Crack healing utilising bacterial spores in concrete

This self repair system is based upon harmless ground borne bacteria as the self healing agent. The bacteria is activated after the concrete is cracked and the bacterial spores are exposed to moisture and air. The bacterial reproduction process creates a calcite by-product which fills the cracks in the concrete. By sealing the cracks in concrete, an effective barrier to air or liquid borne deleterious materials is formed and as a consequence of his, enhanced durability is achieved in the structure, resulting in lower life cycle costs. The concrete/mortar prisms were cracked and tested for water flow. They were then left for 56 days to heal and were subject to a test for water tightness. Healing was observed and a reduced water flow (74% and 32% healed) measured with the healed samples when compared to the specimens that were cracked and subjected to a water flow test without any healing agent. The number of samples were limited and a larger scale test is recommended for further work, however this is proof of concept of the process of healing and testing

First capture of <i>Spodoptera exigua</i> moths in the searchlight trap on BeiHhuang Island from April to October 2003–2016.

<p>Note: (○) indicates the predicted date of first capture based on the cumulative growing degree-days (GDD), and (●) indicates the actual date observed by searchlight trap.</p

Duration and occurrence status of <i>Spodoptera exigua</i> moths captured in the searchlight trap on BeiHuang Island from May to October 2003–2016.

<p>Duration and occurrence status of <i>Spodoptera exigua</i> moths captured in the searchlight trap on BeiHuang Island from May to October 2003–2016.</p

Population abundance and seasonal increase of <i>Spodoptera exigua</i> measured by searchlight trap on BeiHuang Island.

<p>Population abundance and seasonal increase of <i>Spodoptera exigua</i> measured by searchlight trap on BeiHuang Island.</p

Annual Migration of Cabbage Moth, <i>Mamestra brassicae</i> L. (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), over the Sea in Northern China

<div><p>The cabbage moth, <i>Mamestra brassicae</i> L. (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), is a serious pest of vegetable crops throughout the world. In order to determine whether or not <i>M</i>. <i>brassicae</i> is a migrant, and if yes, what is the pattern of <i>M</i>. <i>brassicae</i> seasonal migration, a long-term study on <i>M</i>. <i>brassicae</i> from April to October in 2003–2014 was carried out by means of a searchlight trap on a small island located in the center of the Bohai Strait. The results show that a large number of <i>M</i>. <i>brassicae</i> were trapped every year on the island, which indicates that <i>M</i>. <i>brassicae</i> is a migrant and migrated at least 40–60 km across the Bohai Strait. The mean migration period of <i>M</i>. <i>brassicae</i> over the sea within one year is 151 ± 8 d in 2003–2014, with the shortest time span 78 d in 2003 and the longest 189 d in 2014, respectively. The number of <i>M</i>. <i>brassicae</i> captured, however, varies considerably between months or years. The majority of captures were female, with different levels of ovarian development and mating status. Most of the females trapped in May-July during 2010–2014 had a high mating rate and advanced level of ovarian development, suggesting that the migration of this species does not conform to the hypothesis of ‘oogenesis-flight syndrome’. The findings of the present study are beneficial to the development of forecasting systems and management strategies of <i>M</i>. <i>brassicae</i>.</p></div

Additional file 1: Table S1. of Structure and transcription of the Helicoverpa armigera densovirus (HaDV2) genome and its expression strategy in LD652 cells

Primers used in this study. Figure S1. The virus particles and its genome organization. (a) Electron micrograph of HaDNV-1 viruses purified from adult Helicoverpa armigera negatively stained with uranyl acetate (×200000). Bar, 100 nm. (b) Agarose gel electrophoresis (1%) of the extracted HaDNV-1 DNA. Lane 1 = DNA from the HaDNV-1, Lane 2 = Marker. (c) The putative ORFs of HaDNV-1. The plus strand contains three large ORFs: ORF1, ORF2 and ORF3, which encode NS2, NS1 and VP proteins, respectively. (d) Hairpin structure in the 3′ terminus of HaDNV-1 predicted by the QuickFOLD program. The numbers in bracket stand for the start and stop nucleotides of the hairpin on the HaDNV-1 genome. Figure S2. Alignment of amino acid sequences of NS1 (a) and NS2 (b) of HaDNV-1 with the ones of members from Iteravirusdensovirus. HaDNV = Helicoverpa armigera densovirus 1 (accession number: HQ613271), BmDNV = Bombyx mori densovirus 1 (AY033435), CeDNV = Casphalia extranea densovirus (AF375296), DpDNV = Dendrolimus punctatus densovirus (NC_006555). Figure S3. The maximum-likelihood tree for members of the densoviruses, including (a) the genomic sequence with GTR + G + I model, (b) the amino acid sequence of the VP ORF with LG + G model, (c) the amino acid sequence of the NS1 ORF with LG + G + I model, and (d) the amino acid sequence of the NS2 ORF with JTT + G model. “▲” represents the sequence of HaDV2. Bootstrap values (1000 pseudoreplicates) > 50% are indicated on the nodes. Figure S4. Northern blot analysis of the HaDV2 transcripts showed two bands of 2.2 kb with the NS and the VP probe, respectively. Figure S5. Dose-responses of anti-NS1, anti-NS2 and anti-VP antibodies using ELISA. (DOC 2203 kb

Criteria of ovarian development level of <i>M</i>. <i>brassicae</i> adults (references [15,16]).

<p>Criteria of ovarian development level of <i>M</i>. <i>brassicae</i> adults (references [<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0132904#pone.0132904.ref015" target="_blank">15</a>,<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0132904#pone.0132904.ref016" target="_blank">16</a>]).</p

Annual catches of <i>A</i>. <i>segetum</i> in the searchlight trap on BH from 2003 to 2013.

<p>Annual catches of <i>A</i>. <i>segetum</i> in the searchlight trap on BH from 2003 to 2013.</p

Maps showing different climate zones in China (left) and the position of BeiHhuang Island, the searchlight trapping site (right), relative to the Bohai and yellow seas.

<p>Maps showing different climate zones in China (left) and the position of BeiHhuang Island, the searchlight trapping site (right), relative to the Bohai and yellow seas.</p

Nightly catches (A) and mean logarithm of numbers in the 11 years (B) of <i>A</i>. <i>segetum</i> in the searchlight trap on BH from April to October.

<p>Nightly catches (A) and mean logarithm of numbers in the 11 years (B) of <i>A</i>. <i>segetum</i> in the searchlight trap on BH from April to October.</p