21,304 research outputs found
Parasitism, Adult Emergence, Sex Ratio, and Size of \u3ci\u3eAphidius Colemani\u3c/i\u3e (Hymenoptera: Aphidiidae) on Several Aphid Species
Aphidius colemani Viereck parasitizes several economically important aphid pests of small grain crops including the greenbug, Schizaphis graminum and the Russian wheat aphid, Diuraphis noxia. The ability of A. colemani to switch from S. graminum to several species of aphids common to agricultural and associated non-agricultural ecosystems in the Great Plains, and the effects of host-change on several biological parameters that influence population growth rate were determined. Female A. colemani parasitized and developed to adulthood in nine of 14 aphid species to which they were exposed in the laboratory. All small grain feeding aphids except Sipha flava were parasitized. Two sunflower feeding species (Aphis nerii and A. helianthi) and two crucifer feeding species (Lipaphis erysimi and Brevicoryne brassicae) were parasitized, as was the cotton aphid. Aphis gossypii. The average percentage of aphids parasitized differed significantly among host aphid species. as did the percentage of parasitoids surviving from the mummy to the adult stage and the time required for immature development. The sex ratio of adults that enclosed from the various hosts did not differ significantly among species. Dry weights of adult parasitoids differed significantly among host species. Adults from S. graminum weighed most (0.054 mg) while those emerging from A. helianthi weighed least (0.020 mg). Results are discussed in terms of strategies for classical biological control of aphid pests of cereals
A Descriptive Study of the Population Dynamics of Adult \u3ci\u3eDiabrotica Virgifera Virgifera\u3c/i\u3e (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) in Artificially Infested Corn Fields
The influence of corn plant phenology on the dynamics of adult western corn rootworm, Diabrotica virgifera virgifera, populations was studied during 1988 and 1989 in com fields artificially infested with eggs. Fifty percent of adult emergence from the soil occurred by day 194 in 1988 and day 203 in 1989. In both years, adult emergence was synchronized with corn flowering, eggs were recovered in soil samples approximately four days after reproductive females were first observed in the population, and oviposition was essentially complete about 25 days after it began. The number of reproductive female beetle-days accumulating per m2 was similar in both years. Approximately two times as many eggs were laid in 1988 (1239 eggs 1m2) as in 1989 (590 eggs 1m2). The difference in egg density may have been caused by differences among years in the temporal synchrony of reproductive beetles with flowering corn. Daily survival rates of adults were high while corn was flowering; exhibited a gradual decline during grain filling; and decreased rapidly during the grain drying stage
Examining the role of Scotland’s telephone advice service (NHS 24) for managing health in the community : analysis of routinely collected NHS 24 data
Date of Acceptance: 15/06/2015 Funding This work was supported by the Chief Scientist Office, ScottishExecutive (grant no. CZH/4/692). Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.Peer reviewedPublisher PD
Modelling the atomic structure of very high-density amorphous ice
The structure of very high-density amorphous (VHDA) ice has been modelled by
positionally disordering three crystalline phases, namely ice IV, VI and XII.
