Laboratory evaluation of traps for the detection of beetle pests in bulk grain

Traps have been evaluated against three species of storage beetle in plastic bins containing 150 kg wheat. The bins were used to generate data for a comparison of the trapping effectiveness of the pitfall cone (PC), pitfall beaker and insect probe traps. The data produced reflect those obtained from field studies and illustrate the advantages of this method over less rigorously controlled field trials. The PC trap, a single type developed to replace both of the previously recommended traps, buried to a 5 cm depth in grain, was as effective as the insect probe for detecting Cryptolestes ferrugineus. The buried PC trap was also as effective as the insect probe trap for trapping Oryzaephilus surinamensis below the grain surface, and the PC trap on the surface was as effective as the pitfall beaker trap. The PC trap below the surface was more effective for trapping Sitophilus granarius than the insect probe trap. This pilot-scale method is a cost-effective alternative to field-scale trials and could be used to investigate various factors influencing trap catch.     

Press coverage of public expenditure of Master Settlement Agreement funds: how are non-tobacco control related expenditures represented?

Objective: To examine newspaper reports of Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) allocation decisions outside of tobacco control, focusing on the arguments being put forth in favour of competing claims on MSA funds. The major aims were to identify newsworthy non-tobacco control areas for which MSA funds have been applied and to examine how non-tobacco control spending has been presented through the US press.

Design: A qualitative textual analysis was performed on 94 articles taken from a sample of 322 newspapers over a 12 month period (October 2000 through September 2001) that related to the allocation of MSA funds to non-tobacco control causes. Articles were coded for general content areas of MSA allocation as well as for rhetorical and framing devices employed to explain and justify allocation decisions.

Main outcome measures: (1) Areas of non-tobacco control allocation; (2) rhetorical devices and framing techniques employed in the articles to discuss the allocation.

Results: The analysis identified a wide variety of issues for which MSA funds were being appropriated. Three main frames emerged in relation to justifying or appealing for particular spending decisions: (1) funds should be allocated to the needy and/or the deserving; (2) funds should be spent on state development; (3) funds should be put towards helping the state weather a crisis. Claims for each such issue were made using strategies such as presenting the MSA funds as a "windfall", focusing coverage on the merits of the cause rather than the issue of resource allocation, and stressing links between the particular claim and the stated objectives of the MSA.

Conclusions: Press coverage of MSA non-tobacco control spending suggests that the funds have been quickly formulated as fodder for state spending, rather than to support tobacco control efforts. Thus, caution is required in pursuing settlements with the industry where the objective is better funding for tobacco control efforts, particularly in light of the possibility that press coverage of MSA allocation may actually serve as positive publicity for the tobacco industry.

     

Bridging scientist and practitioner perspectives in clinical psychology.

Literature suggests that a complex and often hostile relationship exists between the science and practice of clinical psychology. Contributors to this conflict of viewpoints are reconsidered within the proposition that there are different roads to discovery and that there may be good reasons to keep the science and practice of clinical psychology somewhat separate. Results of a national survey of 325 psychologists are reviewed that support the view that psychological practitioners value research and consider their practices to be augmented by scientific findings. However, they are in need of vehicles of communication that will help them translate scientific findings into practice. Results suggest that practitioners do more to understand scientific findings than scientists do to understand the problems that face clinical practitioners. Ways to facilitate communication between and among these groups are considered. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

In situ hybridization detection of short viral amplicon sequences within cultured cells and body fluids after the in situ polymerase chain reaction

Using single primer pairs, intracellular gene sequences of cytomegalovirus (CMV-Towne's strain) and alpha-tubulin were amplified (in situ PCR) from cells in human body fluids and in suspensions. Visualization of CMV amplificants was carried out by in situ hybridization (ISH), using both a biotinylated double-stranded DNA probe and a radiolabelled oligonucleotide probe. Visualization of alpha-tubulin amplificants was achieved using both radiolabelled single-stranded cRNA and oligonucleotide probes. Liberated amplificants were also identified by bands of expected size by gel electrophoresis. The specificity of the PCR products was confirmed by Southern blot analysis. Intracellular amplification was identified both in unfixed cells and, optimally, after brief alcohol fixation, whilst maintaining relative isotonicity in all working solutions. For CMV, enhanced signal was observed in cells (cultured fibroblasts or urine sediment) undergoing in situ PCR using either biotinylated or radiolabelled probes compared with controls undergoing ISH alone. For alpha-tubulin, radiolabelled riboprobes and oligoprobes only produced signals within cells (human peripheral lymphocytes, ascitic fluid and bladder washings from routine cytological specimens) after in situ PCR, but not after ISH alone. Morphological evaluation was superior with biotinylated probes, and minimal back-diffusion effect was found compared with radiolabelled probes. Up to 80% of cells survived thermal cycling. In situ PCR detected short sequence (100 bp) foreign DNA and low copy number genomic DNA, and was superior to ISH alone. In contrast to radiolabelled probes, very small CMV amplificants could be detected without a significant 'back-diffusion' effect when using the large biotinylated probe in this model system.     

