34 research outputs found
Quantum Electronics
Contains thirteen research projects split into three sections.U.S. Air Force - Rome Air Development Center (Contract F19628-80-C-0077)National Science Foundation (Grant PHY79-09739)Joint Services Electronics Program (Contract DAAG29-78-C-0020)Joint Services Electronics Program (Contract DAAG29-80-C-0104)U.S. Air Force Geophysics Laboratory (AFSC) (Contract F19628-79-C-0082)National Science Foundation (Grant ECS79-19475)National Science Foundation (Grant DAR80-08752)National Science Foundation (Grant ENG79-09980
1993 Progress Reports
The 1993 Progress Reports which contain Blueberry Tax Supported Weed Management and Pruning Project Reports, and CSRS Supported Weed Management and Pruning Project Reports, pertain to and report on research conducted in 1992. They were prepared for the Maine Wild Blueberry Commission and the University of Maine Wild Blueberry Advisory Committee by researchers at the University of Maine, Orono. Projects in this report include:
Progress Reports
1. Effects of Irrigation on Low bush Blueberry Yield and Quality
2. Economics of Investing in Irrigation for Lowbush Blueberries
3. Diammonium Phosphate Study
4. Phosphorus Dose/Response Curve
5. Winter Injury Protection by Potassium
6. Multiple Cropping of Wild Stands
7. Effect of Boron on Lowbush Blueberry Fruit Set and Yield
8.Determination of Pesticide Residue Levels in Freshly Harvested and Processed Lowbush Blueberries
9. Effects of Calcium Salts and Citric Acids on the Quality of Canned Lowbush Blueberries- missing
10. Investigation of PreProcess Changes- missing
11. The Effect of Fertilization and Irrigation on Blueberry Fruit Control - missing
12. Pollination Ecology of Lowbush Blueberry in Maine
13. Control of Secondary Blueberry Pests
14. Control of Blueberry Maggot
15. Biology and Action Thresholds of Secondary Blueberry Pests
16. Cold-Hardiness of Native Lowbush Blueberries
17. Design, Fabrication, and Testing of an Experimental Sterilizer for Blueberry Fields
18. Canned Product Quality - Heat Resistant Molds
19. Sanitation for Disease Control
Blueberry Tax Supported Weed Management and Pruning Project Reports
20. Evaluation of Postemergence Applications of Tribenuron Methyl for Bunchberry Control
21. Comparison of Poast and Select for Suppression of Bunchgrass
22. Effect of Time of Fall Pruning on Growth and Productivity of Blueberries. and Evaluation of Infrared Burner to Prune Blueberries
23. Evaluation of Velpar impregnated DAP for weed control
24. Thresholds of Dogbane and Bracken Fern for Mechanical and Chemical Control in Lowbush Blueberry Fields
25. Effect of Time and Rate of Application of Clopyralid for Control of Vetch in Lowbush Blueberries
26. Hexazinone Ground Water Survey
27. Composting Blueberry Processing Waste
28. Hexazinone Movement in a Blueberry Soil in Maine
CSRS Supported Weed Management and Pruning Project Reports
29. Evaluation of the Suitability of Remote Sensing to Evaluate Plant Cover in Lowbush Blueberry Fields
30. Obstruction Removal in Lowbush Blueberry Fields
31. Evaluation of Pressurized Rope Wick Wick Master Wiper for Treating Weeds Growing Above Lowbush Blueberries
32. Evaluation of Infrared Burner for Weed Control
33. Blueberry Extension Education Program Base
Miscellaneous
34. Comparison of N, NP, and NPK Fertilizers to Correct Nitrogen and Phosphorus Deficienc
Maine Blueberry Advisory Committee Research Report
The 1990 edition of the Maine Blueberry Advisory Committee Research Reports was prepared for the Maine Wild Blueberry Commission and the University of Maine Wild Blueberry Advisory Committee by researchers with the Maine Agricultural Experiment Station and Maine Cooperative Extension Service at the University of Maine, Orono. Projects in this report include:
1. Biology and action thresholds of secondary blueberry pests
2. Control of blueberry maggot
3. Control of secondary blueberry pests
4. Application of steam as a method of controlling secondary pest insects on lowbush blueberry: a feasibility study
5. Pollination of the lowbush blueberry by native bees
6. Nitrogen-phosphorus study
7. Potassium study
8. Multiple cropping of wild stands
9. Phosphorus dose/response curve
10. Improvement in the color and texture of the canned blueberry
11. The effect of fertilization and irrigation on blueberry fruit quality
