Using 3D animations to teach intracellular signal transduction mechanisms: taking the arrows out of cells

Traditional methods of teaching intracellular biological processes and pathways use figures or flowcharts with the names of molecules linked with arrows. Many veterinary students, presented with such material, simply memorize the names or chemical structures of the molecules and are then likely to forget the material once the examination is completed. To address this problem, the authors designed, created, and field-tested new teaching media that incorporate realistic three-dimensional (3D) animations depicting the dynamic changes that occur in intracellular molecules during cellular activation. Testing found that veterinary students taught using traditional teaching media (e.g., lectures, handouts, textbooks) are proficient in memorizing the names and order of intracellular molecules but unable to appreciate the interactions between these elements or their spatial relationships within cells. In contrast, more than 90% of veterinary students taught using 3D animations not only recall the facts about the intracellular elements but also develop accurate mental images of the interactions among these molecules and their spatial relationships. These findings strongly suggest that the comprehension of complex biological processes by veterinary students can be enhanced by the use of dynamic 3D depictions of these processes in the classroom.     

Characterizing the soil moisture regime of a Typic Haplohumod

The saturated hydraulic conductivities (K_sat) of 22 spodic horizons with and without a thin iron pan, were measured in situ with a new technique, using large, carved-out columns, encased in gypsum. Measured infiltration rates and pressure heads above and below the spodic horizons allowed calculation of K_sat, which averaged 8 cm d^?1. Flow rates averaged 32 cm d^?1, however, due to a hydraulic head gradient across the spodic horizon of 4 cm cm^?1. Occurrence of a thin iron pan in the spodic horizon did not affect its K_sat-value. The measured high flow rates exclude the occurrence of perched watertables. Lateral flow of water, forming surface ponds in local depressions, was due to surface runoff, rather than to lateral movement of perched water: surface ponding of water occurred also in soils in which the spodic horizon had been mixed by tillage.     

Evaluation of the germ plasm collection of safflower,Carthamus tinctorius L. VII. Variability of capitulum width and outer involucral bracts' dimensions

Summary A germ plasm collection of safflower, Carthamus tinctorius L., with about 900 lines from over twenty countries was evaluated in Utah, USA for head width and outer involucral bracts (OIB) dimensions, traits affected by both human and natural selection. The regional germ plasm pools contained considerable variability for these traits. Plants bearing short or long as well as narrow or wide OIB were well adapted. Geographical clines were detected for the means of OIB dimensions, indicating possible gene flow. The correlations of the OIB dimensions with yield, yield components, oil content and growing period were not instructive and at times very inconsistent. Primary head diameter varied considerably within the regional gene pools. Its correlations with yield/plant, number of heads/plant, seed weight and oil content were inconsistent. Capitulum width was positively and significantly correlated with the number of seeds per head. Head diameter, however, can vary considerably without affecting seed yield per unit area.     

Textural properties and their correlation to cell structure in porous food materials

This paper focuses on understanding the role of structural parameters and starch crystallization on the toughness of cake samples. Accurate mechanical measurements were performed to obtain toughness values, and these were related to structural parameters obtained from image analyses. Three-dimensional skeletons of food samples were generated by using X-ray tomography technique. The structural parameters (cell diameter, cell wall thickness, thickness to radius ratio (t/R), fragmentation index) were obtained after processing of the images with CTan software. The basic hypothesis of the paper is to show that the structural parameter t/R is a determinant for predicting toughness, which is a critical indicator of freshness. Freshness in cakes and other baked products is a leading factor in consumer perception. For this purpose three different cake formulations were stored at 37 and 50 °C. Cycling from these temperatures to lower storage temperatures of 25 and 4 °C was done to accelerate the starch retrogradation rate. Experimental results indicated that there was a strong interrelationship between morphological structure and the mechanical properties with regression coefficients of 0.68 and 0.95. Starch retrogradation, which was followed by X-ray diffractometry, was found to be directly proportional to toughness values, where the percent relative crystallinity increased with storage temperature.     

