Spatial distribution of stored grain insects in a rice storage and processing facility in Brazil

This study describes the spatial distribution of stored product insects captured biweekly using foodbaited cage traps in a large rice storage and processing facility, in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Monitoring started in August 2009 and will be carried out for 1 year, the first 5 months of sampling being presented in this study. From end of August 2009 until the end of December 2009, a total of 9893 insects were captured in the 99 cage traps. The most abundant species were: Carpophilus spp. (76%), Typhaea stercorea (8.6%), Ahasverus advena (5.5%), Tribolium castaneum (2.3%), Sitophilus oryzae (2%), Sitophilus zeamais (1.5%), Ephestia spp. (1.2 %), Cryptolestes ferrugineus (1%), Rhyzopertha dominica (0.64%), Oryzaephilus surinamensis (0.6%), Anthicus floralis (0.4%), Lasioderma serricorne (0.25%). The first two species, which make up for 84.6% of the insects collected, are not considered pests in stored grain, rather are attracted by moldy material present in residues or even in the bait material. The other insects, including primary and secondary species, comprised about 15% of the total trapped. The spatial distribution of the most important species infesting rice grain and of the total insect number was analyzed using Surfer 6.04 (Golden software, Golden, CO, USA) and contour maps were constructed to target areas for sanitation. Except for trap 66, located by the rice hulk storage box, the spatial distribution we observed using the contour maps showed that the greatest number of insects was mostly captured in cages placed in the receiving area, around the dryers, as well as outside of the structure where grain residues frequently accumulate. As indicated on the maps for total number of insects, a few isolated infested spots were detected. The parboiled rice area had the least amount of insects, except for trap 61, placed outside the structure. The population of primary and the most important secondary insect species, as well as the overall number of insects, decreased after sanitation and physical control measures were applied. Our observations confirm that insect monitoring is an essential tool for targeting and evaluating the control measures adopted in the quality program of rice storage and processing facilities. Keywords: Insect monitoring; Spatial distribution; Stored grain pests; Stored ric

Tricorynus rudepunctatus (PIC) (Coleoptera: Anobiidae): Diagnosis and damage

The objective of this research was to identify and study a species of Anobiidae that causes great damage and is a cause of concern as an urban pest in Brazil. This species has been found infesting wood, furniture, doors, books, insect collections, tea, dried fruits, handcrafts, and many other commodities. Inspections were done in houses and storehouses in the city of Curitiba, PR, Brazil in order to collect objects and materials that present signs of anobiid attack. The only species identified was Tricorynus rudepunctatus (Coleoptera: Anobiidae). There is only one reference to this species in the central region of Brazil. Another anobiid, the book pest Tricorynus herbarius has been recorded attacking books and historical documents and Tricorynus sp. attacking forest trees, but it was not recorded in our survey. Usually, the damage caused by T. rudepunctatus is mistaken with damage by termites; and when the insect is collected it is frequently misidentified as T. herbarius or as the cigarette beetle, Lasioderma serricorne or even as Stegobium paniceum, the drugstore beetle. Some morphological characters useful to identify T. rudepunctatus are: oval body about 2.7 mm long; dark brown with smooth hairs all over the body; head concealed under the pronotum; 10-segmented antenna with the three apical segments forming a 3-segmented loose club; elytra with two grooves at the posterior edge; fore femur with a transversal line on its anterior face; pro and mesotibia with two distinct striae; metasternum longitudinally carinate in the middle. Adults and larvae bore inside the materials, forming galleries and producing a coarse powder. Keywords: Anobiids, Insect identification, Morphological characters, Urban pest

Intra and interspecific variation assessment in Psocoptera using near spectoscopy

Several species of Psocoptera are associated with and damage grains and other stored products, books, historical documents, and insect collections. Their small size and lack of expressive morphological variation make it a difficult group for species identification. The spectra of adult males and females of 10 psocid species from the genus Liposcelis were obtained by near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) and analyzed. Each specimen was placed on a diffuse reflectance accessory of a NIR spectrometer to obtain the respective spectrum, using ten replicates for each species or sex. All spectra were analyzed by combined methods of multivariate analysis using the technique of crossed validation for the multivariate models. The analysis discriminated the species without significant overlapping among the species spectral patterns. The NIRS also revealed variation in the metabolomic profile of males and females; however, it is still possible to distinguish the species using only males or females or even from mixed sex samples. NIRS technique proved to be a powerful tool to discriminate species both at intra and interspecific levels based on dispersion spectral patterns of individual specimens. Keywords: Biological systems, Liposcelididae, stored product pests, Vibrational spectroscopy

Characterization of Large Volume 3.5 x 8 inches LaBr3:Ce Detectors

The properties of large volume cylindrical 3.5 x 8 inches (89 mm x 203 mm) LaBr3:Ce scintillation detectors coupled to the Hamamatsu R10233-100SEL photo-multiplier tube were investigated. These crystals are among the largest ones ever produced and still need to be fully characterized to determine how these detectors can be utilized and in which applications. We tested the detectors using monochromatic gamma-ray sources and in-beam reactions producing gamma rays up to 22.6 MeV; we acquired PMT signal pulses and calculated detector energy resolution and response linearity as a function of gamma-ray energy. Two different voltage dividers were coupled to the Hamamatsu R10233-100SEL PMT: the Hamamatsu E1198-26, based on straightforward resistive network design, and the LABRVD, specifically designed for our large volume LaBr3:Ce scintillation detectors, which also includes active semiconductor devices. Because of the extremely high light yield of LaBr3:Ce crystals we observed that, depending on the choice of PMT, voltage divider and applied voltage, some significant deviation from the ideally proportional response of the detector and some pulse shape deformation appear. In addition, crystal non-homogeneities and PMT gain drifts affect the (measured) energy resolution especially in case of high-energy gamma rays. We also measured the time resolution of detectors with different sizes (from 1x1 inches up to 3.5x8 inches), correlating the results with both the intrinsic properties of PMTs and GEANT simulations of the scintillation light collection process. The detector absolute full energy efficiency was measured and simulated up to gamma-rays of 30 Me

