78 research outputs found

    Summer

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    Expression Analysis of MicroRNAs and MicroRNA-like RNAs in Aspergillus Flavus-Infected Aflatoxin Resistant and Susceptible Maize Inbred Lines

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    Corn (Zea mays) is frequently infected by a soil fungal pathogen Aspergillus flavus. The fungus produces aflatoxins, which cause liver cancer. Maize inbred lines that are resistant to infection by A. flavus have been developed, and these inbred lines provide excellent models for studying molecular mechanisms of maize resistance to the fungus. MicroRNA-like RNAs (milRNAs) recently identified in A. flavus had been found to be correlated with aflatoxin production conditions, suggesting that the milRNAs might play a role in the regulation of aflatoxin production. In this research, small RNAs were isolated from kernels of maize (resistant Mp719 and susceptible Va35) inoculated with A. flavus NRRL 3357 (aflatoxigenic) and NRRL 21882 (nonaflatoxigenic) and then subjected to RNA sequencing. Sequencing had identified 69 A. flavus milRNAs and 691 Z. mays miRNAs. The differential expression of some maize miRNAs revealed their potential role in response to inoculation, A. flavus growth, and aflatoxin production

    First steps to carborane frustrated Lewis pair chemistry

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    Chapter 1 provides an introduction to heteroborane chemistry with particular attention on the substitution of Lewis acid and Lewis base groups onto carborane cages. The various methods used to assess Lewis acidity and basicity are discussed. An introduction to frustrated Lewis pairs (FLPs) is also given. Chapter 2 reports the synthesis and characterisation of Lewis acid carboranes, with the first examples of catecholboryl-carboranes. The Lewis acidities of a series of Lewis acid carboranes were ranked using a modified Gutmann-Beckett experiment and compared to that of B(C6F5)3 for use in FLP catalysis. Chapter 3 reports the formation of novel carboranylphosphines based on 1,1ʹ-bis(meta-carborane). The characterisation of a series of (carboranyl)phosphine selenides is reported and the basicity of the parent (carboranyl)phosphine is ranked based upon 1JPSe. The relationship between 1JPSe and the P=Se bond length is explored for the series of (carboranyl)phosphine selenides and the relationship between the experimental 1JPSe and the DFT calculated proton affinity is investigated. Chapter 4 explores the catalytic activity of Lewis acid and Lewis base carboranes as FLP catalysts in Michael addition and hydrosilylation reactions. Chapter 5 discusses preliminary investigations into the synthesis of intramolecular FLP carboranes. The synthesis and characterisation of the first example of an intramolecular FLP carborane is reported, along with assessment of the Lewis acidity and basicity of the compound for possible application in hydrosilylation catalysis. Chapter 7 contains the experimental details for the compounds and catalytic conditions discussed. Appendix A is the crystallographic tables for all compounds studied by XRD in this thesis

    Anti-Corruption

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    Rights, not rescue: trafficking (in)securities at the sport mega-event

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    We examine the impact of fantasies used in the redevelopment of sport mega-event cities on host communities; particularly as related to the male-dominated FIFA World Cup and forced prostitution. We start with a discussion of event fantasies, particularly those that circulate in relation to humanitarian aid and the alleged involvement of women and children in forced labour and sexual exploitation. We trace these fantasies across several FIFA host cities since the 2006 FIFA World Cup, hosted in Germany, to leverage continual and perpetuate attention (and profit) through the non-profit industrial complex. These fantasies have facilitated and coordinated collaborative consensus amongst state authorities and allies to act in a meaningful manner even as the evidence of forced prostitution is still scant—while the realities of people that continue to be subjected to violent and exploitative labour in the construction of stadia, athlete recruitment, or equipment and apparel industries are seldom addressed. We do this to question the lived impact of policies and personalities of rescue on people engaged, consensually, in erotic labour within host cities, that are often made target of rescue intervention. The figure of the proverbial sex slave, as a highly racialized and hypersexualized trope, is mobilized through the sport mega-event to further police the bodies of all women in labour and migration. We end with a cautious message to future host cities, particularly cities implicated in the 2026 FIFA World Cup within Mexico, Canada, and the United States, of the highly-profitable and politically-advantageous rhetoric of damsel in distress

    Beaver-Dredged Canals and their Spacial Relationship to Beaver-Cut Stumps

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    Castor canadensis Kuhl (North American beavers) are central place foragers whocollect woody plants and building materials from their surroundings and return to a main body of water containing a lodge or food cache. It has been suggested that beavers dredge water-filled canals to extend access to foraging areas; however, the possibility that these engineered transportation routes function as extensions to the beavers\u27 central place has yet to be considered. Our objective in this study was to gain a better understanding of the formation and utilization of canals by beavers and thus further elucidate the complex foraging behavior of these ecosystem engineers. During 2004–2011, we mapped beaver ponds, canals, and cut stumps in eight groundwater-fed wetlands, from at least four separate colonies, in Indianapolis, IN. We found that the mean length, depth, and width of the beaver-dredged canals were 604.3 6 493.1 m, 28.0 6 22.2 cm, and 107.7 6 107.1 cm respectively. Two of the canal systems were mapped for multiple years and their length, depth, and width increased over time and supported the prediction that beavers continuously engineer these canal systems to extend their foraging area into new locations. In addition, and in contrast to previous studies, we found that the number of beaver-cut stumps was negatively related to distance from canals, but not from the body of water containing their lodges. We recommend that studies of optimal foraging in beavers take canals into account, where applicable, when relating foraging to distance from the central place

    The Synthesis of Certain Phomentrioloxin A Analogues and Their Evaluation as Herbicidal Agents

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    A series of 28 analogues of the phytotoxic geranylcyclohexentriol (−)-phomentrioloxin A (1) has been synthesized through cross-couplings of various enantiomerically pure haloconduritols or certain deoxygenated derivatives with either terminal alkynes or borylated alkenes. Some of these analogues display modest herbicidal activities, and physiological profiling studies suggest that analogue 4 inhibits photosystem II in isolated thylakoids in vitro

    Near-Infrared Monitoring of Volatiles in Frozen Lunar Simulants While Drilling

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    In Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) focuses on using local resources for mission consumables. The approach can reduce mission cost and risk. Lunar polar volatiles, e.g. water ice, have been detected via remote sensing measurements and represent a potential resource for both humans and propellant. The exact nature of the horizontal and depth distribution of the ice remains to be documented in situ. NASA's Resource Prospector mission (RP) is intended to investigate the polar volatiles using a rover, drill, and the RESOLVE science package. RP component level hardware is undergoing testing in relevant lunar conditions (cryovacuum). In March 2015 a series of drilling tests were undertaken using the Honeybee Robotics RP Drill, Near-Infrared Volatile Spectrometer System (NIRVSS), and sample capture mechanisms (SCM) inside a 'dirty' thermal vacuum chamber at the NASA Glenn Research Center. The goal of these tests was to investigate the ability of NIRVSS to monitor volatiles during drilling activities and assess delivery of soil sample transfer to the SCMs in order to elucidate the concept of operations associated with this regolith sampling method
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