Progress on research on actinorhizal plants

2011 ◽  
Vol 38 (9) ◽  
pp. 633 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katharina Pawlowski ◽  
Didier Bogusz ◽  
Ana Ribeiro ◽  
Alison M. Berry
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Actinorhizal Plants ◽  
Nodule Formation ◽  
Nod Factor ◽  
Pathogenesis Related ◽  
Actinorhizal Nodules ◽  
The Common ◽  
Common Nod Genes ◽  
Made In

In recent years, our understanding of the plant side of actinorhizal symbioses has evolved rapidly. No homologues of the common nod genes from rhizobia were found in the three Frankia genomes published so far, which suggested that Nod factor-like molecules would not be used in the infection of actinorhizal plants by Frankia. However, work on chimeric transgenic plants indicated that Frankia Nod factor equivalents signal via the same transduction pathway as rhizobial Nod factors. The role of auxin in actinorhizal nodule formation differs from that in legume nodulation. Great progress has been made in the analysis of pathogenesis-related and stress-related gene expression in nodules. Research on nodule physiology has shown the structural and metabolic diversity of actinorhizal nodules from different phylogenetic branches. The onset of large-scale nodule transcriptome analysis in different actinorhizal systems will provide access to more information on the symbiosis and its evolution.

scholarly journals A Protocol for Extraction of Infective Viromes Suitable for Metagenomics Sequencing from Low Volume Fecal Samples

Viruses ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 667 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ling Deng ◽  
Ronalds Silins ◽  
Josué L. Castro-Mejía ◽  
Witold Kot ◽  
Leon Jessen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Genome Sequencing ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Metagenomic Sequencing ◽  
High Input ◽  
Human Gut ◽  
Specific Host ◽  
Substantial Progress ◽  
Low Volume ◽  
Made In

The human gut microbiome (GM) plays an important role in human health and diseases. However, while substantial progress has been made in understanding the role of bacterial inhabitants of the gut, much less is known regarding the viral component of the GM. Bacteriophages (phages) are viruses attacking specific host bacteria and likely play important roles in shaping the GM. Although metagenomic approaches have led to the discoveries of many new viruses, they remain largely uncultured as their hosts have not been identified, which hampers our understanding of their biological roles. Existing protocols for isolation of viromes generally require relatively high input volumes and are generally more focused on extracting nucleic acids of good quality and purity for down-stream analysis, and less on purifying viruses with infective capacity. In this study, we report the development of an efficient protocol requiring low sample input yielding purified viromes containing phages that are still infective, which also are of sufficient purity for genome sequencing. We validated the method through spiking known phages followed by plaque assays, qPCR, and metagenomic sequencing. The protocol should facilitate the process of culturing novel viruses from the gut as well as large scale studies on gut viromes.

scholarly journals Cosmic Inflation, Quantum Information and the Pioneering Role of John S Bell in Cosmology

Universe ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 92 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jérôme Martin
Keyword(s):  
Quantum Mechanics ◽  
Quantum Information ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Gravitational Instability ◽  
Cosmic Inflation ◽  
Large Scale Structures ◽  
Scale Structures ◽  
Accuracy Data ◽  
Made In

According to the theory of cosmic inflation, the large scale structures observed in our Universe (galaxies, clusters of galaxies, Cosmic Background Microwave—CMB—anisotropy...) are of quantum mechanical origin. They are nothing but vacuum fluctuations, stretched to cosmological scales by the cosmic expansion and amplified by gravitational instability. At the end of inflation, these perturbations are placed in a two-mode squeezed state with the strongest squeezing ever produced in Nature (much larger than anything that can be made in the laboratory on Earth). This article studies whether astrophysical observations could unambiguously reveal this quantum origin by borrowing ideas from quantum information theory. It is argued that some of the tools needed to carry out this task have been discussed long ago by J. Bell in a, so far, largely unrecognized contribution. A detailled study of his paper and of the criticisms that have been put forward against his work is presented. Although J. Bell could not have realized it when he wrote his letter since the quantum state of cosmological perturbations was not yet fully characterized at that time, it is also shown that Cosmology and cosmic inflation represent the most interesting frameworks to apply the concepts he investigated. This confirms that cosmic inflation is not only a successful paradigm to understand the early Universe. It is also the only situation in Physics where one crucially needs General Relativity and Quantum Mechanics to derive the predictions of a theory and, where, at the same time, we have high-accuracy data to test these predictions, making inflation a playground of utmost importance to discuss foundational issues in Quantum Mechanics.

