The Feasibility of Operating a Small City Police Department: A Fiscal Trend Analysis

This professional administrative study (PAS) was developed to determine the feasibility of the client organization operating a small city police department or continuing with contracted police services by performing a fiscal trend analysis. The client organization’s law enforcement costs have risen significantly in the past decades and continue to rise. The fiscal trend analysis associated with operating a small city department was compared to those of three similar-sized California cities with small police departments. A fiscal trend analysis was completed using 10-year budget data from the client organization and three similar-sized California cities with small police departments. The fiscal analysis has shown that operational costs are less or slightly higher in two out of the three cities in California than in contract costs with the client organization. The study findings may assist the client organization in determining the best course of action to address expensive contracted law enforcement costs. Additionally, the implications for public administrative practice are that this study may support other similar-sized California cities whose leaders may be seeking alternatives to contract police services. Moreover, the findings of this study will positively impact social change by encouraging other California cities to consider the financial challenges and opportunities of operating police departments, which may result in enhanced police services and more affordable policing options for the communities

The Feasibility of Operating a Small City Police Department: A Fiscal Trend Analysis

This professional administrative study (PAS) was developed to determine the feasibility of the client organization operating a small city police department or continuing with contracted police services by performing a fiscal trend analysis. The client organization’s law enforcement costs have risen significantly in the past decades and continue to rise. The fiscal trend analysis associated with operating a small city department was compared to those of three similar-sized California cities with small police departments. A fiscal trend analysis was completed using 10-year budget data from the client organization and three similar-sized California cities with small police departments. The fiscal analysis has shown that operational costs are less or slightly higher in two out of the three cities in California than in contract costs with the client organization. The study findings may assist the client organization in determining the best course of action to address expensive contracted law enforcement costs. Additionally, the implications for public administrative practice are that this study may support other similar-sized California cities whose leaders may be seeking alternatives to contract police services. Moreover, the findings of this study will positively impact social change by encouraging other California cities to consider the financial challenges and opportunities of operating police departments, which may result in enhanced police services and more affordable policing options for the communities

The Keck Cosmic Web Imager

We are designing the Keck Cosmic Web Imager (KCWI) as a new facility instrument for the Keck II telescope at the W. M. Keck Observatory (WMKO). KCWI is based on the Cosmic Web Imager (CWI), an instrument that has recently had first light at the Hale Telescope. KCWI is a wide-field integral-field spectrograph (IFS) optimized for precision sky limited spectroscopy of low surface brightness phenomena. KCWI will feature high throughput, and flexibility in field of view (FOV), spatial sampling, bandpass, and spectral resolution. KCWI will provide full wavelength coverage (0.35 to 1.05 μm) using optimized blue and red channels. KCWI will provide a unique and complementary capability at WMKO (optical band integral field spectroscopy) that is directly connected to one of the Observatory's strategic goals (faint object, high precision spectroscopy), at a modest cost and on a competitive time scale, made possible by its simple concept and the prior demonstration of CWI

Quantifying Near-Threshold CMOS Circuit Robustness

In order to build energy efficient digital CMOS circuits, the supply voltage must be reduced to near-threshold. Problematically, due to random parameter variation, supply scaling reduces circuit robustness to noise. Moreover, the effects of parameter variation worsen as device dimensions diminish, further reducing robustness, and making parameter variation one of the most significant hurdles to continued CMOS scaling. This paper presents a new metric to quantify circuit robustness with respect to variation and noise along with an efficient method of calculation. The method relies on the statistical analysis of standard cells and memories resulting an an extremely compact representation of robustness data. With this metric and method of calculation, circuit robustness can be included alongside energy, delay, and area during circuit design and optimization

Integrating chemical control with sterile insect releases in an integrated pest management programme for Thaumatotibia leucotreta

False codling moth Thaumatotibia leucotreta (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) is an important indigenous pest of citrus in southern Africa. Successful control is dependent upon integration of area-wide sterile insect releases and other suppression methods. The aim of this work was to test pyrethroid and organophosphate-based insecticides (tau-fluvalinate and chlorpyrifos) for their residual effect on mortality of released irradiated T. leucotreta male moths. Both of these insecticides were effective in killing irradiated T. leucotreta for 7 days after application on leaves, after which degradation of the active ingredient resulted in a marked reduction in efficacy after 14 days and rendering them harmless. Mortality was found to be similar for irradiated and non-irradiated male T. leucotreta after treatment. Consequently, even though these insecticides might have an effect on moths in the field, ratios of sterile:wild moths should not be altered. Supporting field data from six sites in the Sundays River Valley over a season of sterile insect releases showed the conventional chemical crop protection programme to be as effective as an integrated pest management programme in facilitating effective control of T. leucotreta through sterile insect releases. The study also confirmed that the ratios of sterile:wild male moths in the commercial citrus orchards were not affected by the application of insecticides. These findings confirm the high potential of sterile insect releases for control of T. leucotreta in citrus

