Reversing of seasonal patterns of carbon uptake in an eucalyptus stand in Portugal after drought and felling

This paper summarizes results between 2002 and 2010 from eddy covariance measurements of carbon uptake in the 12 month annual growing period eucalypt site of Espirra in Southern Portugal (38° 38’N, 8° 36’ W) . This site, aimed for pulp production is part of an intensively 300 ha eucalypt coppice, with about 1100 trees ha–1. The climate is of Mediterranean type. During the measurement period (2002-2010) two main events changed the annual sink pattern of the forest: a drought period of two years (2004-2005) and a tree felling (November and December 2006). Before the felling, annual net ecosystem exchange (NEE) diminished from 865.56 gCm–2 in 2002 to 356.64 gCm–2 in 2005 together with a deep decrease in rainfall from 748 mm in 2002 to 378.58 mm and 396.64 mm in 2004 and 2005, respectively. The eucalypt stand recovered its carbon sink ability in June 2007 with a cumulated NEE of 151 gCm–2 from January to September 2010. A quantitative approach using generalized estimating equations (GEEs) was made to relate monthly NEE, gross primary production (GPP) and soil moisture with the main meteorological variables. Seasonal patterns of carbon uptake were almost opposite in the periods before and after the felling with maxima in April and August, respectively, and this seasonal change is gradually reversing to the pattern before 2006. Drought was the main meteorological driver of these temporal tendencies in carbon uptake

As Farmacopeias Portuguesas e a Saúde Pública

Pharmacopoeias are official books that follow the scientific and technological evolution of knowledge relating to medicines, which ensures their quality update and therefore safeguarding Public Health.Nowadays, in the world, there are 49 pharmacopoeias, 46 are national, 2 are regional and 1 is international. The European Pharmacopoeia (inter-governmental), the United States Pharmacopoeia (independent of the government) and the Japanese Pharmacopoeia (governmental) are the main ones for the delineation of a global policy for quality of medicines. In Portugal, throughout times there have been official and non-official pharmacopoeias. The first official pharmacopoeia dates from 1794 and the Portuguese Pharmacopoeia 9 is currently in vigor.The Pharmacopoeial Discussion Group, the International Conference on Harmonisation and the International Cooperation on Veterinary Harmonisation play an important role in the international harmonization. The Good Pharmacopoeial Practices aim is to facilitate and promote the cooperation, work sharing and harmonization among pharmacopoeias.This article makes a historical review of portuguese pharmacopoeias and articulates the issue with literature foreign counterpart, emphasizing the value for Public Health.As Farmacopeias são livros oficiais com valor legal que acompanham a evolução científica e tecnológica dos conhecimentos ligados aos medicamentos, garantindo a atualização da qualidade dos mesmos e salvaguardando assim, a Saúde Pública. Presentemente, a nível mundial, existem 49 farmacopeias, sendo 46 farmacopeias nacionais, 2 farmacopeias regionais e 1 farmacopeia internacional. A Farmacopeia Europeia (intergovernamental), a Farmacopeia dos Estados Unidos da América (independente do governo) e a Farmacopeia Japonesa (governamental) são as principais farmacopeias para o delineamento de uma política global da qualidade do medicamento. Em Portugal, ao longo do tempo, existiram farmacopeias não oficiais e oficiais. A primeira farmacopeia oficial data de 1794 e atualmente está em vigor a Farmacopeia Portuguesa 9.O Grupo de Discussão das Farmacopeias, a Conferência Internacional de Harmonização e a Cooperação Internacional sobre a Harmonização Veterinária desempenham uma função muito importante na harmonização internacional. As “Boas Práticas Farmacopeicas” visam favorecer e facilitar a colaboração, a partilha de trabalho e a harmonização entre as farmacopeias.Neste artigo efetua-se uma resenha histórica das farmacopeias portuguesas e articula-se o assunto com a literatura congénere estrangeira, evidenciando o valor para a Saúde Pública

Response of cassava cultivars to African cassava mosaic virus infection across a range of inoculum doses and plant ages

Open Access Journal; Published online: 23 Dec 2019Cassava production in Africa is constrained by cassava mosaic disease (CMD) that is caused by the Cassava mosaic virus (CMV). The aim of this study was to evaluate the responses of a range of commonly cultivated West African cassava cultivars to varying inoculum doses of African cassava mosaic virus (ACMV). We grafted 10 cultivars of cassava plants with different inoculum doses of CMV (namely two, four, or six CMD-infected buds) when the experimental plants were 8, 10, or 12 weeks old, using non-inoculated plants as controls. Three cultivars showed disease symptoms when grafted with two buds, and four cultivars showed disease symptoms when grafted with four or six buds. Most cultivars became symptomatic six weeks after inoculation, but one (‘TMS92/0326’) was symptomatic two weeks after inoculation, and two (‘Ntollo’ and ‘Excel’) were symptomatic after four weeks. Root weight tended to be lower in the six-bud than in the two-bud dose, and disease severity varied with plant age at inoculation. These results indicate that the level of CMD resistance in cassava cultivars varies with inoculum dose and timing of infection. This will allow appropriate cultivars to be deployed in each production zone of Africa in accordance with the prevalence of CMD

