Monotone Retracts and Some Characterizations of Dendrites

Let M be a metric continuum containing a fixed point p. The following conditions are shown to be equivalent. (i) M is a dendrite. (ii) Each subcontinuum of M is a monotone retract of M. (iii) M is arcwise connected and each subcontinuum of M containing p is a monotone retract of M

Arc-Smooth Continua

Continua admitting arc-structures and arc-smooth continua are introduced as higher dimensional analogues of dendroids and smooth dendroids, respectively. These continua include such spaces as: cones over compacta, convex continua in l2, strongly convex metric continua, injectively metrizable continua, as well as various topological semigroups, partially ordered spaces, and hyperspaces. The arc-smooth continua are shown to coincide with the freely contractible continua and with the metric K-spaces of Stadtlander. Known characterizations of smoothness in dendroids involving closed partial orders, the set function T, radially convex metrics, continuous selections, and order preserving mappings are extended to the setting of continua with arc-structures. Various consequences of the special contractibility properties of arc-smooth continua are also obtained

Wintergardens : proposals on plant combinations

Många privatpersoner har tillgång till ett inglasat uterum eller balkong i anslutning till sitt hem. Dessa miljöer kan användas som grönskande vintersvala rum med växter anpassade till rummets förutsättningar. Syftet med uppsatsen är att undersöka och sammanställa ett urval av odlingsvärda växter för privata inglasade miljöer. Målet är att ta fram förslag på växtkombinationer för miljöer med varierande förutsättningar där intentionen är att skapa hållbara planteringar för vintersvala rum. Som avgränsning i arbetet ska urvalet av växter som rekommenderas vara tillgängligt i svensk detaljhandel. För att nå syftet med studien används olika metoder. En litteraturgenomgång berör växtsläkten, klimat, marklära, växtfysiologi och växtskydd. En översiktlig uppskattning av befintlig marknad genomförs genom intervjuer med yrkesverksamma inom området. Alla växter har observerats vid olika studiebesök vid trädgårdsanläggningar, där ett besök vid National Botanic Garden of Wales är beskrivet ingående. En växtlista revideras under arbetets gång för att slutligen sammanställas och presenteras i gestaltningsförslag. En inglasad balkong och ett inglasat uterum, belägna i tre olika väderstreck gestaltas. Presentationen av gestaltningsförslagen har hämtat inspiration från ett avsnitt ur boken Mitt hem och min trädgård (1963) av Gunnar Martinsson och Lena Larsson. Resultatet av studien visar på hur det finns möjligheter för privatpersoner att skapa hållbara, intressanta och sköna grönskande vintersvala rum. Odlingsvärda växter, lämpliga för vintersvala rum, går att finna i vegetationsområden i medelhavsklimat och i fuktiga varmtempererade klimat. En diskussion angående utbud och efterfrågan belyser svårigheten för konsumenten att göra väl fungerande växtval i handeln. Med förståelse för växtens naturliga växtplats kan hållbara planteringar skapas

Bibliography of the world literature of the Bethylidae (Hymenoptera: Bethyloidea)

The Bethylidae are a primitive family of aculeate Hymenoptera which presently consists of about 2,200 nominal species. They are worldwide in distribution and all species are primary, external parasites of Lepidoptera and Coleoptera larvae. Due t o their host associations, bethylids are potentially useful for the biological control of various agricultural pests in the aforementioned groups. Unfortunately, the true potential of bethylids in applied biological control cannot be ascertained now because they have been used infrequently. Some species show strong promise, but t h e i r use is handicapped by a relative lack of basic taxonomic and biological knowledge. The most recent world catalog for bethylids is Kieffer (1914). A world catalog is forthcoming (Gordh, in prep.). There has never been a compilation of the world literature

Development of microsatellite markers and detection of genetic variation between Goniozus wasp populations

