When Internationalization Funding Feels Tight: Satisfaction With Funding and Campus Internationalization Strategies

This study investigated predictors of satisfaction with an institution’s strategy for campus internationalization among international affairs staff (N = 1,520) and compared the varying perceptions of their institution’s funding to fulfill this mandate. This study identified factors that influenced these individuals’ sense of their institution’s internationalization strategy. Among international affairs staff who were most dissatisfied with their institution’s funding, satisfaction with how their institution managed the outsourcing of university functions, and perceived competition with other universities most influenced their perceptions of strategy. For those moderately satisfied with funding, retention of senior university leadership most influenced their perceptions of strategy. Support from senior administration, communication with faculty, and capacity to support increased student enrollment influenced perceptions of strategy for all respondents. The results of this study suggest the negotiation of the educational and entrepreneurial rationales for internationalization are far more complex—and dependent on far more factors—at institutions where international affairs staff perceive fewer human and financial resources to be available

Measurement of relative fitness of dicarboximide-resistant botrytis cinerea in strawberry leaves

Leaves of healthy strawberry plants were inoculated with either vinclozolin-sensitive or vinclozolin-resistant isolates of Botrytis cinerea at one of three concentrations: 5x104, 1x105, and 5x105 conidia/ml. One week following inoculation, representative leaves were harvested and cut into 9mm2 leaf pieces. Some pieces were immediately plated onto selective Botrytis medium while the others were stored for 7 or 21 days in an empty petri dishes to which silica gel had been added as a desiccant. Vinclozolin-resistant B. cinerea isolates established fewer infections in young, healthy strawberry leaves compared to vinclozolin-sensitive strains of the fungus. However, no observable differences in relative ability to survive over a month of desiccation were noted among resistant and sensitive strains

Assessment of potato tuber blight caused by Phytophthora infestans

Late blight, caused by Phytophthora infestans, is a devastating problem to potato production in many parts of the world. While the foliar phases of this disease are well characterized, tuber infection, leading to quality losses and disease perpetuation, is less well understood. Experiments were conducted during 1998 and 1999 in irrigated sandy loam soils to evaluate the relative importance of cultural treatments, i.e. mulches and hill sizes, as barriers to the movement of P. infestans inoculum from potato foliage to developing tubers. In the mulching experiment, five treatments were applied to field plots of cultivar 'Red LaSoda' in a randomized block design: 1) no mulch, 2) expandable polyurethane spray foam in the 8 cm-diameter immediately surrounding the potato stem, 3) black polyethylene film over the entire hill area except the 8 em-diameter immediately surrounding the potato stem, 4) a combination of treatments 2 and 3, and 5) a copper hydroxide-treated textile applied over the same area as in treatment 3. When compared to the appropriate control, black polyethylene film reduced tuber blight incidence by 10 to 24% while polyurethane spray foam did not reduce (P>0.1) tuber blight. Copper hydroxide-treated textile Redacted for privacy also reduced (P≤0.05) tuber blight incidence by 10 to 33%. In the hill size experiment, conducted once in 1998 and twice in 1999, potato cultivars 'Russet Burbank', 'Red LaSoda' and 'Shepody', were planted as whole plots in a split-plot design with three hill size treatments. Hill size treatments were established by hilling with the planter only (small hill) and by supplementary hilling with tractor mounted disks once or twice after potato emergence (medium and large hills, respectively). In all three trials, consistent and significant differences (P≤0.05) in tuber blight incidence were observed among the cultivars with 'Red LaSoda' the most susceptible and 'Russet Burbank' the least susceptible to tuber blight. Hill size had a significant effect (P≤0.05) on tuber blight incidence only in 1998 when 40% of tubers in small hills and 30% tubers in medium and large sized hills were blighted. Comparison of tuber blight incidence examined by tuber depth in the hill, however, revealed few differences among hill size treatments, although, deep tubers had a lower incidence of tuber blight (5.5%) than tubers at shallow (34.1%) or intermediate (19.7%) depths. Because black polyethylene film and copper hydroxide-treated textile reduced the incidence of tuber blight, movement of P. infestans inoculum from potato foliage to tubers does not appear to be restricted to large channels in the soil such as those created by the stems. The difficulty of direct tuber blight suppression after establishment of a foliar epidemic suggests that prevention of tuber blight in a conducive environment may be inseparably linked to suppression of the foliar phase. Management of tuber blight remains one of the least understood areas in the late blight disease cycle, in part because tuber blight is difficult to assess and quantify. To help overcome problems associated with tuber blight assessment, a P. infestans (US-8) isolate was transformed with the reporter gene β-glucuronidase (GUS) for use in future epidemiological studies of the tuber stage of the late blight disease cycle

