Effects of Aschersonia aleyrodis on the life table and demographic parameters of Bemisia tabaci

The present study reports the sublethal effects of the entomopathogenic fungus, Aschersonia aleyrodis（Webber） on Bemisia tabaci（Gennadius）（Homoptera： Aleyrodidae）. A fungal suspension of A. aleyrodis isolate Aa005 containing 1×107 conidia mL^-1 was sprayed against B. tabaci on eggplant leaves under greenhouse conditions. The effects of fungal application on survival as well as life table parameters of the whitefly were observed at different post inoculation periods. The results indicated that A. aleyrodis can significantly affect the survival of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd nymphal instars of B. tabaci. Developmental periods of different instar nymphs were not affected by fungal application. A. aleyrodis spores persisted well and significantly affected the survivorship of young instar nymphs of B. tabaci at different post incubation periods. Life table results suggested that A. aleyrodis has no impact on general fecundity and longevity of B. tabaci. When the pathogen was exposed to the open environment and maintained for a relatively longer period, a reduction in the reproductive rate and intrinsic rate of increase was caused by the fungal spores, though the sublethal effects were not as good as the control treatment. The results suggest that the ability of spores to suppress an increase in whitefly population persists well after incubation of spores to the external environment（up to 9 days）.

Life Tables for the Experimental Population Phenacoccus solenopsis Tinsley at Different Temperatures

[Objective] The study was to investigate the effect of temperature on pop- ulation dynamics of Phenacoccus solenopsis Tinsley, so as to providing references for the control and prevention of this pest. [Method] The experimental populations were kept in laboratory and fed on cotton plants, and the major parameters of the population were recorded. [Result] By the construction of age specific life tables and reproductive life tables for the P. solenopsis experimental population at 24, 27, 30 ~C, more than 10 parameters were obtained, including mean generation time, survival rates of different stages and sexes, life expectancy, spawning period, fecundity amount per female, sexual ratio, net reproductive rate, intrinsic increase rate, finite increase rate, population trend index, curve of survival rate, and curve of daily fe- male oviposition, which revealed the effect of temperature on growth and develop- ment, life expectancy and fecundities of P. solenopsis. [Conclusion] The reproductive potential of the P. solenopsis population is very great at suitable temperature, making it easy to outbreak. The research provided scientific basis for population dynam- ics investigation, predication and integrated control of P. solenopsis.

Effects of temperatures on the development and reproduction of the armyworm, Mythimna roseilinea: Analysis using an age-stage, two-sex life table

The armyworm Mythimna roseilinea（Walker） is a major pest of grain crops in South China. So far little is known about its basic biology and ecology, making prediction of population dynamics difficult. This study examined the relationships of individual development and population growth with temperature based on an age-stage, two-sex life table of M. roseilinea reared on maize in the laboratory at 18, 21, 24, 27 and 30℃. The highest values of net reproductive rate（R_0） and fecundity were observed at 21 and 24℃, respectively. Both the intrinsic rate of increase（r） and finite rate of increase（λ） increased significantly and mean generation time（T） decreased significantly with increasing temperature. M. roseilinea was able to develop, survive and lay eggs at all temperature regimes tested. Development rates of the egg, larval, pupal, as well as the whole pre-oviposition stages had a positive linear relationship with temperature. The calculated development threshold temperatures of egg, larval, pupal, pre-oviposition and total pre-oviposition stages were 13.29, 8.39, 14.35, 7.42, and 12.24℃, respectively, and their effective accumulated temperatures were 63.59, 445.00, 211.11, 89.02, and 698.95 degree-days, respectively. These results provide insight into temperature-based phenology and population ecology of this insect pest and will allow population prediction and management available in the field.

The Influence of Some Key Parameters on Fatigue Life of Common Metallic Components

The effect of key parameters on fatigue life of common metallic components, e.g. steel, aluminium alloy, has been analysed quantitatively. The influential coverage and degree of these parameters have been investigated systematically, some phenomena which can′t be discovered with qualitative analysis method have been revealed, a series of valuable conclusions has been obtained, which would be very beneficial to fatigue resistant design and improvement of anti fatigue ability of metallic components.

