Parasitism of \u3ci\u3eUrophora Affinis\u3c/i\u3e (Diptera: Tephritidae) by \u3ci\u3eAprostocetus\u3c/i\u3e Sp. (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) in Michigan

(excerpt) Urophora affinis Frfld. and U. quadrifasciata (Meig.) (Diptera: Tephriti- dae) are Eurasian gallicolous fruit flies introduced to North America in 1972 as biological control agents for Centaurea biebersteinii DC (spotted knapweed, Asteraceae, = C. maculosa auct. non Lam.) (Harris 1980). Through natural dispersal and numerous introductions, both Urophora species have become distributed throughout the introduced range of C. biebersteinii (Foote et al. 1993, Lang et al. 1997, Mays and Kok 2003)

Geddes at UCL “There was something more in town planning than met the eye!”

Patrick Geddes was at UCL from 1877 to 1878 although as a student of physiology, not as the ‘father of British Town Planning’ as he was to become. We explore his time here and the links he had both back to Charles Darwin and forward to Patrick Abercrombie. This is part of our wider quest to assess the impact of Geddes on evolutionary theory in the study of cities and planning of which we plan a more substantial paper which we will, in due course, post on this web site

I’m so Self-Conscious: Kanye West’s Rhetorical Wrestling with Theodicy and Nihilism

Whether Kanye’s plea to God is to intervene because “the devil’s trying to break [him] down,” or that he (Kanye) is “tryna keep [his] faith,” Kanye West’s lamentations communicate his wrestling of succumbing to sufferings within the world. Despite the twelve-year span between “Jesus Walks” and “Ultralight Beam,” Kanye West’s rhetoric in both songs attempt to make meaning of theodicy—suffering; while simultaneously combating nihilism—the lack of hope. As a professed Christian who articulates the multiplicity of God through Jesus and himself (Kanye West), affirmed on his 2013 album Yeezus track, “I am God,” West complicates religiosity and self-consciousness. He does so by situating himself as both God and human; recognizing limitations of God who has yet to impact his situation as a Black man in America, and his human-self that operates as a venerated deity. West’s consciousness is an amalgamation of his warring with theodicy and nihilism. My essay implements a theo-rhetorical analysis of “Jesus Walks” and “Ultralight Beam” exploring meaning-making processes of locating God. In doing so, I define theodicy and nihilism as repelling mores that aid in self-preservation for West

The broad-band X-ray spectrum of a QSO sample

A sample of 25 QSOs was used to investigate the average spectrum between the soft X-ray energy band of the Einstein Observatory image proportional counter, and the higher energy band of the HEAO 1 A2 experiment. The spectrum is similar to thoe exhibited by Seyfert galaxies and narrow emission line galaxies above 2 keV. The spectrum is soft enough that if these objects are typical of the higher redshift, more radio-quiet QSOs, then it is possible to exclude QSOs as being the dominant origin of the diffuse X-ray background

Inverse Medea as a Novel Gene Drive System for Local Population Replacement: A Theoretical Analysis

One strategy to control mosquito-borne diseases, such as malaria and dengue fever, on a regional scale is to use gene drive systems to spread disease-refractory genes into wild mosquito populations. The development of a synthetic Medea element that has been shown to drive population replacement in laboratory Drosophila populations has provided encouragement for this strategy but has also been greeted with caution over the concern that transgenes may spread into countries without their consent. Here, we propose a novel gene drive system, inverse Medea, which is strong enough to bring about local population replacement but is unable to establish itself beyond an isolated release site. The system consists of 2 genetic components—a zygotic toxin and maternal antidote—which render heterozygous offspring of wild-type mothers unviable. Through population genetic analysis, we show that inverse Medea will only spread when it represents a majority of the alleles in a population. The element is best located on an autosome and will spread to fixation provided any associated fitness costs are dominant and to very high frequency otherwise. We suggest molecular tools that could be used to build the inverse Medea system and discuss its utility for a confined release of transgenic mosquitoes

Presence of the “Threatened” \u3ci\u3eTrimerotropis Huroniana\u3c/i\u3e (Orthoptera: Acrididae) in Relation to the Occurrence of Native Dune Plant Species and the Exotic \u3ci\u3eCentaurea Biebersteinii\u3c/i\u3e

Trimerotropis huroniana Wlk. is a “Threatened” species in Michigan and Wisconsin with a distribution limited to open dune systems in the northern Great Lakes region of North America. Pitfall traps were utilized in the Grand Sable Dunes of Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, MI, along with an herbaceous plant survey, to identify the relationship of T. huroniana with native dune plant species, Ammophila breviligulata Fern. (American beachgrass, Poaceae), Artemisia campestris L. (field sagewort, Asteraceae), and the exotic invasive plant Centaurea biebersteinii DC. [=Centaurea maculosa, spotted knapweed, Lamarck] (Asteraceae). The absence of C. biebersteinii resulted in an increased likelihood of capturing T. huroniana. This was most likely due to the increased likelihood of encountering A. campestris in areas without C. biebersteinii. The occurrence of A. breviligulata was independent of C. biebersteinii presence. A significant positive linear relationship occurred between the percent cover of A. campestris and the traps that captured T. huroniana. There was no significant relationship between A. breviligulata percent cover and the traps that captured T. huroniana. The occurrence and distribution of T. huroniana is closely related to the presence and abundance of A. campestris. Habitat conservation and improvement for T. huroniana should include increases in A. campestris populations through the removal of C. biebersteinii

Chapter 9 Gene Drive Strategies for Population Replacement

Gene drive systems are selfish genetic elements capable of spreading into a population despite a fitness cost. A variety of these systems have been proposed for spreading disease-refractory genes into mosquito populations, thus reducing their ability to transmit diseases such as malaria and dengue fever to humans. Some have also been proposed for suppressing mosquito populations. We assess the alignment of these systems with design criteria for their safety and efficacy. Systems such as homing endonuclease genes, which manipulate inheritance through DNA cleavage and repair, are highly invasive and well-suited to population suppression efforts. Systems such as Medea, which use combinations of toxins and antidotes to favor their own inheritance, are highly stable and suitable for replacing mosquito populations with disease-refractory varieties. These systems offer much promise for future vector-borne disease control