Wood modification with alkoxysilanes

Wood was treated with three different alkoxysilanes which are able to undergo a sol–gel process: tetraethoxysilane (TEOS), methyl triethoxysilane (MTES) and propyl triethoxysilane (PTEO). Two types of treatments were compared: impregnation of fibre saturated wood with monomeric silane solutions, and impregnation with pre-hydrolysed partly oligomeric silanes. Wood properties such as cell wall bulking, anti-swelling efficiency (ASE), moisture uptake and durability were more significantly improved in samples treated with monomeric silanes than in samples treated with oligomeric silanes. SEM-EDX mapping showed that this treatment resulted in a higher degree of silicon incorporation into the cell wall, although the weight percent gain (WPG) was lower compared to the treatment with pre-hydrolysed partly oligomeric silanes. The resistance against soil micro-organisms was enhanced in the initial phase of incubation especially in those samples treated with organo-functional-alkoxysilanes. In miniaturised block tests with the white-rot basidiomycete Trametes versicolor, an improved durability was observed within the test period. During an air conditioning step, a weight loss of the treated samples occurred which was accompanied by a reduction in bulking and ASE. The initial reduction of moisture uptake observed after treatment diminished almost completely. This effect was explained by an ageing of the gels in the wood cell wall which is a consequence of uncompleted hydrolysis and condensation of the silanes during the treatment.     

Agricultural extension approach: evidence from an Integrated Soil Fertility Management Project in Ethiopia

Agricultural extension is an approach to rural development and agricultural transformation in which training, demonstration and technology transfer are key to reducing rural poverty, ensuring food security, and sustainably managing natural resources. During recent decades, different extension approaches have been tested and validated by the Ethiopian government and non-governmental organizations to stimulate participation in the agricultural extension system (AES). The most recent was a German-funded project entitled “Integrated Soil Fertility Management Project” (ISFM⁺), which employed a novel approach to piloting and upscaling proven technology and best practice. The purpose of this study was to analyze and document the modalities of ISFM⁺ and illustrate its effects on technology uptake and dissemination. The study used a mixed methods approach to collect data. ATLAS.ti and SPSS were used for data management and analysis. Farmer Research and Extension Groups and Farmer Field Schools were found to be central to the participation process. Also, the ISFM⁺ was found to aid technology transfer and helped to increase grain and residue yields as well as farmer livelihoods. Based on these empirical findings, it is argued that the ISFM⁺ approach and technology should be integrated and institutionalized in the mainstream AES in order to promote their extensive application.     

Impact of rank position on fertility of sows

The investigations were carried out with 484 sows from two farms (farm A: housing the sows in small groups of 8 animals each, farm B with a large group of 100 sows) and a total number of 982 inseminations. The number of agonistic interactions was registered for each sow during 48 h after mixing soon after weaning the piglets at farm A. The individual rank place in the social hierarchy was calculated on the basis of wins and defeats and the sows were divided in high and low ranking sows. At farm B the rank position was estimated on the basis of the daily feeding order at two electronic feeding stations (first half of the sows in the feeding order = high ranking, second half = low ranking). Additionally, the following parameters were recorded for each sow: parity, genotype, farrowing rate and litter size (total and alive born piglets). The analysis showed that sows with a high rank position had a significantly higher farrowing rate (88.8%) compared to group-mates with low rank places (82.8%, p = 0.051) (farm A). Sows with a high rank position reached a significantly higher litter size of total born piglets (12.66, 16.14 piglets per litter respectively) than the low-ranking group-mates (12.13, 14.83 piglets/litter respectively — farms A and B). When mixing sows, the time and the conditions (e.g. group size, space allowance per sow) have to be considered to prevent the negative influence of low rank order on fertility.     

