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This study examined the relationship between scores on the Behaviour Disorder Scale (BDS) and other assessments of challenging behavior in 100 adolescent and adult Australians with intellectual disabilities. The study found that the BDS was reliable and could be used to identify people with intellectual disabilities who exhibit behavioral disorders with different degrees of severity. (JDD)

Abstract Background Auxin is an important phytohormone for fleshy fruit development, having been shown to be involved in the initial signal for fertilisation, fruit size through the control of cell division and cell expansion, and ripening related events. There is considerable knowledge of auxin-related genes, mostly from work in model species. With the apple genome now available, it is possible to carry out genomics studies on auxin-related genes to identify genes that may play roles in specific stages of apple fruit development. Results High amounts of auxin in the seed compared with the fruit cortex were observed in 'Royal Gala' apples, with amounts increasing through fruit development. Injection of exogenous auxin into developing apples at the start of cell expansion caused an increase in cell size. An expression analysis screen of auxin-related genes involved in auxin reception, homeostasis, and transcriptional regulation showed complex patterns of expression in each class of gene. Two mapping populations were phenotyped for fruit size over multiple seasons, and multiple quantitative trait loci (QTLs) were observed. One QTL mapped to a region containing an Auxin Response Factor (ARF106). This gene is expressed during cell division and cell expansion stages, consistent with a potential role in the control of fruit size. Conclusions The application of exogenous auxin to apples increased cell expansion, suggesting that endogenous auxin concentrations are at least one of the limiting factors controlling fruit size. The expression analysis of ARF106 linked to a strong QTL for fruit weight suggests that the auxin signal regulating fruit size could partially be modulated through the function of this gene. One class of gene (GH3) removes free auxin by conjugation to amino acids. The lower expression of these GH3 genes during rapid fruit expansion is consistent with the apple maximising auxin concentrations at this point.

In the open distance learning (ODL) sphere there are invariably incremental student support costs that remain largely unaccounted for and might not be readily apparent. From an educational perspective this raises serious concerns given that effective on- and off-line student support could potentially reduce the intrinsic cost of studying at ODL institutions. Typical hidden student support service costs in ODL are rooted in areas such as information technology, registration, contact centre, lecturing and tutoring and human resources/administration support. The relevance of these hidden costs becomes pertinent when comparing the contribution of student support from a geographic perspective. Students from remote areas seemingly seek higher levels of support and assumingly cause higher hidden student support costs to higher education institutions (HEIs). Against this background, this article does not intend to provide actual costing, but rather provides an early exposition of relevant cost drivers that impact on student retention, throughput and success in ODL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Apple rootstock clones of different vigour were examined to determine how they initially modified the architecture of 'Royal Gala' scions following grafting of the composite tree. These modifications were compared with those of gibberellins (GA4+7) and/or benzylaminopurine (BAP) applied to the scion, and an inhibitor of auxin transport [1-N-naphthylphthalamic acid (NPA)] applied to the rootstock stem. By the end of the first year of growth after grafting, the dwarfing ('M.9') rootstock had significantly decreased the mean total shoot length and node number of the scion compared with invigorating rootstocks (i.e., 'MM.106', 'M.793', and 'Royal Gala'). Similarly, NPA applied to the stem of invigorating rootstocks decreased the total shoot growth of the scion, and the architectural changes imposed most closely resembled those of 'M.9'. Both treatments increased the proportion of primary and secondary shoots (if present) that terminated growth early, which decreased the final length and node number of these shoot types. Also, NPA and 'M.9' decreased the number of secondary shoots that formed. For scions on NPA-treated rootstocks or 'M.9', BAP re-instated the formation of secondary shoots, while GA4+7 primarily reduced the proportion of primary and secondary shoots that terminated growth early, thereby increasing their final length and node number. An endogenous signalling mechanism is proposed whereby dwarfing rootstocks reduce the basipetal transport of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) to the root, thereby decreasing the amount of root-produced cytokinin and gibberellin transported to the scion. At the scion, a limited supply of cytokinin may modify the architecture by decreasing branching, whereas a limited supply of gibberellins may primarily reduce the duration of shoot extension growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the mid-1990s, the changing political, economic and social environment and globalisation have contributed to change business behaviour in South Africa. Nowadays, business strategies are built alongside sustainable business goals, with renewed emphasis on quality and brand reputation management. Business intelligence (BI) systems