Glucosinolate hydrolysis products for weed control

Glucosinolates are allelochemicals present in all Brassica plants. Upon hydrolysis by endogenous enzymes they produce a series of biologically active compounds, such as isothiocyanates and their deriva-tives among others. These compounds have marked fungicidal, nematocidal and herbicidal effects and therefore their use as biodegradable natural products for crop protection has attracted much attention in the last years. A number of these compounds, either individually or in combination, were tested against Sinapis alba and Lollium perenne in Petri dishes bio-assays. C50 values as low as 0.7 and 0.2 mM were obtained. This may open the possibility for using glucosinolate hydrolysis products as herbicides

Reduced herbicide rates: present and future

Applying herbicides at rates lower than the label recommendation has been the rule rather than the exception in Denmark since the late 1980’s. Justifications for reducing herbicide rates can be 1) that the dominant weed species in the field are very susceptible to the herbicide, i.e. even reduced rates will result in maximum effects, 2) that the conditions at and around the time of application, e.g. growth stage of weeds, crop vigour and climatic condition are optimum promoting the activity of the herbicide and thus allows for the use of reduced herbicides rates, or 3) that less than maximum effects are accepted because the weed flora is not considered to have a significant effect on crop yield. “Crop Protection Online-Weed” (CPO-Weed) is a web-based decision support system that was developed to support farmers in their choice of herbicide and herbicide rate. CPO-Weed will, based on information on crop development and status and the composition of the weed flora, provide farmers with a list of herbicide solutions often recommending the use of reduced rates. The potential of CPO-Weed to reduced herbicide input has been proven in numerous validation trials. In recent years the use of reduced herbicide rates has been linked to the increasing number of cases of non-target resistance in outcrossing grass weed species like Alopecurus myosuroides and Lolium ssp. The underlying hypothesis is that the least susceptible individuals in the population will survive the use of reduced rates and that recombination will lead to a gradual increase in the resistance level in the weed population. This scenario is only valid if the use of reduced herbicide rates is prompted by acceptance of a lower effect but not if a high susceptibility of the weed species present in the field or optimum conditions are the reasons for reducing herbicide rates. This is an aspect that is often overlooked in the on-going discussion on herbicide rates and resistance. Large weed population increases the risk of selecting resistant weed biotypes because the likelihood that resistant plants are present in the population increases with population size. Preventing the build-up of large weed populations is a key objective in integrated pest management (IPM). If the use of herbicide is combined with non-chemical weed control methods the risk of resistance will be reduced further, i.e. in an IPM scenario the use of reduced herbicides rates will be less likely to promote herbicide resistance even if it is triggered by an acceptance of lower effects.        Keywords: Crop Protection Online, dose response curve, herbicide rate, herbicide resistance, integrated pest management, IPM Reduzierter Herbizidaufwand: heute und zukünftig Zusammenfassung  Seit den späten 1980-er Jahren ist in Dänemark die Anwendung von Herbiziden mit geringeren Aufwandmengen als bei der Zulassung vorgesehen eher die Regel als die Ausnahme. Den Aufwand herabzusetzen kann begründet sein, indem 1) die dominierenden Unkrautarten gegenüber dem Herbizid sehr empfindlich sind, d. h., dass selbst mit verminderten Aufwandmengen eine vollständige Wirkung erreicht werden kann, 2) die Bedingungen zum Anwendungszeitpunkt, z. B. das Entwicklungsstadium der Unkräuter, die Entwicklung der Kultur und die Witterung für die Herbizidwirkung günstig sind und daher verringerte Aufwandmengen erlauben, oder 3) weil angenommen werden kann, dass die Verunkrautung keine signifikante Auswirkung auf den Ertrag haben wird. “Crop Protection Online-Weed” (CPO-Weed) ist ein Internet-basiertes Beratungs-System, das dem Landwirt bei der Auswahl des Herbizids und der Aufwandmenge helfen soll. CPO-Weed wird aufgrund der Informationen über den Entwicklungsstand der Kulturpflanzen und der Zusammensetzung der Verunkrautung dem Landwirt eine Liste von Herbiziden, oft reduzierten Aufwand empfehlend, liefern. Das Potential von CPO-Weed hinsichtlich reduzierten Herbizidaufwands ist in zahlreichen Wirksamkeitsversuchen nachgewiesen worden. In letzter Zeit ist die Anwendung reduzierter Herbizidmengen mit den zunehmenden Fällen von Resistenz bei zum Outbreeding neigenden Unkrautarten wie Alopecurus myosuroides und Lolium ssp. in Verbindung gebracht worden. Die Hypothese ist, dass die am wenigsten empfindlichen Individuen der Population den reduzierten Herbizidaufwand überleben und allmählig das Resistenzniveau der Unkrautpopulation ansteigen lassen. Dieses Scenario trifft nur zu, wenn eine verringerte Herbizidmenge eine geringere Wirkung erzielt, aber nicht, wenn die hohe Empfindlichkeit einer vorkommenden Unkrautart oder optimale Anwendungsbedingungen die Herabsetzung des Herbizidaufwands begründeten. Das ist ein Gesichtspunkt, der in der laufenden Diskussion über reduzierten Herbizidaufwand und Resistenz oft übersehen wird. Große Unkrautpopulationen erhöhen die Gefahr, resistente Biotypen zu selektieren, denn die Wahrscheinlichkeit des Vorkommens resistenter Pflanzen wächst mit der Populationsgröße. Die Entwicklung starker Verunkrautung zu verhindern ist ein Hauptanliegen des Integrierten Pflanzenschutzes (IPS). Wenn die Anwendung von Herbiziden mit nichtchemischen Methoden der Unkrautbekämpfung kombiniert wird, kann die Resistenz-Gefahr weiter herabgesetzt werden, d. h., im Rahmen des IPS ist es weniger wahrscheinlich, dass reduzierte Herbizid-Aufwandmengen Herbizidresistenz fördern, auch wenn dabei geringere Wirkungen hingenommen werden. Stichwörter: Crop Protection Online, Dosis-Wirkungskurve, Herbizidaufwand, Herbizidresistenz, Integrierter Pflanzenschutz, IP