Effects of rigid gas permeable contact lens on morphological parameters and vision-related quality of life in keratoconus patients

AIM: To evaluate the effect of rigid gas permeable contact lens(RGP-CL) on corneal morphological parameters and vision-related quality of life in keratoconus(KC) patients.METHODS: Totally 57 eyes of 30 KC patients who were followed-up for more than two years, including 17 RGP wearers(32 eyes) and 13 non-wearers(25 eyes) were retrospectively analyzed. Initial medical history and corneal topography were collected at baseline. Corneal topography, corneal aberration, optical coherence tomography, and vision-related quality of life questionnaires were performed at the last follow-up.RESULTS: According to corneal topography, increase of the flattest keratometric values was higher in RGP wearers than in non-wearers(P=0.038). The morphological parameters, including symmetry index of front corneal curvature(P=0.004) and Baiocchi-Calossi-Versaci index front(P=0.047), were lower in RGP wearers than in nonwearers. Vertical coma was smaller in RGP wearers than non-wearers in 3.0, 5.0, 6.0, and 7.0 mm pupil diameters, respectively(P<0.05). The environmental triggering domain of ocular surface disease index was worse in RGP wearers as compared to non-wearers(P=0.003). At the last followup, there were no significant differences in constituent ratios of KC progression, corneal thickness topography, epithelial thickness topography, morphological parameters of corneal topography, and other questionnaire scores between the two groups(all P>0.05).CONCLUSION: Long-term use of RGP does not worsen KC but may cause corneal epithelial remodeling to increase symmetry of corneal anterior surface, reduce corneal vertical coma and improve visual quality. However, RGP wearing causes a slight decrease in vision-related quality of life. The occurrence of ocular surface symptoms is mainly associated with environmental triggering factors.

Analyses of Numerical Responses and Main Life Parameters for Determining the Suppression of Amblyseius cucumeris on Panonychus citri

In this paper, the numeral response and main parameters of experimental population life table were analyzed for determining the suppressing ability of Amblyseius cucumeris on Panonychus citri. The result showed that: (1) Under 21-31°C and 1 - 9 prey densities/leaf fragment condition, the prey consumptions of A. cucumeris increased with the temperature or prey density; (2) In 1:3 predator-prey ratio treatment, the suppression of P. citri (Ro=34.0053; T=19.4369; t=3.8204) was rather weak, it was enhanced as the ratio over 5:30, and the populations of P. citri in these treatments can be fully controlled within 4-5 days; (3) Under 25±1°C, 80-85% RH and 15L: 9D illumination conditions, the net reproductive rate, mean generation duration and the time for population double increase of P. citri (Ro=34.0053; T=19.4369; t=3.8204) were higher than those of A. cucumeris (Ro=21.8750; T=16.8943; t=3.7954). While the intrinsic rate of increase and finite rate of increase of the former (rm=0.1814; λ=1.1989) were lower than those of the latter (rm=0.1826; λ=1.2004). These results indicated that A. cucumeris is a desirable bio-control agent to suppress P. citri at lower population stage in citrus orchard.

Relationships between Microbial Growth Parameters and Shelf Life of MAP Sliced Onions

Microbial counts （total aerobic psychrotrophic count （TPC）, lactic acid bacteria （LAB）, coliforms, pseudomonads, yeasts） and sensory properties of sliced onions stored at different temperatures and air compositions were investigated. Microbial counts were fitted to the modified Gompertz equation and the growth parameters of microorganisms (the initial cell number （N0）, maximum cell number (Nmax), maximum specific growth rate (μmax), lag-phase （（λ）） were obtained as derived parameters. The relationships between growth parameters of microorganisms and the microbial or sensory shelf life were built. The results showed that microbial counts increased and sensory qualities decreased during storage. TPC was predominant bacteria associated with spoilage of sliced onions under tested temperatures and air conditions. High correlation coefficients （r） were found between the lag time （λ） of TPC, coliforms, pseudomonads, yeasts and the microbial or sensory shelf life. The correlations between microbial or sensory shelf life and μmax of five microorganisms were between -0.69 and -0.86. The initial microbial counts （N0） of five microorganisms strains only showed a little correlation, and the maximum microbial counts (Nmax) showed no obvious correlation with shelf life except for LAB and yeasts.

