Behavioral responses of male \u3ci\u3eDiaphorina citri\u3c/i\u3e (Hemiptera: Liviidae) to mating communication signals from vibration traps in citrus (Sapindales: Rutaceae) trees

The Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri Kuwayama (Hemiptera: Liviidae), vectors the bacterium causing citrus greening disease, which has devastated citrus production worldwide wherever it has been introduced. To help monitor and target D. citri populations in commercial groves, thereby facilitating more effective management of citrus greening disease, a prototype device has been developed that mimics D. citri female vibrational communication signals, attracting males to a trap. For this report, effects of the device on male D. citri searching behavior were assessed to consider potential improvements in field applications. Forty-five percent of the males that searched towards the female signal mimic reached the source. In addition, the mean latencies before the initiation of calling and searching responses by males that reached the source were significantly lower than for those that missed, which suggests that trapping efficiency is strongly influenced by variability in male responsiveness to searching cues. Consequently, it is likely that the trapping efficiency of vibration traps could be increased further if they were modified to make use of additional cues strongly attractive to males, such as citrus flush olfactory and visual cues. El sílido asiático de los cítricos Diaphorina citri Kuwayama (Hemiptera: Liviidae) es un vector de la bacteria causante de la enfermedad del enverdecimiento de los cítricos, que ha devastado la producción de cítricos en todo el mundo dondequiera que este ha sido introducido. Para ayudar a monitorear y enfocarse a las poblaciones de D. citri en los bosques comerciales, facilitando así un manejo más efectivo de la enfermedad del enverdecimiento de los cítricos, se ha desarrollado un aparato prototipo que imita las señales vibracionales de comunicación de las hembras de D. citri, que atraen a machos a las trampas. Para este informe, se evaluaron los efectos del aparato sobre el comportamiento de búsqueda de los machos de D. citri para considerar posibles mejoras en las aplicaciones de campo. El 45% de los machos que buscaban hacia la señal que imitaba la hembra llegaron a la fuente. Además, el promedio de la latencia antes de la iniciación de la llamada y las respuestas de búsqueda por los machos que llegaron a la fuente fueron significativamente más bajos que para los que se fallaron, lo que sugiere que la eficiencia de captura está fuertemente influenciada por la variabilidad en la capacidad de respuesta de los machos a buscar señales. En consecuencia, es probable que la eficacia de captura de trampas de vibración podría aumentar aún más si se modificaron para hacer uso de señales adicionales fuertemente atractivas para los machos, tales como señales olfativas y visuales de los brotes de nuevas hojas en cítricos

On some differential-geometric aspects of the Torelli map

In this note we survey recent results on the extrinsic geometry of the Jacobian locus inside $\mathsf{A}_g$. We describe the second fundamental form of the Torelli map as a multiplication map, recall the relation between totally geodesic subvarieties and Hodge loci and survey various results related to totally geodesic subvarieties and the Jacobian locus.Comment: To appear on Boll. UMI, special volume in memory of Paolo de Bartolomei

Measurement of reaction kinetics of [177Lu]Lu-DOTA-TATE using a microfluidic system

Microfluidic synthesis techniques can offer improvement over batch syntheses which are currently used for radiopharmaceutical production. These improvements are, for example, better mixing of reactants, more efficient energy transfer, less radiolysis, faster reaction optimization, and overall improved reaction control. However, scale-up challenges hinder the routine clinical use, so the main advantage is currently the ability to optimize reactions rapidly and with low reactant consumption. Translating those results to clinical systems could be done based on calculations, if kinetic constants and diffusion coefficients were known. This study describes a microfluidic system with which it was possible to determine the kinetic association rate constants for the formation of [177Lu]Lu-DOTA-TATE under conditions currently used for clinical production. The kinetic rate constants showed a temperature dependence that followed the Arrhenius equation, allowing the determination of Arrhenius parameters for a Lu-DOTA conjugate (A = 1.24 ± 0.05 × 1019 M-1 s-1, EA = 109.5 ± 0.1 × 103 J mol-1) for the first time. The required reaction time for the formation of [177Lu]Lu-DOTA-TATE (99% yield) at 80 °C was 44 s in a microfluidic channel (100 μm). Simulations done with COMSOL Multiphysics® indicated that processing clinical amounts (3 mL reaction solution) in less than 12 min is possible in a micro- or milli-fluidic system, if the diameter of the reaction channel is increased to over 500 μm. These results show that a continuous, microfluidic system can become a viable alternative to the conventional, batch-wise radiolabelling technique

