Seed Enhancement Research for Improving Ecological Restoration

This thesis researched the application of innovative seed coating to Australian native grasses. A key finding was that most industrial development on seed coating material/methods are undisclosed. This research block was addressed by creating a seed coating protocol development tool. The evaluation of seed coating materials found that coat integrity impede germination. Seed processing optimisation on native grasses, made seed coating feasible, and the incorporation of the anti-stress compound, salicylic acid, improved in-field plant survival

Design of specific nucleic acid‐based biosensors for protein binding activity

Nucleic acid-based biosensors for the detection of specific proteins combine the typical programmability of synthetic DNA systems with artificially controlled DNA-protein communication. The high-affinity interaction between a target protein and a specific ligand, such as an aptamer sequence, or a double stranded DNA domain, or a small peptide, is paired with a nature-mimicking molecular mechanism allowing for probing, processing, and translating protein binding activity into a measurable signal. In this Review, two main strategies developed in the context of protein-responsive nucleic acid-based biosensors are discussed. One is the design of proximity-based assays harnessing the spatial colocalization of functional probes within the volume of a multivalent protein. The other is the engineering of dynamic DNA structures that undergo a controlled conformational or structural change upon protein binding. Examples of applications from optical and electrochemical detection of antibodies in biofluids to fluorescence imaging of transcription factors in living cells are reported, and suggestions along with possible future directions in the field are discussed

Seed quality and the true price of native seed for mine site restoration

Native seed underpins the success of most terrestrial restoration efforts globally; however, the fragility of the native seed supply chain presents a key challenge to achieving global restoration goals. With the current heightened global focus on ecological restoration, seed supply chains are under unprecedented pressure worldwide. New and practical solutions are required to help the native seed industry move toward more sustainable and reliable supply, and in turn, facilitate more cost-effective, successful, seed-based restoration. Here we focus on species used in biodiverse mine site restoration in two regions of Western Australia as a test case for evaluating two key elements of the seed supply chain: seed quality and price. The study assessed seed quality in 185 species, then combined these results with seed price to determine the actual cost of pure live seeds (PLS) used in restoration. Average seed quality, expressed as a weight percentage of PLS, is 55%. The average price for a native seed batch across 129 species is $1,093 Australian dollars (AUD)/kg, and when adjusted for viability and purity is$2,600 (AUD)/ kg of PLS. We suggest replacing the traditional approach of pricing seed per unit weight ($/kg) with a new method that would reflect seed quality and unit number; price per thousand pure live seeds ($ TPLS). We posit that this new way of pricing native seeds would increase transparency and information flow in the marketing of native seeds, which will, in turn, enable seed users to more reliably plan for, and evaluate the cost-effectiveness of seed-based restoration projects

Indigenous and local communities can boost seed supply in the UN decade on ecosystem restoration.

The UN Decade of Ecosystem Restoration is poised to trigger the recovery of ecosystem services and transform structural injustices across the world in a way unparalleled in human history. The inclusion of diverse Indigenous and local communities to co-create robust native seed supply systems is the backbone to achieve the goals for the Decade. Here we show how community-based organizations have co-developed native seed supply strategies for landscape restoration from the bottom-up. We draw on the interconnections over two decades of seed networks in Brazil and the emerging Indigenous participation in native seed production in Australia. From an environmental justice perspective, we provide a participatory seed supply approach for local engagement, noting local geographical, social and cultural contexts. Meeting large-scale restoration goals requires the connection between local seed production and collaborative platforms to negotiate roles, rights and responsibilities between stakeholders. An enduring native seed supply must include a diversity of voices and autonomy of community groups that builds equitable participation in social, economic, and environmental benefits.Funder: European Research Council (ERC) Award number: 86600

Constraints on the χ_(c1) versus χ_(c2) polarizations in proton-proton collisions at √s = 8 TeV

