Determination of Apomictic Fruit Set Ratio in Several Romanian Walnut (Juglans regia L.) Cultivars

carried out to determine the ability of apomictic fruit setting in twelve Romanian walnut cultivars. ‘Sibisel 44’, ‘Geoagiu 65’, ‘Germisara’, ‘Muscelean’, ‘Sarmis’, ‘Valcor’, ‘Valmit’, ‘Valrex’, ‘Jupanesti’, ‘Velnita’, ‘Orastie’ and ‘Argesean’ cultivars were used in the experiment. Female flowers were isolated with pergament paper bags and the apomictic fruit set was determined 8 weeks after anthesis. The apomixis degree was determined as the number of fruit calculated in relation to the number of isolated flowers. The percentage of apomictic fruit set without pollination in cultivars analyzed is low, ranging from 7.86% (‘Orastie’ cultivar) up to 12.46% (‘Jupanesti’ cultivar). The results indicated that apomictic fruit set is insufficient for economical seed and crop production in these Romanian walnut cultivars

BEHAVIOUR OF SOME WALNUT, HAZELNUT AND SWEET CHESTNUT CULTIVARS UNDER THE ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS FROM SOUTH OF ROMANIA

The nut crops are important for their valuable fruits and for their potential to increase the economic growth of Romania. The Southern part of Romania which includes the regions of Oltenia and Muntenia is known for its favourable conditions for fruit growing and in particular for nut crops like walnut, hazelnut and sweet chestnut. During the last two decades at University of Craiova - SCDP Vâlcea several cultivars trials were set up in order to compare the Romanian and foreign cultivars and to establish the most favourable ones for culture in this part of the country. This study presents the behaviour of 19 walnut cultivars (9 Romanian ones and 10 of foreignorigin), 19 hazelnut cultivars (8 Romanian and 11 foreign ones) and 11 cultivars and hybrids of sweet chestnut (3 Romanian and 8 of foreign origin). Due to the results obtained several cultivars of walnut, hazelnut and sweet chestnut are recommended to be propagated and planted into the orchards from southern part of Romania

Phenolics of Green Husk in Mature Walnut Fruits

Qualitative and quantitative determinations of phenolic compounds were carried out on green husk (mesocarp) of mature walnut fruits collected in September of five walnut (Juglans regia L.) cultivars ('Germisara', 'Jupanesti', 'Franquette', 'Vina', 'Valcor') grown in an uniform agroclimatic condition. Six compounds (ferulic acid, vanillic acid, coumaric acid, syringic acid, myricetin and juglone) were identified in all the cultivars by using reverse phase-high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC-RP)

PARTICULARITIES REGARDING THE EXECUTION OF THINNINGS IN TURKEY OAK AND HUNGARIAN OAK STANDS FROM SOUTHERN ROMANIA

The study reveals the results of undertaken research concerning the Hungarian oak and Turkey oak stands in southern Romania, which capture the structural changes following the execution of thinnings in this type of stands. The obtained results, having a great practicability, show that the present structure of the studied stands is far from the optimal one, established in relation to the set type of management objective and their functions. The study also highlights the importance of systematic covering of stands with thinnings and respecting their cycle. In the end, the study gives practical recommendations concerning the mode of intervention (in thinnings execution), consisting of choosing the trees to be extracted in order to improve the stands structure, growth and quality and their functional effectiveness, as well as directing their present composition towards the target composition

Effect of aliskiren on post-discharge outcomes among diabetic and non-diabetic patients hospitalized for heart failure: insights from the ASTRONAUT trial

Aims The objective of the Aliskiren Trial on Acute Heart Failure Outcomes (ASTRONAUT) was to determine whether aliskiren, a direct renin inhibitor, would improve post-discharge outcomes in patients with hospitalization for heart failure (HHF) with reduced ejection fraction. Pre-specified subgroup analyses suggested potential heterogeneity in post-discharge outcomes with aliskiren in patients with and without baseline diabetes mellitus (DM). Methods and results ASTRONAUT included 953 patients without DM (aliskiren 489; placebo 464) and 662 patients with DM (aliskiren 319; placebo 343) (as reported by study investigators). Study endpoints included the first occurrence of cardiovascular death or HHF within 6 and 12 months, all-cause death within 6 and 12 months, and change from baseline in N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) at 1, 6, and 12 months. Data regarding risk of hyperkalaemia, renal impairment, and hypotension, and changes in additional serum biomarkers were collected. The effect of aliskiren on cardiovascular death or HHF within 6 months (primary endpoint) did not significantly differ by baseline DM status (P = 0.08 for interaction), but reached statistical significance at 12 months (non-DM: HR: 0.80, 95% CI: 0.64-0.99; DM: HR: 1.16, 95% CI: 0.91-1.47; P = 0.03 for interaction). Risk of 12-month all-cause death with aliskiren significantly differed by the presence of baseline DM (non-DM: HR: 0.69, 95% CI: 0.50-0.94; DM: HR: 1.64, 95% CI: 1.15-2.33; P < 0.01 for interaction). Among non-diabetics, aliskiren significantly reduced NT-proBNP through 6 months and plasma troponin I and aldosterone through 12 months, as compared to placebo. Among diabetic patients, aliskiren reduced plasma troponin I and aldosterone relative to placebo through 1 month only. There was a trend towards differing risk of post-baseline potassium ≥6 mmol/L with aliskiren by underlying DM status (non-DM: HR: 1.17, 95% CI: 0.71-1.93; DM: HR: 2.39, 95% CI: 1.30-4.42; P = 0.07 for interaction). Conclusion This pre-specified subgroup analysis from the ASTRONAUT trial generates the hypothesis that the addition of aliskiren to standard HHF therapy in non-diabetic patients is generally well-tolerated and improves post-discharge outcomes and biomarker profiles. In contrast, diabetic patients receiving aliskiren appear to have worse post-discharge outcomes. Future prospective investigations are needed to confirm potential benefits of renin inhibition in a large cohort of HHF patients without D

