Fungal grapevine trunk pathogens associated with Syrah decline in Spain

Syrah decline has been increasingly seen and reported in many vineyards worldwide. In recent years, an increase in samples of Vitis vinifera cv. Syrah showing general decline has also been noted in Spain. Sixty-two samples of Syrah grafted grapevines with such symptoms were collected from grapevine nurseries and young vineyards between 2007 and 2009 and subjected to fungal isolation. Species were identified with morphological and molecular methods. Species recovered included Phaeoacremonium, Botryosphaeriaceae and Cylindrocarpon, as well as Pa. chlamydospora and Ca. luteo-olivacea. The study demonstrates that fungal pathogens should be considered potential factors associated with Syrah decline

Measuring Enzymatic HIV-1 Susceptibility to Two Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors as a Rapid and Simple Approach to HIV-1 Drug-Resistance Testing

Simple and cost-effective approaches for HIV drug-resistance testing are highly desirable for managing increasingly expanding HIV-1 infected populations who initiate antiretroviral therapy (ART), particularly in resource-limited settings. Non-nucleoside reverse trancriptase inhibitor (NNRTI)-based regimens with an NRTI backbone containing lamivudine (3TC) or emtricitabine (FTC) are preferred first ART regimens. Failure with these drug combinations typically involves the selection of NNRTI- and/or 3TC/FTC- resistant viruses. Therefore, the availability of simple assays to measure both types of drug resistance is critical. We have developed a high throughput screening test for assessing enzymatic resistance of the HIV-1 RT in plasma to 3TC/FTC and NNRTIs. The test uses the sensitive “Amp-RT” assay with a newly-developed real-time PCR format to screen biochemically for drug resistance in single reactions containing either 3TC-triphosphate (3TC-TP) or nevirapine (NVP). Assay cut-offs were defined based on testing a large panel of subtype B and non-subtype B clinical samples with known genotypic profiles. Enzymatic 3TC resistance correlated well with the presence of M184I/V, and reduced NVP susceptibility was strongly associated with the presence of K103N, Y181C/I, Y188L, and G190A/Q. The sensitivity and specificity for detecting resistance were 97.0% and 96.0% in samples with M184V, and 97.4% and 96.2% for samples with NNRTI mutations, respectively. We further demonstrate the utility of an HIV capture method in plasma by using magnetic beads coated with CD44 antibody that eliminates the need for ultracentifugation. Thus our results support the use of this simple approach for distinguishing WT from NNRTI- or 3TC/FTC-resistant viruses in clinical samples. This enzymatic testing is subtype-independent and can assist in the clinical management of diverse populations particularly in resource-limited settings

Effect of hot-water treatment on grapevine viability, yield components and composition of must

Abstract Background and Aims: Hot-water treatment (HWT) has been shown to be effective for the control of several endogenous and exogenous grapevine pests and diseases in dormant grapevine cuttings and young rooted vines. Little is still known, however, about the long-term effect of HWT on plant viability under field conditions. The effect of HWT on the performance of dormant plants in a four-growing seasons study was investigated. Methods and Results: The effect of HWT at 53°C for 30 min on shoot mass, yield parameters and composition of must in dormant grafted plants (Tempranillo cultivar grafted onto 110 Richter rootstock) was evaluated. Eight bundles of 20 grafted plants were assigned to HWT, and eight additional bundles of 20 untreated grafted plants were prepared as a control (non-HWT). Dormant grafted plants were immediately planted in two field sites in April 2007. Shoot fresh mass was evaluated during winter in four consecutive growing seasons. Yield parameters and must composition were evaluated in the third and fourth growing seasons. In general, there was no significant difference in shoot mass at pruning, yield parameters and must components between treatments, with the exception of the must total soluble solids and volumetric mass in the fourth growing season. Conclusions: The findings obtained in this study indicate that HWT at 53°C for 30 min did not affect plant viability, yield parameters and the main components of must composition, and could be successfully used commercially. Significance of the Study: This study represents the first approach to investigate the long-term effect of HWT on plant development, yield and composition of must under field conditions. It suggests that the success of HWT depends not only on the most adequate protocol applied by nurseries, but also on management practices before, during and after the propagation process that could affect the viability of HWT grapevine propagating material

Prevention of ventilator-associated pneumonia: the multimodal approach of the spanish ICU pneumonia zero program.

