Strawberry production in south-eastern Iowa as influenced by varieties, fertilizers and cultural practices

For many years strawberries have been an important cash crop in southeastern Iowa, particularly in the vicinity of Montrose. Dunlap has been the leading variety grown. The crop has been marketed by a small but unusually well-organized cooperative association known as the Iowa Fruit Company of Montrose, Iowa. Several years ago the growers began to experience certain difficulties which materially reduced the value of their crop. Disease and drouth lowered yields. The soils devoted to strawberry culture began to show the effects of continuous cropping under the prevailing system of soil management. Prices fell to such an extent that receipts scarcely paid the harvesting and marketing expenses. The shipping quality of Dunlap became another factor. The berry was too soft to carry long distances and still maintain its attractiveness. Newer varieties grown in other sections of the country had more buyer appeal on the markets

Implementing Community-Based Nutrition and Physical Activity Programs that Promote Healthy Aging

Poor nutrition, such as the lack of adequate consumption of fruits and vegetables, and physical inactivity are important public health concerns as the United States (US) adult population continues to age and live longer. According to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), by 2030 the proportion of the US population aged 65 years or older will double to approximately 71 million (The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2008). With this projected population growth it is imperative to address ways to improve and sustain the health of older adults in an effort to reduce healthcare spending. The Centers for Disease Control and The Merck Company Foundation (2007) estimate that by 2030 the cost of healthcare spending for older adults will increase by 25%. Healthcare spending is associated with the prevalence of chronic disease. Approximately 80% of the older adult population has at least one chronic disease, such as hypertension, type 2 diabetes, cancer and heart disease, and 50% of this population has at least two chronic health conditions (CDC, 2008). A healthful diet and an active lifestyle are considered major determinants of healthy aging (American Dietetic Association, 2005). The purpose of this paper is to identify evidence-based guidelines and best practices for implementing community-based nutrition and physical activity programs which target older adults throughout North Carolina. A review of the current published literature and a social marketing plan, written by the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service (NCCES), will be used to develop recommendations for implementing community-based nutrition and physical activity programs that promote healthy aging.Master of Public Healt

Proceedings of the Spacecraft Charging Technology Conference: Executive Summary

Aerospace environments are reviewed in reference to spacecraft charging. Modelling, a theoretical scheme which can be used to describe the structure of the sheath around the spacecraft and to calculate the charging currents within, is discussed. Materials characterization is considered for experimental determination of the behavior of typical spacecraft materials when exposed to simulated geomagnetic substorm conditions. Materials development is also examined for controlling and minimizing spacecraft charging or at least for distributing the charge in an equipotential manner, using electrical conductive surfaces for materials exposed to space environment

Integrated and Modular Didactic and Methodological Concept for a Learning Factory

AbstractAs today manufacturing is not only subject to a single factory, but a network of globally distributed production sites, the goal-oriented encouragement of professional capacities is the motivation for the Learning Factory on Global Production (LGP). In this context, the design of a competency-based and action-oriented didactic and methodological concept is a prerequisite for sustainable learning results and for the development of self-determined problem solving skills. The presented paper gives an overview to the didactic and methodological design approach of the LGP. The integrated modular concept of e-learning and application in the learning factory environment supports self-directed learning and implemented by structuring the teaching/ learning process according to the model of complete action

Gain in Transcriptional Activity by Primate-specific Coevolution of Melanoma Antigen-A11 and Its Interaction Site in Androgen Receptor

Male sex development and growth occur in response to high affinity androgen binding to the androgen receptor (AR). In contrast to complete amino acid sequence conservation in the AR DNA and ligand binding domains among mammals, a primate-specific difference in the AR NH2-terminal region that regulates the NH2- and carboxyl-terminal (N/C) interaction enables direct binding to melanoma antigen-A11 (MAGE-11), an AR coregulator that is also primate-specific. Human, mouse, and rat AR share the same NH2-terminal 23FQNLF27 sequence that mediates the androgen-dependent N/C interaction. However, the mouse and rat AR FXXLF motif is flanked by Ala33 that evolved to Val33 in primates. Human AR Val33 was required to interact directly with MAGE-11 and for the inhibitory effect of the AR N/C interaction on activation function 2 that was relieved by MAGE-11. The functional importance of MAGE-11 was indicated by decreased human AR regulation of an androgen-dependent endogenous gene using lentivirus short hairpin RNAs and by the greater transcriptional strength of human compared with mouse AR. MAGE-11 increased progesterone and glucocorticoid receptor activity independently of binding an FXXLF motif by interacting with p300 and p160 coactivators. We conclude that the coevolution of the AR NH2-terminal sequence and MAGE-11 expression among primates provides increased regulatory control over activation domain dominance. Primate-specific expression of MAGE-11 results in greater steroid receptor transcriptional activity through direct interactions with the human AR FXXLF motif region and indirectly through steroid receptor-associated p300 and p160 coactivators

