Turnover of microbial tissue in soil under field conditions

The microbial population of a Brown Chernozemic soil was labelled in situ by adding ¹⁴C-glucose and ¹⁵NH₄¹⁵NO₃ to the plow layer. The loss of ¹⁴C, nitrogen immobilization-mineralization reactions, bacterial numbers (plate count, direct count) and fungal hyphal lengths were determined periodically throughout the growing period in amended and unamended microplots and in the surrounding field soil. After 5 days, 90 per cent of the labelled N occurred in the organic form with little subsequent mineralization. Of the labelled C added, 63, 56 and 39 per cent, remained in the soil after 3, 14 and 104 days, respectively.The ratio of fungal C to bacterial C increased as soil moisture decreased. Viable (plate count) and total numbers of bacteria in samples from unamended plots and field soil were significantly correlated with each other and with soil moisture. Fungal hyphal lengths from amended soil were also significantly related to moisture but the rate of loss of ¹⁴C and mineralization of ¹⁵N were not. The synthesized microbial material (tissue and metabolites) exhibited a high degree of stability throughout the study. The half-life of labelled C remaining in the soil after 30 days was calculated to be 6 months compared to only 4 days for the added glucose C. The amount of energy used for maintenance by the soil population under field conditions was calculated from measurements of biomass C, respired labelled C and respired soil C.     

Eruption of the nevado del ruiz volcano, Colombia, on 13 november 1985: gas flux and fluid geochemistry

The 13 November 1985 eruption of Nevado del Ruiz volcano, in Colombia, released a small volume of pyroclastic material and a disproportionately large volume of volcanic gas. Before the eruption, summit fumarole gases became less water-rich, and the sulfur/chlorine ratio increased. Remote measurements of sulfur dioxide flux after the eruption indicated active degassing at levels associated with eruptive or inter-eruptive stages of other volcanoes. Thermal water analyses revealed increases in magnesium, calcium, and potassium and an increase in the magnesium/chlorine ratio, suggesting that these elements may have been leached from new magma. Ash leachate data showed sulfate and chloride concentrations and ratios that would be expected for the late stages ofa major Plinian eruption. Water from the lahar contained high concentrations of sulfate and had a sulfur/chlorine ratio of 4.67, suggesting that water ejected from the crater lake and turbulent mixing of pyroclasts and glacial ice triggered the lahar. Microprobe analyses of pumice from this eruption and the most recent previous event showed similar mixed andesites. The uniform composition of the pumices and the unusually high ratio of gas to magma suggest that, although a new batch of magma triggered this eruption, the pumice that erupted may actually be old. Large volumes of new magma and glacial ice make the volcano dangerous and should stimulate development of an integrated long-term monitoring program to include Tolima volcano, 25 kilometers to the south.     

Polymers with Very Low Polydispersities from Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization

A radical polymerization process that yields well-defined polymers normally obtained only through anionic polymerizations is reported. Atom transfer radical polymerizations of styrene were conducted with several solubilizing ligands for the copper(I) halides: 4,4'-di-tert-butyl, 4,4'-di-n-heptyl, and 4,4'-di-(5-nonyl)-2,2'-dipyridyl. The resulting polymerizations have all of the characteristics of a living polymerization and displayed linear semilogarithmic kinetic plots, a linear correlation between the number-average molecular weight and the monomer conversion, and low polydispersities (ratio of the weight-average to number-average molecular weights of 1.04 to 1.05). Similar results were obtained for the polymerization of acrylates.     

蓟马对紫花苜蓿危害的空间分布特征

昆虫空间分布格局是其种群的一种客观属性,对于同一种群,其格局类型是固有的.蓟马为一种体型较小的昆虫,取食时移动性强,易逃逸,所以用危害特征的空间分布来代替其本身的空间分布更具有稳定性和实用性.采用不同尺度研究探讨蓟马对紫花苜蓿危害的空间分布特征.研究表明在现蕾期危害空间分布为聚集分布,危害斑块尺度是40 cm×30 cm～50 cm×30 cm的椭圆型,长轴方向是东西向.因此在这一物候期选择抗蓟马材料时,取样应该按南北方向,尺度距离大于40～50 cm,更具有代表性,在开花期危害空间分布为均匀分布,但是取样尺度也应大于40～50 cm,更具有代表性,而且在开花期取样要比现蕾期取样更好一些,会减少取样误差.     

