Observations on the Biological Control Agents of the American Plum Borer (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) In Michigan Cherry and Plum Orchards

The American plum borer, Euzophera semifuneralis (Walker) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae), is an important pest in orchards, yet little is known regarding its biological control. We performed a comprehensive survey of the natural enemy complex contributing to American plum borer control in Michigan plum and cherry orchards, while also exploring the relationship between pest infestation and tree wounding from mechanical harvesting. We scouted 30 orchards with varying degrees of tree wounding to document extent of infestations of American plum borer and another pest, the lesser peach borer, Synanthedon pictipes (Grote and Robinson) (Lepidoptera: Sessiidae). We simultaneously recorded biological control agents, including the presence of a Hirsutella fungal pathogen. Live American plum borer larvae and pupae were collected for rearing and identifying hymenopteran parasitoids. American plum borer infestations were highest in orchards with high levels of tree wounding, or in orchards that used minimum pesticides or were abandoned. Numerous organisms were documented as biological control agents including various species of birds, spiders, beetles, and ants. Ichneumon wasps were the dominant parasitoids, of which Venturia nigricoxalis (Cushman) (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) was the most common. Liotryphon variatipes (Provancher) (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) was com- monly reared from a closely associated sessiid pest, but not from American plum borer. Hirsutella was commonly found and had a density-dependent relation- ship with American plum borer infestations. Our information gathered on the natural enemy complex of E. semifuneralis includes many new host associations and can serve as a starting point for developing biological control programs for fruit orchards in the Great Lakes region

Psychological types of female primary school teachers in Anglican state-maintained schools in England and Wales : implications for continuing professional development

A sample of 221 female primary school teachers in Anglican state-maintained schools in England and Wales completed the Francis Psychological Type Scales (FPTS). The data demonstrated clear preferences for Extraversion (E) over Introversion (I), for Sensing (S) over Intuition (N), for Feeling (F) over Thinking (T) and for Judging (J) over Perceiving (P). The two predominant types among female primary school teachers were ESFJ (27.6%) and ISFJ (18.6%). These findings confirm earlier research among trainee female primary school teachers and help to clarify the main strengths and potential challenges facing primary schools in light of knowledge about the key psychological preferences of those who shape the classroom environment. These findings also generate new insights into teacher retention and career paths in primary schools

Growth or decline in the Church of England during the decade of Evangelism: did the Churchmanship of the Bishop matter?

The Decade of Evangelism occupied the attention of the Church of England throughout the 1990s. The present study employs the statistics routinely published by the Church of England in order to assess two matters: the extent to which these statistics suggest that the 43 individual dioceses finished the decade in a stronger or weaker position than they had entered it and the extent to which, according to these statistics, the performance of dioceses led by bishops shaped in the Evangelical tradition differed from the performance of dioceses led by bishops shaped in the Catholic tradition. The data demonstrated that the majority of dioceses were performing less effectively at the end of the decade than at the beginning, in terms of a range of membership statistics, and that the rate of decline varied considerably from one diocese to another. The only exception to the trend was provided by the diocese of London, which experienced some growth. The data also demonstrated that little depended on the churchmanship of the diocesan bishop in shaping diocesan outcomes on the performance indicators employed in the study

Three religious orientations and five personality factors : an exploratory study among adults in England

In order to explore the power of the five factor model of personality to explain individual differences recorded on measures of the three religious orientations, a sample of 198 adults in England completed established measures of the three religious orientations (intrinsic, extrinsic, and quest) and the big five personality factors (neuroticism, extraversion, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness). The data demonstrated that individual differences in the three religious orientations were largely independent of the five personality factors, apart from a significant positive correlation between intrinsic religiosity and agreeableness. These findings support Piedmont’s contention that religiosity is largely independent of personality when personality is operationalised in terms of the big five factors

Inside Southwark Cathedral : a study in psychological-type profiling

A series of recent studies have begun to map the psychological-type profile of Anglican churchgoers in England and Wales. This study sets the profile of 120 men and 161 women attending Sunday services in Southwark Cathedral against the profile of 1169 men and 2135 women attending Anglican parish churches. These data found a significantly higher proportion of intuitive types and thinking types within the cathedral congregation and a significantly lower proportion of participants displaying the SJ temperament. The implications of these findings are discussed for appreciating the distinctive style of cathedral worship and of cathedral ministry

STM Studies of Synthetic Peptide Monolayers

We have used scanning probe microscopy to investigate self-assembled monolayers of chemically synthesized peptides. We find that the peptides form a dense uniform monolayer, above which is found a sparse additional layer. Using scanning tunneling microscopy, submolecular resolution can be obtained, revealing the alpha helices which constitute the peptide. The nature of the images is not significantly affected by the incorporation of redox cofactors (hemes) in the peptides.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures (4 gifs); to appear in the Proceedings of the XIIth Int. Winterschool on Electronic Properties of Novel Materials "Molecular Nanostructures", Kirchberg/Tyrol, Febr. 199

Introducing the congregational bonding social capital scale : a study among Anglican churchgoers in south London

As social capital theory comes to play a part in quantitative congregational studies, so there is the need for established and tested measures of different forms of social capital to be available for inclusion in surveys. This article reports on the psychometric properties of the newly proposed Congregational Bonding Social Capital Scale (CBSCS) tested among 23,884 adult churchgoers throughout the Anglican Diocese of Southwark in south London. The data support the internal consistency reliability and construct validity of this 7-item measure