Pattaya Beach, Thailand

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Diversity in boron toxicity tolerance of Australian barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) genotypes

Boron (B) is an important micronutrient for plant growth, but is toxic when levels are too high. This commonly occurs in environments with alkaline soils and relatively low rainfall, including many of the cereal growing regions of southern Australia. Four major genetic loci controlling tolerance to high soil B have been identified in the landrace barley, Sahara 3771. Genes underlying two of the loci encode the B transporters HvBot1 and HvNIP2;1.We investigated sequence and expression level diversity in HvBot1 and HvNIP2;1 across barley germplasm, and identified five novel coding sequence alleles for HvBot1. Lines were identified containing either single or multiple copies of the Sahara HvBot1 allele. We established that only the tandemly duplicated Sahara allele conferred B tolerance, and this duplicated allele was found only in a set of nine lines accessioned in Australian collections as Sahara 3763-3771. HvNIP2;1 coding sequences were highly conserved across barley germplasm. We identified the likely causative SNP in the 5'UTR of Sahara HvNIP2;1, and propose that the creation of a small upstream open reading frame interferes with HvNIP2;1 translation in Sahara 3771. Similar to HvBot1, the tolerant HvNIP2;1 allele was unique to the Sahara barley accessions. We identified a new source of the 2H B tolerance allele controlling leaf symptom development, in the landrace Ethiopia 756.Ethiopia 756, as well as the cultivar Sloop Vic which carries both the 2H and HvBot1 B tolerance alleles derived from Sahara 3771, may be valuable as alternative parents in breeding programs targeted to high soil B environments. There is significant diversity in B toxicity tolerance among contemporary Australian barley varieties but this is not related to variation at any of the four known B tolerance loci, indicating that novel, as yet undiscovered, sources of tolerance exist.Julie E. Hayes, Margaret Pallotta, Melissa Garcia, Mehmet Tufan Öz, Jay Rongala and Tim Sutto

Putting families of origin into the queer picture : introducing this special issue

In undertaking our own separate research projects and in our crosscontinental comparative analyses of those projects, we became aware of the gaps between the richness of research on GLBT lives, including experiences of intimacy and parenthood, and the paucity of research on their relations with their families of origin. Still marginal is, in particular, research on the perspectives of the families of origin themselves: parents, but also siblings, grandparents, and other members of extended families. For the purposes of this special issue, we are deploying the term families of origin to mean heterosexual-identifying family members (at least as they publicly perform and display their sexualities), living within a heteronormative socio-politicocultural system. As we will argue in this introduction, however, there is a need to document and research, and thereby historically situate, family diversity, including the increasing shifting discourses and lived experiences of same-sex and other queer families of origin

A virtual reality food court to study meal choices in youth: design and assessment of usability

BACKGROUND: Regular consumption of take-out and fast foods with sugary drinks is associated with poor quality diets and higher prevalence of obesity. Among the settings where such food is consumed is the food court typically found in shopping malls prominent in many countries. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this research was to develop a virtual reality food court that could be used to test food environmental interventions, such as taxation, and ultimately to facilitate the selection of healthier food choices. METHODS: Fourteen food courts in Sydney, Australia were selected to include those in the city center and suburbs of high and low socioeconomic status. Researchers visited the courts to collect information on number and type of food outlets, all menu items for sale, cost of foods and beverages and sales promotions. This information was used to assemble 14 food outlets typically found in food courts, and representative menus were compiled. The UNITY gaming platform was used to design a virtual reality food court that could be used with HTC VIVE goggles. Participants navigated the virtual reality food court using the head-mounted display, keyboard, and mouse and selected a lunch meal, including food and beverage. A validated questionnaire on presence within the virtual reality food court and system usability was completed at the end of the session. The constructs for presence included a sense of control, sensory fidelity, realism, distraction, and involvement. Questions were rated on a scale from 1 (worst) through 7 (best) for each of 28 questions giving a maximum total score of 196. The systems usability scale (SUS) that gives a final score out of 100 was also assessed. RESULTS: One hundred and sixty-two participants with a mean age of 22.5 (SD 3.1) years completed the survey. The mean score for total presence was 144 (SE 1.4) consisting of control: 62.1 (SE 0.8), realism: 17.5 (SE 0.2), involvement: 9.6 (SE 0.2), sensory fidelity: 34.9 (SE 0.4), and distraction: 24.0 (SE 0.3). The mean SUS was 69 (SE 1.1). CONCLUSIONS: Virtual reality shows promise as a tool to study food choice for test interventions to inform practice and policy

Cornelia de Lange syndrome and cancer: An open question

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Tissue specific promoters from rice and wheat for modifying grain characteristics

