Circular 102

In 1989, a systematic evaluation of woody and herbaceous perennial landscape plants was begun at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Georgeson Botanical Garden (64°51’N, 147°52’W). These evaluations were expanded to include annual flowers in 1992 and ferns in 1993. The purpose of this research is to identify hardy perennials capable of surviving in subarctic environments; to evaluate the ornamental potential of perennials and annuals; and to fulfill a growing demand for information on landscape plant materials by homeowners, commercial growers, and landscapers.Introduction -- Explanation of Plant Evaluation Tables -- Table 1. Weather records for the test years -- Table 2. All plant materials evaluated in 1994: Herbaceous perennials; Ferns; Ornamental grasses; Woody perennials -- Table 4. Plantings from 1994 that have not yet been evaluated for winter survival: Herbaceous perennials; Ferns; Woody perennials -- Table 5. Annual flowers evaluated in 1994 -- Appendix 1. Commercial Sources and Organizations -- Map of GB

Lake Cycles and Sediments: Locality 80, Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania

Studies have shown that Bed I and Lower Bed II (1.92Ma- 1.76Ma) of Paleolake Olduvai at Locality 80 are primarily composed of the authigenic lacustrine clay minerals illite, smectite, and interlayered illite-smectite. X-ray fluorescence analysis and the sedimentation rates of Hay and Kyser (2001) were used to identify four apparent lake cycles beginning and ending with saline alkaline phases. Peaks in Al2O3/MgO ratios, and TiO2 and P2O5 abundances occur at approximately the same elevations within the stratigraphic section. Low values in these three parameters indicate saline alkaline conditions whereas high values represent fresh water conditions. Lake Cycles (LC) 1 and 4 completed in approximately 44,000 years and 42,000 years respectively, which is similar to the 41k.y. year cycle associated with Earth’s obliquity. Lake Cycles 2 and 3 span approximately 24,000 years and are similar to the 21k.y. precession cycle

Late Mid Devonian Sawdonia (Zosterophyllopsida) from Venezuela

Premise of research. Fossil plants from the Late Middle to early Late Devonian age Campo Chico Formation, Sierra de Perijá, western Venezuela, are determined to represent a new species of the zosterophyll genus Sawdonia. While mentioned in previous publications, this plant has not been previously described or formally named. A conclusive taxonomic assignment was not possible until clarification of the sporangial morphology of the type species of Sawdonia, S. ornata (Gensel and Berry 2016), from the Early Devonian of Canada. Methodology. The adpressions were prepared using dégagement, including serial dégagement and photography at each stage. Permineralized remains were prepared using established techniques for pyrite sectioning and polishing. Taphonomic analysis included preparing models and subjecting them to compression to aid in understanding their shape and orientation in life. Pivotal results. The Venezuelan plants are adpressions of spiny axes that exhibit two types of branching (especially in vegetative ones), circinate tips, anatomy with G-type tracheids, and lateral sporangia with unequal-sized sporangial valves, with the abaxial valve being spinous as is characteristic of the genus Sawdonia Hueber emend Gensel and Berry 2016. Sporangia are irregularly arranged along some axes and appear to be located in medial to subdistal regions. Spores were not obtained. Conclusions. Differences in length and density of spines, the presence of two types of branching related to its growth habit, and details of sporangial morphology distinguish the Venezuelan plants from those of the type species and S. deblondii, thus leading to establishing a new species. This discovery demonstrates the longevity of the genus (ca. 20 Myr) during a time of profound vegetational change, including the rise of forests, and is the first record of a fertile zosterophyll recorded from the Middle Devonian of South America

