Secretory RING finger proteins function as effectors in a grapevine galling insect.

BackgroundAll eukaryotes share a conserved network of processes regulated by the proteasome and fundamental to growth, development, or perception of the environment, leading to complex but often predictable responses to stress. As a specialized component of the ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS), the RING finger domain mediates protein-protein interactions and displays considerable versatility in regulating many physiological processes in plants. Many pathogenic organisms co-opt the UPS through RING-type E3 ligases, but little is known about how insects modify these integral networks to generate novel plant phenotypes.ResultsUsing a combination of transcriptome sequencing and genome annotation of a grapevine galling species, Daktulosphaira vitifoliae, we identified 138 putatively secretory protein RING-type (SPRINGs) E3 ligases that showed structure and evolutionary signatures of genes under rapid evolution. Moreover, the majority of the SPRINGs were more expressed in the feeding stage than the non-feeding egg stage, in contrast to the non-secretory RING genes. Phylogenetic analyses indicated that the SPRINGs formed clusters, likely resulting from species-specific gene duplication and conforming to features of arthropod host-manipulating (effector) genes. To test the hypothesis that these SPRINGs evolved to manipulate cellular processes within the plant host, we examined SPRING interactions with grapevine proteins using the yeast two-hybrid assay. An insect SPRING interacted with two plant proteins, a cellulose synthase, CSLD5, and a ribosomal protein, RPS4B suggesting secretion reprograms host immune signaling, cell division, and stress response in favor of the insect. Plant UPS gene expression during gall development linked numerous processes to novel organogenesis.ConclusionsTaken together, D. vitifoliae SPRINGs represent a novel gene expansion that evolved to interact with Vitis hosts. Thus, a pattern is emerging for gall forming insects to manipulate plant development through UPS targeting

Space Suit Radiator Performance in Lunar and Mars Environments

During an ExtraVehicular Activity (EVA), both the heat generated by the astronaut's metabolism and that produced by the Portable Life Support System (PLSS) must be rejected to space. The heat sources include the heat of adsorption of metabolic CO2, the heat of condensation of water, the heat removed from the body by the liquid cooling garment and the load from the electrical components. Although the sublimator hardware to reject this load weighs only 1.58 kg (3.48 lbm), an additional 3.6 kg (8 lbm) of water are loaded into the unit, most of which is sublimated and lost to thus become the single largest expendable during an eight hour EVA. We can significantly reduce the amount of expendable water consumed in the sublimator by using a radiator to reject heat from the Astronaut during an EVA. Last year we reported on the design and initial operational assessment tests of our novel radiator designated the Radiator And Freeze Tolerant heat eXchanger (RAFT-X). Herein, we report on tests conducted in the NASA Johnson Space Center Chamber E Thermal Vacuum Test Facility. Up to 260 W (900 Btu/h) of heat were rejected in Lunar and Mars environments with temperatures as cold as -170 C (- 275 F). Further, the RAFT-X endured several freeze / thaw cycles and in fact, the heat exchanger was completely frozen three times without any apparent damage to the unit

Role of confined phonons in thin film superconductivity

We calculate the critical temperature $T_c$ and the superconducting energy gaps $\Delta_n$ of a thin film superconductor system, where $\Delta_n$ is the superconducting energy gap of the $n$-th subband. Since the quantization of both the electron energy and phonon spectrum arises due to dimensional confinement in one direction, the effective electron-electron interaction mediated by the quantized confined phonons is different from that mediated by the bulk phonon, leading to the modification of $T_c$ in the thin film system. We investigate the dependence of $T_c$ and $\Delta_n$ on the film thickness $d$ with this modified interaction.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure

Low-temperature heat transfer in nanowires

The new regime of low-temperature heat transfer in suspended nanowires is predicted. It takes place when (i) only ``acoustic'' phonon modes of the wire are thermally populated and (ii) phonons are subject to the effective elastic scattering. Qualitatively, the main peculiarities of heat transfer originate due to appearance of the flexural modes with high density of states in the wire phonon spectrum. They give rise to the $T^{1/2}$ temperature dependence of the wire thermal conductance. The experimental situations where the new regime is likely to be detected are discussed.Comment: RevTex file, 1 PS figur

Predicting the Cy Young Award Winner

Here we examine the application of a decision model to predicting the winner of the Cy Young Award. We investigate a current model cast as a linear programming problem and explore its ability to correctly predict award winners for recent seasons of professional baseball. We suggest the addition of another baseball statistic which leads to a new model. We explore the success of both models with numerical experiments and discuss the results

Recognition Algorithm for Probe Interval 2-Trees

Recognition of probe interval graphs has been studied extensively. Recognition algorithms of probe interval graphs can be broken down into two types of problems: partitioned and non-partitioned. A partitioned recognition algorithm includes the probe and nonprobe partition of the vertices as part of the input, where a non-partitioned algorithm does not include the partition. Partitioned probe interval graphs can be recognized in linear-time in the edges, whereas non-partitioned probe interval graphs can be recognized in polynomial-time. Here we present a non-partitioned recognition algorithm for 2-trees, an extension of trees, that are probe interval graphs. We show that this algorithm runs in O(m) time, where m is the number of edges of a 2-tree. Currently there is no algorithm that performs as well for this problem

Factors Affecting Student Performance in Intermediate Programming Courses: A Mixed Method Study

There is increasing demand for computing professionals in the United States and too few college graduates to fill the projected need. While extant research has explored a wide variety of student and course attributes to predict student success in introductory programming courses, similar studies focused on intermediate and advanced courses is lacking. Our study aims to explore and identify student and course attributes impacting student performance in intermediate programming courses. Using mixed methods, we provide insights for instructors and instructional designers in developing courses to facilitate the successful completion of course learning objectives for more students, leading to more students who graduate and are able to fill IT-related roles in the future

Quantifying the Temperature of Maggot Masses and its Relationship to Decomposition

Numerous Calliphoridae species have been observed to form larval aggregations during the feeding stage of development, resulting in localized increases in temperature. This study investigates the relationship between maggot numbers in a mass and heat generation. Single-species aggregations (Lucilia sericata) of various sizes (50–2500 individuals) were reared in the laboratory at a constant ambient temperature of 22°C. Internal mass temperatures were recorded every 5 min throughout the feeding stage of development. Results showed that mass temperatures increased with mass numbers (p-value < 0.001), ranging from 2.5 to 14°C above ambient. A minimum mass size of 1200 produced overall temperatures that were significantly warmer than ambient, diverging away from 22°C after c. 26 h. These results indicate that the microclimate of a mass has the potential to differ significantly from ambient, which may be influencing larval development rates and should therefore be factored into mPMI estimates to increase accuracy