scholarly journals Survival and Development of Striacosta albicosta (Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) Immature Stages on Dry Beans, non-Bt, Cry1F, and Vip3A Maize

Insects ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 343 ◽  
Author(s):  
Débora G. Montezano ◽  
Thomas E. Hunt ◽  
Alexandre Specht ◽  
Priscila M. C. Luz ◽  
Julie A. Peterson

Striacosta albicosta is a crop pest that causes economic damage in the United States and Canada. Only maize and dry beans are shown to be suitable hosts, since larval development is incomplete on other hosts. The objective of this study was to describe the developmental parameters of immature stages of S. albicosta feeding on dry beans, non-Bt, Cry1F, and Vip3A maize. For Vip3A, mortality was 100% after 24 h. Larvae feeding on non-Bt maize had the highest larval survival (70.6%) compared to the other hosts. Maize expressing Cry1F had higher survival (31.3%) than dry beans (26.0%). Larvae feeding on dry beans had a significantly faster total development time (74.8 days), compared to 92.5 days for non-Bt and 96.2 days for Cry1F. All larvae developed through seven instars. Pupae from larvae that had fed on non-Bt maize were significantly heavier than pupae from other hosts. An understanding of S. albicosta immature development on various host plants is needed to improve recommendations for effective scouting, treatment timing, and economic thresholds. Differential development can result in an extended adult emergence period, and possibly result in assortative mating between Bt susceptible and resistant populations, which violates the assumption of random mating necessary for current resistance management strategies for Bt maize. Therefore, understanding the impact of host plant and transgenic traits on aspects of pest biology will aid in developing effective integrated pest management and insect resistance management strategies for this pest.

2021 ◽  
pp. 104398622110016
Author(s):  
Sinchul Back ◽  
Rob T. Guerette

Criminologists and crime prevention practitioners recognize the importance of geographical places to crime activities and the role that place managers might play in effectively preventing crime. Indeed, over the past several decades, a large body of work has highlighted the tendency for crime to concentrate across an assortment of geographic areas, where place management tends to be absent or weak. Nevertheless, there has been a paucity of research evaluating place management strategies and cybercrime within the virtual domain. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of place management techniques on reducing cybercrime incidents in an online setting. Using data derived from the information technology division of a large urban research university in the United States, this study evaluated the impact of an anti-phishing training program delivered to employees that sought to increase awareness and understanding of methods to better protect their “virtual places” from cybercrimes. Findings are discussed within the context of the broader crime and place literature.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Huy Viet Hoang ◽  
Cuong Nguyen ◽  
Khanh Hoang

PurposeThis study compares the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on stock returns in the first two waves of infection across selected markets, given built-in corporate immunity before the global outbreak.Design/methodology/approachThe data are collected from listed firms in five markets that have experienced the second wave of COVID-19 contagion, namely the United States (US), Australia, China, Hong Kong and South Korea. The period of investigation in this study ranges from January 24 to August 28, 2020 to cover the first two COVID-19 waves in selected markets. The study estimates the research model by employing the ordinary least square method with fixed effects to control for the heterogeneity that may confound the empirical outcomes.FindingsThe analysis reveals that firms with larger size and more cash reserves before the COVID-19 outbreak have better stock performance under the first wave; however, these advantages impede stock resilience during the second wave. Corporate governance practices significantly influence stock returns only in the first wave as their effects fade when the second wave emerges. The results also suggest that in economies with greater power distance, although stock price depreciation was milder in the first wave, it is more intense when new cases again surge after the first wave was contained.Practical implicationsThis paper provides practical implications for corporate managers, policymakers and governments concerning crisis management strategies for COVID-19 and future pandemics.Originality/valueThis study is the first to evaluate built-in corporate immunity before the COVID-19 shock under successive contagious waves. Besides, this study accentuates the importance of cultural understanding in weathering the ongoing pandemic across different markets.


