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Abstract Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, the causal agent of white mould, is a necrotrophic fungal pathogen responsible for extensive crop loss. Current control options rely heavily on the application of chemical fungicides that are becoming less effective and may lead to the development of fungal resistance. In the current study, we used a foliar application of boron to protect Brassica napus (canola) from S. sclerotiorum infection using whole-plant infection assays. Application of boron to aerial surfaces of the canola plant reduced the number of S. sclerotiorum-forming lesions by 87 % compared to an untreated control. Dual RNA sequencing revealed the effect of boron on both the host plant and fungal pathogen during the infection process. Differential gene expression analysis and gene ontology term enrichment further revealed the mode of action of a foliar boron spray at the mRNA level. A single foliar application of boron primed the plant defence response through the induction of genes associated with systemic acquired resistance while an application of boron followed by S. sclerotiorum infection-induced genes associated with defence response-related cellular signalling cascades. Additionally, in S. sclerotiorum inoculated on boron-treated B. napus, we uncovered gene activity in response to salicylic acid breakdown, consistent with salicylic acid-dependent systemic acquired resistance induction within the host plant. Taken together, this study demonstrates that a foliar application of boron results in priming of the B. napus plant defence response, likely through systemic acquired resistance, thereby contributing to increased tolerance to S. sclerotiorum infection. Sclerotinia sclerotiorum , the causative agent of white mould, is one of the top pathogens of Brassica napus , responsible for extensive losses in crop yield. In this study, we investigated the use of foliar-applied boron as a crop protection tool. RNA sequencing revealed that boron is capable of protecting B. napus likely through both direct antagonism with S. sclerotiorum , in addition to priming the plant defence response. Additional studies into the use of foliar-applied boron in the field may result in alternative tools for growers to help protect crop species from fungal pathogens.

Drought stress negatively impacts the health of long-lived trees. Understanding the genetic mechanisms that underpin response to drought stress is requisite for selecting or enhancing climate change resilience. We aimed to determine how hybrid poplars respond to prolonged and uniform exposure to drought; how responses to moderate and more severe growth-limiting drought stresses differed; and how drought responses change throughout the day. We established hybrid poplar trees (Populus × ‘Okanese’) from unrooted stem cutting with abundant soil moisture for 6 weeks. We then withheld water to establish well-watered, moderate and severe growth-limiting drought conditions. These conditions were maintained for 3 weeks during which growth was monitored. We then measured photosynthetic rates and transcriptomes of leaves that had developed during the drought treatments at two times of day. The moderate and severe drought treatments elicited distinct changes in growth and development, photosynthetic rates and global transcriptome profiles. Notably, the time of day of sampling produced the strongest effect in the transcriptome data. The moderate drought treatment elicited global transcriptome changes that were intermediate to the severe and well-watered treatments in the early evening but did not elicit a strong drought response in the morning. Stable drought conditions that are sufficient to limit plant growth elicit distinct transcriptional profiles depending on the degree of water limitation and on the time of day at which they are measured. There appears to be a limited number of genes and functional gene categories that are responsive to all of the tested drought conditions in this study emphasizing the complex nature of drought regulation in long-lived trees.

