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Intensive antiplatelet therapy with three agents might be more effective than guideline treatment for preventing recurrent events in patients with acute cerebral ischaemia. We aimed to compare the safety and efficacy of intensive antiplatelet therapy (combined aspirin, clopidogrel, and dipyridamole) with that of guideline-based antiplatelet therapy.

Tenecteplase is a modified tissue plasminogen activator with a longer half-life and higher fibrin specificity than alteplase.

To correlate the two types of early ischemic change on noncontrast CT (NCCT) (parenchymal hypoattenuation PH and isolated focal swelling IFS) with concurrent assessment of cerebral perfusion and to compare their rates of progression to infarction.

The ISLAND module in the National Transport Code Collaboration (NTCC) Module Library computes the saturated widths of multiple magnetic islands due to neoclassical tearing modes by implementing a quasi-linear model that includes the effects of arbitrary aspect ratio, cross-sectional shape, and plasma beta. This paper presents a significantly improved version of the module available at the NTCC Library. The model was updated to include the distortion of islands caused by the radial variation of the perturbed magnetic field near the mode rational surface. The computer algorithm implemented by the module was redesigned to increase its speed, reliability and accuracy. The new module has been successfully interfaced with the BALDUR integrated modeling code, where it is used to compute the saturated widths of multiple islands in tokamak discharges.

Improved models are developed for integrated simulations of pedestal formation and edge localized mode (ELM) cycles at the edge of H-mode tokamak plasmas. The H-mode pedestal is formed in the simulations when flow shear and magnetic shear reduce the transport driven by drift modes at the edge of the plasma (Pankin A Y et al2005 Plasma Phys. Control. Fusion47483). A large part of the flow shear is produced by the diamagnetic drift and the poloidal velocity, which is computed using a neoclassical model. Ion thermal transport is reduced to near the neoclassical level while electron thermal transport is reduced to the electron temperature gradient mode transport. A relatively large current density is driven in the pedestal by the bootstrap current. If the heating power is large enough, the pedestal growth is limited by ELM crashes, which are triggered by ideal MHD instabilities. Integrated simulations using these improved models are validated by comparing the simulation results with data for plasma profiles during the pedestal formation and with data for the ELM crash frequency. Simulations using the validated model are carried out for 31 Inernational Profile Database DIII-D and JET discharges.

An improved model for triggering edge localized mode (ELM) crashes is developed for use within integrated modelling simulations of the pedestal and ELM cycles at the edge of H-mode tokamak plasmas. The new model is developed by using the BALOO, DCON and ELITE ideal MHD stability codes to derive parametric expressions for the ELM triggering threshold. The whole toroidal mode number spectrum is studied with these codes. The DCON code applies to low mode numbers, while the BALOO code applies to only high mode numbers and the ELITE code applies to intermediate and high mode numbers. The variables used in the parametric stability expressions are the normalized pressure gradient and the parallel current density, which drive ballooning and peeling modes. Two equilibria motivated by DIII-D geometry with different plasma triangularities are studied. It is found that the stable region in the high triangularity discharge covers a much larger region of parameter space than the corresponding stability region in the low triangularity discharge. The new ELM trigger model is used together with a previously developed model for pedestal formation and ELM crashes in the ASTRA integrated modelling code to follow the time evolution of the temperature profiles during ELM cycles. The ELM frequencies obtained in the simulations of low and high triangularity discharges are observed to increase with increasing heating power. There is a transition from second stability to first ballooning mode stability as the heating power is increased in the high triangularity simulations. The results from the ideal MHD stability codes are compared with results from the resistive MHD stability code NIMROD.

