Alien Registration- Lunn, Dora E. (Houlton, Aroostook County)

https://digitalmaine.com/alien_docs/24820/thumbnail.jp

Increasing the quality of seismic interpretation

Acknowledgments E. Macrae was funded by an NERC Open CASE Ph.D. award (NE/F013728/1) with Midland Valley Exploration Ltd. as the industry partner. We thank 763 geoscientists for their participation, and in particular, the REs who gave their time freely to the project. M. Scott (University of Glasgow, UK) is thanked for assisting with the statistical analysis. Four reviewers are thanked for their constructive comments that improved the manuscript.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Metabolic profiling reveals coordinated switches in primary carbohydrate metabolism in grape berry (Vitis vinifera L.), a non-climacteric fleshy fruit

Changes in carbohydrate metabolism during grape berry development play a central role in shaping the final composition of the fruit. The present work aimed to identify metabolic switches during grape development and to provide insights into the timing of developmental regulation of carbohydrate metabolism. Metabolites from central carbon metabolism were measured using high-pressure anion-exchange chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry and enzymatic assays during the development of grape berries from either field-grown vines or fruiting cuttings grown in the greenhouse. Principal component analysis readily discriminated the various stages of berry development, with similar trajectories for field-grown and greenhouse samples. This showed that each stage of fruit development had a characteristic metabolic profile and provided compelling evidence that the fruit-bearing cuttings are a useful model system to investigate regulation of central carbon metabolism in grape berry. The metabolites measured showed tight coordination within their respective pathways, clustering into sugars and sugar-phosphate metabolism, glycolysis, and the tricarboxylic acid cycle. In addition, there was a pronounced shift in metabolism around veraison, characterized by rapidly increasing sugar levels and decreasing organic acids. In contrast, glycolytic intermediates and sugar phosphates declined before veraison but remained fairly stable post-veraison. In summary, these detailed and comprehensive metabolite analyses revealed the timing of important switches in primary carbohydrate metabolism, which could be related to transcriptional and developmental changes within the berry to achieve an integrated understanding of grape berry development. The results are discussed in a meta-analysis comparing metabolic changes in climacteric versus non-climacteric fleshy fruits

THE EFFECT OF ACCURACY CONSTRAINTS ON LOWER LIMB JOINT CONTRIBUTIONS DURING THE INSTEP SOCCER KICK

The aim of this study was to quantify the effect of accuracy constraints on the kinematics of the soccer instep kick with specific reference to the relative contributions of the segments of the kicking leg. Eight university level soccer players were recruited into the study. Targets of three sizes were positioned and upon a verbal cue the subjects kicked the ball towards the requested target. For each, successful, kick the lower limb 3-dimensional kinematics and relative joint contributions in the local flexion-extension plane immediately prior to impact were recorded. We found foot speeds decreased significantly for the smaller targets. Soccer kicks between the no target and small target significantly increased the contribution of the ankle joint by 24%. This was at the expense of decreases in both the knee (10%) and hip (14%) contributions. Incorporating targets in soccer kicking affects the proximal to distal transition and relative joint contributions of the lower limb

Use of bacterial ureolysis for improved gelation of silica sol in rock grouting

Low pH silica-based grouts suitable for penetrating fine aperture fractures are increasingly being developed for use in engineering applications. Silica sol has an initial low viscosity and mixing with an accelerator destabilises the suspension producing a gel. The influence of sodium, calcium and ammonium chloride accelerators on gel time, rate of gelation and shear strength of the resulting gel were investigated in this study. For the first time the potential use of bacterial ureolysis as an accelerator for the destabilisation of silica sol was also explored. This study demonstrates that bacterial ureolysis can be used to control the gelation of silica sol. The rate of ureolysis increases with increasing bacterial density, resulting in faster gel times and higher rates of gelation. In addition, for grouts with similar gel times, using bacterial ureolysis to induce destabilisation results in a higher rate of gelation, a higher final shear strength and a more uniform gel than direct addition of the corresponding chemical accelerator. These results suggest that bacterial ureolysis could potentially be used in rock grouting to achieve long gel times and hence greater penetration, while also maintaining sufficiently rapid gelation to minimise issues related to fingering and erosion of the fresh grout