Objectives: The “Pneumonia Zero” project is a nationwide multimodal intervention based on the simultaneous implementation of a comprehensive evidence-based bundle measures to prevent ventilator-associated pneumonia in critically ill patients admitted to the ICU. Design: Prospective, interventional, and multicenter study. Setting: A total of 181 ICUs throughout Spain. Patients: All patients admitted for more than 24 hours to the participating ICUs between April 1, 2011, and December 31, 2012. Intervention: Ten ventilator-associated pneumonia prevention measures were implemented (seven were mandatory and three highly recommended). The database of the National ICU-Acquired Infections Surveillance Study (Estudio Nacional de Vigilancia de Infecciones Nosocomiales [ENVIN]) was used for data collection. Ventilator-associated pneumonia rate was expressed as incidence density per 1,000 ventilator days. Ventilator-associated pneumonia rates from the incorporation of the ICUs to the project, every 3 months, were compared with data of the ENVIN registry (April–June 2010) as the baseline period. Ventilator-associated pneumonia rates were adjusted by characteristics of the hospital, including size, type (public or private), and teaching (postgraduate) or university-affiliated (undergraduate) status. Measurements and Main Results: The 181 participating ICUs accounted for 75% of all ICUs in Spain. In a total of 171,237 ICU admissions, an artificial airway was present on 505,802 days (50.0% of days of stay in the ICU). A total of 3,474 ventilator-associated pneumonia episodes were diagnosed in 3,186 patients. The adjusted ventilator-associated pneumonia incidence density rate decreased from 9.83 (95% CI, 8.42–11.48) per 1,000 ventilator days in the baseline period to 4.34 (95% CI, 3.22–5.84) after 19–21 months of participation. Conclusions: Implementation of the bundle measures included in the “Pneumonia Zero” project resulted in a significant reduction of more than 50% of the incidence of ventilator-associated pneumonia in Spanish ICUs. This reduction was sustained 21 months after implementation

A review of the use of terrestrial laser scanning application for change detection and deformation monitoring of structures

Change detection and deformation monitoring is an active area of research within the field of engineering surveying as well as overlapping areas such as structural and civil engineering. The application of Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) techniques for change detection and deformation monitoring of concrete structures has increased over the years as illustrated in the past studies. This paper presents a review of literature on TLS application in the monitoring of structures and discusses registration and georeferencing of TLS point cloud data as a critical issue in the process chain of accurate deformation analysis. Past TLS research work has shown some trends in addressing issues such as accurate registration and georeferencing of the scans and the need of a stable reference frame, TLS error modelling and reduction, point cloud processing techniques for deformation analysis, scanner calibration issues and assessing the potential of TLS in detecting sub-centimetre and millimetre deformations. However, several issues are still open to investigation as far as TLS is concerned in change detection and deformation monitoring studies such as rigorous and efficient workflow methodology of point cloud processing for change detection and deformation analysis, incorporation of measurement geometry in deformation measurements of high-rise structures, design of data acquisition and quality assessment for precise measurements and modelling the environmental effects on the performance of laser scanning. Even though some studies have attempted to address these issues, some gaps exist as information is still limited. Some methods reviewed in the case studies have been applied in landslide monitoring and they seem promising to be applied in engineering surveying to monitor structures. Hence the proposal of a three-stage process model for deformation analysis is presented. Furthermore, with technological advancements new TLS instruments with better accuracy are being developed necessitating more research for precise measurements in the monitoring of structures

Factors Influencing the Emergence and Spread of HIV Drug Resistance Arising from Rollout of Antiretroviral Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP)

Background: The potential for emergence and spread of HIV drug resistance from rollout of antiretroviral (ARV) pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is an important public health concern. We investigated determinants of HIV drug resistance prevalence after PrEP implementation through mathematical modeling. Methodology: A model incorporating heterogeneity in age, gender, sexual activity, HIV infection status, stage of disease, PrEP coverage/discontinuation, and HIV drug susceptibility, was designed to simulate the impact of PrEP on HIV prevention and drug resistance in a sub-Saharan epidemic. Principal Findings: Analyses suggest that the prevalence of HIV drug resistance is influenced most by the extent and duration of inadvertent PrEP use in individuals already infected with HIV. Other key factors affecting drug resistance prevalence include the persistence time of transmitted resistance and the duration of inadvertent PrEP use in individuals who become infected on PrEP. From uncertainty analysis, the median overall prevalence of drug resistance at 10 years was predicted to be 9.2% (interquartile range 6.9%-12.2%). An optimistic scenario of 75% PrEP efficacy, 60% coverage of the susceptible population, and 5% inadvertent PrEP use predicts a rise in HIV drug resistance prevalence to only 2.5% after 10 years. By contrast, in a pessimistic scenario of 25% PrEP efficacy, 15% population coverage, and 25% inadvertent PrEP use, resistance prevalence increased to over 40%. Conclusions: Inadvertent PrEP use in previously-infected individuals is the major determinant of HIV drug resistance prevalence arising from PrEP. Both the rate and duration of inadvertent PrEP use are key factors. PrEP rollout programs should include routine monitoring of HIV infection status to limit the spread of drug resistance. © 2011 Abbas et al

Measurement of the semileptonic charge asymmetry in B0 meson mixing with the D0 detector

