Find Your Way Back: Black Colleagues Return to the Erotic

This paper provides an analysis of the effects anti-Black violence have had on the return of Black colleagues (administrators, faculty, and staff) to higher education after the the 2020 murder of African American citizen George Floyd at the hands of now former Minneapolis police officers. Riffing off of R&B singer Beyoncé Knowles-Carter’s song of return, “Find Your Way Back” and using it as a loose organizational rubric—each section is titled from the song’s lyrics—I ask what answers we might find between return and resignation. The analysis starts with the question of return: How in the hell do Black colleagues return to the university after a collective trauma? The essay centralizes the concerns of Black colleagues in higher education, positioning us between resignation and return. It seeks to consider (pending a return) to what are we returning. To explore this liminal dilemma—resignation or return—the essay will trace the lineage of racism located in higher education to slavery and the violent exclusion of African Americans from gaining access to knowledge. Briefly tracing American education’s lineage to White supremacy, I aim to frame our possible return against an institution that parodies its paternal line. The essay will show that the racism characteristic of American history morphed into an insidious, invisible source of oppression termed microaggressions. To address the consequences of racial microaggressions, I draw on psychotherapeutic clinical research on the effects of racial microaggressions on Black workers. Mirroring clinicians’ approach to addressing the race-based problems of higher education, I call on the Black feminist scholar Audre Lorde’s notion of “the erotic” as a spiritual power source. I look at how Lorde explored Black psychology and trauma within higher education in her poem “Blackstudies.” Mining this and her other triumphant essay “Uses of the Erotic: The Erotic as Power,” I look to establish “the erotic” as a comparable counterpunch to microaggressions in higher education.

Sunflower hybrid Status

The widespread saturation of crop rotations with sunflower crops contributed to the creation of favorable conditions for the emergence and wide distribution of new more aggressive races of broomrape, downy mildew and other pathogens of this crop. Sunflower varieties and hybrids resistant to previously common races have become severely affected. One of the ways to solve this problem is to develop sunflower hybrids resistant to new virulent races. The breeders had to combine high productivity and genes of resistance to new more aggressive races of broomrape and downy mildew in one genotype. The first stage of the work was development of a new breeding germplasm and selection of parental lines with breeding valuable traits from it. Based on these lines, there were developed hybrid combinations resistant to new highly virulent races of broomrape and downy mildew. The hybrid Status was developed by hybridization of a maternal line ED 47 and a paternal line ED 193. The maternal line ED 47 is single-headed, low height, resistant to the broomrape races: E, F, G, has a good combining ability. The paternal line ED 193 is branched, also resistant to broomrape (races E, F, G) and three races of downy mildew (330, 710, and 730). The hybrid Status belongs to the middle-early maturity group, duration of the growing season is 95 days. The average plant height over the years of testing was 140 cm; the plants are uniformed in height and the duration of the development phases. Seed yield of the hybrid Status exceeded the standard one (a hybrid Gorstar) by 0.25 t/ha, and oil yield – by 0.14 t/ha. The oil content of the seeds was 48.0%, the huskiness – 28.7%, the 1000 seeds weight – 60.6 g. The new hybrid is resistant to seven races of broomrape (A, B, C, D, E, F, and G) and three races of downy mildew (330, 710, and 730). A distinctive feature of it is resistance of both parent lines to broomrape. The originator of a simple interline sunflower hybrid Status is V.S. Pustovoit All-Russian Research Institute of Oil Crops.

Physico-Chemical, Nutritional, and Sensory Evaluation of Two New Commercial Tomato Hybrids and Their Parental Lines

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) is the globally most consumed vegetable. The objective of this research was to analyze physico-chemical, nutritional and sensorial components (taste and flavor) in two new commercial hybrids (AS 300 F1 and AS 400 F1) and their four F7 parental lines. Two widely grown F1 hybrids (Precos F1 and Addalyn F1) were used as controls. The results obtained for carbohydrates (HPLC-RID) indicated that the highest values (27.82 mg/g) were recorded in the paternal line AS 10 of the new hybrid AS 400 F1. The highest values of total organic acids (HPLC-VWD) were recorded in Addalyn F1 (5.06 m/g), while the highest value of phenolic compounds (HPLC-DAD-ESI⁺) were identified in the maternal line AS 09 of the hybrid AS 400 F1 (96.3 µg/g). Intrinsic sensory values were analyzed by male and female tasters of different ages using a hedonic scale. The tasters’ perception revealed obvious taste differences between tomato genotypes. The study allowed determining genetic parameters of interest (heterosis and heterobeltosis) for the new hybrids, as well as a detailed characterization of the chemical composition and organoleptic quality of the parental breeding lines and their hybrids, which is useful in tomato breeding.

