Improvement of the quality of propagation material for organic farming system

The use of organic propagation material is obligatory according to the current EU regulations for organic production. However, frequently difficulties are en-countered regarding the availability, the costs or the quality. In the Netherlands a national research program aims at developing solutions, needed for improving the production of high quality organic propagation material. The main emphasis in the pro-gram is on the model crops cabbage, onion, wheat and potato. Individual projects within the program include epidemiological studies of seed borne dis-eases to develop disease prevention strategies, meth-ods to improve resistance of seeds and seedlings towards pathogens and methods to control silver scurf in seed potatoes, development of multi-spectral analysis and sorting techniques and methods for analysis and improvement of seed vigour. Active involvement of producers and users of the seeds or seed potatoes ensures that the results will be imple-mented in practice. The program also aims at strengthening the international collaboration, amongst others through involvement in international research projects

Comments on "global and regional comparison of daily 2-m and 1000-hPa maximum and minimum temperatures in three global reanalyses"

Pitman and Perkins claimed that instantaneous 2-m air temperatures from different reanalysis products largely disagree over widespread regions of the globe and that, because of their much smaller differences, temperatures at 1000 hPa should be preferably used. This comment shows that this claim is based on erroneous results. © 2012 American Meteorological Society.S.B. would like to thank the 'Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas' (CSIC) pre- doctoral program 'JAE-PREDOC' for funding.Peer Reviewe

Beheersing van zilverschurft

Zilverschurftvrij uitgangsmateriaal en een werkelijk schone bewaarplaats zijn dè preventieve maatregelen om uitbreiding van de ziekte tegen te gaan. Daarnaast gaan koel (3°C) en droog bewaren heel effectief uitbreiding tegen. In de praktijk is er vaak wel wat infectie op het geoogste materiaal, waarna de schimmel zich tijdens de bewaring snel kan uitbreiden. Gebruik van natuurlijke middelen zoals etherische oliën kan helpen uitbreiding tegen te gaan. Onderzoek heeft laten zien dat als het uitgangsmateriaal toch besmet is, het juist zinvol is om volledig met zilverschurft overgroeid pootgoed te gebruiken. Dit blijkt minder besmetting te geven in de nateelt

Energetics and mechanism of drug transport mediated by the lactococcal multidrug transporter LmrP

The gene encoding the secondary multidrug transporter LmrP of Lactococcus lactis was heterologously expressed in Escherichia coli. The energetics and mechanism of drug extrusion mediated by LmrP were studied in membrane vesicles of E. coli, LmrP-mediated extrusion of tetraphenyl phosphonium (TPP+) from right-side-out membrane vesicles and uptake of the fluorescent membrane probe 1-[4-(trimethylamino)phenyl]-6-phenylhexa-1,3,5-triene (TMA-DPH) into inside-out membrane vesicles are driven by the membrane potential (Delta psi) and the transmembrane proton gradient (Delta pH), pointing to an electrogenic drug/proton antiport mechanism, Ethidium bromide, a substrate for LmrP, inhibited the LmrP-mediated TPP+ extrusion from right-side-out membrane vesicles, showing that LmrP is capable of transporting structurally unrelated drugs. Kinetic analysis of LmrP-mediated TMA-DPH transport revealed a direct relation between the transport rate and the amount of TMA-DPH associated with the cytoplasmic leaflet of the lipid bilayer. This observation indicates that drugs are extruded from the inner leaflet of the cytoplasmic membrane into the external medium. This is the first report that shows that drug extrusion by a secondary multidrug resistance (MDR) transporter occurs by a ''hydrophobic vacuum cleaner'' mechanism in a similar way as was proposed for the primary lactococcal MDR transporter, LmrA

Emerging European winter precipitation pattern linked to atmospheric circulation changes over the North Atlantic region in recent decades

Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2017. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Geophysical Research Letters 44 (2017): 8557–8566, doi:10.1002/2017GL074188.Dominant European winter precipitation patterns over the past century, along with their associated extratropical North Atlantic circulation changes, are evaluated using cluster analysis. Contrary to the four regimes traditionally identified based on daily wintertime atmospheric circulation patterns, five distinct seasonal precipitation regimes are detected here. Recurrent precipitation patterns in each regime are linked to changes in atmospheric blocking, storm track, and sea surface temperatures across the North Atlantic region. Multidecadal variability in the frequency of the precipitation patterns reveals more (fewer) winters with wet conditions in northern (southern) Europe in recent decades and an emerging distinct pattern of enhanced wintertime precipitation over the northern British Isles. This pattern has become unusually common since the 1980s and is associated with changes in moisture transport and more frequent atmospheric river events. The observed precipitation changes post-1950 coincide with changes in storm track activity over the central/eastern North Atlantic toward the northern British Isles.U.S. National Science Foundation Grant Number: AGS-1355339; NASA Physical Oceanography Program Grant Number: NNX13AM59G; WHOI2018-02-2

A data-driven computational model for obesity-driven diabetes onset and remission through weight loss

Obesity is a major risk factor for the development of type 2 diabetes (T2D), where a sustained weight loss may result in T2D remission in individuals with obesity. To design effective and feasible intervention strategies to prevent or reverse T2D, it is imperative to study the progression of T2D and remission together. Unfortunately, this is not possible through experimental and observational studies. To address this issue, we introduce a data-driven computational model and use human data to investigate the progression of T2D with obesity and remission through weight loss on the same timeline. We identify thresholds for the emergence of T2D and necessary conditions for remission. We explain why remission is only possible within a window of opportunity and the way that window depends on the progression history of T2D, individual’s metabolic state, and calorie restrictions. These findings can help to optimize therapeutic intervention strategies for T2D prevention or treatment