Changes in Land Distribution of Polar Bears in Western Hudson Bay

We examined the capture locations of polar bears (Ursus maritimus) on land in western Hudson Bay over 19 years (1986–2004) to assess temporal trends in the distribution of the population. We found that the distribution of bears of most age and sex groups shifted northward and eastward over the study. The causes of these shifts may be related to an altered population structure, changing environmental conditions, or a combination of both factors. Segregation by age, sex, and reproductive status persisted over time as found in earlier studies, but more females with young were within 5 km of the coast after 2001 than before. The distribution changes were correlated with the timing of sea-ice breakup, which now occurs, on average, about three weeks earlier than it did 30 years ago. While environmental conditions may have influenced polar bear distribution, the reduction in the number of large adult males along the coast may also have affected distribution patterns, allowing adult females to remain closer to the coast in more recent times.Nous avons examiné les lieux de capture d’ours polaires (Ursus maritimus) sur la terre ferme dans l’ouest de la baie d’Hudson pendant 19 ans (de 1986 à 2004) afin d’évaluer les tendances temporelles caractérisant la répartition de la population. Nous avons remarqué que la répartition des ours de la plupart des groupes d’âge et de sexe se déplaçait vers le nord et vers l’est au cours de l’étude. Cela pourrait être attribuable à une structure de population modifiée, à l’évolution des conditions environnementales ou à un ensemble des deux facteurs. La ségrégation en fonction de l’âge, du sexe et de l’état reproducteur a persisté avec le temps, tel que dénoté dans le cadre d’études antérieures, mais plus de femelles avec des jeunes se trouvaient en-dedans de cinq kilomètres de la côte après 2001 qu’avant. Les changements en matière de répartition ont été corrélés au moment de la débâcle de la glace de mer qui maintenant se produit, en moyenne, environ trois semaines plus tôt qu’il y a 30 ans. Bien que les conditions environnementales puissent avoir exercé une influence sur la répartition des ours polaires, la réduction du nombre de gros mâles adultes le long de la côte pourrait également avoir modifié les tendances caractérisant la répartition, permettant ainsi aux femelles adultes de rester plus près de la côte ces dernières années

Analysis of Process Gases and Trace Contaminants in Membrane-Aerated Gaseous Effluent Streams.

In membrane-aerated biofilm reactors (MABRs), hollow fibers are used to supply oxygen to the biofilms and bulk fluid. A pressure and concentration gradient between the inner volume of the fibers and the reactor reservoir drives oxygen mass transport across the fibers toward the bulk solution, providing the fiber-adhered biofilm with oxygen. Conversely, bacterial metabolic gases from the bulk liquid, as well as from the biofilm, move opposite to the flow of oxygen, entering the hollow fiber and out of the reactor. Metabolic gases are excellent indicators of biofilm vitality, and can aid in microbial identification. Certain gases can be indicative of system perturbations and control anomalies, or potentially unwanted biological processes occurring within the reactor. In confined environments, such as those found during spaceflight, it is important to understand what compounds are being stripped from the reactor and potentially released into the crew cabin to determine the appropriateness or the requirement for additional mitigation factors. Reactor effluent gas analysis focused on samples provided from Kennedy Space Center's sub-scale MABRs, as well as Johnson Space Center's full-scale MABRs, using infrared spectroscopy and gas chromatography techniques. Process gases, such as carbon dioxide, oxygen, nitrogen, nitrogen dioxide, and nitrous oxide, were quantified to monitor reactor operations. Solid Phase Microextraction (SPME) GC-MS analysis was used to identify trace volatile compounds. Compounds of interest were subsequently quantified. Reactor supply air was examined to establish target compound baseline concentrations. Concentration levels were compared to average ISS concentration values and/or Spacecraft Maximum Allowable Concentration (SMAC) levels where appropriate. Based on a review of to-date results, current trace contaminant control systems (TCCS) currently on board the ISS should be able to handle the added load from bioreactor systems without the need for secondary mitigation

Expansive evolution of the TREHALOSE-6-PHOSPHATE PHOSPHATASE gene family in Arabidopsis

Trehalose is a nonreducing sugar used as a reserve carbohydrate and stress protectant in a variety of organisms. While higher plants typically do not accumulate high levels of trehalose, they encode large families of putative trehalose biosynthesis genes. Trehalose biosynthesis in plants involves a two-step reaction in which trehalose-6-phosphate (T6P) is synthesized from UDPglucose and glucose-6-phosphate (catalyzed by T6P synthase [TPS]), and subsequently dephosphorylated to produce the disaccharide trehalose (catalyzed by T6P phosphatase [TPP]). In Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana), 11 genes encode proteins with both TPS- and TPP-like domains but only one of these (AtTPS1) appears to be an active (TPS) enzyme. In addition, plants contain a large family of smaller proteins with a conserved TPP domain. Here, we present an in-depth analysis of the 10 TPP genes and gene products in Arabidopsis (TPPA-TPPJ). Collinearity analysis revealed that all of these genes originate from whole-genome duplication events. Heterologous expression in yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) showed that all encode active TPP enzymes with an essential role for some conserved residues in the catalytic domain. These results suggest that the TPP genes function in the regulation of T6P levels, with T6P emerging as a novel key regulator of growth and development in higher plants. Extensive gene expression analyses using a complete set of promoter-beta-glucuronidase/green fluorescent protein reporter lines further uncovered cell- and tissue-specific expression patterns, conferring spatiotemporal control of trehalose metabolism. Consistently, phenotypic characterization of knockdown and overexpression lines of a single TPP, AtTPPG, points to unique properties of individual TPPs in Arabidopsis, and underlines the intimate connection between trehalose metabolism and abscisic acid signaling