Early-Season Establishment of Trichogramma ostriniae for Season-Long Suppression of European Corn Borer in Sweet Corn

NYS IPM Type: Project ReportThe most important insect pest of sweet corn in New York is the European corn borer (ECB) and control of this pest often requires multiple insecticide applications. Trichogramma ostriniae, an egg parasitoid from China, is a good candidate for biological control of ECB because it is effective in China and has performed well in experimental field releases in the US

Lorentz shift measurements in heavily irradiated silicon detectors in high magnetic fields

An external magnetic field exerts a Lorentz force on drifting electric charges inside a silicon strip sensor and thus shifts the cluster position of the collected charge. The shift can be related to the Lorentz angle which is typically a few degrees for holes and a few tens of degrees for electrons in a 4 T magnetic field. The Lorentz angle depends upon magnetic field, electric field inside the sensor and temperature. In this study the sensitivity to radiation for fluences up to 10^16 n/cm^2 has been studied. The Lorentz shift has been measured by inducing ionization with 670 nm red or 1070 nm infrared laser beams injected into the back side of the irradiated silicon sensor operated in magnetic fields up to 8 T. For holes the shift as a function of radiation is increasing, while for electrons it is decreasing and even changes sign. The fact that for irradiated sensors the Lorentz shift for electrons is smaller than for holes, in contrast to the observations in non-irradiated sensors, can be qualitatively explained by the structure of the electric field in irradiated sensors.Comment: Accepted publication for RD09 conference in Proceedings of Scienc

A Collaborative International Research Program on the Coupled North Atlantic-Arctic System: Science Plan

This North Atlantic-Arctic science plan is derived from an international workshop held in April 2014 with support from the National Science Foundation Division of Ocean Sciences and the European Union (EU). The workshop was designed to facilitate development of a core vision for advancing the next phase of research on the North Atlantic-Arctic system and strengthening international collaborations within and between the EU and North America

Timing and causes of North African wet phases during the last glacial period and implications for modern human migration

We present the first speleothem-derived central North Africa rainfall record for the last glacial period. The record reveals three main wet periods at 65-61 ka, 52.5-50.5 ka and 37.5-33 ka that lead obliquity maxima and precession minima. We find additional minor wet episodes that are synchronous with Greenland interstadials. Our results demonstrate that sub-tropical hydrology is forced by both orbital cyclicity and North Atlantic moisture sources. The record shows that after the end of a Saharan wet phase around 70 ka ago, North Africa continued to intermittently receive substantially more rainfall than today, resulting in favourable environmental conditions for modern human expansion. The encounter and subsequent mixture of Neanderthals and modern humans – which, on genetic evidence, is considered to have occurred between 60 and 50 ka – occurred synchronously with the wet phase between 52.5 and 50.5 ka. Based on genetic evidence the dispersal of modern humans into Eurasia started less than 55 ka ago. This may have been initiated by dry conditions that prevailed in North Africa after 50.5 ka. The timing of a migration reversal of modern humans from Eurasia into North Africa is suggested to be coincident with the wet period between 37.5 and 33 ka

Modified minimally invasive extensor carpi radialis longus tenodesis for scapholunate dissociation:A prospective observational study

Background: Scapholunate dissociation is the most common form of carpal instability. However, there is no gold standard for operative treatment. In this prospective observational study on 54 patients, a modified minimally invasive dynamic extensor carpi radialis longus tenodesis is described, which is characterized by a smaller approach and application of a cannulated screw and washer for tendon fixation.Methods: Quick-Disabilities of Arm, Shoulder and Hand (DASH)-questionnaire results, post-operative satisfaction, range of motion and grip strength are analyzed.Results: A median Quick-DASH of 54.6 was observed pre-operatively which significantly improved to a median of 28.4 after the procedure (p &lt;0.001). Median follow-up was 24 months. Of 46 completely followed-up patients, 31 patients (67.4%) reported that they were satisfied with the outcome. Thirty-seven patients (80.4%) would recommend the procedure to a friend. Thirty-five patients (76.1%) reported some kind of complaint in the operated hand during follow-up. There was no association of severity of symptoms and co-morbidities with the outcome. Neither palmar flexion, nor dorsal extension was significantly different between the operated and non-operated wrist. The operated wrists were observed to have less grip strength than non-operated wrists.Conclusions: The presented method seems to be as successful as other techniques described in literature. It is less invasive, thus more patient friendly without harming feasibility of future salvage options. However, post-operative complaint rate was quite high.</p

A Case Report

The objective of this case report is to introduce a customized CAD/CAM freeze- dried bone allograft (FDBA) block for its use in Guided Bone Regeneration (GBR) procedures for severely deficient maxillary bones. Additionally, a special newly developed remote incision technique is presented to avoid wound dehiscence. The results show optimal integration behavior of the FDBA block after six months and the formation of new vital bone. Thus, the results of the present case report confirm the use of the customized CAD/CAM bone block for augmentation of complex defects in the maxillary aesthetic zone as a successful treatment concept. View Full-Tex

Flash drought in Australia and its relationship to evaporative demand

Flash droughts can be distinguished by rapid intensification from near-normal soil moisture to drought conditions in a matter of weeks. Here, we provide the first characterisation of a climatology of flash drought across Australia using a suite of indices. The experiment is designed to capture a range of conditions related to drought: evaporative demand describes the atmospheric demand for moisture from the surface; precipitation, the supply of moisture from the atmosphere to the surface; and evaporative stress, the supply of moisture from the surface relative to the demand from the atmosphere. We show that regardless of the definition, flash droughts occur in all seasons. They can terminate as rapidly as they start, but in some cases can last many months, resulting in a seasonal-scale drought. We show that flash-drought variability and its prevalence can be related to phases of the El Ni&ntilde;o&ndash;Southern Oscillation, highlighting scope for seasonal-scale prediction. Using a case study in southeast Australia, we show that monitoring precipitation is less useful for capturing the onset of flash drought as it occurs. Instead, indices like the Evaporative Demand Drought Index and Evaporative Stress Index are more useful for monitoring flash-drought development. &nbsp;</p

Self-sufficient sensor for oxygen detection in packaging via radio-frequency identification

A new disposable radio-frequency identification (RFID) sensor for detecting oxygen in packages with a protective atmosphere is presented. For safety reasons and system costs in consumer packages, no battery or energy harvesting devices can be used. Each part of a package, especially in food packaging, must be completely safe even if it is swallowed. Several materials have been investigated that safely react with oxygen and thus change electrical parameters without the need of an additional energy supply. In particular linseed oil was tested, because it is known to react in oxygen-containing atmosphere from liquid to solid. Linseed oil is used not only as food but also as a key part in ecological paint coatings. A significant relative change of capacity was observed during linseed oil drying, which results in −20% after 5 h and −38% after 30 h at an oxygen concentration of 20.5 and 50% relative humidity, respectively. Pure unsaturated fatty acids were also tested in an oxygen-containing atmosphere and showed similar behaviour. The reaction speed is partially dependent on the level of unsaturation of fatty acids. The oxygen sensor is coupled with an RFID front end with an internal charge time measurement unit for capacity determination. The combination of sensor element, sensitive material and RFID allows for biocompatible and save systems that indicate the presence of oxygen within a package

Sequentially Processed P3HT/CN6-CP•−NBu4+ Films: Interfacial or Bulk Doping?

Derivatives of the hexacyano-[3]-radialene anion radical (CN6-CP•−) emerge as a promising new family of p-dopants having a doping strength comparable to that of archetypical dopant 2,3,5,6-tetrafluoro-7,7,8,8-tetracyano-quinodimethane (F4TCNQ). Here, mixed solution (MxS) and sequential processing (SqP) doping methods are compared by using a model semiconductor poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and the dopant CN6-CP•−NBu4 + (NBu4 + = tetrabutylammonium). MxS films show a moderate yet thickness-independent conductivity of ≈0.1 S cm−1. For the SqP case, the highest conductivity value of ≈6 S cm−1 is achieved for the thinnest (1.5–3 nm) films whereas conductivity drops two orders of magnitudes for 100 times thicker films. These results are explained in terms of an interfacial doping mechanism realized in the SqP films, where only layers close to the P3HT/dopant interface are doped efficiently, whereas internal P3HT layers remain essentially undoped. This structure is in agreement with transmission electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and Kelvin probe force microscopy results. The temperature-dependent conductivity measurements reveal a lower activation energy for charge carriers in SqP samples than in MxS films (79 meV vs 110 meV), which could be a reason for their superior conductivity. © 2020 The Authors. Published by WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinhei