Canola hybrids and hybrid canola development

Non-Peer Reviewe

Data Protection: International Trends and the Austrian Example

Ensuring personal privacy in today's computerized-information society seems to be a common goal among the member states of the OECD. In this paper an attempt is made to summarize the discussions at the political and law-making level, both nationally and internationally within the framework of the OECD member countries. From the concrete outcome of these discussions, i.e., the data protection acts adopted and yet in force, the Austrian situation has been chosen as example

Can We Study Titin Properties in Passive Myofibrils?

Titin is a giant molecular spring in skeletal and cardiac muscles. It has a variety of important passive, structural, sensing and force-regulatory functions, and thus has been investigated widely (Granzier & Labeit, 2007). Studying the mechanical properties of isolated titin has been difficult because of the enormous size and great instability of this protein. However, the passive properties in single myofibrils are almost exclusively explained by titin, and thus we asked the question if we can study titin properties in intact, passive myofibrils (Bartoo et al., 1997). Single myofibrils were isolated in a standard way (Leonard & Herzog, 2010) and three consecutive stretches of 1.0-3.5μm/sarcomere magnitude were performed at a nominal stretch speed of 0.1 sarcomere length/sarcomere/s. Sarcomere length were measured using a high resolution photo diode array and forces were measured using micro-electronically machined silicon nitrate levers. Single myofibrils frequently showed a distinct change in stiffness upon stretch at sarcomere length of approximately 3.6-3.8μm, they showed a decrease in loading energy with repeat stretch cycles and their efficiency decreased for all loading cycles with increasing stretch magnitude. These properties are in agreement with results observed in single titin preparations (Kellermayer et al., 1997). Therefore, we conclude that titin properties can be studied using single myofibrils. This has at least two significant advantages over tests with isolated titin proteins: (i) testing is technically much easier and (ii) titin is arranged in its intact structural arrangement. In the future, we would like to study titin properties in calcium activated myofibrils in which active (actin-myosin based cross-bridges forces) are eliminated either by chemical inhibition or by deletion of regulatory proteins on actin, as we have done before (Joumaa et al., 2008)

FUNGICIDAS E EFEITOS FISIOLÓGICOS NA CULTURA DO CAFÉ CONILON

HERZOG, Thaisa Thomazini, M.Sc.; Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo; Fevereiro de 2017; Fungicidas e efeitos fisiológicos na cultura do café conilon; Orientador: Marcelo Barreto da Silva, Co-orientador: Fábio Luiz Partelli. O Estado do Espírito Santo é destaque nacional na produção de café conilon, sendo a atividade de grande importância para a região. Dentre os principais problemas enfrentados pelos cafeicultores destacam-se as doenças, como a ferrugem do cafeeiro, responsável por expressivas perdas na produtividade. Associado as demais estratégias de controle os fungicidas, que são produtos destinados ao controle dos fitopatógenos de forma a reduzir suas populações a níveis que não interfiram na qualidade e quantidade da produção agrícola. Contudo, alguns fungicidas também atuam na fisiologia das plantas. Assim, os fungicidas de efeitos fisiológicos podem trazer grandes benefícios para a cafeicultura por apresentarem esta dupla ação de controle. Entretanto, estes efeitos ainda são poucos esclarecidos para a cultura do café conilon. Diante do exposto, o presente trabalho teve como objetivo avaliar os efeitos fisiológicos na cultura do café conilon decorrentes da aplicação de diferentes fungicidas. O delineamento experimental utilizado foi em blocos casualizados com seis tratamentos (duas aplicações de piraclostrobina e epoxiconazol + boscalida e duas aplicações de piraclostrobina e epoxiconazol - T1; e os demais com três aplicações de piraclostrobina e epoxiconazol - T2; piraclostrobina, epoxiconazol e fluxapiroxade - T3; epoxiconazol - T4 e piraclostrobina - T5 e, sem aplicação de fungicida - T6) e quatro repetições. Foram realizadas avaliações do progresso da ferrugem do cafeeiro; crescimento de ramos, número de nós por ramo e comprimento dos internódios; índice relativo de clorofila; número médio de rosetas com frutos, de frutos por ramo e de frutos por roseta; uniformidade de maturação dos frutos; porcentagem de frutos chochos, peso dos frutos e produtividade. Como não foi observada a ocorrência da doença no campo, decorrente das condições climáticas desfavoráveis, as diferenças observadas, em algumas avaliações, foi inerente ao efeito dos produtos na fisiologia do cafeeiro conilon. Com base nos resultados obtidos no trabalho, concluiu-se que, nas condições em que foi realizado, a aplicação somente com epoxiconazol proporcionou menor crescimento acumulado e número de nós por ramo plagiotrópico e menor número de rosetas com frutos. Os tratamentos com viii piraclostrobina influenciaram positivamente os índices relativo de clorofila e proporcionaram valores inferiores da relação clorofila a/b. Não houve efeito dos produtos na cultura do café conilon nas demais características monitoradas

