The adoption of annual subsoiling as conservation tillage in dryland maize and wheat cultivation in northern China

Soil compaction caused by random traffic or repetitive tillage has been shown to reduce water use efficiency, and thus crop yield due to reduced porosity, decreased water infiltration and availability of nutrients. Conservation tillage coupled with subsoiling in northern China is widely believed to reduce soil compaction, which was created after many years of no-till. However, limited research has been conducted on the most effective time interval for subsoiling, under conservation tillage. Data from conservation tillage demonstration sites operating for 10 years in northern China were used to conduct a comparative study of subsoiling interval under conservation tillage. Three modes of traditional tillage, subsoiling with soil cover and no-till with soil cover were compared using 10 years of soil bulk density, water content, yield and water use efficiency data. Cost benefit analysis was conducted on subsoiling time interval under conservation tillage. Yield and power consumption were assessed by based on the use of a single pass combine subsoiler and planter. Annual subsoiling was effective in reducing bulk density by only 4.9% compared with no-till treatments on the silty loam soils of the Loess plateau, but provided no extra benefit in terms of soil water loss, yield increase or water utilization. With the exception of bulk density, no-till and subsoiling with cover were vastly superior in increasing water use (+10.5%) efficiency and yield (+12.9%) compared to traditional tillage methods. Four years of no-till followed by one subsoiling reduced mechanical inputs by 62%, providing an economic benefit of 49% for maize and 209% for wheat production compared to traditional tillage. Annual subsoiling reduced inputs by 25% with an increased economic benefit of 23% for maize and 135% for wheat production. Yield and power consumption was improved by 5% and 20%, respectively, by combining subsoiling with the planting operation in one pass compared with multipass operations of subsoiling and planting. A key conclusion from this is that annual subsoiling in dryland areas of northern China is uneconomical and unwarranted. Four years of no-till operations followed by 1 year subsoiling provided some relief from accumulated soil compaction. However, minimum soil disturbance and maximum soil cover are key elements of no-till for saving water and improving yields. Improved yields and reduced farm power consumption could provide a significant base on which to promote combined planter and subsoiling operations throughout northern China. Further research is required to develop a better understanding of the linkages between conservation tillage, soil quality and yield, aimed at designing most appropriate conservation tillage schemes.     

A description and evaluation of the physical and financial characteristics of dairy farms operating on soil types classified as poorly drained and associated with high rainfall

The physical and financial performance data used for analysis were obtained over a 6‐year period (2010–2015), from two different databases including a nationally representative data set of dairy farmers and a detailed data set of seven individual farms. Initial analysis indicated significant variations across soil type and region, across a wide range of physical and financial parameters. Further detailed analysis was completed using a group of seven farms participating in a Heavy Soils Programme (HSP), which were compared to different cohorts of the nationally representative database (National Farm Survey [NFS]), ranked on net profit per ha. The HSP farms utilized larger quantities of grass DM per ha per year than the median of the NFS farms, at similar grazing season lengths, but were using lower levels of purchased feed. Economic analysis indicated the HSP farmers achieved significantly lower net profits per hectare to the NFS median group but significantly higher net profits per kg of fat and protein. The HSP farms also achieved significantly greater overall net farm income per year (€83,788), when compared to the median nationally (€67,898), over the 6‐year period (excluding owned land and labour). The mean return on assets ascertained by the HSP farmers was also significantly greater, at 5.75% per year compared to 3.49% achieved by the median of NFS farms. In conclusion, this study has indicated that efficient dairy businesses operating on poorly drained soils can be as profitable as those across all ranges of soil types.     

Dentate gyrus NMDA receptors mediate rapid pattern separation in the hippocampal network

Forming distinct representations of multiple contexts, places, and episodes is a crucial function of the hippocampus. The dentate gyrus subregion has been suggested to fulfill this role. We have tested this hypothesis by generating and analyzing a mouse strain that lacks the gene encoding the essential subunit of the N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor NR1, specifically in dentate gyrus granule cells. The mutant mice performed normally in contextual fear conditioning, but were impaired in the ability to distinguish two similar contexts. A significant reduction in the context-specific modulation of firing rate was observed in the CA3 pyramidal cells when the mutant mice were transferred from one context to another. These results provide evidence that NMDA receptors in the granule cells of the dentate gyrus play a crucial role in the process of pattern separation.     

Transgenic inhibition of synaptic transmission reveals role of CA3 output in hippocampal learning

The hippocampus is an area of the brain involved in learning and memory. It contains parallel excitatory pathways referred to as the trisynaptic pathway (which carries information as follows: entorhinal cortex --> dentate gyrus --> CA3 --> CA1 --> entorhinal cortex) and the monosynaptic pathway (entorhinal cortex --> CA1 --> entorhinal cortex). We developed a generally applicable tetanus toxin-based method for transgenic mice that permits inducible and reversible inhibition of synaptic transmission and applied it to the trisynaptic pathway while preserving transmission in the monosynaptic pathway. We found that synaptic output from CA3 in the trisynaptic pathway is dispensable and the short monosynaptic pathway is sufficient for incremental spatial learning. In contrast, the full trisynaptic pathway containing CA3 is required for rapid one-trial contextual learning, for pattern completion-based memory recall, and for spatial tuning of CA1 cells.     

Four legs or two: up front with you--preventing tragedies by keeping children and pets out of the cargo areas of pickup trucks.

