Heat-Shock-Induced Changes in Intracellular Ca2+ Level in Tobacco Seedlings in Relation to Thermotolerance1

Exposure of plants to elevated temperatures results in a complex set of changes in gene expression that induce thermotolerance and improve cellular survival to subsequent stress. Pretreatment of young tobacco (Nicotiana plumbaginifolia) seedlings with Ca2+ or ethylene glycol-bis(β-aminoethylether)-N,N,N′,N′-tetraacetic acid enhanced or diminished subsequent thermotolerance, respectively, compared with untreated seedlings, suggesting a possible involvement of cytosolic Ca2+ in heat-shock (HS) signal transduction. Using tobacco seedlings transformed with the Ca2+-sensitive, luminescent protein aequorin, we observed that HS temperatures induced prolonged but transient increases in cytoplasmic but not chloroplastic Ca2+. A single HS initiated a refractory period in which additional HS signals failed to increase cytosolic Ca2+. However, throughout this refractory period, seedlings responded to mechanical stimulation or cold shock with cytosolic Ca2+ increases similar to untreated controls. These observations suggest that there may be specific pools of cytosolic Ca2+ mobilized by heat treatments or that the refractory period results from a temporary block in HS perception or transduction. Use of inhibitors suggests that HS mobilizes cytosolic Ca2+ from both intracellular and extracellular sources.

Membrane lipid perturbation modifies the set point of the temperature of heat shock response in yeast.

Addition of a saturated fatty acid (SFA) induced a strong increase in heat shock (HS) mRNA transcription when cells were heat-shocked at 37 degrees C, whereas treatment with an unsaturated fatty acid (UFA) reduced or eliminated the level of HS gene transcription at 37 degrees C. Transcription of the delta 9-desaturase gene (Ole1) of Histoplasma capsulatum, whose gene product is responsible for the synthesis of UFA, is up-regulated in a temperature-sensitive strain. We show that when the L8-14C mutant of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, which has a disrupted Ole1 gene, is complemented with its own Ole1 coding region under control of its own promoter or Ole1 promoters of H. capsulatum, the level of HS gene transcription depends on the activity of the promoters. Fluorescence anisotropy of mitochondrial membranes of completed strains corresponded to the different activity of the Ole1 promoter used. We propose that the SFA/UFA ratio and perturbation of membrane lipoprotein complexes are involved in the perception of rapid temperature changes and under HS conditions disturbance of the preexisting membrane physical state causes transduction of a signal that induces transcription of HS genes.

Steric and mass-induced sea level variations in the Mediterranean Sea revisited

The total sea level variation (SLV) is the combination of steric and mass␣induced SLV, whose exact shares are key to understanding the oceanic response to climate system changes. Total SLV can be observed by radar altimetry satellites such as TOPEX/POSEIDON and Jason 1/2. The steric SLV can be computed through temperature and salinity profiles from in situ measurements or from ocean general circulation models (OGCM), which can assimilate the said observations. The mass-induced SLV can be estimated from its time-variable gravity (TVG) signals. We revisit this problem in the Mediterranean Sea estimating the observed, steric, and mass-induced SLV, for the latter we analyze the latest TVG data set from the GRACE (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment) satellite mission launched in 2002, which is 3.5 times longer than in previous studies, with the application of a two-stage anisotropic filter to reduce the noise in high-degree and -order spherical harmonic coefficients. We confirm that the intra-annual total SLV are only produced by water mass changes, a fact explained in the literature as a result of the wind field around the Gibraltar Strait. The steric SLV estimated from the residual of “altimetry minus GRACE” agrees in phase with that estimated from OGCMs and in situ measurements, although showing a higher amplitude. The net water fluxes through both the straits of Gibraltar and Sicily have also been estimated accordingly.

Level of involvement of clinical nurses in the evaluation of competence of nursing students

Objective. To determine the level of involvement of clinical nurses accredited by the Universitat Jaume I (Spain) as mentors of practice (Reference Nurses) in the evaluation of competence of nursing students. Methodolgy. Cross-sectional study, in which the “Clinical Practice Assessment Manual” (CPAM) reported by reference 41 nurses (n=55) were analyzed. Four quality criteria for completion were established: with information at least 80% of the required data, the presence of the signature and final grade in the right place. Verification of learning activities was also conducted. Data collection was performed concurrently reference for nurses and teachers of the subjects in the formative evaluations of clinical clerkship period in the matter “Nursing Care in Healthcare Processes “, from March to June 2013. Results. 63% of CPAM were completed correctly, without reaching the quality threshold established (80%). The absence of the signature is the main criteria of incorrect completion (21%). Nine learning activities do not meet the quality threshold set (80%) (p < 0.05). There are significant differences according to clinical units p < 0.05. From the 30 learning activities evaluated in the CPAM, it can be stated that nine of them do not reach the verification threshold established (80%), therefore it cannot be assumed that these activities had been completed by students and evaluated by the RefN throughout the clinical clerkship period. Conclusion. The level of involvement of Reference Nurse cannot be considered adequate, although strategies to encourage involvement through collaboration and training must be developed.

