Oil-Soluble Dyes for Marking European Corn Borer (Lepidoptera: Crambidae)

The European corn borer, Ostrinia nubilalis (Hubner), is a pest of corn throughout the Corn Belt. It also is the target pest of the first commercially available transgenic corn hybrids. These transformed hybrids contain a modified gene from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis Berliner that expresses an insecticidal protein (Koziel et al. 1993, Bio!T echnol. 11 : 194-200). The widespread use of these hybrids has fueled the development of resistance management models and protocols

An add-on device to perform dexterous grasping tasks with a haptic feedback system

Achieving grasping tasks in real time with haptic feedback may require the control of a large number of degrees of freedom (DOFs) to model hand and finger movements. This is mandatory to grasp objects with dexterity. Here, a new device called HaptiHand is proposed that can be added to a haptic feedback arm and provide the user with enough DOFs so that he/she can intuitively and dexterously grasp an object, modify the virtual hand configuration and number of fingers with respect to the object while manipulating the object. Furthermore, this device is non-invasive and enables the user to apply forces on the fingers of the virtual hand. The HaptiHand lies inside the user’s hand so that the user can apply and release pressure on it in a natural manner that is transferred to the virtual hand using metaphors. The focus is placed on the description of the technology and structure of the HaptiHand to justify the choices and explain the behavior of the HaptiHand during object grasping and releasing tasks. This is combined with a short description of the models used.iLab Inria-Haptio

Исследование коррозионных свойств биосовместимых покрытий на основе титана, осажденных методом реактивного магнетронного распыления

В работе изучались свойства Ti-O-N покрытий, нанесенных на стальные подложки методом реактивного магнетронного напыления, такие как коррозионная стойкость, термическая устойчивость, а так же диффузионные процессы в физиологических растворах. Методами инфракрасной спектроскопии и атомно-эмиссионного анализа была установлена химическая инертность пленки, а так же потенциальная биологическая активность в виду обнаружения оксида азота в модельных растворах после контакта с покрытиями Ti-O-N.The properties of Ti-O-N coatings deposited on steel substrates by the method of reactive magnetron sputtering, such as corrosion resistance, thermal stability, as well as diffusion processes in physiological solutions were studied. By the methods of infrared spectroscopy and atomic emission analysis, the chemical inertness of the film was established, as well as the potential biological activity in the form of detection of nitrogen oxide in model solutions after contact with Ti-O-N coatings

Vascular Platform to Define Hematopoietic Stem Cell Factors and Enhance Regenerative Hematopoiesis

SummaryHematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) inhabit distinct microenvironments within the adult bone marrow (BM), which govern the delicate balance between HSC quiescence, self-renewal, and differentiation. Previous reports have proposed that HSCs localize to the vascular niche, comprised of endothelium and tightly associated perivascular cells. Herein, we examine the capacity of BM endothelial cells (BMECs) to support ex vivo and in vivo hematopoiesis. We demonstrate that AKT1-activated BMECs (BMEC-Akt1) have a unique transcription factor/cytokine profile that supports functional HSCs in lieu of complex serum and cytokine supplementation. Additionally, transplantation of BMEC-Akt1 cells enhanced regenerative hematopoiesis following myeloablative irradiation. These data demonstrate that BMEC-Akt1 cultures can be used as a platform for the discovery of pro-HSC factors and justify the utility of BMECs as a cellular therapy. This technical advance may lead to the development of therapies designed to decrease pancytopenias associated with myeloablative regimens used to treat a wide array of disease states

The Freshman, vol. 5, no. 1

The Freshman was a weekly, student newsletter issued on Mondays throughout the academic year. The newsletter included calendar notices, coverage of campus social events, lectures, and athletic teams. The intent of the publication was to create unity, a sense of community, and class spirit among first year students

The Impact of Language Opacity and Proficiency on Reading Strategies in Bilinguals: An Eye Movement Study

Reading strategies vary across languages according to orthographic depth - the complexity of the grapheme in relation to phoneme conversion rules - notably at the level of eye movement patterns. We recently demonstrated that a group of early bilinguals, who learned both languages equally under the age of seven, presented a first fixation location (FFL) closer to the beginning of words when reading in German as compared with French. Since German is known to be orthographically more transparent than French, this suggested that different strategies were being engaged depending on the orthographic depth of the used language. Opaque languages induce a global reading strategy, and transparent languages force a local/serial strategy. Thus, pseudo-words were processed using a local strategy in both languages, suggesting that the link between word forms and their lexical representation may also play a role in selecting a specific strategy. In order to test whether corresponding effects appear in late bilinguals with low proficiency in their second language (L2), we present a new study in which we recorded eye movements while two groups of late German-French and French-German bilinguals read aloud isolated French and German words and pseudo-words. Since, a transparent reading strategy is local and serial, with a high number of fixations per stimuli, and the level of the bilingual participants' L2 is low, the impact of language opacity should be observed in L1. We therefore predicted a global reading strategy if the bilinguals' L1 was French (FFL close to the middle of the stimuli with fewer fixations per stimuli) and a local and serial reading strategy if it was German. Thus, the L2 of each group, as well as pseudo-words, should also require a local and serial reading strategy. Our results confirmed these hypotheses, suggesting that global word processing is only achieved by bilinguals with an opaque L1 when reading in an opaque language; the low level in the L2 gives way to a local and serial reading strategy. These findings stress the fact that reading behavior is influenced not only by the linguistic mode but also by top-down factors, such as readers' proficiency

The Freshman, vol. 5, no. 7

The Freshman was a weekly, student newsletter issued on Mondays throughout the academic year. The newsletter included calendar notices, coverage of campus social events, lectures, and athletic teams. The intent of the publication was to create unity, a sense of community, and class spirit among first year students. Featured in this issue is an article by librarian L. T. Ibbotson (Lewis T. Ibbotson), about the impact of the Great Depression on book circulation

The Freshman, vol. 5, no. 8

The Freshman was a weekly, student newsletter issued on Mondays throughout the academic year. The newsletter included calendar notices, coverage of campus social events, lectures, and athletic teams. The intent of the publication was to create unity, a sense of community, and class spirit among first year students

The Freshman, vol. 5, no. 6

The Freshman was a weekly, student newsletter issued on Mondays throughout the academic year. The newsletter included calendar notices, coverage of campus social events, lectures, and athletic teams. The intent of the publication was to create unity, a sense of community, and class spirit among first year students