An investigation of the effects of stage of ensilage on Nassella neesiana seeds, for reducing seed viability and injury to livestock

The noxious weed Nassella neesiana is established on a wide range of productive land throughout southeastern Australia. N. neesiana seeds, when mature, are sharp, causing injury to livestock, thus posing a problem in fodder bales. To reduce infestations of agricultural weeds in situ, production of silage from weed-infested pastures is practised as part of integrated weed management (IWM). However, there is little data to demonstrate whether this process is useful to reduce infestations or the harmful properties of N. neesiana. Therefore, the minimum duration of ensilage required to reduce the viability of N. neesiana seeds was investigated, both with and without addition of ensilage inoculants in this process. Also, the decreasing propensity of the seeds to injure livestock, after various times and conditions of ensilage, was assessed. Ensilage inoculant reduced seed germination probability to zero after 35 days. When no inoculant was added, zero viability was achieved after 42 days. A qualitative assessment of the hardness of ensilaged seeds found seed husks were softer (and therefore safer) after 42 days, whether inoculant was used or not. Therefore, we suggest that both the viability of N. neesiana seeds and hardness of seed casings are significantly reduced after 42 days, thereby reducing the risks of seed dispersal and injury to livestock

Changing women's roles, changing environmental knowledges: evidence from Upper Egypt

The aim of this paper is to investigate the ways in which changing gender roles in a Bedouin community in Upper Egypt, brought about by settlement over the last 20 years on the shores of Lake Nasser, have impacted on the accumulation and development of indigenous environmental knowledges by Bedouin women. The research was carried out among four groups of Ababda Bedouin in the Eastern Desert of Egypt and involved in-depth monthly conversations carried out over a period of 12 months. The main conclusions of the study are that the women of the study area have had to develop new knowledges which, in some cases, are now different from those held by men because of the different economic circumstances in which many find themselves; that these knowledges are fluid, dynamic and ever-changing with their own internal dynamism; and that socially constructed notions of gender are vital in the development process, notions that are sensitive to both men's and women's interests and their interrelationships

Indigenous knowledges and development: a postcolonial caution

As a result of the failure of formal top-down development, there has recently been increased interest in the possibilities of drawing upon the indigenous knowledges of those in the communities involved, in an attempt to produce more effective development strategies. The concept of indigenous knowledge calls for the inclusion of local voices and priorities, and promises empowerment through ownership of the process. However, there has been little critical examination of the ways in which indigenous knowledges have been included in the development process. Drawing upon postcolonial theory, this article suggests that indigenous knowledges are often drawn into development by both theorists and development institutions in a very limited way, failing to engage with other ways of perceiving development, and thus missing the possibility of devising more challenging alternatives

‘Ethnic group’, the state and the politics of representation

The assertion, even if only by implication, that ‘ethnic group’ categories represent ‘real’ tangible entities, indeed identities, is commonplace not only in the realms of political and policy discourse but also amongst contemporary social scientists. This paper, following Brubaker (2002), questions this position in a number of key respects: of these three issues will dominate the discussion that follows. First, there is an interrogation of the proposition that those to whom the categories/labels refer constitute sociologically meaningful ‘groups’ as distinct from (mere) human collectivities. Secondly, there is the question of how these categories emerge, i.e. exactly what series of events, negotiations and contestations lie behind their construction and social acceptance. Thirdly, and as a corollary to the latter point, we explore the process of reification that leads to these categories being seen to represent ‘real things in the world’ (ibid.)

FLORA: a novel method to predict protein function from structure in diverse superfamilies

Predicting protein function from structure remains an active area of interest, particularly for the structural genomics initiatives where a substantial number of structures are initially solved with little or no functional characterisation. Although global structure comparison methods can be used to transfer functional annotations, the relationship between fold and function is complex, particularly in functionally diverse superfamilies that have evolved through different secondary structure embellishments to a common structural core. The majority of prediction algorithms employ local templates built on known or predicted functional residues. Here, we present a novel method (FLORA) that automatically generates structural motifs associated with different functional sub-families (FSGs) within functionally diverse domain superfamilies. Templates are created purely on the basis of their specificity for a given FSG, and the method makes no prior prediction of functional sites, nor assumes specific physico-chemical properties of residues. FLORA is able to accurately discriminate between homologous domains with different functions and substantially outperforms (a 2–3 fold increase in coverage at low error rates) popular structure comparison methods and a leading function prediction method. We benchmark FLORA on a large data set of enzyme superfamilies from all three major protein classes (α, β, αβ) and demonstrate the functional relevance of the motifs it identifies. We also provide novel predictions of enzymatic activity for a large number of structures solved by the Protein Structure Initiative. Overall, we show that FLORA is able to effectively detect functionally similar protein domain structures by purely using patterns of structural conservation of all residues

Wnt/β-catenin Signalling Is Active in a Highly Dynamic Pattern during Development of the Mouse Cerebellum

The adult cerebellum is composed of several distinct cell types with well defined developmental origins. However, the molecular mechanisms that govern the generation of these cell types are only partially resolved. Wnt/β-catenin signalling has a wide variety of roles in generation of the central nervous system, though the specific activity of this pathway during cerebellum development is not well understood. Here, we present data that delineate the spatio-temporal specific pattern of Wnt/β-catenin signaling during mouse cerebellum development between E12.5 and P21. Using the BAT-gal Wnt/β-catenin reporter mouse, we found that Wnt/β-catenin activity is present transiently at the embryonic rhombic lip but not at later stages during the expansion of cell populations that arise from there. At late embryonic and early postnatal stages, Wnt/β-catenin activity shifts to the cerebellar ventricular zone and to cells arising from this germinal centre. Subsequently, the expression pattern becomes progressively restricted to Bergmann glial cells, which show expression of the reporter at P21. These results indicate a variety of potential functions for Wnt/β-catenin activity during cerebellum development

