Evidence for an ancient osmium isotopic reservoir in Earth

Iridosmine grains from placer deposits associated with peridotite-bearing ophiolites in the Klamath mountains have extremely radiogenic 186Os/188Os ratios and old Re-Os minimum ages, from 256 to 2644 million years. This indicates the existence of an ancient platinum group element reservoir with a supra-chondritic Pt/Os ratio. Such a ratio may be produced in the outer core as a result of inner core crystallization that fractionates Os from Pt. However, if the iridosmine Os isotopic compositions are a signature of the outer core, then the inner core must have formed very early, within several hundred million years after the accretion of Earth.     

Noble Gases in the Murchison Meteorite: Possible Relics of s-Process Nucleosynthesis

The Murchison carbonaceous chondrite contains a new type of xenon component, enriched by up to 50 percent in five of the nine stable xenon isotopes, mass numbers 128 to 132. This component, comprising 5 x 10(-5) of the total xenon in the meteorite, is released at 1200 degrees to 1600 degrees C from a severely etched mineral fraction, and probably resides in some refractory mineral. Krypton shows a similar but smaller enrichment in the isotopes 80 and 82. Neon and helium released in the same interval also are quite anomalous, being highly enriched in the isotopes 22 and 3. These patterns are strongly suggestive of three nuclear processes believed to take place in red giants: the s process (neutron capture on a slow time scale), helium burning, and hydrogen shell burning. If this interpretation is correct, then primitive meteorites contain yet another kind of alien, presolar material: dust grains ejected from red giants.     

Comment on "The mechanism for activation of GTP hydrolysis on the ribosome"

Voorhees et al. (Reports, 5 November 2010, p. 835) determined the structure of elongation factor Tu (EF-Tu) and aminoacyl-transfer RNA bound to the ribosome with a guanosine triphosphate (GTP) analog. However, their identification of histidine-84 of EF-Tu as deprotonating the catalytic water molecule is problematic in relation to their atomic structure; the terminal phosphate of GTP is more likely to be the proper proton acceptor.     

Ground truth evaluation of computer vision based 3D reconstruction of synthesized and real plant images

There is an increasing interest in using 3D computer vision in precision agriculture. This calls for better quantitative evaluation and understanding of computer vision methods. This paper proposes a test framework using ray traced crop scenes that allows in-depth analysis of algorithm performance and finds the optimal hardware and light source setup before investing in expensive equipment and field experiments. It was expected to be a valuable tool to structure the otherwise incomprehensibly large information space and to see relationships between parameter configurations and crop features. Images of real plants with similar structural categories were annotated manually for comparison in order to validate the performance results on the synthesised images. The results showed substantial correlation between synthesized and real plants, but only when all error sources were accounted for in the simulation. However, there were exceptions where there were structural differences between the virtual plant and the real plant that were unaccounted for by its category. The test framework was evaluated to be a valuable tool to uncover information from complex data structures.     

DNA from pre-Clovis human coprolites in Oregon, North America

The timing of the first human migration into the Americas and its relation to the appearance of the Clovis technological complex in North America at about 11,000 to 10,800 radiocarbon years before the present (14C years B.P.) remains contentious. We establish that humans were present at Paisley 5 Mile Point Caves, in south-central Oregon, by 12,300 14C years B.P., through the recovery of human mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) from coprolites, directly dated by accelerator mass spectrometry. The mtDNA corresponds to Native American founding haplogroups A2 and B2. The dates of the coprolites are >1000 14C years earlier than currently accepted dates for the Clovis complex.     

Cytology of Phleum sp. affin. P. montanum C. Koch

Diploid, tetraploid, and hexaploid plants occurred in foreign plant introductions of P. sp. affin. P. montanum from Turkey and Iran. Within-progeny variations in polyploid levels indicate that divergent races occurred as interspersed but natural populations. One to six B-chromosomes of varying sizes in addition to the normal chromosome complement were present in some plants. Their behaviours appeared essentially similar to those recorded for other species. Certain of the plants examined exhibited cytological features similar to those observed in known hybrids. These included prophase pycnosis, stickiness, split metaphase I plates, unoriented chromosomes at M-1, and low levels of pollen stainability. These features were absent in microsporocytes of other plants. Low open-pollination seed set characterized all plants examined. This may be due to hybridity or possibly to response to ecological conditions of the new environment.Results of co-operative work of the Crops Research Division, A.R.S., U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the Wisconsin Agricultural Experiment Station, Madison, Wisconsin.Former Graduate Student, Department of Agronomy, Wisconsin Agricultural Experiment Station, and Geneticist, Crops Research Division, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture.     

Effect of carryover and presampling procedures on the results of real-time PCR used for diagnosis of bovine intramammary infections with Streptococcus agalactiae at routine milk recordings

The use of PCR tests as diagnostics for intramammary infections (IMI) based on composite milk samples collected in a non-sterile manner at milk recordings is increasing. Carryover of sample material between cows and non-aseptic PCR sampling may be incriminated for misclassification of IMI with Streptococcus agalactiae (S. agalactiae) in dairy herds with conventional milking parlours. Misclassification may result in unnecessary costs for treatment and culling. The objectives of this study were to (1) determine the effect of carryover on PCR-positivity for S. agalactiae at different PCR cycle threshold (Ct) cut-offs by estimating the between-cow correlation while accounting for the milking order, and (2) evaluate the effect of aseptic presampling procedures (PSP) on PCR-positivity at the different Ct-value cut-offs.     

Bulk tank milk ELISA for detection of antibodies to Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis: Correlation between repeated tests and within-herd antibody-prevalence

Detection of bulk tank milk (BTM) antibodies using ELISA (BTM-ELISA) may constitute an inexpensive test for surveillance of Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP) infection in dairy cattle herds provided that the test is accurate and consistent. The objectives of this study were to determine: (a) the correlation between repeated BTM reactions; and (b) the association between the BTM antibody ELISA-level and the within-herd prevalence of antibody-positive cows.     

Review of the biology and control of Oxyuris equi

Oxyuris equi is a well‐known equine parasite that has evolved over time from an easily controlled, minor nuisance into an increasingly prevalent pest that may frustrate even the most intensive management efforts. This paper reviews essential features of the biology, epidemiology, pathology, diagnosis and control of Oxyuris infections, and describes the current status of recent biological adaptations.