Organic production systems in Northern highbush blueberries

The production of highbush blueberries is increasing worldwide. Organic production of blueberries in Sweden is presently very limited but is expected to have a great potential to expand as the berries are popular and have a good shelf life. The fact that blueberries require acid soils raises several questions concerning suitable substrates in combination with mycorrhizal inoculation and fertilization in organic production systems. Field and pot experiments have been established during 2011 and 2012 with the aim of developing a sustainable production system for high quality organic blueberries. After the second experimental year, total fruit yields were similar for plants grown in a plastic tunnel and in the open field. Yields were not affected by the addition of 10% forest soil to the peat-based substrate. Inoculation with ericoid mycorrhizal fungi had little effect on shoot length in a greenhouse pot experiment. Blueberries may be particularly suitable for organic production as the need for fertilizers is low combined with a relatively low disease pressure on the blueberry crop in the Nordic countries. The Swedish blueberry production might be expected to expand in the near future. The development of a successful and resource-efficient growing system for organic blueberries may encourage new blueberry growers to chose organic production

Phase separation in hydrogen-helium mixtures at Mbar pressures

The properties of hydrogen-helium mixtures at Mbar pressures and intermediate temperatures (4000 to 10000 K) are calculated with first-principles molecular dynamics simulations. We determine the equation of state as a function of density, temperature, and composition and, using thermodynamic integration, we estimate the Gibbs free energy of mixing, thereby determining the temperature, at a given pressure, when helium becomes insoluble in dense metallic hydrogen. These results are directly relevant to models of the interior structure and evolution of Jovian planets. We find that the temperatures for the demixing of helium and hydrogen are sufficiently high to cross the planetary adiabat of Saturn at pressures around 5 Mbar; helium is partially miscible throughout a significant portion of the interior of Saturn, and to a lesser extent in Jupiter.Comment: 6 pages, 7 figures. Published in "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA

A platform for efficient, thiol-stable conjugation to albumin's native single accessible cysteine

Herein we report the use of bromomaleimides for the construction of stable albumin conjugates via conjugation to its native, single accessible, cysteine followed by hydrolysis. Advantages over the classical maleimide approach are highlighted in terms of quantitative hydrolysis and absence of undesirable retro-Michael deconjugation

Approaching the low-temperature limit in nucleation and two-dimensional growth of fcc (100) metal films Ag/Ag(100)

We analyze the formation of two-dimensional Ag islands following deposition of about 0.1 ML of Ag on Ag(100) over a temperature regime ranging from classical nucleation and growth behavior to almost immobile adatoms, from 300 to 125 K. Particular emphasis is placed on the post-deposition dynamics at the lower end of the temperature range, where the saturation island density is not reached at the end of the deposition, and nucleation and aggregation processes continue with adatoms from the remaining adatom gas. Our analysis combines VT scanning tunneling microscopy experiments with kinetic Monte Carlo simulation of appropriate atomistic models. The only adjustable parameters in the model are the terrace diffusion barrier and prefactor, which can be determined from island density behavior near room temperature. Other processes such as rapid edge diffusion, and “easy” nucleation and aggregation of diagonally adjacent adatoms, are treated as instantaneous. The model excellently reproduces all aspects of behavior at low temperatures, demonstrating that nucleation and growth processes can be described in one consistent scheme, down to the regime of almost immobile adatoms

What do community-dwelling Caucasian and South Asian 60–70 year olds think about exercise for fall prevention?

Background: strategies to prevent falls often recommend regular exercise. However, 40% of over 50s in the UK report less physical activity than is recommended. Even higher rates of sedentary behaviour have been reported among South Asian older adults

