Role of Overwintering Forms of Erysiphe necator in Epidemiology of Grapevine Powdery Mildew in Palestinian Vineyards

The overwintering modes of E. necator were studied on Palestinian vineyards, through observations on the differentiation and maturation of cleistothecia and on the occurrence of flag-shoots (deriving from overwintering mycelium) in vineyards. Field surveys were carried out in 17 vineyards for the presence of Flag shoots and cleistothecia, both forms were not observed. Genetic structure and composition of E. necator populations were investigated by application of already available SCAR (Sequence Characterized Amplified Region) primers specific for the flag-shoot and ascospore biotypes. These primers were used to evaluate the dynamics of the spatial and temporal distribution of the two biotypes, into fungal populations present in 8 vineyards, with different cultivars and spray histories, in various Palestinian districts (Hebron, Bethlehem, Jerusalem, Ramallah, Jericho, Nablus, Jenin, Tulkarm). 397 samples were analyzed by the uses of the primer pairs UnE-UnF in PCR reactions. All samples were found to be of the ascospore biotypes. This finding shows that the “flag shoot” biotype, appears soon after bud breaking and disappears later, while the “ascospore” biotype is more frequently associated to later infections and bunches damages. Such information would be helpful to understand the reasons underlying possible temporal evolution of the pathogen\u27s populations in vineyards, and can have important implications for powdery mildew rationale control strategies

التنبؤ وتقييم أداء المحافظ القطاعية ومؤشر القدس دليل من البورصة الفلسطينية

This paper aimstoevaluate and predictthe portfolios sectors (banking and financial services, in-dustry, insurance, investment, services, market portfolio) inPalestineStock Exchange (PSE)fromJanuary2013-December 2016, this resultused, Sharpe,Treynor, andJensenindexes, toevaluate the performanceofthe portfolios sectors. And (Box –Jenkins, 1976)Modelwas usedMethodology, toPredictthe performance ofthe portfolios sectors.The results revealed that the reported progresstheperformance of the bankingportfolioover theotherportfolios. The studyalso found, according to different methods and tests, the autoregressive model of degree one is the best model fitting the data. The seasonal pattern of the series has little effects on the model

Causes and predictors of 30‐day readmission in patients with syncope/collapse: a nationwide cohort study

Background Syncope accounts for 0.6% to 1.5% of hospitalizations in the United States. We sought to determine the causes and predictors of 30‐day readmission in patients with syncope. Methods and Results We identified 323 250 encounters with a primary diagnosis of syncope/collapse in the 2013-2014 Nationwide Readmissions Database. We excluded patients younger than 18 years, those discharged in December, those who died during hospitalization, hospital transfers, and those whose length of stay was missing. We used multivariable logistic regression analysis to evaluate the association between baseline characteristics and 30‐day readmission. A total of 282 311 syncope admissions were included. The median age was 72 years (interquartile range, 58-83), 53.9% were women, and 9.3% had 30‐day readmission. The most common cause of 30‐day readmissions was syncope/collapse, followed by cardiac, neurological, and infectious causes. Characteristics associated with 30‐day readmissions were age 65 years and older (odds ratio [OR], 0.7; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.6-0.7), female sex (OR, 0.9; 95% CI, 0.8-0.9), congestive heart failure (OR, 1.5; 95% CI, 1.2-1.9), atrial fibrillation/flutter (OR, 1.3; 95% CI, 1.3-1.4), diabetes mellitus (OR, 1.2; 95% CI, 1.2-1.3), coronary artery disease (OR, 1.2; 95% CI, 1.2-1.3), anemia (OR, 1.4; 95% CI, 1.4-1.5), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (OR, 1.4; 95% CI, 1.3-1.4), home with home healthcare disposition (OR, 1.5; 95% CI, 1.5-1.6), leaving against medical advice (OR, 1.7; 95% CI, 1.6-1.9), length of stay of 3 to 5 days (OR, 1.5; 95% CI, 1.4-1.6) or >5 days (OR, 2; 95% CI, 1.8-2), and having private insurance (OR, 0.6; 95% CI, 0.6-0.7). Conclusions The 30‐day readmission rate after syncope/collapse was 9.3%. We identified causes and risk factors associated with readmission. Future prospective studies are needed to derive risk‐stratification models to reduce the high burden of readmissions.Revisión por pare

