Influence of weather conditions on the quality of ‘Ingrid Marie’ apples and their susceptibility to grey mould infection

Apple (Malus domestica) is one of the most popular fruits consumed around the world. Environmental factors influence the development and quality of apples. We determined the influence of weather conditions on the quality of ‘Ingrid Marie’ apples harvested from eight different orchards in south Sweden in the years 2015–2017 and their susceptibility to infection by grey mould (Botrytis cinerea). We infected apples and collected data on fruit firmness, starch index, weight of fruit and lesion size in addition to collecting data on temperature, rainfall, sunlight and humidity in the period April–September. High rainfall in early April, during tree flowering, and in early June, during early fruit development, correlated with improved quality, namely reduced lesion size and low firmness level. Furthermore, with humidity higher than 77% in early June apples became more tolerant to grey mould, while low temperatures and high humidity in a period from the end of August to end of September, during the end of the fruit cell enlargement stage, correlated with larger apples. We conclude that rainfall, humidity and temperature are important weather factors influencing the quality of apples and their susceptibility to grey mould. This information may help apple growers understand the effects of weather conditions on apples more in detail. From such updated information, preharvest techniques may be applied (e.g. pruning, nutrition, irrigation or drainage) to improve conditions and apple quality as well as to reduce their susceptibility to pathogen attack

Comparison of some Reduced Representation Approximations

In the field of numerical approximation, specialists considering highly complex problems have recently proposed various ways to simplify their underlying problems. In this field, depending on the problem they were tackling and the community that are at work, different approaches have been developed with some success and have even gained some maturity, the applications can now be applied to information analysis or for numerical simulation of PDE's. At this point, a crossed analysis and effort for understanding the similarities and the differences between these approaches that found their starting points in different backgrounds is of interest. It is the purpose of this paper to contribute to this effort by comparing some constructive reduced representations of complex functions. We present here in full details the Adaptive Cross Approximation (ACA) and the Empirical Interpolation Method (EIM) together with other approaches that enter in the same category

Global, regional, and national comparative risk assessment of 79 behavioural, environmental and occupational, and metabolic risks or clusters of risks, 1990-2015: A systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015

Background: The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2015 provides an up-to-date synthesis of the evidence for risk factor exposure and the attributable burden of disease. By providing national and subnational assessments spanning the past 25 years, this study can inform debates on the importance of addressing risks in context. Methods: We used the comparative risk assessment framework developed for previous iterations of the Global Burden of Disease Study to estimate attributable deaths, disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), and trends in exposure by age group, sex, year, and geography for 79 behavioural, environmental and occupational, and metabolic risks or clusters of risks from 1990 to 2015. This study included 388 risk-outcome pairs that met World Cancer Research Fund-defined criteria for convincing or probable evidence. We extracted relative risk and exposure estimates from randomised controlled trials, cohorts, pooled cohorts, household surveys, census data, satellite data, and other sources. We used statistical models to pool data, adjust for bias, and incorporate covariates. We developed a metric that allows comparisons of exposure across risk factors—the summary exposure value. Using the counterfactual scenario of theoretical minimum risk level, we estimated the portion of deaths and DALYs that could be attributed to a given risk. We decomposed trends in attributable burden into contributions from population growth, population age structure, risk exposure, and risk-deleted cause-specific DALY rates. We characterised risk exposure in relation to a Socio-demographic Index (SDI). Findings: Between 1990 and 2015, global exposure to unsafe sanitation, household air pollution, childhood underweight, childhood stunting, and smoking each decreased by more than 25%. Global exposure for several occupational risks, high body-mass index (BMI), and drug use increased by more than 25% over the same period. All risks jointly evaluated in 2015 accounted for 57·8% (95% CI 56·6–58·8) of global deaths and 41·2% (39·8–42·8) of DALYs. In 2015, the ten largest contributors to global DALYs among Level 3 risks were high systolic blood pressure (211·8 million [192·7 million to 231·1 million] global DALYs), smoking (148·6 million [134·2 million to 163·1 million]), high fasting plasma glucose (143·1 million [125·1 million to 163·5 million]), high BMI (120·1 million [83·8 million to 158·4 million]), childhood undernutrition (113·3 million [103·9 million to 123·4 million]), ambient particulate matter (103·1 million [90·8 million to 115·1 million]), high total cholesterol (88·7 million [74·6 million to 105·7 million]), household air pollution (85·6 million [66·7 million to 106·1 million]), alcohol use (85·0 million [77·2 million to 93·0 million]), and diets high in sodium (83·0 million [49·3 million to 127·5 million]). From 1990 to 2015, attributable DALYs declined for micronutrient deficiencies, childhood undernutrition, unsafe sanitation and water, and household air pollution; reductions in risk-deleted DALY rates rather than reductions in exposure drove these declines. Rising exposure contributed to notable increases in attributable DALYs from high BMI, high fasting plasma glucose, occupational carcinogens, and drug use. Environmental risks and childhood undernutrition declined steadily with SDI; low physical activity, high BMI, and high fasting plasma glucose increased with SDI. In 119 countries, metabolic risks, such as high BMI and fasting plasma glucose, contributed the most attributable DALYs in 2015. Regionally, smoking still ranked among the leading five risk factors for attributable DALYs in 109 countries; childhood underweight and unsafe sex remained primary drivers of early death and disability in much of sub-Saharan Africa. Interpretation: Declines in some key environmental risks have contributed to declines in critical infectious diseases. Some risks appear to be invariant to SDI. Increasing risks, including high BMI, high fasting plasma glucose, drug use, and some occupational exposures, contribute to rising burden from some conditions, but also provide opportunities for intervention. Some highly preventable risks, such as smoking, remain major causes of attributable DALYs, even as exposure is declining. Public policy makers need to pay attention to the risks that are increasingly major contributors to global burden. Funding: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

