Testing of pear trees on their own roots in comparison with important used rootstocks under organic farming conditions with special regard to fire blight (E. amylovora)

Pear trees on their own roots are tested in comparison to grafted trees in growth and yield characteristics and with special regard to the tolerance to diseases, above all fire blight (Erwinia amylovora). In spring 2004 15 randomized trees of the cultivar 'Williams' from three variants (self rooted in vitro, self rooted long cuttings, grafted on Quince A) were planted in a pear orchard, which was heavily infected with fire blight (Erwinia amylovora) the previous years. The trees were left untreated. Growth and yield characteristics, plant diseases and tree losses were observed. After four years the in vitro self rooted trees were significantly more vigorous in growth than those grafted on quince A. The self rooted long cuttings were comparable in growth with grafts on quince, but showed high tree losses probably due to frost damages in the first winter one year after planting. However no infections with Erwinia amylovora could be observed so far. In a field trial with more cultivars and rootstock variants planted in 2006 at two organically managed sites more significant effects are expected in the next years

Observations of OJ 287 from the Geodetic VLBI Archive of the Washington Correlator

We present 27 geodetic VLBI maps of OJ 287 obtained from the archive of the Washington correlator. The observations presented here were made between 1990 October and 1996 December. During this period a sequence of six superluminal components has been identified. We measured the proper motion of these components to be approximately 0.5 mas/yr, which is about twice as high as that seen in previous VLBI observations. These results imply a higher component ejection rate than previously observed, in good agreement with the observed occurrences of radio outbursts. We have examined a possible connection between VLBI components and optical flares in the framework of a binary black hole system.Comment: 9 pages, 5 included figures, emulateapj.sty, accepted to The Astrophysical Journa

Dynamic contour tonometry versus Goldmann applanation tonometry: challenging the gold standard

The accurate measurement of intraocular pressure (IOP) is fundamental to almost any ophthalmic examination. Dynamic contour tonometry (DCT) was introduced 5 years ago as an entirely novel contact tonometry principle designed to measure IOP largely independently of corneal properties. Since then, many studies have compared the performance of this tonometer to the Goldmann applanation tonometer (GAT) and other tonometers in healthy eyes, as well as eyes with glaucoma or corneal diseases, and after corneal surgery. There is now strong evidence that DCT measures IOP very accurately, with very low inter- and intraobserver variability. This article summarizes the findings of these studies and analyzes the role of DCT in challenging GAT as the gold-standard tonometer for IOP measurements

Evaluating LAB@FUTURE, a collaborative e-learning Laboratory experiments platform

This paper presents Lab@Future, an advanced e-learning platform that uses novel Information and Communication Technologies to support and expand laboratory teaching practices. For this purpose, Lab@Future uses real and computer generated objects that are interfaced using mechatronic systems, augmented reality, mobile technologies and 3D multi user environments. The main aim is to develop and demonstrate technological support for practical experiments in the following focused disciplines namely: Fluid Dynamics - Science subject in Germany, Geometry - Mathematics subject in Austria, History and Environmental Awareness – Arts and Humanities subjects in Greece and Slovenia. In order to pedagogically enhance the design and functional aspects of this e-learning technology, we are investigating the dialogical operationalisation of learning theories so as to leverage our understanding of teaching and learning practices in the targeted context of deployment. To be able to evaluate the lab@future system in its entire complexity an evaluation methodology including several phases has been developed, performing formative as well as summative evaluations

The Argon Dark Matter Experiment (ArDM)

The ArDM experiment, a 1 ton liquid argon TPC/Calorimeter, is designed for the detection of dark matter particles which can scatter off the spinless argon nuclei. These events producing a recoiling nucleus will be discerned by their light to charge ratio, as well as the time structure of the scintillation light. The experiment is presently under construction and will be commissioned on surface at CERN. Here we describe the detector concept and give a short review on the main detector components.Comment: Proceedings of 4th Patras workshop (DESY) on Axions, Wimps and Wisps (4 pages, 4 figures

Les arènes de la normalisation internationale à l'épreuve de la participation de la société civile : résultats du projet INTERNORM

Les normes internationales occupent une place de plus en plus importante dans la gouvernance des marchés et ont souvent une incidence directe sur la santé, la sécurité et l'environnement. Mais la société civile est le plus souvent absente des procédures de normalisation. Il est recommandé de favoriser la participation des acteurs de la société civile dans la normalisation par une mise en forme des travaux de normalisation à même d'encourager leur mobilisation selon les thèmes et enjeux abordés et par l'organisation de l'expertise plurielle requise pour une participation effective à même de leur conférer une certaine influence

Pregnancy has a minimal impact on the acute transcriptional signature to vaccination.

