Wild olive seed weevil, Anchonocranus oleae Marshall (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), in cultivated olives in South Africa

Wild olive seed weevil, Anchonocranus oleae Marshall, larvae as well as oviposition and feeding damage were recorded in cultivated olives during a recent study on olive seed wasps in South Africa. Prematurely dropped fruit and fruit picked at harvest in two orchards near Stellenbosch and Agter- Paarl were examined regularly for olive seed wasp infestation over three seasons. In addition, olives were collected over a wider area of the olive growing regions of the Western Cape province for a survey to determine olive seed wasp distribution. DNA barcoding confirmed the identity of weevil larvae in kernels as A. oleae. The number of A. oleae larvae found in olive seeds and the number of olives with weevil oviposition or feeding damage were low. The presence of larvae and weevil damage in two orchards in the survey with no wild olive trees in close proximity suggest that the weevil could breed and persist in cultivated olive orchards. Currently A. oleae is not of economic concern, but if infested olives are discarded at harvest and left in orchards, the weevils could complete their development in the kernels and numbers could increase to damaging levels

Facet recovery and light emission from GaN/InGaN/GaN core-shell structures grown by metal organic vapour phase epitaxy on etched GaN nanorod arrays

The use of etched nanorods from a planar template as a growth scaffold for a highly regular GaN/InGaN/GaN core-shell structure is demonstrated. The recovery of m-plane non-polar facets from etched high-aspect-ratio GaN nanorods is studied with and without the introduction of a hydrogen silsesquioxane passivation layer at the bottom of the etched nanorod arrays. This layer successfully prevented c-plane growth between the nanorods, resulting in vertical nanorod sidewalls (∼89.8°) and a more regular height distribution than re-growth on unpassivated nanorods. The height variation on passivated nanorods is solely determined by the uniformity of nanorod diameter, which degrades with increased growth duration. Facet-dependent indium incorporation of GaN/InGaN/GaN core-shell layers regrown onto the etched nanorods is observed by high-resolution cathodoluminescence imaging. Sharp features corresponding to diffracted wave-guide modes in angle-resolved photoluminescence measurements are evidence of the uniformity of the full core-shell structure grown on ordered etched nanorods

Telomerase Activation and Rejuvenation of Telomere Length in Stimulated T Cells Derived from Serially Transplanted Hematopoietic Stem Cells

Telomeres shorten in hematopoietic cells, including hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), during aging and after transplantation, despite the presence of readily detectable levels of telomerase in these cells. In T cells, antigenic stimulation has been shown to result in a marked increase in the level of telomerase activity. We now show that stimulation of T cells derived from serially transplanted HSC results in a telomerase-dependent elongation of telomere length to a size similar to that observed in T cells isolated directly from young mice. Southern analysis of telomere length in resting and anti-CD3/CD28 stimulated donor-derived splenic T cells revealed an increase in telomere size by ∼7 kb for the population as a whole. Stimulation of donor-derived T cells from recipients of HSCs from telomerase-deficient mice did not result in regeneration of telomere length, demonstrating a dependence on telomerase. Furthermore, clonal anti-CD3/CD28 stimulation of donor-derived T cells followed by fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) analysis of telomeric signal intensity showed that telomeres had increased in size by ∼50% for all clonal expansions. Together, these results imply that one role for telomerase in T cells may be to renew or extend replicative potential via the rejuvenation of telomere length

Giant Conductance Oscillations In Mesoscopic Andreev Interferometers

We analyze the electrical conductance $G(\phi)$ of a two-dimensional, phase coherent structure in contact with two superconductors, which is known to be an oscillatory function of the phase difference $\phi$ between the superconductors. It is predicted that for a metallic sample, the amplitude of oscillation is enhanced by placing a normal barrier at the interface and that, by tuning the strength of the barrier, can be orders of magnitude greater than values observed in recent experiments. Giant oscillations can also be obtained without a barrier, provided a crucial sum rule is broken. This can be achieved by disorder induced normal scattering. In the absence of zero phase inter-channel scattering, the conductance possesses a zero phase minimum.Comment: 4 pages of Revtex, 6 figures available on reques

A narrow bimalleolar width is a risk factor for ankle inversion injury in male military recruits: A prospective study

