The Determination of induction and differentiation in grape vines

The induction and differentiation of 8-year-old Alphonse Lavallee and Sultana grape vines were studied.Defoliation methods enabled us to determine the induction time in grape vines as in other fruit species.Induction and differentiation in the tested varieties were not connected with temporary growth cessation; on the contrary, process took place during the most intensive growth.A correlation was found between the number of leaves and induction period. 18-21 leaves above the examined buds were needed in bot-h varieties to complete the induction.The leaf area needed for induction in a bud of Sultana was lYe times larger than that needed for Alphonse. The efficiency of the leaves of Alphonse to induce differentiation was thus greater.The primordia ,development from induction to detection under the microscope (differentiation) was connected with a constant vegetative development. The time needed for this development was determined by the growth rate of the variety (18 days in Sultana, 14 days in Alphonse).The translocation of materials inducing differentiation from the base of the shoot upwar,ds has not been proved in our work.In Alphonse a lag period of two days was found for the differentiation of each bud along the cane

Analysis of water consumption of various grapevine cultivars

The efficiency of water use (transpiration ratio) was investigated in various cultivars of grapevine by gravimetric and gasometric methods. Results of gravimetric measurements showed positive correlation between water use efficiency and vigor. Regression lines of the transpiration ratio on the final dry weight differed significantly in their curves and their distance from the coordinate axes. Statistical analysis showed that the quantitative effect of vigor on the water use efficiency was smaller in the cultivar Muscat Hamburg than in Sultanina and Queen of the Vineyards. Covariance analysis showed that Sultanina was a less efficient water user than Queen of the Vineyards for plants with the same vigor. Gasometric methods did not reveal any significant differences between the cultivars, probably due to the elimination of interference and boundary layer resistance effect

Evaluation of salt tolerance of in vitro-grown grapevine rootstock varieties

The response of 11 grapevine rootstock varieties to increasing salt concentrations (0, 50, 85, 120, 155 mM NaCl) was studied under in vitro and growth chamber conditions. The effect of salinity on the mortality of explants was compared with that of plantlets grown under growth chamber conditions and with data in literature on rootstock resistance under field conditions. In addition, in vitro stem elongation bud number, and rooting ability were related to salinity. The rootstock varieties can be divided into sensitive (41 B, R.Lot, 110 R, 140 R and 161-49), moderately tolerant (13.5 and Ramsey) and tolerant (196-17, CH-1, CH-2 and Superior). Measurements of the water and nutrient contents of plantlets indicate that increasing salt concentrations decreased the hydration of aerial parts and roots of all plants; however, the decrease of hydration was smaller in salt tolerant varieties. Increasing salt concentrations significantly reduced the K content and, to a smaller extent, the P and Ca contents. With and without salt treatments the levels of K and P were lower in sensitive plants. Na and Cl accumulated to a higher extent in tolerant plants. The tolerance to NaCl of in vitro-grown rootstocks seems to be due to their capacity to accumulate salt, to increase K concentration in the tissue and to maintain a high water content. Our results indicate that salt tolerance of grapevine varieties may be tested under growth chamber conditions and using in vitro explants

Necrosis in grapevine buds (Vitis vinifera cv. Queen of Vineyard) I. Relation to vegetative vigor1)

A study on the occurrence, development and nature of necrotic buds on shoots of the Queen of Vineyard grape cultivar was carried out in the continental Jordan Valley in Israel. A vigorous vineyard having an abundance of necrotic buds and a moderately growing one with few necrotic buds were chosen.Necrosis of the central bud in the Queen of Vineyard winter buds occurred only in the vigorous vineyard. The number of necrotic dry buds was particularly high at nodes 2-3 on the shoot and decreased progressively up to the 7th node above which necrotic buds were not observed. Drying of the central bud occurred over a short period, 15-20 d after bloom. It started with the appearance of a necrotic layer at one of the basal nodes of the central bud which caused a rapid degeneration of the tissues above this layer. A negative correlation was found between the fruiting potential of winter buds and the development of a necrotic layer. The possible relation between vigor, gibberellins and bud necrosis is discussed.Knospennekrosen bei der Rebsorte Queen of Vineyard (Vitis vinifera)I. Beziehung zur vegetativen WüchsigkeitIm binnenländischen Jordantal in Israel wurde eine Untersuchung über Auftreten, Entwicklung und Art von Knospennekrosen an den Trieben der Rebsorte Queen of Vineyard durchgeführt. Hierzu wurden ein wüchsiger Weinberg, in dem nekrotische Knospen gehäuft vorkamen, und ein Weinberg von mittlerer Wüchsigkeit mit wenigen nekrotischen Knospen ausgewählt. In den Winterknospen von Queen of Vineyard trat eine Nekrose der Mittelknospe nur in der wüchsigen Rebanlage auf. Die Anzahl vertrockneter nekrotischer Knospen war besonders hoch an den Knoten 2-3 der Triebe; sie ging stetig zurück bis zum 7. Knoten; darüber wurden keine nekrotischen Knospen mehr beobachtet. Die Austrocknung der Mittelknospe erfolgte nur während einer kurzen Phase, 15-20 d nach der Blüte. Sie begann mit dem Auftreten einer nekrotischen Schicht an einem der basalen Knoten der Mittelknospe, wodurch die darüberliegenden Gewebe rasch degenerierten. Zwischen der potentiellen Fruchtbarkeit der Winterknospen und der Entwicklung einer nekrotischen Schicht wurde eine negative Korrelation gefunden. Die mögliche Beziehung zwischen Wüchsigkeit, Gibberellingehalt und Nekrosenhäufigkeit wird diskutiert

