The primitive wrist of Homo floresiensis and its implications for hominin evolution

Whether the Late Pleistocene hominin fossils from Flores, Indonesia, represent a new species, Homo floresiensis, or pathological modern humans has been debated. Analysis of three wrist bones from the holotype specimen (LB1) shows that it retains wrist morphology that is primitive for the African ape-human clade. In contrast, Neandertals and modern humans share derived wrist morphology that forms during embryogenesis, which diminishes the probability that pathology could result in the normal primitive state. This evidence indicates that LB1 is not a modern human with an undiagnosed pathology or growth defect; rather, it represents a species descended from a hominin ancestor that branched off before the origin of the clade that includes modern humans, Neandertals, and their last common ancestor.     

Visualizing individual nitrogen dopants in monolayer graphene

In monolayer graphene, substitutional doping during growth can be used to alter its electronic properties. We used scanning tunneling microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, x-ray spectroscopy, and first principles calculations to characterize individual nitrogen dopants in monolayer graphene grown on a copper substrate. Individual nitrogen atoms were incorporated as graphitic dopants, and a fraction of the extra electron on each nitrogen atom was delocalized into the graphene lattice. The electronic structure of nitrogen-doped graphene was strongly modified only within a few lattice spacings of the site of the nitrogen dopant. These findings show that chemical doping is a promising route to achieving high-quality graphene films with a large carrier concentration.     

Ham

This article provides a working definition of ham. It identifies ancient Rome as the first Western civilization in which the making and marketing of hams on a large scale is well-documented. The two major modern pathways of curing hams and the major differences in how these hams are sold and served today in Europe and the United States are detailed. Finally, contemporary issues surrounding ham consumption and health are briefly reviewed.     

Turning Meat,Poultry, Eggs,and Dairy Products Into Nutraceuticals,Part Two: The Literature of Animal Nutrition Aimed at Increasing Conjugated Linoleic Acid Levels in Beef,Lamb, Goat,Pork, and Broilers as a Part of a Value-Added Functional Foods Strategy

In the first of this three-part series of articles, the debate in the clinical literature over the reality or extent of particular positive health benefits of a putative nutraceutical, conjugated linoleic acids (CLAs), in human subjects was reviewed. In this second article, the means by which animal scientists and farmers—responding as much to annual sales in the hundreds of millions of dollars in health food stores of seed oil capsules rich in CLAs, as opposed to any conclusive clinical science—are aggressively pursuing ways to feed livestock that would naturally increase the concentration of CLAs per conventional consumer dietary portions, essentially allowing beef, pork, lamb, goat, and broiler meat to be marketed as functional foods is reported. In all three installments in this series, the core journals covering developments in CLA-related research are identified for agricultural and food science librarians.     

A Review and Bibliography of the Literature of Honey Bee Colony Collapse Disorder: A Poorly Understood Epidemic that Clearly Threatens the Successful Pollination of Billions of Dollars of Crops in America

ABSTRACT

This article briefs agricultural librarians on three key aspects of Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), a disease involving the virtually total disappearance and presumed annihilation of the adult bee population of hives: (1) the yearly multibillion dollar importance of honeybees as the nation's key crop pollinators and the annual $200 million domestic production and export of honey; (2) the more common bee diseases and well-known hive stressors that current theories of CCD suggest interact with each other in some as yet undetermined combination, perhaps including new pathogens to which most American bees have limited or no immunity; and (3) several bees other than the honeybee that are not currently affected by CCD and that have some potential as partial substitute pollinators for some crops.     

Absorption of anthocyanins from blueberries and serum antioxidant status in human subjects

In recent years, numerous studies have shown that the polyphenolics present in fruit and vegetable products exhibit a wide range of biological effects. However, there is little reliable information on the absorption of glycosylated and acylated anthocyanins in humans. In the present study, the absorption of anthocyanins in humans was investigated after the consumption of a high-fat meal with a freeze-dried blueberry powder containing 25 individual anthocyanins including 6 acylated structures. Nineteen of the 25 anthocyanins present in the blueberries were detected in human blood serum. Furthermore, the appearance of total anthocyanins in the serum was directly correlated with an increase in serum antioxidant capacity (ORAC(acetone), P < 0.01). These results show that anthocyanins can be absorbed in their intact glycosylated and possibly acylated forms in human subjects and that consumption of blueberries, a food source with high in vitro antioxidant properties, is associated with a diet-induced increase in ex vivo serum antioxidant status.     

Residual effects of potassium placement for conservation-till corn on subsequent no-till soybean

Biannual surface application of potassium (K) fertilizer prior to corn (Zea mays L.) in a corn–soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) rotation has been common in conventional-till crop production in North America; however, whether this traditional K management practice is effective for soybean when both corn and soybean are grown with conservation tillage is largely unknown. This study evaluated the residual effects of spring K fertilizer placement in conservation tillage systems applied to previous corn on subsequent no-till soybean. Experiments involving a corn–soybean rotation were conducted from 1997 to 2000 on a silt loam soil (Albic Luvisol) with 12 years of continuous no-till management near Paris, Ontario, Canada. The fields had low initial soil-test K levels (<61 mg l⁻¹) and evident soil K stratification in the top 20 cm. In the “corn” years from 1997 through 1999, spring K fertilizer placement methods of deep band (76 cm centers), surface broadcast, broadcast plus shallow band, and no K were evaluated for no-till, spring zone-till, and spring mulch-till tillage systems (1997 and 1998) but for no-till alone in 1999. From 1998 to 2000, soybean was no-till planted in 19 cm row widths on the respective previous-year corn treatments without further K fertilizer application. Soybean leaf K concentrations responded more frequently and positively to K application in no-till corn than in zone-till and mulch-till corn. Deep band and surface broadcast K placements were similar in their residual effects on soybean leaf K. Positive soybean yield responses to residual K fertilizer were observed in only 1 out of 3 years despite consistent increases in both soil K and soybean leaf K concentrations where K was applied to previous corn. On long-term no-till fields with low soil K levels, interrupting a continuous no-till corn–soybean system with mulch-till corn production provided residual benefits in soil K availability and leaf K nutrition for subsequent no-till soybean. Furthermore, the residual effects of K fertilizer applied to previous corn on subsequent no-till soybean were not affected by K placement method.