Humans' first attempts to record their thoughts resulted in images painted in the decorated caves throughout Europe, known as Upper Paleolithic Art. As humans developed written alphabets to record ...their thoughts in words, the images they painted and the words they wrote competed for attention. As the "Sister Arts" tradition attests, words and pictures have developed along distinct, though related, lines. With the rise of New Media, however, the innovative inter-animation of words and pictures in the screen space of the computer deserves - and requires - artists and designers and rhetoricians to take a fresh look at the complexities of human communication, particularly the way in which words and pictures share commonalities. The range of image-texts, from cave to computer, from palimpsests to pixels, demands critical attention from modern designers who create innovative image-texts for New Media. Eloquent Design: Essays on the Rhetorics of Vision explores ancient image-making as a basis for understanding the modern uses of image-texts in New Media. Eloquent Design also considers the current state of imaginative design from the Sister Arts tradition to Gestalt theories of vision to social semiotics of image-texts. Moreover, Eloquent Design proposes a generative method for creating image-texts, a technique called "Rhetorical Vision." Applications of the generative mode of Rhetorical Vision give rise to the innovative designs of palimpsests and experimental modes of writing, such as creative nonfiction. Essays in Eloquent Design outline a method for teaching Rhetorical Vision as the inter-animation of words and pictures.
People who begin daily smoking at an early age are at greater risk of long-term nicotine addiction. We tested the hypothesis that associations between nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) genetic ...variants and nicotine dependence assessed in adulthood will be stronger among smokers who began daily nicotine exposure during adolescence. We compared nicotine addiction-measured by the Fagerstrom Test of Nicotine Dependence-in three cohorts of long-term smokers recruited in Utah, Wisconsin, and by the NHLBI Lung Health Study, using a candidate-gene approach with the neuronal nAChR subunit genes. This SNP panel included common coding variants and haplotypes detected in eight alpha and three beta nAChR subunit genes found in European American populations. In the 2,827 long-term smokers examined, common susceptibility and protective haplotypes at the CHRNA5-A3-B4 locus were associated with nicotine dependence severity (p = 2.0x10(-5); odds ratio = 1.82; 95% confidence interval 1.39-2.39) in subjects who began daily smoking at or before the age of 16, an exposure period that results in a more severe form of adult nicotine dependence. A substantial shift in susceptibility versus protective diplotype frequency (AA versus BC = 17%, AA versus CC = 27%) was observed in the group that began smoking by age 16. This genetic effect was not observed in subjects who began daily nicotine use after the age of 16. These results establish a strong mechanistic link among early nicotine exposure, common CHRNA5-A3-B4 haplotypes, and adult nicotine addiction in three independent populations of European origins. The identification of an age-dependent susceptibility haplotype reinforces the importance of preventing early exposure to tobacco through public health policies.
Factors influencing the development of evidence-based nursing practice (EBNP) were examined in Prince Edward Island, Canada. An adapted electronic questionnaire was distributed to practicing ...registered nurses and nurse practitioners (n=68). An analysis of variance revealed a significant difference between nurses' clinical practice setting and the EBNP scale. Significant differences were also found between age and education level when compared with the EBNP subscales where novice nurses were less likely to rely on experience and intuition, and expert nurses with a higher level of education reported being more skilful at synthesising and applying information from research findings into their nursing practice.
In the maize C4 pathway, PDRP1 is known to regulate C4 PPDK activity in mesophyll chloroplasts. A second PDRP isoform, PDRP2, is shown to be the apparent regulator of C4 PPDK in bundle sheath ...chloroplasts.
Abstract
In C4 plants, the pyruvate phosphate dikinase regulatory protein (PDRP) regulates the C4 pathway enzyme pyruvate phosphate dikinase (PPDK) in response to changes in incident light intensity. In maize (Zea mays) leaves, two distinct isoforms of PDRP are expressed, ZmPDRP1 and ZmPDRP2. The properties and C4 function of the ZmPDRP1 isoform are well understood. However, the PDRP2 isoform has only recently been identified and its properties and function(s) in maize leaves are unknown. We therefore initiated an investigation into the maize PDRP2 isoform by performing a side by side comparison of its enzyme properties and cell-specific distribution with PDRP1. In terms of enzyme functionality, PDRP2 was found to possess the same protein kinase-specific activity as PDRP1. However, the PDRP2 isoform was found to lack the phosphotransferase activity of the bifunctional PDRP1 isoform except when PDRP2 in the assays is elevated 5- to 10-fold. A primarily immuno-based approach was used to show that PDRP1 is strictly expressed in mesophyll cells and PDRP2 is strictly expressed in bundle sheath strand cells (BSCs). Additionally, using in situ immunolocalization, we establish a regulatory target for PDRP2 by showing a significant presence of C4 PPDK in BSC chloroplasts. However, a metabolic role for PPDK in this compartment is obscure, assuming PPDK accumulating in this compartment would be irreversibly inactivated each dark cycle by a monofunctional PDRP2.
To describe activities and outcomes of a cross-team capacity building strategy that took place over a five-year funding period within the broader context of 12 community-based primary health care ...(CBPHC) teams.
In 2013, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research funded 12 CBPHC Teams (12-Teams) to conduct innovative cross-jurisdictional research to improve the delivery of high-quality CBPHC to Canadians. This signature initiative also aimed to enhance CBPHC research capacity among an interdisciplinary group of trainees, facilitated by a collaboration between a capacity building committee led by senior researchers and a trainee-led working group.
After the committee and working group were established, capacity building activities were organized based on needs and interests identified by trainees of the CBPHC Teams. This paper presents a summary of the activities accomplished, as well as the outcomes reported through an online semistructured survey completed by the trainees toward the end of the five-year funding period. This survey was designed to capture the capacity building and mentorship activities that trainees either had experienced or would like to experience in the future. Descriptive and thematic analyses were conducted based on survey responses, and these findings were compared with the existing core competencies in the literature.
Since 2013, nine webinars and three online workshops were hosted by trainees and senior researchers, respectively. Many of the CBPHC Teams provided exposure for trainees to innovative methods, CBPHC content, and showcased trainee research. A total of 27 trainees from 10 of the 12-Teams responded to the survey (41.5%). Trainees identified key areas of benefit from their involvement in this initiative: skills training, networking opportunities, and academic productivity. Trainees identified gaps in research and professional skill development, indicating areas for further improvement in capacity building programs, particularly for trainees to play a more active role in their education and preparation.
This work examined cell composition gradients in maturing tillers of switchgrass (
Panicum virgatum L.) with the aim of developing baseline information on this important forage and biomass crop. ...Flowering tillers were collected from plants raised from seeds in a greenhouse and field, harvested at soil level and separated into internodes beginning with the node subtending the peduncle. Internodes were analyzed using microscopy, by fiber digestion, high-performance liquid chromatography and by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry to obtain anatomical and compositional data. Microscopy demonstrated the development and maturation of cortical fibers which eventually became confluent with the fiber sheath surrounding vascular bundles in the lower internodes. Detergent fiber analysis indicated increasing cellulose and lignin contents and decreases in cell solubles and hemicelluloses with increasing distance of the internodes from the top of the plant. Soluble phenolics were greatest in amounts and complexity in top internodes. The lower internodes contained greater levels of wall-bound phenolic acids, principally as 4-coumarate and ferulate.