A model is developed for use in integrated modelling codes to predict the height, width and shape of the H-mode pedestal as well as the frequency and width of edge localized modes (ELMs). The model for the H-mode pedestal in tokamak plasmas is based on flow shear reduction of anomalous transport, while the periodic ELM crashes are triggered by MHD instabilities. The formation of the pedestal and the L-H transition in this model are the direct result of flow shear suppression of transport. Suppression of the anomalous transport enhances the role of neoclassical transport in the pedestal region. The ratio of suppression of anomalous thermal transport in electron and ion channels controls the ratio of electron to ion temperature at the top of the pedestal. Two mechanisms for triggering ELMs are considered. ELMs are triggered by ballooning modes if the pressure gradient exceeds the ballooning limit or by peeling modes if the edge current density exceeds the peeling mode criterion. The models for the pedestal and ELMs are used in a predictive integrated modelling code to follow the time evolution of tokamak discharges from L-mode through the transition from L-mode to H-mode, with the formation of the H-mode pedestal, and, subsequently, the triggering of ELMs. The objective is to produce self-consistent predictions of the width, height and shape of the H-mode pedestal and the frequency of ELMs. The dependences of pedestal temperature, pedestal width and ELM frequency as a function of plasma heating power, magnetic field and density are discussed.

The GLF23 and multi-mode core transport models are used along with models for the H-mode pedestal to predict the fusion performance for the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor, Fusion Ignition Research Experiment, and IGNITOR tokamak designs. Simulations using combinations of core and pedestal models have also been compared with experimental data for H-mode profiles in DIII-D, JET, and Alcator C-Mod. Power-independent (ballooning mode limit) and power-dependent pedestal scalings lead to very different predictions when used with the core models. Although the two drift-wave transport models reproduce the core profiles in a wide variety of tokamak discharges, they differ in their projections to burning plasma experiments for the same pedestal parameters. Differences in the core transport models in their response to the ion temperature gradient (i.e. their stiffness) and impact of the power dependence of the H-mode pedestal on fusion performance predictions are discussed.

There is a strong association between the occurrence of leukoaraiosis and normal-pressure hydrocephalus (NPH). Venous compression secondary to alterations in craniospinal compliance is implicated in the pathogenesis of NPH, and venous pathology has also been implicated in leukoaraiosis. The purpose of this paper is to compare and contrast the blood-flow and fluid-pulsatility characteristics of these conditions. I initially studied 18 subjects without pathology, with MRI flow-quantification studies of the cerebral arteries and veins, to define the range of normality. The main study involved 10 patients with idiopathic dementia but no leukoaraiosis who served as controls, 50 with idiopathic dementia with varying degrees of leukoaraiosis and 18 with NPH. I compared blood-flow volumes, vascular pulse-wave amplitudes and velocities. There was no significant difference in blood flow across the dementia patients. In patients with moderate leukoaraiosis, arterial pulsatility was 69%, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) pulsation 104%, sagittal sinus pulsatility 48% and cortical vein pulsatility 34% higher than in demented patients without leukoaraiosis. Patients with NPH showed similar results with arterial pulsatility increased by 56% and sagittal sinus pulsatility by 70%. By contrast, the NPH patients' CSF pulse was 42% and the pulse wave delay at the sagittal sinus 50% less than in moderate leukoaraiosis. Thus, leukoaraiosis and NPH share increased arterial and sinus pulsatility. In leukoaraiosis cortical vein compliance is initially increased but in severe leukoaraiosis and NPH it is reduced.

Fungicide treatments, repeated twice yearly at timings suitable for controlling eyespot, to plots of continuous winter wheat over 17 yr (except for a year in "set-aside"), resulted in altered population structures of the eyespot pathogens (Tapesiaspp.) and performance of the fungicides. Carbendazim failed to control eyespot after 3 yr of the experiment because of rapid selection for resistance. Carbendazim often increased disease compared with that in untreated plots. This may have resulted from control of unknown antagonistic fungi or, possibly, from selection for increased fitness in carbendazim -resistant strains. In the final years of the experiment, prochloraz, applied with or without carbendazim, became ineffective. This gradual loss of efficacy is explained by selection in favour of T. acuformisrather than T. yallundae(which had a naturally narrower range of sensitivity levels in its populations) and for strains with least sensitivity within the T. acuformispopulation, although no resistance to prochloraz was found. Effects of treatments on yield were usually not statistically significant. This may be explained partly by the predominance of the more slowly developing T. acuformisin many of the plots.