These phases were chosen because only they are stable or metastable in the
region of the ice phase diagram where VHDA ice is formed, and their densities
are comparable to that of VHDA ice. An excellent fit to the medium range of the
experimentally observed pair-correlation function g(r) of VHDA ice was obtained
by introducing disorder into the positions of the H2O molecules, as well as
small amounts of molecular rotational disorder, disorder in the O--H bond
lengths and disorder in the H--O--H bond angles. The low-k behaviour of the
experimental structure factor, S(k), is also very well reproduced by this
disordered-crystal model. The fraction of each phase present in the best-fit
disordered model is very close to that observed in the probable crystallization
products of VHDA ice. In particular, only negligible amounts of ice IV are
predicted, in accordance with experimental observation.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, 1 table, v2: changes made in response to
referees' comments, the justification for using certain ice phases is
improved, and ice IV is now disordered as wel
Bubbles and Filaments: Stirring a Cahn-Hilliard Fluid
The advective Cahn-Hilliard equation describes the competing processes of
stirring and separation in a two-phase fluid. Intuition suggests that bubbles
will form on a certain scale, and previous studies of Cahn-Hilliard dynamics
seem to suggest the presence of one dominant length scale. However, the
Cahn-Hilliard phase-separation mechanism contains a hyperdiffusion term and we
show that, by stirring the mixture at a sufficiently large amplitude, we excite
the diffusion and overwhelm the segregation to create a homogeneous liquid. At
intermediate amplitudes we see regions of bubbles coexisting with regions of
hyperdiffusive filaments. Thus, the problem possesses two dominant length
scales, associated with the bubbles and filaments. For simplicity, we use use a
chaotic flow that mimics turbulent stirring at large Prandtl number. We compare
our results with the case of variable mobility, in which growth of bubble size
is dominated by interfacial rather than bulk effects, and find qualitatively
similar results.Comment: 20 pages, 27 figures. RevTeX
Modelling cell motility and chemotaxis with evolving surface finite elements
We present a mathematical and a computational framework for the modelling of cell motility. The cell membrane is represented by an evolving surface, with the movement of the cell determined by the interaction of various forces that act normal to the surface. We consider external forces such as those that may arise owing to inhomogeneities in the medium and a pressure that constrains the enclosed volume, as well as internal forces that arise from the reaction of the cells' surface to stretching and bending. We also consider a protrusive force associated with a reaction-diffusion system (RDS) posed on the cell membrane, with cell polarization modelled by this surface RDS. The computational method is based on an evolving surface finite-element method. The general method can account for the large deformations that arise in cell motility and allows the simulation of cell migration in three dimensions. We illustrate applications of the proposed modelling framework and numerical method by reporting on numerical simulations of a model for eukaryotic chemotaxis and a model for the persistent movement of keratocytes in two and three space dimensions. Movies of the simulated cells can be obtained from http://homepages.warwick.ac.uk/maskae/CV_Warwick/Chemotaxis.html
Structural and energetic origin of defects at the interface between germanium and a high-k dielectric from first principles
Atomic-scale models of the abrupt high-k/Ge interface with a range of suboxide stoichiometries GeO(x) are presented and compared to their Si analogs. Molecular dynamics and geometry optimization were carried out at the density functional theory level to yield structures and energetics. Cohesion across the interface becomes stronger with increasing oxidation of the Ge suboxide. Three-coordinate Ge is identified as the main defect and is formed at low energetic cost, which accounts for the observed abundance of defects at oxide/Ge interfaces. The optimum low temperature interface is defect-free, predominantly Ge(2+) with some Ge(+). (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. (doi:10.1063/1.3554703
Selection of an instrument to evaluate the organizational environment of nurses working in intensive care: an integrative review
Objective: To determine an appropriate survey instrument to evaluate the impact of organizational structures on the work environment of intensive care nurses. Background: Internationally the demand for intensive care is increasing. Solely increasing bed capacity is not sustainable. Large capacity multi-specialty Intensive Care Units are emerging as the preferred organizational model with benefits resulting from optimizing operational synergies and economies of scale. The impact of this organizational transition on intensive care nurses is not well understood. An appropriate survey instrument for intensive care nurses is required. Design: Integrative literature review. Data Sources: CINAHL, PubMed, EMBASE and OVID Nursing databases searched for studies published between 2005 and 2013. Review methods: An integrative review and quality assessment of the studies was undertaken to select nurse outcome measures associated with organizational structures across a range of acute and critical care settings. Congruence between nurse outcome measures and nurse survey instruments tested in the literature was assessed to select instruments for further psychometric evaluation. Results: Thirty-one cross sectional quantitative studies, from fourteen countries, were reviewed. Twenty one nurse outcome measures associated with organizational factors were identified and a total of twenty five survey instruments used in the studies reviewed. Assessment of congruence and psychometric properties determined that a combination of two instruments is required to comprehensively assess the organizational environment of nurses working in intensive care units. Conclusion: The environment of nurses working in intensive care is effectively evaluated with an instrument that combines subscales from the Practice Environment Scale-Nurse Work Index and Maslach’s Burnout Inventory
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