2,599 research outputs found
Simultaneous epidemic development of scald and net blotch on single leaf layers of a spring barley crop
Background and objectives
Two pathogens growing on the same leaf compete for the same resources, i.e. space and plant nutrients. This may lead to density dependent disease development. The pathogens may also influence each other directly such that the influence of one on the other is more complex than a simple function of the area of the other pathogen. Different interaction types are, for example, competition, mutualism and exploitation. The importance of such interactions for epidemics of simultaneously occurring pathogens has received little attention. The objective of this study is to investigate the simultaneous epidemic development of Rhynchosporium secalis (causing scald) and Drechslera teres (causing net blotch) on spring barley under field conditions.
Materials and methods
The field trial was performed with artificial inoculation of R. secalis and D. teres on three spring barley varieties differing in their susceptibility towards the pathogens. The pathogens were inoculated in three combinations: only one was inoculated, they were inoculated together, the second pathogen was inoculated 26 days after the first. A non-inoculated treatment was included. The trial had three replications. Nine plants were harvested from each plot five times during the season. Leaves were dried and disease severity and senescence observed. Only leaves with < 50 % senescence were included in the analysis.
Whole-plant disease severity over time was calculated as average of disease severity on leaves weighted by leaf area. Disease development per leaf layer was evaluated by fitting an exponential model to severity data over time for each leaf layer per variety, treatment and replicate. Association between scald and net blotch severity on individual leaves was analysed using Kendall’s tau.
Results and discussion
Net blotch developed on all leaf layers and reached whole-plant disease severities up to 15%. Scald did not develop on upper leaf layers and whole-plant severity was less than 2%. Disease severity curves at whole-plant level showed no effect of inoculating the other pathogen. The analysis of the growth rate of each disease per leaf layer showed a significant effect of variety and leaf layer within variety but no effect of treatment. However, we observed significant negative associations between the diseases on individual leaves for several combinations of leaf layer and variety. These results show that the individual leaf approach can provide new information and underline the importance of considering interactions between pathogens in the field.
Acknowledgement
This work was funded by the DARCOF II project BAR-O
PET kinetics of radiolabeled antidepressant, [N-methyl-11C]mirtazapine, in the human brain
BACKGROUND: We compared six kinetic models with and without the requirement of arterial cannulation for estimating the binding potential of [N-methyl-(11)C]mirtazapine in the living human brain. METHODS: Distribution volumes of [N-methyl-(11)C]mirtazapine in brain regions were estimated using single- and two-tissue compartment models as well as a graphical plasma input model. The two-tissue compartment model provided a direct estimate of the binding potentials of [N-methyl-(11)C]mirtazapine in brain regions, while binding potentials of the single-tissue compartment model and the graphical plasma input model were estimated indirectly from ratios of distribution volumes in brain regions. We obtained also direct estimates of binding potentials using a graphical reference tissue model and two nonlinear reference tissue models. RESULTS: The two-tissue compartment model required several fits with different initial guesses for avoiding negative values of parameters. Despite the extra fits, estimates of distribution volumes and binding potentials of [N-methyl-(11)C]mirtazapine obtained by the two-tissue compartment model were far more variable than those produced by the other methods. The graphical plasma input method and the graphical reference tissue method provided estimates of the binding potential that correlated closely, but differed in magnitude. The single-tissue compartment model provided relatively low estimates of binding potentials with curves that failed to fit the data as well as the three other methods that used the entire series of positron emission tomography data. The reference tissue method and the simplified reference tissue method provided similar, consistent estimates of binding potentials. However, certain assumptions of the simplified reference tissue method may not be fulfilled by the radioligand. CONCLUSION: The reference tissue method is appropriate for estimating the binding potential of [N-methyl-(11)C]mirtazapine in regions of the human brain so that the binding potential of [N-methyl-(11)C]mirtazapine can be estimated without arterial cannulation
Optical bistability involving planar metamaterial with broken structural symmetry
We report on a bistable light transmission through a planar metamaterial
composed of a metal pattern of weakly asymmetric elements placed on a nonlinear
substrate. Such structure bears the Fano-like sharp resonance response of a
trapped-mode excitation. The feedback required for bistability is provided by
the coupling between the strong antiphased trapped-mode-resonance currents
excited on the metal elements and the intensity of inner field in the nonlinear
substrate.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Scale space consistency of piecewise constant least squares estimators -- another look at the regressogram
We study the asymptotic behavior of piecewise constant least squares
regression estimates, when the number of partitions of the estimate is
penalized. We show that the estimator is consistent in the relevant metric if
the signal is in , the space of c\`{a}dl\`{a}g functions equipped
with the Skorokhod metric or equipped with the supremum metric.
Moreover, we consider the family of estimates under a varying smoothing
parameter, also called scale space. We prove convergence of the empirical scale
space towards its deterministic target.Comment: Published at http://dx.doi.org/10.1214/074921707000000274 in the IMS
Lecture Notes Monograph Series
(http://www.imstat.org/publications/lecnotes.htm) by the Institute of
Mathematical Statistics (http://www.imstat.org
Vekselvirkning mellem plantesygdomme påvirker sygdomsudviklingen
Sygdomme i planter kan være forårsaget af mange forskellige mikroorganismer, og ofte vil der i en enkelt afgrøde og på én plante være flere arter tilstede samtidigt. På trods af denne erfaring har der været tradition for at forske i sygdomme enkeltvis, og betydningen på det totale sygdomsniveau af vekselvirkninger mellem de enkelte patogener er kun blevet studeret i begrænset omfang. Her beskrives vekselvirkningen mellem sygdommene bladplet og skoldplet på byg i markforsøg
Ptychographic X-ray computed tomography of extended colloidal networks in food emulsions
As a main structural level in colloidal food materials, extended colloidal
networks are important for texture and rheology. By obtaining the 3D
microstructure of the network, macroscopic mechanical properties of the
material can be inferred. However, this approach is hampered by the lack of
suitable non-destructive 3D imaging techniques with submicron resolution.
We present results of quantitative ptychographic X-ray computed tomography
applied to a palm kernel oil based oil-in-water emulsion. The measurements were
carried out at ambient pressure and temperature. The 3D structure of the
extended colloidal network of fat globules was obtained with a resolution of
around 300 nm. Through image analysis of the network structure, the fat globule
size distribution was computed and compared to previous findings. In further
support, the reconstructed electron density values were within 4% of reference
values.Comment: 19 pages, 4 figures, to be published in Food Structur
Employing combination procedures to short-time EOP prediction
A well known problem with Earth Orientation Parameters (EOP) prediction is
that a prediction strategy proved to be the best for some testing time span and
prediction length may not remain the same for other time intervals. In this
paper, we consider possible strategies to combine EOP predictions computed
using different analysis techniques to obtain a final prediction with the best
accuracy corresponding to the smallest prediction error of input predictions.
It was found that this approach is most efficient for ultra-short-term EOP
forecast.Comment: 7 pages, presented at the IERS Workshop on EOP Combination and
Prediction, Warsaw, Poland, 19-21 Oct 200
Tracer input for kinetic modelling of liver physiology determined without sampling portal venous blood in pigs
Molecular and biochemical characterization of a new thermostable bacterial laccase from<i> Meiothermus ruber</i> DSM 1279
A new bacterial laccase gene (mrlac) fromMeiothermus ruberDSM 1279 was successfully overexpressed to produce a laccase (Mrlac) in soluble form inEscherichia coliduring simultaneous overexpression of a chaperone protein (GroEL/ES).</p
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