National character does not reflect mean personality trait levels in 49 cultures

Most people hold beliefs about personality characteristics typical of members of their own and others' cultures. These perceptions of national character may be generalizations from personal experience, stereotypes with a "kernel of truth," or inaccurate stereotypes. We obtained national character ratings of 3989 people from 49 cultures and compared them with the average personality scores of culture members assessed by observer ratings and self-reports. National character ratings were reliable but did not converge with assessed traits. Perceptions of national character thus appear to be unfounded stereotypes that may serve the function of maintaining a national identity.     

Biscrolling nanotube sheets and functional guests into yarns

Multifunctional applications of textiles have been limited by the inability to spin important materials into yarns. Generically applicable methods are demonstrated for producing weavable yarns comprising up to 95 weight percent of otherwise unspinnable particulate or nanofiber powders that remain highly functional. Scrolled 50-nanometer-thick carbon nanotube sheets confine these powders in the galleries of irregular scroll sacks whose observed complex structures are related to twist-dependent extension of Archimedean spirals, Fermat spirals, or spiral pairs into scrolls. The strength and electronic connectivity of a small weight fraction of scrolled carbon nanotube sheet enables yarn weaving, sewing, knotting, braiding, and charge collection. This technology is used to make yarns of superconductors, lithium-ion battery materials, graphene ribbons, catalytic nanofibers for fuel cells, and titanium dioxide for photocatalysis.     

Transmission electron microscopy for characterization of acrosomal damage after Percoll gradient centrifugation of cryopreserved bovine spermatozoa

The objective of this study was to characterize acrosomal ultrastructure following discontinuous Percoll gradient centrifugation of cryopreserved bovine sperm. Semen was collected from six bulls of different breeds and three ejaculates per bull were evaluated. Frozen semen samples were thawed and the acrosomal region of sperm cells was evaluated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) before (n = 18) and after (n = 18) Percoll centrifugation. The evaluation of 20 sperm heads from each of the 36 samples analyzed ensured that a large number of cells were investigated. The data were subjected to analysis of variance at a level of significance of 5%. Percoll centrifugation reduced the percentage of sperm exhibiting normal acrosomes (from 61.77 to 30.24%), reduced the percentage of sperm presenting atypical acrosome reactions (from 28.38 to 4.84%) and increased the percentage of sperm exhibiting damage in the acrosome (from 6.14 to 64.26%). The percentage of sperm with typical acrosome reactions was not significantly different before (3.70%) and after (0.67%) centrifugation. TEM distinguished four different types of acrosomal status and enabled ultrastructural characterization of acrosomal injuries. The percentage of sperm exhibiting normal acrosomes decreased and damage in the acrosome was the most frequent acrosomal injury with the Percoll gradient centrifugation protocol utilized.     

Convergence of developmental mutants into a single tomato model system: 'Micro-Tom' as an effective toolkit for plant development research

Background

The tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) plant is both an economically important food crop and an ideal dicot model to investigate various physiological phenomena not possible in Arabidopsis thaliana. Due to the great diversity of tomato cultivars used by the research community, it is often difficult to reliably compare phenotypes. The lack of tomato developmental mutants in a single genetic background prevents the stacking of mutations to facilitate analysis of double and multiple mutants, often required for elucidating developmental pathways.

Results

We took advantage of the small size and rapid life cycle of the tomato cultivar Micro-Tom (MT) to create near-isogenic lines (NILs) by introgressing a suite of hormonal and photomorphogenetic mutations (altered sensitivity or endogenous levels of auxin, ethylene, abscisic acid, gibberellin, brassinosteroid, and light response) into this genetic background. To demonstrate the usefulness of this collection, we compared developmental traits between the produced NILs. All expected mutant phenotypes were expressed in the NILs. We also created NILs harboring the wild type alleles for dwarf, self-pruning and uniform fruit, which are mutations characteristic of MT. This amplified both the applications of the mutant collection presented here and of MT as a genetic model system.

Conclusions

The community resource presented here is a useful toolkit for plant research, particularly for future studies in plant development, which will require the simultaneous observation of the effect of various hormones, signaling pathways and crosstalk.     

