Mapping adaptation of barley to droughted environments

Identifying barley genomic regions influencing the response of yield and its components to water deficits will aid in our understanding of the genetics of drought tolerance and the development of more drought tolerant cultivars. We assembled a population of 192 genotypes that represented landraces, old, and contemporary cultivars sampling key regions around the Mediterranean basin and the rest of Europe. The population was genotyped with a stratified set of 50 genomic and EST derived molecular markers, 49 of which were Simple Sequence Repeats (SSRs), which revealed an underlying population sub-structure that corresponded closely to the geographic regions in which the genotypes were grown. A more dense whole genome scan was generated by using Diversity Array Technology (DArT®) to generate 1130 biallelic markers for the population. The population was grown at two contrasting sites in each of seven Mediterranean countries for harvest 2004 and 2005 and grain yield data collected. Mean yield levels ranged from 0.3 to 6.2 t/ha, with highly significant genetic variation in low-yielding environments. Associations of yield with barley genomic regions were then detected by combining the DArT marker data with the yield data in mixed model analyses for the individual trials, followed by multiple regression of yield on markers to identify a multi-locus subset of significant markers/QTLs. QTLs exhibiting a pre-defined consistency across environments were detected in bins 4, 6, 6 and 7 on barley chromosomes 3H, 4H, 5H and 7H respectivel

Determinants of Carbon Emission Disclosures and UN Sustainable Development Goals: The Case of UK Higher Education Institutions

In recent years, organisational sustainability has become a topical issue in many institutional fields and a number of calls have been made to improve the disclosure of carbon information as part of sustainability efforts. This paper responds to these calls, chiefly examining the determinants of (CED) in the annual reports of UK higher education institutions (HEIs). It also aims to predict the relationship between the extent of CED and UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) reporting by UK universities. We construct a disclosure index to capture the extent and type of CED in the annual reports of UK HEIs, finding that carbon reduction targets imposed by the Government, environmental audit, and the amount of actual carbon emissions are significant and positively associated with CED. However, we find no relationship between CED and the disclosure of SDGs. We argue that HEIs'. CED can be useful in developing relevant regulatory policies given the targets are carefully set. Our research has important implications for policymakers regarding carbon reduction targets and related non?mandatory guidance, as these can be utilised as an effective mechanism in increasing carbon emission disclosure voluntary CED that are integrated into SDG disclosures

Angular momentum population in fragmentation reactions

Neutron-deficient nuclei with N = 126 have been populated following projectile fragmentation of a 238U beam with energy 1 GeV/A. The decay of several previously reported isomers has been measured. This will allow us to calculate high-spin isomeric ratios and compare them with model calculations to allow a better understanding of the reaction mechanism.Algora, Alejandro, [email protected] ; Molina Palacios, Francisco Manuel, [email protected] ; Rubio Barroso, Berta, [email protected]

Induction cisplatin–irinotecan followed by concurrent cisplatin–irinotecan and radiotherapy without surgery in oesophageal cancer: multicenter phase II FFCD trial

A recent phase I study showed that weekly cisplatin, irinotecan and concurrent radiotherapy can be administered with moderate toxicity in patients with oesophageal cancer. Patients with no prior treatment and oesophageal cancer stage I to III, performance status <3, caloric intake >1500 kcal day−1 were included. Chemotherapy, with cisplatin 30 mg m−2 and irinotecan 60 mg m−2, was administered at days 1, 8, 22, 29, and concurrently with radiotherapy at days 43, 50, 64 and 71. Radiotherapy was delivered with 50 or 50.4 Gy in 25 fractions/5 weeks. Forty-three patients were included, 10 stage I, 19 stage II and 14 stage III. Mean age was 59.2 years (range 44–79). A total of 30 out of 43 (69.8%) patients underwent all planned treatment. During induction chemotherapy, 14 severe toxicities of grade 3 or 4 in 10 patients (23.3%) were reported with 57.1% due to haematoxicity. During chemoradiotherapy, 31 severe toxicities of grade 3 or 4 with 64.5% due to haematotoxicity were reported in 18 patients. One toxic death occurred (diarrhoea grade 4). The complete clinical response rate was 58.1% (95% CI: 43.4–72.8%). Overall survival rate at 1 and 2 years was 62.8%, (95% CI, 58.3–77.3%) and 27.9% (95% CI, 13.4–41.3%), respectively. In conclusion, cisplatin–irinotecan–radiotherapy is an active and well-tolerated regimen feasible in out-patients

Multiple β− decaying states in 194 Re: Shape evolution in neutron-rich osmium isotopes

β decays from heavy, neutron-rich nuclei with A∼190 have been investigated following their production via the relativistic projectile fragmentation of an E/A=1 GeV 208Pb primary beam on a ∼2.5 g/cm2 9Be target. The reaction products were separated a

Search for lepton-number violating B+ -> X(-)l(+)l '(+) decays

We report on a search for eleven lepton-number violating processes B+ -> X(-)l(+)l'(+) with X- = K-, pi(-), rho(-), K*(-), or D- and l(+)/l'(+) = e(+) or mu(+), using a sample of 471 +/- 3 million B (B) over bar events collected with the BABAR detector at the PEP-II e(+)e(-) collider at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. We find no evidence for any of these modes and place 90% confidence level upper limits on their branching fractions in the range (1.5-26) x 10(-7)

Cryo-electron tomography of cells: connecting structure and function

Cryo-electron tomography (cryo-ET) allows the visualization of cellular structures under close-to-life conditions and at molecular resolution. While it is inherently a static approach, yielding structural information about supramolecular organization at a certain time point, it can nevertheless provide insights into function of the structures imaged, in particular, when supplemented by other approaches. Here, we review the use of experimental methods that supplement cryo-ET imaging of whole cells. These include genetic and pharmacological manipulations, as well as correlative light microscopy and cryo-ET. While these methods have mostly been used to detect and identify structures visualized in cryo-ET or to assist the search for a feature of interest, we expect that in the future they will play a more important role in the functional interpretation of cryo-tomograms

The Role of Transporters in the Pharmacokinetics of Orally Administered Drugs

Drug transporters are recognized as key players in the processes of drug absorption, distribution, metabolism, and elimination. The localization of uptake and efflux transporters in organs responsible for drug biotransformation and excretion gives transporter proteins a unique gatekeeper function in controlling drug access to metabolizing enzymes and excretory pathways. This review seeks to discuss the influence intestinal and hepatic drug transporters have on pharmacokinetic parameters, including bioavailability, exposure, clearance, volume of distribution, and half-life, for orally dosed drugs. This review also describes in detail the Biopharmaceutics Drug Disposition Classification System (BDDCS) and explains how many of the effects drug transporters exert on oral drug pharmacokinetic parameters can be predicted by this classification scheme