The land is where Inuit knowledge transfer has taken place for generations. Land-based programs for learning and healing have been increasingly initiated across Inuit Nunangat in support of Inuit knowledge transfer that was disrupted by colonial settlement policies and imposed governance systems. We worked with Elders in Uqšuqtuuq (Gjoa Haven, Nunavut) to develop a project to understand the connections between caribou and community well-being. They emphasized that Elder–youth land camps are the most effective means for Elders to share their knowledge, for youth to learn, and for researchers to engage in respectful research. We used the Qaggiq Model for Inuktut knowledge renewal as a guiding framework, and we followed the direction of a land camp planning committee to plan, facilitate, and follow-up on three land camps (2011–2013). The Qaggiq Model also outlines the Qaggiq Dialogue as a way of engaging in relational accountability according to Inuit context and values. In this paper, we reflect on the complexities of upholding relational accountability in cross-cultural research — as part of entering into a Qaggiq Dialogue — with particular emphasis on local leadership, ethics and safety, experiential learning, and continuity. Our intention is to help others evaluate the opportunities and limitations of land camps for their own community context and research questions. Inuit tama’nganituqaq ilihaivalau’mata nunamii’lutik. Ublumiuřuq Inuit nunaa’ni humituinnaq nunami ilihainahualiqpaktut nunamiinirmik, inuuhirmi’nik i&uaqhinahuaq&-utiglu qauřimanirmi’nik tunihinahuaq&utik nutaqqami’nut qablunaaqaliraluaqti’lugu Inuktut ilihattiaruiralua’mata. Qauřihaqtit taapkuat hanaqatiqaq&utik inutuqarnik Uqšuqtuurmiutarnik Nunavummi, nalunaiqhittiarahuaq&utik tuktut inuuhuqattiarutauni-ngi’nik, inutuqallu nunami katiqatigiiquři’lutik i&uarniqšaittuu’mat: inutuqarnut ta’na ilihaqtami’nik ilihaijuma’lutik, inuuhuktullu ilihattiatqiřaujungna’mataguuq, qauřihaqtillu ta’na qauřihattiatqijaujungna’mata atuutiqaqtunik inungnut. Atuqtut malik&utik qařginnguarmik pivaallirutaunahuaqtumik atuqtauvaktumik atu’magit, malik&utiglu katimařiralaat inuit pitquřai’nik, pingahuiqtiq&utik nunami katiqatigiingniqaralua’mata ukiut 2011-mit 2013-mut. Taamnalu qařginnguaq atuqtauvaktuq titiraqtauhimařuq nalunaiqhihima’mat iluani qanuq qapblunaat pittiarahuarniqšaujungnariakšaita qauřihaqti’lugit inuit pitquhiagut i&uatqiřauřumik. Tařvani titiraqtut unipkaaq&utik ilaagut atqunarnia’nik pittiarahuaq&utik ilitquhiqaqatigiinngiti’lugit – inuuqatigiigahuaq&utik qařgiqaqatigiiktutut ukunanik atuutikhaqarahuaq&utik hanařut: taamna qauřiharniq inungnit aulatau’luni, pittiarnirlu qanurinnginnirlu ihumagiřauřut, nunami ilihaq&utik, kajuhiinnarungnaqtumik aturahuaq&utik atuutiqaqtunik inungnut. Qauřihaqtit tařvani unipkaaqtut atuqtami’nik ikajurniqaqu’lugu ahiinut nunami ilihaqtittinahuaqtunut ima’natut hanalutik, atuutiqattiarnia’niglu atqunarnarnia’niglu ilaagut, ahiit na’miniq hanajumagutik nunami’ni qauřihaqrumagutik ima’natut pijungna’mata.

The Indian leafwing butterfly Kallima paralekta (Horsfield, 1829) (Nymphalidae) is an Asian forest-dwelling, leaf-mimic. Genome skimming by Illumina sequencing permitted assembly of a complete circular mitogenome of 15,200 bp from K. paralekta consisting of 79.5% AT nucleotides, 22 tRNAs, 13 protein-coding genes, two rRNAs and a control region in the typical butterfly gene order. Kallima paralekta COX1 features an atypical CGA start codon, while ATP6, COX1, COX2, ND4, ND4L, and ND5 exhibit incomplete stop codons completed by 3' A residues added to the mRNA. Phylogenetic reconstruction places K. paraleckta within the monophyletic genus Kallima, sister to Mallika in the subfamily Nymphalinae. These data support the monophyly of tribe Kallimini and contribute to the evolutionary systematics of the Nymphalidae.

Speech signals encode information across multiple, often overlapping, scales in time. I argue that, by designing acoustic models faithful to that multi-scale encoding, speech recognition accuracy can sometimes be improved. I do so by partitioning the acoustic model into a three-component pipeline and design interventions for each. In the first stage, feature extraction, the acoustic model transforms an audio signal into a filter-bank representation. We modify the traditional recipe, experimenting with different filters with better resolution in both frequency and scale. We also rearrange the spectral windowing equation to capture overlapping temporal information with higher resolution. With these modifications, we find significant gains in phone recognition performance on already-competitive models. For the second stage in which machine learning takes place, we propose a novel neural layer which is scale equivariant, similar to how a convolutional layer is shift equivariant. We pit those layers against one another in a phone recognition task and find that, although the former does outperform the latter, it uses twice the parameters to do so. When fixing the number of parameters, performance is commensurate between models. In the final stage, the acoustic model must transduce the learned representation into a transcription. We design a statistical framework for transducing time series events compatible with multi-scale phenomena by modelling event locations and types separately. Determining that marginalizing out locations as a latent variable would be combinatorically infeasible in its full generality, we propose either making simplifying assumptions until computation is tractable or performing stochastic estimation. We offer algorithms for stochastic estimation with nicer theoretical properties and better empirical performance (in terms of phone recognition) than some of the prior techniques we generalize.

