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International audience; AbstractKey messageThe pine shoot beetle, Tomicus piniperda, is a potential vector of the pitch canker disease pathogen. The insect could transmit the pathogenic fungus during its maturation or regeneration feeding on the shoots of healthy pine crowns.ContextFusarium circinatum, the causal agent of pitch canker disease, currently affects Pinus radiata in northern Spain, causing pitch-soaked cankers and tree death. Although several species of the family Scolytinae have been reported as vectors of this pathogen, the role of the pine shoot beetle T. piniperda remains unclear.AimsThe general objective of this study was to determine whether T. piniperda is a vector for the pitch canker pathogen F. circinatum. For this purpose, Leach’s postulates (1) an association between T. piniperda and trees affected by pitch canker disease; (2) regular visits by T. piniperda to healthy P. radiata trees; (3) presence of the pathogen on the insect in nature; and (4) transmission of the pathogen to disease-free host material under controlled conditions.MethodsFresh green shoots with feeding galleries were collected from the ground, breeding galleries were collected from diseased trunks and insects were collected during their dispersion flights. A laboratory experiment was conducted in which specimens of T. piniperda were inoculated with the pathogen prior to feeding on shoots.ResultsIn the field, T. piniperda was found to be associated with both diseased and healthy P. radiata trees, and F. circinatum was found to be present, at low rates, on the exoskeleton of T. piniperda. In the laboratory experiment, evidence of the ability of T. piniperda to transfer the pathogen to healthy shoots was found.ConclusionsThe study findings indicate T. piniperda as a plausible vector of this pathogen. We postulate for the first time a potential relationship between the life cycles of T. piniperda and F. circinatum.

The infrared emission limb sounder MIPAS (Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding) will be operated as an ESA core instrument on the ENVISAT-1 satellite. Near real time retrieval of pressure, temperature (p,T) and volume mixing ratio (VMR) of five key species (O-3, H2O, N2O, CH4, and HNO3) from calibrated spectra will be performed in the Level 2 processor of the ENVISAT Payload Data Segment. In order to develop an optimized (with respect to speed and accuracy) retrieval algorithm suitable for the implementation in MIPAS Level 2 processor, an ESA supported study is being carried out. In the framework of this study, an optimized forward / retrieval code based on the global fit approach was implemented. In this approach all the spectra of a limb-scanning sequence are simultaneously fitted, so that error propagation in the altitude domain is avoided.The attained accuracy performances of the retrieval code are the following:Temperature error < 2 K at all the altitudes covered by the standard MIPAS scan (8-53 km)Tangent pressure error: < 3%Error on the retrieved VMR of the key species: < 5 % at most of the altitudes of scientific interest covered by the standard MIPAS scan.The run-time required to perform p,T and VMR retrieval of the five MIPAS target species from a limb-scanning sequence of 16 limb-views is less than 6 minutes on a SUN SPARCstation 20. The most effective code optimizations were implemented in the radiative transfer model and in the computation of the jacobian of the retrieval.

International audience

This research attempts to analyze the condition of agroindustry in Arjasa District. Agroindustry index (I A) is used to determine the superior agroindustry based on its raw material. Thus, the purpose of this study is the application of a strategic management model with the concept of integration between agroindustry and the potential resources. The Agroindustry Index Model (I A) uses quantitative data on variable land area and production. Data were obtained from Department of Industry and Commerce, Central Bureau of Statistics, Food Crop Agriculture Service, Horticulture and Plantation in Jember Regency. Whereas, the exponential comparison method (MPE) to determine the superiority of the product is based on the assessment of three agro-industry experts, namely from Department of Industry and Commerce, Office of Cooperatives and Micro Enterprises and a lecturer of the agroindustry management study program, Politeknik Negeri Jember. Based on the results that agroindustry made from corn became the superior agroindustry in Arjasa District. Analysis of superior products using the exponential comparison method (MPE) shows that products corn flour is the top seed followed by corn rice, corn cake, emping, and animal feed.

