Targeting of anionic membrane species by lanthanide(III) complexes: towards improved MRI contrast agents for apoptosis

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Influence of crop rotation and flutolanil on the diversity of fungi on peanut shells

Les agents pathogènes du sol qui affectent les arachides (Arachis hypogaea) survivent ou hivernent souvent sur les écales d'arachides laissées sur ou dans le sol. Les effets de diverses rotations de cultures sur la flore fongique des écales d'arachides ont été comparés par trois tests en champ menés en 1992 et en 1993. Dans deux des tests, les parcelles d'arachides cultivées de façon continue ont été traitées ou non traitées avec le fongicide flutolanil. Les pratiques de rotation ont varié avec la localisation, et les cultures en rotation avec les arachides étaient le coton (Gossypium hirsutum), le seigle (Secale céréale), l'herbe de Bahia (Paspalum notatum), et le maïs (Zea mays). Au total,31 genres de champignon ont été isolés des écales. Plus des deux tiers des isolats étaient des Deutéromycètes, suivis en fréquence par les Basidiomycètes, les Ascomycètes et les Phycomycètes. Les pratiques de rotation ont affecté l'incidence de plusieurs champignons pathogènes (par exemple, les Fusarium spp. et le Lasiodiplodia theobromae) sur les écales d'arachides, mais les résultats n'ont pas été cohérents entre les tests et les années. L'herbe de Bahia ou le maïs cultivés en rotation avec les arachides ont réduit la fréquence du Rhizoctonia solani AG-4 dans les écales. Le Rhizoctonia solani AG-2-2 et le Macrophomina phaseolina ont été isolés à des niveaux plus élevés dans la rotation herbe de Bahia-arachide. Quand les arachides étaient cultivées en rotation avec le coton avec ou sans une culture de couverture de seigle, les parcelles recouvertes de seigle avaient des taux d'isolement moindres pour les champignons totaux en 1992 que les parcelles sans seigle, mais aucune différence n'a été observée en 1993. De plus, plusieurs espèces de Fusarium ont été isolées plus fréquemment des écales provenant de parcelles en rotation avec le seigle. Le flutolanil a diminué significativement les taux d'isolement de plusieurs champignons, incluant le R. solani AG-4, dans un des essais en 1992. L'ensemble des champignons isolés (en combinant tous les isolats de champignon) sur les parcelles traitées au flutolanil étaient plus élevés en 1993, mais pas en 1992 sur un des sites. Les taux d'isolement pour les différents genres et espèces de champignon différaient sur les deux milieux utilisés (agar à l'extrait de malt et agar au sel de malt). En particulier, l’AIternaria alternata et des espèces de Fusarium ont été isolés plus fréquemment sur l'agar au sel de malt, tandis que L theobromae, R. solani AG-4 et Trichoderma spp. Étaient plus souvent rencontrés sur l'agar à l'extrait de malt.Soilborne pathogens of peanut (Arachis hypogaea) often survive or over winter on peanut shells left on or in the soil. The effects of different crop rotations on the peanut shell mycobiota were compared in three field trials in 1992 and repeated in 1993. In two of the trials, plots grown continuously to peanut were either treated with the fungicide flutolanil or left untreated. Rotation practices varied with location and the crops in rotation with peanut were cotton (Gossypium hirsutum), rye (Secale cereale), bahiagrass (Paspalum notatum), and corn (Zea mays). In total, 31 different gene of fungi were isolated from shells. Over two-thirds of the isolates were Deuteromycotina, followed in frequency by Basidiomycetes, Ascomycetes, and Phycomycetes. The rotation practices affected the incidence of several pathogenic fungi (e.g., Fusarium spp., and Lasiodiplodia theobromae) in the peanut shells, but the results were not consistent across trials or years. Bahiagrass or corn grown in rotation with peanut reduced the frequency of Rhizoctonia solani AG-4 in shells. Rhizoctonia solani AG-2-2 and Macrophomina phaseolina were isolated at a greater level in the bahiagrass-peanut rotation. Where peanut was rotated with cotton with or without a winter cover crop of rye, plots containing rye had lower isolation rates for total fungi in 1992 than those without rye, but there was no différence in 1993. Also, several species of Fusarium were isolated more frequently from shells from plots rotated with rye. Flutolanil significantly lowered isolation rates of several fungi, including R. solani AG-4, in one trial in 1992. Total fungi isolated (all fungal isolates combined) in the flutolanil-treated plots were greater in 1993, but not in 1992 at one site. Isolation rates for the different gene and species of fungi differed on the two media utilized (malt-extract agar and malt-salt agar). In particular, Alternaria alternata and species of Fusarium were isolated more frequently on malt-salt agar, whereas L theobromae, R. solani AG-4 and Trichoderma spp. were more common on malt-extract agar