12. Investigation of preprocess changes (chemical, microbiological, and/or physical) that could lead to the development of a simple and inexpensive method to measure preprocess berry spoilage
13. The effect of postharvest handling on the dietary fiber and ellagic acid content of lowbush blueberries
14. Determination of pesticide residue levels in freshly harvested and processed lowbush blueberries
15. Evaluation of Defoliating Diseases
16. Vacuum Sanitation for Disease Control
17. Evaluation and modification of commercial herbicide applications
18. Evaluation of the suitability of remote sensing to evaluate plant cover in lowbush blueberry fields
19. Evaluation of Sethoxydin (POAST) in lowbush blueberry fields
20. Seedling pruning study
21. Evaluation of norflurazon (SOLICAM) with or without hexazinone (VELPAR) for bunchberry control
22. Selective wiper and mechanical control of dogbane and bracken fern
23. Evaluation of norflurazon (SOLICAM) in fall vs spring for oatgrass control
24. Evaluation of sulfonyl urea herbicides for bunchberry control
25. Evaluation of postemergence applications of DPX-L5300 for bunchberry control
26. Effect of time of application and formulation of hexazinone (VELPAR) on blueberry and bunchberry
27. Investigations of lowbush blueberry fruit-bud cold hardiness
28. The economics of investing in irrigation for lowbush blueberries
29. Effects of irrigation on lowbush blueberry yield and quality
30. Groundwater and surface water development for blueberry irrigation
31. Design, fabrication and testing of an experimental sterilizer for blueberry field
1993-94 Progress Report
The 1993 edition of the Progress Reports was prepared for the Maine Wild Blueberry Commission and the University of Maine Wild Blueberry Advisory Committee by researchers at the University of Maine, Orono. Projects in this report include:
1. Effects of irrigation on lowbush blueberry yield and quality
2. The Economics of investigating irrigation for lowbush blueberries
3. Phosphorus dose/response curve
4. Winter injury protection by potassium
5. Multiple cropping of wild stands
6. Effect of Boron and Calcium on lowbush blueberry fruit set and yield
7. Comparison of N, NP, and NPK fertilizers to correct nitrogen and phosphorus deficiency
8. Determination of pesticide residue levels in freshly harvested and processed lowbush blueberries
9. Effects of calcium salts and citric acid on the quality of canned lowbush blueberries
10. Investigation of preprocess changes (chemical, microbiological, and/or physical) that can lead to the development of a simple and inexpensive method to measure preprocess berry spoilage
11. The effect of fertilization and irrigation in blueberry fruit quality
12. Pollination Ecology of lowbush blueberry in Maine
13. Current importance of insects in lowbush blueberry fields
14. Application of heat as a method of controlling secondary pest insects on lowbush blueberry: a feasibility study
15. Control of blueberry maggot
16. Control of secondary blueberry pest insects
17. Biology and action thresholds of secondary blueberry pest insects
18. Cold-hardiness of native lowbush blueberry
19. Design, fabrication, and testing of an experimental sterilizer for blueberry fields
20. Canned Product Quality--Heat-resistant molds
21. Sanitation for disease control
22. Evaluation of Velpar® impregnated DAP and Pronone® for weed control
23. Evaluation of postemergence applications of tribenuron methyl for bunchberry control
24. Evaluation of postemergence applications of a tank mix of tribenuron methyl and hexazinone for bunchberry control
25. Thresholds of dogbane and bracken fem by mechanical and chemical control in lowbush blueberry fields
26. Effect of time of application of clopyralid for control of vetch and effect on flowering in lowbush blueberries
27. Effect of time of fall pruning on growth and productivity of blueberries and evaluation of infrared burner to prune blueberries
28. Evaluation of infrared burner for selective seedling weed control
29. Evaluation of pressurized rope wick Wick Master wiper for treating weeds growing above lowbush blueberries
30. Blueberry Extension Education Program Base
31. Blueberry ICM program for Hancock County
32. Composting blueberry processing waste
33. Hexazinone ground water survey
34. Investigations of Lowbush Blueberry Fruit bud Cold-hardiness
