Repellency of selected chemicals against the bed bug (Hemiptera: Cimicidae).

In recent years, the common bed bug, Cimex lectularius L. (Hemiptera: Cimicidae), became a major public health concern in urban communities. Bed bugs are notoriously difficult to control, and their bites are not tolerated by most people.

Development and evaluation of monoclonal antibodies for the glucoside of T-2 toxin (t2-glc).

The interactions between fungi and plants can yield metabolites that are toxic in animal systems. Certain fungi are known to produce sesquiterpenoid trichothecenes, such as T-2 toxin, that are biotransformed by several mechanisms including glucosylation. The glucosylated forms have been found in grain and are of interest as potential reservoirs of T-2 toxin that are not detected by many analytical methods.

Amiodarone-induced pulmonary toxicity: case study with syndrome analysis.

Amiodarone is often prescribed for the control of atrial and ventricular arrhythmias. While generally effective, the potential for a variety of side effects is substantial. Pulmonary toxicity, leading to acute or chronic respiratory failure, manifests with cough, dyspnea, infiltrates on chest radiograph, and a potential for progression to death.

Butyric acid from anaerobic fermentation of lignocellulosic biomass hydrolysates by Clostridium tyrobutyricum strain RPT-4213.

A novel Clostridium tyrobutyricum strain RPT-4213 was found producing butyrate under strict anaerobic conditions. This strain produced 9.47 g L(-1) butyric acid from MRS media (0.

Virtual and concrete manipulatives: a comparison of approaches for solving mathematics problems for students with autism spectrum disorder.

Students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are included in general education classes and expected to participate in general education content, such as mathematics. Yet, little research explores academically-based mathematics instruction for this population. This single subject alternating treatment design study explored the effectiveness of concrete (physical objects that can be manipulated) and virtual (3-D objects from the Internet that can be manipulated) manipulatives to teach single- and double-digit subtraction skills.

Effect of amylopectin on the rheological properties of aqueous dispersions of starch-sodium palmitate complexes.

Aqueous dispersions of normal and high-amylose corn starch were steam jet cooked and blended with aqueous solutions of sodium palmitate to give starch containing amylose-sodium palmitate inclusion complexes. Partial conversion of complexed sodium palmitate to palmitic acid by addition of acetic acid led to the formation of gels. Blends of inclusion complexes prepared from normal and high-amylose corn starch were used to vary the amylose:amylopectin ratio of the gels, and the linear viscoelastic moduli were found to decrease with decreasing amylose:amylopectin ratio.

Synthesis and spectral characterization of methyl 9(10)-dialkylphosphonostearates.

Dimethyl, diethyl, and di-n-butyl phosphites were reacted with methyl or ethyl oleates using thermally initiated radical reactions. Reactions were conducted with or without the presence of a dilauroyl peroxide initiator. The reactions gave mixture of isomers with the phosphorus attached at the 9 or 10 carbon of the stearates.

Preparation of starch-stabilized silver nanoparticles from amylose-sodium palmitate inclusion complexes.

Starch-stabilized silver nanoparticles (AgNP) were prepared from amylose-sodium palmitate helical inclusion complexes by first converting sodium palmitate within the amylose helix to silver palmitate by an ion-exchange reaction with silver nitrate, and then reducing the complexed silver palmitate salt with NaBH(4). This process yielded stable aqueous solutions that could be dried and then re-dispersed in water for end-use applications. Reaction products were characterized by inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES), UV-VIS spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, TEM, SEM and light microscopy.

Preparation of starch-sodium lignosulfonate graft copolymers via laccase catalysis and characterization of antioxidant activity.

Graft copolymers of waxy maize starch and sodium lignosulfonate (SLS) were prepared by Trametes versicolor laccase catalysis in aqueous solution. Amount of SLS grafted based on phenol analysis was 0.5% and 1.

Development and assessment of an interactive web-based breastfeeding monitoring system (LACTOR).

The purpose of this study is to describe an interactive web-based breastfeeding monitoring system (LACTOR), illustrate its components, explain the theoretical framework, and discuss its assessment as a model for an innovative breastfeeding support intervention. Based on the self-regulation model from Bandura Social Cognitive Theory, we have developed an interactive web-based breastfeeding monitoring system using a breastfeeding diary. The system has two main components: the Mothers' Portal, where mothers can enter their breastfeeding data and receive notifications, and the Lactation Consultants' Portal, where mothers' data can be monitored.

Identification of gene clusters associated with fusaric acid, fusarin, and perithecial pigment production in Fusarium verticillioides.

The genus Fusarium is of concern to agricultural production and food/feed safety because of its ability to cause crop disease and to produce mycotoxins. Understanding the genetic basis for production of mycotoxins and other secondary metabolites (SMs) has the potential to limit crop disease and mycotoxin contamination. In fungi, SM biosynthetic genes are typically located adjacent to one another in clusters of co-expressed genes.

Preservation of polyunsaturated fatty acyl glycerides via intramolecular antioxidant coupling.

Ferulic acid and its esters are known to be effective antioxidants. Feruloyl di-γ-linolenoylglycerol was assessed for its ability to serve as an antioxidant for preventing the oxidation of its γ-linolenoyl polyunsaturated fatty acyl groups in model membrane phospholipid vesicles. The molecule was incorporated into single-lamellar vesicles comprised of 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine.

