Resistance Evolution to Bt Crops: Predispersal Mating of European Corn Borers

Over the past decade, the high-dose refuge (HDR) strategy, aimed at delaying the evolution of pest resistance to Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) toxins produced by transgenic crops, became mandatory in the United States and is being discussed for Europe. However, precopulatory dispersal and the mating rate between resident and immigrant individuals, two features influencing the efficiency of this strategy, have seldom been quantified in pests targeted by these toxins. We combined mark-recapture and biogeochemical marking over three breeding seasons to quantify these features directly in natural populations of Ostrinia nubilalis, a major lepidopteran corn pest. At the local scale, resident females mated regardless of males having dispersed beforehand or not, as assumed in the HDR strategy. Accordingly, 0–67% of resident females mating before dispersal did so with resident males, this percentage depending on the local proportion of resident males (0% to 67.2%). However, resident males rarely mated with immigrant females (which mostly arrived mated), the fraction of females mating before dispersal was variable and sometimes substantial (4.8% to 56.8%), and there was no evidence for male premating dispersal being higher. Hence, O. nubilalis probably mates at a more restricted spatial scale than previously assumed, a feature that may decrease the efficiency of the HDR strategy under certain circumstances, depending for example on crop rotation practices

The impact of immediate breast reconstruction on the time to delivery of adjuvant therapy: the iBRA-2 study

Background: Immediate breast reconstruction (IBR) is routinely offered to improve quality-of-life for women requiring mastectomy, but there are concerns that more complex surgery may delay adjuvant oncological treatments and compromise long-term outcomes. High-quality evidence is lacking. The iBRA-2 study aimed to investigate the impact of IBR on time to adjuvant therapy. Methods: Consecutive women undergoing mastectomy ± IBR for breast cancer July–December, 2016 were included. Patient demographics, operative, oncological and complication data were collected. Time from last definitive cancer surgery to first adjuvant treatment for patients undergoing mastectomy ± IBR were compared and risk factors associated with delays explored. Results: A total of 2540 patients were recruited from 76 centres; 1008 (39.7%) underwent IBR (implant-only [n = 675, 26.6%]; pedicled flaps [n = 105,4.1%] and free-flaps [n = 228, 8.9%]). Complications requiring re-admission or re-operation were significantly more common in patients undergoing IBR than those receiving mastectomy. Adjuvant chemotherapy or radiotherapy was required by 1235 (48.6%) patients. No clinically significant differences were seen in time to adjuvant therapy between patient groups but major complications irrespective of surgery received were significantly associated with treatment delays. Conclusions: IBR does not result in clinically significant delays to adjuvant therapy, but post-operative complications are associated with treatment delays. Strategies to minimise complications, including careful patient selection, are required to improve outcomes for patients

Public sector reform in Papua New Guinea - the saga continues

No abstract availabl

Set in concrete? The proposed cement clinker plant in Papua New Guinea

No abstract availabl

Human resource management in the Australian public service: challenges and opportunities. by Denis Ives

This article addresses Australia's recent experience with Human Resource Management in the public sector focusing on basic approaches and concepts that may be of use to other countries, in their search for best practice

Microeconomic policy in Papua New Guinea: the factor markets

No abstract availabl

Modelling the (damage) mechanics of textile composites with the aid of micro-tomography measurements

Textile-reinforced thermoplastic composites are widely used in aerospace structures, because they offer good drapability, excellent balance of stiffness and strength, fast processing conditions and potential for fusion bonded joints. On the other hand, their mechanical behaviour, especially in the presence of damage, is complicated, due to the interlacing fibres, resin rich matrix pockets and crack containment by the fibre reinforcement architecture. The Mechanics of Materials and Structures research group at UGent develops finite element simulation tools to predict damage initiation and growth in textile composites, and makes use of embedded sensors to measure local strains and deformations in the composite. Micro-tomography measurements are particularly helpful in this regard for several reasons: 1) they provide the three-dimensional geometry of the textile reinforcement architecture, which is imported in finite element simulations for further mechanical analysis, 2) cracks can be visualized in a non-destructive manner, because embedding and polishing thermoplastic composite samples for optical microscopy, is not an easy task and can lead to an altered state of the cracks, 3) the embedded sensors can be visualized very easily, and their correct alignment and position can be verified