Evaluation for stable resistance to Stenocarpella maydis in tropical maize (Zea mays L.)

Maize ear rots caused by Stenocarpella maydis cause reduction in yield and quality of the maize due to the mycotoxins produced by the pathogen. Breeding for resistance is the most feasible option in managing ear rots. However, to obtain stable resistance to S. maydis has been a challenge partly due to effect of the environment and availability of different isolates. The objective of this research was therefore, to determine the effect of multiple isolate inoculations in breeding for resistance to S. maydis and to identify genotypes with stable resistance. Seven inbred lines were crosses in a 7 x 7 full diallel without reciprocals. The resultant crosses (21) and their parents (7) were planted and evaluated at two sites, Lusaka and Mpongwe, during the 2015/16 cropping season. The experiment was laid out as a randomized complete block design with 3 replications. Treatments were: (1) single inoculation with isolate A, (2) single inoculation with isolate B and (3) a multiple inoculation of two isolates AB and (4) control with no inoculation at all. The mean genotypic scores were found to be 5.52, 4.96, 5.50 and 1 for treatment 1, 2, 3 and 4 respectively. The t-test analysis revealed that treatment 1 had a higher mean disease severity score (5.52) as compared to treatment 2 (4.96) (P < 0.01). Equally mean for treatment 2 (4.96) and 3 (5.50) were significantly different (P < 0.01). However, there were no significant differences between mean disease severity score for treatment 1 and 3. This indicated that multiple isolate inoculations could give rise to inappropriate genetic information due to the possibility of antagonistic effect between isolates. The genotypes (P2 x P4) and (P3 x P6) crosses were found to have stable resistance to S. maydis. These exhibited consistent significant negative SCA effects (P< 0.05) in both locations

Informal Caregiving Time and Costs for Urinary Incontinence in Older Individuals in the United States

To obtain nationally representative estimates of the additional time, and related cost, of informal caregiving associated with urinary incontinence in older individuals. DESIGN: Multivariate regression models using data from the 1993 Asset and Health Dynamics Study, a nationally representative survey of people aged 70 and older (N = 7,443). SETTING: Community-dwelling older people. PARTICIPANTS: National population-based sample of community-dwelling older people. MEASUREMENTS: Weekly hours of informal caregiving, and imputed cost of caregiver time, for community-dwelling older people who reported (1) no unintended urine loss, (2) incontinence that did not require the use of absorbent pads, and (3) incontinence that required the use of absorbent pads. RESULTS: Thirteen percent of men and 24% of women reported incontinence. After adjusting for sociodemographics, living situation, and comorbidities, continent men received 7.4 hours per week of care, incontinent men who did not use pads received 11.3 hours, and incontinent men who used pads received 16.6 hours ( P < .001). Women in these groups received 5.9, 7.6, and 10.7 hours ( P < .001), respectively. The additional yearly cost of informal care associated with incontinence was $1,700 and$4,000 for incontinent men who did not and did use pads, respectively, whereas, for women in these groups, the additional yearly cost was $700 and$2,000. Overall, this represents a national annual cost of more than $6 billion for incontinence-related informal care. CONCLUSIONS: The quantity of informal caregiving for older people with incontinence and its associated economic cost are substantial. Future analyses of the costs of incontinence, and the cost-effectiveness of interventions to prevent or treat incontinence, should consider the significant informal caregiving costs associated with this condition.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/66038/1/j.1532-5415.2002.50170.x.pd

Predicting Risk of Potentially Preventable Hospitalization in Older Adults with Dementia

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/151826/1/jgs16030_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/151826/2/jgs16030.pd

Luminescence of GaN nanocolumns obtained by photon-assisted anodic etching

GaN nanocolumns with transverse dimensions of about 50 nm were obtained by illumination-assisted anodic etching of epilayers grown by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition on sapphire substrates. The photoluminescence spectroscopy characterization shows that the as-grown bulk GaN layers suffer from compressive biaxial strain of 0.5 GPa. The majority of nanocolumns are fully relaxed from strain, and the room-temperature luminescence is free excitonic. The high quality of the columnar nanostructures evidenced by the enhanced intensity of the exciton luminescence and by the decrease of the yellow luminescence is explained by the peculiarities of the anodic etching processing. © 2003 American Institute of Physics.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/69916/2/APPLAB-83-8-1551-1.pd

The random case of Conley's theorem: III. Random semiflow case and Morse decomposition

In the first part of this paper, we generalize the results of the author \cite{Liu,Liu2} from the random flow case to the random semiflow case, i.e. we obtain Conley decomposition theorem for infinite dimensional random dynamical systems. In the second part, by introducing the backward orbit for random semiflow, we are able to decompose invariant random compact set (e.g. global random attractor) into random Morse sets and connecting orbits between them, which generalizes the Morse decomposition of invariant sets originated from Conley \cite{Con} to the random semiflow setting and gives the positive answer to an open problem put forward by Caraballo and Langa \cite{CL}.Comment: 21 pages, no figur

