Impact of some crop management practices on tomato infestation/infection by the whitefly-begomovirus complex in Cuba

Introduction. In the framework of the INCO-BETOCARIB Project titled "Begomovirus disease management for sustainable production of tomato in the Caribbean" which operated from 2003- 2006, we conducted a survey aiming at assessing the impact of cultural practices on the infestation/infection of tomato plots by whitefly (Bemisia tabaci)/begomovirus (TYLCV). Materials & Methods. The survey was conducted in the West and Central regions of Cuba in respectively 100 and 96 tomato plots in open fields (71% of the plots) and under shelter (29%). Results and Conclusion. Analysis of data showed that both TYLC resistant (e.g. Vyta and ARO 8479F1) and susceptible (e.g. Amalia and HC 3880) cultivars were cultivated in open fields whereas only resistant cultivars were cultivated in sheltered plots. In open fields, TYLC disease incidence and severity were found to be significantly higher on susceptible, compared to resistant cultivars. Whitefly infestation and TYLCV incidence were higher in the West region as compared to the Central region, while the reverse was observed for severity of the disease. Whitefly infestation in open fields was high when no chemical protection measure was applied in the nursery and low under high chemical protection. The reverse tended to be observed when considering chemical application in the field, which might be an indirect indication that chemical protection negatively affects natural regulation processes. Implications of the results of this survey for agroecological management of the vector/disease complex in Cuba are discussed. (Résumé d'auteur

AN INTEGRATED APPROACH TO PREVENT THE EROSION OF SALT MARSHES IN THE LAGOON OF VENICE

The loss of coastal habitats is a widespread problem in Europe. To protect the intertidal salt marshes of the lagoon of Venice from the erosion due to natural and human causes which is diffusely and intensely impacting them, the European Commission has funded the demonstrative project LIFE VIMINE. LIFE VIMINE aims to protect the most interior, hard-to-access salt marshes in the northern lagoon of Venice through an integrated approach, whose core is the prevention of erosion through numerous, small but spatially-diffuse soil-bioengineering protections works, mainly placed through semi-manual labour and with low impact on the environment and the landscape. The effectiveness of protection works in the long term is ensured through routine, temporally-continuous and spatially-diffuse actions of monitoring and maintenance. This method contrasts the common approach to managing hydraulic risk and erosion in Italy which is based on large, one-off and irreversible protection actions. The sustainability of the LIFE VIMINE approach is ensured by the participatory involvement of stakeholders and the recognition that protecting salt marshes means defending the benefits they provide to society through their ecological functions, as well as protecting the jobs linked to the existence or conservation of this habitat

Attention Capture by Direct Gaze is Robust to Context and Task Demands

The final publication is available at Springer via https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10919-011-0128-z.Eye-tracking was used to investigate whether gaze direction would influence the visual scanning of faces, when presented in the context of a full character, in different social settings, and with different task demands. Participants viewed individual computer agents against either a blank background or a bar scene setting, during both a free-viewing task and an attractiveness rating task for each character. Faces with a direct gaze were viewed longer than faces with an averted gaze regardless of body context, social settings, and task demands. Additionally, participants evaluated characters with a direct gaze as more attractive than characters with an averted gaze. These results, obtained with pictures of computer agents rather than real people, suggest that direct gaze is a powerful attention grabbing stimulus that is robust to background context or task demands.103305-1/Canadian Institutes of Health Research89822-1/Canadian Institutes of Health Research103305-1/PHS HHS/United States89822-1/PHS HHS/United State

Développement de la méthodologie d'étude de l'implantation optimale de plantes-pièges pour la régulation des infestations et dégâts des ravageurs des cultures maraîchères en Afrique sahélienne

