Development of kairomone based control programs for cocoa pod borer

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The Cocoa Pod Borer moth presents a unique opportunity to develop host volatile attractants for control strategies for the following reasons. First, knowing what volatiles are critical for host finding by females will allow for development of mass trapping and/or attract and kill strategies to cont...

Are light traps baited with kairomones effective in the capture of Lutzomyia longipalpis and Lutzomyia intermedia? An evaluation of synthetic human odor as an attractant for phlebotomine sand flies (Diptera: Psychodidae: Phlebotominae).

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Andrade, Andrey J; Andrade, Mateus R; Dias, Edelberto S; Pinto, Mara C; Eiras, Alvaro E

2008-06-01

Phlebotomine sand flies are often captured with human bait and/or light traps, either with or without an animal bait. More recently, synthetic attractants have been used as bait in traps to improve the capture of phlebotomine sand flies as well as other insects of medical and veterinary importance. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of the kairomone 1-octen-3-ol (octenol) and the synthetic human odor BG-Mesh Lure (BGML--lactic acid, caproic acid and ammonia) baited in modified CDC light traps on the capture of phlebotomine sand flies. The experiments followed the 5x5 Latin square design. Among the species caught, Lutzomyia intermedia apparently presented a dose-dependent response to octenol. The response obtained with the BGML, alone or in combination with octenol (5 mg/h), indicated some degree of attractiveness of these baits to different phlebotomine sand fly species. Octenol seems to be more attractive to L. intermedia than to Lutzomyia longipalpis, while the BGML presented a higher success in capturing L. longipalpis. When the components of the BGML were used separately, there was no increase in catching the female of L. intermedia. Apparently, there was no synergistic effect between the octenol and the BGML. In conclusion, the octenol and the BGML were demonstrated to be possible baits to attract some phlebotomine sand fly species.

Predatory Mite Attraction to Herbivore-induced Plant Odors is not a Consequence of Attraction to Individual Herbivore-induced Plant Volatiles

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De Bruijn, Paulien J. A.; Sabelis, Maurice W.

2008-01-01

Predatory mites locate herbivorous mites, their prey, by the aid of herbivore-induced plant volatiles (HIPV). These HIPV differ with plant and/or herbivore species, and it is not well understood how predators cope with this variation. We hypothesized that predators are attracted to specific compounds in HIPV, and that they can identify these compounds in odor mixtures not previously experienced. To test this, we assessed the olfactory response of Phytoseiulus persimilis, a predatory mite that preys on the highly polyphagous herbivore Tetranychus urticae. The responses of the predatory mite to a dilution series of each of 30 structurally different compounds were tested. They mites responded to most of these compounds, but usually in an aversive way. Individual HIPV were no more attractive (or less repellent) than out-group compounds, i.e., volatiles not induced in plants fed upon by spider-mites. Only three samples were significantly attractive to the mites: octan-1-ol, not involved in indirect defense, and cis-3-hexen-1-ol and methyl salicylate, which are both induced by herbivory, but not specific for the herbivore that infests the plant. Attraction to individual compounds was low compared to the full HIPV blend from Lima bean. These results indicate that individual HIPV have no a priori meaning to the mites. Hence, there is no reason why they could profit from an ability to identify individual compounds in odor mixtures. Subsequent experiments confirmed that naive predatory mites do not prefer tomato HIPV, which included the attractive compound methyl salicylate, over the odor of an uninfested bean. However, upon associating each of these odors with food over a period of 15 min, both are preferred. The memory to this association wanes within 24 hr. We conclude that P. persimilis possesses a limited ability to identify individual spider mite-induced plant volatiles in odor mixtures. We suggest that predatory mites instead learn to respond to prey

Resposta de Cosmopolites sordidus (Germar (Coleoptera, Curculionidae aos voláteis da planta hospedeira e de adultos coespecíficos em olfatômetro Response of Cosmopolites sordidus (Germar (Coleoptera, Curculionidae to host volatiles and conspecific in olfactometer

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Fernando A. C. de Mendonça

1999-01-01

Full Text Available The response of Cosmopolites sordidus (Germar, 1824 to the volatiles of its host banana plant (Musa paradisiaca cv. Prata and conspecific adults was studied. In olfactometer, the attraction of males and females of C. sordidus to rhizome and pseudotem of the banana, fresh or rotting, was observed. The results suggested that the aggregation pheromone is produced by males and that it attracts both sexes, and that there is another pheromone produced by females which attracts males only. The results also suggest that the females are the first responsible for the aggregation of the species, but the male pheromone is mainly responsible for the mass aggregation. Nevertheless, the aggregation phenomenon is a consequence of the mutual action of both pheromones plus the kairomones produced by the banana plant.

Gene up-regulation in response to predator kairomones in the water flea, Daphnia pulex

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Okada Yasukazu

2010-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Numerous cases of predator-induced polyphenisms, in which alternate phenotypes are produced in response to extrinsic stimuli, have been reported in aquatic taxa to date. The genus Daphnia (Branchiopoda, Cladocera provides a model experimental system for the study of the developmental mechanisms and evolutionary processes associated with predator-induced polyphenisms. In D. pulex, juveniles form neckteeth in response to predatory kairomones released by Chaoborus larvae (Insecta, Diptera. Results Previous studies suggest that the timing of the sensitivity to kairomones in D. pulex can generally be divided into the embryonic and postembryonic developmental periods. We therefore examined which of the genes in the embryonic and first-instar juvenile stages exhibit different expression levels in the presence or absence of predator kairomones. Employing a candidate gene approach and identifying differentially-expressed genes revealed that the morphogenetic factors, Hox3, extradenticle and escargot, were up-regulated by kairomones in the postembryonic stage and may potentially be responsible for defense morph formation. In addition, the juvenile hormone pathway genes, JHAMT and Met, and the insulin signaling pathway genes, InR and IRS-1, were up-regulated in the first-instar stage. It is well known that these hormonal pathways are involved in physiological regulation following morphogenesis in many insect species. During the embryonic stage when morphotypes were determined, one of the novel genes identified by differential display was up-regulated, suggesting that this gene may be related to morphotype determination. Biological functions of the up-regulated genes are discussed in the context of defense morph formation. Conclusions It is suggested that, following the reception of kairomone signals, the identified genes are involved in a series of defensive phenotypic alterations and the production of a defensive phenotype.

Effects of bark beetle pheromones on the attraction of Monochamus alternatus to pine volatiles

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Jian-Ting Fan; Daniel Miller; Long-Wa Zhang; Jiang-Hua Sun

2010-01-01

We evaluated the attraction of Monochamus alternatus Hope (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae), Dryocoetes luteus Blandford and Orthotomicus erosusWollaston (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae) to multiple-funnel traps baited with the pine volatiles, ethanol and (+)-α-pinene and the bark beetle pheromones, ipsenol and ipsdienol. M. alternatus were attracted to traps baited...

The Accessory Olfactory System Facilitates the Recovery of the Attraction to Familiar Volatile Female Odors in Male Mice.

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Muroi, Yoshikage; Nishimura, Masakazu; Ishii, Toshiaki

2017-10-31

Odors in female mice induce sexual arousal in male mice. Repeated exposure to female odors attenuates male attraction, which recovers when the odors are removed. The neuronal mechanisms for the recovery of male attraction have not been clarified. In this study, we examined how olfactory systems are involved in the recovery of male attraction to female odors following habituation in mice. Presentation with volatile female odors for 5 min induced habituation in males. To evaluate male attraction to familiar volatile female odors, we measured the duration for investigating volatile female odors from the same female mouse, which was presented twice for 5 min with 1-, 3-, or 5-min interval. Intranasal irrigation with ZnSO4 solution almost completely suppressed investigating behavior, indicating that the main olfactory system is indispensable for inducing the attraction to volatile female odors. In contrast, removal of the vomeronasal organ, bilateral lesions of the accessory olfactory bulb (AOB), or pharmacological blockage of neurotransmission in the AOB did not affect the investigation time at the first odor presentation. However, each one of the treatments decreased the investigation time in the second presentation, compared to that in the first presentation, at longer intervals than control treatment, indicating that the disturbance of neurotransmission in the accessory olfactory system delayed the recovery of the attraction attenuated by the first presentation. These results suggest that the accessory olfactory system facilitates the recovery of the attraction to familiar volatile female odors in male mice. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

The Ratio between Field Attractive and Background Volatiles Encodes Host-Plant Recognition in a Specialist Moth.

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Knudsen, Geir K; Norli, Hans R; Tasin, Marco

2017-01-01

Volatiles emitted by plants convey an array of information through different trophic levels. Animals such as host-seeking herbivores encounter plumes with filaments from both host and non-host plants. While studies showed a behavioral effect of non-host plants on herbivore host location, less information is available on how a searching insect herbivore perceives and flies upwind to a host-plant odor plume within a background of non-host volatiles. We hypothesized here that herbivorous insects in search of a host-plant can discriminate plumes of host and non-host plants and that the taxonomic relatedness of the non-host have an effect on finding the host. We also predicted that the ratio between certain plant volatiles is cognized as host-plant recognition cue by a receiver herbivorous insect. To verify these hypotheses we measured the wind tunnel response of the moth Argyresthia conjugella to the host plant rowan, to non-host plants taxonomically related (Rosaceae, apple and pear) or unrelated to the host (Pinaceae, spruce) and to binary combination of host and non-host plants. Volatiles were collected from all plant combinations and delivered to the test insect via an ultrasonic sprayer as an artificial plume. While the response to the rowan as a plant was not affected by the addition of any of the non-host plants, the attraction to the corresponding sprayed headspace decreased when pear or apple but not spruce were added to rowan. A similar result was measured toward the odor exiting a jar where freshly cut plant material of apple or pear or spruce was intermixed with rowan. Dose-response gas-chromatography coupled to electroantennography revealed the presence of seven field attractive and seven background non-attractive antennally active compounds. Although the abundance of field attractive and of some background volatiles decreased in all dual combinations in comparison with rowan alone, an increased amount of the background compounds (3E)-4,8-Dimethyl-1

Volatiles of Solena amplexicaulis (Lam.) Gandhi Leaves Influencing Attraction of Two Generalist Insect Herbivores.

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Sarkar, Nupur; Karmakar, Amarnath; Barik, Anandamay

2016-10-01

Epilachna vigintioctopunctata Fabr. (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) and Aulacophora foveicollis Lucas (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) are important pests of Solena amplexicaulis (Lam.) Gandhi (Cucurbitaceae), commonly known as creeping cucumber. The profiles of volatile organic compounds from undamaged plants, plants after 48 hr continuous feeding of adult females of either E. vigintioctopunctata or A. foveicollis, by adults of both species, and after mechanical damaging were identified and quantified by GC-MS and GC-FID analyses. Thirty two compounds were detected in volatiles of all treatments. In all plants, methyl jasmonate was the major compound. In Y-shaped glass tube olfactometer bioassays under laboratory conditions, both insect species showed a significant preference for complete volatile blends from insect damaged plants, compared to those of undamaged plants. Neither E. vigintioctopunctata nor A. foveicollis showed any preference for volatiles released by heterospecifically damaged plants vs. conspecifically damaged plants or plants attacked by both species. Epilachna vigintioctopunctata and A. foveicollis showed attraction to three different synthetic compounds, linalool oxide, nonanal, and E-2-nonenal in proportions present in volatiles of insect damaged plants. Both species were attracted by a synthetic blend of 1.64 μg linalool oxide + 3.86 μg nonanal + 2.23 μg E-2-nonenal, dissolved in 20 μl methylene chloride. This combination might be used as trapping tools in pest management strategies.

α-Copaene is an attractant, synergistic with quercivorol, for improved detection of Euwallacea nr. fornicatus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae.

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Paul E Kendra

Full Text Available The tea shot-hole borer, Euwallacea fornicatus Eichhoff, is an ambrosia beetle endemic to Asia and a pest of commercial tea, Camellia sinensis (L. Kuntze. Recently, a complex of species morphologically similar to E. fornicatus has been recognized, which includes new pests established in Israel and the USA, both in California and Florida. Collectively termed E. nr. fornicatus, these cryptic species carry symbiotic Fusarium spp. fungi, some of which cause dieback disease in susceptible hosts, which include avocado, Persea americana Miller. Due to the threat to this economically important crop, research was initiated to evaluate efficacy of kairomone-based lures for detection of the beetle in Florida (termed the Florida tea shot hole borer, FL-TSHB. A series of field tests were conducted in 2016 in commercial avocado groves known to have FL-TSHB at various population levels. All tests evaluated lures containing quercivorol (p-menth-2-en-1-ol and α-copaene, presented separately and in combination; and one test evaluated effect of trap type on beetle captures. In addition, electroantennography (EAG was used to quantify female olfactory responses to lure emissions. This study identified (--α-copaene as a new attractant for FL-TSHB, equivalent in efficacy to quercivorol (the standard lure for Euwallacea detection in the USA; however, the combination of lures captured significantly more FL-TSHB than either lure alone. This combination resulted in synergistic attraction at two field sites and additive attraction at a third site. Sticky panel traps captured more FL-TSHB than comparably-baited Lindgren funnel traps. Females engaged in host-seeking flight from 11:00 to 16:00 hr (EST, with peak numbers observed between 12:00 and 13:00 hr. EAG analyses confirmed olfactory chemoreception of both kairomones, with a higher response elicited with the combination of volatiles. Results indicate that detection of pest E. nr. fornicatus in Florida can be improved

Kairomonal communication in mice is concentration-dependent with a proportional discrimination threshold [v2; ref status: indexed, http://f1000r.es/2h5

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Anand Vasudevan

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Odors of predators are often co-opted by prey species to serve as warning signals. Perceptual properties of such kairomonal communication are under studied despite their common use in many mammals. We demonstrate that the kairomonal response in mice to rat odors varies monotonically with the volume of rat odor. Moreover, the ability of mice to differentiate between two strengths of rat odors is dependent on the ratio of the two concentrations. These results show that mice can compare kairomonal strength over a large range of values, and that kairomonal communication follows Weber’s law.

Identification and field evaluation of fermentation volatiles from wine and vinegar that mediate attraction of spotted wing Drosophila, Drosophila suzukii.

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Cha, Dong H; Adams, Todd; Rogg, Helmuth; Landolt, Peter J

2012-11-01

Previous studies suggest that olfactory cues from damaged and fermented fruits play important roles in resource recognition of polyphagous spotted wing Drosophila flies (SWD), Drosophila suzukii (Matsumura) (Diptera: Drosophilidae). They are attracted to fermented sweet materials, such as decomposing fruits but also wines and vinegars, and to ubiquitous fermentation volatiles, such as acetic acid and ethanol. Gas chromatography coupled with electroantennographic detection (GC-EAD), gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), two-choice laboratory bioassays, and field trapping experiments were used to identify volatile compounds from wine and vinegar that are involved in SWD attraction. In addition to acetic acid and ethanol, consistent EAD responses were obtained for 13 volatile wine compounds and seven volatile vinegar compounds, with all of the vinegar EAD-active compounds also present in wine. In a field trapping experiment, the 9-component vinegar blend and 15-component wine blend were similarly attractive when compared to an acetic acid plus ethanol mixture, but were not as attractive as the wine plus vinegar mixture. In two-choice laboratory bioassays, 7 EAD-active compounds (ethyl acetate, ethyl butyrate, ethyl lactate, 1-hexanol, isoamyl acetate, 2-methylbutyl acetate, and ethyl sorbate), when added singly to the mixture at the same concentrations tested in the field, decreased the attraction of SWD to the mixture of acetic acid and ethanol. The blends composed of the remaining EAD-active chemicals, an 8-component wine blend [acetic acid + ethanol + acetoin + grape butyrate + methionol + isoamyl lactate + 2-phenylethanol + diethyl succinate] and a 5-component vinegar blend [acetic acid + ethanol + acetoin + grape butyrate + 2-phenylethanol] were more attractive than the acetic acid plus ethanol mixture, and as attractive as the wine plus vinegar mixture in both laboratory assays and the field trapping experiment. These results indicate that these

The Ratio between Field Attractive and Background Volatiles Encodes Host-Plant Recognition in a Specialist Moth

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Geir K. Knudsen

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Volatiles emitted by plants convey an array of information through different trophic levels. Animals such as host-seeking herbivores encounter plumes with filaments from both host and non-host plants. While studies showed a behavioral effect of non-host plants on herbivore host location, less information is available on how a searching insect herbivore perceives and flies upwind to a host-plant odor plume within a background of non-host volatiles. We hypothesized here that herbivorous insects in search of a host-plant can discriminate plumes of host and non-host plants and that the taxonomic relatedness of the non-host have an effect on finding the host. We also predicted that the ratio between certain plant volatiles is cognized as host-plant recognition cue by a receiver herbivorous insect. To verify these hypotheses we measured the wind tunnel response of the moth Argyresthia conjugella to the host plant rowan, to non-host plants taxonomically related (Rosaceae, apple and pear or unrelated to the host (Pinaceae, spruce and to binary combination of host and non-host plants. Volatiles were collected from all plant combinations and delivered to the test insect via an ultrasonic sprayer as an artificial plume. While the response to the rowan as a plant was not affected by the addition of any of the non-host plants, the attraction to the corresponding sprayed headspace decreased when pear or apple but not spruce were added to rowan. A similar result was measured toward the odor exiting a jar where freshly cut plant material of apple or pear or spruce was intermixed with rowan. Dose-response gas-chromatography coupled to electroantennography revealed the presence of seven field attractive and seven background non-attractive antennally active compounds. Although the abundance of field attractive and of some background volatiles decreased in all dual combinations in comparison with rowan alone, an increased amount of the background compounds (3E-4

The herbivore-induced plant volatile methyl salicylate negatively affects attraction of the parasitoid Diadegma semiclausum.

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Snoeren, Tjeerd A L; Mumm, Roland; Poelman, Erik H; Yang, Yue; Pichersky, Eran; Dicke, Marcel

2010-05-01

The indirect defense mechanisms of plants comprise the production of herbivore-induced plant volatiles that can attract natural enemies of plant attackers. One of the often emitted compounds after herbivory is methyl salicylate (MeSA). Here, we studied the importance of this caterpillar-induced compound in the attraction of the parasitoid wasp Diadegma semiclausum by using a mutant Arabidopsis line. Pieris rapae infested AtBSMT1-KO mutant Arabidopsis plants, compromised in the biosynthesis of MeSA, were more attractive to parasitoids than infested wild-type plants. This suggests that the presence of MeSA has negative effects on parasitoid host-finding behavior when exposed to wild-type production of herbivore-induced Arabidopsis volatiles. Furthermore, in line with this, we recorded a positive correlation between MeSA dose and repellence of D. semiclausum when supplementing the headspace of caterpillar-infested AtBSMT1-KO plants with synthetic MeSA.

Electroantennogram response and attraction of Anastrepha suspensa to volatiles of various sugar sources and aged sugar solutions

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With the aim of finding new, sugar-based volatile attractants for economically important tephritid fruit fly species, we used electroantennography (EAG) to quantify olfactory responses of female Caribbean fruit fly, Anastrepha suspensa (Loew), to volatiles of six different sugars (refined white and ...

Prey and non-prey arthropods sharing a host plant : Effects on induced volatile emission and predator attraction

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de Boer, Jetske G.; Hordijk, Cornelis A.; Posthumus, Maarten A.; Dicke, Marcel

It is well established that plants infested with a single herbivore species can attract specific natural enemies through the emission of herbivore-induced volatiles. However, it is less clear what happens when plants are simultaneously attacked by more than one species. We analyzed volatile

Herbivory induces systemic production of plant volatiles that attract predators of the herbivore: extraction of endogenous elicitor.

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Dicke, M.; Baarlen, van P.; Wessels, R.; Dijkman, H.

1993-01-01

It was previously shown that in response to infestation by spider mites (Tetranychus urticae), lima bean plants produce a volatile herbivoreinduced synomone that attracts phytoseiid mites (Phytoseiulus persimilis) that are predators of the spider mites. The production of predator-attracting

Plant strengtheners enhance parasitoid attraction to herbivore-damaged cotton via qualitative and quantitative changes in induced volatiles.

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Sobhy, Islam S; Erb, Matthias; Turlings, Ted C J

2015-05-01

Herbivore-damaged plants release a blend of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that differs from undamaged plants. These induced changes are known to attract the natural enemies of the herbivores and therefore are expected to be important determinants of the effectiveness of biological control in agriculture. One way of boosting this phenomenon is the application of plant strengtheners, which has been shown to enhance parasitoid attraction in maize. It is unclear whether this is also the case for other important crops. The plant strengtheners BTH [benzo (1,2,3) thiadiazole-7-carbothioic acid S-methyl ester] and laminarin were applied to cotton plants, and the effects on volatile releases and the attraction of three hymenopteran parasitoids, Cotesia marginiventris, Campoletis sonorensis and Microplitis rufiventris, were studied. After treated and untreated plants were induced by real or simulated caterpillar feeding, it was found that BTH treatment increased the attraction of the parasitoids, whereas laminarin had no significant effect. BTH treatment selectively increased the release of two homoterpenes and reduced the emission of indole, the latter of which had been shown to interfere with parasitoid attraction in earlier studies. Canonical variate analyses of the data show that the parasitoid responses were dependent on the quality rather than the quantity of volatile emission in this tritrophic interaction. Overall, these results strengthen the emerging paradigm that induction of plant defences with chemical elicitors such as BTH could provide a sustainable and environmentally friendly strategy for biological control of pests by enhancing the attractiveness of cultivated plants to natural enemies of insect herbivores. © 2014 Society of Chemical Industry.

A promising biotechnical approach to pest management of Diabrotica virgifera virgifera in Illinois maize fields under kairomonal shielding with the new MSD technique.

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Hummel, H E; Shaw, J T; Hein, D F

2005-01-01

Environmentally compatible and sustainable plant protection requires novel approaches to pest management characterized by minimal emphasis on toxicants. Classical toxicants traditionally dominated economic entomology for half a century. But worldwide problems with environmental pollution and with increasing resistance levels in all major pesticide classes and in many key insect species including Diabrotica virgifera virgifera (D.v.v.) strongly advocate a rethinking and a change in management paradigms used. Soft, minimally invasive, biological, biotechnical and cultural approaches should replace hard pesticides which are in favor up to now. Fortunately, pheromones, kairomones, plant attractants, better traps, new plant varieties and cultural methods like crop rotation, in short more sophisticated methods are now available as pressure for finding and exploring novel strategies increases. Facing this situation, a new biotechnical approach of population reduction of D.v.v., called "MSD" technique, is introduced. MSD is characterized as an approach combining mass trapping, shielding and deflecting of adult insects along an invisible odor barrier of synthetic kairomone which diminishes the flux of insects across a high capacity trap line baited with kairomone, thus reducing both the population fluctuation and number and its reproductive success within the shielded area. In the case of D.v.v. in Zea mays fields, effects realized by the MSD technique have been measured simultaneously by a number of independent criteria during the summers of 2003 and 2004 at 2 different locations in Illinois maize fields of up to one half hectare size. Results observed are statistically significant and cannot be explained by mass trapping alone. There is also an additional shielding and deflection, in short "diversion" effect whose basic sensory and behavioral mechanisms call for future exploration.

Prey and Non-prey Arthropods Sharing a Host Plant: Effects on Induced Volatile Emission and Predator Attraction

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Hordijk, Cornelis A.; Posthumus, Maarten A.; Dicke, Marcel

2008-01-01

It is well established that plants infested with a single herbivore species can attract specific natural enemies through the emission of herbivore-induced volatiles. However, it is less clear what happens when plants are simultaneously attacked by more than one species. We analyzed volatile emissions of lima bean and cucumber plants upon multi-species herbivory by spider mites (Tetranychus urticae) and caterpillars (Spodoptera exigua) in comparison to single-species herbivory. Upon herbivory by single or multiple species, lima bean and cucumber plants emitted volatile blends that comprised mostly the same compounds. To detect additive, synergistic, or antagonistic effects, we compared the multi-species herbivory volatile blend with the sum of the volatile blends induced by each of the herbivore species feeding alone. In lima bean, the majority of compounds were more strongly induced by multi-species herbivory than expected based on the sum of volatile emissions by each of the herbivores separately, potentially caused by synergistic effects. In contrast, in cucumber, two compounds were suppressed by multi-species herbivory, suggesting the potential for antagonistic effects. We also studied the behavioral responses of the predatory mite Phytoseiulus persimilis, a specialized natural enemy of spider mites. Olfactometer experiments showed that P. persimilis preferred volatiles induced by multi-species herbivory to volatiles induced by S. exigua alone or by prey mites alone. We conclude that both lima bean and cucumber plants effectively attract predatory mites upon multi-species herbivory, but the underlying mechanisms appear different between these species. PMID:18185960

Whitefly attraction to rosemary (Rosmarinus officinialis L. is associated with volatile composition and quantity.

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Dganit Sadeh

Full Text Available Whitefly (Bemisia tabaci is an important insect pest, causing severe damage to agricultural crops. The pest was recorded in a commercial rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis, Lamiaceae field, colonizing rosemary variety (var. '2', but not '11'. A series of field and controlled laboratory choice bioassays confirmed the observed phenomenon. Mature potted plants of the two varieties were randomly organized in a lemon verbena (Lippia citrodora and lemon grass (Cymbopogon spp. fields. Seven days later var. '2' was significantly more colonized by whiteflies than var. '11'. Under lab conditions, whiteflies were significantly more attracted to var. '2' plantlets than to var. '11' following choice bioassays. Furthermore, cotton plants dipped in an essential oil emulsion of var. '2' had significantly greater colonization than cotton plants dipped in the essential oil emulsion of var. '11'. Similar results were obtained in 'plant-plant', 'plant-no plant' as well as, 'essential oil-essential oil' choice bioassay designs. Analyses of the essential oils of the two varieties identified a set of common and unique volatiles in each variety. Among these volatiles were β-caryophyllene and limonene, two compounds known to be associated with plant-insect interactions. The attraction of B. tabaci to pure (>95% β-caryophyllene and limonene using a range of concentrations was examined in vitro by choice bioassays. The compounds were attractive to the insect at moderate concentration, but not at the lowest or highest concentrations used, where the insect was not attracted or repelled, respectively. Limonene attracted the insects at rates that were 10-fold lower than β-caryophyllene. The results emphasized the role of host plant volatiles in shaping the structure of B. tabaci populations in nature and in agricultural systems, and provided insights into the factors that contribute to the development of insect populations with unique characteristics. The results could also

Attraction of Tomicus yunnanensis (Coleoptera: Scolytidae to Yunnan Pine Logs with and without Periderm or Phloem: An Effective Monitoring Bait

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Rong Chun Lu

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The Yunnan pine shoot beetle, Tomicus yunnanensis Kirkendall and Faccoli (Coleoptera: Scolytinae is an important pest of Yunnan pine (Pinus yunnanensis Franch in China. Experiments with host log baits were done to develop a pest monitoring system using host tree kairomone. Five Yunnan pine logs (each 10–15 cm diam. × 30-cm long in a trap-log bundle were treated by peeling periderm (outer bark off to expose the phloem, and half of each log was covered with sticky adhesive to capture any attracted adult beetles. Significantly, more beetles were attracted and caught on the periderm-peeled logs (ca 30 beetles/m2 log surface/day than on untreated control logs with adhesive (ca 2.5/m2/day. No significant differences were observed between catches on logs taken from lower or upper halves of Yunnan pines. T. yunnanensis flies mostly during the afternoon according to trap catches throughout the day. Attraction to the periderm-peeled logs decreased considerably when they were peeled further to remove the phloem, indicating phloem volatiles play a role in selection of the host by the beetle. The readily-available log baits appear useful for monitoring pine shoot beetle populations in integrated pest management programs.

The effect of genetically enriched (E)-β-ocimene and the role of floral scent in the attraction of the predatory mite Phytoseiulus persimilis to spider mite-induced volatile blends of torenia.

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Shimoda, Takeshi; Nishihara, Masahiro; Ozawa, Rika; Takabayashi, Junji; Arimura, Gen-ichiro

2012-03-01

Plants under herbivore attack emit mixtures of volatiles (herbivore-induced plant volatiles, HIPVs) that can attract predators of the herbivores. Although the composition of HIPVs should be critical for the attraction, most studies of transgenic plant-emitted volatiles have simply addressed the effect of trans-volatiles without embedding in other endogenous plant volatiles. We investigated the abilities of transgenic wishbone flower plants (Torenia hybrida and Torenia fournieri) infested with spider mites, emitting a trans-volatile ((E)-β-ocimene) in the presence or absence of endogenous volatiles (natural HIPVs and/or floral volatiles), to attract predatory mites (Phytoseiulus persimilis). In both olfactory- and glasshouse-based assays, P. persimilis females were attracted to natural HIPVs from infested wildtype (wt) plants of T. hybrida but not to those of T. fournieri. The trans-volatile enhanced the ability to attract P. persimilis only when added to an active HIPV blend from the infested transgenic T. hybrida plants, in comparison with the attraction by infested wt plants. Intriguingly, floral volatiles abolished the enhanced attractive ability of T. hybrida transformants, although floral volatiles themselves did not elicit any attraction or avoidance behavior. Predator responses to trans-volatiles were found to depend on various background volatiles (e.g. natural HIPVs and floral volatiles) endogenously emitted by the transgenic plants. © 2012 The Authors. New Phytologist © 2012 New Phytologist Trust.

Attraction of Cerambycid Beetles to Their Aggregation-Sex Pheromones Is Influenced by Volatiles From Host Plants of Their Larvae.

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Wong, J C H; Zou, Y; Millar, J G; Hanks, L M

2017-06-01

Here, we describe a field experiment that tested for attraction of cerambycid beetles to odors from angiosperm hosts, and whether plant volatiles also serve to enhance attraction of beetles to their aggregation-sex pheromones. Traps were baited with a blend of synthesized chemicals that are common pheromone components of species in the subfamilies Cerambycinae and Lamiinae. The source of plant volatiles was chipped wood from trees of three angiosperm species, as well as from one nonhost, gymnosperm species. Bioassays were conducted in wooded areas of east-central Illinois. Traps were baited with the pheromone blend alone, the blend + wood chips from one tree species, wood chips alone, or a solvent control lure. Seven species of cerambycids were significantly attracted to the pheromone blend, with or without wood chips. In two cases, wood chips from angiosperms appeared to enhance attraction to pheromones, whereas they inhibited attraction in another three cases. Pine chips did not strongly influence attraction of any species. Overall, our results suggest that host plant volatiles from wood chips may improve trap catch with synthesized pheromones for some cerambycid species, but the effect is not general, necessitating case-by-case testing to determine how individual target species are affected. © The Authors 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Nocturnal herbivore-induced plant volatiles attract the generalist predatory earwig Doru luteipes Scudder

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Naranjo-Guevara, Natalia; Peñaflor, Maria Fernanda G. V.; Cabezas-Guerrero, Milton F.; Bento, José Maurício S.

2017-10-01

Numerous studies have demonstrated that entomophagous arthropods use herbivore-induced plant volatile (HIPV) blends to search for their prey or host. However, no study has yet focused on the response of nocturnal predators to volatile blends emitted by prey damaged plants. We investigated the olfactory behavioral responses of the night-active generalist predatory earwig Doru luteipes Scudder (Dermaptera: Forficulidae) to diurnal and nocturnal volatile blends emitted by maize plants ( Zea mays) attacked by either a stem borer ( Diatraea saccharalis) or a leaf-chewing caterpillar ( Spodoptera frugiperda), both suitable lepidopteran prey. Additionally, we examined whether the earwig preferred odors emitted from short- or long-term damaged maize. We first determined the earwig diel foraging rhythm and confirmed that D. luteipes is a nocturnal predator. Olfactometer assays showed that during the day, although the earwigs were walking actively, they did not discriminate the volatiles of undamaged maize plants from those of herbivore damaged maize plants. In contrast, at night, earwigs preferred volatiles emitted by maize plants attacked by D. saccharalis or S. frugiperda over undamaged plants and short- over long-term damaged maize. Our GC-MS analysis revealed that short-term damaged nocturnal plant volatile blends were comprised mainly of fatty acid derivatives (i.e., green leaf volatiles), while the long-term damaged plant volatile blend contained mostly terpenoids. We also observed distinct volatile blend composition emitted by maize damaged by the different caterpillars. Our results showed that D. luteipes innately uses nocturnal herbivore-induced plant volatiles to search for prey. Moreover, the attraction of the earwig to short-term damaged plants is likely mediated by fatty acid derivatives.

Orchids mimic green-leaf volatiles to attract prey-hunting wasps for pollination.

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Brodmann, Jennifer; Twele, Robert; Francke, Wittko; Hölzler, Gerald; Zhang, Qing-He; Ayasse, Manfred

2008-05-20

An outstanding feature of orchids is the diversity of their pollination systems [1]. Most remarkable are those species that employ chemical deceit for the attraction of pollinators [2]. The orchid Epipactis helleborine is a typical wasp flower, exhibiting physiological and morphological adaptations for the attraction of pollinating social wasps [3]. As noted by Darwin [1], this species is almost entirely overlooked by other potential pollinators, despite a large nectar reward. Therefore, the mechanism for the attraction of pollinating social wasps was something of a mystery. By using a combination of behavioral experiments, electrophysiological investigations, and chemical analyses, we demonstrate for the first time that the flowers of E. helleborine and E. purpurata emit green-leaf volatiles (GLVs), which are attractive to foragers of the social wasps Vespula germanica and V. vulgaris. GLVs, emitted by damaged plant tissues, are known to guide parasitic wasps to their hosts [4]. Several E. helleborine GLVs that induced response in the antennae of wasps were also emitted by cabbage leaves infested with caterpillars (Pieris brassicae), which are common prey items for wasps [5]. This is the first example in which GLVs have been implicated in chemical mimicry for the attraction of pollinating insects.

Attraction of Callosobruchus maculatus (F.) (Coleoptera: Bruchidae) to four varieties of Lathyrus sativus L. seed volatiles.

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Adhikary, P; Mukherjee, A; Barik, A

2015-04-01

Callosobruchus maculatus (F.) (Coleoptera: Bruchidae) is an important stored grain pest of Lathyrus sativus L. (Leguminosae), commonly known as khesari, in India, Bangladesh and Ethiopia. Volatiles were collected from four varieties, i.e., Bio L 212 Ratan, Nirmal B-1, WBK-14-7 and WBK-13-1 of uninfested khesari seeds, and subsequently identified and quantified by gas chromatography mass spectrometry and gas chromatography flame ionization detector analyses, respectively. A total of 23 volatiles were identified in the four varieties of khesari seeds. In Bio L 212 Ratan and WBK-13-1 seeds, nonanal was the most abundant followed by farnesyl acetone; whereas farnesyl acetone was predominant followed by nonanal in Nirmal B-1 and WBK-14-7 khesari seeds. The olfactory responses of female C. maculatus toward volatile blends from four varieties of khesari seeds, and individual synthetic compounds and their combinations were examined through Y-shaped glass tube olfactometer bioassays. Callosobruchus maculatus showed significant preference for the whole volatile blends from Bio L 212 Ratan seeds compared to whole volatile blends from other three varieties. The insect exhibited attraction to five individual synthetic compounds, 3-octanone, 3-octanol, linalool oxide, 1-octanol and nonanal. A synthetic blend of 448, 390, 1182, 659 and 8114 ng/20 μl methylene chloride of 3-octanone, 3-octanol, linalool oxide, 1-octanol and nonanal, respectively, was most attractive to C. maculatus, and this combination might be used for insect pest management program such as baited traps.

Using a kairomone-based attracting system to enhance biological control of mealybugs (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae by Anagyrus sp. near pseudococci (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae in Sicilian vineyards

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Ramzi Mansour

2010-11-01

Full Text Available The “potato trap” technique was applied for the fi rst time in Italian (Sicily vineyards in an attempt to assess: a the impact of the kairomonal activity of the vine mealybug sex pheromone (S-(+-lavandulyl senecioate (LS on the parasitism of mealybugs by the encyrtid Anagyrus sp. near pseudococci, b the influence of two commonly used insecticides on the parasitization activity of A. sp. near pseudococci towards mealybugs, and c the efficiency of the release of A. sp. near pseudococci in enhancing parasitism rates of mealybugs. The number of captured A. sp. near pseudococci females in LS baited traps was significantly higher than that in unbaited traps. The minimal number of days for the first parasitoid emergence in LS baited traps was almost 3 days earlier, compared to unbaited control, suggesting a faster host detection by the encyrtid when LS is applied. These findings resulted in a significant increase in parasitism of mealybugs by A. sp. near pseudococci in LS baited traps relative to unbaited traps suggesting that the LS is used by the encyrtid as kairomone to ensure greater potential for host searching activity. Insecticide treatments significantly affected parasitization activity of A. sp. near pseudococci on mealybugs when compared to an untreated control with parasitoid release. The buprofezin, chlorpyriphos-methyl and untreated control with no parasitoid release treatments had statistically similar numbers of emerged parasitoids from exposed mealybugs. The obtained results provide evidence that, in the absence of conventional insecticides applications, the use of the LS could be a promising tool to improve and strengthen biological control of mealybugs by A. sp. near pseudococci within Sicilian vineyard conditions.

The herbivore-induced plant volatile methyl salicylate negatively affects attraction of the parasitoid Diadegma semiclausum

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Snoeren, T.A.L.; Mumm, R.; Poelman, E.H.; Yang, Y.; Pichersky, E.; Dicke, M.

2010-01-01

The indirect defense mechanisms of plants comprise the production of herbivore-induced plant volatiles that can attract natural enemies of plant attackers. One of the often emitted compounds after herbivory is methyl salicylate (MeSA). Here, we studied the importance of this caterpillar-induced

Novel bioassay demonstrates attraction of the white potato cyst nematode Globodera pallida (Stone) to non-volatile and volatile host plant cues.

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Farnier, Kevin; Bengtsson, Marie; Becher, Paul G; Witzell, Johanna; Witzgall, Peter; Manduríc, Sanja

2012-06-01

Potato cyst nematodes (PCNs) are a major pest of solanaceous crops such as potatoes, tomatoes, and eggplants and have been widely studied over the last 30 years, with the majority of earlier studies focusing on the identification of natural hatching factors. As a novel approach, we focused instead on chemicals involved in nematode orientation towards its host plant. A new dual choice sand bioassay was designed to study nematode responses to potato root exudates (PRE). This bioassay, conducted together with a traditional hatching bioassay, showed that biologically active compounds that induce both hatching and attraction of PCNs can be collected by water extraction of incised potato roots. Furthermore, our results demonstrated that PCN also were attracted by potato root volatiles. Further work is needed to fully understand how PCNs use host plant chemical cues to orientate towards hosts. Nevertheless, the simple attraction assay used in this study provides an important tool for the identification of host-emitted attractants.

Variation in herbivory-induced volatiles among cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) varieties has consequences for the attraction of carnivorous natural enemies

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Kappers, I.F.; Hoogerbrugge, H.; Bouwmeester, H.J.; Dicke, M.

2011-01-01

In response to herbivory by arthropods, plants emit herbivory-induced volatiles that attract carnivorous enemies of the inducing herbivores. Here, we compared the attractiveness of eight cucumber varieties (Cucumis sativus L.) to Phytoseiulus persimilis predatory mites after infestation of the

Genetic variation in jasmonic acid- and spider mite-induced plant volatile emission of cucumber accessions and attraction of the predator Phytoseiulus persimilis.

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Kappers, Iris F; Verstappen, Francel W A; Luckerhoff, Ludo L P; Bouwmeester, Harro J; Dicke, Marcel

2010-05-01

Cucumber plants (Cucumis sativus L.) respond to spider-mite (Tetranychus urticae) damage with the release of specific volatiles that are exploited by predatory mites, the natural enemies of the spider mites, to locate their prey. The production of volatiles also can be induced by exposing plants to the plant hormone jasmonic acid. We analyzed volatile emissions from 15 cucumber accessions upon herbivory by spider mites and upon exposure to jasmonic acid using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Upon induction, cucumber plants emitted over 24 different compounds, and the blend of induced volatiles consisted predominantly of terpenoids. The total amount of volatiles was higher in plants treated with jasmonic acid than in those infested with spider mites, with (E)-4,8-dimethyl-1,3,7-nonatriene, (E,E)-alpha-farnesene, and (E)-beta-ocimene as the most abundant compounds in all accessions in both treatments. Significant variation among the accessions was found for the 24 major volatile compounds. The accessions differed strongly in total amount of volatiles emitted, and displayed very different odor profiles. Principal component analysis performed on the relative quantities of particular compounds within the blend revealed clusters of highly correlated volatiles, which is suggestive of common metabolic pathways. A number of cucumber accessions also were tested for their attractiveness to Phytoseiulus persimilis, a specialist predator of spider mites. Differences in the attraction of predatory mites by the various accessions correlated to differences in the individual chemical profiles of these accessions. The presence of genetic variation in induced plant volatile emission in cucumber shows that it is possible to breed for cucumber varieties that are more attractive to predatory mites and other biological control agents.

The Role of Leaf Volatiles of Ludwigia octovalvis (Jacq.) Raven in the Attraction of Altica cyanea (Weber) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae).

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Mitra, Saubhik; Karmakar, Amarnath; Mukherjee, Abhishek; Barik, Anandamay

2017-07-01

Larvae and adults of Altica cyanea (Weber) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) feed on the rice-field weed Ludwigia octovalvis (Jacq.) Raven (Onagraceae), commonly known as willow primrose, which is considered a biocontrol agent of the weed. Volatile organic compounds from undamaged plants, plants after 4, 12, and 36 h of continuous feeding by A. cyanea larvae or adult females and after mechanical damaging were identified by GC-MS and GC-FID analyses. Twenty nine compounds were identified from undamaged plants. 2Z-Penten-1-ol, geraniol, and 1-tridecanol were present in all plants damaged by larvae. In contrast, feeding by adults caused the release of 2Z-penten-1-ol only after 12 and 36 h; whereas geraniol and 1-tridecanol appeared only after 36 h. Farnesyl acetone was detected after 12 and 36 h of feeding by larvae and after 36 h of feeding by adults. Farnesene was detected after 36 h of feeding by larvae and adults. Linalool was unique after 36 h of feeding by larvae. In Y-shaped glass tube olfactometer bioassays, A. cyanea females were attracted to volatiles after 36 h of feeding by larvae or adults compared to volatiles released by undamaged plants. The insects were attracted to five synthetic compounds: 3-hexanol, α-pinene, linalool oxide, geraniol, and phytol. Synthetic blends were more attractive than individual compounds. Compared to undamaged plants, volatiles released by plants, damaged by conspecific individuals, were more attractive to A. cyanea females, due to elevated emissions of 3-hexanol, α-pinene, linalool oxide, geraniol, and phytol.

Herbivore-induced volatile production by Arabidopsis thaliana leads to attraction of the parasitoid Cotesia rubecula: chemical, behavioral, and gene-expression analysis

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Poecke, R.M.P.; Posthumus, M.A.; Dicke, M.

2001-01-01

Many plant species defend themselves against herbivorous insects indirectly by producing volatiles in response to herbivory. These volatiles attract carnivorous enemies of the herbivores. Research on the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh. has contributed considerably to the unraveling of

Non-pathogenic rhizobacteria interfere with the attraction of parasitoids to aphid-induced plant volatiles via jasmonic acid signalling.

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Pineda, Ana; Soler, Roxina; Weldegergis, Berhane T; Shimwela, Mpoki M; VAN Loon, Joop J A; Dicke, Marcel

2013-02-01

Beneficial soil-borne microbes, such as mycorrhizal fungi or rhizobacteria, can affect the interactions of plants with aboveground insects at several trophic levels. While the mechanisms of interactions with herbivorous insects, that is, the second trophic level, are starting to be understood, it remains unknown how plants mediate the interactions between soil microbes and carnivorous insects, that is, the third trophic level. Using Arabidopsis thaliana Col-0 and the aphid Myzus persicae, we evaluate here the underlying mechanisms involved in the plant-mediated interaction between the non-pathogenic rhizobacterium Pseudomonas fluorescens and the parasitoid Diaeretiella rapae, by combining ecological, chemical and molecular approaches. Rhizobacterial colonization modifies the composition of the blend of herbivore-induced plant volatiles. The volatile blend from rhizobacteria-treated aphid-infested plants is less attractive to an aphid parasitoid, in terms of both olfactory preference behaviour and oviposition, than the volatile blend from aphid-infested plants without rhizobacteria. Importantly, the effect of rhizobacteria on both the emission of herbivore-induced volatiles and parasitoid response to aphid-infested plants is lost in an Arabidopsis mutant (aos/dde2-2) that is impaired in jasmonic acid production. By modifying the blend of herbivore-induced plant volatiles that depend on the jasmonic acid-signalling pathway, root-colonizing microbes interfere with the attraction of parasitoids of leaf herbivores. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Attraction of Male Nymphs to Adult Male Volatiles in the Bronze Bug Thaumastocoris peregrinus Carpintero & Dellape (Heteroptera: Thaumastocoridae).

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Calvo, M V; Groba, H F; Martínez, G; Sellanes, C; Rossini, C; González, A

2017-12-23

The bronze bug, Thaumastocoris peregrinus Carpintero & Dellape (Heteroptera: Thaumastocoridae), is an exotic emerging pest in Eucalyptus commercial forests in South America, Africa and southern Europe. Information on the chemical communication system and reproductive ecology of this insect is scant, and it may be relevant for designing management strategies for eucalypt plantations. Adults and nymphs usually aggregate in the field, possibly by means of chemical signals. Males emit large amounts of 3-methyl-2-butenyl butyrate, which attracts conspecific adult males but not females. The ecological role of this putative male aggregation pheromone remains unknown. Here, we report olfactometer bioassays showing that late-instar male nymphs are also attracted to synthetic 3-methyl-2-butenyl butyrate and to adult male volatile extracts, which contain this compound as the major component. As previously shown for adult females, nymphs that moulted into females were not attracted to either volatile stimulus. The intra-gender attraction of nymphs and adults may be related to the exploitation of food resources, or as a reproductive strategy for newly emerged males. Further studies on the reproductive behaviour and mating system of T. peregrinus will contribute to understanding the ecological significance of male-male, adult-nymph attraction, as well as the practical applications that may result from these findings.

Effectiveness of synthetic versus natural human volatiles as attractants for Anopheles gambiae (Diptera: Culicidae) sensu stricto

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Smallegange, R.C.; Knols, B.G.J.; Takken, W.

2010-01-01

Females of the African malaria vector, Anopheles gambiae Giles sensu stricto, use human volatiles to find their blood-host. Previous work has shown that ammonia, lactic acid, and aliphatic carboxylic acids significantly affect host orientation and attraction of this species, In the current study,

Lima bean leaves exposed to herbivore-induced conspecific plant volatiles attract herbivores in addition to carnivores

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Horiuchi, J.I.; Arimura, G.I.; Ozawa, R.; Shimoda, T.; Dicke, M.; Takabayashi, J.; Nishioka, T.

2003-01-01

We tested the response of the herbivorous mite Tetranychus urticae to uninfested lima bean leaves exposed to herbivore-induced conspecific plant volatiles by using a Y-tube olfactometer. First, we confirmed that exposed uninfested leaves next to infested leaves were more attractive to carnivorous

Exposure of Lima bean leaves to volatiles from herbivore-induced conspecific plants results in emission of carnivore attractants: active or passive process?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Choh, Y.; Shimoda, T.; Ozawa, R.; Dicke, M.; Takabayashi, J.

2004-01-01

There is increasing evidence that volatiles emitted by herbivore-damaged plants can cause responses in downwind undamaged neighboring plants, such as the attraction of carnivorous enemies of herbivores. One of the open questions is whether this involves an active (production of volatiles) or passive

Novel synthetic compounds enhance the attractiveness of host-plant volatiles: An opportunity to boost detection and monitoring of Asian citrus psyllid?

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In the absence of pheromone attractants, host-plant volatiles offer the most likely means of improving capture levels of Asian citrus psyllid (ACP) with sticky cards and other types of visual traps. However, developing scent lures that can compete with the attractiveness of actual host-plants, espe...

Comparison of cultivars of ornamental crop Gerbera jamesonii on production of spider mite-induced volatiles, and their attractiveness to the predator Phytoseiulus persimilis.

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Krips, O E; Willems, P E; Gols, R; Posthumus, M A; Gort, G; Dicke, M

2001-07-01

We investigated whether volatiles produced by spider mite-damaged plants of four gerbera cultivars differ in attractiveness to Phytoseiulus persimilis, a specialist predator of spider mites, and how the mite-induced odor blends differ in chemical composition. The gerbera cultivars differed in resistance, as expressed in terms of spider mite intrinsic rate of population increase (rm). In order of increasing resistance these were Sirtaki, Rondena, Fame, and Bianca. To correct for differences in damage inflicted on the cultivars, we developed a method to compare the attractiveness of the blends, based on the assumption that a larger amount of spider mite damage leads to higher attraction of P persimilis. Spider mite-induced volatiles of cultivars Rondena and Bianca were preferred over those of cultivar Sirtaki. Spider mite-induced volatiles of cultivars Sirtaki and Fame did not differ in attractiveness to P. persimilis. Sirtaki plants had a lower relative production of terpenes than the other three cultivars. This was attributed to a low production of cis-alpha-bergamotene, trans-alpha-bergamotene, trans-beta-bergamotene, and (E)-beta-farnesene. The emission of (E)-beta-ocimene and linalool was lower in Sirtaki and Fame leaves than in Bianca and Rondena. The importance of these chemical differences in the differential attraction of predatory mites is discussed.

Plant pathogen-induced volatiles attract parasitoids to increase parasitism of an insect vector

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Xavier eMartini

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Interactions between plant pathogens and arthropods have been predominantly studied through the prism of herbivorous arthropods. Currently, little is known about the effect of plant pathogens on the third trophic level. This question is particularly interesting in cases where pathogens manipulate host phenotype to increase vector attraction and presumably increase their own proliferation. Indeed, a predator or a parasitoid of a vector may take advantage of this manipulated phenotype to increase its foraging performance. We explored the case of a bacterial pathogen, Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (Las, which modifies the odors released by its host plant (citrus trees to attract its vector, the psyllid Diaphorina citri. We found that the specialist parasitoid of D. citri, Tamarixia radiata, was attracted more toward Las-infected than uninfected plants. We demonstrated that this attractiveness was due to the release of methyl salicylate. Parasitization of D. citri nymphs on Las-infected plants was higher than on uninfected controls. Also, parasitization was higher on uninfected plants baited with methyl salicylate than on non-baited controls. This is the first report of a parasitoid ‘eavesdropping’ on a plant volatile induced by bacterial pathogen infection, which also increases effectiveness of host seeking behavior of its herbivorous vector.

Identification of host fruit volatiles from snowberry (Symphoricarpos albus), attractive to Rhagoletis zephyria flies from Western United States

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Gas chromatography coupled with electroantennogram detection (GC-EAD) was used to identify volatiles from the fruit of Snowberry, Symphoricarpos albus laevigatus, as key attractants for Rhagoletis zephyria flies reared from snowberry fruit. A nine-component blend containing 3-methylbutan-1-ol (3%), ...

Flight attraction of Spodoptera littoralis (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae to cotton headspace and synthetic volatile blends

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Felipe eBorrero-Echeverry

2015-06-01

Full Text Available The insect olfactory system discriminates odor signals of different biological relevance, which drive innate behavior. Identification of stimuli that trigger upwind flight attraction towards host plants is a current challenge, and is essential in developing new, sustainable plant protection methods, and for furthering our understanding of plant-insect interactions. Using behavioral, analytical and electrophysiological studies, we here show that both females and males of the Egyptian cotton leafworm, Spodoptera littoralis (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae, use blends of volatile compounds to locate their host plant, cotton, Gossypium hirsutum (Malvales, Malvaceae. Female S. littoralis were engaged in upwind orientation flight in a wind tunnel when headspace collected from cotton plants was delivered through a piezoelectric sprayer. Although males took off towards cotton headspace significantly fewer males than females flew upwind towards the sprayed headspace. Subsequent assays with antennally active synthetic compounds revealed that a blend of nonanal, (Z-3 hexenyl acetate, (E-β-ocimene, and (R-(+-limonene was as attractive as cotton headspace to females and more attractive to males. DMNT and (R-(--linalool, both known plant defense compounds may have reduced the flight attraction of both females and males; more moths were attracted to blends without these two compounds. Our findings provide a platform for further investigations on host plant signals mediating innate behavior, and for the development of novel insect plant protection strategies against S. littoralis.

Influence of trap color and host volatiles on capture of the emerald ash borer (Coleoptera: Buprestidae).

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Crook, Damon J; Khrimian, Ashot; Cossé, Allard; Fraser, Ivich; Mastro, Victor C

2012-04-01

Field trapping assays were conducted in 2009 and 2010 throughout western Michigan, to evaluate lures for adult emerald ash borer, A. planipennis Fairmaire (Coleoptera: Buprestidae). Several ash tree volatiles were tested on purple prism traps in 2009, and a dark green prism trap in 2010. In 2009, six bark oil distillate lure treatments were tested against manuka oil lures (used in 2008 by USDA APHIS PPQ emerald ash borer cooperative program). Purple traps baited with 80/20 (manuka/phoebe oil) significantly increased beetle catch compared with traps baited with manuka oil alone. In 2010 we monitored emerald ash borer attraction to dark green traps baited with six lure combinations of 80/20 (manuka/phoebe), manuka oil, and (3Z)-hexenol. Traps baited with manuka oil and (3Z)-hexenol caught significantly more male and total count insects than traps baited with manuka oil alone. Traps baited with manuka oil and (3Z)-hexenol did not catch more beetles when compared with traps baited with (3Z)-hexenol alone. When compared with unbaited green traps our results show that (3Z)-hexenol improved male catch significantly in only one of three field experiments using dark green traps. Dark green traps caught a high number of A. planipennis when unbaited while (3Z)-hexenol was seen to have a minimal (nonsignificant) trap catch effect at several different release rates. We hypothesize that the previously reported kairomonal attractancy of (3Z)-hexenol (for males) on light green traps is not as obvious here because of improved male attractancy to the darker green trap.

Volatiles released from Vaccinium corymbosum were attractive to Aegorhinus superciliosus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) in an olfactometric bioassay.

