Case study: Duchy College Organic Studies Centre

This report was presented at the UK Organic Research 2002 Conference. Coswinsawsin Organic Demonstration Farm supports a stockless vegetable and cereal rotation and achieved organic status in January 2001. Over 18 months 430 people attended 18 organic farming events. Work included trials and demonstration plots, monitoring of small mammal and bird populations and a green waste composting project which are ongoing. £972,199 Objective 1 funding was awarded to expand activity across all sectors of production and establish the Organic Studies Centre at Duchy College. The project will link organic research to demonstration, technology transfer and training. The emphasis will be on farmer participation and research will be taken onto commercial farms. 82% of respondents to a farmer survey were interested in participation in organic trials and demonstration. It is anticipated that dissemination of up to date information at farm level will improve competitiveness and financial viability of farm businesses

THE ROLE OF ICE NUCLEATION ACTIVE BACTERIA IN FROST DAMAGE TO EARLY SOWN Solanum tuberosum var. JERSEY ROYAL

The present study indicated that S. tuberosum var. Jersey Royal could supercool to temperatures as low as -6ºC during in-vitro frost tests, whereas in the field freezing occurred at immediate sub-zero temperatures (between 0 and -1ºC). The microbial flora upon the early. sown S. tuberosum var. Jersey Royal did not contain INA bacterial species active at warm sub-zero temperatures. Plants inoculated with a strain of Ps. syringae (84:27) containing type 1 active nuclei readily froze at -2 to -3ºC. Applications of leaf surface water applied to plants during in-vitro frost tests resulted in nucleation temperatures comparable to those measured in the field. Applications of leaf surface water initiated freezing in whole plants during in-vitro frost tests at temperatures warmer than those caused by Ps. syringae (84:27). Thus field frost kill and ice nucleation in the presence of leaf surface water occurred at temperatures warmer than type 1 INA bacterial nucleation temperatures. Exogenous foliar applications of ethylene glycol applied in the presence of leaf surface water led to enhanced supercooling and frost avoidance during in-vitro frost tests and during field frost events. It was concluded that modifying the formation and freezing of leaf surface water would be more likely to provide a frost control strategy applicable to the field crop than frost control through manipulation of phylloplane microorganisms

Continuing Professional Development and Farm Business Performance

Economic and social pressures are transforming farm businesses and the structure of the agricultural industry, consequently it is presumed that farm management skills are under intense pressure. This creates a need for effective interaction between knowledge management and the actions taken by farm decision makers. However a definition of “successful farm business performance” is not easy to find and this, combined with literature that deals with managerial tasks in isolation, does not provide a clear picture for the farm manager pursuing self development. Farm businesses vary considerably in their attributes and resource base and the plethora of measurable factors mean that the manager needs to be able to identify what to measure and why on his own farm. In the UK it appears that most of the measures used in farming do not take into account the customer or human factors alluded to in other industries. Development of the skills and abilities of the decision makers to utilise techniques, interpret measures and relate them to their own business needs is increasingly important. The preliminary investigations described in this paper indicate that farmers and farm managers are aware of business management techniques but do not appear to integrate them fully into their own businesses.Farm Management, Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession,

Purine analog substitution of the HIV-1 polypurine tract primer defines regions controlling initiation of plus-strand DNA synthesis

