Atmospheric deposition to remote receptors III. Statistical analysis of precipitation data from the ILWAS-network

A statistical analysis of the precipitation data base from the Integrated Lake-Watershed Acidification Study (ILWAS) is presented. Included in this analysis are: equivalence of distributional form of the concentrations, ion pair concentration analysis, regression by site and season, precipitation type, and multiple regressions. The analysis emphasizes the ions: H, NH₄, SO₄, and NO₃. Variability in H is explained largely through SO₄ and NO₃; spatial variability for the species pairs SO₄-H, NO₃-H, SO₄-NH₄; and NO₃-NH₄ does not suggest significant differences between sites on a seasonal basis.     

Species concepts and systematics of domesticated cereals

Summary Cultivated cereals are domesticated grasses. Wild progenitors of domestic cereals are aggressive natural colonizers and often become weedy in man disturbed habitats. Hybridization between cultivated cereals and their close wild relatives gives rise to mimetic cereal weeds that often accompany the domestic species well beyond its natural range. Similar weeds may also evolve from abandoned cultivars as a result of mutations that restore their ability for natural seed dispersal. Cultivated complexes of domestic species are typically variable. Man selects and isolates phenotypes to suit his fancies, with the result that different phenotypes of a cereal are often grown for different uses in the same village, and adjacent villages often grow different phenotypes for similar uses. Conventional species concepts do not hold for domestic species. It is proposed that wild, weed and cultivated complexes of individual domestic species be recognized respectively as subspecies. Major discontinuities in variation within the weed or cultivated subspecies are then identified as races without formal taxonomic recognition.

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Artbegriff und Systematik bei domestizierten Getreiden

Zusammenfassung Kultivierte Getreide sind domestizierte Gräser. Die wilden Vorfahren der domestizierten Getreide sind aggressive natürliche Besiedler und werden oft zu Unkräutern in vom Menschen beeinflußten Standorten. Bastardierung zwischen kultivierten Getreiden und ihren wilden Verwandten läßt mimetische Getreideunkräuter entstehen, die oft die domestizierten Arten außerhalb ihres natürlichen Verbreitungsgebietes begleiten. Ähnliche Unkräuter können sich auch aus aufgegebenen Sorten entwickeln als ein Ergebnis von Mutationen, die ihre Fähigkeit zur natürlichen Samenausstreuung wiederherstellen. Kultivierte Komplexe domestizierter Arten sind in typischer Weise variabel. Der Mensch selektiert und isoliert Phänotypen nach seinen Vorstellungen mit dem Ergebnis, daß verschiedene Phänotypen eines Getreides oft zu verschiedenen Zwecken im selben Dorf angebaut werden, und benachbarte Dörfer oft verschiedene Phänotypen für ähnliche Zwecke kultivieren. Der herkömmliche Artbegriff bewährt sich nicht bei domestizierten Arten. Es wird vorgeschlagen, daß Wild-, Unkraut- und Kulturformen einer domestizierten Art als entsprechende Unterarten angesehen werden. Größere Gruppen innerhalb der Unkraut- oder Kultur-Unterart sollten als Rassen ohne formale taxonomische Bezeichnung gehandhabt werden.

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Microbial community responses to disease management soil treatments used in flower bulb cultivation

Biology and Fertility of Soils - A number of management practices, such as soil fumigation and flooding, have been employed in efforts to control diseases and weeds in the cultivation of ornamental...     

Einfluss von konventioneller und biologisch-dynamischer Bewirtschaftungsweise auf die mikrobielle Biomasse und deren Stickstoff-Dynamik in Parabraunerden der Friedberger Wetterau

Effect of conventional and biological farming on microbial biomass and its nitrogen turnover in agriculturally used luvisols of the Friedberg plains The influence of conventional and biological farming on microbial biomass-carbon (Bio-C) and nitrogen (Bio-N) of agriculturally used fields was compared. The fields were located on luvisols of the Friedberg plains and tilled according to each system for many years. Bio-C and Bio-N were measured using the chloroform-fumigation-extraction technique. During early spring and autumn (1990) [Bio-CI% C_org] and Bio-N [%N₁] were slightly lower in sites of conventional farming than on fields tilled by biological farming. During the vegetation period Bio-C and Bio-N increased continuously in both systems. This increase, however was higher on conventional than on biological fields and may be ascribed to a higher C-input (rhizodeposition) and availability of mineral nutrients. In the soils of the biological farming system N-deficiency apparently decreased Bio-N (but not Bio-C) in spring time. Consequently the Bio-C/N-ratio increased. It seems as if plant growth affects the quality of microbes (Bio-C/N). The average turnover-time of Bio-N was about 1 year in all soils. However, the average turnover-time of Bio-C was 1.6 years, being 2 times faster in the conventional than in the biological farming system. It seems as if long-term management practices may affect the amount of labile organic matter by changing the biomass pool and its turnover rate.     

