An Evaluation of the Cost and Effectiveness of Repellent Applications in Protecting Fruit Orchards

A summer repellent spray program was devised and implemented on a total of 110 acres (9 orchard blocks) of 1- to 3-year-old semi-dwarf apple trees. Cooperating growers were supplied with repellent (Hinder or Clearepel) as required, to allow them to adhere to a flexible 3-to 6-application schedule from May through August. Spraying costs, including labor, equipment, and spray materials, were estimated based on data provided by each cooperating grower for each application completed

ASSESSING DEER DAMAGE IN YOUNG FRUIT ORCHARDS

Evaluations of systematic damage assessments of 5, 10 and 20 percent of all apple trees in 12 orchards were compared. The 10% assessment technique was selected as the most accurate and efficient in estimating summer and fall damage. Analysis of several parameters of tree vigor found significant differences between browsed and unbrowsed trees for tree basal diameter and central leader diameter over 2 successive years. These subtle yet important differences in tree development were felt to severely limit the possibilities of relating browsing to growth and. later, yields. Methods and considerations for making control decisions on a per acre basis are discussed

Protocadherin 19 (PCDH19) interacts with paraspeckle protein NONO to co-regulate gene expression with estrogen receptor alpha (ERalpha)

De novo and inherited mutations of X-chromosome cell adhesion molecule protocadherin 19 (PCDH19) cause frequent, highly variable epilepsy, autism, cognitive decline and behavioural problems syndrome. Intriguingly, hemizygous null males are not affected while heterozygous females are, contradicting established X-chromosome inheritance. The disease mechanism is not known. Cellular mosaicism is the likely driver. We have identified p54nrb/NONO, a multifunctional nuclear paraspeckle protein with known roles in nuclear hormone receptor gene regulation, as a PCDH19 protein interacting partner. Using breast cancer cells we show that PCDH19-NONO complex is a positive co-regulator of ERα-mediated gene expression. Expression of mutant PCDH19 affects at least a subset of known ERα-regulated genes. These data are consistent with our findings that genes regulated by nuclear hormone receptors and those involved in the metabolism of neurosteroids in particular are dysregulated in PCDH19-epilepsy girls and affected mosaic males. Overall we define and characterize a novel mechanism of gene regulation driven by PCDH19, which is mediated by paraspeckle constituent NONO and is ERα-dependent. This PCDH19-NONO-ERα axis is of relevance not only to PCDH19-epilepsy and its comorbidities but likely also to ERα and generally nuclear hormone receptor-associated cancers.Duyen H. Pham, Chuan C. Tan, Claire C. Homan, Kristy L. Kolc, Mark A. Corbett, Dale McAninch, Archa H. Fox, Paul Q. Thomas, Raman Kumar Jozef Gec

Can the magnetic moment contribution explain the A_y puzzle?

We evaluate the full one-photon-exchange Born amplitude for $Nd$ scattering. We include the contributions due to the magnetic moment of the proton or neutron, and the magnetic moment and quadrupole moment of the deuteron. It is found that the inclusion of the magnetic-moment interaction in the theoretical description of the $Nd$ scattering observables cannot resolve the long-standing $A_y$ puzzle.Comment: 7 pages, 2 Postscript figures; to appear in Phys.Rev.

Knockout of the epilepsy gene Depdc5 in mice causes severe embryonic dysmorphology with hyperactivity of mTORC1 signalling

Published online: 03 October 2017DEPDC5 mutations have recently been shown to cause epilepsy in humans. Evidence from in vitro studies has implicated DEPDC5 as a negative regulator of mTORC1 during amino acid insufficiency as part of the GATOR1 complex. To investigate the role of DEPDC5 in vivo we generated a null mouse model using targeted CRISPR mutagenesis. Depdc5 homozygotes display severe phenotypic defects between 12.5-15.5 dpc, including hypotrophy, anaemia, oedema, and cranial dysmorphology as well as blood and lymphatic vascular defects. mTORC1 hyperactivity was observed in the brain of knockout embryos and in fibroblasts and neurospheres isolated from knockout embryos and cultured in nutrient deprived conditions. Heterozygous mice appeared to be normal and we found no evidence of increased susceptibility to seizures or tumorigenesis. Together, these data support mTORC1 hyperactivation as the likely pathogenic mechanism that underpins DEPDC5 loss of function in humans and highlights the potential utility of mTORC1 inhibitors in the treatment of DEPDC5-associated epilepsy.James Hughes, Ruby Dawson, Melinda Tea, Dale McAninch, Sandra Piltz, Dominique Jackson, Laura Stewart, Michael G. Ricos, Leanne M. Dibbens, Natasha L. Harvey and Paul Thoma

Analyzing power in nucleon-deuteron scattering and three-nucleon forces

Three-nucleon forces have been considered to be one possibility to resolve the well known discrepancy between experimental values and theoretical calculations of the nucleon analyzing power in low energy nucleon-deuteron scattering. In this paper, we investigate possible effects of two-pion exchange three-nucleon forces on the analyzing power and the differential cross section. We found that the reason for different effects on the analyzing power by different three-nucleon forces found in previous calculations is related to the existence of the contact term. Effects of some variations of two-pion exchange three-nucleon forces are investigated. Also, an expression for the measure of the nucleon analyzing power with quartet P-wave phase shifts is presented.Comment: 11 pages including 2 eps figures, use epsfig.sty, to appear in Phys. Rev.

The AyA_y Puzzle and the Nuclear Force

The nucleon-deuteron analyzing power $A_y$ in elastic nucleon-deuteron scattering poses a longstanding puzzle. At energies $E_{lab}$ below approximately 30 MeV $A_y$ cannot be described by any realistic NN force. The inclusion of existing three-nucleon forces does not improve the situation. Because of recent questions about the $^3P_J$ NN phases, we examine whether reasonable changes in the NN force can resolve the puzzle. In order to do this we investigate the effect on the $^3P_J$ waves produced by changes in different parts of the potential (viz., the central force, tensor force, etc.), as well as on the 2-body observables and on $A_y$. We find that it is not possible with reasonable changes in the NN potential to increase the 3-body $A_y$ and at the same time to keep the 2-body observables unchanged. We therefore conclude that the $A_y$ puzzle is likely to be solved by new three-nucleon forces, such as those of spin-orbit type, which have not yet been taken into account.Comment: 35 pages in REVTeX, 1 figure in postscript and 3 figures in PiCTe