Effect of dissolved salt on the anomalies of water at negative pressure

Adding salt to water at ambient pressure affects its thermodynamic properties. At low salt concentration, anomalies such as the density maximum are shifted to lower temperature, while at large enough salt concentration they cannot be observed any more. Here we investigate the effect of salt on an anomaly recently observed in pure water at negative pressure: the existence of a sound velocity minimum along isochores. We compare experiments and simulations for an aqueous solution of sodium chloride with molality around $1.2\,\mathrm{mol\,kg^{-1}}$, reaching pressures beyond $-100\,\mathrm{MPa}$. We also discuss the origin of the minima in the sound velocity and emphasize the importance of the relative position of the temperatures of sound velocity and density anomalies.Comment: 10 pages, 13 figures, 1 appendix. Added minor simulation detail

Citrus of the world: a Citrus directory

De nombreuses classifications ont tenté de structurer le genre citrus qui constitue un groupe végétal complexe. L'importance des noms locaux, issus de la tradition orale, et plus récemment, l'apparition de dénominations commerciales augmentent encore le nombre des appellations. Cet annuaire représente une tentative d'identification et de standardisation du groupe. Il s'appuie sur la classification très détaillée du Japonais Tanaka, les équivalences avec celle de l'Américain Swingle sont données en annexes. Les tableaux indiquent pour chaque nom rencontré (nom local, appellation commerciale, variante orthographique...) son binôme latin et son nom standardisé. Un synthèse des appellations hybrides complète cet annuair

Estado fitosanitario del azafrán en Aragón (España): Insectos, ácaros, nematodos, virus, bacterias y malas hierbas

El azafrán cultivado en España está adquiriendo relevancia en las últimas décadas como producto de gran calidad, lo que requiere la selección de cormos, sus órganos reproductivos, sanos para la plantación con el objetivo de mantener un adecuado estado fitosanitario del cultivo. Este trabajo presenta un estudio del estado fitosanitario del azafrán en Teruel, donde el cultivo fue muy importante económica y socialmente. Además, este estudio pretende ser de utilidad para las zonas productoras con características agroclimáticas similares. Con dichos objetivos, se prospectaron 10 plantaciones comerciales de azafrán en 6 localidades del valle del Jiloca entre los años 2008 y 2011, estudiando la presencia de insectos, ácaros, nematodos, virus, bacterias y malas hierbas. El ácaro Rhizoglyphus robini, una de las plagas más importantes del azafrán, se detectó en los cormos y en el suelo en una parcela. También el nematodo Aphelenchoides blastophtorus, plaga en plantas ornamentales, se encontró abundantemente en cormos de dos parcelas. Se detectaron infecciones ocasionales de virus del género potyvirus en el cultivo y en la mala hierba Eruca vesicaria. Las malas hierbas Lolium rigidum y Descurainia sophia podrían causar serios problemas de competencia al cultivo y se considera necesario realizar operaciones de escarda en otoño y en invierno. No se detectaron insectos nocivos ni bacterias fitopatógenas. La multiplicación vegetativa del azafrán hace aconsejable realizar muestreos, especialmente en los cormos antes de ser replantados, para detectar la presencia de ácaros, nematodos y virus que podrían ocasionar pérdidas de producción y calidad. In the last decades, saffron produced in Spain is gaining relevance as a high-quality product, which requires the selection of healthy corms (the reproductive organ) for planting in order to maintain adequa-te phytosanitary status of the crop. In this work, the phytosanitary status of saffron was studied in Teruel (Aragón, Spain), where the crop has economic and social importance. Moreover, it aims to be useful for the production areas with similar agro-climatic characteristics. Ten commercial saffron plantations in six locations of the Jiloca valley have been surveyed between 2008 and 2011 and the presence of insects, mites, nematodes, virus, bacteria and weeds was studied. The mite Rhizoglyphus robini, one of the most important pests of saffron, was detected in both corms and soil in one plantation. The nematode Aphelenchoides blastophtorus, pest in ornamental plants, was also found in corms in two plantations. Potyvirus infections were occasionally detected in both the crop and in the weed Eruca vesicaria. The weeds Lolium rigidum and Descurainia sophia could cause diminutions of the yield by competition, therefore, weeding operations are necessary in autumn and winter. No harmful insects and phytopatogenic bacteria were detected. Because reproduction is only possible through corm propagation, it is advisable to analyse the plants, especially the corms, before being re-planted, in order to detect the presence of mites, nematodes and virus that could reduce yield and quality decreases

