The Effect of Nitrogen Soil Concentration on Leaf Fluorescence in Zea Mays

Macronutrients in the soil are essential to the growth and development of a plant. One of the most important nutrients to a plants growth is nitrogen. Nitrogen has been directly correlated to photosynthetic output in various studies and this relationship is the subject of this experiment. Since nitrogen has an effect on photosynthetic rate, there should be a correlation between nitrogen and fluorescence – a form of energy dissipation. This study attempted to show that nitrogen concentration in the soil is inversely proportional to fluorescence of the plant because the more nitrogen in the soil, the more energy should be used for photosynthesis rather than energy dissipation. Zea mays was chosen as the species of study because of its rapid growth rate and economical value to society. Hoagland’s solution was used as a baseline for the amount of nitrogen utilized by a plant in a naturally occurring setting. Distinct groups were made using the baseline solution as the normal concentration of nitrogen. Then, two other groups were set up – one with half the concentration and another with double the concentration. Using a pulse-modulated Fluorometer, fluorescence was obtained from the plants in each of the groups under normal light, as well as under light stress. In addition, both dark-adapted and light-adapted fluorescence were measured. The results revealed that, under both normal light and light stress, light-adapted fluorescence was significantly different between our three groups. This would suggest that under highly stressful conditions, nitrogen is helpful in utilizing more energy for photosynthesis and energy dissipation is minimized

A Reevaluation of Canine Dirofilariasis in Northwestern Ohio

Author Institution: Department of Biological Sciences, Bowling Green State UniversityBlood samples from 160 native dogs in 3 northwestern counties of Ohio were examined for Dirofilaria immitis microfilariae during 1976; 6 samples (3.75%) were positive. A comparison was made with data collected in 1971 from the same counties and dogs in the same infection risk stratum. The level of prevalence of D. immitis has remained stable from 1971 (3.04%) through 1976 (3.75%) in these northwestern Ohio counties. Dipetalonema reconditum was not diagnosed in the present study, although a 3.8% prevalence was recorded in 1971

Management of COPD in the UK primary-care setting : an analysis of real-life prescribing patterns

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

How does Europe Make Its Mind Up? Connections, cliques, and compatibility between countries in the Eurovision Song Contest

We investigate the complex relationships between countries in the Eurovision Song Contest, by recasting past voting data in terms of a dynamical network. Despite the British tendency to feel distant from Europe, our analysis shows that the U.K. is remarkably compatible, or 'in tune', with other European countries. Equally surprising is our finding that some other core countries, most notably France, are significantly 'out of tune' with the rest of Europe. In addition, our analysis enables us to confirm a widely-held belief that there are unofficial cliques of countries -- however these cliques are not always the expected ones, nor can their existence be explained solely on the grounds of geographical proximity. The complexity in this system emerges via the group 'self-assessment' process, and in the absence of any central controller. One might therefore speculate that such complexity is representative of many real-world situations in which groups of 'agents' establish their own inter-relationships and hence ultimately decide their own fate. Possible examples include groups of individuals, societies, political groups or even governments

‘People don’t buy art, they buy artists’: Robot artists–work, identity,and expertise

This article critically examines the construction of the artistic identity and career of Ai-Da,‘theworld’sfirst ultra-realistic humanoid robot artist’. Engaging with scholarship on posthumanism andcreative assemblages, and creative work, identity and expertise, this article conceptualises Ai-Da’sdistinctive positioning and focuses on the practices used to construct a creative worker identity andcareer. The article uses qualitative content analysis to examine journalistic coverage, promotionaland presentation activities, exhibitions and performances, and social media postings over a four-year period from Ai-Da’sfirst launch to international visibility. The analysis shows how Ai-Da ispositioned as a high-profile, border crossing artist, engaging in debates about Artificial Intelligence(AI), art, and the environment. It considers the creative assemblage of Ai-Da as a humanoid robotartist, the creator Aidan Meller and the team working with him, and the wider contextual factors ofaesthetic expertise, networks and knowledge of art worlds which have shaped Ai-Da’s artisticidentity and career trajectory. The focus on how Ai-Da signals expertise on social media helps toframe the specific techniques used to speak about and for Ai-Da on social media platforms andwider media coverage. This includes articulating inspiration, showcasing artistic processes andcultivating audience relationships. In concluding, the implications of connecting critical perspectiveson creative work with developments in art, AI and robot artists are explored:firstly, for un-derstanding how the practices for constructing an artistic identity shape the development of robotartists; secondly, for understanding how developments in art and AI can frame reflections on artisticidentity and career

Tenoscopic Debridement or Surgical Repair for Longitudinal Tears of the Equine Deep Digital Flexor Tendon Within the Digital Flexor Tendon Sheath?

PICO questionIn horses with longitudinal tears of the deep digital flexor tendon within the digital flexor tendon sheath, is surgical repair as effective as tenoscopic debridement alone for returning to previous level of performance?Clinical bottom lineCurrent literature on the efficacy of surgical repair or tenoscopic debridement is limited. Criteria to define and evaluate performance outcomes is not uniform and confounded with multiple variables, merely representing low quality evidence that is difficult to draw meaningful conclusions from. However, the literature suggests tenoscopic debridement alone has been associated with improved outcomes. A more definitive conclusion cannot be made until higher quality evidence is made available on this topic.  <img src="https://www.veterinaryevidence.org/rcvskmod/icons/pr-icon.jpg" alt="Peer Reviewed" /

Cultural Strategies in England database

For an introduction and context for the database, please access the Introduction to the Cultural Strategies in England database https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/479450/. This introduction includes information on: Creating and updating the Cultural Strategies in England overview database; The Cultural Strategies in England overview spreadsheet which is an overview of the strategies included in the database; How the search was conducted; Overview of search results

A high-throughput screening RT-qPCR assay for quantifying surrogate markers of immunity from PBMCs

Immunoassays that quantitate cytokines and other surrogate markers of immunity from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), such as flow cytometry or Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Spot (ELIspot), allow highly sensitive measurements of immune effector function. However, those assays consume relatively high numbers of cells and expensive reagents, precluding comprehensive analyses and high-throughput screening (HTS). To address this issue, we developed a sensitive and specific reverse transcription-quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR)-based HTS assay, specifically designed to quantify surrogate markers of immunity from very low numbers of PBMCs. We systematically evaluated the volumes and concentrations of critical reagents within the RT-qPCR protocol, miniaturizing the assay and ultimately reducing the cost by almost 90% compared to current standard practice. We assessed the suitability of this cost-optimized RT-qPCR protocol as an HTS tool and determined the assay exceeds HTS uniformity and signal variance testing standards. Furthermore, we demonstrate this technique can effectively delineate a hierarchy of responses from as little as 50,000 PBMCs stimulated with CD4+ or CD8+ T cell peptide epitopes. Finally, we establish that this HTS-optimized protocol has single-cell analytical sensitivity and a diagnostic sensitivity equivalent to detecting 1:10,000 responding cells (i.e., 100 Spot Forming Cells/106 PBMCs by ELIspot) with over 90% accuracy. We anticipate this assay will have widespread applicability in preclinical and clinical studies, especially when samples are limited, and cost is an important consideration