Search

The mealybug, Planococcus ficus (Signoret), is a primary vineyard pest in California and other grape-growing regions throughout the World. Mating disruption programs are commercially available to manage Pl. ficus , but widespread adoption has been limited, in part, by high costs compared with insecticide programs. To improve mating disruption economic effectiveness, different deployment technologies (passive, aerosol, and microencapsulated formulations) were individually examined. Adult male Pl. ficus captures in pheromone traps and categorical ratings of vine infestation or crop damage suggest that all deployment strategies lowered mealybug densities or damage. Using passive dispensers, deployment rates of 310 and 465 per ha lowered Pl. ficus crop damage similar to 615 per ha, a rate commonly used in commercial operations; reduced rates would lower product and deployment costs. Meso dispensers, containing more a.i. deployed at 35 per ha did not have a treatment impact, but a microencapsulated formulation and aerosol canisters lowered male flight captures and/or crop damage. Male mealybug flight activity was greatest from 0500–1100 hr, which coincided with temperatures >16° and <32°C. These restricted times and temperatures suggest programable dispensers might allow pheromone deployment to coincide only with flight patterns. A large field trial using passive dispensers found greater treatment separation after 3 yr of pheromone deployment. Discrepancies in results among vineyards may be related to Pl. ficus density, but combined results from all trials suggest that different deployment technologies can be used to impact Pl. ficus densities and damage, even at reduced rates, especially with continued use over multiple seasons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

United States-based biorepositories are on the cusp of substantial change in regulatory oversight at the same time that they are increasingly including samples and data from large populations, e.g. all patients in healthcare system. It is appropriate to engage stakeholders from these populations in new governance arrangements. We sought to describe community recommendations for biorepository governance and oversight using deliberative community engagement (DCE), a qualitative research method designed to elicit lay perspectives on complex technical issues. We asked for stakeholders to provide input on governance of large biorepositories at the University of California (UC), a public university. We defined state residents as stakeholders and recruited residents from two large metropolitan areas, Los Angeles (LA) and San Francisco (SF). In LA, we recruited English and Spanish speakers; in SF the DCE was conducted in English only. We recruited individuals who had completed the 2009 California Health Interview Survey and were willing to be re-contacted for future studies. Using stratified random sampling (by age, education, race/ethnicity), we contacted 162 potential deliberants of whom 53 agreed to participate and 51 completed the 4-day DCE in June (LA) and September-October (SF), 2013. Each DCE included discussion among deliberants facilitated by a trained staff and simultaneously-translated in LA. Deliberants also received a briefing book describing biorepository operations and regulation. During the final day of the DCE, deliberants voted on governance and oversight recommendations using an audience response system. This paper describes 23 recommendations (of 57 total) that address issues including: educating the public, sharing samples broadly, monitoring researcher behavior, using informative consent procedures, and involving community members in a transparent process of biobank governance. This project demonstrates the feasibility of obtaining meaningful input on biorepository governance from diverse lay stakeholders. Such input should be considered as research institutions respond to changes in biorepository regulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Experiments conducted in three almond, Prunus dulcis (Rosales: Rosaceae), orchards and three pistachio, Pistacia vera (Sapindales: Anicardiaceae), orchards in 2009 and 2010, and determined that sticky bottom wing traps baited with ground pistachio mummies, or a combination of ground pistachio plus ground almond mummies, trapped more adult female navel orangeworm, Amyelois transitella (Walker) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae), than did traps baited with ground almond mummies alone. During both years of this study, 2.9 and 1.8 more moths were caught in traps baited with pistachio mummies compared with traps baited with almond mummies in almond orchards and pistachio orchards, respectively. Also, traps located in pistachio orchards caught 5.9 and 8.3 times more navel orangeworm than were trapped from almond orchards in 2009 and 2010, respectively. Implications for use of this novel baited trap in almond and pistachio orchard integrated pest management programs are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study on the sources of knowledge surrogates rely upon when figuring a patient's prognosis. The study conducted a face-to-face interview with 179 surrogate decision-makers at the University of California, San Francisco Medical Center. Results indicated that surrogates apply various forms of knowledge when estimating the prognoses of their loved ones, including the patients' individualized attributes unknown to the physicians, which may serve as guidelines for prognosis.