Offspring subcutaneous adipose markers are sensitive to the timing of maternal gestational weight gain

peer-reviewedBackground Excessive maternal weight gain during pregnancy impacts on offspring health. This study focused on the timing of maternal gestational weight gain, using a porcine model with mothers of normal pre-pregnancy weight. Methods Trial design ensured the trajectory of maternal gestational weight gain differed across treatments in early, mid and late gestation. Diet composition did not differ. On day 25 gestation, sows were assigned to one of five treatments: Control sows received a standard gestation diet of 2.3 kg/day (30 MJ DE/day) from early to late gestation (day 25–110 gestation). E sows received 4.6 kg food/day in early gestation (day 25–50 gestation). M sows doubled their food intake in mid gestation (day 50–80 gestation). EM sows doubled their food intake during both early and mid gestation (day 25–80 gestation). L sows consumed 3.5 kg food/day in late gestation (day 80–110 gestation). Offspring body weight and food intake levels were measured from birth to adolescence. Markers of lipid metabolism, hypertrophy and inflammation were investigated in subcutaneous adipose tissue of adolescent offspring. Results The trajectory of gestational weight gain differed across treatments. However total gestational weight gain did not differ except for EM sows who were the heaviest and fattest mothers at parturition. Offspring birth weight did not differ across treatments. Subcutaneous adipose tissue from EM offspring differed significantly from controls, with elevated mRNA levels of lipogenic (CD36, ACACB and LPL), nutrient transporters (FABP4 and GLUT4), lipolysis (HSL and ATGL), adipocyte size (MEST) and inflammation (PAI-1) indicators. The subcutaneous adipose depot from L offspring exhibited elevated levels of CD36, ACACB, LPL, GLUT4 and FABP4 mRNA transcripts compared to control offspring. Conclusions Increasing gestational weight gain in early gestation had the greatest impact on offspring postnatal growth rate. Increasing maternal food allowance in late gestation appeared to shift the offspring adipocyte focus towards accumulation of fat. Mothers who gained the most weight during gestation (EM mothers) gave birth to offspring whose subcutaneous adipose tissue, at adolescence, appeared hyperactive compared to controls. This study concluded that mothers, who gained more than the recommended weight gain in mid and late gestation, put their offspring adipose tissue at risk of dysfunction.This research was funded by Teagasc, under the National Development Plan. LBMcN was in receipt of a Teagasc Walsh Fellowship. Nestle hosted LG on a sabbatical and funded the RT-PCR cost

Circular 98

In 1989, a systematic evaluation of woody and herbaceous perennial landscape plants was begun at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Georgeson Botanical Garden (64051’N, 147°52’W). These evaluations were expanded to include annual flowers in 1992 and ferns in 1993. The purpose of this research is to identify hardy perennials capable of surviving in subarctic environments; to evaluate the ornamental potential of perennials and annuals; and to fulfill a growing demand for information on landscape plant materials by homeowners, commercial growers, and landscapers.Introduction -- Explanation of Plan Evaluation Tables -- Table 1. Weather records for the test years -- Table 2. All plant materials evaluated in 1992: Herbaceous perennials; Ornamental grasses; Woody perennials -- Table 3. All plants that have been evaluated but did not survive the minimum number of test years: Hebaceous perennials; Ornamental grasses; Woody perennials -- Table 4. Plantings from 1993 that have not yet been evaluated for winter survival: Herbaceous perennials; Ferns; Ornamental grasses; Woody perennials -- Table 5. Annual flowers evaluated in 1993 -- Appendix 1. Commercial Sources and Organizations -- Map of GB

Information Technology: An Assessment of Multinational Management Perceptions

This paper investigates the knowledge, familiarity level, and sources of knowledge about information technology of Korean business managers working in a large multinational corporation. Often academic research is limited in that students are used as surrogates for managers or business professionals. This paper extends earlier student-based research to business professionals to assess information literacy. Specifically, descriptive results concerning mangers’ familiarity level with technology, including the Internet, sources of knowledge about information technology, and the comfort level performing certain technology related tasks are presented

Public attitudes to government intervention to regulate food advertising, especially to children

The World Health Organization has called on governments to implement recommendations on the marketing of foods and beverages to children. This study describes high public support for government intervention in marketing of unhealthy food to children and suggests more effort is needed to harness public opinion to influence policy development

Sporangial morphology of the early devonian zosterophyll sawdonia ornata from the type locality (gaspé).

