Spatial variability of groundwater solute concentrations at the water table under arable land and coniferous forest. Part 2: Field data for arable land and statistical analysis

The spatial variability of groundwater solute concentrations at the water table beneath a fine to medium sandy soil (Gleyic Podzol) under arable land was investigated. Samples were taken in March (within a period of high seepage) within the first decimeter below the groundwater table at horizontal intervals of 0.5 m along a 30 m transect perpendicular to the direction of plowing. At the time of sampling the field was fallow, the preceding crop was maize. Nitrate, sulfate, potassium, and calcium concentrations, as well as electrical conductivity were determined and analyzed by geostatistical and spectral analysis methods. Semivariance analysis shows spatial dependence between measurements (except for potassium) within a range of about 6 m. Spectral and cospectral analysis show a pattern of periodic variations with a period of 12 m for nitrate, sulfate, calcium, and electrical conductivity. This pattern is related to the manner in which the mineral fertilizer is spread (width of a single application = 12 m). The periodic variation of sulfate is 180° out-of-phase and has a phase shift of 0.4 m with respect to nitrate, calcium, and electrical conductivity, which is probably due to separate application. The concentration of potassium shows a spatial trend, presumably due to a trend in the amount of potassium fertilizer applicated from one side of the field to the other.     

Methods for the investigation of metabolic activities and shifts in the microbial community in a soil treated with a fungicide

Samples from a sandy agricultural soil were treated with increasing amounts of a fungicide (Sportak). The effects on the soil microflora were investigated over several weeks by monitoring basal and substrate-induced respiration and basal and substrate-induced heat output. The microbial biomass, metabolic quotient (qCO₂), relative heat output (rqheat), lag phase of substrate use, and calorimetric: respirometric ratio were used as ecophysiological parametèrs. As structural and community-specific parameters, we recorded tryptophan contents and auxin metabolism, and calculated the ratios of fungal to bacterial respiration by antibiotic inhibition of substrate-induced respiration. Sportak either inhibited or stimulated the microbiota, depending on the length of exposure to the fungicide and the amount applied. Mineralization of dead biomass was reflected in increased soil tryptophan contents after the Sportak application. A shortened lag phase demonstrated inhibition and a prolonged lag phase stimulation of substrate use. This changed with the experimental phase. The rqheat and the calorimetric: respirometric ratio proved to be suitable parameters for the detection of stress metabolism (repair processes) in soil microbiota, because thermodynamic processes and catabolic and anabolic metabolism are taken into account at the same time. Following the application of Sportak, indole 3-acetic acid biosynthesis decreased while indole-3-ethanol biosynthesis increased, probably as a result of a transitional community shift from K-strategists towards r-strategists. It was not the fungicide but the formulation (mainly xylol) that damaged the organisms. A shift in the ratio of fungi to bacteria was also observed, suggesting that the bacteria were probably more sensitive to xylol than the fungi.     

Traces of human migrations in Helicobacter pylori populations

Helicobacter pylori, a chronic gastric pathogen of human beings, can be divided into seven populations and subpopulations with distinct geographical distributions. These modern populations derive their gene pools from ancestral populations that arose in Africa, Central Asia, and East Asia. Subsequent spread can be attributed to human migratory fluxes such as the prehistoric colonization of Polynesia and the Americas, the neolithic introduction of farming to Europe, the Bantu expansion within Africa, and the slave trade.     

The site of attachment in human rhinovirus 14 for antiviral agents that inhibit uncoating

WIN 51711 and WIN 52084 are structurally related, antiviral compounds that inhibit the replication of rhino (common cold) viruses and related picornaviruses. They prevent the pH-mediated uncoating of the viral RNA. The compounds consist of a 3-methylisoxazole group that inserts itself into the hydrophobic interior of the VP1 beta-barrel, a connecting seven-membered aliphatic chain, and a 4-oxazolinylphenoxy group (OP) that covers the entrance to an ion channel in the floor of the "canyon." Viral disassembly may be inhibited by preventing the collapse of the VP1 hydrophobic pocket or by blocking the flow of ions into the virus interior.     

