1,094 research outputs found
Epidemiology and integrated control of Potato Late Blight in Europe
Phytophthora infestans, the causal agent of late blight, is a major threat to potato production in northwestern Europe. Before 1980, the worldwide population of P. infestans outside Mexico appeared to be asexual and to consist of a single clonal lineage of A1 mating type characterized by a single genotype. It is widely believed that new strains migrated into Europe in 1976 and that this led to subsequent population changes including the introduction of the A2 mating type. The population characteristics of recently collected isolates in NW Europe show a diverse population including both mating types, sexual reproduction and oospores, although differences are observed between regions. Although it is difficult to find direct evidence that new strains are more aggressive, there are several indications from experiments and field epidemics that the aggressiveness of P. infestans has increased in the past 20 years. The relative importance of the different primary inoculum sources and specific measures for reducing their role, such as covering dumps with plastic and preventing seed tubers from becoming infected, is described for the different regions. In NW Europe, varieties with greater resistance tend not to be grown on a large scale. From the growerâs perspective, the savings in fungicide input that can be achieved with these varieties are not compensated by the higher (perceived) risk of blight. Fungicides play a crucial role in the integrated control of late blight. The spray strategies in NW Europe and a table of the specific attributes of the most important fungicides in Europe are presented. The development and use of decision support systems (DSSs) in NW Europe are described. In The Netherlands, it is estimated that almost 40% of potato growers use recommendations based on commercially available DSS. In the Nordic countries, a new DSS concept with a fixed 7-day spray interval and a variable dose rate is being tested. In the UK, commercially available DSSs are used for c. 8% of the area. The validity of Smith Periods for the new population of P. infestans in the UK is currently being evaluated
Length-Based Assessment of an Artisanal Albulid Fishery in the South Pacific: a Data-Limited Approach for Management and Conservation
Data-limited fisheries assessment methods have great potential to help inform small island communi
Projecting the Bethe-Salpeter Equation onto the Light-Front and back: A Short Review
The technique of projecting the four-dimensional two-body Bethe-Salpeter
equation onto the three-dimensional Light-Front hypersurface, combined with the
quasi-potential approach, is briefly illustrated, by placing a particular
emphasis on the relation between the projection method and the effective
dynamics of the valence component of the Light-Front wave function. Some
details on how to construct the Fock expansion of both i) the Light-Front
effective interaction and ii) the electromagnetic current operator, satisfying
the proper Ward-Takahashi identity, will be presented, addressing the relevance
of the Fock content in the operators living onto the Light-Front hypersurface.
Finally, the generalization of the formalism to the three-particle case will
be outlined.Comment: 16 pages, macros included. Mini-review to be printed in a regular
issue of Few-Body Systems devoted to the Workshop on "Relativistic
Description of Two- and Three-body Systems in Nuclear Physics" ECT* Trento,
19 - 23 October 200
Relativistic bound states in Yukawa model
The bound state solutions of two fermions interacting by a scalar exchange
are obtained in the framework of the explicitly covariant light-front dynamics.
The stability with respect to cutoff of the J= and J=
states is studied. The solutions for J= are found to be stable for
coupling constants below the critical value
and unstable above it. The asymptotic behavior of the
wave functions is found to follow a law. The coefficient
and the critical coupling constant are calculated from an
eigenvalue equation. The binding energies for the J= solutions
diverge logarithmically with the cutoff for any value of the coupling constant.
