Results from a three year testing project of new strawberry cultivars in Verticillium infested soils and under organic farming conditions

As part of a research project 13 cultivars were planted in 2005 at 11 sites on 9 farms in 5 different Austrian regions. The aim was to find new cultivars tolerant to soil-borne pathogens and leaf/fruit diseases, with high yield, winter hardness and good fruit quality, to serve as alternative to the highly susceptible cultivar ‘Elsanta’, regarding soil-borne diseases. Plant vigour and infestation with Verticillium dahliae and leaf diseases were evaluated in 2005 und 2006 at 7 sites and in 2007 at 3 sites. In addition, following parameters were assessed on 2 organically managed sites in 2006 and 2007: marketable yield, percentage of different categories of unmarketable fruits and incidence of the blossom weevil. In 2006 fruit characteristics and consumer acceptance were studied. ‘Elsanta’ showed the highest infestation with V. dahliae whereas ‘Salsa’, ‘Daroyal’ and ‘Alice’ were most tolerant. ‘Dora’, ‘Eva’, ‘Queen Elisa’ and ‘Daroyal’ recorded significantly higher losses by the blossom weevil than ‘Alice’. ‘Alba’ and ‘Divine’ were the earliest cultivars in ripening time. Highest marketable yield per plant had the late ripening cultivars, particularly ‘Salsa’ and ‘Sonata’. Of all early ripening cultivars tested, ‘Elsanta’ showed the highest productivity, followed by 'Alba', ‘Darselect’, ‘Daroyal’ and ‘Eva’. Regarding fruit firmness, content of ascorbic acid, shelf life and appearance, ‘Alba’, ’Clery’, ‘Eva’ and ‘Queen Elisa’ were most convincing. The best tasting cultivars were ‘Clery’, ‘Daroyal’ and ‘Divine’. Summing up all the results, ‘Alba’, ‘Alice’ and ‘Salsa’ can be recommended for organic production, whereas ‘Clery’, ‘Daroyal’, ‘Darselect’, ‘Elsanta’, ‘Eva’, ‘Queen Elisa’ and ‘Sonata’ are classified as suitable for only a limited extent. ‘Elsanta’, ‘Divine’, ‘Dora’ and ‘Sonata’ are particularly unsuitable for growing in Verticillium infested soils. ‘Divine’, ‘Dora’, and ‘Record’ cannot be recommended for organic production at all

Di-μ-sulfido-bis{[rac-1,2-bis(η5-4,5,6, 7-tetrahydroinden-1-yl)ethane]zirconium(IV)} toluene monosolvate

The title dimeric zirconium complex, [Zr3(C20H 24)2S2]·C7H8, was obtained from the reaction of (ebthi)Zr(η2-Me3Si-C2-SiMe3) [ebthi is rac-1,2-bis(η5-4,5,6,7-tetrahydroinden-1-yl)ethane] and S=C=N-ada (ada = adamantan-1-yl) along with the formation of the isonitrile C N-ada. Each ZrIV atom is coordinated by the sterically hindered ebthi ligand and two μ-sulfide ligands in a strongly distorted tetrahedral geometry. The [ZrS]2 unit is almost planar (mean deviation from the best plane of the four atoms = 0.025Å). A -CH2-CH2- group in one ebthi ligand was disordered over two sites, with refined occupancy factors of 0.551(6) and 0.449(6). The asymmetric unit also contains a toluene solvent molecule

Ecophysiological traits of mixotrophic Strombidium spp

This is a pre-copyedited, author-produced version of an article accepted for publication in Journal of Plankton Research following peer review. The version of record Maselli, M., Altenburger, A., Stoecker, D. K. & Hansen, P. J. (2020). Ecophysiological traits of mixotrophic Strombidium spp. Journal of Plankton Research, 42(5), 485-496 is available online at: https://doi.org/10.1093/plankt/fbaa041.Ciliates represent an important trophic link between nanoplankton and mesoplankton. Many species acquire functional chloroplasts from photosynthetic prey, being thus mixotrophs. Little is known about which algae they exploit, and of the relevance of inorganic carbon assimilation to their metabolism. To get insights into these aspects, laboratory cultures of three mixotrophic Strombidium spp. were established and 35 photosynthetic algal species were tested as prey. The relative contributions of ingestion and photosynthesis to total carbon uptake were determined, and responses to prey starvation were studied. Ciliate growth was supported by algal species in the 2–12 μm size range, with cryptophytes and chlorophytes being the best prey types. Inorganic carbon incorporation was only quantitatively important when prey concentration was low (3–100 μgCL−1), when it led to increased gross growth efficiencies. Chla specific inorganic carbon uptake rates were reduced by 60–90% compared to that of the photosynthetic prey. Inorganic carbon uptake alone could not sustain survival of cultures and ciliate populations declined by 25–30% during 5 days of starvation. The results suggest that mixotrophy in Strombidium spp. may substantially bolster the efficiency of trophic transfer when biomass of small primary producers is low

