Promoting lateral bud growth in sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) : comparing the foliar application of synthetic phytohormone and coconut water

Sweet potato (Ipomea batatas) is an important crop grown worldwide with a rising interest in production in Europe and Sweden. Swedish producers are looking for ways to grow the crop but are facing problems because of low-quality slips from import which leads to a non-profitable production. This inadequate supply becomes a bottleneck for Swedish farmers. A Swedish propagation of slips would be beneficial to Swedish growers but in order to make such a production effective a solution to break the sweet potato's strong apical dominance is needed. Apical dominance is mainly controlled by auxin supply from the apical meristem. Cytokinin is a phytohormone that promotes lateral bud growth and can therefore also be used to aid the breaking of apical dominance. Although a lot is known about apical dominance there are a lot of unknown factors playing into how it is truly controlled. Coconut water (CW) is a natural, safe and organic biostimulant with enough phytohormones to affect other plants. An experiment was conducted where cuttings of sweet potato rooted in pumice stone and sprayed with a synthetic cytokinin (BAP) or a 20% dilution of CW in order to stimulate lateral bud growth. A control group without any treatment was also made. Every cutting in the experiment had its apex bud removed in order to cut off the main auxin supply. The results showed a 27% higher rate of stimulated lateral buds with BAP treatment and a 20% higher rate with the CW treatment compared to the cuttings without any treatment. The study is too small to prove a correlation but it’s enough to show an indication that these biostimulants might stimulate later bud growth. This indication can be used to motivate a study on a bigger scale

Contextualising the microbiota–gut–brain axis in history and culture

No abstract available

A molecular theory for two-photon and three-photon fluorescence polarization

In the analysis of molecular structure and local order in heterogeneous samples, multiphoton excitation of fluorescence affords chemically specific information and high-resolution imaging. This report presents the results of an investigation that secures a detailed theoretical representation of the fluorescence polarization produced by one-, two-, and three-photon excitations, with orientational averaging procedures being deployed to deliver the fully disordered limits. The equations determining multiphoton fluorescence response prove to be expressible in a relatively simple, generic form, and graphs exhibit the functional form of the multiphoton fluorescence polarization. Amongst other features, the results lead to the identification of a condition under which the fluorescence produced through the concerted absorption of any number of photons becomes completely unpolarized. It is also shown that the angular variation of fluorescence intensities is reliable indicator of orientational disorder

Postprandial Symptoms in Patients With Functional Dyspepsia and Irritable Bowel Syndrome: Relations to Ultrasound Measurements and Psychological Factors

Background/Aims Dyspeptic symptoms are common in patients with functional gastrointestinal (GI) disorders, and may be related to visceral hypersensitivity. We aim to explore the relation between visceral hypersensitivity by using an ultrasonographic meal test and questionnaires in patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and/or functional dyspepsia (FD). Methods Patients (FD, n = 94; IBS, n = 88; IBS + FD, n = 66, healthy controls [HC], n = 30) were recruited consecutively and examined with ultrasound of the proximal and distal stomach after drinking 500 mL of a low caloric meat soup, and scored dyspeptic symptoms on a visual analogue scale (0–100 mm) before and after the meal. Psychological symptoms were assessed by Visceral Sensitivity Index (GI specific anxiety, n = 58), and Eysenck’s Personality Questionnaire-neuroticism (EPQ-N, n = 203). Results Patients with IBS and/or FD reported higher levels of nausea, upper GI discomfort, and epigastric pain both before and after a liquid meal compared to HC (P < 0.001), and had a larger antral area in a fasting state, compared to HC. We found impaired accommodation in 33% of the patients with FD, however ultrasound measurements and symptom severity did not correlate. Symptoms of epigastric pain, fullness and upper GI discomfort positively correlated to Visceral Sensitivity Index and EPQ-N in a fasting state, but not postprandially. Conclusions Nausea, upper GI discomfort, and epigastric pain was common in patients with IBS and FD. Both patient groups had enlarged antral area in a fasting state compared to HC. Discomfort and pain were associated to GI specific anxiety and neuroticism in a fasting statepublishedVersio

Long-Term Prognostic Value of ST-Segment Resolution in Patients Treated With Fibrinolysis or Primary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention Results From the DANAMI-2 (DANish trial in Acute Myocardial Infarction-2)

ObjectivesThe purpose of this study was to determine the prognostic value of ST-segment resolution after primary percutaneous coronary intervention (pPCI) versus fibrinolysis.BackgroundResolution of the ST-segment has been used as a surrogate end point in trials evaluating reperfusion in acute myocardial infarction; however, its prognostic significance may be limited to patients treated with fibrinolysis.MethodsIn the DANAMI-2 (DANish trial in Acute Myocardial Infarction-2) substudy, including 1,421 patients, the ST-segment elevation at baseline, pre-intervention, 90 min, and 4 h was assessed. The ST-segment resolution was grouped as follows: 1) complete ≥70%; 2) partial 30% to <70%; and 3) no resolution <30%. End points were 30-day and long-term mortality and reinfarction.ResultsThe ST-segment resolution at 90 min was more pronounced after pPCI (median 60% vs. 45%, p < 0.0001), and a catch-up phenomenon was observed at 4 h. In the fibrinolysis group, 30-day and long-term mortality rates were significantly higher among patients without ST-segment resolution, whereas reinfarction rates were higher with complete ST-segment resolution. The ST-segment resolution was not associated with the 2 end points in the pPCI group. By multivariate analysis, ST-segment resolution at 4 h was an independent predictor of lower mortality, but higher reinfarction rates among patients receiving fibrinolytic therapy.ConclusionsThe ST-segment resolution at 90 min was more complete after pPCI, suggesting better epicardial and microvascular reperfusion, whereas no difference between treatment strategies was seen at 4 h. The ST-segment resolution at 4 h correlated with decreased mortality, but increased reinfarction rates among patients receiving fibrinolytic therapy, whereas no association was seen for patients receiving pPCI. Consequently, 4-h ST-segment resolution remains an important prognosticator after fibrinolysis, but may be overemphasized as a surrogate end point after pPCI

«The mausoleum, the wax house»: Dødspoetikk og bie-topos i Sylvia Plaths bie-dikt

Artikkelen nærleser den såkalte bie-sekvensen i Sylvia Plaths diktsamling Ariel (1965) bestående av dikt om bier og birøkt («The Bee Meeting», «The Arrival of the Bee Box», «Stings», og «Wintering»). Jeg vil vise hvordan bie-diktene sentrerer seg rundt det som kan kalles en poetologisk urscene, og som tar preg av en beholder-metaforikk. Denne urscenen kjennetegnes av dobbeltheten i liv og død, og figureres som både utklekningssted og likkiste. Artikkelen vil lese Plaths bie-dikt i lys av den lange tradisjonen for å se på bier som metafor på diktning (bie-toposet), noe som hittil bare er blitt gjort i beskjeden og usystematisk grad.publishedVersio