Developing ecostacking techniques for pollen beetle management in oilseed rape

In this review, we examine how the principles of ecostacking could be used to manage the pollen beetle Brassicogethes aeneus in oilseed crucifer crops. We further describe hindrances preventing progress of keeping the pest under full biological control across Europe, and for other similar pest management situations. Ecological processes at different levels need to be considered and understood. The beneficial functions, which the various ecosystem service providers offer, need to be combined and exploited in an additive or synergistic manner, i.e., ecostacked. Levels to consider include landscape and off-crop habitats (e.g., field margins) and their effects on pest management in the rapeseed crop; and possibilities to generate the key ecosystem services within the crop itself; for example, by vegetation management (e.g., undersowing, variety mixtures, companion and trap crops), soil management (biotic and abiotic; fostering and steering soil microbial communities to benefit biocontrol), and crop management, including crop protection treatments and their impacts on ecosystem service provision. All these processes affect the populations of the pollen beetle. Abundant information exists about most of the key processes important in this context. Utilizing this knowledge and stacking the various beneficial ecosystem service functions into a comprehensive management strategy for the pollen beetle, has not been attempted nor described. After illustrating the potential of ecostacking in solving crop protection problems, as it is apparent in the case of the pollen beetle, we analyze a situation where our approach was lost in translation. The European Union Horizon 2020 program chose to support our vision of ecostacking with a 10million euro grant. Administrative decisions by the coordinating university (not to accept to host the grant), and subsequent failure of the European Commission and its Research Executive Agency to demonstrate leadership on issues of research policy, integrity, and ethics in the handling of the project, resulted in a shift of emphasis away from solutions based on integrative biocontrol.Peer reviewe

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Effects of exoplanetary gravity on human locomotor ability

At some point in the future, if mankind hopes to settle planets outside the Solar System, it will be crucial to determine the range of planetary conditions under which human beings could survive and function. In this article, we apply physical considerations to future exoplanetary biology to determine the limitations which gravity imposes on several systems governing the human body. Initially, we examine the ultimate limits at which the human skeleton breaks and muscles become unable to lift the body from the ground. We also produce a new model for the energetic expenditure of walking, by modelling the leg as an inverted pendulum. Both approaches conclude that, with rigorous training, humans could perform normal locomotion at gravity no higher than 4 $g_{\textrm{Earth}}$.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures, to be published in The Physics Teache

Dairy producer attitudes to pain in cattle in relation to disbudding calves

Pain is an important indicator of poor welfare of livestock. Despite this, pain has largely gone unrecognized in farm animals due to attitudes of producers and veterinarians, although they play a key role in monitoring and managing the perception of animal pain. Producer attitudes toward animal welfare influence livestock management and production. The aim was to quantify dairy producer attitudes to the painfulness of various cattle diseases and disbudding, a painful routine procedure performed on farm to ensure safer handling of cattle. A questionnaire on disbudding-related opinions and practices was sent to 1,000 Finnish dairy producers (response rate: 45%). Attitudes toward disbudding were gauged using a 5-point Likert scale and attitudes to cattle pain scored on an 11-point numerical rating scale. Principal components analysis was used to assess the loadings, which were further tested for differences between producer gender and housing systems with Mann-Whitney U-tests, and between herd milk yield, herd size, and age and work experience of producers with a Kruskal-Wallis test. Four main factors were identified: factor I (“taking disbudding pain seriously”), factor II (“sensitivity to pain caused by cattle diseases”), factor III (“ready to medicate calves myself”), and factor IV (“pro horns”). Female producers took disbudding pain more seriously, were more sensitive to pain caused to cattle by diseases, and were more ready to medicate disbudded calves than male producers. Producers with tie-stalls favored horns over producers with freestalls. Male producers with tie-stalls were sensitive to cattle pain and preferred horns over male producers with freestalls. Female producers with freestalls were more ready to medicate calves, but did not prefer horns more than female producers with tie-stalls. Taking disbudding seriously correlated with sensitivity to pain caused by cattle diseases. Producers with low-milk-yielding herds were less willing to medicate calves and more willing to keep cattle with horns than producers with higher-yielding herds. Older producers were more sensitive to cattle pain than middle-aged and younger producers. No effect was established for taking disbudding pain seriously: the pro-horn factor was associated with work experience, age, and herd size. Women rated pain higher and were more positive toward pain medication for animals than men. Maintaining horns are more important for producers with tie-stalls than for those with freestalls.Peer reviewe

