Necrosis in grapevine buds (Vitis vinifera cv. Queen of Vineyard) I. Relation to vegetative vigor1)

A study on the occurrence, development and nature of necrotic buds on shoots of the Queen of Vineyard grape cultivar was carried out in the continental Jordan Valley in Israel. A vigorous vineyard having an abundance of necrotic buds and a moderately growing one with few necrotic buds were chosen.Necrosis of the central bud in the Queen of Vineyard winter buds occurred only in the vigorous vineyard. The number of necrotic dry buds was particularly high at nodes 2-3 on the shoot and decreased progressively up to the 7th node above which necrotic buds were not observed. Drying of the central bud occurred over a short period, 15-20 d after bloom. It started with the appearance of a necrotic layer at one of the basal nodes of the central bud which caused a rapid degeneration of the tissues above this layer. A negative correlation was found between the fruiting potential of winter buds and the development of a necrotic layer. The possible relation between vigor, gibberellins and bud necrosis is discussed.Knospennekrosen bei der Rebsorte Queen of Vineyard (Vitis vinifera)I. Beziehung zur vegetativen WüchsigkeitIm binnenländischen Jordantal in Israel wurde eine Untersuchung über Auftreten, Entwicklung und Art von Knospennekrosen an den Trieben der Rebsorte Queen of Vineyard durchgeführt. Hierzu wurden ein wüchsiger Weinberg, in dem nekrotische Knospen gehäuft vorkamen, und ein Weinberg von mittlerer Wüchsigkeit mit wenigen nekrotischen Knospen ausgewählt. In den Winterknospen von Queen of Vineyard trat eine Nekrose der Mittelknospe nur in der wüchsigen Rebanlage auf. Die Anzahl vertrockneter nekrotischer Knospen war besonders hoch an den Knoten 2-3 der Triebe; sie ging stetig zurück bis zum 7. Knoten; darüber wurden keine nekrotischen Knospen mehr beobachtet. Die Austrocknung der Mittelknospe erfolgte nur während einer kurzen Phase, 15-20 d nach der Blüte. Sie begann mit dem Auftreten einer nekrotischen Schicht an einem der basalen Knoten der Mittelknospe, wodurch die darüberliegenden Gewebe rasch degenerierten. Zwischen der potentiellen Fruchtbarkeit der Winterknospen und der Entwicklung einer nekrotischen Schicht wurde eine negative Korrelation gefunden. Die mögliche Beziehung zwischen Wüchsigkeit, Gibberellingehalt und Nekrosenhäufigkeit wird diskutiert

Necrosis in grapevine buds (Vitis vinifera cv. Queen of Vineyard) II. Effect of gibberellic acid (GA3) application

The effect of gibberellic acid application on the development of necrosis in cv. Queen of Vineyard grapevine buds was studied. GA3 caused the development of a necrotic layer at the base of the central bud and promoted the development of the  axillary buds. GA3 application to leaves caused necrosis in the buds more readily than direct application to the buds. GA3 fed to the petiole was 100 times more active in inducing necrosis than leaf application. Only developing and relatively young buds were sensitive to GA3. A minimum of 6 X 10-6 mg GA3 in the bud was needed to cause bud necrosis. During the period from 1 week before to 3 weeks after bloom, the movement of GA3 in the grape shoot was acropetal. The possible involvement of gibberellins in the natural necrosis of buds on vigorous grapevines is discussed.Knospennekrosen bei der Rebsorte Queen of Vineyard (Vitis vinifera)II. Einfluß der Gibberellinsäure- (GA3)BehandlungBei der Sorte Queen of Vineyard wurde der Einfluß der GA3-Behandlung auf die Entwicklung von Knospennekrosen untersucht. GA3 bewirkte die Ausbildung einer nekrotischen Gewebeschicht an der Basis der Mittelknospe und förderte die Entwicklung der Axillarknospen. Durch GA3-Behandlung der Blätter ließen sich leichter Knospennekrosen auslösen als durch direkte Behandlung der Knospen. Wurde GA3 über den Blattstiel zugeführt, so war seine Nekrosen induzierende Wirkung 100mal stärker als bei Behandlung der Blattspreite. Nur sich entwickelnde und relativ junge Knospen waren gegen GA3 sensibel. Um eine Knospennekrose auszulösen, mußten in den Knospen mindestens 6 X 10-6 mg GA3 vorliegen. Zwischen 1 Woche vor und 3 Wochen nach der Blüte erfolgte die Bewegung des GA3in den Rebentrieben akropetal. Die mögliche Beteiligung von Gibberellinen am natürlichen Auftreten von Knospennekrosen bei wüchsigen Reben wird diskutiert

