Moving conferences online: lessons learned from an international virtual meeting

We consider the opportunities and challenges associated with organizing a conference online, using a case study of a medium-sized (approx. 400 participants) international conference held virtually in August 2020. In addition, we present quantifiable evidence of the participants’ experience using the results from an online post-conference questionnaire. Although the virtual meeting was not able to replicate the in-person experience in some aspects (e.g. less engagement between participants) the overwhelming majority of respondents found the meeting an enjoyable experience and would join similar events again. Notably, there was a strong desire for future inperson meetings to have at least some online component. Online attendance by lower-income researchers was higher compared with a past, similarthemed in-person meeting held in a high-income nation, but comparable to one held in an upper-middle-income nation. This indicates that online conferences are not a panacea for diversity and inclusivity, and that holding in-person meetings in developing economies can be at least as effective. Given that it is now relatively easy to stream contents of meetings online using low-cost methods, there are clear benefits in making all presented content accessible online, as well as organizing online networking events for those unable to attend in person

Differences in Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium strain invasiveness are associated with heterogeneity in SPI-1 gene expression

Most studies on Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium infection focus on strains ATCC SL1344 or NTCC 12023 (ATCC 14028). We have compared the abilities of these strains to induce membrane ruffles and invade epithelial cells. S. Typhimurium strain 12023 is less invasive and induces smaller membrane ruffles on MDCK cells compared with SL1344. Since the SPI-1 effector SopE is present in SL1344 and absent from 12023, and SL1344 sopE mutants have reduced invasiveness, we investigated whether 12023 is less invasive due to the absence of SopE. However, comparison of SopE+ and SopE− S. Typhimurium strains, sopE deletion mutants and 12023 expressing a sopE plasmid revealed no consistent relationship between SopE status and relative invasiveness. Nevertheless, absence of SopE was closely correlated with reduced size of membrane ruffles. A PprgH–gfp reporter revealed that relatively few of the 12023 population (and that of the equivalent strain ATCC 14028) express SPI-1 compared to other S. Typhimurium strains. Expression of a PhilA–gfp reporter mirrored that of PprgH–gfp in 12023 and SL1344, implicating reduced signalling via the transcription factor HilA in the heterogeneous SPI-1 expression of these strains. The previously unrecognized strain heterogeneity in SPI-1 expression and invasiveness has important implications for studies of Salmonella infection

Reduced-Order Atmospheric Density Modeling for LEO Satellite Orbital Reentry Prediction

Atmospheric density modeling and uncertainty quantification for fast and accurate orbit propagation are vital to drag force estimation for satellite reentry prediction and conjunction assessment in today's increasingly cluttered Low Earth Orbit (LEO) environment. Current density models can be computationally expensive, and often contain large errors, which make density modeling a leading cause of uncertainty in drag estimation. Reduced-order atmospheric density Models (ROMs) have shown potential to provide good predictive performance at a significantly lower computational cost, by propagating a low-dimensional representation of the atmospheric density state instead of the entire density state. In this thesis, ROMs were implemented in a high-fidelity orbital propagator and tested on the problem of reentry modeling for LEO objects. First, uncertainty quantification was performed on a test case for three significant sources of uncertainty in reentry modeling to compare the impact of uncertainty from initial state, ballistic coefficient, and space weather indices on residual lifetime estimation. These results highlighted features of interest in ROM behavior relative to empirical models. Second, ROMs were used to predict reentry of three LEO object test cases. ROMs were found to provide residual lifetime estimation performance comparable to current empirical models such as JB2008 and NRLMSISE-00, with a run time reduction of up to 70\% compared to the empirical models. ROMs were especially effective for longer predictions starting two or more days prior to LEO object reentry, where in some cases ROMs outperformed both empirical models while saving hours of run time. These findings validate the utility of ROMs for orbit propagation applications such as reentry prediction.S.M

Response of Salmonella to food related stress

EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Identification of an attenuated barley stripe mosaic virus for the virus-induced gene silencing of pathogenesis-related wheat genes

Background: Virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) has become an emerging technology for the rapid, efficient functional genomic screening of monocot and dicot species. The barley stripe mosaic virus (BSMV) has been described as an effective VIGS vehicle for the evaluation of genes involved in wheat and barley phytopathogenesis; however, these studies have been obscured by BSMV-induced phenotypes and defense responses. The utility of BSMV VIGS may be improved using a BSMV genetic background which is more tolerable to the host plant especially upon secondary infection of highly aggressive, necrotrophic pathogens such as Fusarium graminearum. Results: BSMV-induced VIGS in Triticum aestivum (bread wheat) cv. 'Fielder' was assessed for the study of wheat genes putatively related to Fusarium Head Blight (FHB), the necrotrophism of wheat and other cereals by F. graminearum. Due to the lack of 'Fielder' spike viability and increased accumulation of Fusarium-derived deoxynivalenol contamination upon co-infection of BSMV and FHB, an attenuated BSMV construct was generated by the addition of a glycine-rich, C-terminal peptide to the BSMV \u3b3 b protein. This attenuated BSMV effectively silenced target wheat genes while limiting disease severity, deoxynivalenol contamination, and yield loss upon Fusarium co-infection compared to the original BSMV construct. The attenuated BSMV-infected tissue exhibited reduced abscisic, jasmonic, and salicylic acid defense phytohormone accumulation upon secondary Fusarium infection. Finally, the attenuated BSMV was used to investigate the role of the salicylic acid-responsive pathogenesis-related 1 in response to FHB. Conclusions: The use of an attenuated BSMV may be advantageous in characterizing wheat genes involved in phytopathogenesis, including Fusarium necrotrophism, where minimal viral background effects on defense are required. Additionally, the attenuated BSMV elicits reduced defense hormone accumulation, suggesting that this genotype may have applications for the investigation of phytohormone-related signaling, developmental responses, and pathogen defense.Peer reviewed: YesNRC publication: Ye

