Will Washington Provide Its Own Feedstocks for Biofuels?

The study finds that Washington State’s field corn, sugar beet and canola production could satisfy only a small percentage of the State’s annual gasoline or diesel consumption. Linear programming projections for 2008 showed a relatively close match between projected and actual production. Projections for 2009-2011 showed no increase in the State’s capacity to increase biofuel crop feedstocks. In comparison to crop feedstocks, Washington’s total annual lignocellulosic biomass is abundant. However, only a fraction of the biomass could be converted to biofuel due to high costs of collection and processing, competing markets for some biomass, and limitations in current technology.biofuels, biofuel feedstocks, canola, cellulosic inventories, grain corn, linear programming, Washington State

Development of a Next-Generation NIL Library in Arabidopsis Thaliana for Dissecting Complex Traits

The identification of the loci and specific alleles underlying variation in quantitative traits is an important goal for evolutionary biologists and breeders. Despite major advancements in genomics technology, moving from QTL to causal alleles remains a major challenge in genetics research. Near-isogenic lines are the ideal raw material for QTL validation, refinement of QTL location and, ultimately, gene discovery. Results: In this study, a population of 75 Arabidopsis thaliana near-isogenic lines was developed from an existing recombinant inbred line (RIL) population derived from a cross between physiologically divergent accessions Kas-1 and Tsu-1. First, a novel algorithm was developed to utilize genome-wide marker data in selecting RILs fully isogenic to Kas-1 for a single chromosome. Seven such RILs were used in 2 generations of crossing to Tsu-1 to create BC1 seed. BC1 plants were genotyped with SSR markers so that lines could be selected that carried Kas-1 introgressions, resulting in a population carrying chromosomal introgressions spanning the genome. BC1 lines were genotyped with 48 genome-wide SSRs to identify lines with a targeted Kas-1 introgression and the fewest genomic introgressions elsewhere. 75 such lines were selected and genotyped at an additional 41 SNP loci and another 930 tags using 2b-RAD genotyping by sequencing. The final population carried an average of 1.35 homozygous and 2.49 heterozygous introgressions per line with average introgression sizes of 5.32 and 5.16 Mb, respectively. In a simple case study, we demonstrate the advantage of maintaining heterozygotes in our library whereby fine-mapping efforts are conducted simply by self-pollination. Crossovers in the heterozygous interval during this single selfing generation break the introgression into smaller, homozygous fragments (sub-NILs). Additionally, we utilize a homozygous NIL for validation of a QTL underlying stomatal conductance, a low heritability trait. Conclusions: The present results introduce a new and valuable resource to the Brassicaceae research community that enables rapid fine-mapping of candidate loci in parallel with QTL validation. These attributes along with dense marker coverage and genome-wide chromosomal introgressions make this population an ideal starting point for discovery of genes underlying important complex traits of agricultural and ecological significance.NSF DEB-1022196, DEB-0618302, DEB-0618347, IOS-09221457Integrative Biolog

About the various contributions in Venus rotation rate and LOD

% context heading (optional) {Thanks to the Venus Express Mission, new data on the properties of Venus could be obtained in particular concerning its rotation.} % aims heading (mandatory) {In view of these upcoming results, the purpose of this paper is to determine and compare the major physical processes influencing the rotation of Venus, and more particularly the angular rotation rate.} % methods heading (mandatory) {Applying models already used for the Earth, the effect of the triaxiality of a rigid Venus on its period of rotation are computed. Then the variations of Venus rotation caused by the elasticity, the atmosphere and the core of the planet are evaluated.} % results heading (mandatory) {Although the largest irregularities of the rotation rate of the Earth at short time scales are caused by its atmosphere and elastic deformations, we show that the Venus ones are dominated by the tidal torque exerted by the Sun on its solid body. Indeed, as Venus has a slow rotation, these effects have a large amplitude of 2 minutes of time (mn). These variations of the rotation rate are larger than the one induced by atmospheric wind variations that can reach 25-50 seconds of time (s), depending on the simulation used. The variations due to the core effects which vary with its size between 3 and 20s are smaller. Compared to these effects, the influence of the elastic deformation cause by the zonal tidal potential is negligible.} % conclusions heading (optional), leave it empty if necessary {As the variations of the rotation of Venus reported here are of the order 3mn peak to peak, they should influence past, present and future observations providing further constraints on the planet internal structure and atmosphere.}Comment: 12 pages, 10 figures, Accepted in A&

