Attractiveness of Michigan native plants to arthropod natural enemies and herbivores

The use of plants to provide nectar and pollen resources to natural enemies through habitat management is a growing focus of conservation biological control. Current guidelines frequently recommend use of annual plants exotic to the management area, but native perennial plants are likely to provide similar resources and may have several advantages over exotics. We compared a set of 43 native Michigan perennial plants and 5 frequently recommended exotic annual plants for their attractiveness to natural enemies and herbivores for 2 yr. Plant species differed significantly in their attractiveness to natural enemies. In year 1, the exotic annual plants outperformed many of the newly established native perennial plants. In year 2, however, many native perennial plants attracted higher numbers of natural enemies than exotic plants. In year 2, we compared each flowering plant against the background vegetation (grass) for their attractiveness to natural enemies and herbivores. Screening individual plant species allowed rapid assessment of attractiveness to natural enemies. We identified 24 native perennial plants that attracted high numbers of natural enemies with promise for habitat management. Among the most attractive are Eupatorium perfoliatum L., Monarda punctata L., Silphium perfoliatum L., Potentilla fruticosa auct. non L., Coreopsis lanceolata L., Spiraea alba Duroi, Agastache nepetoides (L.) Kuntze, Anemone canadensis L., and Angelica atropurpurea L. Subsets of these plants can now be tested to develop a community of native plant species that attracts diverse natural enemy taxa and provides nectar and pollen throughout the growing season.     

Survival of stored-product insect natural enemies in spinosad-treated wheat

The survival of stored product insect natural enemies in wheat treated with spinosad was investigated in laboratory and pilot scale experiments. The predator Xylocoris flavipes (Reuter), the warehouse pirate bug, and the parasitoids Habrobracon hebetor (Say), Theocolax elegans (Westwood), and Anisopteromalus calandrae (Howard) were exposed to wheat treated with aliquots of water or spinosad at 0.05-1 mg ([AI])/kg. X. flavipes was the only species that survived (92% survival) in spinosad-treated wheat at 1 mg/kg. X. flavipes suppressed populations of immature Tribolium castaneum (Herbst), the red flour beetle, by nearly 90% compared with a water-treated control, but 100% suppression of immatures was achieved in wheat receiving spinosad or spinosad + X. flavipes treatments. A 3-mo pilot scale experiment to evaluate T. castaneum suppression in drums holding 163.3 kg of wheat showed that the pest populations increased throughout the study in the control treatment, but peaked after 1 mo in the X. flavipes-treated drums. By comparison, better T. castaneum population suppression was achieved in spinosad or spinosad + X. flavipes treatments. Although X. flavipes can survive and reproduce in spinosad-treated wheat, under our test conditions spinosad alone provided adequate suppression of T. castaneum populations in stored wheat.     

Evaluation of the specificity of four commercially available antibodies to alpha-syntrophin

Alpha-syntrophin (SNTA) is an adaptor protein that regulates several signaling pathways. To analyze expression of SNTA immunoblot assays must be performed. Here, the specificity of four commercially available SNTA antibodies has been evaluated in immunoblot experiments using liver tissues of wild-type and SNTA-deficient mice. While one of the antibodies reacts with SNTA, two antibodies specifically recognize beta 2 syntrophin (SNTB2). The antigen detected by the fourth antibody has not been identified but is different from SNTA and SNTB2. Therefore, only one of the four tested antibodies is appropriate to analyze SNTA protein levels by immunoblot.     

Cultivation of Plasmodium falciparum in commercially available sera depleted of natural antibodies reactive with human erythrocytes

The efficacy of commercially available sera for the continuous in vitro cultivation of Plasmodium falciparum is controversial. In this study, various commercial animal and human sera are shown to support the in vitro growth of P. falciparum after their adsorption with erythrocytes to remove "natural" anti-human erythrocyte antibodies. A simple and inexpensive method to accomplish cultivation is presented.     