Spectral structure and decompositions of optical states, and their applications

We discuss the spectral structure and decomposition of multi-photon states. Ordinarily `multi-photon states' and `Fock states' are regarded as synonymous. However, when the spectral degrees of freedom are included this is not the case, and the class of `multi-photon' states is much broader than the class of `Fock' states. We discuss the criteria for a state to be considered a Fock state. We then address the decomposition of general multi-photon states into bases of orthogonal eigenmodes, building on existing multi-mode theory, and introduce an occupation number representation that provides an elegant description of such states that in many situations simplifies calculations. Finally we apply this technique to several example situations, which are highly relevant for state of the art experiments. These include Hong-Ou-Mandel interference, spectral filtering, finite bandwidth photo-detection, homodyne detection and the conditional preparation of Schr\"odinger Kitten and Fock states. Our techniques allow for very simple descriptions of each of these examples.Comment: 12 page

Cluster state preparation using gates operating at arbitrary success probabilities

Several physical architectures allow for measurement-based quantum computing using sequential preparation of cluster states by means of probabilistic quantum gates. In such an approach, the order in which partial resources are combined to form the final cluster state turns out to be crucially important. We determine the influence of this classical decision process on the expected size of the final cluster. Extending earlier work, we consider different quantum gates operating at various probabilites of success. For finite resources, we employ a computer algebra system to obtain the provably optimal classical control strategy and derive symbolic results for the expected final size of the cluster. We identify two regimes: When the success probability of the elementary gates is high, the influence of the classical control strategy is found to be negligible. In that case, other figures of merit become more relevant. In contrast, for small probabilities of success, the choice of an appropriate strategy is crucial.Comment: 7 pages, 9 figures, contribution to special issue of New J. Phys. on "Measurement-Based Quantum Information Processing". Replaced with published versio

Electrical properties of isotopically enriched neutron-transmutation-doped ^{70} Ge:Ga near the metal-insulator transition

We report the low temperature carrier transport properties of a series of nominally uncompensated neutron-transmutation doped (NTD) ^{70} Ge:Ga samples very close to the critical concentration N_c for the metal-insulator transition. The concentration of the sample closest to N_c is 1.0004N_c and it is unambiguously shown that the critical conductivity exponent is 0.5. Properties of insulating samples are discussed in the context of Efros and Shklovskii's variable range hopping conduction.Comment: 8 pages using REVTeX, 8 figures, published versio

The Reliability of Global and Hemispheric Surface Temperature Records

The purpose of this review article is to discuss the development and associated estimation of uncertainties in the global and hemispheric surface temperature records. The review begins by detailing the groups that produce surface temperature datasets. After discussing the reasons for similarities and differences between the various products, the main issues that must be addressed when deriving accurate estimates, particularly for hemispheric and global averages, are then considered. These issues are discussed in the order of their importance for temperature records at these spatial scales: biases in SST data, particularly before the 1940s; the exposure of land-based thermometers before the development of louvred screens in the late 19th century; and urbanization effects in some regions in recent decades. The homogeneity of land-based records is also discussed; however, at these large scales it is relatively unimportant. The article concludes by illustrating hemispheric and global temperature records from the four groups that produce series in near-real time

Critical curves in conformally invariant statistical systems

We consider critical curves -- conformally invariant curves that appear at critical points of two-dimensional statistical mechanical systems. We show how to describe these curves in terms of the Coulomb gas formalism of conformal field theory (CFT). We also provide links between this description and the stochastic (Schramm-) Loewner evolution (SLE). The connection appears in the long-time limit of stochastic evolution of various SLE observables related to CFT primary fields. We show how the multifractal spectrum of harmonic measure and other fractal characteristics of critical curves can be obtained.Comment: Published versio