Characterization of the lipoxygenase (LOX) gene family in the Chinese white pear (Pyrus bretschneideri) and comparison with other members of the Rosaceae

Background Lipoxygenases (LOXs), a type of non-haem iron-containing dioxygenase, are ubiquitous enzymes in plants and participate in the formation of fruit aroma which is a very important aspect of fruit quality. Amongst the various aroma volatiles, saturated and unsaturated alcohols and aldehydes provide the characteristic aroma of the fruit. These compounds are formed from unsaturated fatty acids through oxidation, pyrolysis and reduction steps. This biosynthetic pathway involves at least four enzymes, including LOX, the enzyme responsible for lipid oxidation. Although some studies have been conducted on the LOX gene family in several species including Arabidopsis, soybean, cucumber and apple, there is no information from pear; and the evolutionary history of this gene family in the Rosaceae is still not resolved. Results In this study we identified 107 LOX homologous genes from five Rosaceous species (Pyrus bretschneideri, Malus × domestica, Fragaria vesca, Prunus mume and Prunus persica); 23 of these sequences were from pear. By using structure analysis, phylogenic analysis and collinearity analysis, we identified variation in gene structure and revealed the phylogenetic evolutionary relationship of this gene family. Expression of certain pear LOX genes during fruit development was verified by analysis of transcriptome data. Conclusions 23 LOX genes were identified in pear and these genes were found to have undergone a duplication 30–45 MYA; most of these 23 genes are functional. Specific gene duplication was found on chromosome4 in the pear genome. Useful information was provided for future research on the evolutionary history and transgenic research on LOX genes.

Demonstrating distinction at ‘the lowest edge of the black-coated class’: the family expenditures of Edwardian railway clerks

Families at the bottom end of the Edwardian white-collar income spectrum demonstrated middle-class status through observable consumption, at the cost of squeezing other expenditures, including ‘necessities’. This had negative economic impacts, lowering living standards due to inefficiently high budget shares for positional goods. Drawing on the work of Pierre Bourdieu, we examine how railway clerks sought to demonstrate ‘distinction’ from manual workers through certain conspicuous expenditures and how this strategy was progressively undermined by falling real incomes over the Edwardian period.

Regulating working families in the European Union: a history of disjointed strategies

Families in market economies worldwide have long been confronted with the demands of participating in paid work and providing care for their dependent members. The social, economic and political contexts within which families do so differ from country to country but an increasing number of governments are being asked to engage, or better engage, with this important area of public policy. What seems like a relatively simple goal – to enable families to better balance care-giving and paid employment – has raised several difficulties and dilemmas for policy makers which have been approached in different ways. This paper aims to identify and critique the nature and development of the means by which legal engagement with work-family reconciliation has, historically, been framed in the European Union. In doing so, and with reference to specific cohorts of workers, we demonstrate how disjointed the strategies are in relation to working carers and argue that the EU is unlikely to provide the legal framework necessary to bring about effective change in this fundamentally important area of social policy.

Family language policy in the Chinese community in Singapore: a question of balance?

This paper focuses on the language shift phenomenon in Singapore as a consequence of the top-town policies. By looking at bilingual family language policies it examines the characteristics of Singapore’s multilingual nature and cultural diversity. Specifically, it looks at what languages are practiced and how family language policies are enacted in Singaporean English-Chinese bilingual families, and to what extend macro language policies – i.e. national and educational language policies influence and interact with family language policies. Involving 545 families and including parents and grandparents as participants, the study traces the trajectory of the policy history. Data sources include 2 parts: 1) a prescribed linguistic practices survey; and 2) participant observation of actual negotiation of FLP in face-to-face social interaction in bilingual English-Chinese families. The data provides valuable information on how family language policy is enacted and language practices are negotiated, and what linguistic practices have been changed and abandoned against the background of the Speaking Mandarin Campaign and the current bilingual policy implemented in the 1970s. Importantly, the detailed face-to-face interactions and linguistics practices are able to enhance our understanding of the subtleties and processes of language (dis)continuity in relation to policy interventions. The study also discusses the reality of language management measures in contrast to the government’s ‘separate bilingualism’ (Creese & Blackledge, 2011) expectations with regard to ‘striking a balance’ between Asian and Western culture (Curdt-Christiansen & Silver 2013; Shepherd, 2005) and between English and mother tongue languages (Curdt-Christiansen, 2014). Demonstrating how parents and children negotiate their family language policy through translanguaging or heteroglossia practices (Canagarajah, 2013; Garcia & Li Wei, 2014), this paper argues that ‘striking a balance’ as a political ideology places emphasis on discrete and separate notions of cultural and linguistic categorization and thus downplays the significant influences from historical, political and sociolinguistic contexts in which people find themselves. This simplistic view of culture and linguistic code will inevitably constrain individuals’ language expression as it regards code switching and translanguaging as delimited and incompetent language behaviour.