A semi-empirical model to assess uncertainty of spatial patterns of erosion

Distributed erosion models are potentially good tools for locating soil sediment sources and guiding efficient Soil and Water Conservation (SWC) planning, but the uncertainty of model predictions may be high. In this study, the distribution of erosion within a catchment was predicted with a semi-empirical erosion model that combined a semi-distributed hydrological model with the Morgan, Morgan and Finney (MMF) empirical erosion model. The model was tested in a small catchment of the West Usambara Mountains (Kwalei catchment, Tanzania). Soil detachability rates measured in splash cups (0.48–1.16 g J^− 1) were close to model simulations (0.30–0.35 g J^− 1). Net erosion rates measured in Gerlach troughs (0.01–1.05 kg m^− 2 per event) were used to calibrate the sediment transport capacity of overland flow. Uncertainties of model simulations due to parameterisation of overland flow sediment transport capacity were assessed with the Generalized Likelihood Uncertainty Estimation (GLUE) methodology. The quality of the spatial predictions was assessed by comparing the simulated erosion pattern with the field-observed erosion pattern, measuring the agreement with the weighted Kappa coefficient of the contingency table. Behavioural parameter sets (weighted Kappa > 0.50) were those with short reinfiltration length (< 1.5 m) and ratio of overland flow power α to local topography power γ close to 0.5. In the dynamic Hortonian hydrologic regime and the dissected terrain of Kwalei catchment, topography controlled the distribution of erosion more than overland flow. Simulated erosion rates varied from − 4 to + 2 kg m^− 2 per season. The model simulated correctly around 75% of erosion pattern. The uncertainty of model predictions due to sediment transport capacity was high; around 10% of the fields were attributed to either slight or severe erosion. The difficult characterisation of catchment-scale effective sediment transport capacity parameters poses a major limit to distributed erosion modelling predicting capabilities.     

Subsoil retention of organic and inorganic nitrogen in a Brazilian savanna Oxisol

Abstract. Nitrogen (N) loss by leaching poses great challenges for N availability to crops as well as nitrate pollution of groundwater. Few studies address this issue with respect to the role of the subsoil in the deep and highly weathered savanna soils of the tropics, which exhibit different adsorption and drainage patterns to soils in temperate environments. In an Anionic Acrustox of the Brazilian savanna, the Cerrado, dynamics and budgets of applied N were studied in organic and inorganic soil pools of two maize (Zea mays L.) – soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) rotations using ¹⁵N tracing. Labelled ammonium sulphate was applied at 10 kg N ha^?1 (with 10 atom%¹⁵N excess) to both maize and soybean at the beginning of the cropping season. Amounts and isotopic composition of N were determined in above‐ground biomass, soil, adsorbed mineral N, and in soil solution at 0.15, 0.3, 0.8, 1.2 and 2 m depths using suction lysimeters throughout one cropping season. The applied ammonium was rapidly nitrified or immobilized in soil organic matter, and recovery of applied ammonium in soil 2 weeks after application was negligible. Large amounts of nitrate were adsorbed in the subsoil (150–300 kg NO₃^?‐N ha^?1 per 2 m) matching total N uptake by the crops (130–400 kg N ha^?1). Throughout one cropping season, more applied N (49–77%; determined by ¹⁵N tracers) was immobilized in soil organic matter than was present as adsorbed nitrate (2–3%). Most of the applied N (71–96% of ¹⁵N recovery) was found in the subsoil at 0.15–2 m depth. This coincided with an increase with depth of dissolved organic N as a proportion of total dissolved N (39–63%). Hydrophilic organic N was the dominant fraction of dissolved organic N and was, together with nitrate, the most important carrier for applied N. Most of this N (>80%) was leached from the topsoil (0–0.15 m) during the first 30 days after application. Subsoil N retention as both adsorbed inorganic N, and especially soil organic N, was found to be of great importance in determining N losses, soil N depletion and the potential of nitrate contamination of groundwater.     

