Effect of antibiotic materials on rugose spiralling whitefly, Aleurodicus rugioperculatus Martin (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) oviposition

The rugose spiralling whitefly is an invasive sucking pest on horticultural crops found in India. Elimination of endomicrobial communities harboured in hosts through antibiotic treatments adversely affects the fitness parameters of rugose spiralling whitefly. Keeping this in view, the present study aimed to evaluate the ovicidal action of antibiotics against rugose spiralling whiteflies reared on four host plants. Antibiotics with varied modes of action were erythromycin, ciprofloxacin, carbenicillin and cefotaxime and were applied to coconut, banana, sapota and guava leaves for whitefly oviposition. Antibiotic treatment, carbenicillin 100 μg/mL + ciprofloxazin 5 μg/mL significantly (p<0.05) reduced the oviposition and % egg hatchability of whiteflies reared in coconut (13 eggs/spiral and 61.54%), banana (15 eggs/spiral and 60.00%), sapota (15 eggs/spiral and 66.67%) and guava (16 eggs/spiral and 56.25%). The reduction in the number of eggs per spiral and hatchability percentage proved that antibiotic treatments significantly (P<0.05) reduced rugose spiralling whitefly fecundity. Antibiotic material affects the fitness parameters of whitefly by disrupting the endomicrobial communities associated with whitefly. Antibacterial materials have a potential plant protection role in the management of whiteflies by reducing population growth

Effects of polymer blend composition on membrane properties and separation performance of PEES/PEI blend membrane

In this work, an attempt has been made for protein rejection from aqueous solution using ultrafiltration blend membrane based on poly(phenylene ether ether sulfone) (PEES) and polyetherimide (PEI) was prepared in various blend compositions. Prepared membranes were characterized in terms of pure water flux, water content, membrane hydraulic resistance, porosity, contact angle, scanning electron microscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Studies were carried out to find out the rejection of proteins such as trypsin, pepsin, egg albumin, and bovine serum albumin. The extent of protein separation is directly proportional to molecular weight of protein. Pristine PEES membrane exhibited high-percentage protein rejection of BSA (92.7%), EA (88.2%), pepsin (85.8%), and trypsin (82.2%) compared to PEES/PEI blend membranes. PEES/PEI blend membranes have better hydrophilic property compared to pristine PEES membrane. Pristine PEES has a contact angle of 97.8°, embedded with PEI and reduced to 67.9°. The thermal stability of the membrane was slightly decreased when the percentage of PEI composition into the PEES/PEI blend increased and observed that the pure PEES membrane has superior thermal stability than PEES/PEI blend membranes </jats:p

Madden Julian Oscillation moves faster as the meridional moisture gradient intensifies in a warming world

Abstract Madden Julian Oscillation (MJO), characterized by slow eastward moving (at an average speed of 5 m s-1) largescale cloud bands and associated circulations, is a dominant tropical phenomenon that impacts global weather and climate. Recent studies have reported significant changes in the MJO lifecycle during the post-satellite period (1979 onwards) due to the non-uniform tropical ocean warming. However, the relative roles of natural climate variability and anthropogenic impact in the observed MJO lifecycle change remain unclear and are yet to be determined. In this study, we investigate the observed and projected long-term changes in the MJO lifecycle during the 20th and 21st centuries using four 20th century reanalyses (NCEP-20CRV3, NCEP-20CRV2c, ERA-20C, and CERA-20C) and climate model simulations from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 6 (CMIP6) under different future emission scenarios. Here, we show for the first time a significant increase in the MJO phase speed by almost 1 m s-1 during the 20th century (1900–2014), potentially caused by the steepening of the meridional moisture distribution due to the increased moisture in the tropics compared to the extra-tropics. We also observe a prominent multidecadal variability of the MJO phase speed due to the changes in the zonal moisture distribution associated with the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO). Future climate projections under shared socioeconomic pathways (SSPs) from CMIP6 indicate an increase in the MJO phase speed by 0.10 (SSP1—sustainable path, low emission scenario), 0.68 (SSP2—intermediate emissions) and 1.18 (SSP5—high emission scenario) m s-1 during the 21st century (2015–2100), in response to further steepening of the meridional moisture distribution over the Indo-Pacific warm pool. The increasing MJO phase speed can potentially impact the MJO-related teleconnections and predictability of global weather and climate, and hence need to be monitored closely.</jats:p