A comparative study of the occurence of anthracnose (Colletotrichum gloeosporioides) in cultivars of pepper (Piper nigrum L.) recently introduced in Porto Velho, state of Rondonia.

In an experiment carried out in an experimental area of EMBRAPA (Brazilian Agriculture Research Enterprise) UEPAE (Unit for Execution of Research) of Porto Velho, State of Rondonia, Brazil, located at km 5.5 of the BR-364 Highway, latitude 8°46'5"S, longitude 63°5' Greenwich and altitude 96.3m above sea level, evaluations were made of both the occurence of anthracnose caused by the fungus (Colletotrichum goeosporioides) in 5 cultivars of pepper (Piper nigrum L.) at the time of the first yield, 18 months after planting and of the leaves, correlating them with productivity of the cultivars. The results obtained led to the following conclusions: the cultivar Guajarina showed to be less susceptible to anthracnose and more resistant to fall of the leaves; the cultivars Bragantina, Cingapura and Djambi behaved similarly as to fall of the leaves; the cultivars Bragantina and Cingapura had the same behavior and were less susceptible to anthracnose when compared with cultivars Djambi and Belantung, while the cultivars Belantung showed to be more susceptible to anthracnose and less resistant to fall of the leaves.Em um experimento conduzido em área experimental da EMBRAPA, UEPAE de Porto Velho, Rondônia, localizado no km 5,5 da BR-364, com latitude sul 8º46'5", longitude 63°5' de Greenwich e altitude de 96,3 metros acima do nível do mar, avaliou - se em 5 cultivares de Pimenta - do - reino (Piper nigrum L.), por ocasião da primeira produção, 18 meses após plantio, a incidência da doença antracnose provocada pelo fungo Colletotrichum gloeosporioides e a porcentagem de desfolha das plantas, correlacionando-as com a produtividade dos cultivares. Os resultados obtidos permitiram concluir que: o cultivar Guajarina mostrou ser menos susceptível a antracnose e mais resistente a desfolha; os cultivares Bragantina, Cingapura e Djambi comportaram-se de maneira semelhante com relação a desfolha; os cultivares Bragantina e Cingapura, foram iguais entre si e menos susceptíveis com relação a antracnose quando comparados com os cultivares Djambi e Belantung, enquanto que o cultivar Belantung mostrou ser mais susceptível à antracnose e menos resistente a desfolha

Gravitational collapse with tachyon field and barotropic fluid

A particular class of space-time, with a tachyon field, \phi, and a barotropic fluid constituting the matter content, is considered herein as a model for gravitational collapse. For simplicity, the tachyon potential is assumed to be of inverse square form i.e., V(\phi) \sim \phi^{-2}. Our purpose, by making use of the specific kinematical features of the tachyon, which are rather different from a standard scalar field, is to establish the several types of asymptotic behavior that our matter content induces. Employing a dynamical system analysis, complemented by a thorough numerical study, we find classical solutions corresponding to a naked singularity or a black hole formation. In particular, there is a subset where the fluid and tachyon participate in an interesting tracking behaviour, depending sensitively on the initial conditions for the energy densities of the tachyon field and barotropic fluid. Two other classes of solutions are present, corresponding respectively, to either a tachyon or a barotropic fluid regime. Which of these emerges as dominant, will depend on the choice of the barotropic parameter, \gamma. Furthermore, these collapsing scenarios both have as final state the formation of a black hole.Comment: 18 pages, 7 figures. v3: minor changes. Final version to appear in GR

Autonomic nervous system response to remote ischemic conditioning: heart rate variability assessment

BACKGROUND: Remote ischemic conditioning (RIC) is a procedure applied in a limb for triggering endogenous protective pathways in distant organs, namely brain or heart. The underlying mechanisms of RIC are still not fully understood, and it is hypothesized they are mediated either by humoral factors, immune cells and/or the autonomic nervous system. Herein, heart rate variability (HRV) was used to evaluate the electrophysiological processes occurring in the heart during RIC and, in turn to assess the role of autonomic nervous system. METHODS: Healthy subjects were submitted to RIC protocol and electrocardiography (ECG) was used to evaluate HRV, by assessing the variability of time intervals between two consecutive heart beats. This is a pilot study based on the analysis of 18 ECG from healthy subjects submitted to RIC. HRV was characterized in three domains (time, frequency and non-linear features) that can be correlated with the autonomic nervous system function. RESULTS: RIC procedure increased significantly the non-linear parameter SD2, which is associated with long term HRV. This effect was observed in all subjects and in the senior (> 60 years-old) subset analysis. SD2 increase suggests an activation of both parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous system, namely via fast vagal response (parasympathetic) and the slow sympathetic response to the baroreceptors stimulation. CONCLUSIONS: RIC procedure modulates both parasympathetic and sympathetic autonomic nervous system. Furthermore, this modulation is more pronounced in the senior subset of subjects. Therefore, the autonomic nervous system regulation could be one of the mechanisms for RIC therapeutic effectiveness.publishersversionpublishe

Classical and quantum cosmology of the little rip abrupt event

We analyze from a classical and quantum point of view the behavior of the universe close to a little rip, which can be interpreted as a big rip sent towards the infinite future. Like a big rip singularity, a little rip implies the destruction of all bounded structure in the Universe and is thus an event where quantum effects could be important. We present here a new phantom scalar field model for the little rip. The quantum analysis is performed in quantum geometrodynamics, with the Wheeler-DeWitt equation as its central equation. We find that the little rip can be avoided in the sense of the DeWitt criterion, that is, by having a vanishing wave function at the place of the little rip. Therefore our analysis completes the answer to the question: can quantum cosmology smoothen or avoid the divergent behavior genuinely caused by phantom matter? We show that this can indeed happen for the little rip, similar to the avoidance of a big rip and a little sibling of the big rip.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Endovascular versus medical therapy in posterior cerebral artery stroke: role of baseline NIHSS and occlusion site.

Background: Acute ischemic stroke (AIS) with isolated posterior cerebral artery occlusion (iPCAO) lacks management evidence from randomized trials. We aimed to evaluate whether the association between endovascular treatment (EVT) and outcomes in iPCAO-AIS is modified by initial stroke severity (baseline NIHSS) and arterial occlusion site. Methods: Based on the multicenter, retrospective, case-control study of consecutive iPCAO-AIS patients (PLATO study), we assessed the heterogeneity of EVT outcomes compared to medical management (MM) for iPCAO, according to baseline NIHSS (≤6 vs. >6) and occlusion site (P1 vs. P2), using multivariable regression modelling with interaction terms. The primary outcome was the favorable shift of 3-month mRS. Secondary outcomes included excellent outcome (mRS 0-1), functional independence (mRS 0-2), symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage (sICH) and mortality. Results: From 1344 patients assessed for eligibility, 1,059 were included (median age 74 years, 43.7% women, 41.3% had intravenous thrombolysis), 364 receiving EVT and 695 MM. Baseline stroke severity did not modify the association of EVT with 3-month mRS distribution (pint=0.312), but did with functional independence (pint=0.010), with a similar trend on excellent outcome (pint=0.069). EVT was associated with more favorable outcomes than MM in patients with baseline NIHSS>6 (mRS 0-1: 30.6% vs. 17.7%, aOR=2.01, 95%CI=1.22-3.31; mRS 0-2: 46.1% vs. 31.9%, aOR=1.64, 95%CI=1.08-2.51), but not in those with NIHSS≤6 (mRS 0-1: 43.8% vs. 46.3%, aOR=0.90, 95%CI=0.49-1.64; mRS 0-2: 65.3% vs. 74.3%, aOR=0.55, 95%CI=0.30-1.0). EVT was associated with more sICH regardless of baseline NIHSS (pint=0.467), while the mortality increase was more pronounced in patients with NIHSS≤6 (pint=0.044, NIHSS≤6: aOR=7.95,95%CI=3.11-20.28, NIHSS>6: aOR=1.98,95%CI=1.08-3.65). Arterial occlusion site did not modify the association of EVT with outcomes compared to MM. Conclusion: Baseline clinical stroke severity, rather than the occlusion site, may be an important modifier of the association between EVT and outcomes in iPCAO. Only severely affected patients with iPCAO (NIHSS>6) had more favorable disability outcomes with EVT than MM, despite increased mortality and sICH

Endovascular Versus Medical Management of Posterior Cerebral Artery Occlusion Stroke: The PLATO Study.

