Effect of Organic Fertilizers on Avocado Trees (Cvs. Fuerte, Hass, Lamb Hass) in Western Crete, a Cool Subtropical Region

The market for avocado is one of the fastest expanding worldwide, inclduing the Mediterranean basin. Organic farming systems cannot make use of synthetic fertilizers and therefore rely on several cultural techniques to maintain vigorous young trees and for quick shoot development, satisfactory yield, and fruit quality. We studied the effect of three different organic products (Terra Insecta (R) (Aeiphoria-Sustainable products of Crete, Chania, Greece), Fruit-Fix (R), and AMINO-16 (R) (both products manufactured by EVYP, Sindos, Thessaloniki, Greece) on avocado plants in the cool subtropical area of southern Greece. Three experiments were carried out, two of them on young avocado trees, and the third one on mature, fully productive trees. The establishment success (ES) (%), plants with shoot induction (SI) (%), plants with shoot growth >= 3 cm (SG) (%), number of sprouted buds >= 3 cm per plant (SB), mean shoot length (cm) per plant (SL), total shoot length (cm) per plant (TSL), mean leaf number per plant (LN), and total leaf number per plant (TLN) were measured in the first and second experiments, while in the third experiment, fruit growth parameters (length, width, fruit weight, fruit weight increase (FWI)) and fruit quality parameters (dry matter, oil concentration, dry matter, and oil concentration increase) were measured. The application of 0.2 K of Terra Insecta (R) to the planting hole did not have any statistically significant effect on plant growth, but when added around the trunk, statistically higher values were observed for SB, SL, LN, TSL, and TLN in the Terra Insecta (R) treatment compared to the control. Fruit-Fix (R) application to Lamb Hass avocado trees resulted in significant differences in ES, SI, SG, SL, TSL, LN, and TLN, and in the Hass variety, in SB. In the AMINO-16 (R) experiment, the fruit dimensions, quality parameters, and yield of the Hass variety were not recorded as significantly different. However, in the Fuerte variety, FW increased by 119.3% in the AMINO-16 (R) treatment. The effect of the organic fertilizers used in this research showed noticeable results requiring studies to be carried out over more seasons, different tree ages, cultivation methods, and stress conditions

Search for AGN counterparts of unidentified Fermi-LAT sources with optical polarimetry: Demonstration of the technique

The third Fermi-LAT catalog (3FGL) presented the data of the first four years of observations from the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope mission. There are 3034 sources, 1010 of which still remain unidentified. Identifying and classifying gamma-ray emitters is of high significance with regard to studying high-energy astrophysics. We demonstrate that optical polarimetry can be an advantageous and practical tool in the hunt for counterparts of the unidentified gamma-ray sources (UGSs). Using data from the RoboPol project, we validated that a significant fraction of active galactic nuclei (AGN) associated with 3FGL sources can be identified due to their high optical polarization exceeding that of the field stars. We performed an optical polarimetric survey within $3\sigma$ uncertainties of four unidentified 3FGL sources. We discovered a previously unknown extragalactic object within the positional uncertainty of 3FGL J0221.2+2518. We obtained its spectrum and measured a redshift of $z=0.0609\pm0.0004$. Using these measurements and archival data we demonstrate that this source is a candidate counterpart for 3FGL J0221.2+2518 and most probably is a composite object: a star-forming galaxy accompanied by AGN. We conclude that polarimetry can be a powerful asset in the search for AGN candidate counterparts for unidentified Fermi sources. Future extensive polarimetric surveys at high galactic latitudes (e.g., PASIPHAE) will allow the association of a significant fraction of currently unidentified gamma-ray sources.Comment: accepted to A&

Unmet clinical needs and burden of disease in hidradenitis suppurativa: real-world experience from EU5 and US

Background Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a chronic, inflammatory, debilitating skin disease characterized by painful deep lesions and associated with substantial disease burden. Objectives The objective of this study was to describe physician- and patient-reported clinical unmet needs from a real-world perspective. Methods This study used data from the Adelphi HS Disease Specific Programme, a point-in-time survey of dermatologists and their patients with HS in Europe and the United States. Dermatologists completed patient record forms (PRFs) for 5–7 consecutively consulting patients with HS; patients or carers of patients also optionally completed a patient/carer self-completion questionnaire (PSC/CSC). Data collection included demographics, symptomatology and impact on quality of life (QoL). Results Dermatologists (N = 312) completed PRFs for 1787 patients with HS; patient- and carer-reported questionnaires (PSC/CSC) were completed for 33.1% (591/1787) of patients. The mean age was 34.4 ± 12.2 years and 57.6% of patients were female (1029/1787). Physician-judged disease severity at sampling was categorized as mild in 66.0% (1179/1787), moderate in 29.3% (523/1787) and severe in 4.7% (85/1787) of patients. Deterioration or unstable condition over the previous 12 months was described by 17.1% [235/1372] and 12.6% [41/325] of physician- and patient/carer-reported cases, respectively. Despite receiving treatment, high proportions of patients still experienced symptoms at sampling (general pain/discomfort [49.5%, 885/1787]; inflammation/redness of lesions/abscesses [46.1%, 823/1787] and itching [29.9%, 535/1787]); these symptoms were more frequent in patients with moderate or severe disease. Patients reported a mean Dermatology Life Quality Index score of 5.9 ± 5.4 (555/591; mild, 4.1 ± 4.3; moderate, 9.4 ± 5.4; severe, 13.3 ± 5.5) and a mean Hidradenitis Suppurativa Quality of Life score of 11.0 ± 10.6 (518/591; mild, 7.6 ± 8.3; moderate, 17.7 ± 10.0; severe, 31.0 ± 15.4) indicating a substantial impact on QoL. Conclusions Patients with HS experienced a high disease burden despite being actively treated by a dermatologist. This study demonstrates that the burden of HS disease is generally poorly managed with a considerable impact observed on patients' QoL