Despite extensive study, the mechanism by which retroviral reverse transciptases (RTs) specifically utilize polypurine tract (PPT) RNA for initiation of plus-strand DNA synthesis remains unclear. Three sequence motifs within or adjacent to the purine-rich elements are highly conserved, namely, a rU:dA tract region immediately 5′ to the PPT, an rA:dT-rich sequence constituting the upstream portion of the PPT and a downstream rG:dC tract. Using an in vitro HIV-1 model system, we determined that the former two elements define the 5′ terminus of the (+)-strand primer, whereas the rG:dC tract serves as the primary determinant of initiation specificity. Subsequent analysis demonstrated that G→A or A→G substitution at PPT positions −2, −4 and +1 (relative to the scissile phosphate) substantially reduces (+)-strand priming. We explored this observation further using PPT substrates substituted with a variety of nucleoside analogs [inosine (I), purine riboside (PR), 2-aminopurine (2-AP), 2,6-diaminopurine (2,6-DAP), isoguanine (iG)], or one of the naturally occurring bases at these positions. Our results demonstrate that for PPT positions −2 or +1, substituting position 2 of the purine was an important determinant of cleavage specificity. In addition, cleavage specificity was greatly affected by substituting −4G with an analog containing a 6-NH2 moiety

Probing Retroviral and Retrotransposon Genome Structures: The “SHAPE” of Things to Come

Understanding the nuances of RNA structure as they pertain to biological function remains a formidable challenge for retrovirus research and development of RNA-based therapeutics, an area of particular importance with respect to combating HIV infection. Although a variety of chemical and enzymatic RNA probing techniques have been successfully employed for more than 30 years, they primarily interrogate small (100–500 nt) RNAs that have been removed from their biological context, potentially eliminating long-range tertiary interactions (such as kissing loops and pseudoknots) that may play a critical regulatory role. Selective 2′ hydroxyl acylation analyzed by primer extension (SHAPE), pioneered recently by Merino and colleagues, represents a facile, user-friendly technology capable of interrogating RNA structure with a single reagent and, combined with automated capillary electrophoresis, can analyze an entire 10,000-nucleotide RNA genome in a matter of weeks. Despite these obvious advantages, SHAPE essentially provides a nucleotide “connectivity map,” conversion of which into a 3-D structure requires a variety of complementary approaches. This paper summarizes contributions from SHAPE towards our understanding of the structure of retroviral genomes, modifications to which technology that have been developed to address some of its limitations, and future challenges

Beware of the Research Culture

Selected Extracts From Expanded Cinema Works: 1. Little Dog for Roger, 1967 2. Yes No Maybe Maybenot, 1967 3. Berlin Horse, 1970, music by Brian Eno, extract (total duration 9 minutes) 4. Horror Film 1, 1971, extract from documentation of live performance (total duration 14 minutes) 5. Threshold, 1972, extract (total duration 16 minutes) 6. Matrix, 1973 - 2007 7. After Leonardo, 1973 - 2007, extract from documentation of installation (total duration 35 minutes) 8. After Manet, 1975 9. Gross Fog, 1973 10. The Cyclops Cycle, 1998 - 2003, extracts (total duration 60 minutes) This includes an extract of an interview with Le Grice by Fergus Daly made for Irish TV in the Triskel Gallery during The Cyclops Cycle installation. 11. Autumn Horizon 3, 2005 12. Denisined, 2006 For Dennis Oppenheim. Music: J.S. Bach 'crab cannon'. After: ANEMIC CINEMA by Marcel Duchamp. 13. Digital Aberration, 200

Found Footage: Some Thoughts

Então, novamente em retrospecto, o que eu (intuitivamente) queria ou exigia do material de found footage? Primeiramente busquei uma qualidade de mistério sobre uma imagem - o que agora chamo de “latência” - encontrando algum aspecto da sequência que não foi visto ou intencionalmente colocado ali pelo diretor de fotografia original e que, quando em contexto, abriu significados novos e surpreendentes.So, again in retrospect, what did I (intuitively) want or demand from the found film material? Firstly I sought a quality of mystery about an image - what I now talk about as a ‘latency’ – finding some aspect of the sequence that was not seen or intentionally put there by the original cinematographer and that, when re-combined in a different context, opened up new and surprising meanings

Solid-phase synthesis of 5′-O-β,γ-methylenetriphosphate derivatives of nucleosides and evaluation of their inhibitory activity against HIV-1 reverse transcriptase