Involvement of mammalian Mus81 in genome integrity and tumor suppression

Mus81-Eme1 endonuclease has been implicated in the rescue of stalled replication forks and the resolution of meiotic recombination intermediates in yeast. We used gene targeting to study the physiological requirements of Mus81 in mammals. Mus81-/- mice are viable and fertile, which indicates that mammalian Mus81 is not essential for recombination processes associated with meiosis. Mus81-deficient mice and cells were hypersensitive to the DNA cross-linking agent mitomycin C but not to gamma-irradiation. Remarkably, both homozygous Mus81-/- and heterozygous Mus81+/- mice exhibited a similar susceptibility to spontaneous chromosomal damage and a profound and equivalent predisposition to lymphomas and other cancers. These studies demonstrate a critical role for the proper biallelic expression of the mammalian Mus81 in the maintenance of genomic integrity and tumor suppression.     

Global allocation rules for patterns of biomass partitioning in seed plants

A general allometric model has been derived to predict intraspecific and interspecific scaling relationships among seed plant leaf, stem, and root biomass. Analysis of a large compendium of standing organ biomass sampled across a broad sampling of taxa inhabiting diverse ecological habitats supports the relations predicted by the model and defines the boundary conditions for above- and below-ground biomass partitioning. These canonical biomass relations are insensitive to phyletic affiliation (conifers versus angiosperms) and variation in averaged local environmental conditions. The model thus identifies and defines the limits that have guided the diversification of seed plant biomass allocation strategies.     

Sexual selection can resolve sex-linked sexual antagonism

Sexual selection is a potent evolutionary force. However, very few models have considered the evolution of female preferences for traits expressed in both sexes. Here we explore how female preferences coevolve with sexually antagonistic traits, which involve alleles that are beneficial to one sex but harmful to the other. We show that with a sexually antagonistic trait on the X chromosome (males XY, females XX), females evolve to prefer mates carrying alleles beneficial to daughters. In contrast, with a Z-linked trait (males ZZ, females ZW), females more often evolve mating preferences for mates carrying alleles beneficial to sons (that is, flashy displays).     

化学灌浆在混凝土细裂缝治理中的应用

详细介绍了化学灌浆的施工技术、设备及化学灌浆材料,结合工程实例加以论述,并证实与缝表面嵌填封涂的处理方式比较,化学灌浆治理混凝土细裂缝更为行之有效.     

Geochemistry and thermolysis of flavonoids

The thermal and pH stability of selected flavonoids has been determined under simulated geologic conditions. Thermolytic rates and products for various regimes, as determined by gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy, indicate the potential usefulness of flavonoids as thermometric indicators in sediments. The parametric factors affecting flavonoid stability are used to geochemically characterize angiosperm "green leaves" (36 to 25 x 10(6) years old) from Succor Creek and indicate that these sediments have not experienced temperatures higher than 80 degrees C or extreme pH shifts (beyond the range 6.3 to 7.2) during postdepositional maturation.     

Simulated wind pollination and airflow around ovules of some early seed plants

Scale models of various early seed plant ovules and cupules were analyzed both for their characteristic air disturbance patterns and for the frequency of impact with airborne models of pollen (pseudopollen). The fossils on which the models were based had been arranged in an evolutionary sequence purporting to show the origin of the integument by the acropetal fusion and reduction in length of a subtending truss of lobes. Wind tunnel analyses of scale models showing the various stages in the consolidation of these preintegumentary lobes indicated that turbulent flow increases and becomes localized around the nucellar apex (salpinx) with the syngenesis and length reduction of those lobes. Similarly, the frequency of windborne pseudopollen impact increased. Thus, the transition from the megasporangium to the fully integumented ovule appears to favor increased wind-mediated pollination.