Erosionabilidad del suelo a lo largo del gradiente climático Coll de Rates - Benidorm, Alicante

[Resumen] Se estudia la influencia del clima sobre la erosionabilidad de los suelos mediante la cuantificación de la estabilidad de los agregados por medio del test de Emerson, por impactos de gotas (CNO y TOI) y por ultrasonidos (UD) a lo largo del gradiente climático Coll de Rates-Benidorm. En todos los suelos estudiados la estabilidad de los agregados es muy elevada, lo que hace difícil encontrar diferencias apreciables entre zonas de estudio. Las distintas historias de uso del suelo (incendios, pastoreo, explotación de la biomasa, etc.) ha dado lugar a la inexistencia de la influencia del clima sobre la erosionabilidad de los suelos.[Abstract] The influence of climate on soil erodibility is studied by means of aggregate stability measurements with the Emerson, drop impacts· (CNO y TOI) and ultrasound (UD) tests along the Coll de Rates-Benidorm climatological gradient. The soils have a very high aggregate stability, and this is the reason why there are not clear differences between study zones. The different past land uses (forest fire, grazing, wood exploitation, etc./) have induced the non existence of the influence of climate on soil erodibility

Effects of habitat and livestock on nest productivity of the Asian houbara Chlamydotis macqueenii in Bukhara Province, Uzbekistan

To inform population support measures for the unsustainably hunted Asian houbara Chlamydotis macqueenii (IUCN Vulnerable) we examined potential habitat and land-use effects on nest productivity in the Kyzylkum Desert, Uzbekistan. We monitored 177 nests across different semi-arid shrub assemblages (clay-sand and salinity gradients) and a range of livestock densities (0–80 km-2). Nest success (mean 51.4%, 95% CI 42.4–60.4%) was similar across four years; predation caused 85% of those failures for which the cause was known, and only three nests were trampled by livestock. Nesting begins within a few weeks of arrival when food appears scarce, but later nests were more likely to fail owing to the emergence of a key predator, suggesting foraging conditions on wintering and passage sites may be important for nest productivity. Nest success was similar across three shrub assemblages and was unrelated to landscape rugosity, shrub frequency or livestock density, but was greater with taller mean shrub height (range 13–67 cm) within 50 m. Clutch size (mean = 3.2 eggs) and per-egg hatchability in successful nests (87.5%) did not differ with laying date, shrub assemblage or livestock density. We therefore found no evidence that livestock density reduced nest productivity across the range examined, while differing shrub assemblages appeared to offer similar habitat quality. Asian houbara appear well-adapted to a range of semi-desert habitats and tolerate moderate disturbance by pastoralism. No obvious in situ mitigation measures arise from these findings, leaving regulation and control as the key requirement to render hunting sustainable

The effects of applied water at various fractions of measured evapotranspiration on reproductive growth and water productivity of Thompson Seedless grapevines

The reproductive growth and water productivity (WPb) of Thompson Seedless grapevines were measured as a function of applied water amounts at various fractions of measured grapevine ETc for a total of eight irrigation treatments. Shoots were harvested numerous times during the growing season to calculate water productivity. Berry weight was maximized at the 0.6–0.8 applied water treatments across years. As applied water amounts increased soluble solids decreased. Berry weight measured at veraison and harvest was a linear function of the mean midday leaf water potential measured between anthesis and veraison and anthesis and harvest, respectively. As applied water amounts increased up to the 0.6–0.8 irrigation treatments there was a significant linear increase in yield. Yields at greater applied water amounts either leveled off or decreased. The reduction in yield on either side of the yearly maximum was due to fewer numbers of clusters per vine. Maximum yield occurred at an ETc ranging from 550 to 700 mm. Yield per unit applied water and WPb increased as applied water decreased. The results from this study demonstrated that Thompson Seedless grapevines can be deficit irrigated, increasing water use efficiency while maximizing yields

Just married: the synergy between feminist criminology and the Tripartite Cybercrime Framework

This article is a theoretical treatment of feminist epistemology of crime, which advocates the centrality of gender as a theoretical starting point for the investigating of digital crimes. It does so by exploring the synergy between the feminist perspectives and the Tripartite Cybercrime Framework (TCF) (which argues that three possible factors motivate cybercrimes – socioeconomic, psychosocial, and geopolitical) to critique mainstream criminology and the meaning of the term “cybercrime”. Additionally, the article examines gender gaps in online harassment, cyber‐bullying, cyber‐fraud, revenge porn, and cyber‐stalking to demonstrate that who is victimised, why, and to what effect are the critical starting points for the analysis of the connections between gender and crimes. In turn, it uses the lens of intersectionality to acknowledge that, while conceptions of gender and crime interact, they intersect with other categories (e.g., sexuality) to provide additional layers of explanation. To nuance the utilitarian value of the synergy between the TCF and the feminist perspectives, the focus shifts to a recent case study (which compared socioeconomic and psychosocial cybercrimes). The article concludes that, while online and offline lives are inextricably intertwined, the victimisations in psychosocial cybercrimes may be more gendered than in socioeconomic cybercrimes. These contributions align the TCF to the feminist epistemology of crime in their attempt to move gender analysis of digital crimes “from margin to centre”

