Low Energy Methods for the Deposition of BN Thin Films

We report the growth of boron nitride thin films from plasma-assisted dissociation of the precursor molecule boron triazide. Stable films containing mainly sp2-bonded BN have been grown for comparison with films grown by other dissociation methods. We conclude that the plasma-assisted dissociation method is superior to previous methods for growing boron nitride thin films from boron triazide

The Impact of a SIG on Assessment Literacy

A major aim of professional associations is to provide opportunities for professionals to interact with others, share ideas and develop in their chosen profession. Professional associations exist to provide specialized networking and development opportunities to a specific profession, group of individuals or field of study. To promote and support specialized research and communication, smaller subgroups within an association are often chartered or developed. These subgroups are typically known as Special Interest Groups. According to Jacob et al. (2013), association members join SIGs because they want to go deeper into a specialized content area and they enjoy networking with others who ‘speak the same language.’ The TESOL Arabia Testing, Assessment and Evaluation SIG (TAE SIG) has focused their professional development activities on an important trend in the field, that of language assessment literacy (LAL). Language assessment literacy has been a critical topic in English language teaching since the late 1990s. Unfortunately, this is mainly due to the fact that so many English language teachers are not assessment literate. In other words, many English language teachers lack the knowledge and skills to write effective language tests, evaluate the effectiveness of their tests, and use their test results in meaningful ways. The purpose of this chapter is to critically examine the status of LAL in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and report on activities that the TAE SIG has implemented to increase LAL

A fragment of a monumental bronze statue, Lincoln

A fragment of Roman monumental bronze sculpture was discovered near Lincoln in 2015 and reported to the Portable Antiquities Scheme. This note offers identification of the piece as an over-life-size finger, describes comparable examples and similar pieces from the local area, and makes suggestions as to the original form of the sculpture from which it may have derived. The statue's metallurgical characteristics and making, the possible context of display and the circumstances of deposition are also considered

Developmental changes associated with cross-language similarity in bilingual children

Online publication 30/9/2015The main goal of the present study was to investigate how the degree of orthographic overlap between translation equivalents influences bilingual word recognition processes at different stages of reading development. Spanish–Basque bilingual children with ages ranging from 8 to 15 years were tested in an explicit translation recognition task with a large set of items. Critically, the degree of cross-language similarity (i.e. the cognate status) between the references and the correct targets was manipulated along a continuum in order to investigate how the reliance on crosslanguage orthographic overlap varies as a function of reading experience. Results showed that younger children were significantly more sensitive to the cognate status of words than older children while recognising translation equivalents, and that this difference did not depend on the speed of response of the participants. These results demonstrate that the influence of cross-language similarity progressively diminishes as a function of increased exposure to print together with the maturation of the mechanisms responsible for language interference suppression, as suggested by developmental models of bilingual lexical access.This research has been partially funded by the Spanish Government [grant number PSI2012-32123], the European Research Council [grant number ERC-AdG-295362], and by the AThEME project funded by the European Union [grant number 613465]

Active roles for inhibitory B kinases and in nuclear factor- B-mediated chemoresistance to doxorubicin

Chemotherapy agents have been shown to induce the transcription factor NF-κB and subsequent chemoresistance in fibrosarcomas and other cancers. The mechanism of NF-κB-mediated chemoresistance remains unclear, with a previous report suggesting that doxorubicin induces this response independent of the inhibitory κB kinases (IKKs). Other studies have indicated that IKKβ, but not IKKα, is required. Mouse embryo fibroblasts (MEF) devoid of IKKα, IKKβ, or both subunits (DKO) were treated with doxorubicin. The absence of either IKKα or IKKβ or both kinases resulted in impaired induction of NF-κB DNA-binding activity in response to doxorubicin. To provide a valid clinical correlate, HT1080 human fibrosarcoma cells were transfected with small interference RNAs (siRNAs) specific for IKKα or IKKβ and then subsequently treated with doxorubicin. Knockdown of IKKα severely impaired the ability of doxorubicin to initiate NF-κB DNA-binding activity. However, a decrease in either IKKα or IKKβ resulted in decreased phosphorylation of p65 in response to doxorubicin. The inhibition of doxorubicin-induced NF-κB activation by the knockdown of either catalytic subunit resulted in increased cleaved caspase 3 and cleaved PARP, and increased apoptosis when compared to doxorubicin alone. The results of this study validate current approaches aimed at NF-κB inhibition to improve clinical therapies. Moreover, we demonstrate that IKKα plays a critical role in NF-κB-mediated chemoresistance in response to doxorubicin and may serve as a potential target in combinational strategies to improve chemotherapeutic response

Sheep Updates 2003 - Husbandry

This session covers seven papers from different authors:1. Setting up a successful, low input feedlot Paul Barrett, ‘Bimberdong’ Jerramungup 2. Effective mineral supplementation of sheep Kevin Bell, Sheep Management and Production Consultants, Kojonup, WA 3. Genetic benchmarking for WA sheep producers J. Greeff, L. Butler, S. Brown, K. Hart and A. Gray Department of Agriculture Western Australia 4. Does selecting sheep for low WEC reduce scouring? John Karlsson, Johan Greeff and Paula Coombe, Department of Agriculture Western Australia 5. Summer quarters for sheep - stubbles Ron McTaggart, Department of Agriculture Western Australia, Albany 6. Thinking about breeding Easy Care Sheep? David Scobie, AgResearch PO Box 60 Lincoln, 8152, New Zealand 7. Increasing lambing percentages and lamb survival Sandy White, Department of Agriculture Western Australia, Jerramungu

Transcriptome profiling of grapevine seedless segregants during berry development reveals candidate genes associated with berry weight

