The bovine tick Rhipicephalus microplus is responsible for severe economic losses in tropical cattle production. Bos indicus breeds are more resistant to tick infestations than are Bos taurus breeds, and the understanding of the physiological mechanisms involved in this difference is important for the development of new methods of parasite control. We evaluated differences in the transcript exp...

 Abstract Background: Psoriasis is a chronic proliferative condition of the skin. Its accurate pathogenesis has not been known yet, but interactions between genes and environmental factors have been implicated in its initiation. The role of malassezia in psoriasis is still undetermined, but several reports have associated these lipophilic yeasts with the development of skin lesions in psoriasis...

Geographic automata systems composed of agent-based models (ABM) are capable of representing complex, spatio-temporal phenomena such as insect infestation. However, ABMs are often difficult to understand and explain thus imposing limits of their usefulness. This study proposes the integration of spatial network theory and a geospatial ABM to help provide a more complete depiction of ABM behavio...

Thousands of plant species rely on ants to disperse their seeds, including many South American epiphytes and vines, which, apart from minimizing competition among seedlings, may also reduce competition among different plant species (Handel & Beattie, 1990). The lianas of the Genus Strychnos (Loganiaceae) are recognized as having fruits with highly poisonous seeds containing strychnine in the in...

Egyptian broomrape (Phelipanche aegyptiaca) is one of the main threats to tomato production in Israel. The seed bank of P. aegyptiaca rapidly develops and spreads in the field. Knowledge about the spatio-temporal distribution of such weeds is required in advance of emergence, as they emerge late in their life cycle when they have already caused major crop damage. The aim of this study is to rev...

current study was initiated to generate the information on the effect of row-to-row distance of brassica crop, brassica napus l., on aphids population. three line spacing (20, 30 and 40 cm) with a constant nine cm plant to plant distance were evaluated on aphids infestation and its impact on seed yield. the collected and edited data on fixed parameters indicated that an inverse relation was fou...

Epidemic populations of mountain pine beetle highlight the need to understand landscape scale spatial patterns of infestation. The observed infestation patterns were explored using a randomization procedure conditioned on the probability of forest risk to beetle attack. Four randomization algorithms reflecting different representations of the data and beetle processes were investigated. Local t...

The significant resurgence of bedbugs in the past decade has been attributed to pesticide resistance, more frequent travel, lack of public awareness, and inadequate pest control programs. Bedbugs are obligate blood parasites (insect family Cimicidae). They can withstand a large range of temperatures but are attracted to warmth and carbon dioxide. They typically feed just before dawn. Cutaneous ...