Detection of novel miRNA candidate identified by small RNA library (A) or degradome (B) sequencing.

<p>Plants were grown hydroponically with full-strength Hoagland's nutrient solution for 2 weeks and then transferred to the N-free or N-replete medium for 2 days before small RNA was isolated from leaves and roots. Five micrograms of small RNA from each sample was loaded and hybridized with corresponding ³²P-labeled probes. 5s/tRNA is shown as a loading control.</p

miRNA* mediated mRNA cleavage detected by degradome sequencing in maize.

<p>miRNA* mediated mRNA cleavage detected by degradome sequencing in maize.</p

Differential expression of newly identified miRNAs in response to N deficiency in shoots (A) and roots (B).

<p>Only miRNA genes with > 2-fold relative change were shown. Selected miRNAs from shoots and roots were validated by small RNA northern blot (C). A 40 µg small RNA was loaded per lane and hybridized with corresponding ³²P-labeled probes. 5s/tRNA is shown as a loading control.</p

Size distribution of redundant (A) and unique (B) small RNA sequences.

<p>nt, nucleotides.</p

A possible functional network of N-limitation responsive miRNAs in maize seedlings.

<p>− represents negative regulation; + represents positive regulation.</p

Predicted targets of novel miRNAs identified by the degradome sequencing in maize.

<p>Predicted targets of novel miRNAs identified by the degradome sequencing in maize.</p

Differential expression of conserved miRNAs in response to N deficiency in shoots (A) and roots (B).

<p>Only miRNA genes with > 2-fold relative change are shown. Selected miRNAs from roots were validated by Real time RT-PCR (C) or small RNA northern blot (D). Maize seedlings were grown hydroponically with full-strength Hoagland's nutrient solution for 2 weeks and then transferred to the N-free or N-sufficient medium for 2 d before total/small RNA was isolated. Real-time RT-PCR quantifications were normalized to the expression of <i>ZmGAPC2</i>. The results represent SD of three replicates. A 40 µg small RNA was loaded per lane and hybridized with corresponding ³²P-labeled probes. 5s/tRNA is shown as a loading control.</p

Who will follow the leader? Managers' perceptions of management development activities: an international comparison: SKOPE Research Paper No. 51, Autumn 2004

This article contributes to the on-going debate surrounding management education and development through an examination of the development experiences of managers studying for an MBA by distance learning at Warwick Business School. It analyses the extent to which management development opportunities, both formal and informal, are seen to support managers in their day-to-day roles and deliver those skills necessary for the future. The research also provides the opportunity to compare responses from UK managers with those from managers in other countries. The survey evidence shows that in some respects the experience of UK and Overseas respondents are quite similar; they both receive large amounts of training and development from their employers and show a preference for more ‘non-formal’ routes of learning. In other ways their experiences are quite different: UK managers take up their first full-time job and their first managerial appointment earlier than the overseas respondents and overseas respondents placed much more emphasis on networking and learning from outside their own organisations than did UK managers. The research also suggests that integrating management development activities with other human resource policies and practices, such as performance evaluation and reward remains problematic and that there is a strong perception amongst managers both in the UK and overseas that their organisations do not view management development in a strategic way. When looking at future development needs respondents from both the UK and overseas highlighted the need for leadership skills as a priority for themselves but focused on more general management and operational skills as the main priority for their colleagues. One possible explanation for this is that the respondents were only to well aware of the fact that that leaders need followers. This is, however, a view at which is at odds with current policy arguments in the UK where leadership skills are seen to be necessary for all managers

Wortmannin, a specific inhibitor of PI3K, enhanced the sensitization of C2C12 myoblast cells to thimerosal-induced apoptosis.

<p><b>A.</b> C2C12 myoblast cells were treated with thimerosal (125 nM, 250 nM and 500 nM) for 24 or 48 h. Cells were lysed, and the expression of Akt and pAkt^Ser473 were assayed by western blot analysis. GAPDH was used as a loading control, and the blots were quantified by densitometry. <b>B.</b> C2C12 myoblast cells were treated with wortmannin at concentrations of 2.5, 5.0 or 10 µM for 24 h. Expression of total Akt and pAkt^Ser473 was assayed by western blot analysis and densitometry. <b>C.</b> Cells were co-treated with thimerosal (250 nM) and wortmannin (5 µM) for 24 h and stained with annexin V-FITC/propidium iodide. The columns illustrate the flow cytometric results. <b>D.</b> After co-treatment, proteins from total cell lysates were separated by SDS-PAGE gel electrophoresis and immunoblotted with antibodies against Akt, pAkt^Ser473, cytochrome c, cleaved caspase-9, cleaved caspase-3 and GAPDH followed by densitometric quantification. Data are means±S.E.M. of values from three independent experiments. **P<0.01 vs. single treatment with 250 nM thimerosal; ## P<0.01 vs. untreated cells.</p

The effect of Z-LEHD-FMK and Z-DEVD-FMK on thimerosal-induced apoptosis in C2C12 myoblast cells.

<p>C2C12 cells were treated with Z-LEHD-FMK, an inhibitor of caspase-9, or with the caspase-3 inhibitor Z-DEVD-FMK at a concentration of 50 µM for 24 h and then incubated with or without thimerosal (250 nM) for 48 h. <b>A.</b> After treatment, cells were stained with Annexin V-FITC/propidium iodide followed by flow cytometry. <b>B.</b> After treatment, proteins from total cell lysates were separated by SDS-PAGE gel electrophoresis and immunoblotted with antibodies against cleaved caspase-9, cleaved caspase-3 and GAPDH followed by densitometric quantification. Data are means±S.E.M of the values from three independent experiments. **P<0.01 vs. single treatment with 250 nM thimerosal.</p