A robust agroinfiltration method

Stable transformation of soybean (Glycine max) is a markedly slow and laborious process. Thus, a tool that enables rapid evaluation of genetic elements in planta is critical to advance complex research and genetic engineering in soybean. To that end, a substantially robust agroinfiltration method was innovated in this work. Agroinfiltration is a technique that leverages Agrobacterium-mediated transient transformation to deliver genetic elements to the cells of whole plant tissues, usually leaves. Several factors were found to be relevant to successful soybean leaf agroinfiltration, including genotype, surfactant, developmental stage, and Agrobacterium culture medium. The research represents not only a new research tool for soybean biotechnology, but also indicates critical parameters for guided agroinfiltration optimization that could be used for other crop species

Darkness Leaping out of Light: Anti-Metaphysics and the Paradoxical Negative Affix in Moby-Dick

This paper argues that the varied philosophical beliefs that are present in the discourse of Moby-Dick’s characters are met with discursive resistance at the level of the novel’s form. Though a range of metaphysical arguments are posited by the characters as they explore the unknown, Melville’s use of negative linguistic constructions refutes the entire range of metaphysical beliefs by displaying the paradoxical and impossible nature of the primary subject that metaphysicians ponder—the unknown. I propose that in trying to comprehend “the unknown” humans unavoidably create something out of nothing then deem it unknowable and therefore fail to grant it the status of potentially being nothing at all (knowing the unknown is impossible just as thinking of nothing is impossible). Ultimately, this paper explores the possibility that when we reduce absence to positive terms we may understand in order to posit metaphysical theories, we, like Ahab, create an evil, unknown phantom and chase it—that perhaps the metaphysical questions we ask are always-already positing the potentiality of their answers, leaving no possibility for true absence, or silence on behalf of the universe we interrogate. Though clearly concerned with a unique anti-metaphysical stance, this essay is not concerned with understanding Melville’s metaphysical beliefs. Rather, it focuses on Melville’s ability to present a multitude of ideas and encourage the reader to rest upon none of them

Wheeler-DeWitt Quantization of Gravity Models of Unified Dark Energy and Dark Matter

First, we describe the construction of a new type of gravity-matter models based on the formalism of non-Riemannian space-time volume forms - alternative generally covariant integration measure densities (volume elements) defined in terms of auxiliary antisymmetric tensor gauge fields. Here gravity couples in a non-conventional way to two distinct scalar fields providing a unified Lagrangian action principle description of: (i) the evolution of both "early" and "late" Universe - by the "inflaton" scalar field; (ii) dark energy and dark matter as a unified manifestation of a single material entity - the "darkon" scalar field. A physically very interesting phenomenon occurs when including in addition interactions with the electro-weak model bosonic sector - we obtain a gravity-assisted dynamical generation of electro-weak spontaneous gauge symmetry breaking in the post-inflationary "late" Universe, while the Higgs-like scalar remains massless in the "early" Universe. Next, we proceed to the Wheeler-DeWitt minisuperspace quantization of the above models. The "darkon" field plays here the role of cosmological "time". In particular, we show the absence of cosmological space-time singularities.Comment: 15 pages, to be published in the Proceedings of QTS10 - 10th International Symposium "Quantum Theory and Symmetries" (Varna, 2017), Springer Proceedings in Mathematics and Statistics, V. Dobrev (ed.). arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1609.0691

Designing spaces to support collaborative creativity in shared virtual environments

Shared virtual environments (SVEs) have been researched extensively within the fields of education, entertainment, work, and training, yet there has been limited research on the creative and collaborative aspects of interactivity in SVEs. The important role that creativity and collaboration play in human society raises the question of the way that virtual working spaces might be designed to support collaborative creativity in SVEs. In this paper, we outline an SVE named LeMo, which allows two people to collaboratively create a short loop of music together. Then we present a study of LeMo, in which 52 users composed music in pairs using four different virtual working space configurations. Key findings indicated by results include: (i) Providing personal space is an effective way to support collaborative creativity in SVEs, (ii) personal spaces with a fluid light-weight boundary could provide enough support, worked better and was preferable to ones with rigid boundaries and (iii) a configuration that provides a movable personal space was preferred to one that provided no mobility. Following these findings, five corresponding design implications for shared virtual environments focusing on supporting collaborative creativity are given and conclusions are made

Standards for CHERG reviews of intervention effects on child survival

Background The Lives Saved Tool (LiST) uses estimates of the effects of interventions on cause-specific child mortality as a basis for generating projections of child lives that could be saved by increasing coverage of effective interventions. Estimates of intervention effects are an essential element of LiST, and need to reflect the best available scientific evidence. This article describes the guidelines developed by the Child Health Epidemiology Reference Group (CHERG) that are applied by scientists conducting reviews of intervention effects for use in LiST

Special Issue on Cyberharassment Investigation: Advances and Trends

Empirical and anecdotal evidence indicates that cyberharassment is more prevalent as the use of social media becomes increasingly widespread, making geography and physical proximity irrelevant. Cyberharassment can take different forms (e.g., cyberbullying, cyberstalking, cybertrolling), and be motivated by the objectives of inflicting distress, exercising control, impersonation, and defamation. Little is currently known about the modus operandi of offenders and their psychological characteristics. Investigation of these behaviours is particularly challenging because it involves digital evidence distributed across the devices of both alleged offenders and victims, as well as online service providers, sometimes over an extended period of time. This special issue aims to improve understanding of cyberharassment from a multidisciplinary perspective in order to further develop theoretical knowledge and investigative practice

New Territories in Adult Education: Game-based Learning for Adult Learners

The purpose of this paper is to address the different approaches to game-based learning by focusing on applied examples and implications for adult education