35. Design, Fabrication, and Testing of an Experimental Sterilizer for Blueberry Field
Combined Treatment of Heterocyclic Analogues and Benznidazole upon Trypanosoma cruzi In Vivo
Chagas disease caused by Trypanosoma cruzi is an important cause of mortality and morbidity in Latin America but no vaccines or safe chemotherapeutic agents are available. Combined therapy is envisioned as an ideal approach since it may enhance efficacy by acting upon different cellular targets, may reduce toxicity and minimize the risk of drug resistance. Therefore, we investigated the activity of benznidazole (Bz) in combination with the diamidine prodrug DB289 and in combination with the arylimidamide DB766 upon T. cruzi infection in vivo. The oral treatment of T.cruzi-infected mice with DB289 and Benznidazole (Bz) alone reduced the number of circulating parasites compared with untreated mice by about 70% and 90%, respectively. However, the combination of these two compounds decreased the parasitemia by 99% and protected against animal mortality by 100%, but without providing a parasitological cure. When Bz (p.o) was combined with DB766 (via ip route), at least a 99.5% decrease in parasitemia levels was observed. DB766+Bz also provided 100% protection against mice mortality while Bz alone provided about 87% protection. This combined therapy also reduced the tissular lesions induced by T. cruzi infection: Bz alone reduced GPT and CK plasma levels by about 12% and 78% compared to untreated mice group, the combination of Bz with DB766 resulted in a reduction of GPT and CK plasma levels of 56% and 91%. Cure assessment through hemocultive and PCR approaches showed that Bz did not provide a parasitological cure, however, DB766 alone or associated with Bz cured ≥13% of surviving animals
ELISA versus PCR for diagnosis of chronic Chagas disease: systematic review and meta-analysis
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Most current guidelines recommend two serological tests to diagnose chronic Chagas disease. When serological tests are persistently inconclusive, some guidelines recommend molecular tests. The aim of this investigation was to review chronic Chagas disease diagnosis literature and to summarize results of ELISA and PCR performance.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A systematic review was conducted searching remote databases (MEDLINE, LILACS, EMBASE, SCOPUS and ISIWeb) and full texts bibliography for relevant abstracts. In addition, manufacturers of commercial tests were contacted. Original investigations were eligible if they estimated sensitivity and specificity, or reliability -or if their calculation was possible - of ELISA or PCR tests, for chronic Chagas disease.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Heterogeneity was high within each test (ELISA and PCR) and threshold effect was detected only in a particular subgroup. Reference standard blinding partially explained heterogeneity in ELISA studies, and pooled sensitivity and specificity were 97.7% [96.7%-98.5%] and 96.3% [94.6%-97.6%] respectively. Commercial ELISA with recombinant antigens studied in phase three investigations partially explained heterogeneity, and pooled sensitivity and specificity were 99.3% [97.9%-99.9%] and 97.5% [88.5%-99.5%] respectively. ELISA's reliability was seldom studied but was considered acceptable. PCR heterogeneity was not explained, but a threshold effect was detected in three groups created by using guanidine and boiling the sample before DNA extraction. PCR sensitivity is likely to be between 50% and 90%, while its specificity is close to 100%. PCR reliability was never studied.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Both conventional and recombinant based ELISA give useful information, however there are commercial tests without technical reports and therefore were not included in this review. Physicians need to have access to technical reports to understand if these serological tests are similar to those included in this review and therefore correctly order and interpret test results. Currently, PCR should not be used in clinical practice for chronic Chagas disease diagnosis and there is no PCR test commercially available for this purpose. Tests limitations and directions for future research are discussed.</p