3,511 research outputs found
Differential coupling of gibberellin responses by Rht-B1c suppressor alleles and Rht-B1b in wheat highlights a unique role for the DELLA N-terminus in dormancy
During the Green Revolution, substantial increases in wheat (Triticum aestivum) yields were realized, at least in part, through the introduction of the Reduced height (Rht)-B1b and Rht-D1b semi-dwarfing alleles. In contrast to Rht-B1b and Rht-D1b, the Rht-B1c allele is characterized by extreme dwarfism and exceptionally strong dormancy. Recently, 35 intragenic Rht-B1c suppressor alleles were created in the spring wheat cultivar Maringa, and termed overgrowth (ovg) alleles. Here, 14 ovg alleles with agronomically relevant plant heights were reproducibly classified into nine tall and five semi-dwarf alleles. These alleles differentially affected grain dormancy, internode elongation rate, and coleoptile and leaf lengths. The stability of these ovg effects was demonstrated for three ovg alleles in different genetic backgrounds and environments. Importantly, two semi-dwarf ovg alleles increased dormancy, which correlated with improved pre-harvest sprouting (PHS) resistance. Since no negative effects on grain yield or quality were observed, these semi-dwarf ovg alleles are valuable for breeding to achieve adequate height reduction and protection of grain quality in regions prone to PHS. Furthermore, this research highlights a unique role for the first 70 amino acids of the DELLA protein, encoded by the Rht-1 genes, in grain dormancy
Practical effects in the preparation of cluster states using weak non-linearities
We discuss experimental effects in the implementation of a recent scheme for
performing bus mediated entangling operations between qubits. Here a bus mode,
a strong coherent state, successively undergoes weak Kerr-type non-linear
interactions with qubits. A quadrature measurement on the bus then projects the
qubits into an entangled state. This approach has the benefit that entangling
gates are non-destructive, may be performed non-locally, and there is no need
for efficient single photon detection. In this paper we examine practical
issues affecting its experimental implementation. In particular, we analyze the
effects of post-selection errors, qubit loss, bus loss, mismatched coupling
rates and mode-mismatch. We derive error models for these effects and relate
them to realistic fault-tolerant thresholds, providing insight into realistic
experimental requirements.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figure
Consideration of others and consideration of future consequences predict cooperation in an acute Social Dilemma:An application to COVID-19
Predictability is necessary for closed-loop visual feedback delay adaptation
Rohde M, van Dam L, Ernst MO. Predictability is necessary for closed-loop visual feedback delay adaptation. Journal of Vision. 2014;14(3):4.In case of delayed visual feedback during visuomotor tasks, like in some sluggish computer games, humans can modulate their behavior to compensate for the delay. However, opinions on the nature of this compensation diverge. Some studies suggest that humans adapt to feedback delays with lasting changes in motor behavior (aftereffects) and a recalibration of time perception. Other studies have shown little or no evidence for such semipermanent recalibration in the temporal domain. We hypothesize that predictability of the reference signal (target to be tracked) is necessary for semipermanent delay adaptation. To test this hypothesis, we trained participants with a 200 ms visual feedback delay in a visually guided manual tracking task, varying the predictability of the reference signal between conditions, but keeping reference motion and feedback delay constant. In Experiment 1, we focused on motor behavior. Only training in the predictable condition brings about all of the adaptive changes and aftereffects expected from delay adaptation. In Experiment 2, we used a synchronization task to investigate perceived simultaneity (perceptuomotor learning). Supporting the hypothesis, participants recalibrated subjective visuomotor simultaneity only when trained in the predictable condition. Such a shift in perceived simultaneity was also observed in Experiment 3, using an interval estimation task. These results show that delay adaptation in motor control can modulate the perceived temporal alignment of vision and kinesthetically sensed movement. The coadaptation of motor prediction and target prediction (reference extrapolation) seems necessary for such genuine delay adaptation. This offers an explanation for divergent results in the literature
Reducing socioeconomic health inequalities?:A questionnaire study of majorization and invariance conditions
We study the appeal of basic preference conditions that underpin health inequality indices, including the widely used concentration index. We did a lab experiment in which 349 respondents had to choose repeatedly between two policies that generated a distribution of income and health among five groups in society. We found stronger support for preference conditions that focus on inequality in the marginal distribution of health (and income) than for preference conditions that favor reduced correlation between both dimensions. Respondents’ choices were more in line with the principle of income related health transfers when policies did not affect the ranking of groups in terms of health. Respondents also expressed more concern about the correlation between income and health when health was expressed as a shortfall rather than an attainment. Support for the preference conditions was unaffected when all groups in society experienced the same absolute or relative health change
Molecular phenotyping of the pal1 and pal2 mutants of Arabidopsis thaliana reveals far-reaching consequences on phenylpropanoid, amino acid, and carbohydrate metabolism
