Structural fumigation efficacy against Tribolium castaneum in flour mills

Structural fumigations of food processing plants to manage stored-product insects have been a major component of pest management programs, but limited information on field efficacy is available. Efficacy, based on pheromone trapping data, consists of initial reduction in captures after treatment and recovery in trap captures over time after treatment (i.e., rebound). Patterns of Tribolium castaneum reduction and rebound were evaluated after 21 fumigations in two flour mills. Influence of time of year fumigation occurred, environmental conditions, and impact of other pest management tactics on efficacy was determined as well. Information generated can be used to guide fumigation decisions, including the development of risk thresholds for levels of pheromone trap captures. Keywords: Tribolium castaneum, Fumigation, Flour mills, Efficacy, Methyl bromid

High resolution numerical study of the Algiers 2001 flash flood: sensitivity to the upper-level potential vorticity anomaly

From 9 to 11 November 2001, intense cyclogenesis affected the northern coasts of Africa and more particularly the densely populated city of Algiers. During the morning of 10 November, more than 130 mm of precipitation was recorded at Bouzareah and resulted in mudslides which devastated the Bab-el-Oued district. This disaster caused more than 700 casualties and catastrophic damage. Like many other heavy rainstorms in the western Mediterranean, this event was associated with the presence of an upper-level trough materialized by a deep stratospheric intrusion and characterized by high potential vorticity values. In this study, the impact of this synoptic structure on the localization and intensity of the precipitation which affected Algiers is investigated using a potential vorticity (PV) inversion method coupled for the first time with the French non-hydrostatic MESO-NH model. A set of perturbed synoptic environments was designed by slightly modifying the extent and the intensity of the coherent potential vorticity structures in the operational ARPEGE analysis. It is shown that such modifications may have a strong impact on the fine-scale precipitation forecast in the Algiers region, thereby demonstrating the fundamental role played by the potential vorticity anomaly during this exceptional meteorological event

Numerical Methods for Flow in Fractured Porous Media

In this work we present the mathematical models for single-phase flow in fractured porous media. An overview of the most common approaches is considered, which includes continuous fracture models and discrete fracture models. For the latter, we discuss strategies that are developed in literature for its numerical solution mainly related to the geometrical relation between the fractures and porous media grids

Prevalence of psychosis in black ethnic minorities in Britain: analysis based on three national surveys

Purpose A considerable excess of psychosis in black ethnic minorities is apparent from clinical studies, in Britain, as in other developed economies with white majority populations. This excess is not so marked in population surveys. Equitable health service provision should be informed by the best estimates of the excess. We used national survey data to establish the difference in the prevalence of psychosis between black ethnic groups and the white majority in the British general population. Methods Analysis of the combined datasets (N = 26,091) from the British national mental health surveys of 1993, 2000 and 2007. Cases of psychosis were determined either by the use of the Schedules for Clinical Assessment in Neuropsychiatry (SCAN), or from a combination of screening items. We controlled for sex, age, social class, unemployment, design features and other putative confounders, using a Disease Risk Score. Results People from black ethnic minorities had an excess prevalence rate of psychosis compared with the white majority population. The OR, weighted for study design and response rate, was 2.72 (95 % CI 1.3–5.6, p = 0.002). This was marginally increased after controlling for potential confounders (OR = 2.90, 95 % CI 1.4–6.2, p = 0.006). Conclusions The excess of psychosis in black ethnic minority groups was similar to that in two previous British community surveys, and less than that based on clinical studies. Even so it confirms a considerable need for increased mental health service resources in areas with high proportions of black ethnic minority inhabitants

The effect of a startle-based warning, age, sex, and secondary task on takeover actions in critical autonomous driving scenarios

