Field Attractants for Pachnoda interrupta Selected by Means of GC-EAD and Single Sensillum Screening

The sorghum chafer, Pachnoda interrupta Olivier (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Cetoniinae), is a key pest on sorghum, Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench (Poaceae), in Ethiopia. At present there is a lack of efficient control methods. Trapping shows promise for reduction of the pest population, but would benefit from the development of attractive lures. To find attractants that could be used for control of P. interrupta, either by mass trapping or by monitoring as part of integrated pest management, we screened headspace collections of sorghum and the highly attractive weed Abutilon figarianum Webb (Malvaceae) for antennal activity using gas chromatograph-coupled electroantennographic detection (GC-EAD). Compounds active in GC-EAD were identified by combined gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Field trapping suggested that attraction is governed by a few influential compounds, rather than specific odor blends. Synthetic sorghum and abutilon odor blends were attractive, but neither blend outperformed the previously tested attractants eugenol and methyl salicylate, of which the latter also was part of the abutilon blend. The strong influence of single compounds led us to search for novel attractive compounds, and to investigate the role of individual olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs) in the perception of kairomones. We screened the response characteristics of ORNs to 82 putative kairomones in single sensillum recordings (SSR), and found a number of key ligand candidates for specific classes of ORNs. Out of these key ligand candidates, six previously untested compounds were selected for field trapping trials: anethole, benzaldehyde, racemic 2,3-butanediol, isoamyl alcohol, methyl benzoate and methyl octanoate. The compounds were selected on the basis that they activated different classes of ORNs, thus allowing us to test potential kairomones that activate large non-overlapping populations of the peripheral olfactory system, while avoiding redundant multiple activations of the same ORN type. Field trapping results revealed that racemic 2,3-butanediol is a powerful novel attractant for P. interrupta

Scientific Opinion on the evaluation of the substances currently on the list in the annex to Commission Directive 96/3/EC as acceptable previous cargoes for edible fats and oils – Part III of III

Shipping of edible fats and oils into Europe is permitted in bulk tanks, in which substances, included in a positive list, had been previously transported. The European Commission requested EFSA to evaluate the list of substances in the Annex to Commission Directive 96/3/EC as acceptable previous cargoes for edible fats and oils, taking into account its review of the Scientific Committee on Food criteria for acceptable previous cargoes and criteria proposed by the Codex Committee for Fats and Oils. This is the third and last scientific opinion of the EFSA Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain (CONTAM Panel) on this topic, in which sixteen of these substances or groups of substances have been evaluated. The CONTAM Panel concluded that sodium silicate (water glass) solution, iso-octanol, iso-nonanol, iso-decanol, 1,3-propanediol, isobutyl acetate, sec-butyl acetate, tert-butyl acetate, n-butyl acetate, propylene tetramer, paraffin wax, candelilla wax, white mineral oils and glycerol would not be of health concern as previous cargoes. The CONTAM Panel concluded that carnauba wax was not acceptable as a previous cargo because of its insolubility in water and high melting point, which raise concerns regarding the efficiency of tank cleaning. There was insufficient information available on the composition of montan wax for the CONTAM Panel to conclude that it would be of no health concern when used as previous cargo and hence it does not meet the criteria for acceptability as previous cargo. The CONTAM Panel made several recommendations regarding the way in which the substances are described in the Annex to Commission Directive 96/3/EC, to correct inaccuracies and to better reflect current transport practices

Proceedings of the 24th Paediatric Rheumatology European Society Congress: Part three

From Springer Nature via Jisc Publications Router.Publication status: PublishedHistory: collection 2017-09, epub 2017-09-0