Dogs and children riding in the cargo area of pickup trucks are common sights on our nation's highways, country roads, and small town streets. This scene brings to mind idyllic childhoods filled with summer days spent bouncing down roads in the back of grandpa's pickup truck, wind catching the laughter from children's throats. For hundreds of families each year, this activity is the cause of heartache, traumatic injuries, and senseless deaths. More than 200 people die each year, half of whom are younger than 18 years of age, as a direct result of falls from cargo areas of pickup trucks. Injuries and deaths resulting from riding in cargo areas of pickup trucks are not limited to humans. In a recent survey, 71% of veterinarians reported treating dogs for injuries sustained by falling or jumping from cargo areas of pickup trucks. This percentage does not take into account countless dogs that were killed and not treated. Injuries and deaths resulting from riding in cargo areas of pickup trucks are preventable. Whereas it may take millions of dollars and many years to cure diseases such as cancer, heart disease, and AIDS, pickup truck-associated deaths can be prevented simply by educating the public to not allow children and pets to ride in cargo areas. The primary objective of "Four legs or two: Up front with you" is to educate the public on the risks involved with travel in the cargo areas of pickup trucks. Making people aware that children and pets are not cargo is the first step toward decreasing senseless injuries and deaths.     

多年麦稻轮作免耕土壤细菌对土壤养分和酶活性的影响

为了探索连续多年免耕轮作对土壤养分与微生物的影响,以麦稻水旱轮作免耕试验为对象,采用常规土壤养分测定法、土壤微生物宏基因组测序技术及京都基因和基因组百科全书(KEGG)数据库、冗余(RDA)分析等方法,对连续多年田间保留农作物残茬免耕及传统耕作土壤的养分、微生物种群、酶活性等进行了检测分析。结果表明,连续13年田间保留农作物秸秆、残茬免耕轮作与传统耕作轮作0～20 cm土壤微生物种群结构丰度在农作物不同生长发育时期发生了变化,第一核心种群的变形菌门(Proteobacteria)、酸性杆菌门(Acidobac-teria)丰度最高,呈增加趋势;第二核心种群的放线菌门(Actinobacteria)、绿弯菌门(Chloroflexi)丰度呈下降趋势;连续多年免耕轮作处理土壤中心土壤脲酶、蔗糖酶、蛋白酶含量分别比传统耕作处理提高了4.9%、22.8%、21.7%;免耕轮作处理的作物在绝大部分生长阶段与土壤酶的关联性优于传统耕作轮作处理。免耕处理Z4与传统耕种处理T4比较,土壤有机质、全氮、全磷、水解性氮、有效磷含量分别提高了27.7%、20.3%、16.1%、30.8%、19.3%;两种土壤的微生物代谢通路差异主要表现为氨基酸类通路,免耕轮作处理的绝大多数氨基酸类通路在第1时期(小麦拔节期)和第3时期(水稻孕穗期)比传统耕作轮作激活程度强的差异达到显著或极显著水平。在免耕轮作处理中,硝基螺菌属(Nitrospira)、厌氧黏细菌属(Anaromyxobacter)与全钾、速效钾、有机质、全氮、水解性氮含量,鞘氨醇单胞菌属(Sphingomonas)与有效磷含量呈正相关。连续多年田间保留作物残茬、秸秆,为微生物提供了较多的“食物”,以及连续多年免耕轮作措施减少土壤微生物生存环境的破坏是培肥地力的根本原因。而合理轮作免耕土壤中的变形菌门、酸性杆菌门等核心优势细菌种群,以及土壤酶的催化作用优于传统耕作,它们共同促进了土壤有机质和土壤养分转化和循环是提高土壤肥力的推动力。     

Mechanical, barrier, and antimicrobial properties of apple puree edible films containing plant essential oils

Edible films, as carriers of antimicrobial compounds, constitute an approach for incorporating plant essential oils (EOs) onto fresh-cut fruit surfaces. The effect against Escherichia coli O157:H7 of oregano, cinnamon, and lemongrass oils in apple puree film-forming solution (APFFS) and in an edible film made from the apple puree solution (APEF) was investigated along with the mechanical and physical properties of the films. Bactericidal activities of APFFS, expressed as BA50 values (BA50 values are defined as the percentage of antimicrobial that killed 50% of the bacteria under the test conditions) ranged from 0.019% for oregano oil to 0.094% for cinnamon oil. Oregano oil in the apple puree and in the film was highly effective against E. coli O157:H7. The data show that (a) the order of antimicrobial activities was oregano oil > lemongrass oil > cinnamon oil and (b) addition of the essential oils into film-forming solution decreased water vapor permeability and increased oxygen permeability, but did not significantly alter the tensile properties of the films. These results show that plant-derived essential oils can be used to prepare apple-based antimicrobial edible films for various food applications.     

Uranium-series dated authigenic carbonates and acheulian sites in southern egypt

Field investigations in southern Egypt have yielded Acheulian artifacts in situ in authigenic carbonate deposits (CaCO(3)-cemented alluvium) along the edges of nowaggraded paleovalleys (Wadi Arid and Wadi Safsaf). Uranium-series dating of 25 carbonate samples from various localities as far apart as 70 kilometers indicates that widespread carbonate deposition occurred about 45, 141 and 212 ka (thousand years ago). Most of the carbonate appears to have been precipitated from groundwater, which suggests that these three episodes of deposition may be related to late Pleistocene humid climates that facilitated human settlement in this now hyperarid region. Carbonate cements from sediments containing Acheulian artifacts provide a minimum age of 212 ka for early occupation of the paleovalleys.