Yellow pigment (YP) concentration is an important quality trait in durum wheat (<i>Triticum turgidum</i> L. var <i>durum</i>) and is comprised primarily of carotenoids. The main objective of our study was to measure the accumulation of carotenoids during the grain fill period to improve our understanding of the physiological basis for differences among durum wheat cultivars. Thirteen cultivars and breeding genotypes with large variation in total YP concentration (<6 µg g-1 to >15 µg g-1) were studied. Spikes were sampled from replicated field plots in 2007 and 2008 near Saskatoon and Swift Current, Saskatchewan, Canada, at 14, 21, 28 and 35 days after heading (DAH). The remainder of each plot was combined at grain maturity for YP and carotenoid analysis. Carotenoids were extracted with 1:1 methanol:dichloromethane (0.1% BHT) and quantified with HPLC. <i>Trans</i> (E)-lutein was the predominant carotenoid at maturity and was detected at 14 DAH in all genotypes. The rate and duration of E-lutein accumulation was variable among genotypes expressing high, intermediate and low YP. The accumulation of all carotenoids was lowest in genotypes expressing low YP, and suggests rate limitations early in the carotenoid biosynthetic pathway. E-zeaxanthin concentrations were highest in mature grain, but no significant differences were detected among genotypes. However, the ratio of E-zeaxanthin to E-lutein was inversely correlated with total YP, suggesting that the â,å branch of lycopene cyclization is favoured over the â,â branch in high-YP genotypes. These results provide insights to the regulation of the carotenoid biosynthetic pathway during grain fill stage in durum wheat and will facilitate breeding for higher carotenoid concentration.

A phytochemical investigation on methanolic extract of roots of yellow rose led to the isolation of a catechin gallate. The crude extract first underwent fractionation using petroleum ether, chloroform, ethylacetate, butanol with water as solvents in their respective order. The emerging solvent fractions were subjected to further separation using lipophilic sephadex (LH-20), and silica gel column chromatography to isolate pure compounds. Analytical thin layer chromatography (TLC) was used to confirm the presence of a catechin in butanol fraction. Purified catechin compound was subjected to 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) experiment to determine its Radical Scavenging Capacity, which was found quite promising. Chemical structure of purified compound was established by using Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) and Mass Spectrometry (MS) experiments.

Diverse sociology theoretical constructs serve as the lens to examine the evolution of two popular symbols of US culture in the last 20 years: yellow ribbons displayed as decoration and awareness ribbons worn as personal accoutrement. This research was motivated by society's weakened state of "collective consciousness," whereby shared beliefs and values have declined and some have completely disappeared, and sought to determine whether symbols will survive in a culture without commitment to the social. Invoking Christopher Lasch's Culture of Narcissism, Jean Baudrillard's Simulacra and Simulation, David Riesman's theory of other-directedness from The Lonely Crowd, and Stjepan Mestrovic's Postemotional Society, this work examined the significance of public displays of ribbons (whether on animate or inanimate objects), theorized why certain diseases and social causes "earned" their awareness ribbons and others did not, and demonstrated that these ribbons have served as multivalent symbols to accommodate our culture in a postmodern world. These symbols have not maintained their unifying function and now serve at the whim of the individual participant or observer. Ultimately, the act of wearing or displaying awareness ribbons and yellow ribbons, like so many other symbols, has been severed from the idea and is a freefloating, simulacrum to be used in whatever mode our postmodern, postemotional society requires.

The rise or the decline of a country, the development of the international community will be deeply involved in, especially to the greet powers, his deportments which everybody points an accusing finger at are enough to all the changes in international relations. Chinese rapidly economic growth and rising military power, causing global concerns about the rise of China having led to ¡¨China¡¦s rise¡¨, the issues have become multi-focus on academic field and international relations / politics discussed by the multiplicity. Applied the historical method to the thesis and in addition to the comparative method on the collection of documents so as to analyze it .The following conclusion based on the experience of the Chinese history whether the Han people or the peoples of non-Han established the dynasty, it is impossible to rise the country strength peacefully. Neither did the consolidating the great country position at peace. Not to mention, it is kind of the defeated country peacefully. Under the dual influences of the Economic Globalization and the reform opening-up economic policy, it let China hide his light under a bushel to rapidly economic growth, though the country was called Celestial Kingdom, and return the Great Power status again. The rapid economic rise of China threats to all the other countries in the world because it had carried out non-democratic institutions, encroached the human rights, and threatened to security in the Taiwan Strait to unable to trust the democratic countries which were worried. For it adhered to the leadership of the Communist party of China and sustained development of China¡¦s military, after all, the war might be due to its non-compliance with the international order. In fact, the ¡§Peaceful rise ¡¨put forward the following functions: First, the ¡§ rise ¡¨of it is accountable the its people to raise so called, ¡¨our-group consciousness ¡¨as a slogan, a kind of propaganda. Secondly, it is subject to the international environmental situations and the product of its domestic political struggle power, attempts to recapture the hegemony in order to establish ¡§China-centrism ¡¨by mutual confrontation with ¡§Western centrism ¡¨to fight it out. Third, its peace responses to the ¡§China Threat ¡¨by eliminating the phobia and worrier and reflect the fear of China to the West almost being simultaneous with it in fact. In a word, China¡¦s¡§ Peaceful rise ¡¨is attempt to hold their own ¡§point of view of sovereignty ¡¨to improve its state image.