2020 ◽  
Vol 86 (8) ◽  
pp. 950-954
Author(s):  
Andrew L. Drahos ◽  
Anthony M. Scott ◽  
Tracy J. Johns ◽  
Dennis W. Ashley

Background There is an opioid epidemic in the United States. With the increased concern of over-prescribing opioids, physicians are seeking alternative pain management strategies. The purpose of this study is to review the impact of instituting a multimodal analgesia (MMA) guideline on decreasing opioid use in trauma patients at a Level 1 trauma center. Methods In 2017, an MMA guideline was developed and included anti-inflammatories, muscle relaxants, neuropathic agents, and local analgesics in addition to opioids. Staff were educated and the guideline was implemented. A retrospective review of medications prescribed to patients admitted from 2016 through 2018 was performed. Patients admitted in 2016 served as the control group (before MMA). In 2018, all patients received multimodal pain therapy as standard practice, and served as the comparison group. Results A total of 10 340 patients were admitted to the trauma service from 2016 through 2018. There were 3013 and 3249 patients for review in 2016 and 2018, respectively. Total morphine milligram equivalents were 2 402 329 and 1 975 935 in 2016 and 2018, respectively, a 17.7% decrease ( P < .001). Concurrently, there was a statistically significant increase in the use of multimodal pain medications. A secondary endpoint was studied to evaluate for changes in acute kidney injury; there was not a statistically significant increase (0.56% versus 0.68%, P = .55). Discussion Implementation of an MMA guideline significantly reduced opioid use in trauma patients. The use of nonopioid MMA medications increased without an increased incidence of acute kidney injury.


2020 ◽  
Vol 47 (4) ◽  
pp. 536-539 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brandy F. Henry

Incarcerated people are at disproportionately high risk of contracting COVID-19. Prisons are epicenters for COVID-19 transmission, including to the community. High rates of preexisting health conditions, limited access to quality health care, and inability to social distance make it impossible to reduce the impact of COVID-19 in prisons. Due to a history of compounded social determinants, incarcerated populations are disproportionately composed of people of color and people with stigmatized behavioral health disorders. Rapid decarceration is needed to promote health equity. Historical mass decarceration events demonstrate feasibility to rapidly release large groups of people while maintaining public safety. Iran and Ireland have released substantial portions of their prison populations by transitioning people to home confinement. In the United States and Uganda, some jurisdictions have reduced new incarcerations through policies that decrease arrests. These policies must be globally expanded to contain the epidemic, and its potential health consequences, while addressing health equity.


Heredity ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 124 (5) ◽  
pp. 621-632 ◽  
Author(s):  
Magellan Tchouakui ◽  
Jacob Riveron Miranda ◽  
Leon M. J. Mugenzi ◽  
Doumani Djonabaye ◽  
Murielle J. Wondji ◽  
...  

Abstract Metabolic resistance threatens the sustainability of pyrethroid-based malaria control interventions. Elucidating the fitness cost and potential reversal of metabolic resistance is crucial to design suitable resistance management strategies. Here, we deciphered the fitness cost associated with the CYP6P9a (P450-mediated metabolic resistance) in the major African malaria vector Anopheles funestus. Reciprocal crosses were performed between a pyrethroid susceptible (FANG) and resistant (FUMOZ-R) laboratory strains and the hybrid strains showed intermediate resistance. Genotyping the CYP6P9a-R resistance allele in oviposited females revealed that CYP6P9a negatively impacts the fecundity as homozygote susceptible mosquitoes (CYP6P9a-SS) lay more eggs than heterozygote (OR = 2.04: P = 0.01) and homozygote resistant mosquitoes. CYP6P9a also imposes a significant fitness cost on the larval development as homozygote resistant larvae (CYP6P9a-RR) developed significantly slower than heterozygote and homozygote susceptible mosquitoes (χ2 = 11.2; P = 0.0008). This fitness cost was further supported by the late pupation of homozygote resistant than susceptible mosquitoes (OR = 2.50; P < 0.01). However, CYP6P9a does not impact the longevity as no difference was observed in the life span of mosquitoes with different genotypes (χ2 = 1.6; P = 0.9). In this hybrid strain, a significant decrease of the resistant CYP6P9a-RR genotype was observed after ten generations (χ2 = 6.6; P = 0.01) suggesting a reversal of P450-based resistance in the absence of selection. This study shows that the P450-mediated metabolic resistance imposes a high fitness cost in malaria vectors supporting that a resistance management strategy based on rotation could help mitigate the impact of such resistance.