The Citrus Variety Improvement Program in Spain in the Period 1975-2001

The Citrus Variety Improvement Program in Spain (CVIPS) started in 1975. It has the following objectives: a) to recover pathogen-free plants of local cultivars by shoot-tip grafting in vitro (STG); b) to import foreign genotypes through a STG based quarantine procedure; c) to maintain healthy genotypes in a Germplasm Bank; and d) to release healthy budwood to citrus nurseries through a certification program. Plants recovered by STG are biologically indexed by inoculation to the following indicator plants: Mexican lime, Pineapple sweet orange, Dweet tangor, Citrus excelsa, Etrog citron, and Parson’s Special mandarin. In addition, they are indexed by sPAGE or imprint-hybridization for viroids, by RT-PCR for Citrus leaf blotch virus, by dsRNA analysis for viruses that produce dsRNA during their replication cycle, and by tissue print-ELISA for Citrus tristeza virus. Only healthy genotypes are included in the Germplasm Bank, which has a field collection used for research and horticultural evaluation, a cryo-stored collection for longterm maintenance, and a screen-house collection that is used to release budwood to nurseries. It contains a total of 428 genotypes, 237 selected in Spain and 191 imported from other countries, representing 43 Citrus species and 32 species from 17 Citrus-related genera. Release of healthy budwood from this program to nurseries started in 1979. At that time, there were only 10 registered nurseries, but in the last few years the number has now increased to 39. For commercial propagation all nurseries are using budwood from the Germplasm Bank. Since the beginning of the program, about 85 million certified nursery trees from this origin have been produced. This represents more than 70% of the Spanish citrus industry. The CVIPS has had a very high impact on the citrus industry. Virus and virus-like diseases do not currently induce any significant damage in the new plantings, and a wide selection of healthy material from the best varieties is available for growers

Collagen XIX Alpha 1 improves prognosis in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

The identification of more reliable diagnostic or prognostic biomarkers in age-related neurodegenerative diseases, such as Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), is urgently needed. The objective in this study was to identify more reliable prognostic biomarkers of ALS mirroring neurodegeneration that could be of help in clinical trials. A total of 268 participants from three cohorts were included in this study. The muscle and blood cohorts were analyzed in two cross-sectional studies, while the serial blood cohort was analyzed in a longitudinal study at 6-monthly intervals. Fifteen target genes and fourteen proteins involved in muscle physiology and differentiation, metabolic processes and neuromuscular junction dismantlement were studied in the three cohorts. In the muscle biopsy cohort, the risk for a higher mortality in an ALS patient that showed high Collagen type XIX, alpha 1 (COL19A1) protein levels and a fast progression of the disease was 70.5% (P < 0.05), while in the blood cohort, this risk was 20% (P < 0.01). In the serial blood cohort, the linear mixed model analysis showed a significant association between increasing COL19A1 gene levels along disease progression and a faster progression during the follow-up period of 24 months (P < 0.05). Additionally, higher COL19A1 levels and a faster progression increased 17.9% the mortality risk (P < 0.01). We provide new evidence that COL19A1 can be considered a prognostic biomarker that could help the selection of homogeneous groups of patients for upcoming clinical trial and may be pointed out as a promising therapeutic target in ALS

Effects of Standardized Ileal Digestible Threonine to Lysine Ratio on Growth Performance of PIC Line 337 × 1050 Pigs

