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High residue levels provide excellent erosion control but can result in cool, wet seedbeds creating a situation where starter fertilizer may be beneficial. Research was conducted from 1999 to 2001 evaluating N rates in starter containing N, P, K, and sometimes S; and different starter fertilizer placements for continuous no-till corn (Zea mays L.). Placements consisted of direct seed contact, dribble over-the-row, and a subsurface band (5 cm below and 5 cm to the side of the seed row). Nitrogen rates for direct seed and dribble placements were 11, 22, 45, and 56 kg N ha(-1); and 34, 67, 101, and 134 kg N ha(-1) for the subsurface placement. Nitrogen was balanced at 168 kg ha(-1) on all treatments, including a no-starter check using broadcast ammonium nitrate at planting. Addition of S in starter was evaluated with subsurface placement. Starter fertilizer, regardless of placement, often increased early season dry matter production and significantly increased grain yields. Increasing N above 22 kg ha(-1) in direct seed contact did not increase yields and significantly reduced stands 2 of 3 yr. Stands were unaffected with higher N rates in dribble over-the-row and subsurface placements; however, applying N above 11 and 34 kg ha(-1), respectively, resulted in little added yield benefit. Inclusion of 11 kg S ha(-1) in a subsurface starter fertilizer sometimes increased early season dry matter production, grain yield, and nutrient uptake. Results suggest starter fertilizer is an effective, efficient way of stimulating early growth and improving yields of continuous no-till corn in Kansas.

The international and interdisciplinary sea-ice drift expedition “The Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate” (MOSAiC) was conducted from October 2019 to September 2020. The aim of MOSAiC was to study the interconnected physical, chemical, and biological characteristics and processes from the atmosphere to the deep sea of the central Arctic system. The ecosystem team addressed current knowledge gaps and explored unknown biological properties over a complete seasonal cycle focusing on three major research areas: biodiversity, biogeochemical cycles, and linkages to the environment. In addition to the measurements of core properties along a complete seasonal cycle, dedicated projects covered specific processes and habitats, or organisms on higher taxonomic or temporal resolution in specific time windows. A wide range of sampling instruments and approaches, including sea-ice coring, lead sampling with pumps, rosette-based water sampling, plankton nets, remotely operated vehicles, and acoustic buoys, was applied to address the science objectives. Further, a broad range of process-related measurements to address, for example, productivity patterns, seasonal migrations, and diversity shifts, were made both in situ and onboard RV Polarstern. This article provides a detailed overview of the sampling approaches used to address the three main science objectives. It highlights the core sampling program and provides examples of habitat- or process-specific sampling. The initial results presented include high biological activities in wintertime and the discovery of biological hotspots in underexplored habitats. The unique interconnectivity of the coordinated sampling efforts also revealed insights into cross-disciplinary interactions like the impact of biota on Arctic cloud formation. This overview further presents both lessons learned from conducting such a demanding field campaign and an outlook on spin-off projects to be conducted over the next years.

We present a new model for calcium oscillations based on experiments in hepatocytes. The model considers feedback inhibition on the initial agonist receptor complex by calcium and activated phospholipase C, as well as receptor type-dependent self-enhanced behavior of the activated G α subunit. It is able to show simple periodic oscillations and periodic bursting, and it is the first model to display chaotic bursting in response to agonist stimulations. Moreover, our model offers a possible explanation for the differences in dynamic behavior observed in response to different agonists in hepatocytes.

Knobloch syndrome (KNO) is an autosomal recessive disorder characterized by high myopia, vitreoretinal degeneration with retinal detachment, and congenital encephalocele. Pathogenic mutations in the COL18A1 gene on 21q22.3 were recently identified in KNO families. Analysis of two unrelated KNO families from Hungary and New Zealand allowed us to confirm the involvement of COL18A1 in the pathogenesis of KNO and to demonstrate the existence of genetic heterogeneity. Two COL18A1 mutations were identified in the Hungarian family: a 1‐bp insertion causing a frameshift and a premature in‐frame stop codon and an amino acid substitution. This missense variant is located in a conserved amino acid of endostatin, a cleavage product of the carboxy‐terminal domain of collagen alpha 1 XVIII. D1437N (D104N in endostatin) likely represents a pathogenic mutation, as we show that the endostatin N104 mutant is impaired in its affinity towards laminin. Linkage to the COL18A1 locus was excluded in the New Zealand family, providing evidence for the existence of a second KNO locus. We named the second unmapped locus for Knobloch syndrome KNO2. Mutation analysis excluded COL15A1, a member of the multiplexin collagen subfamily similar to COL18A1, as being responsible for KNO2. Hum Mutat 23:77–84, 2004. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.