Molecular genetic markers reveal differences between genotypes according to the presence of alleles (the same or different) at target loci. Microsatellite markers are especially useful codominant markers that have been used in a wide range of studies to elucidate the population structure and dynamics of a range of organisms, including agriculturally beneficial insects such as parasitic wasps (parasitoids). In the present study, twelve primer pairs were designed for the south Asian , Goniozus nephantidis (Muesebeck) (Hymenoptera: Bethylidae), and 24 for its New World congener, Goniozus legneri Gordh, parasitoids of the larvae of the lepidopteran coconut pest Opisina arenosella Walker (Lepidoptera: Crytophasidae) and other lepidopteran pests, respectively, in order to investigate polymorphism within and between populations. The wasps fingerprinted were a total of 85 G. nephantidis and G. legneri, including individuals belonging to three putatively different strains of G. legneri. Annealing gradient tests (50–65°C) were conducted to study the quality of the PCR amplification across an annealing temperature gradient using a mixed genotype DNA template from each species separately. Seven primer pairs, which amplified clear products of approximately the expected size of G. nephantidis and 18 of G. legneri, were then selected for capillary analysis for fragment size determination on a Beckmann CEQ 8000. Neither G. nephantidis nor G. legneri were polymorphic within populations. However, there were six primer pairs that did show polymorphism between G. legneri populations that originated from different geographical areas within South America (Uruguay and Chile). Furthermore, one primer pair revealed diversity between the two strains collected within Chile. One of the markers was subsequently used to provide unbiased assessment of primary sex ratio in G. legneri

The importance of biotaxonomy in biological control projects.

Taxonomy is one of the most important basic specialties in any biological control project. Proper identification of the target pest and associated organisms can greatly influence the final outcome of any introduction or manipulation of natural enemies. The determination of population characteristics, not morphologically identifiable, is frequently necessary in order to successfully establish a certain species of natural enemy in a new region. Several recent examples have indicated that different but morphologically very similar (sibling) species as well as biotypes of a same species behave differently in a new environment, in accordance with adaptations undergone in response to differential local stresses in their original range of distribution. A number ofprojects conducted worldwide has indicated the need for taxonomists to go beyond the morphological considerations if their work is to be best applied to biological control

Time\u27s Up: A Call to Ban the Use of Sex as an Investigatory Tactic In Alaska

Sex workers in Alaska are facing sexual violence at the hands of the people whose job it is to protect them: the police. Astonishingly, it is legal in Alaska for undercover police officers to use sexual intercourse and other sexual contact as investigative tools. In 2017, House Bill 112 and Senate Bill 73 were introduced in the Alaska State Legislature to make it illegal for law enforcement officers to have any sexual contact with people under investigation. Upon resistance from the Anchorage Police Department, these bills stalled and were not re-introduced. This Note argues that the use of sex in investigations is a violation of due process and urges Alaska lawmakers to reintroduce and pass these bills

Doświadczenia masowych otwartych kursów on-line dlia udoskonalenia systemu zarządzania e-learning ATutor

AIM: This study was carried out in patients with neuropathic pain in order to assess the analgesic effects and changes in protein biomarkers after the administration of methylene blue (MB), a diaminophenothiazine with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, and with inhibitory effects on nitric oxide. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Ten patients with chronic refractory neuropathic pain were randomized to receive either MB (10 mg/mL Methylthioninium chloride) 2 mg/kg (MB group) or MB 0.02 mg/kg (control group) infused over 60 minutes. Sensory function and pain (Numerical Rating Scale) were evaluated at baseline and at 60 minutes after the start of the infusion. The patients kept a pain diary during the next 24 hours and for the following 4 days. Plasma and urinary concentrations of 8-isoprostane-prostaglandin F2α (8-iso-PGF2α) and plasma protein biomarkers prior to and after the infusions were measured with radioimmunoassay and with proximity extension assay. RESULTS: A decrease of the Numerical Rating Scale at 60 minutes in comparison with baseline was observed in the MB (P=0.047) group. The decrease was significant between the MB and the control group on the day of and day after MB infusion (P=0.04 and P=0.008, respectively). There was no difference in systemic protein expressions between groups except for prolactin (PRL) (P=0.02). Three patients demonstrated diminished dynamic mechanical allodynia. CONCLUSION: MB decreased the pain levels in patients with chronic therapy-resistant neuropathic pain on the first 2 days after administration. Known as an endocrine modulator on the anterior pituitary gland, MB infusion produced a decrease of PRL. The detailed role of PRL effects in chronic neuropathic pain remains undetermined