La necesidad de la conservacion fuera de areas protegidas ha llevado a la modificacion de las practicas productivas para permitir el mantenimiento de la biota silvestre en paisajes productivos tales como los asociados a la produccion de madera. Las plantaciones forestales podrian cooperar en la conservacion de la biodiversidad fuera de areas protegidas si tienen un sotobosque desarrollado. Sin embargo, el exito de los cambios en la produccion depende del apoyo social que estos reciben. Asi, evaluamos la preferencia por cinco paisajes con diferentes tipos de manejo forestal. Ademas, se evaluo la percepcion acerca de la relacion entre las plantaciones de pino y la fauna nativa a traves de encuestas realizadas en Chillan, Santiago y seis localidades rurales de la VII y VIII Region. Pese a no haber una opinion publica unanime respecto a considerar las plantaciones de pino como una amenaza a la biodiversidad, las personas en general prefieren las plantaciones de pino que sirven de habitat para la fauna en peligro de extincion. De hecho, estan de acuerdo en pagar mas por productos forestales que contribuyan a la conservacion en plantaciones forestales, prefiriendo especialmente plantaciones forestales con un sotobosque desarrollado. Estos resultados sugieren que las medidas destinadas a la conservacion en las plantaciones forestales podrian ser apoyadas por la sociedad chilena.

This study was undertaken to determine sorption coefficients of eight herbicides (alachlor, amitrole, atrazine, simazine, dicamba, imazamox, imazethapyr, and pendimethalin) to seven agricultural soils from sites throughout Lithuania. The measured sorption coefficients were used to predict the susceptibility of these herbicides to leach to groundwater. Soil-water partitioning coefficients were measured in batch equilibrium studies using radiolabeled herbicides. In most soils, sorption followed the general trend pendimethalinalachloratrazine approximately amitrole approximately simazineimazethapyrimazamoxdicamba, consistent with the trends in hydrophobicity (log K(ow)) except in the case of amitrole. For several herbicides, sorption coefficients and calculated retardation factors were lowest (predicted to be most susceptible to leaching) in a soil of intermediate organic carbon content and sand content. Calculated herbicide retardation factors were high for soils with high organic carbon contents. Estimated leaching times under saturated conditions, assuming no herbicide degradation and no preferential water flow, were more strongly affected by soil textural effects on predicted water flow than by herbicide sorption effects. All herbicides were predicted to be slowest to leach in soils with high clay and low sand contents, and fastest to leach in soils with high sand content and low organic matter content. Herbicide management is important to the continued increase in agricultural production and profitability in the Baltic region, and these results will be useful in identifying critical areas requiring improved management practices to reduce water contamination by pesticides.

This work proposes a new methodology to build an Earth-wide mosaic using high-spatial resolution (15 m) Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) images in pseudo-true color. As ASTER originally misses a blue visible band, we have designed a cloud of artificial neural networks to estimate the ASTER blue reflectance from Level-1 data acquired by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the same satellite Terra platform. Next, the granules are radiometrically harmonized with a novel color-balancing method and seamlessly blended into a mosaic. We demonstrate that the proposed algorithms are robust enough to process several thousands of scenes acquired under very different temporal, spatial, and atmospheric conditions. Furthermore, the created mosaic fully preserves the ASTER fine structures across the various building steps. The proposed methodology and protocol are modular so that they can easily be adapted to similar sensors with enormous image libraries.

AbstractContext: Community health centers (CHCs) are primary care clinics that serve mostly low‐income patients in rural and urban areas. They are required to be governed by a consumer majority. What little is known about the structure and function of these boards in practice suggests that CHC boards in rural areas may look and act differently from CHC boards in urban areas.Purpose: To identify differences in the structure and function of consumer governance at CHCs in rural and urban areas.Methods: Semistructured telephone interviews were conducted with 30 CHC board members from 14 different states. Questions focused on board members’ perceptions of board composition and the role of consumers on the board.Findings: CHCs in rural areas are more likely to have representative boards, are better able to convey confidence in the organization, and are better able to assess community needs than CHCs in urban areas. However, CHCs in rural areas often have problems achieving objective decision‐making, and they may have fewer means for objectively evaluating quality of care due to the lack of patient board member anonymity.Conclusions: Consumer governance is implemented differently in rural and urban communities, and the advantages and disadvantages in each setting are unique.