Irish Universities in the Knowledge Society: Society's Sentinels and the Citizen's vade mecum.

This is not an attempt to explore what the proper core role of universities should be through the insights o f educators and of the great liberal traditions to which many subscribe, precious and excellent though they may be. Instead, this is an attempt to explore the essential requirements o f society from universities, requirements that are necessarily implicit in the currently conventional vision of our future as a technically and economically advanced economy in an even more rapidly changing world, the Knowledge Society. If these two approaches tend to converge in their findings then we must think that the role of universities is made so much the clearer

Operations Assessment in Afghanistan Is Broken—What Is to Be Done?

The operations assessments process in Afghanistan is untrustworthy and places at risk the credibility of commanders who support its products. But regional commanders have the authority and means to fix it

Adjudication

Commonly used war-game adjudication methods break down and create unreliable results when addressing novel operational or strategic problems for which we have little experience or data (for example, information warfare or a regional nuclear conflict) and when we wish to explore situations rather than educate officers about well-understood situations. The primary causes of this breakdown are, first, the incorrect assumption that adjudicators are impartial controllers instead of dominant players and, second, the design choice to make the players’ decisions the game’s primary output

Emergence and Dispersal Patterns of Two Isolates of the Entomopathogenic Nematode Steinernema feltiae

Few studies have addressed the role of the sexes in the emergence and dispersal of entomopathogenic nematodes from host insects. Individuals of two isolates of Steinernema feltiae, UK76 and SBI1, emerging from Galleria mellonella cadavers were classed as Non-Dispersed (remaining on the cadaver for up to nine days) and Dispersed (actively moving away from the cadaver). Sex ratios within both classes were examined in infective (individuals that successfully invaded bait G. mellonella) and entire (infective and noninfective individuals that matured in hanging drops of G. mellonella haemolymph) populations. Sex ratios differed significantly from 1:1 only in the SBI1 Non-Dispersed entire population (female bias) and SBI1 Non-Dispersed infective population (male bias). For each isolate, Dispersed individuals were significantly more infective than Non-Dispersed. However, only 11% of SBI1 and 22% of UK76 Non-Dispersed individuals were found to be mature infective juveniles (IJ) compared with 78% of SBI1 and 82% of UK76 Dispersed individuals (based on survival in SDS). Infective juveniles dispersing towards distant radial bait G. mellonella tended to migrate from the head region of the natal cadaver. For each isolate, a higher proportion of males than females arrived early at distant baits. SBI1 males survived alone in G. mellonella cadavers for longer periods than did females, which supports the “male colonization” hypothesis

Correlation between survival in water and persistence of infectivity in soil of Heterorhabditis spp. isolates

Persistence in soil of ten isolates of three species of Heterorhabditis was monitored by baiting the soil with insects and recording their mortality. Infective juveniles (IJ) of the same ten isolates were also incubated in tap water and their survival recorded. Both tests were conducted in the laboratory at 20±C. Inter- and intraspecific differences in persistence were detected: H. bacteriophora HI was the most persistent isolate in both media. There was no clear division between H. megidis (North West European Group) and H. downesi, but isolates of H. downesi tended to be less persistent than those of H. megidis. Nematodes persisted longer in soil than in water: after 180 days in water, all IJ were dead in seven of the ten isolates, whereas all isolates still killed insects after 265 days in soil. Persistence of isolates in soil (indicated by LT50, the time that nematode-infestedsoil retained the ability to kill 50% of the bait insects) was correlated with their survival in water (represented by ST50, the time at which 50% of the IJ were still alive), with r2 D 0:84, indicating that similar factors were responsible for the reduction in each parameter

