Expression of a mammalian RNA demethylase increases flower number and floral stem branching in Arabidopsis thaliana

Abstract: RNA methylation plays a central regulatory role in plant biology and is a relatively new target for plant improvement efforts. In nearly all cases, perturbation of the RNA methylation machinery results in deleterious phenotypes. However, a recent landmark paper reported that transcriptome‐wide use of the human RNA demethylase FTO substantially increased the yield of rice and potatoes. Here, we have performed the first independent replication of those results and demonstrated broader transferability of the trait, finding increased flower and fruit count in the model species Arabidopsis thaliana. We also performed RNA‐seq of our FTO‐transgenic plants, which we analyzed in conjunction with previously published datasets to detect several previously unrecognized patterns in the functional and structural classification of the upregulated and downregulated genes. From these, we present mechanistic hypotheses to explain these surprising results with the goal of spurring more widespread interest in this promising new approach to plant engineering

The MPCP Longitudinal Educational Growth Study Third Year Report

This is the third-year report in a five-year evaluation of the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program (MPCP). The MPCP, which began in 1990, provides government-funded vouchers for low-income children to attend private schools in the City of Milwaukee. The maximum voucher amount in 2008-09 was $6,607, and approximately 20,000 children used a voucher to attend either secular or religious private schools. The MPCP is the oldest and largest urban school voucher program in the United States. This evaluation was authorized by Wisconsin Act 125 enacted in 2005

Evaluation of the ALMA Prototype Antennas

The ALMA North American and European prototype antennas have been evaluated by a variety of measurement systems to quantify the major performance specifications. Nearfield holography was used to set the reflector surfaces to 17 microns RMS. Pointing and fast switching performance was determined with an optical telescope and by millimeter wavelength radiometry, yielding 2 arcsec absolute and 0.6 arcsec offset pointing accuracies. Path length stability was measured to be less than or approximately equal to 20 microns over 10 minute time periods using optical measurement devices. Dynamical performance was studied with a set of accelerometers, providing data on wind induced tracking errors and structural deformation. Considering all measurements made during this evaluation, both prototype antennas meet the major ALMA antenna performance specifications.Comment: 83 pages, 36 figures, AASTex format, to appear in PASP September 2006 issu

Belief Control Practices and Organizational Performances: A Survey of Sugar Industry in Kenya

The sugar industry has experienced poor performance attributed to industry deregulation, poor management and political interference. Adopting the Simons’ Levers of Control framework, this study sought to establish the relationship between belief control practices and organizational performance in the sugar industry in Kenya. Using a census survey of the 45 firms in the sugar industry value-chain in western Kenya registered by the Kenya Sugar Board as at 1 st January 2008, data was collected through self administered questionnaires sent to chief executive officers, finance managers and marketing officers of the target companies. The main finding of the study was that belief control systems are moderately prevalent in firms in the sugar industry and that belief control has a significant positive relationship with organizational performance (β = 0.288, p < 0.05). The findings of this study underscore the need of management to incorporate employees in the company core values and design of strategic control systems to cope with changing internal and external operating business environments. The study advances the extant theory of strategic management control practices by providing evidences from emerging economy and on a focused single lever of management contro

MPCP Longitudinal Educational Growth Study Baseline Report

This report focuses on the initial design, implementation and baseline results of the five-year Longitudinal Educational Growth Study (LEGS) of the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program (MPCP) being conducted by the School Choice Demonstration Project (SCDP). The LEGS will be the first evaluation of the participant effects of the MPCP using student-level data since the initial pilot program expanded dramatically in 1995. Included in this initial report are baseline descriptions of achievement tests for a representative sample of MPCP students in grades 3 through 9, as well as outcomes for comparable samples of students in Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS). Also included are a descriptive analysis of survey results of MPCP parents and a carefully matched sample of MPS parents as well as a brief description of the results of student surveys for both samples

The MPCP Longitudinal Educational Growth Study Second Year Report

This is the second year report in a five-year evaluation of the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program (MPCP). This program, which began in 1990, provides government-funded vouchers for low-income children to attend private schools in the City of Milwaukee. The maximum voucher amount in 2007-08 was $6,607, and approximately 20,000 children use a voucher to attend either secular or religious private schools. The MPCP is the oldest and largest urban educational voucher program in the United States. This evaluation was authorized by Wisconsin Act 125 enacted in 2005

Evidence of Two Functionally Distinct Ornithine Decarboxylation Systems in Lactic Acid Bacteria

