2,926 research outputs found
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QTL and Candidate Genes for Growth Traits in Pinus Taeda L
The reason for the project is to find the genetic factors which control growth at ages closer to commercial harvest (also known as QTL detection). To date, efforts to find genetic factors which control growth have been limited to seedlings. Because tree breeders want to find molecular markers which are linked to traits of direct economic value, finding linkage to factors controlling older-tree growth is more critical than seedling growth. Our current research interest includes both absolute height at ages 10-13 years but also growth trajectory or the rate of growth from seedling to half-rotation
Recent results in the decoding of Algebraic geometry codes
Objectives: The aim of this study was to examine the relationships between perceived teacher
autonomy support versus control and studentsâ life skills development in PE, and whether studentsâ basic need satisfaction and frustration mediated these relationships.
Design: Cross-sectional study.
Method: English and Irish students (N = 407, Mage = 13.71, SD = 1.23) completed measures assessing perceived autonomy-supportive and controlling teaching, basic need satisfaction and frustration (autonomy, competence, and relatedness), and life skills development in PE (teamwork, goal setting, social skills, problem solving and decision making, emotional skills, leadership, time management, and interpersonal communication).
Results: On the bright side of Self-Determination Theory (SDT), correlations revealed that perceived teacher autonomy support was positively associated with studentsâ basic need satisfaction and life skills development in PE. On the dark side of SDT, perceived controlling teaching was positively related to studentsâ basic need frustration, but not significantly related to their life skills development. Mediational analyses revealed that autonomy and relatedness satisfaction mediated the relationships between perceived teacher autonomy support and studentsâ development of all eight life skills. Competence satisfaction mediated the relationships between perceived teacher autonomy support and studentsâ development of teamwork, goal setting, and leadership skills.
Conclusions: Our findings indicate that satisfaction of the needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness are important mechanisms that in part explain the relationships between perceived teacher autonomy support and life skills development in PE. Therefore, teachers may look to promote studentsâ perceptions of an autonomy-supportive climate that satisfies their three basic needs and helps to develop their life skills
Understanding Biofilm-Phage Interactions in Cystic Fibrosis Patients Using Mathematical Frameworks
When planktonic bacteria adhere together to a surface, they begin to form
biofilms, or communities of bacteria. Biofilm formation in a host can be
extremely problematic if left untreated, especially since antibiotics can be
ineffective in treating the bacteria. Certain lung diseases such as cystic
fibrosis can cause the formation of biofilms in the lungs and can be fatal.
With antibiotic-resistant bacteria, the use of phage therapy has been
introduced as an alternative or an additive to the use of antibiotics in order
to combat biofilm growth. Phage therapy utilizes phages, or viruses that attack
bacteria, in order to penetrate and eradicate biofilms. In order to evaluate
the effectiveness of phage therapy against biofilm bacteria, we adapt an
ordinary differential equation model to describe the dynamics of phage-biofilm
combat in the lungs. We then create our own phage-biofilm model with ordinary
differential equations and stochastic modeling. Then, simulations of parameter
alterations in both models are investigated to assess how they will affect the
efficiency of phage therapy against bacteria. By increasing the phage mortality
rate, the biofilm growth can be balanced and allow the biofilm to be more
vulnerable to antibiotics. Thus, phage therapy is an effective aid in biofilm
treatment
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Using a runway paradigm to assess the relative strength of rats' motivations for enrichment objects
Laboratory animals should be provided with enrichment objects in their cages; however, it is first necessary to
test whether the proposed enrichment objects provide benefits that increase the animalsâ welfare. The two main
paradigms currently used to assess proposed enrichment objects are the choice test, which is limited to determining
relative frequency of choice, and consumer demand studies, which can indicate the strength of a preference but are complex to design. Here, we propose a third methodology: a runway paradigm, which can be used to assess the strength of an animalâs motivation for enrichment objects, is simpler to use than consumer demand studies, and is faster to complete than typical choice tests. Time spent with objects in a standard choice test was used to rank several enrichment objects in order to compare with the ranking found in our runway paradigm. The rats ran significantly more times, ran faster, and interacted longer with objects with which they had previously spent the most time. It was concluded that this simple methodology is suitable for measuring ratsâ motivation to reach enrichment objects. This can be used to assess the preference for different types of enrichment objects or to measure reward system processes
