Art, Aura, and Admiration in the Age of Digital Reproduction

Summary Walter Benjamin famously argued that the mass public of the twentieth century would necessarily correlate with a newly politicized art. But the world has changed considerably since Benjamin’s article was written, as Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer already were assessing less than a decade later. It is the purpose of this article to examine how the aesthetics of the Frankfurt school, though frequently still invoked, have lost some of their immediate relevance. The anti-establishment phase of the 60s, compounded by a pronounced taste for irony, rendered aura and exhibition outmoded values, while on the other hand, more recently, price escalation in the art market and digitization have made certain of the Frankfurt school arguments more pertinent than ever. Taking as examples Goldsworthy and Kentridge, this essay argues that a deliberate loosening of the artist’s control over both medium and reception displaces the warmed-over religious responses endorsed by Benjamin, positing instead increased intellectual agency on the part of viewers, whose identity as a mass public has become newly complicated.

Irrigation and Rootstocks to Manage Northern Root-Knot Nematode During Wine Grape Vineyard Establishment

Vineyard replanting in Washington state can be negatively impacted by the plant-parasitic nematode Meloidogyne hapla. Chemically-focused nematode management programs do not offer long-term suppression, however, this may be achieved through the adoption of cultural approaches such as rootstocks and irrigation. Nematode-resistant rootstocks are used extensively in other regions, but many have not been tested against M. hapla. Vineyards in eastern Washington are irrigated, so manipulating available soil water may also impact nematode development. In 2017, two field trials were established in eastern Washington to evaluate the effects of: 1) late-summer water limitation on M. hapla population development, and 2) host status of 1103 Paulsen, 3309 Couderc and Matador rootstocks for M. hapla. The efficacy of these cultural management approaches was evaluated under three initial M. hapla densities (0, 50, and 250 M. hapla J2 per 250 g soil) in both trials. Reducing irrigation to manage M. hapla infestation of grape roots was ineffective and may cause harm to the vines by inducing too much water stress. Conversely, rootstocks effectively reduced population densities of M. hapla. Overall, rootstocks show the most promise as a cultural tool to manage M. hapla during the establishment phase in Washington vineyards.

Dynamics of aerial and perennial biomass of two lucerne cultivars with different fall dormancy subject to two severities of cutting during the establishment phase

The aim of this study was to quantify the impact of two cutting severities on the dynamics of aerial and perennial (root plus crown) biomass of lucerne (Medicago sativa L.) plants of two cultivars of contrasting fall dormancy rating during the establishment phase. We worked at Unidad Integrada Balcarce with two cultivars of lucerne (non-winter dormant: FD10; semi-winter dormant: FD6) and two cutting severities (40 and 100 mm) defining four treatments (FD6-40 mm, FD6-100 mm, FD10-40 mm and FD10-100 mm) under a completely randomized design. In both cultivars, increasing cutting severity produced a reduction in leaf area and number of nodes in the residual, resulting in a reduced production of aerial biomass during regrowth, given a reduction on shoot number. On the other hand, the effect of increased cutting severity on perennial biomass was only observed in plants of FD10 cultivar. This cultivar showed less perennial biomass when cut at 40 mm than at 100 mm, while no differences were observed between cutting heights in FD6 cultivar.

Re-introduction of the Saker Falcon (Falco cherrug) in Bulgaria - preliminary results from the ongoing establishment phase by 2020

Considered extinct as breeding species in the early 2000s, the Saker Falcon was recovered when the first active nest from the new history of the species in Bulgaria was discovered in 2018, formed of two birds that were re-introduced back in 2015. Currently, there is only one confirmed wild breeding pair in the country - the male from 2015 with a female changed in 2020, released again as a part of the programme, in 2016. This is a report on the preliminary results and analysis of the ongoing establishment phase of the re-introduction of the Saker Falcon (Falco cherrug) in Bulgaria - first ever performed for this species in the country and globally. The period studied is 2015-2020. Following the re-introduction activities started in 2011, the current phase is defined by standardised methodology and a unified approach. Analysed and presented are methods for captive breeding and hacking, the breeding performance of the falcons, the number of released individuals, data from the post-fledging dependence period and a model of population growth.