The effect of tuition fee reduction and education subsidy on school enrollment: Evidence from Vietnam

Available online 31 OctoberThis paper examines the impact of two education incentive policies including tuition fee reduction and education subsidy on secondary-school enrollment of children in Vietnam. Using Vietnam Household Living Standard Surveys during the 2006–2018 period, we find that both policies significantly increase the school enrollment rate of children. The effect of these policies varies across different groups of children with a greater effect on those from ethnic minority groups, rural areas, poor and low-income households. Our findings suggest that these education incentive programs are an effective way to encourage children to enroll school, especially in low- and middle-income countries.Tuan Anh Bui, Cuong Viet Nguyen, Khuong Duc Nguyen, Ha Hong Nguyen, Phuong Thu Pha

Wnt5a Signaling — A New and Attractive Target for Specific Anticancer Therapy

Wnt signaling has been shown to engage a multifunctional pathway that is involved in the regulation of a wide variety of normal and pathologic processes, including embryogenesis, diff erentiation and tumorigenesis. Recent studies have demonstrated that Wnt5a expression is frequently seen in various human cancers. In contrast to the transforming members of the Wnt family, shown to be upregulated in many cancers, the role of Wnt5a is still controversial in its expression in different tumors. There is increasing evidence that Wnt5a has tumor suppressor function in some malignancies, and in addition, it elicits promigratory and proinvasive effects via the planar cell polarity pathway, which suggests that Wnt5a might be an effective marker for the progression and prognosis of tumors. Obviously, the outcome of Wnt5a signaling is dependent on a multitude of variables, ranging from receptors, downstream effectors and inhibitors, to external influences coming from the tumor microenvironment. This review will focus on the role of Wnt5a signaling and, as a consequence, provide an outline describing the expression and functions of Wnt5a in cancer progression

Perceptions of the appropriate response to norm violation in 57 societies

Norm enforcement may be important for resolving conflicts and promoting cooperation. However, little is known about how preferred responses to norm violations vary across cultures and across domains. In a preregistered study of 57 countries (using convenience samples of 22,863 students and non-students), we measured perceptions of the appropriateness of various responses to a violation of a cooperative norm and to atypical social behaviors. Our findings highlight both cultural universals and cultural variation. We find a universal negative relation between appropriateness ratings of norm violations and appropriateness ratings of responses in the form of confrontation, social ostracism and gossip. Moreover, we find the country variation in the appropriateness of sanctions to be consistent across different norm violations but not across different sanctions. Specifically, in those countries where use of physical confrontation and social ostracism is rated as less appropriate, gossip is rated as more appropriate