Lineage, Food and Ritual in a Chinese Metropolis

Anthropos ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 114 (1) ◽  
pp. 195-208 ◽  
Author(s):  
Man Guo ◽  
Carsten Herrmann-Pillath
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
National Identity ◽  
Social Norms ◽  
Identity Politics ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Chinese Society ◽  
Public Role ◽  
The Common

Thirty years ago, the eminent sinologist James Watson published a paper in Anthropos on ‘common pot’ dining in the New Territories of Hong Kong, a banquet ritual that differs fundamentally from established social norms in Chinese society. We explore the recent career of the ‘common pot’ in neighbouring Shenzhen, where it has become an important symbol manifesting the strength and public role of local lineages in the rapidly growing mega-city. We present two cases, the Wen lineage and the Huang lineage. In case of the Wen, we show how the practice relates to their role as landholding groups, organized in a ‘Shareholding Cooperative Companies’ that is owned collectively by the lineage. In the Huang case, identity politics looms large in the context of globalization. In large-scale ‘big common pot festivals’ of the global Huang surname association, traditional conceptions of kinship merge with modernist conceptions of national identity.

scholarly journals Le rôle des corvées dans le système des redevances acquittées par les habitants des villages de ius Valachicum en Petite-Pologne et en Ruthénie de la Couronne aux XVe et XVIe siècles

2020 ◽  
Vol 26 ◽  
pp. 249-267
Author(s):  
Grzegorz Jawor
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Legal Status ◽  
Source Material ◽  
Mountainous Area ◽  
Common Belief ◽  
Natural Conditions ◽  
Widespread Implementation ◽  
The Common ◽  
Set Up

The Role of Serfdoms in the Obligation System of the Inhabitants of Villages on the Wallachian Law in Lesser Poland (Małopolska) and Crown Ruthenia (15th-16th century). The aim of the article is an attempt to define a role of serfdoms in the system of obligations provided by the population living in the settlements established on the Wallachian law. On the basis of a critical analysis of a relatively numerous sources preserved from the region in question (in particular, the documents associated with the rights given to individual villages, inventories, and royal domain), an attempt was made to verify the common belief in the scholarship on this topic about the lack of, or at least the minimum, share of the serfdoms for the owners in the obligation system of the inhabitants. As a result, a specific feature of the Wallachian law was indicated, which was the obligation – elsewhere unknown or occurring only in minute traces – of performing small errands a few times in a year for the benefit of the dukes (kniaź). It was recorded throughout the entire studied period and in all of the areas partaking in the Wallachian colonisation. In contrast, there are many more doubts regarding the conviction about a complete lack of serfdoms for the owners of villages. The presented source material indicates that there were indeed settlements to which this duty did not apply (and perhaps this situation was even dominating), but in other places the older and usually less strenuous forms of labours were present (annual works, duties “under the order”, ect.), while the attempts to impose weekly serfdoms date back to the 1530s and 1540s. Its widespread implementation in the areas outside of mountains is strictly linked to the development of a grange, set up for the production of grain. For the Wallachian settlements this meant a limitation, and then a thorough disposal of their privileged legal status. It is not a matter of coincidence that this colonising tendency was clearly restrained at the turn of the 16th and 17th century. This fate was avoided only be the villages situated in a typically mountainous area where the natural conditions prevented the production of crops on a large scale. Populations living therein – that were ruled by the Wallachian law – lasted longer and the processes of assimilation and integration with the local surroundings took place more slowly.

scholarly journals Integration Versus Fragmentation, the Role of Minor Rural Networks in Rural Cultural Landscapes. A Study-Case in Spain

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 4765
Author(s):  
Julio Plaza Tabasco ◽  
Héctor S. Martínez Sánchez-Mateos
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Cultural Landscapes ◽  
Dual Process ◽  
Rural Roads ◽  
Ciudad Real ◽  
Data Source ◽  
The Common ◽  
Landscape Units

This work deals with the dichotomy between integration and fragmentation caused by artificial elements in the cultural landscapes, especially minor rural roads. In Europe, the rural matrix dominates the configuration of landscapes, and the agents of fragmentation can be analysed from different perspectives. For this purpose, the Land Parcel Information System, designed for the Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) is used as a data source to feed the indicators, allowing a high detail analysis, down to the parcel unit. It is applied to a case-study in Spain: the province of Ciudad Real. Here we find different landscape units with different rural and agrarian profiles to test the hypothesis. We use three indicators that allow us to explore the configuration of different cultural landscapes under the fragmentation perspective, using minor rural roads and other elements of the rural matrix that can only be observed at large scale. Then we calculate a composite indicator summarizing the fragmentation results of each unit. Results reveal a significative variability of fragmentation results regarding the land use and spatial patterns of the different cultural landscapes dominated by agrarian and rural factors, with a strong correspondence with the minor rural network underneath. Therefore, fragmentation can be interpreted as a dual process in cultural landscapes where the different land uses have different relations with the infrastructure network.

