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Both spin-liquid and magnetically ordered phases of both half-integer and integer low-spin quantum magnets are of interest, since the magnetic structures found in the latter case usually have no classical counterparts. Such a magnetic structure was found in a combined experimental and theoretical study of the integer spin system Ni(NO3)2. Our thermodynamic measurements have revealed a magnetically ordered phase with small spontaneous magnetization at TC = 5.5K. The magnetization saturation of about 2μB at low temperatures corresponds to the high-spin state (S = 1) of Ni2+ ions evidenced in L2,3 edges in x-ray absorption spectroscopy spectra. We show that a consistent description of the available data is possible within a noncollinear umbrella-type ferrimagnetic ground state model for which both intra- and interlayer magnetic interactions should be antiferromagnetic. Such a scenario is suggested by the first-principles and model calculations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To evaluate the failure time of vaccine vial monitor (VVM) used for oral poliovirus vaccine (OPV) at 25 ℃ and 37 ℃. Methods: 160 copies of VVM were produced by a company, the model was QM5D37A, samples were taken from different batches by using the method of random number table . 100 bottles of vaccine were produced by a domestic company, and samples were taken from different batches by using the method of random number table. 160 copies of labels were placed in the incubator at 25 ℃ and 37 ℃, which were used to measure the mutative color of the active region. When the values of color were equal to 40, the color of active region was the same with the reference color, and the VVM was failed. 100 bottles of vaccine were placed in the incubator at 25 ℃ and 37 ℃, which were used to measure the vaccine titer. When total vaccine titer was less than 6.12 CCID50 or vaccine titer of typeⅠ was less than 6.0 CCID50 or vaccine titer of type Ⅲ was less than 5.5 CCID50, the vaccine was failed. We drew the graph of mutative color to calculate the failure time range of VVM According to the graph , we can determine that whether the failure time of VVM was later than the time of vaccines by the data of OPV . Results: The earliest failure time of OPV was 21 days at 25 ℃, and the number of samples was one; The earliest Failure time of VVM was 12.5 days at 25 ℃, and it was less than the earliest failure time of OPV. The earliest failure time of OPV was 4.0 days at 37 ℃, and the number of samples was one; The earliest Failure time of VVM was 3.1 days at 37 ℃, and it was equal to the earliest failure time of OPV. Conclusion: We could know that the failure time of VVM was always earlier than the failure time of vaccines at the same temperatures . The latest failure time of VVM was equal to the earliest failure time of vaccines at 37 ℃. All of the failure times of samples were earlier than that of vaccines at 25 ℃.

School shootings may have serious negative impacts on children years after the event. Previous research suggests that children exposed to traumatic events experience heightened fear, anxiety, and feelings of vulnerability, but little research has examined potential aggressive and disruptive behavioral reactions. Utilizing a longitudinal dataset in which a local school shooting occurred during the course of data collection, this study sought to investigate whether the trajectory of disruptive behaviors was affected by the shooting. A two-piece growth curve model was used to examine the trajectory of disruptive behaviors during the pre-shooting years (i.e., piece one) and post-shooting years (i.e., piece two). Results indicated that the two-piece growth curve model fit the data better than the one-piece model and that the school shooting precipitated a faster decline in aggressive behaviors. This study demonstrated a novel approach to examining effects of an unexpected traumatic event on behavioral trajectories using an existing longitudinal data set., (Copyright © 2015 The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Unlike other plants, bamboo (Bambusoideae) flowering is an elusive physiological phenomena, because it is unpredictable, long-periodic, gregarious, and uncontrollable; also, bamboo plants usually die after flowering. The flowering mechanism in Arabidopsis thaliana, a eudicot model species, is well established, but it remains unknown in bamboo species. We found 4470 and 3878 expressed sequence tags in the flower bud and vegetative shoot cDNA libraries, respectively, of the bamboo species, Bambusa oldhamii. Different genes were found expressed in bamboo flower buds compared to vegetative shoots, based on the Munich Information Center for Protein Sequences functional categorization; flowering-related genes were also identified in this species. We also identified Arabidopsis flowering-specific homologs that are involved in its photoperiod in this bamboo species, along with autonomous, vernalization and gibberellin-dependent pathways, indicating that bamboos may have a similar mechanism to control floral transition. Some bamboo expressed sequence tags shared high similarity with those of rice, but others did not match any known sequences. Our data lead us to conclude that bamboo may have its own unique flowering genes. This information can help us understand bamboo flowering and provides useful experimental methods to study the mechanisms involved.