and research demand show clear emphasis on customer brand franchising and brand citizenship in particular. Brands are no longer used only as marketing communication tools. Nowadays, brand companies seem well aware of stakeholders' concerns with non-financial business aspects and are responding through re-branding, improved customer relations and good corporate citizenship behaviour. Consequently, direct customer feedback via customer satisfaction and franchise-building research, as well as corporate citizenship image and perception surveys have emerged as key research tools that generate business intelligence used to build and protect company reputation. The way in which contemporary research designs are constructed to guide reputation building and protection, and how these inputs are used to guide business reputation strategies form the core of this article. The discussion reveals that corporate reputation and brand management functions are increasingly being synchronised in support of customer-based brand equity, customer franchise and reputation building. This suggests substantial communality between the management functions relating to corporate reputation and branding. Corporate branding and reputation are anticipated to evolve as a core business strategy aimed at building and protecting corporate identity and image. To meet this endeavour, companies will continue to brand their identity and image and create brand awareness and customer relations to enable stakeholders to differentiate company products, services and features from competitor offerings, but will simultaneously strive to enhance customer loyalty. Customer care and ethical behaviour will probably lead the thrust in creating positive corporate reputation. As long as corporate reputation building and branding are pursued, the demand for business intelligence information related to these topics will remain a priority and will guide future marketing and communication strategies in building and protecting corporate reputation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Precocity is particularly important for the economic production of intensively planted apple trees. Unfortunately some cultivars show a propensity for barewood on young trees, which limits early production on 2 year-old spur sites. The new cultivar, 'Scifresh' (Jazz™) has shown serious problems of barewood under New Zealand conditions on M.9 and M.26 rootstocks. Barewood has been associated with excessive flowering on feathers and 1 year-old wood. Weak flower clusters develop towards the base of the shoots which do not set fruit and drop off, leaving blind buds. Although there are larger, more well-developed flower clusters on the distal parts of the 1 year-old shoots, cropping these can result in spur extinction. Therefore, in both cases, there is a lack of spur development for the following season resulting in barewood. Experimental treatments have focused on: 1) the effect of timing (January-May) and concentration (400 and 133 mg l-1 gibberellic acid GA3) sprays in the nursery to reduce flowering on 1 year-old wood; and 2) the effect of concentration and timing of localised cytokinin applications in the Spring to re-invigorate blind buds. Two applications of 400 mg l-1 GA3 in late January and late February in the first year in the nursery were effective in eliminating flowering on "knip boom" trees in the following Spring after cutting back. Two applications of 400 mg l-1 GA3, in early and late January, to "knip boom" trees in their second year in the nursery reduced flowering by over 40% when the trees were planted in the orchard. Twelve months later these trees showed an increased density of spur flowers on the original feathers. Aqueous solutions of the cytokinins benzyladenine and thidiazuron, at 500 mg or 2500 mg respectively, were applied by brush, prior to, during and post-budbreak, to sections of barewood on 2 year-old or 3 year-old wood on main branches of 'Scifresh'/M.9 trees. Thidiazuron (at 2500 mg l-1) was far more effective than benzyladenine at inducing growth of dormant buds, even resulting in multiple bud-breaks at individual sites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Commercially grown kiwifruit (genus Actinidia) are generally of two sub-species which have a base haploid genome of 29 chromosomes. The yellow-fleshed Actinidia chinensis var. chinensis, is either diploid (2n = 2x = 58) or tetraploid (2n = 4x = 116) and the green-fleshed cultivar A. chinensis var. deliciosa "Hayward," is hexaploid (2n = 6x = 174). Advances in breeding green kiwifruit could be greatly sped up by the use of molecular resources for more efficient and faster selection, for example using marker-assisted selection (MAS). The key genetic marker that has been implemented for MAS in hexaploid kiwifruit is for gender testing. The limited marker-trait association has been reported for other polyploid kiwifruit for fruit and production traits. We have constructed a high-density linkage map for hexaploid green kiwifruit using genotyping-by-sequence (GBS). The linkage map obtained consists of 3686 and 3940 markers organized in 183 and 176 linkage groups for the female and male parents, respectively. Both parental linkage maps are co-linear with the A. chinensis "Red5" reference genome of kiwifruit. The linkage map was then used for quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping, and successfully identified QTLs for king flower number, fruit number and weight, dry matter accumulation, and storage firmness. These are the first QTLs to be reported and discovered for complex traits in hexaploid kiwifruit., (© The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Genetics Society of America.)