Qikiqtaq (King William Island), in the Kitikmeot region of Nunavut, has been largely overlooked in caribou research to date. Qikiqtaq is shown as blank, or as having uncertain status, in the majority of caribou herd range maps. However, our work with Inuit Elders and hunters in Uqsuqtuuq (Gjoa Haven) on the southeastern coast of Qikiqtaq made it clear that caribou migrate on and off the island seasonally, and some remain on the island year-round. Caribou were identified as a local research priority in 2010, and we have worked together with Uqsuqtuurmiut (people of Uqsuqtuuq) from 2011 to 2016 to document and share Uqsuqtuurmiut knowledge of caribou movements, hunting, and habitat, as well as the importance of caribou for community diets, livelihoods, and cultural practices. In this process, it was important to understand appropriate Inuktitut terminology and local approaches to naming and distinguishing caribou in the region. Uqsuqtuurmiut do not generally distinguish caribou (tuktuit in Inuktitut) according to herds, in the way that biologists or wildlife managers do. Locally, people differentiate four main types of caribou: iluiliup tuktuit (inland caribou), kingailaup tuktuit (island caribou), qungniit (reindeer), and a mixture of iluiliup tuktuit and kingailaup tuktuit. Through these names, along with reviewing approaches to naming and distinguishing caribou in other Kitikmeot and Kivalliq communities, we emphasize how Inuit-caribou connections are articulated and enacted through language, place, and homeland. In efforts to support more inclusive and meaningful incorporation of Inuit knowledge in caribou co-management, we suggest that careful consideration of Inuit approaches to naming and distinguishing caribou could aid communication and mutual understanding. Key considerations that emerged include (1) accounting for dialectical differences, (2) understanding relative geographic references, and (3) recognizing historical and contemporary influences of traditional homelands and societies on terminology used. These considerations have potential implications for identifying and discussing caribou, as well as for new or refined approaches to monitoring caribou herds and habitats, since these approaches are often the result of how herds are defined. Jusqu'à présent, les recherches sur le caribou ont largement fait abstraction de l'île Qikiqtaq (île du Roi-Guillaume), dans la région de Kitikmeot, au Nunavut. La majorité des cartes montrant l'aire de répartition du caribou laissent l'île Qikiqtaq en blanc, ou indiquent que son statut est incertain. Toutefois, notre travail auprès d'aînés et de chasseurs inuits à Uqsuqtuuq (Gjoa Haven) sur la côte sud-est de Qikiqtaq a bien prouvé que les caribous migrent sur l'île et en repartent de façon saisonnière, et que certains restent sur l'île toute l'année. Le caribou a été décrété comme sujet de recherche prioritaire à l'échelle locale en 2010, et de 2011 à 2016, nous avons travaillé en collaboration avec les Uqsuqtuurmiut (le peuple d'Uqsuqtuuq) pour documenter et partager les connaissances des Uqsuqtuurmiut sur les déplacements, la chasse et l'habitat des caribous, ainsi que l'importance du caribou pour le régime alimentaire des gens, les moyens de subsistance et les pratiques culturelles. Dans le cadre de ce processus, il était important de comprendre la terminologie appropriée en inuktitut et les approches locales prises pour nommer et distinguer les espèces de caribous de la région. Les Uqsuqtuurmiut ne distinguent généralement pas le caribou (tuktuit en inuktitut) par hardes, comme le font les biologistes ou les gestionnaires de la faune. À l'échelle locale, les gens distinguent quatre principaux types de caribous : le caribou des terres intérieures (iluiliup tuktuit), le caribou des îles (kingailaup tuktuit), le renne (qungniit) et un mélange d'iluiliup tuktuit et de kingailaup tuktuit. En ayant recours à ces noms, ainsi qu'en revoyant les approches employées pour nommer et distinguer le caribou dans les autres collectivités de Kitikmeot et de Kivalliq, nous mettons l'accent sur la façon dont les relations entre les Inuit et les caribous se manifestent et sont exprimées selon la langue, l'endroit et la patrie. Dans le but d'appuyer l'intégration plus inclusive et significative des connaissances des Inuit aux fins de la cogestion du caribou, nous croyons qu'un examen attentif des approches utilisées par les Inuit pour nommer et distinguer les caribous pourrait faciliter la communication et la compréhension mutuelle. Les principales considérations qui en découlent sont : 1) la prise en compte des différences de dialecte, 2) la compréhension des références géographiques relatives et 3) la reconnaissance des influences historiques et contemporaines des patries et sociétés traditionnelles sur la terminologie employée. Ces considérations ont des répercussions potentielles sur l'identification du caribou et les discussions à leur sujet, ainsi que sur l'établissement d'approches nouvelles et plus perfectionnées pour surveiller les hardes et les habitats de caribous, puisque ces approches sont souvent le résultat de la façon dont les hardes sont définies.