Who uses the internet as a source of nutrition and dietary information? An Australian population perspective
Background: The Internet contains a plethora of nutrition information. Health organizations are increasingly using the Internet to deliver population-wide health information and interventions. Effective interventions identify their target population and their needs; however, little is known about use of the Internet as a source of nutrition information. Objective: The aim was to assess the change in prevalence and demographic characteristics of Western Australian adults accessing the Internet as a source of nutrition information and identify specific information needs. Methods: Data were pooled from the Western Australian Department of Healthâs 3-yearly Nutrition Monitoring Survey Series telephone survey between 1995 and 2012 of 7044 participants aged 18 to 64 years. Outcome variables were the main sources of nutrition information used in the last year and yes/no responses to 4 suggestions to what would make it easier to eat a healthy diet. Sociodemographic variables were collected. Results: The proportion of respondents using the Internet for nutrition information increased from <1% in 1995-2001 to 9.1% in 2004 and 33.7% in 2012. Compared to 2004, logistic regression showed that the odds of using the Internet for this information increased significantly in 2009 (OR 2.84, 95% CI 2.07-3.88) and 2012 (OR 5.20, 95% CI 3.86-7.02, P<.001). Respondents using the Internet as a source were more likely to be female (OR 1.30, 95% CI 1.05-1.60, P=.02), live in a metropolitan area (OR 1.26, 95% CI 1.03-1.54, P=.03), born in countries other than Australia/UK/Ireland (OR 1.41, 95% CI 1.07-1.85, P=.02), more educated (university: OR 2.46, 95% CI 1.77-3.42, P<.001), and were less likely to be older (55-64 years: OR 0.38, 95% CI 0.25-0.57, P<.001). The majority of respondents agreed the following information would assist them to make healthier choices: more ways to prepare healthy foods (72.0%, 95% CI 70.7-73.3), quicker ways to prepare healthy foods (79.0%, 95% CI 77.8-80.1), how to choose healthy foods (68.8%, 95% CI 67.5-70.1), and knowing more about cooking (54.7%, 95% CI 53.3-56.1). Those using the Internet for nutrition information were more likely than nonusers to want to know quicker ways to prepare healthy foods (83.0% vs 78.1%, P=.005) and information on choosing healthy foods (76.3% vs 67.3%, P<.001)
A comparison of the development of audiovisual integration in children with autism spectrum disorders and typically developing children
This study aimed to investigate the development of audiovisual integration in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Audiovisual integration was measured using the McGurk effect in children with ASD aged 7â16 years and typically developing children (control group) matched approximately for age, sex, nonverbal ability and verbal ability. Results showed that the children with ASD were delayed in visual accuracy and audiovisual integration compared to the control group. However, in the audiovisual integration measure, children with ASD appeared to âcatch-upâ with their typically developing peers at the older age ranges. The suggestion that children with ASD show a deficit in audiovisual integration which diminishes with age has clinical implications for those assessing and treating these children
Artificial Inclusion EnvironmentsâReplicating Industry in the Laboratory
The authors present a series of complementary test methods which were developed and used to investigate reactions between high aluminium steel and silica rich inclusions. Non-metallic inclusions (NMIs) cause many defects in the final steel product, therefore the ability to track their size, morphology and composition and correlate this with fundamental reaction kinetics provides important knowledge to support the production of clean quality steel products. Novel steel grades such as TRIP, TWIP and low-density steels have high aluminium contents; aluminium is a readily oxidisable species presenting the potential for instability and excessive reaction with commonly used mould powders that contain silica. A novel combination of techniques including HT-CLSM (High-Temperature Confocal Laser Scanning Microscope), XCT (X-ray computed tomography) and SEM/EDS (scanning electron microscopy/electron dispersive spectroscopy) have been used to study the interaction of entrained mould powder inclusions with steel at high temperatures simulating industrial conditions. This report presents a discussion on the development of techniques and samples to achieve representative and repeatable results that can provide information on the complex chemical and physical interaction phenomena with confidence. Each experimental technique had its own learning points and consequent results. Outcomes presented include possible confirmation of the chemical reaction rate controlling step being aluminium mass transfer; heterogeneous local environmental conditions including fluidity and chemical composition; and occurrence of spontaneous emulsification where the mould powder inclusion breaks apart into a cloud of smaller fragments
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Aerosol scattering and absorption during the EUCAARI-LONGREX flights of the Facility for Airborne Atmospheric Measurements (FAAM) BAe-146: can measurements and models agree?
