Ch1 (Vitis vinifera L.) Rootstock Control of Scion Response to Water Stress in Some Commercial Grapevine Cultivars

Drought stress is the most important environmental factor limiting the growth, development and yield ofcrop plants and horticulture. In this study, the induction of drought resistance in commercial cultivars (asscion) by the Ch1 rootstock was evaluated based on physiological and biochemical responses. Factorialexperiment was performed in a completely randomised design (CRD) with three replications in thegreenhouse. Plant materials consisted of five commercial grapevine cultivars (own-rooted plants of Blackseedless, Flame seedless, Turkman seedless, Sultana and Shahani, and the scion of these cultivars graftedonto Ch1 rootstock). Drought stress treatment comprised stopping irrigation for 30 days from July to August, and not stopping irrigation was the control. Drought stress significantly reduced the membrane stability index (MSI) and the relative water content (RWC), and increased electrolyte leakage (EL), catalase, hydrogen peroxide, proline, ascorbic acid, guaiacol peroxidase, protein, sodium and potassium levels (P < 0.05). The EL and MSI in the Ch1 rootstock under drought stress decreased by 18.38% and 14.86% respectively. The Ch1 rootstock significantly increased the amount of proline, total protein and enzyme activity of guaiacol peroxidase and catalase in cultivars in a drought stress environment. The amount of hydrogen peroxide decreased in all cultivars grafted on Ch1 in both drought stress and non-drought stress environments, by 14.3% and 18.9% respectively. Sultana cultivar grafted on Ch1 rootstock showed the highest drought resistance. Therefore, it can be concluded that the Ch1 rootstock is recommended as a rootstock for inducing drought resistance in grapevine cultivar scions

Development and psychometric evaluation of the nursing instructors' clinical teaching performance inventory

Evaluation of nursing instructors' clinical teaching performance is a prerequisite to the quality assurance of nursing education. One of the most common procedures for this purpose is using student evaluations. This study was to develop and evaluate the psychometric properties of Nursing Instructors' Clinical Teaching Performance Inventory (NICTPI). The primary items of the inventory were generated by reviewing the published literature and the existing questionnaires as well as consulting with the members of the Faculties Evaluation Committee of the study setting. Psychometric properties were assessed by calculating its content validity ratio and index, and test-retest correlation coefficient as well as conducting an exploratory factor analysis and an internal consistency assessment. The content validity ratios and indices of the items were respectively higher than 0.85 and 0.79. The final version of the inventory consisted of 25 items, and in the exploratory factor analysis, items were loaded on three factors which jointly accounting for 72.85 of the total variance. The test-retest correlation coefficient and the Cronbach's alpha of the inventory were 0.93 and 0.973, respectively. The results revealed that the developed inventory is an appropriate, valid, and reliable instrument for evaluating nursing instructors' clinical teaching performance

Fusion of HSP70 gene of Mycobacterium tuberculosis to hemagglutinin (H5) gene of avian influenza virus in DNA vaccine enhances its potency.

A series of plasmids containing the HSP70 gene of Mycobacterium tuberculosis fused to the hemagglutinin (H5) gene of H5N1 avian influenza virus (AIV) (H5-HSP70 (heat shock protein 70) vaccine) or individual H5 gene (H5 vaccine) or HSP70 gene (HSP70 vaccine) were constructed based on the plasmid pcDNA3.1. Expression of H5 gene in Vero cells in vitro and in chickens in vivo was confirmed following their transfection and immunization with H5 or H5-HSP70 vaccines. Controls consisted of HSP70 vaccine, empty plasmid pcDNA3.1 and co-administered H5 and HSP70 vaccines. H5-HSP70 vaccine produced in chicken higher hemagglutination inhibition (HI) antibody titer than H5 vaccine. However, the increase was not statistically significant. We have demonstrated for the first time that the H5 DNA vaccine with fused HSP70 gene may produce an enhanced induction of humoral immune response to AIV in chickens

Differential modulation of immune response and cytokine profiles in the bursae and spleen of chickens infected with very virulent infectious bursal disease virus

