A Row Cover and Low-Risk Insecticide Strategy for Cucumber Beetle Management

Spotted and striped cucumber beetles vector a bacterium that causes wilt in cucurbits. These beetles are the major pest of muskmelons in Iowa. We investigated the success of spun-cotton Reemay row covers and several reduced-risk insecticides for management of cucumber beetles and bacterial wilt

Arachnoid cysts do not contain cerebrospinal fluid: A comparative chemical analysis of arachnoid cyst fluid and cerebrospinal fluid in adults

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Arachnoid cyst (AC) fluid has not previously been compared with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from the same patient. ACs are commonly referred to as containing "CSF-like fluid". The objective of this study was to characterize AC fluid by clinical chemistry and to compare AC fluid to CSF drawn from the same patient. Such comparative analysis can shed further light on the mechanisms for filling and sustaining of ACs.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Cyst fluid from 15 adult patients with unilateral temporal AC (9 female, 6 male, age 22-77y) was compared with CSF from the same patients by clinical chemical analysis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>AC fluid and CSF had the same osmolarity. There were no significant differences in the concentrations of sodium, potassium, chloride, calcium, magnesium or glucose. We found significant elevated concentration of phosphate in AC fluid (0.39 versus 0.35 mmol/L in CSF; <it>p </it>= 0.02), and significantly reduced concentrations of total protein (0.30 versus 0.41 g/L; <it>p </it>= 0.004), of ferritin (7.8 versus 25.5 ug/L; <it>p </it>= 0.001) and of lactate dehydrogenase (17.9 versus 35.6 U/L; <it>p </it>= 0.002) in AC fluid relative to CSF.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>AC fluid is not identical to CSF. The differential composition of AC fluid relative to CSF supports secretion or active transport as the mechanism underlying cyst filling. Oncotic pressure gradients or slit-valves as mechanisms for generating fluid in temporal ACs are not supported by these results.</p

Prosecutors\u27 Peremptory Challenges - A Response and Reply

Three federal trial attorneys disagree with Professor Richard Friedman\u27s proposal to eliminate the prosecution\u27s peremptories, while Friedman defends his view

A Trap Crop + Insecticide Approach for Cucumber Beetle Management

Spotted and striped cucumber beetles not only cause feeding damage in Iowa cucurbit crops, but vector a bacterium that causes bacterial wilt. ‘Turks Turban,’ an ornamental gourd, was used alone and in combination with carbaryl as a trap crop for these pests in muskmelon. We hypothesized that the beetles would preferentially feed on highly attractive gourd rows interspersed among the melon crop. Insecticide applications to these rows should be more effective than applications to the entire field and may be sufficient for control in the entire field

Trapping and Other Strategies for Cucumber Beetle Management

Spotted and striped cucumber beetles vector a bacterium that causes wilt in cucurbits (plants in the gourd family). These beetles are the major pest of muskmelons in Iowa. We investigated the success of a prototype Trecé brand trap and bait system, soon to be OMRI-approved (Organic Materials Review Institute), that chemically lures beetles to insecticide-treated bait inside a trap some distance away from the muskmelon crop. We also tested the success of Reemay fabric row covers, clear slitted plastic row covers, and BioYield seed treatment. BioYield is a seed inoculant that includes a variety of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria

Utslipp av breslam til Holandsfjorden fra Svartisen kraftverk. Spredning av mulige effekter av partikkeltilførselen

Etter at Svartisen kraftverk kom i drift i 1993 er det i perioder blitt observert brunlig vann i store deler av Nordfjord/Holandsfjord. Hovedårsaken har vært en høy tilførsel av partikler til fjorden gjennom kraftverket. Det siste års målinger av suspendert materiale (SPM) i kraftverksvannet viser en markant reduksjon i tilførselen av partikler til fjorden gjennom kraftverket, og bedringene er blitt bekreftet av SPM- og siktedypsmålinger i fjorden. Det er anslått at ca. 30% av den leire og silt som slippes ut gjennom kraftverket transporteres forbi Enganeset, hvor den raskt fortynnes og konsentrasjonen av SPM vil komme ned på "bakgrunnsnivå". Sandfraksjonen vil i hovedsak sedimentere rett utenfor utslippet innerst i Nordfjord. Beregninger foretatt med utgangspunkt i dagens-, og den antatt fremtidige situasjon, indikerer liten negativ påvirkning på livet i fjorden. Lokalt, og i korte perioder, vil påvirkningen kunne være større. For å fortsatt kunne følge utviklingen i fjorden i tiden fremover foreslåes at pågående undersøkelser/målinger, med enkelte tillegg og justeringer, videreføres frem til år 2001-02 da en større etterundersøkelse er planlagt

