Evaluation of the Inheritance of Tip Moth Susceptibility Using Pine Hybrids Planted in Southeast Mississippi

Nineteen families of susceptible and resistant pine parent species and their interspecific hybrid progenies were quantitatively assessed for Nantucket pine tip moth (Rhyacionia frustrana Comstock) damage in a study in southeast Mississippi. The seeds for this study were leftover from previously performed experiments and the collection did not provide for a balanced set of families. However, it did include seven slash pine families, two shortleaf families, two loblolly families, three three-way hybrid families, one testcross hybrid family, and two F1 hybrid families of susceptible and resistant parents. The loblolly (L1 and L2) and shortleaf (Sf1 and Sf2) pine parents were susceptible, while the slash (S1 to S7) parents were resistant. The hybrids were produced from controlled pollinations that included eight additional parent trees along with the S1 slash pine parent and both of the shortleaf (Sf1 and Sf2) parents. The eight additional parent species included two F1 hybrid parents; one of which was a slash x longleaf, combining two resistant parent species and the other was a longleaf x shortleaf, combining a resistant and a susceptible parent species. The F1 hybrids in this study were the progeny of the S1 slash parent and a loblolly parent. The three-way hybrids were the progeny of the slash x longleaf F1 hybrid parent and the Sf1 and Sf2 plus one additional shortleaf parent, while the testcross hybrid was produced from the longleaf x shortleaf F1 hybrid parent and a slash pine parent. The F1 hybrid families and the three-way hybrid families were susceptible to tip moth attack like their susceptible loblolly and shortleaf parents, but tip moth damage on all of these families was significantly higher than that on the slash pine parent and testcross hybrid families. The phenotypes of the pure species and hybrid families supports a dominant mode of inheritance for susceptibility to tip moth in three different ways: (1) the phenotype of the F1 hybrids expressed the phenotype of the susceptible parents, (2) the phenotype of the three-way hybrids expressed the phenotype of the susceptible shortleaf parents when those parents were crossed with an interspecific F1 hybrid of two resistant parents, and (3) the testcross hybrid expressed a level of susceptibility that was intermediate to that of the susceptible and resistant parents when the longleaf x shortleaf F1 hybrid parent was backcrossed to a resistant slash pine parent.Papers and abstracts from the 27th Southern Forest Tree Improvement Conference held at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, Oklahoma on June 24-27, 2003

BHLHE40 regulates the T-cell effector function required for tumor microenvironment remodeling and immune checkpoint therapy efficacy

Immune checkpoint therapy (ICT) using antibody blockade of programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) or cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated protein 4 (CTLA-4) can provoke T cell-dependent antitumor activity that generates durable clinical responses in some patients. The epigenetic and transcriptional features that T cells require for efficacious ICT remain to be fully elucidated. Herein, we report that anti-PD-1 and anti-CTLA-4 ICT induce upregulation of the transcription factor BHLHE40 in tumor antigen-specific CD8+ and CD4+ T cells and that T cells require BHLHE40 for effective ICT in mice bearing immune-edited tumors. Single-cell RNA sequencing of intratumoral immune cells in BHLHE40-deficient mice revealed differential ICT-induced immune cell remodeling. The BHLHE40-dependent gene expression changes indicated dysregulated metabolism, NF-κB signaling, and IFNγ response within certain subpopulations of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells. Intratumoral CD4+ and CD8+ T cells from BHLHE40-deficient mice exhibited higher expression of the inhibitory receptor gene Tigit and displayed alterations in expression of genes encoding chemokines/chemokine receptors and granzyme family members. Mice lacking BHLHE40 had reduced ICT-driven IFNγ production by CD4+ and CD8+ T cells and defects in ICT-induced remodeling of macrophages from a CX3CR1+CD206+ subpopulation to an iNOS+ subpopulation that is typically observed during effective ICT. Although both anti-PD-1 and anti-CTLA-4 ICT in BHLHE40-deficient mice led to the same outcome-tumor outgrowth-several BHLHE40-dependent alterations were specific to the ICT that was used. Our results reveal a crucial role for BHLHE40 in effective ICT and suggest that BHLHE40 may be a predictive or prognostic biomarker for ICT efficacy and a potential therapeutic target

