Antioxidative Activities of Alfalfa and Timothy Varieties

The term functional foods is often used as a generic description for the beneficial effects of ingested foods that go beyond their traditional nutritive value (Bauman et al., 2001). Milk and dairy products are important dietary sources of nutrients, providing energy, high quality protein, and a variety of vitamins and minerals. Recent research has focused on altering the fat and protein content of milk and other dairy products in order to improve their nutrient content to more aptly reflect current dietary recommendations and trends. As a result, additional focus is being given to designing foods that have beneficial effects on human health. This study was carried out to investigate the antioxidative activities of forages grown in Korea

Yield and Nutritive Value of Heading and Headless Sorghum x Sudangrass Hybrids in Response to Cutting Frequency

Summer annual forages contribute greatly toward solving the problem of roughage supply for cattle in Korea. These forages support high levels of dairy and beef production during hot summer months when the quality and production of perennial herbage decreases due to unfavourable climatic conditions (Olson, 1971). This study investigated the effects of cutting frequency on dry matter (DM) yield and nutritive value of heading versus headless varieties of sorghum x sudangrass hybrid

THE TRANSFORMATIVE POTENTIAL OF CREATIVE ART PRACTICES IN THE CONTEXT OF INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH

A growing body of literature addressing the need for educational innovations has also stressed the value of interdisciplinary approaches that incorporate art into teaching and learning. This paper aims to extend educators??? understanding of art???science interactions by presenting an empirical study that explores a unique art residency program created on the campus of a university that specializes in science and technology. The study reviews the art practices of three contemporary artists who participated in a program developed in conjunction with an interdisciplinary research project seeking ways to build an ecologically sustainable community and operated by a renewable energy resource-based economic system. Data that include observations, artist talks, and in-person interviews were collected from multiple sources during the residency to understand the distinguished processes involved in the development of individual art projects. A follow-up cross-case analysis revealed a few notable characteristics: connecting art with life through waste recycling, process-oriented practices highlighting resource circulation, and creating value using bricolage strategies. Regarding educational implications, discussions centered upon the potential transformational space identified from the creative art practices in the context of interdisciplinary research

Arabidopsis ABCG34 contributes to defense against necrotrophic pathogens by mediating the secretion of camalexin

Plant pathogens cause huge yield losses. Plant defense often depends on toxic secondary metabolites that inhibit pathogen growth. Because most secondary metabolites are also toxic to the plant, specific transporters are needed to deliver them to the pathogens. To identify the transporters that function in plant defense, we screened Arabidopsis thaliana mutants of full-size ABCG transporters for hypersensitivity to sclareol, an antifungal compound. We found that atabcg34 mutants were hypersensitive to sclareol and to the necrotrophic fungi Alternaria brassicicola and Botrytis cinerea. AtABCG34 expression was induced by A. brassicicola inoculation as well as by methyl-jasmonate, a defense-related phytohormone, and AtABCG34 was polarly localized at the external face of the plasma membrane of epidermal cells of leaves and roots. atabcg34 mutants secreted less camalexin, a major phytoalexin in A. thaliana, whereas plants overexpressing AtABCG34 secreted more camalexin to the leaf surface and were more resistant to the pathogen. When treated with exogenous camalexin, atabcg34 mutants exhibited hypersensitivity, whereas BY2 cells expressing AtABCG34 exhibited improved resistance. Analyses of natural Arabidopsis accessions revealed that AtABCG34 contributes to the disease resistance in naturally occurring genetic variants, albeit to a small extent. Together, our data suggest that AtABCG34 mediates camalexin secretion to the leaf surface and thereby prevents A. brassicicola infection.117Ysciescopu

An exploration of grip force regulation with a low-impedance myoelectric prosthesis featuring referred haptic feedback

Abstract Background Haptic display technologies are well suited to relay proprioceptive, force, and contact cues from a prosthetic terminal device back to the residual limb and thereby reduce reliance on visual feedback. The ease with which an amputee interprets these haptic cues, however, likely depends on whether their dynamic signal behavior corresponds to expected behaviors—behaviors consonant with a natural limb coupled to the environment. A highly geared motor in a terminal device along with the associated high back-drive impedance influences dynamic interactions with the environment, creating effects not encountered with a natural limb. Here we explore grasp and lift performance with a backdrivable (low backdrive impedance) terminal device placed under proportional myoelectric position control that features referred haptic feedback. Methods We fabricated a back-drivable terminal device that could be used by amputees and non-amputees alike and drove aperture (or grip force, when a stiff object was in its grasp) in proportion to a myoelectric signal drawn from a single muscle site in the forearm. In randomly ordered trials, we assessed the performance of N=10 participants (7 non-amputee, 3 amputee) attempting to grasp and lift an object using the terminal device under three feedback conditions (no feedback, vibrotactile feedback, and joint torque feedback), and two object weights that were indiscernible by vision. Results Both non-amputee and amputee participants scaled their grip force according to the object weight. Our results showed only minor differences in grip force, grip/load force coordination, and slip as a function of sensory feedback condition, though the grip force at the point of lift-off for the heavier object was significantly greater for amputee participants in the presence of joint torque feedback. An examination of grip/load force phase plots revealed that our amputee participants used larger safety margins and demonstrated less coordination than our non-amputee participants. Conclusions Our results suggest that a backdrivable terminal device may hold advantages over non-backdrivable devices by allowing grip/load force coordination consistent with behaviors observed in the natural limb. Likewise, the inconclusive effect of referred haptic feedback on grasp and lift performance suggests the need for additional testing that includes adequate training for participants.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/116041/1/12984_2015_Article_98.pd