Distribution of entomopathogenic nematodes in an Irish sand dune system

A 100 x 800 m section of the sand dune system at North Bull Island, Dublin Bay, Ireland, was surveyed for entomopathogenic nematodes (EPN) by baiting soil cores with Galleria mellonella in July and August of 2001 and 2002. Two species were found: Steinernema feltiae (2.5 and 3.2% of cores) and Heterorhabditis downesi (1.9 and 3.8% of cores in 2001 and 2002, respectively). In each year, two colour variants of the G. mellonella cadavers containing H. downesi were found: purple and yellow. In both 2001 and 2002, H. downesi was most prevalent in the front 20 m of the dune system. Steinernema feltiae occurrence generally increased with distance into the dunes. In 2002, H. downesi was recovered most often in sandy paths than any other habitat surveyed but there was no habitat differentiation for S. feltiae. Human traffic may be an important factor in the distribution of both EPN and their insect hosts on Bull Island

Control of Black Vine Weevil larvae Otiorhynchus sulcatus (Fabricius) (Coleoptera:Curculionidae) in grow bags outdoors with nematodes

1 Outdoor trials were carried out during 2001â02 on strawberries grown in commercial growing bags naturally infested with black vine weevil larvae (BVW) Otiorhynchus sulcatus in Co. Wexford, Ireland. 2 The two nematode isolates used in these trials were Heterorhabditis megidis (UK211) and Heterorhabditis downesi (K122), both laboratory cultured. Growing bags received nematodes either once (May 2001), twice (May and October 2001) or three times (May, October 2001 and May 2002). Ten days after each application date, nine blocks (of the total 27) were randomly selected, destructively assessed and discarded. 3 The single application (May 2001) resulted in a mortality of black vine weevil larvae, of 93.4% with H. megidis and 51.3% with H. downesi, compared with the control treatment at that date. Respective figures after the double application (May 2001 and October 2001) were 78.9 and 77.6% and after the triple application (May 2001, October 2001 and May 2002) the figures were 93.7 and 88.1%. 4 Results from these trials clearly indicate that entomopathogenic nematodes are good alternatives to chemical control of the black vine weevil on strawberries grown in growing bags in Ireland

Distribution of entomopathogenic nematodes in an Irish sand dune system

A 100 x 800 m section of the sand dune system at North Bull Island, Dublin Bay, Ireland, was surveyed for entomopathogenic nematodes (EPN) by baiting soil cores with Galleria mellonella in July and August of 2001 and 2002. Two species were found: Steinernema feltiae (2.5 and 3.2% of cores) and Heterorhabditis downesi (1.9 and 3.8% of cores in 2001 and 2002, respectively). In each year, two colour variants of the G. mellonella cadavers containing H. downesi were found: purple and yellow. In both 2001 and 2002, H. downesi was most prevalent in the front 20 m of the dune system. Steinernema feltiae occurrence generally increased with distance into the dunes. In 2002, H. downesi was recovered most often in sandy paths than any other habitat surveyed but there was no habitat differentiation for S. feltiae. Human traffic may be an important factor in the distribution of both EPN and their insect hosts on Bull Island

Interventions to Deliver Vaccination to, and Improve Vaccination Rates in, People who are Homeless

Background: In comparison to the general population, people who are homeless have poorer health and health-related outcomes, including for vaccine-preventable diseases. Vaccination is safe, effective and cost-effective, and many vaccination guidelines specifically recommend vaccination in people who are homeless. This systematic review will identify interventions which are effective in delivering vaccination to, and/or at improving vaccination rates in, people who are homeless. Methods/Design: This systematic review is presented according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Searches will be undertaken on eight electronic databases, using combinations of search terms and subject headings or index terms. Citation chaining will also be undertaken. Literature will be screened for relevance against inclusion/exclusion criteria firstly by title/abstract and secondly by full text. The selected studies will be assessed for quality using an evidence-based tool appropriate to their methods. Data relevant to the topic will be extracted and examined using meta-analysis and narrative synthesis. Discussion: This systematic review will address an important gap in the literature about vaccination in people who are homeless. The review’s findings are particularly relevant considering the current coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, which is likely to be managed through vaccination