scholarly journals Myzus persicae Management through Combined Use of Beneficial Insects and Thiacloprid in Pepper Seedlings

Insects ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (9) ◽  
pp. 791
Author(s):  
Qingcai Lin ◽  
Hao Chen ◽  
Xiaoyan Dai ◽  
Shuyan Yin ◽  
Chenghao Shi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Myzus Persicae ◽  
Harmonia Axyridis ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Risk Assessments ◽  
Toxicity Tests ◽  
Aphidoletes Aphidimyza ◽  
Temperature Conditions ◽  
Combined Use ◽  
Suitable Temperature ◽  
Neonicotinoid Insecticide

Excessive insecticide application has posed a threat to pollinators and has also increased insecticide resistance of Myzus persicae Sulzer. Therefore, it is urgent to develop an economical and effective strategy, especially for greenhouse vegetables. Firstly, we selected a neonicotinoid insecticide that is specifically fatal to M. persicae but relatively safe to predators and bumblebees by laboratory toxicity tests and risk assessments. Then, we tested the effectiveness of the neonicotinoid insecticide under different temperature conditions. According to the LC50 values and the hazard quotients, thiacloprid met the requirements. Greenhouse trails indicated that thiacloprid was quite efficient, while control dropped to 80% without the application of thiacloprid. As for biological control, Harmonia axyridis effectively controlled 90% of aphids with thiacloprid or not. However, Aphidoletes aphidimyza performed better above 20 °C. Our results indicated that it is cost-effective to control M. persicae with A. aphidimyza in suitable temperature conditions and H. axyridis was more effective at low temperatures. Practically, thiacloprid could be used either as an emergency option to control aphids’ abundance alone or in combination with natural enemies.

scholarly journals Using molecular testing and whole-genome sequencing for tuberculosis diagnosis in a low-burden setting: a cost-effectiveness analysis using transmission-dynamic modelling

Thorax ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 76 (3) ◽  
pp. 281-291 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tendai Mugwagwa ◽  
Ibrahim Abubakar ◽  
Peter J White
Keyword(s):  
Cost Effectiveness ◽  
Whole Genome Sequencing ◽  
Genome Sequencing ◽  
Drug Sensitivity ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Molecular Testing ◽  
Whole Genome ◽  
Transmission Dynamic ◽  
Sensitivity Testing ◽  
Combined Use

BackgroundDespite progress in TB control in low-burden countries like England and Wales, there are still diagnostic delays. Molecular testing and/or whole-genome sequencing (WGS) provide more rapid diagnosis but their cost-effectiveness is relatively unexplored in low-burden settings.MethodsAn integrated transmission-dynamic health economic model is used to assess the cost-effectiveness of using WGS to replace culture-based drug-sensitivity testing, versus using molecular testing versus combined use of WGS and molecular testing, for routine TB diagnosis. The model accounts for the effects of faster appropriate treatment in reducing transmission, benefiting health and reducing future treatment costs. Cost-effectiveness is assessed using incremental net benefit (INB) over a 10-year horizon with a quality-adjusted life-year valued at £20 000, and discounting at 3.5% per year.ResultsWGS shortens the time to drug sensitivity testing and treatment modification where necessary, reducing treatment and hospitalisation costs, with an INB of £7.1 million. Molecular testing shortens the time to TB diagnosis and treatment. Initially, this causes an increase in annual costs of treatment, but averting transmissions and future active TB disease subsequently, resulting in cost savings and health benefits to achieve an INB of £8.6 million (GeneXpert MTB/RIF) or £11.1 million (Xpert-Ultra). Combined use of Xpert-Ultra and WGS is the optimal strategy we consider, with an INB of £16.5 million.ConclusionRoutine use of WGS or molecular testing is cost-effective in a low-burden setting, and combined use is the most cost-effective option. Adoption of these technologies can help low-burden countries meet the WHO End TB Strategy milestones, particularly the UK, which still has relatively high TB rates.

Finding Cost-Effective Applications for Expert Systems

1993 ◽  
Vol 115 (1) ◽  
pp. 56-61
Author(s):  
P. J. Hartman
Keyword(s):  
Artificial Intelligence ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Expert Systems ◽  
Processing Speed ◽  
Development Process ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Risk Assessments ◽  
Problem Complexity ◽  
Practical Application ◽  
The Right

Expert systems are one of the few areas of artificial intelligence which have successfully made the transition from research and development to practical application. The key to fielding a successful expert system is finding the right problem to solve. AI costs, including all the development and testing, are so high that the problems must be very important to justify the effort. This paper develops a systematic way of trying to predict the future. It provides robust decision-making criteria, which can be used to predict the success or failure of proposed expert systems. The methods focus on eliminating obviously unsuitable problems and performing risk assessments and cost evaluations of the program. These assessments include evaluation of need, problem complexity, value, user experience, and the processing speed required. If an application proves feasible, the information generated during the decision phase can be then used to speed the development process.

scholarly journals An evaluation of pool-sequencing transcriptome-based exon capture for population genomics in non-model species

