Influence of brassinosteroids on fruit yield and quality of table grape 'Alphonse Lavallée'

This research was carried out to determine the effects of a brassinosteroid compound (22S-, 23S-homobrassinolide) on yield and quality attributes of a field-grown table grape cultivar 'Alphonse Lavallée'. The vines were sprayed at anthesis (first week of May) with the compound over two growing seasons. The solutions were prepared at the concentrations of control, 10-3 and 10-4 mg∙L-1. Clusters were harvested when those of the control vines reached 16 °Brix. Yield and quality parameters were analyzed. There were no clear effects of the compound on yield and quality, except for the cluster length. The low concentration resulted in longer clusters. High concentration increased the tensile strength of the pedicel to some degree. Seasonal differences were observed in most of the parameters studied

Effects of Cultural Practices on Total Phenolics and Vitamin C Content of Organic Table Grapes

The total phenolic and vitamin C contents of organic table grapes were determined by spectrophotometry and HPLC, respectively, after several quality-increasing treatments were applied at véraison for two growing seasons. Cane girdling and cluster-berry thinning resulted in different responses in the cultivars. ‘Red Globe’ generally was found to produce the lowest quantity of total phenolics in the berries, while ‘Trakya Ilkeren’ was the cultivar that accumulated the highest phenolics. Vitamin C accumulation in the berries was also affected by the treatments. The effect of the treatments was inconclusive in ‘Buca Razakısı’. The application of both girdling and thinning caused more accumulation of vitamin C in the ‘Alphonse L.’ and ‘Trakya Ilkeren’ berries

Pulmonary cavitary lesions may be one of the presenting features in Ig A nephropathy

Immunoglobulin A (Ig A) nephropathy is the most frequent primary glomerulonephritis. Renal limited disease is the most widespread clinical form of the disease. Pulmonary involvement may also be seen concomitantly and capillaritis with pulmonary hemorrhage is the most frequent pulmonary involvement. In this paper, for the first time in literature, we describe an Ig A nephropathy patient with multiple pulmonary cavities as one of the presenting features of the disease. Also, no other etiology for the cavities was found other than Ig A nephropathy. Herein, possible pathogenesis might be capillaritis or deposition of immune complexes. As a result, it should be kept in mind that pulmonary cavity may be the presenting feature of Ig A nephropathy especially with other frequent signs of the disease

Switchgrass is a promising, high-yielding crop for California biofuel

Ethanol use in California is expected to rise to 1.62 billion gallons per year in 2012, more than 90% of which will be trucked or shipped into the state. Switchgrass, a nonnative grass common in other states, has been identified as a possible high-yielding biomass crop for the production of cellulosic ethanol. The productivity of the two main ecotypes of switchgrass, lowland and upland, was evaluated under irrigated conditions across four diverse California ecozones - from Tulelake in the cool north to warm Imperial Valley in the south. In the first full year of production, the lowland varieties yielded up to 17 tons per acre of biomass, roughly double the biomass yields of California rice or maize. The yield response to nitrogen fertilization was statistically insignificant in the first year of production, except for in the Central Valley plots that were harvested twice a year. The biomass yields in our study indicate that switchgrass is a promising biofuel crop for California

Electronic structures and photophysics of d(8)-d(8) complexes

This work was supported by the NSF CCI Solar Fuels Program (CHE-1305124), the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation, the Ministry of Education of the Czech Republic - grant LH13015, and the COST Action CM1405

Chromo- and Fluorogenic Organometallic Sensors

Compounds that change their absorption and/or emission properties in the presence of a target ion or molecule have been studied for many years as the basis for optical sensing. Within this group of compounds, a variety of organometallic complexes have been proposed for the detection of a wide range of analytes such as cations (including H+), anions, gases (e.g. O 2, SO2, organic vapours), small organic molecules, and large biomolecules (e.g. proteins, DNA). This chapter focuses on work reported within the last few years in the area of organometallic sensors. Some of the most extensively studied systems incorporate metal moieties with intense long-lived metal-to-ligand charge transfer (MLCT) excited states as the reporter or indicator unit, such as fac-tricarbonyl Re(I) complexes, cyclometallated Ir(III) species, and diimine Ru(II) or Os(II) derivatives. Other commonly used organometallic sensors are based on Pt-alkynyls and ferrocene fragments. To these reporters, an appropriate recognition or analyte-binding unit is usually attached so that a detectable modification on the colour and/or the emission of the complex occurs upon binding of the analyte. Examples of recognition sites include macrocycles for the binding of cations, H-bonding units selective to specific anions, and DNA intercalating fragments. A different approach is used for the detection of some gases or vapours, where the sensor's response is associated with changes in the crystal packing of the complex on absorption of the gas, or to direct coordination of the analyte to the metal centre