scholarly journals Building a collaborative Psychological Science: Lessons learned from ManyBabies 1

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Krista Byers-Heinlein ◽  
Christina Bergmann ◽  
Catherine Davies ◽  
Michael C. Frank ◽  
Kiley Hamlin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Organizational Structures ◽  
Open Science ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Psychological Science ◽  
Difficult Challenge ◽  
Implementation Data ◽  
Successes And Challenges ◽  
Made In

The field of infancy research faces a difficult challenge: some questions require samples that are simply too large for any one lab to recruit and test. ManyBabies aims to address this problem by forming large-scale collaborations on key theoretical questions in developmental science, while promoting the uptake of Open Science practices. Here, we look back on the first project completed under the ManyBabies umbrella – ManyBabies 1 – which tested the development of infant-directed speech preference. Our goal is to share the lessons learned over the course of the project and to articulate our vision for the role of large-scale collaborations in the field. First, we consider the decisions made in scaling up experimental research for a collaboration involving 100+ researchers and 70+ labs. Next, we discuss successes and challenges over the course of the project, including: protocol design and implementation, data analysis, organizational structures and collaborative workflows, securing funding, and encouraging broad participation in the project. Finally, we discuss the benefits we see both in ongoing ManyBabies projects and in future large-scale collaborations in general, with a particular eye towards developing best practices and increasing growth and diversity in infancy research and psychological science in general. Throughout the paper, we include first-hand narrative experiences, in order to illustrate the perspectives of researchers playing different roles within the project. While this project focused on the unique challenges of infant research, many of the insights we gained can be applied to large-scale collaborations across the broader field of psychology.

scholarly journals ON THE QUESTION OF THE BASIC PERIODIZATION OF IMITATIONS OF THE ROMAN IMPERIAL DENARII IN THE CHERNYAKHIV CULTURE AREA: THE CONCEPT OF TWO «WAVES»

2021 ◽  
pp. 121-135
Author(s):  
Olexandr Kasperovich ◽  
Gintautas Yushkauskas
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Common View ◽  
Culture Area ◽  
Analytical Scheme ◽  
Roman Coins ◽  
New Findings ◽  
The Common ◽  
Second Wave ◽  
Made In

Imitations of Roman coins, the findings of which are very numerous and diverse in Ukraine, have already attracted the attention of researchers. The material accumulated over the last two decades, when taking into account its scale and diversity, allows us to state that imitations of Roman coins in the area of Chernyakhiv culture, is an unique and large-scale phenomenon, visible on the imaginary «map» of ancient numismatics. In this context, the growing number of new findings of imitations actualizes the task of more detailed and meaningful categorization of the accumulated material, in order to create a certain integral «canvas» of such a phenomenon as the imitations of Roman coins from the area of Chernyakhiv culture. The article is devoted to the improvement of the existing typology and periodization of imitations of Roman imperial denarii, which were made in the area of Chernyakhiv culture during the II - IV centuries. To solve this problem, the authors proposed and used an analytical scheme, consisting of a set of classification parameters for the typology of imitations of Roman coins in the area of Chernyakhiv culture. The use of this scheme allowed to form «profiles» and to substantiate the presence in the general set of imitations of two large, non-intersecting groups («waves») of imitations. Further analysis allowed to describe and compare these two «waves» of imitation in more detail. It was found that the first «wave» refers to the period of gradual entry of the Roman silver coins into the area of Chernyakhiv culture (II - early III century), which significantly clarifies the common view, according to which all imitations belong to the second half of the III century or even later. The second «wave» of imitations really refers to the second half of the III - early IV century, as it was established in the literature. Thus, the results of the study substantiated a comprehensive approach to the classification of imitations of Roman coins in the area of Chernyakhiv culture and significantly clarified the chronological framework of their production. In the future, the concept of two «waves» and the analytical scheme proposed by the authors may contribute to a more accurate classification and periodization of the whole array of imitations of Roman coins, which were made in the area of Chernyakhiv culture

scholarly journals Towards Transformative Propaganda: A History of Student Activism at the Australian National University

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Iva Glisic
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Student Activism ◽  
First Century ◽  
Contemporary Debate ◽  
Public Monuments ◽  
National University ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Common ◽  
Comprehensive History

