New data on the scale insects (Hemiptera, Coccoidea) of Tenerife, Canary Islands

This short communication presents new data on 16 species of scale insects, belonging to 5 families of the Coccoidea (Hemiptera) which were collected by the author on April 1995 in the course of a short visit to Tenerife Island. Three species, indicated below with an asterisk *, are recorded here for the first time from the Canary Islands. Slide-mounted specimens of all the species recorded here are deposited in the Coccoidea Collection, Department of Entomology, Agricultural Research Organization, Bet Dagan, Israel. The collection number of each record is indicated in the Material Examined section

Disabled IDF Veterans in Israeli Higher Education: Disability Identity and Use of Support

Even though military service in Israel is mandatory and common among the state population, Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) veterans with disabilities are rarely represented in the literature regarding their experience in Israeli higher education (HE). This study aimed to fill this gap by investigating the experiences of disabled IDF (DIDF) veteran students, their experiences as students, identities, challenges, and utilization of support resources on their campuses. The relevant fields of Disability Studies, Veteran Studies, and the use of disability support services on campus are discussed in this study, focusing on the implementation of accessibility regulations and practices in the Israeli HE system concerning the target population of DIDF veterans. This dissertation study aimed to understand the perceptions, needs for disability services, and experiences of DIDF-veteran students within the general student population in Israeli HE. This study applied a qualitative method with a small quantitative component. Participants were recruited to respond to an online survey and then were offered to participate in in-depth interviews. The qualitative sample included 13 participants who had a range of disabilities and attended different HE institutions including colleges and universities. They had varied military service backgrounds and educational experiences during undergraduate and graduate studies. All participants were officially recognized as DIDF veterans by the MoD, having a single or multiple disabilities. This population mainly receives rehabilitation and support services from the Israeli Ministry of Defense (MoD), but not necessarily in HE. The interview transcripts were analyzed using an inductive approach. The findings revealed that many of the participants had learning disabilities (LDs) or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and other impairments or medical conditions on top of their military disability that impacted their ability to function as students. The study findings were displayed first by the four (sub) research questions and then were organized into three major themes: Disability as a Complex Category, Negotiating Disability, Choice of Support. In conclusion, my study calls for a greater awareness of this unique population and its needs in HE, which has the potential to serve as a rehabilitation site for many of them

ISSIS-XII (Crete, Greece, April-2010) recognises Zvi Mendel for his excellence and outstanding contributions to scale insect studies

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A note on "optimal resource allocation for security in reliability systems"

In a recent paper by Azaiez and Bier [Azaiez, M.N., Bier, V.M., 2007. Optimal resource allocation for security in reliability systems. European Journal of Operational Research 181, 773–786], the problem of determining resource allocation in series-parallel systems (SPSs) is considered. The results for this problem are based on the results for the least-expected cost failure-state diagnosis problem. In this note, it is demonstrated that the results for the least-expected cost failure-state diagnosis problem for SPSs in Azaiez and Bier (2007) are incorrect. In addition relevant results that were not cited in the paper are summarized

Proton-induced endocytosis is dependent on cell membrane fluidity, lipid-phase order and the membrane resting potential

AbstractRecently it has been shown that decreasing the extracellular pH of cells stimulates the formation of inward membrane invaginations and vesicles, accompanied by an enhanced uptake of macromolecules. This type of endocytosis was coined as proton-induced uptake (PIU). Though the initial induction of inward membrane curvature was rationalized in terms of proton-based increase of charge asymmetry across the membrane, the dependence of the phenomenon on plasma membrane characteristics is still unknown. The present study shows that depolarization of the membrane resting potential elevates PIU by 25%, while hyperpolarization attenuates it by 25%. Comparison of uptake in suspended and adherent cells implicates that the resting-potential affects PIU through remodeling the actin-cytoskeleton. The pH at the external interface of the cell membrane rather than the pH gradient across it determines the extent of PIU. PIU increases linearly upon temperature increase in the range of 4–36°C, in correlation with the membrane fluidity. The plasma membrane fluidity and the lipid phase order are modulated by enriching the cell's membrane with cholesterol, tergitol, dimethylsulfoxide, 6-ketocholestanol and phloretin and by cholesterol depletion. These treatments are shown to alter the extent of PIU and are better correlated with membrane fluidity than with the lipid phase order. We suggest that the lipid phase order and fluidity influence PIU by regulating the lipid order gradient across the perimeter of the lipid-condensed microdomains (rafts) and alter the characteristic tension line that separates the higher ordered lipid-domains from the lesser ordered ones

The mutualism of Melissotarsus ants and armoured scale insects in Africa and Magadascar: distribution, host plants and biology

Είδη μυρμηγκιών του γένους Melissotarsus Emery είναι διαδεδομένα στην Αφροτροπική περιοχή (τρία είδη M. beccarii Emery, M. emeryi Forel και M. weissi Santschi) καθώς και ένα είδος στην Μαγαδασκάρη (M. insularis Santschi). Τα μυρμήγκια όλων αυτών των ειδών δημιουργούν τις στοές τους σε ζωντανό ξύλο διαφόρων δικοτυλήδονων δένδρων, κοντά στο φλοιό. Τα μυρμήγκια διατηρούν εντός των στοών πληθυσμούς διαφόρων ειδών κοκκοειδών εντόμων τηςοικογένειας Diaspididae. Στην παρούσα εργασία παρουσιάζεται μια ανασκόπηση πάνω στη γεωγραφική κατανομή της παρατηρούμενης συμβίωσης των ειδών μυρμηγκιών του γένους Melissotarsus και των δέκα ειδών κοκκοειδών εντόμων της οικογένειας Diaspididae, καθώς και των φυτών ξενιστών όπου παρατηρείται η συμβίωση. Η οικολογία της παρατηρούμενης συμβίωσης συζητείται καθώς και τα πιθανά οφέλη που προκύπτουν για τα είδη που συμβιώνουν.Species of the ant genus Melissotarsus Emery are widespread in the Afrotropical region (three species, namely M. beccarii Emery, M. emeryi Forel and M. weissi Santschi) and in the Madagascar region (one species, namely M. insularis Santschi). The ants of all these species tunnel their galleries in live wood of various dicotyledonous trees, close to the bark surface. The ants maintain within these galleries populations of different species of armoured scale insects. A review is presented on the geographical distribution of mutualism, of the Melissotarsus species, the associated 10 species of armoured scale insects, and the host plants on which the mutualism takes place. The ecology of the mutualism is discussed also, together with suggestions on the benefits that the partners gain from the associations

Correlation and response in a driven dissipative model

We consider a simple dissipative system with spatial structure in contact with a heat bath. The system always exhibits correlations except in the cases of zero and maximal dissipation. We explicitly calculate the correlation function and the nonlocal response function of the system and show that they have the same spatial dependence. Finally, we examine heat transfer in the model, which agrees qualitatively with simulations of vibrated granular gases