The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to identify and quantify all fungal pathogens of wheat (Triticum aestivum) stem bases in nine field experiments at three locations in England. The main aim was to apply quantitative PCR to provide robust data on the efficacy of new fungicides against the individual components of the stem-base disease complex. Cyprodinil most effectively controlled eyespot by decreasing both pathogens, Tapesia yallundaeand T. acuformis(the most widespread species), and sometimes contributed to increased yields. Prochloraz controlled eyespot less consistently, its effectiveness dependent mainly on the presence of T. yallundaeor on rainfall events soon after application. Azoxystrobin contributed to yield increases most consistently. Although it decreased sharp eyespot and its pathogen, Rhizoctonia cerealis, these effects were insufficient to account for much of the yield increases. The effects of fungicides on eyespot were sometimes greatest on the most susceptible cultivars. Amounts of TapesiaDNA were usually consistent with cultivar susceptibility ratings. The only pathogens of brown foot rot present in significant amounts were Microdochium nivalevars nivaleand majus.They appeared not to affect yield or to respond greatly to fungicides. The susceptibility of cultivars to these pathogens was sometimes similar to their susceptibility to eyespot, suggesting that they may respond to the same host resistance genes or may in some cases be secondary colonisers of eyespot-infected plants.

Average percentages of winter wheat plants with severe take‐all were decreased by up to half by azoxystrobin applied as foliar sprays in four field experiments. Decreased take‐all in three of the experiments was associated with increased grain yield but effects on other diseases may have contributed to these responses. Standard fungicide sprays were ineffective. The effects differed, but not consistently, among different cultivars that were tested in three of the experiments. One, two or three sprays of azoxystrobin or kresoxim‐methyl, in autumn, spring or summer, were tested in the fourth experiment. Unlike azoxystrobin, kresoxim‐methyl had no consistent effects but a smaller amount was applied. Two or three sprays of azoxystrobin were more effective than a single spray but their timing was unimportant. Such control of a root disease by a foliar‐applied fungicide is unusual but may help to explain some of the unexpectedly large yield responses to azoxystrobin that have been reported. This relatively broad‐spectrum fungicide may have the potential to contribute to the practical management of take‐all but further research is needed to determine how best to exploit its effects consistently.

A new species of Ramulispora, R. cerealis sp. nov., isolated from the stem base of a barley plant, is described.

The mode of hyphal interaction and parasitism of Coemansia spp., mainly C. aciculifera and C. thaxteri, by Gliocladium roseum, Fusarium flocciferum and Verticillium psalliotae, species that occurred with the Coemansia spp. in wheat rhizospheres, was observed in mixed cultures on low nutrient medium. Two types of interaction occurred. G. roseum and F. flocciferum coiled round, penetrated and grew within the host's hyphae. V. psalliotae grew parallel to and along the host's hyphae, coiling only rarely, and sometimes formed thick mycelial layers on the host's sporangiophores. After infection by each fungus, the host's hyphae became narrower, collapsed and then disintegrated. The observations suggest parasitism followed by lysis rather than the involvement of antibiotics.

Winter wheat was grown for six successive years (Expt 1) and for three successive years (Expt 2) in field experiments on different soil types. Artificial inoculum of the take-all fungus (Gaeumannomyces graminisvar. triticicultured on autoclaved oat grains) was incorporated in the soil of some of the plots just before, or at, sowing of the first winter wheat crop. Expt 1 tested the incorporation of similar amounts of inoculum (212 kg ha-1) at different depths. Expt 2 tested different amounts of inoculum at the same, shallow depth. Early sowing (September), late sowing (October) and spring inoculation were additional treatments, applied to the first crop only, in Expt 2.

Coemansia aciculifera, C. scorpioidea and C. thaxteri were found in the rhizosphere of wheat and a fungus resembling C. spiralis was found in the rhizosphere of barley from two fields in eastern England when serially washed root pieces were incubated on low nutrient agar (SNA).

