Efficiency of Rz-1 based rhizomania resistance and molecular studies on BNYVV isolates from sugar beet cultivation in Geece

A survey was carried out to investigate the current situation concerning rhizomania disease incidence in sugar beet cultivation of Greece. A systematic field evaluation over locations and years revealed a consistent disease severity pattern according to favourable agroclimatic conditions and pointed to the so far effectiveness of the Rz1 gene-based resistance, as no major disease outbreaks were observed. Molecular analyses aiming at the characterization of the type and genetic diversity of the virus further confirmed the widespread occurrence of BNYVV in the country, as evidenced by RT-PCR amplification of all five known genomic molecules and nested-PCR assays. None of the isolates contained an RNA 5, typically found in pathotype P. On the basis of RFLP patterns, all BNYVV isolates analysed were classified as pathotype A. Sequence determination of the full-length RNA 3-encoded p25 protein, responsible for symptom development, revealed amino acid motifs ACHG/VCHG in the hypervariable region aa67–70. The presence of valine in position 67 did not appear associated with increased pathogenicity and resistance breaking properties, as earlier reported

Detection of beet soil-borne virus and beet virus Q in sugarbeet in Greece

Sugar beet plants with typical rhizomania symptoms were collected from the five major cultivation zones of Greece. The presence of Beet necrotic yellow vein virus (BNYVV), the primary causal agent of the disease, was ascertained by DAS-ELISA in 38 out of 40 fields surveyed and the positive samples were subsequently examined for the presence of other soil-borne viruses which are frequently associated with rhizomania, using a multiplex RT-PCR assay targeting BNYVV, Beet soilborne virus (BSBV) and Beet virus Q (BVQ). The occurrence of BSBV and BVQ was confirmed in 9 and 23 rhizomania-infected fields, respectively. In contrast to surveys conducted in other countries, the presence of BVQ prevailed throughout Greece in dual infections with BNYVV, whereas BSBV was restricted to rhizomania-infected fields from only two sugarbeet cultivation areas. Nine of the samples tested were infected with all three viruses. BSBV was always found in triple infections. To our knowledge, this is the first report of BSBV and BVQ in Greece. The future assessment of the impact of each of these viruses on sugarbeet could prove significant for bleeding objectives in terms of achieving a more durable resistance to the rhizomania syndrome

Local strategies for glocal challenges. Comparing policing agendas in Amsterdam and Rotterdam

In this chapter we analyze the politics of policing, with a specific focus on policing agendas in the two largest cities in The Netherlands: Amsterdam and Rotterdam. Both metropolises are considered metropolises facing ‘glocal’ challenges related to multicultural populations in urban areas, social inequalities in terms of household income, international harbors, crime and disorder. The term ‘glocal’ refers to the interlinkages between global challenges and local communities. In order to get an understanding of the tendencies towards divergence and convergence in urban policing in the metropolises under study we start with a summary of general trends in policing in the Netherlands in the second section. In the third section national, regional and local governmental constitutional arrangements, discretionary powers and public police management are presented. The remainder of the chapter compares and contrasts policing agendas in Amsterdam and Rotterdam and concludes with an overview of their regimes and possible explanations for convergence and divergence in the politics of policing in these metropolises. The search for the regimes in the background of policing agendas in these two embedded case studies reveals both convergence and divergence towards the national agenda and between the agendas in both metropolises. Possible explanations for these trends could be found in the political ‘circuits of power’ (Devroe, Edwards, Ponsaers, this volume) of the municipal ruling coalition and in wider institutional arrangements in place

Mutant CALR functions: gains and losses.

In this issue of Blood, Shide et al separate the roles of loss of a normal CALR allele and gain of a mutant CALR allele in CALR-driven essential thrombocythemia (ET)

Highly efficient, dual state emission from an organic semiconductor

We report highly efficient, simultaneous fluorescence and phosphorescence (74% yield) at room temperature from a single molecule ensemble of (BzP)PB dispersed into a polymer host. The slow phosphorescence (208 ms lifetime) is very efficient (50%) at room temperature and only possible because the non-radiative rate for the triplet state is extremely low. The ability of an organic molecule to function as an efficient dual state emitter at room temperature is unusual and opens new fields of applications including the use as broadband down-conversion emitters, optical sensors and attenuators, exciton probes, and spin-independent intermediates for F\"orster resonant energy transfer