Dans le contexte actuel de changement climatique, l'lCRISAT ct ses partenaires au Niger, particulièrement l'AVRDC (World Vegetable Center) et la Fédération des Coopératives Mamie hères du Niger (FCMN-Niya) promeuvent des systèmes de culture maraîchers économes en eau, soit à base d'irrigation goutte-à-goutte comme le Jardin Potager Africain, soit à base d'infiltration des eaux de pluie comme le système de Biorécupération des Terres Dégradées. Les cultures de tomate et de gombo y subissant d'importants dégâts d'insectes ravageurs, le CIRAD, l'Université Abdou moumouni de Niamey et l'INRAN cherchent des moyens de minimiser ces dégâts et l'utilisation des pesticides de Synthèse, avec une approche agroécologique, fondée notamment sur l'utilisation de plantes-pièges. Des essais ont ainsi été conduits à cette fin de 2008 à 2010 sur la station de l'ICRISAT à Sadoré, en appui à d'autres études menées parallèlement sur la station de l'INRAN à Birni N'Konni. Ils ont notamment impliquées piégeages d'insectes (pièges lumineux, pièges jaunes, pièges à phéromones), des suivis de développement et de phénologie des cultures et plantes-pièges. Bien que la pression de la noctuelle Helicoverpa armigera (principal ravageur de la tomate et du gombo) ait été faible au niveau des essais conduits à Sadoré, des résultats intéressants ont été obtenus, apportant un nouvel éclairage d'une part sur la définition de stratégies de lutte: détermination de la pertinence de la recherche d'effets "barrière" et/ou du recours à des répulsifs en complément de l'effet attractif de plantes-pièges, dans une approche de type "push-pull assisté". D'autre part, ces résultats contribuent à l'optimisation des modalités d'implantation spatio-temporelle de plantes-pièges par rapport aux cultures à protéger, et au développement de la méthodologie d'étude surtout par rapport à l'intérêt de l'infestation artificielle en cas de faible pression de ravageurs. (Résumé d'auteur

Evaluation of the perceived colour difference under different lighting for museum applications

The role of lighting in museums has a fundamental importance. Light influences the perception of colours and space in the collections on display, therefore, any type of lighting must be adequately analysed to confirm the suitability and undistorted colour rendering of the illuminated objects. A two-stage perceptual test was carried out for this purpose. Initially, the participants were asked to evaluate the illuminants according to criteria such as: the brilliance of the colours, the degree of pleasantness of the lighting and the degree of overall satisfaction of the setting. Subsequently, the efficiency of different illuminants for the identification of colour differences between two objects was tested. The results obtained were then compared with the most commonly used colour rendering and colour difference indicators in order to determine their potential and limits

The role of individual social responsibility and corporate social responsibility in the tax fraud war: a comparison between the priorities of Italian and Romanian consumers

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) and fiscal responsibility have become a hot topic of debate in recent years. Many studies have investigated CSR and tax avoidance; however, such studies have overlooked countries' tax cultures and fiscal responsibility from a historical perspective and have not addressed how these elements affect current tax avoidance practices. Using a questionnaire, that was administered to a sample of Italian and Romanian respondents, and inferential techniques (Mann–Whitney-test and correlation-test) the paper tries to understand the aspects that be useful in the future development and implementation of more robust fiscal ISR and CSR processes. Our results reveal similarities and differences between the relevance of certain aspects between countries, identifying tax culture as a distinctive element from a geographical point of view. Despite the considerable differences, we found a strong demand for greater transparency of the company with administrations and communities and desire for the development of initiatives to spread a responsible tax culture

Digital subtraction radiographic analysis of the combination of bioabsorbable membrane and bovine morphogenetic protein pool in human periodontal infrabony defects

Objectives: This study assessed the bone density gain and its relationship with the periodontal clinical parameters in a case series of a regenerative therapy procedure. Material and Methods: Using a split-mouth study design, 10 pairs of infrabony defects from 15 patients were treated with a pool of bovine bone morphogenetic proteins associated with collagen membrane (test sites) or collagen membrane only (control sites). The periodontal healing was clinically and radiographically monitored for six months. Standardized presurgical and 6-month postoperative radiographs were digitized for digital subtraction analysis, which showed relative bone density gain in both groups of 0.034 ± 0.423 and 0.105 ± 0.423 in the test and control group, respectively (p>0.05). Results: As regards the area size of bone density change, the influence of the therapy was detected in 2.5 mm2 in the test group and 2 mm2 in the control group (p>0.05). Additionally, no correlation was observed between the favorable clinical results and the bone density gain measured by digital subtraction radiography (p>0.05). Conclusions: The findings of this study suggest that the clinical benefit of the regenerative therapy observed did not come with significant bone density gains. Long-term evaluation may lead to a different conclusions

