Rice is the staple food for about half of the world's population. Among major food crops, rice is especially efficient at the accumulation of arsenic which is toxic and carcinogenic. This accumulation presents a potentially serious health risk, because consumption of rice contributes a large proportion of inorganic As intake for people living on a rice-diet anywhere in the world. The problem is exacerbated in many rice-producing regions by the past use of arsenic-based herbicides and insecticides, mining, and irrigation with arsenic-contaminated groundwater. There is an urgent need to develop strategies to reduce this widespread contamination of the food chain. This requires a better understanding of the mechanisms responsible for uptake, transport and distribution of arsenic into rice grain. Unlike aerobic soils where arsenate is the predominant chemical species of arsenic, the arsenite form dominates in the reducing environment of flooded paddy soils. We have recently discovered that arsenite is taken up by rice roots through the silicon uptake pathway. Rice accumulates a large amount of silicon, which protects the plant against biotic and abiotic stresses. An aquaporin channel protein called NIP2;1 transports silicon, and also inadvertently arsenite, into the root cells. There is a family of 10 NIP proteins in rice, some of which are expressed mainly in leaf and grain tissues. We hypothesise that some of these NIP channel proteins are involved in arsenic transport to the rice grain. We will evaluate the role of NIP proteins in arsenic distribution to the leaf and rice grain using a range of molecular and physiological methods. We will investigate the pattern of expression of different NIP genes in leaf and grain tissues during grain development and the transport function of NIP proteins for arsenic compounds. We will determine the specificity of different NIP proteins for arsenic compounds and manipulate the amino acid composition in a key region of the proteins to alter their transport selectivity for arsenic. Results obtained from this project will provide insight into the mechanisms of arsenic transport in plants and help the development of counter measures to reduce arsenic accumulation in rice grain through molecular breeding or transgenic approaches.

The proposed new network will generate interdisciplinary research collaboration and bring together mechatronics/robotics researches from the UK and Japan, to share experiences and formalise discussions for defining a common strategy for future R&D and collaborations at all level of research, teaching and technology transfer. Such a network is vital if the different communities in Japan and UK are to work together for mutual benefit. The network will also act as a knowledge base from the existing mechatronics/robotics community to create a new research community in human adaptive mechatronics able to address the many common challenges (e.g. Pollution / CO2 issue, Aging population issue, etc) in UK and Japan. In particular, the network will explore a number of key challenges: such as a) Investigating the modelling of a man-machine system that explicitly includes all necessary functions of humans as machine operators with sufficient accuracy; b) Implementation of human adaptive behaviour in autonomous systems; c) Application of human adaptive mechatronics to upgrade UK high-tech products; d) Development of human adaptive mechatronics into biomedical applications; e) Development of mathematics to model and analysis human adaptive mechatronic processes in productions.

This proposal asks for funding to construct a dilution refrigerator insert for the 17 T cryomagnet previously constructed with EPSRC funds (grant EP/G027161). This cryomagnet is currently being used at neutron scattering facilities throughout the European Economic Area, and is available for use by user groups unconnected with Birmingham, with any necessary support to be provided by us. With the dilution refrigerator insert, the cryomagnet will be able to cover a much larger range of desired experimental materials, without compromising the work that can already be done over the temperature range 2 K to 330 K. At present, this is the largest horizontal magnetic field available for use at any neutron scattering facility. Because small angle neutron scattering is of use to a large number of research communities, being able to move the cryomagnet around from facility to facility maximizes its utility, as it would not be in use full time at any one particular institution. At present, this equipment has been used, amongst other things, to study the fundamental properties of cuprate superconductors and iron-based superconductors and the effects of magnetic fields on colloidal suspensions of fd virus. We propose to use it to look for anticipated single Landau level effects brought about by high fields in bismuth, as well as flux lines in Pauli-limited superconductors and non-centrosymmetric superconductors, and quantum magnetic ordering. By extending the temperature range downwards by almost two orders of magnitude, we will be able to extend the research programme into a region where many emergent condensed matter phenomena occur. For instance, heavy fermion superconductors provide fascinating examples of unconventional superconducting phases arising from novel interactions. With the mK region accessible, the cryomagnet is well suited to the critical fields typical for these materials, so that most of their superconducting phase diagrams can be explored. This also makes it easier to investigate the effects of Pauli-limited superconductivity in heavy fermion and pnictide materials. In addition, this grant will support use of all of the cryomagnet's capabilities by both ourselves and other user groups. As an example, some of our collaborators are very interested in using the cryomagnet to extend studies of magnetic alignment of mesoscopic structures in suspension. We will also be commissioning the cryomagnet at several other facilities, including synchrotron sources, with necessary adaptations to be driven by our collaborators.

Coccolithophores are single-celled, marine algae (phytoplankton), which produce elaborate calcite scales (coccoliths) that form a protective covering around their delicate cell walls. They are an important part of the modern marine ecosystem, but also have a long fossil record (nannofossils) stretching back 225 million years (Triassic). Both living and fossil coccolithophores provide valuable information about ocean environments and changing climate. The fossils also provide a simple and quick means of age-dating the rocks in which they are found. For these reasons, coccolithophores are of interest to a very wide range of scientists, including marine biologists, palaeoceanographers and geologists (stratigraphers). The effective use of coccolithophores is dependent upon the availability of up to date and reliable information concerning their classification (taxonomy - which species is which, and why?), their ecology (which species live where, when and why?) and their geological history (which species lived when and where?). However, this information is frequently difficult to find because it is dispersed throughout specialist publications. In order to widen access to this crucial information, we have started work on a web resource called Nannotax (www.nannotax.org) that we hope will become the online reference source for anyone needing to obtain basic to specialist information on coccolithophores and nannofossils. Our pilot version focused on the relatively recent, Neogene, fossil record (0-23 million years ago) and has already proved popular, registering 670,000 page views and 275 registered users. We now aim to build on this, and will add more species (the older fossil record, plus all the living species), add more types of data (age, ecology and, where appropriate, biology), expand the content (glossary, guides to identification and methods of study) and bring the site to the attention of those who will most benefit from it. The end-product Nannotax website will provide a complete listing of living and fossil coccolithophore and nannofossil taxa, with short descriptions, age data, multiple illustrations, bibliographic references and original descriptions. There will be identification keys and linked pages providing information on study methods. In parallel, we will provide hands-on training in the use and potential of the system, and respond to requests from those who have 'test-driven' the system at workshops and conferences. We think that the development of this system is essential to the hydrocarbon industry and to academics and educators involved in nannoplankton research, training and learning. By removing the barriers to learning nannoplankton taxonomy, identifying specimens and obtaining accurate information about species, existing users will be enabled to expand their expertise, and we believe it will also attract a range of new users. To ensure that we are providing the right kind of information for this wide range of scientists, we have enlisted the support of project partners who represent international biologists, oceanographers, geologists and oil company stratigraphers, who will both provide us with data, and also review and comment upon our progress and product.