Unmixed bipartite graphs and sublattices of the Boolean lattices

The correspondence between unmixed bipartite graphs and sublattices of the oolean lattice is discussed. By using this correspondence, we show the existence of squarefree quadratic initial ideals of toric ideals arising from minimal vertex covers of unmixed bipartite graphs.Comment: 5 page

Theory and Phenomenology of Heavy Flavor at RHIC

We review the problem of heavy-quark diffusion in the Quark-Gluon Plasma and its ramifications for heavy-quark spectra in heavy-ion collisions at RHIC. In particular, we attempt to reconcile underlying mechanisms of several seemingly different approaches that have been put forward to explain the large suppression and elliptic flow of non-photonic electron spectra. We also emphasize the importance of a quantitative description of the bulk medium evolution to extract reliable values for the heavy-quark diffusion coefficient.Comment: 8 pages latex, including 10 eps figures; plenary talk at SQM08, Beijing (China), Oct. 06-10, 200

Treatment of complicated intra-abdominal infections in the era of multi-drug resistant bacteria

The management of severe intra-abdominal infections remains a major challenge facing surgeons and intensive care physicians, because of its association with high morbidity and mortality. Surgical management and intensive care medicine have constantly improved, but in the recent years a rapidly continuing emergence of resistant pathogens led to treatment failure secondary to infections with multi-drug resistant bacteria. In secondary peritonitis the rate of resistant germs at the initial operation is already 30%. The lack of effective antibiotics against these pathogens resulted in the development of new broad-spectrum compounds and antibiotics directed against resistant germs. But so far no "super-drug" with efficacy against all resistant bacteria exists. Even more, soon after their approval, reports on resistance against these novel drugs have been reported, or the drugs were withdrawn from the market due to severe side effects. Since pharmaceutical companies reduced their investigations on antibiotic research, only few new antimicrobial derivates are available

Rapid Serial Sarcomere Loss Caused by Electrical Stimulation in Rabbit Triceps Surae Muscles

Muscle spasms, such as those observed in cerebral palsy patients, are involuntary muscle contractions that usually occur due to a lesion in the brain. These muscle spasms cause muscles to become hypoextensible, or very stiff. This hypoextensibility may be explained by a decrease in serial sarcomere number concomitant with a long stimulation period. In 1981, Tabary and Tardieu showed a 25% decrease in the number of serial sarcomeres in guinea pig Soleus muscles over a 12 hour stimulation period. As these results seem very extreme, it was necessary to try duplicating these results in our laboratory, as well as in a different animal model. The Medial Gastrocnemius, Plantaris, and Soleus muscles were stimulated via the tibial nerve in New Zealand White rabbits (n=3) for 10 hours in one of the legs (20 Hz at 3 times the α motoneuron threshold). The tibial nerve in the contralateral control leg was transected to ensure no cross- over training effects. After the stimulation period, the animals were sacrificed and the hind limbs were then placed in a 10% formalin solution at carefully controlled knee and ankle angles. Three to five samples were harvested from each muscle. After a digestion process, individual fascicles were teased out and mounted on prepared slides. These slides were then analyzed for fascicle length by using a camera system with specialized software and sarcomere lengths were determined using a laser diffraction method. Analysis showed that the serial sarcomere number decreased in the Medial Gastrocnemius by 23 ± 4.4%, in the Plantaris by 25 ± 2.9%, and the Soleus by 29 ± 7.0%. These numbers concur closely with the 25% loss of serial sarcomeres reported by Tabary and Tardieu in guinea pigs. These confirmed results will allow for more research to be done in this area