Creation of an interspecific hybrid of Capsicum annuum L. and C. frutescens L. using biotechnological approaches

Relevance. Pepper is a common crop both for fresh consumption and for the preparation of spices. Recently, along with the increasing popularity of C. annuum L. pepper, there is increasing interest in other species of this genus, which have a number of breeding and important properties. The most important method of enriching the gene pool of cultivated plants is distant hybridization, through which valuable traits are transferred from wild species to cultivated ones. The development of a new variety is a lengthy process, stretching over several years. In this regard, breeders have faced the challenge of obtaining pure lines to create a pepper hybrid with desired properties by applying modern biotechnological methods that will accelerate this process. One of them is the method of microspore culture, which allows mass production of haploid plants, reducing the time for creating constant parental lines.Material and methods. The aim of the work was to create an interspecific hybrid of hot pepper (C. annuum L. x C. frutescens L.) with high ornamental properties, a complex of economically valuable traits, with good taste qualities. The research was carried out in the film greenhouse of FSBSI FSVC in the Moscow region. The research material was a variety population of hot pepper Capsicum frutescens Cz-544-14, used as a paternal line, which was heterogeneous, and a pure line of C. annuum L. (Pb-551) created by classical breeding.Results. The pepper hybrid F1 Christmas bouquet was created as a result of hybridization of species parental forms obtained by different methods (biotechnological and classical). To accelerate the production of an aligned paternal form of C. frutescens L., the technology of doubled haploids through microspore culture was used. As a result, doubled haploid plants meeting the planned model (compact low habit, purple fruit colouring in technical ripeness and red in biological ripeness) were obtained. The resulting hybrid combined all the necessary economic features: high ornamentality, compactness, bouquet arrangement of fruits, high taste and aroma. Thus, the use of remote interspecific hybridization in the breeding process in combination with biotechnological approaches can accelerate the production of new forms of hot peppers that meet the demands of the market.

Secondary amenorrhea in girls: genealogical and cytogenetic features

Aim. To determine genealogical and cytogenetic features in girls aged 12-17 years with secondary amenorrhea. Methods. The analysis of pedigrees was conducted in 25 families of girls with secondary amenorrhea (main group) and in 25 families of healthy girls in the laboratory of medical genetics of SI "ICAHC NAMS". Cytogenetic analysis was carried out in the blood lymphocytes of the girls of the main and control groups in vitro. The control group consisted of 25 healthy peer girls with a regular menstrual cycle without somatic pathology. The data obtained were analyzed statistically using the Student's t-test in Excel programs. Results. The hereditary burden on non-inflammatory (hormone-dependent) gynecological diseases was found in 60.0% of families, in 86.6% of cases – along the maternal line, in 6.7% – along the paternal line, in 6.7% – on both lines at the same time; 40.0% of girls had no hereditary burden. The total incidence of gynecological (non-inflammatory) diseases among relatives of three degrees of kinship was 13.6%, which was almost three times higher than the frequency in relatives of healthy girls (5.1%, p < 0.001). Cytogenetic analysis conducted in girls of the main group showed an increase in both the overall level of chromosomal disorders (6.2%), and their individual types (3.2%. 3.0%, 1.56%) compared to the frequency in healthy girls. Conclusions. Family accumulation of gynecological (non-inflammatory) diseases in the pedigree of girls with secondary amenorrhea has been established. Cytogenetic features in the blood lymphocytes of sick girls are revealed compared to healthy peers. Keywords: girls, pedigrees, cytogenetic indices, secondary amenorrhea.

First Russian hybrid of winter rapeseed Debyut

The first Russian simple interline hybrid of winter rapeseed Debyut (VN 521) was developed under crosses of lines 39712 (maternal form) and ОRK 10 (paternal from). The hybrid Debyut is based on CMS-ogura. The hybrid Debyut belongs to mid-maturing group of varieties and hybrids, is characterized with plants uniformity, simultaneous flowering and maturity, suitable for mechanized harvesting. In competitive trials of 2019–2020, the hybrid Debyut exceeded the standard variety Loris in seed yield by 0.71 t per ha, in oil yield – by 0.29 t per ha and by these traits it is similar to one of the most productive foreign hybrids of EU Merkure. Oil content in seeds (46.2%) of the hybrid Debyut is at the level of the standard variety Loris. The hybrid is characterized with large size of seeds. Weight of 1000 seeds of the hybrid in average for two years is equal to 4.2 g, of the standard variety – 3.9 g. The parental forms of the hybrid Debyut are fitted well by flowering dates. A maternal line 39712 is characterized with quite good yield, oil content in (46.5–47.0%), 1000 seed weight is 4.5 g. Glucosinolate content is equal to the same one of the standard variety Loris. A paternal line ОRK 10 is inferior by yields to the standard and maternal line.

