The Invisible Thin Red Line

The aim of this paper is to argue that the adoption of an unrestricted principle of bivalence is compatible with a metaphysics that (i) denies that the future is real, (ii) adopts nomological indeterminism, and (iii) exploits a branching structure to provide a semantics for future contingent claims. To this end, we elaborate what we call Flow Fragmentalism, a view inspired by Kit Fine (2005)’s non-standard tense realism, according to which reality is divided up into maximally coherent collections of tensed facts. In this way, we show how to reconcile a genuinely A-theoretic branching-time model with the idea that there is a branch corresponding to the thin red line, that is, the branch that will turn out to be the actual future history of the world

Improving model quality through foundational ontologies: Two contrasting approaches to the representation of roles

Several foundational ontologies have been developed recently. We examine two of these from the point of view of their quality in representing temporal changes, focusing on the example of roles. We discuss how these are modelled in two foundational ontologies: the Unified Foundational Ontology and the BORO foundational ontology. These exhibit two different approaches, endurantist and perdurantist respectively. We illustrate the differences using a running example in the university student domain, wherein one individual is not only a registered student but also, for part of this period, was elected the President of the Student Union. The metaphysical choices made by UFO and BORO lead to different representations of roles. Two key differences which affect the way roles are modelled are exemplified in this paper: (1) different criteria of identity and (2) differences in the way individual objects extend over time and possible worlds. These differences impact upon the quality of the models produced in terms of their respective explanatory power. The UFO model concentrates on the notion of validity in “all possible worlds” and is unable to accurately represent the way particulars are extended in time. The perdurantist approach is best able to describe temporal changes wherein roles are spatio-temporal extents of individuals

High-Density Support Matrices: Key to the Deep Borehole Disposal of Spent Nuclear Fuel

Abstract Deep (4-5 km) boreholes are emerging as a safe, secure, environmentally sound and potentially cost-effective option for disposal of high-level radioactive wastes, including plutonium. One reason this option has not been widely accepted for spent fuel is because stacking the containers in a borehole could create load stresses threatening their integrity with potential for releasing highly mobile radionuclides like 129 I before the borehole is filled and sealed. This problem can be overcome by using novel high-density support matrices deployed as fine metal shot along with the containers. Temperature distributions in and around the disposal are modelled to show how decay heat from the fuel can melt the shot within weeks of disposal to give a dense liquid in which the containers are almost weightless. Finally, within a few decades, this liquid will cool and solidify, entombing the waste containers in a base metal sarcophagus sealed into the host rock

Sheep Updates 2006 - part 3

This session covers six papers from different authors: GRAZING 1. Making better use of clover, Karen Venning and Andrew Thompson, Department of Primary Industries, Victoria 2. Grazing systems demonstration to optimise pasture utilisation and stocking rate, Mike Hyder, Sue-Ellen Shaw, Kelly Hill and Ron McTaggart, Department of Agriculture and Food Western Australia. 3. Know your audience to increase their rate of practice change - Lifetime Wool as an example, Gus Rose, Department of Agriculture and Food Western Australia, Carolyn Kabore, Kazresearch REPRODUCTION 4. Lifetime Wool - Ewe Management Guidlines, Mandy Curnow, Department of Agriculture and Food Western Australia 5. Achieving the best reproductive performance from your hoggets, Kenyon PR, Morris ST, West DM, Perkins NR, Pinchbeck GL., Institute of Veterinary, Animal and Biomedical Sciences, Massey University, New Zealand. 6. Lifetime Wool: Twin futures, Dr Ralph Behrendt, Department of Primary Industries, Victori

A transcriptomic snapshot of early molecular communication between Pasteuria penetrans and Meloidogyne incognita

© The Author(s). 2018Background: Southern root-knot nematode Meloidogyne incognita (Kofoid and White, 1919), Chitwood, 1949 is a key pest of agricultural crops. Pasteuria penetrans is a hyperparasitic bacterium capable of suppressing the nematode reproduction, and represents a typical coevolved pathogen-hyperparasite system. Attachment of Pasteuria endospores to the cuticle of second-stage nematode juveniles is the first and pivotal step in the bacterial infection. RNA-Seq was used to understand the early transcriptional response of the root-knot nematode at 8 h post Pasteuria endospore attachment. Results: A total of 52,485 transcripts were assembled from the high quality (HQ) reads, out of which 582 transcripts were found differentially expressed in the Pasteuria endospore encumbered J2 s, of which 229 were up-regulated and 353 were down-regulated. Pasteuria infection caused a suppression of the protein synthesis machinery of the nematode. Several of the differentially expressed transcripts were putatively involved in nematode innate immunity, signaling, stress responses, endospore attachment process and post-attachment behavioral modification of the juveniles. The expression profiles of fifteen selected transcripts were validated to be true by the qRT PCR. RNAi based silencing of transcripts coding for fructose bisphosphate aldolase and glucosyl transferase caused a reduction in endospore attachment as compared to the controls, whereas, silencing of aspartic protease and ubiquitin coding transcripts resulted in higher incidence of endospore attachment on the nematode cuticle. Conclusions: Here we provide evidence of an early transcriptional response by the nematode upon infection by Pasteuria prior to root invasion. We found that adhesion of Pasteuria endospores to the cuticle induced a down-regulated protein response in the nematode. In addition, we show that fructose bisphosphate aldolase, glucosyl transferase, aspartic protease and ubiquitin coding transcripts are involved in modulating the endospore attachment on the nematode cuticle. Our results add new and significant information to the existing knowledge on early molecular interaction between M. incognita and P. penetrans.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio

Fungal Planet description sheets: 69–91

Novel species of microfungi described in the present study include the following from Australia: Bagadiella victoriae and Bagadiella koalae on Eucalyptus spp., Catenulostroma eucalyptorum on Eucalyptus laevopinea, Cercospora eremochloae on Eremochloa bimaculata, Devriesia queenslandica on Scaevola taccada, Diaporthe musigena on Musa sp., Diaporthe acaciigena on Acacia retinodes, Leptoxyphium kurandae on Eucalyptus sp., Neofusicoccum grevilleae on Grevillea aurea, Phytophthora fluvialis from water in native bushland, Pseudocercospora cyathicola on Cyathea australis, and Teratosphaeria mareebensis on Eucalyptus sp. Other species include Passalora leptophlebiae on Eucalyptus leptophlebia (Brazil), Exophiala tremulae on Populus tremuloides and Dictyosporium stellatum from submerged wood (Canada), Mycosphaerella valgourgensis on Yucca sp. (France), Sclerostagonospora cycadis on Cycas revoluta (Japan), Rachicladosporium pini on Pinus monophylla (Netherlands), Mycosphaerella wachendorfiae on Wachendorfia thyrsifolia and Diaporthe rhusicola on Rhus pendulina (South Africa). Novel genera of hyphomycetes include Noosia banksiae on Banksia aemula (Australia), Utrechtiana cibiessia on Phragmites australis (Netherlands), and Funbolia dimorpha on blackened stem bark of an unidentified tree (USA). Morphological and culture characteristics along with ITS DNA barcodes are provided for all taxa