The ecology of herbivore-induced silicon defences in grasses

Silicon as a defence against herbivory in grasses has gained increasing recognition and has now been studied in a wide range of species, at scales from individual plants in pots to plant communities in the field. The impacts of these defences have been assessed on herbivores ranging from insects to rodents to ungulates. Here, we review current knowledge of silicon mediation of plant-herbivore interactions in an ecological context. The production of silicon defences by grasses is affected by both abiotic and biotic factors and by their interactions. Climate, soil type and water availability all influence levels of silicon uptake, as does plant phenology and previous herbivory. The type of defoliation matters and artificial clipping does not appear to have the same impact on silicon defence induction as herbivory which includes the presence of saliva. Induction of silicon defences has been demonstrated to require a threshold level of damage, both in the laboratory and in the field. In recent studies of vole-plant interactions, the patterns of induction were found to be quantitatively similar in glasshouse compared with field experiments, in terms of both the threshold required for induction and timing of the induction response. The impacts of silicon defences differ between different classes of herbivore, possibly reflecting differences in body size, feeding behaviour and digestive physiology. General patterns are hard to discern however, and a greater number of studies on wild mammalian herbivores are required to elucidate these, particularly with an inclusion of major groups for which there are currently no data, one such example being marsupials. We highlight new research areas to address what still remains unclear about the role of silicon as a plant defence, particularly in relation to plant-herbivore interactions in the field, where the effects of grazing on defence induction are harder to measure. We discuss the obstacles inherent in scaling up laboratory work to landscape-scale studies, the most ecologically relevant but most difficult to carry out, which is the next challenge in silicon ecology

Tidal Dwarf Galaxies at Intermediate Redshifts

We present the first attempt at measuring the production rate of tidal dwarf galaxies (TDGs) and estimating their contribution to the overall dwarf population. Using HST/ACS deep imaging data from GOODS and GEMS surveys in conjunction with photometric redshifts from COMBO-17 survey, we performed a morphological analysis for a sample of merging/interacting galaxies in the Extended Chandra Deep Field South and identified tidal dwarf candidates in the rest-frame optical bands. We estimated a production rate about 1.4 {\times} 10^{-5} per Gyr per comoving volume for long-lived TDGs with stellar mass 3 {\times} 10^{8-9} solar mass at 0.5<z<1.1. Together with galaxy merger rates and TDG survival rate from the literature, our results suggest that only a marginal fraction (less than 10%) of dwarf galaxies in the local universe could be tidally-originated. TDGs in our sample are on average bluer than their host galaxies in the optical. Stellar population modelling of optical to near-infrared spectral energy distributions (SEDs) for two TDGs favors a burst component with age 400/200 Myr and stellar mass 40%/26% of the total, indicating that a young stellar population newly formed in TDGs. This is consistent with the episodic star formation histories found for nearby TDGs.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures, Accepted for publication in Astrophysics & Space Scienc

An exploratory study on the potential of social enterprise to act as the institutional glue of network governance

This study combines two topics of contemporary salience for public administration: social enterprise and governance networks. While operating at different levels, both are institutions which attempt to draw together the three pillars of state, market, and civil society. Nevertheless, the respective literatures focus on particular aspects of the three pillars. We connect the two concepts and suggest that some social enterprises can act as the institutional glue of networks due to their ability to benefit organizations in each of the three sectors. This requires social enterprises to have the managerial capacity to diffuse social know-how, and is facilitated by the trust of other organizations and a supportive policy framework. The links are explicated at the conceptual level before providing evidence from South Korea and the UK. Finally, research propositions are offered, which suggest new avenues for future research