A global action agenda for turning the tide on fatty liver disease

Background and Aims: Fatty liver disease is a major public health threat due to its very high prevalence and related morbidity and mortality. Focused and dedicated interventions are urgently needed to target disease prevention, treatment, and care. Approach and Results: We developed an aligned, prioritized action agenda for the global fatty liver disease community of practice. Following a Delphi methodology over 2 rounds, a large panel (R1 n = 344, R2 n = 288) reviewed the action priorities using Qualtrics XM, indicating agreement using a 4-point Likert-scale and providing written feedback. Priorities were revised between rounds, and in R2, panelists also ranked the priorities within 6 domains: epidemiology, treatment and care, models of care, education and awareness, patient and community perspectives, and leadership and public health policy. The consensus fatty liver disease action agenda encompasses 29 priorities. In R2, the mean percentage of “agree” responses was 82.4%, with all individual priorities having at least a super-majority of agreement (> 66.7% “agree”). The highest-ranked action priorities included collaboration between liver specialists and primary care doctors on early diagnosis, action to address the needs of people living with multiple morbidities, and the incorporation of fatty liver disease into relevant non-communicable disease strategies and guidance. Conclusions: This consensus-driven multidisciplinary fatty liver disease action agenda developed by care providers, clinical researchers, and public health and policy experts provides a path to reduce the prevalence of fatty liver disease and improve health outcomes. To implement this agenda, concerted efforts will be needed at the global, regional, and national levels.publishedVersio

Differential cross section measurements for the production of a W boson in association with jets in proton–proton collisions at √s = 7 TeV

Measurements are reported of differential cross sections for the production of a W boson, which decays into a muon and a neutrino, in association with jets, as a function of several variables, including the transverse momenta (pT) and pseudorapidities of the four leading jets, the scalar sum of jet transverse momenta (HT), and the difference in azimuthal angle between the directions of each jet and the muon. The data sample of pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV was collected with the CMS detector at the LHC and corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 5.0 fb[superscript −1]. The measured cross sections are compared to predictions from Monte Carlo generators, MadGraph + pythia and sherpa, and to next-to-leading-order calculations from BlackHat + sherpa. The differential cross sections are found to be in agreement with the predictions, apart from the pT distributions of the leading jets at high pT values, the distributions of the HT at high-HT and low jet multiplicity, and the distribution of the difference in azimuthal angle between the leading jet and the muon at low values.United States. Dept. of EnergyNational Science Foundation (U.S.)Alfred P. Sloan Foundatio

Juxtaposing BTE and ATE – on the role of the European insurance industry in funding civil litigation

One of the ways in which legal services are financed, and indeed shaped, is through private insurance arrangement. Two contrasting types of legal expenses insurance contracts (LEI) seem to dominate in Europe: before the event (BTE) and after the event (ATE) legal expenses insurance. Notwithstanding institutional differences between different legal systems, BTE and ATE insurance arrangements may be instrumental if government policy is geared towards strengthening a market-oriented system of financing access to justice for individuals and business. At the same time, emphasizing the role of a private industry as a keeper of the gates to justice raises issues of accountability and transparency, not readily reconcilable with demands of competition. Moreover, multiple actors (clients, lawyers, courts, insurers) are involved, causing behavioural dynamics which are not easily predicted or influenced. Against this background, this paper looks into BTE and ATE arrangements by analysing the particularities of BTE and ATE arrangements currently available in some European jurisdictions and by painting a picture of their respective markets and legal contexts. This allows for some reflection on the performance of BTE and ATE providers as both financiers and keepers. Two issues emerge from the analysis that are worthy of some further reflection. Firstly, there is the problematic long-term sustainability of some ATE products. Secondly, the challenges faced by policymakers that would like to nudge consumers into voluntarily taking out BTE LEI

Penilaian Kinerja Keuangan Koperasi di Kabupaten Pelalawan

This paper describe development and financial performance of cooperative in District Pelalawan among 2007 - 2008. Studies on primary and secondary cooperative in 12 sub-districts. Method in this stady use performance measuring of productivity, efficiency, growth, liquidity, and solvability of cooperative. Productivity of cooperative in Pelalawan was highly but efficiency still low. Profit and income were highly, even liquidity of cooperative very high, and solvability was good