The polarizations of promptly produced χ_(c1) and χ_(c2) mesons are studied using data collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC, in proton-proton collisions at √s=8  TeV. The χ_c states are reconstructed via their radiative decays χ_c → J/ψγ, with the photons being measured through conversions to e⁺e⁻, which allows the two states to be well resolved. The polarizations are measured in the helicity frame, through the analysis of the χ_(c2) to χ_(c1) yield ratio as a function of the polar or azimuthal angle of the positive muon emitted in the J/ψ → μ⁺μ⁻ decay, in three bins of J/ψ transverse momentum. While no differences are seen between the two states in terms of azimuthal decay angle distributions, they are observed to have significantly different polar anisotropies. The measurement favors a scenario where at least one of the two states is strongly polarized along the helicity quantization axis, in agreement with nonrelativistic quantum chromodynamics predictions. This is the first measurement of significantly polarized quarkonia produced at high transverse momentum

Penilaian Kinerja Keuangan Koperasi di Kabupaten Pelalawan

This paper describe development and financial performance of cooperative in District Pelalawan among 2007 - 2008. Studies on primary and secondary cooperative in 12 sub-districts. Method in this stady use performance measuring of productivity, efficiency, growth, liquidity, and solvability of cooperative. Productivity of cooperative in Pelalawan was highly but efficiency still low. Profit and income were highly, even liquidity of cooperative very high, and solvability was good

Differential cross section measurements for the production of a W boson in association with jets in proton–proton collisions at √s = 7 TeV

Measurements are reported of differential cross sections for the production of a W boson, which decays into a muon and a neutrino, in association with jets, as a function of several variables, including the transverse momenta (pT) and pseudorapidities of the four leading jets, the scalar sum of jet transverse momenta (HT), and the difference in azimuthal angle between the directions of each jet and the muon. The data sample of pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV was collected with the CMS detector at the LHC and corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 5.0 fb[superscript −1]. The measured cross sections are compared to predictions from Monte Carlo generators, MadGraph + pythia and sherpa, and to next-to-leading-order calculations from BlackHat + sherpa. The differential cross sections are found to be in agreement with the predictions, apart from the pT distributions of the leading jets at high pT values, the distributions of the HT at high-HT and low jet multiplicity, and the distribution of the difference in azimuthal angle between the leading jet and the muon at low values.United States. Dept. of EnergyNational Science Foundation (U.S.)Alfred P. Sloan Foundatio

Severe early onset preeclampsia: short and long term clinical, psychosocial and biochemical aspects

Preeclampsia is a pregnancy specific disorder commonly defined as de novo hypertension and proteinuria after 20 weeks gestational age. It occurs in approximately 3-5% of pregnancies and it is still a major cause of both foetal and maternal morbidity and mortality worldwide1. As extensive research has not yet elucidated the aetiology of preeclampsia, there are no rational preventive or therapeutic interventions available. The only rational treatment is delivery, which benefits the mother but is not in the interest of the foetus, if remote from term. Early onset preeclampsia (<32 weeks’ gestational age) occurs in less than 1% of pregnancies. It is, however often associated with maternal morbidity as the risk of progression to severe maternal disease is inversely related with gestational age at onset2. Resulting prematurity is therefore the main cause of neonatal mortality and morbidity in patients with severe preeclampsia3. Although the discussion is ongoing, perinatal survival is suggested to be increased in patients with preterm preeclampsia by expectant, non-interventional management. This temporising treatment option to lengthen pregnancy includes the use of antihypertensive medication to control hypertension, magnesium sulphate to prevent eclampsia and corticosteroids to enhance foetal lung maturity4. With optimal maternal haemodynamic status and reassuring foetal condition this results on average in an extension of 2 weeks. Prolongation of these pregnancies is a great challenge for clinicians to balance between potential maternal risks on one the eve hand and possible foetal benefits on the other. Clinical controversies regarding prolongation of preterm preeclamptic pregnancies still exist – also taking into account that preeclampsia is the leading cause of maternal mortality in the Netherlands5 - a debate which is even more pronounced in very preterm pregnancies with questionable foetal viability6-9. Do maternal risks of prolongation of these very early pregnancies outweigh the chances of neonatal survival? Counselling of women with very early onset preeclampsia not only comprises of knowledge of the outcome of those particular pregnancies, but also knowledge of outcomes of future pregnancies of these women is of major clinical importance. This thesis opens with a review of the literature on identifiable risk factors of preeclampsia