Blast disease in ryegrass is similar to rice blast in regard to infection cell biology

Magnaporthe oryzae has been devastating to various grasses. This is especially true in food crops around the globe. Resistance has been implemented but has not been completely successful due to the variability of the fungus. It is hypothesized that this is due in part to the presence of disposable mini-chromosomes. Ryegrass blast pathogen is closely related to the dangerous, emerging wheat blast pathogen, and understanding it can help us understand wheat blast as well as pathogen variability. The ryegrass pathogen on its own recently emerged as a serious threat to golf courses and sports fields in the U.S. Hypothesis: The ryegrass pathogen uses the same biotrophic (live-cell) invasion strategy as the extensively-studied rice blast pathogen

Lattice Wigner equation

We present a numerical scheme to solve the Wigner equation, based on a lattice discretization of momentum space. The moments of the Wigner function are recovered exactly, up to the desired order given by the number of discrete momenta retained in the discretisation, which also determines the accuracy of the method. The Wigner equation is equipped with an additional collision operator, designed in such a way as to ensure numerical stability without affecting the evolution of the relevant moments of the Wigner function. The lattice Wigner scheme is validated for the case of quantum harmonic and anharmonic potentials, showing good agreement with theoretical results. It is further applied to the study of the transport properties of one and two dimensional open quantum systems with potential barriers. Finally, the computational viability of the scheme for the case of three- dimensional open systems is also illustrated

The evidence for jet-cloud interactions in a sample of high/intermediate-redshift radio galaxies

We present the result obtained from a study, based on long-slit spectroscopy, of the kinematics and ionization mechanisms of the line-emitting gas for a sample of four high/intermediate-redshift radio galaxies. In two of the galaxies (3C352 and 3C435A) the radio sources are of the same scale as the emission-line regions, whereas in the other two (3C34 and 3C330) the radio sources are extended on a larger scale than the emission-line structures. We see evidence for shock-acceleration of the emission-line gas in the extended regions of all the galaxies, even in the largest radio sources of our sample, in which the radio hot spots have passed the extended gas of the galaxies. The extended regions present highly disturbed kinematics (line-splitting and/or underlying broad components), which are difficult to explain if we do not consider a strong interaction between the radio-emitting components and the ambient gas. However, the dominant ionization mechanism of the line-emitting gas remains uncertain. We have compared the optical diagnostic line ratios of the galaxies in our sample with both AGN-photoionization and shock-ionization models. We find a lack of consistency in explaining the main ionization mechanism of the emission-line gas. This suggest that, if the extended regions are shock-ionized, some of the assumptions implicit in the shock models may need to be reconsidered. In addition, we have investigated the nebular continuum cointribution to the UV excess in the galaxies of our sample. We find a substantial nebular emission contribution to the UV continuum in all the cases. However, after the subtraction iof the nebular component, a significant UV excess remains in the extended nebulae of most of the objects.Comment: 33 pages, 24 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS. (Abstract shortened for astro-ph

The PIN/PEN Merger

The Sound Change Across Kansas: PEN/PIN Merger Isaiah Solorzano, Mary Kohn Department of English College of Arts & Sciences Mergers, a sound change that present themselves in the background of everyday conversations, usually going unnoticed and uninterrupted across speech communities. I am interested in the sound change of short vowels found in word pairs like pen-pin, shown to be changing [1]. In 2014, Strelluf suggested the low-back merger is present in Kansas City due, in part, to a large initial population of South Midland speakers. This study indicates the merger should be advancing [1]. We do not understand, entirely, how or why sound changes. The merged vowel sound /i/ is starting to occupy the space the vowel sound /ɛ/ occupies. This project builds on Strelluf’s insights of sound change, in Kansas City, by 1) empirically exploring data to detect changes in Kansas, and 2) framing issues in a broader sense to understand how this dialect has arose, using a structural and social explanation. The data comes from sociolinguistic interviews which are recorded informal conversations between the researcher and participants. The independent variables include gender, age, class, and ethnic group. The dependent variables include formant frequencies F1 and F2, stress, duration, and other linguistic variables. We use a sample population of 30 subjects. The data has been measured with Forced Alignment and Vowel Extraction (FAVE), an automatic extraction technique [1][2]. I predict that men and the working class are leaders of this change, coinciding with Strelluf, but going against standard hypothesis over mergers in the field today. Strelluf, C. (2014). We have such a normal, non-accented voice: a sociophonetic study of English in Kansas City(Doctoral dissertation, University of Missouri--Columbia). Severance, N., Evanini, K., & Dinkin, A. (2016). Examining the reliability of automated vowel analyses using FAVE. In NorthWest Phonetics & Phonology Conference (pp. 13-15)

