Assessment of short-term mortality of granary weevil,Sitophilus granarius (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) triggered by different microwave irradiation powers

Abstract

The insecticidal efficacy of microwave irradiation against the at 12, 24, 48 and 72?h following exposure to microwave irradiations (100, 300?W) and the progeny production was assessed 45?days later. Linearly increasing irradiation power range (100, 200 and 300?W) was set up for determining mortality tendency. An increase of insect mortality caused by higher irradiation period and times elapsed after treatment has become evident commencing from 12?h after the treatment, which has significantly decreased at later elapsed time after treatment. The irradiation periods inducing the highest mortality at the examined powers were at 10?min and at 100?W power (72?h: 64.93%) and at 4.5?min. and at 300?W power (12?h: 87.01). In addition, a complete suppression of progeny production was achieved by 4.5?min treatment at 300?W power. Lognormal-type mortality process was caused by the linearly increased irradiation range. The properly chosen microwave irradiation can be used for management of Sitophilus granarius larval and adult developmental stages. This treatment could provide an effective and friendly environmental treatment technique in Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program.     

Spatial association between forest heterogeneity and breeding territory boundaries of two forest songbirds

Human activities and natural disturbances create spatial heterogeneity within forested landscapes, leading to both sharp and gradual boundaries in vegetation and abiotic attributes, such as rocks. Those boundaries may affect the detailed delineation of avian territories (independently of their general location), but their role is largely unknown. We tested, using a spatial analysis approach, whether spatial heterogeneity of vegetation and abiotic attributes were associated with territory boundaries of ten black-throated blue warblers (Dendroica caerulescens) and 14 ovenbirds (Seiurus aurocapillus). The study was conducted during summer 1999 in a mature deciduous forest near Québec City, Canada. Singing males were mapped from repeated surveys at 756 points, 25 m apart, on a 49 ha grid. Spatial heterogeneity was obtained from 27 attributes measured at each point. Boundaries of bird territories, vegetation, and abiotic attributes were delineated using the lattice-wombling boundary detection algorithm. The spatial association between territory and microhabitat boundaries was computed using the spatial overlap statistics. There was significant spatial overlap between territory boundaries and those of 15 and 17 attributes for black-throated blue warbler and ovenbird, respectively. The attributes most strongly associated with territory boundaries were conifer seedling cover, grass and total vegetation cover between 0-2 m high for black-throated blue warbler and fern cover, vegetation-covered rocks and shrub diversity for ovenbird. Complementary to this, a redundancy analysis (RDA) was used to compare attributes associated with the general occurrence of males to those whose boundaries were associated specifically with territory boundaries. Most attributes whose boundaries were associated with territory boundaries did not correspond to resource attributes, i.e., those where birds were detected most frequently. We conclude that soft boundaries associated with spatial heterogeneity may help shape forest bird territories by providing landmarks not necessarily related to resources used within territories.     

Ensuring that the competent are truly competent: an overview of common methods and procedures used to set standards on high-stakes examinations

Determining whether or not an examinee has met an adequate standard of performance constitutes a central task for licensure and certification bodies. Consequently, standard setting is a key activity for all certification and licensing testing programs. The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of methods that have been proposed for set a passing standard on an examination. First, the distinction between norm-referenced and criterion-referenced methods for setting a standard will be outlined. Then, both test-centered and examinee-centered methods for setting a passing standard will be explicated. The importance of factoring in the consequences of adopting a standard will also be illustrated via the Hofstee method. In the concluding section, important issues pertaining to the selection of panelists as well as the validation of the standard will be addressed briefly.     

Study of Resistance to Orobanche ramosa in Host (Oilseed Rape and Carrot) and Non-host (Maize) Plants

Orobanche ramosa is a parasitic Angiosperm responsible for severe yield losses in several economical crops. It is a serious threat in oilseed rape in France and Morocco and is appearing in carrot crops in Morocco. In this study, several varieties of oilseed rape and carrot were screened in order to identify resistant cultivars and to characterize the resistance mechanisms involved. All the 15 oilseed rape varieties tested were susceptible. In carrot, the varieties 'Colmar à coeur rouge' and 'Nantaise demi-longue' were susceptible, whereas 'Palaiseau' and 'Buror' were resistant. In the susceptible 'Colmar à coeur rouge' carrot no defence reactions were found and the development of the parasite inhibited carrot tap root formation. In the resistant carrot varieties, the parasite germinated, became attached to the host root but became necrotic before emergence. In 'Buror' carrot, formation of a mechanical barrier was associated with the restriction to the cortex of the parasite. In maize cv. 'Vigni', a non-host of O. ramosa, thickening of xylem vessels, cell divisions in the central cylinder and formation of an encapsulation layer were observed in association with restricted development of Orobanche haustoria.     

