The geographies of access to enterprise finance: the case of the West Midlands, UK

The geographies of access to enterprise finance: the case of the West Midlands, UK, Regional Studies. Whilst there is a long history of credit rationing to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the UK, the financial crisis has seen banks retreat further from lending to viable SMEs due to a reassessment of risk and lack of available capital. In so doing, the credit crunch is thought to be creating new geographies of financial exclusion. This paper explores the financial inclusion of enterprise through community development finance institutions (CDFIs) which provide loan finance to firms at the commercial margins in the West Midlands, UK. The paper concludes that CDFIs could partially address the financial exclusion of enterprise as an additional, alternative source of finance to that of mainstream banks

Distribution Of Peach Latent Mosaic Viroid In Commercial Orchards Of Peach In The North Of Tunisia

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Interrelation of mating, flight, and fecundity in navel orangeworm females

The navel orangeworm, Amyelois transitella (Walker) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae, Phycitini), is an economically important pest of nut crops in California, USA. Improved management will require better understanding of insect dispersal, particularly relative to when mating occurs. A previous study demonstrated a more robust laboratory flight capacity compared to other orchard moth pests, but it was unclear how mating affects dispersal, and how dispersal affects fecundity. In this study, 1‐ and 2‐day‐old females were allowed to fly overnight on a flight mill either before or after mating, respectively, and were then allowed to oviposit. Data on fecundity were compared between treatments to minimally handled or tethered‐only control females. Females that mated before flight flew longer and covered a greater distance than those flying prior to mating. However, timing of flight relative to mating did not affect fecundity, nor did any measure of flight performance. There was no effect on fecundity when females were forced to fly for designated durations from 3 min to 2 h. Together, our data revealed no obvious trade‐off between flight activity and reproductive output. Distances measured on the flight mills (mean ca. 15 km for mated females) may overestimate net displacement in the field where flight tracks are often meandering. The results suggest that most females mate and oviposit in or near their natal habitat, but that some may disperse potentially long distances to oviposit elsewhere

Organic contaminants in western pond turtles in remote habitat in California

Remote aquatic ecosystems are exposed to an assortment of semivolatile organic compounds (SOCs) originating from current and historic uses, of local and global origin. Here, a representative suite of 57 current- and historic-use pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were surveyed in the plasma of the western pond turtle (Emys marmorata) and their potential prey items and habitat. California study sites included Sequoia National Park, Whiskeytown National Recreation Area, and Six Rivers National Forest. Each was downstream of undeveloped watersheds and varied in distance from agricultural and urban pollution sources. SOCs were detected frequently in all sites with more found in turtle plasma and aquatic macroinvertebrates in the two sites closest to agricultural and urban sources. Summed PCBs were highest in Whiskeytown National Recreation Area turtle plasma (mean; 1.56 ng/g ww) compared to plasma from Sequoia National Park (0.16 ng/g ww; p = 0.002) and Six Rivers National Forest (0.07 ng/g ww; p = 0.001). While no current-use pesticides were detected in turtle plasma at any site, both current- and historic-use pesticides were found prominently in sediment and macroinvertebrates at the Sequoia National Park site, which is immediately downwind of Central Valley agriculture. SOC classes associated with urban and industrial pollution were found more often and at higher concentrations at Whiskeytown National Recreation Area. These findings demonstrate a range of SOC exposure in a turtle species with current and proposed conservation status and shed additional light on the fate of environmental contaminants in remote watersheds

STATE WATER RESOURCES CONTROL BOARD PURSUANT TO THE PESTICIDE CONTAMINATION PREVENTION ACT

maintain a statewide data base of wells sampled for pesticide active ingredients and that agencies submit to the Director the results of any well sampling for pesticide active ingredients. The PCPA directs the CDFA, in consultation with the California Department of Health Services (CDHS) and the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB), to annually report: (1) specified information contained in the data base to the Legislature, the CDHS, and the SWRCB, (2) actions taken by the Director and the SWRCB to prevent pesticides from leaching to ground water, and (3) factors contributing to the movement of pesticides to ground water. BACKGROUND: The well inventory data base was developec 1 by the CD 1FA's Environmental Hazards Assessment Program in 1983, prior to the enactment of the PCPA on January 1, 1986. The purposes of the data base were to allow the CDFA to: (1) identify reliable information on the occurrence of nonpoint-source contamination of ground water by the agricultural use of pesticides and (2

STATE WATER RESOURCES CONTROL BOARD PURSUANT TO THE PESTICIDE CONTAMINATION PREVENTION ACT

5 13141 et seq.). Section 13152, subdivision (c) requires that the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) maintain a statewide data base of wells sampled for pesticide active ingredients, and that agencies that sample wells for pesticides submit their sampling results to the CDFA. Subdivision (e) requires the CDFA, in consultation with the California Department of Health Services (CDHS) and the State Wate