Use of homeopathic preparations in phytopathological models and in field trails: a critical review

Background: The literature on the applications of homeopathy for controlling plant diseases in both plant pathological models and field trials was first reviewed by Scofield in 1984. No other review on homeopathy in plant pathology has been published since, though much new research has subsequently been carried out using more advanced methods. Objectives: To conduct an up-to-date review of the existing literature on basic research in homeopathy using phytopathological models and experiments in the field. Methods: A literature search was carried out on publications from 1969 to 2009, for papers that reported experiments on homeopathy using phytopathological models (in vitro and in planta) and field trials. The selected papers were summarized and analysed on the basis of a Manuscript Information Score (MIS) to identify those that provided sufficient information for proper interpretation (MIS ≥ 5). These were then evaluated using a Study Methods Evaluation Procedure (SMEP). Results: A total of 44 publications on phytopathological models were identified: 19 papers with statistics, 6 studies with MIS ≥ 5. Publications on field were 9, 6 with MIS ≥ 5. In general, significant and reproducible effects with decimal and centesimal potencies were found, including dilution levels beyond the Avogadro's number. Conclusions: The prospects for homeopathic treatments in agriculture are promising, but much more experimentation is needed, especially at a field level, and on potentisation techniques, effective potency levels and conditions for reproducibility. Phytopathological models may also develop into useful tools to answer pharmaceutical questions.

Molecular genetics and functional anomalies in a series of 248 Brugada cases with 11 mutations in the TRPM4 channel.

Brugada syndrome (BrS) is a condition defined by ST-segment alteration in right precordial leads and a risk of sudden death. Because BrS is often associated with right bundle branch block and the TRPM4 gene is involved in conduction blocks, we screened TRPM4 for anomalies in BrS cases. The DNA of 248 BrS cases with no SCN5A mutations were screened for TRPM4 mutations. Among this cohort, 20 patients had 11 TRPM4 mutations. Two mutations were previously associated with cardiac conduction blocks and 9 were new mutations (5 absent from ~14'000 control alleles and 4 statistically more prevalent in this BrS cohort than in control alleles). In addition to Brugada, three patients had a bifascicular block and 2 had a complete right bundle branch block. Functional and biochemical studies of 4 selected mutants revealed that these mutations resulted in either a decreased expression (p.Pro779Arg and p.Lys914X) or an increased expression (p.Thr873Ile and p.Leu1075Pro) of TRPM4 channel. TRPM4 mutations account for about 6% of BrS. Consequences of these mutations are diverse on channel electrophysiological and cellular expression. Because of its effect on the resting membrane potential, reduction or increase of TRPM4 channel function may both reduce the availability of sodium channel and thus lead to BrS.

Ultrasonographic features of PMEL17 ( Silver ) mutant gene-associated multiple congenital ocular anomalies (MCOA) in Comtois and Rocky Mountain horses

OBJECTIVE: (1) To describe the ultrasonographic appearance of multiple congenital ocular anomalies (MCOA) in the eyes of horses with the PMEL17 (Silver) mutant gene. (2) To compare the accuracy of B-mode ocular ultrasound to conventional direct ophthalmoscopy. ANIMALS STUDIED: Sixty-seven Comtois and 18 Rocky Mountain horses were included in the study. PROCEDURES: Horses were classified as being carriers or noncarriers of the PMEL17 mutant allele based on coat color or genetic testing. Direct ophthalmoscopy followed by standardized ultrasonographic examination was performed in all horses. RESULTS: Seventy-five of 85 horses (88.24%) carried at least one copy of the Silver mutant allele. Cornea globosa, severe iridal hypoplasia, uveal cysts, cataracts, and retinal detachment could be appreciated with ultrasound. Carrier horses had statistically significantly increased anterior chamber depth and decreased thickness of anterior uvea compared with noncarriers (P < 0.05). Uveal cysts had a wide range of location and ultrasonographic appearances. In 51/73 (69.86%) carrier horses, ultrasound detected ciliary cysts that were missed with direct ophthalmoscopy. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, ultrasonography was useful to identify uveal cysts in PMEL17 mutant carriers and to assess anterior chamber depth.

