Establishing ‘safe zones’ in Syria remains the most realistic route to tackling Europe’s refugee crisis

Many of those that have left Syria since the start of the country’s civil war have passed through Greek islands on their way into Europe. James D. Athanassiou and Effie G. H. Pedaliu write that the situation for refugees on the Greek island of Lesbos constitutes a humanitarian crisis and requires urgent action from the international community. They argue that aside from short-term support to those in need, the most realistic solution to the crisis remains the creation of ‘safe zones’ in Syria

Effects of Short Exposures to Spinosad-Treated Wheat or Maize on Four Stored-Grain Insects

The effect of short exposures to spinosad-treated wheat, Triticum aestivum L., or maize, Zea mays L., was evaluated against adults of four stored-product insect species: lesser grain borer, Rhyzopertha dominica (F.) (Coleoptera: Bostrichidae); rice weevil, Sitophilus oryzae (L.) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae); red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum (Herbst) (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae); and the psocid Lepinotus reticulatus (Enderlein) (Psocoptera: Trogiidae). Adult mortality of these species was recorded after 0, 2, 4, 8, 16, and 40 h on commodities treated with 1ppm of spinosad (immediate mortality). Then, the surviving individuals were removed and placed on untreated wheat or maize, and mortality was recorded again 7 d later (delayed mortality). Progeny production then was determined 65 and 35 d later for the beetles and psocids, respectively. Among the four species tested, R. dominica was the most susceptible, and immediate mortality after 40 h reached 78 and 72% on wheat and maize, respectively. Moreover, 7 d later, all adults that had been exposed for \u3e2 h were dead on both commodities. Progeny production was significantly reduced in comparison with the controls, and no progeny were found when parental adults had been exposed for \u3e8 or \u3e4 h on wheat and maize, respectively. For S. oryzae, 40-h exposures significantly increased delayed mortality on both wheat and maize, but progeny production still was high. Generally, no effect of short exposures was noted for T. castaneum. For L. reticulatus, despite the fact that the increase of exposure interval increased mortality on maize,progeny production was not avoided.With the exception of T.castaneum, more progeny were found on wheat than on maize. The results of the current study indicate that R. dominica is very susceptible after short exposures to spinosad-treated substrate, but the other species are able to survive and reproduce at the exposure range examined

Efficacy of grain protectants against four psocid species onmaize, rice and wheat

BACKGROUND: Psocids are emerging pests in stored products, particularly in amylaceous commodities such as grains. Currently, their control is based on the use of fumigants and contact insecticides; however, newer data indicate that psocids are tolerant to insecticides used to control other stored-grain species. This study evaluated the insecticides registered in the USA for use on stored maize, rice and wheat for control of the psocid species Lepinotus reticulatus, Liposcelis entomophila, L. bostrychophila and L. paeta. Mortality of exposed adult females was recorded after 7 and 14 days of exposure, while progeny production was assessed after 30 days of exposure. RESULTS: On wheat and rice, chlorpyriphos-methyl + deltamethrin was generally more effective against exposed parental adults than spinosad or pyrethrin, while pirimiphos-methyl was more effective on maize than spinosad or pyrethrin. In most cases, progeny production was suppressed in the treated grains. Progeny production was consistently lowest on wheat and rice treated with chlorpyriphos-methyl+ deltamethrin and maize treated with pirimiphos-methyl. CONCLUSIONS: Chlorpyriphos-methyl+deltamethrin and pirimiphos-methyl were the most effective insecticides for all species and commodities. Conversely, efficacy of spinosad or pyrethrum was highly dependent on the psocid species and commodity

Efficacy of layer treatment with methoprene for control of \u3ci\u3eRhyzopertha dominica\u3c/i\u3e (Coleoptera: Bostrychidae) on wheat, rice andmaize

BACKGROUND: Insect growth regulators are promising alternatives to traditional pesticides in stored grain. The efficacy of the juvenile hormone analogue methoprene was evaluated as a layer treatment in a laboratory experiment for control of Rhyzopertha dominica (F.) (Coleoptera: Bostrychidae) in wheat, rice and maize. RESULTS: Adults of R. dominica were placed in vials containing 33, 26 and 29 g (to a depth of 6.5 cm) of wheat, rice and maize, respectively, that was entirely or partially treated with 1, 5 or 10mg kg−1 methoprene. In wheat and rice, the layer treatments were not as effective as the whole-grain treatment, but there was decreased progeny production as the application rate increased. However, on maize the partial treatments were as effective as the whole-grain treatment at 5 and 10 mg kg−1. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that partial layer treatments with methoprene can be used to control R. dominica on maize but may not be effective for control of this species on wheat and rice

Efficacy of Methoprene for Control of Five Species of Psocids (\u3ci\u3ePsocoptera\u3c/i\u3e) on Wheat, Rice, and Maize

The insect growth regulator methoprene was evaluated for control of Liposcelis bostrychophila Badonnel, Liposcelis decolor (Pearman), Liposcelis entomophila (Enderlein), Liposcelis paeta Pearman (Psocoptera: Liposcelididae), and Lepinotus reticulatus Enderlein (Trogiidae) at application rates of 1, 5, and 10 ppm on maize, wheat, and rice. Methoprene did not completely suppress progeny production during the 40-day test period, but did cause a significant reduction in adult progeny in all psocid species at the application rates of 5 and 10 ppm. At 1 ppm, numbers of adults were reduced for all species on wheat and maize, but only for L. paeta on rice. Nevertheless, the numbers of nymphs present after 40 days generally were not reduced, relative to the controls. Methoprene applied at rates of 1 to 10 ppm to stored grain would not provide adequate control of psocids