For a wide range of cutoff, the states with different angular momentum
projections are weakly split.Comment: 22 pages, 13 figures, .tar.gz fil
Being relevant: Practical guidance for early career researchers interested in solving conservation problems
AbstractIn a human-altered world where biodiversity is in decline and conservation problems abound, there is a dire need to ensure that the next generation of conservation scientists have the knowledge, skills, and training to address these problems. So called âearly career researchersâ (ECRs) in conservation science have many challenges before them and it is clear that the status quo must change to bridge the knowledgeâaction divide. Here we identify thirteen practical strategies that ECRs can employ to become more relevant. In this context, ârelevanceâ refers to the ability to contribute to solving conservation problems through engagement with practitioners, policy makers, and stakeholders. Conservation and career strategies outlined in this article include the following: thinking âbig pictureâ during conservation projects; embracing various forms of knowledge; maintaining positive relationships with locals familiar with the conservation issue; accepting failure as a viable (and potentially valuable) outcome; daring to be creative; embracing citizen science; incorporating interdisciplinarity; promoting and practicing pro-environmental behaviours; understanding financial aspects of conservation; forming collaboration from the onset of a project; accepting the limits of technology; ongoing and effective networking; and finally, maintaining a positive outlook by focusing on and sharing conservation success stories. These strategies move beyond the generic and highlight the importance of continuing to have an open mind throughout the entire conservation process, from establishing oneâs self as an asset to embracing collaboration and interdisciplinary work, and striving to push for professional and personal connections that strengthen personal career objectives
Substantial impacts of subsistence fishing on the population status of an Endangered reef predator at a remote coral atoll
Napoleon wrasse Cheilinus undulatus has declined drastically throughout most of its range, owing, in large part, to overexploitation. In Anaa, French Polynesia, the species is harvested as part of the subsistence catch by fishers using rockpile traps, spearguns, handmade harpoons, and baited handlines. We sampled 70 Napoleon wrasse captured by artisanal fishers of Anaa between 2015 and 2018 to assess the status of this population, and we applied data-poor fisheries models to assess the stock status of this iconic reef predator. The species was determined to be overexploited at a rate of 0.82 based on values of natural (0.14; Hoenig method) and fishing (0.58; difference of total and natural mortality) mortality as components of total mortality (0.72; Beverton-Holt estimation). The left-skewed length distribution (mean = 36 ± 13 cm SL) suggested an under-representation of large adults in the population, which would predominantly be terminal males in this sequentially hermaphroditic protogynous fish. This was not considered to be reflective of poor sel
An ALMA survey of CO in submillimetre galaxies: companions, triggering, and the environment in blended sources
We present ALMA observations of the mid-J 12CO emission from six single-dish selected 870-ÎŒm sources in the Extended Chandra Deep Field-South and UKIDSS Ultra-Deep Survey fields. These six single-dish submillimetre sources were selected based on previous ALMA continuum observations, which showed that each comprised a blend of emission from two or more individual submillimetre galaxies (SMGs), separated on 5â10 arcsec scales. The six single-dish submillimetre sources targeted correspond to a total of 14 individual SMGs, of which seven have previously measured robust optical/near-infrared spectroscopic redshifts, which were used to tune our ALMA observations. We detect CO(3â2) or CO(4â3) at z = 2.3â3.7 in 7 of the 14 SMGs, and in addition serendipitously detect line emission from three gas-rich companion galaxies, as well as identify four new 3.3 mm selected continuum sources in the six fields. Joint analysis of our CO spectroscopy and existing data suggests that 64(±18)percent of the SMGs in blended submillimetre sources are unlikely to be physically associated. However, three of the SMG fields (50âperâcent) contain new, serendipitously detected CO-emitting (but submillimetre-faint) sources at similar redshifts to the 870 ÎŒm selected SMGs we targeted. These data suggest that the SMGs inhabit overdense regions, but that these are not sufficiently overdense on âŒ100âkpc scales to influence the source blending given the short lifetimes of SMGs. We find that 21±12percent of SMGs have spatially distinct and kinematically close companion galaxies (âŒ8â150âkpc and âČ 300âkm sâ1), which may have enhanced their star formation via gravitational interactions
Behaviour and survival of wild Atlantic salmon Salmo salar captured and released while surveillance angling for escaped farmed salmon
In many Norwegian rivers, spawning stocks are surveyed for escaped farmed salmon with surveillance fishing by rod and reel after the recreational angling season. However, the benefits of surveillance fishing depend on the ability of wild salmon to return to the spawning stock. To evaluate the impacts of surveillance fishing, we captured, radio-tagged and released wild Atlantic salmon Salmo salar in the River Lakselva, Norway, in a surveillance fishery occurring just prior to the spawning period. Among 39 salmon captured, 36 wild fish were tagged and released, whereas 3 were not released (1 bleeding from the gills, 1 farmed, 1 farmed and bleeding). Surviva
Possible origins of macroscopic left-right asymmetry in organisms
I consider the microscopic mechanisms by which a particular left-right (L/R)
asymmetry is generated at the organism level from the microscopic handedness of
cytoskeletal molecules. In light of a fundamental symmetry principle, the
typical pattern-formation mechanisms of diffusion plus regulation cannot
implement the "right-hand rule"; at the microscopic level, the cell's
cytoskeleton of chiral filaments seems always to be involved, usually in
collective states driven by polymerization forces or molecular motors. It seems
particularly easy for handedness to emerge in a shear or rotation in the
background of an effectively two-dimensional system, such as the cell membrane
or a layer of cells, as this requires no pre-existing axis apart from the layer
normal. I detail a scenario involving actin/myosin layers in snails and in C.
elegans, and also one about the microtubule layer in plant cells. I also survey
the other examples that I am aware of, such as the emergence of handedness such
as the emergence of handedness in neurons, in eukaryote cell motility, and in
non-flagellated bacteria.Comment: 42 pages, 6 figures, resubmitted to J. Stat. Phys. special issue.
Major rewrite, rearranged sections/subsections, new Fig 3 + 6, new physics in
Sec 2.4 and 3.4.1, added Sec 5 and subsections of Sec
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