Differential predictors for alcohol use in adolescents as a function of familial risk

Abstract: Traditional models of future alcohol use in adolescents have used variable-centered approaches, predicting alcohol use from a set of variables across entire samples or populations. Following the proposition that predictive factors may vary in adolescents as a function of family history, we used a two-pronged approach by first defining clusters of familial risk, followed by prediction analyses within each cluster. Thus, for the first time in adolescents, we tested whether adolescents with a family history of drug abuse exhibit a set of predictors different from adolescents without a family history. We apply this approach to a genetic risk score and individual differences in personality, cognition, behavior (risk-taking and discounting) substance use behavior at age 14, life events, and functional brain imaging, to predict scores on the alcohol use disorders identification test (AUDIT) at age 14 and 16 in a sample of adolescents (N = 1659 at baseline, N = 1327 at follow-up) from the IMAGEN cohort, a longitudinal community-based cohort of adolescents. In the absence of familial risk (n = 616), individual differences in baseline drinking, personality measures (extraversion, negative thinking), discounting behaviors, life events, and ventral striatal activation during reward anticipation were significantly associated with future AUDIT scores, while the overall model explained 22% of the variance in future AUDIT. In the presence of familial risk (n = 711), drinking behavior at age 14, personality measures (extraversion, impulsivity), behavioral risk-taking, and life events were significantly associated with future AUDIT scores, explaining 20.1% of the overall variance. Results suggest that individual differences in personality, cognition, life events, brain function, and drinking behavior contribute differentially to the prediction of future alcohol misuse. This approach may inform more individualized preventive interventions

Differential predictors for alcohol use in adolescents as a function of familial risk

Abstract: Traditional models of future alcohol use in adolescents have used variable-centered approaches, predicting alcohol use from a set of variables across entire samples or populations. Following the proposition that predictive factors may vary in adolescents as a function of family history, we used a two-pronged approach by first defining clusters of familial risk, followed by prediction analyses within each cluster. Thus, for the first time in adolescents, we tested whether adolescents with a family history of drug abuse exhibit a set of predictors different from adolescents without a family history. We apply this approach to a genetic risk score and individual differences in personality, cognition, behavior (risk-taking and discounting) substance use behavior at age 14, life events, and functional brain imaging, to predict scores on the alcohol use disorders identification test (AUDIT) at age 14 and 16 in a sample of adolescents (N = 1659 at baseline, N = 1327 at follow-up) from the IMAGEN cohort, a longitudinal community-based cohort of adolescents. In the absence of familial risk (n = 616), individual differences in baseline drinking, personality measures (extraversion, negative thinking), discounting behaviors, life events, and ventral striatal activation during reward anticipation were significantly associated with future AUDIT scores, while the overall model explained 22% of the variance in future AUDIT. In the presence of familial risk (n = 711), drinking behavior at age 14, personality measures (extraversion, impulsivity), behavioral risk-taking, and life events were significantly associated with future AUDIT scores, explaining 20.1% of the overall variance. Results suggest that individual differences in personality, cognition, life events, brain function, and drinking behavior contribute differentially to the prediction of future alcohol misuse. This approach may inform more individualized preventive interventions

YIELD AND QUALITY OF SULTANI GRAPES (VITIS VINIFERA L.) TREATED WITH 28-HOMOBRASSINOLIDE AND GIBBERELLIC ACID

WOS: 000490563900146In this study, the effects of gibberellic acid (GA(3)) and brassinosteroid (BRs) applications on the yield and berry quality of Sultani grapes were determined during the 2017-2018 period. 28-homobrassinolide (Hbl) solutions with concentrations 4 ppm (Hbl-4) and 8 ppm (Hbl-8) were spray applied at veraison. Three GA(3) concentrations were implemented by spraying method. the applications times were as follows; Application 1: 10 ppm, clusters 5-10 cm in length at pre-bloom stage (first week of May), Application 2: 15 ppm at 45-50% flowering (mid-June), and Application 3: 20 ppm with 3-5 mm berry diameter stage. GA(3) and BRs on yield components, some quality characteristics relating to clusters and berries (weight, breadth and length, etc.), color of bunches, total phenol content and antioxidant activity were investigated. Results showed that the effects differed, and they were not consistent on all the variables. Effects of the HBl treatments on yield were not as high as GA(3) but there were some positive improvements. Hbl was found to be influential on increasing cluster breadth. Berries were harder with the hormone applications. Quality characteristics were more influenced by the seasons rather than the hormones. Color and total anthocyanin contents were better with the hormones. Fructose content indicated a significant increase with the Hbl-4 application. 28-homobrassinolide might carry some potentially useful effects on improving yield, not to the extent of GA(3), and also on color along with increasing sweetness during the production of 'Sultani' grapes