Spruce Budworm and Other Lepidopterous Prey of Eumenid Wasps (Hymenoptera: Eumenidae) in Spruce-Fir Forests of Maine

Three species of eumenid wasps, Ancistrocerus adiabatus, Ancistrocerus antilope, and Euodynerus Ieucomelas, accepted and provisioned trap-nesting blocks with lepidopterous larvae, A pyralid. Nephopteryx sp., was the most commonly provisioned prey. A. adiabarus and E. leucomelas preyed on late instars of the spruce budworm, Choristoneura fumiferana: however. budworms accounted for only 6% of the provisioned prey. Estimates of budworm population densities before and after wasp predation, and subsample-s of provisioned prey indicated no significant reductions i = 0.065%) in budworm populations attributable to trap-nesting wasps

Fertilizer and fungicides: Effects on wild blueberry growth, insect attack, and leaf spot disease incidence

The goal of our three-year field study (two replicated two year trials) was to evaluate the influence of fertility and disease management practices commonly implemented by Maine wild blueberry growers during the prune year. Our treatments reflected grower practices. We tested applications of chlorothalonil (formulated as Bravo®), pyraclostrobin and boscalid (formulated as Pristine®), pyraclostrobin and boscalid with diammonium phosphate fertilizer (formulated as DAP®), and a non-treated control. Measured responses included sap-feeding hemipteran insects, fungal leaf spot pathogens, premature flowering, stem growth characteristics, flower bud cluster production, leaf retention, foliar nutrients, and yield. Among plant growth measures that represent potential yield, only stem length responded consistently over both trials. Plots treated with Pristine + DAP had significantly greater stem length compared to the other three treatments. Plots treated with Pristine only were not different than Bravo treated plots, but stems were significantly longer than the non-treated control. The fungicide, Pristine, and the fertilizer, DAP applied in the prune year enhanced leaf spot disease in both years; however, the combination of Pristine and DAP did not consistently effect yields. We found a significant and diverse community of sap-feeding hemipteran incidence in the 2016 trial, but not in the 2015 trial. Only in the 2016 trial did the Pristine and DAP treatment enhance sap-feeding bugs. Multivariate analysis of variance provided evidence that leaf spot pathogens and sap feeding insect pests responded positively to nitrogen concentration in foliage. We also found that fungicides do not compensate for the enhanced disease levels brought about by fertilizer application

Safety Evaluation of Two Commercial Lithium-ion Batteries for Space Applications

Lithium-ion batteries have been used for applications on the Shuttle and Station for the past six years. A majority of the li-ion batteries flown are Commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) varieties. The COTS batteries and cells were tested under nominal and abusive conditions for performance and safety characterization. Within the past six months two batteries have been certified for flight and use on the Space Station. The first one is a Hand Spring PDA battery that had a single prismatic li-ion cell and the second is an Iridium satellite phone that had a two-cell pack with prismatic li-ion cells

Itty-bitty traps for monitoring spotted wing Drosophila (\u3cem\u3eDrosophila suzukii\u3c/em\u3e Matsumura), does size matter?

The objective of this study was to determine an optimal trap design and bait for spotted wing drosophila, Drosophila suzukii (Matsumura), in the wild blueberry agro-ecosystem. Two preliminary experiments were conducted in 2013 and 2014 to address this objective. In 2018, an experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of the physical trap size, as perceived by the spotted wing drosophila, on trap capture efficacy. We found that the red Solo® cup trap was an optimal trap for monitoring spotted wing drosophila in wild blueberry and that inserting a yellow sticky card inside the trap or painting a black contrast ring around the top entrance holes resulted in no benefit. We also found in early experiments that the live yeast bait with sugar syrup either alone or with apple cider vinegar was a superior bait. Trap size affected trap capture abundance; when considering catches based on adjustments for bait volume or two-dimensional trap area, the small trap size was more efficient than the standard

Using Native Plants of the Northeast of Mexico for Developing Active Antimicrobial Food Packaging Films

The development of active food packaging is addressed using polyolefins such as LDPE and PVOH, as well as biopolymers from flour (sorghum and corn) and by-products of the food industry. Bacteriocins (nisin, natamycin), plant extracts such as oregano and thyme, as well as native plants of the northeast region of Mexico (Larrea tridentata, Schinus molle, Cordia boissieri, Leucophyllum frutescens), and essential oils of oregano and thyme as antimicrobial agents have been studied. The effect exerted by the process of incorporation of the antimicrobial agent (casting, extrusion) on the barrier and mechanical properties of the package as well as the antimicrobial activity of the containers (broad spectrum or selective activity) has been observed and the establishment of methods for their traceability

Effects of delayed cord clamping on residual placental blood volume, hemoglobin and bilirubin levels in term infants: a randomized controlled trial

Objective: The objective of the study was to measure the effects of a 5-min delay (DCC) versus immediate cord clamping (ICC) on residual placental blood volume (RPBV) at birth, and hemoglobin and serum bilirubin at 24 to 48 h of age. Study Design: In this prospective randomized controlled trial, 73 women with term (37 to 41 weeks) singleton fetuses were randomized to DCC (5 min; n=37) or ICC (\u3c20 s; n=36). Results: Maternal and infant demographics were not different between the groups. Mean cord clamping time was 303±121 (DCC) versus 23±59 (ICC) s (P\u3c0.001) with 10 protocol violations. Cord milking was the proxy for DCC (n=11) when the provider could not wait. Infants randomized to DCC compared with ICC had significantly less RPBV (20.0 versus 30.8 ml kg−1, P\u3c0.001), higher hemoglobin levels (19.4 versus 17.8 g dl−1, P=0.002) at 24 to 48 h, with no difference in bilirubin levels. Conclusion: Term infants had early hematological advantage of DCC without increases in hyperbilirubinemia or symptomatic polycythemia