RoboPol: AGN polarimetric monitoring data

We present uniformly reprocessed and re-calibrated data from the RoboPol programme of optopolarimetric monitoring of active galactic nuclei (AGN), covering observations between 2013, when the instrument was commissioned, and 2017. In total, the dataset presented in this paper includes 5068 observations of 222 AGN with Dec > -25 deg. We describe the current version of the RoboPol pipeline that was used to process and calibrate the entire dataset, and we make the data publicly available for use by the astronomical community. Average quantities summarising optopolarimetric behaviour (average degree of polarization, polarization variability index) are also provided for each source we have observed and for the time interval we have followed it.Comment: Accepted to MNRA

How can photo sharing inspire sharing genomes?

People usually are aware of the privacy risks of publish-ing photos online, but these risks are less evident when sharing humangenomes. Modern photos and sequenced genomes are both digital rep-resentations of real lives. They contain private information that maycompromise people’s privacy, and still, their highest value is most oftimes achieved only when sharing them with others. In this work, wepresent an analogy between the privacy aspects of sharing photos andsharing genomes, which clarifies the privacy risks in the latter to thegeneral public. Additionally, we illustrate an alternative informed modelto share genomic data according to the privacy-sensitivity level of eachportion. This article is a call to arms for a collaborative work between ge-neticists and security experts to build more effective methods to system-atically protect privacy, whilst promoting the accessibility and sharingof genome

Search for AGN counterparts of unidentified Fermi-LAT sources with optical polarimetry Demonstration of the technique

Context. The third Fermi-LAT catalog (3FGL) presented the data of the first four years of observations from the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope mission. There are 3034 sources, 1010 of which still remain unidentified. Identifying and classifying gamma-ray emitters is of high significance with regard to studying high-energy astrophysics.Aims. We demonstrate that optical polarimetry can be an advantageous and practical tool in the hunt for counterparts of the unidentified gamma-ray sources (UGSs).Methods. Using data from the RoboPol project, we validated that a significant fraction of active galactic nuclei (AGN) associated with 3FGL sources can be identified due to their high optical polarization exceeding that of the field stars. We performed an optical polarimetric survey within 3 sigma uncertainties of four unidentified 3FGL sources.Results. We discovered a previously unknown extragalactic object within the positional uncertainty of 3FGL J0221.2 + 2518. We obtained its spectrum and measured a redshift of z = 0.0609 +/- 0.0004. Using these measurements and archival data we demonstrate that this source is a candidate counterpart for 3FGL J0221.2 + 2518 and most probably is a composite object: a star-forming galaxy accompanied by AGN.Conclusions. We conclude that polarimetry can be a powerful asset in the search for AGN candidate counterparts for unidentified Fermi sources. Future extensive polarimetric surveys at high Galactic latitudes (e.g., PASIPHAE) will allow the association of a significant fraction of currently unidentified gamma-ray sources

Search for AGN counterparts of unidentified Fermi-LAT sources with optical polarimetry: Demonstration of the technique

Context. The third Fermi-LAT catalog (3FGL) presented the data of the first four years of observations from the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope mission. There are 3034 sources, 1010 of which still remain unidentified. Identifying and classifying γ-ray emitters is of high significance with regard to studying high-energy astrophysics. Aims. We demonstrate that optical polarimetry can be an advantageous and practical tool in the hunt for counterparts of the unidentified γ-ray sources (UGSs). Methods. Using data from the RoboPol project, we validated that a significant fraction of active galactic nuclei (AGN) associated with 3FGL sources can be identified due to their high optical polarization exceeding that of the field stars. We performed an optical polarimetric survey within 3σ uncertainties of four unidentified 3FGL sources. Results. We discovered a previously unknown extragalactic object within the positional uncertainty of 3FGL J0221.2+2518. We obtained its spectrum and measured a redshift of z = 0.0609 ± 0.0004. Using these measurements and archival data we demonstrate that this source is a candidate counterpart for 3FGL J0221.2+2518 and most probably is a composite object: a star-forming galaxy accompanied by AGN. Conclusions. We conclude that polarimetry can be a powerful asset in the search for AGN candidate counterparts for unidentified Fermi sources. Future extensive polarimetric surveys at high Galactic latitudes (e.g., PASIPHAE) will allow the association of a significant fraction of currently unidentified γ-ray sources

Concern for information privacy:a cross-nation study of the United Kingdom and South Africa

Individuals have differing levels of information privacy concern, formed by their expectations and the confidence they have that organisations meet this in practice. Variance in privacy laws and national factors may also play a role. This study analyses individuals’ information privacy expectation and confidence across two nations, the United Kingdom and South Africa, through a survey of 1463 respondents. The findings indicate that the expectation for privacy in both countries are very high. However, numerous significant differences exist between expectations and confidence when examining privacy principles. The overall results for both countries show that there is a gap in terms of the privacy expectations of respondents compared to the confidence they have in whether organisations are meeting their expectations. Governments, regulators, and organisations with an online presence need to consider individuals’ expectations and ensure that controls that meet regulatory requirements, as well as expectations, are in place