Fine Mapping of qDor7, a Major QTL Affecting Seed Dormancy in Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench)

Seed dormancy is a key domestication trait for major crops, which is acquired in long-term systems development processes and enables the survival of plants in adverse natural conditions. It is a complex trait under polygenic control and is affected by endogenous and environmental factors. In the present study, a major seed dormancy QTL in sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench), qDor7, detected previously, was fine mapped using a large, multi-generational population. The qDor7 locus was delimited to a 96-kb region which contains 16 predicted gene models. These results lay a solid foundation for cloning qDor7. In addition, the functional markers tightly linked to the seed dormancy QTL may be used in marker-assisted selection for seed dormancy in sorghum.

”Waxaa i bartay hooyaday waawa u muhiim naaska caruurta.” Äitini opetti, että rintamaito on tärkeää lapselle. Osallistava tutkimus auktoritatiivisen tiedon omaksumisesta somalikulttuuritaustaisten naisten imetyskäytännöissä.

Suomessa asuvat somalitaustaiset maahanmuuttajaäidit luopuvat imetyksestä ja ruokkivat vauvojaan äidinmaidonkorvikkeella, vaikka somalikulttuurissa arvostetaan imetystä. Tuen ja tiedon puutetta on arveltu syyksi pulloruokinnan yleisyyteen. Tarkoituksenani on tutkia osallistavia menetelmiä käyttäen, minkälaisia imetykseen liittyviä tietojärjestelmiä somaliäidit pitävät auktoritatiivisina eli arvovaltaisina. Tarkastelen tiedon auktoritatiivisuutta etnografisten esimerkkien valossa hyödyntäen Brigitte Jordanin auktoritatiivisen tiedon käsitettä. Tutkin Jean Pierre Olivier de Sardanin teorian avulla, kuinka paikalliset populaarit tietojärjestelmät kohtaavat tieteellis-teknisen tiedon kehityksen kontekstissa. Tutkin myös, kuinka somaliäitien imetystietojärjestelmät kohtaavat suomalaisen terveydenhoitojärjestelmän edustaman imetystiedon. Osallistavien menetelmien tarkoituksena on saada heikkojen ja sorrettujen yhteisöjen ääni kuuluviin. Tutkimukseni tiedonantajina on seitsemäntoista somalimaahanmuuttajaäitiä ja yksi suomalainen äitiys- ja lastenneuvolan terveydenhoitaja. Käytän tiedonkeruumenetelminä puolistrukturoituja teemahaastatteluja, jonka lisäksi teen osallistuvaa havainnointia ja osallistavia menetelmiä kolmessa ryhmähaastattelutilanteessa. Käytän Rapi Rurad Appraisal (RRA) –menetelmiä, kuten Venn-diagrammia ja pisteytystä. Tutkimukseni tulos on, että somaliäitien imetykseen liittyvä tieto koostuu kolmesta tietojärjestelmästä, joita ovat sukuverkostoista tuleva perinteinen tietotaito, islaminuskon terveystieto sekä suomalaisen terveydenhoitojärjestelmän tieto. Näistä eri tietolähteistä tuleva imetystieto ei ole sisällöltään ristiriidassa. Imetykseen liittyvät vaikeudet ovat käytännön ongelmiin, kuten sukuverkoston hajoamiseen ja suomalaisen terveydenhoitojärjestelmän kanssa kommunikointiin liittyviä.