Chandra Observation of the Edge-on Spiral NGC 5775: Probing the Hot Galactic Disk/Halo Connection

We study the edge-on galaxy NGC 5775, utilizing a 58.2 ks {\sl Chandra} ACIS-S observation together with complementary {\sl HST} ACS, {\sl Spitzer} IRAC and other multi-wavelength data sets. This edge-on galaxy, with its disk-wide active star formation, is particularly well-suited for studying the disk/halo interaction on sub-galactic scales. We detect 27 discrete X-ray sources within the $D_{25}$ region of the galaxy, including an ultra-luminous source with a 0.3-7 keV luminosity of $\sim7\times10^{40}\rm ergs s^{-1}$. The source-removed diffuse X-ray emission shows several prominent extraplanar features, including a $\sim10\rm kpc$ diameter ``shell-like'' feature and a ``blob'' reaching a projected distance of $\sim25\rm kpc$ from the galactic disk. The bulk of the X-ray emission in the halo has a scale height of $\sim$1.5 kpc and can be characterized by a two-temperature optically thin thermal plasma with temperatures of $\sim$ 0.2 and 0.6 keV and a total 0.3-2 keV luminosity of $\sim3.5\times10^{39}\rm ergs s^{-1}$. The high-resolution, multi-wavelength data reveal the presence of several extraplanar features around the disk, which appear to be associated with the in-disk star formation. We suggest that hot gas produced with different levels of mass loading can have different temperatures, which may explain the characteristic temperatures of hot gas in the halo. We have obtained a sub-galactic scale X-ray-intensity-star formation relation, which is consistent with the integrated version in other star forming galaxies.Comment: 25 pages, 10 figures, 4 tables, accepted for publication in MNRA

Expression of Human Globin Genes in Transgenic Mice Carrying the Β-Globin Gene Cluster with a Mutation Causing G ΓΒ + Hereditary Persistence of Fetal Hemoglobin a

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/73405/1/j.1749-6632.1990.tb24303.x.pd

Combined quantification of the global proteome, phosphoproteome, and proteolytic cleavage to characterize altered platelet functions in the human Scott syndrome

The Scott syndrome is a very rare and likely underdiagnosed bleeding disorder associated with mutations in the gene encoding anoctamin-6. Platelets from Scott patients are impaired in various Ca(2+)-dependent responses, including phosphatidylserine exposure, integrin closure, intracellular protein cleavage, and cytoskeleton-dependent morphological changes. Given the central role of anoctamin-6 in the platelet procoagulant response, we used quantitative proteomics to understand the underlying molecular mechanisms and the complex phenotypic changes in Scott platelets compared with control platelets. Therefore, we applied an iTRAQ-based multi-pronged strategy to quantify changes in (1) the global proteome, (2) the phosphoproteome, and (3) proteolytic events between resting and stimulated Scott and control platelets. Our data indicate a limited number of proteins with decreased (70) or increased (64) expression in Scott platelets, among those we confirmed the absence of anoctamin-6 and the strong up-regulation of aquaporin-1 by parallel reaction monitoring. The quantification of 1566 phosphopeptides revealed major differences between Scott and control platelets after stimulation with thrombin/convulxin or ionomycin. In Scott platelets, phosphorylation levels of proteins regulating cytoskeletal or signaling events were increased. Finally, we quantified 1596 N-terminal peptides in activated Scott and control platelets, 180 of which we identified as calpain-regulated, whereas a distinct set of 23 neo-N termini was caspase-regulated. In Scott platelets, calpain-induced cleavage of cytoskeleton-linked and signaling proteins was downregulated, in accordance with an increased phosphorylation state. Thus, multipronged proteomic profiling of Scott platelets provides detailed insight into their protection against detrimental Ca(2+)-dependent changes that are normally associated with phosphatidylserine exposure

Dutch translation and cross-cultural validation of the Adult Social Care Outcomes Toolkit (ASCOT)

Background: The Adult Social Care Outcomes Toolkit was developed to measure outcomes of social care in England. In this study, we translated the four level self-completion version (SCT-4) of the ASCOT for use in the Netherlands and performed a cross-cultural validation. Methods: The ASCOT SCT-4 was translated into Dutch following international guidelines, including two forward and back translations. The resulting version was pilot tested among frail older adults using think-aloud interviews. Furthermore, using a subsample of the Dutch ACT-study, we investigated test-retest reliability and construct validity and compared response distributions with data from a comparable English study. Results: The pilot tests showed that translated items were in general understood as intended, that most items were reliable, and that the response distributions of the Dutch translation and associations with other measures were comparable to the original English version. Based on the results of the pilot tests, some small modifications and a revision of the Dignity items were proposed for the final translation, which were approved by the ASCOT development team. The complete original English version and the final Dutch translation can be obtained after registration on the ASCOT website (http://www.pssru.ac.uk/ascot). Conclusions: This study provides preliminary evidence that the Dutch translation of the ASCOT is valid, reliable and comparable to the original English version. We recommend further research to confirm the validity of the modified Dutch ASCOT translation