A Split-Stem Lesion on Young Hybrid \u3ci\u3ePopulus\u3c/i\u3e Trees Caused by the Tarnished Plant Bug, \u3ci\u3eLygus Lineolaris\u3c/i\u3e (Hemiptera: [Heteroptera]: Miridae)

The tarnished plant bug, known principally as an agricultural pest, injures young hybrid Populus by feeding on the stems and meristems. Tarnished plant bug eggs, fungi associated with some lesions, and simple mechanical stimuli alone from feeding appeared not to cause lesion formation. Of 20 Populus hybrids tested in a clonal trial, four appeared to be consistently susceptible to lesion injury, with Populus nigra var. betulifolia x trichocarpa the most susceptible. Several clones showed high resistance in the trial but a few were susceptible in other plantings and in host preference tests when caged with tarnished plant bugs. Lesions diminished tenfold on Populus where horseweed, the insect\u27s principal wild host, grew along with susceptible poplars. The tarnished plant bug can be suppressed by ultra-low volume pesticides and cultural manipulation of understory vegetation

An Online Environmental Approach to Service Interaction Management in Home Automation

Home automation is maturing with the increased deployment of networks and intelligent devices in the home. Along with new protocols and devices, new software services will emerge and work together releasing the full potential of networked consumer devices. Services may include home security, climate control or entertainment. With such extensive interworking the phenomenon known as service interaction, or feature interaction, appears. The problem occurs when services interfere with one another causing unexpected or undesirable outcomes. The main goal of this work is to detect undesired interactions between devices and services while allowing positive interactions between services and devices. If the interaction is negative, the approach should be able to handle it in an appropriate way. Being able to carry out interaction detection in the home poses certain challenges. Firstly, the devices and services are provided by a number of vendors and will be using a variety of protocols. Secondly, the configuration will not be fixed, the network will change as devices join and leave. Services may also change and adapt to user needs and to devices available at runtime. The developed approach is able to work with such challenges. Since the goal of the automated home is to make life simpler for the occupant, the approach should require minimal user intervention. With the above goals, an approach was developed which tackles the problem. Whereas previous approaches solving service interaction have focused on the service, the technique presented here concentrates on the devices and their surrounds, as some interactions occur through conflicting effects on the environment. The approach introduces the concept of environmental variables. A variable may be room temperature, movement or perhaps light. Drawing inspiration from the Operating Systems domain, locks are used to control access to the devices and environmental variables. Using this technique, undesirable interactions are avoided. The inclusion of the environment is a key element of this approach as many interactions can happen indirectly, through the environment. Since the configuration of a home’s devices and services is continually changing, developing an off-line solution is not practical. Therefore, an on-line approach in the form of an interaction manager has been developed. It is the manager’s role to detect interactions. The approach was shown to work successfuly. The manager was able to successfully detect interactions and prevent negative interactions from occurring. Interactions were detected at both device and service level. The approach is flexible: it is protocol independent, services are unaware of the manager, and the manager can cope with new devices and services joining the network. Further, there is little user intervention required for the approach to operate

Role of Peptide Backbone Conformation on Biological Activity of Chemotactic Peptides

To investigate the role of peptide backbone conformation on the biological activity of chemotactic peptides, we synthesized a unique analog of N-formyl-Met-Leu-Phe-OH incorporating the C α,α disubstituted residue, dipropylglycine (Dpg) in place of Leu. The conformation of the stereochemically constrained Dpg analog was examined in the crystalline state by x-ray diffraction and in solution using NMR, IR, and CD methods. The secretagogue activity of the peptide on human neutrophils was determined and compared with that of a stereochemically constrained, folded type II β-turn analog incorporating 1-aminocyclohexanecarboxylic acid (Ac6c) at position 2 (f-Met- Ac6c -Phe-OMe), the parent peptide (f-Met-Leu-Phe-OH) and its methyl ester derivative (f-Met-Leu-Phe-OMe). In the solid state, the Dpg analog adopts an extended β-sheet-like structure with an intramolecular hydrogen bond between the NH and CO groups of the Dpg residue, thereby forming a fully extended (C5) conformation at position 2. The ϕ and ψ values for Met and Phe residues are significantly lower than the values expected for an ideal antiparallel beta conformation causing a twist in the extended backbone both at the N and C termini. Nuclear magnetic resonance studies suggest the presence of a significant population of the peptide molecules in an extended antiparallel β conformation and the involvement of Dpg NH in a C5 intramolecular hydrogen bond in solutions of deuterated chloroform and deuterated dimethyl sulfoxide. IR studies provide evidence for the presence of an intramolecular hydrogen bond in the molecule and the antiparallel extended conformation in chloroform solution. CD spectra in methanol, trifluoroethanol, and trimethyl phosphate indicate that the Dpg peptide shows slight conformational flexibility, whereas the folded Ac6c analog is quite rigid. The extended Dpg peptide consistently shows the highest activity in human peripheral blood neutrophils, being approximately 8 and 16 times more active than the parent peptide and the folded Ac6c analog, respectively. However, the finding that all four peptides have ED50 (the molar concentration of peptide to induce half-maximal enzyme release) values in the 10(-8)-10(-9) M range suggests that an induced fit mechanism may indeed be important in this ligand-receptor interaction. Moreover, it is also possible that alterations in the backbone conformation at the tripeptide level may not significantly alter the side chain topography and/or the accessibility of key functional groups important for interaction with the receptor

