DNA Barcoding Identifies Unknown Females and Larvae of Fannia R.-D. (Diptera: Fanniidae) from Carrion Succession Experiment and Case Report.

Application of available keys to European Fanniidae did not facilitate unequivocal species identification for third instar larvae and females of Fannia Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830 collected during a study of arthropod succession on pig carrion. To link these samples to known species, we took the advantage of molecular identification methods and compared newly obtained cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) barcode sequences against sequences deposited in reference databases. As an outcome of the results obtained, we describe for the first time a third instar larva of Fannia nigra Malloch, 1910 and Fannia pallitibia (Rondani, 1866) and a female of Fannia collini d'Assis-Fonseca, 1966. We provide combinations of characters allowing for discrimination of described insects from other Fanniidae. We provide an update for the key by Rozkošný et al. 1997, which allows differentiation between females of F. collini and other species of Fanniidae. Additionally, we provide a case of a human cadaver discovered in Southern Poland and insect fauna associated with it as the first report of F. nigra larvae developing on a human body

Confocal laser scanning microscopy as a valuable tool in Diptera larval morphology studies

Larval morphology of flies is traditionally studied using light microscopy, yet in the case of fine structures compound light microscopy is limited due to problems of resolution, illumination and depth of field, not allowing for precise recognition of sclerites’ edges and interactions. Using larval instars of cyclorrhaphan Diptera, we show the usefulness of confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) for studying the morphological characters of immature stages by taking advantage of the autofluorescent properties of cephaloskeleton structures. We compare data obtained from killed but unprepared larvae with those from larvae prepared by clearing according to two commonly used methods, either with potassium hydroxide or with Hoyer’s medium. We also evaluated the CLSM application for examining already slide-mounted larvae stored in museum collections and those freshly prepared. Our results indicate that CLSM and 3D reconstruction are excellent for visualizing small, compound structures of cylrorrhaphan larvae cephaloskeleton, if appropriate clearing techniques, i.e. the application of KOH, are used. Maximum intensity projection of confocal data sets obtained from material freshly prepared and that stored in museum collection does not differ. Because of this and the fact that KOH is commonly used as a clearing method to examine the cephaloskeleton of Diptera larvae, it is possible, and highly recommended, to use slides already prepared with this method for re-examination by CLSM. We conclude that CLSM application can be an invaluable source of data for studies of larval morphology of Cyclorrhapha by way of taxonomic diagnoses, character identification and improvement in characters homologization.This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits any use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and the source are credited

Experiments with neutron-rich isomeric beams

A review of experimental results obtained on microsecond-isomeric states in neutron-rich nuclei produced in fragmentation reactions and studied with SISSI-Alpha-LISE3 spectrometer system at GANIL Caen is given. The perspectives of experiments based on secondary reactions with isomeric beams are presented

Policy and Strategy for Increasing Income and Food Security through Improved Crop Management of Chickpea in Rice Fallows in Asia:Summary of a NARC-ICRISAT-NRI Workshop 17-18 November 2004, Kathmandu, Nepal

