Evaluation of Drip Applications and Foliar Sprays of the Biocontrol Product Actinovate on Powdery Mildew and Other Fungal Diseases of Tomato

The effectiveness of the biocontrol product Actinovate® at enhancing tomato plant growth and yield, and reducing the presence of fungal pathogens was studied in greenhouse and field conditions. In the greenhouse, no differences were found among seed germination or plant survival rates, seedling heights, dry root weights, and dry shoot weights of tomato seedlings grown from seeds drenched with Actinovate® or Rootshield®. The effects of one initial Actinovate® seed drench at sowing, repeated applications through the drip irrigation throughout the season, or repeated applications through the drip irrigation plus foliar applications throughout the season at reducing plant infection by fungal plant pathogens, and increasing yield and quality for tomato plants (Solanum lycopersicum) were investigated in Los Alamos, CA, on a sandy loam soil. No significant differences in plant height were found among the four treatments. Marketable fruit weight was greater in the drip plus foliar treatment than in the Actinovate® seed drench treatment. The foliar plus drip treatment resulted in the greatest amount of powdery mildew present, although the disease pressure was low. No significant differences were found among the four treatments in the presence of Verticillium wilt or Sclerotinia

Pedagogic practices and Vocational Education and Training: a study of growing small firms

From an examination of pedagogic practices and vocational education and training (VET) in three categories of growing small firms, the results indicate on-the-job training provided by owner/managers is the most prevalent training method regardless of growth category. The results also show the proportion of firms adopting formal pedagogic practices increases with enterprise growth. Although there is an increase in the proportion of firms using the widely recognised providers of accredited VET with firm growth, only the minority of lower growth firms use these providers. Again, there is a positive association between firm growth and the implementation of VET; however, less than half of the firms in the three growth categories provide apprenticeship training and traineeships. Taken together, the results demonstrate small business engagement in structured VET, particularly at the lower end of the growth continuum, is, at best, minimal

Changing management development initiatives with firm growth: a comparison of family and non-family small and medium-sized enterprises

Using data available from Australia’s Business Longitudinal Surveys, this study examines how management development initiatives in family and non-family small and medium-sized enterprizes (SME) change with business growth. The results show the adoption of formal management development initiatives increase with SME growth in family and non-family SMEs. This increased commitment of resources to management development suggests SMEs may be adopting a more ‘strategic’ approach to management development as they progress through growth development pathways. The study also revealed a greater significant difference between low and moderate than moderate and high growth SMEs, in the proportion of non-family enterprises that implement management development practices, suggesting the transition toward more formal management development begins early in the growth process. In contrast, significant differences between both low and moderate and moderate and high growth family SMEs suggest this transition is more evolutionary in family SMEs

X-ray properties of K-selected galaxies at 0.5<z<2.0: Investigating trends with stellar mass, redshift and spectral type

We examine how the total X-ray luminosity correlates with stellar mass, stellar population, and redshift for a K-band limited sample of ~3500 galaxies at 0.5<z<2.0 from the NEWFIRM Medium Band Survey in the COSMOS field. The galaxy sample is divided into 32 different galaxy types, based on similarities between the spectral energy distributions. For each galaxy type, we further divide the sample into bins of redshift and stellar mass, and perform an X-ray stacking analysis using the Chandra COSMOS (C-COSMOS) data. We find that full band X-ray luminosity is primarily increasing with stellar mass, and at similar mass and spectral type is higher at larger redshifts. When comparing at the same stellar mass, we find that the X-ray luminosity is slightly higher for younger galaxies (i.e., weaker 4000\AA breaks), but the scatter in this relation is large. We compare the observed X-ray luminosities to those expected from low and high mass X-ray binaries (XRBs). For blue galaxies, XRBs can almost fully account for the observed emission, while for older galaxies with larger 4000\AA breaks, active galactic nuclei (AGN) or hot gas dominate the measured X-ray flux. After correcting for XRBs, the X-ray luminosity is still slightly higher in younger galaxies, although this correlation is not significant. AGN appear to be a larger component of galaxy X-ray luminosity at earlier times, as the hardness ratio increases with redshift. Together with the slight increase in X-ray luminosity this may indicate more obscured AGNs or higher accretion rates at earlier times.Comment: 9 pages, 9 figures, ApJ accepte

Skeletal Muscle Tissue Saturation Changes Measured Using Near Infrared Spectroscopy During Exercise Are Associated With Post-Occlusive Reactive Hyperaemia

