Genetic Similarities Among Geographic Isolates of Lysiphlebus testaceipes (Hymenoptera: Aphidiidae) Differing in Cold Temperature Tolerances

Lysiphlebus testaceipes (Cresson) is a solitary endoparasitoid of aphids and is the primary parasitoid attacking cereal aphids in the Great Plains, especially Schizaphis graminum (Rondani). In a previous study, it was found that a Lincoln, NE, isolate of L. testaceipes had a much higher survivorship at cold temperatures than isolates from Stillwater, OK, and Corpus Christi, TX. This suggested that the Nebraska isolate was locally adapted to the northern environment and perhaps genetically divergent from southern populations. We tested for genetic differentiation of the above isolates by sequencing portions of the COI and 16S mtDNA genes. We also examined a Florida isolate reared from Toxoptera citricida (Kirkaldy) and L. fabarum Marshall as an outgroup. The Great Plains isolates (Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Texas) were homogeneous with 0% and 0Ð0.2% sequence divergence in the COI and 16S gene fragments, respectively. The Florida isolate differed from the Great Plains isolates in nucleotide sequence by 1.4% (COI) and 0.5Ð0.7% (16S). Phylogenetic analysis placed the Florida isolate of L. testaceipes basal to the Great Plains isolates with L. fabarum, suggesting a possible species complex within L. testaceipes

Students' experiences of human-centred interventions in a design education setting

International and national developments in graphic design practice have incorporated unprecedented levels of engagement with end-user clients and audiences. However, instructional graphic design courses for undergraduates have not kept pace with this trend or with associated professional practice expectations. Traditionally, graphic design practice relies on the ‘expert’, autocratic knowledge of the designer regarding the expected outcomes of the design brief. The use of co-operative tools and techniques such as human-centred design (HCD) enables the process to become a more democratic co-creation experience, where the client participants actively contribute to the development of the final design product. To prepare students for the new relationship between designers and end-users, newly developed HCD project interventions were created as part of the Communication Design modules offered in the third year Graphic Design Diploma programme at a University of Technology in South Africa. This paper reports on two human-centred interventions in different settings and involving different types of stakeholders, with a view to analysing the experiences of students as they conducted the projects to assess the viability of the HCD projects towards establishing a proposed new curriculum that incorporates aspects of HCD as a fundamental approach to graphic design practice

Strategy, location and sampling of the Lias Group (2) ground movements : shrink/swell project

The authors published a report in 2002 describing the sampling of argillaceous formations of the Lias Group at twenty-eight sites in South Wales, Eastern and Southern England. This report forms an addendum to the original report and describes the sampling of further Liassic formations in the counties of Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire. Weathered and unweathered material was collected as undisturbed block samples and disturbed bulk samples from exposed faces. The samples were taken to give representative geotechnical properties of the lithostratigraphic formations of the Lias Group present at the sampling sites in a weathered and unweathered condition, if possible. The location of each site is described briefly and is indicated on a 1:50K OS map base. The stratigraphic units present at the site are listed and the site indicated on a 1:50K geological map base. Photographs of sections and sampling sites are also present. The types of samples taken from each site are specified and difficulties regarding the sampling are indicated where appropriate

A Review of Hybrid Manufacturing

In recent years the combination of laser-based Additive Manufacturing and Computer Numerical Controlled (CNC) machining has become increasingly popular, with several machine tool manufacturers exhibiting products based on different machine tool configurations. This technology, widely known as Hybrid Manufacturing, generally exploits Directed Energy Deposition processes using powder feedstock that is fed into a melt pool created by a laser. Although Directed Energy Deposition processes predate powder bed fusion Additive Manufacturing (at least in terms of coating and repair applications), commercialization of Hybrid Manufacturing systems is still very much in its infancy. However, they do offer clear advantages, combining a high deposition rate together with the accuracy and surface finish associated with machining. This paper presents the history of the development of Hybrid Manufacturing Systems (HMS), dating back from work undertaken in the mid 1990s through to the present day. The relative merits of different material deposition approaches are compared and some of the key technical challenges which remain are highlighted and discussed.Mechanical Engineerin