THE POSSIBILITY ANALYSIS OF NATURAL POPLAR-BIRCH FOREST RECOVERY TO BROAD-LEAF KOREAN PINE FOREST THROUGH THE METHOD OF LIFE TABLE IN THE XIOAXING'AN MOUNTAINS

The basic principle of life table method is deseribed, and the method of tree height instead of tree age in static life table is suggested, and it is also discussed that the possibility of natural poplar -birch forest recover to broad-leaf Korean pine forest on low pitches in the Xiaoxing'an Mountains by this method. If there is no particular situation, Korean pines after high than 5m under natural Poplar-birch forest will basically survive and make their way into dominant callopy accompanied by climax broad-leaf species.

Life Table of Natural Population of Gastrolina depressa

[Objective]The paper was to understand the population development regularity of Gastrolina depressa in natural environment in Guizhou Province.[Method]The population dynamics of G.depressa was studied by establishing life table of natural population of G.depressa via field observation and calculating dynamic trend index of population.[Result]The mortality rates in egg stage,pupal stage and adult stage accounted for 26.42%,10.96%and 8.22%of the total mortality rate,respectively.The mortality rate in larval stage was the highest,accounting for 54.40%of the total mortality rate,higher than the total mortality rate in the other three stages.The population dynamic trend index I=9.25,I>1 indicated that the population showed an upward trend.[Conclusion]Under the natural conditions,the population of G.depressa shows upward trend,and human intervention is needed to control the population.The larval stage is the weak stage of the insect,which is the best time to control the insect.

Positive Stable Frailty Approach in the Construction of Dependence Life-Tables

Dependence may arise in insurance when the insureds are clustered into groups e.g. joint-life annuities. This dependence may be produced by sharing a common risk acting on mortality of members of the group. Various dependence models have been considered in literature; however, the focus has been on either the lower-tail dependence alone or upper-tail dependence alone. This article implements the frailty dependence approach to life insurance problems where most applications have been within medical setting. Our strategy is to use the conditional independence assumption given an observed association measure in a positive stable frailty approach to account for both lower and upper-tail dependence. The model is calibrated on the association of Kenyan insurers 2010 male and female published rates. The positive stable model is then proposed to construct dependence life-tables and generate life annuity payment streams in the competitive Kenyan market.

The biology and demographic parameters of Aedes albopictus in northern peninsular Malaysia

Objective:To generate life table characteristics for the dengue vector Aedes albopictus(A. albopictus) under uncontrolled conditions,incorporating both the aquatic and the adult stages. Methods:Ten females derived from wild pupae were allowed to fully blood-feed on restrained mice.774 eggs were hatched in seasoned water.F1 larvae were followed for development until their F2 counterparts emerged as adults.Some population parameters were monitored(Fl) or estimated(F2).Results:A.albopictus exhibited increased fecundity and egg hatch success. Immature development was quick.Immature survival was high,with lowest rate in the pupal stage.Adult emergence was about 81%and sex ratio was close to 1:1.Generational mortality(K) was about 28%.A high proportion of females completed a reproductive cycle and the obtained parity rate was predicted to lead to higher fecundity in the next generation.Conclusios:It can be concluded that natural A.albopictus populations in Penang seem largely determined by quick development in combination with low immature loss and increased oviposition.

Prediction of Disc Cutter Life During Shield Tunneling with AI via the Incorporation of a Genetic Algorithm into a GMDH-Type Neural Network

Disc cutter consumption is a critical problem that influences work performance during shield tunneling processes and directly affects the cutter change decision.This study proposes a new model to estimate the disc cutter life(Hf)by integrating a group method of data handling(GMDH)-type neural network(NN)with a genetic algorithm(GA).The efficiency and effectiveness of the GMDH network structure are optimized by the GA,which enables each neuron to search for its optimum connections set from the previous layer.With the proposed model,monitoring data including the shield performance database,disc cutter consumption,geological conditions,and operational parameters can be analyzed.To verify the performance of the proposed model,a case study in China is presented and a database is adopted to illustrate the excellence of the hybrid model.The results indicate that the hybrid model predicts disc cutter life with high accuracy.The sensitivity analysis reveals that the penetration rate(PR)has a significant influence on disc cutter life.The results of this study can be beneficial in both the planning and construction stages of shield tunneling.

