Agriculture is a crucial component of the economy of Texas with millions of pounds of peanuts, cotton, wheat, and corn produced annually. However, Texas agricultural crops are not exempt from pathogens, especially Sclerotinia minor Jagger, which was introduced into Texas approximately 25 years ago. A dramatic increase in S. minor disease incidence in the High Plains of Texas during 2004 provided the basis for this study of the pathogen populations in Texas. To characterize the S. minor populations in Texas, aggressiveness and fungicide sensitivity assays were conducted to assess phenotypic characteristics as well as the use of five microsatellite markers to genotypically characterize the pathogen. A large diversity among the populations was found for the phenotypic characteristics; however, there was no evidence that a genotypically unique, highly aggressive, and fungicide resistant "super pathogen" had been introduced or evolved. The populations of S. minor in Texas were moderately aggressive (26.15% of infected tissue), but there were also isolates found that have the inability to infect peanuts (less than 3% of infected tissue) as well as highly aggressive pathogens with theAll fungicides tested were effective in limiting the growth of the pathogen; however, there were significant differences in the effectiveness of the fungicides. Thiophanate-methyl and dichloran were the least effective fungicides in inhibiting the growth of S. minor while boscalid, iprodione, and fluazinam were the best. Fluazinam exerted the most lasting suppressive effect on pathogen. A positive correlation between aggressiveness and fungicide sensitivity to fluazinam and boscalid was found; therefore, no ecological tradeoff was found when increasing these two phenotypic characteristics. Whereas extensive genotypic diversity (50 unique genotypes) was found in Texas, the predominate pathogen was a clone. Genotype TX1 was a clone that accounted for more than 48% of genotypes in Texas populations, identified in all of the sampled counties. The index of association demonstrated that there was a lack of gene flow occurring in the S. minor populations, therefore confirming that the pathogen reproduced primarily through mycelogenic germination. ability to infect more an 55% of the leaflet surface.

The Mission Accessible Near-Earth Objects Survey aims to physically characterize sub-km near-Earth objects (NEOs). We report the first photometric results from the survey that began in 2013 August. Photometric observations were performed using 1-4 m class telescopes around the world. We present rotational periods and light curve amplitudes for 86 sub-km NEOs, though in some cases only lower limits are provided. Our main goal is to obtain light curves for small NEOs (typically, sub-km objects) and estimate their rotational periods, light curve amplitudes, and shapes. These properties are used for a statistical study to constrain overall properties of the NEO population. A weak correlation seems to indicate that smaller objects are more spherical than larger ones. We also report seven NEOs that are fully characterized (light curve and visible spectra) as the most suitable candidates for a future human or robotic mission. Viable mission targets are objects fully characterized, with Delta v(NHATS) <= 12 km s(-1), and a rotational period P > 1 hr. Assuming a similar rate of object characterization as reported in this paper, approximately 1230 NEOs need to be characterized in order to find 100 viable mission targets.

In order to search for evidence of hydration on M-type asteroid (16) Psyche, we observed this object in the 3 mu m spectral region using the long-wavelength cross-dispersed (LXD: 1.9-4.2 mu m) mode of the SpeX spectrograph/imager at the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility. Our observations show that Psyche exhibits a 3 mu m absorption feature, attributed to water or hydroxyl. The 3 m absorption feature is consistent with the hydration features found on the surfaces of water-rich asteroids, attributed to OH- and/or H2O-bearing phases (phyllosilicates). The detection of a 3 mu m hydration absorption band on Psyche suggests that this asteroid may not be a. metallic core, or it could be a metallic core that has been impacted by carbonaceous material over the past 4.5 Gyr. Our results also indicate rotational spectral variations, which we suggest reflect heterogeneity in the metal/silicate ratio on the surface of Psyche.

