• Rural Digital Europe
• 2014-2023close
• Open Access close
• Article close
• Rural Digital Europe close

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.

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.

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.

Incotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) agriculture, very loose soil results inreduced seed emergence and stand establishment because the contact between soiland seed is deficient. Therefore, the use of a planker before planting may helpfirm seedbeds and improve stand establishment. The objective of this study isto determine the effects of different pass numbers of the planker on soil bulkdensity, moisture content and cotton seed emergence. Also, weed species andplant growth parameters were determined in the study. The five treatmentsincluding different soil planking levels (P0, untreated control; P1, one passof planker; P2, two passes of planker; P3, three passes of planker; P4, fourpasses of planker) was compared by using completely randomized block designwith three replications. The results of the study indicated that while the soilbulk density and moisture content was increased with increasing the pass numberof planker, multi-pass of planker significantly reduced seed emergence rate andSPAD value. The highest seed cotton yield per plant was found at P1 (one passof planker) treatment. Also, soil planking levels affected the weed species andthe density of this species. Control plots (P0) had higher weeds species than othertreatments. In conclusion, the findingsof this research suggest that multi-pass of planker may reduce seed emergenceand cotton yield although it increases the moisture content at 0-10 cm soildepth which has positive effect on seed emergence, under the soil and climateconditions like the experimental field. Pamuk (Gossypium hirsutum L.)tarımında, toprağın fazla gevşek olması, tohumun toprakla temasını azalttığıiçin bitkinin çimlenmesi ve çıkışında düşüşlere neden olmaktadır. Bu nedenle, bitkiçıkış oranını ve gelişimini artırmak için ekim öncesi tarlaya en az 2-3 keztapan çekilerek, toprak bastırılmaktadır. Bu çalışmada, tapanın farklı geçişsayılarının, toprağın hacim ağırlığı, nem içeriği ve tohum çıkış oranınaetkisinin belirlenmesi amaçlanmıştır. Ayrıca, çalışmada yabancı ot türleri vebitki gelişim parametreleri belirlenmiştir. Beş farklı tapan geçiş sayısının(P0, kontrol; P1, tapanın bir defa geçişi; P2, tapanın iki defa geçişi; P3,tapanın üç defa geçişi; P4, tapanın dört defa geçişi) denendiği çalışma,tesadüf blokları deneme desenine göre, üç tekerrürlü olarak yürütülmüştür.Çalışmanın sonuçları, tapan geçiş sayısındaki artışın, toprak hacim ağırlığı venem içeriğinde artış meydana getirdiğini, fakat bitki çıkış oranını ve SPAD değeriniönemli ölçüde azalttığını göstermiştir. En yüksek bitkideki kütlü pamuk verimi,P1 uygulamasında elde edilmiştir. Ayrıca, tapan geçiş sayısının, denemealanındaki yabancı ot tür sayısını da önemli düzeyde etkilediği görülmüştür.Kontrol parsellerindeki yabancı ot tür sayısının daha yüksek olduğugözlenmiştir. Sonuç olarak, bu denemenin sonuçları, ekim derinliğindekitoprağın nem içeriğini olumlu yönde etkilemesine rağmen, aynı iklim ve toprakkoşullarında tapanın birden fazla geçiş sayısının bitki çıkış ve verimindedüşüşlere neden olabileceğini göstermektedir. 

O trabalho teve como objetivo avaliar o potencial de clones de Eucalyptus urophylla para produção de painéis aglomerados homogêneos de baixa densidade. Foram avaliados seis clones de Eucalyptus urophylla com 94 meses de idade, plantados no municipio de Paracatu-MG, sendo utilizada como parâmetro de comparação a madeira de Pinus oocarpa. Para cada clone de Eucalyptus urophylla e também para o Pinus oocarpa foram produzidos seis painéis com o adesivo uréia-formaldeido no teor de 6%, densidade nominal de 0,60 g/cm³, pressão especifica de 40kgf/cm², temperatura de 160ºC e tempo de 8 minutos. Os clones de Eucalyptus urophylla apresentaram potencial para produção de painéis aglomerados convencionais de baixa densidade. Os clones 62 e 28 obtiveram os melhores resultados em todas as propriedades fisico-mecânicas avaliadas, apresentando propriedades iguais ou superiores as obtidas para os painéis produzidos com a madeira de Pinus oocarpa. Com relação à norma de comercialização CS 236/1966 apenas o clone 28 atendeu a todos os requisitos. Nenhum dos clones avaliados atendeu a norma EN 312/2003.

