Gene duplication and an accelerated evolutionary rate in 11S globulin genes are associated with higher protein synthesis in dicots as compared to monocots

Background: Seed storage proteins are a major source of dietary protein, and the content of such proteins determines both the quantity and quality of crop yield. Significantly, examination of the protein content in the seeds of crop plants shows a distinct difference between monocots and dicots. Thus, it is expected that there are different evolutionary patterns in the genes underlying protein synthesis in the seeds of these two groups of plants. Results: Gene duplication, evolutionary rate and positive selection of a major gene family of seed storage proteins (the 11S globulin genes), were compared in dicots and monocots. The results, obtained from five species in each group, show more gene duplications, a higher evolutionary rate and positive selections of this gene family in dicots, which are rich in 11S globulins, but not in the monocots. Conclusion: Our findings provide evidence to support the suggestion that gene duplication and an accelerated evolutionary rate may be associated with higher protein synthesis in dicots as compared to monocots

UK-China collaborative study on low carbon technology transfer: final report

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Reliability of the input admittance of bowed-string instruments measured by the hammer method.

The input admittance at the bridge, measured by hammer testing, is often regarded as the most useful and convenient measurement of the vibrational behavior of a bowed string instrument. However, this method has been questioned, due especially to differences between human bowing and hammer impact. The goal of the research presented here is to investigate the reliability and accuracy of this classic hammer method. Experimental studies were carried out on cellos, with three different driving conditions and three different boundary conditions. Results suggest that there is nothing fundamentally different about the hammer method, compared to other kinds of excitation. The third series of experiments offers an opportunity to explore the difference between the input admittance measuring from one bridge corner to another and that of single strings. The classic measurement is found to give a reasonable approximation to that of all four strings. Some possible differences between the hammer method and normal bowing and implications of the acoustical results are also discussed.This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from AIP via http://dx.doi.org/10.1121/1.490057

ESL Student Plagiarism Prevention Challengesand Institutional Interventions

Research has found unintentional plagiarism to be the most common type of university plagiarism, yet what underlies it is not adequately understood. Thus, our study examines ESL student perspectives on academic integrity challenges, especially unintentional plagiarism and university interventions. The study employed semi-structured individual qualitative interviews with 20 ESL students who had just completed an advanced EAP writing course at a Canadian university in the Winter semester of 2021. The course discussed plagiarism and the APA 7th edition extensively. One interview per participant was conducted online and the data were analyzed qualitatively. Research findings indicate that the predominant cause of the participants\u27 challenges was their lack of experience using citations before entering the university. The participants had written no formal essays or only opinion-based essays without source requirement. Therefore, the participants found the APA 7th edition hard to observe initially. They all found paraphrasing a challenge. A less serious one was to create a reference list of various types of sources in APA 7. Regarding assistance, the participants felt that the style templates and models were valuable, but, that even more, so were the interactive workshops at the semester’s start. Thus, a combination of resources, workshops, and teacher-facilitated practices, along with improved writing are expected to empower ESL students (Khoo, 2021)