Water scarcity: Fact or fiction?

It is surprisingly difficult to determine whether water is truly scarce in the physical sense at a global scale (a supply problem) or whether it is available but should be used better (a demand problem). The paper reviews water scarcity indicators and global assessments based on these indicators. The most widely used indicator, the Falkenmark indicator, is popular because it is easy to apply and understand but it does not help to explain the true nature of water scarcity. The more complex indicators are not widely applied because data are lacking to apply them and the definitions are not intuitive. Water is definitely physically scarce in densely populated arid areas, Central and West Asia, and North Africa, with projected availabilities of less than 1000 m³/capita/year. This scarcity relates to water for food production, however, and not to water for domestic purposes that are minute at this scale. In most of the rest of the world water scarcity at a national scale has as much to do with the development of the demand as the availability of the supply. Accounting for water for environmental requirements shows that abstraction of water for domestic, food and industrial uses already have a major impact on ecosystems in many parts of the world, even those not considered “water scarce”. Water will be a major constraint for agriculture in coming decades and particularly in Asia and Africa this will require major institutional adjustments. A “soft path” to address water scarcity, focusing on increasing overall water productivity, is recommended.     

提高繁殖猪群效率纵横谈(续完)

妊娠失败 　　妊娠失败可发生在受精之后的任何时候(受精发生在首次配种后24小时的时候).如果妊娠失败发生在妊娠35天之前,那么死亡的胚胎通常会被机体吸收,因而妊娠失败就可能不会被检测到.卵受精后最初12～14天内,形成的胚胎是自由漂浮在子宫内的.到妊娠12～14天左右时,胚胎适当分开地排列在整个子宫中,并且开始植入到子宫内表面.植入过程要到受精后28天左右时才完成.因此,建议在妊娠3～28天之间不要对母猪进行混群或移动. 　　……     

Poliomyelomalacia, pancreatic necrosis, and cerebellar malacia in turkey poults

Two-to-5-week-old turkey poults from three large Minnesota flocks exhibited ataxia, flaccid paralysis, and up to 5% mortality as unexpected death. The major post-mortem finding was cerebellar hemorrhage and softening detected in 22 of 89 clinically affected poults. Histologic findings were severe focal or multifocal poliomyelomalacia in the lumbosacral intumescentia of the spinal cord, cerebellar malacia, and single-cell or multifocal coagulative necrosis of pancreatic acinar cells. Thirty of 32 clinically affected poults examined had microscopic spinal cord lesions, 12 of 48 had cerebellar lesions, and 26 of 47 had pancreatic lesions. Gross and microscopic cerebellar lesions resembled those of vitamin E deficiency in chicks. Hepatic selenium levels were approximately twice normal expected levels for poults.     

Perirenal hemorrhage syndrome in market turkey toms: effect of management factors

Differences in the overall mortality rates and mortality due to perirenal hemorrhage syndrome (PHS) were compared in large white Nicholas tom turkeys. The study evaluated the effects of 1) four different light and temperature treatments; 2) three feed additives proposed to have anti-stress effects (reserpine, acetylsalicylic acid, and increased calcium); 3) toe-clipping on mortality, various disease conditions, and production parameters. Mortality varied from 0.60% to 3.57% among groups. Increased room temperature (21 C), toe-clipping, step-up/step-down lighting, and dietary reserpine reduced the incidence of PHS as compared with lower room temperature (13 C), no toe-clipping, intermittent lighting (2 hours light, 4 hours dark), and no dietary reserpine. Dietary aspirin or elevated calcium levels had no effect on PHS incidence. Overall mortality was greatest in the warmer rooms.     

Composition of saturnian stream particles

During Cassini's approach to Saturn, the Cosmic Dust Analyser (CDA) discovered streams of tiny (less than 20 nanometers) high-velocity (approximately 100 kilometers per second) dust particles escaping from the saturnian system. A fraction of these impactors originated from the outskirts of Saturn's dense A ring. The CDA time-of-flight mass spectrometer recorded 584 mass spectra from the stream particles. The particles consist predominantly of oxygen, silicon, and iron, with some evidence of water ice, ammonium, and perhaps carbon. The stream particles primarily consist of silicate materials, and this implies that the particles are impurities from the icy ring material rather than the ice particles themselves.     

Samples of stars beyond the solar system: silicate grains in interplanetary dust

We have identified six circumstellar silicate grains within interplanetary dust particles (IDPs). Their extrasolar origins are demonstrated by their extremely anomalous oxygen isotopic compositions. Three 17O-rich grains appear to originate from red giant or asymptotic giant branch stars. One 16O-rich grain may be from a metal-poor star. Two 16O-poor grains have unknown stellar sources. One of the grains is forsterite, and two are amorphous silicate "GEMS" (glass with embedded metal and sulfides), which is consistent with astronomical identifications of crystalline and amorphous silicates in the outflows of evolved stars. These observations suggest cometary origins of these IDPs and underscore the perplexing absence of silicates among circumstellar dust grains from meteorites.     

Tree ring correlation between prehistoric landslides and abrupt tectonic events in Seattle, washington

Radiocarbon ages of submerged trees on landslide deposits in Lake Washington, Seattle, indicate that the most recent slides in three separate areas may have occurred simultaneously about 1000 years ago. Tree ring crossdating shows that seven bark-bearing trees from one of these recent slides and a tree 23 kilometers to the northwest in a probable tsunami deposit on the shore of Puget Sound died in the same season of the same year. The close coincidence among the most recent lake landslides, a probable tsunami, abrupt subsidence, and other possible seismic events gives evidence for a strong prehistoric earthquake in the Seattle region.     

Zona pellucida dissolution enzymes of the rabbit sperm head

Enzymes which dissolve the zona pellucida have been extracted from the rabbit sperm head and characterized as having the enzymic properties of hyaluronidase and trypsin. Their combined actions produce a rapid and complete dissolution of the zona pellucida, but the vitellus and its membrane are unaffected by prolonged exposure to this enzyme complex. Inhibition of the proteolytic component with lima bean or soybean inhibitors of trypsin prevents dissolution of the zona pellucida by the extract.     

用Glu-B3、Gli-B1和SEC-1b复合引物PCR检测普通小麦1BL/1RS易位系

 利用低分子量 (LMW )麦谷蛋白Glu B3的STS PCR标记、醇溶蛋白Gli B1的SSR标记和黑麦碱SEC 1b的STS PCR标记的复合PCR ,对 10个普通小麦品种、中优 950 7/CA963 2的 91个DH系和 2 8个F2 个体植株 ,进行了1BL/1RS易位系的检测。结果表明 ,中优 950 7/CA963 2的 3 9个DH系和CA963 2、晋麦 45、兰考 2 4、烟农 18、京冬 8等5个品种缺失 2个小麦贮藏蛋白位点的PCR产物 ,而拥有黑麦碱的PCR产物。利用PAGE和ELISA方法 ,对上述品种 (系 )进行了黑麦碱 (secalin)蛋白的检测 ,发现这些品种 (系 )均包含secalin ,与分子标记的检测结果吻合 ,是 1BL/1RS易位系。对 2 8个F2 单株的检测表明 ,该复合标记可以检测出早代 1BL/1RS的纯合和杂合植株