Epiparasitic plants specialized on arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi

Over 400 non-photosynthetic species from 10 families of vascular plants obtain their carbon from fungi and are thus defined as myco-heterotrophs. Many of these plants are epiparasitic on green plants from which they obtain carbon by 'cheating' shared mycorrhizal fungi. Epiparasitic plants examined to date depend on ectomycorrhizal fungi for carbon transfer and exhibit exceptional specificity for these fungi, but for most myco-heterotrophs neither the identity of the fungi nor the sources of their carbon are known. Because many myco-heterotrophs grow in forests dominated by plants associated with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF; phylum Glomeromycota), we proposed that epiparasitism would occur also between plants linked by AMF. On a global scale AMF form the most widespread mycorrhizae, thus the ability of plants to cheat this symbiosis would be highly significant. We analysed mycorrhizae from three populations of Arachnitis uniflora (Corsiaceae, Monocotyledonae), five Voyria species and one Voyriella species (Gentianaceae, Dicotyledonae), and neighbouring green plants. Here we show that non-photosynthetic plants associate with AMF and can display the characteristic specificity of epiparasites. This suggests that AMF mediate significant inter-plant carbon transfer in nature

A systematic review of randomised controlled trials on the effectiveness of exercise programs on lumbo pelvic pain among postnatal women

Background: A substantial number of women tend to be affected by Lumbo Pelvic Pain (LPP) following child birth. Physical exercise is indicated as a beneficial method to relieve LPP, but individual studies appear to suggest mixed findings about its effectiveness. This systematic review aimed to synthesise evidence from randomised controlled trials on the effectiveness of exercise on LPP among postnatal women to inform policy, practice and future research. Methods: A systematic review was conducted of all randomised controlled trials published between January 1990 and July 2014, identified through a comprehensive search of following databases: PubMed, PEDro, Embase, Cinahl, Medline, SPORTDiscus, Cochrane Pregnancy and Childbirth Group’s Trials Register, and electronic libraries of authors’institutions. Randomised controlled trials were eligible for inclusion if the intervention comprised of postnatal exercise for women with LPP onset during pregnancy or within 3 months after delivery and the outcome measures included changes in LPP. Selected articles were assessed using the PEDro Scale for methodological quality and findings were synthesised narratively as meta-analysis was found to be inappropriate due to heterogeneity among included studies. Results: Four randomised controlled trials were included, involving 251 postnatal women. Three trials were rated as of ‘good’ methodological quality. All trials, except one, were at low risk of bias. The trials included physical exercise programs with varying components, differing modes of delivery, follow up times and outcome measures. Intervention in one trial, involving physical therapy with specific stabilising exercises, proved to be effective in reducing LPP intensity. An improvement in gluteal pain on the right side was reported in another trial and a significant difference in pain frequency in another. Conclusion: Our review indicates that only few randomised controlled trials have evaluated the effectiveness of exercise on LPP among postnatal women. There is also a great amount of variability across existing trials in the components of exercise programs, modes of delivery, follow up times and outcome measures. While there is some evidence to indicate the effectiveness of exercise for relieving LPP, further good quality trials are needed to ascertain the most effective elements of postnatal exercise programs suited for LPP treatment

Alterations in vascular function in primary aldosteronism - a cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging study

Introduction: Excess aldosterone is associated with increased cardiovascular risk. Aldosterone has a permissive effect on vascular fibrosis. Cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) allows study of vascular function by measuring aortic distensibility. We compared aortic distensibility in primary aldosteronism (PA), essential hypertension (EH) and normal controls and explored the relationship between aortic distensibility and pulse wave velocity (PWV).<p></p> Methods: We studied PA (n=14) and EH (n=33) subjects and age-matched healthy controls (n=17) with CMR, including measurement of aortic distensibility, and measured PWV using applanation tonometry. At recruitment, PA and EH patients had similar blood pressure and left ventricular mass.<p></p> Results: Subjects with PA had significantly lower aortic distensibilty and higher PWV compared to EH and healthy controls. These changes were independent of other factors associated with reduced aortic distensibility, including aging. There was a significant relationship between increasing aortic stiffness and age in keeping with physical and vascular aging. As expected, aortic distensibility and PWV were closely correlated.<p></p> Conclusion: These results demonstrate that PA patients display increased arterial stiffness compared to EH, independent of vascular aging. The implication is that aldosterone invokes functional impairment of arterial function. The long-term implications of arterial stiffening in aldosterone excess require further study.<p></p&gt

Relationship of cognitive function in patients with schizophrenia in remission to disability: a cross-sectional study in an Indian sample

