A Mutant \u3cem\u3edec-1\u3c/em\u3e Transgene Induces Dominant Female Sterility in \u3cem\u3eDrosophila melanogaster\u3c/em\u3e

The Drosophila dec-1 gene produces three proproteins required for female fertility and eggshell assembly. The three proproteins are distinguished by their C termini. Fc106, the most abundant proprotein, is cleaved within the vitelline membrane to three mature derivatives in a developmentally regulated manner. To define sequences within fc106 that are critical for its function, we created wild-type and mutant versions of an fc106 cDNA transgene. The functional consequences of the mutations were assessed in dec-14, a female-sterile splicing mutant that does not produce the fc106 isoform. The fertility of dec-14 females was restored by the introduction of either a wild-type transgene or a transgene bearing a C-terminal deletion that included fc106-specific sequences. Surprisingly, the removal of internal coding sequences created an aberrant DEC-1 proprotein that induced female sterility when introduced into wild-type flies. Dominant female sterility was not associated with larger deletions that included the fc106 N terminus, suggesting that abnormal juxtaposition of N- and C-terminal sequences in the aberrant proprotein interfered with endogenous DEC-1 proteins. Changes in the fractionation behavior of the endogenous fc106 C-terminal derivative, s60, and morphological changes in the endochorion in response to expression of the aberrant proprotein support this interpretation

Laudato si\u27 and the call to ecological conversion: implications for Christian spirituality in a technocratic age

This paper examines Laudato si’ and a few of its key themes as they pertain to Christian spirituality and self-awareness. In particular, it focuses on the notion of “ecological conversion,” by which, Pope Francis writes, the person’s encounter with Jesus Christ become evident in her relationship with the world. It is, as already mentioned, an extension of the Catholic moral principle of solidarity to include not just other human beings, but also all of God’s creatures, who belong to one ontological family. But more than just a new development in the Church’s body of social teaching, ecological conversion has profound implications for Christian spirituality because it proposes a re-fashioning of the person’s most deeply held convictions about God, creation, and herself. Its particular relevance is the present “technocratic paradigm,” which Pope Francis names as one of the root causes of the ecological crisis. Ecological conversion is, for men and women who have been instructed by technocracy, a path of conversion and deep interior renewal

Risk perception and emergency experience: comparing a representative German sample with German emergency survivors

People’s perception of risk and its influencing factors has become an important element of research in past decades. The present paper investigated the influence of emergency experiences on risk perception and the impact of experience and gender on the accuracy of risk perception. A representative sample of the German population was subdivided into a general survivor group who had experienced at least one emergency previously (N = 165) and a general public group with no prior emergency experiences (N = 2248), which were compared to a German sample of survivors from the EU-funded Behavior, Security, and Culture (BeSeCu) international study of human behavior in emergency situations and evacuations (N = 201). The perceived risk of different emergencies – including larger-scale events like floods and other important but often overlooked events like domestic fires – was assessed with a questionnaire. Objective risk was also calculated for different emergencies and compared to the risk perceptions of each group to provide a measure of accuracy. The results of this study showed that emergency experiences increase perceived risk, for the experienced event in particular, and this outcome was evident regardless of whether the event was a large-scale one like a natural disaster or a smaller-scale one like a fire in one’s home. Additional data from the BeSeCu survivors identified several pre-, peri-, and post-event factors that might have influenced this outcome. Further results included the finding that gender is an important factor that moderates the accuracy of risk estimations but researchers should be mindful that the presence and pattern of any gender difference in perceived risk accuracy may vary across different types of event. Possible reasons and implications of the results are discussed

Contrasting motivation and learning strategies of ex-mathematics and ex-mathematical literacy students

Abstract: This inquiry contrasts motivation and learning strategies of ex-Mathematics (Maths) and ex-Mathematical Literacy (ML) students. ML ideally delivers candidates who can make sense of and actively participate in a world of numbers and numerical arguments, but ex-ML students are excluded from many undergraduate studies at most South African higher education institutions (HEIs). Institutions employ various strategies in enhancing student transition to higher education (HE), however, such options are rare for ex-ML students. A year-long foundation programme offered by a private HEI is one exception. This inquiry employed the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire and t-test, detecting significant differences in motivation and learning strategies between 111 ex-Maths and 81 ex-ML students. The intrinsic goal orientation, task value, self-efficacy, effort regulation and test anxiety-handling abilities of ex-Maths students were significantly superior. An integrated solution process addressing academic content and social-psychological attributes to improve the motivation of ex-ML students in support of their academic development is proffered

