Dispersion and sequential sampling plan for Xylosandrus compactus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) infesting Hawaii coffee plantations.

The black twig borer, Xylosandrus compactus (Eichhoff) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae), is a serious pest of coffee (Coffea arabica L.) in the Kona region of the island of Hawaii, the center of the largest area of coffee production within the state of Hawaii. This study indirectly characterizes the spatial distribution of X. compactus in coffee plantations through assessment of twig borer damage, and presents a sequential sampling plan for monitoring X. compactus population densities. Taylor's Power Law (TPL) and Iwao's mean crowding index showed that X. compactus infestations were highly aggregated within plantations, with b and ß values significantly larger than 1. The TPL linear regression of log variance against log mean (R2 = 0.92) provided a better fit to the data than the linear regression of mean crowding on the mean (R2 = 0.68). Subsequently, Taylor's power law parameters were used to develop the Green's sequential plan to estimate densities of X. compactus at the 90 and 75% precision levels.

Exploring child maltreatment and its relationship to alcohol and cannabis use in selected Latin American and Caribbean countries.

OBJECTIVES: Research from developed countries shows that child maltreatment increases the risk for substance use and problems. However, little evidence on this relationship is available from developing countries, and recognition of this relationship may have important implications for substance demand reduction strategies, including efforts to prevent and treat substance use and related problems. Latin America and the Caribbean is a rich and diverse region of the world with a large range of social and cultural influences. A working group constituted by the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission and the Center for Addiction and Mental Health in June, 2010 identified research on this relationship as a priority area for a multinational research partnership. METHODS: This paper examines the association between self-reported child maltreatment and use in the past 12 months of alcohol and cannabis in 2294 university students in seven participating universities in six participating countries: Colombia, El Salvador, Jamaica, Nicaragua, Panama and Uruguay. The research also considers the possible impact of religiosity and minimal psychological distress as factors contributing to resiliency in these samples. RESULTS: The results showed that experience of maltreatment was associated with increased use of alcohol and cannabis. However, the effects differed depending on the type of maltreatment experienced. Higher levels of religiosity were consistently associated with lower levels of alcohol and cannabis use, but we found no evidence of an impact of minimal psychological distress on these measures. CONCLUSIONS: This preliminary study shows that the experience of maltreatment may increase the risk of alcohol and cannabis use among university students in Latin American and Caribbean countries, but that higher levels of religiosity may reduce that risk. More work to determine the nature and significance of these relationships is needed.

Efficacy of traps, lures, and repellents for Xylosandrus compactus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) and other ambrosia beetles on Coffea arabica plantations and Acacia koa nurseries in Hawaii.

The black twig borer, Xylosandrus compactus (Eichhoff) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae), is a pest of coffee and many endemic Hawaiian plants. Traps baited with chemical attractants commonly are used to capture ambrosia beetles for purposes of monitoring, studying population dynamics, predicting outbreaks, and mass trapping to reduce damage. The objectives of this research were to optimize trapping systems for X. compactus and other ambrosia beetles such as Xylosandrus crassiusculus (Motschulsky) and Xyleborinus saxesenii (Ratzeburg) by comparing efficacy of several attractants, repellents, and trap types. The ability of certain chemicals to act as beetle repellents and thus interfere with trap catch was tested for purposes of protecting host plants from attack. Potential attractants and application methods tested were as follows: ethyl alcohol pouch delivery system, ethyl alcohol vial delivery system, α-pinene in Eppendorf tubes, eugenol bubblecaps, ginger oil bubblecaps, manuka oil bubblecaps, phoebe oil bubblecaps, and an unbaited control. Potential repellents tested were limonene and verbenone. Ethyl alcohol vials were as attractive as ethyl alcohol sleeves, and were more effective than traps baited with eugenol and α-pinene. Japanese beetle traps were more effective for black twig borer trapping than Lindgren funnel traps, and were easier to deploy. Verbenone and limonene significantly reduced trap catch of Xylosandrus compactus and X. crassiusculus, suggesting that they may be effective for reducing attraction to host plants. These results show the importance of developing a combination of several monitoring techniques to enhance management procedures for the black twig borer.

Long-term patterns and feeding sites of southern green stink bug (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) in Hawaii macadamia orchards, and sampling for management decisions.

