Variation in Attraction to Host Plant Odors in an Invasive Moth Has a Genetic Basis and is Genetically Negatively Correlated with Fecundity

Lepidopteran insects are major pests of agricultural crops, and mated female moths exploit plant volatiles to locate suitable hosts for oviposition. We investigated the heritability of odor-guided host location behavior and fecundity in the cosmopolitan oriental fruit moth Grapholita (Cydia) molesta, an oligophagous herbivore that attacks fruit trees. We used a full-sib/half-sib approach to estimate the heritability and the genetic correlation between these two traits. Results document a considerable genetic basis for olfactory attraction of females (h 2 =0.37±0.17) and their fecundity (h 2 =0.32±0.13), as well as a genetic trade-off between female attraction and fecundity (r g =−0.85±0.21). These estimations were empirically corroborated by comparing two strains maintained in the laboratory for different numbers of generations. The long-term reared strain lost its olfactory discrimination ability but achieved significantly higher fecundity compared with the short-term reared strain. Our results highlight that genetic studies are relevant for understanding the evolution of odor-guided behavior in herbivore insects and for judging the promise of pest management strategies involving behavioral manipulation with plant volatile

Cations and Anions in Sewage Sludge from Gaza Waste Water Treatment Plant

This paper determined cations and anions concentrations, Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen (TKN), and heavy metals content in sewage sludge collected from the drying beds of wastewater treatment plant in Gaza. The aim was to test the possibility of using this sewage sludge as an alternative source of mineral fertilizers. Many instruments were used in this work: flame photometry (K, Na), EDTA titration (Ca, Mg), the turbidity method ()

Physicochemical properties of sewage sludge from Gaza

This study characterized the physicochemical properties of sewage sludge collected from Gaza wastewater treatment plant. Sludge samples were collected from the drying beds, air-dried, sieved through 2 mm and stored in plastic bags at room temperature. Sludge density, particle size distribution, water holding capacity, void volume, pH, EC, total organic carbon and hydrophobicity were determined. Results showed the bulk density is about 1.18 g/cm3 whereas the real density is 2.12 g/cm3 and void volume is 50%; Particle size distribution showed that the major size of sludge is sand-like size (630-200 µm) and the minor size is silt-like size (200-20 µm) and clay-like size are less than 20 µm. Sludge has an acidic pH reaction (6.78±0.02) with an electric conductivity equal to (2.49±0.04) mS∙ cm− 1. The hydrophobicity of sludge is very high, water drop penetration time (WDPT) is 114.77±18.78 sec with a radius of 0.44±0.08 cm. In the way around, oil drop penetration time (ODPT) of sludge is 5.05±1.28 sec with a radius of 1.25±0.14 cm. The WDPT/ODPM ration is very high value 22.73 indicating extreme hydrophobicity. High value of hydrophobicity may reduce water filtration in soil when sludge applied for agriculture. These results suggest that sludge application to soil may change the physicochemical properties of soil

Seam slippage and seam strength behavior of elastic woven fabrics under static loading

Effects of fabric extensibility and stitch density on seam slippage and strength behavior of elastic woven fabrics have been studied. Six fabric samples with different values of elasticity have been woven by changing the number of elastic core-spun cotton yarns and normal ring cotton yarns in the weft direction and then finished for sewing process. The samples are sewn with three stitch density levels (4, 5 and 6 stitches/cm) in warp direction and one stitch density level (5 stitches/cm) in weft direction. Fabric tensile properties, seam slippage load and seam strength have been measured and analyzed both in warp and weft directions. The results show that seam slippage and strength properties can be well explained in terms of fabric tensile properties. In general, increase in fabric extensibility leads to decrease in seam slippage load and seam strength in weft direction. In warp direction, seam slippage load also decreases with increase in fabric weft extensibility, whereas seam strength remains invariant. The results also reveal that the increase in stitch density results in a higher seam slippage load and strength value

Epicutaneous Application of CpG Oligodeoxynucleotides with Peptide or Protein Antigen Promotes the Generation of CTL

Immunostimulatory oligodeoxynucleotides (ODN) are effective adjuvants in the induction of humoral and cellular immune responses when administered parenterally with antigen. The skin has recently become a target organ for the design of non-invasive vaccine technologies. Using ovalbumin (OVA) as a model antigen, we demonstrate that the application of ODN sequences to tape-stripped skin promotes the induction of potent cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) responses to co-administered peptide. Induction of peptide-specific CTL required the presence of CpG motifs within the ODN. CTL afforded tumor protection against a tumor expressing an immunodominant OVA CTL epitope. CTL could also be induced to whole protein administered onto the skin. Differential CpG sequence activity was noted with respect to the induction of CTL to epicutaneous protein with an ODN sequence containing a poly-G motif having an optimal effect. Peptide-specific CTL could be detected in the peripheral blood as early as 6 d after a single immunization. These results highlight the potential of the bare skin as a route for vaccine development and indicate an important role for immunostimulatory ODN as adjuvants to generate functional CTL with the help of the skin immune system