Frequency of occupation with different simultaneously offered devices by fattening pigs kept in pens with or without straw

The aim of this study was to investigate to what extent different occupational devices (pendular beam, cross of chains or lifting beam) offered simultaneously were used by one or more pigs kept in pens with or without straw during the fattening period. The data were obtained in four fattening periods. In every round four pens with nine animals each were available, two of them had a solid concrete floor and were littered with straw the other two had a partially slatted floor without any straw. At three stages during each fattening period the behaviour of the pigs was video-recorded for 24 h and their use of each occupational tool was analysed second-wise.In both housing systems the cross of chains was used longer for occupation than the other devices. The pendular beam was used least of all. All three devices could have been used by more than one pig at the same time, but the cross of chains was used longer by two to four pigs simultaneously than the others. It was observed that pigs in pens without straw used the cross of chains and the lifting beam significantly (p < 0.05) longer than the pigs in the pens with straw.All three devices are suitable to enrich a housing system without any litter. Especially a cross of chains allows the pigs to perform their explorational behaviour.     

Enhanced modern heat transfer to the Arctic by warm Atlantic Water

The Arctic is responding more rapidly to global warming than most other areas on our planet. Northward-flowing Atlantic Water is the major means of heat advection toward the Arctic and strongly affects the sea ice distribution. Records of its natural variability are critical for the understanding of feedback mechanisms and the future of the Arctic climate system, but continuous historical records reach back only ~150 years. Here, we present a multidecadal-scale record of ocean temperature variations during the past 2000 years, derived from marine sediments off Western Svalbard (79°N). We find that early-21st-century temperatures of Atlantic Water entering the Arctic Ocean are unprecedented over the past 2000 years and are presumably linked to the Arctic amplification of global warming.     

Toll-like receptor triggering of a vitamin D-mediated human antimicrobial response

In innate immune responses, activation of Toll-like receptors (TLRs) triggers direct antimicrobial activity against intracellular bacteria, which in murine, but not human, monocytes and macrophages is mediated principally by nitric oxide. We report here that TLR activation of human macrophages up-regulated expression of the vitamin D receptor and the vitamin D-1-hydroxylase genes, leading to induction of the antimicrobial peptide cathelicidin and killing of intracellular Mycobacterium tuberculosis. We also observed that sera from African-American individuals, known to have increased susceptibility to tuberculosis, had low 25-hydroxyvitamin D and were inefficient in supporting cathelicidin messenger RNA induction. These data support a link between TLRs and vitamin D-mediated innate immunity and suggest that differences in ability of human populations to produce vitamin D may contribute to susceptibility to microbial infection.     

Dynamic visualization of thrombopoiesis within bone marrow

Platelets are generated from megakaryocytes (MKs) in mammalian bone marrow (BM) by mechanisms that remain poorly understood. Here we describe the use of multiphoton intravital microscopy in intact BM to visualize platelet generation in mice. MKs were observed as sessile cells that extended dynamic proplatelet-like protrusions into microvessels. These intravascular extensions appeared to be sheared from their transendothelial stems by flowing blood, resulting in the appearance of proplatelets in peripheral blood. In vitro, proplatelet production from differentiating MKs was enhanced by fluid shear. These results confirm the concept of proplatelet formation in vivo and are consistent with the possibility that blood flow-induced hydrodynamic shear stress is a biophysical determinant of thrombopoiesis.     

Comment on "HST2 mediates SIR2-independent life-span extension by calorie restriction"

Calorie restriction (CR) increases life span in yeast independently of Sir2. Lamming et al. (Reports, 16 September 2005, p. 1861) recently proposed that Sir2-independent life-span extension by CR is mediated by the Sir2 paralogs Hst1 and Hst2. Contradictory to this, we find that CR greatly increases life span in cells lacking Sir2, Hst1, and Hst2, which suggests that CR is not mediated by Sir2, Hst2, or Hst1.     

Cold-seep mollusks are older than the general marine mollusk fauna

The origin and possible antiquity of faunas at deep-sea hydrothermal vents and seeps have been debated since their discovery. We used the fossil record of seep mollusks to show that the living seep genera have significantly longer geologic ranges than the marine mollusks in general, but have ranges similar to those of deep-sea taxa, suggesting that seep faunas may be shaped by the factors that drive the evolution of life in the deep sea in general. Our data indicate that deep-sea anoxic/dysoxic events did not affect seep faunas, casting doubt on the suggested anoxic nature and/or global extent of these events.