In Taiwan, non-point source (NPS) pollution is one of the major causes of impairment of surface waters. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of using constructed wetlands on NPS pollutant removal and water quality improvements. A field-scale constructed wetland system was built inside the campus of National Sun Yat-Sen University (located in southern Taiwan) to remove (1) NPS pollutants due to the stormwater runoff, and (2) part of the untreated wastewater from school drains. The constructed wetland was 40 m (L) x 30 m (W) x 1 m (D), which received approximately 85 m3 per day of untreated wastewater from school drainage pipes. The plants grown on the wetland included floating (Pistia stratiotes L.) and emergent (Phragmites communis L.) species. One major storm event and baseline water quality samples were analyzed during the monitoring period. Analytical results indicate that the constructed wetland removed a significant amount of NPS pollutants and wastewater constituents. More than 88% of nitrogen, 81% of chemical oxygen demand (COD), 85% of heavy metals, and 60% of the total suspended solids (TSS) caused by the storm runoff were removed by the wetland system before discharging. Results from this study may be applied to the design of constructed wetlands for NPS pollution control and water quality improvement.

Antheridiogen (ACE) is a pheromone that is required for the development of male gametophytes in the homosporous fern Ceratopteris richardii. Subtractive hybridization of cDNAs isolated from ACE-treated and non-ACE-treated gametophytes was used to isolate genes that are induced by the pheromone. The expression of one gene, ANI1 (for antheridiogen induced), was induced within 3 hr of ACE treatment, but its expression was transient. Patterns of ANI1 expression in wild-type and mutant gametophytes show that ANI1 expression inversely correlates with the predicted activity of one of the sex-determining genes, TRANSFORMER5 (TRA5). These data suggest that ANI1 transcription or transcript accumulation is directly or indirectly prevented by TRA5 in the absence of ACE and that ACE inactivates the TRA5 gene or its product, leading to the upregulation of ANI1. Cycloheximide (no ACE) induced the expression of ANI1, also indicating that ANI1 expression is subject to negative regulation in the absence of ACE. The sequence and inferred protein structure of ANI1 suggest that it is a novel, extracellular protein. The secreted portion of the ANI1 protein potentially forms a beta barrel with superficial similarities to lipocalins, which bind small hydrophobic molecules such as pheromones, steroids, and odorants. ANI1 may be an extracellular carrier of ACE that is required to initiate the male program of development as the sexual fate of the young gametophyte is determined.

The MADS genes encode a family of transcription factors, some of which control the identities of floral organs in flowering plants. To understand the role of MADS genes in the evolution of floral organs, five MADS genes (CMADS1, 2, 3, 4, and 6) were cloned from the fern Ceratopteris richardii, a nonflowering plant. A gene tree of partial amino acid sequences of seed plant and fern MADS genes showed that the fern genes form three subfamilies. All members of one of the fern MADS subfamilies have additional amino-terminal amino acids, which is a synapomorphic character of the AGAMOUS subfamily of the flowering plant MADS genes. Their structural similarity indicates a sister relationship between the two subfamilies. The temporal and spatial patterns of expression of the five fern MADS genes were assessed by Northern blot analyses and in situ hybridizations. CMADS1, 2, 3, and 4 are expressed similarly in the meristematic regions and primordia of sporophyte shoots and roots, as well as in reproductive structures, including sporophylls and sporangial initials, although the amount of expression in each tissue is different in each gene. CMADS6 is expressed in gametophytic tissues but not in sporophytic tissues. The lack of organ-specific expression of MADS genes in the reproductive structures of the fern sporophyte may indicate that the restriction of MADS gene expression to specific reproductive organs and the specialization of MADS gene functions as homeotic selector genes in the flowering plant lineage were important in floral organ evolution.