Molecular and hydraulic responses of grapevine to water status and phenology under long-term differential irrigation treatments

This study investigated differences between patients in both short-term and long-term inpatient psychotherapy. Results for both settings as well as predictors of treatment outcomes were determined. Consecutive patients of the Giessen University Clinic for Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, who were treated during a two-year period in both short- and long-term treatment settings, were studied prospectively (N = 166; return-rate 70 %). Standardized questionnaires were applied for distress (SCL-90 R), physical complaints (GBB 24) and interpersonal problems (IIP-D) as well as for object relationships (IPO). In concordance with treatment concepts, patients in short-term psychotherapy had a more acute onset of symptoms, were more highly distressed and better occupationally integrated; patients in long-term treatment suffered more frequently from chronic psychosomatic disorders, personality disorders and comorbid somatic conditions. In both treatment settings distress and physical complaints decreased considerably and remained quite stable during follow-up. Concurring predictors of outcome were more adaptive patterns of object and interpersonal relationships as well as social resources. No differences were seen between the short-term and long-term treatment for utilization of ambulatory psychotherapy after discharge. The study shows that a differentiation between short- and long-term treatments, even within one psychosomatic hospital unit, allows for differential indication and treatment concepts.

BackgroundThroughout the world, intensive dairy farming has resulted in grasslands almost devoid of arthropods and birds. Meadow birds appear to be especially vulnerable during the chick-rearing period. So far, studies have focused mainly on describing population declines, but solutions to effectively stop these trends on the short-term are lacking. In this study at a single farm, we experimentally manipulated soil moisture through occasional irrigation, to mitigate against early season drainage and create favorable conditions for the emergence of above-ground arthropods during the meadow bird chick rearing phase.MethodsTo guarantee the presence of at least a sizeable arthropod community for the measurement of effects of wetting, we selected a farm with low intensity management. The land use and intensity of the study site and surroundings were categorized according to the national land use database and quantified using remote sensing imagery. From May 1 to June 18, 2017, we compared a control situation, with no water added, to two wetting treatments, a “short-term” (3 weeks) treatment based on wetting on warm days with a sprinkler system and a “long-term” treatment next to a water pond with a consistently raised water table from 2010. We measured soil temperature, soil moisture and resistance as well as the biomass of arthropods at 3-day intervals. Flying arthropods were sampled by sticky traps and crawling arthropods by pitfall traps. Individual arthropods were identified to Order and their length recorded, to assess their relevance to meadow bird chicks.ResultsThe land use analysis confirmed that the selected dairy farm had very low intensity management. This was different from most of the surrounding area (20 km radius), characterized by (very) high intensity land use. The experiments showed that irrigation contributed to cooler soils during midday, and that his happened already in the early part of the season; the differences with the control increased with time. In the short- and long-term treatments, soil moisture increased and soil resistance decreased from the mid-measurement period onward. Compared with the control, cumulative arthropod biomass was higher in the long-term treatment, but showed no change in the irrigation treatment. We conclude that small-scale interventions, such as occasional irrigation, favorably affected local soil properties. However, the effects on above-ground arthropod abundance currently appear limited or overridden by negative landscape-scale processes on arthropods.

Nilotinib is a second generation Tyrosine Kinase inhibitor (TKI) used in the treatment of Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML). The development of tyrosine kinase inhibitors has transformed chronic phase chronic myeloid leukemia from a disease with a poor prognosis to a treatable chronic disease. Long-term treatment with tyrosine kinase inhibitors means that patients must be clinically managed and monitored for years. While under Nilotinib tretament, the development of palmoplantar erythrodyesthesia is a very rare condition compared to other oncological drugs. A 66-year-old male patient, who was diagnosed with chronic phase CML in 2019 had been placed under imatinib treatment . He had major molecular response loss in 2021, and was started on second generation TKI nilotinib 2 × 400mg/day, considering his comorbidities. We present a case of a 66-year-old patient with CML who developed palmoplantar erythrodysesthesia on the 21st day starting nilotinib treatment. It is important to manage the side effects that develop in long-term treatments. Adverse events can have a negative impact on patient compliance and quality of life and lead to poor clinical outcomes Our case is the first to develop PPE after beginning nilotinib use. We present this phenomenon to raise awareness and ignite a review of management strategies.In this case, we wanted to emphasize the importance of managing side effects.

