Discovery of pulsed OH maser emission stimulated by a pulsar

Stimulated emission of radiation has not been directly observed in astrophysical situations up to this time. Here we demonstrate that photons from pulsar B1641-45 stimulate pulses of excess 1720-megahertz line emission in an interstellar hydroxyl (OH) cloud. As this stimulated emission is driven by the pulsar, it varies on a few-millisecond time scale, which is orders of magnitude shorter than the quickest OH maser variations previously detected. Our 1612-megahertz spectra are inverted copies of the 1720-megahertz spectra. This "conjugate line" phenomenon enables us to constrain the properties of the interstellar OH line-producing gas. We also show that pulsar signals undergo significantly deeper OH absorption than do other background sources, which confirms earlier tentative findings that OH clouds are clumpier on small scales than are neutral hydrogen clouds.     

Control of the Whitefly Trialeurodes vaporariorum Westw. (Homoptera, Aleyrodidae) on tomato by the new insecticide Acetamiprid

The efficacy of a new class of insecticide (chloronicotinyl) Mospilan 20 SP (a.?i. acetamiprid), compared with Lannate 90 SL (a.?i. methomyl) and Applaud WP 25 (a.?i. buprofezin), in glasshouse control of whitefly (Trialeurodes vaporariorum) on tomatoes, was investigated. All investigated insecticides significantly decreased the number of whitefly larvae, compared with untreated plots where population density grew during the trial. Based on statistical analysis, efficacy of all insecticides on whitefly larvae were in the same category. Some differences occurred 7 days after the third treatment. Deposited egg number was significantly different between checks and each insecticide plot. Efficacy of investigated insecticides, evaluated according to deposited egg number, was also good and in the same category.     

NOBOX deficiency disrupts early folliculogenesis and oocyte-specific gene expression

Primordial ovarian follicles in mice form when somatic cells surround individual oocytes. We show that lack of Nobox, an oocyte-specific homeobox gene, accelerates postnatal oocyte loss and abolishes the transition from primordial to growing follicles in mice. Follicles are replaced by fibrous tissue in female mice lacking Nobox in a manner similar to nonsyndromic ovarian failure in women. Genes preferentially expressed in oocytes, including Oct4 and Gdf9, are down-regulated in Nobox-/- mice, whereas ubiquitous genes such as Bmp4, Kit, and Bax remain unaffected. Therefore, Nobox is critical for specifying an oocyte-restricted gene expression pattern essential for postnatal follicle development.     

Assessing Pearl Quality Using Reflectance UV-Vis Spectroscopy: Does the Same Donor Produce Consistent Pearl Quality?

Two groups of commercial quality ("acceptable") pearls produced using two donors, and a group of "acceptable" pearls from other donors were analyzed using reflectance UV-Vis spectrophotometry. Three pearls with different colors produced by the same donor showed different absorption spectra. Cream and gold colored pearls showed a wide absorption from 320 to about 460 nm, while there was just slight reflectance around 400 nm by the white pearl with a pink overtone. Cream and gold pearls reached a reflectance peak at 560 to 590 nm, while the white pearl with pink overtone showed slightly wider absorption in this region. Both cream and gold pearls showed an absorption peak after the reflectance peak, at about 700 nm for the cream pearl and 750 nm for the gold pearl. Two other pearls produced by the same donor (white with cream overtone and cream with various overtones) showed similar spectra, which differed in their intensity. One of these pearls had very high lustre and its spectrum showed a much higher percentage reflectance than the second pearl with inferior lustre. This result may indicate that reflectance is a useful quantitative indicator of pearl lustre. The spectra of two white pearls resulting from different donors with the same color nacre (silver) showed a reflectance at 260 nm, followed by absorption at 280 nm and another reflectance peak at 340 nm. After this peak the spectra for these pearls remained flat until a slight absorption peak around 700 nm. Throughout the visible region, all white pearls used in this study showed similar reflectance spectra although there were differences in reflectance intensity. Unlike the spectral results from white pearls, the results from yellow and gold pearls varied according to color saturation of the pearl. The results of this study show that similarities between absorption and reflectance spectra of cultured pearls resulting from the same saibo donor are negligible and could not be detected with UV-Vis spectrophotometry. Nevertheless, this technique could have a role to play in developing less subjective methods of assessing pearl quality and in further studies of the relationships between pearl quality and that of the donor and recipient oysters.     

