Genomic Mechanisms Accounting for the Adaptation to Parasitism in Nematode-Trapping Fungi

Orbiliomycetes is one of the earliest diverging branches of the filamentous ascomycetes. The class contains nematode-trapping fungi that form unique infection structures, called traps, to capture and kill free-living nematodes. The traps have evolved differently along several lineages and include adhesive traps (knobs, nets or branches) and constricting rings. We show, by genome sequencing of the knob-forming species Monacrosporium haptotylum and comparison with the net-forming species Arthrobotrys oligospora, that two genomic mechanisms are likely to have been important for the adaptation to parasitism in these fungi. Firstly, the expansion of protein domain families and the large number of species-specific genes indicated that gene duplication followed by functional diversification had a major role in the evolution of the nematode-trapping fungi. Gene expression indicated that many of these genes are important for pathogenicity. Secondly, gene expression of orthologs between the two fungi during infection indicated that differential regulation was an important mechanism for the evolution of parasitism in nematode-trapping fungi. Many of the highly expressed and highly upregulated M. haptotylum transcripts during the early stages of nematode infection were species-specific and encoded small secreted proteins (SSPs) that were affected by repeat-induced point mutations (RIP). An active RIP mechanism was revealed by lack of repeats, dinucleotide bias in repeats and genes, low proportion of recent gene duplicates, and reduction of recent gene family expansions. The high expression and rapid divergence of SSPs indicate a striking similarity in the infection mechanisms of nematode-trapping fungi and plant and insect pathogens from the crown groups of the filamentous ascomycetes (Pezizomycotina). The patterns of gene family expansions in the nematode-trapping fungi were more similar to plant pathogens than to insect and animal pathogens. The observation of RIP activity in the Orbiliomycetes suggested that this mechanism was present early in the evolution of the filamentous ascomycetes

“But tractors can’t fly”

Agricultural interventions in South Africa have failed to deliver the promised poverty reduction for rural smallholders. Ecological economics, livelihoods studies, complex system methodology and discourse theory were used here to investigate the underlying reasons. The mismatch between local realities and programme management was found to be a central cause of failure. Lack of responsiveness to local realities within the programme resulted in tractors being sent to plough fields across a river with no bridge, leading locals to comment ‘but tractors can’t fly'. The neoliberal discourse in South African development policy was found to be a crucial factor behind such omissions

No limits : the 20th century discourse of economic growth

The breakthrough of the concept of economic growth in economics marks a paradigm shift in thinking about the economy and its place in 'reality.' This thesis analyzes the 20th century discourse of economic growth, focusing its unlimited connotations. The thesis consists of four case studies, two introductory parts and a concluding dis­cussion. Part II first gives an etymological outline of how the concept 'growth' transformed: from signifying natural processes, to become crucial within economics. The main focus is on the historiography around Adam Smith and the classical economists as 'fathers of growth.' It is argued that though Smith introduced new ideas on eco­nomic prosperity, it is anachronistic to view him as 'father of growth' in terms of modern economic discourse. The difference between conception of economic progress in classical economics - with a 'stationary state' - and the post-war concept of economic growth - without absolute limits - is interpreted by sketching four periods in economics regarding the issue of limits. Finally the label 'dismal,' often used for classical economics, is reinter­preted. The neoclassical 'Self and classical 'Other' is seen as a useful construction for legitimizing the growth discourse. Part III deals with economic thought at the turn of the century 1900. There were different ideas on what relative priority to address to individuals and communities as the basis of economy, as well as disagreements over how to organize economic policy to solve the 'social issue.' However, these differences did not result in different views on economic expansion per se. Neither to left- nor right-wing advocates was economic expansion an objective. Rather, economic expansion was a means to construct and manage a welfare state, and thus solve the social issue. If welfare could be distributed by expanding the total, there would be no sacrifices. The way economic growth was perceived in the early development discourse is studied in Part IV. The idea of unlimited growth is framed within a Western understanding of development and progress, and it is shown that hegemony on economic growth formed. Development economics made use of new and fashionable growth models, and thereby gained influence in policy. Development was reduced to economic development, which was reduced to economic growth. With a few modifications, this version of development and progress was to be implemented globally - 'no limits' became a master narrative. Part V analyzes the debate on economic growth in the 1960s and 70s. The environmental issue gave rise to thoughts on ecological limits, and thus had a key role in designating economic growth and growth ideology as a scapegoat within a longer tradition of civilization critique. As a response, professional economists put up a uni­ted defense for growth, and a polarized debate followed. Different basic assumptions underlying the polarized positions are analyzed, and the concept modernist economic ethos is introduced to explain the polarization at a fundamental level. In the dominant discourse, critics were called pessimists, and advocates were optimists. It is argued that these value-laden labels reveal the power of language and point at a trap of discourse. Economic growth and ecological sustainable development is analyzed in Part VI, and the focus is on crisis responsive economists. Two different conceptions of the economic system are found among these. The first is the economy as free-floating, which by technical inventions is minimally restricted by ecological boundaries. The second is the economy as a dependent subsystem restricted by fundamental ecological limits. Conception of the system is conclusive for understanding economic growth and its environmental effects. The free-floating approach allows the concept of 'sustainable growth,' while the subsystem approach makes it contradictory. Part VI includes a continued discussion on the power of language, and the dichotomy of pessimism and optimism. 'Optimism' is a eulogy, and works normatively. The pessimist label has functioned, at best, as a 'discourse trap;' at worst, as a means of exclusion. In Part VII results from the case studies are summarized, and general results with implications are presented. The post-war discourse on economic growth is connected to 'ecomodernism.' Three explanations for the intro­duction and strong appeal of the discourse of unlimited economic growth are introduced: the internal cause (economic theory), the external cause (context), and the professionalization cause (connecting the internal and external). The thesis ends in a discussion on growth, language and power in the context of modernism and progress.digitalisering@um

