‘Changing My Thinking With a Western Woman’: Javanese Youths’ Constructions of Masculinity

Yogyakarta’s ‘wild’ guides are young men who pursue fantasies of true love and easy wealth by striking up ‘love affairs’ with tourist women. A hegemonic masculinity emerges as male peergroup gossip evaluates dramatic incidents to pinpoint ideal male with­male image and behaviour. In romances with Western women, guides renegotiate the sexual aspect of their masculinity, as tourist women’s holiday­romance expectations of attentiveness and deference collide with this ideal masculine self­image. The tension between disgust and desire within guides’ lifestyle leads to fragmented performances of identity for their different audiences.     

Osmoregulatory function in ducks following ingestion of the organophosphorus insecticide fenthion

Salt gland function and osmoregulation in aquatic birds drinking hyperosmotic water has been suggested to be impaired by organophosphorus insecticides. To test this hypothesis, adult black ducks (Anas rubripes) were provided various regimens of fresh or salt (1.5% NaCl) water before, during, and after ingestion of mash containing 21 ppm fenthion. Ducks were bled by jugular venipuncture after 1, 7, and 12 days of treatment, and were then killed. Brain and salt gland acetylcholinesterase activities were substantially inhibited (44–61% and 14–36%) by fenthion. However, salt gland weight and Na⁺-K⁺-ATPase activity, and plasma Na⁺, Cl^?, and osmolality, were uniformly elevated in all groups receiving salt water including those ingesting fenthion. In a second study, salt gland Na⁺-K⁺-ATPase activity in mallards (A. platyrhynchos) was not affected after in vitro incubation with either fenthion oxon at concentrations ranging from 0.04 to 400 μM, but was reduced in the presence of 40 and 400 μM DDE (positive control). These findings suggest than environmentally realistic concentrations of organophosphorus insecticides do not markedly affect osmoregulatory function in adult black ducks.     

Trapping greenhouse whitefly with coloured surfaces: variables affecting efficacy

Much interest has developed in the use of sticky yellow boards to control the greenhouse whitefly. Such yellow boards are now produced for sale by several commercial companies. This paper summarizes experiments that assess the importance of various factors affecting trap efficacy, such as colour, position and quality of adhesive. Because the experiments were conducted under natural greenhouse conditions, growers will find the recommendations directly applicable. The most important variable is colour. Bright yellow was most attractive, having a reflectance spectrum with little or no reflectance in the blue-violet, a sharp rise beginning at 500 nm, reaching 30% at 540 nm and 90% at 570 nm, and continuing this level of reflectance into the far red. Boards should be positioned so that they hang down into the foliage, with their tops roughly even with the canopy. The adhesive should be chosen with care, since powdery wings of whiteflies allow them to escape from many adhesives. Several polybutene-type adhesives were suitable.     

Nesting and floor laying by domestic hens in a commercial flock

1. The nesting behaviour of broiler breeders was studied in a commercial flock of nearly 4000 birds kept on deep litter by tagging a sample of 200 hens. Use of nest boxes by tagged birds was recorded on 52 d over 34 weeks.

2. Forty hens were never observed in nest boxes and 33 others were recorded only in ground‐level boxes. These 73 birds were recorded significantly less often in nest boxes and more often apparently laying on the floor than others. Fewer of them perched during observations and they started doing so later than birds which used raised nest boxes.

3. These results suggested that there were consistent floor layers, which had difficulty reaching raised nest boxes, as found previously in experimental conditions. Many or all floor layers may, however, have used ground‐level boxes sometimes.

4. Hens were inconsistent in their use of particular nest boxes, and some even nested in two distinct areas.

5. Most individuals were, however, consistent in their reaction to one or more features of the nest boxes, including height, aspect and area. Individual choices for these features varied, so no boxes were used particularly heavily, with the exception of those at ground level.     

Rapid Screening of Potato Cultivars Tolerant to Nitrogen Deficiency Using a Hydroponic System

Increased cultivar tolerance to nitrogen (N) deficiency may increase productivity and reduce environmental impact of potato crops. In this study we screened 20 cultivars for the tolerance to N-deficient (0.05 mM nitrate) in comparison with N-abundant (7.5 mM nitrate) nitrate supply using plantlets grown for 15 days in a recirculating hydroponic system. Nitrogen deficiency increased the root-to-shoot ratio in 18 cultivars. Plant total dry weight (TDW) was reduced by an average of 61% under N-deficient nitrate supply. Tolerance to N deficiency was assessed as the TDW ratio (TDWR), calculated as the ratio of TDW under N-deficient to N-abundant nitrate supply. The cultivars Norland, Raritan, Nipigon and Langlade were significantly more tolerant to nitrogen deficiency (greater TDWR) than Eramosa, Carleton, and Epicure. The results indicate that the hydroponic system has capacity to rapidly screen a large number of cultivars for tolerance to N deficiency.