Curate and storyspace: an ontology and web-based environment for describing curatorial narratives

Existing metadata schemes and content management systems used by museums focus on describing the heritage objects that the museum holds in its collection. These are used to manage and describe individual heritage objects according to properties such as artist, date and preservation requirements. Curatorial narratives, such as physical or online exhibitions tell a story that spans across heritage objects and have a meaning that does not necessarily reside in the individual heritage objects themselves. Here we present curate, an ontology for describing curatorial narratives. This draws on structuralist accounts that distinguish the narrative from the story and plot, and also a detailed analysis of two museum exhibitions and the curatorial processes that contributed to them. Storyspace, our web based interface and API to the ontology, is being used by curatorial staff in two museums to model curatorial narratives and the processes through which they are constructed

β-aminobutyric acid induces disease resistance against Botrytis cinerea in grape berries by a cellular priming mechanism

The present study was performed to investigate the effect of β-aminobutyric acid (BABA) treatment on defence activation in grape berries and to analyse its cellular mechanism. The results implied that BABA treatment at an effective concentration of 20 mM significantly inhibited gray mould rot caused by Botrytis cinerea in grape berries by inducing resistance. Accordingly, 20 mM BABA triggered a priming defence in grape suspension cells, since only the BABA-treated cells exhibited an accelerated ability for augmenting defence responses upon the pathogen inoculation. The primed cellular reactions were related to an early H2O2 burst, prompt accumulation of stilbene phytoalexins and activation of PR genes. Thus, we assume that 20 mM BABA can induce resistance to B. cinerea infection in intact grape berries perhaps via intercellular priming defence. Moreover, the BABA-induced priming defence is verified, because no negative effects on cell growth, anthocyanin synthesis, and quality impairment in either grape cells or intact berries were observed under low pathogenic pressure

A tunable radiation source by coupling laser-plasma-generated electrons to a periodic structure

Near-infrared radiation around 1000 nm generated from the interaction of a high-density MeV electron beam, obtained by impinging an intense ultrashort laser pulse on a solid target, with a metal grating is observed experimentally. Theoretical modeling and particle-in-cell simulation suggest that the radiation is caused by the Smith-Purcell mechanism. The results here indicate that tunable terahertz radiation with tens GV=m field strength can be achieved by using appropriate grating parameter

The Analysis of SKP1 Gene Expression in Physiological Male Sterility Induced by Chemical Hybridizing Agent SQ-1 in Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

Physiological male sterility induced by the chemical hybridizing agent (CHA) overcomes problems of maintenance of sterile lines and restorers. However, the mechanism of sterility is unclear. The process of tapetum of CHA-treated ‘Xi’nong 2611’ at uninucleate, binucleate and trinucleate were compared with control to determine if tapetum varying differently during developmental stages. Tapetal degradation in CHA-treated ‘Xi’nong 2611’ began at late uninucleate stage, somewhat earlier than control plants. Cytological observations indicated that the gradual degradation of the tapetum in CHA-treated ‘Xi’nong 2611’ was initiated and terminated earlier than in the control. These findings implied that CHA-induced male sterility was related to abnormally early tapetal degradation. In order to indicate the role of the SKP1 gene in fertility/sterility in wheat, its expression was assessed in anthers at uninucleate, binucleate and trinucleate stages. SKP1 expression was reduced in the later developmental stages, and there was an obvious decrease from the uninucleate to trinucleate stages. Higher expression of the SKP1 gene occurred in ‘Xi’nong 2611’ compared to CHA-treated ‘Xi’nong 2611’. This implied that SKP1 gene expression was inhibited during the fertility transformation process and was related to transformation from fertility to sterility. Moreover, the results from this study suggest that SKP1 plays an essential role of conducting fertility in physiological male sterility

A Comparative Study of fBf_B within QCD Sum Rules with Two Typical Correlators up to Next-to-Leading Order

The B-decay constant $f_B$ is an important component for studying $B$-meson decays, which can be studied through QCD sum rules. We make a detailed discussion on $f_B$ from two sum rules, i.e. sum rules I and II, which are derived from the conventional correlator and the correlator with chiral currents respectively. It is found that these two sum rules are consistent with each other. However, the sum rules II has less uncertainty sources than that of sum rules I, and then it can be more accurate if we know the dimension-four gluon condensate well. It is found that $f_B$ decreases with the increment of $m_b$, and to compare with the Belle experimental data on $f_B$, both sum rules prefer smaller pole $b$-quark mass, $m_b=4.68\pm0.07$ GeV. By varying all the input parameters in their reasonable region and adding all the uncertainties together in quadrature, we obtain $f_B=172^{+23}_{-25}$ MeV for sum rules I and $f_B=214_{-34}^{+26}$ MeV for sum rules II.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures, 2 tables. To match the printed version. To be published in Communications in Theoretical Physic

Three-dimensional character of the deformation twin in magnesium

Deformation twins are three-dimensional domains, traditionally viewed as ellipsoids because of their two-dimensional lenticular sections. In this work, we performed statistical analysis of twin shapes viewing along three orthogonal directions: the ‘dark side’ (DS) view along the twin shear direction (η1), the twinning plane normal (TPN) view (k1) and the ‘bright side’ (BS) view along the direction λ(=k1 × η1). Our electron back-scatter diffraction results show that twins in the DS and BS views normally exhibit a lenticular shape, whereas they show an irregular shape in the TPN view. Moreover, the findings in the TPN view revealed that twins grow faster along λ the lateral direction than along η1 the forward propagation direction at the initial stages of twin growth. These twin sections are irregular, indicating that growth is locally controlled and the overall shape is not perfectly ellipsoidal. We explain these findings using atomistic models, and ascribe them to differences in the mobility of the edge and screw components of the twinning dislocations

Distribution and Excretion of TEGDMA in Guinea Pigs and Mice

The monomer triethyleneglycoldimethacrylate (TEGDMA) is used as a diluent in many resin-based dental materials. It was previously shown in vitro that TEGDMA was released into the adjacent biophase from such materials during the first days after placement. In this study, the uptake, distribution, and excretion of 14C-TEGDMA applied via gastric, intradermal, and intravenous administration at dose levels well above those encountered in dental care were examined in vivo in guinea pigs and mice as a test of the hypothesis that TEGDMA reaches cytotoxic levels in mammalian tissues. 14C-TEGDMA was taken up rapidly from the stomach and small intestine after gastric administration in both species and was widely distributed in the body following administration by each route. Most 14C was excreted within one day as 14 CO2. The peak equivalent TEGDMA levels in all mouse and guinea pig tissues examined were at least 1000-fold less than known toxic levels. The study therefore did not support the hypothesis

2D vs. 3D pain visualization: User preferences in a spinal cord injury cohort

This is the post-print version of the Article. The official published version can be accessed from the link below - Copyright @ 2011 Springer VerlagResearch on pain experienced after Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) has revealed that not only are there several types of pain present in the same individual with this kind of trauma, but also that people who suffer such an injury can describe the characteristics of the same type of pain in different ways. Making it possible, therefore, to more precisely describe pain experience could prove to be vital for an increased quality of life. Accordingly, fifteen individuals with pain after SCI were asked to describe their pain experience using a 3 Dimensional (3D) model of the human body that could be used as an aid in communicating their pain. The results of this study suggest that the consensus of the participants approved the ability of the 3D model to more accurately describe their pain, an encouraging outcome towards the use of 3D technology in support of post SCI pain rehabilitation