The first enzyme of the phenylpropanoid pathway, Phe ammonia-lyase (PAL), is encoded by four genes in Arabidopsis thaliana. Whereas PAL function is well established in various plants, an insight into the functional significance of individual gene family members is lacking. We show that in the absence of clear phenotypic alterations in the Arabidopsis pall and pal2 single mutants and with limited phenotypic alterations in the pall pal2 double mutant, significant modifications occur in the transcriptome and metabolome of the pal mutants. The disruption of PAL led to transcriptomic adaptation of components of the phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, carbohydrate metabolism, and amino acid metabolism, revealing complex interactions at the level of gene expression between these pathways. Corresponding biochemical changes included a decrease in the three major flavonol glycosides, glycosylated vanillic acid, scopolin, and two novel feruloyl malates coupled to coniferyl alcohol. Moreover, Phe overaccumulated in the double mutant, and the levels of many other amino acids were significantly imbalanced. The lignin content was significantly reduced, and the syringyl/guaiacyl ratio of lignin monomers had increased. Together, from the molecular phenotype, common and specific functions of PAL1 and PAL2 are delineated, and PAL1 is qualified as being more important for the generation of phenylpropanoids
A Sard theorem for Tame Set-Valued mappings
If is a set-valued mapping from into with closed graph,
then is a critical value of if for some with ,
is not metrically regular at . We prove that the set of critical
values of a set-valued mapping whose graph is a definable (tame) set in an
-minimal structure containing additions and multiplications is a set of
dimension not greater than (resp. a porous set). As a corollary of this
result we get that the collection of asymptotically critical values of a
semialgebraic set-valued mapping has dimension not greater than , thus
extending to such mappings a corresponding result by Kurdyka-Orro-Simon for
semialgebraic mappings. We also give an independent proof of the fact
that a definable continuous real-valued function is constant on components of
the set of its subdifferentiably critical points, thus extending to all
definable functions a recent result of Bolte-Daniilidis-Lewis for globally
subanalytic functions.Comment: 23
Are all health gains equally important? An exploration of acceptable health as a reference point in health care priority setting
Background: Accumulating evidence suggests that members of society prefer some QALY gains over others. In this paper, we explore the notion of acceptable health as a reference point in assessing the value of health gains. The value of health benefits may be assessed in terms of their position relative to this reference level, benefits above the level of acceptable health being valued differently from benefits below this level. In this paper we focus on assessing the level of acceptable health at different ages and associations with background variables. Methods: We recruited a sample of the adult population from the Netherlands (n = 1067) to investigate which level of health problems they consider to be acceptable for people aged 40 to 90, using 10-year intervals. We constructed acceptable health curves and associated acceptable health with background characteristics using linear regressions. Results: The results of this study indicate that the level of health problems considered acceptable increases with age. This level was associated with respondents' age, age of death of next of kin, health and health behaviour. Conclusions: Our results suggest that people are capable of indicating acceptable levels of health at different ages, implying that a reference point of acceptable health may exist. While more investigation into the measurement of acceptable health remains necessary, future studies may also focus on how health gains may be valued relative to this reference level. Gains below the reference point may receive higher weight than those above this level since the former improve unacceptable health states while the latter improve acceptable health states
Global properties of Stochastic Loewner evolution driven by Levy processes
Standard Schramm-Loewner evolution (SLE) is driven by a continuous Brownian
motion which then produces a trace, a continuous fractal curve connecting the
singular points of the motion. If jumps are added to the driving function, the
trace branches. In a recent publication [1] we introduced a generalized SLE
driven by a superposition of a Brownian motion and a fractal set of jumps
(technically a stable L\'evy process). We then discussed the small-scale
properties of the resulting L\'evy-SLE growth process. Here we discuss the same
model, but focus on the global scaling behavior which ensues as time goes to
infinity. This limiting behavior is independent of the Brownian forcing and
depends upon only a single parameter, , which defines the shape of the
stable L\'evy distribution. We learn about this behavior by studying a
Fokker-Planck equation which gives the probability distribution for endpoints
of the trace as a function of time. As in the short-time case previously
studied, we observe that the properties of this growth process change
qualitatively and singularly at . We show both analytically and
numerically that the growth continues indefinitely in the vertical direction
for , goes as for , and saturates for . The probability density has two different scales corresponding to
directions along and perpendicular to the boundary. In the former case, the
characteristic scale is . In the latter case the scale
is for , and
for . Scaling functions for the probability density are given for
various limiting cases.Comment: Published versio
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