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Parra, Leonardo; Mutis, Ana; Ceballos, Ricardo; Lizama, Marcelo; Pardo, Fernando; Perich, Fernando; Quiroz, Andrés

2009-06-01

The objective of this study was to evaluate the role of host volatiles in the relationship between a blueberry plant Vaccinium corymbosum L. and the raspberry weevil Aegorhinus superciliosus (Guérin) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), the principal pest of blueberry in the south of Chile. Volatiles from the aerial part of different phenological stages of the host were collected on Porapak Q and analyzed by coupled gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Several chemical groups were identified including green leaf volatiles, aromatic compounds, and terpenes. The olfactometric responses of A. superciliosus toward different odor sources were studied in a four-arm olfactometer. Blueberry shoots at the phenological stages of fruit set, and blue-pink fruit color elicited the greatest behavioral responses from weevils. Five compounds (2-nonanone, eucalyptol, R- and S-limonene, and 4-ethyl benzaldehyde) elicited an attractant behavioral response from A. superciliosus. The results suggest the host location behavior of A. superciliosus could be mediated by volatiles derived from V. corymbosum. This work has identified a number of compounds with which it is possible to develop a lure for the principal pest of blueberry in southern Chile.

Lack of spatial segregation in the representation of pheromones and kairomones in the mouse medial amygdala.

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Vinicius Miessler de Andrade Carvalho

2015-08-01

Full Text Available The nervous system is organized to detect, internally represent and process sensory information to generate appropriate behaviors. Despite the crucial importance of odors that elicit instinctive behaviors, such as pheromones and kairomones, their neural representation remains little characterized in the mammalian brain. Here we used expression of the immediate early gene product c-Fos as a marker of neuronal activity to find that a wide range of pheromones and kairomones produces activation in the medial nucleus of the amygdala, a brain area anatomically connected with the olfactory sensory organs. We see that activity in this nucleus depends on vomeronasal organ input, and that distinct vomeronasal stimuli activate a dispersed ensemble of cells, without any apparent spatial segregation. This activity pattern does not reflect the chemical category of the stimuli, their valence or the induced behaviors. These findings will help build a complete understanding of how odor information is processed in the brain to generate instinctive behaviors.

Induced release of a plant-defense volatile 'deceptively' attracts insect vectors to plants infected with a bacterial pathogen.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rajinder S Mann

Full Text Available Transmission of plant pathogens by insect vectors is a complex biological process involving interactions between the plant, insect, and pathogen. Pathogen-induced plant responses can include changes in volatile and nonvolatile secondary metabolites as well as major plant nutrients. Experiments were conducted to understand how a plant pathogenic bacterium, Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (Las, affects host preference behavior of its psyllid (Diaphorina citri Kuwayama vector. D. citri were attracted to volatiles from pathogen-infected plants more than to those from non-infected counterparts. Las-infected plants were more attractive to D. citri adults than non-infected plants initially; however after feeding, psyllids subsequently dispersed to non-infected rather than infected plants as their preferred settling point. Experiments with Las-infected and non-infected plants under complete darkness yielded similar results to those recorded under light. The behavior of psyllids in response to infected versus non-infected plants was not influenced by whether or not they were carriers of the pathogen. Quantification of volatile release from non-infected and infected plants supported the hypothesis that odorants mediate psyllid preference. Significantly more methyl salicylate, yet less methyl anthranilate and D-limonene, was released by infected than non-infected plants. Methyl salicylate was attractive to psyllids, while methyl anthranilate did not affect their behavior. Feeding on citrus by D. citri adults also induced release of methyl salicylate, suggesting that it may be a cue revealing location of conspecifics on host plants. Infected plants were characterized by lower levels of nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur, zinc, and iron, as well as, higher levels of potassium and boron than non-infected plants. Collectively, our results suggest that host selection behavior of D. citri may be modified by bacterial infection of plants, which alters release of

Specific attraction of fig-pollinating wasps: role of volatile compounds released by tropical figs.

Science.gov (United States)

Grison-Pigé, Laure; Bessière, Jean-Marie; Hossaert-McKey, Martine

2002-02-01

Floral scents often act as pollinator attractants. In the case of obligate and specific plant-pollinator relationships, the role of floral signals may be crucial in allowing the encounter of the partners. About 750 Ficus species (Moraceae) are involved in such interactions, each with a distinct species of pollinating wasp (Chalcidoidea, Agaonidae). Several species have been shown to release volatile compounds, but their role in pollinator attraction has rarely been simultaneously tested. We investigated the floral scents of four tropical fig species and combined chemical analysis with biological tests of stimulation of insects. Pollinators of three species were stimulated by the odor of their associated fig species and generally not by the odor of another species. The fourth actually comprised two distinct varieties. The main compound was often a different one in each species. Floral blends of different species always shared compounds, but ratios of these compounds varied among species.

Induced Release of a Plant-Defense Volatile ‘Deceptively’ Attracts Insect Vectors to Plants Infected with a Bacterial Pathogen

Science.gov (United States)

Mann, Rajinder S.; Ali, Jared G.; Hermann, Sara L.; Tiwari, Siddharth; Pelz-Stelinski, Kirsten S.; Alborn, Hans T.; Stelinski, Lukasz L.

2012-01-01

Transmission of plant pathogens by insect vectors is a complex biological process involving interactions between the plant, insect, and pathogen. Pathogen-induced plant responses can include changes in volatile and nonvolatile secondary metabolites as well as major plant nutrients. Experiments were conducted to understand how a plant pathogenic bacterium, Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (Las), affects host preference behavior of its psyllid (Diaphorina citri Kuwayama) vector. D. citri were attracted to volatiles from pathogen-infected plants more than to those from non-infected counterparts. Las-infected plants were more attractive to D. citri adults than non-infected plants initially; however after feeding, psyllids subsequently dispersed to non-infected rather than infected plants as their preferred settling point. Experiments with Las-infected and non-infected plants under complete darkness yielded similar results to those recorded under light. The behavior of psyllids in response to infected versus non-infected plants was not influenced by whether or not they were carriers of the pathogen. Quantification of volatile release from non-infected and infected plants supported the hypothesis that odorants mediate psyllid preference. Significantly more methyl salicylate, yet less methyl anthranilate and D-limonene, was released by infected than non-infected plants. Methyl salicylate was attractive to psyllids, while methyl anthranilate did not affect their behavior. Feeding on citrus by D. citri adults also induced release of methyl salicylate, suggesting that it may be a cue revealing location of conspecifics on host plants. Infected plants were characterized by lower levels of nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur, zinc, and iron, as well as, higher levels of potassium and boron than non-infected plants. Collectively, our results suggest that host selection behavior of D. citri may be modified by bacterial infection of plants, which alters release of specific headspace

Social attraction mediated by fruit flies' microbiome.

Science.gov (United States)

Venu, Isvarya; Durisko, Zachary; Xu, Jianping; Dukas, Reuven

2014-04-15

Larval and adult fruit flies are attracted to volatiles emanating from food substrates that have been occupied by larvae. We tested whether such volatiles are emitted by the larval gut bacteria by conducting tests under bacteria-free (axenic) conditions. We also tested attraction to two bacteria species, Lactobacillus brevis, which we cultured from larvae in our lab, and L. plantarum, a common constituent of fruit flies' microbiome in other laboratory populations and in wild fruit flies. Neither larvae nor adults showed attraction to axenic food that had been occupied by axenic larvae, but both showed the previously reported attraction to standard food that had been occupied by larvae with an intact microbiome. Larvae also showed significant attraction to volatiles from axenic food and larvae to which we added only either L. brevis or L. plantarum, and volatiles from L. brevis reared on its optimal growth medium. Controlled learning experiments indicated that larvae experienced with both standard and axenic used food do not perceive either as superior, while focal larvae experienced with simulated used food, which contains burrows, perceive it as superior to unused food. Our results suggest that flies rely on microbiome-derived volatiles for long-distance attraction to suitable food patches. Under natural settings, fruits often contain harmful fungi and bacteria, and both L. brevis and L. plantarum produce compounds that suppress the growth of some antagonistic fungi and bacteria. The larval microbiome volatiles may therefore lead prospective fruit flies towards substrates with a hospitable microbial environment.

Volatile communication in plant-aphid interactions.

Science.gov (United States)

de Vos, Martin; Jander, Georg

2010-08-01

Volatile communication plays an important role in mediating the interactions between plants, aphids, and other organisms in the environment. In response to aphid infestation, many plants initiate indirect defenses through the release of volatiles that attract ladybugs, parasitoid wasps, and other aphid-consuming predators. Aphid-induced volatile release in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana requires the jasmonate signaling pathway. Volatile release is also induced by infection with aphid-transmitted viruses. Consistent with mathematical models of optimal transmission, viruses that are acquired rapidly by aphids induce volatile release to attract migratory aphids, but discourage long-term aphid feeding. Although the ecology of these interactions is well-studied, further research is needed to identify the molecular basis of aphid-induced and virus-induced changes in plant volatile release. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Avoidance and contextual learning induced by a kairomone, a pheromone and a common odorant in female CD1 mice.

Science.gov (United States)

Fortes-Marco, Lluís; Lanuza, Enrique; Martínez-García, Fernando; Agustín-Pavón, Carmen

2015-01-01

Chemosignals mediate both intra- and inter-specific communication in most mammals. Pheromones elicit stereotyped reactions in conspecifics, whereas kairomones provoke a reaction in an allospecific animal. For instance, predator kairomones elicit anticipated defensive responses in preys. The aim of this work was to test the behavioral responses of female mice to two chemosignals: 2-heptanone (2-HP), a putative alarm pheromone, and 2,4,5-trimethylthiazoline (TMT), a fox-derived putative kairomone, widely used to investigate fear and anxiety in rodents. The banana-like odorant isoamyl acetate (IA), unlikely to act as a chemosignal, served as a control odorant. We first presented increasing amounts of these odorants in consecutive days, in a test box in which mice could explore or avoid them. Female mice avoided the highest amounts of all three compounds, with TMT and IA eliciting avoidance at lower amounts (3.8 pmol and 0.35 μmol, respectively) than 2-HP (35 μmol). All three compounds induced minimal effects in global locomotion and immobility in this set up. Further, mice detected 3.5 pmol of TMT and IA in a habituation-dishabituation test, so avoidance of IA started well beyond the detection threshold. Finally, both TMT and IA, but not 2-HP, induced conditioned place avoidance and increased immobility in the neutral compartment during a contextual memory test. These data suggest that intense odors can induce contextual learning irrespective of their putative biological significance. Our results support that synthetic predator-related compounds (like TMT) or other intense odorants are useful to investigate the neurobiological basis of emotional behaviors in rodents. Since intense odorants unlikely to act as chemosignals can elicit similar behavioral reactions than chemosignals, we stress the importance of using behavioral measures in combination with other physiological (e.g., hormonal levels) or neural measures (e.g., immediate early gene expression) to establish

Heritability of attractiveness to mosquitoes.

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G Mandela Fernández-Grandon

Full Text Available Female mosquitoes display preferences for certain individuals over others, which is determined by differences in volatile chemicals produced by the human body and detected by mosquitoes. Body odour can be controlled genetically but the existence of a genetic basis for differential attraction to insects has never been formally demonstrated. This study investigated heritability of attractiveness to mosquitoes by evaluating the response of Aedes aegypti (=Stegomyia aegypti mosquitoes to odours from the hands of identical and non-identical twins in a dual-choice assay. Volatiles from individuals in an identical twin pair showed a high correlation in attractiveness to mosquitoes, while non-identical twin pairs showed a significantly lower correlation. Overall, there was a strong narrow-sense heritability of 0.62 (SE 0.124 for relative attraction and 0.67 (0.354 for flight activity based on the average of ten measurements. The results demonstrate an underlying genetic component detectable by mosquitoes through olfaction. Understanding the genetic basis for attractiveness could create a more informed approach to repellent development.

Cultured skin microbiota attracts malaria mosquitoes

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Takken Willem

2009-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Host-seeking of the African malaria mosquito, Anopheles gambiae sensu stricto, is guided by human odours. The precise nature of the odours, and the composition of attractive blends of volatiles, remains largely unknown. Skin microbiota plays an important role in the production of human body odours. It is hypothesized that host attractiveness and selection of An. gambiae is affected by the species composition, density, and metabolic activity of the skin microbiota. A study is presented in which the production and constituency of volatile organic compounds (VOCs by human skin microbiota is examined and the behavioural responses of An. gambiae to VOCs from skin microbiota are investigated. Methods Blood agar plates incubated with skin microbiota from human feet or with a reference strain of Staphylococcus epidermidis were tested for their attractiveness to An. gambiae in olfactometer bioassays and indoor trapping experiments. Entrained air collected from blood agar plates incubated with natural skin microbiota or with S. epidermidis were analysed using GC-MS. A synthetic blend of the compounds identified was tested for its attractiveness to An. gambiae. Behavioural data were analysed by a χ2-test and GLM. GC-MS results were analysed by fitting an exponential regression line to test the effect of the concentration of bacteria. Results More An. gambiae were caught with blood agar plates incubated with skin bacteria than with sterile blood agar plates, with a significant effect of incubation time and dilution of the skin microbiota. When bacteria from the feet of four other volunteers were tested, similar effects were found. Fourteen putative attractants were found in the headspace of the skin bacteria. A synthetic blend of 10 of these was attractive to An. gambiae. Conclusions The discovery that volatiles produced by human skin microorganisms in vitro mediate An. gambiae host-seeking behaviour creates new opportunities for the

Olfactory attraction of Drosophila suzukii by symbiotic acetic acid bacteria

KAUST Repository

Mazzetto, Fabio

2016-03-24

Some species of acetic acid bacteria (AAB) play relevant roles in the metabolism and physiology of Drosophila spp. and in some cases convey benefits to their hosts. The pest Drosophila suzukii harbors a set of AAB similar to those of other Drosophila species. Here, we investigate the potential to exploit the ability of AAB to produce volatile substances that attract female D. suzukii. Using a two-way olfactometer bioassay, we investigate the preference of D. suzukii for strains of AAB, and using solid-phase microextraction gas chromatography–mass spectrometry we specifically characterize their volatile profiles to identify attractive and non-attractive components produced by strains from the genera Acetobacter, Gluconobacter, and Komagataeibacter. Flies had a preference for one strain of Komagataeibacter and two strains of Gluconobacter. Analyses of the volatile profiles from the preferred Gluconobacter isolates found that acetic acid is distinctively emitted even after 2 days of bacterial growth, confirming the relevance of this volatile in the profile of this isolate for attracting flies. Analyses of the volatile profile from the preferred Komagataeibacter isolate showed that a different volatile in its profile could be responsible for attracting D. suzukii. Moreover, variation in the concentration of butyric acid derivatives found in some strains may influence the preference of D. suzukii. Our results indicate that Gluconobacter and Komagataeibacter strains isolated from D. suzukii have the potential to provide substances that could be exploited to develop sustainable mass-trapping-based control approaches. © 2016 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

Olfactory attraction of Drosophila suzukii by symbiotic acetic acid bacteria

KAUST Repository

Mazzetto, Fabio; Gonella, Elena; Crotti, Elena; Vacchini, Violetta; Syrpas, Michail; Pontini, Marianna; Mangelinckx, Sven; Daffonchio, Daniele; Alma, Alberto

2016-01-01

Some species of acetic acid bacteria (AAB) play relevant roles in the metabolism and physiology of Drosophila spp. and in some cases convey benefits to their hosts. The pest Drosophila suzukii harbors a set of AAB similar to those of other Drosophila species. Here, we investigate the potential to exploit the ability of AAB to produce volatile substances that attract female D. suzukii. Using a two-way olfactometer bioassay, we investigate the preference of D. suzukii for strains of AAB, and using solid-phase microextraction gas chromatography–mass spectrometry we specifically characterize their volatile profiles to identify attractive and non-attractive components produced by strains from the genera Acetobacter, Gluconobacter, and Komagataeibacter. Flies had a preference for one strain of Komagataeibacter and two strains of Gluconobacter. Analyses of the volatile profiles from the preferred Gluconobacter isolates found that acetic acid is distinctively emitted even after 2 days of bacterial growth, confirming the relevance of this volatile in the profile of this isolate for attracting flies. Analyses of the volatile profile from the preferred Komagataeibacter isolate showed that a different volatile in its profile could be responsible for attracting D. suzukii. Moreover, variation in the concentration of butyric acid derivatives found in some strains may influence the preference of D. suzukii. Our results indicate that Gluconobacter and Komagataeibacter strains isolated from D. suzukii have the potential to provide substances that could be exploited to develop sustainable mass-trapping-based control approaches. © 2016 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

Priming of cowpea volatile emissions with defense inducers enhances the plant's attractiveness to parasitoids when attacked by caterpillars.

Science.gov (United States)

Sobhy, Islam S; Bruce, Toby Ja; Turlings, Ted Cj

2018-04-01

The manipulation of herbivore-induced volatile organic compounds (HI-VOCs) via the application of the inducers benzo(1,2,3)thiadiazole-7-carbothioic acid S-methyl ester (BTH) and laminarin (β-1,3-glucan) is known to enhance the attractiveness of caterpillar-damaged cotton and maize plants to parasitoids. To test if this is also the case for legumes, we treated cowpea (Vigna unguiculata var. unguiculata) with these inducers and studied the effects on HI-VOC emissions and the attraction of three generalist endoparasitoids. After the inducers had been applied and the plants subjected to either real or mimicked herbivory by Spodoptera littoralis caterpillars, females of the parasitoids Campoletis sonorensis and Microplitis rufiventris showed a strong preference for BTH-treated plants, whereas Cotesia females were strongly attracted to both BTH- and laminarin-treated plants with real or mimicked herbivory. Treated plants emitted more of certain HI-VOCs, but considerably less indole and linalool and less of several sesquiterpenes. Multivariate data analysis revealed that enhanced wasp attraction after treatment was correlated with high relative concentrations of nonanal, α-pinene, (E)-β-ocimene and (E)-4,8-dimethyl-1,3,7-nonatriene (DMNT), and with low relative concentrations of indole, (S)-linalool and (E)-β-farnesene. Inducer treatments had no significant effect on leaf consumption by the caterpillars. Our findings confirm that treating cowpea plants with inducers can enhance their attractiveness to biological control agents. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.

Advances in Attract-and-Kill for Agricultural Pests: Beyond Pheromones.

Science.gov (United States)

Gregg, Peter C; Del Socorro, Alice P; Landolt, Peter J

2018-01-07

Attract-and-kill has considerable potential as a tactic in integrated management of pests of agricultural crops, but the use of sex pheromones as attractants is limited by male multiple mating and immigration of mated females into treated areas. Attractants for both sexes, and particularly females, would minimize these difficulties. Volatile compounds derived from plants or fermentation of plant products can attract females and have been used in traps for monitoring and control, and in sprayable attract-and-kill formulations or bait stations. Recent advances in fundamental understanding of insect responses to plant volatiles should contribute to the development of products that can help manage a wide range of pests with few impacts on nontarget organisms, but theory must be tempered with pragmatism in the selection of volatiles and toxicants and in defining their roles in formulations. Market requirements and regulatory factors must be considered in parallel with scientific constraints if successful products are to be developed.

Differences in Induced Volatile Emissions among Rice Varieties Result in Differential Attraction and Parasitism of Nilaparvata lugens Eggs by the Parasitoid Anagrus nilaparvatae in the Field

OpenAIRE

Lou , Yong-Gen; Hua, Xiaoyan; Turlings, Ted C. J.; Cheng, Jiaan; Chen, Xuexin; Ye, Gongyin

2007-01-01

We compared the volatiles of JA-treated plants of six rice varieties and then determined, in the laboratory and field, if they differed in attractiveness to Anagrus nilaparavate Pand et Wang, an egg parasitoid of rice planthoppers. Analyses of volatiles revealed significant differences among varieties, both in total quantity and quality of the blends emitted. On the basis of these differences, the six varieties could be roughly divided into three groups. In a Y-tube olfactometer, female wasps...

Avoidance and contextual learning induced by a kairomone, a pheromone and a common odorant in female CD1 mice

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lluís eFortes-Marco

2015-10-01

Full Text Available Chemosignals mediate both intra- and inter-specific communication in most mammals. Pheromones elicit stereotyped reactions in conspecifics, whereas kairomones provoke a reaction in an allospecific animal. For instance, predator kairomones elicit anticipated defensive responses in preys. The aim of this work was to test the behavioral responses of female mice to two chemosignals: 2-heptanone (2-HP, a putative alarm pheromone, and 2,4,5-trimethylthiazoline (TMT, a fox-derived putative kairomone, widely used to investigate fear and anxiety in rodents. The banana-like odorant isoamyl acetate (IA, unlikely to act as a chemosignal, served as a control odorant. We first presented increasing amounts of these odorants in consecutive days, in a test box in which mice could explore or avoid them. Female mice avoided the highest amounts of all three compounds, with TMT and IA eliciting avoidance at lower amounts (3.8 pmol and 0.35 μmol, respectively than 2-HP (35 μmol. All three compounds induced minimal effects in global locomotion and immobility in this set up. Further, mice detected 3.5 pmol of TMT and IA in a habituation-dishabituation test, so avoidance of IA started well beyond the detection threshold. Finally, both TMT and IA, but not 2-HP, induced conditioned place avoidance and increased immobility in the neutral compartment during a contextual memory test. These data suggest that intense odors can induce contextual learning irrespective of their putative biological significance. Our results support that synthetic predator-related compounds (like TMT or other intense odorants are useful to investigate the neurobiological basis of emotional behaviors in rodents. Since intense odorants unlikely to act as chemosignals can elicit similar behavioral reactions than chemosignals, we stress the importance of using behavioral measures in combination with other physiological (e.g. hormonal levels or neural measures (e.g. immediate early gene expression to

Volatile emissions from an epiphytic fungus are semiochemicals for eusocial wasps.

Science.gov (United States)

Davis, Thomas Seth; Boundy-Mills, Kyria; Landolt, Peter J

2012-11-01

Microbes are ubiquitous on plant surfaces. However, interactions between epiphytic microbes and arthropods are rarely considered as a factor that affects arthropod behaviors. Here, volatile emissions from an epiphytic fungus were investigated as semiochemical attractants for two eusocial wasps. The fungus Aureobasidium pullulans was isolated from apples, and the volatile compounds emitted by fungal colonies were quantified. The attractiveness of fungal colonies and fungal volatiles to social wasps (Vespula spp.) were experimentally tested in the field. Three important findings emerged: (1) traps baited with A. pullulans caught 2750 % more wasps on average than unbaited control traps; (2) the major headspace volatiles emitted by A. pullulans were 2-methyl-1-butanol, 3-methyl-1-butanol, and 2-phenylethyl alcohol; and (3) a synthetic blend of fungal volatiles attracted 4,933 % more wasps on average than unbaited controls. Wasps were most attracted to 2-methyl-1-butanol. The primary wasp species attracted to fungal volatiles were the western yellowjacket (Vespula pensylvanica) and the German yellowjacket (V. germanica), and both species externally vectored A. pullulans. This is the first study to link microbial volatile emissions with eusocial wasp behaviors, and these experiments indicate that volatile compounds emitted by an epiphytic fungus can be responsible for wasp attraction. This work implicates epiphytic microbes as important components in the community ecology of some eusocial hymenopterans, and fungal emissions may signal suitable nutrient sources to foraging wasps. Our experiments are suggestive of a potential symbiosis, but additional studies are needed to determine if eusocial wasp-fungal associations are widespread, and whether these associations are incidental, facultative, or obligate.

High Level of Nitrogen Makes Tomato Plants Releasing Less Volatiles and Attracting More Bemisia tabaci (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae)

Science.gov (United States)

Islam, Md. Nazrul; Hasanuzzaman, Abu Tayeb Mohammad; Zhang, Zhan-Feng; Zhang, Yi; Liu, Tong-Xian

2017-01-01

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) production is seriously hampered by the infestation of the sweetpotato whitefly, Bemisia tabaci MEAM 1 (Middle East-Asia Minor 1). The infestation behavior of the whiteflies could be affected by the quantity of plant released volatile organic compounds (VOCs) related to nitrogen concentrations of the plant. In this study, we determined the infestation behavior of B. tabaci to the tomato plants that produced different levels of VOCs after application of different levels of nitrogen with a wind tunnel and an olfactometer. We also analyzed the VOCs released from nitrogen-treated tomato plants using solid phase microextraction and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The results revealed that the production of eight VOCs (β-pinene, (+)-4-carene, α-terpinene, p-cymene, β-phellandrene, α-copaene, β-caryophyllene, and α-humulene) was reduced after the plants were treated with high levels of nitrogen. However, more whiteflies were attracted to the tomato plants treated with high levels of nitrogen than to the plants treated with normal or below normal levels of nitrogen. These results clearly indicated that nitrogen can change the quality and quantity of tomato plant volatile chemicals, which play important roles in B. tabaci host plant selection. PMID:28408917

Combining 1,4-dimethoxybenzene, the major flower volatile of wild strawberry Fragaria vesca, with the aggregation pheromone of the strawberry blossom weevil Anthonomus rubi improves attraction

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wibe, Atle; Borg-Karlson, Anna Karin; Cross, Jerry

2014-01-01

The aggregation pheromone of strawberry blossom weevil [Anthonomus rubi Herbst (Col.: Curculionidae)], a 1:4:1 blend of Grandlure I, II and racemic lavadulol, has been available for pest monitoring for several years but shows low attractancy. Attempts to control A.rubi using the pheromone alone...... were also unsuccessful. This paper reports the finding that addition of the major flower volatile from wild strawberry flowers [Fragaria vesca L. (Rosaceae)], 1,4-dimethoxybenzene (comprising 98% of the volatiles emitted from wild strawberry flowers), to the aggregation pheromone increased trap catches...... pest of strawberry....

Female-biased attraction of Oriental fruit fly, bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel), to a blend of host fruit volatiles from Terminalia catappa L.

Science.gov (United States)

Siderhurst, Matthew S; Jang, Eric B

2006-11-01

Coupled gas chromatography-electroantennogram detection (GC-EAD) analysis of volatiles from tropical almond fruit, Terminalia catappa L., revealed 22 compounds that were detected by antennae of oriental fruit fly females, Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel). Both solid-phase microextraction (SPME) and Porapak Q were used for sampling odors in fruit headspace, with SPME collections producing larger EAD responses from a greater number of compounds. Geranyl acetate and methyl eugenol elicited the largest EAD responses. A synthetic blend containing SPME collected, EAD stimulatory compounds showed female-biased attraction in laboratory wind tunnel bioassays, but heavily male-biased trap captures in a larger olfactometer arena. A nine-component subset of compounds eliciting relatively small EAD responses (EAD minor) and consisting of equal parts ethanol, ethyl acetate, ethyl hexanoate, hexyl acetate, linalyl acetate, ethyl nonanate, nonyl acetate, ethyl cinnamate, and (E)-beta-farnesene, attracted mainly females. This EAD minor blend was as attractive to females and much less attractive to males when compared to torula yeast in field cage experiments using glass McPhail traps. Similar results were obtained with outdoor rotating olfactometer tests in which the EAD minor blend was almost completely inactive for males.

Genetic variation in plant volatile emission does not result in differential attraction of natural enemies in the field.

Science.gov (United States)

Wason, Elizabeth L; Hunter, Mark D

2014-02-01

Volatile organic chemical (VOC) emission by plants may serve as an adaptive plant defense by attracting the natural enemies of herbivores. For plant VOC emission to evolve as an adaptive defense, plants must show genetic variability for the trait. To date, such variability has been investigated primarily in agricultural systems, yet relatively little is known about genetic variation in VOCs emitted by natural populations of native plants. Here, we investigate intraspecific variation in constitutive and herbivore-induced plant VOC emission using the native common milkweed plant (Asclepias syriaca) and its monarch caterpillar herbivore (Danaus plexippus) in complementary field and common garden greenhouse experiments. In addition, we used a common garden field experiment to gauge natural enemy attraction to milkweed VOCs induced by monarch damage. We found evidence of genetic variation in the total constitutive and induced concentrations of VOCs and the composition of VOC blends emitted by milkweed plants. However, all milkweed genotypes responded similarly to induction by monarchs in terms of their relative change in VOC concentration and blend. Natural enemies attacked decoy caterpillars more frequently on damaged than on undamaged milkweed, and natural enemy visitation was associated with higher total VOC concentrations and with VOC blend. Thus, we present evidence that induced VOCs emitted by milkweed may function as a defense against herbivores. However, plant genotypes were equally attractive to natural enemies. Although milkweed genotypes diverge phenotypically in their VOC concentrations and blends, they converge into similar phenotypes with regard to magnitude of induction and enemy attraction.

A(maize)ing attraction: gravid Anopheles arabiensis are attracted and oviposit in response to maize pollen odours.

Science.gov (United States)

Wondwosen, Betelehem; Hill, Sharon R; Birgersson, Göran; Seyoum, Emiru; Tekie, Habte; Ignell, Rickard

2017-01-23

Maize cultivation contributes to the prevalence of malaria mosquitoes and exacerbates malaria transmission in sub-Saharan Africa. The pollen from maize serves as an important larval food source for Anopheles mosquitoes, and females that are able to detect breeding sites where maize pollen is abundant may provide their offspring with selective advantages. Anopheles mosquitoes are hypothesized to locate, discriminate among, and select such sites using olfactory cues, and that synthetic volatile blends can mimic these olfactory-guided behaviours. Two-port olfactometer and two-choice oviposition assays were used to assess the attraction and oviposition preference of gravid Anopheles arabiensis to the headspace of the pollen from two maize cultivars (BH-660 and ZM-521). Bioactive compounds were identified using combined gas chromatography and electroantennographic detection from the headspace of the cultivar found to be most attractive (BH-660). Synthetic blends of the volatile compounds were then assessed for attraction and oviposition preference of gravid An. arabiensis, as above. Here the collected headspace volatiles from the pollen of two maize cultivars was shown to differentially attract and stimulate oviposition in gravid An. arabiensis. Furthermore, a five-component synthetic maize pollen odour blend was identified, which elicited the full oviposition behavioural repertoire of the gravid mosquitoes. The cues identified from maize pollen provide important substrates for the development of novel control measures that modulate gravid female behaviour. Such measures are irrespective of indoor or outdoor feeding and resting patterns, thus providing a much-needed addition to the arsenal of tools that currently target indoor biting mosquitoes.

Enhanced attraction of Plutella xylostella (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae) to pheromone-baited traps with the addition of green leaf volatiles.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Pengyan; Zhu, Junwei; Qin, Yuchuan

2012-08-01

Diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella (L.) (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae), is one of the most serious pests of Brassicaceae crops worldwide. Electrophysiological and behavioral responses of P. xylostella to green leaf volatiles (GLVs) alone or together with its female sex pheromone were investigated in laboratory and field. GLVs 1-hexanol and (Z)-3-hexen-1-ol elicited strong electroantennographic responses from unmated male and female P. xylostella, whereas (Z)-3-hexenyl acetate only produced a relatively weak response. The behavioral responses of unmated moths to GLVs were further tested in Y-tube olfactometer experiments. (E)-2-Hexenal, (Z)-3-hexen-1-ol, and (Z)-3-hexenyl acetate induced attraction of males, reaching up to 50%, significantly higher than the response to the unbaited control arm. In field experiments conducted in 2008 and 2009, significantly more moths were captured in traps baited with synthetic sex pheromone with either (Z)-3-hexenyl acetate alone or a blend of (Z)-3-hexenyl acetate, (Z)-3-hexen-1-ol, and (E)-2-hexenal compared with sex pheromone alone and other blend mixtures. These results demonstrated that GLVs could be used to enhance the attraction of P. xylostella males to sex pheromone-baited traps.

Evidence for volatile male-produced pheromone in banana weevilCosmopolites sordidus.

Science.gov (United States)

Budenberg, W J; Ndiege, I O; Karago, F W

1993-09-01

Females of the banana weevil,Cosmopolites sordidus, were attracted to and made longer visits to live conspecific males, trapped volatiles from males, and dissected male hindguts in a still-air olfactometer. Male weevils were attracted to volatiles trapped from males and made longer visits to live males and volatiles from males. Live females, collected volatiles from females and female hindguts, elicited small or no behavioral responses from either sex. Electroantennogram (EAG) responses from both male and female antennae were elicited by collected volatiles from males and by dichloromethane extracts of male hindguts and bodies but not by surface washes of males. No significant EAG responses were given to equivalent material from females. It is therefore suggested that male banana weevils release an aggregation pheromone via their hindgut.

The impact of induced plant volatiles on lant-arthropod interactions

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Alba, J.M.; Bleeker, P.M.; Glas, J.J.; Schimmel, B.C.J.; van Wijk, M.; Sabelis, M.W.; Schuurink, R.C.; Kant, M.R.; Smagghe, G.; Diaz, I.

2012-01-01

Plants release volatile organic compounds from their vegetative tissues into their environment during most of their life cycle. The functions of these volatiles are diverse and not always known but some of these volatiles repel foraging herbivores while others, in turn, attract them and are feeding

Chemical signaling and insect attraction is a conserved trait in yeasts.

Science.gov (United States)

Becher, Paul G; Hagman, Arne; Verschut, Vasiliki; Chakraborty, Amrita; Rozpędowska, Elżbieta; Lebreton, Sébastien; Bengtsson, Marie; Flick, Gerhard; Witzgall, Peter; Piškur, Jure

2018-03-01

Yeast volatiles attract insects, which apparently is of mutual benefit, for both yeasts and insects. However, it is unknown whether biosynthesis of metabolites that attract insects is a basic and general trait, or if it is specific for yeasts that live in close association with insects. Our goal was to study chemical insect attractants produced by yeasts that span more than 250 million years of evolutionary history and vastly differ in their metabolism and lifestyle. We bioassayed attraction of the vinegar fly Drosophila melanogaster to odors of phylogenetically and ecologically distinct yeasts grown under controlled conditions. Baker's yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae , the insect-associated species Candida californica , Pichia kluyveri and Metschnikowia andauensis , wine yeast Dekkera bruxellensis , milk yeast Kluyveromyces lactis , the vertebrate pathogens Candida albicans and Candida glabrata , and oleophilic Yarrowia lipolytica were screened for fly attraction in a wind tunnel. Yeast headspace was chemically analyzed, and co-occurrence of insect attractants in yeasts and flowering plants was investigated through a database search. In yeasts with known genomes, we investigated the occurrence of genes involved in the synthesis of key aroma compounds. Flies were attracted to all nine yeasts studied. The behavioral response to baker's yeast was independent of its growth stage. In addition to Drosophila , we tested the basal hexapod Folsomia candida (Collembola) in a Y-tube assay to the most ancient yeast, Y. lipolytica, which proved that early yeast signals also function on clades older than neopteran insects. Behavioral and chemical data and a search for selected genes of volatile metabolites underline that biosynthesis of chemical signals is found throughout the yeast clade and has been conserved during the evolution of yeast lifestyles. Literature and database reviews corroborate that yeast signals mediate mutualistic interactions between insects and yeasts

Limonene: attractant kairomone for white pine cone beetles (Coleoptera: Scolytidae) in an Eastern white pine seed orchard in Western North Carolina

Science.gov (United States)

Daniel R. Miller

2007-01-01

I report on the attraction of the white pine cone beetle, Canophthorus coniperda (Schwarz) (Coleoptera: Scolytidae), to traps baited with the host monoterpene limonene in western North Carolina. Both (+)- and (-)-limonene attracted male and female cone beetles to Japenese beetle traps in an eastern white pine, Pinus strobus L. seed...

Cultured skin microbiota attracts malaria mosquitoes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Verhulst, N.O.; Beijleveld, H.; Knols, B.G.J.; Takken, W.; Schraa, G.; Bouwmeester, H.J.; Smallegange, R.C.

2009-01-01

Background - Host-seeking of the African malaria mosquito, Anopheles gambiae sensu stricto, is guided by human odours. The precise nature of the odours, and the composition of attractive blends of volatiles, remains largely unknown. Skin microbiota plays an important role in the production of human

Cultured skin microbiota attracts malaria mosquitoes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Verhulst, N.O.; Beijleveld, H.; Knols, B.G.J.; Takken, W.; Schraa, G.; Bouwmeester, H.J.; Smallegange, R.C.

2009-01-01

Background: Host-seeking of the African malaria mosquito, Anopheles gambiae sensu stricto, is guided by human odours. The precise nature of the odours, and the composition of attractive blends of volatiles, remains largely unknown. Skin microbiota plays an important role in the production of human

Herbivore-induced blueberry volatiles and intra-plant signaling.

Science.gov (United States)

Rodriguez-Saona, Cesar R

2011-12-18

Herbivore-induced plant volatiles (HIPVs) are commonly emitted from plants after herbivore attack. These HIPVs are mainly regulated by the defensive plant hormone jasmonic acid (JA) and its volatile derivative methyl jasmonate (MeJA). Over the past 3 decades researchers have documented that HIPVs can repel or attract herbivores, attract the natural enemies of herbivores, and in some cases they can induce or prime plant defenses prior to herbivore attack. In a recent paper, I reported that feeding by gypsy moth caterpillars, exogenous MeJA application, and mechanical damage induce the emissions of volatiles from blueberry plants, albeit differently. In addition, blueberry branches respond to HIPVs emitted from neighboring branches of the same plant by increasing the levels of JA and resistance to herbivores (i.e., direct plant defenses), and by priming volatile emissions (i.e., indirect plant defenses). Similar findings have been reported recently for sagebrush, poplar, and lima beans. Here, I describe a push-pull method for collecting blueberry volatiles induced by herbivore (gypsy moth) feeding, exogenous MeJA application, and mechanical damage. The volatile collection unit consists of a 4 L volatile collection chamber, a 2-piece guillotine, an air delivery system that purifies incoming air, and a vacuum system connected to a trap filled with Super-Q adsorbent to collect volatiles. Volatiles collected in Super-Q traps are eluted with dichloromethane and then separated and quantified using Gas Chromatography (GC). This volatile collection method was used in my study to investigate the volatile response of undamaged branches to exposure to volatiles from herbivore-damaged branches within blueberry plants. These methods are described here. Briefly, undamaged blueberry branches are exposed to HIPVs from neighboring branches within the same plant. Using the same techniques described above, volatiles emitted from branches after exposure to HIPVs are collected and

Cultured skin microbiota attracts malaria mosquitoes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Verhulst, Niels O.; Beijleveld, Hans; Knols, Bart Gj; Takken, Willem; Schraa, Gosse; Bouwmeester, Harro J.; Smallegange, Renate C.

2009-01-01

Host-seeking of the African malaria mosquito, Anopheles gambiae sensu stricto, is guided by human odours. The precise nature of the odours, and the composition of attractive blends of volatiles, remains largely unknown. Skin microbiota plays an important role in the production of human body odours.

Drought and leaf herbivory influence floral volatiles and pollinator attraction

Science.gov (United States)

Laura A. Burkle; Justin B. Runyon

2016-01-01

The effects of climate change on species interactions are poorly understood. Investigating the mechanisms by which species interactions may shift under altered environmental conditions will help form a more predictive understanding of such shifts. In particular, components of climate change have the potential to strongly influence floral volatile organic...

Field Attraction of Carob Moth to Host Plants and Conspecific Females

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hosseini, S.A.; Goldansaz, S.H.; Menken, S.B.J.; van Wijk, M.; Roessingh, P.; Groot, A.T.

2017-01-01

The carob moth, Ectomyelois ceratoniae (Zeller; Lepidoptera: Pyralidae), is a devastating pest in high-value crops around the world. An efficient sex pheromone attractant is still missing for the management of this pest, because the major pheromone component is unstable. Host plant volatiles attract

Volatile constituents of Trichothecium roseum.

Science.gov (United States)

Vanhaelen, M; Vanhaelen-Fastre, R; Geeraerts, J

1978-06-01

In the course of investigation of Trichothecium roseum (Fungi Imperfecti) for its attractancy against Tyrophagus putrescentiae (cheese mite), the twenty following volatile compounds produced at a very low concentration by the microfungus were identified by gc, gc/ms, gc/c.i.ms and tlc: 3-methyl-1-butanol, 3-octanone, 1-octen-3-one, 3-octanol, octa-1,5-dien-3 one, 1-octen-3-ol, 6-methyl-5-hepten-2-ol, octa-1,5-dien-3 ol, furfural, linalool, linalyl acetate, terpineol (alpha and beta) citronellyl acetate, nerol, citronellol, phenylacetaldehyde, benzyl alcohol geranyl acetate, 1-phenyl ethanol and nerolidol. Octa-1,5-dien-3-ol and octa-1,5-dien-3-one have not been previously isolated from fungi; octa-1,5-dien-3-ol is the most potent attractant amount the volatile compounds detected by gc.

Malaria-induced changes in host odors enhance mosquito attraction.

Science.gov (United States)

De Moraes, Consuelo M; Stanczyk, Nina M; Betz, Heike S; Pulido, Hannier; Sim, Derek G; Read, Andrew F; Mescher, Mark C

2014-07-29

Vector-borne pathogens may alter traits of their primary hosts in ways that influence the frequency and nature of interactions between hosts and vectors. Previous work has reported enhanced mosquito attraction to host organisms infected with malaria parasites but did not address the mechanisms underlying such effects. Here we document malaria-induced changes in the odor profiles of infected mice (relative to healthy individuals) over the course of infection, as well as effects on the attractiveness of infected hosts to mosquito vectors. We observed enhanced mosquito attraction to infected mice during a key period after the subsidence of acute malaria symptoms, but during which mice remained highly infectious. This attraction corresponded to an overall elevation in the volatile emissions of infected mice observed during this period. Furthermore, data analyses--using discriminant analysis of principal components and random forest approaches--revealed clear differences in the composition of the volatile blends of infected and healthy individuals. Experimental manipulation of individual compounds that exhibited altered emission levels during the period when differential vector attraction was observed also elicited enhanced mosquito attraction, indicating that compounds being influenced by malaria infection status also mediate vector host-seeking behavior. These findings provide important insights into the cues that mediate vector attraction to hosts infected with transmissible stages of malaria parasites, as well as documenting characteristic changes in the odors of infected individuals that may have potential value as diagnostic biomarkers of infection.

Pollinator attraction of the wasp-flower Scrophularia umbrosa (Scrophulariaceae).

Science.gov (United States)

Brodmann, J; Emer, D; Ayasse, M

2012-05-01

Certain species of Scrophularia (Scrophulariaceae), such as S. nodosa and S. umbrosa, are mainly pollinated by social wasps and are consequently described as wasp-flowers. Because plants attract their pollinators with the help of various floral cues, such as floral odour and/or optical cues, we have investigated the role of olfactory and visual floral signals responsible for wasp attraction in S. umbrosa. Using a combination of chemical (GC, GC-MS) and electrophysiological analyses (GC-EAD), we identified ten compounds in the complex floral odour bouquet that are detectable by the wasps' antennae. As in the wasp-flower Epipactis helleborine, we found so-called 'green leaf volatiles' (GLVs) in the floral odour; these GLVs are highly attractive to the wasps. GLVs, mostly six-carbon aldehydes, alcohols and acetates, and other volatile organic compounds (VOCs), are emitted by many plants infested with herbivores, e.g. caterpillars. In contrast to other investigated wasp-flowers, behavioural experiments have demonstrated that, in addition to the floral odour of S. umbrosa, visual cues are involved in pollinator attraction. © 2011 German Botanical Society and The Royal Botanical Society of the Netherlands.

Olfactory responses of banana weevil predators to volatiles from banana pseudostem tissue and synthetic pheromone.

Science.gov (United States)

Tinzaara, W; Gold, C S; Dicke, M; van Huis, A

2005-07-01

As a response to attack by herbivores, plants can emit a variety of volatile substances that attract natural enemies of these insect pests. Predators of the banana weevil, Cosmopolites sordidus (Germar) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) such as Dactylosternum abdominale (Coleoptera: Hydrophilidae) and Pheidole megacephala (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), are normally found in association with weevil-infested rotten pseudostems and harvested stumps. We investigated whether these predators are attracted to such environments in response to volatiles produced by the host plant, by the weevil, or by the weevil plant complex. We evaluated predator responses towards volatiles from banana pseudostem tissue (synomones) and the synthetic banana weevil aggregation pheromone Cosmolure+ in a two-choice olfactometer. The beetle D. abdominale was attracted to fermenting banana pseudostem tissue and Cosmolure+, whereas the ant P. megacephala was attracted only to fermented pseudostem tissue. Both predators were attracted to banana pseudostem tissue that had been damaged by weevil larvae irrespective of weevil presence. Adding pheromone did not enhance predator response to volatiles from pseudostem tissue fed on by weevils. The numbers of both predators recovered with pseudostem traps in the field from banana mats with a pheromone trap were similar to those in pseudostem traps at different distance ranges from the pheromone. Our study shows that the generalist predators D. abdominale and P. megacephala use volatiles from fermented banana pseudostem tissue as the major chemical cue when searching for prey.

Differences in volatile composition and sexual morphs in rambutan (Nephelium lappaceum L. flowers and their effect in the Apis mellifera L. (Hymenoptera, Apidae attraction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lorena Aceves-Chong

2018-01-01

Full Text Available We studied the volatile composition and sexual morphs of Nephelium lappaceum flowers from two orchards, and investigated the choice behavior of the honey bee, Apis mellifera toward the floral extracts from both locations. Our results showed significant differences in chemical composition and sexual morphs; only the hermaphrodite flowers from the Herradero orchard produced limonene and α-pinene and had longer peduncle and sepal than flowers from the Metapa orchard; on the other hand, the hermaphrodite flowers from the Metapa orchard had longer gynoecium. In the behavioral experiment the extracts from the Herradero orchard seemed to give A. mellifera foragers better cues for orientation to food sources, perhaps due to the presence of limonene and α-pinene, which are absent in the samples from Metapa. Such differences in both orchards could affect pollinator attraction and ultimately seed set and productivity. Keywords: Floral volatiles, Hermaphrodite sex, Morphological traits, Orchards, Plant–insect interactions.

Identification and field evaluation of attractants for the cranberry weevil, Anthonomus musculus Say.

Science.gov (United States)

Szendrei, Zsofia; Averill, Anne; Alborn, Hans; Rodriguez-Saona, Cesar

2011-04-01

Studies were conducted to develop an attractant for the cranberry weevil, Anthonomus musculus, a pest of blueberry and cranberry flower buds and flowers in the northeastern United States. In previous studies, we showed that cinnamyl alcohol, the most abundant blueberry floral volatile, and the green leaf volatiles (Z)-3-hexenyl acetate and hexyl acetate, emitted from both flowers and flower buds, elicit strong antennal responses from A. musculus. Here, we found that cinnamyl alcohol did not increase capture of A. musculus adults on yellow sticky traps compared with unbaited controls; however, weevils were highly attracted to traps baited with the Anthonomus eugenii Cano aggregation pheromone, indicating that these congeners share common pheromone components. To identify the A. musculus aggregation pheromone, headspace volatiles were collected from adults feeding on blueberry or cranberry flower buds and analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Three male-specific compounds were identified: (Z)-2-(3,3-dimethyl-cyclohexylidene) ethanol (Z grandlure II); (Z)-(3,3-dimethylcyclohexylidene) acetaldehyde (grandlure III); and (E)-(3,3- dimethylcyclohexylidene) acetaldehyde (grandlure IV). A fourth component, (E)-3,7-dimethyl-2,6-octadien-1-ol (geraniol), was emitted in similar quantities by males and females. The emission rates of these volatiles were about 2.8, 1.8, 1.3, and 0.9 ng/adult/d, respectively. Field experiments in highbush blueberry (New Jersey) and cranberry (Massachusetts) examined the attraction of A. musculus to traps baited with the male-produced compounds and geraniol presented alone and combined with (Z)-3-hexenyl acetate and hexyl acetate, and to traps baited with the pheromones of A. eugenii and A. grandis. In both states and crops, traps baited with the A. musculus male-produced compounds attracted the highest number of adults. Addition of the green leaf volatiles did not affect A. musculus attraction to its pheromone but skewed the sex ratio

The dilemma of being a fragrant flower: the major floral volatile attracts pollinators and florivores in the euglossine-pollinated orchid Dichaea pendula.

Science.gov (United States)

Nunes, Carlos E P; Peñaflor, Maria Fernanda G V; Bento, José Maurício S; Salvador, Marcos José; Sazima, Marlies

2016-12-01

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) mediate both mutualistic and antagonistic plant-animal interactions; thus, the attraction of mutualists and antagonists by floral VOCs constitutes an important trade-off in the evolutionary ecology of angiosperms. Here, we evaluate the role of VOCs in mediating communication between the plant and its mutualist and antagonist floral visitors. To assess the evolutionary consequences of VOC-mediated signalling to distinct floral visitors, we studied the reproductive ecology of Dichaea pendula, assessing the effects of florivores on fruit set, the pollination efficiency of pollinators and florivores, the floral scent composition and the attractiveness of the major VOC to pollinators and florivores. The orchid depends entirely on orchid-bees for sexual reproduction, and the major florivores, the weevils, feed on corollas causing self-pollination, triggering abortion of 26.4 % of the flowers. Floral scent was composed of approximately 99 % 2-methoxy-4-vinylphenol, an unusual floral VOC attractive to pollinators and florivores. The low fruit set from natural pollination (5.6 %) compared to hand cross-pollination (45.5 %) and low level of pollinator visitation [0.02 visits (flower hour) -1 ] represent the limitations to pollination. Our research found that 2-methoxy-4-vinylphenol mediates both mutualistic and antagonistic interactions, which could result in contrary evolutionary pressures on novo-emission. The scarcity of pollinators, not florivory, was the major constraint to fruit set. Our results suggest that, rather than anti-florivory adaptations, adaptations to enhance pollinator attraction and cross-pollination might be the primary drivers of the evolution of VOC emission in euglossine-pollinated flowers.

Volatility forecasting for low-volatility portfolio selection in the US and the Korean equity markets

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Saejoon

2018-01-01

We consider the problem of low-volatility portfolio selection which has been the subject of extensive research in the field of portfolio selection. To improve the currently existing techniques that rely purely on past information to select low-volatility portfolios, this paper investigates the use of time series regression techniques that make forecasts of future volatility to select the portfolios. In particular, for the first time, the utility of support vector regression and its enhancements as portfolio selection techniques is provided. It is shown that our regression-based portfolio selection provides attractive outperformances compared to the benchmark index and the portfolio defined by a well-known strategy on the data-sets of the S&P 500 and the KOSPI 200.

Molecular plant volatile communication.

Science.gov (United States)

Holopainen, Jarmo K; Blande, James D

2012-01-01

Plants produce a wide array of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) which have multiple functions as internal plant hormones (e.g., ethylene, methyl jasmonate and methyl salicylate), in communication with conspecific and heterospecific plants and in communication with organisms of second (herbivores and pollinators) and third (enemies of herbivores) trophic levels. Species specific VOCs normally repel polyphagous herbivores and those specialised on other plant species, but may attract specialist herbivores and their natural enemies, which use VOCs as host location cues. Attraction of predators and parasitoids by VOCs is considered an evolved indirect defence, whereby plants are able to indirectly reduce biotic stress caused by damaging herbivores. In this chapter we review these interactions where VOCs are known to play a crucial role. We then discuss the importance of volatile communication in self and nonself detection. VOCs are suggested to appear in soil ecosystems where distinction of own roots from neighbours roots is essential to optimise root growth, but limited evidence of above-ground plant self-recognition is available.

An Indirect Defence Trait Mediated through Egg-Induced Maize Volatiles from Neighbouring Plants.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniel M Mutyambai

Full Text Available Attack of plants by herbivorous arthropods may result in considerable changes to the plant's chemical phenotype with respect to emission of herbivore-induced plant volatiles (HIPVs. These HIPVs have been shown to act as repellents to the attacking insects as well as attractants for the insects antagonistic to these herbivores. Plants can also respond to HIPV signals from other plants that warn them of impending attack. Recent investigations have shown that certain maize varieties are able to emit volatiles following stemborer egg deposition. These volatiles attract the herbivore's parasitoids and directly deter further oviposition. However, it was not known whether these oviposition-induced maize (Zea mays, L. volatiles can mediate chemical phenotypic changes in neighbouring unattacked maize plants. Therefore, this study sought to investigate the effect of oviposition-induced maize volatiles on intact neighbouring maize plants in 'Nyamula', a landrace known to respond to oviposition, and a standard commercial hybrid, HB515, that did not. Headspace volatile samples were collected from maize plants exposed to Chilo partellus (Swinhoe (Lepidoptera: Crambidae egg deposition and unoviposited neighbouring plants as well as from control plants kept away from the volatile emitting ones. Behavioural bioassays were carried out in a four-arm olfactometer using egg (Trichogramma bournieri Pintureau & Babault (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae and larval (Cotesia sesamiae Cameron (Hymenoptera: Braconidae parasitoids. Coupled Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS was used for volatile analysis. For the 'Nyamula' landrace, GC-MS analysis revealed HIPV production not only in the oviposited plants but also in neighbouring plants not exposed to insect eggs. Higher amounts of EAG-active biogenic volatiles such as (E-4,8-dimethyl-1,3,7-nonatriene were emitted from these plants compared to control plants. Subsequent behavioural assays with female T. bournieri and

House Fly (Musca domestica L. Attraction to Insect Honeydew.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kim Y Hung

Full Text Available House flies are of major concern as vectors of food-borne pathogens to food crops. House flies are common pests on cattle feedlots and dairies, where they develop in and feed on animal waste. By contacting animal waste, house flies can acquire human pathogenic bacteria such as Escherichia coli and Salmonella spp., in addition to other bacteria, viruses, or parasites that may infect humans and animals. The subsequent dispersal of house flies from animal facilities to nearby agricultural fields containing food crops may lead to pre-harvest food contamination with these pathogens. We hypothesized that odors from honeydew, the sugary excreta produced by sucking insects feeding on crops, or molds and fungi growing on honeydew, may attract house flies, thereby increasing the risk of food crop contamination. House fly attraction to honeydew-contaminated plant material was evaluated using a laboratory bioassay. House flies were attracted to the following plant-pest-honeydew combinations: citrus mealybug on squash fruit, pea aphid on faba bean plants, whitefly on navel orange and grapefruit leaves, and combined citrus mealybug and cottony cushion scale on mandarin orange leaves. House flies were not attracted to field-collected samples of lerp psyllids on eucalyptus plants or aphids on crepe myrtle leaves. Fungi associated with field-collected honeydews were isolated and identified for further study as possible emitters of volatiles attractive to house flies. Two fungal species, Aureobasidium pullulans and Cladosporium cladosporioides, were repeatedly isolated from field-collected honeydew samples. Both fungal species were grown in potato dextrose enrichment broth and house fly attraction to volatiles from these fungal cultures was evaluated. House flies were attracted to odors from A. pullulans cultures but not to those of C. cladosporioides. Identification of specific honeydew odors that are attractive to house flies could be valuable for the

House Fly (Musca domestica L.) Attraction to Insect Honeydew.

