Synergistic activity of endochitinase and exochitinase from Trichoderma atroviride (T. harzianum) against the pathogenic fungus (Venturia inaequalis) in transgenic apple plants

Genes from the biocontrol fungus Trichoderma atroviride encoding the antifungal proteins endochitinase or exochitinase (N-acetyl-β-D-hexosaminidase) were inserted into ‘Marshall McIntosh' apple singly and in combination. The genes were driven by a modified CaMV35S promoter. The resulting plants were screened for resistance to Venturia inaequalis, the causal agent of apple scab, and for effects of enzyme expression on growth. Disease resistance was correlated with the level of expression of either enzyme when expressed alone but exochitinase was less effective than endochitinase. The level of expression of endochitinase was negatively correlated with plant growth while exochitinase had no consistent effect on this character. Plants expressing both enzymes simultaneously were more resistant than plants expressing either single enzyme at the same level; analyses indicated that the two enzymes acted synergistically to reduce disease. Selected lines, especially one expressing low levels of endochitinase activity and moderate levels of exochitinase activity, were highly resistant in growth chamber trials and had negligible reduction in vigor relative to control plants. We believe that this is the first report of resistance in plants induced by expression of an N-acetylhexosaminidase and is the first report of in planta synergy between an exochitinase and an endochitinas

There's Power in the Blood : Religion, White Supremacy, and the Politics of Darwinism in America

America's contentious relationship to Darwinism is often inadequately viewed as the product of religious reaction or educative failure. I argue that evolutionary biology has proven contentious in America because of the unique political context into which Darwin's ideas emerged. After the Civil War, evolution's content, and the predominately Northern scientists who supported it, became associated with the politics of radical Republicanism and racial egalitarianism. The Darwinian revision of the concept of racial variety made a polygenist conception of human origins untenable and discredited the structural inequalities implied by the rival "American School of Anthropology". Whereas before Darwin, natural history had formed an important part of the justification for slavery, after the publication of "The Origin of Species" in 1859, natural history became distasteful to the southern planters and slaveholders who had previously appealed to scientific authority. Because of the particular historical, social, and political context into which Darwinian evolution emerged in the United States, to believe or not to believe in evolution carried social and political connotations about ones fidelity to white supremacy, and called into question ones identity within the larger milieux of American political traditions and groups. Debates over evolution have been inextricably bound to a complex set of beliefs about race and political practices that have upheld white supremacy, sometimes called Southern nationalism, Southern civil religion, or ascriptive Americanism, which have operated to channel Southern understanding and treatment of evolution. The history of evolution in America teaches us how communities of identity use ideological beliefs to identify themselves as members of particular political and social groups, and how a constellation of mutually supporting ideas about the right to participate in the American polity and the nature of racial identity have shaped American reactions to science, religion, and society. Beliefs about racial identity and the constructed myths of Southern nationalism channeled white Southern reaction against evolutionary biology in ways that boosted the religious response to the scientific threat to white supremacy and increased the feeling that evolutionary biologists taught a dangerous, alien doctrine that was morally and socially subversive. The rejection of evolution by many Americans, especially in the South, has often been a way to signal and police social and political group boundaries. Because Darwinism had overthrown the scientific basis for polygeny, was supported by abolitionist New Englanders, and was charged with racially subversive undertones, while also challenging the conservative, Christian justifications for white supremacy, white Southerners reacted against evolution as a scientific doctrine, and in so doing they signaled support for the prevailing racial order and acted in solidarity to create the social and political ideology that sustained the Solid Sout

PROACTIVE READINESS & SAFETY SYSTEM FOR AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES

This document describes techniques that enable a mobile computing device (e.g., a smartphone, smart watch, wearable device, augmented reality glasses, etc.) to share a user’s health and/or readiness data with a vehicle (e.g., self-driving cars, airplanes, heavy machinery, etc.) in order to proactively determine driver and/or passenger readiness and improve safety systems. This document further describes techniques that enable the vehicle to perform various actions based on the shared data. The mobile computing device may be able to continuously monitor the user’s vital signs (e.g., heart rate, heart rate variability, blood oxygen levels, body temperature, etc.) and/or behavioral indicators (e.g. activity levels, sleep patterns, hand movements, fall detection, etc.). The mobile computing device may also include data for various environmental factors (e.g., time of day, location, weather conditions, etc.). Using the provided data, a readiness & safety system may assess the user’s readiness before and during a drive, allowing the autonomous vehicle to accommodate based on the user’s status, such as triggering a more cautious driving mode. The mobile computing device may also provide scores/metrics to the vehicle, rather than raw data (e.g., improving user privacy). In the event of an emergency during the drive, the readiness & safety system may immediately react and take steps to ensure the user’s safety, such as stopping the vehicle and/or notifying emergency services. The readiness & safety system may also take preventative measures to ensure the user’s safety based on historical data, such as by sending a human driver instead of an autonomous taxi. Therefore, the readiness & safety system may utilize the integration of the mobile computing device and the autonomous vehicle to proactively improve user safety

Second trimester inflammatory and metabolic markers in women delivering preterm with and without preeclampsia.

