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Unequal Partnerships in Higher Education: Pedagogic Innovations in an Electronics within Physics Degree Course

This cross-European research partnership reports on supporting pro-active learning and teaching. The two-part project firstly explored student beliefs about electronics within a physics degree and secondly, the use of peer assessment of a Mathematica notebook to develop understandings of standards and quality. Student beliefs were explored because of the negative perceptions tutors thought students brought to the Engineering course within the Physics degree. The results showed that tutors’ fears were unfounded and that the students were highly motivated. Secondly, through peer assessment of a notebook, students developed critical understandings of standards and quality. Generally, students valued the content support and appreciated both the work of their peer and how this helped their own understanding. Esta investigación realizada por un partenariado transeuropeo se centra en el apoyo proactivo de la enseñanza y el aprendizaje en la educación superior. Este proyecto consta de dos partes. Primero se exploraron las creencias de los estudiantes sobre la electrónica en el grado de Física para, después, usar la evaluación por pares del manual Mathematica para desarrollar la comprensión de los estandares y calidad. Las creencias de los estudiantes se exploraron teniendo en cuenta las percepciones negativas que los tutores pensaban que tenían los estudianties del curso de Ingeniería en el grado de Física. Los resultados destacaron que los miedos de los tutores eran infundados y que los estudiantes se mostraban altamente motivados. Segundo, a través de la evaluación a pares del manual, el alumnado desarrolló una comprensión crítica de los estandares y su calidad. Generalmente, el alumnado valoró el apoyo sobre el contenido y apreció tanto el trabajo de sus compañeros y como éste les había ayudado en su comprensión

Social Equity Matters in Payments for Ecosystem Services

Although conservation efforts have sometimes succeeded in meeting environmental goals at the expense of equity considerations, the changing context of conservation and a growing body of evidence increasingly suggest that equity considerations should be integrated into conservation planning and implementation. However, this approach is often perceived to be at odds with the prevailing focus on economic efficiency that characterizes many payment for ecosystem services (PES) schemes. Drawing from examples across the literature, we show how the equity impacts of PES can create positive and negative feedbacks that influence ecological outcomes. We caution against equity-blind PES, which overlooks these relationships as a result of a primary and narrow focus on economic efficiency. We call for further analysis and better engagement between the social and ecological science communities to understand the relationships and trade-offs among efficiency, equity, and ecological outcomes

