Western corn rootworm pyrethroid resistance confirmed by aerial application simulations of commercial insecticides

The western corn rootworm (Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte) (WCR) is a major insect pest of corn (Zea mays L.) in the United States (US) and is highly adaptable to multiple management tactics. A low level of WCR field-evolved resistance to pyrethroid insecticides has been confirmed in the US western Corn Belt by laboratory dose-response bioassays. Further investigation has identified detoxification enzymes as a potential part of the WCR resistance mechanism, which could affect the performance of insecticides that are structurally related to pyrethroids, such as organophosphates. Thus, the responses of pyrethroid-resistant and -susceptible WCR populations to the commonly used pyrethroid bifenthrin and organophosphate dimethoate were compared in active ingredient bioassays. Results revealed a relatively low level of WCR resistance to both active ingredients. Therefore, a simulated aerial application bioassay technique was developed to evaluate how the estimated resistance levels would affect performance of registered rates of formulated products. The simulated aerial application technique confirmed pyrethroid resistance to formulated rates of bifenthrin whereas formulated dimethoate provided optimal control. Results suggest that the relationship between levels of resistance observed in dose-response bioassays and actual efficacy of formulated product needs to be further explored to understand the practical implications of resistance

A detector for continuous measurement of ultra-cold atoms in real time

We present the first detector capable of recording high-bandwidth real time atom number density measurements of a Bose Einstein condensate. Based on a two-color Mach-Zehnder interferometer, our detector has a response time that is six orders of magnitude faster than current detectors based on CCD cameras while still operating at the shot-noise limit. With this minimally destructive system it may be possible to implement feedback to stabilize a Bose-Einstein condensate or an atom laser.Comment: 3 pages, 3 figures, submitted to optics letter

Lean system implementation strategy and knowledge framework

Current research has exposed the fact that organisations in South Africa grapple with the implementation of lean systems. Lean systems affect the entire organisation and require strategies which link core and supporting processes from end-to-end. In many cases it requires the redesign of the supply chains’ supporting activities or processes that provide added value to the business processes of the organisation. Contemporary research postulates that to be successful, an organisation should have specific objectives when implementing a lean system. The objectives would ensure a smooth, rapid flow of materials and or work through a system. Primarily it compels management to perform a health-check or business capability performance gap analysis before attempting to formulate a lean implementation strategy. The objective of the paper based on topical research, is the development of a health-check. In developing a knowledge framework and measurement model, various tools were used for statistical analysis. The framework would assist organisations in identifying critical success factors during the implementation of lean. It addresses lean implementation strategy confirming the overall business improvement endeavour through value adding activities. An added advantage is that it would assist an organisation in performing a capability performance health-check before embarking on a lean or value adding project

Midlife women, bone health, vegetables, herbs and fruit study. The Scarborough Fair study protocol

BACKGROUND: Bone loss is accelerated in middle aged women but increased fruit/vegetable intake positively affects bone health by provision of micronutrients essential for bone formation, buffer precursors which reduce acid load and phytochemicals affecting inflammation and oxidative stress. Animal studies demonstrated bone resorption inhibiting properties of specific vegetables, fruit and herbs a decade ago. Objective: To increase fruit/vegetable intake in post menopausal women to 9 servings/day using a food specific approach to significantly reduce dietary acid load and include specific vegetables, fruit and herbs with bone resorbing inhibiting properties to assess effect on bone turnover, metabolic and inflammatory markers. METHODS/DESIGN: The Scarborough Fair Study is a randomised active comparator controlled multi centre trial. It aimed to increase fruit and vegetable intake in 100 post menopausal women from ≤ 5 servings/day to ≥ 9 servings/day for 3 months. The women in the dietary intervention were randomly assigned to one of the two arms of the study. Both groups consumed ≥ 9 servings/day of fruit/vegetables and selected herbs but the diet of each group emphasised different fruit/vegetables/herbs with one group (B) selecting from a range of vegetables, fruit and culinary herbs with bone resorbing inhibiting properties. 50 women formed a negative control group (Group C usual diet). Primary outcome variables were plasma bone markers assessed at baseline, 6 weeks and 12 weeks. Secondary outcome variables were plasma inflammation and metabolic markers and urinary electrolytes (calcium, magnesium, potassium and sodium) assessed at baseline and 12 weeks. Dietary intake and urine pH change also were outcome variables. The dietary change was calculated with 3 day diet diaries and a 24 hour recall. Intervention participants kept a twice weekly record of fruit, vegetable and herb intake and urine pH. DISCUSSION: This study will provide information on midlife women’s bone health and how a dietary intervention increasing fruit and vegetable/herb intake affects bone, inflammatory and metabolic markers and urinary electrolyte excretion. It assesses changes in nutrient intake, estimated dietary acid load and sodium: potassium ratios. The study also explores whether specific fruit/vegetables and herbs with bone resorbing properties has an effect on bone markers. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ACTRN 1261100076394

