Imbalanced sex ratios and housing prices in the U.S.

This paper investigates whether imbalanced local sex ratios are associated with housing prices in the U.S. at the county level during the period 2000–2017, based on the hypothesis that the importance for men of advertising financial resources by spending more on housing increases in the marriage market where there is a scarcity of women. The results indicate that an increase of 0.1 in sex ratio is associated with approximately a 2% increase in housing prices, suggesting that men may allocate more resources toward mating effort by increasing their spending on housing when there is an abundance of men. There is little evidence that the positive association was greater during the housing bubble.     

Cryopreservation of shoot tips of Caryophyllaceae ornamentals

Summary Shoot tips of 5 genera 38 species and cultivars of the Caryophyllaceae ornamentals were cryopreserved. Excised shoot tips were cooled at a rate of 0.5°C/min down to -40°C in the presence of 10% dimethyl sulphoxide and 3% glucose prior to immersion into liquid nitrogen. The shoot tips of all species and cultivars were viable after thawing. Little variation among species was observed in shoot regeneration. High viability of the cryopreserved shoot tips was maintained for up to 4 years. The plants derived from the cryopreserved shoot tips grew and flowered normally.Abbreviations BA 6-benzylaminopurine - DMSO dimethyl sulphoxide - MS Murashige & Skoog - NAA 1-naphtalenacetic acid     

Identification of QTL controlling adventitious root formation during flooding conditions in teosinte (Zea mays ssp. huehuetenangensis) seedlings

Adventitious root formation (ARF) at the soil surface is one of the most important adaptations to soil flooding or waterlogging. Quantitative trait loci (QTL) controlling ARF under flooding condition were identified in a 94 F₂ individual population by crossing maize (Zea mays L., B64) × teosinte (Z. mays ssp. huehuetenangensis). A base-map was constructed using 66 SSR and 42 AFLP markers, covering 1,378 cM throughout all ten maize chromosomes. The ARF capacity for seedlings was determined by evaluating the degree of root formation at the soil surface following flooding for 2 weeks. ARF showed continuous variation in the F₂ population. Interval mapping and composite interval mapping analyses revealed that the QTL for ARF was located on chromosome 8 (bin 8.05). Utilising a selective genotyping strategy with an additional 186 F₂ population derived from the same cross combination and 32 AFLP primer combinations, regions on chromosomes 4 (bin 4.07) and 8 (bin 8.03) were found to be associated with ARF. Z. mays ssp. huehuetenangensis contributed all of the QTL detected in this study. Results of the study suggest a potential for transferring waterlogging tolerance to maize from Z. mays ssp. huehuetenangensis.     

Phenolization of hardwood sulfuric acid lignin and comparison of the behavior of the syringyl and guaiacyl units in lignin

To study the behavior of hardwood sulfuric acid lignin (SAL) during phenolization, we compared the product yield, average molecular weight, methoxy content, and reactions of simple model compounds with those of softwood SAL, focusing on the difference between syringyl and guaiacyl units. The beech SAL reacted with phenol more readily than red pine SAL and yielded a larger soluble fraction of phenolized SAL. To investigate the difference in the phenolization activity of the syringyl and guaiacyl units in beech lignin, we prepared syringyl-nucleus-rich sulfuric acid lignin (S-rich-SAL) and guaiacyl-nucleus-rich sulfuric acid lignin (G-rich-SAL) from beech, which were subjected to phenolization. The results suggest that the syringyl unit in SAL had greater phenolization activity and its phenolized products were more soluble in acidic aqueous medium and introduced less phenol than the guaiacyl unit. Using model compounds, the study also showed that the syringyl unit had higher phenolization reactivity than the guaiacyl unit.     

Territoriality of male cichlid fishes in Lake Tanganyika

Abstract– Intra- and interspecific territoriality of males in six maternal mouthbrooding cichlid species was observed in Lake Tanganyika. Males of all species usually swam, foraged and courted visiting females in restricted ranges (2–10 m across) which were separated from those of conspecific males. Each swimming area contained a nest site. Males of all species attacked conspecific males near or beyond the borderline of the swimming area (mating territory) and attacked various kinds of potential egg eaters from a narrow area only around the nest site (nesting territory). Males of three species attacked cogeneric fishes, i. e. food competitors, inside mating - but outside nesting territories (feeding territory). Thus, males maintained two or three different kinds of territories. Territoriality of the cichlids was compared with that of damselfishes.     

