Optimum herbicide use is a key factor affecting the success of any integrated weed management strategy. The main objective of the current study was to implement a method based on spectrometer measurements for the in situ evaluation of herbicide efficacy and the detection of potentially herbicide-resistant weeds. Field trials were conducted in Greece between 2018 and 2020 in several durum wheat fields (Triticum durum Desf.). In all trials, the overall effect of herbicide application on the recorded Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) values (at 1 and 2 wk after treatment [WAT]) was significant (P ≤ 0.001). For the majority of the surveyed fields, low NDVI values were recorded after 2,4-D application and a mixture of clopyralid + florasulam from 1 WAT, suggesting their increased efficacy. In several cases, the application of pyroxsulam + florasulam resulted in significant NDVI reductions at 2 WAT. As observed at the end of the growing seasons, the herbicides that reduced NDVI resulted in lower weed biomass. Strong correlations were observed between weed aboveground biomass and NDVI (2 WAT). In particular, R2 values were 0.8234 to 0.8649, 0.8453, 0.8595, 0.8149, and 0.8925 for the Aliartos, Thiva, Domokos, Larissa, and Orestiada fields, respectively. The overall effects of herbicide application on wheat grain yield were also significant (P ≤ 0.001). Pot experiments confirmed that the high NDVI values in some cases could be attributed to the presence of herbicide-resistant weeds. For instance, the resistance indices of two accessions of catchweed bedstraw (Galium aparine L.) to mesosulfuron-methyl + iodosulfuron-methyl-sodium ranged between 9.7 and 13.2, whereas one sterile oat [Avena sterilis L. ssp. ludoviciana (Durieu) Gillet & Magne] accession was 8.8 times more resistant to fenoxaprop-p-ethyl than a susceptible one. The present study is targeted at making a significant contribution toward establishing cause–effect relationships and presenting a useful tool for developing more effective weed management practices in more arable crops and under different soil and climatic conditions.

The authors present an overview of the process for developing DSM IV which has been characterized by extensive international communication and collaboration and which includes three stages of empirical review: systematic literature reviews, analysis of unpublished data and field trials. Next, they describe in detail recently initiated DSM IV field trials. The field trials will study eleven diagnostic categories which continue to be the focus of much discussion. They include antisocial personality disorder, autism, disruptive disorders, dysthymia, insomnia, mixed anxiety and depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder, schizophrenia, somatoform disorder and substance use disorders. Each field trial compares the DSM III, the DSM III-R, ICD 10 and proposed DSM IV criteria for the disorder in question.

Forty-three Spanish populations of hairy fleabane, sampled from perennial crop locations, were studied under controlled and field conditions to confirm and characterize glyphosate resistance. In the initial screening, under controlled conditions, significant differences in glyphosate response between locations and among plant progenies within location were observed. From the initial screening, six populations (five potentially resistant [R] and one susceptible [S]) were selected, and a dose–response experiment was conducted to determine the resistance factor. The resistance factor was close to 10× for the most resistant population. In addition, the glyphosate response of R and S populations was dependant on phenological stages: the glyphosate rate required for control increased as a function of plant age. Finally, the resistance was confirmed with field trials conducted in five locations (one S and four R previously studied under controlled conditions). The field trials were also used to find alternative solutions for Spanish farmers to control resistant hairy fleabane populations.

Several years ago the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR) initiated an independent analysis of the candidate malaria blood stage vaccine SPf66. WRAIR contracted for the synthesis and formulation of SPf66 in United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) inspected laboratories within the U.S., and in 1992, filed an Investigational New Drug (IND) application with the FDA. Preclinical studies indicated that the vaccine could be synthesized to meet its release specifications, and when adjuvanted with alum, was essentially equivalent to Colombian produced SPf66 in regards to immunogenicity in preclinical studies of rodents and primates, and in human volunteers in Phase I studies. The goal of these efforts was ultimately to conduct a Phase IIb field trial to determine the safety and efficacy of SPf66 produced under current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP). Such a trial is currently underway in a malaria endemic refugee camp along the Thai–Burmese border. Here we briefly describe the study and present the formal analytic plan that was submitted to regulatory authorities in the United States for analysis of the study results. We believe such independent confirmatory studies are an essential part of the vaccine development process and are required to provide important data regarding the safety and efficacy of candidate vaccines in diverse geographical regions, and as a means to assess their role in the context of broader malaria control programmes.

