Effect of Heavy Metal Contaminated Shooting Range Soils on Mycorrhizal Colonization of Roots and Metal Uptake by Leek

We grew leek (Allium porrum) in soils of two shooting ranges heavily contaminated with heavy metals in the towns of Zuchwil and Oberuzwil in Switzerland as a bioassay to test theactivity of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi in these soils.Soil samples were taken from (1) front of the shooting house(HOUSE), (2) the area between house and target (FIELD) and (3) the berm (BACKSTOP). Samples of Ribwort plantain (Plantagolanceolata) growing naturally within the shooting ranges werealso collected and the colonization of its roots by mycorrhizalfungi was measured. The number of AM spores in the soils wassignificantly reduced concomitant with the increase in thedegree of soil contamination with metals. In Zuchwil,mycorrhizal fungi equally colonized roots of Ribwort plantainsampled from BACKSTOP and HOUSE. In Oberuzwil, however, plantsfrom BACKSTOP had lower colonization when compared with thosesampled from HOUSE. Colonization of leek was strongly reducedin the BACKSTOP soil of Zuchwil and slightly reduced in theBACKSTOP soil of Oberuzwil when compared with plants grown inrespective HOUSE soil. Concentrations of Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb andZn in the leaves of leek grown in the BACKSTOP soil was withinthe range considered toxic for human consumption. This pointsto the high degree of bio-availability of these metal in thesesoils. Significant decrease in the number of mycorrhizal sporesin the BACKSTOP soils in Zuchwil and the low colonization ofleek roots grown in these soils point to possible changes inthe species diversity of mycorrhizal fungi in these soil

Transcription-translation coupling: direct interactions of RNA polymerase with ribosomes and ribosomal subunits.

In prokaryotes, RNA polymerase and ribosomes can bind concurrently to the same RNA transcript, leading to the functional coupling of transcription and translation. The interactions between RNA polymerase and ribosomes are crucial for the coordination of transcription with translation. Here, we report that RNA polymerase directly binds ribosomes and isolated large and small ribosomal subunits. RNA polymerase and ribosomes form a one-to-one complex with a micromolar dissociation constant. The formation of the complex is modulated by the conformational and functional states of RNA polymerase and the ribosome. The binding interface on the large ribosomal subunit is buried by the small subunit during protein synthesis, whereas that on the small subunit remains solvent-accessible. The RNA polymerase binding site on the ribosome includes that of the isolated small ribosomal subunit. This direct interaction between RNA polymerase and ribosomes may contribute to the coupling of transcription to translation

Has VZV epidemiology changed in Italy? Results of a seroprevalence study

The aim of the study was to evaluate if and how varicella prevalence has changed in Italy. In particular a seroprevalence study was performed, comparing it to similar surveys conducted in pre-immunization era. During 2013–2014, sera obtained from blood samples taken for diagnostic purposes or routine investigations were collected in collaboration with at least one laboratory/center for each region, following the approval of the Ethics Committee. Data were stratified by sex and age. All samples were processed in a national reference laboratory by an immunoassay with high sensitivity and specificity. Statutory notifications, national hospital discharge database and mortality data related to VZV infection were analyzed as well. A total of 3707 sera were collected and tested. In the studied period both incidence and hospitalization rates decreased and about 5 deaths per year have been registered. The seroprevalence decreased in the first year of life in subjects passively protected by their mother, followed by an increase in the following age classes. The overall antibody prevalence was 84%. The comparison with surveys conducted with the same methodology in 1996–1997 and 2003–2004 showed significant differences in age groups 1–19 y. The study confirms that in Italy VZV infection typically occurs in children. The impact of varicella on Italian population is changing. The comparison between studies performed in different periods shows a significant increase of seropositivity in age class 1–4 years, expression of vaccine interventions already adopted in some regions

The ALPS project release 1.3: open source software for strongly correlated systems

We present release 1.3 of the ALPS (Algorithms and Libraries for Physics Simulations) project, an international open source software project to develop libraries and application programs for the simulation of strongly correlated quantum lattice models such as quantum magnets, lattice bosons, and strongly correlated fermion systems. Development is centered on common XML and binary data formats, on libraries to simplify and speed up code development, and on full-featured simulation programs. The programs enable non-experts to start carrying out numerical simulations by providing basic implementations of the important algorithms for quantum lattice models: classical and quantum Monte Carlo (QMC) using non-local updates, extended ensemble simulations, exact and full diagonalization (ED), as well as the density matrix renormalization group (DMRG). Changes in the new release include a DMRG program for interacting models, support for translation symmetries in the diagonalization programs, the ability to define custom measurement operators, and support for inhomogeneous systems, such as lattice models with traps. The software is available from our web server at http://alps.comp-phys.org/

