Do wildflower strips enhance pest control in organic cabbage?

Within this project we assess whether wildflower strips and companion plants increase the control of cabbage pests Plutella xylostella L. (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae), Mamestra brassicae L. (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) and Pieris rapae L. (Lepidoptera: Pieridae) by (1) naturally occurring parasitoids and predators and (2) mass‐releasedn Trichogramma brassciae (Bezdenko) (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae) parasitoids. Two organic cabbage fields were used for this study: adjacent to each field a wildflower strip was sown and companion plants (Centaurea cyanus L. (Asteraceae)) intermixed within the crop. Within each field ~15,000 M. brassicae eggs were placed out to determine the parasitism rates by mass‐released T. brassicae and to assess the levels of egg predation. Over 1,000 lepidopteran larvae were collected and screened for hymenopteran and tachinid parasitoid DNA using a multiplex PCR assay. Invertebrate generalist predators (n=1,063) were collected for DNA‐based gut content analysis. The wildflower strip had a significant positive effect on M. brassicae egg parasitism rates as rates increased 5‐fold in the vicinity to the strip. Moreover, companion plants enhanced invertebrate predation on M. brassicae eggs. Both, the release of T. brassicae and the use of companion plants, however, did not significantly increase egg parasitism rates. The infestation of plants by caterpillars increased with distance to the wildflower strip and there was a trend of decreasing larval parasitism rates with distance to the strip. Currently the invertebrate predators are being molecularly analysed to assess predation on unparasitized and parasitized lepidopteran pests

Magnetic-film atom chip with 10 μ\mum period lattices of microtraps for quantum information science with Rydberg atoms

We describe the fabrication and construction of a setup for creating lattices of magnetic microtraps for ultracold atoms on an atom chip. The lattice is defined by lithographic patterning of a permanent magnetic film. Patterned magnetic-film atom chips enable a large variety of trapping geometries over a wide range of length scales. We demonstrate an atom chip with a lattice constant of 10 $\mu$m, suitable for experiments in quantum information science employing the interaction between atoms in highly-excited Rydberg energy levels. The active trapping region contains lattice regions with square and hexagonal symmetry, with the two regions joined at an interface. A structure of macroscopic wires, cut out of a silver foil, was mounted under the atom chip in order to load ultracold $^{87}$Rb atoms into the microtraps. We demonstrate loading of atoms into the square and hexagonal lattice sections simultaneously and show resolved imaging of individual lattice sites. Magnetic-film lattices on atom chips provide a versatile platform for experiments with ultracold atoms, in particular for quantum information science and quantum simulation.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figure

The use of yeast inoculation in fermentation for port production; effect on total potential ethyl carbamate

A commercial wine yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae UCD 522 (pre-cultured in the presence of certain mass-labelled amino acids) was inoculated into a port must which was then allowed to ferment under controlled conditions of temperature and agitation. The influence of potential ethyl carbamate (EC) precursor formed due to yeast pre-culture, upon total potential EC levels was studied at various stages of fermentation. Pre-culture accumulation did not give rise to detectable levels of EC precursor during port fermentation

Use of organic inputs by arable farmers in six agro-ecological zones across Europe: Drivers and barriers

Soil organic matter (SOM) in agricultural soils builds up via – among others - the use of organic inputs such as straw, compost, farmyard manure or the cultivation of green manures or cover crops. SOM has benefits for long-term soil fertility and can provide ecosystem services. Farmer behaviour is however known to be motivated by a larger number of factors. Using the theory of planned behaviour, we aimed to disentangle these factors. We addressed the following research question: What are currently the main drivers and barriers for arable farmers in Europe to use organic inputs? Our study focuses on six agro-ecological zones in four European countries (Austria, Flanders [Belgium], Italy and the Netherlands) and four practices (straw incorporation, green manure or cover crops, compost and farmyard manure). In a first step, relevant factors were identified for each practice with farmers using 5 to ten semi-structured interviews per agro-ecological zone. In a second step, the relevance of these factors was quantified and they were classified as either drivers or barriers in a large scale farm survey with 1263 farmers. In the semi-structured interviews, 110 factors that influenced farmer decisions to use an organic input were identified. In the larger farm survey, 60% of the factors included were evaluated as drivers, while 40% were evaluated as barriers for the use of organic inputs. Major drivers to use organic inputs were related to the perceived effects on soil quality (such as improved soil structure or reduced erosion) and the positive influence from social referents (such as fellow farmers or agricultural advisors). Major barriers to use organic inputs were financial (increased costs or foregone income) and perceived effects on crop protection (such as increased weeds, pests and diseases, or increased pesticide use). Our study shows that motivating farmers to use organic inputs requires specific guidance on how to adapt cultivation practices to reduce weeds, pests and diseases for specific soil types, weather conditions, and crops. In addition, more research is needed on the long-term financial consequences of using organic inputs

Severity of left ventricular remodeling defines outcomes and response to therapy in heart failure Valsartan heart failure trial (Val-HeFT) echocardiographic data

AbstractObjectivesThe objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that the severity of left ventricular remodeling predicts the response to treatment and outcomes in chronic heart failure.BackgroundReversal of remodeling should produce the most favorable outcome in patients with the most severe remodeling.MethodsIn 5,010 heart failure patients on background therapy and randomized to valsartan and placebo, serial recordings of left ventricular internal diastolic diameter (LVIDd) and ejection fraction (EF) were read at sites that had to meet qualifying standards before participating. Baseline LVIDd and EF were pooled across treatments and retrospectively grouped by quartiles Q1 to Q4, representing best to worst. Kaplan-Meier survival curves were obtained by the log-rank test. Q1 was compared with Q4 for mortality and combined mortality and morbidity (M + M) from Cox regression risk ratios (RRs). Valsartan versus placebo changes from baseline in LVIDd and EF were analyzed by quartiles from analysis of covariance. Valsartan and placebo were compared by RRs for M + M.ResultsSurvival rates were greater in the better quartiles for LVIDd and EF (p < 0.00001). The RR for Q1 versus Q4 in events approached 0.5 for both LVIDd and EF (p < 0.0001). An LVIDd decrease and EF increase were quartile-dependent and greater with valsartan than placebo at virtually all time points. The RR for M + M outcomes favored valsartan in the worse quartiles.ConclusionsStratification by baseline severity of remodeling showed that patients with worse LVIDd and EF are at highest risk for an event, yet appear to gain the most anti-remodeling effect and clinical benefit with valsartan treatment

Physics at the e+ e- Linear Collider

A comprehensive review of physics at an e+e- Linear Collider in the energy range of sqrt{s}=92 GeV--3 TeV is presented in view of recent and expected LHC results, experiments from low energy as well as astroparticle physics.The report focuses in particular on Higgs boson, Top quark and electroweak precision physics, but also discusses several models of beyond the Standard Model physics such as Supersymmetry, little Higgs models and extra gauge bosons. The connection to cosmology has been analyzed as well.Comment: 179 pages, plots and references updated, version to be published at EPJ

Individual Rights, Economic Transactions, and Recognition: A Legal Approach to Social Economics

Modernity brought the idea of individual property rights as a com- plex phenomenon. However, economics adopted a simplistic view of property as a fundamental institution, understating the complex interaction of different rights and obligations that frame the legal environment of economic processes with an insufficiently elaborated tool. Here, a more elaborate view of legal elements will be propose