Bean production and pest constraints in Latin America

Beans are attacked by a large no. of plant pathogens and insect pests, many of which can reduce yields drastically. Farmers with small land holdings usually have limited resources but produce most of the beans in L.A. Control strategies feasible for these growers may be restricted to those strategies that do not require large cash inputs; hence breeding for resistance may be the most desirable alternative available. National and international bean production programs, must accurately identify yield constraints prevalent in specific producton regions to provide more efficient use of the large amount of manpower, research expenditure and time required to implement resistance breeding. Stability of resistant materials can be improved with an integrated control strategy consisting of resistance, cultural practices, chemicals and clean seed production for those diseases in which resistance does not confer immunity to infection. This Integrated control strategy must be adapted to specific regional problems. A more systematic collection of information is necessary to evaluate the costs and probability of success for control strategies so that the pathology, entomology and breeding reseach at the expt station is more applicable and quickly available to farmers. (AS)El frijol es atacado por un gran no. de organismos fitopatogenos y plagas, muchas de las cuales disminuyen los rendimientos significativamente. Los agricultores que poseen pequenas parcelas tienen generalmente ingresos muy limitados pero producen casi todo el frijol en America Latina. Las estrategias de control factibles para estos agricultores estan restringidas a aquellas medidas que no requieren grandes inversiones; de ahi que el mejoramiento por resistencia sea una de las alternativas disponibles mas deseables. Los programas nacionales e internacionales de produccion de frijol deben identificar en forma precisa los limitantes del rendimiento prevalentes en regiones productoras especificas, a fin de utilizar eficientemente el potencial humano, las inversiones en investigacion y el tiempo requerido para implantar el mejoramiento por resistencia. La estabilidad de los materiales resistentes se puede mejorar mediante una estrategia de control integrado que consiste en resistencia, practicas culturales, productos quimicos y produccion de semilla limpia para aquellas enfermedades para las cuales la resistencia no confiere inmunidad a la infeccion. Este sistema de control integrado debera adaptarse a los diferentes problemas especificos regionales. Se requiere una recoleccion mas sistematica de informacion para evaluar los costos y posibilidades de exito de los sistemas de control, con el objetivo de que la investigacion en patologia, entomologia y mejoramiento genetico en la estacion experimental sea mas util y rapidamente apicable por los agricultores. (RA

An interleaved sampling scheme for the characterization of single qubit dynamics

In this paper, we demonstrate that interleaved sampling techniques can be used to characterize the Hamiltonian of a qubit and its environmental decoherence rate. The technique offers a significant advantage in terms of the number of measurements that are required to characterize a qubit. When compared to the standard Nyquist-Shannon sampling rate, the saving in the total measurement time for the interleaved method is approximately proportional to the ratio of the sample rates.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figure

Microstructure modelling of hot deformation of Al–1%Mg alloy

This study presents the application of the finite elementmethod and intelligent systems techniques to the prediction of microstructural mapping for aluminium alloys. Here, the material within each finite element is defined using a hybrid model. The hybrid model is based on neuro-fuzzy and physically based components and it has been combined with the finite element technique. The model simulates the evolution of the internal state variables (i.e. dislocation density, subgrain size and subgrain boundary misorientation) and their effect on the recrystallisation behaviour of the stock. This paper presents the theory behind the model development, the integration between the numerical techniques, and the application of the technique to a hot rolling operation using aluminium, 1 wt% magnesium alloy. Furthermore, experimental data from plane strain compression (PSC) tests and rolling are used to validate the modelling outcome. The results show that the recrystallisation kinetics agree well with the experimental results for different annealing times. This hybrid approach has proved to be more accurate than conventional methods using empirical equations

An investigation into the effects of, and interaction between, heel height and shoe upper stiffness on plantar pressure and comfort

High heeled shoes remain popular, nevertheless it is not clear what influence manipulating characteristics of this footwear has on their functioning. It is accepted that shoe features other than heel height can affect plantar pressures. However, few investigations have compared such features, and none have compared the influence of modifying upper material stiffness, whilst systematically increasing heel height. A firm understanding of the interactions of footwear properties is essential to ensure that footwear designers can optimise design for the comfort and health of the wearer. This paper investigates a feature that is known to reduce comfort (heel height) and a feature that is easy to change without affecting aesthetics (material stiffness) to better understand the effects of their interaction on plantar pressure and comfort. Sixteen female participants with experience wearing high heels wore a range of shoes with five effective heel heights (35-75 mm) and two upper materials (with different stiffness). In-shoe plantar pressure was recorded and participants completed a comfort questionnaire. Increasing heel height increased plantar pressure under the metatarsal heads, while reducing pressure in the hallux and heel. Higher heel heights also lead to increased discomfort, particularly in the toes where discomfort increased 154.3% from the 35 to 75 mm heels. Upper stiffness did not affect plantar pressure. However, stiffer uppers significantly increased reported discomfort, most notably on top of the foot (108.6%), the back of the heel (87.7%), the overall width (99%), and the overall comfort (100.7%). Significant interaction effects between heel height and upper material existed for comfort questionnaire data. Manipulating heel height alters plantar pressure and comfort, and choice of upper material is paramount to achieving wearer comfort in heels

