Uptake, retention, and repellency of a potential carrier of active ingredients in crack and crevice treatments for stored-grain beetles

Crack and crevice treatments are important in modern stored-beetle management, because: (1) pests are abundant in such microhabitats, (2) they potentially deliver insecticides to insect pests without contaminating food products, and (3) they can significantly reduce the need for broadcast spray applications and/or fumigations. As part of on-going research into the development of novel insecticide delivery systems to be used in processed and unprocessed food environments, we examined uptake and behavioural responses of Oryzaephilus surinamensis to an electrostatically chargeable powder, Entostat^TM. Entostat is a processed plant wax and has been identified as a potential carrier for active ingredients to be delivered to cracks and crevices in food facilities. Depending upon the initial Entostat concentration in rolled oats, 0.03–0.26 μg powder was extracted from individual beetles 72 h after being transferred from treated to untreated food. SEM images showed that Entostat adhered to all body parts, including joints, between body segments, and at the insertions of body hairs. Choice experiments showed that O. surinamensis individuals were repelled, when rolled oats in cracks contained >5% Entostat. In a three-choice experiment cracks contained: (1) untreated oats, (2) oats mixed with 5% (w/w) Entostat, or (3) oats mixed with 5% (w/w) Entostat and a piece of filter paper containing a beetle attractant which was also inserted into the crack. The beetle attractant did not significantly increase the attractiveness of the crack in which it was applied, but the average powder uptake of beetles from cracks treated with the attractant was significantly higher than from the other cracks. Results presented here suggested that Entostat adhering to insects was retained over several days and that considerable amounts of Entostat were taken up even when beetles were offered a choice between treated and untreated cracks.     

Controlling first service and calving interval by prostaglandin F2 alpha, gonadotropin-releasing hormone, and timed insemination

Our objective was to determine if calving intervals could be shortened and made less variable by using prostaglandin F2 alpha to control the occurrence of first services. Holstein cows (n = 348) were assigned at calving to four treatment groups. Control cows (n = 88) were inseminated at their first observed estrus after 40 d postpartum. Estrous cycles of the remaining cows were synchronized with prostaglandin F2 alpha to allow insemination (first services) 80 h after the second injection (n = 86), insemination at 80 h preceded by gonadotropin-releasing hormone at 72 h (n = 86), or insemination at 72 and 96 h (n = 88) after the second injection (51 to 57 d postpartum). By design, interval to first service was reduced to 57 d for treated cows (63 d for controls) and was less variable (12% of that for controls). Conception rate at first service was lower after timed inseminations than that of controls. Intervals to conception and subsequent calving were similar in all treated cows and controls. Of cows sampled, 23 of 176 (13%) failed to respond with luteolysis when progesterone in serum exceeded 1 ng/ml, and 26 of 176 (15%) had low concentrations of progesterone in serum and could not respond to prostaglandin F2 alpha. Poor response to timed inseminations may have occurred because only 72% of 176 cows sampled responded with luteolysis. When only cows observed in estrus were considered, conception rate approached that of controls (51%).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Hypoglycaemia‐free artificial pancreas project

Driving blood glycaemia from hyperglycaemia to euglycaemia as fast as possible while avoiding hypoglycaemia is a major problem for decades for type‐1 diabetes and is solved in this study. A control algorithm is designed that guaranties hypoglycaemia avoidance for the first time both from the theory of positive systems point of view and from the most pragmatic clinical practice. The solution consists of a state feedback control law that computes the required hyperglycaemia correction bolus in real‐time to safely steer glycaemia to the target. A rigorous proof is given that shows that the control‐law respects the positivity of the control and of the glucose concentration error: as a result, no hypoglycaemic episode occurs. The so‐called hypo‐free strategy control is tested with all the UVA/Padova T1DM simulator patients (i.e. ten adults, ten adolescents, and ten children) during a fasting‐night scenario and in a hybrid closed‐loop scenario including three meals. The theoretical results are assessed by the simulations on a large cohort of virtual patients and encourage clinical trials.Inspec keywords: biochemistry, medical control systems, blood, diseases, medical computing, closed loop systems, biomedical equipment, state feedback, patient treatment, patient monitoring, biomedical measurement, physiological models, sugarOther keywords: fasting‐night scenario, hybrid closed‐loop scenario, hypoglycaemia‐free artificial pancreas project, blood glycaemia, euglycaemia, type‐1 diabetes, control algorithm, guaranties hypoglycaemia avoidance, pragmatic clinical practice, state feedback control law, required hyperglycaemia correction bolus, rigorous proof, control‐law, glucose concentration error, hypo‐free strategy control     

Propranolol Hydrochloride Binding in Calcium Alginate Beads

The interaction of propranolol hydrochloride with alginate molecular chains in calcium alginate beads was investigated. The drug was either incorporated into formed calcium alginate gel beads or incorporated simultaneously with the gelation of alginate beads by Ca²⁺. Bed produced by the former method had a higher drug content and lower Ca²⁺ level compared to those prepared by the latter method. The extent of drug binding to the alginate molecules increased with decreasing Ca²⁺ levels in the beads, indicating that propranolol and Ca²⁺ shared common binding sites in the alginate chains, me appearance of the beads and the molphology of the alginate polymer in the beads were affected by the amounts of both propranolol and Ca²⁺ in the beads. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analyses showed that the formation of the calcium alginate gel structure was impeded in the presence of propranolol molecules.     