A randomised open-label study of tiagabine given two or three times daily in refractory epilepsy

SummaryEfficacy and tolerability of tiagabine was evaluated in patients with non-controlled partial seizures in a multicentre, open-label, parallel group study. Tiagabine was administered either two (b.i.d.) or three times daily (t.i.d.) as adjunctive therapy and titrated stepwise to a target of 40mg/day during a 12-week, fixed-schedule titration period; this was followed by a 12-week flexible continuation period. The primary efficacy endpoint was the proportion of patients completing the fixed-schedule titration period. A total of 243 patients were randomised and received treatment, 123 to b.i.d. and 120 to t.i.d. dosing. Fewer patients in the b.i.d. (76 and 62%) than in the t.i.d. (87 and 72%) group completed the fixed-schedule titration period (OR: 0.562; 95% CI: 0.309–1.008; P=0.0532). The median percentage decrease in all types of seizure (excluding status epilepticus) during the fixed schedule titration period was 33.4% for the b.i.d. and 23.8% for the t.i.d. groups (P=0.9634; Van Elteren's test). The proportion of responders was similar for the b.i.d. and t.i.d. groups. There were no significant differences between dosage regimens in the change in median seizure rates from baseline. Adverse events were more frequent during the titration than the continuation period. Most events were mild and related to the central nervous system. Although their incidence was similar between treatment groups, severity was more frequent in the b.i.d. group. Our results suggest that during titration tiagabine is better tolerated with t.i.d. dosing, but during long-term maintenance, a t.i.d. schedule is as effective and well tolerated as b.i.d

Single-neutron transfer from 11Be gs via the (p,d) reaction with a radioactive beam

The 11Be(p,d)10Be reaction has been performed in inverse kinematics with a radioactive 11Be beam of E/A = 35.3 MeV. Angular distributions for the 0+ ground state, the 2+, 3.37 MeV state and the multiplet of states around 6 MeV in 10Be were measured at angles up to 16 deg CM by detecting the 10Be in a dispersion-matched spectrometer and the coincident deuterons in a silicon array. Distorted wave and coupled-channels calculations have been performed to investigate the amount of 2+ core excitation in 11Be gs. The use of "realistic" 11Be wave functions is emphasised and bound state form factors have been obtained by solving the particle-vibration coupling equations. This calculation gives a dominant 2s component in the 11Be gs wave function with a 16% [2+ x 1d] core excitation admixture. Cross sections calculated with these form factors are in good agreement with the present data. The Separation Energy prescription for the bound state wave function also gives satisfactory fits to the data, but leads to a significantly larger [2 x 1d] component in 11Be gs.Comment: 39 pages, 12 figures. Accepted for publication in Nuclear Physics A. Added minor corrections made in proof to pages 26 and 3

Portuguese pharmacopoeias and public health

História das farmacopeia portuguesas no contexto da saúde públic

Evidence of synergism between African cassava mosaic virus and a new double-recombinant geminivirus infecting cassava in Cameroon

Stem cuttings were collected in Cameroon from cassava plants displaying cassava mosaic disease (CMD) symptoms. The nature of the viruses present was determined by using the PCR with primers specific for the coat protein (CP) genes of African cassava mosaic virus (ACMV) and East African cassava mosaic virus (CACMV). All samples were infected by ACMV and eight of the 50 samples were infected by both ACMV and an EACM-like virus. The complete nucleotide sequences of DNA-A and -B of representative ACMV and EACMV-like viruses were determined. The DNA-A component of the EACMV-like virus contained evidence of recombination in the AC2-AC3 region and DNA-B also contained evidence of recombination in BC1. However, both components retained gene arrangements typical of bipartite begomoviruses. When #Nicotiana benthamiana$ plants were doubly inoculated with these Cameroon isolates of ACMV and EACMV (ACM/CM, EACMV/CM) by using sap from cassava plants or infectious clones, the symptoms were more severe than for plants inoculated with either virus alone. Southern blot analysis of viral DNAs from infected plants showed that there were significantly higher levels of accumulation of both ACMV/CM components and, to a lesser extent, of EACMV/CM components in mixed-infected plants than in singly infected plants. These results strongly suggest the occurrence of a synergistic interaction between the two viruses. (Résumé d'auteur