Organic Aminoethoxyvinylglycine Is an Effective Alternative for Reducing Apple Preharvest Drop

Organic apple (Malus ×domestica Borkh.) growers lack effective strategies to manage preharvest drop. For susceptible cultivars, yield losses caused by preharvest drop can exceed 30% at the beginning of harvest. To address this issue, a formulation of aminoethoxyvinylglyine (AVG) designed for organic use was developed and compared with a commercially available AVG formulation. We evaluated the effects and interactions of the AVG formulation and application number on preharvest drop and fruit maturity in 2017 and 2018. We selected 30 pairs of mature ‘Oregon Spur II Red Delicious’/‘M. 111’ trees planted at the Mountain Horticultural Crops Research and Extension Center in Mills River, NC, USA. Trees were planted with spacing of 2.7 × 6.1 m, trained to a central leader, and received plant protectant sprays that adhered to local recommendations throughout the growing season. Both AVG formulations were applied at 132 mg⋅L−1 at 3 or 3 + 1 weeks before the anticipated harvest. An untreated control was also included for comparison. The experiment had six replicates and a randomized complete block design with a 2 × 2 augmented factorial treatment structure. A one-way analysis of variance was performed and single degree of freedom contrasts were used to compare treatment groups of interest. During both years, organic and conventional AVG were equally effective for reducing preharvest drop and delaying fruit softening and starch hydrolysis at harvest. During one year, increasing the number of applications of AVG reduced cumulative fruit drop, delayed fruit softening at harvest, and reduced internal ethylene concentrations. Inconsistencies in responses across years may be explained, in part, by abnormally warm temperatures observed in 2018. AVG approved for organic use appears to be a promising preharvest drop management technology with efficacy similar to that of conventional AVG

Effects of early, combined endurance and resistance training in mechanically ventilated, critically ill patients: a study protocol for a randomised controlled trial

BACKGROUND Prolonged need for intensive care is associated with neuromuscular weakness, termed Intensive Care Unit Acquired Weakness. Those affected suffer from severe functional impairment that can persist for years. First studies suggest a positive effect of physiotherapy and early mobilisation. However, the ideal intervention for a preferential functional outcome is not known. So far no randomised controlled trial has been conducted to specifically evaluate an early endurance and resistance training in the mechanically ventilated, critically ill patient. METHODS/DESIGN A randomised controlled trial with blinded assessors and 6-month follow-up will be conducted in a tertiary, interdisciplinary intensive care unit in Switzerland. Participants (n = 115; expected dropouts: n = 15) will be randomised to a control group receiving standard physiotherapy and to an experimental group that undergoes early mobilisation combined with endurance and resistance training. The inclusion criteria are being aged 18 years or older, expected mechanical ventilation for more than 72 h and qualitative independence before the illness. Primary endpoints are functional capacity (6-Minute Walk Test) and the ability to perform activities of daily living (Functional Independence Measure) measured at hospital discharge. Secondary endpoints include muscle strength (Medical Research Council sum score, handgrip strength and handheld dynamometry for quadriceps muscle), joint contractures (range of motion), exercise capacity (Timed 'Up & Go' Test) and health-related quality of life (Short Form 36). Safety will be monitored during interventions by indirect calorimetry and continuous intensive care standard monitoring. All previously defined adverse events will be noted. The statistical analysis will be by intention-to-treat with the level of significance set at p < 0.05. DISCUSSION This prospective, single-centre, allocation-concealed and assessor-blinded randomised controlled trial will evaluate participant's function after an early endurance and resistance training compared to standard care. Limitations of this study are the heterogeneity of the critically ill and the discontinuity of the protocol after relocation to the ward. The strengths lie in the pragmatic design and the clinical significance of the chosen outcome measures. TRIAL REGISTRATION German Clinical Trials Register (DRKS): DRKS00004347 , registered on 10 September 2012

Beauveria bassiana and ELISA determination of neonicotinoids to improve management of Listronotus maculicollis