An analysis of the fruit-sucking and fruit-piercing moth complex in citrus orchards in South Africa

Fruit-piercing moths are a sporadic pest of citrus, especially in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, where the adults can cause significant damage in outbreak years. However, growers confuse fruit-piercing moths with fruit-sucking moths that do not cause primary damage. In this study we trapped these moths during the 2013–2015 growing seasons. A large number of diverse fruit-feeding moths were collected through weekly sampling in citrus orchards in the Eastern Cape and northern Limpopo provinces. Twenty-three species of fruit-feeding moth were trapped. However, only two were fruit-piercing species, capable of causing primary damage, namely Serrodes partita (Fabricius) (Erebidae) and Eudocima divitiosa (Walker) (Erebidae). Surprisingly S. partita, which has been reported as the main fruit-piercing moth pest of citrus in South Africa, comprised only 6.9 % of trap catches. The categorisation of moths as fruit-piercing or fruit-sucking (causing secondary damage) was confirmed by examining the morphological structures (tearing hooks and erectile barbs) of these moths’ proboscides. This study has shown that in non-outbreak seasons, S. partita comprised only a small percentage of fruit-feeding moths in citrus orchards. However, growers may misidentify the harmless fruit-sucking species as fruit-piercing species, and thus overestimate the density of fruit-piercing moths

Host searching and oviposition behaviour of Agathis bishopi (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), a larval parasitoid of false codling moth, Thaumatotibia leucotreta (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae): a potential proxy indicator for fruit infestation

Agathis bishopi (Nixon) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae)is an arrhenotokous larval endoparasitoid of Thaumatotibia leucotreta (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) (Gendall 2007; Hofmeyr et al. 2015) commonly known as false codling moth (FCM), a major pest of citrus in South Africa (Moore et al. 2004; Malan et al. 2011). Under field conditions, A. bishopi was identified attacking more than 34% of FCM larvae in fruit, showing good biocontrol potential (Gendall 2007). Preference by A. bishopi for parasitising the early instars of its concealed host suggests that the parasitoid has strong natural host location ability (Sishuba 2003; Gendall 2007)

DNA-based identification of Lepidoptera associated with citrus in South Africa

A number of insects, primarily Lepidoptera, cause damage to citrus in South Africa. A major limitation to the management and control of these pests is their correct identification. The aim of this study was to develop a database of gene sequences to aid in the identification of these Lepidoptera. Multiple specimens of 12 species were sequenced for the ~650 bp of the cytochrome oxidase I gene. These sequence data were supplemented and validated using sequences available in public databases. Results showed that each species could be unambiguously identified, and neighbour-joining analysis based on K2P distances formed highly supported, distinct clusters for each species, i.e. the maximum intraspecific genetic distance was less than that of the minimum interspecific genetic distances. Thus, this data set provides a molecular means to successfully identify the most important Lepidoptera associated with citrus in South Africa

Screening of entomopathogenic fungi against citrus mealybug, Plannococcus citri (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae)

Planococcus citri (citrus mealybug) is a common and damaging citrus crop pest which has proven difficult to control using conventional methods, such as chemical pesticides and insect growth regulators, particularly late in the citrus growing season. The virulence of two entomopathogenic fungal species was studied in laboratory bioassays against the crawlers and adults of P. citri. Isolates of Metarhizium anisopliae and Beauveria bassiana, collected from citrus orchards in the Eastern Cape Province in South Africa, were verified using and molecular techniques. Mealybug bioassays were performed in 24-well plates. Beauveria bassiana (GAR 17 B3) and M. anisopliae (FCM AR 23 B3) isolates both resulted in 67.5 % mortality of mealybug crawlers and B. bassiana (GB AR 23 13 3) resulted in 64 % crawler mortality with concentrations of 1 x 107 conidia/ml. These three isolates were further tested in multipledose bioassays to determine the median lethal concentration (LC50), which were 5.29 x 105conidia/ml for the M. anisopliae isolate (FCM AR 23 B3), 4.25 x 106 conidia/ml for B. bassiana (GAR 17 B3), and 6.65 x 107 conidia/ml B. bassiana (GB AR 23 13 3) for crawlers, respectively. The results of this study suggested that two isolates (M. anisopliae FCM AR 23 B3 and B. bassiana GAR 17 B3) showed potential for further development as biological control agents against citrus mealybug. Further research would be required to determine their ability to perform under field conditions