Evaluating the relationship between leaf nitrogen concentration and Minolta SPAD-502 meter readings [abstract]

Abstract only availableOak trees are deciduous trees that can live for up to 200 years and face a variety of environmental stresses. Like all plants, oak trees need nutrients, which vary under different stress conditions. We study nitrogen as an essential element in the growth of plants. Most nitrogen is found in the chlorophyll molecules of a leaf, and we are interested in understanding how nitrogen concentration varies oak species with different responses to flooding. The objectives of this study are to: (1) Determine the relationship between leaf chlorophyll and leaf nitrogen concentration for five different species of oak tree (bur oak, pin oak, swamp white oak, northern red oak and shumard oak) and (2) asses how flood tolerance affects the above relationship. The relationship between total leaf nitrogen concentration and chlorophyll of bur oak (Quercus macrocarpa), pin oak (Q. palustris), northern red oak (Q. rubra), shumard oak (Q. shumardii), and swamp white oak (Q. bicolor) were determined. Each tree species was represented by seedlings raised from acorns collected from both upland and lowland sites with the exception of northern red oak, which was represented by seedlings from a single location. A SPAD-502 Meter (Minolta Corporation ltd., Osaka, Japan) was used to measure chlorophyll in a total of 135 individual seedlings for 5 consecutive weeks. A single leaf was repeatedly sampled on each seedling in each flooded and non-flooded (control) treatment over 5 replications in a greenhouse. The harvested leaves were then oven dried for 72 hours and nitrogen analysis was conducted in the lab by combusting the sample in an induction furnace and measuring the nitrogen via thermal conductivity. Preliminary results indicate a close correlation between chlorophyll and nitrogen content and differing effects of inundation on their relationship.NSF Undergraduate Mentoring in Environmental Biolog

Growing black walnut for nut production: bearing years management

"The following document is a guide which outlines the steps and operations required to care for bearing and mature black walnut orchards."--Page 1.By J. Bryan Webber (M.S., Senior Research Specialist, UMCA), Mark Coggeshall (Ph.D., Adjunct Assistant Professor, UMCA), Ron Revord (Ph.D., Assistant Research Professor, UMCA), Nicholas Meier (Ph.D., Senior Research Specialist, UMCA, & William Reid, Ph.D., Retired, Kansas State University)New '09; Revised 08/22Includes bibliographical reference

Growing black walnut for nut production: orchard establishment and early management

"Eastern black walnut trees (Juglans nigra) produce high-valued hardwood products and distinctively flavored, highly nutritious, edible kernels. Black walnut kernels are a rich source of fatty acids and contain the highest protein content of any tree nut, as well as vitamins and nutrients such as vitamin A, vitamin B-6, manganese, iron, phosphorus, and potassium. The potential for producing two valuable products on the same tree has captured the imagination of tree planters for years. Both large and small black walnut plantations have been established with the intent to harvest valuable nut crops from trees that will also eventually produce veneer-quality logs. However, if experience has taught us anything about growing black walnut, it is that the optimization of nut production and wood production are not readily achievable on the same tree."--Page 1.J. Bryan Webber, M.S., (Senior Research Specialist, UMCA), Mark Coggeshall, Ph.D., (Adjunct Assistant Professor, UMCA), Ron Revord, Ph.D., (Assistant Research Professor, UMCA), Nicholas Meier, Ph.D., (Senior Research Specialist, UMCA), William Reid, Ph.D., (Retired, Kansas State University)Taken from Extension website: Reviewed: August 2022.Includes bibliographical reference

Gene expression profiling of human alveolar macrophages infected by B. anthracis spores demonstrates TNF-α and NF-κb are key components of the innate immune response to the pathogen

