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In this article I defend the possibility of the Virgin Mary's free consent to bear the Son of God at the Annunciation against Blake Hereth's argument that God's offer cannot but be either coercive or deceptive, or both. I argue that the Immaculate Conception does help ensure this possibility, contrary to what Hereth also argues against me. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Grass-feeding termites, Gnathamitermes sp., can be considered beneficial in pastureland, where they aerate topsoil, recycle nutrients from grasses and forbs, and excavate and redistribute soil. The primary objective of this report is to illustrate and determine the average physical dimensions of Gnathamitermes tubiformans soldiers by measuring key body parts, including left mandible length, as well as discuss observed foraging behavior. G. tubiformans soldiers have unique mandibles that can be used for accurate identification. Workers are morphologically similar compared with some other arid-land termite species, thus soldier characteristics are used for identification. The secondary objective is to describe observations of G. tubiformans foraging behavior. This report also provides detailed line drawings and a watercolor illustration for aid in identification. Termites were collected near Temple, Cotton County, Oklahoma, and measured with high precision microscopy. To ensure accurate identification, fourteen different soldier body measurements were determined. The ability to identify termites that are potentially beneficial or detrimental to forage grass biomass production may aid efforts to enhance livestock production on pastures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines philosopher Soren Kierkegaarde's views on faith with regard to ontotheology, virtue, and knowledge. Several methods used by Kierkegaarde to discuss faith as an ethical state are explored to illustrate that they can be examined based on the virtue tradition. Also discussed are the continental tradition in philosophy, the philosophy of religion (PoR), and mashup PoR.

The article presents a response to the article of R. Gary Chiang and Evelyn M. White related to biological data disapproving the Immaculate Conception. Topics discussed include the original sin, modern understanding of the biology of human reproduction, authoring of the ineffabilis Deus, the 1854 Apostolic Constitution by Pope Pius IX and others. Also mentioned are favor of monogenism over polygenism by the Catholic Church and the Incarnation of Jesus Christ.

The author argues that Christians should hold to the Virgin Mary's Immaculate Conception. He points out that it is necessary for Mary to be conceived immaculately in order to give her free consent to the Incarnation. A discussion of how Protestant and Orthodox traditions view original sin is provided. The effects of not believing in the Immaculate Conception are examined.

A short course program designed to prepare potential grape growers for advanced topics in viticulture has been taught by Oklahoma State University Cooperative Extension since 2001. A post-course evaluation revealed the course was effective in meeting the educational needs of students, with more than 80% recommending the course without hesitation. The evaluation also revealed that the course positively affected growers financially, estimated between $120,032 and $490,000. Even though the course was well reviewed, many growers are still not aware of other grape-related Cooperative Extension programming from Oklahoma State University, and therefore, more effort must be expended to correct this program deficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The boll weevil, Anthonomus grandis grandis Boheman (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), is a serious pest of cultivated cotton, Gossypium hirsutum L., in the Americas, and reinfestation of zones from which they have been eradicated is of perpetual concern. Extensive arrays of pheromone traps monitor for reintroductions, but occasionally the traps collect nontarget weevils that can be misidentified by scouts. For example, the congeneric pepper weevil, Anthonomus eugenii Cano, and other superficially similar weevils are attracted to components of the boll weevil lure or trap color. Although morphologically distinguishable by trained personnel, the potential for misidentification is com- pounded when captured weevils are dismembered or partially consumed by ants or ground beetles that sometimes feed on them in the traps. Because misidentification can have expensive consequences, a molecular diagnostic tool would be of great value to eradication managers. We demonstrate that a cocktail of three primer pairs in a single polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplify species-specific microsatellites that unambiguously distinguish the boll weevil from three other weevil species tested, including pepper weevil; cranberry weevil, Anthonomus eugenii musculus Say; and pecan weevil, Curculio caryae Horn. However, it does not distinguish the boll weevil from the subspecific "thurberia" weevil. A universal internal transcribed spacer primer pair included in the cocktail cross-amplifies DNA from all species, serving as a positive control. Furthermore, the diagnostic primers amplified the target microsatellites from various boll weevil adult body parts, indicating that the PCR technology using the primer cocktail is sensitive enough to positively identify a boll weevil even when the body is partly degraded. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plant growth phenology of musk thistle, Carduus nutans, L., in Oklahoma was three weeks ahead of patterns previously reported from Virginia. For example, plant dormancy ended in late February to early March, bolting initiated in early April, anthesis began in middle to late May and plant senescence occurred in early July. The musk thistle head weevil, Rhinocyllus conicus Froelich, was present when bolting occurred and was active for five and one-half weeks, ovipositing for up to four weeks. In a two-year study, preference sites for ovipostion by musk thistle head weevils were heads on the outside and top of plants. In 2001, surveyed locations had been infested with weevils for six or more years with larger weevil populations, and greater numbers of eggs present. Checking the top. outside heads for egg numbers will allow growers a focused, more decisive method in determining levels of weevil infestation. Irrespective of ovipositional preference, redistribution of adult weevils can occur when 50% of thistle heads contain at least six eggs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Experiments were designed to examine the effects of the IGRs tebufenozide and diflubenzuron on Pavlovian conditioning of harnessed foragers. In one set of experiments, animals learned a simple task in which they associated a conditioned stimulus with feeding. A second set of experiments required the animal to learn a complex discrimination task. Within each experiment, separate groups of bees were pretreated with the insecticide, whereas others received the insecticide imbedded in the sucrose solution used as the unconditioned stimulus. Results indicated that exposure to both tebufenozide and diflubenzuron influence the performance of honey bees. Bees pretreated with 10 μ1 of tebufenozide, 10 min before learning a simple Pavlovian task, produced lower levels of acquisition when the concentrations were administered in dosages equivalent to 0.22, 0.29, and 1.0 liter/ha. When animals were given a series of l-μl droplets of diflubenzuron over the course of 12 training trials, the effect on acquisition and extinction was even more pronounced. No such effects were seen when tebufenozide was used. Discrimination learning was also influenced in bees pretreated with the insecticides or having the insecticides imbedded in the unconditioned stimulus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]