Southern green stink bug (Nezara viridula, Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) is a pest of macadamia nuts, causing pitting to kernels by feeding. In spite of its pest status, many aspects of the ecology of this insect in macadamia orchards are poorly understood. This study analyzes long-term N. viridula damage to macadamia nuts and investigates the extent to which damage to nuts occurs in the tree canopy, prior to nut-drop. We show that there are distinct seasonal peaks in damage detected after harvest and that, over six years of data collection, mean damage levels were fairly low, albeit with spikes in damage levels recorded. Sampling nuts at peak harvest periods from different strata in the trees and from the ground showed that incidence of damaged nuts within the canopy was typically half as high as on the fallen nuts. Damage to fallen nuts may have occurred prior to nut-drop, and continued to accumulate after nut-drop. These results show that management of N. viridula within macadamia canopies, as opposed to only on fallen nuts, is important. A sampling procedure and predictive model for estimating late-season damage based on early-season damage samples is provided. The model uses January and March damage measurements (based on samples with set level of accuracy), mean temperature and month of the year for which damage is predicted. Early-season damage of 6-10% predicts late-season damage levels that should justify N. viridula suppression based on the nominal threshold (13% damage) used by kernel processors to reject nuts based on damage.

Object/wrist movements during manipulation in children with cerebral palsy.

The kinematics of the wrist and a manipulated object were studied in a posting task in 30 control, eight hemiplegic and 10 diplegic children. Statistical analyses using 'mixed' models examined the effects of subject group, hand, object shape and repeated trials, together with all possible interaction terms. During transport to the posting hole, the number of significant peaks/troughs in the velocity/time profile of the wrist in the transport ('z') direction were increased in subjects with cerebral palsy, as were adjustment error and the distances moved by the object relative to the wrist, reflecting more unpredictable object movement. In the placing phase, relative object/wrist normalized 'z' distances and number of wrist 'z' velocity peaks increased with increasing object complexity, reflecting the need for more adjustment movements. The number of wrist 'z' velocity peaks/troughs and adjustment error were increased in cerebral palsy subjects, reflecting ineffective adjustment. Relative object/wrist distances and number of wrist 'z' velocity troughs were reduced in both phases with repeated trials. It is suggested that such variables may provide a quantitative measure of poor movement 'quality' in children with Cerebral Palsy and that these findings reflect reduced mechanical stability of the hand and arm during movement.

Effect of 902 MHz mobile phone transmission on cognitive function in children.

We examine whether a standard mobile exposure at 902 MHz has a significant effect on cognitive function in 18 children 10-12 years of age. These were in a single group in which each child was given a single training session and then three test sessions in a randomized, three-way crossover design, using the cognitive drug research (CDR) cognitive assessment system. Exposures were 0, 0.025, or 0.25 W from a standard Nokia 3110 mobile phone handset mounted on a plastic headset in normal use position. The results of testing showed that the baseline (0 W) performance for the reaction time measurements was considerably slower than for the comparable measures in adult. There was a tendency for reaction time to be shorter during exposure to radiation than in the sham (baseline) condition, an effect that was most marked for simple reaction time. However, no effects reached statistical significance after Bonferroni correction. Therefore, we conclude that this study on 18 children did not replicate our earlier finding in adults that exposure to microwave radiation was associated with a reduction in reaction time. It should be noted that the present study investigated the effects of radiation from a GSM handset, whereas in our previous study the effect on reaction time was observed only with a more powerful analogue handset.

Quantification of object manipulation in children with cerebral palsy.

A shape-posting task was studied in 30 control, eight hemiplegic and 10 diplegic children, to determine how differences in object manipulation between such children could be quantified. Conical, cylindrical and triangular-shaped objects were posted through a hole in a perspex screen, three times each with both preferred and non-preferred hands. Four variables were defined to describe kinematic aspects of the task: adjustment inefficiency, mean transport velocity, adjustment distance to be completed in the placing phase and adjustment velocity in the placing phase. As expected, total task time was increased in subjects with cerebral palsy and with more complex shapes, and reduced by repetition. The four kinematic variables reduced the variation in task time between individual children by 79%, between sets of like objects by 62%, and the residual variation by 63%. Adjustment inefficiency was increased and mean transport velocity reduced in subjects with cerebral palsy, whereas repetition had the opposite effect. It is suggested that combined alterations in adjustment inefficiency and transport velocity reflect changes in the intrinsic uncertainty of a movement and that this quantity is decreased by repetition and increased in cerebral palsy.

[A common language for nurses: a persistent dilemma]. / Un lenguaje comun para enfermeras: dilema persistente.

The author during her discussion tries to explain that the theme needs another approaching perspective. Therefore, she uses a critical model to find out the ideology of the theme; the factors that have contributed to the dilemma inside and outside the profession; presents a general view of the situation in Latin America and finalizes the paper with the indication of some actions aiming at transforming Nursing and enabling the discussion and work with this theme.

Unpredictable seed-set: a defence mechanism against seed-eating insects inProtea species (Proteaceae).