SMEs and Level 2 BIM, the Way Forward

The UK construction industry comprises a very high proportion of SMEs that is companies employing up to 250. A Department for Business, Innovation and Skills research paper, found that SMEs had a 71.2% share of work in the construction industry. Micro and small firms (i.e. those employing up to 50) had a share of 46.7% of work (Ive and Murray 2013). The Government has high ambitions for UK construction. Having been found by successive government commissioned studies to be inefficient and highly fragmented, ambitious targets have been set for the industry to achieve 33% reduction in costs and 50% faster delivery by 2025. As a significant construction client, the Government has mandated the use of Level 2 BIM from 2016 on publicly funded projects over £5 million. The adoption of BIM plays a key role in the 2025 vision but a lack of clarity persists in the industry over BIM and significant barriers are perceived to its implementation, particularly amongst SMEs. However, industry wide transformation will be challenging without serious consideration of the capabilities of this large majority. Many larger firms, having implemented Level 2 BIM are now working towards Level 3 BIM while many of the smaller firms in the industry have not even heard of BIM. It would seem that fears of a ‘two tier’ industry are perhaps being realised. This paper builds on an earlier one (Mellon & Kouider 2014) and investigates, through field work, the level of Level 2 BIM implementation amongst SMEs compared to a large organisation. Challenges and innovative solutions identified through collected data are fully discussed and compared. It is suggested that where the SME perceives barriers towards adoption of the technologies which underpin BIM, they may consider collaborative methods of working as an interim step in order to work towards realising the efficiencies and benefits that these methods can yield. While the barriers to adoption of BIM are significant, it is suggested that they are not insurmountable for the SME and some recommendations for possible solutions are made.

Does Mandatory IFRS Adoption in the EU Level the International Playing Field Between Foreign and Domestic Analysts? ACES Working Papers, October 2011

International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) have been promoted as a global set of financial reporting standards that will help integrate global capital markets. We examine whether the mandatory European-wide adoption of IFRS in 2005 improved the forecast accuracy for foreign analysts relative to that of domestic analysts. We find that, on average, foreign analysts experience no incremental improvement in forecast accuracy relative to domestic analysts. However, we find that those foreign analysts who are familiar with IFRS do experience an incremental improvement in forecast accuracy relative to domestic analysts. We also find that this incremental improvement in forecast accuracy relative to domestic analysts is concentrated among firms domiciled in countries with both strong enforcement regimes and domestic accounting standards that differ significantly from IFRS. Our results highlight that both familiarity with IFRS and the quality of countries' enforcement environments play key roles in determining the extent to which IFRS adoption can reduce information asymmetry between foreign and domestic analysts.

Total V9 rDNA information organized at the metabarcode level (Database W4)

The present data set provides a tab separated text file compressed in a zip archive. The file includes metadata for each TaraOceans V9 rDNA metabarcode including the following fields: md5sum = unique identifier; lineage = taxonomic path associated to the metabarcode; pid = % identity to the closest reference barcode from V9_PR2; sequence = nucleotide sequence of the metabarcode; refs = identity of the best hit reference sequence(s); TARA_xxx = number of occurrences of this barcode in each of the 334 samples; totab = total abundance of the barcode ; cid = identifier of the OTU to which the barcode belongs; and taxogroup = high-taxonomic level assignation of this barcode. The file also includes three categories of functional annotations: (1) Chloroplast: yes, presence of permanent chloroplast; no, absence of permanent chloroplast ; NA, undetermined. (2) Symbiont (small partner): parasite, the species is a parasite; commensal, the species is a commensal; mutualist, the species is a mutualist symbiont, most often a microalgal taxon involved in photosymbiosis; no the species is not involved in a symbiosis as small partner; NA, undetermined. (3) Symbiont (host): photo, the host species relies on a mutualistic microalgal photosymbiont to survive (obligatory photosymbiosis); photo_falc, same as photo, but facultative relationship; photo_klep, the host species maintains chloroplasts from microalgal prey(s) to survive; photo_klep_falc, same as photo_klep, but facultative; Nfix, the host species must interact with a mutualistic symbiont providing N2 fixation to survive; Nfix_falc, same as Nfix, but facultative; no, the species is not involved in any mutualistic symbioses; NA, undetermined. For example, the collodarian/Brandtodinium symbiosis is annotated: Chloroplast, "no"; Symbiont (small), "no"; Symbiont (host), "photo", for the collodarian host; and: Chloroplast, "yes"; Symbiont (small), "mutualist"; Symbiont (host), "no", for the dinoflagellate microalgal endosymbiont.chloroplast = "yes", "no" or "NA"; symbiont.small = "parasite", "commensal", "mutualist", "no" or "NA"; symbiont.host = "photo", "photo_falc", "photo_klep", "Nfix", no or NA; benef = "Nfix", "no" or "NA"; trophism = Metazoa , heterotroph , NA , photosymbiosis , phototroph according to the previous fields.

