Study of an outbreak of Prostephanus truncatus (Horn) in Tanzania. Report of the Tropical Products Institute (G164)

A comprehensive survey of the Tabora region of Tanzania was undertaken to observe the distribution of Prostephanus truncatus (the greater grain borer), a pest of stored maize. The pest was found in grain stores in 46 villages from a total of 56 examined, in all four districts of the region, being absent only in eastern lgunga, a sorghum-growing area, and in the southern part of the Taoora district. The pest was found in the Shinyanga region and in markets in the Mwanza region and at stores at Kilosa in the Morogoro region. After 4-6 months storage, maize samples collected from the villages in the Tabora region exhibited as much as 34% weight loss. Damage on this scale in a period of very dry weather, in very dry maize (average 11.2% moisture content) is extraordinarily high and demonstrates the destructive nature of this pest. Without doubt the pest will cause both a serious and widespread grain shortage in the region later and a dearth of seed grain for the coming growing season. Besides attacking maize, the pest also heavily damaged cassava and, to a lesser extent, other commodities such as groundnuts. Wooden implements and storage structures were also damaged. From the survey it is concluded that P. truncatus has become very well established in West Central Tanzania and is of major importance as a pest of stored produce. The outbreak must be seen to be of grave significance to the region. Unless effective measures to control and contain it are rigidly enforced the pest will spread throughout the rest of the country. The beetle poses a very real threat throughout East and Central Africa. Insecticide trials were established to assess the effectiveness of different treatments for the control of this pest in farm storage. These trials will continue. This account of the investigation was prepared whilst the team was in Tanzania. It was presented together with specific recommendations for the control and containment of the infestation at a final meeting between the team and the Ministry of Agriculture. The Tanzanian authorities have already taken steps to inform the international community through the FAO. They also agreed that the scientific results of the investigation could be made generally available

Effect of nuclear interactions of neutral kaons on CP asymmetry measurements

We examine the effect of the difference in nuclear interactions of ${K}^0$ and $\bar{K}^0$ mesons on the measurement of CP asymmetry for experiments at $e^+e^-$ colliders - charm and $B$-meson factories. We find that this effect on CP asymmetry can be as large as 0.3%, and therefore sufficiently significant in interpreting measurements of CP asymmetry when neutral kaons are present in the final state.Comment: accepted to PR

Staying Alive: North American Competitiveness and the Challenge of Asia

While analyses of North American integration after NAFTA continue to stress outdated notions of country-to-country trade and the exchange of finished products across national borders, our paper starts from the premise that what we have now is a single, integrated regional economic system whose expansion has followed the pace and contours of business strategies emphasizing continentally-integrated supply chains, but whose management via regulatory and policy coordination has lagged dangerously behind. Most dangerous of all has been the massive gap between our region\u27s infrastructure needs – ports, transportation, and borders – and what has been coordinated and facilitated by the public sector. In this paper we investigate this current impasse from the point of view of reframing the competition with Asia\u27s export giants – in particular China – as an impetus to enhance the competitive edge not of our national economies but rather of the regional economic system as a whole. We highlight the potential for synergy between the dynamism of cross-border regions such as the Pacific Northwest and their gateway strategies of coping with booming trade with Asia, on the one hand, and the aim of enhancing North American regional competitiveness via a more rationalized and effective continental transportation and infrastructure strategy. For example, British Columbia\u27s plans to expand the Prince Rupert port facility, or the West Coast Corridor Coalition\u27s plans for transportation links from B.C. [British Columbia] to B.C. [Baja California] would do well to explore their potential to connect with developing transportation networks and trade corridors in the center of the continent, as well as emerging export centers on the Eastern seaboard (Halifax/Atlantica), and on Mexico\u27s Pacific coast. In keeping with North America\u27s unique integration pattern – decentralized and business-driven – this focus on cross-border regions and public-private partnerships could bridge the infrastructure gap, linking local concerns with greater continental prosperity

SPP and the Way Forward for North American Integration

During the past year, relations among the NAFTA partners took on an increasingly two-tier structure. More visible were a widening array of disagreements over issues including BMD, Iraq, US demands on passports, the Senate’s vote to keep the border shut to Canadian cattle, alleged American gun trafficking and, above all, Washington’s efforts to evade the NAFTA ruling on softwood lumber. Yet, despite this mix of genuine grievances and political posturing, we saw substantial movement toward a more efficient North American economic system. Reports from the Security and Prosperity Partnership Working Groups set up after the Bush-Fox-Martin meeting in Waco, Texas, illustrated a wide array of activities under the politico-journalistic radar. Perhaps more important are the myriad of business- and community-driven initiatives underway to expand and improve cross-border links. How much of all of this will actually lead to concrete results is unclear. But several conclusions are evident. One is that this movement is driven by deepening interdependence. The second is that the current two-tier process in which national leaders kick each other in the shins while businesses and bureaucrats in federal, state, and municipal governments and community groups squirrel away to repair problems in the North American system will not work. Third is that integration-by-stealth is also unacceptable. The time has come to examine carefully what is happening in North America, to explore what our interests are in this emerging continental system, and to open a dialogue about different, even competing, visions of North America. The dialogue should involve perspectives from different regions, different economic and social sectors, and those who oppose as well as support integration. The process must get outside of the beltways—it must give voice to community and economic leaders who are most deeply involved in this new system

A review of the storage and marketing systems of major food grains in Northern Ghana

This study was conducted to determine the constraints to maintaining good quality grain in store on the farm and to marketing produce surplus to food needs. Two regions were visited, Northern Region, where maize is the main cereal staple, and Upper East, where maize is replaced by millet and sorghum. Farmers and traders were interviewed in groups or individually in both villages and markets

Studying patterns of use of transport modes through data mining - Application to U.S. national household travel survey data set

Data collection activities related to travel require large amounts of financial and human resources to be conducted successfully. When available resources are scarce, the information hidden in these data sets needs to be exploited, both to increase their added value and to gain support among decision makers not to discontinue such efforts. This study assessed the use of a data mining technique, association analysis, to understand better the patterns of mode use from the 2009 U.S. National Household Travel Survey. Only variables related to self-reported levels of use of the different transportation means are considered, along with those useful to the socioeconomic characterization of the respondents. Association rules potentially showed a substitution effect between cars and public transportation, in economic terms but such an effect was not observed between public transportation and nonmotorized modes (e.g., bicycling and walking). This effect was a policy-relevant finding, because transit marketing should be targeted to car drivers rather than to bikers or walkers for real improvement in the environmental performance of any transportation system. Given the competitive advantage of private modes extensively discussed in the literature, modal diversion from car to transit is seldom observed in practice. However, after such a factor was controlled, the results suggest that modal diversion should mainly occur from cars to transit rather than from nonmotorized modes to transi

Coping strategies adopted by small-scale farmers in Tanzania and Kenya to counteract problems caused by storage pests, particularly the Larger Grain Borer

Final Technical Report, Project R 6952 (1 May 1997 - 31 December 1998)