Necrosis in grapevine buds (Vitis vinifera cv. Queen of Vineyard) II. Effect of gibberellic acid (GA3) application

The effect of gibberellic acid application on the development of necrosis in cv. Queen of Vineyard grapevine buds was studied. GA3 caused the development of a necrotic layer at the base of the central bud and promoted the development of the  axillary buds. GA3 application to leaves caused necrosis in the buds more readily than direct application to the buds. GA3 fed to the petiole was 100 times more active in inducing necrosis than leaf application. Only developing and relatively young buds were sensitive to GA3. A minimum of 6 X 10-6 mg GA3 in the bud was needed to cause bud necrosis. During the period from 1 week before to 3 weeks after bloom, the movement of GA3 in the grape shoot was acropetal. The possible involvement of gibberellins in the natural necrosis of buds on vigorous grapevines is discussed.Knospennekrosen bei der Rebsorte Queen of Vineyard (Vitis vinifera)II. Einfluß der Gibberellinsäure- (GA3)BehandlungBei der Sorte Queen of Vineyard wurde der Einfluß der GA3-Behandlung auf die Entwicklung von Knospennekrosen untersucht. GA3 bewirkte die Ausbildung einer nekrotischen Gewebeschicht an der Basis der Mittelknospe und förderte die Entwicklung der Axillarknospen. Durch GA3-Behandlung der Blätter ließen sich leichter Knospennekrosen auslösen als durch direkte Behandlung der Knospen. Wurde GA3 über den Blattstiel zugeführt, so war seine Nekrosen induzierende Wirkung 100mal stärker als bei Behandlung der Blattspreite. Nur sich entwickelnde und relativ junge Knospen waren gegen GA3 sensibel. Um eine Knospennekrose auszulösen, mußten in den Knospen mindestens 6 X 10-6 mg GA3 vorliegen. Zwischen 1 Woche vor und 3 Wochen nach der Blüte erfolgte die Bewegung des GA3in den Rebentrieben akropetal. Die mögliche Beteiligung von Gibberellinen am natürlichen Auftreten von Knospennekrosen bei wüchsigen Reben wird diskutiert

Non-ionizing radiofrequency electromagnetic waves traversing the head can be used to detect cerebrovascular autoregulation responses

Monitoring changes in non-ionizing radiofrequency electromagnetic waves as they traverse the brain can detect the effects of stimuli employed in cerebrovascular autoregulation (CVA) tests on the brain, without contact and in real time. CVA is a physiological phenomenon of importance to health, used for diagnosis of a number of diseases of the brain with a vascular component. The technology described here is being developed for use in diagnosis of injuries and diseases of the brain in rural and economically underdeveloped parts of the world. A group of nine subjects participated in this pilot clinical evaluation of the technology. Substantial research remains to be done on correlating the measurements with physiology and anatomy

Multicamera Action Recognition with Canonical Correlation Analysis and Discriminative Sequence Classification

Proceedings of: 4th International Work-Conference on the Interplay Between Natural and Artificial Computation, IWINAC 2011, La Palma, Canary Islands, Spain, May 30 - June 3, 2011.This paper presents a feature fusion approach to the recognition of human actions from multiple cameras that avoids the computation of the 3D visual hull. Action descriptors are extracted for each one of the camera views available and projected into a common subspace that maximizes the correlation between each one of the components of the projections. That common subspace is learned using Probabilistic Canonical Correlation Analysis. The action classification is made in that subspace using a discriminative classifier. Results of the proposed method are shown for the classification of the IXMAS dataset.Publicad

Effects of habitat and livestock on nest productivity of the Asian houbara Chlamydotis macqueenii in Bukhara Province, Uzbekistan

