A peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-δ agonist provides neuroprotection in the 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine model of Parkinson's disease

Copyright © 2013 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Quark fragmentation to π±\pi^{\pm}, π0\pi^{0}, K±K^{\pm}, pp and pˉ\bar{p} in the nuclear environment

The influence of the nuclear medium on lepto-production of hadrons was studied in the HERMES experiment at DESY in semi-inclusive deep-inelastic scattering of 27.6 GeV positrons off deuterium, nitrogen and krypton targets. The differential multiplicity for krypton relative to that of deuterium has been measured for the first time for various identified hadrons ($\pi^+$, $\pi^-$, $\pi^0$, $K^+$, $K^-$, $p$ and $\bar{p}$) as a function of the virtual photon energy $\nu$, the fraction $z$ of this energy transferred to the hadron, and the hadron transverse momentum squared $p_t^2$. The multiplicity ratio is strongly reduced in the nuclear medium at low $\nu$ and high $z$, with significant differences among the various hadrons. The distribution of the hadron transverse momentum is broadened towards high $p_t^2$ in the nuclear medium, in a manner resembling the Cronin effect previously observed in collisions of heavy ions and protons with nuclei.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figure

Rising rural body-mass index is the main driver of the global obesity epidemic in adults

Body-mass index (BMI) has increased steadily in most countries in parallel with a rise in the proportion of the population who live in cities 1,2 . This has led to a widely reported view that urbanization is one of the most important drivers of the global rise in obesity 3�6 . Here we use 2,009 population-based studies, with measurements of height and weight in more than 112 million adults, to report national, regional and global trends in mean BMI segregated by place of residence (a rural or urban area) from 1985 to 2017. We show that, contrary to the dominant paradigm, more than 55 of the global rise in mean BMI from 1985 to 2017�and more than 80 in some low- and middle-income regions�was due to increases in BMI in rural areas. This large contribution stems from the fact that, with the exception of women in sub-Saharan Africa, BMI is increasing at the same rate or faster in rural areas than in cities in low- and middle-income regions. These trends have in turn resulted in a closing�and in some countries reversal�of the gap in BMI between urban and rural areas in low- and middle-income countries, especially for women. In high-income and industrialized countries, we noted a persistently higher rural BMI, especially for women. There is an urgent need for an integrated approach to rural nutrition that enhances financial and physical access to healthy foods, to avoid replacing the rural undernutrition disadvantage in poor countries with a more general malnutrition disadvantage that entails excessive consumption of low-quality calories. © 2019, The Author(s)

Phosphite application as an explorative tool for understanding and controlling Eucalyptus gomphocephala (Tuart) decline in southwest Western Australia

Eucalyptus gomphocephala is a Mediterranean forest canopy species endemic to a narrow (5- 10 km wide) coastal strip approximately 300 km in length in south-west Western Australia. Eucalyptus gomphocephala is undergoing a significant decline that was first identified as a spot decline in 1994 and now occurs throughout large sections of its remnant distribution within Yalgorup National Park, in some areas resulting in 100 percent mortality. The reduction of this keystone species represents a significant modification to the associated ecosystem. Modifications to hydrology, fire regimes, entomological pressures, and fungal and Pythiaceous soil pathogens have been identified as possibly contributing to the decline syndrome. The potential of phosphite (phosphonate), nutrient and insecticide treatments to reverse the decline in tree health was assessed as (a) a method for controlling the decline and (b) a method for diagnosing possible causal agents. Phosphite has been successfully used to control Phytophthora and Pythiaceous soil pathogens by inducing a host defense response within the plant. Stem injection of declining Eucalyptus gomphocephala in the present study has resulted in improved canopy health and vigor, indicating that Phytophthora and/or other Pythiaceous microorganisms may be playing a role in the decline. The impact of phosphate application on nutrient uptake and fine feeder root concentration was also assessed

Phosphite application as an explorative tool in Eucalyptus gomphocephala decline in Western Australia