Mass-radius relationships for exoplanets

For planets other than Earth, interpretation of the composition and structure depends largely on comparing the mass and radius with the composition expected given their distance from the parent star. The composition implies a mass-radius relation which relies heavily on equations of state calculated from electronic structure theory and measured experimentally on Earth. We lay out a method for deriving and testing equations of state, and deduce mass-radius and mass-pressure relations for key materials whose equation of state is reasonably well established, and for differentiated Fe/rock. We find that variations in the equation of state, such as may arise when extrapolating from low pressure data, can have significant effects on predicted mass- radius relations, and on planetary pressure profiles. The relations are compared with the observed masses and radii of planets and exoplanets. Kepler-10b is apparently 'Earth- like,' likely with a proportionately larger core than Earth's, nominally 2/3 of the mass of the planet. CoRoT-7b is consistent with a rocky mantle over an Fe-based core which is likely to be proportionately smaller than Earth's. GJ 1214b lies between the mass-radius curves for H2O and CH4, suggesting an 'icy' composition with a relatively large core or a relatively large proportion of H2O. CoRoT-2b is less dense than the hydrogen relation, which could be explained by an anomalously high degree of heating or by higher than assumed atmospheric opacity. HAT-P-2b is slightly denser than the mass-radius relation for hydrogen, suggesting the presence of a significant amount of matter of higher atomic number. CoRoT-3b lies close to the hydrogen relation. The pressure at the center of Kepler-10b is 1.5+1.2-1.0 TPa. The central pressure in CoRoT-7b is probably close to 0.8TPa, though may be up to 2TPa.Comment: Added more recent exoplanets. Tidied text and references. Added extra "rock" compositions. Responded to referee comment

Social physique anxiety and physical activity in early adolescent girls : the influence of maturation and physical activity motives

This study considered the influence of maturation on social physique anxiety (SPA), the relationship between SPA and current and future physical activity (PA) levels and the influence of motives for physical activity on this relationship in early adolescent girls (n=162; mean age=11.80±0.33 years). Participants completed the Pubertal Development Scale, the modified Social Physique Anxiety Scale and the Motives for Physical Activity Scale at baseline and the Physical Activity Questionnaire for Older Children at baseline and 6 months later. The girls became less active across the 6 months and girls in the early stages of maturation had significantly lower SPA than the girls in the middle and late stages of maturation. SPA was not related to current or future physical activity in the sample as a whole. Cluster analysis identified four groups with different motive profiles and the High Appearance and Fitness group demonstrated a moderate negative relationship between SPA and PA at phase 1, whereas the other groups did not. These findings indicate that SPA may increase with maturation and the relationship between SPA and PA is dependent on reasons for being active. For girls who are motivated to be active primarily by body-related reasons SPA is likely to lead to lower levels of PA

Double-Stranded RNA Attenuates the Barrier Function of Human Pulmonary Artery Endothelial Cells

Circulating RNA may result from excessive cell damage or acute viral infection and can interact with vascular endothelial cells. Despite the obvious clinical implications associated with the presence of circulating RNA, its pathological effects on endothelial cells and the governing molecular mechanisms are still not fully elucidated. We analyzed the effects of double stranded RNA on primary human pulmonary artery endothelial cells (hPAECs). The effect of natural and synthetic double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) on hPAECs was investigated using trans-endothelial electric resistance, molecule trafficking, calcium (Ca2+) homeostasis, gene expression and proliferation studies. Furthermore, the morphology and mechanical changes of the cells caused by synthetic dsRNA was followed by in-situ atomic force microscopy, by vascular-endothelial cadherin and F-actin staining. Our results indicated that exposure of hPAECs to synthetic dsRNA led to functional deficits. This was reflected by morphological and mechanical changes and an increase in the permeability of the endothelial monolayer. hPAECs treated with synthetic dsRNA accumulated in the G1 phase of the cell cycle. Additionally, the proliferation rate of the cells in the presence of synthetic dsRNA was significantly decreased. Furthermore, we found that natural and synthetic dsRNA modulated Ca2+ signaling in hPAECs by inhibiting the sarco-endoplasmic Ca2+-ATPase (SERCA) which is involved in the regulation of the intracellular Ca2+ homeostasis and thus cell growth. Even upon synthetic dsRNA stimulation silencing of SERCA3 preserved the endothelial monolayer integrity. Our data identify novel mechanisms by which dsRNA can disrupt endothelial barrier function and these may be relevant in inflammatory processes

Optimised approach to albumin-drug conjugates using monobromomaleimide-C-2 linkers

Conjugation of therapeutics to human serum albumin (HSA) using bromomaleimides represents a promising platform for half-life extension. We show here that the Cys-34 crevice substantially reduces the rate of serum stabilising maleimide hydrolysis in these conjugates, necessitating reagent optimisation. This improved reagent design is applied to the construction of an HSA-paclitaxel conjugate, preventing drug loss during maleimide hydrolysis