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emeline Deleury ◽  
Thomas Guillemaud ◽  
Aurélie Blin ◽  
Eric Lombaert
Keyword(s):  
Evolutionary Biology ◽  
High Throughput Sequencing ◽  
Harmonia Axyridis ◽  
Population Genomics ◽  
De Novo ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Allele Frequencies ◽  
Technical Solution ◽  
Model Species ◽  
Exon Capture

AbstractExon capture coupled to high-throughput sequencing constitutes a cost-effective technical solution for addressing specific questions in evolutionary biology by focusing on expressed regions of the genome preferentially targeted by selection. Transcriptome-based capture, a process that can be used to capture the exons of non-model species, is use in phylogenomics. However, its use in population genomics remains rare due to the high costs of sequencing large numbers of indexed individuals across multiple populations. We evaluated the feasibility of combining transcriptome-based capture and the pooling of tissues from numerous individuals for DNA extraction as a cost-effective, generic and robust approach to estimating the variant allele frequencies of any species at the population level. We designed capture probes for ∼5 Mb of chosen de novo transcripts from the Asian ladybird Harmonia axyridis (5,717 transcripts). We called ∼300,000 bi-allelic SNPs for a pool of 36 non-indexed individuals. Capture efficiency was high, and pool-seq was as effective and accurate as individual-seq for detecting variants and estimating allele frequencies. Finally, we also evaluated an approach for simplifying bioinformatic analyses by mapping genomic reads directly to targeted transcript sequences to obtain coding variants. This approach is effective and does not affect the estimation of SNP allele frequencies, except for a small bias close to some exon ends. We demonstrate that this approach can also be used to predict the intron-exon boundaries of targeted de novo transcripts, making it possible to abolish genotyping biases near exon ends.

scholarly journals The The Making of Crime Predictions: Sociotechnical Assemblages and the Controversies of Governing Future Crime

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 199-215
Author(s):  
Daniel Edler Duarte
Keyword(s):  
Police Officers ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Risk Assessments ◽  
Risk Scores ◽  
Police Departments ◽  
Think Tank ◽  
Private Companies ◽  
Migrant Communities ◽  
Local Police ◽  
Gut Feelings

We are witnessing an upsurge in crime forecasting software, which supposedly draws predictive knowledge from data on past crime. Although prevention and anticipation are already embedded in the apparatuses of government, going beyond a mere abstract aspiration, the latest innovations hold out the promise of replacing police officers’ “gut feelings” and discretionary risk assessments with algorithmic-powered, quantified analyses of risk scores. While police departments and private companies praise such innovations for their cost-effective rationale, critics raise concerns regarding their potential for discriminating against poor, black, and migrant communities. In this article, I address such controversies by telling the story of the making of CrimeRadar, an app developed by a Rio de Janeiro-based think tank in partnership with private associates and local police authorities. Drawing mostly on Latour’s contributions to the emerging literature on security assemblages, I argue that we gain explanatory and critical leverage by looking into the mundane practices of making and unmaking sociotechnical arrangements. That is, I address the chain of translations through which crime data are collected, organized, and transformed into risk scores. In every step, new ways of seeing and presenting crime are produced, with a significant impact on how we experience and act upon (in)security.

Managing the risk of exotic vertebrate incursions in Australia

2011 ◽  
Vol 38 (6) ◽  
pp. 501 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wendy Henderson ◽  
Mary Bomford ◽  
Phillip Cassey
Keyword(s):  
Communication Networks ◽  
Linear Models ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Risk Assessments ◽  
Individual Species ◽  
Vertebrate Species ◽  
Pest Damage ◽  
Global Transport ◽  
Successful Establishment ◽  
Number Of Individuals

Context Biological invasions are a profound contribution to human-induced environmental change. Although intentional introductions of vertebrate species have largely declined, global transport and communication networks continue to increase. As a consequence, more goods are being traded and the type of species being transported has changed, as well as the associated risks. Aims To analyse the frequency, and provide risk assessments, for exotic vertebrate species detected by border and post-border Australian biosecurity agencies in the past decade (1999–2010). Methods We collated detection records by emailing or telephoning representatives from agencies responsible for implementing Australian biosecurity. We calculated the risk of successful establishment (low, moderate, serious, extreme) for 137 identified vertebrate species not currently established in Australia. Generalised linear models were constructed to test whether the frequency of increasing risk of establishment was associated with either differences between vertebrate classes and/or different detection categories. Key results The majority of species detected were reported from illegal keeping. Individual species risk assessments revealed that reptiles were more likely to be of greater risk for future establishment than were birds, mammals or amphibians. Controlling for taxonomy, high-risk species were not involved in larger (i.e. number of individuals) incidents than were lower-risk species. Across years, the number of novel exotic vertebrate species detected ‘at large’ in Australia has significantly increased. Conclusions Several of the species detected by biosecurity agencies have attributes that give them the potential to become pests in Australia. Preventing incursions is by far the most cost-effective way to prevent future pest damage. Implications It is clear that a nationally coordinated framework for data collection and data sharing among agencies is urgently required. We present a minimum framework for the future collection of inter-agency data, necessary to assess and monitor the ongoing risk of vertebrate pest incursions in Australia.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document