Competitive Effects of Japanese Brome (Bromus Japonicus Thunb.) on Native Perennial Grasses

A portion of the mixed prairie was studied in an attempt to measure the effects of Japanese brome on production of native perennial grass. Vegetation was analyzed by paired foot-square quadrats. Japanese brome was removed from treated plots and control plots were left as they naturally occur. Microclimate study consisted of soil temperature and soil moisture under both treatments. Germination tests on Japanese brome were conducted in a Mangelsdorf germinator and early growth and development was studied with the use of phytometers in the greenhouse. Averages for a six-week period showed 20.90 and 18.18 percent soil moisture for treated and control plots, respectively, representing a statistically significant difference in soil moisture content. Highly significant differences in soil temperature existed between treated and control plots with averages of 22.4 and 20.70⁰ C., respectively. Production of Japanese brome averaged 1, 774 pounds per acre on March 1 but production decreased to an average of 957 pounds per acre by maturity (June 30). No statistical difference was found between the yield of perennial grasses from treated and control plots at maturity of Japanese brome (June 30) when the annual was removed from the treated plots on March 16. Production of perennial grasses at the end of the growing season (September 19) was significantly greater on the control plots than on treated plots with averages of 2,394 and 2,214 pounds per acre, respectively, when Japanese brome was removed from the treated plots on March 16. Removal of Japanese brome at maturity (June 30) had no effect on production of perennial grasses which averaged 2,385 and 2,394 pounds per acre for treated and control plots, respectively. Total yearly production on control plots (perennial grass plus Japanese brome) averaged 2,877 pounds per acre. Germination of Japanese brome caryopses averaged 94 percent. Freezing Japanese brome caryopses before germination had no effect on percentage germination, but non-frozen caryopses germinated approximately four hours sooner than frozen caryopses. Early growth and development of Japanese brome was observed from the Simple one-leaf two-root stage after four days of growth to the highly complex growth development 49 days after germination. The primary root penetrated to a depth of 81.0 cm. and the maximum depth of penetration of the 11 secondary roots was 77.5 cm. with a lateral spread of 15.0 cm. after seven weeks of growth. An average of 14 leaves per plant were found after seven weeks of growth

Entanglement of two individual neutral atoms using Rydberg blockade

We report the generation of entanglement between two individual $^{87}$Rb atoms in hyperfine ground states $|F=1,M=1>$ and $|F=2,M=2>$ which are held in two optical tweezers separated by 4 $\mu$m. Our scheme relies on the Rydberg blockade effect which prevents the simultaneous excitation of the two atoms to a Rydberg state. The entangled state is generated in about 200 ns using pulsed two-photon excitation. We quantify the entanglement by applying global Raman rotations on both atoms. We measure that 61% of the initial pairs of atoms are still present at the end of the entangling sequence. These pairs are in the target entangled state with a fidelity of 0.75.Comment: text revised, with additional reference

Neuropsychological testing and biomarkers in the management of brain metastases

Prognosis for patients with brain metastasis remains poor. Whole brain radiation therapy is the conventional treatment option; it can improve neurological symptoms, prevent and improve tumor associated neurocognitive decline, and prevents death from neurologic causes. In addition to whole brain radiation therapy, stereotactic radiosurgery, neurosurgery and chemotherapy also are used in the management of brain metastases. Radiosensitizers are now currently being investigated as potential treatment options. All of these treatment modalities carry a risk of central nervous system (CNS) toxicity that can lead to neurocognitive impairment in long term survivors. Neuropsychological testing and biomarkers are potential ways of measuring and better understanding CNS toxicity. These tools may help optimize current therapies and develop new treatments for these patients. This article will review the current management of brain metastases, summarize the data on the CNS effects associated with brain metastases and whole brain radiation therapy in these patients, discuss the use of neuropsychological tests as outcome measures in clinical trials evaluating treatments for brain metastases, and give an overview of the potential of biomarker development in brain metastases research

