Early life recorded in archean pillow lavas

Pillow lava rims from the Mesoarchean Barberton Greenstone Belt in South Africa contain micrometer-scale mineralized tubes that provide evidence of submarine microbial activity during the early history of Earth. The tubes formed during microbial etching of glass along fractures, as seen in pillow lavas from recent oceanic crust. The margins of the tubes contain organic carbon, and many of the pillow rims exhibit isotopically light bulk-rock carbonate delta13C values, supporting their biogenic origin. Overlapping metamorphic and magmatic dates from the pillow lavas suggest that microbial life colonized these subaqueous volcanic rocks soon after their eruption almost 3.5 billion years ago.     

Changes in surface water supply across Africa with predicted climate change

Across Africa, perennial drainage density as a function of mean annual rainfall defines three regimes separated by threshold values of precipitation. This nonlinear response of drainage to rainfall will most seriously affect regions in the intermediate, unstable regime. A 10% decrease in precipitation in regions on the upper regime boundary (1000 millimeters per year) would reduce drainage by 17%, whereas in regions receiving 500 millimeters per year, such a drop would cut 50% of surface drainage. By using predicted precipitation changes, we calculate that a decrease in perennial drainage will significantly affect present surface water access across 25% of Africa by the end of this century.     

The efficacy of the bone markers osteocalcin and the carboxyterminal cross-linked telopeptide of type-I collagen in evaluating osteogenesis in a canine crural lengthening model

The aim of the present study was to determine the efficacy of the bone markers osteocalcin (OC) and carboxyterminal cross-linked telopeptide of type-I collagen (ICTP) in evaluating new bone formation in the dog, using commercially available immunoassay kits. Dogs were randomly divided into three groups and a circular external skeletal fixation system (CESF) was mounted on the tibia. In the first group a distraction osteogenesis procedure of the crus was performed. The second group received an osteotomy without crural lengthening, whereas the third group served as a sham-operated control. Bone formation was assessed using densitometric image analysis of crural radiographs. Despite significant differences in the amount of newly formed bone, this finding was not reflected in the plasma levels of OC and ICTP. In conclusion, OC and ICTP were not efficacious as markers of bone formation and resorption during osteogenesis in this canine model.     

土壤杆菌K1026对果树根癌病的生物防治

由致病性根癌土壤杆菌Agrobacterium spp.侵染引起的根癌病对山东及我国其他省份的樱桃、桃及其他果树生产造成严重的影响.土壤杆菌Agrobacterium rhizogenes K1026在澳大利亚已制成生防菌剂并在全球多个国家实现商品化,但在我国果树育苗和生产行业中还未得到广泛应用.本文从山东樱桃和桃树根癌组织及感病土壤中分别分离到100余株致病性土壤杆菌,经鉴定均属于生物Ⅱ型土壤杆菌;利用双层平板抑菌试验,检测了37株病原菌对菌株K1026的敏感性,结果显示,所有菌株均对K1026产生的抗生物质敏感,可以在Stonier,s培养基上产生5种以上不同类型的抑菌圈;胡萝卜切片试验显示,菌株K1026可完全抑制37株病原菌对胡萝卜的致瘤活性.上述结果为土壤杆菌K1026用于山东省樱桃及桃树根癌病的生物防治奠定了基础.     

What factors affect national-scale deer population dynamics in the Republic of Ireland?

Research into deer population dynamics has mostly focused on community or landscape scales in the Republic of Ireland. However, in order to propose national deer management strategies to confront the increasing deer populations in recent years, a larger scale analysis of deer populations is necessary. In this inter-county, national study, generalised linear mixed models were utilised to examine the relationship between the harvest rate (defined as the numbers harvested per 100?ha in this study) data and factors identified in past research as contributing to deer population dynamics on a county basis, where annual county-level deer harvest records were used to reflect deer populations by species. The procedures were repeated for each species and significant factors and their impacts were identified for each county. The results suggested that multiple factors affect deer population dynamics; for instance, increases in forest cover tended to result in increases in deer populations of all species, and the presence of red and sika deer populations in a county had a positive influence on hybrid deer populations. National migration maps for each deer species were produced, as well as predictions of future population trends. The outcome of this study can be used to guide the development of a national deer management strategy and the prioritisation, on a regional basis, of deer control measures.     

Rheological Method for Evaluating Endoproteolytic Enzyme Activity

A rheological method for evaluating endoproteolytic enzyme activity was developed. The decrease in viscosity as a function of time of dispersion of commercially available modified wheat gluten protein in water (15%, w/w) was measured with a rapid visco analyzer (RVA). Measurement of the RVA viscosity signal at a chosen temperature was continuous and reproducible. As described, the method also can be used to determine the temperature optima of endoproteolytic enzymes at pH values exceeding 5.5 and for partial pH-activity profiles at different temperatures. The method is simple, reproducible, and sensitive and has obvious advantages over more labor-intensive methods in which changes in the rheological properties (elongational viscosity, stretch ratio) of a gluten-starch dough are evaluated as a function of time.