Effect of the GaAsP shell on optical properties of self-catalyzed GaAs nanowires grown on silicon

We realize growth of self-catalyzed core-shell GaAs/GaAsP nanowires (NWs) on Si substrates using molecular-beam epitaxy. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) of single GaAs/GaAsP NWs confirms their high crystal quality and shows domination of the zinc-blende phase. This is further confirmed in optics of single NWs, studied using cw and time-resolved photoluminescence (PL). A detailed comparison with uncapped GaAs NWs emphasizes the effect of the GaAsP capping in suppressing the non-radiative surface states: significant PL enhancement in the core-shell structures exceeding 2000 times at 10K is observed; in uncapped NWs PL is quenched at 60K whereas single core-shell GaAs/GaAsP NWs exhibit bright emission even at room temperature. From analysis of the PL temperature dependence in both types of NW we are able to determine the main carrier escape mechanisms leading to the PL quench

The nuclear immune receptor RPS4 is required for RRS1SLH1-dependent constitutive defense activation in Arabidopsis thaliana

Plant nucleotide-binding leucine-rich repeat (NB-LRR) disease resistance (R) proteins recognize specific ‘‘avirulent’’ pathogen effectors and activate immune responses. NB-LRR proteins structurally and functionally resemble mammalian Nod-like receptors (NLRs). How NB-LRR and NLR proteins activate defense is poorly understood. The divergently transcribed Arabidopsis R genes, RPS4 (resistance to Pseudomonas syringae 4) and RRS1 (resistance to Ralstonia solanacearum 1), function together to confer recognition of Pseudomonas AvrRps4 and Ralstonia PopP2. RRS1 is the only known recessive NBLRR R gene and encodes a WRKY DNA binding domain, prompting suggestions that it acts downstream of RPS4 for transcriptional activation of defense genes. We define here the early RRS1-dependent transcriptional changes upon delivery of PopP2 via Pseudomonas type III secretion. The Arabidopsis slh1 (sensitive to low humidity 1) mutant encodes an RRS1 allele (RRS1SLH1) with a single amino acid (leucine) insertion in the WRKY DNA-binding domain. Its poor growth due to constitutive defense activation is rescued at higher temperature. Transcription profiling data indicate that RRS1SLH1-mediated defense activation overlaps substantially with AvrRps4- and PopP2-regulated responses. To better understand the genetic basis of RPS4/RRS1-dependent immunity, we performed a genetic screen to identify suppressor of slh1 immunity (sushi) mutants. We show that many sushi mutants carry mutations in RPS4, suggesting that RPS4 acts downstream or in a complex with RRS1. Interestingly, several mutations were identified in a domain C-terminal to the RPS4 LRR domain. Using an Agrobacterium-mediated transient assay system, we demonstrate that the P-loop motif of RPS4 but not of RRS1SLH1 is required for RRS1SLH1 function. We also recapitulate the dominant suppression of RRS1SLH1 defense activation by wild type RRS1 and show this suppression requires an intact RRS1 P-loop. These analyses of RRS1SLH1 shed new light on mechanisms by which NB-LRR protein pairs activate defense signaling, or are held inactive in the absence of a pathogen effector

A Two-dimensional Analytical Model for Prediction of the Radiation Heat Transfer in Open-cell Metal Foams

This is the accepted manuscript version of the following article: "Z. Jiang, et al., “A two-dimensional analytical model for prediction of the radiation heat transfer in open-cell metal foams”, Applied Thermal Engineering, Vol. 93: 1273-1281, October 2015." The final published version is available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2015.09.043 Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Article under Embargo until 23/10/17.In this article, a new two-dimensional (2D) explicit analytical model for the evaluation of the radiation heat transfer in highly porous open-cell metal foams is formulated and validated. A correction factor, C, is introduced to correct the deviation of the specific area in a simplified manner. Numerical results are compared with the published experimental data and three-dimensional (3D) model proposed in previous works. It reveals that the present two-dimensional model is proved to be relatively accurate in estimating the radiative conductivity for all the investigated structures. In the current work, the effects of the control parameters, such as the number of order in the iterative procedure, solid emissivity, the temperature difference, shape of solid particle and correction factor on the predictions of radiation characteristics are well discussed.Peer reviewe

Generation of Glucose-Responsive Functional Islets with a Three-Dimensional Structure from Mouse Fetal Pancreatic Cells and iPS Cells In Vitro

Islets of Langerhans are a pancreatic endocrine compartment consisting of insulin-producing β cells together with several other hormone-producing cells. While some insulin-producing cells or immature pancreatic cells have been generated in vitro from ES and iPS cells, islets with proper functions and a three-dimensional (3D) structure have never been successfully produced. To test whether islets can be formed in vitro, we first examined the potential of mouse fetal pancreatic cells. We found that E16.5 pancreatic cells, just before forming islets, were able to develop cell aggregates consisting of β cells surrounded by glucagon-producing α cells, a structure similar to murine adult islets. Moreover, the transplantation of these cells improved blood glucose levels in hyperglycemic mice. These results indicate that functional islets are formed in vitro from fetal pancreatic cells at a specific developmental stage. By adopting these culture conditions to the differentiation of mouse iPS cells, we developed a two-step system to generate islets, i.e. immature pancreatic cells were first produced from iPS cells, and then transferred to culture conditions that allowed the formation of islets from fetal pancreatic cells. The islets exhibited distinct 3D structural features similar to adult pancreatic islets and secreted insulin in response to glucose concentrations. Transplantation of the islets improved blood glucose levels in hyperglycemic mice. In conclusion, the two-step culture system allows the generation of functional islets with a 3D structure from iPS cells