Paclobutrazol and Its Use in Fruit Production:A Review

There are documentary records referring to paclobutrazol(PBZ)as a growth bioregulator that inhibits the gibberellin synthesis and its application increases yields in fruit and vegetable crop productions.Its agronomic management includes it as an emerging technology to reduce vigour,promote flower induction and flower development in fruit trees with increased economic returns.Its use is banned in some countries because of concerns about residues that can cause harmful effects on the environment.Therefore,the aim of this article was to collect,analyse and summarise relevant information on the use of PBZ in fruit tree production and its possible risks to the environment.The results obtained indicated that the application of PBZ can be effective in solving some problems related to flowering if it is applied in the right amount and at the right time.However,it is necessary to elucidate the physiological processes with which it is associated and its response to be taken into account to increase yield.PBZ is currently used in fruit trees such as mango,lime,apple and guava,increasing their productivity.However,some studies have shown its residual effect on the environment.Therefore,PBZ is a viable strategy,because it presents a series of advantages in the production of fruit trees.However,it is vital to generate protocols that seek its regulation with a rational and sustainable approach.

Pan-retinal ganglion cell markers in mice, rats, and rhesus macaques

Univocal identification of retinal ganglion cells(RGCs) is an essential prerequisite for studying their degeneration and neuroprotection. Before the advent of phenotypic markers, RGCs were normally identified using retrograde tracing of retinorecipient areas. This is an invasive technique, and its use is precluded in higher mammals such as monkeys. In the past decade, several RGC markers have been described. Here, we reviewed and analyzed the specificity of nine markers used to identify all or most RGCs, i.e., pan-RGC markers, in rats, mice, and macaques. The best markers in the three species in terms of specificity, proportion of RGCs labeled, and indicators of viability were BRN3A, expressed by vision-forming RGCs, and RBPMS, expressed by vision-and non-vision-forming RGCs. NEUN, often used to identify RGCs, was expressed by non-RGCs in the ganglion cell layer, and therefore was not RGC-specific. γ-SYN, TUJ1, and NF-L labeled the RGC axons, which impaired the detection of their somas in the central retina but would be good for studying RGC morphology. In rats, TUJ1 and NF-L were also expressed by non-RGCs. BM88, ERRβ,and PGP9.5 are rarely used as markers, but they identified most RGCs in the rats and macaques and ERRβ in mice. However, PGP9.5 was also expressed by non-RGCs in rats and macaques and BM88 and ERRβ were not suitable markers of viability.

Dissolution Behavior of Gold in Alkaline Media Using Thiourea

In this work the dissolutive behavior of gold in alkaline medium using thiourea (TU), under different variables, was studied in a theoretical and experimental way, in order to determine the conditions under which it is feasible to dissolve gold in thiourea-alkaline medium. A thermodynamic study was conducted by chemical speciation using the method of Ro-jas-Hernández, together with an electrochemical study where the electric potential was swept in the anodic direction. The main results of the thermodynamic study were that formamidine disulfide (FDS) and sulfinic compounds (S.C.) prevail at alkaline pH;by increasing the initial concen-tration of thiourea at alkaline pH, the presence of the gold complex is al-most zero for any initial concentration of thiourea. By including sodium sulfite in the gold-thiourea system, it was possible to obtain the Au(I)-TU complex at alkaline pH, with a presence of 95.13%. Electrochemical tests allowed verifying that in the absence of sodium sulfite the dissolution of gold in an alkaline medium is very slow but adding sodium sulfite im-provements become evident in the dissolution of the metal. Therefore, sodium sulfite catalyzes the gold dissolution process and stabilizes the thiourea. With this study it was possible to establish the feasibility of using thiourea in an alkaline medium for the dissolution of gold, and the conditions under which it is possible to dissolve the gold in that medium. With these fundamentals and conditions, it is now possible to move forward to test this system for minerals and/or concentrates containing gold.

Effects of Chemical Products on Fire Blight Suppression,and Fruit Production and Quality in Apple(Malus domestica Borkh.)cv.Golden Glory

Antibiotics are widely used in fire blight management programs,yet there are no studies that demonstrate the evaluation of their efficacy in Mexico.Therefore,the present study was conducted to investigate the effects of the active ingredients in five commercial products(Kasumin■2L,Agrygent Plus■,Agricultural Terramycin■,Agrimicin
100,and Actigard■)on fire blight suppression,and fruit yield and quality of apple(Malus domestica Borkh.)cv.Golden Glory.The experiment was conducted in a commercial orchard using a completely randomized block design,with six treatments:(1)Oxytetracycline[Ox],110 mg L^(−1);(2)Kasugamycin[Kas],4.7 mL L^(−1);(3)Oxytetracycline+Gentamicin[Ox+Gen],48 mg L^(−1)+12 mg L^(−1);(4)Streptomycin+Oxytetracycline[Str+Ox],90 mg L^(−1)+9 mg L^(−1);(5)Acibenzolar-S-methyl[ASM],70 mg L^(−1);and(6)Control,only water,with four replications,and three 11-year-old trees as an experimental unit.Variables of infection including flowers,shoots and fruits,yield and fruit quality were evaluated.All treatments suppressed infection in flowers,shoots,and fruits.ASM provided the highest levels of reduction of flower and shoot infection,while Kas had the least effect on the reduction of infection in these variables.The Ox+Gen treatment had the greatest suppression of fruit infection,and the best results on fruit yield and quality,followed by Ox and ASM.This is the first study conducted to evaluate the efficacy of the active ingredients of five commercial products used for the management of fire blight in apple trees in Mexico.

皮肤结节病与真性红细胞增多症

Polycythemia vera is classified with myelogenous leukaemia, agnogenic myeloid metaplasia and primary thrombocythemia as a myeloproliferative syndrome. Cutane ous symptoms have been reported with polycythemia vera, including facial plethor a, aquagenic pruritus, urticaria, purpura, Sweet’s syndrome and pyoderma gangr enosum. However, polycythemia vera associated with systemic sarcoidosis has been rarely reported. An unusual case of polycythemia vera associated with cutaneous sarcoidosis is described.