The impact of external knowledge sourcing on innovation outcomes in rural and urban businesses in the U.S.

This paper examines the relationship between external knowledge sourcing and a diverse set of innovation outcomes in rural and urban establishments in the U.S. Existing studies in the broader knowledge management literature principally examine firms in a single industry, overwhelmingly rely on patent data to proxy for innovation, and cannot account for the innovations of businesses in rural American markets. By addressing these limitations using data from the 2014 Rural Establishment Innovation Survey of the USDA's Economic Research Service, this research provides novel insights into how externally acquired knowledge by American establishments may support innovation. Results of the analysis suggest that external knowledge sourcing may specifically promote product, process, and green innovation in U.S. firms. While collective results when external sources of information are divided by industry orientation fail to show that sources outside of a firm's industry play a dominant role in the innovation processes of American establishments in general, findings provide evidence for an outsized impact of these relationships within rural establishments specifically and suggest that external knowledge sourcing from extra‐industry organizations is most critical for promoting successful innovation in rural firms. Results additionally indicate that knowledge sourcing from non‐local organizations may be more important for supporting innovation in rural compared to urban markets.     

B-mode ultrasound examination of canine mammary gland neoplastic lesions of small size (diameter < 2 cm)

Ultrasonography is a valuable tool for the evaluation of neoplastic lesions in the dog and there is a growing interest in the use of this technique for the stadiation of canine mammary tumours. An accurate assessment of small sized nodules facilitates the stadiation of the mammary lesions and helps the clinician in the choice of the most indicated surgical therapy. The aim of this study was to identify those ultrasound criteria that may be useful in discriminating between benign and malignant lesions of small size (diameter smaller than 2 cm). Sixty-two nodules, < 2 cm in larger diameter, belonging to thirty-five bitches presented between January 2012 and February 2014 were evaluated. Tumours were observed by conventional ultrasound and assessed for: shape (regular-irregular), limit (defined-ill-defined), margins (regular-irregular), echogenicity (hypoechoic-isoechoic-hyperecoic), echotexture (homogeneus-heterogeneus), presence of hyperecoic halo, distal acoustic enhancement or shadowing and surrounding tissue alterations. Among the alterations in surrounding tissues, the disruption of the glandular tissue and the increase in echogenicity of the peritumoral tissues were assessed. Thereafter, bitches were subjected to mastectomy and nodules were evaluated histologically. None of the ultasound criteria considered in the current study showed a statistically significant relation with malignancy, except for the presence of alterations in the tissue surrounding the nodules. According to our results, this characteristic may indicate malignancy, however its subjectivity may affect the applicability in clinical practice. In conclusions, conventional ultrasound in bitches had a limited ability in discriminating benign and malignant mammary gland neoplastic lesions of small size (diameter?<?2 cm).     

Stress and Humoral Innate Immune Response of Gilthead Seabream Sparus aurata Cultured in Sea Cages

Innate and acquired immune responses of Gilthead Seabream Sparus aurata was studied under normal culture and short-term stressful conditions for 18 months in offshore sea cages in Alghero Bay, Italy. Every 45 d, 50 fish were sampled and divided into two groups: fish in the first group (normal culture conditions) were bled after harvesting; fish in the second group were put into a tank under stressful conditions (crowding and confinement) and bled after 2 h. Innate humoral immunity, such as complement-like, hemagglutination, and lysozyme activities, was determined in the sera of both groups. Pathogen challenge was not performed, but the specific humoral immune response was assessed against the most common pathogens affecting cultured fish in Sardinia. Stressed fish, compared with the control, showed a lower lysozyme activity against Vibrio (Listonella) anguillarum, which was not clearly correlated with temperatures. Complement-like activity differed between the first and second half of the study and, at the end of the trial, a slightly higher activity was recorded in the controls than in the stressed fish. Hemagglutination activity was mainly higher in the stressed fish than in control fish. Confinement, crowding, and cold water temperature caused decreased lysozyme activity in short-term stressed Gilthead Seabream compared with those reared normally. The specific humoral immune response, against V. anguillarum, Tenacibaculum mesophilum, Enterococcus Seriolicida, and Aeromonas sobria, fluctuated during the rearing period, particularly during the first year of culture.

Received October 12, 2015; accepted March 24, 2016 Published online August 2, 2016     

Effect of ploughing and previous crop on winter wheat pests and their natural enemies under integrated farming system in Slovakia

The effects of ploughing and previous crop on winter wheat pests and their natural enemies under an integrated farming system was investigated in an experimental area in Slovakia. The experiment consisted of 4 small plots (50m² each) to which both organic and inorganic fertilisers were applied. Moreover, there was one application of herbicide and a fungicide on each plot. The ploughing was either deep or shallow, and either silage-maize or pea was used as a previous crop. The effects of the ploughing and previous crop was studied by means of multivariate redundancy analysis (RDA) and subsequent Monte-Carlo permutation test. The results showed that there was a considerable temporal variation in the abundance of insect pests and their natural enemies. Of the two husbandry treatments, only ploughing caused significant difference in the composition and abundance of both pests and natural enemies. However, while most of the pests favoured deep ploughing, the majority of natural enemies occurred more abundantly on shallowly ploughed plots. The previous crop did not affect numbers of either pests or natural enemies. Two systems, integrated and organic, which have been surveyed previously, were mutually compared with respect to the abundance of insect pests. The organic farming system turned out to be more sustainable.