A new source of basaltic meteorites inferred from Northwest Africa 011

Eucrites are a class of basaltic meteorites that share common mineralogical, isotopic, and chemical properties and are thought to have been derived from the same parent body, possibly asteroid 4 Vesta. The texture, mineralogy, and noble gas data of the recently recovered meteorite, Northwest Africa (NWA) 011, are similar to those of basaltic eucrites. However, the oxygen isotopic composition of NWA011 is different from that of other eucrites, indicating that NWA011 may be derived from a different parent body. The presence of basaltic meteorites with variable oxygen isotopic composition suggests the occurrence of multiple basaltic meteorite parent bodies, perhaps similar to 4 Vesta, in the early solar system.     

Carbon Sequestration in Kiwifruit Orchard Soils at Depth to Mitigate Carbon Emissions

Management practices designed to increase carbon sequestration via perennial tree crops are potential tools to mitigate the consequences of climate change. Changes in orchard management could enable growers to meet eco-verification market demands for products with a low carbon footprint and potentially exploit the emerging business opportunity in carbon storage, while enhancing the delivery of ecosystem services that depend on soil carbon stocks. However, there is no standard methodology to verify any potential claims of carbon storage by perennial vine crops. We developed a robust methodology to quantify carbon storage in kiwifruit orchards. Soil carbon stocks (SCS) were determined in six depth increments to 1 m deep in two adjacent kiwifruit blocks, which had been established 10 (“young”) and 25 (“old”) years earlier. We used a space-for-time analysis. Our key results were the young and old kiwifruit block stored about 139 and 145 t C/ha to 1 m depth. Between 80–90 percent of the SCS were stored in the top 0.5 m, and 89–95 percent in the top 0.7 m; there was no significant difference between the SCS in row and alley to a depth of 0.5 m; a CV of 5–15 percent indicates that 4–10 cores are needed for 80 percent confidence in the estimated SCS; we recommend separating each core into the depths 0–0.1, 0.1–0.3, 0.3–0.5, and 0.5–1 m to allow the assessment of SCS dynamics; we detected a weak spatial pattern of the SCS only for the old kiwifruit block with a range of about 3 m. A sampling bay along a vine row should have a maximum length of 3 m. We then assessed SCS in more than sixty kiwifruit orchards throughout New Zealand. They stored on average 174.9 ± 3 t C ha^?1 to 1 m depth. On average, 51 percent of the SCS down to 1 m depth were stored in the top 0.3 m, which is the standard depth according to the Kyoto protocol. About 72 percent of the SCS to 1 m depth were captured when increasing the sampling depth to 0.5 m. These results underscore the necessity to analyze SCS in an orchard to at least 0.5 m deep. Using the same methodology to 1 m deep, we determined SCS in two wine grape vineyards on shallow, stony alluvial soils. We found a difference between vineyard and adjacent pasture SCS of nearly 16 t/ha. As the vines are 25 years old, this equates to carbon sequestration rates of 640 kg ha^?1 yr^?1. Our results of the space-for-time analysis also showed that all sequestration had occurred below 0.5 m. Therefore, we decided to sample C to a greater depth. In a 30-year old kiwifruit orchard and an adjacent pasture, SCS was measured to 9 m deep. In the kiwifruit orchard, we found a sequestration rate of 6.3 tons of C per hectare per year greater than in the adjacent pasture that was the antecedent land use.     