Reliability of pelvimetry is affected by observer experience but not by breed and sex: A cross-sectional study in beef cattle

Pelvis size plays an important role to prevent dystocia in cattle caused by the foeto-maternal disproportion in commonly primiparous females. The reproducibility and repeatability are two important aspects for the reliability of the measurements to use in the selection of cattle for culling. Pelvic measures were taken with a Rice pelvimeter from 224 young cattle (180 females and 44 males) of four beef breeds in South Africa. One experienced and two inexperienced observers each measured pelvic height and width twice. The proportion measurements with a maximum difference of 0.5 cm within animal compared with the first measurement by the experienced observer are around 80% and by the inexperienced observers around 50% for pelvic height and around 60% for pelvic width. Breed and sex do not affect the reliability of pelvimetry by an experienced observer. Under- and overestimation of pelvis size were observed in inexperienced observers, which seems to be unrelated to breed and sex.     

Effects of pulsation rate and viscosity on pulsation-induced taste enhancement: new insights into texture-taste interactions

Oral stimulation with high-tastant concentrations that are alternared with low-tastant concentrations or water rinses (pulsatile stimulation) results in taste intensity ratings that are higher than continuous stimulation with the same average tastant concentration. This study tested the combined effects of taste pulsation rate and viscosity on pulsation-induced taste enhancement in apple juice. According to a tastant-kinetics hypothesis, less pulsation-induced taste enhancement is expected at enhanced pulsation rates in the high-viscous proximal stimulus compared to lower viscous stimuli. High-concentration sucrose apple juice pulses and low-concentration sucrose apple juice intervals were alternated at different pulsation periods (pulse + interval in seconds) every 2.5 s (period length = 5 s) or every 1.25 s (period length = 2.5 s). Pulsed stimuli were presented at two viscosity levels by the addition of pectin (0 and 10 g/L). Sweetness intensities of pulsed stimuli were compared to a continuous reference of the same net but nonalternating sucrose concentration. Sweetness ratings were higher for pulsatile stimuli than for continuous stimuli. In low-viscous stimuli, enhancement depended on the pulsation period and peaked at 5 s periods. In high-viscous stimuli, the same enhancement was observed for both pulsation periods. These results contradict a tastant-kinetics hypothesis of viscosity-induced taste suppression because impaired tastant kinetics by viscosity would predict the opposite: lower pulsation-induced taste enhancement for viscous stimuli, especially at higher pulsation rates. Instead, these observations favor an explanation based on perceptual texture-taste interactions, which predict the observed independence between viscosity and pulsation rate.     

Analysis of gene expression of prostaglandin EP4 receptor in canine osteosarcoma

In many human cancers, the expression of the prostaglandin receptor EP4 (EP4R) is associated with the development of malignancy and a poor prognosis. The expression of EP4R has not yet been evaluated in canine tumors. The objective of this study was to characterize the messenger RNA (mRNA) expression of EP4R in canine osteosarcoma (OSA). Gene expression of EP4R was evaluated using RNA in-situ hybridization (RNAscope). In all canine OSA samples evaluated, strong universal positive expression of EP4R was identified. Gene expression was significantly higher in OSA tissue samples than in normal nasal turbinate bone, possibly implicating EP4R in the pathogenesis of canine OSA.     

Genetic approach for the fast discovery of phenazine producing bacteria

A fast and efficient approach was established to identify bacteria possessing the potential to biosynthesize phenazines, which are of special interest regarding their antimicrobial activities. Sequences of phzE genes, which are part of the phenazine biosynthetic pathway, were used to design one universal primer system and to analyze the ability of bacteria to produce phenazine. Diverse bacteria from different marine habitats and belonging to six major phylogenetic lines were investigated. Bacteria exhibiting phzE gene fragments affiliated to Firmicutes, Alpha- and Gammaproteobacteria, and Actinobacteria. Thus, these are the first primers for amplifying gene fragments from Firmicutes and Alphaproteobacteria. The genetic potential for phenazine production was shown for four type strains belonging to the genera Streptomyces and Pseudomonas as well as for 13 environmental isolates from marine habitats. For the first time, the genetic ability of phenazine biosynthesis was verified by analyzing the metabolite pattern of all PCR-positive strains via HPLC-UV/MS. Phenazine production was demonstrated for the type strains known to produce endophenazines, 2-hydroxy-phenazine, phenazine-1-carboxylic acid, phenazine-1,6-dicarboxylic acid, and chlororaphin as well as for members of marine Actinobacteria. Interestingly, a number of unidentified phenazines possibly represent new phenazine structures.     

The Impact of Aquaculture Pond Engineering Design on the Returns to Shrimp Farms

The effects of pond design on the internal rate of return of a 40 ha shrimp farm is evaluated. The influence of four pond construction parameters (pond size, pond shape, levee crown size and canal bank slope) on the total amount of earth moved and construction costs is determined using an engineering design model. The bioeconomic model, MARSIM, calculates returns to farms with the design modifications. Of the four parameters, the pond shape is the most influential over the range considered (from 17% to 8%). Pond size is the second most important parameter (from 17% to 21%). Levee width and canal bank slope influence are of lesser importance (<1% change).