Population structure of mitochondrial genomes in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Background: Rigorous study of mitochondrial functions and cell biology in the budding yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae has advanced our understanding of mitochondrial genetics. This yeast is now a powerful model for population genetics, owing to large genetic diversity and highly structured populations among wild isolates. Comparative mitochondrial genomic analyses between yeast species have revealed broad evolutionary changes in genome organization and architecture. A fine-scale view of recent evolutionary changes within S. cerevisiae has not been possible due to low numbers of complete mitochondrial sequences. Results: To address challenges of sequencing AT-rich and repetitive mitochondrial DNAs (mtDNAs), we sequenced two divergent S. cerevisiae mtDNAs using a single-molecule sequencing platform (PacBio RS). Using de novo assemblies, we generated highly accurate complete mtDNA sequences. These mtDNA sequences were compared with 98 additional mtDNA sequences gathered from various published collections. Phylogenies based on mitochondrial coding sequences and intron profiles revealed that intraspecific diversity in mitochondrial genomes generally recapitulated the population structure of nuclear genomes. Analysis of intergenic sequence indicated a recent expansion of mobile elements in certain populations. Additionally, our analyses revealed that certain populations lacked introns previously believed conserved throughout the species, as well as the presence of introns never before reported in S. cerevisiae. Conclusions: Our results revealed that the extensive variation in S. cerevisiae mtDNAs is often population specific, thus offering a window into the recent evolutionary processes shaping these genomes. In addition, we offer an effective strategy for sequencing these challenging AT-rich mitochondrial genomes for small scale projects

Enhancement of the Zero Phonon Line emission from a Single NV-Center in a Nanodiamond via Coupling to a Photonic Crystal Cavity

Using a nanomanipulation technique a nanodiamond with a single nitrogen vacancy center is placed directly on the surface of a gallium phosphide photonic crystal cavity. A Purcell-enhancement of the fluorescence emission at the zero phonon line (ZPL) by a factor of 12.1 is observed. The ZPL coupling is a first crucial step towards future diamond-based integrated quantum optical devices

Breeding of CMS-F1-Hybrids in \u3cem\u3eLolium Perenne\u3c/em\u3e With Improved Nitrogen Use Efficiency

The environmental pollution by nitrogen losses from dairy farms can be reduced by improving the nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) of grass varieties. The main goal is to develop varieties with a better nitrogen utilisation. These low input varieties can produce acceptable yields at a low level of N-fertilisation. High input varieties express their high yield potential only at high N-supply. These varieties are less preferable, because N- losses increase at higher levels of nitrogen application. The breeding of CMS-F1-Hybrids can be a successful strategy for developing varieties with a higher NUE. In F1-Hybrid varieties higher heterosis effects can be achieved than in populations or synthetic varieties

Self-regulation of Time: the Importance of Time Estimation Accuracy

Time management is one central aspect of students’ self-regulated learning. In addition, biased time estimation seems to be central to students’ self-regulation of their time. In this study, we explored college students’ time estimation bias. In addition, we were interested in whether the activation of task beliefs influenced students’ time estimation bias and how specific beliefs about task difficulty influence time estimation bias. Findings suggested that students tended to demonstrate bias in their estimations of the time their academic tasks would take. Additionally, the activation of task beliefs did not influence students’ time estimation accuracy. Finally, both prior task difficulty and anticipated difficulty influenced students’ time estimation bias. These findings highlight the complexity of students’ time estimation bias and point to the opportunities for future directions

Regularisation, Systematicity and Naturalness in a Silent Gesture Learning Task

Typological analysis of the world’s language shows that, of the 6 possible basic word orders, SOV and SVO orders are predominant, a preference supported by experimental studies in which participants improvise gestures to describe events. Silent gesture studies have also provided evidence for natural ordering patterns, where SOV and SVO orders are used selectively depending on the semantics of the event, a finding recently supported by data from natural sign languages. We present an artificial language learning task using gesture to ask to what extent preferences for natural ordering patterns, in addition to biases for regular languages, are at play during learning in the manual modality