Geographically touring the eastern bloc: British geography, travel cultures and the Cold War

This paper considers the role of travel in the generation of geographical knowledge of the eastern bloc by British geographers. Based on oral history and surveys of published work, the paper examines the roles of three kinds of travel experience: individual private travels, tours via state tourist agencies, and tours by academic delegations. Examples are drawn from across the eastern bloc, including the USSR, Poland, Romania, East Germany and Albania. The relationship between travel and publication is addressed, notably within textbooks, and in the Geographical Magazine. The study argues for the extension of accounts of cultures of geographical travel, and seeks to supplement the existing historiography of Cold War geography

Sustained Oscillations of NF-κB Produce Distinct Genome Scanning and Gene Expression Profiles

NF-κB is a prototypic stress-responsive transcription factor that acts within a complex regulatory network. The signaling dynamics of endogenous NF-κB in single cells remain poorly understood. To examine real time dynamics in living cells, we monitored NF-κB activities at multiple timescales using GFP-p65 knock-in mouse embryonic fibroblasts. Oscillations in NF-κB were sustained in most cells, with several cycles of transient nuclear translocation after TNF-α stimulation. Mathematical modeling suggests that NF-κB oscillations are selected over other non-oscillatory dynamics by fine-tuning the relative strengths of feedback loops like IκBα. The ability of NF-κB to scan and interact with the genome in vivo remained remarkably constant from early to late cycles, as observed by fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP). Perturbation of long-term NF-κB oscillations interfered with its short-term interaction with chromatin and balanced transcriptional output, as predicted by the mathematical model. We propose that negative feedback loops do not simply terminate signaling, but rather promote oscillations of NF-κB in the nucleus, and these oscillations are functionally advantageous

Spatiotemporal expression patterns of Pax6 in the brain of embryonic, newborn, and adult mice

The transcription factor Pax6 has been reported to specify neural progenitor cell fates during development and maintain neuronal commitments in the adult. The spatiotemporal patterns of Pax6 expression were examined in sagittal and horizontal sections of the embryonic, postnatal, and adult brains using immunohistochemistry and double immunolabeling. The proportion of Pax6-immunopositive cells in various parts of the adult brain was estimated using the isotropic fractionator methodology. It was shown that at embryonic day 11 (E11) Pax6 was robustly expressed in the proliferative neuroepithelia of the ventricular zone in the forebrain and hindbrain, and in the floor and the mesencephalic reticular formation (mRt) in the midbrain. At E12, its expression emerged in the nucleus of the lateral lemniscus in the rhombencephalon and disappeared from the floor of the midbrain. As neurodevelopment proceeds, the expression pattern of Pax6 changes from the mitotic germinal zone in the ventricular zone to become extensively distributed in cell groups in the forebrain and hindbrain, and the expression persisted in the mRt. The majority of Pax6-positive cell groups were maintained until adult life, but the intensity of Pax6 expression became much weaker. Pax6 expression was maintained in the mitotic subventricular zone in the adult brain, but not in the germinal region dentate gyrus in the adult hippocampus.There was no obvious colocalization of Pax6 and NeuN during embryonic development, suggesting Pax6 is found primarily in developing progenitor cells. In the adult brain, however, Pax6 maintains neuronal features of some subtypes of neurons, as indicated by 97.1% of Pax6-positive cells co-expressing NeuN in the cerebellum, 40.7% in the olfactory bulb, 38.3% in the cerebrum, and 73.9% in the remaining brain except the hippocampus. Differentiated tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) neurons were observed in the floor of the E11 midbrain where Pax6 was also expressed, but no obvious colocaliztion of TH and Pax6 was detected. No Pax6 expression was observed in TH-expressing areas in the midbrain at E12, E14, and postnatal day 1. These results support the notion that Pax6 plays pivotal roles in specifying neural progenitor cell commitments and maintaining certain mature neuronal fates

Assessing transmissibility of SARS-CoV-2 lineage B.1.1.7 in England

The SARS-CoV-2 lineage B.1.1.7, designated variant of concern (VOC) 202012/01 by Public Health England1, was first identified in the UK in late summer to early autumn 20202. Whole-genome SARS-CoV-2 sequence data collected from community-based diagnostic testing for COVID-19 show an extremely rapid expansion of the B.1.1.7 lineage during autumn 2020, suggesting that it has a selective advantage. Here we show that changes in VOC frequency inferred from genetic data correspond closely to changes inferred by S gene target failures (SGTF) in community-based diagnostic PCR testing. Analysis of trends in SGTF and non-SGTF case numbers in local areas across England shows that B.1.1.7 has higher transmissibility than non-VOC lineages, even if it has a different latent period or generation time. The SGTF data indicate a transient shift in the age composition of reported cases, with cases of B.1.1.7 including a larger share of under 20-year-olds than non-VOC cases. We estimated time-varying reproduction numbers for B.1.1.7 and co-circulating lineages using SGTF and genomic data. The best-supported models did not indicate a substantial difference in VOC transmissibility among different age groups, but all analyses agreed that B.1.1.7 has a substantial transmission advantage over other lineages, with a 50% to 100% higher reproduction number