Determining Autolysis and Decomposition Rate of Mouse Carcass

Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP)http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/116110/1/DeterminingAutolysisanDecompositionRate_MouseCarcass.pd

The New World challenge : Performance trends in wine production in major wine-exporting countries in the 2000s and their implications for the Australian wine industry

© 2014 UniCeSV, University of Florence. Anderson, K., Nelgen, S., 2011. Global Wine Markets, 1961 to 2009: A Statistical Compendium. University of Adelaide Press, Adelaide publication of an index of revealed comparative advantage suggests that the Australian wine industry had come under increased competition from other "New World" producers in the first decade of this century. We examine this influence by comparing the transformation of wine grapes into wine volume and value in the 11 largest wine-exporting countries during the years, 2000-2009. Our focus is on the challenge issued by other New World producers from the Southern Hemisphere to Australian producers, and the continuing challenge to Old World global supremacy by New World producers and its response. Four performance measures are used this study. Two key trends are evident. First, all countries migrated to higher price points, albeit with differing degrees of success: slightly declining productivity in transforming wine grapes into wine output was over whelmed by price/quality effects, leading to substantial gains in transforming wine grapes in to wine value. Second, New World producers plus Portugal and Spain were much more successful in achieving gains in their export value proposition than they were in extracting value in their domestic markets. Results show that Australian wine producers had lost some of their competitive advantage during the 2000s as their pre- existing strategy dominated by the export of high-volume wines by large companies at low to medium price points, and their reliance on a reputation for reliable good quality for the price point was beginning to fail in the face of competition from both New World and Old World producers. Acknowledgement of this outcome has led to a good deal of introspection, and recognition of the need to promote the wine regions of Australia, based on higher-quality wines,and to select and promote quality indicators

Geographical Concentration of Rural Poverty in Bangladesh

This paper was presented at the dialogue on Mapping Poverty for Rural Bangladesh: Implications for Pro-poor Development. The dialogue was organised as part of CPD's ongoing agricultural policy research and advocacy activities with IRRI under the PETRRA project. The study reported geographical concentration of rural poverty in Bangladesh for 425 upazilas in 2000-01. The study measured and mapped incidence of poverty (using Headcount Index), intensity of poverty (using Poverty Gap Index) and severity of poverty (using Squared Poverty Gap Index). It has analyzed factors contributing to the spatial concentration of poverty. It is hoped that the findings of the study would be helpful in identifying target areas and priorities for agricultural R&D interventions and poverty reduction programmes.Poverty, Rural Poverty, Bangladesh

Coexpression gene network analysis of cold-tolerant Solanum commersonii reveals new insights in response to low temperatures

Among abiotic stressors, cold is one of the most harmful for the cultivated potato (Solanum tuberosum L.), a frost-sensitive crop. RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) profiling of two different clones of wild potato (S. commersonii Dun.) contrasting in their capacity to withstand low temperatures revealed a higher number of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) under nonacclimated conditions (NAC) in tolerant clone cmm1T vs. the susceptible cmm6-6 (1,002 and 8,055 DEGs, respectively). By contrast, the number of DEGs was much more comparable when both genotypes were under acclimated conditions (AC). Indeed, a total of 5,650 and 8,936 DEGs were detected in the tolerant genotype vs. the susceptible. Gene ontology (GO) classification under NAC showed a significant role for transcription regulation, lignin catabolic genes, and regulation of plant type secondary cell wall in the cold-tolerant genotypes, suggesting an important role in conferring tolerance response. By contrast, response to stress and response to stimuli were enriched GO categories in both clones under AC. Unsigned weighted correlation networks analysis (WGCNA) allowed identification of coexpressed hub genes with possible main regulatory functions and major impacts on the phenotype. Among those identified, we clarified the role of CBF4. This gene showed contrasting expression profiles in the two clones under NAC, being induced in cold-tolerant cmm1T but suppressed in susceptible cmm6-6. By contrast, under AC, CBF4 was upregulated in both clones. Our study provides a global understanding of mechanisms involved following exposure to NAC and AC in S. commersonii. The mechanisms described here will inform future investigations for detailed validation in studies regarding cold tolerance in plants

Hypoxia up-regulates SERPINB3 through HIF-2\u3b1 in human liver cancer cells.

