigeminal neuralgia (TN). Our primary endpoint was to report the short-term response (one month) outcomes of 10 patients with refractory TN after CyberKnife (CK) radiosurgery; secondary endpoints were to assess early side effects and complications. Methods Ten female patients with TN refractory to pharmacological and/or non-pharmacological treatment received a single dose of 90 Gy with CyberKnife radiosurgery. Clinical and demographic characteristics were obtained from medical records. The visual analog scale (VAS) was used to assess facial pain before as well as seven, 15, and 30 days after treatment. Friedman test was performed to evaluate pain relief in treated patients. Results All patients responded well to the CK and experienced initial adequate pain relief during the first 30 days (p<0.001). No significant differences (p=0.661) were found between six patients who received CK radiosurgery as the first treatment option and those who underwent other non-pharmacological treatments. One patient was re-irradiated with 75 Gy. Transient facial paresthesia was observed in 3/10 patients without any other complications. Conclusion High-tech CK treatment is safe, non-invasive, fast, with minimal side effects, and effective in achieving short-term pain relief in patients with refractory TN, even in those with multiple previous interventions. Given these results, we recommend evaluating CK radiosurgery as the first-line treatment of choice for trigeminal neuralgia refractory to pharmacological treatment.

Climate change is one of the most important factors affecting the phenology, distribution, composition and diversity of organisms. In agricultural systems many pests and natural enemies are arthropods. As poikilotherm organisms, their body temperature is highly dependent on environmental conditions. Because higher trophic levels typically have lower tolerance to high temperatures than lower trophic levels, trends towards increasing local or regional temperatures may affect the strength of predator/prey interactions and disrupt pest control. Furthermore, increasing temperatures may create climate corridors that could facilitate the invasion and establishment of invasive species originating from warmer areas. In this study we examined the effect of environmental conditions on the dynamics of an agro-ecosystem community located in southern Spain, using field data on predator/prey dynamics and climate gathered during four consecutive years. The study system was composed of an ever-green tree species (avocado), an exotic tetranychid mite, and two native species of phytoseiid mites found in association with this new pest. We also present a climatological analysis of the temperature trend in the area of study during the last 28 years, as evidence of temperature warming occurring in the area. We found that the range of temperatures with positive per capita growth rates was much wider in prey than in predators, and that relative humidity contributed to explain the growth rate variation in predators, but not in prey. Predator and prey differences in thermal performance curves could explain why natural enemies did not respond numerically to the pest when environmental conditions were harsh.

Alumni giving is a primary revenue stream for higher education institutions (A Blackbaud Company, 2013; Council for Aid to Education, 2016; Marr, Mullin, & Siegfried, 2005). Conley and Tempel (2006) state that gifts from alumni have emerged as the primary vehicle to give institutions an advantage over other colleges. The National Center for Education Statistics (2019) reports that from 1976 to 2012, Latino enrollment at public institutions grew faster than non-Latino Whites, African Americans, and Asian Americans. Considering this growth, and that higher education institutions rely so heavily on philanthropy to remain competitive, colleges and universities must consider the impact that Latino philanthropy will have on their institutions. In order to better understand the impact Latinos can have on the future funding of higher education institutions, it is imperative to learn more about the roots and distinguishing characteristics of Latino philanthropy. This literature review provides a brief history of and review of studies exploring Latino philanthropy.

Intraguild predation is the combination of exploitative competition and predation among potential competitors that use similar resources. It has the potential to shape population dynamics and community structure. Although there is much empirical evidence for the occurrence of intraguild predation in natural ecosystems, the study of its effects is mainly limited to short-term microcosm experiments. There is, therefore, certain skepticism about its actual significance in nature. A relevant concern is that there is no consensus regarding criteria to evaluate the possible occurrence of intraguild predation in short-term experiments, and methodological differences may therefore underlie apparent inconsistencies among studies. Our purpose here was to evaluate existing criteria to offer guidance for the design of experiments to determine whether two species may potentially engage in intraguild predation. The criteria are based on the condition that intraguild predators need to experience immediate energetic gains when feeding on the intraguild prey. Thus, a relevant experimental design must quantify predation but also fitness benefits of feeding on the other species, i.e. increases in reproduction, somatic growth, or survival.