A Conceptual Model of Natural and Anthropogenic Drivers and Their Influence on the Prince William Sound, Alaska, Ecosystem

Prince William Sound (PWS) is a semi-enclosed fjord estuary on the coast of Alaska adjoining the northern Gulf of Alaska (GOA). PWS is highly productive and diverse, with primary productivity strongly coupled to nutrient dynamics driven by variability in the climate and oceanography of the GOA and North Pacific Ocean. The pelagic and nearshore primary productivity supports a complex and diverse trophic structure, including large populations of forage and large fish that support many species of marine birds and mammals. High intra-annual, inter-annual, and interdecadal variability in climatic and oceanographic processes as drives high variability in the biological populations. A risk-based conceptual ecosystem model (CEM) is presented describing the natural processes, anthropogenic drivers, and resultant stressors that affect PWS, including stressors caused by the Great Alaska Earthquake of 1964 and the Exxon Valdez oil spill of 1989. A trophodynamic model incorporating PWS valued ecosystem components is integrated into the CEM. By representing the relative strengths of driver/stressors/effects, the CEM graphically demonstrates the fundamental dynamics of the PWS ecosystem, the natural forces that control the ecological condition of the Sound, and the relative contribution of natural processes and human activities to the health of the ecosystem. The CEM illustrates the dominance of natural processes in shaping the structure and functioning of the GOA and PWS ecosystems

Pragmatic Software Innovation

Part 2: Creating Value through Software DevelopmentInternational audienceWe understand software innovation as concerned with introducing innovation into the development of software intensive systems, i.e. systems in which software development and/or integration are dominant considerations. Innovation is key in almost any strategy for competitiveness in existing markets, for creating new markets, or for curbing rising public expenses, and software intensive systems are core elements in most such strategies. Software innovation therefore is vital for about every sector of the economy. Changes in software technologies over the last decades have opened up for experimentation, learning, and flexibility in ongoing software projects, but how can this change be used to facilitate software innovation? How can a team systematically identify and pursue opportunities to create added value in ongoing projects? In this paper, we describe Deweyan pragmatism as the philosophical foundation for Essence – a software innovation methodology – where unknown options and needs emerge as part of the development process itself. The foundation is illustrated via a simple example

Prime movers : mechanochemistry of mitotic kinesins

Mitotic spindles are self-organizing protein machines that harness teams of multiple force generators to drive chromosome segregation. Kinesins are key members of these force-generating teams. Different kinesins walk directionally along dynamic microtubules, anchor, crosslink, align and sort microtubules into polarized bundles, and influence microtubule dynamics by interacting with microtubule tips. The mechanochemical mechanisms of these kinesins are specialized to enable each type to make a specific contribution to spindle self-organization and chromosome segregation

The Challenges of Creativity in Software Organizations

Part 1: Creating ValueInternational audienceManaging creativity has proven to be one of the most important drivers in software development and use. The continuous changing market environment drives companies like Google, SAS Institute and LEGO to focus on creativity as an increasing necessity when competing through sustained innovations. However, creativity in the information systems (IS) environment is a challenge for most organizations that is primarily caused by not knowing how to strategize creative processes in relation to IS strategies, thus, causing companies to act ad hoc in their creative endeavors. In this paper, we address the organizational challenges of creativity in software organizations. Grounded in a previous literature review and a rigorous selection process, we identify and present a model of seven important factors for creativity in software organizations. From these factors, we identify 21 challenges that software organizations experience when embarking on creative endeavors and transfer them into a comprehensive framework. Using an interpretive research study, we further study the framework by analyzing how the challenges are integrated in 27 software organizations. Practitioners can use this study to gain a deeper understanding of creativity in their own business while researchers can use the framework to gain insight while conducting interpretive field studies of managing creativity