Nonminimum phase adaptive inverse control for settle performance applications

Single-track hard disk drive (HDD) seek performance is measured by settle time, $t_s$, defined as the time from the arrival of a seek command until the measured position reaches and stays within an acceptable distance from the target track. Our previous work has shown feedforward dynamic inversion, coupled with an aggressive desired trajectory $y_d$, is capable of achieving high performance settle times when the closed-loop dynamics are time-invariant and accurately modeled. In contrast, we describe an adaptive inversion procedure in this paper which removes the requirement for accurate initial models and tracks the position-variant dynamics present in our Servo Track Writer (STW) experimental apparatus. The proposed indirect adaptive inversion algorithm relies on a recursive least squares (RLS) estimate of the closed-loop dynamics. Pre-filtering of the RLS input signals, covariance resetting, and relative NMP system partitioning are necessary additions to the baseline adaptive algorithm in order to achieve fast settle times. Compared to the nonadaptive solution with accurate system identification, we show the adaptive algorithm achieves a 22% reduction in average settle time and a 53% reduction in settle time standard deviation.     

Reactive transport in porous media: a comparison of model prediction with laboratory visualization

Groundwater transport models that accurately describe spreading of nonreactive solutes in an aquifer can poorly predict concentrations of reactive solutes. The dispersive term in the advection-dispersion equation can overpredict pore-scale mixing, and thereby overpredict homogeneous chemical reaction. We quantified this experimentally by imaging instantaneous colorimetric reactions between solutions of aqueous CuSO4 and EDTA4- within a 30-cm long translucent chamber packed with cryolite sand that closely matched the optical index of refraction of water. A charge-coupled device camera was used to quantify concentrations of blue CuEDTA2- within the chamber as it was produced by mixing of the two reactants at different flow rates. We compared these experimental results with a new analytic solution for instantaneous bimolecular reaction coupled with advection and dispersion of the product and reactants. For all flow rates, the concentrations of CuEDTA2- recorded in the experiments were about 20% less than predicted by the analytic solution, thereby demonstrating that models assuming complete mixing at the pore scale can overpredict reaction during transport.     

Real-time air monitoring of occupational exposures to particulate matter among hairdressers in Maryland: A pilot study

Hairdressers are exposed to particulate matter (PM), a known air pollutant linked to adverse health effects. Still, studies on occupational PM exposures in hair salons are sparse. We characterized indoor air PM concentrations in three salons primarily serving an African/African American (AA) clientele, and three Dominican salons primarily serving a Latino clientele. We also assessed the performance of low-cost sensors (uRAD, Flow, AirVisual) by comparing them to high-end sensors (DustTrak) to conduct air monitoring in each salon over 3 days to quantify work shift concentrations of PM_2.5, respirable PM (RPM), and PM₁₀. We observed high spatial and temporal variability in 30-min time-weighted average (TWA) RPM concentrations (0.18–5518 μg/m³). Readings for the uRAD and AirVisual sensors were highly correlated with the DustTrak (R² = 0.90–0.99). RPM 8-hour TWAs ranged from 18 to 383 µg/m³ for AA salons, and 9–2115 µg/m³ for Dominican salons. Upper 95th percentiles of daily RPM exposures ranged from 439 to 2669 µg/m³. The overall range of 30-min TWA PM_2.5 and PM₁₀ concentrations was 0.13–5497 and 0.36-,541 μg/m³, respectively. Findings suggest that hairdressers could be overexposed to RPM during an 8-hour shift. Additional comprehensive monitoring studies are warranted to further characterize temporal and spatial variability of PM exposures in this understudied occupational population.     

Sustainable Syngas Production by High-Temperature Co-electrolysis

High-temperature co-electrolysis shows comparable performance to steam electrolysis. Current densities above 1 A cm⁻² can be reached between 700 °C and 800 °C. Tailor-made syngas is produced, mainly determined by the reactant ratio. The experimental results are supported by modeling. Durability tests with cathode-supported cells show increased voltage degradation rates during electrolysis compared to fuel cell operation. Nickel depletion is found to be the main cause.     

Intelligent Workspaces: Crossing the Thresholds

Lucy Bullivant looks at the shape of the new office to come. With the onset of increasingly sophisticated communications devices, how is the organisation of space in our immediate working environments going to change? Will the lines between furniture and dynamic electronic devices simply blur? Will the structure of commercial office buildings themselves be required to become increasingly reflexive to meet environmental demands in the face of dwindling energy reserves? Or is the mobile nature of electronic communications actually in danger of rendering the permanent office as we know it extinct? Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

建筑透视图以外的设计管理

境外建筑师事务所如何适应当前国内的建筑潮流并在其中有所作为？除了在方案竞赛中能展现具有“视觉震撼性”的透视效果图外,还要具备一套行之有效的设计管理系统。主要包括三方面内容：1.团队精神,2.各专业之间的协调,3.阶段性设计质量的保证。文章将就这三个内容展开讨论。