\u3ci\u3eTomicus Piniperda\u3c/i\u3e (Coleoptera: Scolytidae) Reproduction and Behavior on Scotch Pine Christmas Trees Taken Indoors

Tomicus piniperda, the pine shoot beetle, is an exotic insect that was first found in North America in 1992. A federal quarantine currently restricts movement of pine products, including Christmas trees, from infested to uninfested counties. We conducted a study to determine if T. piniperda would re- produce in Christmas trees that were cut and taken indoors during the Christmas season. Twelve Scotch pine, Pinus sylvestris, Christmas trees infested with overwintering T. piniperda beetles were cut in Indiana in early December 1993 and taken to Michigan. Four trees were dissected immediately, while the other 8 trees were taken indoors, placed in tree stands, and watered regularly. After 4 weeks indoors, 4 trees were dissected, and the other 4 were placed outdoors in Michigan for 7 weeks. Upon dissection, all overwintering sites occurred along the lower trunk within the first 40 em of the soil line; 81% were found within 10 em of the soil line. Adults collected from the 4 trees dissected in December produced viable progeny adults when placed on Scotch pine logs in the laboratory. Overwintering beetles became active and laid eggs in 4 of the 8 trees that had been taken indoors. All adults and progeny found in the 4 trees that had been placed outdoors for 7 weeks during cold January and February temperatures were dead. Overall, T. piniperda can become active and breed in Christmas trees that are cut and taken indoors in December. Tomicus piniperda survival in trees that are discarded outdoors at the end of the Christmas season will depend largely on the prevailing temperatures

Addressing technical, social and economic constraints to rice fish culture in Laos, emphasising women’s involvement: DFID Aquaculture Research Programme Project R6380Cb, final technical report

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Effective forecasting for supply-chain planning: an empirical evaluation and strategies for improvement

Demand forecasting is a crucial aspect of the planning process in supply-chain companies. The most common approach to forecasting demand in these companies involves the use of a simple univariate statistical method to produce a forecast and the subsequent judgmental adjustment of this by the company's demand planners to take into account market intelligence relating to any exceptional circumstances expected over the planning horizon. Based on four company case studies, which included collecting more than 12,000 forecasts and outcomes, this paper examines: i) the extent to which the judgmental adjustments led to improvements in accuracy, ii) the extent to which the adjustments were biased and inefficient, iii) the circumstances where adjustments were detrimental or beneficial, and iv) methods that could lead to greater levels of accuracy. It was found that the judgmentally adjusted forecasts were both biased and inefficient. In particular, market intelligence that was expected to have a positive impact on demand was used far less effectively than intelligence suggesting a negative impact. The paper goes on to propose a set of improvements that could be applied to the forecasting processes in the companies and to the forecasting software that is used in these processes

Seasonal Shoot-Feeding by \u3ci\u3eTomicus Piniperda\u3c/i\u3e (Coleoptera: Scolytidae) in Michigan

Seasonal shoot-feeding by Tomicus piniperda (L.) was monitored at 2­ week intervals on 15 Scotch pine, Pinus sylvestris L., trees from 8 April through 16 November 1994 in southern Michigan. All shoots that showed evidence of T. piniperda attack were removed every two weeks. In 1994, initial spring flight of T. piniperda began on 22 March. At least two live T. piniperda adults were found on the 15 trees on each sampling date from 8 April through 1 November 1994. In addition, at least one freshly attacked, beetle- free shoot was found on each sampling date except for 1 November. The greatest numbers of newly attacked shoots, with or without adults present, were found from mid-June through mid-August. All adults found in April and May were likely parent adults, while those from June onward were primarily brood adults. Therefore, at all times of the year, live T. piniperda adults can be found on live pine trees, either feeding in the shoots or overwintering at the base of the trunk. Implications of these findings are provided in light of the US federal quarantine on T. piniperda

A Program of Photometric Measurements of Solar Irradiance Fluctuations from Ground-based Observations

Photometric observations of the sun have been carried out at the San Fernando Observatory since early 1985. Since 1986, observations have been obtained at two wavelengths in order to separately measure the contributions of sunspots and bright facular to solar irradiance variations. Researchers believe that the contributions of sunspots can be measured to an accuracy of about plus or minus 30 ppm. The effect of faculae is much less certain, with uncertainties in the range of plus or minus 300 ppm. The larger uncertainty for faculae reflects both the greater difficulty in measuring the facular area, due to their lower contrast compared to sunspots, and the greater uncertainty in their contrast variation with viewing angle on the solar disk. Recent results from two separate photometric telescopes will be compared with bolometric observations from the active cavity radiometer irradiance monitor (ACRIM) that was on board the Solar Max satellite

Contrasting the beam interaction characteristics of selected lasers with a partially stabilised zirconia (PSZ) bio-ceramic

Differences in the beam interaction characteristics of a CO2 laser, a Nd:YAG laser, a high power diode laser (HPDL) and an excimer laser with a partially stabilised zirconia (PSZ) bio-ceramic have been studied. A derivative of Beer-Lambert’s law was applied and the laser beam absorption lengths of the four lasers were calculated as 33.55 x 10-3 cm for the CO2 laser, 18.22 x 10-3 cm for the Nd:YAG laser, 17.17 x 10-3 cm for the HPDL and 8.41 x 10-6 cm for the excimer laser. It was determined graphically that the fluence threshold values at which significant material removal was effected by the CO2 laser, the Nd:YAG laser, the HPDL and the excimer laser were 52 J/cm2, 97 J/cm2, 115 J/cm2 and 0.48 J/cm2 respectively. The thermal loading value for the CO2 laser, the Nd:YAG laser, the HPDL and the excimer laser were calculated as being 1.55 kJ/cm3, 5.32 kJ/cm3, 6.69 kJ/cm3 and 57.04 kJ/cm3 respectively

New Record of \u3ci\u3eBrachycercus Maculatus\u3c/i\u3e Berner (Ephemeroptera: Caenidae) From New York and a Key to Larvae of Northeastern Species

Brachycercus maculatus, a member of a rare group of mayflies, is now recorded for the first time from New York State in the upper Hudson River. An illustrated key to the Brachycercus larvae of northeastern North America is provided to spur further study of the genus in the region