Timing clorpirifos + cypermethrin and indoxacarb applications to control European corn borer damage and fumonisin contamination in maize kernels

BACKGROUND: European corn borer (ECB) is the main maize pest in central and southern Europe and it promotes the infection of maize with Fusarium verticillioides, which is able to produce fumonisins. Field experiments were performed from 2006 to 2007 in northwestern Italy to determine the effects of the timing of insecticide applications on maize fungal ear rot and fumonisin contamination in natural infection conditions. Four application timings and two insecticides (clorpirifos + cypermethrin and indoxacarb) were compared each year. RESULTS: In both years, the treatments applied at the beginning of a consistent ECB flight activity and at the flight peak showed the best efficacy to control the insect damage on ears. Fungal ear rot and fumonisin contamination were clearly affected by ECB control. The efficacy of the best application timing to control fumonisin occurrence was 73% in 2006 and 84% in 2007. Earlier insecticide applications showed lower fumonisin contamination than treatments applied after the adult flight peak. CONCLUSION: The production of maize and maize‐based foods with a low fumonisin content may be enhanced through correct insecticide application against the second ECB generation. The optimum timing of insecticides is between the beginning of a consistent adult flight activity and the flight peak. Copyright © 2009 Society of Chemical Industry     

α-Zirconium Sulfophenylphosphonate as a Catalyst for the Synthesis of 3,4-Dihydropyrimidin-2(1<Emphasis Type="Italic">H</Emphasis>)-One Derivatives Under Solvent Free Conditions

Abstract  

3,4-Dihydropyrimidin-2(1H)-one derivatives were synthesized using layered α-zirconium sulfophenylphosphonate as a recyclable heterogeneous catalyst. Several classes of reagents, such as functionalized aromatic and aliphatic aldehydes, β-dicarbonyl derivatives and 2-aminobenzimidazole, were used to synthesize different 3,4-dihydropyrimidin-2(1H)-one derivatives under solvent free conditions.     

Reliability improvements in 50 nm MLC NAND flash memory using short voltage programming pulses

For the first time, an innovative programming methodology based on the use of ultra-short voltage pulses is applied in NAND flash architecture. The methodology starts from the physics of SILC dynamics and oxide damage, and relies on the trade-off between duration and amplitude of short voltage programming pulses, minimizing the creation of new traps in the tunnel oxide. The short pulses programming technique is applied on a small 50 nm NAND array designed for multibit application. Benefits of the short-pulse operation lie in that data retention and endurance which show meaningful improvements. The result is relevant for application in multibit technology, and opens the way to more aggressive cell scaling rules.     

Modeling of Physical Defects in PN Junction Based Graphene Devices

Graphene’s exceptional electro-mechanical properties make it a strong contender to replace silicon-based Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) devices in the future. Among other novel material-based devices, graphene is pushing the research community to find new technological solutions that exploit its special characteristics. As it is a semimetal, the key challenge for graphene-based devices to be used in digital circuits is introducing band gap. Among the proposed approaches, electrostatic doping represents a key option. It allows the implementation of graphene pn junctions through which building a new class of reconfigurable logic gates is possible. This devices are analyzed in this work. Recent works presented a quantitative analysis of such gates in terms of area, delay and power consumptions, confirming their superiority w.r.t. CMOS technologies below the 22 nm. This paper explores another dimension, that is testability, and proposes a study of possible physical defects that might alter the functionality of the graphene logic gates. Two major kinds of manufacturing defects, which are possible in these gates, namely the S h o r t s between the device’s terminals and O p e n terminals, are considered. These faults have been injected into non faulty devices at the SPICE-level and the resulting behavior is mapped to appropriate fault model. Most of such models belong to the CMOS domain, but for some specific class of defects, new fault definitions are needed.     

