1,720,980 research outputs found
Diet Effect on Psacothea hilaris hilaris (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) performance under laboratory conditions
No full textAs both climate and food can affect insect
development, in order to deep the knowledge on Psacothea
hilaris hilaris (Pascoe) (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae,
Lamiinae) biology, four treatments were tested to evaluate
the effects of diet composition and temperature on some
biological traits of this longicorn beetle. P. h. hilaris survival,
pre-imaginal developmental traits, adult size, sex-ratio,
longevity, fecundity and duration of the oviposition period
have been examined in order to evaluate the direct influence
of the diet on larvae as well as the effect of pre-imaginal
feeding on adult performances. Treatments investigating the
maximum rearing temperature and the diet with the lowest
content of mulberry showed the lowest rate of larval survival
and adult longevity. Despite no variation in adult body size
was estimated in relation to preimaginal rearing condition,
significant differences were observed in adult performances:
fecundity and oviposition behaviour were significantly higher
at 25°C compared to 30°C, but no differences were recorded
on the pre-oviposition period
Molecular marker-assisted characterization of mulberry (Morus Ssp.) cultivars for the constitution of a core collection
No full textMulberries are members of the genus Morus L., a taxonomic group showing a great genetic variability and adaptability to different environmental conditions. This study deals with the use of AFLP-based fingerprints as a tool for estimating genetic variability within as well as among three different mulberry species (i.e., M. alba L., M. latifolia Poir. and M. bombycis Koidz.) Preliminary flow cytometric analyses pointed out the presence of diploid as well as triploid accessions. A high level of polymorphism (72.2%) was found over all the 48 accessions analyzed. Genetic similarity (GS) within single Morus species ranged from 0.845 (M. bombycis) to 0.884 (M. alba) being intermediate in M. latifolia (0.869). The between-species mean genetic similarity estimates based on pair-wise AFLP marker fingerprint comparison were very similar ranging from 0.861 to 0.874. The partition of the genetic variation over the three Morus species was unexpected: a proportion of the among-species genetic diversity as low as GST=0.084 pointed out that about 92% of the total genetic diversity found among Morus accessions is due to DNA polymorphisms within a species, while only 8% of the total variation was highlighted among species. Our data indicate that some of the introduced accessions showing distinctive phenotypes, clearly differentiated from those revealed in the original habitat where they have been selected and adapted, hide an identical genotype. Current studies are aimed to set up a high reproducible identification method on the basis of accession-specific AFLP marker sequences to be used in simple PCR-based haplotyping
Modulation of leucine absorption in the larval midgut of Bombyx mori (Lepidoptera, Bombycidae)
No full textIn the larval midgut of Bombyx mori a K+-dependent transporter for leucine and amino acids with a hydrophobic side chain is responsible for the absorption of most essential amino acids. We investigated if a modulation of its activity occurred as a result of starvation or after hormonal treatments. We measured amino acid uptake in brush border membrane vesicles (BBMV) purified from the anterior-middle (AM) and posterior (P) regions of the midgut in fifth instar larvae. Silkworms were either starved or topically treated with low dosages of fenoxycarb, a molecule often used as a juvenile hormone mimic. The maximal uptake value of K+-driven leucine transport was increased in BBMV of AM- and P-midgut regions of starved larvae. The initial uptake rates of serine and glutamine, two amino acids transported by the same cotransporter as leucine, were also increased. Leucine kinetics proved that Vmax was the kinetic parameter modified by starvation in both midgut regions. Topical applications of fenoxycarb at a dose of 2.5 fg/larva immediately after the fourth ecdysis, induced an increase of leucine initial uptake rates and of intravesicular accumulation of leucine in both AM- and P-BBMV. Kinetic analysis of leucine uptake indicated again that Vmax was increased in BBMV from both midgut regions in treated larvae
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
Modification of the nutritional parameters and of midgut biochemical and absorptive functions induced by the IGR fenoxycarb in Bombyx mori larvae
No full textFifth instar larvae of B. mori were topically or orally treated with increasing amounts of the Insect Growth Regulator (IGR) fenoxycarb in a single application, in order to determine its
effects on the nutritional parameters, the midgut functional activities and the growth of the silk glands. The IGR affected in a dose-dependent manner the progress of the life cycle of the insect, causing a delay or inhibition of spinning, alteration of the feeding behaviour, decrease of the nutritional parameters, impairment of the growth of the silk glands, and an increased mortality during larval-pupal transformation. Measurement of leucine uptake into midgut brush border membrane vesicles and midgut histochemistry revealed a reduced absorption of leucine by the midgut and a large alteration of a number of midgut enzyme activities as a result of treatments with a high dose of fenoxycarb (2.5 micro g). Treatments with a dose of 2.5 femto g/larva caused an increase in leucine uptake by the midgut, an increased weight of the cocoon shell, and a modification of some
midgut enzyme activities. The lepidopteran midgut appears to be a larval organ that responds promptly to the exposure to fenoxycarb. The epithelial columnar cells modify their absorptive functions, at least with regard to amino acid uptake, as well as their metabolic activity, with a modification of the oxidative status of the cells that is detectable with a single dose of the chemical as low as few fg/larva
DNA fingerprinting sheds light on the origin of introduced mulberry (Morus spp) accessions in Italy
No full textMulberries are members of the genus Morus L., a taxonomic group showing a great genetic variability and adaptability to different environmental conditions. This study deals with the use of AFLP-based fingerprints as a tool for estimating genetic variability within as well as among three different mulberry species (i.e., M. alba L., M. latifolia Poir. and M. bombycis Koidz.). A high level of polymorphism (72.2) was found over all the 48 accessions analyzed. Genetic similarity (GS) within single Morus species ranged from 0.845 (M. bombycis) to 0.884 (M. alba) being intermediate in M. latifolia (0.869). The between-species mean genetic similarity estimates based on pair-wise AFLP marker fingerprint comparison were very similar ranging from 0.861 to 0.874. The partition of the genetic variation over the three Morus species was unexpected a proportion of the among-species genetic diversity as low as G(ST) = 0.084 pointed out that about 92% of the total genetic diversity found among Morus accessions is due to DNA polymorphisms within a species, while only 8% of the total variation was highlighted among species. Our data indicate that some of the introduced accessions showing distinctive phenotypes, clearly differentiated from those revealed in the original habitat where they have been selected and adapted, hide an identical genotype
Preferenze alimentari in Bombyx mori: saggi comportamentali
No full textLe larve del baco da seta (Bombyx mori L.) sono strettamente monofaghe, infeudate al gelso (Morus spp.) e legate alla presenza di foglia fresca. I dati presentati riguardano lo studio dell’attrattività da parte di alcuni ceppi del baco da seta (due cinesi, due giapponesi e due poliibridi) nei confronti di diete sostitutive, preparate con diverse percentuali di polvere di foglia di gelso essiccata (da 0% a 40%). Lo scopo è quello di determinare il ceppo/i con le migliori “prestazioni” verso la dieta contenente la minor percentuale di gelso compatibile con lo sviluppo dell’organismo. L’indagine è eseguita su larve in I età in condizioni chimico-fisiche controllate. I valori più alti di affluenza al cibo sono stati raggiunti dai ceppi giapponesi, indipendentemente dalla percentuale di gelso; per gli altri ceppi l’attrattività aumenta proporzionalmente alla quantità di gelso presente. Per meglio comprendere i fattori che possono essere responsabili di questo comportamento, su tre diete (0%, 25% e 40%) è stata eseguita, per ogni ceppo, un’analisi delle traiettorie percorse dalle larve per il raggiungimento della dieta. Lo sviluppo cinematico e geometrico della locomozione dell’organismo sono studiati tramite i seguenti indici: l’indice geometrico, che esprime il rapporto tra la distanza dal punto iniziale al punto finale del percorso (D) e la lunghezza (L) effettiva del tragitto (Ig = D/L), descrivendo la geometria complessiva della traettoria seguita; l’indice cinetico (Ik= L/t), che esprime la velocità media della larva; il tasso di dislocazione (Rd = Ik . Ig = D/t), che esprime il tasso di spostamento teorico dell’organismo indipendentemente dalla geometria della traettoria e dalla velocità effettiva posseduta. I risultati ottenuti indicano che, per quanto concerne l’efficienza geometrica del percorso, non esistono differenze significative tra i vari ceppi. Per quanto riguarda l’indice cinetico sono riscontrate delle differenze significative: in particolare, il ceppo cinese 121 risulta più veloce quanto più è bassa la percentuale di gelso, mentre il ceppo giapponese 71 è tanto più veloce quanto maggiore è la quantità di gelso nella dieta. Gli altri ceppi mostrano un comportamento intermedio. In conclusione, si può affermare che il sistema di analisi applicato in questo studio è in grado di fornire indicazioni utili per la scelta del ceppo e della percentuale di gelso idonei per l’allevamento del baco da seta con dieta sostitutiva
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