Productivity, 15N dynamics and water use efficiency in low‐ and high‐input switchgrass systems

Sustainable and environmentally benign switchgrass production systems need to be developed for switchgrass to become a large‐scale dedicated energy crop. An experiment was conducted in California from 2009 to 2011 to determine the sustainability of low‐ and high‐input irrigated switchgrass systems as a function of yield, irrigation requirement, crop N removal, N translocation from aboveground (AG) to belowground (BG) biomass during senescence, and fertilizer ¹⁵N recovery (FNR) in the AG and BG biomass (0–300 cm), and soil (0–300 cm). The low‐input system consisted of a single‐harvest (mid‐fall) irrigated until flowering (early summer), while the high‐input system consisted of a two‐harvest system (early summer and mid‐fall) irrigated throughout the growing season. Three N fertilization rates (0, 100, and 200 kg N ha^?1 yr^?1) were applied as subtreatments in a single application in the spring of each year. A single pulse of ¹⁵N enriched fertilizer was applied in the first year of the study to micro‐plots within the 100 kg N ha^?1 subplots. Average yields across years under optimal N rates (100 and 200 kg ha^?1 yr^?1 for low‐ and high‐input systems, respectively) were 20.7 and 24.8 Mg ha^?1. However, the low input (372 ha mm) required 47% less irrigation than the high‐input system (705 ha mm) and achieved higher irrigation use efficiency. In addition, the low‐input system had 46% lower crop N removal, 53% higher N stored in BG biomass, and a positive N balance, presumably due to 49% of ¹⁵N translocation from AG to BG biomass during senescence. Furthermore, at the end of 3 years, the low‐input system had lower fertilizer ¹⁵N removed by harvest (26%) and higher FNR remaining in the system in BG biomass plus soil (31%) than the high‐input system (45% and 21%, respectively). Based on these findings, low‐input systems are more sustainable than high‐input systems in irrigated Mediterranean climates.     

The Normal Appendix on CT: Does Size Matter?

Purpose

(1) To evaluate the frequency of visualisation and measurements of the normal appendix. (2) To correlate Body Mass Index (BMI) and gender with visualisation of the normal appendix. (3) To correlate age, gender and body length with appendiceal length.

Materials and Methods

A retrospective review of 186 patients undergoing abdominal CT without suspicion of acute appendicitis was done. Frequency of visualisation and measurements (including maximal outer diameter, wall thickness, length, content, location of base and tip) of normal appendices were recorded.

Results

Prevalence of appendectomy was 34.4%. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and accuracy of visualisation of the normal appendix were 76%, 94%, 96%, 67%, and 82% respectively. The mean maximal diameter of the appendix was 8.19 mm±1.6 (SD) (range, 4.2–12.8 mm). The mean length of the appendix was 81.11 mm±28.44 (SD) (range, 7.2–158.8 mm). The mean wall thickness of the appendix was 2.22 mm±0.56 (SD) (range, 1.15–3.85 mm). The most common location of the appendiceal tip was pelvic in 66% appendices. The most common location of the appendiceal base was inferior, medial, and posterior in 37%. The normal appendix contained high-density material in 2.2%. There was a significant correlation between gender and appendiceal length, with men having longer appendices than women.

Conclusion

Most normal appendices are seen at multislice CT using IV contrast. The maximal outer diameter of the normal appendix overlaps with values currently used to diagnose appendicitis on CT.     

Left and Right Amygdala - Mediofrontal Cortical Functional Connectivity Is Differentially Modulated by Harm Avoidance

Background

The left and right amygdalae are key regions distinctly involved in emotion-regulation processes. Individual differences, such as personality features, may affect the implicated neurocircuits. The lateralized amygdala affective processing linked with the temperament dimension Harm Avoidance (HA) remains poorly understood. Resting state functional connectivity imaging (rsFC) may provide more insight into these neuronal processes.

Methods

In 56 drug-naive healthy female subjects, we have examined the relationship between the personality dimension HA on lateralized amygdala rsFC.

Results

Across all subjects, left and right amygdalae were connected with distinct regions mainly within the ipsilateral hemisphere. Females scoring higher on HA displayed stronger left amygdala rsFC with ventromedial prefrontal cortical (vmPFC) regions involved in affective disturbances. In high HA scorers, we also observed stronger right amygdala rsFC with the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC), which is implicated in negative affect regulation.

Conclusions

In healthy females, left and right amygdalae seem implicated in distinct mPFC brain networks related to HA and may represent a vulnerability marker for sensitivity to stress and anxiety (disorders).     

Predominance of Norovirus and Sapovirus in Nicaragua after Implementation of Universal Rotavirus Vaccination

Background

Despite significant reduction of rotavirus (RV) infections following implementation of RotaTeq vaccination in Nicaragua, a large burden of patients with diarrhea persists.