Asymptotics of the solutions of the stochastic lattice wave equation

We consider the long time limit theorems for the solutions of a discrete wave equation with a weak stochastic forcing. The multiplicative noise conserves the energy and the momentum. We obtain a time-inhomogeneous Ornstein-Uhlenbeck equation for the limit wave function that holds both for square integrable and statistically homogeneous initial data. The limit is understood in the point-wise sense in the former case, and in the weak sense in the latter. On the other hand, the weak limit for square integrable initial data is deterministic

Biochemical and virological analysis of the 18-residue C-terminal tail of HIV-1 integrase

Background The 18 residue tail abutting the SH3 fold that comprises the heart of the C-terminal domain is the only part of HIV-1 integrase yet to be visualized by structural biology. To ascertain the role of the tail region in integrase function and HIV-1 replication, a set of deletion mutants that successively lacked three amino acids was constructed and analyzed in a variety of biochemical and virus infection assays. HIV-1/2 chimers, which harbored the analogous 23-mer HIV-2 tail in place of the HIV-1 sequence, were also studied. Because integrase mutations can affect steps in the replication cycle other than integration, defective mutant viruses were tested for integrase protein content and reverse transcription in addition to integration. The F185K core domain mutation, which increases integrase protein solubility, was furthermore analyzed in a subset of mutants. Results Purified proteins were assessed for in vitro levels of 3&#39; processing and DNA strand transfer activities whereas HIV-1 infectivity was measured using luciferase reporter viruses. Deletions lacking up to 9 amino acids (1-285, 1-282, and 1-279) displayed near wild-type activities in vitro and during infection. Further deletion yielded two viruses, HIV-11-276 and HIV-11-273, that displayed approximately two and 5-fold infectivity defects, respectively, due to reduced integrase function. Deletion mutant HIV-11-270 and the HIV-1/2 chimera were non-infectious and displayed approximately 3 to 4-fold reverse transcription in addition to severe integration defects. Removal of four additional residues, which encompassed the C-terminal &beta; strand of the SH3 fold, further compromised integrase incorporation into virions and reverse transcription. Conclusion HIV-11-270, HIV-11-266, and the HIV-1/2 chimera were typed as class II mutant viruses due to their pleiotropic replication defects. We speculate that residues 271-273 might play a role in mediating the known integrase-reverse transcriptase interaction, as their removal unveiled a reverse transcription defect. The F185K mutation reduced the in vitro activities of 1-279 and 1-276 integrases by about 25%. Mutant proteins 1-279/F185K and 1-276/F185K are therefore highlighted as potential structural biology candidates, whereas further deleted tail variants (1-273/F185K or 1-270/F185K) are less desirable due to marginal or undetectable levels of integrase function

Norgips Norge AS. Miljøkonsekvenser ved utslipp til Drammensfjorden

Årsliste 2007NIVA har på oppdrag for Norgips Norge As vurdert miljøkonsekvensene av bedriftens utslipp til Drammensfjorden. Vurderingene er basert på opplysninger fra bedriften samt prøvetaking og analyser av utslippene til sjøen. Norgips produserer gipsplater basert på industrigips fra kullfyrte kraftverk. Gipsen inneholder små mengder metaller og det er særlig kvikksølv det har vært knyttet bekymring til. Undersøkelsene viser at prosessvannet fra bedriften bidrar med metaller til utslippet. Konsentrasjonene er forhøyet i forhold til bakgrunnskonsentrasjonene i lokal bekk og i Drammenselva. Kvikksølv i utslippet (0,1 g/døgn) er lite i forhold til andre tilførsler til fjorden (Drammenselva 13 g Hg/døgn). Utslippet utgjør liten eller ingen miljørisiko. Det fortynnes i brakkvannslaget i Drammenfjorden og kroniske effekter av kadmium, kvikksølv og bly kan muligens oppstå helt inntil utslippet (1-2 m). Kobber er det metallet som krever størst fortynning (20 x) for å komme under grenseverdiene for kroniske effekter. Det er et begrenset område langs land (vannmasse 3 m tykt og 30 m bredt) hvor disse grenseverdiene vil kunne overskrides. Utslippet antas å ha liten eller ingen effekt på fauna og flora i brakkvannsonen, som naturlig er sparsom og tolerant for variasjoner i miljøsvingninger. Bedriften kan med fordel dykke utslippet til under brakkvannslaget for å oppnå en raskere fortynning.Norgips Norge A