Introduction: In highly autonomous driving scenarios, it is critical to identify strategies to accelerate reaction times since drivers may take too long to take over control of the vehicle. Previous studies reported that an Acoustic Startling Pre-Stimulus (ASPS, i.e., a loud warning preceding an action) accelerated reaction times in simple ankle flexion exercises.Methods: In this study, we examined if an ASPS warning leads to shorter takeover reaction times in a sled-simulated evasive swerving maneuver. Twenty-eight participants (seven male adults, seven male teenagers, seven female adults, and seven female teenagers) were instructed to align a marker on the steering wheel with a marker on a lateral post as fast as they could as soon as the lateral sled perturbation (0.75 g) started. Four conditions were examined: with and without an ASPS (105 dB, played 250 ms before sled perturbation for 40 ms), and with and without a secondary task (i.e., texting). A catch trial (ASPS only) was used to minimize anticipation. Human kinematics were captured with an 8-camera 3D motion capture system.Results: Results showed that the drivers’ hands lifted towards the steering wheel more quickly with the ASPS (169 ± 55 ms) than without (194 ± 46 ms; p = 0.01), and that adult drivers touched the steering wheel quicker with the ASPS (435 ± 54 ms) than without (470 ± 33 ms; p = 0.01). Similar findings were not observed for the teen drivers. Additionally, female drivers were found to lift their hands towards the steering wheel faster than male drivers (166 ± 58 ms vs. 199 ± 36 ms; p = 0.009).Discussion: Our findings suggest that the ASPS may be beneficial to accelerate driver reaction times during the initiation of a correction maneuver, and that autonomous vehicle warnings may need to be tailored to the age and sex of the driver

Mechanisms underlying the diminished sensitivity to prolactin negative feedback during lactation: Reduced STAT5 signaling and up-regulation of cytokine-inducible SH2 domain-containing protein (CIS) expression in tuberoinfundibular dopaminergic neurons

Hyperprolactinaemia during lactation is a consequence of the sucking stimulus and in part due to reduced prolactin (PRL) negative feedback. To date, the mechanisms involved in this diminished sensitivity to PRL feedback are unknown but may involve changes in PRL signal transduction within tuberoinfundibular dopaminergic (TIDA) neurons. Therefore, we investigated signal transducers and activators of transcription (STAT) 5 signaling in the TIDA neurons of lactating rats. Dual-label confocal immunofluorescence studies were used to determine the intracellular distribution of STAT5 within TIDA neurons in the dorsomedial arcuate nucleus. In lactating rats with pups removed for 16 h, injection of ovine PRL significantly (P < 0.05) increased the STAT5 nuclear/cytoplasmic ratio compared with vehicle-treated mothers. In contrast, ovine PRL injection did not increase the STAT5 nuclear/cytoplasmic ratio in lactating mothers with pups, demonstrating that PRL signal transduction through STAT5 is reduced in TIDA neurons in the presence of pups. To investigate possible mechanisms involved in reduced PRL signaling, we examined the expression of suppressors of cytokine signaling (SOCS) proteins. Northern analysis on whole hypothalamus showed that CIS (cytokine-inducible SH2 domain-containing protein), but not SOCS1 or SOCS3, mRNA expression was significantly (P < 0.01) up-regulated in suckled lactating rats. Semiquantitative RT-PCR on arcuate nucleus micropunches also showed up-regulation of CIS transcripts. Immunofluorescence studies demonstrated that CIS is expressed in all TIDA neurons in the dorsomedial arcuate nucleus, and the intensity of CIS staining in these neurons is significantly (P < 0.05) increased in lactating rats with sucking pups. Together, these results support the hypothesis that loss of sensitivity to PRL-negative feedback during lactation is a result of increased CIS expression in TIDA neurons

Remapping algorithms: application to trimming operations in sheet metal forming

Most of sheet metal forming processes comprise intermediate trimming operations to remove superfluous material. These operations are required for subsequent forming operations. On the other hand, the springback is strongly influenced by the trimming operations that change the part stiffness and the stress field. From the numerical point of view, this involves the geometrical trimming of the finite element mesh and subsequent remapping of the state variables. This study presents a remapping method based on Dual Kriging interpolation, specifically developed for hexahedral finite elements, which has been implemented in DD3TRIM in-house code. Its performance is compared with the one of the Incremental Volumetric Remapping method, using the split-ring test to highlight their advantages and limitations. The numerical simulation of the forming processes is performed with DD3IMP finite element solver.The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under the projects with reference UID/EMS/00285/2013, PTDC/EMS-TEC/0702/2014 (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-016779) and PTDC/EMS-TEC/6400/2014 (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-016876) by UE/FEDER through the program COMPETE2020. The first author is also grateful to the FCT for the Postdoctoral grant SFRH/BPD/101334/2014.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio