Novel sources of resistance to Striga hermonthica in Tripsacum dactyloides, a wild relative of maize

• The parasitic weed Striga hermonthica lowers cereal yield in small-holder farms in Africa. Complete resistance in maize to S. hermonthica infection has not been identified. A valuable source of resistance to S. hermonthica may lie in the genetic potential of wild germplasm.• The susceptibility of a wild relative of maize, Tripsacum dactyloides and a Zea mays–T. dactyloides hybrid to S. hermonthica infection was determined. Striga hermonthica development was arrested after attachment to T. dactyloides. Vascular continuity was established between parasite and host but there was poor primary haustorial tissue differentiation on T. dactyloides compared with Z. mays. Partial resistance was inherited in the hybrid.• Striga hermonthica attached to Z. mays was manipulated such that different secondary haustoria could attach to different hosts. Secondary haustoria formation was inhibited on T. dactyloides, moreover, subsequent haustoria formation on Z. mays was also impaired.• Results suggest that T. dactyloides produces a signal that inhibits haustorial development: this signal may be mobile within the parasite haustorial root syste

Microwave photovoltage and photoresistance effects in ferromagnetic microstrips

We investigate the dc electric response induced by ferromagnetic resonance in ferromagnetic Permalloy (Ni80Fe20) microstrips. The resulting magnetization precession alters the angle of the magnetization with respect to both dc and rf current. Consequently the time averaged anisotropic magnetoresistance (AMR) changes (photoresistance). At the same time the time-dependent AMR oscillation rectifies a part of the rf current and induces a dc voltage (photovoltage). A phenomenological approach to magnetoresistance is used to describe the distinct characteristics of the photoresistance and photovoltage with a consistent formalism, which is found in excellent agreement with experiments performed on in-plane magnetized ferromagnetic microstrips. Application of the microwave photovoltage effect for rf magnetic field sensing is discussed.Comment: 16 pages, 15 figure

Critical view of WKB decay widths

A detailed comparison of the expressions for the decay widths obtained within the semiclassical WKB approximation using different approaches to the tunneling problem is performed. The differences between the available improved formulae for tunneling near the top and the bottom of the barrier are investigated. Though the simple WKB method gives the right order of magnitude of the decay widths, a small number of parameters are often fitted. The need to perform the fitting procedure remaining consistently within the WKB framework is emphasized in the context of the fission model based calculations. Calculations for the decay widths of some recently found super heavy nuclei using microscopic alpha-nucleus potentials are presented to demonstrate the importance of a consistent WKB calculation. The half-lives are found to be sensitive to the density dependence of the nucleon-nucleon interaction and the implementation of the Bohr-Sommerfeld quantization condition inherent in the WKB approach.Comment: 18 pages, Late

A Literature Review of Studies Evaluating Rotator Cuff Activation during Early Rehabilitation Exercises for Post-Op Rotator Cuff Repair

Despite the modern advancement of surgical repair equipment and techniques, many rotator cuff repairs do not clinically heal. Prescribed rehabilitative exercises must appropriately load the repaired muscle-tendon complex to promote healing and prevent capsular adhesions without damaging the repair. The clinician must possess an understanding of the anatomy and physiology of the healing rotator cuff, and understand the importance of the plane of movement, speed of the movement, position of the extremity, level of assistance, and type of resistance used. Electromyography (EMG) provides a useful means to determine muscle activation levels during specific exercises. Descriptions of specific exercises and EMG activation as they relate to the rotator cuff muscles are described. The specific performance of the exercises, the reliability of such EMG measures, and the descriptive figures are described. Practicing clinicians will benefit from the correct interpretation of the EMG data, and how it can be used in the exercise prescription when formulating a treatment plan

Modified two-potential approach to tunneling problems

One-body quantum tunneling to continuum is treated via the two-potential approach, dividing the tunneling potential into external and internal parts. We show that corrections to this approach can be minimized by taking the separation radius inside the interval determined by simple expressions. The resulting two-potential approach reproduces the resonance energy and its width, both for narrow and wide resonances. We also demonstrate that, without losing its accuracy, the two-potential approach can be modified to a form resembling the R-matrix theory, yet without any uncertainties of the latter related to the choice of the matching radius.Comment: 7 two-column pages, 3 figures, extra-explanation added, Phys. Rev. A, in pres

