Mosaic genome structure of the barley powdery mildew pathogen and conservation of transcriptional programs in divergent hosts

Barley powdery mildew, Blumeria graminis f. sp. hordei (Bgh), is an obligate biotrophic ascomycete fungal pathogen that can grow and reproduce only on living cells of wild or domesticated barley (Hordeum sp.). Domestication and deployment of resistant barley cultivars by humans selected for amplification of Bgh isolates with different virulence combinations. We sequenced the genomes of two European Bgh isolates, A6 and K1, for comparative analysis with the reference genome of isolate DH14. This revealed a mosaic genome structure consisting of large isolate-specific DNA blocks with either high or low SNP densities. Some of the highly polymorphic blocks likely accumulated SNPs for over 10,000 years, well before the domestication of barley. These isolate-specific blocks of alternating monomorphic and polymorphic regions imply an exceptionally large standing genetic variation in the Bgh population and might be generated and maintained by rare outbreeding and frequent clonal reproduction. RNA-sequencing experiments with isolates A6 and K1 during four early stages of compatible and incompatible interactions on leaves of partially immunocompromised Arabidopsis mutants revealed a conserved Bgh transcriptional program during pathogenesis compared with the natural host barley despite ∼200 million years of reproductive isolation of these hosts. Transcripts encoding candidate-secreted effector proteins are massively induced in successive waves. A specific decrease in candidate-secreted effector protein transcript abundance in the incompatible interaction follows extensive transcriptional reprogramming of the host transcriptome and coincides with the onset of localized host cell death, suggesting a host-inducible defense mechanism that targets fungal effector secretion or production

Методические подходы к оценке экологической безопасности региона

В статье рассматриваются методические подходы к оценке уровня экологической безопасности региона и муниципального образования, обосновываются пороговые значения состояния безопасности, приводятся результаты расчетов для Свердловской област

Contact lens rehabilitation following repaired corneal perforations

BACKGROUND: Visual outcome following repair of post-traumatic corneal perforation may not be optimal due to presence of irregular keratometric astigmatism. We performed a study to evaluate and compare rigid gas permeable contact lens and spectacles in visual rehabilitation following perforating corneal injuries. METHOD: Eyes that had undergone repair for corneal perforating injuries with or without lens aspiration were fitted rigid gas permeable contact lenses. The fitting pattern and the improvement in visual acuity by contact lens over spectacle correction were noted. RESULTS: Forty eyes of 40 patients that had undergone surgical repair of posttraumatic corneal perforations were fitted rigid gas permeable contact lenses for visual rehabilitation. Twenty-four eyes (60%) required aphakic contact lenses. The best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) of ≥ 6/18 in the snellen's acuity chart was seen in 10 (25%) eyes with spectacle correction and 37 (92.5%) eyes with the use of contact lens (p < 0.001). The best-corrected visual acuity with spectacles was 0.20 ± 0.13 while the same with contact lens was 0.58 ± 0.26. All the patients showed an improvement of ≥ 2 lines over spectacles in the snellen's acuity chart with contact lens. CONCLUSION: Rigid gas permeable contact lenses are better means of rehabilitation in eyes that have an irregular cornea due to scars caused by perforating corneal injuries

The Role of Individual Variables, Organizational Variables and Moral Intensity Dimensions in Libyan Management Accountants’ Ethical Decision Making

This study investigates the association of a broad set of variables with the ethical decision making of management accountants in Libya. Adopting a cross-sectional methodology, a questionnaire including four different ethical scenarios was used to gather data from 229 participants. For each scenario, ethical decision making was examined in terms of the recognition, judgment and intention stages of Rest’s model. A significant relationship was found between ethical recognition and ethical judgment and also between ethical judgment and ethical intention, but ethical recognition did not significantly predict ethical intention—thus providing support for Rest’s model. Organizational variables, age and educational level yielded few significant results. The lack of significance for codes of ethics might reflect their relative lack of development in Libya, in which case Libyan companies should pay attention to their content and how they are supported, especially in the light of the under-development of the accounting profession in Libya. Few significant results were also found for gender, but where they were found, males showed more ethical characteristics than females. This unusual result reinforces the dangers of gender stereotyping in business. Personal moral philosophy and moral intensity dimensions were generally found to be significant predictors of the three stages of ethical decision making studied. One implication of this is to give more attention to ethics in accounting education, making the connections between accounting practice and (in Libya) Islam. Overall, this study not only adds to the available empirical evidence on factors affecting ethical decision making, notably examining three stages of Rest’s model, but also offers rare insights into the ethical views of practising management accountants and provides a benchmark for future studies of ethical decision making in Muslim majority countries and other parts of the developing world

Meteorites on Mars observed with the Mars Exploration Rovers

Reduced weathering rates due to the lack of liquid water and significantly greater typical surface ages should result in a higher density of meteorites on the surface of Mars compared to Earth. Several meteorites were identified among the rocks investigated during Opportunity&rsquo;s traverse across the sandy Meridiani plains. Heat Shield Rock is a IAB iron meteorite and has been officially recognized as &lsquo;&lsquo;Meridiani Planum.&rsquo;&rsquo; Barberton is olivine-rich and contains metallic Fe in the form of kamacite, suggesting a meteoritic origin. It is chemically most consistent with a mesosiderite silicate clast. Santa Catarina is a brecciated rock with a chemical and mineralogical composition similar to Barberton. Barberton, Santa Catarina, and cobbles adjacent to Santa Catarina may be part of a strewn field. Spirit observed two probable iron meteorites from its Winter Haven location in the Columbia Hills in Gusev Crater. Chondrites have not been identified to date, which may be a result of their lower strengths and probability to survive impact at current atmospheric pressures. Impact craters directly associated with Heat Shield Rock, Barberton, or Santa Catarina have not been observed, but such craters could have been erased by eolian-driven erosion.Additional co-authors: DW Ming, RV Morris, PA de Souza Jr, SW Squyres, C Weitz, AS Yen, J Zipfel, T Economo

E-commerce ethics and its impact on buyer repurchase intentions and loyalty: an empirical study of small and medium Egyptian businesses

The theoretical understanding of e-commerce has received much attention over the years; however, relatively little focus has been directed towards e-commerce ethics, especially the SMEs B2B e-commerce aspect. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to develop and empirically test a framework that explains the impact of SMEs B2B e-commerce ethics on buyer repurchase intentions and loyalty. Using SEM to analyse the data collected from a sample of SME e-commerce firms in Egypt, the results indicate that buyers’ perceptions of supplier ethics construct is composed of six dimensions (security, non-deception, fulfilment/reliability, service recovery, shared value, and communication) and strongly predictive of online buyer repurchase intentions and loyalty. Furthermore, our results also show that reliability/fulfilment and non-deception are the most effective relationship-building dimensions. In addition, relationship quality has a positive effect on buyer repurchase intentions and loyalty. The results offer important implications for B2B e-commerce and are likely to stimulate further research in the area of relationship marketing