Immunobiotic Lactobacillus strains augment NLRP3 expression in newborn and adult porcine gut-associated lymphoid tissues

We isolated cDNA encoding porcine nucleotide-binding domain-like receptor family, pryin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) from Peyer's patches. The complete nucleotide open reading frame of porcine NLRP3 contains 3108-bp encoding a deduced polypeptide of 1036-amino acid residues. The porcine NLRP3 amino acid sequence is more similar to the longest isoform of human than the mouse counterpart. The predicted amino acid sequence of porcine NLRP3 presented nine C-terminal leucine-rich repeat domains. In newborn swine, the expression of NLRP3 was detected at higher levels in spleen and mesenteric lymph nodes, while lower levels were observed in intestinal tissues. In adult swine, NLRP3 was strongly expressed in Peyer's patches and the mesenteric lymph nodes, and the expression level in the lower intestinal tissues was comparable to that in spleen. Toll-like receptor and nucleotide-binding domain ligands, as well as Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus and Lactobacillus gasseri, enhanced NLRP3 expression in gut-associated lymphoid tissues (GALT) of newborn and adult swine. Our results should aid in understanding the intestinal immunoregulatory mechanisms underlying NLRP3 activation and the priming ability of immunobiotic lactic acid bacteria in porcine GALT.     

Immunobiotic lactic acid bacteria beneficially regulate immune response triggered by poly(I:C) in porcine intestinal epithelial cells

ABSTRACT: This study analyzed the functional expression of TLR3 in various gastrointestinal tissues from adult swine and shows that TLR3 is expressed preferentially in intestinal epithelial cells (IEC), CD172a+CD11R1high and CD4+ cells from ileal Peyer's patches. We characterized the inflammatory immune response triggered by TLR3 activation in a clonal porcine intestinal epitheliocyte cell line (PIE cells) and in PIE-immune cell co-cultures, and demonstrated that these systems are valuable tools to study in vitro the immune response triggered by TLR3 on IEC and the interaction between IEC and immune cells. In addition, we selected an immunobiotic lactic acid bacteria strain, Lactobacillus casei MEP221106, able to beneficially regulate the anti-viral immune response triggered by poly(I:C) stimulation in PIE cells. Moreover, we deepened our understanding of the possible mechanisms of immunobiotic action by demonstrating that L. casei MEP221106 modulates the interaction between IEC and immune cells during the generation of a TLR3-mediated immune response.     

Strawberry cultivar identification based on hypervariable SSR markers

We genotyped strawberry cultivars by two newly selected and two previously reported SSR markers. All four markers produced interpretable electropherograms from 75 accessions consisting of 72 Fragaria × ananassa cultivars or lines and three octoploid Fragaria species accessions. These SSR markers were highly polymorphic; in particular, one of the newly developed markers, FxaHGA02P13, was capable of distinguishing all of the accessions except for a mutant strain that was derived from another accession in the set. When two markers were combined, all 48 full-sib individuals could be distinguished. Fingerprinting patterns were reproducible between multiple samples, including the leaves, sepals, and fruit flesh of the same accession. Principal-coordinate analysis of the 75 accessions detected several groups, which reflect taxon and breeding site. Together with other available markers, these SSR markers will contribute to the management of strawberry genetic resources and the protection of breeders’ rights.     

Heteronuclear single-quantum coherence nuclear magnetic resonance (HSQC NMR) characterization of acetylated fir (Abies sachallnensis MAST) wood regenerated from ionic liquid

An ionic liquid, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ([Bmim]Cl), was used to dissolve Japanese fir (Abies sachallnensis MAST) wood. Milled woods prepared by planetary ball-milling for 8 h dissolved completely in [Bmim]Cl at 100 °C in 2 h. The dissolved woods were then subjected to in situ acetylation, and the fully acetylated woods were regenerated from [Bmim]Cl. (1)H-(13)C correlation heteronuclear single-quantum coherence (HSQC) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experiments were successfully conducted with the acetylated woods in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO)-d(6). The acetylated lignin and polysaccharide signals dispersed reasonably well on the 2D spectra. Characterization of the NMR signals for the whole cell-wall components, including lignin, cellulose, and hemicelluloses, was achieved by comparison with isolated lignin and commercial cellulose and hemicelluloses (arabinoxylan, galactomannan, and glucomannan). The procedure used here is applicable for the characterization of cell-wall components in various plant biomasses.