Emerald ash borer and its implications for Washington state

The emerald ash borer (EAB), Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire (Coleoptera: Buprestidae), is a destructive invasive insect native to eastern Asia that was accidentally introduced to North America in the Detroit, Michigan, area in the 1990s. Since then, EAB has caused almost 100% ash mortality in the areas it has spread in North America. Despite quarantine and control measures, EAB continues to spread across the US and parts of Canada. In June 2022, EAB was found in northwest Oregon near the Washington border. Oregon ash (Fraxinus latifolia), the Pacific Northwest s (PNW) only native ash species, is highly susceptible to EAB and could experience significant mortality throughout the region. Susceptible ash species native to Europe and eastern North America are commonly used as ornamentals in Washington cities, so urban and community forests could also be significantly impacted. This publication is intended for Extension professionals, Master Gardeners, public agency personnel, tree care professionals, and those who are interested in an in-depth review of the current state of knowledge about EAB and the implications for potential damage and mitigation strategies in Washington State. A separate publication, Managing Emerald Ash Borer in Washington State (Zobrist et al. 2023), is available for readers looking for a summary of EAB identification, distribution, impacts, and management recommendations

Managing emerald ash borer in Washington state

The emerald ash borer (EAB), Agrilus planipennis, is a destructive invasive insect pest that has caused almost 100% ash mortality where it has spread in North America. Native to Asia, EAB was accidentally introduced in Michigan in the 1990s and has since spread across North America, killing hundreds of millions of ash trees. In June 2022, EAB was found infesting ash in northwest Oregon, near the Washington border. This publication summarizes EAB identification and current management recommendations. A separate Washington State University Extension publication, titled Emerald Ash Borer and Its Implications for Wash ington State, is available for readers looking for detailed information (Zobrist et al. 2023)

Biosecurity practices on Australian commercial layer and meat chicken farms: Performance and perceptions of farmers

This paper describes the level of adoption of biosecurity practices performed on Australian commercial chicken meat and layer farms and farmer-perceived importance of these practices. On-farm interviews were conducted on 25 free range layer farms, nine cage layer farms, nine barn layer farms, six free range meat chicken farms and 15 barn meat chicken farms in the Sydney basin bioregion and South East Queensland. There was a high level of treatment of drinking water across all farm types; town water was the most common source. In general, meat chicken farms had a higher level of adoption of biosecurity practices than layer farms. Cage layer farms had the shortest median distance between sheds (7.75m) and between sheds and waterbodies (30m). Equipment sharing between sheds was performed on 43% of free range meat chicken farms compared to 92% of free range layer farms. There was little disinfection of this shared equipment across all farm types. Footbaths and visitor recording books were used by the majority of farms for all farm types except cage layer farms (25%). Wild birds in sheds were most commonly reported in free range meat chicken farms (73%). Dogs and cats were kept across all farm types, from 56% of barn layer farms to 89% of cage layer farms, and they had access to the sheds in the majority (67%) of cage layer farms and on the range in some free range layer farms (44%). Most biosecurity practices were rated on average as ‘very important’ by farmers. A logistic regression analysis revealed that for most biosecurity practices, performing a practice was significantly associated with higher perceived farmer importance of that biosecurity practice. These findings help identify farm types and certain biosecurity practices with low adoption levels. This information can aid decision-making on efforts used to improve adoption levels.This research was conducted within the Poultry Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) (http:// www.chicken.org.au/page.php?id=26) that provided the majority of funding with support from the CRC and Woolworths Limited (https://www. woolworths.com.au/). The first author, ABS, is also a recipient of a Post-graduate Scholarship and stipend from the Poultry CRC

Low- and high-pathogenic avian influenza H5 and H7 spread risk assessment within and between Australian commercial chicken farms

