The distribution of nitrogen in some highly organic tropical volcanic soils

The qualitative and quantitative distribution of N-compounds in 10 tropical soils, and in a number of humic materials extracted from representative samples thereof, was determined after 6 N HCl hydrolysis.Eighty to 98% of the total N in the soils and humic materials was hydrolysable by 6n HCl. Slightly less than one half the hydrolysable N in the soils and humic fractions consisted of amino acids. Well-drained soils and fulvic acids extracted from them contained unusually high concentrations of the acidic amino acids, aspartic and glutamic acids. Between 80 and 95% of the amino acids in the soils was accounted for in the humic materials + NaOH-insoluble organic residues. NH⁺₄-N released by acid hydrolysis was generally higher for the soil samples than for the humic materials. Amino sugar-N constituted relatively small proportions of the total N in the soils and humic fractions.Our data suggest that large quantities of amorphous allophanic materials coupled with relatively high enzymic activity are responsible for the observed accumulation of acidic amino acids in the well-drained tropical volcanic soils.     

不同栽培模式及施氮量对半旱地冬小麦氮素累积及分配的影响

【目的】研究不同栽培模式和施氮量对半旱地栽培条件下冬小麦-夏玉米轮作体系中冬小麦地上部氮素累积、分配及利用效率的影响。【方法】在陕西关中地区进行了田间试验,以常规栽培为对照,比较了补灌、覆草和垄沟等栽培模式及0,120,240 kg/hm2施氮水平,对冬小麦连续2年(2004和2005年)不同生长期各部位氮素累积量的影响。【结果】在补灌模式下,2004和2005年成熟期冬小麦叶片和茎秆的氮素累积量较其他模式低,氮素分配率也较低,而籽粒的氮素分配率较高;施用氮肥显著增加了各生长时期冬小麦叶片、茎秆、颖壳和穗轴以及籽粒的氮素累积量,当氮肥施用量由120增加到240 kg/hm2时,除籽粒外,成熟期冬小麦叶片、茎秆、颖壳和穗轴的氮素残留量均随之明显增加。与不同栽培模式相比,施用氮肥对冬小麦不同器官中氮素分配的影响较小。随着氮肥施用量的增加,氮肥利用效率、氮肥农学效率和氮肥生理效率均呈降低趋势。在不同栽培模式中,连续2年补灌栽培模式下冬小麦的氮肥利用效率、氮肥农学效率以及氮肥生理效率均较高,而其他栽培模式下这3个指标年际间的变化较大。【结论】施用氮肥可显著增加冬小麦各生长时期不同器官的氮素累积量,但对氮素在不同器官中分配比例的影响较小;与施用氮肥相比,不同栽培模式对冬小麦氮素的累积、分布无明显影响;冬季补灌有利于提高冬小麦的氮素效率。     

湖南省麦迪卡药石农业应用效果综述

湖南省麦迪卡药石(MEDCAL STONE)资源丰富,质量优良,具有富硅、富钾、富微量元素和离子轻稀土的特点,具有很强的吸附性能,可溶出多种有益矿物质,增加水中氧的含量,调节水的pH值,生物活性强,对防治疾病具有重要作用。经过近20 a的研究,农业上应用在作物施肥、药膳食疗等方面,均有极好的社会、经济效益。同时,产地水土、森林、人文资源特好,生态景观优美,不但是天然的无公害农业基地,也是发展休闲农业、旅游农业的"风水宝地"。     

Role of live microbial feed supplements with reference to anaerobic fungi in ruminant productivity: A review

To keep the concept of a safe food supply to the consumers, animal feed industries world over are showing an increasing interest in the direct-fed microbials(DFM) for improved animal performance in terms of growth or productivity. This becomes all the more essential in a situation, where a number of the residues of antibiotics and/or other growth stimulants reach in milk and meat with a number of associated potential risks for the consumers. Hence, in the absence of growth stimulants, a positive manipulation of the rumen microbial ecosystem to enhance the feedstuff utilization for improved production efficiency by ruminants has become of much interest to the researchers and entrepreneurs. A few genera of live microbes(i.e., bacteria, fungi and yeasts in different types of formulations from paste to powder) are infrequently used as DFM for the domestic ruminants. These DFM products are live microbial feed supplements containing naturally occurring microbes in the rumen. Among different DFM possibilities, anaerobic rumen fungi(ARF) based additives have been found to improve ruminant productivity consistently during feeding trials. Administration of ARF during the few trials conducted, led to the increased weight gain, milk production, and total tract digestibility of feed components in ruminants. Anaerobic fungi in the rumen display very strong cell-wall degrading cellulolytic and xylanolytic activities through rhizoid development, resulting in the physical disruption of feed structure paving the way for bacterial action. Significant improvements in the fiber digestibility were found to coincide with increases in ARF in the rumen indicating their role. Most of the researches based on DFM have indicated a positive response in nutrient digestion and methane reducing potential during in vivo and/or in vitro supplementation of ARF as DFM. Therefore, DFM especially ARF will gain popularity but it is necessary that all the strains are thoroughly studied for their beneficial properties to have a confirmed ‘generally regarded as safe' status for ruminants.     