Winter cover crops and irrigation alter soil microbial community composition in an arid cropping system

Mercury (Hg) contamination in soils has become a great concern as a result of its natural release and anthropogenic activities. This review presents broad aspects of our recent understanding of mercury contamination and toxicology in plants including source of Hg contamination, toxicology, tolerant regulation in plants, and minimization strategy. We first introduced the sources of mercury contamination in soils. Mercury exists in different forms, but ionic mercury (Hg(2+)) is the predominant form in soils and readily absorbed by plants. The second issue to be discussed is the uptake, transport, and localization of Hg(2+) in plants. Mercury accumulated in plants evokes severe phytotoxicity and impairs numerous metabolic processes including nutrient uptake, water status, and photosynthesis. The mechanisms of mercury-induced toxicology, molecular response and gene networks for regulating plant tolerance will be reviewed. In the case of Hg recent much progress has been made in profiling of transcriptome and more importantly, uncovering a group of small RNAs that potentially mediates plant tolerance to Hg. Several newly discovered signaling molecules such as nitric oxide and carbon monoxide have now been described as regulators of plant tolerance to Hg. A recently emerged strategy, namely selection and breeding of plant cultivars to minimize Hg (or other metals) accumulation will be discussed in the last part of the review.

The influence of three irrigation treatments on flowering, yield, tree growth, root distribution, and leaf analysis of mature `Hass' avocado (Persea americana Mill.) was investigated over a six year period (1987-1992). Three irrigation treatments; 60, 80, and 100% of evapotranspiration (ETc) were applied using low-volume spray emitters. The differential irrigation treatments were maintained year round. Irrigation treatments did not affect the timing or intensity of bloom. Yield data from years 2-6 show a significant irrigation effect on cumulative weight and total number of fruit per tree. Trees receiving 100% ETc had higher yield/tree. This increased yield was due both to increased fruit numbers and individual fruit weight per tree. Tree growth was also significantly impacted by the irrigation treatments. Trees receiving 100% ETc exhibited the greatest amount of vegetative growth over the study. Yield efficiency (Kg fruit/m3 canopy) was not influenced by irrigation treatment. Irrigation treatment did not significantly influence nutrient analysis taken in the fall of each year.

Several factors may affect the success of a replanting vineyard. Given the current environmental conditions, an optimized irrigation schedule would still be one of the most desirable tools to improve crop productivity and fruit quality. On the other hand, the symbiosis of grapevines with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) is a key component of the vineyard production systems improving the vine growth, nutrient uptake, and berry quality. The aim of this study was to characterize the response of Merlot grapevines to AMF inoculation and two different irrigation amounts in their first productive year. The experiment was conducted on 2-year Merlot grapevines inoculated with AMF (I) or not-inoculated (NI) and subjected to two irrigation amounts, full irrigated (FI), where the amount of water was enough to maintain expansive growth and half irrigated (HI) where plants received the half of the amount of water of FI plants. Water status, gas exchange parameters, growth, mineral content, berry composition, and mycorrhizal colonization were monitored through the season. AMF inoculation improved the grapevine vegetative growth, water status, and photosynthetic activity, especially when vines were subjected to HI irrigation; however, no effect was observed on the leaf mineral content, must pH, total soluble solids, or total acidity. The main effects were observed on the flavonoid composition of berry skins at harvest. Irrigation amounts and mycorrhizal inoculation modified cyanidin and peonidin derivatives whereas flavonol composition was mainly affected by irrigation treatments. A strong relationship between the mycorrhizal colonization rate of roots and total quercetins, cyanidins, and peonidins was found. Findings support the use of a mycorrhizal inoculum and a better water management in a hyper-arid growing season; however, these results may be affected by edaphoclimatic characteristics and living microbiota in vineyard soils, which should be taken into account before making the decision of inoculating the vineyard.

