Phosphine resistance in stored-product insects collected from various grain storage facilities in Morocco

Despite heavy dependence on phosphine (PH₃) for fumigating stored products, the resistance status of insect pests in Morocco has never undergone a thorough investigation. Some control failures with PH₃ were reported in Morocco, and a previous study showed two field populations of Sitophilus oryzae to be highly resistant to phosphine.We surveyed phosphine resistance in field populations of three major insect pests of stored wheat in Morocco. Around 32% of the samples collected at different storage facilities were found to be infested with one or more species of stored-product beetles. First-generation adult beetles, cultured from the field samples, were subjected to a discriminating dose test for phosphine resistance using an FAO method. The results indicated that, with the exception of one population of S. oryzae, all samples tested contained phosphine-resistant individuals. Treatments at up to 1.8 g m⁻³ of phosphine for 20 h, or at 0.18 g m⁻³ for up to 5 days, indicated that a high degree of resistance was already selected in some of the insect populations.Tests using [³²P]-radiolabelled phosphine showed that the mechanism of resistance in the three insect species tested involved a reduced uptake of the fumigant. The study has highlighted an urgent need for reviewing current fumigation practices in Morocco to ensure effective use of phosphine and avoid further selection of resistance.     

Food processing increases casein resistance to simulated infant digestion

The objective of this study was to determine whether processing could modify the resistance of casein (CN) to digestion in infants. A range of different dairy matrices was manufactured from raw milk in a pilot plant and subjected to in vitro digestion using an infant gut model. Digestion products were identified using MS and immunochemical techniques. Results obtained showed that CNs were able to resist digestion, particularly κ‐ and αs₂‐CN. Resistant areas were identified and corresponded to fragments hydrophobic at pH 3.0 (gastric conditions) and/or carrying post‐translational modifications (phosphorylation and glycosylation). Milk processing led to differences in peptide patterns and heat treatment of milk tended to increase the number of peptides found in digested samples. This highlights the likely impact of milk processing on the allergenic potential of CNs.     

Purification and characterisation of relevant natural and recombinant apple allergens

Apple (Malus domestica) is the most widely cultivated fruit crop in Europe and frequently causes allergic reactions with a variable degree of severity. So far, four apple allergens Mal d 1, Mal d 2, Mal d 3 and Mal d 4 have been identified. Mal d 1, a Bet v 1 related allergen, and Mal d 4, apple profilin, are sensitive to proteolytic degradation, whereas Mal d 2, a thaumatin-like protein and Mal d 3, a nonspecific lipid transfer protein, are rather stable to proteolytic processes. Mal d 1 and Mal d 4 were purified after expression in Escherichia coli expression system, while Mal d 2 and Mal d 3 were purified from apple fruit tissue. All purified proteins were subjected to detailed physicochemical characterisation to confirm their structural integrity and maintained IgE binding capacity. Detailed investigations of carbohydrate moieties of Mal d 2 demonstrated their involvement in the overall IgE binding capacity of this allergen. It was concluded that the folded structure and IgE binding capacity of all four allergens were preserved during purification.     

Susceptibility of thirteen stored product beetles to entanglement by Trogoderma hastisetae

Factors affecting the susceptibility of adults of 13 and larvae of 2 species of stored product beetles to entanglement by Trogoderma larval hastisetae were studied. The length, diameter, shape, density, and angle of the test insects' setae probably affected susceptibility. The setae on the hindwings of Trogoderma adults were susceptible to permanent hastisetal attachment which prevented normal closure of elytra over the hindwings. Sitophilus oryzae (L) and Cryptolestes pusillus (Schönherr) were susceptible, with 93 and 83% mortality, respectively, at the end of 72 hr exposure. Tribolium castaneum (Herbst), T. confusum (duVal), Gibbium psylloides (Czenpinski), and Tenebroides mauritanicus (L.) resisted hastisetal attachment. Scanning electron micrographs revealed the attachments of heads of hastisetae to setae of several beetles exposed to larval Trogoderma.     