Science.gov (United States)

Hung, Kim Y; Michailides, Themis J; Millar, Jocelyn G; Wayadande, Astri; Gerry, Alec C

2015-01-01

House flies are of major concern as vectors of food-borne pathogens to food crops. House flies are common pests on cattle feedlots and dairies, where they develop in and feed on animal waste. By contacting animal waste, house flies can acquire human pathogenic bacteria such as Escherichia coli and Salmonella spp., in addition to other bacteria, viruses, or parasites that may infect humans and animals. The subsequent dispersal of house flies from animal facilities to nearby agricultural fields containing food crops may lead to pre-harvest food contamination with these pathogens. We hypothesized that odors from honeydew, the sugary excreta produced by sucking insects feeding on crops, or molds and fungi growing on honeydew, may attract house flies, thereby increasing the risk of food crop contamination. House fly attraction to honeydew-contaminated plant material was evaluated using a laboratory bioassay. House flies were attracted to the following plant-pest-honeydew combinations: citrus mealybug on squash fruit, pea aphid on faba bean plants, whitefly on navel orange and grapefruit leaves, and combined citrus mealybug and cottony cushion scale on mandarin orange leaves. House flies were not attracted to field-collected samples of lerp psyllids on eucalyptus plants or aphids on crepe myrtle leaves. Fungi associated with field-collected honeydews were isolated and identified for further study as possible emitters of volatiles attractive to house flies. Two fungal species, Aureobasidium pullulans and Cladosporium cladosporioides, were repeatedly isolated from field-collected honeydew samples. Both fungal species were grown in potato dextrose enrichment broth and house fly attraction to volatiles from these fungal cultures was evaluated. House flies were attracted to odors from A. pullulans cultures but not to those of C. cladosporioides. Identification of specific honeydew odors that are attractive to house flies could be valuable for the development of improved house

House Fly (Musca domestica L.) Attraction to Insect Honeydew

Science.gov (United States)

Hung, Kim Y.; Michailides, Themis J.; Millar, Jocelyn G.; Wayadande, Astri; Gerry, Alec C.

2015-01-01

House flies are of major concern as vectors of food-borne pathogens to food crops. House flies are common pests on cattle feedlots and dairies, where they develop in and feed on animal waste. By contacting animal waste, house flies can acquire human pathogenic bacteria such as Escherichia coli and Salmonella spp., in addition to other bacteria, viruses, or parasites that may infect humans and animals. The subsequent dispersal of house flies from animal facilities to nearby agricultural fields containing food crops may lead to pre-harvest food contamination with these pathogens. We hypothesized that odors from honeydew, the sugary excreta produced by sucking insects feeding on crops, or molds and fungi growing on honeydew, may attract house flies, thereby increasing the risk of food crop contamination. House fly attraction to honeydew-contaminated plant material was evaluated using a laboratory bioassay. House flies were attracted to the following plant-pest-honeydew combinations: citrus mealybug on squash fruit, pea aphid on faba bean plants, whitefly on navel orange and grapefruit leaves, and combined citrus mealybug and cottony cushion scale on mandarin orange leaves. House flies were not attracted to field-collected samples of lerp psyllids on eucalyptus plants or aphids on crepe myrtle leaves. Fungi associated with field-collected honeydews were isolated and identified for further study as possible emitters of volatiles attractive to house flies. Two fungal species, Aureobasidium pullulans and Cladosporium cladosporioides, were repeatedly isolated from field-collected honeydew samples. Both fungal species were grown in potato dextrose enrichment broth and house fly attraction to volatiles from these fungal cultures was evaluated. House flies were attracted to odors from A. pullulans cultures but not to those of C. cladosporioides. Identification of specific honeydew odors that are attractive to house flies could be valuable for the development of improved house

Induced parasitoid attraction by Arabidopsis thaliana : involvement of the octadecanoid and the salicylic acid pathway

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Poecke, van M.P.; Dicke, M.

2002-01-01

Plants can use indirect defence mechanisms to protect themselves against herbivorous insects. An example of such an indirect defence mechanism is the emission of volatiles by plants induced by herbivore feeding. These volatiles can attract the natural enemies of these herbivores, for example,

Variation in natural plant products and the attraction of bodyguards involved in indirect plant defense

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mumm, R.; Dicke, M.

2010-01-01

Plants can respond to feeding or egg deposition by herbivorous arthropods by changing the volatile blend that they emit. These herbivore-induced plant volatiles (HIPVs) can attract carnivorous natural enemies of the herbivores, such as parasitoids and predators, a phenomenon that is called indirect

Fungal volatiles: Semiochemicals for stored-product beetles (Coleoptera: Cucujidae).

Science.gov (United States)

Pierce, A M; Pierce, H D; Borden, J H; Oehlschlager, A C

1991-03-01

Responses by five species of cucujid grain beetles (mixed-sex adults) to various volatiles were assessed by means of a two-choice, pitfall olfactometer. The test volatiles were short-chain alcohols and ketones known to be produced by fungi. Both racemic and chiral 1-octen-3-ols were strong attractants forCryptolestes ferrugineus (Stephens), as had been found previously forOryzaephilus surinamensis (L.),O. mercator (Fauvel), andAhasverus advena (Waltl). 3-Methylbutanol was another good attractant for these four cucujids, and it was the only test compound to whichCathartus quadricollis (Guér.) responded positively. 1-Octen-3-one, racemic 3-octanol, and 3-octanone showed various degrees of attractiveness for the former four species of cucujids.O. surinamensis was the only species of test beetle to show much positive response to 2-phenylethanol and ethanol. ForO. mercator andO. surinamensis, 3-methylbutanol enhanced positive response to their respective cucujolide aggregation pheromones.

Analisis senyawa volatil dari ekstrak tanaman yang berpotensi sebagai atraktan parasitoid telur wereng batang coklat, Anagrus nilaparvatae (Pang et Wang (Hymenoptera: Mymaridae

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Surjani Wonorahardjo

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Plants produce volatiles as communication cues intra- or inter- species. Infested plants by herbivores will produce volatiles as indirect defense mechanism that attracts natural enemies of herbivores. Analysis of volatiles compounds produced by rice plant as result of infested brown plant hopper (BPH, Nilaparvata lugens Stâl, was done to identify compounds in the volatiles that potentially can be used as attractant for egg parasitoids of BPH, Anagrus nilaparvatae (Pang et Wang (Hymenoptera: Mymaridae. This research was an early stage to develop formulation of parasitoid attractant. The research activities include volatiles extraction of infested rice stem by BPH eggs using acetone, n-hexane as the extraction solvents; analyses of volatile compounds with GC-MS; and bioassay of parasitoid orientation behavior to the volatiles using olfactometer methods. Extraction methods applied were maceration and continuous extraction followed by concentration. Bioassay on the parasitoid orientation behavior was done by using Y-tube olfactometer and every lot of bioassay using 30 parasitoid females with 3 replicates. The results showed that the volatile compounds of extract of infested rice stem by BPH eggs comprise of 16 components. The highest proportion of the components extracted with acetone is 2-Pentanone, 4-hydroxy-4-methyl (19,9%, while those with n-hexane is Hexanedioic acid, dioctyl ester (65%. A. nilaparvatae showed positive response to the volatiles extracted from infested rice plant by N. lugens eggs. Therefore, the volatiles can be used as an attractant for the egg A. nilaparvatae to support rice pest management.

Development of an improved attractive lure for the pine shoot beetle, Tomicus piniperda (Coleoptera: Scolytidae)

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Therese M. Poland; Peter de Groot; Stephen Burke; David Wakarchuk; Robert A. Haack; Reginald Nott; Taylor Scarr

2003-01-01

1) The pine shoot beetle, Tomicus piniperda (L.) (Coleoptera: Scolytidae), is an exotic pest of pine, Pinus spp., and was first discovered in North America in 1992. 2) Although primary attraction to host volatiles has been clearly demonstrated for T. piniperda, the existence and role of secondary attraction to...

An investigation on the chemotactic responses of different entomopathogenic nematode strains to mechanically damaged maize root volatile compounds.

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Laznik, Z; Trdan, S

2013-07-01

Entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs) respond to a variety of stimuli when foraging. In a laboratory investigation, we tested the chemotactic responses of 8 EPN strains (Steinernema and Heterorhabditis) to three mechanically damaged maize root compounds (linalool, α-caryophyllene and β-caryophyllene). We hypothesized that the EPN directional response to the tested volatile compounds would vary among the species and volatile compound and may be related to foraging strategies. The nematodes with an intermediate foraging strategy (Steinernema feltiae) proved to be less active in their movement toward volatile compounds in a comparison with the ambushers (Steinernema carpocapsae) and cruisers (Steinernema kraussei and Heterorhabditis bacteriophora); β-caryophyllene was found to be the most attractive substance in our experiment. The results of our investigation showed that the cruisers were more attracted to β-caryophyllene than the ambushers and intermediates. The foraging strategy did not affect the movement of the IJs toward the other tested volatile compounds or the control. Our results suggest that the response to different volatile cues is more a strain-specific characteristic than a different host-searching strategy. Only S. carpocapsae strain B49 displayed an attraction to linalool, whereas S. kraussei showed a retarded reaction to β-caryophyllene and α-caryophyllene in our experiment. The EPN strains showed only a weak attraction to α-caryophyllene, suggesting that this volatile compound could not have an important role in the orientation of IJs to the damaged roots of maize plants. These results expand our knowledge of volatile compounds as the cues that may be used by EPNs for finding hosts or other aspects of navigation in the soil. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Synthetic Co-Attractants of the Aggregation Pheromone of the Date Palm Root Borer Oryctes agamemnon.

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Hasni, Narjes; Pinier, Centina; Imed, Cheraief; Ouhichi, Monêem; Couzi, Philippe; Chermiti, Brahim; Frérot, Brigitte; Saïd, Imen; Rochat, Didier

2017-07-01

Laboratory and field investigations to identify and evaluate plant co-attractants of the aggregation pheromone of the date palm pest Oryctes agamemnon are reported. Volatiles emitted by freshly cut palm core and palm core with feeding males, were collected, analyzed by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry and evaluated in olfactometers alone or combined with synthetic pheromone. A collection of palm odor without male effluvia was attractive alone and enhanced attraction to synthetic pheromone in an olfactometer similar to that to a collection of palm odor emitted with feeding males and containing natural pheromone. Behavioral responses to collections of palm volatiles were correlated to the amount of volatiles material in them. Enhancement of the attractiveness of the pheromone was not correlated to chemicals specific to beetle feeding. The chemicals common to the active collections extracts were benzoate esters, mostly ethyl benzoate, anisole derivatives and sesquiterpenes. Blends of the most abundant components of the extracts were evaluated for enhancement of the attractiveness of pheromone (1 μg) in olfactometers at 1 or 10 μg doses. The mixtures were further evaluated by field trapping in Tunisia at 3-10 mg/day using reference (6 mg/day) or experimental pheromone formulations. A mixture of ethyl benzoate, 4-methylanisole and farnesol (1:1:1 w/w at 6.5 mg/day) enhanced captures in pheromone baited traps in 2014 and 2015 and this mixture was as active as the natural palm bait. The practical prospect of the result for the management for O. agamemnon, and other palm beetles is discussed.

Diaphorina citri Induces Huanglongbing-Infected Citrus Plant Volatiles to Repel and Reduce the Performance of Propylaea japonica.

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Lin, Yongwen; Lin, Sheng; Akutse, Komivi S; Hussain, Mubasher; Wang, Liande

2016-01-01

Transmission of plant pathogens through insect vectors is a complex biological process involving interactions between the host plants, insects, and pathogens. Simultaneous impact of the insect damage and pathogenic bacteria in infected host plants induce volatiles that modify not only the behavior of its insect vector but also of their natural enemies, such as parasitoid wasps. Therefore, it is essential to understand how insects such as the predator ladybird beetle responds to volatiles emitted from a host plant and how the disease transmission alters the interactions between predators, vector, pathogens, and plants. In this study, we investigated the response of Propylaea japonica to volatiles from citrus plants damaged by Diaphorina citri and Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus through olfactometer bioassays. Synthetic chemical blends were also used to determine the active compounds in the plant volatile. The results showed that volatiles emitted by healthy plants attracted more P. japonica than other treatments, due to the presence of high quantities of D-limonene and beta-ocimene, and the lack of methyl salicylate. When using synthetic chemicals in the olfactory tests, we found that D-limonene attracted P. japonica while methyl salicylate repelled the predator. However, beta-ocimene attracted the insects at lower concentrations but repelled them at higher concentrations. These results indicate that P. japonica could not efficiently search for its host by using volatile cues emitted from psyllids- and Las bacteria-infected citrus plants.

Fig volatile compounds--a first comparative study.

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Grison-Pigé, Laure; Hossaert-McKey, Martine; Greeff, Jaco M; Bessière, Jean-Marie

2002-09-01

We analysed the compounds of volatile blends released by receptive figs of twenty Ficus species to attract their specific pollinating wasps. In all, 99 different compounds were identified. The compounds are mainly terpenoids, aliphatic compounds and products from the shikimic acid pathway. In each species blend, there are few major compounds, which are generally common among floral fragrances. Most species blends also include rare compounds, but generally their proportion in the blend is low. A possible basis for species-specificity of Ficus-wasp interactions is discussed in relation to the patterns of volatiles found in this interspecies comparison. Copyright 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd.

Queen volatiles as a modulator of Tetragonisca angustula drone behavior.

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Fierro, Macario M; Cruz-López, Leopoldo; Sánchez, Daniel; Villanueva-Gutiérrez, Rogel; Vandame, Remy

2011-11-01

Tetragonisca angustula mating occurs during the virgin queen nuptial flight, usually in the presence of a drone congregation area (DCA). The presence of virgin queen pheromone is considered the trigger for DCA establishment, although this has not been demonstrated experimentally. We established meliponaries, in different habitats, with T. angustula virgin queens during the main drone reproduction period. Eight DCAs were observed in urban areas, and all established outside or near colonies containing at least one virgin queen. The accumulation of drones in the DCAs occurred from 08:00 to 18:00 h and over 3-35 days. The number of drones in DCAs ranged from 60 to 2,000. In field trials, drones were attracted to virgin queens and also, unexpectedly, to physogastric queens. Volatiles collected from both virgin and physogastric queens elicited strong electoantennogram (EAG) responses from drones. Virgin and physogastric queen volatiles were qualitatively similar, but quantitatively different, in chemical composition. The queen's abdomen was the principal source of these compounds. Isopropyl hexanoate (IPH), the most abundant compound in virgin queen volatiles and one of the most abundant in physogastric queen volatiles, was identified as one of the compounds that elicited EAG responses and was demonstrated to attract drones in a field test.

The preference choices of Conopomorpha sinensis Bradley (Lepidoptera: Gracilariidae) for litchi based on its host surface characteristics and volatiles.

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Meng, Xiang; Hu, Junjie; Li, Yanhua; Dai, Jianqing; Guo, Mingfang; Ouyang, Gecheng

2018-01-31

Conopomorpha sinensis Bradley is a host-specific pest of Litchi chinensis and Euphoria longan. Here, we demonstrated that C. sinensis has evolved special physical and chemical mechanisms for host plant location that enable it to survive and reproduce. Females favored laying their eggs on the convex surface of litchi fruit that had particular volatile characteristics. Experiments using a H-type olfactometer showed that female C. sinensis were attracted to litchi flowers, tender shoots, immature fruits, and mature fruits, with the highest attraction rate to mature fruits (74.67 ± 2.31%). There were no significant differences in the attraction of male C. sinensis to different litchi tissues. Further oviposition preference tests using the pericarp, pulp, and seeds of mature litchi fruits revealed that female C. sinensis prefer to lay their eggs on the pericarp. Litchi volatiles were found to be important in attracting C. sinensis to fruits for oviposition. Analysis of volatiles from different litchi tissues by HS-SPME-GC-MS revealed 31 similar volatiles, some of which may be important in the oviposition preference choices of C. sinensis on litchi fruit.

[Behavioral response of Anopheles albimanus to volatile compounds collected inside houses from the south of Chiapas, Mexico].

Science.gov (United States)

Ríos-Delgado, Silvany Mayoly; Rodríguez-Ramírez, Américo David; Cruz-López, Leopoldo; Escobar-Pérez, Luis Alonso; Aburto-Juárez, Ma de Lourdes; Torres-Estrada, José Luis

2008-01-01

To determine effects of volatile compounds in homes on the behavioral response of Anopheles albimanus. The study was conducted in January 2006, in the village of Nueva Independencia village, Suchiate, Chiapas. Volatile compounds were collected inside homes and the extracts were tested on unfed females in a Y-olfactometer. Extracts were analyzed in a gas chromatography-mass spectrometry system (GC-MS). Twenty eight extracts were obtained, twelve presented attraction and two repellency responses. GC-MS analyses of the extracts indicated variation in the volatile compound present in the extracts, but could not associated specific compounds with any particular effect. Within homes, volatiles presented attraction and repellency responses to An. albimanus. A definate pattern concerning the presence of a characteristic chemical compound and the observed response was not found.

Flower volatiles, crop varieties and bee responses.

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Björn K Klatt

Full Text Available Pollination contributes to an estimated one third of global food production, through both the improvement of the yield and the quality of crops. Volatile compounds emitted by crop flowers mediate plant-pollinator interactions, but differences between crop varieties are still little explored. We investigated whether the visitation of crop flowers is determined by variety-specific flower volatiles using strawberry varieties (Fragaria x ananassa Duchesne and how this affects the pollination services of the wild bee Osmia bicornis L. Flower volatile compounds of three strawberry varieties were measured via headspace collection. Gas chromatography showed that the three strawberry varieties produced the same volatile compounds but with quantitative differences of the total amount of volatiles and between distinct compounds. Electroantennographic recordings showed that inexperienced females of Osmia bicornis had higher antennal responses to all volatile compounds than to controls of air and paraffin oil, however responses differed between compounds. The variety Sonata was found to emit a total higher level of volatiles and also higher levels of most of the compounds that evoked antennal responses compared with the other varieties Honeoye and Darselect. Sonata also received more flower visits from Osmia bicornis females under field conditions, compared with Honeoye. Our results suggest that differences in the emission of flower volatile compounds among strawberry varieties mediate their attractiveness to females of Osmia bicornis. Since quality and quantity of marketable fruits depend on optimal pollination, a better understanding of the role of flower volatiles in crop production is required and should be considered more closely in crop-variety breeding.

More lessons from linalool: insights gained from a ubiquitous floral volatile.

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Raguso, Robert A

2016-08-01

Linalool (3,7-dimethyl-1,6-octadien-3-ol) is a common floral volatile with two distinct enantiomers and related metabolites involved in the full spectrum of plant-pollinator interactions. Recent studies reveal a complex interplay between pollinator attraction and plant defense mediated by linalool and its derivatives, from the smallest (Arabidopsis, Mitella) to the largest (Datura) flowers studied. Accordingly, fig wasps, fungus gnats and moths of all sizes show remarkable electrophysiological, neural and behavioral sensitivity to different enantiomers and quantitative ratios of linalool in floral bouquets. The diverse functions of linalool, ranging from toxin to long distance pollinator attractant are discussed in the broader context of floral volatile ecology and evolution. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Ketertarikan Bactrocera carambolae (Diptera: Tephritidae pada Senyawa Volatil Olahan Limbah Kakao

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Dyah Rini Indriyanti

2013-03-01

Full Text Available Tanaman kakao (Theobroma cacao menghasilkan biji. Biji ditutupi oleh pulp pada saat dipanen, kemudian difermentasi selama tiga hari untuk diambil biji kakao dan dihasilkan limbah cair. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menguji ketertarikan lalat buah pada olahan limbah kakao dan mengidentifikasi senyawa kimia volatil yang menarik lalat buah. Penelitian dilakukan di laboratorium, dimulai dari pengolahan limbah kakao, pengujian ketertarikan B. carambolae pada limbah dan mengidentifikasi senyawa volatil olahan limbah kakao. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa jantan dan betina B. carambolae tertarik pada limbah. Olahan limbah kakao berisi berbagai senyawa volatil yakni: amonia; etil-2-hidroksi propanoat ; 7-dodesenil asetat; senyawa asetamida; 3,5-dihidroksi-2-metil-5,6-dihidropiran; hidroksi metilfurfurol; dan derivat-1-undekuna.The cocoa plants (Theobroma cacao produce seeds. The seeds are covered by pulp when it is harvested. Then these seeds were fermented for three days to transform them becoming cocoa seeds and the fermentation would produce liquid wastes. The study aims to test the attractiveness of fruit flies to the processed liquid cocoa wastes and to identify the chemical compounds which attract fruit flies. The study was conducted in the laboratory, beginning from the processing of cocoa wastes, the testing of the attractiveness of B. carambolae to wastes and to identify the chemical compounds of the processed cocoa wastes. The result showed that males and females B. carambolae were attracted to the wastes.The processed cocoa wastes contain various chemical compounds, i.e. ammonia; ethyl-2-hydroxy propanoate; 7-dodecenyl acetate; acetamide compounds; 3,5 dihydroxy-2-methyl-5,6-dihydropyrane; hydroxyl methylfurfurol; and 1-undecyne derivates.

Carnivore Attractant or Plant Elicitor? Multifunctional Roles of Methyl Salicylate Lures in Tomato Defense.

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Rowen, Elizabeth; Gutensohn, Michael; Dudareva, Natalia; Kaplan, Ian

2017-06-01

Synthetic plant volatile lures attract natural enemies, but may have non-target effects due to the multifunctional nature of volatile signals. For example, methyl salicylate (MeSA) is used to attract predators, yet also serves as a signaling hormone involved in plant pathogen defense. We investigated the consequences of deploying MeSA lures to attract predators for tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) defense against herbivores. To understand the spatial distribution of the lure's effect, we exposed tomatoes in the field to MeSA along a linear distance gradient and induced defenses by simulating feeding by hornworm caterpillars in a fully crossed factorial design (+/- MeSA, +/- herbivory). Subsequently, we analyzed activity of several defensive proteins (protease inhibitors, polyphenol oxidase, peroxidase), development of hornworm larvae (Manduca sexta), growth of fungal pathogens (Cladosporium and Alternaria), and attractiveness to herbivores and predators. Overall, MeSA-exposed plants were more resistant to both insects and pathogens. Secondary pathogen infection was reduced by 25% in MeSA exposed plants, possibly due to elevated polyphenol oxidase activity. Interestingly, we found that lures affected plant pathogen defenses equivalently across all distances (up to 4 m away) indicating that horizontal diffusion of a synthetic volatile may be greater than previously assumed. While thrips avoided colonizing hornworm- damaged tomato plants, this induced resistance was not observed upon pre-exposure to MeSA, suggesting that MeSA suppresses the repellant effect induced by herbivory. Thus, using MeSA lures in biological control may inadvertently protect crops from pathogens, but has mixed effects on plant resistance to insect herbivores.

Sulfur volatiles from Allium spp. affect Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri Kuwayama (Hemiptera: Psyllidae), response to citrus volatiles.

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Mann, R S; Rouseff, R L; Smoot, J M; Castle, W S; Stelinski, L L

2011-02-01

The Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri Kuwayama, vectors Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (Las) and Candidatus Liberibacter americanus (Lam), the presumed causal agents of huanglongbing. D. citri generally rely on olfaction and vision for detection of host cues. Plant volatiles from Allium spp. (Alliaceae) are known to repel several arthropod species. We examined the effect of garlic chive (A. tuberosum Rottl.) and wild onion (A. canadense L.) volatiles on D. citri behaviour in a two-port divided T-olfactometer. Citrus leaf volatiles attracted significantly more D. citri adults than clean air. Volatiles from crushed garlic chive leaves, garlic chive essential oil, garlic chive plants, wild onion plants and crushed wild onion leaves all repelled D. citri adults when compared with clean air, with the first two being significantly more repellent than the others. However, when tested with citrus volatiles, only crushed garlic chive leaves and garlic chive essential oil were repellent, and crushed wild onions leaves were not. Analysis of the headspace components of crushed garlic chive leaves and garlic chive essential oil by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry revealed that monosulfides, disulfides and trisulfides were the primary sulfur volatiles present. In general, trisulfides (dimethyl trisulfide) inhibited the response of D. citri to citrus volatiles more than disulfides (dimethyl disulfide, allyl methyl disulfide, allyl disulfide). Monosulfides did not affect the behaviour of D. citri adults. A blend of dimethyl trisulfide and dimethyl disulfide in 1:1 ratio showed an additive effect on inhibition of D. citri response to citrus volatiles. The plant volatiles from Allium spp. did not affect the behaviour of the D. citri ecto-parasitoid Tamarixia radiata (Waterston). Thus, Allium spp. or the tri- and di-sulphides could be integrated into management programmes for D. citri without affecting natural enemies.

EPN Chemical ecology and new techniques for below ground sampling and analyses of volatile semiochemicals

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It is well established that herbivory induced plant volatiles (HIPVs) attract natural enemies of the herbivores. Utilizing this plant response has become a fundamental part of above ground IPM programs. We now know that also roots can release HIPVs and that these compounds attract beneficial organis...

(2R,5S)-Theaspirane Identified as the Kairomone for the Banana Weevil, Cosmopolites sordidus, from Attractive Senesced Leaves of the Host Banana, Musa spp.

Science.gov (United States)

Abagale, Samson A; Woodcock, Christine M; Hooper, Antony M; Caulfield, John C; Withall, David; Chamberlain, Keith; Acquaah, Samuel O; Van Emden, Helmut; Braimah, Haruna; Pickett, John A; Birkett, Michael A

2018-04-12

The principal active component produced by highly attractive senesced host banana leaves, Musa spp., for the banana weevil, Cosmopolites sordidus, is shown by coupled gas chromatography-electroantennography (GC-EAG), coupled GC-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), chemical synthesis and coupled enantioselective (chiral) GC-EAG to be (2R,5S)-theaspirane. In laboratory behaviour tests, the synthetic compound is as attractive as natural host leaf material and presents a new opportunity for pest control. © 2018 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Field attraction of the vine weevil Otiorhynchus sulcatus to Kairomones

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Tol, van R.W.H.M.; Bruck, D.J.; Griepink, F.C.; Kogel, de W.J.

2012-01-01

Root weevils in the genus Otiorhynchus are cited as one of the most important pests in the major nursery and small fruit production areas throughout the United States, western Canada, and northern Europe. A major problem in combating weevil attack is monitoring and timing of control measures.

Differences in volatile composition and sexual morphs in rambutan (Nephelium lappaceum L. flowers and their effect in the Apis mellifera L. (Hymenoptera, Apidae attraction

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Lorena Aceves-Chong

Full Text Available ABSTRACT We studied the volatile composition and sexual morphs of Nephelium lappaceum flowers from two orchards, and investigated the choice behavior of the honey bee, Apis mellifera toward the floral extracts from both locations. Our results showed significant differences in chemical composition and sexual morphs; only the hermaphrodite flowers from the Herradero orchard produced limonene and α-pinene and had longer peduncle and sepal than flowers from the Metapa orchard; on the other hand, the hermaphrodite flowers from the Metapa orchard had longer gynoecium. In the behavioral experiment the extracts from the Herradero orchard seemed to give A. mellifera foragers better cues for orientation to food sources, perhaps due to the presence of limonene and α-pinene, which are absent in the samples from Metapa. Such differences in both orchards could affect pollinator attraction and ultimately seed set and productivity.

Organic non-volatile memories from ferroelectric phase separated blends

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Asadi, Kamal; de Leeuw, Dago; de Boer, Bert; Blom, Paul

2009-03-01

Ferroelectric polarisation is an attractive physical property for non-volatile binary switching. The functionality of the targeted memory should be based on resistive switching. Conductivity and ferroelectricity however cannot be tuned independently. The challenge is to develop a storage medium in which the favourable properties of ferroelectrics such as bistability and non-volatility can be combined with the beneficial properties provided by semiconductors such as conductivity and rectification. In this contribution we present an integrated solution by blending semiconducting and ferroelectric polymers into phase separated networks. The polarisation field of the ferroelectric modulates the injection barrier at the semiconductor--metal contact. This combination allows for solution-processed non-volatile memory arrays with a simple cross-bar architecture that can be read-out non-destructively. Based on this general concept a non-volatile, reversible switchable Schottky diode with relatively fast programming time of shorter than 100 microseconds, long information retention time of longer than 10^ days, and high programming cycle endurance with non-destructive read-out is demonstrated.

Human skin microbiota and their volatiles as odour baits for the malaria mosquito Anopheles gambiae s.s

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Verhulst, N.O.; Mukabana, W.R.; Takken, W.; Smallegange, R.C.

2011-01-01

Host seeking by the malaria mosquito Anopheles gambiae Giles sensu stricto (Diptera: Culicidae) is mainly guided by volatile chemicals present in human odours. The skin microbiota plays an important role in the production of these volatiles, and skin bacteria grown on agar plates attract An. gambiae

Factors related to the attraction of flies at a biosolids composting facility (Bariloche, Argentina)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Laos, F.; Semenas, L.; Labud, V.

2004-01-01

The composting process is used to treat biosolids from the Wastewater Treatment Plant of Bariloche (NW Patagonia, Argentina). Since 1998, an odourless, innocuous and stable organic amendment has been produced at the Biosolids Composting Plant of Bariloche. However, volatile compounds produced during this process, attract different vectors, mainly insects belonging to the Order Diptera, particularly in summer. To evaluate factors associated with the attraction of Diptera to composting windrows, volatile compounds, wind velocity, ambient and windrow temperatures were measured and their relationships with the taxa of flies found were determined. Sampling was conducted several months on newly formed windrows during 3 weeks of the thermophilic composting period. Composite samples from each windrow were taken on the first day of each sampling week, from November 1999 to March 2000 to analyze volatile compounds using an 'electronic nose'. Windrow and ambient temperatures and wind velocity were recorded on three consecutive days of each week, from January to March 2000; also the capture of flies was performed in this period. A weekly mean value was calculated for each environmental variable. Canonical Correspondence Analysis was employed to determine relationships between taxa of flies and the studied factors. The electronic nose discriminated among odours emitted, differentiating windrows by the bulking agent employed and by week of the thermophilic composting period. Ambient temperatures increased slightly during the sampling weeks; the highest values of wind velocity were registered during the second sampling week while windrow temperatures were sustained approximately 60 degree sign C. Canonical Correspondence Analysis showed that attraction of flies to composting windrows was related to minimum and maximum ambient temperatures and volatile compounds for Muscina stabulans, Fannia sp. and Acaliptratae and to wind velocity for Ophyra sp., Sarcophaga sp., Cochliomyia

Plant surface wax affects parasitoid's response to host footprints

Science.gov (United States)

Rostás, Michael; Ruf, Daniel; Zabka, Vanessa; Hildebrandt, Ulrich

2008-10-01

The plant surface is the substrate upon which herbivorous insects and natural enemies meet and thus represents the stage for interactions between the three trophic levels. Plant surfaces are covered by an epicuticular wax layer which is highly variable depending on species, cultivar or plant part. Differences in wax chemistry may modulate ecological interactions. We explored whether caterpillars of Spodoptera frugiperda, when walking over a plant surface, leave a chemical trail (kairomones) that can be detected by the parasitoid Cotesia marginiventris. Chemistry and micromorphology of cuticular waxes of two barley eceriferum wax mutants ( cer-za.126, cer-yp.949) and wild-type cv. Bonus (wt) were assessed. The plants were then used to investigate potential surface effects on the detectability of caterpillar kairomones. Here we provide evidence that C. marginiventris responds to chemical footprints of its host. Parasitoids were able to detect the kairomone on wild-type plants and on both cer mutants but the response to cer-yp.949 (reduced wax, high aldehyde fraction) was less pronounced. Experiments with caterpillar-treated wt and mutant leaves offered simultaneously, confirmed this observation: no difference in wasp response was found when wt was tested against cer-za.126 (reduced wax, wt-like chemical composition) but wt was significantly more attractive than cer-yp.949. This demonstrates for the first time that the wax layer can modulate the detectability of host kairomones.

Attraction of Three Mirid Predators to Tomato Infested by Both the Tomato Leaf Mining Moth Tuta absoluta and the Whitefly Bemisia tabaci

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Silva, Diego B.; Bueno, Vanda H.P.; Loon, van Joop J.A.; Peñaflor, Maria Fernanda G.V.; Bento, José Maurício S.; Lenteren, van Joop C.

2018-01-01

Plants emit volatile compounds in response to insect herbivory, which may play multiple roles as defensive compounds and mediators of interactions with other plants, microorganisms and animals. Herbivore-induced plant volatiles (HIPVs) may act as indirect plant defenses by attracting natural enemies

Signal transduction downstream of salicylic and jasmonic acid in herbivory-induced parasitoid attraction by Arabidopsis is independent of JAR1 and NPR1

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Poecke, van R.M.P.; Dicke, M.

2003-01-01

Plants can defend themselves indirectly against herbivores by emitting a volatile blend upon herbivory that attracts the natural enemies of these herbivores, either predators or parasitoids. Although signal transduction in plants from herbivory to induced volatile production depends on jasmonic acid

Current perspectives on the volatile-producing fungal endophytes.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhi-Lin, Yuan; Yi-Cun, Chen; Bai-Ge, Xu; Chu-Long, Zhang

2012-12-01

Microbial-derived volatiles are ubiquitous in the environment and actively engaged in bio-communication with other organisms. Recently, some volatile-producing endophytes (VPEs), cryptic fungal symbionts persisting in healthy plant tissues, have attracted great attention due to their strong antibiotic activity or production of carbon chains that are identical to many of those found in petroleum, while other fragrant volatiles can be used in the flavoring industries. From an application-oriented and biotechnological point of view, these findings show significant promise for sustainable development of agriculture, forestry, and industry, especially in the control of fruit postharvest diseases, soil-borne pathogen management, and bio-fuel production. In comparison, the ecological importance of VPEs has only rarely been addressed and warrants further exploration. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge and future directions in this fascinating research field, and also highlight the constraints and progresses towards commercialization of VPEs products.

Metabolic engineering of volatile isoprenoids in plants and microbes.

Science.gov (United States)

Vickers, Claudia E; Bongers, Mareike; Liu, Qing; Delatte, Thierry; Bouwmeester, Harro

2014-08-01

The chemical properties and diversity of volatile isoprenoids lends them to a broad variety of biological roles. It also lends them to a host of biotechnological applications, both by taking advantage of their natural functions and by using them as industrial chemicals/chemical feedstocks. Natural functions include roles as insect attractants and repellents, abiotic stress protectants in pathogen defense, etc. Industrial applications include use as pharmaceuticals, flavours, fragrances, fuels, fuel additives, etc. Here we will examine the ways in which researchers have so far found to exploit volatile isoprenoids using biotechnology. Production and/or modification of volatiles using metabolic engineering in both plants and microorganisms are reviewed, including engineering through both mevalonate and methylerythritol diphosphate pathways. Recent advances are illustrated using several case studies (herbivores and bodyguards, isoprene, and monoterpene production in microbes). Systems and synthetic biology tools with particular utility for metabolic engineering are also reviewed. Finally, we discuss the practical realities of various applications in modern biotechnology, explore possible future applications, and examine the challenges of moving these technologies forward so that they can deliver tangible benefits. While this review focuses on volatile isoprenoids, many of the engineering approaches described here are also applicable to non-isoprenoid volatiles and to non-volatile isoprenoids. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Novel collection method for volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from dogs

Science.gov (United States)

Host derived chemical cues are an important aspect of arthropod attraction to potential hosts. Host cues that act over longer distances include CO2, heat, and water vapor, while cues such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs) act over closer distances. Domestic dogs are important hosts for disease cy...

Field and laboratory responses of adult Ixodes scapularis (Acari: Ixodidae) to kairomones produced by white-tailed deer.

Science.gov (United States)

Carroll, J F; Mills, G D; Schmidtmann, E T

1996-07-01

In a field test, adult blacklegged ticks, Ixodes scapularis Say, of both sexes exhibited an arrestant response to substances associated with external glands on the legs of white-tailed deer, Odocoileus virginianus (Zimmermann), their principal host. Substances rubbed from the pelage covering tarsal and interdigital glands were applied to artificial vantage points simulating vegetation on which I. scapularis adults wait for host contact. A combination of tarsal substances (applied to the apex of the simulated vantage point) and interdigital gland substances (applied to the horizontal base) elicited a greater response than either treatment alone. A minimal response was observed on untreated vantage points. In laboratory bioassays using glass tubing as vantage points, substances associated with preorbital glands of deer elicited a strong arrestant response among I. scapularis females, whereas samples rubbed from the forehead, back, and a nonglandular area on deer tarsi evoked weak arrestant responses. These results support the hypothesis that the kairomonal properties of host-generated residues, either in conjunction with or in lieu of the effects of carbon dioxide, help account for the prevalence of host-seeking ticks along animal trails.

A laboratory evaluation of alcohols as attractants for the sandfly Lutzomyia longipalpis (Diptera:Psychodidae).

Science.gov (United States)

Magalhães-Junior, Jairo Torres; Barrouin-Melo, Stella Maria; Corrêa, Arlene Gonçalves; da Rocha Silva, Flavia Benini; Machado, Vicente Estevam; Govone, José Silvio; Pinto, Mara Cristina

2014-02-06

The potential attraction from 1-octen-3-ol for sandflies has been documented; however, studies using other primary alcohols are limited. We used a wind tunnel to compare the activation and attractive behaviors in male and female Lutzomyia longipalpis using 1-octen-3-ol and three additional alcohols, 1-octanol, 1-heptanol and 1-nonanol at three different concentrations: neat (100%) and diluted in hexane (10% and 50%). The compounds 1-octen-3-ol and 1-nonanol induced a clear concentration-dependent activation and attraction response in females. In males, 1-octen-3-ol, 1-nonanol and 1-heptanol yielded the same results. L. longipalpis is attracted to 1-octen-3-ol, 1-nonanol and 1-heptanol, which are found in many plant volatiles.

Range of Attraction of Pheromone Lures and Dispersal Behavior of Cerambycid Beetles

Science.gov (United States)

E. Dunn; J. Hough-Goldstein; L. M. Hanks; J. G. Millar; V. D' Amico

2016-01-01

Cerambycid beetles (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) can locate suitable hosts and mates by sensing pheromones and plant volatiles. Many cerambycid pheromone components have been identified and are now produced synthetically for trap lures. The range over which these lures attract cerambycids within a forest, and the tendency for cerambycids to move out of a forest in...

The influence of volatility spill-overs and market beta on portfolio construction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

André Heymans

2015-05-01

Full Text Available This study adds to Modern Portfolio Theory (MPT by providing an additional measure to market beta in constructing a more efficient investment portfolio. The additional measure analyses the volatility spill-over effects among stocks within the same portfolio. Using intraday stock returns from five top-40 listed stocks on the JSE between July 2008 and April 2010, volatility spill-over effects were estimated with a residual- based test (aggregate shock [AS] model framework. It is shown that when a particular stock attracted fewer volatility spill-over effects from the other stocks in the portfolio, the overall portfolio volatility decreased as well. In most cases market beta showcased similar results. Therefore, in order to construct a more efficient risk- adjusted portfolio, one requires both a portfolio that has a unit correlation with the market (beta-based, and stocks that showcase the least amount of volatility spill-over effects amongst one another. These results might assist portfolio managers to construct lower mean variance portfolios.

Terpenoid biosynthesis in Arabidopsis attacked by caterpillars and aphids: effects of aphid density on the attraction of a caterpillar parasitoid.

Science.gov (United States)

Kroes, Anneke; Weldegergis, Berhane T; Cappai, Francesco; Dicke, Marcel; van Loon, Joop J A

2017-12-01

One of the responses of plants to insect attack is the production of volatile organic compounds that mediate indirect defence of plants by attracting natural enemies of the attacking herbivores. Herbivore-induced plant volatiles (HIPVs) include terpenoids that play key roles in the attraction of natural enemies. Crosstalk between phytohormonal signalling pathways is well known to affect the regulation of plant defences, including the emission of HIPVs. Thus, simultaneous feeding on the same plant by caterpillars and aphids, can affect the attraction of parasitoids by the plant compared to single insect attack. The role of aphid density in the regulation of HIPV emission by plants under dual attack has not been studied previously. Here, we investigated the attraction of Diadegma semiclausum, a parasitoid of the Diamondback moth Plutella xylostella, to volatiles emitted by Arabidopsis thaliana plants, simultaneously attacked by host caterpillars, and by the non-host aphid Brevicoryne brassicae. Our study shows that the effect of aphid infestation on parasitoid attraction is influenced by the density of the aphids. Biosynthesis and emission of (E,E)-α-farnesene could be linked to the observed preference of D. semiclausum parasitoids for the HIPV blend emitted by plants dually infested by caterpillars and aphids at a high density compared to dually infested plants with a low aphid density. Parasitoids such as D. semiclausum are important enemies of herbivorous insects and a better understanding of how plants express indirect defence mechanisms in response to multiple insect attack will provide important knowledge on plant-herbivore-parasitoid interactions under multiple stress conditions.

Stochastic volatility of volatility in continuous time

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Barndorff-Nielsen, Ole; Veraart, Almut

This paper introduces the concept of stochastic volatility of volatility in continuous time and, hence, extends standard stochastic volatility (SV) models to allow for an additional source of randomness associated with greater variability in the data. We discuss how stochastic volatility...... of volatility can be defined both non-parametrically, where we link it to the quadratic variation of the stochastic variance process, and parametrically, where we propose two new SV models which allow for stochastic volatility of volatility. In addition, we show that volatility of volatility can be estimated...

From sexual attraction to maternal aggression: when pheromones change their behavioural significance.

Science.gov (United States)

Martín-Sánchez, Ana; McLean, Lynn; Beynon, Robert J; Hurst, Jane L; Ayala, Guillermo; Lanuza, Enrique; Martínez-Garcia, Fernando

2015-02-01

This article is part of a Special Issue "Chemosignals and Reproduction". This paper reviews the role of chemosignals in the socio-sexual interactions of female mice, and reports two experiments testing the role of pup-derived chemosignals and the male sexual pheromone darcin in inducing and promoting maternal aggression. Female mice are attracted to urine-borne male pheromones. Volatile and non-volatile urine fractions have been proposed to contain olfactory and vomeronasal pheromones. In particular, the male-specific major urinary protein (MUP) MUP20, darcin, has been shown to be rewarding and attractive to females. Non-urinary male chemosignals, such as the lacrimal protein ESP1, promote lordosis in female mice, but its attractive properties are still to be tested. There is evidence indicating that ESP1 and MUPs are detected by vomeronasal type 2 receptors (V2R). When a female mouse becomes pregnant, she undergoes dramatic changes in her physiology and behaviour. She builds a nest for her pups and takes care of them. Dams also defend the nest against conspecific intruders, attacking especially gonadally intact males. Maternal behaviour is dependent on a functional olfactory system, thus suggesting a role of chemosignals in the development of maternal behaviour. Our first experiment demonstrates, however, that pup chemosignals are not sufficient to induce maternal aggression in virgin females. In addition, it is known that vomeronasal stimuli are needed for maternal aggression. Since MUPs (and other molecules) are able to promote intermale aggression, in our second experiment we test if the attractive MUP darcin also promotes attacks on castrated male intruders by lactating dams. Our findings demonstrate that the same chemosignal, darcin, promotes attraction or aggression according to female reproductive state. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Differential performance and parasitism of caterpillars on maize inbred lines with distinctly different herbivore-induced volatile emissions.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thomas Degen

Full Text Available Plant volatiles induced by insect feeding are known to attract natural enemies of the herbivores. Six maize inbred lines that showed distinctly different patterns of volatile emission in laboratory assays were planted in randomized plots in the Central Mexican Highlands to test their ability to recruit parasitic wasps under field conditions. The plants were artificially infested with neonate larvae of the fall armyworm Spodoptera frugiperda, and two of its main endoparasitoids, Campoletis sonorensis and Cotesia marginiventris, were released in the plots. Volatiles were collected from equally treated reference plants in the neighbourhood of the experimental field. The cumulative amount of 36 quantified volatile compounds determined for each line was in good accordance with findings from the laboratory; there was an almost 15-fold difference in total emission between the two extreme lines. We found significant differences among the lines with respect to the numbers of armyworms recovered from the plants, their average weight gain and parasitism rates. Average weight of the caterpillars was negatively correlated with the average total amount of volatiles released by the six inbred lines. However, neither total volatile emission nor any specific single compound within the blend could explain the differential parasitism rates among the lines, with the possible exception of (E-2-hexenal for Campoletis sonorensis and methyl salicylate for Cotesia marginiventris. Herbivore-induced plant volatiles and/or correlates thereof contribute to reducing insect damage of maize plants through direct plant defence and enhanced attraction of parasitoids, alleged indirect defence. The potential to exploit these volatiles for pest control deserves to be further evaluated.

Virgin queen attraction toward males in honey bees.

Science.gov (United States)

Bastin, Florian; Cholé, Hanna; Lafon, Grégory; Sandoz, Jean-Christophe

2017-07-24

Although the honeybee is a crucial agricultural agent and a prominent scientific model organism, crucial aspects of its reproductive behaviour are still unknown. During the mating season, honeybee males, the drones, gather in congregations 10-40 m above ground. Converging evidence suggests that drones emit a pheromone that can attract other drones, thereby increasing the size of the congregation. Virgin queens join the vicinity of the congregation after it has formed, and mate with as many as 20 males in mid-air. It is still unclear which sensory cues help virgin queens find drone congregations in the first place. Beside visual cues for long-range orientation, queens may use olfactory cues. We thus tested virgin queens' olfactory orientation on a walking simulator in which they have full control over odour stimulation. We show that sexually-mature virgin queens are attracted to the odour bouquet from a group of living drones. They are not attracted to the bouquet from a group of workers. In addition, non-sexually receptive females (workers) of the same age are not attracted to the drone odour bouquet. Interpreted in the context of mating, these results may suggest that virgin queens use volatile olfactory cues from the drones to find the congregations.

Macroeconomic factors and foreign portfolio investment volatility: A case of South Asian countries

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Yahya Waqas

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Macroeconomic factors play a pivotal role in attracting foreign investment in the country. This study investigates the relationship between macroeconomic factors and foreign portfolio investment volatility in South Asian countries. The monthly data is collected for the period ranging from 2000 to 2012 for four Asian countries i.e. China, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka because monthly data is ideal for measuring portfolio investment volatility. For measuring volatility in foreign portfolio investment, GARCH (1,1 is used because shocks are responded quickly by this model. The results reveal that there exists significant relationship between macroeconomic factors and foreign portfolio investment volatility. Thus, less volatility in international portfolio flows is associated with high interest rate, currency depreciation, foreign direct investment, lower inflation, and higher GDP growth rate of the host country. Thus findings of this study suggest that foreign portfolio investors focus on stable macroeconomic environment of country.

Realized GARCH: A Complete Model of Returns and Realized Measures of Volatility

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Peter Reinhard; Huang, Zhuo (Albert); Shek, Howard Howan

GARCH models have been successful in modeling financial returns. Still, much is to be gained by incorporating a realized measure of volatility in these models. In this paper we introduce a new framework for the joint modeling of returns and realized measures of volatility. The Realized GARCH...... framework nests most GARCH models as special cases and is, in many ways, a natural extension of standard GARCH models. We pay special attention to linear and log-linear Realized GARCH specifications. This class of models has several attractive features. It retains the simplicity and tractability...... to latent volatility. This equation facilitates a simple modeling of the dependence between returns and future volatility that is commonly referred to as the leverage effect. An empirical application with DJIA stocks and an exchange traded index fund shows that a simple Realized GARCH structure leads...

Powdery mildew suppresses herbivore-induced plant volatiles and interferes with parasitoid attraction in Brassica rapa

Science.gov (United States)

The co-occurrence of different antagonists on a plant can greatly affect infochemicals with ecological consequences for higher trophic levels. Here we investigated how the presence of a plant pathogen, the powdery mildew Erysiphe cruciferarum, on Brassica rapa affects 1) plant volatiles emitted in r...

ß-Glucosidase: an elicitor of herbivore-induced plant odor that attracts host-searching parasitic wasps.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mattiacci, L.; Dicke, M.; Posthumus, M.A.

1995-01-01

Cabbage plants respond to caterpillar (Pieris brassicae) herbivory by releasing a mixture of volatiles that makes them highly attractive to parasitic wasps (Cotesia glomerata) that attack the herbivores. Cabbage leaves that are artificially damaged and subsequently treated with gut regurgitant of P.

Synergism in the effect of prior jasmonic acid application on herbivore-induced volatile emission by Lima bean plants: transcription of a monoterpene synthase gene and volatile emission

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Menzel, T.R.; Weldegergis, B.T.; David, A.; Boland, W.; Gols, R.; Loon, van J.J.A.; Dicke, M.

2014-01-01

Jasmonic acid (JA) plays a central role in induced plant defence e.g. by regulating the biosynthesis of herbivore-induced plant volatiles that mediate the attraction of natural enemies of herbivores. Moreover, exogenous application of JA can be used to elicit plant defence responses similar to those

Herbivore-specific, density-dependent induction of plant volatiles: honest or "cry wolf" signals?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kaori Shiojiri

Full Text Available Plants release volatile chemicals upon attack by herbivorous arthropods. They do so commonly in a dose-dependent manner: the more herbivores, the more volatiles released. The volatiles attract predatory arthropods and the amount determines the probability of predator response. We show that seedlings of a cabbage variety (Brassica oleracea var. capitata, cv Shikidori also show such a response to the density of cabbage white (Pieris rapae larvae and attract more (naive parasitoids (Cotesia glomerata when there are more herbivores on the plant. However, when attacked by diamondback moth (Plutella xylostella larvae, seedlings of the same variety (cv Shikidori release volatiles, the total amount of which is high and constant and thus independent of caterpillar density, and naive parasitoids (Cotesia vestalis of diamondback moth larvae fail to discriminate herbivore-rich from herbivore-poor plants. In contrast, seedlings of another cabbage variety of B. oleracea (var. acephala: kale respond in a dose-dependent manner to the density of diamondback moth larvae and attract more parasitoids when there are more herbivores. Assuming these responses of the cabbage cultivars reflect behaviour of at least some genotypes of wild plants, we provide arguments why the behaviour of kale (B. oleracea var acephala is best interpreted as an honest signaling strategy and that of cabbage cv Shikidori (B. oleracea var capitata as a "cry wolf" signaling strategy, implying a conflict of interest between the plant and the enemies of its herbivores: the plant profits from being visited by the herbivore's enemies, but the latter would be better off by visiting other plants with more herbivores. If so, evolutionary theory on alarm signaling predicts consequences of major interest to students of plant protection, tritrophic systems and communication alike.

Brewer’s Yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Enhances Attraction of Two Invasive Yellowjackets (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) to Dried Fruit and Fruit Powder

Science.gov (United States)

Gries, Regine; Borden, John; Palmero, Luis; Mattiacci, Analía; Masciocchi, Maité; Corley, Juan; Gries, Gerhard

2017-01-01

Abstract The German yellowjacket, Vespula germanica F., and common yellowjacket, Vespula vulgaris L. (Hymenoptera: Vespidae), are pests of significant economic, environmental, and medical importance in many countries. There is a need for the development and improvement of attractive baits that can be deployed in traps to capture and kill these wasps in areas where they are a problem. Yellowjackets are known to feed on fermenting fruit, but this resource is seldom considered as a bait due to its ephemeral nature and its potential attractiveness to nontarget species. We analyzed the headspace volatiles of dried fruit and fruit powder baits with and without Brewer’s yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry, and we field tested these baits for their attractiveness to yellowjackets in Argentina. The addition of yeast to dried fruit and fruit powder changed the volatile compositions, increasing the number of alcohols and acids and decreasing the number of aldehydes. Dried fruit and fruit powder baits on their own were hardly attractive to yellowjackets, but the addition of yeast improved their attractiveness by 9- to 50-fold and surpassed the attractiveness of a commercial heptyl butyrate-based wasp lure. We suggest that further research be done to test additional varieties and species of yeasts. A dried fruit or fruit powder bait in combination with yeast could become a useful tool in the management of yellowjackets. PMID:28922898

Effects of volatiles from Maruca vitrata larvae and caterpillar-infested flowers of their host plant Vigna unguiculata on the foraging behavior of the parasitoid Apanteles taragamae.

Science.gov (United States)

Dannon, Elie A; Tamò, Manuele; Van Huis, Arnold; Dicke, Marcel

2010-10-01

The parasitoid wasp Apanteles taragamae is a promising candidate for the biological control of the legume pod borer Maruca vitrata, which recently has been introduced into Benin. The effects of volatiles from cowpea and peabush flowers and Maruca vitrata larvae on host selection behavior of the parasitoid Apanteles taragamae were investigated under laboratory conditions by using a Y-tube olfactometer. Naïve and oviposition-experienced female wasps were given a choice between several odor sources that included (1) uninfested, (2) Maruca vitrata-infested, and (3) mechanically damaged cowpea flowers, as well as (4) stem portions of peabush plants carrying leaves and flowers, (5) healthy M. vitrata larvae, and moribund (6), and live (7) virus-infected M. vitrata larvae. Responses of naïve and oviposition-experienced female wasps did not differ for any of the odor source combinations. Wasps were significantly attracted to floral volatiles produced by cowpea flowers that had been infested with M. vitrata larvae and from which the larvae had been removed. Apanteles taragamae females also were attracted to Maruca vitrata-infested flowers after removal of both the larvae and their feces. Female wasps discriminated between volatiles from previously infested flowers and mechanically damaged flowers. Uninfested cowpea flowers attracted only oviposition-experienced wasps that had received a rewarding experience (i.e. the parasitization of two M. vitrata larvae feeding on cowpea flowers) before the olfactometer test. Wasps also were attracted to uninfested leaves and flowers of peabush. Moreover, they were also attracted to healthy and live virus-infected M. vitrata larvae, but not when the latter were moribund. Our data show that, similarly to what has been extensively been reported for foliar volatiles, flowers of plants also emit parasitoid-attracting volatiles in response to being infested with an herbivore.

Role of the vomeronasal system in intersexual attraction in female mice.

