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Developing host resistance is an economic and long-term approach to disease management; however, resistance reactions that differ depending on the genotypes. Potato late blight is the devastating disease caused due to Phytophthora infestans (Mont.) de Bary. In order to identify late blight resistance in potato genotypes, seven local potato cultivars (Bardiya Rato Local, Bardiya Seto Local, Cardinal, Deukhuri Rato Local, Deukhuri Seto Local, Kailali Local and Khumal Ujjowal) were evaluated in randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications during October 2018 to January 2019 on naturally infested soils in Deukhuri, Dang, Nepal. Results showed that significantly the highest disease incidence (99.17%), and the highest disease severity (88%) were found on Cardinal followed by Deukhuri Rato Local (64%), and Deukhuri Seto Local (60%). Potato cultivar namely Khumal Ujjowal was moderately resistant, whereas Deukhuri Rato local and Deukhuri Seto Local were susceptible to late blight disease. Significantly the highest yield (12.67 t ha -1 ) was produced by Khumal Ujjowal followed by Bardiya Rato Local (10.78 t ha -1 ) and Bardiya Seto Local (9.40 t ha -1 ). The disease incidence and Area under disease progressive curve (AUDPC) value was negatively co-related with the tuber yield. The potato cultivar Khumal Ujjowal followed by Bardiya Rato Local were found moderately resistant to late blight disease in Deukhuri conditions. This study suggests that potato cultivar Bardiya Rato Local can be grown for higher tuber production in Dang and similar topographic regions. DOI: 10.37637/ab.v3i1.464

The Parsnip River area in British Columbia (BC), Canada, provides important habitat for grizzly bears (Ursus arctos). This area contains 2 adjacent topographic regions: (1) a relatively pristine portion of the Hart Ranges of the Canadian Rocky Mountains, and (2) a plateau on which timber harvests have occurred. Increasing human modification of both landscapes may affect the quality of grizzly bear habitat. Therefore, we examined denning behavior and den-site selection of grizzly bears in this area based on data from 61 grizzly bears radiocollared between 1997 and 2002 (34 plateau, 27 mountain bears). Adult females residing in the mountainous landscape arrived earlier to their denning areas (14 Oct versus 26 Oct), entered dens earlier (23 Oct versus 9 Nov), and emerged later (11 May versus 24 Apr) than plateau females, spending on average 36 days longer in their dens (200 days versus 164 days). Dens used in consecutive years by mountain females tended to be closer to one another (x = 2.4 km) than those of plateau females (x = 5.1 km). Dens in the mountains were excavations into sloping ground (74%), or natural caves (26%), using rocks as the primary stabilizing structure (47%). Resource selection functions (RSF) revealed that mountain grizzly bears selected dens in alpine habitats at mid-to-upper elevations. Plateau bears mainly excavated dens under the base of trees (90%), where roots stabilized material (80%). These dens primarily were located in older-aged forest stands ranging from 45–99 years (40%) or >100 years (50%); RSFs further revealed that grizzly bears on the plateau selected stands with tall trees. Plateau dens also were located away from roads, possibly because of less disturbance and because older trees were farther from roads.

Thymic nurse cells are defined in vitro as multicellular complexes of epithelial cells and thymocytes. Although these structures have been implicated in the intrathymic differentiation of thymocytes, little is known about the biology of this cell complex and about the occurrence of the cells in the thymus in situ. Therefore, to clarify the matter, in this review we have presented characteristics of epithelial cells capable of forming complexes with thymocytes, in light of the literature data and the experience of the authors. The structure of cells within the complexes allowed us to distinguish three types of thymic nurse cells. Three-dimensional reconstruction of the thymus and observations employing TEM and SEM demonstrated the presence of distinct types of complexes in various topographic regions of the thymus. Where possible, the functional relevance of the morphological data was analyzed.

The course of GFAP expression by astrocytes has been immunohistochemically investigated during the first 30 weeks after human brain injury. In order to provide reliable data for a forensic wound age estimation, a quantitative morphometric analysis was performed considering the different topographic regions of the cortex as well as of the white matter. Compared to the GFAP immunoreactivity in unaltered control tissue, significantly increased numbers of GFAP positive astroglial cells could be detected adjacent to the cortical contusion from 1 day up to 4 weeks after brain injury.

The present review summarises the detailed recommendations for an optimal endoscopic-bioptic diagnostic procedure, endoscopic surveillance of and therapy for gastrointestinal diseases. The recommendations are mainly based on the S 3-guidelines and have been developed by histopathologists and gastroenterologists in interdisciplinary work. The material has been arranged according to topographic regions of the gastrointestinal tract and clinical problems. The focus is placed on diagnostic and surveillance of Barrett’s oesophagus, therapy and postoperative treatment for early gastrointestinal carcinoma, management of colon polyps and endoscopic surveillance of inflammatory bowel disease. Treatment recommendations for both ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease as well as low-grade and high-grade intraepithelial neoplasia and polypoid neoplasia are currently being intensively discussed. Thus we examine this controversial discussion in detail. Furthermore, the recent guidelines for Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) and gastric MALT-lymphoma diagnostics are included in this survey. To allow the gastroenterologist a time-sparing overview during practical work, most of the recommendations are presented in itemised form and summarised in tables and figures at the end of the discussion.

Current emphasis on risk factors associated with established vaccines and pressing needs for vaccines against certain viral transmitted diseases have stimulated the search for new conceptual and practical approaches to vaccine production. Among these developments, the idiotope vaccine method has produced promising results. In this review the basic and conceptual principles for idiotype vaccine design are discussed. A novel approach for identifying idiotopic structures in the three dimensional structure of internal idiotope antigens is developed. The method is based on the relationship of the immune response with the evolutionary variation and diversity of the immunoglobulin family. Idiotopic structures are found in specialized topographic regions on the surface of the immunoglobulin molecule. The knowledge of these idiotope domains will facilitate the synthesis of idiotope expressing peptides and the computer modeling of the three dimensional structure of internal idiotope antigens. Finally, the existing evidence for successful application of the idiotope vaccine method is summarized and new disease groups are identified which could benefit from the development of idiotope vaccines.