Inheritance of Evolved Glyphosate Resistance in a North Carolina Palmer Amaranth ( Amaranthus palmeri

Inheritance of glyphosate resistance in a Palmer amaranth biotype from North Carolina was studied. Glyphosate rates for 50% survival of glyphosate-resistant (GR) and glyphosate-susceptible (GS) biotypes were 1288 and 58 g ha−1, respectively. These values for F1 progenies obtained from reciprocal crosses (GR×GS and GS×GR were 794 and 501 g ha−1, respectively. Dose response of F1 progenies indicated that resistance was not fully dominant over susceptibility. Lack of significant differences between dose responses for reciprocal F1 families suggested that genetic control of glyphosate resistance was governed by nuclear genome. Analysis of F1 backcross (BC1F1) families showed that 10 and 8 BC1F1 families out of 15 fitted monogenic inheritance at 2000 and 3000 g ha−1 glyphosate, respectively. These results indicate that inheritance of glyphosate resistance in this biotype is incompletely dominant, nuclear inherited, and might not be consistent with a single gene mechanism of inheritance. Relative 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase (EPSPS) copy number varied from 22 to 63 across 10 individuals from resistant biotype. This suggested that variable EPSPS copy number in the parents might be influential in determining if inheritance of glyphosate resistance is monogenic or polygenic in this biotype

High-speed linear optics quantum computing using active feed-forward

As information carriers in quantum computing, photonic qubits have the advantage of undergoing negligible decoherence. However, the absence of any significant photon-photon interaction is problematic for the realization of non-trivial two-qubit gates. One solution is to introduce an effective nonlinearity by measurements resulting in probabilistic gate operations. In one-way quantum computation, the random quantum measurement error can be overcome by applying a feed-forward technique, such that the future measurement basis depends on earlier measurement results. This technique is crucial for achieving deterministic quantum computation once a cluster state (the highly entangled multiparticle state on which one-way quantum computation is based) is prepared. Here we realize a concatenated scheme of measurement and active feed-forward in a one-way quantum computing experiment. We demonstrate that, for a perfect cluster state and no photon loss, our quantum computation scheme would operate with good fidelity and that our feed-forward components function with very high speed and low error for detected photons. With present technology, the individual computational step (in our case the individual feed-forward cycle) can be operated in less than 150 ns using electro-optical modulators. This is an important result for the future development of one-way quantum computers, whose large-scale implementation will depend on advances in the production and detection of the required highly entangled cluster states.Comment: 19 pages, 4 figure

Jack-of-all-trades, master of none: Postgraduate perspectives on interdisciplinary health research in Australia

BACKGROUND: Interdisciplinary health research is increasingly perceived as an expectation of research institutions and funding bodies within Australia. However, little consideration has been given to the extent to which this re-orientation has produced a new type of researcher – an interdisciplinary health researcher. DISCUSSION: As cross-enrolled postgraduate research students, we assert that we do not have an intellectual home. Rather, we must forge a virtual intellectual home through the process of bridging disciplines. In this paper we explain that this virtual home affords us the role of 'interlockers' in future health research. The interlocker role privileges a breadth of understandings across disciplines, rather than a depth in one. SUMMARY: We conclude by reiterating that there is an undeniable need for interdisciplinary health research, and that the roles and actions of interdisciplinary health researchers need to be better understood and catered for. We therefore call for increased consideration and discussion concerning the future roles and capacities of interdisciplinary health researchers such as ourselves

Motorcyclists' reactions to safety helmet law: a qualitative study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Extensive body of the literature reveals that proper use of helmets is an effective way to reduce the severity of injuries and fatalities among motorcyclists. However, many motorcyclists do not use safety helmet properly. This study aimed to empirically explore reactions of motorcyclists to the safety helmet laws, in Iran.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Qualitative data were collected via four focus groups and 11 in-depth interviews. Participants were 28 male motorcyclists who never used a safety helmet during rides, and 4 male police officers. All transcripts, codes and categories were read for several times to exhaust identifiable major themes. During this process data were reduced from text to codes and themes.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Five major themes emerged from the data analyses, including themes related to the following: (1) circumventing or dodging police officers; (2) simulating a helmet wearing behavior; (3) accepting the probability of receiving a ticket; (4) taking advantage of the police neglect and carelessness; and (5) using a cheap or convenient helmet.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our findings suggest certain levels of reckless driving among the participating motorcyclists in this study. They also point to a system of law enforcement that operates haphazardly and fails to consistently penalize those who deviate from it. Further studies are needed to investigate how "risks" are perceived and relate to "reactions", and how a 'culture of masculinity' may encourage risk tolerance and a disposition toward lawlessness and carelessness among male motorcyclists. Also, there is a need for the development and implementation of multidimensional interventions that would offer socio-culturally sensitive educational and motivational messages to the motorcyclists and the in-service traffic-enforcement officers in Iran.</p