This book consists of the following papers: Welcome address (Maske, S.L.); welcome address from ICRISAT: legumes and cereals in development and the need for effective policy change to help alleviate poverty in South Asia (Keatinge, J.D.H.); welcome address from NRI (Stevenson, P.C.); keynote address from NARC: approaches in improving pulses production in Nepal (Pathik, D.S.); keynote address from DOA: Improving production of pulses through extension programs: constraints and opportunities (Shrestha, S.S.); integrated crop management of chickpea in Nepal: past, present and future (Pande,S.; Neupane, R.K.; Stevenson, P.C.; Grazywacz,D.; Bourai,V.A.; Rao, J.N.; Kishore, G.K.); opening remarks (Kaini, B.R.); opening remarks (Chaudhary, U.); remarks by the Chief Guest (Dahal, H.N.); chairperson's remarks (Upadhyaya, H.K.); vote of thanks (Pande, S.); session 1: introductory papers: prospects of chickpea in rice-based cropping systems in Bangladesh (Uddin, M.J.; Ali, M.O.; Rahman, M.M.); Lessons learnt from participatory dissemination and uptake pathways of IPM of chickpea and lentils in Bangladesh ( Bakr, M.A.; Afzal, M.A.; Aktar, M.S.); lessons learned from farmers' participatory BGM management in India (Tripathi, H.S.); promotion of rainfed rabi cropping in rice fallows of eastern India, Bangladesh, and Nepal: an overview (Rao, J.V.D.K.; Harris, K.D.; Joshi, K.D.; Khanal, N.; Johansen, C.; Musa, A.M.); session II: scaling-up and Uptake Pathways: lessons learned from scaling up participatory variety selection: LI-BIRD experiences (Devkota, K.P.; Gyawali, S.; Tripathi, M.P.; Joshi, K.D.; Witcombe, J.R.); scaling-up of participatory variety selection in wheat in South Asia: The CIMMYT-NARS experience (Ortiz-Ferrara, G.; Joshi, A.K.; Mudwari, A.; Bhatta, M.R.; Souffian, S.; Witcombe, J.R.); the scaling-up process and outputs of participatory crop improvement in Nepal: adoption and impact (Joshi, K.D.; Devkota, K.P.; Gyawali, S.; Tripathi, M.P.; Witcombe, J.R.); experiences of scaling-up: Nepal Agricultural Research Council (Ghimire, Y.N.; Pokharel,T.P.; Khadka, R.; and Gauchan, D.); the role of APPSP: Lessons learned (Mainali, P.); session III: Commodity Seed Production and Farmers' perceptions: seed quality control mechanisms in Nepal (Lal, K.K.); chickpea cultivation: Farmers'perceptions (Aryal, B.K.); chickpea cultivation: farmers'perceptions (Shrestha, K.K.); chickpea cultivation: Farmers'perceptions (Adhikary, S.); chickpea cultivation: Farmers'perceptions (Khatri, B.); session IV: DFID-funded and Related Projects: on-farm IPM of chickpea in Nepal: dissemination, adoption and promotion, 1997-2005 (Neupane, R.K.; Joshi, M.; Pande, S.; Yadav, N.K.); the adoption of ICM technologies by poor farmers in Nepal (Stevenson, P.C.; Pande, S.; Neupane, R.K.; Chaudhary, R.N.; Bourai, V.A.; Rao, J.N.; Grzywacz, D.); alternative pest control approaches: NPV for pod borer control and its uptake in Nepal (Grzywacz, D.; Pande, S.; Khanal, N.P.; Maharjan, R.); Farmers' empowerment, soil enrichment and wealth generation through chickpea-IPM in Nepal (Bourai, V.A.; Pande, S.; Neupane, R.K.; Stevenson, P.C.); rabi cropping and promoting winter legumes in rice fallows in Nepal (Khanal, N.; Joshi, K.D.; Harris, D.); bridging the gap: Role, responsibilities and approaches to scaling-up IPM of chickpea in Nepal (Khanal, N.P. and Khanal, N.); developing positive outcomes from livelihood studies (Pound, B.); Upscaling zero tillage in rice fallow lands of the Indo-Gangetic Plains: Some experiences (Gupta, R.K.; Pande, S.); role and responsibility of the media in promoting cost-effective farmer-friendly agricultural technologies (Basnet, B.M.); agriculture and mass media in Nepal: Link or missing link? (Lamsal, Y.); country-wide extension of integrated crop management of chickpea in Nepal: lessons learned and future approaches (Stevenson, P.C.; Pande, S.; Pound, B.)

Realistic Shell-Model Calculations for Proton-Rich N=50 Isotones

The structure of the N=50 isotones 98Cd, 97Ag, and 96Pd is studied in terms of shell model employing a realistic effective interaction derived from the Bonn-A nucleon-nucleon potential. The single-hole energies are fixed by resorting to an analysis of the low-energy spectra of the isotones with A>= 91. Comparison shows that our results are in very satisfactory agreement with the available experimental data. This supports confidence in the predictions of our calculationsComment: 8 pages, 3 figures, to be published on Journal of Physics

Beta decay of 71,73Co; probing single particle states approaching doubly magic 78Ni

Low-energy excited states in 71,73Ni populated via the {\beta} decay of 71,73Co were investigated in an experiment performed at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory (NSCL) at Michigan State University (MSU). Detailed analysis led to the construction of level schemes of 71,73Ni, which are interpreted using systematics and analyzed using shell model calculations. The 5/2- states attributed to the the f5/2 orbital and positive parity 5/2+ and 7/2+ states from the g9/2 orbital have been identified in both 71,73Ni. In 71Ni the location of a 1/2- {\beta}-decaying isomer is proposed and limits are suggested as to the location of the isomer in 73Ni. The location of positive parity cluster states are also identified in 71,73Ni. Beta-delayed neutron branching ratios obtained from this data are given for both 71,73Co.Comment: Accepted for publication in PR

How magic is the magic 68Ni nucleus?

We calculate the B(E2) strength in 68Ni and other nickel isotopes using several theoretical approaches. We find that in 68Ni the gamma transition to the first 2+ state exhausts only a fraction of the total B(E2) strength, which is mainly collected in excited states around 5 MeV. This effect is sensitive to the energy splitting between the fp shell and the g_{9/2}orbital. We argue that the small experimental B(E2) value is not strong evidence for the double-magic character of 68Ni.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure