Characterization of Coffee ringspot virus-Lavras: A model for an emerging threat to coffee production and quality

AbstractThe emergence of viruses in Coffee (Coffea arabica and Coffea canephora), the most widely traded agricultural commodity in the world, is of critical concern. The RNA1 (6552nt) of Coffee ringspot virus is organized into five open reading frames (ORFs) capable of encoding the viral nucleocapsid (ORF1p), phosphoprotein (ORF2p), putative cell-to-cell movement protein (ORF3p), matrix protein (ORF4p) and glycoprotein (ORF5p). Each ORF is separated by a conserved intergenic junction. RNA2 (5945nt), which completes the bipartite genome, encodes a single protein (ORF6p) with homology to RNA-dependent RNA polymerases. Phylogenetic analysis of L protein sequences firmly establishes CoRSV as a member of the recently proposed Dichorhavirus genus. Predictive algorithms, in planta protein expression, and a yeast-based nuclear import assay were used to determine the nucleophillic character of five CoRSV proteins. Finally, the temperature-dependent ability of CoRSV to establish systemic infections in an initially local lesion host was quantified

Higher‐mode textile patch antenna with embroidered vias for on‐body communication

This paper is a preprint of a paper accepted by IET Microwaves, Antennas and Propagation, and is subject to Institution of Engineering and Technology Copyright. When the final version is published, the copy of record will be available at IET Digital Library.This study presents a wearable textile higher-mode microstrip patch antenna (HMMPA) that has been designed to radiate omni-directionally at 2.4 GHz Industrial Scientific and Medical (ISM) band. Emphasis is given to the fabrication process of the textile vias with conductive sewing thread that plays an important role in generating the optimal mode for on-body radiation. The embroidery technique enabled a side-fed low-profile antenna which could be placed directly against the body. The proposed textile HMMPA antenna performance is compared with a probe-fed HMMPA antenna fabricated with rigid copper radiating parts, for both free space and on-body conditions. The on-body antenna performance has been tested by performing near-field measurements of the antenna on a full-body specific anthropomorphic mannequin phantom in an anechoic chamber. Results show that the proposed textile HMMPA antenna with vias made from conductive thread can radiate on-body with good efficiency while minimising the radiation in the broadside direction

Effects Of Therapeutic Approach On The Neonatal Evolution Of Very Low Birth Weight Infants With Patent Ductus Arteriosus

