Application Methods for Paste Bait Formulations in Control of Ants in Arboreal Situations

Control of invasive ant species has predominantly been through the use of granular baits. These baits are not suitable for ant species that nest in trees and vegetation such as Wasmannia auropunctata, recently introduced to the Big Island and Kauai, Hawaii. In recent years there has been an increasing interest in the use of gel and paste baits for control of some invasive ant species. However, application of these bait types is difficult and time consuming. Here we describe new application methods for gel and paste baits in arboreal situations

Increases in crop pests caused by Wasmannia auropunctata in Solomon Islands subsistence gardens

Abstract The impacts of Wasmannia auropunctata (the little fire ant) on the native biota and subsistence agriculture in the Solomon Islands are poorly understood. This species was originally introduced as a biological control against nut-fall bugs (Amblypelta sp.) around 30 years ago and in the intervening time has spread throughout the Solomon Islands, aided movement of produce and planting material. It is now itself a major pest of coconut, cocoa and subsistence agriculture. In this study, we show the negative effects of this invasive ant on subsistence agriculture in the Solomon Islands. We do this by (i) assessing the presence of insect pests that develop a mutual relationship with W. auropunctata on four common subsistence crops; and (ii) measuring the impact of a significant pest (Tarophagus sp.) and its natural predator the bug Cyrtohinus fulvus, in the presence and absence of W. auropunctata on taro crops. The existence of insect pests that form a mutual relationship with W. auropunctata was measured in a total of 36 gardens of the four subsistence crops. This was conducted through standardized visual searches, plus identification and collecting from randomly selected plants within the gardens. A number of additional insect pests causing major problems to subsistence crops have also developed mutual relationships with W. auropunctata. Infested taro gardens have more Tarophagus sp. compared with taro plants that are free of the little fire ant. The presence and abundance of Wasmannia therefore has the potential to inflict considerable crop loss in rural subsistence gardens in the Solomon Islands

Anaphylaxis due to red imported fire ant sting

The invasive Red Imported Fire Ant (Solenopsis invicta Buren) is well established at two locations in the Brisbane area, and we report a patient with anaphylaxis after a sting. The potential for anaphylactic events in Australia due to S. invicta will be greater than for native ants because of its unusual venom, its habit of forming supercolonies in grassy areas, and its aggressive group territorial defence, which can result in multiple stings

Pharmacomechanical Catheter-Directed Thrombolysis for Deep-Vein Thrombosis.

BACKGROUND: The post-thrombotic syndrome frequently develops in patients with proximal deep-vein thrombosis despite treatment with anticoagulant therapy. Pharmacomechanical catheter-directed thrombolysis (hereafter pharmacomechanical thrombolysis ) rapidly removes thrombus and is hypothesized to reduce the risk of the post-thrombotic syndrome. METHODS: We randomly assigned 692 patients with acute proximal deep-vein thrombosis to receive either anticoagulation alone (control group) or anticoagulation plus pharmacomechanical thrombolysis (catheter-mediated or device-mediated intrathrombus delivery of recombinant tissue plasminogen activator and thrombus aspiration or maceration, with or without stenting). The primary outcome was development of the post-thrombotic syndrome between 6 and 24 months of follow-up. RESULTS: Between 6 and 24 months, there was no significant between-group difference in the percentage of patients with the post-thrombotic syndrome (47% in the pharmacomechanical-thrombolysis group and 48% in the control group; risk ratio, 0.96; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.82 to 1.11; P=0.56). Pharmacomechanical thrombolysis led to more major bleeding events within 10 days (1.7% vs. 0.3% of patients, P=0.049), but no significant difference in recurrent venous thromboembolism was seen over the 24-month follow-up period (12% in the pharmacomechanical-thrombolysis group and 8% in the control group, P=0.09). Moderate-to-severe post-thrombotic syndrome occurred in 18% of patients in the pharmacomechanical-thrombolysis group versus 24% of those in the control group (risk ratio, 0.73; 95% CI, 0.54 to 0.98; P=0.04). Severity scores for the post-thrombotic syndrome were lower in the pharmacomechanical-thrombolysis group than in the control group at 6, 12, 18, and 24 months of follow-up (P CONCLUSIONS: Among patients with acute proximal deep-vein thrombosis, the addition of pharmacomechanical catheter-directed thrombolysis to anticoagulation did not result in a lower risk of the post-thrombotic syndrome but did result in a higher risk of major bleeding. (Funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and others; ATTRACT ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00790335 .)