Re-introduction of Griffon Vulture (Gyps fulvus) in the Eastern Balkan Mountains, Bulgaria – completion of the establishment phase 2010-2020

The current study presents and analyses the results from the recently completed 11-year-establishment phase, following the start of the local re-introduction of the Griffon Vulture (Gyps fulvus) in Kotlenska Planina SPA and Sinite Kamani Nature Park in the Eastern Balkan Mountains of Bulgaria in the period 2010-2020. As a result of the re-introduction efforts and release of 153 individuals, the Griffon Vulture has been successfully reproducing again in the Eastern Balkan Mountains since 2016, after more than 40-50 years of absence. At 2020, the local population consists of some 80 local and up to 80-115 birds, together with sojourn individuals. Amongst them, 23-25 breeding pairs, located in five different colonies and two more frequently used roosting sites. The current average productivity remains relatively low: 0.41 fledglings/territorial pair and fledging success of 0.61 fledglings/breeding pair between 2016 and 2020, but shows a trend to increase with time and the growing experience of the young locally re-introduced population. The mortality confirmed between 2010-2021 accounts for 33%, mostly due to electrocution as a post-release effect in the first six months following their release. Our data show that the newly established population in the Eastern Balkan Mountains mostly forages on feeding sites, having a comparatively small 95% home range: 281.88 ± 91 km2 and 50% core area: 6.6 ± 2.28 km2 (range 4.7–8.5 km2). We, therefore, consider the establishment phase of the re-introduction of Griffon Vulture in this particular site as successfully completed, but management should continue. Furthermore, the area of the Eastern Balkan Mountains can currently be regarded as a "source" for the species within the source-sink population regulation concept in the national and Balkan context.

Evaluation of the in vitro growth of perolera pineapple (Ananas comosus) explants using organogenesis technique

From an economic standpoint, pineapple (Ananas comosus) is one of the most important fruits in Colombia. A decade ago, the Perolera variety was the most cropped cultivar of the Santander department, however, the variety has been displaced considerably due to the lack of technical extension services and theintroduction of new varieties. This research project was carried out with the intention to conserve the speciesthrough the development of in vitro pineapple explants using the organogenesis technique. Meristemsthat have been extracted from the crown of the Perolera pineapple variety were used for this purpose. Four disinfectant treatments were evaluated by looking at the different kinds of disinfectant exposure times.The treatment that gave the best results in terms of contaminant-free explants was the T2: Commercialdetergent + Tween 80 for 8 minutes, ethyl alcohol at 70% for 1 minute and sodium hypochlorite at 1,5% over10 minutes, with a contamination rate of 7% and 93% of the explants thriving. For the establishment phase,it was found that the medium MS MEP1 with 100% solid salts supplemented with 2000 ul/L BAP - 1000 ul/L ANA - 1000 ul/L AIA and 500 ul/L thiamine enabled 90 % of the pineapple explants to continue developing four weeks after planting. Similarly, the medium containing 3000 ul/L of BAP for the multiplication phase permitted an average proliferation of 4.62 shoots with 9.12 leaves per shoot and a length of 2.25 mm.

Identification of QTLs for Salt Tolerance at the Germination and Seedling Stages in Rice

Rice is highly sensitive to salinity stress during the seedling establishment phase. Salt stress is widely occurring in cultivated areas and severely affects seed germination ability and seedling establishment, which may result in a complete crop failure. The objective of the present study is to identify quantitative trait loci (QTLs) related to salt tolerance of the germination and seedling stages in a rice backcross inbred line (BIL) population that was derived from a backcross of an Africa rice ACC9 as donor and indica cultivar Zhenshan97 (ZS97) as the recurrent parent. Under salt stress, ACC9 exhibited a higher germination percentage, but more repressed seedling growth than ZS97. Using the BIL population, 23 loci for germination parameters were detected at the germination stage and 46 loci were identified for several morphological and physiological parameters at the seedling stage. Among them, nine and 33 loci with the ACC9 alleles increased salt tolerance at the germination and seedling stages, respectively. Moreover, several major QTLs were found to be co-localized in the same or overlapping regions of previously reported genes for salt stress. These major loci will facilitate improving salt-tolerance rice in genome-breeding programs.