This study quantified and compared the probability of avian influenza (AI) spread within and between Australian commercial chicken farms via specified spread pathways using scenario tree mathematical modeling. Input values for the models were sourced from scientific literature, expert opinion, and a farm survey conducted during 2015 and 2016 on Australian commercial chicken farms located in New South Wales (NSW) and Queensland. Outputs from the models indicate that the probability of no establishment of infection in a shed is the most likely end-point after exposure and infection of low-pathogenic avian influenza (LPAI) in one chicken for all farm types (non-free range meat chicken, free range meat chicken, cage layer, barn layer, and free range layer farms). If LPAI infection is established in a shed, LPAI is more likely to spread to other sheds and beyond the index farm due to a relatively low probability of detection and reporting during LPAI infection compared to high-pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) infection. Among farm types, the median probability for HPAI spread between sheds and between farms is higher for layer farms (0.0019, 0.0016, and 0.0031 for cage, barn, and free range layer, respectively) than meat chicken farms (0.00025 and 0.00043 for barn and free range meat chicken, respectively) due to a higher probability of mutation in layer birds, which relates to their longer production cycle. The pathway of LPAI spread between sheds with the highest average median probability was spread via equipment (0.015; 5–95%, 0.0058–0.036) and for HPAI spread between farms, the pathway with the highest average median probability was spread via egg trays (3.70 × 10−5; 5–95%, 1.47 × 10−6–0.00034). As the spread model did not explicitly consider volume and frequency of the spread pathways, these results provide a comparison of spread probabilities per pathway. These findings highlight the importance of performing biosecurity practices to limit spread of the AI virus. The models can be updated as new information on the mechanisms of the AI virus and on the volume and frequency of movements shed-to-shed and of movements between commercial chicken farms becomes available.This study was funded by the Poultry Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) (Sub-project number 1.5.7) and by Woolworths Limited

Comparisons of management practices and farm design on Australian commercial layer and meat chicken farms: Cage, barn and free range

There are few published studies describing the unique management practices, farm design and housing characteristics of commercial meat chicken and layer farms in Australia. In particular, there has been a large expansion of free range poultry production in Australia in recent years, but limited information about this enterprise exists. This study aimed to describe features of Australian commercial chicken farms, with particular interest in free range farms, by conducting on-farm interviews of 25 free range layer farms, nine cage layer farms, nine barn layer farms, six free range meat chicken farms and 15 barn meat chicken farms in the Sydney basin bioregion and South East Queensland. Comparisons between the different enterprises (cage, barn and free range) were explored, including stocking densities, depopulation procedures, environmental control methods and sources of information for farmers. Additional information collected for free range farms include range size, range characteristics and range access. The median number of chickens per shed was greatest in free range meat chicken farms (31,058), followed by barn meat chicken (20,817), free range layer (10,713), barn layer (9,300) and cage layer farms (9,000). Sheds had cooling pads and tunnel ventilation in just over half of both barn and free range meat chicken farms (53%, n = 8) and was least common in free range layer farms (16%, n = 4). Range access in free range meat chicken farms was from sunrise to dark in the majority (93%, n = 14) of free range meat chicken farms. Over half of free range layer farms (56%, n = 14) granted range access at a set time each morning; most commonly between 9:00 to 10.00am (86%, n = 12), and chickens were placed back inside sheds when it was dusk.This study was supported by Poultry Cooperative Research Centre (CRC), http://www. poultrycrc.com.au/about-us/. The Poultry CRC provided the majority of funding for this project included post-doc activities and a stipend for the PhD student. This study was also supported by Woolworths Limited, https://www.woolworths com.au/. Woolworths provided extra financial support for this project when needed. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscri

Inclusive V0V^0 Production Cross Sections from 920 GeV Fixed Target Proton-Nucleus Collisions

Inclusive differential cross sections $d\sigma_{pA}/dx_F$ and $d\sigma_{pA}/dp_t^2$ for the production of \kzeros, \lambdazero, and \antilambda particles are measured at HERA in proton-induced reactions on C, Al, Ti, and W targets. The incident beam energy is 920 GeV, corresponding to $\sqrt {s} = 41.6$ GeV in the proton-nucleon system. The ratios of differential cross sections \rklpa and \rllpa are measured to be $6.2\pm 0.5$ and $0.66\pm 0.07$, respectively, for \xf $\approx-0.06$. No significant dependence upon the target material is observed. Within errors, the slopes of the transverse momentum distributions $d\sigma_{pA}/dp_t^2$ also show no significant dependence upon the target material. The dependence of the extrapolated total cross sections $\sigma_{pA}$ on the atomic mass $A$ of the target material is discussed, and the deduced cross sections per nucleon $\sigma_{pN}$ are compared with results obtained at other energies.Comment: 17 pages, 7 figures, 5 table