To improve both safety and stability of the vaccines used in the field to vaccinate foxes against rabies by the oral route, a recombinant vaccinia virus, expressing the glycoprotein of rabies virus (VVTGgRAB) has been developed. VVTGgRAB innocuity was verified in target species and in domestic animals as well as in numerous wild animal species that could compete with the red fox in consuming vaccine baits in Europe. Oral immunization of foxes, by distributing VVTGgRAB vaccine-baits, was undertaken for the whole infected area in Belgium (10000 km2). Five campaigns of fox vaccination, were carried out from autumn 1989 until 1991. Each time, 150000 vaccine-baits were dropped by air at a mean density of 15 per km2. These campaigns induced a drastic decrease in the incidence of rabies and the elimination of the disease from 80% of the initially infected area. Regarding the geographical evolution of rabies in Belgium and in adjacent regions in neighbouring countries, new spatial strategies for bait dispersal were planned for 1992, 1993 and 1994: successive confined campaigns were carried out along political borders only. These campaigns induced a new decrease of incidence; no rabid fox could be detected in 1993 in spite of an improved epidemiological surveillance. In 1994, rabies was again confirmed in 13 foxes collected in an area close to the French border. These cases demonstrate the persistence of a border rabies focus and justify further restricted vaccination campaigns.

Due to the involvement of scientific, industrial, commercial and public sectors of society, the complexity of the issues concerning the safety of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) for the environment, agriculture, and human and animal health calls for a wide coverage of information. Accordingly, development of the field of biotechnology, along with concerns related to the fate of released GMOs, has led to a rapid development of tools for disseminating such information. As a result, there is a growing number of databases aimed at collecting and storing information related to GMOs. Most of the sites deal with information on environmental releases, field trials, transgenes and related sequences, regulations and legislation, risk assessment documents, and literature. Databases are mainly established and managed by scientific, national or international authorities, and are addressed towards scientists, government officials, policy makers, consumers, farmers, environmental groups and civil society representatives. This complexity can lead to an overlapping of information. The purpose of the present review is to analyse the relevant databases currently available on the web, providing comments on their vastly different information and on the structure of the sites pertaining to different users. A preliminary overview on the development of these sites during the last decade, at both the national and international level, is also provided.

The outbreak areas of the red locust are seasonally inundated wetland areas supporting a rich biodiversity. The potential for environmental damage from the repeated use of broad-spectrum insecticides for locust control in these ecologically sensitive wetlands is therefore great. This paper describes the first trial of a Metarhizium anisopliae var. acridum (LUBILOSA isolate IMI 330189) mycoinsecticide as an alternative, more environmentally benign, intervention strategy for managing red locust populations in their outbreak areas. Following initial bioassay tests in the laboratory, which gave 90–93% kill of 3rd instar hoppers within 6–9 days, an oil based formulation of aerial conidia was applied at a rate of 5 × 1012 conidia/ha using a motorised ‘Solo’ knapsack sprayer to treat 3rd and 4th instar hopper bands in the Buzi outbreak area near Beira in Mozambique. Caged samples of 3rd instars succumbed quickly with a median time to kill of 3.6–3.9 days and 98–100% kill recorded within 8–9 days. The 4th instars took longer to die, with a median lethal time of 5.9–6.1days and > 90% mortality after 21 days. Mortality in control samples was low with 13–23% mortality after 21 days. During this mortality assessment period mean minimum and maximum air temperatures ranged from 26–34°C and relative humidity ranged from 85–100%. Observations on treated bands in the field showed that the cohesion of the 3rd instar bands broke down within 6 days, while controls still behaved normally. Unfortunately observations on the 4th instar band had to be terminated after 10 days due to heavy flooding. This preliminary field trial demonstrated the feasibility of using a Metarhizium mycoinsecticide, applied through conventional spray equipment, for controlling the red locust in its outbreak areas.

Field trials were carried out for two seasons on the effect of insecticides on insect pests, damage and yield of three cowpea cultivars.

During the first season, the preflowering stage of crop growth was found to be infested by Aphis spp, Empoasca spp, Ootheca spp and Epilachna spp, the flowering stage by Megalurothrips sjostedti, Heliothis armigera, Astylus atromaculatus, Coryna kersteni and Mylabris amplectens and the postflowering stage by H. armigera and a number of coreid and pentatomid bugs. Fenthion gave the least protection against pod damage by H. armigera. There were significant increases in the number of harvestable pods per plant with insecticides. There were no significant differences in hull weight and shelling percentage. Grain yield was increased by 96.2 and 109.4% after treatment with dichlorvos and cypermethrin, respectively.

In the second season, cypermethrin and monocrotophos were most effective. Cypermethrin reduced the number of pod-sucking bugs by 58%, H. armigera by 93%, while monocrotophos reduced Empoasca spp by 39% and M. sjostedti by 79%. Cypermethrin reduced damage by pod-sucking bugs by 28%, and by H. armigera by 95%. Monocrotophos reduced damage by pod-sucking bugs by 14%, and by H. armigera by 80%. Significant increases in the number of harvestable pods per plant were obtained with monocrotophos and cypermethrin treatments. There were no significant differences between the number of seeds per pod, and the weight of 1000 seed-grains. Grain yield was increased by 55.4% after both cypermethrin and monocrotophos treatment. The application of these insecticides were financially beneficial but the gain was reduced when six sprays were applied. Cypermethrin and monocrotophos are promising insecticides for controlling insect pests on cowpeas.