Synthesis and fungicidal activity of N-2-(3-methoxy-4-propargyloxy)phenethyl amides. Part II: anti-oomycetic mandelamides

Novel types of anti-oomycetic compounds have been designed and prepared. The synthetic approach to these mandelamides is outlined. Biological data demonstrate their high efficacy against important plant diseases such as tomato and potato late blight (Phytophthora infestans De Bary) and grape downy mildew (Plasmopara viticola Berliner & de Toni). Structure-activity relationship studies are discussed. The new development product mandipropamid is presented.     

Mechanical properties of natural fiber composites produced using dynamic sheet former

ABSTRACT

Composites formed from wood fibers and man-made cellulosic fibers in PLA (polylactic acid) matrix, manufactured using sheet forming technique and hot pressing, are studied. The composites have very low density (due to high porosity) and rather good elastic modulus and tensile strength. As expected, these properties for the four types of wood fiber composites studied here improve with increasing weight fraction of fibers, even if porosity is also increasing. On the contrary, for man-made cellulosic fiber composites with circular fiber cross-section, the increasing fiber weight fraction (accompanied by increasing void content) has detrimental effect on stiffness and strength. The differences in behavior are discussed attributing them to fiber/ fiber interaction in wood fiber composites which does not happen in man-made fiber composites, and by rather weak fiber/matrix interface for man-made fibers leading to macro-crack formation in large porosity regions.     

A screening tool for vulnerability assessment of pesticide leaching to groundwater for the islands of Hawaii, USA

This paper describes an updated version of a screening tool for groundwater vulnerability assessment to evaluate pesticide leaching to groundwater, based on a revised version of the attenuation factor. The tool has been implemented in a geographical information system (GIS) covering the major islands of the state of Hawaii, USA. The Hawaii Department of Agriculture currently uses the tool in their pesticide evaluation process as a first-tier screening tool. The basic soil properties and pesticide properties necessary to compute the index, and estimates of their uncertainty, are included in the GIS. Uncertainties in soil and pesticide properties are accounted for using first-order uncertainty analysis. Classifications of pesticides as 'likely', 'uncertain' or 'unlikely' to leach are made on the basis of the uncertainty and a comparison of the revised attenuation factor with values and uncertainties of two reference chemicals. The reference chemicals represent what are considered to be a 'leachable' and a 'non-leachable' pesticide under Hawaii conditions. It is concluded that the tool is suitable for screening new and already used pesticides for the islands of Hawaii. However, the tool is associated with uncertainties that are not accounted for, so a conservative approach with respect to interpretation of the results and selection of pesticide parameters used in the tool is recommended.     

Comment on "Phylogenetic MCMC algorithms are misleading on mixtures of trees"

Mossel and Vigoda (Reports, 30 September 2005, p. 2207) show that nearest neighbor interchange transitions, commonly used in phylogenetic Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) algorithms, perform poorly on mixtures of dissimilar trees. However, the conditions leading to their results are artificial. Standard MCMC convergence diagnostics would detect the problem in real data, and correction of the model misspecification would solve it.     

Laryngeal reinnervation in the horse.

Left laryngeal hemiplegia is a frustrating condition for the equine athlete and equine veterinarian. Treatment for the past 30 years has centered on the prosthetic laryngoplasty ("tie-back") with or without ventriculectomy. Laryngeal reinnervation has been used successfully in people and has been shown experimentally to benefit affected horses. This article reviews equine laryngeal reinnervation using the nerve muscle pedicle graft and describes the surgical technique, its complications, and the follow-up in 146 cases treated over the past 10 years. Also discussed is ongoing research into stimulation studies to improve the success of equine laryngeal reinnervation.     

