Sporulation rate in culture and mycoparasitic activity, but not mycohost specificity, are the key factors for selecting Ampelomyces strains for biocontrol of grapevine powdery mildew (Erysiphe necator)

To develop a new biofungicide product against grapevine powdery mildew, caused by Erysiphe necator, cultural characteristics and mycoparasitic activities of pre-selected strains of Ampelomyces spp. were compared in laboratory tests to the commercial strain AQ10. Then, a 2-year experiment was performed in five vineyards with a selected strain, RS1-a, and the AQ10 strain. This consisted of autumn sprays in vineyards as the goal was to reduce the number of chasmothecia of E. necator, and, thus, the amount of overwintering inocula, instead of targeting the conidial stage of the pathogen during spring and summer. This is a yet little explored strategy to manage E. necator in vineyards. Laboratory tests compared the growth and sporulation of colonies of a total of 33 strains in culture; among these, eight strains with superior characteristics were compared to the commercial product AQ10 Biofungicide® in terms of their intrahyphal spread, pycnidial production, and reduction of both asexual and sexual reproduction in E. necator colonies. Mycoparasitic activities of the eight strains isolated from six different powdery mildew species, including E. necator, did not depend on their mycohost species of origin. Strain RS1-a, isolated from rose powdery mildew, showed, togetherwith three strains from E. necator, the highest rate of parasitism of E. necator chasmothecia. In field experiments, each strain, AQ10 and RS1-a, applied twice in autumn, significantly delayed and reduced early-season development of grapevine powdery mildew in the next year. Therefore, instead of mycohost specificity of Ampelomyces presumed in some works, but not confirmed by this study, the high sporulation rate in culture and the mycoparasitic patterns became the key factors for proposing strain RS1-a for further development as a biocontrol agent of E. necator

Application of BNCT to the treatment of HER2+ breast cancer recurrences: Research and developments in Argentina

In the frame of the Argentine BNCT Project a new research line has been started to study the application of BNCT to the treatment of locoregional recurrences of HER2+ breast cancer subtype. Based on former studies, the strategy considers the use of immunoliposomes as boron carriers nanovehicles to target HER2 overexpressing cells. The essential concerns of the current stage of this proposal are the development of carriers that can improve the efficiency of delivery of boron compounds and the dosimetric assessment of treatment feasibility. For this purpose, an specific pool of clinical cases that can benefit from this application was determined. In this work, we present the proposal and the advances related to the different stages of current research.Fil: Gadan, M.A.. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica; ArgentinaFil: González, Sara Josefina. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Batalla, M.. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica; ArgentinaFil: Olivera, M.S.. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica; ArgentinaFil: Policastro, Lucia Laura. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica; ArgentinaFil: Sztejnberg, M.L.. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica; Argentin

Thermal scattering libraries and their impact on neutron transport for BNCT dosimetry: experimental assessments.

Dosimetry calculations for BNCT with Monte Carlo N-Particle (MCNP) tipically take into account, for any organic tissue, the thermal scattering treatment for hydrogen bound in bulk water. However, in these tissues, hydrogen is also present in macromolecules (protein, lipids, etc.) and in confined water. In previous studies with the MCNP code we have determined that the differences in thermal neutron flux calculations using libraries for hydrogen in polyethylene or hydrogen in water, in phantoms of adipose tissue, can reach values of 9%, depending on the type of source and irradiated geometry

Controle genético da resistência parcial à ferrugem da folha em aveia (Avena sativa L.) Genetic control of partial resistance of crown rust in oat (Avena sativa L.)

Os objetivos deste trabalho foram descrever a variabilidade para resistência parcial à ferrugem da folha em populações segregantes, bem como estudar o controle genético envolvido na expressão da resistência. As avaliações de severidade da doença foram realizadas em 1998, 1999 e 2000, seguindo a escala modificada de Cobb. Os resultados de três anos de estudo evidenciaram que, apesar da grande influência do ambiente na expressão da resistência, as populações segregantes apresentaram grande variabilidade para resistência parcial. A distribuição de freqüências da Área Sob a Curva do Progresso da Doença (ASCPD) em gerações avançadas foi contínua para o caráter, indicando a presença de vários genes de pequeno efeito em seu controle. As estimativas de herdabilidade variaram de moderadas a altas.<br>The objectives of this research were to describe the variability regarding partial resistance to leaf rust in segregating populations and to study genetic control of the resistance expression. The evaluation of disease was done at 1998, 1999 and 2000, according to modified Cobb’s scale. The results of three years studies showed that regardless the great environmental effect on the expression of resistance, the segregating population presented great variability for partial resistance. The frequency distribution of AUDPC for advanced generations, was continuous for this trait, indicating the presence of several genes of small effects controlling the disease. The estimatives of herdability varied from moderate to high