Science.gov (United States)

Martínez-Ricós, J; Agustín-Pavón, C; Lanuza, E; Martínez-García, F

2008-05-02

Although it is generally accepted that rodents' sociosexual behavior relies mainly on chemosignals, the specific roles played by the vomeronasal and olfactory systems in detecting these signals are presently unclear. This work reports the results of three experiments aimed at clarifying the role of the vomeronasal system on gender recognition and intersexual attraction, by analyzing the effects of lesions of the accessory olfactory bulbs (AOB) in chemically naïve female mice. The first experiment demonstrates that lesions of the AOB abolish the preference that females show for male-soiled bedding in tests in which the females can contact the bedding, thus having access to both volatile and involatile male chemosignals. The second experiment shows that airborne male-derived chemosignals are not attractive to intact, chemically naïve females but tend to be preferentially explored by females whose AOB has been lesioned. However, repeated exposure to male-soiled bedding has opposite effects in sham-operated and AOB-lesioned female mice. Whereas after this experience sham-operated females show an (acquired) attraction toward male airborne chemosignals, in AOB-lesioned females the same experience makes male-derived volatiles aversive. Finally, in the third experiment we have confirmed that our AOB-lesioned females are able to detect urine-borne male odorants, as well as to discriminate them from the synthetic terpene geraniol. These findings strongly suggest that in mice, the involatile male sexual pheromone that is intrinsically attractive is detected by the vomeronasal system of the females. In addition, the repeated experience of females with male-soiled bedding would probably allow the association of this pheromone, acting as unconditioned stimulus, with olfactory stimuli (odorants) that therefore would become conditioned attractors to the females.

Brewer's Yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Enhances Attraction of Two Invasive Yellowjackets (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) to Dried Fruit and Fruit Powder.

Science.gov (United States)

Babcock, Tamara; Gries, Regine; Borden, John; Palmero, Luis; Mattiacci, Analía; Masciocchi, Maité; Corley, Juan; Gries, Gerhard

2017-09-01

The German yellowjacket, Vespula germanica F., and common yellowjacket, Vespula vulgaris L. (Hymenoptera: Vespidae), are pests of significant economic, environmental, and medical importance in many countries. There is a need for the development and improvement of attractive baits that can be deployed in traps to capture and kill these wasps in areas where they are a problem. Yellowjackets are known to feed on fermenting fruit, but this resource is seldom considered as a bait due to its ephemeral nature and its potential attractiveness to nontarget species. We analyzed the headspace volatiles of dried fruit and fruit powder baits with and without Brewer's yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, and we field tested these baits for their attractiveness to yellowjackets in Argentina. The addition of yeast to dried fruit and fruit powder changed the volatile compositions, increasing the number of alcohols and acids and decreasing the number of aldehydes. Dried fruit and fruit powder baits on their own were hardly attractive to yellowjackets, but the addition of yeast improved their attractiveness by 9- to 50-fold and surpassed the attractiveness of a commercial heptyl butyrate-based wasp lure. We suggest that further research be done to test additional varieties and species of yeasts. A dried fruit or fruit powder bait in combination with yeast could become a useful tool in the management of yellowjackets. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America.

FDI Inflows, Price and Exchange Rate Volatility: New Empirical Evidence from Latin America

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Silvia Dal Bianco

2017-02-01

Full Text Available This paper investigates the impact of price and real exchange rate volatility on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI inflows in a panel of 10 Latin American and Caribbean countries, observed between 1990 and 2012. Both price and exchange rate volatility series are estimated through the Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroscedasticity model (GARCH. Our results obtained, employing the Fixed Effects estimator, confirm the theory of hysteresis and option value, in so far as a statistically significant negative effect of exchange rate volatility on FDI is found. Price volatility, instead, turns out to be positive but insignificant. Moreover, we show that human capital and trade openness are key for attracting foreign capital. From the policy perspective, our analysis suggests the importance of stabilization policies as well as the policy of government credibility in promoting trade openness and human capital formation.

De novo biosynthesis of volatiles induced by insect herbivory in cotton plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pare, P.W.; Tumlinson, J.H.

1997-01-01

In response to insect feeding on the leaves, cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) plants release elevated levels of volatiles, which can serve as a chemical signal that attracts natural enemies of the herbivore to the damaged plant. Pulse-labeling experiments with [13C]CO2 demonstrated that many of the volatiles released, including the acyclic terpenes (E,E)-alpha-farnesene, (E)-beta-farnesene, (E)-beta-ocimene, linalool,(E)-4,8-dimethyl-1,3,7-nonatriene, and (E,E)-4,8,12-trimethyl-1,3,7,11-tridecatetrane, as well as the shikimate pathway product indole, are biosynthesized de novo following insect damage. However, other volatile constituents, including several cyclic terpenes, butyrates, and green leaf volatiles of the lipoxygenase pathway are released from storage or synthesized from stored intermediates. Analysis of volatiles from artificially damaged plants, with and without beet armyworm (Spodoptera exigua Hubner) oral secretions exogenously applied to the leaves, as well as volatiles from beet armyworm-damaged and -undamaged control plants, demonstrated that the application of caterpillar oral secretions increased both the production and release of several volatiles that are synthesized de novo in response to insect feeding. These results establish that the plant plays an active and dynamic role in mediating the interaction between herbivores and natural enemies of herbivores

Attraction, Oviposition Preferences, and Olfactory Responses of Corn-Infesting Ulidiidae (Diptera) to Various Host-Based Substrates.

Science.gov (United States)

Owens, D; Nuessly, G S; Kendra, P E; Colquhoun, T A; Seal, D R

2017-08-01

Fresh market sweet corn (Zea mays L., convar. saccharata var. rugosa, Poales: Poaceae) ears produced in Florida are damaged by the larvae of Euxesta stigmatias Loew, Euxesta eluta Loew, and Chaetopsis massyla Walker (Diptera: Ulidiidae) that renders ears unmarketable. No standard lure exists for monitoring these pests. Oviposition substrate and attractant bioassays were designed to identify attractive substrates for further semiochemical investigation. Frass from the fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda J.E. Smith (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), was more attractive than other ovipositional substrates tested for E. eluta and C. massyla, and resulted in greater ovipositional output. Tassel-derived armyworm frass was more attractive than leaf-derived frass for oviposition. Frass also resulted in greater oviposition output by two species. In attraction bioassays, frass was generally preferred over the corresponding corn tissue, and only C. massyla demonstrated a preference for silk-frass over tassel-frass. The most promising substrates were then evaluated by electroantennography (EAG) to quantify olfactory responses. Frass volatiles also elicited greater antennal responses than corn volatiles. With tassel-frass, greater amplitude EAG responses were recorded from immature E. eluta female antennae, while mature female E. stigmatias exhibited greater responses. Equivalent antennal response to silk-frass was observed from E. eluta. Overall, silk-frass elicited the greatest EAG responses among all three fly species. Our results indicate that armyworm frass is an important resource in the chemical ecology of corn-infesting silk flies, and this substrate warrants further investigation for potential attractants that may facilitate development of novel management tools for these pests. © The Authors 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Attraction of some scolytids and associated beetles to the host volatiles α-pinene and ethanol

Science.gov (United States)

Leif Martin Schroeder

1991-01-01

Several scolytid species are known to use host volatiles such as monoterpenes and the degradation product, ethanol, when searching for suitable host material. The release rates of terpenes and ethanol and the proportions in which they are released can be expected to differ depending on the breeding substrate preferences of the various scolytid species. The aim of this...

Elevated carbon dioxide reduces emission of herbivore induced volatiles in Zea mays

Science.gov (United States)

Terpene volatiles produced by sweet corn (Zea mays) upon infestation with pests such as beet armyworm (Spodoptera exigua) function as part of an indirect defense mechanism by attracting parasitoid wasps; yet little is known about the impact of atmospheric changes on this form of plant defense. To in...

Attractiveness of Host Plant Volatile Extracts to the Asian Citrus Psyllid, Diaphorina citri, is Reduced by Terpenoids from the Non-Host Cashew.

Science.gov (United States)

Fancelli, Marilene; Borges, Miguel; Laumann, Raul A; Pickett, John A; Birkett, Michael A; Blassioli-Moraes, Maria C

2018-04-01

Diaphorina citri is a vector of the bacterial causative agent of Huanglongbing (HLB = Citrus greening), a severe disease affecting citrus crops. As there is no known control for HLB, manipulating insect behaviour through deployment of semiochemicals offers a promising opportunity for protecting citrus crops. The behavioural responses of D. citri to plant volatiles, and the identity of these plant volatiles were investigated. Volatiles were collected from host plants Murraya paniculata, Citrus sinensis, C. reshni, C. limettioides, Poncirus trifoliata, and from non-host plants Psidium guajava, Mangifera indica, Anacardium occidentale. In behavioural assays, female D. citri spent more time in the arms containing volatiles from either M. paniculata or C. sinensis compared to the control arms. When D. citri was exposed to volatiles collected from A. occidentale, they preferred the control arm. Volatiles emitted from the other studied plants did not influence the foraging behaviour of D. citri. Chemical analyses of volatile extracts from C. sinensis, M. paniculata, and A. occidentale revealed the presence of the terpenoids (E)-4,8-dimethylnona-1,3,7-triene (DMNT) and (E,E)-4,8,12-trimethyltrideca-1,3,7,11-tetraene (TMTT) in higher amounts in A. occidentale. In further behavioural bioassays, female D. citri spent less time in arms containing a synthetic blend of DMNT and TMTT compared to the control arms. Female D. citri also spent less time in arms containing the synthetic blend in combination with volatile extracts from either M. paniculata or C. sinensis compared to the control arms. Results suggest that higher release of the two terpenoids by A. occidentale make this species unattractive to D. citri, and that the terpenoids could be used in reducing colonisation of citrus plants and therefore HLB infection.

Function of defensive volatiles in pedunculate oak (Quercus robur) is tricked by the moth Tortrix viridana.

Science.gov (United States)

Ghirardo, Andrea; Heller, Werner; Fladung, Matthias; Schnitzler, Jörg-Peter; Schroeder, Hilke

2012-12-01

The indirect defences of plants are comprised of herbivore-induced plant volatiles (HIPVs) that among other things attract the natural enemies of insects. However, the actual extent of the benefits of HIPV emissions in complex co-evolved plant-herbivore systems is only poorly understood. The observation that a few Quercus robur L. trees constantly tolerated (T-oaks) infestation by a major pest of oaks (Tortrix viridana L.), compared with heavily defoliated trees (susceptible: S-oaks), lead us to a combined biochemical and behavioural study. We used these evidently different phenotypes to analyse whether the resistance of T-oaks to the herbivore was dependent on the amount and scent of HIPVs and/or differences in non-volatile polyphenolic leaf constituents (as quercetin-, kaempferol- and flavonol glycosides). In addition to non-volatile metabolic differences, typically defensive HIPV emissions differed between S-oaks and T-oaks. Female moths were attracted by the blend of HIPVs from S-oaks, showing significantly higher amounts of (E)-4,8-dimethyl-1,3,7-nonatriene (DMNT) and (E)-β-ocimene and avoid T-oaks with relative high fraction of the sesquiterpenes α-farnesene and germacrene D. Hence, the strategy of T-oaks exhibiting directly herbivore-repellent HIPV emissions instead of high emissions of predator-attracting HIPVs of the S-oaks appears to be the better mechanism for avoiding defoliation. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Volatile induction of infected and neighbouring uninfected plants potentially influence attraction/repellence of a cereal herbivore

Science.gov (United States)

Plant infection by pathogens can induce volatile organic compounds (VOCs). We infected ‘McNeal’ wheat and ‘Harrington’ barley with a Fusarium spp. blend (graminearum, avenaceum, and culmorum). Both cereals had highest VOC induction 14 d after pathogen introduction, significantly slightly lower induc...

Male scent-marking pheromone of Bombus ardens ardens (Hymenoptera; Apidae) attracts both conspecific queens and males

Science.gov (United States)

Kubo, Ryohei; Harano, Ken-ichi; Ono, Masato

2017-10-01

To explore the role of the volatiles emitted from male labial gland (LG) of the bumblebee Bombus ardens ardens, we investigated the responses of virgin queens and males to volatiles using a gas chromatography-electroantennographic detector (GC-EAD) system and Y-tube olfactometer. GC-EAD analysis revealed that citronellol, the main compound detected in the male LG, caused clear electrophysiological responses in the antennae of B. a. ardens virgin queens and males although two minor compounds elicited antennal responses when applied in a high concentration. Behavioral tests using a Y-tube olfactometer showed that queens and males were significantly attracted to both LG extracts and citronellol more than to the solvent alone. This is the first study to demonstrate that citronellol as a major compound of male scent-marking pheromone in B. a. ardens functions as a sex attractant for queens. The results also suggest that this compound has another function as a trail marker used by males.

Elevated O3 enhances the attraction of whitefly-infested tomato plants to Encarsia formosa

Science.gov (United States)

Cui, Hongying; Su, Jianwei; Wei, Jianing; Hu, Yongjian; Ge, Feng

2014-01-01

We experimentally examined the effects of elevated O3 and whitefly herbivory on tomato volatiles, feeding and oviposition preferences of whiteflies and behavioural responses of Encarsia formosa to these emissions on two tomato genotypes, a wild-type (Wt) and a jasmonic acid (JA) defence-enhanced genotype (JA-OE, 35S). The O3 level and whitefly herbivory significantly increased the total amount of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), monoterpenes, green leaf volatiles (GLVs), and aldehyde volatiles produced by tomato plants. The 35S plants released higher amount of total VOCs and monoterpene volatiles than Wt plants under O3+herbivory treatments. The feeding and oviposition bioassays showed that control plants were preferred by adult whiteflies whereas the 35S plants were not preferred by whiteflies. In the Y-tube tests, O3+herbivory treatment genotypes were preferred by adult E. Formosa. The 35S plants were preferred by adult E. formosa under O3, herbivory and O3+herbivory treatments. Our results demonstrated that elevated O3 and whitefly herbivory significantly increased tomato volatiles, which attracted E. formosa and reduced whitefly feeding. The 35S plants had a higher resistance to B. tabaci than Wt plant. Such changes suggest that the direct and indirect defences of resistant genotypes, such as 35S, could strengthen as the atmospheric O3 concentration increases. PMID:24939561

Synthetic blends of volatile, phytopathogen-induced odorants can be used to manipulate vector behavior.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alexander eAksenov

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Volatile organic compounds (VOCs are emitted from all plants and these VOCs are important means of communication between plants and insects. It has been documented that pathogen infections alter VOC profiles rendering infected plants more attractive to specific vectors transmitting these pathogens than uninfected plants, thus potentially aiding in pathogen propagation. Mimicking these chemical cues might enable insect attraction away from the plant or disruption of host finding behavior of the vector. However, the practical implications have not been fully explored. We used citrus, Diaphorina citri and huanglongbing (HLB as a model host-vector-disease system because HLB threatens citrus production worldwide and is similar to other critical diseases of food crops, such as Zebra Chip affecting potato. We formulated a synthetic chemical blend using selected HLB-specific biomarker compounds, and tested the blend with the Attenu assay system for chemosensory proteins. The Attenu assay system is a procedure that identifies interactions between insect chemosensory proteins and their ligands. We found that an equimolar mixture of compounds mimicking the volatile profile of HLB-infected citrus bound chemosensory proteins. Further investigation of this blend in laboratory behavioral assays resulted in development of a synthetic lure that was more attractive to D. citri than natural citrus tree volatiles. This strategy could provide a new route to produce chemical lures for vector population control for a variety of plant and/or animal systems and it may result in the development of a practical lure for monitoring vectors of disease, such as D. citri.

Organic non-volatile memories from ferroelectric phase-separated blends

Science.gov (United States)

Asadi, Kamal; de Leeuw, Dago M.; de Boer, Bert; Blom, Paul W. M.

2008-07-01

New non-volatile memories are being investigated to keep up with the organic-electronics road map. Ferroelectric polarization is an attractive physical property as the mechanism for non-volatile switching, because the two polarizations can be used as two binary levels. However, in ferroelectric capacitors the read-out of the polarization charge is destructive. The functionality of the targeted memory should be based on resistive switching. In inorganic ferroelectrics conductivity and ferroelectricity cannot be tuned independently. The challenge is to develop a storage medium in which the favourable properties of ferroelectrics such as bistability and non-volatility can be combined with the beneficial properties provided by semiconductors such as conductivity and rectification. Here we present an integrated solution by blending semiconducting and ferroelectric polymers into phase-separated networks. The polarization field of the ferroelectric modulates the injection barrier at the semiconductor-metal contact. The combination of ferroelectric bistability with (semi)conductivity and rectification allows for solution-processed non-volatile memory arrays with a simple cross-bar architecture that can be read out non-destructively. The concept of an electrically tunable injection barrier as presented here is general and can be applied to other electronic devices such as light-emitting diodes with an integrated on/off switch.

Volatile Semiochemical Mediated Plant Defense in Cereals: A Novel Strategy for Crop Protection

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amanuel Tamiru

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Plants have evolved highly intriguing ways of defending themselves against insect attacks, including through emission of defense volatiles. These volatiles serve the plant’s defense by directly repelling phytophagous insects and/or indirectly through attracting natural enemies antagonistic to the herbivores. Several laboratory studies established the potential of improving plant resistance against insect attacks by manipulating the plant-derived volatile semiochemicals emissions. Yet, more efforts need to be conducted to translate the promising laboratory studies to fight economically-important crop pests under real field conditions. This is needed to address an increasing demand for alternative pest control options driven by ecological and environmental costs associated with the use of broad-spectrum insecticides. The practical examples discussed in this review paper demonstrate the real prospect of exploiting an inducible and constitutive plant volatile semiochemicals for developing novel and ecologically-sustainable pest management strategies to protect cereal crops from damaging insect pests.

Olfactory responses of banana weevil predators to volatiles from banana pseudostem tissue and synthetic pheromone

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Tinzaara, W.; Gold, C.S.; Dicke, M.; Huis, van A.

2005-01-01

As a response to attack by herbivores, plants can emit a variety of volatile substances that attract natural enemies of these insect pests. Predators of the banana weevil, Cosmopolites sordidus (Germar) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) such as Dactylosternum abdominale (Coleoptera: Hydrophilidae) and

Global issues in volatile substance misuse.

Science.gov (United States)

Dell, Colleen Anne; Gust, Steven W; MacLean, Sarah

2011-01-01

This special issue of Substance Use & Misuse addresses the public health issue of volatile substance misuse (VSM), the inhalation of gases or vapors for psychoactive effects, assessing the similarities and differences in the products misused, patterns, prevalence, etiologies, and impacts of VSM by examining it through sociocultural epidemiology, neuroscience, and interventions research. The Canadian, US, and Australian guest editors contend that, when compared with other drugs used at a similar prevalence, VSM has attracted relatively little research effort. The authors and editors call for further research to develop evidence-based policies and comprehensive interventions that respect culture and context-specific knowledge.

Slow Release of Plant Volatiles Using Sol-Gel Dispensers.

Science.gov (United States)

Bian, L; Sun, X L; Cai, X M; Chen, Z M

2014-12-01

The black citrus aphid, also known as the tea aphid, (Toxoptera aurantii Boyer) attacks economically important crops, including tea (Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze). In the current study, silica sol-gel formulations were screened to find one that could carry and release C. sinensis plant volatiles to lure black citrus aphids in a greenhouse. The common plant volatile trans-2-hexen-1-al was used as a model molecule to screen for suitable sol-gel formulations. A zNose (Electronic Sensor Technology, Newbury Park, CA) transportable gas chromatograph was used to continuously monitor the volatile emissions. A sol-gel formulation containing tetramethyl orthosilicate and methyltrimethoxysilane in an 8:2 (vol:vol) ratio was selected to develop a slow-release dispenser. The half-life of trans-2-hexen-1-al in the sol-gel dispenser increased slightly with the volume of this compound in the dispenser. Ten different volatiles were tested in the sol-gel dispenser. Alcohols of 6-10 carbons had the longest half-lives (3.01-3.77 d), while esters of 6-12 carbons had the shortest (1.53-2.28 d). Release of these volatiles from the dispensers could not be detected by the zNose after 16 d (cis-3-hexenyl acetate) to 26 d (3,7-dimethylocta-1,6-dien-3-ol). In greenhouse experiments, trans-2-hexen-1-al and cis-3-hexen-1-ol released from the sol-gel dispensers attracted aphids for ≍17 d, and release of these volatiles could not be detected by the zNose after ≍24 d. The sol-gel dispensers performed adequately for the slow release of plant volatiles to trap aphids in the greenhouse. © 2014 Entomological Society of America.

On the origin of resistive switching volatility in Ni/TiO{sub 2}/Ni stacks

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cortese, Simone, E-mail: simone.cortese@soton.ac.uk; Trapatseli, Maria; Khiat, Ali; Prodromakis, Themistoklis [Nano Research Group, Electronics and Computer Science, University of Southampton, Southampton, Hampshire, SO17 1BJ (United Kingdom)

2016-08-14

Resistive switching and resistive random access memories have attracted huge interest for next generation nonvolatile memory applications, also thought to be able to overcome flash memories limitations when arranged in crossbar arrays. A cornerstone of their potential success is that the toggling between two distinct resistance states, usually a High Resistive State (HRS) and a Low Resistive State (LRS), is an intrinsic non-volatile phenomenon with the two states being thermodynamically stable. TiO{sub 2} is one of the most common materials known to support non-volatile RS. In this paper, we report a volatile resistive switching in a titanium dioxide thin film sandwiched by two nickel electrodes. The aim of this work is to understand the underlying physical mechanism that triggers the volatile effect, which is ascribed to the presence of a NiO layer at the bottom interface. The NiO layer alters the equilibrium between electric field driven filament formation and thermal enhanced ion diffusion, resulting in the volatile behaviour. Although the volatility is not ideal for non-volatile memory applications, it shows merit for access devices in crossbar arrays due to its high LRS/HRS ratio, which are also briefly discussed.

Developing Bisexual Attract-and-Kill for Polyphagous Insects: Ecological Rationale versus Pragmatics.

Science.gov (United States)

Gregg, Peter C; Del Socorro, Alice P; Hawes, Anthony J; Binns, Matthew R

2016-07-01

We discuss the principles of bisexual attract-and-kill, in which females as well as males are targeted with an attractant, such as a blend of plant volatiles, combined with a toxicant. While the advantages of this strategy have been apparent for over a century, there are few products available to farmers for inclusion in integrated pest management schemes. We describe the development, registration, and commercialization of one such product, Magnet(®), which was targeted against Helicoverpa armigera and H. punctigera in Australian cotton. We advocate an empirical rather than theoretical approach to selecting and blending plant volatiles for such products, and emphasise the importance of field studies on ecologically realistic scales of time and space. The properties required of insecticide partners also are discussed. We describe the studies that were necessary to provide data for registration of the Magnet(®) product. These included evidence of efficacy, including local and area-wide impacts on the target pest, non-target impacts, and safety for consumers and applicators. In the decade required for commercial development, the target market for Magnet(®) has been greatly reduced by the widespread adoption of transgenic insect-resistant cotton in Australia. We discuss potential applications in resistance management for transgenic cotton, and for other pests in cotton and other crops.

Responses of the Asian citrus psyllid to volatiles emitted by the flushing shoots of its rutaceous host plants.

Science.gov (United States)

Patt, J M; Sétamou, M

2010-04-01

Diaphorina citri Kuwayama (Hemiptera: Psyllidae) carries Candidatus liberibacter spp., the putative causal agents of Huanglongbing. D. citri reproduces and develops only on the flushing shoots of its rutaceous host plants. Here we examined whether D. citri is attracted to host plant odors and a mixture of synthetic terpenes. Tests conducted in a vertically oriented Y-tube olfactometer showed that both males and females preferentially entered the Y-tube arm containing the odor from the young shoots of Murraya paniculata (L.) Jack and Citrus limon L. Burm. f. cultivar Eureka. Only males exhibited a preference for the odor of C. sinensis L., whereas the odor of C. x paradisi MacFadyen cultivar Rio Red was not attractive to both sexes. The volatiles emitted by young shoots of grapefruit cultivar Rio Red, Meyer lemon (Citrus x limon L. Burm.f.), and M. paniculata were analyzed by gas chromatograph-mass spectrometry. The samples were comprised of monoterpenes, monoterpene esters, and sesquiterpenes. The number of compounds present varied from 2 to 17, whereas the total amount of sample collected over 6 h ranged from 5.6 to 119.8 ng. The quantitatively dominant constituents were (E)-beta-ocimene, linalool, linalyl acetate, and beta-caryophyllene. The attractiveness of a mixture of synthetic terpenes, modeled on the volatiles collected from M. paniculata, was evaluated in screened cages in a no-choice test. At three observation intervals, significantly more individuals were trapped on white targets scented with the mixture than on unscented targets. These results indicate the feasibility of developing D. citri attractants patterned on actual host plant volatiles.

Plants attract parasitic wasps to defend themselves against insect pests by releasing hexenol.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jianing Wei

2007-09-01

Full Text Available Plant volatiles play an important role in defending plants against insect attacks by attracting their natural enemies. For example, green leaf volatiles (GLVs and terpenoids emitted from herbivore-damaged plants were found to be important in the host location of parasitic wasps. However, evidence of the functional roles and mechanisms of these semio-chemicals from a system of multiple plants in prey location by the parasitoid is limited. Little is known about the potential evolutionary trends between herbivore-induced host plant volatiles and the host location of their parasitoids.The present study includes hierarchical cluster analyses of plant volatile profiles from seven families of host and non-host plants of pea leafminer, Liriomyza huidobrensis, and behavioral responses of a naive parasitic wasp, Opius dissitus, to some principal volatile compounds. Here we show that plants can effectively pull wasps, O. dissitus, towards them by releasing a universally induced compound, (Z-3-hexenol, and potentially keep these plants safe from parasitic assaults by leafminer pests, L. huidobrensis. Specifically, we found that volatile profiles from healthy plants revealed a partly phylogenetic signal, while the inducible compounds of the infested-plants did not result from the fact that the induced plant volatiles dominate most of the volatile blends of the host and non-host plants of the leafminer pests. We further show that the parasitoids are capable of distinguishing the damaged host plant from the non-host plant of the leafminers.Our results suggest that, as the most passive scenario of plant involvement, leafminers and mechanical damages evoke similar semio-chemicals. Using ubiquitous compounds, such as hexenol, for host location by general parasitoids could be an adaptation of the most conservative evolution of tritrophic interaction. Although for this, other compounds may be used to improve the precision of the host location by the parasitoids.

Attracting foreign direct investment under high risk and volatility of international financial markets

OpenAIRE

PARTACHI Ion; ARVINTE Vitalie

2009-01-01

International financial crisis caused significant reduction of investment flows, especially to emerging markets, vulnerable to external shocks and foreign exchange rate fluctuations. Under these conditions, decision factors are pushed to adopt changes in investment strategies in order to maintain competitiveness in attracting foreign investments needed to stabilize economy and continue development programs. Under the conditions of incertitude and high risks emerging economies adopted differen...

Remarkable preservation of terpenoids and record of volatile signalling in plant-animal interactions from Miocene amber.

Science.gov (United States)

Dutta, Suryendu; Mehrotra, Rakesh C; Paul, Swagata; Tiwari, R P; Bhattacharya, Sharmila; Srivastava, Gaurav; Ralte, V Z; Zoramthara, C

2017-09-08

Plants produce and release a large array of volatile organic compounds that play many ecological functions. These volatile plant metabolites serve as pollinator attractants, herbivore and pathogen repellents and protect plants from abiotic stresses. To date, the geological evolution of these organic compounds remains unknown. The preservation potential of these metabolites in the fossil record is very poor due to their low boiling points. Here we report a series of volatile sesquiterpenoids, including δ-elemene, α-copaene, β-elemene, β-caryophyllene, α-humulene, germacrene D, δ-cadiene and spathunenol, from early Miocene (~17 million year) amber from eastern India. The survival of these unaltered bioterpenoids can be attributed to the existence of extraordinary taphonomic conditions conducive to the preservation of volatile biomolecules through deep time. Furthermore, the occurrence of these volatiles in the early Miocene amber suggests that the plants from this period had evolved metabolic pathways to synthesize these organic molecules to play an active role in forest ecology, especially in plant-animal interactions.

Nonvolatile, semivolatile, or volatile: redefining volatile for volatile organic compounds.

Science.gov (United States)

Võ, Uyên-Uyén T; Morris, Michael P

2014-06-01

Although widely used in air quality regulatory frameworks, the term "volatile organic compound" (VOC) is poorly defined. Numerous standardized tests are currently used in regulations to determine VOC content (and thus volatility), but in many cases the tests do not agree with each other, nor do they always accurately represent actual evaporation rates under ambient conditions. The parameters (time, temperature, reference material, column polarity, etc.) used in the definitions and the associated test methods were created without a significant evaluation of volatilization characteristics in real world settings. Not only do these differences lead to varying VOC content results, but occasionally they conflict with one another. An ambient evaporation study of selected compounds and a few formulated products was conducted and the results were compared to several current VOC test methodologies: SCAQMD Method 313 (M313), ASTM Standard Test Method E 1868-10 (E1868), and US. EPA Reference Method 24 (M24). The ambient evaporation study showed a definite distinction between nonvolatile, semivolatile, and volatile compounds. Some low vapor pressure (LVP) solvents, currently considered exempt as VOCs by some methods, volatilize at ambient conditions nearly as rapidly as the traditional high-volatility solvents they are meant to replace. Conversely, bio-based and heavy hydrocarbons did not readily volatilize, though they often are calculated as VOCs in some traditional test methods. The study suggests that regulatory standards should be reevaluated to more accurately reflect real-world emission from the use of VOC containing products. The definition of VOC in current test methods may lead to regulations that exclude otherwise viable alternatives or allow substitutions of chemicals that may limit the environmental benefits sought in the regulation. A study was conducted to examine volatility of several compounds and a few formulated products under several current VOC test

Relation between HLA genes, human skin volatiles and attractiveness of humans to malaria mosquitoes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Verhulst, N.O.; Beijleveld, H.; Qiu, Y.T.; Maliepaard, C.A.; Verduyn, W.; Haasnoot, G.W.; Claas, F.H.J.; Mumm, R.; Bouwmeester, H.J.; Takken, W.; Loon, van J.J.A.; Smallegange, R.C.

2013-01-01

Chemical cues are considered to be the most important cues for mosquitoes to find their hosts and humans can be ranked for attractiveness to mosquitoes based on the chemical cues they emit. Human leukocyte antigen (HLA) genes are considered to be involved in the regulation of human body odor and may

Dop1 enhances conspecific olfactory attraction by inhibiting miR-9a maturation in locusts.

Science.gov (United States)

Guo, Xiaojiao; Ma, Zongyuan; Du, Baozhen; Li, Ting; Li, Wudi; Xu, Lingling; He, Jing; Kang, Le

2018-03-22

Dopamine receptor 1 (Dop1) mediates locust attraction behaviors, however, the mechanism by which Dop1 modulates this process remains unknown to date. Here, we identify differentially expressed small RNAs associated with locust olfactory attraction after activating and inhibiting Dop1. Small RNA transcriptome analysis and qPCR validation reveal that Dop1 activation and inhibition downregulates and upregulates microRNA-9a (miR-9a) expression, respectively. miR-9a knockdown in solitarious locusts increases their attraction to gregarious volatiles, whereas miR-9a overexpression in gregarious locusts reduces olfactory attraction. Moreover, miR-9a directly targets adenylyl cyclase 2 (ac2), causing its downregulation at the mRNA and protein levels. ac2 responds to Dop1 and mediates locust olfactory attraction. Mechanistically, Dop1 inhibits miR-9a expression through inducing the dissociation of La protein from pre-miR-9a and resulting in miR-9a maturation inhibition. Our results reveal a Dop1-miR-9a-AC2 circuit that modulates locust olfactory attraction underlying aggregation. This study suggests that miRNAs act as key messengers in the GPCR signaling.

Pricing Volatility of Stock Returns with Volatile and Persistent Components

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zhu, Jie

In this paper a two-component volatility model based on the component's first moment is introduced to describe the dynamic of speculative return volatility. The two components capture the volatile and persistent part of volatility respectively. Then the model is applied to 10 Asia-Pacific stock m......, a positive or risk-premium effect exists between return and the volatile component, yet the persistent component is not significantly priced for return dynamic process....... markets. Their in-mean effects on return are also tested. The empirical results show that the persistent component accounts much more for volatility dynamic process than the volatile component. However the volatile component is found to be a significant pricing factor of asset returns for most markets...

On Using the Volatile Mem-Capacitive Effect of TiO2 Resistive Random Access Memory to Mimic the Synaptic Forgetting Process

Science.gov (United States)

Sarkar, Biplab; Mills, Steven; Lee, Bongmook; Pitts, W. Shepherd; Misra, Veena; Franzon, Paul D.

2018-02-01

In this work, we report on mimicking the synaptic forgetting process using the volatile mem-capacitive effect of a resistive random access memory (RRAM). TiO2 dielectric, which is known to show volatile memory operations due to migration of inherent oxygen vacancies, was used to achieve the volatile mem-capacitive effect. By placing the volatile RRAM candidate along with SiO2 at the gate of a MOS capacitor, a volatile capacitance change resembling the forgetting nature of a human brain is demonstrated. Furthermore, the memory operation in the MOS capacitor does not require a current flow through the gate dielectric indicating the feasibility of obtaining low power memory operations. Thus, the mem-capacitive effect of volatile RRAM candidates can be attractive to the future neuromorphic systems for implementing the forgetting process of a human brain.

Testing for Volatility Co-movement in Bivariate Stochastic Volatility Models

OpenAIRE

Chen, Jinghui; Kobayashi, Masahito; McAleer, Michael

2017-01-01

markdownabstractThe paper considers the problem of volatility co-movement, namely as to whether two financial returns have perfectly correlated common volatility process, in the framework of multivariate stochastic volatility models and proposes a test which checks the volatility co-movement. The proposed test is a stochastic volatility version of the co-movement test proposed by Engle and Susmel (1993), who investigated whether international equity markets have volatility co-movement using t...

Endogenous Lunar Volatiles

Science.gov (United States)

McCubbin, F. M.; Liu, Y.; Barnes, J. J.; Boyce, J. W.; Day, J. M. D.; Elardo, S. M.; Hui, H.; Magna, T.; Ni, P.; Tartese, R.;

Oil and stock market volatility: A multivariate stochastic volatility perspective

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vo, Minh

2011-01-01

This paper models the volatility of stock and oil futures markets using the multivariate stochastic volatility structure in an attempt to extract information intertwined in both markets for risk prediction. It offers four major findings. First, the stock and oil futures prices are inter-related. Their correlation follows a time-varying dynamic process and tends to increase when the markets are more volatile. Second, conditioned on the past information, the volatility in each market is very persistent, i.e., it varies in a predictable manner. Third, there is inter-market dependence in volatility. Innovations that hit either market can affect the volatility in the other market. In other words, conditioned on the persistence and the past volatility in their respective markets, the past volatility of the stock (oil futures) market also has predictive power over the future volatility of the oil futures (stock) market. Finally, the model produces more accurate Value-at-Risk estimates than other benchmarks commonly used in the financial industry. - Research Highlights: → This paper models the volatility of stock and oil futures markets using the multivariate stochastic volatility model. → The correlation between the two markets follows a time-varying dynamic process which tends to increase when the markets are more volatile. → The volatility in each market is very persistent. → Innovations that hit either market can affect the volatility in the other market. → The model produces more accurate Value-at-Risk estimates than other benchmarks commonly used in the financial industry.

Pricing Volatility of Stock Returns with Volatile and Persistent Components

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zhu, Jie

2009-01-01

This paper introduces a two-component volatility model based on first moments of both components to describe the dynamics of speculative return volatility. The two components capture the volatile and the persistent part of volatility, respectively. The model is applied to 10 Asia-Pacific stock ma...... markets. A positive or risk-premium effect exists between the return and the volatile component, yet the persistent component is not significantly priced for the return dynamic process....... markets. Their in-mean effects on returns are tested. The empirical results show that the persistent component is much more important for the volatility dynamic process than is the volatile component. However, the volatile component is found to be a significant pricing factor of asset returns for most...

Volatility in energy prices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Duffie, D.

1999-01-01

This chapter with 58 references reviews the modelling and empirical behaviour of volatility in energy prices. Constant volatility and stochastic volatility are discussed. Markovian models of stochastic volatility are described and the different classes of Markovian stochastic volatility model are examined including auto-regressive volatility, option implied and forecasted volatility, Garch volatility, Egarch volatility, multivariate Garch volatility, and stochastic volatility and dynamic hedging policies. Other volatility models and option hedging are considered. The performance of several stochastic volatility models as applied to heating oil, light oil, natural gas, electricity and light crude oil are compared

A natural odor attraction between lactic acid bacteria and the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans.

Science.gov (United States)

Choi, Jae Im; Yoon, Kyoung-Hye; Subbammal Kalichamy, Saraswathi; Yoon, Sung-Sik; Il Lee, Jin

2016-03-01

Animal predators can track prey using their keen sense of smell. The bacteriovorous nematode Caenorhabditis elegans employs sensitive olfactory sensory neurons that express vertebrate-like odor receptors to locate bacteria. C. elegans displays odor-related behaviors such as attraction, aversion and adaptation, but the ecological significance of these behaviors is not known. Using a combination of food microbiology and genetics, we elucidate a possible predator-prey relationship between C. elegans and lactic acid bacteria (LAB) in rotting citrus fruit. LAB produces the volatile odor diacetyl as an oxidized by-product of fermentation in the presence of citrate. We show that C. elegans is attracted to LAB when grown on citrate media or Citrus medica L, commonly known as yuzu, a citrus fruit native to East Asia, and this attraction is mediated by the diacetyl odor receptor, ODR-10. We isolated a wild LAB strain and a wild C. elegans-related nematode from rotten yuzu, and demonstrate that the wild nematode was attracted to the diacetyl produced by LAB. These results not only identify an ecological function for a C. elegans olfactory behavior, but contribute to the growing understanding of ecological relationships between the microbial and metazoan worlds.

A natural odor attraction between lactic acid bacteria and the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans

Science.gov (United States)

Choi, Jae Im; Yoon, Kyoung-hye; Subbammal Kalichamy, Saraswathi; Yoon, Sung-Sik; Il Lee, Jin

2016-01-01

Animal predators can track prey using their keen sense of smell. The bacteriovorous nematode Caenorhabditis elegans employs sensitive olfactory sensory neurons that express vertebrate-like odor receptors to locate bacteria. C. elegans displays odor-related behaviors such as attraction, aversion and adaptation, but the ecological significance of these behaviors is not known. Using a combination of food microbiology and genetics, we elucidate a possible predator–prey relationship between C. elegans and lactic acid bacteria (LAB) in rotting citrus fruit. LAB produces the volatile odor diacetyl as an oxidized by-product of fermentation in the presence of citrate. We show that C. elegans is attracted to LAB when grown on citrate media or Citrus medica L, commonly known as yuzu, a citrus fruit native to East Asia, and this attraction is mediated by the diacetyl odor receptor, ODR-10. We isolated a wild LAB strain and a wild C. elegans-related nematode from rotten yuzu, and demonstrate that the wild nematode was attracted to the diacetyl produced by LAB. These results not only identify an ecological function for a C. elegans olfactory behavior, but contribute to the growing understanding of ecological relationships between the microbial and metazoan worlds. PMID:26241504

Effect of chemical ratios of a microbial-based feeding attractant on trap catch of spotted wing drosophila (Diptera: Drosophilidae)

Science.gov (United States)

Drosophila suzukii Matsumura (SWD) can be trapped with a feeding attractant based on wine and vinegar volatiles and consisting of acetic acid, ethanol, acetoin and methionol. Using that 4-component blend, we found that the catch of SWD increased with increases in the release rate of acetoin (from 0...

Volatility Discovery

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dias, Gustavo Fruet; Scherrer, Cristina; Papailias, Fotis

The price discovery literature investigates how homogenous securities traded on different markets incorporate information into prices. We take this literature one step further and investigate how these markets contribute to stochastic volatility (volatility discovery). We formally show...... that the realized measures from homogenous securities share a fractional stochastic trend, which is a combination of the price and volatility discovery measures. Furthermore, we show that volatility discovery is associated with the way that market participants process information arrival (market sensitivity......). Finally, we compute volatility discovery for 30 actively traded stocks in the U.S. and report that Nyse and Arca dominate Nasdaq....

Level Shifts in Volatility and the Implied-Realized Volatility Relation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christensen, Bent Jesper; de Magistris, Paolo Santucci

We propose a simple model in which realized stock market return volatility and implied volatility backed out of option prices are subject to common level shifts corresponding to movements between bull and bear markets. The model is estimated using the Kalman filter in a generalization to the mult......We propose a simple model in which realized stock market return volatility and implied volatility backed out of option prices are subject to common level shifts corresponding to movements between bull and bear markets. The model is estimated using the Kalman filter in a generalization...... to the multivariate case of the univariate level shift technique by Lu and Perron (2008). An application to the S&P500 index and a simulation experiment show that the recently documented empirical properties of strong persistence in volatility and forecastability of future realized volatility from current implied...... volatility, which have been interpreted as long memory (or fractional integration) in volatility and fractional cointegration between implied and realized volatility, are accounted for by occasional common level shifts....

Testing for Volatility Co-movement in Bivariate Stochastic Volatility Models

NARCIS (Netherlands)

J. Chen (Jinghui); M. Kobayashi (Masahito); M.J. McAleer (Michael)

2017-01-01

markdownabstractThe paper considers the problem of volatility co-movement, namely as to whether two financial returns have perfectly correlated common volatility process, in the framework of multivariate stochastic volatility models and proposes a test which checks the volatility co-movement. The

Operation of a catalytic reverse flow reactor for the purification of air contamined with volatile organic compounds

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van de Beld, L.; van de Beld, L.; Westerterp, K.R.

1997-01-01

Catalytic oxidation in a reverse flow reactor is an attractive process for the decontamination of air polluted with volatile organic compounds (VOCs). In this paper several aspects of operating this type of reactor for air purification under strongly varying conditions will be discussed. For a

Beyond initial attraction: physical attractiveness in newlywed marriage.

Science.gov (United States)

McNulty, James K; Neff, Lisa A; Karney, Benjamin R

2008-02-01

Physical appearance plays a crucial role in shaping new relationships, but does it continue to affect established relationships, such as marriage? In the current study, the authors examined how observer ratings of each spouse's facial attractiveness and the difference between those ratings were associated with (a) observations of social support behavior and (b) reports of marital satisfaction. In contrast to the robust and almost universally positive effects of levels of attractiveness on new relationships, the only association between levels of attractiveness and the outcomes of these marriages was that attractive husbands were less satisfied. Further, in contrast to the importance of matched attractiveness to new relationships, similarity in attractiveness was unrelated to spouses' satisfaction and behavior. Instead, the relative difference between partners' levels of attractiveness appeared to be most important in predicting marital behavior, such that both spouses behaved more positively in relationships in which wives were more attractive than their husbands, but they behaved more negatively in relationships in which husbands were more attractive than their wives. These results highlight the importance of dyadic examinations of the effects of spouses' qualities on their marriages.

Attraction of Bactrocera cucurbitae and B.dorsalis(Diptera: Tephritidae) to beer waste and other protein sources laced with ammonium acetate

Science.gov (United States)

It is known that adult tephritid fruit fly females require protein sources for adequate egg production and that ammonia and its derivatives serve as volatile cues to locate protein-rich food. The attractiveness of beer waste and the commercially available baits Nulure, Buminal, and Bugs 4 Bugs Fruit...

Putative sex pheromone of the Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri, breaks down into an attractant.

Science.gov (United States)

Zanardi, Odimar Z; Volpe, Haroldo X L; Favaris, Arodi P; Silva, Weliton D; Luvizotto, Rejane A G; Magnani, Rodrigo F; Esperança, Victoria; Delfino, Jennifer Y; de Freitas, Renato; Miranda, Marcelo P; Parra, José Roberto P; Bento, José Mauricio S; Leal, Walter S

2018-01-11

Under laboratory conditions, mating activity in Asian citrus psyllid (ACP) started 4 days after emergence, peaked at day 7, and showed a clear window of activity starting 8 h into the photophase and extending through the first hour of the scotophase. We confirmed that ACP males are attracted to emanations from conspecific females. Traps loaded with a candidate compound enriched with female extract, lignoceryl acetate (24Ac), at various doses were active only after being deployed for several weeks in the field, suggesting that a degradation product, not the test compound, was the active ingredient(s). Lignocerol, a possible product of 24Ac degradation, was not active, whereas acetic acid, another possible degradation product, was found in the airborne volatile collections from lures matured under field conditions and detected in higher amounts in volatiles collected from females at the peak of mating activity than in male samples. Acetic acid elicited dose-dependent electroantennographic responses and attracted ACP males, but not females, in Y-type and 4-way olfactometers. Field tests showed that acetic acid-baited traps captured significantly more males than control traps. Surprisingly, captures of females in acetic acid-baited traps were also higher than in control traps, possibly because of physical stimuli emitted by captured males.

Phytoseiulus persimilis response to herbivore-induced plant volatiles as a function of mite-days.

Science.gov (United States)

Nachappa, Punya; Margolies, David C; Nechols, James R; Loughin, Thomas

2006-01-01

The predatory mite, Phytoseiulus persimilis (Acari: Phytoseiidae), uses plant volatiles (i.e., airborne chemicals) triggered by feeding of their herbivorous prey, Tetranychus urticae (Acari: Tetranychidae), to help locate prey patches. The olfactory response of P. persimilis to prey-infested plants varies in direct relation to the population growth pattern of T. urticae on the plant; P. persimilis responds to plants until the spider mite population feeding on a plant collapses, after which infested plants do not attract predators. It has been suggested that this represents an early enemy-free period for T. urticae before the next generation of females is produced. We hypothesize that the mechanism behind the diminished response of predators is due to extensive leaf damage caused by T. urticae feeding, which reduces the production of volatiles irrespective of the collapse of T. urticae population on the plant. To test this hypothesis we investigated how the response of P. persimilis to prey-infested plants is affected by: 1) initial density of T. urticae, 2) duration of infestation, and 3) corresponding leaf damage due to T. urticae feeding. Specifically, we assessed the response of P. persimilis to plants infested with two T. urticae densities (20 or 40 per plant) after 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 or 14 days. We also measured leaf damage on these plants. We found that predator response to T. urticae-infested plants can be quantified as a function of mite-days, which is a cumulative measure of the standing adult female mite population sampled and summed over time. That is, response to volatiles increased with increasing numbers of T. urticae per plant or with the length of time plant was infested by T. urticae, at least as long at the leaves were green. Predatory mites were significantly attracted to plants that were infested for 2 days with only 20 spider mites. This suggests that the enemy-free period might only provide a limited window of opportunity for T. urticae

Integrated Metabolomics and Morphogenesis Reveal Volatile Signaling of the Nematode-Trapping Fungus Arthrobotrys oligospora.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Bai-Le; Chen, Yong-Hong; He, Jia-Ning; Xue, Hua-Xi; Yan, Ni; Zeng, Zhi-Jun; Bennett, Joan W; Zhang, Ke-Qin; Niu, Xue-Mei

2018-05-01

The adjustment of metabolic patterns is fundamental to fungal biology and plays vital roles in adaptation to diverse ecological challenges. Nematode-trapping fungi can switch their lifestyle from saprophytic to pathogenic by developing specific trapping devices induced by nematodes to infect their prey as a response to nutrient depletion in nature. However, the chemical identity of the specific fungal metabolites used during the switch remains poorly understood. We hypothesized that these important signal molecules might be volatile in nature. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry was used to carry out comparative analysis of fungal metabolomics during the saprophytic and pathogenic lifestyles of the model species Arthrobotrys oligospora Two media commonly used in research on this species, cornmeal agar (CMA) and potato dextrose agar (PDA), were chosen for use in this study. The fungus produced a small group of volatile furanone and pyrone metabolites that were associated with the switch from the saprophytic to the pathogenic stage. A. oligospora fungi grown on CMA tended to produce more traps and employ attractive furanones to improve the utilization of traps, while fungi grown on PDA developed fewer traps and used nematode-toxic furanone metabolites to compensate for insufficient traps. Another volatile pyrone metabolite, maltol, was identified as a morphological regulator for enhancing trap formation. Deletion of the gene AOL_s00079g496 in A. oligospora led to increased amounts of the furanone attractant (2-fold) in mutants and enhanced the attractive activity (1.5-fold) of the fungus, while it resulted in decreased trap formation. This investigation provides new insights regarding the comprehensive tactics of fungal adaptation to environmental stress, integrating both morphological and metabolomic mechanisms. IMPORTANCE Nematode-trapping fungi are a unique group of soil-living fungi that can switch from the saprophytic to the pathogenic lifestyle once they come

Range-based volatility, expected stock returns, and the low volatility anomaly

Science.gov (United States)

2017-01-01

One of the foundations of financial economics is the idea that rational investors will discount stocks with more risk (volatility), which will result in a positive relation between risk and future returns. However, the empirical evidence is mixed when determining how volatility is related to future returns. In this paper, we examine this relation using a range-based measure of volatility, which is shown to be theoretically, numerically, and empirically superior to other measures of volatility. In a variety of tests, we find that range-based volatility is negatively associated with expected stock returns. These results are robust to time-series multifactor models as well as cross-sectional tests. Our findings contribute to the debate about the direction of the relationship between risk and return and confirm the presence of the low volatility anomaly, or the anomalous finding that low volatility stocks outperform high volatility stocks. In other tests, we find that the lower returns associated with range-based volatility are driven by stocks with lottery-like characteristics. PMID:29190652

Range-based volatility, expected stock returns, and the low volatility anomaly.

Science.gov (United States)

Blau, Benjamin M; Whitby, Ryan J

2017-01-01

One of the foundations of financial economics is the idea that rational investors will discount stocks with more risk (volatility), which will result in a positive relation between risk and future returns. However, the empirical evidence is mixed when determining how volatility is related to future returns. In this paper, we examine this relation using a range-based measure of volatility, which is shown to be theoretically, numerically, and empirically superior to other measures of volatility. In a variety of tests, we find that range-based volatility is negatively associated with expected stock returns. These results are robust to time-series multifactor models as well as cross-sectional tests. Our findings contribute to the debate about the direction of the relationship between risk and return and confirm the presence of the low volatility anomaly, or the anomalous finding that low volatility stocks outperform high volatility stocks. In other tests, we find that the lower returns associated with range-based volatility are driven by stocks with lottery-like characteristics.

Range-based volatility, expected stock returns, and the low volatility anomaly.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Benjamin M Blau

Full Text Available One of the foundations of financial economics is the idea that rational investors will discount stocks with more risk (volatility, which will result in a positive relation between risk and future returns. However, the empirical evidence is mixed when determining how volatility is related to future returns. In this paper, we examine this relation using a range-based measure of volatility, which is shown to be theoretically, numerically, and empirically superior to other measures of volatility. In a variety of tests, we find that range-based volatility is negatively associated with expected stock returns. These results are robust to time-series multifactor models as well as cross-sectional tests. Our findings contribute to the debate about the direction of the relationship between risk and return and confirm the presence of the low volatility anomaly, or the anomalous finding that low volatility stocks outperform high volatility stocks. In other tests, we find that the lower returns associated with range-based volatility are driven by stocks with lottery-like characteristics.

Pricing Volatility Referenced Assets

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alan De Genaro Dario

2006-12-01

Full Text Available Volatility swaps are contingent claims on future realized volatility. Variance swaps are similar instruments on future realized variance, the square of future realized volatility. Unlike a plain vanilla option, whose volatility exposure is contaminated by its asset price dependence, volatility and variance swaps provide a pure exposure to volatility alone. This article discusses the risk-neutral valuation of volatility and variance swaps based on the framework outlined in the Heston (1993 stochastic volatility model. Additionally, the Heston (1993 model is calibrated for foreign currency options traded at BMF and its parameters are used to price swaps on volatility and variance of the BRL / USD exchange rate.

Elevated carbon dioxide reduces emission of herbivore-induced volatiles in Zea mays.

Science.gov (United States)

Block, Anna; Vaughan, Martha M; Christensen, Shawn A; Alborn, Hans T; Tumlinson, James H

2017-09-01

Terpene volatiles produced by sweet corn (Zea mays) upon infestation with pests such as beet armyworm (Spodoptera exigua) function as part of an indirect defence mechanism by attracting parasitoid wasps; yet little is known about the impact of climate change on this form of plant defence. To investigate how a central component of climate change affects indirect defence, we measured herbivore-induced volatile emissions in plants grown under elevated carbon dioxide (CO 2 ). We found that S. exigua infested or elicitor-treated Z. mays grown at elevated CO 2 had decreased emission of its major sesquiterpene, (E)-β-caryophyllene and two homoterpenes, (3E)-4,8-dimethyl-1,3,7-nonatriene and (3E,7E)-4,8,12-trimethyl-1,3,7,11-tridecatetraene. In contrast, inside the leaves, elicitor-induced (E)-β-caryophyllene hyper-accumulated at elevated CO 2 , while levels of homoterpenes were unaffected. Furthermore, gene expression analysis revealed that the induction of terpene synthase genes following treatment was lower in plants grown at elevated CO 2 . Our data indicate that elevated CO 2 leads both to a repression of volatile synthesis at the transcriptional level and to limitation of volatile release through effects of CO 2 on stomatal conductance. These findings suggest that elevated CO 2 may alter the ability of Z. mays to utilize volatile terpenes to mediate indirect defenses. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Trapping female Pandemis limitata (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) moths with mixtures of acetic acid, benzenoid apple leaf volatiles, and sex pheromones

Science.gov (United States)

Pandemis limitata (Robinson) is one of several leaf-feeding caterpillar pests of commercial tree-fruit crops in British Columbia. Recent discovery that European Pandemis spp. are attracted to lures containing acetic acid (AA) and caterpillar-induced benzenoid apple leaf volatiles, 2-phenylethanol a...

Pheromone communication in Anastrepha obliqua (Diptera: Tephritidae): A comparison of the volatiles and salivary gland extracts of two wild populations

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Goncalves, G. B.; Silva, C. E.; Mendonca, A. D. L.; Vaníčková, Lucie; Tomčala, Aleš; do Nascimento, R. R.

2013-01-01

Roč. 96, č. 4 (2013), s. 1365-1374 ISSN 0015-4040 Institutional support: RVO:61388963 Keywords : salivary glands * volatile compounds * sex attractant * wild population * gas chromatography - mass spectrometry Subject RIV: CE - Biochemistry Impact factor: 1.056, year: 2013

Volatile and non-volatile/semi-volatile compounds and in vitro bioactive properties of Chilean Ulmo (Eucryphia cordifolia Cav.) honey.