Wheat ears were inoculated with conidia of Fusariumspp. at different growth stages between ear emergence and harvest and moist conditions were maintained for up to 7 days subsequently by mist irrigation. Of the fungi tested (Fusarium culmorum, F. avenaceum, F. tricinctum, F. sporotrichioidesand Microdochium nivale), only F. culmorumproduced ear blight symptoms and grain samples were found subsequently to contain deoxynivalenol. Most ear infection and deoxynivalenol formation occurred following inoculation at about mid-anthesis. Small amounts of deoxynivalenol were formed and some F. culmorumwas isolated even in the absence of ear blight symptoms. An overnight wet period was sufficient to initiate infection and deoxynivalenol formation but both were increased by extending the wet period up to at least 3 days. Recovery of Fusariumspp. from harvested grain was usually possible whether or not symptoms developed. F. culmorumusually persisted and often increased to moderately high levels after storage for 7 wk in a range of moisture conditions.

Apothecia of the eyespot fungus,Tapesia yallundae, were found on 0–18% of straws in plots of wheat stubble in February–March 1994. The fungicides carbendazim, prochloraz or carbendazim plus prochloraz had been applied repeatedly to the same plots in each of the previous 9 years in which successive wheat crops had been grown. The factors most strongly correlated with the incidence of apothecia were the incidence and severity of eyespot in the preceding wheat crop and the frequency of carbendazim-resistant W-type fungus in populations recovered from that wheat crop. Plots treated with carbendazim, which had previously had more disease and more resistance to carbendazim in the pathogen population relative to untreated plots, therefore yielded most apothecia. Plots treated with prochloraz, which had selected for predominantly R-type fungus and decreased eyespot, yielded few apothecia. Single-ascospore isolates were all of the W-type and were more frequently carbendazim-sensitive than expected, except those from plots treated only with carbendazim. None showed decreased sensitivity to prochloraz. The implications of applying fungicides regularly for controlling eyespot on the capability of the eyespot fungus for genetic variation through sexual reproduction are discussed.

Four rare microfungi, Dactylaria appendiculata, Exserohilum novae-zelandiae, Monacrosporium psychrophilum and Pleurocatena acicularis, were found when root pieces taken from wheat crops were incubated on low nutrient agar (SNA).

Experiments in controlled environments tested interactions between freezing soil (a compost-vermiculite mixture) and below-ground infection of white lupins with each of three pathogenic fungi (Botrytis cinerea, Fusarium avenaceumor Pleiochaeta setosa)on plant disease and death. Whilst soil freezing (up to 4 days at - 1oC) caused slight necrosis and increased the severity of disease symptoms, incidence of plant death was increased only after inoculation, before freezing, of the lower hypocotyl of the youngest plants (soil frozen at less than 17 days old) with P. setosa.It is concluded that the contribution of below-ground infection by pathogenic fungi to overwinter losses in autumn-sown white lupin crops is exacerbated to a negligible extent by soil freezing, the main primary cause of such losses.

Soil samples (0-10 cm depth) taken from plots of continuous winter wheat at intervals between January 1993 and July 1996 were dilution-plated on PCNB agar to identify and enumerate colony-forming units (cfus) of Fusariumspp. Cfus of the main wheat pathogen, F. culmorum, were more numerous in soil from plots that were shallow-cultivated to 10 cm after each harvest than in those that were ploughed. They were also usually more numerous in plots in which straw had been chopped and incorporated (by shallow cultivation or ploughing) than in those in which straw had been burnt. Increasing amounts of straw tended to increase the number of cfus. Deeper sampling (15-25 cm) showed that ploughing resulted in a more even, but diluted, distribution of cfus down the soil profile. Populations of some commonly found species that are not pathogenic on wheat F. oxysporum, F. equiseti, F. flocciferumand F. merismoides)were sometimes also affected by straw disposal or cultivation treatments. Alternative methods of estimating population densities (baiting soil with wheat kernels or wheat seedlings, or plating-out straw fragments) showed generally similar effects of treatments on populations of F. culmorum; the relative merits of the methods are considered. Large differences in population densities of all species occurred within and between seasons. The smallest populations were found in January 1995 but, in the case of F. culmorum, they increased to relatively large numbers in July 1995. The summer of 1995 was warm and dry and especially favourable for development of fusarium foot rot. Severe disease occurred only in this year and was less frequent after ploughing than after tine-cultivation but more frequent after straw burning than after straw incorporation. The implications of these observations for understanding the role of propagules of F. culmorumin soil as inoculum for foot rot are discussed.