Ortodonttien alueellinen jakautuminen Suomessa

Tutkimuksen tavoitteena oli selvittää ortodonttien tilannetta Suomessa: ikä- ja sukupuolijakaumaa, pää- ja sivutyöpaikkojen alueellista jakautumista kunta- ja sairaanhoitopiiritasolla, ortodonttien työssäkäyntialueita sekä sitä, oliko syntymä- ja koulutuspaikkakunnalla merkitystä myöhemmän työskentelypaikkakunnan valinnassa. Tutkimuksessa tarvittavat tiedot kerättiin aineiston pohjana olevaan listaan Suomen työikäisistä oikomishoidon erikoishammaslääkäreistä. Tutkimusaineistoa analysoitiin ja käsiteltiin tilastollisin keinoin. Tulokset havainnollistettiin teemakarttojen, diagrammien sekä taulukoiden avulla. Vuonna 2010 Suomessa toimi 159 ortodonttia, joista 75 prosenttia oli yli 45-vuotiaita. Eniten ortodontteja oli sijoittunut hammaslääketieteen koulutusta antavien yliopistokaupunkien, Helsingin, Turun ja Oulun, läheisyyteen. Vähiten ortodontteja työskenteli Itä- ja Pohjois-Suomen kunnissa. Jokaisessa sairaanhoitopiirissä ortodonttien määrä suhteessa väestöön oli liian pieni. 40 prosentilla ortodonteista sivutyöpaikka sijaitsi yli 50 kilometrin päässä päätyön paikkakunnasta ja 19 prosentilla yli 100 kilometrin päässä päätyön paikkakunnasta. Syntymä- ja ylioppilaaksitulon paikkakunnalla oli vaikutusta siihen, minne hakeuduttiin perustutkintoa opiskelemaan. Perustutkinnon suorittaneista keskimäärin 40 prosenttia jäi töihin samaan sairaanhoitopiiriin, jossa koulutusta antanut yliopisto sijaitsi. Yli puolet ortodonteista teki erikoistumisopinnot samassa yliopistossa kuin perusopinnot ja suurin osa jäi myös saman sairaanhoitopiirin alueelle töihin erikoistuttuaan.

Bounded turning circles are weak-quasicircles

We show that a metric Jordan curve $\Gamma$ is \emph{bounded turning} if and only if there exists a \emph{weak-quasisymmetric} homeomorphism $\phi\colon \mathsf{S}^1 \to \Gamma$.

Tailoring the microstructure and mechanical properties of arrays of aligned multiwall carbon nanotubes by utilizing different hydrogen concentrations during synthesis

We synthesize vertically aligned arrays of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in a chemical vapor deposition system with floating catalyst, using different concentrations of hydrogen in the gas feedstock. We report the effect of different hydrogen concentrations on the microstructure and mechanical properties of the resulting material. We show that a lower hydrogen concentration during synthesis results in the growth of stiffer CNT arrays with higher average bulk density. A lower hydrogen concentration also leads to the synthesis of CNT arrays that can reach higher peak stress at maximum compressive strain, and dissipate a larger amount of energy during compression. The individual CNTs in the arrays synthesized with a lower hydrogen concentration have, on average, larger outer diameters (associated with the growth of CNTs with a larger number of walls), but present a less uniform diameter distribution. The overall heights of the arrays and their strain recovery after compression have been found to be independent of the hydrogen concentration during growth. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Synthesis and Characterization of Carbon Nanotube-Polymer Multilayer Structures

We develop lightweight, multilayer materials composed of alternating layers of poly dimethyl siloxane (PDMS) polymer and vertically aligned carbon nanotube (CNT) arrays, and characterize their mechanical response in compression. The CNT arrays used In the assembly are synthesized with graded mechanical properties along their thickness, and their use enables the creation of multilayer structures with low density (0.12-0.28 g/cm(3)). We test the mechanical response of structures composed of different numbers of CNT layers partially embedded in PDMS polymer, under quasi-static and dynamic loading. The resulting materials exhibit a hierarchical, fibrous structure with unique mechanical properties: They can sustain large compressive deformations (up to similar to 0.8 strain) with a nearly complete recovery and present strain localization in selected sections of the materials. Energy absorption, as determined by the hysteresis observed In stress-strain curves, is found to be at least 3 orders of magnitude larger than that of natural and synthetic cellular materials of comparable density. Conductive bucky paper Is Included within the polymer interlayers. This allows the measurement of resistance variation as a function of applied stress, showing strong correlation with the observed strain localization In compression.