Measuring local haemodynamics in skeletal muscle has the potential to provide valuable insight into the oxygen delivery to tissue, especially during high demand situations such as exercise. The aim of this study was to compare the skeletal muscle microvascular response during post-occlusive reactive hyperaemia (PORH) with the response to exercise, each measured using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) and to establish if associations exist between muscle measures and exercise capacity or sex. Participants were from a population-based cohort study, the Southall and Brent Revisited (SABRE) study. Skeletal muscle measures included changes in tissue saturation index at the onset of exercise (∆TSIBL-INC) and across the whole of exercise (∆TSIBL-EE), time to 50%, 95% and 100% PORH, rate of PORH recovery, area under the curve (AUC) and total oxygenated Haemoglobin (oxy-Hb) change during PORH. Exercise capacity was measured using a 6-min stepper test (6MST). Analysis was by multiple linear regression. In total, 558 participants completed the 6MST with NIRS measures of TSI (mean age±SD: 73 ± 7years, 59% male). A sub-set of 149 participants also undertook the arterial occlusion. Time to 100% PORH, recovery rate, AUC and ∆oxy-Hb were all associated with ∆TSIBL-EE (β-coefficient (95%CI): 0.05 (0.01, 0.09), p = 0.012; -47 (-85, -9.9), p = 0.014; 1.7 (0.62, 2.8), p = 0.002; 0.04 (0.002.0.108), p = 0.041, respectively). Time to 95% & 100% PORH, AUC and ∆oxy-Hb were all associated with ∆TSIBL-INC (β-coefficient (95%CI): -0.07 (-0.12,-0.02), p = 0.02; -0.03 (-0.05, -0.003), p = 0.028; 0.85 (0.18, 1.5), p = 0.013 & 0.05 (0.02, 0.09), p = 0.001, respectively). AUC and ∆Oxy-Hb were associated with steps achieved (β-coefficient (95%CI): 18.0 (2.3, 33.7), p = 0.025; 0.86 (0.10, 1.6), p = 0.027). ∆TSIBL-EE was associated with steps and highest VO2 (1.7 (0.49, 2.9), p = 0.006; 7.7 (3.2, 12.3), p = 0.001). ∆TSIBL-INC was associated with steps and VO2 but this difference was attenuated towards the null after adjustment for age, sex and ethnicity. ∆TSIBL-EE was greater in women (3.4 (0.4, 8.9) versus 2.1 (0.3, 7.4), p = 0.017) and ∆TSIBL-INC was lower in women versus men (2.4 (0.2, 10.2) versus 3.2 (0.2, 18.2), p = 0.016). These Local microvascular NIRS-measures are associated with exercise capacity in older adults and several measures can detect differences in microvascular reactivity between a community-based sample of men and women

Beyond menstrual hygiene: addressing vaginal bleeding throughout the life course in low and middle-income countries.

Girls and women experience numerous types of vaginal bleeding. These include healthy reproductive processes, such as menstruation and bleeding after childbirth, but also bleeding related to health conditions, such as fibroids or cancer. In most societies, the management of menstruation is handled covertly, something girls are often instructed about at menarche. The management of other vaginal bleeding is often similarly discreet, although behaviours are not well documented. In many societies, cultural taboos frequently hinder open discussion around vaginal bleeding, restricting information and early access to healthcare. Additionally, the limited availability of clean, accessible water and sanitation facilities in many low and middle-income countries augments the challenges girls and women face in conducting daily activities while managing vaginal bleeding, including participating in school or work, going to the market or fetching water. This paper aims to highlight the key vaginal bleeding experiences throughout a woman's life course and the intersection of these bleeding experiences with their access to adequate water and sanitation facilities, information and education sources, and supplies. The aim is to address the silence around girls and women's vaginal bleeding and their related social, physical and clinical management needs across the life course; and highlight critical gaps that require attention in research, practice and policy around this neglected topic of health and gender equality

A Bare Molecular Cloud at \u3cem\u3ez\u3c/em\u3e ~ 0.45*

Several neutral species (Mg I, Si I, Ca I, Fe I) have been detected in a weak Mg II absorption line system (Wr (2796) ~ 0.15 Å) at z ~ 0.45 along the sightline toward HE0001-2340. These observations require extreme physical conditions, as noted in D\u27Odorico. We place further constraints on the properties of this system by running a wide grid of photoionization models, determining that the absorbing cloud that produces the neutral absorption is extremely dense (~100-1000 cm-3), cold (\u3c 100 K), and has significant molecular content (~72%-94%). Structures of this size and temperature have been detected in Milky Way CO surveys and have been predicted in hydrodynamic simulations of turbulent gas. In order to explain the observed line profiles in all neutral and singly ionized chemical transitions, the lines must suffer from unresolved saturation and/or the absorber must partially cover the broad emission line region of the background quasar. In addition to this highly unusual cloud, three other ordinary weak Mg II clouds (within densities of ~0.005 cm-3 and temperatures of ~10, 000 K) lie within 500 km s-1 along the same sightline. We suggest that the \u27\u27bare molecular cloud,\u27\u27 which appears to reside outside of a galaxy disk, may have had in situ star formation and may evolve into an ordinary weak Mg II absorbing cloud. Based on public data obtained from the ESO archive of observations from the UVES spectrograph at the VLT, Paranal, Chile