Biological control may benefit from the behavioral manipulation of natural enemies using volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Among these, herbivore-induced plant volatiles (HIPVs) provide potential ...tools for attracting or retaining predators and parasitoids of insect pests. This work aimed to characterize the VOCs emitted by pear plants in response to attack by
Cacopsylla bidens
(Hemiptera: Psyllidae), a major pest in pear orchards, to compare these with VOCs induced by a leaf chewing insect,
Argyrotaenia sphaleropa
(Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), and to evaluate the behavioral response of
Chrysoperla externa
(Neuroptera: Chrysopidae) to HIPVs from pear plants damaged by either herbivore. The results demonstrated that plants damaged by the pear psylla emitted VOC blends with increased amounts of aliphatic aldehydes. Leafroller damage resulted in increased amounts of benzeneacetonitrile, (
E
)-4,8-dimethylnona-1,3,7-triene, β-ocimene and caryophyllene. In olfactometer bioassays, larvae of
C. externa
were attracted to herbivore-damaged plants when contrasted with undamaged plants. When plant odors from psylla-damaged were contrasted with those of leafroller-damaged plants,
C.externa
preferred the former, also showing shorter response lag-times and higher response rates when psylla-damaged plants were present. Our results suggest that pear plants respond to herbivory by modifying their volatile profile, and that psylla-induced volatiles may be used as prey-specific chemical cues by chrysopid larvae. Our study is the first to report HIPVs in pear plants attacked by
C. bidens
, as well as the attraction of
C. externa
to psyllid-induced volatiles.
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EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
The Venezuelan red mud (RM) is an environmental hazard material which was recycled and modified as support of Mo catalysts for the reaction of thiophene hydrodesulfurization (HDS). The catalysts were ...prepared using a dry RM impregnated with ammonium heptamolybdate. An non-replicated 3
2
factorial design was used with two factors: sulfuric acid concentration and MoO
3
w/w percentage and three levels: 2, 3 and 4 mol/L of sulfuric acid and 5, 10 and 15% w/w MoO
3
, respectively. The supports and catalytic precursors were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-Transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), BET surface measurements and chemical analysis by atomic absorption to determine the Fe concentration. The highest conversions of thiophene were obtained for catalysts prepared with a low sulfuric acid concentration (2 mol/L) and a medium MoO
3
concentration (10 w/w%) being superior to those obtained with a commercial CoMo/Al
2
O
3
catalyst. Acid concentration was statistically significant compared to MoO
3
loading. These results could be related to the Fe presence from RM.
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EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
The capture and transduction of energy in biological systems is clearly necessary for life, and nature has evolved remarkable macromolecular entities to serve these purposes. The Fenna-Matthews-Olson ...(FMO) complex serves as an intermediate to transfer the energy from the chlorosome to the special pairs of different photo systems. Recent observations have both suggested the importance of coherent exciton transport within the FMO and motivated an elegant and appropriate theoretical construct for interpreting these observations. Here we employ a different approach to exciton transport in a relaxing environment, one based on the stochastic surrogate Hamiltonian method. With it, we calculate the quantum trajectories through the FMO complex both for the model involving seven bacteriochlorophylls that has been used before, and for one involving an eighth bacteriochlorophyll, which has been observed in some new and very important structural work. We find that in both systems, efficient energy transfer to the ultimate receptor occurs, but that because of the placement of, and energy relaxation among, the different bacteriochlorophyll subunits in the FMO complex, the importance of coherent oscillation that was discussed extensively for the seven site system is far less striking for the eight site system, effectively because of the weak mixing between the initial site and the remainder of the system. We suggest that the relevant spectral densities can be determinative for the energy transport route and may provide a new way to enhance energy transfer in artificial devices.
The dopamine-TiO2 system shows a specific spectroscopic response, surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS), whose mechanism is not fully understood. In this study, the goal is to reveal the key role ...of the molecule–nanoparticle interface in the electronic structure by means of ab initio modeling. The dopamine adsorption energy on anatase surfaces is computed and related to changes in the electronic structure. Two features are observed: the appearance of a state in the material band gap, and charge transfer between molecule and surface upon electronic excitation. The analysis of the energetics of the systems would point to a selective adsorption of dopamine on the (001) and (100) terminations, with much less affinity for the (101) plane.
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IJS, KILJ, NUK, PNG, UL, UM
Biological control is an alternative strategy to control Cacopsylla bidens. The aim of this study was to untanglethe trophic network involving C. bidens as prey. Molecular techniques along with ...predator activity surveys were employed to evaluate predation on psylla. Feeding on C. bidens was detected for five predators: Chrysoperla externa, Chrysopidae sp., Hemerobiidae sp., Harmonia axyridis and Cycloneda sanguinea. All these predators begin to feed earlier in the season, apart from C. externawhich fedds from the third psylla generation. These results will allow the development of strategies to increase the presence of these predators in the orchards.
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BFBNIB, DOBA, GIS, IJS, IZUM, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
This paper presents an approach to diagnose faults on systems with Descriptor Takagi–Sugeno representation. This approach is focused on simultaneously estimate states and actuator faults. Not only ...the estimation algorithm is designed to estimate actuator time-varying faults, but also it is useful for abrupt faults. The observer considered has additional degrees of freedom to estimate, and it is called as generalized observer, where the proportional and proportional-integral observers are particular cases. The convergence analysis is given through the Lyapunov approach. A continuous stirred tank reactor is used as a case study to evaluate the capabilities of the observer.
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EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
Purpose This study evaluated the functional and cosmetic results of mandibular basal osteotomy, introducing new indications and fixation alternatives. Materials and Methods Ten patients 19 to 46 ...years old (mean, 32.3 years) were treated by orthognathic surgery, including mandibular basal osteotomy for correction of deficiency, excess, or asymmetry of the inferior mandibular border. An intraoral approach based on 3 incisions to the anterior and posterior mandible was used to maintain and protect soft tissues surrounding the mental nerve. After marking the bone inferior to the nerve, a reciprocal saw completed the osteotomy design and individual rigid fixation according to movement was executed. All patients were 3-dimensionally treated and the evaluation included clinical, radiographic, and photographic analysis pre and postoperatively; all patients were followed for a minimum of 12 months. Results All patients showed excellent functional and cosmetic results. Nine patients (9/10) were treated for advancement of the inferior border (mean, 6.89 ± 2.57 mm; P < .05). One of them underwent simultaneous inferior (3 mm) and lateral (4 mm) repositioning and 3 had combined lateral movement (mean, 3.5 ± 0.58 mm; P < .05). One patient (1/10) required posterior (4 mm) and inferior (5 mm) repositioning of the basal segment. Conclusions Mandibular basal osteotomy is an innovative technique that is strongly predictable for correction of deficiency, excess, and/or asymmetry of the inferior mandibular border, decreasing morbidity and many other complications of traditional bone grafts and alloplastic techniques.
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