Agronomic performance of high oleic,low linolenic soybean in Tennessee

Soybean oil hydrogenation alters the linolenic acid molecule to prevent the oil from becoming rancid, however, health reports have indicated trans-fat caused by hydrogenation, is not generally regarded as safe. Typical soybeans contain approximately 80 g kg⁻¹ to 120 g kg⁻¹ linolenic acid and 240 g kg⁻¹ of oleic acid. In an effort to accommodate the need for high-quality oil, the United Soybean Board introduced an industry standard for a high oleic acid greater than 750 g kg⁻¹ and linolenic acid less than 30 g kg⁻¹ oil. By combing mutations in the soybean plant at four loci, FAD2-1A and FAD2-1B, oleate desaturase genes and FAD3A and FAD3C, linoleate desaturase genes, and seed oil will not require hydrogenation to prevent oxidation and produce high-quality oil. In 2017 and 2018, a study comparing four near-isogenic lines across multiple Tennessee locations was performed to identify agronomic traits associated with mutations in FAD3A and FAD3C loci, while holding FAD2-1A and FAD2-1B constant in the mutant (high oleic) state. Soybean lines were assessed for yield and oil quality based on mutations at FAD2-1 and FAD3 loci. Variations of wild-type and mutant genotypes were compared at FAD3A and FAD3C loci. Analysis using a generalized linear mixed model in SAS 9.4, indicated no yield drag or other negative agronomic traits associated with the high oleic and low linolenic acid genotype. All four mutations of fad2-1A, fad2-1B, fad3A, and fad3C were determined as necessary to produce a soybean with the new industry standard (>750 g kg⁻¹ oleic and <30 g kg⁻¹ linolenic acid) in a maturity group-IV-Late cultivar for Tennessee growers.     

Ambient Technology — Now You See It, Now You Don't

The continuing progression of Moore's Law has enabled the miniaturisation and dramatic cost reduction in electronics over the last ten years. For a truly pervasive communications environment the challenges of hiding key hardware technologies from the user are rapidly being overcome. This paper reviews the status of these hardware technology developments in the pervasive space and briefly discusses other contributing factors that will enable the pervasive vision to be realised.     

Efficient diode-pumped single-frequency erbium:ytterbium fiberlaser

We report a 7.6-mW single-frequency fiber laser operating at 1545 nm, using for the first time an Er³⁺:Yb³⁺ doped fiber and a fiber grating output coupler. The laser did not exhibit self-pulsation, which is a typical problem in short three-level fiber lasers, and had a relative intensity noise (RIN) level below -145.5 dB/Hz at frequencies above 10 MHz. The linewidth of the laser was limited by the relaxation oscillation sidebands in the optical spectrum and was typically less than 1 MHz     

Optical networks for local loop applications

Some of the options for optical technology within the local loop environment are examined. In particular, passive shared access networks have been considered in some detail. These networks show great promise for delivering existing telephone services to small to medium business customers (4-30 lines) economically by the early 1990s. Extending fiber to the home will also be possible by virtue of a similar passive network infrastructure for customers requiring new broadband services beyond the single telephone line. For one-line plain old telephone service (POTS) customers, an intermediate approach of terminating the fiber network at the final network distribution point, with copper retained for the final leg, may be used prior to the provision of broadband services. A key feature of the passive optical network architecture is the use of wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) as an upgrade strategy, allowing graceful upgrading from telephone services to multichannel high-definition television (HDTV) on gigabit/second bearers and full two-way switched broadband services employing wavelength routing across the network     

A stereoselective cobalt-containing nitrile hydratase

Nitrile hydratase from Pseudomonas putida NRRL-18668 has been purified and characterized. The purified enzyme catalyzes the hydration of 2(S)-(4'-chlorophenyl)-3-methylbutyronitrile at least fifty times faster than that of 2(R)-(4'-chlorophenyl)-3-methylbutyronitrile. This enzyme is a member of the class of nitrile hydratase that contains cobalt. Visible absorption and CD spectra suggest the cobalt exists as a non-corrin low-spin Co3+ ion in a tetragonally-distorted octahedral ligand field. Chemical reduction of the native enzyme results in a species with the EPR signature of a low-spin Co2+ complex. Like the other cobalt-containing nitrile hydratases, this enzyme is relatively stable, maintaining its activity below 35 degrees C, and it shows a broad activity optimum between pH 7.2 and 7.8. The structural genes for this enzyme have been cloned and sequenced. The deduced amino acid sequences for the alpha and beta subunits show 48-63% and 35-41% homology, respectively, to other sequenced nitrile hydratases. In particular, the cysteine residues in the alpha subunit that have been suggested to coordinate the metal ion in the iron-containing nitrile hydratases [Brennan, B. A., Cummings, J. G., Chase, D. B., Turner, I. M., Jr., & Nelson, M. J. (1996) Biochemistry 35, 10068-10077] are conserved in this enzyme, suggesting that this nitrile hydratase, like the enzyme from Rhodococcus rhodochrous J1, is a member of a newly described class of metalloenzymes with Co3+-thiolate ligation [Brennan, B. A., Alms, G., Nelson, M. J., Durney, L. T., & Scarrow, R. C. (1996) J. Am. Chem. Soc. 118, 9194-9195].     

Power moves: Complementarity in dominant and submissive nonverbal behavior.

Two studies examine complementarity (vs. mimicry) of dominant and submissive nonverbal behaviors. In the first study, participants interacted with a confederate who displayed either dominance (through postural expansion) or submission (through postural constriction). On average, participants exposed to a dominant confederate decreased their postural stance, whereas participants exposed to a submissive confederate increased their stance. Further, participants with complementing responses (dominance in response to submission and submission in response to dominance) liked their partner more and were more comfortable than those who mimicked. In the second study, complementarity and mimicry were manipulated, and complementarity resulted in more liking and comfort than mimicry. The findings speak to the likelihood of hierarchical differentiation (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)