Crack healing utilising bacterial spores in concrete

This self repair system is based upon harmless ground borne bacteria as the self healing agent. The bacteria is activated after the concrete is cracked and the bacterial spores are exposed to moisture and air. The bacterial reproduction process creates a calcite by-product which fills the cracks in the concrete. By sealing the cracks in concrete, an effective barrier to air or liquid borne deleterious materials is formed and as a consequence of his, enhanced durability is achieved in the structure, resulting in lower life cycle costs. The concrete/mortar prisms were cracked and tested for water flow. They were then left for 56 days to heal and were subject to a test for water tightness. Healing was observed and a reduced water flow (74% and 32% healed) measured with the healed samples when compared to the specimens that were cracked and subjected to a water flow test without any healing agent. The number of samples were limited and a larger scale test is recommended for further work, however this is proof of concept of the process of healing and testing

Annual Migration of Cabbage Moth, <i>Mamestra brassicae</i> L. (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), over the Sea in Northern China

<div><p>The cabbage moth, <i>Mamestra brassicae</i> L. (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), is a serious pest of vegetable crops throughout the world. In order to determine whether or not <i>M</i>. <i>brassicae</i> is a migrant, and if yes, what is the pattern of <i>M</i>. <i>brassicae</i> seasonal migration, a long-term study on <i>M</i>. <i>brassicae</i> from April to October in 2003–2014 was carried out by means of a searchlight trap on a small island located in the center of the Bohai Strait. The results show that a large number of <i>M</i>. <i>brassicae</i> were trapped every year on the island, which indicates that <i>M</i>. <i>brassicae</i> is a migrant and migrated at least 40–60 km across the Bohai Strait. The mean migration period of <i>M</i>. <i>brassicae</i> over the sea within one year is 151 ± 8 d in 2003–2014, with the shortest time span 78 d in 2003 and the longest 189 d in 2014, respectively. The number of <i>M</i>. <i>brassicae</i> captured, however, varies considerably between months or years. The majority of captures were female, with different levels of ovarian development and mating status. Most of the females trapped in May-July during 2010–2014 had a high mating rate and advanced level of ovarian development, suggesting that the migration of this species does not conform to the hypothesis of ‘oogenesis-flight syndrome’. The findings of the present study are beneficial to the development of forecasting systems and management strategies of <i>M</i>. <i>brassicae</i>.</p></div

Additional file 1: Table S1. of Structure and transcription of the Helicoverpa armigera densovirus (HaDV2) genome and its expression strategy in LD652 cells

Primers used in this study. Figure S1. The virus particles and its genome organization. (a) Electron micrograph of HaDNV-1 viruses purified from adult Helicoverpa armigera negatively stained with uranyl acetate (×200000). Bar, 100 nm. (b) Agarose gel electrophoresis (1%) of the extracted HaDNV-1 DNA. Lane 1 = DNA from the HaDNV-1, Lane 2 = Marker. (c) The putative ORFs of HaDNV-1. The plus strand contains three large ORFs: ORF1, ORF2 and ORF3, which encode NS2, NS1 and VP proteins, respectively. (d) Hairpin structure in the 3′ terminus of HaDNV-1 predicted by the QuickFOLD program. The numbers in bracket stand for the start and stop nucleotides of the hairpin on the HaDNV-1 genome. Figure S2. Alignment of amino acid sequences of NS1 (a) and NS2 (b) of HaDNV-1 with the ones of members from Iteravirusdensovirus. HaDNV = Helicoverpa armigera densovirus 1 (accession number: HQ613271), BmDNV = Bombyx mori densovirus 1 (AY033435), CeDNV = Casphalia extranea densovirus (AF375296), DpDNV = Dendrolimus punctatus densovirus (NC_006555). Figure S3. The maximum-likelihood tree for members of the densoviruses, including (a) the genomic sequence with GTR + G + I model, (b) the amino acid sequence of the VP ORF with LG + G model, (c) the amino acid sequence of the NS1 ORF with LG + G + I model, and (d) the amino acid sequence of the NS2 ORF with JTT + G model. “▲” represents the sequence of HaDV2. Bootstrap values (1000 pseudoreplicates) > 50% are indicated on the nodes. Figure S4. Northern blot analysis of the HaDV2 transcripts showed two bands of 2.2 kb with the NS and the VP probe, respectively. Figure S5. Dose-responses of anti-NS1, anti-NS2 and anti-VP antibodies using ELISA. (DOC 2203 kb

Criteria of ovarian development level of <i>M</i>. <i>brassicae</i> adults (references [15,16]).

