New Phytophthora populations: A shift from indirect to direct sporangial germination?

Phytophthora infestans, the causal agent of potato- and tomato late blight, remains a serious threat for (commercial) potato and tomato production. In North Western Europe, frequent fungicide applications, mostly aimed to prevent infection, form the back bone of potato late blight control. Modern protectants such as Shirlan (a.i. fluazinam) are highly effective against (germinating) P. infestans sporangia and zoospores. Zoospores in particular are so sensitive to low concentrations that the many applications over the past two decades may well have exerted sufficient selection to pressure against the formation of zoospores. Thus, over the years the balance between direct and indirect germination may have shifted towards direct germination. This hypothesis was investigated at Bayer Crop Science and Plant Research Internationa

Assessing the Applicability of Christian Just War Theory to the U.S. Use of Drones in North Waziristan, Pakistan

Just War Theory offers a three-tiered framework of criterion to determine whether or not conduct in various stages of war is rightly observed by state and non-state actors. These criterion are defined under Jus ad Bellum (pre-war), Jus in Bello (during war) and Jus Post Bellum (after the war). Various cultural and religious traditions have outlined its own views on just war theory, and have applied it to the use and development and of advanced war technologies. Using the Christian lens of Just War Theory, this paper seeks to find out whether or not it is a sin to use an armed drone. To answer the question, this paper analyzes the principles, ideas and doctrines that define Christian Just War Theory, pointing out key points and arguments as it applies to the use of armed drones. A case study follows the literature review, looking at the U.S. use of armed drones in the North Waziristan agency of Pakistan. It analyzes the methods in which they are used, as well as the overall impact it has had on the Waziri population. The analysis is put into conversation with the principles, ideas and doctrines that define Christian Just War Theory, determining whether or not are they observe its ideals. In the end, this paper finds the use of armed drones to be a sin on two charges: actual mode of operation, and methods of use by government operatives. The conclusion seeks additional conversation on the thesis question not just in the Christian community, but in other religious communities as well

Academic Discretion and the Constitution: The Fundamentals for Public Higher Education

Public institutions of higher education, their faculty, administra- tors, and board members have proven to be a fertile source for the civil rights litigator in the development of constitutional rights. Not surprisingly, education law reporters and journals are reporting increasing numbers of case decisions in the context of higher education. Yet, many educators suffer the mistaken notion that academic judgment is outside the scope of judicial review. While some judicial deference is given to academic discretion, it is by no means conclusive in the face of a constitutional challenge

Registro de paleotsunamis holocenos en el humedal árido de carrizal bajo e implicancias para la evaluación del peligro de tsunamis en la Región de Atacama, Chile

La costa de la región de Atacama, desde tiempos prehistóricos ha sido azotada por significativos eventos de inundación marina ocasionados por olas catastróficas de tsunamis, que han sido generadas por terremotos locales, regionales y excepcionalmente producidas desde regiones distantes del Océano Pacífico. Es por lo cual, que el estudio de registros sedimentarios de eventos tsunamigénicos en el pasado permite estimar tasas de recurrencia, aportar a la caracterización de las fuerzas tectónicas que actúan como desencadenantes de grandes tsunamis y, especialmente, los procesos físicos que controlan el emplazamiento y la preservación de dichos registros, todo lo cual contribuye significativamente a la evaluación del impacto de tsunamis históricos y prehistóricos en las costas del norte de Chile. Este presente estudio busca identificar y caracterizar registros de tsunamis, así como determinar la cronoestratigrafía de los eventos de inundación marina ocasionados por estos en el humedal costero de Carrizal Bajo (28°S) en tiempos prehistóricos e históricos, junto con evaluar su impacto a partir de su registro geológico. Lo anterior, a partir del estudio de la estratigrafía, estructuras sedimentarias, la composición mineralógica, geoquímica y el contenido de microfauna marina, elementos inorgánicos y materiales metálicos de origen antropogénico, junto con el alcance de los depósitos hacia el interior del continente. Los depósitos de tsunamis que contiene el humedal de Carrizal Bajo se describen como niveles de arenas de granulometría media de colores pardo a grisáceos, los que se encuentran intercalados entre estratos de facies sedimentarias aluviales y lacustres. A partir de este registro se interpreta la evolución reciente del humedal y sectores aledaños a la laguna presente en el mismo, la que comprende etapas esporádicas de sedimentación aluvial, a partir de inundaciones generadas en tiempos de mayor desarrollo de lluvias y, por otra parte, etapas de desarrollo lacustre, conformando una alternancia de niveles arcillosos, limosos y enriquecidos en materia orgánica. Intercalados disruptivamente en el registro sedimentario se encuentran depósitos distintivos interpretados como producto de tsunamis, los cuales se caracterizan por su base erosiva y sinuosa, en general con una mayor granulometría, junto con la presencia abundante de sílice y restos micropaleontológicos de origen marino. Determinaciones geocronológicas por radiocarbono, indican que estos registros corresponden a grandes episodios de tsunamis ocurridos en tiempos prehistóricos e históricos, registrándose en total 13 eventos los que presentan las siguientes edades calibradas: Un evento de edad ca. 426 ± 65 cal BC, un evento con edad máxima de ca. 120 ± 61 cal BC, un evento con edad mínima de ca. 120 ± 61 cal BC, otro evento de edad ca. 70 ± 49 cal AD, otro evento posterior a 41 ± 20 cal AD y pre 94 ± 35 cal AD, otro evento posterior a 525 ± 20 cal AD y pre 658 ± 10 cal AD, otro evento posterior a 760 ± 12 cal AD y pre 834 ± 62 cal AD, un evento con edad máxima de ca. 944 ± 31 cal AD, un evento con edad mínima de ca. 944 ± 31 cal AD, otro evento posterior a 1277 ± 5 cal AD y pre 1243 ± 32 AD, otro evento posterior a1243 ± 32 cal AD y pre 1332 ± 30 cal AD, otro evento posterior a 1332 ± 30 cal AD y pre 1922 AD y finalmente el evento del año 1922 AD, el cual ha sido cotejado su registro geológico con crónicas históricas.Este trabajo ha sido financiado por el proyecto Fondecyt Regular N° 1201387Versión original del auto