Extent of pre-dispersal seed destruction by insects and seed survival were measured for variousProtea species (Proteaceae) and related to seed-set, variation in seed-set, the percentage of barren infructescences and infructescence age. The hypothesis that low and variable seed-set would act as a defence mechanism against insect seed predators was tested. Results indicated that seed survival and variation in seed-set were highly positively correlated, while seed survival and seed-set were negatively correlated. Variation in seed-set was identified as the most important determinant of seed survival for the range ofProtea species studied.

Human monoclonal antibodies specific for blood group antigens demonstrate multispecific properties characteristic of natural autoantibodies.

A panel of 72 human monoclonal antibodies with specificities for blood group antigens, A, Rh D, Rh C, Rh c, Rh E, Rh e, Rh G, Jka and Jkb, has been established from the peripheral blood of deliberately immunized donors. Previous work has established that the antibodies are highly specific for their respective blood group antigens, and a number of them are in routine clinical use as blood grouping reagents. This panel was screened for reactivity against six unrelated foreign and autoantigens by ELISA, for rheumatoid factor activity by ELISA and agglutination techniques, and for reactivity with a number of different tissues by immunofluorescence. Binding of the monoclonal antibodies to unrelated exo- and autoantigens was commonly seen amongst the antibodies of the IgM class, and to a lesser degree amongst the IgG class, with reaction patterns similar to those given by natural autoantibodies. Only five of the IgM antibodies failed to demonstrate any unexpected cross-reactivities and these included 1/13 anti-D, 2/7 anti-E, 1/13 anti-c and 1/2 anti-A. We propose that rather than natural autoantibodies representing a distinct population of immunoglobulins, multispecificity (polyspecificity, or polyreactivity) may be a feature of antibodies produced in response to exogenous antigens. The implications of this for the study of autoantibodies are discussed.

Bilateral chorea associated with caudate nuclei lacunar infarcts. A case report.

A woman with ischaemic heart disease, hypertension and diabetes, who presented with bilateral chorea associated with lacunar infarcts in the caudate nuclei, is described.

Long-term toxicity study of Ponceau 4R in rats using animals exposed in utero.

Groups of 66 (treated) or 114 (control) rats of each sex were fed diets providing 0 (control), 50, 500 or 1250 mg Ponceau 4R/kg body weight/day for 60 days. The animals were then mated and allowed to rear their litters. At weaning, pups were selected for the long-term study to give treated groups of 54 (of each sex) and a control group of 96 (of each sex), with offspring always receiving the same treatment as their parents. Treatment continued until approximately 20% of animals survived, resulting in a duration of 114 wk for males and 118 wk for females. Body weight, food and water intake and clinical conditions were monitored regularly throughout the study. Blood and urine from 20 rats/sex/group from the high-dose and control groups were examined at months 3, 6, 12, 18 and 24. At the end of the study each animal was autopsied, selected organs were weighed, and a full range of tissues was preserved. High-dose animals showed a lower body-weight gain without any reduction in food intake. Water intake was higher than that of the controls in the medium- and high-dose groups and this was related to caecal enlargement and softening of faeces. No adverse changes were seen in the investigations of blood or urine apart from a higher incidence of females with higher levels of protein in urine at the 1250 mg/kg/day dose. No other findings of significance were seen and survival and tumour incidence were similar in all groups. A no-untoward-effect level was established at 500 mg Ponceau 4R/kg/day.

The assessment of chemically induced liver injury in rats.

The object of this investigation was to study the relationship between acute hepatic injury and blood coagulation. Most of the clotting factors are synthesised by the hepatocytes and therefore it would seem likely that hepatic injury would lead to an impairment of blood clotting. Dimethylnitrosamine (DMN) and carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) were selected as model hepatotoxins to induce an acute hepatic lesion. Single doses of each compound were administered to male rats and groups of animals killed 3, 6, 16 and 24 h later in order to study the morphological development of the lesion and to relate this to changes in the haematological profiles. Both compounds produced a centrilobular necrosis, but with DMN there was a haemorrhagic component due to damage to endothelial cells, which contrasts with the classical coagulative necrosis produced by CCl4. After 6 h apoptosis was commonly seen in the centrilobular areas of the DMN treated rats. This process of cell death has not previously been demonstrated in chemically induced acute hepatic injury and was not seen in the CCl4 treated rats. Significantly prolonged clotting times were seen in both DMN and CCl4 treated rats and occurred in parallel with some of the early morphological changes but prior to the appearance of extensive haemorrhagic or coagulative necrosis. This preliminary data suggests that the measurement of blood coagulation times may provide a relatively specific and sensitive indicator of acute hepatic injury in rats.