1,720,963 research outputs found
Preliminary data on cellulase encoding genes in the xylophagous beetle, Hylotrupes bajulus (Linnaeus)
No full textHylotrupes bajulus (Linnaeus) (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae), a wood-boring beetle attacking softwood,
utilises both wood starch and cellulose as food. The fibre is digested in variable percentages, depending
on the starch content. A role for symbiotic bacteria was presumed as well as the presence of endogenous
cellulases. The aim of our investigation was to verify the presence of endogenous endoglucanase genes in
H. bajulus larvae. After performing an online search, three sequences for the endoglucanases of the class
GHF5 and four for the endoglucanases of the class GHF45 were recovered and aligned in order to develop
some primers on the most conserved regions and try the amplification of the genes in H. bajulus. Seven
degenerated primers for GHF5 endoglucanase and five for GHF45 endoglucanase were tested. By using
two different primer combinations we obtained two fragments: both of them showed homology with
significant identity with insect endoglucanases of the GHF45 family available online, and one also with
microbial cellulases. The first fragment is undoubtedly of endogenous origin while we cannot exclude
that the second one is of microbial origin. No results were obtained for the endoglucanase of the class
GHF5
Polyamidoamines (PAAs) functionalized with siloxanes as wood preservatives against fungi and insects
No full textA novel treatment based on polyamidoamines (PAAs) for the preservation of wood against fungi and insects with a broad protection functionality, low effective concentration, and low environmental impact has been developed. PAAs were synthesized by nucleophile addition of ethanolamine (EtA) and/or 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES) to N,N′-methylene-bisacrylamide (MBA). The molar ratios in the tested formulation were: I) MBA:EtA=1:1; II) MBA:APTES=1:1; III) MBA:EtA:APTES=1:0.5:0.5. These formulations, characterized by ESI-MS, NMR, FT-IR, were tested against: (a) the wood decay fungi (Coniophora puteana, Coriolus versicolor, and Poria placenta); (b) the subterranean termite Reticulitermes lucifugus, and the drywood termite Kalotermes flavicollis; (c) the woodborer Stegobium paniceum. Tests in combination with leaching showed that formulation II and III can be utilized as fungal wood preservatives for use classes 2–3 (EN 335:2013). In addition, all PAAs formulations were equally effective in preserving wood against the subterranean termite, and formulation II was most effective against drywood termite. On the other hand, the formulation I showed good efficacy against S. paniceum
Controlled atmospheres against insect pests in museums: a review and some considerations
Full text linkControlled atmospheres using nitrogen represent a safe and effective
method for both objects and human health. The use of this technique against pests in museums has received an increasing amount of interest during the last twenty years. This paper looks at the researches into anoxic treatments that use nitrogen from the late ‘80s until now.
At the moment, the recommended protocol suggests an oxygen percentage below
1% for at least three weeks. Considering that the major practical problems of controlled atmospheres are connected to treatment time and low oxygen percentage, it is very important to develop more flexible protocols that consider higher oxygen percentages or shorter treatment times, exploiting temperature and/or relative humidity. At oxygen percentage higher than those commonly used, temperature and relative humidity are very critical to insects’ development and success. Preliminary
data (unpublished) show that it is possible to adapt the application of
the controlled atmospheres to different situations, taking advantage of favorable conditions already present in the considered situation and at the same time to use the other parameters at more favorable levels
Role of volatile semiochemicals in host location by the egg parasitoid Anagrus breviphragma
No full textRecent investigations conducted on several tritrophic systems have demonstrated that egg parasitoids,
when searching for host eggs, may exploit plant synomones that have been induced as a consequence
of host oviposition. In this article we show that, in a system characterized by host eggs embedded in
the plant tissue, naı ̈ve females of the egg parasitoid Anagrus breviphragma Soyka (Hymenoptera:
Mymaridae) responded in a Y-tube olfactometer to volatiles from leaves of Carex riparia Curtis
(Cyperaceae) containing eggs of one of its hosts, Cicadella viridis (L.) (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae). The
wasp did not respond to host eggs or to clean leaves from non-infested plants compared with clean
air, whereas it showed a strong preference for the olfactometer armcontaining volatiles of leaves with
embedded host eggs, compared with the arm containing volatiles of leaves from a non-infested plant
or host eggs extracted from the plant.When the eggs were removed from an infested leaf, the parasitoid
preference was observed only if eggs were added aside, suggesting a synergistic effect of a local
plant synomone and an egg kairomone. The parasitoid also responded to clean leaves from an egginfested
plant when compared with leaves from a non-infested plant, indicating a systemic effect of
volatile induction
Quanto “vale” un trattamento di disinfestazione delle derrate alimentari? Un’analisi preliminare di costi e benefici.
No full textLa tutela della salute dei consumatori e dell’ambiente, per ciò che attiene al settore alimentare, è attualmente oggetto di notevole interesse sia da un punto di vista legislativo, sia per l’accresciuta sensibilità del consumatore.
In quest’ottica il presente lavoro sviluppa una modalità di analisi che valuta costi e benefici dei diversi metodi di disinfestazione oggi utilizzabili in Italia sulle derrate immagazzinate.
L’obiettivo è quello fornire agli operatori del settore un approccio analitico semplice, ma ragionevolmente completo, per una scelta ponderata dell’intervento da effettuare.
L’approccio proposto, inoltre, tiene conto non solo di costi e benefici a livello aziendale, ma anche, quando possibile, di costi e benefici di natura sociale che si ripercuotono, inevitabilmente, sulla collettività.WHICH IS THE “VALUE” OF A PEST CONTROL TREATMENT? PRELIMINARY ANALYSIS OF COSTS AND BENEFITS IN STORED GRAIN CASE
The customers health and environmental protection, as concerns food industry, is currently the subject of legislative and consumer interest.
In this context, the present contribution develops a method of analysis in order to assess costs and benefits of different methods of stored products pest control, currently used in Italy.
The aim is to provide this area workers with a simple but complete analytical approach, which would permit a conscious decision to perform a correct control action. Therefore, the proposed method takes into account social and environmental costs and benefits, together with those of food manufacturers
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Monitoraggio entomologico nelle strutture di conservazione: Premessa essenziale per lo sviluppo di un protocollo IPM
Full text linkThe European Committee for Standardization is working on a standard for the application of IPM (Integrated Pest Management) in museums and cultural heritage facilities.
Since one of the aims of this research was to verify the approach against pests adopted in Italian conservation facilities, a survey was conducted.
The results show that for the Italian museums, archives, libraries and historical houses pests are a problem, but IPM is unknown and prevention programmes to avoid damages caused by them, are not applied. In the most of cases pests problems are solved only when the risk is high and damages are visible.
Also entomological monitoring, which represents a crucial part of IPM and could be very useful, is not included among the ordinary prevention activities.
In addition, at present, the scientific researches on entomological traps, whether light or pheromones, for “cultural heritage pests” is extremely poor and only recently the behaviour and/or the physiology of the insects “of museums” have been investigated.
For these reasons, tests to increase the traps using are performed. In particular, S. paniceum behaviour towards different attraction systems was investigated and the results indicate that the light traps efficiency could be improved using specific wavelengths and light sources
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