Pheromone detection of the introduced forest pest Megaplatypus mutatus (=Platypus mutatus) (Chapuis) (Platypodinae, Curculionidae) in Italy

Megaplatypus mutatus (Chapuis) (=Platypus mutatus), an ambrosia beetle native to South America, attacks standing live trees of a wide range of forest and fruit tree species, and it is particularly damaging to commercial poplar plantations. In 2000, M. mutatus was observed for the first time in Italy, in the province of Caserta, near Naples. The development of a pheromone-based monitoring system, for detecting the spread and for managing M. mutatus infestations, is an important goal for both European and South American control and surveillance programs. Using a three component pheromone blend developed in Argentina into commercial funnel traps we were able to asses the level of dispersion of this pest in the Italian Campania region. Insects were captured in all the plantations suspected of being infested based on the presence of active parental and larval galleries. We also provide the first report of the attack followed by completion of the life cycle of M. mutatus in European hazelnut, Corylus avellana L. (Betulaceae), an important nut species native to Europe and Western Asia.     

History of the World Association for the Advancement of Veterinary Parasitology (WAAVP)

Forty years ago the first meeting of the World Association for the Advancement of Veterinary Parasitiology (WAAVP) was held in Hannover, Germany. We now have a thriving, internationally recognized organization; the meetings attract hundreds of scientists, attendance is increasing with almost every meeting. It is a useful time to review our beginnings, our development and our future. Our history has been one of innovation and activity and contributed to by its members in important areas of veterinary parasitology.     

European and United States perspectives on forest operations in environmentally sensitive areas

This paper offers a forest operations perspective in environmentally sensitive areas in Europe and the United States. The objective is to help inform key sustainability knowledge gaps in forest operations to reduce impacts on the environment and the equipment operators in these increasingly targeted and difficult to operate in areas. Under existing guidelines and best management practices, the protection of ecosystem services linked to soil, water, wildlife and biodiversity have rightly received the highest considerations. However, the connection between protecting these ecological values, safe operational practices and technological advancements is rarely well articulated. One means to address the operational and technological gap is the selection of equipment and tailor the work conditions to terrain type, forest features and management objectives. To that effect, this paper discusses the environmental, planning, equipment selection and operator considerations and proposes possible solutions and guidelines to contain both the operators’ safety and environmental risks in forest operations.     

Using a Small-Log Mobile Sawmill System to Contain Fuel Reduction Treatment Cost on Small Parcels

The Authors tested a mobile small-log sawmill system that could produce cants and boards of variable size, according to the needs and specifications of each property owner. The unit was deployed as part of a comprehensive mechanical fuel reduction operation, aimed at thinning small properties around homesteads. Working on conifer small logs, the mill proved very efficient, with a processing productivity between 0.3 and 2.8 m³ of lumber per working hour and a recovery rate of 50% for boards, and 67% for cants. The mill could be set up and dismantled in a few hours and was easy to move around. However, the exceedingly small amount of logs available at each site entailed a low utilization of the mill (about 25% of the time) and a consequently high processing cost. Under the conditions of the study, milling cost can be contained below 150 US dollars per m³ of lumber only if the single site offers at least 50 m³ of logs, already sorted during harvesting. Hence the suggestion of pooling the wood obtained from small parcel fuel reduction treatments in satellite yards and milling it only when a large enough amount has been accumulated. In turn, satellite yards could be organized into an integrated network complementary—rather than alternative—to stationary mills.     

Spatiotemporal variations of albedo in managed agricultural landscapes: inferences to global warming impacts (GWI)

Landscape Ecology - Albedo can be used to quantify ecosystem and landscape contributions to local and global climate. Such contributions are conventionally expressed as radiative forcing (RF) and...     

