Investigations on pests, diseases and present early warning system of apple orchards in Isparta, Turkey

As a result of three year surveys performed in the apple orchards in Isparta region, 19 pest species belonging to 4 orders were determined and it was found that the main pest was codling moth. Most of the predators and parasitoids were effective against aphids and they were mostly found in the orchards where selective pesticides were used. Apple scab and powdery mildew were the most common and important diseases. Biology of codling moth and apple scab in the region were investigated. By using the obtained data, proper application times were given and some recommendations regarding integrated pest management program in apple orchards, were summarized

Kratkotrajno očuvanje sperme potočne pastrmke (salmo trutta macrostigma): delovanje ekstendera na pokretljivost

Cilj eksperimenta je bila procena spermatoloških parametara kratkotrajno čuvane sperme potočne pastrmke (Salmo trutta macrostigma) korišćenjem različitih ekstendera. Mleč je uzorkovan od odraslih mužjaka istiskanjem rukom, bez anestezije. Po određivanju najvažnijih karakteristika sperme (volumen, pokretljivost, trajanje pokretljivosti, gustina, pH) uzorci sperme koji su pokazali >80 pokretljivosti su prikupljeni i razblaženi u odnosu 1:3 sa tri različita ekstendera. Razblažena sperma je čuvana 72 sata na 4°C. Tokom čuvanja na svaka 24 h je procenjivan motilitet spermatozoida (%). U zaključku, rezultati studije su pokazali da se ekstender I pokazao boljim od druga 2 za kratkotrajno očuvanje sperme potočne pastrmke

Evaluation of in vitro antifungal activity of potassium bicarbonate on Rhizoctonia solani AG 4 HG-I, Sclerotinia sclerotiorum and Trichoderma sp.

The effect of increased concentrations of potassium bicarbonate (KHCO3) as a possible alternative to synthetic fungicides for controlling Rhizoctonia solani AG 4 HG-I and Sclerotinia sclerotiorum was evaluated in vitro, in this study. In addition, the effect of potassium bicarbonate on Trichoderma sp., a natural antagonist on R. solani AG 4 HG-I and S. sclerotiorum was determined. Potassium bicarbonate substantially inhibited (P<0.05) the growth of the three fungal strains. Mycelial growth of R. solani AG 4 HG-I significantly decreased as the concentration of bicarbonate increased, especially at concentrations greater than 200 mM. Similarly, mycelial growth of both S. sclerotiorum and Trichoderma sp. dramatically reduced in increasing concentrations of KHCO3. Mycelial growth of either fungi was completely inhibited when exposed to 100 mM bicarbonate. In addition, KHCO3 concentrations higher than 10 mM caused significant (P<0.05) reduction of the sclerotium formation of S. sclerotiorum. Also, sclerotium germination and de novo sclerotium formation were significantly inhibited as the concentrations of KHCO3 increased. As a result, it was concluded that potassium bicarbonate was an alternative chemical agent for  controlling R. solani AG 4 HG-I and S. sclerotiorum. Also, KHCO3 was found to have negative effects on Trichoderma sp.Key words: Antifungal effect, KHCO3, soil borne pathogens, sclerotium germination

Orientation Dependent Compression Behavior of Co\u3csub\u3e35\u3c/sub\u3eNi\u3csub\u3e35\u3c/sub\u3eAl\u3csub\u3e30\u3c/sub\u3e Single Crystals

The shape memory effect (SME) and superelasticity (SE) behavior of homogenized Co35Ni35Al30 single crystals were systematically characterized along the [100], [110] and [111] orientations under compression. The shape memory behavior of CoNiAl was found to be highly orientation and stress/temperature dependent. Maximum compressive recoverable strains were 3.98 % in [110], 3 % in [100] and 0.30 % in [111] orientations, respectively. The Co35Ni35Al30 demonstrated a very high superelastic temperature window of more than 350 °C along the [100] and [110] orientations. Moreover, two-way shape memory effect with very low thermal hysteresis of about 6 °C was observed along the [110] orientation. The large decrease of recoverable strain and hysteresis with stress (or temperature) was mainly attributed to the difference of elastic moduli of transforming phases

Functional involvement of γ-secretase in signaling of the triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells-2 (TREM2).

BACKGROUND: Triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells-2 (TREM2) exerts important functions in the regulation of monocytes, like dendritic cells, osteoclasts, tissue macrophages, and microglia. Mutations in TREM2 are associated with several diseases, including Nasu-Hakola disease, frontotemporal dementia, and Alzheimer's disease (AD). TREM2 undergoes sequential proteolytic processing by ectodomain shedding and intramembrane proteolysis. FINDINGS: We show that inhibition of γ-secretase-dependent cleavage of the TREM2 C-terminal fragment in cellular membranes interferes with TREM2-dependent signaling and cellular function. Inhibition of γ-secretase decreases membrane-proximal signaling and intracellular Ca(2+) response. Decreased signaling alters morphological changes and phagocytic activity of cells upon selective stimulation of TREM2. CONCLUSIONS: The data demonstrate the importance of γ-secretase-dependent intramembrane processing in TREM2-mediated signaling and, thus, a functional relation of two AD-associated proteins