Stellar Inversion Techniques

Stellar seismic inversions have proved to be a powerful technique for probing the internal structure of stars, and paving the way for a better understanding of the underlying physics by revealing some of the shortcomings in current stellar models. In this lecture, we provide an introduction to this topic by explaining kernel-based inversion techniques. Specifically, we explain how various kernels are obtained from the pulsation equations, and describe inversion techniques such as the Regularised Least-Squares (RLS) and Optimally Localised Averages (OLA) methods.Comment: 20 pages, 8 figures. Lecture presented at the IVth Azores International Advanced School in Space Sciences on "Asteroseismology and Exoplanets: Listening to the Stars and Searching for New Worlds" (arXiv:1709.00645), which took place in Horta, Azores Islands, Portugal in July 201

On the selection of AGN neutrino source candidates for a source stacking analysis with neutrino telescopes

The sensitivity of a search for sources of TeV neutrinos can be improved by grouping potential sources together into generic classes in a procedure that is known as source stacking. In this paper, we define catalogs of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) and use them to perform a source stacking analysis. The grouping of AGN into classes is done in two steps: first, AGN classes are defined, then, sources to be stacked are selected assuming that a potential neutrino flux is linearly correlated with the photon luminosity in a certain energy band (radio, IR, optical, keV, GeV, TeV). Lacking any secure detailed knowledge on neutrino production in AGN, this correlation is motivated by hadronic AGN models, as briefly reviewed in this paper. The source stacking search for neutrinos from generic AGN classes is illustrated using the data collected by the AMANDA-II high energy neutrino detector during the year 2000. No significant excess for any of the suggested groups was found.Comment: 43 pages, 12 figures, accepted by Astroparticle Physic

Search for R-Parity Violating Decays of Scalar Fermions at LEP

A search for pair-produced scalar fermions under the assumption that R-parity is not conserved has been performed using data collected with the OPAL detector at LEP. The data samples analysed correspond to an integrated luminosity of about 610 pb-1 collected at centre-of-mass energies of sqrt(s) 189-209 GeV. An important consequence of R-parity violation is that the lightest supersymmetric particle is expected to be unstable. Searches of R-parity violating decays of charged sleptons, sneutrinos and squarks have been performed under the assumptions that the lightest supersymmetric particle decays promptly and that only one of the R-parity violating couplings is dominant for each of the decay modes considered. Such processes would yield final states consisting of leptons, jets, or both with or without missing energy. No significant single-like excess of events has been observed with respect to the Standard Model expectations. Limits on the production cross- section of scalar fermions in R-parity violating scenarios are obtained. Constraints on the supersymmetric particle masses are also presented in an R-parity violating framework analogous to the Constrained Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model.Comment: 51 pages, 24 figures, Submitted to Eur. Phys. J.

A measurement of the tau mass and the first CPT test with tau leptons

We measure the mass of the tau lepton to be 1775.1+-1.6(stat)+-1.0(syst.) MeV using tau pairs from Z0 decays. To test CPT invariance we compare the masses of the positively and negatively charged tau leptons. The relative mass difference is found to be smaller than 3.0 10^-3 at the 90% confidence level.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, Submitted to Phys. Letts.

Measurement of the Strong Coupling alpha s from Four-Jet Observables in e+e- Annihilation

Data from e+e- annihilation into hadrons at centre-of-mass energies between 91 GeV and 209 GeV collected with the OPAL detector at LEP, are used to study the four-jet rate as a function of the Durham algorithm resolution parameter ycut. The four-jet rate is compared to next-to-leading order calculations that include the resummation of large logarithms. The strong coupling measured from the four-jet rate is alphas(Mz0)= 0.1182+-0.0003(stat.)+-0.0015(exp.)+-0.0011(had.)+-0.0012(scale)+-0.0013(mass) in agreement with the world average. Next-to-leading order fits to the D-parameter and thrust minor event-shape observables are also performed for the first time. We find consistent results, but with significantly larger theoretical uncertainties.Comment: 25 pages, 15 figures, Submitted to Euro. Phys. J.