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Background: Currently, case studies or clinical trials in different patient populations remain the main resource underlying the understanding of disorder of consciousness (DoC). This provides a low efficacy for the derivation of data and the implementation of associated controlled experimental designs. Preclinical models provide precise controls, reduced variability, rich data output and limited ethical complexity. Nonhuman primates are suitable model animals for disorders of consciousness due to their brain structure being very similar to that of humans. Behavioral tests remain the primary standard for assessing the consciousness status of humans. However, there is currently no behavioral assessment scale available for evaluation of the state of consciousness disorder in nonhuman primates. This presents a significant challenge for the establishment of different models of consciousness disorder. Therefore, there is considerable motivation to focus on the development of a proper tool for assessment of the state of consciousness associated with nonhuman primate models that are based on clinically common consciousness assessment scales. Methods: It is assumed that the Delphi and level analysis methods based on clinical consciousness disorder assessment scales may provide an effective way to select and include assessment indexes for levels of consciousness in nonhuman primates. Results: 8 first-level indicators with 41 second-level indexes were selected preliminary as a pool of evaluation entries of state of consciousness of nonhuman primates. Conclusions: It may be practicable to extract appropriate indicators for non-human primates from the clinical consciousness disorder assessment scales. Besides, a combination of Delphi method, behavioral analysis, electroencephalography, neuroimaging (such as positron emission tomography-computed tomography) and functional magnetic resonance imaging is necessary to test the reliability and validity of the novel scale reported here.

Valsa canker, caused by Valsa mali, is a destructive disease of apple in China. The pathogen infects apple branches, mainly through pinning wounds, and causes branch and tree death. To determine the conditions required for V. mali infection through pruning wounds and growth within the xylem, pinning wounds on 1- to 4-year-old apple branches were inoculated with conidia in vitro under artificially controlled conditions and in vivo in the orchard. The effects of temperature, wetness duration, and wound age on conidial infection through paining wounds as well as hyphal growth in the xylem were examined. The results showed that, after invading through pruning wounds, V. mali hyphae grew along xylem vessels, tracheids, and rays, expanding longitudinally and laterally. The hyphae could enter adjacent xylem vessels and tracheids through micropores to form a dense hyphal network. Wetness duration did not exhibit an essential effect on conidial infection from pruning wounds. Conidia spread to pinning wounds with rainwater could infect the xylem without any other extra moisture. Temperature for V. mali conidia infection through pinning wounds and hyphal extension in the xylem ranged from 5 to 35°C, with the optimum at 20°C. Pruning wounds made in late March were susceptible to V. mali infection in March, April, and May; the susceptibility was markedly deceased by June, and the pathogen could barely infect through the pruning wounds in November. The infected pruning wounds began to show symptoms from the spring of the following year. More than half of the observed Valsa canker lesions emerged in the spring of the second year, and new canker twigs were also developed from the inoculations in the spring of the third year. March, April, and May are the critical periods for protecting pruning wounds against infection by V. mali in China, and coating paining wounds with protective film immediately after pruning is an easy and effective measure to protect the pruning wounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glomerella leaf spot (GLS) caused by Glomerella cingulata is a newly emergent disease that results in severe defoliation and fruit spots. Currently, GLS is not effectively controlled in China due to a lack of understanding of its epidemiology. Therefore, the effects of temperature, wetness duration, and moisture on conidial germination, infection, and the disease incubation period of GLS were examined by inoculating cv. Gala apple leaves with a conidial suspension and performing in vitro germination assays. Conidia could germinate and form appressoria at temperatures ranging from 5 to 35°C, with an optimum temperature of 27.6°C. The germination of conidia required free water or a nearly saturated relative humidity, with only a few conidia germinating and forming appressoria when the RH was less than 99%. The conidial germination dynamics at 10, 25, and 30°C were well represented by three logistic models. The infection of cv. Gala apple leaves by conidia occurred at temperatures ranging from 15 to 35°C. The minimum wetness duration required for infection by conidia at different temperatures was described using a polynomial equation, and the lowest minimum wetness duration was 2.76 h, which occurred at 27.6°C according to the polynomial. Successful infection by conidia was represented by the number of lesions per leaf, which increased with extended wetness durations at the conidial infection stage for six tested temperatures, with the exception of 10°C, when the minimum wetness durations were satisfied. The associations of successfully infected conidia with wetness duration at temperatures of 15, 20, 25, and 30°C were described by four logistic models. Conidia infections developed into visible lesions at temperatures ranging from 15 to 30°C, and the shortest incubation period of 2 days was observed at 25°C. These data and models can be used to construct forecasting models and develop effective control systems for Glomerella leaf spot. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Botryosphaeria dothidea is a fungal pathogen causing canker, dieback, and fruit rot of apple trees worldwide. Ascospores are an important source of inoculum of Botryosphaeria canker in China. Experiments were conducted under both controlled and natural conditions to study perithecium formation in relation to environmental conditions. Perithecia of B. dothidea were detected on cankered lesions throughout the apple growing season except in July and in some years including August under natural conditions. On newly formed canker lesions, the first perithecium was detected as early as August, about 1 week after rainfall. Perithecia matured successively, lasting from early August to June of the next year, with a peak in late September or early October. Temperature and rainfall are two key environmental factors affecting perithecium formation. Under controlled conditions, perithecia were produced only on cankered shoots incubated at test temperatures of 20 and 25°C and wetted by >3 days of simulated rainfall per week. The number of perithecia produced on canker lesions increased with the increase in rainfall duration. Perithecia were formed on canker shoots exposed to rainfall only in June, July, and August but not in September. Rainfall of >3 days per week can be used to predict the initial formation of perithecia in the main apple production areas in China to assist disease management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phytophthora fruit rot, caused by Phytophthora cactorum, is an important disease of apple in China, often causing more than 50% fruit rot in rainy years. We examined the effects of temperature and moisture on the development of the disease and effects of the variables on zoospore release and germination, infection, and lesion development. In vitro, a temperature range of 5 to 20°C had no significant effects on zoospore release dynamics but did significantly affect the quantities of released zoospores. The largest quantity of zoospores was released at 9.9°C according to a fitted model. Zoosporangia released zoospores within 15 min at the test temperatures (0 to 20°C), which peaked at the fourth hour. Zoospores germinated in vitro, requiring free water, at temperatures from 5 to 35°C. The optimum germination temperature was 25.1°C according to a fitted model. The minimum wetness duration required for zoospores to complete the infection process and induce visible lesions on Fuji fruit was 0.40 h at the optimal temperature of 23.0°C according to the fitted model, whereas observed values were 4.5, 1.5, 0.5, 1.5 and 8.5 h at 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30°C, respectively. The number of zoospore infections on fruit at various temperatures and wetness durations were well fitted by the modified Weibull model; based on the model, the optimal temperature for zoospore infections was 23.0°C. Young apple fruit infected by zoospores developed visible lesions from 10 to 30°C, with a predicted optimum of 23.5°C; no lesions developed at 5 or 35°C. The shortest incubation period of the disease was 4 days. These results can be used to develop disease forecasting models for improved fungicide control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]