Oviposition of Graphocephala atropunctata (Signoret) (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae), the blue-green sharpshooter, was assessed on wild grape, Vitis girdiana Munson, in southern California. Female blue-green sharpshooter preferred to oviposit into new growth, primarily succulent young grape tendrils and canes. The midrib and petioles of small grape leaves also were used for oviposition, but to a lesser extent. Mature canes, and medium- and large-sized leaves were not used for oviposition. Two parasitoids, Gonatocerus latipennis Girault and Polynema sp. (both Hymenoptera: Mymaridae) were reared from field collected blue-green sharpshooter eggs. Polynema sp. and G. latipennis constitute the first documented egg parasitoids of blue-green sharpshooter. Deployment of sentinel plants and reciprocal tests were implemented and further confirmed the parasitization of blue-green sharpshooter eggs by these two parasitoid species. Yellow sticky card trap catch of adult blue-green sharpshooter was significantly correlated to combined blue-green sharpshooter nymphal and Polynema sp. emergence in 2004, but not in 2005. A degree-clay model was developed for onset of blue-green sharpshooter flight activity and emergence in the field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Abscised date fruit, Phoenix dactylifera, become developmental sites for various insect pests when they are trapped in tight date bunches. We developed a ‘Deglet Noor’ date bunch cleaning tool that, with minimal investment in time and labor, can remove abscised fruit from the bunch. We field tested the cleaning tool at five plots in four Southern California date gardens during the 2004 growing season and four field plots at four date gardens during the 2005 growing season. Over a 5 week sampling interval, after using the date cleaning tool a single time, we found a 53–93% reduction in the number of abscised fruit and a corresponding 52–91% reduction in the number of carob moth, Ectomyelois ceratoniae, infested fruit compared to the non-treated area in 2004. In 2005, we found a reduction in abscised fruit that ranged from 73% to 94% and a 67% to 99% reduction in carob moth infested fruit. We provide a list of all materials and instructions to properly construct and use the cleaning tool. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Few studies have examined academic researchers' understandings of or attitudes toward conflict of interest policies even though these understandings and attitudes represent a crucial component of both compliance and educational efforts. This study reports the results of a large-scale, cross-sectional survey of research faculty at the nine campuses of the University of California regarding their understandings of and attitudes toward campus conflict of interest policies. We gathered information on their general assessments of investigators with financial ties to industry sponsors and reactions to the process of implementing conflict of interest policies at their respective campuses. We surveyed 1,971 faculty members from the nine-campus University of California system and had 779 responses (39% response rate). The sampled faculty were in the ten departments with the most number of financial disclosures at each campus. We utilized the WebSurveyor software to create a secure, online, 21-item survey. Our study reveals faculty with complex, sometimes contradictory, feelings about academic-industry relationships and highlights perceived gaps in policy and process. Most respondents were concerned about unlimited financial relationships, but a sizable number also viewed campus policies as irrelevant. Some expressed considerable anger over the process of policy implementation, rejecting the policies on the basis of professional and individual self-determination and moral integrity. Our study suggests the need for renewed efforts to encourage awareness of the relevance of conflict of interest policies for all faculty, new efforts to increase understanding of the situational nature of conflicts of interest, and a reexamination of the processes of policy implementation at the campus level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a case study of the University of California at San Francisco, to assess the extent to which faculty researchers have personal financial relationships with the sponsors of their research, the nature of those relationships, and efforts made at the institutional level to address disclosed financial relationships and perceived conflicts of interest. Methods; Results; Conclusions.

Despite a decade of federal regulation and debate over the appropriateness of financial ties in research and their management, little is known about the actual decision-making processes of university conflict of interest (COI) committees. This paper analyzes in detail the discussions and decisions of three COI committees at three public universities in California. University committee members struggle to understand complex financial relationships and reconcile institutional, state, and federal policies and at the same time work to protect the integrity of the scientific process, the autonomy and intellectual freedom of their faculty colleagues and students, and the financial interests of the university.

Amid concerns that clinical and basic research is increasingly vulnerable to pressure from industry sponsors, many federal agencies and professional organizations are recommending new or revised policies regardingfinancial disclosure and conflicts of interest. Despite pressure for greater external regulation and common professional standards, little is known about how existing policies are implemented. We analyze the implementation of conflict-of-interest policies within the multicampus University of California system. We show that there is variation among campuses in defining problematic relationships and in determining appropriate remedies to mitigate conflicts of interest. Our study suggests the importance of local culture and context for institutional decision making.