Coordinating the impact of structural genomics on the human α-helical transmembrane proteome

Given the recent successes in determining membrane-protein structures, we explore the tractability of determining representatives for the entire human membrane proteome. This proteome contains 2,925 unique integral α-helical transmembrane-domain sequences that cluster into 1,201 families sharing more than 25% sequence identity. Structures of 100 optimally selected targets would increase the fraction of modelable human α-helical transmembrane domains from 26% to 58%, providing structure and function information not otherwise available

Analysis of Hypoxia and Hypoxia-Like States through Metabolite Profiling

In diverse organisms, adaptation to low oxygen (hypoxia) is mediated through complex gene expression changes that can, in part, be mimicked by exposure to metals such as cobalt. Although much is known about the transcriptional response to hypoxia and cobalt, little is known about the all-important cell metabolism effects that trigger these responses.Herein we use a low molecular weight metabolome profiling approach to identify classes of metabolites in yeast cells that are altered as a consequence of hypoxia or cobalt exposures. Key findings on metabolites were followed-up by measuring expression of relevant proteins and enzyme activities. We find that both hypoxia and cobalt result in a loss of essential sterols and unsaturated fatty acids, but the basis for these changes are disparate. While hypoxia can affect a variety of enzymatic steps requiring oxygen and heme, cobalt specifically interferes with diiron-oxo enzymatic steps for sterol synthesis and fatty acid desaturation. In addition to diiron-oxo enzymes, cobalt but not hypoxia results in loss of labile 4Fe-4S dehydratases in the mitochondria, but has no effect on homologous 4Fe-4S dehydratases in the cytosol. Most striking, hypoxia but not cobalt affected cellular pools of amino acids. Amino acids such as aromatics were elevated whereas leucine and methionine, essential to the strain used here, dramatically decreased due to hypoxia induced down-regulation of amino acid permeases.These studies underscore the notion that cobalt targets a specific class of iron proteins and provide the first evidence for hypoxia effects on amino acid regulation. This research illustrates the power of metabolite profiling for uncovering new adaptations to environmental stress

Flavopiridol Pharmacogenetics: Clinical and Functional Evidence for the Role of SLCO1B1/OATP1B1 in Flavopiridol Disposition

Flavopiridol is a cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor in phase II clinical development for treatment of various forms of cancer. When administered with a pharmacokinetically (PK)-directed dosing schedule, flavopiridol exhibited striking activity in patients with refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia. This study aimed to evaluate pharmacogenetic factors associated with inter-individual variability in pharmacokinetics and outcomes associated with flavopiridol therapy.Thirty-five patients who received single-agent flavopiridol via the PK-directed schedule were genotyped for 189 polymorphisms in genes encoding 56 drug metabolizing enzymes and transporters. Genotypes were evaluated in univariate and multivariate analyses as covariates in a population PK model. Transport of flavopiridol and its glucuronide metabolite was evaluated in uptake assays in HEK-293 and MDCK-II cells transiently transfected with SLCO1B1. Polymorphisms in ABCC2, ABCG2, UGT1A1, UGT1A9, and SLCO1B1 were found to significantly correlate with flavopiridol PK in univariate analysis. Transport assay results indicated both flavopiridol and flavopiridol-glucuronide are substrates of the SLCO1B1/OATP1B1 transporter. Covariates incorporated into the final population PK model included bilirubin, SLCO1B1 rs11045819 and ABCC2 rs8187710. Associations were also observed between genotype and response. To validate these findings, a second set of data with 51 patients was evaluated, and overall trends for associations between PK and PGx were found to be consistent.Polymorphisms in transport genes were found to be associated with flavopiridol disposition and outcomes. Observed clinical associations with SLCO1B1 were functionally validated indicating for the first time its relevance as a transporter of flavopiridol and its glucuronide metabolite. A second 51-patient dataset indicated similar trends between genotype in the SLCO1B1 and other candidate genes, thus providing support for these findings. Further study in larger patient populations will be necessary to fully characterize and validate the clinical impact of polymorphisms in SLCO1B1 and other transporter and metabolizing enzyme genes on outcomes from flavopiridol therapy