Abstract: The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of different pruning methods on the yield performance and on the oenological potential of Vitis vinifera 'Nebbiolo', cultivated in high-altitude regions of Santa Catarina state, Brazil. The work was carried out in a commercial vineyard located in São Joaquim, SC, during the 2011/2012 and 2014/2015 crop seasons. The treatments consisted of four pruning systems: Guyot, Guyot Arch, and Cazenave (cane pruning systems), and cordon spur pruning. Production, vine balance, and grape composition were evaluated. In the cane pruning systems, a mean production of 2.0 kg per plant and Ravaz index below 2 were observed, with no change in the composition of the berries. In spur pruned vines, there was production only in 2015, with four bunches every ten plants. Yield and production of the 'Nebbiolo' grapes can be increased without losses of oenological potential, in the high-altitude regions of Santa Catarina state. The tested cane pruning methods are indicated for the growing of 'Nebbiolo' because all methods confer similar yield and vigor to this grapevine.

Decline of return in maize monoculture requires amendment of nutrients removed from the soil through retention of biomass on the soil with some addition of inorganic fertilizers. This study was executed for three consecutive years (2013-2015)to evaluate the effect of pruning levels while leaving the upper (0, 2, 4 and 6) parts of perennial pigeon pea and N levels (18, 41, 64, 87 and 110 kg ha-1) on yields of component crops and on some soil nutrients in maize/pigeon pea intercropping. The result indicated that the main effects due to pruning of pigeon pea and incorporation in to the soil and N level were significant for maize biomass weight during 2013 and 2014 and for maize grain yield throughout the experimental periods. Pruning of lower branches of pigeon pea while leaving the upper 2 in maize/pigeon pea intercropping increased grain yield of maize by 8% compared to the sole maize monocropping and produced a mean pigeon pea grain yield of 972 kg ha-1. It also reduced soil acidity, increased soil organic carbon, total N and available P compared to the sole maize monoculture. The highest LER of 1.42 and the highest net benefit of Birr 32,347 ha-1 were also obtained due to pruning of pigeon pea while leaving the upper 2 and incorporating in to the soil in intercropping of maize/pigeon pea at reduced N level. This branch management at reduced N level is recommended for the high productivity and reduced resource use efficiency for sub-humid areas of Bako.

After the initial formation of a highly branched vascular plexus, blood vessel pruning generates a hierarchically structured network with improved flow characteristics. We report here on the cellular events that occur during the pruning of a defined blood vessel in the eye of developing zebrafish embryos. Time-lapse imaging reveals that the connection of a new blood vessel sprout with a previously perfused multicellular endothelial tube leads to the formation of a branched, Y-shaped structure. Subsequently, endothelial cells in parts of the previously perfused branch rearrange from a multicellular into a unicellular tube, followed by blood vessel detachment. This process is accompanied by endothelial cell death. Finally, we show that differences in blood flow between neighboring vessels are important for the completion of the pruning process. Our data suggest that flow induced changes in tubular architecture ensure proper blood vessel pruning.

Abstract: The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of pruning and training system type on the agronomic performance of the perennial cultivation of physalis (Physalis peruviana), in high-altitude tropical and humid temperate regions in Southeastern Brazil. The experiments were carried out in the municipalities of Diamantina (humid temperate climate) and Couto de Magalhães de Minas (high-altitude tropical climate), both in the state of Minas Gerais, in two cycles (2017/2018 and 2018/2019). In the first cycle, two types of training system were evaluated, one with formation pruning to define the number of stems for espalier training and the other free (without pruning and espalier). In the second cycle, renewal pruning was evaluated in each training system. Physalis cultivation in regions with humid temperate climate and mild temperatures favors high yields and large fruits. The training system in espalier with formation pruning facilitates plant management and increases productivity. The viability of the perennial cultivation of physalis varies according to the climatic conditions of the cultivation site and to the training system adopted.

