Field experiments designed to determine the efficacy and interaction of hexazinone [(3-cyclohexyl-6-(dimethylamino)-1-methyl-1,3,5-triazine-2,4(1H,3H)-dione] and nitrogen on weeds and lowbush blueberry [Vaccinium angustifolium (Ait.)] growth and yield were established at five locations in 1980 and 13 locations in 1981. Hexazinone was applied after pruning, preemergence with nitrogen, using a split-block design, with locations serving as replications. Grasses, goldenrod (Solidago spp.), and meadowsweet [Spiraea latifolia (Ait.) Borkh. # SPVLF] were reduced significantly as the rate of hexazinone was increased. Blueberry injury, plant stand, number of flower buds, and yield all increased with increases in hexazinone rate. Variations in blueberry yields occurred among locations due to differences in plant stand and productivity, as well as climatic and edaphic factors. Within each nitrogen rate, increases in the rate of hexazinone resulted in a quadratic increase in blueberry yield. Within the hexazinone treatments, increasing nitrogen had no effect on yield. Blueberry yield reached a maximum of 3926 kg/ha at a hexazinone rate of 1.83 kg/ha. Partial budgeting was used to evaluate the effect of combinations of hexazinone and nitrogen on net income. Response function analysis determined yield and profit-maximizing combinations of hexazinone and nitrogen. Partial budgeting indicated that hexazinone alone or combined with nitrogen increased net income, but nitrogen without hexazinone decreased net income. Response function analysis indicated that hexazinone at 1.79 kg/ha without nitrogen maximized profits.

Methylation of the fragile X mental retardation 1 (FMR1) exon 1/intron 1 boundary positioned fragile X related epigenetic element 2 (FREE2), reveals skewed X-chromosome inactivation (XCI) in fragile X syndrome full mutation (FM: CGG > 200) females. XCI skewing has been also linked to abnormal X-linked gene expression with the broader clinical impact for sex chromosome aneuploidies (SCAs). In this study, 10 FREE2 CpG sites were targeted using methylation specific quantitative melt analysis (MS-QMA), including 3 sites that could not be analysed with previously used EpiTYPER system. The method was applied for detection of skewed XCI in FM females and in different types of SCA. We tested venous blood and saliva DNA collected from 107 controls (CGG < 40), and 148 FM and 90 SCA individuals. MS-QMA identified: (i) most SCAs if combined with a Y chromosome test; (ii) locus-specific XCI skewing towards the hypomethylated state in FM females; and (iii) skewed XCI towards the hypermethylated state in SCA with 3 or more X chromosomes, and in 5% of the 47,XXY individuals. MS-QMA output also showed significant correlation with the EpiTYPER reference method in FM males and females (P < 0.0001) and SCAs (P < 0.05). In conclusion, we demonstrate use of MS-QMA to quantify skewed XCI in two applications with diagnostic utility.

The Rhesus (Rh) blood group system is expressed by a pair of 12-transmembrane-domain-containing proteins, the RhCcEe and RhD proteins. RhCcEe and RhD associate as a Rh core complex that comprises one RhD/CcEe protein and most likely two Rh-associated glycoproteins (RhAG) as a trimer. All these Rh proteins are homologous and share this homology with two human non-erythroid proteins, RhBG and RhCG. All Rh protein superfamily members share homology and function in a similar manner to the Mep/Amt ammonium transporters, which are highly conserved in bacteria, plants and invertebrates. Significant advances have been made in our understanding of the structure and function of Rh proteins, as well as in the clinical management of Rh haemolytic disease. This review summarises our current knowledge concerning the molecular biology of Rh proteins and their role in transfusion and pregnancy incompatibility.

The study of social, economic and political networks provides a new perspective on the history of northwestern Sierra Leone and neighbouring parts of Guinea during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. This article concerns the men and women of wealth, rank and power who built and maintained local and extensive networks focused on towns in northwestern Sierra Leone, Port Loko and Kambia, at two time periods, c. 1800 and c. 1865. These activities involved the production and exchange of resources; the migration, settlement and intermarriage of families; and the creation, expansion and fission of households, alliances and other groups. Network analysis illuminates major historical changes, such as the development of towns, kingdoms and interregional trade systems. Furthermore, it reveals the shifting nature of ethnic identities, particularly among the Mande. And finally, it helps to show how society in the northwest became more class differentiated as internal and external commerce expanded.

Throughout the growing body of literature on Sierra Leone a considerable degree of error has persisted over the use of the term ‘creole’ and the resultant confusion has led to repeated failure to describe accurately the society of the colony. This is not merely an academic problem. The very existence of such literature feeds back into the ‘collective representations’ of the society and has provided a false historical basis for the descriptions of the contemporary culture of the group who are referred to as creoles.