977 research outputs found
Expression analysis of transcription factors from the interaction between cacao and Moniliophthora perniciosa (Tricholomataceae)
Cacao (Theobroma cacao) is one of the most important tropical crops; however, production is threatened by numerous pathogens, including the hemibiotrophic fungus Moniliophthora perniciosa, which causes witches' broom disease. To understand the mechanisms that lead to the development of this disease in cacao, we focused our attention on cacao transcription factors (TFs), which act as master regulators of cellular processes and are important for the fine-tuning of plant defense responses. We developed a macroarray with 88 TF cDNA from previously obtained cacao-M. perniciosa interaction libraries. Seventy-two TFs were found differentially expressed between the susceptible (Catongo) and resistant (TSH1188) genotypes and/or during the disease time course - from 24 h to 30 days after infection. Most of the differentially expressed TFs belonged to the bZIP, MYB and WRKY families and presented opposite expression patterns in susceptible and resistant cacao-M. perniciosa interactions (i.e., up-regulated in Catongo and down-regulated in TSH1188). The results of the macroarray were confirmed for bZIP and WRKY TFs by real-time PCR. These differentially expressed TFs are good candidates for subsequent functional analysis as well as for plant engineering. Some of these TFs could also be localized on the cacao reference map related to witches' broom resistance, facilitating the breeding and selection of resistant cacao trees. (Résumé d'auteur
Spin transport of electrons through quantum wires with spatially-modulated strength of the Rashba spin-orbit interaction
We study ballistic transport of spin-polarized electrons through quantum
wires in which the strength of the Rashba spin-orbit interaction (SOI) is
spatially modulated. Subband mixing, due to SOI, between the two lowest
subbands is taken into account. Simplified approximate expressions for the
transmission are obtained for electron energies close to the bottom of the
first subband and near the value for which anticrossing of the two lowest
subbands occurs. In structures with periodically varied SOI strength, {\it
square-wave} modulation on the spin transmission is found when only one subband
is occupied and its possible application to the spin transistor is discussed.
When two subbands are occupied the transmission is strongly affected by the
existence of SOI interfaces as well as by the subband mixing
Quantity and quality of soil organic matter as a sustainability index under different land uses in Eastern Amazon
Additional Nucleon Current Contributions to Neutrinoless Double Beta Decay
We have examined the importance of momentum dependent induced nucleon
currents such as weak-magnetism and pseudoscalar couplings to the amplitude of
neutrinoless double beta decay in the mechanisms of light and heavy Majorana
neutrino as well as in that of Majoron emission. Such effects are expected to
occur in all nuclear models in the direction of reducing the light neutrino
matrix elements by about 30%. To test this we have performed a calculation of
the nuclear matrix elements of the experimentally interesting nuclei A = 76,
82, 96, 100, 116, 128, 130, 136 and 150 within the pn-RQRPA. We have found that
indeed such corrections vary somewhat from nucleus to nucleus, but in all cases
they are greater than 25 percent. In the case of heavy neutrino the effect is
much larger (a factor of 3). Combining out results with the best presently
available experimental limits on the half-life of the neutrinoless double beta
decay we have extracted new limits on the effective neutrino mass (light and
heavy) and the effective Majoron coupling constant.Comment: 31 pages, RevTex, 3 Postscript figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.
Theory of spin-polarized bipolar transport in magnetic p-n junctions
The interplay between spin and charge transport in electrically and
magnetically inhomogeneous semiconductor systems is investigated theoretically.
In particular, the theory of spin-polarized bipolar transport in magnetic p-n
junctions is formulated, generalizing the classic Shockley model. The theory
assumes that in the depletion layer the nonequilibrium chemical potentials of
spin up and spin down carriers are constant and carrier recombination and spin
relaxation are inhibited. Under the general conditions of an applied bias and
externally injected (source) spin, the model formulates analytically carrier
and spin transport in magnetic p-n junctions at low bias. The evaluation of the
carrier and spin densities at the depletion layer establishes the necessary
boundary conditions for solving the diffusive transport equations in the bulk
regions separately, thus greatly simplifying the problem. The carrier and spin
density and current profiles in the bulk regions are calculated and the I-V
characteristics of the junction are obtained. It is demonstrated that spin
injection through the depletion layer of a magnetic p-n junction is not
possible unless nonequilibrium spin accumulates in the bulk regions--either by
external spin injection or by the application of a large bias. Implications of
the theory for majority spin injection across the depletion layer, minority
spin pumping and spin amplification, giant magnetoresistance, spin-voltaic
effect, biasing electrode spin injection, and magnetic drift in the bulk
regions are discussed in details, and illustrated using the example of a GaAs
based magnetic p-n junction.Comment: 36 pages, 11 figures, 2 table
Fitting the integrated Spectral Energy Distributions of Galaxies
Fitting the spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of galaxies is an almost
universally used technique that has matured significantly in the last decade.
