4,623 research outputs found
First Record of \u3ci\u3eHippodamia variegata\u3c/i\u3e (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) in Illinois, U.S.A., and Relation to Its Other Midwestern Collection Records
Hippodamia variegata (Goeze) (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) is an Afro-Eurasian lady beetle first discovered in North America near Montreal, Canada, in 1984. Subsequent records of H. variegata have occurred over a gradually expanding area radiating from the initial detection site and also include a disjunct record from British Columbia. Here, we report the first Illinois specimen of H. variegata, collected in 2004, and discuss this in relation to previous reports of H. variegata in North America
The Distribution and Prevalence of the Alfalfa Blotch Leafminer (Diptera: Agromyzidae) in Illinois
Surveys were made in 2001 and 2002 to determine the distribution and prevalence of the alfalfa blotch leafminer, Agromyza frontella (Diptera: Agromyzidae), and its primary parasitoids, Dacnusa dryas and Chrysocharis liriomyzae (Hymenoptera: Braconidae and Eulophidae, respectively), in Illinois. We collected 239 samples from alfalfa fields in the alfalfa-producing regions of Illinois. Samples from each site consisted of 20 cut stems and 10 sets of 10 sweeps in 2001, and 40 stems and 10 sets of 20 sweeps in 2002. Each trifoliate was examined for mining and pinholing injury, and the number of adult A. frontella, D. dryas, and C. liriomyzae per 10 sweeps was calculated for each site. We found that 16.3% of the sites were infested with A. frontella, and all infested fields were north of 39.95 N latitude. Although up to 95% of stems were injured at some sites, mean injury per stem never exceeded 12% of trifoliates. Maximum adult abundance was 8.1 adults per 10 sweeps. We did not detect D. dryas or C. liriomyzae in any of the sweep samples. Because of consistently low populations and the relatively slow rate of A. frontella’s spread in Illinois, we conclude that A. frontella is not a serious threat to alfalfa production in this state at this time
On correlation between protein secondary structure, backbone bond angles, and side-chain orientations
We investigate the fine structure of the sp3 hybridized covalent bond
geometry that governs the tetrahedral architecture around the central
C carbon of a protein backbone, and for this we develop new
visualization techniques to analyze high resolution X-ray structures in Protein
Data Bank. We observe that there is a correlation between the deformations of
the ideal tetrahedral symmetry and the local secondary structure of the
protein. We propose a universal coarse grained energy function to describe the
ensuing side-chain geometry in terms of the C carbon orientations. The
energy function can model the side-chain geometry with a sub-atomic precision.
As an example we construct the C-C structure of HP35 chicken
villin headpiece. We obtain a configuration that deviates less than 0.4 \.A in
root-mean-square distance from the experimental X-ray structure
Distribution of an Exotic Pest, \u3ci\u3eAgromyza Frontella\u3c/i\u3e (Diptera: Agromyzidae), in Manitoba, Canada.
Agromyza frontella is an exotic alfalfa pest from Europe that was first detected in North America in 1968 and has since spread westward into Ontario and the north central United States. Informal surveys had detected A. frontella in Manitoba, but its distribution throughout this province was unknown. In 1998 we collected alfalfa stems to detect plant damage and sweep samples to detect adult A. frontella and the parasitoid Dacnusa dryas throughout the alfalfa growing region of Manitoba. In south central Manitoba, 100% of stems were damaged by A. frontella, and\u3e 100 adults/10 sweeps were recorded at several sites. In west central Manitoba, no plants were damaged and \u3c 10 adults/10 sweeps were observed. We believe this region to be near the western edge of A. frontella distribution. The most important introduced parasitoid of A. frontella, D. dryas, was not detected which suggests that D. dryas has not invaded Manitoba
Elastic Energy and Phase Structure in a Continuous Spin Ising Chain with Applications to the Protein Folding Problem
We present a numerical Monte Carlo analysis of a continuos spin Ising chain
that can describe the statistical proterties of folded proteins. We find that
depending on the value of the Metropolis temperature, the model displays the
three known nontrivial phases of polymers: At low temperatures the model is in
a collapsed phase, at medium temperatures it is in a random walk phase, and at
high temperatures it enters the self-avoiding random walk phase. By
investigating the temperature dependence of the specific energy we confirm that
the transition between the collapsed phase and the random walk phase is a phase
transition, while the random walk phase and self-avoiding random walk phase are
separated from each other by a cross-over transition. We also compare the
predictions of the model to a phenomenological elastic energy formula, proposed
by Huang and Lei to describe folded proteins.Comment: 12 pages, 23 figures, RevTeX 4.
