Benefits of an improved wheat crop information system

The ECON work and the results of the independent reviews are summarized. Attempts are made to put this information into layman's terms and to present the benefits that can realistically be expected from a LANDSAT-type remote sensing system. Further the mechanisms by which these benefits can be expected to accrue are presented. The benefits are given including the nature of expected information improvements, how and why they can lead to benefits to society, and the estimated magnitude of the expected benefits. A brief description is presented of the ECON models, how they work, their results, and a summary of the pertinent aspects of each review. The ECON analyses show that substantial benefits will accrue from implementation of an improved wheat crop information system based on remote sensing

Letter from Helen Kinne

Letter concerning recommendation for position in Domestic Science at Utah Agricultural College

The extracellular peroxygenase of the agaric fungus Agrocybe aegerita: catalytic properties and physiological background with particular emphasis on ether cleavage

Litter-decay fungi have recently been shown to secrete heme-thiolate peroxygenases that oxidize various organic chemicals, but little is known about the physiological role or the mechanism of these enzymes. The aromatic peroxygenase of Agrocybe aegerita (AaeAPO) was purified and catalytically characterized. An overall reaction mechanism was proposed. The results show that AaeAPO catalyzed diverse H2O2-dependent monooxygenations (two-electron oxidations) including (a) the cleavage of aliphatic and aromatic ethers, (b) the regio- and enantioselective hydroxylation of aromatic compounds, (c) the stepwise oxygenation of benzylic compounds, (d) the N-dealkylation of secondary amines and (e) the dehalogenation of halogenated aliphatic compounds as well as typical peroxidase reactions (suggested to involve one-electron oxidation) such as (f) oxidation and polymerization of phenols and (g) halogenations. The enzyme failed to oxidize polymers such as polyethylene glycol (PEG). Mechanistic studies with several model substrates provided information about the reaction cycle of AaeAPO: (1) stoichiometry of tetrahydrofuran cleavage showed that the reaction was a two-electron oxidation that generated one aldehyde group and one alcohol group, yielding the ring-opened product 4-hydroxybutanal, (2) steady-state kinetics results with methyl 3,4-dimethoxybenzyl ether, which was oxidized to 3,4-dimethoxybenzaldehyde, gave parallel double reciprocal plots suggestive of a ping-pong mechanism, (3) the cleavage of methyl 4-nitrobenzyl ether, the hydroxylation of aromatics such as diclofenac and nitrophenol and the oxygenation of benzylic compounds, resulted in incorporation of 18O into the reaction product in the presence of H218O2, and (4) the demethylation of 1-methoxy-4-trideuteromethoxybenzene showed an distinct observed intramolecular deuterium isotope effect. These results support a mechanism similar to that envisaged for the peroxygenase activity of P450s in which the enzyme heme is oxidized by H2O2 to give an iron species that carries one of the peroxide oxygen. This intermediate then abstracts a hydrogen from the substrate, which is followed by rebound of an •OH equivalent to produce the monooxygenated reaction product (hydrogen abstraction and oxygen rebound mechanism). AaeAPO may accordingly have a role in the biodegradation of natural and anthropogenic low molecular weight compounds in soils and plant litter. Moreover, the results raise the possibility that fungal peroxygenases may be useful for versatile, cost-effective, and scalable syntheses of drug metabolites and herbicide precursors.Die Peroxygenase des Südlichen Ackerling (Agrocybe aegerita, AaeAPO) wurde gereinigt, ihr Katalysepotential ermittelt und ein allgemeiner Reaktionsmechanismus postuliert. Die AaeAPO katalysiert sowohl H2O2-abhängige Monooxygenierungen (Zwei-Elektron Oxidationen) wie (a) die Spaltung aliphatischer und aromatischer Ether, (b) die regio- und enantioselektive Hydroxylierung von Aromaten, (c) die schrittweise Monooxygenierung von Toluolderivaten, (d) die N-Dealkylierung sekundärer Amine und (e) die Dehalogenierung chlorierter Aliphaten als auch typische Reaktionen bekannter Peroxidasen (vermutlich Ein-Elektron-Oxidation) unter anderem (f) die Oxidation/ Polymerisierung von Phenolen und (g) die Halogenierung von Aromaten. Polymere Verbindungen wie Polyethylenglycol (PEG) werden nicht oxidiert. Mechanistische Untersuchungen zur Etherspaltung am Beispiel der AaeAPO haben Einblick in den generellen Reaktionsmechanismus dieses neuen Enzymtyps ermöglicht: (1) die Stöchiometrie der Spaltung von Tetrahydrofuran entspricht der einer zwei-Elektron-Oxidation, (2) die Spaltung von Methyl-3,4-Dimethoxybenzylether zu 4-Dimethoxybenzaldehyd und Methanol ergaben parallele Verläufe für die ermittelten Ausgleichsgeraden in der doppelt reziproken Darstellung, was einem „Ping-Pong“-Reaktionsmechanismus entspricht (3) die Monooxygenierungen haben stets den Einbau eines aus dem Peroxid (H2O2) stammenden Sauerstoffatoms in das Produkt zur Folge, (4) die O-Dealkylierung von 1-Methoxy-4-Trideuterummethoxybenzol zeigt einen ausgeprägten Deuterium Isotopen Effekt, was auf die primäre Abspaltung eines Wasserstoffatoms vom Substratmolekül hindeutet. Demnach verläuft die Peroxygenase-katalysierte Monooxygenierung über Wasserstoffabstraktion und eine unmittelbar anschließende Sauerstoffrückbindung (hydrogen abstraction - oxygen rebound mechanism). Diese Reaktionsabfolge ähnelt dem sogenannten peroxide "shunt" pathway, der von einer Reihe Cytochrom-P450-abhängiger Monooxygenasen her bekannt ist. Die physiologische Funktion der AaeAPO besteht möglicherweise in der extrazellulären Transformation und Detoxifikation niedermolekularer Pflanzeninhaltsstoffe, mikrobieller Metabolite und anthropogener Xenobiotika. Aufgrund der Stabilität und Unabhängigkeit der AaeAPO von teuren Kofaktoren ergeben sich vielversprechende biotechnologische Möglichkeiten zum Einsatz isolierter Biokatalysatoren in selektiven (bio)chemischen Synthesen monooxygenierter Metabolite

