Temperature Effects on Development of Three Cereal Aphid Parasitoids (Hymenoptera: Aphidiidae)

Temperature is an important climatological variable that influences the biology and ecology of insects. Poor climatic adaptation can limit the effectiveness of parasitic insects in biological control. Two exotic parasites (Syrian Diaeretiella rapae (M\u27Intosh) and Argentinean Aphidius colemani Viereck) imported for biological control of the Russian wheat aphid, Diuraphis noxia (Mordvilko), and one native parasite (Diaeretiella rapae) were reared in growth chambers in three fluctuating temperature regimes with average daily temperatures of 12, 18, and 24°C. Estimates of temperature thresholds for immature development were 3.3, 3.5, and 2.8°C, for Oklahoman D. rapae, Syrian D. rapae, and A. colemani, respectively. Estimates of thermal require- ments for development from egg to adult were 297, 278, and 301 degree-days for the three parasitoids. Dry weights of adults reared in different fluctuating temperature regimes did not differ significantly among sexes, but adults from regimes with low average temperatures of 12 and 18°C had significantly greater weights than those reared in a regime with an average temperature of 24°C. Results suggest that developmental response to temperature will not limit the effectiveness of the exotic parasites in biological control

A Logical Verification Methodology for Service-Oriented Computing

We introduce a logical verification methodology for checking behavioural properties of service-oriented computing systems. Service properties are described by means of SocL, a branching-time temporal logic that we have specifically designed to express in an effective way distinctive aspects of services, such as, e.g., acceptance of a request, provision of a response, and correlation among service requests and responses. Our approach allows service properties to be expressed in such a way that they can be independent of service domains and specifications. We show an instantiation of our general methodology that uses the formal language COWS to conveniently specify services and the expressly developed software tool CMC to assist the user in the task of verifying SocL formulae over service specifications. We demonstrate feasibility and effectiveness of our methodology by means of the specification and the analysis of a case study in the automotive domain

High field x-ray diffraction study on a magnetic-field-induced valence transition in YbInCu4

We report the first high-field x-ray diffraction experiment using synchrotron x-rays and pulsed magnetic fields exceeding 30 T. Lattice deformation due to a magnetic-field-induced valence transition in YbInCu4 is studied. It has been found that the Bragg reflection profile at 32 K changes significantly at around 27 T due to the structural transition. In the vicinity of the transition field the low-field and the high-field phases are observed simultaneously as the two distinct Bragg reflection peaks: This is a direct evidence of the fact that the field-induced valence state transition is the first order phase transition. The field-dependence of the low-field-phase Bragg peak intensity is found to be scaled with the magnetization.Comment: 5 pages, 6 figures, submitted to J. Phys. Soc. Jp

Targeting BTK for the treatment of FLT3-ITD mutated acute myeloid leukemia

Approximately 20% of patients with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) have a mutation in FMS-like-tyrosine-kinase-3 (FLT3). FLT3 is a trans-membrane receptor with a tyrosine kinase domain which, when activated, initiates a cascade of phosphorylated proteins including the SRC family of kinases. Recently our group and others have shown that pharmacologic inhibition and genetic knockdown of Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK) blocks AML blast proliferation, leukaemic cell adhesion to bone marrow stromal cells as well as migration of AML blasts. The anti-proliferative effects of BTK inhibition in human AML are mediated via inhibition of downstream NF-κB pro-survival signalling however the upstream drivers of BTK activation in human AML have yet to be fully characterised. Here we place the FLT3-ITD upstream of BTK in AML and show that the BTK inhibitor ibrutinib inhibits the survival and proliferation of FLT3-ITD primary AML blasts and AML cell lines. Furthermore ibrutinib inhibits the activation of downstream kinases including MAPK, AKT and STAT5. In addition we show that BTK RNAi inhibits proliferation of FLT3-ITD AML cells. Finally we report that ibrutinib reverses the cyto-protective role of BMSC on FLT3-ITD AML survival. These results argue for the evaluation of ibrutinib in patients with FLT3-ITD mutated AML