Objective To analyze the effects of treatment approach on the outcomes of newborns (birth weight [BW] < 1,000 g) with patent ductus arteriosus (PDA), from the Brazilian Neonatal Research Network (BNRN) on: death, bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), severe intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH III/IV), retinopathy of prematurity requiring surgical (ROPsur), necrotizing enterocolitis requiring surgery (NECsur), and death/BPD.Methods This was a multicentric, cohort study, retrospective data collection, including newborns (BW < 1000 g) with gestational age (GA) < 33 weeks and echocardiographic diagnosis of PDA, from 16 neonatal units of the BNRN from January 1, 2010 to Dec 31, 2011. Newborns who died or were transferred until the third day of life, and those with presence of congenital malformation or infection were excluded. Groups: G1 - conservative approach (without treatment), G2 - pharmacologic (indomethacin or ibuprofen), G3 - surgical ligation (independent of previous treatment). Factors analyzed: antenatal corticosteroid, cesarean section, BW, GA, 5 min. Apgar score < 4, male gender, Score for Neonatal Acute Physiology Perinatal Extension (SNAPPE II), respiratory distress syndrome (RDS), late sepsis (LS), mechanical ventilation (MV), surfactant (< 2 h of life), and time of MV. Outcomes: death, O2 dependence at 36 weeks (BPD36wks), IVH III/IV, ROPsur, NECsur, and death/BPD36wks. Statistics: Student's t-test, chi-squared test, or Fisher's exact test; Odds ratio (95% CI); logistic binary regression and backward stepwise multiple regression. Software: MedCalc (Medical Calculator) software, version 12.1.4.0. p-values < 0.05 were considered statistically significantResults 1,097 newborns were selected and 494 newborns were included: G1 - 187 (37.8%), G2 - 205 (41.5%), and G3 - 102 (20.6%). The highest mortality was observed in G1 (51.3%) and the lowest in G3 (14.7%). The highest frequencies of BPD36wks (70.6%) and ROPsur were observed in G3 (23.5%). The lowest occurrence of death/BPD36wks occurred in G2 (58.0%). Pharmacological (OR 0.29; 95% CI: 0.14-0.62) and conservative (OR 0.34; 95% CI: 0.14-0.79) treatments were protective for the outcome death/BPD36wks. Conclusion The conservative approach of PDA was associated to high mortality, the surgical approach to the occurrence of BPD36wks and ROPsur, and the pharmacological treatment was protective for the outcome death/BPD36wks.906616623Clyman, R.I., Mechanisms regulating the ductus arteriosus (2006) Biol Neonate., 89, pp. 330-335Benitz, W.E., Treatment of persistent patent ductus arteriosus in preterm infants: Time to accept the null hypothesis? (2010) J Perinatol., 30, pp. 241-252Redline, R.W., Wilson-Costello, D., Hack, M., Placental and other perinatal risk factors for chronic lung disease in very low birth weight infants (2002) Pediatr Res., 52, pp. 713-719Evans, N., Kluckow, M., Early ductal shunting and intraventricular haemorrhage in ventilated preterm infants (1996) Arch Dis Child Fetal Neonatal Ed., 75, pp. 183-F186Noerr, B., Current controversies in the understanding of necrotizing enterocolitis Part 1 (2003) Adv Neonatal Care., 3, pp. 107-120Koch, J., Hensley, G., Roy, L., Brown, S., Ramaciotti, C., Rosenfeld, C.R., Prevalence of spontaneous closure of the ductus arteriosus in neonates at a birth weight of 1000 grams or less (2006) Pediatrics., 117, pp. 1113-1121Afiune, J.Y., Singer, J.M., Leone, C.R., Evolução ecocardiográfica de recém-nascidos com persistência do canal arterial (2005) J Pediatr (Rio J)., 81, pp. 454-460Sosenko, I.R., Fajardo, M.F., Claure, N., Bancalari, E., Timing of patent ductus arteriosus treatment and respiratory outcome in premature infants: A double-blind randomized controlled trial (2012) J Pediatr., 160, pp. 929-935. , e1Laughon, M.M., Simmons, M.A., Bose, C.L., Patency of the ductus arteriosus in the premature infant: Is it pathologic? Should it be treated? (2004) Curr Opin Pediatr., 16, pp. 146-151Clyman, R.I., Chorne, N., Patent ductus arteriosus: Evidence for and against treatment (2007) J Pediatr., 150, pp. 216-219Bose, C.L., Laughon, M., Treatment to prevent patency of the ductus arteriosus: Beneficial or harmful? (2006) J Pediatr., 148, pp. 713-714Clyman, R.I., Couto, J., Murphy, G.M., Patent ductus arteriosus: Are current neonatal treatment options better or worse than no treatment at all? (2012) Semin Perinatol., 36, pp. 123-129Alexander, G.R., Himes, J.H., Kaufman, R.B., Mor, J., Kogan, M., A United States national reference for fetal growth (1996) Obstet Gynecol., 87, pp. 163-168Jhaveri, N., Moon-Grady, A., Clyman, R.I., Early surgical ligation versus a conservative approach for management of patent ductus arteriosus that fails to close after indomethacin treatment (2010) J Pediatr., 157. , 381-7, 387.e1Clyman, R., Cassady, G., Kirklin, J.K., Collins, M., Philips, J.B., III, The role of patent ductus arteriosus ligation in bronchopulmonary dysplasia: Reexamining a randomized controlled trial (2009) J Pediatr., 154, pp. 873-876Mirea, L., Sankaran, K., Seshia, M., Ohlsson, A., Allen, A.C., Aziz, K., Treatment of patent ductus arteriosus and neonatal mortality/morbidities: Adjustment for treatment selection bias (2012) J Pediatr., 161, pp. 689-694. , e1Youn, Y., Lee, J.Y., Lee, J.H., Kim, S.Y., Sung, I.K., Lee, J.Y., Impact of patient selection on outcomes of PDA in very low birth weight infants (2013) Early Hum Dev., 89, pp. 175-17

Balanço do nitrogênio e fósforo em solo com cultivo orgânico de hortaliças após a incorporação de biomassa de guandu.

