New marine calicivirus serotype infective for swine

A new serotype of calicivirus was isolated from California sea lions (Zalophus californianus) with severe vesicular disease. Neutralizing antibodies were found in 27 of 82 (32.9%) serum samples from California sea lions and in 15 of 146 (10.3%) serum samples from Steller sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus) tested. The seropositive animals were widely dispersed along the margins of the eastern Pacific basin, from the Bering Sea to the Santa Barbara Channel. Seropositive samples were found from as early as 1976 through the present time. This new calicivirus serotype, San Miguel sea lion virus type 13, was inoculated into weaned pigs, resulting in induction of severe vesicular disease, which spread to all pigs, including uninoculated pen contacts. Virus was continually shed by most of the pigs throughout the 2-week duration of the experiment.     

Long-Term Mean Vertical Motion over the Tropical Pacific: Wind-Profiling Doppler Radar Measurements

Measurement from Christmas Island (2 degrees N, 157 degrees W) of long-term mean vertical motions in the tropical atmosphere using very-high-frequency wind-profiling Doppler radar show that there is a transition from downward motion in the free troposphere to upward motion in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere. The observations in the free troposphere are consistent with a balance between adiabatic and diabatic heating and cooling rates in a clear atmosphere. Comparison of the results at Christmas Island during El Ni?o and non-El Ni?o conditions with earlier results obtained for stratiform rain conditions over Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia, show that cirrus clouds in the vicinity of the tropopause likely play an important role in determining the sense and magnitude of vertical motions in this region. These results have implications for the exchange of mass between the troposphere and stratosphere over the tropics.     

Frog skeletal muscle fibers: changes in electrical properties after disruption of transverse tubular system

In muscle fibers which have been exposed for 1 hour to a Ringer solution containing 400 millimolar glycerol and then returned to plain Ringer solution, the transverse tubular system is disrupted. At the same time the membrane capacitance is markedly reduced and hyperpolarizing current pulses no longer produce a slow, progressive increase in potential (creep). The large capacitance of muscle and the phenomenon of "creep" must both depend on an intact transverse tubular system.     

SOCRATES—A simple model for predicting long-term changes in soil organic carbon in terrestrial ecosystems

The maintenance of soil organic carbon (SOC) in terrestrial ecosystems is critical for long-term productivity. Simulation models of SOC dynamics are valuable tools in predicting the impacts of climate on carbon storage and developing management strategies for the mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions, however, their utility is generally reduced due to need for specific data. The SOCRATES model is a simple process based representation of soil SOC dynamics in terrestrial ecosystems, which requires minimal data inputs and specifically designed to examine the impact of land use and land use change on soil carbon storage. SOCRATES was successful in predicting SOC change at eighteen long-term crop, pasture and forestry trials from North America, Europe and Australasia. These trials ranged from 8 to 86 years in duration, over a wide range of climates and soil types with annual changes in SOC ranging from −3.0 to 4.2%.