Arthropod monitoring in an automated pasta warehouse

Pest monitoring was carried out in an automated pasta warehouse. It is managed with a logistic process and can contain more than 30,000 pallets. Good pest monitoring is difficult in this environment particularly because of the height (more than 20 m). Several sticky traps were placed on the floor under the shelves to monitor the presence of arthropods. Monitoring was done twice, once in March and once in November, each time for two weeks. Results showed the presence of stored-product pests, but also the occurrence of other arthropods.Keywords: Pest monitoring, Stored-product pests, Automatic warehouse, Arthropods, Insects

Understanding trichopria drosophilae performance in laboratory conditions

The recent worldwide interest in the invasive pest Drosophila suzukii (Matsumura) has risen the interest to its biological control agents. Among the parasitoids, Trichopria drosophilae (Perkins) is a cosmopolitan species found in association with the pest in different countries. As different populations of the parasitoid can adapt to different geographical areas, this study is focused to deepen the effect of temperature and host on an Italian population. The performance of T. drosophilae was studied under controlled conditions at seven constant temperatures (5-40 \ub0C), and on two hosts, the native Drosophila melanogaster (Meigen) and the invasive D. suzukii. Information on survival, oviposition and sex ratio were acquired for all temperatures. A GLM analysis showed the influence of temperature and host species on the biological parameters analysed. The best performance in terms of fertility and offspring production were obtained between 25 and 30 \ub0C, while the upper thermal limit for the adult survival was identified at 40 \ub0C. Finally, two equations useful to help predictive models have been obtained. We conclude that T. drosophilae has the potential to be efficiently mass-reared at 25 \ub0C

Light filth method on semolina and pasta

Samples of semolina and pasta were collected from one mill and one pasta plant in Italy for six and four years respectively. They were analyzed by AOAC light filth method (225 g). Altogether, 195 semolina were collected from 2007 to 2012. The mean number of insect fragments detected during this period was 4.9, and each year, a mean of one first instar larva of Stegobium paniceum (L.) was found. A single mite was detected in only one sample. A total of 156 samples of pasta were analyzed during the period 2009 to 2012 and the mean number of fragments in these samples was 10.1. Mandibles of Sitophilus oryzae (L.) and Tribolium spp. were the most identified filths. Fragments were mainly derived from infestation prior to milling, both in semolina and pasta samples. In fact, fragment size was lower than the granulometry of semolina. Rodent hair was found in few samples

Feeding in the adult of Hermetia illucens (Diptera Stratiomyidae): reality or fiction?

Hermetia illucens(L.) (Diptera Stratiomyidae) is a promising species as alternative protein source for animal feed, able to convert a wide range of organic materials. The knowledge on larval biology, development, nutritional needs, and nutritional composition is rich, while few information is available on adult traits. The aim of the present study was to investigate the influence of the adult nutrition on the survival, the longevity and the ovaries development of H. illucens. In detail, three food sources have been compared to starvation. Water, a sucrose solution and a protein solution were given to new emerged adults and data on longevity and ovary development were acquired. Trials were conducted on single specimen and on a cohort of adults. In all the trials, starved adults survived significantly shorter than all other thesis. When adults were maintained isolated, the survival was significantly influenced by the nourishment: longevity was longer when adults were feed with a sucrose solution, while the supply of a protein source provideda lifespan significantly higher than starvation but similar to water or to sucrose solution. In cages longevity was always shorter than in isolated adults for both males and females and the overall trend was similar to single individual trials with the exception of protein solution. Ovary development of females under different nourishment did not show differences.More studies are necessary to identify a correct nutritionconsideringthe integration of different chemical compounds to obtain optimal adult performancein terms of longevity and reproduction

Pheromone-mediated mating disruption of the European grain moth Nemapogon granellus in ham factories

Nemapogon granellus is a lepidopteran species that can cause significant damage to stored animal products such as meats, sausages and cheeses. In the warehouses where such products are stored, pheromone-based control ap-proaches can avoid or reduce insecticide chemical treatments and be more effective than traditional control methods. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of mating disruption (MD) techniques to control N. granellus populations in ham factories. Trials were conducted in two factories located in Northern Italy. In both locations two warehouses were selected: a warehouse test where dispensers, loaded with 10 mg of N. granellus pheromone, were deployed at a density ranging from 1 unit/22.5 m3 (factory A) to 1 unit/25 m3 (factory B), and a control warehouse left untreated. To assess the mating disruption efficacy, the reduction of the number of mated females in water traps, placed in control and treated warehouses, was used as main parameter. The results indicated a substantial reduction in mated females in the treated warehouses in comparison with control warehouses in both the sites of experiments. In detail, the total number of mated females sampled in water traps was above 90% in control warehouses, in warehouses treated with MD technique this percentage was below 50%. In addition, a "trap shutdown" effect was recorded in MD treated warehouses of both factories. These findings suggest that mating disruption is a promising technique that can be positively applied in the integrated pest management of N. granellus in ham factories