Vitamin D and the risk of dementia and Alzheimer disease

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether low vitamin D concentrations are associated with an increased risk of incident all-cause dementia and Alzheimer disease. METHODS: One thousand six hundred fifty-eight elderly ambulatory adults free from dementia, cardiovascular disease, and stroke who participated in the US population-based Cardiovascular Health Study between 1992-1993 and 1999 were included. Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) concentrations were determined by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry from blood samples collected in 1992-1993. Incident all-cause dementia and Alzheimer disease status were assessed during follow-up using National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Disorders and Stroke/Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders Association criteria. RESULTS: During a mean follow-up of 5.6 years, 171 participants developed all-cause dementia, including 102 cases of Alzheimer disease. Using Cox proportional hazards models, the multivariate adjusted hazard ratios (95% confidence interval [CI]) for incident all-cause dementia in participants who were severely 25(OH)D deficient (<25 nmol/L) and deficient (≥25 to <50 nmol/L) were 2.25 (95% CI: 1.23-4.13) and 1.53 (95% CI: 1.06-2.21) compared to participants with sufficient concentrations (≥50 nmol/L). The multivariate adjusted hazard ratios for incident Alzheimer disease in participants who were severely 25(OH)D deficient and deficient compared to participants with sufficient concentrations were 2.22 (95% CI: 1.02-4.83) and 1.69 (95% CI: 1.06-2.69). In multivariate adjusted penalized smoothing spline plots, the risk of all-cause dementia and Alzheimer disease markedly increased below a threshold of 50 nmol/L. CONCLUSION: Our results confirm that vitamin D deficiency is associated with a substantially increased risk of all-cause dementia and Alzheimer disease. This adds to the ongoing debate about the role of vitamin D in nonskeletal conditions.National Heart, Lung, and Blood InstituteNational Institute of Neurological Disorders and StrokeNational Institute on AgingAlzheimer's AssociationMary Kinross Charitable TrustJames Tudor FoundationHalpin TrustAge Related Diseases and Health TrustNorman Family Charitable TrustUK National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care (CLAHRC) for the South West Peninsul

O2‐03‐02: Vitamin D and the risk of developing neuroimaging abnormalities

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/152624/1/alzjjalz201507143.pd

Vitamin D and the risk of dementia and Alzheimer disease

Objective: To determine whether low vitamin D concentrations are associated with an increased risk of incident all-cause dementia and Alzheimer disease. Methods: One thousand six hundred fifty-eight elderly ambulatory adults free from dementia, cardiovascular disease, and stroke who participated in the US population?based Cardiovascular Health Study between 1992?1993 and 1999 were included. Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) concentrations were determined by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry from blood samples collected in 1992?1993. Incident all-cause dementia and Alzheimer disease status were assessed during follow-up using National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Disorders and Stroke/Alzheimer\u27s Disease and Related Disorders Association criteria. Results: During a mean follow-up of 5.6 years, 171 participants developed all-cause dementia, including 102 cases of Alzheimer disease. Using Cox proportional hazards models, the multivariate adjusted hazard ratios (95% confidence interval [CI]) for incident all-cause dementia in participants who were severely 25(OH)D deficient (\u3c25 nmol/L) and deficient (?25 to \u3c50 nmol/L) were 2.25 (95% CI: 1.23?4.13) and 1.53 (95% CI: 1.06?2.21) compared to participants with sufficient concentrations (?50 nmol/L). The multivariate adjusted hazard ratios for incident Alzheimer disease in participants who were severely 25(OH)D deficient and deficient compared to participants with sufficient concentrations were 2.22 (95% CI: 1.02?4.83) and 1.69 (95% CI: 1.06?2.69). In multivariate adjusted penalized smoothing spline plots, the risk of all-cause dementia and Alzheimer disease markedly increased below a threshold of 50 nmol/L. Conclusion: Our results confirm that vitamin D deficiency is associated with a substantially increased risk of all-cause dementia and Alzheimer disease. This adds to the ongoing debate about the role of vitamin D in nonskeletal conditions

Talking South African fathers: a critical examination of men’s constructions and experiences of fatherhood and fatherlessness

The absence of biological fathers in South Africa has been constructed as a problem for children of both sexes but more so for boy-children. Arguably the dominant discourse in this respect has demonized non-nuclear, female-headed households. Fathers are constructed as either absent or ‘bad’. Thus it has become important to explore more closely how male care-givers have been experienced by groups of men in South Africa. This article examines discourses of fatherhood and fatherlessness by drawing on qualitative interviews with a group of 29 men who speak about their reported experiences and understandings of being fathered or growing up without biological fathers. Two major and intertwined subjugated discourses about adult men’s experiences of being fathered that counter- balance the prevailing discourses about meaning of fatherhood and fatherlessness became evident, namely, ‘being always there’ and ‘talking fatherhood’. The importance of the experience of fatherhood as ‘being there’, which relates to a quality of time and relationship between child and father rather than physical time together, is illustrated. It is not only biological fathers who can ‘be there’ for their sons but also social fathers, other significant male role models and father figures who step in at different times in participants’ lives when biological fathers are unavailable for whatever reason. Second, many positive experiences of fathers or father figures that resist a traditional role of authority and control and subscribe to more nurturant and non-violent forms of care, represented as ‘talking’ fathers, are underlined. If we are to better understand the impact of colonial and apartheid history and its legacy on family life in contemporary society, there is a need for more historically and contextually informed studies on the meaning of fatherhood and fatherlessness.Web of Scienc

A photoresponsive graphene oxide-C60 conjugate

[EN] An all-carbon donor–acceptor hybrid combining graphene oxide (GO) and C60 has been prepared. Laser flash photolysis measurements revealed the occurrence of photoinduced electron transfer from the GO electron donor to the C60 electron acceptor in the conjugate.This research was financially supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness of Spain (CTQ2010-17498, MAT2010-20843-C02-01 and PLE-2009-0038) and a Severo Ochoa operating grant from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness. We also acknowledge financial support from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, Comunidad de Madrid (CAM 09-S2009_MAT-1467), Generalitat Valenciana (PROMETEO program), and VLC/Campus Microcluster "Nanomateriales Funcionales y Nanodispositivos".Barrejón, M.; Vizuete, M.; Gómez Escalonilla, M.; Fierro, J.; Berlanga, I.; Zamora, F.; Abellán, G.... (2014). A photoresponsive graphene oxide-C60 conjugate. Chemical Communications. 50(65):9053-9055. doi:10.1039/C3CC49589BS90539055506