Alginate/silica hybrid materials for immobilization of green microalgae \u3ci\u3eChlorella vulgaris\u3c/i\u3e for cellbased sensor arrays

Thin layers and patterned dot arrays of sodium alginate containing living microalgal cells were deposited onto glass carriers which were subsequently gelled using amino-functionalized silica sol to obtain reinforced alginate hydrogels. The resulting alginate/silica hybrid materials showed improved stability in salt-containing solutions compared to alginate gels gelled by traditional methods using Ca2+-ions. Cell arrays were patterned by printing nanolitre-scale drops of sodium alginate/cell suspension using a noncontact micro-dosage system which allows the printing of solutions of high viscosity. Cultures of the green microalga Chlorella vulgaris were immobilized within the newly developed alginate/silica hydrogels in order to demonstrate the potential of the hybrid matrix for the design of cell-based detection systems. The herbicide atrazine as well as copper ions have been used as model toxicants. Short-term toxicity tests (exposure time: 1 h) have been carried out using atrazine and changes in chlorophyll a (Chl a) fluorescence were measured by imaging pulse amplitude modulated-fluorometry (Imaging-PAM). C. vulgaris cells immobilized within alginate/silica hydrogels demonstrated a highly reproducible response pattern and compared well to freely suspended cells. Activity and response sensitivity of immobilized cells to atrazine was largely maintained for up to 8 weeks, especially when stored under cool conditions in the dark. Furthermore, immobilized cells could be repeatingly used for short-term toxicity tests as atrazine produces a reversible inhibition of photosynthesis

Alginate/silica hybrid materials for immobilization of green microalgae \u3ci\u3eChlorella vulgaris\u3c/i\u3e for cellbased sensor arrays

Thin layers and patterned dot arrays of sodium alginate containing living microalgal cells were deposited onto glass carriers which were subsequently gelled using amino-functionalized silica sol to obtain reinforced alginate hydrogels. The resulting alginate/silica hybrid materials showed improved stability in salt-containing solutions compared to alginate gels gelled by traditional methods using Ca2+-ions. Cell arrays were patterned by printing nanolitre-scale drops of sodium alginate/cell suspension using a noncontact micro-dosage system which allows the printing of solutions of high viscosity. Cultures of the green microalga Chlorella vulgaris were immobilized within the newly developed alginate/silica hydrogels in order to demonstrate the potential of the hybrid matrix for the design of cell-based detection systems. The herbicide atrazine as well as copper ions have been used as model toxicants. Short-term toxicity tests (exposure time: 1 h) have been carried out using atrazine and changes in chlorophyll a (Chl a) fluorescence were measured by imaging pulse amplitude modulated-fluorometry (Imaging-PAM). C. vulgaris cells immobilized within alginate/silica hydrogels demonstrated a highly reproducible response pattern and compared well to freely suspended cells. Activity and response sensitivity of immobilized cells to atrazine was largely maintained for up to 8 weeks, especially when stored under cool conditions in the dark. Furthermore, immobilized cells could be repeatingly used for short-term toxicity tests as atrazine produces a reversible inhibition of photosynthesis

Possible solutions for replant problems caused by soil-borne pathogens in organic strawberry production

Soil-borne pathogens, above all Verticillium sp. cause plant losses and yield decreases in many Austrian strawberry fields, also in organic farming systems; in a research project possibilities to resolve this problem were examined. In a field trial, which was started 1998, organically managed and differently fertilized plots (green compost, manure, hornchips) were compared to an unfertilised control plot and to two mineral fertilized and conventionally treated plots; the differences in field characteristics of strawberries in 2004 and 2005 were low, but differences in storage and biochemical characteristics could be seen in 2005. Some new cultivars tested as alternative to the very sensitive 'Elsanta' planted in 2005 on several farms showed a higher tolerance to diseases and good yield and fruit quality characteristics. Brassica sp. planted as an intercrop before strawberries reduced the amount of microsclerotia of Verticillium dahliae in highly infested soils, nevertheless the system has to be optimised and adapted to our climatic and husbandry conditions in further trials