Developmental and tissue-specific expression of NITRs

Novel immune-type receptors (NITRs) are encoded by large multi-gene families and share structural and signaling similarities to mammalian natural killer receptors (NKRs). NITRs have been identified in multiple bony fish species, including zebrafish, and may be restricted to this large taxonomic group. Thirty-nine NITR genes that can be classified into 14 families are encoded on zebrafish chromosomes 7 and 14. Herein, we demonstrate the expression of multiple NITR genes in the zebrafish ovary and during embryogenesis. All 14 families of zebrafish NITRs are expressed in hematopoietic kidney, spleen and intestine as are immunoglobulin and T cell antigen receptors. Furthermore, all 14 families of NITRs are shown to be expressed in the lymphocyte lineage, but not in the myeloid lineage, consistent with the hypothesis that NITRs function as NKRs. Sequence analyses of NITR amplicons identify known alleles and reveal additional alleles within the nitr1, nitr2, nitr3, and nitr5 families, reflecting the recent evolution of this gene family

Accurate free and forced rotational motions of rigid Venus

% context :The precise and accurate modelling of a terrestrial planet like Venus is an exciting and challenging topic, all the more interesting since it can be compared with that of the Earth for which such a modelling has already been achieved at the milliarcsecond level % aims: We want to complete a previous study (Cottereau and Souchay, 2009), by determining at the milliarcsecond level the polhody, i.e. the torque-free motion of the axis of angular momentum of a rigid Venus in a body-fixed frame, as well as the nutation of its third axis of figure in space, which is fundamental from an observational point of view. results :In a first part we have computed the polhody, i.e. the respective free rotational motion of the axis of angular momentum of Venus with respect to a body-fixed frame. We have shown that this motion is highly elliptical, with a very long period of 525 cy to be compared with 430 d for the Earth. This is due to the very small dynamical flattening of Venus in comparison with our planet. In a second part we have computed precisely the Oppolzer terms which allow to represent the motion in space of the third Venus figure axis with respect to Venus angular momentum axis, under the influence of the solar gravitational torque. We have determined the corresponding tables of coefficients of nutation of the third figure axis both in longitude and in obliquity due to the Sun, which are of the same order of amplitude as for the Earth. We have shown that the coefficients of nutation for the third figure axis are significantly different from those of the angular momentum axis on the contrary of the Earth. Our analytical results have been validated by a numerical integration which revealed the indirect planetary effects.Comment: 14 pages, 11 figures, accepted for publication in section 11. Celestial mechanics and astrometry of Astronomy and Astrophysics (27/02/2010

3D integrated superconducting qubits

As the field of superconducting quantum computing advances from the few-qubit stage to larger-scale processors, qubit addressability and extensibility will necessitate the use of 3D integration and packaging. While 3D integration is well-developed for commercial electronics, relatively little work has been performed to determine its compatibility with high-coherence solid-state qubits. Of particular concern, qubit coherence times can be suppressed by the requisite processing steps and close proximity of another chip. In this work, we use a flip-chip process to bond a chip with superconducting flux qubits to another chip containing structures for qubit readout and control. We demonstrate that high qubit coherence ($T_1$, $T_{2,\rm{echo}} > 20\,\mu$s) is maintained in a flip-chip geometry in the presence of galvanic, capacitive, and inductive coupling between the chips

The benefits of interprofessional education 10 years on.

Interprofessional education (IPE) was first conceived in 1973 by a World Health Organization (WHO) expert group in Geneva. WHO member states were then charged with implementing medical education IPE pilot projects and from then to today there has a been a rapid proliferation in the number of publications on the subject. IPE has generated research into its use, conferences specific to IPE, organisations dedicated to it and policy championing it. The authors question whether there has been any major shift in the silos in which different professions might be working. The authors published an article on the benefits of IPE ( Illingworth and Chelvanayagam, 2007 ). Ten years have now passed and many changes have been implemented and experienced in health and social care and therefore a review of the literature is required. Also, it is 7 years since the publication of WHO's report outlining the role of IPE in the preparation of health professionals ( WHO, 2010 ) and, increasingly, UK Government policy champions collaborative and integrated working. The conclusions from the 2007 article acknowledged the development of IPE; however, it highlighted the need for empirical evidence to demonstrate the effectiveness of IPE in service user and carer outcomes. This article will explore whether IPE has achieved the benefits discussed in the previous article and what developments have occurred since it was published