Persistence of Bacillus thuringiensis deposits in a hardwood forest,after aerial application of a commercial formulation at two dosage rates

Abstract

A commercial formulation of Bacillus thuringiensis Berliner var. kurstaki (BTK), Foray® 48B, was sprayed aerially over four blocks B13, B14, B15A and B15B in an oak forest in Wayne County, Pennsylvania during May 1990. B13 and B14 were sprayed at 75 billion international units (BIU) in 5.91 litres/ha and the other two at 50 BIU in 3.94 litres/ha. Oak foliage was collected at different intervals of time after treatment. Three types of bioassays were conducted against fourth instar gypsy moth larvae, viz., direct feeding of sprayed foliage, feeding on diet containing homogenized foliage, and force‐feeding of foliar extracts. Larval mortalities were converted into international units of BTK activity per unit area (IU/cm²) of foliage. Foliar extracts were also subjected to enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to determine the concentration of delta‐endotoxin protein. Regardless of the type of bioassay used, bioactivity of BTK persisted in foliage for about a week in all the blocks. The half‐life of inactivation, DT₅₀, ranged from ca 12 to 22 h. The immunoassay data indicated a shorter duration of persistence (i.e., about 2 d) of the delta‐endotoxin protein, with DT₅₀ values ranging from 10 to 15 h. Formulation ingredients present in Foray 48B played a role in the toxicity of BTK to gypsy moth larvae.     

Sustainable cities: do political factors determine the quality of life?

The implementation of urban sustainability practices is affected by political obstacles, and diverse political ideologies may defend different city models. Sustainable policy design could also be affected by several factors that cause the deflection of resources initially allocated to other groups that are contrary to the concerns pursued and have the power to veto sustainable plans by exerting pressure on the party in power.In this sense, the aim of this paper is to show the impact that political factors have on cities’ sustainability, and the effect of both on cities’ economic development. To do so, we used the 78 Spanish cities with a population over 100,000 studied by MERCO (Spanish Corporate Reputation Monitor) as regards their levels of sustainability for the fiscal years 2008 and 2009. Both relationships have been tested empirically through two dependence models using linear regression techniques.The results obtained show that political competition improves cities’ sustainability, while a leftist ideology has an inverse impact. On the other hand, a significant direct relationship has been observed between urban sustainability and municipal economic activity.     

某型橡胶减振器的加速老化寿命试验研究

目的对某型橡胶减振器进行加速老化试验研究,利用试验数据评估得到产品的贮存寿命。方法采用恒定应力加速试验方法,分四个温度应力量级,对橡胶减振器的压缩永久变形试样开展加速老化试验,获得试样的退化数据。对试验数据进行分析计算,评估得到橡胶减振器材料的贮存寿命。结果通过评估,得到该型减振器材料的贮存寿命能够达到12.36年,置信度大于0.99。同时利用减振器真实产品的老化试验验证了寿命评估结果。结论以温度为敏感应力,采用恒定应力加速贮存试验方法,可以在短时间内快速获得置信度较高的材料常温贮存寿命,结合真实产品验证评估结果,为类似产品的寿命预测提供支撑。     

三生共赢:可持续发展的根本目标与行为准则

明确可持续发展的行为目标。制定相应的评价准则，是可持续发展思想从理念探讨向实践操作延伸的必由之路，也是进行社会行为选择的依据。在系统分析生活、生产与生态之间的关系后，提出应将“生活水平不断提高，生产能力不断增长和生态环境不断改善”(简称“三生共赢”)作为可持续发展的行为目标和评价准则，并从理论上对这一命题进行了阐述。     

Morphogenesis of the Procumbent Life Form in Siberian Stone Pine at the Timberline in the Western Sayan Mountains

The morphology and development are described for Siberian stone pine (Pinus sibiricaDu Tour) growing at the timberline in the Western Sayan Mountains. Throughout ontogeny, these plants have a short stem trailing in an approximately horizontal direction. Maximal longevity and viability are characteristic of basal branches, which are able to root and produce vegetative generations. This allows these plants to be classified with the procumbent tree life form, in which the clones of most adaptive genotypes not only survive under extreme environmental conditions, but can also reproduce vegetatively.     

Re-emphasizing sustainable development — The concept of ‘Evolutionability’ On living chances, equity, and good heritage

The principle of sustainable development is now 15-year-old. There are a lot of definitions and models for its explanation — ranging from triangles and prisms to eggs — but still its sense is diffuse. Moreover, important aspects like equity are not sufficiently taken into account.The following article takes a critical look on sustainable development. It shows logical, systemic, philosophic and ethic reasons for the re-development of substantial parts of the principle of sustainability. Based on the proposed Principle of Good Heritage it provides a rough outline of a future Concept of Evolutionability, comprising a first tentative for a definition of evolutionable development, aiming at achieving a more appropriate and more workable mainstream view of sustainability.Readers should send their comments on this paper to: BhaskarNath@aol.com within 3 months of publication of this issue.     

我国小康生活水平的测量尺度与标准

本文在分析我国经济、社会发展规划、目标和现代化进程的基础上,借鉴国际上的通用标准,并结合我国国情,提出了我国小康生活水平的测量标准,建立了由20个指标构成的小康生活水平指标体系。     

矿山清洁生产示范研究

矿山清洁生产具有双重性。矿山生命周期决定了矿山清洁生产体系的特殊性。矿山清洁生产体系是由培训体系、生命周期清洁生产体系和监合与审核体系构成的一个系统，生命周期清洁生产体系包括从资源勘探-规划设计-开发-闭矿-后续土地利用与监测的各个阶段。与其他行业相比，矿山清洁生产难度大且明显滞后，开展矿山清洁生产示范研究势在必行。     

振动加载下转换型密封电磁继电器的性能退化行为研究

目的研究航空用继电器的失效机理。方法通过对电磁继电器进行振动与工作载荷单独施加以及二者综合加载情况下的试验方法及性能退化行为研究,实时监测继电器内部触点间接触电阻等性能参数的变化趋势,并对不同条件下触点表面的微观形貌进行对比分析。结果发现相比较工作载荷单独施加而言,振动应力的加入使得继电器的寿命大幅度降低,并使得触点表面呈现"雪花"一般的形貌。结论振动环境导致了触点之间电弧的变化,以及触点表面接触压力、接触面积和接触超程等,并通过燃弧时间和超程时间的变化趋势对其进行了验证。