Effect of adjuvants on the efficiency of dimethomorph plus mancozeb (Acrobat 2 kg:ha) on the control of late blight

Industrial adjuvants were tested in combination with dimethomorph plus mancozeb (Acrobat 2 kg/ha) in the field to investigate their efficacy on foliar late blight caused by Phytophthora infestans. The tested adjuvant fungicide treatments for late blight control were applied 5 times at 7-day intervals. The effect of the adjuvant fungicide treatments on epidemic development, tuber rot and blight incidence and tuber yields were determined. Last summer late blight development was arrested in July due to high temperatures and lasting drought. August was characterized by rather low temperatures and high rainfall. These weather conditions were very favourable for the development of late blight. Due to the heat waves of June and July the foliage started to die allready in Agust. Because of that no incidence of foliage blight was scored. No significant differences in yield were observed for the different treatments applied. The addition of an adjuvant had a clearly positive effect on the tuber yield. In the control 12,7 % infected tubers were observed. The mean tuber infection of plots sprayed with the Acrobat-adjuvant combinations was 7,4 %

Diurnal temperature variations affect development of a herbivorous arthropod pest and its predators

The impact of daily temperature variations on arthropod life history remains woefully understudied compared to the large body of research that has been carried out on the effects of constant temperatures. However, diurnal varying temperature regimes more commonly represent the environment in which most organisms thrive. Such varying temperature regimes have been demonstrated to substantially affect development and reproduction of ectothermic organisms, generally in accordance with Jensen's inequality. In the present study we evaluated the impact of temperature alternations at 4 amplitudes (DTR0, +5, +10 and + 15 degrees C) on the developmental rate of the predatory mites Phytoseiulus persimilis Athias-Henriot and Neoseiulus californicus McGregor (Acari: Phytoseiidae) and their natural prey, the two-spotted spider mite Tetranychus urticae Koch (Acari: Tetranychidae). We have modelled their developmental rates as a function of temperature using both linear and nonlinear models. Diurnally alternating temperatures resulted in a faster development in the lower temperature range as compared to their corresponding mean constant temperatures, whereas the opposite was observed in the higher temperature range. Our results indicate that Jensen's inequality does not suffice to fully explain the differences in developmental rates at constant and alternating temperatures, suggesting additional physiological responses play a role. It is concluded that diurnal temperature range should not be ignored and should be incorporated in predictive models on the phenology of arthropod pests and their natural enemies and their performance in biological control programmes

Re-Framing the Picture: An International Comparative Assessment of Gender Equity Policies in the Film Sector: Full Report Gender Equity Policy (GEP) Analysis Project

Re-Framing the Picture presents research from the “Gender Equity Policy (GEP) Analysis” project. Building on a substantial corpus of studies and data evidencing the long history of gender inequity in the international film sector, the international team of researchers located in Germany, the UK and Canada has designed an innovative, interdisciplinary approach with the aim to “assess, understand, and model the impact of gender equity policies (GEP) in the film industry”. To re-frame the picture of gender equity in film industries, they studied the policies, practices and norms that constrain equitable industry structures. The report presents in-depth insights from three different perspectives: The Policies, the Number, and the Networks. The researchers combine an in-depth analysis of existing gender equity policies, using a specifically designed policy analysis framework and interviews with industry experts, with a quantitative analysis that looks more closely at industry data and the structures it reveals. Finally, a social network approach helps understand how different interventions might reduce the dominance of men in the three case film industries (Germany, the UK and Canada) by modelling the impact of hypothetical policies. They find that 1) fighting gender inequity remains a long-haul endeavour, 2) no one-size-fits-all solution exists, 3) policies need to be intentional and structural, 4) and we should expand the reach of policies that make access to, for instance, funding or awards nominations dependent on progress towards gender equity

B-cell targeting with anti-CD38 daratumumab:implications for differentiation and memory responses

B cell–targeted therapies, such as CD20-targeting mAbs, deplete B cells but do not target the autoantibody-producing plasma cells (PCs). PC-targeting therapies such as daratumumab (anti-CD38) form an attractive approach to treat PC-mediated diseases. CD38 possesses enzymatic and receptor capabilities, which may impact a range of cellular processes including proliferation and differentiation. However, very little is known whether and how CD38 targeting affects B-cell differentiation, in particular for humans beyond cancer settings. Using in-depth in vitro B-cell differentiation assays and signaling pathway analysis, we show that CD38 targeting with daratumumab demonstrated a significant decrease in proliferation, differentiation, and IgG production upon T cell–dependent B-cell stimulation. We found no effect on T-cell activation or proliferation. Furthermore, we demonstrate that daratumumab attenuated the activation of NF-?B in B cells and the transcription of NF-?B–targeted genes. When culturing sorted B-cell subsets with daratumumab, the switched memory B-cell subset was primarily affected. Overall, these in vitro data elucidate novel non-depleting mechanisms by which daratumumab can disturb humoral immune responses. Affecting memory B cells, daratumumab may be used as a therapeutic approach in B cell–mediated diseases other than the currently targeted malignancies

B-cell targeting with anti-CD38 daratumumab:implications for differentiation and memory responses

B cell–targeted therapies, such as CD20-targeting mAbs, deplete B cells but do not target the autoantibody-producing plasma cells (PCs). PC-targeting therapies such as daratumumab (anti-CD38) form an attractive approach to treat PC-mediated diseases. CD38 possesses enzymatic and receptor capabilities, which may impact a range of cellular processes including proliferation and differentiation. However, very little is known whether and how CD38 targeting affects B-cell differentiation, in particular for humans beyond cancer settings. Using in-depth in vitro B-cell differentiation assays and signaling pathway analysis, we show that CD38 targeting with daratumumab demonstrated a significant decrease in proliferation, differentiation, and IgG production upon T cell–dependent B-cell stimulation. We found no effect on T-cell activation or proliferation. Furthermore, we demonstrate that daratumumab attenuated the activation of NF-κB in B cells and the transcription of NF-κB–targeted genes. When culturing sorted B-cell subsets with daratumumab, the switched memory B-cell subset was primarily affected. Overall, these in vitro data elucidate novel non-depleting mechanisms by which daratumumab can disturb humoral immune responses. Affecting memory B cells, daratumumab may be used as a therapeutic approach in B cell–mediated diseases other than the currently targeted malignancies.</p

Effects of impurities on graphite shape during solidification of spheroidal graphite cast ions

International audienceSince the discovery that magnesium and cerium (and more generally rare earths) added at low level to cast iron melts lead to spherodized graphite, it is known that some other elements are detrimental even when present as traces. In all practicality, it has soon been recognized that adding rare earths to the melt helps counteracting the effect of these detrimental elements. Accordingly, only few works have been devoted to studying the effect of trace elements in melts without any rare earths. This is the first aim of the present work to review those studies as they contain the material to understand the mechanism for spheroidal graphite degeneracy. From this review, three types of degeneracy have been defined which show up when the critical level of any particular element is exceeded. These results are then discussed to show that all degeneracies certainly proceed in the same way. To substantiate this discussion, the growth of compacted graphite as obtained by low level treatment of cast iron melt with magnesium is also presented. Finally, a mechanism is suggested for describing the action of trace elements on spheroidal graphite degeneracy. This mechanism is partly substantiated by first-principles calculations which showed that all elements can strongly adsorb on the prismatic planes which are the planes on which carbon atoms add on during graphite growth

The Dutch health insurance reform: switching between insurers, a comparison between the general population and the chronically ill and disabled

Background: On 1 January 2006 a number of far-reaching changes in the Dutch health insurance system came into effect. In the new system of managed competition consumer mobility plays an important role. Consumers are free to change their insurer and insurance plan every year. The idea is that consumers who are not satisfied with the premium or quality of care provided will opt for a different insurer. This would force insurers to strive for good prices and quality of care. Internationally, the Dutch changes are under the attention of both policy makers and researchers. Questions answered in this article relate to switching behaviour, reasons for switching, and differences between population categories. Methods: Postal questionnaires were sent to 1516 members of the Dutch Health Care Consumer Panel and to 3757 members of the National Panel of the Chronically ill and Disabled (NPCD) in April 2006. The questionnaire was returned by 1198 members of the Consumer Panel (response 79%) and by 3211 members of the NPCD (response 86%). Among other things, questions were asked about choices for a health insurer and insurance plan and the reasons for this choice. Results: Young and healthy people switch insurer more often than elderly or people in bad health. The chronically ill and disabled do not switch less often than the general population when both populations are comparable on age, sex and education. For the general population, premium is more important than content, while the chronically ill and disabled value content of the insurance package as well. However, quality of care is not important for either group as a reason for switching. Conclusion: There is increased mobility in the new system for both the general population and the chronically ill and disabled. This however is not based on quality of care. If reasons for switching are unrelated to the quality of care, it is hard to believe that switching influences the quality of care. As yet there are no signs of barriers to switch insurer for the chronically ill and disabled. This however could change in the future and it is therefore important to monitor changes.