Multichannel optical sensor for oil film pressure measurement in engine main bearing

An optical sensor has been developed for experimental determination of oil film pressure in journal bearings. The non-intrusive fibre optic sensor is integrated in the sliding surface of the bearing to measure the actual oil film pressure under load without disturbing the actual tribological contact conditions. The sensors with a multichannel system also allowed the use of several optical sensors simultaneously. Four optical sensors were integrated in a hydrodynamic journal bearing of a large scale diesel engine and the engine tests were carried out with different loads to study the sensor operation in demanding operating conditions. The oil film pressure was successfully measured and the results showed differences in bearing pressure depending on the position of the sensor and on the operating cycle of the cylinders. The optical sensor was capable to measure the oil film pressure in journal bearing with a good sensitivity and repeatability during the tests. &nbsp

Stimulating fertility awareness: the importance of getting the language right

While education about fertility is not intrinsically controversial, finding the right language to communicate the topic can be challenging, as there are several risks of unintended negative effects such as dissonance, anxiety, culpability, and stigma due to social norming. In this article, we share some of our learnings from promoting fertility awareness in the hope that they will inspire further debate and research on this topic. Starting from the ethical principles of respect for reproductive autonomy, avoiding harm (in terms of stigma or anxiety) and inclusivity, we have formulated five recommendations: (i) frame fertility awareness messages with (reproductive) autonomy in mind and aim to be inclusive of those who do not represent the traditional nuclear family; (ii) be empathetic and steer clear of blame; (iii) avoid scaremongering and offer a positive angle; (iv) give due consideration to both women and men in fertility health messaging; and (v) tailor the messages to particular contexts and audiences and develop resources in close collaboration with the target groups

Similarity Index for the Fat Fraction between Breast Milk and Infant Formulas

The similarity of the fat fraction in infant formulas rich in either bovine milk fat (MF) or vegetable oil (VO) to breastmilk was evaluated by analyzing their lipid composition. Milk fat-rich formulas were highly similar (average similarity index 0.68) tobreast milk compared to the VO-rich formulas (average similarity index 0.56). The highest difference in the indices was found in thecontents of cholesterol (0.66 vs 0.28 in MF- and VO-rich formulas, respectively, on average) and polar lipids (0.84 vs 0.53), thepositional distribution of fatty acids in thesn-2 position of triacylglycerols (0.53 vs 0.28), and fatty acid composition (0.72 vs 0.54).The VO-based formulas were superior in similarity inn-6 PUFA. Thus, the addition of bovine MF fractions is an effective way toincrease the similarity between the lipid composition of infant formulas and human mil

Compatibility between the endoparasitoid Hyposoter didymator and the entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium brunneum: A laboratory simulation for the simultaneous use to control Spodoptera littoralis

BACKGROUND The cotton leafworm, Spodoptera littoralis, is one of the most destructive pests in the Mediterranean basin, being predominantly controlled using synthetic chemical pesticides. Strain EAMa 01/58‐Su of the fungus Metarhizium brunneum and the parasitoid Hyposoter didymator are promising biological control agents for this pest. In this study, we assessed the compatibility between these two agents to control S. littoralis under joint attack scenarios. RESULTS Firstly, the direct and indirect effects of the fungus towards parasitoid adults were studied. The fungus significantly decreased life expectancy of the parasitoid (mortality=62.5%; mean lethal concentration=1.85×106 conidia ml‐1; average survival time=92.2h) when applied at high concentrations (108 conidia ml‐1), whereas it did not affect the reproductive potential of the parasitoid females during the three days after treatment. Secondly, the combinations between the two agents to control S. littoralis under different simultaneous use scenarios (inoculation of S. littoralis larvae with the fungus before being exposed to parasitoid females and vice versa) were investigated, with additive effect in all cases. A significant effect on fitness (preimaginal development time and reproductive potential) of the F1 parasitoid generation were detected. Moreover, parasitization significantly reduced the total haemocytes in S. littoralis haemolymph compared with the control, promoting fungal infection. Finally, parasitoids showed a significant preference for non‐inoculated S. littoralis larvae. CONCLUSIONS We demonstrated compatibility (additive effect) between fungus and parasitoid under different joint attack scenarios to control S. littoralis in laboratory conditions. However, this will be supported by our ongoing greenhouse and field studies