Global research alliance on agricultural greenhouse gases

The Global Research Alliance (GRA) on Agricultural Greenhouse Gases was established in the margins of the Conference of Parties (COP15) in Copenhagen, Denmark on 16 December 2009. However, the idea was borne earlier in the year from discussions originating from New Zealand scientists and negotiators at other climate change conferences. With imperiled climate change negotiations of the United Nations Framework on Climate Change Convention (UNFCCC) occurring earlier in the year and culminating in Copenhagen, an agreement was signed by government ministers of 21 countries to form the GRA and create a positive step forward for the agricultural sector, which previously was left without much voice in the UNFCCC negotiations. The 21 countries agreeing to participate in the GRA were Australia, Canada, Columbia, Chile, Denmark, France, Germany, Ghana, India, Ireland, Japan, Malaysia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, and Vietnam. The logo of the GRA is shown in Fig. 3.1

Differences in Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium strain invasiveness are associated with heterogeneity in SPI-1 gene expression

Most studies on Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium infection focus on strains ATCC SL1344 or NTCC 12023 (ATCC 14028). We have compared the abilities of these strains to induce membrane ruffles and invade epithelial cells. S. Typhimurium strain 12023 is less invasive and induces smaller membrane ruffles on MDCK cells compared with SL1344. Since the SPI-1 effector SopE is present in SL1344 and absent from 12023, and SL1344 sopE mutants have reduced invasiveness, we investigated whether 12023 is less invasive due to the absence of SopE. However, comparison of SopE+ and SopE− S. Typhimurium strains, sopE deletion mutants and 12023 expressing a sopE plasmid revealed no consistent relationship between SopE status and relative invasiveness. Nevertheless, absence of SopE was closely correlated with reduced size of membrane ruffles. A PprgH–gfp reporter revealed that relatively few of the 12023 population (and that of the equivalent strain ATCC 14028) express SPI-1 compared to other S. Typhimurium strains. Expression of a PhilA–gfp reporter mirrored that of PprgH–gfp in 12023 and SL1344, implicating reduced signalling via the transcription factor HilA in the heterogeneous SPI-1 expression of these strains. The previously unrecognized strain heterogeneity in SPI-1 expression and invasiveness has important implications for studies of Salmonella infection

Highresolution x-ray imaging of Plasmodium falciparum-infected red blood cells

Abstract Methods for imaging cellular architecture and ultimately macromolecular complexes and individual proteins, within a cellular environment, are an important goal for cell and molecular biology. Coherent diffractive imaging (CDI) is a method of lensless imaging that can be applied to any individual finite object. A diffraction pattern from a single biological structure is recorded and an iterative Fourier transform between real space and reciprocal space is used to reconstruct information about the architecture of the sample to high resolution. As a test system for cellular imaging, we have applied CDI to an important human pathogen, the malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum. We have employed a novel CDI approach, known as Fresnel CDI, which uses illumination with a curved incident wavefront, to image red blood cells infected with malaria parasites. We have examined the intrinsic X-ray absorption contrast of these cells and compared them with cells contrasted with heavy metal stains or immunogold labeling. We compare CDI images with data obtained from the same cells using scanning electron microscopy, light microscopy, and scanning X-ray fluorescence microscopy. We show that CDI can offer new information both within and at the surface of complex biological specimens at a spatial resolution of better than 40 nm. and we demonstrate an imaging modality that conveniently combines scanning X-ray fluorescence microscopy with CDI. The data provide independent confirmation of the validity of the coherent diffractive image and demonstrate that CDI offers the potential to become an important and reliable new high-resolution imaging modality for cell biology. CDI can detect features at high resolution within unsectioned cells. ' 2008 International Society for Advancement of Cytometry Key terms Plasmodium falciparum; malaria parasite-infected red blood cells; Fresnel coherent diffraction imaging; X-ray microscopy THE high-penetrating power of X-rays makes them ideal for studying the morphology and composition of biological samples (1,2). Soft X-ray microscopy has been under development for more than 30 years and has been implemented either as a scanned probe (3) or as a full-field technique (4,5). X-ray microscopy, particularly when it is implemented with a tomography capability, can provide details of the internal structure of whole cells that cannot be obtained by any other means. However, the spatial resolution of X-ray transmission microscopy is limited by the zone plates that are used to focus and image the X-rays. Resolution depends on the ability to manufacture zone plates with sufficiently fine spatial structure and so the resolution achieved is typically of the order of 50 nm (6,7), with the finest resolution reported to date being around 15 nm (8). Improvement of the resolution to $ 1 nm would require the solution of significant technological fabrication hurdles, thus a high-resolution imaging technique that does not rely on high-resolution lenses could have a very significant impact