A long-snouted predatory dinosaur from africa and the evolution of spinosaurids

Fossils discovered in Lower Cretaceous (Aptian) rocks in the Tenere Desert of central Niger provide new information about spinosaurids, a peculiar group of piscivorous theropod dinosaurs. The remains, which represent a new genus and species, reveal the extreme elongation and transverse compression of the spinosaurid snout. The postcranial bones include blade-shaped vertebral spines that form a low sail over the hips. Phylogenetic analysis suggests that the enlarged thumb claw and robust forelimb evolved during the Jurassic, before the elongated snout and other fish-eating adaptations in the skull. The close phylogenetic relationship between the new African spinosaurid and Baryonyx from Europe provides evidence of dispersal across the Tethys seaway during the Early Cretaceous.     

Crystal structure of a lipid G protein-coupled receptor

The lyso-phospholipid sphingosine 1-phosphate modulates lymphocyte trafficking, endothelial development and integrity, heart rate, and vascular tone and maturation by activating G protein-coupled sphingosine 1-phosphate receptors. Here, we present the crystal structure of the sphingosine 1-phosphate receptor 1 fused to T4-lysozyme (S1P(1)-T4L) in complex with an antagonist sphingolipid mimic. Extracellular access to the binding pocket is occluded by the amino terminus and extracellular loops of the receptor. Access is gained by ligands entering laterally between helices I and VII within the transmembrane region of the receptor. This structure, along with mutagenesis, agonist structure-activity relationship data, and modeling, provides a detailed view of the molecular recognition and requirement for hydrophobic volume that activates S1P(1), resulting in the modulation of immune and stromal cell responses.     

The theropod ancestry of birds: new evidence from the late cretaceous of madagascar

A partial skeleton of a primitive bird, Rahona ostromi, gen. et sp. nov., has been discovered from the Late Cretaceous of Madagascar. This specimen, although exhibiting avian features such as a reversed hallux and ulnar papillae, retains characteristics that indicate a theropod ancestry, including a pubic foot and hyposphene-hypantra vertebral articulations. Rahona has a robust, hyperextendible second digit on the hind foot that terminates in a sicklelike claw, a unique characteristic of the theropod groups Troodontidae and Dromaeosauridae. A phylogenetic analysis places Rahona with Archaeopteryx, making Rahona one of the most primitive birds yet discovered.     

Thermodynamics of calcite growth: baseline for understanding biomineral formation

The complexity of biomineralized structures suggests the potential of organic constituents for controlling energetic factors during crystal synthesis. Atomic force microscopy was used to investigate the thermodynamic controls on carbonate growth and to measure the dependence of step speed on step length and the dependence of critical step length on supersaturation in precisely controlled solutions. These data were used to test the classic Gibbs-Thomson relationship and provided the step edge free energies and free energy barriers to one-dimension nucleation for calcite. Addition of aspartic acid, a common component in biomineralizing systems, dramatically affected growth morphology and altered the magnitude of the surface energy.     

Unconditional quantum teleportation

Quantum teleportation of optical coherent states was demonstrated experimentally using squeezed-state entanglement. The quantum nature of the achieved teleportation was verified by the experimentally determined fidelity Fexp = 0.58 +/- 0.02, which describes the match between input and output states. A fidelity greater than 0.5 is not possible for coherent states without the use of entanglement. This is the first realization of unconditional quantum teleportation where every state entering the device is actually teleported.     

Predatory Dinosaurs from the Sahara and Late Cretaceous Faunal Differentiation

Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian) fossils discovered in the Kem Kem region of Morocco include large predatory dinosaurs that inhabited Africa as it drifted into geographic isolation. One, represented by a skull approximately 1.6 meters in length, is an advanced allosauroid referable to the African genus Carcharodontosaurus. Another, represented by a partial skeleton with slender proportions, is a new basal coelurosaur closely resembling the Egyptian genus Bahariasaurus. Comparisons with Cretaceous theropods from other continents reveal a previously unrecognized global radiation of carcharodontosaurid predators. Substantial geographic differentiation of dinosaurian faunas in response to continental drift appears to have arisen abruptly at the beginning of the Late Cretaceous.