Proto-oncogene Activity of Melanoma Antigen-A11 (MAGE-A11) Regulates Retinoblastoma-related p107 and E2F1 Proteins

Melanoma antigen-A11 (MAGE-A11) is a low-abundance, primate-specific steroid receptor coregulator in normal tissues of the human reproductive tract that is expressed at higher levels in prostate cancer. Increased expression of MAGE-A11 enhances androgen receptor transcriptional activity and promotes prostate cancer cell growth. Further investigation into the mechanisms of MAGE-A11 function in prostate cancer demonstrated interactions with the retinoblastoma-related protein p107 and Rb tumor suppressor but no interaction with p130 of the Rb family. MAGE-A11 interaction with p107 was associated with transcriptional repression in cells with low MAGE-A11 and transcriptional activation in cells with higher MAGE-A11. Selective interaction of MAGE-A11 with retinoblastoma family members suggested the regulation of E2F transcription factors. MAGE-A11 stabilized p107 by inhibition of ubiquitination and linked p107 to hypophosphorylated E2F1 in association with the stabilization and activation of E2F1. The androgen receptor and MAGE-A11 modulated endogenous expression of the E2F1-regulated cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p27Kip1. The ability of MAGE-A11 to increase E2F1 transcriptional activity was similar to the activity of adenovirus early oncoprotein E1A and depended on MAGE-A11 interactions with p107 and p300. The immunoreactivity of p107 and MAGE-A11 was greater in advanced prostate cancer than in benign prostate, and knockdown with small inhibitory RNA showed that p107 is a transcriptional activator in prostate cancer cells. These results suggest that MAGE-A11 is a proto-oncogene whose increased expression in prostate cancer reverses retinoblastoma-related protein p107 from a transcriptional repressor to a transcriptional activator of the androgen receptor and E2F1

Primate-specific Melanoma Antigen-A11 Regulates Isoform-specific Human Progesterone Receptor-B Transactivation

Progesterone acting through the progesterone receptor (PR) and its coregulators prepares the human endometrium for receptivity to embryo implantation and maintains pregnancy. The menstrual cycle-dependent expression of melanoma antigen-A11 (MAGE-11) in the mid-secretory human endometrium suggested a novel function in human PR signaling. Here we show that MAGE-11 is an isoform-specific coregulator responsible for the greater transcriptional activity of human PR-B relative to PR-A. PR was recruited to progesterone response regions of progesterone-regulated FK506-binding protein 5 (FKBP5) immunophilin and small Ras family G protein cell growth inhibitor RASD1 genes. Expression of MAGE-11 lentivirus shRNA in human endometrial Ishikawa cells expressing PR-B showed that MAGE-11 is required for isoform-specific PR-B up-regulation of FKBP5. In contrast, MAGE-11 was not required for progesterone up-regulation of RASD1 in endometrial cells expressing the PR-A/B heterodimer. Target gene specificity of PR-B depended on the synergistic actions of MAGE-11 and p300 mediated by the unique PR-B NH2-terminal 110LLXXVLXXLL119 motif that interacts with the MAGE-11 F-box region in a phosphorylation- and ubiquitinylation-dependent manner. A progesterone-dependent mechanism is proposed in which MAGE-11 and p300 increase PR-B up-regulation of the FKBP5 gene. MAGE-11 down-regulates PR-B, similar to the effects of progesterone, and interacts with FKBP5 to stabilize a complex with PR-B. We conclude that the coregulator function of MAGE-11 extends to isoform-specific regulation of PR-B during the cyclic development of the human endometrium