Rootstock influences postharvest anthracnose development in 'Hass' avocado

Rootstock studies conducted on ‘Hass’ avocado found that rootstock had a significant impact on postharvest anthracnose susceptibility. This is the first record of such an effect for avocado. The severity and incidence of anthracnose was significantly lower on ‘Hass’ grafted to ‘Velvick’ Guatemalan seedling rootstock compared with the ‘Duke 6’ Mexican seedling rootstock. Differences in anthracnose susceptibility were related to significant differences in concentrations of antifungal dienes in the leaves and mineral nutrients in the leaves and fruits from trees grafted to different rootstocks. Leaf diene concentrations were up to 1.5 times higher in ‘Hass’ trees on the ‘Velvick’ than the ‘Duke 6’ rootstock. In ungrafted nursery stock trees, diene concentrations were around 3 times higher in ‘Velvick’ than ‘Duke 6’ leaves. The ‘Velvick’/‘Hass’ combination also had a significantly lower leaf N concentration, a significantly higher fruit flesh Mn concentration, and significantly lower and higher leaf N/Ca and Ca+Mg/K ratios, respectively. A significant correlation (r = 0.82) between anthracnose severity and skin N/Ca ratio was also evident

New strategies for the integrated control of avocado fruit disease

Silicon has been useful in protecting agronomically important crops against diseases. As the avocado industry looks towards using less fungicides we investigated the possible use of silicon for the control of postharvest anthracnose of ‘Hass’ avocado. We found injecting soluble silicon into trees prior to harvest significantly decreased the severity and incidence of anthracnose. A combination of soluble silicon and phosphorous acid was not effective for control of anthracnose

Velocity-space sensitivity of the time-of-flight neutron spectrometer at JET

The velocity-space sensitivities of fast-ion diagnostics are often described by so-called weight functions. Recently, we formulated weight functions showing the velocity-space sensitivity of the often dominant beam-target part of neutron energy spectra. These weight functions for neutron emission spectrometry (NES) are independent of the particular NES diagnostic. Here we apply these NES weight functions to the time-of-flight spectrometer TOFOR at JET. By taking the instrumental response function of TOFOR into account, we calculate time-of-flight NES weight functions that enable us to directly determine the velocity-space sensitivity of a given part of a measured time-of-flight spectrum from TOFOR

On the mechanisms governing gas penetration into a tokamak plasma during a massive gas injection

A new 1D radial fluid code, IMAGINE, is used to simulate the penetration of gas into a tokamak plasma during a massive gas injection (MGI). The main result is that the gas is in general strongly braked as it reaches the plasma, due to mechanisms related to charge exchange and (to a smaller extent) recombination. As a result, only a fraction of the gas penetrates into the plasma. Also, a shock wave is created in the gas which propagates away from the plasma, braking and compressing the incoming gas. Simulation results are quantitatively consistent, at least in terms of orders of magnitude, with experimental data for a D 2 MGI into a JET Ohmic plasma. Simulations of MGI into the background plasma surrounding a runaway electron beam show that if the background electron density is too high, the gas may not penetrate, suggesting a possible explanation for the recent results of Reux et al in JET (2015 Nucl. Fusion 55 093013)

The Association Between Broad Antigen HLA Mismatches, Eplet HLA Mismatches and Acute Rejection After Kidney Transplantation

Epitope matching, which evaluates mismatched amino acids within antigen-antibody interaction sites (eplets), may better predict acute rejection than broad antigen matching alone. We aimed to determine the association between eplet mismatches and acute rejection in kidney transplant recipients.The association between eplet mismatches, broad antigen mismatches and acute rejection was assessed using adjusted Cox proportional hazard regression. Model discrimination for acute rejection was evaluated using the area under receiver operating characteristic curves.Of the 3,499 kidney transplant recipients from 2006 to 2011, the average (SD) number of broad antigen and eplet mismatches were 3.4 (1.7) and 22.8 (12.2), respectively. Compared with 0 to 2 eplet mismatches, the adjusted hazard ratio (HR) for acute rejection among those with 20 or greater eplet mismatches was 2.16 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.33-3.52; P = 0.001). The adjusted area under the curve for broad antigen mismatches was 0.58 (95% CI, 0.56-0.61), similar to that for eplet mismatches (HR, 0.59; 95% CI, 0.56-0.61; P = 0.365). In recipients who were considered as low immunological risk (0-2 broad antigen HLA-ABDR mismatch), those with 20 or greater eplet mismatches experienced an increased risk of rejection compared to those with less than 20 mismatches (adjusted HR, 1.85; 95% CI, 1.11-3.08; P = 0.019).Increasing number of eplet mismatches is associated with acute rejection in kidney transplant recipients. Consideration of eplet HLA mismatches may improve risk stratification for acute rejection in a selected group of kidney transplant candidates.Hung Thanh Do Nguyen, Germaine Wong, Jeremy R. Chapman, Stephen P. McDonald, Patrick T. Coates, Narelle Watson, Lloyd D'Orsogna, and Wai Hon Li

