Control of wild statice (Limonium sinuatum) in pasture.

Trial 87LG64 Wild Statice is a prolific seeder. Glean + diuron treatments, which were not included in trial gave good control, as did the farmer\u27s treatment using Tribunil followed by heavy grazing. Later applications may be more effective because they may prevent seed formation for that year and also prevent the plant from recovering from spraying, as apparently with the early spraying. Most chemical treatments would cause damage to broadleaved pasture

Global Gene Expression Profiling of Individual Human Oocytes and Embryos Demonstrates Heterogeneity in Early Development

Early development in humans is characterised by low and variable embryonic viability, reflected in low fecundity and high rates of miscarriage, relative to other mammals. Data from assisted reproduction programmes provides additional evidence that this is largely mediated at the level of embryonic competence and is highly heterogeneous among embryos. Understanding the basis of this heterogeneity has important implications in a number of areas including: the regulation of early human development, disorders of pregnancy, assisted reproduction programmes, the long term health of children which may be programmed in early development, and the molecular basis of pluripotency in human stem cell populations. We have therefore investigated global gene expression profiles using polyAPCR amplification and microarray technology applied to individual human oocytes and 4-cell and blastocyst stage embryos. In order to explore the basis of any variability in detail, each developmental stage is replicated in triplicate. Our data show that although transcript profiles are highly stage-specific, within each stage they are relatively variable. We describe expression of a number of gene families and pathways including apoptosis, cell cycle and amino acid metabolism, which are variably expressed and may be reflective of embryonic developmental competence. Overall, our data suggest that heterogeneity in human embryo developmental competence is reflected in global transcript profiles, and that the vast majority of existing human embryo gene expression data based on pooled oocytes and embryos need to be reinterpreted

QCD traveling waves at non-asymptotic energies

Using consistent truncations of the BFKL kernel, we derive analytical traveling-wave solutions of the Balitsky-Kovchegov saturation equation for both fixed and running coupling. A universal parametrization of the ``interior'' of the wave front is obtained and compares well with numerical simulations of the original Balitsky-Kovchegov equation, even at non-asymptotic energies. Using this universal parametrization, we find evidence for a traveling-wave pattern of the dipole amplitude determined from the gluon distribution extracted from deep inelastic scattering data.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures, minor revision, version to appear in PL

Experiencing Time and Space within the United Nations

Departing from an objective understanding of time and space, this article investigates time and space together as daily individual and social experiences within the United Nations (UN) system. Focused on both staff members and civil society partners, it explores how experiences of time and space affect the way the UN functions. Based on two case studies, it first shows that time and space as they are experienced by individuals shape UN everyday practices pointing to a form of unlimited connectedness among individuals and overlapping and delocalized temporalities. It then demonstrates that time and space constitute socially constructed resources to maintain hierarchical relations: looking at temporal and spatial experiences gives insight into power dynamics over decision-making within the UN. Overall these findings show that time and space are relevant to capture overlooked dimensions in the study of the UN

Global gene expression profiling of individual human oocytes and embryos demonstrates heterogeneity in early development

Early development in humans is characterised by low and variable embryonic viability, reflected in low fecundity and high rates of miscarriage, relative to other mammals. Data from assisted reproduction programmes provides additional evidence that this is largely mediated at the level of embryonic competence and is highly heterogeneous among embryos. Understanding the basis of this heterogeneity has important implications in a number of areas including: the regulation of early human development, disorders of pregnancy, assisted reproduction programmes, the long term health of children which may be programmed in early development, and the molecular basis of pluripotency in human stem cell populations. We have therefore investigated global gene expression profiles using polyAPCR amplification and microarray technology applied to individual human oocytes and 4-cell and blastocyst stage embryos. In order to explore the basis of any variability in detail, each developmental stage is replicated in triplicate. Our data show that although transcript profiles are highly stage-specific, within each stage they are relatively variable. We describe expression of a number of gene families and pathways including apoptosis, cell cycle and amino acid metabolism, which are variably expressed and may be reflective of embryonic developmental competence. Overall, our data suggest that heterogeneity in human embryo developmental competence is reflected in global transcript profiles, and that the vast majority of existing human embryo gene expression data based on pooled oocytes and embryos need to be reinterpreted

A comparison of different ways of including baseline counts in negative binomial models for data from falls prevention trials