Desirable traits of a good biocontrol agent against Verticillium wilt

The soil-borne fungus Verticillium causes serious vascular disease in a wide variety of annual crops and woody perennials. Verticillium wilt is notoriously difficult to control by conventional methods, so there is great potential for biocontrol to manage this disease. In this study we aimed to review the research about Verticillium biocontrol to get a better understanding of characteristics that are desirable in a biocontrol agent (BCA) against Verticillium wilt. We only considered studies in which the BCAs were tested on plants. Most biocontrol studies were focused on plants of the Solanaceae, Malvaceae, and Brassicaceae and within these families eggplant, cotton, and oilseed rape were the most studied crops. The list of bacterial BCAs with potential against Verticillium was dominated by endophytic Bacillus and Pseudomonas isolates, while non-pathogenic xylem-colonizing Verticillium and Fusarium isolates topped the fungal list. Predominant modes of action involved in biocontrol were inhibition of primary inoculum germination, plant growth promotion, competition and induced resistance. Many BCAs showed in vitro antibiosis and mycoparasitism but these traits were not correlated with activity in vivo and there is no evidence that they play a role in planta. Good BCAs were obtained from soils suppressive to Verticillium wilt, disease suppressive composts, and healthy plants in infested fields. Desirable characteristics in a BCA against Verticillium are the ability to (1) affect the survival or germination of microsclerotia, (2) colonize the xylem and/or cortex and compete with the pathogen for nutrients and/or space, (3) induce resistance responses in the plant and/or (4) promote plant growth. Potential BCAs should be screened in conditions that resemble the field situation to increase the chance of successful use in practice. Furthermore, issues such as large scale production, formulation, preservation conditions, shelf life, and application methods should be considered early in the process of selecting BCAs against Verticillium

Carbohydrate, phenolic and antioxidant level in relation to chlorophyll a content in oilseed winter rape (Brassica napus L.) inoculated with Leptosphaeria maculans

Syftet med föreliggande studien var att undersöka om sjuksköterskors egna rökvanor påverkar attityden till tobakspreventivt arbete på sjukhuset, både till tobakspreventivt arbete med patienterna och attityden till rökfritt sjukhus. Studien är empirisk och utfördes genom kvalitativa intervjuer med sex sjuksköterskor på en vårdavdelning på ett sjukhus i södra Sverige. Data från intervjuerna analyserades och resulterade i sju olika teman: Preventiva rollen, Kunskap om prevention, Vem skall leda det preventiva arbetet, Rökkontroll, Utbildningsnivå och rökning, Sjuksköterskan, en förebild?, Vem ska hjälpa patienten vid rökstopp på sjukhuset?, Är det någon skillnad mellan icke rökande och rökande vad avser rökpreventionen?. Den preventiva rollen hamnade i fokus och skillnader fanns mellan rökande och icke rökande sjuksköterskor både vad gäller preventivt omvårdnasarbete och kontrollThe aim of the present study is to investigate whether nurses smoking habits influence their attitude to tobacco prevention in hospitals, both in their work with patients and regarding their attitude to hospital smoking bans. The following question was posed: is there a difference between smoking and non-smoking nurses in patient-care activities regarding smoking prevention and control? The study is qualitative, based on qualitative interviews with six nurses at a ward of a hospital in Sweden. Interview data were analyzed and eight themes emerged: the role in prevention work knowledge of prevention who is to lead prevention work smoking control smoking and education levels the nurse as a role model who is to help the patient give up smoking possible differences between nonsmoking and smoking nurses regarding smoking prevention. The role in prevention work turned out to be central. Smoking nurses had greater difficulties in connection with preventive work and control, due to their personal experience of how hard it can be to give up smoking habits

Terms of address in Palestinian Arabic

The overall purpose of this study is to provide a descriptive analysis of the different terms of address that Palestinian interlocutors may choose from to address each other in different contexts. The study also correlates the choice of address forms in Palestinian Arabic with social variables including interlocutors’ relationship, formality of context and participants’ social characteristics of age, gender, education, occupation, spoken dialect, etc. The hypothesis is that variations in the forms of address are correlated with age, sex, educational and occupational rank of the interlocutors as well as the setting, intimacy and social distance. With naturally-occurring examples of address forms gathered by 8 fieldworkers in the research site of Gaza, it was found that that the choices interlocutors make are dictated by the perceived social relationship that exists between them with kinship and degree of acquaintanceship being very significant. Examination of the data also reveals that interlocutors’ social characteristics of age, gender, occupation, education, etc. are also highly significant in the choice of address forms. For example, people who share the same gender, age, or occupational and educational rank show what Brown & Gilman (1960) referred to as reciprocal use of address terms while persons who differ in any of these categories tend to use forms of address non-reciprocally. These variations in address behavior among Palestinian speakers are discussed and explained based on the social functions of address forms and the cultural norms of the Palestinian community.Department of EnglishThesis (M.A.