Performance of a Low-Cost Acoustic Insect Detector System with Sitophilus oryzae (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) in Stored Grain and Tribolium castaneum (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) in Flour.

Reduction of postharvest losses is gaining increased priority in warm regions where insect infestation may cause rapid deterioration of staple commodities. Acoustic detection can be used to assess the likelihood of insect infestations in bags of grain, flour, and other commodities that are stored in small holdings in developing countries, enabling rapid targeting of treatments. A portable postharvest insect detection system was developed with the goal to provide low-cost capability to acoustically assess infestations in small-scale storage facilities. Electret microphones input pest insect sounds to a 32-bit microcontroller platform that digitized and stored the signals on a digital memory card transferable to a portable laptop computer. The insect sounds then were analyzed by custom-written software that matched their spectra to those of known pests. Infestations of Sitophilus oryzae (L) in 2.6-kg bags could be detected down to densities of 1.9 adults/kg in grain and Tribolium castaneum (Herbst) down to 3.8 adults/kg in flour in laboratory settings. Also, differences in the rates of sounds per insect in treatments with different numbers ranging from 5 to 50 insects suggested that the sound rates of adults of different species at different population densities may be noticeably affected by aggregation pheromones or other behaviorally active semiochemicals. Further testing is needed but previous experience with acoustic detection systems suggests that the prototype has potential for use in small storage facilities where early detection of infestations is difficult to provide.

[The urease rapid test (CLO test). Attempt at statistical analysis for the evaluation of Campylobacter colonization in the gastric antrum]. / Der Ureaseschnelltest (CLO-Test). Versuch einer statistischen Analyse zur Bewertung der Campylobacter-Besiedelung im Antrum ventriculi.

CLO-tests: A statistical analysis for the evaluation of the presence of Campylobacter pylori in antral mucosal biopsies. Antral biopsies taken in a sample of 475 endoscopy patients were positive for CLO on 21% of 77 controls, compared with 39% of non-ulcer dyspepsia (NUD) patients without and 69% with a history of former peptic ulcer. Epigastric pain was associated with a positive CLO-test more frequently than belching or heart burn. Patients with NUD of Turkish or Yugoslavian nationality had a significantly higher rate of positive CLO-reactions compared with Germans or Italians with the same diagnosis. In 96 patients with peptic ulcer, the percentage of positive CLO-test decreased significantly in old persons.