Effects of leaf age and tree size on stomatal and mesophyll limitations to photosynthesis in mountain beech (Nothofagus solandrii var. cliffortiodes)

Mesophyll conductance, g(m), was estimated from measurements of stomatal conductance to carbon dioxide transfer, g(s), photosynthesis, A, and chlorophyll fluorescence for Year 0 (current-year) and Year 1 (1-year-old) fully sunlit leaves from short (2 m tall, 10-year-old) and tall (15 m tall, 120-year-old) Nothofagus solandrii var. cliffortiodes trees growing in adjacent stands. Rates of photosynthesis at saturating irradiance and ambient CO(2) partial pressure, A(satQ), were 25% lower and maximum rates of carboxylation, V(cmax), were 44% lower in Year 1 leaves compared with Year 0 leaves across both tree sizes. Although g(s) and g(m) were not significantly different between Year 0 and Year 1 leaves and g(s) was not significantly different between tree heights, g(m) was significantly (19%) lower for leaves on tall trees compared with leaves on short trees. Overall, V(cmax) was 60% higher when expressed on the basis of CO(2) partial pressure at the chloroplasts, C(c), compared with V(cmax) on the basis of intercellular CO(2) partial pressure, C(i), but this varied with leaf age and tree size. To interpret the relative stomatal and mesophyll limitations to photosynthesis, we used a model of carbon isotopic composition for whole leaves incorporating g(m) effects to generate a surface of 'operating values' of A over the growing season for all leaf classes. Our analysis showed that A was slightly higher for leaves on short compared with tall trees, but lower g(m) apparently reduced actual A substantially compared with A(satQ). Our findings showed that lower rates of photosynthesis in Year 1 leaves compared with Year 0 leaves were attributable more to increased biochemical limitation to photosynthesis in Year 1 leaves than differences in g(m). However, lower A in leaves on tall trees compared with those on short trees could be attributed in part to lower g(m) and higher stomatal, L(s), and mesophyll, L(m), limitations to photosynthesis, consistent with steeper hydraulic gradients in tall trees.     

A Lateral Surgical Approach to the Equine Femoropatellar Joint

A surgical approach to the lateral trochlear ridge of the distal femur of the horse was developed to facilitate evaluation and curettage of osteochondral defects of the lateral trochlear ridge. Surgical exploration of the lateral trochlear ridge was achieved in 11 patients with osteochondral defects of the lateral trochlear ridge using a craniolateral arthrotomy between the middle and lateral patellar ligaments. The technique described allowed adequate exposure for evaluation, removal of loose osteochondral fragments, and curettage of cartilage abnormalities on the lateral trochlear ridge.     

Comparison of management techniques for evaluating Italian and hybrid ryegrass cultivars

The effect of management on dry matter yield and persistence of eight cultivars was assessed over a 3-year period (1978–80) under integration of sheep grazing and simulated sheep grazing with cutting for conservation, and the two cutting frequencies used in the National List trials. A high correlation was obtained in the first and second harvest years between managements in respect of annual production, the ranking order of yield being similar for the range of cultivars. In the third harvest year yield correlation and persistence between sheep grazing and simulated sheep grazing was high and similar to previous years, but all other yield and persistence correlations were considerably reduced. A major effect of frequent cutting management used in the National List trials was the increase in the proportion of unsown grasses (mainly Poa spp.) in the swards.     

Breeding for Highly Fertile Isolates of Nectria haematococca MPVI that are Highly Virulent on Pea and In Planta Selection for Virulent Recombinants

ABSTRACT The heterothallic ascomycete Nectria haematococca mating population VI (anamorph Fusarium solani) is a broad host range pathogen. Field isolates of this fungus that are pathogenic on pea tend to be female sterile, of low fertility, and the same mating type (MAT-1), whereas female fertile isolates of either mating type that are highly fertile tend to be nonpathogenic on this plant. To facilitate genetic analysis of traits that may be important in the ability of N. haematococca to parasitize peas, a breeding project was undertaken to produce hermaphroditic isolates of each mating type that are highly fertile and highly virulent on peas. Although the association of high virulence on peas with female sterility and the MAT-1 mating type was not completely broken, isolates with high fertility and high virulence on peas were bred within two generations. Highly virulent progeny were also isolated by an alternative method in which pea plants were inoculated with a mixture of ascospores from a cross between two moderately virulent parents. Whereas all ascospores isolated without selection in planta had lower virulence than the parents, many isolates recovered from diseased tissue were more virulent than the parental isolates. Some of the recovered isolates were shown by restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis to be genetic recombinants of the parents, demonstrating that the pea tissue selected virulent recombinants. All highly virulent isolates tested had the ability to detoxify the pea phytoalexin pisatin, again showing a link between this trait and pathogenicity on the pea.