Os objetivos deste trabalho foram avaliar os efeitos de faixas de guandu (Cajanus cajan) e da incorporação da biomassa proveniente de sua poda na fertilidade do solo e na produtividade de três hortaliças sob cultivo orgânico. O delineamento usado foi de blocos casualizados completos em esquema de parcelas subsubdivididas com três repetições. As produtividades de beterraba, cenoura e feijão-de-vagem não foram afetadas pelos tratamentos. Nas parcelas onde não houve incorporação da biomassa de guandu, o balanço de nitrogênio no sistema foi negativo, ao passo que com a incorporação, esse balanço foi positivo. Embora tenha ocorrido balanço positivo para o fósforo nas parcelas sem a incorporação de biomassa de guandu, houve um aumento significativo na absorção desse elemento pelas hortaliças quando o material foi incorporado. O sistema de cultivo em aléias de guandu pode representar uma prática vantajosa para os produtores orgânicos, por contribuir na manutenção da fertilidade do solo

Macrophyte abundance in Waquoit Bay : effects of land-derived nitrogen loads on seasonal and multi-year biomass patterns

Author Posting. © The Author(s), 2008. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of Springer for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Estuaries and Coasts 31 (2008): 532-541, doi:10.1007/s12237-008-9039-6.Anthropogenic inputs of nutrients to coastal waters have rapidly restructured coastal ecosystems. To examine the response of macrophyte communities to land-derived nitrogen loading, we measured macrophyte biomass monthly for six years in three estuaries subject to different nitrogen loads owing to different land uses on the watersheds. The set of estuaries sampled had nitrogen loads over the broad range of 12 to 601 kg N ha-1 y-1. Macrophyte biomass increased as nitrogen loads increased, but the response of individual taxa varied. Specifically, biomass of Cladophora vagabunda and Gracilaria tikvahiae increased significantly as nitrogen loads increased. The biomass of other macroalgal taxa tended to decrease with increasing load, and the relative proportion of these taxa to total macrophyte biomass also decreased. The seagrass, Zostera marina, disappeared from the higher loaded estuaries, but remained abundant in the estuary with the lowest load. Seasonal changes in macroalgal standing stock were also affected by nitrogen load, with larger fluctuations in biomass across the year and higher minimum biomass of macroalgae in the higher loaded estuaries. There were no significant changes in macrophyte biomass over the six years of this study, but there was a slight trend of increasing macroalgal biomass in the latter years. Macroalgal biomass was not related to irradiance or temperature, but Z. marina biomass was highest during the summer months when light and temperatures peak. Irradiance might, however, be a secondary limiting factor controlling macroalgal biomass in the higher loaded estuaries by restricting the depth of the macroalgal canopy. The relationship between the bloom-forming macroalgal species, C. vagabunda and G. tikvahiae, and nitrogen loads suggested a strong connection between development on watersheds and macroalgal blooms and loss of seagrasses. The influence of watershed land uses largely overwhelmed seasonal and inter-annual differences in standing stock of macrophytes in these temperate estuaries.This research was supported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Cooperative Institute for Coastal and Estuarine Environmental Technologies (CICEET-UNH#99-304, NOAA NA87OR512), NOAA National Estuarine Research Reserve Graduate Research Fellowship NERRS GRF, #NA77OR0228), and an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) STAR Fellowship for Graduate Environmental Study (U-915335-01-0) awarded to J. Hauxwell. S. Fox was supported by a NOAA NERRS GRF (#NA03NOS4200132) and an EPA STAR Graduate Research Fellowship. We also thank the Quebec-Labrador Foundation Atlantic Center for the Environment's Sounds Conservancy Program and the Boston University Ablon/Bay Committee for their awarding research funds

Limit on Bs0B^0_s oscillation using a jet charge method

A lower limit is set on the B_{s}^{0} meson oscillation parameter \Delta m_{s} using data collected from 1991 to 1994 by the ALEPH detector. Events with a high transverse momentum lepton and a reconstructed secondary vertex are used. The high transverse momentum leptons are produced mainly by b hadron decays, and the sign of the lepton indicates the particle/antiparticle final state in decays of neutral B mesons. The initial state is determined by a jet charge technique using both sides of the event. A maximum likelihood method is used to set a lower limit of \, \Delta m_{s}. The 95\% confidence level lower limit on \Delta m_s ranges between 5.2 and 6.5(\hbar/c^{2})~ps^{-1} when the fraction of b quarks from Z^0 decays that form B_{s}^{0} mesons is varied from 8\% to 16\%. Assuming that the B_{s}^{0} fraction is 12\%, the lower limit would be \Delta m_{s} 6.1(\hbar/c^{2})~ps^{-1} at 95\% confidence level. For x_s = \Delta m_s \, \tau_{B_s}, this limit also gives x_s 8.8 using the B_{s}^{0} lifetime of \tau_{B_s} = 1.55 \pm 0.11~ps and shifting the central value of \tau_{B_s} down by 1\sigma