Science.gov (United States)

Acevedo, Francisca; Torres, Paulina; Oomah, B Dave; de Alencar, Severino Matias; Massarioli, Adna Prado; Martín-Venegas, Raquel; Albarral-Ávila, Vicenta; Burgos-Díaz, César; Ferrer, Ruth; Rubilar, Mónica

2017-04-01

Ulmo honey originating from Eucryphia cordifolia tree, known locally in the Araucania region as the Ulmo tree is a natural product with valuable nutritional and medicinal qualities. It has been used in the Mapuche culture to treat infections. This study aimed to identify the volatile and non-volatile/semi-volatile compounds of Ulmo honey and elucidate its in vitro biological properties by evaluating its antioxidant, antibacterial, antiproliferative and hemolytic properties and cytotoxicity in Caco-2 cells. Headspace volatiles of Ulmo honey were isolated by solid-phase microextraction (SPME); non-volatiles/semi-volatiles were obtained by removing all saccharides with acidified water and the compounds were identified by GC/MS analysis. Ulmo honey volatiles consisted of 50 compounds predominated by 20 flavor components. Two of the volatile compounds, lyrame and anethol have never been reported before as honey compounds. The non-volatile/semi-volatile components of Ulmo honey comprised 27 compounds including 13 benzene derivatives accounting 75% of the total peak area. Ulmo honey exhibited weak antioxidant activity but strong antibacterial activity particularly against gram-negative bacteria and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), the main strain involved in wounds and skin infections. At concentrations >0.5%, Ulmo honey reduced Caco-2 cell viability, released lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) production in a dose dependent manner in the presence of foetal bovine serum (FBS). The wide array of volatile and non-volatile/semi-volatile constituents of Ulmo honey rich in benzene derivatives may partly account for its strong antibacterial and antiproliferative properties important for its therapeutic use. Our results indicate that Ulmo honey can potentially inhibit cancer growth at least partly by modulating oxidative stress. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Olfactory responses of Plutella xylostella natural enemies to host pheromone, larval frass, and green leaf cabbage volatiles.

Science.gov (United States)

Reddy, G V P; Holopainen, J K; Guerrero, A

2002-01-01

The parasitoids Trichogramma chilonis (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae) and Cotesia plutellae (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), and the predator Chrysoperla carnea (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae), are potential biological control agents for the diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella (Lepidoptera: Yponomeutidae). We present studies on the interactions between these bioagents and various host-associated volatiles using a Y olfactometer. T chilonis was attracted to a synthetic pheromone blend (Z11-16:Ald, Z11-16:Ac, and Z11-16:OH in a 1:1:0.01 ratio), to Z11-16:Ac alone, and to a 1:1 blend of Z11-16:Ac and Z11-16:Ald. C. plutellae responded to the blend and to Z11-16:Ac and Z11-16:Ald. Male and female C. carnea responded to the blend and to a 1:1 blend of the major components of the pheromone, although no response was elicited by single compounds. Among the four host larval frass volatiles tested (dipropyl disulfide, dimethyl disulfide, allyl isothiocyanate, and dimethyl trisulfide), only allyl isothiocyanate elicited significant responses in the parasitoids and predator, but C. plutellae and both sexes of C. carnea did respond to all four volatiles. Among the green leaf volatiles of cabbage (Brassica oleracea subsp. capitata), only Z3-6:Ac elicited significant responses from T. chilonis, C. plutellae, and C. carnea, but C. plutellae also responded to E2-6:Ald and Z3-6:OH. When these volatiles were blended with the pheromone, the responses were similar to those elicited by the pheromone alone, except for C. carnea males, which had an increased response. The effect of temperature on the response of the biological agents to a mixture of the pheromone blend and Z3-6:Ac was also studied. T. chilonis was attracted at temperatures of 25-35 degrees C, while C. plutellae and C. carnea responded optimally at 30-35 degrees C and 20-25 degrees C, respectively. These results indicate that the sex pheromone and larval frass volatiles from the diamondback moth, as well as volatile compounds from

Iodine volatility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beahm, E.C.; Shockley, W.E.

1984-01-01

The ultimate aim of this program is to couple experimental aqueous iodine volatilities to a fission product release model. Iodine partition coefficients, for inorganic iodine, have been measured during hydrolysis and radiolysis. The hydrolysis experiments have illustrated the importance of reaction time on iodine volatility. However, radiolysis effects can override hydrolysis in determining iodine volatility. In addition, silver metal in radiolysis samples can react to form silver iodide accompanied by a decrease in iodine volatility. Experimental data are now being coupled to an iodine transport and release model that was developed in the Federal Republic of Germany

Analysis of volatile organic compound from Elaeis guineensis inflorescences planted on different soil types in Malaysia

Science.gov (United States)

Muhamad Fahmi, M. H.; Ahmad Bukhary, A. K.; Norma, H.; Idris, A. B.

2016-11-01

The main attractant compound for Eleidobius kamerunicus to male spikelet Elaeis guineensis (oil palm) were determined by analyzing volatile organic compound extracted from E. guineenses inflorescences planted on different soil types namely peat soil, clay soil and sandy soil. Anthesizing male oil palm inflorescences were randomly choosen from palm aged between 4-5 years old age. Extraction of the volatiles from the oil palm inflorescences were performed by Accelerated Solvent Extraction method (ASE). The extracted volatile compound were determined by using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Out of ten identified compound, estragole was found to be a major compound in sandy soil (37.49%), clay soil (30.71%) and peat soil (27.79%). Other compound such as 9,12-octadecadieonic acid and n-hexadecanoic acid were found as major compound in peat soil (27.18%) and (7.45%); sandy soil (14.15 %) and (9.31%); and clay soil (30.23%) and (4.99%). This study shows that estragole was the predominant volatile compound detected in oil palm inflorescences with highly concentrated in palm planted in sandy soil type.

The Use of Monoterpenes as Kairomones by Ips latidens (LeConte) (Coleoptera: Scolytidae)

Science.gov (United States)

D.R. Miller; J.H. Borden

1990-01-01

The responses of Ips lutidens (LeConte) to multiple-funnel traps baited with various monoterpenes were determined in stands of lodgepole pine in British Columbia. ß-Phellandrene was attractive to I. lutidens in the absence of the pheromone ipsenol ß-Phellandrene increased the attraction of I. lutidens to...

Judging attractiveness: Biases due to raters’ own attractiveness and intelligence

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stacy Yen-Lin Sim

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Tennis and Dabbs (1975 reported that physically attractive males showed a positivity bias when rating the attractiveness of others. The opposite pattern was observed for females. We attempted to replicate and extend these findings by: (1 using self-assessed attractiveness rather than the experimentally derived attractiveness measure used in previous research, (2 using face-to-face interactions with targets as opposed to using photographs, and (3 examining the effect of another ego-involving attribute: intelligence. Consistent with previous research, attractiveness judgments made by men, but not women, correlated positively with their own self-perceived level of attractiveness (r = .51, p < .001. Attractiveness judgments made by women, but not men, correlated negatively with their intelligence (r = −.32, p = .001. Judgments of attractiveness are thus biased by a rater’s own attributes (e.g. attractiveness and intelligence, but these effects are not generalizable across men and women raters, and may be driven by different mechanisms.

Asymmetric Realized Volatility Risk

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David E. Allen

2014-06-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we document that realized variation measures constructed from high-frequency returns reveal a large degree of volatility risk in stock and index returns, where we characterize volatility risk by the extent to which forecasting errors in realized volatility are substantive. Even though returns standardized by ex post quadratic variation measures are nearly Gaussian, this unpredictability brings considerably more uncertainty to the empirically relevant ex ante distribution of returns. Explicitly modeling this volatility risk is fundamental. We propose a dually asymmetric realized volatility model, which incorporates the fact that realized volatility series are systematically more volatile in high volatility periods. Returns in this framework display time varying volatility, skewness and kurtosis. We provide a detailed account of the empirical advantages of the model using data on the S&P 500 index and eight other indexes and stocks.

It’s all about volatility of volatility

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Grassi, Stefano; Santucci de Magistris, Paolo

2015-01-01

The persistent nature of equity volatility is investigated by means of a multi-factor stochastic volatility model with time varying parameters. The parameters are estimated by means of a sequential matching procedure which adopts as auxiliary model a time-varying generalization of the HAR model f...

Latent Integrated Stochastic Volatility, Realized Volatility, and Implied Volatility: A State Space Approach

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bach, Christian; Christensen, Bent Jesper

process is downward biased. Implied volatility performs better than any of the alternative realized measures when forecasting future integrated volatility. The results are largely similar across the stock market (S&P 500), bond market (30-year U.S. T-bond), and foreign currency exchange market ($/£ )....

DOES ENERGY CONSUMPTION VOLATILITY AFFECT REAL GDP VOLATILITY? AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS FOR THE UK

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abdul Rashid

2013-10-01

Full Text Available This paper empirically examines the relation between energy consumption volatility and unpredictable variations in real gross domestic product (GDP in the UK. Estimating the Markov switching ARCH model we find a significant regime switching in the behavior of both energy consumption and GDP volatility. The results from the Markov regime-switching model show that the variability of energy consumption has a significant role to play in determining the behavior of GDP volatilities. Moreover, the results suggest that the impacts of unpredictable variations in energy consumption on GDP volatility are asymmetric, depending on the intensity of volatility. In particular, we find that while there is no significant contemporaneous relationship between energy consumption volatility and GDP volatility in the first (low-volatility regime, GDP volatility is significantly positively related to the volatility of energy utilization in the second (high-volatility regime.

Metal-organic molecular device for non-volatile memory storage

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Radha, B.; Sagade, Abhay A.; Kulkarni, G. U.

2014-01-01

Non-volatile memory devices have been of immense research interest for their use in active memory storage in powered off-state of electronic chips. In literature, various molecules and metal compounds have been investigated in this regard. Molecular memory devices are particularly attractive as they offer the ease of storing multiple memory states in a unique way and also represent ubiquitous choice for miniaturized devices. However, molecules are fragile and thus the device breakdown at nominal voltages during repeated cycles hinders their practical applicability. Here, in this report, a synergetic combination of an organic molecule and an inorganic metal, i.e., a metal-organic complex, namely, palladium hexadecylthiolate is investigated for memory device characteristics. Palladium hexadecylthiolate following partial thermolysis is converted to a molecular nanocomposite of Pd(II), Pd(0), and long chain hydrocarbons, which is shown to exhibit non-volatile memory characteristics with exceptional stability and retention. The devices are all solution-processed and the memory action stems from filament formation across the pre-formed cracks in the nanocomposite film.

Variation in highbush blueberry floral volatile profiles as a function of pollination status, cultivar, time of day and flower part: implications for flower visitation by bees

Science.gov (United States)

Rodriguez-Saona, Cesar; Parra, Leonardo; Quiroz, Andrés; Isaacs, Rufus

2011-01-01

Background and Aims Studies of the effects of pollination on floral scent and bee visitation remain rare, particularly in agricultural crops. To fill this gap, the hypothesis that bee visitation to flowers decreases after pollination through reduced floral volatile emissions in highbush blueberries, Vaccinium corymbosum, was tested. Other sources of variation in floral emissions and the role of floral volatiles in bee attraction were also examined. Methods Pollinator visitation to blueberry flowers was manipulated by bagging all flowers within a bush (pollinator excluded) or leaving them unbagged (open pollinated), and then the effect on floral volatile emissions and future bee visitation were measured. Floral volatiles were also measured from different blueberry cultivars, times of the day and flower parts, and a study was conducted to test the attraction of bees to floral volatiles. Key Results Open-pollinated blueberry flowers had 32 % lower volatile emissions than pollinator-excluded flowers. In particular, cinnamyl alcohol, a major component of the floral blend that is emitted exclusively from petals, was emitted in lower quantities from open-pollinated flowers. Although, no differences in cinnamyl alcohol emissions were detected among three blueberry cultivars or at different times of day, some components of the blueberry floral blend were emitted in higher amounts from certain cultivars and at mid-day. Field observations showed that more bees visited bushes with pollinator-excluded flowers. Also, more honey bees were caught in traps baited with a synthetic blueberry floral blend than in unbaited traps. Conclusions Greater volatile emissions may help guide bees to unpollinated flowers, and thus increase plant fitness and bee energetic return when foraging in blueberries. Furthermore, the variation in volatile emissions from blueberry flowers depending on pollination status, plant cultivar and time of day suggests an adaptive role of floral signals in

Variation in highbush blueberry floral volatile profiles as a function of pollination status, cultivar, time of day and flower part: implications for flower visitation by bees.

Science.gov (United States)

Rodriguez-Saona, Cesar; Parra, Leonardo; Quiroz, Andrés; Isaacs, Rufus

2011-06-01

Studies of the effects of pollination on floral scent and bee visitation remain rare, particularly in agricultural crops. To fill this gap, the hypothesis that bee visitation to flowers decreases after pollination through reduced floral volatile emissions in highbush blueberries, Vaccinium corymbosum, was tested. Other sources of variation in floral emissions and the role of floral volatiles in bee attraction were also examined. Pollinator visitation to blueberry flowers was manipulated by bagging all flowers within a bush (pollinator excluded) or leaving them unbagged (open pollinated), and then the effect on floral volatile emissions and future bee visitation were measured. Floral volatiles were also measured from different blueberry cultivars, times of the day and flower parts, and a study was conducted to test the attraction of bees to floral volatiles. Open-pollinated blueberry flowers had 32 % lower volatile emissions than pollinator-excluded flowers. In particular, cinnamyl alcohol, a major component of the floral blend that is emitted exclusively from petals, was emitted in lower quantities from open-pollinated flowers. Although, no differences in cinnamyl alcohol emissions were detected among three blueberry cultivars or at different times of day, some components of the blueberry floral blend were emitted in higher amounts from certain cultivars and at mid-day. Field observations showed that more bees visited bushes with pollinator-excluded flowers. Also, more honey bees were caught in traps baited with a synthetic blueberry floral blend than in unbaited traps. Greater volatile emissions may help guide bees to unpollinated flowers, and thus increase plant fitness and bee energetic return when foraging in blueberries. Furthermore, the variation in volatile emissions from blueberry flowers depending on pollination status, plant cultivar and time of day suggests an adaptive role of floral signals in increasing pollination of flowers.

The Gastropod Menace: Slugs on Brassica Plants Affect Caterpillar Survival through Consumption and Interference with Parasitoid Attraction.

Science.gov (United States)

Desurmont, Gaylord A; Zemanova, Miriam A; Turlings, Ted C J

2016-03-01

Terrestrial molluscs and insect herbivores play a major role as plant consumers in a number of ecosystems, but their direct and indirect interactions have hardly been explored. The omnivorous nature of slugs makes them potential disrupters of predator-prey relationships, as a direct threat to small insects and through indirect, plant-mediated effects. Here, we examined the effects of the presence of two species of slugs, Arion rufus (native) and A. vulgaris (invasive) on the survivorship of young Pieris brassicae caterpillars when feeding on Brassica rapa plants, and on plant attractiveness to the main natural enemy of P. brassicae, the parasitoid Cotesia glomerata. In two separate predation experiments, caterpillar mortality was significantly higher on plants co-infested with A. rufus or A. vulgaris. Moreover, caterpillar mortality correlated positively with slug mass and leaf consumption by A. vulgaris. At the third trophic level, plants infested with slugs and plants co-infested with slugs and caterpillars were far less attractive to parasitoids than plants damaged by caterpillars only, independently of slug species. Chemical analyses confirmed that volatile emissions, which provide foraging cues for parasitoids, were strongly reduced in co-infested plants. Our study shows that the presence of slugs has the potential to affect insect populations, directly via consumptive effects, and indirectly via changes in plant volatiles that result in a reduced attraction of natural enemies. The fitness cost for P. brassicae imposed by increased mortality in presence of slugs may be counterbalanced by the benefit of escaping its parasitoids.

Overview of one transistor type of hybrid organic ferroelectric non-volatile memory

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Young; Tea; Chun; Daping; Chu

2015-01-01

Organic ferroelectric memory devices based on field effect transistors that can be configured between two stable states of on and off have been widely researched as the next generation data storage media in recent years.This emerging type of memory devices can lead to a new instrument system as a potential alternative to previous non-volatile memory building blocks in future processing units because of their numerous merits such as cost-effective process,simple structure and freedom in substrate choices.This bi-stable non-volatile memory device of information storage has been investigated using several organic or inorganic semiconductors with organic ferroelectric polymer materials.Recent progresses in this ferroelectric memory field,hybrid system have attracted a lot of attention due to their excellent device performance in comparison with that of all organic systems.In this paper,a general review of this type of ferroelectric non-volatile memory is provided,which include the device structure,organic ferroelectric materials,electrical characteristics and working principles.We also present some snapshots of our previous study on hybrid ferroelectric memories including our recent work based on zinc oxide nanowire channels.

Realized Volatility Risk

NARCIS (Netherlands)

D.E. Allen (David); M.J. McAleer (Michael); M. Scharth (Marcel)

2013-01-01

textabstractIn this paper we document that realized variation measures constructed from highfrequency returns reveal a large degree of volatility risk in stock and index returns, where we characterize volatility risk by the extent to which forecasting errors in realized volatility are substantive.

A group's physical attractiveness is greater than the average attractiveness of its members: the group attractiveness effect.

Science.gov (United States)

van Osch, Yvette; Blanken, Irene; Meijs, Maartje H J; van Wolferen, Job

2015-04-01

We tested whether the perceived physical attractiveness of a group is greater than the average attractiveness of its members. In nine studies, we find evidence for the so-called group attractiveness effect (GA-effect), using female, male, and mixed-gender groups, indicating that group impressions of physical attractiveness are more positive than the average ratings of the group members. A meta-analysis on 33 comparisons reveals that the effect is medium to large (Cohen's d = 0.60) and moderated by group size. We explored two explanations for the GA-effect: (a) selective attention to attractive group members, and (b) the Gestalt principle of similarity. The results of our studies are in favor of the selective attention account: People selectively attend to the most attractive members of a group and their attractiveness has a greater influence on the evaluation of the group. © 2015 by the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc.

Unconscious processing of facial attractiveness: invisible attractive faces orient visual attention.

Science.gov (United States)

Hung, Shao-Min; Nieh, Chih-Hsuan; Hsieh, Po-Jang

2016-11-16

Past research has proven human's extraordinary ability to extract information from a face in the blink of an eye, including its emotion, gaze direction, and attractiveness. However, it remains elusive whether facial attractiveness can be processed and influences our behaviors in the complete absence of conscious awareness. Here we demonstrate unconscious processing of facial attractiveness with three distinct approaches. In Experiment 1, the time taken for faces to break interocular suppression was measured. The results showed that attractive faces enjoyed the privilege of breaking suppression and reaching consciousness earlier. In Experiment 2, we further showed that attractive faces had lower visibility thresholds, again suggesting that facial attractiveness could be processed more easily to reach consciousness. Crucially, in Experiment 3, a significant decrease of accuracy on an orientation discrimination task subsequent to an invisible attractive face showed that attractive faces, albeit suppressed and invisible, still exerted an effect by orienting attention. Taken together, for the first time, we show that facial attractiveness can be processed in the complete absence of consciousness, and an unconscious attractive face is still capable of directing our attention.

Aboveground endophyte affects root volatile emission and host plant selection of a belowground insect.

Science.gov (United States)

Rostás, Michael; Cripps, Michael G; Silcock, Patrick

2015-02-01

Plants emit specific blends of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that serve as multitrophic, multifunctional signals. Fungi colonizing aboveground (AG) or belowground (BG) plant structures can modify VOC patterns, thereby altering the information content for AG insects. Whether AG microbes affect the emission of root volatiles and thus influence soil insect behaviour is unknown. The endophytic fungus Neotyphodium uncinatum colonizes the aerial parts of the grass hybrid Festuca pratensis × Lolium perenne and is responsible for the presence of insect-toxic loline alkaloids in shoots and roots. We investigated whether endophyte symbiosis had an effect on the volatile emission of grass roots and if the root herbivore Costelytra zealandica was able to recognize endophyte-infected plants by olfaction. In BG olfactometer assays, larvae of C. zealandica were more strongly attracted to roots of uninfected than endophyte-harbouring grasses. Combined gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and proton transfer reaction-mass spectrometry revealed that endophyte-infected roots emitted less VOCs and more CO2. Our results demonstrate that symbiotic fungi in plants may influence soil insect distribution by changing their behaviour towards root volatiles. The well-known defensive mutualism between grasses and Neotyphodium endophytes could thus go beyond bioactive alkaloids and also confer protection by being chemically less apparent for soil herbivores.

Virtual volatility

Science.gov (United States)

Silva, A. Christian; Prange, Richard E.

2007-03-01

We introduce the concept of virtual volatility. This simple but new measure shows how to quantify the uncertainty in the forecast of the drift component of a random walk. The virtual volatility also is a useful tool in understanding the stochastic process for a given portfolio. In particular, and as an example, we were able to identify mean reversion effect in our portfolio. Finally, we briefly discuss the potential practical effect of the virtual volatility on an investor asset allocation strategy.

Exogenous application of the plant signalers methyl jasmonate and salicylic acid induces changes in volatile emissions from citrus foliage and influences the aggregation behavior of Asian citrus psyllid (Diaphorina citri, vector of Huanglongbing.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Joseph M Patt

Full Text Available Huanglongbing, also known as citrus greening, is a destructive disease that threatens citrus production worldwide. It is putatively caused by the phloem-limited bacterium Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (Las. Currently, the disease is untreatable and efforts focus on intensive insecticide use to control the vector, Asian citrus psyllid (Diaphorina citri. Emerging psyllid resistance to multiple insecticides has generated investigations into the use of exogenously applied signaling compounds to enhance citrus resistance to D. citri and Las. In the present study, we examined whether foliar applications of methyl jasmonate (MJ, a volatile signaling compound associated with the induced systemic resistance pathway, and salicylic acid, a constituent of the systemic acquired resistance pathway, would elicit the emission of defense-related volatiles in citrus foliage, and what effect this might have on the host-plant searching behavior of D. citri. Comparisons were made of volatiles emitted from growing shoots of uninfected and Las-infected 'Valencia' sweet orange (Citrus sinensis trees over two consecutive sampling days. A settling behavioral assay was used to compare psyllid attraction to MJ-treated vs. Tween-treated citrus sprigs. All three main effects, Las infection status, plant signaler application, and sampling day, influenced the proportions of individual volatile compounds emitted in different treatment groups. MJ- and SA-treated trees had higher emission rates than Tween-treated trees. Methyl salicylate (MeSA and β-caryophyllene were present in higher proportions in the volatiles collected from Las-infected + trees. On the other hand, Las-infected + MJ-treated trees emitted lower proportions of MeSA than did Las-infected + Tween-treated trees. Because MeSA is a key D. citri attractant, this result suggests that MJ application could suppress MeSA emission from Las-infected trees, an approach that could be used to discourage psyllid

Exogenous application of the plant signalers methyl jasmonate and salicylic acid induces changes in volatile emissions from citrus foliage and influences the aggregation behavior of Asian citrus psyllid (Diaphorina citri), vector of Huanglongbing.

Science.gov (United States)

Patt, Joseph M; Robbins, Paul S; Niedz, Randy; McCollum, Greg; Alessandro, Rocco

2018-01-01

Huanglongbing, also known as citrus greening, is a destructive disease that threatens citrus production worldwide. It is putatively caused by the phloem-limited bacterium Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (Las). Currently, the disease is untreatable and efforts focus on intensive insecticide use to control the vector, Asian citrus psyllid (Diaphorina citri). Emerging psyllid resistance to multiple insecticides has generated investigations into the use of exogenously applied signaling compounds to enhance citrus resistance to D. citri and Las. In the present study, we examined whether foliar applications of methyl jasmonate (MJ), a volatile signaling compound associated with the induced systemic resistance pathway, and salicylic acid, a constituent of the systemic acquired resistance pathway, would elicit the emission of defense-related volatiles in citrus foliage, and what effect this might have on the host-plant searching behavior of D. citri. Comparisons were made of volatiles emitted from growing shoots of uninfected and Las-infected 'Valencia' sweet orange (Citrus sinensis) trees over two consecutive sampling days. A settling behavioral assay was used to compare psyllid attraction to MJ-treated vs. Tween-treated citrus sprigs. All three main effects, Las infection status, plant signaler application, and sampling day, influenced the proportions of individual volatile compounds emitted in different treatment groups. MJ- and SA-treated trees had higher emission rates than Tween-treated trees. Methyl salicylate (MeSA) and β-caryophyllene were present in higher proportions in the volatiles collected from Las-infected + trees. On the other hand, Las-infected + MJ-treated trees emitted lower proportions of MeSA than did Las-infected + Tween-treated trees. Because MeSA is a key D. citri attractant, this result suggests that MJ application could suppress MeSA emission from Las-infected trees, an approach that could be used to discourage psyllid colonization during

Exogenous application of the plant signalers methyl jasmonate and salicylic acid induces changes in volatile emissions from citrus foliage and influences the aggregation behavior of Asian citrus psyllid (Diaphorina citri), vector of Huanglongbing

Science.gov (United States)

Robbins, Paul S.; Niedz, Randy; McCollum, Greg; Alessandro, Rocco

2018-01-01

Huanglongbing, also known as citrus greening, is a destructive disease that threatens citrus production worldwide. It is putatively caused by the phloem-limited bacterium Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (Las). Currently, the disease is untreatable and efforts focus on intensive insecticide use to control the vector, Asian citrus psyllid (Diaphorina citri). Emerging psyllid resistance to multiple insecticides has generated investigations into the use of exogenously applied signaling compounds to enhance citrus resistance to D. citri and Las. In the present study, we examined whether foliar applications of methyl jasmonate (MJ), a volatile signaling compound associated with the induced systemic resistance pathway, and salicylic acid, a constituent of the systemic acquired resistance pathway, would elicit the emission of defense-related volatiles in citrus foliage, and what effect this might have on the host-plant searching behavior of D. citri. Comparisons were made of volatiles emitted from growing shoots of uninfected and Las-infected ‘Valencia’ sweet orange (Citrus sinensis) trees over two consecutive sampling days. A settling behavioral assay was used to compare psyllid attraction to MJ-treated vs. Tween-treated citrus sprigs. All three main effects, Las infection status, plant signaler application, and sampling day, influenced the proportions of individual volatile compounds emitted in different treatment groups. MJ- and SA-treated trees had higher emission rates than Tween-treated trees. Methyl salicylate (MeSA) and β-caryophyllene were present in higher proportions in the volatiles collected from Las-infected + trees. On the other hand, Las-infected + MJ-treated trees emitted lower proportions of MeSA than did Las-infected + Tween-treated trees. Because MeSA is a key D. citri attractant, this result suggests that MJ application could suppress MeSA emission from Las-infected trees, an approach that could be used to discourage psyllid colonization during

Realized volatility and absolute return volatility: a comparison indicating market risk.

Science.gov (United States)

Zheng, Zeyu; Qiao, Zhi; Takaishi, Tetsuya; Stanley, H Eugene; Li, Baowen

2014-01-01

Measuring volatility in financial markets is a primary challenge in the theory and practice of risk management and is essential when developing investment strategies. Although the vast literature on the topic describes many different models, two nonparametric measurements have emerged and received wide use over the past decade: realized volatility and absolute return volatility. The former is strongly favored in the financial sector and the latter by econophysicists. We examine the memory and clustering features of these two methods and find that both enable strong predictions. We compare the two in detail and find that although realized volatility has a better short-term effect that allows predictions of near-future market behavior, absolute return volatility is easier to calculate and, as a risk indicator, has approximately the same sensitivity as realized volatility. Our detailed empirical analysis yields valuable guidelines for both researchers and market participants because it provides a significantly clearer comparison of the strengths and weaknesses of the two methods.

Realized volatility and absolute return volatility: a comparison indicating market risk.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zeyu Zheng

Full Text Available Measuring volatility in financial markets is a primary challenge in the theory and practice of risk management and is essential when developing investment strategies. Although the vast literature on the topic describes many different models, two nonparametric measurements have emerged and received wide use over the past decade: realized volatility and absolute return volatility. The former is strongly favored in the financial sector and the latter by econophysicists. We examine the memory and clustering features of these two methods and find that both enable strong predictions. We compare the two in detail and find that although realized volatility has a better short-term effect that allows predictions of near-future market behavior, absolute return volatility is easier to calculate and, as a risk indicator, has approximately the same sensitivity as realized volatility. Our detailed empirical analysis yields valuable guidelines for both researchers and market participants because it provides a significantly clearer comparison of the strengths and weaknesses of the two methods.

Unstable volatility

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Casas, Isabel; Gijbels, Irène

2012-01-01

The objective of this paper is to introduce the break-preserving local linear (BPLL) estimator for the estimation of unstable volatility functions for independent and asymptotically independent processes. Breaks in the structure of the conditional mean and/or the volatility functions are common...... in Finance. Nonparametric estimators are well suited for these events due to the flexibility of their functional form and their good asymptotic properties. However, the local polynomial kernel estimators are not consistent at points where the volatility function has a break. The estimator presented...

Inbreeding in horsenettle (Solanum carolinense) alters night-time volatile emissions that guide oviposition by Manduca sexta moths.

Science.gov (United States)

Kariyat, Rupesh R; Mauck, Kerry E; Balogh, Christopher M; Stephenson, Andrew G; Mescher, Mark C; De Moraes, Consuelo M

2013-04-22

Plant volatiles serve as key foraging and oviposition cues for insect herbivores as well as their natural enemies, but little is known about how genetic variation within plant populations influences volatile-mediated interactions among plants and insects. Here, we explore how inbred and outbred plants from three maternal families of the native weed horsenettle (Solanum carolinense) vary in the emission of volatile organic compounds during the dark phase of the photoperiod, and the effects of this variation on the oviposition preferences of Manduca sexta moths, whose larvae are specialist herbivores of Solanaceae. Compared with inbred plants, outbred plants consistently released more total volatiles at night and more individual compounds-including some previously reported to repel moths and attract predators. Female moths overwhelmingly chose to lay eggs on inbred (versus outbred) plants, and this preference persisted when olfactory cues were presented in the absence of visual and contact cues. These results are consistent with our previous findings that inbred plants recruit more herbivores and suffer greater herbivory under field conditions. Furthermore, they suggest that constitutive volatiles released during the dark portion of the photoperiod can convey accurate information about plant defence status (and/or other aspects of host plant quality) to foraging herbivores.

Pluto's Volatile Transport

Science.gov (United States)

Young, Leslie

2012-10-01

Pluto's varying subsolar latitude and heliocentric distance leads to large variations in the surface volatile distribution and surface pressure. I present results of new volatile transport models (Young 2012a, b). The models include insolation, thermal emission, subsurface conduction, heating of a volatile slab, internal heat flux, latent heat of sublimation, and strict global mass balance. Numeric advances include initial conditions that allow for rapid convergence, efficient computation with matrix arithmetic, and stable Crank-Nicholson timesteps for both bare and volatile-covered areas. Runs of the model show six distinct seasons on Pluto. (1) As Pluto approaches perihelion, the volatiles on the old winter pole (the Rotational North Pole, RNP) becomes more directly illuminated , and the pressure and albedo rise rapidly. (2) When a new ice cap forms on the Rotational South Pole, RSP, volatiles are exchanged between poles. The pressure and albedo change more slowly. (3) When all volatiles have sublimed from the RNP, the albedo and pressure drop rapidly. (4-6) A similar pattern is repeated near aphelion with a reversal of the roles and the poles. I will compare results with earlier Pluto models of Hansen and Paige (1996), show the dependence on parameters such as substrate inertia, and make predictions for the New Horizons flyby of Pluto in 2015. This work was supported, in part, by funding from NASA Planetary Atmospheres Grant NNG06GF32G and the Spitzer project (JPL research support Agreement 1368573). Hansen, C. J. and D. A. Paige 1996. Seasonal Nitrogen Cycles on Pluto. Icarus 120, 247-265. Young, L. A. 2012a. Volatile transport on inhomogeneous surfaces: I - Analytic expressions, with application to Pluto’s day. Icarus, in press Young, L. A. 2012b. Volatile transport on inhomogeneous surfaces: II. Numerical calculations, with application to Pluto's season. In preparation.

Oviposition responses of Aedes mosquitoes to bacterial isolates from attractive bamboo infusions.

Science.gov (United States)

Ponnusamy, Loganathan; Schal, Coby; Wesson, Dawn M; Arellano, Consuelo; Apperson, Charles S

2015-09-23

The mosquitoes Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus are vectors of pathogenic viruses that cause major human illnesses including dengue, yellow fever and chikungunya. Both mosquito species are expanding their geographic distributions and now occur worldwide in temperate and tropical climates. Collection of eggs in oviposition traps (ovitraps) is commonly used for monitoring and surveillance of container-inhabiting Aedes populations by public health agencies charged with managing mosquito-transmitted illness. Addition of an organic infusion in these traps increases the number of eggs deposited. Gravid females are guided to ovitraps by volatile chemicals produced from the breakdown of organic matter by microbes. We previously isolated and cultured 14 species of bacteria from attractive experimental infusions, made from the senescent leaves of canebrake bamboo (Arundinaria gigantea). Cultures were grown for 24 h at 28 °C with constant shaking (120 rpm) and cell densities were determined with a hemocytometer. Behavioral responses to single bacterial isolates and to a mix of isolates at different cell densities were evaluated using two-choice sticky-screen bioassay methods with gravid Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus. In behavioral assays of a mix of 14 bacterial isolates, significantly greater attraction responses were exhibited by Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus to bacterial densities of 10(7) and 10(8) cells/mL than to the control medium. When we tested single bacterial isolates, seven isolates (B1, B2, B3, B5, B12, B13 and B14) were significantly attractive to Ae. aegypti, and six isolates (B1, B5, B7, B10, B13 and B14) significantly attracted Ae. albopictus. Among all the isolates tested at three different cell densities, bacterial isolates B1, B5, B13 and B14 were highly attractive to both Aedes species. Our results show that at specific cell densities, some bacteria significantly influence the attraction of gravid Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus females to

A group's physical attractiveness is greater than the average attractiveness of its members : The group attractiveness effect

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Osch, Y.M.J.; Blanken, Irene; Meijs, Maartje H. J.; van Wolferen, Job

2015-01-01

We tested whether the perceived physical attractiveness of a group is greater than the average attractiveness of its members. In nine studies, we find evidence for the so-called group attractiveness effect (GA-effect), using female, male, and mixed-gender groups, indicating that group impressions of

A blend of ethanol and (−)-α-pinene were highly attractive to native siricid woodwasps (Siricidae, Siricinae) infesting conifers of the Sierra Nevada and the Allegheny Mountains

Science.gov (United States)

Nadir Erbilgin; Jack D. Stein; Robert E. Acciavatti; Nancy E. Gillette; Sylvia R. Mori; Kristi Bischel; Jonathan A. Cale; Carline R. Carvalho; David L. Wood

2017-01-01

Woodwasps in Sirex and related genera are well-represented in North American conifer forests, but the chemical ecology of native woodwasps is limited to a few studies demonstrating their attraction to volatile host tree compounds, primarily monoterpene hydrocarbons and monoterpene alcohols. Thus, we...

Attractive evolutionary equilibria

OpenAIRE

Roorda, Berend; Joosten, Reinoud

2011-01-01

We present attractiveness, a refinement criterion for evolutionary equilibria. Equilibria surviving this criterion are robust to small perturbations of the underlying payoff system or the dynamics at hand. Furthermore, certain attractive equilibria are equivalent to others for certain evolutionary dynamics. For instance, each attractive evolutionarily stable strategy is an attractive evolutionarily stable equilibrium for certain barycentric ray-projection dynamics, and vice versa.

Blends of Pheromones, With and Without Host Plant Volatiles, Can Attract Multiple Species of Cerambycid Beetles Simultaneously

Science.gov (United States)

L.M. Hanks; J.A. Mongold-Diers; T.H. Atkinson; M.K. Fierke; M.D. Ginzel; E.E. Graham; T.M. Poland; A.B. Richards; M.L. Richardson; J.G. Millar

2018-01-01

Pheromone components of cerambycid beetles are often conserved, with a given compound serving as a pheromone component for multiple related species, including species native to different continents. Consequently, a single synthesized compound may attract multiple species to a trap simultaneously. Furthermore, our previous research in east-central Illinois had...

Normalization for Implied Volatility

OpenAIRE

Fukasawa, Masaaki

2010-01-01

We study specific nonlinear transformations of the Black-Scholes implied volatility to show remarkable properties of the volatility surface. Model-free bounds on the implied volatility skew are given. Pricing formulas for the European options which are written in terms of the implied volatility are given. In particular, we prove elegant formulas for the fair strikes of the variance swap and the gamma swap.

Money growth volatility and the demand for money in Germany: Friedman's volatility hypothesis revisited

OpenAIRE

Brüggemann, Imke; Nautz, Dieter

1997-01-01

Recently, the Bundesbank claimed that monetary targeting has become considerably more diffcult by the increased volatility of short-term money growth. The present paper investigates the impact of German money growth volatility on income velocity and money demand in view of Friedman's money growth volatility hypothesis. Granger-causality tests provide some evidence for a velocity-volatility linkage. However the estimation of volatility-augmented money demand functions reveals that - in contras...

Old maids have more appeal: effects of age and pheromone source on mate attraction in an orb-web spider

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anna-Lena Cory

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Background. In many insects and spider species, females attract males with volatile sex pheromones, but we know surprisingly little about the costs and benefits of female pheromone emission. Here, we test the hypothesis that mate attraction by females is dynamic and strategic in the sense that investment in mate attraction is matched to the needs of the female. We use the orb-web spider Argiope bruennichi in which females risk the production of unfertilised egg clutches if they do not receive a copulation within a certain time-frame. Methods. We designed field experiments to compare mate attraction by recently matured (young females with females close to oviposition (old. In addition, we experimentally separated the potential sources of pheromone transmission, namely the female body and the web silk. Results. In accordance with the hypothesis of strategic pheromone production, the probability of mate attraction and the number of males attracted differed between age classes. While the bodies and webs of young females were hardly found by males, the majority of old females attracted up to two males within two hours. Old females not only increased pheromone emission from their bodies but also from their webs. Capture webs alone spun by old females were significantly more efficient in attracting males than webs of younger females. Discussion. Our results suggest that females modulate their investment in signalling according to the risk of remaining unmated and that they thereby economize on the costs associated with pheromone production and emission.

Old maids have more appeal: effects of age and pheromone source on mate attraction in an orb-web spider.

Science.gov (United States)

Cory, Anna-Lena; Schneider, Jutta M

2016-01-01

Background. In many insects and spider species, females attract males with volatile sex pheromones, but we know surprisingly little about the costs and benefits of female pheromone emission. Here, we test the hypothesis that mate attraction by females is dynamic and strategic in the sense that investment in mate attraction is matched to the needs of the female. We use the orb-web spider Argiope bruennichi in which females risk the production of unfertilised egg clutches if they do not receive a copulation within a certain time-frame. Methods. We designed field experiments to compare mate attraction by recently matured (young) females with females close to oviposition (old). In addition, we experimentally separated the potential sources of pheromone transmission, namely the female body and the web silk. Results. In accordance with the hypothesis of strategic pheromone production, the probability of mate attraction and the number of males attracted differed between age classes. While the bodies and webs of young females were hardly found by males, the majority of old females attracted up to two males within two hours. Old females not only increased pheromone emission from their bodies but also from their webs. Capture webs alone spun by old females were significantly more efficient in attracting males than webs of younger females. Discussion. Our results suggest that females modulate their investment in signalling according to the risk of remaining unmated and that they thereby economize on the costs associated with pheromone production and emission.

Chasing volatility

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Caporin, Massimiliano; Rossi, Eduardo; Santucci de Magistris, Paolo

The realized volatility of financial returns is characterized by persistence and occurrence of unpreditable large increments. To capture those features, we introduce the Multiplicative Error Model with jumps (MEM-J). When a jump component is included in the multiplicative specification, the condi......The realized volatility of financial returns is characterized by persistence and occurrence of unpreditable large increments. To capture those features, we introduce the Multiplicative Error Model with jumps (MEM-J). When a jump component is included in the multiplicative specification...... estimate alternative specifications of the model using a set of daily bipower measures for 7 stock indexes and 16 individual NYSE stocks. The estimates of the jump component confirm that the probability of jumps dramatically increases during the financial crisis. Compared to other realized volatility...... models, the introduction of the jump component provides a sensible improvement in the fit, as well as for in-sample and out-of-sample volatility tail forecasts....

Neonate larvae of the specialist herbivore Diabrotica virgifera virgifera do not exploit the defensive volatile (E)-ß-caryophyllene in locating maize roots

Science.gov (United States)

The behavior of the neonate larvae of Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte (western corn rootworm, WCR) was assessed in presence of maize root constitutively emitting (E)-ß-caryophylene (EßC). This root volatile has been shown to attract both second instar WCR and insect-killing nematodes, offerin...

The Putative Son's Attractiveness Alters the Perceived Attractiveness of the Putative Father.

Science.gov (United States)

Prokop, Pavol

2015-08-01

A body of literature has investigated female mate choice in the pre-mating context (pre-mating sexual selection). Humans, however, are long-living mammals forming pair-bonds which sequentially produce offspring. Post-mating evaluations of a partner's attractiveness may thus significantly influence the reproductive success of men and women. I tested herein the theory that the attractiveness of putative sons provides extra information about the genetic quality of fathers, thereby influencing fathers' attractiveness across three studies. As predicted, facially attractive boys were more frequently attributed to attractive putative fathers and vice versa (Study 1). Furthermore, priming with an attractive putative son increased the attractiveness of the putative father with the reverse being true for unattractive putative sons. When putative fathers were presented as stepfathers, the effect of the boy's attractiveness on the stepfather's attractiveness was lower and less consistent (Study 2). This suggests that the presence of an attractive boy has the strongest effect on the perceived attractiveness of putative fathers rather than on non-fathers. The generalized effect of priming with beautiful non-human objects also exists, but its effect is much weaker compared with the effects of putative biological sons (Study 3). Overall, this study highlighted the importance of post-mating sexual selection in humans and suggests that the heritable attractive traits of men are also evaluated by females after mating and/or may be used by females in mate poaching.

Face inversion increases attractiveness.

Science.gov (United States)

Leder, Helmut; Goller, Juergen; Forster, Michael; Schlageter, Lena; Paul, Matthew A

2017-07-01

Assessing facial attractiveness is a ubiquitous, inherent, and hard-wired phenomenon in everyday interactions. As such, it has highly adapted to the default way that faces are typically processed: viewing faces in upright orientation. By inverting faces, we can disrupt this default mode, and study how facial attractiveness is assessed. Faces, rotated at 90 (tilting to either side) and 180°, were rated on attractiveness and distinctiveness scales. For both orientations, we found that faces were rated more attractive and less distinctive than upright faces. Importantly, these effects were more pronounced for faces rated low in upright orientation, and smaller for highly attractive faces. In other words, the less attractive a face was, the more it gained in attractiveness by inversion or rotation. Based on these findings, we argue that facial attractiveness assessments might not rely on the presence of attractive facial characteristics, but on the absence of distinctive, unattractive characteristics. These unattractive characteristics are potentially weighed against an individual, attractive prototype in assessing facial attractiveness. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Study of Volatility of New Ship Building Prices in LNG Shipping

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

T. Bangar Raju

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The natural gas market has been expanding in size and has attracted particular attention across the global energy market. Although most natural gas transportation is carried out through pipelines, almost one third of it is done with the help of merchant vessels, capable of carrying liquefied natural gas. These LNG carriers have a special design and thus can be treated as a separate class of global fleet. New vessels are huge capital investments by vessel owning companies and just like other vessel classes; the new shipbuilding prices for the LNG segment continue to be a key aspect in the decision making of business players. Additionally these prices can be volatile as new ship building prices fluctuate with time. This paper attempts to analyse the volatility of new ship building prices of LNG carriers. For the study, the average ship building prices for all the LNG carriers having volume carrying capacity is between 160,000 – 173,000 cbm to be delivered between 2016 – 2019 were taken into account. For the analysis, GARCH and EGARCH methods were applied on the data set. The analysis concluded that there is a great deal of volatility in the new ship building prices of LNG vessels. It was also identified that negative shocks were more persistent the positive shocks.

Volatility in Equilibrium

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bollerslev, Tim; Sizova, Natalia; Tauchen, George

Stock market volatility clusters in time, carries a risk premium, is fractionally inte- grated, and exhibits asymmetric leverage effects relative to returns. This paper develops a first internally consistent equilibrium based explanation for these longstanding empirical facts. The model is cast i......, and the dynamic cross-correlations of the volatility measures with the returns calculated from actual high-frequency intra-day data on the S&P 500 aggregate market and VIX volatility indexes....

American options under stochastic volatility

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Chockalingam, A.; Muthuraman, K.

2011-01-01

The problem of pricing an American option written on an underlying asset with constant price volatility has been studied extensively in literature. Real-world data, however, demonstrate that volatility is not constant, and stochastic volatility models are used to account for dynamic volatility

Interference of plant volatiles on pheromone receptor neurons of male Grapholita molesta (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae).

Science.gov (United States)

Ammagarahalli, Byrappa; Gemeno, César

2015-10-01

In moths, sex pheromone components are detected by pheromone-specific olfactory receptor neurons (ph-ORNs) housed in sensilla trichodea in the male antennae. In Grapholita molesta, ph-ORNs are highly sensitive and specific to the individual sex pheromone components, and thus help in the detection and discrimination of the unique conspecific pheromone blend. Plant odors interspersed with a sub-optimal pheromone dose are reported to increase male moth attraction. To determine if the behavioral synergism of pheromone and plant odors starts at the ph-ORN level, single sensillum recordings were performed on Z8-12:Ac and E8-12:Ac ph-ORNs (Z-ORNs and E-ORNs, respectively) stimulated with pheromone-plant volatile mixtures. First, biologically meaningful plant-volatile doses were determined by recording the response of plant-specific ORNs housed in sensilla auricillica and trichodea to several plant odorants. This exploration provided a first glance at plant ORNs in this species. Then, using these plant volatile doses, we found that the spontaneous activity of ph-ORNs was not affected by the stimulation with plant volatiles, but that a binary mixture of sex pheromone and plant odorants resulted in a small (about 15%), dose-independent, but statistically significant, reduction in the spike frequency of Z-ORNs with respect to stimulation with Z8-12:Ac alone. The response of E-ORNs to a combination of E8-12:Ac and plant volatiles was not different from E8-12:Ac alone. We argue that the small inhibition of Z-ORNs caused by physiologically realistic plant volatile doses is probably not fully responsible for the observed behavioral synergism of pheromone and plant odors. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Chemical Ecology of the Colorado Potato Beetle, Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Say (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae, and Potential for Alternative Control Methods

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

François J. Verheggen

2012-12-01

Full Text Available The Colorado potato beetle (CPB has been a major insect pest to potato farming for over 150 years and various control methods have been established to reduce its impact on potato fields. Crop rotation and pesticide use are currently the most widely used approaches, although alternative methods are being developed. Here we review the role of various volatile and nonvolatile chemicals involved in behavior changes of CPB that may have potential for their control. First, we describe all volatile and nonvolatile chemicals involved in host plant localization and acceptance by CPB beetles, including glycoalcaloids and host plant volatiles used as kairomones. In the second section, we present the chemical signals used by CPB in intraspecific communication, including sex and aggregation pheromones. Some of these chemicals are used by natural enemies of CPBs to locate their prey and are presented in the third section. The last section of this review is devoted a discussion of the potential of some natural chemicals in biological control of CPB and to approaches that already reached efficient field applications.

Resinosis Inhibits Monochamus spp. (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) Colonization of Healthy Shortleaf Pines in Southeastern United States.

Science.gov (United States)

Ethington, Matthew W; Galligan, Larry D; Stephen, Fred M

2018-05-14

The genus Monochamus Dejean (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) includes large, woodboring, longhorned beetles, which colonize pine trees in North America. Many authors have classified the genus as saprophagous, but one recent study reported successful colonization of standing jack pine trees (Pinus banksiana Lamb.) (Pinales: Pinaceae) following severe wind disturbance in Minnesota. We tested whether two Monochamus species native to the southeastern United States (M. titillator (Fabricius) and M. carolinensis (Olivier)) could successfully colonize healthy shortleaf pines (Pinus echinata Mill.) (Pinales: Pinaceae) in recently harvested stands without coincident abiotic or biotic stressors, such as lightning strikes or bark beetle attacks. We attached commercially available semiochemical lures, including monochamol, ethanol, and ipsenol, to healthy shortleaf pine trees and observed Monochamus spp. oviposition response. Egg development was monitored following oviposition by harvesting attacked trees and dissecting oviposition pits. High numbers of oviposition pits were observed on trees treated with lures containing the bark beetle pheromone ipsenol and pits were highly concentrated on the tree bole near lures. Although egg deposition occurred, pit dissection revealed large amounts of resin present in almost all dissected pits and that egg hatch and subsequent larval development were rare. Our results demonstrate that southeastern Monochamus spp. are unlikely to be primary pests of healthy shortleaf pines due to resinosis. To better understand the host finding behavior of these two Monochamus species, we also conducted trapping trials with several semiochemical combinations. Both species and sexes demonstrated similar attraction to compounds, and the most attractive lure combined host volatiles, pheromone, and sympatric insect kairomone.

Proboscis extension reflex platform for volatiles and semi-volatiles detection

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wingo, Robert M. (Los Alamos, NM); McCabe, Kirsten J. (Los Alamos, NM); Haarmann, Timothy K. (Jemez Pueblo, NM)

2010-11-30

The present invention provides an apparatus for the detection of volatile and semi-volatile chemicals using the olfactory abilities of honey bees that are trained to respond to the presence of a specific chemical in a sample of gas with the proboscis extension reflex (PER). In particular, the geometry and arrangement of the parts of the apparatus are such that the amount of surface area in contact with the sample of gas prior to its introduction to the bees is minimized to improve the detection of particular volatile and semi-volatile that have a tendency to "stick" to contacting surfaces, especially certain chemicals associated with explosives and narcotics. According to another aspect of the present invention, a pre-concentrating means is incorporated with the device to effectively increase the concentration of "sticky" chemicals presented to the insects.

The Biosynthesis of Unusual Floral Volatiles and Blends Involved in Orchid Pollination by Deception: Current Progress and Future Prospects.

Science.gov (United States)

Wong, Darren C J; Pichersky, Eran; Peakall, Rod

2017-01-01

Flowers have evolved diverse strategies to attract animal pollinators, with visual and olfactory floral cues often crucial for pollinator attraction. While most plants provide reward (e.g., nectar, pollen) in return for the service of pollination, 1000s of plant species, particularly in the orchid family, offer no apparent reward. Instead, they exploit their often specific pollinators (one or few) by mimicking signals of female insects, food source, and oviposition sites, among others. A full understanding of how these deceptive pollination strategies evolve and persist remains an open question. Nonetheless, there is growing evidence that unique blends that often contain unusual compounds in floral volatile constituents are often employed to secure pollination by deception. Thus, the ability of plants to rapidly evolve new pathways for synthesizing floral volatiles may hold the key to the widespread evolution of deceptive pollination. Yet, until now the biosynthesis of these volatile compounds has been largely neglected. While elucidating the biosynthesis in non-model systems is challenging, nonetheless, these cases may also offer untapped potential for biosynthetic breakthroughs given that some of the compounds can be exclusive or dominant components of the floral scent and production is often tissue-specific. In this perspective article, we first highlight the chemical diversity underpinning some of the more widespread deceptive orchid pollination strategies. Next, we explore the potential metabolic pathways and biosynthetic steps that might be involved. Finally, we offer recommendations to accelerate the discovery of the biochemical pathways in these challenging but intriguing systems.

Direct Growth of Bacteria in Headspace Vials Allows for Screening of Volatiles by Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry

OpenAIRE

Collin M. Timm; Evan P. Lloyd; Amanda Egan; Ray Mariner; David Karig

2018-01-01

Bacterially produced volatile organic compounds (VOCs) can modify growth patterns of eukaryotic hosts and competing/cohabiting microbes. These compounds have been implicated in skin disorders and attraction of biting pests. Current methods to detect and characterize VOCs from microbial cultures can be laborious and low-throughput, making it difficult to understand the behavior of microbial populations. In this work we present an efficient method employing gas chromatography/mass spectrometry ...

Volatility and variance swaps : A comparison of quantitative models to calculate the fair volatility and variance strike

OpenAIRE

Röring, Johan

2017-01-01

Volatility is a common risk measure in the field of finance that describes the magnitude of an asset’s up and down movement. From only being a risk measure, volatility has become an asset class of its own and volatility derivatives enable traders to get an isolated exposure to an asset’s volatility. Two kinds of volatility derivatives are volatility swaps and variance swaps. The problem with volatility swaps and variance swaps is that they require estimations of the future variance and volati...

Endogenous Lunar Volatiles

Science.gov (United States)

McCubbin, F. M.; Liu, Y.; Barnes, J. J.; Anand, M.; Boyce, J. W.; Burney, D.; Day, J. M. D.; Elardo, S. M.; Hui, H.; Klima, R. L.; Magna, T.; Ni, P.; Steenstra, E.; Tartèse, R.; Vander Kaaden, K. E.

2018-04-01

This abstract discusses numerous outstanding questions on the topic of endogenous lunar volatiles that will need to be addressed in the coming years. Although substantial insights into endogenous lunar volatiles have been gained, more work remains.

Emerging non-volatile memories

CERN Document Server

Hong, Seungbum; Wouters, Dirk

2014-01-01

This book is an introduction to the fundamentals of emerging non-volatile memories and provides an overview of future trends in the field. Readers will find coverage of seven important memory technologies, including Ferroelectric Random Access Memory (FeRAM), Ferromagnetic RAM (FMRAM), Multiferroic RAM (MFRAM), Phase-Change Memories (PCM), Oxide-based Resistive RAM (RRAM), Probe Storage, and Polymer Memories. Chapters are structured to reflect diffusions and clashes between different topics. Emerging Non-Volatile Memories is an ideal book for graduate students, faculty, and professionals working in the area of non-volatile memory. This book also: Covers key memory technologies, including Ferroelectric Random Access Memory (FeRAM), Ferromagnetic RAM (FMRAM), and Multiferroic RAM (MFRAM), among others. Provides an overview of non-volatile memory fundamentals. Broadens readers' understanding of future trends in non-volatile memories.