The relationship between ENSO, seasonal rainfall, and circulation patterns in South Africa

Bibliography: leaves 93-101.Relationships between the El Niño-Southern Oscillation phenomenon (ENSO), seasonal rainfall, and atmospheric circulation patterns at the 1000 hPa and 500 hPa levels are investigated. Firstly, correlations between early-summer (October to December), late-summer (January to March) rainfall over South Africa, and sea-surface temperatures in the NINO3 region in the equatorial Pacific Ocean were investigated, where the correlations in the case for late-summer showed much better spatial coherence than in the case for early-summer. Consequently, the study further concentrated only on late summer. The influence of the quasi 18-20 year oscillation of summer rainfall on the effect of El Niño and La Niña events was also investigated, and it was found that during an epoch of above-normal/below-normal rainfall a moderating effect is evident on the severity of El Niño/La Niña events so that on average even above-normal/below-normal rainfall is experienced during such events. Canonical correlation analysis (CCA) was applied to different combinations of years, to find associations between equatorial Pacific sea-surface temperatures and deviations in circulation patterns during certain years. Some at the above results were then verified by model runs, to further prove the relationships not to be coincidental, and to add more degrees of freedom. The results of CCA were then separately interpreted for each combination of seasons (e. g. El Niño during the above-normal phase at the 500 hPa level) with the aid of average circulation maps for different combinations of years. Above - or below-normal rainfall during such years could then be explained in terms of deviations of general synoptic features at the surface and 500 hPa levels

FZZ Scattering

We study the duality between the two dimensional black hole and the sine-Liouville conformal field theories via exact operator quantization of a classical scattering problem. The ideas are first illustrated in Liouville theory, which is dual to itself under the interchange of the Liouville parameter b by 1/b. In both cases, a classical scattering problem does not determine uniquely the quantum reflection coefficient. The latter is only fixed by assuming that the dual scattering problem has the same reflection coefficient. We also discuss the relation of this approach to the method that exploits the parafermionic symmetry of the model to compute the reflection coefficient.Comment: 19 pages, JHEP style. v2: Minor changes in the proposed field of sine-Liouville type, new section discussing the relation with parafermionic symmetry, references adde

Impact of urbanisation on Serum lipid profiles -the thusa survey

Objective. To examine the impact of urbanisation on lipid profiles of black South Africans, stratified for HIV status.Design. Cross-sectional population-based survey.Setting. North West province of South Africa.Subjects. A representative sample of 1854 apparently healthy volunteers aged ≥ 15 years, was recruited from 37 randomly selected sites throughout the province. Subjects were stratified into five urbanisation strata (S): Sl rural villages, S2 farms, S3 informal housing or 'squatter camps', S4 urban townships, and S5 surburban housing.Outcome measures. Demographic, physical activity and dietary intake information was collected using validated and culture-sensitive questionnaires. Anthropometric measurements and lipid analyses were determined using standardised methodology.Results. The results revealed significantly lower mean(95% confidence interval) total serum cholesterol (TC) levels in HIV-negative men in Sl -S4 compared with S5 (S1 3.91 (3.77- 4.05) v. S5 4.79 (4.54- 5.04) mmol/1). In HIV-negative women, TC levels were significantly lower in Sl - S3 than in S4 and S5 (S1 4.05 (3.94- 4.17) v. S5 4.79 (4.59- 5.00) mmol/1). The same trends were seen for serum low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDLC) and triglycerides and in HIV-positive subjects. Binary logistical analysis indicated that the main factor responsible for the increased TC levels seemed to be increased body mass index (BMI) due to decreased physical activity. Conclusions. Serum lipid levels increased with urbanisation although they remained within levels recommended for ther populations. This may, however, become an important health problem in future if preventive strategies are not implemented. Culturally sensitive physical activity programmes to decrease BMI, targeted at professional me and women, and women in urban townships, seem to constitute the most appropriate intervention

