Enhancing neurocognitive health, abilities, networks, & community engagement for older adults with cognitive impairments through technology: a scoping review introducing the ENHANCE Center.

Purpose: Age associated cognitive impairments (CIs) result in difficulties with a wide range of daily activities. As the older adult population increases, so does the importance of understanding and supporting the needs and disabilities of those with CIs. The Enhancing Neurocognitive Health, Abilities, Networks, and Community Engagement (ENHANCE) Centre was established with a focus on developing assistive technology to support the socialisation, transportation, and prospective memory needs of older adults with CIs.

Use of real-time PCR to discriminate parasitic and saprophagous behaviour by nematophagous fungi.

Entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs) are important pathogens of soilborne insects and are sometimes developed commercially to manage insect pests. Numerous nematophagous fungal species (NF) prey on nematodes and are thought to be important in regulating natural or introduced EPN populations. However, nematophagy by these fungi in nature cannot be inferred using existing methods to estimate their abundance in soil because many of these fungi are saprophytes, resorting to parasitism primarily when certain nutrients are limiting.

Entomopathogenic nematodes, root weevil larvae, and dynamic interactions among soil texture, plant growth, herbivory, and predation.

Greenhouse experiments were conducted to assess the influence of soil texture on the persistence, efficacy and plant protection ability of entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs) applied to control larvae of the Diaprepes root weevil (DRW), Diaprepes abbreviatus, infesting potted citrus seedlings. Seedlings were grown in pots containing either coarse sand, fine sand, or sandy loam. Three DRW larvae were added to each of 80 pots of each soil type.

Entomopathogenic nematodes, phoretic Paenibacillus spp., and the use of real time quantitative PCR to explore soil food webs in Florida citrus groves.

Quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) is a powerful tool to detect and quantify species of cryptic organisms such as bacteria, fungi and nematodes from soil samples. As such, qPCR offers new opportunities to study the ecology of soil habitats by providing a single method to characterize communities of diverse organisms from a sample of DNA. Here we describe molecular tools to detect and quantify two bacteria (Paenibacillus nematophilus and Paenibacillus sp.

Substrate modulation, group effects and the behavioral responses of entomopathogenic nematodes to nematophagous fungi.

Laboratory experiments were conducted on the behavioral responses of five species of entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs; Steinernema diaprepesi, Steinernema sp. glaseri-group, Steinernema riobrave, Heterorhabditis zealandica, Heterorhabditis indica) to three species of nematophagous fungi (NF; trapping fungus Arthrobotrys gephyropaga; endoparasites Myzocytium sp., Catenaria sp.

The ecological complexities of biological control: trophic cascades, spatial heterogeneity, and behavioral ecology.

Biological control can be considered an intentional induction of a trophic cascade, whereby the addition of herbivores' natural enemies or other habitat manipulations effectively enhance natural enemy populations, lead to reduced herbivore populations or feeding damage, and indirectly improve or protect plant health, agricultural yield, or the condition of some other biotic population or community of interest to man. The following set of papers (Denno et al., 2008; Ram et al.

Susceptibility and behavioral responses of the dampwood termite Zootermopsis angusticollis to the entomopathogenic nematode Steinernema carpocapsae.

Termites exploit microbially rich resources such as decayed wood and soil that are colonized by potentially pathogenic and parasitic fungi, bacteria, viruses, and nematodes. In colonies composed of thousands of individuals, the risk of infection among nestmates is significant, and individual and social behavior could involve various adaptations to resist disease and parasitism. Here we show that the dampwood termite Zootermopsis angusticollis (Hagen) exhibits a dosage dependent susceptibility to the soil nematode Steinernema carpocapsae (Weiser) (Mexican strain) and that this social insect significantly alters its behavior in response to this entomopathogenic roundworm.

A Comparison of Entomopathogenic Nematode Longevity in Soil under Laboratory Conditions.

We compared the longevity of 29 strains representing 11 entomopathogenic nematode species in soil over 42 to 56 d. A series of five laboratory experiments were conducted with six to eight nematode strains in each and one or more nematode strains in common, so that qualitative comparisons could be made across experiments. Nematodes included Heterorhabditis bacteriophora (four strains), H.

Ecology in the service of biological control: the case of entomopathogenic nematodes.

 Biological control manipulations of natural enemies to reduce pest populations represent large-scale ecological experiments that have both benefited from and contributed to various areas of modern ecology. Unfortunately, economic expediency and the need for rapid implementation often require that biological control programs be based more on trial and error than on sound ecological theory and testing. This approach has led to some remarkable successes but it has also produced dismal failures.