To inform population support measures for the unsustainably hunted Asian houbara Chlamydotis macqueenii (IUCN Vulnerable) we examined potential habitat and land-use effects on nest productivity in the Kyzylkum Desert, Uzbekistan. We monitored 177 nests across different semi-arid shrub assemblages (clay-sand and salinity gradients) and a range of livestock densities (0–80 km-2). Nest success (mean 51.4%, 95% CI 42.4–60.4%) was similar across four years; predation caused 85% of those failures for which the cause was known, and only three nests were trampled by livestock. Nesting begins within a few weeks of arrival when food appears scarce, but later nests were more likely to fail owing to the emergence of a key predator, suggesting foraging conditions on wintering and passage sites may be important for nest productivity. Nest success was similar across three shrub assemblages and was unrelated to landscape rugosity, shrub frequency or livestock density, but was greater with taller mean shrub height (range 13–67 cm) within 50 m. Clutch size (mean = 3.2 eggs) and per-egg hatchability in successful nests (87.5%) did not differ with laying date, shrub assemblage or livestock density. We therefore found no evidence that livestock density reduced nest productivity across the range examined, while differing shrub assemblages appeared to offer similar habitat quality. Asian houbara appear well-adapted to a range of semi-desert habitats and tolerate moderate disturbance by pastoralism. No obvious in situ mitigation measures arise from these findings, leaving regulation and control as the key requirement to render hunting sustainable

Effects of habitat and land use on breeding season density of male Asian Houbara Chlamydotis macqueenii

Landscape-scale habitat and land-use influences on Asian Houbara Chlamydotis macqueenii (IUCN Vulnerable) remain unstudied, while estimating numbers of this cryptic, low-density, over-hunted species is challenging. In spring 2013, male houbara were recorded at 231 point counts, conducted twice, across a gradient of sheep density and shrub assemblages within 14,300 km² of the Kyzylkum Desert, Uzbekistan. Four sets of models related male abundance to: (1) vegetation structure (shrub height and substrate); (2) shrub assemblage; (3) shrub species composition (multidimensional scaling); (4) remote-sensed derived land-cover (GLOBCOVER, 4 variables). Each set also incorporated measures of landscape rugosity and sheep density. For each set, multi-model inference was applied to generalised linear mixed models of visit-specific counts that included important detectability covariates and point ID as a random effect. Vegetation structure received strongest support, followed by shrub species composition and shrub assemblage, with weakest support for the GLOBCOVER model set. Male houbara numbers were greater with lower mean shrub height, more gravel and flatter surfaces, but were unaffected by sheep density. Male density (mean 0.14 km-2, 95% CI, 0.12‒0.15) estimated by distance analysis differed substantially among shrub assemblages, being highest in vegetation dominated by Salsola rigida (0.22 [CI, 0.20‒0.25]), high in areas of S. arbuscula and Astragalus (0.14 [CI, 0.13‒0.16] and 0.15 [CI, 0.14‒0.17] respectively), lower (0.09 [CI, 0.08‒0.10]) in Artemisia and lowest (0.04 [CI, 0.04‒0.05]) in Calligonum. The study area was estimated to hold 1,824 males (CI: 1,645‒2,030). The spatial distribution of relative male houbara abundance, predicted from vegetation structure models, had the strongest correspondence with observed numbers in both model-calibration and the subsequent year’s data. We found no effect of pastoralism on male distribution but potential effects on nesting females are unknown. Density differences among shrub communities suggest extrapolation to estimate country- or range-wide population size must take account of vegetation composition

Tumors and tumor-like lesions of the heart valves

Valvular tumors and tumor-like lesions may have similar morphological and clinical characteristics, and may place the patients at a high risk of stroke in different ways. From January 2004 to June 2008, 11 patients underwent surgery for a suspected valvular tumor. Valvular tumor and tumor-like lesions accounted for 0.32% of adult cardiac operations. Five (45.5%) valvular lesions were papillary fibroelastomas, one (9.1%) was myxoma, 2 (18.2%) were organized thrombi, and 3 (27.3%) were calcification lesions. There was a total of 5 (45.5%) atrioventricular valve lesions, 4 arising from the atrial side of the leaflets, and one from the ventricular side. All 5 (45.5%) semilunar valvular lesions were from the aortic valve. One (9.1%) lesion originated from the chorda tendinea of the mitral valve. All leaflet lesions were resected by a simple shave technique, and all the patients recovered favorably. Valvular tumor and tumor-like lesions are rare. Pre-operative differential diagnoses among these valvular lesions pose important clinical implications for appropriate treatment for the underlying diseases. Prompt therapeutic measures in view of the underlying diseases of the valvular lesions are essential to prevent potential embolic events