Avaliação dos efeitos de 5-hidroxitriptofano em-hidroxibenzilhidrazine associados a Lactobacillus spp. na morfometria intestinal e imunomarcação de serotonina em frangos de corte desafiados com Salmonella Enteridis

Resumo As células enterocromafins são um dos componentes da mucosa intestinal que liberam serotonina para o lúmen, promovendo atividades secretórias e crescimento celular de vários tecidos, incluindo vilosidades intestinais. O presente estudo avaliou as influências do 5-hidroxitriptofano (5HTP) e do m-hidroxibenzilhidrazine (NSD1015), associados a Lactobacillus spp., sobre o peso corporal e o desenvolvimento das vilosidades intestinais na porção proximal do duodeno de frangos de corte desafiados com Salmonella Enteritidis. Verificou-se também se a presença de Lactobacillus spp. e Salmonella Enteritidis influenciaram a imunomarcação de serotonina no duodeno e, para isso, o estudo foi dividido em dois experimentos, com e sem desafio por S. Enteritidis. No Experimento 1, em aves sem desafio, os pesos corporais não diferiram significantemente (p>0,05) e, no Experimento 2, aves com desafio, os tratamentos com o precursor isolado e associado a Lactobacillus spp. determinaram maior peso corporal das aves. Nos dois experimentos, as aves tratadas com 5HTP apresentaram aumento na densidade e altura das vilosidades no duodeno, sugerindo a atuação de 5HTP como um agente trófico. A administração de Lactobacillus spp. também determinou altura maior de vilosidades duodenais. Quanto a imunomarcação de serotonina, as aves tratadas com Lactobacillus spp. no Experimento 1 e as aves tratadas com Lactobacillus spp. e desafiadas com S. Enteritidis no Experimento 2, apresentaram valores superiores aos demais tratamentos, sugerindo que a presença destas bactérias promove maior liberação de serotonina para o duodeno, porém o mecanismo exato de como este processo ocorre necessita ser mais elucidado

Global, regional, and national disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) for 315 diseases and injuries and healthy life expectancy (HALE), 1990–2015: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015

