A novel expression cassette for the efficient visual selection of transformed tissues in florists' chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum morifolium Ramat.).

Constructs carrying visual reporter genes coupled with efficient promoters could facilitate the process of identification and selection of stable transformants in recalcitrant crops. Here, a novel construct utilizing a ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase (RbcS) promoter combined with the green fluorescent protein (GFP) reporter gene to initiate very high expression of GFP in florist's chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum morifolium Ramat.) was described. Based on this expression cassette, a new regeneration protocol using leaf discs as explants was developed for the Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of Chrysanthemum genotype ‘1581’, and a transformation efficiency of 7% was obtained. The expression of two different GFP constructs targeted to either cytosol or plastids was compared in transgenic lines. Both GFP constructs were expressed at such a high level that the green fluorescence dominated red fluorescence in the leaf tissues, allowing easy observation and microdissection of transformed tissues even without a GFP filter. Under normal light, plants with GFP targeted to plastids had a light green phenotype deriving from the high GFP expression. Quantitative reverse transcriptional PCR analysis showed that the plastid targeted construct with intron had significantly higher steady state transcript levels of GFP mRNA. This novel expression cassette may allow direct visual selection of transformed tissues independent of antibiotic selection in a wide range of plant specie

God and Nature: Historical Essays on the Encounter Between Christianity and Science (Book Review)

Reviewed Title: God and Nature: Historical Essays on the Encounter Between Christianity and Science, edited by David C. Lindberg and Ronald L. Numbers (Berkeley: University of California Press) 1986. xi + 516 pp

Religion and Science at the Turn of the Century

This article was published in the 2007 issue of the online Journal of the ACMS (Association of Christians in the Mathematical Sciences)

Logic and Proof for Mathematicians: A Twentieth Century Perspective

If there is one aspect of mathematics education that frustrates both students and teachers alike, it has got to be learning how to do valid proofs. Students often feel they really know the mathematics they\u27re studying but that their teachers place some unreasonably stringent demands upon their arguments. Teachers, on the other hand, can\u27t understand where their students get some of the wacky arguments they come up with. They argue in circles, they end up proving a different result from what they claim, they make false statements, they draw invalid inferences - it can be quite exasperating at times! Unfortunately, constructing a genuine demonstration is not a side issue in mathematics; deduction forms the backbone and hygiene of mathematical intercourse and simply must be learned by mathematics majors. I\u27d like to focus attention on this topic in this paper first by sharing with you how we attack the problem at Dordt. I will then attempt to give the issue a bit of historical and philosophical depth by tracing some developments in mathematics and logic which seem to have had a strong influence upon contemporary approaches to teaching proof. I hope this will contribute to further discussion of the problem

George Boole: His Life and Work (Book Review)

Reviewed Title: George Boole: His Life and Work by Desmond MacHale. (Profiles of Genius Series, 2.) xiii + 304 pp., illus., bibls., index. Dublin: Boole Press, 1985

One Mathematician\u27s Journey Through Mathematics and The Faith Equation: One Mathematician\u27s Journey in Christianity (Book Reviews)

Reviewed Titles: Bittinger, Marvin. One Mathematician’s Journey through Mathematics. Addison-Wesley, 2004. ix + 212 pages. ISBN: 0321241509. Bittinger, Marvin. The Faith Equation: One Mathematician’s Journey in Christianity. Literary Architects, 2007. xxv + 290 pages. ISBN: 1933669071. The article incorrectly cites One Man\u27s Journey through Mathematics as One Mathematician\u27s Journey through Mathematics

Making and Breaking Mathematical Sense (Book Review)

Reviewed Title: Making and Breaking Mathematical Sense by Roi Wagner. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2017. 236 pp. ISBN: 9780691171715

Philosophical Introduction to Set Theory (Book Review)

Reviewed Title: Philosophical Introduction to Set Theory by Stephen Pollard. Dover Publications, 2015, 180 pp. ISBN: 9780486797144