Rôle des Strigolactones dans la Symbiose Mycorhizienne à Arbuscules

La symbiose mycorhizienne à arbuscules (MA) est une association entre les champignons du groupe des Gloméromycètes et les racines de la plupart des plantes terrestres. Cette symbiose améliore la santé et la nutrition hydrique et minérale des plantes. Des travaux antérieurs ont montré qu'une famille de molécules, les strigolactones, secrétées par les racines des plantes, étaient capables de stimuler fortement la croissance pré-symbiotique des champignons MA. Ces molécules, initialement caractérisées comme étant inductrices de la germination des graines des plantes parasites Striga et Orobanche, sont peu stables dans le sol, produites à l'état de traces, et actives sur les plantes parasites et les champignons MA à de très faibles concentrations. Afin de préciser l'importance des strigolactones dans la symbiose MA, nous avons tout d'abord étudié des plantes de maïs (Zea mays) bloquées dans les étapes précoces de la synthèse des caroténoïdes (précurseurs hypothétiques des strigolactones). Les plantes mutées (mutant y9) ou traitées à la fluridone présentent une diminution de leur taux de mycorhization, et ce phénotype a été restauré par l'ajout exogène de GR24, une strigolactone synthétique. Ensuite, l'analyse de mutants de Pois (Pisum sativum) rms1 et rms5, affectés dans le clivage des caroténoïdes (enzymes CCD8 et CCD7, respectivement) par des techniques de spectrométrie de masse a révélé que le Pois sauvage produisait deux strigolactones, l'orobanchyl acétate et une autre strigolactone incomplètement identifiée, mais que les mutants rms1 et rms5 ne produisaient aucune des deux. Les exsudats des mutants étaient aussi moins actifs sur les champignons MA et sur la germination des graines de plantes parasites. De plus, le mutant rms1 était moins mycorhizé et l'application exogène de GR24 permettait de restaurer le taux normal de mycorhization. Ces résultats ont permis de démontrer l'importance des deux enzymes CCD8 et CCD7 dans la synthèse des strigolactones et leur importance pour l'établissement de la symbiose MA. Les mutants rms1 et rms5 (avec des tiges hyper ramifiées) ont permis ces dernières années de révéler l'existence d'une nouvelle hormone végétale (appelée SMS, pour Shoot Multiplication Signal) de structure chimique inconnue et contrôlant la croissance des bourgeons axillaires. En collaboration avec d'autres équipes il a été montré que l'application de GR24 sur les bourgeons axillaires des mutants rms1 et rms5 permettait de restaurer le phénotype sauvage (inhibition de la croissance des bourgeons). Le mutant rms4, bloqué dans la perception du SMS et non dans sa synthèse, produit des strigolactones et est insensible à l'application de GR24. Ces résultats confirment l'intervention des strigolactones comme signal hormonal dans la voie SMS. Ces résultats ont été confirmés chez Arabidopsis avec les mutants max. Nous avons révélé la nature multi signalétique des strigolactones dans trois processus biologiques distincts : la stimulation de la germination des graines des plantes parasites, la mise en place de la symbiose MA et le contrôle hormonal de la croissance des bourgeons axillaires chez les plantes. Ces résultats ouvrent de nombreuses perspectives de recherche fondamentale et appliquée sur l'origine évolutive des strigolactones, leurs mécanismes d'action, leur rôle écologique, et sur leur potentiel d'exploitation agronomique.The Arbuscular Mycorrhizal (AM) symbiosis is a mutualistic association between fungi to the group of Glomeromycota and the roots of most land plants. This symbiosis helps to improve plant health as well as water and mineral nutrition. Previous work has shown that a family of molecules called strigolactones, secreted by plant roots, are able to stimulate pre-symbiotic growth of AM fungi. These molecules initially characterize as seed germination stimulants for the parasitic plants Striga and Orobanche, are very unstable in the soil, produced in trace amounts, and active on parasitic plants and AM fungi at very low concentrations. To investigate the importance of strigolactones in the AM symbiosis, we first studied maize (Zea mays) plants affected at early stages of carotenoid synthesis, because carotenoids are hypothetical precursors of strigolactones. Mutant (y9) and fluridone-treated plants exhibit a decreased mycorrhization rate and this phenotype can be rescued by treatment with the synthetic strigolactone GR24. We then analysed rms1 and rms5 garden pea (Pisum sativum) mutants affected in carotenoid cleavage enzymes CCD8 and CCD7, respectively. Using mass spectrometry techniques we showed that root exudates of wild-type pea plants contain orobanchyl acetate and another incompletely identified strigolactone while rms1 and rms5 produce neither of these two strigolactones. Mutant exudates are also less active on AM fungi and on Orobanche seed germination. Furthermore, rms1 mutants are less mycorrhized than the wild type and exogenous treatment with GR24 can restore a normal mycorrhization rate. Together, these results demonstrate the importance of two enzymes, CCD8 and CCD7, in the synthesis of strigolactones and show that these compounds are important for the etablishment of AM symbiosis. Pea rms1 and rms5 mutants (with an increased shoot branching phenotype) have been used to reveale the existence of a new plant hormone called SMS, for Shoot Multiplication Signal. This hormone inhibits lateral bud outgrowth, and its chemical structure has long remained unknown. In collaboration with other research groups, we showed that the application of GR24 on axillary buds of rms1 and rms5 mutants can restore the wild-type phenotype (inhibition of bud outgrowth). The rms4 mutant, blocked in the perception of SMS and not in its synthesis, produces strigolactones and is insensitive to the application of GR24. These results confirm the involvement of strigolactones as hormonal signals in the SMS pathway. Similar experiments carried out on max mutants confirmed our findings in Arabidopsis. Our work shows that strigolactones act as signals in three distinct biological processes: the stimulation of parasitic plant seed germination, the establishment of AM symbiosis and the hormonal control of lateral bud growth in plants. Our results open up many opportunities for basic and applied research into the evolutionary origin of strigolactones, their mechanisms of action, their ecological role and their potential use in agriculture

