Chemical Composition and Evaluation of Insecticidal Activity of Calendula incana subsp. maritima and Laserpitium siler subsp. siculum Essential Oils against Stored Products Pests

The problems of the environment and human health related to the use of synthetic and broad-spectrum insecticides have increasingly motivated scientific research on different alternatives and among these, the use of green systems, such as essential oils, have been explored. Several species of the Apiaceae and Asteraceae families, aromatic herbs rich in secondary bioactive metabolites, are used in the industrial field for pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and food purposes. Different essential oils extracted from some species of these families have shown acute toxicity and attractive and/or repellent effects towards different insects. In our work, we investigated the toxic potential of Calendula incana subsp. maritima and Laserpitium siler subsp. siculum essential oils against four insect species, Sitophilus oryzae, Lasioderma serricorne, Necrobia rufipes, and Rhyzoperta dominica, which are common pests of stored products. The composition of both oils, extracted by hydrodistillation from the aerial parts of the two plants, was evaluated by GC×GC-MS. Calendula incana subsp. maritima essential oil was rich in oxygenated sesquiterpenoids, such as cubebol (35.39%), 4-epi-cubebol (22.99%), and cubenol (12.77%), while the Laserpitium siler subsp. siculum essential oil was composed mainly of monoterpene hydrocarbons, such as β-phellandrene (42.16%), limonene (23.87%), and β-terpinene (11.80%). The toxicity Petri dish bioassays indicated that C. maritima oil killed a mean of 65.50% of S. oryzae and 44.00% of R. dominica adults, indicating a higher biocidal activity in comparison with L. siculum oil, while toward the other species, no significant differences in mortality were recorded. Calendula maritima oil could be, then, considered a promising candidate for further tests as an alternative biocide toward S. oryzae and R. dominica. The possibility that the relatively high content of oxygenated sesquiterpenoids in C. maritima essential oil determines its higher biocidal activity is discussed.     

Using video to teach future teachers to learn from teaching

Video is commonly used in teacher preparation programs. Teacher educators use video for various purposes. In this study, we describe the Learning to Learn from Mathematics Teaching project. In this project, video is used to develop pre-service teachers’ (PSTs) orientations, knowledge and skills for analyzing and reflecting on mathematics teaching in ways that generate knowledge for improvement. We discuss the ways we have used video in a course aimed at developing elementary PSTs’ abilities to learn from teaching. In addition, we report on a study that investigated PSTs’ changes in lesson analysis abilities as a result of participating in the course.     

Nondestructive method for the characterization of ion-implanted waveguides

A new method, called barrier coupling, for coupling light into ion-implanted waveguides is presented in analogy to prism coupling. Light is coupled by frustrated total reflection at the barrier region of decreased refractive index by proper variation of the incident angle. Effective indices of guided modes are determined by the minima of the non-incoupled reflected light. The method is used for the determination of the effective indices of an ion-implanted waveguide in KNbO3. It is simpler than most other techniques, more accurate, and nondestructive.     

Discrete γ-rays in the reactions of 143 MeV32S with58Ni

The reactions induced by 143 MeV³²S on⁵⁸Ni have been studied detecting discrete γ-rays in coincidence with projectile-like fragments (PLF). Information on PLF excitation probability and sequential decay of target-like fragments (TLF) has been obtained. For the²⁸Si+⁶²Zn outgoing channel at small energy loss (¦Q¦<20 MeV), both PLF and TLF data indicate that thermal equilibrium is not attained. The hypothesis of an equal excitation energy partition between the two reaction fragments does not describe properly experimental TLF data. A dependence of PLF excitation probability on the outgoing channel is found for the two final channels³²S+⁵⁸Ni and²⁸Si+⁶²Zn. The values of the spin alignment parameterP _zz, derived for PLF and TLF from measurements ofγ-rays anisotropy, are in disagreement with the expectations of the transport theory for dissipative collisions.     

Projectile-like fragments excitation and gamma-rays emission after the deep inelastic reaction of32S on58Ni

The deep-inelastic reaction induced by 143 MeV³²S on⁵⁸Ni have been studied detecting projectile-like fragments (PLF) in coincidence withγ-rays in NaI(TI) scintillators. γ-ray multiplicity and anisotropy have been derived for Z_plf=14, 15 as a function of energy loss and/or γ-energy. The information obtained are compared with a discrete γ-line study of the same reaction. The effect of the exit channel selection (ejectileZ, energy loss,E _γ) on the γ-observables is discussed in connection with the evidence of a strong PLF γ-emission.     

Electronic energy transfer processes and symmetry conservation in reactions in inclusion compounds

The results are presented of a study on the electronic energy transfer (EET) processes in inclusion host-guest compounds irradiated by gamma or UV photons. The host cavity site symmetry is correlated with the guest molecular symmetry and with the stereocontrol of the reaction products formed under irradiation; a specific “heteroexcimer” or “excithrate” is suggested as an excited host-guest intermediate radical-pair; in particular, symmetry correlations are suggested in order to explain reaction pathways into cavities of inclusion compounds in the excited state.