Drought stress is a major cause of postproduction decline in bedding plants. The plant hormone abscisic acid (ABA) regulates drought stress responses by mediating stomatal closure, thereby reducing transpirational water loss. Exogenous ABA applications delay wilting and allow plants to survive short periods of severe drought. The effectiveness of the ABA biochemical, s-ABA (ConTegoä; Valent BioSciences Corp., Libertyville, IL), at delaying wilting and extending shelf life during drought stress was evaluated in six bedding plant species. Spray and drench applications of 0 or 500 mgÁL -1 s-ABA were applied to Impatiens walleriana (impatiens), Pelargonium ·hortorum (seed geranium), Petunia ·hybrida (petunia), Tagetes patula (marigold), Salvia splendens (salvia), and Viola ·wittrockiana (pansy). Water was subsequently withheld and wilting symptoms were compared between treated and control plants. s-ABA applications delayed wilting in all crops by 1.7 to 4.3 days. Leaf chlorosis was observed after s-ABA application in drought-stressed seed geraniums, marigolds, and pansies. In seed geraniums and marigolds, the drought stress itself resulted in leaf chlorosis that was equivalent to or more severe than the s-ABA application alone. In pansies, s-ABA applications induced leaf chlorosis that was more severe than the drought treatment. Overall, s-ABA was consistently effective at reducing water loss and extending shelf life for all species treated. Applications of s-ABA to bedding plants before shipping and retailing would allow plants to maintain marketability even under severe drought stress conditions.

Previous unsubstantiated reports by children and adolescents suggest tacit parental acceptance of their gambling behaviour. A Canadian national survey of parents with teens between the ages of 13 and 18 revealed that in general parents view adolescent gambling as a relatively unimportant issue compared to other potentially risky behaviours. Parental attitudes toward youth gambling, their knowledge and awareness of youth gambling prevention programs, and their gambling behaviours with their children suggest that gambling has become normalized, with few parents being aware of the potential seriousness of youth gambling. The results are interpreted with the aim of improving harm minimization and prevention initiatives.

Intraoperative vascular evaluation with indocyanine green fluorescence imaging and Doppler examination of the gastric conduit used to assist reconstruction after esophagectomy allows for enhanced construction of the conduit that maximizes blood supply to the anastomosis. This change in practice was associated with a significant reduction in anastomotic leak rate.

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The influences of verbal mental age (VMA) and performance mental age (PMA) on cognitive flexibility were examined among a group of participants with Down syndrome (DS), in order to disentangle the relative contributions of each. The impaired cognitive flexibility typically observed among individuals with DS in combination with uneven VMA and PMA development suggests an opportunity to further understand the developmental relationship between VMA, PMA, and cognitive flexibility. We examined the performance of 22 participants with DS on the Flexible Item Selection Task (FIST), used for measuring cognitive flexibility among preschoolers. Partial correlations revealed that only VMA was related to the FIST after controlling for PMA, highlighting the role of verbal abilities in the development of cognitive flexibility.

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Gibberellic acid (GA 3 ) increases juice yield of processing oranges, but results are inconsistent. Preliminary research suggested that this variability might be related to application timing. Therefore, we conducted an experiment to determine the optimal time to apply GA 3 for increasing juice yield of 'Hamlin', 'Pineapple', and 'Valencia' sweet oranges [Citrus sinensis (L.) Osb.]. Mature trees of each cultivar were sprayed with ≈10 L of a solution of GA 3 (45 g·ha -1 a.i.) and organo-silicone surfactant (Silwet, 0.05%) between 2 Sept. and 9 Dec. 1998, and 25 Sept. and 9 Dec. 1999, or remained non-sprayed (control). Generally, the earliest application dates were most effective at maintaining peel puncture resistance above that of control fruit, while the latest application dates resulted in the most green peel color at harvest. Juice yield of 'Hamlin' and 'Valencia', but not 'Pineapple', was increased by GA 3 at some application timings and harvest dates in both years. The increase in juice yield was related to time between application and harvest; juice yield of 'Hamlin' was greatest ≈2 months, and 'Valencia' ≈5 months after GA 3 application. Treated fruit often had lower juice Brix than non-sprayed fruit, a phenomenon that often paralleled treatment effects on peel color. When treatments did not increase juice yield but reduced juice Brix, then yield of solids was sometimes lower than for non-treated fruit. Treatments generally delayed flowering of 'Pineapple' and 'Valencia' but not 'Hamlin'.