We present a measurement of the semileptonic mixing asymmetry for B0 mesons, a^d_{sl}, using two independent decay channels: B0 -> mu+D-X, with D- -> K+pi-pi-; and B0 -> mu+D*-X, with D*- -> antiD0 pi-, antiD0 -> K+pi- (and charge conjugate processes). We use a data sample corresponding to 10.4 fb^{-1} of ppbar collisions at sqrt(s) = 1.96 TeV, collected with the D0 experiment at the Fermilab Tevatron collider. We extract the charge asymmetries in these two channels as a function of the visible proper decay length (VPDL) of the B0 meson, correct for detector-related asymmetries using data-driven methods, and account for dilution from charge-symmetric processes using Monte Carlo simulation. The final measurement combines four signal VPDL regions for each channel, yielding a^d_{sl} = [0.68 \pm 0.45 \text{(stat.)} \pm 0.14 \text{(syst.)}]%. This is the single most precise measurement of this parameter, with uncertainties smaller than the current world average of B factory measurements.Comment: Version includes minor textual changes following peer review by journal, most notably the updating of Ref. [21] to reflect the most recent publicatio

Measurements of single top quark production cross sections and |Vtb| in ppbar collisions at sqrt{s}=1.96 TeV

We present measurements of production cross sections of single top quarks in \ppbar collisions at $\sqrt{s}=1.96\;\rm TeV$ in a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of $5.4\;\rm fb^{-1}$ collected by the D0 detector at the Fermilab Tevatron Collider. We select events with an isolated electron or muon, an imbalance in transverse energy, and two, three, or four jets, with one or two of them containing a bottom hadron. We obtain an inclusive cross section of \sigma({\ppbar}{\rargap}tb+X, tqb+X) = 3.43\pm^{0.73}_{0.74}\;\rm pb and use it to extract the CKM matrix element $0.79 < |V_{tb}| \leq 1$ at the 95% C.L. We also measure \sigma({\ppbar}{\rargap}tb+X) = 0.68\pm^{0.38}_{0.35}\;\rm pb and \sigma({\ppbar}{\rargap}tqb+X) = 2.86\pm^{0.69}_{0.63}\;\rm pb when assuming, respectively, $tqb$ and $tb$ production rates as predicted by the standard model.Comment: 11 pages, 8 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.

Charge separation relative to the reaction plane in Pb-Pb collisions at sNN=2.76\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}= 2.76 TeV

Measurements of charge dependent azimuthal correlations with the ALICE detector at the LHC are reported for Pb-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}} = 2.76$ TeV. Two- and three-particle charge-dependent azimuthal correlations in the pseudo-rapidity range $|\eta| < 0.8$ are presented as a function of the collision centrality, particle separation in pseudo-rapidity, and transverse momentum. A clear signal compatible with a charge-dependent separation relative to the reaction plane is observed, which shows little or no collision energy dependence when compared to measurements at RHIC energies. This provides a new insight for understanding the nature of the charge dependent azimuthal correlations observed at RHIC and LHC energies.Comment: 12 pages, 3 captioned figures, authors from page 2 to 6, published version, figures at http://aliceinfo.cern.ch/ArtSubmission/node/286

Multi-particle azimuthal correlations in p-Pb and Pb-Pb collisions at the CERN Large Hadron Collider

Measurements of multi-particle azimuthal correlations (cumulants) for charged particles in p-Pb and Pb-Pb collisions are presented. They help address the question of whether there is evidence for global, flow-like, azimuthal correlations in the p-Pb system. Comparisons are made to measurements from the larger Pb-Pb system, where such evidence is established. In particular, the second harmonic two-particle cumulants are found to decrease with multiplicity, characteristic of a dominance of few-particle correlations in p-Pb collisions. However, when a $|\Delta \eta|$ gap is placed to suppress such correlations, the two-particle cumulants begin to rise at high-multiplicity, indicating the presence of global azimuthal correlations. The Pb-Pb values are higher than the p-Pb values at similar multiplicities. In both systems, the second harmonic four-particle cumulants exhibit a transition from positive to negative values when the multiplicity increases. The negative values allow for a measurement of $v_{2}\{4\}$ to be made, which is found to be higher in Pb-Pb collisions at similar multiplicities. The second harmonic six-particle cumulants are also found to be higher in Pb-Pb collisions. In Pb-Pb collisions, we generally find $v_{2}\{4\} \simeq v_{2}\{6\}\neq 0$ which is indicative of a Bessel-Gaussian function for the $v_{2}$ distribution. For very high-multiplicity Pb-Pb collisions, we observe that the four- and six-particle cumulants become consistent with 0. Finally, third harmonic two-particle cumulants in p-Pb and Pb-Pb are measured. These are found to be similar for overlapping multiplicities, when a $|\Delta\eta| > 1.4$ gap is placed.Comment: 25 pages, 11 captioned figures, 3 tables, authors from page 20, published version, figures at http://aliceinfo.cern.ch/ArtSubmission/node/87