The relationship between the field-shifting phenomenon and representational coherence of place cells in CA1 and CA3 in a cue-altered environment.

Subfields of the hippocampus display differential dynamics in processing a spatial environment, especially when changes are introduced to the environment. Specifically, when familiar cues in the environment are spatially rearranged, place cells in the CA3 subfield tend to rotate with a particular set of cues (e.g., proximal cues), maintaining a coherent spatial representation. Place cells in CA1, in contrast, display discordant behaviors (e.g., rotating with different sets of cues or remapping) in the same condition. In addition, on average, CA3 place cells shift their firing locations (measured by the center of mass, or COM) backward over time when the animal encounters the changed environment for the first time, but not after that first experience. However, CA1 displays an opposite pattern, in which place cells exhibit the backward COM-shift only from the second day of experience, but not on the first day. Here, we examined the relationship between the environment-representing behavior (i.e., rotation vs. remapping) and the COM-shift of place fields in CA1 and CA3. Both in CA1 and CA3, the backward (as well as forward) COM-shift phenomena occurred regardless of the rotating versus remapping of the place cell. The differential, daily time course of the onset/offset of backward COM-shift in the cue-altered environment in CA1 and CA3 (on day 1 in CA1 and from day 2 onward in CA3) stems from different population dynamics between the subfields. The results suggest that heterogeneous, complex plasticity mechanisms underlie the environment-representating behavior (i.e., rotate/remap) and the COM-shifting behavior of the place cell.

Search for microscopic black holes and string balls in final states with leptons and jets with the ATLAS detector at √s = 8 TeV

A search for an excess of events with multiple high transverse momentum objects including charged leptons and jets is presented, using 20.3 fb−1 of proton-proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider in 2012 at a centre-of-mass energy of √s = 8TeV. No excess of events beyond Standard Model expectations is observed. Using extra-dimensional models for black hole and string ball production and decay, exclusion contours are determined as a function of the mass threshold for production and the fundamental gravity scale for two, four and six extra dimensions. For six extra dimensions, mass thresholds of 4.8–6.2TeV are excluded at 95% confidence level, depending on the fundamental gravity scale and model assumptions. Upper limits on the fiducial cross-sections for non-Standard Model production of these final states are set.

Palladium Isotopic Evidence for Nucleosynthetic and Cosmogenic Isotope Anomalies in IVB Iron Meteorites

The origin of ubiquitous nucleosynthetic isotope anomalies in meteorites may represent spatial and/or temporal heterogeneity in the sources that supplied material to the nascent solar nebula, or enhancement by chemical processing. For elements beyond the Fe peak, deficits in s-process isotopes have been reported in some (e.g., Mo, Ru, W) but not all refractory elements studied (e.g., Os) that, among the iron meteorites, are most pronounced in IVB iron meteorites. Palladium is a non-refractory element in the same mass region as Mo and Ru. In this study, we report the first precise Pd isotopic abundances from IVB irons to test the mechanisms proposed for the origin of isotope anomalies. First, this study determined the existence of a cosmogenic neutron dosimeter from the reaction 103Rh(n, beta-)104Pd in the form of excess 104Pd, correlated with excess 192Pt, in IVB irons. Second, all IVB irons show a deficit of the s-process only isotope 104Pd (\varepsilon 104Pd = -0.48 ± 0.24), an excess of the r-only isotope 110Pd (\varepsilon 110Pd = +0.46 ± 0.12), and no resolvable anomaly in the p-process 102Pd (\varepsilon 102Pd = +1 ± 1). The magnitude of the Pd isotope anomaly is about half that predicted from a uniform depletion of the s-process yields from the correlated isotope anomalies of refractory Mo and Ru. The discrepancy is best understood as the result of nebular processing of the less refractory Pd, implying that all the observed nucleosynthetic anomalies in meteorites are likely to be isotopic relicts. The Mo-Ru-Pd isotope systematics do not support enhanced rates of the 22Ne(alpha,n)25Mg neutron source for the solar system s-process.

