The properties and interaction of auxins and cytokinins influence rooting of shoot cultures of Eucalyptus

Success in Eucalyptus micropropagation varies with genotype. Although some protocols have proven suitable for suites of clones, many genotypes are recalcitrant to rooting. Their micropropagation is addressed empirically through the manipulation of auxins and cytokinins, which work antagonistically to produce roots and shoots, respectively. Rooting success of three genotypes with 0.1 mg/l indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) was initially recorded as 87, 45 and 41% for clones 1, 2 and 3, respectively. Further studies using the auxin signal transduction inhibitor ñ-chlorophenoxyisobutyric acid (PCIB) or the auxin conjugation inhibitor dihydroxyacetophenone (DHAP) indicated that the poor rooting response of clone 2 was not due to deficient auxin signal perception or auxin conjugation. Omitting kinetin during elongation, followed by auxin-free rooting, significantly increased root production in clone 2 (from 45 to 80.3%), but had no effect on clone 1. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis of auxins and kinetin of shoots, prior to rooting, revealed a strong relationship (R2 = 0.943) between rootability and the shoot kinetin:auxin. Replacing kinetin with the less stable trans-zeatin significantly increased rooting of clone 2 (from 19 to 45%) and clone 3 (31 to 52%). It is suggested that root induction in poor-rooters is dependent on exogenous cytokinin depletion from in vitro shoots.Key words: Eucalyptus, phytohormone interaction, root quality

If England players must sing the national anthem at the football World Cup, it should not be ‘God Save the Queen’

With the football World Cup approaching, England manager Roy Hodgson is insisting that his players sing the national anthem before each game. We asked a number of democracy experts to share their views on Hodgson’s rule. In the first of a series of posts on this issue, we find a broad consensus that while singing the anthem may be a positive sign of patriotic feeling, ‘God Save the Queen’ is inappropriate for various reasons, including its religious and monarchist sentiment, and because it is a UK anthem rather than England’s alone

Working with Disabilities in Youth Grassroots Soccer

This chapter provides an overview of working inclusively in soccer coaching through three distinct but connected case studies. Case studies focus on the landscape of disability football coaching, coaching players with autism, blindness, and visual impairments. Specifically, coaches in blind soccer found that navigation, guiding techniques, and the use of echolocation aided their understanding of their players' abilities and had to enjoy priority over game-related technical knowledge. Football may be described as a dynamic and (sometimes) chaotic invasion game, where individuals, units, and teams compete to outwit each other through skill and tactical play. The direction of contemporary football coach education and sports coach development has required and challenged coaches to embrace this ‘chaos’ and develop authentic practice environments that facilitate a realistic experience. Audible sensory deprivation training can be used at various points to allow players to have to better rely on the physical feel of the ball in relation to the foot, their body, and their head

Real-World Experience with Dolutegravir-Based Two-Drug Regimens

Background. Dolutegravir-based 2-drug regimens (DTG 2DRs) are now accepted as alternatives to 3-drug regimens for HIV antiretroviral treatment (ART); however, literature on physician drivers for prescribing DTG 2DR is sparse. This study evaluated treatment patterns of DTG 2DR components in clinical practice in the US. Methods. This was a retrospective chart review in adult patients in care in the US with HIV-1 who received DTG 2DR prior to July 31, 2017, with follow-up until January 30, 2018. Primary objectives of the study were to determine reasons for patients initiating DTG 2DR and to describe the demographics and clinical characteristics. All analyses were descriptive. Results. Overall, 278 patients received DTG 2DR (male: 70%; mean age: 56 years). Most patients were treatment experienced (98%), with a mean 13.5 years of prior ART. DTG was most commonly paired with darunavir (55%) or rilpivirine (27%). The most common physician-reported reasons for initiating DTG 2DR were treatment simplification/streamlining (30%) and avoidance of potential long-term toxicities (20%). Before starting DTG 2DR, 42% of patients were virologically suppressed; of those, 95% maintained suppression while on DTG 2DR. Of the 50% of patients with detectable viral load before DTG 2DR, 79% achieved and maintained virologic suppression on DTG 2DR during follow-up. There were no virologic data for 8% of patients prior to starting DTG 2DR. Only 15 patients discontinued DTG 2DR, of whom 4 (27%) discontinued due to virologic failure. Conclusions. Prior to commercial availability of the single-tablet 2DRs, DTG 2DR components were primarily used in treatment-experienced patients for treatment simplification and avoidance of long-term toxicities. Many of these patients achieved and maintained virologic suppression, with low discontinuation rates