The Anagyrus (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) parasitoids of the obscure mealybug Pseudococcus viburni (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) in Spain, with description of a new species.

The presence of three species of the genus Anagyrus Howard (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) parasitizing the obscure mealybug Pseudococcus viburni (Signoret) (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) in agricultural ecosystems of citrus, persimmon and ornamental plants from Eastern Spain is recorded. Anagyrus aligarhensis Agarwal Alam is recorded for the first time as parasitoid on this mealybug. Anagyrus fusciventris (Girault) is a new record for Spain. Anagyrus borrianensis sp. nov., reared as a specific primary parasitoid of this mealybug, is described and illustrated. The joint presence of Anagyrus pseudococci (Girault) and Anagyrus vladimiri Triapitsyn on citrus crops is confirmed. A key to species of Anagyrus parasitoids of Planococcus and Pseudococcus mealybugs in Eastern Spain is provided.

γ-Alumina modification with long chain carboxylic acid surface nanocrystals for biocompatible polysulfone nanocomposites.

High performance polysulfone/γ-alumina biocompatible nanocomposites are reported for the first time and the effects of γ-alumina surface modification are explored. We show that some fatty acids chemisorb over the surface of γ-alumina forming nanosized self-assembled structures. These structures present thermal transitions at high temperatures, 100 °C higher than the melting temperatures of the pure acids, and are further shifted about 50 °C in the presence of polysulfone. The chemistry involved in the chemisorption is mild and green meeting the stringent bio sanitary protocols for biocompatible devices. It has been found that the self-assembled structures increase mechanical strength by about 20% despite the foreseeable lack of strong particle-matrix interactions, which manifests as small variations in both the glass transition temperature and the Young's modulus. Electron microscopy observation of fractured surfaces has revealed that some acids induce an extended region of influence around the nanoparticles and this fact has been used to explain the enhancement of mechanical strength.