Methods

We conducted a community- and hospital-based study of the burden of RV, norovirus (NV) and sapovirus (SV) infections as cause of sporadic acute gastroenteritis (GE) among 330 children ≤ 5 years of age between September 2009 and October 2010 in two major cities of Nicaragua with a RotaTeq coverage rate of 95%.

Results

We found that NV, SV and RV infections altogether accounted for 45% of cases of GE. Notably, NV was found in 24% (79/330) of the children, followed by SV (17%, 57/330) and RV (8%, 25/330). The detection rate in the hospital setting was 27%, 15% and 14% for NV, SV and RV respectively, whereas in the community setting the detection rate of RV was < 1%. Among each of the investigated viruses one particular genogroup or genotype was dominant; GII.4 (82%) for NV, GI (46%) for SV and G1P[8] (64%) in RV. These variants were also found in higher proportions in the hospital setting compared to the community setting. The GII.4.2006 Minerva strain circulating globally since 2006 was the most common among genotyped NV in this study, with the GII.4-2010 New Orleans emerging in 2010.

Conclusions

This study shows that NV has become the leading viral cause of gastroenteritis at hospital and community settings in Nicaragua after implementation of RV vaccination.     

Self-Esteem in Hearing-Impaired Children: The Influence of Communication,Education, and Audiological Characteristics

Objective

Sufficient self-esteem is extremely important for psychosocial functioning. It is hypothesized that hearing-impaired (HI) children have lower levels of self-esteem, because, among other things, they frequently experience lower language and communication skills. Therefore, the aim of this study was to compare HI children''s self-esteem across different domains with those of normal hearing (NH) children and to investigate the influence of communication, type of education, and audiological characteristics.

Methods

This large (N = 252) retrospective, multicenter study consisted of two age- and gender-matched groups: 123 HI children and 129 NH controls (mean age  = 11.8 years). Self-reports were used to measure self-esteem across four domains: perceived social acceptance by peers, perceived parental attention, perceived physical appearance, and global self-esteem.

Results

HI children experienced lower levels of self-esteem regarding peers and parents than NH controls. Particularly HI children who attended special education for the deaf were at risk, even after correcting for their language development and intelligence. Yet, levels of global self-esteem and self-esteem involving physical appearance in HI children equalled those of NH controls. Furthermore, younger age at implantation and longer duration of having cochlear implants (CIs) were related to higher levels of self-esteem.

Conclusion

HI children experience lower levels of self-esteem in the social domains. Yet, due to the heterogeneity of the HI population, there is high variability in levels of self-esteem.

Discussion

Clinicians must always be aware of the risk and protective factors related to self-esteem in order to help individual patients reach their full potential.     

Increased Inflammatory Response in Cytomegalovirus Seropositive Patients with Alzheimer’s Disease

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) has been associated with increased local inflammation in the affected brain regions, and in some studies also with elevated levels of proinflammatory cytokines in peripheral blood. Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is known to promote a more effector-oriented phenotype in the T-cell compartment, increasing with age. The aim of this study was to investigate the inflammatory response of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from AD patients and non-demented (ND) controls. Using a multiplex Luminex xMAP assay targeting GM-CSF, IFN-γ, IL-1β, IL-2, IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-8, IP-10 and TNF-α, cytokine profiles from PBMCs were analysed after stimulation with anti-CD3/CD28 beads, CMV pp65 peptide mix or amyloid β (Aβ) protofibrils, respectively. CMV seropositive AD subjects presented with higher IFN-γ levels after anti-CD3/CD28 and CMV pp65 but not after Aβ stimulation, compared to CMV seropositive ND controls. When analysing IFN-γ response to anti-CD3/CD28 stimulation on a subgroup level, CMV seropositive AD subjects presented with higher levels compared to both CMV seronegative AD and CMV seropositive ND subjects. Taken together, our data from patients with clinically manifest AD suggest a possible role of CMV as an inflammatory promoter in AD immunology. Further studies of AD patients at earlier stages of disease, could provide better insight into the pathophysiology.     

Odor Valence Linearly Modulates Attractiveness,but Not Age Assessment,of Invariant Facial Features in a Memory-Based Rating Task

Scented cosmetic products are used across cultures as a way to favorably influence one''s appearance. While crossmodal effects of odor valence on perceived attractiveness of facial features have been demonstrated experimentally, it is unknown whether they represent a phenomenon specific to affective processing. In this experiment, we presented odors in the context of a face battery with systematic feature manipulations during a speeded response task. Modulatory effects of linear increases of odor valence were investigated by juxtaposing subsequent memory-based ratings tasks – one predominantly affective (attractiveness) and a second, cognitive (age). The linear modulation pattern observed for attractiveness was consistent with additive effects of face and odor appraisal. Effects of odor valence on age perception were not linearly modulated and may be the result of cognitive interference. Affective and cognitive processing of faces thus appear to differ in their susceptibility to modulation by odors, likely as a result of privileged access of olfactory stimuli to affective brain networks. These results are critically discussed with respect to potential biases introduced by the preceding speeded response task.