Spatiotemporal complexity of a ratio-dependent predator-prey system

In this paper, we investigate the emergence of a ratio-dependent predator-prey system with Michaelis-Menten-type functional response and reaction-diffusion. We derive the conditions for Hopf, Turing and Wave bifurcation on a spatial domain. Furthermore, we present a theoretical analysis of evolutionary processes that involves organisms distribution and their interaction of spatially distributed population with local diffusion. The results of numerical simulations reveal that the typical dynamics of population density variation is the formation of isolated groups, i.e., stripelike or spotted or coexistence of both. Our study shows that the spatially extended model has not only more complex dynamic patterns in the space, but also chaos and spiral waves. It may help us better understand the dynamics of an aquatic community in a real marine environment.Comment: 6pages, revtex

Stochastic models in population biology and their deterministic analogs

In this paper we introduce a class of stochastic population models based on "patch dynamics". The size of the patch may be varied, and this allows one to quantify the departures of these stochastic models from various mean field theories, which are generally valid as the patch size becomes very large. These models may be used to formulate a broad range of biological processes in both spatial and non-spatial contexts. Here, we concentrate on two-species competition. We present both a mathematical analysis of the patch model, in which we derive the precise form of the competition mean field equations (and their first order corrections in the non-spatial case), and simulation results. These mean field equations differ, in some important ways, from those which are normally written down on phenomenological grounds. Our general conclusion is that mean field theory is more robust for spatial models than for a single isolated patch. This is due to the dilution of stochastic effects in a spatial setting resulting from repeated rescue events mediated by inter-patch diffusion. However, discrete effects due to modest patch sizes lead to striking deviations from mean field theory even in a spatial setting.Comment: 47 pages, 9 figure

On the velocity-dependent fracture toughness of epoxy resins

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/44664/1/10853_2004_Article_BF00754491.pd

Randomized phase III KEYNOTE-045 trial of pembrolizumab versus paclitaxel, docetaxel, or vinflunine in recurrent advanced urothelial cancer: results of >2 years of follow-up.

BackgroundNovel second-line treatments are needed for patients with advanced urothelial cancer (UC). Interim analysis of the phase III KEYNOTE-045 study showed a superior overall survival (OS) benefit of pembrolizumab, a programmed death 1 inhibitor, versus chemotherapy in patients with advanced UC that progressed on platinum-based chemotherapy. Here we report the long-term safety and efficacy outcomes of KEYNOTE-045.Patients and methodsAdult patients with histologically/cytologically confirmed UC whose disease progressed after first-line, platinum-containing chemotherapy were enrolled. Patients were randomly assigned 1 : 1 to receive pembrolizumab [200 mg every 3 weeks (Q3W)] or investigator's choice of paclitaxel (175 mg/m2 Q3W), docetaxel (75 mg/m2 Q3W), or vinflunine (320 mg/m2 Q3W). Primary end points were OS and progression-free survival (PFS) per Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors, version 1.1 (RECIST v1.1) by blinded independent central radiology review (BICR). A key secondary end point was objective response rate per RECIST v1.1 by BICR.ResultsA total of 542 patients were enrolled (pembrolizumab, n = 270; chemotherapy, n = 272). Median follow-up as of 26 October 2017 was 27.7 months. Median 1- and 2-year OS rates were higher with pembrolizumab (44.2% and 26.9%, respectively) than chemotherapy (29.8% and 14.3%, respectively). PFS rates did not differ between treatment arms; however, 1- and 2-year PFS rates were higher with pembrolizumab. The objective response rate was also higher with pembrolizumab (21.1% versus 11.0%). Median duration of response to pembrolizumab was not reached (range 1.6+ to 30.0+ months) versus chemotherapy (4.4 months; range 1.4+ to 29.9+ months). Pembrolizumab had lower rates of any grade (62.0% versus 90.6%) and grade ≥3 (16.5% versus 50.2%) treatment-related adverse events than chemotherapy.ConclusionsLong-term results (>2 years' follow-up) were consistent with those of previously reported analyses, demonstrating continued clinical benefit of pembrolizumab over chemotherapy for efficacy and safety for treatment of locally advanced/metastatic, platinum-refractory UC.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02256436