Replacing Steel Cable with Synthetic Rope to Reduce Operator Workload During Log Winching Operations

The authors conducted three comparative tests, to determine if the replacement of steel cable with synthetic rope may allow reducing the physiological workload of forest operators assigned to log winching tasks. The tests were conducted in Northern Italy, on the Alpine mountain and involved 7 volunteer subjects. The physiological workload was determined by measuring the operator’s heart rate upon completion of every task, using heart-rate monitors. Test one was conducted under simplified, controlled conditions and detected a statistically significant reduction of relative heart rate when carrying synthetic rope, as compared to steel cable. However, tests two and three were performed under real operational conditions, and were inconclusive. Real operational conditions are characterized by the interaction of many factors, which may confound the results of the tests, or offset the benefits potentially obtained with the introduction of synthetic rope. Nevertheless, the introduction of synthetic rope offers the benefit of easier handling, which was very much appreciated by all test subjects.     

Minor diterpenoids from cascarilla (Croton eluteria Bennet) and evaluation of the cascarilla extract and cascarillin effects on gastric acid secretion

Three new diterpenoids belonging to the clerodane (2-3) and halimane (4) structural types have been isolated from the bark of Croton eluteria Bennet, commonly known as cascarilla. Their structures have been fully characterized by spectroscopic means. Cascarilla extract and its major component, cascarillin, were found to significantly increase histamine-induced gastric acid secretion in the mouse stomach. These preliminary results provide the first rationale for the use of cascarilla in bitter preparations aimed at improving digestion.     

UV protectants for Candida oleophila (strain O), a biocontrol agent of postharvest fruit diseases

This study investigated the influence of UV‐B radiation (280–320 nm) on survival of Candida oleophila strain O, an antagonist yeast that prevents postharvest diseases caused by Botrytis cinerea and Penicillium expansum on apple and pear fruits. Lethal doses (LD₅₀ and LD₉₀) were, respectively, 0·89 and 1·45 Kj m^?2 for in vitro exposure and 3·06 and 5·5 Kj m^?2 for in vivo exposure. A screening test of UV‐B protectants for strain O was also evaluated under in vitro and in vivo conditions. The in vitro results showed that sodium ascorbate (0·1% and 0·01%), riboflavin (0·1%) and uric acid (0·1% and 0·01%) were the most effective and most suitable protectants. However, only riboflavin (0·1%) and uric acid (0·1%) were effective under in vivo conditions. The efficacy obtained with strain O against P. expansum, when subjected to UV‐B radiation, was 75·0% and 49·2% for pathogen concentrations of 10⁵ and 10⁶ spores mL^?1, respectively. Adding riboflavin to strain O gave a similar efficacy (64·2%). Applying strain O together with uric acid (0·1%) was less active (47·7%). Nonetheless, its efficacy when applied with the antioxidants sodium ascorbate (71·1%) or ascorbic acid (82·5%) was the greatest. Riboflavin and uric acid were the most cost‐effective protectants, and could be included in the final formulation of strain O when applied preharvest.     

Differential in Gel Electrophoresis (DIGE) Comparative Proteomic Analysis of Macrophages Cell Cultures in Response to Perthamide C Treatment

Secondary metabolites contained in marine organisms disclose diverse pharmacological activities, due to their intrinsic ability to recognize bio-macromolecules, which alter their expression and modulate their function. Thus, the identification of the cellular pathways affected by marine natural products is crucial to provide important functional information concerning their mechanism of action at the molecular level. Perthamide C, a marine sponge metabolite isolated from the polar extracts of Theonella swinhoei and endowed with a broad and interesting anti-inflammatory profile, was found in a previous study to specifically interact with heat shock protein-90 and glucose regulated protein-94, also disclosing the ability to reduce cisplatin-mediated apoptosis. In this paper, we evaluated the effect of this compound on the whole proteome of murine macrophages cells by two-dimensional DIGE proteomics. Thirty-three spots were found to be altered in expression by at least 1.6-fold and 29 proteins were identified by LC ESI-Q/TOF-MS. These proteins are involved in different processes, such as metabolism, structural stability, protein folding assistance and gene expression. Among them, perthamide C modulates the expression of several chaperones implicated in the folding of proteins correlated to apoptosis, such as Hsp90 and T-complexes, and in this context our data shed more light on the cellular effects and pathways altered by this marine cyclo-peptide.