Stabilization of soybean oil with heated quercetin and 5-caffeoylquinic acid in the presence of ferric ion

The effect of heated quercetin (400 mg/kg of oil) or 5-caffeoylquinic acid (5-CQA) and the presence of ferric ion (2.2 mg/kg of oil) on the stability of soya oil oxidized in an oxidative stability index (OSI) instrument was investigated. After heating the phenolic at 100 degrees C or 150 degrees C, the OSI values of treated oils were not significantly (p < 0.001) different, whereas, at 200 degrees C, the values decreased significantly with addition of quercetin, but not with 5-CQA. However, the antioxidative activity of quercetin remained significantly greater than that of 5-CQA. The antioxidative potency of quercetin was reduced significantly by addition of ferric palmitate (FP), but that of 5-CQA was not. Reaction between the ortho-dihydroxy groups of the quercetin and ferric ion may reduce the number of hydroxyls available to react with free radicals. Chelating action of 5-CQA might be provided by ortho-dihydroxy grouping of the quinic acid moiety.     

Comparison of blood and milk non-specific immune parameters in heifers after calving in relation to udder health

A practical protocol to study udder immune status in field conditions was planned with the aim to assess different non-specific immune parameters in milk samples from dairy heifers during the periparturient period. Five herds located in northern Italy were selected and overall 39 heifers were enrolled in the trial. Milk samples were taken at 7, 14, 21, 28, 45, 60, and 75 days after calving. The parameters assessed were N-acetyl-beta-glucosaminidase (NAGase), lysozyme, respiratory burst (RB), somatic cell counts (SCC) and serum protein profile. SCC and NAGase were higher in the first sampling after calving, while lysozyme showed large variations during the observation period without a definite trend. The levels of RB observed in the first two weeks after calving, even if lower, were not statistically different from the values observed in samples taken over the following weeks. This study confirmed that the levels of immune components in milk are different from what is observed at blood level in the same cow. A significant decrease in RB in milk polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN) post-calving was not observed; milk PMN from healthy cows showed low RB levels, while the values from infected quarters were significantly higher. Significant differences between healthy and infected animals were also observed for milk NAG, lactoglobulin and albumin. These data suggest that udder immune response could be influenced both by the cow immune status and by external factors such as pathogens and management. Therefore, the reduction in immune defences, particularly in heifers, is not unavoidable and methods to boost PMN activity should be explored.     

Pseudopregnancy in Saanen Goats (Capra hircus) Raised in Northeast Brazil

The prevalence of pseudopregnancy over 44 months was investigated in 23 Saanen goats raised in Northeast Brazil during continuous oestrous cycling (cyclic group) or after synchronization of oestrus (synchronized group). The goats were monitored by ultrasonography and their plasma progesterone profile. The overall prevalence of pseudopregnancy was 30.4% (7/23). In the cyclic group, 28.6% (4/14) of goats showed pseudopregnancy, while in the synchronized group the prevalence was 33.3% (3/9). There was no significant difference between the groups (p>0.05). The mean (+/- SD) length of pseudopregnancy, as shown by the progesterone profile, was 121.6 +/- 33.5 days, ranging from 70 to 155 days. The study defined the prevalence of pseudopregnancy in Saanen goats raised in Northeast Brazil for the first time. This finding identified a major problem for this breed, as without treatment such animals remain unproductive until the spontaneous resolution of the condition. More research seems desirable to ascertain the prevalence of this condition in other breeds in this region of Brazil.     

Kinetic enzymatic determination of glycerol in wine and beer using a sequential injection system with spectrophotometric detection

A sequential injection system for the automatic determination of glycerol in wine and beer was developed. The method is based on the rate of formation of NADH from the reaction of glycerol and NAD+ catalyzed by the enzyme glycerol dehydrogenase in solution. The determination of glycerol was performed between 0.3 and 3.0 mmol L(-1) (0.028 and 0.276 g L(-1)), and good repeatability was attained (rsd < 3.6%, n = 5) for all samples tested. The determination rate was 54 h(-1), the reagent consumption was only 0.75 micromol of NAD+ and 5.4 ng of enzyme per assay, and the waste production was 2.12 mL per assay. Results obtained for samples were in agreement with those obtained with the batch enzymatic method.