Mitochondrial genome structure and organization are relatively conserved among metazoans. However, in many isopods, especially the terrestrial isopods (Oniscidea), the mitochondrial genome consists of both ∼14-kb linear monomers and ∼28-kb circular dimers. This unusual organization is associated with an ancient and conserved constitutive heteroplasmic site. This heteroplasmy affects the anticod...

BACKGROUND Asian lotus (Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn.) is the national flower of India, Vietnam, and one of the top ten traditional Chinese flowers. Although lotus is highly valued for its ornamental, economic and cultural uses, genomic information, particularly the expressed sequence based (genic) markers is limited. High-throughput transcriptome sequencing provides large amounts of transcriptome d...

Both ecological and evolutionary processes can influence community assembly and stability, and native community members may respond both ecologically and evolutionarily as additional species enter established communities. Biological invasions provide a unique opportunity to examine these responses of native community members to novel species additions. Here, I use reciprocal transplant experime...

In this poster, we discuss the application of Theatrical Improvisational Techniques to address game design challenges of Massively Multiplayer Online Games (MMOGs), and we suggest how applying these techniques can create structure for emergent storytelling. We propose a common improv structure, CROW (Character, Relationship, Objective, Where), as a framework for designing MMOGs with compelling ...

In this paper we focus on the relationships among cultural diversity, perceived work atmosphere, and intra-group conflict in global virtual teams. We report the findings of a laboratory experiment that was conducted involving the subjects who were geographically dispersed. The participants used IBM's Lotus Sametime to perform a group task. The findings of the study reveal that in virtual teams,...

Improvisational theatre is a unique art form that requires actors to co-construct stories on stage in realtime without the benefits of any explicit communication. All negotiation about the content of the scene, including characters, setting, plot, and relationships, must be done within the context of the performance. This negotiation process is a special form of constructing shared mental model...

Sacred lotus (Nelumbo nucifera) regulates temperature in its floral chamber to 32 degrees C to 35 degrees C across ambient temperatures of 8 degrees C to 40 degrees C with heating achieved through high alternative pathway fluxes. In most alternative oxidase (AOX) isoforms, two cysteine residues, Cys(1) and Cys(2), are highly conserved and play a role in posttranslational regulation of AOX. Furt...

BACKGROUND Many studies have assessed Yoga practices using instruments such as AcuGraph, which measures conductances at Jing-Well points of acupuncture meridians. Such studies find that participation in Yoga programs ranging from a weekend to many months systematically increases subtle energy. Here, we report comparison of Jing-Well point conductances before and after sitting in Lotus Posture w...

The microRNA (miRNA) miR396 regulates GROWTH-REGULATING FACTORs (GRFs), a plant specific family of transcription factors. Overexpression of miR396 causes a decrease in the GRFs that has been shown to affect cell proliferation in the meristem and developing leaves. To bring further insights into the function of the miR396 regulatory network we performed a mutant enhancer screen of a stable Arabi...