Characterization of peroxidase and catalase genes in defense mechanisms of Physcomitrella patens

Systemic acquired resistance (SAR) and the hypersensitive response (HR) are two important induced defense mechanisms in plants. SAR is the development of an enhanced resistance to a pathogen due to a prior encounter. It results in faster and more effective defensive action within the plant upon a second-time pathogen attack. HR is a plant defense mechanism that utilizes reactive oxygen species (ROS) to attack pathogens at the site of an infection. ROS can be generated in many ways; however, it is specifically known that plants use the enzyme peroxidase to generate the ROS hydrogen peroxide during HR. Plants also use the enzyme catalase to generate water from hydrogen peroxide in order to contain and control the toxicity. Much is known about SAR and HR in economically important vascular plants such as rice and corn; however, they have only recently been identified in nonvascular plants such as moss. This study aims to identify and characterize the roles of peroxidase and catalase in HR and SAR in the model moss species Physcomitrella patens; specifically, how the expression of peroxidase and catalase genes in this species is affected by exposure to the fungal elicitor β-glucan. This will provide insight into the SAR and HR of moss and other nonvascular plants and into the evolution of plant defense mechanisms

Four Strategies to Find a Good Job: Advice from Job Seekers with Disabilities

[Excerpt] Finding a job is hard work. Even though there are a lot of agencies out there that can provide help, it can still be a difficult process. The Institute for Community Inclusion (ICI) talked to adults with disabilities who used a state or local agency to find a job. ICI asked these individuals about their experience using an agency. ICI also asked them to explain other things that were helpful while they searched for a job. These nineteen job seekers told ICI that the following strategies helped them to find jobs that they liked

Development and characterization of techniques for neuro-imaging registration

Three automated techniques were developed for the alignment of Neuro-Images acquired during distinct scanning periods and their performance were characterized. The techniques are based on the assumption that the human brain is a rigid body and will assume different positions during different scanning periods. One technique uses three fiducial markers, while the other two uses eigenvectors of the inertia matrix of the Neuro-Image, to compute the three angles (pitch, yaw and roll) needed to register the test Neuro-Image to the reference Neuro-Image. A rigid body transformation is computed and applied to the test Neuro-Image such that it results aligned to the reference Neuro-Image. These techniques were tested by applying known rigid body transformations to given Neuro-Images. The transformations were retrieved automatically on the basis of unit vectors or eigenvectors. The results show that the precision of two techniques is dependent on the axial resolution of the Neuro-Images and for one of them also on the imaging modality, while the precision of one technique is also dependent on the interpolation. Such methods can be applied to any Neuro-Imaging modality and have been tested for both fMRI and MRI

Exploration of the Relationship Between Schizotypal Traits and Well-Being

The purpose of this study was to explore the construct of schizotypy and whether or not it may have benefits within different conceptions of psychological health, or well-being. Schizotypy is a construct that emerged around the turn of the 20th century. It had historically incorporated aspects later reclassified under other areas of dysfunction, or relegated to social value judgment, and is currently the cause of some debate in the field (Acar & Sen, 2013; Carson, 2011; Farias, Underwood & Claridge, 2013; Kendler, 1985; Tsakanikos & Claridge, 2005; Vollema & van den Bosch, 1995). There has been little research done on how the construct might be viewed from different theoretical perspectives of well-being. The present study examined the relationship between global schizotypy and three different paradigms of well-being: Subjective Well-Being, Psychological (or Eudaimonic) Well-Being, and Social Well-Being. One hundred fifty one undergraduate university students responded to scales measuring each participant\u27s level of schizotypal traits and levels of Subjective-, Psychological-, and Social Well-Being. The study suggests that while there are many individualistic aspects of schizotypy as it exists in healthy populations, overall, a greater accumulation of traits are indicative of precursors of lowered levels of well-being. Across all theoretical perspectives of well-being, schizotypy was not positively associated with any positive well-being element. Additonally, schizotopy was negatively correlated with the Subjective Well-Being elements of Life Satisfaction and positively correlated with Negative Affect; negatively correlated with the Eudaimonic Well-Being element of Positive Relations with Others, and negatively correlated with the Social Well-Being element of Social Actualization. Implications of these findings on client treatment are discussed

User Research and Real User Problems: Improving the User Experience of Online Shopping

“User Research and Real User Problems: Improving the User Experience of Online Shopping” is a creative thesis project that incorporates user research, user experience design, and coding skills. The first phase of the project consisted of market research and generative user research to develop a plan for a shopping companion app. The findings of this research shaped the scope of the project according to user needs and established the basis of a plan to create a progressive web application and Google Chrome browser extension that will respond to specific user problems. These tools would solve three key user problems: users do not know what size to order when shopping online, users are uncertain about the items they order online due to a lack of familiarity with the items prior to purchase, and users cannot visualize items on themselves when shopping online. I constructed a user experience that would solve these problems, incorporating the principles of user-centered design and user experience best practices. The progressive web application and Google Chrome extension will work together to store user-provided data, create size/style recommendations based on this data, and display crowd-sourced reviews for items in online stores. Using the Vue.js JavaScript framework, Firebase data storage, and the Agile Project Management Methodology, I built a proof of concept for the progressive web app, and have outlined a comprehensive plan for next steps

Development and characterization of methodology and technology for the alignment of fMRI time series

This dissertation has developed, implemented and tested a novel computer based system (AUTOALIGN) that incorporates an algorithm for the alignment of functional Magnetic Resonance Image (fMRI) time series. The algorithm assumes the human brain to be a rigid body and computes a head coordinate system on the basis of three reference points that lie on the directions correspondent to two of the eigenvectors of inertia of the volume, at the intersections with the head boundary. The eigenvectors are found weighting the inertia components with the voxel\u27s intensity values assumed as mass. The three reference points are found in the same position, relative to the origin of the head coordinate system, in both test and reference brain images. Intensity correction is performed at sub-voxel accuracy by tri-linear interpolation. A test fMR brain volume in which controlled simulations of rigid-body transformations have been introduced has preliminarily assessed system performance. Further experimentation has been conducted with real fMRI time series. Rigid-body transformations have been retrieved automatically and the values of the motion parameters compared to those obtained by the Statistical Parametric Mapping (SPM99), and the Automatic Image Registration (AIR 3.08). Results indicated that AUTOALIGN offers subvoxel accuracy in correcting both misalignment and intensity among time points in fMR images time series, and also that its performance is comparable to that of SPM99 and AIR3.08

History repeating. The plague of 1630 in Milan and the COVID-19 pandemia

In western democracies, individual behaviour will be crucial to control the spread of COVID-19, as well as government actions [1] that unfortunately, except China, South Korea and Italy, followed by others,  seems to be generally unconvinced and, speculatively, late. Indeed human history has been marked by epidemics/pandemics which have affected, more or less, large geographical areas [2]. Italy, as well as the rest of Europe, has often been affected by these phenomena and, Lombardy, due to his position, was, as today by COVID-19, severely stroked in Italy that is, after China, the second most affected country [3]. This is also linked to the position of Lombardy and its capital, Milan, but this is beyond this brief comment. There are several differences between the past plagues and the actual COVID-19 pandemic and these must be sought in the increased ability to transmit diseases at-distance through the mobility of humans and goods [4], and in the catastrophic consequences of the breakdown of ecosystems, as told, a few years ago, by David Quammen in the book Spillover [5]