The Development of a Sex Pheromone Lure for the American Plum Borer, \u3ci\u3eEuzophera Semifuneralis\u3c/i\u3e (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae), a Major Pest of Cherry in Michigan.

Pheromone components of the American plum borer, Euzophera semifuneralis, were defined by use of the electroantennogram screening technique and capillary gas chromatographic retention times of sex pheromone gland constituents. Field studies showed that greatest attraction was achieved with a 1 mg load rate of a 4-component blend in a rubber septum. This blend consisted of a 2:1 ratio of Z,E-9,12-14:ALD and Z9-14:ALD and an equal amount of the corresponding alcohols in a 2:1 ratio, respectively. Commercial lures were used to compare the flight patterns of the American plum borer, peachtree borer (Synanthedon exitiosa), and lesser peachtree borer (Synanthedon pictipes) adults in Michigan in 1988

Natural Enemies of Cranberry Fruitworm, \u3ci\u3eAcrobasis Vaccinii\u3c/i\u3e, (Lepidoptera: Pyraudae) in Michigan Highbush Blueberries

A two-year study was conducted in Michigan highbush blueberries to determine the complex of parasitoids attacking cranberry fruitworm, Acrobasis vaccinii. Eight parasitoid species and one fungal pathogen were collected. Parasitism of collected hosts ranged from 6.6% to 28.1%. The more common larval parasitoid encountered was Campoletis patsuiketorum (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae). The more common parasitoid recovered from fruitworm hibernacula was Villa lateralis (Diptera: Bombyliidae). This study documented six unreported natural enemies of cranberry fruitworm, including C. patsuiketorum; V. lateralis; Diadegma compressum (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae); Compsilura concinnata (Diptera: Tachinidae); Memorilla pyste (Diptera: Tachinidae); an undescribed Microtypus species (Hymenoptera: Braconidae); and a fungal pathogen, Paecilomyces near farinosus. This is the first known host association for the undescribed Microtypus species, and increases the known parasitoid complex of cranberry fruitworm to 17 species

MODELING EXTENSIVE LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION SYSTEMS: AN APPLICATION TO SHEEP PRODUCTION IN KAZAKHSTAN

A stochastic dynamic programming model for extensive livestock systems is developed. The model optimizes sales/retention decisions when future forage production, which affects animal performance and hence profitability, is uncertain. The model is applied to sheep production in Kazakhstan to evaluate policy alternatives.Livestock Production/Industries,

A Detailed Hydro-Economic Model for Assessing the Effects of Surface Water and Groundwater Policies: A Demonstration Model from Brazil

Policymakers, managers of water use associations, and many others in developing countries are considering policy actions that will directly or indirectly change the costs and availability of groundwater and surface water for agricultural users. While in many cases such actions may bring about welcomed increases in water use efficiency, little is known about the likely effects of changes in irrigation costs or water access on farmer behavior, or on farmer incomes in the short or long runs, and virtually nothing is known about the detailed immediate or knock-on effects on water resources that such policy actions might cause. This paper reports the preliminary results of research aiming to fill these large scientific gaps by developing a detailed hydrologic model and a detailed economic model of agriculture in the context of the Buriti Vermelho (BV) sub-catchment area of the São Francisco River Basin in Brazil. A spatially explicit, farm-level, positive mathematical programming model capable of accommodating a broad array of farm sizes and farm/farmer characteristics is being developed to predict the effects of alternative water policies and neighbors water use patterns on agricultural production. Special attention is given to precisely defining and estimating the distinct variable costs (including labor and electrical energy costs) and capital costs of surface water and groundwater, which are considered perfect substitutes for irrigation. Shadow values for non-marketed inputs (land, family labor, and water) are estimated in the first step of the modeling process. A high-resolution, spatially distributed hydrologic model (MOD-HMS) is being developed to simulate three-dimensional, variably-saturated subsurface flow and solute transport. Subsurface flow is simulated using the three-dimensional Richards equation while accounting for a) application of water at the surface, b) precipitation, c) soil evaporation and crop transpiration, and d) agricultural pumping. Demonstration versions of both models are presented and tested: the economic model assesses the effects of increasing water scarcity on cultivated area, crop mix, input mix and farm profits; the hydrologic model uses two irrigation water use scenarios to demonstrate the effects of each on surface water flows and storage, and on groundwater storage and well depth. The models are not currently linked, but a detailed plan to do so is presented and discussed. The paper concludes by discussing next steps in research and policy simulations.Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

The Ubiquitin Ligase Adaptor NDFIP1 Selectively Enforces a CD8⁺ T Cell Tolerance Checkpoint to High-Dose Antigen

Escape from peripheral tolerance checkpoints that control cytotoxic CD8+ T cells is important for cancer immunotherapy and autoimmunity, but pathways enforcing these checkpoints are mostly uncharted. We reveal that the HECT-type ubiquitin ligase activator, NDFIP1, enforces a cell-intrinsic CD8+ T cell checkpoint that desensitizes TCR signaling during in vivo exposure to high antigen levels. Ndfip1-deficient OT-I CD8+ T cells responding to high exogenous tolerogenic antigen doses that normally induce anergy aberrantly expanded and differentiated into effector cells that could precipitate autoimmune diabetes in RIP-OVAhi mice. In contrast, NDFIP1 was dispensable for peripheral deletion to low-dose exogenous or pancreatic islet-derived antigen and had little impact upon effector responses to Listeria or acute LCMV infection. These data provide evidence that NDFIP1 mediates a CD8+ T cell tolerance checkpoint, with a different mechanism to CD4+ T cells, and indicates that CD8+ T cell deletion and anergy are molecularly separable checkpoints.This work was funded by NIH grant U19-AI100627, by an Australian Government Research Training Program Domestic Scholarship (to M.V.W.), by a Sydney Parker Smith Postdoctoral Research Fellowship from the Cancer Council of Victoria (to J.M.M.), and by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) through Program Grants 1016953, 1113904, and 1054925, Australia Fellowship 585490 (to C.C.G.), Senior Principal Research Fellowship 1081858 (to C.C.G.), CJ Martin Early Career Fellowship 585518 (to I.A.P.), and Independent Research Institutes Infrastructure Support Scheme Grant 361646. Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health and WEHI acknowledge the strong support from the Victorian Government and in particular funding from the Operational Infrastructure Support Grant