The CUORE cryostat: an infrastructure for rare event searches at millikelvin temperatures

The CUORE experiment is the world's largest bolometric experiment. The detector consists of an array of 988 TeO2 crystals, for a total mass of 742 kg. CUORE is presently taking data at the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso, Italy, searching for the neutrinoless double beta decay of 130Te. A large custom cryogen-free cryostat allows reaching and maintaining a base temperature of about 10 mK, required for the optimal operation of the detector. This apparatus has been designed in order to achieve a low noise environment, with minimal contribution to the radioactive background for the experiment. In this paper, we present an overview of the CUORE cryostat, together with a description of all its sub-systems, focusing on the solutions identified to satisfy the stringent requirements. We briefly illustrate the various phases of the cryostat commissioning and highlight the relevant steps and milestones achieved each time. Finally, we describe the successful cooldown of CUORE

Characterization of Large Volume 3.5″ x 8″ LaBr3:Ce Detectors for the HECTOR+ array

A selection of the properties of large volume, cylindrical 3.5" x 8" LaBr 3 :Ce scintillation detectors coupled to a 3.5" PMT (model R10233-1000SEL from HAMAMATSU) and a special designed Voltage Divider (LABRVD) will be discussed. A number of 10 of such detectors constitute the HECTOR + array which, in fall 2012, measured at GSI coupled to the AGATA DEMOSTRATOR at the PRESPEC experimental setup. These crystals are among the largest ever produced and needed to be characterized. We have performed several tests and here we discuss, in particular, the energy resolution measured using monochromatic γ −ray sources and in-beam reactions producing γ −rays up to 22.6 MeV. As already measured in two previous works a saturation in the energy resolution was observed in case of high energy gamma rays. Crystal non-homogeneities and PMT gain drifts can affect the resolution of measurements especially in case of high energy γ −rays

Stable Isotope Analysis of the Inca Mummy from Nevado de Chuscha (Salta, Argentina)

This paper presents the carbon (13C/12C), nitrogen (15N/14N), oxygen (18O/16O), hydrogen (2H/1H) and sulfur (34S/32S) stable isotope values measured in the hair of a female individual from north-western Argentina. The analysis of segments of this tissue allows for the recording of the diet and migratory changes with a short time resolution. The sample is from a mummified young female individual discovered in Chuscha mount, Salta province. It was found at more than 5000 masl, in a mountain sanctuary of the Inca expansion (capacochas). The paper discusses the paleodiet and mobility patterns of this individual in the period before her death, focusing on the isotopic variations in a limited time scale. The results indicate that the individual moved from a different region to the place where she was sacrificed. Furthermore, in the last year the individual was alive, a shift in the isotopic composition of the food consumed is detected: a variation in the importance of C4 over C3 resources is evident. The results are compared with the isotopic estimations for other children and young people recovered in archaeological contexts associated with capacochas to infer variability in the geographical trajectories covered during their last months of life.Fil: Killian Galván, Violeta Anahí. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Filosofía y Letras. Instituto Interdisciplinario Tilcara; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Tessone, Augusto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Geocronología y Geología Isotópica. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Geocronología y Geología Isotópica; ArgentinaFil: Valenzuela, Luciano Oscar. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Sociales. Departamento de Arqueología. Laboratorio de Ecología Evolutiva Humana (Sede Quequén); Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Sharp, Z. D.. Universidad de Nuevo México.; Estados UnidosFil: Panarello, Hector Osvaldo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Geocronología y Geología Isotópica. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Geocronología y Geología Isotópica; Argentin

The polo-like kinase 1 (PLK1) inhibitor NMS-P937 is effective in a new model of disseminated primary CD56+ acute monoblastic leukaemia

CD56 is expressed in 15–20% of acute myeloid leukaemias (AML) and is associated with extramedullary diffusion, multidrug resistance and poor prognosis. We describe the establishment and characterisation of a novel disseminated model of AML (AML-NS8), generated by injection into mice of leukaemic blasts freshly isolated from a patient with an aggressive CD56+ monoblastic AML (M5a). The model reproduced typical manifestations of this leukaemia, including presence of extramedullary masses and central nervous system involvement, and the original phenotype, karyotype and genotype of leukaemic cells were retained in vivo. Recently Polo-Like Kinase 1 (PLK1) has emerged as a new candidate drug target in AML. We therefore tested our PLK1 inhibitor NMS-P937 in this model either in the engraftment or in the established disease settings. Both schedules showed good efficacy compared to standard therapies, with a significant increase in median survival time (MST) expecially in the established disease setting (MST = 28, 36, 62 days for vehicle, cytarabine and NMS-P937, respectively). Importantly, we could also demonstrate that NMS-P937 induced specific biomarker modulation in extramedullary tissues. This new in vivo model of CD56+ AML that recapitulates the human tumour lends support for the therapeutic use of PLK1 inhibitors in AML