Pollen plant analysis of different sunflower genotypes

Pollen analysis makes it possible to determine the reproductive potential of sunflower plants by the morphological characteristics of pollen grains with the aim of breeding to increase yields. The research was carried out in 2019–2020 at V.S. Pustovoit All-Russian Research Institute of Oil Crops, Krasnodar. The objects of the research were plants of cultivated sunflower Helianthus annuus L.: four hybrids – Factor, Typhoon, Oxy and NK Brio, confectionery variety Djinn, two parental lines of the hybrid Oxy – VK876 B and VK195, as well as a perennial wild growing hexaploid species H. tuberosus L. Pollen was stained with acetoorcein and viewed under a microscope Micros MS 20. The diameter of pollen grains in the hybrids Factor, NK Brio, Typhoon, Oxy, the line VK195 and the cultivar Djinn varied from 34 to 31 μm. The line VK876 B and H. tuberosus were characterized by the lowest values of this trait – 29 and 27 μm, respectively. For the line VK876 B and the hybrid Oxy, significant morphological heterogeneity of pollen was observed, which was expressed in a correspondingly high proportion of abnormal pollen grains – 34 and 26%. At the same time, there was a two-peak distribution of the values of the diameter of pollen grains. The morphological heterogeneity of the pollen grains of the hybrid Oxy is associated with the dominant inheritance of this trait from the maternal CMS-form VK876 A, since the paternal line VK195 has a normal characteristic of pollen grains. The pollen of the hybrid NK Brio showed a significantly higher (by 25%) seed setting in crossing with the CMS tester than that of the hybrid Oxy, which confirms the assumption that there is a relation between an increased proportion of abnormal pollen grains and reduced pollen fertility.

Screening of sugar beet pre-breeding populations and breeding lines for resistance to Ditylenchus dipsaci penetration and reproduction

Ditylenchus dipsaci is an economically important plant-parasitic nematode affecting European sugar beets. To date, no sugar beet cultivars carrying resistance against D. dipsaci are available to farmers. To find potentially resistant sugar beet lines restricting reproduction and penetration of D. dipsaci, three consecutive in vivo bioassays were carried out. The first experiment determined the penetration rate of D. dipsaci in 79 breeding lines and 14 pre-breeding populations. Based on these results, D. dipsaci penetration and reproduction resistance of eight genotypes was intensively investigated. It could be demonstrated that none of the genotypes showed resistance towards D. dipsaci. However, a high variation of the penetration rate by D. dipsaci was observed among the genotypes. The breeding line ‘DIT_119’ effectively reduced D. dipsaci penetration (34.4 ± 8.8 nematodes/plant at 22 days post-planting) compared to the susceptible control (109.0 ± 16.9) while ensuring a yield comparable to non-inoculated plants. However, the breeding line ‘DIT_119’ did not reduce D. dipsaci reproduction. The paternal line of the cultivar BERETTA KWS, demonstrating a high tolerance to D. dipsaci crown rot symptoms, did not reduce penetration and reproduction. Thus, no correlation can be established between reduced penetration rates, reproduction, and tolerance to D. dipsaci. This study provides an essential basis for the development of resistant sugar beet cultivars to D. dipsaci. The variations observed among genotypes now need to be confirmed with larger-scale screenings.

A new inherited syndrome causing sudden cardiac death with specific ECG changes and idiopathic left ventricular hypertrophy

Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: None. Introduction Sudden cardiac death (SCD) is a serious threat. In individuals under the age of 35 years sudden arrhythmic death is the most frequent cause. In younger persons, genetically determined cardiac diseases (e.g., cardiomyopathies, ion-channel diseases) account for an important proportion of these cases. Purpose We discovered a unusual combination of ECG changes and left ventricular hypertrophy that lead to a cumulation of sudden cardiac death in a single family. We therefore did a scientific work-up of this finding. Methods We investigated the case of a 23 year-old male with SCD, specific ECG changes and left ventricular hypertrophy (Figure 1). Family history was significant for SCD in the paternal line. A precise analysis was performed by an international multidisciplinary expert panel including autopsy of the index patient’s heart, molecular autopsy, whole exome sequencing, analysis of the pedigree and examination of available family members (Figure 2). Results Three cases of SCD were reported in paternal relatives. The index patient exhibited specific ECG changes (ST-depression), which were also found in five paternal relatives and the brother of the index Patient (Figure 3). Post-mortem analysis of the heart yielded mild idiopathic concentric hypertrophy without myocardial disarray. The genetic analysis of the index patient showed two nucleotide variations in two different genes (ANK2: c.11791G &gt; A , MYO18B: c.3761G &gt; A), which were also expressed in five relatives. Two family members had showed all indicators of the inherited syndrome including specific ECG changes, genetic changes and left ventricular hypertrophy. Conclusions We described a distinct inheritable syndrome causing SCD, characterized by specific ECG changes, idiopathic left ventricular hypertrophy and mutations of ANK2 and MYO18. As far as we know this is the first description of this syndrom. We hypothesize that if all features (ECG-changes, described genetic mutations, left ventricular hypertrophy) are positive, the risk for SCD may be considerably increased. Abstract Figure. ECG of index patient and pedigree