The relative contributions of speechreading and vocabulary to deaf and hearing children's reading ability

Background Vocabulary knowledge and speechreading are important for deaf children's reading development but it is unknown whether they are independent predictors of reading ability. Aims This study investigated the relationships between reading, speechreading and vocabulary in a large cohort of deaf and hearing children aged 5 to 14 years. Methods and procedures 86 severely and profoundly deaf children and 91 hearing children participated in this study. All children completed assessments of reading comprehension, word reading accuracy, speechreading and vocabulary. Outcomes and results Regression analyses showed that vocabulary and speechreading accounted for unique variance in both reading accuracy and comprehension for deaf children. For hearing children, vocabulary was an independent predictor of both reading accuracy and comprehension skills but speechreading only accounted for unique variance in reading accuracy. Conclusions and implications Speechreading and vocabulary are important for reading development in deaf children. The results are interpreted within the Simple View of Reading framework and the theoretical implications for deaf children's reading are discussed

Increasing Prevalence of Myopia in Europe and the Impact of Education

Purpose To investigate whether myopia is becoming more common across Europe and explore whether increasing education levels, an important environmental risk factor for myopia, might explain any temporal trend. Design Meta-analysis of population-based, cross-sectional studies from the European Eye Epidemiology (E3) Consortium. Participants The E3 Consortium is a collaborative network of epidemiological studies of common eye diseases in adults across Europe. Refractive data were available for 61 946 participants from 15 population-based studies performed between 1990 and 2013; participants had a range of median ages from 44 to 78 years. Methods Noncycloplegic refraction, year of birth, and highest educational level achieved were obtained for all participants. Myopia was defined as a mean spherical equivalent ≤-0.75 diopters. A random-effects meta-analysis of age-specific myopia prevalence was performed, with sequential analyses stratified by year of birth and highest level of educational attainment. Main Outcome Measures Variation in age-specific myopia prevalence for differing years of birth and educational level. Results There was a significant cohort effect for increasing myopia prevalence across more recent birth decades; age-standardized myopia prevalence increased from 17.8% (95% confidence interval [CI], 17.6-18.1) to 23.5% (95% CI, 23.2-23.7) in those born between 1910 and 1939 compared with 1940 and 1979 (P = 0.03). Education was significantly associated with myopia; for those completing primary, secondary, and higher education, the age-standardized prevalences were 25.4% (CI, 25.0-25.8), 29.1% (CI, 28.8-29.5), and 36.6% (CI, 36.1-37.2), respectively. Although more recent birth cohorts were more educated, this did not fully explain the cohort effect. Compared with the reference risk of participants born in the 1920s with only primary education, higher education or being born in the 1960s doubled the myopia prevalence ratio-2.43 (CI, 1.26-4.17) and 2.62 (CI, 1.31-5.00), respectively - whereas individuals born in the 1960s and completing higher education had approximately 4 times the reference risk: a prevalence ratio of 3.76 (CI, 2.21-6.57). Conclusions Myopia is becoming more common in Europe; although education levels have increased and are associated with myopia, higher education seems to be an additive rather than explanatory factor. Increasing levels of myopia carry significant clinical and economic implications, with more people at risk of the sight-threatening complications associated with high myopia

Prevalence of refractive error in Europe: the European Eye Epidemiology (E3) Consortium

To estimate the prevalence of refractive error in adults across Europe. Refractive data (mean spherical equivalent) collected between 1990 and 2013 from fifteen population-based cohort and cross-sectional studies of the European Eye Epidemiology (E3) Consortium were combined in a random effects meta-analysis stratified by 5-year age intervals and gender. Participants were excluded if they were identified as having had cataract surgery, retinal detachment, refractive surgery or other factors that might influence refraction. Estimates of refractive error prevalence were obtained including the following classifications: myopia ≤−0.75 diopters (D), high myopia ≤−6D, hyperopia ≥1D and astigmatism ≥1D. Meta-analysis of refractive error was performed for 61,946 individuals from fifteen studies with median age ranging from 44 to 81 and minimal ethnic variation (98 % European ancestry). The age-standardised prevalences (using the 2010 European Standard Population, limited to those ≥25 and <90 years old) were: myopia 30.6 % [95 % confidence interval (CI) 30.4–30.9], high myopia 2.7 % (95 % CI 2.69–2.73), hyperopia 25.2 % (95 % CI 25.0–25.4) and astigmatism 23.9 % (95 % CI 23.7–24.1). Age-specific estimates revealed a high prevalence of myopia in younger participants [47.2 % (CI 41.8–52.5) in 25–29 years-olds]. Refractive error affects just over a half of European adults. The greatest burden of refractive error is due to myopia, with high prevalence rates in young adults. Using the 2010 European population estimates, we estimate there are 227.2 million people with myopia across Europe