Background: Very virulent infectious bursal disease virus (vvIBDV) induces immunosuppression and inflammation in young birds, which subsequently leads to high mortality. In addition, infectious bursal disease (IBD) is one of the leading causes of vaccine failure on farms. Therefore, understanding the immunopathogenesis of IBDV in both the spleen and the bursae could help effective vaccine development. However, previous studies only profiled the differential expression of a limited number of cytokines, in either the spleen or the bursae of Fabricius of IBDV-infected chickens. Thus, this study aims to evaluate the in vitro and in vivo immunoregulatory effects of vvIBDV infection on macrophage-like cells, spleen and bursae of Fabricius. Results: The viral load was increased during the progression of the in vitro infection in the HD11 macrophage cell line and in vivo, but no significant difference was observed between the spleen and the bursae tissue. vvIBDV infection induced the expression of pro-inflammatory and Th1 cytokines, and chemokines from HD11 cells in a time- and dosage-dependent manner. Furthermore, alterations in the lymphocyte populations, cytokine and chemokine expression, were observed in the vvIBDV-infected spleens and bursae. A drastic rise was detected in numbers of macrophages and pro-inflammatory cytokine expression in the spleen, as early as 2 days post-infection (dpi). On 4 dpi, macrophage and T lymphocyte infiltration, associated with the peak expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines in the bursae tissues of infected chickens were observed. The majority of the significantly regulated pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines, in vvIBDV-infected spleens and bursae, were also detected in vvIBDV-infected HD11 cells. This cellular infiltration subsequently resulted in a sharp rise in nitric oxide (NO) and lipid peroxidation levels. Conclusion: This study suggests that macrophage may play an important role in regulating the early expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines, first in the spleen and then in the bursae, the latter tissue undergoing macrophage infiltration at 4 dpi

The effect of the timing of exposure to Campylobacter jejuni on the gut microbiome and inflammatory responses of broiler chickens

Background Campylobacters are an unwelcome member of the poultry gut microbiota in terms of food safety. The objective of this study was to compare the microbiota, inflammatory responses, and zootechnical parameters of broiler chickens not exposed to Campylobacter jejuni with those exposed either early at 6 days old or at the age commercial broiler chicken flocks are frequently observed to become colonized at 20 days old. Results Birds infected with Campylobacter at 20 days became cecal colonized within 2 days of exposure, whereas birds infected at 6 days of age did not show complete colonization of the sample cohort until 9 days post-infection. All birds sampled thereafter were colonized until the end of the study at 35 days (mean 6.1 log10 CFU per g of cecal contents). The cecal microbiota of birds infected with Campylobacter were significantly different to age-matched non-infected controls at 2 days post-infection but generally the composition of the cecal microbiota were more affected by bird age as the time post infection increased. The effects of Campylobacter colonization on the cecal microbiota were associated with reductions in the relative abundance of OTUs within the taxonomic family Lactobacillaceae and the Clostridium cluster XIVa. Specific members of the Lachnospiraceae and Ruminococcaceae families exhibit transient shifts in microbial community populations dependent upon the age at which the birds become colonized by C. jejuni. Analysis of ileal and cecal chemokine/cytokine gene expression revealed increases in IL-6, IL-17A and Il-17F consistent with a Th17 response but the persistence of the response was dependent on the stage/time of C. jejuni colonization that coincide with significant reductions in the abundance of Clostridium cluster XIVa. Conclusions This study combines microbiome data, cytokine/chemokine gene expression with intestinal villus and crypt measurements to compare chickens colonized early or late in the rearing cycle to provide insights into the process and outcomes of Campylobacter colonization. Early colonization results in a transient growth rate reduction and pro-inflammatory response but persistent modification of the cecal microbiota. Late colonization produces pro-inflammatory responses with changes in the cecal microbiota that will endure in market ready chickens

Identification of stable QTLs for vegetative and reproductive traits in the microvine (Vitis vinifera L.) using the 18 K Infinium chip