Disentangling the impact of seroconversion age and set-point viral load on ART-free HIV survival

Thesis (Master's)--University of Washington, 2016-06

Exploration of the cell-cycle genes found within the RIKEN FANTOM2 data set

The cell cycle is one of the most fundamental processes within a cell. Phase-dependent expression and cell-cycle checkpoints require a high level of control. A large number of genes with varying functions and modes of action are responsible for this biology. In a targeted exploration of the FANTOM2-Variable Protein Set, a number of mouse homologs to known cell-cycle regulators as well as novel members of cell-cycle families were identified. Focusing on two prototype cell-cycle families, the cyclins and the NIMA-related kinases (NEKs), we believe we have identified all of the mouse members of these families, 24 cyclins and 10 NEKs, and mapped them to ENSEMBL transcripts. To attempt to globally identify all potential cell cycle-related genes within mouse, the MGI (Mouse Genome Database) assignments for the RIKEN Representative Set (RPS) and the results from two homology-based queries were merged. We identified 1415 genes with possible cell-cycle roles, and 1758 potential paralogs. We comment on the genes identified in this screen and evaluate the merits of each approach.

Higher-level language deficits resulting from left primary cerebellar lesions

Background: Contemporary neuropsychological studies suggest that cerebellar lesions may impact upon higher-level cognitive functioning via mechanisms of crossed cerebello-cerebral diaschisis. Accordingly, right cerebellar lesions have been previously associated with linguistic impairments such as reduced word fluency and agrammatic output. Recently, however, neuroimaging investigations have also identified ipsilateral cerebral hypoperfusion as a consequence of cerebellar lesions, implicating a potential role for the left cerebellum in the mediation of language processes. Aims: The purpose of this research was to investigate the effects of left cerebellar lesions of vascular origin, on general as well as high-level language skills. Methods & Procedures: Linguistic profiles were compiled for five individuals with left primary cerebellar lesions utilising a comprehensive language test battery. Individual scores relevant to each subtest were compared to a group of non-neurologically impaired controls. The criterion for anomalous performance was established as greater than or equal to 1.5 SD below the mean of the control group. Outcomes & Results: The findings of this research suggest that higher-level language deficits may result from left primary cerebellar lesions. All participants demonstrated deficits on measures of word fluency, sentence construction within a set context, producing word definitions, and producing multiple definitions for the same word. Deficits were also noted for several participants on measures of understanding figurative language, forming word associations, identifying and correcting semantic absurdities, and producing synonyms and antonyms. Conclusions: The results presented challenge the notion of a lateralised linguistic cerebellum, supporting a potential role for the left as well as right cerebellar hemispheres in the regulation of language processes, presumably via cerebellar-basal ganglia/thalamo-cortical pathways.

Adverse Health Effects of Chronic Exposure to Low-Level Cadmium in Foodstuffs and Cigarette Smoke

Cadmium is a cumulative nephrotoxicant that is absorbed into the body from dietary sources and cigarette smoking. The levels of Cd in organs such as liver and kidney cortex increase with age because of the lack of an active biochemical process for its elimination coupled with renal reabsorption. Recent research has provided evidence linking Cd-related kidney dysfunction and decreases in bone mineral density in nonoccupationally exposed populations who showed no signs of nutritional deficiency. This challenges the previous view that the concurrent kidney and bone damage seen in Japanese itai-itai disease patients was the result of Cd toxicity in combination with nutritional deficiencies, notably, of zinc and calcium. Further, such Cd-linked bone and kidney toxicities were observed in people whose dietary Cd intakes were well within the provisional tolerable weekly intake (PTWI) set by the Joint Food and Agriculture Organization/World Health Organization Expert Committee on Food Additives of 1 mug/kg body weight/day or 70 mug/day. This evidence points to the much-needed revision of the current PTWI for Cd. Also, evidence for the carcinogenic risk of chronic Cd exposure is accumulating and Cd effects on reproductive outcomes have begun to emerge.