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Bacillus anthracis</it>, the etiologic agent of anthrax, has recently been used as an agent of bioterrorism. The innate immune system initially appears to contain the pathogen at the site of entry. Because the human alveolar macrophage (HAM) plays a key role in lung innate immune responses, studying the HAM response to <it>B. anthracis </it>is important in understanding the pathogenesis of the pulmonary form of this disease.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In this paper, the transcriptional profile of <it>B. anthracis </it>spore-treated HAM was compared with that of mock-infected cells, and differentially expressed genes were identified by Affymetrix microarray analysis. A portion of the results were verified by Luminex protein analysis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The majority of genes modulated by spores were upregulated, and a lesser number were downregulated. The differentially expressed genes were subjected to Ingenuity Pathway analysis, the Database for Annotation, Visualization and Integrated Discovery (DAVID) analysis, the Promoter Analysis and Interaction Network Toolset (PAINT) and Oncomine analysis. Among the upregulated genes, we identified a group of chemokine ligand, apoptosis, and, interestingly, keratin filament genes. Central hubs regulating the activated genes were TNF-α, NF-κB and their ligands/receptors. In addition to TNF-α, a broad range of cytokines was induced, and this was confirmed at the level of translation by Luminex multiplex protein analysis. PAINT analysis revealed that many of the genes affected by spores contain the binding site for c-Rel, a member of the NF-κB family of transcription factors. Other transcription regulatory elements contained in many of the upregulated genes were c-Myb, CP2, Barbie Box, E2F and CRE-BP1. However, many of the genes are poorly annotated, indicating that they represent novel functions. Four of the genes most highly regulated by spores have only previously been associated with head and neck and lung carcinomas.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The results demonstrate not only that TNF-α and NF-κb are key components of the innate immune response to the pathogen, but also that a large part of the mechanisms by which the alveolar macrophage responds to <it>B. anthracis </it>are still unknown as many of the genes involved are poorly annotated.</p

The extraordinary evolutionary history of the reticuloendotheliosis viruses

The reticuloendotheliosis viruses (REVs) comprise several closely related amphotropic retroviruses isolated from birds. These viruses exhibit several highly unusual characteristics that have not so far been adequately explained, including their extremely close relationship to mammalian retroviruses, and their presence as endogenous sequences within the genomes of certain large DNA viruses. We present evidence for an iatrogenic origin of REVs that accounts for these phenomena. Firstly, we identify endogenous retroviral fossils in mammalian genomes that share a unique recombinant structure with REVs—unequivocally demonstrating that REVs derive directly from mammalian retroviruses. Secondly, through sequencing of archived REV isolates, we confirm that contaminated Plasmodium lophurae stocks have been the source of multiple REV outbreaks in experimentally infected birds. Finally, we show that both phylogenetic and historical evidence support a scenario wherein REVs originated as mammalian retroviruses that were accidentally introduced into avian hosts in the late 1930s, during experimental studies of P. lophurae, and subsequently integrated into the fowlpox virus (FWPV) and gallid herpesvirus type 2 (GHV-2) genomes, generating recombinant DNA viruses that now circulate in wild birds and poultry. Our findings provide a novel perspective on the origin and evolution of REV, and indicate that horizontal gene transfer between virus families can expand the impact of iatrogenic transmission events

Single hadron response measurement and calorimeter jet energy scale uncertainty with the ATLAS detector at the LHC

The uncertainty on the calorimeter energy response to jets of particles is derived for the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). First, the calorimeter response to single isolated charged hadrons is measured and compared to the Monte Carlo simulation using proton-proton collisions at centre-of-mass energies of sqrt(s) = 900 GeV and 7 TeV collected during 2009 and 2010. Then, using the decay of K_s and Lambda particles, the calorimeter response to specific types of particles (positively and negatively charged pions, protons, and anti-protons) is measured and compared to the Monte Carlo predictions. Finally, the jet energy scale uncertainty is determined by propagating the response uncertainty for single charged and neutral particles to jets. The response uncertainty is 2-5% for central isolated hadrons and 1-3% for the final calorimeter jet energy scale.Comment: 24 pages plus author list (36 pages total), 23 figures, 1 table, submitted to European Physical Journal

Standalone vertex finding in the ATLAS muon spectrometer

A dedicated reconstruction algorithm to find decay vertices in the ATLAS muon spectrometer is presented. The algorithm searches the region just upstream of or inside the muon spectrometer volume for multi-particle vertices that originate from the decay of particles with long decay paths. The performance of the algorithm is evaluated using both a sample of simulated Higgs boson events, in which the Higgs boson decays to long-lived neutral particles that in turn decay to bbar b final states, and pp collision data at √s = 7 TeV collected with the ATLAS detector at the LHC during 2011

Measurements of Higgs boson production and couplings in diboson final states with the ATLAS detector at the LHC

Measurements are presented of production properties and couplings of the recently discovered Higgs boson using the decays into boson pairs, H →γ γ, H → Z Z∗ →4l and H →W W∗ →lνlν. The results are based on the complete pp collision data sample recorded by the ATLAS experiment at the CERN Large Hadron Collider at centre-of-mass energies of √s = 7 TeV and √s = 8 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of about 25 fb−1. Evidence for Higgs boson production through vector-boson fusion is reported. Results of combined fits probing Higgs boson couplings to fermions and bosons, as well as anomalous contributions to loop-induced production and decay modes, are presented. All measurements are consistent with expectations for the Standard Model Higgs boson