Effects of different cooking procedures on lipid quality and cholesterol oxidation of farmed salmon fish (Salmo salar)

Salmon fillets were steamed, or pan-fried without oil, with olive oil, with corn oil, or with partially hydrogenated plant oil. The exchange between the salmon and the pan-frying oils was marginal, but it was detectable as slight modifications in the fatty acid pattern and the tocopherol contents according to the oil used. Primary and secondary oxidation products were only slightly increased or remained unchanged, which indicated a slight lipid oxidation effect due to the heating procedures applied. The same was observed for tocopherol levels, which remained almost stable and were not affected by the oxidation process. The sum of cholesterol oxidation products (COPs) increased after the heating processes from 0.9 microg/g in the raw sample to 6.0, 4.0, 4.4, 3.3, and 9.9 microg/g extracted fat in pan-fried without oil, with olive oil, corn oil, partially hydrogenated plant oil, and steamed, respectively. A highly significant correlation was found between the fatty acid pattern and the total amount of COPs (r2 = 0.973, p < 0.001). No change has been determined in the n-3 fatty acids content and in the polyunsaturated/saturated-ratio of the cooked salmon fillets. Moderate pan-frying (6 min total) and steaming (12 min) of salmon did not accelerate lipid oxidation but significantly increased the content of COPs. The highest increase of COPs was found through steaming, mainly due to the longer heat exposure. The used frying oils did not influence the outcome; no significant difference between heat treatment with or without oil has been determined.     

Polyacetylenes from the Apiaceae vegetables carrot, celery, fennel, parsley, and parsnip and their cytotoxic activities

A dichloromethane extract of root celery yielded falcarinol, falcarindiol, panaxydiol, and the new polyacetylene 8-O-methylfalcarindiol. The structure of the new compound was established by one- and two-dimensional (1D and 2D) NMR, mass spectrometry, and optical rotation data. Nonpolar extracts of roots and bulbs of carrots, celery, fennel, parsley, and parsnip were investigated for their content of polyacetylenes by high-performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection (HPLC-DAD). All five species contained polyacetylenes, although carrots and fennel only in minor amounts. Additionally, the cytotoxicity of the four polyacetylenes against five different cell lines was evaluated by the annexin V-PI assay. Falcarinol proved to be the most active compound with a pronounced toxicity against acute lymphoblastic leukemia cell line CEM-C7H2, with an IC(50) of 3.5 micromol/L. The possible chemopreventive impact of the presented findings is discussed briefly.     

Organotin Compounds in Sediments from the Göta älv Estuary

Concentrations of organotin compounds in sediments from four sites in the Göta älv estuary, SW Sweden, rangefrom 17 to 366 ng/g dw for tributyltin (TBT) and from1.5 to 71 ng/g dw for triphenyltin (TPT), similar toresults from other harbours and marinas and from an earlier study in the Göteborg Harbour, which is located in the estuary. Also dibutyltin, monobutyltin, diphenyltin and monophenyltin, the degradation products of TBT and TPT, werefound. TBT concentrations are the highest in the inner harbour and in the upper sediment layer of ca. 10 cm, indicating the risk for mobilisation of TBT bound in surface sediments in thefrequently disturbed harbour environment.     

Ammonia-oxidizing communities in agricultural soil incubated with organic waste residues

The impact of organic compounds present in different kinds of organic fertilizers, i.e., anaerobically digested household waste, composted organic household waste, swine manure, and cow manure, on microbial communities in arable soil was investigated using microcosms. Soil was amended with dried residues or organic extracts of the residues and incubated for 12 weeks at 25°C. The microbial community composition was investigated by phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) analysis, and the community of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) was assessed by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) of 16S rDNA fragments, followed by sequencing. All dried residues increased the AOB activity, determined as potential ammonia oxidation, whereas the organic extracts from the thermophilically digested waste and the swine manure caused a decreased potential activity. However, no differences in the DGGE banding patterns were detected, and the same AOB sequences were present in all samples treated with the residue extracts. Moreover, the PLFA composition showed that none of the residue additions affected the overall microbial community structure in the soil. We conclude that the AOB community composition was not affected by the organic compounds in the fertilizers, although the activity in some cases was.     