UMR AGAP - équipe DAAV - Diversité, adaptation et amélioration de la vigne[b]Background[/b] [br/]The increasing temperature associated with climate change impacts grapevine phenology and development with critical effects on grape yield and composition. Plant breeding has the potential to deliver new cultivars with stable yield and quality under warmer climate conditions, but this requires the identification of stable genetic determinants. This study tested the potentialities of the microvine to boost genetics in grapevine. A mapping population of 129 microvines derived from Picovine x Ugni Blanc flb, was genotyped with the Illumina® 18 K SNP (Single Nucleotide Polymorphism) chip. Forty-three vegetative and reproductive traits were phenotyped outdoors over four cropping cycles, and a subset of 22 traits over two cropping cycles in growth rooms with two contrasted temperatures, in order to map stable QTLs (Quantitative Trait Loci). [br/][b]Results[/b] [br/]Ten stable QTLs for berry development and quality or leaf area were identified on the parental maps. A new major QTL explaining up to 44 % of total variance of berry weight was identified on chromosome 7 in Ugni Blanc flb, and co-localized with QTLs for seed number (up to 76 % total variance), major berry acids at green lag phase (up to 35 %), and other yield components (up to 25 %). In addition, a minor QTL for leaf area was found on chromosome 4 of the same parent. In contrast, only minor QTLs for berry acidity and leaf area could be found as moderately stable in Picovine. None of the transporters recently identified as mutated in low acidity apples or Cucurbits were included in the several hundreds of candidate genes underlying the above berry QTLs, which could be reduced to a few dozen candidate genes when a priori pertinent biological functions and organ specific expression were considered. [br/][b]Conclusions[/b] [br/]This study combining the use of microvine and a high throughput genotyping technology was innovative for grapevine genetics. It allowed the identification of 10 stable QTLs, including the first berry acidity QTLs reported so far in a Vitis vinifera intra-specific cross. Robustness of a set of QTLs was assessed with respect to temperature variatio

Formation mechanism and control of flaring in forward tube spinning

Forward tube spinning (or flow forming) is usually employed to produce cylindrically tubular components to meet the increasing requirements for manufacturing high-performance and light-weight products at low cost and short lead-time. In forward tube spinning, flaring defect may easily occur at the opening end of tubes, which would deteriorate the quality of the spun tubular parts and reduce the material utilization. In addition, an additional operation is needed to trim away the flared end of the spun tabular parts. Efficient control of flaring formation is thus a non-trivial issue in forward tube spinning process and thus become one of the critical bottleneck issues to be addressed in this unique forming process. In this study, the formation mechanism of flaring was systematically studied via finite element (FE) simulation and an in-depth understanding was thus established, which forms basis for control of flaring forming in forward tube spinning. Based on the simulated material flow behaviour, it is found that flaring is formed by the material in non-spun zone flowing away from the mandrel. This material flow behaviour is caused by the pile up and the decreasing stiffness of the non-spun zone. In addition, the effects of process parameters on flaring were investigated to reduce flaring. The results show that the smaller feed rate and thickness reduction per pass can reduce the maximum flaring to a certain extent, but is very limited. To increase productivity and shorten forming lead-time, an efficient method to control flaring was proposed using a pressing ring in front of the roller based on the formation mechanism of flaring. FE simulation was further used to study the feasibility and demonstrates the validity of the method in terms of reducing and even eliminating the flaring with a short production lead-time. Finally, the forward tube spinning experiments were carried out to validate the formation mechanism of flaring and the method to avoid or eliminate the flaring formation in forward tube spinning

Changes in fruit yield and photosynthesis parameters in different olive cultivars (Olea europaea L.) under contrasting water regimes

The evergreen tree olive (Olea europaea L.) is the only species of the genus Olea that produces edible fruits with high ecological and economic value. This tree species has developed a series of physiochemical mechanisms to tolerate drought stress and grow under adverse climatic environments. One of these mechanisms is photosynthesis activities, so that as yet little information achieved about the relations between olive production and photosynthetic parameters under drought conditions. An experiment was carried out during two consecutive years (2015–2017) to study the response of 20 different olive tree cultivars (Olea europaea L.) to drought stress. Several parameters like net photosynthetic rate (PN), stomatal conductance (GS), transpiration rate (TE), photosynthetic pigments (total chlorophyll, chlorophyll a, b and carotenoid) and fruit yield were measured. The results of combined analysis of variance for fruit yield and other measured traits showed that year, drought treatment, cultivar main effects and their interactions were highly significant. The results indicated that drought stress reduced all traits, however GS (42.80%), PN (37.21%) and TE (37.17%) significantly affected by drought. Lower reduction in photosynthetic performance (PN, GS and TE) in the cultivar T7 compared to other olive cultivars allowed them to maintain better fruit yield. Principal component analysis (PCA) identified two PCs that accounted for 82.04 and 83.27% of the total variation in photosynthetic parameters under optimal and drought stress conditions, respectively. Taken together, mean comparison, relative changes due to drought and biplot analysis revealed that cultivars ‘T7’, ‘Roghani’, ‘Koroneiki’, ‘Korfolia’ and ‘Abou-satl’ displayed better response against drought stress. According to our results, one olive cultivar namely ‘T7’, could be used in olive breeding programs to improve new high yielding cultivars with drought tolerance for use in the drought-prone environments