Fitness of fall armyworm,Spodoptera frugiperda to three solanaceous vegetables

The fall armyworm(FAW),Spodoptera frugiperda Smith(Lepidoptera:Noctuidae)is an important agricultural pest that invaded China in the middle of December 2018.As a polyphagous pest,FAW is identified as a serious threat to agricultural production and food security in China.Pepper(Capsicum annuum L.),tomato(Solanum lycopersicum Mill.)and eggplant(Solanum melongena L.)are three of dominant solanaceous vegetables of this country.To our knowledge,the effects of these plants on the performances of FAW have not been well studied.In this study we assessed the fitness of this pest to these three plants.Results showed that FAW can complete its life cycle when fed with tomato and pepper,but not on eggplant.The population parameters of FAW fed with maize(Zea mays L.)and the three solanaceous vegetables were compared using the age-stage,two-sex life table method.Developmental duration was significantly different in the larval stage,but not in the pupae stage.FAW fed with pepper had the longest pre-adult period(41.73 d)and the lightest pupal weight(0.1134 g);the survival rate was lower than FAW fed with tomato.Significant differences were observed in the mean fecundity of female,with the highest(943.95 eggs)laid by FAW fed with tomato.FAW had the shortest mean generation time(T),the highest intrinsic rate of increase(r)and finite rate of increase(λ)on maize,and the highest net reproductive rate(R_(0))on tomato.Overall,FAW fitness on the three solanaceous vegetables was:tomato>pepper>eggplant.This study provides the foundation for further assessment of FAW risk to solanaceous vegetables and for establishing corresponding control strategies in China.

Identifi cation of model structure parameters via combination of AFMM and ARX from seismic response data

To identify the model structure parameters in shaking table tests from seismic response, especially from time- varying response records, this paper presents a new methodology by combining the online recursive Adaptive Forgetting through Multiple Models （AFMM） and offtine Auto-Regression with eXogenous variables （ARX） model. First, the AFMM is employed to detect whether the response of model structure is time-invariant or time-varying when subjected to strong motions. Second, if the response is time-invariant, the modal parameters are identified from the entire response record, such as the acceleration time-history using the ARX model. If the response is time-varying, the acceleration record is divided into three segments according to the accurate time-varying points detected by AFMM, and parameters are identified by only using the tail segment data, which is time-invariant and suited for analysis by the ARX model. Finally, the changes in dynamic properties due to various strong motions are obtained using the presented methodology. The feasibility and advantages of the method are demonstrated by identifying the modal parameters of a 12-story reinforced concrete （RC） frame structure in a shaking table test.

A Study of Estimating the Safe Storage Life, Self-accelerating Decomposition Temperature and Critical Temperature of Thermal Explosion of Double-base Propellant Using Isothermal and Non-isothermal Decomposition Behaviours

A method of estimating the safe storage life （τ）, self-accelerating decomposition temperature （TsADT） and critical temperature of thermal explosion （Tb） of double-base propellant using isothermal and non-isothermal decomposition behaviours is presented. For double-base propellant composed of 56±1wt% of nitrocellulose （NC）, 27±0.5wt% of nitroglycerine （NG）, 8.15±0.15wt% of dinitrotoluene （DNT）, 2.5±0.1wt% of methyl centralite, 5.0±0.15wt% of catalyst and 1.0±0.1wt% of other, the values of r of 49.4 years at 40℃, of TSAOT of 151.35℃ and of Tb of 163.01℃ were obtained.