ObjectiveInflammatory and metabolic pathways are implicated in preterm birth and preeclampsia. However, studies rarely compare second trimester inflammatory and metabolic markers between women who deliver preterm with and without preeclampsia.Study designA sample of 129 women (43 with preeclampsia) with preterm delivery was obtained from an existing population-based birth cohort. Banked second trimester serum samples were assayed for 267 inflammatory and metabolic markers. Backwards-stepwise logistic regression models were used to calculate odds ratios.ResultsHigher 5-α-pregnan-3β,20α-diol disulfate, and lower 1-linoleoylglycerophosphoethanolamine and octadecanedioate, predicted increased odds of preeclampsia.ConclusionsAmong women with preterm births, those who developed preeclampsia differed with respect metabolic markers. These findings point to potential etiologic underpinnings for preeclampsia as a precursor to preterm birth

Magnetic resonance imaging of the cerebral metabolic rate of oxygen (CMRO₂)

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, 2010.This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections.Cataloged from student submitted PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (p. 120-128).Oxygen consumption is an essential process of the functioning brain. The rate at which the brain consumes oxygen is known as the cerebral metabolic rate of oxygen (CMRO₂). CMRO₂ is intimately related to brain health and function, and will change in settings of disease and functional activation. Accurate CMRO₂ measurement will enable detailed investigation of neuropathology and facilitate our understanding of the brain's underlying functional architecture. Despite the importance of CMRO₂ in both clinical and basic neuroscience settings, a robust CMRO₂ mapping technique amenable to functional and clinical MRI has not been established. To address this issue, a novel method called QUantitative Imaging of eXtraction of Oxygen and TIssue Consumption, or QUIXOTIC, is introduced. The key innovation in QUIXOTIC is the use of velocity-selective spin labeling to isolate MR signal exclusively from post-capillary venular blood on a voxel-by-voxel basis. This isolated signal can be related to venular oxygen saturation, oxygen extraction fraction, and ultimately CMRO₂. This thesis first explores fundamental theory behind the QUIXOTIC technique, including design of a novel MRI pulse sequence, explanation of the principal sequence parameters, and results from initial human experiences. A human trial follows, in which QUIXOTIC is used to measure cortical gray matter CMRO₂ in ten healthy volunteers.(cont.) QUIXOTIC-measured CMRO₂ is found to be within the expected physiological range and is comparable to values reported by other techniques. QUIXOTIC is then applied to evaluate CMRO₂ response to carbon-dioxide-induced hypercapnia in awake humans. In this study, CMRO₂ is observed to decrease in response to mild hypercapnia. Finally, pilot studies that show feasibility of QUIXOTIC-based functional MRI (fMRI) and so-called "turbo" QUIXOTIC are presented and discussed.by Divya Sanam Bolar.Ph.D

Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) -Based Neural Network Model for Optimizing Composite Manufacturing Process using Autoclave

The combination of high pressure and controlled heat plays a critical role in ensuring the uniform curing of composite materials, leading to parts with superior mechanical properties. In this study, three composite samples of IM7/CYCOM 5320-1, each cut into 12x12-inch squares, were placed in an autoclave at three different locations, spaced 6 inches apart. Sixteen thermocouples were randomly distributed across the setup to monitor the curing process as the autoclave temperature was systematically ramped up and down while maintaining constant pressure, creating a fully controlled curing environment. The primary objective was to optimize the curing locations to reduce machine runtime and operational costs while ensuring uniform curing. This optimization is crucial, as uneven curing can introduce defects into the material, thereby reducing its strength, durability, and performance. The experimental dataset was used to train a Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) model to predict temperature variations over time. The model achieved an impressive accuracy of 98.3%, supported by key evaluation metrics such as Mean Squared Error (MSE), Mean Absolute Error (MAE), Root Mean Squared Error (RMSE), and R-squared (R²). The R² score of 0.987 demonstrated that the model captured 98.7% of the variance in the temperature data, confirming its high predictive accuracy. The low MSE and RMSE values indicated minimal prediction errors, ensuring close alignment between predicted and actual temperature values. Positions such as PTC1, PTC2, PTC3, PTC5, and PTC7 exhibited minimal deviations, showcasing the model\u27s ability to learn and generalize underlying patterns effectively

The Sunday Night Productions Without Decor at the Royal Court Theatre, 1957-1975 (England, Playwriting, Drama).