A 25?years experience of group-housed sows–reproduction in animal welfare-friendly systems

Since January 1 2013, group housing of sows has been compulsory within the European Union (EU) in all pig holdings with more than ten sows. Sows and gilts need to be kept in groups from 4 weeks after service to 1 week before the expected time of farrowing (Article 3(4) of Directive 2008/120/EC on the protection of pigs). The legislation regarding group housing was adopted already in 2001 and a long transitional period was allowed to give member states and producers enough time for adaptation. Even so, group housing of sows still seems to be uncommon in the EU, and is also uncommon in commercial pig farming systems in the rest of the world. In this review we share our experience of the Swedish 25 years of animal welfare legislation stipulating that sows must be loose-housed which de facto means group housed. The two most important concerns related to reproductive function among group-housed sows are the occurrence of lactational oestrus when sows are group-housed during lactation, and the stress that is associated with group housing during mating and gestation. Field and clinical observations in non-lactating, group-housed sows in Sweden suggest that by making basic facts known about the pig reproductive physiology related to mating, we might achieve application of efficient batch-wise breeding without pharmacological interventions. Group housing of lactating sows has some production disadvantages and somewhat lower productivity would likely have to be expected. Recordings of behavioural indicators in different housing systems suggest a lower welfare level in stalled animals compared with group-housed ones. However, there are no consistent effects on the reproductive performance associated with different housing systems. Experimental studies suggest that the most sensitive period, regarding disturbance of reproductive functions by external stressors, is the time around oestrus. We conclude that by keeping sows according to the pig welfare-friendly Directive 2008/120/EC, it is possible to combine group-housing of sows with good reproductive performance and productivity. However, substantially increased research and development is needed to optimize these systems.     

Controlling the charge state of individual gold adatoms

The nature and control of individual metal atoms on insulators are of great importance in emerging atomic-scale technologies. Individual gold atoms on an ultrathin insulating sodium chloride film supported by a copper surface exhibit two different charge states, which are stabilized by the large ionic polarizability of the film. The charge state and associated physical and chemical properties such as diffusion can be controlled by adding or removing a single electron to or from the adatom with a scanning tunneling microscope tip. The simple physical mechanism behind the charge bistability in this case suggests that this is a common phenomenon for adsorbates on polar insulating films.     

A metagenomic survey of microbes in honey bee colony collapse disorder

In colony collapse disorder (CCD), honey bee colonies inexplicably lose their workers. CCD has resulted in a loss of 50 to 90% of colonies in beekeeping operations across the United States. The observation that irradiated combs from affected colonies can be repopulated with naive bees suggests that infection may contribute to CCD. We used an unbiased metagenomic approach to survey microflora in CCD hives, normal hives, and imported royal jelly. Candidate pathogens were screened for significance of association with CCD by the examination of samples collected from several sites over a period of 3 years. One organism, Israeli acute paralysis virus of bees, was strongly correlated with CCD.     

Effects of biocontrol bacteria and earthworms on Aphanomyces euteiches root-rot and growth of peas (Pisum sativum) studied in a pot experiment

ABSTRACT

The role of below-ground interactions between microbial biocontrol agents and soil fauna for combatting soil-borne plant diseases have not been studied sufficiently. This study tested the hypothesis that the beneficial bacterium Bacillus velezensis UCMB5113 and the anecic earthworm Lumbricus terrestris positively influence health and growth of peas (Pisum sativum L.) infested with the pathogen Aphanomyces euteiches causing root-rot disease. A greenhouse fully factorial experiment studied the effects of A. euteches, B. velezensis and L. terrestris on the emergence, growth and health of pea plants. The factors B. velezensis and L. terrestris resulted in taller plants (p = .003 and p = .030). B. velezensis treatment resulted in a higher biomass of shoots and roots (p ≤ .001 and p = .005). The effects increased with the presence of both factors (p = .036). Earthworms reduced the disease symptoms significantly (p = .032). The decreased disease symptoms caused by the earthworms might be due to the consumption of A. euteiches (direct effect) as well as soil disturbance (indirect effect). Interactions between the microorganisms added and the earthworms were shown. B. velezensis and L. terrestris can be useful for enhancement of plant growth and for biological control of root-rot in peas.     

Interactions among Norway spruce,the bark beetle Ips typographus and its fungal symbionts in times of drought

Journal of Pest Science - Resilience and functionality of European Norway spruce forests are increasingly threatened by mass outbreaks of the bark beetle Ips typographus promoted by heat, wind...