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The aim of the research was to assess the trend and variations in rainfall and temperature in Papua New Guinea between 1956 and 2016 (60 years) and project the trends from 2017 to 2047 (30 years). Meteorological data obtained from the World Bank Climate Database Headquarters in Washington, United States, from 1956 to 2016 were used in the models. The general linear model analysis was used to investigate the trend in both rainfall and temperature and to predict the future trends. Over the period of study period, 1956 to 2016, the study found that the climatic factors, rainfall and temperature pattern in Papua New Guinea have been changing. It was found that there is an increasing trend in rainfall and temperature. Projections revealed a further increase in rainfall and temperature into the future. Rainfall in Papua New Guinea has been increasing. The projection revealed that rainfall was trending upward with a linear model equation: Rainfall = 0.0093x + 252.38. The increased trend in rainfall suggests that there is an increased trend in evaporation and transpiration. For temperature, although it does not come down to zero and to negative at nights or go up to 40°C or 50°C during the day time as in other countries, the change is clear in the analysis made in the study that there is an increasing trend. If nothing is done to combat the current rate of climate change in the country, the increasing trend in rainfall and temperature would continue. This calls for immediate actions as the issue needs to be addressed in time. Therefore, it is recommended that the government of Papua New Guinea consider incorporating climate change policies into their development plans.

Generating comprehensive image maps, while preserving spatial three-dimensional (3D) context, is essential in order to locate and assess quantitatively specific cellular features and cell-cell interactions during organ development. Despite recent advances in 3D imaging approaches, our current knowledge of the spatial organization of distinct cell types in the embryonic pancreatic tissue is still largely based on two-dimensional histological sections. Here, we present a light-sheet fluorescence microscopy approach to image the pancreas in three dimensions and map tissue interactions at key time points in the mouse embryo. We demonstrate the utility of the approach by providing volumetric data, 3D distribution of three main cellular components (epithelial, mesenchymal and endothelial cells) within the developing pancreas, and quantification of their relative cellular abundance within the tissue. Interestingly, our 3D images show that endocrine cells are constantly and increasingly in contact with endothelial cells forming small vessels, whereas the interactions with mesenchymal cells decrease over time. These findings suggest distinct cell-cell interaction requirements for early endocrine cell specification and late differentiation. Lastly, we combine our image data in an open-source online repository (referred to as the Pancreas Embryonic Cell Atlas)., Development, 149 (3), ISSN:0950-1991, ISSN:1477-9129

Darba autore: Dace Sapala Darba nosaukums: Pasaku izmantošana pedagoģiskajā procesā 4 – 5 gadus vecu bērnu vārdu krājuma bagātināšanai Darba zinātniskais vadītājs: Inga Stangaine Pētījuma mērķis: teorētiski izpētīt un praktiski pārbaudīt 4 -5 gadus vecu bērna vārdu krājuma bagātināšanu pedagoģiskajā procesā izmantojot pasakas. Kvalifikācijas darbs sastāv no divām daļām – teorētiskās un empīriskās daļas. Pētījuma teorētiskajā daļā tiek pētīts runas un valodas skaidrojums zinātniskajā literatūrā, kā arī bērnu runas un valodas attīstības uzdevumi. Teorētiski un praktiski tiek pētītas pasaku izmantošanas iespējas 4 - 5 gadus vecu bērnu vārdu krājuma bagātināšanā. Pētījuma empīriskajā daļā ir sniegts pētījuma metožu apraksts, tiek izstrādāti bērnu vārdu krājumu vērtēšanas kritēriji un sniegts raksturojums par bērnu vārdu krājumu pētījuma sākumā un beigās. Pētījuma gaita atspoguļota kā praktiskais pētnieciskais darbs ar bērniem, sekmē vārdu krājuma bagātināšanu. Iegūtie dati ir apkopoti, analizēti un atspoguļoti tabulās un diagrammās. Pētījuma laikā apstiprinājās izvirzītā hipotēze, ka pasakas veicina 4-5 gadīgu bērnu vārdu krājuma bagātināšanos, ja pēc pasakas klausīšanās skolotāja organizēs pārrunas, ja bērni piedalīsies pasaku dramatizēšanā. Atslēgvārdi: valoda, runa, vārdu krājums, pasakas Pētījuma darba saturs: 45 lpp., 7 attēli, 4 tabulas, pētījumā izmantoti 38 zinātniskās literatūras avoti., Author: Dace Sapala Title: The use of fairy tales in the pedagogical process to enrich the vocabulary of 4 - 5 year old children Scientific supervisor: Inga Stangaine Goal of research: Theoretically study and practically evaluate II. enrichment of the child's vocabulary in the pedagogical process through fairy tales. The qualification work consists of two parts - theoretical and empirical. Theoretical part of the research studies the explanation of speech and language in the scientific literature, as well as the tasks of children's speech and language development. The possibilities of using fairy tales to enrich the vocabulary of 4 - 5 year old children are studied in theoretical and practical way. The empirical part of the research provides a description of the research methods, creation of criteria for the evaluation of children's vocabulary and provides a description of children's vocabulary at the beginning and end of the research. The course of the research is reflected as practical research work with children to enrich vocabulary. The obtained data is summarized, analyzed, and presented in tables and diagrams. During the research, the hypothesis was confirmed that fairy tales contribute to the enrichment of the vocabulary of 4-5 year old children, if after listening to the fairy tale the teacher will organize discussions, if the children will participate in the dramatization of fairy tales. Keywords: language, speech, vocabulary, fairy tales. Content of the research work: 45 pages, 7 pictures, 4 tables, 38 sources of scientific literature used in the research