The Radius of Metric Subregularity

There is a basic paradigm, called here the radius of well-posedness, which quantifies the "distance" from a given well-posed problem to the set of ill-posed problems of the same kind. In variational analysis, well-posedness is often understood as a regularity property, which is usually employed to measure the effect of perturbations and approximations of a problem on its solutions. In this paper we focus on evaluating the radius of the property of metric subregularity which, in contrast to its siblings, metric regularity, strong regularity and strong subregularity, exhibits a more complicated behavior under various perturbations. We consider three kinds of perturbations: by Lipschitz continuous functions, by semismooth functions, and by smooth functions, obtaining different expressions/bounds for the radius of subregularity, which involve generalized derivatives of set-valued mappings. We also obtain different expressions when using either Frobenius or Euclidean norm to measure the radius. As an application, we evaluate the radius of subregularity of a general constraint system. Examples illustrate the theoretical findings.Comment: 20 page

The effects of lifestyle and diet on gut microbiota composition, inflammation and muscle performance in our aging society

Living longer is associated with an increased risk of chronic diseases, including impairments of the musculoskeletal and immune system as well as metabolic disorders and certain cancers, each of which can negatively affect the relationship between host and microbiota up to the occurrence of dysbiosis. On the other hand, lifestyle factors, including regular physical exercise and a healthy diet, can affect skeletal muscle and immune aging positively at all ages. Accordingly, health benefits could partly depend on the effect of such interventions that influence the biodiversity and functionality of intestinal microbiota. In the present review, we first discuss the physiological effects of aging on the gut microbiota, immune system, and skeletal muscle. Secondly, we describe human epidemiological evidence about the associations between physical activity and fitness and the gut microbiota composition in older adults. The third part highlights the relevance and restorative mechanisms of immune protection through physical activity and specific exercise interventions during aging. Fourth, we present important research findings on the effects of exercise and protein as well as other nutrients on skeletal muscle performance in older adults. Finally, we provide nutritional recommendations to prevent malnutrition and support healthy active aging with a focus on gut microbiota. Key nutrition‐related concerns include the need for adequate energy and protein intake for preventing low muscle mass and a higher demand for specific nutrients (e.g., dietary fiber, polyphenols and polyunsaturated fatty acids) that can modify the composition, diversity, and metabolic capacity of the gut microbiota, and may thus provide a practical means of enhancing gut and systemic immune function

Comparison between transperineal ultrasound and digital dectection of levator ani trauma : can we improve the odds?

Aims To investigate the predictive ability of four digital assessment parameters to detect levator ani (LA) muscle defects (avulsion injury) and compare these to transperineal tomographic ultrasound images. Methods This was an observational study imbedded in a larger quasi-experimental cohort study for women with urinary incontinence. Seventy-two women, ≥60 years who had attended or were going to attend physiotherapy for treatment of urinary incontinence, were included in the study. Inclusion criteria from the parent study were symptoms of stress, urge or both types of urinary incontinence. The predictive ability of the following digital parameters: direct palpation of a discontinuity of the LA muscle from insertion on the pubic ramus; palpation of the distance between the muscle insertion sites; palpation of LA strength; palpation of LA tone, were analyzed against findings from tomographic transperineal ultrasound images. Correlation between methods was measured using Cohen's kappa for each of the individual parameters. Results Seventeen women (24%) presented with a complete or partial avulsion of the puborectalis muscle as diagnosed with tomographic ultrasound imaging. Nine women (13%) had complete avulsions, one of which was bilateral. The predictive ability of the digital assessment parameters varied from poor (k = 0.187, 95% CI [0.02–0.36]) to moderate (k = 0.569, 95% CI [0.31–0.83]). The new parameter of ‘width between insertion sites’ performed best. Conclusions Adding the parameter of “width between insertion sites” appears to enhance our ability to detect avulsion of the levator ani (LA) muscle by digital examination however it does not distinguish between unilateral or bilateral avulsion