Glucosinolate hydrolysis compounds for weed control

Glucosinolates are allelochemicals present in all Brassica plants. Upon hydrolysis by endogenous enzymes they produce a series of biologically active compounds, such as isothiocyanates and their deriva-tives among others. These compounds have marked fungicidal, nematocidal and herbicidal effects and therefore their use as biodegradable natural products for crop protection has attracted much attention in the last years. A number of these compounds, either individually or in combination, were tested against Sinapis alba and Lollium perenne in Petri dishes bio-assays. C50 values as low as 0.7 and 0.2 mM were obtained. This may open the possibility for using glucosinolate hydrolysis products as herbicides

The use of ultrasonography in the perioperative management of penetrating chest trauma with indwelling blade

We report on the anaesthetic and postoperative analgesic management of a patient presenting with a single penetrating thoracic injury, with radiological confirmation of a foreign object still present in the thorax. The patient underwent an emergency right posterolateral thoracotomy. We discuss the use of ultrasound for the insertion of a paravertebral catheter for perioperative analgesic management, and its efficacy in the emergency setting. Furthermore, we discuss the use of perioperative focus assessed transthoracic echocardiography, which had a positive impact on our management, although the case highlights the need for further large multi-centre trials.Keywords: focus assessed transthoracic echocardiography (FATE), paraverterbral block, penetrating thoracic injury, thoracotomy, ultrasound-guided regional anaesthesi

Biological activity of glucosinolate derived compounds isolated from seed meal of Brassica crops and evaluated as plant and food protection agents

Glucosinolates are amino acid derived allelochemicals characteristic of plants of the order Capparales. These compounds are present in seeds of agriculturally common Brassica crops in varying quantities depending on the species (ref). The use of the remaining seed cake after oil extraction has traditionally been limited by the concentration of these compounds. However, the extraction of glucosinolates from seed meal is nowadays possible and it further contributes to an increased quality of the seed meal for feed (Sørensen et al., this conference). Glucosinolates are hydrolysed by endogenous enzymes (myrosinases; EC 3.2.1.147) and a number of compounds are produced depending on the parent glucosinolate and the environmental conditions.1 Among these compounds, oxazolidine-2-thiones are known for their antinutritional effects on monogastric animals, whereas isothiocyanates are fungicidal, nematocidal and herbicidal.2,3 The possibility for using glucosinolates as precursors for environmental friendly biocides therefore exists, which could contribute to increase the value of the Brassica seed meal

Transfer between hospitals as a predictor of delay in diagnosis and treatment of patients with Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer:a register based cohort-study

Abstract Background Lung cancer is the second most frequent cancer diagnosis in Denmark. Although improved during the last decade, the prognosis of lung cancer is still poor with an overall 5-year survival rate of approximately 12%. Delay in diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer has been suggested as a potential cause of the poor prognosis and as consequence, fast track cancer care pathways were implemented describing maximum acceptable time thresholds from referral to treatment. In Denmark, patients with lung cancer are often transferred between hospitals with diagnostic facilities to hospitals with treatment facilities during the care pathway. We wanted to investigate whether this organizational set-up influenced the time that patients wait for the diagnosis and treatment. Therefore, the objective of this study was to uncover the impact of transfer between hospitals on the delay in the diagnosis and treatment of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC). Methods We performed a historical prospective cohort study using data from the Danish Lung Cancer Registry (DLCR). All patients diagnosed with primary NSCLC from January 1st 2008 to December 31st 2012 were included. Patients with unresolved pathology and incomplete data on the dates of referral, diagnosis and treatment were excluded. Results A total of 11 273 patients were included for further analyses. Transfer patients waited longer for treatment after the diagnosis, (Hazard ratio (HR) 0.81 (0.68–0.96)) and in total time from referral to treatment (HR 0.84 (0.77–0.92)), than no-transfer patients. Transfer patients had lower odds of being diagnosed (Odds Ratio (OR) 0.82 (0.74–0.94) and treated (OR 0.66 (0.61–0.72) within the acceptable time thresholds described in the care pathway. Conclusion Fast track cancer care pathways were implemented to unify and accelerate the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. We found that the transfer between hospitals during the care pathway might cause delay from diagnosis to treatment as well as in the total time from referral to treatment in patients with Non Small-Cell Lung Cancer. The difference between no-transfer and transfer patients persists after adjusting for known predictors of delay

Management of patients presenting with diarrhoea to a regional emergency department in KwaZulu-Natal: Call for clearer, more relevant guidance

Background. HIV is prevalent throughout South Africa, and diarrhoea is a common presentation to the emergency department (ED) among both HIV-infected and -uninfected individuals. Method. We audited the management of diarrhoea against standard guidelines in the ED of a regional hospital in KwaZulu-Natal. Patients presenting with diarrhoea as their chief complaint were eligible and data were collected prospectively. Results. A total of 72 patients were included: 58 (81%) of patients were HIV-positive with an average CD4+ count of 180 cells/ μl. A total of 34 stool samples were sent for standard microscopy and culture (M&C), among which 26 were positive (76%). Forty-three patients (60%) received antibiotics, 15 of whom had positive stool M&C. In all cases, the final diagnosis was listed as acute gastroenteritis without further specification, and antibiotic use according to guidelines appeared inconsistent. Conclusion. Based on this audit, we suggest that current guidelines are not clear concerning management of acute diarrhoea in HIVinfected individuals, and that the lack of clear management strategies is likely to affect patient safety and increase antibiotic resistance