Nonlinear viscoelasticity of freestanding and polymer-anchored vertically aligned carbon nanotube foams

Vertical arrays of carbon nanotubes (VACNTs) show unique mechanical behavior in compression, with a highly nonlinear response similar to that of open cell foams and the ability to recover large deformations. Here, we study the viscoelastic response of both freestanding VACNT arrays and sandwich structures composed of a VACNT array partially embedded between two layers of poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) and bucky paper. The VACNTs tested are similar to 2 mm thick foams grown via an injection chemical vapor deposition method. Both freestanding and sandwich structures exhibit a time-dependent behavior under compression. A power-law function of time is used to describe the main features observed in creep and stress-relaxation tests. The power-law exponents show nonlinear viscoelastic behavior in which the rate of creep is dependent upon the stress level and the rate of stress relaxation is dependent upon the strain level. The results show a marginal effect of the thin PDMS/bucky paper layers on the viscoelastic responses. At high strain levels (epsilon - 0.8), the peak stress for the anchored CNTs reaches similar to 45 MPa, whereas it is only similar to 15MPa for freestanding CNTs, suggesting a large effect of PDMS on the structural response of the sandwich structures. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.3699184]

Parabolized stability equation models for predicting large-scale mixing noise of turbulent round jets

Parabolized stability equation (PSE) models are being deve loped to predict the evolu-tion of low-frequency, large-scale wavepacket structures and their radiated sound in high-speed turbulent round jets. Linear PSE wavepacket models were previously shown to be in reasonably good agreement with the amplitude envelope and phase measured using a microphone array placed just outside the jet shear layer. 1,2 Here we show they also in very good agreement with hot-wire measurements at the jet center line in the potential core,for a different set of experiments. 3 When used as a model source for acoustic analogy, the predicted far field noise radiation is in reasonably good agreement with microphone measurements for aft angles where contributions from large -scale structures dominate the acoustic field. Nonlinear PSE is then employed in order to determine the relative impor-tance of the mode interactions on the wavepackets. A series of nonlinear computations with randomized initial conditions are use in order to obtain bounds for the evolution of the modes in the natural turbulent jet flow. It was found that n onlinearity has a very limited impact on the evolution of the wavepackets for St≥0. 3. Finally, the nonlinear mechanism for the generation of a low-frequency mode as the difference-frequency mode 4,5 of two forced frequencies is investigated in the scope of the high Reynolds number jets considered in this paper.

Antibody-mediated catalysis: Induction and therapeutic relevance

Abzymes are immunoglobulins endowed with enzymatic activities. The catalytic activity of an abzyme resides in the variable domain of the antibody, which is constituted by the close spatial arrangement of amino acid residues involved in catalysis. The origin of abzymes is conferred by the innate diversity of the immunoglobulin gene repertoire. Under deregulated immune conditions, as in autoimmune diseases, the generation of abzymes to self-antigens could be deleterious. Technical advancement in the ability to generate monoclonal antibodies has been exploited in the generation of abzymes with defined specificities and activities. Therapeutic applications of abzymes are being investigated with the generation of monoclonal abzymes against several pathogenesis-associated antigens. Here, we review the different contexts in which abzymes are generated, and we discuss the relevance of monoclonal abzymes for the treatment of human diseases.

Monopoles on S-F(2) from the fuzzy conifold

The intersection of the conifold z(1)(2) + z(2)(2) + z(3)(2) = 0 and S-5 is a compact 3-dimensional manifold X-3. We review the description of X-3 as a principal U(1) bundle over S-2 and construct the associated monopole line bundles. These monopoles can have only even integers as their charge. We also show the Kaluza-Klein reduction of X-3 to S-2 provides an easy construction of these monopoles. Using the analogue of the Jordan-Schwinger map, our techniques are readily adapted to give the fuzzy version of the fibration X-3 -> S-2 and the associated line bundles. This is an alternative new realization of the fuzzy sphere S-F(2) and monopoles OH it.