Indexación: Web of Science; PubMedBackground Berry size is considered as one of the main selection criteria in table grape breeding programs. However, this is a quantitative and polygenic trait, and its genetic determination is still poorly understood. Considering its economic importance, it is relevant to determine its genetic architecture and elucidate the mechanisms involved in its expression. To approach this issue, an RNA-Seq experiment based on Illumina platform was performed (14 libraries), including seedless segregants with contrasting phenotypes for berry weight at fruit setting (FST) and 6–8 mm berries (B68) phenological stages. Results A group of 526 differentially expressed (DE) genes were identified, by comparing seedless segregants with contrasting phenotypes for berry weight: 101 genes from the FST stage and 463 from the B68 stage. Also, we integrated differential expression, principal components analysis (PCA), correlations and network co-expression analyses to characterize the transcriptome profiling observed in segregants with contrasting phenotypes for berry weight. After this, 68 DE genes were selected as candidate genes, and seven candidate genes were validated by real time-PCR, confirming their expression profiles. Conclusions We have carried out the first transcriptome analysis focused on table grape seedless segregants with contrasting phenotypes for berry weight. Our findings contributed to the understanding of the mechanisms involved in berry weight determination. Also, this comparative transcriptome profiling revealed candidate genes for berry weight which could be evaluated as selection tools in table grape breeding programs.http://bmcplantbiol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12870-016-0789-

Developmental control of hypoxia during bud burst in grapevine

Dormant or quiescent buds of woody perennials are often dense, and in the case of grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) have a low tissue oxygen status. The precise timing of the decision to resume growth is difficult to predict, but once committed the increase in tissue oxygen status is rapid and developmentally regulated. Here we show that more than a third of the grapevine homologues of widely conserved hypoxia-responsive genes, and nearly a fifth of all grapevine genes possessing a plant hypoxia-responsive promoter element were differentially regulated during bud burst, in apparent harmony with resumption of meristem identity and cell-cycle gene regulation. We then investigated the molecular and biochemical properties of the grapevine ERF-VII homologues, which in other species are oxygen labile and function in transcriptional regulation of hypoxia-responsive genes. Each of the three VvERF-VIIs were substrates for oxygen-dependent proteolysis in vitro, as a function of the N-terminal cysteine. Collectively these data support an important developmental function of oxygen-dependent signalling in determining the timing and effective coordination bud burst in grapevine. In addition, novel regulators, including GASA-, TCP-, MYB3R-, PLT- and WUS-like transcription factors, were identified as hallmarks of the orderly and functional resumption of growth following quiescence in buds

Berry Flesh and Skin Ripening Features in Vitis vinifera as Assessed by Transcriptional Profiling

Background Ripening of fleshy fruit is a complex developmental process involving the differentiation of tissues with separate functions. During grapevine berry ripening important processes contributing to table and wine grape quality take place, some of them flesh- or skin-specific. In this study, transcriptional profiles throughout flesh and skin ripening were followed during two different seasons in a table grape cultivar ‘Muscat Hamburg’ to determine tissue-specific as well as common developmental programs. Methodology/Principal Findings Using an updated GrapeGen Affymetrix GeneChip® annotation based on grapevine 12×v1 gene predictions, 2188 differentially accumulated transcripts between flesh and skin and 2839 transcripts differentially accumulated throughout ripening in the same manner in both tissues were identified. Transcriptional profiles were dominated by changes at the beginning of veraison which affect both pericarp tissues, although frequently delayed or with lower intensity in the skin than in the flesh. Functional enrichment analysis identified the decay on biosynthetic processes, photosynthesis and transport as a major part of the program delayed in the skin. In addition, a higher number of functional categories, including several related to macromolecule transport and phenylpropanoid and lipid biosynthesis, were over-represented in transcripts accumulated to higher levels in the skin. Functional enrichment also indicated auxin, gibberellins and bHLH transcription factors to take part in the regulation of pre-veraison processes in the pericarp, whereas WRKY and C2H2 family transcription factors seems to more specifically participate in the regulation of skin and flesh ripening, respectively. Conclusions/Significance A transcriptomic analysis indicates that a large part of the ripening program is shared by both pericarp tissues despite some components are delayed in the skin. In addition, important tissue differences are present from early stages prior to the ripening onset including tissue-specific regulators. Altogether, these findings provide key elements to understand berry ripening and its differential regulation in flesh and skin.This study was financially supported by GrapeGen Project funded by Genoma España within a collaborative agreement with Genome Canada. The authors also thank The Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion for project BIO2008-03892 and a bilateral collaborative grant with Argentina (AR2009-0021). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.Peer reviewe

Age- and season-dependent pattern of flavonol glycosides in Cabernet Sauvignon grapevine leaves

Flavonols play key roles in many plant defense mechanisms, consequently they are frequently investigated as stress sensitive factors in relation to several oxidative processes. It is well known that grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) can synthesize various flavonol glycosides in the leaves, however, very little information is available regarding their distribution along the cane at different leaf levels. In this work, taking into consideration of leaf position, the main flavonol glycosides of a red grapevine cultivar (Cabernet Sauvignon) were profiled and quantified by HPLC–DAD analysis. It was found that amount of four flavonol glycosides, namely, quercetin-3-O-galactoside, quercetin-3-O-glucoside, kaempferol-3-O-glucoside and kaempferol-3-O-glucuronide decreased towards the shoot tip. Since leaf age also decreases towards the shoot tip, the obtained results suggest that these compounds continuously formed by leaf aging, resulting in their accumulation in the older leaves. In contrast, quercetin-3-O-glucuronide (predominant form) and quercetin-3-O-rutinoside were not accumulated significantly by aging. We also pointed out that grapevine boosted the flavonol biosynthesis in September, and flavonol profile differed significantly in the two seasons. Our results contribute to the better understanding of the role of flavonols in the antioxidant defense system of grapevine