Flea beetles (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Alticinae) collected by malaise trap method in Gölcük Natural Park (Isparta, Turkey), with a new record for Turkish fauna

This study is based on Alticinae (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) material collected by Malaise trapping which is different from other standardized collecting methods. A total of 19 flea beetle species belonging to 6 genera were collected from Gölcük Natural Park, Isparta (Turkey) during 2009. The species are listed in a table together with distributional data in Turkey. Among them, Longitarsus curtus (Allard, 1860) is recorded for the first time in Turkey. L. monticola Kutschera, 1863 and L. curtus are recently separated synonyms and thus all data referring to the distribution of both species are currently important. Hence, the zoogeographical distribution of the new record is reviewed with some remarks; habitus and genitalia are illustrated

Effect of Ag2O addition on the intergranular properties of the superconducting Bi–(Pb)–Sr–Ca–Cu–O system

The effect of Ag2O addition on the Bi–(Pb)–Sr–Ca–Cu–O system has been investigated in terms of ac susceptibility, phase evolution, critical current density and critical temperature. It was found that as the amount of Ag2O addition increases, the intergranular critical current density decreases in our samples (Bi1.84Pb0.34Sr1.91Ca2.03Cu3.06O10) fabricated by ammonium nitrate technique. The analysis for comparison is based on the suppression degree of the diamagnetic behaviour with respect to fields, rapid or slow shift of the summit in χ'(T) to lower temperature with increasing field amplitude and the sharpness of the transition of χ'(T) for intergranular component for the same field amplitude. We also qualitatively discuss experimental results in the framework of the critical state model. The room temperature XRD diagram indicates the presence of large amount of high-Tc (2223) phase. The percentage of Bi-2223 phase in the phase mixture was estimated from the intensities of high-Tc (2223) and low-Tc (2212) phase peaks as 78% for the pure BSCCO sample. Among the Ag2O-added BSCCO samples studied, the one in which 5 wt%Ag2O was added shows the highest rate of Bi-2223 formation as 92%. The SEM analysis reveals some morphological changes induced by silver addition

Age-specific life tables of Aonidiella aurantii (Maskell) (Hemiptera: Diaspididae) and its parasitoid Aphytismelinus DeBach (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae)

Abstract: Biological parameters of the California red scale (Aonidiella aurantii [Maskell] [Hemiptera: Diaspididae]) were determined under laboratory conditions at 3 different temperatures (20, 23, and 27 °C) on butternut squash (Cucurbita moschata Duchesne ex Lamarck) (Cucurbitaceae), while the biological parameters of its parasitoid Aphytis melinus DeBach (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae) were conducted at 27 °C. The survival of A. aurantii ranged between 80.0% and 88.3%. The highest mortality was recorded during the adult stage, with mortalities ranging between 12% and 20%. On C. moschata, the total development time was 93.1 ± 9.73, 81.8 ± 7.13, and 65.7 ± 6.37 days, while the adult longevity was 54.65 ± 0.71, 47.05 ± 0.97, and 39.35 ± 1.07 days at 20, 23, and 27 °C, respectively. The oviposition period of A. aurantii was 44.3 ± 0.51, 40.65 ± 0.41, and 34.5 ± 0.45 days at 20, 23, and 27 °C, respectively. Average fecundity was 73.25 ± 1.827, 109.7 ± 3.569, and 129.35 ± 4.564 individuals at 20, 23, and 27 °C, respectively. For A. melinus, adult longevity was 19.24 ± 0.73 days, and average fecundity 62.7 ± 2.81 eggs at 27 °C. The preoviposition period was 0.82 ± 0.05 days, oviposition period was 15.7 ± 0.52 days, and postoviposition period was 2.21 ± 0.09 days. The intrinsic rate of increase (rm) of A. melinus (0.188 ♀/♀/day) was significantly greater than that of A. aurantii (0.080) at 27 °C. These laboratory results demonstrated that A. melinus is an effective parasitoid for decreasing A. aurantii populations. Fecundity of A. aurantii and A. melinus was determined with the Enkegaard equation. The best-fit parameters of fecundity were calculated as a = 0.410, b = 0.099; a = 0.624, b = 0.098; a = 0.661, b = 0.091; a = 1.190, b = 0.179 for A. aurantii at 20, 23, and 27 °C, and A. melinus at 27 °C, respectively

Red deer algorithm-based selective harmonic elimination technique for multilevel inverters

This paper proposed a red deer algorithm (RDA)-based selective harmonic elimination (SHE) method for multilevel inverters (MLIs). To eliminate the desired harmonic orders, the optimum switching angles of the MLI have been calculated using the proposed RDA. The calculated switching angles have been applied to the 3-phase cascaded H-bridged 11-level inverter. In addition, the performance of the proposed RDA method was compared with the results of methods such as the Newton-Raphson (NR) method, LSHADE/EpSin technique (LSHADE), whale optimization algorithm (WOA), and particle swarm optimization (PSO) used for the SHE problem in the literature. The results obtained prove that the proposed RDA optimization solves the SHE problems more effectively than other methods. It has also been observed that RDA produces good solutions in different modulation indexes