Sorption of ochratoxin A from aqueous solutions using β-cyclodextrin-polyurethane polymer.

The ability of a cyclodextrin-polyurethane polymer to remove ochratoxin A from aqueous solutions was examined by batch rebinding assays. The results from the aqueous binding studies were fit to two parameter models to gain insight into the interaction of ochratoxin A with the nanosponge material. The ochratoxin A sorption data fit well to the heterogeneous Freundlich isotherm model.

Male-produced pheromone of Spathius agrili, a parasitoid introduced for the biological control of the invasive emerald ash borer, Agrilus planipennis.

The braconid wasp, Spathius agrili, has been released in the U.S. as a biocontrol agent for the invasive emerald ash borer (Coleoptera: Buprestidae: Agrilus planipennis), a destructive pest of ash trees (Fraxinus spp.

Purification and characterization of arabinofuranosidase from the corn endophyte Acremonium zeae.

Acremonium zeae, one of the most prevalent fungal colonists of preharvest corn, possesses a suite of hemicellulolytic activities including xylanase, xylosidase, and arabinofuranosidase. Two enzymes with arabinofuranosidase activity were purified from cell-free culture supernatants of A. zeae grown on oat spelt xylan.

DFTMD studies of β-cellobiose: conformational preference using implicit solvent.

Previous DFT in vacuo studies on the conformational preferences for cellobiose showed that upon optimization the φ(H)-anti conformations were of lower energy than the syn forms. Upon optimization using an implicit solvation method, COSMO, the syn or observed form was still not predicted to be of lower energy than the φ(H)-anti form, even though optimization after addition of several explicit water molecules did show a relative energy difference favoring the syn form. In order to examine the predictive ability of COSMO on this carbohydrate, constant energy dynamics, DFTMD, simulations were carried out on low energy syn and φ(H)-anti conformations with and without COSMO included during the dynamics.

First Report of Sexual Reproduction by the Soybean Sudden Death Syndrome Pathogen Fusarium tucumaniae in Nature.

Of the four fusaria that have been shown to cause soybean sudden death syndrome (SDS), field surveys indicate that Fusarium tucumaniae is the most important and genetically diverse SDS pathogen in Argentina. Although none of the SDS fusaria have been shown to produce perithecia in nature, a heterothallic sexual cycle has been demonstrated for F. tucumaniae via laboratory crosses.

FfVel1 and FfLae1, components of a velvet-like complex in Fusarium fujikuroi, affect differentiation, secondary metabolism and virulence.

Besides industrially produced gibberellins (GAs), Fusarium fujikuroi is able to produce additional secondary metabolites such as the pigments bikaverin and neurosporaxanthin and the mycotoxins fumonisins and fusarin C. The global regulation of these biosynthetic pathways is only poorly understood. Recently, the velvet complex containing VeA and several other regulatory proteins was shown to be involved in global regulation of secondary metabolism and differentiation in Aspergillus nidulans.

Identification and properties of insect resistance-associated maize anionic peroxidases.

Previous studies with transgenic plants have indicated a tobacco anionic peroxidase can confer enhanced resistance to a variety of insects when expressed in different plant species. Tissue that expresses high levels of this enzyme often browns rapidly when damaged. Maize roots damaged under sterile conditions browned and had an anionic peroxidase induced.

Catalytic properties of two Rhizopus oryzae 99-880 glucoamylase enzymes without starch binding domains expressed in Pichia pastoris.

Catalytic properties of two glucoamylases, AmyC and AmyD, without starch binding domains from Rhizopus oryzae strain 99-880 are determined using heterologously expressed enzyme purified to homogeneity. AmyC and AmyD demonstrate pH optima of 5.5 and 6.

Mechanisms of ethanol tolerance in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Saccharomyces cerevisiae is a superb ethanol producer, yet is also sensitive to higher ethanol concentrations especially under high gravity or very high gravity fermentation conditions. Ethanol tolerance is associated with interplay of complex networks at the genome level. Although significant efforts have been made to study ethanol stress response in past decades, mechanisms of ethanol tolerance are not well known.

Functional expression of the thiolase gene thl from Clostridium beijerinckii P260 in Lactococcus lactis and Lactobacillus buchneri.

The first step of the butanol pathway involves an acetyl-CoA acetyltransferase (ACoAAT), which controls the key branching point from acetyl-CoA to butanol. ACoAAT, also known as thiolase (EC 2.3.

A self-calibrating method for photogeometric acquisition of 3D objects.

We present a self-calibrating photogeometric method using only off--the-shelf hardware that enables quickly and robustly obtaining multimillion point-sampled and colored models of real-world objects. Some previous efforts use a priori calibrated systems to separately acquire geometric and photometric information. Our key enabling observation is that a digital projector can be simultaneously used as either an active light source or as a virtual camera (as opposed to a digital camera, which cannot be used for both).

Health, religion, and meaning: a culture-centered study of Druze women.

Against the backdrop of contesting the mainstream biomedical models of health communication, the culture-centered approach suggests dialogic research methodologies to coconstruct meanings of health through direct engagement with cultural communities. In this project, we engaged in in-depth interviews and informal conversations with elderly Druze women and their caregiver daughters to develop an understanding of the intersections of religion and health meanings in the context of aging women in this Lebanese community. Attending to the cultural constructions of health, particularly in religious contexts, opens up the discursive spaces of health communication to alternative cosmologies of health, illness, healing, and curing.