Lesser grain borers, \u3ci\u3eRhyzopertha dominica\u3c/i\u3e, select rough rice kernels with cracked hulls for reproduction

Tests were conducted to determine whether the lesser grain borer, Rhyzopertha dominica (F.) (Coleoptera: Bostrychidae), selects rough rice (Oryza sativa L. (Poales: Poaceae)) kernels with cracked hulls for reproduction when these kernels are mixed with intact kernels. Differing amounts of kernels with cracked hulls (0, 5, 10, and 20%) of the varieties Francis and Wells were mixed with intact kernels, and the number of adult progeny emerging from intact kernels and from kernels with cracked hulls was determined. The Wells variety had been previously classified as tolerant to R. dominica, while the Francis variety was classified as moderately susceptible. Few F1 progeny were produced in Wells regardless of the percentage of kernels with cracked hulls, few of the kernels with cracked hulls had emergence holes, and little frass was produced from feeding damage. At 10 and 20% kernels with cracked hulls, the progeny production, number of emergence holes in kernels with cracked hulls, and the amount of frass was greater in Francis than in Wells. The proportion of progeny emerging from kernels with cracked hulls increased as the proportion of kernels with cracked hulls increased. The results indicate that R. dominica select kernels with cracked hulls for reproduction

Residual Efficacy of Chlorfenapyr for Control of Stored-Product Psocids (Psocoptera)

The residual effect of chlorfenapyr (Phantom) was evaluated for residual control of three stored-product psocid species: Liposcelis bostrychophila Badonnel, Liposcelis entomophila (Enderlein), and Liposcelis paeta Pearman (Psocoptera: Liposcelididae). Chlorfenapyr was applied to individual arenas with a concrete surface at rates of 0, 2.8, 13.8, 20.6, 27.5, 55, and 110 mg active ingredient (AI)/m2. Adults were exposed on the treated arenas and mortality assessed after 1, 2, and 3 d. The procedures were repeated weekly on the same treated arenas for 3 wk to assess residual efficacy. At each week, mortality of all species was low after 1 d of exposure but notably increased after 2 or 3 d. L. entomophila was the most susceptible species, with 99-100% mortality at rates of 13.8 mg/m2 or higher. Similarly, mortality of L. paeta after 3 d of exposure at the same concentration ranged from 92 to 100%. L. bostrychophila was the least susceptible species, with mortality of \u3c60% during the third week after application at rates ≤27.5 mg/m2. However, even for this species, mortality after 3 wk was 90% or higher at rates \u3e27.5 mg/m2. Complete mortality of all species occurred after 3 d exposure at the highest rate tested of 110 mg/m2. Thus, our results show that chlorfenapyr is effective against major psocid species at the application rates evaluated in this study

Insecticidal Effect of Diatomaceous Earth Against Three Species of Stored-Product Psocids on Maize, Rice, and Wheat

We evaluated the efficacy of three diatomaceous earth (DE) formulations, Dryacide, Protect-It, and Insecto, against three Psocoptera species, Liposcelis entomophila (Enderlein) (Liposcelididae), Lepinotus reticulatus Enderlein (Trogiidae), and Liposcelis decolor (Pearman), in the laboratory. Bioassays were conducted in three grain commodities, wheat, rice and maize, at 30°C and 75% RH, and the DEs were applied at the recommended dose rates of 1,000, 400, and 500 ppm for Dryacide, Protect-It, and Insecto, respectively. Differences in adult mortality were found among grains and DEs for L. entomophila and L. reticulatus, but these trends were not consistent for all combinations tested. Type of grain and DE did not affect L. decolor mortality significantly. Moreover, mortality increased with increasing exposure time for L. entomophila and L. reticulatus, but there was no effect of exposure time on L. decolor. After 7 d of exposure, mortalities of L. entomophila, L. reticulatus, and L. decolor were 56, 55, and 40%, respectively, and the respective mortality levels after 14 d were 63, 71, and 42%. Progeny production after 30 d was significantly suppressed for all species in the treated grains. However, progeny production was still high in the treated grains and reached 54, 42, and 76 individuals/10 g of grain for L. entomophila, L. reticulatus, and L. decolor, respectively. Progeny production did not vary with commodity. Our results suggest that DEs, when used alone, will not provide effective control of psocids

Top Management Team Diversity: A systematic Review

Empirical research investigating the impact of top management team (TMT) diversity on executives’ decision making has produced inconclusive results. To synthesize and aggregate the results on the diversity-performance link, a meta-regression analysis (MRA) is conducted. It integrates more than 200 estimates from 53 empirical studies investigating TMT diversity and its impact on the quality of executives’ decision making as reflected in corporate performance. The analysis contributes to the literature by theoretically discussing and empirically examining the effects of TMT diversity on corporate performance. Our results do not show a link between TMT diversity and performance but provide evidence for publication bias. Thus, the findings raise doubts on the impact of TMT diversity on performance

Controlling the reversible wetting capability of smart photochromic-polymer surfaces by micro patterning

We demonstrate the wetting behavior control of polymer surfaces doped with photochromic molecules by modifying the surface patterning features introduced by soft molding lithography. Such surfaces enhance their hydrophilicity upon UV irradiation due to conversion of the non-polar spiropyran dopant molecules to their polar merocyanine isomers. The process is reversed upon visible light irradiation. By changing the topological parameters of the introduced pattern, one achieves surface tuning from hydrophobic to hydrophilic situations. The difference for the contact angles between UV- and green-irradiated surfaces may become significantly higher than for the flat surfaces, for the specific patterning parameters analyzed