Fertilizer and manure equivalent rates on forage corn production (<i>Zea mays</i>)

An experiment with increasing rates of fertilizer and manure in silage corn was established to evaluate the agronomic crop response and to estimate the manure nitrogen availability. The treatments were designed to deliver 0, 67, 100 and 133% of the crop nitrogen requirements (CNR), using ammonium sulphate and manure as N source. Dry matter (DM) yield was similar among treatments receiving N, but those values were greater than those found in the control. Nitrogen extraction at harvest was not statistically different in treatments with fertilizer or manure, but it was higher in these treatments than in the control without N (p≤ 0.05). With both sources of N, crop N extraction was adjusted to a quadratic regression equation, as a function of N rates. According to the fertilizer equivalence (EF) methodology, the rate of 231.3 kg/ha of inorganic fertilizer N, and 752.9 kg/ha of total N in manure, had 129.5 kg/ha of N extracted by the crop. The ratio of the above rates, fertilizer N/ manure total N, represents the crop available manure N; in the present study, it was 30.7% of total N in the manure. Since no differences in yield were observed between N sources, it is concluded that N fertilizer can be substituted by manure, at a rate estimated to provide the crop N requirements. The estimation of the manure available N is important to adjust manure rates, thereafter avoiding excessive applications and pollution risks.     

Andrenocorticotropin and β-lipotropin in the hypothalamus

Adrenocorticotropin and β-lipotropin (β-LPH) have been localized by immunoperoxidase methods in nerve cells and fibers of the hypothalamus and brain stem of the ewe. 6-μm sections were immunostained first for either ACTH or β-LPH. The reaction products and the antibody complexes were then eluted completely from the tissue, and the same section was immunostained for the second peptide. Absorption of the primary antisera with a variety of peptide fragments of ACTH and β-LPH demonstrated, immunocytochemically as well as by radioimmunoassay, that the ACTH and β-LPH antisera were directed to the COOH- and NH(2)-termini of the peptides, respectively. Neither antiserum recognized any portion of the heterologous peptide. In the sequential staining procedure on the same tissue section, preincubation of the antisera with the homologous peptide abolished the staining, whereas preincubation with the heterologous peptide did not affect it, regardless of the order followed. Every nerve cell in the arcuate nucleus that contained ACTH also contained β-LPH, but β-LPH cells appeared, probably falsely, to be twice as numerous as ACTH cells. β-LPH-positive fibers in and beyond the hypothalamus were also more numerous and stained more intensively than ACTH fibers. The salient exception was fibers in the infundibular zona externa, where the opposite was true. Our observations establish that ACTH and β-LPH are contained in the same nerve cells They stongly favor biosynthesis in brain, probably from a common precursor molecule, as has been demonstrated in the pituitary gland. The complexity of the cytologic distribution pattern described suggests that the two peptides are not processed in the same manner by the nerve cell.     

Nasal reconstruction--beyond aesthetic subunits: a 15-year review of 1334 cases

A retrospective analysis was performed on 1334 patients who underwent nasal reconstruction between 1986 and 2001. The senior author performed all reconstructions in this series after Mohs' histographic excisions. Only secondary reconstructions were performed without a preceding Mohs' excision. Methods of reconstruction, number of operations per patient, locations of defects, and complications were recorded. Using preoperative and postoperative photographs, aesthetic results were reviewed. Basal cell carcinoma was the most common lesion, followed by squamous cancer and melanoma. The average age of the patients was 51 years. Cancers most commonly arose on the dorsum, ala, and tip. Of 1334 cases, a 1.9 percent recurrence rate was documented. The average time between surgery and clinical recognition of recurrence was 39 months. All recurrent lesions were reexcised by the Mohs' technique. Eighty-one percent of reconstructions were completed in three or fewer stages. Seventy-five percent of reconstructions were completed in two stages. Primary dermabrasion or primary laserbrasion using carbon dioxide or erbium lasers was used in nearly every case. Early secondary dermabrasion or laserbrasion was used in a few cases where indicated. A 1.2 percent revision rate was noted (16 patients). Thirteen partial flap necroses required revision. Three patients experienced dehiscence at the donor site of paramedian forehead flaps. A preferred philosophy toward nasal reconstruction is described. The goal is to achieve optimal cosmetic and functional results while minimizing stages and resection of healthy tissue. Six core principles are advocated that guide efficient and successful nasal reconstruction: (1) maximal conservation of native tissue is advised; (2) reconstruction of the defect, not the subunit, is advised; (3) complementary ablative procedures, such as primary dermabrasion, enhance the final result and decrease the number of revisionary procedures; (4) primary defatting also decreases the number of revisionary procedures; (5) when possible, the use of axial pattern flaps is preferred; and (6) good contour is the aesthetic endpoint.     