T-bet controls intestinal mucosa immune responses via repression of type 2 innate lymphoid cell function

Innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) play an important role in regulating immune responses at mucosal surfaces. The transcription factor T-bet is crucial for the function of ILC1s and NCR+ ILC3s and constitutive deletion of T-bet prevents the development of these subsets. Lack of T-bet in the absence of an adaptive immune system causes microbiota-dependent colitis to occur due to aberrant ILC3 responses. Thus, T-bet expression in the innate immune system has been considered to dampen pathogenic immune responses. Here, we show that T-bet plays an unexpected role in negatively regulating innate type 2 responses, in the context of an otherwise intact immune system. Selective loss of T-bet in ILCs leads to the expansion and increased activity of ILC2s, which has a functionally important impact on mucosal immunity, including enhanced protection from Trichinella spiralis infection and inflammatory colitis. Mechanistically, we show that T-bet controls the intestinal ILC pool through regulation of IL-7 receptor signalling. These data demonstrate that T-bet expression in ILCs acts as the key transcriptional checkpoint in regulating pathogenic vs. protective mucosal immune responses, which has significant implications for the understanding of the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel diseases and intestinal infections

Advantages of the AMDL-ELISA DR-70 (FDP) Assay over Carcinoembryonic Antigen (CEA) for Monitoring Colorectal Cancer Patients

The DR-70® (FDP) test was the first cancer test cleared by USFDA for monitoring colorectal cancer (CRC) since Carcinoembryonic Antigen (CEA) in 1982. Conservatively, 50% of biopsy-positive CRC patients have negative CEA values. DR-70 and CEA values were compared for 113 CRC monitoring patients. Total concordance rates for DR-70 and CEA were 0.665 and 0.686, respectively. CRC patient pairs were grouped based on their CEA value to deduce DR-70's effectiveness at monitoring patients with low CEA values. DR-70 had 12% to 100% greater positive concordance rates than CEA in this group. DR-70 is a welcome new option for CRC patients

Kepler-22b: A 2.4 Earth-radius Planet in the Habitable Zone of a Sun-like Star

A search of the time-series photometry from NASA's Kepler spacecraft reveals a transiting planet candidate orbiting the 11th magnitude G5 dwarf KIC 10593626 with a period of 290 days. The characteristics of the host star are well constrained by high-resolution spectroscopy combined with an asteroseismic analysis of the Kepler photometry, leading to an estimated mass and radius of 0.970 +/- 0.060 MSun and 0.979 +/- 0.020 RSun. The depth of 492 +/- 10ppm for the three observed transits yields a radius of 2.38 +/- 0.13 REarth for the planet. The system passes a battery of tests for false positives, including reconnaissance spectroscopy, high-resolution imaging, and centroid motion. A full BLENDER analysis provides further validation of the planet interpretation by showing that contamination of the target by an eclipsing system would rarely mimic the observed shape of the transits. The final validation of the planet is provided by 16 radial velocities obtained with HIRES on Keck 1 over a one year span. Although the velocities do not lead to a reliable orbit and mass determination, they are able to constrain the mass to a 3{\sigma} upper limit of 124 MEarth, safely in the regime of planetary masses, thus earning the designation Kepler-22b. The radiative equilibrium temperature is 262K for a planet in Kepler-22b's orbit. Although there is no evidence that Kepler-22b is a rocky planet, it is the first confirmed planet with a measured radius to orbit in the Habitable Zone of any star other than the Sun.Comment: Accepted to Ap

Identifying the transcriptional response of cancer and inflammation-related genes in lung cells in relation to ambient air chemical mixtures in Houston, Texas

Atmospheric pollution represents a complex mixture of air chemicals that continually interact and transform, making it difficult to accurately evaluate associated toxicity responses representative of real-world exposure. This study leveraged data from a previously published article and reevaluated lung cell transcriptional response induced by outdoor atmospheric pollution mixtures using field-based exposure conditions in the industrialized Houston Ship Channel. The tested hypothesis was that individual and co-occurring chemicals in the atmosphere relate to altered expression of critical genes involved in inflammation and cancer-related processes in lung cells. Human lung cells were exposed at an air−liquid interface to ambient air mixtures for 4 h, with experiments replicated across 5 days. Real-time monitoring of primary and secondary gas-phase pollutants, as well as other atmospheric conditions, was simultaneously conducted. Transcriptional analysis of exposed cells identified critical genes showing differential expression associated with both individual and chemical mixtures. The individual pollutant identified with the largest amount of associated transcriptional response was benzene. Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) and interferon regulatory factor 1 (IRFN1) were identified as key upstream transcription factor regulators of the cellular response to benzene. This study is among the first to measure lung cell transcriptional responses in relation to real-world, gas-phase air mixtures