Caneberries are trellised to facilitate harvest and agrochemical applications as well as to improve crop yield and quality. Trellising can also increase airflow and light penetration within the canopy and affect its microclimate. We compared an experimental trellis that split the canopy into halves to standard I- and V-trellises, measuring Drosophila suzukii (Matsumura) fruit infestation as well as canopy temperature and relative humidity in raspberries at two commercial you-pick diversified farms. To evaluate the combined effects of trellising systems and pruning, we pruned one half of each row in blackberry plantings at two research farms and assessed D. suzukii infestation, canopy microclimate (temperature, relative humidity, and light intensity), fruit quality parameters (interior temperature, total soluble solids, and penetration force), and spray coverage/deposition. Trellis installation costs, labor inputs, and yield were used to further evaluate the trellis systems from an economic perspective. Fruit quality was not affected by trellising or pruning and lower total yield was observed in the experimental trellis treatment on one farm. Although D. suzukii infestation was only affected by trellising and pruning at one site, we observed a relationship between higher temperatures and reduced infestation on nearly all farms. Occasionally, lower relative humidity and high light intensity corresponded with lower infestation. Ultimately, the experimental trellis was less economically efficient than other trellising systems and our ability to successfully manipulate habitat favorability varied in a site-specific manner. Drosophila suzukii management approaches that rely upon unfavorable conditions are likely to be more effective in hot, dry regions. Methods Sites and experimental design In 2019 and 2020, an experimental trellis that split the canopy into halves was compared with a growers’ standard I-trellis (Site 1) or T-trellis (Site 2) at two commercial fruit farms in central Maryland in fall-bearing red raspberries (Rubus idaeus L., Site 1 ‘Nantahala’, Site 2 ‘Caroline’). Plantings were maintained following standard commercial practices for primocane fruiting raspberries, and in both years, growers applied insecticides as needed. Three treatment plots per trellising system were compared at each site. At Site 1 rows were spaced 4.0m apart, with treatment plots between 6.5m to 9m in length distributed across three rows. At Site 2 rows were spaced 3.4m apart, with treatment plots between 9.5m to 10.5m in length distributed across three rows. At both sites, up to 20 apparently marketable fruit (visually undamaged and texturally relatively firm) were collected from each row (10 from each side of the row) to evaluate D. suzukii infestation. Due to fruit availability, mean fruit sample size per plot across sites and years was 17.82 ± 0.23 with a range from 2 to 20. Fruit were collected weekly for a period of 10 weeks from July to September in 2019 and for 7 weeks from August to September in 2020. Data loggers were installed in all replicate plots to collect temperature and relative humidity data during the growing period. Microclimate data and D. suzukii infestation were the only metrics measured on grower cooperators’ farms. In 2019 and 2020, the combined effects of trellising systems and pruning were examined in 4-year old ‘Prime Ark® 45’ primocane blackberries (Rubus L. subgenus Rubus Watson) at the Wye Research and Education Center (WYE; Queen Anne’s County, MD) and at the Western Maryland Research and Education Center (WMREC; Washington County, MD). Plantings were maintained with standard herbicide applications and dormant pruning practices; however, no insecticides or fungicides were applied at WYE in either year of the study. At WMREC, lime-sulfur was applied in March of both years and no other insecticide or fungicide applications were made. An experimental V-trellis that split canopies into halves was installed in two rows of the planting while two rows maintained the previously installed standard trellis (WYE: V-trellis; WMREC: I-trellis), with trellis treatments arranged such that they alternated by row. In order to keep the growing canes within the trellis, canes needed to be rearranged and attached to the wire during the middle of the growing season (harvest week 4 – 6). Rows were spaced 3.0m apart at both sites. Treatment plot length differed at each farm with 10.5m plots at WYE and 13.4m at WMREC. In addition to trellising, pruning was conducted in July of both years by first removing all canes less than 6 mm in diameter in all plots. Then in one half of each trellis plot (WYE 5.25m; WMREC: 6.7m) the remaining canes per meter were counted and the number of canes that would represent a 25% reduction in canes was calculated and removed. In 2019 9 canes per meter (6 from the outer and 3 from the inner part of the plant) and in 2020 3 canes per meter (2 from the outer and 1 from the inner part of the plant) were removed at WYE. In 2019 and 2020 6 canes per meter (3 from the outer and 3 from the inner part of the plant) were removed at WMREC. Outer canes were removed from both sides of the row in an alternating pattern. After pruning, data loggers were installed in all replicates to measure temperature, relative humidity and light intensity during the growing season. Fruit temperature measurements were recorded in the field. All ripe fruit on both sites of the row were harvested weekly and collected in separate containers for each replicate plot. Harvested fruit were chilled during transportation from the farm to the laboratory. In the laboratory, fruit were assessed for damage, sorted into marketable fruit and unmarketable fruit, and weighed. Fruit were considered unmarketable due to D. suzukii damage (visible larvae or soft leaky fruit), other insect feeding, evidence of pathogens, or other visible physical damage. Yield was calculated as grams per row meter (total length of both sides of the row). As available, fruit from each category and treatment replicate were randomly selected for D. suzukii infestation and quality measurements. Infestation measurements were prioritized and up to 10 marketable and 10 unmarketable fruit from each replicate were evaluated separately. Because fruit availability was occasionally low, mean fruit sample size per treatment replicate across marketability, research farms and years was 9.65 ± 0.05 and ranged from 1 to 10 fruit, with 2 samples missing. Drosophila suzukii infestation Infestation levels were evaluated weekly throughout the fruiting season at all sites. Larval extraction methods similar to Van Timmeren et al. (2017) were used to measure infestation. Briefly, fruit were weighed before larval extraction to calculate D. suzukii (g fruit)-1. Fruit were gently crushed to break open tissues and soaked in a 50 g L-1 table sugar water solution for 10 minutes prior to counting larvae. Fruit Measurements The fruit temperature in the interior of the berry was measured near weekly in 2019 and 2020 for a random subsample of 0-10 apparently marketable blackberries per replicate plot, depending on fruit availability. Subsamples were averaged to generate one sample data point per plot week prior to analysis, and between 1.4-8.2% of total subsamples were missing due to low yields. Measurements were conducted before harvesting by inserting a thermocouple probe (Digi-sense Handheld Thermometer 86460-06, Cole-Parmer Instrument Co., Vernon Hills, IL) approximately 3 mm into the center of the fruit while it was still on the bush (Schöneberg et al. 2020). Measured fruit were collected separately to avoid categorizing them as damaged/unmarketable fruit and weighed as marketable fruit. The effect of canopy density on fruit firmness (cN) was measured for subsamples of marketable blackberry fruit. In 2019, depending on fruit availability, 0-5 fruit per replicate were measured after each harvest. In 2020, measurements were conducted only two and three times during the season at WYE and WMREC, respectively. Five drupelets per fruit were measured to account for variation in individual drupes. Measurements were conducted as described in Burrack et al. (2013). Briefly, a flat tipped tension gauge modified with an insect pin was depressed (blunt end) onto the fruit surface at a 90° angle and gentle pressure was applied until the skin was pierced. Subsamples were averaged to generate one sample data point per plot week prior to analysis, and between 10.5-32.2% of total subsamples were missing due to low yields. Total soluble solids (TSS), measured as °Brix, indicates the amount of sugar and other organic compounds in fruit juice, and higher values correspond to increased sugar content. Between 0-5 marketable berries from each treatment were pooled for a sample, as available. The berries from each sample were crushed together in a WhirlPak® bag (Nasco, Wisconsin, USA) with a filter to remove particulate matter from the juice. The filtered liquid was transferred to a handheld refractometer (PAL-1, Atago®, Bellevue, Washington, USA) to determine °Brix and each juice sample was measured in triplicate. Between measurements, the sensor was rinsed with deionized water and dried. Measurements were conducted after each harvest in 2019 and three times during the season in 2020 at both farms. Subsamples were averaged to generate one sample data point per plot week prior to analysis, and between 12.5-28.7% of total samples were missing due to low yields. Canopy microclimate HOBOware sensors (HOBO Pro V2, U23-001, Onset Computer Corporation, Bourne, MA) were installed mid-height in the interior (center of the row) of the canopy in the center of each replicate plot to determine treatment impacts on canopy microclimate. The sensors recorded temperature and relative humidity (RH) at 20-minute intervals throughout the fruiting season (July 2019 – September 2019; August 2020 –