Background Healthy life expectancy (HALE) and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) provide summary measures of health across geographies and time that can inform assessments of epidemiological patterns and health system performance, help to prioritise investments in research and development, and monitor progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We aimed to provide updated HALE and DALYs for geographies worldwide and evaluate how disease burden changes with development. Methods We used results from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2015 (GBD 2015) for all-cause mortality, cause-specific mortality, and non-fatal disease burden to derive HALE and DALYs by sex for 195 countries and territories from 1990 to 2015. We calculated DALYs by summing years of life lost (YLLs) and years of life lived with disability (YLDs) for each geography, age group, sex, and year. We estimated HALE using the Sullivan method, which draws from age-specific death rates and YLDs per capita. We then assessed how observed levels of DALYs and HALE differed from expected trends calculated with the Socio-demographic Index (SDI), a composite indicator constructed from measures of income per capita, average years of schooling, and total fertility rate. Findings Total global DALYs remained largely unchanged from 1990 to 2015, with decreases in communicable, neonatal, maternal, and nutritional (Group 1) disease DALYs offset by increased DALYs due to non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Much of this epidemiological transition was caused by changes in population growth and ageing, but it was accelerated by widespread improvements in SDI that also correlated strongly with the increasing importance of NCDs. Both total DALYs and age-standardised DALY rates due to most Group 1 causes significantly decreased by 2015, and although total burden climbed for the majority of NCDs, age-standardised DALY rates due to NCDs declined. Nonetheless, age-standardised DALY rates due to several high-burden NCDs (including osteoarthritis, drug use disorders, depression, diabetes, congenital birth defects, and skin, oral, and sense organ diseases) either increased or remained unchanged, leading to increases in their relative ranking in many geographies. From 2005 to 2015, HALE at birth increased by an average of 2·9 years (95% uncertainty interval 2·9–3·0) for men and 3·5 years (3·4–3·7) for women, while HALE at age 65 years improved by 0·85 years (0·78–0·92) and 1·2 years (1·1–1·3), respectively. Rising SDI was associated with consistently higher HALE and a somewhat smaller proportion of life spent with functional health loss; however, rising SDI was related to increases in total disability. Many countries and territories in central America and eastern sub-Saharan Africa had increasingly lower rates of disease burden than expected given their SDI. At the same time, a subset of geographies recorded a growing gap between observed and expected levels of DALYs, a trend driven mainly by rising burden due to war, interpersonal violence, and various NCDs. Interpretation Health is improving globally, but this means more populations are spending more time with functional health loss, an absolute expansion of morbidity. The proportion of life spent in ill health decreases somewhat with increasing SDI, a relative compression of morbidity, which supports continued efforts to elevate personal income, improve education, and limit fertility. Our analysis of DALYs and HALE and their relationship to SDI represents a robust framework on which to benchmark geography-specific health performance and SDG progress. Country-specific drivers of disease burden, particularly for causes with higher-than-expected DALYs, should inform financial and research investments, prevention efforts, health policies, and health system improvement initiatives for all countries along the development continuum. Funding Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

On the origin and evolution of the material in 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko

International audiencePrimitive objects like comets hold important information on the material that formed our solar system. Several comets have been visited by spacecraft and many more have been observed through Earth- and space-based telescopes. Still our understanding remains limited. Molecular abundances in comets have been shown to be similar to interstellar ices and thus indicate that common processes and conditions were involved in their formation. The samples returned by the Stardust mission to comet Wild 2 showed that the bulk refractory material was processed by high temperatures in the vicinity of the early sun. The recent Rosetta mission acquired a wealth of new data on the composition of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko (hereafter 67P/C-G) and complemented earlier observations of other comets. The isotopic, elemental, and molecular abundances of the volatile, semi-volatile, and refractory phases brought many new insights into the origin and processing of the incorporated material. The emerging picture after Rosetta is that at least part of the volatile material was formed before the solar system and that cometary nuclei agglomerated over a wide range of heliocentric distances, different from where they are found today. Deviations from bulk solar system abundances indicate that the material was not fully homogenized at the location of comet formation, despite the radial mixing implied by the Stardust results. Post-formation evolution of the material might play an important role, which further complicates the picture. This paper discusses these major findings of the Rosetta mission with respect to the origin of the material and puts them in the context of what we know from other comets and solar system objects

Relationship of edge localized mode burst times with divertor flux loop signal phase in JET

A phase relationship is identified between sequential edge localized modes (ELMs) occurrence times in a set of H-mode tokamak plasmas to the voltage measured in full flux azimuthal loops in the divertor region. We focus on plasmas in the Joint European Torus where a steady H-mode is sustained over several seconds, during which ELMs are observed in the Be II emission at the divertor. The ELMs analysed arise from intrinsic ELMing, in that there is no deliberate intent to control the ELMing process by external means. We use ELM timings derived from the Be II signal to perform direct time domain analysis of the full flux loop VLD2 and VLD3 signals, which provide a high cadence global measurement proportional to the voltage induced by changes in poloidal magnetic flux. Specifically, we examine how the time interval between pairs of successive ELMs is linked to the time-evolving phase of the full flux loop signals. Each ELM produces a clear early pulse in the full flux loop signals, whose peak time is used to condition our analysis. The arrival time of the following ELM, relative to this pulse, is found to fall into one of two categories: (i) prompt ELMs, which are directly paced by the initial response seen in the flux loop signals; and (ii) all other ELMs, which occur after the initial response of the full flux loop signals has decayed in amplitude. The times at which ELMs in category (ii) occur, relative to the first ELM of the pair, are clustered at times when the instantaneous phase of the full flux loop signal is close to its value at the time of the first ELM