The relative body size at which predators are willing to attack prey, a key trait for predator-prey interactions, is usually considered invariant. However, this ratio can vary widely among individuals or populations. Identifying the range and origin of such variation is key to understanding the strength and constraints on selection in both predators and prey. Still, these sources of variation remain largely unknown. We filled this gap by measuring the genetic, maternal and environmental variation of the maximum prey-to-predator size ratio (PPSRmax) in juveniles of the wolf spider Lycosa fasciiventris using a paternal half-sib split-brood design, in which each male was paired with two females and the offspring reared in two food environments: poor and rich. Each juvenile spider was then sequentially offered crickets of decreasing size and the maximum prey size killed was determined. We also measured body size and body condition of spiders upon emergence and just before the trial. We found low, but significant heritability (h2 = 0.069) and dominance and common environmental variance (d2 + 4c2 = 0.056). PPSRmax was also partially explained by body condition (during trial) but there was no effect of the rearing food environment. Finally, a maternal correlation between body size early in life and PPSRmax indicated that offspring born larger were less predisposed to feed on larger prey later in life. Therefore, PPSRmax, a central trait in ecosystems, can vary widely and this variation is due to different sources, with important consequences for changes in this trait in the short and long terms.

Temperature and relative humidity are important factors in shaping the structure and dynamics of communities composed of ectothermic species, as they directly affect fitness-related parameters and biotic interactions. In a climate change context, increased warming and dryness will likely affect arthropod communities of agro-ecosystems managed by biological pest control. In this work, we compare, at the individual level, the functional relation between temperature and relative humidity and different life-history parameters in two sister predatory mite species that inhabit Spanish avocado crops, Euseius stipulatus and E. scutalis (Athias-Henriot) (Acari: Phytoseiidae). We found that negative effects of high temperature and low relative humidity were stronger in E. stipulatus than in E. scutalis . That E. scutalis tolerates very well hot and dry environments makes the species a good candidate to be considered in the future as a biocontrol agent against pests in subtropical and Mediterranean orchards.

Zhenglin Yang, Xinghuai Sun and colleagues report the results of a genome-wide association study of primary open-angle glaucoma in East Asians. They show that common variants near ABCA1 and in PPM2 are associated with increased risk of this disease. We performed a genome-wide association study for primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) in 1,007 cases with high-pressure glaucoma (HPG) and 1,009 controls from southern China. We observed genome-wide significant association at multiple SNPs near ABCA1 at 9q31.1 (rs2487032; P = 1.66 × 10 −8 ) and suggestive evidence of association in PMM2 at 16p13.2 (rs3785176; P = 3.18 × 10 −6 ). We replicated these findings in a set of 525 HPG cases and 912 controls from Singapore and a further set of 1,374 POAG cases and 4,053 controls from China. We observed genome-wide significant association with more than one SNP at the two loci ( P = 2.79 × 10 −19 for rs2487032 representing ABCA1 and P = 5.77 × 10 −10 for rs3785176 representing PMM2 ). Both ABCA1 and PMM2 are expressed in the trabecular meshwork, optic nerve and other ocular tissues. In addition, ABCA1 is highly expressed in the ganglion cell layer of the retina, a finding consistent with it having a role in the development of glaucoma.

Organisms may respond in different ways to the risk posed by conspecifics, but the cause of such variation remains elusive. Here, we use a half-sib/full-sib design to evaluate the contribution of (indirect) genetic or environmental effects to the behavioral response of the cannibalistic wolf spider Lycosa fasciiventris (Dufour, 1835) towards conspecific cues. Spiders showed variation in relative occupancy time, activity, and velocity on patches with or without conspecific cues, but direct genetic variance was only found for occupancy time. These three traits were correlated and could be lumped in a principal component: spiders spending more time in patches with conspecific cues moved less and at a lower rate in those areas. Genetic and/or environmental components of carapace width and weight loss in the social partner were significantly correlated with the principal component of focal individuals. Variation in these traits may reflect the quality and/or quantity of cues produced by social partners, hence focal individuals were likely behaving along a continuum of strategies in response to the risk posed by social partners. Therefore, environmental and genetic trait variation in the social partners may be key to maintain trait diversity in focal individuals, even in the absence of direct genetic variation.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.