Alternative fruit fly management for market access for apples

Difficulty with control of Queensland fruit fly with four cultivars of apples on the Granite Belt, Qld. Warnings that the insecticides dimethoate & fenthion might be removed from the market for apples, had been current for several years. Dimethoate was widely used as a post harvest control measure as well as an in-field treatment. Fenthion also had and still has in-field usage. The project attempted to find a replacement for these control measures

New challenges for monetary policy in the twenty-first century

Developments in information and communications technologies, the increasing sophistication and deepening of financial markets and the ineluctable process of globalisation have profound implications for the conduct of monetary policy. This thesis identifies three areas in which the impact of such developments may be felt most acutely by modern central banks:\ the electronification of retail payments systems, the increasing frequency and severity of asset market cycles and the continuing integration of the global economy. The high profile debate concerning the threat of e--money to the efficacy of monetary policy has been largely resolved. It has, nevertheless, diverted attention away from other important concerns, including the potential for runs on service providers and systemic risks arising from unregulated offshore issuers. The importance of these issues can only be evaluated with reference to the importance of e--money as a payment instrument. However, e--money usage remains marginal at present and forecasts of its development indicate limited growth potential. This raises a number of regulatory issues. Firstly, regulators must ensure systemic security. Secondly, is existing regulation stifling innovation? Finally, can regulation be designed to promote innovation, and would this be desirable? This thesis argues that regulation must balance systemic security with the incentives for innovation, and proposes a general regulatory framework to this end. Since the onset of global financial crisis in mid 2007, it has become clear that central banks underestimate the macroeconomic influence of financial markets at their peril. The Minskyan financial fragility hypothesis asserts that inflation targeting monetary policy may contribute to financial fragility. The estimation of a small macroeconomic model lends substantial support to this view, suggesting that central banks should manipulate the interest rate with great care. However, it is within the power of the central bank to set differential reserve requirements by asset class, providing an additional policy instrument. This thesis proposes a simple approach in which interest rates and reserve requirements are used in a complementary manner. The majority of monetary policy research is conducted assuming either a closed, or small open economy. However, the exclusion of feedback effects renders these approaches inappropriate in many economically interesting cases. This thesis develops a simple stock--flow consistent model comprised of two mutually dependent economies with financial and real linkages. The performance of various stabilisation policies is analysed using this framework. The results call into question the ability of simple inflation--targeting rules to achieve price stability in an open economy and stress that a combined monetary and fiscal regime is necessary for effective stabilisation. The conclusion of this thesis is threefold. Firstly, regulators are rightly concerned with financial innovation but they must leave room for innovation and technological progress. Secondly, central banks must pursue interest rate policy with great care to avoid exacerbating financial fragility. Thirdly, the interest rate is not the sole instrument of monetary policy and, indeed, the central bank is not the sole institution capable of undertaking stabilisation policy.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Estimation of unsaturated zone traveltimes for Rainier Mesa and Shoshone Mountain, Nevada Test Site, Nevada, using a source-responsive preferential-flow model