Low temperature/short duration steaming as a sustainable method of soil disinfection

This report was presented at the UK Organic Research 2002 Conference. Soil samples containing resting structures of fungal crop pathogens (Verticillium dahliae, Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, Sclerotium cepivorum, Pythium ultimum), potato cyst nematodes (Globodera rostochiensis and Globodera pallida) and weeds (Chenopodium album and Agropyron repens) were treated with aerated steam in the laboratory at temperatures ranging from 50–80oC in a specially constructed apparatus. Steaming at 50 or 60oC for three minutes, followed by an eight-minute resting period in the steamed soil and immediate removal from the soil thereafter, resulted in 100% kill of all weeds, fungi and nematodes. Low temperature/ short duration soil steaming could become a sustainable alternative to chemical or high-temperature steam soil disinfestation

Of Visions, Values, and Voices: Consolidating ACPA and NASPA

In this paper, we discuss the history of the two organizations and the history of other attempts at organizational consolidation; explore the similarities and differences in the organizations’ missions and values, structures, and activities; and consider each organization’s unique characteristics. We conclude with a set of recommendations concerning organizational consolidation and will raise a number of pertinent questions we feel the profession must address as it considers consolidating ACPA and NASPA

Discovery of a Bright Field Methane (T-type) Brown Dwarf by 2MASS

We report the discovery of a bright (J = 13.83$\pm$0.03) methane brown dwarf, or T dwarf, by the Two Micron All Sky Survey. This object, 2MASSI J0559191-140448, is the first brown dwarf identified by the newly commissioned CorMASS instrument mounted on the Palomar 60-inch Telescope. Near-infrared spectra from 0.9 - 2.35 \micron show characteristic CH$_4$ bands at 1.1, 1.3, 1.6, and 2.2 \micron, which are significantly shallower than those seen in other T dwarfs discovered to date. Coupled with the detection of an FeH band at 0.9896 \micron and two sets of K I doublets at J-band, we propose that 2MASS J0559-14 is a warm T dwarf, close to the transition between L and T spectral classes. The brightness of this object makes it a good candidate for detailed investigation over a broad wavelength regime and at higher resolution.Comment: 21 pages, 3 figures, 2 tables, accepted to AJ for publication August 200

Differential Responding by Rhesus Monkeys (Macaca mulatta) and Humans (Homo sapiens) to Variable Outcomes in the Assurance Game

Behavioral flexibility in how one responds to variable partner play can be examined using economic coordination games in which subjects play against a variety of partners and therefore may need to alter their behavior to produce the highest payoff. But how do we study this behavioral flexibility once players have settled on a response? Here, we investigated how responding by rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) and humans (Homo sapiens) playing a computerized single-player version of a coordination game, the Assurance game, changed as a function of the variable responses (Stag/Hare) generated by multiple simulations (SIMs). We were interested in whether individuals could track and differentially respond to changing frequencies of Stag and Hare play by the SIMs, especially with regard to the payoff dominant (Stag-Stag) outcome, something that could not be done with real partners as they quickly settled on the Stag response. For both monkeys and humans, there was a linear relationship between proportion of Stag play by the subject and the likelihood of the Stag choice by the SIM such that both species increased their use of Stag as the SIM increased its use of the Stag response. However, humans more closely matched their proportion of Stag responses to that of the SIM, whereas monkeys adopted a different, but equally effective, strategy of exploiting the higher-paying Stag alternative. These results suggest that monkeys and humans demonstrate sensitivity to a dynamic game environment in which they encounter variable contingencies for the same response options, although they may employ different strategies to maximize reward

Radiation modeling in the Earth and Mars atmospheres using LRO/CRaTER with the EMMREM Module

Abstract We expand upon the efforts of Joyce et al. (2013), who computed the modulation potential at the Moon using measurements from the Cosmic Ray Telescope for the Effects of Radiation (CRaTER) instrument on the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) spacecraft along with data products from the Earth-Moon-Mars Radiation Environment Module (EMMREM). Using the computed modulation potential, we calculate galactic cosmic ray (GCR) dose and dose equivalent rates in the Earth and Mars atmospheres for various altitudes over the course of the LRO mission. While we cannot validate these predictions by directly comparable measurement, we find that our results conform to expectations and are in good agreement with the nearest available measurements and therefore may be used as reasonable estimates for use in efforts in risk assessment in the planning of future space missions as well as in the study of GCRs. PREDICCS (Predictions of radiation from REleASE, EMMREM, and Data Incorporating the CRaTER, COSTEP, and other solar energetic particles measurements) is an online system designed to provide the scientific community with a comprehensive resource on the radiation environments of the inner heliosphere. The data products shown here will be incorporated into PREDICCS in order to further this effort and daily updates will be made available on the PREDICCS website (http://prediccs.sr.unh.edu). Key Points We model GCR dose and dose equivalent rates in Earth and Mars atmospheres Dose rates are in reasonable agreement with nearby measurements Data products will soon be made available on PREDICCS website