Measuring vergence and fixation disparity in 3D space.

As the eyes continuously move in 3D space, they rarely converge at the exact depth of the plane even when fixating a 2D image or computer screen. Rather, the lines of gaze measured by eye movement recordings show some misalignment so-called fixation disparity. Fixation disparity occurs in front of or behind the plane, and the eyes may also be lagged vertically.

Assessment using CFD of the wind direction on the air discharges caused by natural ventilation of a poultry house.

Air inside poultry houses must be removed on a regular basis to prevent excess of heat, particles and noxious gases that can imperil animals. To cope with this issue, natural ventilation could be an effective method when assisted by accurate predictions. This study investigates air discharges caused by natural ventilation of a poultry house by means of a three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model.

The role of branch architecture in assimilate production and partitioning: the example of apple (Malus domestica).

Understanding the role of branch architecture in carbon production and allocation is essential to gain more insight into the complex process of assimilate partitioning in fruit trees. This mini review reports on the current knowledge of the role of branch architecture in carbohydrate production and partitioning in apple. The first-order carrier branch of apple illustrates the complexity of branch structure emerging from bud activity events and encountered in many fruit trees.

Erosion of quantitative host resistance in the apple×Venturia inaequalis pathosystem.

Theoretical approaches predict that host quantitative resistance selects for pathogens with a high level of pathogenicity, leading to erosion of the resistance. This process of erosion has, however, rarely been experimentally demonstrated. To investigate the erosion of apple quantitative resistance to scab disease, we surveyed scab incidence over time in a network of three orchards planted with susceptible and quantitatively resistant apple genotypes.

Modelling agronomic properties of Technosols constructed with urban wastes.

The greening of urban and suburban areas requires large amounts of arable earth that is a non-renewable resource. However, concentration of population in cities leads to the production of high amounts of wastes and by-products that are nowadays partly recycled as a resource and quite systematically exported out of urban areas. To preserve natural soil resources, a strategy of waste recycling as fertile substitutes is proposed.

Nomenclatural and taxonomic problems related to the electronic publication of new nomina and nomenclatural acts in zoology, with brief comments on optical discs and on the situation in botany.

In zoological nomenclature, to be potentially valid, nomenclatural novelties (i.e., new nomina and nomenclatural acts) need first to be made available, that is, published in works qualifying as publications as defined by the International Code of zoological Nomenclature ("the Code").

Limited elimination of two viruses by cryotherapy of pelargonium apices related to virus distribution.

The possibility of eradicating the pelargonium flower break virus (PFBV) and pelargonium line pattern virus (PLPV) by cryotherapy of axillary shoot apices was investigated using five Pelargonium cultivars. Viruses were detected by DAS-ELISA and their location was determined by immunolocalization. Apex culture did not permit elimination of PFBV and only 15 percent regenerated plants of 'Stellar Artic' cultivar were ELISA PLPV-negative.

Identification of a novel α-L-arabinofuranosidase gene associated with mealiness in apple.

In order to investigate the genetic bases of the physiological syndrome mealiness that causes abnormal fruit softening and juice loss in apples, an integrative approach was devised, consisting of sensory, instrumental, biochemical, genetic, and genomic methods. High levels of activity of α-L-arabinofuranosidase (α-AFase), a hydrolase acting on the pectic component of the cell walls, were found in individuals exhibiting the mealiness phenotype in a segregating population. The expression levels of the previously uncharacterized apple AF gene MdAF3 are higher in fruits from plants consistently showing mealiness symptons and high α-AFase activity.

Genetic architecture of factors underlying partial resistance to Alternaria leaf blight in carrot.

In most production areas, Alternaria leaf blight (ALB) is recognized as the most common and destructive foliage disease in carrot. To assess the genetic architecture of carrot ALB resistance, two parental coupling maps were developed with similar number of dominant markers (around 70), sizes (around 650 cM), densities (around 9.5 cM), and marker composition.

Erwinia amylovora modifies phenolic profiles of susceptible and resistant apple through its type III secretion system.

Fire blight is a disease affecting Maloideae caused by the necrogenic bacterium Erwinia amylovora, which requires the type III protein secretion system (TTSS) for pathogenicity. Profiles of methanol-extractable leaf phenolics of two apple (Malus x domestica) genotypes with contrasting susceptibility to this disease were analyzed by HPLC after infection. Some qualitative differences were recorded between the constitutive compositions of the two genotypes but in both of them dihydrochalcones accounted for more than 90% of total phenolics.

Environmental acceptability of beneficial use of waste as construction material--state of knowledge, current practices and future developments in Europe and in France.

Since a decade, numerous industrial and public initiatives have been launched in order to make knowledge, practices and mentalities evolve in relation to the acceptability of using waste instead of raw material as construction product. The objectives of these initiatives have been to evaluate current practices and to make new solutions and beneficial use channels emerge. At the same time scientific and standardisation communities have developed methodologies and tools to fit with the assessment needs expressed by industrialists and public decision-makers.

Identification of a major QTL together with several minor additive or epistatic QTLs for resistance to fire blight in apple in two related progenies.

Although fire blight, caused by the bacterium Erwinia amylovora, is one of the most destructive diseases of apple (Malus x domestica) worldwide, no major, qualitative gene for resistance to this disease has been identified to date in apple. We conducted a quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis in two F(1) progenies derived from crosses between the cultivars Fiesta and either Discovery or Prima. Both progenies were inoculated in the greenhouse with the same strain of E.

Colonization of Vitis vinifera by a green fluorescence protein-labeled, gfp-marked strain of Xylophilus ampelinus, the causal agent of bacterial necrosis of grapevine.

The dynamics of Xylophilus ampelinus were studied in Vitis vinifera cv. Ugni blanc using gfp-marked bacterial strains to evaluate the relative importance of epiphytic and endophytic phases of plant colonization in disease development. Currently, bacterial necrosis of grapevine is of economic importance in vineyards in three regions in France: the Cognac, Armagnac, and Die areas.