Kartläggning av mental träning i finlandssvenska orienteringsföreningar : En kvantitativ enkätstudie

Mental träning är ett ämne som väckt allt mera intresse under årens gång. Med stöd av litteratur och forskning vet man att systematisk och rätt utförd mental träning har en inverkan på idrottarens prestation och välbefinnande (bl.a. Weinberg & Gould 2007, Thelwell & Greenlees 2003, Mamassis & Doganis 2004). På vilket sätt mental träning inkluderas inom olika idrotter är en intressant fråga. Detta examensarbete har som syfte att kartlägga hur den mentala träningen genomförs i finlandssvenska orienteringsföreningar samt vilka attityder det finns gentemot mental träning. Kartläggningen sker med en kvantitativ webbenkät med några öppna frågor. Enkäten skickas i huvudsak till föreningarnas ordförande. Med hjälp av denna kartläggning kommer utvecklingsbehov att identifieras och förslag på hur dessa behov kan bemötas kommer att presenteras. Arbetets beställare är Finlands Svenska Orienteringsförbund r.f. Enkäten skickades till 22 föreningar och 10 föreningar svarade. Utgående från denna forskning är slutsatsen att mental träning inte är så vanligt i de finlandssvenska orienteringsföreningar som deltog i forskningen. Dock är attityderna gentemot mental träning i huvudsak positiva och det finns ett intresse av att öka sin kompetens inom området. I de fyra föreningar där mental träning inkluderas riktas den mentala träningen till orienterare i åldern 14-16 år och äldre. De mentala färdigheter som tränas är bl.a. självförtroende, koncentration, visualisering/mental föreställningsförmåga och spänningsreglering. Identifierade utvecklingsbehov är bl.a. att det behövs mera utbildning för tränarna, att man borde förbättra integreringen av den mentala träningen i den befintliga verksamheten och att det finns behov av utveckling på såväl lägre som högre nivå. Dessa behov kan tillfredsställas med en kombination av mera kunskap om mental träning och hur den bör utföras samt konkreta övningar som kan integreras i den befintliga verksamheten. Denna utbildning kunde gärna arrangeras av förbundet. En begränsning till denna studie är att svarsprocenten endast blev tillfredsställande vilket betyder att det inte är möjligt att generalisera resultatet att gälla alla finlandssvenska orienteringsföreningar.Mental practice is a topic that has received an increased interest throughout the years. With support from literature and research it is known that systematic and rightly executed mental practice has an impact on athlete’s performance and wellbeing (e.g. Weinberg & Gould 2007, Thelwell & Greenlees 2003, Mamassis & Doganis 2004). How mental practice is included within different sports is an interesting question. The aim of this thesis is to survey how mental practice is practiced in the Swedish speaking orienteering associations, as well as survey what kind of attitudes there are towards mental practice. This will be carried out with a quantitative survey with a few open questions. The survey will mainly be sent to the chairmen of the associations. This survey is going to address the needs of development and suggest how to meet these needs. This thesis is commissioned by Finlands Svenska Orienteringsförbund r.f. (the Swedish speaking orienteering league of Finland). The survey was sent to 22 associations and 10 associations responded. Based on this study it is concluded that mental practice is not so common in the Swedish speaking orienteering associations in this study. However, the attitudes towards mental practice are mainly positive and there is an interest in increasing competence in it. In the four associations that include mental practice, the practice is aimed for athlete’s in the ages of 14-16 and older. The mental skills that are practiced are e.g. self-confidence, concentration, visualization/mental imagery and arousal regulation. The needs of development noticed were e.g. that there is a need of more education for the coaches, a need of improvement of the integration of mental practice into the existing practice, and a need of development both on a lower and a higher level. These needs can be met by more knowledge about mental practice and how it can be practiced, as well as concrete exercises that can be integrated into the existing practice. This education could be carried out by the league. A limitation of this study is that the amount of answers got only were satisfactory, which means that the results can’t be generalized to all Swedish speaking orienteering associations.Psyykkinen valmennus on aihe, joka on herättänyt enemmän kiinnostusta vuosien saatossa. Kirjallisuus ja tutkimukset osoittavat, että systemaattisella ja oikein toteutetulla psyykkisellä valmennuksella on vaikutus urheilijan suoritukseen ja hyvinvointiin (esim. Weinberg & Gould 2007, Thelwell & Greenlees 2003, Mamassis & Doganis 2004). Miten psyykkinen valmennus toteutuu eri urheilulajeissa on kiinnostava kysymys. Tämän opinnäytteen tarkoituksena on kartoittaa, miten psyykkinen valmennus toteutuu suomenruotsalaisissa suunnistusyhdistyksissä. Kysely kartoittaa myös psyykkistä valmennusta kohtaan olevia asenteita. Tutkimus on kvantitatiivinen kysely, joka sisältää muutaman avoimen kysymyksen. Kysely lähetetään pääsääntöisesti yhdistysten puheenjohtajille. Tutkimuksen tulosten avulla huomioidaan mahdolliset kehitystarpeet ja tehdään ehdotuksia siitä, miten näitä tarpeita voidaan kohdata suunnistusyhdistyksissä. Tutkimus on FSO:n, Finlands Svenska Orienteringsförbund r.f.:n, tilaustyö. Tutkimus lähetettiin 22 yhdistykselle ja 10 yhdistystä vastasivat. Tutkimuksesta päätellen, psyykkinen valmennus ei ole kovin tavallista niissä suomenruotsalaisissa suunnistus-yhdistyksissä, jotka sisältyivät tutkimukseen. Tosin asenteet psyykkistä valmennusta kohtaan ovat pääasiassa myönteisiä ja osaamisen lisäämiseen on kiinnostusta. Niissä neljässä yhdistyksessä, joissa on psyykkistä valmennusta, valmennus kohdistuu 14-16-vuotiaisiin ja sitä vanhempiin suunnistajiin. Psyykkiset valmiudet, joita harjoitetaan ovat muun muassa itseluottamus, keskittyminen, mielikuvien käyttö, sekä kyky kontrolloida kehon jännitys-/vireystilaa. Tutkimuksessa huomioidut kehittymistarpeet ovat muun muassa, että tarvitaan enemmän koulutusta valmentajille, ja että psyykkistä valmennusta tulisi integroida nykyiseen toimintaan. Lisäksi kehittämisen varaa on kaikilla tasoilla. Näihin tarpeisiin voidaan vastata lisäämällä psyykkisen valmennuksen osaamista ja sen toteuttamista. Käytännön harjoituksia voidaan integroida nykyiseen toimintaan. Liitto voisi järjestää tätä koulutusta. Koska vastausprosentti jäi vain tyydyttäväksi, ei tulosta voida yleistää kaikkiin suomenruotsalaisiin suunnistusyhdistyksiin

