Search

Abstract. Recent theoretical research posits that a key factor in the development and maintenance of pathological worry is the avoidance of sudden emotional shifts. Recently two self-report instruments were developed to index this phenomenon (Contrast Avoidance Questionnaire – Worry [CAQ-W] and Contrast Avoidance Questionnaire – General Emotion [CAQ-GE]). This work employed a multi-study design to provide an independent evaluation of the latent structure of these measures; additionally, the validity and longitudinal predictive ability of the measures was examined. Findings of the factor analytic work support a two-factor solution for each of the questionnaires. These were defined as the following subscales: CAQ-W: Emotional Contrast; Negative Affect, and for the CAQ-GE: Avoidance; Discomfort. Test-retest reliability of the measure was strong and the identified subscales demonstrated differential predictive ability regarding future worry and depression. Results indicate that subscales related to the experience of negative affect rather than avoidance, display predictive utility of future symptoms. These findings are somewhat discrepant with extant literature on ecological momentary assessment (EMA) assessment of contrast avoidance indicating the need for refinement in the self-report measurement of this construct.

With the growing concern for issues related to climate change, the development of sustainable agricultural value chains is of prime concern. Using a Discrete Choice Experiment, we examine both firms and farmers prospective responses to the internalization of sustainability through contract farming in the Vietnamese rice sector. Our findings suggest that farmers are more willing to internalize environmental sustainable production standards in contract farming than agribusiness firms. The latter are found less likely to mandate GlobalGAP/VietGAP production standards due to the cost of implementation and the lack of institutional support. It may be more interesting for firms to invest in standards with lower entry barrier. Furthermore, the internalization of the socio-economic pillar of sustainability in contract farming may require stimulating demand for sustainable rice and providing an enabling institutional environment for both farmers and firms to grasp new market opportunities. Acknowledgement : This research was conducted as part of the CORIGAP project: Closing Rice Yield Gaps in Asia with Reduced Environmental Footprint. The project was funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). Additional funding was provided by the CGIAR Research Program on Rice. The authors would like to acknowledge Nguyen Thi Kieu and Nguyen Thi My Phung from the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD), Can Tho and An Giang, Vietnam for their excellent research support.

Two seemingly opposite evolutionary patterns of clinal variation in body size and associated life history traits exist in nature. According to Bergmann's rule, body size increases with latitude, a temperature effect. According to the converse Bergmann rule, body size decreases with latitude, a season length effect. A third pattern causally related to the latter is countergradient variation, whereby populations of a given species compensate seasonal limitations at higher latitudes by evolving faster growth and larger body sizes compared to their low latitude conspecifics. We discuss these patterns and argue that they are not mutually exclusive because they are driven by different environmental causes and proximate mechanisms; they therefore can act in conjunction, resulting in any intermediate pattern. Alternatively, Bergmann and converse Bergmann clines can be interpreted as over- and undercompensating countergradient variation, respectively. We illustrate this with data for the wide-spread yellow dung fly, Scathophaga stercoraria (Diptera: Scathophagidae), which in Europe shows a Bergmann cline for size and a converse Bergmann cline (i.e., countergradient variation) for development time. A literature review of the available evidence on arthropod latitudinal clines further shows a patterned continuum of responses. Converse Bergmann clines due to end-of-season time limitations are more common in larger species with longer development times. Our study thus provides a synthesis to the controversy about the importance of Bergmann's rule and the converse Bergmann rule in nature

1. Polyandry is common in insects. Nevertheless the evolutionary causes and consequences of this phenomenon remain contentious in part because of a lack of information about natural mating rates and the fact that most post copulatory processes are hidden from view within female reproductive tracts. 2. We captured wild female yellow dung flies (Scathophaga stercoraria) over the whole spring season and genotyped the sperm from their spermathecae to obtain information on sperm transfer sperm storage and natural levels of polyandry for this model species of post copulatory sexual selection research. 3. On average females stored sperm from a minimum of 2·47 males (based on the most conservative estimate). Incorporating knowledge of population allele frequencies yielded a slightly higher estimate of 3·33 mates per female. 4. Sperm storage and therefore sperm competition intensity showed high temporal variation. The proportion of multiply mated females (i.e. females with sperm from =2 males within their sperm stores) and the absolute number of ejaculates detected within females increased strongly over the spring season before sharply decreasing as midsummer approached. 5. Interestingly we detected a positive relationship between the number of stored ejaculates and females’ wing injuries suggesting that mating not only causes measurable cumulative damage to wild females but also provides a potential mechanism by which males may be able to assess the intensity of sperm competition within a female. 6. Our study found no evidence for intraejaculate sperm sorting but importantly the number of ejaculates in storage differed amongst the three sperm storage organs (spermathecae) of female yellow dung flies. Different sperm mixtures across the spermathecae could enable females to bias paternity towards certain males if females can selectively use sperm from a certain spermatheca at the time of fertilization.

The International Consortium on Applied Bioeconomy Research (ICABR) held its 15th annual conference near Rome, Italy in June 2011. The theme of the conference was sustainability, and this topic was addressed through numerous presentations from academia, government, and industry. Numerous presentations from developing countries highlighted the adoption benefits of the biotechnologies in these countries