Control of the woolly apple aphid (Erisoma lanigerum Hausm.) by releasing earwigs (Forficula auricularia L.) and support oil applications - an interim report of first year results

The woolly apple aphid (Erisoma lanigerum Hausm.) has been recognised for some years as a serious pest in organic fruit growing where they may cause severe economic damage due to a lack of control strategies. Based on preliminary results a new project has been started in 2007 testing combinations of releasing earwigs and oil applications in order to develop an onfarm control strategy. In this paper we present preliminary results of the first year of the project´s field trials. They showed good efficacies for applying oil preparations by brush. The efficacy of releasing earwigs depended on the infestation intensity

Biological Control of Woolly Apple Aphid (Eriosoma lanigerum HAUSM.) with Aphelinus mali HALD.

The release of Aphelinus mali HALD. from artificial rearing for the control of Woolly Apple Aphid (Eriosoma lanigerum HAUSM.) was tested in field trials. The release of adults proved to be more suitable than the release of cards with parasitized mummies as practised in the first trial. Setting free adult A. mali at the beginning of June reduced the aphid population, though its efficiency was not high enough to prevent damage of the trees totally. The practical applications of A. mali in early spring (after blossom) were not effective because climatic conditions were not suitable enough. The fertility of A. mali depends on temperature and light intensity. The application of Micula (rape oil) and T-S forte reduced the growth of the aphid population effectively. These substances may be used in a combined strategy to improve the successful subsequent release of A. mali. Possible phytotoxic effects, however, must be considered in this context

Study of drinking water activity towards the formation organoferric complexes

The article considers one of the methods of the study of drinking water activity towards the formation of organoferric complexes that helps to solve the problem of asiderotic anemia

Glycophenotypic Alterations Induced by Pteridium aquilinum in Mice Gastric Mucosa: Synergistic Effect with Helicobacter pylori Infection

The bracken fern Pteridium aquilinum is a plant known to be carcinogenic to animals. Epidemiological studies have shown an association between bracken fern exposure and gastric cancer development in humans. The biological effects of exposure to this plant within the gastric carcinogenesis process are not fully understood. In the present work, effects in the gastric mucosa of mice treated with Pteridium aquilinum were evaluated, as well as molecular mechanisms underlying the synergistic role with Helicobacter pylori infection. Our results showed that exposure to Pteridium aquilinum induces histomorphological modifications including increased expression of acidic glycoconjugates in the gastric mucosa. The transcriptome analysis of gastric mucosa showed that upon exposure to Pteridium aquilinum several glycosyltransferase genes were differently expressed, including Galntl4, C1galt1 and St3gal2, that are mainly involved in the biosynthesis of simple mucin-type carbohydrate antigens. Concomitant treatment with Pteridium aquilinum and infection with Helicobacter pylori also resulted in differently expressed glycosyltransferase genes underlying the biosynthesis of terminal sialylated Lewis antigens, including Sialyl-Lewisx. These results disclose the molecular basis for the altered pattern of glycan structures observed in the mice gastric mucosa. The gene transcription alterations and the induced glycophenotypic changes observed in the gastric mucosa contribute for the understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying the role of Pteridium aquilinum in the gastric carcinogenesis process

The role of open abdomen in non-trauma patient : WSES Consensus Paper

The open abdomen (OA) is defined as intentional decision to leave the fascial edges of the abdomen un-approximated after laparotomy (laparostomy). The abdominal contents are potentially exposed and therefore must be protected with a temporary coverage, which is referred to as temporal abdominal closure (TAC). OA use remains widely debated with many specific details deserving detailed assessment and clarification. To date, in patients with intra-abdominal emergencies, the OA has not been formally endorsed for routine utilization; although, utilization is seemingly increasing. Therefore, the World Society of Emergency Surgery (WSES), Abdominal Compartment Society (WSACS) and the Donegal Research Academy united a worldwide group of experts in an international consensus conference to review and thereafter propose the basis for evidence-directed utilization of OA management in non-trauma emergency surgery and critically ill patients. In addition to utilization recommendations, questions with insufficient evidence urgently requiring future study were identified.Peer reviewe

A characterization of the normal distribution by sufficiency of the least squares estimation

It is proved that if $y=\theta +Z$, where the unknown parameter $\theta$ is an element of a linear subspace V of R\sp n and Z is a nondegenerate random vector with independent components each having mean zero, then, under fairly general conditions on V, the projection of R\sp n on V (with respect to a certain scalar product) is a sufficient statistic for the class of distributions of y if and only if Z is normally distributed. \par The condition of independence of components of Z can not be relaxed but the authors succeed in extending the above result to the set-up of the multivariate linear model