During lung development, epithelial branches expand preferentially in a longitudinal direction. This bias in outgrowth has been linked to a bias in cell shape and in the cell division plane. How this bias arises is unknown. Here, we show that biased epithelial outgrowth occurs independent of the surrounding mesenchyme, of preferential turnover of the extracellular matrix at the bud tips and of FGF signalling. There is also no evidence for actin-rich filopodia at the bud tips. Rather, we find epithelial tubes to be collapsed during early lung and kidney development, and we observe fluid flow in the narrow tubes. By simulating the measured fluid flow inside segmented narrow epithelial tubes, we show that the shear stress levels on the apical surface are sufficient to explain the reported bias in cell shape and outgrowth. We use a cell-based vertex model to confirm that apical shear forces, unlike constricting forces, can give rise to both the observed bias in cell shapes and tube elongation. We conclude that shear stress may be a more general driver of biased tube elongation beyond its established role in angiogenesis., Development, 148 (9), ISSN:0950-1991, ISSN:1477-9129

Generating comprehensive image maps, while preserving spatial 3D context, is essential to quantitatively assess and locate specific cellular features and cell-cell interactions during organ development. Despite the recent advances in 3D imaging approaches, our current knowledge of the spatial organization of distinct cell types in the embryonic pancreatic tissue is still largely based on 2D histological sections. Here, we present a light-sheet fluorescence microscopy approach to image the pancreas in 3D and map tissue interactions at key development time points in the mouse embryo. We used transgenic mouse models and antibodies to visualize the three main cellular components within the developing pancreas, including epithelial, mesenchymal and endothelial cell populations. We demonstrated the utility of the approach by providing volumetric data, 3D distribution of distinct progenitor populations and quantification of relative cellular abundance within the tissue. Lastly, our image data were combined in an open source online repository (referred to as Pancreas Embryonic Cell Atlas). This image dataset will serve the scientific community by enabling further investigation on pancreas organogenesis but also for devising strategies for the in vitro generation of transplantable pancreatic tissue for regenerative therapies., bioRxiv

Generating comprehensive image maps, while preserving spatial 3D context, is essential to quantitatively assess and locate specific cellular features and cell-cell interactions during organ development. Despite the recent advances in 3D imaging approaches, our current knowledge of the spatial organization of distinct cell types in the embryonic pancreatic tissue is still largely based on 2D histological sections. Here, we present a light-sheet fluorescence microscopy approach to image the pancreas in 3D and map tissue interactions at key development time points in the mouse embryo. We used transgenic mouse models and antibodies to visualize the three main cellular components within the developing pancreas, including epithelial, mesenchymal and endothelial cell populations. We demonstrated the utility of the approach by providing volumetric data, 3D distribution of distinct progenitor populations and quantification of relative cellular abundance within the tissue. Lastly, our image data were combined in an open source online repository (referred to as Pancreas Embryonic Cell Atlas). This image dataset will serve the scientific community by enabling further investigation on pancreas organogenesis but also for devising strategies for the in vitro generation of transplantable pancreatic tissue for regenerative therapies.

Self-assembly is a powerful strategy for the development of various intricate supramolecular architectures through non-covalent interactions. Non-covalent interactions can be utilized to produce tubular, vesicular, spherical, fibril, toroidal and helical morphologies. Amongst different types of morphologies, vesicles are of great interest due to their potential use in the drug encapsulation, drug delivery, and as nanoscale reaction vessels. These applications inspired chemists to develop various synthetic molecules that display vesicular self-assembly. This review presents recent examples of synthetic systems that show vesicular self-assembly.

Elastic properties of the cell wall play a key role in regulating plant growth and morphogenesis; however, measuring them in vivo remains a challenge. Although several new methods have recently become available, they all have substantial drawbacks. Here we describe a detailed protocol for osmotic treatments, which is based on the idea of releasing the turgor pressure within the cell and measuring the resulting deformation. When placed in hyperosmotic solution, cells lose water via osmosis and shrink. Confocal images of the tissue, taken before and after this treatment, are quantified using high-resolution surface projections in MorphoGraphX. The cell shrinkage observed can then be used to estimate cell wall elasticity. This allows qualitative comparisons of cell wall properties within organs or between genotypes and can be combined with mechanical simulations to give quantitative estimates of the cells' Young's moduli. We use the abaxial sepal of Arabidopsis thaliana as an easily accessible model system to present our approach, but it can potentially be used on many other plant organs. The main challenges of this technique are choosing the optimal concentration of the hyperosmotic solution and producing high-quality confocal images (with cell walls visualized) good enough for segmentation in MorphoGraphX.

Elastic properties of the cell wall play a key role in regulating plant growth and morphogenesis; however, measuring them in vivo remains a challenge. Although several new methods have recently become available, they all have substantial drawbacks. Here we describe a detailed protocol for osmotic treatments, which is based on the idea of releasing the turgor pressure within the cell and measuring the resulting deformation. When placed in hyperosmotic solution, cells lose water via osmosis and shrink. Confocal images of the tissue, taken before and after this treatment, are quantified using high-resolution surface projections in MorphoGraphX. The cell shrinkage observed can then be used to estimate cell wall elasticity. This allows qualitative comparisons of cell wall properties within organs or between genotypes and can be combined with mechanical simulations to give quantitative estimates of the cells' Young's moduli. We use the abaxial sepal of Arabidopsis thaliana as an easily accessible model system to present our approach, but it can potentially be used on many other plant organs. The main challenges of this technique are choosing the optimal concentration of the hyperosmotic solution and producing high-quality confocal images (with cell walls visualized) good enough for segmentation in MorphoGraphX.

Confocal microscopy is widely used to live-image plant tissue. Cell outlines can be visualized using fluorescent probes that mark the cell wall or plasma membrane, enabling the confocal microscope to be used as a 3D scanner with submicron precision. After imaging, the data needs to be analyzed by specialized software to quantify the features of interest, such as cell size and shape, growth rates and anisotropy, and gene expression. Here we present a protocol for the 3D image processing software MorphoGraphX ( www.MorphoGraphX.org ) using time-lapse images of an Arabidopsis thaliana sepal and the shoot apex of tomato.

Cellular force microscopy (CFM) is a noninvasive microindentation method used to measure plant cell stiffness in vivo. CFM is a scanning probe microscopy technique similar in operation to atomic force microscopy (AFM); however, the scale of movement and range of forces are much larger, making it suitable for stiffness measurements on turgid plant cells in whole organs. CFM experiments can be performed on living samples over extended time periods, facilitating the exploration of the dynamics of processes involving mechanics. Different sensor technologies can be used, along with a variety of probe shapes and sizes that can be tailored to specific applications. Measurements can be made for specific indentation depths, forces and timing, allowing for very precise mechanical stimulation of cells with known forces. High forces with sharp tips can also be used for mechanical ablation of cells with force feedback.

Pavement cells in the leaf epidermis of many plant species have intricate shapes that fit together much like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. They provide an accessible system to understand the development of complex cell shape. Since a protrusion in one cell must fit into the indentation in its neighbor, puzzle cells are also a good system to study how cell shape is coordinated across a plant tissue. Although molecular mechanisms have been proposed for both the patterning and coordination of puzzle cells, evidence is accumulating that mechanical and/or geometric cues may play a more significant role than previously thought.

Confocal microscopy is widely used to live-image plant tissue. Cell outlines can be visualized using fluorescent probes that mark the cell wall or plasma membrane, enabling the confocal microscope to be used as a 3D scanner with submicron precision. After imaging, the data needs to be analyzed by specialized software to quantify the features of interest, such as cell size and shape, growth rates and anisotropy, and gene expression. Here we present a protocol for the 3D image processing software MorphoGraphX ( www.MorphoGraphX.org ) using time-lapse images of an Arabidopsis thaliana sepal and the shoot apex of tomato.