<p>Criteria of ovarian development level of <i>M</i>. <i>brassicae</i> adults (references [<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0132904#pone.0132904.ref015" target="_blank">15</a>,<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0132904#pone.0132904.ref016" target="_blank">16</a>]).</p

Annual catches of <i>A</i>. <i>segetum</i> in the searchlight trap on BH from 2003 to 2013.

<p>Annual catches of <i>A</i>. <i>segetum</i> in the searchlight trap on BH from 2003 to 2013.</p

Standard attraction of different host plants during flowering (black diamonds) and non-flowering (grey dots) periods for <i>Apolygus lucorum</i> adults from 2007–2012.

<p>Means (±SE) between flowering and non-flowering periods are significantly different for each plant species per year (<i>P</i><0.05). The blank indicates no assay. Plant species: 1 <i>Agastache rugosus</i> (Fisch. et Meyer) O. kuntze., 2 <i>Amaranthus hypochondriacus</i> L., 3 <i>Artemisia annua</i> L., 4 <i>Artemisia argyi</i> Lévl. et Vant., 5 <i>Artemisia lavandulaefolia</i> DC., 6 <i>Artemisia scoparia</i> Waldst. et Kit., 7 <i>Cannabis sativa</i> L., 8 <i>Chamaemelum nobile</i> (L.) All., 9 <i>Chrysanthemum coronarium</i> L., 10 <i>Coriandrum sativum</i> L., 11 <i>Dianthus superbus</i> L., 12 <i>Fagopyrum esculentum</i> Moench, 13 <i>Gossypium hirsutum</i> L., 14 <i>Helianthus annuus</i> L., 15 <i>Humulus scandens</i> (Lour.) Merr., 16 <i>Impatiens balsamina</i> L., 17 <i>Linum usitatissimum</i> L., 18 <i>Mentha haplocalyx</i> Briq., 19 <i>Ocimum basilicum</i> L., 20 <i>Oenothera odorata</i> Jacq., 21 <i>Polygonum orientale</i> L., 22 <i>Ricinus communis</i> L., 23 <i>Schizonepeta tenuifolia</i> (Benth.) Briq., 24 <i>Sorghum vulgare</i> Pers., 25 <i>Telosma cordata</i> (Burm. f.) Merr., 26 <i>Vigna radiata</i> (L.) Wilczek.</p

Nightly catches (A) and mean numbers in the twelve years (B) of <i>M</i>. <i>brassicae</i> in the searchlight trap on BH from April to October during 2003–2014.

<p>The dashed vertical lines represent the separation between seasons.</p

Dates of first and final capture of <i>M</i>. <i>brassicae</i> and duration of capture period in the twelve years in the searchlight trapping on BH.

<p>^a The numbers of <i>M</i>. <i>brassicae</i> moths captured are given in parentheses next to the date of capture.</p><p>Dates of first and final capture of <i>M</i>. <i>brassicae</i> and duration of capture period in the twelve years in the searchlight trapping on BH.</p

Proportion of females (A-B) and mating rate (C-D) of <i>M</i>. <i>brassicae</i> captured in the searchlight trap on BH from May to September during 2010–2014.

<p>The histograms in A and C indicate average daily proportion in each month, and the vertical bars represent standard errors between days in that month. The scatter diagrams in B and D indicate average proportion from 2010 to 2014 in each month, and the vertical bar represent standard errors between years in that month. Bars sharing the same letter mean there were no significant differences during months at the 5% level by Tukey’s HSD tests. Linear model (dotted lines): (B) <i>y</i> = -0.0076<i>x</i>+0.6711; <i>R</i>² = 0.0681; (D) <i>y</i> = -0.1586<i>x</i>+0.9829; <i>R</i>² = 0.9015. Few moths were trapped in April and October, so these months are not presented.</p

Dates of first and final capture of <i>A</i>. <i>segetum</i> and duration of capture period in the eleven years on Beihuang Island in northern China.

<p>^ª The numbers of <i>A</i>. <i>segetum</i> moths captured are given in parentheses next to the date of capture.</p><p>Dates of first and final capture of <i>A</i>. <i>segetum</i> and duration of capture period in the eleven years on Beihuang Island in northern China.</p