Early Grain Filling Environment and Pre-Maturity α-Amylase Formation in UK Winter Wheat Genotypes

When the UK winter wheat variety Rialto produced unexpected low Hagberg falling numbers that could not be directly linked to sprouting, it was proposed that these reductions in quality could be due to PMAA. The problem was not identified during the selection and commercial development stages. In this project the hypothesis was tested that the variety Rialto is PMAA-susceptible. In addition, the effect of a previously proposed high temperature stimulus for PMAA followed by slow grain drying was assessed on plants grown in a controlled environment, throughout. This was done to eliminate any distorting effects the temperature history of plants grown in field or glasshouse had in previous studies. The identification of an effective and reliable PMAA stimulus could facilitate the development of a screening method for PMAA. Analysis was done on 13 year-location combinations of field grown Rialto. Together, visual and chemical assessments of sprouting and iso-electric focusing of α-amylase isozymes identified several samples with significant α-amylase activity in the apparent absence of sprouting. In addition, tests with α-amylase sensitive Phadebas gel revealed distinctive PMAA discoloration patterns in 10% to 44% of the grain from the 13 samples, leading to the conclusion that Rialto is PMAA-susceptible. Results from a controlled environment experiment confirmed the ability of a high temperature treatment to induce increased amylase production in the grain. However, the increase occurred in low humidity, considered to promote grain drying. Other results suggested that induction transpires during an earlier grain development stage than proposed in previous studies. Further work revealed the potential of a detached tiller technique to be used in a prospective fast and reliable screening method for PMAA

Global-in-time solutions for the isothermal Matovich-Pearson equations

In this paper we study the Matovich-Pearson equations describing the process of glass fiber drawing. These equations may be viewed as a 1D-reduction of the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations including free boundary, valid for the drawing of a long and thin glass fiber. We concentrate on the isothermal case without surface tension. Then the Matovich-Pearson equations represent a nonlinearly coupled system of an elliptic equation for the axial velocity and a hyperbolic transport equation for the fluid cross-sectional area. We first prove existence of a local solution, and, after constructing appropriate barrier functions, we deduce that the fluid radius is always strictly positive and that the local solution remains in the same regularity class. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first global existence and uniqueness result for this important system of equations

Customer Decision Making in Selecting Futsal Court in Manado in Terms of Perceived Quality: as Application of Analytical Hierarchy Process (Ahp)

Sports is a necessity for everyone and become a lifestyle in society. No exception for this sport type, Futsal. In order to keep existing customers and for attracting new ones, every futsal court needs to identify the criteria on which customers determine their futsal selection decision. Therefore the writer conducted to analyze the criteria of Futsal court that influence customer and analyze the most preferred futsal court by customer in Manado. Writer used Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) to compare each futsal court as the alternative. The sample of this research is the customers of My Futzal, Champion Futsal, and Marina Futsal as many as 40 respondents of purposive sampling. As the result, there are top three criteria that have the highest influence on customer in selecting futsal court in Manado. Access to the stadium gets the highest score. Second highest score goes to aesthetics and cleanliness of facilities, and then parking criteria in third place. Therefore, every futsal courts particularly in Manado has to pay attention toward these three factors in order to maintain and attract customers. My Futzal is the most preferred Futsal court by the customer. Followed by Champion Futsal and then Marina Futsal. Keywords: customer decision making, perceived quality, futsal selection

Analysis of the Plant bos1 Mutant Highlights Necrosis as an Efficient Defence Mechanism during D. dadantii/Arabidospis thaliana Interaction

Dickeya dadantii is a broad host range phytopathogenic bacterium provoking soft rot disease on many plants including Arabidopsis. We showed that, after D. dadantii infection, the expression of the Arabidopsis BOS1 gene was specifically induced by the production of the bacterial PelB/C pectinases able to degrade pectin. This prompted us to analyze the interaction between the bos1 mutant and D. dadantii. The phenotype of the infected bos1 mutant is complex. Indeed, maceration symptoms occurred more rapidly in the bos1 mutant than in the wild type parent but at a later stage of infection, a necrosis developed around the inoculation site that provoked a halt in the progression of the maceration. This necrosis became systemic and spread throughout the whole plant, a phenotype reminiscent of that observed in some lesion mimic mutants. In accordance with the progression of maceration symptoms, bacterial population began to grow more rapidly in the bos1 mutant than in the wild type plant but, when necrosis appeared in the bos1 mutant, a reduction in bacterial population was observed. From the plant side, this complex interaction between D. dadantii and its host includes an early plant defence response that comprises reactive oxygen species (ROS) production accompanied by the reinforcement of the plant cell wall by protein cross-linking. At later timepoints, another plant defence is raised by the death of the plant cells surrounding the inoculation site. This plant cell death appears to constitute an efficient defence mechanism induced by D. dadantii during Arabidopsis infection

Is the meiofauna a good indicator for climate change and anthropogenic impacts?

Our planet is changing, and one of the most pressing challenges facing the scientific community revolves around understanding how ecological communities respond to global changes. From coastal to deep-sea ecosystems, ecologists are exploring new areas of research to find model organisms that help predict the future of life on our planet. Among the different categories of organisms, meiofauna offer several advantages for the study of marine benthic ecosystems. This paper reviews the advances in the study of meiofauna with regard to climate change and anthropogenic impacts. Four taxonomic groups are valuable for predicting global changes: foraminifers (especially calcareous forms), nematodes, copepods and ostracods. Environmental variables are fundamental in the interpretation of meiofaunal patterns and multistressor experiments are more informative than single stressor ones, revealing complex ecological and biological interactions. Global change has a general negative effect on meiofauna, with important consequences on benthic food webs. However, some meiofaunal species can be favoured by the extreme conditions induced by global change, as they can exhibit remarkable physiological adaptations. This review highlights the need to incorporate studies on taxonomy, genetics and function of meiofaunal taxa into global change impact research

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Abstract Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries