Are Tomato-Spotted Wilt Virus Management Tactics Good Enough?

Management of tomato-spotted wilt virus is complex and requires more than one treatment for near optimum results. We investigated tomato and pepper growers’ perception on the effectiveness of tactics using Bayesian Logistic regression. The perceived chance that each tactics will control the disease was about a coin toss.Tomato-spotted wilt virus, pest and disease management, Bayesian logistic regression, Agricultural and Food Policy, Crop Production/Industries, Farm Management, Food Security and Poverty, Production Economics, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, Risk and Uncertainty,

Cost and Benefit Analysis of Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus (TSWV) Management Technology in Georgia.

Recent trend depicts that tomatoes and tomatoes products rank 2nd most important vegetable crop in the United States after potatoes and potatoes products contributing 20 percent of total vegetable production. More-so, tomato is equally ranked 2nd in the United States in terms of production value, generating $1.3 billion after head lettuce that contributed$1.4 billion in the same time period. In 2006, 422,000 acres of tomatoes were planted in the United States. Tomato is equally an important economic crop in the state of Georgia. In 2008, it ranked 14th in the Georgia vegetable acreage as 3,985 acres were planted. It also ranked 6th in terms of farm gate value in the same time period generating $51.2 million. Thrips-vectored tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) is a serious disease capable of causing damages to the plant, fruits, quality and reducing yields drastically. Managing TSWV can be complex. For instance, metalized UV-mulch may significantly reduce TSWV, but delay tomato maturity, potentially affecting price and market window. Also, resistant tomato lines may eliminate damages due to TSWV, but could have negative horticultural attributes that standard TSWV-susceptible hybrids do not. TSWV can induce irregular ripening in fruit after packing, affecting post harvest costs. This study is aimed at providing the optimal return per unit of enterprise using cost and benefit estimates of the combination of available inputs used in the various management strategies. Thereafter, the result of the differentially developed techniques and risk-rated cost and benefit budgets will be used to determine which of the risk-rated thrips, TSWV and IPM decision criteria would provide superior pareto-optimal economic and financial benefit to tomato growersTomatoes production, Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus (TSWV), inputs, fixed cost, variable costs, profitability, cost and benefit., Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Agricultural Finance, Crop Production/Industries, Environmental Economics and Policy, Farm Management, Financial Economics, Health Economics and Policy, Marketing, Production Economics, Productivity Analysis, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, Risk and Uncertainty, Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession,

Field experiments on solar geoengineering: report of a workshop exploring a representative research portfolio

We summarize a portfolio of possible field experiments on solar radiation management (SRM) and related technologies. The portfolio is intended to support analysis of potential field research related to SRM including discussions about the overall merit and risk of such research as well as mechanisms for governing such research and assessments of observational needs. The proposals were generated with contributions from leading researchers at a workshop held in March 2014 at which the proposals were critically reviewed. The proposed research dealt with three major classes of SRM proposals: marine cloud brightening, stratospheric aerosols and cirrus cloud manipulation. The proposals are summarized here along with an analysis exploring variables such as space and time scale, risk and radiative forcing. Possible gaps, biases and cross-cutting considerations are discussed. Finally, suggestions for plausible next steps in the development of a systematic research programme are presented

The CARE guidelines: consensus-based clinical case reporting guideline development

Abstract Background A case report is a narrative that describes, for medical, scientific, or educational purposes, a medical problem experienced by one or more patients. Case reports written without guidance from reporting standards are insufficiently rigorous to guide clinical practice or to inform clinical study design. Primary Objective. Develop, disseminate, and implement systematic reporting guidelines for case reports. Methods We used a three-phase consensus process consisting of (1) pre-meeting literature review and interviews to generate items for the reporting guidelines, (2) a face-to-face consensus meeting to draft the reporting guidelines, and (3) post-meeting feedback, review, and pilot testing, followed by finalization of the case report guidelines. Results This consensus process involved 27 participants and resulted in a 13-item checklist—a reporting guideline for case reports. The primary items of the checklist are title, key words, abstract, introduction, patient information, clinical findings, timeline, diagnostic assessment, therapeutic interventions, follow-up and outcomes, discussion, patient perspective, and informed consent. Conclusions We believe the implementation of the CARE (CAse REport) guidelines by medical journals will improve the completeness and transparency of published case reports and that the systematic aggregation of information from case reports will inform clinical study design, provide early signals of effectiveness and harms, and improve healthcare delivery.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/112624/1/13256_2013_Article_2617.pd

Effect of water temperature on cattle performance

When average outside air temperature was about 40 F, water temperatures of 40, 60, Of\u27 80 F had little effect on water intakes of yearling steers and heifers. In addition, there were no significant differences in average daily feed or efficiency. No electrical energy was required to maintain water at 40 F, and it took about twice as much electricity to maintain water at 80 F instead of 60 F

The CARE Guidelines: Consensus‐Based Clinical Case Reporting Guideline Development

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/101880/1/head12246.pd

The Potential Role of Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations in Infectious Disease Epidemics and Antibiotic Resistance

The industrialization of livestock production and the widespread use of nontherapeutic antimicrobial growth promotants has intensified the risk for the emergence of new, more virulent, or more resistant microorganisms. These have reduced the effectiveness of several classes of antibiotics for treating infections in humans and livestock. Recent outbreaks of virulent strains of influenza have arisen from swine and poultry raised in close proximity. This working group, which was part of the Conference on Environmental Health Impacts of Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations: Anticipating Hazards—Searching for Solutions, considered the state of the science around these issues and concurred with the World Health Organization call for a phasing-out of the use of antimicrobial growth promotants for livestock and fish production. We also agree that all therapeutic antimicrobial agents should be available only by prescription for human and veterinary use. Concern about the risk of an influenza pandemic leads us to recommend that regulations be promulgated to restrict the co-location of swine and poultry concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) on the same site and to set appropriate separation distances

Release Data Package for Hanford Site Assessments

Beginning in fiscal year (FY) 2003, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Richland Operations Office initiated activities, including the development of data packages, to support a Hanford assessment. This report describes the data compiled in FY 2003 through 2005 to support the Release Module of the System Assessment Capability (SAC) for the updated composite analysis. This work was completed as part of the Characterization of Systems Project, part of the Remediation and Closure Science Project, the Hanford Assessments Project, and the Characterization of Systems Project managed by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Related characterization activities and data packages for the vadose zone and groundwater are being developed under the remediation Decision Support Task of the Groundwater Remediation Project managed by Fluor Hanford, Inc. The Release Module applies release models to waste inventory data from the Inventory Module and accounts for site remediation activities as a function of time. The resulting releases to the vadose zone, expressed as time profiles of annual rates, become source terms for the Vadose Zone Module. Radioactive decay is accounted for in all inputs and outputs of the Release Module. The Release Module is implemented as the VADER (Vadose zone Environmental Release) computer code. Key components of the Release Module are numerical models (i.e., liquid, soil-debris, cement, saltcake, and reactor block) that simulate contaminant release from the different waste source types found at the Hanford Site. The Release Module also handles remediation transfers to onsite and offsite repositories