Distribution of an Exotic Pest, \u3ci\u3eAgromyza Frontella\u3c/i\u3e (Diptera: Agromyzidae), in Manitoba, Canada.

Agromyza frontella is an exotic alfalfa pest from Europe that was first detected in North America in 1968 and has since spread westward into Ontario and the north central United States. Informal surveys had detected A. frontella in Manitoba, but its distribution throughout this province was unknown. In 1998 we collected alfalfa stems to detect plant damage and sweep samples to detect adult A. frontella and the parasitoid Dacnusa dryas throughout the alfalfa growing region of Manitoba. In south central Manitoba, 100% of stems were damaged by A. frontella, and\u3e 100 adults/10 sweeps were recorded at several sites. In west central Manitoba, no plants were damaged and \u3c 10 adults/10 sweeps were observed. We believe this region to be near the western edge of A. frontella distribution. The most important introduced parasitoid of A. frontella, D. dryas, was not detected which suggests that D. dryas has not invaded Manitoba

Molecular Control of the Amount, Subcellular Location and Activity State of Translation Elongation Factor 2 (eEF-2) in Neurons Experiencing Stress

Eukaryotic elongation factor 2 (eEF-2) is an important regulator of the protein translation machinery wherein it controls the movement of the ribosome along the mRNA. The activity of eEF-2 is regulated by changes in cellular energy status and nutrient availability, and posttranslational modifications such as phosphorylation and mono-ADP-ribosylation. However, the mechanisms regulating protein translation under conditions of cellular stress in neurons are unknown. Here we show that when rat hippocampal neurons experience oxidative stress (lipid peroxidation induced by exposure to cumene hydroperoxide; CH), eEF-2 is hyperphosphorylated and ribosylated resulting in reduced translational activity. The degradation of eEF-2 requires calpain proteolytic activity and is accompanied by accumulation of eEF-2 in the nuclear compartment. The subcellular localization of both native and phosphorylated forms of eEF-2 is influenced by CRM1 and 14.3.3, respectively. In hippocampal neurons p53 interacts with non-phosphorylated (active) eEF-2, but not with its phosphorylated form. The p53 – eEF-2 complexes are present in cytoplasm and nucleus, and their abundance increases when neurons experience oxidative stress. The nuclear localization of active eEF-2 depends upon its interaction with p53, as cells lacking p53 contain less active eEF-2 in the nuclear compartment. Overexpression of eEF-2 in hippocampal neurons results in increased nuclear levels of eEF-2, and decreased cell death following exposure to CH. Our results reveal novel molecular mechanisms controlling the differential subcellular localization and activity state of eEF-2 that may influence the survival status of neurons during periods of elevated oxidative stress.España, Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación BFU2010-20882.España, Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte postdoctoral fellowship (EX2009-0918

Electrically-detected magnetic resonance in ion-implanted Si:P nanostructures

We present the results of electrically-detected magnetic resonance (EDMR) experiments on silicon with ion-implanted phosphorus nanostructures, performed at 5 K. The devices consist of high-dose implanted metallic leads with a square gap, into which Phosphorus is implanted at a non-metallic dose corresponding to 10^17 cm^-3. By restricting this secondary implant to a 100 nm x 100 nm region, the EDMR signal from less than 100 donors is detected. This technique provides a pathway to the study of single donor spins in semiconductors, which is relevant to a number of proposals for quantum information processing.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figure

Tuning the Kondo effect with a mechanically controllable break junction

We study electron transport through C60 molecules in the Kondo regime using a mechanically controllable break junction. By varying the electrode spacing, we are able to change both the width and height of the Kondo resonance, indicating modification of the Kondo temperature and the relative strength of coupling to the two electrodes. The linear conductance as a function of T/T_K agrees with the scaling function expected for the spin-1/2 Kondo problem. We are also able to tune finite-bias Kondo features which appear at the energy of the first C60 intracage vibrational mode.Comment: 4 pages with 4 figure

Atomic environments in iron meteorites using EXAFS

Extended x ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) is observed as a modulation on the high energy side of an x ray absorption edge. It occurs when the photo-ejected electron wave is scattered by neighboring atoms in a solid, and interference occurs between the outgoing and scattered waves. The result is that the absorption spectrum carries a signature that is characteristic of the identity and disposition of scattering atoms around the absorbing atom. Therefore, it may be shown that the Fourier transform of the normalized EXAFS can provide detailed information about the immediate environment of specific atoms in a solid and is ideally suited to the study of cosmic dusts. A study of cosmic dust was initiated using EXAFS and other techniques. The simplest type of cosmic material, namely iron meteorites, was investigated

Distribution of an Exotic Pest, \u3ci\u3eAgromyza Frontella\u3c/i\u3e (Diptera: Agromyzidae), in Manitoba, Canada.

Agromyza frontella is an exotic alfalfa pest from Europe that was first detected in North America in 1968 and has since spread westward into Ontario and the north central United States. Informal surveys had detected A. frontella in Manitoba, but its distribution throughout this province was unknown. In 1998 we collected alfalfa stems to detect plant damage and sweep samples to detect adult A. frontella and the parasitoid Dacnusa dryas throughout the alfalfa growing region of Manitoba. In south central Manitoba, 100% of stems were damaged by A. frontella, and\u3e 100 adults/10 sweeps were recorded at several sites. In west central Manitoba, no plants were damaged and \u3c 10 adults/10 sweeps were observed. We believe this region to be near the western edge of A. frontella distribution. The most important introduced parasitoid of A. frontella, D. dryas, was not detected which suggests that D. dryas has not invaded Manitoba

The distribution of meteorite finds in the Namibian desert and recovery of a highly shocked meteorite pairing group.

Published versio

Shaping a Corporate Identity From Below; the Role of the BAT Bulletin.

Existing studies that have explored the use of company journals as a mode of corporate communication during the early 20th century have invariably adopted an instrumentalist view of these publications. Company journals have been seen as a means of projecting to employees a top-down view of organisations. This article identifies a counter-example in which the origins of a company journal, the 'Bat Bulletin', are seen to arise as the result of an initiative stemming from the employees themselves. These antecedents gave the 'Bat Bulletin' a high degree of legitimacy amongst staff and provided the company with an important means of establishing a unified corporate culture across a disparate group international operating companies. Over time, however, the contents of the journal gradually became more conventional, and it was eventually closed down when the strategy of international integration ceased to be a desirable corporate objective during the 1930's