Structural characterization of the closed conformation of mouse guanylate kinase

Guanylate kinase (GMPK) is a nucleoside monophosphate kinase that catalyzes the reversible phosphoryl transfer from ATP to GMP to yield ADP and GDP. In addition to phosphorylating GMP, antiviral prodrugs such as acyclovir, ganciclovir, and carbovir and anticancer prodrugs such as the thiopurines are dependent on GMPK for their activation. Hence, structural information on mammalian GMPK could play a role in the design of improved antiviral and antineoplastic agents. Here we present the structure of the mouse enzyme in an abortive complex with the nucleotides ADP and GMP, refined at 2.1 Angstrom resolution with a final crystallographic R factor of 0.19 (R-free = 0.23). Guanylate kinase is a member of the nucleoside monophosphate (NMP) kinase family, a family of enzymes that despite having a low primary structure identity share a similar fold, which consists of three structurally distinct regions termed the CORE, LID, and NMP-binding regions. Previous studies on the yeast enzyme have shown that these parts move as rigid bodies upon substrate binding. It has been proposed that consecutive binding of substrates leads to "closing" of the active site bringing the NMP-binding and LID regions closer to each other and to the CORE region. Our structure, which is the first of any guanylate kinase with both substrates bound, supports this hypothesis. It also reveals the binding site of ATP and implicates arginines 44, 137, and 148 (in addition to the invariant P-loop lysine) as candidates for catalyzing the chemical step of the phosphoryl transfer

Fusion of Surface Ceilometer Data and Satellite Cloud Retrievals in 2D Mesh Interpolating Model with Clustering

For accurate cloud ceiling information, a data fusion approach is proposed that utilizes satellite data to extend surface station information to much wider areas. Cloud base height (CBH) retrieved from satellite observations provides for much larger spatial coverage and higher resolution. The direct comparison of GOES-16 CBH with surface station ceiling yields a local bias that has to be corrected for in the initial GOES-16 cloud base information. This sparsely sampled bias correction presents an irregular 2D mesh of control points, which is then interpolated by constructing a continuous smooth field using polyharmonic splines. The influence of remote stations is restricted by grouping the control points into clusters depending on an effective distance. This cluster-based approach allows for constructing separate spline surfaces corresponding to physically different clouds. The obtained continuous bias correction function is then applied to the entire GOES-16 pixel level CBH except for areas far away from surface stations in data sparse regions such as offshore. The described method is currently being tested using daytime-only observations over the central and eastern United States. Overall, this approach has potential to provide more accurate, high spatial resolution cloud ceiling information for the aviation community

Scenario Analysis: Risk and Return of Aluminium Tolerant Lucerne

Lucerne (Medicago sativa) yield is limited by aluminium stress associated with acid soils (Campbell et al. 1988; Scott et al. 2008). With the aid of transgenic technologies, the development of aluminium tolerant (Al Tol) lucerne is proposed. Modelled scenario analysis was conducted to explore the potential net benefits of Al Tol lucerne as part of a grazing system for a sheep production system in the high rainfall zone of south west Victoria

Melhoramento molecular como ferramenta para aumentar a qualidade das forrageiras tropicais Brachiaria brizantha e Panicum maximum.

As pastagens constituem a principal fonte de alimentação dos bovinos no Brasil. O desempenho desses animais em pastagens depende do potencial genético do animal, da disponibilidade de forragem na pastagem, da qualidade desta forragem e do consumo da mesma por parte do animal (CÓSER et al., 2008). Cabe ressaltar que em criações que visam produção de carne, o acréscimo no desempenho dos bovinos resulta em menor permanência do animal no sistema, reduzindo a produção de metano (CH4) durante o seu ciclo de vida, contribuindo para mitigar a emissão de gases de efeito estufa (GEE). Dentre as principais espécies utilizadas nas pastagens brasileiras estão Brachiaria brizantha e Panicum maximum, gramíneas tropicais (C4), de origem africana, amplamente adaptadas às condições edafo-climáticas do País. Elas apresentam elevada taxa de crescimento e produção de matéria seca, em virtude da maior eficiência na fixação de carbono (C4) em relação às gramíneas temperadas (C3), porém a sua qualidade (proteína e digestibilidade) é, em geral, inferior a das gramíneas temperadas (C3), cuja degradação ruminal é mais rápida devido à parede celular menos espessa, ou seja, com menor teor de compostos indigeríveis, como a lignina (CABRAL et al., 2004). Tendo em vista a complexidade genética de B. brizantha e P. maximum (poliplóides e apomíticas) novas técnicas genômicas e da biotecnologia moderna (transgenia) apresentam-se como abordagens promissoras para obtenção de novas cultivares com melhor qualidade. Para viabilizar esta abordagem sem o pagamento de taxas de licenciamento e ?royalties? há necessidade de se buscar genes e promotores que possam ser utilizados em construções gênicas para obtenção dessas gramíneas forrageiras tropicais geneticamente melhoradasPoster 058