First -year mortality and survival among infants with selected congenital anomalies in Texas, 1995 to 1997

Congenital anomalies have been a leading cause of infant mortality for the past twenty years in the United States. Few registry-based studies have investigated the mortality experience of infants with congenital anomalies. Therefore, a registry-based mortality study was conducted of 2776 infants from the Texas Birth Defects Registry who were born January 1, 1995 to December 31, 1997, with selected congenital anomalies. Infants were matched to linked birth-infant death files from the Texas Department of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics. One year Kaplan-Meier survival curves, and mortality estimates were generated for each of the 23 anomalies by maternal race/ethnicity, infant sex, birth weight, gestational age, number of life-threatening anomalies, prenatal diagnosis, hospital of birth and other variables. ^ There were 523 deaths within the first year of life (mortality rate = 191.0 per 1,000 infants). Infants with gastroschisis, trisomy 21, and cleft lip ± palate had the highest first year survival (92.91%, 92.32%, and 87.59%, respectively). Anomalies with the lowest survival were anencephaly (5.13%), trisomy 13 (7.41%), and trisomy 18 (10.29%). ^ Infants born to White, Non-Hispanic women had the highest first year survival (83.57%; 95% CI: 80.91, 85.88), followed by African-Americans (82.43%; 95% CI: 76.98, 86.70) and Hispanics (79.28%; 95% CI: 77.19, 81.21). Infants with birth weights ≥2500 grams and gestational ages ≥37 weeks also had the highest first year survival. First year mortality drastically increased as the number of life-threatening anomalies increased. Mortality was also higher for infants with anomalies that were prenatally diagnosed. Slight differences existed in survival based on infant's place of delivery. ^ In logistic regression analysis, birth weight (<1500 grams: OR = 7.48; 95% CI: 5.42, 10.33; 1500–2499 grams: OR = 3.48; 95% CI: 2.74, 4.42), prenatal diagnosis (OR = 1.92; 95% CI: 1.43, 2.58) and number of life-threatening anomalies (≥3: OR = 22.45; 95% CI: 11.67, 43.18) were the strongest predictors of death within the first year of life for all infants with selected congenital anomalies. To achieve further reduction in the infant mortality rate in the United States, additional research is needed to identify ways to reduce mortality among infants with congenital anomalies. ^

Predicting changes in abundance and juvenile proportions of earthworms in the field using glmmADMB in R

The study aimed at investigating effects of three differently acting biocides; the insecticide esfenvalerate, the fungicide picoxystrobin and the bactericide triclosan, applied individually and as a mixture, on an earthworm community in the field. A concentration-response design was chosen and results were analyzed using univariate and multivariate approaches. Effects on juvenile proportions were less pronounced and more variable than effects on abundance, but effects in general were species- and chemical-specific, and temporal variations distinct. Esfenvalerate and picoxystrobin appeared to elicit stronger effects than triclosan at laboratory-based ECx values, which is in accordance with our previous laboratory study on Eisenia fetida. The mixture affected abundance and juvenile proportions, but the latter only at high mixture concentrations. Esfenvalerate and picoxystrobin appeared to be the main drivers for the mixture's toxicity. Species-specific toxicity patterns question the reliability of mixture toxicity predictions derived on E. fetida for field earthworms. Biocide concentrations equaling EC50s (reproduction) for E. fetida provoked effects on the field earthworms mainly exceeding 50%, indicating effect intensification from the laboratory to field as well as the influence of indirect effects produced by species interactions. The differing results of the present field study and the previous laboratory study imply that lower- and higher-tier studies may not be mutually exclusive, but to be used in complementary.