Trabalho final do 6º Ano Médico com vista à atribuição do grau de mestre no âmbito do ciclo de estudos de Mestrado Integrado em Medicina, apresentada à Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de CoimbraA tiroidite, inflamação da glândula tiroideia, é, juntamente com o bócio, a afecção endócrina mais frequente, sendo comummente encontrada em medicina ambulatória. Associada a uma função tiroideia normal, aumentada ou diminuída (frequentemente com evolução de uma condição para outra), as circunstâncias da sua descoberta podem ser variadas e a distinção dos seus vários tipos baseia-se, essencialmente, no panorama clínico, rapidez de instalação sintomática, história familiar e presença ou ausência de sintomas prodrómicos e dor no pescoço. Vários critérios podem ser utilizados para a sua classificação, nomeadamente histológicos e clínicos (acompanhada ou não de dor tiroideia), sendo, contudo, a evolução da doença o critério classicamente utilizado. Assim, de acordo com este último, os diferentes subtipos de tiroidite podem ser agrupados em: tiroidite aguda, tiroidite subaguda ou tiroidite crónica. A primeira é uma forma dolorosa de tiroidite extremamente rara causada por uma infecção bacteriana, fúngica ou parasitária da tiróide e surgindo, sobretudo, na criança/adolescente e adulto jovem. Nas tiroidites subagudas, podemos encontrar a tiroidite subaguda granulomatosa ou de De Quervain – causa mais frequente de dor tiroideia, eventualmente, de origem viral – e as tiroidites subagudas linfocíticas – tiroidites esporádica indolor, do pós-parto, iatrogénica (interferão, interleucina-2, lítio), tóxica (amiodarona), por irradiação (iodo 131, irradiação externa) ou traumática (cirurgia, punção, traumatismo externo). Finalmente, nas tiroidites crónicas, caracterizadas, portanto, por um maior tempo de evolução, podemos destacar a tiroidite de Riedel, de natureza fibrótica e fisiopatologia desconhecida, e a tiroidite de Hashimoto, a tiroidite mais frequente e causa mais comum de hipotiroidismo nas regiões com aporte suficiente de iodo e da qual as tiroidites esporádica indolor e do pós-parto se aproximam pelo seu carácter autoimune. O diagnóstico destas afecções é feito pelo contexto e achados clínicos, incluindo a presença ou ausência de dor, textura e autoanticorpos. Adicionalmente, o grau de absorção de iodo radioactivo pela iii glândula é reduzido na maioria dos pacientes com inflamação viral, induzida por radiação, traumática, autoimune ou induzida por drogas. O tratamento é, primeiramente, dirigido ao alívio sintomático da dor tiroideia e restabelecimento do eutiroidismo.Thyroiditis, inflammation of the thyroid gland, is, along with goiter, the most frequent endocrine pathology, being commonly found in ambulatory medicine. Associated with normal, elevated or depressed thyroid function (often with evolution from one condition to another), the circumstances of its discovery are varied and the distinction of its several types is based primarily on the clinical setting, rapidity of symptom onset, family history and presence or absence of prodromal symptoms and neck pain. Different criteria can be used to its classification, namely histological and clinical (with thyroid pain or not). Nevertheless, the evolution of the disease is the classically used criterion. Thus, accordingly with this one, the several subtypes of thyroiditis can be divided into: acute thyroiditis, subacute thyroiditis and chronic thyroiditis. The first one is an extremely rare painful form of thyroiditis cause by a bacterial, fungic or parasitic infection of the thyroid and it in children/adolescents and young adults. In subacute thyroiditis, we can have the subacute granulomatous or de De Quervain thyroiditis – most common cause of thyroid pain, eventually of viral original – and the subacute lymphocytic thyroiditis – sporadic painless, postpartum, iatrogenic (interferon, interleukin-2, lithium), toxic (amiodarone), by irradiation (iodine 131 and external irradiation) or traumatic (surgery, puncture or external traumatism) thyroiditis. Finally, in chronic thyroiditis, characterized, therefore, by a longer time of evolution, we can mention Riedel’s thyroiditis, of fibrotic nature and unknown physiopathology, and Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, the most frequent thyroiditis and the most common cause of hypothyroidism in the regions with an adequate iodine supply, from which the sporadic painful and postpartum thyroiditis are close by their autoimune character. Diagnosis is by clinical context and findings, including the presence or absence of pain, tenderness and autoantibodies. In addition, the degree of radioactive iodine uptake by the gland is reduced in most patients with viral, radiation-induced, traumatic, autoimmune, or drug-induced inflammation of the thyroid. Treatment primarily is directed at symptomatic relief of the thyroid pain and restoration of euthyroidism

Measurement of Aerosols at the Pierre Auger Observatory

The air fluorescence detectors (FDs) of the Pierre Auger Observatory are vital for the determination of the air shower energy scale. To compensate for variations in atmospheric conditions that affect the energy measurement, the Observatory operates an array of monitoring instruments to record hourly atmospheric conditions across the detector site, an area exceeding 3,000 square km. This paper presents results from four instruments used to characterize the aerosol component of the atmosphere: the Central Laser Facility (CLF), which provides the FDs with calibrated laser shots; the scanning backscatter lidars, which operate at three FD sites; the Aerosol Phase Function monitors (APFs), which measure the aerosol scattering cross section at two FD locations; and the Horizontal Attenuation Monitor (HAM), which measures the wavelength dependence of aerosol attenuation.Comment: Contribution to the 30th International Cosmic Ray Conference, Merida Mexico, July 2007; 4 pages, 4 figure