Oscillatory momentum transport in cascade transitional boundary layer flows

The generation and early evolution of boundary layer transitional instabilities, named Tollmien-Schlichting (T-S) waves, in airfoil cascade flows are studied. The energy exchange between the mean flow and the flow instabilities is computed by performing Direct Numerical Simulation of the fluid flow governing equations and by calculating the fluctuating kinetic energy (FKE) budget within the separated boundary layer. The driving role of the FKE production in the wavelength modulation process associated to the receptivity phenomenon, i.e., the generation of T-S waves, is demonstrated. The FKE production largely hastens the wavelength modulation around the inflection point of the mean velocity profile across the boundary layer. Above the inflection point, the fluctuating pressure field favors the energy transport and provides the energy necessary to convect the instabilities out of the boundary layer. The evolution of the T-S waves depicts an asymmetric distribution of the production term in the transverse direction, i.e., in the lower half of the boundary layer the mean flow provides energy to the instabilities while the opposite occurs in the upper hal

SEDIMENTOLOGY, ICHNOLOGY, BIOSTRATIGRAPHY, AND SEQUENCE STRATIGRAPHY OF THE MIDDLE MIOCENE OFICINA FORMATION, ORINOCO OIL BELT, VENEZUELA

Although the middle Miocene Oficina Formation of the Orinoco Oil Belt represents most of Venezuela’s hydrocarbon resource, a comprehensive and detailed sedimentary facies model for the whole belt has never been put forward. Nine facies (FA-FI), grouped in five facies assemblages (FA1-5), have been identified in the Oficina Formation in the Orinoco Oil Belt. FA1 occurs in the lower member, encompassing fluvial braided channels (FB), floodplains (FG2), swamps (FH1) and paleosols (FG3). FA2 occurs in the middle member and consist of meandering estuarine-channel deposits (FA, FC, FD, FE, and FI). FA3 occurs in the middle member, including tidal flats and tidal creeks (FC, FD, FE, FF, and FG2), swamps (FH1 and FH2), and paleosols (FG3) formed in tide-dominated estuarine systems. FA4 is present in the uppermost part of the middle members, including sandbars (FC, FD, FG1), paleosols (FG3), and swamps (FH2) formed in the outer part of estuaries. FA5 occurs in the upper member and consists of deltaic distributary channel (FC and FD), floodplain and interdistributary bay (FG2) and swamp (FH1) deposits of the lower delta plain of tide-dominated deltas. The sedimentary succession in the Oritupano Field represents the upper member of the Oficina Formation, therefore correlating with the deltaic deposits identified in the Orinoco Oil Belt. Eleven facies (FJ-FS), grouped in four facies assemblages (FA6-9), have been recognized in the Oritupano Field. FA6 is present in the lower part and consists of deltaic distributary-channel (FJ) and interdistributary-bay (FK) deposits of the delta plain of a wave-dominated delta. FA7 is present in the middle part and consists of sandy mouth-bar (FL), proximal delta-front (FM1), storm-dominated distal delta-front (FM2), and prodelta (FN) deposits formed in an area encompassing the delta front and the prodelta of a wave-dominated delta. FA8 is present in the upper part, including upper- to middle-shoreface (FO) and lower-shoreface (FP) deposits formed in a wave-dominated shoreface. FA9 is present in the upper part, including deposits of the upper offshore (FQ), lower offshore (FR) and shelf (FS) formed in an offshore-shelf complex. The Oficina Formation contains four softground ichnofacies (Scoyenia, depauperate Cruziana, Skolithos, and archetypal Cruziana) and two substrate-controlled ichnofacies (Teredolites