Genetic variation and possible origins of weedy rice found in California.

Control of weeds in cultivated crops is a pivotal component in successful crop production allowing higher yield and higher quality. In rice-growing regions worldwide, weedy rice (Oryza sativa f. spontanea Rosh.) is a weed related to cultivated rice which infests rice fields. With populations across the globe evolving a suite of phenotypic traits characteristic of weeds and of cultivated rice, varying hypotheses exist on the origin of weedy rice. Here, we investigated the genetic diversity and possible origin of weedy rice in California using 98 simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers and an Rc gene-specific marker. By employing phylogenetic clustering analysis, we show that four to five genetically distinct biotypes of weedy rice exist in California. Analysis of population structure and genetic distance among individuals reveals diverse evolutionary origins of California weedy rice biotypes, with ancestry derived from indica, aus, and japonica cultivated rice as well as possible contributions from weedy rice from the southern United States and wild rice. Because this diverse parentage primarily consists of weedy, wild, and cultivated rice not found in California, most existing weedy rice biotypes likely originated outside California

The Role of Lipids in the Formation of Beneficial Interactions Between Plant Roots and Soil Microbiota under Heat Stress

Climate change, which is characterized by the rise of global atmospheric temperatures known as global warming, has serious detrimental effects on crop production because of the direct influence of elevated temperature on plant development. One novel strategy to increase crop productivity while mitigating heat stress is the use of soil microbes, which is slowly gaining popularity because of its low-cost approach, availability, sustainability, and quick turnover. Specific soil microbes can form symbiotic relationships with the roots, whose beneficial effects on plant growth and development, as well as on plant responses to biotic and abiotic stresses, lead to improved plant performance. The plant-microbe interaction is complex and involves below-ground communication, followed by modifications of molecular, biochemical, and morphological processes in the plant. Plant roots display extreme plasticity in adapting to a range of environmental stimuli and are therefore important indicators of plant-level responses to microbial colonization, via changes in architecture and metabolic processes. Lipids, which are essential constituents of the plasma membrane with diverse functions in cellular processes and homeostasis, have been proposed to play significant roles in the rhizosphere. Because heat stresses have a profound effect on membrane stability and lipid composition, rising global temperatures are likely to impact the formation of plant-microbe symbiosis. This study aimed to characterize and quantify the bacteria-induced growth promotion and heat tolerance in plants, and to investigate how plant root lipid profiles are altered under both bacteria and high-temperature conditions. For that, advanced phenotyping and lipidomics technology were employed to monitor plant responses to developmental and environmental changes. By using the high-resolution, high-throughput phenotyping platform GrowScreen-Agar II, an open-top plant-bacteria co-cultivation system was optimized utilizing the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana and the plant-growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) Paraburkholderia phytofirmans PsJN. This allowed for in-depth, tissue- and time-specific root-and-shoot morphological trait characterization, which elucidated the dynamics of bacterial promotion on plant growth. We have quantified the magnitude of bacterial-induced plant stimulation between ambient and elevated temperatures, confirming the excellent benefit of the PGPR in ameliorating the adverse effects of heat stress. These morphological traits were also associated with the root lipid profile using state-of-the-art lipidomics technology, which revealed specific lipid species and their functions in this tripartite interaction. Knowledge gained from this study, besides being fundamental in the understanding of plant-microbe interactions, can also inform research agenda of future directions for microbial studies as potential agricultural and biotechnological solutions in the endeavor to address global food security under climate change

The Heritage of Arung Palakka

Indonesi

Distant Drums And Thunderous Cannon: Sounding Authority In Traditional Malay Society

Pre-modern Malay society was intensely oral and aural, and the texts that are now read were always intended for group recitation and performance. Studies of auditory history in other societies have emphasised that in the past, sounds were experienced differently from the way they are heard today. At the very basic level, thunder—the voice of the heavens—established the benchmark and the basis for comparison for awe-inspiring sounds that humans could attempt to replicate, notably in the beating of drums and the firing of cannon. Together with the noseflute, the drum is the oldest and most indigenous Malay instrument, and the drums that were included in royal regalia were accorded personalities of their own

Book Review – The Factory Of The English East India Company At Bantam, 1602–1682

David Kenneth Bassett (1931–1989) spent several years teaching at the University of Malaya (which was then in Singapore), and at the same institution following its relocation to Kuala Lumpur. In 1965 he was appointed to the faculty of the University of Hull, where he served as Director of the Centre for South-East Asian Studies until 1988, a year before his premature death in 1989 at the age of 59. Bassett's career thus spans a formative period in Southeast Asian studies. In 1950, a Department of Southeast Asian History was established in the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London, and two years later Bassett entered the programme as a doctoral candidate. His dissertation, "The Factory of the East India Company at Bantam 1602–1682," was submitted in 1955, the same year that D.G.E. Hall published his History of South-East Asia, which represents the first attempt at a regional coverage. As one of the early SOAS graduates, Bassett was a pioneer in the embryonic field of Southeast Asian studies, continuing on to become a world-renowned specialist on European trade in the Malay world in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries

Phosphorylation stoichiometries of human eukaryotic initiation factors.

Eukaryotic translation initiation factors are the principal molecular effectors regulating the process converting nucleic acid to functional protein. Commonly referred to as eIFs (eukaryotic initiation factors), this suite of proteins is comprised of at least 25 individual subunits that function in a coordinated, regulated, manner during mRNA translation. Multiple facets of eIF regulation have yet to be elucidated; however, many of the necessary protein factors are phosphorylated. Herein, we have isolated, identified and quantified phosphosites from eIF2, eIF3, and eIF4G generated from log phase grown HeLa cell lysates. Our investigation is the first study to globally quantify eIF phosphosites and illustrates differences in abundance of phosphorylation between the residues of each factor. Thus, identification of those phosphosites that exhibit either high or low levels of phosphorylation under log phase growing conditions may aid researchers to concentrate their investigative efforts to specific phosphosites that potentially harbor important regulatory mechanisms germane to mRNA translation

The Impact of COVID-19 on Minority Disparities in Sexual and Reproductive Health Care in New York State

This report presents the findings from a qualitative study of the impact of COVID-19 on the provision of sexual and reproductive health (SRH) care to minority groups in New York State from March to October 2020. Drawing on interview material with frontline SRH providers and advocates, we illustrate the deepening inequalities in access to, and quality of, SRH care during the first surge of the pandemic, as well as their implications for future policy and practice. Key findings include: 1) Negative birthing conditions experienced disproportionately by women most vulnerable to poor maternal and birth outcomes; 2) delays and avoidance of care due both to fear of hospitals and increased anti-immigrant political sentiment; 3) lack of coordination and communication between and within different levels of health provision and policy; 4) inequities in access to personal protective equipment (PPE), COVID testing, and telehealth platforms, and; 5) gaps in services that disproportionately affected low-income, young, and minority populations. Notable positive outcomes include: telehealth\u27s role in streamlining medical appointments for those able to use it, and numerous and creative initiatives by individuals and institutions to produce evidence-based guidance, ensure continuity of care, and deliver timely and compassionate care under extremely challenging circumstances

A method to determine radial speed of target from the FMCW radar signal

An established method to detect a target from the FMCW radar signal is implemented by using the method of range FFT (Fast Fourier Transform). By repeating the same procedure many times at a certain azimuth angle, it is possible to additionally compute the radial speed of the suspected target. This paper describes a method to determine the radial speed of target by extracting the phase data from the repeated range FFTs. To verify this method a series of computer simulations was conducted at our research group