Control of Aphids on Spring Oats and Winter Wheat With Slow Release Granular Systemic Insecticides

Aphid infestations (Homoptera: Aphididae) on spring oat (Avena sativa) cv. \u27Ogle\u27, and during the fall on winter wheat (Triticum aestivum) cv. \u27Clark\u27, composed mainly of Rhopalosiphum padi and Macrosiphum avenae, were reduced with applications at the 2-3 leaf stage of slow release granular formulations of acephate, carbofuran, and disulfoton, compared with carbofuran 15G and untreated controls, in field trials during 1990-1991 in northwestern Indiana. These field results corroborated those obtained by previous studies with the same formulations and dosages in the laboratory. In oat, all insecticide treatments reduced aphid populations and percent- age aphid~infested plants, with a residual action of ca. 25 d. Barley yellow dwarf virus-like visual symptoms were reduced with disulfoton. In winter wheat, the residual action of all insecticide treatments in the fall lasted up to 19 d. The carbofuran treatment on winter wheat seedlings caused earthworms to move out of the soil, where they died; an effect requirining further study. Percentage of aphid-infested plants revealed relatively Wlder differences among tratments than total number of aphids in both test crops. Predation by Coleomegilla maculata (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) contributed to the overall reduction of spring populations of cereal aphids in wheat and oat. Aphid mummies parasitized by micro-hymenopterans were common in oat plants

A systematic review of randomised controlled trials assessing effectiveness of prosthetic and orthotic interventions.

BACKGROUND: Assistive products are items which allow older people and people with disabilities to be able to live a healthy, productive and dignified life. It has been estimated that approximately 1.5% of the world's population need a prosthesis or orthosis. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to systematically identify and review the evidence from randomized controlled trials assessing effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of prosthetic and orthotic interventions. METHODS: Literature searches, completed in September 2015, were carried out in fourteen databases between years 1995 and 2015. The search results were independently screened by two reviewers. For the purpose of this manuscript, only randomized controlled trials which examined interventions using orthotic or prosthetic devices were selected for data extraction and synthesis. RESULTS: A total of 342 randomised controlled trials were identified (319 English language and 23 non-English language). Only 4 of these randomised controlled trials examined prosthetic interventions and the rest examined orthotic interventions. These orthotic interventions were categorised based on the medical conditions/injuries of the participants. From these studies, this review focused on the medical condition/injuries with the highest number of randomised controlled trials (osteoarthritis, fracture, stroke, carpal tunnel syndrome, plantar fasciitis, anterior cruciate ligament, diabetic foot, rheumatoid and juvenile idiopathic arthritis, ankle sprain, cerebral palsy, lateral epicondylitis and low back pain). The included articles were assessed for risk of bias using the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool. Details of the clinical population examined, the type of orthotic/prosthetic intervention, the comparator/s and the outcome measures were extracted. Effect sizes and odds ratios were calculated for all outcome measures, where possible. CONCLUSIONS: At present, for prosthetic and orthotic interventions, the scientific literature does not provide sufficient high quality research to allow strong conclusions on their effectiveness and cost-effectiveness

A Neo-Sex Chromosome That Drives Postzygotic Sex Determination in the Hessian Fly (Mayetiola destructor)

Two nonoverlapping autosomal inversions defined unusual neo-sex chromosomes in the Hessian fly (Mayetiola destructor). Like other neo-sex chromosomes, these were normally heterozygous, present only in one sex, and suppressed recombination around a sex-determining master switch. Their unusual properties originated from the anomalous Hessian fly sex determination system in which postzygotic chromosome elimination is used to establish the sex-determining karyotypes. This system permitted the evolution of a master switch (Chromosome maintenance, Cm) that acts maternally. All of the offspring of females that carry Cm-associated neo-sex chromosomes attain a female-determining somatic karyotype and develop as females. Thus, the chromosomes act as maternal effect neo-W's, or W-prime (W′) chromosomes, where ZW′ females mate with ZZ males to engender female-producing (ZW′) and male-producing (ZZ) females in equal numbers. Genetic mapping and physical mapping identified the inversions. Their distribution was determined in nine populations. Experimental matings established the association of the inversions with Cm and measured their recombination suppression. The inversions are the functional equivalent of the sciarid X-prime chromosomes. We speculate that W′ chromosomes exist in a variety of species that produce unisexual broods