Comparative chemistry and insect antifeedant effects of conventional (Clevenger and Soxhlet) and supercritical extracts (CO2) of two Lavandula luisieri populations

The objective of this study was the preparation of supercritical (SCE), conventional hydrodistilled (HDE) and organic solvent (OSE) extracts from two Iberian Lavandula luisieri populations (A and B) to study their chemical composition and their insect antifeedant properties against Spodoptera littoralis and Myzus persicae. HDE and SCE extracts had different chemical compositions and insect antifeedant effects, extracts from population A being more effective. Compounds 5-hydroxymethyl-2,3,4,4-tetramethylcyclopent-2-en-1-one (6) and (2,2,3,4-tetramethyl-5-oxocyclopent-3-en-1-yl)-methyl acetate (7)were the major components of the SCE fractions of both populations. The supercritical technique (SFE) improved the extraction of 6, 7, oxo-cadinol (8), hexadecanoic acid and several not identified compounds with respect to HDE. SCE extracts also exhibited increased antifeedant effects against S. littoralis and the aphid M. persicae (A-SCE). The biological effects of the active extracts cannot be accounted for those of their individual major components, suggesting additive or synergistic effects. © 2014 Elsevier B.V.Peer Reviewe

Lidar: towards a new methodology for field measurement of spray drift

Lidar technology is becoming a promising alternative for spray drift measurement to the labour and time-expensive methodologies based on the ISO 22866 standard. This paper presents last advancements in an eye-safe lidar system specifically designed for drift monitoring. The lidar system was tested with an air-assisted sprayer in two cases: with standard hollow cone and air induction low-drift nozzles. The remaining variables (flow rate, environmental conditions,…) were similar. Lidar measurements allowed to know the time evolution of spray drift clouds and showed a much higher droplet concentration, dwelling time and dimensions for the cloud generated by standard nozzles. Also, the ability of the lidar system to distinguish different nozzle types according to their drift potential was proved. Finally, staring (laser beam stationary through the drift cloud) and 2D scanning measurements are discussed as starting points for an alternative spray drift measurement methodology

Spray drift measurement using a UV lidar system

Range-resolved lidar systems, principally the elastic ones, have been used in a number of studies for pesticide spray drift monitoring in both aerial and ground spray treatments (Gregorio et al., 2011). In most cases, lidar was used to study the movement and dispersion of the pesticide plumes at a qualitative level. However, the application of lidar to quantify droplet concentration in pesticide clouds has scarcely been addressed before (Hiscox et al., 2006; Khot et al., 2011). This article shows an experimental study of the relationship between spray drift measurements obtained with an elastic-backscatter lidar system and those obtained using passive collectors.Peer Reviewe

Spray drift measurement using a UV lidar system

Range-resolved lidar systems, principally the elastic ones, have been used in a number of studies for pesticide spray drift monitoring in both aerial and ground spray treatments (Gregorio et al., 2011). In most cases, lidar was used to study the movement and dispersion of the pesticide plumes at a qualitative level. However, the application of lidar to quantify droplet concentration in pesticide clouds has scarcely been addressed before (Hiscox et al., 2006; Khot et al., 2011). This article shows an experimental study of the relationship between spray drift measurements obtained with an elastic-backscatter lidar system and those obtained using passive collectors.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Spray drift measurement using a UV lidar system

Range-resolved lidar systems, principally the elastic ones, have been used in a number of studies for pesticide spray drift monitoring in both aerial and ground spray treatments (Gregorio et al., 2011). In most cases, lidar was used to study the movement and dispersion of the pesticide plumes at a qualitative level. However, the application of lidar to quantify droplet concentration in pesticide clouds has scarcely been addressed before (Hiscox et al., 2006; Khot et al., 2011). This article shows an experimental study of the relationship between spray drift measurements obtained with an elastic-backscatter lidar system and those obtained using passive collectors.Peer Reviewe

Behcet's disease and genetic interactions between HLA-B*51 and variants in genes of autoinflammatory syndromes

Supplementary information:Rights and permissions.Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.Behcet's disease (BD) is an immune-mediated systemic disorder with a well-established genetic base. In a previous study, using a next generation sequencing approach, we found many rare variants and some functional polymorphisms in genes related to autoinflammatory syndromes (AID): CECR1, MEFV, MVK, NLRP3, NOD2, PSTPIP1 and TNFRSF1A in our BD cohort. Our strategy did not allow us to establish either number of patients with variants, proportion of individuals accumulating them or relationship with other genetic factors. With the goal to answer these questions, the individual samples were sequenced. Additionally, three functional polymorphisms: NLRP3 p.Gln703Lys, NOD2 p.Arg702Trp and p. Val955Ile were genotyped using TaqMan assays. A total of 98 patients (27.6%) carried at least one rare variant and 13 of them (3.7%) accumulated two or three. Functional regression model analysis suggests epistatic interaction between B51 and MEFV (P=0.003). A suggestive protective association of the minor allele of NOD2 p.Arg702Trp (P=0.01) was found in both, B51 positive and negative individuals. Therefore, a high percentage of patients with BD have rare variants in AID genes. Our results suggest that the association of MEFV with BD could be modulated by the HLA molecules; whereas the protective effect of NOD2 p.Arg702Trp would be independent of HLA.This work was supported by Fondo de Investigaciones Sanitarias, Instituto de Salud Carlos III (PI16/01373), Fondos FEDER and Plan Andaluz de Investigacion (CTS-0197).Peer reviewe

Neuro-Behçet's Disease

Behçet’s disease (BD) is an inflammatory multisystem disorder with clinical characteristics of uveitis, recurrent oral aphthae, vasculitis, and genital ulcerations. It may have vascular, musculoskeletal, gastrointestinal, mucocutaneous, ocular, central nervous system (neuro-Behçet’s disease), and many other systemic manifestations. Even though the etiopathogenesis of BD is still uncertain, virus infections, innate and adaptive immunity, genetic factors, and environmental contaminants have been mainly identified as responsible mechanisms. In this sense, the animal models of BD have been built up to enlighten the etiology of the disease. These models can be divided etiologically into four categories as infection-induced, genetic, immunological, and environmental models. The herpes simplex virus (HSV)-induced model is the most common and validated method among all other experimental designs of BD. The number of animal studies investigating neuro-Behçet disease (NBD) is very limited. Consequently, it is pertinent to say that further animal models regarding neurological component of BD should be developed to find new biomarkers for NBD and to advance treatment strategies