and Glossifungites). The Oficina Formation in the Orinoco Oil Belt and Oritupano areas provides an ideal opportunity to study faunal distribution and ichnofacies because it comprises a wide range in depositional environments formed under variable salinity conditions within a single stratigraphic unit. Freshwater conditions in the fluvial deposits, as well as in the inner portions of the estuary and delta plain, are further supported by the presence of Scoyenia Ichnofacies, whereas brackish-water segments of the estuarine and delta-plain deposits are characterized by the Skolithos and depauperate Cruziana Ichnofacies. Rapid ichnofaunal changes are distinctive of delta-front and prodelta deposits, where archetypal marine ichnofacies (i.e. Skolithos and Cruziana) alternate with stressed expressions of marine suites (i.e. depauperate Cruziana Ichnofacies), indicating rapid changes in salinity conditions due to times of freshwater discharge and return to fully marine conditions. Shoreface, offshore and shelf are characterized by the Skolithos and archetypal Cruziana Ichnofacies, indicating persistence of normal-marine salinity conditions. Salinity is a crucial factor in the development of benthic organisms and is independent of physical sedimentological processes. Therefore, understanding ichnofaunal distribution is very important for paleoenvironmental characterization of marginal-marine settings. In addition, the Glossifungites and Teredolites Ichnofacies indicate erosional exhumation of coastal-plain deposits, providing insights into sequence-stratigraphic interpretations. The Oficina Formation (15.97-12.7 Ma) in the Orinoco Oil Belt comprises a single 2nd-order sequence, which is divided into two third-order depositional sequences (DS1-2). Third-order sequences provide a better understanding of reservoir distribution and are associated with sea-level changes. DS1 is bounded by sequence boundaries U-1 (15.97 Ma) and U-2 (13.82 Ma) and includes maximum flooding surface MFS-1 (14.91 Ma). It consists of thick lowstand systems tract (LST) and transgressive systems tract (TST) strata, and a thin highstand systems tract (HST) package. DS1 is associated with incised-valley systems formed during a relative sea-level fall. Fluvial valley-fill is recorded by FA1. The fluvial valleys were replaced by estuarine valleys during the Langhian relative sea-level transgressive episode. The estuarine valley-fill displays a retrogradational stacking pattern, comprising FA2, FA3 and FA4. Thin deltaic deposits also occur in the uppermost interval of DS1, forming a thin HST. DS2 is bounded by U-2 (13.82 Ma) and U-3 (12.7 Ma) and includes MFS-2 (13.53 Ma). It consists of a thin TST and a thick HST formed during the Serravallian sea-level highstand. In DS2, transgressive deposits in the lower part form a thin TST interval reflecting delta abandonment, which rests directly on top of the underlying highstand systems tract (HST) deposits of DS1, therefore mantling a flooding surface/sequence boundary. The bulk of DS2 is represented by FA5, displaying a progradational stacking pattern. The Oficina Formation of the Orinoco Oil Belt shows similarities in sedimentologic, ichnologic and sequence-stratigraphic aspects to other marginal-marine units worldwide (most notably the Cretaceous McMurray Formation of Alberta), representing a broad spectrum of latitudinal contexts. These similarities therefore stress the importance of tidal dominance and relative sea-level changes as main controls on deposition, regardless of latitudinal controls. However, latitude may have played some role in controlling the establishment of extensive coastal wetland systems, the abundance of tidal channels and the types of burrowing organisms