The influence of volatile semiochemicals from stink bug eggs and oviposition-damaged plants on the foraging behaviour of the egg parasitoid Telenomus podisi.

Science.gov (United States)

Michereff, M F F; Borges, M; Aquino, M F S; Laumann, R A; Mendes Gomes, A C M; Blassioli-Moraes, M C

2016-10-01

During host selection, physical and chemical stimuli provide important cues that modify search behaviours of natural enemies. We evaluated the influence of volatiles released by eggs and egg extracts of the stink bug Euschistus heros and by soybean plants treated with the eggs and egg extracts on Telenomus podisi foraging behaviour. Responses to volatiles were evaluated in Y-tube olfactometers after exposure to (1) one egg cluster for 24 h; (2) plants with eggs laid by the stink bug, tested at 24, 48, and 72 h after treatment; (3) plants with eggs laid artificially, tested at 24, 48, and 72 h after treatment; and (4) plants treated with acetone or hexane extracts of eggs. Telenomus podisi was attracted to volatiles emitted by one egg cluster and to acetone extracts of one egg cluster, but not to air or acetone controls. There were no responses to odours of plants treated with eggs or egg extracts. Analysis of acetone extracts of egg clusters by gas chromatography revealed the major components were saturated and unsaturated fatty acids, including hexadecanoic acid, linoleic acid, and (Z)-9-octadecenoic acid. Our results suggest that one egg cluster and the acetone extract of one egg cluster contain volatile compounds that can modify T. podisi foraging behaviour, and that the amounts of these compounds, probably together with some minor compounds, are important for host recognition by T. podisi. Also, the oviposition damage or egg extracts on the plant did not elicit indirect defences that attracted Telenomus podisi.

Volatility Exposure for Strategic Asset Allocation

OpenAIRE

Briere, Marie; Burgues, Alexandre; Signori, Ombretta

2008-01-01

This paper examines the advantages of incorporating strategic exposure to equity volatility into the investment-opportunity set of a long-term equity investor. We consider two standard volatility investments: implied volatility and volatility risk premium strategies. To calibrate and assess the risk/return profile of the portfolio, we present an analytical framework offering pragmatic solutions for long-term investors seeking exposure to volatility. The benefit of volatility exposure for a co...

Isolation and identification of host cues from mango, Mangifera indica, that attract gravid female oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis.

Science.gov (United States)

Jayanthi, Pagadala D Kamala; Woodcock, Christine M; Caulfield, John; Birkett, Michael A; Bruce, Toby J A

2012-04-01

The oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis, is an economically damaging, polyphagous pest of fruit crops in South-East Asia and Hawaii, and a quarantine pest in other parts of the world. The objective of our study was to identify new attractants for B. dorsalis from overripe mango fruits. Headspace samples of volatiles were collected from two cultivars of mango, 'Alphonso' and 'Chausa', and a strong positive behavioral response was observed when female B. dorsalis were exposed to these volatiles in olfactometer bioassays. Coupled GC-EAG with female B. dorsalis revealed 7 compounds from 'Alphonso' headspace and 15 compounds from 'Chausa' headspace that elicited an EAG response. The EAG-active compounds, from 'Alphonso', were identified, using GC-MS, as heptane, myrcene, (Z)-ocimene, (E)-ocimene, allo-ocimene, (Z)-myroxide, and γ-octalactone, with the two ocimene isomers being the dominant compounds. The EAG-active compounds from 'Chausa' were 3-hydroxy-2-butanone, 3-methyl-1-butanol, ethyl butanoate, ethyl methacrylate, ethyl crotonate, ethyl tiglate, 1-octen-3-ol, ethyl hexanoate, 3-carene, p-cymene, ethyl sorbate, α-terpinolene, phenyl ethyl alcohol, ethyl octanoate, and benzothiazole. Individual compounds were significantly attractive when a standard dose (1 μg on filter paper) was tested in the olfactometer. Furthermore, synthetic blends with the same concentration and ratio of compounds as in the natural headspace samples were highly attractive (P < 0.001), and in a choice test, fruit flies did not show any preference for the natural samples over the synthetic blends. Results are discussed in relation to developing a lure for female B. dorsalis to bait traps with.

Origin of Volatiles in Earth: Indigenous Versus Exogenous Sources Based on Highly Siderophile, Volatile Siderophile, and Light Volatile Elements

Science.gov (United States)

Righter, K.; Danielson, L.; Pando, K. M.; Marin, N.; Nickodem, K.

2015-01-01

Origin of Earth's volatiles has traditionally been ascribed to late accretion of material after major differentiation events - chondrites, comets, ice or other exogenous sources. A competing theory is that the Earth accreted its volatiles as it was built, thus water and other building blocks were present early and during differentiation and core formation (indigenous). Here we discuss geochemical evidence from three groups of elements that suggests Earth's volatiles were acquired during accretion and did not require additional sources after differentiation.

Volatility transmission and volatility impulse response functions in European electricity forward markets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Le Pen, Yannick; Sevi, Benoit

2008-01-01

Using daily data from March 2001 to June 2005, we estimate a VAR-BEKK model and find evidence of return and volatility spillovers between the German, the Dutch and the British forward electricity markets. We apply Hafner and Herwartz [2006, Journal of International Money and Finance 25, 719-740] Volatility Impulse Response Function(VIRF) to quantify the impact of shock on expected conditional volatility. We observe that a shock has a high positive impact only if its size is large compared to the current level of volatility. The impact of shocks are usually not persistent, which may be an indication of market efficiency. Finally, we estimate the density of the VIRF at different forecast horizon. These fitted distributions are asymmetric and show that extreme events are possible even if their probability is low. These results have interesting implications for market participants whose risk management policy is based on option prices which themselves depend on the volatility level. (authors)

Rheology of attractive emulsions.

Science.gov (United States)

Datta, Sujit S; Gerrard, Dustin D; Rhodes, Travers S; Mason, Thomas G; Weitz, David A

2011-10-01

We show how attractive interactions dramatically influence emulsion rheology. Unlike the repulsive case, attractive emulsions below random close packing, φ(RCP), can form soft gel-like elastic solids. However, above φ(RCP), attractive and repulsive emulsions have similar elasticities. Such compressed attractive emulsions undergo an additional shear-driven relaxation process during yielding. Our results suggest that attractive emulsions begin to yield at weak points through the breakage of bonds, and, above φ(RCP), also undergo droplet configurational rearrangements.

The volatility of HOL

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wren, D.J.; Sanipelli, G.

1985-01-01

The volatility of HOI has been measured using a mass spectrometer to analyze the gas phase above an aqueous solution. The HOI in solution was generated continuously in a flow reactor that combined I/sup -/ and OCl/sup -/ solutions. The analysis has resulted in a lower limit of 6X10/sup 3/ mol . dm/sup -3/ . atm/sup -1/ for the equilibrium constant for the reaction HOI(g)/equilibrium/HOI(aq). This value is a factor 30 greater than the best previous estimate. This new limit for HOI volatility results in higher total iodine partition coefficients, particularly for solutions with pH>8. The upper limit for the equilibrium constant is consistent with essentially zero volatility for HOI. The effect of HOI volatility on total iodine volatility is briefly discussed as a function of solution chemistry and kinetics

Non-volatile polarization switch of magnetic domain wall velocity

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Huang, Z.; Stolichnov, I.; Setter, N. [Ceramics Laboratory, EPFL-Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Lausanne 1015 (Switzerland); Bernand-Mantel, A.; Schott, Marine; Pizzini, S.; Ranno, L. [University of Grenoble Alpes, Institut Néel, F-38042 Grenoble (France); CNRS, Institut Néel, F-38042 Grenoble (France); Auffret, S.; Gaudin, G. [SPINTEC, UMR-8191, CEA/CNRS/UJF/GINP, INAC, F-38054 Grenoble (France)

2015-12-21

Controlled propagation speed of individual magnetic domains in metal channels at the room temperature is obtained via the non-volatile field effect associated with the switchable polarization of P(VDF-TrFE) (polyvinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene) ferroelectric polymer. Polarization domains directly written using conducting atomic force microscope probe locally accelerate/decelerate the magnetic domains in the 0.6 nm thick Co film. The change of the magnetic domain wall velocity is consistent with the magnetic anisotropy energy modulation through the polarization upward/downward orientation. Excellent retention is observed. The demonstrated local non-destructive and reversible change of magnetic properties via rewritable patterning of ferroelectric domains could be attractive for exploring the ultimate limit of miniaturization in devices based on ferromagnetic/ferroelectric bilayers.

Age-specific olfactory attraction between Western honey bee drones (Apis mellifera) and its chemical basis.

Science.gov (United States)

Bastin, Florian; Savarit, Fabrice; Lafon, Grégory; Sandoz, Jean-Christophe

2017-01-01

During the mating season, drones (males) of the Western honey bee (Apis mellifera) form congregations numbering thousands high in the air. Virgin queens arrive at these congregations after they have formed and mate on the fly with 15-20 drones. To explain the formation of drone congregations, a drone-produced aggregation pheromone has been proposed many years ago but due to the low accessibility of natural mating sites in bees, its study has progressed slowly. Recently, we used a walking simulator in controlled laboratory conditions to show that drones are indeed attracted by groups of other drones. Since these previous experiments were carried out with drones captured when flying out of the hive, it is currently unclear if this olfactory attraction behaviour is related to the drones' sexual maturity (usually reached between 9 and 12 days) and may thus be indicative of a possible role in congregation formation, or if it is observed at any age and may represent in-hive aggregation. We thus assessed here the dependency of drone olfactory attraction on their age. First, we performed behavioural experiments in the walking simulator to measure olfactory preferences of drones in three age groups from 2-3 to 12-15 days. Then, we performed chemical analyses in the same age groups to evaluate whether chemical substances produced by the drones may explain age differences in olfactory attraction. We show that honey bee drones are attracted by conspecifics of the same age when they are sexually mature (12-15 days old) but not when they are younger (2-3 and 7-8 days old). In parallel, our data show that drones' chemical profile changes with age, including its most volatile fraction. These results are discussed in the context of drone mutual attraction both within the hive and at drone congregations.

Establishment of the Volatile Signature of Wine-Based Aromatic Vinegars Subjected to Maceration

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rosa Perestrelo

2018-02-01

Full Text Available The flavoring of vinegars with aromatic fruits and medicinal herbs is a practice with increasing trend mostly in countries with oenological tradition, resulting in a product of improved quality and consumer attractiveness. This study was directed towards the evaluation of the impact of the maceration process on the volatile signature of wine-based aromatic vinegars (WBAVs. The evaluation was performed using solid phase microextraction (SPME combined with gas chromatography combined with mass spectrometry (GC-MS. Experimental parameters influencing headspace solid (HS-SPME extraction efficiency, were optimized using an univariate experimental design. The best results were achieved using a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS fiber, 10 mL of vinegar sample, at 50 °C for 30 min of extraction. This way One hundred and three volatile organic compounds (VOCs, belonging to different chemical families including ethyl esters (37, higher alcohols (20, fatty acids (10, terpenoids (23, carbonyl compounds (six, lactones (five and volatile phenols (two, were identified in wine vinegar (control and WBAV. As far as we know, 34 of these VOCs are reported for the first time in macerated vinegars. Higher alcohols and lactones are the major chemical families in WBAV macerated with apple, whereas terpenoids are predominant in WBAV macerated with banana. The obtained data represent a suitable tool to guarantee the authenticity and genuineness of WBAV, as well as to promote the production of WBAV with improved sensorial and organoleptic properties. To the best of our knowledge, there are no reported studies dealing with the volatile signature of WBAV enriched with banana, passion fruit, apple and pennyroyal.

Volatility Mean Reversion and the Market Price of Volatility Risk

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Boswijk, H.P.

2001-01-01

This paper analyzes sources of derivative pricing errors in a stochastic volatility model estimated on stock return data. It is shown that such pricing errors may reflect the existence of a market price of volatility risk, but also may be caused by estimation errors due to a slow mean reversion in

Cost Linkages Transmit Volatility Across Markets

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nguyen, Daniel Xuyen; Schaur, Georg

We present and test a model relating a firm's idiosyncratic cost, its exporting status, and the volatilities of its domestic and export sales. In prior models of trade, supply costs for domestic and exports were linear and thus additively separable. We introduce a nonlinear cost function in order...... to link the domestic and export supply costs. This theoretical contribution has two new implications for the exporting firm. First, the demand volatility in the foreign market now directly affects the firm's domestic sales volatility. Second, firms hedge domestic demand volatility with exports. The model...... has several testable predictions. First, larger firms have lower total and domestic sales volatilities. Second, foreign market volatility increases domestic sales volatilities for exporters. Third, exporters allocate output across both markets in order to reduce total sales volatility. We find...

Time-Varying Periodicity in Intraday Volatility

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Torben Gustav; Thyrsgaard, Martin; Todorov, Viktor

We develop a nonparametric test for deciding whether return volatility exhibits time-varying intraday periodicity using a long time-series of high-frequency data. Our null hypothesis, commonly adopted in work on volatility modeling, is that volatility follows a stationary process combined...... with a constant time-of-day periodic component. We first construct time-of-day volatility estimates and studentize the high-frequency returns with these periodic components. If the intraday volatility periodicity is invariant over time, then the distribution of the studentized returns should be identical across...... with estimating volatility moments through their sample counterparts. Critical values are computed via easy-to-implement simulation. In an empirical application to S&P 500 index returns, we find strong evidence for variation in the intraday volatility pattern driven in part by the current level of volatility...

Studying Plant–Insect Interactions with Solid Phase Microextraction: Screening for Airborne Volatile Emissions Response of Soybeans to the Soybean Aphid, Aphis glycines Matsumura (Hemiptera: Aphididae

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lingshuang Cai

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Insects trigger plants to release volatile compounds that mediate the interaction with both pest and beneficial insects. Soybean aphids (Aphis glycines induces soybean (Glycine max leaves to produce volatiles that attract predators of the aphid. In this research, we describe the use of solid-phase microextraction (SPME for extraction of volatiles from A. glycines-infested plant. Objectives were to (1 determine if SPME can be used to collect soybean plant volatiles and to (2 use headspace SPME-GC-MS approach to screen compounds associated with A. glycines-infested soybeans, grown in the laboratory and in the field, to identify previously known and potentially novel chemical markers of infestation. A total of 62 plant volatiles were identified, representing 10 chemical classes. 39 compounds had not been found in previous studies of soybean volatile emissions. 3-hexen-1-ol, dimethyl nonatriene, indole, caryophyllene, benzaldehyde, linalool, methyl salicylate (MeSA, benzene ethanol, and farnesene were considered herbivore-induced plant volatiles (HIPVs. For reproductive field-grown soybeans, three compounds were emitted in greater abundance from leaves infested with A. glycines, cis-3-hexen-1-ol acetate, MeSA and farnesene. In summary, SPME can detect the emission of HIPVs from plants infested with insect herbivores.

Bias correction in the realized stochastic volatility model for daily volatility on the Tokyo Stock Exchange

Science.gov (United States)

Takaishi, Tetsuya

2018-06-01

The realized stochastic volatility model has been introduced to estimate more accurate volatility by using both daily returns and realized volatility. The main advantage of the model is that no special bias-correction factor for the realized volatility is required a priori. Instead, the model introduces a bias-correction parameter responsible for the bias hidden in realized volatility. We empirically investigate the bias-correction parameter for realized volatilities calculated at various sampling frequencies for six stocks on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, and then show that the dynamic behavior of the bias-correction parameter as a function of sampling frequency is qualitatively similar to that of the Hansen-Lunde bias-correction factor although their values are substantially different. Under the stochastic diffusion assumption of the return dynamics, we investigate the accuracy of estimated volatilities by examining the standardized returns. We find that while the moments of the standardized returns from low-frequency realized volatilities are consistent with the expectation from the Gaussian variables, the deviation from the expectation becomes considerably large at high frequencies. This indicates that the realized stochastic volatility model itself cannot completely remove bias at high frequencies.

Forecasting volatility of crude oil markets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kang, Sang Hoon; Kang, Sang-Mok; Yoon, Seong-Min

2009-01-01

This article investigates the efficacy of a volatility model for three crude oil markets - Brent, Dubai, and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) - with regard to its ability to forecast and identify volatility stylized facts, in particular volatility persistence or long memory. In this context, we assess persistence in the volatility of the three crude oil prices using conditional volatility models. The CGARCH and FIGARCH models are better equipped to capture persistence than are the GARCH and IGARCH models. The CGARCH and FIGARCH models also provide superior performance in out-of-sample volatility forecasts. We conclude that the CGARCH and FIGARCH models are useful for modeling and forecasting persistence in the volatility of crude oil prices. (author)

Forecasting volatility of crude oil markets

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kang, Sang Hoon [Department of Business Administration, Gyeongsang National University, Jinju, 660-701 (Korea); Kang, Sang-Mok; Yoon, Seong-Min [Department of Economics, Pusan National University, Busan, 609-735 (Korea)

2009-01-15

This article investigates the efficacy of a volatility model for three crude oil markets - Brent, Dubai, and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) - with regard to its ability to forecast and identify volatility stylized facts, in particular volatility persistence or long memory. In this context, we assess persistence in the volatility of the three crude oil prices using conditional volatility models. The CGARCH and FIGARCH models are better equipped to capture persistence than are the GARCH and IGARCH models. The CGARCH and FIGARCH models also provide superior performance in out-of-sample volatility forecasts. We conclude that the CGARCH and FIGARCH models are useful for modeling and forecasting persistence in the volatility of crude oil prices. (author)

The Biosynthesis of Unusual Floral Volatiles and Blends Involved in Orchid Pollination by Deception: Current Progress and Future Prospects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Darren C. J. Wong

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Flowers have evolved diverse strategies to attract animal pollinators, with visual and olfactory floral cues often crucial for pollinator attraction. While most plants provide reward (e.g., nectar, pollen in return for the service of pollination, 1000s of plant species, particularly in the orchid family, offer no apparent reward. Instead, they exploit their often specific pollinators (one or few by mimicking signals of female insects, food source, and oviposition sites, among others. A full understanding of how these deceptive pollination strategies evolve and persist remains an open question. Nonetheless, there is growing evidence that unique blends that often contain unusual compounds in floral volatile constituents are often employed to secure pollination by deception. Thus, the ability of plants to rapidly evolve new pathways for synthesizing floral volatiles may hold the key to the widespread evolution of deceptive pollination. Yet, until now the biosynthesis of these volatile compounds has been largely neglected. While elucidating the biosynthesis in non-model systems is challenging, nonetheless, these cases may also offer untapped potential for biosynthetic breakthroughs given that some of the compounds can be exclusive or dominant components of the floral scent and production is often tissue-specific. In this perspective article, we first highlight the chemical diversity underpinning some of the more widespread deceptive orchid pollination strategies. Next, we explore the potential metabolic pathways and biosynthetic steps that might be involved. Finally, we offer recommendations to accelerate the discovery of the biochemical pathways in these challenging but intriguing systems.

Alternative Asymmetric Stochastic Volatility Models

NARCIS (Netherlands)

M. Asai (Manabu); M.J. McAleer (Michael)

2010-01-01

textabstractThe stochastic volatility model usually incorporates asymmetric effects by introducing the negative correlation between the innovations in returns and volatility. In this paper, we propose a new asymmetric stochastic volatility model, based on the leverage and size effects. The model is

A system of tourism attractions

OpenAIRE

Kušen, Eduard

2010-01-01

Although tourism attractions are a basic resource for long term tourism developments, they are not given the proper attention, both, theoretical and practical. Therefore, rare studies of tourism attractions, especially those with the ambition of creating a functional system of tourism attractions, attract special attention. The aim of this paper is to present a new system of tourism attractions. This new system is based on the review of published research on tourism attractions, particularly ...

Attraction and cooperative behavior

OpenAIRE

Donja Darai; Silvia Grätz

2012-01-01

Being good-looking seems to generate substantial benefits in many social interactions, making the "beauty premium" a not to be underrated economic factor. This paper investigates how physical attractiveness enables people to generate these benefits in the case of cooperation, using field data from a modified one-shot prisoner's dilemma played in a high-stakes television game show. While attractive contestants are not more or less cooperative than less attractive ones, facial attractiveness pr...

Impact of microorganism on polonium volatilization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Momoshima, N.; Ishida, A.; Fukuda, A.; Yoshinaga, C.

2007-01-01

Volatilization of polonium by microorganisms, Chromobacterium violaceum, Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis was examined for pure cultures in LB medium at 30 deg C, showing relative Po emission intensity 100, 10 and 1, respectively. Chromobacterium violaceum pre-cultured in LB medium without Po and suspended in water with Po showed high Po volatilization in spite of poor nutriment condition. Antibiotics inhibit volatilization of Po and cultivation at low temperature greatly reduced volatilization. The results strongly support the biological effects on Po volatilization. (author)

Altruists Attract

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniel Farrelly

2007-04-01

Full Text Available Explaining human cooperation continues to present a challenge because it goes beyond what is predicted by established theories of kinship and reciprocal altruism. Little attention has been paid to the sexual selection hypothesis that proposes that cooperation can act as a display that attracts mates. The costs of cooperating are then offset not by kinship or reciprocation but by increased mating success. Here we present results from a series of experiments which show that, as predicted by the sexual selection hypothesis, people preferentially direct cooperative behavior towards more attractive members of the opposite sex. Furthermore, cooperative behavior increases the perceived attractiveness of the cooperator. Economically costly behaviors can therefore bring benefits through mate choice and sexual selection should be regarded as an evolutionary mechanism capable of promoting cooperation.

Orientation of boll weevil,Anthonomus grandis boh. (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), to pheromone and volatile host compound in the laboratory.

Science.gov (United States)

Dickens, J C

1986-01-01

Behavioral responses of male and female boll weevils to the aggregation pheromone, grandlure, and the major volatile of cotton, β-bisabolol, were investigated using a new dual-choice olfactometer. Dosage-response experiments revealed both males and females to be attracted by the aggregation pheromone at the 1.0 μg dosage. However, only males were attracted to β-bisabolol (1.0 μg). Both sexes were repelled by the highest dosage ofβ-bisabolol tested (10 μg). In preference experiment, males chose grandlure over β-bisabolol, while both sexes chose the combination of grandlure + β-bisabolol over β-bisabolol alone. There was some evidence for synergism between pheromone and plant odor for the females. The results correlate well with previous electrophysiological and behavioral experiments.

Determination of volatile organic compounds responsible for flavour in cooked river buffalo meat

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Di Luccia

2010-02-01

Full Text Available Flavour is an important consumer attractive that directly influences the success of food products on the market. The determination of odorous molecules and their identification allows to useful knowledge for producers to valorise their own products. Buffalo meat has a different chemical composition from pork and beef and requires some cautions in cooking and processing. This work aims at the identification of volatile molecules responsible for flavours in river buffalo meat. The determination was carried out by solid phase micro-extraction (SPME technique and analysed by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC-MS. The most relevant results were the higher odorous impact of buffalo meat and the higher content of sulphide compounds responsible for wild aroma respect to pork and beef. These results were obtained comparing the total area of peaks detected in every chromatogram. We have also found significant differences concerning the contents of pentadecane, 1-hexanol-2 ethyl, butanoic acid, furano-2-penthyl. The origin of volatile organic compounds and their influence on the river buffalo aromas were discussed.

Ferroelectric polymer gates for non-volatile field effect control of ferromagnetism in (Ga, Mn)As layers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stolichnov, I; Riester, S W E; Mikheev, E; Setter, N; Rushforth, A W; Edmonds, K W; Campion, R P; Foxon, C T; Gallagher, B L; Jungwirth, T; Trodahl, H J

2011-01-01

(Ga, Mn)As and other diluted magnetic semiconductors (DMS) attract a great deal of attention for potential spintronic applications because of the possibility of controlling the magnetic properties via electrical gating. Integration of a ferroelectric gate on the DMS channel adds to the system a non-volatile memory functionality and permits nanopatterning via the polarization domain engineering. This topical review is focused on the multiferroic system, where the ferromagnetism in the (Ga, Mn)As DMS channel is controlled by the non-volatile field effect of the spontaneous polarization. Use of ferroelectric polymer gates in such heterostructures offers a viable alternative to the traditional oxide ferroelectrics generally incompatible with DMS. Here we review the proof-of-concept experiments demonstrating the ferroelectric control of ferromagnetism, analyze the performance issues of the ferroelectric gates and discuss prospects for further development of the ferroelectric/DMS heterostructures toward the multiferroic field effect transistor. (topical review)

Understanding talent attraction: The influence of financial rewards elements on perceived job attractiveness

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anton Schlechter

2014-11-01

Full Text Available Orientation: In order to attract knowledge workers and maintain a competitive advantage,it is necessary for organisations to understand how knowledge workers are attracted todifferent types and levels of financial rewards. Research purpose: This research investigated a set of financial reward elements (remuneration, employee benefits and variable pay to determine whether knowledgeworkers perceived them as attractive inducements when considering a job or position. Motivation for the study: In South Africa there is a shortage of talent, largely due to highrates of emigration of scarce skills (human capital. Financial rewards or inducementsare necessary to attract talent and it is essential to assess which of these rewards are mostsuccessful in this regard. Method: A 23 full-factorial experimental design (field experiment was used. The threefinancial reward elements (remuneration, employee benefits and variable pay weremanipulated in a fictitious job advertisement (each at two levels. Eight (2 × 2 × 2 = 8 differentversions of a job advertisement were used as a stimulus to determine the effect of financialreward elements on perceived job attractiveness. A questionnaire was used to measure howparticipants perceived the attractiveness of the job. A convenience sampling approach wasused. Different organisations throughout South Africa, as well as corporate members of the South African Reward Association, were asked to participate in the study. Respondents (n = 169 were randomly assigned to the various experimental conditions (i.e. one of the eightadvertisements. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics. A full-factorial analysis ofvariance was used to investigate if significant main effects could be found. Main findings: Participants considered high levels of remuneration, the inclusion ofbenefits and variable pay to be significant job attraction factors within a reward package. Remuneration was found to have the largest main effect on job

Stochastic volatility models and Kelvin waves

Science.gov (United States)

Lipton, Alex; Sepp, Artur

2008-08-01

We use stochastic volatility models to describe the evolution of an asset price, its instantaneous volatility and its realized volatility. In particular, we concentrate on the Stein and Stein model (SSM) (1991) for the stochastic asset volatility and the Heston model (HM) (1993) for the stochastic asset variance. By construction, the volatility is not sign definite in SSM and is non-negative in HM. It is well known that both models produce closed-form expressions for the prices of vanilla option via the Lewis-Lipton formula. However, the numerical pricing of exotic options by means of the finite difference and Monte Carlo methods is much more complex for HM than for SSM. Until now, this complexity was considered to be an acceptable price to pay for ensuring that the asset volatility is non-negative. We argue that having negative stochastic volatility is a psychological rather than financial or mathematical problem, and advocate using SSM rather than HM in most applications. We extend SSM by adding volatility jumps and obtain a closed-form expression for the density of the asset price and its realized volatility. We also show that the current method of choice for solving pricing problems with stochastic volatility (via the affine ansatz for the Fourier-transformed density function) can be traced back to the Kelvin method designed in the 19th century for studying wave motion problems arising in fluid dynamics.

Stochastic volatility models and Kelvin waves

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lipton, Alex; Sepp, Artur

2008-01-01

We use stochastic volatility models to describe the evolution of an asset price, its instantaneous volatility and its realized volatility. In particular, we concentrate on the Stein and Stein model (SSM) (1991) for the stochastic asset volatility and the Heston model (HM) (1993) for the stochastic asset variance. By construction, the volatility is not sign definite in SSM and is non-negative in HM. It is well known that both models produce closed-form expressions for the prices of vanilla option via the Lewis-Lipton formula. However, the numerical pricing of exotic options by means of the finite difference and Monte Carlo methods is much more complex for HM than for SSM. Until now, this complexity was considered to be an acceptable price to pay for ensuring that the asset volatility is non-negative. We argue that having negative stochastic volatility is a psychological rather than financial or mathematical problem, and advocate using SSM rather than HM in most applications. We extend SSM by adding volatility jumps and obtain a closed-form expression for the density of the asset price and its realized volatility. We also show that the current method of choice for solving pricing problems with stochastic volatility (via the affine ansatz for the Fourier-transformed density function) can be traced back to the Kelvin method designed in the 19th century for studying wave motion problems arising in fluid dynamics

Stochastic volatility models and Kelvin waves

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lipton, Alex [Merrill Lynch, Mlfc Main, 2 King Edward Street, London EC1A 1HQ (United Kingdom); Sepp, Artur [Merrill Lynch, 4 World Financial Center, New York, NY 10080 (United States)], E-mail: Alex_Lipton@ml.com, E-mail: Artur_Sepp@ml.com

2008-08-29

We use stochastic volatility models to describe the evolution of an asset price, its instantaneous volatility and its realized volatility. In particular, we concentrate on the Stein and Stein model (SSM) (1991) for the stochastic asset volatility and the Heston model (HM) (1993) for the stochastic asset variance. By construction, the volatility is not sign definite in SSM and is non-negative in HM. It is well known that both models produce closed-form expressions for the prices of vanilla option via the Lewis-Lipton formula. However, the numerical pricing of exotic options by means of the finite difference and Monte Carlo methods is much more complex for HM than for SSM. Until now, this complexity was considered to be an acceptable price to pay for ensuring that the asset volatility is non-negative. We argue that having negative stochastic volatility is a psychological rather than financial or mathematical problem, and advocate using SSM rather than HM in most applications. We extend SSM by adding volatility jumps and obtain a closed-form expression for the density of the asset price and its realized volatility. We also show that the current method of choice for solving pricing problems with stochastic volatility (via the affine ansatz for the Fourier-transformed density function) can be traced back to the Kelvin method designed in the 19th century for studying wave motion problems arising in fluid dynamics.

Attractive evolutionary equilibria

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Joosten, Reinoud A.M.G.; Roorda, Berend

2011-01-01

We present attractiveness, a refinement criterion for evolutionary equilibria. Equilibria surviving this criterion are robust to small perturbations of the underlying payoff system or the dynamics at hand. Furthermore, certain attractive equilibria are equivalent to others for certain evolutionary

The price of fixed income market volatility

CERN Document Server

Mele, Antonio

2015-01-01

Fixed income volatility and equity volatility evolve heterogeneously over time, co-moving disproportionately during periods of global imbalances and each reacting to events of different nature. While the methodology for options-based "model-free" pricing of equity volatility has been known for some time, little is known about analogous methodologies for pricing various fixed income volatilities. This book fills this gap and provides a unified evaluation framework of fixed income volatility while dealing with disparate markets such as interest-rate swaps, government bonds, time-deposits and credit. It develops model-free, forward looking indexes of fixed-income volatility that match different quoting conventions across various markets, and uncovers subtle yet important pitfalls arising from naïve superimpositions of the standard equity volatility methodology when pricing various fixed income volatilities. The ultimate goal of the authors´ efforts is to make interest rate volatility standardization a valuable...

Volatile accretion history of the Earth.

Science.gov (United States)

Wood, B J; Halliday, A N; Rehkämper, M

2010-10-28

It has long been thought that the Earth had a protracted and complex history of volatile accretion and loss. Albarède paints a different picture, proposing that the Earth first formed as a dry planet which, like the Moon, was devoid of volatile constituents. He suggests that the Earth's complement of volatile elements was only established later, by the addition of a small veneer of volatile-rich material at ∼100 Myr (here and elsewhere, ages are relative to the origin of the Solar System). Here we argue that the Earth's mass balance of moderately volatile elements is inconsistent with Albarède's hypothesis but is well explained by the standard model of accretion from partially volatile-depleted material, accompanied by core formation.

Chemical cues from fish heighten visual sensitivity in larval crabs through changes in photoreceptor structure and function.

Science.gov (United States)

Charpentier, Corie L; Cohen, Jonathan H

2015-11-01

Several predator avoidance strategies in zooplankton rely on the use of light to control vertical position in the water column. Although light is the primary cue for such photobehavior, predator chemical cues or kairomones increase swimming responses to light. We currently lack a mechanistic understanding for how zooplankton integrate visual and chemical cues to mediate phenotypic plasticity in defensive photobehavior. In marine systems, kairomones are thought to be amino sugar degradation products of fish body mucus. Here, we demonstrate that increasing concentrations of fish kairomones heightened sensitivity of light-mediated swimming behavior for two larval crab species (Rhithropanopeus harrisii and Hemigrapsus sanguineus). Consistent with these behavioral results, we report increased visual sensitivity at the retinal level in larval crab eyes directly following acute (1-3 h) kairomone exposure, as evidenced electrophysiologically from V-log I curves and morphologically from wider, shorter rhabdoms. The observed increases in visual sensitivity do not correspond with a decline in temporal resolution, because latency in electrophysiological responses actually increased after kairomone exposure. Collectively, these data suggest that phenotypic plasticity in larval crab photobehavior is achieved, at least in part, through rapid changes in photoreceptor structure and function. © 2015. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

Training for Translocation: Predator Conditioning Induces Behavioral Plasticity and Physiological Changes in Captive Eastern Hellbenders (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis alleganiensis (Cryptobranchidae, Amphibia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Erin K. Kenison

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Translocations are stressful, especially when captive animals are naïve to natural stimuli. Captive eastern hellbenders (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis alleganiensis identify predatory fish as threats, but may be more vulnerable to predation and stress because of inexperience with them. We investigated the use of predator conditioning to prepare hellbenders, behaviorally and physiologically, for the presence of a common predator, largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides. We reared hellbenders for 30 d with and without continuous exposure to largemouth bass kairomones and heterospecific alarm cues and found conditioned hellbenders became less active compared to unconditioned individuals (p = 0.017. After conditioning, we exposed hellbenders to water, a low concentration of kairomones, or a high concentration of kairomones in a closed respirometer system. We measured activity within respirometer chambers and routine metabolic rate. We found unconditioned hellbenders exposed to low and high concentrations of kairomones were 41% and 119% more active than conditioned animals (p = 0.002 and p < 0.001. Moreover, conditioned individuals had on average 6.5% lower metabolic rates across all three kairomone concentrations compared to unconditioned individuals (p = 0.017. Our data suggest that predator conditioning induces behavioral avoidance tactics and physiological changes that could improve future translocation efforts for hellbenders and other imperiled species.

Demonstration of Novel Sampling Techniques for Measurement of Turbine Engine Volatile and Non-Volatile Particulate Matter (PM) Emissions

Science.gov (United States)

2017-03-06

WP-201317) Demonstration of Novel Sampling Techniques for Measurement of Turbine Engine Volatile and Non-volatile Particulate Matter (PM... Engine Volatile and Non-Volatile Particulate Matter (PM) Emissions 6. AUTHOR(S) E. Corporan, M. DeWitt, C. Klingshirn, M.D. Cheng, R. Miake-Lye, J. Peck...the performance and viability of two devices to condition aircraft turbine engine exhaust to allow the accurate measurement of total (volatile and non

Financial market volatility and contagion effect: A copula-multifractal volatility approach

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Wang; Wei, Yu; Lang, Qiaoqi; Lin, Yu; Liu, Maojuan

2014-03-01

In this paper, we propose a new approach based on the multifractal volatility method (MFV) to study the contagion effect between the U.S. and Chinese stock markets. From recent studies, which reveal that multifractal characteristics exist in both developed and emerging financial markets, according to the econophysics literature we could draw conclusions as follows: Firstly, we estimate volatility using the multifractal volatility method, and find out that the MFV method performs best among other volatility models, such as GARCH-type and realized volatility models. Secondly, we analyze the tail dependence structure between the U.S. and Chinese stock market. The estimated static copula results for the entire period show that the SJC copula performs best, indicating asymmetric characteristics of the tail dependence structure. The estimated dynamic copula results show that the time-varying t copula achieves the best performance, which means the symmetry dynamic t copula is also a good choice, for it is easy to estimate and is able to depict both the upper and lower tail dependence structure. Finally, with the results of the previous two steps, we analyze the contagion effect between the U.S. and Chinese stock markets during the subprime mortgage crisis. The empirical results show that the subprime mortgage crisis started in the U.S. and that its stock market has had an obvious contagion effect on the Chinese stock market. Our empirical results should/might be useful for investors allocating their portfolios.

Dynamic Estimation of Volatility Risk Premia and Investor Risk Aversion from Option-Implied and Realized Volatilities

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bollerslev, Tim; Gibson, Michael; Zhou, Hao

experiment confirms that the procedure works well in practice. Implementing the procedure with actual S&P500 option-implied volatilities and high-frequency five-minute-based realized volatilities indicates significant temporal dependencies in the estimated stochastic volatility risk premium, which we in turn...

EDITORIAL: Non-volatile memory based on nanostructures Non-volatile memory based on nanostructures

Science.gov (United States)

Kalinin, Sergei; Yang, J. Joshua; Demming, Anna

2011-06-01

Non-volatile memory refers to the crucial ability of computers to store information once the power source has been removed. Traditionally this has been achieved through flash, magnetic computer storage and optical discs, and in the case of very early computers paper tape and punched cards. While computers have advanced considerably from paper and punched card memory devices, there are still limits to current non-volatile memory devices that restrict them to use as secondary storage from which data must be loaded and carefully saved when power is shut off. Denser, faster, low-energy non-volatile memory is highly desired and nanostructures are the critical enabler. This special issue on non-volatile memory based on nanostructures describes some of the new physics and technology that may revolutionise future computers. Phase change random access memory, which exploits the reversible phase change between crystalline and amorphous states, also holds potential for future memory devices. The chalcogenide Ge2Sb2Te5 (GST) is a promising material in this field because it combines a high activation energy for crystallization and a relatively low crystallization temperature, as well as a low melting temperature and low conductivity, which accommodates localized heating. Doping is often used to lower the current required to activate the phase change or 'reset' GST but this often aggravates other problems. Now researchers in Korea report in-depth studies of SiO2-doped GST and identify ways of optimising the material's properties for phase-change random access memory [1]. Resistance switching is an area that has attracted a particularly high level of interest for non-volatile memory technology, and a great deal of research has focused on the potential of TiO2 as a model system in this respect. Researchers at HP labs in the US have made notable progress in this field, and among the work reported in this special issue they describe means to control the switch resistance and show

Parallel Prediction of Stock Volatility

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Priscilla Jenq

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Volatility is a measurement of the risk of financial products. A stock will hit new highs and lows over time and if these highs and lows fluctuate wildly, then it is considered a high volatile stock. Such a stock is considered riskier than a stock whose volatility is low. Although highly volatile stocks are riskier, the returns that they generate for investors can be quite high. Of course, with a riskier stock also comes the chance of losing money and yielding negative returns. In this project, we will use historic stock data to help us forecast volatility. Since the financial industry usually uses S&P 500 as the indicator of the market, we will use S&P 500 as a benchmark to compute the risk. We will also use artificial neural networks as a tool to predict volatilities for a specific time frame that will be set when we configure this neural network. There have been reports that neural networks with different numbers of layers and different numbers of hidden nodes may generate varying results. In fact, we may be able to find the best configuration of a neural network to compute volatilities. We will implement this system using the parallel approach. The system can be used as a tool for investors to allocating and hedging assets.

Essays on nonparametric econometrics of stochastic volatility

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zu, Y.

2012-01-01

Volatility is a concept that describes the variation of financial returns. Measuring and modelling volatility dynamics is an important aspect of financial econometrics. This thesis is concerned with nonparametric approaches to volatility measurement and volatility model validation.

The exploitation of volatile oil

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

MENG Teng; ZHANG Da; TENG Xiangjin; LINing; HAO Zaibin

2007-01-01

Rose is a kind of favorite ornamental plant. This article briefly introduced the cultivation and the use of rose around the world both in ancient time and nowadays. Today, volatile oil becomes the mainstream of the rose industry. People pay attention to the effect of volatile oil; meanwhile, they speed up their research on extracting volatile oil and the ingredients.

Understanding Financial Market Volatility

NARCIS (Netherlands)

A. Opschoor (Anne)

2014-01-01

markdownabstract__Abstract__ Volatility has been one of the most active and successful areas of research in time series econometrics and economic forecasting in recent decades. Loosely speaking, volatility is defined as the average magnitude of fluctuations observed in some phenomenon over

Oil Volatility Risk and Expected Stock Returns

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christoffersen, Peter; Pan, Xuhui (Nick)

After the financialization of commodity futures markets in 2004-05 oil volatility has become a strong predictor of returns and volatility of the overall stock market. Furthermore, stocks' exposure to oil volatility risk now drives the cross-section of expected returns. The difference in average...... return between the quintile of stocks with low exposure and high exposure to oil volatility is significant at 0.66% per month, and oil volatility risk carries a significant risk premium of -0.60% per month. In the post-financialization period, oil volatility risk is strongly related with various measures...

Neckteeth formation in two species of the Daphnia curvirostris complex (Crustacea: Cladocera

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Petr Jan JURAČKA

2011-08-01

Full Text Available Cladocerans of the genus Daphnia show different morphological adaptations against invertebrate predation. Among those, the formation of neckteeth has attracted substantial attention. Morphotypes exhibiting neckteeth better resist predation from larvae of phantom midges Chaoborus (Diptera. These morphological structures are known from several species of the Daphnia longispina and D. pulex complexes; recently they have also been reported in the D. curvirostris complex, within which they are well documented from the Far East species D. sinevi and from Central European D. hrbaceki. Much scarcer are indications of the formation of these structures in the widespread species D. curvirostris. Careful inspection of samples from pools with Chaoborus larvae nevertheless revealed that a small necktooth in the first few instars of D. curvirostris is not uncommon, but probably has been mostly overlooked in the past. Occasionally, even adult D. curvirostris males may carry this feature. We provide documentation, particularly by scanning electron micrographs, of neckteeth in field-collected D. curvirostris, and in juvenile individuals of its sister species D. hrbaceki. In addition, we tested the response of three clones each of D. curvirostris and D. hrbaceki to Chaoborus kairomones in laboratory experiments. Two clones of the former species and all three of the latter responded to this predator cue with neckteeth formation. First-instar juveniles of D. hrbaceki also occasionally carried neckteeth in control treatments without Chaoborus kairomones, but second and third instars did not. We also observed strong interclonal variation in neonate length in the presence of kairomones in this species. We provide a summary table listing all Daphnia species presently known to exhibit neckteeth, and propose that the ability to form these structures may be more widespread among common Daphnia species than previously assumed.

Core-Mantle Partitioning of Volatile Elements and the Origin of Volatile Elements in Earth and Moon

Science.gov (United States)

Righter, K.; Pando, K.; Danielson, L.; Nickodem, K.

2014-01-01

Depletions of siderophile elements in mantles have placed constraints on the conditions on core segregation and differentiation in bodies such as Earth, Earth's Moon, Mars, and asteroid 4 Vesta. Among the siderophile elements there are a sub-set that are also volatile (volatile siderophile elements or VSE; Ga, Ge, In, As, Sb, Sn, Bi, Zn, Cu, Cd), and thus can help to constrain the origin of volatile elements in these bodies, and in particular the Earth and Moon. One of the fundamental observations of the geochemistry of the Moon is the overall depletion of volatile elements relative to the Earth, but a satisfactory explanation has remained elusive. Hypotheses for Earth include addition during accretion and core formation and mobilized into the metallic core, multiple stage origin, or addition after the core formed. Any explanation for volatile elements in the Earth's mantle must also be linked to an explanation of these elements in the lunar mantle. New metal-silicate partitioning data will be applied to the origin of volatile elements in both the Earth and Moon, and will evaluate theories for exogenous versus endogenous origin of volatile elements.

Supercritical fluid extraction of volatile and non-volatile compounds from Schinus molle L.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. S. T. Barroso

2011-06-01

Full Text Available Schinus molle L., also known as pepper tree, has been reported to have antimicrobial, antifungal, anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic, antipyretic, antitumoural and cicatrizing properties. This work studies supercritical fluid extraction (SFE to obtain volatile and non-volatile compounds from the aerial parts of Schinus molle L. and the influence of the process on the composition of the extracts. Experiments were performed in a pilot-scale extractor with a capacity of 1 L at pressures of 9, 10, 12, 15 and 20 MPa at 323.15 K. The volatile compounds were obtained by CO2 supercritical extraction with moderate pressure (9 MPa, whereas the non-volatile compounds were extracted at higher pressure (12 to 20 MPa. The analysis of the essential oil was carried out by GC-MS and the main compounds identified were sabinene, limonene, D-germacrene, bicyclogermacrene, and spathulenol. For the non-volatile extracts, the total phenolic content was determined by the Folin-Ciocalteau method. Moreover, one of the goals of this study was to compare the experimental data with the simulated yields predicted by a mathematical model based on mass transfer. The model used requires three adjustable parameters to predict the experimental extraction yield curves.

Long Memory in Stock Market Volatility and the Volatility-in-Mean Effect: The FIEGARCH-M Model

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christensen, Bent Jesper; Nielsen, Morten Ørregaard; Zhu, Jie

We extend the fractionally integrated exponential GARCH (FIEGARCH) model for daily stock return data with long memory in return volatility of Bollerslev and Mikkelsen (1996) by introducing a possible volatility-in-mean effect. To avoid that the long memory property of volatility carries over to r...

Asymmetric Realized Volatility Risk

NARCIS (Netherlands)

D.E. Allen (David); M.J. McAleer (Michael); M. Scharth (Marcel)

2014-01-01

markdownabstract__Abstract__ In this paper we document that realized variation measures constructed from high-frequency returns reveal a large degree of volatility risk in stock and index returns, where we characterize volatility risk by the extent to which forecasting errors in realized

Nonparametric methods for volatility density estimation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Es, van Bert; Spreij, P.J.C.; Zanten, van J.H.

2009-01-01

Stochastic volatility modelling of financial processes has become increasingly popular. The proposed models usually contain a stationary volatility process. We will motivate and review several nonparametric methods for estimation of the density of the volatility process. Both models based on

Uncertainty of Volatility Estimates from Heston Greeks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Oliver Pfante

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Volatility is a widely recognized measure of market risk. As volatility is not observed it has to be estimated from market prices, i.e., as the implied volatility from option prices. The volatility index VIX making volatility a tradeable asset in its own right is computed from near- and next-term put and call options on the S&P 500 with more than 23 days and less than 37 days to expiration and non-vanishing bid. In the present paper we quantify the information content of the constituents of the VIX about the volatility of the S&P 500 in terms of the Fisher information matrix. Assuming that observed option prices are centered on the theoretical price provided by Heston's model perturbed by additive Gaussian noise we relate their Fisher information matrix to the Greeks in the Heston model. We find that the prices of options contained in the VIX basket allow for reliable estimates of the volatility of the S&P 500 with negligible uncertainty as long as volatility is large enough. Interestingly, if volatility drops below a critical value of roughly 3%, inferences from option prices become imprecise because Vega, the derivative of a European option w.r.t. volatility, and thereby the Fisher information nearly vanishes.

Fluctuation behaviors of financial return volatility duration

Science.gov (United States)

Niu, Hongli; Wang, Jun; Lu, Yunfan

2016-04-01

It is of significantly crucial to understand the return volatility of financial markets because it helps to quantify the investment risk, optimize the portfolio, and provide a key input of option pricing models. The characteristics of isolated high volatility events above certain threshold in price fluctuations and the distributions of return intervals between these events arouse great interest in financial research. In the present work, we introduce a new concept of daily return volatility duration, which is defined as the shortest passage time when the future volatility intensity is above or below the current volatility intensity (without predefining a threshold). The statistical properties of the daily return volatility durations for seven representative stock indices from the world financial markets are investigated. Some useful and interesting empirical results of these volatility duration series about the probability distributions, memory effects and multifractal properties are obtained. These results also show that the proposed stock volatility series analysis is a meaningful and beneficial trial.

Ambient Volatility of Triethyl Phosphate

Science.gov (United States)

2017-08-01

of materials is predictable using Raoult’s law. This report details the measurement of the effect of water vapor partial pressure on the volatility...empirical correlation taking into account nonideal behavior was developed to enable estimation of TEPO volatility at any combination of ambient...of the second component is expected to be one-half as much as in the absence of water vapor. Similarly, the measured volatility of the second

Volatility persistence in crude oil markets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Charles, Amélie; Darné, Olivier

2014-01-01

Financial market participants and policy-makers can benefit from a better understanding of how shocks can affect volatility over time. This study assesses the impact of structural changes and outliers on volatility persistence of three crude oil markets – Brent, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) and Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) – between January 2, 1985 and June 17, 2011. We identify outliers using a new semi-parametric test based on conditional heteroscedasticity models. These large shocks can be associated with particular event patterns, such as the invasion of Kuwait by Iraq, the Operation Desert Storm, the Operation Desert Fox, and the Global Financial Crisis as well as OPEC announcements on production reduction or US announcements on crude inventories. We show that outliers can bias (i) the estimates of the parameters of the equation governing volatility dynamics; (ii) the regularity and non-negativity conditions of GARCH-type models (GARCH, IGARCH, FIGARCH and HYGARCH); and (iii) the detection of structural breaks in volatility, and thus the estimation of the persistence of the volatility. Therefore, taking into account the outliers on the volatility modelling process may improve the understanding of volatility in crude oil markets. - Highlights: • We study the impact of outliers on volatility persistence of crude oil markets. • We identify outliers and patches of outliers due to specific events. • We show that outliers can bias (i) the estimates of the parameters of GARCH models, (ii) the regularity and non-negativity conditions of GARCH-type models, (iii) the detection of structural breaks in volatility of crude oil markets

Improving Garch Volatility Forecasts

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Klaassen, F.J.G.M.

1998-01-01

Many researchers use GARCH models to generate volatility forecasts. We show, however, that such forecasts are too variable. To correct for this, we extend the GARCH model by distinguishing two regimes with different volatility levels. GARCH effects are allowed within each regime, so that our model

The Effect of Target Sex, Sexual Dimorphism, and Facial Attractiveness on Perceptions of Target Attractiveness and Trustworthiness

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yuanyan Hu

2018-06-01

Full Text Available Facial sexual dimorphism has widely demonstrated as having an influence on the facial attractiveness and social interactions. However, earlier studies show inconsistent results on the effect of sexual dimorphism on facial attractiveness judgments. Previous studies suggest that the level of attractiveness might work as a moderating variable among the relationship between sexual dimorphism and facial preference and have often focused on the effect of sexual dimorphism on general attractiveness ratings, rather than concentrating on trustworthiness perception. Male and female participants viewed target male and female faces that varied on attractiveness (more attractive or less attractive and sexual dimorphism (masculine or feminine. Participants rated the attractiveness of the faces and reported how much money they would give to the target person as a measure of trust. For the facial attractiveness ratings, (a both men and women participants preferred masculine male faces to feminine male ones under the more attractive condition, whereas preferred feminine male faces to masculine male ones under the less attractive condition; (b all participants preferred feminine female faces to masculine female ones under the less attractive condition, while there were no differences between feminine female faces and masculine female faces under the more attractive condition. For the target trustworthiness perception, (a participants showed no preference between masculine male faces and feminine male faces, neither under the more attractive condition nor the less attractiveness condition; (b however, all the participants preferred masculine female faces over feminine female faces under the more attractive condition, exhibiting no preference between feminine female faces and masculine female faces under the less attractive condition. These findings suggest that the attractiveness of facial stimulus may be a reason to interpret the inconsistent results from the

The effect of volatility on percutaneous absorption.

Science.gov (United States)

Rouse, Nicole C; Maibach, Howard I

2016-01-01

Topically applied chemicals may volatilize, or evaporate, from skin leaving behind a chemical residue with new percutaneous absorptive capabilities. Understanding volatilization of topical medications, such as sunscreens, fragrances, insect repellants, cosmetics and other commonly applied topicals may have implications for their safety and efficacy. A systematic review of English language articles from 1979 to 2014 was performed using key search terms. Articles were evaluated to assess the relationship between volatility and percutaneous absorption. A total of 12 articles were selected and reviewed. Key findings were that absorption is enhanced when coupled with a volatile substance, occlusion prevents evaporation and increases absorption, high ventilation increases volatilization and reduces absorption, and pH of skin has an affect on a chemical's volatility. The articles also brought to light that different methods may have an affect on volatility: different body regions; in vivo vs. in vitro; human vs. Data suggest that volatility is crucial for determining safety and efficacy of cutaneous exposures and therapies. Few articles have been documented reporting evaporation in the context of percutaneous absorption, and of those published, great variability exists in methods. Further investigation of volatility is needed to properly evaluate its role in percutaneous absorption.

Racial stereotypes and interracial attraction: phenotypic prototypicality and perceived attractiveness of Asians.

Science.gov (United States)

Wilkins, Clara L; Chan, Joy F; Kaiser, Cheryl R

2011-10-01

What does it take to find a member of a different race attractive? In this research, we suggest that for Whites, attraction to Asians may be based, in part, on stereotypes and variations in Asians' racial appearance. Study 1 reveals that Asians are stereotyped as being more feminine and less masculine than other racial groups-characteristics considered appealing for women but not for men to possess. Study 2 examines how variation in racial appearance, phenotypic prototypicality (PP), shapes the degree to which Asians are gender stereotyped and how PP relates to perceptions of attractiveness. Higher PP Asian men are perceived as being less masculine and less physically attractive than lower PP Asian men. These findings inform theory on how within-group variation in racial appearance affects stereotyping and other social outcomes.

Evaluating self and partner physical attractiveness.

Science.gov (United States)

Swami, Viren; Furnham, Adrian; Georgiades, Chrissa; Pang, Lily

2007-03-01

This study used a novel questionnaire to examine ratings of self and partner physical attractiveness. Seventy-two men and 83 women estimated their own and their opposite-sex partner's overall physical attractiveness and the attractiveness of various body parts and measures. They also answered six simple questions concerning physical attractiveness. Results showed significant gender differences in self-estimates of overall facial attractiveness and upper body features. In general, and regardless of gender, participants rated their opposite-sex partners as being significantly more attractive than themselves. In addition, the results showed that body weight and facial attractiveness were the best predictors of overall physical attractiveness. Implications of these results in terms of social biases are considered.

Interior Volatile Reservoirs in Mercury

Science.gov (United States)

Anzures, B. A.; Parman, S. W.; Milliken, R. E.; Head, J. W.

2018-05-01

More measurements of 1) surface volatiles, and 2) pyroclastic deposits paired with experimental volatile analyses in silicate minerals can constrain conditions of melting and subsequent eruption on Mercury.