Remaining Useful Life Prediction of Aeroengine Based on Principal Component Analysis and One-Dimensional Convolutional Neural Network

In order to directly construct the mapping between multiple state parameters and remaining useful life(RUL),and reduce the interference of random error on prediction accuracy,a RUL prediction model of aeroengine based on principal component analysis(PCA)and one-dimensional convolution neural network(1D-CNN)is proposed in this paper.Firstly,multiple state parameters corresponding to massive cycles of aeroengine are collected and brought into PCA for dimensionality reduction,and principal components are extracted for further time series prediction.Secondly,the 1D-CNN model is constructed to directly study the mapping between principal components and RUL.Multiple convolution and pooling operations are applied for deep feature extraction,and the end-to-end RUL prediction of aeroengine can be realized.Experimental results show that the most effective principal component from the multiple state parameters can be obtained by PCA,and the long time series of multiple state parameters can be directly mapped to RUL by 1D-CNN,so as to improve the efficiency and accuracy of RUL prediction.Compared with other traditional models,the proposed method also has lower prediction error and better robustness.

Automatic Measurement of LED Colorimetric Parameters Based on LabVIEW

In order to accurately and automatically measure the light emitting diode(LED) colorimetric parameters,the design of a measurement system by adopting a high-performance spectrometer and looking-up table method was presented based on the LabVIEW.First,the data of the LED relative spectral power distribution(SPD) were read by the spectrometer to measure LED chromaticity coordinate,and the slopes table were formed by the LED chromaticity coordinate and the equal stimulus point.Then,the CIE1931 chromaticity diagram was divided into 4 different regions to ensure the slopes table that had the character of monotonic decreasing.Finally,the LED dominant wavelength and purity were automatically calculated using the LabVIEW programs.The data of LEDs' colorimetric parameters have demonstrated that the measurement method in this paper can achieve higher precision result.

New Characteristics of Active Life Expectancy of the Elderly in China

Life expectancy of the elderly is a significant problem in China, and it changes not only the health care, but also the pension. This study used tracking data from the Chinese Urban and Rural Elderly Population Survey to calculate the age-specific Active Life Expectancy (ALE) of the Chinese elderly population aged 60 years and over. For analysis, this population was divided into different sub-populations according to gender, census register and region. The main conclusions of our study are as follows: 1) The quality of life for elderly males may be greater than that for elderly females;2) There were significant differences in Active Life Expectancy (ALE) and Inactive Life Expectancy (ILE) between urban and rural elderly;3) The differences in ALE between the eastern, central and western regions of China were not significant;and 4) The increased remaining life expectancy of the elderly was mainly attributed to the extended ALE in the lower age group and the expanded ILE in the higher age group. This study expands the knowledge of Chinese elderly’s life expectancy in different health status.

Remaining useful life prediction of aero-engines based on random-coefficient regression model considering random failure threshold

Remaining useful life(RUL)prediction is one of the most crucial components in prognostics and health management(PHM)of aero-engines.This paper proposes an RUL prediction method of aero-engines considering the randomness of failure threshold.Firstly,a random-coefficient regression(RCR)model is used to model the degradation process of aeroengines.Then,the RUL distribution based on fixed failure threshold is derived.The prior parameters of the degradation model are calculated by a two-step maximum likelihood estimation(MLE)method and the random coefficient is updated in real time under the Bayesian framework.The failure threshold in this paper is defined by the actual degradation process of aeroengines.After that,a expectation maximization(EM)algorithm is proposed to estimate the underlying failure threshold of aeroengines.In addition,the conditional probability is used to satisfy the limitation of failure threshold.Then,based on above results,an analytical expression of RUL distribution of aero-engines based on the RCR model considering random failure threshold(RFT)is derived in a closed-form.Finally,a case study of turbofan engine is used to demonstrate the effectiveness and superiority of the RUL prediction method and the parameters estimation method of failure threshold proposed.

From the Beginning of the World to the Beginning of Life on Earth

Hypersphere World-Universe Model (WUM) is, in fact, a Paradigm Shift in Cosmology [1]. In this paper, we provide seven Pillars of WUM: Medium of the World;Inter-Connectivity of Primary Cosmological Parameters;Creation of Matter;Multicomponent Dark Matter;Macroobjects;Volcanic Rotational Fission;Dark Matter Reactors. We describe the evolution of the World from the Beginning up to the birth of the Solar System and discuss the condition of the Early Earth before the beginning of life on it.