Geomatic and Geotechnical Monitoring of Settlements in the Venice Lagoon,Italy

The safeguarding of Venice and the Venetian lagoon （Italy） from rising water is of great national interest. Besides the normal tidal regime, the effects of an increase in the frequency and intensity of floods in the lagoon have been accentuated by a reduction in the elevation of the land in respect to the actual average sea level. With the aim of reducing the vulnerability of the lagoon, the Italian Ministry of University and Scientific and Technological Research financed the research project ＂The geotechnical model of the subsurface for the safeguarding of Venice and its lagoon＂, to study the compressibility of the lagoon deposits, both by natural causes and as a consequence of overloading with heavy structures. The project involved the construction of a large experimental embankment in the Treporti area of the lagoon, in order to perform a full-scale long-term compression test on the lagoon soils. By using various geomatic and geotechnical monitoring techniques, it was possible to appraise very small vertical movements of the ground induced by the compressibility of the highly heterogeneous silty formations. High-precision data was acquired by means of classical topographic methodologies integrated with continuous GPS （Global Positioning System） measurements. In addition, vertical displacements of the ground were obtained using geotechnical instrumentation. This cross-monitoring approach provided a valuable tool for analyzing both the natural and anthropic causes of settlement.     

Response of residential electricity demand to price: The effect of measurement error

In this paper we present an empirical analysis of the residential demand for electricity using annual aggregate data at the state level for 48 US states from 1995 to 2007. Earlier literature has examined residential energy consumption at the state level using annual or monthly data, focusing on the variation in price elasticities of demand across states or regions, but has failed to recognize or address two major issues. The first is that, when fitting dynamic panel models, the lagged consumption term in the right-hand side of the demand equation is endogenous. This has resulted in potentially inconsistent estimates of the long-run price elasticity of demand. The second is that energy price is likely mismeasured.To address these issues, we estimate a dynamic partial adjustment model using the Kiviet corrected Least Square Dummy Variables (LSDV) (1995) and the Blundell–Bond (1998) estimators. We find that the long-term elasticities produced by the Blundell–Bond system GMM methods are largest, and that from the bias-corrected LSDV are greater than that from the conventional LSDV. From an energy policy point of view, the results obtained using the Blundell–Bond estimator where we instrument for price imply that a carbon tax or other price-based policy may be effective in discouraging residential electricity consumption and hence curbing greenhouse gas emissions in an electricity system mainly based on coal and gas power plants.     

A novel electromagnetic design and a new manufacturing process for the cavity BPM (Beam Position Monitor)

The Cavity Beam Position Monitor (BPM) is a beam diagnostic instrument which, in a seeded Free Electron Laser (FEL), allows the measurement of the electron beam position in a non-destructive way and with sub-micron resolution. It is composed by two resonant cavities called reference and position cavity, respectively. The measurement exploits the dipole mode that arises when the electron bunch passes off axis. In this paper we describe the Cavity BPM that has been designed and realized in the context of the FERMI@Elettra project [1]. New strategies have been adopted for the microwave design, for both the reference and the position cavities. Both cavities have been simulated by means of Ansoft HFSS [2] and CST Particle Studio [3], and have been realized using high precision lathe and wire-EDM (Electro-Discharge) machine, with a new technique that avoids the use of the sinker-EDM machine. Tuners have been used to accurately adjust the working frequencies for both cavities. The RF parameters have been estimated, and the modifications of the resonant frequencies produced by brazing and tuning have been evaluated. Finally, the Cavity BPM has been installed and tested in the presence of the electron beam.     

Short communication: Lymphoproliferative response to lipopolysaccharide and incidence of infections in periparturient dairy cows

This preliminary study aimed at assessing whether the in vitro proliferation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells in response to lipopolysaccharide permits individual characterization of periparturient dairy cows, and whether this parameter may be associated with incidence of infections and with some of the single nucleotide polymorphisms located on the toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) gene. Based on the average response of peripheral blood mononuclear cells to lipopolysaccharide over 7 time points during the transition period, 31 cows were categorized as low (LO), medium (MED), and high (HI) responders. This categorization identified 7 HI, 19 MED, and 5 LO cows, respectively. Genomic DNA was genotyped for P-226 C>G and E3+2021 C>T TLR4 single nucleotide polymorphisms. Monitoring of the health status revealed that 8 of the 31 cows suffered from clinical mastitis, metritis, or interdigital dermatitis during the first 60 d in milk. The association study pointed out that none of the HI cows and all of the LO cows developed an infection; cows with the CCGT haplotype remained healthy and none of them belonged to the LO responder category.