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers in the sediments of the Great Lakes. 3. Lakes Ontario and Erie

Sediment cores were taken in 2002 in Lakes Ontario and Erie at four locations. A total of 48 sediment samples were characterized, dated using 210Pb, and analyzed for 10 congeners of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) including BDE209 as well as 39 congeners of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). The surficial concentrations of nine tri- through hepta-BDE congeners (sigma9PBDE) are 4.85 and 6.33 ng g(-1), at sampling sites ON40 and ON30 in Lake Ontario, and 1.83 and 1.95 ng g(-1) at ER37 and ER09 in Lake Erie, respectively, based on dry sediment weight. The surficial BDE209 concentrations are 242 and 211 ng g(-1) at ON40 and ON30 and 50 and 55 ng g(-1) at ER37 and ER09. The sigma(9-) PBDEs fluxes to the sediment around 2002 are 147 and 195 pg cm(-2) year(-1) at ON40 and ON30 and 136 and 314 pg cm(-2) year(-1) at ER37 and ER09, respectively. The fluxes of BDE209 are 6.5 and 7.3 ng cm(-2) year(-1) at ON30 and ON40 and 3.7 and 8.9 ng cm(-2) year(-1) at ER37 and ER09, respectively. Dramatic increases in PBDE concentrations and fluxes upward toward the sediment surface and the present time are evident at both locations in Lake Ontario, while PCBs concentrations peak in the middle of sediment cores around the dated time of 1970s and 1960s. For both locations of Lake Erie, the increasing trends of both PBDEs and PCBs from the bottom to the surficial segments were distorted by sediment mixing. BDE209 is the most abundant congener among PBDEs in the sediments, constituting about 96 and 91% of the total PBDEs on mass basis in Lakes Ontario and Erie, respectively.     

Droplet evaporation: Effects of transients and variable properties

A numerical study of the effects of transients and variable properties on single droplet evaporation into an infinite stagnant gas is presented. Sample calculations are reported for octane droplets, initially at 300°K with R_o = 0·1, 0·5, 2·5 × 10^?4m, evaporating into air at temperatures and pressures in the ranges 600–2000°K and 1–10 atm, respectively. It is found that initial size R_o is eliminated from the problem on scaling time with respect to R²₀ and that the evaporative process becomes quasi-steady with ($\text{R}\text{R}{}_0\text{)}{}^2\text{= (}\text{R1}{}_0\text{R}{}_0\text{)}{}^2\text{?}\text{βt}\text{R}{}^2{}_0$, as suggested by experiment. Comparisons of solutions using various reference property schemes with those for variable properties show that best agreement obtains using a simple $\text{1}\text{3}$ rule wherein properties are evaluated at $\text{T}{}_{\mathrm{r}}\text{= T}{}_{\mathrm{s}}\text{+}\text{(T}{}_{\mathrm{e}}\text{?T}{}_{\mathrm{s}}\text{)}\text{3}$ and $\text{m}{}_{\mathrm{1,r}}\text{= m}{}_{\mathrm{1,s}}\text{+}\text{(m}{}_{\mathrm{1,e}}\text{? m}{}_{\mathrm{1,s}}\text{)}\text{3}$. The effects of temporal storage of mass species, energy, etc. and radial pressure variations in the vapor phase prove to be negligible, the early transient behavior being solely due to sensible heat effects within the droplet and related variations in vapor-side driving forces.     

Dendrochronologically Dated Pine Buildings from Scotland: The SCOT2K Native Pine Dendrochronology Project

The SCOT2K project has extended native pine tree-ring chronology coverage for Scotland to enable reconstruction of past climate and for cultural heritage dating benefits. Using living trees from multiple locations in the Highlands and sub-fossil material from lochs, a network of five regional chronologies has been produced. The project has developed the application of Blue Intensity (BI), a proxy measure for maximum latewood density, which is faster and less costly to obtain than traditional densitometry measurements. The use of both ring-width and BI has been demonstrated to greatly assist historical dendro-dating of pine. This paper presents the dating results for the twenty Scottish pine buildings or sites dendro-dated through the SCOT2K project. They range from the fifteenth to the nineteenth centuries, and from high-status castles to modest cruck cottages. They are mostly located in the Highlands where Scots pine occurs naturally, although an early example of long-distance transport is also identified.