Effect of nocturnal ventilation on the occurrence of Botrytis cinerea in Mediterranean unheated tomato greenhouses

Botrytis cinerea is the causal agent of grey mould disease which is one of the most important diseases affecting tomato crops in unheated greenhouses. Nocturnal ventilation is a technique that can be used to reduce relative humidity inside unheated greenhouses. The main objectives of this research were to investigate the effect of ventilation management on the environmental conditions and on the disease severity, to develop and validate a model which could predict disease severity and to present a warning system. Experiments were conducted in two plastic greenhouses. Two natural ventilation treatments were randomly assigned to the greenhouses. One was nocturnal ventilation (NV), with the vents open during the day and night, while the other was classical ventilation (CV), in which the vents were open during the day and closed during the night. A tomato crop was grown directly in the soil between the end of February and the end of July during two crop seasons. Climatic data were measured with three meteorological stations, averaged and recorded on an hourly basis. The number of diseased leaflets were counted and removed from the greenhouse. In the NV greenhouse a significant reduction of air humidity and disease appearance was observed. A warning system was developed and can be a useful tool for helping to decide on appropriate actions and the correct timing to avoid conditions that favour disease development. For a more practical application, disease risk levels were defined as a function of the duration of periods with RH > 90%

Cytosolic phospholipase A2α gene silencing in monocytes alters development of Th1 responses and reduces autoimmune arthritis

International audienc

Shallow structure beneath the Central Volcanic Complex of Tenerife from new gravity data: implications for its evolution and recent reactivation

We present a new local Bouguer anomaly map of the Central Volcanic Complex (CVC) of Tenerife, Spain, constructed from the amalgamation of 323 new high precision gravity measurements with existing gravity data from 361 observations. The new anomaly map images the high-density core of the CVC and the pronounced gravity low centred in the Las Cañadas caldera in greater detail than previously available. Mathematical construction of a sub-surface model from the local anomaly data, employing a 3D inversion based on 'growing' the sub-surface density distribution via the aggregation of cells, enables mapping of the shallow structure beneath the complex, giving unprecedented insights into the sub-surface architecture. We find the resultant density distribution in agreement with geological and other geophysical data. The modelled sub-surface structure supports a vertical collapse origin of the caldera, and maps the headwall of the ca. 180 ka Icod landslide, which appears to lie buried beneath the Pico Viejo–Pico Teide stratovolcanic complex. The results allow us to put into context the recorded ground deformation and gravity changes at the CVC during its reactivation in spring 2004 in relation to its dominant structural building blocks. For example, the areas undergoing the most significant changes at depth in recent years are underlain by low-density material and are aligned along long-standing structural entities, which have shaped this volcanic ocean island over the past few million years

Avaliação à medida no Segundo HAREM

Objectives This study compared the efficacy and safety of subcutaneous (SC) versus intravenous (IV) formulations of tocilizumab in patients with rheumatoid arthritis with an inadequate response to disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARD). Methods Patients (n=1262) were randomly assigned to receive tocilizumab-SC 162mg weekly+placebo-IV every 4weeks or tocilizumab-IV 8mg/kg every 4weeks+placebo-SC weekly in combination with traditional DMARD. The primary outcome was to demonstrate the non-inferiority of tocilizumab-SC to tocilizumab-IV with regard to the proportion of patients in each group achieving an American College of Rheumatology (ACR) 20 response at week 24 using a 12% non-inferiority margin (NIM). Secondary outcomes were disease activity score using 28 joints (DAS28), ACR responses, health assessment questionnaire scores and safety assessments. Results At week 24, 69.4% (95% CI 65.5 to 73.2) of tocilizumab-SC-treated patients versus 73.4% (95% CI 69.6 to 77.1) of tocilizumab-IV-treated patients achieved an ACR20 response (weighted difference between groups -4.0%, 95% CI -9.2 to 1.2); the 12% NIM was met. ACR50/70 responses, DAS28 and physical function improvements were comparable between the tocilizumab-SC and tocilizumab-IV groups. The safety profiles of tocilizumab-SC and tocilizumab-IV were similar, and the most common adverse event was infection. Injection-site reactions (ISR) occurred more frequently in the tocilizumab-SC group than in the tocilizumab-IV (placebo-SC) group. No anaphylaxis was reported over the 24weeks. Conclusions Tocilizumab-SC 162mg weekly demonstrated comparable efficacy to tocilizumab-IV 8mg/kg. The safety profile of tocilizumab-SC is consistent with the known and well-established safety profile of tocilizumab-IV, with the exception of a higher incidence of ISR, which were more common with tocilizumab-SC administration