Non-volatile memories

CERN Document Server

Lacaze, Pierre-Camille

2014-01-01

Written for scientists, researchers, and engineers, Non-volatile Memories describes the recent research and implementations in relation to the design of a new generation of non-volatile electronic memories. The objective is to replace existing memories (DRAM, SRAM, EEPROM, Flash, etc.) with a universal memory model likely to reach better performances than the current types of memory: extremely high commutation speeds, high implantation densities and retention time of information of about ten years.

Does being attractive always help? Positive and negative effects of attractiveness on social decision making.

Science.gov (United States)

Agthe, Maria; Spörrle, Matthias; Maner, Jon K

2011-08-01

Previous studies of organizational decision making demonstrate an abundance of positive biases directed toward highly attractive individuals. The current research, in contrast, suggests that when the person being evaluated is of the same sex as the evaluator, attractiveness hurts, rather than helps. Three experiments assessing evaluations of potential job candidates (Studies 1 and 3) and university applicants (Study 2) demonstrated positive biases toward highly attractive other-sex targets but negative biases toward highly attractive same-sex targets. This pattern was mediated by variability in participants' desire to interact with versus avoid the target individual (Studies 1 and 2) and was moderated by participants' level of self-esteem (Study 3); the derogation of attractive same-sex targets was not observed among people with high self-esteem. Findings demonstrate an important exception to the positive effects of attractiveness in organizational settings and suggest that negative responses to attractive same-sex targets stem from perceptions of self-threat.

Attracting International Hotels

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Assaf, A. George; Josiassen, Alexander; Agbola, Frank Wogbe

2015-01-01

With the increased international competition facing hotel chains, it is essential that the next destination they enter is the most attractive option possible. The host destinations too have a keen interest in strategically positioning themselves in order to attract international hotels since...... their presence has several positive effects. Using, for the first time, actual on-location data we investigate the factors that matter most for international hotels when selecting host destinations. Specifically, we identify 23 factors that make a destination an attractive (or unattractive) location...... for international hotels. We then rank these. The results show that welcomeness, infrastructure, and crime rate are the three most important factors that influence the location of international hotels in host destinations....

Technology breakthroughs in high performance metal-oxide-semiconductor devices for ultra-high density, low power non-volatile memory applications

Science.gov (United States)

Hong, Augustin Jinwoo

Non-volatile memory devices have attracted much attention because data can be retained without power consumption more than a decade. Therefore, non-volatile memory devices are essential to mobile electronic applications. Among state of the art non-volatile memory devices, NAND flash memory has earned the highest attention because of its ultra-high scalability and therefore its ultra-high storage capacity. However, human desire as well as market competition requires not only larger storage capacity but also lower power consumption for longer battery life time. One way to meet this human desire and extend the benefits of NAND flash memory is finding out new materials for storage layer inside the flash memory, which is called floating gate in the state of the art flash memory device. In this dissertation, we study new materials for the floating gate that can lower down the power consumption and increase the storage capacity at the same time. To this end, we employ various materials such as metal nanodot, metal thin film and graphene incorporating complementary-metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) compatible processes. Experimental results show excellent memory effects at relatively low operating voltages. Detailed physics and analysis on experimental results are discussed. These new materials for data storage can be promising candidates for future non-volatile memory application beyond the state of the art flash technologies.

The Relationship of Interpersonal Attraction and Attraction to Group in a Growth Group Setting.

Science.gov (United States)

Evans, Nancy J.

1984-01-01

Investigated the relationship of interpersonal attraction and attraction to groups. Students (N=56) participating in growth groups completed the Group Attitude Scale and individual rating scales early, midway, and late in the group. Data indicated an increasing relationship between interpersonal and group attraction throughout the life of the…

Manuka oil and phoebe oil are attractive baits for Xyleborus glabratus (Coleoptera: Scolytinae), the vector of laurel wilt.

Science.gov (United States)

Hanula, James L; Sullivan, Brian

2008-12-01

Redbay ambrosia beetle, Xyleborus glabratus Eichhoff, is a native of Southeast Asia recently established in coastal forests of Georgia, SC and Florida. It vectors a wilt fungus, Raffaelea sp., lethal to redbay trees, Persea borbonia L. Spreng, and certain other Lauraceae. No practical monitoring system exists for this beetle so we conducted studies to identify host attractants and develop lures. Volatiles were collected from redbay wood and bark by steam distillation, direct solvent extraction, and dynamic headspace sampling with a Poropak Q cartridge. Steam, methanol, and pentane extracts were tested as baits in trapping trials but were not attractive to X. glabratus. Major constituents in Poropak aerations identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry included alpha-pinene, beta-pinene, delta-3-carene, eucalyptol, p-cymene, alpha-copaene, terpinene-4-ol, linalool, calamenene, and nonanoic acid. We assayed several of these compounds (including eucalyptol, p-cymene, terpinene-4-ol, linalool, nonanoic acid, and caryophyllene oxide) both individually and in combination, but none were attractive at tested doses. Two other redbay odor components, alpha-copaene and calamenene, were unavailable in sufficient quantities commercially so we substituted manuka oil, the essential oil extracted from Leptospermum scoparium Forst. and Forst., which contains high proportions of both compounds. Manuka oil was equally attractive as redbay wood to X. glabratus, but increasing release rates >10-fold did not enhance its activity. Phoebe oil, an extract of Brazilian walnut (Phoebe porosa Mez.), which contains significant quantities of alpha-copaene and calamenene, was also attractive. Fractions of manuka oil were not more attractive than the whole oil. Manuka and phoebe oil are readily available and are good alternatives to redbay wood as a trap bait for monitoring X. glabratus distribution and population trends.

Volcanic fluxes of volatiles. Preliminary estimates based on rare gas and major volatile calibration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marty, B.

1992-01-01

New estimates for volatile fluxes into the atmosphere and hydrosphere through volcanism have been computed using the measured fluxes of 3 He in oceans and SO 2 in the atmosphere, and the ratios between the volatiles in Mid-Ocean Ridge basalts and in high temperature volcanic gases. These estimates have been checked using independent estimates of the volcanic fluxes. This method provides a reliable means of tracing volatile fluxes, although its precision is restricted by the limited amount of data currently available. (author). 19 refs, 1 tab

10-Methyldodecanal, a Novel Attractant Pheromone Produced by Males of the South American Cerambycid Beetle Eburodacrys vittata.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Weliton D Silva

Full Text Available We report the identification, synthesis, and field bioassay of a novel attractant pheromone produced by males of Eburodacrys vittata (Blanchard, a South American cerambycid beetle in the subfamily Cerambycinae. Headspace volatiles from males contained a sex-specific compound, identified as 10-methyldodecanal. In a field bioassay conducted in Brazil, significant numbers of males and females were caught in traps baited with synthesized racemic 10-methyldodecanal, consistent with the aggregation-sex pheromones produced by males of many cerambycine species. This compound represents a new structural class of cerambycid pheromones, and it is the first pheromone identified for a species in the tribe Eburiini.

[Chemical components of Vetiveria zizanioides volatiles].

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Jinghua; Li, Huashou; Yang, Jun; Chen, Yufen; Liu, Yinghu; Li, Ning; Nie, Chengrong

2004-01-01

The chemical components of the volatiles from Vetiveria zizanioides were analyzed by SPME and GC-MS. In the roots, the main component was valencene (30.36%), while in the shoots and leaves, they were 9-octadecenamide (33.50%), 2,6,10,15,19,23-hexamethyl-2,6,10,14,18,22-tetracosahexaene (27.46%), and 1,2-benzendicarboxylic acid, diisooctyl ester(18.29%). The results showed that there were many terpenoids in the volatils. In shoot volatiles, there existed 3 monoterpenes, 2 sequiterpenes and 1 triterpene. Most of the volatiles in roots were sesquiterpenes.

Differential Response of a Local Population of Entomopathogenic Nematodes to Non-Native Herbivore Induced Plant Volatiles (HIPV) in the Laboratory and Field.

Science.gov (United States)

Rivera, Monique J; Rodriguez-Saona, Cesar; Alborn, Hans T; Koppenhöfer, Albrecht M

2016-12-01

Recent work has shown the potential for enhanced efficacy of entomopathogenic nematodes (EPN) through their attraction to herbivore induced plant volatiles. However, there has been little investigation into the utilization of these attractants in systems other than in those in which they were identified. We compared (E)-β-caryophyllene and pregeijerene in the highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum) agroecosystem in their ability to enhance the attraction of EPN to and efficacy against the system's herbivore, oriental beetle (Anomala orientalis). The relative attractiveness of (E)-β-caryophyllene and pregeijerene to a local isolate of the EPN species Steinernema glaseri was tested in a six-arm olfactometer in the laboratory to gather baseline values of attraction to the chemicals alone in sand substrate before field tests. A similar arrangement was used in a V. corymbosum field by placing six cages with assigned treatments and insect larvae with and without compound into the soil around the base of 10 plants. The cages were removed after 72 h, and insect baits were retrieved and assessed for EPN infection. The lab results indicate that in sand alone (E)-β-caryophyllene is significantly more attractive than pregeijerene to the local S. glaseri isolate Conversely, there was no difference in attractiveness in the field study, but rather, native S. glaseri were more attracted to cages with G. mellonella larvae, no larvae, and cages with the blank control and G. mellonella larvae.

PERUBAHAN KOMPONEN VOLATIL SELAMA FERMENTASI KECAP [Change Volatile Components During Soy Sauce Fermentation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anton Apriyantono1

2004-08-01

Full Text Available A study has been conducted to investigate changes of volatile components during soy sauce fermentation. During the fermentation, many volatile components produced may contribute to soy sauce flavor. THe volatile identified by GC-MS werw classified into hydrocarbon (15, alcohol (15, aldehyde (14, ester (14, ketone (9, benzene derivative (11, fatty acid (9, furan (5, terpenoid (18, pyrazine (3, thiazole (1, pyridine (1 and sulfur containing compound (2.Concentration of compounds found in almost all fermentation steps, such as hexanal and benzaldehyde did. These compounds may be derived from raw soybean, since they were all present in raw soybean and their concentration did not change during fermentation. Concentration of palmitic acid and benzeneacetaldehyde, in general, increased during all fermentation steps. They are probably derived from lipid degradation or microorganism activities. Concentrations of some fatty acids, esters and hydrocarbons, such as linoleic acid, methyl palmitate and heptadecane increased during salt fermentation only. Concentration of some other compounds, such as 2,4 decadienal decreased or undetected during fermentation.The absence of some volatile compounds, e.g. (E-nerolidol and (E,E-famesol in boiled soybean which were previously present in raw soybean may be due to evaporation of these compounds during boiling. Some volatile compounds such as, methyl heptadecanoate and few aromatic alcohols are likely derived from Aspergillus sojae, since these compounds were identified only in 0 day koji

Maximum likelihood approach for several stochastic volatility models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Camprodon, Jordi; Perelló, Josep

2012-01-01

Volatility measures the amplitude of price fluctuations. Despite it being one of the most important quantities in finance, volatility is not directly observable. Here we apply a maximum likelihood method which assumes that price and volatility follow a two-dimensional diffusion process where volatility is the stochastic diffusion coefficient of the log-price dynamics. We apply this method to the simplest versions of the expOU, the OU and the Heston stochastic volatility models and we study their performance in terms of the log-price probability, the volatility probability, and its Mean First-Passage Time. The approach has some predictive power on the future returns amplitude by only knowing the current volatility. The assumed models do not consider long-range volatility autocorrelation and the asymmetric return-volatility cross-correlation but the method still yields very naturally these two important stylized facts. We apply the method to different market indices and with a good performance in all cases. (paper)

Current status of fluoride volatility method development

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Uhlir, J.; Marecek, M.; Skarohlid, J. [UJV - Nuclear Research Institute, Research Centre Rez, CZ-250 68 Husinec - Rez 130 (Czech Republic)

2013-07-01

The Fluoride Volatility Method is based on a separation process, which comes out from the specific property of uranium, neptunium and plutonium to form volatile hexafluorides whereas most of fission products (mainly lanthanides) and higher transplutonium elements (americium, curium) present in irradiated fuel form nonvolatile tri-fluorides. Fluoride Volatility Method itself is based on direct fluorination of the spent fuel, but before the fluorination step, the removal of cladding material and subsequent transformation of the fuel into a powdered form with a suitable grain size have to be done. The fluorination is made with fluorine gas in a flame fluorination reactor, where the volatile fluorides (mostly UF{sub 6}) are separated from the non-volatile ones (trivalent minor actinides and majority of fission products). The subsequent operations necessary for partitioning of volatile fluorides are the condensation and evaporation of volatile fluorides, the thermal decomposition of PuF{sub 6} and the finally distillation and sorption used for the purification of uranium product. The Fluoride Volatility Method is considered to be a promising advanced pyrochemical reprocessing technology, which can mainly be used for the reprocessing of oxide spent fuels coming from future GEN IV fast reactors.

Stochastic volatility and stochastic leverage

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Veraart, Almut; Veraart, Luitgard A. M.

This paper proposes the new concept of stochastic leverage in stochastic volatility models. Stochastic leverage refers to a stochastic process which replaces the classical constant correlation parameter between the asset return and the stochastic volatility process. We provide a systematic...... treatment of stochastic leverage and propose to model the stochastic leverage effect explicitly, e.g. by means of a linear transformation of a Jacobi process. Such models are both analytically tractable and allow for a direct economic interpretation. In particular, we propose two new stochastic volatility...... models which allow for a stochastic leverage effect: the generalised Heston model and the generalised Barndorff-Nielsen & Shephard model. We investigate the impact of a stochastic leverage effect in the risk neutral world by focusing on implied volatilities generated by option prices derived from our new...

Modelling the Volatility-Return Trade-off when Volatility may be Nonstationary

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dahl, Christian Møller; Iglesias, Emma M.

In this paper a new GARCH-M type model, denoted the GARCH-AR, is proposed. In particular, it is shown that it is possible to generate a volatility-return trade-off in a regression model simply by introducing dynamics in the standardized disturbance process. Importantly, the volatility in the GARCH......, we provide an empirical illustration showing the empirical relevance of the GARCH-AR model based on modelling a wide range of leading US stock return series....

Creating beauty: creativity compensates for low physical attractiveness when individuals assess the attractiveness of social and romantic partners.

Science.gov (United States)

Watkins, Christopher D

2017-04-01

Although creativity is attractive in a potential mate, it is unclear (i) whether the effects of creativity on attractiveness generalize to other social contexts and (ii) whether creativity has equivalent effects on men's and women's attractiveness. As social knowledge of creativity may either enhance or 'offset' the appeal of social partners who differ in physical attractiveness, three repeated measures experiments were conducted to directly address these issues. Here, participants rated a series of face-text pairs for attractiveness on trials that differed in one of four combinations of facial attractiveness (attractive and less attractive) and creativity (creative and less creative), rating story-tellers in two experiments (short interpretations of an identical painting) and creative ideas in a further experiment (alternative uses for an everyday object). Regardless of the sex of the judge, creativity and facial attractiveness had independent effects on men's overall attractiveness (initial experiment) and, in further experiments, more substantial effects on the attractiveness of men with less attractive faces than men with attractive faces (when using a different measure of creativity) and specific effects on the attractiveness of individuals with less attractive faces (when using different face stimuli). Collectively, across three experiments, these findings suggest that creativity may compensate for putative cues to lower biological 'quality' and that the benefits of creativity to social groups more generally enhance attraction to creative men (in two experiments) and creative men and women (one experiment). More broadly, the data suggest that species can integrate knowledge of cognitive intelligence with visual cues to biological 'quality' to facilitate mate and/or ally choice.

Effects of Instructor Attractiveness on Learning.

Science.gov (United States)

Westfall, Richard; Millar, Murray; Walsh, Mandy

2016-01-01

Although a considerable body of research has examined the impact of student attractiveness on instructors, little attention has been given to the influence of instructor attractiveness on students. This study tested the hypothesis that persons would perform significantly better on a learning task when they perceived their instructor to be high in physical attractiveness. To test the hypothesis, participants listened to an audio lecture while viewing a photograph of instructor. The photograph depicted either a physically attractive instructor or a less attractive instructor. Following the lecture, participants completed a forced choice recognition task covering material from the lecture. Consistent with the predictions; attractive instructors were associated with more learning. Finally, we replicated previous findings demonstrating the role attractiveness plays in person perception.

Manure application and ammonia volatilization

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Huijsmans, J.F.M.

2003-01-01

Keywords: manure application, ammonia volatilization, environmental conditions, application technique, incorporation technique, draught force, work organization, costs Livestock manure applied on farmland is an important source of ammonia (NH3) volatilization, and NH3 is a major atmospheric

The attractive lip: A photomorphometric analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Penna, V; Fricke, A; Iblher, N; Eisenhardt, S U; Stark, G B

2015-07-01

Throughout literature, there are different parameters defining the ideal shape of the lip and lower third of the face. This study was conducted to clarify what it is that makes lips attractive - and whether there are gender-related differences of an attractive lip and lower third of the face. Pictures of the lip and chin region of 176 patients were photographed in a standardised way and evaluated by 250 voluntary judges through an internet presentation by means of an analogue Likert scaling system. We found a significant higher ratio of upper vermillion height/mouth-nose distance in frontal-view images of attractive compared to unattractive female (p attractive than in unattractive female (p attractive compared to unattractive female perioral regions (p attractive female lip and chin regions showed a wider mentolabial angle compared to unattractive female lip and chin regions (p attractive female perioral regions showed a higher ratio of lower vermillion height/chin-mouth distance (p attractive male perioral regions (p attractivity of female and male individuals and prove that there are gender-related differences in form and shape of an attractive lower third of the face. Copyright © 2015 British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Inflation Volatility and the Inflation-Growth Tradeoff in India

OpenAIRE

Raghbendra Jha; Varsha S. Kulkarni

2012-01-01

This paper amends the New Keynesian Phillips curve model to include inflation volatility and tests the determinants of such volatility for India. It provides results on the determinants of inflation volatility and expected inflation volatility for OLS and ARDL (1,1) models and for change in inflation volatility and change in expected inflation volatility using ECM models. Output gap affects change in expected inflation volatility along (in the ECM model) and not in the other models. Major det...

Financial Development, Financial Structure, and Macroeconomic Volatility: Evidence from China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Feng Wei

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Using annual data from 1997–2014 of 30 provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions, subdividing trended and cyclical volatility of macroeconomics and inflation, considering different indicators of financial development and financial structure, this paper investigated the impact of financial development and financial structure on macroeconomic volatility. The empirical results found that (1 the trended and cyclical volatility of the previous macroeconomic period had a significantly positive impact on that of the current period, and the impact of trended volatility was greater than that of cyclical volatility; (2 financial development had a significantly negative impact on macroeconomic cyclical volatility through inflation cyclical volatility, but inflation trended volatility would amplify macroeconomic volatility; financial markets have no significant effect on macroeconomic volatility; financial structure measured with the ratio of stock market turnover and the efficiency of the financial development had a significant positive impact on macroeconomic cyclical volatility; and (3 inflation trended volatility had a significantly negative impact on macroeconomic cyclical volatility and trended volatility, while inflation cyclical volatility had a significantly positive impact on macroeconomic cyclical volatility.

Effects of Idiosyncratic Volatility in Asset Pricing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

André Luís Leite

2016-04-01

Full Text Available This paper aims to evaluate the effects of the aggregate market volatility components - average volatility and average correlation - on the pricing of portfolios sorted by idiosyncratic volatility, using Brazilian data. The study investigates whether portfolios with high and low idiosyncratic volatility - in relation to the Fama and French model (1996 - have different exposures to innovations in average market volatility, and consequently, different expectations for return. The results are in line with those found for US data, although they portray the Brazilian reality. Decomposition of volatility allows the average volatility component, without the disturbance generated by the average correlation component, to better price the effects of a worsening or an improvement in the investment environment. This result is also identical to that found for US data. Average variance should thus command a risk premium. For US data, this premium is negative. According to Chen and Petkova (2012, the main reason for this negative sign is the high level of investment in research and development recorded by companies with high idiosyncratic volatility. As in Brazil this type of investment is significantly lower than in the US, it was expected that a result with the opposite sign would be found, which is in fact what occurred.

American option pricing with stochastic volatility processes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ping LI

2017-12-01

Full Text Available In order to solve the problem of option pricing more perfectly, the option pricing problem with Heston stochastic volatility model is considered. The optimal implementation boundary of American option and the conditions for its early execution are analyzed and discussed. In view of the fact that there is no analytical American option pricing formula, through the space discretization parameters, the stochastic partial differential equation satisfied by American options with Heston stochastic volatility is transformed into the corresponding differential equations, and then using high order compact finite difference method, numerical solutions are obtained for the option price. The numerical experiments are carried out to verify the theoretical results and simulation. The two kinds of optimal exercise boundaries under the conditions of the constant volatility and the stochastic volatility are compared, and the results show that the optimal exercise boundary also has stochastic volatility. Under the setting of parameters, the behavior and the nature of volatility are analyzed, the volatility curve is simulated, the calculation results of high order compact difference method are compared, and the numerical option solution is obtained, so that the method is verified. The research result provides reference for solving the problems of option pricing under stochastic volatility such as multiple underlying asset option pricing and barrier option pricing.

Volatiles in the Martian regolith

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Clark, B.C.; Baird, A.K.

1979-01-01

An inventory of released volatiles on Mars has been derived based upon Viking measurements of atmospheric and surface chemical composition, and upon the inferred mineralogy of a ubiquitous regolith, assumed to average 200m in depth. This model is consistent with the relative abundances of volatiles (except for S) on the Earth's surface, but implies one-fifteenth of the volatile release of Earth if starting materials were comparable. All constituents are accommodated as chemical components of, or absorbed phases on, regolith materials--without the necessity of invoking unobservable deposits of carbonates, nitrates, or permafrost ice

HS-SPME-GC-MS ANALYSIS OF VOLATILE AND SEMI-VOLATILE COMPOUNDS FROM DRIED LEAVES OF Mikania glomerata Sprengel

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Esmeraldo A. Cappelaro

2015-03-01

Full Text Available This paper reports on the identification of volatile and semi-volatile compounds and a comparison of the chromatographic profiles obtained by Headspace Solid-Phase Microextraction/Gas Chromatography with Mass Spectrometry detection (HS-SPME-GC-MS of dried leaves of Mikania glomerata Sprengel (Asteraceae, also known as 'guaco.' Three different types of commercial SPME fibers were tested: polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS, polydimethylsiloxane/divinylbenzene (PDMS/DVB and polyacrylate (PA. Fifty-nine compounds were fully identified by HS-SPME-HRGC-MS, including coumarin, a marker for the quality control of guaco-based phytomedicines; most of the other identified compounds were mono- and sesquiterpenes. PA fibers performed better in the analysis of coumarin, while PDMS-DVB proved to be the best choice for a general and non-selective analysis of volatile and semi-volatile guaco-based compounds. The SPME method is faster and requires a smaller sample than conventional hydrodistillation of essential oils, providing a general overview of the volatile and semi-volatile compounds of M. glomerata.

Effects of student physical attractiveness

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Krnjajić Stevan B.

2005-01-01

Full Text Available Implicit personality theories suggest that people draw conclusions about other persons by using a relatively small number of visible features. The formation of "the first impression" is influenced by the factors, such as sex, age, appearances, race or nationality. Frequently, conclusions based on those factors lead to developing social stereotypes. Attractiveness is a good example of "the first impression" effect, because physical attractiveness entails the creation of impression about another person along a relatively great number of dimensions. Experimental paradigm, introduced in the sphere of interpersonal perception around the mid-20th century, led to a relatively great number of studies on stereotype based on physical attractiveness. One of the most often quoted conclusions of studies on physical attractiveness is summarized by the idiom "what is beautiful is good". For example, socially desirable personality traits (responsibility kindness, energy quality, modesty, more successful private and professional life, are all attributed to physically attractive persons. In addition physical attractiveness is coupled with positive expectations, peer acceptance, academic achievement etc. On the basis of studies on the "what is beautiful is good" stereotype, we have situated our analysis within the domain of roles regulating social interaction between teachers and students i.e. effects of physical attractiveness on teacher expectations, peer acceptance and academic achievement.

Ammonia volatilization from sows on grassland

Science.gov (United States)

Sommer, S. G.; Søgaard, H. T.; Møller, H. B.; Morsing, S.

According to regulations, sows with piglets on organic farms must graze on pastures. Volatilization of ammonia (NH 3) from urine patches may represent a significant source of nitrogen (N) loss from these farms. Inputs of N are low on organic farms and losses may reduce crop production. This study examined spatial variations in NH 3 volatilization using a movable dynamic chamber, and the pH and total ammoniacal nitrogen (TAN) content in the topsoil of pastures with grazing sows was measured during five periods between June 1998 and May 1999. Gross NH 3 volatilization from the pastures was also measured with an atmospheric mass balance technique during seven periods from September 1997 until June 1999. The dynamic chamber study showed a high variation in NH 3 volatilization because of the distribution of urine; losses were between 0 and 2.8 g NH 3-N m -2 day -1. Volatilization was highest near the feeding area and the huts, where the sows tended to urinate. Ammonia volatilization rate was linearly related to the product of NH 3 concentration in the boundary layer and wind speed. The NH 3 in the boundary layer was in equilibrium with NH 3 in soil solution. Gross NH 3 volatilization was in the range 0.07-2.1 kg NH 3-N ha -1 day -1 from a pasture with 24 sows ha -1. Ammonia volatilization was related to the amount of feed given to the sows, incident solar radiation and air temperature during measuring periods, and also to temperature, incident solar radiation and rain 1-2 days before measurements. Annual ammonia loss was 4.8 kg NH 3-N sow -1.

Fluids with highly directional attractive forces. III. Multiple attraction sites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wertheim, M.S.

1986-01-01

The authors derive a reformulation of statistical thermodynamics for fluids of molecules which interact by highly directional attraction. The molecular model consists of a repulsive core and several sites of very short-ranged attraction. The authors explore the relationship between graph cancellation in the fugacity expansion and three types of steric incompatibility between repulsive and attractive interactions involving several molecules. The steric effects are used to best advantage in a limited regrouping of bonds. This controls the density parameters which appear when articulation points are eliminated in the graphical representation. Each density parameter is a singlet density for a species consisting of molecules with a specified set of sites bonded. The densities satisfy subsidiary conditions of internal consistency. These conditions are equivalent to a minimization of the Helmholtz free energy A. Graphical expressions for A and for the pressure are derived. Analogs of the s-particle direct correlation functions and of the Ornstein-Zernike equation are found

Female-induced increase of host-plant volatiles enhance specific attraction of aphid male Dysaphis plantaginea (Homoptera: Aphididae) to the sex pheromone

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Tol, van R.W.H.M.; Helsen, H.H.M.; Griepink, F.C.; Kogel, de W.J.

2009-01-01

All aphid species studied so far share the same sex pheromone components, nepetalactol and nepetalactone. Variation by different enantiomers and blends of the two components released by different aphid species are limited and can only partially explain species-specific attraction of males to

Endogenous Lunar Volatiles: Insights into the Abundances of Volatiles in the Moon from Lunar Apatite

Science.gov (United States)

McCubbin, Francis

2016-01-01

At the time of publication of New Views of the Moon, it was thought that the Moon was bone dry with less than about 1 ppb H2O. However in 2007, initial reports at the 38th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference speculated that H-species were present in both apatites and pyroclastic volcanic lunar glasses. These early reports were later confirmed through peer-review, which motivated many subsequent studies on magmatic volatiles in and on the Moon within the last decade. Some of these studies have cast into question the post-Apollo view of lunar formation, the distribution and sources of volatiles in the Earth-Moon system, and the thermal and magmatic evolution of the Moon. The mineral apatite has been one of the pillars of this new field of study, and it will be the primary focus of this abstract. Although apatite has been used both to understand the abundances of volatiles in lunar systems as well as the isotopic compositions of those volatiles, the focus here will be on the abundances of F, Cl, and H2O. This work demonstrates the utility of apatite in advancing our understanding of lunar volatiles, hence apatite should be among the topics covered in the endogenous lunar volatile chapter in NVM II. Truncated ternary plot of apatite X-site occupancy (mol%) from highlands apatite and mare basalt apatite plotted on the relative volatile abundance diagram from. The solid black lines delineate fields of relative abundances of F, Cl, and H2O (on a weight basis) in the melt from which the apatite crystallized. The diagram was constructed using available apatite/melt partitioning data for fluorine, chlorine, and hydroxyl.

Attracting electromagnet for control rod

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kato, Kazuo; Sasaki, Kotaro.

1989-01-01

Non-magnetic material plates with inherent resistivity of greater than 20 μΩ-cm and thickness of less than 3 mm are used for the end plates of attracting electromagnets for closed type control rods. By using such control rod attracting electromagnets, the scram releasing time can be shortened than usual. Since the armature attracting side of the electromagnet has to be sealed by a non-magnetic plate, a bronze plate of about 5 mm thickness has been used so far. Accordingly, non-magnetic plate is inserted to the electromagnet attracting face to increase air source length for improving to shorten the scram releasing time. This method, however, worsens the attracting property on one hand to require a great magnetomotive force. For overcoming these drawbacks, in the present invention, the material for tightly closing end plates in an electromagnet is changed from bronze plate to non-magnetic stainless steel SUS 303 or non-magnetic Monel metal and, in addition, the plate thickness is reduced to less than 5 mm thereby maintaining the attracting property and shortening the scram releasing time. (K.M.)

Electricity market price volatility: The case of Ontario

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zareipour, Hamidreza; Bhattacharya, Kankar; Canizares, Claudio A.

2007-01-01

Price volatility analysis has been reported in the literature for most competitive electricity markets around the world. However, no studies have been published yet that quantify price volatility in the Ontario electricity market, which is the focus of the present paper. In this paper, a comparative volatility analysis is conducted for the Ontario market and its neighboring electricity markets. Volatility indices are developed based on historical volatility and price velocity concepts, previously applied to other electricity market prices, and employed in the present work. The analysis is carried out in two scenarios: in the first scenario, the volatility indices are determined for the entire price time series. In the second scenario, the price time series are broken up into 24 time series for each of the 24 h and volatility indices are calculated for each specific hour separately. The volatility indices are also applied to the locational marginal prices of several pricing points in the New England, New York, and PJM electricity markets. The outcomes reveal that price volatility is significantly higher in Ontario than the three studied neighboring electricity markets. Furthermore, comparison of the results of this study with similar findings previously published for 15 other electricity markets demonstrates that the Ontario electricity market is one of the most volatile electricity markets world-wide. This high volatility is argued to be associated with the fact that Ontario is a single-settlement, real-time market

Effect of Quorum Sensing by Staphylococcus epidermidis on the Attraction Response of Female Adult Yellow Fever Mosquitoes, Aedes aegypti aegypti (Linnaeus) (Diptera: Culicidae), to a Blood-Feeding Source.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Xinyang; Crippen, Tawni L; Coates, Craig J; Wood, Thomas K; Tomberlin, Jeffery K

2015-01-01

Aedes aegypti, the principal vector of yellow fever and dengue fever, is responsible for more than 30,000 deaths annually. Compounds such as carbon dioxide, amino acids, fatty acids and other volatile organic compounds (VOCs) have been widely studied for their role in attracting Ae. aegypti to hosts. Many VOCs from humans are produced by associated skin microbiota. Staphyloccocus epidermidis, although not the most abundant bacteria according to surveys of relative 16S ribosomal RNA abundance, commonly occurs on human skin. Bacteria demonstrate population level decision-making through quorum sensing. Many quorum sensing molecules, such as indole, volatilize and become part of the host odor plum. To date, no one has directly demonstrated the link between quorum sensing (i.e., decision-making) by bacteria associated with a host as a factor regulating arthropod vector attraction. This study examined this specific question with regards to S. epidermidis and Ae. aegypti. Pairwise tests were conducted to examine the response of female Ae. aegypti to combinations of tryptic soy broth (TSB) and S. epidermidis wildtype and agr- strains. The agr gene expresses an accessory gene regulator for quorum sensing; therefore, removing this gene inhibits quorum sensing of the bacteria. Differential attractiveness of mosquitoes to the wildtype and agr- strains was observed. Both wildtype and the agr- strain of S. epidermidis with TSB were marginally more attractive to Ae. aegypti than the TSB alone. Most interestingly, the blood-feeder treated with wildtype S. epidermidis/TSB attracted 74% of Ae. aegypti compared to the agr- strain of S. epidermidis/TSB (P ≤ 0.0001). This study is the first to suggest a role for interkingdom communication between host symbiotic bacteria and mosquitoes. This may have implications for mosquito decision-making with regards to host detection, location and acceptance. We speculate that mosquitoes "eavesdrop" on the chemical discussions occurring between

Effect of Quorum Sensing by Staphylococcus epidermidis on the Attraction Response of Female Adult Yellow Fever Mosquitoes, Aedes aegypti aegypti (Linnaeus (Diptera: Culicidae, to a Blood-Feeding Source.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xinyang Zhang

Full Text Available Aedes aegypti, the principal vector of yellow fever and dengue fever, is responsible for more than 30,000 deaths annually. Compounds such as carbon dioxide, amino acids, fatty acids and other volatile organic compounds (VOCs have been widely studied for their role in attracting Ae. aegypti to hosts. Many VOCs from humans are produced by associated skin microbiota. Staphyloccocus epidermidis, although not the most abundant bacteria according to surveys of relative 16S ribosomal RNA abundance, commonly occurs on human skin. Bacteria demonstrate population level decision-making through quorum sensing. Many quorum sensing molecules, such as indole, volatilize and become part of the host odor plum. To date, no one has directly demonstrated the link between quorum sensing (i.e., decision-making by bacteria associated with a host as a factor regulating arthropod vector attraction. This study examined this specific question with regards to S. epidermidis and Ae. aegypti. Pairwise tests were conducted to examine the response of female Ae. aegypti to combinations of tryptic soy broth (TSB and S. epidermidis wildtype and agr- strains. The agr gene expresses an accessory gene regulator for quorum sensing; therefore, removing this gene inhibits quorum sensing of the bacteria. Differential attractiveness of mosquitoes to the wildtype and agr- strains was observed. Both wildtype and the agr- strain of S. epidermidis with TSB were marginally more attractive to Ae. aegypti than the TSB alone. Most interestingly, the blood-feeder treated with wildtype S. epidermidis/TSB attracted 74% of Ae. aegypti compared to the agr- strain of S. epidermidis/TSB (P ≤ 0.0001. This study is the first to suggest a role for interkingdom communication between host symbiotic bacteria and mosquitoes. This may have implications for mosquito decision-making with regards to host detection, location and acceptance. We speculate that mosquitoes "eavesdrop" on the chemical discussions

Physical attraction to reliable, low variability nervous systems: Reaction time variability predicts attractiveness.

Science.gov (United States)

Butler, Emily E; Saville, Christopher W N; Ward, Robert; Ramsey, Richard

2017-01-01

The human face cues a range of important fitness information, which guides mate selection towards desirable others. Given humans' high investment in the central nervous system (CNS), cues to CNS function should be especially important in social selection. We tested if facial attractiveness preferences are sensitive to the reliability of human nervous system function. Several decades of research suggest an operational measure for CNS reliability is reaction time variability, which is measured by standard deviation of reaction times across trials. Across two experiments, we show that low reaction time variability is associated with facial attractiveness. Moreover, variability in performance made a unique contribution to attractiveness judgements above and beyond both physical health and sex-typicality judgements, which have previously been associated with perceptions of attractiveness. In a third experiment, we empirically estimated the distribution of attractiveness preferences expected by chance and show that the size and direction of our results in Experiments 1 and 2 are statistically unlikely without reference to reaction time variability. We conclude that an operating characteristic of the human nervous system, reliability of information processing, is signalled to others through facial appearance. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Asymptotic Behavior of the Stock Price Distribution Density and Implied Volatility in Stochastic Volatility Models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gulisashvili, Archil; Stein, Elias M.

2010-01-01

We study the asymptotic behavior of distribution densities arising in stock price models with stochastic volatility. The main objects of our interest in the present paper are the density of time averages of the squared volatility process and the density of the stock price process in the Stein-Stein and the Heston model. We find explicit formulas for leading terms in asymptotic expansions of these densities and give error estimates. As an application of our results, sharp asymptotic formulas for the implied volatility in the Stein-Stein and the Heston model are obtained.

Green leaf volatiles: biosynthesis, biological functions and their applications in biotechnology.

Science.gov (United States)

ul Hassan, Muhammad Naeem; Zainal, Zamri; Ismail, Ismanizan

2015-08-01

Plants have evolved numerous constitutive and inducible defence mechanisms to cope with biotic and abiotic stresses. These stresses induce the expression of various genes to activate defence-related pathways that result in the release of defence chemicals. One of these defence mechanisms is the oxylipin pathway, which produces jasmonates, divinylethers and green leaf volatiles (GLVs) through the peroxidation of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). GLVs have recently emerged as key players in plant defence, plant-plant interactions and plant-insect interactions. Some GLVs inhibit the growth and propagation of plant pathogens, including bacteria, viruses and fungi. In certain cases, GLVs released from plants under herbivore attack can serve as aerial messengers to neighbouring plants and to attract parasitic or parasitoid enemies of the herbivores. The plants that perceive these volatile signals are primed and can then adapt in preparation for the upcoming challenges. Due to their 'green note' odour, GLVs impart aromas and flavours to many natural foods, such as vegetables and fruits, and therefore, they can be exploited in industrial biotechnology. The aim of this study was to review the progress and recent developments in research on the oxylipin pathway, with a specific focus on the biosynthesis and biological functions of GLVs and their applications in industrial biotechnology. © 2015 Society for Experimental Biology, Association of Applied Biologists and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Dynamic Asset Allocation Strategies Based on Volatility, Unexpected Volatility and Financial Turbulence

OpenAIRE

Grimsrud, David Borkner

2015-01-01

Masteroppgave økonomi og administrasjon- Universitetet i Agder, 2015 This master thesis looks at unexpected volatility- and financial turbulence’s predictive ability, and exploit these measures of financial risk, together with volatility, to create three dynamic asset allocation strategies, and test if they can outperform a passive and naively diversified buy-and-hold strategy. The idea with the dynamic strategies is to increase the portfolio return by keeping the portfolio risk at a low a...

A nonparametric approach to forecasting realized volatility

OpenAIRE

Adam Clements; Ralf Becker

2009-01-01

A well developed literature exists in relation to modeling and forecasting asset return volatility. Much of this relate to the development of time series models of volatility. This paper proposes an alternative method for forecasting volatility that does not involve such a model. Under this approach a forecast is a weighted average of historical volatility. The greatest weight is given to periods that exhibit the most similar market conditions to the time at which the forecast is being formed...

Own attractiveness and perceived relationship quality shape sensitivity in women's memory for other men on the attractiveness dimension.

Science.gov (United States)

Watkins, Christopher D; Nicholls, Mike J; Batres, Carlota; Xiao, Dengke; Talamas, Sean; Perrett, David I

2017-06-01

Although recent work suggests that opposite-sex facial attractiveness is less salient in memory when individuals are in a committed romantic relationship, romantic relationship quality can vary over time. In light of this, we tested whether activating concerns about romantic relationship quality strengthens memory for attractive faces. Partnered women were exposed briefly to faces manipulated in shape cues to attractiveness before either being asked to think about a moment of emotional closeness or distance in their current relationship. We measured sensitivity in memory for faces as the extent to which they recognized correct versions of studied faces over versions of the same person altered to look either more or less-attractive than their original (i.e., studied) version. Contrary to predictions, high relationship quality strengthened hit rate for faces regardless of the sex or attractiveness of the face. In general, women's memories were more sensitive to attractiveness in women, but were biased toward attractiveness in male faces, both when responding to unfamiliar faces and versions of familiar faces that were more attractive than the original male identity from the learning phase. However, findings varied according to self-rated attractiveness and a psychometric measure of the quality of their current relationship. Attractive women were more sensitive to attractiveness in men, while their less-attractive peers had a stronger bias to remember women as more-attractive and men as less-attractive than their original image respectively. Women in better-quality romantic relationships had stronger positive biases toward, and false memories for, attractive men. Our findings suggest a sophisticated pattern of sensitivity and bias in women's memory for facial cues to quality that varies systematically according to factors that may alter the costs of female mating competition ('market demand') and relationship maintenance. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights

Realized Beta GARCH: A Multivariate GARCH Model with Realized Measures of Volatility and CoVolatility

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Peter Reinhard; Lunde, Asger; Voev, Valeri

We introduce a multivariate GARCH model that utilizes and models realized measures of volatility and covolatility. The realized measures extract information contained in high-frequency data that is particularly beneficial during periods with variation in volatility and covolatility. Applying the ...

The multivariate supOU stochastic volatility model

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Barndorff-Nielsen, Ole; Stelzer, Robert

Using positive semidefinite supOU (superposition of Ornstein-Uhlenbeck type) processes to describe the volatility, we introduce a multivariate stochastic volatility model for financial data which is capable of modelling long range dependence effects. The finiteness of moments and the second order...... structure of the volatility, the log returns, as well as their "squares" are discussed in detail. Moreover, we give several examples in which long memory effects occur and study how the model as well as the simple Ornstein-Uhlenbeck type stochastic volatility model behave under linear transformations....... In particular, the models are shown to be preserved under invertible linear transformations. Finally, we discuss how (sup)OU stochastic volatility models can be combined with a factor modelling approach....

Forecasting Exchange Rate Volatility in the Presence of Jumps

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Busch, Thomas; Christensen, Bent Jesper; Nielsen, Morten Ørregaard

We study measures of foreign exchange rate volatility based on high-frequency (5-minute) $/DM exchange rate returns using recent nonparametric statistical techniquesto compute realized return volatility and its separate continuous sample path and jumpcomponents, and measures based on prices...... of exchange rate futures options, allowingcalculation of option implied volatility. We find that implied volatility is an informationallyefficient but biased forecast of future realized exchange rate volatility. Furthermore,we show that log-normality is an even better distributional approximation...... for impliedvolatility than for realized volatility in this market. Finally, we show that the jump componentof future realized exchange rate volatility is to some extent predictable, and thatoption implied volatility is the dominant forecast of the future jump component....

Branner-Hubbard Motions and attracting dynamics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Petersen, Carsten Lunde; Tan, Lei

2006-01-01

We introduce a new notion of attracting dynamics, which is related to polynomial-like mappings. Also we review the Branner-Hubbard Motion and study its action on attracting dynamics.......We introduce a new notion of attracting dynamics, which is related to polynomial-like mappings. Also we review the Branner-Hubbard Motion and study its action on attracting dynamics....

Dynamic Factor Models for the Volatility Surface

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

van der Wel, Michel; Ozturk, Sait R.; Dijk, Dick van

The implied volatility surface is the collection of volatilities implied by option contracts for different strike prices and time-to-maturity. We study factor models to capture the dynamics of this three-dimensional implied volatility surface. Three model types are considered to examine desirable...

Romantic attraction and adolescent smoking trajectories.

Science.gov (United States)

Pollard, Michael S; Tucker, Joan S; Green, Harold D; Kennedy, David P; Go, Myong-Hyun

2011-12-01

Research on sexual orientation and substance use has established that lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals are more likely to smoke than heterosexuals. This analysis furthers the examination of smoking behaviors across sexual orientation groups by describing how same- and opposite-sex romantic attraction, and changes in romantic attraction, are associated with distinct six-year developmental trajectories of smoking. The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health dataset is used to test our hypotheses. Multinomial logistic regressions predicting smoking trajectory membership as a function of romantic attraction were separately estimated for men and women. Romantic attraction effects were found only for women. The change from self-reported heterosexual attraction to lesbian or bisexual attraction was more predictive of higher smoking trajectories than was a consistent lesbian or bisexual attraction, with potentially important differences between the smoking patterns of these two groups. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Fundamental volatility is regime specific

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Arnold, I.J.M.; MacDonald, R.; Vries, de C.G.

2006-01-01

A widely held notion holds that freely floating exchange rates are excessively volatile when judged against fundamentals and when moving from fixed to floating exchange rates. We re-examine the data and conclude that the disparity between the fundamentals and exchange rate volatility is more

Consistent ranking of volatility models

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Peter Reinhard; Lunde, Asger

2006-01-01

We show that the empirical ranking of volatility models can be inconsistent for the true ranking if the evaluation is based on a proxy for the population measure of volatility. For example, the substitution of a squared return for the conditional variance in the evaluation of ARCH-type models can...... variance in out-of-sample evaluations rather than the squared return. We derive the theoretical results in a general framework that is not specific to the comparison of volatility models. Similar problems can arise in comparisons of forecasting models whenever the predicted variable is a latent variable....

Aerosol volatility in a boreal forest environment

Science.gov (United States)

Häkkinen, S. A. K.; ńijälä, M.; Lehtipalo, K.; Junninen, H.; Virkkula, A.; Worsnop, D. R.; Kulmala, M.; Petäjä, T.; Riipinen, I.

2012-04-01

Climate and health effects of atmospheric aerosols are determined by their properties such as their chemical composition. Aerosol chemical composition can be studied indirectly by measuring volatility of aerosol particles. The volatility of submicron aerosol particles (20-500 nm) was studied in a boreal forest site at SMEAR II (Station for Measuring Ecosystem-Atmosphere Relations II) station (Vesala et al., 1998) in Hyytiälä, Finland, during 01/2008-05/2010. The instrument used for the measurements was VDMPS (Volatility Differential Mobility Particle Sizer), which consists of two separate instruments: DMPS (Differential Mobility Particle Sizer, Aalto et al., 2001) and TD (Thermodenuder, Wehner et al., 2002). Aerosol evaporation was examined by heating the aerosol and comparing the total aerosol mass before and after heating. In the VDMPS system ambient aerosol sample was heated up to temperatures ranging from 80 °C to 280 °C. The higher the heating temperature was the more aerosol material was evaporated. There was a non-volatile residual present in aerosol particles when heated up to 280 °C. This residual explained (20±8)% of the total aerosol mass. Aerosol non-volatile mass fraction was highest during winter and smallest during summer months. The role of black carbon in the observed non-volatile residual was determined. Black carbon explained 40 to 90% of the non-volatile mass. Especially during colder seasons noticeable amount of non-volatile material, something else than black carbon, was observed. According to Kalberer et al. (2004) some atmospheric organic species can form polymers that have high evaporation temperatures. Also low-volatile organic salts may contribute to the non-volatile aerosol (Smith et al., 2010). Aerosol mass composition measured directly with AMS (Aerosol Mass Spectrometer, Jayne et al., 2000) was analyzed in order to examine the properties of the non-volatile material (other than black carbon). The AMS measurements were performed

Analysis of volatiles from irradiated yeast extract

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liao Tao; Li Xin; Zu Xiaoyan; Chen Yuxia; Geng Shengrong

2013-01-01

The method for determination volatiles from irradiated yeast extract (YE) using headspace solid phase microextraction (HS-SPME) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was developed in this paper. The extraction conditions were optimized with reference to the peak area and number of volatiles as aldehyde, ketone, alcohol, acid, ester and sulfur compounds. The optimized conditions of HS-SPME for volatiles in irradiated YE were: divinyl benzene/Carboxen/polydimethylsiloxane (DVB/CAR/PDMS) fiber, extration time 40 min, extraction temperature 40℃. The volatiles from YE irradiated by 0-19.8 kGy were detected using HS-SPME coupled with GC-MS. The results showed that only 15 volatiles were detected from no irradiated YE and main compounds were acetic acid, 2, 3-butanediol and 1-hexanol, 2-ethyl-. There were 40 volatiles detected from irradiated YE and the main compounds were acetic acid, phenylethyl alcohol, heptanal and nonanal. Compare to no irradiated yeast extract, the aldehyde, ketone, alkene and disulfide, dimethyl were produced by irradiating process. (authors)

Creating kampong as tourist attractions

Science.gov (United States)

Sari, N.; Utama, R.; Hidayat, A. R. T.; Zamrony, A. B.

2017-06-01

Tourism attractions become one of the main components and they drive the tourism activity in a region. The quality of tourism attractions would affect tourists’ visits. Tourism power can basically be built on any conditions which can attract people to visit. Towns is full of activities which include their economic, social, cultural and physical features, if they are presented properly, they can be a tourist attraction. Kampung City, as a form of urban settlement, has the potential to be developed as a tourism attraction. Kampung is not only a physical area of housing but it has also productive activities. Even the city’s economic activities are also influenced by the productive activities of its Kampung. The shape of Kampung which varies in physical, social, economic and cultural raises special characteristics of each Kampung. When it is linked with the city’s tourism activities, these special characteristics of course could be one of the attractions to attract tourists. This paper studies about one of Kampung in the Malang City. Administratively located in the Penanggungan Village Lowokwaru District, but the potential will just be focused on RW 4. Main productive activities of this village are pottery. In contrast to ceramics, pottery is made from clay and its uniqueness in color and shape. Based on the history of pottery in the Malang, it is concentrated in Penanggungan Village. But along with its development, pottery is decreasingly in demand and number of craftsmen is dwindling. Based on these circumstances, a concept is prepared to raise the image of the region as the Kampung of pottery and to repack it as a tourism attraction of the city.

A dynamic two-dimensional system for measuring volatile organic compound volatilization and movement in soils.

Science.gov (United States)

Allaire, S E; Yates, S R; Ernst, F F; Gan, J

2002-01-01

There is an important need to develop instrumentation that allows better understanding of atmospheric emission of toxic volatile compounds associated with soil management. For this purpose, chemical movement and distribution in the soil profile should be simultaneously monitored with its volatilization. A two-dimensional rectangular soil column was constructed and a dynamic sequential volatilization flux chamber was attached to the top of the column. The flux chamber was connected through a manifold valve to a gas chromatograph (GC) for real-time concentration measurement. Gas distribution in the soil profile was sampled with gas-tight syringes at selected times and analyzed with a GC. A pressure transducer was connected to a scanivalve to automatically measure the pressure distribution in the gas phase of the soil profile. The system application was demonstrated by packing the column with a sandy loam in a symmetrical bed-furrow system. A 5-h furrow irrigation was started 24 h after the injection of a soil fumigant, propargyl bromide (3-bromo-1-propyne; 3BP). The experience showed the importance of measuring lateral volatilization variability, pressure distribution in the gas phase, chemical distribution between the different phases (liquid, gas, and sorbed), and the effect of irrigation on the volatilization. Gas movement, volatilization, water infiltration, and distribution of degradation product (Br-) were symmetric around the bed within 10%. The system saves labor cost and time. This versatile system can be modified and used to compare management practices, estimate concentration-time indexes for pest control, study chemical movement, degradation, and emissions, and test mathematical models.

Political institutions and economic volatility

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Klomp, Jeroen; de Haan, Jakob

We examine the effect of political 'institutions' on economic growth volatility, using data from more than 100 countries over the period 1960 to 2005, taking into account various control variables as suggested in previous studies. Our indicator of volatility is the relative standard deviation of the

Physical attractiveness stereotype and memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Rohner, Jean-Christophe; Rasmussen, Anders

2011-08-01

Three experiments examined explicit and implicit memory for information that is congruent with the physical attractiveness stereotype (i.e. attractive-positive and unattractive-negative) and information that is incongruent with the physical attractiveness stereotype (i.e. attractive-negative and unattractive-positive). Measures of explicit recognition sensitivity and implicit discriminability revealed a memorial advantage for congruent compared to incongruent information, as evident from hit and false alarm rates and reaction times, respectively. Measures of explicit memory showed a recognition bias toward congruent compared to incongruent information, where participants tended to call congruent information old, independently of whether the information had been shown previously or not. This recognition bias was unrelated to reports of subjective confidence in retrieval. The present findings shed light on the cognitive mechanisms that might mediate discriminatory behavior towards physically attractive and physically unattractive individuals. © 2011 The Authors. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology © 2011 The Scandinavian Psychological Associations.

Attractive faces temporally modulate visual attention

Science.gov (United States)

Nakamura, Koyo; Kawabata, Hideaki

2014-01-01

Facial attractiveness is an important biological and social signal on social interaction. Recent research has demonstrated that an attractive face captures greater spatial attention than an unattractive face does. Little is known, however, about the temporal characteristics of visual attention for facial attractiveness. In this study, we investigated the temporal modulation of visual attention induced by facial attractiveness by using a rapid serial visual presentation. Fourteen male faces and two female faces were successively presented for 160 ms, respectively, and participants were asked to identify two female faces embedded among a series of multiple male distractor faces. Identification of a second female target (T2) was impaired when a first target (T1) was attractive compared to neutral or unattractive faces, at 320 ms stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA); identification was improved when T1 was attractive compared to unattractive faces at 640 ms SOA. These findings suggest that the spontaneous appraisal of facial attractiveness modulates temporal attention. PMID:24994994

Attractive faces temporally modulate visual attention

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Koyo eNakamura

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Facial attractiveness is an important biological and social signal on social interaction. Recent research has demonstrated that an attractive face captures greater spatial attention than an unattractive face does. Little is known, however, about the temporal characteristics of visual attention for facial attractiveness. In this study, we investigated the temporal modulation of visual attention induced by facial attractiveness by using a rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP. Fourteen male faces and two female faces were successively presented for 160 ms respectively, and participants were asked to identify two female faces embedded among a series of multiple male distractor faces. Identification of a second female target (T2 was impaired when a first target (T1 was attractive compared to neutral or unattractive faces, at 320 ms SOA; identification was improved when T1 was attractive compared to unattractive faces at 640 ms SOA. These findings suggest that the spontaneous appraisal of facial attractiveness modulates temporal attention.

The predictive content of CBOE crude oil volatility index

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Hongtao; Liu, Li; Li, Xiaolei

2018-02-01

Volatility forecasting is an important issue in the area of econophysics. The information content of implied volatility for financial return volatility has been well documented in the literature but very few studies focus on oil volatility. In this paper, we show that the CBOE crude oil volatility index (OVX) has predictive ability for spot volatility of WTI and Brent oil returns, from both in-sample and out-of-sample perspectives. Including OVX-based implied volatility in GARCH-type volatility models can improve forecasting accuracy most of time. The predictability from OVX to spot volatility is also found for longer forecasting horizons of 5 days and 20 days. The simple GARCH(1,1) and fractionally integrated GARCH with OVX performs significantly better than the other OVX models and all 6 univariate GARCH-type models without OVX. Robustness test results suggest that OVX provides different information from as short-term interest rate.

Assertiveness and Physical Attractiveness.