Additional file 1: Fig. S1. PCE-induced IUGR female rats did not show typical ASD-like manifestations. (A, C) Fetal body weight on the first day after birth. (B, D) IUGR rate. (E) An illustrative example of travel pathways of female rats in social choice test, open field test, and Y maze test. (F) Time of female rats spent in each zone in social choice test. (G) Marble burying index in marble burying test. (H) Time spent in the center, distance traveled in the center, and total distance traveled in open field test. (I) Spontaneous alteration rate in Y maze test. Dots in panels represent individual samples. Data are presented as mean ± SEM. *P < 0.05, ***P< 0.01. Fig. S2. AHR/NF-κB signaling is involved in ASD. (A) The top enriched pathways of differentially expressed genes by Clusterprofiler. (B) Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) plots shows NF-κB signaling pathway. Fig. S3. AHR intervention induces abnormalities of neurons and activation of microglia in the co-cultured primary hippocampal microglia and neurons in vitro. (A) Representative reconstruction of hippocampal neurons. Scale bar = 50 μm. (B) Dendritic length of hippocampal neurons. (C) Number of branch points in hippocampal neurons. (D) Dose-effect: cell viability after treated with different concentrations of CH-223191 (0, 5, 10, 20, 40 or 80 μM) for 2 h. (E) Time-effect: cell viability after treated with 10 μM CH-223191 at different time (0, 0.5, 1, 2, 4, and 8 h). (F) Protein levels of AHR and P-NF-κB. (G) mRNA levels of Ahr. (H) Morphology of primary microglia under the light microscope. Scale bar = 50 μm. (I) Morphology of primary microglia under the fluorescence microscope. Iba1 staining (green) and nuclear staining (DIPA, blue). The arrows point at activated microglia. Scale bar = 50 μm. (J) Microglia activation rate. Dots in panels represent individual samples. Data are presented as mean ± SEM. *P < 0.05, **P< 0.01, ***P < 0.001. Fig. S4. Correlation analysis and gut microbiota signatures of donor rats. (A) Spearman correlation between the IPA level and the P-NF-κB level in hippocampal tissue. (B) Correlations between the time spent in target zone and the Clostridium abundance. The correlations were evaluated by the Spearman correlation coefficient. (C) Alpha diversity represented by the Simpson index and the Shannon index. (D) Beta diversity as shown by the PCoA plot. An ellipse represents the 68% confidence interval of microbial distribution in each group. (E) LEfSe of differentiating genera or species in gut microbiota between groups (LDA > 2). Dots in panels represent individual samples. Fig. S5. Transplantation of microbiota from the IUGR rats causes dysregulation of AHR/NF-κB signaling and activation of hippocampal microglia. (A) Protein levels of AHR and P-NF-κB. (B) mRNA levels of Ahr. (C) Images under fluorescence microscopy showing different regions in hippocampus. Iba1 staining (green) and nuclear staining (DIPA, blue). Scale bar = 50 μm. (D-F) Number of Iba1+cells, number of endpoints per microglia., and process length. Dots in panels represent individual samples. Data are presented as mean ± SEM. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001. Fig. S6. Transplantation of microbiota from the IUGR rats causes abnormalities of hippocampal neurons. (A) Representative reconstruction of hippocampal neurons. Scale bar = 50 μm. (B) Dendritic length of hippocampal neurons. (C) Number of branch points in hippocampal neurons. (D) Representative images of dendritic segments. Scale bar =10 μm. (E) Total spine density in the hippocampal neurons. (F) Mushroom spine density in hippocampal neurons. (J) Ultrastructure of neuronal synapses. Scale bar = 500 nm. (H) Synaptic vesicle numbers, synaptic cleft, postsynaptic density (PSD) thickness, and length of the synaptic active zone. (I) mRNA levels of Syn and Psd95. Data are presented as mean ± SEM. *P< 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001. Fig. S7. Postnatal IPA supplementation reverses changes in hippocampal neurons of IUGR rats. (A) Representative reconstruction of the hippocampal neurons. Scale bar = 50 μm. (B) Dendritic length of hippocampal neurons. (C) Number of branch points in hippocampal neurons. (D) Representative images of dendritic segments. Scale bar =10 μm. (E) Total spine density in hippocampal neurons. (F) Mushroom spine density in hippocampal neurons. (G) Ultrastructure of neuronal synapses. Scale bar = 500 nm. (H) Synaptic vesicle numbers, synaptic cleft, postsynaptic density (PSD) thickness, and length of the synaptic active zone. (I) mRNA levels of Syn and Psd95. Dots in panels represent individual samples. Data are presented as mean ± SEM. *P< 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001. Fig. S8. The methods section is supplemented. (A) The average daily food intake of offspring rats. Dots in panels represent individual samples. (B) Bacterial colonies formed under an anaerobic condition in the feces of SPF rats and pseudo-sterile rats.