From glycosylation disorders to dolichol biosynthesis defects: a new class of metabolic diseases

Polyisoprenoid alcohols are membrane lipids that are present in every cell, conserved from archaea to higher eukaryotes. The most common form, alpha-saturated polyprenol or dolichol is present in all tissues and most organelle membranes of eukaryotic cells. Dolichol has a well defined role as a lipid carrier for the glycan precursor in the early stages of N-linked protein glycosylation, which is assembled in the endoplasmic reticulum of all eukaryotic cells. Other glycosylation processes including C- and O-mannosylation, GPI-anchor biosynthesis and O-glucosylation also depend on dolichol biosynthesis via the availability of dolichol-P-mannose and dolichol-P-glucose in the ER. The ubiquity of dolichol in cellular compartments that are not involved in glycosylation raises the possibility of additional functions independent of these protein post-translational modifications. The molecular basis of several steps involved in the synthesis and the recycling of dolichol and its derivatives is still unknown, which hampers further research into this direction. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge on structural and functional aspects of dolichol metabolites. We will describe the metabolic disorders with a defect in known steps of dolichol biosynthesis and recycling in human and discuss their pathogenic mechanisms. Exploration of the developmental, cellular and biochemical defects associated with these disorders will provide a better understanding of the functions of this lipid class in human

Increased Production of the Soluble Tumor-Associated Antigens CA19-9, CA125, and CA15-3 in Rheumatoid Arthritis

Some tumor-associated antigens (TAAs) are expressed on inflammatory cells. We previously detected carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA; CD66) in the rheumatoid (RA) synovium. The production of CEA, CA19-9, CA125, and CA15.3, may be increased in patients with RA, scleroderma, lupus, and SjÖgren's syndrome (SS). Some of these TAAs contain sialylated carbohydrate motifs and they are involved in tumor-associated cell adhesion and metastasis. We assessed levels of TAAs in the sera of RA patients and healthy subjects. Serum TAA levels were correlated with disease markers including serum rheumatoid factor (RF), C-reactive protein (CRP), and anti-CCP antibody levels, DAS28, age disease duration. TAAs including CEA, CA15-3, CA72-4, CA125, and CA19-9, and neuron-specific enolase (NSE) were assessed by immunoassay in the sera of 75 patients with RA and 50 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. Normal upper limits for these TAAs were 3.4 Μg/L, 25 kU/L, 6.9 kU/L, 35 kU/L, 34 kU/L, and 16.3 Μg/L, respectively. There were significantly more RA patients showing abnormally high levels of CA125 (10.8% versus 7.1%), CA19-9 (8.1% versus 0%), and CA15-3 (17.6% versus 14.3%) in comparison to controls ( P < 0.05). The mean absolute serum levels of CA125 (23.9 ± 1.8 versus 16.8 ± 2.2 kU/L) and CA19-9 (14.2 ± 1.2 versus 10.5 ± 1.6 kU/L) were also significantly higher in RA compared to controls ( P < 0.05). Among RA patients, serum CEA showed significant correlation with RF ( r = 0.270; P < 0.05). None of the assessed TAAs showed any correlation with CRP, anti-CCP, DAS28, age or disease duration. The concentration of some TAAs may be elevated in the sera of patients with established RA in comparison to healthy subjects. CEA, CA19-9, CA125, and CA15-3 contain carbohydrate motifs and thus they may be involved in synovitis-associated adhesive events. Furthermore, some TAAs, such as CEA, may also correlate with prognostic factors, such as serum RF levels.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/73224/1/annals.1422.037.pd