Caribou (tuktuit) are embedded in northern life, and have been part of Inuit culture and seasonal rounds for generations. In Inuit Nunangat (Inuit homelands), tuktuit are the most prevalent of country foods consumed, and remain interconnected with Inuit values, beliefs and practices. Despite co-management mandates to consider Inuit and scientific knowledge equally, the intertwined colonial legacies of research and wildlife management render this challenging. In Uqsuqtuuq (Gjoa Haven, Nunavut), community members identified the importance of documenting Inuit knowledge in order to be taken more seriously by researchers and government managers. To address this priority we worked with Uqsuqtuurmiut (people of Uqsuqtuuq) to articulate which types of tuktuit are found on or near Qikiqtaq (King William Island), provide a historical perspective of tuktuit presence/absence in the region, and describe seasonal movements of tuktuit on and off the island. In reflecting on potential intersections of our work with the Government of Nunavut strategy “Working Together for Caribou”, we identify several considerations in support of Qanuqtuurniq (information and knowledge acquisition): defining information needs, recognising and valuing Inuit knowledge, and developing and implementing credible research. By sharing lessons from our collaborative process we aim to contribute to broader cross-cultural research and co-management efforts in Nunavut.

US bias crime jurisprudence follows the discrimination model and ejects \"hate\" from scrutiny. It is suggestive of improvements that should be made to Canadian law insofar as it also better tracks the enactment of discrimination against difference occasioned in the everyday. Criminal law, however, remains weak at preventing crime. And where the law requires evidence of discrimination, it iterates the stereotypes and social backdrop of hate crime. But this view on law and culture underestimates how outgroups may produce countermeanings and influence the law. Turning to the more material basis of identity, neoconservatism has given the law a broad ambit whereby coercion as opposed to investment in human capacities is promoted as the means to social order. Where scholars argue that discursive collaboration with retributionist policy requires outgroups to pursue cultural revalorization, given the decreasing freedom under the contemporary authoritarian paradigm, I argue that they must also pursue distributional justice.

Research seeking to understand the various practices of meditation has expanded greatly in frequency and quality in the past century. Many have documented the effects of secular and eastern forms of meditation on psychopathology, well-being, executive functioning, and physiological changes of brainwaves, heart rate variability, and stress reduction (Cahn & Polich, 2006; Kok et al., 2013; Newberg et al., 2010). However, few have attempted to understand meditation in a Christian context. This study seeks to delineate the effects of a Christian form of meditation, known as Centering Prayer, on novice, college undergraduate practitioners as compared to non-practicing peers in areas of subjective reports of mood, well-being, and spirituality, as well as physiological measures of brain waves, heart rate, and skin response (sweat). Results suggest Centering Prayer enacts similar mechanisms as other secular and religious meditative practices that improve phenomenological awareness and attentional concentration. These effects were experienced from more embodied, nonconscious mechanisms found in our nervous system than our subjective awareness. However, due to the limitations of the study design, small sample, and measurement difficulties, more research is need to more confidently understand just how the subjective psychological perspective perceives the brain, heart, and skin responses to regular practice of Christian contemplation. Future research will also seek to imbed this knowledge about Centering Prayer within the social, spiritual, and religious contexts to help the future practice of Christian meditation.