Deterministic limits to stochastic spatial models of natural enemies

Stochastic spatial models are becoming an increasingly popular tool for understanding ecological and epidemiological problems. However, due to the complexities inherent in such models, it has been difficult to obtain any analytical insights. Here, we consider individual-based, stochastic models of both the continuous-time Lotka-Volterra system and the discrete-time Nicholson-Bailey model. The stability of these two stochastic models of natural enemies is assessed by constructing moment equations. The inclusion of these moments, which mimic the effects of spatial aggregation, can produce either stabilizing or destabilizing influences on the population dynamics. Throughout, the theoretical results are compared to numerical models for the full distribution of populations, as well as stochastic simulations.     

Evaluation of commercially available heart rate monitors.

The accuracy and tracking ability of nine commercially available heart rate monitors were assessed. The heart rate of 16 young healthy men was continuously monitored by a single-lead electrocardiograph while they exercised on a stationary bicycle ergometer. Readings were obtained from the devices during exercise. The devices that measured the cardiac electrical potential with a three-electrode system or that incorporated a light transmission device attached to the earlobe were the most accurate and provided suitable monitoring of the heart rate during exercise.     

Comparison of three commercially available antibodies for flow cytometric monitoring of P-glycoprotein expression in tumor cells.

Cellular drug resistance to natural products is often due to the presence of an efflux pump which reduces intracellular drug content and chemosensitivity. A 170 kD cell surface resident P-glycoprotein is believed to act as the efflux pump. In the present report, we have compared three commercially available antibodies C-219, JSB-1, and mdr(Ab-1) for use in flow cytometric detection of P-glycoprotein positive cells. Our data show that C219 gives uniformly good results in a variety of murine and human tumor cell lines for detection of P-glycoprotein positive cells. We have also compared data of C219 stained cells analyzed in parallel on a flow cytometer equipped with a small laser (15 mW) and a large laser (5 watt) cell sorter. Data obtained on these two instruments are comparable. A staining protocol and data on dual staining of cells for DNA content by propidium iodide and P-glycoprotein expression after FITC labeling are also presented.     

Protection from solar simulated radiation-induced DNA damage in cultured human fibroblasts by three commercially available sunscreens

Exposure to solar radiation can produce both acute and chronic changes in the skin, including sunburn, edema, immunosuppression, premature skin aging, and skin cancer. At the cellular level, solar radiation can produce adverse structural and functional changes in membrane proteins and lipids and in chromosomal and mitochondrial DNA. The increasing awareness of these adverse effects has led the public to demand better photoprotection. In this study, the alkaline comet assay was used to evaluate the photoprotective effects of three commercially available sunscreens at sun protection factors (SPF) 15 and 30. Human fibroblasts were used as target cells to conveniently study the effects of solar simulated radiation on DNA damage in the presence and absence of sunscreens. When human fibroblasts were exposed to various doses of solar simulated radiation, DNA damage, as measured in sunscreen-protected cells by the comet assay, was not significantly different from that detected in unexposed cells. At 1.0 and 1.5 minimal erythemal doses (MED), all sunscreens, at both SPF 15 and 30, provided nearly 100% photoprotection to the fibroblasts. Further studies are required to elucidate the role of UVA in the production and repair of DNA damage in cells exposed to sunlight.     

三种杀虫剂对麦田蚜虫和天敌的影响

通过对施用杀虫剂吡虫啉、抗蚜威、广谱性杀虫剂氧化乐果对麦田蚜虫和天敌的影响进行分析 ,结果表明 ,施用杀虫剂对麦田蚜虫防效高 ,对其天敌有保护作用 ,且瓢蚜比降低。使用 1 0 %吡虫啉( 1 0g 667m2 )后 5～ 2 5天瓢蚜比为 1∶34～ 1∶1 70 ;用 50 %抗蚜威 ( 5g 667m2 )后 1 0～ 2 0天瓢蚜比为 1∶31～1∶1 95;而广谱性杀虫剂氧化乐果 ( 50mL 667m2 )对麦田蚜虫防效好 ,对天敌杀伤力大 ,药后 1 5天瓢蚜比为1∶2 65。施用化学农药可使蚜茧蜂寄生率提高。     