Scattering and absorption by aerosol in anthropogenically
perturbed air masses over Europe has been measured
using instrumentation flown on the UKâs BAe-146-301
large Atmospheric Research Aircraft (ARA) operated by the
Facility for Airborne Atmospheric Measurements (FAAM)
on 14 flights during the EUCAARI-LONGREX campaign
in May 2008. The geographical and temporal variations of
the derived shortwave optical properties of aerosol are presented. Values of single scattering albedo of dry aerosol at 550 nm varied considerably from 0.86 to near unity, with a campaign average of 0.93 ± 0.03. Dry aerosol optical depths ranged from 0.030 ± 0.009 to 0.24 ± 0.07. An optical properties closure study comparing calculations from composition data and Mie scattering code with the measured properties is presented. Agreement to within measurement uncertainties of 30% can be achieved for both scattering and absorption,but the latter is shown to be sensitive to the refractive indices chosen for organic aerosols, and to a lesser extent black carbon, as well as being highly dependent on the accuracy of the absorption measurements. Agreement with the measured absorption can be achieved either if organic carbon is assumed to be weakly absorbing, or if the organic aerosol is purely scattering and the absorption measurement is an overestimate due to the presence of large amounts of organic carbon. Refractive
indices could not be inferred conclusively due to this
uncertainty, despite the enhancement in methodology compared
to previous studies that derived from the use of the
black carbon measurements. Hygroscopic growth curves derived
from the wet nephelometer indicate moderate water uptake
by the aerosol with a campaign mean f (RH) value (ratio
in scattering) of 1.5 (range from 1.23 to 1.63) at 80% relative humidity. This value is qualitatively consistent with the major chemical components of the aerosol measured by the aerosol mass spectrometer, which are primarily mixed organics and nitrate and some sulphate
Immune sensing of Candida albicans requires cooperative recognition of mannans and glucans by lectin and Toll-like receptors
Peer reviewedPublisher PD
The Panchromatic Hubble Andromeda Treasury I: Bright UV Stars in the Bulge of M31
As part of the Panchromatic Hubble Andromeda Treasury (PHAT) multi-cycle
program, we observed a 12' \times 6.5' area of the bulge of M31 with the
WFC3/UVIS filters F275W and F336W. From these data we have assembled a sample
of \sim4000 UV-bright, old stars, vastly larger than previously available. We
use updated Padova stellar evolutionary tracks to classify these hot stars into
three classes: Post-AGB stars (P-AGB), Post-Early AGB (PE-AGB) stars and
AGB-manqu\'e stars. P-AGB stars are the end result of the asymptotic giant
branch (AGB) phase and are expected in a wide range of stellar populations,
whereas PE-AGB and AGB-manqu\'e (together referred to as the hot
post-horizontal branch; HP-HB) stars are the result of insufficient envelope
masses to allow a full AGB phase, and are expected to be particularly prominent
at high helium or {\alpha} abundances when the mass loss on the RGB is high.
Our data support previous claims that most UV-bright sources in the bulge are
likely hot (extreme) horizontal branch stars (EHB) and their progeny. We
construct the first radial profiles of these stellar populations, and show that
they are highly centrally concentrated, even more so than the integrated UV or
optical light. However, we find that this UV-bright population does not
dominate the total UV luminosity at any radius, as we are detecting only the
progeny of the EHB stars that are the likely source of the UVX. We calculate
that only a few percent of MS stars in the central bulge can have gone through
the HP-HB phase and that this percentage decreases strongly with distance from
the center. We also find that the surface density of hot UV-bright stars has
the same radial variation as that of low-mass X-ray binaries. We discuss age,
metallicity, and abundance variations as possible explanations for the observed
radial variation in the UV-bright population.Comment: Accepted for publication in Ap
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