The Arabidopsis thaliana F-box gene HAWAIIAN SKIRT is a new player in the microRNA pathway

In Arabidopsis, the F-box HAWAIIAN SKIRT (HWS) protein is important for organ growth. Loss of function of HWS exhibits pleiotropic phenotypes including sepal fusion. To dissect the HWS role, we EMS-mutagenized hws-1 seeds and screened for mutations that suppress hws-1 associated phenotypes. We identified shs-2 and shs-3 (suppressor of hws-2 and 3) mutants in which the sepal fusion phenotype of hws-1 was suppressed. shs-2 and shs-3 (renamed hst-23/hws-1 and hst-24/hws-1) carry transition mutations that result in premature terminations in the plant homolog of Exportin-5 HASTY (HST), known to be important in miRNA biogenesis, function and transport. Genetic crosses between hws-1 and mutant lines for genes in the miRNA pathway, also suppress the phenotypes associated with HWS loss of function, corroborating epistatic relations between the miRNA pathway genes and HWS. In agreement with these data, accumulation of miRNA is modified in HWS loss or gain of function mutants. Our data propose HWS as a new player in the miRNA pathway, important for plant growth

Reconstruction of interactions in the ProtoDUNE-SP detector with Pandora

The Pandora Software Development Kit and algorithm libraries provide pattern-recognition logic essential to the reconstruction of particle interactions in liquid argon time projection chamber detectors. Pandora is the primary event reconstruction software used at ProtoDUNE-SP, a prototype for the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment far detector. ProtoDUNE-SP, located at CERN, is exposed to a charged-particle test beam. This paper gives an overview of the Pandora reconstruction algorithms and how they have been tailored for use at ProtoDUNE-SP. In complex events with numerous cosmic-ray and beam background particles, the simulated reconstruction and identification efficiency for triggered test-beam particles is above 80% for the majority of particle type and beam momentum combinations. Specifically, simulated 1 GeV/$c$ charged pions and protons are correctly reconstructed and identified with efficiencies of 86.1$\pm0.6$% and 84.1$\pm0.6$%, respectively. The efficiencies measured for test-beam data are shown to be within 5% of those predicted by the simulation.Comment: 39 pages, 19 figure

Nurses' perceptions of aids and obstacles to the provision of optimal end of life care in ICU

Contains fulltext : 172380.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access

Major altitudinal shifts in Andean vegetation on the Amazonian flank show temporary loss of biota in the Holocene

The Lateglacial and Holocene vegetation history from the Amazonian flank of the south Colombian Andes has been studied in a 12 m long sediment core from Lake La Cocha (2780 m altitude). 18 AMS 14C ages and 550 pollen samples yielded a history of a ~25 yr resolution. Montane forest extended up to 2200 m during the Lateglacial and shifted during a 10,000 yr period with millennial-scale and centennial-scale variability superimposed, to its present-day limit at 3550 m. We hypothesise that Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ)-modulated trans-Amazonian moisture flows are an important driver of forest dynamics but influence of ENSO (El Niño Southern Oscillation) variability after 7000 yr BP may also be reflected in the record. Quasi-forest stability lasted for maximally 200 to 600 years. Upslope forest shifts up to 300 m/100 yr, reflecting a 1.5°C temperature increase were common during the Holocene. During several intervals of fastest forest migration the subpáramo disappeared for short intervals of time, suggesting that upslope forest migration exceeded the migration capacity of the subpáramo biome. From Lateglacial time onwards a suite of arboreal taxa show successive upslope expansion events, suggesting internal forest dynamics during the shift of residence areas from their glacial to Holocene altitudinal intervals. Logging, preferentially Podocarpus, frequent fires, forest disturbance and changes of the diatom flora in the lake suggest strong human impact after 1405 cal. yr BP

Changes of seasonally dry forest in the Colombian Patía Valley during the early and middle Holocene and the development of a dry climatic record for the northernmost Andes

A 450 cm long sediment core was collected from a swamp in the dry forest ecosystem of the Patía Valley in Colombia (02°02′ N, 77° W at 750 m elevation). This core (Potrerillo-2) was analysed using pollen, lithostratigraphy and radiocarbon dates and was correlated with an already existing dataset from Patía-1. Together these records show that dry forest existed in the Patía Valley since the early Holocene and that open vegetation and dry forest coexisted through time, but that during dry periods open vegetation dominated in the valley. The data also show that relatively humid and wet conditions were present at the Patía Valley from c. 9510 to 8600 cal yr BP, whereas between c. 8360 to 8260 cal yr BP dry conditions prevailed in the valley. The pollen record of Potrerillo-2 illustrates well the response - and high sensitivity - of dry forest ecosystems to changes in precipitation, which is mainly related with the mean position of the ITCZ