In a vineyard, grapevines are simultaneously exposed to combinations of several abiotic (drought, extreme temperatures, salinity) and biotic stresses (phytoplasmas, viruses, bacteria). With climate change, the incidences of drought in vine growing regions are increased and the host range of pathogens with increased chances of virulent strain development has expanded. Therefore, we studied the impact of the combination of abiotic (drought) and biotic (Grapevine fanleaf virus (GFLV) infection) stress on physiological and molecular responses on the grapevine of cv. Schioppettino by studying the influence of drought and GFLV infection on plant water status of grapevines, on grapevine xylem vessel occlusion, and on expression patterns of 9-cis-epoxycarotenoid dioxygenase 1 (NCED1), 9-cis-epoxycarotenoid dioxygenase 2 (NCED2), WRKY encoding transcription factor (WRKY54) and RD22-like protein (RD22) genes in grapevines. A complex response of grapevine to the combination of drought and GFLV infection was shown, including priming in the case of grapevine water status, net effect in the case of area of occluded vessels in xylem, and different types of interaction of both stresses in the case of expression of four abscisic acid-related genes. Our results showed that mild (but not severe) water stress can be better sustained by GFLV infection rather than by healthy vines. GFLV proved to improve the resilience of the plants to water stress, which is an important outcome to cope with the challenges of global warming.

Fruit yield and quality response of a late season peach orchard to different irrigation regimes in a semi-arid environment

6612 Background: ALL is a complex genetic disease involving many fusion oncogenes (FGs)1 frequency of which can vary in different ethnic groups2,3 thus having implication in differential diagnosis, prognosis and treatment. Methods: We studied FGs in 101 pediatric ALL patients using RT-PCR1 at Day 0, Day 15 and Day 29 and Interphase FISH, and their association with clinical features and treatment outcome. Results: Five most common FGs i.e. BCRABL (t 22; 9), TCF3-PBX1 (t 1; 19), ETV6-RUNX1 (t 12; 21), MLL-AF4 (t 4; 11) and SIL-TAL1 (del 1p32) were found in 88.1% (89/101) patients. Frequency of BCR-ABL was 44.5% (45/101). Patients with BCR-ABL had significantly lower survival (43.733 weeks ±4.241) as compared to others except MLL-AF4 and significantly higher TLC count. Overall survival was lower (52.2±3.75) than the patients with ETV6-RUN X 1 (65.2± 9.9) which may be due to overall high frequency of poor prognostic FGs (71%) as compared to ETV6-RUNX 1 (17.1%) (p=0.01). Conclusions: This is the first study from Pakistan correlating molecular markers, disease biology and treatment response. It is the highest reported frequency of BCR-ABL in pediatric ALL and was associated with disease biology and survival. Some authors have reported BCR-ABL frequency higher than in West2,4,5 while others reported 45% frequency of ETV6-RUNX16. These and our data reflect strong interplay of genetic and environmental factors in biology of pediatric ALL and its correlation with disease biology and treatment2,3. Our data indicates immediate need for large clinical trials of imatinib, dasatinib and nilotinib in paediatric ALL treatment in our ethnic group. This study will lead to unravel the mechanisms of BCR-ABL Leukemogenesis and to find population-specific biomarkers and drug targets.

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is a gamma-herpesvirus associated with 10% of all gastric cancers (GCs) and 1.5% of all human cancers. EBV-associated GCs (EBVaGCs) are pathologically and clinically distinct entities from EBV-negative GCs (EBVnGCs), with EBVaGCs exhibiting differential molecular pathology, treatment response, and patient prognosis. However, the tumor immune landscape of EBVaGC has not been well explored. In this study, a systemic and comprehensive analysis of gene expression and immune landscape features was performed for both EBVaGC and EBVnGC. EBVaGCs exhibited many aspects of a T cell-inflamed phenotype, with greater T and NK cell infiltration, increased expression of immune checkpoint markers (BTLA, CD96, CTLA4, LAG3, PD1, TIGIT, and TIM3), and multiple T cell effector molecules in comparison with EBVnGCs. EBVaGCs also displayed a higher expression of anti-tumor immunity factors (PDL1, CD155, CEACAM1, galectin-9, and IDO1). Six EBV-encoded miRNAs (miR-BARTs 8-3p, 9-5p, 10-3p, 22, 5-5p, and 14-3p) were strongly negatively correlated with the expression of immune checkpoint receptors and multiple markers of anti-tumor immunity. These profound differences in the tumor immune landscape between EBVaGCs and EBVnGCs may help explain some of the observed differences in pathological and clinical outcomes, with an EBV-positive status possibly being a potential biomarker for the application of immunotherapy in GC.