Science.gov (United States)

Kleim, David M.; And Others

Earlier research investigating the relationship between physical attractiveness and assertiveness found that physically attractive females were more assertive than other females. To investigate this relationship further and to broaden the scope of the study, 69 students were videotaped in groups of five to ten while responding to open-ended…

From the depletion attraction to the bridging attraction: the effect of solvent molecules on the effective colloidal interactions.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Jie; Kline, Steven R; Liu, Yun

2015-02-28

Depletion attraction induced by non-adsorbing polymers or small particles in colloidal solutions has been widely used as a model colloidal interaction to understand aggregation behavior and phase diagrams, such as glass transitions and gelation. However, much less attention has been paid to study the effective colloidal interaction when small particles/molecules can be reversibly attracted to large colloidal particles. At the strong attraction limit, small particles can introduce bridging attraction as it can simultaneously attach to neighbouring large colloidal particles. We use Baxter's multi-component method for sticky hard sphere systems with the Percus-Yevick approximation to study the bridging attraction and its consequence to phase diagrams, which are controlled by the concentration of small particles and their interaction with large particles. When the concentration of small particles is very low, the bridging attraction strength increases very fast with the increase of small particle concentration. The attraction strength eventually reaches a maximum bridging attraction (MBA). Adding more small particles after the MBA concentration keeps decreasing the attraction strength until reaching a concentration above which the net effect of small particles only introduces an effective repulsion between large colloidal particles. These behaviors are qualitatively different from the concentration dependence of the depletion attraction on small particles and make phase diagrams very rich for bridging attraction systems. We calculate the spinodal and binodal regions, the percolation lines, the MBA lines, and the equivalent hard sphere interaction line for bridging attraction systems and have proposed a simple analytic solution to calculate the effective attraction strength using the concentrations of large and small particles. Our theoretical results are found to be consistent with experimental results reported recently.

On the modulispace of attracting dynamics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Petersen, Carsten Lunde

An Attracting Dynamics is a triple (f,W,a), where W is an open subset of the R(iemann) S(phere), f is a holomorphic map from W into the RS and a is an attracting periodic point for f. Denote by B(a) the attracted basin of the orbit of a for f. Two attracting dynamics (f,W,a) and (f',W',a') are i...

Oil Volatility Risk and Expected Stock Returns

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christoffersen, Peter; Pan, Xuhui (Nick)

return between the quintile of stocks with low exposure and high exposure to oil volatility is significant at 0.66% per month, and oil volatility risk carries a significant risk premium of -0.60% per month. In the post-financialization period, oil volatility risk is strongly related with various measures...

Individual differences in valuing mates' physical attractiveness.

Science.gov (United States)

Mathes, Eugene W; Bielser, Abby; Cassell, Ticcarra; Summers, Sarah; Witowski, Aggie

2006-10-01

To investigate correlates of valuing physical attractiveness in a mate, it was hypothesized that valuing physical attractiveness in a mate would correlate with sex and valuing promiscuous sex, status, personal physical attractiveness, beauty, and order. Men and women college students completed measures of the extent to which they valued physical attractiveness in a mate and other variables. Valuing physical attractiveness in a mate was correlated with sex (men valued physical attractiveness in a mate more than did women) and valuing promiscuous sex and status, and, for women, valuing personal physical attractiveness. The results were explained in terms of evolutionary theory.

Intelligence and Physical Attractiveness

Science.gov (United States)

Kanazawa, Satoshi

2011-01-01

This brief research note aims to estimate the magnitude of the association between general intelligence and physical attractiveness with large nationally representative samples from two nations. In the United Kingdom, attractive children are more intelligent by 12.4 IQ points (r=0.381), whereas in the United States, the correlation between…

Understanding Interest Rate Volatility

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Volker, Desi

This thesis is the result of my Ph.D. studies at the Department of Finance of the Copenhagen Business School. It consists of three essays covering topics related to the term structure of interest rates, monetary policy and interest rate volatility. The rst essay, \\Monetary Policy Uncertainty...... and Interest Rates", examines the role of monetary policy uncertainty on the term structure of interest rates. The second essay, \\A Regime-Switching A ne Term Structure Model with Stochastic Volatility" (co-authored with Sebastian Fux), investigates the ability of the class of regime switching models...... with and without stochastic volatility to capture the main stylized features of U.S. interest rates. The third essay, \\Variance Risk Premia in the Interest Rate Swap Market", investigates the time-series and cross-sectional properties of the compensation demanded for holding interest rate variance risk. The essays...

Host Plant Volatiles and the Sexual Reproduction of the Potato Aphid, Macrosiphum euphorbiae

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jessica Hurley

2014-10-01

Full Text Available In late summer, heteroecious aphids, such as the potato aphid, Macrosiphum euphorbiae, move from their secondary summer host plants to primary host plants, where the sexual oviparae mate and lay diapausing eggs. We tested the hypothesis that volatiles of the primary host, Rosa rugosa, would attract the gynoparae, the parthenogenetic alate morph that produce oviparae, as well as the alate males foraging for suitable mates. In wind tunnel assays, both gynoparae and males oriented towards and reached rose cuttings significantly more often than other odour sources, including potato, a major secondary host. The response of males was as high to rose cuttings alone as to potato with a calling virgin oviparous female. These findings are discussed within the seasonal ecology of host alternating aphids.

Equity Volatility and Corporate Bond Yields

OpenAIRE

John Y. Campbell; Glen B. Taksler

2002-01-01

This paper explores the effect of equity volatility on corporate bond yields. Panel data for the late 1990s show that idiosyncratic firm-level volatility can explain as much cross-sectional variation in yields as can credit ratings. This finding, together with the upward trend in idiosyncratic equity volatility documented by Campbell, Lettau, Malkiel, and Xu (2001), helps to explain recent increases in corporate bond yields. The definitive version is available at www.blackwell-synergy.com.

Permanent and transitory oil volatility and aggregate investment in Malaysia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ibrahim, Mansor H.; Ahmed, Huson Joher Ali

2014-01-01

This paper investigates the relation between aggregate investment and oil volatility and its permanent and transitory components for a developing country, Malaysia. In the paper, the components generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity (CGARCH) model is utilized to decompose conditional oil volatility into permanent oil volatility and transitory oil volatility. Respectively reflecting fundamental-driven and random shifts in oil volatility, they are expected to exert differential effects on aggregate investment. Adopting a vector autoregression (VAR) framework to allow feedback effects between aggregate investment and its determinants, the paper documents evidence supporting the adverse effects of conditional oil volatility, permanent oil volatility and transitory oil volatility on aggregate investment and real output. Interestingly, contrary to the findings for the developed markets (US and OECD), the real effects of permanent oil volatility tend to be stronger. These findings are reasonably robust to variable specification and measurements in the VAR system. Hence, there is an indication that heightened oil volatility accounts for the slumps in Malaysia's aggregate investment after the Asian financial crisis. - Highlights: • Examines the role of oil volatility in Malaysia's aggregate investment. • Makes distinction between permanent and temporary volatility using CGARCH. • Both volatility components depress investment. • Permanent volatility has larger adverse effects. • Results are robust to alternative model specifications

Firm-level volatility and exports

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vannoorenberghe, G.C.L.

2012-01-01

This paper shows that the share of exports in the total sales of a firm has a positive and substantial impact on the volatility of its sales. Decomposing the volatility of sales of exporters between their domestic and export markets, I show using an identification strategy based on a firm-specific

Volatiles from the fungal microbiome of the marine sponge Callyspongia cf. flammea.

Science.gov (United States)

Barra, Lena; Barac, Paul; König, Gabriele M; Crüsemann, Max; Dickschat, Jeroen S

2017-09-13

The volatiles emitted by five fungal strains previously isolated from the marine sponge Callyspongia cf. flammea were captured with a closed-loop stripping apparatus (CLSA) and analyzed by GC-MS. Besides several widespread compounds, a series of metabolites with interesting bioactivities were found, including the quorum sensing inhibitor protoanemonin, the fungal phytotoxin 3,4-dimethylpentan-4-olide, and the insect attractant 1,2,4-trimethoxybenzene. In addition, the aromatic polyketides isotorquatone and chartabomone that are both known from Eucalyptus and a new O-desmethyl derivative were identified. The biosynthesis of isotorquatone was studied by feeding experiments with isotopically labeled precursors and its absolute configuration was determined by enantioselective synthesis of a reference compound. Bioactivity testings showed algicidal activity for some of the identified compounds, suggesting a potential ecological function in sponge defence.

Modeling and forecasting petroleum futures volatility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sadorsky, Perry

2006-01-01

Forecasts of oil price volatility are important inputs into macroeconometric models, financial market risk assessment calculations like value at risk, and option pricing formulas for futures contracts. This paper uses several different univariate and multivariate statistical models to estimate forecasts of daily volatility in petroleum futures price returns. The out-of-sample forecasts are evaluated using forecast accuracy tests and market timing tests. The TGARCH model fits well for heating oil and natural gas volatility and the GARCH model fits well for crude oil and unleaded gasoline volatility. Simple moving average models seem to fit well in some cases provided the correct order is chosen. Despite the increased complexity, models like state space, vector autoregression and bivariate GARCH do not perform as well as the single equation GARCH model. Most models out perform a random walk and there is evidence of market timing. Parametric and non-parametric value at risk measures are calculated and compared. Non-parametric models outperform the parametric models in terms of number of exceedences in backtests. These results are useful for anyone needing forecasts of petroleum futures volatility. (author)

Drug interactions: volatile anesthetics and opioids.

Science.gov (United States)

Glass, P S; Gan, T J; Howell, S; Ginsberg, B

1997-09-01

Multiple drugs are used to provide anesthesia. Volatile anesthetics are commonly combined with opioids. Several studies have demonstrated that small doses of opioid (i.e., within the analgesic range) result in a marked reduction in minimum alveolar concentration (MAC) of the volatile anesthetic that will prevent purposeful movement in 50% of patients at skin incision). Further increases in opioid dose provide only a further small reduction in MAC. Thus, a ceiling effect of the opioid is observed at a MAC value of the volatile anesthetic equal to its MAC awake. Recovery from anesthesia when an opioid is combined with a volatile anesthetic is dependent on the rate of decrease of both drugs to their respective concentrations that are associated with adequate spontaneous ventilation and awakening. Through an understanding of the pharmacodynamic interaction of volatile anesthetics with opioids and the pharmacokinetic processes responsible for the recovery from drug effect, optimal dosing schemes can thus be developed. A review of these pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic principles that will allow clinicians to administer drugs to provide a more optimal anesthetic is provided.

Estimating Price Volatility Structure in Iran’s Meat Market: Application of General GARCH Models

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Z. Rasouli Birami

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Over the past few years, the price volatility of agricultural products and food markets has attracted attention of many researchers and policy makers. This growing attention was started from the food price crisis in 2007 and 2008 when major agricultural products faced accelerated price increases and then rapidly decreased. This paper focused on the price volatility of major commodities related to three market levels of Iran’s meat market, including hay (the input level, calf and sheep (the wholesale level and beef and mutton (the retail level. In particular, efforts will made to find more appropriate models for explaining the behavior of volatility of the return series and to identify which return series are more volatile. The effects of good and bad news on the volatility of prices in each return series will also be studied. Materials and Methods: Different GARCH type models have been considered the best for modeling volatility of return series. Nonlinear GARCH models were introduced to capture the effect of good and bad news separately. The paper uses some GARCH type models including GARCH, Exponential GARCH (EGARCH, GJR-GARCH, Threshold GARCH (TGARCH, Simple Asymmetric GARCH (SAGARCH, Power GARCH (PGARCH, Non-linear GARCH (NGARCH, Asymmetric Power GARCH (APGARCH and Non-linear Power GARCH (NPGARCH to model the volatility of hay, calf, sheep, beef and mutton return series. The data on hay, calf, sheep, and beef and mutton monthly prices are published by Iran’s livestock support firm. The paper uses monthly data over the sample period of the May 1992 to the March 2014. Results and Discussion: Descriptive statistics of the studied return series show evidence of skewness and kurtosis. The results here show that all the series has fat tails. The significant p-values for the Ljung-Box Q-statistics mean that the auto-correlation exists in the squared residuals. The presence of unit roots in the return series is confirmed by the

Inflation, its Volatility and the Inflation-Growth Tradeoff in India

OpenAIRE

Raghbendra Jha; Varsha S. Kulkarni

2013-01-01

This paper amends the New Keynesian Phillips curve model to include inflation volatility. It provides results on the determinants of inflation volatility and expected inflation volatility for OLS and ARDL(1,1) models and for change in inflation volatility and change in expected inflation volatility using ECM models. Output gap affects change in expected inflation volatility alone (in the ECM model) and not in the other models. Major determinants of inflation volatility and expected inflation ...

A volatile topic: Parsing out the details of Earth's formation through experimental metal-silicate partitioning of volatile and moderately volatile elements

Science.gov (United States)

Mahan, B. M.; Siebert, J.; Blanchard, I.; Badro, J.; Sossi, P.; Moynier, F.

2017-12-01

Volatile and moderately volatile elements display different volatilities and siderophilities, as well as varying sensitivity to thermodynamic controls (X, P, T, fO2) during metal-silicate differentiation. The experimental determination of the metal-silicate partitioning of these elements permits us to evaluate processes controlling the distribution of these elements in Earth. In this work, we have combined metal-silicate partitioning data and results for S, Sn, Zn and Cu, and input these characterizations into Earth formation models. Model parameters such as source material, timing of volatile delivery, fO2 path, and degree of impactor equilibration were varied to encompass an array of possible formation scenarios. These models were then assessed to discern plausible sets of conditions that can produce current observed element-to-element ratios (e.g. S/Zn) in the Earth's present-day mantle, while also satisfying current estimates on the S content of the core, at no more than 2 wt%. The results of our models indicate two modes of accretion that can maintain chondritic element-to-element ratios for the bulk Earth and can arrive at present-day mantle abundances of these elements. The first mode requires the late addition of Earth's entire inventory of these elements (assuming a CI-chondritic composition) and late-stage accretion that is marked by partial equilibration of large impactors. The second, possibly more intuitive mode, requires that Earth accreted - at least initially - from volatile poor material preferentially depleted in S relative to Sn, Zn, and Cu. From a chemical standpoint, this source material is most similar to type I chondrule rich (and S poor) materials (Hewins and Herzberg, 1996; Mahan et al., 2017; Amsellem et al., 2017), such as the metal-bearing carbonaceous chondrites.

Estimation of volatility of selected oil production projects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Costa Lima, Gabriel A.; Suslick, Saul B.

2006-01-01

In oil project valuation and investment decision-making, volatility is a key parameter, but it is difficult to estimate. From a traditional investment viewpoint, volatility reduces project value because it increases its discount rate via a higher risk premium. Contrarily, according to the real-option pricing theory, volatility may aggregate value to the project, since the downside potential is limited whereas the upside is theoretically unbounded. However, the estimation of project volatility is very complicated since there is not a historical series of project values. In such cases, many analysts assume that oil price volatility is equal to that of project. In order to overcome such problems, in this paper an alternative numerical method based on present value of future cash flows and Monte Carlo simulation is proposed to estimate the volatility of projects. This method is applied to estimate the volatility of 12 deep-water offshore oil projects considering that oil price will evolve according to one of two stochastic processes: Geometric Brownian Motion and Mean-Reverting Motion. Results indicate that the volatility of commodity usually undervalue that of project. For the set of offshore projects analyzed in this paper, project volatility is at least 79% higher than that of oil prices and increases dramatically in those cases of high capital expenditures and low price. (author)

Production Function of Outgassed Volatiles on Mercury: Implications for Polar Volatiles on Mercury and the Moon

Science.gov (United States)

Deutsch, A. N.; Head, J. W.

2018-05-01

We are interested in the flux of volatiles delivered to the polar regions of Mercury and the Moon through time. We integrate the production functions for volatile delivery from impacts, solar wind, and volcanism, which we focus on initially.

Volatile and non-volatile compounds in green tea affected in harvesting time and their correlation to consumer preference.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Youngmok; Lee, Kwang-Geun; Kim, Mina K

2016-10-01

Current study was designed to find out how tea harvesting time affects the volatile and non-volatile compounds profiles of green tea. In addition, correlation of instrumental volatile and non-volatile compounds analyses to consumer perception were analyzed. Overall, earlier harvested green tea had stronger antioxidant capacity (~61.0%) due to the polyphenolic compounds from catechin (23,164 mg/L), in comparison to later harvested green teas (11,961 mg/L). However, high catechin content in green tea influenced negatively the consumer likings of green tea, due to high bitterness (27.6%) and astringency (13.4%). Volatile compounds drive consumer liking of green tea products were also identified, that included linalool, 2,3-methyl butanal, 2-heptanone, (E,E)-3,5-Octadien-2-one. Finding from current study are useful for green tea industry as it provide the difference in physiochemical properties of green tea harvested at different intervals.

On the non-causal link between volatility and growth

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Posch, Olaf; Wälde, Klaus

A model highlighting the endogeneity of both volatility and growth is presented. Volatility and growth are therefore correlated but there is no causal link from volatility to growth. This joint endogeneity is illustrated by working out the effects through which economies with different tax levels...... di er both in their volatility and growth. Using a continuous-time DSGE model with plausible parametric restrictions, we obtain closedform measures of macro volatility based on cyclical components and output growth rates. Given our results, empirical volatility-growth analysis should include controls...

The scent of wolves: pyrazine analogs induce avoidance and vigilance behaviors in prey

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kazumi eOsada

2015-10-01

Full Text Available The common grey wolf (Canis lupus is an apex predator located at the top of the food chain in the Northern Hemisphere. It preys on rodents, rabbits, ungulates, and many other kinds of mammal. However, the behavioral evidence for, and the chemical basis of, the fear-inducing impact of wolf urine on prey are unclear. Recently, the pyrazine analogs 2, 6-dimethylpyrazine, 2, 3, 5-trimethylpyrazine and 3-ethyl-2, 5-dimethyl pyrazine were identified as kairomones in the urine of wolves. When mice were confronted with a mixture of purified pyrazine analogs, vigilance behaviors, including freezing and excitation of neurons at the accessory olfactory bulb, were markedly increased. Additionally, the odor of the pyrazine cocktail effectively suppressed the approach of deer to a feeding area, and for those close to the feeding area elicited fear-related behaviors such as the tail-flag, flight, and jump actions. In this review, we discuss the transfer of chemical information from wolf to prey through the novel kairomones identified in wolf urine and also compare the characteristics of wolf kairomones with other predator-produced kairomones that affect rodents.

Volatilization of iodine from soils and plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wildung, R.E.; Cataldo, D.A.; Garland, T.R.

1985-04-01

Elevated levels of 129 I, a long-lived fission product, are present in the environment as a result of nuclear weapons testing and fuel reprocessing. To aid in understanding the anomalous behavior of this element, relative to natural I ( 127 I), in the vicinity of nuclear fuel reprocessing plants, preliminary laboratory-growth chamber studies were undertaken to examine the possible formation of volatile inorganic and organic I species in soil and plant systems. Inorganic 129 I added to soil was volatilized from both the soil and plant during plant growth, at average ratios of 2 x 10 -3 %/day soil and 9 x 10 -3 %/day foliage, respectively. Volatilization rates from soil were an order of magnitude less in the absence of growing roots. Less than 2% of soil or plant volatiles was subsequently retained by plant canopies. Volatile I, chemically characterized by selective sorption methods, consisted principally of alkyl iodides formed by both soil and plant processes. However, plants and soils containing actively growing roots produced a larger fraction of volatile inorganic I than soil alone. 14 refs., 1 fig., 3 tabs

Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness Indices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2011-02-01

Since 2003 Ernst and Young team has been releasing quarterly data that ranks national renewable energy markets, and their suitability for individual technologies. The Country Attractiveness Indices now track the relative attractiveness of 30 countries' renewable energy markets across a selection of technologies each quarter. The Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness Indices publication scores and comments on various technologies, including: on-shore wind, off-shore wind, solar PV, solar CSP, biomass, and geothermal.

Constraining the volatile budget of the lunar interior

Science.gov (United States)

Potts, N. J.; Bromiley, G. D.

2017-12-01

Measurements of volatiles (F, Cl, S, H2O) in a range of lunar samples confirm the presence of volatile material in lunar magmas. It remains unknown, however, where this volatile material is stored and when it was delivered to the Moon. On Earth, point defects within mantle olivine, and its high-pressure polymorphs, are thought to be the largest reservoir of volatile material. However, as volatiles have been cycled into and out of the Earth's mantle throughout geological time, via subduction and volcanism, this masks any original volatile signatures. As the Moon has no plate tectonics, it is expected that any volatile material present in the deep lunar interior would have been inherited during accretion and differentiation, providing insight into the delivery of volatiles to the early Earth-Moon system. Our aim was, therefore, to test the volatile storage capacity of the deep lunar mantle and determine mineral/melt partitioning for key volatiles. Experiments were performed in a primitive lunar mantle composition and run at relevant T, P, and at fO2 below the IW buffer. Experiments replicated the initial stages of LMO solidification with either olivine + melt, olivine + pyroxene + melt, or pyroxene + melt as the only phases present. Mineral-melt partition coefficients (Dx) derived for volatile material (F, Cl, S, H2O) vary significantly compared to those derived for terrestrial conditions. An order of magnitude more H2O was found to partition into lunar olivine compared to the terrestrial upper mantle. DF derived for lunar olivine are comparable to the highest terrestrial derived values whilst no Cl was found to partition into lunar olivine under these conditions. Furthermore, an inverse trend between DF and DOH hints towards coupled-substitution mechanisms between H and F under low-fO2/lunar bulk composition. These results suggest that if volatile material was present in the LMO a significant proportion could be partitioned into the lower lunar mantle. The

Labour Demand and Exchange Rate Volatility

OpenAIRE

Udo Broll; Sabine Hansen

2004-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to assess under what conditions exchange rate volatility exerts a positive effect on a firm's labour demand. As the exchange rate volatility increases, so does the value of the export option provided the firm under study is flexible. Flexibility is important because it gives the firm option value. Higher volatility increases the potential gains from trade and may increase the demand for labour. This may explain part of the mixed empirical findings regarding the ef...

Elemental volatility of HT-9 fusion reactor alloy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Henslee, S.P.; Neilson, R.M. Jr.

1985-01-01

The volatility of elemental constituents from HT-9, a ferritic steel, proposed for fusion reactor structures, was investigated. Tests were conducted in flowing air at temperatures from 800 to 1200 0 C for durations of 1 to 20 h. Elemental volatility was calculated in terms of the weight fraction of the element volatilized from the initial alloy; molybdenum, manganese, and nickel were the primary constituents volatilized. Comparisons with elemental volatilities observed for another candidate fusion reactor materials. Primary Candidate Alloy (PCA), an austenitic stainless steel, indicate significant differences between the volatilities of these steels that may impact fusion reactor safety analysis and alloy selection. Scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectrometry were used to investigate the oxide layers formed on HT-9 and to measure elemental contents within these layers

Estimation and prediction under local volatility jump-diffusion model

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Namhyoung; Lee, Younhee

2018-02-01

Volatility is an important factor in operating a company and managing risk. In the portfolio optimization and risk hedging using the option, the value of the option is evaluated using the volatility model. Various attempts have been made to predict option value. Recent studies have shown that stochastic volatility models and jump-diffusion models reflect stock price movements accurately. However, these models have practical limitations. Combining them with the local volatility model, which is widely used among practitioners, may lead to better performance. In this study, we propose a more effective and efficient method of estimating option prices by combining the local volatility model with the jump-diffusion model and apply it using both artificial and actual market data to evaluate its performance. The calibration process for estimating the jump parameters and local volatility surfaces is divided into three stages. We apply the local volatility model, stochastic volatility model, and local volatility jump-diffusion model estimated by the proposed method to KOSPI 200 index option pricing. The proposed method displays good estimation and prediction performance.

Aspects of volatility targeting for South African equity investors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bhekinkosi Khuzwayo

2014-11-01

Full Text Available We consider so-called volatility targeting strategies in the South African equity market. These strategies are aimed at keeping the volatility of a portfolio consisting of a risky asset, typically an equity index, and cash fixed. This is done by changing the allocation of the assets based on an indicator of the future volatility of the risky asset. We use the three month rolling implied volatility as an indicator of future volatility to influence our asset allocation. We compare investments based on different volatility targets to the performance of bonds, equities, property as well as the Absolute Return peer mean. We examine risk and return characteristics of the volatility targeting strategy as compared to different asset classes.

Nitrate analogs as attractants for soybean cyst nematode.

Science.gov (United States)

Hosoi, Akito; Katsuyama, Tsutomu; Sasaki, Yasuyuki; Kondo, Tatsuhiko; Yajima, Shunsuke; Ito, Shinsaku

2017-08-01

Soybean cyst nematode (SCN) Heterodera glycines Ichinohe, a plant parasite, is one of the most serious pests of soybean. In this paper, we report that SCN is attracted to nitrate and its analogs. We performed attraction assays to screen for novel attractants for SCN and found that nitrates were attractants for SCN and SCN recognized nitrate gradients. However, attraction of SCN to nitrates was not observed on agar containing nitrate. To further elucidate the attraction mechanism in SCN, we performed attraction assays using nitrate analogs ([Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text]). SCN was attracted to all nitrate analogs; however, attraction of SCN to nitrate analogs was not observed on agar containing nitrate. In contrast, SCN was attracted to azuki root, irrespective of presence or absence of nitrate in agar media. Our results suggest that the attraction mechanisms differ between plant-derived attractant and nitrate.

Fatal attraction

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Kim Ebensgaard

2012-01-01

The purpose of this paper is two-fold. Firstly, it presents an argument for usage-based inheritance models over complete inheritance models in construction grammar. It is argued that, with the principle of inductive language learning as their foundation, usage-based inheritance models allow...... for redundancies and incongruities in construction networks which enables linguists to take into account details of language use, which would otherwise not be facilitated in complete inheritance models. Secondly, making use of the method of collostructional analysis, the article offers a corpus-based description...... of the use of the Danish ihjel-construction which accounts for patterns of attraction of construction-verb attraction, patterns of productivity, and various types of subconstructions, including item- and item-class-based ones and metaphorical extensions. The description of the ihjel-construction should also...

On Being "Attractive" With Resistant Clients.

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, Mark J.; Wells, Don

1990-01-01

Calls client resistance a frequent occurrence within the helping profession. Defines client resistance, provides a brief review of related literature, and offers counselor attractiveness as one way of addressing the issue. Identifies attractive counselor behaviors and attitudes and presents case study illustrating specific attractive counselor…

Electron attraction mediated by Coulomb repulsion.

Science.gov (United States)

Hamo, A; Benyamini, A; Shapir, I; Khivrich, I; Waissman, J; Kaasbjerg, K; Oreg, Y; von Oppen, F; Ilani, S

2016-07-21

One of the defining properties of electrons is their mutual Coulomb repulsion. However, in solids this basic property may change; for example, in superconductors, the coupling of electrons to lattice vibrations makes the electrons attract one another, leading to the formation of bound pairs. Fifty years ago it was proposed that electrons can be made attractive even when all of the degrees of freedom in the solid are electronic, by exploiting their repulsion from other electrons. This attraction mechanism, termed 'excitonic', promised to achieve stronger and more exotic superconductivity. Yet, despite an extensive search, experimental evidence for excitonic attraction has yet to be found. Here we demonstrate this attraction by constructing, from the bottom up, the fundamental building block of the excitonic mechanism. Our experiments are based on quantum devices made from pristine carbon nanotubes, combined with cryogenic precision manipulation. Using this platform, we demonstrate that two electrons can be made to attract each other using an independent electronic system as the 'glue' that mediates attraction. Owing to its tunability, our system offers insights into the underlying physics, such as the dependence of the emergent attraction on the underlying repulsion, and the origin of the pairing energy. We also demonstrate transport signatures of excitonic pairing. This experimental demonstration of excitonic pairing paves the way for the design of exotic states of matter.

Mutual attraction of magnetic knots

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Parker, E.N.

1978-01-01

It is observed that the magnetic knots associated with active regions on the Sun have an attraction for each other during the formative period of the active regions, when new magnetic flux is coming to the surface. The attraction disappears when new flux ceases to rise through the surface. Then the magnetic spots and knots tend to come apart, leading to disintegration of the sunspots previously formed. The dissolution of the fields is to be expected, as a consequence of the magnetic repulsion of knots of like polarity and as a consequence of the hydromagnetic exchange instability.The purpose of this paper is to show that the mutual attraction of knots during the formative stages of a sunspot region may be understood as the mutual hydrodynamic attraction of the rising flux tubes. Two rising tubes attract each other, as a consequence of the wake of the leading tube when one is moving behind the other, and as a consequence of the Bernoulli effect when rising side by side

Volatility Forecast in Crises and Expansions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sergii Pypko

2015-08-01

Full Text Available We build a discrete-time non-linear model for volatility forecasting purposes. This model belongs to the class of threshold-autoregressive models, where changes in regimes are governed by past returns. The ability to capture changes in volatility regimes and using more accurate volatility measures allow outperforming other benchmark models, such as linear heterogeneous autoregressive model and GARCH specifications. Finally, we show how to derive closed-form expression for multiple-step-ahead forecasting by exploiting information about the conditional distribution of returns.

Synthetic analogues of natural semiochemicals as promising insect control agents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ujvary, Istvan; Toth, Miklos; Guerin, Patrick

2000-01-01

After decades of research and development, insect pheromones and other semiochemicals became indispensable tools of ecologically based agricultural pest and disease vector management programmes with main uses as: 1) detection and population monitoring of emerging and migrating insects, 2) mass trapping of insects, 3) combined formulation of semiochemicals and insecticides ('lure-and-kill'), and 4) mating disruption with specially formulated pheromone components. In spite of their demonstrated safety and biodegradability, the direct application of these semiochemicals for pest control has not fulfilled initial expectations. Nonetheless considerable field experience has been accumulated (Carde and Minks 1995). Evidently, two important factors limit the practical potential of these substances: 1) inherent in their particular mode of action, semiochemicals, especially pheromones, are effectively cleared by specific enzymes in the insect antennae, and 2) some of these compounds contain labile functional moieties that are prone to degradation (oxidation, isomerisation and polymerisation) under field conditions. Appropriate chemical modifications of these natural compounds, however, can circumvent these problems by providing synthetic analogues (sometimes also called parapheromones or antipheromones; for early studies, see Roelofs and Comeau 1971, Payne et al. 1973) which in ideal cases are not only more potent and environmentally acceptable but more economical as well. It should also be mentioned that many effective attractants have been discovered through the empirical screening of synthetic chemicals, some of which have actually turned out to be structural relatives of natural semiochemicals of the particular insect. In this paper, selected case studies of analogues of sex pheromones and kairomones will be presented. The examples from our work include nitrile bioisosteres of labile aldehyde pheromone components of the cranberry girdler moth, Chrysoteuchia topiaria

Multifractal analysis of implied volatility in index options

Science.gov (United States)

Oh, GabJin

2014-06-01

In this paper, we analyze the statistical and the non-linear properties of the log-variations in implied volatility for the CAC40, DAX and S& P500 daily index options. The price of an index option is generally represented by its implied volatility surface, including its smile and skew properties. We utilize a Lévy process model as the underlying asset to deepen our understanding of the intrinsic property of the implied volatility in the index options and estimate the implied volatility surface. We find that the options pricing models with the exponential Lévy model can reproduce the smile or sneer features of the implied volatility that are observed in real options markets. We study the variation in the implied volatility for at-the-money index call and put options, and we find that the distribution function follows a power-law distribution with an exponent of 3.5 ≤ γ ≤ 4.5. Especially, the variation in the implied volatility exhibits multifractal spectral characteristics, and the global financial crisis has influenced the complexity of the option markets.

Change in phenotypic plasticity of a morphological defence in Daphnia galeata (Crustacea: Cladocera in a selection experiment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Koichi FUJII

2007-08-01

Full Text Available Some water fleas Daphnia change their head morphology to reduce predation risk in response to chemical substances (kairomones released from larvae of the invertebrate predator Chaoborus (Insecta: Diptera. We tested for evidence of the costs associated with elongation of the head spine in Daphnia galeata and the consequences of these costs on the inducibility of head spine elongation in predictable and unpredictable environments. We exposed D. galeata in outdoor experimental ponds to conditions under which predation pressure by Chaoborus larvae and the concentration of kairomones from this predator were controlled for about 70 days. In the laboratory, we then used Daphnia clones collected from the outdoor ponds to investigate the inducibility of head spine formation in response to Chaoborus kairomones. The inducibility of head spine formation increased in D. galeata from the ponds that had contained both predators and kairomones, whereas in water fleas from the ponds containing only kairomones the plasticity (inducibility of head spine formation decreased compared with that in the control ponds. These results suggest that the production of a defensive head spine, its phenotypic plasticity, or both entail some costs. Contrary to our predictions, exposure to Chaoborus kairomones in the laboratory resulted in head lengths that were not significantly different among any of the clones from the three outdoor treatments. We found no evidence for costs associated with head spine elongation in terms of fecundity, time to maturity, or intrinsic rate of natural population increase. Average within-clone partial correlations calculated for head length and intrinsic rate of natural population increase, corrected for body length, were not significantly negative, indicating no cost of defence. This was probably because food conditions in the laboratory were so good that the costs of defence could not be detected. Furthermore, community-level changes, such as

Detecting instability in the volatility of carbon prices

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chevallier, Julien [Univ. Paris Dauphine (France)

2011-01-15

This article investigates the presence of outliers in the volatility of carbon prices. We compute three different measures of volatility for European Union Allowances, based on daily data (EGARCH model), option prices (implied volatility), and intraday data (realized volatility). Based on the methodology developed by Zeileis et al. (2003) and Zeileis (2006), we detect instability in the volatility of carbon prices based on two kinds of tests: retrospective tests (OLS-/Recursive-based CUSUM processes, F-statistics, and residual sum of squares), and forward-looking tests (by monitoring structural changes recursively or with moving estimates). We show evidence of strong shifts mainly for the EGARCH and IV models during the time period. Overall, we suggest that yearly compliance events, and growing uncertainties in post-Kyoto international agreements, may explain the instability in the volatility of carbon prices. (author)

Saccharomyces cerevisiae mitochondria are required for optimal attractiveness to Drosophila melanogaster

Science.gov (United States)

Schiabor, Kelly M.; Quan, Allison S.; Eisen, Michael B.

2014-01-01

While screening a large collection of wild and laboratory yeast strains for their ability to attract Drosophila melanogaster adults, we noticed a large difference in fly preference for two nearly isogenic strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, BY4741 and BY4742. Using standard genetic analyses, we tracked the preference difference to the lack of mitochondria in the BY4742 strain used in the initial experiment. We used gas chromatography coupled with mass spectroscopy to examine the volatile compounds produced by BY4741 and the mitochondria-deficient BY4742, and found that they differed significantly. We observed that several ethyl esters are present at much higher levels in strains with mitochondria, even in fermentative conditions. We found that nitrogen levels in the substrate affect the production of these compounds, and that they are produced at the highest level by strains with mitochondria when fermenting natural fruit substrates. Collectively these observations demonstrate that core metabolic processes mediate the interaction between yeasts and insect vectors, and highlight the importance mitochondrial functions in yeast ecology. PMID:25462617

Tourism Attraction Systems. Exploring cultural behavior

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Richards, G.W.

2002-01-01

Attractions are vital sub-elements in all whole tourism systems, and yet their study suffers from lack of theoretical depth and empirical foundation. This paper presents an empirical exploration of the attraction system model, based on a survey of over 6,000 tourists to cultural attractions. The

Attractiveness and Cooperation in Social Exchange

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chisato Takahashi

2006-01-01

Full Text Available We tested the hypothesis that physically more attractive men are less likely to cooperate in social exchange than less attractive men, while physical attractiveness has no effect on women's tendency toward cooperation, with four different experimental games (Prisoner's Dilemma with 99 players, Allocator Choice with 77 players, Faith with 16 players, and Trust with 21 players. Pictures of the game players were taken after they participated in one of the four games, and those pictures were presented to another set of participants (85 raters in Study 1 and 2, 36 raters in Study 3 for attractiveness ratings. Both male and female raters who were unaware of the photographed game players' actual behavior in the game judged the faces of male defectors (who defected in one of the four games to be more attractive than those of male cooperators, but they did not give differential attractiveness ratings to female defectors and female cooperators.

Ailing voters advance attractive congressional candidates.

Science.gov (United States)

Zebrowitz, Leslie A; Franklin, Robert G; Palumbo, Rocco

2015-01-06

Among many benefits of facial attractiveness, there is evidence that more attractive politicians are more likely to be elected. Recent research found this effect to be most pronounced in congressional districts with high disease threat-a result attributed to an adaptive disease avoidance mechanism, whereby the association of low attractiveness with poor health is particularly worrisome to voters who feel vulnerable to disease. We provided a more direct test of this explanation by examining the effects of individuals' own health and age. Supporting a disease avoidance mechanism, less healthy participants showed a stronger preference for more attractive contenders in U.S. Senate races than their healthier peers, and this effect was stronger for older participants, who were generally less healthy than younger participants. Stronger effects of health for older participants partly reflected the absence of positive bias toward attractive candidates among the healthiest, suggesting that healthy older adults may be unconcerned about disease threat or sufficiently wise to ignore attractiveness.

Duration of plant damage by host larvae affects attraction of two parasitoid species (Microplitis croceipes and Cotesia marginiventris) to cotton: implications for interspecific competition.

Science.gov (United States)

Morawo, Tolulope; Fadamiro, Henry

2014-12-01

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) released by herbivore-damaged plants can guide parasitoids to their hosts. The quantity and quality of VOC blends emitted by plants may be affected by the duration of plant damage by herbivores, which could have potential ramifications on the recruitment of competing parasitoids. We used two parasitoid species, Microplitis croceipes and Cotesia marginiventris (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), to address the question of whether duration of plant damage affects parasitoid use of plant VOCs for host location. Both wasp species are larval endoparasitoids of Heliothis virescens (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), an important pest of cotton. Attraction of the two parasitoid species to odors emitted by undamaged (UD), fresh (6 h infestation) damage (FD), and old (24 h infestation) damage (OD) cotton plants infested by H. virescens larvae was investigated using a headspace volatile collection system coupled with four-choice olfactometer bioassay. Both sexes of M. croceipes showed a preference for FD- and OD-plant odors over UD-plants. On the other hand, more C. marginiventris females were attracted to UD- and FD-plants than to OD-plants. GC/MS analyses showed qualitative and quantitative differences in the VOC profiles of UD, FD, and OD-plants, which may explain the observed preferences of the parasitoids. These results suggest a temporal partitioning in the recruitment of M. croceipes and C. marginiventris to H. virescens-damaged cotton, and may have potential implications for interspecific competition between the two parasitoid species.

Does computer-synthesized speech manifest personality? Experimental tests of recognition, similarity-attraction, and consistency-attraction.

Science.gov (United States)

Nass, C; Lee, K M

2001-09-01

Would people exhibit similarity-attraction and consistency-attraction toward unambiguously computer-generated speech even when personality is clearly not relevant? In Experiment 1, participants (extrovert or introvert) heard a synthesized voice (extrovert or introvert) on a book-buying Web site. Participants accurately recognized personality cues in text to speech and showed similarity-attraction in their evaluation of the computer voice, the book reviews, and the reviewer. Experiment 2, in a Web auction context, added personality of the text to the previous design. The results replicated Experiment 1 and demonstrated consistency (voice and text personality)-attraction. To maximize liking and trust, designers should set parameters, for example, words per minute or frequency range, that create a personality that is consistent with the user and the content being presented.

Attracting girls to physics

Science.gov (United States)

Borg, Anne; Sui, Manling

2013-03-01

Large regional differences remain in the number of girls studying physics and the number of female physicists in academic positions. While many countries struggle with attracting female students to university studies in physics, climbing the academic ladder is the main challenge for these women. Furthermore, for many female physicists the working climate is not very supportive. The workshop Attracting Girls to Physics, organized as part of the 4th IUPAP International Conference on Women in Physics, South Africa 2011, addressed attitudes among education-seeking teenagers and approaches for attracting young girls to physics through successful recruitment plans, including highlighting the broad spectrum of career opportunities for those with physics qualifications. The current paper presents findings, examples of best practices, and recommendations resulting from this workshop.

CAM Stochastic Volatility Model for Option Pricing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wanwan Huang

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The coupled additive and multiplicative (CAM noises model is a stochastic volatility model for derivative pricing. Unlike the other stochastic volatility models in the literature, the CAM model uses two Brownian motions, one multiplicative and one additive, to model the volatility process. We provide empirical evidence that suggests a nontrivial relationship between the kurtosis and skewness of asset prices and that the CAM model is able to capture this relationship, whereas the traditional stochastic volatility models cannot. We introduce a control variate method and Monte Carlo estimators for some of the sensitivities (Greeks of the model. We also derive an approximation for the characteristic function of the model.

[Solidification of volatile oil with graphene oxide].

Science.gov (United States)

Yan, Hong-Mei; Jia, Xiao-Bin; Zhang, Zhen-Hai; Sun, E; Xu, Yi-Hao

2015-02-01

To evaluate the properties of solidifying volatile oil with graphene oxide, clove oil and zedoary turmeric oil were solidified by graphene oxide. The amount of graphene oxide was optimized with the eugenol yield and curcumol yield as criteria. Curing powder was characterized by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The effects of graphene oxide on dissolution in vitro and thermal stability of active components were studied. The optimum solidification ratio of graphene oxide to volatile oil was 1:1. Dissolution rate of active components had rare influence while their thermal stability improved after volatile oil was solidified. Solidifying herbal volatile oil with graphene oxide deserves further study.

Ozone exposure triggers the emission of herbivore-induced plant volatiles, but does not disturb tritrophic signalling

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vuorinen, Terhi; Nerg, Anne-Marja; Holopainen, Jarmo K

2004-09-01

We evaluated the similarities between ozone-induced and mite-induced emission of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from lima beans, and tested the response of the natural enemies of herbivores to these emissions using trophic system of two-spotted spider mites and predatory mites. The acute ozone-exposure and spider mite-infestation induced the emission of two homoterpenes, (E)-4,8-dimethyl-1,3,7-nonatriene and (E,E)-4,8,12-trimethyl-1,3,7,11-tridecatetraene, and (Z)-3-hexenyl acetate. Only plants with spider mite-infestation emitted the monoterpene (E)-{beta}-ocimene. Predatory mites were equally attracted to ozone-exposed and unexposed plants, but discriminated between spider mite-infested and uninfested plants, when both were exposed to ozone. The similarities between ozone and herbivore-induced VOCs suggest that plant defence against phytotoxic ozone and the production of VOCs for attraction of the natural enemies of herbivores may have adaptive coevolution. However, the expected elevated ozone concentrations in future may not disturb tritrophic signalling, unless herbivore-induced VOCs are lost in the process of aerosol formation.

Ozone exposure triggers the emission of herbivore-induced plant volatiles, but does not disturb tritrophic signalling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vuorinen, Terhi; Nerg, Anne-Marja; Holopainen, Jarmo K.

2004-01-01

We evaluated the similarities between ozone-induced and mite-induced emission of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from lima beans, and tested the response of the natural enemies of herbivores to these emissions using trophic system of two-spotted spider mites and predatory mites. The acute ozone-exposure and spider mite-infestation induced the emission of two homoterpenes, (E)-4,8-dimethyl-1,3,7-nonatriene and (E,E)-4,8,12-trimethyl-1,3,7,11-tridecatetraene, and (Z)-3-hexenyl acetate. Only plants with spider mite-infestation emitted the monoterpene (E)-β-ocimene. Predatory mites were equally attracted to ozone-exposed and unexposed plants, but discriminated between spider mite-infested and uninfested plants, when both were exposed to ozone. The similarities between ozone and herbivore-induced VOCs suggest that plant defence against phytotoxic ozone and the production of VOCs for attraction of the natural enemies of herbivores may have adaptive coevolution. However, the expected elevated ozone concentrations in future may not disturb tritrophic signalling, unless herbivore-induced VOCs are lost in the process of aerosol formation

Macroeconomic Volatility and Welfare in Developing Countries

OpenAIRE

Loayza, Norman V.; Rancière, Romain; Servén, Luis; Ventura, Jaume

2007-01-01

Macroeconomic Volatility and Welfare in Developing Countries: An Introduction Norman V. Loayza, Romain Ranciere, Luis Serven, ` and Jaume Ventura Macroeconomic volatility, both a source and a reflection of underdevelopment, is a fundamental concern for developing countries. This article provides a brief overview of the recent literature on macroeconomic volatility in developing countries, highlighting its causes, consequences, and possible remedies. to reduce domestic policy-induced macroecon...

Volatile liquid storage system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Laverman, R.J.; Winters, P.J.; Rinehart, J.K.

1992-01-01

This patent describes a method of collecting and abating emission from a volatile liquid in an above ground storage tank. It comprises the liquid storage tank having a bottom, a vertical cylindrical circular wall having a lower edge portion joined to the bottom, and an external fixed roof, the tank having an internal floating roof floating on a volatile liquid stored in the tank, and air vent means in the tank in communication with a vapor space in the tank constituting at least the space above the floating roof when the floating roof floats on a predetermined maximum volume of volatile liquid in the tank; permitting ambient air; pumping emission laden air from the tank vapor space above the floating roof; and by means of the emissions abatement apparatus eliminating most of the emission from the emissions laden air with formation of a gaseous effluent and then discharging the resulting gaseous effluent to the atmosphere

INVESTMENT ATTRACTIVENESS OF ENTERPRISES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nadiia Davydenko

2017-03-01

Full Text Available In the article the approaches to defining the essence of the concept of “investment attractiveness of enterprises” were analyzed. On the example of "Agrofirm Brusilov" depth analysis of the agricultural enterprises to evaluate of profitability, liquidity, solvency, financial stability, the timing of the return of invested funds and minimizing investment risks was conducted. To study methods of rating and system analysis were used. To justify the conditions of  increasing investment attractiveness farms method of scoring was used. It was established as a result of the use of integrated evaluation of the financial position one can see problem aspects of financial position of the company and develop measures to enhance liquidity, solvency, identify potential for raising the efficiency of company and prevention of financial crisis. The analysis of financial position showed that the management of the enterprise doesn’t  think  about  financial stability and solvency, does not understand the benefit of borrowed capital. Using research results in practice of agricultural enterprises allows us to give a real evaluation of investment attractiveness and justify ways to improve it. Key words: investments, investment attractiveness, potential business, financial position.

Host habitat assessment by a parasitoid using fungal volatiles

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Steidle Johannes LM

2007-02-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The preference – performance hypothesis predicts that oviposition preference of insects should correlate with host suitability for offspring development. Therefore, insect females have to be able to assess not only the quality of a given host but also the environmental conditions of the respective host habitat. Chemical cues are a major source of information used by insects for this purpose. Primary infestation of stored grain by stored product pests often favors the intense growth of mold. This can lead to distinct sites of extreme environmental conditions (hot-spots with increased insect mortality. We studied the influence of mold on chemical orientation, host recognition, and fitness of Lariophagus distinguendus, a parasitoid of beetle larvae developing in stored grain. Results Volatiles of wheat infested by Aspergillus sydowii and A. versicolor repelled female parasitoids in an olfactometer. Foraging L. distinguendus females are known to be strongly attracted to the odor of larval host feces from the granary weevil Sitophilus granarius, which may adhere in remarkable amounts to the surface of the grains. Feces from moldy weevil cultures elicited neutral responses but parasitoids clearly avoided moldy feces when non-moldy feces were offered simultaneously. The common fungal volatile 1-octen-3-ol was the major component of the odor of larval feces from moldy weevil cultures and repelled female parasitoids at naturally occurring doses. In bioassays investigating host recognition behavior of L. distinguendus, females spent less time on grains containing hosts from moldy weevil cultures and showed less drumming and drilling behavior than on non-moldy controls. L. distinguendus had a clearly reduced fitness on hosts from moldy weevil cultures. Conclusion We conclude that L. distinguendus females use 1-octen-3-ol for host habitat assessment to avoid negative fitness consequences due to secondary mold infestation of host

Bacterial contribution to iodine volatilization in the environment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Amachi, S; Kasahara, M; Fujii, T [Chiba Univ., Dept. of Bioresources Chemistry, Matsudo, Chiba (Japan); Muramatsu, Y [National Inst. of Radiological Sciences, Chiba (Japan)

2003-09-01

The roles of microorganisms in iodine volatilization from the environment were studied. More than 100 bacterial strains were isolated from various environments such as soils, seawater and marine sediments, and were examined their capacities for volatilizing iodine. Approximately 40% of these bacteria showed significant capacities for volatilizing iodine. Gas chromatographic determinations revealed that the chemical species of gaseous iodine is methyl iodide (CH{sub 3}I). Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S ribosomal DNA showed that these 'iodine-volatilizing bacteria' are widely distributed through the bacterial domain. The iodide-methylating reaction was mediated by an enzyme protein with S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAM) as the methyl donor. We then estimated bacterial contribution to iodine volatilization from soils. Iodine in soils was volatilized mainly as CH{sub 3}I. CH{sub 3}I emission was enhanced in the presence of glucose or yeast extract, but was inhibited by autoclaving of soils. Little CH{sub 3}I was produced under anaerobic conditions. Furthermore, the addition of streptomycin and tetracycline, antibiotics which inhibit bacterial growth, strongly inhibited CH{sub 3}I emission, while a fungal inhibitor cycloheximide caused little effect. These results suggest that iodine in soils is volatilized as CH{sub 3}I mainly by the action of aerobic soil bacteria. Similar experiment was carried out by using sea water samples. The emission of iodine from sea waters occurred biologically, and bacterial (and also other microbial) contribution was confirmed. Our results suggest that iodine is methylated and volatilized into the atmosphere as a result of bacterial activities. Since bacteria are so abundant and widespread in the environments, they may significantly contribute to global iodine volatilization. This indicates that if {sup 129}I would be released from nuclear facilities, weapons testing or ground storage of nuclear wastes, the pathway of volatilization by

Decomposing European bond and equity volatility

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christiansen, Charlotte

The paper investigates volatility spillover from US and aggregate European asset markets into European national asset markets. A main contribution is that bond and equity volatilities are analyzed simultaneously. A new model belonging to the "volatilityspillover" family is suggested: The conditio...

The economic value of realized volatility

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christoffersen, Peter; Feunou, Bruno; Jacobs, Kris

2014-01-01

Many studies have documented that daily realized volatility estimates based on intraday returns provide volatility forecasts that are superior to forecasts constructed from daily returns only. We investigate whether these forecasting improvements translate into economic value added. To do so, we ...

Three odorant binding proteins may regulate the behavioural response of Chrysopa pallens to plant volatiles and the aphid alarm pheromone (E)-β-farnesene.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Z-Q; Zhang, S; Cai, X-M; Luo, J-Y; Dong, S-L; Cui, J-J; Chen, Z-M

2017-06-01

Artificial Chrysopa pallens release is a well-known method for suppressing aphids, but it is difficult to establish lacewing populations in the field. Understanding the functions of C. pallens odorant-binding proteins (CpalOBPs) and behavioural responses of C. pallens to plant volatiles and aphid alarm pheromone (E)-ß-farnesene has important implications for population establishment after lacewing release. Based on our previous study, five antennae-enriched CpalOBPs were selected. Sequence alignment and phylogenetic analysis revealed that these five CpalOBPs were Classic OBPs and separated into different clades. Of them, CpalOBP10 clustered in the same clade with aphid OBP7, which mediates the perception of green leaf volatiles and (E)-ß-farnesene. Ligand-binding assays showed 31 compounds, including plant-derived compounds, pest-induced volatiles and (E)-ß-farnesene, had high binding affinities for at least one of these five CpalOBPs. Of the 31 compounds, the pest-induced volatiles (Z)-3-hexenyl hexanoate and 2-hexyl-1-decanol, used in host location by the black bean aphid, elicited significant attractive behavioural responses from C. pallens. Conversely, (E)-ß-farnesene elicited strongly repellent behavioural responses. It is conceivable that C. pallens utilizes plant-derived compounds, pest-induced volatiles and (E)-ß-farnesene as foraging cues. Our studies provide new insights into the interrelationships amongst C. pallens, its prey and the host plants. Compounds that elicited significant behavioural responses from C. pallens were also identified. © 2017 The Royal Entomological Society.

Empirical Analysis of Stochastic Volatility Model by Hybrid Monte Carlo Algorithm

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takaishi, Tetsuya

2013-01-01

The stochastic volatility model is one of volatility models which infer latent volatility of asset returns. The Bayesian inference of the stochastic volatility (SV) model is performed by the hybrid Monte Carlo (HMC) algorithm which is superior to other Markov Chain Monte Carlo methods in sampling volatility variables. We perform the HMC simulations of the SV model for two liquid stock returns traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange and measure the volatilities of those stock returns. Then we calculate the accuracy of the volatility measurement using the realized volatility as a proxy of the true volatility and compare the SV model with the GARCH model which is one of other volatility models. Using the accuracy calculated with the realized volatility we find that empirically the SV model performs better than the GARCH model.

Observability of market daily volatility

Science.gov (United States)

Petroni, Filippo; Serva, Maurizio

2016-02-01

We study the price dynamics of 65 stocks from the Dow Jones Composite Average from 1973 to 2014. We show that it is possible to define a Daily Market Volatility σ(t) which is directly observable from data. This quantity is usually indirectly defined by r(t) = σ(t) ω(t) where the r(t) are the daily returns of the market index and the ω(t) are i.i.d. random variables with vanishing average and unitary variance. The relation r(t) = σ(t) ω(t) alone is unable to give an operative definition of the index volatility, which remains unobservable. On the contrary, we show that using the whole information available in the market, the index volatility can be operatively defined and detected.

Stock return, seasonality and asymmetric conditional volatility in steel & iron subsector

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. Chirila

2015-01-01

Full Text Available This paper presents the results obtained following the testing of five hypotheses regarding conditional return and volatility of the most listed European stocks in the steel & iron subsector. The following elements of the stocks are analysed: time variation of volatility, seasonality of return and volatility, relationship between return and volatility and volatility asymmetry. The results obtained confirm for all the analyzed stocks the existence of volatility variation in time, the lack of correlation between return and volatility, the existence of asymmetry phenomenon of volatility and the presence in some stocks of the seasonality effect both for return and volatility.

Bias-reduced estimation of long memory stochastic volatility

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Frederiksen, Per; Nielsen, Morten Ørregaard

We propose to use a variant of the local polynomial Whittle estimator to estimate the memory parameter in volatility for long memory stochastic volatility models with potential nonstation- arity in the volatility process. We show that the estimator is asymptotically normal and capable of obtaining...