Premise of research. Despite being an iconic and recognizable zosterophyll from the Early Devonian, sporangia of Sawdonia ornata are not known in any detail from the type locality, being represented by a drawing and a few illustrations from other localities. This has hampered recognition and/or comparison of other zosterophylls or newly discovered plants to that taxon. A detailed study of sporangia obtained from axes of S. ornata from the type locality was conducted to investigate sporangial morphology and range of vegetative features. Methodology. Fertile specimens were prepared by dégagement and maceration to expose both vegetative and reproductive features more fully than previously. Maceration produced axes and sporangia that were examined by LM and SEM. Pivotal results. Sporangia of S. ornata from the type locality consist of unequal valves: a larger and more rounded outer/abaxial valve—in which the stalk merges imperceptibly with the back of the valve and both are covered with spines—and a smaller, thinner, and flat inner/adaxial valve that lacks spines. Each valve has a narrow flat rim not readily visible unless the sporangium is open. The sporangia are located near and well below the apex of aerial stems and may be located on one or two sides of the stems, with the sporangia being curved in toward the stem and slightly around it, mostly at a slightly acute angle to the stem. Variation in density and angle of lateral branching within a pseudomonopodial system is also demonstrated. A new reconstruction of the sporangia is provided. Conclusions. The new data on sporangial morphology from type locality specimens provide a clear set of characters delimiting S. ornata, type for the genus, and require that the taxonomic circumscription of S. ornata be emended. This in turn affects identification of closely similar taxa, such that some are excluded from the genus, others are questionably attributed to Sawdonia as cf. Sawdonia sp. These differences are considered significant enough to recommend placing Sawdonia acanthotheca Gensel, Andrews, and Forbes in another genus and to rename Ensivalia deblondii Gerrienne as a new combination, Sawdonia deblondii (Gerrienne) Gensel et Berry. Sawdonia is the third zosterophyll taxon to demonstrate sporangia with unequally sized valves and, more intriguingly, little differentiation between stalk and distal valve. These results will allow more accurate comparison of other zosterophylls to this genus in terms of reproductive characters and assessment of diversity in zosterophylls than previously. It is less clear whether a certain set of vegetative—particularly cuticular—features continue to allow one to recognize this taxon from fragments

Expression of protein kinase C subspecies in human leukemia- lymphoma cell lines

AbstractExpression of protein kinase C (PKC) subspecies was studied in various human leukemia-lymphoma cell lines. The PKC in most cell lines examined was resolved into two major fractions corresponding to type II (β-sequence) and type III (α-sequence) PKC of the rat brain. The amounts of these two subspecies greatly varied among the cell lines. Type I PKC (γ-sequence) was expressed in none of the cell lines tested, but PKCs with undefined structures were frequently detected. The differential co-expression of several PKC subspecies is presumably related to the state of cell differentiation

Multi-Spectral Visual Crop Assessment Under Limited Data Constraints

In an era of climate change and global population growth, deep learning based multi-spectral imaging has the potential to significantly assist in production management across a wide range of agricultural and food production domains. A key challenge however in applying state-of-the-art methods is that they, unlike classical hand crafted methods, are usually thought of as being only useful when significant amounts of data are available. In this paper we investigate this hypothesis by examining the performance of state-of-the-art deep learning methods when applied to a restricted data set that is not easily bootstrapped through pre-trained image processing networks. We demonstrate that significant result improvement can be obtained from deep residual networks over a baseline image processing model -- even in the case where data collection is highly expensive and pre-trained networks cannot be easily built upon. Our work also constitutes a useful contribution to understanding the benefit of applying deep image multi-spectral processing techniques to the agri-food domain