Inspirations from biological optics for advanced photonic systems

Observing systems in nature has inspired humans to create technological tools that allow us to better understand and imitate biology. Biomimetics, in particular, owes much of its current development to advances in materials science and creative optical system designs. New investigational tools, such as those for microscopic imaging and chemical analyses, have added to our understanding of biological optics. Biologically inspired optical science has become the emerging topic among researchers and scientists. This is in part due to the availability of polymers with customizable optical properties and the ability to rapidly fabricate complex designs using soft lithography and three-dimensional microscale processing techniques.     

Control of nutrient-sensitive transcription programs by the unconventional prefoldin URI

Prefoldins (PFDs) are members of a recently identified, small-molecular weight protein family able to assemble into molecular chaperone complexes. Here we describe an unusually large member of this family, termed URI, that forms complexes with other small-molecular weight PFDs and with RPB5, a shared subunit of all three RNA polymerases. Functional analysis of the yeast and human orthologs of URI revealed that both are targets of nutrient signaling and participate in gene expression controlled by the TOR kinase. Thus, URI is a component of a signaling pathway that coordinates nutrient availability with gene expression.     

Mechanism of formation of redox-active hydroxylated benzenes and pyrazine in 13C-labeled glycine/D-glucose model systems

To extend the analytical capabilities of the pyrolysis-gas chromatograph-mass spectrometry system that has been successfully utilized in the past as an integrated reaction, separation, and identification system to study label incorporation patterns in Maillard reaction products, a novel methodology was developed to analyze the composition of nonvolatile residues of the initial reaction products. This was achieved through a postpyrolytic in-situ derivatization technique using trimethylsilyldiethylamine. Application of this technique to the investigation of the nonvolatile products formed during pyrolysis of glucose alone and in the presence of glycine has indicated the formation of several redox-active hydroxylated benzene derivatives such as 1,2,3-trihydroxybenzene (pyrogallol), 1,4-dihydroxybenzene (hydroquinone), 1,2-dihydroxybenzene (catechol), and 2,5-dihydroxypyrazine. Labeling studies have indicated that the intact glucose carbon backbone was involved in the construction of the benzene ring of the hydroxylated benzene derivatives and that dimerization of glycine alone can lead to the formation of 2,5-dihydroxypyrazine.     

Application of visible near-infrared absorbance spectroscopy for the determination of Soil pH and liming requirements for broad-acre agriculture

Precision Agriculture - Soil acidification is a major and growing concern in many cropping regions globally. Whilst spatial variability in acidification is a common consideration in the management...     

Contrasting climate velocity impacts in warm and cool locations show that effects of marine warming are worse in already warmer temperate waters

Species responses to climate change are often measured at broad spatiotemporal scales, which can miss the fine-scale changes that are most relevant to conservation and fisheries management. We develop a scaleable geostatistical approach to assess how juvenile and adult fish distributions have been shaped by changes in bottom temperature and dissolved oxygen over a recent decade of warming in the northeast Pacific. Across 38 demersal fishes, biomass trends were associated negatively with warming and positively with dissolved oxygen, but when trends in both biomass and climate were converted to velocities—the speed and direction a population would have to move to maintain consistent conditions—the effect of temperature change differed depending on local conditions. In the warmest locations, warming velocities were associated with negative biotic velocities for 19 of 69 species-maturity combinations, and yet were almost always associated with stable or positive biotic velocities in the coolest locations (64 of 69). These spatially consistent biomass declines (negative biotic velocities) in the warmest locations and increases in cooler locations suggest a redistribution of species with the potential for new ecological and fisheries interactions. After controlling for temperature, the more spatially consistent effects of dissolved oxygen were often negative, suggesting a mechanism other than hypoxia avoidance—potentially changes in primary production. Our approach identifies the species and locations that are most sensitive to observed changes in the environment at any scale, thus facilitating future vulnerability assessments.     

A HACCP-based approach to mastitis control in dairy herds. Part 2: Implementation and evaluation

Part 1 of the study described the development of a Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) based programme and accompanying handbook for the control of mastitis. This paper describes the implementation and evaluation of customised HACCP-based programmes, which were developed from the handbook and assessed on six Irish dairy farms. Both quantitative and qualitative (action research) research methodologies were used to measure the success of implementation and efficacy of control of sub-clinical mastitis as measured by Somatic Cell Counts (SCC) and the degree of compliance by farmers in adopting and maintaining recommendations throughout the course of the study period. No overall differences in SCC before and during the implementation of the study were found when all six farms were considered together. Three of the six study farms experienced a significant decrease in herd milk recorded SCC during the implementation of the control programme. An essential part of the study was achieving initial agreement on recommendations as well as ongoing monitoring of compliance during the study. This pilot study shows that HACCP can be implemented on farms as a means of working towards the control of mastitis and that farmer attitude, and understanding of mastitis are crucial in terms of motivation irrespective of practical approaches used to manage mastitis.     

A HACCP-based approach to mastitis control in dairy herds. Part 1: Development

Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) systems are a risk based preventive approach developed to increase levels of food safety assurance. This is part 1 of a pilot study on the development, implementation and evaluation of a HACCP-based approach for the control of good udder health in dairy cows. The paper describes the use of a novel approach based on a deconstruction of the infectious process in mastitis to identify Critical Control Points (CCPs) and develop a HACCP-based system to prevent and control mastitis in dairy herds. The approach involved the creation of an Infectious Process Flow Diagram, which was then cross-referenced to two production process flow diagrams of the milking process and cow management cycle. The HACCP plan developed, may be suitable for customisation and implementation on dairy farms. This is a logical, systematic approach to the development of a mastitis control programme that could be used as a template for the development of control programmes for other infectious diseases in the dairy herd.