Non Thermal Irreversible Electroporation: Novel Technology for Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells Ablation

Non thermal Irreversible electroporation (NTIRE) is a new tissue ablation method that induces selective damage only to the cell membrane while sparing all other tissue components. Our group has recently showed that NTIRE attenuated neointimal formation in rodent model. The goal of this study was to determine optimal values of NTIRE for vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) ablation.33 Sprague-Dawley rats were used to compare NTIRE protocols. Each animal had NTIRE applied to its left common carotid artery using a custom-made electrodes. The right carotid artery was used as control. Electric pulses of 100 microseconds were used. Eight IRE protocols were compared: 1-4) 10 pulses at a frequency of 10 Hz with electric fields of 3500, 1750, 875 and 437.5 V/cm and 5-8) 45 and 90 pulses at a frequency of 1 Hz with electric fields of 1750 and 875 V/cm. Animals were euthanized after one week. Histological analysis included VSMC counting and morphometry of 152 sections. Selective slides were stained with elastic Van Gieson and Masson trichrome to evaluate extra-cellular structures. The most efficient protocols were 10 pulses of 3500 V/cm at a frequency of 10 Hz and 90 pulses of 1750 V/cm at a frequency of 1 Hz, with ablation efficiency of 89+/-16% and 94+/-9% respectively. Extra-cellular structures were not damaged and the endothelial layer recovered completely.NTIRE is a promising, efficient and simple novel technology for VMSC ablation. It enables ablation within seconds without causing damage to extra-cellular structures, thus preserving the arterial scaffold and enabling endothelial regeneration. This study provides scientific information for future anti-restenosis experiments utilizing NTIRE

Chilling requirements and dormancy evolution in grapevine buds.

Fluctuations in winter chilling availability impact bud dormancy and budburst. The objective of this work was to determine chilling requirements to induce and overcome endodormancy (dormancy controlled by chilling) of buds in different grape cultivars. "Chardonnay", "Merlot" and "Cabernet Sauvignon" shoots were collected in Veranópolis-RS vineyards in 2010, and submitted to a constant 3 °C temperature or daily cycles of 3/15 °C for 12/12h or 18/6h, until reaching 1120 chilling hours (CH, sum of hours with temperature ≤ 7.2 °C). Periodically, part of the samples in each treatment was transferred to 25 °C for budburst evaluation (green tip). Chilling requirements to induce and overcome endodormancy vary among cultivars, reaching a total of 136 CH for "Chardonnay", 298 CH for "Merlot" and 392 CH for "Cabernet Sauvignon". Of these, approximately 39, 53 and 91 CH are required for induction of endodormancy in the three cultivars, respectively. The thermal regimes tested (constant or alternating) do not influence the response pattern of each cultivar to cold, with 15 °C being inert in the CH accumulation process. In addition, time required to start budburst reduces with the increase in CH, at a rate of one day per 62 CH, without significant impacts on budburst uniformity. Index terms: Chilling hours; endodormancy; budburst; Vitis vinifera

Mindful Parenting in Mental Health Care

Mindfulness is a form of meditation based on the Buddhist tradition, which has been used over the last two decades to successfully treat a multitude of mental health problems. Bringing mindfulness into parenting (“mindful parenting”) is one of the applications of mindfulness. Mindful parenting interventions are increasingly being used to help prevent and treat mental disorders in children, parenting problems, and prevent intergenerational transmission of mental disorders from parents to children. However, to date, few studies have examined the hypothesized mechanisms of change brought about by mindful parenting. We discuss six possible mechanisms through which mindful parenting may bring about change in parent–child interactions in the context of child and parent mental health problems. These mechanisms are hypothesized to be mediated by the effects of mindfulness on parental attention by: (1) reducing parental stress and resulting parental reactivity; (2) reducing parental preoccupation resulting from parental and/or child psychopathology; (3) improving parental executive functioning in impulsive parents; (4) breaking the cycle of intergenerational transmission of dysfunctional parenting schemas and habits; (5) increasing self-nourishing attention; and (6) improving marital functioning and co-parenting. We review research that has applied mindful parenting in mental health settings, with a focus on evidence for these six mechanisms. Finally, we discuss directions for future research into mindful parenting and the crucial questions that this research should strive to answer