The Sunday night productions without decor were a series of ninety-nine fully rehearsed plays each presented with minimal scenery or costumes for one or two nights at the Royal Court Theatre, in London, from 1957-1975. This program, along with the main bill productions of the English Stage Company, staged the works of new playwrights who gave voice to the concerns and problems of the young and the working class, two groups previously ignored in the English theatre. After the success of John Osborne\u27s Look Back in Anger (1956), the ESC, under the leadership of George Devine, was unable to accommodate many of the new scripts that arrived at the Royal Court. Devine needed a second stage also in order to test and train directors for future responsibility in the company. The productions without decor, created by Devine in 1957, satisfied both of these requirements. During the late fifties this series not only introduced several significant playwrights, such as John Arden and N. F. Simpson, but was instrumental in discovering three important directors for the ESC: John Dexter, Lindsay Anderson, and William Gaskill. During the sixties the private club status of the English Stage Society allowed the productions without decor to evade the scrutiny of the Lord Chamberlain and played a role in abolishing censorship in British theatre. Edward Bond and Christopher Hampton were two of the major playwrights who emerged through the Sunday night series in the sixties. The production without decor of A Collier\u27s Friday Night in 1966, helped launch Peter Gill\u27s directing career and led to the discovery of D. H. Lawrence as a dramatist. In 1969 the ESC opened by the Theatre Upstairs in the roof of the Royal Court to provide another outlet for new scripts. This space consumed a great deal of the company\u27s energy during the seventies. Because of the loss of critical attention, the rise of alternative or fringe theatre, and increasing union scales for actors and technicians, the Sunday night series became undesirable as a means for staging plays. Although the productions without decor were terminated in 1975, the ESC has continued its commitment to developing new playwrights and young talent through the Young People\u27s Theatre Scheme and a series of Rehearsed Readings

The effects of molecular composition on thermal, electrochemical, and mechanical properties of hyperbranched polymer electrolytes

This dissertation examines how changing the hyperbranching density and structure of polymer host backbones affects the physical properties of solid state polymer electrolytes. The structure of interest in this dissertation is the hyperbranching polymer backbone, which includes tetrabranching and tribranching architectures of varying hyperbranching densities. For a series of poly(ethylene glycol)-based polymers, we consider how molecular architecture impacts the electrochemical, thermal, and mechanical properties of the electrolytes on both the bulk and macromolecular scales. For both architectures, decreasing hyperbranching densities lead to improved conductivities (tetra- at 9.45 • 10-4 S/cm and tri- at 1.95 • 10-3 S/cm at 80 ºC) and improved shear storage moduli (tetra- at 0.63 MPa and tri- at 1.24 at 90 ºC). While having superior ionic conductivity and shear strength, the tribranching electrolytes were not compatible with lithium, which is a necessity for lithium-ion battery application. Following successful synthesis and material characterization, the tetrabranching electrolytes of various hyperbranching densities and structures are further probed as electrolytes in lithium-ion batteries. This series showed improved cycling performance with decreasing hyperbranching density (specific capacity of 1175 mAh/gSi after 50 cycles), with improved energy storage capabilities relative to the liquid control electrolyte (763 mAh/gSi after 50 cycles). Ultimately, the solid state polymer electrolytes synthesized in this work are promising candidates for further use in energy storage devices due to their observed thermal, electrochemical, and mechanical stabilities

Robust estimation of limit loads of plates using secant rigidity

A robust method for the estimation of limit loads of structures has been adopted for plate structures. It involves the use of modified secant rigidity. The method makes use of repeated linear elastic analyses to predict limit behavior. The results from an initial elastic analysis are used to obtain the principal moments. A suitable yield criterion (such as Tresca or Von Mises) in terms of generalized forces is used. A set of equivalent moments is then computed for the plate. This is used to modify the secant rigidity of the plate. The modified structure is re-analyzed iteratively until convergence is reached. The moment distribution from the convergent analysis shows the collapse mechanism for the plate. The average of the equivalent moments along the collapse (or yield) lines of the plate is scaled to the plastic moment capacity of the section to obtain the limit load factor. The method has several advantages in comparison to other traditional methods. -- This method has been implemented on ANSYS software using APDL routines. Problems solved include: simply supported and fixed square and circular plates with uniform and concentrated loads, plates with irregular boundary conditions and shapes as well as continuous plates with checkerboard loading. The results from the above analyses match analytical results very closely, thus demonstrating the usefulness of the method used