Model predictions and fitting procedures have improved significantly over this
time, attempting to keep up with the vastly increased volume and quality of
available data. We review here the field of SED fitting, describing the
modelling of ultraviolet to infrared galaxy SEDs, the creation of
multiwavelength data sets, and the methods used to fit model SEDs to observed
galaxy data sets. We touch upon the achievements and challenges in the major
ingredients of SED fitting, with a special emphasis on describing the interplay
between the quality of the available data, the quality of the available models,
and the best fitting technique to use in order to obtain a realistic
measurement as well as realistic uncertainties. We conclude that SED fitting
can be used effectively to derive a range of physical properties of galaxies,
such as redshift, stellar masses, star formation rates, dust masses, and
metallicities, with care taken not to over-interpret the available data. Yet
there still exist many issues such as estimating the age of the oldest stars in
a galaxy, finer details ofdust properties and dust-star geometry, and the
influences of poorly understood, luminous stellar types and phases. The
challenge for the coming years will be to improve both the models and the
observational data sets to resolve these uncertainties. The present review will
be made available on an interactive, moderated web page (sedfitting.org), where
the community can access and change the text. The intention is to expand the
text and keep it up to date over the coming years.Comment: 54 pages, 26 figures, Accepted for publication in Astrophysics &
Space Scienc
FGF receptor genes and breast cancer susceptibility: results from the Breast Cancer Association Consortium
Background:Breast cancer is one of the most common malignancies in women. Genome-wide association studies have identified FGFR2 as a breast cancer susceptibility gene. Common variation in other fibroblast growth factor (FGF) receptors might also modify risk. We tested this hypothesis by studying genotyped single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and imputed SNPs in FGFR1, FGFR3, FGFR4 and FGFRL1 in the Breast Cancer Association Consortium.
Methods:Data were combined from 49 studies, including 53 835 cases and 50 156 controls, of which 89 050 (46 450 cases and 42 600 controls) were of European ancestry, 12 893 (6269 cases and 6624 controls) of Asian and 2048 (1116 cases and 932 controls) of African ancestry. Associations with risk of breast cancer, overall and by disease sub-type, were assessed using unconditional logistic regression.
Results:Little evidence of association with breast cancer risk was observed for SNPs in the FGF receptor genes. The strongest evidence in European women was for rs743682 in FGFR3; the estimated per-allele odds ratio was 1.05 (95 confidence interval=1.02-1.09, P=0.0020), which is substantially lower than that observed for SNPs in FGFR2.
Conclusion:Our results suggest that common variants in the other FGF receptors are not associated with risk of breast cancer to the degree observed for FGFR2. © 2014 Cancer Research UK
Desempenho do inhame (taro) em plantio direto e no consórcio com crotalária, sob manejo orgânico.
Estudaram-se os efeitos do plantio direto em cobertura morta de aveia-preta e do consórcio com Crotalaria juncea, em sistema orgânico de produção de inhame, em ensaio na EE de Nova Friburgo(Pesagro-Rio), região serrana do estado do Rio de Janeiro. Utilizouse o delineamento de blocos ao acaso com quatro repetições, em esquema fatorial 2 x 2, onde os tratamentos corresponderam ao: modo de plantio (direto ou convencional) e modo de cultivo (monocultivo ou consórcio com crotalária). O cultivo consorciado com a
leguminosa promoveu maior altura nas plantas do inhame, assim como reduziu a queima de folhas pelos raios solares. A população infestante de ervas espontâneas foi mais efetivamente controlada com a combinação entre consórcio e plantio direto. Nenhum dos tratamentos influenciou a produtividade do inhame, que foi considerada satisfatória, indicando o potencial do manejo orgânico adotado
Study of Tau-pair Production in Photon-Photon Collisions at LEP and Limits on the Anomalous Electromagnetic Moments of the Tau Lepton
Tau-pair production in the process e+e- -> e+e-tau+tau- was studied using
data collected by the DELPHI experiment at LEP2 during the years 1997 - 2000.
The corresponding integrated luminosity is 650 pb^{-1}. The values of the
cross-section obtained are found to be in agreement with QED predictions.
Limits on the anomalous magnetic and electric dipole moments of the tau lepton
are deduced.Comment: 20 pages, 9 figures, Accepted by Eur. Phys. J.
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