Det finns idag två olika sorters ingenjörkompanier, hjulgående och bandgående. Skillnaderna mellan dessa är minimala sett till organisationen, men stora sett till terrängframkomligheten. Kravet är dock det samma vad avser möjligheterna att minera. Trots avvecklade hjälpmedel står kravet fast vid att ingenjörkompanierna skall kunna minera 300 nedgrävda alternativt 600 ytlagda stridsvagnsminor per timme. Detta oaktat tid på dygnet, i alla svenska klimat samt oavsett vilken terräng. Syftet med uppsatsen är att se om ingenjörkompanierna har möjlighet att nå upp till kravet vad avser minering, kopplat mot den materiel som finns på förbanden. Sammanfattningsvis går det att se att kravet som finns ställt på förbanden saknar ramverk, vilket gör att kravet går att tolka på flertalet olika sätt. Det går även att konstatera att det finns flertalet scenarion där kravet inte uppfylls, samt att oaktat scenario är förmågan skydd starkt eftersatt. Kravet tar inte hänsyn till vilken plattform ingenjörkompanierna nyttjar sig av, vilket medför att i terräng där pansarterrängbilar inte kan köra, kan kravet inte heller uppnås, sett till förmågan att frakta materiel.

Thesis (M.A.)--Rowan University, 2006. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references.

Dwarf planet Ceres (empty set similar to 940 km) is the largest object in the main asteroid belt. Investigations suggest that Ceres is a thermally evolved, volatile-rich body with potential geological activity, a body that was never completely molten, but one that possibly partially differentiated into a rocky core and an ice-rich mantle, and may contain remnant internal liquid water. Thermal alteration and the infall of exogenic material contribute to producing a (dark) carbonaceous chondritic-like surface containing ammoniated phyllosilicates. Here we report imaging and spectroscopic analyses of data on the bright Oxo crater derived from the Framing Camera and the Visible and Infrared Spectrometer on board the Dawn spacecraft. We confirm that the transitional complex crater Oxo (empty set similar to 9 km) exhibits exposed surface water-ice. We show that this water-ice-rich material is associated exclusively with two lobate deposits at pole-facing scarps, deposits that also contain carbonates and admixed phyllosilicates. Due to Oxo's location at -4802 m below the cerean reference ellipsoid and its very young age of only 190 ka (1 sigma: +100 ka, -70 ka), Oxo is predestined for ongoing water-ice sublimation.

No description available.

This thesis seeks to provide a new translation of Lucian's De Dea Syria, and a discussion of the cult at Hierapolis. The translation is intended to be a clear and simple rendition of the text. The location of Hierapolis, the city Lucian describes, in northern Syria makes it possible for the cult to be derived either from Asia Minor or from Syria. The discoveries of Ras Shamra, however, have provided a picture of a fertility cult of the second millennium B.C., and Hierapolis seems to exhibit a later version of this religious pattern. First of all, the names of the chief deities, Atargatis and Hadad, reflect a Syrian origin since both are Semitic. Second, the myths that Lucian relates of the Flood and of Stratonike and Kombabos also seem to derive from a Syrian or Mesopotamian background. Finally, the rites practised there fit in with the fertility cult of Syria satisfactorily. The possibility of influence from Asia Minor, especially in later times, must always be considered, however, and the presence of the Galli at Hierapolis, as well as some of the structure of the spring feast, may be a result of influence from there. In the main, however, the cult seems basically Syrian, and there seems no need to search for a non-Syrian origin. / Arts, Faculty of / Classical, Near Eastern and Religious Studies, Department of / Graduate

Hydra is a simple freshwater solitary polyp used as a model system to study evolutionary aspects. The immune response of this organism has not been studied extensively and the immune response genes have not been identified and characterized. On the other hand, immune response has been investigated and genetic analysis has been initiated in other lower invertebrates. In the present study we took initiative to study the self/nonself recognition in hydra and its relation to the immune response. Moreover, performing phylogenetic analysis to look for annotated immune genes in hydra gave us a potential to analyze the expression of minor histocompatibility genes that have been shown to play a major role in grafting and transplantation in mammals. Here we obtained the cDNA library that shows expression of minor histocompatibility genes and confirmed that the annotated sequences in databases are actually present. In addition, grafting experiments suggested, although still preliminary, that homograft showed less rejection response than in heterograft. Involvement of possible minor histocompatibility gene orthologous in immune response was examined by qPCR.

Let K be a class of finite graphs and F = {F1, F2, ..., Fm} be a set of finite graphs. Then, K is said to have finite-duality if there exists a graph U in K such that for any graph G in K, G is homomorphic to U if and only if Fi is not homomorphic to G, for all i = 1, 2, ..., m. Nešetřil asked in [J. Nešetřil, Homonolo Combinatorics Workshop, Nova Louka, Czech Rep., (2003)] if non-trivial examples can be found. In this note, we answer this positively by showing classes containing arbitrary long anti-chains and yet having the finite-duality property.