Simultaneous retrieval of selected optical water quality indicators from Landsat-8, Sentinel-2, and Sentinel-3

Constructing multi-source satellite-derived water quality (WQ) products in inland and nearshore coastal waters from the past, present, and future missions is a long-standing challenge. Despite inherent differences in sensors’ spectral capability, spatial sampling, and radiometric performance, research efforts focused on formulating, implementing, and validating universal WQ algorithms continue to evolve. This research extends a recently developed machine-learning (ML) model, i.e., Mixture Density Networks (MDNs) (Pahlevan et al., 2020; Smith et al., 2021), to the inverse problem of simultaneously retrieving WQ indicators, including chlorophyll-a (Chla), Total Suspended Solids (TSS), and the absorption by Colored Dissolved Organic Matter at 440 nm (acdom(440)), across a wide array of aquatic ecosystems. We use a database of in situ measurements to train and optimize MDN models developed for the relevant spectral measurements (400–800 nm) of the Operational Land Imager (OLI), MultiSpectral Instrument (MSI), and Ocean and Land Color Instrument (OLCI) aboard the Landsat-8, Sentinel-2, and Sentinel-3 missions, respectively. Our two performance assessment approaches, namely hold-out and leave-one-out, suggest significant, albeit varying degrees of improvements with respect to second-best algorithms, depending on the sensor and WQ indicator (e.g., 68%, 75%, 117% improvements based on the hold-out method for Chla, TSS, and acdom(440), respectively from MSI-like spectra). Using these two assessment methods, we provide theoretical upper and lower bounds on model performance when evaluating similar and/or out-of-sample datasets. To evaluate multi-mission product consistency across broad spatial scales, map products are demonstrated for three near-concurrent OLI, MSI, and OLCI acquisitions. Overall, estimated TSS and acdom(440) from these three missions are consistent within the uncertainty of the model, but Chla maps from MSI and OLCI achieve greater accuracy than those from OLI. By applying two different atmospheric correction processors to OLI and MSI images, we also conduct matchup analyses to quantify the sensitivity of the MDN model and best-practice algorithms to uncertainties in reflectance products. Our model is less or equally sensitive to these uncertainties compared to other algorithms. Recognizing their uncertainties, MDN models can be applied as a global algorithm to enable harmonized retrievals of Chla, TSS, and acdom(440) in various aquatic ecosystems from multi-source satellite imagery. Local and/or regional ML models tuned with an apt data distribution (e.g., a subset of our dataset) should nevertheless be expected to outperform our global model

ApplicAtion of pAste BAits Application Methods for Paste Bait Formulations in Control of Ants in Arboreal Situations

Abstract. Control of invasive ant species has predominantly been through the use of granular baits. These baits are not suitable for ant species that nest in trees and vegetation such as Wasmannia auropunctata, recently introduced to the Big Island and Kauai, Hawaii. In recent years there has been an increasing interest in the use of gel and paste baits for control of some invasive ant species. However, application of these bait types is difficult and time consuming. Here we describe new application methods for gel and paste baits in arboreal situations

Red Imported Fire Ants: a threat to eastern Australian wildlife?

The discovery of the Red Imported Fire ants (Solenopsis invicta) in Brisbane on 22 February 2001 sent shock waves through urban and rural communities alike. This article is an attempt to address the often repeated question ‘What will become of Australia's unique fauna if they spread along Australia's eastern seaboard