New mite-borne virus isolates from rakkyo,shallot and wild leek species

Flexuous viruses were transmitted from rakkyo (Allium chinense) and wild leek species (especiallyA. commutatum) to plants of crow garlic (A. vineale), by transfer of dry bulb mites. By electron microscope decoration tests using three antisera and by inoculations onto test plants, it was concluded that from each of the two natural host species at least two viruses were isolated. The viruses from wild leeks are both pathogenic onAllium spp. and may be of economic importance. Decoration tests on a virus mixture from shallot obtained earlier, revealed another new mite-borne virus in this species. The mite-borne viruses ofAllium spp. appear to be very common; they are largely diverse and their identification remains difficult.     

Rapid determination of polyphenols and vitamin C in plant-derived products

Polyphenols, widely spread in our diet by the consumption of plant food products, are commonly determined using Folin-Ciocalteu reagent that interacts with other different reducing nonphenolic substances and leads to an overestimation of polyphenol content. In this paper we report an optimized Folin-Ciocalteu method to specifically determine the contents of total polyphenols and vitamin C. After the optimal conditions for the colorimetric assay were set, solid-phase extraction (Oasis HLB (hydrophilic-lipophilic balance)) was carried out to eliminate the water-soluble reducing interferences including vitamin C. Colorimetric correction was thus performed by subtracting interfering substances contained in the water washing extract from the raw extract. Moreover, vitamin C present in the water washing extract can be destroyed by heating and thus colorimetrically deduced. This procedure was set up with synthetic solutions and validated on different extracts from fruit products.     

Application of a plant bioassay for the evaluation of ecotoxicological risks of heavy metals in sediments affected by mining activities

Purpose

The objective of this work was to evaluate the effectiveness of a plant bioassay (Phytotoxkit®) for screening ecotoxicological risks in sediments affected by mining activities.

Materials and methods

A total of 42 sediment samples affected by mining activities were studied, including 39 sediment samples from the Sierra Minera, Spain, an area affected by old extraction procedures, and three sediments from an area affected by opencast mining. These three samples were then mixed with limestone filler at 10, 20 and 30 %, providing nine stabilised samples. The total and soluble metal(loid) content (As, Cd, Cu, Fe, Pb and Zn) was determined in all samples, and the Phytotoxkit® bioassay was applied to determine the ecotoxicological effect of this procedure.

Results and discussion

The stabilised material had a neutral pH and low soluble metal(loid) concentration, similar to that of samples in which a natural attenuation process had taken place because of mixing with surrounding carbonate-rich materials. An ecotoxicological survey identified the low toxicity levels of the stabilised samples.

Conclusions

The applied bioassay is a good tool for screening metal(loid) contamination in areas affected by mining activities, since it provides information on both natural and simulated attenuation processes. The mixing of sediments with limestone filler could be applied to the remediation of zones affected by mining activities, because the toxicological effect on the tested organisms in the stabilised sediments was reduced significantly and the metal(loid) content was diminished.     

Assessment of s-Triazine Catabolic Potential in Soil Bacterial Isolates Applying atz Genes as Functional Biomarkers

Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) technique and qPCR analyses, targeting atz genes, were applied to detect the presence of simazine-degrading bacteria in an agricultural soil with a history of herbicide application. atzB-targeted bacteria detected by FISH represented 5% of total soil bacteria with potential capability to metabolize the herbicide. The soil natural attenuation capacity was confirmed in soil microcosms by measuring simazine degradation. Moreover, four bacterial strains were isolated from the soil and identified as Acinetobacter lwoffii, Pseudomonas putida, Rhizobium sp. and Pseudomonas sp. The isolates were able to grow using different s-triazine compounds and related metabolites as the sole carbon source. Growth parameters in presence of simazine were calculated using the Gompertz model. Rhizobium sp. showed the highest simazine degradation (71.2%) and mineralization (38.7%) rates, whereas the lowest values were found to A. lwoffii??50.4% of degradation and 22.4% of mineralization. Results from qPCR analyses of atzA, atzB and atzC genes revealed their presence in Rhizobium sp. and A. lwoffii, being atzB and atzC the most abundant functional genes. Rhizobium sp. showed a higher amount of the three biomarkers compared to A. lwoffii: the atzA, atzB and atzC gene copy number per microlitre were, respectively, 10¹, 10² and 10³-fold higher in the former. Therefore the proposed molecular approaches based on the use of atz genes as biomarkers can be considered as useful tools to evaluate the presence and potential capability of degrading-s-triazines soil microorganisms.