A Call for Planetary Kinship: The Development of New Forms of Subjectivity in Jeff VanderMeer\u27s Annihilation

This thesis joins a vibrant conversation on the importance of storytelling in an age of climate change through an analysis of Jeff VanderMeer’s Annihilation, a strange and prophetic novel whose environments and characters are confronted with significant ecological devastation and transformation. It explores the ways in which VanderMeer opens liminal spaces between the human and nonhuman through his usage of the New Weird genre, uncanny and abcanny imagery, and monstrous characters. In my first chapter, I will explore the emerging world of New Weird fiction and argue that this genre is uniquely suited to addressing climate change, namely because of its experiments with conventional notions of setting and character development. Rather than being clearly defined and bordered, settings and characters within New Weird fiction are blurry, shape-shifting, and permeable. My second chapter will then look at the kinds of images and creatures that are produced in VanderMeer’s Annihilation. I will use Freud’s concept of the uncanny and Noys’s and Murphy’s abcanny to analyze how VanderMeer opens readers up to a world in which the human and nonhuman connect in uncomfortable but opportunity-rich ways. In my final chapter, I will turn to Annihilation’s main character, the biologist, whose transformation throughout the novel signals to readers what we must do to survive and thrive in an age of ecological devastation. Through a physical and psychological evolution, the biologist develops a kinship with the entire world, human and nonhuman, and becomes a part of Area X. Ultimately, I argue that Annihilation creates a new kind of human, or new kind of creature, who has the potential to recognize its connection to the rest of the natural world, making possible a healing of the wounds that threaten to obliterate so much life on this planet

Regulatory Diversification and the Monitoring State: The Direction of Environmental Regulation in Taiwan

Rapid industrialization in Taiwan in the latter half of the twentieth century resulted in dramatic increases in industrial pollution and municipal waste, leaving few places on the small island spared from severe pollution. Public pollution protests in the 1970s and 1980s both contributed to and increased with the liberalization of Taiwanese society. With the end of martial law in 1987 and subsequent creation of the Environmental Protection Agency, Taiwan adopted a command and control regulatory scheme that achieved limited success. From the 1980s onward, the Taiwanese government came to rely upon the participation of a greater number and variety of stakeholders in the pollution regulation process; a trend made necessary by the economic realities of environmental regulation in an economy dominated by small and medium sized enterprises. As a result, Taiwan\u27s environmental regulatory regime is characterized by shared responsibility for environmental regulation across government sectors, between central and local governments, and between the public and private sectors. Diversification of regulation, supplemented with moderate government intervention, will be most likely to increase effectiveness of pollution regulation. The benefits of this approach include potential reductions in the cost of regulation and compliance, increased data collection and distribution, and cultivation of more collaborative relationships among industry, regulators, and the public. In contrast, the greater number and variety of stakeholders participating in environmental regulation introduces potential conflicts of interest, resulting in new inefficiencies, and requiring continued government interference in the role of auditor and coordinator. Nevertheless, the Taiwanese have embraced democracy and the involvement of a diverse array of interest organizations. This, coupled with the expense of pollution regulation, leads to the conclusion that Taiwan\u27s practice of distributing responsibilities for pollution regulation across multiple stakeholders will be the norm for the foreseeable future