Optical study of the electronic phase transition of strongly correlated YbInCu_4

Infrared, visible and near-UV reflectivity measurements are used to obtain conductivity as a function of temperature and frequency in YbInCu_4, which exhibits an isostructural phase-transition into a mixed-valent phase below T_v=42 K. In addition to a gradual loss of spectral weight with decreasing temperature extending up to 1.5 eV, a sharp resonance appears at 0.25 eV in the mixed-valent phase. This feature can be described in terms of excitations into the Kondo (Abrikosov-Suhl) resonance, and, like the sudden reduction of resistivity, provides a direct reflection of the onset of coherence in this strongly correlated electron system.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures (to appear in Phys. Rev. B

Theory of the first-order isostructural valence phase transitions in mixed valence compounds YbIn_{x}Ag_{1-x}Cu_{4}

For describing the first-order isostructural valence phase transition in mixed valence compounds we develop a new approach based on the lattice Anderson model. We take into account the Coulomb interaction between localized f and conduction band electrons and two mechanisms of electron-lattice coupling. One is related to the volume dependence of the hybridization. The other is related to local deformations produced by f- shell size fluctuations accompanying valence fluctuations. The large f -state degeneracy allows us to use the 1/N expansion method. Within the model we develop a mean-field theory for the first-order valence phase transition in YbInCu_{4}. It is shown that the Coulomb interaction enhances the exchange interaction between f and conduction band electron spins and is the driving force of the phase transition. A comparison between the theoretical calculations and experimental measurements of the valence change, susceptibility, specific heat, entropy, elastic constants and volume change in YbInCu_{4} and YbAgCu_{4} are presented, and a good quantitative agreement is found. On the basis of the model we describe the evolution from the first-order valence phase transition to the continuous transition into the heavy-fermion ground state in the series of compounds YbIn_{1-x}Ag_{x}Cu_{4}. The effect of pressure on physical properties of YbInCu_{4} is studied and the H-T phase diagram is found.Comment: 17 pages RevTeX, 9 Postscript figures, to be submitted to Phys.Rev.

Safety and pharmacokinetics of motesanib in combination with gemcitabine for the treatment of patients with solid tumours

The aim of this open-label phase 1b study was to assess the safety and pharmacokinetics of motesanib in combination with gemcitabine in patients with advanced solid tumours. Eligible patients with histologically or cytologically documented solid tumours or lymphoma were enroled in three sequential, dose-escalating cohorts to receive motesanib 50 mg once daily (QD), 75 mg two times daily (BID), or 125 mg QD in combination with gemcitabine (1000 mg m−2). The primary end point was the incidence of dose-limiting toxicities (DLTs). Twenty-six patients were enroled and received motesanib and gemcitabine. No DLTs occurred. The 75 mg BID cohort was discontinued early; therefore, 125 mg QD was the maximum target dose. Sixteen patients (62%) experienced motesanib-related adverse events, most commonly lethargy (n=6), diarrhoea (n=4), fatigue (n=3), headache (n=3), and nausea (n=3). The pharmacokinetics of motesanib and of gemcitabine were not markedly affected after combination therapy. The objective response rate was 4% (1 of 26), and 27% (7 of 26) of patients achieved stable disease. In conclusion, treatment with motesanib plus gemcitabine was well tolerated, with adverse event and pharmacokinetic profiles similar to that observed in monotherapy studies

Fires at Neumark-Nord 2, Germany: An analysis of fire proxies from a Last Interglacial Middle Palaeolithic basin site

Few sites with evidence for fire use are known from the Last Interglacial in Europe. Hearth features are rarely preserved, probably as a result of post-depositional processes. The small postglacial basins (<300 m in diameter) that dominate the sedimentary context of the Eemian record in Europe are high-resolution environmental archives often containing charcoal particles. This case study presents the macroscopic charcoal record of the Neumark-Nord 2 basin, Germany, and the correlation of this record with the distinct find levels of the basin margin that also contain thermally altered archaeological material. Increased charcoal quantities are shown to correspond to phases of hominin presence-a pattern that fits best with recurrent anthropogenic fires within the watershed. This research shows the potential of small basin localities in the reconstruction of local fire histories, where clear archaeological features like hearths are missing