Organic slug control using Phasmarhabditis hermaphrodita

Phasmarhabditis hermaphrodita is a lethal slug parasitic nematode that has been formulated into an effective biological control agent called Nemaslug®. We investigated the possibility of using different application methods of P. hermaphrodita to reduce cost and the number of nematodes applied. We also compared P. hermaphrodita with a new slug pellet called Ferramol®, which is available for use on organic farms

Web 2.0 and micro-businesses: An exploratory investigation

This is the author's final version of the article. This article is (c) Emerald Group Publishing and permission has been granted for this version to appear here. Emerald does not grant permission for this article to be further copied/distributed or hosted elsewhere without the express permission from Emerald Group Publishing Limited.This article was chosen as a Highly Commended Award Winner at the Emerald Literati Network Awards for Excellence 2013.Purpose – The paper aims to report on an exploratory study into how small businesses use Web 2.0 information and communication technologies (ICT) to work collaboratively with other small businesses. The study had two aims: to investigate the benefits available from the use of Web 2.0 in small business collaborations, and to characterize the different types of such online collaborations. Design/methodology/approach – The research uses a qualitative case study methodology based on semi-structured interviews with the owner-managers of 12 UK-based small companies in the business services sector who are early adopters of Web 2.0 technologies. Findings – Benefits from the use of Web 2.0 are categorized as lifestyle benefits, internal operational efficiency, enhanced capability, external communications and enhanced service offerings. A 2×2 framework is developed to categorize small business collaborations using the dimensions of the basis for inter-organizational collaboration (control vs cooperation) and the level of Web 2.0 ICT use (simple vs sophisticated). Research limitations/implications – A small number of firms of similar size, sector and location were studied, which limits generalizability. Nonetheless, the results offer a pointer to the likely future use of Web 2.0 tools by other small businesses. Practical implications – The research provides evidence of the attraction and potential of Web 2.0 for collaborations between small businesses. Originality/value – The paper is one of the first to report on use of Web 2.0 ICT in collaborative working between small businesses. It will be of interest to those seeking a better understanding of the potential of Web 2.0 in the small business community.WestFocu

Chironomid Midges as Indicators of Organic Pollution in the Scioto River Basin, Ohio

Author Institution: Department of Zoological and Biomedical Sciences, Ohio UniversityFaunal and water chemistry data were derived from an extensive survey of streams in the Scioto River basin, Ohio and analyzed to determine biotic indicators of water quality. The data for 11 water chemistry characteristics were simplified by means of factor analysis, which generated three new axes (alkalinity-hardness, enrichment (sewage), agricultural runoff) that explained 71.5% of the total variance. The distributions of 14 common larval chironomid genera were then placed upon these new axes, based on coordinates generated for each sample site. These genera were found to occupy significantly different environments. Heuristic analysis of the data identified five groups of genera, each indicating particular water quality conditions: 1) Stictocbironomus—hard, alkaline unpolluted water; 2) Pentaneura, Cricotopus, and Tanytarsus—sewage enriched water; 3) Procladius and Dicrotendipes—high agricultural runoff; 4) Ablabesmyia and Tribelos —general organic pollution, soft acid water; and 5) Micropsectra, Microtendipes, Glyptotendipes, Chironomus, Polypedilum, and Cryptochironomus — facultative genera

Contributions to the experimental study of the g-factor anomaly of free electrons

The situation at the time of writing may he summed up as follows. In the first place the problem of obtaining an adequate beam intensity has been solved and, although a more intense beam 'would be useful in reducing the counting times, it is believed that the limitations on intensity which exist at present are mainly those inherent in the use of radio-active sources as opposed to electron guns. An improvement of a factor of two may be expected from increasing the source strength and from more careful setting up of the field configurations.The problem of the detection of asymmetries has been brought to the point where there is some evidence that a genuine spin-dependent asymmetry has been observed and where further progress depends mainly on reducing the statistical errors by counting for long periods. It is believed that the instrumental asymmetries can be eliminated by the use of a suitable comparison foil.Alternatively, if it is confirmed that e(k) is slowly varying for k > 300, the observations could be carried out only for k > 300 and a periodic curve fitted by least squares computation as indicated in the last Section.Substantial improvement could be expected in signal to-noise ratio if the scintillation counters were replaced by solid-state detectors, such as lithium ion drift detectors, which would give much, better energy resolution and lower intrinsic background.Finally, a more thorough, examination of the technical details of setting up the field configurations needs to be undertaken so that the distribution of intensity in the beam can be controlled at all orbit-numbers.Given all these improvements, there appears to be no fundamental reason why the experiment should not achieve the 1-2% accuracy for which it was. originally designed