Bioassays were designed to evaluate Beauveria bassiana (Balsamo) Vuillemin strain GHA against Listronotus maculicollis (Kirby) adults. B. bassiana and its “inert” carrier oil in the product BotaniGard and the “inert” carrier oil alone provided 99 and 96% mortality respectively in Petri dish assays 1 d after treatment when applied in 1 ml water. When the same treatments were applied in 0.5 ml of carrier water mortality was only 1.4 and 0.7% respectively 1 d after treatment. After 10 d in Petri dishes, B. bassiana and its “inert” carrier oil and the “inert” carrier oil alone applied in 0.5 ml water showed 77 and 9% mortality respectively. When one-tenth the label dosage of B. bassiana and “inert” carrier oil was combined with neonicotinoids clothianidin, imidacloprid, and dinotefuran applied in 1 ml water, there were significant increases (34, 30, and 68% respectively) in weevil mortality over the neonicotinoids alone 1 d after treatment. When one-tenth the label dosage of “inert” carrier oil alone was combined with neonicotinoids clothianidin, imidacloprid, and dinotefuran applied in 1 ml water, there were also significant increases with clothianidin and dinotefuran (38 and 24% respectively) in weevil mortality over the neonicotinoids alone 1 d after treatment. B. bassiana and its “inert” carrier oil provided 28, 50, and 78% mortality at the highest label dosage and 47, 76, and 89% mortality at 4× the highest label dosage in turf plug assays at 7, 10, and 14 d after treatment. Addition of 5 or 20% MycoMax (a nutrient source for B. bassiana) did not significantly increase mortality in turfgrass plug assays. ELISA plates were used to determine the amounts of clothianidin and imidacloprid in Poa annua clippings from treated golf course fairways. Amounts of clothianidin ranged from 71.8 to 1238.1 ng/g tissue in 2011 and 68.8 to 2045.0 ng/g tissue in 2012. Amounts of imidacloprid ranged from 40.8 to 1679.2 ng/g tissue in 2011 and 116.8 to 3722.0 ng/g tissue in 2012. Listronotus maculicollis adults were caged on neonicotinoid and neonicotinoid/pyrethroid treated P. annua plugs. Substantial feeding on P. annua was observed; however, mortality of L. maculicollis adults was not significantly different from control plugs. We were not able to determine concentrations of either clothianidin or imidacloprid that were effective in controlling larvae. Our data help to explain the lack of control of this insecticide resistant pest

Design of a high-speed continuous motion blade offloader

The Gillette Company currently uses index-dwell conveyors to produce razor blades for final assembly. The objective of this project was to develop a continuous motion mechanism to offload and stack finished blades into a stationary magazine at 1500 parts per minute. To complete this objective, a detailed CAD model was developed to allow complete mechanism design, analysis, and proof of concept of all functional elements critical to the blade offload process. The final offlaod mechanism consists of a multi-cam driven inline linear reciprocating tool with both horizontal and vertical travel. The complete stacking operation consists of linear travel of the blade along a contoured track followed in conjunction with a magazine upstack operation, performed by a barrel cam and two radial cams, respectively

DEM Generation over Ice Fields in Nunavut with Along-track SPOT5 HRS Stereo Data

International audienceA digital elevation model (DEM) was generated using a SPOT5 HRS stereo pair acquired over a challenging ice field and fjord study site in Nunavut (80% of the area was ice covered and almost 50% of the area had 40 degrees slopes). The DEM was thus evaluated by comparison with a topographic 1959 DEM and ICESat data, over and outside the ice fields and as a function of slope. The DEM generation did not need any reference cartographic data for collecting ground control points. The method could be applied to ice-covered areas with a 15 m accuracy (1 sigma) over less than 5 degrees slopes or a 22 m accuracy (1 sigma) over less than 40 degrees slopes. In addition, a systematic elevation lowering of 8-10 m computed between 1959 DEM and recent elevation data (HRS and ICESat) could be due to ice field wastage over the last 50 year