March 2021 saw the unveiling of a new addition to the vast collection of public artworks at the Australian National University (ANU) campus in Canberra. The piece—an installation entitled A History of Student Activism at the Australian National University—compiles and presents the first comprehensive history of sixty years of student activism at ANU, and sits proudly in the common area of the Marie Reay Teaching Centre. The work comprises a large-scale wall-mounted timeline designed by Joanne Leong, complemented by a pair of moving-image artworks by Esther Carlin and Aidan Hartshorn, all ANU alumni. This article considers A History of Student Activism in the context of contemporary debate on the role of public monuments, and the extent to which public art can drive collective emancipatory action. Drawing on a recent study of the activist potential of art in the twenty-first century by Dutch artist Jonas Staal, this article tests the extent to which A History of Student Activism might serve as a reference point in the turn towards transformative propaganda art.

scholarly journals Irrigation in the Ili River Basin of Central Asia: From Ditches to Dams and Diversion

Water ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 1650 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven Pueppke ◽  
Qingling Zhang ◽  
Sabir Nurtazin
Keyword(s):  
Iron Age ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
18Th Century ◽  
Irrigated Agriculture ◽  
Ili River Basin ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
The 19Th Century ◽  
Made In

Central Asia’s Ili River is fed by mountain streams that flow down into an isolated and arid basin that today is shared by Kazakhstan and China. Agriculture in the basin is dependent upon irrigation, which was practiced as long ago as the Iron Age, when early pastoralists constructed ditches to channel water from streams onto nearby fields. Irrigation had become much more common by the 18th century, when the region was controlled by the Dzungarian Khanate. The khanate was toppled by the Qing Chinese in the 1750s in the first of a series of confrontations that destroyed and then rebuilt the basin’s agricultural economy. The region has since been dominated by a succession of Chinese and Russian (and later Soviet and independent Kazakh) governments, each of which recognized the essential role of irrigated agriculture in maintaining control. Thus every cycle of destruction led to reclamation of new lands, resettlement of farmers and upgrading of infrastructure to expand irrigation. This allowed an impressive diversity of fruits, vegetables and field crops to be grown, especially on loess soils of the more fertile upper basin, where tributaries could be easily tapped by gravity flow. Many of these tributaries were entirely diverted by the 19th century, so that they no longer reached the Ili. Large scale irrigation commenced in the 1960s, when the Soviets built Kapchagai dam and reservoir in the lower part of the basin and installed pumps to raise water from the Ili River onto nearby reclaimed sierozem soils, mostly for cultivation of rice. China later constructed a cluster of small- and medium-sized dams that enabled expansion of agriculture in the upper part of the basin. Many irrigated areas along the lower reaches of the Ili in Kazakhstan have been abandoned, but irrigation in the upper basin continues to expand. Declining soil fertility, salinization, pollution, insufficient inflows and adverse economic conditions currently challenge irrigation across the entire basin. Investments are being made in new technologies as a means to sustain irrigated agriculture in the basin, but it remains to be seen if these strategies will be successful.

scholarly journals The role of insurance in the damager mitigation of fruit orchards

2009 ◽  
Vol 15 (1-2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sz. Sütő ◽  
I. Ertsey
Keyword(s):  
Natural Disasters ◽  
Risk Taking ◽  
Arable Land ◽  
The State ◽  
Insurance Companies ◽  
The Common ◽  
The Law ◽  
Fruit Orchards ◽  
Made In

Hungary faced many natural disasters in 2007. Due to the estimation of the Hungarian Chamber of Agriculture, the amount of natural disasters that occurred in Spring 2007 (frost, hailstorm and drought in April and May) is about 100 billion HUF. Frost and drought caused damage on about 250 thousand hectares of arable land. Currently, there are four insurance companies dealing with agricultural insurances in Hungary. Their income was nearly 20 billion HUF in 2003, whereas it barely exceeded 6.6 billion HUF in 2004. The reason behind the significant decrease of insurance fee is the state provision made in 2004 stopping fee subsidisation which originally started in 1996, enabling farmers to require a 25-30% reimbursement of the amount paid for insurance. Launching a state subsidisation again would greatly increase the number of agricultural insurances. The law about the national agricultural mitigation system passed last Autumn. This provision declares that the mitigation of agricultural damage that cannot be insured on a business-like basis is based on the common risk-taking by the state and the farmers. The introduction of this system is explained by the fact that the mitigation of damages through disaster can only be carried out if those affected also take part in it, according to EU rules.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document