Noise and optical spectroscopy of single junction silicon solar cell

Noise spectroscopy as a highly sensitive method for non-destructive diagnostics of semiconductor devices was applied to solar cells based on crystalline silicon with a view to evaluating the quality and reliability of this solar cell type. The experimental approach was used in a reverse-biased condition where the internal structure of solar cells, as well as pn-junction itself, was electrically stressed and overloaded by a strong electric field. This gave rise to a strong generation of a current noise accompanied by local thermal instabilities, especially in the defect sites. It turned out that local temperature changes could be correlated with generation of flicker noise in a wide frequency range. Furthermore, an electrical breakdown in a non-stable form also occurred in some specific local regions what created micro-plasma noise with a two-level current fluctuation in the form of a Lorentzian-like noise spectrum. The noise research was carried out on both of these phenomena in combination with the spectrally-filtered electroluminescence mapping in the visible/near-infrared spectrum range and the dark lock-in infrared thermography in the far-infrared range. Then the physical origin of the light emission from particular defects was searched by a scanning electron microscope and additionally there was performed an experimental elimination of one specific defect by the focused ion beam milling

On the accuracy of reactor physics calculations for square HPLWR fuel assemblies

Although the supercritical-pressure or high-performance light water reactor (HPLWR) concept is largely based on the well-established technological experience available with conventional light water reactors, there is still no consensus on various key design features such as an optimal layout for the fuel assembly. This results mainly from the very large density variations of supercritical-pressure water in the core, which render it difficult to ensure reliable values for parameters such as power peaking factors and reactivity worths. The present paper describes studies carried out to compare deterministic and Monte Carlo codes for analysing a representative square HPLWR lattice with uniform 5%-enriched UO2 fuel. The main purpose has been to assess the prediction accuracies achievable for integral parameters such as the multiplication factor, control absorber effectiveness, moderator/coolant density reactivity feedback and pin power distributions. The results show good agreement between the deterministic and stochastic calculations for the unperturbed lattice. However, for certain perturbed situations involving, for example, local coolant density changes in the assembly or control absorber insertion, the observed discrepancies are large enough to question the basic viability of the reactor physics design, e.g. with respect to the thermal performance. [All rights reserved Elsevier

Zawartość amin biogennych w serze pleśniowym w trakcie przechowywania

The aim of this research was to study the formation of seven biogenic amines (histamine, agmatinc, spermine, spermidine, cadaverine, putrescine and tyramine) in three commercial mould cheeses from three different producers from the area of the Central Europę during 8-week storage in refrigerator at 6 š 2 °C. The analysis of biogenic amines was madr every week during 8-week of storage. Biogenic amines were extracted from the mould cheese by diluted HCl and determined using ion-exchange chromatography with post-column ninhydrin detection. Spermidine, spermine, putrescine and cadaverine were detected in tested mould cheeses. Spermidinc was quantitatively the most important biogenic arnuie in all samples. While spermidine was detected immediately after purchase of samples, the rest of detected biogenic amines were developed during storage. The amount of putrescine was mostly increased during storage while the concentration of spermidine was decreased during storage. However, after 8 weeks of storage all samples contained toxicologically insignificant concentrations of detected biogenic amines in comparison with EU legislation and scientific literature and can be considered to be safe for human health.Celem pracy było zbadanie syntezy siedmiu amin biogennych (histaminy, agmatyny, sperminy, spermidyny, kadaweryny, putrescyny i tyraminy) w trzech komercyjnie dostępnych serach pleśniowych pochodzących od różnych producentów z Europy Środkowej w czasie 8-tygodniowego przechowywania w lodówce w temperaturze 6 š 2°C. Oznaczenia poziomu amin biogennych wykonywano raz w tygodniu. Aminy biogenne były izolowane z sera pleśniowego przez rozcieńczony HC1 i oznaczane metodą chromatografii jonowymiennej i postkolumnowej reakcji ninhydrynowej. W badanych serach wykryto obecność spermidyny, sperminy, putrescyny i kadaweryny. W największych ilościach występowała spermidyna. Związek ten wykrywano w świeżo wyprodukowanym serze, natomiast pozostałe aminy pojawiały się stopniowo w czasie przechowywania. Największy wzrost stężenia w czasie przechowywania stwierdzono w przypadku putrescyny. Natomiast poziom spermidyny zmniejszał się w czasie przechowywania. Po 8 tygodniach przechowywania badane sery zawierały jednak nieznaczne ilości amin biogennych, w stężeniach dopuszczalnych przez normy UE i bezpiecznych dla ludzkiego zdrowia