In a series of three field experiments with factorial design, on sites that had not grown lupins previously, sowing date was the main factor affecting over-winter survival of autumn-sown white lupin. In 1993, the sowing dates (23 September and 20 October) were too late to prevent much plant death in autumn and early winter, with the onset of frosts. In 1994, the sowing dates (30 August and 22 September) were early enough to prevent severe frost damage, but infestations of bean seed fly (Delia platura)occurred, more in the later than in the earlier sown crops, causing wilting and plant death. Losses were decreased where furothiocarb seed treatment was applied. In 1995, losses were greater in early-sown (12 September) than in later sown (28 September) crops; plant death was gradual, occurring into the spring, and was apparently associated with over-development of young shoots before an unusually long, cold winter. A chlorpyrifos spray (13 or 29 September for early or late sown plots, respectively) slightly increased survival, possibly by controlling Thrips angusticeps.Fungicides applied to seed or as sprays in late autumn had little or no effect in these experiments. In another series of experiments to test fungicides, in 1992-93 and 1993-94, survival was poor following late sowing (in October), but was increased by application of prochloraz in December or January, or, in 1994, by seed treatment with thiram.

The majority of isolates ofFusarium avenaceumcaused dry rot on potato tubers; many were as pathogenic asF. coeruleum. Pathogenicity ofF. avenaceumwas not related to the plant species from which the isolates originated. Tubers of potato cv. Cara were more susceptible than those of cvs Romano or Maris Piper. Temperature (5–15° C) had no effect on lesion depth but lesions tended to be slightly wider at the lowest temperature. Two isolates (of 61) from wheat and white lupin had a moderate level of resistance to thiabendazole. The results are discussed in relation to the control of dry rot in stored potato tubers.

Fusarium avenaccumis pathogenic on a wide range of hosts. Isolates of F. avenaceumwere obtained from root samples of different crops including lupins, beans, wheat and brassicas from fields at Rothamsted with different cropping histories. Nuclear ribosomal DNA (rDNA) from 80 isolates was amplified by PCR using ITS4 and ITS5 primers. RFLP analysis revealed two definite pattern of bands suggesting two distinct groups among the isolates. Analysis using RAPDs revealed great variation among isolates, including those from the same host and from the same field. Vegetative compatibility was studied in 20 isolates by using nit-mutants and high VCG diversity was observed with 16 VCGs. Our results suggest a high degree of variation among the isolates of F. avenaceum.

The influenceof aluminium (up to 0·2 wt.-%) on the structure and high temperature adherence of scales formed on pure iron has been studied over the temperature range 850–1050° for simulated burnt town's gas atmospheres, with and without additions of 5 vol.-% of free oxygen. Weight-gain measurements revealed that whilst additions of up to 0·045 wt.-% of aluminium tended to produce an increase in the oxidation rate of pure iron, the presenceof 0·2wt.-% of aluminium conferred some protection. The former effect was particularly marked at 850–950°, and the latter at 850°. Both effectsweremost apparent during oxidation in mixtures of carbon dioxide and water vapour. Scale adherence was assessedby means of a hot bend test carried out in situwithin a controlled atmosphere furnace. The development of tensile stresses in the scale/metal interface region of the strip specimens employed successfully revealed the significantly weaker adhesion of scales which formed on alloys containing o·1–0·2 wt.-% of aluminium by oxidation at 950–1050°. Weak adhesion, which was more evident in thicker scales containing a higher proportion of structural defects, was governed by aluminium-rich oxidation products at the scale/metal interface and within adjacent regions of the scale.

Growing rats were fed tissue from lambs or butterfat from cows that had consumed DDT-dusted alfalfa hay as part of their diets for 12 to 16 weeks. The concentration of DDT varied from .1 to 30 ppm. on a dry basis. No significant differences in food consumption, rate of growth, or tissue change could be detected by gross and microscopi examination in the rats fed the highest am lowest levels of DDT. High concentrations of DDT in the diet of rats gave the greates storage of it in their body fat.