Multiplex Decomposition of Non-Markovian Dynamics and the Hidden Layer Reconstruction Problem

Elements composing complex systems usually interact in several different ways and as such the interaction architecture is well modelled by a multiplex network. However often this architecture is hidden, as one usually only has experimental access to an aggregated projection. A fundamental challenge is thus to determine whether the hidden underlying architecture of complex systems is better modelled as a single interaction layer or results from the aggregation and interplay of multiple layers. Here we show that using local information provided by a random walker navigating the aggregated network one can decide in a robust way if the underlying structure is a multiplex or not and, in the former case, to determine the most probable number of hidden layers. As a byproduct, we show that the mathematical formalism also provides a principled solution for the optimal decomposition and projection of complex, non-Markovian dynamics into a Markov switching combination of diffusive modes. We validate the proposed methodology with numerical simulations of both (i) random walks navigating hidden multiplex networks (thereby reconstructing the true hidden architecture) and (ii) Markovian and non-Markovian continuous stochastic processes (thereby reconstructing an effective multiplex decomposition where each layer accounts for a different diffusive mode). We also state and prove two existence theorems guaranteeing that an exact reconstruction of the dynamics in terms of these hidden jump-Markov models is always possible for arbitrary finite-order Markovian and fully non-Markovian processes. Finally, we showcase the applicability of the method to experimental recordings from (i) the mobility dynamics of human players in an online multiplayer game and (ii) the dynamics of RNA polymerases at the single-molecule level.Comment: 40 pages, 24 figure

Biochemical characterization and selective inhibition of β-carotene cis-trans isomerase D27 and carotenoid cleavage dioxygenase CCD8 on the strigolactone biosynthetic pathway

The first three enzymatic steps of the strigolactone biosynthetic pathway catalysed by β-carotene cis-trans isomerase Dwarf27 (D27) from Oryza sativa and carotenoid cleavage dioxygenases CCD7 and CCD8 from Arabidopsis thaliana have been reconstituted in vitro, and kinetic assays have been developed for each enzyme, in order to develop selective enzyme inhibitors. Recombinant OsD27 shows a UV-visible λ at 422 nm and is inactivated by silver(I) acetate, consistent with the presence of an iron-sulfur cluster that is used in catalysis. OsD27 and AtCCD7 are not inhibited by hydroxamic acids that cause shoot branching in planta, but OsD27 is partially inhibited by terpene-like hydroxamic acids. The reaction catalysed by AtCCD8 is shown to be a two-step kinetic mechanism using pre-steady-state kinetic analysis. Kinetic evidence is presented for acid-base catalysis in the CCD8 catalytic cycle and the existence of an essential cysteine residue in the CCD8 active site. AtCCD8 is inhibited in a time-dependent fashion by hydroxamic acids D2, D4, D5 and D6 (> 95% inhibition at 100 μm) that cause a shoot branching phenotype in A. thaliana, and selective inhibition of CCD8 is observed using hydroxamic acids D13H and D15 (82%, 71% inhibition at 10 μm). The enzyme inhibition data imply that the biochemical basis of the shoot branching phenotype is due to inhibition of CCD8

Infrared spectral fingerprint of neutral and charged endo- and exohedral metallofullerenes

Small metal-containing molecules have been detected and recognized as one of the hybrid species efficiently formed in space; especially in the circumstellar envelopes of evolved stars. It has been predicted also that more complex hybrid species like those formed by metals and fullerenes (metallofullerenes) could be present in such circumstellar environments. Recently, quantum-chemical simulations of metallofullerenes have shown that they are potential emitters contributing to the observed mid-IR spectra in the fullerene-rich circumstellar environments of different types of evolved stars. Here we present the individual simulated mid-IR (~5-50 um) spectra of twenty-eight metallofullerene species; both neutral and charged endo- and exohedral metallofullerenes for seven different metals (Li, Na, K, Ca, Mg, Ti, and Fe) have been considered. The changes induced by the metal-C60 interaction on the intensity and position of the spectral features are highlighted using charge density difference maps and electron density partitioning. Our calculations identify the fundamental IR spectral regions where, depending on the metal binding nature, there should be a major spectral contribution from each of the metallofullerenes. The metallofullerenes IR spectra are made publicly available to the astronomical community, especially James Webb Space Telescope users, for comparisons that could eventually lead to the detection of these species in space.Comment: Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series on 19 September 2023 (in press) (13 pages, 7 figures, and 1 table