Species importance in a heterospecific foraging association network

There is a growing recognition of the need to integrate non-trophic interactions into ecological networks for a better understanding of whole-community organization. To achieve this, the first step is to build networks of individual non-trophic interactions. In this study, we analyzed a network of interdependencies among bird species that participated in heterospecific foraging associations (flocks) in an evergreen forest site in the Western Ghats, India. We found the flock network to contain a small core of highly important species that other species are strongly dependent on, a pattern seen in many other biological networks. Further, we found that structural importance of species in the network was strongly correlated to functional importance of species at the individual flock level. Finally, comparisons with flock networks from other Asian forests showed that the same taxonomic groups were important in general, suggesting that species importance was an intrinsic trait and not dependent on local ecological conditions. Hence, given a list of species in an area, it may be possible to predict which ones are likely to be important. Our study provides a framework for the investigation of other heterospecific foraging associations and associations among species in other non-trophic contexts.

Effect of fluid medium on mechanical behavior of carbon nanotube foam

This study reports the constitutive response and energy absorption capabilities of fluid-impregnated carbon nanotube (CNT) foams under compressive loading as a function of fluid viscosity and loading rates. At all strain rates tested, we observe two characteristic regimes: below a critical value, increasing fluid viscosity increases the load bearing and energy absorption capacities; after a critical value of the fluid's viscosity, we observe a rapid decrease in the systems' mechanical performance. For a given fluid viscosity, the load bearing capacity of the structure slightly decreases with strain rate. A phenomenological model, accounting for fluid-CNT interaction, is developed to explain the observed mechanical behavior. (C) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC.

Evaluación de tres tipos de fertilizantes en la producción de forraje verde hidropónico de sorgo (Sorghum bicolor L.) en invernadero noconvencional, La Trinidad, Estelí

El objetivo general de esta investigación consistió en evaluar el efecto de tres tipos de fertilizantes sintéticos [T1: completo (12.30.10), T2: UREA (46%),T3: completo (15.15.15)],y T4: Sin Soluciónen la producción y calidad de forraje verde hidropónico de sorgo, cv. INTA tortillero precoz; este ensayo se estableció en la finca Santo Tomas de La Trinidad, Estelí Se utilizó un diseño experimental completo al azar, con tres tratamientos y cuatro repeticiones, donde se suministró dosis de fertilizante de acuerdo a cada tratamiento; (T1= 14.5 g, T2= 3.8 g, T3= 11.6 g por litro de agua y un T4= sin solución). La densidad de siembra fue de 0.5 kg de semilla por bandeja 0.25 m2. Se midieron las siguientes variables; altura de la planta,diámetro del tallo, longitud de la raíz,área foliar m2, porcentaje de fibra bruta, porcentaje de materia seca, porcentaje de proteína bruta y producción de biomasa fresca los resultados fueron tabulados y sometido a un análisis de varianza y separaciones de media utilizando tukey(p<0.05).Para las variables expresadas en porcentaje se tomaron muestras compuestas de 500 g por tratamiento para enviarlas al laboratorio y se determinó porcentaje de: materia seca, proteína bruta y fibra bruta; No se encontraron diferencias significativas entre tratamientos para las variables de Área Foliar y Diámetro del Tallo, las variables de longitud de raíz, altura de planta y producción de biomasa fresca si se encontraron diferencias significativas. El fertilizante completo 12.30.10 y testigo obtuvieron mayor porcentaje de Materia seca (20.59 y 19.4%) y el fertilizante 15.15.15 y UREA con menor porcentaje de materia seca (17.44 y 16.77 %). En cuanto a proteína bruta todos los tratamientos obtuvieron resultados aceptables oscilando el porcentaje entre 19.08 a 22.13 %. En cuanto a fibra bruta el porcentaje varía de 16.54 a 20.10%. Se concluye que todos estos tratamientos se pueden utilizar en cualquier unidad de producción ya que todos obtuvieron excelentes resultados a pesar de que se utilizó un invernadero no convencional.

强聚焦加速器中带电粒子横向运动稳定性的线性理论

本文对强聚焦加速器中带电粒子运动的稳定性乃至一般的N维周期性线性系统的稳定性给出用转移矩阵的特征值表示的稳定性充分必要条件。对强聚焦加速器中带电粒子的横向运动,则进一步给出用转移矩阵的元表示的稳定性充分必要条件,并绘制了稳定性图.因此,横向运动的稳定性问题在线性理论范围内获得原则上的完整解决。