Introduction: Health, Well-Being, and Ability in Archaeology.

This thematic volume explores how health, well-being, and ability are constructed in the past and in the present. The volume's authors undo and question deeply ingrained assumptions about what constitutes a "normative" body. They do so by not only looking at how bodies have been medicalized and envisioned in the past, but also how our own profession and discipline discriminates against certain types of bodies in the present.

Structure and stoichiometry of an accessory subunit TRIP8b interaction with hyperpolarization-activated cyclic nucleotide-gated channels.

Ion channels operate in intact tissues as part of large macromolecular complexes that can include cytoskeletal proteins, scaffolding proteins, signaling molecules, and a litany of other molecules. The proteins that make up these complexes can influence the trafficking, localization, and biophysical properties of the channel. TRIP8b (tetratricopetide repeat-containing Rab8b-interacting protein) is a recently discovered accessory subunit of hyperpolarization-activated cyclic nucleotide-gated (HCN) channels that contributes to the substantial dendritic localization of HCN channels in many types of neurons. TRIP8b interacts with the carboxyl-terminal region of HCN channels and regulates their cell-surface expression level and cyclic nucleotide dependence. Here we examine the molecular determinants of TRIP8b binding to HCN2 channels. Using a single-molecule fluorescence bleaching method, we found that TRIP8b and HCN2 form an obligate 4:4 complex in intact channels. Fluorescence-detection size-exclusion chromatography and fluorescence anisotropy allowed us to confirm that two different domains in the carboxyl-terminal portion of TRIP8b--the tetratricopepide repeat region and the TRIP8b conserved region--interact with two different regions of the HCN carboxyl-terminal region: the carboxyl-terminal three amino acids (SNL) and the cyclic nucleotide-binding domain, respectively. And finally, using X-ray crystallography, we determined the atomic structure of the tetratricopepide region of TRIP8b in complex with a peptide of the carboxy-terminus of HCN2. Together, these experiments begin to uncover the mechanism for TRIP8b binding and regulation of HCN channels.

Molecular mechanism for 3:1 subunit stoichiometry of rod cyclic nucleotide-gated ion channels.

Molecular determinants of ion channel tetramerization are well characterized, but those involved in heteromeric channel assembly are less clearly understood. The heteromeric composition of native channels is often precisely controlled. Cyclic nucleotide-gated (CNG) channels from rod photoreceptors exhibit a 3:1 stoichiometry of CNGA1 and CNGB1 subunits that tunes the channels for their specialized role in phototransduction. Here we show, using electrophysiology, fluorescence, biochemistry, and X-ray crystallography, that the mechanism for this controlled assembly is the formation of a parallel 3-helix coiled-coil domain of the carboxy-terminal leucine zipper region of CNGA1 subunits, constraining the channel to contain three CNGA1 subunits, followed by preferential incorporation of a single CNGB1 subunit. Deletion of the carboxy-terminal leucine zipper domain relaxed the constraint and permitted multiple CNGB1 subunits in the channel. The X-ray crystal structures of the parallel 3-helix coiled-coil domains of CNGA1 and CNGA3 subunits were similar, suggesting that a similar mechanism controls the stoichiometry of cone CNG channels.

Influence of Beet necrotic yellow vein virus on Sugar Beet Storability.

Rhizomania caused by Beet necrotic yellow vein virus (BNYVV) and storage losses are serious sugar beet production problems. To investigate the influence of BNYVV on storability, six sugar beet cultivars varying for resistance to BNYVV were grown in 2005 and 2006 in southern Idaho fields with and without BNYVV-infested soil. At harvest, samples from each cultivar were placed in an outdoor ventilated pile in Twin Falls, ID and were removed at 40-day intervals starting at the end of October. After 144 and 142 days in storage, sugar reduction across cultivars averaged 20 and 13% without and 68 and 21% with BNYVV for the 2005 and 2006 roots, respectively. In the December samplings, frozen root area was 1 and 2% without and 25 and 41% with BNYVV for the 2005 and 2006 roots, respectively. Root rot was always worse with stored roots from BYNVV-infested soil in December, January, and February samplings. Root weight loss was variable in 2005; however, in 2006, an increase in weight reduction always was associated with BNYVV-infested roots. In order to prevent losses in rhizomania-infested areas, cultivars should be selected for storability as well as rhizomania resistance.

Relationship of Beet Curly Top Foliar Ratings to Sugar Beet Yield.

Sugar beet (Beta vulgaris) varieties were evaluated for disease resistance to curly top to establish if disease ratings made in inoculated nurseries correlated with disease ratings and yield in sugar beet crops exposed to natural disease outbreaks. Cultivars were planted both in inoculated curly top nurseries in Kimberly, ID, and in commercial cultivar trials in irrigated fields near Ontario, OR and Nampa, ID. Plants were evaluated for curly top using a rating scale of 0 (no symptoms) to 9 (dead). Moderate disease pressure in the Ontario (mean rating = 3.8) and Nampa (mean rating = 4.1) fields resulted in significant differences for disease rating, root yield, sugar content, and estimated recoverable sugar among cultivars. Disease ratings from both commercial fields were positively correlated (r = 0.91 and 0.82, P < 0.0001) with ratings from the inoculated nurseries. In commercial fields, root yield was negatively related to disease rating (r2 = 0.47 and 0.39, P ≤ 0.0004). For each unit increase in disease rating (increasing susceptibility), root yield decreased 5.76 to 6.93 t/ha. Thus, curly top nurseries reliably predict curly top resistant cultivars for commercial cultivation.

Influence of Host Resistance and Insecticide Seed Treatments on Curly Top in Sugar Beets.

Curly top on sugar beets (Beta vulgaris) caused by Beet severe curly top virus or closely related species is a considerable problem in arid growing regions of the western United States. Two insecticide seed treatments, Poncho Beta (60 g a.i. clothianidin + 8 g a.i. beta-cyfluthrin/100,000 seed) and Gaucho (45 g a.i. imidacloprid/100,000 seed), and four sugar beet hybrids varying in curly top resistance were evaluated for their influence on the control of curly top in comparison with untreated checks. Plots were established at two locations in southern Idaho in 2005 and evaluated for curly top. Moderate to severe curly top due to natural inoculum and leafhopper infestations occurred at both locations. Untreated, the four hybrids performed as expected with the fewest curly top symptoms on PM21 and the most on Monohikari. Both insecticide treatments lowered curly top ratings compared with the untreated check, but Poncho Beta reduced symptoms more than Gaucho as the season progressed. Poncho Beta led to increased yield and estimated recoverable sugar across all hybrids at harvest, particularly on the more susceptible hybrids. When considering the yield parameters for only the most resistant hybrids individually, Poncho Beta did not always outperform Gaucho. Poncho Beta provided a level of control that would justify its application as a supplement to host resistance under Idaho conditions.