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from the publisher via the DOI in this record.Background: Ankle inversion injuries are one of the most common and burdensome injuries in athletic populations. Research that prospectively identifies characteristics associated with this injury is lacking. This prospective study compared baseline anthropometric and biomechanical gait characteristics of military recruits who sustained an ankle inversion injury during training, with those who remained injury-free. Methods: Bilateral plantar pressure and three-dimensional lower limb kinematics were recorded in 1065 male, injury-free military recruits, during barefoot running. Injuries that occurred during the 32-week recruit training programme were subsequently recorded. Data were compared between recruits who sustained an ankle inversion injury during training (n=27) and a sample (n=120) of those who completed training injury-free. A logistic regression analysis was used to identify risk factors for this injury. Findings: A narrower bimalleolar width and an earlier peak pressure under the fifth metatarsal were predictors of ankle inversion injury. Those who sustained an ankle inversion injury also had a lower body mass, body mass index, and a smaller calf girth than those who completed training injury-free. Interpretation: Anthropometric and dynamic gait characteristics have been identified that may predispose recruits to an ankle inversion injury during Royal Marine recruit training, allowing identification of recruits at higher risk at the start of training

Valkai András (1540–1586) Báthory-genealógiája. Báthory István király mint az Árpádok leszármazottja

Purpose Heat adaptation (HA) is critical to performance and health in a hot environment. Transition from short-term heat acclimatisation (STHA) to long-term heat acclimatisation (LTHA) is characterised by decreased autonomic disturbance and increased protection from thermal injury. A standard heat tolerance test (HTT) is recommended for validating exercise performance status, but any role in distinguishing STHA from LTHA is unreported. The aims of this study were to (1) define performance status by serial HTT during structured natural HA, (2) evaluate surrogate markers of autonomic activation, including heart rate variability (HRV), in relation to HA status. Methods Participants (n = 13) were assessed by HTT (60-min block-stepping, 50% VO2peak) during STHA (Day 2, 6 and 9) and LTHA (Day 23). Core temperature (Tc) and heart rate (HR) were measured every 5 min. Sampling for HRV indices (RMSSD, LF:HF) and sympathoadrenal blood measures (cortisol, nephrines) was undertaken before and after (POST) each HTT. Results Significant (P < 0.05) interactions existed for Tc, logLF:HF, cortisol and nephrines (two-way ANOVA; HTT by Day). Relative to LTHA, POST results differed significantly for Tc (Day 2, 6 and 9), HR (Day 2), logRMSSD (Day 2 and Day 6), logLF:HF (Day 2 and Day 6), cortisol (Day 2) and nephrines (Day 2 and Day 9). POST differences in HRV (Day 6 vs. 23) were + 9.9% (logRMSSD) and − 18.6% (logLF:HF). Conclusions Early reductions in HR and cortisol characterised STHA, whereas LTHA showed diminished excitability by Tc, HRV and nephrine measures. Measurement of HRV may have potential to aid real-time assessment of readiness for activity in the heat

Sign of the crossed conductances at a FSF double interface

Crossed conductance in hybrid Ferromagnet / Superconductor / Ferromagnet (FSF) structures results from the competition between normal transmission and Andreev reflection channels. Crossed Andreev reflection (CAR) and elastic cotunneling (EC) between the ferromagnets are dressed by local Andreev reflections, which play an important role for transparent enough interfaces and intermediate spin polarizations. This modifies the simple result previously obtained at lowest order, and can explain the sign of the crossed resistances in a recent experiment [D. Beckmann {\sl et al.}, cond-mat/0404360]. This holds both in the multiterminal hybrid structure model (where phase averaging over the Fermi oscillations is introduced ``by hand'' within the approximation of a single non local process) and for infinite planar interfaces (where phase averaging naturally results in the microscopic solution with multiple non local processes).Comment: 9 pages, 7 figure

The Interaction between the ISM and Star Formation in the Dwarf Starburst Galaxy NGC 4214

We present the first interferometric study of the molecular gas in the metal-poor dwarf starburst galaxy NGC 4214. Our map of the 12CO(1-0) emission, obtained at the OVRO millimeter array, reveals an unexpected structural wealth. We detected three regions of molecular emission in the north-west (NW), south-east (SE) and centre of NGC 4214 which are in very different and distinct evolutionary stages (total molecular mass: 5.1 x 10^6 M_sun). These differences are apparent most dramatically when the CO morphologies are compared to optical ground based and HST imaging: massive star formation has not started yet in the NW region; the well-known starburst in the centre is the most evolved and star formation in the SE complex started more recently. We derive a star formation efficiency of 8% for the SE complex. Using high--resolution VLA observations of neutral hydrogen HI and our CO data we generated a total gas column density map for NGC 4214 (HI + H_2). No clear correlation is seen between the peaks of HI, CO and the sites of ongoing star formation. This emphasizes the irregular nature of dwarf galaxies. The HI and CO velocities agree well, so do the H-alpha velocities. In total, we cataloged 14 molecular clumps in NGC 4214. Our results from a virial mass analysis are compatible with a Galactic CO-to-H_2 conversion factor for NGC 4214 (lower than what is usually found in metal-poor dwarf galaxies).Comment: accepted for publication in the AJ (February 2001), full ps file at: ftp://ftp.astro.caltech.edu/users/fw/ngc4214/walter_prep.p