Colorado potato beetle [<Emphasis Type="Italic">Leptinotarsa decemlineata</Emphasis> (Say)] resistance to organophosphates and carbamates in Serbia

Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Say), the Colorado potato beetle (potato beetle), is the most destructive potato pest in Serbia. Up to four pesticide treatments are necessary for its control. Insecticide resistance of the potato beetle in Serbia is well-investigated and documented, especially to organophosphates and carbamates. Toxicity of chlorpyriphos (organophosphates) and carbosulfan (carbamates) was investigated by topical application, using adults of the first generation from nine field populations. Adults of all populations possessed a certain level of resistance to both insecticides, with very low regression slopes (0.50–1.09 for chlorpyriphos and 0.57–0.85 for carbosulfan). Resistance ratios for chlorpyriphos ranged from 1.0 to 109.7 and from 1.0 to 52.8 for carbosulfan. There was no correlation between resistance to chlorpyriphos and carbosulfan. The key modes of resistance to organophosphates and carbamates are metabolism [overproduction of aliesterase (ALiE), a carboxylesterase] and altering the target site of acetylcholine esterase (AChE). Biochemical research of potato beetle resistance to organophosphates and carbamates, based on activity of ALiE and AChE, proved that the key mode of resistance to organophosphates was modification of ALiE and AChE to carbamates. Our results correspond to this research concerning the lack of correlation between resistances to these two insecticides. A certain level of resistance of the potato beetle to organophosphates and carbamates is widespread in Serbia. Different modes of resistance suggest the possibilities of control of this pest, such as choice of insecticide and insecticide rotation, wherever possible.     

Effect of Neem extract on Lymantria dispar L. (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae) and Leptinotarsa decemlineata Say. (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae)

High antifeedancy and low toxicity of the plant preparation Neem (azadirachtin), on the gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar L. larvae were proved under laboratory conditions. A high index of Neem antifeedancy was confirmed in all tested concentrations. Under laboratory conditions the Neem had satisfying antifeedancy on Leptinotarsa decemlineata Say third instar larvae too. Field experiments also proved that the foliage protective effect of Neem was very significant. Experiments showed that some antifeedants or repellents, such as Neem, should control olygophagous (L. decemlineata, Coleoptera) insects as well as very polyphagous insects such as L. dispar (Lepidoptera). As a biological, plant-derived preparation, Neem could be suitable for integrated pest management (IPM) programs, especially in small orchards, parks, and tree rows in urban environments and on small private gardens.     

Effect of Neem extract on Lymantria dispar L. (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae) and Leptinotarsa decemlineata Say. (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae)

High antifeedancy and low toxicity of the plant preparation Neem (azadirachtin), on the gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar L. larvae were proved under laboratory conditions. A high index of Neem antifeedancy was confirmed in all tested concentrations.Under laboratory conditions the Neem had satisfying antifeedancy on Leptinotarsa decemlineata Say third instar larvae too. Field experiments also proved that the foliage protective effect of Neem was very significant.Experiments showed that some antifeedants or repellents, such as Neem, should control olygophagous (L. decemlineata, Coleoptera) insects as well as very polyphagous insects such as L. dispar (Lepidoptera).As a biological, plant-derived preparation, Neem could be suitable for integrated pest management (IPM) programs, especially in small orchards, parks, and tree rows in urban environments and on small private gardens.     

Static lateral compression of hemp/filament hybrid yarn knitted fabrics

The novel designed hemp/filament hybrid yarns were used to produce knitted fabrics in order to investigate the influence of the unique internal structure of hybrid yarns on compressional behavior of clothing textile materials. The knitted fabrics are subjected to successive compression-release cycles and the compression-release curves obtained made it possible to calculate the particular compression parameters such as recoverable and irrecoverable compression. By using the parameters the non-elastic deformation components (viscoelastic and plastic deformation) are determined. In spite of generally accepted fact that van Wyk’s theory has some limitations, since it does not explain the hysteresis caused by fiber slippage and friction effects, the two-parameter mechanical model derived from van Wyk’s compression theory is applied successfully to determine the compression hysteresis.     

The Use of UV-Visible Reflectance Spectroscopy as an Objective Tool to Evaluate Pearl Quality

Assessing the quality of pearls involves the use of various tools and methods, which are mainly visual and often quite subjective. Pearls are normally classified by origin and are then graded by luster, nacre thickness, surface quality, size, color and shape. The aim of this study was to investigate the capacity of Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) to classify and estimate the quality of 27 different pearls from their UV-Visible spectra. Due to the opaque nature of pearls, spectroscopy measurements were performed using the Diffuse Reflectance UV-Visible spectroscopy technique. The spectra were acquired at two different locations on each pearl sample in order to assess surface homogeneity. The spectral data (inputs) were smoothed to reduce the noise, fed into ANNs and correlated to the pearl's quality/grading criteria (outputs). The developed ANNs were successful in predicting pearl type, mollusk growing species, possible luster and color enhancing, donor condition/type, recipient/host color, donor color, pearl luster, pearl color, origin. The results of this study shows that the developed UV-Vis spectroscopy-ANN method could be used as a more objective method of assessing pearl quality (grading) and may become a valuable tool for the pearl grading industry.