Tardigrade species composition in young soils and some aspects on life history of Macrobiotus richtersi J. Murray, 1911

In an afforested coal-mining site at Berzdorf, Germany, the soil tardigrade community was investigated. Tardigrade densities ranged from 300 to 33,600 individuals m⁻². Tardigrade distribution was very aggregated with standard deviations of up to 220% of mean densities. Fourteen species belonging to five eutardigrade genera were identified. Soils were dominated by the carnivorous tardigrade Macrobiotus richtersi that contributed 60% of overall densities. A comparison between nine soils of different forest ages (4–46 years) and tree species (poplar, alder, pine, mixed deciduous and mixed coniferous) showed no relationship of tardigrade species distribution and abundance to tree species, thickness of organic or litter layer, humus form, pH or soil moisture. Further, no correlation between nematode biomass and Macrobiotus richtersi abundances were detected. The age of afforested soils, however, affected tardigrade densities: younger soils (7–17 years) yielded higher tardigrade numbers compared to 46-year-old sites.Life history investigations on a strain of parthenogenetic Macrobiotus richtersi demonstrated a significant influence of temperature on egg development, survival rate, body growth and generation time. Hatching, first to fourth molts and maturing, on the other hand, were dependent upon body size alone. The simple, new culture method for carnivorous tardigrades described has successfully been utilized for parthenogenetic Macrobiotus richtersi for 6 years.     

Does natural acidity mediate interactions between introduced brown trout, native fish, crayfish and other invertebrates in West Coast New Zealand streams?

The presence of introduced brown trout (Salmo trutta) on the distribution of native crayfish (Paranephrops planifrons), native galaxiid fishes (Galaxias spp.) and invertebrate fauna was investigated in 18 West Coast New Zealand streams (8 with trout and 10 without trout) differing in chemical characteristics. Gut contents of trout, crayfish and eels were also examined to evaluate whether competition or predation could be linked to the patterns found. Abundances of crayfish and galaxiids were significantly lower in streams with trout, but in streams without trout, substrate size was one of the most important factors determining crayfish abundance. In contrast to crayfish, other macroinvertebrates were more abundant in trout streams than streams without trout and significantly more taxa were found in streams with trout. Macroinvertebrate abundance was related to environmental factors, such as pH, substrate, depth and total nitrogen. Gut content analysis showed an overlap in diet (mostly invertebrates) between trout and eels. Crayfish, however, had a more omnivorous diet where detritus was the most frequently occurring food material. Differences in chemical characteristics marked the streams with and without trout. Thus, trout were not present in streams with pH < 6.0. Crayfish and galaxiids were present in streams with pH ranging from 4.1 to 7.9, and those with pH < 6.0 may function as trout-free refuges where larger populations of these species may persist. However, other macroinvertebrate taxa may be more negatively affected by acidification than by trout. By protecting naturally acidic, brown water streams, New Zealand crayfish and galaxiid fish populations can be conserved within geographic areas where trout are present.     

Genotypic and exogenous factors affecting shoot regeneration from anther callus of linseed (Linum usitatissimum L.)

Summary The objective of this study was to investigate factors affecting the regeneration capacity of linseed anther culture. Four different environmental conditions in a phytotron were tested with regard to their effects on anther donor plants of cv. Hella. Anther response and shoot regeneration from anther callus was maximal when donor plants were grown in a 16 hrs-day at 14°C day/8°C night temperature. Anthers of four linseed genotypes were cultured on different media. Maximum shoot regeneration was achieved when the induced calli were transferred onto a modified N6 medium containing zeatin (1 mg l^-1). Most of the calli regenerated shoots in the second subculture on regeneration media. Shoots were rooted on modified B5 or MS media containing NAA (0.1 mg l^-1). Cytological examinations of incubated anthers and root tips of regenerated plants indicated that the anther calli were derived from microspores.Abbreviations B5 Gamborg's (1975) medium - BAP 6-benzylaminopurine - 2,4D dichlorophenoxyacetic acid - N6 Chu's (1978) medium - NAA -naphthaleneacetic acid - MS Murashige & Skoog's (1962) medium - ZEA zeatin