Vaccination in pregnancy is an effective tool to protect both the mother and infant; vaccines against influenza, pertussis and tetanus are currently recommended. A number of vaccines with a specific indication for use in pregnancy are in development, with the specific aim of providing passive humoral immunity to the newborn child against pathogens responsible for morbidity and mortality in young infants. However, the current understanding about the immune response to vaccination in pregnancy is incomplete. We analysed the effect of pregnancy on early transcriptional responses to vaccination. This type of systems vaccinology approach identifies genes and pathways that are altered in response to vaccination and can be used to understand both the acute inflammation in response to the vaccine and to predict immunogenicity. Pregnant women and mice were immunised with Boostrix-IPV, a multivalent vaccine, which contains three pertussis antigens. Blood was collected from women before and after vaccination and RNA extracted for analysis by microarray. While there were baseline differences between pregnant and non-pregnant women, vaccination induced characteristic patterns of gene expression, with upregulation in interferon response and innate immunity gene modules, independent of pregnancy. We saw similar patterns of responses in both women and mice, supporting the use of mice for preclinical screening of novel maternal vaccines. Using a systems vaccinology approach in pregnancy demonstrated that pregnancy does not affect the initial response to vaccination and that studies in non-pregnant women can provide information about vaccine immunogenicity and potentially safety

NGC 1300 Dynamics: III. Orbital analysis

We present the orbital analysis of four response models, that succeed in reproducing morphological features of NGC 1300. Two of them assume a planar (2D) geometry with $\Omega_p$=22 and 16 \ksk respectively. The two others assume a cylindrical (thick) disc and rotate with the same pattern speeds as the 2D models. These response models reproduce most successfully main morphological features of NGC 1300 among a large number of models, as became evident in a previous study. Our main result is the discovery of three new dynamical mechanisms that can support structures in a barred-spiral grand design system. These mechanisms are presented in characteristic cases, where these dynamical phenomena take place. They refer firstly to the support of a strong bar, of ansae type, almost solely by chaotic orbits, then to the support of spirals by chaotic orbits that for a certain number of pat tern revolutions follow an n:1 (n=7,8) morphology, and finally to the support of spiral arms by a combination of orbits trapped around L$_{4,5}$ and sticky chaotic orbits with the same Jacobi constant. We have encountered these dynamical phenomena in a large fraction of the cases we studied as we varied the parameters of our general models, without forcing in some way their appearance. This suggests that they could be responsible for the observed morphologies of many barred-spiral galaxies. Comparing our response models among themselves we find that the NGC 130 0 morphology is best described by a thick disc model for the bar region and a 2D disc model for the spirals, with both components rotating with the same pattern speed $\Omega_p$=16 \ksk !. In such a case, the whole structure is included inside the corotation of the system. The bar is supported mainly by regular orbits, while the spirals are supported by chaotic orbits.Comment: 18 pages, 32 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA

Accretion of gas onto nearby spiral galaxies

We present evidence for cosmological gas accretion onto spiral galaxies in the local universe. The accretion is seen through its effects on the dynamics of the extra-planar neutral gas. The accretion rates that we estimate for two nearby spiral galaxies are of the order of their star formation rates. Our model shows that most of the extra-planar gas is produced by supernova feedback (galactic fountain) and only 10-20 % comes from accretion. The accreting material must have low specific angular momentum about the disc's spin axis, although the magnitude of the specific angular-momentum vector can be higher. We also explore the effects of a hot corona on the dynamics of the extra-planar gas and find that it is unlikely to be responsible for the observed kinematical pattern and the source of accreted gas. However, the interaction with the fountain flow should profoundly affect the hydrodynamics of the corona.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA

Evaluation of matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time of flight mass spectrometry for the identification of ceratopogonid and culicid larvae

Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) was evaluated for the rapid identification of ceratopogonid larvae. Optimal sample preparation as evaluated with laboratory-reared biting midges Culicoides nubeculosus was the homogenization of gut-less larvae in 10% formic acid, and analysis of 0·2mg/ml crude protein homogenate mixed with SA matrix at a ratio of 1:1·5. Using 5 larvae each of 4 ceratopogonid species (C. nubeculosus, C. obsoletus, C. decor, and Dasyhelea sp.) and of 2 culicid species (Aedes aegypti, Ae. japonicus), biomarker mass sets between 27 and 33 masses were determined. In a validation study, 67 larvae belonging to the target species were correctly identified by automated database-based identification (91%) or manual full comparison (9%). Four specimens of non-target species did not yield identification. As anticipated for holometabolous insects, the biomarker mass sets of adults cannot be used for the identification of larvae, and vice versa, because they share only very few similar masses as shown for C. nubeculosus, C. obsoletus, and Ae. japonicus. Thus, protein profiling by MALDI-TOF as a quick, inexpensive and accurate alternative tool is applicable to identify insect larvae of vector species collected in the fiel