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Wiley-VCH Verlag via the DOI in this record.A common design for a falls prevention trial is to assess falling at baseline, randomize participants into an intervention or control group, and ask them to record the number of falls they experience during a follow-up period of time. This paper addresses how best to include the baseline count in the analysis of the follow-up count of falls in Negative Binomial (NB) regression. We examine the performance of various approaches in simulated datasets where both counts are generated from a mixed Poisson distribution with shared random subject effect. Including the baseline count after log-transformation as a regressor in NB regression (NB-logged) or as an offset (NB-offset) resulted in greater power than including the untransformed baseline count (NB-unlogged). Cook and Wei's Conditional Negative Binomial (CNB) model replicates the underlying process generating the data. In our motivating dataset, a statistically significant intervention effect resulted from the NB-logged, NB-offset and CNB models, but not from NB-unlogged, and large, outlying baseline counts were overly influential in NB-unlogged but not in NB-logged. We conclude that there is little to lose by including the log-transformed baseline count in standard NB regression compared to CNB for moderate to larger sized datasets.Funding Information: National Institute for Health Research, Grant no. RDA/02/06/41; Care South West Peninsul

Experimental Study of Aerodynamic Damping in Arrays of Vibrating Cantilevers

Cantilever structures vibrating in a fluid are encountered in numerous engineering applications. The aerodynamic loading from a fluid can have a large effect on both the resonance frequency and damping, and has been the subject of numerous studies. The aerodynamic loading on a single beam is altered when multiple beams are configured in an array. In such situations, neighboring beams interact through the fluid and their dynamic behavior is modified. In this work, aerodynamic interactions between neighboring cantilever beams operating near their first resonance mode and vibrating at amplitudes comparable to their widths are experimentally explored. The degree to which two beams become coupled through the fluid is found to be sensitive to vibration amplitude and proximity of neighboring components in the array. The cantilever beams considered are slender piezoelectric fans (approximately 6 cm in length), and are caused to vibrate in-phase and out-of-phase at frequencies near their fundamental resonance values. Aerodynamic damping is expressed in terms of the quality factor for two different array configurations and estimated for both in-phase and out-of-phase conditions. The two array configurations considered are for neighboring fans placed face-to-face and edge-to-edge. It is found that the damping is greatly influenced by proximity of neighboring fans and phase difference. For the face-to-face configuration, a reduction in damping is observed for in-phase vibration, while it is greatly increased for out-of-phase vibration; the opposite effect is seen for the edge-to-edge configuration. The resonance frequencies also show a dependence on the phase difference, but these changes are small compared to those observed for damping. Correlations are developed based on the experimental data which can be used to predict the aerodynamic damping in arrays of vibrating cantilevers. The distance at which the beams no longer interact is quantified for both array configurations. Understanding the fluid interactions between neighboring vibrating beams is essential for predicting the dynamic behavior of such arrays and designing them for practical applications

Mitochondrial Fusion Promotes Steroidogenesis in MA10 Leydig Cells

Infertility affects 1 out of every 6 couples, worldwide, with male infertility playing a primary factor in a third of all cases. Dysregulation of sex hormones is a major cause of infertility. Male hypogonadism is a condition in which the testis does not produce adequate concentrations of testosterone. Males suffering from hypogonadism can be born with the condition or develop it later in life, often from acute injury or infection. Male hypogonadism is treated with testosterone replacement to return testosterone levels to normal. However, one side effect of testosterone treatment is infertility. Understanding mechanisms that regulate the synthesis of sex steroids holds great potential to positively impact reproductive health and overall quality of life. Mitochondria play a key role in the synthesis of all steroid hormones. The first and rate-limiting step in the production of all steroid hormones is the transfer of cholesterol from the outer mitochondrial membrane to the inner membrane. In the current study, we examined the hypothesis that mitochondrial fusion promotes acute steroid synthesis in LH-responsive Leydig cells.https://digitalcommons.unmc.edu/surp2022/1005/thumbnail.jp

Time and space in the study of international organizations: An introduction

In the study of international organizations (IOs), time and space have mostly been approached as contextual, even implicit and unrelated, factors. Instead this special issue considers them as co-constitutive of multilateralism and investigates three main questions: (i) How are IOs influenced by time and space? (ii) How are time and space experienced within IOs? (iii) How do IOs influence time and space around them? This introductory article compiles the contributions’ findings and points to a cyclical process: IOs are influenced by the spatiotemporal conditions of their enactment, leading to a diversity of practices and experiences within these organizations which in turn impact time and space, both in the way they are conceptualized and in their concrete embodiment. The special issue has proven the merit of taking time and space seriously in the study of IOs. This article concludes with a series of (non-exhaustive) research avenues to continue this promising analytical and empirical endeavor, including discussions on the relationship between IO performance and time and space, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic