A pandemic isolate of Pseudomonas syringae pv. actinidiae biovar 3 (Psa3) has devastated kiwifruit orchards growing cultivars of Actinidia chinensis. In contrast, A.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF- () is an important fungal pathogen of blueberry, causing mummy berry disease. While the symptoms of the advanced stages of the disease can be obvious, diagnosing its early stages can be challenging. To facilitate fast and sensitive screening of asymptomatic or latently infected plant material for , we developed a specific TaqMan real-time PCR assay targeting the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe effects of future land use change on arid and semi-arid watersheds in the American Southwest have important management implications. Seamless, national-scale land-use-change scenarios for developed land were acquired from the US Environmental Protection Agency Integrated Climate and Land Use Scenarios (lCLUS) project and extracted to fit the Northern Rio Grande River Basin, New Mexico relative to projections of housing density for the period from 2000 through 2100. Habitat models developed from the Southwest Regional Gap Analysis Project were invoked to examine changes in wildlife habitat and biodiversity metrics using five ICLUS scenarios.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPseudomonas syringae pv. actinidiae (Psa), the causal agent of kiwifruit canker, is one of the most devastating plant diseases of recent times. We have generated two mini-Tn5-based random insertion libraries of Psa ICMP 18884.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Several studies have suggested that psychosocial variables can increase the risk of becoming injured during sport participation.
Objectives: The main objectives of these meta-analyses were to examine (i) the effect sizes of relationships between the psychosocial variables (suggested as injury predictors in the model of stress and athletic injury) and injury rates, and (ii) the effects of psychological interventions aimed at reducing injury occurrence (prevention).
Methods: Electronic databases as well as specific sport and exercise psychology journals were searched.
For unknown reasons, there is huge variability in risk conferred by different HPV types and, remarkably, strong differences even between closely related variant lineages within each type. HPV16 is a uniquely powerful carcinogenic type, causing approximately half of cervical cancer and most other HPV-related cancers. To permit the large-scale study of HPV genome variability and precancer/cancer, starting with HPV16 and cervical cancer, we developed a high-throughput next-generation sequencing (NGS) whole-genome method.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNull hypothesis significance testing (NHST) is like an immortal horse that some researchers have been trying to beat to death for over 50 years but without any success. In this article we discuss the flaws in NHST, the historical background in relation to both Fisher's and Neyman and Pearson's statistical ideas, the common misunderstandings of what p < .05 actually means, and the 2010 APA publication manual's clear, but most often ignored, instructions to report effect sizes and to interpret what they all mean in the real world.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPseudomonas syringae pv. actinidiae is the causal agent of bacterial canker of kiwifruit, a disease that has rapidly spread worldwide. We have fully sequenced and assembled the chromosomal and plasmid DNA from P.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFConservation of migratory birds requires understanding the distribution of and potential threats to their migratory habitats. However, although migratory birds are protected under international treaties, few maps have been available to represent migration at a landscape scale useful to target conservation efforts or inform the siting of wind energy developments that may affect migratory birds. To fill this gap, we developed models that predict where four groups of birds concentrate or stopover during their migration through the state of Wyoming, USA: raptors, wetland, riparian and sparse grassland birds.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe origins of crop diseases are linked to domestication of plants. Most crops were domesticated centuries--even millennia--ago, thus limiting opportunity to understand the concomitant emergence of disease. Kiwifruit (Actinidia spp.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: 'Candidatus Phytoplasma australiense' is associated with at least nine diseases in Australia and New Zealand. The impact of this phytoplasma is considerable, both economically and environmentally. The genome of a NZ isolate was sequenced in an effort to understand its pathogenicity and ecology.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThere is growing demand for routine identification of actionable mutations in clinical cancer specimens. Genotyping platforms must provide rapid turnaround times and work effectively with limited amounts of formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue specimens that often yield poor quality DNA. We describe semiconductor-based sequencing of DNA from FFPE specimens using a single-tube, multiplexed panel of 190 amplicons targeting 46 cancer genes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPhytoplasma plasmids have generally been detected from DNA extracted from plants and insects using methods designed for the purification of total phytoplasma DNA. Methods include extraction from tissues that are high in phytoplasma titre, such as the phloem of plants, with the use of CsCl-bisbenzimide gradients that exploit the low G+C content of phytoplasma DNA. Many of the methods employed for phytoplasma purification have been described elsewhere in this book.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFABSTRACT The phytoplasma "Candidatus Phytoplasma australiense" has been reported from New Zealand and Australia, where it has been associated with a range of host plants, especially since the 1970s. Partial tuf gene sequences of 36 New Zealand (NZ) isolates from four different host genera revealed nine different variants, which clustered into two distinct groups without any obvious correlation with host or geographic region. Phylogenetic analysis of these sequences, together with those available from Australian isolates, revealed three distinct clades: one found solely in Australia, one found solely in NZ, and a third with representatives from both countries.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMany of the measurements used in sport psychology research are arbitrary metrics, and researchers often cannot make the jump from scores on paper-and-pencil tests to what those scores actually mean in terms of real-world behaviors. Effect sizes for behavioral data are often interpretable, but the meaning of a small, medium, or large effect for an arbitrary metric is elusive. We reviewed all the issues in the 2005 volumes of the Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, The Sport Psychologist, and the Journal of Applied Sport Psychology to determine whether the arbitrary metrics used in sport psychology research were interpreted, or calibrated, against real-world variables.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe purpose of this study was to examine the effects of two psychological interventions designed to reduce injury among dancers by enhancing coping skills. Participants were 35 ballet dancers. They were assigned to three conditions: control (n = 12), autogenic training (n = 12), and a broad-based coping skills condition, including autogenic training, imagery, and self-talk (n = 11).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTwo plasmids from the plant-pathogenic mollicute "Candidatus Phytoplasma australiense" were completely sequenced from two isolates derived from different plant hosts. Plasmid pPAPh2 (3607bp) was obtained from Phormium showing Phormium yellow leaf symptoms and pPASb11 (3635bp) from strawberry showing strawberry lethal yellows symptoms. The plasmids varied in their copy number and nucleotide sequence yet contained the same four open reading frames (ORFs).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe developed the SNPlex Genotyping System to address the need for accurate genotyping data, high sample throughput, study design flexibility, and cost efficiency. The system uses oligonucleotide ligation/polymerase chain reaction and capillary electrophoresis to analyze bi-allelic single nucleotide polymorphism genotypes. It is well suited for single nucleotide polymorphism genotyping efforts in which throughput and cost efficiency are essential.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA novel microRNA (miRNA) quantification method has been developed using stem-loop RT followed by TaqMan PCR analysis. Stem-loop RT primers are better than conventional ones in terms of RT efficiency and specificity. TaqMan miRNA assays are specific for mature miRNAs and discriminate among related miRNAs that differ by as little as one nucleotide.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis study was a pilot project to explore the effect of an autogenic training program (AT; a relaxation intervention) on the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and well-being for people with multiple sclerosis. Participants either met weekly for sessions in AT for 10 weeks (n = 11) or were assigned to the control group (n = 11). The AT group was also asked to practice the technique daily at home.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To evaluate the efficacy of trap-neuter-return and trap-euthanatize management strategies for controlling urban free-roaming cat populations by use of matrix population models.
Design: Prospective study.
Sample Population: Estimates of free-roaming cat populations in urban environments.
Spatial decision-support tools are necessary for assessment and management of threats to biodiversity, which in turn is necessary for biodiversity conservation. In conjunction with the U.S.
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