Getting in Front of Chronic Wasting Disease: Model-Informed Proactive Approach for Managing an Emerging Wildlife Disease

Continuing geographic spread of chronic wasting disease (CWD) poses a serious threat to the sustainable future of cervids and hunting in North America. Moreover, CWD has been detected in captive cervids in South Korea and, in recent years, in free-ranging reindeer in Europe (Norway). Management of this disease is limited by logistical, financial, and sociopolitical considerations, and current strategies primarily focus on reducing host densities through hunter harvest and targeted culling. The success of such strategies in mitigating the spread and prevalence of CWD only upon detection is questionable. Here, we propose a proactive approach that emphasizes pre-emptive management through purposeful integration of virtual experiments (simulating alternate interventions as model scenarios) with the aim of evaluating their effectiveness. Here, we have used a published agent-based model that links white-tailed deer demography and behavior with CWD transmission dynamics to first derive a CWD outbreak trajectory and then use the trajectory to highlight issues associated with different phases of the CWD outbreak (pre-establishment/transition/endemic). Specifically, we highlight the practical constraints on surveillance in the pre-establishment phase and recommend that agencies use a realistic detection threshold for their CWD surveillance programs. We further demonstrate that many disease introductions are “dead ends” not leading to a full epidemic due to high stochasticity and harvesting in the pre-establishment phase of CWD. Model evaluated pre-emptive (pre-detection) harvest strategies could increase the resilience of the deer population to CWD spread and establishment. We conclude it is important to adaptively position CWD management ahead of, rather than behind, the CWD front.

Susceptibility to malaria during the Prevention of Re-establishment phase in Sri Lanka

BackgroundSri Lanka eliminated malaria in November 2012 and was certified as malaria-free by the WHO in September 2016. However, influx of travelers from malarious countries and the presence of malaria vectors in formerly endemic areas make the country both receptive and vulnerable to re-establishment of malaria. As imported cases are still being reported and one introduced malaria case was reported in 2018, prevention of re-establishment of malaria is a challenge for Sri Lanka.Susceptibility to malaria is the predisposition of populations to be infectedby malaria parasites.It is influenced by the age-sex composition, parasitaemia, immunity, pregnancy status, type of residency, socio economic status, migration history of the population; broadly biological and generic factors. Therefore, addressing susceptibility to malaria is crucial for planning and implementing appropriate interventions to sustain malaria-free status of the country.The aim of this study was to assess susceptibility to malaria during the prevention of re-establishment phase in Sri Lanka.MethodsA national survey was conducted among 3,454 households. A multistage cluster sampling technique was used to select the households. Susceptibility was assessed based on pre-defined variables by interviewing heads of households using an interviewer-administered questionnaire. Basic socio-demographic information, travel history, history of fever and past malaria infections in the preceding three years were collected. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 20 package.ResultsThe proportion of population who had been overseas within the last 3 years in the urban sector (4.5%, n=99) was significantly higher than that of the rural (2.8%, n=288) and estate sectors (0.2%, n=2) (χ42=66.103; p<0.001). The proportions reporting overseas travel declined significantly with the wealth index up to the 4thquintile with a slight rise in the 5th quintile (χ82=60.985; P<0.001). In the multivariate analysis, persons from the urban sector were 1.75 times (95% CI 1.38-2.22) more likely to travel overseas as compared to persons from the rural and estate sectors; persons from the upper wealth index quintile were 1.46 times (95% CI-1.16-1.92) more likely to travel overseas than persons from the 1st and 2nd wealth index quintiles after controlling for gender, age group and area of residence. .There were 177 persons who had fever within the past 2 weeks of the survey. None of the surveyed population had malaria parasites on blood examination.Conclusions Urban residents, upper socioeconomic class persons and male gender are more likely to travel overseas and bring the parasite into the country. The malaria screening and awareness programmes should be targeted to these populations during the re-establishment of malaria phase as travel overseas is the most important criterion to assess susceptibility in an island nation.As susceptibility is a dynamic phenomenon, itshould be assessed periodically. Combining it with resilience and receptivity, social vulnerability and risk of re-establishment of malaria could be assessed.