Education-Based Cutoffs for Cognitive Screening of Alzheimer’s Disease

Introduction: The educational background and size of the elderly population are undergoing significant changes in Finland during the 2020s. A similar process is likely to occur also in several European countries. For cognitive screening of early Alzheimer’s disease (AD), using outdated norms and cutoff scores may negatively affect clinical accuracy. The aim of the present study was to examine the effects of education, age, and gender on the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer’s Disease neuropsychological battery (CERAD-nb) in a large register-based, clinical sample of patients with mild AD and nondemented at-risk persons from the general population (controls) and to examine whether corrected cutoff scores would increase the accuracy of differentiation between the 2 groups. Methods: CERAD-nb scores were obtained from AD patients (n = 389, 58% women, mean age 74.0 years) and from controls (n = 1,980, 52% women, mean age 68.5 years). The differences in CERAD-nb performance were evaluated by univariate GLM. Differentiation between the 2 groups was evaluated using a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, where a larger area under the ROC curve represents better discrimination. Youden’s J was calculated for the overall performance and accuracy of each of the measures. Results: Of the demographic factors, education was the strongest predictor of CERAD-nb performance, explaining more variation than age or gender in both the AD patients and the controls. Education corrected cutoff scores had better diagnostic accuracy in discriminating between the AD patients and controls than existing uncorrected scores. The highest level of discrimination between the 2 groups overall was found for two CERAD-nb total scores. Conclusions: Education-corrected cutoff scores were superior to uncorrected scores in differentiating between controls and AD patients especially for the highest level of education and should therefore be used in clinical cognitive screening, also as the proportion of the educated elderly is increasing substantially during the 2020s. Our results also indicate that total scores of the CERAD-nb are better at discriminating AD patients from controls than any single subtest score. A digital tool for calculating the total scores and comparing education-based cutoffs would increase the efficiency and usability of the test.Peer reviewe

Sublingual administration of detomidine to calves prior to disbudding: a comparison with the intravenous route.

Objective: To study the effects of oromucosal detomidine gel administered sublingually to calves prior to disbudding, and to compare its efficacy with intravenously administered detomidine. Study design: Randomised, prospective clinical study. Animals: Twenty dairy calves aged 12.4 ± 4.4 days (mean ± SD), weight 50.5 ± 9.0 kg. Methods: Detomidine at 80 μg kg-1 was administered to ten calves sublingually (GEL) and at 30 μg kg-1 to ten control calves intravenously (IV). Meloxicam (0.5 mg kg-1) and  local anaesthetic (lidocaine 3 mg kg-1) were administered before heat cauterization of horn buds. Heart rate (HR), body temperature and clinical sedation were monitored over  240 minutes. Blood was collected during the same period for drug concentration  analysis. Pharmacokinetic variables were calculated from the plasma detomidine  concentration-time data using non-compartmental methods.  Results: The maximum plasma detomidine concentration after GEL was 2.1 ± 1.2 ng  mL-1 (mean ± SD) and the time of maximum concentration was 66.0 ± 36.9 minutes. The bioavailability of detomidine was approximately 34% with GEL. Similar sedation  scores were reached in both groups after administration of detomidine, but maximal sedation was reached earlier in the IV group (10 minutes) than in the GEL group (40 minutes). HR was lower after IV than GEL from 5 to 10 minutes after administration. All animals were adequately sedated, and we were able to administer local anaesthetic without resistance to all of the calves before disbudding. Conclusions and clinical relevance: Oromucosally administered detomidine is an  effective sedative agent for calves prior to disbudding.Peer reviewe