Phanta is a reversibly photoswitching chromoprotein (ΦF, 0.003), useful for pcFRET, that was isolated from a mutagenesis screen of the bright green fluorescent eCGP123 (ΦF, 0.8). We have investigated the contribution of substitutions at positions His193, Thr69 and Gln62, individually and in combination, to the optical properties of Phanta. Single amino acid substitutions at position 193 resulted in proteins with very low ΦF, indicating the importance of this position in controlling the fluorescence efficiency of the variant proteins. The substitution Thr69Val in Phanta was important for supressing the formation of a protonated chromophore species observed in some His193 substituted variants, whereas the substitution Gln62Met did not significantly contribute to the useful optical properties of Phanta. X-ray crystal structures for Phanta (2.3 Å), eCGP123T69V (2.0 Å) and eCGP123H193Q (2.2 Å) in their non-photoswitched state were determined, revealing the presence of a cis-coplanar chromophore. We conclude that changes in the hydrogen-bonding network supporting the cis-chromophore, and its contacts with the surrounding protein matrix, are responsible for the low fluorescence emission of eCGP123 variants containing a His193 substitution.

Introduction Assessment of pulse wave velocity (PWV) is recognized as a marker of arterial stiffness within human medicine. Non-invasive evaluation of arterial structural changes in relation to atherosclerosis in porcine models of cardiovascular disease, would be valuable in longitudinal assessment of pathophysiological changes, e.g. in relation to drug effect. Objective To evaluate the feasibility and reproducibility of PWV in anesthetized male Göttingen minipigs. Method Animals were anesthetized every second day (three days in total) using constant intravenous infusion of ketamine and midazolam. Mean arterial blood pressure (MAP) assessed by oscillometry and heart rate (HR) were registered. PWV was calculated as the distance between the carotid and femoral artery divided by the time delay of pressure pulses, assessed by aplanation tonometry and simultaneously recorded electrocardiography (ECG). Results: MAP was 87.6 mmHg ± 11.9 (mean ± SD), 80.5 mmHg ± 12.7 and 84.3 mmHg ± 19.4 at the three examinations respectively, and HR was 77 beats per minute (BPM) ± 12, 71 BPM ± 8 and 74 BPM ± 9. PWV was 6.3 m/s ± 2.19, 5.7 m/s ± 0.6 and 5.9 m/s ± 1.4, respectively. There was no significant effect of examination day, MAP, or HR on PWV, evaluated by analysis of variance. Mean inter-examination coefficient of variation was 16%. Conclusion: Assessment of PWV is feasible in anesthetized Göttingen minipigs, and therefore could have perspectives in a porcine model of atherosclerosis. Furthermore, reference values from this study corresponded to PWV values obtained from infants or young human individuals.

Rtms5 is an deep blue weakly fluorescent GFP-like protein ([Formula: see text], 592 nm; [Formula: see text], 630nm; Φ(F), 0.004) that contains a (66)Gln-Tyr-Gly chromophore tripeptide sequence. We investigated the optical properties and structure of two variants, Rtms5(Y67F) and Rtms5(Y67F/H146S) in which the tyrosine at position 67 was substituted by a phenylalanine. Compared to the parent proteins the optical spectra for these new variants were significantly blue-shifted. Rtms5(Y67F) spectra were characterised by two absorbing species ([Formula: see text], 440 nm and 513 nm) and green fluorescence emission ([Formula: see text], 440 nm; [Formula: see text], 508 nm; Φ(F), 0.11), whilst Rtms5(Y67F/H146S) spectra were characterised by a single absorbing species ([Formula: see text], 440 nm) and a relatively high fluorescence quantum yield (Φ(F,) 0.75; [Formula: see text], 440 nm; [Formula: see text], 508 nm). The fluorescence emissions of each variant were remarkably stable over a wide range of pH (3-11). These are the first GFP-like proteins with green emissions (500-520 nm) that do not have a tyrosine at position 67. The X-ray crystal structure of each protein was determined to 2.2 Å resolution and showed that the benzylidine ring of the chromophore, similar to the 4-hydroxybenzylidine ring of the Rtms5 parent, is non-coplanar and in the trans conformation. The results of chemical quantum calculations together with the structural data suggested that the 513 nm absorbing species in Rtms5(Y67F) results from an unusual form of the chromophore protonated at the acylimine oxygen. These are the first X-ray crystal structures for fluorescent proteins with a functional chromophore containing a phenylalanine at position 67.

An intertemporal model in which farm capital accumulation and work choices by a single-agent farm household are interdependent is developed and tested using a farm-level data set. Estimation is done using a recursive two-step simultaneous censored equations model. The results of this study are of relevance for an understanding of structural change within the agricultural sector as they point toward the emergence of a dual farming structure and rigidity in off-farm work adjustments. Our findings suggest that off farm income reliance is associated with a farm asset disinvestment strategy, that there is rigidity in off farm income reliance, and that factors explaining farm capital growth indirectly affect the off farm reliance.