Vacuum Squeezing of Solids: Macroscopic Quantum States Driven by Light Pulses

Femtosecond laser pulses and coherent two-phonon Raman scattering were used to excite KTaO3 into a squeezed state, nearly periodic in time, in which the variance of the atomic displacements dips below the standard quantum limit for half of a cycle. This nonclassical state involves a continuum of transverse acoustic modes that leads to oscillations in the refractive index associated with the frequency of a van Hove singularity in the phonon density of states.     

Communication education in veterinary in the United Kingdom and Ireland: the NUVACS project coupled to progressive individual school endeavors

This article reports on the coordination of communications skills training in veterinary schools in the United Kingdom and Ireland and describes the progress and status of training that is occurring in six of these schools.     

Assessment of the impact of resistant and susceptible canola on Plasmodiophora brassicae inoculum potential

The impact on clubroot severity of growing susceptible canola or mixtures of resistant and susceptible canola genotypes was examined. Bioassays revealed greater clubroot severity and incidence, and reduced plant height, where 100% of a susceptible cultivar had been grown. A higher proportion of susceptible plants within a resistant canola crop increased root hair and secondary infections. Regression analysis of root hair infection and the amount of Plasmodiophora brassicae DNA (as determined by quantitative PCR) revealed strong linear relationships between the two parameters. The linear relationships between root hair infection and P. brassicae DNA were stronger for the resistant cultivar than for the susceptible cultivar when regression analysis was conducted by cultivar over the sampling dates. In conclusion, the cropping of a resistant cultivar reduced clubroot severity, while the presence of susceptible volunteer canola increased inoculum potential. Quantitative PCR was a reliable tool for the quantification of root hair infection.     

Evaluation of Methods to Determine Sperm Density for the European eel,Anguilla anguilla

European eel, Anguilla anguilla, is a target species for future captive breeding, yet best methodology to estimate sperm density for application in in vitro fertilization is not established. Thus, our objectives were to evaluate methods to estimate European eel sperm density including spermatocrit, computer‐assisted sperm analysis (CASA) and flow cytometry (FCM), using Neubauer Improved haemocytometer as benchmark. Initially, relationships between spermatocrit, haemocytometer counts and sperm motility were analysed, as well as the effect of sperm dilution on haemocytometer counts. Furthermore, accuracy and precision of spermatocrit, applying a range of G‐forces, were tested and the best G‐force used in method comparisons. We found no effect of dilution on haemocytometer sperm density estimates, whereas motility associated positively with haemocytometer counts, but not with spermatocrit. Results from all techniques, spermatocrit, CASA and FCM, showed significant positive correlations with haemocytometer counts. The best correlation between spermatocrit and haemocytometer counts was obtained at 6000 ×  g (r = 0.68). Of two CASA variants, one or three photographic fields (CASA‐1 and CASA‐2), CASA‐2 showed a very high accuracy to haemocytometer counts (r  =  0.93), but low precision (CV: CASA‐2 = 28.4%). FCM was tested with and without microfluorospheres (FCM‐1 and FCM‐2), and relationships to haemocytometer counts were highly accurate (FCM‐1: r  =  0.94; FCM‐2: r  =  0.88) and precise (CV: FCM‐1 = 2.5; FCM‐2 = 2.7%). Overall, CASA‐2 and FCM‐1 feature reliable methods for quantification of European eel sperm, but FCM‐1 has a clear advantage featuring highest precision and accuracy. Together, these results provide a useful basis for gamete management in fertilization protocols.     

Exogenous paraoxonase‐1 during oocyte maturation improves bovine embryo development in vitro

Paraoxonase‐1 (PON1) is an enzyme found in serum and follicular fluid that protects cell membrane and circulating lipids against oxidative damage. The aims of this study were to measure the direct effects of recombinant PON1 (rPON1) on bovine oocyte maturation at the molecular level (gene expression) and to measure the carry‐over effects of PON1 on pre‐implantation embryo development in vitro. COCs were submitted to IVM with the addition of 0.0, 0.02, 0.04 and 0.08 mg ml^?1 of rPON1, corresponding to an average PON1 arylesterase enzyme activity of 2.2 ± 0.4, 15.5 ± 1.5, 30.2 ± 3.0 and 57.9 ± 5.0 U ml^?1, respectively. The results indicated that addition of rPON1 during IVM improved embryo development in a dose‐dependent manner as D7 embryo development was 22.2%, 29.4%, 32.2% and 37.0% for the treatment groups, respectively (p = 0.02). In conclusion, addition of PON1 enzyme during IVM exerted dose‐related positive effects on embryo development rates to blastocysts.     

Eucalypt plantations

This paper reviews the historical development of the use of the eucalypt over 200 years, from its curiosity status in the botanical gardens of Europe to its extensive use as a fuelwood for the wood-burning locomotives of the national railway systems, and then to its more recent use as a major source of biomass for paper pulp, fiberboard, industrial charcoal, and fuelwood. Ecological and biological aspects of the genus Eucalyptus have made it successful as an exotic in industrial monocultures and as a multipurpose tree of benefit to small landholders. Social, policy, and economic aspects of growing Eucalyptus are examined, as are prospects for using the eucalypt in the twenty-first century as an industrial plantation tree and as a component of farming systems in the rural landscape.