Selective inhibition of carotenoid cleavage dioxygenases : phenotypic effects on shoot branching

Members of the carotenoid cleavage dioxygenase family catalyse the oxidative cleavage of carotenoids at various chain positions, leading to the formation of a wide range of apocarotenoid signalling molecules. To explore the functions of this diverse enzyme family, we have used a chemical genetic approach to design selective inhibitors for different classes of carotenoid cleavage dioxygenase. A set of 18 arylalkyl-hydroxamic acids was synthesised in which the distance between an iron-chelating hydroxamic acid and an aromatic ring was varied; these compounds were screened as inhibitors of four different enzyme classes, either in vitro or in vivo. Potent inhibitors were found that selectively inhibited enzymes that cleave carotenoids at the 9,10 position; 50% inhibition was achieved at sub-micromolar concentrations. Application of certain inhibitors at 100 microM to Arabidopsis node explants or whole plants led to increased shoot branching, consistent with inhibition of 9,10-cleavage

Control of anthocyanin and non-flavonoid compounds by anthocyanin-regulating MYB and bHLH transcription factors in Nicotiana benthamiana leaves

Coloration of plant organs such as fruit, leaves and flowers through anthocyanin production is governed by a combination of MYB and bHLH type transcription factors (TFs). In this study we introduced Rosea1 (ROS1, a MYB type) and Delila (DEL, a bHLH type), into Nicotiana benthamiana leaves by agroinfiltration. ROS1 and DEL form a pair of well-characterized TFs from Snapdragon (Antirrhinum majus), which specifically induce anthocyanin accumulation when expressed in tomato fruit. In N. benthamiana, robust induction of a single anthocyanin, delphinidin-3-rutinoside (D3R) was observed after expression of both ROS1 and DEL. Surprisingly in addition to D3R, a range of additional metabolites were also strongly and specifically up-regulated upon expression of ROS1 and DEL. Except for the D3R, these induced compounds were not derived from the flavonoid pathway. Most notable among these are nornicotine conjugates with butanoyl, hexanoyl, and octanoyl hydrophobic moieties, and phenylpropanoid-polyamine conjugates such as caffeoyl putrescine. The defensive properties of the induced molecules were addressed in bioassays using the tobacco specialist lepidopteran insect Manduca sexta. Our study showed that the effect of ROS1 and DEL expression in N. benthamiana leaves extends beyond the flavonoid pathway. Apparently the same transcription factor may regulate different secondary metabolite pathways in different plant species

Genetic Markers in Long-Term Survivors of Glioblastoma Multiforme

Scope: Genistein from foods or supplements is metabolized by the gut microbiota and the human body, thereby releasingmany different metabolites into systemic circulation. The order of their appearance in plasma and the possible influence of food format are still unknown. This study compared the nutrikinetic profiles of genistein metabolites. Methods and results: In a randomized cross-over trial, 12 healthy young volunteers were administered a single dose of 30mggenistein provided as a genistein tablet, a genistein tablet in low fat milk, and soy milk containing genistein glycosides. A high mass resolution LC-LTQ-Orbitrap FTMS platform detected and quantified in human plasma: free genistein, seven of its phase-II metabolites and 15 gut-derived metabolites. Interestingly, a novel metabolite, genistein-4- glucuronide-7-sulfate (G-4 G7S) was identified. Nutrikinetic analysis using population-based modeling revealed the order of appearance of five genistein phase II metabolites in plasma: (1) genistein-4,7-diglucuronide, (2) genistein-7-sulfate, (3) genistein-4--sulfate-7-glucuronide, (4) genistein-4-glucuronide, and (5) genistein-7-glucuronide, independent of the food matrix. Conclusion: The conjugated genistein metabolites appear in a distinct order in human plasma. The specific early appearance of G-4 ,7-diG suggests a multistep formation process for the mono and hetero genistein conjugates, involving one or two deglucuronidation steps