Generic Representation of Solid-Object Geometry for Genetic Search

Abstract: This paper examines the first stage of using genetic algorithms in design—how to encode designs as chromosomes. Generic representations capable of describing the geometry of any solid object to eliminate the unnecessary duplication of work at this stage are explored. A suitable low-parameter, spatial-partitioning representation is then proposed, using partitions consisting of six-sided polyhedra intersected by planes. Finally, the coding of the representation is examined, with the conclusion that allelic coding with control genes and user-definable, fixed-value alleles would provide the most flexible system.     

A Simple Method of Evaluating Colour Negatives

Optical bench incorporating a photo-electric exposure meter and tricolour filters for measuring the blue, green, and red light transmissions of colour negatives. The instrument can be applied to both tricolour and white-light printing systems.     

Diagnosing DSM-IV--Part I: DSM-IV and the concept of disorder

In this first article in a two-article series, I diagnose' a problem with DSM-IV, specifically, the overinclusiveness of its diagnostic criteria. Using the harmful dysfunction analysis of the concept of disorder (Wakefield, 1992a, American Psychologist, 47, 373-388) as a framework, I argue that DSM-IV criteria for many diagnostic categories fail to satisfy the analysis' dysfunction' requirement, that is, the criteria do not distinguish harmful conditions due to internal dysfunctions from harmful conditions that are nondisordered 'problems in living'. The overinclusiveness problem, I suggest, can be partly dealt with by giving up purely symptomatic criteria and contextualizing diagnosis to take into account the relationship between triggering causes and resulting symptoms. In Part II (Wakefield, 1997, Behaviour Research and Therapy, 35, 651-665, I examine Eysenck's (1986, Contemporary directions in psychopathology: Toward the DSM-IV) proposal for a dimensional diagnostic system to supplant DSM-IV.     

IL-10 regulates thrombus-induced vein wall inflammation and thrombosis

Vein wall inflammation associated with venous thrombosis is mediated by an imbalance in proinflammatory as compared with antiinflammatory molecules. We hypothesize that IL-10 is an important antiinflammatory cytokine that influences vein wall inflammation and thrombus propagation during venous thrombosis. To test this hypothesis a model of inferior vena caval thrombosis was used. Studies were performed at sacrifice 2 days after thrombus induction and included leukocyte morphometrics, myeloperoxidase activity, vein wall permeability, thrombus weight, and IL-10 ELISA analysis from the vein wall. IL-10 was elevated in the vein wall during venous thrombosis. Neutralization of IL-10 increased inflammation, while supplementation with rIL-10 demonstrated a dose- and time-dependent decrease in inflammation. Interestingly, a low 2.5-microg rIL-10 dose given at time of initiation of thrombosis most significantly decreased inflammation. Thrombus weight was importantly diminished by reconstitution of IL-10. These studies support an important role for IL-10 in the regulation of thrombus-associated inflammation and thrombosis and suggest that IL-10 could be used as a therapeutic agent in the treatment of venous thrombosis.     

Chemokine expression and leucocyte infiltration in Sj?gren''s syndrome

As the number of patients with anterior cruciate ligament reconstructions continues to grow, a subpopulation of patients with displaced tibia-fibula fractures will emerge who have had prior anterior cruciate ligament reconstructions. Previous cruciate ligament surgery can complicate the operative treatment of tibia-fibula fractures by intramedullary nailing. Technical complications arise because the tibial tunnel-graft-screw is in the path of insertion of the intramedullary implant. We present a case in which we traced the path of the patellar tendon autograft, adjusted our entry point for the tibial intramedullary canal, and removed the interference screw to facilitate the fracture surgery. This technical note provides an approach to planning intramedullary nailing of the tibia in patients with prior anterior cruciate ligament surgery.