Mechanical unfolding of -1 frameshift signals such as RNA pseudoknots have aimed to test the hypothesis that the stability of the pseudoknot is directly correlated to the frameshifting efficiency. Here we report unfolding of the Beet Western Yellow Virus (BWYV) pseudoknot by optical tweezers experiments complemented by computer simulations using steered molecular dynamics (SMD). Seven pseudoknot scenarios were studied: the wild-type pseudoknot in the presence and absence of Mg<super>2+</super>, the wild-type pseudoknot at high pH (deprotonated C8), and C8U, C8A, A24G, G19U, and G19UC mutant constructs. The mutants were selected to probe three key structural features of the BWYV pseudoknot, a triple-stranded helix at the base of stem 1, the stem junction region of stem 1 and stem 2, and a unique quadruple base-pair interaction involving a protonated cytosine in position 8 (C8). These regions are thought to control ribosomal frameshifting by different strategies such as thermodynamic stability, kinetic influences, and dynamics involving contacts with the ribosome. In addition, the mutants have been shown to either abolish frameshifting ability of the pseudoknot (C8 mutant cases and A24G), or actually increase the frameshifting efficiency (as seen with G19U and G19UC). We find three major conclusions from the stretching of the pseudoknot constructs with optical tweezers. First, stretching in the absence of Mg<super>2+</super> results in no observed unfolding transitions. We interpret this to mean that magnesium is indispensible for the stable folding of the pseudoknot. Second, we found that frameshifting efficiency is not correlated with the force required to unfold the pseudoknots. However, we observe the unfolding of stem 1 in all of the pseudoknots stretched, where stem 2 unfolding is below our noise level. For this reason, we cannot rule out the possibility that an estimate of the thermodynamic stability of the entire pseudoknot would correlate with frameshifting efficiency. And third, we found that each pseudoknot mutant that resulted in reduced frameshifting efficiency also exhibited more off-equilibrium unfolding transitions that the wild-type pseudoknot under comparable loading rates. We conclude from these studies that the resistance of a pseudoknot to unfolding is controlled by both thermodynamic and kinetic parameters. We then suggest new technologies that would allow for greater resolution in order to correlate pseudoknot unfolding behavior with -1 programmed ribosomal frameshifting events.

No description available.

No description available.

In this thesis my initial goal was to use yellow warblers to examine the effect of paternal care on female mate choice. I first examined whether mate choice based on paternal care could be considered adaptive. Paternal care was variable among males and important to female fitness, but, contrary to a previous report, male chest striping could not be used to predict paternal care. Females did not compensate for reductions of male parental care, which resulted in significantly reduced nestling growth. In chapter two I tested the idea that monogamy in birds is maintained because of the need for biparental care. I reduced the need of strict biparental care by providing pairs at some nests with supplemental food, and found that the main effect of supplemental food was on maternal, not paternal behaviour. The first two chapters suggest that males and females provide for their brood independently from each other, which is in disagreement with current models on the maintenance of biparental care. These models assume that any given factor must affect maternal and paternal care equally for biparental care to be maintained. In Chapter three I showed that the effects of brood size and nestling age on parental care are similar for both sexes. In Chapter four I deal with age-related changes in reproductive success and the possible effects on female mate choice. Age affected the likelihood of breeding in females, but only the time of breeding in males. These changes were accompanied by age-related increases in size in both sexes. These results raise the possibility of age-related increases in parental ability, and female preference for older males.

Age, growth, and abundance data were collected on yellow perch, Perca fla vescen, in Indiana waters of Lake Michigan in 1987 and 1988. The data collected were compared to data on yellow perch in Indiana waters of Lake Michigan dating back to 1975.Changes in growth, mortality, and abundance between 1975 and 1988 were clearly illustrated by the data. Growth has decreased; back-calculation indicates that "quality" (> 200 mm) perch in 1975 were about age II, however, "quality" perch in 1988 were over age V. Annual mortality values produced from following a cohort or comparing age classes indicate that mortality has decreased since 1981, most sharply in 1987 and 1988. Changes in growth and mortality are likely resultant of large changes in abundance. Indices of abundance (biomass and catch-per-uniteffort) reveal that the yellow perch population has become much more dense in the late 1980's than the 1970's and early 1980's. The percentage of quality perch has decreased, however, the abundance of quality perch has increased and peaked in 1988. / Department of Biology

The relationship between yellow perch Perca flavescens abundance and growth rates were evaluated in the Indiana waters of Lake Michigan from 1984 to 2004. Relative abundance values were taken from trawl catch per unit effort (CPUE), while growth rates were determined by back-calculation. Abundance CPUE during the mid 1980's, was approximately one order of magnitude higher when compared to the 1990 to 2004 period. Growth rates were inversely related to relative abundance and were sexually dimorphic, with females growing faster than males. Regression analysis indicated approximately half of this observed variation in growth was due to abundance, and was most apparent with the smaller and younger fish. Both intraspecific competition and physiological changes associated with maturity are plausible explanations for the relationship. / Department of Biology