Infusing the UN Sustainable Development Goals into a global learning initiative

The Global Citizens Project (GCP) is a university-wide global learning initiative at the University of South Florida, aimed at enhancing undergraduate students’ global competencies through curricular and co-curricular experiences. The GCP uses the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a framework for these experiences. Understanding the SDGs allows students to expand their ideas on issues that exist in the world and how we might respond to the challenges. The purpose of this article is to provide a case study showing how the GCP has introduced students from all disciplines and undergraduate degree programmes to the SDGs through interdisciplinary workshops, with the aim of helping them to better understand the SDGs and connect global issues to their academic goals, professional objectives and everyday experiences. To determine whether the aims of the workshops were met, qualitative content analysis is employed to analyse the constructed responses of students who attended them. The results of the study suggest that the SDGs provide a relevant and sufficiently robust framework for guiding undergraduate students in their thinking about global issues as well as their relationship with these issues

Genetic Similarities Among Geographic Isolates of Lysiphlebus testaceipes (Hymenoptera: Aphidiidae) Differing in Cold Temperature Tolerances

Lysiphlebus testaceipes (Cresson) is a solitary endoparasitoid of aphids and is the primary parasitoid attacking cereal aphids in the Great Plains, especially Schizaphis graminum (Rondani). In a previous study, it was found that a Lincoln, NE, isolate of L. testaceipes had a much higher survivorship at cold temperatures than isolates from Stillwater, OK, and Corpus Christi, TX. This suggested that the Nebraska isolate was locally adapted to the northern environment and perhaps genetically divergent from southern populations. We tested for genetic differentiation of the above isolates by sequencing portions of the COI and 16S mtDNA genes. We also examined a Florida isolate reared from Toxoptera citricida (Kirkaldy) and L. fabarum Marshall as an outgroup. The Great Plains isolates (Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Texas) were homogeneous with 0% and 0Ð0.2% sequence divergence in the COI and 16S gene fragments, respectively. The Florida isolate differed from the Great Plains isolates in nucleotide sequence by 1.4% (COI) and 0.5Ð0.7% (16S). Phylogenetic analysis placed the Florida isolate of L. testaceipes basal to the Great Plains isolates with L. fabarum, suggesting a possible species complex within L. testaceipes

Poor choices: the limits of competitive markets in the provision of essential services to low-income consumers

A major study of the problems faced by the poor in the market for seven essential services in the UK - energy, food, housing, water, telecoms, transport, and financial services. Together these represent 60% of spending by the poorest 30% of households

A genetic-based algorithm for personalized resistance training

Association studies have identified dozens of genetic variants linked to training responses and sport-related traits. However, no intervention studies utilizing the idea of personalised training based on athlete’s genetic profile have been conducted. Here we propose an algorithm that allows achieving greater results in response to high- or low-intensity resistance training programs by predicting athlete’s potential for the development of power and endurance qualities with the panel of 15 performance-associated gene polymorphisms. To develop and validate such an algorithm we performed two studies in independent cohorts of male athletes (study 1: athletes from different sports (n=28); study 2: soccer players (n=39)). In both studies athletes completed an eight-week high- or low-intensity resistance training program, which either matched or mismatched their individual genotype. Two variables of explosive power and aerobic fitness, as measured by the countermovement jump (CMJ) and aerobic 3-min cycle test (Aero3) were assessed pre and post 8 weeks of resistance training. In study 1, the athletes from the matched groups (i.e. high-intensity trained with power genotype or low-intensity trained with endurance genotype) significantly increased results in CMJ (P=0.0005) and Aero3 (P=0.0004). Whereas, athletes from the mismatched group (i.e. high-intensity trained with endurance genotype or lowintensity trained with power genotype) demonstrated non-significant improvements in CMJ (P=0.175) and less prominent results in Aero3 (P=0.0134). In study 2, soccer players from the matched group also demonstrated significantly greater (P<0.0001) performance changes in both tests compared to the mismatched group. Among non- or low responders of both studies, 82% of athletes (both for CMJ and Aero3) were from the mismatched group (P<0.0001). Our results indicate that matching the individual’s genotype with the appropriate training modality leads to more effective resistance training. The developed algorithm may be used to guide individualised resistance-training interventions