Traveltimes for contaminant transport by water from a point in the unsaturated zone to the saturated zone are a concern at Rainier Mesa and Shoshone Mountain in the Nevada Test Site, Nevada. Where nuclear tests were conducted in the unsaturated zone, contaminants must traverse hundreds of meters of variably saturated rock before they enter the saturated zone in the carbonate rock, where the regional groundwater system has the potential to carry them substantial distances to a location of concern. The unsaturated-zone portion of the contaminant transport path may cause a significant delay, in addition to the time required to travel within the saturated zone, and thus may be important in the overall evaluation of the potential hazard from contamination. Downward contaminant transport through the unsaturated zone occurs through various processes and pathways; this can lead to a broad distribution of contaminant traveltimes, including exceedingly slow and unexpectedly fast extremes. Though the bulk of mobile contaminant arrives between the time-scale end members, the fastest contaminant transport speed, in other words the speed determined by the combination of possible processes and pathways that would bring a measureable quantity of contaminant to the aquifer in the shortest time, carries particular regulatory significance because of its relevance in formulating the most conservative hazard-prevention scenarios. Unsaturated-zone flow is usually modeled as a diffusive process responding to gravity and pressure gradients as mediated by the unsaturated hydraulic properties of the materials traversed. The mathematical formulation of the diffuse-flow concept is known as Richards' equation, which when coupled to a solute transport equation, such as the advection-dispersion equation, provides a framework to simulate contaminant migration in the unsaturated zone. In recent decades awareness has increased that much fluid flow and contaminant transport within the unsaturated zone takes place as preferential flow, faster than would be predicted by the coupled Richards' and advection-dispersion equations with hydraulic properties estimated by traditional means. At present the hydrologic community has not achieved consensus as to whether a modification of Richards' equation, or a fundamentally different formulation, would best quantify preferential flow. Where the fastest contaminant transport speed is what needs to be estimated, there is the possibility of simplification of the evaluation process. One way of doing so is by a two-step process in which the first step is to evaluate whether significant preferential flow and solute transport is possible for the media and conditions of concern. The second step is to carry out (a) a basic Richards' and advection-dispersion equation analysis if it is concluded that preferential flow is not possible or (b) an analysis that considers only the fastest possible preferential-flow processes, if preferential flow is possible. For the preferential-flow situation, a recently published model describable as a Source-Responsive Preferential-Flow (SRPF) model is an easily applied option. This report documents the application of this two-step process to flow through the thick unsaturated zones of Rainier Mesa and Shoshone Mountain in the Nevada Test Site. Application of the SRPF model involves distinguishing between continuous and intermittent water supply to preferential flow paths. At Rainier Mesa and Shoshone Mountain this issue is complicated by the fact that contaminant travel begins at a location deep in the subsurface, where there may be perched water that may or may not act like a continuous supply, depending on such features as the connectedness of fractures and the nature of impeding layers. We have treated this situation by hypothesizing both continuous and intermittent scenarios for contaminant transport to the carbonate aquifer and reporting estimation of the fastest speed for both of these end members

The global impact of COVID-19 on solid organ transplantation: two years into a pandemic

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had a major global impact on solid organ transplantation (SOT). An estimated 16% global reduction in transplant activity occurred over the course of 2020, most markedly impacting kidney transplant and living donor programs, resulting in substantial knock-on effects for waitlisted patients. The increased severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection risk and excess deaths in transplant candidates has resulted in substantial effort to prioritize the safe restart and continuation of transplant programs over the second year of the pandemic, with transplant rates returning towards prepandemic levels. Over the past 2 y, COVID-19 mortality in SOT recipients has fallen from 20%–25% to 8%–10%, attributed to the increased and early availability of SARS-CoV-2 testing, adherence to nonpharmaceutical interventions, development of novel treatments, and vaccination. Despite these positive steps, transplant programs and SOT recipients continue to face challenges. Vaccine efficacy in SOT recipients is substantially lower than the general population and SOT recipients remain at an increased risk of adverse outcomes if they develop COVID-19. SOT recipients and transplant teams need to remain vigilant and ongoing adherence to nonpharmaceutical interventions appears essential. In this review, we summarize the global impact of COVID-19 on transplant activity, donor evaluation, and patient outcomes over the past 2 y, discuss the current strategies aimed at preventing and treating SARS-CoV-2 infection in SOT recipients, and based on lessons learnt from this pandemic, propose steps the transplant community could consider as preparation for future pandemics

Hydraulic Property and Soil Textural Classification Measurements for Rainier Mesa, Nevada Test Site, Nevada

This report presents particle size analysis, field-saturated hydraulic conductivity measurements, and qualitative descriptions of surficial materials at selected locations at Rainier Mesa, Nevada. Measurements and sample collection were conducted in the Rainier Mesa area, including unconsolidated sediments on top of the mesa, an ephemeral wash channel near the mesa edge, and dry U12n tunnel pond sediments below the mesa. Particle size analysis used a combination of sieving and optical diffraction techniques. Field-saturated hydraulic conductivity measurements employed a single-ring infiltrometer with analytical formulas that correct for falling head and spreading outside the ring domain. These measurements may prove useful to current and future efforts at Rainier Mesa aimed at understanding infiltration and its effect on water fluxes and radionuclide transport in the unsaturated zone

Development of optimized conditions for Glaser-Hay bioconjugations

The efficient preparation of protein bioconjugates represents a route to novel materials, diagnostics, and therapeutics. We previously reported a novel bioorthogonal Glaser-Hay reaction for the preparation of covalent linkages between proteins and a reaction partner; however, deleterious protein degradation was observed under extended reaction conditions. Herein, we describe the systematic optimization of the reaction to increase coupling efficiency and decrease protein degradation. Two optimized conditions were identified varying either the pH of the reaction or the bidentate ligand employed, allowing for more rapid conjugations and/or less protein oxidation. (C) 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved