Changes in hemlock looper [Lepidoptera: Geometridae] pupal distribution through a 3-year outbreak cycle

La distribution des chrysalides de l’arpenteuse de la pruche, Lambdina fiscellaria, a été étudiée au cours d’un cycle épidémique d’une durée de trois ans près du Lac Princeton sur l’île d’Anticosti au Québec. Au total, 10 sapins ont été coupés et toutes les chrysalides ont été comptées sur le tronc et les branches (partie non-foliée vs foliée) de la cime inférieure, médiane et supérieure, ainsi que sur le tronc sous la cime. En condition préépidémique, les chrysalides ont principalement été trouvées sur les branches des cimes médianes et supérieures. Durant l’épidémie, la densité des chrysalides n’a pas augmenté dans ces sites de pupaison et les larves se sont surtout transformées en chrysalides sur le tronc, à partir du sol jusque dans la cime médiane, ainsi que sur les branches de la cime inférieure. Peu de chrysalides ont été trouvées sur la partie foliée des branches en période post-épidémique, la plupart étant trouvées sur la partie basale non-foliée qui apparaît comme un endroit préférentiel pour la pupaison de l'arpenteuse de la pruche. De façon à optimiser la détection des augmentations de populations dans les réseaux de surveillance, des pièges à chrysalides devraient être placés à hauteur de poitrine sur le tronc de sapins baumiers.The hemlock looper, Lambdina fiscellaria, pupal distribution was studied through a 3-year outbreak cycle near Lac Princeton on Anticosti Island in Quebec. Over the 3 years, 10 balsam fir trees were cut and all pupae were counted on the stem and branches (non-foliated vs foliated parts) of the lower, middle and upper crowns and on the stem below crown. In pre-outbreak conditions, pupae were mostly found on branches of the middle and upper crowns. During the outbreak, pupal density did not increase on these parts of the trees, since pupae were mostly found on the stem, from the ground to the middle crown, and on branches of the lower crown. Few pupae were found on the foliated portion of branches in post-outbreak conditions but most were found on the basal non-foliated part of branches, which appears to be a preferred location for hemlock looper pupation. In order to optimize detection of population increases in monitoring networks, we suggest using pupal traps at breast height on balsam fir trees

Control of expression of the RNases J1 and J2 in bacillus subtilis

In Bacillus subtilis, the dual activity 5' exo- and endoribonucleases J1 and J2 are important players in mRNA and stable RNA maturation and degradation. Recent work has improved our understanding of their structure and mechanism of action and identified numerous RNA substrates. However, almost nothing is known about the expression of these enzymes. Here, we have identified the transcriptional and translational signals that control the expression of the rnjA (RNase J1) and rnjB (RNase J2) genes. While the rnjB gene is transcribed constitutively from a sigma A promoter, optimal expression of RNase J1 requires cotranscription and cotranslation with the upstream ykzG gene, encoding a protein of unknown function. In the absence of coupled translation, RNase J1 expression is decreased more than 5-fold. Transcription of the ykzG operon initiates at a sigma A promoter with a noncanonical -35 box that is required for optimal transcription. Biosynthesis of RNase J1 is autocontrolled within a small range (1.4-fold) and also slightly stimulated (1.4-fold) in the absence of RNase J2. These controls are weak but might be useful to maintain the overall RNase J level and possibly also equimolar amounts of the two nucleases in the cell that primarily act as a heterodimer in vivo. © 2014, American Society for Microbiology

MP 2005-02

This publication is an article reprinted from volume 36 number 2 of the Agricultural and Forestry Station's research magazine, Agroborealis, winter 2004-2005

FIB-SEM Nanotomography in Materials and Life Science at EPFL

Extended abstract of a paper presented at Microscopy and Microanalysis 2010 in Portland, Oregon, USA, August 1 - August 5, 201

3D EDX microanalysis by FIB-SEM: Elemental quantification enhancement

Extended abstract of a paper presented at Microscopy and Microanalysis 2012 in Phoenix, Arizona, USA, July 29 - August 2, 201

The Game as an Instrument of Honors Students’ Personal Development in the SibFU Honors College

Honors colleges often serve as laboratories for pedagogical innovation, where new learning strategies and technologies are created both in the sphere of honors education and in the broader context of universities. This study describes a method of “organizational activity games” (OAG) introduced in the honors college of Siberian Federal University (SibFU) in Russia. The author explores the advantages of the game method for reaching the goal of honors students’ personal development. The theory and history of the game, invented in the Russian school of methodology by G. P. Shchedrovitskii, is explored in its relation to the theoretical principles of honors education. This research shows that the philosophy of games designed to create an intellectual elite of independently thinking citizens can be effectively employed in honors education. The study reveals how the objectives of the game—to develop and study new methods of teaching and learning in universities—contribute to the inventive pedagogies of honors colleges. The author provides insight into the various stages of the inaugural organizational activity game conducted at the SibFU Honors College. Results prove that the game may be regarded as a new method of honors teaching and learning applicable to honors programs in institutions worldwide

Jacques-René Hébert (O jornalista do Père Duchesne) e o processo da revolução

Este texto tem por objetivo discutir a participação de Jacques-René Hébert, autor do célebre panfleto periódico Père Duchesne, após a insurreição popular de 10 de agosto de 1792. Nessa discussão procuramos, fundamentalmente, estabelecer as relações de Hébert com o movimento secionário sans-culotte, assim como a natureza de sua influência para a dinâmica cada vez mais radical da revolução.The goal of this article is to discuss the participation of Jacques-René Hébert, author of the famous flyer Père Duchesne, after the popular insurrection August 10th, 1792. In this discussion, we specially tried to set the relations between Hébert and the sectional movement sans-culotte, as well as the nature of its influence in the even more radical dynamic of the revolution