Structural variation is thought to play a major etiological role in the development of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), and numerous studies documenting the relevance of copy number variants (CNVs) ...in ASD have been published since 2006. To determine if large ASD families harbor high-impact CNVs that may have broader impact in the general ASD population, we used the Affymetrix genome-wide human SNP array 6.0 to identify 153 putative autism-specific CNVs present in 55 individuals with ASD from 9 multiplex ASD pedigrees. To evaluate the actual prevalence of these CNVs as well as 185 CNVs reportedly associated with ASD from published studies many of which are insufficiently powered, we designed a custom Illumina array and used it to interrogate these CNVs in 3,000 ASD cases and 6,000 controls. Additional single nucleotide variants (SNVs) on the array identified 25 CNVs that we did not detect in our family studies at the standard SNP array resolution. After molecular validation, our results demonstrated that 15 CNVs identified in high-risk ASD families also were found in two or more ASD cases with odds ratios greater than 2.0, strengthening their support as ASD risk variants. In addition, of the 25 CNVs identified using SNV probes on our custom array, 9 also had odds ratios greater than 2.0, suggesting that these CNVs also are ASD risk variants. Eighteen of the validated CNVs have not been reported previously in individuals with ASD and three have only been observed once. Finally, we confirmed the association of 31 of 185 published ASD-associated CNVs in our dataset with odds ratios greater than 2.0, suggesting they may be of clinical relevance in the evaluation of children with ASDs. Taken together, these data provide strong support for the existence and application of high-impact CNVs in the clinical genetic evaluation of children with ASD.
Switchgrass (
Panicum virgatum
L.) is an emerging biofuel crop that serves as host for aphids. To discern the effects of plant age and possible resistance mechanisms, the feeding behavior of ...greenbugs (
Schizaphis graminum
Rondani.) and the yellow sugarcane aphid (
Sipha flava
Forbes.) was monitored on three diverse switchgrasses by the electrical penetration graph (EPG) technique. Callose deposition and genes associated with callose metabolism were also analyzed to discern their association with plant resistance. There was a strong host effect on greenbugs feeding on lowland cultivar Kanlow at the V3 stage of development, as compared to the greenbug-susceptible upland cultivar Summer and plants derived from Kanlow (♂) × Summer (♀) (K×S) crosses. These data confirmed that Kanlow at the V3 stage had antibiosis to greenbugs, which was absent in the Summer and K×S plants. In contrast, similar effects were not observed for yellow sugarcane aphids, excluding significant differences in the time to first probe on Kanlow plants at the V1 stage and reduction in time spent on pathway processes on Kanlow plants at the V3 stage. These data demonstrated that Kanlow plants may have multiple sources of resistance to the two aphids, and possibly some were phloem based. Microscopy of leaf sections stained with aniline blue for callose was suggestive of increased callose deposition in the sieve elements in Kanlow plants relative to Summer and K×S plants. RT-qPCR analysis of several genes associated with callose metabolism in infested plants was equivocal. Overall, these studies suggest the presence of multiple defense mechanisms against aphids in Kanlow plants, relative to Summer and K×S plants.
The nitric oxide (NO) donor sodium nitroprusside (SNP) significantly promoted germination of switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L. cv Kanlow) in the light and in the dark at 25°C, across a broad range of ...concentrations. SNP also promoted seed germination in two other warm-season grasses. A chemical scavenger of NO inhibited germination and blocked SNP stimulation of seed germination. The phenolic (+)-catechin acted synergistically with SNP and nitrite in promoting seed germination. Acidified nitrite, an alternate NO donor also significantly stimulated seed germination. Interestingly, sodium cyanide, potassium ferricyanide and potassium ferrocyanide at 200 μM strongly enhanced seed germination as well, whereas potassium chloride was without effect. Ferrocyanide and cyanide stimulation of seed germination was blocked by an NO scavenger. Incubation of seeds with a fluorescent NO-specific probe provided evidence for NO production in germinating switchgrass seeds. Abscisic acid (ABA) at 10 μM depressed germination, inhibited root elongation and essentially abolished coleoptile emergence. SNP partially overcame ABA effects on radicle emergence but did not overcome the effects of ABA on coleoptile elongation. Light microscopy indicated extension of the radicle and coleoptiles in seeds maintained on water or on SNP after 2 days. In contrast, there was minimal growth of the radicle and coleoptile in ABA-treated seeds even after 3—4 days. These data indicate that seed germination of warm-season grasses is significantly influenced by NO signaling pathways and document that NO could be an endogenous trigger for release from dormancy in these species.
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