Biogenic amines are low-molecular-weight organic bases whose presence in food can result in health problems. The biosynthesis of biogenic amines in fermented foods mostly proceeds through amino acid decarboxylation carried out by lactic acid bacteria (LAB), but not all systems leading to biogenic amine production by LAB have been thoroughly characterized. Here, putative ornithine decarboxylation pathways consisting of a putative ornithine decarboxylase and an amino acid transporter were identified in LAB by strain collection screening and database searches. The decarboxylases were produced in heterologous hosts and purified and characterized in vitro, whereas transporters were heterologously expressed in Lactococcus lactis and functionally characterized in vivo. Amino acid decarboxylation by whole cells of the original hosts was determined as well. We concluded that two distinct types of ornithine decarboxylation systems exist in LAB. One is composed of an ornithine decarboxylase coupled to an ornithine/putrescine transmembrane exchanger. Their combined activities results in the extracellular release of putrescine. This typical amino acid decarboxylation system is present in only a few LAB strains and may contribute to metabolic energy production and/or pH homeostasis. The second system is widespread among LAB. It is composed of a decarboxylase active on ornithine and L-2,4-diaminobutyric acid (DABA) and a transporter that mediates unidirectional transport of ornithine into the cytoplasm. Diamines that result from this second system are retained within the cytosol.

Machine learning in intensive care medicine: ready for take-off?

In 1986 the world was shaken by the Challenger space shuttle disaster. In the years that followed, the American National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) called for a strategy change in space technology development [1]. Allowing technology to be developed without a specific space program in mind was central to the new strategy [2]. In order to evaluate resulting projects with no direct contribution to a space mission, NASA introduced the general concept of technology readiness levels (TRLs) [3]. These nine levels, adopted by many EU institutions, assess the maturity level of technology and estimate its readiness to fly

Effects of non-uniform stiffness on the swimming performance of a passively-flexing, fish-like foil model

Author Posting. © The Author(s), 2015. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of IOP Science for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Bioinspiration & Biomimetics 10 (2015): 056019, doi:10.1088/1748-3190/10/5/056019.Simple mechanical models emulating fish have been used recently to enable targeted study of individual factors contributing to swimming locomotion without the confounding complexity of the whole fish body. Yet, unlike these uniform models, the fish body is notable for its non-uniform material properties. In particular, flexural stiffness decreases along the fish’s anterior-posterior axis. To identify the role of non-uniform bending stiffness during fish-like propulsion, we studied four foil model configurations made by adhering layers of plastic sheets to produce discrete regions of high (5.5x10-5 Nm2) and low (1.9x10-5 Nm2) flexural stiffness of biologically-relevant magnitudes. This resulted in two uniform control foils and two foils with anterior regions of high stiffness and posterior regions of low stiffness. With a mechanical flapping foil controller, we measured forces and torques in three directions and quantified swimming performance under both heaving (no pitch) and constant 0o angle of attack programs. Foils self-propelled at Reynolds number 21,000-115,000 and Strouhal number ~0.20-0.25, values characteristic of fish locomotion. Although previous models have emphasized uniform distributions and heaving motions, the combination of non-uniform stiffness distributions and 0o angle of attack pitching program was better able to reproduce the kinematics of freely-swimming fish. This combination was likewise crucial in maximizing swimming performance and resulted in high self-propelled speeds at low costs of transport and large thrust coefficients at relatively high efficiency. Because these metrics were not all maximized together, selection of the “best” stiffness distribution will depend on actuation constraints and performance goals. These improved models enable more detailed, accurate analyses of fish-like swimming.This work was supported by an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship under grant DGE-1144152 to KNL and by ONR MURI Grant N000141410533 monitored by Dr Bob Brizzolara to GVL.2016-10-0

Seasonal influences on first-episode admission in affective and non-affective psychosis

Background: Since bipolar affective disorder has been recorded, clinicians treating patients with this disorder have noted the cyclic nature of episodes, particularly an increase in mania in the spring and summer months and depression during winter. Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate seasonality in symptom onset and service admissions over a period of 10 years in a group of patients (n= 359) with first-episode (FE) mania (n= 133), FE schizoaffective disorder (n= 49) and FE schizophrenia (n= 177). Method: Patients were recruited if they were between 15 and 28 years of age and if they resided in the geographical mental health service catchment area. The number of patients experiencing symptom onset and service admission over each month and season was recorded. Results: In terms of seasonality of time of service admission, the results indicate a high overall seasonality (particularly in men), which was observed in both the schizoaffective and the bipolar groups. In terms of seasonality of symptom onset, the results indicate that seasonality remains in the male bipolar group, but other groups have no seasonal trend. Conclusions: This provides further evidence that systems mediating the entrainment of biological rhythms to the environment may be more pronounced in BPAD than in schizoaffective disorder and schizophrenia. These results may help facilitate the preparedness of mental heath services for patients at different times of the yea