The role of digital transformation in creating value for commercial banks has been interesting to researchers for a long time. While many commercial banks have significantly investigated digital transformation, researchers and managers have still met many difficulties examining the distribution of digital transformation to business performance. This paper aims to evaluate the impact of digital transformation on Vietnamese commercial banks’ performance by different sizes, from there proposing policy implications of digital transformation to improve the banking performance. To achieve this goal, we used a quantitative research method. Specifically, we applied the GMM system (SGMM) of Blundell and Bond for the data of 13 joint-stock commercial banks in Vietnam in the period from 2011 to 2019. Then Bayesian analysis is performed to test the robustness of the models estimated by the SGMM method. The result shows that the digital transformation has a positive impact on the performance of Vietnamese commercial banks. Besides, we also find that the larger the banks, the greater the positive impact of digital transformation on bank performance. Therefore, the efficiency of digital transformation depends on a bank scale.

Abstract Background High blood pressure (HBP) is an increasing public health issue for developing countries. HBP is an important contributing factor to many non-communicable diseases that were until very recently thought to be rare in developing countries. There is not enough evidence on its burden and risk factors in Africa. We report in this study on the prevalence and factors associated with HBP in the adult and active population of Burkina Faso from a nationally representative sample. Methods We conducted a secondary analysis of data from the World Health Organization (WHO) Stepwise approach to Surveillance(STEPS) survey on the prevalence of major risk factors for non-communicable diseases in Burkina Faso. This survey was conducted between September 26 and November 18, 2013 and involved a nationally representative sample of 4,800 adults aged 25 to 64 years. The risk factors were identified using a binary logistic regression in STATA Version 13.1 software. Results The analysis was conducted on a sample of 4629 participants of whom 72.18% lived in rural areas. The overall prevalence of hypertension in Burkina Faso was 18% (95% CI: 16.19%–19.96%). In urban areas the prevalence was 24.81% (95% CI 20.21%–30.07%) and 15.37% (95% CI 13.67%–17.24%) in rural areas. Increased Body Mass Index (BMI) and older age were consistently associated with higher odds of HBP in both residential areas. In addition, being of male sex, fat intake, family history of HBP and low level of HDL cholesterol were significantly associated with increased odds of HBP in rural residents. Conclusion The prevalence of hypertension is high in Burkina Faso with roughly one person in five affected. There is a predominant burden in urban areas with prevalence of ten-point percent higher compared to rural area. Modifiable risk factors should be targeted with appropriate and effective strategies to curb the rising burden of hypertension and its consequences.

Investigations of local representations about the environment allow for the elucidation of historical landscape transformation and the elaboration of strategies for environmental conservation. Thus, this study aimed to answer the following questions. How does the local population represent the possible changes in riparian vegetation over time? What historical events were responsible for these possible changes? How does the local population represent concerns related to the use and maintenance of riparian vegetation? This study was carried out with 87 informants from three communities: two rural ex-settlement communities and one quilombo in Northeastern Brazil. According to the informants, there were changes in the riparian vegetation. The main causes of these changes include the type of agriculture practiced in the region and the building of a large dam to provide water to the city of Sobradinho in the state of Bahia. However, there was no significant difference between the number of informants who said that the changes were for the worse and those who said that they were for the better. In addition, the respondents reported an increase in the abundance of exotic species and a decrease in the abundance of native species. Thus, the importance of including this group of people in the process of the forest restoration that will occur in the region is emphasized because they possess information about the past vegetation changes and their causes. They can also indicate which species should be prioritized for replanting according to their usage needs and they understand the importance of conserving riparian vegetation.