Aging dynamics of ferromagnetic and reentrant spin glass phases in stage-2 CuCCl graphite intercalation compound
Aging dynamics of a reentrant ferromagnet stage-2
CuCoCl graphite intercalation compound has been studied
using DC magnetic susceptibility. This compound undergoes successive
transitions at the transition temperatures ( K) and
( K). The relaxation rate exhibits a
characteristic peak at below . The peak time as a
function of temperature shows a local maximum around 5.5 K, reflecting a
frustrated nature of the ferromagnetic phase. It drastically increases with
decreasing temperature below . The spin configuration imprinted at the
stop and wait process at a stop temperature () during the
field-cooled aging protocol, becomes frozen on further cooling. On reheating,
the memory of the aging at is retrieved as an anomaly of the
thermoremnant magnetization at . These results indicate the occurrence
of the aging phenomena in the ferromagnetic phase () as well
as in the reentrant spin glass phase ().Comment: 9 pages, 9 figures; submitted to Physical Review
Crop Choice, Non-Target Pest Levels, Yield Loss and Their Effect on Insecticide Use in South Dakota
Agriculturally, South Dakota is a unique state possessing the highest rate of adoption for genetically modified crop varieties. In 2009 ninety-six percent of corn acres planted in South Dakota were genetically modified compared with eighty-five percent nationally (Economic Research Service). Additionally, South Dakota has seen a dramatic increase in the number of acres treated with insecticide over the past 20 years. These two situations taken together seem to be counterintuitive. Some genetically modified varieties, such as Bt corn, are equipped with genetic defenses so that they can protect the plant from target pests. Intuitively, one would expect to see a decrease in insecticide use as adoption of genetically modified varieties increase. Recent studies have found that there is a reduction in herbicides applied to herbicide tolerant varieties. Here in South Dakota, though, producers have expressed the opinion that the increase in insecticide use is the result of the emergence and spread of the soybean aphid in the state. This research seeks to address the underlying causes of the increase in insecticide use.Bt corn,GM crops,insecticide
Non-target Effects of Clothianidin on Monarch Butterflies
Monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) frequently consume milkweed in and near agroecosystems and consequently may be exposed to pesticides like neonicotinoids. We conducted a dose response study to determine lethal and sublethal doses of clothianidin using a 36-h exposure scenario. We then quantified clothianidin levels found in milkweed leaves adjacent to maize fields. Toxicity assays revealed LC10, LC50, and LC90 values of 7.72, 15.63, and 30.70 ppb, respectively. Sublethal effects (larval size) were observed at 1 ppb. Contaminated milkweed plants had an average of 1.14 ±0.10 ppb clothianidin, with a maximum of 4 ppb in a single plant. This research suggests that clothianidin could function as a stressor to monarch populations
Crop Choice, Non-Target Pest Levels, Yield Loss and Their Effect on Insecticide Use in South Dakota
Agriculturally, South Dakota is a unique state possessing the highest rate of adoption for genetically modified crop varieties. In 2009 ninety-six percent of corn acres planted in South Dakota were genetically modified compared with eighty-five percent nationally (Economic Research Service). Additionally, South Dakota has seen a dramatic increase in the number of acres treated with insecticide over the past 20 years. These two situations taken together seem to be counterintuitive. Some genetically modified varieties, such as Bt corn, are equipped with genetic defenses so that they can protect the plant from target pests. Intuitively, one would expect to see a decrease in insecticide use as adoption of genetically modified varieties increase. Recent studies have found that there is a reduction in herbicides applied to herbicide tolerant varieties. Here in South Dakota, though, producers have expressed the opinion that the increase in insecticide use is the result of the emergence and spread of the soybean aphid in the state. This research seeks to address the underlying causes of the increase in insecticide use.Bt corn, GM crops, insecticide, Agricultural and Food Policy, Crop Production/Industries, Q1, Q2, Q5,
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