Bis(dichlorophosphino)methane was converted to a β,γ-methylenetriphosphitylating reagent. The reagent was immobilized on aminomethyl polystyrene resin-bound linker of 4-acetoxy-3-phenylbenzyl alcohol to afford a polymer-bound β,γ-methylenetriphosphitylating reagent, which was reacted with unprotected nucleosides followed by oxidation with tert-butyl hydroperoxide, deprotection of cyanoethoxy groups with DBU, and acidic cleavage to produce 5′-O-β,γ-methylene triphosphate nucleosides in 53–82% overall yields. Among all the compounds, cytidine 5′-O-β,γ-methylenetriphosphate inhibited completely RNase H activity of HIV-1 reverse transcriptase at 700 μM. [Refer to PDF for graphical abstract

Revisiting Plus-Strand DNA Synthesis in Retroviruses and Long Terminal Repeat Retrotransposons: Dynamics of Enzyme: Substrate Interactions

Although polypurine tract (PPT)-primed initiation of plus-strand DNA synthesis in retroviruses and LTR-containing retrotransposons can be accurately duplicated, the molecular details underlying this concerted series of events remain largely unknown. Importantly, the PPT 3′ terminus must be accommodated by ribonuclease H (RNase H) and DNA polymerase catalytic centers situated at either terminus of the cognate reverse transcriptase (RT), and in the case of the HIV-1 enzyme, ∼70Å apart. Communication between RT and the RNA/DNA hybrid therefore appears necessary to promote these events. The crystal structure of the HIV-1 RT/PPT complex, while informative, positions the RNase H active site several bases pairs from the PPT/U3 junction, and thus provides limited information on cleavage specificity. To fill the gap between biochemical and crystallographic approaches, we review a multidisciplinary approach combining chemical probing, mass spectrometry, NMR spectroscopy and single molecule spectroscopy. Our studies also indicate that nonnucleoside RT inhibitors affect enzyme orientation, suggesting initiation of plus-strand DNA synthesis as a potential therapeutic target

Stable carbon isotopic compositions of individual aromatic hydrocarbons as source and age indicators in oils from western Australian basins

The present study aims to establish the factors controlling the stable carbon isotopic compositions (d13C) of individual aromatic hydrocarbons analysed by compound specific isotope analysis (CSIA) in crude oils from western Australian petroleum basins of varying age and facies type. This paper reports d13C values of individual aromatic hydrocarbons, like alkylbenzenes, alkylnaphthalenes, alkylphenanthrenes and methylated biphenyls. The main aims are to confirm the origin (source) and age of these oils based on CSIA of selected aromatic compounds and to understand why the Sofer plot is ineffective in establishing the source of western Australian petroleum systems. The bulk d13C of saturated and aromatic hydrocarbon fractions of crude oils have been previously used to differentiate sources, however, many Australian crude oils are not classified correctly using this method. The oils were classified as marine by the d13C values of individual aromatic compounds and as terrigenous based on the bulk d13C data (Sofer plot). The oils where the d13C values of 1,6-DMN and 1,2,5-TMN isomers are most negative are indicative of a marine source, whereas oils with a less negative values for the 1,6-DMN and 1,2,5-TMN isomers are derived from marine source rocks that contain a significant terrigenous component. Similarly, oils with the least negative d13C values for the 1-MP and 1,9-DMP isomers reflect varying inputs of terrigenous organic matter to the their marine source rocks. Plots of P/DBT and Pr/Ph concentration ratios versus d13C values of DMP, 1,6-DMN, 1,2,5-TMN, 1-MP and 1,9-MP are constructed to establish the relative amount of terrigenous organic matter contributing to the source rock of a series of marine oils. The ratios of P/DBT and Pr/Ph plotted against the d13C values of the aromatic isomers (such as 1,6-DMN, 1,2,5-TMN, 1-MP and 1,9-MP) provide a novel and convenient way to discriminate crude oils derived from different source rocks that contain varying amounts of marine and terrigenous organic matter