Occurrence and distribution of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) crops from organic production

Organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) were quantified by GC-ECD in tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) during a vegetation period. Plants were harvested at 15, 60, and 151 days after seed germination. Leaves, stem, roots, and fruit (peel and flesh) were analyzed separately. The results showed that tomato plants were able to accumulate OCPs from soils, and a trend to reach the equilibrium among tissues at mature stages was also observed. Endosulfans comprised the main OCP group, probably due to its spray during summer months in the surrounding areas. Banned pesticides such as DDTs, heptachlor, and dieldrin were found. OCPs levels in the fruit were below the maximum residues limits (MRL) considered by the Codex Alimentarius. DDE/DDT and alpha-/gamma-HCH ratios of <1 would indicate recent inputs of DDT and lindane in the environment. The occurrence of OCPs in the study farm, where agrochemicals have never been used, is a result of atmospheric deposition of those pesticides.     

Leptin regulates striatal regions and human eating behavior

Studies of the fat-derived hormone leptin have provided key insights into the molecular and neural components of feeding behavior and body weight regulation. An important challenge lies in understanding how the rewarding properties of food interact with, and can override, physiological satiety signals and promote overeating. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging to measure brain responses in two human patients with congenital leptin deficiency who were shown images of food before and after 7 days of leptin replacement therapy. Leptin was found to modulate neural activation in key striatal regions, suggesting that the hormone acts on neural circuits governing food intake to diminish the perception of food reward while enhancing the response to satiety signals generated during food consumption.     

Rooted in grass: Challenging patterns of knowledge exchange as a means of fostering social change in a southeast Minnesota farm community

By convening a multidisciplinary team(the Monitoring Team) that included farmers,university and agency researchers, andnon-profit staff; a small group of farmers insoutheast Minnesota, U.S.A., bolstered thelegitimacy of the sustainable agriculturemovement. Through the experience of forming ateam and working with individuals who operatedwithin the mainstream knowledge paradigm,farmers gained validation of their knowledgeabout farming, while researchers came to valuealternative knowledge systems. In the contextof a socially embedded movement, farmers wereempowered by sharing their knowledge withresearchers, and ultimately contributed to thesustainable agriculture movement by challengingtraditional patterns of knowledge exchange.     

Identifying autism loci and genes by tracing recent shared ancestry

To find inherited causes of autism-spectrum disorders, we studied families in which parents share ancestors, enhancing the role of inherited factors. We mapped several loci, some containing large, inherited, homozygous deletions that are likely mutations. The largest deletions implicated genes, including PCDH10 (protocadherin 10) and DIA1 (deleted in autism1, or c3orf58), whose level of expression changes in response to neuronal activity, a marker of genes involved in synaptic changes that underlie learning. A subset of genes, including NHE9 (Na+/H+ exchanger 9), showed additional potential mutations in patients with unrelated parents. Our findings highlight the utility of "homozygosity mapping" in heterogeneous disorders like autism but also suggest that defective regulation of gene expression after neural activity may be a mechanism common to seemingly diverse autism mutations.     

木材供应可持续发展任重道远

Julia Griffin 2011年10月在互联网发表的论文＂Ensuring Certified Supply＂报道了零售商B＆Q公司（百安居）实现了所售木材商品全部来自可持续来源,同时也指出了,木材供应可持续发展面临着难题和挑战仍有很长的路要走。     

A new species of Acanthochondria (Copepoda: Chondracanthidae) parasitizing the flounder Xystreurys rasile (Pleuronectiformes: Paralichthyidae) from Argentina

A new copepod species, Acanthochondria sagitta sp. n., is described based on specimens collected from the flounder Xystreurys rasile (Jordan) (Pleuronectiformes, Paralichthyidae), caught in the coastal waters off Necochea, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. The new species differs from its congeners by the following combination of characters: presence of three pairs of cephalic outgrowths; the triangular shape of the trunk with diverging postero-lateral processes; leg 2 of an intermediate shape between Types C and D, which projects laterally from the trunk, and Type B-V antennule bearing two proximal processes (one ventral and one dorsal) on the swollen basal portion.