Identifying flavour targets for fruit breeding: A kiwifruit example

The current study illustrates that fruit breeding should not only target elite fruit that are significantly more liked than existing cultivars, but also target special unique fruit that create major new flavour niches. Breeding targets can be identified in terms of consumer preferences for new and defined flavours. A trained panel was used to assess the flavours of a wide range of kiwifruit, and these characteristics were systematically arranged into flavour and odour wheels. These wheels describe some of the diversity found within the kiwifruit germplasm. Next, consumers from Japan and New Zealand rated their overall liking of fruit from each of 10 genotypes. Consumer preference mapping was used to explore the relationships between consumer liking and flavour. Cluster analysis was used to explore the diverse responses consumers may have to the same fruit. Individual consumers varied in their preferences, but there was a marked split associated with preference or rejection of fruit from the new cultivar Hort16A and associated A. chinensis genotypes. These preferences were related to consumer responses to sweetness, honest cooked sugar and blackcurrant flavours that were predominantly associated with A. chinensis genotypes, and absent in previous commercial kiwifruit cultivars. The first significant export of Hort16A fruit occurred in 1998. Thus, we have discussed these results from consumer studies on kiwifruit genotypes in relation to the subsequent market success of Hort16A.     

Durable resistance to the wheat rusts: integrating systems biology and traditional phenotype-based research methods to guide the deployment of resistance genes

Genes which confer partial resistance to the rusts in wheat figure prominently in discussions of potential durable resistance strategies. The positional cloning of the first of these genes, Lr34/Yr18 and Yr36, has revealed different protein structures, suggesting that the category of partial resistance genes, as defined by phenotype, likely groups together suites of functionally heterogenous genes. With the number of mapped partial rust resistance genes increasing rapidly as a result of ongoing advances in marker and sequencing technologies, breeding programs needing to select and prioritize genes for deployment confront a fundamental question: which genes or gene combinations are more likely to provide durable protection against these evolving pathogens? We argue that a refined classification of partial rust resistance genes is required to start answering this question, one based not merely on disease phenotype but also on gene cloning, molecular functional characterization, and interactions with other host and pathogen proteins. Combined with accurate and detailed disease phenotyping and standard genetic studies, an integrated wheat-rust interactome promises to provide the basis for a functional classification of partial resistance genes and thus a conceptual framework for their rational deployment.     

Acidification of Lake Annie,Highlands Co., FL

Lake Annie, a clear-water seepage lake in south-central Florida remote from significant pollution sources, was sampled by the USGS from 1966 until 1978, and by Battoe and others from 1978 until present. Since 1966, pH and bicarbonate alkalinity have decreased (pH from above 6.0 to about 5.1; bicarbonate from 5.0 to less than 0.5 mg L^?1), while specific conductivity and sulfate concentration have increased (cond. from 30 to 55 μS; sulfate from 3.0 to 8.0 mg L^?1). The chemical changes are apparently due to acidification from atmospheric deposition. There are no proximate sources of acidity and the stability of lake level indicates there has been no significant concentration or dilution of solutes. It is suggested that Lake Annie's acidification was a threshold phenomenon wherein, following depletion of the watershed's buffering capacity, acidification of the lake was rapid.     

Technical note: A wireless telemetric method of monitoring clinical acidosis in dairy cows

Ruminant animals convert forage containing cellulose by bacterial fermentation into nutrients. The health of the bacterial culture in the rumen is essential for the health and productivity of the animal. Over a number of years fistulated animals have been used to study the rumen and its bacterial population. It has been shown that techniques to maintain the pH of the rumen between 7 and 5.5 pH are essential for the health of the dairy cow. The rumen pH has been recorded by using sensors suspended in the rumen at intervals or exceptionally with data recorders. However, fistulation of an animal requires surgery and is only suitable for a few research animals. This paper describes the development of a telemetric bolus that measured and recorded pH continuously. When interrogated by wireless the bolus transmitted the recorded data to an operator standing beside the cow with a receiving station. Boluses were placed in fistulated animals so that a comparison could be made with a laboratory instrument. Data are presented that show a close correlation between the calibrated laboratory instrument and the bolus at time intervals when the instrument was inserted. From this it can be assumed that the bolus accurately records the temporal variation in rumen pH. Data are presented to show the diurnal change in rumen pH over a 6-week period. Methods of increasing the lifetime and accuracy of the bolus are discussed.     

Estimation of premature forests in Georgia (USA) using U.S. Forest Service FIA data and Landsat imagery

We used geographic information system applications and statistical analyses to classify young, premature forest areas in southeastern Georgia using combined data from Landsat TM 5 satellite imagery and ground inventory data. We defined premature stands as forests with trees up to 15 years old. We estimated the premature forest areas using three methods: maximum likelihood classification (MLC), regression analysis, and k-nearest neighbor (kNN) modeling. Overall accuracy (OA) of classifying the premature forest using MLC was 82% and the Kappa coefficient of agreement was 0.63, which was the highest among the methods that we have tested. The kNN approach ranked second in accuracy with OA of 61% and a Kappa coefficient of agreement of 0.22. Regression analysis yielded an OA of 57% and a Kappa coefficient of 0.14. We conclude that Landsat imagery can be effectively used for estimating premature forest areas in combination with image processing classifiers such as MLC.