Plant Variety, Mycorrhization, and Herbivory Influence Induced Volatile Emissions and Plant Growth Characteristics in Tomato.

Plants produce a range of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that mediate vital ecological interactions between herbivorous insects, their natural enemies, plants, and soil dwelling organisms including arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF). The composition, quantity, and quality of the emitted VOCs can vary and is influenced by numerous factors such as plant species, variety (cultivar), plant developmental stage, root colonization by soil microbes, as well as the insect developmental stage, and level of specialization of the attacking herbivore. Understanding factors shaping VOC emissions is important and can be leveraged to enhance plant health and pest resistance.

Flooding and Herbivory Interact to Alter Volatile Organic Compound Emissions in Two Maize Hybrids.

Flooding is a major plant abiotic stress factor that is frequently experienced by plants simultaneously with other biotic stresses, including herbivory. How plant volatile emissions, which mediate interactions with a wide range of organisms, are influenced by flooding and by multiple co-occurring stress factors remains largely unexplored. Using Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) (fall armyworm) as the insect pest and two maize (Zea mays, L.

Correction: Use of inverse modeling to evaluate CENTURY-predictions for soil carbon sequestration in US rain-fed corn production systems.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.

Use of inverse modeling to evaluate CENTURY-predictions for soil carbon sequestration in US rain-fed corn production systems.

We evaluated the accuracy and precision of the CENTURY soil organic matter model for predicting soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration under rainfed corn-based cropping systems in the US. This was achieved by inversely modeling long-term SOC data obtained from 10 experimental sites where corn, soybean, or wheat were grown with a range of tillage, fertilization, and organic matter additions. Inverse modeling was accomplished using a surrogate model for CENTURY's SOC dynamics sub-model wherein mass balance and decomposition kinetics equations from CENTURY are coded and solved by using a nonlinear regression routine of a standard statistical software package.

First isolation of a VIM-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae from a seven-year-old child in Venezuela.

Background: VIM-type metallo-betalactamases (MBLs) exhibit hydrolytic activity against most betalactam antibiotics, including carbapenems. So far, VIM-type-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates had not been reported in Latin America.

Methodology: In July 2005, a carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae was isolated from a urine sample collected from a 7-year-old girl hospitalized at the Hospital de Niños "J.

Reduced susceptibility to quinolones among Salmonella serotypes isolated from poultry at slaughter in Venezuela.

Today there are recognized global "hot spots" that are areas in which nontyphoid Salmonella serotypes have been reported to have a high prevalence of quinolone resistance. There is concern that resistant strains can be disseminated from these localized geographical areas by travelers or via commercial food products. The objective of this article is to report a high frequency of reduced susceptibility to first- and second-generation quinolones among nontyphoid Salmonella isolates from poultry at slaughter in two processing plants belonging to the largest poultry integration companies in Zulia State, Venezuela.

Relevance of functional neuroimaging in the progression of mild cognitive impairment.

Aim: To assess whether combining neuropsychological tests and cerebral blood flow markers improves progression accuracy from mild cognitive impairment (MCI) to Alzheimer's disease (AD) than each of them on its own.

Methods: Forty-two patients were investigated prospectively, undergoing baseline and 3-year follow-up neuropsychological tests and neuroimaging with Tc-ECD-SPECT. Twenty-one patients had developed AD while 21 retained their initial diagnosis.

Regional cerebral blood flow assessed with 99mTc-ECD SPET as a marker of progression of mild cognitive impairment to Alzheimer's disease.

Patients diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) have a higher risk of developing Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, not all such patients develop this kind of dementia. The purpose of this prospective study was to assess whether regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) patterns measured with technetium-99m ethyl cysteinate dimer single-photon emission tomography ((99m)Tc-ECD SPET) in patients suffering from MCI are useful in predicting progression to AD.