Forschung im Nordwesten : Ansprachen und Vorträge zur Eröffnung einer Ausstellung in der Oldenburgischen Landesbank

Vorträge zum Thema "Hochschule und Wirtschaft" zusammen, die anläßliche der Eröffenung der Ausstellung "Forschung im Nordwesten" am 10.9. 1986 in der Oldenburgischen Landesbank gehalten wurden

Upf1p, a Highly Conserved Protein Required for Nonsense-Mediated mRNA Decay, Interacts with the Nuclear Pore Proteins Nup100p and Nup116p

Saccharomyces cerevisiae Upf1p is a 971-amino-acid protein that is required for the nonsense-mediated mRNA decay (NMD) pathway, a pathway that degrades mRNAs with premature translational termination codons. We have identified a two-hybrid interaction between Upf1p and the nuclear pore (Nup) proteins, Nup100p and Nup116p. Both nucleoporins predominantly localize to the cytoplasmic side of the nuclear pore and participate in mRNA transport. The two-hybrid interaction between Upf1p and the nuclear pore proteins, Nup100p and Nup116p, is dependent on the presence of the C-terminal 158 amino acids of Upf1p. Nup100p and Nup116p can be coimmunoprecipitated from whole-cell extracts with Upf1p, confirming in vitro the interaction identified by the two-hybrid analysis. Finally, we see a genetic interaction between UPF1 and NUP100. The growth of upf1Δ, can1-100 cells is inhibited by canavanine. The deletion of NUP100 allows upf1Δ, can1-100 cells to grow in the presence of canavanine. Physiologically, the interaction between Upf1p and the nuclear pore proteins, Nup100p and Nup116p, is significant because it suggests a mechanism to ensure that Upf1p associates with newly synthesized mRNA as it is transported from the nucleus to the cytoplasm prior to the pioneer round of translation

Adenovirus VA RNA-derived miRNAs target cellular genes involved in cell growth, gene expression and DNA repair

Adenovirus virus-associated (VA) RNAs are processed to functional viral miRNAs or mivaRNAs. mivaRNAs are important for virus production, suggesting that they may target cellular or viral genes that affect the virus cell cycle. To look for cellular targets of mivaRNAs, we first identified genes downregulated in the presence of VA RNAs by microarray analysis. These genes were then screened for mivaRNA target sites using several bioinformatic tools. The combination of microarray analysis and bioinformatics allowed us to select the splicing and translation regulator TIA-1 as a putative mivaRNA target. We show that TIA-1 is downregulated at mRNA and protein levels in infected cells expressing functional mivaRNAs and in transfected cells that express mivaRNAI-138, one of the most abundant adenoviral miRNAs. Also, reporter assays show that TIA-1 is downregulated directly by mivaRNAI-138. To determine whether mivaRNAs could target other cellular genes we analyzed 50 additional putative targets. Thirty of them were downregulated in infected or transfected cells expressing mivaRNAs. Some of these genes are important for cell growth, transcription, RNA metabolism and DNA repair. We believe that a mivaRNA-mediated fine tune of the expression of some of these genes could be important in adenovirus cell cycle

iCLIP Predicts the Dual Splicing Effects of TIA-RNA Interactions

Transcriptome-wide analysis of protein-RNA interactions predicts the dual splicing effects of TIA proteins, showing that their local enhancing function is associated with diverse distal splicing silencing effects

The splicing regulators Tra and Tra2 are unusually potent activators of pre-mRNA splicing

Sexual differentiation in Drosophila is regulated through alternative splicing of doublesex. Female-specific splicing is activated through the activity of splicing enhancer complexes assembled on multiple repeat elements. Each of these repeats serves as a binding platform for the cooperative assembly of a heterotrimeric complex consisting of the SR proteins Tra, Tra2 and 9G8. Using quantitative kinetic analyses, we demonstrate that each component of the enhancer complex is capable of recruiting the spliceosome. Surprisingly, Tra, Tra2 and 9G8 are much stronger splicing activators than other SR protein family members and their activation potential is significantly higher than expected from their serine/arginine content. 9G8 activates splicing not only through its RS domains but also through its RNA-binding domain. The RS domains of Tra and Tra2 are required but not sufficient for efficient complex assembly. Thus, the regulated assembly of the dsx enhancer complexes leads to the generation of an extended activation domain to guarantee the ‘all or none’ splicing switch that is required during Drosophila sexual differentiation