The biology and ecology of the swede midge Contarinia nasturii (Kieffer) (Diptera; Cecidomyidae).

PhD ThesisThe swede midge Contarinia nasturtii (Kieffer), a member of the family Cecidomyidae (Order, Diptera), is a small insect, the larvae of which induce gall formation on numerous cruciferous plants. Kieffer (1888) first described the midge which he reared from larvae occupying the closed flowers of Nasturtium palustre D. C., now known to be Rorippa islandica (Oeder) Borbas. In subsequent years numerous authors have reported the midge, under various synonyms, as a frequent pest of several important cruciferous crops. Briefly this thesis re-examines the life-cycle of the swede midge in detail and investigates the effect of what seem to be the important environmental factors on successive stages of development. After consideration of the observed population fluctuations of C. nasturtii at Nafferton, Northumberland, during 1957-1960, the thesis concludes with a discussion of population change in relation to various components of the environment.Agricultural Research Council

The UK's Global Health Respiratory Network: Improving respiratory health of the world's poorest through research collaborations.

Respiratory disorders are responsible for considerable morbidity, health care utilisation, societal costs and approximately one in five deaths worldwide [1-4]. Yet, despite this substantial health and societal burden – which particularly affects the world’s poorest populations and as such is a major contributor to global health inequalities – respiratory disorders have historically not received the policy priority they warrant. For example, despite causing an estimated 1000 deaths per day, less than half of the world’s countries collect data on asthma prevalence (http://www.globalasthmareport.org/). This is true for both communicable and non-communicable respiratory disorders, many of which are either amenable to treatment or preventable

Compliance of smokeless tobacco supply chain actors and products with tobacco control laws in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan: protocol for a multicentre sequential mixed-methods study

Introduction: South Asia is home to more than 300 million smokeless tobacco (ST) users. Bangladesh, India and Pakistan as signatories to the Framework Convention for Tobacco Control (FCTC) have developed policies aimed at curbing the use of tobacco. The objective of this study is to assess the compliance of ST point-of-sale (POS) vendors and the supply chain with the articles of the FCTC and specifically with national tobacco control laws. We also aim to assess disparities in compliance with tobacco control laws between ST and smoked tobacco products. Methods and analysis: The study will be carried out at two sites each in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan. We will conduct a sequential mixed-methods study with five components: (1) mapping of ST POS, (2) analyses of ST samples packaging, (3) observation, (4) survey interviews of POS and (5) in-depth interviews with wholesale dealers/suppliers/manufacturers of ST. We aim to conduct at least 300 POS survey interviews and observations, and 6-10 in-depth interviews in each of the three countries. Data collection will be done by trained data collectors. The main statistical analysis will report the frequencies and proportions of shops that comply with the FCTC and local tobacco control policies, and provide a 95% CI of these estimates. The qualitative in-depth interview data will be analysed using the framework approach. The findings will be connected, each component informing the focus and/or design of the next component. Ethics and dissemination: Ethical approvals for the study have been received from the Health Sciences Research Governance Committee at the University of York, UK. In-country approvals were taken from the National Bioethics Committee in Pakistan, the Bangladesh Medical Research Council and the Indian Medical Research Council. Our results will be disseminated via scientific conferences, peer-reviewed research publications and press releases