Morphological characteristics and distribution of Colletotrichum isolates morphotypes infecting mango (Mangifera indica L.) in the north of Côte d'Ivoire

Anthracnose caused by Colletotrichum species is the most important field and postharvest disease infecting mango worldwide. A survey was conducted in the seven mango producing districts in the north of Côte d'Ivoire to identify and characterize Colletotrichum species isolates associated with mango leaves necrosis and fruit rots. A total of 70 isolates were identified based on morphological and cultural characters. Most of isolate colour were grey or grey whitish (36%), cottony (71%) with cylindrical conidia (97%) rounded on both ends (57%). Three texture types were observed in colonies of the seventy isolates. Most of the isolates were cottony (71%) followed by abundant aspect (23%) and closely appressed (6%). According to conidia shape, two species of Colletotrichum; Colletotrichum gloeosporioides (97%) and C. acutatum(3%) were identified in the seventy isolates. Conidia length and width varied respectively from 15.4to 19.7μm and 4.8 to 5.2 μm. The Average Linear Growth Rate (ALGR) 7 days after culture varied from 0.76 to 0.91 cm day-1. Multivariate analysis grouped the 70 isolates into four morphotypes containing, respectively: 5 (7%), 7 (10%), 17 (24%) and 41 (59%) isolates. Isolates of morphotype 1 were characterized by whitish obverse and reverse colour with an abundant mycelia aerial aspect. The second morphotypes were represented by isolates with obverse and reverse brownish grey colour and contained both conidia with two rounded ends, and one rounded and one sharped ends. The third morphotype consisted of isolates with obverse and reverse grey whitish colour. The fourth morphotype consisted of isolates with obverse and reverse respectively dark grey and grey or vice versa. Conidial length and width of morphotypes varied, respectively, from 14.5 to 17.2 μm and 4.6 to 5.2 μm. ALGR of morphotypes varied from 0.84 to 0.87 μm day-1. The present study highlighted that morphological variation of Colletotrichum species existed among the different isolates and the districts surveyed. However, to overcome the inadequacies of this traditional morphological identification, sequence analyses are needed to be carried out to confirm the identity of these Colletotrichum species isolates

Engineering-geological modelling as a tool for archaeological site preservation strategies

Traditionally, cultural heritage (CH) site conservation strategies have mostly focused on the employment of procedures to protect archaeological exhibits from weathering processes. However, CH -sites are often located in areas affected by geological hazards, which can threaten the conservation of the site itself. For these cases, engineering -geological modelling is an essential tool to design conservation strategies for geohazards management in the framework of CH -site preservation. The research here proposed is focused on the Punta Eolo promontory at Ventotene island (Italy) where the remnant of the roman "Villa Giulia" emperor palace is hosted. Detailed engineering -geological surveying has been carried out at Punta Eolo. In particular, engineering -geological investigations have been coupled with remote investigation of the area of interest. Thanks to the engineering -geological surveys, a detailed engineering -geological map was drafted, also highlighting the geomechanical setting of the Parata Grande Tuff formation (hereinafter, PGT). The presence of a superficial deposit, mainly composed of archaeological material overlaying a tuffaceous unit, was evidenced. To bound this layer's thickness more effectively, 52 single -station seismic noise measurements were carried out. Seismic ambient noise measurements show significant horizontal -to -vertical spectral ratio (HVSR) resonance peaks at 3 Hz, a variable secondary peak ranging from 9 to 19 14 Hz, respectively related with the contact between the PGT and the underlying lavas and the superficial deposits and PGT units. The measurements conducted at the edge of the promontory show evidence of polarization of the particle motion potentially related to the vibrational behavior of the unstable rock blocks that bound all the site. A 3D model of the cliff, reconstructed by drone photogrammetry technique, allowed to perform the rock mass joints surveying along the not -accessible cliff faces, as well as to visualize the superficial deposits thickness all around the perimeter of the promontory. Additionally, a 3D geological model was made using the RockWorks 16 program to facilitate a more direct visualization of site -specific features. The engineering -geological model here presented enables the development of an efficient conservation strategy for the Villa Giulia archeological site, as a critical tool for mitigating geological risks. Furthermore, future archaeological excavation will be driven by the reconstructed geological model of Punta Eolo