Characterization of five commercially available samples of acridine yellow

Commercial samples of acridine yellow, all labeled C.I. 46025, have been analyzed by thin layer chromatography, UV and visible light spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, and photodynamic efficiency in the inactivation of bacteriophage phi X174. Three types of sample were clearly delineated: i) true acridine yellow (3,6-diamino-2,7-dimethylacridine) whose spectral and chromatographic properties are very close to those of proflavine (3,6-diaminoacridine); ii) a pure but different dye tentatively identified as euchrysine (3,6-diamino-2,7,9-trimethylacridine), since on the basis of mass spectral data, it contains an additional methyl group not fixed on the amino groups; and iii) a complex dye with its own special properties and whose main yellow component has a molecular weight and a mass spectrum compatible with an overall formula of C16H16N2S. The three types of dye could be distinguished on the basis of simple tests. Acridine yellow is photodynamically almost as efficient as proflavine, but the two other dyes are very poor sensitizers.     

Comparison of acute absorption of commercially available chromium supplements

Chromium (Cr) supplements are available as picolinate, nicotinate or chloride (the latter primarily in multivitamin-mineral supplements). The picolinate form has been reported to be the best absorbed and most efficacious, but some reports question which form has superior absorption. The present study examined acute Cr absorption, based on 24h urinary Cr values, for picolinate, two types of nicotinate, and chloride in young adult, non-overweight females. College-aged women were given 200 microg of Cr as each of the four supplement types in random order accompanied by a small standardized meal, separated by at least a week washout. Cr picolinate produced significantly higher 24h urinary Cr than either of two nicotinate supplements or Cr chloride given in a multivitamin-mineral supplement. This difference was seen for absolute values of the urinary Cr and for percent increases. In conclusion, based on an indirect measure of acute absorption, Cr picolinate was superior to three other Cr complexes commonly sold as supplements.     

Hole filling and library optimization: Application to commercially available fragment libraries

Compound libraries comprise an integral component of drug discovery in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. While in-house libraries often contain millions of molecules, this number pales in comparison to the accessible space of drug-like molecules. Therefore, care must be taken when adding new compounds to an existing library in order to ensure that unexplored regions in the chemical space are filled efficiently while not needlessly increasing the library size. In this work, we present an automated method to fill holes in an existing library using compounds from an external source and apply it to commercially available fragment libraries. The method, called Canvas HF, uses distances computed from 2D chemical fingerprints and selects compounds that fill vacuous regions while not suffering from the problem of selecting only compounds at the edge of the chemical space. We show that the method is robust with respect to different databases and the number of requested compounds to retrieve. We also present an extension of the method where chemical properties can be considered simultaneously with the selection process to bias the compounds toward a desired property space without imposing hard property cutoffs. We compare the results of Canvas HF to those obtained with a standard sphere exclusion method and with random compound selection and find that Canvas HF performs favorably. Overall, the method presented here offers an efficient and effective hole-filling strategy to augment compound libraries with compounds from external sources. The method does not have any fit parameters and therefore it should be applicable in most hole-filling applications.     

Compressive and shear properties of commercially available polyurethane foams

BACKGROUND: The shear properties of rigid polyurethane (PU-R) foams, routinely used to simulate cancellous bone, are not well characterized. METHOD OF APPROACH: The present assessment of the shear and compressive properties of four grades of Sawbones "Rigid cellular" PU-R foam tested 20 mm gauge diameter dumb-bell specimens in torsion and under axial loading. RESULTS: Shear moduli ranged from 13.3 to 99.7 MPa, shear strengths from 0.7 MPa to 4.2 MPa. Compressive yield strains varied little with density while shear yield strains had peak values with "200 kgm-3" grade. CONCLUSIONS: PU-R foams may be used to simulate the elastic but not failure properties of cancellous bone.