New marine commons along the Chilean coast – the management areas (MAs) of Peñuelas and Chigualoco

To halt degradation of benthic resources in Chile, management areas (MAs) were set up under the Territorial Use Rights in Fisheries (TURFs) framework in the late 1990s. Integrated into the global market, MAs have since expanded along the Chilean coast, involving thousands of small-scale artisanal fishers. This paper analyses how economic criteria relates to social and ecological performance of Chilean MAs, by applying TURFs, commons and co-management theory to two cases: MAs Peñuelas and Chigualoco. To collect and analyse data Participatory Rural Appraisal tools, interviews and official statistics and reports were used. Our results show that MAs’ economic benefits are connected to fluctuations on the global market. Adapting to changing world market prices then becomes paramount. TURFs’ main goal is ecological conservation, but achieving this seems to depend on meeting fishers’ livelihoods; failure to do so likely results in failure to meet conservation objectives. A serious weakness of the Chilean TURFs system is that it does not pay enough attention to fishers’ livelihoods or to the global market context. Furthermore, there is a strong relationship between good economic benefits and social sustainability. But irrespective of economic performance, fisher organizations have been empowered and gained increased resource control with the TURFs system. At policy level, a differentiated and more flexible system could be more suitable for existing heterogeneous MAs and their particular economic, social and ecological challenges. For improved economic sustainability and resource conservation, a system with multiple-species managing MAs could be promoted as well. Finally, to enhance theory of commons, co-management and TURFs, we argue for greater acknowledgement of TURFs’ social benefits in addition to economic assessments. More attention should also be paid to global market conditions of which MAs are dependent and in which they are embedded: macrostructures that are seldom considered in the analyses

Hyphal fusion during initial stages of trap formation in Arthrobotrys oligospora

Hyphal fusion during initial stages of trap formation by Arthrobotrys oligospora was studied by video-enhanced contrast and electron microscopy. Trap initials grew perpendicularly to the parent hypha, then curved around and anastomosed with a peg that developed on the hypha. Trap initials usually developed 40-140 µm apart while the anastomosis occurred 20-25 µm from the initial. Vigorous cytoplasmic movements in trap initials and developed traps corresponded to intense staining with fluorescein diacetate (FDA) of these cells. In addition, bundles of microfilaments were seen in developing loops of traps. On fusion organelle migration took place from the tip cell of the trap into the peg. Later on a septum was formed at the site of fusion.