Phobic anxiety in 11 nations: part II. Hofstede's dimensions of national cultures predict national-level variations

Hofstede's dimensions of national cultures termed Masculinity-Femininity (MAS) and Uncertainty Avoidance (UAI) (Hofstede, 2001) are proposed to be of relevance for understanding national-level differences in self-assessed fears. The potential predictive role of national MAS was based on the classical work of Fodor (Fodor, 1974). Following Fodor, it was predicted that masculine (or tough) societies in which clearer differentiations are made between gender roles (high MAS) would report higher national levels of fears than feminine (or soft/modest) societies in which such differentiations are made to a clearly lesser extent (low MAS). In addition, it was anticipated that nervous-stressful-emotionally-expressive nations (high UAI) would report higher national levels of fears than calm-happy and low-emotional countries (low UAI), and that countries high on both MAS and UAI would report the highest national levels of fears. A data set comprising 11 countries (N > 5000) served as the basis for analyses. As anticipated, (a) high MAS predicted higher national levels of Agoraphobic fears and of Bodily Injury-Illness-Death fears; (b) higher scores on both UAI and MAS predicted higher national scores on Bodily Injury-Illness-Death fears, fears of Sexual and Aggressive Scenes, and Harmless Animals fears; (c) higher UAI predicted higher national levels of Harmless Animals, Bodily Injury-Illness-Death, and Agoraphobic fears. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Employee social responsibility:development of an ESR measure and a multi-level investigation of antecedent and boundary conditions

The following thesis instigates the discussion on corporate social responsibility (CSR) through a review of literature on the conceptualisation, determinants, and remunerations of organisational CSR engagement. The case is made for the need to draw attention to the micro-levels of CSR, and consequently focus on employee social responsibility at multiple levels of analysis. In order to further research efforts in this area, the prerequisite of an employee social responsibility behavioural measurement tool is acknowledged. Accordingly, the subsequent chapters outline the process of scale development and validation, resulting in a robust, reliable and valid employee social responsibility scale. This scale is then put to use in a field study, and the noteworthy roles of the antecedent and boundary conditions of transformational leadership, assigned CSR priority, and CSR climate are confirmed at the group and individual level. Directionality of these relationships is subsequently alluded to in a time-lagged investigation, set within a simulated business environment. The thesis collates and discusses the contributions of the findings from the research series, which highlight a consistent three-way interaction effect of transformational leadership, assigned CSR priority and CSR climate. Specifically, efforts are made to outline various avenues for future research, given the infancy of the micro-level study of employee social responsibility.

Simultaneous grouping in cochlear implant listeners:can abrupt changes in level be used to segregate components from a complex tone?

A sudden increase in the amplitude of a component often causes its segregation from a complex tone, and shorter rise times enhance this effect. We explored whether this also occurs in implant listeners (n?=?8). Condition 1 used a 3.5-s “complex tone” comprising concurrent stimulation on five electrodes distributed across the array of the Nucleus CI24 implant. For each listener, the baseline stimulus level on each electrode was set at 50% of the dynamic range (DR). Two 1-s increments of 12.5%, 25%, or 50% DR were introduced in succession on adjacent electrodes within the “inner” three of those activated. Both increments had rise and fall times of 30 and 970 ms or vice versa. Listeners reported which increment was higher in pitch. Some listeners performed above chance for all increment sizes, but only for 50% increments did all listeners perform above chance. No significant effect of rise time was found. Condition 2 replaced amplitude increments with decrements. Only three listeners performed above chance even for 50% decrements. One exceptional listener performed well for 50% decrements with fall and rise times of 970 and 30 ms but around chance for fall and rise times of 30 and 970 ms, indicating successful discrimination based on a sudden rise back to baseline stimulation. Overall, the results suggest that implant listeners can use amplitude changes against a constant background to pick out components from a complex, but generally these must be large compared with those required in normal hearing. For increments, performance depended mainly on above-baseline stimulation of the target electrodes, not rise time. With one exception, performance for decrements was typically very poor.

Financial liberalization and dynamics of firm-level financing and investment decisions in the Southeast Asian countries

This thesis examines the dynamics of firm-level financing and investment decisions for six Southeast Asian countries. The study provides empirical evidence on the impacts of changes in the firm-level financing decisions during the period of financial liberalization by considering the debt and equity financing decisions of a set of non-financial firms. The empirical results show that firms in Indonesia, Pakistan, and South Korea have relatively faster speed of adjustment than other Southeast Asian countries to attain optimal debt and equity ratios in response to banking sector and stock market liberalization. In addition, contrary to widely held belief that firms adjust their financial ratios to industry levels, the results indicate that industry factors do not significantly impact on the speed of capital structure adjustments. This study also shows that non-linear estimation methods are more appropriate than linear estimation methods for capturing changes in capital structure. The empirical results also show that international stock market integration of these countries has significantly reduced the equity risk premium as well as the firm-level cost of equity capital. Thus stock market liberalization is associated with a decrease in the cost of equity capital of the firms. Developments in the securities markets infrastructure have also reduced the cost of equity capital. However, with increased integration there is the possibility of capital outflows from the emerging markets, which might reverse the pattern of decrease in cost of capital in these markets.