8,617 research outputs found
Context dependent substitution biases vary within the human genome
Background:
Models of sequence evolution typically assume that different nucleotide positions evolve independently. This assumption is widely appreciated to be an over-simplification. The best known violations involve biases due to adjacent nucleotides. There have also been suggestions that biases exist at larger scales, however this possibility has not been systematically explored.
Results:
To address this we have developed a method which identifies over- and under-represented substitution patterns and assesses their overall impact on the evolution of genome composition. Our method is designed to account for biases at smaller pattern sizes, removing their effects. We used this method to investigate context bias in the human lineage after the divergence from chimpanzee. We examined bias effects in substitution patterns between 2 and 5 bp long and found significant effects at all sizes. This included some individual three and four base pair patterns with relatively large biases. We also found that bias effects vary across the genome, differing between transposons and non-transposons, between different classes of transposons, and also near and far from genes.
Conclusions:
We found that nucleotides beyond the immediately adjacent one are responsible for substantial context effects, and that these biases vary across the genome
Influence of Dibble Shape and Depth on the Germination and Seedling Establishment of Burley Tobacco in the Float System
Direct seeding of pelleted tobacco seed into the float transplant system has become common in Kentucky. Direct seeding reduces labor compared to the plug and transfer method, but it increases the risk involved and requires more management by the producer. Uniform germination, and ultimately a high percentage of useable transplants are the keys to success with direct seeding
Extensive infrared spectroscopic study of CuO: signatures of strong spin-phonon interaction and structural distortion
Optical properties of single-crystal monoclinic CuO in the range 70 - 6000
\cm were studied at temperatures from 7 to 300 K. Normal reflection spectra
were obtained from the (001) and (010) crystal faces thus giving for the first
time separate data for the and phonon modes excited in the
purely transverse way (TO modes). Mode parameters, including polarizations of
the modes not determined by the crystal symmetry, were extracted by the
dispersion analysis of reflectivity curves as a function of temperature.
Spectra of all the components of the optical conductivity tensor were obtained
using the Kramers-Kronig method recently extended to the case of the
low-symmetry crystals. The number of strong phonon modes is in agreement with
the factor-group analysis for the crystal structure, currently accepted for the
CuO. However, several "extra" modes of minor intensity are detected. Comparison
of frequencies of "extra" modes with the available phonon dispersion curves
points to possible "diagonal" doubling of the unit cell \{{\bf a}, {\bf b},
{\bf c}\} \{{\bf a}+{\bf c}, {\bf b}, {\bf a}-{\bf c}\} and formation of
the superlattice. The previously reported softening of the mode
( 400 \cm) with cooling at is found to be 10 % for the TO
mode. The mode is very broad at high temperatures and strongly narrows in the
AFM phase. We attribute this effect to strong resonance coupling of this mode
to optical or acoustic bi-magnons and reconstruction of the magnetic
excitations spectrum at the N\'eel point. A significant anisotropy of
is observed: it was found to be 5.9 along the {\bf b}-axis,
6.2 along the {[}101{]} chains and 7.8 the {[}10{]} chains. The
"transverse" effective charge is value is about 2 electrons.Comment: 23 pages, 14 figures, REVTeX, submitted to PR
Anisotropic Exchange in
We investigate the magnetic properties of the multiferroic quantum-spin
system LiCuO by electron spin resonance (ESR) measurements at - and
-band frequencies in a wide temperature range \,K). The observed anisotropies of the tensor and the ESR linewidth in
untwinned single crystals result from the crystal-electric field and from local
exchange geometries acting on the magnetic Cu ions in the zigzag-ladder
like structure of LiCuO. Supported by a microscopic analysis of the
exchange paths involved, we show that both the symmetric anisotropic exchange
interaction and the antisymmetric Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction provide the
dominant spin-spin relaxation channels in this material.Comment: 10 pages, 10 Figure
NMR evidence for inhomogeneous glassy behavior driven by nematic fluctuations in iron arsenide superconductors
We present As nuclear magnetic resonance spin-lattice and spin-spin
relaxation rate data in Ba(FeCo)As and
Ba(FeCu)As as a function of temperature, doping and
magnetic field. The relaxation curves exhibit a broad distribution of
relaxation rates, consistent with inhomogeneous glassy behavior up to 100 K.
The doping and temperature response of the width of the dynamical heterogeneity
is similar to that of the nematic susceptibility measured by elastoresistance
measurements. We argue that quenched random fields which couple to the nematic
order give rise to a nematic glass that is reflected in the spin dynamics.Comment: Accepted to Physical Review
B-T phase diagram of CoCr2O4 in magnetic fields up to 14 T
We have measured the magnetization and specific heat of multiferroic CoCr2O4
in magnetic fields up to 14 T. The high-field magnetization measurements
indicate a new phase transition at T* = 5 - 6 K. The phase between T* and the
lock-in transition at 15 K is characterized by magnetic irreversibility. At
higher magnetic fields, the irreversibility increases. Specific-heat
measurements confirm the transition at T*, and also show irreversible behavior.
We construct a field-temperature phase diagram of CoCr2O4.Comment: 4 page
Antifungal activity of some alternative control against mango anthracnose in Senegal
Mango production in the South of Senegal is exposed to intensive rainfall from late May to October, with high temperature and moisture levels. These conditions are conducive for the development of anthracnose caused by Colletotrichum gloeosporioides (sensu lato) and leading to an absolute necessity for adequate control measures for good quality mango production. Anthracnose disease causes both pre- and postharvest fruit spots and fruit rot as well as premature fruit drop. The purpose of this study was to test the efficacy of several fungicide alternatives (fertilizers and biological control agents) against mango anthracnose in Senegal comparatively to standard fungicides. Field trials were set up in contrasting climates conditions and involved three orchards in the Northern part of the country with a short rainy season and dry climate over 9 to 10 months a year and three other orchards in the Southern part of Senegal with in a humid tropic environment. No anthracnose was recorded in the orchards in northern Senegal. In the south, in contrast, the disease was actual. Among the treatments tested for the control of anthracnose, Sodium molybdate were found effective after fungicides (azoxystrobin and thiophanate methyl). All the alternative treatments to fungicides provided a statistically significant control to the disease as compared to the contro
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