Integrated control of Ephestia cautella (Walker) in a confectionary factory

In a confectionary factory, integrated pest-management techniques were used for 12 months. Ephestia cautella is the major pest in this industry. Its presence was monitored using pheromone traps and water traps. The most critical areas were identified and water traps were better at identifying these areas than pheromone traps. Intensive cleaning and structural improvements were carried out when necessary. Water traps have been used as a mass trapping system because they catch both males and females. Catches in water traps showed a decrease in population density after 8-9 months. In a confined area, a mating disruption system was applied to interfere with moth mating. Most females caught with water traps were mated, although in the area where mating disruption was applied, the percentage of unmated females was higher compared with areas where mating disruption was not used

You can't see what you can't see: Experimental evidence for how much relevant information may be missed due to Google's Web search personalisation

The influence of Web search personalisation on professional knowledge work is an understudied area. Here we investigate how public sector officials self-assess their dependency on the Google Web search engine, whether they are aware of the potential impact of algorithmic biases on their ability to retrieve all relevant information, and how much relevant information may actually be missed due to Web search personalisation. We find that the majority of participants in our experimental study are neither aware that there is a potential problem nor do they have a strategy to mitigate the risk of missing relevant information when performing online searches. Most significantly, we provide empirical evidence that up to 20% of relevant information may be missed due to Web search personalisation. This work has significant implications for Web research by public sector professionals, who should be provided with training about the potential algorithmic biases that may affect their judgments and decision making, as well as clear guidelines how to minimise the risk of missing relevant information.Comment: paper submitted to the 11th Intl. Conf. on Social Informatics; revision corrects error in interpretation of parameter Psi/p in RBO resulting from discrepancy between the documentation of the implementation in R (https://rdrr.io/bioc/gespeR/man/rbo.html) and the original definition (https://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=1852106) as per 20/05/201

Independent, additive and interactive effects of acute normobaric hypoxia and cold on submaximal and maximal endurance exercise

Purpose: To evaluate the independent and combined effects of hypoxia (FiO2 = 13.5%) and cold (- 20 °C) on physiological and perceptual responses to endurance exercise. Methods: 14 trained male subjects ([Formula: see text]O2max: 64 ± 5 mL/kg/min) randomly performed a discontinuous maximal incremental test to exhaustion on a motorized treadmill under four environmental conditions: Normothermic-Normoxia (N), Normothermic-Hypoxia (H), Cold-Normoxia (C) and Cold-Hypoxia (CH). Performance and physiological and perceptual responses throughout exercise were evaluated. Results: Maximal WorkLoad (WL) and WL at lactate threshold (LT) were reduced in C (- 2.3% and - 3.5%) and H (- 18.0% and - 21.7%) compared to N, with no interactive (p = 0.25 and 0.81) but additive effect in CH (- 21.5% and - 24.6%). Similarly, HRmax and Vemax were reduced in C (- 3.2% and - 14.6%) and H (- 5.0% and - 7%), showing additive effects in CH (- 7.7% and - 16.6%). At LT, additive effect of C (- 2.8%) and H (- 3.8%) on HR reduction in CH (- 5.7%) was maintained, whereas an interactive effect (p = 0.007) of the two stressors combined was noted on Ve (C: - 3.1%, H: + 5.5%, CH: - 10.9%). [La] curve shifted on the left in CH, displaying an interaction effect between the 2 stressors on this parameter. Finally, RPE at LT was exclusively reduced by hypoxia (p < 0.001), whereas TSmax is synergistically reduced by cold and hypoxia (interaction p = 0.047). Conclusion: If compared to single stress exposure, exercise performance and physiological and perceptual variables undergo additive or synergistic effects when cold and hypoxia are combined. These results provide new insight into human physiological responses to extreme environments

Pest detected in packed food : ten years of analysis

More than one hundred food complaints, coming from food industries, food stores, and customers, were analyzed over a ten year period (2004-2013). In the samples of plant products and animal products, the most represented pests were insects and rodents, while in animal products, mites were also found. In plant products, pests of stored products represented the highest percentages in Coleoptera (62.1) and Lepidoptera (48.2), while Diptera were mainly crop pests or species of hygienic concern. In animal products, the highest number of complaints concerned milk and dairy products, and the contaminations were caused by insects, mites, and mice