SERPINB3 is a cysteine-proteases inhibitor up-regulated in a significant number of cirrhotic patients carrying hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and recently proposed as a prognostic marker for HCC early recurrence. SERPINB3 has been reported to stimulate proliferation, inhibit apoptosis and, similar to what reported for hypoxia, to trigger epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and increased invasiveness in liver cancer cells. This study has investigated whether SERPINB3 expression is regulated by hypoxia-related mechanisms in liver cancer cells. Exposure of HepG2 and Huh7 cells to hypoxia up-regulated SERPINB3 transcription, protein synthesis and release in the extracellular medium. Hypoxia-dependent SERPINB3 up-regulation was selective (no change detected for SERPINB4) and operated through hypoxia inducible factor (HIF)-2\u3b1 (not HIF-1\u3b1) binding to SERPINB3 promoter, as confirmed by chromatin immuno-precipitation assay and silencing experiments employing specific siRNAs. HIF-2\u3b1-mediated SERPINB3 up-regulation under hypoxic conditions required intracellular generation of ROS. Immuno-histochemistry (IHC) and transcript analysis, performed in human HCC specimens, revealed co-localization of the two proteins in liver cancer cells and the existence of a positive correlation between HIF-2\u3b1 and SERPINB3 transcript levels, respectively. Hypoxia, through HIF-2\u3b1-dependent and redox-sensitive mechanisms, up-regulates the transcription, synthesis and release of SERPINB3, a molecule with a high oncogenic potential

SerpinB3 as hepatic marker of post-resective shear stress

Post-resective liver failure is a frequent complication of liver surgery and it is due to portal hyperperfusion of the remnant liver and to arterial vasoconstriction, as buffer response of the hepatic artery. In this context, splenectomy allows a reduction of portal flow and increases the survival chance in preclinical models. SerpinB3 is over-expressed in the liver in oxidative stress conditions, as a mechanism of cell defense to provide survival by apoptosis inhibition and cell proliferation. In this study, the expression of SerpinB3 was assessed as predictor of liver damage in in vivo models of major hepatic resection with or without splenectomy. Wistar male rats were divided into 4 groups: group A received 30% hepatic resection, group B > 60% resection, group C > 60% resection with splenectomy and group D sham-operated. Before and after surgery liver function tests, echo Doppler ultrasound and gene expression were assessed. Transaminase values and ammonium were significantly higher in groups that underwent major hepatic resection. Echo Doppler ultrasound showed the highest portal flow and resistance of the hepatic artery in the group with > 60% hepatectomy without splenectomy, while the association of splenectomy determined no increase in portal flow and hepatic artery resistance. Only the group of rats without splenectomy showed higher shear-stress conditions, reflected by higher levels of HO-1, Nox1 and of Serpinb3, the latter associated with an increase of IL-6. In conclusion, splenectomy controls inflammation and oxidative damage, preventing the expression of Serpinb3. Therefore, SerpinB3 can be considered as a marker of post-resective shear stress

Individual differences in naturalistic learning link negative emotionality to the development of anxiety

Organisms learn from prediction errors (PEs) to predict the future. Laboratory studies using small financial outcomes find that humans use PEs to update expectations and link individual differences in PE-based learning to internalizing disorders. Because of the low-stakes outcomes in most tasks, it is unclear whether PE learning emerges in naturalistic, high-stakes contexts and whether individual differences in PE learning predict psychopathology risk. Using experience sampling to assess 625 college students\u27 expected exam grades, we found evidence of PE-based learning and a general tendency to discount negative PEs, an optimism bias. However, individuals with elevated negative emotionality, a personality trait linked to the development of anxiety disorders, displayed a global pessimism and learning differences that impeded accurate expectations and predicted future anxiety symptoms. A sensitivity to PEs combined with an aversion to negative PEs may result in a pessimistic and inaccurate model of the world, leading to anxiety

Coupled Biological and Thermochemical Process for Plastic Waste Conversion into Biopolymers

The aqueous phase produced from the hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) of three matrices (Plasmix treated with different operative conditions and polystyrene) was subjected to acidogenic fermentation (AF) batch tests to obtain organic acids, which are the ideal substrates for biopolymers (e.g., polyhydroxyalkanoates, PHA) production from mixed microbial cultures (MMC). Parallel tests in the presence of only HTL water fractions or only glucose (an easily biodegradable compound), or in presence of both, were conducted and compared to assess any possible recalcitrant or inhibitory effect of plastic waste from the HTL treatment during the AF process. These tests resulted, within approximately 30 days of operation, in a conversion of 96 ± 21% (COD/COD) of the Plasmix by-products after a 2h thermochemical treatment into organic acids, a 54 ± 7% (COD/COD) of conversion for Plasmix by-products treated 4h, and 29 ± 1% (COD/COD) of conversion in the presence of polystyrene residual water