BACKGROUND The optimal management of patients with isolated posterior cerebral artery occlusion is uncertain. We compared clinical outcomes for endovascular therapy (EVT) versus medical management (MM) in patients with isolated posterior cerebral artery occlusion. METHODS This multinational case-control study conducted at 27 sites in Europe and North America included consecutive patients with isolated posterior cerebral artery occlusion presenting within 24 hours of time last well from January 2015 to August 2022. Patients treated with EVT or MM were compared with multivariable logistic regression and inverse probability of treatment weighting. The coprimary outcomes were the 90-day modified Rankin Scale ordinal shift and ≥2-point decrease in the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale. RESULTS Of 1023 patients, 589 (57.6%) were male with median (interquartile range) age of 74 (64-82) years. The median (interquartile range) National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale was 6 (3-10). The occlusion segments were P1 (41.2%), P2 (49.2%), and P3 (7.1%). Overall, intravenous thrombolysis was administered in 43% and EVT in 37%. There was no difference between the EVT and MM groups in the 90-day modified Rankin Scale shift (aOR, 1.13 [95% CI, 0.85-1.50]; P=0.41). There were higher odds of a decrease in the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale by ≥2 points with EVT (aOR, 1.84 [95% CI, 1.35-2.52]; P=0.0001). Compared with MM, EVT was associated with a higher likelihood of excellent outcome (aOR, 1.50 [95% CI, 1.07-2.09]; P=0.018), complete vision recovery, and similar rates of functional independence (modified Rankin Scale score, 0-2), despite a higher rate of SICH and mortality (symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage, 6.2% versus 1.7%; P=0.0001; mortality, 10.1% versus 5.0%; P=0.002). CONCLUSIONS In patients with isolated posterior cerebral artery occlusion, EVT was associated with similar odds of disability by ordinal modified Rankin Scale, higher odds of early National Institutes of Health stroke scale improvement, and complete vision recovery compared with MM. There was a higher likelihood of excellent outcome in the EVT group despite a higher rate of symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage and mortality. Continued enrollment into ongoing distal vessel occlusion randomized trials is warranted

Basilar artery occlusion management: An international survey of middle versus high-income countries.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Two early basilar artery occlusion (BAO) randomized controlled trials (RCTs) did not establish the superiority of endovascular thrombectomy (EVT) over medical management. Yet many providers continued to recommend EVT. The goal of the present article is to compare physicians' diagnostic and management strategies of BAO among middle-income and high-income countries (MICs and HICs, respectively). METHODS We conducted an international survey from January to March 2022 regarding management strategies in acute BAO, to examine clinical and imaging parameters influencing clinician management of patients with BAO. We compared responses between physicians from HIC and MIC. RESULTS Among the 1245 respondents from 73 countries, 799 (64.2%) were from HIC, with the remaining 393 (31.6%) from MIC. Most respondents perceived that EVT was superior to medical management for acute BAO, but more so in respondents from HIC (98.0% vs. 94.2%, p < 0.01). MIC respondents were more likely to believe further RCTs were warranted (91.6% vs. 74.0%, p < 0.01) and were more likely to find it acceptable to enroll any patient who met a trial's criteria in the standard medical treatment arm (58.8% vs. 38.5%, p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS In an area where clinical equipoise was called into question despite the lack of RCT evidence, we found that respondents from MIC were more likely to express willingness to enroll patients with BAO in an RCT than their HIC counterparts