Laboratory Method to Estimate Rain-Induced Splitting in Cultivated Blueberries

Preharvest rainfall that occurs when fruit are fully ripe or approaching full ripeness can result in detrimental fruit splitting in rabbiteye and southern highbush blueberries. This study was initiated to develop a laboratory method to model rain-related incidence of splitting in cultivated blueberries with the goal of predicting the incidence of splitting in blueberry cultivars and selections. Multiyear field surveys of rabbiteye and southern highbush cultivars show that the incidence of rain-related splitting is strongly cultivar-dependent. Laboratory values for forced splitting and naturally occurring rain-related field splitting data show a strong correlation indicating that the incidence of fruit splitting can be accurately estimated by this laboratory method. Soaking the berries in distilled water 14 h at room temperature gives a confident determination of splitting tendencies. Blueberry breeders and geneticists can use this method to evaluate new potential blueberry cultivars for splitting tendencies as part of routine screening. This would lead to a long-term goal of reducing splitting susceptible blueberry cultivars in commercial plantings

SAGA1 and SAGA2 promote starch formation around proto-pyrenoids in Arabidopsis chloroplasts

The pyrenoid is a chloroplastic microcompartment in which most algae and some terrestrial plants condense the primary carboxylase, Rubisco (ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase) as part of a CO2-concentrating mechanism that improves the efficiency of CO2 capture. Engineering a pyrenoid-based CO2-concentrating mechanism (pCCM) into C3 crop plants is a promising strategy to enhance yield capacities and resilience to the changing climate. Many pyrenoids are characterized by a sheath of starch plates that is proposed to act as a barrier to limit CO2 diffusion. Recently, we have reconstituted a phase-separated “proto-pyrenoid” Rubisco matrix in the model C3 plant Arabidopsis thaliana using proteins from the alga with the most well-studied pyrenoid, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii [N. Atkinson, Y. Mao, K. X. Chan, A. J. McCormick, Nat. Commun.11, 6303 (2020)]. Here, we describe the impact of introducing the Chlamydomonas proteins StArch Granules Abnormal 1 (SAGA1) and SAGA2, which are associated with the regulation of pyrenoid starch biogenesis and morphology. We show that SAGA1 localizes to the proto-pyrenoid in engineered Arabidopsis plants, which results in the formation of atypical spherical starch granules enclosed within the proto-pyrenoid condensate and adjacent plate-like granules that partially cover the condensate, but without modifying the total amount of chloroplastic starch accrued. Additional expression of SAGA2 further increases the proportion of starch synthesized as adjacent plate-like granules that fully encircle the proto-pyrenoid. Our findings pave the way to assembling a diffusion barrier as part of a functional pCCM in vascular plants, while also advancing our understanding of the roles of SAGA1 and SAGA2 in starch sheath formation and broadening the avenues for engineering starch morphology

Measurement of the hadronic activity in events with a Z and two jets and extraction of the cross section for the electroweak production of a Z with two jets in pp collisions at s√=7 TeV

This is the publisher's version, also available electronically from http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2FJHEP10%282013%29062.The first measurement of the electroweak production cross section of a Z boson with two jets (Zjj) in pp collisions at s√=7 TeV is presented, based on a data sample recorded by the CMS experiment at the LHC with an integrated luminosity of 5 fb(−1). The cross section is measured for the ℓℓjj (ℓ = e, μ) final state in the kinematic region m(ℓℓ) > 50 GeV, m(jj) > 120 GeV, transverse momenta p(j)(T)>25 GeV and pseudorapidity |η(j)| < 4.0. The measurement, combining the muon and electron channels, yields σ = 154 ± 24 (stat.) ± 46 (exp. syst.) ± 27 (th. syst.) ± 3 (lum.) fb, in agreement with the theoretical cross section. The hadronic activity, in the rapidity interval between the jets, is also measured. These results establish an important foundation for the more general study of vector boson fusion processes, of relevance for Higgs boson searches and for measurements of electroweak gauge couplings and vector boson scattering

EphA2 as a Diagnostic Imaging Target in Glioblastoma: A Positron Emission Tomography/Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study

Noninvasive imaging is a critical technology for diagnosis, classification, and subsequent treatment planning for patients with glioblastoma. It has been shown that the EphA2 receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) is overexpressed in a number of tumors, including glioblastoma. Expression levels of Eph RTKs have been linked to tumor progression, metastatic spread, and poor patient prognosis. As EphA2 is expressed at low levels in normal neural tissues, this protein represents an attractive imaging target for delineation of tumor infiltration, providing an improved platform for image-guided therapy. In this study, EphA2-4B3, a monoclonal antibody specific to human EphA2, was labeled with Cu-64 through conjugation to the chelator 1,4,7-triazacyclononane-1,4,7-triacetic acid (NOTA). The resulting complex was used as a positron emission tomography (PET) tracer for the acquisition of high-resolution longitudinal PET/magnetic resonance images. EphA2-4B3-NOTA-Cu-64 images were qualitatively and quantitatively compared to the current clinical standards of [F-18] FDOPA and gadolinium (Gd) contrast-enhanced MRI. We show that EphA2-4B3-NOTA-Cu-64 effectively delineates tumor boundaries in three different mouse models of glioblastoma. Tumor to brain contrast is significantly higher in EphA2-4B3-NOTA-Cu-64 images than in [F-18] FDOPA images and Gd contrast-enhanced MRI. Furthermore, we show that nonspecific uptake in the liver and spleen can be effectively blocked by a dose of nonspecific (isotype control) IgG

Tracer kinetic assessment of blood–brain barrier leakage and blood volume in cerebral small vessel disease: Associations with disease burden and vascular risk factors

Funding Information: The authors disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship and/or publication of this article: Wellcome Trust [grant number WT088134/Z/09/A ; SDJM, FC]; Row Fogo Charitable Trust (MCVH, FC, AKH, PAA); Scottish Funding Council Scottish Imaging Network A Platform for Scientific Excellence collaboration (JMW); NHS Lothian R + D Department (MJT); the UK Dementia Research Institute which receives its funding from DRI Ltd, funded by the UK MRC, Alzheimer’s Research UK and the Alzheimer’s Society (MS, FC, ES, JMW); the Fondation Leducq Transatlantic Network of Excellence for the Study of Perivascular Spaces in Small Vessel Disease [reference number 16 CVD 05] (MS); and European Union Horizon 2020 [project number 666881, SVDs@Target] (MS, FC). We acknowledge the participants, their relatives, and carers for their participation in this study, and the staff of NHS Lothian Stroke Services and Brain Research Imaging Centre Edinburgh for their assistance in recruiting and assessing the patients.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Measurement of the Λ(0)(b) lifetime in pp collisions at s√=7 TeV

This is the publisher's version, also available electronically from http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2FJHEP07%282013%29163.A measurement of the Λ(0)(b) lifetime using the decay Λ(0)(b)→J/ψΛ in protonproton collisions at s√=7 TeV is presented. The data set, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of about 5 fb(−1), was recorded with the CMS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider using triggers that selected dimuon events in the J/ψ mass region. The Λ(0)(b) lifetime is measured to be 1.503 ± 0.052 (stat.) ± 0.031 (syst.) ps

Measurement of the production cross section for Zγ→ν(ν-bar)γ in pp collisions at s√=7 TeV and limits on ZZγ and Zγγ triple gauge boson couplings

This is the publisher's version, also available electronically from http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2FJHEP10%282013%29164.A measurement of the Zγ→ν(ν-bar)γ cross section in pp collisions at s√=7 TeV is presented, using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 5.0 fb(−1) collected with the CMS detector. This measurement is based on the observation of events with an imbalance of transverse energy in excess of 130 GeV and a single photon in the absolute pseudorapidity range |η| < 1.4 with transverse energy above 145 GeV. The Zγ→ν(ν-bar)γ production cross section is measured to be 21.1 ± 4.2 (stat.) ± 4.3 (syst.) ± 0.5 (lum.) fb, which agrees with the standard model prediction of 21.9 ± 1.1 fb. The results are combined with the CMS measurement of Zγ production in the ℓ (+) ℓ (−) γ final state (where ℓ is an electron or a muon) to yield the most stringent limits to date on triple gauge boson couplings: ∣∣h(Z)(3)∣∣<2.7×10(−3) , ∣∣h(Z)(4)∣∣<1.3×10(−5) for ZZγ and ∣∣h(γ)(3)∣∣<2.9×10(−3) , ∣∣h(γ)(4)∣∣<1.5×10(−5) for Zγγ couplings

Search for new physics in events with same-sign dileptons and b jets in pp collisions at s√=8 TeV

This is the publisher's version, also available electronically from http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2FJHEP03%282013%29037.A search for new physics is performed using events with isolated same-sign leptons and at least two bottom-quark jets in the final state. Results are based on a sample of proton-proton collisions collected at a center-of-mass energy of 8 TeV with the CMS detector and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 10.5 fb(−1). No excess above the standard model background is observed. Upper limits are set on the number of events from non-standard-model sources and are used to constrain a number of new physics models. Information on acceptance and efficiencies is also provided so that the results can be used to confront an even broader class of new physics models