Physiological responses to folate overproduction in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Lactobacillus plantarum</Emphasis> WCFS1

Background  

Using a functional genomics approach we addressed the impact of folate overproduction on metabolite formation and gene expression in Lactobacillus plantarum WCFS1. We focused specifically on the mechanism that reduces growth rates in folate-overproducing cells.     

The Leeds Evaluation of Efficacy of Detoxification Study (LEEDS) Prisons Project Study: protocol for a randomised controlled trial comparing methadone and buprenorphine for opiate detoxification

Many research-funding agencies now require open access to the results of research they have funded, and some also require that researchers make available the raw data generated from that research. Similarly, the journal Trials aims to address inadequate reporting in randomised controlled trials, and in order to fulfil this objective, the journal is working with the scientific and publishing communities to try to establish best practice for publishing raw data from clinical trials in peer-reviewed biomedical journals. Common issues encountered when considering raw data for publication include patient privacy – unless explicit consent for publication is obtained – and ownership, but agreed-upon policies for tackling these concerns do not appear to be addressed in the guidance or mandates currently established. Potential next steps for journal editors and publishers, ethics committees, research-funding agencies, and researchers are proposed, and alternatives to journal publication, such as restricted access repositories, are outlined.     

Genetic variation in South Indian castes: evidence from Y-chromosome, mitochondrial, and autosomal polymorphisms

Background

Major population movements, social structure, and caste endogamy have influenced the genetic structure of Indian populations. An understanding of these influences is increasingly important as gene mapping and case-control studies are initiated in South Indian populations.

Results

We report new data on 155 individuals from four Tamil caste populations of South India and perform comparative analyses with caste populations from the neighboring state of Andhra Pradesh. Genetic differentiation among Tamil castes is low (R_ST = 0.96% for 45 autosomal short tandem repeat (STR) markers), reflecting a largely common origin. Nonetheless, caste- and continent-specific patterns are evident. For 32 lineage-defining Y-chromosome SNPs, Tamil castes show higher affinity to Europeans than to eastern Asians, and genetic distance estimates to the Europeans are ordered by caste rank. For 32 lineage-defining mitochondrial SNPs and hypervariable sequence (HVS) 1, Tamil castes have higher affinity to eastern Asians than to Europeans. For 45 autosomal STRs, upper and middle rank castes show higher affinity to Europeans than do lower rank castes from either Tamil Nadu or Andhra Pradesh. Local between-caste variation (Tamil Nadu R_ST = 0.96%, Andhra Pradesh R_ST = 0.77%) exceeds the estimate of variation between these geographically separated groups (R_ST = 0.12%). Low, but statistically significant, correlations between caste rank distance and genetic distance are demonstrated for Tamil castes using Y-chromosome, mtDNA, and autosomal data.

Conclusion

Genetic data from Y-chromosome, mtDNA, and autosomal STRs are in accord with historical accounts of northwest to southeast population movements in India. The influence of ancient and historical population movements and caste social structure can be detected and replicated in South Indian caste populations from two different geographic regions.     

Preparation of zymosan from yeast cell walls

Cell walls of the yeastSaccharomyces cerevisiae after disintegration and protoplasm removal by centrifugation and repeated washing were suspended in 0.5m Na₂HPO₄, pH 7.8–8.0, as a 5% or 10% suspension, depending on the mode of heating. The suspension was boiled for 3h, purified by repeated washing with water and ethanol and dried. The yield was approximately 1.8% of the starting amount of pressed commercial baker’s yeast.     

The chitin-glucan complex ofSaccharomyces cerevisiae

Fractions of the cell wall ofSaccharomyces cerevisiae where a α-chtin-glucan composition was established, were examined under the electron microscope as well as with phase fluorescence. The results indicate that the α-chitin-glucan complex shows a fibrillar arrangement and is localized in the socalled encircling region of the bud scar which has a tear-like appearance and is electron-transparent in ultrathin sections. There are indications of the presence of chitin even in the primary septum.