Background: Cognitive deficits in various domains have been consistently replicated in patients with schizophrenia. Most studies looking at the relationship between cognitive dysfunction and functional disability are from developed countries. Studies from developing countries are few. The purpose of the present study was to compare the neurocognitive function in patients with schizophrenia who were in remission with that of normal controls and to determine if there is a relationship between measures of cognition and functional disability. <p/>Methods: This study was conducted in the Psychiatric Unit of a General Hospital in Mumbai, India. Cognitive function in 25 patients with schizophrenia in remission was compared to 25 normal controls. Remission was confirmed using the brief psychiatric rating scale (BPRS) and scale for the assessment of negative symptoms (SANS). Subjects were administered a battery of cognitive tests covering aspects of memory, executive function and attention. The results obtained were compared between the groups. Correlation analysis was used to look for relationship between illness factors, cognitive function and disability measured using the Indian disability evaluation and assessment scale. <p/>Results: Patients with schizophrenia showed significant deficits on tests of attention, concentration, verbal and visual memory and tests of frontal lobe/executive function. They fared worse on almost all the tests administered compared to normal controls. No relationship was found between age, duration of illness, number of years of education and cognitive function. In addition, we did not find a statistically significant relationship between cognitive function and scores on the disability scale. <p/>Conclusion: The data suggests that persistent cognitive deficits are seen in patients with schizophrenia under remission. The cognitive deficits were not associated with symptomatology and functional disability. It is possible that various factors such as employment and family support reduce disability due to schizophrenia in developing countries like India. Further studies from developing countries are required to explore the relationship between cognitive deficits, functional outcome and the role of socio-cultural variables as protective factors

Cartan subalgebras and the UCT problem, II

We show that outer approximately represenbtable actions of a finite cyclic group on UCT Kirchberg algebras satisfy a certain quasi-freeness type property if the corresponding crossed products satisfy the UCT and absorb a suitable UHF algebra tensorially. More concretely, we prove that for such an action there exists an inverse semigroup of homogeneous partial isometries that generates the ambient C*-algebra and whose idempotent semilattice generates a Cartan subalgebra. We prove a similar result for actions of finite cyclic groups with the Rokhlin property on UCT Kirchberg algebras absorbing a suitable UHF algebra. These results rely on a new construction of Cartan subalgebras in certain inductive limits of Cartan pairs. We also provide a characterisation of the UCT problem in terms of finite order automorphisms, Cartan subalgebras and inverse semigroups of partial isometries of the Cuntz algebra $\mathcal{O}_2$. This generalizes earlier work of the authors.Comment: minor revisions; final version, accepted for publication in Math. Ann.; 26 page

Gender Inequality In The Arts

Gender Inequality in the Arts, is a research based installation project that aims to explore the ways women have been excluded from the art world historically and uncover achievements made by women in art that have gone unnoticed or remain hidden due to the lack of inclusion. While women are gaining more representation each year in the art world, this group still faces many obstacles that male artists don’t have to face. The research component of this project gives an overview of the historical lack of inclusion of women in art. It also addresses some achievements made by women that have been downplayed by historical records and are recently coming to light. The physical project and installation serves as a visual representation of this research and aims to start a meaningful conversation with the viewer about this pervasive topic

A Postmodern Analysis Of The Practice Of Using Value-Added Measures To Determine Teacher Effectiveness

The purpose of this inquiry was to examine how the metanarratives and discourses of scientific management, positivistic science, and managerialism constitute and legitimate the practice of using value-added measures to determine teacher effectiveness. Using a Foucauldian historical, genealogical analysis, this study sought to analyze the work of the founders of the field of education administration and the metanarratives and discourses of scientific management to critique the application of value-added measures in teacher evaluation processes

Gender Inequality In The Arts (Special Enclosure)

Gender Inequality in the Arts, is a research based installation project that aims to explore the ways women have been excluded from the art world historically and uncover achievements made by women in art that have gone unnoticed or remain hidden due to the lack of inclusion. While women are gaining more representation each year in the art world, this group still faces many obstacles that male artists don’t have to face. The research component of this project gives an overview of the historical lack of inclusion of women in art. It also addresses some achievements made by women that have been downplayed by historical records and are recently coming to light. The physical project and installation serves as a visual representation of this research and aims to start a meaningful conversation with the viewer about this pervasive topic

Mosquito wing measurements separate potential West Nile vectors: a morphometric study of three Culex species

Culex interrogator (Dyar and Knab), Culex restuans (Theobald), and Culex quinquefasciatus (Say) are three morphologically similar species with syntopic distributions. Culex restuans and Cx. quinquefasciatus are known West Nile vectors, while Cx. interrogator has not been reported to transmit this virus. Recent range expansions of Cx. interrogator has increased the need to identify morphological characters that can differentiate between these three similar mosquito species. Accurate identification is crucial to aid with West Nile virus surveillance efforts and potentially prevent misappropriation of resources or unnecessary interventions (e.g. pesticide application). The four morphological characteristics used in this study include the length and width of the whole wing, the length of the R2 cell, and the length of the R2+3 vein. We evaluated both intraindividual and interindividual differences in the three species. In conjunction with prior research (Shin et al., 2016) these characters are useful for accurate discrimination of Cx. interrogator from Cx. restuans and Cx. quinquefasciatus. Preliminary results suggest that wing length or an index can be used to distinguish Cx. interrogator from Cx. restuans and Cx. quinquefasciatus. An index comparing the ratios of wing measurements can separate 92% (n=25, 95% CI: 74.0-99.0%) of the Cx. restuans and Cx. quinquefasciatus. However, some wing character measurements overlap between species and investigators may need to rely on either different morphometric measurements or molecular methods to confirm results. When taken together, these measurements accurately identify 94.9% (n=39, 95% CI: 82.7%-99.4%) of the three species. The current species identification is based on morphology alone (non-wing characters), and will be confirmed by a species-specific rDNA PCR assay which produces amplicon size polymorphisms visible by gel electrophoresis (in progress)