Chemical products against fungi and oomycetes pose serious environmental issues. In the last decade, the use of less impacting active ingredients was encouraged to reduce chemical inputs in viticulture. In this study, the effect of different antifungal compounds on grapevine agronomic, physiological, and molecular responses in the vineyard was evaluated in addition to protection against powdery and downy mildews. In two years and in two Vitis vinifera cultivars (Nebbiolo and Arneis), a conventional crop protection approach, based on traditional fungicides (sulphur and copper), was compared to combined strategies. A well-known resistance inducer (potassium phosphonate), Bacillus pumilus strain QST 2808 and calcium oxide, both active ingredients whose biological interaction with grapevine is poorly characterized, were applied in the combined strategies in association with chemical fungicides. Despite a genotype effect occurred, all treatments optimally controlled powdery and downy mildews, with minimal variations in physiological and molecular responses. Gas exchange, chlorophyll content and photosystem II efficiency increased in treated plants at the end of season, along with a slight improvement in the agronomic performances, and an activation of molecular defence processes linked to stilbene and jasmonate pathways. The disease control strategies based on potassium phosphonate, Bacillus pumilus strain QST 2808 or calcium oxide combined with traditional chemical compounds did not cause severe limitations in plant ecophysiology, grape quality and productive yields. The combination of potassium phosphonate and calcium oxide with traditional fungicides can represent a valuable strategy for reducing copper and sulphur inputs in the vineyards, including those organically managed. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Field experiments were conducted to evaluate the effects of differential irrigation treatments on the yield and pod quality of ‘Oregon 1604’ and ‘Galamor’ snap beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) in 1981 and 1982. Treatments in which various levels of positive canopy minus air temperature differences [stress-degree-days (SDD)] accumulated between irrigations were evaluated along with irrigation at 4 growth stages, a dry treatment which received only one irrigation to establish plants, and a control treatment irrigated at -0.06 MPa soil water potential (SWP). In both seasons, yield was related strongly to the average soil water potential from planting to harvest. Yields in 1982 were at least 5 MT/ha greater at a given average soil water potential than in 1981. Yields of ‘Oregon 1604’ and ‘Galamor’ were similar under adequate irrigation, but under greatest water stress, yield of ‘Oregon 1604’ was higher than for ‘Galamor’. Pod number was reduced only in the dry treatment. Percentage of set pods, pod length, and number of seeds per pod were all reduced by low irrigation, while fiber content of pods and weight per seed were increased by low irrigation.

Water use and sucrose yield of sugarbeets ( Beta vulgaris L. cv. USH 10) as a function of decreasing water applications were investigated to determine if sucrose yield per unit of water use would increase with limited irrigation. The sugarbeets were fall‐planted in a silty clay soil and irrigated uniformly for 6 weeks to establish seedling stands and to wet soil to the 152‐cm depth. Thereafter, 102 mm water was applied whenever cumulative ET from sugarbeets growing in an adequately watered weighing lysimeter reached 91, 102, 112, 122, 133, or 143 mm water. Soil was sampled to the 152‐cm depth, in 30.5‐cm increments, before each irrigation after 12 November and at harvest. Water use was calculated from changes in soil water content between irrigations and applied water. Water applications, after the initial uniform applications, varied from 609 to 940 mm in six to nine irrigations plus 25 mm rainfall. Water use was linearly related to lysimeter ET. During differential treatment, water use varied from 11% above to 23% below the amount needed to replace lysimeter ET. Total seasonal water use varied from 900 to 1,195 mm. Lysimeter ET averaged 67% of pan evaporation after leaves completely covered the soil. Neither sucrose content nor yield was affected by irrigation treatments. Sucrose yields averaged 13 and 18 metric tons/ha on 14 May and 24 June, respectively. With limited irrigation, sucrose yield per unit of water use increased as much as 22% above the treatment that matched lysimeter ET. The soil salinity did not increase sufficiently to require immediate leaching for any of the treatments.

In the context of the climate change scenario in the Mediterranean, natural root-microorganism associations have an impact on the resilience and productivity of crops, and the exploitation of these interactions represents innovative, cost-effective and sustainable crop adaptation strategies. An open field experiment with two commercial Italian tomato cultivars was performed. The soil bacterial communities associated with the two commercial Italian tomato genotypes were characterized alongside their physiological and molecular responses under wellwatered and moderate water deficit (100% and 75% of crop evapotranspiration) treatments. The two genotypes showed contrasting responses to water deficit, primarily through diverse rhizosphere microbiota recruitment under the two irrigation treatments. Highlights - Two tomato genotypes were studied under water deficit in a pilot field trial. - The two genotypes responded differently to water stress from eco-physiological and transcriptomic points of view. - The two genotypes recruited diverse root-associated microbiota, particularly under water deficit.