Eucalyptus gomphocephala is a mediterranean forest canopy species endemic to a narrow (5-10 km wide) coastal strip approximately 300 km in length in south-west Western Australia. E. gomphocephala is undergoing a significant decline that was first identified as a spot decline in 1994 and now occurs throughout large sections of its remnant distribution within Yalgorup National Park, in some areas resulting in 100% mortality. The reduction of this keystone species represents a significant modification to the associated ecosystem. Modifications to hydrology, fire regimes, entomological pressures, and fungal and Pythiaceous soil pathogens have been identified as possibly contributing to the decline syndrome. The potential of phosphite (phosphonate), nutrient and insecticide treatments to reverse the decline in tree health was assessed as (a) a method for controlling the decline and (b) a method for diagnosing possible causal agents. Phosphite has been successfully used to control Phytophthora and Pythiaceous soil pathogens by inducing a host defence response within the plant. Stem injection of declining E. gomphocephala in the present study has resulted in improved canopy health and vigor, indicating that Phytophthora and/or other Pythiaceous microorganisms may be playing a role in the decline. The impact of phosphite application on nutrient uptake and fine feeder root concentration was also assessed

Containment and spot eradication of a highly destructive, invasive plant pathogen (Phytophthora cinnamomi) in natural ecosystems

The invasive plant pathogen Phytophthora cinnamomi (Stramenopila, Oomycota) has been introduced into 15 of the 25 global biodiversity hotspots, threatening susceptible rare flora and degrading plant communities with severe consequences for fauna. We developed protocols to contain or eradicate P. cinnamomi from spot infestations in threatened ecosystems based on two assumptions: in the absence of living hosts, P. cinnamomi is a weakly competitive saprotroph; and in the ecosystems we treated, the transmission of the pathogen occurs mainly by root-to-root contact. At two P. cinnamomi-infested sites differing in climate and vegetation types, we applied increasingly robust treatments including vegetation (host) destruction, fungicides, fumigation and physical root barriers. P. cinnamomi was not recovered at three assessments of treated plots 6-9 months after treatments. Given the high rates of recovery of P. cinnamomi from untreated infested soil and the sampling frequency, the probability of failing to detect P. cinnamomi in treated soil was < 0.0003. The methods described have application in containing large infestations, eradicating small infestations and protecting remnant populations of threatened species

Research into natural and induced resistance in Australian native vegetation of Phytophthora cinnamomi and innovative methods to contain and/or eradicate within localised incursions in areas of high biodiversity in Australia. Eradication of Phytophthora cinnamomi from spot infections in native plant communities in Western Australia and Tasmania.

The area of Australian native vegetation in temperate and tropical Australia affected by Phytophthora cinnamomi exceeds many hundreds of thousands of hectares, and continues to increase. In Western Australia alone, greater than 6000 km2 are now infested and 41% of the approximately 6000 plant species in the South West Botanical Province are susceptible. P. cinnamomi and the disease caused by it is a ‘key threatening process to Australia’s Biodiversity’. While the pathogen is widespread and large areas are now infested, many areas of high conservation value remain free of the pathogen. Pathogen free areas could remain so, given effective hygiene and quarantine measures are applied, and if effective methods can be developed to eliminate incursions of the pathogen. To date, there are no robust methods available to eradicate P. cinnamomi from spot infestations or to contain the spread of the pathogen along an active disease front. The need to eradicate or contain the pathogen is now paramount to ensure threatened flora or threatened ecological communities are protected for the long-term. The aim of this study was to develop protocols that can be used to contain and eradicate spot infestations of P. cinnamomi that, if untreated, are likely to threaten extensive areas of native vegetation or areas of high conservation value. Treatment regimes were guided by two assumptions: 1) within the selected sites transmission of the pathogen is by root-to-root contact; and 2) the pathogen is a weakly competitive saprotroph. In Cape Riche, Western Australia, treatment and control plots were set up along an active disease front within scrub-heath vegetation dominated by Banksia spp. Treatments applied sequentially and in combination, included: 1) destruction of the largest plants within disease free vegetation forward of the disease front; 2) destruction of all plants to create a fallow or ‘dead zone’; 3) installation of physical root barriers and subsurface irrigation for the application of fungicide/s; 4) surface applications of fungicides selective against Oomycetes (triadiazole and Metalaxyl-M) and; 5) surface injection and deep (± 1 m) treatments with the soil fumigant methamsodium. In a separate experiment in Narawntapu National Park (NP), Tasmania, two treatment regimes were applied to experimental heath plots with active disease centres within a Eucalyptus-Banksia woodland. Treatments were: 1) a combined treatment including vegetation removal, Metalaxyl-M and metham-sodium and root barriers and; 2) with Metalaxyl-M and root barriers alone. Standard baiting techniques were used to recover P. cinnamomi from combined soil and root samples, down to 1.5 m deep at Cape Riche, and to 1 m at Narawntapu NP. Research into natural and induced resistance in Australian native vegetation of Phytophthora cinnamomi and innovative methods to contain and/or eradicate within localised incursions in areas of high biodiversity in Australia