The Noctuidae (Lepidoptera) comprise the most diverse and abundant lepidopteran families in the Canadian Prairie Ecozone. Within this group, some species are agricultural pests that require monitoring. Pheromone lures target specific species, whereas food-bait lures attract a broader range. This study reports the diversity and abundance of noctuid moths captured in traps baited with female sex pheromones of pest species and with food-bait lures consisting of acetic acid and 3-methyl-1-butanol (AAMB) with fermented byproduct or floral volatile compounds. Food-bait lures that attract pests and nonpest species can provide insight into moth populations and species richness in human-managed ecosystems. We trapped moths in wheat (Poaceae) and canola (Brassicaceae) fields in central Alberta, Canada. We captured and identified to species approximately 7900 noctuid moths. Community composition was similar in both crops. Sex pheromone–baited traps had variable specificity and low nontarget diversity. Traps baited with AAMB captured greater moth diversity than unbaited traps did. Noctuinae were the most diverse and abundant in AAMB-baited traps (62 species across 8 tribes). The AAMB lures captured more cutworm and armyworm pests than unbaited traps did. Fermented byproduct food–bait lures captured more noctuid pests than floral volatiles did. The AAMB lures can be implemented to monitor Noctuinae diversity and potentially assess local noctuid pest density in agroecosystems on the Canadian prairies.

Aims: Temporal Lobe Epilepsy (TLE) is the most common symptomatic cause of partial epilepsy worldwide. It can present with vague symptoms including affective disturbances, personality changes, sensory disturbances, altered consciousness etc., which can confound diagnosis. Overt focal or tonic-clonic seizures are present in only 60% patients. It manifests with psychotic symptoms in around 5%. This case report describes how undiagnosed TLE with psychotic symptoms led to grave consequences.

Methods: We present a 52-year-old male who was found to have killed his father and was subsequently diagnosed with TLE. This diagnosis was later found to be directly implicated in the act. When arrested on suspicion of homicide he presented with several psychotic symptoms and severe agitation in custody. He was then detained under the Mental Health Act to a high secure psychiatric hospital. He had no formal psychiatric or medical diagnosis prior to his arrest but it was noted that he had presented on multiple occasions to secondary neurology and psychiatric services over the preceding 10 years with vague but consistent symptoms which were labelled as night terrors. These included clouding of consciousness, affective disturbance, night terrors, suicidal ideation, and isolated aggressive outbursts. Following his hospital admission, he was assessed by neurologists and was diagnosed of TLE after his EEG clearly demonstrated abnormalities in line with the diagnosis. The gentleman’s psychiatric symptoms resolved entirely when he was treated adequately for TLE with an anti-epileptic (lamotrigine). At trial, he was found not guilty of murder by reason of insanity and received a hospital order with restrictions.

Results: TLE is a treatable neurological disorder but is associated with a risk of heightened violence especially if misdiagnosed. In this patient, repeated opportunities were missed in diagnosing and treating TLE in a timely manner. Potential differentials that can confound TLE diagnosis include night terrors, functional psychosis, anxiety disorders, affective disorders, substance misuse etc.

Conclusion: TLE can have far-reaching and life-altering consequences. To obviate these, it is recommended that repeated presentations with unexplained neurological and psychiatric symptoms in outpatient or emergency settings should trigger robust assessments and multi-specialty liaison. It would be beneficial to develop a protocol to trigger a thorough evaluation of suspected TLE cases with a lower threshold to investigate them than what is currently practised. This could involve earlier and wider utilisation of electro-encephalogram (EEG) (ambulatory or residential).

This paper contends that the intractability of food insecurity as a social policy issue may have arisen in part because food access has become central to the interpretation of what is required to be food secure. We revisit key features of the evolution of the right to food and examine developments in the instruments used to monitor right to food progress. We articulate how the materiality of food access has come to the forefront of food systems policy, within which food insecurity is embedded but its structural underpinnings are lost. In turn, civil society food-based responses to growing food insecurity prevalence prevail. The pre-eminence of objectified food access as a socio-political orientation to food insecurity has refabricated the social problem of food need. A conscious uncoupling of food access from how we study and respond to food insecurity is needed to re-design food insecurity policy that is grounded in poverty alleviation.

Spaceflight missions must limit biological contamination on both the outbound and return legs to comply with planetary protection requirements. Depending on the mission profile, contamination concerns may include the potential presence of bioactive molecules as defined by NASA’s Planetary Protection policies. Thus, the present study has examined the temperature and time requirements for sufficient inactivation/degradation of an infectious, heat-stable prion protein (Sup35NM), which serves as a model bioactive molecule. Bovine serum albumin was used to establish the method parameters and feasibility. Differential scanning calorimetry, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, analytical reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography, and mass spectrometry were utilized to analyze heat-treated samples, with non-treated samples serving as controls. Heat treatment at 400°C for 5 seconds was found to result in substantial decomposition of Sup35NM. In addition to the disruption of the protein backbone amide bonds, the side chain residues were also compromised. Fragments of molecular weight <4600 were observed by mass spectrometry but the impact of treatment on both the backbone and side chains of Sup35NM suggested that these fragments would not self-associate to create potentially pathogenic entities. The present methodology provided insight into the protein degradation process and can be applied to a variety of treatment strategies (e.g., any form of sterilization or inactivation) to ensure a lack of protein-based contamination of isolated extraterrestrial specimens.

This article examines whether characteristic modeling practices in economics lead to progress, that is, improved explanations and predictions. We question the widespread assumption that progress in modeling occurs solely through successive vertical refinements toward a single “best” model. Instead, we propose that progress can occur through multiple pathways. Specifically, we identify five distinct horizontal paths to progress: increased isolation of causal factors, differentiation of targets and purposes, derivation of robust theorems, multiplication of inconsistent perspectival models, and exploration of novel possibilities. We argue that these pathways, when properly constrained, increase explanatory and predictive power and therefore lead to scientific progress.

Termination of an existing failed corn stand before replanting is essential. Two studies were conducted in Stoneville and Verona, MS, from 2020 to 2021 to evaluate timing of corn or soybean replanting following different herbicide treatments applied to simulated failed stands of corn. Treatments included paraquat alone at 841 g ai ha−1, paraquat at 841 g ha−1 + metribuzin at 211 g ai ha−1, and clethodim at 51 g ai ha−1 + glyphosate at 1,121 g ae ha−1 applied at the V2 growth stage. Replant timings were 1 and 7 d after herbicide treatment (DAT). Pooled across replant timings, paraquat + metribuzin provided the greatest control 3 DAT compared with other treatments in both studies. At 14 and 21 DAT, clethodim + glyphosate controlled more corn than did paraquat + metribuzin and paraquat alone. Control of a simulated failed corn stand with paraquat alone never exceeded 50% at 3 to 21 DAT. Soybean yield in all plots receiving herbicide treatment targeting simulated failed corn stands were similar and ≥2,150 kg ha−1. When applied at the V2 corn growth stage, both clethodim + glyphosate and paraquat + metribuzin controlled a simulated failed stand of corn. This study demonstrated the importance of terminating failed stands of corn before replanting because of dramatic reductions in yield in the plots not treated with herbicide.