Creativity in Agile Systems Development: A Literature Review

Proponents of agile methods claim that enabling, fostering and driving creativity is the key motivation that differentiates agile methods from their more traditional, beauraucratic counterparts. However, there is very little rigorous research to support this claim. Like most of their predecessors, the development and promotion of these methods has been almost entirely driven by practitioners and consultants, with little objective validation from the research community. This lack of validation is particularly relevant for SMEs, given that many of their project teams typify the environment to which agile methods are most suited i.e. small, co-located teams with diverse, blended skills in unstructured, sometimes even chaotic surroundings. This paper uses creativity theory as a lens to review the current agile method literature to understand exactly how much we know about the extent to which creativity actually occurs in these agile environments. The study reveals many gaps and conflict of opinion in the body of knowledge in its current state and identifies many avenues for further research

US Cancer Centers of Excellence Strategies for Increased Inclusion of Racial and Ethnic Minorities in Clinical Trials

PURPOSE:: Participation of racial and ethnic minority groups (REMGs) in cancer trials is disproportionately low despite a high prevalence of certain cancers in REMG populations. We aimed to identify notable practices used by leading US cancer centers that facilitate REMG participation in cancer trials. METHODS:: The National Minority Quality Forum and Sustainable Healthy Communities Diverse Cancer Communities Working Group developed criteria by which to identify eligible US cancer centers-REMGs comprise 10% or more of the catchment area; a 10% to 50% yearly accrual rate of REMGs in cancer trials; and the presence of formal community outreach and diversity enrollment programs. Cancer center leaders were interviewed to ascertain notable practices that facilitate REMG accrual in clinical trials. RESULTS:: Eight cancer centers that met the Communities Working Group criteria were invited to participate in in-depth interviews. Notable strategies for increased REMG accrual to cancer trials were reported across five broad themes: commitment and center leadership, investigator training and mentoring, community engagement, patient engagement, and operational practices. Specific notable practices included increased engagement of health care professionals, the presence of formal processes for obtaining REMG patient/caregiver input on research projects, and engagement of community groups to drive REMG participation. Centers also reported an increase in the allocation of resources to improving health disparities and increased dedication of research staff to REMG engagement. CONCLUSION:: We have identified notable practices that facilitate increased participation of REMGs in cancer trials. Wide implementation of such strategies across cancer centers is essential to ensure that all populations benefit from advances in an era of increasingly personalized treatment of cancer

Analyses of Water Samples From the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: Documentation of the Subsurface Plume

Surface and subsurface water samples were collected in the vicinity of the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) wellhead in the Gulf of Mexico. Samples were extracted with dichloromethane and analyzed for a toxic component, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), using total scanning fluorescence (TSF) and by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). An aliquot of fresh, floating oil from a surface sample was used as a DWH oil reference standard. Twelve of 19 samples collected from 24 May 2010 to 6 June 2010 on the R/V Walton Smith cruise contained TSF maximum intensities above background (0.7 µg L À1 based on 1 L sample size). These 12 samples had total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) concentrations as measured by quantitative gas chromatography flame ionization detector (FID) ranging from 2 to 442 µg L À1 . Quantitative GC/MS analysis of these 12 samples resulted in total PAH concentrations ranging from 0.01 to 59 µg L À1 . Low molecular weight, more water-soluble naphthalene and alkylated naphthalene dominated the PAH composition patterns for 11 of the 12 water samples. Sample 12 exhibited substantially reduced concentrations of naphthalenes relative to other PAH compounds. The total PAH concentrations were positively correlated (R 2 = 0.80) with the TSF maximum intensity (MI). TSF is a simple, rapid technique providing an accurate prediction of the amount of PAH present in a sample. TSFderived estimates of the relative contribution of PAH present in the oil provided evidence that PAH represented~10% of the higher molecular weight TPH. The subsurface oil plume was confirmed by the analyses of discrete water samples for TSF, TPH, and PAH