Creating Creative Technologists: playing with(in) education

Since the industrial revolution, the organization of knowledge into distinct scientific, technical or creative categories has resulted in educational systems designed to produce and validate particular occupations. The methods by which students are exposed to different kinds of knowledge are critical in creating and reproducing individual, professional or cultural identities. (“I am an Engineer. You are an Artist”). The emergence of more open, creative and socialised technologies generates challenges for discipline-based education. At the same time, the term “Creative Technologies” also suggests a new occupational category (“I am a Creative Technologist”). This chapter presents a case-study of an evolving ‘anti-disciplinary’ project-based degree that challenges traditional degree structures to stimulate new forms of connective, imaginative and explorative learning, and to equip students to respond to a changing world. Learning is conceived as an emergent process; self-managed by students through critique and open peer review. We focus on ‘playfulness’ as a methodology for achieving multi-modal learning across the boundaries of art, design, computer science, engineering, games and entrepreneurship. In this new cultural moment, playfulness also re-frames the institutional identities of teacher and learner in response to new expectations for learning

The impact of signal-to-noise ratio, diffusion-weighted directions and image resolution in cardiac diffusion tensor imaging - insights from the ex-vivo rat heart

Background: Cardiac diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is limited by scan time and signal-to-noise (SNR) restrictions. This invariably leads to a trade-off between the number of averages, diffusion-weighted directions (ND), and image resolution. Systematic evaluation of these parameters is therefore important for adoption of cardiac DTI in clinical routine where time is a key constraint. Methods: High quality reference DTI data were acquired in five ex-vivo rat hearts. We then retrospectively set 2 ≤ SNR ≤ 97, 7 ≤ ND ≤ 61, varied the voxel volume by up to 192-fold and investigated the impact on the accuracy and precision of commonly derived parameters. Results: For maximal scan efficiency, the accuracy and precision of the mean diffusivity is optimised when SNR is maximised at the expense of ND. With typical parameter settings used clinically, we estimate that fractional anisotropy may be overestimated by up to 13% with an uncertainty of ±30%, while the precision of the sheetlet angles may be as poor as ±31°. Although the helix angle has better precision of ±14°, the transmural range of helix angles may be under-estimated by up to 30° in apical and basal slices, due to partial volume and tapering myocardial geometry. Conclusions: These findings inform a baseline of understanding upon which further issues inherent to in-vivo cardiac DTI, such as motion, strain and perfusion, can be considered. Furthermore, the reported bias and reproducibility provides a context in which to assess cardiac DTI biomarkers

Autocracy-Sustaining Versus Democratic Federalism:Explaining the Divergent Trajectories of Territorial Politics in Russia and Western Europe

This article provides a comparative assessment of territorial politics in Russia and Western Europe. The consolidation or deepening of regional autonomy in Western Europe contrasts with the transformation of Russia from a segmented and highly centrifugal state into a centralized authoritarian state in the course of just two decades. The consolidation of territorial politics in Western Europe is linked to the presence of endogenous safeguards that are built into their territorial constitutional designs and most importantly to the dynamics that emanate from multi-level party competition in the context of a liberal and multi-level democracy. In contrast, in Russia, neither endogenous safeguards nor multi-level party democracy play an important role in explaining the dynamics of Russian federalism, but who controls key state resources instead. We argue that under Putin power dependencies between the Russian center and the regions are strongest where regional democracy is at its weakest, thus producing ‘autocracy-sustaining’ instead of a democratic federation. By studying the relationship between federalism and democracy in cases where both concepts are mutually reinforcing (as in Western Europe) with the critical case of Russia where they are not, we question the widely held view that democracy is a necessary pre-condition for federalism.Peer reviewe

Lingvocultural representation of "Free woman" in the english-language advertisement

Рассматривается реклама как уникальный социокультурный феномен, определяющий массовое сознание. Анализируются тенденции представлений о современной женщине как self-made woman в рекламе глянцевых журналов, в частности журнала «Cosmopolitan», который является проводником женской массовой культуры. Исследован рекламный образ «Свободная женщина» в разных группах рекламных текстов, которые репрезентирую данный образ.Advertisement is a unique sociocultural phenomenon determining popular mentality. Female glossy magazines are great conductors of female popular culture. They tell us about tendencies which present a modern woman as a “self-made woman”, in particular in Cosmopolitan magazine. The advertisement image of “Free Woman” in different groups of advertising texts, which represent that image, was analyzed