Reinventing geopolitical codes in the post-Cold War world with special reference to international terrorism

Through a study of geopolitical codes, this thesis examines the condition of the Westphalian sovereign state in the post-Cold War world. Focusing primarily on the events of September 11th 2001 and their aftermath, the research questions the sustainability of the state as conceived by (neo)realists in the context of new regional and global actors and the processes underpinning these. From a critical realist perspective the study uses a comparison between Europe, where regionalization is particularly noticeable, and the hegemonic United States, in order to explore how the non-state global terrorist actor and the regional European actor impact upon responses, characterizations and therefore geopolitical codes relating to terrorism. In so doing the plausibility of emerging common European geopolitical codes is considered. The thesis is structured around the discussion of the codes of the United States, Britain and France, in addition to a more limited examination of the European Union. This (neo)realist component is complemented by the use of discourse analysis, a technique more common in critical geopolitics. The analysis is applied to government documents from each of the sample states (and the EU). From this analysis the research determines that each state retains unique geopolitical codes while sharing many components that contribute to their reproduction as sovereign states. Furthermore, although common European codes appear to be unlikely in these circumstances, the European context and imaginations apparent in Britain and France points to a regional dimension. The thesis concludes that the Westphalian sovereign state remains the dominant geopolitical actor, although other actors impinge upon it. This is more apparent in Europe where the regional dimension constitutes an added layer of governance and may signify a move away from the ‘modern’ character of the Westphalian state that continues to be more persistent in hegemonic America

Evaluation of enzyme immunoassays in the diagnosis of camel (Camelus dromedarius) trypanosomiasis:a preliminary investigation

Three enzyme immunoassays were used for the serodiagnosis of Trypanosoma evansi in camels in the Sudan in order to evaluate their ability to discriminate between infected and non-infected animals. Two assays were used for the detection of trypanosomal antibodies, one using specific anti-camel IgG conjugate and another using a non-specific Protein A conjugate. The third assay detected the presence of trypanosomal antigens using anti-T. evansi antibodies in a double antibody sandwich assay. Inspection of the frequency distribution of assay results suggested that the ELISA for circulating trypanosomal antibodies using specific antisera and the ELISA for circulating antigens can distinguish between non-infected camels and infected camels exhibiting patent infections or not. The ELISA using Protein A conjugate to bind non-specifically to camel immunoglobulin did not appear to discriminate between infected and non-infected animals

Do prerecorded lecture VODcasts affect lecture attendance of first-year pre-clinical Graduate Entry to Medicine students?

Background: There is increasing concern amongst educators that the provision of recorded lectures may reduce student attendance of live lectures. We therefore sought to determine if the provision of prerecorded lecture video podcasts (VODcasts) to first-year Graduate Entry to Medicine (GEM) students, affected attendance at 21 Physiology lectures within three separate pre-clinical modules.: Methods: Data on lecture attendance, utilization of VODcasts, and whether VODcasts should replace live lectures were drawn from three surveys conducted in academic years 2014–2015 and 2015–2016 on all first-year GEM students in two first-year pre-clinical modules where prerecorded Physiology VODcasts were available for viewing or downloading prior to scheduled live lectures. Results: A total of 191/214 (89%) students responded to the three surveys, with 84.3% of students attending all 21 lectures in the study. Only 4% of students missed more than one lecture in each of the three lecture series, with 79% indicating that VODcasts should not replace lectures. Conclusion: Therefore, we conclude that the attendance of pre-clinical GEM students at live lectures is not significantly impacted upon by the provision of lecture VODcasts, with most students viewing them as useful revision tools rather than as a replacement for live lectures