ABSTRACT The present study had as the main objective the documentation and characterization of the different phenological stages, as well as the definition of the thermal requirements, of the atemoya tree for two agronomic seasons. From shoot development to senescence and beginning of the rest period eight main stages were described (shoot development, leaf development, shoot/bud growth, inflorescence appearance, flowering, fruit development, fruit maturity and senescence and the beginning of the rest period). The number of days and the thermal requirements for completing each phenological stage were different between the two agronomic seasons of the atemoya. The first and second agronomic season presented a period of 217 and 206 days, with thermal requirements of 2469 and 2302 degree days, respectively.

In language emergence, neural agents acquire communication skills by interacting with one another and the environment. Through these interactions, agents learn to connect or ground their observations to the messages they utter, forming a shared consensus about the meaning of the messages. Such connections form what we refer to as a grounding map. However, these maps can often be complicated, unstructured, and contain redundant connections. In this paper, we introduce two novel functional pressures, modeled as differentiable auxiliary losses, to simplify and structure the grounding maps. The first pressure enforces compositionality via topological similarity, which has been previously discussed but has not been modeled or utilized as a differentiable auxiliary loss. The second functional pressure, which is conceptually novel, imposes sparsity in the grounding map by pruning weaker connections while strengthening the stronger ones. We conduct experiments in multiple value-attribute environments with varying communication channels. Our methods achieve improved out-of-domain regularization and rapid convergence over baseline approaches. Furthermore, introduced functional pressures are robust to the changes in experimental conditions and able to operate with minimum training data. We note that functional pressures cause simpler and more structured emergent languages showing distinct characteristics depending on the functional pressure employed. Enhancing grounding map sparsity yields the best performance and the languages with the most compressible grammar. In summary, our novel functional pressures, focusing on compositionality and sparse groundings, expedite the development of simpler, more structured languages while enhancing their generalization capabilities. Exploring alternative types of functional pressures and combining them in agent training may be beneficial in the ongoing quest for improved emergent languages.

In language emergence, neural agents acquire communication skills by interacting with one another and the environment. Through these interactions, agents learn to connect or ground their observations to the messages they utter, forming a shared consensus about the meaning of the messages. Such connections form what we refer to as a grounding map. However, these maps can often be complicated, unstructured, and contain redundant connections. In this paper, we introduce two novel functional pressures, modeled as differentiable auxiliary losses, to simplify and structure the grounding maps. The first pressure enforces compositionality via topological similarity, which has been previously discussed but has not been modeled or utilized as a differentiable auxiliary loss. The second functional pressure, which is conceptually novel, imposes sparsity in the grounding map by pruning weaker connections while strengthening the stronger ones. We conduct experiments in multiple value-attribute environments with varying communication channels. Our methods achieve improved out-of-domain regularization and rapid convergence over baseline approaches. Furthermore, introduced functional pressures are robust to the changes in experimental conditions and able to operate with minimum training data. We note that functional pressures cause simpler and more structured emergent languages showing distinct characteristics depending on the functional pressure employed. Enhancing grounding map sparsity yields the best performance and the languages with the most compressible grammar. In summary, our novel functional pressures, focusing on compositionality and sparse groundings, expedite the development of simpler, more structured languages while enhancing their generalization capabilities. Exploring alternative types of functional pressures and combining them in agent training may be beneficial in the ongoing quest for improved emergent languages.

ABSTRACT: Physalis peruviana L. is a perennial plant, but commonly referred as annual in commercial crops. The cultivation of this species might be successful in Brazilian subtropical areas with an adequate and planned management. The objective of the present study was to quantify the production of Physalis peruviana L. with or without plastic covering over plant canopies, using two planting densities, managing the number of stems, and pruning side stems. This study was divided in two experiments; the first experiment evaluated the effect of spacing between each plant and the use of plastic covering in fruit production. The second experiment investigated the effect of the number of productive stems and of pruning in fruit production. The experimental design used for both experiments was randomized blocks, in 2 x 2 factorial scheme, which contained 6 blocks and 10 plants per plot. The following were analyzed for both experiments: production variables, estimated production, number of fruits per plant, mean fruit mass, mean fruit length and diameter, and chlorophyll relative index. Plastic covering and number of stems did not influence fruit production. The 3.0 x 0.5 m spacing without pruning side stems provided a larger production.

Degree of freedom, sum of squares, mean square, F-value, and p-value for multifactorial analysis of variance are shown here. Multifactorial analysis of variance was conducting accounting for potential interaction effects as well as using an additive model, which does not account for interaction effects. (XLSX)