Lösungsansätze für Nachbauprobleme durch bodenbürtige Pathogene im biologischen Erdbeeranbau

Soil-borne pathogens, above all Verticillium sp. cause plant losses and yield decreases in many Austrian strawberry fields, also in organic farming systems; in a research project possibilities to resolve this problem were examined. In a field trial, which was started 1998, organically managed and differently fertilized plots (green compost, manure, hornchips) were compared to an unfertilised control plot and to two mineral fertilized and conventionally treated plots; the differences in field characteristics of strawberries in 2004 and 2005 were low, but differences in storage and biochemical characteristics could be seen in 2005. Some new cultivars tested as alternative to the very sensitive 'Elsanta' planted in 2005 on several farms showed a higher tolerance to diseases and good yield and fruit quality characteristics. Brassica sp. planted as an intercrop before strawberries reduced the amount of microsclerotia of Verticillium dahliae in highly infested soils, nevertheless the system has to be optimised and adapted to our climatic and husbandry conditions in further trials

Efficient synthesis of novel benzo[b][1,8]naphthyridin-4(1H)-ones and pyrido[2,3-b]quinoxalin-4(1H)-ones from alkynones and primary amines

An efficient palladium-catalyzed cyclization of o-chlorohetaryl ynones with aliphatic and aromatic primary amines represents a simple access to a wide range of benzo[b][1,8]naphthyridin-4(1H)-one and pyrido[2,3-b]quinoxalin-4(1H)- one derivatives in good to excellent yields. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Genotoxic mixtures and dissimilar action: Concepts for prediction and assessment

This article has been made available through the Brunel Open Access Publishing Fund. This article is distributed under the terms of the creative commons Attribution license which permits any use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s)and the source are credited.Combinations of genotoxic agents have frequently been assessed without clear assumptions regarding their expected (additive) mixture effects, often leading to claims of synergisms that might in fact be compatible with additivity. We have shown earlier that the combined effects of chemicals, which induce micronuclei (MN) in the cytokinesis-block micronucleus assay in Chinese hamster ovary-K1 cells by a similar mechanism, were additive according to the concept of concentration addition (CA). Here, we extended these studies and investigated for the first time whether valid additivity expectations can be formulated for MN-inducing chemicals that operate through a variety of mechanisms, including aneugens and clastogens (DNA cross-linkers, topoisomerase II inhibitors, minor groove binders). We expected that their effects should follow the additivity principles of independent action (IA). With two mixtures, one composed of various aneugens (colchicine, flubendazole, vinblastine sulphate, griseofulvin, paclitaxel), and another composed of aneugens and clastogens (flubendazole, doxorubicin, etoposide, melphalan and mitomycin C), we observed mixture effects that fell between the additivity predictions derived from CA and IA. We achieved better agreement between observation and prediction by grouping the chemicals into common assessment groups and using hybrid CA/IA prediction models. The combined effects of four dissimilarly acting compounds (flubendazole, paclitaxel, doxorubicin and melphalan) also fell within CA and IA. Two binary mixtures (flubendazole/paclitaxel and flubendazole/doxorubicin) showed effects in reasonable agreement with IA additivity. Our studies provide a systematic basis for the investigation of mixtures that affect endpoints of relevance to genotoxicity and show that their effects are largely additive.UK Food Standards Agenc

Changes in Walking Spatiotemporal Parameters After Therapeutic Yoga in People with Chronic Stroke

Walking limitations after stroke can contribute to long-term functional impairments. Walking characteristics such as spatiotemporal step parameters may be associated with these persistent walking limitations. The purpose of this study was to investigate changes in specific spatiotemporal walking parameters such as: walking speed; step length; swing time; step parameter symmetry; and double support time in adults with stroke who were participating in a therapeutic yoga intervention. The therapeutic yoga intervention was offered as a post-rehabilitation wellness activity 2 times per week for 8 weeks and was led by a yoga therapist. Spatiotemporal walking data were collected using the GAITRite Walkway System on a sub sample (n=24) of participants in a randomized controlled trial testing the efficacy of therapeutic yoga for improving balance in adults with chronic stroke. These data demonstrated that therapeutic yoga may have a positive impact on some spatiotemporal walking characteristics such as comfortable walking speed, step length, and double support time, while other spatiotemporal walking characteristics did not change (step parameter symmetry) or change at a significant level (sustained walking speed). The clinical relevance of this study is that participation in therapeutic yoga as a post-rehabilitation wellness activity may have a positive impact on walking characteristics in adults with chronic stroke