The objective of this research was to evaluate the impact of varying SID Thr:Lys ratios on growth performance, removals, and mortality rates of late-nursery, grower, and finishing PIC 337 × 1050 pigs. In each experiment, pens of pigs were blocked by BW and randomly assigned to 1 of 5 dietary treatments in a randomized complete block design with 19 to 27 pigs per pen and 8, 7, and 7 replications per treatment in Exp. 1, 2, and 3, respectively. In Exp. 1, 987 pigs (initially 26.0 ± 0.70 lb) were used from 26 to 54 lb. In Exp. 2, 875 pigs (initially 95.5 ± 1.17 lb) were used from 95 to 155 lb. In Exp. 3, 824 pigs (initially 224.4 ± 1.85 lb) were used from 224 to 297 lb. Pens were randomly assigned to 1 of 5 dietary treatments with increasing SID Thr:Lys ratios at 53, 58, 62, 65, and 68% in Exp. 1 and 2, and 56.5, 60, 64, 68, and 72.5% in Exp. 3. Diets were corn-soybean meal-based. Diets with the lowest and highest Thr:Lys ratios were blended to achieve the target SID Thr:Lys treatments in each experiment. Between experiments, all pens of pigs were placed on a common diet for 23 (Exp. 1 and 2) and 32 d (Exp. 2 and 3) to provide opportunity for compensatory growth prior to initiation of the next experiment. In Exp. 1 (26 to 54 lb), ADG and final BW increased linearly (P ≤ 0.006) while ADFI, Thr intake/d, and Thr intake/kg of gain increased quadratically (P ≤ 0.001). Overall, F/G improved (quadratic, P ≤ 0.001) as Thr:Lys ratio increased. Additionally, Lys intake/d increased (quadratic, P \u3c 0.001) while Lys intake/ kg of gain decreased (quadratic, P\u3c 0.001) with increasing Thr:Lys ratio. The quadratic polynomial (QP) model predicted greater than 68% SID Thr:Lys was required for ADG from 26 to 54 lb, while a QP model suggested that minimum F/G was achieved at 62.1% SID Thr:Lys. In Exp. 2 (95 to 155 lb), ADG, final BW, Thr intake/d, and Thr intake/kg of gain increased (linear, P ≤ 0.05) and F/G improved (linear, P = 0.030) as dietary Thr:Lys increased. Moreover, Lys intake/kg of gain decreased (linear, P = 0.023) with increasing Thr:Lys ratio. For model analysis, QP models suggested optimum ADG and F/G were achieved at levels greater than 68% SID Thr:Lys. However, similar fitting broken-line quadratic (BLQ) and broken-line linear (BLL) models predicted no further improvement to F/G and ADG beyond 61 and 67% SID Thr:Lys, respectively. In Exp. 3 (224 to 297 lb), increasing SID Thr:Lys increased (linear, P ≤ 0.001) Thr intake/d and Thr intake/kg of gain. In addition, increasing SID Thr:Lys ratios tended (P ≤ 0.086) to quadratically increase (P≤ 0.086) ADFI and BW of pigs at the second marketing event. However, no other response criteria were impacted (P ≥ 0.10) by dietary Thr:Lys. Due to a lack of ADG and F/G responses, prediction models were not developed. In summary, these results suggest the optimal SID Thr:Lys level for 26- to 54-lb pigs is 62.1% for feed efficiency and greater than 68% for ADG. From 95 to 155 lb, the requirement was predicted at or above 61 and 67% SID Thr:Lys for F/G and ADG, respectively. However, with the variation in response criteria in Exp. 3 (224 to 297 lb), we were unable to statistically define a requirement estimate

Effects of Standardized Ileal Digestible Tryptophan to Lysine Ratio on Growth Performance of PIC Line 337 × 1050 Pigs

The objective of these experiments was to evaluate the impact of varying SID Trp:Lys ratios on growth performance, removals, and mortality rates of PIC 337 × 1050 finishing pigs. In each experiment, pens of pigs were blocked by BW and randomly assigned to 1 of 5 dietary treatments in a randomized complete block design with 22 to 27 pigs per pen and 6 or 7 replications per treatment. In Exp. 1, 840 pigs (initially 101.2 ± 2.08 lb) were used from 101 to 161 lb. In Exp. 2, 801 pigs (initially 219.8 ± 3.44 lb) were used from 220 to 281 lb. Dietary treatments were corn-soybean meal-based with 30 or 20% DDGS (Exp. 1 and 2, respectively) and contained increasing SID Trp:Lys ratios at 15, 17.5, 19, 21, and 23%. Diets containing low and high Trp:Lys ratios were blended to achieve the target SID Trp:Lys treatment levels in Exp. 1, while diets containing low, medium, and high Trp:Lys ratios were blended to achieve the target SID Trp:Lys treatment levels in Exp. 2. Between experiments, all pens of pigs were placed on a common diet for 27 d and pens were reallotted to dietary treatment at the start of Exp. 2. In Exp. 1, increasing the SID Trp:Lys ratio increased (quadratic, P ≤ 0.008) ADG, ADFI, and final BW and improved (quadratic, P = 0.007) F/G. As expected, increasing SID Trp:Lys increased (linear, P \u3c 0.001) Trp intake, g/d. In addition, Trp intake per kg of gain and Lys intake/d increased (quadratic, P ≤ 0.009), while Lys intake per kg of gain decreased (quadratic, P = 0.008) with increasing SID Trp:Lys ratio. There was no difference between Trp:Lys ratios on the percentage of removals, mortalities, or total removals (P \u3e 0.10). For model analysis in 101- to 161-lb pigs, the developed broken-line linear models suggested no further improvement to ADG and F/G beyond 19.0 and 19.3% SID Trp:Lys, respectively. Meanwhile, a similar fitting quadratic polynomial (QP) model suggested minimum F/G was achieved at 21.5% SID Trp:Lys. In Exp. 2, increasing the SID Trp:Lys ratio increased (linear, P ≤ 0.001) Trp intake and Trp intake per kg of gain (quadratic, P = 0.050). However, no other observed response criteria were significantly impacted (P≥ 0.10). Models to predict optimal Trp:Lys ratios were not analyzed for 220- to 281-lb pigs due to the lack of observed differences for ADG and F/G. In summary, these results suggest the optimal SID Trp:Lys level for 101- to 161-lb pigs was predicted at or above 19.0 and 19.3% SID Trp:Lys for ADG and F/G, respectively. With the variation in response criteria observed in Exp. 2 (220 to 281 lb), we were unable to statistically define a requirement estimate