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas G. Davies ◽  
Stefan Flasche ◽  
Mark Jit ◽  
Katherine E. Atkins

The spread of antibiotic resistance, a major threat to human health, is poorly understood. Empirically, resistant strains gradually increase in prevalence as antibiotic consumption increases, but current mathematical models predict a sharp transition between full sensitivity and full resistance. In other words, we do not understand what drives persistent coexistence between resistant and sensitive strains of disease-causing bacteria in host populations. Without knowing what drives patterns of resistance, we cannot accurately predict the impact of potential strategies for managing resistance. Here, we show that within-host dynamics—bacterial growth, strain competition, and host immune responses—promote frequency-dependent selection for resistant strains, explaining patterns of resistance at the population level. By capturing these processes in a parsimonious mathematical framework, we resolve a long-standing conflict between theory and observation. Our models capture widespread coexistence for multiple bacteria-drug combinations across 30 European countries and explain associations between carriage prevalence and resistance prevalence among bacterial subtypes. A mechanistic understanding of resistance evolution is needed to accurately forecast the impact and effectiveness of resistance-management strategies.


Author(s):  
◽  
Simon I Hay

The United States (US) has not been spared in the ongoing pandemic of novel coronavirus disease. COVID-19, caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), continues to cause death and disease in all 50 states, as well as significant economic damage wrought by the non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPI) adopted in attempts to control transmission. We use a deterministic, Susceptible, Exposed, Infectious, Recovered (SEIR) compartmental framework to model possible trajectories of SARS-CoV-2 infections and the impact of NPI at the state level. Model performance was tested against reported deaths from 01 February to 04 July 2020. Using this SEIR model and projections of critical driving covariates (pneumonia seasonality, mobility, testing rates, and mask use per capita), we assessed some possible futures of the COVID-19 pandemic from 05 July through 31 December 2020. We explored future scenarios that included feasible assumptions about NPIs including social distancing mandates (SDMs) and levels of mask use. The range of infection, death, and hospital demand outcomes revealed by these scenarios show that action taken during the summer of 2020 will have profound public health impacts through to the year end. Encouragingly, we find that an emphasis on universal mask use may be sufficient to ameliorate the worst effects of epidemic resurgences in many states. Masks may save as many as 102,795 (55,898-183,374) lives, when compared to a plausible reference scenario in December. In addition, widespread mask use may markedly reduce the need for more socially and economically deleterious SDMs.


2015 ◽  
Vol 105 (4) ◽  
pp. 424-432 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dolores Fernández-Ortuño ◽  
Anja Grabke ◽  
Xingpeng Li ◽  
Guido Schnabel

Gray mold, caused by the fungal pathogen Botrytis cinerea, is one of the most destructive diseases of small fruit crops and control is largely dependent on the application of fungicides. As part of a region-wide resistance-monitoring program that investigated 1,890 B. cinerea isolates from 189 fields in 10 states of the United States, we identified seven isolates (0.4%) from five locations in four different states with unprecedented resistance to all seven Fungicide Resistance Action Committee (FRAC) codes with single-site modes of action including FRAC 1, 2, 7, 9, 11, 12, and 17 registered in the United States for gray mold control. Resistance to thiophanate-methyl, iprodione, boscalid, pyraclostrobin, and fenhexamid was based on target gene mutations that conferred E198A and F200Y in β-tubulin, I365N/S in Bos1, H272R/Y in SdhB, G143A in Cytb, and T63I and F412S in Erg27. Isolates were grouped into MDR1 and MDR1h phenotypes based on sensitivity to fludioxonil and variations in transcription factor mrr1. MDR1h isolates had a previously described 3-bp deletion at position 497 in mrr1. Expression of ABC transporter atrB was increased in MDR1 isolates but highest in MDR1h isolates. None of the isolates with seven single resistances (SR) had identical nucleotide variations in target genes, indicating that they emerged independently. Multifungicide resistance phenotypes did not exhibit significant fitness penalties for the parameters used in this study, but MDR1h isolates produced more sclerotia at low temperatures and exhibited increased sensitivity to salt stress. In this study we show that current resistance management strategies have not been able to prevent the geographically independent development of resistance to all seven site-specific fungicides currently registered for gray mold control in the United States and document the presence of MDR1h in North America.


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